It had been two months since Gaara had joined them.
Gaara's ability to control sand had proved useful. He had teleported them outside Suna the first night, and he could sense where to find water. The frequent sandstorms that raged across the desert ended up being much less of a problem then they should have been. Gaara didn't want his new family to be hurt, and the sand always did what Gaara told it.
Naruto learned many interesting things about Gaara. The most interesting was that the boy was incapable of sleeping. When he asked Gaara why, Gaara had said that the monster would eat his mind if he slept. Naruto had no idea what that meant, but he went along with it. Gaara's hold on sanity was fragile at best, and while he was getting better, he was extremely attached to all of them, and part of Naruto had a vague fear that if someone said something wrong, even as a joke, Gaara would crack.
Thankfully, the others seemed to have guessed that too. Gaara received special treatment, even from the sarcastic Neji, blunt Sasuke, and the brutally honest Sai.
Sai hadn't seemed to have discovered the idea of lying. If he was asked something, he would respond with the complete truth, no matter how rude it was. In fact, Sai was developing the ability to offend anyone. He seemed to think it was funny. He was slowly becoming more open, if only to the others. To everyone else he displayed the same fake smile that hid his utter lack of emotion towards them, but to Naruto, Gaara, Neji, Sasuke, Sakura, and Hinata he was slowly beginning to develop emotions. His smiles were becoming genuine, and he seemed to be content with them. Naruto had the strange feeling that he reminded Sai of someone who he never mentioned.
Hinata was slowly losing her stutter. She still sometimes would if she was upset or shocked, but on the whole, the contact with the others was good for her. She still called Neji 'Neji-niisan', and Neji had started to call her imotou. She was slowly changing from a shy, timid girl into a calm girl with an iron will.
Sakura had become more outspoken during the two months. She acted quiet and pleasant most of the time, but every so often, she would act in a way that was completely different from her usual self. This 'Dark Sakura' as Sasuke called her seemed very violent, and had no problem with getting in someone's face and yelling.
Sasuke had mellowed slightly. He didn't act like everyone was beneath him somehow, and he didn't challenge Naruto every time he said something. Sasuke had gained something like a fear of 'Dark Sakura', and they found out quickly that Sasuke had an obsession with tomatoes.
Neji had softened a little. He was starting to show the signs of becoming overprotective towards Hinata, and some thing that had always seemed tight about him had loosened. He smiled every so often and didn't seem so ready to sneer at everything that was said.
Somehow Naruto had become the unofficial leader of the group. He had stopped shouting all the time, but his habit of smiling, and seemly ever present good mood had not faded. It might have been his cheerfulness, combined with his endurance that made him leader.
They sadly weren't able to use Gaara's ability once they left the desert. Gaara didn't seem to have that much control over his ability, and the sand obeyed his desires rather then his commands. After they got out of the desert they had to travel by foot. Since most of them had had some ninja training, they were able to find food, and water. Shelter was more difficult. Normally, they were forced to sleep in the open. The incident in Suna had made them all a little paranoid, and they did their best to sleep under some kind of cover. Even if it was just some bushes, they would stay under them. They normally would stop about an hour before nightfall to work on their scrolls.
They also avoided all Hidden Villages or places were ninja were known to frequent. This limited them to small villages mostly. They would stay in a village for about a week or so, mostly stealing food to live (Sasuke's money had long since run out), and after they known, they would disappear. Naruto sometimes wondered why no one ever pursued them, but dismissed it as due to their abilities of sneaking away.
None of them ever guessed that it was because the villagers pitied them, and took them for orphans who had been forced to live on their own. The children never stole money, and the food they stole was cheap, so the villagers ignored them, and before they were a true nuisance, they vanished and were on the road again.
This night was one of the better ones, even though it was raining. They had managed to find a small cave, and Sasuke had lit a fire for them, he still couldn't produce anything that could do much other then light a fire. The light from it gave them more time then usual to read. Normally, they didn't light fires, since they were easy to see from a distance in the open, but when they had some kind of shelter, they would. It was raining more often then not now. Sai said that it had to do with the fact that they were in Water Country. He told them that since it was fall now, they had better be preparing for winter.
Gaara looked somewhat horrified when they had described winter to him. Coming from Suna, he had never had to worry about cold before. The rest had looked at each other and wondered the same thing.
Will we live to see spring?
They were all in various stages of filth. Their hair was matted, faces dirty, clothes ripped and torn in various places, and there was no hope of stealing anything new. They didn't have any shoes anymore, and Sai was missing the lower half of his shirt because he had had to use it to bandage a wound around his arm.
"We should try to find a warm place to stay for the winter," Neji said thoughtfully.
