Chapter 3 – Escapade Outside

The first night's sleep in the hospital is tense for me, but most of my energy has been spent on healing my wounds and I drift off to sleep before I even realize that my eyes have closed. The sun crawling into the earth on the horizon, emitting its soft, radiant golden glow, so much like Kirara's fur, is the last thing I witness for the day.

-

That night Naruto walked to his apartment eyeing the door for a second, remembering the desperation in Yugito's eyes and voice as she begged to see this "Shippo."

If the Kyuubi were to be removed from his seal would Naruto miss him too? Naruto wasn't sure. He locked his front door behind him, marched straight to his bedroom, removed his shoes, crawled into bed, not bothering to remove his clothes to change into pajamas, and only stopped long enough to remember to pull his nightcap on his head before he dozed, the clock striking eleven at night.

Dreamscape

Naruto and the great fox stared at one another through the bars, blood red eyes meeting blue. Nothing was said. They looked at one another as if seeing each other for the first time and, for once, the kitsune's eyes were not filled with malice. Kyuubi was the first to break eye contact.

"Sango…" He whispered and turned away, leaving Naruto alone to stare at nothing but darkness.

-

The boy who wasn't Shippo grins down at me as I twist the blankets between my fingers.

"Sneak out?"

"Shh!" He hushes quickly, leaning down. "Yeah. You can't eat ramen in a hospital, Yugito!"

I tilt my head in confusion. "Why not? Is it not allowed?"

Naruto shakes his head at me like a parent would an ignorant child. "Oh, come on! Haven't you ever been in a hospital before?"

"Um, no."

He pulls away, scratching the back of his neck. "Well… wish I could say that…" he mumbles. "Food just doesn't taste right in a hospital, you have to sneak out. With all these antiseptic chemicals and sick people around here, it's the worst place to eat ramen. Come on! I even brought you some spare clothes of mine!" he exclaims softly, pulling said clothing out of seemingly nowhere.

"Well…" I say hesitantly, taking the black T-shirt and beige pants from him. "I suppose it's okay to go for a little while…" I said looking at the clothing

"Great!"

I looked up sharply.

"I'll wait outside, okay? Just let me know when you're done changing." He gives me a short wave before walking out, closing the door behind him with a wink.

I chew on my bottom lip and look down at the clothes in my hands. Oh, boy, sneak out in Naruto's clothes. If I said I'd done something like this before… I wouldn't be lying, but it's not something I've done regularly. It was once, just once and I wasn't sneaking out of a hospital. It was actually Kagura sneaking me out of Naraku's hideout. In other words: it was a very, very long time ago.

Nevertheless, I carefully remove my hospital gown and slip the shirt over my head. The clothing is soft and comforting on my skin. Hee hee, and it smells like ramen! When it comes to his shorts, though, I twist my face in discomfort. It wasn't that they're uncomfortable it's just that… they need to be buttoned.

I swallow thickly, a blush covering my cheeks as I stand, holding the shorts to my waist and walk over to the door. My eyes burn. I feel so pathetic. I can't even button a pair of pants.

"Naruto?" the door opens abruptly and I stumble back as the blonde boy strides in.

"Ready? Hey… Yugito, what's wrong? Are you crying?" he's by my side in an instant; hands on my shoulders in a comforting gesture.

I swipe at my eyes. "Gomenasai… I… I can't do the button because of my hands… I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

"Hey, it's okay." He says gently. He turns me to face him and brushes my tears away with his fingers. "Come one, that's nothing to cry about."

I sniffle. "Could you… um, could you… uh…" My blush grows, causing Naruto to look at me in confusion. "Could you do the button for me?" I finish hurriedly.

It takes a moment, but a violent blush quickly covers his face. He gapes at me. "Um, um, ah… I… uh… I… c-could you repeat that?"

I look away, repeating my words in a whisper. "Could you do the button for me, please?"

He steps away, face burning red. "I… um, I… I g-guess I could. Um… I-I promise I won't do anything perverted! I swear!"

