This chapter isn't very long. Sorry. I hope you enjoy anyway. By the way, I did try something new this time as an experiment. If you like it, let me know, if not that's okay. I just wanted to see what it'd be like and if it could help contribute to the story.
Note: I obviously don't use the metric system so the degrees that you'll be reading about are all in Fahrenheit.
By the time Suna finally came into view, I could barely feel my fingers. My legs had gone numb sometime the day before and the lack of sensation was slowing crawling up my body. I was hungry and exhausted, not having stopped to rest the entire two days it took me to get here. I staggered up to the entrance where a guard took notice of me.
"Lady Nari!" he exclaimed, rushing out towards me. I was so out of it that I didn't even notice the title, simply staggering past him like a zombie. "Lady Nari, are you alright?" He put a hand on my shoulder, stopping my movements. When he let go, I collapsed, the sand rushing towards my face.
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"…and you better make sure Gaara doesn't find out that she's here," I heard a female voice order. That sharp tone could only be Temari.
"W – wh?" I tried to ask, but I couldn't get the words past me throat.
"How are you awake?" she demanded instantly, rushing to my side. I pealed my eyes open to stare into her green orbs. They were full of concern and disbelief, and maybe just a wee bit of anger. "Nari! If it was anyone but you, you would be dead! Nurse, she needs water right now, and someone better start healing her wounds."
"Yes, ma'am. Right away." Just a few moments later, Temari was holding a glass of water to my lips. I drank greedily, nearly dying of thirst. My throat felt better after that, but my lips were obviously still cracked. I could taste the dry blood on them.
"Why can't Gaara know I'm here? I want to talk to him."
"Are you kidding me? Even Gaara saw you right now, he'd lose it. Do you have any idea in what kind of condition you're in?"
"I think I broke my ribs…," I muttered hesitantly. The kunoichi just about flipped herself.
"You think? You're ribs are crushed! One of your lungs is collapsed, you're spinal cord is bent out of shape, both of your legs are broken, and you have a concusion! The strangest thing is, no one can figure out how you're still alive. You're in such bad shape that the medic-nin don't even know where to start."
"The collapsed lung would be good," I breathed. Now that I thought about it, my breathing had been irregular since I crawled out of the rubble. Then again, I had just thought it was due to compression from my ribs. How was I alive with only one lung? Temari just shook her head, obviously flustered and stretched to her breaking point.
"How long was I out?"
"About thirty minutes, but they're probably going to sedate you before they begin surgery." I nodded and turned my head to the side, staring at the little table there holding my glass of water.
"Temari?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you think I could eat first?" She sighed and stared at me.
"You've never had surgery done before, have you?" I shook my head. "I'll make sure you get something to eat when you get out. Okay?" I frowned but nodded. My stomach could wait a little longer.
"If I can't see Gaara, then you have to tell him something for me. Tell him that Konoha was completely destroyed. There's nothing left but the Great Heads. Then tell him that there were no casualites. Everyone survived." Temari's eyes were grave.
"Yes. We know. Naruto Uzumaki single-handedly defeated Pain and saved the village." I shrugged.
"Well, that's interesting. I didn't hear about that." She glanced down at me and sighed. "Go get some rest or something, Temari. Don't worry about me. If I'm not dead yet then I'm not going to die anytime soon."
"Fine. Just work with the doctors, okay, Nari? They know what they're doing." I agreed easily and closed my eyes. I was still so tired…
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Temari's POV
"You alright, Temari?" Kankuro asked, sitting down beside me. I stared heavily at the ground, sitting on the bench outside of the operation room. Nari was inside.
"I'm worried."
"Nari's going to be fine. She always pulls through this kind of stuff."
"Not about her. I know she'll be fine. She's Nari. I'm worried about Gaara. If he finds out…"
"He's not going to. And even if he does, I'm sure he'll be okay too. Gaara's been through worse before. He can handle this." I wasn't too sure. My little brother was strong, but Nari meant so much to him. She was his first friend. She knows him better than anyone else. Hell, they even sleep in the same bed together. If he lost her, it'd be like losing part of himself. He wouldn't know what to do, how to cope with the emotions.
"I wonder what she's thinking right now. Does she know what kind of hell she's putting us through?" Kankuro laughed once.
"She's probably wondering when she's going to be allowed to hunt again." My lips twitched upwards. The girl was always hungry. Even when she said she wasn't, we all knew that she couldn't get the thought of food out of her head.
Suddenly, the light over the room went out and a medic-nin came out. Kankuro and I stood, hoping for good news. "We've managed to restore the collapsed lung and straighten her spinal cord. We did what we could to reset her legs and ribs but only time will tell if they'll heal properly. The swelling in her brain is going down but we'll have to keep tabs on it."
"Thank you," I said, recollecting my cool demeanor. "Please inform either Kankuro or I if her condition changes."
"Of course. Should we send a medic to inform Lord Kazekage?"
"No," I replied immediately. "He has enough to worry about right now. When Nari's condition has stabilized Kankuro or I will tell him."
"Yes, Lady Temari." Kankuro thanked the man again and then walked out of the building. We had to go about our day as usual or Gaara would find out. I headed to the office to see if my brother needed help with an documents while Kankuro went to train the next generation of ninja. The day was long but we managed. Finally, we could retire to our rooms.
I stood in between Gaara in Kankuro, one hand on my hip. "She should have been back by now," Gaara said softly.
"Knowing Nari, she probably did get caught in the battle and is hiding out in a forest somewhere, healing up. I'm sure she's fine," Kankuro reassured him.