"Where?" Sasuke sighed, "We can't go back to Suna, and even it we could, I don't think we'd make it before the first snowfall."
"We could try one of the closer countries," suggested Hinata.
"There's nowhere warm and close enough for us to travel, even if we were lucky enough to manage to stow away again," Sai told them.
"Maybe we'll find something in the next village," Naruto said, "We can't do anything right now, so let's train."
Each of them had a scroll that they were trying to learn, and all of them were learning just how difficult it was to learn from a scroll and not a teacher. While there were pictures of the seals, Naruto actually missed Iruka's long dull lectures. Somehow everything had seemed so much simpler back home.
Neji had already buried himself in his scroll about the special techniques of the Hyuuga clan. He had been reading hard ever since they had left Suna. He seemed to be looking for something in particular. Every so often he would look over at his cousin with a puzzled expression. When Naruto had asked him what was up, Neji had shock his head and said nothing. He seemed absorbed in something towards the back of the scroll.
Sai had recently stolen a blank scroll, some ink, and a paint brush. He was reading his scroll, and attempting to bring his drawings to life. Some came out, some didn't.
Hinata was practicing the forms of the Gentle Fist fighting style. She didn't seem to have any natural talent for it, but she was working hard to get past that. She carefully moved through every step and attack in slow motion, but she still couldn't summon up the Chakra necessary. Unlike Neji, whose talent was obvious, Hinata was going to have to learn the hard way.
Naruto was still working on Kage Bushin. He was now able to make five clones before he started to make halves. He was amazed by how little it tired him out. According to his scroll, it was a very difficult technique that even Jonin had trouble with.
Sasuke was working one the scroll that his brother had given him. He still couldn't produce much more then a little tongue of flame, but he was able to do it every single time, and it was slowly getting bigger.
Sakura had learned very quickly that she had surprising Chakra control, but not a whole lot of Chakra itself. She would have to work on that as she grew older, but right now, she was working on trying to channel it right.
"Imotou," Neji said suddenly, "Would you please activate the Byakugen for me?"
"Why?" Hinata asked, "You activated yours long before I did."
"Yes, but there is something I want to see,"
"A-alright," Hinata said in his slight confusion, falling back on her old stutter, "Byakugen!"
Naruto had seem Neji activate the Byakugen before, and knew what it looked like. There were no veins coming out of Hinata's head nor did it seem like her body was somehow stressed from using it. Her eyes were the only things that were different. They were glowing blue-white at the center.
"I thought so," Neji said with a triumphant smirk at his own reasoning.
"What is it?" Naruto asked curiously.
"I've never heard of a Byakugen like that," Sai said, moving closer.
"Hinata has the Tenshi Byakugen," Neji told them, "According to my scroll, it's a secret limit that can't be awoken easily. This scroll doubts that it even exists."
"What is it?" Sasuke repeated Naruto.
"Didn't the Hokage mention that before…" Sakura trailed off.
"Both the Sharingan and the Byakugen have another limit attached to them. According to legend, when Amaterasu and her brother Susanoo fought for supremacy, they held a contest of who could give the best gift to a warrior. Both agreed that the gift would be something that everyone of the bloodline would carry, and the gift would manifest itself in the eyes."
"Susanoo, who valued raw power and the ability to kill anyone who was in his way, created the Sharingan to be the base of his gift, but to those who would go so far as to kill their best friend for power, he bestowed a greater gift: the Mangekyo Sharingan. It had far greater abilities, but a single weakness. Because of the weakness of the human body, the barer of the Mangekyo Sharingan would eventually go blind. Because of the Mangekyo Sharingan, the Uchiha clan was known as cursed."
"Amaterasu, who valued wisdom and knowledge more then power created the Byakugen as her basic gift. It could be used in battle, and the Gentle Fist style was created for that, but the true purpose of the Byakugen was to be able to see everything. However, those who desired power for a reason that Amaterasu herself would be pleased with were granted a blessing: the Tenshi Byakugen. It had a different purpose then the normal Byakugen, it was made to be used to see and manipulate the charka of both the user and their opponent, and it actually puts less strain on the body then the original Byakugen. Also, it is the natural enemy of the Mangekyo Sharingan, since it is impossible to trap one who bares it in a genjutsu. The last thing about it is that it allows the barer to see and remove seals. The Hyuuga family's association with the divine is because of the Tenshi Byakugen."
"What do you mean 'the Uchiha clan is cursed'!" Sasuke said angrily.
"I didn't say they were cursed," Neji corrected, "I said that they reputed to be cursed. Before Konoha, no one wanted anything to do with your family. Now they are extremely respected, but it's a dubious respect among ninja."
"Why?" Sakura asked curiously, "I didn't see that at the academy."
