Into the Woods

Neji was lying under the gardenia bush in the meditation garden again. It had been two days since Hiashi passed the vigil at the hospital to him, the elder Hyuga unable to bear the task any longer. He was a man of action, and all this helpless sitting around had pushed him to the edge of his sanity. He left Neji to wait at the hospital for news while he went back to the compound and took care of the work piling up in this office. Normally the head of household couldn’t stand the paperwork and the mediation of the often childish family squabbling. But he couldn’t stand to sit there and worry about Hinata anymore.

It had also been two days since the confrontation with Kiba. The pale young man ran a finger along his still aching jaw, remembering what had happened.

Neji had been waiting inside the hospital at the doors to the quarantine unit for word from the Gondamie, using his Byakagun to steal a peek in on his sickly cousin. Her chakra levels barely registered, he was surprised she was even alive at this point. She looked tiny and frail with all those machines surrounding her. What he wouldn’t give for her to sit up and fidget, hell he would even accept a stuttering apology from her at this point. Those childish mannerisms of hers that irritated him to no end now breaking his heart at the thought that he would never have to put up with them again. He was jolted out of his reverie by a sudden feral growling.

Just as he deactivated his jutsu pain ripped through the side of his face. He managed to catch himself and grabbed the fist that pummeled him, startled to find it belonging to Hinata’s mangy teammate. Angry to have been caught off guard he spun, using his attackers momentum to toss him over his shoulder and across the hallway. By the time Kiba had picked himself off the floor, the young genius had assumed a defensive stance, glaring harshly at the boy that Lee was now holding back from him.

“What is the meaning of this? Why did you attack me?” Neji demanded, realizing that he wasn’t alone. Indeed it seemed the entire group was here, save for the three inside the ward. Tenten ran to him trying to calm him while Ino did the same with Kiba, who tried to push her out of his way. Shino and Choji kept back, but even the bug user seemed to be more unfriendly towards him then usual. Shikamaru was a step or two behind Ino, watching tensely in case he needed to yank her out of the middle of it.

“Are you enjoying yourself? Getting your jollies off watching her waste away?” the dog boy spat at him, lips curled back in a sneer. The look in his eyes was pure hatred as he rose to his feet. Neji’d never seen such malice before, especially not among any of his peers.

“What on earth are you raving about? This is a hospital, not a schoolyard. Show some respect.” He eased out of defensive mode as Tenten wrapped her arms around him.

“Come on Neji,” she whispered into his ear, pleading with him. “He’s out of control right now, it’d be best if we just left.” He glanced down at her, surprised to feel her tremble against him. She was terrified, and that only angered him more.

“You’d better listen to her, pretty boy.” Kiba snarled back, biting his thumb at them. “You’re not wanted here. And besides, don’t you have to run home to plan that big celebration with the rest of that joke you call family?”

“Kiba, you better shut your mouth right now before you say something you’re gonna regret.” Ino warned him harshly. He scoffed at her, as if there wasn’t anything that he would possibly regret about this situtaion.

The corridor was filling with people; medical staff, patients, curious visitors. Someone stated something about getting security over there now. Shikamaru cringed and shook his head, muttering again how troublesome this all was.

Lee had made his way over to his team, keeping an eye on the others. He placed a firm hand on Neji’s shoulder. “Come my friend, don’t listen to the barking of the rabid mutt over there. Let’s go before the dogcatchers come to put him down.” The Hyuga looked confused for a moment. As he started to ask what was going on a small hand covered his lips gently. He looked down at the sad brown eyes looking up at him.

“Don’t.” Tenten said in reply, turning to glare back at the smirking beast master. “It’s exactly what he wants, don’t give him the pleasure. Let him throw a tantrum if he wants to act like a baby, but don’t encourage him.”

He followed her gaze, watching as his attacker flexed his fingers, itching to beat something. He could see the desperation in his face, as if he was begging him to fight him. Neji nodded somberly, reigning in his emotions. “Alright, lets go then.”

He paused as they turned to leave, surprised at the crunching noise beneath his feet. He looked down to find the floor scattered in broken glass, gardenia blossoms and water. A growl rose again from across the room, Kibas’ face flushing with his fury. Ino had a hand on his cheek, trying to turn him to look at her. Neji could hear her telling Kiba not to get so angry, she had more at the shop they could replace them with. With a sigh, he stepped carefully over the mess of flowers, not wanting to irritate the boy anymore and left, ignoring the hateful words spewed at his back.

.....


