Yuki faded in and out of consciousness, her body preventing her from staying awake for more than two minutes . Things had changed each time. The first time, she had been in the arms of her father. The next, she woke up in a hospital, an IV drip attached to her arm, and her ribs heavily bandaged. She didn't move after the second time, too weak to even consider trying. But her strength was returning, and as her eyes fluttered open, happiness filled her heart.
I don't know how...or why, but I survived. I'm alive!
She groaned at the stiffness in her body, when a voice she recognized sent her heart afloat.
"Feeling better I see."
She turned around to notice Kakashi was watching her, the expression on his face careful.
"A lot. Whoever healed me did a good job. The pain is not even there anymore," she replied.
"Yes, but the damage was extensive. The man who did it, passed out, and had to be healed after healing you. You're body was infested with poison and your muscles were torn to shreds. The painnis only gone due to the amount of anesthesia you are on. That was reckless,Yuki."
The harshness in Kakashi's voice shocked her, and she hung her head.
"You should have died. When I first saw you, I thought you had. After attending, Sarutobi-sama's funeral, I found you. One week LATER. I came home, knocked on your door which swung open ,with you passed out on the floor. You were mumbling something incoherently, and shivering violently. I got you to the hospital as soon as possible, and hoped I wasn't too late."
Tears started to pool from her eyes, seeing the three scrolls she had retrieved in her lap. They were blurry.
I passed my test, but failed my mission overall.
"I-I'm sorry," she whispered sadly.
"But, you saved Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke, and held Orochimaru off enough to let them escape. I'm proud of you," he finished.
Yuki glanced at him to notice him smiling widely, behind his mask.
"Morning, kid. Feeling better I see."
Yuki glanced left, noticing Anko was lying on the bed next to hers. The cursed mark was covered up with a bandage, leaving Yuki concerned.
"Fought Orochimaru, huh?" she asked, a small smile on her face.
"Hai."
"Stupid idea, but you did better than I did. I saw that huge gash in his back you gave him. Very nice. I'd suggest next time you decide to do something stupid, don't."
Yuki nodded before reaching for a cup of water, her hand shaking. As she grasped the cup, she realized the full extent of her injuries.
"How long was I out?" she asked herself in a mere whisper.
"Two months," came the response from Anko.
Two months...what did he do to my body that could have caused that?
She glanced to Kakashi who was watching her, with concern.
"What happened during your battle with Orochimaru?" Kakashi asked.
SEVERAL HOURS LATER.
She laughed as Anko let out a low whistle.
"You went toe to toe with Orochimaru and came out only with a few scrapes. Not too shabby, but in the state you are in...you'll be here for the next few months, not including rehab."
There was knock at the door, as a nurse walked in, trying to keep three people from bum rushing in.
"Excuse me, sir, but she's not allowed to have anymore visitors!" the nurse was trying to explain.
"Kakashi-sensei! Hey, pal, get out of the way. If you don't, I'm gonna hurt you!"
"Naruto! Calm down. I'm sure if you asked nicely-"
"Shut it baka," she heard a smooth cold voice state.
"Sir, I can't..."
Yuki sighed, before saying it loud enough for everyone.
"Let them in," Yuki stated. She glanced and noticed that Sakura,and Naruto rushed in, their faces exasperated. Sasuke followed at a slow pace, his gaze on her. The male nurse glanced her way, before walking to her side and fiddling with some of her ivs and checking her vitals.
"Good. You all made it," she heard her father say it in a pleasant tone.
"What are you doing with Yuki, Kakashi-sensei?" she heard Naruto ask, his eyes on her.
"That's none of your concern, Naruto."
Yuki glanced at them before swinging her legs out of bed. As her right foot touched ground, she slipped forward. A hand caught hers and she noticed a musky smell was right in her face.
"Easy now." The tone that had been laced with coldness now had a subtle hint of compassion. She glanced up, into the face of Sasuke, who was smiling. That's when she heard him whisper.
"I know it was you during our fight. Thank you."
Yuki glanced at him in awe, before lying back down into bed. She was in no condition to stand or even crawl. She sighed before glancing at Sasuke apprehensively. His face turned cold again, and she turned her attention to Kakashi.
"Thank you, Sasuke," she said calmly, regardless of the shock that caused her heart to hammer in her chest.
"Yeah. Whatever." Yuki glanced at Sakura who was glaring at her. It only took a second to realize why she was staring at her that way.
She likes him. Hehe, how cute.
Yuki glanced at Kakashi who reached into his back pocket.
He's pulling out Ichi Ichi Paradise. He despises large groups.
Instead, he plopped a huge bag in her lap, causing her to cry out in happiness.
"KAKASHI-SAMA! You shouldn't have!" she exclaimed. She dug in, pulling out a single wrapped peppermint. Except...it was a little larger than the usual ones.