"That's because most people ate your academy will never be actual ninja," Sai told her, "They're just civilians, and the civilians have always worshiped the clans with kekkei genkai. The other ninja have always feared them a little. Particularly since the clans are very secretive and strict."
"They also have a long history of being jerks," Naruto cut in.
"Huh?" Gaara asked.
"My scroll says that the founder of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Madara tried to kill the First Hokage because they disagreed about how Konoha should be run. He was defeated, but he swore to come back. It has his words too: 'I shall return when you fools don't expect it, and I will always been near Konoha, waiting for those who have the potential to join me. They will join, whether they will it or not, for I, who possess the perfect Sharingan, am capable of all things.'"
"That's rather disturbing," Sai said.
"What does he mean by capable of all things?" Sasuke asked.
"I don't know," Naruto said, "this scroll doesn't have much about it. It just talked about it for about a paragraph and went on."
Sasuke was quiet and seemed to have retreated into his own thoughts.
There was an awkward silence, until Naruto turned to Hinata, who still had the Tenshi Byakugan activated.
"That's really cool, Hinata," he told her, "I bet you'll get really super strong!"
"It's true too. At least about the stress," Hinata said, "When I activated the normal Byakugen, it always felt like I was straining myself, but this feels really easy," She looked at Naruto and Gaara strangely for a moment, "You both have funny seals on you."
Gaara didn't look surprised.
Naruto looked confused.
"That keeps the monster inside me," Gaara said matter-of-factly, "It wants to get out, so I can't sleep."
"I don't have a seal…do I?" Naruto asked.
"Yes, it's kinda like Gaara-kun's, but it's different. Both of them are keeping something in them, but I can't really see it," Hinata told them.
"Maybe Naruto-kun's is keeping a kekki genkai in his," Sakura suggested.
"That's impossible," Sai said, shaking his head.
"Well, whatever's in there," Neji said, giving Naruto an odd look, "I guess we'll find out one day…"
Gaara was not the only one who couldn't sleep that night.
Sasuke was curled up and his eyes were closed, but sleep didn't come. His mind continued to linger on the words of Uchiha Madara. Was the Uchiha clan truly cursed?
He had always been told that the Uchiha were superior to everyone. He had always somehow believed that because of his bloodline he was assured to be great. Suddenly, everything he had been taught was said to be a lie. The Sharingan was a curse, a blot of the face of the earth. It was made only for power, and for those who couldn't care less about anything but power.
Was that really true?
Was the Mangekyo Sharingan the real secret limit? Did you really have to kill your best friend to get it?
Sasuke turned over and received a kick from Neji. Someone was going to murder that guy one day…
Were the Uchiha cursed? Was it impossible to use the Sharingan for anything good?
The Sharingan was power, Sasuke reasoned. Power was neither good or evil, it simply was. If the Mangekyo Sharingan existed then that was evil, since was only obtained through cold blooded murder. The Sharingan was awakened in battle, when the user's life was in danger. It was nothing or less more then a weapon, but, an unpleasant voice in him reminded, weapons could be used to defend, or to murder, but in the end their purpose was the same. The Sharingan was made to kill.
Was he cursed?
Would he become like his father, like the elders of the clan, no matter what he did?
Sasuke didn't know it, but he was taking the first step towards a future decision.
The cold air actually hurt as Naruto breathed too fast. His feet bare pounded the snow covered ground, and occasionally he skidded a little on the ice that covered parts of the street. Naruto's breath hung in the fringed air as he breathed and mentally, he was annoyed the he lost the heat every time he breathed.
"Get back here!" the angry voice of the vender reached his ears.
'Yeah,' Naruto thought savagely, 'like I'm going to stop and let you beat the snot out of me.'
The two large loafs of bread were awkward to carry, and in addition to the scroll tied to his back, he was having trouble moving with the same agility as usual.
Why couldn't the man have chased after one of the Kage Bushin?
The group had settled in a village near the border of Water Country and closer to Kirigakure then Sai would have liked. They tried to move from village to village as much as they could, but things had gotten harder as the weather grew colder. Less people traveled in the winter, and those that did usually didn't have convenient places to stowaway.
This village wasn't quite so pleasant about their being there as others had been. They had plenty of starving children running around without seven more to add to the problem. They probably would have run them out of town, if they could have caught them. Thankfully, though learning their jutsus and since they had started sparing with each other to stay warm, they will too good at running away to be caught. There were no ninja in that village, if there had been, all of them would have been caught. Sai said that it had to do with the fact that Kirigakure and the Water Daimyo were having some sort of disagreement, and both fractions were very distrustful of on another.
Naruto turned a tight corner and made another Kage Bushin to look like it was going straight, hopefully, the man would chase the clone for a while. He didn't have the usual backup if something went wrong.
