(Four days later)
Toph POV:
Waking up, I groggily asked.
'Where the hell am I now,' I thought feeling horrible like I'd had been stomped on by hundreds of Komodo Rhinoceros.
I could hear a steady beeping that quickly started to get on my nerves. I felt something covering my mouth and nose. Attempting to reach up and remove it I realized I couldn't move either of my arms. I attempted to move my arms again so I could get a better feel of what was stopping me and keeping my arms stuck. Well, a better word would be restricted instead of being stuck. I quickly realized my arms were incased in some hard material. Only my fingers would barely move. From what I could smell with this thing covering my face, it smelled like medicine. I finally realized where I was.
"So, I'm in a hospital. *sigh* I just can't get a break, can I?" I said to myself.
"I need to touch something." Moving my legs and feet, I realized it was in the same material as my arm. The only thing I could move was my big toe on my right foot. Moving my toe around, I managed to touch some metal and that was enough. The vibrations were back. I could see again.
Along with being encased in some material, my right arm was strapped down with what appeared to be tubs running from it to something that wasn't made of earth or metal. I then saw the rest of myself. Just like I thought, most of my body was covered in the same hard material. Only my left arm, abdomen, and toe I was using to touch the metal were visible.
The room I'm in is mostly empty. On the right side of me was what seemed to be a window. In between myself and what was probably a window were several strange machines that I'm 90% sure was the source of the irritating beeping noise. To her right was a large open window that seemed to lint to the inside of the building. In between the window and I were a small table and a chair.
Memories of the fight she had with the weird animals came back to me at this point. Oh, that's right that woman and the other people she whispered to herself. She tried to free her left arm from the strap, with little success. Finally, after exhausting herself, she gave up and laid her head back.
"I guess I wait for someone to come and check on me," I thought
(3rd POV)
It didn't take long before Toph heard a door open and close accompanied by the sound of footsteps. An average size woman appeared. She had long black hair, pale wheat color skin and dark hazel nut eyes. She was wearing a long white coat with dark gray robes underneath. She was busy looking at a clip board with some sheets of paper on it. Toph coughed slightly to get the woman's attention. She turned her attention from the clipboard to Toph when she heard the noise. The woman smiled, seeing that Toph was awake.
"Good, you're finally awake. We were beginning to think that you would never wake up," the woman said, walking over to Toph. She continued.
"Do you remember what happened that could give you any ideas about how you ended up in the hospital." Toph smirked at the woman and responded in a voice laced with sarcasm.
"Oh, yea I do. I fought and won against a god damn sand monster. I think that big ass frog called it Shukaku. A Bijuu. Sand shit thought it was funny and did sneak attack after it lost. Sore loser much."
"Ah, yes, I was informed you have a colorful vocabulary."
"Ha, you call it colorful, I call it expressive. Alright enough about me. Tell me, where am I and who are you? I know I'm in a hospital, that much is obvious, so you don't have to mention that part."
I am Otsu," she placed her hand on her chest and gave a bow of her head. "And you're in Konohagakure's hospital in the land of fire,"
I tried to move around to make myself more comfortable, but I didn't and I didn't want to remove the needles sticking in me, so I asked the nurse.
"Yo, is there any way to make how I'm laying any more computable. I didn't feel it when I was asleep but damn the shit is uncomfortable." The woman nodded and walked over to the wall and bushed a button. The bed started to move lifting her upper body up it to a lean back sitting up position.
"Better" the woman asked getting a nodded from the earth bender.
"Would you mind if I asked a few questions."
"Sure, shoot your shot."
"Name"
"Uzumaki Toph"
"Uzumaki?" The woman asked scrutinizingly. A tic mark appeared on Toph's face.
"Yes, is there a problem" The woman responded.
"No. That would actually explain some things." The woman started to write more on the clipboard. Toph stored what she said in the back of her head for later.
"Family." I remembered Kushina saying not to mention Minato as my father.
"Yes, a mother"
"Name"
"Kushina Uzumaki." The dropped the clipboard when hearing that nurse, too shocked to respond. She quickly picked it up and slowly backed away from Toph.
"I-I-I need to go. It's an emergency. A nurse will come and get you anything you need if you ask. Also don't touch anything and stay in bed as you're still not fully healed. You're healing is incredibly fast, to the point where you should be discharged in about five days. I will be back later to check on you." The woman then turned to leave. While she was walking out of the room she mumbled to herself.
"I must report this to the council. I can't delay this information. I don't know who got a hold of Kushina-sama's blood or who they mixed her blood with. But due to her high affinity with earth, it's likely that the suspect's in Iwa." She then opened and closed the door behind her. That irritating beeping was the only sound that filled the room again. Toph smiled.
