NARUTO IS PROPERTY OF MASASHI KISHIMOTO
"Kyuubi talking"
'Kyuubi thinking'
"Normal speech"
'Characters thinking'
Author's note:
I'm still shocked that Naruto has ended after so long. The last chapters had me so hooked that I couldn't think of writing, and when it finally did end, I felt so empty I lost my motivation. But I just can't let it go just like that, it took me three hours of watching every opening and ending of the anime to get me back to my feet.
So sorry for the long wait… and for any grammar mistakes.
Generation Lost
Chapter 6: Heaven Knows
"So I bowed my head and I prayed for wings to take me from this place
To take me from this place… from you."
It was a silent walk back.
Yamato had isolated Naruto, placing him on the front of the convoy, with the jounin just behind him and had forbid them on commenting on anything that happened last night. Not that Naruto minded anyway. He didn't have the guts to face any of his comrades even though they were just a few feet away from him, so he preferred to stay quiet and look ahead.
Their stares to his back were becoming unbearable, though.
Wanting to erase any traces of them staying on the small inn, Yamato sent Sai and Sakura to retrieve all of their belongings. Hinata still wasn't conscious, so they had stayed in silence below a big oak tree just East of Yugakure's main road. Kiba hadn't directed Naruto a single word since the threat and punch he delivered to his face. Instead, he had been fanning all over the Hyuuga with his eyebrows knitted together, occasionally sparing Naruto a death glare or two every few minutes.
Naruto didn't mind either. In fact, he thought he deserved a little bit more than a few glares or scolding looks from Yamato. They should crucify him before they reached the city, where Tsunade would flip out and call him off duty, into a series of lab tests and "solitary confinement" for God knows how much time. That was the best case scenario.
Worst case was that Danzo would convince the elders to place Naruto under his watch, and he doubted he'd ever see the light of day again. Maybe only for the occasional war.
As Naruto sulked in his own misery, itching all over from the remaining blood dried over his shoulders and arms. Sai and Sakura were taking their time and Naruto found himself glancing involuntarily to Hinata's unmoving body.
God, it hurt to look at her. Even though Sakura had healed her wounds, the stained and ripped shirt was a fresh reminder of how he almost snapped her neck apart if it weren't for the rupture of Kyuubi's chakra thanks to the girl. If she hadn't manage to stop the orange chakra's flow, then they'd be burying her along with many other villagers. Naruto might be still under Kyuubi's influence.
Kiba caught him staring at her mangled form, earning a vicious snarl from both him and Akamaru. Naruto didn't blame them at all. He turned his head aside, avoiding glancing at Kiba's bloody shoulder.
Once Sakura and Sai came back with their backpacks hastily packed, they only needed to find a place to wash off.
Their captain ordered them to put on some clean clothes and by nightfall they would camp by the lake near town. Then they could wash up.
They had fallen in an uncomfortable yet bearable silence, when Hinata woke up with a jump. The first thing that came out of her mouth was Naruto's name. The blond turned on instinct, but stopped himself from catching her eye. Hunching his shoulders, he looked straight ahead while biting on his lip.
Kiba stumbled next to the dog, who had been carrying Hinata on its back. The brunette started showering her with questions while he inspected her face and body, making sure she was fine. But the girl remained mostly unresponsive; she was still in a daze, as her tired, droopy eyes testified.
She managed to offer her teammates a small smile, but her eyes kept looking for the Uzumaki until she found his broad back facing her. He didn't turn around to greet her.
"I healed your wounds, but you still need plenty of rest." The pink-haired girl said.
"I think we all do." Yamato commented for the first time in thirty minutes. They had been walking for more than 8 hours with only two breaks for lunch and breakfast; they were all exhausted. "It's a bit early to set up camp but if we do it now we could wash up before sunset." Naruto agreed silently with him; he needed to wash his hands again.
The group of six ninjas and a dog broke away from the main road into the forest that lead to the lake. Hinata managed to get on her feet and pace slowly as Kiba hovered over her. Her eyes bore on the neck of Naruto.
"You can wash off first." The older shinobi pointed to Naruto and Sai. "We'll set up the tents and fire."
Naruto wanted to object, since he thought Hinata should be among the first to clean up. Unlike the rest of them, she still sported the ragged clothes from last night. But he knew he couldn't talk back to Yamato now. He was a silent prisoner; a drugged bull heading for slaughter. Taking a few belongings from their backpacks, Naruto headed for the shore with Sai trailing behind him.
It was strange that just a day before all he wished was for Sai to shut up, but right now his silence was making him uncomfortable.
"I know he sent you to make sure I don't go on a rampage again." Said Naruto, chucking under a branch. "It won't happen again, not that it matters to you."
Sai raised his head in surprise at his conversation starter. His lips twitched upwards. "Are you angry or sad?"
The blond frowned at his question, not getting where he came from. "Neither. I just hate myself."
"That doesn't classify as an emotion." Said Sai pensively.
"Guess not." Replied Naruto.
"You hate yourself because you hurt your friends, right?" Continued Sai, placing a hand under his chin.
"Bingo." Naruto answered with a sigh, regretting having started the conversation. He somehow reminded him of Gaara a few years back, asking a bunch of existential questions he didn't have the answers to.
"Do you feel bad for hurting me?" Prodded the boy, walking closer to Naruto. The Uzumaki pressed his lips together as he nodded his head. "Do you consider me a friend?"
Naruto stopped in his tracks. They were just a few feet away from the shore. "Why does it matter to you? You wouldn't want to be friends with a jinchuuriki, I assure you."
"I don't mind as long as I have a friend."
"Are you really that desperate to have one?" Naruto said, incredulous to Sai's calm words. "You almost died because of me."
"I almost died because I wasn't strong enough." Replied the man simply.
Naruto gaped at his logic. Was the ninja in front of him really that simple?
"Neither was I." Was all Naruto had left to say, as he got busy stripping until he only had his underwear on and started the heinous act of washing his friend's blood off him once again.
"I need you to listen to me carefully." Yamato said seriously, summoning a small circle of the remaining members. "Regardless of what you might think of Naruto right now, he needs you to protect him."
