Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Mokushita Hyuuga ❯ Chapter 33
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Moghedian 
Disclaimer: Naruto and all related characters belong to Kishimoto, not me.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.06.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.5K | Visits: 549 | Status: Completed
Disclaimer: Naruto and all related characters belong to Kishimoto, not me.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.06.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.5K | Visits: 549 | Status: Completed
Chapter 33
"Gaara..." A soft voice whispered. Gaara rolled over and looked Matsuri right in her black eyes. Grunting, Gaara waited for her to continue, but she broke eye contact and stared up at the ceiling of the small sandstone room. Gaara reached over and tucked a stray lock of her sandy hair behind her ear. Matsuri blushed slightly and smiled.
"What's wrong, you havent been like this since you found...Matsuri?" Gaara said, his turqouise eyes widening. Matsuri grinned at him and nodded. Gaara wanted to throw up.
"Kaisa-chan is gonna be an one-san!" Matsuri said, an excited gleam in her eyes.
Sitting up, Gaara nearly shouted. Wiping the sweat off of his forehead, he looked to his right and saw Matsuri tangled in her blankets.
"A dream...?" Glancing at her flat stomach, flecked with old battle scars, he shuddered. A child was was the last thing that Gaara needed to worry about right now. He had just received the death tolls, and was dismayed at a few names he found on the list.
"Nnn, Gaara? Why are you awake so early?" a tired voice said. Matsuri sat up and leaned on Gaara's shoulder, closing her eyes.
"Good morning, Matsuri. Did you sleep well?" Matsuri smiled and nodded without taking her head of the red head's shoulder.
"I...I have to finish the paper work that I didn't get to last night...I still have to sign reports and passes for food and supplies...amoung other things. Why don't you get back to sleep?" Matsuri nodded and fell back onto the bed, a small cloud of the never-really-gone sand floated into the air.
After Gaara had dressed and left for his office, Matsuri lowered her bare feet to the stone floor, but quickly recoiled them with a gasp.
"Cold!" She said, but with a deep breath she quickly skirted to the carpet in the middle of the floor. Dressing in a crimson coloured yukata with white trim, she tied the thick obi and slid black shorts up her legs. Leaping over the cold floor onto the slightly warmer wooden one outside of her bedroom, she gave a small giggle, and silently walked down the hall towards her daughter's room. Sliding the paper shouji door open, she peered at the 3 year old and sighed. Her red hair was messy from sleeping. The next room over was the nanny's room. She stayed here 5 days a week to look after Kaisa if both Matsuri and Gaara were busy.
"Psst...Aibu-san, Aibu-san!" The nanny sat up, her grey hair sticking out out of its bun wildy. Looking at Matsuri she smiled and said politely,
"May I be of assisstance, Matsuri-sama?"
"I need to run a few errands...Please watch Kaisa. Gaara is working in his office. I have no idea when ether of us will return." Aibu nodded and Matsuri grinned again. Pausing breifly at her door, she slipped on her knee high, toeless boots, and stode out of her house.
Instincively she started to head for Gaara's office, but decided that he probably didn't need her at the moment.
Turning the street corner, Matsuri rasied her hand to protect her eyes from the sand in the wind.
No one was shopping, Matsuri supposed it was too early for that still. Squinting, she spotted the place she had been looking for. Hurrying over, she ducked under the curtains and sat down on a stool.
"Irashaimasen!" The owner called from the back. Matsuri folded her hands and waited for the old man to come out.
"Ohayou gozaimasu ji-sama!" Matsuri said, when the grey haired man finally showed himself. THe man stared at her for a second before saying,
"Ahh! Gaara-sama's honoured wife! What a pleasure it is to have my humble stand honoured by your presence." The old man reached over and grabbed Matsuri's hand and kissed it. Matsuri giggled and blushed.
"Please, Matsuri is just fine. Now, I haven't been here in a few years, I can tell you that!" She said, looking around at the changes.
"Ahh, I remember that. It was a few weeks before Gaara-sama became Kazekage, your first date, am I right?" Matsuri clapped her hands and said,
"Sugoi! I am amazed that you remembered that! That has to have been over 15 years ago...But I've seen you in here when my son is working before, Matsuri-sama. Gaara-sama comes in every week too." Matsuri smiled again.
