Naruto: Seishin – The Bond That Binds

Stark Residence – October 16, 2:14 AM

The blue glow of the reactor in his chest flickered like a flame caught in the wind.

Tony Stark, lying on the diagnostic table, gritted his teeth. His breathing was erratic. The poison was advancing. Slowly, but inevitably.

Palladium was corroding his blood, his organs, his nerves.

He hadn't slept in two days. He'd been drinking. Laughing, even, in front of the cameras. But his hands trembled. And his memory had started to betray him.

JARVIS registered only artificial resilience. And despite the partial transfusion Naruto gave him in Monaco, the countdown had merely slowed — not stopped.

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Inner Courtyard – Stark Residence – October 16, 2:42 AM

Naruto sat cross-legged by a small brazier. The Malibu sky was overcast. No sound. No breeze.

Pepper appeared, wrapped in a shawl.

— "You know you're the one I worry about the most?" she said softly.

— "Me? Why?"

— "Because you don't sleep. You barely eat. And you spend all your time watching over someone who refuses your help."

Naruto gave a faint smile.

— "Because I see myself in him. I've seen that look before. The one of someone who thinks they don't deserve to be saved."

Pepper sat beside him.

— "And you? Do you think you deserve to be saved?"

Naruto hesitated.

— "I think... I don't even know what I'm waiting for."

She looked at him for a long moment.

— "You're carrying too much alone."

— "So are you. But you don't show it."

They sat in silence for a while.

Then Pepper spoke.

— "You know what scares me most? Not that he dies. But that he fades... by himself. Little by little. Until there's nothing left but the mask."

Naruto murmured:

— "I know that. I lived for years in a world where I was only the mask. The rest... had been torn away."

— "So why do you stay here?"

— "Because you're the only ones who've seen me differently. Because you saw me as... someone."

She smiled.

— "You're more than a shinobi, Naruto. You're my brother. And I'll say it like I've never said it to anyone: I love you for who you are, not for what you protect."

Naruto lowered his gaze, troubled.

— "I don't know what to say."

— "You don't have to. You're not alone anymore. Even if Tony dies... I'll still be here for you."

He exhaled:

— "Then I swear I'll protect you too. Even from him, if he loses his way."

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Stark Garage – October 16, 4:21 AM

Tony was working on an old prototype. His vision was blurry. His breathing shallow.

Naruto entered without a sound.

— "You're going to die if you keep this up."

Tony didn't respond.

— "I know about the palladium. I know you locked JARVIS so no one could help you. You want to play the martyr?"

— "I want to play the guy who has no way out."

— "You didn't even try to find one."

Tony snapped.

— "You think this is easy, huh? You think it's just a matter of will? I don't have your chakra, your damn fox, your ninja fairy-tale world! I've got metal in my chest and a ticking time bomb in my blood!"

Naruto walked closer.

— "You have me."

Silence.

— "I can't cure you. Not completely. But I can help. I can give you the most precious thing I have: my time. My longevity. My energy. My life."

Tony stared at him.

— "Why? Why you? Why now?"

— "Because you're the only one who gave me something other than a look of suspicion. Because you made space for me here. And because I don't want Pepper crying alone."

Tony closed his eyes.

— "I'm sorry."

— "Then accept it. Not out of debt. Out of choice."

He lifted his hand.

— "Not now. Not everything. But a little. Just enough... so we can keep searching together."

Tony grabbed his hand. Firmly.

— "Then let's search together, brother."

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