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The Fall of the Dogs of War	By : dolphina23 Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 927 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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
- 8
- 9
- 10
Author�s
Note: Yes, again. Thank you to all that reviewed. For those of you
wondering where all the sex is, it�s coming, slowly. This isn�t one of those
stories, and these aren�t the type of characters, that would jump right into
sex. At least, that�s how they appear to me. There are so many winding plot
points that should all be addressed, if only because Kishimoto is so slow in
giving us the answers to all his hints and I, for one, need them.

I hope you keep reading, there is so much,
still, for these characters we all love, to show you.

Review, review, review.

Cardboard Umbrellas
��
�� Swirling grey
mist enveloped Naruto until he could see nothing else. Naruto shivered as a
light wind blew the collar of his coat around his face. This place was strange.
Perhaps he was dreaming. He remembered his body, the pain, the searing heat and the fire. Naruto sucked in a quick breath. He could not
sense the Kyuubi anywhere. Whenever he dreamed, there was always the constant
presence of Kyuubi�s chakra underlying everything else. Even when he�d been
younger and the truth of the spirit housed in him had not been known to him, he
had still felt it. Doing anything without it, Naruto realized, felt odd; so,
maybe not a dream. Was this Heaven then, or Hell? Had he died?
�� The mist
began to thin and Naruto could see a shadow in front of him. The shadow
coalesced and became a person. Walking forward, trepidation hedging his every
step, Naruto swallowed back his fear. Well, he guessed that he did, but, in
this place it was incredibly hard to feel it. There was no sound. The grey
color in the air seemed to be coming from nowhere in particular. Naruto could
not see a sun or the sky, just mist and this man. Suddenly, the mist cleared
completely and Naruto caught sight of the stranger�s face. Fully expecting to
see Hiroku�s blackened, dead face, he let out the breath he�d been holding in
one quick, shaky sigh. The man�s features had begun to come into focus and
Naruto could tell it wasn�t Hiroku.
�� The moment
the last of the mist faded away, however, he gasped. This . . . this must be
hell, then. Why? Why would he now suffer more, after so much? Minato Namikaze
stood in front if him, a soft smile gracing his lips. Naruto groaned and shook
his head. The figure of his father in front of him and nothing but pain behind
. . . it was too much. Minato cocked his head to the side slightly and smiled
wider. Tears had gathered at the corners of his eyes and for one heart
stopping, delirious moment Naruto wanted nothing more than to gather them up
and capture them in a glass and take them home. Home; he could no longer
remember where that was or why he had wanted so badly to return to it. He felt
a surge of toxic anger, too tired for full out rage, rip through him. This man,
how dare he? Locking him in a prison without walls to suffer humiliation,
loneliness and despair, all on his own; Naruto seethed. How dare he?
�� Minato raised
a hand to Naruto�s cheek and, cupping it, rubbed his thumb gently over the
marks on that side. Naruto leaned back into the touch and closed his eyes
slowly. He shouldn�t have done that. When he opened them again there was
darkness and the refreshing cold had been replaced with fire and pain and
aching muscles running along every inch of himself. He
heard the muted growling and felt the familiar sting of Kyuubi�s chakra and
knew where he was. Opening his eyes, Naruto stared up at the large oak he�d
crawled under dully. Shit . . . God damn it to hell. Raising his head slightly,
Naruto could feel the dirt beneath him rub against his torn and burnt flesh and
he had to bite through his tongue to keep from screaming. He did not want to be
back here; no, he did not.
�� The Kyuubi,
nestled firmly in his cage, growled a warning. Something about infection, but
Naruto only wanted water. His mouth was so dry, it ached. His hands hurt too
much to pull himself much farther, he was sure. He lay his head back down and
prayed for that same sleep, or was it death, and his father�s face, but all
that met him when he closed his eyes was darkness.

