Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Juniper ❯ Acuity ( Chapter 2 )

Agent's Spiel: Hmm…there's a lot of talking in this chapter. It's also really sober; the tone will lighten up later, I promise.

I looked up some formatting tips in the forum so I'm hoping they'll turn up better this chapter. If you notice anything odd and have any tips they'd be appreciated.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Acuity

“He's waking up, Hokage-sama,” a young Medic Nin stated.

The Sandaime Hokage nodded his head wearily and dismissed the girl. By the time Genma and Anko had found Iruka he was unconscious and severely wounded. The scroll and the attackers were no where in sight. He had known that they wouldn't catch Mizuki and the other shinobi, but he also knew that they hadn't taken the scroll with them. He needed Iruka to wake up so that he could tell the Special Jounin where to find it.

A moan from the hospital bed reminded him of the nurse's words and he turned to find Iruka attempting to rub his eyes. The bandages on his arm hindered his movement so the Sandaime reached over and pushed his arm back down. “Try not to move too much. Quick movements could damage the stitches in your back…a medic will heal them in a bit, but they wanted you to recover a bit first,” he informed the Academy sensei.

Iruka opened his mouth to ask a question but stuttered because of the dryness of his mouth. Sandaime handed him a glass of water and Iruka took a sip before asking again, “Where's Naruto?”

“He's recovering as well. I need to ask you a few questions,” Sandaime said before he cut himself off.

Iruka was shaking his head. “What happened to him? He was fine when he took off,” he muttered.

“The other shinobi…” Sandaime was once more cut off.

“She was from Kumo. Mizuki called her Kimiko,” Iruka told him.

Sandaime stared at him for a moment before sitting back down and sighing. “Missing Nin?” he asked.

“Not likely, her forehead protector was untouched,” Iruka answered.

“Mizuki-sensei was working with her?” he inquired, gaining a nod from Iruka. “They were after the scroll?” he added.

“Yes, but it sounded like they were after Naruto as well. He knows,” Iruka informed him. “Mizuki blurted it out; I'm not sure how he'll take it once he has the time to realize what Mizuki told him,” he added.

Sandaime dropped his head into his hands and rubbed at his eyes. “Where is the scroll?” Sandaime finally asked, remembering his initial reason for visiting the Chuunin.

Iruka blinked and looked up at him. “It's hidden near a clearing in the woods. One of Naruto's clones hid it in a tree,” he answered.

“Will we need to wait for Naruto to find it, or can you show them where it is?” Sandaime asked.

“I can show them. But I'd like to see Naruto first,” Iruka answered.

“Of course,” Sandaime responded, standing up. “I'll get a nurse to release you,” he added, walking out of the room.

Several minutes later Iruka heard the Hokage arguing with a nurse outside the room. After a minute or two, the nurse entered the room huffily and began to rewrap his bandages. When she was finished she stood up and looked at him sternly. “Try not to exert yourself too much for the next several days. Hokage-sama is forcing us to release far earlier than we should be, so try not to re-injure yourself,” she told him.

When the nurse walked out, Sandaime reentered and helped Iruka stand back up and get ready to leave. As they exited, Iruka noticed a Jounin lounging against the wall across from his room; Sandaime waved the woman along and they made their way to the Hokage tower.

“Anko wait here; when we get back, Iruka will show you where the scroll was hidden,” Sandaime ordered as they passed his office.

They turned down a smaller hallway not far from his office. Sandaime nodded to the silver haired Jounin leaning against the wall and then pushed open a door on his left. Iruka ignored the Jounin, only sparing a moment to glare at the book in his hand, and entered the room alongside the Hokage. He didn't see the wary look the Jounin cast him as he entered.

Iruka looked at the unconscious figure at the bed in confusion. Naruto showed no signs of injury. His face, which had been bruised and scratched even before Mizuki arrived, was now completely flawless; Naruto had always healed rather quickly, but he had never seen it happen in under a day. He suddenly looked up at the Hokage and asked, “How long was I out?”

“Barely twelve hours, the attack took place last night. All outward signs of his injuries were the first things to heal,” Sandaime said, answering Iruka's unspoken question.

“Then why is he still unconscious? What happened to him?” Iruka asked.

