Into the Woods

Naruto awoke the same way he always did these days, to the throbbing of a headache and the sting of tears in his eyes. He had that damn dream again.

For the past few days every time he dozed off he had the exact same dream. Hinata in some ancient forest, snuggling a large fluffy creature that almost looked like a cuter version of Kyubi. He’d call to her and she lift her head, as if she could almost hear him, but she never turned towards him. He’d run to try and get close, to hold her, but he could never get any where near her. He’d finally launch himself at them, straining with everything he had, only to wake up to empty hands.

He reached up sleepily with his right hand to rub his pounding head, keeping his eyes closed against those damn florescent lights. ’sleeping with those things on would give anyone a headache.’ he muttered to himself. As he lay there waiting for the pain to subside he felt the familiar snap of the tourniquet around his left bicep. He’d stopped sleeping in a shirt since he had limited clothing options, and plus because it made his morning bloodletting easier. He chuckled softly.

“Geeze hon, can’t even wait for a guy to sit up before you decide to play vampire on him.” he teased jokingly, waiting for Sakura to give a poke and a smart remark back.

“I’m sorry, DEAR, but Tsuande want’s this blood now.” replied a deep, manly voice that was definitely not his pink haired teammate.

Naruto jumped about three feet in the air, pulling his arm away and yanking the sheets up defensively, staring at the startled brown eyed many who had been just about to jam a butterfly hookup into his arm to take two bags of blood.

“Who......Who the hell are YOU!?!?” The blonde questioned loudly. The medical nin rolled his eyes and pretended to smile under his mask.

“Hi, my name is Tama and I’ll be your waiter for today....can I start you off with a nice appetizer?” he said sarcastically. Naruto glared at him.

“Where’s Sakura? I thought she was the one who was supposed to be in here during the days?”

“I don’t know. I was told I’m taking over for her.”

“Why? What happened to her?”

“I don’t know, they didn’t tell me that.”

“Well did they tell you anything???”

“Just that I’m supposed to be in here, take two pints of blood from you, give them to the lab, and then take care of the girl who’s in there with you.”
“Well why would they pull Sakura out of here?” Naruto was starting to get whiny at this point and Tama was clearly getting annoyed.

“Maybe because you drove her crazy and they had to lock her up in the mental ward, now can I please draw your blood and get on with my work?!?!?” he glared back at the foxchild, holding out his empty hand waiting for the arm to be returned to it’s grasp. Naruto glared at him once more for good measure before grudgingly holding out his arm. He winced as the man jabbed him a little harder then necessary and quickly got to work filling the bags. This was the beginning of a horrible relationship.

The two continued to butt heads the rest of the day. Tama didn’t let Naruto do any of the stuff for Hinata that Sakura let him do for her. He barely let the young man sit by her side and hold her hand. And after a few hours the medic snapped at him for his incessant chatter with himself, drawing the line.

“Well ex-cuooooooose me! But what do you expect me to do in here with myself?” Nartuo yelled at him after being told he couldn’t talk to Hinata anymore because it was giving the slave driver at the desk a headache. Tama finally turned and threw the book at him.

Well...not THE book, but A book. Naruto had managed to dodge it, and had picked it up intending to fling it back much harder when he noticed the title on it:

Advanced Chakra Therapies and Techniques

He looked at it for a moment, then flipped it open to scan the first few pages. ’How long has this been sitting over there?’ he pondered to himself, intrigued by the secrets held inside. Turning back to the cover, he saw Sakura’s name written in her perfect hand on the inside. He grinned to himself, sitting on the bed and reading through the first section, wondering if she had mastered any of these techniques yet or was just getting to studying it. He had noticed Hinata’s chakra levels were slowly dropping...maybe there was something in here he could use to help her.

Tama turned, surprised at the sudden peace in the room. He noticed his ward had parked himself back on his bed, focused intently on the contents of the book that had been hurled at him. Seeing the title, the chuunin chuckled softly to himself and turned back to his work, hoping he wouldn’t be asked to explain any of it since most of that stuff he didn’t even know yet.