"Does he? My, my. But I must be annoying with my chatter..." the old man grinned and said,
"Oh no, Matsuri-sama, quite the opposite, but I assume you are hungry? What can I get you today?" Matsuri pointed at the menu on the wall and said,
"Miso ramen please!"
Patting her full stomach, Matsuri continued to walk to the Kage office. Her short brown hair swayed with everystep, tickling her neck. Coming upon the side door to the office, she was about to open it when she heard Gaara talking.
"--dead. I'm sorry...if you want, I can have some accomodations sent?" Gaara said, his voice was dripping in sorrow. Matsuri was worried.
"Dead? DEAD?! That bastard DIED on me! ARGGHHHH!!!" The person Gaara was talking to stomped out of his office, and Matsuri slowly entered.
"...Gaara? Daijoubu?" Gaara had his face in his hands, his elbows on his desk. Papers were strewn everywhere, and a small paperweight was embedded into the sandstone wall behind Gaara. Gaara shook his head, but didn't look at Matsuri. Slipping an arm around him, she got down on her knees and looked through Gaara's arms at his face.
Gasping, he reached out and said,
"Gaara...you...You're crying! What's wrong! Are you hurt?" Gaara touched his cheek and looked at his fingers in surprise.
"Matsuri, do you detest my brother?" Matsuri was taken back.
"No...Why would I? He's a good man, I'm just comprehensive about letting my child play with his trap loaded puppets." Gaara looked at her and handed her a peice of paper.
Matsuri took the paper, but looked at Gaara before reading it. Her black eyes widened and shone with tears.
"Oh...Kami-sama, Kankuro...Gaara, I'm so sorry..." Gaara shook his head, and gave a grin.
"That was the Junko woman who was just in here. She actually had the nerve to demand Kankuro's presence. I had just received the letter. Temari doesn't know yet...Could...Matsuri, could you tell her for me? I dont think I would be able to. I haven't felt this bad since Yashamaru died..." Matsuri nodded and wiped away her tears.
"You can count on me, Gaara. I will be back soon..." Bending down, she placed a kiss on Gaara's love symbol.
"Matsuri?"
"Dont dwell on it right now. You are the leader of the village hidden in sand, the best shinobi in the village. I love you, I will be back soon." Gaara smiled as Matsuri left, and buried his face in his hands again.
Matsuri made her way across the large village, occasionally wiping sand out of her eyes. The wind was really blowing today. The few people out shopping all had their faces covered with masks, and Matsuri soon wished that she had brought her own. Turning down a residential street, Matsuri counted doors until she came up to the 14th one.
Knocking on the door, Matsuri suddenly felt nervous. A small rattle got her attention as the door opened. A small girl with two black spiky ponytails look up at her and Matsuri said,
"Ahh, Shikazai-chan...Is your Okaa-san home? Your Otou-san, even?" Shikazai nodded and said,
"Mama is home. Chichi-ue isn't aloud in the house yet. Mama says to give it another week. Did you want to come in, Obachan? Mama is giving Tayou-chan a bath." Matsuri smiled and placed her hand on her neice's head.
Taking her shoes off in the small entry way, she followed the black haired girl through the house until they read the large washing room. Temari sat in a casual robe, with the sleeves tied up, bathing an infant whose small mop of blonde hair was just starting to grow.
"Mama, do you need any help? Can I bath Tayou-chan?" Temari looked up, slightly surprised to see Matsuri.
"Ahh, Shika-chan...I guess, here, make sure to not let him go...just take the cloth and very softy wipe his legs and belly. Ok? I will be over here with your Oba-chan." Shikazai gave a bright smile and carefully took the baby into her arms.
"My, Shikazai-chan, for a 7 year old you sure are responsible..." Shikazai gave a grin, and a laugh before resuming her work. Temari untied her sleeves and smiled at Matsuri. Matsuri suddenly remembered why she was here, and looked away guiltily.
"Matsuri? Is everything alright?" Matsuri wiped away a tear and said,
"Ne-chan...I think, that maybe Shikazai should not be here to here this, should I call for Shikamaru-ni-chan? He can take Shikazai and Tayoumaru to my house...Kaisa would like that, she loves her cousins." Temari tensed up and looked at her children.
"I dont know where that idiot is though..." the blonde said, teasing one of her ponytails with a nervous hand.
