When Reika opens her eyes, she can't see out of her right eye. She lifts her right hand only to hiss in pain. She looks at her right hand with her left eye and sees it covered in bandages. She puts her left hand – which is also bandaged, but doesn't hurt as much as her right – over her right eye and feels that it's also wrapped in bandages. She does remember that the eye that bled the most was her right one.
Reika slowly sits up on her bed and looks around. She finds a pair of crutches leaning on her bedside table with a note on it. She takes the note and her eye widens. She smiles softly at it.
'Yo, Little Miss Sunshine!
I know you'd be bored when you wake up, so I begged a medic-nin named Kirika to give you crutches for when you're awake!
Thanks for saving us
– Kiba'
Underneath Kiba's letter is a familiar handwriting that actually brings tears of relief to Reika's eyes.
'Troublesome woman.
Get well soon.
– Shikamaru
P.S. I heard what you did. Thanks. You saved my life.'
"Kiba… Shikamaru…" Reika puts down the note and wipes the tear from her eye. She takes one of the crutches and stands up on her feet with the help of the crutch and leaves her room. She looks around and after she recognizes her surroundings, she walks towards the room she knows Sasuke is in.
Her eye widens when she sees an unfamiliar blonde standing on her brother's bedside, and Sakura is hugging a dazed but awake Sasuke. This must be… Tsunade-sama, Reika thinks. Nii-san… is awake…
A woman with black hair turns when she notices her, "Ah… should you be out of your bed?" she asks.
"Who is it, Shizune?" Tsunade asks. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke turn to look at the door, and their eyes widen.
"Reika…?!"
"Rei-chan?! What happened-ttebayo?!" Naruto asks in panic.
Reika ignores Naruto in favor of slowly moving towards Sasuke, standing beside Sakura. She eyes her brother without a word, simply waiting for her brother to make the first move.
"Reika-hime…" Sasuke finally says.
"Are you an idiot?" Reika asks harshly. Everyone's eyes widen at her words and her tone. They didn't expect Sasuke's twin sister would say something like that after Sasuke wakes up from a coma.
"What–?!" Sasuke glares at his sister. Reika returns the glare.
"When will you stop being so reckless and realize that there are people who care about your well-being?" Reika asks, "I've been with you my whole life, and strangely enough, you never seem to realize that you will always have at least one person who worries about you."
Sasuke avoids looking at Reika's eyes. Instead he closes them.
Reika sighs in defeat as her eyes water, "Nii-san, please…" she looks down to her left hand, which has held onto Sasuke's without her knowing, "Don't make me see you like that again…"
Sasuke squeezes Reika's hand softly, mindful of her injury, and says, "Sorry… Reika-hime."
Reika sighs in exasperation, "It's unfair that I always forgive you whenever you apologize, you know?" she says with a smirk as she slowly uses her right hand to wipe her tears. Sasuke turns to look at her eyes and gives her a small, apologetic smile.
Reika turns to look at Tsunade, "You must be Tsunade-sama," she bows slightly awkwardly with a crutch on, "Thank you for healing my brother."
"You're the other Uchiha, huh? I heard that you defeated an A-rank nuke-nin all by yourself," Tsunade says. Everyone's eyes except for Shizune's widen. Reika doesn't meet the woman's eyes, basically confirming her suspicions. Reika doesn't notice the frustrated look on Sasuke's face, "Don't look so worried. You may have killed another shinobi, but he was a nuke-nin. You won't be punished because of it."
"That's good."
"One of Arashi Yorukage's followers is still alive and is going through interrogation right now. You may be called in later for questioning," Tsunade says. Reika nods.
"Tsunade-baa-chan! Next! Next!" Naruto says impatiently. Tsunade sighs and leaves the room with Shizune in tow.
"…maybe I should go back to my room," Reika says, "Don't strain yourself," she says as she ruffles her brother's hair.
Sasuke does nothing to protest, "…yeah."
xXx
A day after she woke up, the bandage around Reika's eye is removed. Kirika, who is, again, her medic-nin in charge, told her that they found no damage to the eyeball itself, and only wrapped it in gauze and bandage as a precaution. Because there seem to be no damage – aside from the fact that Reika feels that her vision is more blurry than usual – they decide to open the bandage. On the same day, she is discharged from the hospital.
