NARUTO IS PROPERTY OF MASASHI KISHIMOTO
"Kyuubi talking"
'Kyuubi thinking'
"Normal speech"
'Characters thinking'
Author's note:
It's been a while.
Enjoy
Generation Lost
Chapter 12:
"And on that day, when you need your brothers and sisters to care.
I'll be right here."
Naruto had been scared lots of times. But as any other person, he knew the few times when that feeling had reached its peak.
The first one he remembered well. Orochimaru had managed to wound Sasuke on the neck, which sprouted his first Kyuubi rampage. But after chasing away the serpent master, the fox had wanted to go after his mind and soul and almost got what he wanted. The blond would still sometimes wonder, late at night while looking at his roof, what would become of him if he'd let his fear win over.
There was also the time when he'd last seen Sasuke as a kid. The only way to stop the Uchiha, now a criminal in the making, was to kill him. But Naruto couldn't do it, as he was afraid to look himself in the mirror and see the eyes of a friend-murderer looking back at him.
He'd live a kind of fear that forced him to do something different. A kind of fear that sparked actions or crazy decisions. And in most cases he ended doing the right thing thanks to that gut-wrenching feeling.
But what he was feeling right now was very different.
It had been powerful enough to bring him back to the realm of the living. But the only difference is that he was unable to take action.
He was terrified.
His half-lidded eyes became the size of saucers as he viewed Hinata's hair waving in the air. Almost as if it were acknowledging him.
There was a word exchange between the two standing shinobi but Naruto could hardly register what they were saying. His mind, suddenly filled with Hinata's name written all over it, was slowly rebooting after the tremendous trauma it had received.
"I could crush you like a fly. Why don't you save me the trouble and let me take my prize?" Pain said, uninterested in the new visitor.
Oddly, the woman's eyes hardened by his words. "I won't let you touch him again."
"-nata."
Both shinobi's ears perked up at Naruto's hoarse words. Pain sent Naruto an inquisitive look, but the girl forced her head to keep facing the enemy.
Coughing three times, Naruto tried his voice again. "Hinata." This time the girl almost turned, because it was surely his voice, but it sounded so desperate. Hinata feared that if she turned around and faced him, she'd lose her will and fail her personal mission.
"He'll kill… you." The blond coughed again, this time spraying blood in front of him. But now his tongue seemed to move more freely. "Get away while you can!"
The Hyuuga took in breath to answer him, but Pain beat her to it.
"You know her." Pain said gravely, analyzing the young and dirty, but definitively beautiful woman in front of him. "Is she a friend of yours?"
His tone, so different from the uninteresting one he'd use ever since they started fighting, alarmed Naruto beyond measure.
To add to his distress, Hinata bended her knees and launched three flying juukens in succession, letting out a small "Ha!" as she focused her attack.
Pain looked at the distorted air canons calmly. He summoned his divine push to deflect them. But what he couldn't see yet was that he girl had turned on her heel as soon as her attacks were delivered, grabbed the rod incrusted and got ready to pull.
"Stop, Hinata! Just get away before he gets AHH!"
'I'm sorry, Naruto-kun.' The girl thought, wincing internally.
The girl managed to get it cleanly out of Naruto's body, blood following the rod on its path. Immediately after, the chakra wave hit her and pushed her backwards. It felt like a punch right to her cheek. Naruto greeted his teeth as the force pushed the remaining rods harder against his flesh.
A soft 'thud' was heard as the lone rod hit the uneven ground. Pain looked at it with a grave frown.
The new wave of pain rushing through his body fully awoke the whiskered chuunin.
"Hinata! You're no match for him, you hear me? Get outta here!" He turned his neck to the side brusquely so he could look at the woman staggering to her feet.
The look of determination on her lilac eyes made his heart sink.
"Why…" The blond said with a grimace.
"You care for this woman." Pain said, taking a few steps towards Hinata. Naruto ignored his words.
"You're going to die, don't you see?!" The blond yelled at her. There was cold sweat forming in his back, and when Hinata finally looked back at him, his heart froze.
'Why the hell is she acting so calm?'
"Hinata?" He called, unsure if he really wanted to know the reason for her expression. She seemed to know something he didn't.
"I'm sorry I'm so selfish, Naruto-kun." What a sweet smile she was wearing. It transported him to all the moments he'd shared with her. It was Hinata's usual smile, but somehow this seemed to be different. There was something behind those lips, and now she was finally going to let it out. "I just love you so much."
There was a blank space where his mind registered nothing for a while.
Then, without any warning, a mental glass background shattered into thousand pieces. The unbearable noise filled his ears, and he could just picture her smiling as she died for him.
The world slowed down almost to a stop, then fast forwarded to Pain raising his hand towards Hinata's position. Naruto's brain raced.
"Wait!"
Yet again, Hinata was thrown backwards. This time into a pile of rubble and broken pipes. Naruto wanted to wince, but he had something more urgent at hand.
"Pain! I'm right here! Why the hell are you wasting time on that woman?" Naruto's shouts were desperate.
"That woman is exactly what I need to show you what real pain is." The spiky-haired murderer said with conviction. His answer only served to alarm Naruto far more.
"Come back here and finish me! What's the fucking point on taking it out on her?!" His neck strained as he tried to look backwards. Pain's step were clearly heard in the silence, but he couldn't hear his dear friend.
"I'll show you." Pain said with a silky voice. Now he was standing in between both Konoha shinobi. Once he reached his influence zone, he pulled the girl brusquely out of the pile of rubble. Flicking his hand backwards, he stepped aside so the girl flew past him and crashed almost on top of Naruto.
"Hinata!" His teeth were grinding against each other forcefully, either with fear or rage. Naruto couldn't tell which one was stronger.
The girl emitted a painful grunt as she skipped in the hard ground three times, falling a few meters away from the jinchuriki.
'Is she conscious?' Naruto watched impatiently as her body stood still. Suddenly, her shoulders began to stir. "Run away, Hin!"
"She's too weak to go anywhere." Pain said as he walked slowly towards them.
Hinata coughed heavily, and a few drops of blood splattered from her mouth. The girl placed shaky arms against the floor to try and stand up.
"Pain! I'm begging you!" He watched the taller man from the corner of his blue, yet terrified eyes. "Just kill me, she has nothing to do with this."
For the first time in minutes, the heavily pierced man turned his eyes to his victim. "You don't get it. Right now, that girl represents hope." He pointed directly at the Hyuuga, finally being able to get on her knees. "I can see it in her eyes. She'll do anything she can to help you get out of this alive. She hopes she can help you, and you hope she doesn't get killed by me."
Pain stopped directly in front of the blond. He bent down to recover the bloody rod Hinata had managed to take out of him and pointed it at her. Naruto's nostrils flared up.
"True pain comes when you witness that ray of hope die in front of you." The Akatsuki member graced him with a small grin.
"I'll kill you if you fucking hurt her again!" The force in the blond's voice surprised both Hinata and Pain.
"Oh. I liked it more when you when begging, Kyuubi." Pain said in an amused tone, watching as Naruto's red irises were posed on him.
"I'm warning you!" Naruto felt his hair standing up on end. As enraged as he was, he'd let some of Kyuubi's chakra envelope him in a palpable orange screen of chakra. His ears were filled with the sizzling sound of his various wounds starting to heal rapidly. "I'll tear your throat apart with my bare hands!"
"Dully noted." Without any further discussion, Pain turned an extended hand towards the disheveled woman, while he placed the rod at the ready. "Banshou Ten'in."
An invisible force pulled Hinata towards the user. It was so strong that her head got pulled back. The Hyuuga forced her tearful eyes open against the whipping wind and poised them on Naruto one last time. His mouth was open as he screamed at Pain to stop, but the noise of wind pushing past her ears made it impossible for her to listen to his voice.
'At least I got to confess to you.'
There was an opposing force that got her from behind. It felt like a solid crash, but her head was being held in place along with the rest of her body by an invisible pull.