I can only nod, too shy to meet his eyes.

I then eye the ceiling, both warm and cold chills running down my spine. Don't think of his hands Sango, at least he isn't getting any ideas like Miroku…. Miroku… I fight the urge to cry, hard, clinging to the remains of my shattered pride.

"O-okay. Done." He says, standing. We stand in shy silence for several moments, looking away quickly whenever we meet one another's eyes.

"So…" I begin uncertainly. "Shall we go get ramen now?"

"Yes!" he answers almost immediately. He coughs a little. "I mean, yeah. Let's go!" His attitude quickly brightens and he grabs my wrist, apparently mindful of my hands, and pulls me over to the window, quickly yanking it open. I freeze upon seeing how high we are.

"Um, N-Naruto…"

"Here we go!" he declared, swinging his arms under me and picking me up bridal style. I squeak in surprise, arms automatically latching around his neck.

"What are you doing?!"

"Hold on!"

Of all the things he could have done, I really didn't expect jumping out the window to be one of them, though, in retrospect, I should have seen it coming the moment he opened the window.

I squeal in fear and squeeze myself into him, my face buried in the crook of his neck. Wind caresses my body softly, but I'm not falling from seven stories. I pull away slowly, my heart banging in my ribcage, and look up into Naruto's grinning face.

"What?" He asks, feigning innocence. "Did you think I would let you fall?"

I blush in embarrassment and irritation, looking away only to catch sight of the ground, which is about a hundred feet below me.

I gasp and cling to him tighter, wiggling in his arms. "High, high, high… so very, very high…" I say breathlessly, causing Naruto to laugh. "It's not funny." I whine, scowling.

He chuckles. "I guess not. Just hold on tight, okay?"

"I think I've got it covered." I retort. He only laughs harder.

For a moment I feel his chest shudder with joyful laughter before I feel a slight lift in the air caress me. I am suddenly aware of the firm muscular torso I'm clinging to and I instinctively tighten my grip on the orange and black jacket I fight back a scream as my stomach sinks rapidly toward the ground and leaving me completely behind. I shut my eyes.

We're falling! We're falling! We're falling! We're… not falling? I squint my eyes as they open slowly, my irises settling onto the blonde's chin and mouth. I shut my eyes once more, tightly, but sigh in relief, burying my face in his shoulder.

He begins to move again, now running through the complex maze of buildings that make up the Hidden Village of Konoha. I peek out, to gaze at the scenery briefly, and the rest of the trip flails by as an intense blur of movement and whooshing air.

When I feel the movement finally stop, I reopened my eyes properly as he sets me on my feet with a reassuring smile.

He looks down at me and I can't help but blush a little. Kami, I'm pathetic. What happened to my courage, my female pride? Why am I hiding behind him? Oh, I feel so lost…

"Here we are!" he exclaims suddenly and I gather what's left of my pride to step beside him, letting my eyes fall curiously upon the little restaurant. I pause to get a good look at the humble little abode, the rich smell of noodles and pork wafting into my no-longer-sensitive nose.

Grinning, Naruto turns to me. "What are you waiting for? Come on!" He grabs my wrist gently, careful not to touch my injured palm and leads me inside. "Hey, Ayame-neechan! Teuchi-jiji!"

An older man and a young woman look up at the sound of Naruto's voice, their faces quickly forming smiles.

"Hey there, Naruto!"

"Hi, Naruto-kun!"

"What can we get you today?"

"And who's your friend?"

I follow Naruto to the seats; my eyes fixed on the soft-faced, brunette young woman and older man, presumably her father, behind the counter. Naruto lays a hand on my shoulder, grinning.

"Guys, this is Yugito. Yugito, this is Ichiraku Teuchi and Ayame, the best ramen makers around!"

The two Ichirakus' chuckle apparently used to the boy's antics. I take a seat idly, smiling back at the two uncertainly. Naruto immediately begins spouting off the different things he wants, practically leaving me in the dust to gape at him. Teuchi nods absently while Ayame giggles, turning to me.