Now he sat here, surrounded by more of those very same blossoms. He plucked one of the creamy white flowers, breathing in it’s heavy perfume. He knew perfectly well why Kiba had been enraged about their destruction that day. They were one of Hinata’s favorite flowers. Neji wasn’t sure if she had a clear ‘favorite’, but he knew on the list this was definitely at the top. They had been training one day, and after he had knocked her to the ground once several of them had spilled out of her pocket. She had turned red when he asked her why she had them, and nervously explained that she found their scent calming. On a mission shortly after that, he’d found a woman in a nearby village who made and sold plant essences. She had a perfect copy of the fragrance in an oil. He gave Hinata a bottle, surprising her one day after he caught her in the garden lamenting quietly to herself as the last bloom of the season withered. The quiet girl had been dismayed at first when she tried it on her sensitive skin only to develop a slight rash. But she soon found if she put a few drops in her shampoo it worked even better. Now he couldn’t see or smell the blossoms without being reminded of his shy cousin. ‘No wonder Hiashi couldn’t stand to sit here anymore...’ he mused to himself.

Indeed, it was just as he had pointed out on their first visit. The whole garden seemed to remind him in some way of Hinata. ‘Leave it to her to design a place for troubled souls to find peace and serenity.’ He could easily picture her here, most likely kneeling at the edge of the koi pond, feeding them like the ones back in the family garden. She had the most amazing connection to those fish. He’d caught her many times, her soft laughter drawing him to her secluded corner of the grounds. She would be sitting on the ground, her hands in the water as the fish took the food directly from her, tickling her hands and fingers as their hungry mouths kissed them. He watched with amazment as some of the larger ones would even come to her when she didn’t have food, coming up to the surface and letting her stroke their colorful bodies. It was like watching a whole other person. Her eyes bright, her movements graceful, and her face shone with that charming smile. She would be a beautiful woman if only she weren’t always looking down.

‘You’ve got to stop doing this to yourself or you’ll go mad,’ he told himself harshly, shaking the memories from his head. He contemplated going inside to wait for the days status report, but he didn’t dare. He knew what was waiting inside, and it wasn’t worth the risk. He’d rather sit out here and quietly lose his sanity from the worry then have to bludgeon her misguided friends. He shook his head with a sigh, remembering what Tenten had told him about what sparked the incident. ‘They mean well,’ he told himself. ‘Maybe when things calm down they’ll listen to reason.’

~*~

“Alright Hinata-chan, it’s time to work on those legs! Don’t think you’re getting out of training just because your unconscious!”

Sakura rolled her eyes at the blondes enthusiastic comments, watching him gently manipulate the comatose girls limbs. She had gotten tired of Naruto’s moping around the place till finally she turned to him and told him if he was sick of feeling helpless he should get off his widening ass and do something to help. He had jumped at the chance and now he passed most of his time happily playing nursemaid, following Sakura’s instructions and talking to himself. Well...talking to Hinata...but since she was unable to respond he would ramble on wherever his thoughts took him. It was both heartwarming and sad to watch.

He was especially diligent about her “exercises.” Three times a day he would move her arms and stretch her legs to keep the muscles from atrophying. The serum they’d been giving her was helping to keep her fever down, but it still hadn’t broken completely, and the virus was still winning. It was begining to take a toll on her organs, and the staff was concerned that if a cure wasn’t found in the next few days it would be too late. Of course, she didn’t dare share those concerns with Naruto. He was convinced she would beat this, that he would help her. And of course, she felt guilty about encouraging him to believe that.

It all started when he woke up while she was bathing the poor girl. It was nothing more then a sponge down to remove the sweat and try to cool her down some more, but when he woke up the curtain had been pulled and Sakura was talking quietly to no one apparently. She had no idea how long he had been listening to her filing the girl in on what was going on with everyone till he called to her from the other side.

“Sakura-chan? Who are you talking to?”

“Hinata”

“She’s Awake? Let me in I wanna talk to her!” The curtain started bulging oddly as he fought to find the opening in.

“You open that curtain I’m going to knock you senseless dobe! She’s not awake...she’s getting a bath in here right now and deserves some privacy from perverted blonde chibis like yourself!” The moving curtain stopped, and it was quiet for a moment.

“But....if she’s not awake....why are you talking to her?” There was pain in his voice, a pain that made her heart break for him. She explained how they believed that coma patients went through different levels of unconsciousness, and that in some of those the brain would respond to different stimuli, especially to the sound of a loved ones voice.

“In short, maybe if we talk to her, she’ll hear us and wake up.”

......

’He’d barely shut up since then...and that was two days ago.’ she mused to herself, watching as Naruto carefully repositioned Hinata on her side, placing a pillow under her back to make her comfortable and then gently tucking her under the sheets. He kneeled down next to the bed, his face a few inches from the sleeping girls. He whispered gently to her, his right hand lightly stroking her wrist near the iv that was still buried in her skin. Sakura turned back to her reports, recognizing another one of his “private moments”, wondering what it was he said to her when he got like this.