~*~

’Oh dear Kami....why did I agree to this again?

Sakura was on the bathroom floor, her head resting on the cold porcelain of the toilet she was clinging to as another wave of vertigo washed over her. He left shoulder was sore and swollen around the injection site, the skin red and hot to the touch. As the room stopped spinning the bile settled in her stomach again. She took a few deep breaths, trying to decide if it was worth trying to get off the floor or if she should wait a little while longer when the voice came up behind her.


“I hope it’s not really as bad as it looks.” her mentor stated softly. The girl at the commode chuckled, not daring to turn to look for fear the room would decide on a few more laps.

“Nah, as long as I have something to hold onto I should be fine. Just don’t ask me to move from this spot.” A cool hand was placed on the back of her neck.

“How about just a little? I need to get your vitals and figure out how you’re doing here. Ok?” Sakura paused for a moment, collecting herself mentally before she timidly moved to lean against the wall. She smiled up at the masked woman as she sat back.

“I think the worst might be over....the vertigo seems to be lightening up on me.” Tsunade shook her head as she knelt down to check her over and ask her about her current symptoms. Going through the list, it seemed maybe she was right. She was running a slight fever that had started about four hours after injection. Now, a little over 12 hours the fever was already dissipating. Sakura had gotten pretty sick for a while there too, the nausea and dizzyness forcing her to spend most of the night here in the bathroom, unable to get very far off the ground or from the toilet. While it was obviously still affecting her, she was at least able to sit upright now.

“I think you might be right on that one.” the elder stated once she was done with the examination. “Heart rate and blood pressure are elevated, but that was to be expected. Everything was in well acceptable parameters. I think maybe the only real problem we have is working out the dosage. We might’a given you a bit to much, and that could be why you’re having such a time with it.

She stood, reaching down to Sakura to offer her a hand up. The dizzy girl pondered the offer for a second, her breathing still ragged from the last attack, before she grabbed the proffered hand and pulled herself onto shaky feet. The room lurched for a moment, and she swayed dangerously while grabbing the counter with her free hand. As it settled she righted herself slowly.

“Does this mean I’ll finally be able to get some sleep in the bed and not on the tile?” she joked, exhaustion finally raising it’s ugly head as they slowly made their way back into the bedroom.

“I hope so. If your symptoms let up, we’ll let you rest till later. We can wait to start the blood tests till then, and if everything goes well overnight, then tomorrow we can move on.....if you’re ready that is.” Tsunade help her ease down onto the bed, watching as she slowly crawled onto it to lie down. Sakura nodded weakly, letting a groan escape her as she settled into the soft pillows. ’She probably isn’t even paying any attention to me anymore....not that I blame her.’ she thought to herself, watching the young test subject drift slowly off to sleep.

~*~

She felt drained lying there against her sly friend, and she was noticing how it was beginning to affect her perception. While he still felt amazingly warm against her, everything else was starting to seem faded and muted. The shadows seemed to creep towards her and the light was dimming. He shifted restlessly around her, almost nervously. From time to time he would seem to flare-up around her, his temperature rising, and she would suddenly not feel so weak, but he was reluctant to do it too often or two much. Not that she wanted him to. As her energy seemed to dissipate, she found herself oddly as peace with it, while he seemed slightly more aggitated.

’Are you alright, little one?’

‘Yes, love...I’m just very tired now.’

he shifted again with a soft whine, licking her forehead lightly and giving another flare. She sighed at the pins and needles sensation that coursed through her briefly before she pushed him gently away.

’Please...you’ve done enough for me. Maybe this is for the best.’

’Don’t you even want to try and go back? You’re wanted.....needed back there...’

‘Yes, but I don’t know how...and I’m so very tired...I don’t know if I could make it, love.’