His words took a moment to digest by the three teens. Seeing that no one was going to say anything, he continued. "Kakashi-senpai entrusted me with the duty of keeping you all safe. Naruto is no exception. We knew of his condition ever since he was a kid and I'm sure neither Hokage-sama nor your sensei would like to see Naruto being held in a cell as a threat… or worse."
"If you knew for so long..." Hinata spoke slowly, feeling the ghost of Kyuubi/Naruto's hands still around her throat. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?"
"Naruto's condition is a village secret. There are strict rules regarding its secrecy. Besides, we couldn't risk kids his age discriminating him for something that's not his fault."
"I don't care if it's his fault or not." Huffed Kiba, crossing his arms hastily. "If he can't control that thing then he shouldn't walk around placing everyone in danger."
"I'm Naruto's team member and there wasn't a time where I felt I was in danger." Sakura said, straightening her back and glaring at Kiba. "In fact, the first time I saw him like that he was controlling it, not the other way around. He has been training so hard to win over it. He even went away for three years to deal with it."
Hinata held onto Sakura's every word. So that was the reason for his trip. The fox had been haunting him for so long. It wasn't just a matter of last night; Naruto's shoulders had been carrying that burden ever since he was a small child.
"Well I guess it didn't make much of a difference."
"Kiba-kun!" Hinata snapped, placing her sharp eyes on her best-friend. Kiba seemed to shrink in his clothes. "We barely know anything about the fox, we shouldn't make such conclusions."
"But Hinata, he almost killed you." protested Kiba hotly. What was the matter with her? Was he the only sane person in the group? Kyuubi or Naruto or whatever he was not only tried to kill them. He also laughed while doing it.
"It almost killed me!" Now her throat was starting to ache again. "Naruto-kun saved me from it. If you want to blame someone blame Kabuto for almost making him brain-dead."
Her cheeks were flushed with anger, and her lips were pursed shut. She couldn't believe Kiba was making such accusations without trying to understand him even a little bit.
Sakura was looking at the Hyuuga warily. It was the first time she'd seen her so angry.
"Hinata…"
"You're free to have your own opinion of him." Yamato cutted Kiba short, looking gravely at him. "But I'll ask you not to say anything once we get to the village. Not your parents, not your friends, no one. I'll handle Naruto's situation along with the Hokage alone."
Sakura nodded immediately, along with Hinata. Kiba was still sulking besides Hinata.
"What about Sai?" Sakura asked, a frown on her face. Out of the three chunins, she knew just how dangerous Danzo or any other member of Root was for Naruto. Tsunade had told her just how manipulative and dirty they were.
"I was planning on asking you to convince him." the jounin said. "Sai doesn't see me as an authoritative figure. He answers to no one except Danzo, so I can't order him not to."
The pink-haired girl's shoulders fell to her sides. She'd never met someone as weird and socially twisted as Sai. Not only they didn't understand him, but also she was pretty sure the boy hated Naruto. And Naruto him.
The blond had tried to kill him even more times than the Kyuubi.
By the time the two boys returned to the camp, three tents stood erected on the ground. It was the girls turn to refresh themselves.
Hinata noticed how Naruto pointedly avoided looking at her. She wanted to talk to him but the blond went directly to Yamato.
"I'd like to sleep by myself tonight." Or every night for that matter. Their leader stood up as he regarded the boy.
"We don't have any more tents, Naruto."
"I'll sleep on the floor, I don't care." Naruto said stubbornly. He was aware all his teammate's eyes were on him.
"We'll share a tent. I don't want you catching a cold." Yamato replied firmly. Naruto raised an annoyed eyebrow at him; they both knew he couldn't get sick. "Why don't you place some traps?" The man said, chucking some thin wire and knives at him. Naruto stormed away, cursing colorfully under his breath but Yamato managed to ignore it.
'That ought to keep him busy for a while.'
Two hours later they were gathered around a small campfire eating canned food and snacks Sakura had the good measure to buy before leaving the town in a hurry. Silence reigned among them as they waited for Sakura to bring Naruto back from his task. They found it strange that he was taking so long to come back.
The pink-haired girl came back claiming Naruto wasn't hungry, so he wouldn't get back until he finished the first lookout shift of the night. Yamato decided to approve of Naruto's proposal after a moment's thought, then planned the rest shift's schedule for the nights to come. The only one that seemed adamant to the plan was Hinata.
"We shouldn't let him alone so much. He needs to know we are here for him." she said, after taking a gulp from her canteen. Sakura's eyes turned to her and nodded, she was also all for Naruto returning to being the sarcastic ass that he was.
"We can't force him, Hinata-san." Yamato replied, munching on an apple. "He's deeply troubled not only about what happened but about what's about to come."
"And what is that?" Demanded the dark-haired girl. Her back straightening. They Hyuuga was wearing a fresh set of clothes consisting of a long sleeved, blue shirt and white pants to fight off the cold weather that would slowly get warmer as they went deeper into the forest towards their home village.
Yamato's black eyes made a quick detour towards Sai's position. The boy looked calmly back at him. "It's hard to tell. Not even I know what will happen now. So it's pointless to keep talking about this. Finish up your food. We should go to sleep."
Hinata sighed deeply in frustration not only with her team leader but also with her lack of confidence to approach the troubled blond. She would gladly try anything to make him feel better but he was making it quite clear he didn't want anyone try anything on him. Naruto was reverting to the antisocial boy he was back at the academy.
They fell asleep as soon as their bodies hit their respective sleepings. Sakura had tried to maintain a lively conversation with her but the pink-haired girl was too exhausted to keep it up for long. Kiba's sound breathing filled the forest almost immediately, and Akamaru was rolling in his sleep.
Hinata wasn't so lucky. She was tired, but her lively thoughts made it hard to keep her eyes closed for long. She was trying to locate the whiskered chuunin somewhere near camp but found it impossible, maybe because Naruto had repressed his chakra in case someone was indeed following them. Near two hours passed and she had only managed to nap lightly, but Naruto's step towards his and Yamato's tent woke her up fully. There was a quick word exchange between the two as the older man relieved Naruto from his shift. She heard him rustle in his covers and lie still, hoping he, unlike her, found it easier to sleep. If Naruto slept through the night she was sure he'd be on a better mood tomorrow morning, and perhaps they would find a way to sheer him up again.
