A New Way of Ninja

8: Unexpected Developments

Choji was in bad shape. He seemed to have eaten something bad for him.

"Need to get him to the Village," Shikamaru said.

"Unless you can heal him," Kiba said.

Everyone looked at Momo.

"I can't," Shoto said.

"As far as you know," Dabi said.

Momo looked at her hands. "I've only just begun trying to do things like that.... It has worked."

"I forgot about that," Shoto said.

"Would it work here without Shine?" Dabi asked.

"I could try," Momo said.

"It won't hurt him if you fail, will it?" Shikamaru frowned at her.

"Oh, no...just nothing will happen," Momo said. "It's not really me anyway, I just...conduct it, sort of.... Let me see..." She knelt down and put a hand on Choji's forehead.

"This would be a complicated thing to cure, even for a professional," Neji said. "Perhaps Lady Tsunade could cure it, if we hurried. A novice, no way."

"Shut it, silver-eyed weirdo," Dabi said.

"What did you just call me?" Neji said.

"Can it, Hyuga." Temari was watching Momo closely.

Momo put her other hand on top of her first one and murmured a quiet prayer.

To her astonishment, her hands began to glow with faint light again--very pure, whitish-sliver light.

"Is that chakra?" Kiba asked.

"It's not like any chakra I've ever seen," Neji said. His eyes seemed to narrow, and the veins around his sockets bulged out.

Then he stopped and covered his eyes.

"What is it?" Kankuro asked.

"It...was so bright, it hurt to look at..." Neji said.

Choji suddenly moaned and stirred.

Momo pulled her hands back. Then she looked at her arm. "Todoroki...look." She held it up. "My burn is gone."

"Whoa..." Even Dabi had no snide remark.

"She didn't even apply it to that..." muttered one of the other guys.

"That's amazing," Shoto said point blank.

Choji looked up at them.

"Shikamaru?" he said. "Is this...am I dead?"

"No, but you tried," Kiba said. 

"Kiba!" Neji said.

Shikamaru looked visibly relieved.

Just a minute after that, some more ninja, who appeared to be medics from Leaf, arrived to take the injured back to the hospital. They were surprised to find that only Kiba was really banged up. Neji was still wounded from his fight, and Choji would need some extra time just to be sure, but they weren't on the brink of death anymore.

"What do we do?" Shoto wondered. "Leaf won't let us in."

"They'll probably let you in," Temari said. "You healed two of them--they'll expect you to want something in return."