It seemed that everyone but Gaara and him were sick. It was strange, since Gaara had never been exposed to cold air like this before, but he didn't show any signs of illness. The others were bad and getting worse. Sasuke and Hinata both had high fevers, Sakura complained that she felt like there was a knife in her throat. Sai could barely keep any food down. Neji was showing signs of the chicken pox. Naruto and Gaara took turns sneaking form the alleys that they had made their hiding place and stealing food or rummaging through trash. The other would stay where they were hidden and try to keep Sasuke's fire from going out.
Naruto wondered sometimes if they would all live through the winter.
He gritted his teeth at the thought and ran faster.
Finally, he made it to a small alley that was almost invisible because of the buildings and the trash around it. He paused for a moment, but didn't hear his pursuer's footsteps anywhere. Apparently he had gone after the Kage Bushin, which would probably disappear after making some form of hostile gesture at the vender. Naruto sighed in relief and darted down the alley.
There was a large heap of snow and trash in one corner that hid the little bubble of sand that Gaara had managed to make for them. Naruto moved a rotting sofa cushion to show a hole large enough for him to crawl through.
Trying not to get the loaves any more dirty then necessary, Naruto crawled through and reached our to put the cushion back. Inside, it was a small dome that was lit only by the fire in the center of the room. Around the fire, everyone lay wrapped in ratty, ragged looking blankets. Gaara was the only one who looked awake. He had a small pile of garbage net to him that looked flammable which he would throw into the fire when he thought it got too low. Since Gaara liked heat, it was a cheerful blaze.
It had been a real problem figuring out just how to get a fire in there. The first time that they had tried to light a fire since it had created a ton of smoke and forced Gaara to make a hole in the roof so that they could breathe. Then there had been the problem of the hole letting too much cold air in. It was hard, since if there wasn't enough of a chimney, the smoke would suffocate them, but if it was too large, they would get even sicker. Gaara finally managed a hole that would let enough smoke out to be livable and small enough not to let too much cold air in.
"How are they?" Naruto asked.
"Neji feels warm now…and Sai hasn't woken up," Gaara mumbled.
Naruto sighed and showed him the two loaves of bread.
"I got food," he said simply.
Naruto went around to everyone, shaking them awake and giving them a piece of bread.
"I'm so cold," moaned Sasuke when Naruto woke him.
Naruto had moved him closer to the fire and given him the bread.
Sai blearily looked around and accepted the bread without saying anything.
"Are we going to die?" Hinata asked calmly.
"No," Naruto assured them, "We're all going to make it through the winter. You're going to get better. No matter what, we're all going to make it through the winter together."
They were quiet as they ate their bread. Mostly because they were too weak to talk and eat at the same time. Naruto tried to sound cheerful as he talked to them all, only Gaara really joined in. They others appreciated the mindless chatter, and Naruto knew it.
Naruto didn't eat his piece of bread. He was too worried and too upset. He wanted to believe the words he had just said, but so far, from the look of things, Naruto and Gaara were going to be the only ones who saw spring.
"I'm going to get some more firewood," Naruto said getting up and putting the piece of bread in his pocket, "Gaara, can you stay here?"
Gaara nodded.
They called the garbage that they fed the fire with firewood, even though it was anything but. Mostly it was just pieces of paper.
Naruto crawled out the hole and went back into the cold evening.
It was rabidly getting dark, and Naruto hugged himself as he walked.
What would happen if he or Gaara got sick? How would they get food?
Naruto had never been rich. There was a good reason why he ate so much ramen. It was the cheapest food in existence that had some flavor to it. Sometimes he would spend too much money and have to miss quite a few meals. He was no stranger to hunger, but this was different. He had always known that if he really needed something he could go to the Old Man. Now, all his thoughts were on their next meal, and he had no idea when he would eat again.
Naruto wasn't really paying attention to where he was going, and didn't even notice the falling snow. He was too busy thinking about what to do. He didn't notice the large dog sleeping in part of the alley until he had already stepped on it.
There was an angry yelp of pain and Naruto found himself staring at an impressive looking set of very sharp teeth.
Naruto did the only thing that came to his mind at that moment. He ran like he had never run before with the dog hot on his tail. Kage Bushin didn't work on dogs since the false Naruto's didn't smell, so Naruto was unable to use his usual means of escape. When he was little he had watched a dog chasing a cat and noticed how the dog couldn't catch it because of the sharp turns that it would make, now he was the one trying to make sharp turns.
Already Naruto was starting to feel tired, and his breath was starting to burn in his lungs. He was vaguely aware that the dog was beginning to gain on him, and that his legs were feeling heavy. He dashed past what might have been another person and darted into a side alley.
