CHAPTER 2: False Light
Two Weeks later
It has been two weeks since Dan left to the front lines and two days ago Tsunade gave birth to a baby boy. The talk among the hospital is that Tsunade still refuses to name the baby.
Anytime anybody would ask her why she didn't. She would give them the same excuse over and over, that she wants to wait for Dan to come back before they decide what to name him.
Tsunade is now lying on a hospital bed with a blanket wrapped around her baby, who has a small beautiful tuff of blonde hair. But what particularly catch her eyes are the soft innocent ocean blue eyes that remind her of that day at the port with Dan.
She softly mumbles too the baby. "You know you remind me so much of Nawaki." Tsunade softly runs her hand across the babies' face who responds with a yawn. Maybe one day with your help I can move on from his death, Tsunade thought to herself
Suddenly hearing running and yelling outside the hospital Tsunade stands up quickly but with grace to ensure the babies safety and moves toward the window. Staring out she sees numerous ninjas running across the field toward the hospital some had their comrades slung across their shoulders. Others were carrying a stretcher which held the more wounded combatants. She squinted her eyes hoping to find Dan among the medics who were carrying back wounded ninjas.
Not having any luck she turns away from the window and places the baby softly into a crib by a bed. Once placed down the baby almost immediately falls into a peaceful nap, Tsunade smiles than leans in planting a soft kiss on his forehead than whispers to him. "Now stay here and be good I need to go and find your father."
Smiling softly she turns away from the crib and walks toward the door to her room opening it she precedes down the hallway toward the entrance, upon nearing the entrance Tsunade is greeted by the sight and sounds of pure chaos.
Nurses and doctors ran among each other dodging one another with such grace and balance that could only come from prolonged exposure to these situations, they were all attempting to treat multiple patients at once. Tsunade hoped that they didn't over exert themselves least them find themselves among the wounded they themselves needing treatment.
Taking a quick scan around she saw ninjas laid scattered around the hospital entrance in a multitude of positions, some laying on their backs some sitting against the wall. Tsunade had long since grown accustomed to these miserable scenes that accompanied war hand in hand.
Among the numberless amount of sounds in the room there was one Tsunade picked out immediately above all others, the painful sounds of a child crying, maybe a reflex due to her newly gained motherly instinct she thought to herself? It wasn't her son crying, she quickly looked around attempting to find the source.
The scene proceeded to tear her heart out, this little girl who looked no older than 4 years old had already been through so much pain. Watching the little girl holding on to a man's leg unable to remove her eyes from the body that laid on a stretcher on the floor with a white tarp coving it, Tsunade knew scenes like this were all too common in a field hospital.
All she could do for them was giving them her prayers
Steeling herself she knew that her top priority at the moment was finding somebody that would tell her where Dan was. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a familiar face "Togi" she exclaimed running over to him she watches as he leaned up against the wall and slowly slumped down to the floor holding his bleeding stomach. Upon reaching him she kneeled over placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Togi are you okay? Where is the rest of the medic corps? Where Is Dan?" Tsunade said in one breath but the last question was definitely more forceful.
Being broken out of his stupor Togi tilts his head up to look at Tsunade.
"Lady Tsunade!" Togi grimaced out; "we had no idea where they come from, one moment we were healing the wounded troops the next an explosion ripped apart our east flank, before we could even blink we were being overrun by Iwa Shinobi."
Togi than began to attempt to heal his stomach with the Mystic palm techniqueat first his hands were coated in a steady greenish chakra per usual, but after a few a few seconds the green chakra began to waver until completely vanishing. Dropping his head he lets out a low groan.
Tsunade was about to say something to Togi but he quickly raised his hand up to stop Tsunade from speaking.
Without making eye contact with Tsunade Togi continued on,
"Lady Tsunade you have to listen to me carefully, I was with Dan when they first attacked but in the chaos we were separated. By the time I had found him again he was fighting off multiple Iwa Shinobi to cover our retreating troops, but there was just too many of them and Dan was already low on chakra from healing the wounded. He was caught by a blind side attack and he fell," Togi finished the last part faintly.
Tsunade gasps out loud her hand shooting up too her mouth tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. Togi could see how much pain she was in, but he knew he had to finish telling her the rest of the events that happened.
"Lady Tsunade I was able to get to his body and bring it back but not before a stray kunai wounded me, the moment I got here they took him to the intensive ca…."
Not even giving Togi the chance to finish Tsunade was already up and attempting to run her way to where Dan was. But her eyes were clouded by her tears as she ran down the hallway, running into objects she couldn't make out what they were, other people or just inanimate objects.
"Dammit!" She grumbled out loud as her attempts to wipe the tears from her eyes were fruitless, as quickly as she wiped them away, new ones would instantly fill in their place.
The once proud Senju princess was now bumbling her way down the hospital hallway, crashing into people, equipment and walls.
"PLEASE!"
"PLEASE BE OKAY!"
