Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Legend of Explosive Youth! ❯ Interlude: To Find a Nail ( Chapter 14 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

txy08b_findanail.txt

2009-04-20 - hammered this one out after a couple days of not getting more than a few sentences on something else.



Little things can have seemingly unreasonably huge effects. It's been said before, but it's worth repeating... Sometime ages ago, one mercant makes a better deal than another, so one family becomes a major trading house instead of another, so the favored route to their home city is by a different road, so a horse looses a nail from its shoe in a different place. It gets stuck in the soft sole of a panicked man's house-slipper, so he's slower and less able to travel...

The question, of course, is whether things turn out the better or worse from that normally minor injury. Let's find out, shall we?


Legend of Explosive Youth!

Chapter 8b: Finding a Nail in your Shoe

conclusive proof that dialNforNinja STILL LIVES!



Konoha Year 58

Just outside Konohagakure


A gasping civilian man struggled as he carried his wife through the dark forest, staggering with every step. The lower part of her yukata as well as his arms were dark with liquid, and he stumbled and almost fell as she paused in her labored breathing to clutch at her stomach and scream. The large dog running after them whined worriedly.

A few more panting breaths, and she gasped out, "Put, put me down, Anata... It's too late..."

"No! I..." Another step on his injured foot made him wince and grimace. "I have to get you to the medic-nin, Hitomi! I can't call myself a man if I fail!"

"There's no question of that, you pigheaded ass, this is AAAGH! FUCK!! ... all your fault in the first place! There's no goddamn time, find a clear spot and put me DOOOOOOOW! Shit, you've delivered enough puppies, you know how these fucking things work!"

Legs frozen by shock, he goggled for a moment at his usually sweet, traditional, deferential wife before stammering, "But... Already?... I mean... they said..." He stopped babbling and clenched his own teeth as as the woman's face twisted up in pain and her hand tightened punishingly on his bicep. "All right, all right!"

As gently as he could, he lowered his love on the grass in a moonlit clearing, then quickly unfastened his own yukata top and spread it on the ground before moving her onto it. The woman panted for a few more seconds before cutting loose with another scream, her fingernails leaving gouges in his now unprotected arm as she grabbed it again.

Wincing but not really even noticing the damage, he fumbled with the obi that had been tied hurriedly before leaving their outlying homestead, then drew his belt knife and reached to cut it away.

Before he could, he found himself unable to move, one small hand on that wrist and another on the opposite shoulder. Both held him in a grip as immutable as stone as the dog belatedly began barking and growling. From just behind him, a young girl's voice demanded calmly but firmly, "What's the situation here?"

Yelping, he jerked in surprise and would have fallen if not for the unbending support of the unseen person still restraining him. "Ah! Oh, shinobi-sama, it's my wife! The baby is coming, but I stepped on something sharp and I couldn't carry her fast enough..."

Understanding, the dark-haired young kunoichi eased him back into a balanced position, then let go before firmly nudging him to the side. "In that case, it seems your luck isn't so bad after all. I'm an apprentice medic-nin, and Tsunade-sama is right nearby..." suddenly remembering her teacher's unfortunate phobia and how bloody childbirths were, she hastened to add, "but we won't even need to bother her with something as normal as this, I'm a great student!" She gave her best reassuring smile before using a quick chakra exercise to make the knotted belt untie itself, then helped Hitomi shrug the yukata off and tapped a pair of nerve clusters on her back to deaden the pain.

Sighing in relief the woman lay back afterward, arm stabbing out like a striking snake to grab her man again as he tried to step back and let the women deal with the terrifying process since someone else had taken charge. "No you don't, husband," she ordered. "Make yourself useful and put my head in your lap, if shinobi-sama doesn't need you for anything."

"Er, yes dear." Almost hopefully he asked, "Is there anything you need of me, shinobi-sama?"

Stifling a most unprofessional urge to giggle, the teenager shook her head and replied, "You can just call me Shizune, and helping make your wife comfortable is the best thing for you do do. Us girls'll handle the rest. Though you should probably keep a hand on your dog's collar as well, he could get anxious with a stranger around when one of his people is hurting."

She whipped out a short sequence of hand seals and produced a gentle stream of warm water to fill a large bowl pulled from her pack, then used it to wash away the sticky amniotic fluid still clinging from when Hitomi's water broke. She spoke reassuringly as a quick medical jutsu confirmed the baby's condition - stressed of course, but no more than normally under the circumstances. More detailed readings would have to wait until afterward, when he could be cleaned up and Tsunade could check on him. "Just keep it up, ma'am, you're doing fine, and your baby is too. It looks like this is your first time, ne?" Seeing the young husband's hurried nods even as another contraction rippled across his wife's abdomen, she continued, "Normally a first delivery takes a long time because things have to stretch enough for the baby to come out, but there's techniques to help with that, and to make recovering afterwards faster and easier. We should be done here in just a couple of hours," she said brightly.

"HOURS!?" Hitomi shouted, all but crushing her husband's hand. After the next contraction passed, her next few comments were quite unprintable.

Shizune hid a snicker by turning to rummage in her pack. She'd actually assisted with a birth a part of her first C-rank mission, before even ever seeing a medic jutsu used, but first time parents all acted the same whether they were wealthy nobles or hard-scrabble peasants.

