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The Darkness That Binds Him	By : XxKageTenshixX Category: Naruto > General Views: 4337 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 7
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. Nor do I gain any profit from this story or the anime itself. I own just the plot of this story.

Chapter List
- 4
- 5
- 6
Chapter 5
It had been nearly three months since Naruto had been admitted to the hospital. Sasuke had disappeared just as easily as he had appeared. There wasn't a single clue as to where the Uchiha had gone and that irked the Godaime more than anything.
Tsunade gave a heavy sigh and looked at the pale figure lying in the bed before her. She felt like she had aged another 40 years in the time it took her to slowly walk towards the bed, her feet dragging their way sluggishly across the marble floor. There hadn't been any movement from him at all since they had found him unconscious in his prison cell. In fact, the only signs that he was still alive were the loud beeping coming from the machines attached to his body and the very shallow and slow up and down movement of his chest. The blonde Godaime ran her fingers through his blonde hair softly; regret shining brightly in her honey colored eyes.
Tsunade thought back to that horrible night. Naruto had been rushed straight into the ICU after they had found him. She lost him twice within the first hour of operation, which had continued well into the next day. There had been so much damage to his body. So much. Her stomach twisted when she remembered seeing his broken frame covered in blood in that cell. That image was permanently etched into her mind. It was an image she hoped she never forgot. She didn't deserve to forget.
The young blonde had suffered from internal bleeding from whatever poison that had been administered to him. It had caused a few of his organs to stop working simply from the stress his body had undergone trying to flush the toxins from his system. She had restarted the organs, but it was beyond even her formidable talents to get them working at full capacity again. Then there was the internal bleeding coming from the…abuse…that he had receive by those people. He had had to undergo three more surgeries later on that first week and even that hadn't fixed all the damage. His right wrist, three ribs, and the bones in his upper left arm and leg had all suffered extensive fractures. His lungs had been punctured by the broken ribs and he had suffered severe chakra exhaustion from the chain that had been keeping the Kyūbi at bay. He had also suffered a concussion that was so severe Tsunade hoped it hadn't damaged his brain in any way, but knew that it would be a miracle if it hadn't. She would have to wait until he awoke to see how serious it was.
Several of the bones in his feet were fractured as well, and his right arm was broken in several places. The majority of his bones had all been broken at one point, some of them several times, but they had healed improperly and were bound to be a problem. His spinal cord had some damage to it, but luckily she fixed that. All of these had caused massive nerve damage in several areas of his nervous system. Antibiotics were pumping through his system to keep the infections from his massive lacerations, weakening his immune system. There wasn't a single patch of skin that hadn't been bruised or scarred.
She was also worried about his healing rate. He was healing at a normal rate for a person, but at a slower rate than a holder of a jinchuuriki should. Why wasn't the Kyūbi healing him?
What frightened her most was Naruto's mental health. Between the betrayal he must feel and what happened in that cell for the past year, there was bound to be a drastic change in his personality. No one goes through that much hell and keeps going like nothing happened. She couldn't help the morbid thoughts that drifted through her head. What if he was so far gone mentally that he no longer recognized any of them? What if all this trauma caused amnesia? Worse, what if he remembered and hated his comrades and entire village? What if he hated her? That scared her more than anything. She was, after all, the one to accuse him of such a horrible crime and sentenced him to that dark prison in the first place. She might have accomplished what 16 years of abuse from the villagers had failed to do. She might have mentally destroyed the blonde.
Tears came to her eyes. How could she have done that? How could she have believed that her brother had committed such crimes? She should have stood by her beliefs and looked harder for any other explanations. Maybe then she could have figured out who had actually done it. She KNEW he could never do something like that. He was innocent…and she still let him suffer.
Tsunade didn't try to stop the sob that ripped through her. Taking her hand from Naruto's hair she lightly traced over the bandages that hid the scar that ran across his pale neck, more bandages crossing over his left shoulder to cover the equally horrible scar going across his chest. She let the tears fall freely. She didn't deserve forgiveness, either from Naruto or herself. She knew that and she hoped she never got it.