He was looking at him with a twisted smile and deep-red eyes all too calmly. His reflection winked at him through rippled waves of water, which made him notice he was looking down at the river. Desperately wanting to erase his face from his mind, Naruto tried to turn his head from the water but found himself incapable of moving. A deep chuckle coming from his reflection's throat drew his eyes towards him again. Kyuubi, using his body, turned his back on him. That's when he noticed that he was living within the mirrored realm, and Kyuubi was the one enjoying his liberty on the world outside.
Hinata appeared behind Kyuubi, and Naruto felt himself whispering her name but only a few bubbles escaped his mouth. Oddly enough he didn't feel like drowning. Kyuubi extended his clawed hand to her neck and Hinata didn't make any attempt to stop him. He lifted her in the air and started squeezing.
Naruto screamed, but his words made no sound. The girl seemed oblivious to Kyuubi's actions even though her face was starting to turn purple. Hinata was looking at him through the water, smiling at him. He couldn't hear what she was saying; he only knew Kyuubi was laughing like a maniac due to his shaking shoulders. The girl was crying now, and she mouthed his name.
Naruto was yelling his lungs out, screaming 'NO' repeatedly, pounding on the surface that only pushed his hands back into the reflection. Suddenly something even more disturbing than Kyuubi strangling Hinata happened.
He kissed her. It kissed her. Even though the girl was barely breathing Kyuubi savored her lips.
It was painfully unbearable. He didn't want to see it anymore. He didn't want to speak anymore. The demon was going to kill her. He wanted to die before he made him watch her murder. Holding his breath until it became painful to move, the blond was ready to leave this world for good.
A cry made him jump out of his sleep. He realized it had been his own voice since his throat still held the feeling of a strong yell being pushed out by force. He also noticed the cool trail of recent tears running down his eyes into the surface of his sleeping bag. A wet patch of tears adorned the fabric.
Naruto pushed himself to a sitting position. He noticed his black shirt was wet with sweat, sticking to every part of his body. 'They're coming back.'
Sighing deeply to himself, he decided to climb out of the tent into the cold breeze and change into a new shirt.
It had barely been an hour since he fell asleep. A faint mist had fallen around their camp but the blond was still too hot to feel any cold. Taking his canteen, first he took a deep gulp and then he splashed some water on his face and hair, washing the sticky sensation from his body.
'God dammit is every night going to be like this?' he walked until he found a rock protruding from the ground and claimed it. The dream's highlights were slowly fading away, but the grand finale was still imbedded in his mind. Wishing he could erase that horrid scene, Naruto slapped his palms on his forehead and hung his head in between his knees.
"Hey."
The voice, although gentle, still startled him. Snapping his head backwards he saw Hinata standing quietly just a few steps away from his rock.
'I was so out of it I didn't even sense her coming.' It was the first time since the incident that he looked at her in the eyes. Her comforting face washed him with flashbacks of his nightmare, so he forced his head away from her brusquely.
Hinata noticed and lowered her head, thinking that maybe she should take Yamato's advice and leave him alone. But she was already here.
He didn't greet her back, so she forced herself to continue the conversation. "May I sit with you?" Just as expected, he didn't answer. But she noticed how his shoulders lifted with a sigh. Hinata proceeded anyways, carefully stepping on the rock and sitting next to him, elbow meeting elbow. The girl opened and closed her mouth repeatedly until she found something to say.
"Bad dream?" she asked lamely. Naruto gave a nod as he looked straight ahead. Hinata decided that she wouldn't accomplish anything beating around the bush. So she decided to be as straight as she could.
"I was in it, wasn't I?" Her voice was serious enough to make Naruto react and turn to her.
"How did you know?" His voice was low and timid. He didn't meet her eyes but they did rest on her mouth. He had a faint idea what the answer would be.
"You were saying my name." Screaming, in fact. But she didn't want to go into detail.
"Oh." The chuunin lowered his eyes to the grass, nodding to himself. For her to have heard him, he must have said it really loud. He wondered if anyone else heard him. "I'm sorry... for that... and-"
He stopped himself, not because he didn't want to continue but because he couldn't phrase the words. His fists clenched as he gathered the courage to do it.
The girl placed a hand on his shoulder and felt how the boy jumped at her touch. Just like that time in the river.
"Naruto-kun, you're freezing." Even if she said that, Naruto couldn't feel a thing. He could only focus on her shoes and the words that he was trying to get out of his mouth but her presence made it just too hard. He breathed loudly, cursing mentally.
"I can't even look at you in the face." he admitted in defeat, letting a sad smile rest on his face.
"Here." Her warm hands once again forced his head to level with hers. "Now you can."
But Naruto could only look at her pupil-less eyes for a fraction of second before diverting his gaze back down again, earning a sad sigh from the girl.
"Naruto-kun..." she pleaded, tilting her head and looking for Naruto's blue eyes, but the blond closed them shut.
"I just can't, Hinata." he let out a shaky laugh that held just a tad of the sorrow that was consuming him.
"Fine." he heard her say curtly, as she let go of his face and the night chill hit his cheeks once more. "I'll just close my eyes."
Naruto raised an eyebrow in confusion and opened his eyes just to encounter her closed ones. He straightened his back as he wondered if she could still see him with her sharp sight, but somehow he felt more at ease looking at her face like that.
Her face wasn't as pale as it had been earlier. In fact, she looked just like she would on a normal day at Konoha. The cold night had her cheeks flushed pink. The same pink that adorned her lips.
Naruto swallowed at the cause of such conflicting emotions. Her mouth placed him both at full bafflement and sheer guilt, as he thought back on his nightmare.
Her milky-white skin seemed to glow whiter than the mist surrounding them. "I know you're not going to agree with me but just hear me out, alright?"
Hinata frowned just the slightest bit. She nodded slowly.
"I knew I was the Kyuubi's host ever since we were at the academy. I didn't think much of it at first but then he approached me with promises of power that captured my attention." The blond had started to feel the cold but he didn't mind it. "Turns out he was just waiting to take over my body. At first I thought that the seal was enough to hold him back but little by little it took more than that to keep him in check. Jiraiya taught me that it was only my will that could stop him from possessing me, so I trained hard to control his chakra."
Hinata heard him sigh deeply. She was listening carefully to his every word. An alien hand placed itself on her right cheek. Her eyebrows shot upwards but she managed to keep her eyelids closed even though his touch was electrifying her whole body. She didn't feel cold anymore.
