A/N: Standard warnings apply.
Chapter 79: A Night Out
Midoriko laid in the grass outside the dojo. She laid there for longer than Lee thought she needed to be. She was still breathing, and that, as far as Lee was concerned, was a good thing. It meant he hadn't hit her too hard. "Please get up Midoriko-chan."
Midoriko opened her eyes and kept staring up at the sky. It was yet another day of training. It wasn't that she didn't like the training, because she did. It was just that in the two months of training nothing had changed. She was still Midoriko. Although there had been a few flashes of memory, there was no significant change. Lee had started the training with simple stretching and stamina exercises. It was easy enough for Midoriko to master. Lee explained it as muscle memory. Midoriko's mind may not have remembered anything about her years of training, but her body did.
Soon Lee was teaching her a series of katas. Once again Lee was amazed by Midoriko's mastery of the movements with in hours. By the first month, Midoriko had started an every day routine. She would get up with Minato at the crack of dawn for a morning jog with Lee. She never went to the extremes of five hundred laps around the village. Midoriko kept it to a measly five laps. Or at least Lee considered it measly. He didn't think she should really be doing more, but Lee thought it might be a way to encourage a competitive spirit. Midoriko would go back home and continue her day of house cleaning and cooking before the Trio would knock on the door ready for lunch.
Lee had recently insisted they start practice sparing. They started at a snails pace, with Lee telling Midoriko what he was going to do next. She was supposed to counter his moves. If he punched, she blocked. If she kicked, he'd block. That seemed simple enough. The disconnection was found when Lee started to move faster and not tell Midoriko how he was going to strike next. He hadn't hit her hard enough to produce more than a sore shoulder and a bruise, but Midoriko ended up on the floor of the dojo in a tangle of her own limbs.
Her body had tried to react on it's own to the strike, but Midoriko's mind had wanted to block in a different way. For the most part, they had discovered Midoriko had a lack of coordination. She could not get her mind and body to work in harmony when it came to fighting. Lee suspected more than a disconnection between mind and body. Midoriko seemed happy enough, but he knew differently. Naruto was gone more often than not, and although Midoriko wouldn't say it bother her, Lee knew that it bothered her deeply.
The green clad ninja had gotten to know Midoriko. She was a lot more closed lipped than he expected. Myra had been extremely conversational and quick witted. Midoriko seemed to be far away thinking about other things. Lee had wondered if Midoriko had even wanted to be training.
"It is what everyone expects me to be doing. So I am giving it my best in the hopes that it will return some of my memories to me." Midoriko smiled at Lee and continued her stretching.
Lee realized that her heart wasn't in the training. She was doing it because it pleased the others around her. He had watched how people treated her. Naruto was ignoring her. Sasuke talked to Midoriko only when he had too. Sakura was at least trying to make her feel wanted. Tsunade seemed to talk to Midoriko like a child most of the time. Rai-sama, well he acted like the over protective father he was.
Just once, Lee wanted to see Midoriko say something to someone other than him. But she never did. She accepted her fate at being second best. She had accepted her status as the shadow of her former self. And it infuriated Lee that she had essentially given up to this fate she was making for herself. "Are you going to continue to lie there and pretend that I knocked you unconscious?"
Midoriko let out a sigh. "Not forever, no. I was just admiring the clouds as they rolled by."
"And wondering no doubt what Naruto-kun is doing?" Lee smirked.
She sat up and continued to stare at the fluffy clouds. "He's on an important mission as usual. He should be back in a few days. Not that I will get to see him, but he will be back." She mumbled the last part to herself.
The green clad ninja offered his hand to help her up. "I am sure you will get to…"
Midoriko ignored his offered hand and got up on her own. "I will get to see the back of his coat as he leaves for yet another mission." She cut him off. Her voice was filled with anger that Lee had not heard from her before.
"You have not told him that it hurts when he leaves." Lee stepped back from her.
Midoriko let out another sigh and counted. The voice in the back of her mind seemed to agree with Lee on this matter. "When I have something to tell him that is worth wild, I will be sure to let him know. Otherwise, he can read your daily reports as everyone else does."
Lee rubbed the back of his head nervously. The daily reports were something that Tsunade had insisted on. They were meant as a way for Rai-sama to keep track of her progress. But progress had been slow at best. The disconnection between her mind and body seemed to be a road block they couldn't quite get around yet. "This is not exactly something that I would put in my reports to Rai-sama. Your feelings for Naruto-kun should be something that you discuss with Naruto-kun."