"Will he seriously eat all of that?" I ask, bewildered.

The brunette nods, laughing lightly. "He will, as a matter of fact. I still don't know where he puts it all. What would you like?"

I lay my hands on the counter, pondering. "Beef ramen, please." I say, considering its high in protein and iron content that would make up for my blood loss. I also ask of they have any western style utensils. Chopsticks might cause my wounds to reopen.

The woman turns to her father. "Ne, otou-san? Do we have any western eating utensils?"

The man looks up and places a hand on his chin thoughtfully. "I think there might be some in the back room in that box labeled, 'extras.'"

Ayame nods and leaves, returning several moments later cleaning a set of very dusty silverware just as our food is set in front of us. I smile thankfully as she hands the fork and spoon to me. Naruto happily breaks his chopsticks with the perfection of a veteran and dives into the sea of rich miso broth, retrieving the tender noodles from the bottom and dragging them into his mouth to slurp with joy. I can do nothing but stare in awe for several seconds.

Inuyasha was the only person I'd ever seen that could make eating noodles look like an art and this blonde just blew his skills right out of the water!

I shake my head lightly, realizing I had been staring and pick up my spoon. I swallow thickly as I look at my ramen, eyes wide as if I were savoring the moment. I watch the liquid seep into the small cup as I dip the rim of the spoon under the surface before bringing it to my lips. I blow gently on it, causing the steam to waver and the surface to dance like a miniature brown ocean.

"It's good, ne?" Naruto says, smiling foxily.

I nod as I sip the broth out of the spoon, feeling my face warm slightly. Maybe it was due to my fading memories of ramen or that this ramen was made from fresh ingredients, but I found my meal to be much more mouth-watering than the freeze-dried noodles Kagome-chan would bring us back in my younger days when we hunted for the shards of the Shikon-no-tama.

Light giggles bursts from my lips. I remember how we always used to call that stuff "ninja-food." This is rather ironic when I think about it. I'm eating ninja food with a ninja… although this time it actually really is ninja food.

"Aha! Naruto, do you realize that Tsunade-shishou is looking for you? She said that you would… ah, Naruto, who is this?" An unfamiliar voice chimes in. I turn away from the noodles to face the one speaking.

It's a young female about Naruto's age with curious emerald eyes that remind me of Shippo's. She is dressed in a sleeveless red shirt that zips up the front and black shorts that reach above her knees and pale pink flaps that cover her hips like a skirt, though they are longer than Kagome-chan's old school uniform. Tied to her hips are pouches that contain unseen equipment. Gloves grace her hands and a red headband tied above her bangs reveals her kunoichi status. However, what really catches my attention is that fact that her hair is not a color I have seen on humans before; they're vivid pink.

"S-Sakura-chan!' Naruto yelps before laughing nervously, his hand positioned on the back of his head. "Uh, Yugito, this is my teammate, Sakura. Sakura-chan, this is Yugito."

"Hello. Nice to meet you." Sakura replies.

I freeze for a moment before remembering my manners. "Pleasure to meet you as well, Sakura-san." I bow my head lightly from my seat.

"Ugly, have you seen Dick-less yet?" Another voice, this time male, calls out. He sounds nearby. "Ah, there you are."

Dick-less? Ugly?

"Sai! What did I tell you about that nickname?" Naruto exclaims, frowning irritably.

I watch him; half expecting the blonde to turn and hit the other boy on the head like Inuyasha would do to Shippo. However, Naruto only stands and turns to face the owner of the voice with a scowl.

"Sai" is a pale young man that's maybe a year or two older than Naruto, though he is shorter me by a good couple of inches and has short black hair framing his eerily pale features. He wears a black shirt that exposes his narrow, almost feminine midriff and the mandatory shinobi pants, which hang just below his hips. A katana is sheathed onto his back. On his face lingers a borderline fake smile that seems to try to work its way to being natural. His eyes, although somewhat dull, seem to show a slightly friendly glimmer to them, though it appears somewhat forced and difficult to manage. On his forehead, just like Naruto, is the Konoha hitae-ate.

