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After the pain	By : Legilmyth Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 9758 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 26
- 27
- 28
Disclaimer:
I do not own any of the Naruto characters, nor do I make any money writing this
story.

A/N: Just a
heads up for everyone, the next couple chapters are going to be a little Angsty, I have had a few requests for more funny parts so I
thought I would let ya�ll know what to expect in the next little while.
There is a
reason that I chose the title that I did. Hopefully you can all bare with me until we get back to all the fun.

After the
Pain Chapter Twenty-Seven
It had
been�..
28 Days
since Naruto Found Temari
20 Days
since the two of them arrived in Konoha
12 Days since
Naruto left on his mission

27 27 27 27
27 27
27 The Next
Day 27

It was early
morning, but Uchiha Sasuke had finally figured out how to approach the Hokage
with Temari�s request. He wasn�t sure if it would work. But if it did, it would
certainly make his promise a little easier to keep.
And even
though everyone knew that it was best not to disturb the Godaime
right at the beginning of the day. He had decided to use that knowledge to
hopefully gain several private moments with her before anyone else showed up at
the office.
Shizune
gave him a bit of a startled look when he walked into the outer office and
requested an audience with Tsunade. But never the
less, the assistant quickly disappeared into the Hokage�s
office to make the request.
Sasuke
fiddled with the small square of paper that he held in his hand. He might be
more comfortable around the female Hokage then he had been after he first
returned from Sound. But the woman still scared him,
her temper and her rather freakish strength were not to be taken lightly.
The office
door opened again, and Shizune waved him in. Although
if he judged by the look the brunette gave him as he passed her. He didn�t
think that the Hokage was in the best of moods.
He heard the
door click closed behind him as he approached the desk. Tsunade
was sitting with her chin propped up on one hand. Although her face didn�t give
away anything she might be thinking, her brown eyes watched him closely as he
approached. She looked very tired, he realized.
After bowing
formally the Uchiha handed her the note card he held. One slim brow raised in
question as she accepted the piece of parchment. But no words were exchanged.
After
unfolding the paper and reading the note inside. Tsunade
sat back in her chair and gave him an assessing look. Then after a moment she
called out.
�Shizune!�
The
brunette�s head quickly appeared through the door. �Yes Hokage-sama?�
�Uchiha
Sasuke and I are going to have a private conversation. Unless
it is a matter of life and death. We are not to be disturbed.�
The
assistant frowned slightly but she nodded anyway. �Of course Tsunade.�
When the
door was once again closed the Godaime�s attention once
again turned to the dark young man standing before her and she nodded.
Stepping
forward Sasuke�s hands ran through several seals before he placed both hands on
the desk and sent a pulse of chakra through the wood. Within moments all the
sounds coming from the open window ceased, and the walls took on a slight glow.
�So what is so
private that I am risking a lecture from my bodyguards for?� Tsunade asked when Sasuke removed his hands from her desk.
The Fuin-Jutsu technique he had just used had sealed off the
room so that no one could possibly over hear their conversation, unless they
broke the seal.
�It�s a
rather delicate matter Hokage, and I promised to keep it as quite as possible.�
Sasuke explained.
�Promised who
exactly?� Tsunade inquired as she turned his note
card over in her hands several times.
�Sabaku no Temari. She asked for my assistance.� He
replied.
That
immediately caught the blonde�s attention and she motioned for him to get a
chair. Once the Uchiha was seated he told her of Temari�s visit the night
before.
Then rather then go into all the details, he announced. �She asked me
to find Jewel for Naruto.�
Tsunade
frowned. �Why would she ask such an odd thing do you think?�
Sasuke
shrugged. �Temari said she was just trying to pay him back for everything he
has done for her and her brothers. And she claims that Naruto is still looking
for the woman himself.�
Now that was
news to Tsunade. �But Jewel left Konoha
what, four almost five years ago? Why do you think he would still be looking
for her?�
�It was actually a little over six years ago now.� Sasuke corrected. �And I myself have
no idea why he would still want to talk to her after the way she left him. But
according to Temari�s theory, it seems that he hasn�t yet found a way to get
over her.�
The Hokage
once again leaned forward onto her desk. �I wasn�t aware that the feelings
between Naruto and Jewel were that strong. I know they were together for quite
a while. But it always seemed to be a rather casual relationship.�
Sasuke
shrugged. �You know Naruto, he never seems to be able
to do anything half way. His whole heart goes into everything he does. Which apparently means heart break as well.�
�So why come
to me?� Tsunade asked, her
voice curious. �Why not just talk to Naruto himself when he gets back, and find
out for sure what�s going on.�
�Several
reasons Hokage.� Sasuke assured her. �First off Temari made me promise not to
let any word of this get back to the Baka. She seems
to think that he is very obsessive about not troubling others with his
problems.�
Tsunade
chuckled dryly at that. �Yes that�s Naruto all right. The
perpetual fixer of all things but himself.� She shook her head. �So what
made you say that you would look into it?�
�Something
my wife said.� Sasuke admitted. �As well as the look on Temari�s face when she
talked about how lonely Naruto is.� He gave the Hokage a sad knowing look. �I
guess I�ve always known that he was, but to have her say it, made me feel
guilty that he is always helping us out. And he never, ever has a single word
of complaint about anything.�
The Hokage
leaned back with a sigh. �That is certainly true. The boy never seems to think
of himself at all.� Then she cocked her head thoughtfully. �What did your wife
say?�
Tsunade was
more then aware of how good the young Uchiha Matriarch
was at assessing situations. As well as being an amazing reader of people and
their emotions.
