AU Changes: In canon, there really wasn't a standardization of the level of medical technology/knowledge available. As such, I looked at the available medical jutsus available, and then standardized the medical tech level from there. Objectively speaking, it shouldn't change much, but making people aware of the change.

I am a huge fan of Fridge Brilliance and Fridge Horror. Thus, there are little things scattered though the story that only make sense once you think about it.

I moved the review section to the bottom, since you awesome guys reviewed quite a bit.

And without further delay, here's the next chapter: Chaos Theory

Mebuki Haruno hurried towards the Konoha Hospital. Sakura, her daughter, and Sakura's friend, Hinata, did their best to keep pace. After traveling for nearly twenty minutes, the three arrived at Konoha First Hospital. Mebuki approached the front desk and inquired, "Excuse me. I am wondering what room Naruto Uzumaki is in."

Recognizing Mebuki, the receptionist scanned the records. A moment later her brow furrowed in confusion as she reviewed Naruto's chart. "Why is he marked DNR if he is that young?" Shaking herself out of her confusion - perhaps there was a mistake on the chart? No sane person would give up on a child - the receptionist nodded and turned to the elder Haruno. "He's in room Three-Seventeen."

Thanking the receptionist, Mebuki motioned to Sakura and Hinata to follow her to the waiting room. Once she got the girls settled - she had to promise that she would tell them of Naruto's condition before they would wait - she headed for room Three Seventeen.

Whatever Mebuki was expecting when she entered the room, this wasn't it. The stench of blood and other vital liquids was an almost physical assault on the senses. Naruto had been dumped on the hospital bed, his seemingly fatal wounds slowly bleeding onto the once white bed sheets. His pale, waxen face twitched and each breath was a gurgling cough as his unconscious body fought for the right to breathe. Mebuki took a deep breath and steeled herself.

Then she got to work.

Mebuki let out a tired, content sigh. It had been a difficult hour, but she had successfully sown up Naruto's wounds and started him on a blood-bag. She was still honestly confused why Naruto hadn't simply died from his wounds. If she didn't know better, she would have sworn that the young sunny haired boy's wounds were slowly healing by themselves. "I wonder what emergency called all of the nurses and doctors away from the hospital." It had to been something very significant to leave Naruto in the state that he had been in prior to her assistance. Turning away to head out of the room, Mebuki turned out the light and softly closed the door. Naruto's chart had said that he injured himself during training, but something with that explanation just didn't sit right with the nurse. "How could he have been that careless?"

Sakura and Hinata grew more and more worried when Sakura's mother didn't reappear to inform them of Naruto's status. Sakura knew, from her mother's stories of the hospital, that spending a lot of time with an injured patient meant that there was either complications or the patient was seriously injured. Neither option was appealing to Sakura. Nervously nibbling on her lip, the pinkette cast a worried glance towards the door her mother had left through. "What's wrong with Naruto-kun?"

Hinata wished, not for the first time, that her eyes would not consume so much chakra when she used her bloodline. She wished that she could have the power to see though walls easily like her fellow clansmen. That way, she could see that Naruto was fine. Closing her eyes, the young Hyuga began to concentrate on channeling chakra to her eyes in hopes that her bloodline would activate properly. She had never been too terribly good with it - all previous times she had used her Byakugan she had barely managed a vision sphere of fifteen feet, and it had been blurry - but her need was never as great as it was now. After an indeterminable amount of time passed, her eyes began to sting, the sensation similar to staring at a bright light for just a moment too long.

Hinata's eyes stung, and the pain increased more and more until it was almost too much. Biting her lip to avoid crying out, the young girl fought to keep her chakra flowing to her eyes. "Naruto-Kun never gives up. I won't either."

Then, abruptly, the pain stopped. Something seemed to click deep inside, the feeling close to tight muscles finally loosening. Then, she opened her eyes.

It was disorienting at first to suddenly see clearly in all directions. It was even more so to see through objects. Narrowing her eyes, Hinata concentrated on finding Naruto. As her vision slowly expanded, she saw Sakura's mother heading in their direction. Eyes widening, the Hyuga girl pushed even more chakra into her eyes, searching for a glimpse of her friend. It was frowned upon to use the Byakugan in public areas, given that one could easily invade the privacy of others.