There was a startled yelp, and Naruto turned around in time to see the dog slide past the alley entrance on a sheet of ice that hadn't been there before. Naruto stood in shock for a moment, catching his breath, when he noticed that someone was running towards him.
It was a boy about three years older then him. He was just as filthy, hungry looking, and cold as Naruto and the rest. His dark hair was matted and stuck out at odd angles. He was wearing a baggy, oversized white shirt that was in far better shape then his, with a blank collar around his neck.
"Are you alright?" he asked, leaning over to check Naruto.
"Yeah," he said with a grin, "that thing nearly had me though. Did you see how that dog got on that ice? I didn't see any ice before. What happened?"
"I…" the boy started, "I guess you were just lucky. It was there, but somehow you didn't trip."
"Well, at least that's lucky," Naruto sighed, "Oh, I'm Uzumaki Naruto."
"I'm Akiyama Haku," Haku said politely, "What were you doing out here Naruto-kun?"
"I'm looking for stuff to put in a fire," Naruto told him, "You see, my friend made a fire, but we have to make sure it won't go out, since he might not be able to make another one."
"You're with friends?" Haku asked, he was surprised, he would have thought Naruto would have been all alone. A twinge of disappointment hit him. He had vaguely been hoping to help out this kid, but once again, his existence wasn't necessary.
"Yeah," Naruto trailed off and then looked up, "Do you know any doctors?"
Haku blinked at the question and shook his head.
"Oh," Naruto sounded a bit disappointed.
"Why?"
"I…My friends need help," Naruto told him quickly after pausing for a moment and deciding that he needed to talk to someone, "They're sick, and I think they might die. Only me and one other person are healthy, and it keeps getting colder."
"Can I see your friends," Haku asked, "I know a little about medicine."
He seemed surprisingly eager to help out.
"Really?" Naruto looked hopefully up at him.
"Yes," Haku nodded, "My mother taught me…"
He trailed off and looked at the ground, but Naruto had already grabbed his arm and was proceeding to lead him to their little hut.
Haku found himself being dragged along by Naruto. He didn't have any real objection to going, after all, he had been the one to involve himself by making that ice. He had wanted to have someone, anyone, to talk to…
Naruto led Haku to a small mound of garbage, only to show him the hole hidden behind the cushion. Haku had to admit that for a group that couldn't be older then seven, this was a very impressive feat. He hadn't thought of it, but when he noticed the sand, he knew that it wouldn't have mattered if he did.
He looked around at the huddled forms of the other children and the red haired boy who was the only one awake.
"This is Haku, Gaara, he's says he knows stuff about medicine," Naruto told him, "This is Gaara, Haku."
Gaara smiled a little, but his eyes fell back on the sleeping figures of the others.
"I got some firewood too," Naruto said, "How are they?"
"Sakura woke up," Gaara told him, "She got upset that you went out again. She thinks you're going to get sick too."
"Nah, no sickness would dare attack the great Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto said, sounding more confident then he looked.
Haku ignored the boasting, and came to the conclusion that Naruto was trying to keep his friend's spirits up. Things looked pretty bad for this little group. It was strange, he thought, how there were so many of them. Normally, street children didn't team up like this. They would sometimes make temporary alliances, but they fought over every scrap of food that they got their hands on. Haku had tried on several occasions to team up with other kids who lived like him, but it had never worked.
Naruto pointed at the sleeping forms of the other children.
"Is there a way we can help?" Naruto asked him.
Haku leaned over all of them in turn. Remembering what his mother told him, he put a hand on each of their foreheads in turn, felt Sakura's throat for swollen glands, and tried to get Sai to stay away long enough to ask him how he felt.
"They're almost at a point where the only thing that would help is hospitalization," Haku told him, "They need medical herbs. Badly."
"Where are some?" Naruto asked.
"Hospital," Gaara say suddenly, "My sister once got really sick and they had to get special herbs from the hospital greenhouse to help her."
Naruto and Haku looked at Gaara and at eachother.
"There's a hospital near that marketplace. I bet it has some!" Naruto exclaimed and turned to Haku, "Gaara, you could use your sand to help Haku and I up, and we could steal the herbs!" Naruto paused and looked at Haku a little embarrassed, "That is…if you want to help us…"
"I'll help," Haku told him, "I know the herbs that would work best. I think that they could have them, they're not that rare."
Haku was surprised that things were moving so fast, but he knew just why he was helping them out. For the first time since his mother's murder, he had seen people who were like him. Each and every one of them had looked at him, and he had seen that they all had the same eyes as his.
Eyes that were determined to prove their existence, and force others to acknowledge it.
