Well guys that last chapter was intense huh? Well this chapter will be more laid back, the prelims will not be shown because even though Naruto and his team got their snake scroll they won't be in any shape to fight, none the less a brawl. So this chapter will be more of Naruto and the gang in the hospital, and some events into the month before the finals. Let's get started!
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Naruto opens his eyes slowly, he felt sore from head to toe, he didn't know why, or where he was, he just knew he was in pain.
"Get Lord Hokage! Naruto has awoken." Naruto looked to his left and saw a woman in a set of scrubs and a chart in her hand, a man in a white cloak and scrubs walked into the room immediately. He walked over to Naruto and proceeded to test him for a concussion but he sighed in relief that the boy had healed thoroughly.
"Naruto, do you know where you are?" Naruto looked around slowly and he saw the white walls, he smelled the harsh disinfectant in the air, the rough bed below him, the beeping of a heart monitor.
"The hospital, where is Kuro, where is my team?" The doctor nodded and wrote on his tablet.
"What is todays date?" Naruto got confused and nearly snarled at the doctor.
"Where are they?" The doctor sighed and repeated the question.
"What is todays date?" Naruto groaned and resigned himself.
"It is April fifteenth, happy? Now where are they?" The doctor wrote on his tablet once again, he was about to speak again when the door opened revealing the Third Hokage. The doctor bowed lowly and he backed away letting the man come to Naruto's bed with enough room.
"Naruto my boy, what happened?" Naruto squinched his eyes roughly, he tried to think but couldn't.
"We, we were attacked, I don't remember much, but I remember pitch black eyes, like Taichou's. Then someone appeared and took me and my friends. Gramps, where are they? Where is my team and Kurotsuchi?" Hiruzen sighed, he hated this part of the job.
"I am afraid to say that Sakura almost died several times last night during surgery. Sasuke is scheduled for brain surgery to repair damage done to him. Kurotsuchi, I'm sorry my boy, but she will never walk again, whatever happened crushed her spine, broke her left femur, and left her with a fractured skull. She is conscious but unresponsive, I am afraid, she may never wake up at this rate. Her heart failed several times and is on a pump right now, she is slated for a heart transplant. One of her ribs had detached and by the time the ANBU got her hear the bone had drifted and tore part of her lung and shredded one chamber of her heart, for now she is on bypass. I truly am sorry my boy, but Kurotsuchi is going to be sent home to Iwagakure to live ou the remainder of her days." Naruto felt his heart break, Sasuke having a dangerous surgery, Sakura almost died, and Kurotsuchi is irreparably damges? How could this get any worse?
"That is not all, you were severely tortured with Genjutsu, andf something within you is halting the Kyuubi's chakra from healing you. Your arm will need to be in a cast for several months, and as for your body, most of your chest muscles are contused and the muscles in right arm are severely bruised. I am afraid you will be out for several months. There is a glimmer of hope however." Naruto growled and looked the Hokage dead in the eyes.
"What hope! The woman I love is handicapped and will be leaving us forever, my best friend is going to be going through a surgery that may or may not kill him, and my other teammate is still on deaths door! WHERE IS THE HOPE OLD MAN!" Hiruzen slammed his hand against the wall.
"SILENCE! I was not finished speaking, we have reports my wayward student Tsunade is in the area, and if we can track her down and convince her to come home then she would be able to heal your teammates and your fiancé no problem. Leave this to me, I am going to meet her myself, and I will be bringing her back. Just rest your body and your mind, you can walk and will have free reign unless the doctors say otherwise. I will return with her, I promise." Naruto growled and for the first time in years, he broke into tears, Hiruzens heart softened and for the first time in what felt like an eternity, he held Naruto in his arms gently rubbing his back.
"I just feel so powerless, what can I do against people like that?! I couldn't even protect myself not to mention my friends. How old man, how can I do anything! I'm weak and powerless, and I hate it, I fucking hate this goddamned situation!" Hiruzen nodded, he was about to speak when he saw people rushing around the hospital, he immediately went to the door and grabbed one of the nurses sleeves.
"What is going on?" The nurse looked frightened.
"The girl in 13-E's bypass malfunctioned, were working on it right now, but at this rate she won't have long, another fail and she will die." The woman ran towards the room where many people were moving and shouting. Hiruzen's face grew dark and he sighed.
