Beautiful Monsters

Chapter 10~ Suspension Bridge Effect

Naruto sat between his Sensei and his friend as they lay on separate mattresses in a recovery coma. It hurt his heart to see the brunette girl as she struggled to take in a single breath. Shizi was sweating profusely, fighting for oxygen, and would spasm at odd intervals.

"She'll be fine, they both will." Said the Uzumaki for the umpteenth time that day. The trio left the room to talk to Tazuna about Gato and his tyranny over the Land of Waves with his daughter and her son Inari. They all were slightly scared when Kakashi suddenly spoke from the room doorway.

The silver haired man took his team out into the woods and began training them on Chakra control by having them try and climb trees by ushering Chakra to their feet and walking up the bark. While they were busy with that, the man transports back to Tazuna's home in the room with the struggling brunette.

He eased onto the floor beside Shizi as she lightly convulsed and pulled in another strained breath. He picked up the damp rag on her forehead and  pressed his fingertips to her skin, a frown tugged down his lips at her burning fever. Kakashi dampened the rag once more and gently laid the cloth back on her forehead.

"Poor girl." He muttered to himself as she convulsed again. The Third Hokage gave him all the needed details on the monster residing within Shizi. It's brutality was horrific enough to shake even the coldest Shinobi, power rivaling that of the Nine-Tailed Fox but much more evil than even that monster. The beast inside Shizi was most commonly known as the Hell's Wildcat. And this revelation that such a cruel beast was hidden away in the kind and sweet Shizi was more than enough to pull on Kikashi's heartstrings stronger than he thought possible.

Kakashi tended to the brunette until he decided to check on his students. Sakura had climbed a good 20 feet and was therefore wiped out and tired. Sasuke and Naruto were competing to see who could reach the highest. Dinner was ready and so they stopped fighting to see who was top dog to eat.

Kakashi left them to their own devices to check on Shizi once more. Her fever had dropped a few degrees but was still panting and having spasms- though few and far between now. The two boys returned since they reached the top of their trees and all decided to rest up. Tomorrow was Tazuna's first day back to work on the bridge.

The trio was sleeping instantly, along with the host family. But Kakashi was awake to keep watch of Shizi and her recovery. He'd keep the rag wet and cool, make sure she's still breathing as well as possible, and would keep a close eye and timing on her spasms. He snuck in a mere 30 minutes of sleep a few hours before dawn before following Tazuna to the bridge with his team.

The fog became unnaturally thick again and Kakashi narrowed his eyes in sudden anger. It is Zabuza's fault that Shizi is fighting for survival at present, after all. He notices that the rogue isn't alone- a teen pretending to be a Hidden Mist ANBU was at his side.

"Hello again Kakashi the Copy Ninja. How's our dearest Shizi-kun?" The mentioned silver headed Jonin growled deep in his throat at the rogue ninja's blunt, uncaring question about his roommate.

"Shizi is fine, no thanks to you, Zabuza." Their battle started while Sasuke was fighting with the teen boy named Haku. While they clashed on the bridge, Naruto was having his own battle back at Tazuna's house. Two swordsmen of Gato had been sent to take out Inari and his mother.

The Uzumaki had woken up late due to Chakra depletion and was running for the bridge when he spotted a slashed boar and trees leading back to the house. His bright blue eyes widened in slight fear when he remembered the helpless Shizi was there as well as the young boy and his mom.

When he reached the home once more, he immediately noticed the thrown open door and the backs of the two men as they stood over Inari's mother triumphantly- the small boy nowhere to be seen.