Midoriko counted again as the voice got louder in her head. "I may not be able to do much from where I am, but I will annoy the SHIT out of you until you DO something about Pretty Boy."
Granted, the voice had control over very little. Midoriko found it more of a hinderance than an annoyance, but it annoyed Midoriko none the less. It had become a case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand was doing. Midoriko had managed to keep control of her vocal outbursts. She hadn't called anyone a name, or even made a snide comment in months. But there were moments when she would find things out of place, or while cooking salt would be substituted for the sugar or visa versa. She had woken up in Naruto's bedroom once, thankfully while he was gone and there were the occasional mornings she woke up in the library with an odd book in her hand. The only time she couldn't control her actions was the one and only time Sasuke had tried to stand in for Lee. Midoriko found that she couldn't stop laughing at Sasuke. He would look at her with a serious face and she would start to giggle for no apparent reason. The more serious Sasuke looked at her, the harder Midoriko would laugh. Midoriko had gotten a decent core workout from the constant laughing.
Midoriko rubbed at her eyes. "I should tell Naruto-kun a lot of things, but for now I will let him continue his adjustment. I will give him the time he needs to adjust. I will still be here."
"LIKE HELL!" The voice raged. Midoriko took a few more deep breaths effectively pushing the voice back behind the doors.
Lee closed his eyes and shook his head. She was giving up again and he hated to see her give up like this. "You sell your self short Midoriko-chan. I think you need a break from training. I think you need to do something for you and not for someone else. I have an idea to combat the coordination issue. But I will only try if your heart is in it. It should be extremely exciting and I will get to show you what it is to be YOUTHFUL!" he struck a pose.
0 – 0 – 0
Midoriko came to the knock at the door. She was dressed in a halter top, lavender dress, black high heels, and her hair pined back, feathered and curled in long ringlets. She smiled fondly at the nervously stiff looking Rock Lee. "Good evening Lee-sensei."
Lee was extremely nervous. He stood at attention with a bouquet of star gazer lilies in his hand. He was dressed in a dark forest green suit with a white tie. He actually looked very dashing. Lee's cheeks flushed pink before he bowed and shoved the bouquet of flowers at her. "These are for you."
She took the flowers and giggled brightly. "Please come in for a moment while I get these in some water."
Moegi stepped around the corner with Minato in her arms. There was an expression of shock that was mirrored on both baby and babysitter's faces. "You're going on a date with Lee?!"
Lee stood completely still at attention as the boy in Moegi's arms glared at him. The taijutsu master started to sweat under the scrutiny of the little boy. "It is a training exercise." Lee blurted under the pressure.
Midoriko brought a vase and the bouquet of flowers to the foyer. She stood and arranged the flowers silently for a moment. "We are going to study some dance techniques to help with my timing." She paused to smell the fragrance of the arrangement of star gazer lilies. Midoriko's eyes darted harshly to Moegi. "I'm entitled to have a little fun with my friends Moegi-chan. I won't be too late." Midoriko turned to Lee with a wistful smile.
Minato narrowed his violet eyes at his mother. He did not like this at all. The boy lurched from Moegi's arms towards his mother, nearly toppling Moegi over in the process. Midoriko caught the boy and he clung defiantly on to Midoriko's neck, not wanting to let go. Lee gave Minato a charming "good guy" smile. "I promise to have your Oka-san home at midnight."
The boy leaned back in his mother's arms and decided it was time for some emotional blackmail. Minato pouted, elongated his face to make his eyes look twice as large as they actually were. His large violet eyes wobbled and watered as crocodile tears threatened to drop from the corners. To add insult to injury, Minato's bottom lip quivered and he started to snivel as if at any moment an ear shattering cry would escape his lips.
Midoriko raised a thin black eyebrow. She was not fooled by this plea for her to stay home. The voice had been unusually supportive about the idea of dancing. And for the first time, Midoriko actually agreed with the voice. There were some grumbles about going out with Lee and not Naruto. But Naruto wasn't home, and it wasn't like he was going to object anyway. The woman let out a long sigh. She hugged her son close, kissing him on the top of his head. "Not this time, my Little One. I am going to go out and have a good time with Lee. You can have fun with Moegi-chan." Midoriko handed Minato back to Moegi. "His last bottle is in the fridge. Warm it slightly before you give it to him. Or if he wants, he can have one of the deserts I left in the pantry for him. Bed time is eight O'clock, the phone number is on the fridge."