Sasuke
chuckled. �Well I still find it a little hard to believe. But she claims that
Temari is interested in Naruto for herself.�
Tsunade
grinned. �You don�t say?� She rubbed her hands gleefully at the thought that
her plan seemed to be working. But then after a moment of silent gloating a
thought came to her.
�If Temari
is interested in the boy, why would she want you to find his old girlfriend?�
She raised a hand to stall the Uchiha�s reply. �I
know Uta has an amazing ability to judge that kind of thing. But it seems a
little bit odd to me.�
Sasuke never
claimed to fully understand how the female mind worked, so he just shrugged
before explaining. �I don�t know for sure myself. But the consensus seems to be
that Naruto needs some kind of closure before he can even attempt to move on. I
know he had a lot off questions when Jewel left him. And none of them have ever
been answered.�
He mentally
cringed as he added the next part. �Temari also mentioned that Naruto seems to
be convinced that the woman is now dead.�
�Tsunade frowned.
�Any theory as to why he would think that?��
�All Temari
said was that he told her it was a feeling he has been getting the last couple
years.� Sasuke supplied.
Tsunade
groaned. �Well I have to admit that Naruto�s
intuition is usually right.�
The two fell
silent for several minutes while Tsuande ran
everything over in her mind several times. The situation was odd to say the
least, but she was willing to do almost anything when it came to insuring her
blond boy�s happiness.
However, she
couldn�t abuse her powers as the Hokage without seriously thinking it through
first. Otherwise if Naruto ever found out, he would tear a strip off of her
hide.
�So just to
make sure I�ve got this right.� Tsunade finally broke
the silence. �We need to somehow figure out how to investigate the girl,
without Naruto ever finding out?�
Sasuke
nodded. �And the less people who know about it the better.�
Stroking her
chin thoughtfully Tsunade nodded. �Well that is
certainly going to be difficult. And there is nothing I can do about it right
away. With Naruto away and with so much being focused on figuring out that
brawl in the training grounds, I am already running the risk of spreading our
resources thin.�
The Uchiha
once again nodded his understanding.
�But I�ll
think about it, and see if I can�t come up with a plan of action that might
allow me to assign someone to the task.� Tsunade
added.
Sensing that
their discussion was over Sasuke regained his feet. �Thank you Tsunade.� He gave her a slight smile as he once again
pressed his hand to the desk and expelled the seal on the room.
After bowing
formally he headed out of the office. Feeling immensely
grateful that she hadn�t taken exception to his informal address. And
also hopeful that his promise just might have a chance of being carried out.

27 27 27 27
27 27

Naruto had
gotten up at the crack of dawn. And he had all of his last minute checking and
running around done by the time breakfast was being served. He would have
preferred to leave immediately.
But he
couldn�t bring himself to turn down the Headman�s wife when she insisted that
he needed to eat before he started his journey. The woman had kept him well fed
during his stay, and even if he couldn�t get away from her daughter fast
enough. She had been nothing but kind.
It was one
of the hardest things he had ever done. Sitting there, trying to be as polite
as possible and not just shove his food down his throat and get going. But he
did eat quickly none the less. And in no time at all he was saying his finale
goodbyes and trotting out of the village.
There were
many people out and about by then, and he received many waves and shouts of
thanks as he headed for the boarder of Mist and Fire country.
As soon as he was out of sight from the last house. The Kyuubi container veered off the
road and took to the tree tops. Breaking into an all out run, he left the road
behind and plotted a direct course for Konoha.
He had two
days of hard running in front of him. But he felt a lightness
in his chest, now that he was finally heading home. In the back of his mind he
was hoping against hope that Temari was still in Konoha
when he arrived.
Logically he
knew that she probably wasn�t. And he also knew that he really should be trying
to put an end to the attraction he had realized he was forming for the blond
kunoichi. But at that exact moment he just couldn�t bring himself to do it.
He had never
felt anything like this before. He had never compared women to each other. Not
until recently anyway. But for whatever reason, all of a sudden every woman he
met either reminded him of, or he found himself comparing them to the fan
wielding female that he had shared his home with.
Naruto shook
his head as he ran, pushing aside that line of thinking. He knew he would be
returning to an empty apartment. The same as he had his whole life. But right
then he didn�t want to face the cold hard reality of his life.
He would
deal with the fall out once he got home.

27 27 27 27
27
Kakashi
couldn�t have been happier. For whatever reason, when he woke up, the
oppressive feeling of being stalked had almost completely disappeared. After several weeks of feeling like a trapped rat. He
couldn�t help but be in a good mood.
There was
still a light vibration along the edge of his senses, telling him that the
other wielder of White Chakra was still around. But it didn�t seem to be as
hostile as it was before.
He hadn�t
read any more of Hitomi�s book the night before, he had been so exhausted that he had fallen asleep
as soon as he had stretched out on his bed. The last couple
weeks of stress and lack of sleep having finally caught up with him. But
now he was eager to read more of the old book, he was really curious to see
what else she had to say.
He was about
to pick up the old book when he realized that it was almost noon already. And knowing that if he started reading now, he would lose track of
time and end up being late for meeting Iruka and Temari for lunch.
With a sigh
he decided to do something very uncharacteristic and head out early. He really
didn�t like the idea of doing it, because if he did it too often Iruka would
start expecting him to be on time. But this time it beat the alternative of
having the nosey teacher come looking for him and finding him reading Hitomi�s journal.
Feeling well
rested for the first time in a while, Kakashi took his time strolling to the
Caf�. It seemed to be a little busier the usual so he wasn�t able to grab one
of the bigger tables. But one of the medium sized ones, sitting right on the
outer edge of the cluster opened up as he was standing there trying to decided
if the three of them could squeeze around one of the tiny round surfaces which
sat against the building.