‘Why do you call me that, little one?’ he asked with a slight chuckle. She’d been doing it for a while, and he decided he had better ask her now while he had the chance to get an answer.

’Well, why do you call me that?’ she teased back lightly.

’Because you are.’ he replied, giving her another affectionate nuzzle. She pulled him closer, shivering with a soft giggle.

’Exactly’

sigh ’Hold on just a little more, you’re chance will come....I know it will.’

‘Alright....if you insist’

~*~

Kiba sulked quietly as he walked back to the hospital, Ino clinging gently to his arm. She had shown up at the hospital with Shino and Shikamaru, who had all conspired together to get him out the building for a while. He had fought their plans valiantly as they tried to physically remove him, until he realized even Akamaru was trying to get him outside. With even his K9 companion against him, he growled and relented. Shino and Shika had settled down in his place outside the door, while Ino drug him out for some lunch and fresh air.

Watching Akamaru frolic along ahead of them, chasing butterflies and sniffing under ever bush, Kiba had to admit it had been a pleasant distraction. The blonde had made a pile of food and they’d had a picnic down by the river. She’d even done a decent job with conversation, making him almost forget about those cold hospital walls and his dear friends locked inside. But now that they were headed back, he suddenly felt guilty about everything.

“Ino...” he said as he came to a halt, stopping her with him. “Why are you guys doing this for me?”

“Doing what?” she asked, looking back at him with concern.

“Just....everything. I’ve been nothing but a pain in the ass, and you guys have gone out of your way to be nice to me. If it had been the other way around I probably would have just walked out on you guys instead of putting up with the shit I’ve put your guys through.” he looked away, shame flooding his brown puppy dog eyes. She squeezed his arm fondly, drawing his attention back to her.

“Baka, you’d do no such thing. You’re as loyal as it comes when your friends are involved, especially your teammates.....and especially Hinata. We all can sympathize with what you’re going through. You just lash out more because that’s how you are...how much do you want to bet if it was me in there that you’d be doing the same thing for Shika and Choji?

Kiba looked back at the pretty kunoichi next to him and thought on that. He could picture Choji slowly wasting away, his appetite nonexistent due to worry. And as for Shikamaru? He suppressed a chuckle at the thought that maybe the lazy teme might actually get off his ass and do something, or try to anyways. With a smile he shrugged her off his arm and gave her a friendly hug.

“Arigatou, Ino....for putting up with a thickheaded bastard like myself.” She squeezed him back, glad to have managed to get a smile back on his face.

“Anytime, dogboy.” She giggled back. “I’m just glad you finally got enough sense in your head to have taken a shower...I decided on the river cause I thought I was going to have to dunk you in it! I don’t know who smelled worse, you or your dog!” There was a sudden, indignant bark at her feet, as if Akamaru was insulted at the thought that he smelled badly.

“I agree...she just doesn’t have the sense to appreciate it.” Kiba answered, getting a poke in the ribs for that comment. With an evil grin, he took advantage of their position to pinch the blondes ass and then tore off at full speed laughing. Ino was frozen in shock for a moment, her hand slapped over the sore spot he made on her lower cheek. ’Oh he did not just do that...’ Realizing he was getting away, she flew off after him.

“Oh you better run boy! Cause you’re gonna need that hospital when I get my hands on you!”

She chased him the rest of the way there, the two laughing and throwing playful insults back and forth at each other. As they approached the side where the gardens were Kiba froze, recognizing someones scent lingering among the plants. Ino hadn’t realized what was going on and, unable to stop in time, crashed gracelessly into him. She sat on the ground, rubbing her aching head.

“What the hell...” she was cutoff when he placed a finger over her lips. Kiba helped her up wordlessly and then leaned down to whisper into her ear.

“Take Akamaru and go inside to wait with the others...there’s something I have to take care of first.” A thin eyebrow arched back at him questioningly.

“Kiba....what is it? What do you have to do?” He shushed her again, scooping the dog up and placing him firmly in her arms.

