Naruto: The Samurai of Konoha [OC, Gradual Growth]

Konoha Hospital.

"Open wide."

"..."

Hana stood at the bedside holding a bowl of porridge, looking at Shin with the patient, implacable expression of someone who had been waiting long enough.

"Come on. Be good. Open wide." She moved the spoon toward his mouth.

"Hana..." Shin turned his head away—stiff, faintly miserable about it. "I can do it myself."

"Open—wide—" She said it again exactly as if he hadn't spoken.

"..."

"Open. Wide."

He gave up. He always gave up eventually. The porridge went down warm, and Hana's face did what it always did when she got her way.

"Good boy."

By the time the bowl was empty—despite Shin's continuous low-grade squirming—Hana set it on the side table with the serenity of someone who had won.

"Kiba. Wash this."

In the corner, Kiba looked up from where he'd been sitting on the floor with Akamaru in his lap.

"...Why?"

"Because I said so."

"That's not— I didn't even get any. I want some too—"

"This was made especially for Shin. He needs his strength back."

"Tch." Kiba looked away.

"And don't think I can't tell what you're doing," Hana added mildly. "You're using 'visiting Shin' as an excuse to skip class, aren't you."

"...No I'm not."

"Then go wash the bowl."

Kiba didn't have anything to say to that. He gathered himself off the floor, accepted the bowl with a defeated expression, and trudged toward the door.

......

Knock knock knock.

"Come in," Hana called.

The door opened to a girl about Shin's age. She took one look at Hana and immediately locked up.

"H—hello..."

Then she looked at Shin in the hospital bed and went red all the way to her ears.

"Oh, you're one of Shin's classmates?" Hana rose from her chair, smiling. "You came to visit?"

"It's Uegawa." Shin lifted a hand in greeting from the bed.

"Y—yes—" The girl gripped the square box in both hands. Her face was still crimson. "Shin—Shin-kun—I heard you were sick, so I—I made chocolate, I wanted to give you—to bring—I—"

Her words were coming out in the wrong order. The more she tried to fix it, the worse it got.

"That's so kind of you," Hana said, stepping forward and accepting the box before Shin could respond. "Shin is very grateful, I know he is."

"Your hands are so steady." Hana turned the box over with genuine admiration. "You made this yourself?"

"N—nowhere near as good as—it's nothing—"

Aoi looked at Shin one more time. She took a breath. Some private decision was made.

"Shin-kun." Her voice came out steadier than the rest of her had managed. "I hope you get better soon."

Then she turned and fled.

"..."

Hana carried the gift back to the side table and set it with the others. The stack was getting impressive.

"Fourth one this morning." She couldn't quite hide her smile. "There were quite a few yesterday too."

"You are very popular with the girls, Shin."

Shin gave her a tired smile that said he knew.

"Chocolate." Hana looked at the box she'd just placed down. "Every single one brings chocolate. Has any of them thought about whether you're actually allowed to eat chocolate right now?"

A pause.

"Do all your classmates just skip class whenever they feel like it?"

Iruka stared at his classroom—which contained maybe a third of its usual population, and nearly all of them boys—and felt a very specific muscle twitch near his left eye.

These little—

The chalk in his hand quietly crumbled to dust.

"Iruka-sensei?"

"..."

"Iruka-sensei, um. I was thinking—I might need the morning off. I'm not feeling well, my stomach's been a little—it's not that I want to go to the hospital or anything, I just—"

"No."

"Huh?"

"No. Sit down. Your stomach can suffer in silence."

The sound that came out of Iruka could charitably be called a voice.

"Shino." Hana stood to greet him. "Come in."

He nodded and crossed the room to hand her the container with both hands. "My mother made soup. For Shin's lunch."

"She really didn't have to." Hana accepted it, warmth in her voice. "Tell her thank you."

Shino turned toward the bed. "Shin. You've recovered?"

His father had told him this morning—almost off-hand, as his father told most things—that Shin was awake and doing better. Shino hadn't quite believed it. Yesterday Shin had looked worse than he'd ever seen anyone look.

"Getting there," Shin said. "They might let me out soon."

"No," Hana said, without turning around. "They won't. You're staying until you're properly recovered, and that's final."

Shin exhaled.

"Didn't Tsume-san come?" Shino asked.

"She went out early this morning." Hana thought about it. "She was already gone by the time I got home to make breakfast. No idea where."

My father left early too, Shino noted privately.

......

Kiba came back with the washed bowl around the same time.

"Shino." He dropped back into his chair. "Iruka-sensei's going to be furious."

"We should both go back," Shino said.

"He's always furious, it's fine—"

"Kiba." Hana's voice was pleasant and absolute. "Both of you. There's nothing you can do here, and you're going back to class."

"What—"

"Should I call Mom and have her convince you?"