"Even if Kabuto contributed to Kyuubi's awareness." Naruto continued, absentmindedly tracing circles with his thumb on Hinata's cheek. "It was my lack of power that gave him freedom to do whatever he pleased with you and with everyone else."
"... I was desperate to stop him but it was impossible. I had given up on saving you and I can't forgive myself for that. And neither should you." Just when Naruto noticed how inappropriate his hand might make her feel, he started to remove it, but Hinata's own hand shot upwards to keep it in place.
"But you did save me, Naruto-kun." the girl said tenderly, leaning against his palm. "When I saw your eyes back to normal I knew it'd be okay. Maybe you can't control it yet, but with some help I'm sure you'll get there. And even if I were to die... it would be okay, Naruto-kun, because I knew back then you wouldn't be my executioner."
"H-How can you say that?" The blond paled at her words. He was both moved and horrified at her speech. "It's like you value my wellbeing more than yours, Hinata! That's not right!"
"Maybe it is, Naruto-kun." she opened her eyes and saw his shining blue-eyes staring down at her. She didn't mind the closeness.
"Promise me something." Finally Naruto was staring straight into her eyes. He was talking in all seriousness now. "If I ever become a threat to you or anyone else again... promise me you will kill me right then and there." The words came to him easier than he had expected.
"What?" Hinata breathed with a half-smile, incredulous. She was sure he must be joking. But his stare didn't leave room for jokes. As she realized the seriousness of his request she let go of his hand immediately. "You can't mean that, Naruto-kun."
"You were the only one to stop Kyuubi in his tracks, Hinata." He placed both hands on her shoulders. "Yamato was supposed to be my watchdog but couldn't even get close to me."
"I-I won't... that's-" Hinata's lip had started to tremble. Every word that he said was like a stab to her heart.
"Don't you see it, Hinata? It's so easy!" The blond took Hinata's right hand and placed it in front of his chest, where the girl could sense his heartbeat. She looked at him like she'd never seen him before. The young man was smiling for the very first time since last night. "You just have to aim one single strike at my heart with your gentle fist and that'll be the last of-"
The sharp sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed through the forest. Naruto took a second to register the stinging pain that housed itself in his right cheek. Never did he imagined Hyuuga Hinata would ever slap him across the face, but as he took his own hand to the now reddening area did it down on him. His stunned eyes rested on Hinata's shining ones. He was too shocked for words.
"I can't believe you're asking that of me." She wasn't shouting, but her eyes were screaming 'disappointment' at him. Naruto watched as her cheeks colored in fury and felt how his stomach froze. "I've always believed in you, never doubted one bit. And when you say that it's like you're betraying the faith I've placed in you since the beginning, Naruto." She choked immediately after saying his name, and her eyes began to sting with tears.
His eyes shot open, hanging on her every word. He wanted to say something but his mind went blank.
"You mustn't give up. Not now, not ever." Her voice wavered, and a tear dropped from her lips into the rock. "Kyuubi or not, it doesn't change anything. I... I..." She was trying so hard not to break in front of him but it was proving impossible.
Naruto prayed for an interruption, anything. He wished Yamato or Sakura came to scold him, or Kiba to pound on him once again, even Sai to break the tension. But they were alone in the cold forest, and Naruto felt both helpless and guilty all the same, while he looked as the girl in front of him shook uncontrollably, barely able to strangle her sobs. He had no right to console her; his stupid request started this mess.
He was entranced by the heat of her hand tracing his now healing cheek, and by her saddening sight, but overall it was the honesty behind her confession of faith in him. He couldn't have the confidence in himself that she did. He knew the horrors that could come from the fox's advances that he had so far managed to control.
He swallowed. "Hinata, I..." He wanted to tell her that he didn't think he was strong enough to face a nightmare-filled battle against the Kyuubi for his own body, but the girl was looking at him with big, expectant eyes that he was incapable of breaking her heart like that. He lowered his eyes and Hinata felt the impending misery wash over her all over again. "I'll try."
His whisper brought her back to reality and although she couldn't see his face, a tiny ray of light filled her heart. She knew just what his body language meant about what he just said, but if she knew something about Naruto it was his power to turn words into reality. A small sigh escaped her as she leaned forward into his chest, and although she couldn't stop crying she nodded her head up and down, signalizing that was enough for her.
Naruto didn't dare touch her. So he just stayed put until the girl calmed down and separated from him.
"You should go back to bed." he stated, looking at her droopy eyes.
She nodded, then added. "So do you."
"I couldn't sleep even if I tried." Hinata looked at him for a moment pensively. Her eyes dropped to the floor but she raised them immediately.
"I'm sorry for slapping you." she repented. Naruto shook his head, the ghost of a smile appearing on his lips.
"It was the only appropriate response." He said as he shook it off. His answer made her lips tug upwards.
"Still..." After a moment of courage gathering, she leaned forward and pressed her lips gently on his right cheek. Naruto took a moment to register her actions. By the time he did, his eyes were placed on Hinata's back, strolling away from him and towards her tent.
He had been right before. He couldn't sleep even if he wanted to and perhaps it wouldn't be because of the Kyuubi.
"Yakushi Kabuto, you say?" Danzo asked in a monotone. So far in his report, the young shinobi hadn't seen a spec of emotion coming from his master, just as it was expected of Root's leader.
"Hai. He seems to be a delegate of Uchiha Sasuke's plans on Yugakure." continued Sai, while kneeling down in front of his master's high chair. Echoes of cries of pain and grunts rang through the dim-lighted room. They were talking at the very top of an underground stadium, where multiple one-on-one fights were taking place five feet below them. Sai knew that of all the trainees in the stadium, only half would be able to advance to the next stage of their election.
"I see." The scarred man skimmed through the folder of notes collected by his subordinate, only stopping occasionally on the interesting parts.
"Apart from disregarding direct orders from his superior and placing the mission in peril, did something else happened with Uzumaki Naruto?"
Sai could feel his master's black eye resting on top of his head. He kept his breathing steady. If he wanted to make some new friends, and more importantly, paint Hinata's glorious body, he ought to take any suspicion off his aggressive teammate.