�� Waking to a
cold dusk he did not feel, Naruto shifted slightly on the hard earth.
Whimpering a little at the grinding contact, he shifted again. Kyuubi was,
mercifully, quiet. Breathing in as deeply as he dared, Naruto held the air in
and forced his body to move. Struggling onto his back and then, slowly,
clumsily to his knees, he coughed roughly. All the air he�d been keeping back
forced its way out and Naruto had trouble getting it back. Half crawling, half
stumbling, he finally managed to gain his feet only to encounter the extent of
the injury to his forgotten hip. He was in so much pain everywhere else that it
had slipped to the background. Struggling to remain upright, he stumbled to the
trunk of the oak tree and leaned against it, breathing heavily. He�d only
managed a few yards and he was already exhausted. His throat and mouth still
felt dry and raw. He retrieved the water skin from the pouch at his belt and
took a long drink that ended in another coughing fit. His ribs protested loudly
and his stomach churned at the convulsing muscles. He leaned over and vomited
what he�d just drunk against the rough bark.
�� How the hell
was he supposed to get anywhere like this? Frustrated with himself and his
injuries, he tried again. This time the water, taken slowly, stayed down. He
made sure to take in enough that his tongue no longer grated like sandpaper on
the roof of his mouth but not too much to be sick again. His mind had gone hazy
and clouded. He�d forgotten why he�d come out so far, what he was doing here in
the first place. Sakura�s face shimmered in his line of vision and he
remembered her look of concern the day she had found out what he was, what was
inside of him. Naruto clenched his jaw tightly and slid his feet away from the
base of the tree. He remembered, he remembered that face and her voice. He
remembered Sasuke and the mask of his teacher, Kakashi. Pain swirled and pooled
at the hollow in his chest and he breathed deeply again. He knew he had nowhere
else to go but back there. Leaving markers along the way that only a Konoha
shinobi would recognize, in case someone had bothered to look for him, he set
off eastward toward the village.