Kiba shut his mouth.

"...Fine." It came out like something being dragged.

Shin laughed. Properly this time.

"Hey!" Kiba pointed at him. "What are you laughing at? You get to just lie there while people bring you things and Hana-nee takes care of you—"

"Shin is a patient," Hana said, and gently knocked the back of Kiba's head.

"..."

Knock knock knock.

"Another admirer, probably," Hana said with amusement.

"Hana-nee," Shin said.

"Tch." Kiba crossed his arms and looked at the ceiling.

"Come in!"

The door opened—and everyone stopped.

"Naruto?" Kiba blinked. "What are you doing here?"

Naruto Uzumaki stood in the doorway. One hand held a round box. His goggles were pushed up on his forehead. He was scratching the back of his head with the other hand, wearing a grin that was working slightly harder than his usual ones.

"I—uh—heard Shin was in the hospital, so—I wanted to come see him—" He glanced at Hana and visibly stiffened.

"You must be one of Shin's classmates." Hana smiled. "That was thoughtful of you."

"Naruto." Shin raised a hand.

Naruto's whole expression eased.

"Hey." The grin became a real one—bright and slightly gap-toothed. "You okay?"

"Better. Thanks for coming."

"Of course!" He laughed, back to himself. "I knew you'd be fine. You're Shin."

"Tch." Kiba was already eyeing the box. "What'd you bring?"

"Oh—uh—it's—hmm—" Naruto shifted it behind his back.

"Let me see." Kiba was up and across the room in two steps.

"Kiba," Hana said.

He was already holding the box up, turning it over, squinting at it. Naruto had gone very still.

"This is..."

"Instant ramen?!"

Shin: "..."

Hana: "..."

Shino: "..."

"Kiba." Hana lifted the box from his hands before he could say another word and turned to Naruto with the same warm expression she'd used on every visitor. "Thank you so much, Naruto-kun. That was very thoughtful."

"I—yeah—sorry, I—" Naruto was somewhere between sheepish and mortified.

"Who brings instant ramen to a hospital," Kiba muttered, just loud enough.

"Kiba," Hana said. There was an edge in it this time.

"Naruto," Shin said.

"..."

"Thank you."

Naruto blinked. Looked at him. Looked at the floor.

"...Oh."

He stood there for a moment. Then he grinned—wide, a little unsteady.

"You'd better get better fast, okay? I'm serious." He jabbed a thumb-up toward the bed. "I'm counting on you."

"I'll try," Shin said.

"Good." Naruto took a breath. "I should—I'll head out. Sorry for the trouble."

He turned toward the door, bowing to Hana—

Knock knock knock.

Everyone went still.

Naruto stopped with his hand on the door.

"Come in!" Hana said.

The door swung open.

A dark-haired boy, about the same age. Square jaw. Sharp eyes. Gift box held in both hands.

The three boys stared.

"Sa—Sa—Sasuke?!"

Naruto practically left the ground.

Sasuke Uchiha stood in the doorway. He took in the room—Kiba, Shino, that particular blond idiot—and every face wearing the same wide-eyed, open-mouthed expression.

His face went flat.

I should have just sent the gift.

He crossed the room and handed the box to Hana with a small, precise bow.

Then he turned to the bed.

"Father asked me to come." He said it quickly, like getting it out of the way. "Don't get any wrong ideas."

"Wrong ideas about what?" Shin asked.

"..." Sasuke looked away. "Tch. Nothing."

Hana held the gift in both hands and felt something she didn't quite have a name for. She knew, generally, what had happened to Shin—what the Uchiha connection was to it. She didn't know what to do with a eight-year-old Uchiha showing up at the door saying Father asked me to come.

She wasn't sure the eight-year-old did either.

On the other side of the room, Kiba was already reaching for the gift box Sasuke had brought.

"Kiba." Hana's hand intercepted his before he got there.

"I just want to see what's—"

"Leave it."

Naruto, still lingering by the door, pointed at Sasuke. "Why did your dad send you specifically?"

Sasuke didn't look at him.

"Hey, I'm talking to you—"

"Takami." Sasuke's gaze had moved to the bed. He stopped. Tried again. "Shin."

"...Yeah?" Shin said.

"You're—" He seemed to be sorting something out internally. "You're okay now?"

"I'm fine. Thank you for the concern."

"I'm not—" Sasuke started, then stopped. Looked at the floor. Made some kind of internal decision. "...Whatever."

He turned back to Hana and bowed again, properly. "I'll be going. Thank you for receiving me."

"Of course." Hana rose to walk him out.

"Goodbye, Sasuke." Shin raised a hand from the bed.

Sasuke glanced back once. He didn't say anything. The door closed behind him.

Hana stood for a moment.

"Polite kid," she said.