Her mind was too shocked to make any sense of it, but she guessed Pain must be as confused as she was, because there was livid bewilderment gracing his once stoic features.
Once Pain's Divine Pull faded away, Hinata fell soundly to the ground and her body started to retreat.
"A Nara?!" Pain asked incredulous as he saw the trail of a shadow trailing behind Hinata.
"Shika…" The blond breathed out. His left eyelid was almost closed shut, as he felt his head was going to explode. 'I'm really in no shape to keep fighting.' Nevertheless, he kept releasing red chakra so he could at least heal one of his arms and try to do something.
"I got her!" Shikamaru yelled to Ino as he motioned for her to take her.
"He's coming for us!" Ino screamed out in response, watching with terrified eyes as Pain had used his jutsu on him so he was flying at an amazing speed at them.
"Pain!" The blond hollered, but he was already on his murderous way.
To Pain and Naruto's surprise, a bulky form connected with the Akatsuki leader just as he was landing near Hinata's saviors. Pain's breath was knocked out of his lungs as an enlarged Chouji rolled onto him, carrying him away until they hit a semi-fallen wall.
'Well done Chouji.' Shikamaru congratulated, as he sent his shadow to drag him back next, away from harm.
Meanwhile, Naruto was grunting in pain as he tried to move his arm, but it seemed to weight a ton.
"Don't move or you'll hurt yourself further." A familiar voice said as the owner arrived right next to him.
"But I have to-"
"Let me heal you first." Sakura said, not even thinking twice about ripping all three of Naruto's remaining rods out of his body. She resisted the urge to wince at his yells of agony. "Sorry. Katsuyu and I will help while the others distract him."
Naruto wasn't familiar with the name, but as soon as he felt a cold, slimy mass pressing against his skin, he realized it must be one of the clone of Tsunade's slug. With another grunt, the blond managed to say, "My legs."
"I'll take care about them." Sakura said firmly, already applying healing chakra with both hands on Naruto's right hip. "You heal his shoulders."
"The right one first." Naruto commanded. He was pushing more fox chakra into his system to increase the regeneration speed. "Quick! They won't last long."
Sakura lifted her eyes to see Ino lifting Hinata over her shoulder and trudging slowly into the steep slope that lead out of the current battlefield. There was a red glare just to the south, were Naruto had started the fire and it still wasn't contained due to the proximity to Pain's current position.
"Don't get closer than this." The Nara said to his tired friend. There was sweat running down his back, and his shoulder was still bothering him. Chouji had grime all over his face with streaks of tears cutting clear lines along his face.
"S-Shikamaru, I don't think I can do much to him. If my father couldn't hurt him then I'll never-"
"Chouji, don't think about that." The Nara advised, still not reaping his eyes away from Pain. "We only need to distract him a while longer."
It was then that Pain decided to turn his head, just to see a glowing Naruto being aided by a pink-haired chuunin. His eyes turned murderous.
"Shit." Shikamaru cursed loudly. "Get away from there, Sakura!"
His words came too late, as both Naruto and Sakura were still inside the orange-haired man's range. The ground started to shake as the divine push was rapidly coming towards them. Team 7's members braised for impact.
Hinata saw from the corner of her eyes as Naruto and his teammate were swept from the ground and sent skipping harshly on the floor. The blood stains the Uzumaki left on the ground as he went made her turn back to her senses.
"Hinata!" Ino called in alarm as the girl struggled away from her hold and went limping down again towards the battlefield.
"Naruto, he's coming for us!" Sakura panted. She'd been healing people all afternoon and Naruto still needed much more chakra.
"Don't stop." The blond told her. The tiny slug hadn't budge from her place in his shoulder even from the hit. He was feeling much better, but the gaps on his joints were still painful, and Sakura had only managed to heal one side of his hip. "I need more of your healing jutsu. I can't take out more of Kyuubi's chakra."
Sakura nodded, although the sound of Pain's footsteps coming right for them was making her shake all over.
"I'll end up killing 5 instead of just one of your friends." The Akatsuki member threatened as he extended both hands at them.
A soft yet strange sound came rushing past his ear. His senses told him to move out of the way, but it still managed to clip at the right side of his face.
Pain turned around to see the same long-haired girl that had defied him earlier. She looked worse for wear but there was still that intense look in her eyes that ticked at Pain's temper. Something on the ground called his attention.
Naruto and Sakura saw with horror as Pain regarded his fallen ear coldly.
"INO! WHY IS SHE STILL HERE?!" The blond turned his head to Ino, who was running towards the tired Hyuuga.
Hinata ignored Naruto's words. She remained with her hand extended, trying to gather another chakra concentrated attack to at least blind him, but her reserves were too low.
"I'll start with her." Pain said. He raised his hand and trapped a large boulder under his jutsu's influence.
Hinata saw the rock flying towards her, but she only managed to take one step to the right. It still didn't manage to get her out of the way entirely. The rock hit her shoulder and her side torso, breaking her arm and a few more ribs along its way.
Gritting his teeth, the blond turned to Sakura. "Are you connected with Ino right now?"
Sakura looked at him nervously and nodded.
"Tell her to tell Shikamaru that I need him to hold Pain still as soon as he performs his next jutsu." The blond placed his healed right arm on the ground to support himself as he tried to stand up.
"But Naruto-san, your other arms is still-"
"I can't wait any longer." His left shoulder had a long way to go, but at least the hole was already closed.
Sakura did as she was told. She also told Katsuyu to stick to Naruto's arm so she could heal him up to the last minute.
'I can't use sage mode again.' The blond reminded himself. Even if he had enough time to gather nature's chakra, his mind was too unstable to handle the power. He was too angry and scared, so he'd have to take on Pain again with just some of the Fox's help.
Another three boulders rained down on top of Hinata and Ino, but Chouji enlarged his hands to protect them from damage.
Shikamaru didn't lose time. Just as the rocks were reaching their maximum height, he used their shadows against the sun to get to Pain's form faster.
Naruto was already placing his hand on the ground and summoning the large toad yet again.
Just as Gamabunta appeared, Naruto shouted orders at him. Pain wanted to turn his head but found it impossible to move. He promised himself to kill the whole Nara clan as soon as he got Kyuubi out of Naruto.
"Do it!" The blond said as he stood up to his full height with his right arm on top of his wounded shoulder. The frog wrapped his long tongue around Pain's body and pulled him harshly to his mouth.
Naruto jumped in after him and placed his arm against Pain's throat on a choking grip.
"Is he crazy? Secluding himself with that monster is a death sentence!" Ino said dramatically, looking in horror at Naruto struggling to keep Pain in check.
Hinata managed to place her blurry view on Naruto just seconds before the frog closed its trap and leapt away.
There was a massive surge of energy. Immediately afterwards, Gamabunta's mouth expanded three times its usual size just as he was leaping on top of the Hokage monument. The frog seemed to withstand the terrible force coming from within his mouth.
"Naruto better come out of this alive." Sakura said, walking tiredly towards her friends. "Let me see to her."
She kneeled beside the now unconscious Hyuuga and frowned. Sakura then turned to Chouji.
"Give me a soldier pill, Chouji. I ran out of chakra."
"You'll collapse afterwards! There more people elsewhere needing medical assistance." Ino scolded her friend, but Sakura still took the purple pill from Chouji's dirty hands.
"She needs help now." Sakura said firmly. "I'll help as much people as I can before exhaustion hits me."
The Haruno ripped Hinata's coat with a knife to look at the damage better. There was blood everywhere.
'Besides, Naruto wouldn't forgive me if I let her die.'
The medic-nin bit onto the pill.
"It's the last time, boy." Gamabunta said through a mouthful of blood as he spit both Pain and Naruto out in the clear.
Holding him down had been almost impossible. His muscles were screaming in agony as the force of Pain's jutsu almost tore them apart. The giant frog had managed to withstand two of Pain's mighty pushes.
