How Things Change:
Chapter VI~ The Princess
Be-eeep
Be-eeep
Be-eeep
A low, annoying humming sound filled Kakashi's peaceful dream. He was enjoying himself and was just about to get to the good part in his new Icha Icha novel. However, his reading was being interrupted by the unwanted noise. He wanted it to stop, but it would not.
It just kept on buzzing.
'If I ignore it, it'll turn off eventually….' Kakashi thought sleepily, thinking the beeping noise was coming from his alarm clock.
It always went off when he got to the good part in his dreams.
'I'll just sleep five more minutes, I'm sure Hinata won't mind—'
As soon as Hinata entered his thoughts, however, his eyes snapped open and he shot up out of the bed he was lying in. The memory of what had happened returned to him.
"HINATA!" he shouted as he pulled the blankets off of him.
A sharp pain shot through his chest at the sudden movement, but he ignored it. He needed to find Hinata, that's all that mattered. The pain could wait.
Looking around the room, he realized he was no longer home. He was surrounded by white walls, and the strong smell of antiseptic spray filled his nose. He'd know where he was with his eyes blindfolded by that horrible stench alone.
The Hospital.
"…how'd I get here?" he muttered, his brains still foggy, as he started to remove the IV drip from his arm.
Before he could move another inch, however, a nurse rushed into room. Her shoes made loud squeaking noises as she scurried across the tiled floor.
"Hatake -san, you must lay back down! Your wounds haven't healed yet! You're going to reopen them if you keep this up," she stated with worry in her voice as she attempted to gently push him back onto the bed.
The nurse hated dealing with shinobi sometimes; they rarely listened to what their caregivers said, and believed they could do whatever they wanted while recuperating. They made the doctor's job so much harder than it needed to be.
"I can't. It's an emergency. I need to find Hinata!" Kakashi exclaimed, trying to push the nurse away without hurting her.
His body was very weak, though, and he barely pushed her back an inch.
As his mind became more awake, he realized that he vaguely remembered hearing Kushina's voice before he fully passed out. He couldn't remember anything after that, however.
"Where is Kushina and Minato-sensei?" Kakashi asked, thinking the worse.
They couldn't have possibly failed. Could they?
'Don't be stupid Kakashi…do you really think you would be alive and in the hospital right now if they had failed?' he asked himself silently.
Before the nurse could respond, someone else joined them in the room.
"I'll take care of this, Hitomi. I'll make sure this idiot doesn't get up. You can go now."
The nurse's eyes widened when she realized who had spoken to her.
"Ah, Kushina-sama! Yes— right, of course. I'll just go, then."
Bowing her head, the flustered nurse rushed from the room. When she opened the door, however, Minato walked in.
"Have a good day, Hitomi-san," he said tiredly.
"You too, Hokage-sama!" the nurse squeaked as she shut the door behind her.
She had obviously never met the Hokage or his wife before, that much was certain. The reaction of the nurse amused Minato slightly.
Kakashi looked to Minato when the nurse vanished.
"Where-is-Hinata-is-she-okay-what happened-and-how-did-I-get-here?" Kakashi asked, almost too fast to hear.
"Slow down, Kakashi. Hinata is fine. She isn't hurt in the slightest, just exhausted. She is sleeping right now, and doesn't remember anything that happened when the Kyūbi tried taking over. We told her a jutsu you were working on backfired, and that you were hurt because of it. Now enough about her, it's you we were all worried about," Minato said as he forced Kakashi to lie back down. "Stay there and don't get back up."
It wasn't hard for Minato to get him to lie back down. After Kakashi heard the words 'Hinata is fine' the adrenaline he was running on disappeared completely. Now all he could focus on was the pain he was in. It was worse than that time he took a fully powered hit from an Akimichi….
"What happened?" Kakashi moaned out as he winced; the memory of what had exactly happened was still foggy. "And how long have I been here?"
Minato was about to respond, but before he could, Kushina's shrill voice entered Kakashi's ears.
"You got injured, that's what happened. You had Minato and I worried sick! Why didn't you summon us? You know you could have easily. Minato entrusted one of his kunai to you just in case something like this ever happened!" Kushina cried out.
She obviously didn't take worrying very well.
Kakashi felt like a child being scolded. He knew she was just worried about him, but he still felt like he didn't deserve it.
"I didn't think. Everything happened so fast. I was sleeping and all of a sudden I felt the very air get…" he tried to think of the word to use, "heavy? I don't know how to explain it. But I knew something was wrong. It took me a moment more to realize it was the Kyūbi's chakra I was feeling."
Kushina sighed. She knew she wasn't treating Kakashi right. It wasn't his fault.
"I know, I'm sorry, Kakashi. I was just worried about you…" Kushina left off.
She had known him ever since he was put on Minato's team. He was like family to her.
"I'm okay, so you don't have to worry. I am perfectly fine, it's just a little bit of…" he moved to sit up once more, only to wince, "p…pain—did the medics even try to heal me?"
He knew he sounded like a child whining, but at the moment he couldn't care less. He had been in pain before, but this feeling was something new. Something he was not accustomed to. He was only able to ignore it at first because he was so worried about Hinata. Now, however, the pain had all come back to him.
Minato nodded slowly, "They did, Kakashi. They tried their best. It's just…nothing they tried worked."