'Well, I've found my cover along with a way to explain my existence. But first I need a believable backstory.' Toph thought.
'A successful lab experiment using Kushina Uzumaki's along with a few more mentionable individual's bloods. The only side effects were permanent blindness. Later down the line I learned of my brother Uzumaki Naruto and have now grown protective of him. Yes, that sounds good enough. The first time we met I decided to beat the Tailed Beast he was fighting.' She nodded at herself.
"Yes. This story will be rough around the edges but believable. And I still have a lot of time to work on it since I'm hospitalized." Toph then
"*sigh* I'm trying to enjoy some peace and quiet, but this damn beeping is getting on my nerves. I can't even cover my ears." She let out a tired sigh. Toph was then left to her own devices. She couldn't do anything since her whole body was basically bandaged. She just lay there, bored, until she felt another person had arrived in front of her door.
'I guess it's time for her to check on me again. Hold up, from what I'm feeling, it seems it's a boy.'
"You can come in." Said Toph. She could feel the boy's heart skip a beat indicating he was surprised that she knew he was there. When the boy walked in Toph could get a better feel of the boy. She realized it was the same person standing on Gamabunta.
'It's the boy on the huge frog.' She decided to voice her thoughts.
"Hey, you're the kid that was on that huge frog when we were fighting that Tailed Beast thing right?" The boy nodded although she couldn't see it.
"Yea, that's me, uh, um, I-I just wanted to say th-thanks for saving me b-back there." The boy said, stuttering over a few of his words. He continues talking, still just as nervous.
"I-I was really in a pickle and s-sorry I was too tired to help. You got hurt because of that. Because of me. I-I'm-" Toph interrupted the kid before he had a panic attack.
"It's alright kid. Calm down. You're a nervous stuttering wreck right now." Top then smirked.
"And besides. It's not every day you get to fight a giant talking beast made completely out of sand." Naruto seemed to relax a little bit after hearing this.
"So kid, what's your name." Naruto grinned brightly at her.
"Me, I'm Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage of the Konoha." He said excitedly. Toph was a little confused and frowned at the excitement in his voice because she could tell it wasn't genuine and that it seemed to be somewhat of an emotional mask. This is because of her seismic sense, and his inward emotions were completely at odds with his outward.
Sadness, grief, loss, inner turmoil, a small tint of depression along with a few other emotions filled the boy. Toph sighed at this and thought.
'Damn, I don't know what the hell happened to the boy while I was out, but whatever it was caused his emotions to do a complete 1 80. If I had to guess from the range of his emotions and how he's spiraling. Someone or something must have died. I would put my bet on a person and someone he's close to as well.' She then spoke to Naruto.
"Cut the shit Uzumaki." Toph said in a demeaning voice. She didn't raise her voice because of how much I would probably hurt. It had its intended effect. Naruto instantly shuts up. His happy go lucky expression turning into a face of neutrality.
"I don't know if you act like this towards everyone or just to me because I'm a patient in this hospital, but I can sense emotions and that fake shit you're spewing in front of me needs to stop. So, don't lie in front of me or pretend you're fine. You're a train wreck. I can tell from the way grief's in one of your emotions something or someone close to you died but I'm not going to open those can of worms." Naruto froze at that, then sighed and whispered a small, "thank you," before stopping his act and switching into a calmer version of himself. This was the actual him. The real and genuine personality of Naruto Uzumaki. The only people who know of this him are Teuchi and Ayame. The Ichiraku ramen's owner and his daughter.
Naruto and Toph then got into multiple conversations. He was in her room talking with her for hours. He was talking about his friends, sensei and people he considered family. They stayed talking until the visiting hours were over. A nurse opened the door and notified them that visitors have an hour before they have to leave for the day. Naruto, hearing this, got out of the chair he was sitting in.
"Well, I've been here longer than I expected. I only planned to visit for about an hour or two but it ended up being about seven or eight hours. I enjoyed talking to you. I'm pretty sure I've never talked to someone for this long in my life. I talk to Teuchi and Ayame for at most two hours when I visit their restaurant. But yeah I really have enjoyed talking to you." Naruto said with a small smile. As Naruto was about to leave the room, Toph spoke.
"It's Toph." Naruto looked back and tilted his head to the side. Toph could feel his confusion. She decided to elaborate.