Moegi was still in a slight state of shock. Naruto wasn't due home for another few days. But there was something that told Moegi that this night wasn't going to end well. The door closed and Moegi stared at the little boy in her arms. "It's just you and me kido…"
Minato was fuming MAD. His eyes were narrowed in anger and a nasty scowl was set on his face. He was glaring at the door so hard one would think that any second, the door would burst into flames. Moegi shrugged. "How about some TV for a little while?" She questioned the tyke.
Minato snapped his head towards his captor for the moment. He liked Moegi, he really did. She was sweet and she could play games a lot better than the other two that she hung around with. Honestly, Minato didn't understand why his mother insisted in having the other two around. Moegi did most of the work. She would play with Minato, let him crawl around the house and she would make sure he was bathed before his mother or father got home. Moegi generally kept Minato entertained and cleaned up after the other two. Monkey Boy watched TV most of the time, snacking on the treats Midoriko made for them. The Book Worm stayed in the library reading everything he could. It was something Minato would change as soon as he had the voice to change it. Minato let out a sigh of defeat and hugged Moegi in acknowledgement of her question.
0 – 0 – 0
It had been a long couple of days traveling back to Konoha. The mission Naruto had been on went as well as could be expected. It was a simple mission escorting some merchants and their goods to the Wave Country. Getting there had been easier and sooner than expected. At first he was going to stay a few days with Tazuna, but seeing Inari and Tsunami together as mother and son reminded him of his own family back home. He missed Minato and when he came down to it, he missed Midoriko too.
The missions Naruto had kept himself busy on were supposed to take his mind off of her. They were supposed to make him stop wanting to be around her. They were supposed to ease the frustrations of being around her. But all they did was make it harder to stay away. Sure, he had rushed the caravan. Sure, the horses were taxed to the brink of exhaustion. But they had to get out of enemy territory right?
Instead of staying for the meal offered to him by Tsunami, Naruto was sprinting home as soon as the caravan had made their delivery. The mission was done a whole week early. If he timed it just right, he would be home in time for dinner. Naruto could smell what ever it was that Midoriko was cooking. Didn't matter what it was. It was her cooking and that was enough to make him salivate in anticipation.
Naruto had just stepped foot in the Uchiha district of the village when he saw the stiff looking Lee walking into the same row of houses with some pretty flowers. Naruto chuckled to himself. Lee looked almost normal for a change. Naruto decided to follow Lee. He was curious to find out what misguided female was going out with Bushy Brow. Naruto liked his friend well enough, but the boy had some issues to work out.
Naruto paled when Lee stopped at the house… HIS house. The blonde watched as Midoriko opened the door and smiled at Lee. Lee went IN the house… WITH the flowers. Naruto sat on the roof overlooking his front door allowing the worst case scenarios filter through his mind. The blonde settled on something that seemed logical. Lee was there for dinner, and just being polite by bringing flowers. Yes, Naruto could accept that. It wasn't the first time Lee had come to dinner. But it WAS the first time he brought flowers. The door opened again and Lee stepped out first. Lee looked more relaxed and confident. Naruto heard the door close and then she stepped into the walk way.
Midoriko looked amazing. Her hair was wild around her face in soft curls. The swish of her lavender skirt brought attention to her long legs. Naruto was happy watching Midoriko walk and the gentle sway of her hips until the green sleeved hand blocked his view. Wait... Lee's hand… was on her back, guiding her down the street. Naruto blinked the anger out of his eyes. Why was that freak touching HIS girl? And why was HIS girl going ANYWHERE with that FREAK?
This was the final straw. Naruto was literally seeing red as he snuck over the fence of his own house towards the garden. Naruto saw the glimpse of tail being pulled under the pagoda. The tail wasn't fast enough as the Kyuubi was yanked from his den. "YOU LET HER GO?!"
"I was instructed to watch from a far. When I noticed she wasn't in the house, I went to see what was going on. She was already gone. Midoriko is YOURS to deal with, remember? You made that quite clear." The fox grinned.
"But she went out with Lee." Naruto sounded hurt.
