A deep rolling sound echoed from above the small group in the collapsed lift. Kakashi had been thrown forwards when the lift hit the ground, barely holding on to the boy slumped over his back as he crashed into the opposite wall head first. He dazedly squinted through the dark at his student. Naruto was awake; his eyes only opened a crack, a bleary, confused expression on his face. He was covered in dust, and small pieces of plaster were scattered through his spiked yellow locks. Kakashi suspected that he and everybody in the lift looked the same – a dusty shade of white.
"Naruto," Kakashi said quietly. Naruto closed his eyes again.
Kakashi could hear the two doctors on the other side of the destroyed lift begin to shift and the sound of groaning filled the crumpled shaft. As his eyes became used to the gloom, he saw the two medical ninjas assessing their injuries and detaching themselves from the bent and broken metal. One cried out and fell back as he tried to stand. Shifting, he began to do the same, gently depositing Naruto against the bent wall and easing himself into a sitting position.
Another boom sounded, this time, more jarring. As he checked Naruto over, Kakashi felt something wet run into his eye. He swiped at it. The blood on his fingers looked black in the darkness of the lift. He tentatively reached up and explored the wound just above his eyebrow before moving over to the injured doctor who still had one leg stuck fast. The other was already inspecting the damage as best as he could and the two were discussing the pain quietly.
"It's broken," the doctor forced out, biting his lip hard enough to draw blood as the first doctor gently pulled upwards on the leg which had been caught between two pieces of crumpled metal. "And stuck," he added solemnly. Kakashi glanced over to Naruto against the wall next to the trapped doctor and proceeded to join in the effort to try and extract his broken leg. A deep boom sounded above.
Tsunade and Sasuke had heard the sound of the ropes snapping and the rolling crash which had reverberated through the entire hospital when the shaft had hit the ground. They had both immediately sprung into action and dashed down to the second floor. Tsunade punched the door again, yet it only bent in further. "This isn't working. The door will give way and fall inwards."
Sasuke frowned. "We will try something else, then." He pushed Tsunade out of the way and gestured for her to move down the hall. As she did so, he began to make Hand Signs. Tsunade's eyes widened in disbelief as he spoke. 'Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!'
"No! They'll die!" she screamed as a great jet of fire erupted from Sasuke's mouth. Tsunade threw up an arm in defence against the blinding heat. The temperature in the hallway shot up, little heat waves rippling in front of Tsunade's eyes. She reluctantly lowered her arm, turning her gaze back on the lift door. It was beginning to glow red, the dented centre already a strong yellow. Tsunade could do nothing but watch as Sasuke continued to direct superheated fire at the lift doors.
The four ninjas stuck inside the lift shaft heard it before they felt it. Just as they managed to free the trapped doctor, a deafening roaring sound echoed off the thick concrete walls above them. The temperature began to rise in the tiny shaft, quickly passing comfortable levels. Kakashi pulled Naruto away from the edges of the lift shaft, off the now-scorching metal. The two doctors helped deposit him onto Kakashi's back once again.
As he was shifted, he awoke and began to struggle. "No! No!" Kakashi held his legs and the mobile doctor restrained his arms. "No! Let me go! Let me GO!" The three ninjas watched in utter horror as Naruto's cerulean blue eyes, clouded with delirium, turned a nightmarish shade of red.