Chapter 10
It had been three days since Sasuke's surgery and he had yet to wake up. Tsunade had assured them that he would be up within the next twenty-four hours. It was just the anaesthesia wearing off and sometimes it took longer with different people. Shikamaru and his parents had been there all day until late at night. They were all worried about Sasuke and they wanted to be there for when he woke up. Shikamaru was worried that Sasuke wouldn't wake up like the last time. He didn't know if he could go another fifteen days worrying and being afraid that Sasuke wouldn't wake up again. He just wanted Sasuke awake and aware of what was going on so it was at least a step in the right direction. It was one in the morning on the third night when Sasuke let out a groan. Kakashi was asleep, but he woke up once he heard the sound. Kakashi got up off of the cot and went over to Sasuke's bed. Sasuke let out another groan and he turned his head to the side that Kakashi was standing on. Kakashi started to stroke Sasuke's hair as he spoke.
"It's okay Sasuke. Come on wake up."
Sasuke let out another groan as he slowly opened his eyes. His eye sight was a little blurry and he was having a hard time focusing on what was in front of him. He could hear a voice and he tried to focus to see who was talking.
"It's okay Sasuke."
Sasuke recognized the voice as Kakashi and Sasuke felt a little better knowing that if Kakashi was there then he was safe. Sasuke blinked a few times to get his eyes to work and he was relieved when he could finally see Kakashi.
"Kakashi." Sasuke's voice was raw and rough still from the abuse he took and from not talking for so long.
"Hey its' okay you're safe. How about some water?" Kakashi asked gently.
Sasuke gave a small nod and Kakashi went over to the sink to get some water and put it in a plastic hospital cup. There was a straw already attached to the cup so he went back over to the bed. He pushed the button to bring the back of the bed up so Sasuke was sitting up more. He brought the cup over to Sasuke's mouth so he could take a drink. After a few sips Sasuke moved away and Kakashi placed the cup down on the side table. Kakashi reached over and hit the call button so a nurse would come and check Sasuke out.
"How are you feeling?" Kakashi kept his voice soft, because he didn't know if Sasuke's head hurt.
"Confused and hurt."
"Okay what hurts?"
"My head, my stomach and my ribs."
"You have a slight head injury so you'll get headaches for a little while. Your ribs were broken Tsunade healed you, but you'll be a little sore for a while still. Your stomach hurts, because you had to have surgery just three days ago on it. So you have stitches on your stomach and you need to be careful how you move. Do you remember what happened at all?"
"It's fuzzy. I remember being at the house and we were attacked. Asuma and Shikamaru are they okay?" Sasuke's voice was weak and soft.
"They are fine. They didn't get hurt. Shikamaru has been worried sick about you. You've been asleep for a long time."
"How long?"
The door to the room opened and in walked the head nurse. It was the same nurse that had been there for Sasuke for the last eighteen days. She smiled when she saw that Sasuke was awake and she made her way over to the bed.
"Hello Sasuke, my name is Kiara and I am your nurse. How are you feeling?" she asked politely.
"A little sore."
"Can you tell me where?"
"Head, ribs and stomach. Kakashi said I had surgery."
"You did have surgery three days ago. You have twenty-one stitches to your belly so you need to be very careful moving. We don't want you to pull any of the stitches."
"Why the surgery?"
"Tsunade-Sama will be in, in the morning to check you over. She is your doctor and she will explain everything to you. It's one in the morning and I don't see the point in getting too much into it right now. I'm going to check your vitals and make sure you are okay. Then in the morning Tsunade-Sama can answer all of your questions and tell you everything. We don't need to put your brain into overload this late at night."
"Am I dying?" Sasuke asked with fear in his voice.
"No sweetie, you are going to live a very long life. I'm just going to check your vitals and make sure everything is ok then I will leave you alone to sleep. So first I am going to check your blood pressure."
The nurse went over to the wall and grabbed the blood pressure cuff from the wall and placed it around Sasuke's arm. She pumped it up and checked to see what it was at. It was a little lower than she wanted it to be, but it wasn't dangerously low. She wrote down the results on Sasuke's chart then removed the cuff. She then checked his I.V to make sure there was plenty in it. She wrote down Sasuke's heart beat and oxygen levels. Everything was looking good.
