I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

Stuck

Ryuu groaned, laying his head back. He hated hospitals. He had been stuck in one for far too long already, even before his ribs put him back in it. He had been bedridden for his ribs for about a week already. Fu had stayed with him almost constantly since he arrived, leaving only for short training sessions with Might Guy, to use the bathroom, and to visit the other two who were stuck in the hospital.

The first that had come in, and the reason for the commotion that Kabuto had left to investigate had been Hinata, who had fought Neji and apparently almost died when he sent her into cardiac arrest using Gentle Fist, a fighting style that involved sending potent bursts of chakra from one's hands to strike, while keeping physical blows light. The second to come in had been Rock Lee. He had fought Gaara, in what Fu described to be an epic, destructive battle. Apparently, Lee had fought, at first, as he was, but couldn't get past Gaara's protection, sand inside his gourd that he could apparently control with his mind to use as defense and attack at the same time. When Lee realized he was too slow, he had apparently removed weights so heavy that they cratered the ground when dropped, then began to beat Gaara to a pulp since he was too fast to see. After a bit, he had used an attack that Fu called Primary Lotus that involved Lee wrapping him in bandages then spinning and slamming his head into the ground, but it had turned out that the Gaara he hit was only a hollow shell of sand that had apparently been protecting him the rest of the fight like armor. Then, Lee had resorted to something called the Inner Gates, a method of fighting that opened chakra inhibitors along the chakra pathway and allowed for multiple times more speed and strength, in exchange for doing incredible damage to the user's body. After using the inner gates, Lee had dealt a devastating blow to Gaara only for Gaara to turn his gourd into sand to block the worst of it, then crushed Lee's arm and leg.

Now, Hinata was awake and well on her way to recovery. Lee was comatose. He apparently had muscles and ligaments torn all over his body, his bones were all but shattered, and his arm and leg were mangled below the elbow and knee. They were doing what they could for him, healing him more every day. They would be able to restore his arm and leg, and they had probably already healed his muscles, but there were bone fragments in his spinal cord that might never be removed, and he would realistically never be a shinobi again.

Ryuu groaned. His ribs itched. Again. Beside him, Fu smiled knowingly, her hands glowing green as she numbed his torso. Once she was done, she slipped her hand into his, smiling, Ryuu smiling as well, watching her.

"Why are you here?" Ryuu asked. "You should be training."

"No, I should be with the most important thing in my life, who's currently stuck in a torso cast for two more weeks because I was too slow."

"Don't," Ryuu said, face serious. "It's not your fault I'm injured. I was expecting that Orochimaru would do much worse than break my ribs. And with them as weak as they were during my preliminaries fight, it's no surprise that they broke again."

"They didn't break, they collapsed," Fu said. "You're lucky they didn't shred your lungs."

Ryuu sighed, his thumb absently brushing over hers. Fu smiled lightly. After a moment, he sighed again, staring out the window.

"I want to be out of this cast," Ryuu said.

"Only a couple more days," his nurse said, walking into the room, swapping out his IV bag, smiling at Fu. "You're still here huh?"

"Of course," Fu smiled.

"He's very lucky to have you," she smiled. "Most people would have tried to leave from cabin fever by now. I love seeing young couples like you."

She turned walking out and Fu smiled, though Ryuu could see the pain hidden behind her eyes. He looked out the window again. He had always been told that he was more observant than most, even without his Sharingan.

"You're going to have to step out for a moment in a minute," Ryuu said.

"What?" Fu asked, brows furrowing.

Just then, Kabuto stepped into the room, stopping when he saw Fu. "Oh, hello Fu." He smiled, raising a hand. "You're still here are you?"

"Of course," Fu nodded, also smiling.

"Can you give us a minute?" Ryuu asked, squeezing her hand.

"Alright," Fu nodded after hesitating.

She placed a light kiss on his forehead before walking out, shutting the door behind her. Kabuto stood there for a moment before walking over to him, staring at his monitor.