"He's just down the street, playing shougi at the fish bar. I saw him on my way here. I saw him there yesturday too." Temari's face reddened, as she stormed out of the bathroom. Matsuri grinned again when she heard the door slam. Walking over to her neice, she bent down and Shikazai said,
"Obachan, I'm done washing him...what do I do now?" Matsuri reached over and took Tayoumaru from the girl's arms and looked into his dark eyes. Tayoumaru giggled a little and Matsuri said,
"Shikazai-chan, go get a soft towel, and then we can feed this little guy some lunch while your Ka-chan...fetches your Tou-chan." Shikazai nodded and returned with a white towel. She helped Matsuri wrap her brother up, before leading her aunt to the kitchen.
"Can you get me a small pot and fill it with water?" Shikazai nodded and hurridly found a pot. Matsuri opened the large fridge and took out one of the bottles on milk. Shikazai finished filling the pot, and put it on the stove, as instructed too.
"Here, take your brother for a second..." Matsuri said, handing the baby to the girl. Turning a knob on the stove, she ran her hands through a series of seals before finishing on the tora seal.
"Katon: Gokakyuu no jutsu!" a small fireball puffed out of her mouth and lit the stove. Shikazai was laughing.
"That was cool! Obachan! How did you do that? Chichi-ue says that Gakayuu is a really powerful technique!" Matsuri rubbed the back of her hair.
"I barely put any chakra into it. I modified it to light things like lamps and stoves around the time you were born, and Ne-chan suckered me into babysitting you all the time." Shikazai laughed again, and Matsuri took the baby.
"Tadaima!" A voice called. Matsuri looked up from the couch, she was currently feeding Tayoumaru a warm bottle and talking to Shikazai.
Temari strode into the living room, followed by a hunched over, and greatly bothered looking Shikamaru.
"Tou-chan! Mama! Okaeri!" The little girl ran to her father, who bent down to envelop her in a hug. Temari made her way over to the baby and smiled.
"Maa, Matsuri, you look good holding babies, you and Gaara should have another one." Matsuri blushed and gave a small smile.
"M-maybe after the war..." She said. Temari grinned and took the baby. Handing him to Shikamaru, she said,
"Dont you let anything happen to my babies. Or I swear, Shikamaru..." Shikamaru rolled his eyes and said,
"Their my children too, don't forget that." With that he left, offering a lazy wave to Matsuri before he closed the door.
"Now, Matsuri, what was so important that you didnt want the children to be here?" Temari said in a completely neutral voice. The brown haired woman stiffened. Slowly taking out the peice of paper from her yukata, she hesitated before giving it to Temari. Temari snatched the letter and read it, her eyes widening with every word.
When she was done, she sat down on the couch with a dull thump. Matsuri snaked her arm around the woman's shoulders.
"Kank..Kankuro... My idiot brother...kami-sama...I hate this. I hate war." Breaking into tears, Matsuri felt her own eyes watering, but held it back for Temari's sake.
Opening his eyes, Katoki shut them again. They burned as if he had just looked into the sun. They were starting to water, which only made the pain worse. Bringing his hand up to rub his eyes, Katoki sat up and looked around. He was sitting in a wide, but shallow crater. Katoki estimated it to be around 20 feet wide or so, but how wide it was did not concern him at the moment.
He saw Hinata lying on the ground at the edge of the crater. The way she had been laid out suggested that she had been tossed to the side. Katoki scrambled in her direction as fast as he could, and found that his arms were extremely sore, his right hand was of little use to him and seemed to have suffered the most damage.
Crawling over the lip of the crater, he grimaced at the blood stain on Hinata’s vest. Her face was pale, and when Katoki put his hand on her cheek, he found it slightly cold.
Katoki deflated a bit, and rested his head on Hinata’s chest.
Ba-thump… Katoki’s eyes widened as he moved his ear over her heart.
Ba-thump… A Grin started to make it’s way across Katoki’s mouth. Hinata was alive. Her heartbeat was slow and shallow, but still there. He needed to get her to camp and fast.
Picking her up slowly, he couldn’t help but shiver at how cold she was getting. Hugging her closer, he put as much chakra as he could into his legs and sped towards the camp as fast as he possibly could.
Tsunade adjusted the bright red cap on her head and sighed. She had just finished healing an older shinobi from suna’s broken arm, and a string of other problems before that. She needed a cup of sake, badly.