Naruto sat there, his chin resting on his left arm. At some point he had gotten used to all the tubes and wires, although some of them had been removed, while others had been added. The thin feeding tube that had been inserted in her nose and taped to her cheek no longer bothered him as much as the red marks on her skin from where everything rubbed. Her cheeks were drawn under the oxygen mask. He could see how much weight she was losing, though he tried to tell himself it was mostly water from her constant sweating. Her skin was damp and clammy all the time, but she didn’t burn under his touch so badly anymore. He still felt she was to warm for his likes though.

“ Hey....can you hear me babe? I know you’re in there somewhere...” he traced his finger lightly over the back of her hand, following the delicate blue lines of her blood vessels as he tried to keep track of the thoughts running through his head. “I wish I knew how to reach you...how to fix you...” He sighed deeply.

Naruto started humming softly, reaching up and brushing the stray hairs off her damp forehead. He let his fingers slid down lightly, caressing her cheek and following the line of her jaw to her neck, pausing over the spot where he had marked her. It was mostly gone now, having faded from it’s angry purple to that odd green and yellow of a nearly healed bruise. There was still a lite ring of teeth marks though, etched there permanently.

“Did I make you happy, Hinata? I’m not so good when it comes to others sometimes....I’m sorry if I messed anything up...” He thought back on their days in the woods. He liked to think it had been a good thing for her as well. ’She seemed happy’ he mused quietly, remembering her laughter at his corny jokes, the blush on her cheeks. He could picture the sunlight in her hair, the moonlight on her skin, that look on her face when she gazed at him with her soft, pearly eyes. He’d give anything to see those gentle eyes again, or just one of those charming smiles. He pulled his hand back softly, returning it to wrap around her fingers.

“Please don’t leave me already, don’t leave me alone again. Why does everyone I care about leave me?” he fought back the tears that were threatening to come. “God I miss you.”

He knew the situation was getting to be hopeless. Sakura wouldn’t say anything to him, but he could tell it wasn’t looking good. He just had to keep her going a little longer, he was positive Granny-Tsunade could come up with a cure for her in time. He squeezed her limp hand, still amazed at how small and easily it fit into his. He bit back his anger, trying to keep the desperation from showing in his voice.

“Come on Hinata-chan. We need you. Not just me either. Everyone’s falling apart without you. You’re stronger then this, I believe in you. Now fight, dammit!” He lifted her hand and kissed her palm lightly. “We won’t give up on you....don’t you dare give up on yourself.”


.....

The pale young man deactivated and closed his all seeing eyes, leaning back against the magnolia tree and digesting what he’d just witnessed. The gentle touch of shaking hands and whispered words that seemed to fall on deaf ears. The look of pain and desperation on that normally beaming face. He breathed in deep, holding in the flowery perfume before letting it rush back out. ’If anyone can reach her, it’s you Naruto. She always listened to you....don’t let her slip away’

~*~


Tsunade paused outside the door into the ward, watching the dozing form. Propped up against the corner, greasy brown hair even messier then normal, red face paint smeared across cheeks and nose, and the small ball of white fur twitching in his lap. She giggled to herself as she watched the running motion all dogs seem to make when they dream. ‘I wonder Akamaru....do you dream of chasing bunnies...or ninjas?”

Kiba and his companion had parked themselves in that corner a few days ago, the self appointed gaurd dogs of the unit. Other then for brief periods of time they never left the spot. Shino came and went, recognizing the futility of holding the post, but he would bring food and sit quietly by Kiba’s side, waiting for something to happen. The bug user was probably out now getting dinner. The Gondamie squatted down and ruffled the boys hair, watching as sleepy brown eyes rose to meet hers. He blinked for a moment till it registered who was facing him and he started, nearly tossing poor Akamaru out of his lap.

“What’s wrong? Something happened didn’t it? Dear kami please don’t tell me...” he was cut off as she chuckled softly at him.

“Nothings wrong, unless you consider the stink you’re filling my hospital with.” She pointed at the pile of half eaten food containers next to him watching as he blushed slightly. He stretched and ran a hand down his cheek, smearing the paint even further beyond recognition. “When was the last time you took a shower?” she asked him teasingly.

He glared at her defensively for a moment. “Are you saying I stink?” She laughed at that.

“No, what I’m saying is you haven’t moved from this spot other then to take Akamaru outside or for your own bathroom break. I don’t even think you’ve changed your clothes since you planted your ass there.” she pointed to the neatly folded pile sitting on the other side of him, the ones someone had been sure to bring for him that he obviously hasn’t touched. He gave a sad sigh in response.

“I’m sorry Hokage-sama, but I can’t leave. I wanna be here when....” he paused, averting his eyes and fighting for the words to come. “If anything happens I wanna know about it.” he finally finished.