"Just as it says in my report, we found him unconscious due to one of Kabuto's jutsus, but it didn't seem serious. He was up and ready in less than two hours." The boy said calmly, just as he was trained to do when lying.
"Hmm." Sai knew when his master showed signs of annoyance, and this one was one of those times.
The boy expected to be further questioned about the blond, but Danzo's interest shifted to someone else.
"Who'd have thought that Uchiha Sasuke would be able to indiscriminately attack civilians. The Council must take action of this immediately."
The feeling of relief after Danzo dismissed him was indescribable.
"Lie down, please." Inoichi said with a smile, extending his hand and guiding Naruto's eyes to the comfortable looking patient chair. The Uzumaki looked at it with disgust. It reminded him of the chair used in a dentist office, except this one lacked the sharpened tools. The mixture of leather and metal creaked under his weight as he let down his back on the cold surface.
"Baachan is watching me through that window, right?" Naruto said begrudgingly, nudging his head towards one end of the rectangular room, which consisted only of the chair, a door, a few more furniture pieces, a clock and a large glass that was more of a one-sided window. If Naruto were to be claustrophobic, he'd be going crazy right now. There was also a room at the opposite side of the glass panel with a sink and a toilet hidden behind the wall. It had no door.
The long-haired clan head looked at the end of the room, where only their darkened reflections could be made out, then back to the blond. "Among other people, yes."
Not only he couldn't see the people that were certainly looking at him from the other end of that glass, but he also couldn't sense chakra coming from outside, since the room was completely hermetical from sound, light and chakra patterns.
He was locked from the world outside.
"Probably best not to think about them at all." said the clear-eyed man, resting a hand on his shoulder and guiding Naruto's head to the hard pillow. The blond obliged, but he still glared at whoever was behind the thick glass, just for good measure. "It might weird you out."
"I'm already weirded out."
"Close your eyes, we're about to start."
"How long is this gonna take?" Naruto said, not even trying to disguise the anger on his voice. Inoichi was already lowering his palm on top of his forehead.
"I'm not sure."
As Inoichi started his chakra ministrations on Naruto's mind, on the other side of the glass, Tsunade crossed her arms tighter across her big chest.
The top three medic ninjas in the village, and probably the whole shinobi world, were standing in the same dimmed-lighted room as they watched as Naruto's shoulders relaxed considerably under Inoichi's jutsu.
"Sakura, you and Yamanaka-san will be in charge of Naruto's checkup for as long as it takes. Yamato will stay with you throughout the procedure in case something comes up. Team 7's activities will be suspended while Naruto is in examination." Her words didn't come as a surprise to any of the shinobi present; Tsunade was just repeating the instructions so they were all in the same page. They had all been briefed on their side mission the day before. All, except Naruto.
The Yamanaka's clan speciality jutsu had taken longer than expected to the blond. The last time he had a mind jutsu performed on him it lasted little less than an hour. But Inoichi didn't move his hand from his head for the next three hours, eyebrows tightly knitted together and the corners of his mouth twitching from time to time.
Luckily for Naruto, the jutsu made him fall into a stable coma almost immediately, preventing him from noticing the time passing him by. His eyelids fluttered open but it took him a full minute to come back to his senses.
"We're done." Announced the clan head, falling heavily into the metal chair screwed to the floor with a tired sigh. Naruto didn't react immediately, as he was too busy coming out of his daze. When the words dawned on him he turned his head to look at the older man.
"Verdict?" he asked, trying to disguise the concern on his voice.
"Too soon to tell." Came Sakura's answer as she entered through the metal door. "You shall be put into observation for at least 24 hours, maybe longer."
Maybe it was the realization that Sakura, a member of his own team, had been standing just a few feet from him all along, or the fact that Tsunade had lied to him into getting him into a full day confinement, which made Naruto's back straighten up with cold understandment. He had to take a few breaths to respond, fearing his temper might betray him.
"Who else is out there?" He asked coldly, this time looking at the ground as his fingers wrapped tightly around the surface of the chair.
Sakura frowned at Naruto's demeanor, but it was something Tsunade had anticipated. "Shizune-san, Yamato, Tsunade-sama and -"
"They are all people you can trust, Naruto. Don't worry, your secret is safe with them." Inoichi cut her off rather brashly. Sakura raised an eyebrow at him but the older man didn't look at her; his eyes were focused on the troubled blond.
Naruto could guess Yamato was watching him along with Sakura. But the rest of people 'he could trust' didn't come as easy to him. "Why don't they show their faces?" He said daringly, this time raising his blue irises and looking at his reflection on the mirror panel.
"Naruto..." Sakura warned, with concern in her voice. Inoichi took one step to him.
"This is necessary, Naruto. We just want to make sure everything's okay. And the people out there just want to help." He placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder but the blond didn't lower his gaze.
Naruto narrowed his eyes. Was it so difficult just to mention who was watching him like a lab rat? Why did he want to hide it so much?
"Let just get this over with." The Uzumaki said rashly, standing up from the chair and walking away from the glass. The faster he got out of there, the better. "What's next?"
Sakura frowned at him before answering. "Monitoring your sleeping patterns. Tsunade-sama briefed us on your history with Kyuubi-controlled nightmares."
Naruto wanted to laugh. Apparently, he didn't have a private life anymore.
"Is he still speaking to you?" Inoichi asked.
Naruto took a moment to respond. The fact that the Kyuubi could transfer his thoughts to him was a sign that their chakra systems were connected and that he had some degree of influence in his demeanor. Back in his younger days, his interaction with the fox was almost daily.
He answered truthfully. "Not since the fit."
After a couple of minutes of quiet note exchange between Sakura and her best friend's father, they told Naruto about the monitoring procedure for tonight's investigation. Sakura ordered for a rolling bed to whoever was on the other side of the glass, and she herself took out the chair Naruto had once used and placed the white sheet covered mattress that rested on top of a metallic structure at the center of the room. The structure was connected to a heart monitor and a power box that had multiple wires coming out of it.
The clock read 8:30 PM but Naruto was far from sleepy. Although the familiar tiredness that came with the knowledge of another sleepless night was weighting down on him.
"I'll help you get to sleep, but the effect won't last long on you. We'll be taking notes from the other side so you can feel comfortable." Naruto smirked at that last part. There was nothing comfortable with people watching you sleep through a glass panel.