Her vision expanded outwards, almost encompassing the entire hospital. There was just so many people and things, and Hinata felt a headache prodding at the edge of her consciousness from attempting to assess all of the visual input at once. Narrowing her focus, she searched for the sunny blond hair she knew so well.

Intensely aware of the invisible clock that was ticking downwards as Mebuki neared their location, Hinata almost despaired. How could she find Naruto among all of the other people within her eyesight?

Then, she spotted a glimpse of blond hair as she flicked her vision passed one of the rooms. Focusing, she concentrated on the room. For the briefest moment she didn't comprehend what she was seeing. "Why is there so much white on Naruto-Kun?"

Gasping as she realized what the white actually was, Hinata couldn't stop her hand from covering her mouth in horror. The white wrappings Naruto were bandages.

The click of the waiting room door snapped the Hyuga back to her current location. Slamming her eyes shut, she concentrated on reeling back her vision and then retracting the chakra to her eyes to turn off her Byakugan, the "All Seeing White Eye". Opening her eyes again, Hinata breathed a silent sigh of relief as it looked like Mebuki hadn't noticed her bloodline use.

Sakura perked up from her depressed slump as her mother entered the waiting room. Her mother looked tired but content, the pink haired student decided after a moment of assessment. Did that mean Naruto was going to be okay?

Mebuki looked at her daughter, who was struggling not to blurt out questions about her friend's condition. Taking pity on Sakura, she answered her daughter's unasked question. "Naruto is going to be fine. It was a bit of trouble at first, but he's stable now. She explained, her tone the same one she used to reassure her patients that everything would be alright, "He's just resting."

"Can we see him?" Sakura half-asked half-demanded, as relief flooded through her. Naruto was going to be alright.

"Of course dear. Follow me." Mebuki beckoned the two girls to follow her. After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at room Three Seventeen.

Mebuki entered the room, followed closely by Sakura and Hinata. Upon seeing Naruto's bandaged, unmoving form, the two girls couldn't stop the tears as they made their way over to the blonds' bedside; unconsciously moving to opposite sides of the hospital bed. Hinata scanned Naruto for visible injuries as Sakura brushed Naruto's hair back out of his face. Both of the girls' eyes met, and for the first time, they knew what the other girl was thinking, all without speaking a word. Finding chairs, the pair sat next to "their" side of Naruto's hospital bed.

Smiling softly as she watched her daughter and her friend for a moment, Mebuki finally allowed herself to relax. It was good that Sakura had found friends that she was willing to stick by, and the young Uzumaki would be alright.

It had been several hours since Sakura and Hinata had started waiting next to Naruto's bedside. During that time, the two had discussed plans on how to get even with Mizuki. They had discussed, discarded, and finalized several plans, in case one went awry. They then had discussed how Naruto had gotten his injuries, considering that Naruto wouldn't have hurt himself so critically if he was training. This had, in turn, started a discussion about how the villagers disliked Naruto. As the last of the hours drew to a close, Sakura and Hinata had decided on waiting to ask Naruto what had happened, since things were just not adding up.

The muted sounds of a conversation above him slowly roused Naruto from his heavy slumber. He could feel something wrapped tightly around his hands and torso. Whatever it was, he was fairly confident that it couldn't keep him trapped. Familiar with aches and twinges of pain associated with waking up after a massive injury, the blond continued to stir, gradually becoming more aware of the world around him. The first thing he noticed was the soft bed that he was laying on. It was probably the softest thing he had ever laid on in his entire life, and that was including the time he had camped out in the lush grass fields belonging to the Nara Clan.

Soon, Naruto was able to identify the two voices above him. It was Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan. Focusing on pushing past the tiredness that clung to him like a second skin, he ignored the spikes of soreness that pulsed from his hands and abdomen.

He slowly opened his eyes.

The room was white, and had a sterile smell. Everything was white walls and brushed steel. But then something infinitely more important than studying his surroundings intruded into Naruto's space. It was Sakura and Hinata. "I wonder why they are here." The Uzumaki blinked. "Wherever here is." Tilting his head as he remembered an important detail from the fight, "I should see if I can get back to the alley. Those were some high quality Kunai. I could always use a few more."