“Don’t worry about it, just listen to me ok. I’ll be right behind you, I just need a moment alone.” Akamaru whimpered back up at him, also smelling the person among the flowers. He gave his masters hand a lick, looking at him with pleading eyes. “Don’t worry buddy, I promise I’m not going to cause any trouble.” He squeezed Ino’s shoulder gently and then watched as she reluctantly headed inside without him. He turned and headed into the garden, pausing under the magnolia tree.

“Alright, come on out genius, those flowers are doing nothing to hide your stench from me.” He watched calmly as Neji dropped gracefully out of the branches, rising into a defensive stance. Kiba sighed softly. “Put it away, Neji....that’s not why I’m here.”

Pale eyes took in the subject, contemplating what happened last time his guard was down and weighing the risk. After a moment he stood, silently placing his hands in his pockets and glaring at the brunette before him. He waiting patiently for the reason he was being pulled away from his thoughts. Kiba sighed again, scratching his head absentmindedly as he tried to get the words together.

“Look....I uh....I owe you an apology.” he finally muttered. Neji raised an eyebrow, a slightly surprised look marring his stoic features. ’Why is everyone so shocked whenever I try to apologize?’ he thought to himself before continuing with what he was saying. “ I uh....I was way outta line, and I said some things that shouldn’t have been said....I just...” he sighed again, fidgeting. “I’m just no good when it comes to emotional stuff. I tend to just explode and...well...yeah.” He looked up at the Hyuga before him, extending a hand and waiting for some kind of response.

The older boy watched him for a moment, considering the words he’d just heard. Kiba’s eyes seemed sincere, you could almost feel the pain emanating off of him. He thought back on the incident and what he had been told happened before. Digesting everything carefully, he watched as the younger one started to squirm nervously. He looked deeply into those brown eyes, probing for the truth.

“Does she really think that we....that I...hate her?” trying to keep his voice from cracking at the words.

Kiba flinched for a moment, remembering those words flying out of his mouth followed by Ino’s warning about regretting his actions. ’Damn you woman for always having to be right.’

“I honestly don’t know what she really thinks...” he replied softly, not wanting to rip open old wounds or create new ones. “I do know that most of the time she feels unwanted, unappreciated, and unaccepted. Sometimes it drives her to work harder but other times....” he left it to trail off, watching her cousins reaction to his words. He could see the pain they caused him. “As I said, I can’t speak for her. You’d need to take that up with Hinata.”

They stood there for another moment in silence before the hand was offered again. With a smirk it was accepted. Kiba grinned broadly.

“Come on...the others are inside waiting. Maybe we can join forces and storm the ward, finally get some real answers.”

“As long as you watch who you sucker punch.” Neji replied, rubbing his jaw absentmindedly.

~*~

Naruto had sat there all day, devouring the contents of the book. Most of the things described he didn’t need to worry about, although learning them at another time might actually come in handy. But there were three that seemed promising, with one in particular that kept drawing him back. He read and re-read the procedure, studying the diagram showing hand placement. He’d been dying to actually practice it, but didn’t trust that Tama guy around when he did it.

But now it was about 10:15 at night, and good’ol Yuhi was sleeping at the desk as usual. Not that he could blame her, it’s not like she had a whole heck of a lot to do in there. She got her stuff out of the way, and then once Naruto was asleep - or at least pretending to be - she would turn up the volume on the alarms, make herself comfy and doze off as well.

’Now I’ve got all night to work on this without any interruptions’ he thought with a mischievous grin. He read over the procedure one last time before he centered himself, calming his thoughts and beginning to draw his chakra. He quickly made the requisite hand seals and began trying to mould the chakra to his hands properly...

~*~

Tsunade lay on the roof of the hospital, a small kettle of warm sake beside her, staring drunkenly up at the moon. ’Not drunk enough yet’ she thought with a smirk as she held her hand up in front of her eyes and could still tell how many fingers she was holding up. She pushed herself upright, filling he small sake cup and downing the shot quicky. She giggled as the warm liquid filled her, the alcohol being absorbed into her bloodstream almost immediately leaving her feeling tingly. She checked her hand again, pleased to see she now had somewhere between 15-20 fingers on it.