They were now facing each other a good distance away from the village, and Naruto had only enough chakra for only a few more attacks.
"Pain, you could've killed me back there instead of going after my friend." The blond said seriously, as a rasenshuriken hovered in his right hand. "I'll make you regret that."
The man dismissed the deadly jutsu easily with a wave of his hand and a surge of his chakra. Naruto had leapt on top of him and was coming down with a chakra-imbedded fist, but with a powerful kick to his face, Pain sent him flying away from him.
"Not just yet." The Akatsuki leader said under his breath, pulling Naruto under his jutsu just before he could get too far from him. "I still have one more rod."
Pain extended the cylinder and waited patiently for Naruto to fall right into it. The blond managed to turn on his axis just as he was about to crash against the hated rod. With the last of his chakra, he summoned a blade on his palm just as he approached Pain.
"Hmmm." Zetsu mused as he shook his head gravely.
It has been his duty to monitor every part of the invasion and make sure Pain finished his self-imposed task, but ever since the start of the fight with the Jinchuriki the plant-resembling ninja had his doubts about the outcome. The Kyuubi container had shown amazing feats of chakra control and cautiousness that had helped him dispose of all but one of the Paths of Pain. He somehow knew of the individual powers of each member. Even at a clear number disadvantage, the Uzumaki managed to outsmart every attack sent to him.
"You had him." Zetsu said out-loud. He wasn't concerned Naruto might spot him, as his special chakra made it almost impossible to track. "If you had just taken him then and there…" But Pain's need to prove his point exposed him to Naruto's backup.
'I wonder how Madara will react.' It would come as a surprise, of course. But he wouldn't necessarily get mad. 'He also wanted to have a go at the Kyuubi.'
Naruto's loud grunts of pain filled the forest as he climbed with effort a rocky mountain. His left pectoral had been pierced with Pain's last rod. Apparently it had been intentional, as he had taken advantage of the proximity and slashed Pain into two. As he watched from afar, Zetsu was sure he'd just turn around and look for help back in the village. But the blond sat down through the pain and summoned his special chakra, then directed towards the highest mountain on the plains near Konoha.
'He's coming for you, Nagato.' Apparently, using sage chakra made it possible to track Akatsuki's "leader" chakra signals. 'The Rinnegan isn't foolproof after all.'
Zetsu watched closely as Naruto tripped on his feet and fell to his knees. After a minute of gathering his breath, the blond climbed back to his feet. The rod was still incrusted in his chest.
'You better be ready for him, Konan. It's your job to finish the task if Nagato fails.'
The woman would get all the glory, even if it were Nagato's puppets who did most of the job.
Even so, the last strike is the only one that counts.
Loud sounds of heaves filled the cavern they were both occupying.
Konan kneeled with a worrying frown all over her face. She knew her friend and leader had used almost all his chakra in the fight, but she didn't imagined it would be this bad.
A pool of blood shimmered under the few sun rays that managed to get through the cave opening. Nagato kept vomiting until his lungs finally permitted him a few breaths.
"I should take you back to the village. There's medic-nin already waiting for your arrival." The beautiful woman said with concern.
Her heart sank when the skinny man shook his head heavily
"He's coming here." He said with a very weak and very hoarse voice. "I'll face him."
"Face him?! You can't even stand!" She didn't want to admit it, but the Kyuubi jinchuriki had accelerated Nagato's death. If she didn't get him to medical assistance soon…
"He deserves to see the real face of Pain." The skeleton-looking man said heavily. There were tiny droplets of blood dripping down his chin.
"He's going to kill you."
"If he comes at me, you kill him." Nagato ordered, turning his weak Rinnegan eyes to his childhood friend. "But I want to talk to him first."
Konan was tempted to keep protesting at Nagato's decisions, but a forceful breathing stole her attention. Nagato also turned his eyes to the entrance of the cave.
They had to wait a few seconds before they saw the owner of the sounds. Slow and heavy steps along with several coughs announced the Uzumaki's visit to the attackers cave.
Once he reached he entrance, he propped his body on the wall nearest to him as he took a seconds to regain his breath.
"I…" The tall, blond-haired boy said with a heavy gasp. "I've read about you…" He finally raised his strange eyes to the couple. Even if his body was in a pitiful state, his eyes garnered the strength he had shown all along during battle. "A lot."
Both men in the cave were bleeding profusely, but Naruto's wounds were far more recent and deeper. Even so, he still sported a mixture of the Kyuubi's red, slitted irises crossed with the sage-mode's horizontal ones.
Forcing his aching body to sit straight on his hellish throne, Nagato fixed his eyes on the young shinobi. "So he really wrote that stupid book about me."
Konan's fingers twitched in anticipation. Her muscles were tensed and her jaw clenched, waiting expectantly at any sign from the blond that could threaten Nagato's wellbeing.
Naruto's eyes sharpened as he took in the sight of the real enemy. He was too tired to keep fighting, so he decided to slip against the rocky wall to a sitting position.
Their talk was about to begin.
"Shizune-san!" An strange but urgent voice called from outside the tent. The short-haired medic ninja turned her gaze to the entrance of the main medic hut, but couldn't fully pay attention to it, since there was a man with a crushed arm she had to amputate.
"I'm a little busy in here!" She called, noting how weary her voice sounded. She had to ration her chakra carefully so she could tend to as much victims as she could. Actually there were sixty or so people being given general treatment outside, while another doctor identified which of those needed urgent care and place them on the waiting list.
"Not for her!" A tall ANBU-masked shinobi scurried in between the flaps of the make-shift building. He held one flap open to let two other persons pass. Each one was carrying the end of a stretcher.
"You can't let her in! I'm still with a patient!" Shizune said, alarmed. She was ready to kick their asses back outside when the familiar clothing of the unconscious patient caught her attention.
"That's-"
"The Hokage." The dog-masked shinobi said hurriedly. Not even the mask could hide the worry he was surely feeling. "She's too weak. We've given her CPR to keep her alive but she needs help."
"Oh my god!" Shizune exclaimed, all color draining from her face.
Never, on her thirty-two years of existence, did she imagine she would see her mentor without her perpetual genjutsu. But not even after gazing down at her fallen master could she see any resemblance to the strong and ill-tempered woman she knew and loved.
"What…" The shock was evident on her voice, but as she analyzed Tsunade's pale and severely wrinkled skin she started to understand what was happening. "You fool!"
She took her pulse. It was weak and unstable. Tsunade was about to go into cardiac arrest. And no wonder why. She had depleted all her chakra reserves and still had the Seal pumping chakra to the thousands of healing slugs all over the village.
Trying to cut her jutsu short by releasing a shocking chakra current through Tsunade's neck, she waited.
"No." Shizune wailed in distress.
"What is it?" The high-ranked ninja asked worriedly.
"She's not letting go of her jutsu. She's going to die if she doesn't!"
Her master was so set on saving the villagers at any cost that she fell unconscious with that idea printed on her mind. Shizune was racking her brain for some way she could stop the chakra flow. Her eyes then popped open at an idea.
"Bring me a Hyuuga!"
"Chouji, stay with Sakura in case she depletes her reserves. Ino and I will take Hinata back to her clan."
Shikamaru's voice seemed to get closer by the second. The girl tried to move her head towards his voice.
"Shika, she's waking up." Ino's voice hovered on top of her. Hinata moved her eyes so she could look at Ino staring down at her. "How are you feeling?"
The Hyuuga blinked twice as the blurred image of Ino slowly got into focus. "Ino…" She said weakly, the distinctive taste of the coppery blood gracing her mouth and lips. "Where's Naruto?"
The blond beauty gave an unsure look at her teammate, asking for advice.
"He's taken Pain away from the village." Shikamaru answered from his place on the dirty ground. There was sweat all over his face.
"Alone?!" Hinata asked in alarm. The thought of a wounded Naruto fighting that monster was enough to chase all grogginess away from her body. She rose to a sitting position, but Ino prevented her from getting up.
