I do not own Naruto…
IF YOU EVER KNOW
Coming Around
He could hear sounds… faintly at first, before they slowly become audibly intelligible. There was the creaking of a door; curtains being pulled back; soft clinking of bottles and stuffs against metal; and a silent shuffling of feet. Then, there was the sound of water – a quiet, drip, dripping sound.
Suddenly, he could feel someone running a wet cloth over his face and then, his neck, slowly wiping and cleaning him. It was an unhurried action, done with a kind of tenderness he had not felt since a long time ago… a very long time ago. Later, that person would lift his arm and start wiping his hand before the door creaked opened again.
There was an exchange of words. He could hear people talking but couldn't make out who they were.
"You know, you need to rest too," a male's voice could be heard saying.
"I… I'm fine," a lady answered, so softly, it was almost a whisper. But he could hear it. Because she had been close. It seemed she was the one who had been attending to him. And when she had finished with his other hand, she pulled a cover and tucked both his arms over it.
All of a sudden, he could hear the door being riotously pushed open before a loud voice called out, "Hey, Sasuke!"
"Naruto!" the first male said in what seemed like a suppressed, reproaching tone.
"Oh, sorry Kiba, Hinata. I thought he's alone."
"Do you always have to do that?"
"Well, he's been lying there for a long time already… Any signs of improvement, Hinata?"
There was a pause. He didn't pay anymore attention to the conversation afterwards. He was shocked - shocked to hear the voice, more shocked to hear the name… Naruto? And then, there was Kiba… the Inuzuka? He didn't know who the lady was but it wasn't important at that juncture. He was back in Konohagakure! That was what mattered.
The information disturbed him. It couldn't be true. How did he end up, back in Konoha? As far as he could remember, he was a defector to the place… a missing nin. The leaf village was no longer his home. He had rescinded all allegiance when he left the place.
He tried to open his eyes. They felt like lead. At first, he thought he was caught in some kind of genjutsu. Yet, how could that be? Aren't all kinds of jutsu completely useless before his sharingan?
And so, he tried harder… Slowly, a blur of bright lights came into sight. He closed his eyes again, adjusting to the intensity.
"We should all speak aloud, you know? I think he can hear us," Naruto's voice rang out.
Again, he tried to open his eyes…
"Haven't you been doing that all these time?" Kiba quipped.
"Yea, but I'm the only one doing that. You know who should be speaking out loud? ...You, Hinata. You should speak aloud. Raise your voice at him…"
The lights soon became tolerable and a blur of colors gradually sharpened. He could see clearly now. And there, standing at the foot of the bed, was Naruto, obliviously talking to the other two.
As it happened, the lady turned her head towards him and gave a gasp.
"Sasuke," she breathed before quickly striding over to his side.
"Sasuke!" the other two echoed aloud.
He could feel the sudden change of atmosphere – a sudden commotion. Naruto was shouting things while Kiba hurriedly ran out. He couldn't hold on for long. He was still too weak. Slowly, his eyes began to close again. But just before that, he glimpsed the lady who had stridden to his side.
"Sasuke…" she called again as she leaned closer. He thought she sounded anxious.
He didn't know who she was. The only thing that struck a cord was her eyes. He had seen those eyes before…
Then, everything fell into darkness again. But just as he thought he was too weak to utter a word, he could hear his own voice, "Hyuga..."
%%%
"Sasuke! Sasuke!" Sakura called as she slowly opened one of the Uchiha's eyelids and, with a penlight, checked for signs of reaction.
They had waited for more than a month for him to come around… more than a month for any signs at all. His quiet awakening earlier had probably meant that he had finally awoken from his comatosed situation. It was a good sign…
"Come on, Sakura. Shake him up," Naruto fussed in an overly-excited tone.
"Oh, quiet!" the pink-haired medic reprimanded before turning around. "Are you sure you saw him opened his eyes?"
"Yes, and I'm not the only one who saw that," Naruto quickly defended before pointing to the dark-haired lady beside him. "Hinata saw it first."