"Enjoy..." she heard him say, quiet enough that only they could hear. She nodded in response, before popping it into her mouth. She couldn't wait.
CRUNCH!
A weird liquid, filled her mouth. It was smooth and velvety. She felt the taste change slightly, to a more sweet and thick flavor. It was indescribable. The mint accented the taste, and made it that much more enjoyable.
"Wh-what's this flavor?" she asked, curious. She tossed one to Anko who joined her. She looked over at Anko who glanced at Kakashi, a huge blush covering her face.
"Chocolate, Kakashi-san?" she asked her peer.
Kakashi nodded. Yuki blushed and glanced at her father. He always told her to try new things. She never had had chocolate, but found it to be okay. Not delicious, but okay. Mint would always be her favorite flavor.
The room was silent for several seconds, when Kakashi rubbed her head.
"Well, I best be on my way. I'll see you around. Come on you guys," he said.
"But Kakashi-sensei..." she glanced at Naruto who looked at him with a strange emotion on his face.
"Yes, Naruto?" Kakashi asked. The deadpan tone stated that this wasn't up for debate but Naruto was going to press it nonetheless.
"Can I spend some time with Yuki-chan?" he asked, his eyes on hers.
Yuki was fond of the boy. Granted they hadn't really gotten a chance to talk to each other but she knew they could be good friends given the chance.
"Well, that's a surprise. I thought you'd ask for combat training like you usually do," Kakashi stated.
"It's up to her...though you might miss out on today's mission."
She watched Naruto nod his head, before looking at her with something akin to begging in his face.
"I-I don't mind," she said, happily.
"YES!"
Kakashi glanced at her, his look concerned. She mouthed later and went ahead and took another mint out of the bag, sucking on it softly. She didn't know how many of these things she had gone through, but one thing was certain. This bag would be gone by the end of the week. As the trio departed, Naruto took a seat down beside her bed. Yuki glanced at Anko-sama who was feigning sleep.
Yep. I'm gonna get the boy talk after this.
She giggled to herself before returning her attention to Naruto who was watching her intently.
"So-like what are you doing in the hospital?" he asked, the question seeming innocent enough.
"I-"
Need to make something up and fast!
"I had a little training issue and damaged my body pretty heavily during it," she replied. It wasn't the complete truth, but her mission had been to retrieve three scrolls and she had accomplished that with more than enough time to spare. She had even cooked dinner in a part of the abandoned forest with a couple traps set up. The Orochimaru part, had actually been an accident. On the tenth day, with four days to go, she had tailed Naruto's team out of curiousity.
"Training? What kind of training?" he asked.
Yuki grinned and glanced at Anko-sama who had a wierd smirk on her face.
How about this for size?
"Weelllll- I'm not supposed to tell anyone, but I was practicing on forbidden jutsu," she said. They heard a loud gasp and coughing behind her. Yuki glanced backwards to see her teacher coughing and hacking up a lung.
"Anko-senpai? You okay?" Naruto asked, getting up.
"I-I need some water," she heard her favorite teacher say, rushing to the bathroom.
Yuki grinned. She was trying to hold in the laughter bubbling in the pit of her stomach,herself. There was a lot of banging of stuff inside the bathroom, but Yuki could distinctly hear the chuckles coming from inside the bathroom. She looked back to Naruto, whose face was serious. Almost deathly so.
"N-naruto-kun! What's wrong?" she asked, moving some hair out of her face. She noticed his face glanced at hers before the expression changed to happiness. It didn't take but the single look in his eyes to reveal how he honestly felt.
"Hey, Yuki-chan?" he asked.
Chan? I like that.
"Does Kakashi ever take his mask off after work?" he asked, grinning deviously.
Yuki chuckled. Now that she thought about it she never got to see it.
"Nope!"
Their conversations ranged from likes, dislikes to missions. The more and more time that Yuki spent with Naruto the more she started to like him. He was so warm and though, a little hyperactive, very friendly. But it was getting dark and she had to get ready for bed.
"Naruto. I'm sorry, but I'm getting pretty worn out. You don't mind if I get some rest, do you?" she asked.
"Nope. Go ahead. Catch ya later, Yuki-chan," he said as he rushed out the door.
It was silent and cold without him and she shivered before laying down and pulling the covers over herself.
"He's quite wierd. You must have bad taste in man, Yuki."
Yuki let out a small growl and glanced at Anko who was watching her, with the biggest grin plastered on her face.
Yuki blushed and looked away. She didn't like Naruto like that! She was sure of it. He was just nice. A good friend.
"It's not like that Anko-sama!" she said, quickly blushing hard.
"You say no, but your face says different," Anko said, grinning.
"He's just a friend...a really good, and hot-" she stopped herself. Maybe it was like that. She hadn't wanted to admit it, but maybe it was true.
"I am going to spend the next hour lecturing you, until you understand that guys are great, but you have to be careful."
And that's how she spent the rest of the day.