"W…why?" Kakashi asked, between gasps. The pain was making it hard to breathe.
Minato looked toward his wife, "You'd probably do a better job explaining this. You are the one who had sensed it, after all."
Kushina nodded. "The reason your wounds couldn't be healed by the medical team is because they've been contaminated by the Kyūbi's chakra."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow inquiringly, "What does that mean, exactly? Will my wounds ever heal?"
"We're not sure. According to Chie, there are two possible outcomes. The first is that your own body's chakra attacks the foreign entity, ultimately removing it from your body. If this happened, she said, it would then be possible to heal your wounds. However, she also said this process of removal—if it is indeed possible—would probably be slow going and you could be stuck in the hospital for as long as half a year. Even so, if it did work, she believes you could make a full recovery," Kushina said slowly.
Stuck in the hospital for half a year?
Kakashi did not like the thought of that.
But it was probably a lot better than the second possibility.
"And the s…second possible outcome?" Kakashi asked, already assuming the answer.
Kushina looked over to Minato, sadness flashed across her eyes. Looking back toward Kakashi, she sighed.
"Are you sure you want to know?" she asked gently.
Kakashi nodded. "Y…yes I need to know. And d…don't leave anything out."
"The second, and most likely, outcome is that the foreign chakra will take over and spreads throughout your entire body, kind of like a virus. Your wounds would not heal, but instead would get worse, and your body would no longer be able to protect itself from infections because the chakra would ultimately kill your immune system. T-this…would be very painful, and in the end…in the end—" Kushina bit her quivering lip.
She was having trouble continuing.
"Keep g…going," Kakashi said.
"And in the end you would…you would…d—die," Kushina's voice cracked.
Kakashi just lied there, taking it in, with his eyes closed. He already knew what she was going to say, but actually hearing it—hearing you were probably going to die soon—was hard, even for him. He had faced death countless amounts of times, but dying protecting his village and those he loved was different somehow. Lying in a hospital bed, withering away felt wrong. It made him feel useless. His death would serve no purpose.
An awkward silence filled the room. Minutes passed by before Kakashi spoke again.
"Could y…you seal the chakra away?" he asked.
Kushina shook her head. "I could, but I'm not a medic. If something started to go wrong, I would be powerless to stop it. And right now there isn't a medic here strong enough to help me."
"I see."
Minato then cut in.
"Listen to me, Kakashi. I will not let you die, I promise you I won't. We will do anything that needs to be done to save you. We've already sent out a message to Tsunade. She's the best medic around. If she can't save you than nobody can."
"W…will she even return?" Kakashi had his doubts as he knew of her reputation. Everyone did.
Minato nodded, "She has to because she made me a promise a long time ago."
"A p…promise?" Kakashi asked, confused.
He never knew of any promises.
"Yes, she promised to return to the village whenever Hinata's Byakugan was unsealed," Minato answered.
The memory of Hinata's Byakugan flaring to life flashed across his mind.
"I f…forgot all a…about that…" Kakashi murmured. "How w…was she able to break the seal? Wasn't it supposed to be unbreakable?"
Kushina chimed in, "No seal is truly unbreakable. Her will was stronger than the seal I created. She wanted to save you more than anything in the world, so she subconsciously forced the seal to release itself. Her love for you was why she was able to unseal her Byakugan. She found a power within herself that allowed her to fight back as long as she had."
Kakashi nodded. He knew he couldn't leave Hinata, his sister. He had to stay hopeful and fight as hard as possible for her sake.
"H…how long until Tsunade arrives?"
Minato thought, "I'd say three days, at most. The messenger frog I sent will fill her in on how important this is, and why she must return."
"Where will H…Hinata go while I'm stuck h…here?"
"We've arranged for Yūhi Kurenai to watch over her. We would have let her stay with us, but we know Hinata still doesn't trust us. Kurenai was the best choice since Hinata has already met her because of you, and has started forming a bond with her," Kushina said.
Kakashi nodded. "I see…"
It was true; Hinata had begun to take a liking to Kurenai. Kakashi and Kurenai had been friends for a while. People assumed they were together because they often went out for drinks together, but their relationship was strictly platonic. They were merely friends and comrades, nothing more.
Plus, Kakashi knew he'd have one angry Sarutobi chasing after him if he ever made a move on his Kurenai.
The reason Hinata became acquainted with Kurenai in the first place was because Kurenai had begun to visit him at his home. She told him it was because he wasn't able to go out drinking with her like he used to, but he knew better. He knew she was just making sure he was treating Hinata right, and raising her right.
Hinata, sensing that Kakashi trusted her completely, slowly began opening up to her. It also helped that Hinata knew Kurenai was one of the people who had guarded her after she had been attacked, and she was grateful for that. There was still a long way to go before she fully trusted her, but it was a start.
Kurenai really was the best person to watch over her at the moment.
While sitting there, Kakashi felt his head start to become foggy again. His pain was lessening as well, so he assumed it meant a new dose of pain medication was dripping into him.
'I wish it would have sooner,' he thought, tiredly.
Both Minato and Kushina noticed what was happening.
"We'll bring Hinata in later to see you," Kushina said to him before he completely lost consciousness.
Before he could respond, the dark clutches of sleep overtook him.
.
.
.
Kurenai sighed. She was really worried about Hinata.
She wouldn't eat.
She wouldn't sleep.