---=- + -=---

In the end it was a bare hour and a half, the sturdy baby boy's first cries ear splitting against the quiet night background until he was washed, wrapped in Shizune's blanket, and gathered to his mother's breast. Not even she could do anything about the blood soaked and caul stained yukata that had been used as a ground sheet, however, so she apologized softly as she wrapped the mess up in it and used a training Earth-type jutsu to bury it deep enough to at least keep civilians from noticing the lingering scent, and deter wild animals from digging it up. "Come on, you can stay at our camp tonight and go into Konoha to visit the hospital in the morning," she instructed.

Having dealt with the small puncture in his foot while waiting for the baby to arrive, Shizune helped the young father to get on his feet and pick up his newly enlarged family, their vigilant dog staying close on his heels. Suddenly he charged ahead, barking and growling, and Shizune dashed after him when she heard a terrified squeal.

She returned a moment later cuddling a small, terrified piglet, the dog following again with his ears laid back and growling every few seconds. "It's just my piggy Ton-ton," she reassured the nervous parents, before saying quietly, "Tsunade-sama is feeling a little off right now, she lost someone very close to her recently. It's a wound that can't be healed by jutsu... Please let me do most of the talking with her, alright?" She felt a fresh stab in her own heart at the thought of her uncle, but kept her professional mien in place.

"Of course, Shizune-sama," the young man replied quietly. "I can just go on to Konoha now that you fixed my foot, there's no need for us to intrude."

"The gates are closed by now anyway," a new voice cut in from overhead. "And I don't need coddling, Shizune. You can turn around and go back yourself if you're going to try to treat me with kid gloves."

"Of course not, Tsunade-sama!" the younger kunoichi acknowledged. Hoping to distract her teacher, she suggested, "Would you like to examine the baby, shishou? He seems to be fine, but I am only your apprentice."

Stomach quivering slightly at the lingering smell of blood despite the light buzz and deadened senses from the sake she'd been drinking since making camp, the legendary medic hesitated a moment before hopping down from her tree and passing a green-lit hand over the infant where he lay snoozing with his mother, in his father's sturdy arms. She frowned, made a few handseals, then applied both palms to the tiny body, and the new parent caught his breath in sudden fear.

"What is it, Tsunade-sama?" he gulped.

"Nothing to worry about. Just... This kid, don't let him try to be a ninja when he grows up."

Shizune was also confused, but let the father speak since she'd already been reprimanded. "Not a ninja? ... I don't understand, is there something wrong?"

Rather than answer directly, Tsunade turned and started walking slowly away. "Being a ninja is a shit job," she said, spitting the words out like bitter fruit. "The only worse job is to be a leader of ninja. Anyone who wants a happy life, should stay as far away from ninja as possible... Come on Shizune, we're going."

Startled, the girl protested, "Going? But, our camp things, and we can't just leave these three alone can we?"

Waving such concerns away, Tsunade replied, "They can have the camp stuff, I'll just buy us some more at the next town. The patrols will keep an eye on them overnight so there's nothing to worry about." She pulled a fresh bottle of sake out of a pocket and kept walking away.

Hurriedly, Shizune bowed and made her apologies for the abrupt departure. "It looks like we'll be leaving you after all, but the camp is just past those trees. Please excuse Tsunade-sama, it's a trying time, um ... actually, I don't think I ever got your names..."

"Cliff, I'm Rock Cliff, and this is my wife Hitomi and little Lee. We'll never forget your help, Shizune-sama, and thank Tsunade-sama for us as well. Buddha bless you both, and bring your hearts healing and fortune in your travels."

Knowing her teacher, the girl had little doubt that they'd need all the blessings they could get as far as fortune was concerned. As for healing hearts... Oh yeah, every blessing they could get.

================================

Just a pair of short scenes that popped into my head this evening, explaing why my Lee is capable of even a tiny bit of chakra use when canon Lee is completely unable to. Of course, even Tsunade can't do much drunk and only willing to spend a few minutes on it - it's hardly life threatening after all, and she makes her position on the ninja life abundantly clear, so his not being brought up to full potential is not a big issue to her... At least, not at that time.

The title, of course, is the reversed form of the "for want of a nail" solliloquy.

As to timelines:

Distant past:

The Haruno clan head decides to push their bloodline abilities and find new techniques for a combat oriented age like their couterparts the Yamanaka, rather than hold to the traditional espionage and infiltration role.

Aburame silk traders expand to general carriers in place of Haruno civilian branch.

KY 53 - 5 yr old Baksuta Neshan found in the wreckage of a merchant caravan wiped out by bandits

KY 56 - Momochi Keiunko meets Maito Gai on a mission to Konoha, end of Third Shinobi War, Mitarashi Minato appointed 4th Hokage over Danzo and Orochimaru

KY 57 - Momochi Keiunko resigns from service in Hidden Mist, Gai and Keiunko marry

KY 58 - death of Nawaki, Tsunade leaves Konoha, Rock Lee born, Maito Rikou born

KY 59 - Kyuubi attacks, Naruto born, 3rd Hokage reinstated over Danzo and Orochimaru

KY 60 - Orochimaru gets angry and careles after being passed over AGAIN, his experiments on Leaf citizens are discovered so he collects Anko under false pretences and flees

(spoilery stuff happens)

KY 70 - Naruto, Lee, and Rikou graduate, Tenten informally becomes Neshan's student after graduating but not having a team available.

KY 71 - Sasuke, Sakura, et al graduate, Tenten assigned to Team 7