Looking around, the blonde hokage decided that the other medically inclined shinobi were fine without her as it was nearing dusk, and most fighting stopped at night. Tsunade decided that a small jog to the edge of the camp sights was in order, to clear her mind, of course.
Tsunade used chakra to walk on top of the sand, and barely left footprints. Looking around the horizon for any incoming nin, she was vaguely surprised to see a flash of red, and a tremendous amount of chakra that flash was giving off.
Getting herself settled into a fighting stance, she raised her hands, but quickly lowered them when she saw that the red stained indivual was carrying someone in his arms.
“Medic-san!” Tsunade rushed to meet the man and grimaced when she saw the woman he was carrying.
“Please help her… Please, Medic-san!” Tsunade raised her hand and said in a cool and commanding tone,
“Shush. Here, place her on the ground. What happened to her, do you know?” The man nodded his head as he placed the woman down. He then sat back and started to breath hard. After a few moments he said,
“She was run through while protecting me…” Tsunade grimaced at the similarities to the scroll that Hinata had sent her. Tsunade’s fingers lit up with a blue glow and she slit through the woman’s flak vest and shirt. Opening her shirt, Tsunade was silently glad of the prescence of undergarments, as she really hated perverts. The look on the man’s face was one of pure worry though, and Tsunade was slightly glad.
“Mataku…that blade just barely missed her heart. Half an inch to the left would have killed her instantly. Here, can you lend me some chakra? This will require quite a lot. I have to stop the bleeding and keep her heart beating.” The man nodded and placed his hands ontop of Tsunade’s. Closing his eyes Tsunade felt the warm rush of foreign chakra entering the tenketsus on her hands. It took all of her concentration to use one of her hands to knit together the hole in her lung, and bring the blood that had been slowly suffocating her out of it. Her other hand was moving in a methodical way to keep her heart beating.
Slowly Tsunade saw the bleeding slow, and then stop completely. When the wound was just a shallow cut that marked both her chest and her back, she let go of her ckakra and leaned back. Reaching into her back pouch, she pulled out a small red pill, and stuck it in the woman’s mouth. Massaging it down her throat, it wasn’t long before the blue tinge in her lips left, and her face regained a little bit of colour. The woman’s breathing steadied out and the man nearly melted on spot.
Tsunade’s hand lit on fire and she touched his face. The ache that he hadn’t even noticed disappeared. Putting a hand to his cheeks he said,
“Why did you heal me? What was wrong?” Tsunade stared at him like he had just eaten a bug.
“Your face was covered in blood. I guess I didn’t use enough chakra, though. I’m sorry, but those scars probably wont fade for a while.” The man tilted his head but decided to let it pass.
“Is she ok now?” Tsunade pulled out a small roll of gauze from the pouch that hung from her belt and taped two squares of it to Hinata’s small gashes.
“She is. Try not to move her much. When analyzing her, I found something rather interesting. Congratulations, by the way.” Tsunade stood up and started to walk back towards the camp.
Opening his mouth he called after her. Carefully picking the woman up again, he used his nearly depleted chakra reserves to skim along the top of the sand.
"Boy, what's your name? I assume you come from either Kumo or Kiri...you sure as hell dont look like a sand nin." The man wrinkled his nose.
"K-katoki...we're from Kumogakure." Tsunade paled.
"Katoki? As in, Katoki and Hinata?" It was Katoki's turn to pale, as he realized a second to late, who he was talking too. Katoki waved his hands and said,
"Nono, not Katoki! I said Kadogi!" Tsunade shot him a look and bent over to remove the plain mask that Hinata wore. Lifting it slowly, Tsunade sighed when it was off. Dropping it on the ground, Tsunade ran the back of her hand down Hinata'a face.
"Kami-sama, child. We missed you."
Tsunade looked ahead and saw that the camp was coming up quickly.
“Katoki-san, do you love Hinata?" Katoki looked at Tsunade and nodded. “Congratulations, Katoki-san. You’re a father. I managed to save the fetus…it’s about 6 weeks or so along.” Katoki stopped dead in his tracks.
“W-w-w-w-wha?” He said, his voice in a harsh whisper. Tsunade stepped up to Katoki and took Hinata out of his arms and carried her into a tent. Katoki was still standing in the same spot when she exited the tent. The blonde hokage sighed and carefully pushed the stunned man into the tent she had put Hinata in.