"You can't help him." She reminded her.
"No one else can. Pain eliminated anyone strong enough to help. Even the Hokage is missing…" The Nara's grave tone made Hinata worry even more.
"I still can do something."
"You couldn't reach him even if we let you. Look at you, Hinata, you almost died back there." Ino pointed to her clothes and face, and the blood staining her shirt.
"We almost died back there." Shikamaru corrected, taking a crumpled cigarette out of his breast pocket and placing it in his mouth tiredly.
"Besides, Hinata…" Ino's tone turned gentle as she placed a hand on her shoulder. "He wouldn't want you with him. He's scared for your life. That's why he tried so hard to drive Pain out of the village."
A big and painful "but" wanted to escape Hinata's lips, but only a few tears made it down her eyes and cheeks. She not only felt helpless but also scared for Naruto. He had been hurt so badly and she still couldn't believe he had gone to take on Pain again.
"I'm sorry, Hinata." Shikamaru said. Ino nodded with her.
From their tones, the girl knew they thought Naruto would most likely be dead by now. But Hyuuga Hinata couldn't let herself think like them. She had always trusted Naruto's strength and ability and she wasn't about to stop now. If there was even a tiny chance to find him alive then she would take it.
"I'm going to look-"
In that precise moment, an overwhelming source of energy entered Konoha without a warning. It blinded everyone, even if they had their eyes closed. And although people started to scream in terror as they thought it was another attack from Akatsuki, the light slowly began to soothe them when they realized it wasn't doing harm to anyone.
But the survivors couldn't taste the real power of that white and pure energy.
It wasn't meant for them.
"If he trusted you, then so will I." The beautiful-looking woman said, as she nodded farewell to him and summoned paper wings to carry her and her dead leader away from the valley behind Konoha.
It might have been a dream, for all he knew.
He wasn't feeling very lively, in fact. The wound that had been hurting him a while ago was a low throb that was still bleeding. He didn't need a mirror to know his face was white as a sheet of paper.
There were still tears running down his face. He couldn't tell the exact meaning for his tears thought. They might be falling because of the sentimental talk he and Nagato had about the great and naïve man they both called "Sensei" at a given point in time. Or it might have been because of a strange yet beautiful promise Nagato told him.
"There won't be any funerals tonight."
He had been so sure of himself, that even if his words sounded mysterious and far-fetched, Naruto believed them.
Then he had summoned and incredible amount of energy into his core, then expulsed it like an explosion in every direction.
It had been harmless to Naruto, but it left him light-headed.
The feeling of wooziness was stronger than ever.
He knew that the fight was over now, but couldn't actually bring himself to believe it all had ended. He didn't even know how he would go back to the village. But he guessed he'd have to try.
It was a long climb back down. The mountain he was in was surrounded by tall trees that did not quite reached its peak. He didn't had energy to run, but he might be able to walk. And he would be dammed if he died before reaching Konoha. There was someone he was desperate to see again.
Leaning with his bloody hand against the rocky mountain walls, Naruto began his slow descent. The rod Nagato's puppet stabbed in his lung was still there, but based on experience, the chuunin knew it was better in than out. Wheezing painfully, the blond pressed a dirty hand against his sweaty face as he was halfway down the slope.
After a slight pause, the blond began to walk again.
His senses detected a disrupting wave of chakra in his proximity, but he was slow to locate its origin. So slow, in fact, that the source of foreign chakra was already gripping his wrist and looking at him straight in the eye.
The blond yelled in surprise and fear as a horrible face glared at him from his place within the rock wall.
"Hello, Uzumaki-san." The two faced figure, half white and half black, was grinning hauntingly at him. The torso of the creature, whatever it was, seemed to be coming out of the rock as if there was no rock at all. A pale, pale hand was grasping his wrist and started to pull.
"The fuck!"
"Since Nagato couldn't bring you to our quarters, I guess I'll take the job onto myself." The face spoke softly, but that grin was terrifying.
Before the figure could pull him any further with him, the blond took a kunai from his tattered pocket and slashed at the hand.
The white skin felt like butter as Naruto detached it from the source. He lost his balance as he took a few steps behind. Unfortunately for the Uzumaki, there was no more ground for him to step in.
Zetsu watched disappointedly as the young man fell into the trees below with a scream.
Hiashi entered the white tent with a frown on his face.
The sight of the Hokage only served to deepen his frown. He knew something bad was going on even before her apprentice had the chance to tell him. Only when he activate his powerful Byakugan he understood the magnitude of the damage.
"Hyuuga-sama…" Shizune started from her place besides her master. The chakra ministrations she was performing on her were doing little to no effect on Tsunade.
With five quick perforations to the Hokage's chakra system, Hyuuga Hiashi silenced the woman and everyone in the tent.
A pregnant silence followed as they all watched Tsunade's Seal retreating from her face and back to the diamond shaped figure on her forehead.
"To everyone present, let me tell you this." Said the Hyuuga clan leader with a grave tone. "Even if I stopped what was ailing her, there's a ninety five percent chance she is not going to make it."
ANBU members and hospital members stood looking at him with the words dying in their mouths.
Shizune first looked at Hiashi and then back down to the decrepit form of her master, whose breathing was so shallow you could only hear it pressing your ear against her mouth.
"I am deeply sorry."
"There isn't any other way." A deep, sad voice was speaking against the background of loud battlefield noises going on really close to them.
"But Minato, he's just a babe!" The despair on the woman's voice was clear and undeniable. She seemed to be weeping as she spoke. "You can't brand him with this kind of evil when he's done nothing wrong!"
"It is a cruel fate for our son." The man, who now seemed to speak with difficulty told the woman in despair. "But he'll understand some day."
The wailing of a little child filled his ears. That sound seemed awfully familiar.
"Konoha must survive. And you with it, Naruto." The man's voice was filled with emotion. It was so intense that it made Naruto stir internally.
"I love you." The woman's voice chimed in. And this time, the feeling behind those complex words struck Naruto painfully in his chest.
A roar rang in his ears, and the baby cried louder. He knew that roar well enough. He knew who it belonged to. It was clearly -
"Naruto." A calm but firm voice woke him violently from his dream, if he really could call it that.
Naruto felt so dizzy and ill, that he had a hard time opening his eyes. The voice tried again.
"Naruto, are you okay?"
That voice. He could also recognize it. But it seemed impossible that he was there with him.
"S-Sensei?" The blond asked fearfully, slowly opening his eyes.
His doubts shattered to the ground as soon as he saw the grey hair dangling in front of him. The man carrying him turned his head slightly so Naruto could see his wrinkly eye smiling at him. The blond was still in shock.
"Is it really you?" The blond called nervously, ignoring the pain on his chest, arm, hand, and pretty much all his body.
"I think I am." Kakashi answered playfully. "Either we're both alive or we're both dead."
The blond wanted to say something but the shock was too great.
"Don't ask me how, because I don't know." The jounin said calmly. "I only remember being in a black room with my father, then back in Konoha again. We were all confused. But I guess you had something to do with it."
"It wasn't me." The blond hurried to say. Kakashi was carrying him piggy back style though the dense forest that Naruto guessed lead back to Konoha. "I think it was Nagat-"
A fit of heavy coughs attacked his lungs, and blood sprayed from his mouth. Each cough was a grim reminder of the rod still incrusted in his chest.
"Don't force it, Naruto. You're in a really bad shape." Kakashi warned. He was pleasantly surprised that Naruto hadn't force the cylinder out of his lungs, like he'd done with a knife four years ago in the chuunin exams. If he had, then he would've died long ago. "You'll tell me later whatever happened between you and Pain. And about the severed hand I found clutching at your wrist."
The blond waited for his coughs to reside. He took a shaky breath. "Is everyone… okay?"
Kakashi nodded. "As far as I can tell."