"My name. It's Toph. I'll tell you my last name when I feel we're both ready. And before you leave, I'll say it again, if you didn't understand me the first time. I can and will kick your ass if you ever start acting fake in front of me again. And trust me, I'll know. You can keep acting like that to your other friends because I'm pretty sure that's what they're used to from you. I'm just saying that if we're going to be friends, I want to be friends with Naruto Uzumaki and not his façade. And besides, I like
the person I've been talking to for these past hours more than the overly optimistic, excited façade he puts on. Now, are we clear about that." Toph said, smirking and the end.
Naruto nodded at what she said then smiled. This smile isn't one of his usual enthusiastic, bright upbeat smiles or grins that everyone's accustomed to. No, this is a smile filled with the sadness of what's happened the past few days along with the happiness of meeting a new possible friend, one who can see through his shell and accepts him for who he is rather than his masked self.
Toph, sadly, couldn't see his smile because of her blindness, but she felt the emotions behind it. She could feel the happiness he felt towards her, the deep amount of sadness still within him, as well as the small amount of anxiety he has for the unknown future.
"Well, Toph, it's been fun getting to know you, but I better go. Let you have your rest and other stuff. I also gatta visit bushy brows before visiting hours are up. I'll tell you about him later ok." Naruto waved his hand her way.
"Bye Uzumaki." Toph waved back. He closed the door and left. After he closed the door, she laid down. She was tired.
"Phew I guess that's for me today. Who knew talking could make you so exhausted, especially when you're talking for hours on end." She closed her eyes. Slowly falling asleep, she had one final thought.
'Hm, so, that was Kushina's son and my brother? He's way more interesting compared to how I thought he was gonna be.' After that thought, exhaustion overtook her. She fell in blissful unconsciousness.
The next few days Naruto visited her every day and stayed for hours on end every time. It seems they both clicked and became best friends in such a short time.
(Timeskip 1 week)
The medics cleared Toph for some physical exercise but nothing strenuous, so Naruto suggested walking her around the village. Toph wanted Naruto to show her around so she could get familiarized with the layout of the village. So, when she was let out of the hospital for the limited time she had, they toured as much of the village as they could.
Currently, they're walking back to the hospital. They were going through the main street of Konoha since it was the quickest way back. Naruto decided to ask her something he's been wondering
about.
"Hey, Toph." Naruto said, looking at her before turning his attention to the street again.
"Mn"
"I've been wondering about something ever since I started showing you around the place."
"And what would that be squirt." Naruto's eye twitched a little after hearing that. She started calling him that a few days ago saying that was his nickname.
"Well, you always look ahead. Your eyes never move or focus on anything when you're walking. You don't even look at where I'm pointing, when I do point at something. You don't even look down when something's in your way. But somehow, it's like you know where everything is. You also never blink, which is honestly kind of creepy." He looked at her expecting an answer. Toph shrugged her shoulders.
"Oh, that's because I'm blind."
"Oh, that make sense…" Naruto nodded at her response then looked forward. There was silence for a few seconds until he did a double take on what he heard.
"Wait! What!" he yelled.
"Yea, I'm blind so I don't-" Waving his hands in the air, Naruto interrupted.
"No, you don't need to explain. I heard you loud and clear. I just wanna, um, know. How did it happen? You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Toph just shrugged.
"It's nothing interesting. I was just born this way." Naruto sighed apologetically.
"And here I thought your eyes were like that because you're a Hyuga." That name caught Toph's attention.
"Hue ga." Toph asked, butchering the name.
"Hyuga. They're a clan here; their eyes are exactly like yours, just a little pale lavender." Toph had no comment on that because she never had a clear concept of color because of her blindness. There is something she wanted to ask though.
"Are they blind too?" Toph asked.
"Nah, they can see through everything with their eyes, it's their specialty, and only the Hyuga clan's able to do it. It's because of their bloodline, the Byakugan." A tinge of jealousy popped in Toph after hearing that.
'What kind of family has the same eyes as me, but could see through everything? See better
that the average person.' Toph thought. Yes, even though her blindness doesn't affect her. It will always be a sore spot for her.
"*Scoff*, must be pretty nice living in that clan." She snidely remarked
"Yea, I'd have to say no to that. They're a bunch of stuck-up bastards. They believe that their clan is above everyone else. And because of their eyes, they've separated their clan into two groups. The main house and branch house. The people in the main house are royalty, and the branch are nothing but servants to the main house. They even put a seal on every branch member's forehead so the main family can control them." Toph snorted after hearing that.
"So basically, the Hyuga's are a clan proclaiming themselves to be the strongest while putting the other half of their clan into slavery. Typical rich noble pricks." Naruto looked at Toph. He blinked twice, then let out a chuckle. That chuckle soon turned into full blown laughter.