"Go and wash your hair, kid. It's stained with so much blood, I cant even tell what colour it is." Tsunade said, Katoki nodded slowly.
When she left again, she smiled with the pride of ruining another life.
End Chapter 33
"Gaara..." A soft voice whispered. Gaara rolled over and looked Matsuri right in her black eyes. Grunting, Gaara waited for her to continue, but she broke eye contact and stared up at the ceiling of the small sandstone room. Gaara reached over and tucked a stray lock of her sandy hair behind her ear. Matsuri blushed slightly and smiled.
"What's wrong, you havent been like this since you found...Matsuri?" Gaara said, his turqouise eyes widening. Matsuri grinned at him and nodded. Gaara wanted to throw up.
"Kaisa-chan is gonna be an one-san!" Matsuri said, an excited gleam in her eyes.
Sitting up, Gaara nearly shouted. Wiping the sweat off of his forehead, he looked to his right and saw Matsuri tangled in her blankets.
"A dream...?" Glancing at her flat stomach, flecked with old battle scars, he shuddered. A child was was the last thing that Gaara needed to worry about right now. He had just received the death tolls, and was dismayed at a few names he found on the list.
"Nnn, Gaara? Why are you awake so early?" a tired voice said. Matsuri sat up and leaned on Gaara's shoulder, closing her eyes.
"Good morning, Matsuri. Did you sleep well?" Matsuri smiled and nodded without taking her head of the red head's shoulder.
"I...I have to finish the paper work that I didn't get to last night...I still have to sign reports and passes for food and supplies...amoung other things. Why don't you get back to sleep?" Matsuri nodded and fell back onto the bed, a small cloud of the never-really-gone sand floated into the air.
After Gaara had dressed and left for his office, Matsuri lowered her bare feet to the stone floor, but quickly recoiled them with a gasp.
"Cold!" She said, but with a deep breath she quickly skirted to the carpet in the middle of the floor. Dressing in a crimson coloured yukata with white trim, she tied the thick obi and slid black shorts up her legs. Leaping over the cold floor onto the slightly warmer wooden one outside of her bedroom, she gave a small giggle, and silently walked down the hall towards her daughter's room. Sliding the paper shouji door open, she peered at the 3 year old and sighed. Her red hair was messy from sleeping. The next room over was the nanny's room. She stayed here 5 days a week to look after Kaisa if both Matsuri and Gaara were busy.
"Psst...Aibu-san, Aibu-san!" The nanny sat up, her grey hair sticking out out of its bun wildy. Looking at Matsuri she smiled and said politely,
"May I be of assisstance, Matsuri-sama?"
"I need to run a few errands...Please watch Kaisa. Gaara is working in his office. I have no idea when ether of us will return." Aibu nodded and Matsuri grinned again. Pausing breifly at her door, she slipped on her knee high, toeless boots, and stode out of her house.
Instincively she started to head for Gaara's office, but decided that he probably didn't need her at the moment.
Turning the street corner, Matsuri rasied her hand to protect her eyes from the sand in the wind.
No one was shopping, Matsuri supposed it was too early for that still. Squinting, she spotted the place she had been looking for. Hurrying over, she ducked under the curtains and sat down on a stool.
"Irashaimasen!" The owner called from the back. Matsuri folded her hands and waited for the old man to come out.
"Ohayou gozaimasu ji-sama!" Matsuri said, when the grey haired man finally showed himself. THe man stared at her for a second before saying,
"Ahh! Gaara-sama's honoured wife! What a pleasure it is to have my humble stand honoured by your presence." The old man reached over and grabbed Matsuri's hand and kissed it. Matsuri giggled and blushed.
"Please, Matsuri is just fine. Now, I haven't been here in a few years, I can tell you that!" She said, looking around at the changes.
"Ahh, I remember that. It was a few weeks before Gaara-sama became Kazekage, your first date, am I right?" Matsuri clapped her hands and said,
"Sugoi! I am amazed that you remembered that! That has to have been over 15 years ago...But I've seen you in here when my son is working before, Matsuri-sama. Gaara-sama comes in every week too." Matsuri smiled again.
"Does he? My, my. But I must be annoying with my chatter..." the old man grinned and said,
"Oh no, Matsuri-sama, quite the opposite, but I assume you are hungry? What can I get you today?" Matsuri pointed at the menu on the wall and said,
"Miso ramen please!"
