Standard disclaimers apply here.
TO MEND BROKEN WINGS
Three AM
Chapter One: Fallen and Caged
A/N: Thanks to Jewel Song for beta-ing for me! You're so great! And I dedicate this fic to everyone in the NejiSaku lj community. You guys rock!
He couldn't open his eyes. He couldn't move his arms and legs. He couldn't feel anything in his body. He couldn't think clearly. Numbing pain was blinding him with great starkness; from what, he didn't know. It was all over his body, utterly paralyzing him, freezing every sensible thought he might have concurred.
What's happening?
Suddenly, a greater thunder of pain sliced through his back and spread all over his body. He felt it like a hot knife mercilessly slashing through his innards. He wanted to writhe in pain but he couldn't even move his fingers. He wanted to scream but his muscles wouldn't cooperate.
Where the hell am I?
He thought he was drowning in boiling water. He wanted to reach towards the surface but he couldn't even see any light. Endless waves of tainted black surrounded him, suffocated him, making it harder to breathe. Strong dark walls were quickly closing in on him. His heart beat in panic. He couldn't escape. He tried to struggle but it was all too late. The blackness was embracing him tightly, seemingly intent on not letting him go.
He stopped breathing. Stillness.
His heart halted.
He couldn't imagine why or how… but he could still feel. The pain that was scalding him alive just seconds ago was gone. The hotness that burned his insides faded too. Though it seemed he was still trapped in the black hole of nothingness, unexplainable bliss was now flowing through him. He didn't care if he couldn't move or remember anything or couldn't think of a single rational thought.
He was flying. He was no longer caged. And it felt good. So fucking good that he could live eternally like this. His mind accepted his new destiny. He was ready to float endlessly with nothing bothering him.
But a sudden rift in the void he was prepared to live in stirred him.
Now what?
A strong current of an unknown that felt like scorching water washed over him like a wave, pulling him downwards once again.
No!
A silent scream resounded throughout the blackness, the pain coming back again. He wanted to go back to the peaceful emptiness he enjoyed floating in. He didn't want to endure another surge of agony.
Move!
He wanted to swim and fling out his arms, anything just to be able to escape from the hell he was currently in. But alas, he failed once more.
Just then, he saw a flicker of light. It was so small, just a dot, like a far away star in space so out of reach. He couldn't understand how but he felt like he was drifting towards it. The white light became bigger and brighter as he neared. He tried his arms once again, but still, he couldn't command them to budge. The white was rapidly conquering over the black, and in awe, he could only stare ahead blankly.
He blinked his eyes.
Suddenly, loud noises overwhelmed him. He couldn't comprehend what those insensible sounds were. It was making his head pound greatly and he winced inwardly.
What the hell--?
"Neji?"
"He's waking up!"
"Someone call the medics!"
"What's happening--?"
"About damn time—"
"SILENCE!"
And everyone was stilled to the command.
A blonde woman in a divinely white coat was standing at the door then walked straight to the young man at the center of the bed. He groaned and everyone else hovered near him. The woman, undeterred from her audience, checked the tubes placed in the different parts of his body. She calmly wrote his vitals down on her clipboard then stared hard at the small crowd.
"You may leave now," she addressed them in an authoritative voice. A few seemed to hesitate but when the woman glared at all of them, they immediately backed out and headed toward the door.
A black haired young man with incredibly thick eyebrows paused and turned back to the woman. Though his right eye was patched up by a bandage (and the rest of his face had clearly taken a great beating too), he still managed to look concerned for his friend in the bed.
"Will he be all right?" he asked.
"He's safe from harm now," she answered calmly.
He opened his mouth again, as if to ask another question but thought against it. With doubt in his visible eye, he nodded and followed the rest of his companions outside the room.
The woman, now with a soft and mothering expression on her face, turned back to the patient. She touched his marked forehead and he moaned again. She picked up the syringe, tested it until a drop of yellowish liquid spurted out, and injected it on the small bottle connected to one of his tubes.
"Sleep," she whispered, her voice sad and compassionate.
And he did.
"What's going to happen to him now?"
