"Are you looking for Naruto, Hinata?" asked a weary Tenten.

Hinata nodded her assent and Tenten sighed in exasperation.

"He was put in the Extremity Damage Ward with Guy-sensei a few days ago." She sighed again, like she was a seventy-year-old woman and not a seventeen-year-old girl. "I've just gotten back from visiting the two..."

Hinata was just about to ask why Naruto and Guy-sensei had an entire room to themselves, but then Tenten started muttering darkly under her breath. "Why me...ugh...we just got back to Konoha after a damned war...stupid youthful people...Brain Damage Ward, where are you..."

To say that her cousin's teammate had seen better days was quite the understatement. Some weeds and twigs had gotten entangled in her hair buns, her nose was bandaged, and her ninja uniform was basically in shreds.

Then again, everyone looked the same, including her. But Hinata was one of the luckier ones. She'd suffered only from an extreme case of fatigue and eyestrain that she was fast recovering from.

Not like Neji.

And not like Naruto, whose entire right arm seemed to have been completely blown away.

Her heart had almost stopped when she'd laid eyes on the bloodied mess that his right side had become, right after emerging from the Infinite Tsukuyomi. She hadn't gotten a chance to talk to him since.

"Anyway, Hinata, just go to the room in the right-hand corridor and you'll find them," Tenten said, stalking away. "Neji...why did you leave me to deal with them all by myself...why?"

It wasn't hard to find Naruto. In fact, Tenten didn't even need to give Hinata any directions. Someone (she strongly suspected it was Guy-sensei) was yelling about the "all the different seasons of youth," so she took the cue and arrived at their hospital room.

Yeah, it was definitely Guy-sensei, lying there in the hospital bed, totally unfazed at having permanently destroyed his leg. And it was definitely Naruto, also lying there in the hospital bed, totally traumatized that he was forced to share a room with Guy-sensei until his recovery.

"Naruto, these injuries are only proof of our hot-blooded youthful courage!" Guy-sensei was yelling at the top of his lungs, even though Naruto was only six feet away. "To fully recover, I'll do two thousand kicks with my right leg, and you do two thousand punches with your right hand!"

At that moment, Hinata understood Tenten's pain and suffering completely.

Was this why they had to be kept away from everyone else?

"Uber...Brows...sensei," Naruto mumbled, his eyes glazed over, probably in sheer torment that someone was asking him to do punches with an arm that didn't exist.

"I keep telling you...I don't have a right hand anymore. I can't do two thousand punches with it."

Ah. Hinata was right after all.

Naruto's eyes lit up when he saw her.

"Hinata!" he called out. "Hinata, is that you?"

She blinked at the desperation in his eyes, like he was begging her to save him from a burning building or something.

"Hinata, great timing!" said Guy-sensei. "Now's your chance to – "

"Get ramen with me!" Naruto bellowed.

Hinata stared at him in shock.

"Please, Hinata, I've been stuck eating hospital food for three days," Naruto pleaded, affixing her with puppy dog eyes that were sparkling with tears. "It's been torture. You've been in my head even when you're not supposed to be."

"H-huh?" What did he mean, she was in his head?

"Um...I mean, ramen has been in my head even when it's not supposed to be!" He sprang out of bed, clearly dying to get away from the youthful insane person next to him. Then he swayed unsteadily, his face a milky white.

"Oh...I think I'm – "

He collapsed to his knees with a loud thud. Alarm spiked in her chest.

"Naruto-kun! Are you okay?" She grabbed his shoulder, trying to hold him steady.

To her horror, blood was seeping through his hospital clothes, staining the pale green a shocking crimson.

Her breathing turned shallow. "I'll go get the doctor, you're still hurt."

"No!"

She frowned. "But your arm, it needs to be – "

"Uh...this has happened a lot over the past few days. Don't worry about it."

Hinata scowled at him. Why was he pretending to act all tough now of all times?

Then he grabbed her arm with his only remaining hand. She was startled at how cold and clammy it was, such a stark contrast to how she remembered it during the war.

"Please?" he whispered so that Guy-sensei couldn't hear. "Um...just...just take a small trip with me to Ichiraku. Then I'll go get my arm checked out, okay? I couldn't get you...I mean...ramen out of my head."