“That’s much better.” She giggled out loud to no one. “Just a shame I have no one to help me finish this off...” she slurred a little louder then she intended.


“I’m sure I could be of some assistance, though I hope you didn’t scare me to my wits end and drag me back from such an import mission just to trick me into getting drunk and playing strip poker again.” a calm and somewhat amused voice chimed in above her. Looking up she was pleased to see a certain silver haired scarecrow, perched on the top of the high chainlink fence that surrounded the roof, his visible eye smiling down at her.

“Ka-KA-shi!” She hiccuped, offering him a drink. He dropped down beside her, squatting down to look her in the eye. She went cross-eyed as he leaned in close and she pushed him playfully back. “Now now...don’t get fresh with me...I have something...very very very important to discuss with you young man.” she slurred and giggled again, swaying a little.

The quiet man moved the sake out of her reach while taking her hand gently in his. She blushed like a school girl as he pushed up his hatiate, gazing deeply into her eyes with a slowly spinning sharingan. She calmed, the blush leaving her cheeks and a clarity returning to her soft eyes as he worked a mild genjutsu on her. After a moment, he pulled the covering back over his eye and ran a calloused hand along the side of her cheek. She blinked, suddenly surprised to see him squatting in front of her, her hand shooting up to rest over his.

“Kakashi?!? When the hell did you get back?” Her head pounded, and she felt oddly dizzy as she tried to figure out what they were doing on the roof, and why he was hold her hand. He chuckled at her.

“Long enough to catch you drinking your worries away again. You’re still very drunk by the way. In a few minutes the genjutsu will wear off and you’ll be blissfully intoxicated again. But I wanted to find out what exactly is going on.” He watched her get her bearings again before he lifted her gaze to his with a long finger under her chin. “Where’s Naruto? Is he alright?” He was surprised when she laughed at that, like it was a stupid question.

“The little idiot is fine, turns out we didn’t need to worry about him. The rest of us are still in some deep shit however.” Seeing the confused look on his face, Tsunade started from the beginning, leaving nothing out. He listened calmly while she explained everything, nodding quietly and not bothering to interrupt. When she came to the end she just looked at him expectantly. “Well?”

His eye closed, processing the influx of information he had just received. “I see.”

“I see?!?” She stared at him incredulously. “After all that, the only thing you can manage to say is ‘I see’!?!?” Kakashi looked back, his eye smiling mischievously again.

“Well yes. This situation is going to take a little more time and thought to come up with a proper solution. That and in about 5 minutes your going to be highly amusing when the alcohol kicks in.” he chuckled softly. “The only thing we can do now is proceed with the medical aspect for now, and get you to sleep. We’ll worry about it all more in the morning.”

The scarecrow helped her get to her feet and escorted her back to her residence, enjoying the blackmail material he gathered on her as the alcohol took over again.

~*~

Naruto was startled to find he had dozed off during his practicing. He was even more shocked at the addition to the room upon his awakening. Curled up on a third bed that had been moved into the room was his restless teammate. She was wearing none of the precautions that the other medical staff had at all times they were with them, and there was a slight sheen of sweat across her brow. He sat on the edge of her bed and gently ran his fingers through her hair, surprised when she stirred and gazed back up at him.

“Sakura-chan....what on earth are you doing in here? Where’s your mask and that stupid getup you’re supposed to be wearing?” He already knew the answer, but he was terrified to admit it to himself. She smiled sweetly, taking his hand and squeezing it.

“It’s ok, Tsunade needed a test subject for the vaccine, so I volunteered.” She watched as a wave of pain and anguish swept across his boyish face. “I’m ok, Naruto, just tired. It’s the only way to make sure this cray plan is going to work. And besides, I get to be in here with you guys still, so what more could I ask for?” He squeezed her hand back, fighting back the emotions.

