As the doctor who had lead them inside emerged
from the double doors of the intensive care unit Sasuke, Hinata and Sakura all
stood. "H...how is he?" Hinata said softly.
"He's resting comfortably. Tsunade-sama is working
on reducing the amount of scarring he'll have. It may take a while for him to
wake up, but I think he'll be just fine," the doctor replied, smiling warmly.
"Can we see him?" Sakura asked.
"Of course. Follow me, please," the doctor said
as he began to walk.
Sakura had seriously started to hate hospitals.
Every time she was there it was because someone she cared about was hurt and
she was tired of it. "Why does it always seem cold in here?" she thought.
The doctor stopped in front of a door. "He's
in here," he said.
The door opened and Tsunade appeared. "Thank
you, Akito," Tsunade replied with a smile.
"You're welcome, Tsunade-Sama." And with that
he turned around and walked away.
Sakura looked up at the fifth Hokage quizzically.
"You know him Hokage-sama?"
"Yes. He's a cousin of someone who was very
dear to me," she said as she walked through the door.
The kids wisely took that as a sign that they
shouldn't ask about it anymore and simply followed the Fifth.
As they sat down in the chairs that were at
Naruto's bedside Tsunade spoke. "Now, please tell me what happened."
The three genin looked at each other. Both Hinata
and Sakura looked down. Sasuke sighed. "I guess I have to do it."
"We went inside the building and split up. While
I was searching, I heard Sakura scream. I found her. Then I saw Naruto lying
on a...table," he began.
Tsunade visibly stiffened, her breath caught
fast in her throat. "Continue."
"He was...cut open. All the skin on the front
of his torso had been peeled back," Sasuke said quietly.
Instantly, a fire entered Tsunade's eyes as
she balled her hands into fists. "That bastard!" she yelled as she shattered
a nearby chair with one punch. "I'LL GUT HIM!"
This stunned even Sasuke into silence. "I
didn't know she cared so much about Naruto."
Just then a nurse poked her nervous face through
the doorway. "I'm very sorry, Tsunade-Sama. But I must ask you not to be so
loud."
Tsunade sighed with frustration. "Of course,"
she said stiffly.
The nurse flashed a quick, nervous smile before
pulling her head out of the room and closing the door.
Tsunade turned her attention to Sasuke once
again. "Continue," she said firmly.
Sasuke cleared his throat. "I...we thought he
was...dead. But I noticed Kyuubi's chakra trying to heal him. I pushed the skin
back into place," He winced, "and the wound closed. Then..." he trailed off.
Looking as though he were trying to decide how best to phrase what came next.
"What?" the Godaime asked even though she wasn't
sure she wanted to know.
Sasuke looked at Sakura and Hinata. Sakura found
her voice. "Some kind of energy came from his body and we were all thrown back
from the force of it."
Tsunade frowned in thought. "Chakra?"
"No. At least...I don't think so. Chakra has
color...this didn't," Sakura finished.
"Hmm," was Tsunade's only reply. Suddenly her
attention was drawn to the Uchiha mark on Naruto's arm. Her eyes widened in
recognition.
Sasuke saw where Tsunade was looking and suddenly
wished he could be somewhere else.
"I haven't seen an Uchiha bonding seal in over
thirty years," Tsunade said as she continued to stare at the mark in wonder.
Sakura looked at the mark in confusion. "What
is it Tsunade-Sama?"
Tsunade smiled. "I think that's something Sasuke
should tell you," she said warmly.
Sakura turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke?"
Sasuke sighed. "It marks him as my...brother,"
he replied with an unreadable expression on his face.
Sakura's eyes went wide as she stared at Sasuke,
dumbfounded.
A slight smile crossed Sasuke's eyes. "Hmpf."
He looked at Naruto. Sunlight, coming through the window, fell on the blonde's
face and wind ruffled his hair. "My true brother."
It was the third day since they had come home.
Hinata sat on a small, soft armchair next to Naruto's bed. She stared at the
boy's sleeping face. "Please, Naruto-kun. Wake up."
Tsunade, who had been about to come into the
room, instead smiled at the concerned look on the young Hyuuga's face and quietly
shut the door again.
Hinata heard a small groan and looked up to
see Naruto's face contorting as though he were starting to regain consciousness.
She stood up quickly, banging her knee on the bedside table. "Ow," she said
weakly as she bent over to rub her injury.
"Hinata-chan?"
Hinata looked up. Naruto's eyes were open and
he was staring at her, his face showing concern. "N...Naruto-kun!" she said
in surprise. She then bolted out of the room leaving behind a very confused
blond ninja.
"What the...?" he began as a doctor came into
the room, followed by Hinata.
"I'm so glad to see you awake Naruto-kun," he
said with a smile.
Naruto allowed himself a slight smile. "That
makes two of us."
The doctor walked over to Naruto's bed and sat
down in the chair Hinata had occupied earlier, while Hinata herself stood near
the wall. "I'm Doctor Tokiha. You may call me Akito since you are so close to
Tsunade-Sama," he said with a smile. He looked at his chart and cocked an eyebrow.
"You sure do heal fast.."
Naruto was instantly more alert. He sat up so
quickly his head felt like it was spinning. "What!?" "But..but Kyuubi's gone.
Why...?"
"Don't worry," Akito said with a warm smile.
"The Kyuubi doesn't bother me."
Naruto's eyes went wide and he looked at Hinata
in panic. Akito saw this and waved his hand dismissively. "It's alright, Naruto-kun.
She knows," he said with a reassuring tone.
If possible, Naruto's eyes went even wider.
"H..how!?"
"She had to be told why Orochimaru wanted you,"
Akito said matter of factly.