"Polite?!" Naruto's voice came out strangled.

She looked at him. "Yes. Polite." A pause. "You can go too, Naruto-kun."

"Right—yeah—" He recovered, bowed again with more care than the first time. "Thanks for having me. Shin—get better."

"See you," Shin said.

Naruto left.

Hana turned to the remaining two. "You know what I'm about to say."

"We know," Kiba said.

"Then—"

"Already going, already going." He pushed himself off the chair.

"Shino, keep an eye on him."

Kiba looked outraged. Shino nodded.

"Kiba. Shino."

They stopped.

Shin was looking at the side table—piled so high with gift boxes that a couple were threatening to slide off the edge.

"Take some of this with you," he said.

"Those were given to you," Hana protested.

"Shin can't eat any of it anyway." Kiba was already moving, already sorting through the stack with the efficiency of someone who had been waiting for exactly this permission. He selected several boxes with good packaging and pressed half of them on Shino, who accepted them without comment.

"Akamaru—you want some?"

"Arf!"

"Take those somewhere outside the school," Shin said. "Those were all made by classmates. If the girls who made them see you eating it, that'll be awkward."

"Yeah yeah, I know." Kiba was already halfway through the door, a box under each arm. "Come on, Shino."

Shino followed. The door clicked shut.

Hana looked at Shin. Shin looked at the ceiling. The room was very quiet.

"Rest," she said.

"'Shin-kun—I hope I get to see your smile at school tomorrow. Yours, Ai Sato.'"

Kiba held a slip of paper up in the afternoon light, read it out loud with the solemn gravity of someone delivering important news, and then shuddered.

"'Shin-kun. Wishing you a speedy recovery. Sa Nijino.'"

"Kiba." Shino walked beside him. "Those are private notes."

"They're in boxes that Shin gave us. They're ours now." He unfolded the next one. Cleared his throat.

"'Shin-kun—these past two days without you, the sky has felt gray. I really wish I knew a jutsu that could cure you. Then you wouldn't have to suffer at all. —Mishuki Irie.'"

He lowered the paper and spent several seconds processing this.

"How does Naoki have a sister like that?" He rubbed his arm where the goosebumps had risen. "That's not even— how do you write that and send it?"

"The same way anyone does," Shino said. "With a brush and ink."

"..."

"That was a joke," Shino clarified.

"I know it was a joke, it just wasn't funny." Kiba folded the notes up and tucked them in his pocket. "Okay. New plan."

"I have concerns about what that plan might be."

"We bring the chocolates back to class. Let Naoki's group taste them—they're gonna say they're bad anyway, the girls made them—and let them hear. Make them think Shin didn't like them."

Shino considered this. "You want to actively sabotage the romantic prospects of our classmates."

"Shin doesn't like having girls hovering over him." Kiba shifted his armful of boxes. "He'll thank me."

"Will he."

"He would if he knew."

"..."

"And yours, too." Kiba turned and pointed at the box Shino was carrying. "Don't eat that. Bring it back."

Shino looked down at the box.

"..."

"Kiba!"

The shout came from down the street. Both of them turned.

Familiar faces—Hana's teammates.

"Hey!" Ryoto Ninomiya jogged up, already grinning. "Kiba, just the person. You know where your sister is? We haven't been able to reach her—"

"She's at the hospital." Kiba shifted his boxes.

Both Ryoto and Zeri Kano stopped.

"The hospital." Ryoto's voice dropped. "What? What happened to—"

"She's fine, she's not hurt." Kiba waved his hand quickly. "She's there for Shin. Shin got sick."

They looked at each other. The tension went out of Ryoto's shoulders.

"...Shin," Ryoto said. "Right. Okay. Good." He exhaled. "What's wrong with him?"

"...I don't know." Kiba thought about it. "He sweat a lot."

"He sweat a lot," Zeri repeated.

"Yeah."

They exchanged another look.

"Alright," Ryoto said, getting back to business. "You two should get to school."

"We're going." Kiba hoisted his boxes again. "You're heading to the hospital?"

"That's the plan." He was already looking past them, calculating. "Good running into you, kid."

Kiba and Shino turned and walked. Behind them, the sound of footsteps going the other way.

"Those are your sister's teammates?" Shino said.

"Yeah." Kiba watched their retreating backs. "Both of them."

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat at his desk with a pipe in one hand and a headache he wasn't going to get rid of.

The documents spread in front of him weren't helping.

What is Fugaku Uchiha trying to accomplish.

Going after a child.

One page in the stack had a name on it he recognized. Shin Takami. Listed under incident details. Listed under victim.

Tsukasa's son.

Smoke drifted up from the pipe. Hiruzen pressed two fingers against his temple and tried to make it add up.

The relationship between Fugaku Uchiha and Tsukasa Takami...

It doesn't add up.