Chapter 36

The return to Konoha was a silent one after Kakashi and Sai managed to seal the weapon inside a scroll to transport back to the Village. But the air was a tense silence as no one knew what to say. Naruto carried the Phantom Ninja on his back, holding her legs in place around the hips while her arms were wrapped around his neck, cheek pressing against the back of a shoulder. She had stopped crying, but he could hear the older teen's breathing, which was staggered at times. There was no telling what Mai had gone through under the sword's control, but one could imagine. The Be Fong was a private person, Team 7 knew they weren't aware of everything she was involved in, but it had to have been traumatic to warrant a reaction like that.

Approaching the front gates of Konoha, Kakashi moved ahead to warn Izumo and Kotetsu what had happened. To allow the rest of the team to enter without question. Their eyes flickered up watching as the four came into view before nodding to the Jounin.

"From documents it was supposed to be a routine extermination of targets," Kotetsu spoke lowly. "What exactly happened out there?"

"Later," Kakashi said. "But it didn't go according to plan. We were blinded to the truth."

Once inside the young man spoke up, "Sakura, Sai, with me. We will report to the Hokage. Naruto, take Mai to the hospital." He noticed the Be Fong shift on his back, knowing she was going to deny help, stating, "That's an order. Then you can join us, Naruto."

Nodding, the blonde entered an alleyway in order for them to move through the shadows without detection. Mai wouldn't appreciate it if people saw her showing weakness.

"If I leave you in the hospital, will you actually stay there or do I have to follow you around to be sure you've actually been released by doctors?"

"I'll stay," she muttered.

He didn't exactly believe her, causing him to sigh heavily. "Just please get checked out, Mai. I'm worried about you."

Her parted eyelids shifted to stare at the surface of his jacket. "You don't have to..."

"I still will."

"I'm fine," she stated after a beat of silence. "I was just taken off guard."

He gave a humorless chuckle. "You're a terrible liar." There was another moment of silence. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Mai... it's not healthy bottling this up. You need to talk to someone."

"You can probably guess everything it said to me... You were present through most of my struggles, even when I tried to not let it show. Everyone in Team 7 knows... It's like you said, I was the perfect host for it."

The Be Fong's presence inside the hospital caused a bit of concern as they waited by the front desk before a nurse from the trauma center came by to take them to a room.

"You can put me down now," she muttered, still being carried on his back.

"Not a chance." He threw a small smirk over a shoulder. "You may try running off. And then I'll have to chase you down."

Eyes rolling, they came to a room where the nurse moved about to make it more comfortable for the Be Fong's stay. The woman offered a medical gown when the Jounin finally allowed Mai to stand on her own two feet.

"I'll be right outside."

"You should be reporting to Kakashi," the Phantom Ninja stated. He went to protest when she continued, "You don't want to get in trouble with the Hokage for not making a report, do you?"

She had a point. "I'll be back later."

"They'll probably let me go home before then..."

No, he didn't think they would, leaving the building. Having spoken with Sakura on a number of different topics regarding the hospital, Mai would have to go through a psych evaluation after what had just occurred. She wouldn't like it, but her tests would need to wait till after the report so the doctor knew how to handle the situation. And then there was Ibiki who would like to do his own investigation as to how this had transpired. He wouldn't allow the Be Fong to return to active duty unless she was in the right state of mind.

Knocking on the Hokage's door before entering it halted all talk for a moment as those inside watched the door close once again before resuming,

"This cannot get out to the public," Tsunade said. "That someone either slipped in without our knowledge or that a false scroll managed to appear among the others on the desk."

Then there was the possibility there was a rogue inside their forces. None were promising conclusions.

"I will have Ibiki and his team get on this right away. I am thankful you were quick enough to get there in time before things got further out of hand."

"We should have been there sooner," Naruto spoke up. "The state she was in..."

"I am well aware of her behavior out there."

"And what are you doing to do to fix this?"

"She will receive her evaluation and then be placed back in the field when ready."

The room fell silent. Kakashi sighed under his breath, knowing this was not the answer the blonde was looking for. The Jounin had warned the Hokage about approaching this subject in such a matter. He didn't agree with it either, nor Sakura and Sai, but their hands were tied on the matter.

"You think–? That's not good enough!"

Tsunade only stared from the outburst.

"That thing tormented her! This isn't something that can just be fixed in a few days! She needs help!"

"Naruto–"

"You weren't the one carrying her back! Mai was terrified! This isn't something anyone can just walk off!"

"You don't think I know that?" Tsunade countered. "If I could, I would confine her to the hospital for as long as I knew was needed to combat such an accident like this one. We have tried, in the past, and failed. Her sitting around like a caged animal does no good, and she's clever. In the past when questioning her mental health, she's passed with flying colors. Because she knows what they want to hear, and though other ninja have tried to do the same in the past and failed, no one can tell if she is lying or not. She hides all emotions, and no one can force an answer out of her. In the end, she's able to walk in a matter of days unlike other patients."

"There has to be something you can do or say to prevent this. You're the Hokage."

"There are still some things, though, that are out of my control. We will try our best to keep her in the evaluation center as long as we possibly can. Refusing her to be a ninja... I have no intention of repeating history."

Like what happened with Sasuke before he deserted the Leaf. No one wanted to give her a reason to leave.

Two days later Mai was released from the hospital early that morning against the normal procedure that should have taken ninja a week or more to cope with the events. Sakura didn't like it watching as her teammate left the building without glancing back and disappeared into the crowd. When Naruto came by later to check on their teammate, she relayed the news, much to his dislike.

"She should be here," the ninja stated lowly. "What that sword did..."

He didn't need to continue. Team 7 had been present when handing over the sword to the ANBU Division for further analysis and had watched a few of the tests that had been conducted. Until being escorted out by Genma when its strength proved to be too much for their normal forces. They had to bring in elite sword and decoding masters, which required privacy. From what was gathered it was a demonic entity that fed off people's weaknesses when taking hold of the hilt. It immediately knew how to manipulate someone and commit certain acts for its own benefit to quench its thirst for bloodshed. It made Sakura shiver.

What it had said to Mai though would remain unknown. She'd never repeat those words to anyone. Maybe not even Sasuke.

"Just leave her be, Naruto," the pink-haired shinobi sighed. "It's obvious she wants to be left alone."

"We have to talk her out of returning to the field."

"Though her tests came back normal, Ibiki still has her signed off of missions for the next week and a half for the time being. He's not stupid. He knows what she's trying to do..."

Still in a week and a half where would her mind be?

"Mai shouldn't have to do this alone, Sakura. We're her friends."

"Yet she's as closed off as ever. I commend you for trying, Naruto... But I think we both know of only one person who can bring her back from the state she's constantly placed in and he's not here... He never is."

And that made Naruto's hands clench into fists out of annoyance.