"How is he?"
This voice was a whisper, a monotone drawl in the baritone registry.
Naruto knew of it. He knew the person it belonged to.
"Roughed up. Badly. And he has one hell of a fever."
That voice was clearer, higher-pitched, but full, round, yet trembling at the edges.
Not the voice of a woman but not the voice of a girl anymore.
It was also a familiar voice.
"How so?" The man with the monotone asked again.
He had something to do with an animal. A big cat, if his memory served Naruto right. Lynx? Nah. Panther maybe?
No, that was not it either. Why was his mind so fuzzy? It was annoying. And the constant, uncontrollable shivers running up and down his body were annoying too.
"I'll need him awake for a complete check-up but I can guarantee he won't ever shout again." The teenager answered.
Naruto frowned. He knew her also. Pug? No. Chihuahua? The boy bit down a snort but wasn't entirely successful. He instantly stopped and whimpered a bit when his throat caught fire. That was not it but he was close. Willing his brain to supply him with an answer, Naruto kept coming short and frowned, dissatisfied.
Why was everything so foggy?
Why was his entire body pulsing with pain?
How can he use the Yang jutsu that the king unlocked in the skill table?
Someone shushed him and he felt something cold being placed on his forehead. The sensation relaxed him immediately.
"What I fear most is brain damage but I can't assess completely while he's asleep."
"What did your iryojutsu tell you?"
"He definitely suffered from anoxia, for how long exactly I can't say. His brain has been damaged and even if it was somehow repaired, the consequences could be anything."
"Given his healing factor, what can we expect?"
"Honestly sergeant, I can't say for sure. He could be paralyzed, amnesiac to various degree, he could be incapable of speech, he could be extremely violent or constantly terrified… Anything."
There was a sigh. "What about Cat?"
"She had a crack in her skull but it was nothing I could not fix. She just needs her rest."
"Alright." There was a shuffle of cloth against cloth, an exhausted groan, and stretched limbs before the man spoke again. "What a mess."
"Nothing you need to blame yourself for sergeant."
There was a marked silence, a hesitation, a waver in the baritone. "No." The man eventually acknowledged. "Still, for things to go FUBAR like that… And we are still not out of the fire."
Deciding he was safe among voices he knew and considering he felt like he had obviously been trampled by some kind of very heavy animal, Naruto drifted back into sleep. He was certain they wouldn't deprive him of his rest.
.....
As soon as tiger and the others were out of his reach, the blond found himself in a narrow expense of nowhere.
His breath hitched when in front of him shimmered the dead corpses of all ninja he and the king had killed.
Naruto glared at the apparitions who glared in return.
"Go away!"
Only silence and reproachful looks answered him. The blond stared down the four ghosts. They would not leave him alone, even when he was unconscious! Sending a smouldering glare their way, the blond attempted the best he could to scare them away.
To no avail, as after five minutes of absolute silence save for Naruto huffing and doing his best to be intimidating, the ghosts were still there. Unmoving. Quiet. Dead.
Accusatory.
Naruto felt his cool slip away from his control, anger tugging on his emotional leash.
"Fuck! Off! I followed my orders! It was a mission. I didn't kill all of you, the king did. He won the fight 'ttebayo!"
Stabbing his pointer finger at each of the apparition, the blond took the most threatening tone he was capable of.
"Now leave me alone, or else!"
The apparition kept staring in silence, their eyes the only way to express their fury.
Suddenly, the apparitions floated forwards, slowly but purposefully moving toward him. Naruto felt his head shake "no" and took several steps back. To no avail, as the distance between him and the ghosts kept steadily decreasing.
"No, no, no, no, get away from me, get away from me!" The boy screamed, panic mounting inside him, gripping at his throat, tripping his heart, weakening his legs.
Naruto felt himself miss a step. In a flash, the apparitions were on him as he fell slowly, as if out of time. Ghastly nails clawed at his flesh, he could sense their teeth tearing him apart while his gaze was held captive by their dead, unseeing eyes. The lone kunoichi pressed a hand against his mouth and Naruto felt himself start to suffocate.
He knew the feeling now. He had experienced it. Blood gushed from his throat, reddening his tattered shirt and invading his lungs. Inexorably, Naruto drowned once again.
[ Skill Activation: Mind of Nirvana ]
- [ Commencing mental trauma removal process. ]
- [ Progression: ]
- [ 1%... ]
- [ 10%... ]
- [ 50%... ]
- [ 100% completed. ]
[ Mental Trauma Resolution: ]
- [ Guilt associated with murder has been eradicated. ]
- [ Status Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been forcibly removed from Naruto Uzumaki's psychological profile. ]
As soon as Naruto read the notification, he found that he had woken up.
So, that was all just a nightmare.