"PLEASE!" Tsunade constantly repeated out loud, as she rushed her way to get to the ICU
But then she saw it somehow though the haze of tears a light at the end of the cave! There they were the doors leading into the Intensive care unit, she had no clue how she got there but at that moment she didn't care, all that matter was getting to Dan now.
Immediately bursting through the doors of the ICU, she saw what made her blood turn cold, her eyes instantly widened in shock as the love of her life Dan, laid on the surgical table so pale, unmoving, gashes littering his body and the worst was the blood that began to pool on the table from all of his wounds.
The world had suddenly slowed down around Tsunade, she could hear her own heart beating.
Thump
Thump
Thump
…..
…..
Had her heart stopped? Why couldn't she hear her heart anymore? Tsunade wondered to herself.
Suddenly her senses were shutting down on her, everything she heard was garbled it sounded like she was underwater, her nostrils were filled with the smell of her own unrelenting tears and the worst of all was that everything around her was cold. It was like as if something had sucked all the warmth in the world away.
The doctors hearing somebody crash their way into the ICU all turned to see Tsunade standing there in shock, crying. One of the nurses approached her and said
"Lady Tsunade what are you doing here, you are in no shape to be running around you just had a baby a few days ago, we will take care of Dan, please go back to your room." By the tone of the nurse's voice she was clearly worried about Tsunade.
By that time the other nurses and doctors had already refocuses their efforts in attempt to heal Dan, Tsunade still unmoving was staring at what was unfolding before her eyes, she could see that the wounds all over Dan's body weren't healing up fast enough; he was losing to much blood. Her pain distress quickly turned into anger.
Tsunade than proceeded to roar out, "YOUR NOT HEALING HIM PROPERLY." While at the same time making a move toward Dan's body
One of the nurses moved in front of Tsunade and said to her in firm voice but slight feared tone, "Lady Tsunade you can't come over to the body you aren't sterilized…"
Tsunade hushed her by pushing the nurse to the side
"I don't care if I'm not sterilized! I have to heal Dan because CLEARLY YOU ARENT DOING YOUR JOBS PROPERLY!" Tsunade all but yelled out the last part as tears began to well up again
Tsunade rushed over to the table where Dan was pushing aside the doctors and nurses, placing a hand over a particularly deep gash on his chest she attempted to heal him with the Mystic Palm Technique.She saw the wound stitching back together slowly, seeing this she let herself have a small bout of relief but that would be her downfall. Much like how Togi's technique had begun wavering so did hers.
Tsunade tried to keep the green light steady but to no avail it vanished. Her eyes widened in shock, bringing her hands up near her face she stared at them. Noticing the blood on her hands she begins to shake violently.
"WHY!" She screamed out.
She brings her hands and wraps them around herself. Letting herself fall onto Dan's body she then preceded sobbing into Dan's chest disregarding any of the wounds on it.
"Tsu… nade," She heard faintly. Looking up she sees Dan struggling to open his eyes trying to speak to her.
"Dan!" Tsunade sobs out; lifting her head off his chest she moves over near his face, staring into Dan's half opened eyes.
"Tsunade my love….. How is he… what does he look like?" Dan asked clearly in pain.
Tsunade just stared at him her mouth wide opened but no words came out.
"Please my love tell me how he looks like. Is he okay?" Dan groaned out a little softer this time.
"Dan…" Tsunade stuttered out, still refusing to answer Dan's questions about the baby. Deep inside even though she didn't want too a part of her felt this was the baby's fault. Before she could push these thoughts aside they came suddenly full force bombarding her brain.
If she was never pregnant, than she would have never had needed to give birth!
If she didn't have to give birth, than her chakra control wouldn't be messed up!
If her chakra control wasn't messed up, than I could have saved Dan!
IT'S ALL HIS FAULT!
These thoughts kept repeating inside Tsunade's mind, a wet hand reached up to her face and softly caressed it.
"I see…. I'm sorry Tsunade," remarked Dan after watching the emotions on Tsunade's face play out, he misinterpreted it as there was a complication with the birth and the baby had died.
But it was too late for Tsunade, she was already gone mentally. Never even realizing Dan's breath slowing down, Dan half opened eyes slowly closing, his own will to live slowly disappearing until he took one final shuddered breath and one final blink his eyes never too open again.
Tsunade never breaking out of her daze stood up lifting herself off the body of Dan, turned around facing the doctors and nurses, with a glazed look in her eyes her arms falling to her sides with blood still dripping off her hands walked out the ICU without turning to anybody.
3 hours later outside Tsunade's room
Crying is heard from inside the room a nurse on her nightly rounds hearing this moves toward the door, knocking on it softly she says.
"Lady Tsunade is everything okay with the baby," as she finishes she places her ear on the door straining to hear any sounds other than the crying.
Knocking on the door once more this time in a more rapid sequence the nurse yells out
"LADY TSUNADE ARE YOU IN THERE." A look of worry washed over the nurses face fumbling quickly with the door handle she slides the door open
"LADY TSUNADE!" She exclaims at the sight….