"I am too old for this. CAT, COME HERE!" An ANBU member with a cat mask and long purple hair appeared in front of Hiruzen.
"You are now Naruto's personal bodyguard till he heals, this is a long term A-ranked mission. Assist him as needed and make sure he recovers, I will be gone searching for my student. Take care of him, Yuugao." The Hokage vanished in a swirl of leaves, the purple haired ANBU pulls a seat next to Naruto's bed and sits down, she sits on his right hand side and places her hand in his.
"It's ok, little brother, everything will be fine." Naruto didn't respond, he just cried at his hopeless situation.
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Light, pain, fear, these were all the things she could remember. The girl opened her eyes softly looking into the eyes of a nurse.
"DOCTOR COME HERE IMMEDIATELY HARUNO HAS AWAKENED!" A doctor rushes into the room, he immediately starts talking but the girl can't understand his speech, she feels a tight thing around her head. She notices her chest hurting and went to move her right arm but felt a flair of pain. She looked lazily to her right feeling her neck creak. The right arm was wrapped in bandages and it wouldn't move even if she tried. She looked to the man in front of her, he waved his hand and seemed to be shouting. She was just sleepy, she didn't want to be awake anymore, she wanted to dream of little children and a husband she didn't know. She laid her head back against the pillow, feeling the uneasiness of sleep return to her she closed her eyes and returned to blissful unconsciousness.
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Sasuke opened his eyes slowly, he noticed it was night time outside. He groaned softly and tried to move his head but couldn't.
"Easy Mr. Uchiha, you just went through a very extensive and dangerous surgery. I suggest not moving as much as you could." Sasuke motioned with his finger for the doctor to come closer.
"S-S-Sakur-Sakura." The doctor nodded and sat in the chair next to his bed.
"Ms. Haruno went through three surgeries last night, two of which were repairs to bone and muscle tissue. I won't lie, it was touch and go for a while but she is recovering. In the morning if you two are stable enough you will be moved to the General Hospital to be with the two already there. Now, I need to ask you some basic questions to make sure your head is ok." Sasuke wanted to nod but couldn't so he groaned to say he was fine with it.
"Now, what is your full name?"
"Sasuke Uchiha, named after the Third Hokage's father."
"Who are your teammates and what are their eye colors?"
"Naruto Uzumaki, and S-Sakura Haruno. Naruto's are deep blue and Sakura's are green with amber flecks, like emeralds in the evening." The doctor nodded softly and smiled.
"One last question, what color is this pen?" The doctor raised his pen up and held it in front of Sasuke's nose.
"B-Brown, with golden trim." The doctor nodded softly.
"Good, in the morning we will send you off to the General Hospital, and I do have news, approximately an hour ago Ms. Haruno awakened, so she will more than likely join you. I'll see what strings I can pull to have you two in a room together." Sasuke smiled and managed to nod softly. The doctor left the room and Sasuke shed a tear of joy hearing Sakura was not only alive but recovering.
"Thank god."
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Naruto smiled listening to his big sister drone on about her fiancé, he liked to know she was doing ok.
"Naruto, do you want to go see her?" Naruto perked up and nodded vigerously. She smiled and fetched him a wheelchair, when she helped him into it she went to pushing him out the door and down the hall to the right. There it was at the end of the hall on the right, 13-E, Naruto felt his chest tighten and Yuugao looked at him.
"Are you sure?" Naruto nodded and Yuugao opened the door, she backed into the room with him and when she turned him around she felt his heart break. Kurotsuchi had tubes running through her mouth, her nose, her arms, one into her jugular. Naruto was about to cry again when he heard no heart beat on the monitor, he remembered that she was on a bypass and he took her hand gingerly into his own and he cradled it to his face. He sobbed to himself softly holding her hand he pressed his face against it and kissed her palm. He placed her palm against his cheek and smiled softly sniffling.
"I know, I'm an idiot worrying about you like this, but, damnit Kuro, you too my heart, so why can't you have it again? The doctor won't perform a transplant with mine, and I hate not being able to do anything for you. I love you, so don't you dare leave me Goddamnit, you return to me here when you can, but rest, and wait till after the surgery to wake up. I love you so much Kuro, you are my world, a diamond in the rough." Naruto sat there every day for the next half a month holding her hand, talking to her in her medically induced coma.