"Okay Sasuke I just need to check your stomach. I'm going to push down on it slightly to make sure nothing is wrong. I'm sorry if it hurts, if it hurts a lot then tell me."
"Ok"
She went over to the bed and pulled the blanket down to Sasuke's hips. She lifted the shirt and Sasuke saw the gauze that was covering his stitches. The nurse pushed lightly on Sasuke's stomach and was glad she didn't feel anything wrong with it. Once she was done she put the shirt back and pulled the blanket up.
"Okay so far everything is going well. The last thing I need to do is check your pupils and see how your eyes are doing. So I am going to shine this light into your eyes and check your pupils. I need you to keep your eyes open from me and I'm sorry if the light hurts, but I need to do this."
Sasuke gave a nod and the nurse pulled out a pen light and looked into Sasuke's eyes. The light hurt slightly, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. After a few minutes the nurse finished.
"Your pupils are doing better they are almost equal size. Your head injury seems to finally be healing. That's good news Sasuke. You are finally on the healing side of the hill. I will leave you alone tonight and I will let Tsunade-Sama know when she comes in. She'll want to check you out and she will inform you of everything. For now just rest up, because you are on the mend finally."
The nurse got up and headed out of the room. Once the door was closed Kakashi could see the confusion on his face.
"Are my eyes ok?"
"Your eyes are fine. You had a very bad head injury and it made your pupils unequal. Now that they are going back to normal it means that your head injury is finally healing."
"How long have I been here?"
"It's been eighteen days. I don't want to tell you too much, because I don't want you feeling overwhelmed."
"Please. I'm confused and I don't understand what's going on. I remember being attacked and being taken somewhere. Then it's just pain, dark and cold. That's all I remember right now. What happened please?"
Kakashi moved and sat down on the side of the bed and placed Sasuke's hand into his.
"The ANBU attacked the house with Danzou. He took you and Asuma and put you somewhere. We don't know where you were kept. It took us nine days before we came back from the mission to kill Orochimaru. We were not successful. Shikamaru was waiting for us by the front gates and had been for the past nine days. He told us what happened and we went to the jail where we thought you both would be. We found Asuma and he was unharmed. He had been kept in a cell for the nine days. We confronted two of the ANBU and we finally found where they had you. Are you still with me?"
Sasuke gave a shaky nod.
"Okay we found you and we brought you to the hospital. Tsunade healed you and like the nurse I'm not going to get into your injuries for right now. You were badly injured and you were unconscious for fifteen days. You woke up one night and you were very sick. You probably don't remember, because of how sick you were. You were sick all night and then earlier in the morning you started to throw up blood. Tsunade had to perform a surgery and then you spent three days coming out of the anaesthesia. You are healing now though and that is good. You had me really worried there for a while. It's good to see you awake and talking."
"I don't remember the nine days right now. Will I?"
"You might. Like I said you have a serious head injury so it's unclear what you will remember and what you won't. You might luck out and never remember."
"But Shikamaru and Asuma are okay?"
"They are perfectly fine. Asuma has seen you a few times between missions. Naruto and Sakura have been here between missions. They refused to go on any for a while, but Tsunade made them. Shikamaru has refused to leave your side. His father had to come down and drag him away at night. Shikamaru and his parents have been here for the past three days waiting for you to wake up. They'll be back in the morning. Besides the pain and confusion, how are you feeling?"
"Ok I think. Can I ask you one more question?"
"You can ask me as many as you want."
"Why can't I move my legs?"
Kakashi let out a breath he really didn't want to be the one to answer this question. The problem was Sasuke was pretty aware and understanding what was being said.
"You were hurt very badly from the nine days that you were gone. You have nerves in your spine and a few nerves were damaged and Tsunade was able to heal them fully. However, those nerves need to relearn how to work properly. You can feel your legs correct?"
"Ya"
"That means you are not paralyzed. The problem is the nerves need to relearn how to work. So you need to go through physical therapy to reteach those nerves. Until that happens you won't be able to move your legs."
"So I'm paralyzed?" Sasuke asked confused.