She had barely even moved from Kakashi's side.
Kurenai herself was worried for her friend, but she tried not to dwell on it. She needed to be strong and optimistic for Hinata's sake. It was hard, though; Hinata could see through her façade.
"Hinata, Kakashi would want you to eat," she said quietly, trying to get her attention.
Hinata only shook her head.
"I'm not hungry…"
Kurenai sighed, "You need to eat, Hinata. You won't have any strength if you don't…"
Hinata looked to Kurenai from the corner of her eyes.
"Then why haven't you eaten?"
Kurenai sucked in air; so she had noticed.
Kurenai knew it was hypocritical of her to try and get Hinata to stop worrying so much when she herself was, but she couldn't stop herself. She had to try to help her.
"Hinata…"
A day had pass since Kakashi had awoken at the Hospital, then two, and three….
The Hokage had promised Hinata that she would arrive on the third day, but she had yet to. Soon, it would be going on the fourth day, and that could already be too late.
Whatever had happened to Kakashi was bad and he was not getting better, only worse. They tried to tell her he was looking better every day that passed, but she knew it wasn't true.
He was going to die if nothing changed soon, probably within the next twenty four hours. She knew this, they knew this but they continued to lie about it. They thought it was making her feel better, but the lies hurt just as bad as the truth would because she knew that they were all lies.
Hinata couldn't help but feel as if it were her fault this had happened. She couldn't remember doing anything, but deep down she had a feeling it was her fault….
Tears filled Hinata's eyes; she couldn't take it anymore.
"They lied to me…"
Kurenai's heart broke hearing her speak. She was reverting back to her old self.
Kurenai, being friends with Kakashi, had seen firsthand that Hinata was starting to heal while living with Kakashi. However, if Kakashi died, she knew it all would have been for nothing. Hinata would close herself off again. It would be as if she had never made any progress in opening back up.
Wrapping her arms around the shaking girl, she whispered soothing words into her ear, "Everything will be okay, Hinata-chan. You'll see. Kakashi will be okay. He isn't going to be leaving you anytime soon."
Hinata could only shake her head in response as she buried her face in Kurenai's chest.
"Stop lying to me!"
"I'm not lying, Hinata-chan," Kurenai whispered trying to soothe her. "Kakashi wouldn't want—"
Before Kurenai could finish her sentence, however, Hinata interrupted her angrily.
"Kakashi-niisan lied to me, too, just like everyone else! He promised to always be there for me, but he lied!" her sobs cracked her voice. "H-h-he's g-g-going to l-l-leave me l-l-like everyone else!"
Kurenai was taken aback from her outburst, but only for a moment. Her arms tightened around Hinata's shoulders.
"It's okay. Everything will work out, Hinata. You'll see."
Before Kurenai could say anymore, a loud commotion outside of the door filled the room.
Kurenai, being a trained Kunoichi, subconsciously prepared for an attack by pushing Hinata behind her protectively.
'Could someone be trying to come after Hinata?' she thought, unsure of what was happening outside of the door; whatever it was, it was stirring up quite a fuss.
Seconds dragged by before the handle on the door began to turn. Kurenai tensed, ready to strike if push came to shove.
However, when the door burst opened she was in for a surprise.
A blonde haired, big breasted woman walked into the room without a care in the world. Following close behind her was a young, black haired woman, about Kurenai's age, who was holding a small pig in her arms. Behind them both were Minato and Kushina.
"Okay, so where is this patient I'm supposed to heal?"
Kurenai stared at her agape.
This was the legendary slug princess?
She didn't look much older than herself!
Wasn't she supposed to be in her mid-forties?
Kurenai had neither met nor seen any pictures of Tsunade before. The only information she knew about her came from stories.
And those stories never mentioned that Tsunade liked to hide her true self behind a transformation.
Tsunade, becoming annoyed at the lack of response, narrowed her eyes.
"It's not polite to ignore someone when they speak to you."
Kurenai, snapping back to reality, bowed formally, "Tsunade-sama! I'm terribly sorry for my rudeness! I was just taken by surprise; I did not know it was you…."
"Think nothing of it…" Tsunade said delightfully.
She kind of enjoyed hearing the sama at the end of her name.
"Why can't you be more respectful like that, Shizune?"
Shizune, Tsunade's apprentice, planted her face into her hand. 'Why did I ever agree to follow her again…?'
"Maybe if you didn't gamble so much…" Shizune started to say, before Tsunade covered her mouth.
Whispering in her ear she said, "Finish saying that and all you'll be doing is bathing the elderly for a month…and I'll make sure that the Akimichi elders are at the top of the list."
Shizune's eyes filled with horror. The thought of old, hairy, naked, fat men filled her thoughts.
'No!'
"Sorry, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune said as she bowed deeply before her teacher.
Tsunade smiled smugly. "I thought you would have a change of heart."
Kurenai raised an eyebrow in confusion; she never expected Tsunade to act so immature.
Minato, seeing Kurenai's confusion, stepped forward.
"Tsunade, this is Kurenai. She just recently got promoted to Tokubetsu Jōnin and is one of our most talented Genjutsu specialists. It won't be long before she makes full Jōnin, I am sure of it."
Kurenai blushed lightly at the praise she was getting from the Hokage.
Tsunade nodded her head. "Nice to meet you."