Patting her full stomach, Matsuri continued to walk to the Kage office. Her short brown hair swayed with everystep, tickling her neck. Coming upon the side door to the office, she was about to open it when she heard Gaara talking.
"--dead. I'm sorry...if you want, I can have some accomodations sent?" Gaara said, his voice was dripping in sorrow. Matsuri was worried.
"Dead? DEAD?! That bastard DIED on me! ARGGHHHH!!!" The person Gaara was talking to stomped out of his office, and Matsuri slowly entered.
"...Gaara? Daijoubu?" Gaara had his face in his hands, his elbows on his desk. Papers were strewn everywhere, and a small paperweight was embedded into the sandstone wall behind Gaara. Gaara shook his head, but didn't look at Matsuri. Slipping an arm around him, she got down on her knees and looked through Gaara's arms at his face.
Gasping, he reached out and said,
"Gaara...you...You're crying! What's wrong! Are you hurt?" Gaara touched his cheek and looked at his fingers in surprise.
"Matsuri, do you detest my brother?" Matsuri was taken back.
"No...Why would I? He's a good man, I'm just comprehensive about letting my child play with his trap loaded puppets." Gaara looked at her and handed her a peice of paper.
Matsuri took the paper, but looked at Gaara before reading it. Her black eyes widened and shone with tears.
"Oh...Kami-sama, Kankuro...Gaara, I'm so sorry..." Gaara shook his head, and gave a grin.
"That was the Junko woman who was just in here. She actually had the nerve to demand Kankuro's presence. I had just received the letter. Temari doesn't know yet...Could...Matsuri, could you tell her for me? I dont think I would be able to. I haven't felt this bad since Yashamaru died..." Matsuri nodded and wiped away her tears.
"You can count on me, Gaara. I will be back soon..." Bending down, she placed a kiss on Gaara's love symbol.
"Matsuri?"
"Dont dwell on it right now. You are the leader of the village hidden in sand, the best shinobi in the village. I love you, I will be back soon." Gaara smiled as Matsuri left, and buried his face in his hands again.
Matsuri made her way across the large village, occasionally wiping sand out of her eyes. The wind was really blowing today. The few people out shopping all had their faces covered with masks, and Matsuri soon wished that she had brought her own. Turning down a residential street, Matsuri counted doors until she came up to the 14th one.
Knocking on the door, Matsuri suddenly felt nervous. A small rattle got her attention as the door opened. A small girl with two black spiky ponytails look up at her and Matsuri said,
"Ahh, Shikazai-chan...Is your Okaa-san home? Your Otou-san, even?" Shikazai nodded and said,
"Mama is home. Chichi-ue isn't aloud in the house yet. Mama says to give it another week. Did you want to come in, Obachan? Mama is giving Tayou-chan a bath." Matsuri smiled and placed her hand on her neice's head.
Taking her shoes off in the small entry way, she followed the black haired girl through the house until they read the large washing room. Temari sat in a casual robe, with the sleeves tied up, bathing an infant whose small mop of blonde hair was just starting to grow.
"Mama, do you need any help? Can I bath Tayou-chan?" Temari looked up, slightly surprised to see Matsuri.
"Ahh, Shika-chan...I guess, here, make sure to not let him go...just take the cloth and very softy wipe his legs and belly. Ok? I will be over here with your Oba-chan." Shikazai gave a bright smile and carefully took the baby into her arms.
"My, Shikazai-chan, for a 7 year old you sure are responsible..." Shikazai gave a grin, and a laugh before resuming her work. Temari untied her sleeves and smiled at Matsuri. Matsuri suddenly remembered why she was here, and looked away guiltily.
"Matsuri? Is everything alright?" Matsuri wiped away a tear and said,
"Ne-chan...I think, that maybe Shikazai should not be here to here this, should I call for Shikamaru-ni-chan? He can take Shikazai and Tayoumaru to my house...Kaisa would like that, she loves her cousins." Temari tensed up and looked at her children.
"I dont know where that idiot is though..." the blonde said, teasing one of her ponytails with a nervous hand.