"No you are not paralyzed that is very important for you to remember Sasuke. You can feel your legs, you just can't move them. You have a pinched nerve and you just need to go through physical therapy to make it better. I know this is confusing and Tsunade would be better at explaining it, but you will walk again and you need to just remember that."
"So I'm going to be okay?"
"You are going to be just fine. So I don't want you to worry about it."
Sasuke gave a distant nod and Kakashi could see that he was exhausted.
"Can I go back to sleep?"
"Absolutely. You will need to be awake for when Tsunade comes, but you got a good seven hours before that happens. I'll wake you up when it's time. For now get some sleep."
"Are you ok?"
"I'm perfect now that you are awake and healing. Don't worry just sleep I'll be here when you wake up."
Sasuke gave a nod and closed his eyes. Kakashi pushed the button to put the bed back down. Sasuke opened his eyes when he felt the movement, but closed them back. Kakashi sat there just watching Sasuke for a little while before he moved back to his cot. Kakashi laid back down on his cot just thankful that Sasuke woke up and appeared to be more aware and understanding. It was a good sign for his head injury and Kakashi was just thankful that Sasuke seemed to finally be recovering. Kakashi closed his eyes and let himself fall asleep knowing that Sasuke was getting better.
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Shikamaru, Shikaku and Yoshino were walking down the street to the hospital. They had been there all day long and until ten o'clock at night. They wanted to be there for when Sasuke woke up, but they couldn't be there twenty-four seven. They were walking down the street it was just after eight in the morning when they walked into Naruto and Sakura.
"Shikamaru hey!" Naruto yelled.
Shikamaru waved and they stopped, because they knew Naruto and Sakura wanted to talk.
"Hello." Shikamaru said in his lazy tone.
"Have you seen Sasuke?" Sakura asked.
"We have, we were just on our way now. How was your mission?" Shikamaru asked.
"It was boring. Has Sasuke woken up yet?" Naruto asked.
"He did three days ago, but it didn't go too well." Shikamaru answered.
"What happened?" Sakura asked.
"He was really confused and sick. He was sick all night and then he threw up blood. Tsunade-Sama had to perform a surgery to fix the internally bleeding. Sasuke's one kidney exploded basically and he almost died. Tsunade had to remove Sasuke's spleen and kidney though. He's been asleep for the last three days." Shikamaru explained.
"He had to have two organs removed? Is he going to be okay?" Sakura asked.
"Tsunade-Sama said that he would be perfectly fine and even be able to return to duty once he was completely healed." Shikaku said.
"We should go and see him." Naruto said.
"We were just on our way there now. Would you care to join us?" Yoshino asked.
"Thank-you that would be nice." Sakura said.
The five of them headed off to the hospital so they could see Sasuke. Shikamaru was hoping that Sasuke was awake and in better condition to talk.
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Kakashi woke up to the warm sunlight coming through the window. He looked over at the bed and saw Sasuke sound asleep still. He checked his watch on his wrist and saw that it was almost eight in the morning. Sasuke had slept soundly for the rest of the night and Kakashi was glad that Sasuke didn't have any nightmares yet. Kakashi knew that he would, but he was glad that it hadn't happened yet. Kakashi wondered if that had something to do with his head injury and not being able to remember what happened, or from his body being exhausted. Either way Kakashi didn't care; Sasuke needed the sleep and he was glad that he was able to get it. Kakashi got up and stretched his sore body. The cot was not that comfortable and he had been sleeping on it for eighteen days now. He knew he should go home and get some proper sleep, but he didn't want to leave Sasuke alone. Kakashi knew that Sasuke was safe with the death of Danzou, his ANBU and Orochimaru, but Kakashi still didn't want to leave Sasuke's side. Kakashi headed over to Sasuke's bed. He would need to wake him up for when Tsunade came in. Kakashi didn't want Sasuke to be scared and now that they were alone it would be a good time. He also knew that the Nara's would be there soon and it would be better for Sasuke to be awake when they got here.
Kakashi gently stroked Sasuke's hair as he called out his name.
"Sasuke, come on you need to wake up."
Sasuke let out a small groan and started to stir awake. Sasuke slowly started to open his eyes and he blinked a few times to get them to work properly. He saw Kakashi sitting down on the bed again.