"There you are. Tsunade-sama is angry at you for sneaking a patient out of the hospital and I was wondering, Dick-less, why?" He looks over at me, as though measuring me on a data sheet before coming to a hypothesis. "Hmm, I have to say, Dick-less, if you are on a date you might want to wait until…"

"I-It's not like that!" Naruto splutters. A myriad of emotions wash over me and I place a hand on my forehead, feeling my face heat up uncharacteristically. I'm not getting a fever, am I? "She just wanted to try some ramen, and I didn't think that take out ramen would be best in a hospital full of sick people!"

I breathe slowly as I listen to their banter. In a strange sort of way, Sakura reminds me of Kagome while Naruto is stuck somewhere between Inuyasha and Shippo. Sai is a little hard to place, though his pale, emotionless features remind me of Kanna a bit. Just thinking of my old friends causes a pang to rise in my chest and I slump a little as gloomy thoughts invade my mind. Oh, Kami-sama, how I miss them…

"Oi, girl, why are you crying?" I hear Sai inquire. I look up at him with puzzlement before reaching up to touch me moistened cheeks. "Is that what I should call you? Crybaby?"

A crybaby? A Crybaby?! I'm no crybaby! I reach up threateningly, only to remember that I no longer possess Hiraikotsu. Growling, I then reach out to…

Naruto beats me to it as he pounces on Sai with a panicked expression before covering his teammate's mouth. "Sorry about that, Sai here doesn't know what he's saying!" The fox boy exclaims, sending me an apologetic look and smacking Sai upside the head. "You never call girls something like that." I hear him growl into the other boy's ear before dragging him off.

"Boys," Sakura sighs, rolling her emerald orbs. I can't help but agree, swiping away at my eyes, "Come on, Yugito-san. I'll escort you back to the hospital."

"What about my ramen?" I ask.

"Oh, uh, Teuchi-san? Could we please get a take out bowl?" She calls to the gray haired man inside. I guess I'll be eating at the hospital after all. I'm sorry Naruto…

Sakura bows her head thankfully as Teuchi hands her the wrapped bowl of noodles before turning to me and gaining a confused expression.

"Are you wearing Naruto's clothes?" She asks, bewildered.

I flush brightly. "Yeah…"

The pink haired woman shakes her head. "That idiot is so… never mind. I don't even want to know. Come one. Tsunade-shishou isn't happy about your disappearance and the sooner you're back in the hospital the better."

I nod guiltily as I slide off the stool and walk after her. I hold my elbows, though my back is straight and shoulders high out of habit; it's the only sign that I'm uncomfortable. Sakura doesn't seem to have any interest in making conversation with me, so I stare at her feet, too shy to try to talk to the oddly pink haired young woman.

Was I really so dependent on Kirara? I know I had needed her in order to simply be alive, but for me to crumble like this… and to such an extent… When Kirara was I were still joined in one body, I wasn't nearly as emotional. I wouldn't break down into hysterics at the thought of my old friends, and I had moved on from Miroku. However, now it seems that my mentality has set back to the last time I was human. Hanyou callousness no longer seems to apply; all those years I'd spent as an immortal appear to have been taken away, but my friends haven't come back…. Was this how Inuyasha felt every new moon?

I swallow thickly and grasp the clothing over my heart. I feel ill and empty. I vaguely wonder this is what Kagura felt each time Naraku squeezed her beating heart in the palm of his hand. It feels like ice is flowing through my blood, and I'm left with a very… lonely feeling.

I pause as Sakura and I come to the entrance to the hospital and hot tears fill my eyes. The smell of bandages and healing ointments is one I thought I'd long forgotten, but I do remember, and it brings old memories to the front of my mind unwittingly. I remember how Kagome would always bandage everyone so well after a battle, putting aside her own needs for others, no matter what. How well she took care of us all. Her cooking. Her smile. Even her funny little accent that was a result of her being from a different time.

