To Heal a Broken Heart (Sequel to Torn Between Two)

Chapter 28

"Do you think he can handle it?" I ask.

"I think he will," Jiraiya crossed his arms. "That kid has an amazing amount of chakra,"

"Doesn't surprise me, considering...you know," I replied. "Anyways, why are you so insistent on finding this woman? Is she one of a kind for your 'research'?" 

"Well, if you must know, I've been asked to find her so she can become the next Hokage,"

I gave him a questioning look. "Just who is she?"

"None other than Tsunade,"

I widened my eyes. 

"No way. Does she still even live here? I remember she left years ago and no one really knows where she is,"

"I know where to look for her," He replied. "And yes, she does still live around here. She just keeps herself on the down-low. She stays around Otafuku town,"

Naruto came back with a backpack full of stuff and he was clearly struggling to carry everything. Jiraiya sighed seeing the backpack. 

They left and I waved as they left. I finished the last bit of my ramen and decided to go run some errands for the rest of my day.

I had to go grocery shopping and all the boring stuff, so it wasn't much fun. I should've tagged along with Naruto and Jiraiya, but I figured Jiraiya would want to train him without any distractions. 

I dropped off the groceries at home and as I had one more errand to run. Just as I was passing by the hospital, I saw Kurenai carrying half of Kakashi's body on her shoulder. My heart pounded with worry, so I ran up to her.

"Kurenai! What happened?!"

She panted, looking worn out herself. 

"Itachi Uchiha...he's come for Naruto," She said.

I froze in place, my eyes widening.

I'm not that stupid. I know it's probably because of the Tailed Beast, or because he's Uncle Minato's son.

"What are you talking about?" I ask her.

"I'll explain later, I need to get Kakashi to the hospital. Meet me at his place in ten minutes, or just come inside with me," She said.

I looked at Kakashi worriedly. He was unconscious. Just what happened?

The nurses quickly took Kakashi in and they rushed her off to a room. I followed them and they started treating her injuries. 

The nurses then left the room and she looked stressed.

"So, what happened to Kakashi? Why was he unconscious?" I ask her.

"Itachi Uchiha infiltrated the village with Kisame Hoshigaki. Asuma and I tried to stop them, but they were too strong. Kakashi then came and tried to help, but Itachi caught him in a genjutsu, and then Guy had to come help us," She explained. "Before I left, Itachi said they were after Naruto,"

"It's because of the Nine-Tails, isn't it?" I ask.

She nodded. "Kakashi said it himself. We thought he was after Sasuke, but Itachi said he was after the Legacy of the Fourth Hokage,"

I ran my hands through my hair in frustration. Great, just great.

First I have to deal with a bunch of vengeful ninjas from the war, and now Itachi is after my cousin? Just what I needed.

The nurse came back in and told Kurenai she could go. As we walked out of the hospital room, another nurse walked up to her and told her that Kakashi could go home as well.

"Is he going to be okay?" I ask.

The nurse nods. "Yes, it appears he passed out from exhaustion. We treated the injuries he had, so he needs to go home to rest now."

She led us to his room and we both lifted him up on each side and started walking back to his apartment. He was still passed out.

Guy and Asuma were already at his place. They opened the door for us and we carefully set him down on his bed. I unzipped his jacket and then put it at the end of his bed, then put the covers over him so he could be comfortable. I sat down at the edge of his bed, still thinking about what Kurenai told me. 

I was the first one to break the silence.

"So what happened?"

Asuma and Guy exchanged looks, then looked at me. They both started telling me everything that happened. They didn't want to worry me since Itachi did say he was after my cousin, but they wanted to tell me anyway.

"They're trouble," Guy stated. "But from the look of things, it doesn't appear that they found Naruto yet,"

"That's what's crazy," Asuma said. "It doesn't add up. I mean, they already infiltrated the village. It should be easy for them to find Naruto here. Besides, Itachi knows Naruto's face already,"

"He's with Jiraiya. I know where they are going, so if they even try coming after him, I will be there to protect them," I said.

Guy shushed us and we heard the door open.

We all looked to the door and saw it was just Sasuke.

He looked surprised to see all of us in here.

"Why is Kakashi asleep?" He asked. "And why is his room full of jounin? What are you doing? What in the world is going on here?"

I got choked up since I didn't know how to hide the fact that his older brother is here. We all knew he wanted revenge against him. I was there when he said it.

"Uh..." Guy trailed off. "Not much, really,"

Sasuke rose his eyebrow in suspicion and the door burst open again.

"Hey, is it true that Itachi has returned and that he's here to get Naruto?" Some other jounin asked loudly.

All of us wanted to sock him in the face right then and there. Especially me.

"You dumbass," I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. 

The guy quickly realized what he did after he saw Sasuke. He looked apologetic.

"Idiot..." Kurenai muttered.

"Why does this always happen?" Guy groaned, smacking himself in the face.

I looked up and Sasuke's expression completely changed.

His eyes widened, his brow furrowed, and he frowned.

"Sasuke-" I started.

He ran out of the room before I could tell him to wait.

I groaned. Not only is Itachi after my cousin, now I'm going to have to deal with Sasuke and try to stop him from getting himself hurt now.

Thanks, universe. I appreciate it. 

We all exchanged looks and Guy stood up at the same time with me. We both looked at each other and nodded.

I followed Guy out of the apartment and we rushed to Otafuku town.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's the update. Sorry for the long wait. I made it longer too to make up for the fact that I was gone for so long. I finally have my Itachi story fully edited, so now I can try to focus on this one more.