Becoming

Part 35

 Naruto felt dizzy. The blood dripped down his body; he was losing way too much. He hated to admit it, but Tobi could possibly win this one. Naruto had gained confidence with his friends helping him, but with his weakness growing, it quickly plummeted and left. Tobi was acting rashly, and was moving fast, and Naruto could have beat him if he'd been healthy, but he wasn't anymore. He stood behind his friends, letting them protect him, as he stood there on shaking legs that were about to give up. Hinata was beside him, trying to heal him, but she had to use her chakra mostly for the fighting.

Naruto was tired. He just wanted to sleep, and pretend this fight wasn't happening. He fell to his knees and stared at the ground. It looked unusually comfortable and inviting. Just a little bit of sleep wouldn't hurt, would it? He closed his eyes, oblivious to what was going on around him. Soon, the darkness faded, and he was looking at Tobi, chained to a wall, looking miserable. He'd been tortured and left there to die. Naruto felt himself smile. They'd taken care of Tobi. He could sleep as long as he wanted to, then, right?

Then Naruto heard a cry. Tobi's cell faded from view and a bubble of light appeared, growing bigger until he was in the next scene. It was a baby's cry, Naruto realized finally. It wailed endlessly, and its mother tried to comfort it. Her voice was soothing and lovely. Naruto approached, and the woman looked at him. He sucked in a breath when he realized that it was an older Hinata. She smiled at him and held the baby out.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Hinata said.

"Yes," his own voice, but slightly deeper, responded. "And she's ours." Naruto's own voice sounded deep and emotional. He was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Why was he dreaming about him and Hinata having a baby? That just felt--uncomfortable, for lack of a better word. He knew he liked Hinata, but that was just too...intimate, at the moment. Something tingled at the back of his mind, and the sensation was familiar, but he couldn't place it. Instead, he continued watching the scene, feeling both discomfort and a bit of excitement. A future with Hinata would be nice, Naruto decided with a grin.

The scene changed, and he was chasing a little girl with long blonde locks of hair. Hinata was nearby, laughing, as well as several little kids Naruto didn't recognize. Sasuke ran up and grabbed the little giggling girl with Naruto's hair color and began tickling her. Tenten was standling behind him laughing, Hinata's cousin Neji behind her, holding a little boy that looked like a mix between the two. Neji and Tenten? Something felt wrong about all of it, but Naruto ignored it, wanting to watch more. Shikamaru came up next, grumbling about something, though a small smile had inched its way onto his face. Naruto looked around, and there was a little boy that looked exactly like his friend. And another kid that looked like a girl version of Sasuke...which was a little disturbing. The scene faded again, this time replaced by giggles. The little girl with blonde hair ran to him, Hinata following close behind. Everything was dark.

The little girl screamed suddenly, and fell to her knees. Hinata dropped to the girl's side, and then she too started screaming. Suddenly blood was everywhere, and both lay dead. Naruto screamed and ran toward them, but something kept him back.

"Daddy," a soft voice said. He looked at the blonde, his daughter, but it wasn't her speaking. "It's time to go back. Mommy needs you." He looked around, but saw no one.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked caustiously.

"Bye bye, Daddy. I'll see you soon."

Naruto woke with a jerk, and opened his eyes wide. The first thought he had, was that he felt like crap. He looked around, and saw his Hinata, the Hinata he'd almost left behind, standing in front of Tobi...and one of his daggers was stuck in her side. He didn't feel weak anymore. He jumped up and ran at Tobi, using one of his own blades and stuck it into his shoulder. Tobi cursed and fell back, and Naruto jumped on him, pinning him to the ground. Jiraiya came up behind him, and sealed Tobi there. Naruto got up, breathing heavily and ran to Hinata.

"Hinata, are you okay?" He asked, looking down at her face anxiously. She smiled, and moved her hand from the wound, showing it to him. He examined it, and to his relief, it was much better than he feared it was. She'd be okay.

"I'm fine. What about you? We almost lost you," she said softly. Naruto saw the unshed tears in her eyes and smiled.

"I'm just fine." He was stopped from saying more by a bloodcurdling scream. He turned and saw Tsunade jump off Tenji, looking alarmed, as the man held his head. The man looked up at Naruto.

"How?" he screamed. "I almost had you! I almost killed you! How did you escape the hold I had on your mind?"

Naruto's mouth opened in realization. That's what those were. He sighed and shrugged. He didn't exactly know what had happened either, but he was tired of mind tricks. He strode over to Tenji and wacked him on the head. The man groaned and then closed his eyes, unconscious.

"What was that about?" Sasuke asked, approaching Naruto. "What'd you see?"

"Lots of things," Naruto answered. "What happened while I was out?" He looked around and saw more damage than he remembered.

"He kept attacking you," Sasuke said. "We kept protecting you. Nothing really happened."

Naruto shrugged, and then saw Shizune. She was staring at him, concerned. He smiled and then beckoned her over, and she came immediately. Only then, did Naruto let himself fall asleep.

Writing this with a fever, so I'm not sure how it turned out. Anticlimactic? The fight with Tobi isn't over yet though. This part took me so long to update cause I didn't really know what to do with it...so this happened. I'm not good at fighting scenes, so I skip over. Anyway, just a few more parts :) Love you all; thanks for reading!