More then happy to grab the newly abandoned
table before anyone else could. He sat down as the waitress was just starting to clean it. And assured her that she could take her time. As he waited,
he had to come up with some excuse to give his soon to be arriving companions
as to why he was waiting for them, and not the other way around.
Deciding
that he would just say he had another obligation. Which was only partly untrue,
he ordered once the table was clean, and he was just starting to eat when
Temari arrived. Iruka was close behind her, and as expected he wanted to know
what was going on.
It felt good
to banter with the scar faced chunin again. Kakashi
hadn�t really noticed just how pre-occupied with his situation he had become
until then.
Conversation
was light, Kakashi was pretty much finished his food and was trying to decided if he was going to stay longer and talk or escape
early so he could get back to his waiting book. It had been so long since he
had been this relaxed around anyone as of late that he found himself wanting to
prolong it.
The day
would have continued to be great if someone hadn�t bumped the waitress, who was
carrying a full tray. Causing a bowl of ice cream to go
flying, with some of its contents splattering across the fan wielding kunoichi
from Suna.
The
disgruntled look on the blonds face as she looked down at her top, which was
liberally coated caused Kakashi to laugh. He couldn�t
help it, she also had a streak across one cheek bone.
The day
would have been great if Kakashi hadn�t reached across the table to wipe the
offending cream off of her face.

27 27

Temari woke
with an unusual amount of energy. She had no idea why, but she didn�t question
it. She had been feeling rather melancholy as of late, partly because she was
just plain bored. She had nothing to do each day but meet Iruka and Kakashi for
lunch. And wait and see if there was any news from her brothers, or for Naruto
to return home.
After she
ate breakfast and got dressed, she was too antsy to sit still. So despite
having to move around with her crutches, she once again started cleaning the
apartment. She wasn�t sure why since coming to Konoha
she had started liking house work so much. But she did.
Thanks to
her sudden obsession with clean walls. Time flew bye and she was almost late to
go meet Iruka and Kakashi for lunch. As much as she wasn�t liking
the feeling of being around the Copy-nin as of late.
She had finally just accepted the fact that where ever the teacher went, so the
Scarecrow went too.
So her
continued game plan was to just keep as far away from the silver haired jonin as she could without being rude, and just hope that
lunch didn�t last too long. Although on the plus side, she had noticed the last
few days that Kakashi was not lounging around with her and Iruka for very long
after he was done eating. He tended to make an excuse and leave as soon as his
dishes were clean.
Temari found
herself humming a cheerful tune as she made her way through the streets of Konoha. The day was a little overcast, looking like it
might decide to start raining sometime later in the day. But even that didn�t
damper the kunoichi�s spirits.
Her day got
even better when she arrived at the usual Caf� and found that Kakashi was
already eating. At her questioning glance, he gave her a one eyed smile.
�I have
somewhere to be, so I couldn�t really wait for you guys.� He informed her.
Iruka
arrived a few moments later, having been held up with paperwork for the beginning
of the next year at the academy. And upon taking a seat beside Temari, as he
listened to Kakashi�s explanation, then just shook
his head.
�You�re on
leave, what could possibly be so important that you risk losing your �always
late� reputation?�
Kakashi just
grinned again. �That would be none of your business Iruka.�
Temari found
herself chuckling at the banter between the two men. It seemed like she wasn�t
the only one in a good mood today. Kakashi was most definitely a lot less
serious then she had seen him in the last week or so.
As she gave
her usual order to the waitress, She discovered that
her desire to eradicate the Jonin was a little less
intense then it usually was. Perhaps it was because watching him eat his food
through the Gen-jutsu he had placed to look like he
was still wearing his mask reminded her suddenly of her brother Kankuro.
The Puppet Master
hadn�t been seen without his face paint and head covering in so many years that
she had no idea what he really looked like since he had finished maturing into
a man. She sometimes wondered what it was that caused some men to become
obsessed with hiding their faces.
But she
shrugged off the thought, that topic was under her �too strange to bother
trying to figure out� list. Instead she found herself once again trying to
decipher just what kind of relationship Iruka and Kakashi had. Their
interaction was very different then anything she had
ever seen.
The fact
that beyond all odds it was Iruka who was the more
dominant personality, was one of the most interesting aspects. Considering that
Kakashi could probably defeat the chunin one handed,
and yet he almost always ended up conceding to the dark haired teacher.
Temari just
couldn�t help but be intrigued. At times she couldn�t help but wonder if they
were more then just friends. But then comments or
gestures would be made that reminded her more of how Naruto and Sasuke
interacted. Like brothers. Though admittedly, not her
brothers.
Her and Iruka�s food arrived and Temari contented herself with not saying
much, only answering Iruka�s few questions. Although
she was feeling light hearted and more relaxed today.
For whatever reason she just didn�t feel like talking much. Which she found
slightly strange, considering how bored she had been all morning. But
she shrugged the thought off and decided then to take a nice walk after the
meal was over. Despite the threatening weather she was feeling the need to be
out in the open.
She noticed
that Kakashi had finished his food, and found herself
hoping that he would soon be taking his leave when she heard a startled gasp
coming from her left just a moment before she felt something cold splatter
across her face and chest.
Temari froze
for a moment, not sure if she wanted to see what had landed on her, She saw that both Iruka and Kakashi were staring at
her, the Teacher with a mixed look of horror and mirth warring in his eyes.
Guessing
that he wouldn�t look like he was trying not to laugh if it was someone else�s
blood coating her, she looked down just as the waitress appeared beside her desperately apologizing for dumping food on her.