Another sob escaped her and her knees shook as she collapsed next to the bed. Her hands gripped onto the sheets tightly as the sobs wracked her body. That was how Team 8 found her, huddled on the floor and sobbing. Hinata and Kurenai tried to console the broken Hokage, with little success. Kiba stood silently by the door staring blankly at Naruto, clenching his hands every now and then wishing there was something he could do. Shino watched all this with analytical eyes before finally looking at Naruto. He looked at the formerly sun-kissed skin, now as pale as the sheets Naruto was lying on. Gifts and cards littered the blonde's room. Shino could already deduce that some were from the rookie nine, others were gifts from the villagers. The same ones that had ignored the blonde all his life finally felt remorse at how they had treated him.
Shino, unfortunately, hadn't been in Konoha when the cursed Uchiha decided to make his appearance. He, Hinata and TenTen had only gotten back yesterday from a mission… but they had been told what had occurred.
Sakura would cry every time she thought of Naruto, which was daily. Chōji, in an act thought impossible for an Akimichi, wasn't eating as much as he used to. Shikamaru seemed to be even more in thought, and Neji was, if possible, more silent and anti-social than ever. Of course, the Hyūga spent most of his time on "search and capture" missions for the Uchiha along with Shikamaru and a few others that were once considered close to Uzumaki. Even Lee hasn't been his boisterous self. The village just wasn't the same as it had been when they had left it 4 months ago.
Finally Shino looked back at his Hokage, wailing like a mother that just lost her child…and in a way, she had. It wasn't a secret to anyone that she thought of Naruto as her brother. For all of this to have happened, it would overwhelm anyone even their headstrong leader.
Shino has never really had an opinion on the Uchiha heir before, but seeing all the damage that he's done in the past two and a half years, he realized that Sasuke had done infinitely more bad than good. In fact, Shino wasn't completely sure the Uchiha has done any good in the first place.
Kiba had yet to move from his spot by the door and Hinata hasn't looked at Naruto once since she had come into the room. Kurenai would throw sorrowful glances around the room every now and then, unsure on what to do. Shino could only wonder how one person could do all this.
Later, Shizune came in, Ton Ton following quietly behind her, and escorted Tsunade out of the room to recover. Hinata left soon afterwards. She hadn't been able to take being in that room any longer. Shino and Kurenai stayed a bit longer as well, but even they had to leave.
Soon, only Kiba was left. His eyes never let Naruto's still form, still covered in bandages, even after 3 months of healing by Tsunade. It was unearthly to see the blonde this still. The brunette would be beyond happy to see some movement. A twitch of a finger would make him feel so much better. But there was nothing. It just wasn't…right. Naruto would have been in the exact same position he had been in when he had been admitted had it not been for the nurses and physical therapists occasionally stretching what muscles they could to prevent atrophy and bed sores. Kiba doubted that the blonde would even be breathing if it wasn't for the tubes attached to his nose and down his throat.
That thought made his heart clench. Naruto passing away without Kiba even getting a chance to say a simple "sorry" was beyond his comprehension, even though Kiba knew no amount of excuses were going to wash away all the damage done. Some friend he was.
He vaguely acknowledged Ino and Chōji entering the room.
"How is he?" Ino's soft voice was easily heard over the beeping machines.
Kiba resisted the urge to hit something but answered in a gruff voice. "The same as yesterday and the day before that…"
Ino shifted uncomfortably to her left foot and bit her lip nervously. Chōji hadn't said a word, but what was there to say? This whole situation was too morbid and made his stomach twist. Finally, Kiba couldn't take it anymore.
"Damn it!" Kiba's outburst drew the attention of everyone in the room. "How could this have happened? I should have fucking known something wasn't right. I knew something wasn't right, yet I didn't do anything! And now that damn Uchiha is still out there and Naruto is laying there! I should have nailed that bastard when I had the chance."
By this point, tears were streaming down Kiba's cheeks. Ino stepped forward to comfort the brunette, sadness flashing in her eyes. "Kiba…"
Kiba didn't hear her. "What kind of friend am I? I mean, I know we haven't always been on the best of terms, but I had thought we had developed some kind of friendship, especially after the academy…but I guess not if I couldn't even see through this!" Blood dripped down his hands from how hard he was clinching his hands together. His shoulders shook and a sob shook his frame. "It's not right. It's just not right. Naruto should be walking around with that stupid grin on his face. It's just so…wrong for him to be this still. How can anyone be that still?" That last part was whispered softly.