�� Kakashi was
beyond anger. He had progressed to rage and moved past even that to a dark
place filled with hate. The elders were damned, he would see to that. He and
Hinata had come back to find the village in complete chaos, something that,
while not totally unexpected, went far beyond another possible threat to the
village averted. Apparently, Danzou had been using his influence again and saw
fit to try to push through an order of execution for Naruto. Kakashi ground his
teeth until they hurt. That thought put in mind what Naruto must be going
through right now. He was on his own while desperately injured, and there was
no one with enough balls save himself and Tsunade to challenge it. The council
had overridden Danzou�s order, stating that though the reappearance of Kyuubi
had been shocking, the entire village knew that Naruto had been in complete
control the whole time. Indeed, they relished in the knowledge Kakashi had
brought them that the demon appeared to be under Naruto�s direct order, if not
entirely subservient to the boy. So, Naruto was to be hailed a hero when he
returned but there would be no rescue teams to go in search of him. How, then,
did they expect him to make it back?
�� Kakashi knew
the answer. They didn�t. While they had practically wet themselves in
excitement over having full control over an ancient demonic chakra, that had
deflated the moment Tsunade told them to take any idea they had about turning
Naruto into a puppet and shoving it up their collective asses and then twisting
it for good measure. Kakashi sneered under his mask. They hadn�t liked that. As
a result of the Godaime�s rash behavior they denied any request for a search
team from Konoha, so Tsunade went to Gaara. The Kazekage, while outwardly calm,
though Kakashi knew it to be a shield especially where Naruto was concerned,
immediately sent out four teams of the best ninja he�d brought from Suna. They
had come back this morning, after two days of searching, with nothing to show
for it but an abandoned cave that held remnants of blood, an unknown chakra
mixed together with Naruto�s and the charred remains of an as yet unidentified
ninja from Iwa.
�� Kakashi paced
back and forth in front of a wooden building. He�d not bothered to look up as
he walked through the village. For the first time in his life, all his training
flew from him to scatter on the wind like so much ash. Yelling out his frustration,
he aimed a practiced fist at the wood. It bent and splintered at the impact,
pushed in further as Kakashi ground his knuckles against it. A low whistle
caught his attention. Not used to being caught off guard, he ducked and whirled
to aim another fist at the interloper. Iruka caught and held it, forcing it
down and squeezing tightly until all the tension had left the muscles in
Kakashi�s hand.
�� That�s no
way to treat a school and it�s certainly no way to treat a fellow ninja,� he
said. Iruka stared down at him, disapproval clear in his eyes, not caring or
even paying attention to the murderous aura Kakashi was spilling into the air.
�� Kakashi
snorted and turned away, embarrassed at his own behavior but unsure as to
whether or not he had enough control to hide it as well as he usually did.
�� Kakashi!� Izumo, who�d thankfully escaped the battle
relatively unscathed, was scouring the rooftops toward them.
�� What is it?�
Kakashi snapped at him before he�d even hit the ground. Izumo halted,
breathless and looking a little uncomfortable and . . . was that fear, or . . .
?
�� Someone�s
heading toward the western gate.�
�� A renegade? Send a Chunin team to gather reconnaissance,
then.� The Chunin had come all the way here, just to tell him that? Really,
Izumo knew that they were busy redistributing duties and tending to those still
injured from the battle, this was something he could have handled himself.
�� Izumo shook
his head and suddenly his eyes had gone a little too wet and his voice, when he
spoke again, shook slightly.
�� The
guard at the gate said the hair looked familiar. He couldn�t be sure because of
all the blood and dirt and ash, but . . . it looks like . . .� Izumo hadn�t
even had time to finish, he didn�t need to. Kakashi ignored the gasp from
behind him. Let Iruka handle the news on his own. Kakashi had already mounted
the rooftops and gained enough speed to carry him clear across to the gate
within moments, despite the distance of nearly five hundred yards. Skidding to