A calming yet painful breath escaped Naruto's lips.
It felt like a dream come true knowing there were no casualties, just like Nagato promised. A few tears silently escaped his eyes.
Kakashi didn't seem to notice.
When the blond started to recognize the woods they were travelling, he asked Kakashi to let him down.
"You're too weak." Said the masked man.
"I don't want everyone to see me on your back like a child."
"Technically you are a child." Kakashi teased. He also couldn't hide the happiness to see his student again.
"Technically I'm an adult." Naruto reminded his teacher. "I can show you my ID if you like. But they're in my other pants, so you'll have to take my word for it." The Uzumaki was hurting all over, but the elation flowing through his veins was enough to make him forget about it for just one second. He wanted to laugh loudly. Kakashi was alive. Not only him, but he would bet every dead body was now reuniting with their family and friends.
The grey-haired Sharingan user chuckled warmly. He bended down a little so Naruto could stand on the ground. But he didn't let him walk all by himself. The blond had to wrap an arm around Kakashi's shoulders so he could walk without falling face first into the ground.
"You've gotten taller." Kakashi conceded. Naruto wanted to reply to his comment but the whole walking endeavor left him out of breath. After a few minutes they reached what once have been a main entrance of Konoha.
The blond swept his eyes around the devastated area with a heavy heart. Even if Nagato had honored his word, Konoha was still the remainder of a battlefield. Broken wood, bent metal and insurmountable amount of dust littered everywhere they stepped.
But even in that depressing scene, the people they encountered on their way to the center of the village seemed to be happy beyond measure.
Fathers hugged their once lost sons with tear in their eyes, and mothers wept endlessly as their daughters hugged their middle. It really showed Naruto that all you ever needed was your precious people around you to really feel like home.
"It's him!"
"He's alive!"
"Who?"
Naruto and Kakashi started to look around and see just how many people where whispering or plainly shouting to each other about Naruto's survival.
"I thought we were done for, Naruto-san!" A man in his forties told Naruto as he held onto his wounded hand with tears on his blood-shot eyes.
"Whatever you did, thank you!" Another man shouted from a distance, with his family chorusing after him.
"Eh…" The blond couldn't even mutter a reply since the words were starting to spread as they travelled across the devastated village. Strangers were thanking him with shameless sobs, while a crowd was gathering behind him and Kakashi.
The shouts of thank yous were getting louder and louder. Once every two seconds somebody yelled for him or tried to shake his hand.
He didn't know how many people knew it was him fighting the invasion. But apparently it was everybody. Or it was soon going to be. The clueless villagers first looked at him with skepticism but then they saw his wounds and joined the crowd.
"Is there a way to hide from all of them?" The blond whispered on Kakashi's ears.
"Impossible." Kakashi said firmly. "Everybody knew it was you battling the six paths of Pain. I was dead and even I know."
"You should tell them I didn't revive all these people." The blond muttered, awkwardly returning a hand wave to some unknown family of ten.
"Try doing it yourself." Said his master with a wink of his eye. "It's not going to matter, though. All they care to know is that you were their savior."
"I'm not a savior." Answered Naruto, flicking the sweat away from his forehead. "I'm just a soldier."
Kakashi smiled but didn't bother answering him. Their words were drowned by the clamor of what looked like half the town.
The blond started to look closely at the people that made it harder to advance. He expected to see his Hyuuga friend among the crowd, or at least his teammates, but there were just strangers clamoring for him.
They advanced until it got to a point that there was nowhere else to go, unless they tried shoving villagers aside to try and pass.
Naruto was too tired for that.
"Stop worrying, Hinata, I told Kakashi-sensei to get him back." Sakura said tiredly to her dear friend.
Even if she wanted to believe the pink-haired woman's words, the Hyuuga still had to clutch Ino's arm since her nerves weren't going anywhere.
The Yamanaka was about to yell at her to stop gripping so hard, but managed to contain herself. Not even she could imagine the kind of distress Hinata was in.
"Are you sure he'll find him alive?" The heiress asked, still unsure.
"Well, yes…" Sakura tried to sound firm on her words, but even she couldn't be sure. "I mean, he must have defeated Pain and forced him to revive everyone, right?"
Those words were still too good to hear. Shikamaru was still pondering about how Chouji's father and Kakashi-sensei could come back to life in just about a second, but he needed more information to make a conclusion. Not even the revived could tell him anything for him to make sense of the situation.
The Nara wasn't the only one asking himself how it happened, a lot of people were wondering about the miracle, but they were more concerned in hugging and kissing the people they thought they'd lost.
"What is it now?" Shikamaru asked impatiently as he noticed how every single person surrounding them was now heading to the West.
"Hey!" Ino scolded one little kid with her sister in tow as he crashed against the side of her leg.
"Sorry!" Called the boy throwing his head back at Ino.
Sakura got nervous as she though there was another catastrophe coming upon them, but the gleeful and interested expressions of the villagers made her think differently.
"Where are they going?" the medic-nin asked her best friend, but only got a shrug in return.
"Maybe…" The Hyuuga started to speak, but she trailed off when she decided to bring forth her Byakugan and confirm her suspicions herself.
"What do you see, Hinata?" Sakura asked. She, as well as Ino, was impatient to know what the hell was provoking such behavior.
The girl didn't respond. Her eyebrows were knitted together in concentration until she reached the two known chakras at the center of the huge crowd that was getting bigger with each passing minute. Her eyes widened to the point that her Byakugan retreated.
"Hinata?" Ino called again, but the girl was already on the move. And this time she didn't need to be held up by Ino. "Where are you- wait!"
"We should go with her." Shikamaru said neutrally, taking one last drag from his smoking cigarette.
"Why? What's going on?" The golden-haired Yamanaka asked with irritation.
"Isn't it obvious?" The Nara replied, walking past the two women and knowing fully well that it wasn't obvious for them. Ino sent him an impatient glare. "He's back."
Ino stared from her teammate to Sakura, then to the direction Hinata had gone. With an unspoken agreement, Sakura and Ino started jogging in the same direction of the rest of the villagers. Ino tried to locate Hinata and saw her zig-zagging among the moving crowd.
She could hardly breathe. Hinata's breath was catching on her throat as she sidestepped people repeatedly. She would hate to bump into someone and cause them any inconvenience, but there was a powerful and invisible force that made her go faster ahead. The Hyuuga could count the remaining meters until she could reach the center of the tightly formed jam.
She reached a point where there wasn't any more space to move, so she had to excuse herself loudly and bypass villager after villager. It was only then that her ears perked up at what most people were shouting.
"You saved our lives, Naruto!" Someone right next to her shouted. The man was trying to get on his tip toes to get a better view.
"Naruto-niisaaaan!" One child screamed from his place on his father's shoulders, and numerous others joined him on his chant.
The crowd was tightly packed together, and Hinata thought that she'd have a heart attack if she had to wait one more minute to finally see him. Suddenly, other types of shouts caught her attention.
"Make way! Let him pass!"
"Don't you see he's badly hurt?! Step aside, please!"
'Badly hurt?' Hinata's ears rang with the worrying comment. Fear clutched at her navel at the thought of a badly hurt Naruto. She hoped it wasn't as bad as when she saw him nailed to the ground by freakishly large rods. She turned her body to the source of the shouts and made her way North.
After bumping hundreds of times against other bodies and apologizing, the girl found herself at the edge of the parting crowd. Even raising to her tiptoes, she couldn't manage to see any sign of him or his hair. With one last, forceful push, the girl made her way to the clear path people had formed for Naruto and Kakashi to get through.
She stood looking at the ground and realizing she had finally made some kind of progress. People were murmuring amongst themselves but she hardly placed any thought on them. She looked to the right, and saw that a few meters away from her, people still weren't making way.
'The other way.' Hinata thought. 'For sure.'
Turning her head slowly, she finally saw him.
But he didn't see her.