It was testament to Sakura's and Hinata's training that they noticed the Naruto's breath pattern change from resting to wakefulness. Halting the refinement of their plans about dealing with Misuki, they both leaned forward slightly to confirm Naruto's condition themselves over and noticing Naruto's confused bright blue eyes staring at them. Tears filled their eyes, and only one exultent crossed their minds: Naruto was alright.

"Hi Sakura-Chan and Hinata-Chan." Naruto sleepily smiled, automatically shunting aside his own confusion in favor of stopping his friends tears. He wasn't sure exactly why they were sad, but he knew that he had to do all in his power to make them happy again.

Hinata broke first."N-Naruto-Kun." Hinata sobbed into his chest, "I was so w-worried!" A deluge of guilt washed over Naruto. It was all his fault that Hinata was crying.

Sakura broke next. "Don't ever scare me again like that baka." She choked out amidst her now freely falling tears. "You were so pale and still."

Naruto made a promise to himself in that instant. "I will never cause Sakura-Chan and Hinata-Chan to cry again. Even if it kills me." The Uzumaki lay on the bed, overwhelmed with guilt and confusion. Waiting for Hinata and Sakura to stop crying was agonizing, made even more because he knew no way of making them happy until they could tell him what he did wrong.

After what seemed like an eternity to Naruto, Sakura's and Hinata's tears petered out.

"What did I do wrong?" There was a heartbreaking earnestness to Naruto's tone, " I didn't mean to make you cry."

Sakura and Hinata froze. What was Naruto talking about? Sakura slowly raised her head to look at Naruto. "You didn't do anything wrong Baka. We were just worried. That's all." Naruto tilted his head to the side as he contemplated Sakura's words. They didn't really answer his question, but as long as Sakura was feeling better, that's what was important. That was all that mattered.

"N-Naruto-Kun," Hinata's slightly trembling voice broke Naruto and Sakura out of their thoughts. "What happened to you? What caused you to get hurt?" Naruto shifted to look at Hinata.

"Hinata-Chan," Naruto congratulated, "You didn't stutter too much just now." Flushing at the praise her crush had bestowed upon her, Hinata ducked her head, unable to thank him for his kind words. Unconsciously, her pointer fingers poked one another as she focused on what had just happened, holding onto the words with all her might. Naruto had complimented her. Her, the shame of the Hyuga Clan. Her, the weakness of the Hyuga Clan. Her, the eternal disappointment. Her, Hinata Hyuga.

Sakura frowned. She wasn't sure why, but when Naruto had complemented Hinata, a slightly funny feeling had developed in her stomach. She grunted to herself and pushed it aside in favor of demanding Naruto to answer the question. "Naruto. What happened to you? You couldn't have hurt yourself that badly in training."

Naruto blinked. "Why did they think I hurt myself when I was training?" Scrunching up his face in thought, he tried to think of the last time he had seriously hurt himself while training. It was...maybe a year ago? "Well, I was trying to learn how to do the clone shuriken jutsu last year. I may have pushed myself a bit too much..." His hand drifted up to rub the back of his neck. "But don't worry. I haven't done anything like that since. It doesn't seem like I can do any type of clone techniques."

Sakura blinked. She didn't know that. She opened her mouth to reprimand Naruto for being so reckless, but then closed it with a snap as she realized that Naruto wasn't talking about what had just happened today to him. And if Naruto hadn't gotten hurt training...then what had hurt him?

"Naruto." An unnamable sickening sensation settled in Sakura's stomach, "If you didn't get hurt training, then how did you get hurt?"

"Huh?" Naruto blinked in confusion, "Oh." He added a moment later, belatedly realizing what his friend was talking about. Shrugging, he waved a bandaged hand dismissively. "Eh, I just got cornered by three ninjas in an ally. I knocked one out before they used some binding jutsu and pinned me to the wall. They then stabbed me a few times before they ran off."

Hinata and Sakura stilled for a moment before they began to tremble. But they were trembling for completely different reasons. Hinata was trembling at the horrifying reality that someone would willingly hurt her Naruto-Kun.