a halt not far from the gate, he recognized Kotetsu speaking to a very dirty,
very wounded, Naruto. God, he would know that stance, that hair, those eyes
anywhere; except, they were different. He was different. Naruto was shaking,
rocking his head from side to side and a dull sheen had covered over his blue
eyes. He looked no more human than a doll does. Oh God, oh God, his arm, his
leg, his chest . . .
�� Oh, Naruto, what have they done to you? If I
could but lift all that pain . . . As if he knew what Kakashi had been
thinking, Naruto cast his blank eyes towards him. His face began to move as the
muscles beneath constricted. The smell of burnt meat and blood assaulted
Kakashi. As battle hardened as he was, this day, it made him want to be sick
and then crawl into a corner of his apartment and not come out again for a long time; a lifetime,
maybe. Naruto�s face had transformed into a pained scowl and he began to
stumble and weave toward Kakashi, hissing and throwing a menacing glance at
Kotetsu when he tried to intervene. Reaching him, Naruto cast his eyes downward
as he struggled to keep his feet.
�� Naruto,�
Kakashi breathed softly. �We�ve been so . . .�
�� Tell
me again, Kakashi.� Naruto�s voice was raw, low and guttural. From the look of
the burns on his chest and the breaks in his arm and hip, Kakashi was surprised
he could talk at all, never mind standing or walking.
�� Naruto,
maybe we should . . .� Kakashi tried again to get Naruto to hear him, believing
that the boy had gone delirious from pain.
�� Tell
me again, their names.� Naruto spoke softly, as if he were courting a wounded
beast. Kakashi stared blankly at his teammate.
�� I
don�t understand.�
�� Naruto
looked up again and this time Kakashi saw such pain, so much, too much. There
was anger too, and disappointment, but the pain won out and it shot right
through Kakashi�s chest.
�� Suddenly,
Naruto was screaming in his face.
�� He
was your teacher! Tell me again, how you admired him, how much you loved him!
Tell me!�
�� Oh,
God,� Kakashi whispered as the realization of what Naruto wanted hit him.
Naruto, in the meantime, had picked Kakashi up with his good arm and held him a
few inches above the ground. The other ninja, obviously called out to help
welcome home an injured and honored comrade, stood dumbfounded. Kotetsu made a
move to pull the two of them apart but Kakashi waved him off.�
�� I�m
sorry Naruto, so sorry. You have no idea how much I wanted to be the one to
tell you. There was so much I could have . . . done . . . shared.� Kakashi
voiced tremulously, futilely. Naruto growled and all but spit in Kakashi�s
face.
�� Their
names,� he bit out harshly.
�� Kakashi
closed his eyes and nearly groaned in despair. His voice, when it came, was a
bare imitation of the usual lackadaisical cheer he used most often.
�� Namikaze
Minato was your father and your mother came from the Whirlpool Country. She was
. . .,� he�d been about to say beautiful, �Uzumaki Kushina.�
�� Thank
you,� was the only reply, muted and strange as it was.
�� A
hush had fallen over the others present, though Kakashi had no way of knowing
how long it had been there. Naruto, surprisingly gentle, set him on his feet.
He reverted back to staring at his feet. Naruto swayed, suddenly, and Kakashi
reached a hand out to catch him, forgetting about the injury to his left arm.
Naruto screamed and pulled back, shaking. His eyes going wide, Kakashi
instantly tried to rectify his mistake.
�� Naruto
I�m . . . sorry, I . . .�
�� Don�t!�
�� Kakashi
hung his head but still tried desperately to comfort and assuage his injured
charge. He reached a hand out to Naruto who slapped it away fiercely.
�� Don�t!�
Naruto�s voice rose and broke.
�� I
don�t want to hear . . .� Naruto�s voice had gone back down to a reasonable
level, well reasonable for him, for the situation they had all found themselves
in. Kakashi�s heart faltered and stuttered to a near stop at the sight of all
his horrific injuries, injuries he wasn�t sure could be survived even if Naruto
had managed to get back to the village. Worst of all were Naruto�s eyes, that
blank look had never left even when it hid beneath the pain. He couldn�t be
sure Naruto even knew all of what he was saying.
�� I
don�t want to hear,� Naruto tried again, �ANYTHING YOU HAVE TO SAY!� His chest
heaved at the last and continued to do so as Naruto began to stumble and limp
away from the group. Before anyone dared move or even breathe, he�d already
headed into the main section of town.