The Wind Summoner was relieved to find that she had
only been covered in vanilla ice cream.�
Waving the
waitress away by simply asking for more napkins she had to assure the upset
young lady that she was fine before she hurried away to fill the request.
�You could
have just ordered the ice cream if you wanted it that badly.� Kakashi chuckled
as Temari started wiping the quickly melting desert off of her front.
She was so
focused on cleaning her clothing that she didn�t see him move until out of the
corner of her eye she saw something coming towards her. Her trained reflexes
reacted before she realized what it was she had seen.
Her hand
wrapped around a wrist and she felt a pulse travel through her whole body. Her
head snapped up then to look into the shocked face of the Copy-nin, who was suddenly mask less and staring back at her
with something akin to horror in his grey eye.
��Don�t.� She snapped before she could think of
any better way to handle the awkward position they were in. Then realizing that
she was still holding onto his out stretched arm she quickly released him.
27
Kakashi
couldn�t breath, he felt like he had just been hit with a wall. The wave of
power that had just flooded through him had set every hair on his body standing
on end. His whole being was paralyzed as his mind screamed in denial when he
realized what had happened.
How could it
be Temari? Of all people, he had been around her for weeks, and never had felt
a single thing from her. And he had known her for years, how could he not know
that she wielded White Chakra?
When she
finally released him, he felt the pain start. It crawled up his arm from where
she had touched him, like angry fire ants the sensation worked its way upward
over his right shoulder as he flopped back into his chair.
Temari was
still looking at him, with silver eyes that seemed to be boring into his very
soul, he saw her lips move but he couldn�t decipher a single word. As the pain
moved further he realized that he had to get away from there. Away from Temari,
because he had a sudden clear thought come to him of what it would mean for the
alliance if anyone knew that she had just essentially delivered a death blow to
him.
Lurching to
his feet he tried to mumble something about needing to get somewhere. But he
wasn�t sure if the words actually left his mouth because he was rapidly being
overcome by the screaming pain inching over his body.
Moving as
quickly as his stunned body would allow, he made it away from the caf� and
around a corner where he quickly made the signs and teleported home.
He landed in
a heap on his living room floor. Screaming in agony as the use of his chakra
made the pain double. As he curled into a ball on the floor, the last coherent
thought he had was why couldn�t he have been killed instantly?
27 27 27
Temari had
to fight down the over whelming urge to go after the Copy-nin
when he had muttered something about having to go and had hastily left the
table. He hadn�t even bothered to pull up the mask that was hanging around his
neck.
She frowned
as she stared at his now empty chair, what was that strange feeling been when
she touched him? Had he felt it too? Absently she brought her left hand up
against her chest, rubbing her fingers over the palm in an effort to dispel the
strange tingling sensation that still resided there.
�Are you
alright Temari?� Iruka�s voice brought her out of her
musings. And she immediately noted the concern in his eyes.
Temari only
nodded. �He just startled me.� She muttered as she absently went back to wiping
the white cream off of her clothing.
�Well I
think you startled him right back, how did you dispel his Gen-jutsu with just a touch?� The teacher questioned, he had
never seen anyone do that before. At least not before using
seals.
Temari
shrugged. �Not sure.�
Iruka was a
little worried. He had a feeling that there was something more behind the
reactions of Temari as well as Kakashi, who he had never seen leave in such a
hurry before. Just a moment after Temari had dispelled his friends mask they
had shared an intense look that seemed to have communicated something between
them.
But he had
absolutely no idea what it meant. If the look had only been from Temari he
would have simply dismissed it as an affect of seeing the kind of face Kakashi
kept hidden beneath the dark cloth he always wore.
But he had
the strongest sense that he was missing something important. There was the
tiniest nagging thought that perhaps there was something more going on between
the two then was readily apparent.
It hadn�t
escaped his notice that the Suna Kunoichi at times
had seemed ill at ease around the Scarecrow. And after this incident Iruka had
to wonder what was going on. If he didn�t have to be back to work on time, he
would go find Kakashi and demand answers as soon as he was finished eating. But
as it was he would have to wait until after he was finished work.
There was no
way he was going to ask Temari such a question. They weren�t that good of friends,
and he had seen her in action. The girl was lethal and getting on her bad side
when he was supposed to be watching over her for Naruto was not a good idea.
So he helped
her calm down the waitress who was still apologizing with every other word when
she returned with a damp cloth and more napkins. Once the situation was taken
care of, and he and Temari had finished eating. Iruka headed back to work. Resolved to get through his pile of paper as quickly as possible so
that he could track Kakashi down and get some answers.
27
Temari
couldn�t seem to get the incident out of her mind as she said goodbye to Iruka
and headed for the nearest training grounds. Wanting to sit down under a tree
and just think. That pulse of power, she had no better word to describe the
feeling. That had occurred when she had touched Kakashi had her confused.
It wasn�t
long before she found a suitable tree to settle under, which was out of sight
of the nearest path and the blond kunoichi quickly made herself
comfortable against the smooth bark.
She wasn�t
sure how to even start figuring out what had happened back at the caf�. A part
of her felt like the incident was nothing out of the ordinary. Yet she knew it
was. Did it have something to do with what had happened to her while she had
been captured?
Naruto had
refused to go into details when he reminded her what had happened to her. But
she had this deep sense that something more then her
pregnancy had resulted from that time. And yet after several minutes of
thinking, she was no closer to figuring out what it was.
Other then an impression that she wasn�t quite
the same as she used to be. Which she accepted easily. She had
been through something horrible according to the man she was staying with. And
then there was all the memory problems, she was most definitely not the same
woman she had been when she left her village for a training break.