Sakura on the other hand, was trembling with a slowly increasing rage. Who had hurt Naruto? She would find them and beat them down. Hurt them so bad that they wouldn't ever think about hurting him ever again.

Naruto watched the proceedings with wide eyes. "What did I say to make them upset again?" Guilt started to bubble up from deep inside, threatening to choke him. "I'm sorry." He burst out, "I don't know what I did to make you two sad, but I'm sorry." Sitting up as fast as he could, his head swung from friend to the other. "Just tell me how to fix whatever I did wrong."

Sakura lowered her head and was silent for a few moments. Rage warred with sadness and understanding. Coming to a decision, she raised her head and locked eyes with Hinata. A silent conversation passed between them. After what seemed like an eternity to Naruto, Sakura finally spoke her voice eerily calm.

"It's alright Naruto. You didn't do anything wrong." She then hesitated, before continuing. "But don't worry. We'll help you avoid getting caught by those ninjas again. This is my promise, Naruto-Kun."

Iruka Umino hummed happily to himself as he prepared for the day. Today was graduation day for his class. The instructor pondered of the changes that had happened over the last year. Sakura Haruno had changed practically overnight. She now took training extremely seriously and had quickly risen to the one of the top ten students of the class.

Hinata Hyuga had changed as well. While she was still the gentle girl from before -most of the time-, when she was in a fight or spar, she changed. Her attacks were precise jabs of disabling power. Her Byakugan allowed her to seemingly find the pressure points of her opponent within an instant, allowing her to incapacitate her opponent with only a few quick strikes. She had also almost completely lost her stutter, no doubt due to Naruto's compliments.

Naruto had also changed. He had tamed his boundless energy to a certain extent, and channeled that energy into becoming a close-combat specialist. Most of the students would just surrender when faced with sparring Naruto now. In the last year Iruka had gotten to know Naruto and had found the exuberant child oddly pleasant to talk to, once you learned what subjects to avoid. He had slowly befriended the young blond, occasionally taking Naruto out for ramen. Iruka could safely say that he was looking forward to what Naruto could accomplish in the future. It had always puzzled him, however, how Naruto still got such terrible grades despite his best efforts, and the glowing reviews Iruka left in the blond's files.

Sadly not it was not all roses, as the saying goes. Sasuke Uchiha had grown angry and spiteful of Naruto's -objectively speaking - success. The Uchiha's superiority complex couldn't understand how such a "clanless-last" like Naruto could invoke such fear in the academy students. Luckily, Sasuke had never sparred with Naruto as of yet. Iruka shuddered to think what would happen should Naruto defeat the arrogant Uchiha. It wouldn't be good.

Iruka stretched. Being one of the examiners for the Genin exams, he had to arrive several hours before the exams started. "Today is going be a long day…"

Sakura awoke with a smile on her face. Today she was going to graduate with Naruto-Kun and Hinata-San. From a purely statistical standpoint, there was a high chance that she would be on the same team as Naruto and Hinata. The pinkette wouldn't have it any other way. And naturally, given that they had trained together already, they would be one of the best teams of their class, and perhaps even one of the greatest in the history of Konoha. Sakura grimaced slightly after she finished that thought. Perhaps Naruto rubbed off on her more than she thought...

She shrugged. It wasn't like it was a terrible thing for Naruto to rub off on her. She was fairly certain that Naruto was incapable of doing anything terrible. The Genin hopeful headed off to start her morning routine with a bounce to her step. Once she finished with the light early morning workout, she headed downstairs to grab a quick breakfast before heading out to the Academy.

The aroma of warm food enveloped Sakura as she padded towards the kitchen. When she reached the source of the mouth-watering scents, she spotted her mother, Mebuki, flipping over a omelet, humming as she quickly moved from cooking one food item to the next on the stove. As Mebuki flicked the omelet onto a piece of toast, she noticed Sakura.

"Hello dear! How did you sleep?" Mebuki inquired, "Would you like some breakfast before you go to the exam?"

"I slept well." Sakura said as she sat at the table, "I need to eat quick since I'm graduating today along with Naruto-Kun and Hinata-San."

