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CHAPTER 2: WAKE UP


It was a miracle when he woke up.

It was a slow process. First, Naruto came out of his dream of another memory. After a few minutes of just lying there, the wheels in his brain began slowly turning and he realized that he was awake. He opened his eyes. He shut them again; it was too bright. Sunlight streamed through the window as a cool breeze blew the sheer white curtains.

Naruto opened his eyes again, mind blank. He looked around, slowly turning his head. His neck felt stiff and the rest of his body didn't even feel like moving yet.

Where…? Naruto's brain began to form thoughts. He glanced around the room once more and figured it out; a hospital. He was in the hospital.

Naruto slowly began to shift his body. It felt stiff and achy like his neck. His ears suddenly processed a beeping and his swung his eyes towards the monitor by his bed.

Naruto examined it, taking in all the numbers and graphs as he carefully pushed himself into a sitting position. He seemed okay, so why was he here? What had happened?

The memories rushed into his head all at once.

His head swam as his vision faded to black, though it didn't matter because all he saw was the memories flashing through his mind. He had defeated them all, all of those enemies! What an amazing feat! He'd turned into the Nine-Tails though, using its power. He wasn't sure what happened during that time.

Naruto looked around blearily. The door suddenly snapped open, making Naruto look up.

"You're finally awake," Tsunade said, smiling at him.

Naruto attempted a smile. "Grandma Tsunade!"

The older blonde woman glared at him. "Hey, treat the Hokage with some respect."

Naruto didn't even pay attention. He spoke slowly. "So… why am I here?"

"Turning into the Nine-Tails really took a toll on your body this time," Tsunade explained, strolling into the room and checking his monitors as she marked a clipboard.

Naruto nodded as his head cleared some. He realized he was hungry. "Is there any food?"

Tsunade gave him another smile. "You bet. I'll go get a nurse." Her heels clicked on the linoleum floor. The clicking stopped at the door as she turned and regarded him with a thoughtful gaze.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing," Tsunade said dismissively. "You should eat and then try to get more rest. I'll be back to check up on you."

"Okay," Naruto agreed, grinning.


Naruto inhaled the food brought for him and then snuggled up under the thin white sheets of the hospital bed. He fell into a deep sleep, not waking back up until the next day around the same time.

No one was around when he woke up, feeling refreshed. He felt like he could probably leave now, but didn't feel like risking Tsunade's wrath. So he just sat around, observing the room to pass some time. There was a door which he knew led to a bathroom, and the window to the left of his bed. There were hooks on the wall behind the door and Naruto's clothes were hanging on one, neat and clean. There was a small table to the right of his bed with just a clock on it that read 12:43 in red.

The room bored Naruto. He just sat back in his bed, thinking about what went on, waiting for someone to come.

Around one o' clock Tsunade came through the door again. She walked over, checked his vitals, then walked away saying "You have visitors." Then she was gone.

He watched the open door and soon two people came in. Naruto grinned, happy to see them.

"Yo, Naruto," Kakashi greeted, raising a hand.

Sai nodded in his direction.

"Hey, guys!" Naruto said, his face beaming. He was so glad they were finally here! He'd been waiting for them to come get him. They'd break him out of here.

Naruto watched as his teammates walked up to his bedside, not speaking. Not smiling.

Naruto gave another smile, though it was a little hesitant this time. "So, apparently I saved the day, huh?"

"Yeah," Kakashi agreed. He might have been smiling, but his eyes didn't reflect any emotion. It was as though something was on his mind, troubling him.

Sai stayed silent.

"Was the mission completed then?" Naruto probed.

Kakashi seemed to hesitate. "Kind of."

"Kind of?"

Kakashi paused.

"Well, there wasn't really anyone left after you were done," Kakashi explained. "And we had to leave early for… medical reasons."

The words struck Naruto, a sudden realization flashing in his head.

"Where's… Sakura?" he asked, afraid of the answer.

Kakashi and Sai shared a long, solemn look, heightening Naruto's fears.

"Where is she?" Naruto asked again, his voice getting louder.

"I'll be back," Kakashi said quietly, disappearing from the room.

Sai pulled a chair up next to Naruto's bedside. "How well do you think you can walk?"

"I can manage. Where is she?"

"You've been out for quite a while."

"Where is she?" Naruto's voice rose.

"Tsunade said just a couple days until you can go back-"

"Damn it, Sai, where is she?" Naruto shouted.

His teammate just gave that fake smile, like it was supposed to comfort him; like it was supposed to make everything okay.

Kakashi came back in. "He can come."

Sai nodded, gesturing for him to try and stand up. Naruto swung his legs over the bedside, the stiffness of his body sending an ache that he ignored. He stood up, and Sai put Naruto's arm over his shoulders, supporting him. They followed Kakashi through the door and down the hallway. Naruto limped slightly.

While they walked, people stared; nurses, doctors, patients. They gave him different looks of fear, sympathy, sadness, or pity. The looks confused him and made his stomach tighten for some unknown reason. The looks also made him angry.

They walked the whole length of the hall. Halfway down, Naruto thought he'd seen Ino walk out of the very last room. But she was crying and soon disappeared, so he passed it off as a hallucination.

Kakashi ended up leading them to that last room on the left. It was quiet down here, away from the main section of the hospital. Kakashi went ahead into the room, and with every step, Naruto began to fear. He'd never been afraid of his enemies - never. But here he was now, afraid to walk through a door.

Sai stopped outside the door, releasing his grip slightly to grab the doorknob.

"Kakashi?" the emotionless boy called, and that was exactly what he was – emotionless.

"Bring him in."

Sai opened the door, pushing it away from them. Naruto stared into the room. It was dark and quiet; the windows and blinds were pulled closed, casting the room in a shadow. There was a small lamp that lit an eerie glow over the room, especially over the occupant of the bed. Next to the lamp were many types of flowers, in all different kinds of vases.

Kakashi sat in a chair beside the bed with his back to them. He was slouched over, his head in his hands. He was quiet. No one moved, and only a monitor with many tubes beeped occasionally, slowly.

Naruto saw all that before he finally directed his eyes to the person in the bed.

And when he saw her, his legs gave out and he crashed to the ground in horror.


Meh smeh meh. I had a bad day today. And then that review didn't help. The others did though! :D Oh, and sorry if I disappointed anyone with Sakura not actually being dead. XD I'll try and finish the next chapter tomorrow, but I think I'll have to work on this one project I have, so...

REVIEW~! PLEASE~!