It was late by the time that the three made it to the hospital. They had had to make sure that the fire had enough fuel to burn for a hour or so while they were gone, and they had managed to get lost quite a few times. None of them were that familiar with the town, so occasionally, a wrong turn was taken. Naruto barely had any sense of direction, Haku and Gaara fared slightly better, but they would sometimes get confused by the side alleys.
The other problem was that there were a few Mist nin that sometimes partrolled at night, and while they wouldn't really catch the notice of them, they were afraid of being seen and later associated with the soon to be robbery. There were several near misses, and once, when a particularly fearsome looking ninja with a large sword and most of his face covered was walking past the alley they were hiding in, Haku took a step back that nearly sent him crashing into a garbage can.
Naruto stared up at the hospital, praying that what ever medical herbs were needed to help his friends were there.
"Ok, Gaara, do you think you can do it?" Naruto asked.
Naruto had explained to Haku on the way that Gaara could manipulate sand. Haku had been quiet, almost like he was thinking of something. Naruto hoped that Haku wasn't going to show any fear of him.
Gaara had improved considerably over the few months. He didn't seem quite so afraid that at one misstep they would all hate him. He also seemed to be more comfortable with his control over sand. Because he was with people who didn't fear him, he started to try to use the sand at will. He was slowly getting better and better. Gaara had started to use the sand to pick things up a while ago, but he had never tried to do that to a person before tonight.
"I think so," Gaara said, "If anything goes wrong, I should have time to put you back down."
"Let's hope so," Haku found himself saying.
"Yeah," Naruto nodded, "Gaara, promise me something."
"What?"
"If there's a chance that you're losing control…put us down…"
Gaara, if anything, looked more nervous at that request.
"I'll try…" he mumbled.
"Ok," Naruto said, "let's go,"
Gaara closed his eyes and concentrated. Thankfully, they had learned that to Gaara's ability, all dirt was sand. There was plenty of dirt around this village, so Gaara didn't have to strain too much as he began to make the dirt around Naruto and Haku's feet congeal around their feet and slowly lift them up. Naruto felt nervous and refused to look down as the ground slowly grew further and further away from him. He had the feeling that if he did look, he would probably start begging Gaara to put him back down.
The hospital roof grew closer and closer. Just to keep his mind off of the thought of the ground and just how much it would hurt to fall from that height, he tried to remember what Haku had told him.
The hospital would have the entrance to the greenhouse on the first floor somewhere. Since they were going through the roof, they were going to have go down three floors to get to it, and then go back up three floors just to get back to Gaara. The fact that they were most likely going to be caught hadn't occurred to Naruto.
Naruto and Haku jumped off at the side of the roofs siding there. Naruto stood at the edge and gave Gaara the thumbs up to show that they were ok. He turned around and looked for any obvious way they could get in.
There was no door on the roof, or anything else that was large enough for an adult to get in or out. There were some small pipes jetting out at odd angles, and a heating vent, but nothing that would be easy. Naruto had half been expecting a door of some kind that they would be able to use, but since there wasn't one, he would have to think of another way.
"What about they vent?" Haku suggested pointing at it, "It looks big enough for the two of us to go though."
"Yeah, that'll work," Naruto said nodding.
"Ok, I'll help you up, and go in after you,"
Naruto nodded and was supported by Haku as he tried to remove the vent cover. It was screwed tight and no effort of his was able to move it at all. After almost fifteen minutes, Naruto paused to catch his breath and stare at his raw, red hands. Haku seemed to be alright supporting him, at least he hadn't said anything yet, but he did twitch as he rested.
"Sorry," Naruto told him, thinking that he was tired and a little irritated that he had to carry him, "I needed a break. I can go again now,"
He was shocked when with one tug, the cover came off neatly, but he wasn't too shocked to notice that the inside had frozen and had somehow actually broken the screws. He was somehow reminded of the dog that had been chasing him and how it had suddenly tripped on ice that had just appeared.
"Looks like there's a Yuki-onna who likes me!" Naruto told Haku, grinning.
Haku gave him a nervous smile and whispered for him to go on.
Naruto crawled through the entrance and began to make his way down the passage. It was pitch black in there, and the metal was so cold that it almost burned his hands at first. Naruto had to remind himself over and over again that if he didn't do this, Sasuke, Sakura, Hinata, Neji, and Sai would all die. The first shock was when the tunnel suddenly turned into a sharp drop. He slid down for about five feet and about a second later heard the surprised gasp of Haku doing the same. The tunnel leveled off a little and turned into a slide for a while. By the time it had become straight, Naruto had no idea just how far down he had gone, but the force that Haku bumped into him showed that it had been a shorter time then he had thought.
"Are you ok?" Naruto whispered into the darkness.
"Yes," Haku's voice replied from behind him, "the drop scared me a bit though."
