Mornings Light

"If you're reading this...

Congratulations, you're alive.

If that's not something to smile about,

then I don't know what is."

~Chad Sugg,

.13

The sun is shining on her face. She knows this because her cheeks feel warm, she can see light despite her eyes being closed. Something heavy is laying on her chest. By the weight of it she assumes it's a child.

She tries to lift her arm, but it refuses to listen. Interesting. Slowly she opens her eyes, the sunlight streaming in from the window blinds her. It takes a few seconds for her eyes to adjust, but the first thing she sees is a fluff of silver hair.

Kakashi.

Why was Kakashi on the front line? It is at this moment that Tsuyuko decides she needs to re-examine her surroundings. Solid white walls, the smell of disinfectant. She knows where she is after a moment. No wonder Kakashi was here. This is the hospital in Konoha. How the hell had she gotten here!?

She watches the rise and fall of Kakashi's back while contemplating her current disposition. The last thing she remembered was passing out. Blood loss. She had a concussion. Minato and her had been attacked while out scavenging.. She was thrown into a ravine.. She thinks the details are fuzzy.

But none of them told her how she ended up in the hospital… Which she would very much like to know.

The door opens, in steps the most disgruntled version of Tsunade she had ever seen followed by Sakumo. Tsunade looks like she is about to tell him off for something but catches sight of Tsuyuko staring.

"Welcome back to the land of the living brat." Tsuyuko takes a moment to ponder that statement.

"I died?" Unlike the first time she uttered those words with such conviction and certainty she sounds stupefied here. Tsunade nods gravely.

"You flatlined, I was able to restart your heart but it became apparent that you needed a hospital and not the medic tent. Your spleen ruptured and you were bleeding internally. I was told you had been thrown into a ravine. We set you up for transport immediately. Thank kami for space time bullshit." Tsunade picks up her medical chart as Sakumo moves Kakashi off of her, he doesn't wake up. Tsuyuko realizes the reason she couldn't move her arm was because her favorite little brother had been laying on it. Awesome. She tries to sit up and is immediately scowled at.

"Don't move, you had surgery. I removed your spleen." Which was not ideal but she could live without a spleen, the liver would take over most of the spleens duties.

But…

"You're going to be more susceptible to getting sick." Tsuyuko frowned, that was not ideal for a medic. Tsunade must have sensed her train of thought and she shook her head.

"Luckily for you kid I've been working on immune boosters for you. Once you're healed and have gone through your pt you'll be back to terrorizing the hospital in no time." Aww that was so sweet. Tsuyuko loved Tsunade so much. But she notices the emphasis the older woman makes.

"Not the fronts though." Tsunade shakes her head.

"Unfortunately not brat, not until I know how well the immune supplements work. In the village if anything arises you'll have easier access for treatment." Tsuyuko sighs sadly that made sense.

"How is Minato?"

"Blondie gets to live to see another day. Lucky him. Now rest up. Hatake you better not stay long she needs to rest." Tsunade walked left without another word. Tsuyuko looked at Sakumo.

"Can you help me sit up now that she's gone?" He smirked but complied after setting Kakashi down on the small waiting couch. The kid must have been out like a rock because he didn't move.

Sakumo adjusts the bed a bit for her and Tsuyuko leans back into the pillows. Her core is sore but it's not too bad. "How long have I been out?" She asks first since she'd forgotten to ask Tsunade.

"A couple days nothing major, your friends are still on the border and Orochimaru has been sent to the Kumo front. Kakashi wanted to be here when you woke up." Tsuyuko is grateful for that piece of information.

"Cool. They're going to nag me when they get back I can just feel it. Has Nawaki been by?" Sakumo nods.

"He was by earlier, he was not pleased by your current state."

"Sweet, I'm looking forward to the lecture he's going to give with great pleasure." Sakumo smirks. Tsuyuko wants to laugh but she has a feeling it's going to hurt.

"I'm going to take Kakashi home so you can get some rest, I'll bring him by tomorrow so he can actually see you. I'm glad you didn't die kid." He picks up his son, pats his step daughters arm before leaving the room.

"Yeah, me too… me too.."

…

Tsuyuko hates the wheelchair Tsunade is making her use with a deadly passion. It sucks, she hates it. What she hates even more is the food the nurse tries to get her to eat. "Raida-sensei you know why you have to eat this." The nurse tries and Tsuyuko almost wants to glare at her.

But it's not her fault the hospital food was bland and tasteless. She took the tray with trepidation. "Thanks… I hate it." Tsuyuko set it aside, besides she didn't currently have any appetite as it stood.

"Raida-sensei…" The nurse tries and Tsuyuko waves her off.

"I'll eat it eventually, Misuzu-san, just leave it for now." There is a sigh, one last attempt to give an order to eat and then the woman leaves. Tsuyuko looks at the tray of food.

Yeah she's not going to eat that.

