Something to Fight For (Naruto)

Worrying

Haruka was just a bundle of nerves. Nii-san had been in the hospital for days, and there was nothing she could do. If she gave him her chakra, there was a risk she would give him too much or that it would react negatively with the Kyuubi's chakra, which was currently much closer to the surface than usual to help him heal.

As she waited for him, she alternated between training and getting more people for the deal. She managed to become very adept with her new healing technique and the memory erasing technique since she put all of her energy into it. It helped her cope with her anxiety to focus on getting stronger, and prevented her from having a panic attack.

With the Konohamaru Ninja Squad's help, she managed to get eight more people for her list. It wasn't a very big number, as many of those who had not been 'roped into' the deal yet had been warned by those who had, but she was still very happy with it. It meant she was only four more people away from finishing the deal.

Once Nii-san had been asleep for six days though, she couldn't take it anymore. The next day was the Chunin exams, and if he wasn't awake to take part in them Haruka knew he would be upset. Perhaps it would be safer for him to not take part in the fights, but she didn't think she would be able to stand his disappointment. She can always shield him from physical hits, but was completely clueless on what to do about emotional.

She had taken to pacing the length of his room, much to the annoyance of the nurses. This had gone on for a few hours when Shikamaru appeared, bearing a basket of fruits.

"What are you doing?" He groaned, watching her as he plopped onto a chair beside Nii-san's bed. Sighing, he muttered under his breath, "Troublesome".

Haruka ignored him and continued. Her footsteps made light pitter-pats across the floor with each step she took, and the soothing rhythm helped relax her. It gave her something to focus on other than the quiet snores coming from Nii-san that clogged her chest with worry.

Shikamaru watched her, rolling his eyes. If she had bothered to talk to others, she would have learned that Naruto was supposed to be waking up any minute now. The nurses had told him so when he was done visiting with Choji. He knew that she was fairly unsocial though, so he wasn't too surprised at her overreaction.

Just as he thought, Naruto's eyes snapped open a minute later. Haruka didn't see, having her back temporarily turned. Shikamaru gave a minuscule smirk, amused by the situation.

"What's goin- Shikamaru? What're you doing here?!" Nii-san sat up and yelled, not even noticing Haruka.

 Her reaction was immediate. As fast as she could move her feet, she lunged over to the bed. Her hands slammed onto the bedside, making the entire thing shake. Nii-san yelped from shock, his head snapping in her direction.

"How do you feel?" Haruka demanded, shoving her face very close to Nii-san's.

He yanked his head backwards, eyes wide. "Haruka! You scared me! Believe it!" Nii-san shouted. Refusing to be deterred, she repeated her question intently.

Nii-san nodded, sitting straight again. "Yeah, yeah. What day is it? And what are you two doin' here?"

Shikamaru answered before Haruka could, knowing that she would probably end up forcing Naruto to let her give him a full exam, which would be too bothersome for him to deal with. "I'm here because Choji's in the hospital to have his stomach pumped. He can't eat the food I brought for him, so I thought I'd bring it over to you. It's the day before the Chunin exams."

With a loud cry, Nii-san tried to scramble out of bed. "What!? I still have training to do! How could I have been asleep for so long?! Believe it!"