“But Sakura....what happens if this doesn’t work? What if you end up like Hinata?” a tear slid down his cheek. “I can’t stand the thought of losing both of you at once...you two...you’re everything to me.” She pulled herself upright, wrapping her arms around him tightly. It was so good to finally get to hug him without that damn outfit in the way. This whole thing had been hell on him, and he was on the verge of breaking down again. She pulled back, resting her forehead on his and running her thumbs over his whiskered cheeks.

“Hey, what happened to my favorite number one hyperactive ninja?” he sputtered out a laugh at that old title of his. “The Naruto I know wouldn’t give up for anything, not even till the bitter end. And besides....if I’m in here testing the vaccine...what makes you think that we don’t possibly have...”

“A cure!?!?” cobalt eyes shot up to meet jade. They sparkled with that old hopeful gleam again. The both looked over at Hinata’s bed, where he was surprised to see a new bag hanging from the rack, the line running down into the other network. It looked like it was filled with orange juice, and that Tama guy was over there adjusting it. “Hey!” he yelled at the busy medic. “How long has she been hooked up to that new stuff?”

“About 6 hours” he said, pointing to the clock. It was already after noon. “It seems to be helping to...her fever broke a short while ago.” Naruto let out a whoop and squeezed Sakura tightly, planting an excited kiss on her forehead. She blushed for a moment before trying to calm him down.

“Why don’t you go sit with her for a bit, Naruto. This stuff is wearing me out...I’d like to get some more sleep. Just wake me up if anything happens.” He nodded, letting his friend lie down while he went over to his sweethearts side. Sakura watched him for a moment before she drifted off again.

Naruto took up his spot on the stool, holding Hinata’s limp hand. He body felt much cooler already, and her breathing was easier. He kissed her hand fondly as he said a silent thank you to whoever was watching over her. Her chakra levels were frighteningly low though. He’d been practicing that technique all night, but he had no idea if he was doing it right, or if it would even work. She would never wake up if her levels stayed that low. He needed to think.

As he cleared his head and centered himself again, he remembered the conversation he’d had w/the nine tails. ’He had offered to help me....maybe he knows something I could do...’ With that he reached down into himself like he had that other time, trying to stir up the demon. He was surprised at what happened next.

”It’s about time you came to talk to me brat.”

‘Hey, no need to get pissy, I can always come back....’

’Naruto, you need to listen to me, we don’t have any time...she needs you NOW’

’What are you...’

-low growl- ’Listen carefully, her connection to her body is about to give out, she can’t sustain herself any longer like this....if you don’t help get her back in her body our mate is going to die.’

His mind raced, trying to figure out what exactly he was expected to do. The growl rubbed at the edge of his consciousness.

’Dammit boy don’t just sit there...

‘Well there’s something I was thinking of trying...but I...’

‘don’t say...show me”

Naruto thought on what he had planned to do, surprised at how the images came easily to mind. Kyubi grunted back.

’Maybe...but try it more like this’ another set flashed, but these ones clearer and with more detail. Naruto was surprised that he remembered everything about them though they’d been shown to him so quickly. ’Hurry boy, I can’t hold her much longer.’

Naruto pulled himself out and quickly climbed onto the bed. He wrapped his legs around the sleeping Hyuga, placing his left hand flat on her breast bone pointing to her chin, his right hand along the side just under her left breast wrapping around the curve of her ribs. As he closed his eyes he reached out, finding the flickering thread of her chakra. Charging his hands he reached out to into the darkness to grab it....

’Hinata.....I’m here...just hold on’

___________________________________________________________________
ok! this leaves you current with my other sites!

Sorry for the lack of smut in the recent chappies....there will be plenty more soon enough.

There will be a sequel to this story! So don't fret that the end ir near...

I got's me some more teasing to do :)

~Teaser