Emi, that's All.
Chapter One: Time in the Hospital
I stared into the sky above me, admiring the glistening stars. I could feel the blood slowly pumping out of my body, causing the puddle around me to widen its borders and spread out farther. I was already having trouble breathing, but not too badly. I had asthma, so after I started wheezing, I would either suffocate, or I'd bleed to death. I was prepared either way.
I had no parents, no siblings, and no other family members. Everybody had been dead for a long time. A mysterious medical condition my family carried had killed them. I didn't have it, so I had lived this long solely on that. I was going to die at 14. I had not really achieved anything, but that was okay with me. I wasn't really even missing much.
The sound of footsteps made me jump slightly. Mentally of course, because I was numb all over and couldn't move even if I had wanted to. I didn't see the person till they were leaning over me. It was a boy. He had spiky yellow hair, deep blue eyes filled with concern, and strange whisker marks on his cheeks.
He didn't say anything as he scooped my non-feeling body into his arms. I didn't say anything either. My vision grew hazy as he took me somewhere. After an eternity, I began to see large green village gates in the distance, but they were very fuzzy. As they got closer, my vision got blurrier and blurrier. It finally failed me as we entered those big green gates. Everything went black.
All my senses were dead: no touch, no taste, no hearing, and no sight definitely, and no smell. This was odd for me because I had an excellent sense of smell, but it didn't bother me anyway. I was sure that I had died and was stuck in a limbo state. My mind wandered, in a black, cool space with no end. Stars decorated the endless space: tiny dots marking ebony black, moving walls. I was content.
Suddenly, I felt myself being yanked from the comfortableness of my mind. I gasped heavily, a heavy thump on my chest knocking the breath out of me. I was still blind, but I could feel and taste. I felt what I thought was hands on my body, hands on my neck, inner wrist, and collarbone. It was uncomfortable; I couldn't stand people touching me. I tried to shy away from the touches, but my body wouldn't obey my wishes.
After a while, I lost touch and taste was my sole sense. I tasted antiseptic and plastic in my mouth. I despised the taste, but I didn't do anything, my body reminded me it wasn't under my control. After another long eternity, I began getting control of my body again; in small increments. First it was my fingers, then my toes, and so on and so forth. I didn't test my mobility on them, but I knew I had feeling in them.
After I regained control of my body, my other senses came back. I regretted smell and touch the worst because the harsh stench of bleach burned my sensitive nose and I could feel all kinds of things on and in my skin. It made me feel all itchy and want to fidget, but I held still. My hearing was as unhelpful to finding out where I was as everything else. I heard footsteps and muttering voices. The most annoying noise I heard was a constant and rhythmic beep.
Finally, I opened my eyes, my mind desperate enough to see where I was. Everything was pristine and white. The room stank of bleach, disinfectant, and antiseptic. There was a large window to the right, and covered most of the wall, but was covered mostly by blinds.
I was in a bed with sheets whiter than snow and soft, like cotton. There were several monitors around me and 6 bags of various fluids hanging on a metal pole. There was only 1 that I recognized, it was red. The blood type was O and I could feel the unfamiliar blood flowing through my veins. I lay there, staring at the ceiling until a noise at the door interrupted my staring contest. I turned.
It was the boy from before. He was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans and an orange hoodie with a black shirt underneath. He closed the door behind him and looked at me. His blue eyes brightened and slightly sparkled as my stormy gray ones met his.
"You're awake!" He quietly rejoiced.
I nodded.
"My name's Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki." He smiled at me.
I just stared back.
He frowned after a minute. "Can you not talk?"
I shrugged.
He nodded, "I see."
I coughed lightly, my throat dry. Naruto handed me a glass of water, which I gulped down greedily. When I was done, I handed the empty cup back to him.
"Thank-you, Naruto." I murmured.
"Anytime," He replied nonchalantly, "So, what's your name?"
I paused for a minute. "I've been called many things over the years. My most recent name is Emi. I have no last name."
"That's you name, Emi?" He asked.
I nodded, "Yes."
An awkward silence met my reply and we stayed quiet for a while. I thanked Kami silently when a nurse came in.
She checked the machines and examined the various bags of liquids. "What's your blood type, sweetie?" She asked me.
"It's a positive." I replied.