"Hey it's eight o'clock Tsunade should be here soon. How are you feeling?"
"Thirsty." Sasuke said with a rough voice.
Kakashi gave a smile even if Sasuke couldn't see it and went to get some water again. Sasuke moved his hand and hit the button to make the back of the bed go up. He couldn't believe how much work it took to move his body. His body felt so heavy like he had been training for three weeks straight. Kakashi came back over to Sasuke with the water and helped Sasuke drink once again. After a few sips Kakashi placed the cup back down on the side table.
"My throat hurts."
"You have some bruising on the inside of your throat from being chocked. It's going to be sore for a few days still. You also haven't drank anything or talked in at last eighteen days. So that won't help you any either."
"I don't remember any of that." Sasuke said with confusion in his voice.
"That's okay. Remember last night how I said you had a bad head injury?"
Sasuke gave a nod.
"You will have problems with memory because of that."
"Will I get better?"
"You will make a full recovery Sasuke. It's going to take some time, but you will get better."
"I'm so confused. I feel like I remember what happened, but I can't remember. I can't see it, but my body is telling me that I do. I don't understand."
"It's okay. In time your memory will start to come back and you won't be as confused. Being confused is a side effect of your head injury. You also might get dizzy and be tired more. As your head injury heals though you'll start to feel a lot better and you won't be so confused. Don't worry too much about it that fogginess will clear. Until it does you can ask me as many questions as you want."
"Am I allowed to eat?"
"Are you hungry?"
Sasuke gave a small nod.
"Well that is a good sign. When Tsunade comes in shortly we can ask her what you can start to eat. With your surgery I'm not sure if you can only eat certain foods."
"Ok"
There was a quiet knock on the door before it opened and Shikamaru walked in with his parents. As Shikamaru walked through the door he couldn't help, but smile at seeing Sasuke awake.
"Hey look who's awake. How are you feeling?" Shikamaru asked as he went over to the bed.
"Confused mostly."
Shikaku and Yoshino walked in next and went over to the bed. Naruto and Sakura came through the door next and Kakashi was slightly worried about what they might say. Kakashi was hoping they would be quiet and see that Sasuke was still injured and he needed rest and peace.
"Hey Sasuke!" Naruto yelled as he went over to the bed.
"Naruto this is a hospital keep your voice down." Kakashi said.
"Hello Sasuke, how are you feeling?" sakura asked.
"Confused, who are you?" Sasuke asked Shikaku and Yoshino.
Yoshino smiled at Sasuke and spoke.
"We are Shikamaru parents and we have been very worried about you. I'm so happy to see you awake sweetie."
"Thanks?"
Sasuke wasn't good with parents; he didn't know what to say or how to act around them anymore. All he had were his parents and they were Uchihas. There wasn't much loving names, and kindness. It really was a, fend for yourself kind of deal. Every now and then his mom used to give him a hug or would put cream on his wounds, but that was it. His father barely spoke five words to him a day. Yoshino smiled at Sasuke.
"I know it's going to take some getting used to being around parents. Don't worry everything will be fine."
"Has Tsunade been in?" Shikaku asked Kakashi.
"Not yet she will be shortly. A nurse checked him out at one this morning when he woke up. His pupils are getting better and he seems to be understanding more. Even though you are still confused." Kakashi said to Sasuke.
"You said I woke up three days ago. Was I not understanding then?"
"When you woke up you were very confused and disorientated. Keep in mind though you were very sick and we didn't know. Now that you are not sick anymore your mind has had the chance to focus on healing. So you are doing much better than you were three days ago." Kakashi explained.
"So Sasuke how cool is it that your brother came into the village and killed Orochimaru, the council and the ABNU that hurt you? The whole village is terrified to go anywhere near you how awesome is that?" Naruto yelled.
Kakashi put his head in his hand; that was exactly what he didn't want Sasuke to know about yet.
"Naruto don't talk about that." Sakura said.
"Why not? His brother hung them up for everyone to see then wrote a letter to the newspaper threatening anyone that would go near Sasuke. That's awesome."