Naruto crawled towards a spot where the darkness of the tunnel didn't seem quite so thick. Only after reaching it and staring at the horizontal slits for a while did he realize that he was inside the air vent looking in at a dark room. He couldn't see anything in it other then the drawn curtains and the forms of a bed and some equipment. It looked completely deserted.
Naruto started to push the vent cover as hard as he could, but he was startled when the cover came off with a loud pop.
"Yatta!" Naruto whispered.
Both boys crawled out slowly, not thinking that if there had been anyone nearby, the sound of the cover coming off would have already gotten their attention.
"What are you doing?" A soft, unemotional voice said.
Naruto and Haku jumped and whirled around. They couldn't quite see the person in the faint light of the room, but they could tell that who ever it was a tall, slender person dressed in something that looked like a baggy shirt that covered their hands. From the voice, Naruto guessed that the person was a girl.
"Er…we're…uh…cleaning the air ducts…" Naruto said, the second that they were out of his mouth, he knew the words sounded stupid.
Haku must have been thinking something similar, because he looked very strangely at Naruto.
"The truth," the person said.
For the first time in his life, Naruto felt killing intent. It was a sickening feeling that hung in the air and penetrated everything. Naruto didn't really understand what it was, but he took an unconscious step back, Haku doing the same.
"We're…" Haku began in a defeated voice.
The tone sent a feeling of rage into Naruto. He had seen the murder of the Hokage, he had almost been killed by a Sand nin, and he had been, almost single handedly, keeping five people alive for two weeks. There was no way that he was going to cower before anyone, let alone some mysterious woman who that didn't know anything about.
"We're gonna get medicine for our friends!" Naruto said angrily, "and you're not gonna stop me."
The woman was silent for a moment, but the oppressive feeling in the air died away.
"Your friends…what are they to you?" the woman asked.
"Everything," Naruto hissed, "They're the people who acknowledged my existence."
Haku once again looked at Naruto strangely, this time it was a look of understanding…and a little jealousy.
There was another silence after that statement, finally, the person moved away, turning their back towards them.
"There's a plant in the conservatory downstairs that has black flowers with red tips. It will cure most diseases, but it is difficult to get and use. Boil the petals of the flower for exactly sixty seconds. Take the petals out and give the water to your friends. The medicine is extremely strong and if you do not follow those instructions, your friends will die. Do you understand?"
"…yes…" Haku whispered.
"You will not speak of meeting me," with this words the woman simply dissolved into what looked like little particles, that shot through the cracks in the windows of the room.
For a moment, Haku and Naruto stood, frozen, staring at where the woman had been, but their wits came back quickly when they thought that they heard footsteps. Both children hid behind a door as the sound neared.
"This is his room," A man's voice said, "Remember, no one is allowed in there until tomorrow. There are ninja coming in the morning to interrogate him. Thankfully, no one knows he's here or else we would have to have more security then ever."
"Yes, sir," a cool woman's voice replied.
"The camera's went out today again, just to tell you," the man continued, "Oh, and remember to get someone to clean up that mess in the hall of the first floor. Someone will slip on all that water."
"Yes, sir,"
The conversation and the footsteps faded into another hall, and Naruto felt himself slowly relax. After waiting five minutes, both dashed to the door and opened it a crack. There was a sleeping nurse in a chair next to the door, but nothing else seemed dangerous to them. Slowly, making sure not to wake up the nurse, the two boys opened the door and crept out into the hall. The nurse grunted a little and twitched in her sleep, which made the two jump, but when she didn't move again, they walked slowly down the hall.
The stairs weren't that hard to find, and truthfully, Naruto felt a little better on them. The fact that they were in an enclosed area where he could hear everything made him feel somewhat better. If someone was coming, he would know. The person might know that someone had been there, but if they ducked into one of the hallways, no one would know who had been there.
No one met them on the way down.
"This is weird," Haku said quietly to Naruto, "Shouldn't we have heard something by now?"
Naruto shrugged. He had never been in a hospital much…other then when it was absolutely necessary.
The first floor seemed just as deserted as the rest of the hospital. It was strange, they had only seen four people, counting the freaky woman, there. A nagging voice in Naruto's head, that had been coming up more and more often, told him that there was something wrong, and that they should be as careful as they could.
A directory near the stairs told them that they would have to pass the reception desk to make it to the greenhouse. Haku had given Naruto a worried look, but Naruto had charged ahead with a determined look on his face. It was strange how he looked so much older with it.
The desk was empty. This time Naruto knew there was something very wrong. This was way too convenient. Cautiously, he made his way to the desk and looked over. The a young woman with blonde hair lay sleeping, a split glass of water next to it. Haku picked the glass and looked at it.
"There's something wrong with it," he said.