"Yes. And you have been off gallivanting at every opportunity, ignoring every instinct you have to protect her, help her remember, and most of all LOVE HER. You are the first one to spout inspirations about treating Midoriko differently because she is NOT Myra. You didn't want to fall into the trap that the villagers did when they treat you as if you were me. Have you thought for one instant that possibly, if you had treated Midoriko the same as if she WERE Myra, you wouldn't be standing here, holding me by my tail whining about her being out with another man?"
Naruto dropped the Kyuubi as if he were something vile. The realization struck Naruto like a ton of bricks. He HAD been treating Midoriko differently. He HAD been avoiding her. Naruto had been keeping his distance because he didn't want to force anything that would disrupt the seal. He had intentionally kept his distance because he couldn't trust himself with her. He wanted to hold her, breath in her scent, and love her like he had before she had gone away. Myra was the missing part of his soul and he was so determined to get her back, he didn't see that she was right there all along.
Moegi slid open the door to the garden. She had heard the voices and was very curious to see what was going on. She was shocked by the sight in front of her, the upturned pagoda on the other side of the garden, Naruto sitting on the ground looking like a whipped puppy, and the rather perturbed fox. Oh, Moegi knew about the fox in the garden. She had always been a little suspicious about the fox, mostly because he scared her. It was just a fox, right, no reason to be scared. But that fox, was different. "Naruto-niisan! You're back early." The girl couldn't hide her delight.
"I'm an idiot." Naruto sounded dejected and hurt.
Moegi rolled her eyes. "Well you're a boy. Boys are stupid no matter what they do."
Naruto narrowed his eyes at Moegi. "Thanks a lot, Runt…" He said sarcastically.
"So do you still need me, or can I go home?" Moegi had crossed her arms and started to tap her foot impatiently.
Naruto let out a sigh and stood up. "I guess you can go home."
Moegi uncrossed her arms and looked at Naruto like he was someone she didn't know. "You're giving up?"
"What am I supposed to do?"
"How about go get her?" Moegi smirked.
Naruto pushed passed the girl. "Yeah, like that would go over well."
"She loves you, ya' know." Moegi smiled sadly.
Naruto snapped his head back to Moegi in shock. "What?"
"I see how she is when you're not here. She's sad and lonely. Midoriko-chan brightens up a little when you're around. But when you're gone, life is pretty gloomy." Moegi shivered despite the warmth of the evening. "It's kind of weird. When you're home the house feels warm. When you leave, everything gets kind of cold."
The blonde blinked. He hadn't considered the possibilities that Midoriko would harbor any feelings towards him. But then again, she was ultimately Myra underneath the seals that kept her a prisoner. "They may be able to force you into changing my mind, but nothing can change my heart. That belongs to you and only you." Myra's words echoed in his head. Naruto smacked himself in the forehead with the ultimate realization and understanding of Myra's last words. Her mind had changed, but her heart knew where it belonged. How could he have been SO stupid not to see it before? "I am such an idiot."
Moegi grinned. "Yes, you are. But I won't hold it against you." There was a loud thump as Minato tumbled out of his play pen and onto the floor. Both Moegi and Naruto turned to see the little boy shake off the fall and start to crawl in the direction of the garden.
Naruto walked into the house and picked Minato off the floor. Father and son stared at each other. Minato hugged his father tightly and looked up at Naruto. Violet blue eyes watered, but no tears ever fell. Naruto held his son close. "I need to go get her don't I?"
Minato pushed off Naruto's chest and straight into Moegi's arms. There was a bright smile on the boy's face and a look that spoke clearly to his father. Go get Mama!
0 – 0 – 0
The club was jumping! Lee turned out to be an excellent dancer and a perfect dance instructor. He was the model of politeness and a gentleman. Midoriko was feeling alive for the first time in a long time, but there was still something wrong. As much as she wanted to go out and have a little fun with her friend and teacher, Lee was most certainly not Naruto. Midoriko wanted to be in Naruto's arms dancing. She wanted to be oh so much closer to Naruto, but he would always hold back every time she got near enough to try.
The music blared over the sound system and Midoriko became lost in the sea of gyrating bodies. She was free to express herself here. There was just her and the music thumping loudly in her ears. Lee wasn't far away, also moving to the music. They had become in sync with each other's movements. Lee grabbed her hand and pulled her close for an impressive finish to the dance. There were applause Midoriko could hear in the background, but she was focused on the dark eyes and bushy eyebrows staring at her intently with a cheesy grin on his face. Lee stood her up out of the dip and just continued grinning. "That was very well done Midoriko-chan." He panted. "Maybe it is time we get some refreshments."