"And it's nice to meet you, too, Tsunade-sama!" Kurenai said as she bowed formally once again.
Hinata shyly poked her head out from behind Kurenai as she was bowing.
"Y-you're the one w-who is going to heal Kakashi-niisan?" she stuttered, feeling hope rise in her chest.
Tsunade's eyes widened when she noticed the small, frail looking girl.
The sight of Hinata caused Tsunade's heart to ache for her former student. Besides the hair and eye color, she was a spitting image of her mother.
'Seiko…you would be proud of her…'
It was then that Tsunade noticed something.
'I thought her Byakugan was unsealed…?' Tsunade thought. 'Maybe they resealed it until I got here?'
She didn't believe Minato would lie to her, so she would get the full story later.
It took all of her willpower to not rush over to the girl and hold her tightly, but she knew she had work to do. She could spend time with her later.
"Yes…yes I will be the one who saves him," she answered slowly.
A smile lit up Hinata's face.
This caused a pang of loneliness to hit Tsunade.
She looked exactly like her mother; it was almost hard to look at her.
'I need to be strong…!' Tsunade thought.
The loud sound of coughing brought everyone back to reality.
Kakashi, who had been lying still, was now thrashing on the bed, hacking up blood.
"Shizune! I need you to prepare a room for an emergency surgery!"
"Yes, M'lady!" Shizune exclaimed as she rushed from the room.
Her orders to the medical staff could be heard outside the door.
Another look toward Hinata caused Tsunade's heart to ache, but she did not rush over to her.
'Now's not the time!' Tsunade thought as Kakashi's seizures worsened.
"Move it, kid; I've got work to do!" Tsunade stated urgently, pushing her out of the way gently.
Kurenai pulled Hinata away from the bed. "We have to go Hinata. She has work she needs to do, we will only get in the way."
Tears of joy flowed down Hinata's face. Using her sleeve, she tried to wipe them away.
"He'll be okay now, right? She is supposed to be the best, right? So he'll be fine?"
Kurenai remained silent. There was still a chance that this wouldn't work, a chance Kakashi could die.
She wasn't going to tell Hinata that. Why make her worry more?
Plus, she too wanted to believe he would make it. She didn't want her friend to die….
"That's right. Now come, Hinata, we must go..." Kurenai said while ushering her out of the room.
When they disappeared, Tsunade looked over to Kushina.
"I'll need your help extracting the chakra from his wounds. I know you said it could be dangerous, but it's his best shot at survival. I'll be able to tell if something goes wrong."
Kushina had absolute faith in the Sanin.
"Yes ma'am!" Kushina exclaimed, prepared to do whatever was needed.
Tsunade turned to Minato. "You can go as well; the room will be cramped as it is."
Minato nodded, not taking any offense to what she was saying. He knew he would only get in the way and that he could trust her. She was the expert in this field, not him.
"I understand. I have work I should be doing, anyway. Please let me know how it goes as soon as it's over."
He knew he would get no work done until he knew how the surgery turned out, however. He would be too worried to concentrate properly. And signing important document while you're not focusing is not a smart thing to do.
Walking over to Kushina, he lowered himself down to give her a quick peck on the lips. "Good luck. I have faith in you."
Kushina smiled, feeling less stressed. "Thanks."
Minato nodded toward his wife, before he too left the room.
Only a moment later, Shizune appeared in the room.
"I've gotten the room all set up!"
Tsunade nodded, while preparing to move Kakashi.
"Alright, girls, let's get the show on the road!" Tsunade bellowed out.
"Yes!" Kushina and Shizune stated together.
They all shared one thought.
'This is going to be a long, long night…'
.
.
.
Almost fourteen hours had passed before the operating room light turned off.
Everyone who had been involved with the surgery was exhausted. Their chakra was almost drained, but other than that they were fine.
"We've done all that we can…" Tsunade said, as she wiped the sweat from her brow.
Shizune had collapsed on the ground, totally wiped out.
"W…why a…aren't you a…affected at a…all, Kushina-sama?" she gasped out.
It had been a long while since she had to do anything this strenuous.
Kushina, having naturally large chakra reserves, was quite surprised at how tired she felt as well. She was better off than Shizune, but she still felt pretty weak.
"I may not look it, but I'm really exhausted myself. One of the ups to having Uzumaki blood flowing through your veins is that you are naturally blessed with large chakra reserves and a huge amount of stamina." Kushina said. "Also, it took more chakra for you to heal Kakashi than it did for me to seal away the foreign chakra flowing inside of him."
It was true. While she did use quite a bit of chakra, it was nowhere near the amount the two medics had to use.
"What will you do with that scroll?" Tsunade asked Kushina curiously.
In her hand she held a scroll in which the Kyūbi's sinister chakra was sealed.
"Destroy it if I can. Having this fall into the wrong hands could be deadly," she replied, thinking carefully.
"And if it can't be destroyed?" Tsunade asked, curiously.
"It'll have to be locked up securely."
Tsunade nodded. "If it's possible…do you think I could study it? I'd like to find an easier way to heal someone if they ever got contaminated by its chakra again."
Kushina thought for a moment then said, "I don't see why not…but I'd have to be there with you just to make sure nothing went wrong and if it did go wrong, to seal it again."
"Sounds fine to me," Tsunade said with a smile.