Mebuki giggled at Sakura's exuberance as she set the food in front of her pink-haired daughter. As she watched Sakura eat, the older woman was once again thankful for Naruto. He had convinced her daughter to eat more healthy food, pointing out that she couldn't woo Sasuke if she fall behind in training due to lack of energy. Mebuki hid a grin as she remembered when Sakura and Hinata had attempted to get Naruto to eat less ramen.

The two had watched as Naruto ate a massive amount of ramen without suffering any issues, much to the pinkette's bewilderment. Sakura had then demanded that Naruto join her for dinner at her house to "get proper healthy food." Mebuki's grin faded as she remembered the first time Naruto had joined them for dinner…

Compared to the vague rumors that Mebuki had heard from around town, Naruto was completely different. He was polite, perhaps overly so, and certainly didn't try to destroy anything. It had quickly become obvious that the young Uzumaki had never eaten with anyone in a more formal setting. Thankfully, her wonderful husband, Kizashi, had causally slowed his movements so that Naruto could copy them.

Naruto had thanked them both for the food with a beautiful smile that made even the brightest lights look dim in comparison. After dinner, as Kizashi helped Sakura clean the dishes, Mebuki had the opportunity to talk to Naruto. It had started out innocently enough, but soon she found herself asking about Naruto's injuries that had landed him into the hospital four months prior. Her heart broke as Naruto casually explained what had happened. Naruto's emotionally disconnected tone as he retold the event had caused Mebuki to pull the young boy into a comforting hug. However, Naruto had stiffened upon her contact, and she quickly pulled back. What Naruto had said next changed her view of him and the village.

"Wha-what was that?" Naruto seemed puzzled. "It didn't hurt." He continued to ponder what strange action Mebuki had just done for several moments. "It felt...nice." Naruto finally decided. He was spared from further confusion as Sakura came back into the living room and asked if Naruto wanted to get a little more training in before bed. Naruto had happily agreed and the two headed towards the training ground, the pair already immersed in figuring out what they would train in.

As soon as the door slammed shut behind them, Mebuki collapsed into her husband's arms, quietly sobbing. "H-he didn't know what a h-hug was." She choked out, "He thought I was going to hurt him." Kizashi rubbed her back comfortingly, letting her cry into his chest. There was no trace of his normal easy smile. A grim expression had instead taken up residence as he considered the facts that he was given. And he didn't like the picture he was getting. Not one damn bit.

Eventfully Mebuki's sobs had tapered off. Kizashi guided her to the couch as he sat beside her. His almost angry expression had taken her aback. As Kizashi starting to explain his suspicions, her expression slowly changed to outrage. How dare the village treat anyone, especially a child, like that?

Mebuki had vowed, right then and there, that Naruto would always have a home, should he want it, at their house.

The sound of Sakura's fork scraping on her plate as she finished the last few bites brought Mebuki out of her remembrance. "Sakura dear, I also packed two breakfast egg sandwiches for Naruto-Kun." She handed Sakura a bulging plastic tote. "Make sure he gets them. I also packed a lunch bento for him. You normal bento is in there as well." She instructed. Looking down at her daughter, Mebuki couldn't help the swell of pride the welled up within her at the sight. Bending down slightly, she pulled Sakura in for a tight hug. "I'm so proud of you. I could never ask for a better daughter."

After maintaining the warm hug for a few moments, Sakura started to fidget. She loved her parents, but she needed to get going so she could give Naruto his breakfast. As soon as her mother drew back, Sakura grabbed the bag and dashed off, calling over her shoulder, "Thanks for the breakfast Mom. I'll make sure Naruto-Kun gets the food." There wasn't any doubt in her mind that she, Naruto, or Hinata wouldn't pass.

Hinata awoke with a sigh. It was graduation day. She still was unsure how to feel about today. On the one hand, she was excited to graduate with Naruto-Kun and Sakura-San. But on the other, she wasn't sure that she wasn't good enough to graduate. Her father had spoken to her yesterday and had told her that she, as his eldest daughter and more importantly a Hyuga main branch member, could not fail the test today; least she shame the clan. While her father was slightly impressed by her improvements over the last year, it was obvious that he viewed her as weak and useless. The maelstrom of emotions swirling within her killed any appetite she would have had. Remembering what Naruto had offered the night before, she quickly completed her morning routine and then headed towards Naruto's apartment. Naruto was always there for her.

