Chapter Thirteen
Cold air assaulted Naruto's face as he and Hinata rode through the air on a massive eagle summoned by Sai. The cold cut to the bone despite having worn his armored jacket over a thermal under layer and his ANBU gear. Nevertheless, the discomfort was welcome – it was probably the only thing keeping him sharp as they rode in the pre-dawn gloom.
"Naruto, set us down here real quick!" Hinata called out to his ear as she leaned against him. Had this not been an emergency, Naruto might have appreciated the level of body on body contact riding an eagle offered. At the moment, even the most base part of him was desperate to find Hanabi and his baby sister.
"What do you see?" he scanned as he shifted his weight, signaling for the beast-summon to land.
"There!" Hinata dismounted and sprinted as they landed. Hinata dug furiously in the snow as Naruto dismounted to join her. As he reached her side she extracted a kunai with a small charm trinket tied to the handle. "It's Hanabi's! I recognized the charm she tied to it!"
Naruto sniffed the air. Even in the hours since, he could detect the scent of what happened – a desperate break for freedom followed by a panicked surrender after Toneri threatened to snuff Akane out. He was here. That bastard was here! Naruto's blood boiled as his hand clenched into a shivering fist. "We're close," Naruto reactivated his Byakugan and spotted the weird energy signature Toneri and his minions had left behind. While faded, it led to an unusually large concentration of that same energy.
"We must be cautious," Hinata's hand went for the handle of the Hyūga Clan's blade. The fact that she brought the weapon indicated she was not planning on negotiating nor talking the situation out. After nearly killing Naruto with the weapon by accident, Hinata had limited her contact with the sword. Naruto also had mixed feelings about the blade that nearly killed him. On one hand, it could more or less instant-kill anything they knew of. On the other, you don't know everything about it.
As Hinata took off her pack to store the kunai, Naruto caught a glimpse of a familiar shade of red material. Another scarf? Naruto weighed making small talk. Hinata radiated dark tendrils of worry that Naruto could pick up on even without the benefit of their linked chakra. "Talk to her, you idiot!" Kurama chided. "She's scared as hell and needs someone to keep her grounded."
"Hinata, is that a new scarf?" Naruto asked.
"Y-yes…"she spoke like a child caught doing something incredibly naughty.
"Who is it for?" Naruto guessed it was for him, but he didn't want to sound pretentious if it was for Hanabi, Akemi, or someone else.
"You… it was supposed to be a surprise for the Rinne Festival," she sighed, "but now…"Her eyes sank to the ground, staring down at both scarf and kunai.
"Hey," he took her chin in his hand, "it's going to be all right, purple-eyes." He used his pet name for her that he'd used since they were kids. "We're getting through this, girl." He summoned the best smile his exhausted spirit could muster. "I promise."
Even in the dark of predawn, Hinata's blush was visible, "Thank you, Naruto!" She closed her pack and they hurried back to their eagle.
As they remounted and resumed the trail, Naruto's mind wandered to a different Hyūga - Hiashi. The man clearly knew more than he'd initially let on, but he'd been unconscious when they'd brought him back to the hospital, showing clear signs of battle. Maybe he tried talking things out, or maybe he tried taking Toneri alone. Either way, we need to have a long chat when this is over! "There, I see a cave up ahead!" he pointed out the feature where the trail of strange energy culminated.
As Naruto eyed the energy signature, his struggled to make sense of how he knew it was not chakra, though somehow similar to chakra. As they landed, the energy hummed with a familiar tone. Where do I know this? He dismounted beside Hinata. Her melancholy only highlighted the exhaustion of the past several months. She'd gone from being stalked anonymously from afar, to having her life and the lives of those around her directly threatened by Toneri, and finally, learning that weight of the world's end was on her shoulder.
The group landed at the cave mouth. Despite being able to see clearly in the dark, Naruto fully expected something with tentacles to come jumping out to eat him. "Unreal," Naruto said.
"What hell is that, glowing lichen?" Mom asked as she dismounted.
"Stay sharp," Naruto said, adopting a low stance as the group filed behind him. Around two hundred paces or so, the cave opened into a wide cavern with a natural spring that glowed aquamarine.