With a heavy
sigh she laid her head back against the tree supporting her back and closed her
eyes. Behind her closed lids the image of the last look she had seen on Kakashi�s face haunted her. Her good mood from the morning
was now gone. And it was replaced by not only worry. But a sense that something
just wasn�t right.
27 27 27 27
27 27
Naruto came
to a sudden halt. Crouching down on the thick tree limb he had landed on, he
slowly took a closer look at his surroundings. After several minutes of finding
nothing but the usual forest sounds he slowly stood back up.
Frowning he
tried to put his finger on what was bothering him. He suddenly felt as if
something was wrong. Yet he couldn�t detect any kind of danger in the area.
Taking care
to be extra quite, he set off again, but at a lot slower pace then he had been traveling at all morning. He had yet to
stop for lunch, but he wasn�t feeling hungry yet so he didn�t bother pausing
for that long. He just really wanted to get home.
In fact he
couldn�t remember the last time that he had been eager to return to Konoha. The pressure of keeping up his ever cheerful fa�ade
was a heavy burden to bare when at times he just
wanted to freak out and destroy something.
But mainly
he knew the true reason he had difficulty returning to his home was because it
meant that he was out of time. And that meant he couldn�t continue to
search��..
The big
blond stumbled to a halt, nearly losing his footing on his current branch. He
leaned heavily leaned against the tree, as the realization hit him.
He hadn�t
looked.
Not once
during this whole mission. Not once had the thought crossed his mind to be on
the lookout for Jewel or his son. Normally that was the main focus of any trip
he was on. He was always looking, clinging to the slight hope that maybe the
loss of contact with them had not been because of their deaths.
His whole
body sagged as he felt pain fill his heart. And guilt, the heavy press of guilt
that sometimes threatened to smother him, wrapped around him now like a thick
blanket.
How could he
have possibly forgotten to look for his son?
�Looking back the way he had come, he toyed
with the idea of going back. After all, it wasn�t as if he had an actual time
limit on this mission.
Yet as soon
as the thought crossed his mind he dismissed it. There was the slight
possibility Temari was still in Konoha, waiting for
his return. And he had promised to care for her until she made it home. Even if
she was no longer there, he owed it to her to head home right away to at least
check.
And on top
of that, he had been rather vigilant of his surroundings during his stay in the
Mist village, seeing as he had technically been trespassing on enemy soil. And
he knew that if he had seen anyone who even remotely resembled Jewel it would
have registered with him instantly. And he hadn�t, none of the children he had
seen had sparked anything in him either. So was there really any point of going
back to look more thoroughly?
After a few
minutes of just standing there, he realized that the reason he hadn�t searched
for his lost child was because he had been so focused on returning to the
kunoichi that shared his apartment. At the same time he also realized that
maybe, just maybe it was a good thing.
Even as a part of him hated himself for thinking of it. The more logical side knew that his
continued search was futile. He had felt their loss,
it had been like a piece of him had been cut out. Leaving a gaping hole within
that was still there, and he had no way of filling.
And yet now,
the realization that he had to stop didn�t hurt as much as he thought maybe it
should. Perhaps it was time to let go? To find a way to forgive himself for
failing the child that he had never been able to meet, or hold in his arms.
He just
wasn�t sure how to do that. Looking back into the woods where he had just come
from he found himself whispering.
�Forgive
me.�

27 27 27 27

Iruka just
couldn�t wait until he was finished work. On his next break he told his
assistants that he had a quick errand to run, and immediately teleported across
the city. Reappearing in front of a very familiar house.
Pulling out
his key ring he found the appropriate one as he headed for the door. Kakashi
always locked his door, in fact he always had traps
set up as well. It had taken a while for Iruka to memorize all of them so that
he didn�t have to fight his way inside the residence whenever he needed to drop
in on the Copy-nin.
As soon as
he pushed the door open, the chunin knew that
something was wrong. The first trap was not engaged. Pulling out a kunai he
slowly moved forward, only to become more worried when he discovered that none
of the usual security measures were in place.
Not wanting
to call out just yet, Iruka made his way further inside, heading towards the
kitchen and living room. He was well acquainted with every aspect of Kakashi�s house, and even the air around him was different then usual. If he had been standing outside he would have
said that it felt like a storm was coming.
Moving
quickly yet silently through the living area and kitchen he headed for the
small hall that lead to bath room and two bedrooms. Rounding the corner he
froze. There was a body on the floor, half inside the Scarecrow�s bedroom door
so he couldn�t see who it was.
Doing his
best not to panic he moved forward carefully, keeping all his senses open for
an attack. Trying not to focus on the fact that it might be
the silver haired jonin splayed out on the floor.
A few steps
more confirmed his fear, it was Kakashi. Although he couldn�t see his face
since he was laying on his front. And by the way his body was positioned, it
looked like the Scarecrow had drug himself across the floor to get to where he
was.
As quickly
as he was able, he checked the three small rooms. Finding them empty he was quickly
at the jonin�s side, he couldn�t see any blood as he
knelt down to check for a pulse.
�Kakashi?�
It took a moment, but he did find one, although it was terribly weak.
Not sure
what was wrong with the prone man, Iruka was debating whether he could risk
trying to turn him over when he saw that his right sleeve had been ripped right
off. And a closer look had the teacher paling as he realized why he hadn�t
noticed it earlier.
The skin on Kakashi�s arm was black. The first thought that came to the
chunin�s mind was that the Copy-nin
had been poisoned. Realizing he needed help, because there was no way he could
get the taller jonin to the hospital with any kind of
speed on his own.
�Iruka�s hands flew
through four signs before he slammed his right hand onto the floor beside him.
