Dear Naruto-kun,
I just wanted to say I'm glad you're alright
and that I've kinda, um, liked you since I saw you fight in the main Chuunin
Exam. I was thinking, maybe we could go on a date after you're better? Um, that's
all I wanted to say. Bye.
Get well soon,
Hayama, Momiji
Hinata's heart sank. If all those cards were
like this one then her chance to be with the boy she loved was now slim to none.
She couldn't help it. Tears began to prick at her eyes.
Naruto was about to happily hand the next card
to Hinata when the look on her downcast face stopped him cold. "Hinata-chan?
Are you okay?"
Hinata shook her head slowly.
"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, now quite concerned.
Hinata swallowed. "It's nothing." She sucked
in a hurt sounding breath. "I have to go home," she said as she turned to leave.
"Please tell me what's wrong. Did I do something?"
Naruto asked quietly.
Hinata stopped and turned around. Tears were
now streaming down her face. "No. It's n...nothing you did."
"What then?" Naruto asked, putting a comforting
hand on her shoulder.
At Naruto's touch Hinata squeezed her eyes shut
as if in pain. "Please, it's p...rivate."
Feeling torn between wanting to help his friend
and respecting her wishes, Naruto relented. "Okay. But if you wanna talk...."
Hinata nodded and left the room. Naruto sat
down on his bed. He had lost interest in his cards. His thoughts were interrupted
as he heard a knock on his door. He looked up to see Kakashi and Tsunade come
in.
"Yo, Naruto," Kakashi said offhandedly.
Naruto smiled a little. "Hey, Kakash-sensei.
Hey, Granny Tsunade," he greeted them.
Tsunade twitched a bit when she heard Naruto's
'nickname' for her. "How're you feeling brat," she said jokingly as she placed
an affectionate kiss on his forehead.
Naruto blushed a bit. "F...fine."
Tsunade made a low whistle. "You have quite
the fan club going here," she said with a wink.
Naruto ducked his head a bit in embarrassment.
"Yeah, well two of 'em are from friends," he said as he scratched the back of
his head with a grin.
Tsunade's face became a bit more serious. "As
much as I'd like it to be, this isn't only a social call," she said suddenly.
The smile disappeared from Naruto's face. "You...want
me to tell you what happened, huh?"
"Yeah," Kakashi answered. "I'm sorry, Naruto,
but we have to know," he said, even though he wasn't looking forward to hearing
it.
"I don't want to talk about it," Naruto said
as he turned away.
"Don't want to talk about what?" came Sakura's
voice from the other side of the room. Sasuke and Sakura were walking towards
Naruto.
"Orochimaru," Naruto answered miserably.
Sakura's bright smile evaporated. "Oh...do..do
you mind if we stay?"
Naruto shrugged. "Suit yourself."
Sakura and Sasuke sat on the edge of Naruto's
bed. Tsunade sat in the armchair and Kakashi leaned against the wall nearest
to the group.
After what seemed like an eternity Naruto spoke.
His voice sounded hollow. "He drugged me."
"What?" Sakura asked.
"That's how he got me. I was out walking around
near the gates. I found a scroll on the ground. When I opened it gas came out.
It worked so fast. I didn't even, get the chance to...yell for the guards."
"You idiot! How could you fall for something
so obvious!?" Sasuke yelled suddenly.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said angrily.
"We almost lost him because he was stupid!"
Sasuke snapped back.
"That's enough!" Tsunade commanded. Both genin
were instantly quiet.
"It's okay, Sakura-chan. He's right. I didn't
think," Naruto said.
Everyone simply stared at Naruto, wide-eyed.
"This must really be hard for him," Sakura
thought, "if he's being this serious."
"Orochimaru's body guards took me back to the
building you found me in. He tried tons of weird jutsus on me, for hours. He
wouldn't let me eat or sleep. Said the seal would be weaker...if I was tired.
The day you found me..." he paused. His heart pounded in his chest like a hammer.
"he took me into that room. He thought the seal might weaken if he...cut it,"
he said as he tightly gripped the bed sheets. "He put me on the table and..."
Tears began to make soft sounds as they landed on the bed. "He...he didn't even
knock me out..." he said as his voice cracked, sobs racking his shaking body.
Everyone's eyes went wide with shock. Kakashi
punched the wall, making a fairly large hole. Sasuke just sat where he was,
his eyes filled with disbelief. "No...."
"He...he was...awake?!" Sakura thought
in horror. Her right hand went to her mouth as tears filled her eyes. "Oh God...Oh
Naruto..." she said as she pulled him into a hug. Naruto simply sank into her
arms, his crying getting ever louder as he began to rock back and forth.
Sasuke wanted to comfort his brother, but he
was at a loss as to how. He wasn't the hugging type. And since Sakura seemed
to be handling it well he stayed where he was, wishing...he knew what to say.
Tsunade moved next to Naruto and Sakura and
sat down. She moved her hand in small circular motions on Naruto's back. Tears
rolled down her face as she spoke. "Shh, shhh, shhh. It's alright. You're safe
now." Her voice hardened. "I swear, Orochimaru will pay for this."
Later that day, Tsunade checked Naruto out of
the hospital and escorted him home. She stayed with him the entire day. When
he announced he wanted to go to bed she told him she would keep watch for the
night. Once he was asleep she quietly shut the door to his bedroom. She and
Kakashi moved to Naruto's couch and sat down. She nodded to herself. "I've decided,
Hataki."
"Decided what, Hokage-Sama?"
"I'm going to ask Naruto to move in with Shizune
and myself. I'm going to adopt him," she said with determination.
Kakashi cocked an eyebrow in surprise. "What
brought this on?"
