Pretty Bird
I'd never heard him scream before. Not just "not scream like this". I'd never heard him scream. At all. And this was agony. My scrolls clattered in the doorway and I ran to the kitchen. The first thing I saw was the door and the table and I thought we'd been robbed. The door was open, all the junk on the table was scattered across our tiles and even spilling out onto the side yard, three chairs were on their sides and one was splintered in pieces. And then he screamed again and I looked down and he was there, knees tucked beneath him, hair loose and blanketing his shaking shoulders, hands gripping his forehead. I stepped towards him and nearly tripped on his headband. I picked it up distractedly and closed the space between us. He jerked violently and twisted to the side. His eyes were clamped shut and his teeth were clenched tight. His fingers parted slightly as his arms quivered to reveal the source of all his pain and normal bitterness. I know approximately zero percent of all there is to know about seals. All I could remember was a time when he'd told sensei about flaws in the triggering; sometimes they just lost control of it and it was triggered and then…He clutched at his head and flipped to his back, screaming again and arching his spine, all his muscles convulsing. The scream abruptly dropped to a whimper as he curled back into his original and went limp…then they got it under control again, they resealed it and went on with life. He muttered and whimpered trailing his trembling fingers across the seal, tracing his fate on his forehead. Then his hand fell still and his shoulder slumped. It was quiet and then I heard his breathing, shallow and accelerating. I lifted the curtain of hair obscuring his face to find it reddening and sweaty. He couldn't breathe. I don't know anything relating to medication. At all. Hokage, he's screwed. I heaved him over on his back and got out a kunai. I waited until he was moderately still and cut down the front of his shirt, through his wrappings, and tried not to look at his chest. His breathing slowed and it was quiet again. Thank goodness I didn't try CPR. I looked out the open door and willed sensei to come back soon. A hand grazed my knee. I looked down in alarm to see his eyes half open and his lips forming words.
"Don't…away…don't…" he was propping himself up on his elbows.
"You're too wea- what?" I strained to hear. He had to be delirious.
"Don't…fly away…pretty bird," he whispered as he sank onto my shoulder. I knew I was delirious.