"What exactly should I tell Minato and Hinata?" Kushina asked, ready to leave.
Her job was done now. Now it was up to Shizune and Tsunade to take care of Kakashi.
Tsunade's face broke out into a wide grin.
"Tell them," she began, "he'll make a full recovery!"
.
.
.
Three more days had passed since Kakashi had been operated on, and during that time Kakashi had shown a lot of progress. He was no longer in the pain he was before. The pain hadn't fully disappeared, but now it was at least manageable.
While he couldn't be discharged just yet, he would be within the next couple of weeks, Tsunade said. Right now she wanted to make sure everything was healing correctly, and wanted to run in depth tests on him to make sure he wouldn't be affected in the long run from the Kyūbi's chakra.
Because Kakashi was doing so well, he couldn't help but feel antsy. He hated hospitals with a passion and never liked extended stays. It was boring, and the smell of the hospital always affected his nose; when he finally could get discharged, he was going to be smelling antiseptic spray for weeks.
'Well…at least the nurses are nice to look at…' Kakashi thought with a perverted grin as a brunette nurse, with ample amounts of cleavage visible, walked by his room.
Kakashi was brought back from his perverted fantasies when two people walked in. The sight of them lifted his spirit.
"Kakashi-niisan!" Hinata exclaimed happily.
"Hey," Kurenai said with a wave.
Kakashi's mood brightened considerably as he talked to Hinata.
Kurenai watched Hinata with a smile on her face as she told Kakashi about all the stuff she had done while staying with her. Hinata was doing so much better now, she was happy to see. Kakashi being saved had changed Hinata for the better. She was making progress.
Hinata had been so relieved to hear that Tsunade and Shizune had saved him, that she slowly started to warm up to them.
The same could be said about Kushina since she had been a great help. And Minato was the reason that Tsunade had even returned. Hinata still didn't trust them completely but she didn't completely distrust them anymore, either.
'If he hadn't called her back—' Kurenai cut her own thought off. 'No I must not think that way. Everything turned out fine, stop thinking about what could have happened…'
"Hey, Hinata, don't you have to see Inoichi today?" Kakashi asked, with a smile, though it wasn't visible through the mask.
It took a while, but Kakashi's mask no longer bothered her like it once had. While Hinata didn't understand why he wore it in public, she had come to accept it. Plus, he never wore it when they were alone, and it made her feel special that she was the only one who could see under it on a consistent basis.
"I do, but I wanted to give these to you before I went," Hinata said, as she held out the flowers. "Inoichi-san helped me pick them out at his shop, and said I could bring them to you first."
Kakashi accepted the flowers.
"Thank you, Hinata. That was really nice of you," he said.
The gesture made him happy.
'I think this is the first time I ever got get well flowers from someone,' Kakashi thought; he had been hospitalized so many times that it amused him that this was the first time he had ever received flowers.
Hinata nodded.
"I have to go now, though, Kakashi-niisan. I'll come back when I'm done talking to Inoichi-san."
Kurenai nodded, "Yeah, we'll come back before visiting hours are over. I'll keep an eye on her until then."
Kakashi nodded. "Alright. Have fun with Inoichi, Hinata. Remember to open up to him as he is only trying to help you. "
Hinata nodded, "I'll try."
She then turned to leave. However, before she made it to the door, she turned back and hurriedly hugged Kakashi.
"I love you, Kakashi-niisan…get well soon so you can come home and be with me!"
Kakashi's eyes lit up from seeing her like this. She had come a long, long way over the months.
He could still see the pain in her young eyes, but it wasn't as noticeable anymore.
Before Kakashi could respond, Hinata rushed from the room with a blush on her face; she felt embarrassed.
"She misses you, Kakashi," Kurenai said with a smile as she followed after Hinata. "And I miss my drinking buddy, so you best get better soon. Or else."
"I know," Kakashi laughed as Kurenai closed the door behind her.
"She looked better…" Kakashi said to himself once his room was empty once more.
She had begun opening her heart back up, he could see.
First it was to him, then to Kurenai. Now she was becoming comfortable around Shizune and Tsunade.
She was also showing some improvement with Kushina and Minato since they were the ones who called Tsunade back to heal him.
She had yet to want to interact with people her own age, but Inoichi said that would come in time.
'At least she is showing improvement….' Kakashi thought with a smile.
Kakashi was about to rest his eyes, when a knock sounded at his door. He expected Tsunade as it was about time for his checkup.
"Come in."
When the door opened, he was surprised to see that it was Minato.
"Yo, Minato-sensei," Kakashi said as he sat back up.
"Hey, Kakashi, how are you feeling today?" Minato asked.
Kakashi shrugged, "Fine. I just wish I could leave…"
Minato nodded. He knew Kakashi hated hospitals.
"Tsunade said you could leave in a couple weeks if all goes well."
He sighed. "Yeah, I know…."
After a moment, he realized something. Minato was fidgeting.
"What's wrong, Minato-sensei?" he asked.
Minato sighed., "I feel like it's my fault you are here."
Kakashi shook his head, "It's not. And I am fine, so there isn't anything to feel bad about."
"We should have realized something like this could have happened…we should have prepared for it. But we didn't, and now you're stuck here."
Kakashi sighed, "It's fine, Minato-sensei. I promise it is."
"I believe you. But, after much thought, I've decided…."
He let his sentence trail off.
