Chapter 29: Wating Of End Part 1 (1/2)

It was warm. Nothing bad, if anything it was a comfort. Add the birds singing in a perfect melody, the smell of trees as they rustled in the breeze, and the feel of that same wind as it blew in through the open window, and he could say for certain that today was going to be beautiful. The sounds of the window curtains flapping brought Naruto further into consciousness, his eyes creaking open, only to wince back shut as fresh sunlight blared into them.

s.h.i.+fting in his bed, he smiled as he felt the form next to him brush alongside him.

Only for his eyes to shoot open once again.

Jumping up out of bed in a flurry, Naruto's feet padded against the wooden floor as he hurriedly tried to get some distance from himself and the person with him.

The form within the bed lurched at Naruto's sudden movement, his flailing causing the blanket to go flying off the mattress. Lying in a daze, Hinata Hyuga blinked away her drowsiness as she tilted her head in confusion.

”N-Naruto?” She blurted out, right before delivering a slight yawn, ”What are you doing?”

But Naruto couldn't answer, too busy taking her in. She was older than the last time he saw her, looking to be around his age. She seemed…mature, womanly. Her hair was longer than he remembered, and from what he could see from her light sleep wear her figure had filled out.

Finally, he stuttered, ”Whwhat…what's happening? How are you here?”

Confusion marred Hinata's beautiful face, ”Here? This is our bedroom, Naruto.”

”Wh”

The woman's face morphed into a slight deadpan, ”If you're workshopping a new prank, it needs a little work.”

”I don't-”

Getting up, she gracefully made around the bed, ”And I thought we agreed to no pranks in the morning anymore?” She asked lightly, a serene smile on her face.

Now standing in front of him, her head directly under his chin, she brought herself up on her toes in an attempt to peck his cheek. She was halted as his hands gripped her shoulders, pus.h.i.+ng her back.

”You're a dream.” Naruto said firmly. Closing his eyes, he began to mutter to himself to wake up.

Hinata took a step back, concerned, ”Okay Naruto, this isn't funny. Stop-”

”No, you stop!” Naruto shouted suddenly, his eyes frantic, ”You're not real. I know you not!”

His eyes scanning the room, desperation painted on his face, Naruto spotted a weapons pouch on the nightstand. Pus.h.i.+ng pa.s.sed Hinata, he swiped it before pulling out a single kunai.

Determined, he gripped the blade in front of him. His eyes closing shut as he prepared to wake up, he prepped his other hand.

Hinata gasped as she realized what he was going to do, ”Naruto, don't-”

But Naruto ignored her, driving the kunai into the palm of his free hand.

His clenched eyes slowly pried open, confused as he barely felt anything.

Looking down, his eyes widened in shock. Stuck in his right palm, the kunai s.h.i.+ned in the morning light. But there was no blood, no flesh or bone. His hand wasn't his hand. It was white, stark white. It almost didn't look real. But as he pulled out the kunai and gripped the foreign appendage, he realized that it was. And it was his.

Dropping the kunai, he took several wary steps back as he tried to process what was going on. But the room wouldn't allow him to concentrate. It was too busy spinning. The floor beneath didn't seem to exist anymore, and he nearly fell over as he b.u.mped into the nightstand. Pressing himself against the wall for balance, Naruto's breathing became rapid.

”Naruto? Naruto!”

Tears were spilling down his face, his brain seemingly unable to extract thought, as he slumped over against the wall. He felt a pair of cool hands touch his face, a voice in the background as darkness began to encroach on his vision.

The last thing he heard was a woman calling out his name.

-x-

The smell of a hospital wasn't new to Naruto. In his twenty-four years of life, he'd been stuck in a hospital more times than he'd like to admit. So, when that smell suddenly invaded his nose, and the sound of a woman's voice began to break through, he sprung up like a dead man rising.

Gasping, his eyes wide from his dilating pupils, he jerked forward to try and get out of the bed. But he was stopped dead by a firm hand on his chest, the small palm pressing down with surprising strength.

”Woah there. I'm not done fixing what you did to your hand, idiot.”

Naruto's breath caught at the voice, blinking away any spots in his vision as he made eye contact with the woman in front of him.