Midoriko smiled and let go of his hand. "I would like that." She said meekly, pushing some stray hair behind her ear. "I hope Naruto-kun could bring me here when he has time."
Lee pulled her off the dance floor to their table. "Naruto-kun has been extremely busy with some important missions. He is only thinking about you and To-chan."
Midoriko couldn't argue with that. But there was something else that had been bothering Midoriko, something else she could never quite shake. "Is he avoiding me?"
Lee's eyes snapped to Midoriko. Lee didn't really know all the details and he hadn't really asked. "I doubt he is avoiding you Midoriko-chan." He tried to reassure her.
Midoriko sat at the table and looked at the dancing crowd. "Sometimes I wonder. I wonder what it would be like for him to see me. Naruto always seems to look passed me, or through me, but never at me. The few times he has looked at me… He looks away, sad and hurt by what he sees. He puts up that fake smile of his and thinks I don't notice. Naruto wants me to believe he's ok with this… problem."
"Your problem is that you are trying to hard. Be who you are. Don't try to be something you are not. And if Naruto can not see you for you, then it is his loss." Lee squeezed her hand. Midoriko smiled and a light dusting of pink dusted her cheeks. That's when everything stopped.
The hairs on Midoriko's neck went stiff. She turned her head and was horrified by the sight of Naruto glaring down at her. "NARUTO-KUN?"
Naruto had been there for twenty minutes or more. He had watched as Lee had taught her the step and how she caught on quickly. Midoriko was whirling and gyrating in no time flat. The blonde had to admit, it did look rather fun. But the green monster of jealousy was beginning to rage out of control. And when Lee had implied that Naruto didn't deserve Midoriko… That broke every resolve Naruto had. Naruto grabbed Midoriko's hand and pulled her out of her chair. He glared at Midoriko with blue feral eyes. "You're coming home… NOW."
At first Midoriko was going to comply with out argument. But then she thought about it for a moment. The voice certainly was thinking right along with her. "Don't let him bully you."
She wasn't doing anything wrong. This was a training exercise. Granted, a night of dancing may not exactly look like training, but for the first time Midoriko could get her feet where they needed to be when they needed to be there. There hadn't been a conflict of mind and body. She wanted to explore more of how this was going to work.
It wasn't like she was cheating on Naruto. Was there even a relationship to be worried about? The voice seemed to be agreeing with her thoughts. Naruto hadn't said or done anything more than be her protector. He hadn't said or done anything that suggested this kind of reaction. Naruto cared about her that much she knew. He wasn't her father and he sure as hell wasn't her husband. "Don't do it."
"No…" Midoriko pushed Naruto's hand away.
Naruto took a deep breath to stave off the near boiling anger. Lee looked on a little shocked and a little worried. "Naruto-kun… We were just…"
"Save it Bushy Brow…" The blonde spat. "I don't care what you were doing. She's coming home… NOW." Naruto got into Lee's face and loomed dangerously.
The voice in her mind was seething. "Since when does he get to demand that you do anything?"
Midoriko crossed her arms defensively. "I don't need your permission to go out with a friend."
Naruto's eyes shifted to Midoriko. "Friend huh? The way you two were dancing, I could swear you were more than friends."
"Why should it matter to him? Tell him the truth and see what happens." The voice echoed.
Midoriko blinked. "Yes, just friends. And if we were more than friends, what should that matter to you?"
Naruto turned red with anger. Lee had wisely disappeared into the background. Why couldn't she see that he was angry because she was out with Lee? Couldn't she see that it DID matter? Didn't Midoriko understand that the idea of her in the arms of another man infuriated Naruto to the point of insanity? No.. She couldn't and Naruto wasn't about to admit the way he was feeling either. So he did what anyone would do, he deflected. "Because you shouldn't be out with ANYONE while your son is at home with a babysitter."
"My son?" Midoriko was a little shocked to say the least. "I would remind you that you were there for his conception so that would make him YOUR son as well. But since you're never home, I can see were you would consider him MY son alone."
