Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ A Mother's Son ❯ Change The Tides ( Chapter 22 )

“Jiraiya, you ignorant fool, what the hell have you done?”

The blonde woman looked very intimidating, hands on her shapely hips, her eyes blazing. She stared at the man before her, dressed in the traditional Hokage's robes, an exasperated expression on her face. Jiraiya tried not to break her gaze else she'd probably lose her temper.

“Tsunade …” he complained. “Please, just wait! Let me explain!”

The blonde woman shook her head furiously. Her right hand balled into a fist, and Jiraiya could see the chakra being channeled there.

“What's to explain?” the former Hokage demanded. “I'm gone for one week, one week, and already, things are out of control! What have you done?”

Jiraiya ducked to avoid the arm that swung towards him, moving across his office to stay away from the temperamental woman. “Look!” he cried. “Kick my ass later! Right now, you have to help the Haruno girl.” Tsunade shook her fist at him one last threatening time, before backing off. She sighed.

“What's going on? Your spastic little messenger didn't tell me anything, Hokage-sama.” Her voice was mocking, but Jiraiya could hear the concern lacing through it. He motioned for her to grab her medic kit, and walk with him. He led them from the office that had once been hers, and out onto the street.

“While you've been away, things have happened.” He started, avoiding her glare. “Uchiha Sasuke came into the village, and grievously wounded Haruno Sakura and took her son.”

Tsunade let out a gasp. “Is she alright?” she demanded. “How bad is it?”

Jiraiya waved her questions away. “That was the least of their worries. She woke up a few days ago, and went after Naruto, who had followed Sasuke.” He paused, looking around for the first time. He muttered something to himself before changing directions and charging down a different street. “They both came back, with the boy, who I am now told is not Naruto's son, but Sasuke's, which is the reason for all the commotion. Kakashi's been very tight-lipped about the whole thing, but that's not surprising.”

Tsunade grumbled something to herself. “So, if they'll all back, why am I here?”

“They're not all back. Sasuke attacked again, this time with the assistance of his brother.” Tsunade tried not to gasp again. This whole thing was a bit too shocking to believe. “To make a long story short, Sasuke took Sakura and the boy, again, and Naruto followed, and that's where Naruto is now. Fighting to the death for Daisuke. Sakura is back here, brought by Kakashi, and she is the reason you have been called.”

Jiraiya stopped, turning to look at his childhood friend. “Tsunade,” he said softly. She could see a harsh sadness in him, and wondered what had happened to Sakura that had affected him so. “You're the only medic in all of Fire with the power to heal Sakura, after what Sasuke did.”

Tsunade's eyes widened. “What happened?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“He tortured her some. The doctors took care of it. But…she's pregnant. And the baby…they can't save it on their own.”

Tsunade said nothing for near a minute. Jiraiya was starting to get nervous. Finally her voice broke the silence. It was icy, and hard. “Are you telling me that Sasuke beat her up enough to put the life of his unborn child in danger?”

Jiraiya shook his head. “No! That's not it at all! The child is Naruto's!”

Tsunade blinked, finally understanding. Her grip on her medic's bag tightened, and she swiveled. “Take me to her!” she commanded, letting Jiraiya lead her through the twisting streets to where Sakura and Naruto lived.

Finally, they came upon the tiny one-storey house and, without knocking, Tsunade burst into the kitchen. She was greeted by a drawn looking woman being held in Kakashi's arms, her shoulders shaking as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. Her sobs were uncontrolled, and they brought a harsh rhythm to the house. Kakashi barely glanced up when Jiraiya and Tsunade entered, only flicked his eyes in the direction of the bedroom.

Tsunade strode in, finding Sakura's unconscious form on the bed. A small girl sat next to her, dark brown hair covering her face as she held Sakura's hand. She looked up when the medic entered, her bright eyes hopeful. “Are you going to fix Sakura?” she asked, her voice small, but clear and expectant. Tsunade managed a small smile, her trained eyes flicking over her one-time student's body.

“I'm gonna try.”

“I want to be a medic!”

The small, pink haired girl stood unabashedly in her office, and Tsunade had yet to find a good reason to throw her out. “Alright,” the Hokage said passively. “Enroll at the hospital. It's just down the road.”

