Ch.18 - Minato's Point of view.
"M-Minato?" I set down the electronic mixer I was using for the mashed potatoes, before walking towards the doorway to the living room.
"Yeah Sasuke?" I poked my head out the doorway to see Sasuke looking in my direction, not letting his eyes draw to close to actually looking at me.
Wh-where is my Father, and Itachi?" I looked down at where Naruto and Sasuke were seated on the floor, trying to remember if Fugaku had sad where he'd been going. I smiled lightly when I could see the effort he made to move his eyes closer to meeting my own.
"Actually…They went out for a drive… I'm assuming. I don't know where they went though. And… I called your Mother, for you, she-" I jumped a little bit, the home phone's ringer blaring through the otherwise quiet house.
"Hello?" I tucked the phone into the space between my shoulder and neck, tilting my head to hold it there as I grabbed two plate, setting them by Sasuke and Naruto, going back to do the same with Deidara's and my own.
"Is this Minato Namikaze?" I replied with a short yes, asking who was calling.
"This is Uchiha Shisui. There was an accident reported, just now, actually. Fugaku…and Itachi…they were in one of the two cars involved. We-" After those words, My mind went blank. I could vaguely hear Shisui's voice still talking, quick and panicked. (1)
At this point, the words had registered. I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe. Fugaku…Itachi…
"Wh-what?" I found that I could barely even speak, my weak voice cutting off Shisui.
"Y-yes. I…We need you down here, ASAP, Minato. Its….it's bad. The kids with you? Well, never mind, just-
"Where?" I couldn't even register my own movements; My body was moving alone. All I could think about was Fugaku. Bloodied, maybe even dead. The same about Itachi.
"The main road leading from your place to The Uchiha district. Ambulances and police will be here in ten, you think it'll take longer for you to get here?
"Okay. It won't even take that l-long." I hung up, racing around the house, moving blindly. My eyes burned, and my mind was racing; As hard as I tried, I couldn't get the thought out of my head- What if they were dead?
Before I even realized it, I was in the car, the other three with me. I drove as fast as I could, taking shorter roads to avoid build-ups and traffic. I knew my driving must have been reckless, I could barely see, let alone comprehend my surroundings as they flashed by.
As soon as those cars came into sight, It all focused in; became too surreal. A silver car was rammed straight into the side of Fugaku's Audi. The black car was almost bent in a 'U' shape around the silver car, the Audi sitting in a diagonal position, one side slightly lifted from the ground.
I couldn't feel. The only way I could tell I was moving was by watching everything, sharp and clear and dark, pass by, like a movie. I watched Fugaku, bloodied and injured- but alive- struggling to unbuckle Itachi.
I watched my own hands wrench open the car door on Itachi's side, pulling the belt off. Itachi's body moved weakly; The boy was unconscious. My breath hitched, and I found I suddenly couldn't breathe.
No. Just…he's just unconscious. Please, let that be true…
I could see Deidara's hands now, too. He helped Itachi, so that I could move around, and help Shisui get Fugaku out of the car safely. He was harder, because His side was elevated, and Shisui had to climb slightly onto the silver car to get to Fugaku.
I could only watch everything. I couldn't feel my hands when they held Fugaku's face, trying to get the man to keep his eyes open. I couldn't feel my arms when they picked him up, carrying him onto the stretcher the ambulance had pulled over. I couldn't feel anything, until Fugaku grasped my hand, and his heartbeat thrummed against my palm, slow and weary.
I found that once the medics pulled his hand away, I was numb. I could see the lights flashing on top of the two police cars, and on the ambulances, but I couldn't hear a single siren. I could see Deidara screaming, and more medics hauling Itachi's form into the second ambulance, but I couldn't hear a single word. I could see Shisui grabbing my shoulders, shaking me, and yelling at me, but I couldn't hear. I couldn't feel his hands, I only knew that I was being jostled from the way my surroundings shook about.
When I looked over briefly, I saw Sasuke, mouth open in a sharp cry, eyes squeezed shut, and tears cascading down his red face.
When I looked back, there was a young woman, with medium length black hair, grabbing onto my arm. Her hand touched my face, I think she was grabbing my jaw. She yanked my head down, flashing a light in my eye. I stared ahead at where Fugaku was in the open ambulance. The woman-who, in the recesses of my mind registered with the name of Shizune, an assistant to my mother,- placed her fingers at a point on my neck, her face calm and focused. She looked dead into my eyes, before her own widened. She yelled something out to the other three medics on her team that weren't attained with Fugaku, and they came over to me.
