lostmoonchild: Thanks for the reviews! Yeah, I know the grammer was messed up in the first chapter so I'm going to eventually get around to going over it to fix the mistakes. I would like, however, to say that I hate my muse for the creation of this story but I see so many possibilities for the future of this story that I can't hate my dear muse forever. So anyway, here's chapter two!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter Two

They hadn't expected Hisoka to make it through the night and as soon as dawn broke over the horizon, the group had taken off with the little girl nestled comfortably in Naruto's arms, her breaths still coming in short gasps. The bit of food that she had eaten the night before had clearly helped her although Sakura was still nervous. There was no way that the girl should have been able to survive considering how weak and young she was.

The medic-nin was absolutely certain that there was still something else wrong with Hisoka but tests would need to be run before she could receive any medicines. Sakura knew that she was doing all that she could for the girl but only when Naruto held her was anybody even able to get near her when conscious. If Naruto wasn't holding her or if she was left alone with them for any amount of time then the little girl began to hyperventilate until Naruto's large hands touched her own tiny hands or even her arms.

It was almost as if the blonde was the answer to some unspoken prayer of hers.

Green eyes flickered to the barely conscious child in Naruto's arms; seeing that she was looking around the best she could with her head against the blonde's chest. "Naruto, I want to get Hisoka's blood pressure." Sakura called.

Immediately the group stopped and Naruto spoke softly to the dark-haired girl as Sakura felt her pulse. Slightly elevated and still a little irregular but it was a far cry better than what it had been the night before. "So?" Naruto questioned.

"Her heart seems to be settling back into a normal beat or at least attempting to." Sakura reported before smiling brightly at Hisoka. "You're getting better."

Hisoka remained silent as she stared blankly at Sakura before looking at Naruto as if silently asking if she was lying. Seeing no signs that he thought there were any lies, Hisoka closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep again.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Panic filled Naruto as he ran as fast as he could with the deathly pale girl in his arms. He didn't know what had happened. One minute she had been fine and then the next she had fallen unconscious, her breaths dangerously weak and her heart beginning to hesitate in its beats even more than it had before.

It had been almost four days since he had found her and he had let himself believe that she was getting stronger. She was eating more and becoming more responsive instead of just letting her head flop forward or backward to look at people. Hisoka had been gaining strength and when he had tried to wake her up for breakfast it was clear that something was wrong when he saw the bluish tint to her lips that stood out against her deathly pale skin.

Without thinking, he had gathered the child up into his arms and started running, refusing to stop for anything. Naruto couldn't help but wonder if he had done something wrong or hadn't done enough to help. Had he rescued her too late and she was going to die in his arms? "Don't die on me, Hisoka. Please don't die." Naruto said softly as he ran through the gates and towards the hospital.

The blonde had barely burst through the hospital doors before he began shouting for a nurse. "What happened?" One of the medics asked as Hisoka was taken to the emergency room.

"I don't know. She was fine last night but when I went to wake her up this morning, she looked like that." Naruto said quickly. "Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan, Sai, and I were all on a mission when I found her about four days ago. We thought she was getting better."

"What's her name?"

"Hisoka. No last name."

"Age?"

"I don't know. Five?"

Seeing immediately that he was going to be of no real help, the medic turned and left him standing alone in the hall with anxiety showing on his whiskered face.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

There was just something wrong with seeing a child lying in a hospital bed and hooked up to all sorts of machines. There was even something worse with seeing that same child lying in an induced coma so her body could recover. Even after being a medic for years it was just a sight that Tsunade despised seeing with a passion. What made it worse was how Naruto was sitting diligently next to the bed, reading some child's book to the unconscious girl.

The woman watched the scene before her without saying a word, her eyes tender as she realized that the young man cared for the little girl. According to Kakashi, it had been Naruto that had found and named the girl. It was also Naruto that had been making sure she was taken care of and kept calm when Sakura had to give the little girl checkups. In a sense, the blonde had become a parent and probably hadn't realized it. "It's late, gaki." Tsunade stated as she went into the room to check Hisoka's vitals.

"So shouldn't you be getting your beauty rest?" Naruto questioned before muttering, "Not that it's working anyway."

She ignored the barb in favor of checking over the incision that went down the girl's abdomen. "Kakashi says that you've been working like hell to make sure she's comfortable." Tsunade commented. "Making sure she eats and gets plenty to drink."

Blue eyes stared at the fragile looking child; worry gripping his heart as he watched the small jerks that came with each desperate breath that Hisoka took. "There's a reason she had surgery… isn't there?" Naruto questioned softly.

Tsunade hesitated a moment before responding, "Yes."

"What is it?"

"Naruto, I don't think-"

"Baa-chan! I'm gonna take care of her no matter what those old bastards say. She isn't going to stand a chance if I'm not the one taking care of her." There was desperation in Naruto's eyes. "I know what that snake did to her. I bet I can even guess that Kabuto had some medical experiments to pull on her. If someone other than me takes care of her, Hisoka's not gonna recover. I know she won't. No one's gonna know what she wants or needs without getting pissed. I just need to know why she needed the surgery."

Tsunade knew full well that the young shinobi wasn't going to like her answer but something told her that he was right. The girl wouldn't stand a chance if Naruto didn't take care of her. "The damage was hidden behind some already damaged organs so Sakura naturally couldn't pick up on it unless she had opened Hisoka up out in the open." Tsunade told him.

"What damage?"

"Naruto, her organs look as if someone had electrocuted them. There's a faint mark where she had been hit and even Kakashi could tell you that it's the same mark that a well placed Chidori would make." Tsunade told him. "Basically, gaki, the Uchiha gave Hisoka a slow death sentence."

Naruto quietly looked at Hisoka, his heart racing in his chest. Had he gotten to her in time? Had they given her a chance to survive or had they just simply extended her life by a few short hours or days? "He wouldn't!" Naruto protested. "Sasuke might be a bastard but he wouldn't…"

He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence, knowing full well that the proof was in front of him and had been seen by any medic that had been in the operating room. "What else is wrong?" Naruto questioned.

"She's not out of the woods yet. Not by a long shot."

"How many more surgeries will she need?" His voice was suddenly weary.

Tsunade shook her head slightly. "Her more life threatening injuries were taken care of. Right now the main concern is her heart. It's damaged and weak. It's nothing more than a miracle she survived this long with her heart the way it is now."

Naruto said nothing as he stroked Hisoka's soft hair, watching for any signs that she knew he was there. "She'll make it." Naruto said with a solemn look. "She's a fighter. Believe it."

There was such a determination in his eyes that Tsunade found herself wanting desperately to believe him. She just hoped that Naruto wasn't setting himself up for disappointment in the long run.

lostmoonchild: Yeah, I was thinking that I was gonna have to work today so I was all ready to update yesterday then I found out that I don't have to work this weekend then I forgot that today's Friday so I was pretty much going "Oh, crap! Update!" Now that this chapter's done, I can get back to the strange event that's being cooked up for a future chapter. Read and review!