DISCLAIMER: I in no way own Naruto...Ya'll need to remember that…

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The Oracle: Remastered

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Chapter 16: Recovery

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Previously

"I call upon the Human path to expel the taint within this human's soul, and by your power, free her!"

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The first thing Anko did was cover her eyes from the blinding lights that hung above her. Groaning loudly as she rolled onto her side, she tried to pull her sheets over her head to block out the infernal lights and go back to sleep. And she would have, if it weren't for the rather deep voice that spoke up from just beside her bed.

"You know, you're gonna have to get up at some point."

Anko stirred and looked to where the voice was coming from and blearily opened her eyes. "Shut up…" she grumbled when she saw who it was sitting in a chair beside her bed.

Roku sighed and leaned back while shaking his head in exasperation. "You're not even gonna ask why you're in the hospital, are you?"

Blinking a little to let her eyes clear away the spots in them from the light, she just stared at him for a moment. "I'm in the hospital?" she asked in tired surprise before looking around and noticing that she was indeed in a hospital room, complete with grossly white walls and that certain sterile smell all hospitals seemed to share. "How the hell did I end up here?"

She decided to look to herself and take stock. Her chest was wrapped in bandages, constricting her lungs slightly. Her arms and legs also had a few bandages wrapped around them as well as one on her cheek. "Huh, what'd I do, fight a bull while drunk?" she joked before looking back at Roku, her eyes widening and her face paling when she saw him.

He was pretty much in the same boat as she was when it came to injuries, except he had quite a few more bandages over his chest, the wrapping in some places colored in a dull red, indicating he had been bleeding and probably needed a fresh wrapping.

"Well, something like that I guess…" The Uzumaki said as he gingerly reached up to rub the back of his head. "Do...Do you remember anything that happened last night?" he asked, stuttering slightly in an awkward fashion.

Taking a moment to process his question, Anko thought back on the night before, only for blanks to come up in her memory. "I...I don't really do? All I remember was going to visit you...I think we got in an argument about something, but it's all fuzzy and I can't really remember what it was about. But, after that...nothing." she said as she tried to recall more from what happened, but for the life of her she couldn't remember what had happened.

Roku sighed as he listened to her recounting of what happened the night before and nodded his head a few times. "Yeah, you came by last night...but, you were acting strange. You were angry and yelling at me, calling me a liar and stuff like that. Then...well...your curse mark started to act up…"

Anko's eyes widened and her skin began to pale in fear, her hand instinctively going to the base of her neck were the curse mark sat. However, she felt something off when her hand touched her neck. It felt strange, tender almost, like a burn was finishing healing where the mark was.

"What...what happened?" she asked in a small voice, beginning to connect the dots. Looking at Roku's injuries, as well as her own, she could guess what exactly happened after that.

Roku sighed and adjusted himself in his seat with a small grimace of pain. "After that, I had to subdue you. You wouldn't listen to anything I said and just coming at me. The curse mark almost took you over completely, and had I not pulled out all the stops to get you to stay down, it would have most likely killed you." he explained before another sigh left his lips as he closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. "Of course…" he continued with a slight pause. "I don't think we'll have to worry about that mark ever again after last night."

Anko blinked in confusion, not understanding what he meant by them not needing to worry about the curse mark anymore, and why suddenly had a coy smirk on his face.

And then realization hit her like a sack of bricks. "No…" she breathed out in shock as her hand frantically rubbed over the spot where the curse mark once was, trying distinguish if the white haired Uzumaki was telling the truth. "You didn't...no way you…"

"You damn well better believe I did." Roku laughed out before wincing in pain with a hand going to his ribs to try and sooth himself. "Damn, probably shouldn't laugh...But yeah, you better believe I got rid of that disgusting excuse for Fuinjutsu. Took a bit to keep you still long enough to extract it from your chakra network, but I somehow was able to manage i-" he tried to explain before a weight plowed into his chest, causing him to cough and seeth in pain before looking down and noticing just what had hit him.

"Thank you...thank you…" Anko cried into his chest, thanking him over and over again. She held onto him like a lifeline, even though her arms protested her movement and her ribs felt like they were cracking from the sudden movement, she didn't care, she just kept holding onto him.

Roku had to bite back a groan of pain as he gingerly wrapped his arms around her and just let her ride this out. "Anko I-" he tried to say, only for another voice to call out from the doorway of the room.

"Anko-neesan! Roku-niisan!" A blond blur shouted as Naruto rushed into the room, colliding with the two injured teens and getting in on the hug by wrapping his small arms and legs around the two of them while his own tears threatened to fall. "Please don't fight anymore!" he yelled into Roku's side as he began to sniffle, his eyes clamped shut as he tried to burrow his way into the both of them.

Roku chuckled as he brought an arm around the blond and pulled him, and by extension Anko, in closer. "Don't worry kiddo, I think that's all the fighting were gonna do for a while now."