My surroundings shifted, left to right, left to right. I tried to move forward, only succeeding in nearly face planting to the ground. It seemed like walking blind; As if your legs had fallen asleep and you were making a feeble attempt to move on them, though my feeling was still gone. I found that the second time I tried, against what I believed to argumentative restraints on the medics behalf's, I was more successful. I had moved a few inched closer to the ambulance holding Fugaku. My chest had started to ache, and sweat was building up, making hair cling uncomfortably to my forehead.
Fugaku…please be okay…please. I need…I can't do this. You…you're a strong man. You can get through this…you have to. You have to. Don't you dare think of giving up right now. You…dammit!
I felt that my minimal success in getting closer to the ambulance was short-lived, because as I did, the other medics rushed to Fugaku, blocking my view and effectively pushing me back two or three feet.
Sound slowly started to bleed in, numbness partially replaced with a cold, sickly feeling that ran through my veins, sharp and stinging.
A loud, long beeping noise was one of the first things to bleed into my ears. Sirens seeped through, followed closely by screams; Shrill, loud, deafening cries. From many people, two distinct voices being Sasuke and Deidara.
My hands, cold as ice, tingled sharply, painfully. They were clammy, and slightly moist. I tried to get closer to the red vehicle, the medics voices now registering. My throat was dry, my breathing had sped, and I couldn't catch a decent breath.
"Hold that! Come on, Uchiha!"
"Keep him going, dammit!" The woman, Shizune, was pulling Fugaku into a sitting position on the stretcher, and all-too-familiar woman's face coming into view.
"Tsunade! Itachi needs more help, he's losing too much blood. We can stabilize Fuga-"
"Someone help that blonde man, if some one doesn't attend to him, he'll go into preamble shock-"
"Get him leveled, and grab another IV line-" Their voices each blurred together, my vision sharpening even further. I watched a blonde woman, this time instantly recognizable, hop out of Fugaku's ambulance, casting a nearly worried glance at me, pulling out two medics and pushing them towards me. Tsunade continued to Itachi's ambulance, wincing as she approached his form.
The two medics were trying to force me to sit down, but I wouldn't. I moved closer to Fugaku, barely catching a glance of his face- or what I thought was. His dark hair was a mess, blood caked into some of his bangs. He had an oxygen mask strapped onto his face, and his nose, - which, now clean, was clearly broken- was bandaged.
"Minato-san!" I flinched barely at the honorific. I kept moving towards the ambulance, the medics against me at all times.
"Stop!" The younger of the two looked at the other woman, worry and fear clear on her features. She must've been new to this.
"He might be going into shock, we have to watch him closely. It isn't uncommon for witnesses or loved one to do this, though he's in the extremities here." The more experienced woman called the shots, trying to pin me down and get me stabilized. I still refused, finally reaching the ambulance. The medics still crowded Fugaku, though the beeping of the heart monitor had already taken on a normal, active pace, and Fugaku was still conscious, able to keep his eyes open much easier now; Though still weary, and dazed, just barely on the edge of consciousness.
I climbed up, settling onto a bench on the side of the car. Fugaku's eyes opened wider for a moment, his arm reflectively reaching, grabbing at mine. I linked out hands, careful of the wires. Sound bled out again, as well as my feeling. Though this time, I could feel Fugaku's hand, his warmth-however little he had left- was comforting to my icy, clammy own. Medics tried to pry me away, but I remained unmoving. I prayed to every God, deity, or lord out there ,that Fugaku would be okay. More than that, that Itachi would make it, as well. His medics seemed to be having trouble still.
"Minato." I could barely hear Tsunade as she screamed at me, standing outside the ambulance.
Once again, my head shook, making my surroundings surge slowly left, and back to the right. I could feel and see my actions tighten, and slow.
My mother was at my side, holding my head up, telling Shizune to met my medication from her bag. I almost laughed; How could she still carry that around?
My arms were shaking, when I looked back at the hand I was using to hold Fugaku's. He had a worried look on his face, and he was panicking, looking back and forth between Shizune and Tsunade. I squeezed my eyes shut, breathing in as deep as I could.
Tsunade yelled again, grabbing a small item, similar to an epi-pen combined with an IV line. I tried to move away, unwilling to disconnect from Fugaku in order to get away from my mother, the needle-contraption in her hand stabbing into my leg.
"Minato, look at me. Dammit, look at me!" I couldn't. My eyes rolled over to the left-most bottom corner of my vision, before rolling to the top left, my mother's strong hold returning against my head to keep me from moving. Shizune held my arms, I couldn't feel it; I felt as if my body had been paralyzed completely. When I tried to look back to Fugaku, I couldn't. My vision had blurred, but I could still see clearly.
My mothers hands moved me, so I was leaning on my side along the bench.
"Minato, come on. Stay." I knew what those simple words meant; My mother used to say it every time I had a seizure.
Fugaku's voice barely reached me, weak and husky as it was.