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Sasuke smiled softly as he took Sakura's hand in his and helped ease her into a standing position.
"Here, let me help you." Sakura smiled and nodded softly, she couldn't speak much but Sasuke knew she would have said thank you. Ever since Sasuke was discharged he had come here everyday to take care of her. You see the doctor didn't tell Sasuke everything, after the third heart failure they found out her heart was weak, they also found out her aeorta did sustain damage, they had to replace almost an inch long part of it with a splint. Not only that but the facial reconstruction surgeries hadn't stopped, she had to have six of them and was being prepared for her sixth for the next day. She smiled softly behind her bandages at Sasuke as he helped her into the bathroom, Sasuke closed the door leaving her to her business. Sasuke came to know himself he cared for Sakura, he likes her a lot, he was too broody to admit it, but damnit he might even love her. When she knocked on the door gently Sasuke helped her into a wheelchair and Sasuke pushed her around the hospital to get out of her room. They had yet to see Naruto which was strange, but what Sasuke heard about her injuries, he would be surprised to see her at all. Sasuke stopped short of the hallway and saw a very tall and brawny man. He has dark eyes and short dark-grey-colored hair as well as a beard and a bulbous nose. Sasuke saw him look dead into his eyes and he marched over to them.
"You, you are Sasuke Uchiha right?" Sasuke nodded and the man nodded softly.
"Thank you for helping my daughter Kurotsuchi, do you know what room she is in?" Sasuke nodded and gave the man directions, when the man left the two to their business Sakura looked at Sasuke in fear and he knew what Sakura was thinking. This man was here to take their friend away.
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Naruto smiled softly as he held Kurotsuchi's hand gently rubbing his thumb over the back of his hand, he recapped what the Hokage told him in the letter he got this morning. He heard the door slid open and when he turned to look he saw a man in the door way.
"Who are you?" Kitsuchi scoffed and pointed at Kurotsuchi.
"Her father, and you?" Naruto's eyes blanched and he sighed softly.
"I'm Naruto, her fiancé, it is nice to finally meet you." Kitsuchi nodded softly and walked up to his daughters bed.
"Unless you give me a reason not too, she is coming with me today." Naruto's eyes widened and desperately he fished the letter out of his pocket and handed it to Kitsuchi.
"This is from the Hokage, he is a very good friend of mine and has been looking for Tsunade, you can read the letter yourself if it helps! Just please, please don't take her!" Naruto get on his knees and bows deeply as if to a daimyo.
"I will do anything sir, I couldn't stand it if she left for good, I will do anything!" Kitsuchi looked at the note.
Dear Naruto,
It took me a few weeks, but with the help of Kakashi I managed to track her down. I have been in talks with her and have managed to finally talk her into coming back. It will take us another day to reach Konoha, but we will arrive soon. Wait for our return.
Hiruzen Sarutobi
Kitsuchi nodded softly and he laid the letter on his daughters bed by her foot.
"I will wait here, you should go find your friends and stay with them. Tomorrow when the Hokage arrives the treaty will be renewed and different terms will be discussed, and depending on the status of my daughter, war will or will not break out, that is my promise." Naruto nodded, he gently took Kurotsuchi's hand and kissed the back of it gently and left the room. Kitsuchi sat down in the chair Naruto pulled up and seemed to age twenty years in a few minutes.
'Please stay with us princess, I can't lose you too.'
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Naruto knocked on the door he was led too and when he heard Sasuke's voice he opened the door and walked in.
"Naruto!" Sasuke smiled softly letting Sakura's hand go.
"Sasuke, Sakura, I'm glad to see you two are well." Sasuke sighed and rapped him over the head.
"Took you long enough idiot." Naruto scowled.
"Who said I came to see you bastard?!" Naruto and Sasuke growled but they stopped when they heard Sakura giggle. Naruto pulled up a chair next to Sasuke's and smiled softly, he took his arm out of its sling and laid it next to Sakura's feet.
"It's good to see you Sakura, Sasuke, I have a lot to tell you."
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Well, I know this one is longer and a little boring, but hey, we do what we can. Next chapter, new meeting, new terms, and new friends.