"Decided what?" Kakashi asked.
"I've decided to tell Hinata the truth, the whole truth. I thought we were doing her a favor by keeping it from her, but now I know it was wrong to keep it from her," Minato stated. "Kushina said that the Kyūbi was able to gain control because Hinata hasn't been trained. She told me Seiko had to undergo ninja training before the fox was sealed inside of her. Hinata never had that training, and while she has been getting better, her mental state is still weak. Kushina told me that if she had had that training, however, then the fox might never have been able to take over like it had."
Kakashi was surprised, he wasn't expecting this.
"So, when do you plan on telling her?"
Minato answered almost immediately, "I would like to do it soon as I can, but I probably won't be able to. I want you there when I tell her, so it'll be a couple of weeks at least."
Kakashi nodded.
"There is one other thing I'd like to ask of you, though…" Minato began.
"What is it?" Kakashi questioned.
"I want you to be the one to start training her. I could enter her into the academy, but I believe it is too soon to do that. Inoichi agreed. She wouldn't do well around so many foreign people, especially since most of them are children. I know we wanted to wait and not push her, but I believe a push is what she needs. It's time we start taking her training seriously, and I think you would be the best teacher for her. This isn't only for the village's safety, but for hers as well."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow.
"You will be in charge of bringing her up to speed. Once she is at Genin level, I was going to set her up with a few other people for her to train under. I want her to be a well-rounded shinobi, and I believe this will be the easiest way to accomplish that."
"Who are you planning on setting her up with?"
"So far I know it will be Gai, Kurenai, Anko…and Hiashi."
"So, you're going to tell her about her heritage as well?"
"Yes. And he is the only one who can teach her to use her Byakugan. Now that I think about it, he'll probably be helping you bring her up to speed, though not right away as she would need some time to adjust to the fact that Hiashi is her father."
"Aren't you worried people will find out about it?" Kakashi asked, curiously. "About her Byakugan?"
"I was, but I found a solution to our problem," Minato said. "You have probably noticed that Hinata's Byakugan is undetectable, right?"
Kakashi nodded his head, "I have. I thought you guys resealed it."
Minato shook his head.
"No, we did not. We could have easily sealed it, but we decided against it. If it is sealed, she won't be able to learn to use it. So, we took another approach."
"Oh? And what's that?"
Minato smiled, "With Kurenai's help we were able to create a Genjutsu powerful enough to mask her Byakugan. It is almost undetectable, and does not drain much chakra to activate. The drawback is that once it is activated, however, it will drain a person's chakra quite quickly; however, since we are dealing with someone who is a Jinchūriki and an Uzumaki, it doesn't really matter. Kurenai designed it after some of the Kurama clan's techniques, and she casted it on Hinata herself. Until you get released from here it will run off of Kurenai's chakra. We placed a seal on Hinata that is filled with Kurenai's chakra and it acts kind of like a battery for the Genjutsu. However, once you are out we will teach you how to cast it and you will be in charge of making sure the chakra seal on her remains full. When Hinata is able to, she will learn the technique and it will run off of her own chakra."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "Are you positive it works, though?"
"Yes, we had Hiashi test it out for us. He told us that while he could detect the presence of foreign chakra surrounding Hinata, he could not break the Genjutsu. He said that if it was Hinata's own chakra casting it, then he wouldn't have even noticed it. And when we casted it on him to test it out, he told us it did not hinder his own ability to use his Dōjutsu."
Kakashi was impressed that Kurenai created that powerful of a Genjutsu; not many could block the Byakugan completely, after all.
"Are you sure Kurenai doesn't have some long lost relative that came from the Kurama clan, Minato-sensei?"
Minato shook his head with a smile.
"Yeah, I'm positive she doesn't. She's just naturally skilled when it comes to Genjutsu. It's really impressive since she doesn't have the Kurama clan's Kekkei Genkai. She'll go far with those skills of hers, I'm sure of it."
Kakashi nodded in agreement. He knew first hand that Kurenai was a dangerous opponent, having been a part of many high ranked missions with her. Most enemies she encountered didn't know what hit them once they were caught in her Genjutsu as a lot of Shinobi made the mistake of thinking that, unless you had a Kekkei Genkai, there wasn't much of a point in studying it in too much detail.
Kakashi knew better, though; Genjutsu was dangerous. Sometimes it was more dangerous than Ninjutsu and Taijutsu. And Kurenai was a great example of that being the case. More often than not, she was able to capture or kill her opponent without getting a scratch on her thanks to Genjutsu. It also served her well when she had to go undercover as a seductress; she was one of the rare Kunoichi who never had to use her own body to complete a mission.
Minato, noticing where the sun was positioned in the sky, decided it was time for him to go.
"I have a lot of work to get done, tonight, Kakashi. Sorry I cannot stay longer to keep you company. I've got a meeting with Tsunade, and then Uchiha Itachi right after," he said.
"Uchiha Itachi?" Kakashi asked.
He had a feeling he knew what the meeting with Tsunade would be about, but he had no idea what he'd want with Itachi.
"He shows great promise in the ANBU. He's only been a member for about a year and a half, and he already is much stronger than half the people on his squad and his leadership abilities far surpass a good number of them. Because of this, I've decided that his abilities could be used elsewhere, so I've decided to have him start training to become captain of your old squad…" Minato said with a smile. "It'll be a couple of years until he receives the promotion, however. He needs some more on the field experience first."