"Naruto! Calm down! It's me, Dog!"
Naruto glanced to the side to his teammate looking at him worried.
The blond greedily inhaled oxygen, his throat burning and irritating him, the sensation sending him into a coughing fit. Everything felt incredibly dry. His lips were cracked and painful, his throat parched, and he was quite certain his entire body lacked water.
As if reading his thoughts, Dog next to him rose a gourd to his mouth and the boy lost no time drinking his fill. After a second, he moaned in discontent: whoever was making him drink had carefully tipped the gourd so that only a trickle of water could flow down his thirsty canal.
"Slow down, you're gonna hurt yourself."
Naruto grumbled something and water dripped on his chin. After a while, the content of the gourd exhausted, the boy allowed himself to lay back.
"Where?" He rasped out, his tongue heavy as lead, his throat still painful and his voice muted, barely more than a whisper. He had screamed himself sore, apparently.
"In a safe place, Naruto. An ANBU cache, to be exact, in Rice Country."
The boy groaned in discontent. He still had not left this hellhole?
"Dog?"
"Yes, I'm here," Dog said.
"A-Are you alright?" Naruto asked.
"So... you remember," Dog said, as Naruto could clearly hear the fear in her voice.
"I ... attacked everyone."
"No!" Dog said, louder than intended. "It wasn't you, it was the... Kyubi."
Naruto almost wanted to snort.
Whatever he had called upon was beyond the Kyubi itself.
But how could he even say that? Their worlds were so different. His world was linked to the system, to a power that could change reality, a power that could make the Kyubi look like a dog on a leash in comparison. To Dog, the Kyubi was a calamity itself.
Silence settled between the two ANBU, just as pregnant and uncomfortable as the last one had been. It was Dog who broke it again.
"It's alright you now?" She said, barely louder than a whisper herself this time. She gave Naruto's hand, which she was still holding, a light squeeze. "It's not like you asked for it to be there."
The blond could suddenly taste ashes on his tongue as more flashes from the fight came back to him.
"I asked… For it."
Naruto answered, his diction still akin to a drunk's, slipping his hand out of Dog's grip, bitterness straining his voice.
"I was weak... Cat was in danger. I didn't want to ... die. I asked for... Power."
As the words of Dragon came to his mind, Naruto cried bitterly.
Love, he had surrendered his chance to by falling prey to power.
Maybe people were right to call him a demon.
He should have let himself die and respawn.
He was sure Dog and Tiger had not needed him to rescue Cat.
He should've died and respawned back to graduation day, and not join the ANBU in his third life.
"Where is... everyone?" Naruto asked.
"Tiger and Cat are escorting the civilians we saved back to the Fire Country with the other team," answered Dog with a sigh. "It is not a matter of concern for you right now, Naruto. What matters is you. How do you feel?"
The genuine concern lacing Dog's question startled Naruto, who searched the operator with his gaze.
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not. Naruto, please. Teammates are also here for that."
Blue eyes widened in surprise.
"Teammates?" Naruto asked hesitantly, slowly. "You don't… You don't…" Naruto flailed, panicking before his voice cracked again. "Hate me?"
Dog was apparently stunned silent, as she did not answer for several seconds. "What? No! Why would I?"
"'Cause… I put you all in danger just because I was afraid to die."
"Naruto, everyone is afraid of dying. Last time I checked, the Kyubi beat all of our asses, but we survived thanks to you. You somehow stopped it... You beat it back!" Dog retorted lowly, yet in a firm voice that brooked no discussion.
"But… But the danger…"
"It was impressive and scary," interrupted Dog. "Very scary, I won't lie. And… And I was afraid of you, and when Tiger told me I'd have to stay here with you, I argued about it."
Naruto felt a pang of pain tear through his heart, but before he could sag down on himself, Dog continued.
"Then I thought about it, Naruto. It was scary, yes. The scariest shit I've ever seen, even. But I can't hold it against you, you know why?"
The blond, slowly, picked up his lowered eyes and looked back at Dog, who was offering him, unmasked, a large, feral grin. His raspy voice broke again, this time from something different.
"N-No?"
"'Cause I would have done the exact same thing." She proclaimed, her voice as hard and resolute as steel. "So, thanks for saving Cat." The teenage girl added in a more subdued, but much warmer, tone.
Naruto smiled as he saw Dog outstretch her hand.
"Hana... Hana Inuzuka."
Naruto shook her hand.
"Naruto... Naruto Uzumaki."
......
[Author's Note: Ok, big reveal. Dog is Hana Inuzuka, Kiba's older sister. Tiger is Yamato, the wood release user. So, who is Cat? Guess her identity and comment on who you think it is. PS: She is canon, appears briefly in the manga, appears in the anime and filler.]