Balance

Ch. 1 My Head Hurts

'He's still cold.'

It was a good thing that the ones who had found him had changed his clothes while they were on the way to the hospital but the clothes were simply too thin.

'His pulse is dropping.' Stated the nurse taking care of the blonde.

'Start warming up his body and prepare to revive him if ever needed.' A resident doctor ordered preparing for all possibilities.

'Strange. what do you mean? Can't you just use a medical jutsu to heal me?' thought Minato as he drifted in and out of consciousness

'His breathing's stopped!' It was a good call, the Doctor's.

'Start chest compressions now!' The Doctor ordered knowing that the longer the brain was de-oxygenated the more probable that there were complications

'Make sure you get his blood pumping!' he barely heard them talking before Minato knew no more.

Minato Namikaze had woken up yet he still had to open his eyes. It was an instinct that he had developed during the war the awareness wherever he was. Still it gave him the chance to assess his body's strength and his ability to fight if needed.

His body was tired, and his felt as if he was underwater. The dull aches also magnified his weakness. The dryness of his throat indicated that he was asleep for some time a day perhaps? He did not feel the call of nature so he was probably only a day out of it.

Extending his hearing he heard many people wandering about, the sounds of various machines and some strange contraptions. Perhaps he was in the hospital. Yup his nose identified the smell of antiseptics and various medicines.

'vroom...'

But still he never heard those strange sounds before. Oh he still had time to ponder on those things. His chakra still responded to him albeit a bit more sluggish. He probably could fight through a squad of Iwa Chuunin and still come out on top.

Mentally sighing he prepared himself for his tasks ahead. Check up on his wife and newborn son before finally assessing the extent of damage that Kyuubi's rampage brought to his village.

Well maybe he could sneak in an hour or two more of rest. Yeah rest sounded like a good idea at the moment and he needed a clearer head than this.

-=oOo=-

"Katie, wait for me!"

Shrugging the 24 year old nurse slowed her pace for her long-time friend. Caitlyn 'Katie' Micheals was a plain looking brunette who had earned her nursing licence three years ago while her friend Abigail Lythar got hers a year after

"Abby don't talk so loud we're still near the hospital"

"Yes your majesty." Abby replied mockingly "So did you see that blond guy?" Since they only lived three stations apart it was easy for the two to meet up from time to time. Especially since they both worked in the same hospital

"Abby you know I was the one who admitted him." Katie replied exasperatedly. Whatever the age they were Abby was still the flirt. The pair walked towards the ticket booth for their ride home

"So? What's his story?" This was almost a ritual for the two since Abigail was the more open type of girl and Katie was prim and proper lady.

"The ones who brought him in said they found him washed ashore near Hastings." They were basically killing time waiting for the train to arrive.

"So he's a survivor from a shipwreck? I never heard one happened nearby" Abigail inquired

"Neither did I Abby. You do know a lot of strange things have happened recently."

"Yeah an awful lot of gas explosion keep happening lately." Indeed there were some say that a terrorist group was active in England but other terrorist groups have denied their involvement. Of course the government did not believe this and were arming for a major strike against the more prominent groups, Al-Qaeda being at the top of the list and the remnants of the KGB striking back at the Allied forces.

"Yeah I heard there was another one last night." Katie said

"And those murders, you think there's a serial killer on the loose?" Despite the rather morbid topic of their talk it was rather refreshing for the pair. Like a pair of giggling teenagers both were simply reconnecting with one another better.

"The only serial killer on the loose is you Oh Miss-Cereal Killer"

"Well I'll see you tomorrow. Oh wait I won't you're on a graveyard shift."

"Yeah well at least I get my beauty sleep." It was basically true after a day of back to back shifts at the hospital a later shift was good it basically meant that she had a 16-hour break.

Both were silent as their train arrived and they got on it. Passing time humming the latest tune on the radio both were simply savouring the time they were together. Katie was still humming a tune after she got out of the station for the short work towards her place. Since she lived alone it was paramount for her to always ensure that she was aware of her surroundings. She had even attended a few self defense classes purely out of practicality.

Katie was simply a realist, not all men were gentlemen and not all of them respected women. While the odds of her being a target of molesters are low it was prudent that she learned to defend herself. Still living alone on an apartment it was quite risky. That was why she had double locks and a can of pepper spray underneath her pillow.

Katie wouldn't know if she had prepared herself as she would have liked. Tonight would be the first time she would apply what she had learned. Hopefully it would not be the last.

Author's Note

I am very sorry for the late update I had my final examinations since the first chapter and had to focus on reviewing. The next chapter will be out on November hopefully.