"No one will be allowed to go in here until tomorrow morning. This shall be an observation from a distance."
Sakura handed him a pair of light blue pants that every other hospital patient used when hospitalized, and told him to discard his shirt so she could place the electrodes on his chest and temples. There was a double take she did as soon as she took sight of the scar on top of his heart, and a slight hesitation when she was placing the black electrode on top of it. Naruto preferred to do it himself.
"Is she here?"
Naruto's question made both his caretakers stop in their tasks and turn to look at him. The blond was analyzing the cold item sticking to his chest. Sakura looked at Inoichi, then back to Naruto. As she was opening her mouth, the blond continued. "Or did she leave you in charge?"
Understanding washed over Sakura's face. "Oh. You mean Tsunade-sama."
"Who else?" The blond asked.
Sakura shook her head. "She's busy. As always." Inoichi lead Naruto to the mattress and started making preparations.
"I want to talk to her as soon as she comes back."
The man watched through cracked glasses as the boy walked leisurely around the shattered rock and broken glass that littered the ground they were standing in. A chirping bird was signalizing the coming of a new day. The cave, where no light had ever entered, was starting to get tainted by the incoming rays of daylight.
It was a mess. Most of their headquarters had been destroyed by that single attack. With just that small ball of red light, the Uzumaki created such a devastating power that crushed half of his men and rendered their lab useless. Everything and everyone residing deep within the cave, soldiers and civilians, were trapped, if not dead.
Kabuto, Karin, Setsu and Juugo watched as Sasuke walked up to a point where there was so much rubble it was impossible to go through without explosives. And even if they did blow that out of the way, the higher part of the mountain would cave in and block it again.
Sasuke had a pale hand resting calmly against the sheath of his sword, giving his back to them all. A few sound-nin were hanging out behind Sasuke's best men, without saying a word but still looking accusingly at the grey haired medic-nin.
"Kabuto."
Said man flinched visibly at his name coming out of his mouth in such a cold tone. Sasuke turned around, black eyes staring back at him. In the blink of an eye, the Uchiha had disappeared and appeared right next to him, finding enough time to unsheathe his sword and ram it right into Kabuto's stomach.
The older man inhaled sharply.
"Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you." the sound leader said mercilessly, not even looking at him in the eyes. Karin gulped as she took a step back, but she couldn't stop the tingling sensation from weakening her knees as she looked at Sasuke's perfect features.
"Sasuke..." The medic nin breathed, almost finding it impossible to speak. "I know the ingredients for the poison... I'll make more of it and then..."
"That underground river was the key to poisoning the civilians by the thousands." The red haired girl interrupted, crossing her arms disdainfully and looking at Kabuto with a smirk on her face. "Where are you going to find another one?"
It was no secret that Karin hated Kabuto. After all he was the one to perform experiments on her to test her healing abilities for Orochimaru's sake. Kabuto glared at her through hate-filled eyes but Sasuke caught his attention by starting to twist the blade inside him. Kabuto coughed and a bit of blood ran down his chin.
"This was the first and most important step to the new era." Sasuke's expressionless face started to twist into a malevolent frown. Kabuto clenched his teeth as a million birds crying broke the forest silence. He wanted to squirm out of Sasuke's sword but it would only make it worse for him. "Thanks to you my plan has to be delayed for god knows how long."
"Sasuke!" Kabuto cried in panic. Blue and white flashes reflected in his glasses, as the Uchiha raised his arm to strike the final blow. "I still can be of use!" He was yelling in between mouthfuls of blood.
Sasuke glared even more darkly at him, and Kabuto bit his lower lip. "I am so close to cracking the secret of the Edo Tensei! I can give you an army if you just grant me more time!"
Kabuto was speaking despite the frightened tears that were running down his face. He looked at Sasuke in horror but the boy didn't even flinch.
The Edo Tensei had been Kabuto's biggest obsession ever since he discovered Orochimaru could summon two of Konoha's Hokages, but since his master had refused to share the secret with him or any other person, the young man had dedicated years to study the dead so he could find out Edo Tensei's secret.
Sasuke knew that if there was anyone that could figure out how it worked, it was Kabuto. So he retreated his jutsu and sword from Kabuto, letting him drop onto the hard floor with a gasp of pain and relief.
"One week." the raven-haired Uchiha said in a low yet threatening tone. "Juugo and Setsu will watch over you so you won't run away."
Juugo nodded solemnly at his new order but Setsu only rolled his eyes at Sasuke's commanding tone.
Kabuto forgot to emit a reply, as he was too busy healing his open wound.
He was dully aware of the wetness in his pants.
Hinata sipped from her freshly made coffee, which Shizune had brought to each and everyone of the members of the monitoring mission. The back room, that was fully lit, was almost too small to hold all five shinobi since the computer monitors occupied most of it. The girl had been present from the start and had witnessed Naruto's hateful eyes glaring at her from the other side of the room, even if he didn't know who was facing him behind the glass.
"Hinata-san, would you?" Inoichi called tiredly, walking up to her and looking at the sleeping form of Naruto. It was almost midnight but Naruto hadn't moved ever since he was put to sleep by his mind-controlling jutsu. Still, they Hyuuga had the responsibility to watch over his chakra system every fifteen minutes, and she had just started to feel the toll of activating her jutsu so often.
"Hai." Hinata responded, pushing chakra to her lilac eyes and bringing forth her bloodlimit. Sakura and Yamato looked at her briefly, but after a minute, the Hyuuga dropped her jutsu and shook her head.
"Good." The Yamanaka clan head said with a sigh. 'We may give Tsunade-sama good news in the morning.' Sakura excused herself as she exited the observation room and headed to the lavatory at the end of the hall.
"Yamanaka-san."
The older man in the room turned to Hinata, who was still watching Naruto carefully.
"Why didn't you tell Naruto-kun I was also here?"
"I think you already know why." replied the man quietly.
"Still, I'd like you to tell me." She had her suspicions, but Inoichi placed way more importance on hiding her name and that made her restless.
Inoichi coughed one time, before nodding his head. Hinata turned her eyes to him. "You see, I had to enter Naruto's memories to address the damage. I had to live what happened in your mission."
The girl swallowed. She had lived it over and over again too every time she closed her eyes to go to sleep, even when she ate or bathed. Those red eyes followed her wherever she went.