"Wait what?" Sasuke asked confused. "They're dead? I don't understand last night you said the mission was a fail."
"Naruto you are an idiot." Shikamaru said.
"Why?"
"Because this isn't a conversation you have with someone that just woke up and has a serious head injury." Shikaku said.
"But you said he would be fine. You said he could even be a ninja still missing two organs."
"I'm missing two organs?"
Sasuke was beyond confused now and no one seemed to be willing to help fix it. That was when Tsunade decided to come into the room.
"Hello Sasuke it's good to see you awake."
What Tsunade said never got registered as the room was still in the mist of the conversation.
"Naruto don't tell him that." Sakura said.
"But why he is going to be fine."
"We didn't go over his injuries yet." Kakashi said.
"So you never told him he was missing two organs? Kinda seems like something you should have told someone. I mean his kidney exploded you would think you would have told him why he almost died."
"Shut up Naruto." Shikamaru said.
"Everyone stop!" Sasuke yelled, but it wasn't too loud because of his sore throat.
That got everyone's attention though and they stopped their conversation and turned to look at Sasuke. Sasuke turned to look at Kakashi.
"I don't understand, what… what happened?"
"I promise you I will explain very shortly."
"What the hell is going on?" Tsunade asked.
"Naruto spilled the beans about Sasuke's brother and the operation." Shikaku said.
"You fool. Both of you get out." Tsunade said to Naruto and Sakura.
"Why?" Naruto asked.
"Because I need to look over Sasuke and you two are clearly making him more confused than not. Wait outside and I will speak to you about this."
Naruto and Sakura reluctantly left the hospital room.
"Sakura didn't do anything." Kakashi said.
"Yes well I figured as much, but it was one less person in the room. Sasuke I know you are now more confused than ever. So I am going to start at the beginning and tell you what I know. Ask any questions you want and if you don't understand then tell me and I will try and help you understand better. Okay?"
Sasuke gave a nod and Tsunade went over to the foot of the bed to stand.
"You have been in the hospital for eighteen days. I'm sure Kakashi told you that when you woke up late last night correct?"
"Ya"
"Do you remember being taken?"
Sasuke gave a nod.
"Do you remember anything after that? It's okay if you don't right now those memories will come back."
"I just remember pain and it being dark and cold. I can't see where or remember what happened." Sasuke's voice was getting rougher as he spoke more.
"Okay that's okay those memories will return like I said. It might take a few days it might take a few weeks, but one day they will be there. We were on the mission to kill Orochimaru and it failed. We were gone for nine days and when we returned Shikamaru was waiting for us by the front gates. He explained what happened and we went to the jail to find you and Asuma. We found Asuma and he was perfectly fine. After interrogating one of the ANBU we were able to find you."
"Where?"
"Where did we find you?" Tsunade asked stalling for time.
"Kakashi asked where I was last night so you didn't find me where I was kept. So where did you find me?"
"We found you in the forest. They were going to leave you there to die." Kakashi explained.
They all knew it was a lie, but if Sasuke wasn't awake for being buried alive then he wouldn't ever remember. Kakashi was willing to take that risk and hope Sasuke was never conscious for it. After all just because he had dirt under his fingernails didn't mean he was conscious for it. That could have come from the room he was kept in.
"We brought you to the hospital and I was able to heal you. You had some serious injuries to your ribs, head and stomach. You had internal bleeding and bruising. Almost all of your ribs were broken and you had a skull fracture. I was able to heal you and I'm sure you have noticed some soreness in your ribs. That will go away within a week or two. Your skull fracture was worse than I had originally thought. You were unconscious for fifteen days. When you did wake up you were very disorientated and confused. You fell back asleep for a couple of hours and then you woke up again and you were very sick. You were sick all night and then in the morning before I came to check on you, you started to throw up blood. At that point I brought you into surgery and had to repair the damage. Are you still with me?"
Sasuke gave a nod, but they could tell him mind was having a hard time keeping up.
"Your one kidney was very severely damaged. I never noticed, because of the bruising all over it. Your kidney split in two and your spleen that works to clot your blood wasn't working. So when your kidney split you started to bleed out. I had to remove your spleen and your kidney to save your life."