The group of five shinobi was rendered speechless by that single question. No one dared speak what was on their minds. No one dared asked anything further for the confirmation of their greatest fear for their friend inside the room. No one spoke.
When the woman in white coat stepped out of the room, the group turned to her with mixed hope and dread painted in their faces.
Tsunade sighed as she faced them. Naruto, Lee and Shikamaru were staring at her, their jaws clenched in steady grit as if preparing themselves in a battle, while Hinata and Gai were looking at her with tearful eyes like they already knew what the final verdict was. And maybe they did. The consequences of the latest mission were terrible, not at all what the Hokage had hoped.
"Hokage-sama," Gai started quietly. "What's going to happen to him now?"
The Hokage faced them with a somber expression on her face. She paused, as if choosing her next words carefully. "I fear that Hyuuga Neji won't be able to fight anymore."
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.
"What happened to him exactly?" Lee followed.
"You know what happened to him," Tsunade replied, looking at Lee straight in the eye. "You were there, Rock Lee. You saw what happened to Neji. The hit to his back, the explosion throwing him off of the clearing, the broken bones in his legs and spinal cord… There's too much damage in his skeletal system and it affected the nervous system as well."
Her eyes softened. "Worst-case scenario, Neji won't be able to move his hands and arms, and even his feet. He'll lose the ability to walk or even stand and… And he might even lose his Byakugan skill."
"Shit," Naruto and Shikamaru cursed as Hinata gasped in shock.
Gai steeled himself and forced back the tears threatening in his eyes. "What are the chances Neji won't suffer that fate?"
Tsunade shook her head sadly. "Hardly any at all."
"How can you say that!" Naruto burst out. Shikamaru and Lee grasped both of his arms in each side.
"I'm stating a fact. Better to hear and accept it now than play deaf and regret it later."
Gai rested his hands on Hinata and Lee's shoulders, the former openly crying now. "The Hokage's right. Neji knew the risks of being ANBU together with the missions that go with it. Sometimes, things like these can't be helped," he said, his voice wavering. Neji was once his student and he could barely imagine the Hyuuga without the Byakugan. It was a part of Neji's life.
"Is there anything we can do t-to prevent that from… happening?" Hinata asked tearfully.
"We'll continue giving Neji the medicines that can help him deal with his pain. The braces on his legs and back will stay too, until we see improvements."
"The medical seals won't work?" Shikamaru asked.
Tsunade let out a small smile. Very quick to catch up, I see. "No, I'm afraid it won't. Neji's condition is still too delicate for any amount of chakra pressured. We can't risk that."
The group fell silent, their energy was spent and the dreadful news didn't do anything but put them down more.
"If you'll excuse me, I need to check up on the other ANBUs," Tsunade said, leaving them and walking briskly towards the other end of the hallway.
Lee blinked and straightened immediately. "Shino! I forgot about him. I have to see him too. Talk to you guys later," he said, running off and following the path the Hokage just took.
"Is Shino as bad as Neji?" Hinata asked in a small voice. She was staring down at the floor with tearstains still on her face.
"Well, fortunately no," Shikamaru replied. "I heard from Lee that he was thrown off the clearing too when the explosion happened. I think his shoulder got dislocated. At least he still has his bugs."
Yeah, lucky for him. Neji's just lost his Byakugan. Naruto clenched his fists. What am I thinking? There's still a chance for him.
"We have to stay hopeful and positive for Neji's sake," Gai said. "It's the least we can do for him."
The rest of them nodded, though the gnawing trepidation about Neji's condition kept on clawing inside and it wouldn't stop. But they knew that the worst would happen the moment Neji woke up and realized the truth.
xxx
Approximately six hundred miles from Konoha's hospital was an open caravan trudging down the rocky road, as fast as the old horse could carry it, to the next village. Upon the wooden caravan were three passengers, with the horseman in the front seat guiding their way.
A young woman fixed her bright sea-green eyes toward the distance down the road. Her shoulder-length pink hair flowed freely as a soft gush of wind breezed through, rustling the lush green leaves in the hundreds of trees lined up along path. She breathed in the scent of the verdant and rich earth tinged with the sweet smell of lavenders and chamomiles. She smiled.
I'm coming home.