"He's just down the street, playing shougi at the fish bar. I saw him on my way here. I saw him there yesturday too." Temari's face reddened, as she stormed out of the bathroom. Matsuri grinned again when she heard the door slam. Walking over to her neice, she bent down and Shikazai said,
"Obachan, I'm done washing him...what do I do now?" Matsuri reached over and took Tayoumaru from the girl's arms and looked into his dark eyes. Tayoumaru giggled a little and Matsuri said,
"Shikazai-chan, go get a soft towel, and then we can feed this little guy some lunch while your Ka-chan...fetches your Tou-chan." Shikazai nodded and returned with a white towel. She helped Matsuri wrap her brother up, before leading her aunt to the kitchen.
"Can you get me a small pot and fill it with water?" Shikazai nodded and hurridly found a pot. Matsuri opened the large fridge and took out one of the bottles on milk. Shikazai finished filling the pot, and put it on the stove, as instructed too.
"Here, take your brother for a second..." Matsuri said, handing the baby to the girl. Turning a knob on the stove, she ran her hands through a series of seals before finishing on the tora seal.
"Katon: Gokakyuu no jutsu!" a small fireball puffed out of her mouth and lit the stove. Shikazai was laughing.
"That was cool! Obachan! How did you do that? Chichi-ue says that Gakayuu is a really powerful technique!" Matsuri rubbed the back of her hair.
"I barely put any chakra into it. I modified it to light things like lamps and stoves around the time you were born, and Ne-chan suckered me into babysitting you all the time." Shikazai laughed again, and Matsuri took the baby.
"Tadaima!" A voice called. Matsuri looked up from the couch, she was currently feeding Tayoumaru a warm bottle and talking to Shikazai.
Temari strode into the living room, followed by a hunched over, and greatly bothered looking Shikamaru.
"Tou-chan! Mama! Okaeri!" The little girl ran to her father, who bent down to envelop her in a hug. Temari made her way over to the baby and smiled.
"Maa, Matsuri, you look good holding babies, you and Gaara should have another one." Matsuri blushed and gave a small smile.
"M-maybe after the war..." She said. Temari grinned and took the baby. Handing him to Shikamaru, she said,
"Dont you let anything happen to my babies. Or I swear, Shikamaru..." Shikamaru rolled his eyes and said,
"Their my children too, don't forget that." With that he left, offering a lazy wave to Matsuri before he closed the door.
"Now, Matsuri, what was so important that you didnt want the children to be here?" Temari said in a completely neutral voice. The brown haired woman stiffened. Slowly taking out the peice of paper from her yukata, she hesitated before giving it to Temari. Temari snatched the letter and read it, her eyes widening with every word.
When she was done, she sat down on the couch with a dull thump. Matsuri snaked her arm around the woman's shoulders.
"Kank..Kankuro... My idiot brother...kami-sama...I hate this. I hate war." Breaking into tears, Matsuri felt her own eyes watering, but held it back for Temari's sake.
Opening his eyes, Katoki shut them again. They burned as if he had just looked into the sun. They were starting to water, which only made the pain worse. Bringing his hand up to rub his eyes, Katoki sat up and looked around. He was sitting in a wide, but shallow crater. Katoki estimated it to be around 20 feet wide or so, but how wide it was did not concern him at the moment.
He saw Hinata lying on the ground at the edge of the crater. The way she had been laid out suggested that she had been tossed to the side. Katoki scrambled in her direction as fast as he could, and found that his arms were extremely sore, his right hand was of little use to him and seemed to have suffered the most damage.
Crawling over the lip of the crater, he grimaced at the blood stain on Hinata’s vest. Her face was pale, and when Katoki put his hand on her cheek, he found it slightly cold.
Katoki deflated a bit, and rested his head on Hinata’s chest.
Ba-thump… Katoki’s eyes widened as he moved his ear over her heart.
Ba-thump… A Grin started to make it’s way across Katoki’s mouth. Hinata was alive. Her heartbeat was slow and shallow, but still there. He needed to get her to camp and fast.
Picking her up slowly, he couldn’t help but shiver at how cold she was getting. Hugging her closer, he put as much chakra as he could into his legs and sped towards the camp as fast as he possibly could.
Tsunade adjusted the bright red cap on her head and sighed. She had just finished healing an older shinobi from suna’s broken arm, and a string of other problems before that. She needed a cup of sake, badly.
Looking around, the blonde hokage decided that the other medically inclined shinobi were fine without her as it was nearing dusk, and most fighting stopped at night. Tsunade decided that a small jog to the edge of the camp sights was in order, to clear her mind, of course.