She expected the girl to leave, instead, the pink haired ninja stepped closer to the desk. “But you're the best.” She said firmly. “I want to learn from you.”

Oh. This was bothersome. “Look, kid-”

“Sakura!”

“Sakura, I don't have time for an assistant right now. Look, I'll get Shizune to set you up for an interview at the hospital, and I'm sure you find something there-”

“Hokage-sama, I mean no disrespect, but you must train me!” The girl held a fierceness in her eyes that Tsunade remembered, and missed. “I need to become the best medic I can, so I can be useful for my team! They need me!”

Tsunade fought the urge to roll her eyes. “I'm sure your team is fine.” She said patiently.

“No, you don't understand!” Sakura protested. “Naruto can't do it alone! We need to bring Sasuke back together! And since I'll never get good enough in near enough time…I need you to train me!”

Tsunade stopped the report she had been absently filling out. So this girl was from that team? Well, maybe she was worth a try. Her sharp eyes darted over the petite figure before commanding roughly, “Do something.”

Confused by the vague order, Sakura tried to think of something. Tsunade tapped her heeled shoe impatiently. Sakura blushed and did a complex hand seal, making to four corners of the desk flare up in a moment of fire before burning out, leaving no trace behind. Tsunade whistled appreciatively.

“The Uchiha teach you that?” she asked, leaning back in her chair. Sakura nodded, almost shyly.

“He taught me a lot of his fire tricks, Hokage-sama.”

Tsunade raised one perfect blonde eyebrow. “And why would he do that?” she asked casually, picking at her nail with the blade she had drawn from the long sleeved shirt she was wearing.

“He was my best friend.”

Her chakra gently probed the rough skin of Sakura's belly, pushing through the abused cells with her power. She traveled downward, until she felt it. The ultimate wrongness of Sakura's womb. She could feel the baby's heart beat against her chakra, a pulsing testament to the will to survive. She could feel the broken pieces, the cells growing wrong, the cells that had stopped growing. Tsunade fount the overwhelming urge to cry. It was so unfair. There was nearly nothing that she could do. Left on its own, the baby would miscarriage within a week. To heal it would mean great effort on both her and Sakura's part, and the baby might die anyway.

Almost nothing could save the child.

Almost nothing.

Sending her chakra deeper, Tsunade found her saving grace. It could work. It had to work. It was the only thing she could do…but were the consequences too great? Tsunade shook the thoughts from her mind, before sending her chakra directly into Sakura's womb, making the girl's body jolt in surprise. The sleeping ninja did not wake, and Tsunade sent more chakra through the baby, altering the damage, correcting to wrongs. She sat beside Sakura, hands on her stomach for quite some time, and Sarah soon became bored.

She left the room quietly, and the entranced woman did not even notice her leave. Sarah entered the kitchen to find her mother still crying, but in a much more subdued state. She sat at the table with Kakashi now, facing a man with big white hair. She tugged on the old man's robes. He looked down at her, eyes wide in surprise.

“Is that lady going to make Sakura better?” she asked. No one had been able to give her an actually answer, and she was going to keep asking until somebody did.

The old man smiled. “She's gonna try.” He told her. Sarah looked at her mother, whose tears had long stopped, but the dry sobs continued. She decided her mother was best left with Kakashi, and sat sown to play with the doll she had brought. Quietly, she listened to the grown-ups talked. They soon forgot her presence and talked louder.

“…so unfair…” her mother said harshly. “Sakura's got so much happened to her already…losing a baby…that'll just break her.”

“You underestimate her.” Kakashi's smooth voice reassured. “She's strong. She may pull through this. And if the baby…doesn't…then she will heal. Everybody does.”

Sarah heard her mother mutter something, before sniffing loudly. The white haired man spoke now, his voice very loud for the small space. “Kakashi, Aniline,” he said, before pausing. “If anyone can save Sakura's baby, it's Tsunade. You need to have faith in her.”

“I know that.” Kakashi said wearily. Sarah watched as all three adults turned their eyes to the room where Tsunade sat, hunched over Sakura, light pouring from her hands.