"So I have one kidney?"
"Yes and your body can function off the one kidney." Kakashi told him.
"But how?"
"Your one kidney will work just as well as two. It's nature's gift to us. A person's body can work off just one kidney, we would like there to be two just in case one fails or gets damaged. With you being a ninja it just means you'll need to get a few tests done every six months to keep track of your kidney." Tsunade explained.
"My spleen clots my blood?"
"Yes" Kakashi answered.
"So without my spleen how will my blood clot?"
"I will need to put you on a prescription that will help clot your blood. You will need to take it every day for the rest of your life, but you will never notice the difference." Tsunade said.
"So I'm fine without my spleen and kidney?"
"Yes you are." Kakashi said.
"But I still can't move my legs."
"You have a few pinched nerves in your spine Sasuke. You can be able to walk again you just need physical therapy to do it." Tsunade explained.
"That's what you said last night." Sasuke said to Kakashi.
"Exactly."
"And Orochimaru is dead?"
"Orochimaru, Danzou, the council and the ANBU that attacked you are all dead." Kakashi said.
"Itachi?"
"That first night that you were in the hospital, I was here with Shikamaru, Shikaku, and Asuma. It was late at night and Itachi came in. He was furious that you were hurt and he wanted to know what happened. We told him what we knew, which wasn't much. We told him that Orochimaru had been after you and that Danzou and the ANBU were giving you a hard time. He said he would take care of it. We thought he meant Orochimaru. In the morning they were all found dead. Itachi had killed them and hung them by their necks outside for everyone to see. He also had a letter printed in the paper stating to leave you alone or he would be back. And it's worked; no one will even mention your name out of fear. Itachi is the one that made you safe." Kakashi explained.
"Why?"
"I don't know, but when you are feeling better and up to the conversation we can figure that out together."
"My head feels it's going to explode."
"From pain or information?" Tsunade asked.
"Information. You weren't going to tell me all of this today were you?"
"No we were not. I was going to let you get better more before I told you everything. Do you have any questions?" Kakashi asked.
"Probably, but I can't really think of any right now."
"That's okay when you do think of one you can ask then."
"When can Sasuke start physical therapy?" Shikamaru asked Tsunade.
"In two weeks I think he'll be ready for it. I want those stitches to heal more and for your head injury to be almost gone before I get you up and moving."
"What can he eat?" Kakashi asked.
"Are you hungry Sasuke?" Tsunade asked.
"A little."
"Good. With your throat I would be careful. I think soups and ice cream for a few days might be it. Then as long as that stays down we can move you up to something different like sandwiches. Keep in mind you have been unconscious for eighteen days. So your body has to get used to eating again. So for now simple things like soup and ice cream in small amounts to get your stomach used to food again."
"Ok"
"Alright does anyone have any more questions before I check Sasuke out?"
"No I think we're good for now." Kakashi said.
"Okay Sasuke I am just going to check your stomach out and see how the stitches are doing. From what I can see your vitals look good. Your blood pressure was low this morning so I'll check that as well."
Tsunade went over to the bed on Kakashi's side and Kakashi moved back so Tsunade could get to Sasuke. Tsunade moved the blanket down to Sasuke's hips and lifted up his shirt. She then started to peel off the gauze covering his stitches.
"Is it normal for his blood pressure to be low?" Yoshino asked.
"It can be after surgery and with his age. He also hasn't eaten anything so that can affect his blood pressure as well. Plus he's been unconscious and not moving around so all of that are factors."
Tsunade checked Sasuke's stitches and she was happy with the healing they have done so far. They were still red, but that was from irritation and not an infection. She reached over into the medical cabinet and pulled out new gauze so she could cover up the stitches once again. Once she was done with that she put Sasuke's shirt back down and pulled the blanket up. She then grabbed the blood pressure cuff off the wall and put it on Sasuke's arm and started to pump it up to check Sasuke's blood pressure. It was low, but it wasn't too low that it had her worried. She placed it back and then turned her attention back to Sasuke.
"So your blood pressure is low, but I'm not too concerned with it yet. You did just wake up and you've been lying down for eighteen days. There are many reasons why your blood pressure is low. It's not dangerously low so I'm not concerned with it. Your stitches look good and they appear to be healing very nicely. If you experience any increase in pain in your stomach you need to let me know. Okay?"