Tsunade used chakra to walk on top of the sand, and barely left footprints. Looking around the horizon for any incoming nin, she was vaguely surprised to see a flash of red, and a tremendous amount of chakra that flash was giving off.
Getting herself settled into a fighting stance, she raised her hands, but quickly lowered them when she saw that the red stained indivual was carrying someone in his arms.
“Medic-san!” Tsunade rushed to meet the man and grimaced when she saw the woman he was carrying.
“Please help her… Please, Medic-san!” Tsunade raised her hand and said in a cool and commanding tone,
“Shush. Here, place her on the ground. What happened to her, do you know?” The man nodded his head as he placed the woman down. He then sat back and started to breath hard. After a few moments he said,
“She was run through while protecting me…” Tsunade grimaced at the similarities to the scroll that Hinata had sent her. Tsunade’s fingers lit up with a blue glow and she slit through the woman’s flak vest and shirt. Opening her shirt, Tsunade was silently glad of the prescence of undergarments, as she really hated perverts. The look on the man’s face was one of pure worry though, and Tsunade was slightly glad.
“Mataku…that blade just barely missed her heart. Half an inch to the left would have killed her instantly. Here, can you lend me some chakra? This will require quite a lot. I have to stop the bleeding and keep her heart beating.” The man nodded and placed his hands ontop of Tsunade’s. Closing his eyes Tsunade felt the warm rush of foreign chakra entering the tenketsus on her hands. It took all of her concentration to use one of her hands to knit together the hole in her lung, and bring the blood that had been slowly suffocating her out of it. Her other hand was moving in a methodical way to keep her heart beating.
Slowly Tsunade saw the bleeding slow, and then stop completely. When the wound was just a shallow cut that marked both her chest and her back, she let go of her ckakra and leaned back. Reaching into her back pouch, she pulled out a small red pill, and stuck it in the woman’s mouth. Massaging it down her throat, it wasn’t long before the blue tinge in her lips left, and her face regained a little bit of colour. The woman’s breathing steadied out and the man nearly melted on spot.
Tsunade’s hand lit on fire and she touched his face. The ache that he hadn’t even noticed disappeared. Putting a hand to his cheeks he said,
“Why did you heal me? What was wrong?” Tsunade stared at him like he had just eaten a bug.
“Your face was covered in blood. I guess I didn’t use enough chakra, though. I’m sorry, but those scars probably wont fade for a while.” The man tilted his head but decided to let it pass.
“Is she ok now?” Tsunade pulled out a small roll of gauze from the pouch that hung from her belt and taped two squares of it to Hinata’s small gashes.
“She is. Try not to move her much. When analyzing her, I found something rather interesting. Congratulations, by the way.” Tsunade stood up and started to walk back towards the camp.
Opening his mouth he called after her. Carefully picking the woman up again, he used his nearly depleted chakra reserves to skim along the top of the sand.
"Boy, what's your name? I assume you come from either Kumo or Kiri...you sure as hell dont look like a sand nin." The man wrinkled his nose.
"K-katoki...we're from Kumogakure." Tsunade paled.
"Katoki? As in, Katoki and Hinata?" It was Katoki's turn to pale, as he realized a second to late, who he was talking too. Katoki waved his hands and said,
"Nono, not Katoki! I said Kadogi!" Tsunade shot him a look and bent over to remove the plain mask that Hinata wore. Lifting it slowly, Tsunade sighed when it was off. Dropping it on the ground, Tsunade ran the back of her hand down Hinata'a face.
"Kami-sama, child. We missed you."
Tsunade looked ahead and saw that the camp was coming up quickly.
“Katoki-san, do you love Hinata?" Katoki looked at Tsunade and nodded. “Congratulations, Katoki-san. You’re a father. I managed to save the fetus…it’s about 6 weeks or so along.” Katoki stopped dead in his tracks.
“W-w-w-w-wha?” He said, his voice in a harsh whisper. Tsunade stepped up to Katoki and took Hinata out of his arms and carried her into a tent. Katoki was still standing in the same spot when she exited the tent. The blonde hokage sighed and carefully pushed the stunned man into the tent she had put Hinata in.
"Go and wash your hair, kid. It's stained with so much blood, I cant even tell what colour it is." Tsunade said, Katoki nodded slowly.
When she left again, she smiled with the pride of ruining another life.
End Chapter 33