"Shikamaru," Temari spoke up, "you're the brains, what the hell makes it glow like that?"
"Hell if I know," Shikamaru shook his head. "Naruto, Hinata? What do you see?"
Naruto started into the springs, but he was unable to see through the water. "I can't see anything, whatever it is…"
"It's distorting our Byakugan," Hinata added.
"That's… impossible?!" Mom spoke with troubled words.
"Whatever it is," Naruto attempted to focus his vision, to no avail, "it's not chakra, or at least not any traditional form of chakra." He let his Byakugan down, "We'll have to get ready to swim," Naruto began to untie the scarf Hinata had gifted him for his birthday.
"Don't worry," Sai dipped a hand in and removed it completely dry. "Whatever this water is, it's not leaving anything wet that touches it.
"It's like something out of a fairy tale," Sakura spoke.
Strangely, the mention of fairy tales gave Naruto a sense of familiarity. "Something is waiting for us in there," he said.
"Then we'd better be ready to fight," Temari uncased her fan. She gestured to the water, "Ladies, first!"
"Troublesome woman!" Shikamaru huffed as he jumped in first, followed by Temari. Naruto joined with Hinata and soon the others close behind.
"I can breathe and speak!" Hinata said as she drifted along. As the group drifted, the tunnel illuminated with green orbs the diameter of a grown man. Naruto saw reflections forming the spheres and stood transfixed. The image he saw was his father, holding him after regaining consciousness from the ordeal of Naruto's birth. Another image flashed, and Naruto was being held by Mom as she coached Akemi through Hinata's birth. I'll be damned. Naruto didn't notice he was drifting closer and closer to the green orb that replayed important moments in their lives.
"Naruto! Wait!" he heard Hinata's words as he was drawn into a dream-filled sleep.
Hinata recognized the pattern of a genjutsu too late to stop Naruto from drifting into the orb. "Naruto! Wait!" she grasped his should as she felt herself being pulled in. She blinked, and she was a child being held off the edge of a building. The head shinobi of Kumokagure dangled her off and dropped her into nothingness, only for an impossibly young Naruto to spring to catch her in the snow. Even as a child, he'd been brave, handsome, and he'd been there to catch her when she fell.
Time skipped forward, and she was walking the hallways of the academy, desperately looking for her friend among the abandoned classrooms at the end of the school day. She found him among crumpled papers coated with indecipherable scribbles – sobbing in fear of being washed out of the academy. He looked up from his desk, his eyes growing wide before his face contorted again, "Hinata, go away!" he sobbed, turning away from her.
"Naruto!" She ran to his side, now sick with worry. By the time she reached him, he slipped from the chair, landed on his hands and knees, and began sobbing like a child with a broken balloon, "Naruto! What's wrong!" she said, kneeling at his side.
"I don't understand any of it, Hinata!" he wailed, "And they're going to fail me! I'm going to flunk out of the Academy!"
Hinata put her arms around him, letting him cry into her shoulder. "Naruto, why would they do that?" she asked, "You try so hard!"
"I try," he sobbed, not removing his head from her shoulder, "I really, really do! And I want to pass! I want to be the greatest ninja who ever lived!" he shouted. "But I can't make sense of any of it! I-I'm just stupid!" he went limp as he continued to cry.
As she held him, she scanned the mass of scribbles and failed attempts at copying sentences from books. "Naruto," she said softly, "The words on the page make no sense, and the words in your head won't come out on paper, will they?"
He nodded, "It's like I became stupid the second I got here! Everyone laughs at me; I can't pass a written test to save my life!" he choked, "I want to pass so badly, but I'll never have a chance now!"
"Naruto! That's not true!" Hinata spoke sharply, "you just need a different teacher!" she held him in front of her, "You once said you'd never go back on your word. Well, this is my word, I'm not giving up on you!"
Hinata blinked, and she was in a hospital bed, covered in bruises and crisscrossed with various diagnostic leads meant to monitor her heart. She remembered being here in the depths of despair on New Year's morning, after losing a duel to Hanabi the night prior. In the well of despair, Naruto had arrived, and angel wearing an arm sling. He held her, keeping her upright when all she wanted to do was lie down and die. "Naruto… help me!" she cried. "Help me change my destiny! Help me stop being a loser!"