"I indeed hope so…" the authoritative voice of the Hokage called from the door. "Because if you two decide to go another round, I'll need to put in some real money for damage control." Sarutobi finished after folding his arms over his chest and leveling a playful glare at the two injured adults.

"Old man!" Naruto called as he extracted himself from the two young adults and ran up to the two elderly Hokage. "What're you doin' here!?" he said in excitement before latching onto him in a fierce hug.

Chuckling lightly at the boys antics, he ran a hand through the blonds golden locks before gently pushing the boy off of him. "Well, I had heard that these two got into a bit of a spat and ended up in the hospital for it, so I decided to come and check up on them and see if I needed to set them straight, but I am happy that that won't be needed." he said before narrowing his eyes at Roku. "And I was under the impression from your nurse that you were supposed to still be in bed, Uzumaki-san. So, you best head on back to your room so you don't aggravate your wounds anymore then you already have." he gestured to the slowly reddening bandages wrapped around the young man's chest, earning a defeated sigh from the boy.

"Yes yes, I'm going." he said in a slightly defeated tone. He started to stand up, wincing slightly at the action before slowly walking towards the door, but not before throwing Anko another smile. "We'll talk later…" was all he said to her before he left the room and headed back to his own.

"Aww, but I wanted to be with Roku-niisan and Anko-neesan more…" Naruto pouted as Hiruzen ushered the boy over to one of the ANBU that were standing guard in the hallway.

"Now, Naruto-kun, they both need their rest, so why don't you let Inu here take you home and come back tomorrow morning." the Hokage offered in a kind tone, earning another pout from the blond, but also an understanding nod.

"Fine," he grumbled before looking back to Anko, "Bye Anko-neechan!" he called before Inu placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, and before the Snake Mistress could even get a word out, disappeared in a blur of movement with the boy in tow.

Anko looked to the Hokage and opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off when he held up a hand, signaling her to remain quiet. "Anko-san," he started in a calm tone. "You don't know how sorry I am that he was able to get into the village and cause your curse seal to act up the way it did…" this earned a startled expression from the snake mistress, her eyes going wide as her hands gripped the blankets she sat under, her knuckles turning white from the strength of her grip.

"That bastard was here!?" she screamed to herself, wondering just how in the hell he was able to infiltrate the village, and why he had targeted her in particular.

But, before she could start to go off on a tangent of questions, the Hokage silenced her again. "However," he cut her off and continued to speak. "I need to inform you that due to your actions while under the seals influence, I had to call in an emergency evacuation of the area you and Uzumaki-san were fighting in, and because of this, the civilian council is calling for blood due to the amount of property damage and the scare you gave the civilians last night." he explained to her, making her pale in worry at just what was going to happen. Even though this was mostly a shinobi matter, civilian lives were threatened in the process, and with the full backing of the civilian council, she knew that her Hokage was going to be hard pressed to refuse any form of discipline.

She swallowed heavily and kept her eyes on the elderly Hokage in front of her. "So…" she started out slowly. "What is to become of me?"

Taking a moment to let out a small sigh, the Hokage looked her in the eye before he responded. "One month probation, along with some community service to help repair the damage you and Uzumaki-san caused to the village." he said with a small smirk, causing Anko to blink in confusion.

"T-that's it?" she stuttered out after a moment, perplexed by the leniency of the punishment.

Chuckling to himself, Hiruzen nodded and folded his hands behind his back. "Well, I had to do something to get them off my back, even with how insignificant it may seem, I just needed to do something as a so of impartiality, I never said your punishment was going to be anything sevier."

Anko flopped down onto her back and gave out a heavy relief filled sigh before wincing slightly in pain from the quick movements. "Thank Kami…" she groaned out before tilting her head to look back up at her Hokage. "Was there anything else that you needed to tell me Hokage-sama?"

Taking a moment to ponder the question, he slowly began to shake his head and moved to leave the room. "No, the information I have can wait once you're released and have had your rest. Oh, and by the way, your nurse said you would be released tomorrow morning." he said before exiting out of the room.

"What about Roku-kun?" she asked before he could close the door behind him.

"Well, he'll be stuck in here for at least another week to let his injuries heal. From what the doctors could tell me, he has some pretty bad lacerations over his chest that will most likely scar, and he strained his eyes heavily in the fight, I was amazed he was even able to walk out here honestly." he told her before mumbling the last part to himself, however she was able to catch what he had said, a pained expression coming across her face just thinking of hurting her friend as badly as she had.

And without any further words between the two, the door to Anko's room closed, leaving her to herself and her thoughts.

Rolling onto her side, Anko looked out the window that was next to her bed, peering out at the blue sky behind the shades that covered the glass.

"...He said he loved me…"

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"I don't know if I should kick your teeth in, or just send you flying back out that window, Jiraiya-san…" Roku growled as the white haired Sannin slipped into the Rinnegan bearers hospital room, said bearer lying in his bed, facing the ceiling, not even sparing a glance at the Sage of Myobokuzan.

Jiraiya blinked at the prone young man. "Wow, tough crowd…" he grumbled before leaning on the window sill. "I've just got a few questions for ya kid, no need to get your panties in a bunch."