"I want him where I can make sure he's safe.
And also," she said as she glanced around Naruto's apartment, "I can't stand
to see him living alone. He deserves better," she said with a frown.
Kakashi smiled with his eyes. "I'm sure you'll
make a wonderful mother for him. I had actually considered doing the same thing
at one point. But I just know I'd make a terrible father," he said as he chuckled.
Tsunade laughed just as a wave of energy blasted
through the room, knocking them both over. As soon as she could move she made
a beeline for Naruto's room. "Come on, Hatake! This must be what Sakura was
talking about!"
Kakashi ran after her and another energy wave
hit them. He was knocked to the floor, but Tsunade managed to push against it.
Shielding her eyes from the force of the energy with her arms she moved forward.
All of Konoha was in chaos. People who had run
outside to see what was going on, were now trying to get back inside to get
away from the energy waves.
"Sakura!" Sasuke yelled as he fell into step
next to her. They were running at top speed toward Naruto's apartment.
Sakura's face was hard with determination. "Hurry,
Sasuke-kun! It's Naruto!"
"I know!" Sasuke replied, just as he noticed
another wave headed for them. "Sakura! Hold on!" he said as locked wrists with
her. From top speed they were reduced to barely jogging as they fought to stay
on their feet.
"It's getting stronger as we get closer!"
Sakura thought as the wave passed and they picked up speed again. She looked
behind her and noticed several jounins and a few anbu following them.
Sasuke noticed Sakura looking backward and did
the same. "They probably know where we're headed!" he said as they continued
toward their destination.
Tsunade opened Naruto's door and her face was
instantly etched in amazement. Shockwave after shockwave of energy made it so
she had to grip the door frame so tightly that she was making indents in the
wood. Naruto's body was surrounded by a yellow light. "Is that...chakra?"
she thought.
Suddenly Naruto's eyes snapped open as he let
out a blood curdling scream.
"Naruto!" she yelled as she watched his body
writhe in agony.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Naruto screamed again.
"This pain. It's just like when Kyuubi put his claw through me!"
Suddenly, everything stopped as suddenly as
it had begun. Naruto went limp. He was covered with sweat and breathing hard.
Tsunade cautiously approached the bed. "Naruto?"
she said as she sat down next to him. She reached down and grabbed his hand.
"G...Granny Tsunade..." Naruto began as he squeezed
her hand.
"Shhhh. Sleep now," Tsunade said as she ran
her hand over his forehead and damp hair. "Something must be wrong with Kyuubi.
I'll talk to the village elders after I leave here."
"It's not...Kyuubi," Naruto said weakly.
"What? How do you know?" Tsunade asked, confused.
"He's dead."
"What!?"
"He..used up too much energy when he healed
me. He's gone."
"Then, what in the seven hells....?" Tsunade
remarked.
"He...he said he...gave me a going away present,"
Naruto answered in between breaths.
"Going away present?" Tsunade's eyes went wide.
"Could that damn fox have...?" She looked backwards at the door as an
extremely disheveled Kakashi wandered in. "Hatake, go get Hyuuga, Hinata. I
need her eyes," she said as a crashing sound came from the front door.
Tsunade and Kakashi bolted towards the door
to find Sasuke, Sakura and several of the higher ranked ninjas standing there,
looking ready for battle. Tsunade stepped forward. "It's alright now. You may
go back to your posts."
"What was that, Tsunade-Sama," asked Nabiki
as Kakashi disappeared to get Hinata.
"It was Naruto. I will explain everything in
the morning. For now, please just go tell everyone that things are under control,"
Tsunade said in a no nonsense tone of voice.
Everyone except Sasuke and Sakura made an affirmative
noise, bowed and disappeared. Tsunade waved the genin through. "Come on you
two. He's resting," she said as she lead the way.
Sakura and Sasuke stood in front of Naruto's
bed. He had fallen asleep. "What happened, Tsunade-Sama?" Sasuke asked.
"Truthfully? I have a theory, but I need Hinata
before I can confirm it. The one thing I do know for sure, is that Kyuubi is
dead."
"Dead?!" Sakura repeated in surprise.
"Nm. Naruto told me himself. Kyuubi used too
much power trying to heal him," Tsunade explained.
Kakashi and Hinata came through the door just
then. "We're here," Kakashi said.
"That was fast," Tsunade remarked.
"She was already on her way here," Kakashi answered.
"Good. Hinata-chan. I want you to use your Byakugan
to look inside Naruto," Tsunade said.
Hinata's eyes went wide and she blushed. "C...couldn't
you ask Neji nii-san?"
"No," Tsunade answered steadily. "You. Neji
and his team are on a mission right now."
"B...but....." Hinata began.
"I need this taken care of now, Hinata," Tsunade
said gently.
Hinata nodded and gulped. "I won't be seeing
anything. I won't be seeing anything. It's just his chakra." she thought
to calm herself. "Byakugan!" Veins became more defined around her eyes as she
began her 'examination'. After a moment she pulled back, confusion spread across
her face.
"Well?" Tsunade prodded.
"I don't understand Hokage-Sama. H..his chakra...it's
yellow," Hinata replied.
"I thought so," Tsunade said as she stood up.
She quickly recapped to Kakashi about Kyuubi's fate. After that she said, "Naruto
said Kyuubi gave him a 'gift'. I had my suspicions, but I needed the eyes of
a Hyuuga. The only thing, other than having a demon sealed inside him, that
could have changed his chakra color like this is an infusion of chakra from
another person...a dying person."
Kakashi's face instantly showed an expression
of shock and understanding. "So you're saying...."
Tsunade nodded. "Yes. Kyuubi gave Naruto...his
chakra."
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