This surprised Kakashi. Kakashi knew Itachi was strong, and that he showed great promise, but it was almost heard of one training for captain so soon. Itachi was only 11, and hadn't been a part of ANBU for very long. Most captains, himself included, had been a part of ANBU for years before they received their promotions. But, if what Minato said was true, Itachi was going to make captain by thirteen.
"Impressive…" Kakashi said to himself with a whistle.
Minato nodded, "Mmhm. Anyways, I'll see you later, Kakashi."
Minato turned to leave, but before he made it out the door he remembered there was something else he needed to tell him.
"Oh, I almost forgot! Kushina says she'll come visit you next time, Naruto has been a real handful for her."
"That's okay, Minato-sensei…."
Minato smiled once more, "When you are out of here, Kushina promised to make dinner for you. She is going to make Sukiyaki. Your presences is required."
Kakashi's eyes opened wide in horror when he heard that; he made the mistake of eating Kushina's Sukiyaki once before. It smelled and looked fine, but it was the worst tasting thing he had ever tried. His tongue wasn't the same for many days, and it gave him severe diarrhea the following day. Oh, how his ass burned for a week.
Kakashi's reaction caused Minato to laugh hysterically.
"Oh, God! That look on your face was priceless!" Minato said wiping tears from his eyes. "I'm just kidding about the Sukiyaki, Kushina felt horrible after what had happened last time. She just wants to make you Ramen, and you know she is an expert when it comes to Ramen."
Kakashi let out the breath he was holding.
'Thank god…' Kakashi thought with a sigh.
Minato shook his head with a smile.
"Anyway, I really have to get going. Tsunade should be arriving at my office around now. I'll come again soon, Kakashi," Minato said.
Kakashi nodded and waved as he shut the door.
"See ya," he sighed. "Alone again…great."
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Tsunade sighed, feeling drained. She had been busy in the hospital the last three days and did not have time to talk to Minato. There had just been too much work to be done.
However, now that she had the time, she was anxious in what he had to tell her about Seiko's little girl. He said it was important.
A feeling of unease made its way in the pit of her stomach when she knocked on his door. She expected to hear him tell her to enter, however, instead, it stayed quiet.
"He's not in?" she asked herself in confusion thinking that she got the time wrong.
She was just about to knock once more just to make sure when she heard a voice behind her.
"Sorry I'm late, Tsunade," Minato said.
Tsunade, startled, jumped toward Minato, ready to attack him.
Minato's eyes widened as he disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the hall. Luckily he had because only a moment later and Tsunade's fist would have hit him full force in his head.
"Don't do that!" she growled.
"Sorry!"
Tsunade rolled her eyes, as she tried to calm down. It wasn't easy for someone to sneak up on her, but Minato had done so as if it were nothing.
'I wouldn't stand a chance…' she thought with a frown.
It kind of annoyed her. Minato was younger than she was and didn't have as much experience as she did, and yet he was far stronger than she was.
Minato nodded, and motioned for him to join him in his office.
"Like I was saying, I'm sorry I was late; I was visiting with Kakashi."
Tsunade raised her eyebrows when Kakashi was mentioned.
She sighed.
'I knew there was something I was forgetting about. I shouldn't have snuck out for sake. Shizune is going to give me hell when she realizes I skipped Kakashi's appointment time…'
She wasn't worried about Kakashi. She knew he was in no danger anymore, as did everyone. She just didn't want to listen to Shizune. She could be quite annoying at times.
Minato smiled, and entered his office with Tsunade tailing behind him.
"So…what is it you wanted to tell me about Hinata, Minato?" she demanded as soon as the office door shut, getting straight to the point.
"Would you like anything to drink first, Tsunade?" Minato said with a smile trying delay what he was about to tell her.
Tsunade shook her head. "No, I just want to know what has been going on with Seiko's child. It seemed important."
Minato sighed, realizing she wasn't going to let it go.
"I think you might want to sit down…"
Tsunade raised an eyebrow, but did as she was told.
She was lucky she had, or her knees would have buckled under her at what he had told her.
'Why did I ever leave!?'
"Where is he?" she asked coldly.
"I told you he was already taken care of, Tsunade," Minato said, worriedly. "I cannot let you kill him. He's just too valuable."
A lopsided, eerie smile appeared on her face.
"Oh, I don't plan on killing him. He deserves more than that. However, there are ways to make comatose patients suffer. I know the human body inside and out; I'm not called the best medical ninja around, for nothing," Tsunade said. "I will find him whether you tell me where he is or not, Minato."
"Tsunade, calm down—"
Tsunade jumped up from the chair she was slouching in and pointed at him.
"Calm down? CALM DOWN?! You guys were supposed to protect her, to adopt her. But you let the elders control you, and look where it got us? The Kyūbi almost got free because Hinata's mind is still weak from the attack, and where would the village have been, then? I should have stayed. If I had, none of this would have happened. I would have taken her in no matter what, but I left because I am weak. I am just as much to blame as you guys are!" Tsunade exclaimed. "Tell me where he is. I will not kill him, but he got off lightly, and needs to be punished. He tortured and molested a little girl. A LITTLE GIRL!"
Tears filled her eyes.
Minato sighed. He knew she would be angry, and she had every right to be.
