A Different Path

Saved By The Enemy

Naruto's POV

A tangy smell of disinfectant found its way through Naruto's nostrils and into his lungs, making him scrunch his nose while grimacing from the stings he felt all over his body. Urgh.. My head..
A sudden pain somehow wandered inside his head as he grabbed his temples, moaning slightly in distress. Where am I?
He tried opening his eyes but the pain intensified as soon as he blinked the second time, when he creaked them open only to get blinded by a white, blurry screen. He rubbed his eyes forcefully and scanned the surroundings. Kurama? Son? Matatabi? Guys? The blond sighed, with cold air in the weary rising and falling of his chest. The connection must have been cut off. Speaking of which, what happened to me?

He looked around and recognized the place as a hospital-like room, probably the Oharo Clan's infirmary. He let his gaze wander over his own torso filled with bandages covering burns that were slowly hissing as they healed, and realization suddenly hit him. Oh. Right. Damn.
Before he made even the smallest effort to get out of the silky sheets drenched in sweat of the not-so-comfortable bed he had been put in, he focused his chakra to reopen his entry to the Tailed Beast psyche. In a flash, he jolted upwards, his ears splitting from the loud yell.
"NA-RU-TO!! CAN-YOU-HEAR-ME?!"

"Yes and you don't need to spell it out for me, I am not retarded." Naruto huffed with exasperation to which Kurama laughed lovingly. He sniffed the top of his Jinchuriki's head as if he hadn't seen him in ages. The fox ruffled his reddish pelt in satisfaction as he wrapped his tails around the teen who in response buried his face into his soft fur, purring lowly.
"You scared the hell outta me, kit. I thought I was going to lose you.." The Tailed Beast's gaze smothered Naruto with warmth and worry.
"You won't lose me, bud. Don't worry." The Jinchuriki smiled gently.

"You always say that, after, you almost die, you idiot!" Gyuki cuffed the back of his head, making him groan loudly. He was still a little dizzy from the throbbing headache. Kurama snorted with laughter while Matatabi licked Naruto's blonde locks, making sure that he received all the comfort he needed.
"She's the only one who actually cares about me, you know?" Naruto rolled his eyes, his gratitude towards the blue tiger hidden in his words.
"Yeah, yeah. You should see what that moron wants, they're freaking out." Kurama pushed the other Tailed Beasts away as he nudged Naruto to widen his sensory range.

"Shh! Wait-I think he's up now." Kou's worried voice came out from the other side. The blond checked if there were any people nearby before he spoke lowly, clicking his tongue.
"I'm not dead, dumbass." He sighed, clearly irritated, even though he was secretly happy to have him concerned about his well being.
"Naruto! What happened? Are you alright?" Sasuke spoke up, audibly eager to make sure Naruto was okay and to hear his voice.
"Yeah. I passed out from the smoke but I'm fine now. The Oharo must have taken care of my burns since I'm in the infirmary." He didn't get to say anything more when Sakura's yell intervened.
"Burns?! You got burnt?! How bad is it? Did you-?"

"I said I'm okay so stop fussing over it!" He growled, effectively shutting her up. He could almost feel the hurt she was probably feeling. A chakra signature seemed to be nearing the room Naruto was in. "Someone's coming."
The steps grew louder until the click of a door handle was heard.
"The sleeping beauty is officially awake!" Takao smirked at him, leaning against the wall after he closed the door.
"Shut up." Naruto growled again as he swung his legs over the mattress and let them dangle above the floor, some of the cold seeping into his toes. He threw a glance and located his black boots near the nightstand over his right.

"Don't I get a 'thank you' for saving your ass out of those flames?" The Oharo pouted like a child, obviously trying to piss the blond off.
"If I hadn't pushed you out of the way you would both be dead. I would have found a way out, eventually." The Jinchuriki's voice remained controlled.
"While you were passed out. Right. Man, how would I like to see you do that!" Takao snorted but Naruto ignored his comment and quickly put his chain mail, boots and black tracksuit on, pulling his hood up in the end while grimacing slightly from brushing his fingers along the bandages.

"How's everyone else?" He asked, seemingly uninterested.
"No casualties, just minor injuries. Aoi's fine. And really now, thank you." Takao's cheeks got slightly pink while his gaze drifted down onto the ground, when he had to swallow his pride.
"You're welcome." Naruto smiled slyly, making the Oharo roll his eyes and grit his teeth. Just when they were becoming friends.
"Get your ass up. Aoi wants to see you." Takao gestured towards the door as he opened it with a small creak.
"Aoi? Oh, really?" The blond made a surprised face to mess with him some more but the shinobi ignored the last comment and started walking at a slow pace with Naruto following him closely.
Do I have a bad feeling about this.

The Oharo led him to another room just around the left corner where, Naruto guessed, the shinobi belonging entirely to the clan were treated. I must have been placed in the 'guest' room, given the nice and 'professional' way it was looking. As soon as he stepped inside the other room, he knew he was right. Just the greenish grime on the walls confirmed his guess.
Still as unwelcoming as always. The sour smell coming from the so called 'newly washed' bed sheets caused Naruto to inwardly curl his lower lip into a disgusted snarl. There were about ten shinobi groaning in pain, some overreacting from a small cut while others claimed that the nurses hadn't given them the painkillers they had promised.
At least it isn't worse that Orochimaru's 'white room'.

Takao nudged him over to one of the beds near the other side of the room, on which a patched Oharo laid restlessly, his gaze suddenly jumping onto the Jinchuriki with a weird tint of delight, making the blond feel slightly uncomfortable.
"And here is our savior!" He tried to get up but to no avail. Although no obvious wounds were visible on his body except the broken arm, he still seemed to be in a dire condition. "I wanted to thank you personally for saving my life as well as my best friend's here, who has probably been rather rude to you." Aoi glanced at the Oharo at his right, who huffed indignantly.

"Not really. It's fine." Naruto had set his mind on trying not to get involved in any kind of contact with the ninja before him, so he wouldn't risk getting discovered.
"He can be a real pain sometimes." Aoi chuckled softly before fixing his curious gaze onto the blond's and opening his mouth again. "Do you also have any people around you who are like that?" Unfortunately, yes. An image of Kou drooling over some nurses suddenly popped up in his mind.
"No, I don't." Naruto was silently praying for something to happen and to drag him away from this awkward silence that was slowly finding its place in the air.

Suddenly, the door burst open to reveal a panting Oharo with a red face. Bingo!
"Lord Ryoko has summoned all the stable ninja in the Great Hall! If you are not injured severely, you'd better get going."

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Heya! Another one up! I can't believe the amount of views this story's getting. Like, really guys, it's insane! Thank you all! Oh-And, which POV do you prefer? Naruto's or Sasuke's? Let me know so I can modify my drafts!
Next time, on Naruto Shippuden: 'It Has Begun'
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~See ya!~
~Bella~
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