"It'd be so simple right now," Kabuto said. "You couldn't even defend yourself. I could sever an artery with chakra, make it quick. Overdose you on your pain meds. I could put an air bubble in the IV, make it look like your nurse messed up. You're as helpless as a newborn baby right now."

"That I am," Ryuu agreed.

"Have you told anyone about our conversation?" Kabuto asked.

"Why should I?" Ryuu asked. "All I recall is you teaching me a bit about Medical Ninjutsu and numbing my pain."

Kabuto smirked, sitting down, watching Ryuu. "What do you think Kabuto Yakushi is really like?"

"Kind, caring, intelligent," Ryuu said. "Dedicated. He's the kind of person who would volunteer to help someone with their rehab simply to be helpful. He's amazing at Medical Ninjutsu, and he's the beloved adoptive son of Nono Yakushi. He's the kind of person that would volunteer to do unspeakable things in order to help the orphanage stay running, and to help his mother, and his friend Urushi."

Kabuto remained silent, staring at the floor. Then, he grinned, blue chakra beginning to stream along his hand. "Know what this is?"

"A chakra scalpel," Ryuu said. "Capable of being used to easily cut through flesh, or cut things inside a person's body without breaking the skin."

"That it is," Kabuto smiled. "It requires excellent precision to get right, better yet to be used as a weapon in battle. This ability is one of the reasons why Lord Orochimaru gain an interest in me. I excel at using this ability in combat."

"You're a highly skilled Medical Ninja," Ryuu said. "And you're obviously nearly Jonin level, if not already there."

Kabuto chuckled before sighing, the chakra fading. "You really are one of a kind, Ryuu. I hope you continue to remember getting a Medical Ninjutsu lesson. It'd be a shame to kill you. Oh, and I'm going to give you some advice. Don't push Fu away. She's not going to move on from you, and if you lose her without letting her in, it's not going to hurt any less. You love her. The entire world knows it. All you're doing is prolonging your suffering by trying to fight it. Embrace it. Be happy. You never know how long you'll have to be with someone you love." He turned to leave and Ryuu watched him in silence for a moment.

"Who was she?"

Kabuto stopped, turning to look back at him in silence, then sighed, smiling. "I suppose I was kind of obvious with that one. There was a girl in the Hidden Stone Village that I found myself...looking forward to seeing. Orochimaru gave me permission to go see her once but...she realized I was a spy and..."

"I'm sorry," Ryuu said. "I can't imagine."

"I hope you never can," Kabuto said. "You're a good person Ryuu. The best I know. Think about what I said."

Then, he left, Fu walking back in and retaking her seat, smiling.

"What was that about?" Fu asked.

"He wanted to give me advice about my ribs and a few other things."

Fu smiled, nodded as Ryuu took her hand, beginning to stroke his thumb over hers again. Fu looked up to his face, seeing tears glistening in his eyes.

"I really can't imagine," Ryuu mumbled. "I can't even begin to comprehend. He's so much stronger than I could ever hope to be."

Fu remained silent, placing her other hand over the back of his. She could tell what was on his mind. She wasn't going to have that discussion again, though. She had promised to wait, and she would. After a moment, tears began to roll down his cheeks and he grit his teeth.

"I'm sorry," Ryuu said. "I'm so sorry."

Fu smiled, resting a hand on his head, thumb brushing lightly over his forehead. "You don't have to apologize. For anything."

Ryuu managed a smile, even as tears poured down his face and he shook his head. "I don't mean to hurt you. And I feel horrible for doing it."

"You don't need to," Fu smiled. "I'm happy enough just being near you. Happier than I've ever been."

Ryuu closed his eyes, Fu gently wiping his tears away, smiling.

"I told you, I'll wait as long as you need me to," Fu smiled, kissing him lightly on the forehead. "I love you Ryuu. It's getting late. Try and get some sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

Ryuu nodded, squeezing her hand lightly before willing himself to sleep.

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