"Yeah, alright, but I've got one for you." Roku bit back at the older man, his rippled eyes striking the man with an icy gaze.

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes at the disrespectful child. "Oh, and what's that kid?"

"Where have you been for the last five years?"

Jiraiya blinked in confusion, taken aback by the Uzumaki's contempt filled question. "What? The hell are you getting at here kid?"

Roku just sneered at the man and lowered his head back down onto his pillow, a deep frown adorning his face, an expression he rarely ever used. "You know exactly what I mean Jiraiya," he started, his voice calm and cold, not even using an honorific with the man's name. "There is a small blond child who had been struggling to get by and find someone who would actually accept him as a person, all until I arrived in the village and finally gave him someone to lean on...And here I am wondering why in the fuck you weren't here before I was!" He finished with a snarl, his eyes glowing a menacing grey as he let contempt for the man in his room permeate the air with his killing intent, it being so potent, even Jiraiya felt a small bead of sweat forming on his brow.

Jiraiya looked at the young man in shock before his eyes narrowed and he also let his presence be felt in the room, his chakra pumping through his limbs to help in his intimidation. "And just how do you know about my position with the brat, kid?" he asked, stressing his intent that Roku was still beneath him as he pumped out a more potent intent then the young man could even hope to match at the level he was currently at.

However, if this in any way bothered him, he didn't let it show. He kept his gaze just as deadly and refused to back down from the Sannin. "I know a lot of things, toad, and if anyone took even a glance at the boy without there being any form of malice for him because of the Fox, they could damn well see the resemblances between him and his father. And I know for a fact, you promised to take care of him in case anything happened to his parents, so don't act like you have the high ground with me where if I never came around you would have condemned an innocent child to a life of isolation and lovelessness."

Jiraiya's presence faded from the room at this, his tense shoulders slacking as he leaned heavily against the window sill. "I know…" he whispered as he brought a hand up to his face and gently massaged his brow and gave a heavy sigh. "I fucked up, alright...I had to chose between keeping my word to the man I saw as my own son, and doing my duty to my village and keeping my spy network in check, and I chose to go back on my word to keep the entirety of the village safe. I know there was something I could have done to make sure the ki-Naruto, got what he needed, maybe even stopped by every now and then to check up on him...But that's all I would have been able to give him, a fleeting moment and the constant disappointment of having to watch the person closest to him leave over, and over again. I that what you wanted for him? To make him watch as I leave him every time he needs me? To only see a friendly face maybe once a year, twice at most? To know the only person there for him would never actually be able to be there for him?"

Roku let his glare lighten, but not disappear entirely. "It still would have been something, Jiraiya. You have no idea went complete solidarity can do to a person, especially a child. He would have grown knowing no one would be there for him, knowing that if he suddenly disappeared, that the ones around him would just shrug their shoulders and smile that the 'demon brat' wasn't there to be a pest anymore. Having something is better than nothing. And that's exactly what he would've had if I never came here looking for Kushina, nothing."

Jiraiya stayed silent for a long moment, contemplating the young man's words and shaking his head at how right the boy was. He tried to open his mouth to state his mind, only for the younger man to interrupt him. "Naruto is all alone right now, with both me and Anko-chan being in the hospital. I don't feel it's safe for him to be on his own for too long, especially with what has been tried in the past year…" he let his words hang in the air, letting them sink in so Jiraiya would take the hint.

Nodding to himself, Jiraiya stood up from the window sill and prepared to leave back out the window. "The old man wants to ta-" he started to say before he was cut off once again.

"And tell him he's on thin ice with me at the moment. Don't think for a moment that I didn't notice you two watching the fight the entire time. If he wants anything from me, he can get off his ass and ask for it himself."

Blinking in surprise, Jiraiya couldn't help the nervous chuckle he let out before hopping up onto the sill and crouching low to jump off. "Take care, Roku-san. I'll see ya around." And with that, he left the Uzumaki alone and headed off to do something he should have done five years ago.

Roku grunted before settling himself into his bed and giving out a loud yawn. "Ya better be back soon, ya old perv…"

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(A/N): TO BE CONTINUED…

…*sigh*...Yeah I'm back…..sup?

I cannot begin to say how sorry I am for not updating for so long. A LOT of shit has been going on in my real life, and it has been really affecting me and my willingness/wanting to write.

I...I was in a pretty dark place for a little bit.

But, I'm back, and I WANT to keep writing.

If any of you have looked at my profile lately, you would notice that I posted a IMPORTANT UPDATE there explaining that, yeah, I can't really commit to a writing schedule and even though this sounds really douchey to say, but, They will get done when they get done.

Now, good news, I just got back to working on my other stuff as well. My Finale for "The First Immortal" is about half way done at a little over 6000 words, and I have about 1200 words into chapter 12 of "The Twice Caged Bird", so look forward to those coming out soonish, I dunno :/

Remember to REVIEW! And like ALWAYS, I will see ya next time!