A soft hand traced gently over my forehead...
"His temperature is back to normal."
Two fingers were pressed hesitently against my neck...
"His pulse is stable."
My mind felt distant...
"When will he awaken?"
My body all too aware...
"I'm not sure."
(Sakura)
He was so cold when we found him. The skin of his face was as white as the frost-dusted earth beneath him. His lips were a deeper blue than his own eyes.
We were lucky to get him back to the hospital in time. It was several hours before his condition could be brought up to normal...well...as normal as it could get.
It turns out that, because his temperture dropped so low, his body reacted similarily...Naruto...Naruto's in a coma...and...and...
...and it's all our fault.
(Sasuke)
It's been so difficult lately....being angry and...hating...him or rather...trying.
Sometimes, I think we are too influenced by the people we hang around with. Like, we start taking on characteristics of those we see everyday and often, we're just so blind we just completly miss it. But I haven't. I've noticed how their smiles seem to worm their way onto my face and how I've felt more lighthearted than I have in years.
Yet, I can't let it continue...I couldn't...our bonds have been growing, strengthening; to the point I can no longer retreat from them at my own will. Despite my unwillingness to reach out my hand, they grabbed on somehow...and they are pulling much harder than they should. They're yanking me away from my meaning...away from my reason to become stronger.
Especially him.
He was the worst.
There was just something about him that drew me in against my will. I knew that in order to furfill my purpose of killing my brother, I must avoid forging any personal connection with anyone. But Naruto...it was like we were both magnets: him being the postitive charge and I the negitive. I didn't want to be attracted to his force, yet physics really aren't on my side.
At first it was the simple things; wondering where he was when he was late to our team meetings and wanting to spar him instead of Sakura or Kakashi. Then, I started questioning why he was late, never to him of course, and always volunteering to fight him. It was a slow fade. The process from me being shut off from everybody, to begin to open up to him.
I knew I needed to stop my sprialing into caring. It just felt so wonderful I didn't want to grab on. I wanted to fall into how things used to be before my family's passing.
But I couldn't.
Reality was excruciating...and to continue on with my mission...I had to make him think I'd always lied.
So I hurt him.
It was never my intension to break him.
(Naruto from here on out)
Spinning...Swirling...Mystifying...Where am I?
Everything's so vibrant down there; the colors so beautiful. I've never seen another place so full of lush life. The light wafts up to me, making the portal seem like a spotlight and even so it doesn't bother my eyes.
For, you see, I've got one foot hanging into the hole while the rest of me is sitting in this empty nothingness. I don't know what'll happen if I take my leg out. But what I do know, is that I don't want to.
I want to explore the other planet. To leave behind this terribly empty space.
...I don't know why I haven't jumped yet...
1 month later
Sometimes I hear them when they visit.
Sakura comes everyday. She'll go on about her day for awhile, usually about a half an hour, before she breaks into tears.
Kakashi-sensei will appear about once a week and Iruka will tag along. I hear about their lives as well. Afterwards, they wish me a quick recovery and are on their way.
Sasuke...hasn't shown.
I want to tell Sakura it's okay; that I'm okay. I want to tell Kakashi-sensei that I'll be back on missions and to tell Iruka about my life as a Genin. I want to hunt down Sasuke and fight him for never visiting.
I've been thinking about going futher down to the swirling beauty beneath me.
...I might descend...it would be so much nicer...
2 months later (for a sum of 3)
Sakura still visits; every once in a while. I don't blame her. She should move on with her life.
Kakashi-sensei and Iruka come to see me even less. Again, I understand. I only wish them the best.
Sasuke has yet to make an apparence; even so, I hope he's happy.
I'm halfway down into the bright world with only my arms holding me up. The planet is so calming that I crave it more than ever.
...It would be so nice to leave behind my horrid time on Earth...
3 months later (for a total of 6)
Sakura doesn't come by anymore.
Neither does Iruka nor Kakashi.
Of course Sasuke hasn't.
I am simply alone...but it no longer bothers me.
I'm only hanging by one hand now. My fingers twitch anxiously for my command to finally fall.
...I'm going to do it...I just have to let go...
I lift a digit.
A voice. I can hear someone from up above. Who would visit me?
I'm so far away, it's just a muffled noise. But who?
Eagerly, I pull my head back up through the portal to 'Earth' and away from the other, better, planet. Yet I don't recogize the sound...wait...it's...
Crying.
Complely flabberghasted, I yanked my body up through the hole instantly. I still couldn't tell who it was! Now I was getting annoyed. Almost entierly out of the portal, I remember what lay within it. Regret pools within me as I look down into it's depths. I had waited so long to visit the beautiful and vast world that lay right in front of me, so close to my grasp!
"Naruto."
My curiosity and hope overpowers my will to leave like a magnetic pull.
Why was it? And why were they crying? Surely they weren't crying over me...?
Giving a final look below, I pull my left foot out the portal.
The sobbing grows louder.
Something foreign enters my lungs. Wait...oh! Air.
There was a weight on my hand I'd never noticed until now and something soft is tickling it as well. I open my eyes to see what it is.
A pale hand grasps my own and a few dark tuffs of hair prickle the back of my hand.
I smile gently as I realize who they belong to...
L7L7L7L7L7L7L7L7L7
Annnnnnd there you go! I updated early because I felt so bad about taking forever last time :( and the fact that it snowed which inspired me to keep going (my name is Sn0wAngel after all)!
This was the longest chapter so far, but it cover the biggest chunk of plot so far also.
If you didn't like the present tense, neither did I. Therefore, I will not be using it again haha
I think I made the crying person a little too predictable, but if you haven't figured it out, re-read Sakura and Sasuke's sections at the top and think about how Naruto was drawn by a "magnetic force." If that doesn't totally give it away for you...you'll just have to wait :p
Thanks sooooooo much for the reviews!
Till next time...Ja ne!