Ino couldn't help but stare at Kiba. Never had she seen the brunette breakdown before and it brought tears to her own eyes. She wanted to comfort him. She just didn't see how she could in this situation. Surprisingly, it was Chōji that tried.
"We all made a mistake…and it's our job to try and fix it." His voice was soft but confident.
Kiba's head snapped towards him, his eyes red and narrow. "How are we going to fix this? How the hell can this be fixed? It can't!" he yelled.
Chōji looked at him, his eyes not wavering in the slightest. "We will fix this, Kiba."
Kiba snorted shakily. "Tell me Chōji. If you were accused of something you didn't do and then tortured for a year by the ones you called 'friend', would you forgive them?" When Chōji said nothing, his shoulders sunk and he took one last look at Naruto. "I thought so." With that, Kiba left without another word.
Ino sighed and glanced at Naruto before following after Kiba. If she didn't, she was sure he would do something stupid. Chōji stared at the figure in the bed a while longer before whispering a sorrowful "Sorry" and leaving himself. He needed to see the Hokage about joining the search for the Uchiha.
XxXxXxXxTDTBHxXxXxXxX
The hospital in Konoha was buzzing with life as nurses and doctors ran from room to room taking care of patients. Shikamaru walked into the building, a normal bored look on his face, but his eyes shined with something else. A vase of flowers was clasped in his hand. Ino noticed that the flowers she had sent last week were dying and wanted him to put more in Naruto's room. He guessed it was her coping mechanism.
Out the corner of his eye he could see one of the nurses speaking to a woman, two young kids clinging fearfully to her dress. Suddenly, she broke out in tears and began weeping in to her hands. Shikamaru could see the look on the nurses' faces, they were all of sadness and remorse. His heart ached for that family and he could only hope that he wasn't on the receiving end of news like that anytime soon.
Knowing where to go already, he passed the receptionist's desk and headed to the 5th floor, where all of the ICU's coma patients were. He wasn't surprised when he ran in to Team 7's captain at the stairs. The white-haired man had a worn look on his face, and even the mask he normally wore couldn't hide it.
They greeted each other and made their way up the stairs. Shikamaru noticed that the man didn't have his book with him for once. That wasn't surprising to Shikamaru though. He hadn't seen the man with it since that horrible night three months ago.
"It's nice of you to bring flowers." Kakashi said, trying to make small talk.
Shikamaru could only nod. "Ino wanted me to bring them."
"Hm, he should like those. If I remember correctly, they're his favorite kind of flower."
Shikamaru took another look at the flowers. They were an orange color and kind of looked like lilies. He vaguely remembered Ino telling him the name of them, but he hadn't really been paying attention to what she was saying. He complained about why she couldn't bring them herself. She simply told him that she had volunteered to join the next party of the "search and capture" mission. Chōji had also signed up and Neji hadn't stopped going out since Tsunade had first issued the missions. He didn't blame him. The Hyūga had taken what Sasuke had done to heart. He was determined to hunt down the Sharingan user.
The Nara broke out of his reverie when he noticed that they were in front of Naruto's room. The door was always shut and Tsunade had personally put trustworthy ANBU to guard the blonde's room. The ones currently guarding the door quickly observed them from behind their masks before stepping aside. Kakashi nodded at the guards and stepped forward to open the door. Eyes wide, he quickly turned towards the guards.
"Go get the Godaime!"
Shikamaru's eyes widened at the command and the ANBU disappeared without a word. What was wrong? Did something happen to the blonde? His heart raced and his breathing increased. He maneuvered so that he was in the room, in front of Kakashi. His heart nearly stopped as he took in the scene.
The gifts were still placed around the room. The windows were still intact and everything else was neatly placed where it belonged, but the sheets on the bed were hanging slightly off and the breathing tube was lying carelessly on the floor.
He didn't register the sound of the vase that was formerly in his hand shattering on the marble floor, or the consistent beeping of the machines in the room.
He could only register the fact that the person who was supposed to be in a deep sleep was now sitting up in bed wide awake. Blue eyes that were previously hidden behind shut eyelids stared blankly back at him.
"Naruto?"
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The Darkness That Binds Him