Naruto looked at Hinata with a small amount
of fear. Suddenly he lurched. "That means Sakura-chan knows too?!" Akito nodded.
Naruto felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. He really hadn't wanted her
to know.
"They had to know that they might have been
facing Kyuubi if Orochimaru's seal transfer technique had backfired."
"Seal...transfer?" Naruto repeated in confusion.
"Yes. According to our intelligence network,
he wanted to transfer Kyuubi to himself."
Naruto gulped.
"Now please, hold still so I can examine you,"
Akito said as he put a blood pressure cuff around Naruto's arm. After a few
more small tests Akito stood up. "I think you can leave tomorrow morning. Just
make sure you rest today and you're all set."
"Thanks," Naruto replied.
Akito left the room and Hinata retook her previous
seat.
"Hinata-chan?" Naruto said as he looked over
at her.
"Y..yes?"
"Thank you. For not being afraid," he said in
a slightly choked voice.
Hinata's expression softened. "Naruto-kun. I
could n...never be afraid of you."
Naruto looked up at Hinata. Tears had formed
at the corners of his eyes, but he was smiling. He wiped his eyes. He eh hemed.
"So...um...Have you been watching me at the hospital all this time?"
"N...no. Sakura-san and Sasuke-kun have t...taken
turns also. And K..Kakashi-sensei came to visit too," she said all this very
fast with a slight blush on her cheeks.
"Kakashi-sensei?! He's alright?" Naruto questioned,
smiling.
"Y..yes," Hinata replied.
Naruto grinned. "Awesome!" he proclaimed. "Hey,
Hinata-chan?"
"Yes?" Hinata replied, her nerves calming a
bit. She had found it a lot easier to talk to her long time crush since the
Chuunin exam.
"Thanks, for coming to get me."
Hinata looked up in surprise. "How d..did you
know?"
"I know it sounds crazy, but I could hear all
of you while I was asleep."
"Oh...You're welcome. When...when I heard you
had been taken, I just had to go."
Naruto smiled. He was quiet a moment, then spoke.
"So...how have you been? I haven't seen you since the Chuunin exam."
"Much better. Thank you. An anbu healed me,"
Hinata replied.
"I'm glad. I was worried about you," Naruto
said warmly.
A slight wave of pink crossed Hinata's cheeks.
"Anyway. The doctor is going to tell Tsunade-Sama that you're awake."
Naruto sighed in frustration. "I'm gonna take
a walk around the halls," he said as he started to get up, "You wanna come with
me?"
"N...no, Naruto-kun!" Hinata sputtered she put
her hand on Naruto's. Naruto stopped and looked down. Hinata, as though she
suddenly realized their hands were touching, yanked her hand back and tented
her fingers. "Please...don't get up. The..the doctor told you to rest," she
said, staring at her slightly moving fingers.
Naruto sighed and rolled his eyes slightly.
"Okay," he said with a pout as he sat back down.
Hinata let out a short, breath of a giggle.
Naruto stopped pouting and stared at her for
a moment. Hinata saw his stare and blushed.
"Hey, Hinata-chan?"
"Y..yes, Naruto-kun?"
"You should smile more often," he replied with
a small smile of his own.
Hinata looked at Naruto in surprise, the thundering
of her heart blocking out all other sounds. She gulped. "Th...thank you."
Naruto smiled, then yawned. "You know what?
I think I will go back to sleep for a bit." He laid down and rolled onto his
side. "Night Hinata-chan."
"Sleep well," Hinata replied. She watched him
until his breathing slowed to indicate a deep sleep, then closed her own eyes.
Tsunade looked up as the door to her office
opened. Kakashi strolled in and took a seat in front of the Fifth's desk.
Tsunade cocked an eyebrow. "So...am I finally
going to get my report?" Kakashi had taken nearly a full 3 days to regain consciousness,
visiting Naruto before he left the hospital.
Kakashi eh hemed. "Yes, Tsunade-Sama." The jounin
straightened himself. "As ordered, myself and the other five jounin created
a distraction to get Orochimaru and his underlings away from where we believed
Naruto to be. After almost an hour Orochimaru suddenly ran back toward the genin
group. I shot up the signal flare as we ran to head him off. The kids barely
made it out before we got there. As you know by now, Yuki-kun...didn't make
it back," he said with regret.
"Yes, I know," Tsunade said gently. "I'm sorry,
Hatake. I know he was your friend."
"Yes." He sighed "At least it wasn't for nothing,"
Kakashi said.
"How is Naruto?" Tsunade asked, trying not to
sound too eager.
"He's still unconscious." Kakashi paused. "Is
it true? Was he really cut open?"
Tsunade closed her eyes in a pained look. "Nm."
Kakashi's eyes narrowed dangerously and, although
Tsunade couldn't see it, he also gritted his teeth in anger.
Suddenly a chuunin with long, black-green hair
burst through the door of the office. "Tsunade-Sama," she said loudly, "He's
awake!" she said with a big grin.
Tsunade smiled. "Thank you, Nabiki."
Nabiki smiled. "Of course Tsunade-sama." She
was about to leave when she said, "And, Tsunade-Sama?"
"Yes?" Tsunade answered quizzically.
"Girls have been bringing him flowers," she
said with a wry smile. She knew telling Tsunade this would make her happy, because
she knew Tsunade cared for the boy a great deal.
Tsunade smiled. "Thank you again, Nabiki."
"Yes," Nabiki said with a quick bow, then vanished.
"Well, Hatake," Tsunade said as she rose from
her her chair. "Let's go see that student of yours."
.........TO BE CONTINUED
I WILL explain about Kyuubi's
gift in the next chapter. I promise! (Makes Lee-kun "Nice guy" pose)