"I saw it too," Kiba concurred, excited to be among the few who had actually witnessed such a special incident.
Sakura turned back to the sleeping patient. "How long did he open his eyes for?"
"It… it was very brief," Hinata informed quietly.
"Anything else?" the medic asked, while leaning over again to check Sasuke's heartbeat and breathing.
"He… he said something," the Hyuga lady stammered.
Sakura immediately straightened up and turned around.
"He said something?" Naruto beat her in asking. "I didn't hear him say anything at all just now."
"What did he say?" the pink-haired lady quickly intercepted.
"He… he…" Hinata started, her voice quickly faltering as she wondered whether what she had heard earlier was a positive sign at all.
Then, a soft sigh caught everyone's attention. Sasuke was stirring… As the party moved closer, they could see him slowly opening his eyes.
"Sasuke!" Naruto was the first to call out. "Good! Get up now!"
"Sasuke! Sasuke," Sakura leaned over, calling. "Can you hear us?"
"Hey, don't you go back to sleep again," Naruto beseeched as he urgently shook the male's leg. "Sasuke! Get up!"
While the two fussed over the Uchiha, Kiba involuntarily darted a glance toward Hinata. She was standing quietly aside, not attempting anything at all. Somehow, the Inuzuka thought she looked nervous. No doubt, she had been terribly worried about Sasuke's wellbeing, but at that moment, something else was bothering her…
The Uchiha gave another sigh. He was finally awake. "Stop… shouting," he breathed as he turned toward the loud, blonde-haired Uzumaki.
"Uh…" Naruto said as he lifted his hand and placed it behind his head instead. "I just didn't want you to go back to sleep."
"You've been in a coma," Sakura quickly explained.
"Co-ma?" Sasuke slowly asked, his tired mind trying to work out the significance of the word. Somehow, he was unable to recall any occurrence that would have rendered him in such situation.
"For over a month already," the medic added. "We were so worried."
Totally confused, the Uchiha gazed quizzically at the four people present in the room. The state of affairs was incomprehensible. More than a month? He couldn't believe his ears. Nothing made sense. One moment, he was up and well, ready to execute a most important mission of his life, and the next, he was back in Konoha, lying in bed for more than a month?
"Sasuke, how do you feel?" Sakura asked softly.
"My… my head," the Uchiha started as he weakly lifted a hand to feel the back of his head. "It… hurts."
"Well, that's expected," Kiba uttered with a grin. "You did receive a blow to the head… It's a surprise you're still alive."
Sasuke found himself staring at the Inuzuka as he tried to make sense of the information. "A blow… to my head? …What happened?"
"We… we were attacked," Hinata finally spoke.
The Uchiha turned his gaze to the dark-haired lady, waiting for her to elucidate further. She has a pair of pale, almost colorless eyes. He couldn't recall having seen her before, but he could recognize the trait behind those orbs. They belonged to a revered clan in the leaf village. One that was almost as powerful as the Uchihas… almost.
"It was… it was an ambush…" Hinata continued with much difficulty. "There… there were… there were too many of them…"
"Where?" Sasuke found himself asking. Nevertheless, even in his mental state, he was skeptical about what he was hearing. He couldn't believe he would lose a combat. Nothing was making sense... He didn't even know who the Hyuga was. Who are the 'we' she was referring to?
"We… we were on our way to… to the Land of Waves," Hinata stammered, cagily studying the Uchiha's reaction.
Again, he took notice of the 'we.'
"There were more than a…"
"Who are you?" Sasuke interrupted. He didn't want to hear anymore. He was dubious with the explanation.
His question confirmed her unease. Yet, she gave a gasp despite herself. The others were equally stunned. Naruto started scratching his head while Kiba furrowed his eyebrows. Sakura had both hands covered her mouth in shock.
The Uchiha turned to glance at the three, registering their surprised reaction. Then, turning back to Hinata, he asked again, "Who are you…?"