"Hehehe, Yea. Yea. You're right. Hehe. that's pretty much it." Naruto said as he could see the hospital in view.
(Next day. Hospital. Toph's room.)
Toph is sitting up in her hospital bed at the moment. The bed sheets are covering her legs. Naruto's sitting in a chair next to her. They've been talking for at least an hour or two. After a little more talking Naruto finally decided to bring up the main reason of his visit.
"Hey Toph, me and pervy sage are about to start looking for the new Hokage. Her name's Tsunade Senju. She's the granddaughter of the First Hokage. She's also a medic. She'll be able to heal bushy brows and a lot of other shinobi if we can bring her back to the village. If you come with us, I'm sure she'll be able to heal your eyes." Toph sighed at this.
"Naruto, we've already talked about this and also had this conversation multiple times. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate that you're trying to help me, but my eyes, they can't be healed. A lot of doctors have already tried and failed. I doubt this one would be any different." Naruto perked up at her last comment. Smirking, he said.
"Oh, but that's where you're wrong Toph-chan. Tsunade isn't an ordinary medic. Pervy sage said that she's the best medic in the world. So, if there's anyone that would be able to help you. It'd be her. So, what do you think. Wanna come with us and help find her."
Toph appreciates what Naruto's attempting to do for her. She really does. It's just that she doesn't really feel like going anywhere right now. She decided the best way to escape this conversation was to make an excuse as to why she wouldn't be able to go. He'd surely drop the subject then, right?
"Sorry Naruto, but even if I wanted to go with you, I couldn't. I won't be let out of the hospital for a while. And if I was let out, I wouldn't be in the condition for travel."
Any normal person would have dropped the subject then and there or waited another time to bring it up again. What Toph, at this time, didn't quite understand was the stubborn nature of one Uzumaki Naruto and how Uzumaki Naruto never backs down or takes no for an answer. Naruto pretended to be confused and looked at her curiously. He smirked internally, realizing what she was trying to do. He wouldn't let her off the hook that easily though.
"But when I gave you a tour of the village yesterday you said you were going to be discharged tomorrow, which means you're leaving the hospital today." Toph sighed, cursing Naruto's stubbornness.
"Yeah yeah, you're right about all that stuff, but I kind of have a huge hole in my right shoulder. Albeit it's smaller than before but it's still there." Naruto waved off her concern.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine, we're just going to search for her. It'll be like a big round of shinobi finders." Toph's face gained a confused look.
"Ok, I don't know what that is but…" she sighed in defeat.
"Alright… I guess… I'll go." Naruto started cheering after hearing this. He was interrupted when Toph raised her voice.
"But!" His cheers died and she gained his attention.
"That's only if you can promise me something." Naruto looked at her with a more serious expression. Promises are very important to Naruto. When Naruto makes a promise, he never goes back on it and does his absolute best to fulfill it.
"What is it." He asked, listening intently.
"I can't believe I'm going to say this. I'll go if you promise me that you'll avoid getting into any trouble. I won't be able to do much if I get into a fight right now." Naruto nodded.
"I promise. I won't start anything while we're looking for Tsunade. But if there's a fight, I also promise I'll do everything to keep you safe. I mean, I couldn't call myself your best friend if I didn't do this. I'll protect you with my life, dattebayo!" Toph smiled warmly at hearing how protective he was of her. It's even more surprising because they've only known each other for about two weeks. The words unexpectedly flowed out of her mouth.
"Thanks, onii-chan." Toph mumbled. Her face switched from smiling to a surprised expression upon realizing what she said. She started thinking.
'Why the hell did I call him that. I know he's my brother now, but onii-chan, what am I, 6.' She couldn't believe such a childish term would come out of her mouth. She started sensing Naruto's emotions, feeling for a sudden change.
'His emotions aren't fluctuating. Phew, I guess he didn't hear me.'
"What was that. I couldn't hear you." Naruto asked. Toph blushed and quickly blurted out.
"N-Nothing."
"Ok, if you say so." Deciding to escape the awkwardness, Toph changed the subject.
"So, where should I be tomorrow." Naruto's brightened up.
"We're meeting at the front gate. I'll come back here tomorrow morning to get you." Toph nodded at him.
"Well see you tomorrow Toph-chan." Naruto said, leaving.
"Yeah, same to you, squirt." Hearing the door closes. Toph layed down and fell asleep soon after.
'Ha, I almost let it slip, but I do wonder. What'll be his reaction be when I tell him he's my brother.' was her last thought before sleeping.