*�� *��
*�� *
��
�� Kakashi had been searching the
village for over fifteen minutes. How far could Naruto have gotten? With his
injuries, he should have dropped before a few hundred yards. How he�d managed
to get himself back here from that cave was beyond him. Frustrated, Kakashi
halted atop the Hokage
Mountain. He�d been told
by Iruka that it had been one of Naruto�s favorite places to go when he felt
lonely or hurt. Iruka, himself, had raced off to give Tsunade the news that
Naruto, against all odds, had returned to the village. Kakashi had asked Iruka
and the other ninja not reveal anything about what Naruto had asked and how
Kakashi had answered him, not now. Shivering, he rubbed his arms, drawing them
around his shoulders. He seemed to be doing a lot of those kinds of things
lately, not at all like himself. Silently, he stood up and gazed out over the
village. The sky had caught fire from the setting sun, the reds and oranges
mixing into the yellow fringe at the horizon. The colors reminded him of Naruto
and he drew in a quick breath. Rubbing at the tightening in his chest, he set
off again, the twinge of pain in his heart still there.

�� Sasuke crept along the edge of the
forest, staying in the trees as much as possible. It wasn�t that he couldn�t
use his Sharingan to overpower virtually anyone he encountered, but that meant
using chakra and he wanted to conserve it as much as possible. He wasn�t here
for games. Sasuke tightened his hold on his Kusanagi. Slipping from his perch
to land on the ground silently, he ran, just as quiet, to the edge of the
forest. Stepping out of the tree-line to begin his search for the elders he
knew that the last of his dream would slip into oblivion, along with all that
he had achieved, once he was done. The breeze wafting in from the south lifted
his hair gently and he stopped. Something was here . . . something powerful and
. . . ��
�� The smell of burnt meat met his
nostrils, so strong Sasuke reached his hand up to cover his mouth with the
sleeve of his yukata. The breeze picked up again and the clouds shrouding the
dying sun shifted. Squinting at the unexpected light, Sasuke caught his breath
at the figure that had suddenly appeared over the edge of the mound he�d been
coming up on. The smell had gotten stronger and Sasuke realized it was coming
from the person ahead. Smoke and ash had stained his hair and face, but when
the head lifted and their eyes met, Sasuke knew him. How could he not? The
bastard had been chasing him for nearly three years and had plagued almost all
of his waking moments with laughter, bright smiles, and focused warmth for
months before that.
�� Sasuke inched towards Naruto slowly.
A crawling feeling had begun to spread through his stomach. He forced it back,
hard. Naruto stood silent, shivering despite obvious and terrible burns along
most of the skin Sasuke could see. Whatever had caused them had also singed his
hair to a dull brown. Sasuke breathed in and through his teeth, forgetting his
earlier quest. Everything in his mind and heart had collapsed the moment he�d
realized his old friend was there, looking so ruined.
�� Naruto,� he said softly. Naruto
moved slightly, turning his head toward Sasuke, searching.
�� Naruto?
Can you hear me?� Just then, Naruto lifted his head to Sasuke�s face and Sasuke
felt something inside him wither, clawing to keep its perch, but wither it
still did.
�� You can�t, can you?� And, Sasuke�s
heart, that which had been safe, and oh so solid, began to fissure. It was
slight, almost unrecognizable. Sasuke couldn�t even feel it, not really. The
eyes that stared so dully at him looked almost blind. But, Sasuke thought he
could see the pupils constrict and that had to be good, right? Then, bowing
slightly, Naruto shook his head.
�� Naruto, you should be at the
hospital.� Not, I should take you, let
me. He would not say that. Naruto moved back. Something had come over his
face. It began to crumble silently. Sasuke watched as one of his oldest friends
and his best safeguard from insanity shed soundless tears in front of him. They
were nothing like the ones he�d seen before, the only other time, at the
valley. Sasuke had never seen anyone like
this, though maybe he had been like that, himself, long ago.
�� Naruto�s shaking knees gave out, at
that moment, and Sasuke was surprised to find himself underneath him. Cradling
Naruto as best he could, he tried to grasp something that didn�t look broken or
burnt or completely ravaged. Settling on gripping Naruto under his shoulders,
trying to keep from moving the obviously wrecked left arm, he shifted his other
arm under Naruto�s knees. Gathering his feet under him, Sasuke rose and began
to walk, muscles already straining at having to awkwardly carry Naruto�s
bulkier form. He had made his decision, for whatever it was worth now, any
reprisal from those decrepit pricks that called themselves a council be damned.