"How about some Gyoza and Yakitori." The window of her room is slightly open sitting on the ledge with his crutch is Nawaki who grins at her and raises a bag of take out. Tsuyuko smiles at him.

"That sounds wonderful." He slides into the room fully feet and lands silently on the floor not even his crutch makes a sound, walks over to bed, moves the tray of food to another table and sits next to her setting up his offerings.

"I'm still irritated at you for getting so severely injured. A ravine.. Just ridiculous that you of all people would be bested by a fucking ravine." She does laugh now, the pain has subsided in the few days since she woke up.

"Technically it was an Iwa shinobi who bested me. The ravine just happened to be there." Nawaki pins her with a dirty look.

"Tsuyuko." She returns the look full on.

"Ooh a full name I'm so scared. It's not my fault Nawaki." Shit happens, is a silent afterthought.

"I asked you not to go where I couldn't follow." Tsuyuko reaches out for his hand, she squeezes it tight.

"I am still here Nawa, I won't make any promises but as long as I am a shinobi and a medic I will always do my best to come back. But I will not promise you that I won't die because that is not fair to either of us. Now tell me how everything has been? How is Tenzin-kun?" Distract me… She asks silently. Nawaki's smile is sad but he understands.

"Why didn't you tell me that Namikaze's kids were so badly off with each other? They're complete menaces." Nawaki whines before launching into what they'd been up to during the two months she'd been on the border. He tells her about the date he and Tenzin went on a couple weeks ago, about how great a cook his partner is, Nawaki tells her about anything and everything. Tsuyuko is extremely grateful.

…

Tsuyuko gets released after another week and can go home. She almost is sad. The idea of returning to her apartment when she had left Minato at the border makes her feel guilty. Sakumo gives a kindly offer of the Hatake compound but she declines. Even though she appreciated his kindness, she wanted to be alone.

Which was a nice sentiment but didn't seem like it was going to happen any time soon. However Tsuyuko cannot say that she's mad about the impromptu visitor she receives that afternoon.

While they weren't the closest of friends Tsuyuko did love Uzumaki Kushina dearly for the role she played in Minato's life. Her brother loves that beautiful redhead in the cutest of fashions. It was cute, Tsuyuko was living vicariously through it.

"Well I'm glad you didn't die." Kushina finally says after a long moment of silence, Tsuyuko had made them tea. She grins at the other girl who winces at the harshness of her own words after she has spoken them. They don't bother Tsuyuko though.

"Me too, me too. How is Mikoto and the baby?" That changes the mood and Kushina launches into telling Tsuyuko all about tiny little Itachi. He's the cutest thing ever, so smart, absolutely adorable. Kushina loves him dearly.

…

It is another month before the others return from the borders, rotations shorter to reduce serious injuries. Downtime the same before sending them back out. Tsuyuko is enjoying a nice morning hauled up in her apartment as Tsunade had yet to clear her for anything other than light physical activity and her immunity was still testy so she'd barely left the apartment save for when she'd go visit Kakashi or when Nawaki would come drag her to dinner at his place.

He pops in briefly to let her know that the others are back before having to wrangle Mianto's brats as he calls them for a mission. Tsuyuko doesn't pity him that Minato's brats needed to get their teamwork sorted out and soon. So she stays in reading a book, it's a rough draft of something Jiraiya was writing, she knows that because she stole it from his apartment when she read all of the books she kept at her. She'd return it with editorial notes once she was finished to make up for stealing it in the first place.

That was polite right.

What was not polite was the staring. Which she was ignoring. If Minato had something to say than he better just fucking say it. If it's an apology she's going to slug him.

"I'm so-" An apology, predictable. She throws the book at him. He catches it. He frowns and she ignores his sad expression. Because she did not want to deal with that at all.

"Don't you fucking dare. It is not your fault, so you have nothing to apologize for. Now come here and hug me. I missed you." He nods, sets the book on the coffee table, he sits next to her on the couch and very delicately hugs her. Tsuyuko holds him tight as soon as he is in her grasp.

"I missed you too."

Much later the others from their group stop by to check up on her. She is glad to see all of them in one piece. Even Fugaku stops by to show that he in fact did not require her services, and then wishes her a speedy recovery before leaving. The others stay much longer, Kushina arrives at some point with food. Nawaki shows up with Tenzin who has never met any of them but is welcomed with open arms.

"Your kids are brats." Nawaki complains once giving Minato the dirtiest of looks before going about beating the others at some card game he'd brought.

It is a very loud occasion and for once Tsuyuko is extremely grateful for all the noise.

She loves her friends so much.

XOXOX

And she lives! Also I am not a medical professional so I fact checked my medical bullshit as much as I could. You can live without a spleen, and it will decrease your immunity to certain things. So yeah..

Anyway I hope you guys liked this chapter! Thank you all for the love and support :)

~LaRae