Like Hinata, she looked older than the last time they'd seen each other. Her hair was at the same length, but her bangs now swept over her forehead rather than parting down the middle. She wore a casual red sun dress, the thin vail covering her matured curves.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Naruto croaked, ”Sakura…”

Sakura didn't bother looking up from his hand, her free hand was sheathed in medical chakra as she ran it over his self-inflicted stab wound, ”You know, just when I start to think you're not as stupid as you used to be, you go and do this to yourself. Didn't you learn your lesson the last time you did this?”

”Sakura.” He breathed again.

”Lady Tsunade and I put our blood, sweat, and tears into making you and Sasuke these arms, and all the both of you ever do to thank us is break them.” She huffed, ”At least you have Hinata to keep it from getting too bad. I swear, Sasuke treats me like his mechanic sometimes.”

”Sakur”

”What?” She asked, exasperated as she looked up from his hand. She stopped her incoming tirade when her eyes landed on his face, ”Naruto…why are you crying?”

Tears were spilling down Naruto's face, quietly choking out, ”Is it really you?”

She gave a small laugh, ”Of course it's me, you big idiot.” Smiling, she scooted closer towards him, taking his other hand in hers.

”I-I thought…I think…I don't know what's going on.” Naruto admitted, holding her hand up to his face, ”You can't be real, you just can't.”

”Why can't I be real?” Sakura asked slowly, concern on her face.

”Because you're dead.” Naruto answered immediately. ”You, everyone. You're not supposed to be here. I'm not supposed to be here.”

Sakura's frown deepened, ”Where are you supposed to be-”

The door suddenly flew open with a bang, as something small came running into the room. That something was a little boy, no older than five. His hair was a deep blonde, with a curved spike to it that reminded Naruto of a leaf. He was wearing a black track suit with red tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs, his arms waving as he ran up to the bedside. As he did, Naruto saw the boy had a pair of deep blue eyes and matching whisker marks on his cheeks.

The boy's head barely peaked over the mattress, his hands pulling him up enough so his eyes could be seen as he began to say animatedly, ”Dad, Dad, Dad! Mama said you got hurt while training, but…but I told her that you can't get hurt 'cause that's what Sarada told me! That, that you're the strongest, so you can't get hurt. So why did Mama say you got hurt? Huh Dad?”

It only took a second for Naruto to realize the boy was talking to him.

As he was about to find his voice, Hinata's cut him off as she walked into the room, ”Boruto, what did I say about running off?” She asked gently.

Boruto's head dipped, ”Sorry, Mama.”

s.h.i.+fting the bundle in her arms, Hinata's focus turned to Naruto, ”Are you feeling better?” She asked, hopeful.

But Naruto was too busy noticing what the bundle in her arms was. It was a toddler, no older than two or three years old. From what he could see, it was a little girl. As the girl s.h.i.+fted in Hinata's arms, Naruto realized she and the boy had matching eyes and whisker marks on their cheeks. The only strikingly different thing between them was that her hair was the same shade as Hinata's.

When Naruto didn't respond, Boruto's smile faded, ”Dad?”

Sakura, seeing Naruto's confused state, quickly walked around the bed. Picking Boruto up in her arms, she gave Hinata as even of a smile as she could, ”Do you think we could talk outside?”

Boruto, in Sakura's arms, turned to face his father, frowning back at him.

Hinata nodded slowly, looking over Sakura's shoulder in concern. As they closed the door behind them, Naruto leaned forward as he gripped his head in his hands.

”This can't be real. This can't be real. This can't be real.” He repeated in his head, rocking back and forth as he willed himself to wake up, ”Everyone's gone, there's no way this is happening. Everyone…”

A sudden thought occurring to him, Naruto closed his eyes and allowed himself to fall into his mindscape.

Opening his eyes, he smiled at the sight before him.

”h.e.l.lo partner. Quite the interesting day you're having, hmm?”

Naruto gave an exhausted laugh, rubbing his head as he said, ”Yeah, yeah I'm gonna be honest this illusion or whatever the h.e.l.l is happening was pretty convincing. It almost got me there for ”

He stopped at seeing Kurama's concerned face.

The blonde smiled warily, ”What?” He asked.

Kurama hesitated for a moment, his words measured, ”You're not under an illusion, Naruto. This is real.”

”Bulls.h.i.+t.”

The Biju paused, ”Naruto, I'm not-”

”Stop bulls.h.i.+tting me, Kurama! You, this Hinata, this Sakura, you all think this is a funny game, don't you? Well it's not! So stop, right now!” Naruto yelled harshly, ”They're dead. Don't try and convince me otherwise. Not after everything we've been through in the last seven years.”