Naruto mentally winced. He was Minato's father and he hadn't been acting like one at all. It was something he was planning on changing if she would just listen to reason.
The voice in the back of Midoriko's mind laughed. "Just tell him to go home and take over for Moegi."
"And if you are SO upset about Minato being left in Moegi's care, I would suggest you go home, relieve her of that obligation and leave me be." Midoriko kept her chin high.
"I am not a babysitter." Naruto growled.
"No… You're not. But you ARE his father, whether you act like it or not." Midoriko didn't know why she was listening to the voice, but it seemed to be working out better than she expected. An odd thing was beginning to happen. It was like Midoriko could see clearly for the first time. The world around her came into a sharper focus and it was if she could feel everything around her.
"And you are his mother." Naruto countered angrily. At this point he wasn't really thinking about what he was saying. He just wanted her to get her home and away from this place. He would deal with damage control later.
Midoriko leveled a glare at the blonde. "Yes, I am and I'm not going to be ashamed of taking some time for myself. You leave him at home with me all the time, what's the difference?"
"I'm not leaving him at home to cohort with other men."
"Oh that's a laugh." The voice chuckled. "Tell him how you feel. I will help you say what needs to be said."
Midoriko surrendered to the voice. Her head felt a little fuzzy, but she could see and hear everything going on around her. Midoriko's posture changed. She seemed more confident, more sure of herself. Naruto watched as she tilted her head in confusion and stifled a chuckle. "Then what exactly do you do with Sasuke on those rare days that you are home longer than twenty four hours? And if you are home more than twenty four hours, if I'm not mistaken, you can't wait to, how did you put it?" She tapped the side of her chin. "Train with guys."
"That's different. I train with them." He scoffed.
"Then what are you so upset about? I'm here to TRAIN with my SENSEI."
"This is not training. This is being OUT on a DATE with a MAN."
"Ok so now I'm confused. Are you upset because I left Minato at home with Moegi? Or are you upset because I came here with Lee? You need to make up your mind because Kami knows I already have enough personality issues of my own to deal with this shit."
Naruto looked at Midoriko like she had grown a second head. "What is wrong with you?
Something in Midoriko snapped. All the pent up emotions she had been suppressing for the last few months boiled to the surface. "What the hell is wrong me? What the hell is wrong with YOU? You're home for thirty seconds and then disappear for WEEKS, and I'm getting bitched at because I wanted to go out with A FRIEND for a few hours? You treat me like a fucking leper and then crawl up my ass about being out with A MALE FRIEND." Tears were evident in her voice. "You don't look at me, you don't talk to me, you don't do anything but smile that fake ass smile of yours and walk out the fucking door." Midoriko's head was beginning to throb so she put her hand on the chair to keep herself steady.
The blonde stood there is stunned silence. He didn't have a counter argument for her. He had no witty come back that would refute anything Midoriko said. Naruto noticed the area around them had suddenly gone extremely quiet. The air was thick with the tension that surrounded the arguing pair and it was a little colder than he remembered it being. He glanced around the room to see countless faces of people glaring at him. They had all heard her tell him that she thought she was invisible to him and the sad truth made him cringe at the very thought that it was exactly how he had treated Midoriko.
Midoriko's head was pounding in her ears. Even the voice seemed to be cowering in the corner of her mind from the pain. The woman took a deep breath and tried desperately to push aside the pain. But nothing she did seemed to work. The room started to spin and everything started to fade from her vision. The clarity that had come with Midoriko allowing the voice to take brief control was becoming the muted shades of color. As her vision faded, the pain increased. Soon it was too much for her to simply push aside. Midoriko tried to hold her head up high and ignore the pain as she turned on her heel and walked away from the silent blonde. Naruto watched Midoriko turn and take two steps before she started to fall.
Midoriko never hit the ground. He was there to catch her. Naruto would always be there to catch her. He had promised her that much, and so far it was the one way he hadn't failed her. Naruto checked her vitals. Midoriko was cold to the touch and starting to twitch in his arms. Naruto started to panic and held her close as if to stop her from convulsing. The blonde heard shouts calling for doctors, but there was nothing anyone could do. He had pushed her and thus pushed the seal. This was why he couldn't trust himself to be near her. He could kill her because of his selfish wants and needs. He scooped Midoriko up and headed for the hospital. Hopefully he would be in time. Hopefully he would get there before… before the unthinkable could happen.