�� Iruka gritted his teeth and clenched
his fists tightly until his shortened nails managed to dig rivets in his palms.
If she didn�t just so happen to be the
Hokage . . . The Godaime stood in front of him, seething. Only, she was a
lot less quiet about venting her anger.
�� Iruka, valuable ninja to this
village you may be, I will thrash you if you do not move now!�
��
�Apologies, Godaime, but Naruto is more important, even than my job.
You�re not getting in until the medics have had a chance to help him.�
�� Idiot,
I am a medic-nin, or have you
forgotten? Now, move aside!�
�� No,
I haven�t forgotten and no, I will not move. You are also, Godaime, sworn to
protect these people. And, while I know you would not simply give them Naruto�s
head to suit their blood-lust and rage . . .�
�� Tsunade
roared her anger at him and brought her fist back, clearly aiming for Iruka�s
face. A quick motion at her right and her fist was now caught in someone else�s
hand. Kakashi chuckled, dryly, none of his usual voracity present.
�� Now, now, Hokage-sama. I�m sure Iruka meant no offensive. I
believe his strife is with the council . . . and possibly Danzou,� he mused,
dropping his hold on her fist. Tsunade shook it out and balled up both of her
hands tightly.
�� Iruka
turned to give him a hard stare and Kakashi made a placating gesture with his
hands and then shrugged. Tsunade turned away in a huff.
�� Hokage-sama.�
�� She
turned back to pin Iruka with a dark gaze.
�� Naruto
is . . . He�s very important to you, isn�t he?� Iruka�s voice was soft and
mellow. Tsunade found herself calmed by it a little. No wonder the Sandaime had
kept him back from most out of town missions. There was no doubt in her mind
Iruka�s calling involved children.�
�� You
know the answer to that very well, Iruka. If you had been older, or he younger,
you would have jumped at the chance to take him in the moment you found out
about his situation.�
�� Iruka
swallowed then nodded before giving her a beseeching look.
�� I
apologize.�
�� Tsunade
nodded at him.
�� What
Kakashi-san said isn�t entirely false, but it�s not entirely correct either.�
At that, Tsunade turned to regard him evenly, waiting.
�� The
medics . . . ,� he paused again, �The medics are having a lot of trouble
keeping him breathing. His wounds . . . the burns, they don�t know whether or
not he�ll survive them, even with all the healing power of the Kyuubi. It seems
the fox exhausted a lot of it before Naruto went missing and poured in more of
his own power, as much as he was able without killing them both, to keep him
alive and moving until he made it here.�
�� Tsunade
groaned.
�� That�s
exactly why I should be in there!�
�� I
beg your pardon, but that�s why they asked us to keep you from entering. You
are too close to him. It would be like treating your own child, or your own
grandchild.�
�� A
vein ticked in Tsunade�s forehead at the word grandson, and Iruka gave a weak
smile. He nodded in silent apology. Iruka opened his mouth again, and this
time, he could not keep his voice from shaking.
�� His
left arm is badly damaged, a compound, dislocation fracture of the humerus,
they called it, along with a dislocation of the humerus from the scapula. It
was also burned very badly, like his chest and the upper part of his right arm,
but the degree is higher. They suspect some of the burns are slightly older
since the left side of his face was also in a similar condition. They may . . .
,� Iruka was choking on his own words now, �They may have to take it.�
�� He
had finished speaking, finally, and Kakashi was staring at him oddly. Iruka was
no less surprised than he at being able to deliver what little news they�d
gotten from the medics tending to Naruto. He felt very tired all of a sudden.
No, maybe it was better to say drained; he felt drained. He very nearly
collapsed into the chair that appeared at his elbow. Another had been brought
forward for Tsunade, who had gone quite pale.

