The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that it was morning. I think... The sun was too bright; that's for sure, forcing me to shield my eyes, or, well, I was trying to, but my arms weren't moving at all. Then I smelled the disinfectant, so... I guess I'm in the hospital, hm? Fighting against the blinding light, my eyes opened slowly, and the ceiling came into focus above me after multiple, repeated blinkings.
"Disgusting," I muttered, smelling the weird chemicals in the air.
"Good morning to you too."
I turned my head, and regretted it immediately because my neck sent a sharp, painful complaint straight to my brain. Ouch. Apparently, exploding my own jutsu against Minato's Rasengan was bad for my health. Eh... Who knew? Of course, the one speaking was Minato, who was sitting in the bed beside mine, propped up against a pillow with a book in his lap. His right arm was wrapped in bandages from fingers to elbow, and there was a patch on his cheek where the skin had been scraped raw but then healed. Other than that, he looked fine.
"Why do you look better than me?" I asked, pushing myself up to the same position as he was in.
"I don't."
"You do," I argued, finally lifting both arms, both of them bandaged.
"I woke up earlier and had time to sit up; that's all. I felt the same way you do now."
"At least, I won," I argued, deciding not to let him have the last word.
"..." He paused at that, then closed his book with a soft smile, "You did."
"From now on, call me," I lifted a hand weakly, watching the bandages slowly show a v-sign, "Undefeated."
"Let me remind you of our sparring tally, and that at best, we are tied at the moment," Minato said as he stared at my hand while speaking, holding back a laugh, "Heh... You are impossible."
"No, I'm THE champion," I corrected him, grinning, and that was when my body decided to warn me that champions are still able to feel pain. "Damn... No laughing for now, huh?"
"Careful." Minato immediately leaned forward, warning me, but I was fine.
"Gotcha," I grunted. "You got me good, huh?"
"Yeah." He muttered, "I can see that because you look like you're about to cry."
"I may." I snorted, wincing again because actually laughing was hurting a lot, "Okay... I think crying would hurt just as well, so I will switch to just employ an Uchiha specialty: I am going to brood dramatically."
"At least I know you are alright," Minato smiled, but his eyes softened as he looked me over. "But really... How do you feel?"
"Like I won."
"Renji." He said, now more seriously.
"Fine, fine…" I let myself drop back into the pillow. "Like I got rolled over by the entire Akimichi clan."
"I can see that..."
"What about you?" I asked, glancing at him with one eye.
"Not that bad. I have mostly bruised ribs, minor burns, and the truly bad things have already healed."
Before I could answer, the door slid open so violently I thought the hospital wall might crumble.
"YOU'RE AWAKE, DATTEBANE!"
Kushina entered like a natural disaster on two legs, her red hair flying behind her, dragging Sayuri along. Or, at a second look, maybe Sayuri was trying to hold her back and failing at the task. Either way, the two of them came in so quickly that the nurse outside had only enough time to shout at them to stop running before Kushina was already at Minato's bedside.
"You idiot!" she barked at him, grabbing his face with both hands and turning it left and right. "Look at you! Burns! Scratches! Bandages! Do you know how much you scared me?!"
"I..." Minato's ears went red at once, only able to mutter a weak answer. "I'm fine."
"You are in a hospital, that is anything but fine! Fine people are not in bandages, dattebane!"
"So is Renji." He tried, and I was about to yelp at him not to drag me into this, but Kushina was faster.
"Renji is always stupid! You're supposed to be the smart one!"
"Oi!" I protested, but it was futile, especially when Sayuri stepped beside my bed, her arms crossed, looking down at me with a smile that did not reach her eyes. Oh... Oh no. "Hi," I said, smiling at her.
"Hi?" She asked.
"Hello?"
"Try again."
"Wonderful day, isn't it?" I continued, but I only got one response: Her smile sharpened. Naturally, I looked at Minato, whispering, "Help!"
"No." He whispered back, still being inspected by Kushina.
"Traitor!"
"You are impossible..." Sayuri leaned closer, also examining me, "You turned yourself into... A wreck!"
"I turned myself into a winner!"
"Winners don't explode!"
Damn, why is everybody so averse to acknowledging my victory?! Come on, let me celebrate! Please?
"Technically, Minato also exploded," I added, pursing my lips.
"Do not drag me into this," He chimed in at once, repeating my unspoken words.
"Coward."
"That's enough!" Sayuri's fingers pinched my cheek.
"Ow!"