This was stupid. So, so stupid. Naruto's shoulder was bleeding. Naruto's right arm had been blasted off in a fight that he still refused to share the full details of. Naruto needed to see the doctor. Preferably immediately.

"Okay."

Why was she agreeing to something so stupid?

"Really? Thank you so much, Hinata! You're so nice, ya know?" He beamed at her, all traces of his earlier teariness completely evaporating.

"Uber Brows-sensei, we'll be right back!" he yelled over his shoulder.

"OKAY! HONE YOUR YOUTHFUL SPIRIT WHILE YOU'RE GONE, NARUTO!" Guy-sensei yelled right back, giving them both a grin and thumbs-up.

She was so, so stupid.

As it turned out, they couldn't make it all the way to Ichiraku. One street away from the hospital, and Naruto's pallor intensified until he was as white as paper, and they were forced to sit down on a park bench.

The park bench was eerily similar to the one that she and Naruto had been seated on in her Infinite Tsukuyomi. She brushed the thought out of her mind as she finished applying her emergency ointment to his wounded shoulder.

She tightened the bloodied bandages around the remains of his upper right arm, causing him to wince.

Just a few days ago, his right hand still existed, all warmth and strength and comfort.

Just a few days ago, Neji nii-san was still alive.

Just a few days ago.

"Naruto-kun, please don't strain yourself too hard," she said. "Ichiraku won't be going anywhere. Rest until you're released from the hospital, okay?"

He didn't respond, opting instead to stare at a spot above her head.

"Okay?" she repeated.

"I didn't really want to go to Ichiraku," he mumbled.

"I'm sorry?"

"Sakura-chan felt sorry for me today and got me some take-out ramen after I begged her to. So I don't need to go to Ichiraku," he mumbled again. What had happened to his usual loud voice?

And what was she supposed to say to this?

"Um...actually, I...I was just really happy to see you, ya know?" Naruto squinted at the spot above her head again, as though her face was far too bright to look at. "We didn't get to talk after the war, and I was so happy that you came to visit me."

She smiled. "I'm really happy to see you too, Naruto-kun."

Because just a few days ago, she saw with her own eyes his heartbeat steadily weakening.

She was glad that Neji nii-san had somehow protected Naruto.

"I haven't told anyone about this, but..." He finally looked directly into her face. "When Madara cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi, Team 7...we were the only ones who escaped, ya know. And I could see what was happening to everyone else and...and..."

The tears in his eyes had made a sudden reappearance.

"I heard you calling out to me and I couldn't help you back then and I – I was so worried about you. You've been in my head all the time since then."

Ah, yes. That had happened just a few days ago as well. She had been ensnared by the thick bark of the God Tree, and she called out to the one person who could have saved her.

She could feel her eyes tearing up too.

Because she couldn't get him out of her head either.

They went out for ramen a few minutes afterwards, when Naruto's face had regained some color. Hinata gripped his remaining hand with both of hers like it was a lifeline. It had regained its warmth and strength surprisingly fast, something which inspired a spark of relief within her.

A lot of things had changed just a few days ago.

But she was glad that Naruto's remaining hand was still warmth and strength and comfort.

She had to thank Neji nii-san for that.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, everyone!

Again, another combo prompt of "Hand" and "You're in my head, even when you're not supposed to be." People who want to know where Sasuke is, he's in...jail. In custody for the missing-nin stuff, as shown in Chapter 699. He's got jail doctors. Plus, I had a hard time fitting him into the scene.

Jean Sanders - wow, I'm really happy that you think that (and surprised). I'll check out that website (haven't heard of it until now), but I don't know if I can be in any competition...I have stuff to do in April. And May. And pretty much the rest of the year. But thanks for telling me about it. :)

GBAboy313 - don't worry, I hope you don't feel pressured to review or anything. It's nice that you're still thinking of Let's Switch Up, even though it's been finished for a few weeks now. :) Actually, when writing this, I had in mind for it to take place in the official timeline, like as a missing moment scene. But...I guess it could happen in the timeline of Let's Switch Up...

Anyway, thanks to Minako K, Jove21, RamenIsLife, EvilRegalNeoQueen, and NikiVA. I really appreciate you all reviewing. :)