Becoming

Part 36

 Naruto opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. He felt horrible, and shut his eyes one more time, just to feel the extent of the damage. His head felt heavy from blood loss, and everywhere hurt, but he was feeling okay other than that. He sat up and groaned, seeing black spots, and feeling dizzy. He looked around the room, and found Hinata sleeping in a chair beside the bed.

The door opened, and Shizune and Jiraiya walked in. They smiled once they saw him up, and approached his bed.

"Good morning," Shizune said pleasantly. "How are you feeling?" Jiraiya sat on the edge of the bed, careful not to disturb Hinata, and smiled widely.

"Dizzy," Naruto admitted. "But okay."

"That'll go away eventually," Shizune said, having expected his answer. "We gave you some blood, so just wait for your body to adjust to it." Naruto nodded. She smiled. "We have something to tell you."

"That we do," Jiraiya agreed, "but first, we're going to go see Tobi. He's sealed, but that won't hold him long."

Naruto stood, already feeling stronger than he had in a long time, and touched Hinata's hand gently. She had every right to be there too when they took care of Tobi, and he knew she wouldn't have been happy if she woke up and he wasn't there. She jumped up quickly, and stared at the empty spot on the bed where he'd been. Her eyes slowly turned to him, and Naruto smiled softly at her, and brushed the hair out of her face affectionately. She blushed, and Naruto laughed.

"Come on, let's go," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her up. She stood, though she tripped, her legs probably asleep. Naruto caught her shoulders and then pulled her along behind him, falling Jiraiya. It didn't bother him that they'd had an audience, but he wondered if she was embarrassed by it.

Jiraiya led them to the prisons, and Kiba, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Tenten, Sai, Lee, Shino and Tsunade were already there. Tenji was there too. He wasn't sealed, so Naruto was surprised he hadn't tried any tricks to get him out. Tsunade stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at him.

"We'll deal with him later," she said, "we're just dealing with Tobi right now. You better not try anything. We all already know what it feels like when you mess with our heads, and if any of us feel the simplest tingle, I will kill you." Tenji backed away from her and Tobi and nodded. The cell was opened and Naruto and Jiraiya were the first in. Hinata followed, but they didn't want to crowd the cell, so the others stayed out, prepared to intervene if they needed to. Kiba and Akamaru guarded the door, just in case Tobi thought about escaping.

Jiraiya unsealed him and Tobi jumped away from them, scowling. Naruto grabbed the sword Sasuke passed him from over Kiba and pointed it at the man he'd been forced to work for. Tenten, Lee, Shino and Sai watched, their eyes never moving from him. They watched with serious expressions; this was important to them, too. Naruto walked to the bars seperating them, and gave them a sad smile. He looked at all, asking with his eyes if they were okay with him being the one taking care of it. They all nodded. Naruto turned back to the man who'd ruined his life, and wished Laurie could be there to see it. It would have been good for her too.

"You trained me to be the best," Naruto said. "I'll always be grateful for that. You cared for me in your own twisted way. I'm sorry you made us your enemy." He pulled the sword back, closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he stared into Tobi's eyes. Guilt. Overwhelming guilt lay there, smouldering under the fear.

"I didn't want to," Tobi whispered quietly, only for Naruto to hear. "But I had to. I'm sorry for what I did. I didn't want to." His eyes begged Naruto to kill him, like he was afraid somebody else would.

Naruto stared at him, but it was clear the man would say no more, so he quickly and swiftly ended the man's life. He was sure he would feel it later, but right then, Naruto could feel no anger towards him. He just felt pity. 

Shorterish part. Tobi's gone. Anticlimactic, even though I tried my hardest not to make it so. Maybe one or two more parts. Two parts in 1 day! So proud of myself! Hope you enjoyed!