True to Tsunade's words, after she had been discharged from the hospital, Yamanaka Inoichi called Reika in for questioning. Reika told him what happened from start to finish, unable to leave anything out. Inoichi told her that the shinobi that she spared – the one who was put into a genjutsu right after meeting her eyes – told him that he saw 'two black pinwheels in a red sky'. Reika doesn't understand what that means.
Two days after the inauguration of the Godaime Hokage, Reika sees a hawk flying above her head. Is that… for me? From the Hokage? Reika sighs. Well, nii-san will have to wait a little bit longer.
She walks towards the Hokage Tower, and meets Shikamaru on the way there. Reika stops in her tracks when she finally sees Shikamaru in the flesh, walking around. She wonders when she started feeling afraid for her best friend's life so much. Her hands shake when she thinks about seeing Shikamaru's lifeless form on the ground, with no heartbeat to be heard. When Shikamaru notices her, she hesitantly lifts a bandaged hand up in a greeting. He replied it with his own hesitant one.
"So… You were called too?" Shikamaru asks.
"Yeah… I wonder if it has something to do with that nuke-nin…" Reika wonders.
"If it is, Kiba should be here too, but I don't see him," Shikamaru says.
"Y-You're right…" Reika says as they continue their way towards the Hokage Tower. What the hell? Did I just stutter? What is wrong with me?!
Once they arrive there, they're taken to a room with the Godaime Hokage, Shizune, and all the Chuunin Exams proctors, including some of the sentinels from the first exam. They're all smiling at Reika and Shikamaru when they stand before the Hokage. No way… Reika thinks as she makes a temporary conclusion to their situation.
"Ah, you're here. That was fast. We can start now, right?" Tsunade asks Shizune. When she nods, Tsunade sighs, "To tell you the truth, I have no idea what to do. There were some opinions that there should be no qualifiers this time due to the final part of the exam being incomplete. However, I've heard that Sandaime Hokage was extremely impressed with your fights and considered recommending you two as Chuunins."
Reika and Shikamaru's eyes widen, but Tsunade continues, "All of the other feudal lords watching from other countries as well as the other examiners agree with this. Since that's the case, there isn't anything more for me to say about it," she smiles at Reika and Shikamaru, "Therefore, keep up the hard work and don't bring any disgrace to your hitai-ate. Congratulations. From this day forward, the two of you are Chuunins."
Kotetsu moves forward and hands a Chuunin vest to Reika and Shikamaru each. Reika looks down at the Chuunin vest in her hands and contemplates what she should do with it. Ultimately, she unzips her white hoodie and puts the vest on, zipping it up halfway so the Uchiha crest on her chest is still visible. She pulls the hood from under the vest. She turns to look at Shikamaru with his own vest on.
Reika and Shikamaru thank the Hokage and leave the room. Outside of the room, Reika smiles at Shikamaru, "Congratulations. You deserve it," she smirks at him, "And you actually look good in that vest. It suits you."
Shikamaru blushes at the compliment, "Shut up…" Shikamaru eyes Reika up and down, "You don't look half bad in it either," Reika rolls her eyes at that. She freezes in her spot when Shikamaru smiles a real smile at her. She thinks she can feel blood rushing to her cheeks, "Congratulations. You deserve it too, you know."
Reika and Shikamaru look away from each other. Geez… when did it get so awkward between us? Reika wonders. What she doesn't know is that Shikamaru is thinking the same thing.
"I-I'm going to go visit nii-san in the hospital… so I guess I'll see you later!" Reika says hastily.
"Oh… yeah. See you," Shikamaru says. Reika only nods at that as she practically flees from Shikamaru.
…What was that?! Reika asks herself.
xXx
When Reika arrives at the front of the hospital, she sees Sakura and Naruto coming from the other way.
"Ah! Good morning, Rei-chan!" Naruto says.
"Good morning, Naruto. Sakura."
"Reika, that vest…!" Sakura says with wide eyes.
"Ah… yeah. I just got it earlier," Reika says with a small smile.
"Whoa, Rei-chan, you're a Chuunin now?! Let's go and tell Sasuke about it! He must be so proud-ttebayo!" Naruto says with a grin.
