"Please count back from 10, Miss Hinata." Toshio directed as he put a mask over Hinata's mouth and nose, to his right Atsuko was doing the same for Naruto.
She looked at Naruto, gazing up towards the ceiling, his hands gripped the sides of the table he was lying on, the gown he had on just a little too short. Hinata sighed, smiling. She felt no fear of what was to come; instead she just followed Toshio's instructions. "Nine, eight…s-seven-" she was already feeling light headed, soaring up into soft billows of clouds and sky.
"You can trust me, everything will go fine." Toshio soothed, watching the girl's eyes close sleepily. "Atsuko, are we ready to go?"
"Yes, master. Are you sure you can do this?" Atsuko chirruped back.
"Of course, Sakura-san trusted this new surgery enough to refer these two to me. We can't let her down."
"Then, let us begin." The petit assistant handed him a syringe.
Toshio tapped the glass and squirted some of the liquid out while at the same time eradicating the trapped air. "Now watch closely, my dear. This will relax the eye muscles and allow the eye to stay open, enabling us to use that new jutsu to remove the optic tissue. But you must have the next vile ready for Naruto-san, otherwise the tissue will die."
"Yes, sir!" Atsuko exclaimed, readying herself. The procedure itself was a long, tedious one but the transfer was crucial to its success.
Toshio drew in a breath, steadying his hand. Slowly, he pricked the cornea directly. Under normal circumstances this would damage the eye quite greatly. But with his jutsu, Toshio would be extracting tissue as well as healing it. He handed the needle to Atsuko and placed his hands over the young kunoichi's face. Summoning chakra to his hands, a bright, bubble-like structure appeared on Hinata's eyes. In the bubble you could see tissue being collected very slowly.
Near the end of Hinata's procedure her hand twitched, causing Atsuko to slap it almost instantly. "Stay put, you! We're not done yet!" she scolded.
Toshio drew in a breath at the sudden movement, but realizing it was an involuntary muscle contraction he laughed, Atsuko's face was so cute when she was irritated. "Atsuko, get ready." He demanded sternly.
"I am." She was suddenly at Naruto's side, injecting the muscle relaxant.
In a quick series of movements, Toshio lifted the bubble off of Hinata's face. It turned a gray blue, no doubt since it was suddenly disconnected from its host. Toshio swiftly stepped to where Naruto lay still. He immediately reattached the bubble to his eyes, watching it light up with a yellow glow again. He let out a relieved sigh. Everything was going well. "Atsuko, don't forget about Miss Hinata, she still needs attention!"
Atsuko snapped to attention. "Right away, I am sorry, master!"
She scuttled over to the bed, hooking an I.V into Hinata's arm and tucking a blanket around her. Then, with one look back at a sweating Toshio, she wheeled Hinata into the recovery room down the hall.
Beads of sweat were starting to get into Toshio's eyes. He had never repaired a totally blind person's eyes before and was soon feeling the stress on his body. Atsuko was soon beside him though, wiping his forehead with a handkerchief she kept in her apron. "We're almost there, master."
"Yes." Was the only reply he could make, the bubble was diminishing in size and losing its glow.
"Just a little more, Toshio!" Atsuko cheered.
He was taken aback with the sudden use of his name but was also prodded forward. With a last spurt of energy, the rest of the tissue was inside Naruto's optic nerves, repairing them. Atsuko looked embarrassed. "Thank you, Atsuko. What's wrong?" Toshio questioned.
"I should have not used your name so casually, master. I am sorry." Atsuko looked like she was going to cry, Toshio couldn't understand.
"Ah, um, do not worry my dear; we're friends, are we not? I think it is fine to use my name if we do not have company." He smiled easily.
"Really?" Atsuko looked up, her eyes were still glistening but she was smiling.
"Um…really." Toshio said, before collapsing into his chair. "Please see to it Naruto is moved to a separate recovery room and monitored more closely than Miss Hinata."
"Right away, master…Toshio!" Atsuko grinned, sticking an I.V into Naruto and rushing him into a much better equipped recovery room where they could monitor his heart rate and R.E.M.
Toshio sighed, sitting there. He would never be able to make sense of women.
Hinata could feel herself coming down from the clouds and sky, into a much more closed off space. She stretched, scrunching her face up and rolled over, promptly running into a table edge of some sort. She was still very disoriented and couldn't figure out where she was. She could feel her eyes opening but nothing was appearing before her. She blinked rapidly, thinking it was just a head rush, or it was dark. But her eyes weren't adjusting. "Naruto!" She screamed, "Oh my god, Naruto!"
Tears were streaming down her face, nothing made sense, where was she? Why was everything so dark? Hinata started writhing in the bed, trying to sit up, but felt a jab in her arm. "Help, somebody!" her screams more desperate now.
Hinata heard the scurrying of feet from somewhere in front of her. "Please remain clam, Hinata-san!"
That voice… Hinata relaxed, recognizing Atsuko.
"Oh Hinata-san, please don't panic. You're at master Toshio's house, remember? The surgery seems to have gone successfully. But…remember what we told you. You won't be able to see for at least two weeks." Hinata felt Atsuko hold her hand.
"I-I'm sorry…I forgot. I feel so embarrassed." Hinata stuttered, trying to hide her frightened state.
"Oh don't worry. Many patients don't remember where they are after taking the anesthetic and such. It's quite common, actually…are you feeling hungry?"
Hinata ignored the question. "Where's Naruto, is he alright?"
"Oh yes, he isn't awake yet. But we aren't expecting him to regain consciousness for another day. The receiver of the transplant is always out for longer, considering how much his system needs to recover. Let me go get you some food, it'll make you feel better. Oh, and you'll probably want to change!" Atsuko hurried out of the room.
Hinata just lay there, stunned into silence. Months ago she would have had no idea she would be in this position. Months ago she had never known real fear. Naruto had to live with this for months, I can surely do the same…how did he manage to keep sane? She questioned herself. Hinata remembered when she was in the forest looking for Yoshiko she had wondered if Naruto felt like he was constantly plunging into darkness. Now she knew it was nothing like that. It was more like being abandoned in space in a metal box with just barely enough air to keep you from going crazy.
In short, it was the most terrifying feeling she had ever experienced and she had no idea how long she would have to live like this.
News Flash: YES for short chapters! But I got this one up quick, eh? I think if I have shorter chapters the sooner I can update. So, w00t. I bet some of you cynics out there are disappointed in Toshio's now obvious lack of evilness. The reason for that is because this story is coming to and end. Probably one or two more chapters then a bonus chapter with all the letters Hinata wrote to her friends and family. (Remember those?)