Mizuki awoke with his head in a fog. He had been up late last night going over exactly how graduation had to go. It was his responsibility to make sure the demon never passed the exam. The fox had shown enough worrying growth in fighting ability to make the council nervous. Mizuki smirked. The little shit wouldn't know what hit him until it was far too late. A victorious expression stretched across his face as he considered what he would be gaining after today. The demon would be dead, he would be far away from this accursed place, and he would be a ninja of Otogakure.

The black haired man's elation died as he as he remembered the events that had led him to come up with this plan. It had all started with the little demon getting medical attention. The bitch, Mebuki Haruno, had actually healed the demon fox. They had sent a few ninja to her house to "explain" why you didn't heal the fox. But something had gone wrong. The ninja they had sent just vanished without a trace. So they sent a few more experienced shinobi. They too disappeared. It was at that point they simply stopped trying to "contact" the Haruno family. Some powerful shadowy figure was protecting them. Eventually - through several months of careful manipulation - they had found out that it wasn't the Hokage, Sarutobi. That had both relieved and scared them all. For while it was good that the Hiruzen didn't know, it meant that someone else was stalking in the shadows.

Mizuki shrugged. Once he was gone, his "allies" in this village could burn for all cared.

Naruto awoke with a happy smile on his face, his nightmares automatically shoved to the back of his mind in light of the excitement of what was happening today. He was going to graduate with Sakura-Chan and Hinata-Chan. His first step in becoming the strongest ninja ever was nearly complete. Naruto hurried to complete his morning routine so he could meet Sakura and Hinata.

The Kyuubi chuckled to itself as he watched his container hurry about. The demon fox considered the massive amounts of changes that had happened to Naruto in the last three years. He had gained two friends, or at least both it and Naruto assumed that they were friends; given that they really weren't sure exactly what a friend was. Yes, Kyuubi decided after a moment's contemplation and quick perusal of its container's memories, the Sakura-girl and the Hinata-girl were Naruto's friends. In addition, Naruto had been invited to the Sakura-girl's home to eat on multiple occasions.

The healthy food had benefited his jailer immensely. His jailer now stood about average with all of the other children, instead of being significantly shorter than them all. His container had also gained quite a bit of muscle for his age, outstripping most of the others. Only traces of his baby fat still lingered after all the training he had done. All in all, the Kyuubi considered the last three years the best years of his little container's life. And, the Kyuubi promised itself, should it be somehow released from Naruto, the Haruno household, as well as Hinata herself, would be spared its wrath.

Just as Naruto was finishing up his instant ramen - which contrary to the name wasn't actually instant -, he heard a knock on his door. Old, painful memories ghosted through his mind for the briefest of moments before the specific knock pattern registered. It was Hinata-Chan.

Naruto threw open the door, happily greeting his friend. "Hinata-Chan. Hello. I wasn't expecting to see you this early. Ready to graduate?"

Hinata sighed inaudibly and relaxed. She had missed this. Naruto's easy confidence and warmth. "Hello Naruto-Kun. Now that I am with you, I know I can pass ." Naruto's answering grin gave her the strangest feeling in her stomach, almost as if a bunch of butterflies started to flutter about inside. After a moment's consideration, she realized that it wasn't a bad sensation. It was, perhaps, the complete opposite of bad.

After Naruto grabbed his jacket and locked the door to his small apartment, the two perspective ninja headed towards the Academy.

They were just about half way towards the Academy when they met up with Sakura. "Here Naruto." Sakura thrust the still warm egg sandwiches into his hands, "I brought some food for your breakfast. Mom made it."

"Thanks Sakura-Chan." Naruto shot a massive smile at Sakura before digging into the delicious sandwich. Sakura temporarily froze as a hint of red flushed on her face. That smile had looked really good on Naruto's face…

Shaking her head to rid of the odd thought, she hurried forward to join her friends. Together the three ninja hopefuls walked towards the Academy, and their first steps towards achieving their goals.

How was it? Drop a review and let me know.

Remastered on 6/6/17