“We won't know for sure until he wakes up. When Kakashi found him, the woman had created some type of poisonous cloud that was surrounding him. I've seen jutsu produce similar effects, but we weren't able to identify the poison. He also had several wounds on his neck,” Sandaime explained, walking over to Naruto. He pushed the sheet down enough that Iruka was able to see three rough looking scars along Naruto's neck, two parallel ones on the left side and one on the right. “We think the blades were poisoned as well. It's the only explanation we've come up with for the scarring. It's likely that even those will fade within a few weeks.”

“You're not telling me something,” Iruka stated, looking at Naruto nervously.

“Between the effects of the poison and the three stab wounds on his neck, Naruto has been left with a permanent disability,” Kakashi informed him, walking into the room from where he had been loitering and eaves dropping in the hall. “The medic that healed him couldn't get to the internal injuries in time. He thinks the Kyuubi's power may have focused on healing the external aspects that were directly threatening Naruto's life.”

“What do you mean?” Iruka asked, turning back around to stare at Kakashi.

“The cloud must have been made from some sort of caustic substance. His throat and lungs seemed to have suffered from severe burns. The stab wound to the neck severed a nerve of some sort, it affects the vocal chords. None of the medics currently in Konoha have the ability to repair the main damage,” Kakashi explained, scratching his head. For all his intelligence, he hated it when medics talked over him. He had had to make the man explain Naruto's injuries three times before he had figured out what the man was telling him.

“Vocal chords?” Iruka muttered, turning back to Naruto in horror.

“His words directly, `His chances of regaining his ability to talk are about as high as the chances of all three Sannin returning to Konoha',” Kakashi quoted.

Sandaime sighed as Iruka attempted to digest everything that Kakashi had told him. “Naruto isn't supposed to wake up for another few hours. I know you probably want to be here when he does, but we need the scroll back within the city's walls. If you leave with Anko now, you'll be back in time,” he informed him.

“What?” Iruka stuttered, turning back to the Hokage.

“The Scroll of Sealing, we need to bring it back into the village. You know where Naruto managed to hide it,” Sandaime reminded him, bringing Iruka out of his stupor.

“Right,” Iruka murmured. He gave Naruto one last glance before turning and leaving with the Hokage. Kakashi remained behind, settling down in a chair near the boy's bed and pulling his book back out.

As Iruka and Sandaime made their way back to the Hokage's office where Anko was waiting for them, Sandaime paused and turned to Iruka. “For now, no one but me, Kakashi, you, and the medic that treated him know of Naruto's injuries. We have reason to believe that if Mizuki was working as an insider others may be as well. Anko is under no circumstances even suspected; however, it would be best if news of Naruto's accident do not make it to the public and she does have a bit of a loud mouth,” he explained.

Iruka nodded dumbly and went entered the Hokage's office ahead of him. “The two of you should head out,” Sandaime said, walking over to his desk. “When you've found the scroll bring it straight back to me,” he ordered before dismissing them.

Once the two had disappeared, Sandaime shuffled through the folders on his desk for a minute before grabbing three folders and heading back to Naruto's room. He slid inside, careful not to disturb the quiet atmosphere of the room. “Nothing's changed in the five minutes you've been gone,” Kakashi remarked wryly.

“Naruto is being put on your team along with Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura,” the Sandaime informed him, pulling up another chair to sit on the other side of Naruto's bed.

“So you want all three sent back to the academy?” Kakashi joked.

“You won't have the chance to send them back. Team 7 will be given an automatic pass. The council will go along with it because they would prefer that Sasuke work with the only other sharingan user in Konoha,” Sandaime countered.

Kakashi sighed and put his book away. “I don't have a choice, do I?” he asked.

“I think you'll enjoy this team. Naruto will struggle a bit to recover and accommodate for what he has lost, but from what I saw when he went up against Mizuki you'll be in for a number of surprises. Sasuke is talented, but he needs to be redirected; he is far too focused on revenge. Naruto may also need to be steered away from revenge as well; it all depends on how he takes the news when he wakes up,” the Hokage told Kakashi.

“What about the last one?” Kakashi asked.

“Haruno Sakura is a very bright girl. However, she lacks practical experience and some of her more physical skills have been neglected. The biggest problem your team will have is learning to overcome their obstacles and work together. All three are very independent and Naruto and Sasuke don't get along very well,” Sandaime explained.

“So you gave me the three misfits. They were put on a team together because anywhere else and they would have messed up the chemistry,” Kakashi said.