The Jutsu sent out a distress flare of chakra
straight through the roof and into the air.
�Hold on
Kakashi, I�ll get you help.� The teacher mumbled, feeling the need to fill the
silence of the room.
He had just
shifted and was preparing to try to turn the unconscious jonin
over when two masked ANBU teleported into the room, both had weapons drawn.
�We need to
get him to the hospital.� Iruka snapped, not waiting for either of the arrivals
to ask what had happened. �I believe that he has been poisoned, I need a
stretcher and a medic team alerted.� Both nodded and disappeared as quickly as
they appeared.
When he
rolled the silver haired jonin over, Iruka was
startled to find that not only was his mask still down around his neck, as it
had been when he had hastily left the caf�. But that the black that covered his
arm was also creeping over the right side of his face.
Like shadowy
fingers, the color reached up Kakashi�s neck and jaw,
before splaying over his cheek. The mark looking very much like a hand was
trying to cover his face in order to silence him.
Unable to
help himself, Iruka tentatively touched one of the dark finger
like marks. Only to jerk back when Kakashi�s eyes
suddenly flew open with a cry of pain.
�Damn it
Kakashi, what happened to you?� Iruka demanded, trying not to let on how shaken
he was by the sound that just come from the injured man.
�Don�t!� The
Copy-nin gasped as he tried to pull away from the chunin�s touch but was unable to as his whole body
convulsed in agony.
Since Kakashi�s single uncovered eye was darting back and forth
as if he was looking for something. Iruka leaned over him, careful not to touch
him again, in an attempt to get his friends attention, �Who did this to you?�
A single
grey eye clashed with a pair of brown just as a single ANBU holding a stretcher
and two jonin ported into the room.
�Me.� Kakashi�s voice was strained as his face once again
contorted with pain. His left arm jerked twice before he was
able get it to catch hold of the stunned chunin�s
vest.
�Kunai.�
Iruka
frowned at the request, not sure if the Scarecrow was serious or suffering from
delirium. The two jonin had taken the stretcher from
the ANBU and were setting it out beside Kakashi as the special
forces informed Iruka that the hospital was waiting on their arrival.
�Do you have
any idea how the poison was administered?� One of the jonin
asked as he knelt down to take a hold of Kakashi�s
vest, while the other had moved to grab his feet.
Iruka shook
his head. �No, but his arm is black.�
On silent
command the two jonin lifted as one, causing Kakashi
to scream as they moved him over onto the waiting stretcher. The hold he had on
Iruka�s clothing only tightened, and the teacher was
practically drug along. Almost landing on top of the pain riddled man.
�Kakashi,
we�ll get you help.� Iruka promised, placing a hand
over the fist anchored to the front of his vest. He was trying desperately to
maintain a calm reassuring tone. While inside he was falling apart. A man like
Kakashi didn�t scream without good reason.
�No�.�
Kakashi croaked as their eyes met. �You�. Can�t�. Help�. Me��
�Damn it
Kakashi.� Iruka growled. �Don�t talk like that.�
�Sir we�re
ready to go.� One of the Jonin announced, reminding
Iruka that they were still on the floor of Kakashi�s
apartment.
Iruka gave a
nod and he forced himself to try to remove Kakashi�s
clinging fist as the ANBU stepped forward and started running through
teleporting seals. But the silver haired jonin would
not loosen his grip, or was unable to. Iruka wasn�t sure which it was.
�Hold on.�
The ANBU commanded.
And before
Iruka realized what his intent was, the room around them warped crazily,
causing the teacher to almost lose his lunch. Then the next instant it stopped
and the group of them were outside the hospital.
Iruka�s head
was spinning, he had never been teleported by someone
else before. He hadn�t even realized that it was possible for a single person
to move a group of four in that manner. One or two maybe, but four was quite
the feat.
As he shook
his head to clear his vision he saw a team of medics rushing towards them, the
first of which caught the ANBU as he crumbled. Obviously transporting that many
people was not easy.
The jonin on either end of the stretcher recovered quickly and
were on their feet, lifting the injured Kakashi, and Iruka who had an elbow
propping him up on the edge of the litter.
There was a
blur of questions that he wasn�t able to answer, he was so disorientated that
he barely registered it when two of the medics managed to pry his and Kakashi�s hands apart, and his vest was finally released.
One of the
medics then wrapped an arm around him to support him while the other moved
beside the now moving stretcher. By the time Iruka made it inside the hospital
his head was mostly clear and he was starting to walk in a straight line.
He looked
around for Kakashi but was only in time to see the group surrounding the Copy-nin disappear into the emergency
wing.
27
Tsunade
slammed her way into the hospital. Shizune hot on her
heels as the Godaime demanded to know what was going
on. Neither of them had been given any other information other then a terrible medical emergency happened.
�It�s Hatake Kakashi, My Lady.� The head nurse announced as she
fell into step with the striding blond. �He was found in his apartment
unconscious and he has severe discoloration to one arm, and its spreading. We
think he was poisoned.�
Tsunade�s
let Shizune�s gasp of dismay speak for them both.
Right now she had to be professional. She couldn�t let her sad little crush get
in the way of her doing her job.
The nurse
directed them to the largest emergency room, and as they rounded the corridor,
the Hokage immediately spotted the form of Umino
Iruka standing before the door. Staring at it as if he could
see through the barrier if he looked hard enough.
�Iruka?� Tsunade�s knew that her voice was rather harsh at the
moment. But she didn�t have time to be nice when there was a life at stake.
The teacher
turned to look at her. His eyes had a haunted look to them. �I found him.� He
announced without being asked further. �There was no sign of intruders.�
The blonde
Hokage barely noticed when Shizune stepped up to the
upset man�s side and put a sympathetic hand on his arm.