She thought back on incident the other day, how she nearly threw him out of the hospital and banned him from returning till the whole mess with Hinata was over. He’d apologized profusely, a rare thing from him, especially in public. How he’d pleaded with her to let him stay, swearing he wouldn’t blow up again, how he’d go mad if she made him leave the hospital. And how since then he’d sat here in his corner, sulking quietly to himself, refusing to leave. Staff had offered him a chair after the first day, and yesterday one of the nurses had even tried to talk him into napping in a vacant room. He refused any form of comfort for himself, preferring to keep to his watch like an un-moving sentinel. ’I knew Inuzuka’s were loyal almost to a fault....but I had no idea it went quite this far’ she pondered as she reached down to take his shaking hand.

“Kiba, I want you to listen to me for a second.” His eyes rose up to meet hers again, brown and sad and soulful. “Hinata has been in stable condition since we moved her. Her vital signs are good, we don’t have her on any form of life support. She’s holding her own. She’s comfortable and she’s safe...” he started to roll his eyes at that one, so she grabed his chin and made him focus. “I’m serious Kiba. Naruto’s in there and he’s making sure of it. You know how protective he is of everyone.” The dog boy laughed quietly and nodded.

“How is the annoying little idiot anyways?” he asked, feeling guilty for almost forgetting he was in there as well.

“Naruto, is Naruto...” Tsunade said with a laugh and shake of her head. “He’s got some kind of uber immune system, the virus is almost completely ineffective against him. We’re trying to use that to our advantage. Actually it’s why I’m back here, the lab called me down saying they thought they had something.”

“Damn him” Kiba chuckled. “Always gotta find some way to play the hero doesn’t he?” They looked at each other for a moment before laughing at the irony of it.

“Anyways...my point is that you can afford to be kinder to yourself. You know she wouldn’t approve of you carrying on like this because of her. Why don’t you go around the corner, I think room 156 is open. Go get a hot shower and brush those rotting fangs of yours, cause yes you do stink. And while your in there lay down and get some real sleep.”

The young man sighed again, looking back at the blank door, knowing she was right. “Is that an order from the Hokage?” he said with a slight smirk.

“It is if it has to be.” She flicked him gently in the forehead. “Go, or I’ll tell Hinata when she wakes up and you’ll have to answer to her.” She watched as he jumped at that, grabbing the clothes and toiletries that had been brought for him and got up to go find that room.

“Oi, Kiba” she called after him again, watching as he looked back over his shoulder. “Naruto is convinced she’s going to beat this. And I’ll be damned if I let her go without a fight. If there was ever a time to believe in her.....it’s now.” He nodded somberly and continued on his way.

~*~

Sakura ran a hand through her damp hair as she shoved her stuff back into the locker in the decon room. She was starting to get used to the routine; Get up, get in, yell at Naruto, get out, get showered, go to bed. ’Actually, without the bio-hazard get up it’s not that much different from old times’ she giggled to herself. But it wouldn’t be for much longer. The virus was completely out of his system, it seemed there was no reason to keep him locked up anymore other then they needed his blood for testing. It was frightening how fast he could replace lost blood. Normal humans can only stand to give a pint or two ever 6 months....Naruto had already given four to the cause of curing Hinata and protecting the village, and now that they new he no longer had the virus, just the antibodies they wanted another two in the next few days. The guy was a walking blood bank. She grabbed her towel and headed into the hallway, planning to stop in the kitchen for some dinner before collapsing in bed.

She was startled when she opened the door to find her sensei there, leaning up against the wall with a fist closed in front of her eyes and a troubled look on her face. As she lifed her gaze to meet Sakura, the fist lowered and opened. The girl gasped involuntarily, seeing the small syringe filled with a pale amber liquid.

“Is that....” she asked quietly. The older woman nodded silently, watching her. Green eyes closed for a moment, steeling themselves as she took a deep breath and nodded back. “Alright...lets do it.”

Tsunade raised a thin eyebrow, concern creasing her forehead. “Are you sure? You don’t have to do this...we can always...” the younger girl cut her off.

“No, it makes more sense for me to do it. Everyone else is needed more, and besides, I want to.” She was already rolling the sleeve of her tee-shirt up. Sakura gave her a determined look. “Go ahead, I’m ready.”

Tsunade paused for a moment, then stepped forward and injected the liquid into the girls shoulder. She ran her hand over the skin when she was done. “You better get some rest. Someone will be coming in to check on you every so often overnight, if you feel sick or need anything...just let us know. Tomorrow we find out if we’re all crazy or if this just might work. The pink haired girl nodded, placing her hand over her teachers. They stood there for a moment longer.

“You have no idea what this means for the village” she added softly.

“That’s why I’m here isn’t it?” Sakura said in reply.