"Minato, you idiot…" I wanted to smile, as pathetic as it would be in this situation. I wanted to smile at him, and say it was okay, that I was okay. But…in my position, that would be impossible.
When I opened my eyes, I nearly had to shut tem again. My head ached, and the bright white lights of the hospital room didn't help me.
"Wakie wakie, kid." I groaned, seeing my mother next to my bed. I sat up a little, my body sore. I tried to look around, suddenly fully realizing I was in the hospital.
Only those close to me knew that hospitals were my weakness.
Which was strange…considering I was always in and out of them.
"You alright?" Tsunade's hands were holding my head again, keeping me from moving it around.
"Y-Yeah. I'm good." She nodded, removing her hands, checking my IV.
An awkward silence built between us; We didn't see each other often, and when we did, it was almost always under these conditions. And…she wasn't so great at showing that she cared, even when she really did. Which, in turn, made it hard for me to show her I cared for her, as my mother.
"Look, Minato. Do you remember…anything? At all? " I looked at her this time, slowly turning my head. I hadn't realized that there were two other beds in the room yet, I hadn't looked.
"I-" I groaned out, my head throbbing sharply as each moment poured back into my head. The phone call, the accident, the ambulances and medics. I remembered the numbness; I should've known then that I was reacting badly.
"Fu...Fugaku. Where is he?" I sat up, slowly and carefully, but insistent. Tsunade sighed, her hand reaching out for my head. Her delicate, yet so strong and skilled hands wound into my hair, before yanking sharply and turning my head to look to my left, towards the other beds.
"You finally awake?" I watched Fugaku sit up, slow and gentle. His voice was rough; He cleared his throat softly. His face looked like hell, his nose bruised severely, along with several other parts of his face. I watched as his lips turned up slightly, his smile genuine, even through the pain.
"Fu…what the hell happened?" I sat up fully, looking at my mother as she left the room quietly, talking to Shizune in the hallway.
"Itachi and I…" Fugaku swallowed, pausing. I took the moment to look toward Itachi, immediately regretting doing so.
From the angle Deidara had him laying in, I could see a line going across his left shoulder, bandages covering most of it-presumably lacerations from the seatbelt. His face was bruised badly, especially near his forehead and cheekbones. He had two IV's running, on his right hand, and at the crease of his left elbow.
"Our…conversation got a little…tense. Or...well, heated. I was distracted…I should've stopped driving. We were at a stoplight, but as it turned green, the other car came through…and…I don't really remember past hearing Itachi scream." I looked to Fugaku again. He was crying softly, silently.
Shizune walked in, her steps slow and quiet. She looked towards me, then Fugaku, breathing out lightly in relief.
"Here are your clothes, Minato." I nodded, taking the clothes she handed to me, remembering my IV. I set the pile of clothes down, before lifting the medical tape around the needle, before sliding it out. Shizune sighed, taking care of the IV stand, before leaving again with a simple, kind smile.
I stood and slipped on my boxers and jeans without removing the hospital gown. I had moved behind the small curtain separating my bed from the others. I pulled to gown off, pulling on my shirt.
Once dressed, I folded the gown, leaving it on the bed, and moved over to pull back the curtain and go to Fugaku.
I sat on the edge of his bed next to him, reaching over to push some of his hair back from his face. He smiled a little bit again. I leaned down, placing a soft, hesitant kiss to his forehead.
"Minato, I'm fine. Just a little bruised and cut up. My question to you…are you okay? You…you really scared me…" I nodded, closing my eyes.
"It's…it's just been a while since that happened, and I wasn't paying enough attention." He nodded gently, leaning slightly onto me.
"Yeah…Let's hope it doesn't happen again anytime soon…" Looked to the door as Tsunade entered again, Shizune by her side.
"And you, kid, get back in your own bed. You've got a little recovery time for yourself, too." Tsunade pinched my ear, pulling me up and away from Fugaku.
"Ugh…really, Mom?" I sat back in the bed, closing my eyes and leaning onto the pillows.
"Yeah, really." I jumped, hissing as she pushed another needle into my arm, drawing blood.
"Um…a little warning first?" She shook her head.
"No time. I'm supposed to be on Emergency Room shift right now." I just nodded, looking over to Fugaku again.
I'm glad he's okay…and I really hope Itachi's okay…
(1)- Shisui works for the police force. He knows Minato personally, through Fugaku, and is good friends with the two. Also used to babysit Itachi and Sasuke.
Um...super longer chapter. Actually 2775 words, and 3 1/2 pages on Mic. Word.
:D proud of this. Had to look up different reactions, symptoms, and experiences of seizures and shock for this o.o hope i portrayed it well? (I felt bad, making Minato have epilepsy...which I've decided he now has... XP )
Oh. and yes. Tsunade is Minato's mommy.
Any guesses about his daddy? XD