"You're not a loser, Hinata!" his words soothed like a balm on burned skin. Naruto never knew how much those words meant in the moment, how much she owed him for saving her life that night.
They were now atop Hokage Rock, sharing a desperate last minute of normalcy before the duel with Hanabi. "N-N-Naruto-kun, do you remember that sensation you have when you're about to do s-something incredibly stupid?" she asked the question with her heart in her throat. Before self-doubt could stop her, her hand clutched around Naruto's collar, and his lips were on hers. They were wrapped in the sweet innocence of love's first kiss.
Her eyes closed, and when they opened again, they were older, at the apartment they had at Stony Bridge when they were undercover. Naruto was over top of her, and they were both naked. His hand touched her womanhood. Goosebumps covered her, but she remained firm in her conviction, "I'm ready!"
"If… anything doesn't feel right…"
"It'll be fine, my love," she took his hand in hers, "If it hurts at all, it won't last for long!" Hinata reassured despite being nervous about what they were about to do.
Naruto spread her legs a bit further and pressed against minor resistance at first. However, the resistance past, and he slid into her body, filling her. "OH GOD!" he shouted as he made her his for the first time.
The moment left Hinata drunken on bliss. Oh my god… I'm… having sex… sex with Naruto-kun! She squirmed under the loving sensation of him moving within her. I'M HAVING SEX WITH NARUTO-KUN! A thousand sensations left Hinata enthralled to the point of near paralysis.
Sakura knew the orbs were a trap as Naruto blankly walked into one of the green glowing masses followed by Hinata. Soon, Sai and Shikamaru had done the same. What the hell are they? A glassed over look came across Lord Fifth and Temari's eyes as they were drawn closer, and she recognized the effect. A genjutsu!
She summoned her healing jutsu to her hands and grabbed both ladies by the shoulders, dispelling the effect. "Ugh!" Temari shook her head, "What the hell is that?!"
"They're some kind of genjutsu trap," Sakura answered, "touching them or entering them will leave you paralyzed in a dream state. From what she could see, Naruto and Hinata were in an intense REM sleep. Sai and Shikamaru, on the other hand, were both fidgeting like rabbits in what looked like nightmare-fueled personal hells.
"How the hell do we get them out?" Kushina asked.
Sakura rifled through her bag, finding a length of nylon cord, "Very carefully," she replied as she tied the line around her torso. "If I go limp or look like I'm losing it, yank me free!" she handed the free end to the other women and went in after Shikamaru first. Despite being resistant to genjutsu, medical-nin were not immune. Hinata had been taken unaware as she rushed to pull Naruto out. Focus, must maintain focus!
Images of Sasuke in various stages of his life appeared around her. You have to ignore it or you'll never see the real him again! She pushed through until she had her hands on Shikamaru's temples. As she dispelled the genjustu, the horrific image of him cradling a dead Temari at the end of the war flooded her with pain and grief. "Shika, it's not REAL!" she screamed as the green glow around them faded. Sakura heaved deep gasps, exhausted by the effort.
"What the!" Shikamaru jerked about like a child both terrified and elated to be freed from a nightmare.
"Sakura, is he all right?" Temari rushed to her husband's side.
"He'll be fine," she assured, "He might be a bit disoriented for a minute." Sakura looked to Sai next. "One down, four to go." She grit her teeth and moved toward the bubble holding Sai. Much as before, she saw fantasy imagines of Sasuke from the past, present, and future. Sakura pushed past the images of what was and what might have been until she reached Sai.
As she made contact with his temples, overwhelming longing hit her like a torrential rain. Sai's hell was not one of loss but one of emptiness. He stood watching a busy market moving around him, and everyone, including Ino didn't even acknowledge his presence. The disconnect reminded Sakura too well of life after Sasuke disappeared – rejection, longing, and isolation. She'd faced a formal inquiry, along with the rest of the team, and spent several weeks unable to talk to her friends, spending hours under oath in deposition after deposition. Don't get lost in it, he's already there!