"Ok"
"For now though I would say you are healing very nicely and as each day that goes by you will feel better and better."
"See I told you, you were going to be just fine." Kakashi said.
"I will leave you to rest. Get as much sleep as you want and make sure you are drinking enough water. I need you to drink two of those cups a day for now okay?" Tsunade said as she pointed to the hospital cup on the bedside table.
"Ok"
"Take it easy and just rest that's the best thing you can do. I will go and check on my other patients and deal with Naruto and Sakura. If you have any questions the nurses will know where to find me."
"Thank-you Tsunade-Sama." Kakashi said.
"This is what I am here for. I'll see you before I leave for the day Sasuke to check up on you."
Tsunade said as she left the hospital room and headed over to where Naruto and Sakura were standing.
"Naruto just what exactly do you think you were doing? Why would you bring any of that up to Sasuke right now?" Tsunade asked with anger in her voice. She wasn't that angry, after all Naruto was young and he had a horrible brain mouth filter. Still it could have gone really badly.
"I thought he knew. How was I supposed to know not to mention anything?" Naruto said in his own defense.
"When someone wakes up after eighteen days you don't hound them with questions. Especially when that person has a serious head injury. The next time you see him just talk about the missions you have been on and how everyone is doing. Don't talk about his injuries. I don't need him upset. He's still confused right now and will be for a few days if not weeks. If you can't do that, then stay away from him."
"We can do that Hokage-Sama. We're sorry we didn't mean to upset Sasuke." Sakura said.
"You didn't, Naruto did. Sasuke needs rest so come by tomorrow and see him if you want. Just remember what I said and make sure you tell the others if they wish to see him."
"We will." Naruto said.
"Good now get out of here I have work to do."
Tsunade walked away to the nurses' desk to get a new patient file. Naruto and Sakura headed out of the hospital to speak to the others about Sasuke's condition. Inside Sasuke's hospital room Sasuke was still trying to process everything that happened. He couldn't really remember anything from the nine days of captivity, but he supposed that was a good thing.
"How about some soup? Do you want to try some?" Kakashi asked.
"Sure" Sasuke said a little unsure.
"Tomato?" Kakashi asked even though he knew that was Sasuke's favorite.
"Ok"
"Yoshino and I will go with you." Shikaku said.
The adults knew that Shikamaru wanted some time alone with Sasuke and this was the perfect excuse.
"Oh I could use some coffee." Yoshino said with a smile.
"Okay I will be right back with some soup. Just relax okay?" Kakashi said.
"It's not like I can go anywhere." Sasuke said sadly.
"You will." Kakashi said as he kissed Sasuke's forehead and he got up off the bed.
The three adults left the room so Shikamaru and Sasuke could be alone. Shikamaru went and sat down on the side of the bed now that they were alone.
"How are you feeling with all of this?" Shikamaru asked softly.
"I'm still confused, but I guess until I remember what happened I'm going to be feeling like that. That night is kinda fuzzy. I remember you and Asuma came over we had dinner. I remember waking up to the fighting. Spots in between though, I don't know if they are real or not."
"Like what?"
"We were in my room?"
"Yes we were. After dinner we went up there and we talked for a while. Do you remember that?"
"Ya I remember talking. Did you… did you kiss me?"
Shikamaru blushed slightly as he answered.
"I did and we kissed for a little while."
"So that did happen."
"Does that bother you?" Shikamaru asked slightly afraid of Sasuke's answer.
"No. Does it bother you?"
"No" Shikamaru said slightly relieved.
"So now what? Don't really know where to go from here."
"Where do you want to go?"
"I don't know. I haven't exactly done this before. Where do you want to go from here?"
"It's up to you, but I would like to do it again. I've never done this before either so I'm not sure what to be doing. I know I like you and I would like to go on a date and hang out. I know I want to kiss you again."
"What about your parents and your friends?"
"What about them?"
"Won't they have a problem with it?"
