Something to Fight For (Naruto)

Preparing

Haruka woke up in her bed.

Her hair was down and she was shirtless, with tightly wrapped bandages going from under her arms to just under her bellybutton. Immediately, she could tell that a few ribs were broken from the sparks of pain that flared up with every movement she made. Frowning from worry and her injury, Haruka slowly sat up, arms shaking from the strain.

Where was Nii-san? The last thing she remembered was seeing him face off Gaara, a feat that is difficult for anyone. And why was she in her bed instead of a hospital? Of course, she would prefer to avoid the hospital and its lengthy stays, but it still seemed suspicious for her to be left alone without a fight.

Before she could heal herself, she had to find out where Nii-san was and what was going on. With a small grunt, Haruka swung her legs over the edge of the bed, planting them firmly on the ground. Gently, she raised herself up, leaning heavily on her bed. Her ribs seemed to be the only pressing injury, but they hurt worse than several stab wounds combined. And she should know.

Stumbling slightly, Haruka managed to reach the window. Right away, it was easy to see why she had been put in her home instead of a hospital.

The village was a wreck. Just from the small section of street she could see, Haruka could tell that multiple buildings were smashed to pieces and there was debris cluttering the streets. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes to try and think back as to how this could have happened.

She had been at the Chunin exams, helping Hinata, when she had suddenly fallen asleep. Once she woke up, she had been attacked by Gaara and passed out once more, leading to her current situation. If Gaara had been allowed to kidnap her so, than that must have meant that the sand village betrayed Konoha, and possibly one of the other participating villages.

An invasion on such a scale would mean many injuries and casualties on both  sides. Considering the fact that she wasn't dead or in an unknown jail somewhere though, it was safe to assume that they were able to fend off the attackers fairly well.

It did explain why she wasn't in a hospital at the time. There probably already an overflow of patients from all the fighting, so they had sent some of the more minor patients home. Her injuries may not be the smallest ever, but the staff was most likely so used to her resistance every time she stayed there, and placed her accordingly.

Now, to find Nii-san. Shuffling towards the door, Haruka wasn't able to make it five feet before she pitched forward, barely managing to catch herself on her hands. Her torso was completely straight to avoid any aches, making it look as if she was doing a plank.

With a sigh of relief, Haruka tilted her head to the side as she cracked her neck. Her attention was drawn to a slightly creased paper that had fallen to the ground, landing near her door.

Shifting her body to a sitting position slower than a slug, Haruka looked at the paper for a few seconds before noticing the faint writing on it. To avoid having to bend over to reach it, she used her foot to slide it in direction, smoothing it out to make the chicken scratch legible.

 'Deer ## Haruka' was the first thing that caught her eye. Strangely enough, it looked as if two letters had been scribbled out in the middle. Not to mention the horrible spelling. Shaking her head, she continued reading it.

Dis is Naruto! Evurythin is ok. U just hav some bad ribs, and I only got some scratchis on me, so tha nursis sayd u culd rest at hom.

If u wake up before 3:30 on tha 5th, put on the cloths undur ur bed an go to tha memoreal fur tha funerl.

                                                                        Naruto.

 

It took Haruka a solid ten minutes to read the note due to the awkward spelling. Seeing it was from Nii-san made her give a small smile of relief.

A quick look at her calender at clock showed her that she had about an hour before the designated time to get ready and arrive. Who the funeral was for was a mystery, but it was obviously someone she probably knew since Nii-san told her to go to it.

The idea made her stomach clench worriedly.

Still, comrades died every day. It was a fact that she would have to get used to if she was to be good ninja.

Pushing the thought out of her head, Haruka slid her foot under her bed to pull her clothes out, grateful that her room was so small.

There was a simple pair of black pants and a traditional plain black shirt. Swiftly, she healed her ribs as fast as she could until they were manageable, though not fully healed. This took about twenty minutes, so she still had enough time to get to the memorial on time. Haruka stood and gently slid her shirt on, wincing only slightly when it rubbed against the bandages. The pants went on next, and she was ready to go.

Making sure to grab her headband and tie it on before she left, Haruka walked extra slowly as to not irritate her ribs. Now that she was outside she could feel her Nii-san's chakra inside his apartment. She wanted to wait for him, but knew that she would only slow him down.

As she ambled down the road to her destination, Haruka did her best to keep her mind off of the upcoming event, thinking of whatever came to her mind. She noticed that she left her hair had been left down so it skimmed her shoulders, and that it was about to rain. She saw that the streets were quieter than usual, and those who were out and about were dressed somberly as well. She wondered what buildings were left standing, especially the Bar-B-Que places. She even started thinking about why her Nii-san wore orange.

Anything to get her mind off of the funeral.

 Thirty minutes of hobbling later, she arrived. The whole village seemed to be there, lined up in neat rows. None of the ninjas were crying, but their faces barely suppressed their despair. The set up itself made Haruka's throat clog up.

Looking around, she saw her team near the front. Skirting the crowd, she made her way over. Kiba was the first to notice her, lunging over to bury her in a hug. He dragged her the rest of the way, not saying a word. Hinata hugged her as well, albeit more shyly, while Kurenai and Shino nodded in their own way.

"Who..." Haruka whispered, finding it hard to talk all of the sudden. "Who is this funeral for? No one ever told me..."

Biting his lip, Kiba glanced away with clenched fists. Hinata's head dropped, her bangs obscuring her eyes and Shino's silence seemed even more solemn than usual.

After a minute, Kurenai finally spoke up.

"The Hokage."

Current Count: 97

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Soooooooooooooooooo....

I found out how to see when you started the book!! Just put your mouse-thing over the cover, and BOOM! You can see the date! It's March, if you were wondering. ^_^

Song fits the chapter.... At least to me. X3

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