"Your color has improved, but I'd like to get some of your natural blood type into you. Your injuries were severe and I'll need to change your bandages after I finish checking everything, okay?" She smiled at me sweetly.
I nodded, too nervous to speak. I had never gotten along well with other people, especially hospital personnel. She checked the printed results of each machine and examined the bags again. She also took a look at the chart at the foot of my bed.
"Let's change those bandages, shall we?" She smiled at me kindly.
"You should leave." She said to naruto.
He nodded and got up to leave, but I gripped his wrist. "Don't leave, please." I begged.
"Okay then, is that okay?" He asked the nurse.
She shrugged and pushed back the covers. My whole right side was soaked red. She paled.
"I need some help-" She started.
I gripped her wrist, "It's healed. Just look."
She was about to press the emergency button, but she pulled up the hem on my gown and peeled off the bandages. I felt my skin burn as the wound closed, but sighed as it began too. The nurse stared in awe, Naruto just stared. When I felt the wound slowly finish closing, I sighed heavily and relaxed. The burn that was numbed by medicine was gone.
"How did you do that?" She asked incredulously.
"I'm a fast healer." I said to her from my left side.
"We should wash the blood off." She said.
"Can you remove all the other bandages and needles and machines? I'm fine, but I need to finish healing." I murmured.
She nodded and simply pulled off the gown. I blushed slightly as I was clad in only breast bindings and underwear. She gently took off the other bandages on my stomach and that wrapped around my arms and right thigh. The wounds began steaming and slowly closing, blood still flowing till the wound finally closed. I eased back onto the pillows as the large wound on my stomach finished healing. It took a good 15 minutes before it finally healed, leaving a large pink scar.
"Can I take a shower?" I asked the nurse, "I feel unclean."
"Of course, since your wounds need to be examined and that is partially impossible with all the blood." She nodded towards the bathroom on the other side of my room.
I slowly eased out of the bed and almost fell flat on my face, and would have if Naruto hadn't have caught me. I nodded my thanks and slowly walked to the bathroom with him holding my elbow up. When I got in the bathroom, I closed the door and avoided the mirror. I had seen my reflection in rivers and didn't like what I saw, so a mirror would have been too much for me.
I undressed and turned on the water. When it was warm, I stepped in and felt the warm water wash off all the blood and dirt and latex from the machines and sheets. I washed the blood and dirt out of my hair with shampoo and added conditioner for good measure. I scrubbed every inch of my battered and bruised body with soap that smelled like roses and washed it off, along with whatever else got removed from my skin.
When I was done, I turned the water off. I stood there for a few minutes, letting the water slowly drip off of me. After receiving a knock on the door, I got out and wrapped the white towel around me. I opened the door. It was the nurse. She had a pair of white yoga pants and a pale pink t-shirt in her hands. She handed them to me.
"What are the clothes for?" I asked as she also handed me a pair of pale pink TOMS.
"You're checking out today, and your clothes had to be thrown out. These were some of mine, but they haven't fit for a while now, so I thought I'd give them to you."
I accepted them and closed the door. The clothes, I set on the sink edge and looked at them. There was a white bra and a pair of white underwear between the shirt and pants. There was also a pair of no-show, also white socks. I put on the bra and underwear, and then slipped the pants and shirt on. I put the socks and shoes on and was shocked that they fit, and were very comfortable. I towel-dried my chocolate brown, waist-length curls and ran a comb I found on the counter through them gently.
I left the bathroom when I was done. Naruto was waiting on me.
"Are you glad to leave the hospital?" Naruto asked as we were walking out the front doors.
"Yeah, but I don't know where I'll go. All my family is dead, and I have no friends." I was downcast.
"Actually," Naruto rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "I kind of told the nurse that you'd be staying with me..."
I blushed, "What did you say?"
"I told the nurse that you'd be staying with me." He replied, a blush creeping into his face.
"Oh," I blushed, "well, thank you." I replied.
"You're welcome." He replied.
My stomach growled loudly, making me blush and cover my stomach.
"Are you hungry?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah, I don't know how long it's been since I ate last..." I blushed again.
"I'm hungry too, so let's go get some food. Do you like ramen?" He asked.
"Yes, I like ramen. I haven't had it in a long time though." I replied quietly.
He gaped at me, but took my hand and began dragging me across the village.