"You promised not to do anything stupid, or not?"
"I did not promise that," I argued, half of my face being in her hold.
"You implied it."
"Sayucchi, that sounds legally weak and won't hold up in court. OW! OW! NO PINCHING! OW!" Of course, she pinched harder. "Ow, ow, ow! Fine! I may have done one or two slightly risky things."
"You are... Are... Just..." She let go, then sat down beside my bed with a heavy sigh, unable to finish what she was trying to say. Finally, her expression softened, and she reached out to touch the bandage wrapped around my forearm. "You really scared us."
That made the joke in my throat get stuck, and for a moment, I could only look at her hand caressing my bandaged arm. I could tell that her eyes were a little red. Ah... Damn.
"I'm sorry," I said quietly. Maybe I was too honest, because Sayuri blinked, like she hadn't expected me to actually say it, looking more shocked than anything. "I mean it," I added. "I knew what I was doing. Mostly. But… yeah. Sorry to make you worry."
At the same time, Kushina, who had been aggressively inspecting Minato's bandages, went quiet too. As for Minato, he too looked away, but he was smiling.
"Mhm," Sayuri squeezed my hand without thinking and, to my surprise, it barely stung a little. "Good."
"Good?" I asked, as it was my time to be surprised.
"Yes. I wanted an apology, and I got one. Now I can yell at you later without feeling bad."
"Ah." I grinned, "Women are dangerous when plotting, huh?"
"So better to watch out!" Kushina threw herself onto the chair beside Minato's bed, still holding his sleeve, not wanting to let him Hirashin away from a good scolding, "Also," she added, turning her head toward me, "rock-paper-scissors?" Then back at Minato, "Really?"
"Superior strategy." I announced proudly, "Nobody expected it, so... it was perfect."
"Dattebane…"
"You two share one brain cell," Sayuri added, making Kushina nod in agreement.
"And if that is true, I won custody," I said, and finally, Sayuri covered her mouth, failing to hide her laugh. Good. It's better to laugh than get mopey about something trivial like this.
"Minato, scold him!" Kushina pointed at me. "Tell him to not make me laugh while I'm angry!"
"That sounds like your problem." I rolled my eyes at her, but before she could explode, the door opened again, and this time the energy entering the room was somehow worse.
"RENJIRO!"
Ah. Dad.
He had managed to block the doorway, holding onto both ends of the entrance, panting. His hair was slightly messy, his eyes sleepless, and his expression was caught somewhere between pride and panic. Naturally, Mom followed right behind him, and to my surprise, she was much calmer on the surface. Her eyes went straight to me, then to Minato, scanning the bandages, and I saw the healer in her activate before the mother.
"Daizen," she said gently, pushing Dad in, "use your inside voice."
"Naori, my dear, I am using my inside voice!" He yelled.
"No, you are using your announcement-to-the-entire-clan voice. Stop. You have your sons in a hospital bed; stop worsening their injuries by making them listen to your shouting."
Dad froze at once, looking mortified, immediately turning down his voice. While he did so, I glanced at Minato, who had eyes as wet as I had ever seen before. And I knew why... I caught how my Mom phrased it too, and I couldn't help but grin, even if it hurt like hell.
"Right. Yes. Hospital. Injured children. Calm." Dad repeated, barely audible, so of course, he lasted three seconds before he rushed to my bedside and grabbed my shoulders, only to stop himself at the last moment, right before shaking me and making my Mom kill him.
"You won!"
"Finally, someone acknowledging it!" I nodded proudly.
"You won the whole thing!"
"I was there, Dad."
"You beat a Hyūga!" He glanced at Minato too at that, just as proud.
"Y-yes." Minato nodded, "I was... Also there."
"Then you fought Minato to a draw! Ahahaha, my boys, you both are stronger than me; what a wonderful match it was!"
Minato coughed at that, as even I was unable to handle what the hell was going on now.
"And that's enough," Mom reached me by then and forcefully pushed Dad aside, "Move. Let me see them both."
"I'm fine," I said, but there was no argument here.
"I'll decide that."
"Yes, ma'am."
Her hand went to my forehead first, then to the side of my neck, then she gently lifted my bandaged arm and checked the wrapping. Then, she repeated it for Minato.
"Chakra exhaustion," she murmured. "Mostly. The other injuries were already handled well; you all just need to rest and not train for a few weeks."
"Wha-" I began, but she looked at me, and wisely so, I changed my tune. "Yes. Rest. Rest, rest, and some rest. Uhum. Exactly. No training. Nonono. None."
