Chapter Twenty Six
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Two nurses silently loomed over the hospital bed. Naruto was by their sides the entire time, asking what was wrong with the girl who now lay still as a stone. As peacefully as she lay, her face still held the distressed look that would leave anybody in the room with an unsightly aftertaste.
"What's wrong with her ?!?!" Naruto screamed while pulling out strands of blonde hair.
One of the nurses tried to hush him and all of his frustration grew, meanwhile Kiba stood as if he had just seen a ghost. His face was pale and his eyes still held their wideness.
"You two should leave. We'll take care of her."
A gentle-faced woman assuringly placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto reacted by simply slapping it away.
"I'm not leaving."
A moan was heard from the bed where Hinata lay. Everyone paused as she opened her eyes to look at Naruto. She opened her mouth to speak but this time along with the gasping splurted a crimson liquid. It dripped along side her chin first then as she coughed projected across the room. The blood came to rest on the floor in front of Naruto's feet.
"You two need to leave now !!!"
The seemingly gentle and friendly nurse lost all patience as the determination to do and keep her job took over. In less then five seconds she had Kiba and Naruto out of the room.
Hinata barely lifted her head as Naruto was being pushed out of the room. They locked gazes for a second and Hinata was sure it would stay locked until Naruto turned away to scream at the nurse.
Now they were outside and Hinata was inside. She was alone now with about three other nurses all talking about her condition as if she wasn't even there. They started to loom over her as one took out a needle.
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Kiba still stood in front of the door while looking up at it. A couple feet away sat Naruto. Kiba's jaw now dropped open as the dumbfounded look about him grew even more noticeable.
"I can't believe this ..." Naruto mumbled while continuing to rip out strands of hair.
Kiba snapped out of his daze and turned to Naruto.
"Believe it." He said while sitting in the empty chair beside him.
Naruto was being mocked and he knew it. Standing up, he threw a punch but it was blocked by Kiba's palm.
"Do you think this the time for a fight ?"
Kiba gripped Naruto's hand with such force that Naruto flinched. Swinging Naruto's hand back to his side, Kiba took his seat again. Naruto clenched his fists so tightly that they turned purple.
He wondered how he could be so calm when his comrade and friend was in the next room coughing up blood. Naruto was about to ask him just that but he remembered Kiba and how when Hinata had started her coughing spell he froze like a child that had just lost their mother in a massive crowd of people.
For once instead of acting on his first instinct Naruto sat down and thought things over. Taking a deep breath he began to think about why he wanted to kill Kiba so bad. Then he started thinking about how even if he somehow managed to kill the young Inuzuka Hinata would still be in the same room, going through the same pain, coughing up the same crimson colored fluid.
Breathing out, he jumped up as a nurse approached them.
"Hello." She greeted.
Kiba redirected his gaze to the nurse and greeted her back with a nod. She noticed the distant look in his eyes and couldn't help but avoid the long lecture she had planned on giving the two.
"Your friend is fine. She was under a lot of stress so her body reacted on it."
Naruto looked at the ground then back at the nurse apologetically. She smiled and continued to talk.
"You two just can't get her stressing. Relax around her and it'll help her too."
Kiba nodded.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we can see her now ?"
The nurse hid her annoyance and nodded her head before walking away.
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Hinata pleadingly threw her arms around her father.
"Please ?"
Her begging was countered with a slap.
"To think that my daughter ... the heiress to the Hyuuga clan ... would degrate herself to such a level she would agree to mary ... marry it !!!"
White eyes held back the tears forming from behind them.
"Father," She began firmly.
"What ?" He said while pushing her off of him.
"I love him."
"See ?!?! Do you see what I'm talking about. Do you see what I've been talking about for years."
"Do I see what ? What ? All I see is me wanting to be happy and you doing everything in your power to keep that from happening."
Hinata screamed as her own father took out a kunai and began to slice at her hair.
"Let's see if that fox-freak will mary a woman with no hair."
Sobbing she pulled away. Running her hair through the now very uneven strips she wiped the tears away and cursed at him.
"Let's see if it will marry a woman with no life in her ... at all."
Hinata gasped and started to walk backwards.
"What ?"
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Naruto stood in front of Hinata confused. Apparently she was having a bad dream ... or she was crying with her eyes closed. Deciding to go with his first conclusion, he tiptoed over to her side.
"What is she doing ?" Kiba asked while keeping his distance.
"Dreaming." Naruto answered while bending down and looking closely at her face.
Naruto began to wipe the tears away causing her to groan slightly.
"Wake up." He said softly.
Hinata smiled and blushed. Even in her sleep she was a fool for the blondie by her side. Kiba, seeing Hinata's face, instantly became annoyed. Pushing Naruto out of the way, he quickly woke her.
"Hinata !!!" Grabbing her shoulders, he shook until her eyes opened.
Wide awake now, Hinata greeted them both with a hello and sat up in bed.
"You should lay back down, Hinata-chan."
Hinata turned to her side to see Naruto. Blushing, she nodded and laid back down.
"I'm sorry I scared you Kiba-kun, Naruto-kun."
Naruto smiled and rubbed the back of his head.
"Oh no. You were fine it was our fault. We shouldn't have been fighting ..."
Hinata wiped away a tear that Naruto had failed to wipe away. Her action caught Naruto and Kiba's attention.
"Bad dream ?" Kiba asked while sitting in the chair beside her bed.
Hinata fidgeted in the blankets and sighed. Naruto seemed concerned as he watched her.
"You weren't dreaming about that freak of a cousin you have were you ?"
Hinata jumped and looked up at Naruto. She had almost forgotten about what had happened only a few hours ago. Naruto smiled at her and stood up. His back faced her as he stretched his arms. Then walking over to the opened window, he looked out just in time to see a flock of birds flying.
"Because you know everything he said, every last bit of it ... wasn't true right ?"
Hinata let her head fall sideways on the pillow. That wasn't what she had been dreaming about. That was nowhere near it. Either way, the thoughts now haunted her.
"Right ?" Naruto repeated a little more sharply than intended.
Hinata smiled while staring at his back.
"Right." She said enthusiastically.
Kiba moaned and rolled his eyes. Naruto noticed and would have done something about it but he then remembered what the nurse had told him.
"Well I got to go."
Naruto made his way to the door. The whole time he walked away Hinata kept her eyes locked on him. Then he turned back around, catching her off guard. She blushed and looked away.
"You need to rest, Hinata-chan. Don't worry about a thing."
Naruto walked a little further and grabbed for the doornob. Then he paused.
Kiba who had gotten slightly disgusted at the scene being played before him turned to Hinata.
"I'll go get a drink for you."
Kiba hurried off. He rudely cutt in front of Naruto without so much as a word. Naruto glared but then when the door was shut he turned back to Hinata.
"Oh yeah. The answer to your question is yes."
Hinata looked at him questionably. She had no idea what he was talking about. When did she ask him a question ? And if she did what was her question ? Why did she ask a question ? What was up with all these questions ?
All she could figure out was she had apparently asked a question and he just now decided to answer it with a yes.
Naruto smiled at her causing a deep blush as she quickly pulled the blanket closer to her face.
"Yes. I think you have changed."
Hinata loosened her grip on the blanket and gasped. Now she remembered.
"Thank you, Naruto-kun."
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-Gah !!! Weird ending I know. Do you think it was weird ? I do. Tell me what you think. It's never too late to edit. Sorry again for the lack of updates. Anyways, Review.