The Fox's Son

Chapter 50 - Detangling a Web

Sango followed the masked man as they traveled through the forest. The man said nothing as they walked through the woods, leaving the girl to all of her worries. They finally stopped at a small clearing. Sango's eyes widened as at the sight.

Resting under a tree, was Kirara. She was still in her demon form and from the looks of it, still unconscious. It shocked her how the neko's injury was now gone, being completely healed. The only evidence of the injury was the scar it left, due to Naruto cauterizing the wound. However, what shocked her the most was the figure lying on the other side of the clearing. Tears began to escape her eyes again as she looked at the boy she had just saw die.

"KOHAKU!" she cried out as she tried to run to her little brother.

Naruto put a firm hand on her shoulder, stopping her. "Let them finish." he said.

It was then that Sango noticed an exact replica of Naruto kneeling beside him. Green light emitted from his hands as they pressed upon the wound that the boy had gained from Sango's sword. Said boy was stably breathing, although he was unconscious. As tears continued to flow from her eyes, he looked at Naruto who was watching his clone heal the child.

Before he arrived, the second clone that was healing the boy dispersed, sending him all the information it had gathered. Unknown to Naraku or Sango, Naruto had been quite busy as the two fought. When the scout clone first caught sight of the Naraku with the child, the clone sent Naruto the information, including energy source located behind the boy's back. Because the energy source carried same signature as other shards of the jewel, he deduced that a jewel shard was indeed embedded into the boy and possibly, his life source.

When this conclusion was reached, Naruto had his clone create a small crystal shard as well, using a shoton jutsu. Once the crystal was created, he infused it with nature and sage chakra providing it with energy. When the clone was done creating the crystal, he order his clone to create another clone to transform as Kohaku. Once this happened, Naruto used a Kamawari to switch the child with his special clone after he was injured by Sango's sword.

Having to work quickly, the scout clone swiftly removed the jewel shard from his back using chakra scalpel, before replacing it with his own crystal. Once the transaction took place, Kohaku was taken to where Kirara was as two more clones stayed hidden near the battle sight. While Naraku was distracted with being the arrogant fool he was, trying to break Sango's will, his clone was able to get close enough to the special Kohaku clone to insert the jewel shard into him.

Based off the information he received from the second clone, by using yin-yang release, he was able to reconstruct the damaged bone and nerves in his back, were the jewel resided. After the process, Naruto's clone was able to remove his crystal and restore the boy's spine, and was beginning to heal his sword wound as they arrived. The red head supervised the clone as the wound began to mend itself under the green chakra. Once it was done, the clone stood up and turned to its creator. It bowed to Naruto before dispelling, sending all its memories to him. He silently sighed relief, thankful that the neko and boy would be okay.

Seeing the clone was done, Sango looked up at Naruto almost pleadingly. Naruto glanced down at Sango before nodding his head. He could feel her desperation and anxiety, welling up inside her. In a sprint, Sango cried out her brothers name. Dropping her Hiraikotsu on the ground, she quickly arrived by his side. As she held him, she sighed in relief at the strong beat of her. Not long after, Sango began to cry freely, cradling him in her arms. She cried hysterically as she rocked her brother back and forth. All of the pent up emotion that she had stored within her, came forth in terrible, heart wrenching sobs.

Naruto looked at the crying woman with a sad smile. He was aware of her emotional turmoil and knew that it was all coming out at the same time. The red head went and sat down under a tree near the currently unconscious neko. The demon slayer had cried well into the night until she eventually cried herself to sleep. It was a disheartening thing to witness. Naruto rested her beneath one of the trees after she fell asleep. She wouldn't release her brother, so he placed him her his head was on her lap. He was able to summon a blanket and placed it upon them to protect them from the chillness of night.