Naruto's attention was focused on a group of eight citizens bowing their heads at him and praying for his recovery. Kakashi seemed bored by the whole ordeal, but Naruto was trying his best to offer the group a smile.
The girl found herself panting. Fifteen minutes of making her way to find him had left her exhausted. It was a miracle she hadn't fainted in the middle of the gathering. She wanted to call his name, but seeing him in the terrible shape he was left her speechless.
How could he smile with wounds so terrible? There was a very familiar rod, which had been broken in half, housed in his chest. The ground he was standing in was stained with droplets of his blood, which was dripping from his arm mostly, but also his leg and back.
"Naruto…" She whispered, feeling tears starting to fill her eyes yet again. He had no shirt and his pants were ripped in different places, but a coat of blood was covering almost all of his torso, neck and arms. "Oh my God."
Even his face was tainted with drying blood, but it had washed away with the trails of his sweat. She couldn't even imagine what he must have gone through to dispose of the six path monster.
The blond finally casted aside the group of admirers and set forth with a firm intention of not stopping again until he found a medical tent.
But as soon as he gave the first step and faced forward, he halted harshly, making Kakashi stumble. The gray-haired jounin turned to Naruto with a puzzling stare. He became even more confused when he saw how Naruto froze in place, his mouth hanging open.
Suddenly, the blond retreated his arm from Kakashi's shoulders. The jounin tried to hold him in place but Naruto scurried his arm away from his grip.
"What's going on?" The Sharingan user's words reached deaf ears.
The blond started to limp away from him, gathering speed with each step. In other circumstances people would consider his limping funny. But not today.
Kakashi's eyes grew in alarm as the blond's feet got tangled and started to fall face first, only to get caught just in time by the Hyuuga heiress.
'Oh. So that's why.' The Hatake thought with a chuckle. He turned his head to the right to find Sakura and her group of friends standing in the sidelines and watching expectantly, just like everybody else.
His distinct scent, followed by the sharp smell of blood and dirt engulfed Hinata as Naruto's whole body weighted down on her. She managed grab him from under his arms and regained her balance. He was finally with her, and she could only mutter his name against his ear. "N-Naruto…"
"Hey." He replied. She knew there was a smile in his face even if she couldn't see him. The girl pressed herself harder against him, ignoring the pain she might cause him. "Hinata, please. It really hurts."
Snapping her head back in guilt, she finally faced him. "I'm sorry." The Hyuuga wanted desperately to bury her face in his chest, but the offending cylinder was sticking out of it. Tears were running freely down her cheeks.
"C'mon Hin, don't cry." Naruto said in his softest tone, placing a trembling hand on the side of her neck. His sight was beginning to get blurry. Either by his own desire to cry along with her or due to his own exhaustion. "I'm alive and well."
The girl pursed her lips as she suppressed the sob that was trying to escape her throat. "That's exactly why I'm crying." This was the one and only occasion she didn't mind being stared at by hundreds of people. She might feel vulnerable right now, but she couldn't care less.
"If you keep going, you're gonna make me cry too." Naruto admitted, watching her tenderly and finally managing to get a breathless laugh out of her.
Some spectators began whistling at them. The blond didn't even notice.
Drying her tears with the back of her hand, the girl replied, "You're a softie underneath it all, aren't you?" Her once threatening sobs became sporadic fits of laughter. Naruto was also laughing with her.
"Only with you." Were his last words before he closed the distance between their faces and finally managed to do what he wanted to do for the last hour. Hinata responded to the kiss almost immediately by tilting her head to the side and letting the elating feeling of having Naruto back with her, so close to her, wash all over her body.
The whole crowd exploded with cheers and applause. Whistles were heard from five mile radius. Even their fellow ninja joined the celebration.
Ino was so excited that she gripped Shikamaru's shoulders harshly and began jumping up and down with Sakura in tow. Both girls ignored the shouts of pain from the Nara.
"They finally did it!" Ino yelled with a breathless grin. "I'm so proud of her!"
"I'm so proud of both!" Sakura replied, not even letting her chakra depletion interfere with her celebration. Shikamaru was still screaming at Ino to stop mauling his wounded shoulder. But she couldn't hear him over her own squeals of happiness.
When they finally broke apart, they turned their eyes to the crowd to assess the damage. Naruto could see that Hinata was steadily getting redder and redder.
"I'm afraid to tell you this, Hinata, but only one of us can faint right now." Naruto said. His words snapped her attention back at him. He looked way too pale. "And it's not gonna be you." The blond said with a feeble smile and slightly disoriented eyes.
He stumbled backwards but managed to stay up. Hinata placed her scratched hands on his shoulders to try and stabilize him.
"Naruto-kun?" She called worriedly, noticing how his face was shining with sweat.
"Good luck…" His smile was rapidly turning upside down. His eyes finally rolled over to the back of his skull. The Uzumaki did manage to continue talking, but it only came out as gibberish.
The cheering of the crowd died immediately after Naruto's knees gave into his own weight.
"This Council meeting has been summoned in light of the unprecedented events that have struck Konoha." Said the teammate of the late Third Hokage, Utatane Koharu.
"Thank you all for coming in such a short notice." Homura said with his raspy voice. "There are important matters to discuss tonight."
Danzo swept his eye slowly and analyzed every face across the table. With help of the ANBU, Koharu and Homura were able to summon every council member in the village. It was 10:15 PM until the last one entered the recently built house of operations.
"First of all we nee-"
"Where's the Hokage?" Inuzuka Tsume asked suspiciously, cutting off whatever Homura was going to say. The old man looked at her with distaste.
"The Hokage is battling a very delicate condition." Danzo said, seeing it was his cue to enter the conversation. "Tsunade-sama is in the brink of life and death and is being taken care of by her apprentice."
"How's that possible?!" a bald man with bright, red beard asked. He was known around the village for owning most of the gem stone trading shops around the country. "There weren't supposed to be any casualties."
"You are mistaken Hikane-san." Danzo replied with severe eyes. "There have been plenty of casualties. Those who were on a perilous state of health couldn't be saved by the resurrection jutsu, as it was the case for Tsunade-sama."
"What happened to her?" The Nara clan head asked soberly. He, like the majority of the members in the room, still sported torn and bloodied clothes. Only a few were lucky enough to escape the initial attack coming from Pain.
"As I understand, she used a life-threatening jutsu while dispersing her healing slugs to help the villagers." Homura answered. "She kept using it even after falling unconscious."
"Is she going to recover?" Akimichi Choza asked in concern. He was one of the thousands that were miraculously revived after Naruto's victory over Pain.
"Her vitals are very weak, no matter the treatment she receives." Koharu said, lowering her head in sadness. "We have been advised not to get our hopes up."
"The citizens should know what happened to her." Tsume said, this time waiting for the elder to stop talking.
"There will be a public hearing tomorrow morning." Danzo assured. "But first we must establish a temporary replacement."
The room became quiet. Various council members sent knowing glances at each other. Danzo waited a few seconds before continuing.
"The first order of business is to name three candidates. We will analyze their curriculum and designate the best shinobi to serve as Hokage replacement." Danzo eyed the room quietly.
Shikaku looked first to his Akimichi friend, then to the Yamanaka. They all looked very tense and very tired. 'This is going to be tricky.'
"I nominate myself, obviously." Himura Danzo said, savoring every word.
"You, Danzo?" The only Yamanaka asked seriously. "Wouldn't that interfere with you duties as ROOT leader?"
Danzo smiled internally at the question. Shikaku's eyebrow twitched in annoyance even before he opened his mouth. "On the contrary, Yamanaka-san. If elected, I could use ROOT's resources to strengthen the security around the perimeter of Konoha, since security is what we need the most right now. Maybe this time I can make the right calls on how to guarantee Konoha's defenses against foreign attacks, unlike Tsunade-sama and the Third."
There was a round of agreement from half the members sitting at the table. Hiashi rose his hand politely before speaking. "We shouldn't be so hasty. There are still two other candidates to postulate."