"Sai!" she shouted, "I'm here! This isn't real!" He became semi-lucid, but remained stuck. Dammit, he's a lot deeper than I thought! Sakura connected her healing chakra to him further, seeing his confusion, especially around Ino. "Sai! If you don't wake, you'll never get a chance to tell her what your feel! This is your one and only chance, and you're about to blow it!"
Shock chiseled into his normally passive expression. "Ino!" The genjutsu collapsed around them. Had they been standing instead of floating, Sai would have fallen to his knees. He began hyperventilating like Sasuke during a panic attack.
"Sai, it's okay," she said as she clutched him close, "It's okay! Ino is waiting for you when we get back!" He shivered and began to sob for several moments. Her eyes locked on the final genjutsu bubble, dreading the process. Sai and Shikamaru had been tough alone; freeing Naruto and Hinata at the same time could be a challenge. Sakura again tested the cord harness and floated toward the bubble.
As she floated toward the bubble, she sensed no dread, no fear. The sensation made her body tingle with a familiar, blissful ecstasy that made concentration difficult. The sensation grew stronger as she reached Naruto and Hinata and tried dispelling the illusion. Oh my!
Sakura turned beet red, feeling like a complete voyeur, as the image of Hinata straddling a seated Naruto of the end of the Hyūga Clan leader's bed filled her mind. Both of them were unclad and engaged in passionate lovemaking. Hinata must have felt the same the night she was on watch and Sasuke snuck into Sakura's tent and lovingly fucked her through the night. Now is not the time to get wet panties! Douse yourself in cold water! She bit her lip, struggling not to give into the illusion.
"Naruto, Hinata!" she shouted, trying to rouse them from slumber. The image shifted, thankfully, to the two of them clothed, dressed immaculately on what Sakura assumed was their wedding day. "I really hate to be a prude, but this won't ever become real if you two don't wake up!"
Hinata awoke first, followed by Naruto. "What the hell was that?" Naruto asked.
"S-Sakura?" Hinata stammered.
"You both were trapped in a genjutsu; that is what these bubbles were. Thankfully," she wiped away the sweat dripping off her forehead, "I am resistant to the effects."
"Sakura," Naruto choked, "you didn't see anything, did you?"
Crap! He would ask that! "No, nothing," she lied, trying to laugh it off. No, I didn't just watch the two of you having wild teenage sex! What would have given you that idea! Part of Sakura burned with jealousy. Hinata had been so bold and open with her love with Naruto. Judging by what she'd seen, the girl was much more adventurous that her shy demeanor let on. And while Sasuke was no slouch, Naruto, was beast with the body of a god chiseled from marble if the image was anything to go off. Sakura considered Naruto a younger brother, but at times, she wondered how things might have gone different has she gone after him instead.
"Ladies!" Lord Fifth shouted impatient. "We still have to find Akane and Hanabi, and the clock is ticking to save the world. Unless you can't move, we have to get rolling!" Sakura quickly untied her improvised harness, grateful to have something to distract from what she'd just walked in on.
Lord Fourth paced the hospital room floor until he was sure he'd worn out the bottoms of his shoes and was eating away the tile. Even with the best immediate care, Konohmaru was at a precarious balance point between life and death. He'd had multiple broken ribs, multiple spinal fractures, and a skull fracture. Had Akemi not been there immediately, he would have died by the time medics would have arrived.
Minato paused his stride long enough to look at the battered form of his adopted son, battered, bruised, and barely alive. What kind of a father are you? How could you let this happen? Each question sank like a concrete block in his stomach. He had sent his son into danger, and now, they had no guarantee he'd ever wake up, if he'd ever walk again.
A knock at the door, provided momentary relief, but he soon felt his heart sink. Ino and Jiraiya were at the door. "Lord Fourth," Ino started.
"Minato, just Minato," he signed.
"Son, I've been where you're standing," Jiraiya added, "quit kicking yourself."
"And do what, Dad?!" Minato snapped. "I-I'm sorry, sensei!" he fought back tears.
"You've nothing to be sorry for," Jiraiya gestured to Konohamaru, "You're a man who is suffering, and pain manifests in many forms."
"Sir," Ino remained honorific, "I have a rather odious task, but a necessary one."
"What is it?" Minato asked.