He walked, with no direction, only knowing vaguely that he was headed for the village. Daisuke had long since gotten bored in his arms, and walked in front of him, often checking back to see if his father was following. Naruto was in a daze, his eyes unfocused. He stuck to the forest's main paths, making it easy for his young son to scramble ahead of him. He kept pace easily, mind not straying from his recent deeds.

“Avenge my clan…”

But he let Itachi walk away, into the forest. He had let Itachi walk away without a second thought. He knew he had done the wrong thing. The important thing was Dai. He had to get back to Sakura. He needed his family to be safe. That had been the whole point.

But…

Avenge my clan…

And he had let the man walk away.

Daisuke let out a cry as he stumbled and fell, hitting his knee against a rock. Naruto's eyes snapped back into focus. “Ow.” He moved to stand again, and Naruto bent down and scooped him up from behind. He inspected the tiny scrape. “I'm okay.” Daisuke said.

Naruto nodded. “We'll be home soon,” he told the boy quietly.

“Okay.”

He set off at a brisk pace, a renewed sense of purpose in him. Daisuke was sitting on his shoulder, enjoying his new height. His hands reached for the branches above him and his clear laugh filled Naruto's mind.

Tsunade felt a large hand shaking her and she sat straight up. Jiraiya leapt away as a kunai flew in his direction. Tsunade's groggy eyes turned his way, before she apologized. He smiled meekly. “Is she…will she…” Jiraiya started, gesturing at Sakura. Tsunade frowned, looking down at the woman she had fallen asleep on.

She stood, flattening the wrinkles of her shirt as she did. She motioned for Jiraiya to follow her into the kitchen where Aniline and Kakashi still waited. “I've done all I can.” She said softly. “There was a large amount of damage. I expended a great amount of chakra.”

The dark woman at Kakashi's side was impatient, and weary of her stalling. “But, can you tell us anything? Will the baby live? Will Sakura live?' she demanded, making Tsunade bristle in indignation.

“Aniline,” Kakashi said softly, his arm snaking around her waist. The woman sighed.

“I apologize,” she said, forcing a small smile. “I am very grateful for what you have done for Sakura.”

Jiraiya touched Tsunade's shoulder lightly. “What can you tell us?” he asked.

“As I said, there was a lot of damage, but I managed to save the baby.” Aniline nearly wailed in relief, sagging into Kakashi. “The child will live, barring other complications, but…the damage was just too severe. This one will be her last.”

Aniline's smile was wiped from her face. Even Kakashi had gone unusually stiff. Jiraiya looked worriedly at his friend. “How?” he asked.

Tsunade frowned, looking down at her hands. “My chakra wasn't enough.” She explained. “I needed part of Sakura to make this work. But…there still wasn't enough. I ended up needing more of her than I could safely take, but by then, it was too late. I couldn't turn back. It would have killed her.”

Aniline's let despair wash over her. “No more children?” she asked, her voice heavy. Tsunade nodded her affirmation sadly.

“I'm sorry.”

Aniline said nothing, instead turned and sobbed into Kakashi's shoulder. The Copy Ninja just stared at Tsunade.

“Is there any way…to fix this?” he asked softly. Tsunade shook her head.

“No. I'm sorry. Sakura's body won't be able to handle another. She'll be the last.”

Aniline looked up from her muffled sobbing. “She?”

Tsunade gave a ghost of a smile. “Yes. They're getting a daughter.”

Aniline smiled slightly. She looked up at Kakashi. “Do you think Naruto will be pleased?” she asked, trying not to cry. Kakashi smiled down at her.

“I don't think he'll ever come down from the high.” He said. Aniline laughed. Suddenly, she felt a tug at the hem of her sleeve. Sarah looked up at her, her bright eyes demanding.

“Is Sakura better now?” she asked. Her mother smiled, before squatting down to hug the girl.

“Yes. Sakura's fine.”

I could feel the moment when the tides changed. I felt when the life inside me not longer felt the need to fight. The chakra that had invaded me felt familiar. It had to be Tsunade, the woman who would have been my teacher, had I not gotten too visibly pregnant so soon.

I felt safe knowing she was the one trying to save my baby. I felt my own chakra being funneled away, but I put up no fight. I gave her more than she needed, more than I should have given. When it was done, and the baby lived, and the heart beat, it would be worth it.

The exhaustion that came from overextending chakra was worth the life of my child.