"Yeah, Reika. Sasuke-kun would be proud. I remember when you won your preliminaries; he looked so proud then," Sakura says.
Reika gives them a sincere smile at that. She really hopes that Sasuke would be proud of her.
They walk towards Sasuke's room, Naruto making a ruckus along the way. He insists on hiding Reika until they open the door. Naruto slides the door to Sasuke's room open.
"Sasuke-kun, I've bought you some apples," Sakura says as she walks towards Sasuke, who's sitting on his bed, looking at his hands, "Reika told me you don't mind them," Sakura pulls an apple out of the bag and smiles at Sasuke while showing it off, "See? Doesn't it look delicious?"
"Hey, hey, Sasuke, guess what?!" Naruto asks. He waits until Sasuke turns to look at him, but he doesn't. It doesn't deter him, and he steps aside, "Ta-dah! Rei-chan got promoted to a Chuunin-ttebayo!"
At that, Sasuke's head snaps up to look at Reika. He squeezes the comforter in his hands when he sees his sister wearing a green Chuunin vest over her usual white hoodie. He clicks his tongue and looks down at his hands.
To be honest, Reika is disappointed. She expected him to be proud of her, like he did when she won her matches in the Chuunin Exams. But after waking up from his genjutsu-induced coma, Sasuke had been more irritable than he usually are. Reika can hardly read him, and it grows hard even for her to start a conversation with him, let alone hold one.
Sakura sits on one side of Sasuke's bed, peeling an apple, while Reika moves to sit on the end of the bed. She contemplates taking her brother's hand in hers, but she doesn't think he'd appreciate that. Since when do I feel the need to walk on eggshells with my twin brother? Reika wonders sadly. She frowns when she sees Sasuke gritting his teeth while glaring at Naruto.
"Well, I've finished peeling it," Sakura says. She cuts the apples into segments so it would be easier to eat. Reika watches as Sakura stabs a piece of apple with a toothpick, "Here you go, Sasuke-kun," Sakura says as she offers the stabbed apple towards Sasuke. At some point, Reika has stopped minding Sakura being close to her brother. She tolerates her somehow, but still doesn't understand why.
Reika inhales sharply when Sasuke slaps the apple along with the plate filled with it away.
"S-Sasuke-kun…?"
"Nii-san…?" Reika asks tentatively, "What's wrong?"
"What's going on-ttebayo?" Naruto asks.
Sasuke doesn't say anything and he glares at Naruto. Reika and Sakura look on worriedly. I don't have a good feeling about this… Reika thinks.
"W-What is it? You don't have to stare like that-ttebayo…"
He finally opens his mouth and says, "Hey, Naruto…"
"What is it-ttebayo?"
"Fight me, right now."
"What…?" Reika asks with wide eyes.
"Huh? What are you saying? You've just been treated by Tsunade-baa-chan," Naruto asks incredulously.
"I don't care; just fight me!" Sasuke insists as he activates his Sharingan.
"Nii-san, that's enough!" Reika says as she stands up.
"Shut up, Reika!" Reika flinches at Sasuke's harsh tone. She knows that he has the tendency to get harsh, but Reika is rarely on the receiving end of the tone. Not only that, it's the first time Sasuke has called her without the suffix -hime since their real relationship was uncovered.
That curse mark is changing him… Not only that; meeting nii-sama must also have done something to him. Nii-sama must've said something to him to fuel his anger… Reika thinks.
"You think you saved me?" Sasuke asks Naruto, "I don't care if she's the Godaime Hokage… doing unnecessary things…"
"What…?!" Naruto asks. Sasuke throws his comforter aside and gets off his bed.
"You said before that you wanted to fight me, didn't you? I said I'd fight you right here and now," Sasuke says. He smirks mockingly at Naruto, "Or are you afraid?"
Naruto grits his teeth at Sasuke's words. Reika eyes the two of them as Sakura says, "S-Sasuke-kun, what's wrong? Naruto, say something! Why so suddenly…?"
Naruto smirks, "Perfect timing-ttebayo," he says, "I was just itching to fight you!"
"Why don't the both of you just cut it out, okay?" Sakura tries to console the two of them.
