Reality Check

Hospital (Team 7's Room)

Sasuke sat slumped in his seat, overlooking his two teammates. He had done so for hours, having not left their side since the morning.

They were in two white beds positioned next to each other in one of the genin team rooms. Since they were injured together, the teammates were kept in the same room, a common practice to promote inter-team unity and responsibility.

They had arrived in Konoha this morning after an almost two-day trip. Sakura had woken up in pain multiple times during their journey back and was eventually put under a forced sleep by his mother. Naruto had simply slept like a rock. He didn't seem to be in any pain, but whatever that red chakra was and what it did must have exhausted him.

If they were all conscious, it wouldn't have taken them so long to get back, but they had to be careful due to Sakura's injuries specifically. Once they did get back, she was immediately taken for emergency surgery to stabilize her, with a more comprehensive procedure scheduled for tomorrow; the head of the hospital would do that one personally.

As he stared at his unconscious teammates, he grieved in bitter guilt and crippling shame. His mind replayed the whole event multiple times. Every moment was eternally recorded in his 'precious eyes.'

It was hard to accept, the unsettling realization that if his brother had died on that mission, it would largely have been his fault. Some part of him refuted that self-blame, reminding him that it was their sensei's responsibility to make authoritative decisions, that genin weren't properly equipped to do so.

That rational part did little to crush the guilt though. After all, he was the one who wanted to push through. They knew this was above their level. HE was the one who played on Sakura's feelings for him. HE was the one who played on Naruto's competitive spirit. If they had died, it would have been HIS fault.

As his mind continued to spin in its depressive circle of guilt and self-loathing, grumbling could be heard from one of the beds. Snapping his eyes to the source, he discovered his brother's eyes slowly fluttering open.

Once Naruto's eye's adjusted to the room's bright lighting, he slowly lifted his upper body with his arms and looked around to figure out where they were. Realizing they were clearly in the Konoha hospital, his eyes then focused on their pink-haired teammate.

She looked so frail. He could still remember what that enemy ninja did to her. Sakura's screams still rang clearly in his ears, reminding him of the calamity they just escaped and terror they all felt. Still, she was breathing and though injured, whole.

Then his eyes shifted over to Sasuke. While he was the only one not lying on the hospital bed, even Naruto could tell that he was possibly the most affected out of the three. After all, how does it feel to be the only teammate uninjured. His brother hadn't even gotten to contribute; he was forced to protect the bridge builder while watching everyone else be cut down in front of him.

Sasuke's eyes were puffy, his sclera's were red from fatigue, his hair was disheveled, and his sitting posture just screamed defeat. It was an odd sensation, but Naruto could practically feel the self-loathing radiating from him. It wasn't just an expression either; he physically felt a barely noticeable trace of negative emotions pouring from his brother.

"*Sigh*… We really look like a couple of losers, don't we?" Naruto commented jokingly.

Sasuke chuckled self-depreciatingly at the comment.

"Yes, we do." He depressingly replied,

Naruto's left eyebrow rose at that.

His face taking on a weak mocking expression, he asked, "What…? Who are you? The Sasuke I know would have adamantly denied that he could ever fall as low as a loser like me."

Hearing that, Sasuke's teeth grinded together in frustration as his hands balled into fists.

"That Sasuke almost got his teammates killed. He couldn't do anything but watch them be hunted down, like animals!" He growled out, trying to make his point without waking his teammate.

He wasn't sure whether his mom's genjutsu was still in effect, but he didn't want to take the chance. He would prefer it if Sakura stayed asleep until after Uzume's surgery. Then, she could wake up to a complete body that wasn't on the verge of coming apart.

Right now, while the doctors had reattached everything, they weren't skilled enough to have them working again. Uzume was the only one in the village currently capable of doing so and she had a very busy schedule. The only reason Sakura could receive service so soon was her position on Team 7.

"We all messed up! We were all too weak! This isn't just about you!" Naruto shouted, forgetting to consider Sakura's currently sleeping state.

"Be quiet." Sasuke growled out, pointing to the sleeping Sakura.

Naruto's face flushed in embarrassment as his hands immediately lunged to cover his mouth.

"*Sigh* Naruto, I know. It's just… if it wasn't for me, we would have waited for reinforcements and none of this would have ever happened." Sasuke explained depressingly.

"Damn it, Sasuke. Sakura and I should have stuck by our guns. We shouldn't have gone along with it; it was our fault too. If it weren't for my pride and Sakura's love-struck stupidity, we would have waited." Naruto frustratedly stated at a lower volume.

"You don't get—" Sasuke angrily replied.

"We're still alive. We're all intact and still alive. I won't ever let something like that happen again and I don't go back on my word." Naruto resolutely stated, having realized that Sasuke wasn't going to let this go.

"Hmph" Sasuke grunted, shaking his head at his brother once again making stupid promises.

"He's right, ya know." The door opened to reveal Kushina, Mikoto, and Kamui entering the room. The two could tell that it was Kushina who spoke.

Kushina walked up to Naruto and gave him a gentle hug, glad that he had finally regained consciousness.

She would need to have a heart-to-heart with him about his role as a jinchuriki. As the former host, it was her responsibility to do so. Even if Mikoto had placed new 'chains' on the fox, that still didn't change the fact that a jinchuriki is a role that has life-changing responsibilities.

After giving Naruto a discrete wave, Mikoto turned to focus on her own son, who clearly needed the help.