“Individually they may have worked in other teams, but the students that were ousted to make room for them would not have been able to form a coherent team. You were given these three because you will be able to use their individual talents and help them work together. Sasuke's sharingan hasn't been activated yet, and right now he is the only one who knows any jutsu aside from those learned in the academy. You have the chance to hone their skills nearly from scrap,” Sandaime explained.

“You've failed so many teams because none of them fit the mold you wanted them to. With this team you'll have the chance to remold them into it; there's nothing to stop them from becoming an excellent team with excellent teamwork and individual talent,” he added as Kakashi's confidence began to waver.

“That'll be difficult if Naruto and Sasuke carry a negative history over onto the team,” Kakashi stated.

“That will be taken care of. You won't be the only one working with them,” Sandaime said.

“What's that supposed to mean?” Kakashi asked.

“Naruto will not be able to remain on his own. With this disability he'll be left without the means to summon help should he need it. Sasuke has been descending ever since his clan's massacre. He may well become a danger to himself. I believe that Iruka can be convinced to take them in,” Sandaime stated.

“You're shunting two possibly unstable teenagers onto a charitable Chuunin,” Kakashi stated in awe.

“I believe that he would have taken Naruto in earlier had it not been for the conflict interests presented. Taking in both Naruto and Sasuke will allow Iruka to maintain a connection with two of his favorite students. He would have remained watchful of their teaching regardless,” Sandaime clarified.

Kakashi rubbed his head in irritation. “So my job is to make sure that the girl can fit into this equation, and make all three of them stronger,” he said.

“Basically. You should also know that you'll need to work them a bit harder than most Jounin sensei would. Because of the automatic pass they'll be judged slightly harder to assure that they deserved it. If news of the pass makes it out to their peers they may be required to prove themselves in a completely different arena. The change will need to be noticeable,” Sandaime claimed.

“So instead of fostering a couple of brats who want to become Chuunin and make their families proud, I'm supposed to create three shinobi,” Kakashi reasoned.

“Yes,” Sandaime answered.

Kakashi sighed once more before giving in. “Let me see their files.”

Sandaime pulled out the three folders he had slid into his robes and handed them to the Jounin. “I'll speak to you a bit more once Iruka has returned,” he said slipping back out of the room. Kakashi pulled out the folders and began reading.

That was Iruka found him two hours later when he returned. He slipped into the room and sat down in the seat the Hokage had abandoned several hours earlier. “How is he?” Iruka asked hesitantly.

Kakashi finished reading the last of Naruto's file before placing it down and turning back to Iruka. “Nothing's changed yet. The medic came by about half an hour ago, Naruto should wake up within the next hour or so. If he doesn't, then his theory about Naruto's coma was wrong, and he doesn't know what's going on,” Kakashi reassured Iruka half-heartedly.

Iruka looked at him in bewilderment before dropping his head into hid hands helplessly. “Tactful as always Kakashi,” Sandaime muttered entering the room as well.

“The medic believes that Naruto is regaining the strength he used last night, as well as taking the time to recover from the extensive healing that took place,” Sandaime explained.

Iruka looked up nodded wearily before sending Kakashi a weak glare. Sandaime chuckled lightly before pulling up the last free chair in the room and taking a seat near the foot of the bed. “I only have a short time before I need to return to my office. I have a meeting with the elders tonight to discuss Kakashi's team,” he explained.

“What?” Iruka asked.

“Tomorrow we'll need to meet to put together the other Genin teams before they meet for orientation next week. However, I have already put together one team. Kakashi will become the sensei for Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura; unless you can think of a better third for that team,” Sandaime explained.

“How is Naruto being placed on a team? I mean if he had passed he would have been placed on the same team as Sasuke anyways because of their class standings, but he failed the exam and now…the injuries…” Iruka trailed off in confusion.

“Mizuki told Naruto that if he managed to steal the forbidden scroll and learn one jutsu he would pass. I intend to uphold that promise despite Mizuki's betrayal,” Sandaime claimed.

“However, he cannot go on as he was. For now we'll keep his injury under the radar, but if someone with a grudge were to discover it they may try to take advantage of it. Because of that I don't want Naruto to remain on his own; if he is, he will be an easier target,” the Hokage continued.

“He can stay with me,” Iruka responded without hesitation.

“I was hoping you'd say that,” Sandaime said. Any further discussion was interrupted when the form on the bed began to stir.

 

Agent's Spiel: I am in no way connected to the medical profession, any medical terminology used was researched online so I don't how trustworthy it is. Don't worry about all the mumbo jumbo, for now Naruto can't vocalize anything.