"Come on, don't be idiots," Reika says.
But the two boys don't seem to be listening to either of them. Sasuke motions with his head as he says, "Follow me."
This is bad… Reika thinks as she watches Sasuke and Naruto leave the room, "Sakura," Reika calls out. Sakura turns to look at her, "Help me find Kakashi-sensei," Reika doesn't say anything more as she flickers out of the hospital to try and find their sensei. She runs down the street, trying to find Kakashi, and sighs in relief when she sees him standing beside a window looking into Yakiniku Q. She approaches him immediately.
Kakashi turns to look at Reika, and he smiles at her, "Reika. That Chuunin vest suits you. Congratulations," his smile dims when he sees the somewhat uneasy look on her face, "What's wrong?"
Reika stops in front of Kakashi, and she can feel the eyes of Asuma – the person with whom Kakashi was conversing before Reika comes – and his team from within Yakiniku Q. She doesn't take her eyes off of Kakashi's, "…It's Naruto and Sasuke-nii-san. Will you come with me?" Reika practically begs him.
"What's wrong with Sasuke-kun, Reika?" Ino asks.
"Hey, hey… what's wrong, Reika?" Shikamaru asks, noticing the slight panic in his best friend's eyes.
Reika ignores the two of them in favor of looking straight into her sensei's eyes in desperation, "…please."
Kakashi nods and looks at Asuma and his team, "I gotta go. Congratulations again, Shikamaru," he says. He turns to look at Reika and says, "Lead the way."
Reika nods and jumps onto the roof, trying not to look down as she makes her way towards the hospital again. Her eyes widen when she feels Sasuke's chakra spike from the rooftop of the hospital. No way… he's using Chidori against Naruto?! Is he trying to kill him?!
Reika lands on the rooftop just in time to push Sakura, who is trying to get between Naruto and Sasuke, out of the way while Kakashi catches Naruto and Sasuke's hands and throws them away. Reika pants as she lifts herself off of Sakura. She glares at her, "Are you an idiot?! Do you have a death wish?! What the hell were you trying to pull?!" Reika yells angrily.
"Reika, that's enough," Kakashi says.
Reika clicks her tongue, but she helps Sakura up nonetheless, "Think twice before you do anything. If they couldn't stop in time, you'd be dead," Reika says with a glare at Sakura.
"She could've worded it better, but Reika has a point, Sakura. If we came just a little bit later, you wouldn't be here right now," Kakashi says.
"I… I'm sorry…" Sakura says.
"What do you think you two are doing on top of the hospital?" Kakashi asks incredulously to Naruto and Sasuke, "Isn't this a little bit too much for a sparring match?"
Reika turns to look up at Naruto and Sasuke. Both of them were thrown towards water tanks on top of the hospital roof. Sasuke's left hand that was covered with Chidori is stuck within the tank, and when he pulls his hand out, water pours out of the hole. While the tank that took Naruto's attack has a small dent on it with a small hole where water comes out.
What was that jutsu Naruto was using? Reika wonders. She turns to look at Sasuke and sees him smirking in satisfaction. Probably because of the sheer difference of the aftereffects of their jutsus.
"Were you planning on killing Naruto, Sasuke?" Kakashi, who is already sitting on top of the water tank Sasuke attacked, asks, "Why must you insist on being superior? Chidori is not a move to use against someone from the same village," Kakashi says. Sasuke doesn't say anything; he only glares at Kakashi, "Why did you act so childish? Reika is supposed to be the younger, more immature twin here."
Sasuke turns to look at Reika, and then at Naruto. He scoffs and flips backwards over the wire fence, and out of the hospital grounds.
Reika sighs. I've always known that there's some kind of tension between the two of them… but I never knew it has escalated to this point…
Reika ignores a crying Sakura, having no idea how to comfort her. She looks up when Kakashi lands in front of them. Kakashi looks at Reika and smiles, "Reika, thank you for telling me about this. Good job," he turns to look at Sakura, "Sakura," Kakashi says. He smiles at her, "Everything will be fine. It will be like the old days again. Cheer up."
Reika looks away at Kakashi's words. She's not some kind of kid who would blindly believe her elder's words. She knows how to face reality, and the reality is that it will never be the same again.