Tragic Canine Lovers (KibaNaru)

Chapter 10: Repair and Renewal

Chapter 10: Repair and Renewal

Previous afternoon and night: Tsunade looked in terror as the yellow-haired boy before her screamed in pain. What have I done? the woman asked herself. No one but the Third and Fourth Hokages knew about the legendary sealing technique, and in turn, no one could have known what strengthening the seal would require. Sealing away abilities, chakra, and the Curse Mark caused pain to the victims, but reinforcing an already made one? Naruto's hands remained attached to the ground as the letters trailed over them and up his arms to crawl over his body to the eight signs, but the boy thrashed and yelled as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"PLEASE STOP!" he screamed as the jutsu was completed. The spiral seal glowed before a chakra wave sent them all flying into various parts of the room, Naruto hitting the wooden door that led in. When she regained her breath partially, Tsunade asked if the boy was alright, but he wasn't. The blond was unconscious, and the Hokage cried as he was hooked up to a respirator. With his body in shock, she lost all confidence in herself. How could she let this happen?

Kiba scolded her intensely, bashing the woman's head with his passionate fist, and after things had settled with the joining of Sakura and Shizune, they all sat there in sorrow, waiting for Naruto to wake up. It became obvious that he would not awaken until the next day, so Kiba left his most trusted partner, Akamaru, to stay with the blond and be there for him when he woke up. Everyone left with a solemn feeling, and a few only got a couple of hours of sleep that night.

New Day, Naruto: The blond slowly opened his eyes and coughed, realizing that there was a bag and tube in his throat. He removed it and took a deep breath as he panted, and these actions awoke Akamaru who was laying next to him. Arf, arf, the white dog barked as he wagged his tail. Naruto just glanced at the dog before staring blankly into the white sheets. Akamaru mewled concernedly, and he pawed at the boy's leg, but he got nothing. Eventually, the dog decided getting Kiba here would be best, and he quickly ran out of the room.

Naruto could only remember three things about the previous day: the insecurity he felt sitting in that circle, the intense pain as Tsunade and the ANBU worked on him, and the abrupt and decisive end to the torture. "So...much pain," the blond spoke quietly as he shivered from the memories.

"Don't ever let them do that to you again Naruto," Kyuubi told the boy. "I won't take advantage of you; you know that. Just don't put yourself through that again. The seal is fine, and I'd tell you if it was getting too weak. All that pain was just...unnecessary. Just rest for a while Naruto. Your body's not doing very well." The boy finally noticed his stomach pains, and he clenched his abdomen in his hand.

"Maybe just some water," Naruto spoke as he got up. As he took a step, ripping pain shot through his lower back, and he cringed and suppressed a moan of pain.

"Easy, you got hit pretty hard," the fox told him. "It's not as easy to force my chakra into you. Draw on my healing powers." Naruto nodded and opened his chakra network, but the effects took longer to appear. He walked along the wall carefully to the bathroom, and he leaned on the counter for support. The blond first splashed some cold water on his face to wake himself up, but then he cupped his hands and drank for what seemed like several minutes. Just after turning off the faucet, Tsunade opened the door to the room.

"Naruto?" she asked quietly before completely opening the door. She turned her head and saw the boy leaning on the counter. The Hokage was silent, and he didn't even turn his attention to her. "Please lay down Naruto; you need some rest." Her patient walked back to his bed with obvious struggle. "How bad are you hurting?" she asked, not receiving any response except a hiss and cringe as Naruto sat down and went on his back. "Naruto, I'm so sorry; I really am. You don't have to do that again, ever. If we really ever need to patch it up, we'll find a better way. Please forgive me Naruto; no one knew what would happen." The boy merely turned away from her. Tsunade teared up from this. God she hated herself for this. "What else can I do Naruto?" she asked desperately with her sorrow weighing heavy in her voice. "What do you want me to do?" There was a pause before the blond answered her.