"You do deserve some rest!" Dad folded his arms proudly. "Our boys are Chūnin now, so before picking up missions you do need to rest! Your mother already prepared enough food for five shinobi and one loud Uzumaki who can eat for two, by the way. So, when we go back, it is time to party!"
"Party?" Kushina perked up at once, "What kind of food?"
"Five?" Sayuri leaned forward too, calculating on her fingers. "Me too?"
"Of course," Mom smiled, and that smile was somehow very dangerous from where I was sitting, "Since the doctors said these two will be discharged after they woke up, if they behave, I thought we could have a small celebration at home. And I need a helping hand keeping them in their place."
"Small party?" Dad repeated, but Mom looked at him, making him look away, "Small-ish."
"Daizen."
"I wanted to say that it will be a respectful medical gathering with snacks."
"You invited half the Police Force, didn't you?" I asked suddenly.
"No!" Dad went white at that, especially when Mom looked at him again.
"…Only Hano."
"Daizen." Mom said, standing now.
"And Captain Kuroda."
"Daizen!"
"And maybe two others."
"Dad!" Even I joined in by now.
"They wanted to congratulate you!" He moaned, panicking.
"I was unconscious!" I moaned in the same tone, "Don't promise things in my name!"
"That is why I told them: Later!"
"Oh? Then I can postpone it. Good." I shrugged and deflated at once, while Mom sighed, since she had already married him and had accepted her fate long ago. Of course, Sayuri was laughing openly now, and Kushina looked absolutely delighted.
"Are you the clone of your Dad?" Sayuri asked under her breath, and I just shrugged, because she wasn't wrong.
While they were 'arguing,' I glanced at Minato, watching him smile, his eyes tearful. Heh, I caught the look on his face before he hid it, turning away from me.
A little while later, a doctor came in, declared that we were certified idiots with an excellent recovery rate, and cleared us for discharge after one more check. Thankfully, the promised party was smaller and more homey than I feared. There were decorations, a few paper streamers hung around the main room, and the low table was absolutely packed with rice, grilled fish, dumplings, vegetables, miso soup, sweet bean cakes, dango, and enough meat that Chōza could probably smell it from their home.
Luckily, half the Police Force did not show up in the end. It was just us, Mom, Dad, Minato, Kushina, Sayuri, and me. Perfect. For a while, everything was silent, and it was only about food. I didn't even realize I was so hungry, wolfing it down, letting Sayuri help me to some when my bandaged arm wasn't good enough to reach over. Naturally, after a while, Dad demanded we tell the story from the beginning, from our perspective. When I tried to, Kushina interrupted every three sentences to add her own commentary while Sayuri dutifully corrected my exaggerations. Naturally, being my opposite, Minato politely tried to downplay the most insane parts, only to have Dad ask more questions.
"So then," Dad said, leaning forward with shining eyes, "the two of you used Hira—" Just then, Mom's chopsticks hit his wrist, hard enough to make me wince. "Ow!"
"That is classified," she said sternly.
"Yeah," Dad moaned, rubbing his hand. "Right. Modified Body Flicker."
I stared at him. The fuck? It wasn't that! Ah... Wait. Oh. Okay. So they are covering it up, huh?
"Pft," Kushina narrowed her eyes. "Modified Body Flicker, my butt, dattebane."
"Kushina," Minato said gently.
"What? I saw it! I was there when you made it!"
"Yes, but still." He explained, "It's best if it stays within our circle only, hm?"
"Nonsense," She huffed, then stuffed dumplings into her mouth to keep herself silent.
"Um," Sayuri leaned closer to me. "So… is everyone just pretending? Good thing I hadn't said anything, then..."
"Yeah, welcome to shinobi politics," I said as I shrugged. "I already hate it."
To switch topics, Dad began telling a story about his own Chūnin promotion, which was somehow something that was way too hard to explain. Like... what do goats have to do with it? Honestly, I had no idea if it was true. Glancing at Mom's expression, it suggested that at least half of it was exaggerated, but she let him talk, because Kushina laughed so hard she nearly choked on a dumpling. Naturally, Sayuri listened too, giggling along, completely relaxed now, her shoulder occasionally brushing mine.
Mhmh... This was nice. It made me forget about everything for a brief moment.
But then again... Only for a moment.
We were now Chūnins, and it was finally a level where I could start voicing my opinions, and they had to listen…