�Has he
regained consciousness?� She demanded of the nurse and the teacher as she
readied herself to go into the room.
Iruka
nodded, �He did when I touched the dark marks. I think he�s already delirious.�
�Tsunade paused with
her hand on the door. �What makes you say that?� Iruka wasn�t a medic by any
means, but that didn�t mean she wouldn�t take his observation into
consideration.
�I asked him
who attacked him and all he said was �Me.�� Iruka replied, his voice wobbling
slightly.
Tsunade
frowned even as she nodded her thanks and entered the ER. She knew Shizune would be right behind her as soon as she took a
moment to console the upset chunin. She was much
better at handling distraught friends and family.
As she made
her way to the crowded bed side she decided that Iruka�s
observation of the delirium was more then likely
correct. The Hokage was well acquainted with Kakashi�s
service record, and if there was anyone less likely to try to kill himself it was him.
�As soon as the other medics realized she was
there a spot was made for her at the head of the bed. And the sight that
greeted her had the blonde, long time medic gasp.
The Copy-nin had been stripped to his underwear, and while normally
that would attract any woman�s attention. That was not so this time. It was the
ugly black color that seemed to be creeping over his skin that demanded
attention.
His right
arm was already completely dark and it was spreading over his shoulder up his
neck and down his side in a dark insidious wave. Stepping closer Tsunade refrained from touching it right away, first
tracking it with her eyes.
�Do we have
an entry wound?� She asked the group at large as she eyed the tell tale signs
of spreading poison as the veins ahead of the dark skin were already a deep
purple. Reaching out just under his skin as if paving the way
for the more solid darkness behind them.
�No My Lady.� Came the reply. �There is nothing so far to
indicate how it got into his system.�
�Have Sakura
sent for.� Tsunade ordered. She hated to call her
young prot�g� back to work yet again when she was still on maternity leave. But
she needed her help, and Sakura would never forgive her if Tsunade
didn�t inform her that one of her �men� was hurt.
Shizune
arrived then, taking the place of the nurse who had left to summon the pink
haired medical genius. To her credit, the younger woman merely sucked in a
surprised breath at the sight that greeted her. But she said nothing.
Carefully Tsunade reached down, intent on lifting the effected arm so
that she could inspect it closer herself. She barely started to lift the limb. When a spasm went through Kakashi�s
frame, causing his arm to nearly pull from her grasp.
Looking up her
eyes clashed with the single uncovered grey orb that was now staring at her. She
was shocked to see that his now open eye revealed that the dark poison had
turned the white of his eye as black as his arm.
�Kakashi,
what happened to you? Do you have any idea what kind of poison was used?� She
asked instantly. Fighting back the dread that filled her.
Eyes were very sensitive, and it was a very real possibility that once they
were effected he would lose his sight. And if that
happened, they might not to get it back for him.
The Copy-nin�s lips moved slowly. But no one could hear what he was
trying to say. Ordering everyone to silence, Tsunade
leaned down so that her ear was right beside his mouth.
She felt the
slight tickle of his breath as two words reached her.
�Kill�..
Me.�
The female
Hokage jerked back as if she had been slapped. Anger filling
her that he would give up so soon.
�Don�t you
even dare think of it Hatake!� She snapped. �We are
going to figure this out, and you are damn well going to fight this. That is an
order!�
The others
in the room looked a little surprised at her angry outburst.
It almost
looked like a smile started to tug at the corners of the Scarecrows lips, but
it quickly turned into a grimace as his whole body arched off the bed as pain
gripped him.
Tsunade
pushed away the urge to panic that suddenly reared its ugly head inside of her
at the sight of his agony. She quickly reached out, placing a supporting hand
under his neck as his bowed body was putting most of his weight on his head.
The other went under his back.
Shizune
mirrored her actions on his left side. But when another medic
reached over Tsunade�s right arm in order to stop Kakashi�s arm from swinging and striking the Hokage in the
face. The room was pierced by a blood curdling scream.
The sound
echoed throughout the ER and down the surrounding corridors. The Hokage fought
back tears when Kakashi�s body collapsed back onto the
bed as the silver haired man once again lost consciousness.
A quick
glance around her proved that she was not the only one to be shaken by the
sound. Ninja were notorious for baring pain with a clench jawed determination
not to utter a sound. And to hear such a cry uttered by one as seasoned as the
legendary Copy-nin unsettled them all.
Then before
she could decide her next move Tsunade was horrified
to see the dark line on his skin move. Right before her eyes it actually moved
nearly an inch more on all sides.
�Tsunade I don�t feel a pulse!� This from Shizune who was still grasping his left wrist.
A flurry of
movement ensued as Tsunade reached across the bed to check
the pulse at his neck. �Damn it.� She growled before she placed both hands on
his chest. Being careful not to touch the black tendrils that
had claimed more territory.
Focusing for
a split second she sent a pulse of concentrated chakra into the prone man�s
heart. A glance up saw the brunet shake her head and a second pulse was
administered as one of the other medics arrived with a syringe of clear liquid.
Waiting for the order to inject it into a vein.
But this
time Shizune gave a sigh of relief. �It�s back, but its not very strong.�
The whole
room seemed to release pent up breaths as Tsunade
slowly pulled back, and for a moment braced herself on the edge of the bed. Trying desperately to calm the trembling inside of her.
After a few moments she straightened.
�Alright
people. We have a lot of work to do. And we don�t know how much time we have,
so let�s figure this out.�
27 27 27 27
27 27
Temari was
finding it hard to relax after she had eaten dinner. She felt the strongest
urge to go somewhere, but had no clear idea of where she wanted to go. So she
remained in the apartment.