"Do you think there's a better candidate than Danzo, Hyuuga-sama?" Koharu asked with genuine curiosity. Every member turned their heads to the Hyuuga head.
"I believe there's someone just as capable." Hiashi didn't miss the look of displeasure from Danzo. "I nominate Nara Shikaku."
The recent nominee clutched his hands tightly under his chin. 'Damn you, Hiashi.'
"He has proven his strategic skills numerous times. We shouldn't forget how his plans were key to Konoha's success in the past war." Hiashi said, ignoring the glare he was receiving from Shikaku.
"Your words honor me, Hiashi." Replied the scarred Nara, forcing a small smile on his lips. "But I believe there's someone even more fit for the job, more that Danzo or me could ever be."
The Himura gripped his arm tightly. He knew not to take the Nara lightly. He was too smart for his own good. 'Come whatever may. I can shot down any candidate you throw at me.'
"Please do tell, Nara-san." Tenten's father called from the other side of the table.
"Hatake Kakashi." The Nara said confidently. He relished the frown that fell upon Danzo's face. "The Copy Cat. One of the youngest ANBU ever. The best ANBU captain there ever was; that says a lot about his planning and strategic skills. He's smart and strong." Shikaku smiled as he said the last phrase. "He's also the teacher of Uzumaki Naruto, hero of Konoha."
"Don't forget Kakashi also taught Uchiha Sasuke, and he's following the steps of Orochimaru." Danzo hurried to say. "It seems that we have our three nominees, so let me start by saying this: Kakashi may be a great shinobi, but he could never be Hokage because he lacks the discipline needed to withstand the job."
"Can I ask you, ladies and gentleman, the last time you saw Kakashi arrive on time at anything?" Danzo directed his question at the quiet public.
No one replied.
"Or the last time he showed any initiative on a public matter? That's what I thought."
"Nonetheless, he is young. He is able to resist the stress that accompanies the Hokage role." Countered the Nara.
"Too young, if you ask me, Nara-san." Homura answered, shutting down the Nara's last effort. "Young and unexperienced." Koharu nodded her head silently besides her partner.
"That's right." The Hyuuga agreed with a swift nod of his head. "That's why I still stand by Shikaku-san's nomination. He's experienced, and his body and soul can handle the most challenging duties and puzzles."
"If I may, Hyuuga-san." Danzo said, this time standing up to make himself heard. "Even the experienced mind of Nara-san could prevent the invasion from Pain."
"That's just unfair, how could he be responsible of what happened?!" Yamanaka Inoichi questioned, offended by the comments of Danzo.
"The Naras are supposed to guard the woods that surround Konoha." Danzo explained calmly. "If I recall correctly, Shikaku-san set the traps and warning signals that were supposed to alert the city in case of any attack."
"The attack came from the heavens. No one could've expected that." Choza argued in favor of his old friend.
"The Nara should've." Danzo said severely. "They didn't realize the weak point of Konoha."
Inoichi watched his friend closely. He could see that Danzo had struck a nerve there. The Nara's face had gotten steadily redder.
"Danzo-san's words ring true." Hiashi agreed serenely. "He's right about Kakashi's inexperience and Shikaku's mistakes. But he fails to talk about the questionable ways of his organization." The Hyuuga turned completely towards Danzo. "Ever since you created ROOT there have been controversial orders you've delegated. Your soldiers have committed serious offenses in different countries, some of which border on war crimes."
"You might not like the way I run my organization, Hyuuga-san, but you can't deny it is an effective way of keeping Konoha safe." Danzo placed both his hands on top of his cane. "If Hiruzen or Tsunade had lent me half the information they had on Akatsuki, you can be sure this invasion wouldn't have happened."
"If you think that discretion and good practices are the ones keeping us safe, you're wrong!" Danzo raised his voice. "It's thanks to that kind of archaic thinking that made Konoha target of two invasions in less than five years. If we want to reach the top then we have to change our ways drastically. My method works, as I know you are all aware given my bi-montly reports on ROOT's accomplishments."
Danzo's words left everyone else in silence. His speech had some degree of truth in it, but it still went against Konoha's principles. Even so, Shikaku could see that most members were seriously considering his call to change tactics.
"So…" Danzo said amiably, knowing fully well he'd pass every possible obstacle. "Shall we vote?"
"Keep going at it, I'm going to look for another person to replace you." Shizune said as she checked at decrepit Tsunade's vitals. Her master and an unmasked ANBU were the only other persons at the Hokage tent.
The black-haired man was sweating, and his right arm was stiff after three straight hours of ministrations to the village leader.
He was too tired to muster a response. So he just nodded slightly.
Shizune timed Tsunade's heartbeats and came to the conclusion the rate wasn't improving, but she planned to give her as much chakra as she needed to make her better again.
"Shizune-san. Hyuuga-san requests to see you." Another ANBU said from outside the cabin.
The dark-haired medic raised her head towards the door. "Which Hyuuga?" She asked loudly, so that the guard could hear from the other side. After a second it came to her that her question might have insulted whichever Hyuuga it was. They were the proudest clan left in the village.
"Hyuuga Hinata."
Her eyes opened in surprise. A small feeling of pleasure erupted within her. Without replying, Shizune walked over to the door, opened it and closed it behind her. Surely enough there was Hinata, wearing a refreshed look under the moon's light.
"Hinata, hey." Both women hugged each other. "I'm sorry about all the security, but we don't want anyone taking advantage of Tsunade-sama's weak position."
The Hyuuga shook her head. "There's nothing to apologize for, I understand."
"What are you doing here so late?" The medic nin didn't have a watch, but she could guess it was almost 11 PM.
"I finished my shift, and I went to check on Naruto-kun." Explained the young woman. Hinata didn't miss the cheeky grin Shizune was sending at her. "Anyway… He wasn't in his room, so I thought you dismissed him earlier."
"I did not." Said Shizune with a tired sigh. With Tsunade on the brink of death and Sakura unconscious, all decisions on the sick and wounded relied on her now. "He must have escaped once he woke up. You know he likes to do that."
"I guessed as much. But his apartment along with his building has been destroyed and I thought maybe he came here to inquire on Tsunade-sama." Hinata looked disappointed.
"He hasn't been here, Hinata, sorry." Shizune replied. "I'd like to help you look for him, but I have so much stuff to do that it might take all night."
"I understand. I'll keep looking for him, then."
"Make sure he's fine." Shizune instructed her as they bid farewell. "And take care of him, Hinata. He needs someone to look out for him."
The girl looked back at her and nodded, with a noticeable pink trace on her face.
'Now more than ever.' The experienced doctor said internally, thinking back on Tsunade.
His eyes prickled slightly at a salty tear threatening to climb down his face.
He didn't thought it'd be so hard to look upon his mostly devastated village, but as he glanced from the top of the Hokage Mountain, he had a perfect view of the center of Konoha or what it once had been.
Even in the dark of the night, a few fires here and there glittered around the ground. What gave off most of the reddish light was the fighting ground he'd shared with Pain not ten hours ago. A gigantic patch of dirt glowed like a furnace, still hot with the intense fire Naruto had set on the Toad's oil. The heat had receded but it was still dangerous to get near it, and the corps were still too busy with the refugees and wounded that they didn't have time to spray dirt or water on it.
He thought the Hokage faces would bring him some kind of solace, but it felt really strange to now know he was sitting on top of his father's gigantic sculpture.
So much had change so quickly, Naruto was having a hard time taking it all in.
His shoulders itched from the sickening cold feeling of the alcohol that was used to clean his skin. It was so uncomfortable that he didn't even want to put a shirt on. Although he managed to change his tore and bloody pants. The ones he was wearing were filled with dirt and miniature pieces of rubble. They were one of the two pairs he'd managed to salvage from his former apartment.