"Nari's near invincible, Gaara, and she enjoys getting into trouble. Even if she didn't fight for Konoha, she probably found trouble elsewhere. She's always sticking her nose where it doesn't belong," I added for bonus effect. A faraway look covered his eyes. We knew he'd worry about her a little bit but we had been hoping it wouldn't be so much. She was a strong girl. She could hold her own. He, of all people, should know that.
Out of nowhere, a medic-nin appeared. "Lady Temari, Lord Kankuro, I was told to inform you that Nari's condition is stable, but she hasn't woken yet." If I could kill with my eyes, the little ninja would be dead.
"Nari?" Gaara asked, confused. "Where is she?" The medic hesitated, realizing what he had done wrong.
"Gaara, we were going to tell you…," Kankuro tried to intervene. He ignored him entirely, focused on his sort-of-girlfriend. The medic tried to leave but Gaara stopped him.
"As you're Kazekage, I order you to take me to Nari Ninetails." I sighed, putting a hand to my forehead. We couldn't keep it quiet for one day? The ninja reacted slowly, unsure, but eventually did as he was bid. We walked to the hospital in silence. Gaara paused at the entrance to Nari's room.
She looked better than she had when I last saw her, but she still looked awful. Her skin tone was sickly where it wasn't sunburnt. Her lips were pale and scabbed over. The blankets only reached to her hips so you could see that her torso was covered in bandages. Even then, bruises were still visible all along her arms and the small part of her abdomen that wasn't covered.
"What happened to her?" the young Kazekage demanded, stepping closer.
"We're not exactly sure, but we do know that she fought against Pain," I informed her. Gaara laid a hand on her forehead and frowned.
"She's burning up." One of the doctors in the room stopped and stared at him.
"Are you sure? The Leaf sent us information on her anatomy but it was encoded and we've yet to fully decipher it. All we know is that her temperature is higher than a normal human's. We couldn't be sure if she had a fever or not."
"She's not much warmer than us. She has a fever."
"If we were to let you touch glasses of water at different temperatures could you tell us about where she normally runs?" My brother nodded. The medic immediately went about setting up the test. The redhead took his time and decided that she ran at around 101 degrees. This concerned the doctors greatly since her current temperature was over 108. They set to work immediately, trying to get it down.
I watched my brother as the medics scurried about. I knew we had made the right decision about not telling him. He was going to be here all night with her.
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Nari's POV
Little white flashes blurred my vision as I tried to open my eyes. Needles, white hot, stabbed at my ribs, making me moan with pain. Suddenly, a hand, soothing and cool, touch the side of my face. I let loose a sigh, glad for the relief. The hand moved up to my forehead, checking my temperature.
"She's still burning up." I turned my face towards the sound of Gaara's voice. My eyes fluttered open, taking in the features of the young Kazekage. He appeared troubled, even more than usual.
"The medics don't know what else to do. They've tried everything. She's been entirely unresponsive to all forms of medicine or treatments to bring her temperature back down. Maybe her normal temperature isn't as low as you thought it was." Gaara turned to his devil's advocate.
"Her temperature right now is well over 110 degrees. Are you telling me that isn't a fever?"
"For a normal human, yes but Nari? Maybe not." Temari sounded even more stressed than last time I had seen her.
"110 is high, even for me," I muttered. "I normally run somewhere around 100." Pale blue eyes flashed open in surprise, staring down at me. The wave of emotions swamping my moon at that moment where overwhelming. Joy, gratefulness, anger, pain, hurt, confusion, worry. He leaned down and pressed his cheek to mine. I wrapped my arm around his neck, holding him there. The fear of separation at that moment was too high. Anxiety smacked me across the face. All the emotions, stress, experiences I had suffered through in the past week gripped my heart. A rock clogged my throat, and before I realized what was happening, tears streamed from eyes.
"Nari?" Concern, confusion. Why is she crying? "Are you in pain?" Gaara pulled out of my grip and I shook my head, turning away from him. How do you explain something you don't understand yourself?
"Are you still hungry, Nari?" Temari asked suddenly. I glanced towards her, my head starting to pound from all the movement. I tried to tell her yes but I choked and only managed to nod my head. I felt more tears streaming from my eyes, my body racked by sobs as she left. I tried to hid my face from Gaara who was still by my side but he hooked his finger under my chin and forced me to look at him.
"What's wrong?" he demanded, fear gripping him as well. He thought he might be the cause of the pain. What a silly assumption. Didn't he have any idea of how glad I was to see him? I grabbed his hand and moved it to my check, closing my eyes. Relief began to ease my sobs, a calming sensation running down my body. What if I hadn't made it back? What if I never got the chance to tell him?
Suddenly, Gaara leaned closer, his nose nearly touching mine. "Nari, you need to tell me what's wrong so I can help you."
"Nothing," I responded immediately. "I just – I… I wasn't sure if I'd get to see you again…. I want to be here, with you." A pause. "I mean, do you have any idea how much I love you? I don't," I sucked in a breath, trying to control the new moisture brimming from my eyes. "I don't know what I'd do without you. You're everything to me." Ice blue orbs stared down at me, his expression unreadable, his thoughts an incoherent jumble.
"You love me?" This question was almost a sentiment to his disbelief.
"Yes. I love you more than anything, more than anyone." To confess my feelings was like being reborn in the waves of an ocean. I felt clean somehow. My tears, my sobs stopped. Then, he slowly bent down and pressed his lips to mine. It wasn't a feather-light touch, but a passionate gesture of raw emotion because we both knew he loved me too.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thank for reading and, as always, please review.
Anyway, as a part of a dare with a friend a couple of days ago, I was forced to write a lemon for this story. It being my first lemon, it's okay. It also happens to fit pretty well with this part of the story so if you're interested in reading it, tell me and I can incorporate it into the next chapter. That's all. Ta ta!