She had
toyed with the idea of going to see if Sasuke had made any progress with her
request. But then realized that she had barely given him any
time to come up with a plan. After all, unlike her, the Uchiha had a
family and work obligations to take up his time.
With a sigh
she finally settled on the couch. She didn�t feel like reading so she was
simply staring out at the balcony when a knock sounded on the door.
Getting on
her feet, she maneuvered herself to the door and was quite surprised upon
opening it to see Meeka standing there, looking
rather nervous.
�Meeka, how are you?� Temari asked, even as she realized
that the girl in front of her was sporting a sling to support her left arm and
a bandage across the right side of her jaw. And that her question was a little inappropriate.
The girls
shrugged as she shuffled her feet. �Is Naruto-sensie
home?� She asked quietly.
Temari
pushed the door open more as she straightened and watched the girl closely when
she replied. �No, he�s not back from his mission yet. And I�m afraid that I
don�t have any idea when he will return.�
Meeka�s
face fell, and it was clear to the blonde kunoichi that the girl was close to
tears as she jerkily nodded her understanding. After a moment of shifting her
weight on her feet she started to turn away.
�Sorry to
bother you.� She mumbled, trying unsuccessfully to hide the trembling of her
chin.
Temari felt
her heart clench at the miserable look on the young girls face. �Meeka wait. Is there something I can help you with?�
The girl
only half turned back as she shrugged. �Naruto-sensei sometimes lets me come in
to talk.� She mumbled. Her voice wobbling.
Even though
she had never had much of a chance to be around children and young people,
Temari felt as if it was very important to find out what was bothering the
girl.
�Well I�m
not Naruto, but I�m not doing anything. If you would like to come in and talk I
wouldn�t mind at all.�
The girl
only seemed to debate the offer for a moment then she silently nodded her head
and followed Temari back into the apartment.
The two
females settled themselves onto the couch, and when the normally energetic girl
remained silent Temari realized that she would have to find a way to start the
conversation.
�What
happened to you�re arm?�
Meeka
promptly burst into tears as she wailed. �Its
all my fault!�
Pushing her crutches out of the way. Temari scooted closer to the now sobbing girl and put
her arm around the young ladies shaking shoulders.
�What�s your
fault dear?� she asked softly.
�Hiki.� Meeka blubbered as she
looked up at Temari with tormented eyes. �I couldn�t�� I couldn�t get to him.�
She hiccupped as she tried to wipe away some of her tears with her uninjured
arm. �Now� now he�ll never�. never walk again. Or� or be a ninja.�
After that
she finished struggling to speak she broke down again and Temari found herself
gathering the distraught girl into her arms. It took the Sand kunoichi a few
moments to remember that Hiki was Meeka�s
cousin that she had met that day she had gone shopping with Naruto.
�I am so
sorry to hear that Meeka.� Temari murmured. �But I�m
sure it wasn�t your fault. You did what you could.�
The girl
only seemed to cry harder. And it took the slightly over whelmed older woman a
while to get the girl to calm down enough to tell her the rest of the story.
Apparently
the two cousins had been involved in the big disaster at the training grounds
that Temari had been hearing about. But while Meeka had escaped with only a fractured arm and minor
wounds. Her male cousin had not been so lucky.
In between
bouts of tears the green haired girl informed Temari that her aunt and uncle
were blaming her for what had happened to their son. And the fact that she
would heal well enough to continue her training while he couldn�t was making
the adults very angry.
Temari found
herself getting angrier the longer she listened to some of the things that the girls aunt had apparently said. But since
she had no idea who these people were. She could do nothing but do her
best to calm the girl down and reassure her that everything was going to be
okay.
Eventually Meeka cried herself into exhaustion and fell asleep in the
blond females arms. So not knowing what else to do,
Temari sat with her until their position was causing her one arm to start to
fall asleep.
Then
carefully she laid the sleeping girl down on the couch. Lifting her feet up and
insuring she was comfortable before she headed into the other room to get a
blanket to cover her with.
Once that
was done Temari carefully maneuvered herself onto the
floor beside the couch. How long she sat watching Meeka
sleep she didn�t know. All she knew was that her heart was aching for the young
girl. And she wanted to help.
It was late
when she finally ended her vigil and headed to bed herself. She certainly hoped
that Naruto got home soon. Because she just knew that he would know what to do
about this situation. She was in way over her head on this one.
The only
good thing she saw out of her evening with the upset girl was that Meeka�s problems had distracted her from the strange
feeling she had been having since lunch. She still felt as if something strange
was going on, or was about to happen.
With a sigh
she got ready for bed, and pushed all thoughts out of her head. She would worry
about everything once she got up in the morning, for she was suddenly feeling
very tired.
27 27 27
Naruto
maintained a break neck pace as the moon rose in the sky. After he had managed
to push aside the depression that he felt coming on after his realization that
he had to let the past go. He had set an almost inhuman pace back to Konoha.
Something
was making him feel desperate about getting home. Whether it was because he was
trying to outrun the guilt that still seemed to cling to him or it was some
other reason he didn�t know. And he didn�t stop to examine the feeling too
closely.
He had
barely stopped long enough to eat something in the late afternoon. And now,
despite starting to feeling tired he pushed on. If he was able to maintain his
current pace, he estimated that he would reach Konoha
around noon the next day.

27 27 27 27

Sorry for
the short chapter. But it was difficult to write and I am trying to plan out
the events of each chapter so that I can get them out more often. (hopefully)
I know all
you Kakashi fans are ready to kill me, but this is vital to the plot. Sorry.

�
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After the pain