"I have this theory that says you were his breaking point. You saved him almost at the cost of your life, and your face and name are a trigger for his guilt."
"I…"
"If his nightmares aren't caused by the demon-fox, and I hope to Kami that they're not, it might be Naruto's way to cope with his remorse."
Hinata bit her lower lip worriedly. She didn't want to think that it was her fault Naruto was suffering at night.
"Is there something I can do to-" There was a faint grunt that attracted everyone's attention to the panel.
"He's entering the dreaming phase." Shizune announced nervously, as she watched her computer closely.
"This is it." muttered Inoichi and Yamato at the same time, while approaching the panel.
"What is it?" Sakura asked as she entered the room again. But Naruto's noises answered her question. They were all stock still as Naruto's blabbering became actual words. Hinata was watching intently with her Byakugan, just as she was supposed to.
His temperature had risen, just as the heat monitor exposed. His face and chest had acquired a fiery orange that contrasted with the blue of the table and walls.
"Please"
They all heard clearly how he repeated the same word every five minutes. His hands had tightened in on themselves, and his feet were squirming in place.
"Please." "Fuck." "Don't."
At first Hinata thought that she was imagining it, but now she knew it to be true. He was whimpering more than speaking. Tears started to fall from his eyes and into the thin pillow that held his head.
His heart rate was worrying Shizune and Sakura, and Inoichi placed a hand on top of Hinata's shoulder. She jumped in surprise.
"What do you see?" he asked stiffly.
"I'm sorry… I am… Hin."
"He…" Hinata found it hard to speak. She almost felt like choking. "No chakra. Not yet."
Inoichi relaxed his hand, not noticing that he was gripping the girl's shoulder really hard.
"Don't." "Hinata!"
Her name in his mouth made her heart freeze. Her hands were clasped tightly in front of her chest, and she felt like crying just as he was.
"He's going to wake up at any time." The Hyuuga heard Shizune say from far away. Her eyes had started to sting.
"Hinata-san?" Ino's father asked, without taking his eyes away from the agonizing blond.
"You're killing her!"
Inoichi furrowed his eyebrows when she didn't respond. "Hinata-san?" He turned to look at the petrified girl, who couldn't do anything but watch helplessly as the Uzumaki called for her. "What do you see?"
Naruto was now turning in the bed from left to right, eyes scrunched shut, teeth clasped tight. His muscles had contracted and his neck was shining in sweat.
"HINATA!"
She shook her head slowly, as tears ran down her face. Her chakra filled eyes watched as he sat up with that last scream, that must have hurt his throat, and those terrified blue eyes took in his surroundings. "No chakra." She concluded with a whisper.
Naruto's crying fit ended as he coughed and breathed more deeply, steadying himself. Running a hand through his hair, he fell back exhausted into the moist covers of his mattress. Coughing one more time, he turned around to look at the glass that separated him from his freedom, and remembered he was being watched.
"Is that what you wanted to see?" He glared at his own reflection. The room was dark, but the numerous machines shone enough light for him to see how pale he was, and how he was still shaking. Taking the electrodes from his body and throwing them to the floor, he kept glaring at himself.
How humiliating. His teammates and friends, people he was supposed to trust, calmly watching him as he hit rock bottom. He was a mess, and his reflection was testament of that.
"Congratulations." He sighed tiredly, almost pressing his forehead against the cold glass. "Now you know everything there's to know about me."
"This is by far the most important meeting I have today and we only have half an hour." Said Tsunade as she strode towards her big, red chair on the oval shaped table. "Let's make it count."
Another eleven comfy-looking chairs were spread around the table, but only seven of them were occupied. Sakura, Kakashi, Yamato, Shizune, Hinata, Inoichi and Naruto were sitting in front of the Hokage, eager to start the meeting.
Inoichi spoke first. "As you may already know, we're here to discuss our findings on Naruto-san's after effects of Kyuubi's rampage."
The blond was moving his leg restlessly from under the table, his sight fixed on the polished wood of the desk's surface.
The clan head cleared his throat to continue. "After hours of rummaging through Naruto's mind and memories I encountered clear signs of psychological trauma, caused by the post-traumatic stress of hurting friends and teammates unintentionally. The feelings resurface every time Naruto goes to sleep, causing nightmares and lack of rest."
"What about the Kyuubi's barriers?" the big-chested blond asked, resting her eyes on Naruto's hunched shoulders. The Uzumaki held his breath waiting for Inoichi's answer.
"Untouched." was the long-haired man's verdict. "Kyuubi was able to control him only because of a drug that destroyed the mind, but given the boy's resistance to drugs his only got paralyzed. Once Naruto came back to consciousness he had the ability to gain control back again."
"The strain of Kyuubi's influence during the outbreak wasn't enough to stretch the mental barriers Naruto built over the years." Inoichi finished explaining, as he sat down. The Uzumaki released a shaky breath. Naruto looked his way and the older man winked at him reassuringly.
"But Naruto didn't come back to consciousness on his own, am I right?" She looked at the other blond in the room pointedly. She had read Yamato's report at least ten times and knew how the story went.
"No." was Naruto's simple answer, as he tried hard not to look to his right, where the indigo-haired girl was sitting two chairs away from him.
Tsunade stayed silent, as she gathered her thoughts. Her eyes found a new recipient. "Hinata, did you see something strange while Naruto was having nightmares?"
The Hokage's tone was innocent but the content of the question made both Naruto and Hinata flinch.
Naruto wasn't stupid. As soon as he saw Hinata crossing the Council Members Meeting Room door along with the others, he knew she had been watching him along with the others. A sickening feeling settled over his stomach, and the overwhelming urge to avoid her eyes ruled over his mind.
"As far as his chakra system goes, there was nothing out of the ordinary, Hokage-sama." The girl said after she gathered her courage to speak of her involvement in front of the victim.
Tsunade sighed in relief. Inoichi's and Hinata's concepts were the most important in the case. "That's comforting to hear. Your turn, Shizune. Sakura."
Organized as she was, Tsunade's older pupil took out her notes and graphs for Tsunade to see. "Just as Yamanaka-sama suggests, Naruto-kun shows various symptoms of posttraumatic stress, like depression, anger and aggression on his waking moments."
Naruto suppressed a hollow laugh from escaping his lips, but most of the attendants noticed his struggle.