Kamui turned to walk toward Naruto, understanding that the two Uchihas needed some privacy.

Mikoto kneeled next to Sasuke and looked him in the eyes.

"I'll be honest. Yes, you messed up. You and Naruto together can just barely fight one newly promoted assault-type jonin to a standstill, just one." Sasuke flinched at that obvious fact.

Before this mission, he would've felt smug for being close to the level of the village's elite after just graduating. Having been through his recent experience though, he knew the truth. His mom's words only considered the most favorable outcome, one you shouldn't expect on a mission.

She continued, "*Sigh* if you expect jonin-level combatants, you should never expect just one when on guard details. Maybe on assassinations since those come with more comprehensive intel packages. Guard details? Those are some of the most volatile. Whatever level shinobi you expect, you need to be capable of fighting more than one at a time handily. Your decision to continue despite knowing this was arrogant, foolish, brash, death-seeking, idiotic, suicidal, well… you get it."

Sasuke's fists balled together again. The part that pissed him off the most was that this wasn't the first time she told him this. His uncle, brother, mother, and aunt reiterated these lessons repeatedly over the last month. He heard what they were saying; but clearly, he really wasn't listening. It was HIS fault!

"Sasuke." Mikoto stated sternly, pulling him back out of his thoughts. "Grow up. You messed up, that's a fact. That said, everyone's still alive. Not only that, but once Uzume heals Sakura, she's expected to make a full recovery; everyone is expected to make a full recovery. Regardless of how responsible you think you are, you're just a genin; you're expected to make mistakes like this. That's why you're assigned a jonin to act as your sensei.

"Hell, the specifics are classified, so I can't go into details, but do you know how many life-threatening risks your sister took in her mission. She put herself and everyone on it in life threatening danger based on her instincts and feelings multiple times." Mikoto's consoling tone took on a venomous bite, making the nearby Kamui flinch.

Clearly, her mom wasn't as accepting of the details as she initially let on. If Kamui were to guess, Mikoto didn't seem to appreciate her full-memory raids or her absorbing of the blue core without proper precaution.

Sasuke was dumbfounded. Kamui? Making decisions on instincts and feelings? Endangering everyone on the mission? What the hell happened!? If it weren't for his mom mentioning the details were classified, he'd lunge at his sister immediately to press for every detail available.

"Actually, if you haven't noticed, your sister is currently blind for the next day or so from her having pulled a stupid stunt in the council meeting. I'll be chewing her out when we get back to the house." She paused, taking a moment to catch her breath and calm back down.

Sasuke for his part shot his sister a concerned look. What did she do!? Unfortunately for him, Mikoto didn't give him the chance to worry about that.

"The point is, you're not alone in your stupidity. Naruto made a mistake, Sakura made a mistake, Kamui made a mistake, and we made mistakes when we were your age. Actually, you know what? I think I know what Kakashi's punishment will be." Her frown curved into a devious smile.

Looking her son in the eyes, she ordered, "Sasuke, when your team is healed, I'll have Kakashi come clean about the greatest mistakes he made in his youth. Specifically, how he got that sharingan and how he lost the love of his life. That way, you'll understand that you still have a chance to do this right. There were no permanent consequences for this failure, only life-long lessons; lessons that will save your life.

"So, now you have a chance to train, study battle tactics, read shinobi case studies, and most of all, take your training seriously. No more half-assing. There are plenty of great jonin in the village and I haven't seen you asking any of them for help. Hell, you don't even like asking your own family.

"From now on, I will personally take charge of your training; Kakashi can help with your team training, but your personal training will be guided by me. Kushina and Minato will likely do the same with Naruto, so you'll both be covered. No more games Sasuke. Is that understood?" Mikoto powerfully asked, her right sharingan activated; her left was still recovering.

Sasuke's dumbfounded face steadily showed more and more determination as Mikoto spoke. To everyone else in the room, it was clear; the fire in his eyes had not only returned but had grown to an intensity he'd never had before.

Meanwhile, what Sasuke didn't notice was that everyone else in the room was listening to Mikoto's rant too.

Kamui's cheeks were dusted pink as she scratched them embarrassedly. She hadn't thought of it like that, but she did take a lot of risks. It was a surprise that Yugao went along with a lot of them. Well, at least she was properly informed now.

Naruto's mood almost mirrored Sasuke's. He wasn't blowing smoke when he said they all messed up. He blamed himself too for getting riled up by Sasuke's words, by his own pride; he almost died for his pride. Most of the stupid traits Mikoto assigned to Sasuke, could also be applied to him too. In fact, he caught Mikoto's eyes dart his way a few times during her speech. Clearly, she thought so too.

It was from Mikoto's words that he finally realized why Kamui was so ahead of them. She frequently observed the different clans, read the jutsu theory books of the Uchiha and Uzumaki clans, read shinobi journals, etc. All these things he saw as unnecessary were what he needed to learn, even if it would take a while to get there.

Over the next hour, the family chatted while waiting for Naruto's discharge. Since he was awake and perfectly healed, they just needed one of the doctors to release him.

After they were released, Kamui split off from the group to meet her father and Himiko.

As for the family group, for the rest of the night, their conversation explored much more pleasant topics.

Although that was the case, Naruto and Sasuke repeated Mikoto's words in their heads. If it weren't family time, they would have either ran to a training ground or the library. It was time for them to get stronger.