Chapter 10: Nakama
It took him some time to even dare open his eyes, his head and brain currently being a total mess thanks to the masive headache that was threatening to split them in two if he just tried to remember what happened, or what hit him.
For the moment all his mind could recollect was him feeling desperate for a moment, jumping to do something really stupid because of that, ant then feeling like being punched really hard in the face and/or head by a royally pissed Gildartz, but at the same time also feeling the familiar warmth and comfort of of flames licking at his face, so without thinking and out of pure reflex he ate them.
He guessed that if not for that little boost he would be unconcious by now, because even if the headache he was feeling at the moment was a dulled version of the one he originally would have, knowing how much even a bit of fire in his stomach helped him dealing with pain, then the full experience would have been too much for him to endure.
He was no stranger to pain, but if what he was feeling at the moment was hurting like a bitch... a shudder ran down his spine thinking about what it could have been.
Taking some deep breaths he tried to regain his bearings, knowing that if he was in pain then he was attacked, and bitching about his pain only made him a sitting duck, so fighting the urge of throwing up after he tried to stand up in a jump, only achieving to make his world spin violently for a painful couple of seconds, the desision of lying flat on the ground for some more time was mabe for him by his body, which refused to react after that last stunt, so hoping he would be left alone enough time to recover, he did his best try at relaxing, letting out a resigned and pained grunt.
His headache not giving quarter didn't made things easier for him.
Muffled sounds were surrounding him, in his current dazed state not being able to understand what they were, and like he didn't felt like doing anything to stand up, given the outcome of his previous attempt, all he did was remain in his spot on the ground, trying his best to ignore the splitting headache.
Then, like a godsent gift, he felt something grab his head just before someone yelled - right next to his ear - what sounded like some sort of order, and a cool, soothing and relaxing feeling enveloped his aching head, finally making the pain go away and letting his thoughts come into focus once again, letting the fastest recolection of his life flash in his eyes as one thought jumped to the front of his mind, along with him to his feet.
"Lucy!"
"Lay down you baka!" an irritated-sounding Sakura yelled at him, his senses working well enough for him to hear her clearly "I have no idea how, but you managed to survive one of Deidara's bombs exploding point blank in your face with aparently just some scratches and what seems to be a headache."
"And is that suposed to be a good thing?" Naruto groaned, obiously not totally healed since his world spinned