"There you are." A far off voice called him from the stairs that led to the monument. Naruto turned his head even though he knew perfectly well who that voice belonged to. Sniffing discreetly, Naruto crossed his legs and waited silently for her to reach him.
"What are you doing here?" The blond asked calmly, enjoying silently as her silhouette approached him until he could finally see her face.
"I should ask you the same." The girl responded, but Naruto didn't make any attempt to answer. "I came looking for you. The doctors are worried about you."
The Uzumaki shrugged his shoulders. Hinata then noticed they were bare. "You should put a coat on. What if your wound gets infected?" The girl pointed her finger to the gauze covering the left part of his chest and back. Naruto's healing factor wasn't still on point.
"It won't. It will be fine tomorrow." He motioned to the ground besides him. "If you came all the way to the top of the monument you should at least join me."
"I'd rather take you back to your tent." The Hyuuga heiress answered, but sat down nonetheless. "But I know you won't."
"You know me so well." The blond answered with a smirk. As soon as she was beside him, he took her hand gently on his and looked down at it.
"You know... I'm still mad at you." His tone was now serious, and Hinata forgot the butterflies flapping around her stomach and turned her lilac eyes to him. "You wanted to throw your life away so badly it made my blood boil."
The girl watched silently as Naruto spoke while looking intently at her hand. "I want to shout at you, you know?" Hinata bit her lower lip, like she usually did when she got scolded at. "So bad."
Hinata could tell he was being honest. His eyebrows were knitted firmly together. He was struggling to keep himself in check.
"It can't be called throwing my life away if it helped save you." The beauty answered sternly, raising her eyes to him. Naruto's grip on her hand hardened the slightest bit.
"He almost killed you. Twice." His voice rose just one bit, but even though he was keeping it steady, his eyes were blaming her for all the fear he had to endure while battling Pain. "I was so worried."
"What about Sakura, Naruto-kun?" Hinata countered. "And Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji-kun? Weren't you also worried about them? We were fighting the same battle."
Naruto was taking aback not only about her words but also her tone. He hadn't notice how her hand was gripping on his. "Of course I was worried about them too!" Naruto exclaimed, sounding offended. "I wanted all of you to be safe. But with you…"
The strength in his voice faltered. Hinata saw, with surprise, how the eyes of the most powerful man in the village were looking back at her with fright. "You are different, you know? You are special to me. When Pain was about to strike that final blow… I had never been so afraid in my life."
Hinata's eyes softened. Everything he was saying she knew was true because she could actually feel his fear while in battle.
Without saying a word, the girl snuggled closer to him until she was hugging him from his middle carefully. Naruto hugged her back. "I stink of alcohol."
The girl didn't care at all. She simply said. "You're special to me too, Naruto-kun."
The blond breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed too long ago since he'd have her in his arms.
"I'm not going to ask you for forgiveness because I don't want it. The only thing I wanted was for you to live, so I'm happy, no matter how angry you are with me." She said to his ear. Naruto's spikes were tickling her cheeks.
Naruto hugged her tighter and stayed silent for a couple of minutes, before asking the following:
"Did you mean it?" Suddenly he sounded nervous, even scared. Hinata loosened the hug so she could look at him in the eye. "What you said earlier, did you mean it?"
It was impossible for Naruto to rephrase her words. In the state he was in, it might've been just a dream, but he knew he couldn't have dreamed her confession because he would never be able to imagine that kind of words coming out of her mouth.
Hinata knew exactly what he was referring to. She'd been thinking about what to answer him in case he remembered, but the reply she had carefully planned disappeared as her stomach turned cold with fear.
Her lips cracked open as she tried the first time to reply, but they trembled. "I-I…" She didn't know what Naruto was thinking at the time, but she knew she shouldn't sound insecure about it, otherwise Naruto could assume she didn't mean it at all. "I meant every word of it."
The gulp on Naruto's throat was audible to her ears. She continued. "I've felt about you that way for as long as I can remember, Naruto-kun. But I didn't want to tell you because I know you don't feel the same way."
Even though she made her voice sound secure, Hinata was trembling all over. Her hands had turn cold as ice, and Naruto could feel it. He looked down as he took it all in. 'Maybe this is a dream.' But he knew it wasn't, because Hinata was waiting for him to react.
He looked down to the ground, something that Hinata took as the worst sign of all. In those seconds that Naruto delayed to respond, the Hyuuga told herself that her biggest fear was finally a reality. Of course he wouldn't feel the same way about her. It was too much to ask from him, and it wasn't even his fault.
"Hinata… I think…" He gulped yet again. The blond raised his head to look at her. "… Maybe I…"
The girl couldn't take more of his fearful tone. With a sad smile she silenced him. "I-It's okay, Naruto-kun. You don't have to force yourself and address it right now. I'm fine with just ignoring it ever happened."
The whiskered man shook his head harshly as he grasped her elbows with both hands. "You gotta know this." He said carefully, looking meaningfully at her. Hinata hadn't stop trembling. "You are very special to me…"
'But…' Hinata told herself mentally, preparing for the worst.
"I really like you." The blond stressed the word "really". "It's just… I don't know what love is. It's something I've been missing my whole life. But when I look at you, that word comes out of the blue, you know?"
No. Hinata didn't know. Honestly she thought this conversation would go in a whole different direction.
"It's only a word, though. I'm sure it should come with a feeling but I don't know how strong it should be or what it should feel like." The blond diverted his eyes to the ground, then back to Hinata.
"Naruto-kun?"
"So… What I'm trying to say…" He looked more lost as he went on, so Hinata decided to stop him there.
Naruto felt her sweet lips on top of his. He obviously stopped talking after that.
"You don't have to make sense of it right now." The girl said, a heavy but beautiful blush splattered on her face. "I can wait."
Naruto felt how his shoulders felt lighter in a second. This helped him concentrate more in the next kiss he initiated. It was passionate and carefree, and honestly it was the only thing he wanted before the night ended. Hinata felt him smile as they made out.
Just before Naruto could try and use his tongue, a thought occurred to Hinata.
"Do you have a place to stay?!"
The blond took a moment to analyze the question. His eyes were a little hazy and still staring at her perfect mouth.
"Well, yeah. The shelters have plenty of room, don't they?" He said in a disinterested tone. He took the chance to arrange one of Hinata's strands of hair behind her ear. The girl couldn't help but smile.
"Stay in my house tonight." The girl said firmly. Naruto raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You can stay for as long as you like in one of our guest rooms."
"Thank you Hin, but I don't think your father would want me staying at his house." The whiskered man hurried to say, holding one hand in front of him. "We pretty much blew our cover earlier in front of every single citizen."
'So much for our privacy.' Naruto thought bitterly.
"Father is attending a meeting with the council. I'll make sure no one notice you're staying with us." She promised firmly.
The blond hesitated. "I don't know… What if he finds out? I don't wanna anger him more that he already must be."
Hinata breathed in a calming breath at the chuunin's reluctance to make up his mind. "Naruto-kun, I'll face my father when the time comes. But he won't bother you tonight, you have my word." She leaned closer to the frowning man. "Your room will have a hot bath and clean clothes for you to sleep in."
The blond was sold at the hot bath. Offering Hinata his hand, Naruto helped her to her feet. He didn't keep holding her hand after they were walking to the Hyuuga manor, much to Hinata's disappointment. The Uzumaki preferred to wrap an arm around her shoulders instead.
"Any chance I could get something to eat?" The shinobi asked with a sheepish grin at her.
The girl answered with a small smile, not even caring that her face was red up to her ears. "I can fix a quick meal for the both of us."
"Nice." The blond grinned.
"Not ramen though." Warned Hinata. The dish took too long to cook and it was almost midnight.
"Bummer." Muttered Naruto.
The girl smiled as she looked up at him. "Some other time."
"Fine." The blond answered, pressing her closer to him. "I'll hold you to that promise."
Author's section
(Citizen Soldier – 3 Doors Down)
Thanks for reading!
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- Paty