"My parents have unofficially adopted you like three weeks ago. My mother has already been talking about having you over for dinner so she can fatten you up. My parents are completely fine with you and if we got together. As for my team I don't care. They will either accept it or they won't. It doesn't matter to me either way. What about you? How would your team feel?"
"I don't really care. People don't like me for many reasons. Dating you wouldn't really be high on the list, no offense."
"None taken. So are we going to try and do this?"
"I guess, if nothing else we can always be friends right?"
"Absolutely. You are not getting rid of me that easily. Want to know a secret that I found out?"
"Ok"
"Kakashi and Iruka are sleeping together."
"What?" Sasuke said with a small smile on his face. It was the first smile that Shikamaru had seen on Sasuke in twenty-seven days. Shikamaru couldn't even put into words of how much he missed that smile.
"Yup. I figured it out. Kakashi doesn't know that I know yet. He also knows that we kissed and he is totally playing like he doesn't know anything. It's been a little game that we have been playing for the last like ten days."
"That's funny."
"Ya I know. I thought you would like that."
"What have you been doing?"
"Not much just hanging out here waiting for you to finally wake up."
"You haven't gone on any missions?"
"No I wasn't going to leave with you still unconscious in the hospital Sasuke. Tsunade didn't even ask if I wanted one."
"Why wouldn't you?"
"Why would I? I'm not going to go off on some mission while you are in the hospital. So you better get used to me, because I'm not going anywhere. Now tell me the truth, how are you really doing with all of this?"
"I'm confused why Itachi did what he did. I'm scared that I don't remember what happened to me and I'm scared that I will. Maybe it would be better if I never remembered. I'm freaking out that I won't be able to walk. It's a lot to handle and my brain is having a hard time processing it."
"You will be able to walk again Sasuke. You will. You can feel your legs right?"
"Ya"
"That is your reminder that you can walk. I can't speak for Itachi; I don't know why he did what he did. I can speculate, but that's really your job. It's up to you how you want to look at this. As for your memory they may or may not come back. If they do then we will get through it together. I'm not going anywhere."
The door to the room opened again and in walked the three adults. Kakashi was carrying a small styrofoam container of soup and a plastic spoon. Yoshino was carrying a cup of coffee in her hand. Shikamaru sat back down in the chair and not on the bed so Sasuke could eat. Kakashi handed Sasuke the container and the spoon.
"It's hot so be careful and eat slowly. We don't want to hurt your throat any more than it already is." Kakashi said.
"Thanks"
Sasuke took the container and he opened it. They could tell that his movements were sluggish and it appeared that he was having a hard time with his muscles. They were weak from being unused for so long. Sasuke's body was just weak all around. Sasuke took a small spoonful of soup and he made sure he ate slowly.
"Have you heard anything about a new council?" Shikaku asked Kakashi.
"I haven't heard anything. I know Tsunade has been having a hard time figuring out who to be on it. She also doesn't know what to do with the ANBU now. Danzou was the leader and we need the ANBU, but she can't be their leader full time. She needs someone that understands the ANBU, but someone that can also control them."
"I would imagine that the wrong person could lead to great problems. If you have the wrong person in charge he could make the ANBU attack the wrong people." Yoshino said.
"That's the problem Tsunade is having. She doesn't know who to trust with power like that. She also doesn't want to be their leader forever. She needs to find someone she can trust with this and is willing to do it."
"I'm sure she will find someone it just might take some time." Shikaku said.
They kept the conversation to light topics. Sasuke was slowly eating the soup and once he was half way done he put it down. Kakashi was glad that Sasuke was able to eat something and he was hoping that it wouldn't make him sick. They could see how exhausted his body was. They couldn't believe how weak his muscles were from everything his body went through. Sasuke just needed a lot of time and then he would be back to his normal self. The problem was Kakashi didn't know how well Sasuke would handle not being able to walk around. Sasuke wasn't one to let others help him and with the physical therapy he would need to. Kakashi was hoping that tomorrow Sasuke would be in better shape to talk more seriously. For now he would let Sasuke have some rest and give his mind the much needed break. It was another hour before Sasuke fell asleep listening to the others talking. Sasuke needed the sleep so they made sure they whispered and didn't disturb him. For now they were just happy that he was awake and on the road to being okay again.