Sakura looks back at me. "Yugito-san?"

My energy leaves me beaten by the effort to stem the emotional turmoil that has run amok inside. I can't help it. I break down.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" I wail, falling to my knees. I clutch my head briefly, but am forced to pull away at the pain that sprouts in my palms. My mind automatically blocks out the rest of the world as I fall into the dark abyss that Kirara left behind. Why did I have to be the only one that was immortal? Why couldn't I have died along with them? Why couldn't I have been able to pass through the well too? They left me. Each and every one of them, they left me alone! Why? Was I not good enough to be their friend, companion, or family? Someone tugs on my arm, but I only cry harder, shying away to curl into a ball.

Kagome was like the sister my mother miscarried. Inuyasha… a close cousin or in-law… Shippo… a beloved nephew… Miroku… the lover I watched from afar, but never had the courage to confront. Even Kagura had a certain amount of emotional value to me. And now… Kirara… the last link I had to the past… was gone. Why? Why the hell did they have to leave me behind?! All alone?!

Kagome and Inuyasha left to live in Kagome's era, the well sealing behind them. Miroku died; Kagura was absorbed into Naraku before we destroyed him; Kohaku died when the jewel shard was removed from his back; and Shippo grew up and left to find adventure and power.

I sense a warm, red demonic aura approaching me. It is familiar and comforting. It is enough to pull me out of my mind and I push myself to my feet desperately, running toward that oh-so-familiar person. I hear some muffled exclamations, but I don't care. Tears blur my vision, making it all but impossible to see straight, but I continue forward as if that figure of orange and black is the only thing keeping me alive.

"SHIPPO!" I cry, launching myself into the uncertain arms of the figure. I embrace him with all the strength I can muster, my hands clutching at the folds of fabric on his back, and tear-stained face pressed into his firm chest. It takes a moment, but his arms soon wrap around me in return and my legs give out pulling us both to the ground on our knees.

"Don't you leave me too," I whisper between sobs, half screaming. "They all left me behind, don't you leave me all alone again too!"

The figure says something to me, but I'm too distraught to be able to tell what it is. I feel fingers start to weave themselves through my hair, and I stiffen momentarily before giving into the touch, relaxing and sobbing harshly into his torso.

I think my hands have begun bleeding again, but I cannot tell, nor do I care. His touch, the human contact I've been deprived of for so many long years, is soothing, calming, and so, so welcome.

I shiver with bitter joy and hug tighter before I feel his arms pick me up and gently carry me away, still wrapped around me like a warm blanket on a frost winter morning. My feet, turned slightly to feel the arms and torso of my beloved kitsune drape around me like a shawl and my arms cling to it tightly. It is the source of life for me right now.

My eyes begin to droop but I still follow the direction the living blanket provides and eventually realize we're in my hospital room. I feel the cool, soft fabric and mattress come up to meet with me as I drift off to sleep, still hanging on to my kitsune in all his orange and black glory. I'm ignorant to the looks we are receiving from the hospital staff and Sakura. The familiar figure by my side is currently the very center of my universe. A comforting feeling overcomes my suddenly exhausted form and I drift off in to the comforting darkness, his arm still held tight in my grip.

-

End Chapter 3

Mysteri: Okay! Our first chapter with the coauthor! Woo! I love how this came out! I would never have thought of half of this stuff without her! Did you all like it? Yugito is beginning to adjust, but as you can tell, her mentality is still in pieces, and she's beginning to cling to Naruto since Kyuubi's the only familiar force around her.

Triops Master: Ah… you're too kind. Hi Readers! I hope you guys enjoyed reading as much as I did writing and brainstorming. Muh ha ha ha ha!!!! I remember how emotional some people are when they are tired, especially when they are in a stressful situation like Yugito. Well, thanks for reading, please review.

Mysteri: Don't forget, those who review get pictures of cookies sent to them! Until next time! Ja ne!