�� Toya Yamazaki
had never seen burns this bad on a patient and watched them live through it, to
say nothing of all the other injuries they�d encountered. He sighed heavily and
stretched his aching back all the way down to his tortured feet. He frowned.
Tortured wasn�t the right word. He�d been a medical ninja for over five years,
and though he�d seen some horrific wounds inflicted by enemies of Konoha,
nothing, absolutely nothing had prepared him for what he had just tried to
heal. Shaking his head, he squared his shoulders, ready to face the Hokage
herself.

�� Tsunade
gulped down air heavily as they waited. Always, it was waiting. She had never
seemed capable enough to truly do any good. Of course, in her current state she
failed to remember the two young men whose lives and livelihoods she had
personally brought back. Kakashi could see that as clearly as he could see the sun
rising through a smattering of white clouds just outside the window. It would be a beautiful day. The thought made Kakashi shudder silently. He couldn�t seem to stop, if only it would stop. If only. . . He gasped quietly as the
sound of footsteps reached his sensitive ears. They were coming from the
direction of Operating Room 5. Naruto . .
. please, please, not now, not like this, not like this . . .
�� Everyone
present, from Tsunade to Iruka, Kakashi, to Izumo and Kotetsu leaning against a
wall in a far corner, curled in on themselves and drew in deep breaths as the
medical ninja listed as the one in charge of the surgery came around the corner.
�� He stopped
and blinked before asking, �I�m Dr. Toya Yamazaki. You are all here for Uzumaki
Naruto?� His voice was soft, cultured, and intelligent. Kakashi hated it.
�� Stepping
forward he had to clear his throat trying to soothe the raw constriction, �Yes,
how is he?�
�� The doctor
sighed and they all held their breath again.
�� He�s in
critical condition. There were numerous stab wounds to his abdomen and chest
that, while not fatal, won�t help the healing process.�
�� Of
course they wouldn�t, what injuries did? Kakashi snorted at the man and caught
his eye, feeding as much anger as he could into the gaze. He was somewhat
relieved when the man made no sign he even acknowledged it. Anyone that could
do that was worthy of taking care of Naruto.
�� Uzumaki-san
suffered various other injuries: a severely broken and dislocated arm,
fractured ribs, a few of which are dislocation breaks, his pelvis and left hip
crushed, a cracked skull and swelling in and around his brain, but the worst .
. .,� here he paused as if to let the import of what he had said and what he
was about to say sink in, �the worst are the burns.�
�� Again,
they waited.
�� He
has full thickness, third degree burns over his chest, back, upper arms and
part of his face. They penetrated right down to the dermis. We debrided the
wounds successfully, and it doesn�t appear that he will need skin-grafts.� He
continued, ignoring Iruka�s questioning gaze.
�� The
demon,� at that, Tsunade growled lowly. Yamazaka-san, to his credit, never
wavered, �appears to be healing him again. We�ve speculated that the power the
Kyuubi sends to Naruto to speed the healing of critical injuries has changed,
no longer shortening his lifespan or affecting him in any negative way.�
�� Kakashi
glanced back at Iruka and almost snorted again. It looked like he wasn�t the
only one who was confused, but he�d let the other man ask.
�� So,
you�re saying that, not only did he survive the injuries and the surgery, but
he�s healing better than before? That�s good news, right?� Iruka looked to
Tsunade for conformation, but she was watching the doctor, frowning.
�� I�m
sorry, but despite his rapid healing, there is probably little chance of him
surviving his injuries. They are too severe and he was brought in while under a
deep state of shock. We�ve had to place a tube down his throat to help him
breathe and given him IV antibiotics and electrolytes to stave of infection and
re-hydrate, but . . . his heart stopped before we even got him on the operating
table, and that arm . . .�
�� What
about his arm?� Kakashi cut in roughly. He�d be damned if they told him one of
his most cherished students, the one who had professed, very loudly, the first
time he had met him that he was going to lead the village, would suffer
survival at the loss of that dream.
�� This
time, the doctor seemed to recognize the danger and proceeded more carefully.
�� We
were able to save it. Or, at least, we were able to restore proper blood flow
and the burns on both of his upper arms were not as severe in degree stage as
the rest of him. But, he may never use it again, or he may only have limited
function. It�s far too soon to tell. If he survives the next twenty-four hours,
he�ll have a far greater chance at beating all of it, probably with very little
permanent injury.� Yamazaka-san smiled wanly at him and then Tsunade stepped
forward to grip his hand in one of her own. To Kakashi�s surprise, it didn�t
look like she had put any strength behind it.
�� Thank
you, for being honest,� she said quietly.
�� If
I could have done more, I would have,� Yamazaka-san replied, his voice equally
hushed.
�� Tsunade
simply smiled sadly at him and then turned to walk briskly down the hall toward
the recovery rooms, intent on seeing only one more face this day, Kakashi was
sure. The rest of them sort of collapsed in on themselves as they let the
dreadful nature of the situation hit them. One by one they all silently dropped
back into their chairs to wait, for Tsunade to finish, for the doctor to come
back with more welcome news, all except for Iruka. Kakashi watched from his
perch on the windowsill as the other man bowed his head and rifled shaking
hands through his hair. Iruka had let it fly free from its place atop his head
many hours ago. No one would begrudge the man for shedding the tears Kakashi
knew he had to be fighting. But, there were no sounds in that waiting are save
their collective breathing and Kakashi sent a silent prayer to whoever might be
out there in thanks, for the silence that meant he would not have to hear such
grief, for giving him the strength to hold off his own, if only for Naruto�s
sake, and a silent promise, that when Kakashi died, he�d make it his mission to
claw his way up from hell just so he could drag back down whatever posed for a
righteous, compassionate God of Heaven.

�� Not again. Not him, not again.

�� The pain was like a living,
growing stone in her chest, and it seemed as if Tsunade�s mind couldn�t come up
with anything to whisper but that.

�� When the
door opened easily after wanting to kick and burst it open for so long after
Naruto had been brought inside, she found it almost mocking. It opened quietly.
Tsunade felt the painful hot coil in her throat grow even bigger, but she
inhaled deeply and turned her eyes to the figure in bed.

�� Naruto was
sleeping, it seemed. She walked to the bedside, her heels making
inappropriately loud sounds that echoed off the naked walls and came back even
richer. The noise hadn�t woken Naruto, so she sat down in the chair, turning
quickly so she wouldn�t miss any sign of him waking up.

�� Naruto looked.
. . Tsunade had been a medic for many, many years. She saw many people wounded
in fire, she knew the smell of it, the color of the various wounds, and she
knew how much they could hurt. But, looking at Naruto now, she wondered, with
the part of her mind that wasn�t still chanting those words, how far she was,
exactly, from seeing it all. This was so ugly, so severe, so sickening. If
Naruto looked like this now, when the doctor had said he was healing rapidly,
then how had he looked a couple of hours ago?
��
�� Bandages
covered his chest and Tsunade knew they reached around to coat his back. A
fresh cast had been set around his left arm, the one they�d had trouble saving
Tsunade was certain, from wrist to shoulder, bending the elbow and freezing it
parallel to his collarbone. The traction splint and brace she could see
outlined by the sheets told her they had yet to perform surgery on his hip and
pelvis, the splint awkwardly extending his left leg and securing it from any movement
through the use of wires run through his flesh and out to the wither side of
the splint and secured by bolts. She knew how it all worked. The doctors had
come back in order to extubate him, leaving a nasal cannula to run oxygen
through a mask over his nose and mouth. She worried that it had been too soon,
but the medic assured her that if he was breathing on his own, it was best to
get the tube out. If he began to have trouble breathing, or his pulse oxygen
level deteriorated, they would intubate him again.�

�� God only
knows how long she was sitting there when the figure in the bed stirred and the
blue eyes flew open to stare blankly at the ceiling. Tsunade jumped from her
chair before she was even aware of it, and the sudden violent motion was not followed
by the usual old age pains. She was in no condition to feel them right now,
anyway.

�� Naruto?�
she called, trying to make her voice soft. It came out a bit too sharp in her
ears, falsely stable.

�� Naruto,
instead of answering or even looking in her direction, inhaled once deeply,
like he was making sure nothing was obstructing his air supply. When the first
try went smoothly, he took the air into his lungs again and again, faster and
more confident with each time. Tsunade kept quiet until his breathing evened
out. Then, she tried again.

�� Naruto? Can you hear me?�

�� This time,
she got a response. Naruto turned his head slightly to look at her. She almost
gasped aloud, surprise and horror making her want to step back and move forward
at the same time. This� This can�t be
Naruto! It was his face, she could see that, his eyes - so blue - but it was as
if she was seeing just a shell, and not the essence inside. She was looking
into his eyes, half sure she was peering into the eyes of a corpse; that is how
empty his gaze was.

�� Not even
thinking, she repeated, �Naruto?�

�� He blinked,
and instead of feeling relief � this was undeniable proof that he was alive
after all � all she could feel was terror, because the expression hadn�t
changed. A moment passed, then two, and it became clear Naruto was not going
answer. She wondered if he was even aware that she was in the room with him.
�� Answer
me,� She said, and realizing it sounded demanding, added, �If you can.�

�� Naruto,
with his empty, empty gaze blinked again and licked his split lips. He looked
like he was about to speak, so Tsunade leaned closer to hear better in case he
could only whisper, but there was nothing, just silence.

�� Naruto,
please, can you speak?� Still there was nothing. �Give me a sign if you aren�t
able to. I will tell your doctor about it.�

�� For a
moment longer, the endless void in his eyes was still there, and then Naruto
turned and looked up at the ceiling again. He could move, at least his head,
then. So why won�t he give her a sign, anything? Maybe, he did not understand
her? She should keep talking, to see if it garnered some kind of reaction.
Maybe, something will get through the shock.

�� Kakashi is
outside, waiting to see you. So is Iruka.� She couldn�t help but frown a bit at
the name; she was still annoyed with the man, even if she knew that he was
right. But, Naruto hadn�t reacted once at either name.
��
�� We were
waiting to see you. You had us all worried, but you�ll be fine.� She tried to
smile reassuringly.

�� Naruto
turned his head again, this time to face the opposite wall, the one with the
window. Was this a sign? Was he trying to let her know he didn�t want to look
at her, didn�t want to hear what she had to say?

�� Naruto!� Tsunade called again, sharply. His head jerked a
little, flinched away from her. There was no way of telling whether it was on
purpose or not. At least, that�s what Tsunade tried to tell herself, though he
was still refusing to look at her.

�� Not knowing
what else to do, she walked around the edge of the bed. If he didn�t want to
look at her, she would make sure he had to. But on the other side, Naruto�s
gaze was equally empty as he stared at the blank wall, and Tsunade wanted to
cry, but she couldn�t seem to remember how.

�� Naruto,�
she whispered one last time. Nothing changed, nothing happened, just like she
knew it wouldn�t, so she turned around and walked out of the room. The echo of
her steps was welcome now because even that was more than silence, an
unbearable, horrible and unnatural silence that was Naruto�s only response to
her attempts to help him.

�� It�s just shock, Tsunade consoled
herself when the door clicked behind her. He
will talk to me as soon as it wears off. But, God, she needed a drink and
if there was ever a time in her life when she most deserved one . . . Shizune
would just have to forgive her this once.
- 8
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The Fall of the Dogs of War