"Drugs," Naruto said, remembering something from Iruka's long, dull lectures. "Some ninja like to use them."
"Let's get the stuff and get out of here," Haku said nervously. He had never had any real experience with a ninja before, other then the horror stories that his father had told him.
Both threw caution to the winds, and dashed along the corridor. When the reached a set of double doors with a sign, 'Greenhouse: Medics only' they were out of breath and very edgy. Naruto threw the two doors open, but paused to stare at the inside of the greenhouse.
It looked more like a miniature forest then anything else. The air felt warm, and somehow fresh, and there was even a light breeze moving through. Naruto had the sudden urge to curl up in a ball, fall asleep and hope to wake up at the Academy because Iruka-sensei had thrown the chalk stick at him again for sleeping. Instead he looked around for a black and red flower.
"This is it," he heard Haku call over.
He was leaning over a large, strange looking flower. It was solid black with red edges, the steam and leaves were a silvery green, and there was something completely otherworldly about it. There were a few others growing nearby, but none seemed as big as this one.
Naruto reached out for the stem, but Haku shook his head.
"The woman said that we only needed the petals. We'll leave the rest of it here," he told Naruto, his usually passive voice taking on a harder quality.
"A-alright," Naruto was surprised at his reaction to the flower. After all it was a plant.
Haku had just taken off the flower head when the door of the greenhouse opened to show a very upset looking nurse. She and the two thieves stared at each other for split second that seemed to last for an eternity, then everything happened at once. The nurse ran forwards to catch them, Naruto and Haku dashed by on either side of her, the door opened again, and a doctor, who had just opened the door, was knocked over by the two escaping children.
"What was that?" the stunned doctor's question was ignored as the nurse flew past him.
There was no time to think of running back upstairs. There had to be a back door to his hospital somewhere. They would find Gaara and get back to safety. Naruto didn't have a clue where he was going. In fact, he only really noticed anything other then that they were being chased was when his feet hit the water. He vaguely remembered the mention of a spill on the first floor.
"Haku" Naruto yelled, "change the water into ice!"
"What-but-" Haku began.
"I know you can do it!"
"You-you don't care?" Haku sounded shocked, "About my kekki genkai?"
"This is a stupid time to ask!"
There was a started cry behind them and Naruto turned his head around to see the woman slipping on the water, which had suddenly become ice.
As they turned a sharp corner towards the back door, Naruto saw the nurse rise to continue after them, but the sharp voice of the head doctor stopped her.
"Don't worry about them, they're just a distraction. I need you to get upstairs, right now, the special patient was murdered…"
The cold air outside felt awful after running that much. Both boys stood in the back of the hospital gasping for breath, and when a sudden movement at the entrance caught their attention, both boys prayed that it was nothing, since they wouldn't have been able to run anymore.
"Are you alright?" the soft, worried voice of Gaara asked.
"Gaara," Naruto gasped, "What are you doing here?"
"I got worried, so I came to help," Gaara told them, "Do you have the medicine?"
Naruto looked at Haku, hoping against hope that he hadn't dropped it.
Haku slowly held up one hand, with the crushed flower petals in it.
"Yatta!" Naruto cheered, "That's great!"
"You…knew about my…" Haku began.
"Yeah," Naruto said, "Since the vent. I guessed with the god, but I wasn't sure. That's really cool that you can do that!"
"You think so?" Haku asked.
Naruto nodded.
"I can't wait to tell Sasuke about tonight and introduce you. He's going to be so jealous he couldn't see it."
"You…want me to come back with you?" Haku was stunned. Was his existence really wanted?
"Of course," Gaara said with a small smile, "Everyone will want to meet you since you worked so hard to help them."
"Let's go," Naruto said, his impatience was obvious, "I wanna try this stuff out."
A small smile formed on Haku's lips as he silently followed what would soon become two of the eight people who he would do anything for.
Omake: Meetings.
Seventeen year old Mitarashi Anko would never let her friend Kurenai ever convince her to hang out with the Jonin again.
She stared at the Chuunin who had fallen into her lap with some disgust.
"I thought that this wasn't one of those places," she muttered.
"It wasn't supposed to be…" Kurenai said, eyeing the Chuunin dubiously, "Asuma said that this was a nice quiet place."
The Chuunin, a young man with a scar across his nose, smiled stupidly at Anko, a bit of drool coming from one corner.
"You're really pretty," he told her.
"And you're drooling in my lap and on my coat," Anko told him, "and if you don't move you're sorry carcass right now, you're going to be a carcuss."
Unfortunately, Iruka had passed out on her lap.
All in all, it was not the most romantic of meetings.
Iruka woke up the next morning with a splitting headache and quite a few cuts that he didn't remember having the day before.