"I need to see if Konohamaru is capable of breathing on his own," her eyes darted to the side, "I need to disconnect the respirator temporarily."
"Isn't that dangerous?" Minato gasped.
"I can reconnect instantly if it is apparent that he's unable to breathe," she spoke calm and collected, "However, keeping him on the respirator needlessly raises the risk of him developing pneumonia or other infection. That and…"
"Speak, Ino, there is no dancing around it," Jiraiya commanded.
"… and it's the only way I can assess if there permanent brain damage and to what extent he'll be impaired by it."
"Oh god!" Minato began sobbing, but rapidly composed himself. He looked at the tangled mass that had been a rebellious teenager less than a day earlier. "All right, do your job, Ino."
Ino tiptoed to Konohamaru's side and disconnected the hose from the tube down the boy's throat. She clutched the hose in one hand in the event she needed to reconnect. Come on, kiddo, don't give up now! Uncomfortable seconds ticked by, and Minato began wringing his hands, praying for his son to breathe.
The whistling sound of air moving and the movement of the boy's chest began so suddenly that the trio all jumped. Minato felt warm tears down his face. He's breathing, and that is something. "Ino, tell me this is a good sign."
"Yes," she sighed in relief, rubbing her eyes, "We know at least he can breathe without assistance; I'm hopeful he'll…" she paused mid-sentence.
"What is it?" Minato asked, noticing a strained whistling and groan from Konohamaru. Minato looked up and realized the boy's eyes were open.
"Konohamaru! Don't try moving," Ino cautioned. I'm going to take the tube out, deep breath!" She ordered as she began removing the tape securing the breathing tube to his mouth. "Here we go!"
There was a gagging sound, followed by pained gasps. "Where?"
"The hospital," Ino answered, "Do you know who you are?"
"Ino, what kind of question is that?" Konohamaru replied with raspy, hoarse voice.
"An important one," Minato added, "do you know it?"
"Konohamaru Sarutobi," he groaned. He stared down with his eyes, "Dad? What happened? Oh god! Akane, Hanabi!" He was struggling to squirm, but Ino held him down.
"Konohamaru, don't try moving!" she ordered. "You're very, very seriously injured right now!"
The boy paused at the statement, eyes darting around the room. Minato knew the reaction to suddenly finding yourself paralyzed too well. "OH GOD!" he exclaimed. "How badly injured am I?!"
"It's too soon to tell," Ino said, "but let's just say the fact that you're awake and breathing is a hopeful sign."
"Oh god!" the boy sobbed, "I can't… I can't feel a thing!"
"Oh my god! Konohamaru!" A familiar female voice froze Minato's heart still in his chest – Sara Sarutobi. "Son!" The addition of Reo's voice sent Minato's heart racing. He had sent for Konohamaru's parents, not knowing how he'd face them. Take it like a man!
"Reo, Sara, I'm…"
"How in the hell could you let this happen!" Reo snapped, "You were supposed to look after our son!"
"He did," Jiraiya added. "Reo, Sara, this is no one's fault…"
"That's easy for you to say, old man!" Sara screeched, "How can you stand there as our son lays there a cripple!"
"Sara…" Ino interjected.
"Be quiet!" Reo barked at Ino then turned back to Jiraiya, "You dare tell me this is no one's fault when your apprentice let this happen!"
"No more a fault than it was with your father and the countless young lives he sent to the Third War," Jiraiya said with a cold, angry groan, "No more a fault than what your father's actions did to Sakumo Hatake."
"HOW DARE YOU!" Reo got into Jiraiya's face.
"SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU!" Konohamaru's hot anger surprised everyone to a pause. The boy's chest rose and fell with heaving gasps.
"Son," Sara spoke.
"Don't call me that!" he shouted, tears running down the sides of his face. "Everyone out, now! Except Lord Fourth."
"Son, I know you're upset," Reo spoke.