But he couldn't allow her to do what she wanted with him. While he had trusted Hiashi to stop, he didn't trust Tsunade to. Not when she was acting like this. She was far too emotional. She would not see reason.
Sitting up straight, eyes narrowed, he bellowed, "Tsunade! I am the Hokage of this village, which means I outrank you. You will stand down now. I will not allow you near him, not now. Not when you are so emotionally involved. Hiashi already punished him, I told you that. It was his daughter, after all. Do you really think he let him off lightly?"
"No, but—"
"No buts! Stand down before I am forced to take extreme measures!" he exclaimed. "Do I need to charge you with insubordination? Because I will if you do not keep your emotions in check."
Tsunade stepped back from the pressure he was emitting. She knew that even though she was at Kage level, she still was outclassed by Minato.
He would beat her there was no doubt about that. She could probably put up a decent fight, but in the end it would not be she who won.
"No sir," her eyes narrowed. "I understand. I will not touch him."
Minato relaxed in his chair, and his chakra was suppressed once more.
"I'm sorry, Tsunade. But this is for the best—" he tried to reason with her.
Tsunade just turned away without saying a word and briskly made her way out of the office; the door slammed closed behind her, almost taken off of its hinges from the impact.
She couldn't help but feel that it was just as much her fault as it was Kushina's and Minato's.
'If I had only stayed…if I had only stayed…'
Tsunade shook her head to clear it.
It was true she felt guilty at what she had done, but her guilt was outweighed by the anger she felt.
She was angry at herself, at Minato, and at Kushina.
But, most importantly, she was angry at Dai Takeshi. He did something that was unforgivable, and she could not let it go.
No one hurt her precious people and got away with it unpunished.
No one.
And whether the Hokage liked it or not, she would make him pay. Maybe not now, maybe not even in a few years. But the day would come when he got punished.
She would make sure of it.
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Minato sighed. That had not gone well at all.
"I hope she doesn't do anything reckless…" he said under his breath, as he pulled a stack of papers from out of his the drawer.
Just when he was about to get started working, a knock sounded on the door.
Minato could slap himself. He forgot about his meeting with Itachi.
'Oh well…it's not like it changes anything.'
"Come in."
Itachi slowly opened the door and walked in, closing it behind him.
"Good evening, Hokage-sama," he said respectfully with a bow.
Minato smiled tiredly at Itachi.
"Good afternoon, Itachi."
Itachi nodded, "So, what can I do for you, Hokage-sama?"
"Do you have any idea why I have called you here, Itachi?" Minato asked as he started rummaging through his desk.
Itachi watched in interest, and replied, "No, Hokage-sama."
"Ah, here it is!" Minato said, pulling a semi-crinkle piece of paper out from underneath a large stack. "I need you to read and sign this form, Itachi."
Itachi raised an eyebrow, "What's that?"
"This," Minato said as he began to fill out portions of the paper, "is your promotion paperwork."
"Promotion?" Itachi asked dumbfounded; he knew of no promotion.
Minato looked up and smiled.
"So no one mentioned it? Good," Minato said. "Congratulations, Itachi. You're going to be one of the youngest ANBU captains in Konoha History."
"What?" Itachi sputtered, unable to process what he was just told.
"Well, it won't be a full promotion right now. It's a partial promotion. I've decided that your skills are going to waste where you are currently stationed at and decided to do something about it. Starting tomorrow, you are going to undergo a rigorous training regimen and within the next year or two, if you work hard, you will become captain of Squad 5."
Itachi was speechless. It was almost unheard of for someone to make captain so young.
Minato laughed. "Do you want it, Itachi?"
Itachi nodded his head, "Yes, of course! This would be an honor, Hokage-sama, and I will not disappoint you!"
"I know you won't, I have absolute faith in you, Itachi," Minato said as his smile dropped, "that's why I need to know something…"
Itachi raised an eyebrow, realizing the atmosphere in the room got colder. Maybe it was a mission?
"You know I would do anything for the village, Hokage-sama."
Minato smiled sadly, "That's good, Itachi. Just know, I wouldn't ask this of you if I didn't think it was necessary."
Itachi nodded, realizing it was something big.
"I know what they are planning," Minato said with his eyes narrowed, getting to the point.
Itachi's eyes widened. He couldn't know about that could he?
Itachi's heart fell when Minato finished.
"Yes, I am fully aware of the fact that the Uchiha clan is starting to divide itself, and I need your help to stop it from going any further."
End.
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I guess that's it for now, might go back and edit this chapter some more because I feel like I have missed some stuff. I also might change the title of the chapter, but for now it'll remain "The Princess" as Tsunade has been introduced once more (and this time she isn't leaving). I have some big plans involving Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru, but those won't come into play until much, much later.
Next chapter there will be a four year time skip as Hinata will finally be entering the academy. The training she will be undergoing before that will be skipped. It is possible (though, at the moment, unlikely) that later on I'll make a few chapters (or a spin off story) describing what training she went through, but for now I'm just going to skip it.
One last note I'd like to add is that I'm not sure how soon next chapter will be posted, but I'll try not to take too long. The next few months are going to be hectic, but I'll try my best to update! I would love to be able to update this story regularly, but it probably won't be the case. Still, I don't plan on abandoning this story as I have so much planned for it.
Thanks for reading!