"The most salient symptoms appear while he's sleeping, primarily in the form of violent nightmares that give way to other manifestations, like sleep hours reduction and exhaustion."
'When did my nightmares became a competition to impress the Hokage?' The blond thought angrily, as he saw Sakura's smug face as she explained her findings.
Kakashi placed a hand on Yamato's shoulder and smiled at him. "Told ya we didn't have to worry."
The ANBU member wanted to tell his former captain he wasn't there to experience the intense fear, but he decided to go with a roll of his eyes.
"It seems that your time with Jiraiya wasn't wasted after all." Tsunade said, as she fell back onto her chair. Naruto clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"How do I get rid of the nightmares, then?"
"They will recede, I assure you." Inoichi said. "But they will be a nuisance for a month or two. Although you can cut down that time in half if you manage to make peace with yourself."
"Doubt it." The blond whispered through gritted teeth, but no one else said anything else.
"Good job everyone. You can rest for today."
Everyone, except Naruto and Tsunade, stood from their chairs and started vacating the large and luxurious room. Some, like Inoichi and Kakashi, patted Naruto warmly on the back as they left. The blond felt the exact moment Hinata walked behind him and how she seemed to slow down for a second. He feared she might say or do something to him, but the girl felt his discomfort and decided to get out with the others.
Now there was just Tsunade and Naruto, and they both knew this was going to be a heated argument.
He threw the third syringe to the floor, where it shattered like the other two.
His grunts of discomfort quickly transformed into grunts of pain but it was almost bearable. Kabuto inhaled sharply and let the air out slowly, trying to compose his mind and prepare it for what was about to come.
The instruments on his laboratory table were dirty, sporting liquids from every color scurrying from their chrome surface. Most of them were sharp and thin.
Kabuto placed his glasses on the side while he wiped the sweat from his face.
Being back on his and Orochimaru's old lab didn't bring the comfort he had hoped for. He was running on a tight schedule, and time was running out fast.
"Now." The grey-haired man said with effort into the recorder. "I'll light myself up to accelerate the assimilation process, just like a Christmas tree."
Placing his hands on top of two big electrodes that were resting on the left corner of the room and his foot hovering above the lever that pumped the electricity, Kabuto inhaled sharply.
"Soon I'll surpass you, sensei." The young man said confidently before activating the machine and immersing into a world of pain and light.
There were only three days left.
Konoha's representative sat with crossed hands in front of her face as she waited patiently for Naruto to start talking. Her bad temper was starting to throb as the boy was taking his sweet time to say the first word. His lips were pursed and he was looking intently at the table.
"You do know I have other things to do, right?" The woman said.
Naruto sighed. He opened his mouth. "I just have three questions."
Tsunade raised her eyebrows in surprise. From what Sakura had said, the Kyuubi container was very much distressed about his treatment and he had requested her presence urgently on the control room. She had very much expected the boy to spat his rant about how he was submitted to a scrutiny without his consent, but he seemed calmer than usual.
"One. Did you ever came to watch me with the others?"
"Of course I did. But I knew you were just going to bicker with me if I went into the room."
"Fine." The blond raised his eyes to her along with two fingers. "Two…" He seemed to hesitate to ask but the question came nonetheless. "Did you force Hinata to do it? To watch me like the rest?"
The Hokage frowned. "Naruto, all the participants were willing to assist in your procedure. None had to be asked twice. Don't you see? They just wanted to help in any way they could and I gave them the opportunity. Even Yamato who just met you was worried sick because he failed you on stopping the Kyuubi."
"Then why did they hide from me?" Naruto asked the question that was burning in his heart. The reason he had started doubting his so called friends, friends who couldn't even offer a helping hand when he woke up from his horrible, horrible nightmare.
"It's procedure, Naruto. Why do you have to make it something that it's not?" Tsunade bristled at his stupidness. "You were in the psychiatric ward, it's not advised for the patient to see or talk to friends or family while on observation because that would alter his or her behavior. And lets get real… If you had seen Hinata you'd have refused to sleep for fear she might see just how it was like."
"That's…" The blond wanted to contradict her, but he didn't find anything else to go on.
"It's not her fault you're having nightmares, yet you're giving her reasons to believe it is. You are even starting to beleive it yourself."
"I know it isn't her fault!" Naruto stood up from his chair, offended at the insinuation.
"You'd be able to face her if you really believed that." The Hokage said firmly. Naruto turned his head, finding himself at a loss of words again. "What's your third question?"
Taking a breath to calm himself, he blond replied. "Do you have any news from ero-sennin?"
"No." Tsunade said gloomily. "Not yet."
When Naruto walked away from the meeting room and into the elevator, he was decided to go home and think long and hard about everything Tsunade had said. When Naruto reached the first floor, he found three pair of eyes turning to him. Then someone hugged him.
"Oh, Naruto-kun." Shizune said to his ear a little too loud. "I'm so glad you're okay. Everything can go back to normal now."
He doubted anything could go back to normal since now more people knew his secret. He'd probably have to tell the rest of the rookie 9 too, before Kiba opened his big mouth.
"Thanks, Shizune." The blond said, tapping her back twice.
"I know you'll manage to sleep somehow. I've gone through a few nasty ones myself." Kakashi said with a smile under his mask.
"I believe you." Naruto said seriously. Jiraiya had said that Kakashi's youth was more twisted than anything he'd ever believed possible. But he never went into details not matter how much Naruto begged.
"Naruto, I convinced Kakashi-sensei to treat us ramen for lunch." The pink-haired medic-nin said cheerfully.
"Five servings tops." The masked man hurried to say while he pointed a finger to Naruto threateningly. Naruto almost found the energy to laugh.
"Want to come too, Shizune-sempai?" Sakura offered.
"Thanks guys, but I have a date already." the older woman said with a tinge of pink in her cheeks. Both Naruto and Sakura raised their eyebrows. "And don't waste your breaths. I'm not gonna tell you who it is."
"But I tell you everything that happens to me!" Sakura called after her senior, but she was already waving goodbye at the exit.
"Let's go already. I have to tell you about what I found on my mission." The Hatake said, starting towards the door.
Author's section
(Heaven Knows - Rise Against)
Thanks for reading!
And don't forget to leave a review!
- Paty