"UPSET! DAD, is what I used be when you and Mom weren't home after school. Upset is what I felt at the countless times you both missed my birthday! I got upset when you missed Academy graduation! I got upset when you asked my sensei and her husband to take me in because you were on an assignment that was more important than I was!" The boy seethed, "The only reason you're here is the same reason you showed up for Grandpa's funeral!" Konohamaru's eyes locked on his father intense enough to cut diamond, "You being here is about as rich as you missing your own brother's funeral! You didn't speak his eulogy, I did! You didn't have to comfort a grieving widow, I DID!" The boy growled, "GET OUT!"
This time, Reo and his wife offered no protest. They both sullenly left the room. "I'll be outside if you need me, son," Jiraiya said as he stepped out next. "Lord Fourth, I do need to come back in and examine him further," Ino said as she moved to leave. "Ten minutes; he'll need to rest." She left.
Now, it was only Konohamaru and himself. Memories flashed back to being a new father, holding his son after nearly dying, himself. He stood at Kushina's side, praying she survived the surgery to repair her damaged chakra network and the final transfer of Nine-Tails. He was standing over Naruto, having been stabbed through the heart with the Hyūga Clan Blade, willing to donate his heart and his life to save his son. "Konohamaru," he choked, "I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am!" tears spilled freely.
"Son, you used to call me son," his boy said, trying to mimic Minato's voice. "Dad, quit blubbering all over yourself," tears leaked from his own eyes, "you're embarrassing me!"
"Kono… Son, I don't… I don't know what to say or do!" Minato wiped tears.
"Dad, I'm… really, really, scared right now," Konohamaru whimpered, "And right now, I need you to be one-hundred percent honest with me! Can you promise that?"
"Yes," Minato nodded, not liking where this was going.
"Is… is this how it is going to be going forward?" his boy asked through tears, "am I ever going to walk again?"
Minato weighed telling a comforting lie or optimistic assessment. He asked you to be one-hundred percent honest; don't be a tool! "Son, I – I don't know," he shook his head.
"How badly hurt am I?" he asked.
"You sustained injuries similar to what I sustained fighting Pain," Minato's back ached at the memory of being paralyzed below the waist for several months and the frustrating slow progress of therapy that followed. "Worse, in fact."
"Lord First's cells?" Konohamaru asked.
"I already asked Ino and Tsunade," Minato swallowed the lump in his throat, "The histocompatibility profile showed a high chance of tissue rejection." He shook his head, "It has a very slim chance of rapidly healing you, but it carries a much higher chance of you suffering a rapid but quite painful death."
"I think," tears and snot ran down Konohamaru's face, "I'll take my chances! If it means I don't have to live like this!"
Minato didn't know what to say at first. He simply grabbed a tissue and wiped his boy's tears and snot. The words came to him, the words he'd needed to hear when he was in Konohamaru's position. "Son, it's still too soon to make that decision."
"You'd want me to live on as a cripple?"
"Konohamaru! You're a fighter, and fighters don't give up!" he shook his head. "You're also my son. I'd rather have you, alive and with a fighting chance, instead of being dead because we were looking for a quick solution." Minato again shook his head, "There are no shortcuts to the important things in life: love, being a good parent, being a great shinobi, or being Hokage."
"Dad, until we know what I'm facing," Konohamaru sighed, "I don't want to see my biological parents."
"Son…"
"They insulted you and Mom, and they were never there when they should have been. You two were always there, and I never would have blamed you for not being there," he said. "Please, I can't bear the thought of being in the same room as their hypocrisy. They only came back because they thought I wasn't going to live."
"They came back because they were worried. If I was in their position, I'd be upset, too," Minato replied, "but I will respect your wish."
"Thanks, Dad," Konohamaru sighed, "but the difference is: you were here the whole time. It didn't take a major health crisis for you to be here."
Minato didn't have a great response. "I'm going to send in Ino," Minato said, "you behave for her like you would for Hinata or Akemi, all right?"
"Not much trouble I can raise," he sighed, "but will do."
Author's notes: Hi everyone, and thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed. I had hoped to get another POV in here, but I simply ran out of time. As always, it will roll into the next chapter. I do have a favor to ask. I have posted a poll to my FFN profile regarding an event in the future of this story. While it may seem a minor event, it actually has a serious impact on events that may follows. I really could use your help deciding this.
Otherwise, thank you again for reading, and I"ll see you next chapter. Stay healthy and stay safe until then.
