Within These Empty Walls

~SasukeUchihasGuardian~

Chapter 7: Anbu Report

Sasuke stared blankly at the ceiling, listening to Kakashi mindlessly ramble on about past missions, hoping to find some way of entertaining his student. After all, Sasuke couldn't even sit up in bed, so he was very limited on options when it came to doing stuff. He would never admit it, but Kakashi was comforting to have around. He was very emotional, much to his embarrassment, but Kakashi thankfully understood him.

"Sasuke… are you alright?" He asked, seeing the boy lost in thought. Sasuke blinked at him.

"Yea…" He sighed.

Kakashi continued on with the story until he saw Sasuke's eyes growing more and more tired. He began to talk a little slower. It only took a few more minutes for Sasuke to drift off. He took the chance to run home quick and shower. He had barely spent any time outside of the hospital, worrying Tsunade, but he declined every time she brought it up.

Kakashi made sure the medics knew he had left so they could sedate Sasuke. Last time he had left and Sasuke had woken up, he went into hysterics, screaming his lungs out for Kakashi, thinking he had abandoned him. He was extremely feverish at the time, but Kakashi wasn't about to take the chances of it happening again, and neither were the medics.

Kakashi showered as quickly as possible. He went to grab some food, and then quickly returned to the hospital. Sasuke was thankfully still asleep with a medic by his side, but he was just beginning to wake up.

Kakashi stayed by him and patted his head softly when Sasuke opened his eyes. Sasuke looked up at him and sighed weakly.

"You showered?" He asked.

Kakashi's visible eye showed amusement. "Really now… how did you know?" He asked.

"You don't smell." He said, smirking a little.

"Great to know you haven't lost your humorous side to you." He smiled, taking his seat. The medic smiled at Kakashi and then nodded to Sasuke, leaving the room to go report that he had woken up.

Sasuke felt a little drowsy from the sedatives, but he didn't let it get in the way of talking to Kakashi. He sighed as he felt a headache form on top of his dizziness and he moaned in annoyance.

"Kakashi… it's been ten days now… when are the Anbu coming with the cure?" He moaned. "Everything hurts… my emotions are unstable… I'm too weak to do anything… Orochimaru will never tell why he did this to me…"

Kakashi lowered his eyes. He really wished he had the power to allow Sasuke to just sleep through the rest of the time. He hated seeing Sasuke feeling so powerless and vulnerable. He wished he could take the pain away or find the cure himself.

"I wish I knew, Sasuke. They'll be here soon, I promise. It won't take more than two weeks…" he whispered to him.

Sasuke just buried his face in the pillow. "I hope so…"

~Later~

"Where are the Anbu right now?" Kakashi asked Tsunade. She had came in to give Sasuke a checkup as he slept.

"The last report I had received from them was yesterday at 8:16 PM. They were very close to Orochimaru's base. They had to move slowly because they didn't know the area very well. They said that this morning they would attack at exactly 8:00 AM. The trip back should take no more than 24 hours." Tsunade informed him.

Kakashi looked at the clock and realized it was already five.

They must be done by now. Hurry up with that report! He thought. He looked at Sasuke's sleeping form. He watched as Tsunade pulled the blanket back, revealing his bare chest. His ribs were now clearly visible and he looked nothing but skin and bone. Had he not known the situation, he would've accused Sasuke of being anorexic. Tsunade pressed her fingertips against his ribs, earning a moan of discomfort. She pressed against the skin on the base of his neck and Sasuke's breath hitched and then he hissed in pain.

"He's becoming frail. At this point, it's better that he doesn't move at all. We'll feed him through a tube, and hydrate him through more IVs. Higher doses of painkillers will be needed, and he'll probably sleep a lot more than usual. If this goes on for more than three days, he'll lose his ability to move, talk, and maybe even blink. He might lose his senses and not be able to feel, hear, and taste. It might get to the point where he may even stop breathing." She sighed sadly.

Kakashi grabbed his student's hand gently, holding it his own.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you… this is my entire fault." He whispered, feeling tears prick his eyes.

"This is no one's fault but Orochimaru's, Kakashi." Tsunade said, adding a small painkiller to Sasuke's IV.

Kakashi was about to answer when a cry of a hawk came from behind him. A hawk flew in the room and handed Tsunade a scroll. Tsunade nodded to it, and it flew back out of the window in a blink of an eye.

Tsunade opened the scroll and began reading, Kakashi looking over her shoulder, knowing it was a report from the Anbu in charge of finding the cure.

S-rank mission retrieve the cure for the curse mark report:

Mission successful. The objective, an injection of a purple liquid, is now secured with us. Two lives were lost. Aoi Miyoshi and Kenichi Hoshi. Anbu IDs 19075 and 45188. Will take 24 hours to return to the village. Injection is to be given through arm and be given two hours to take full effect. No side effects. Should be fully sedated when injection is given. Orochimaru was not encountered. Reasoning for using jutsu is unknown.

Daisuke Hayate – 39042

Kakashi sighed in relief. Help was coming. Sasuke would be fine. He looked at Tsunade and smiled behind his mask, knowing Sasuke would be alright.

He looked down and noticed Sasuke was awake, staring at him, confused.

"Well Sasuke… looks like this will all be over soon." He said, earning a relieved sigh and smile from Sasuke as his heavy eyes slipped shut again and he slid into dreams once again.

End.

Oh yea! Another chapter! Please review everybody!

._. I know it was really boring and pointless… please don't kill me. Next chapter is either the last, or 2nd to last chapter! ^_^

~SasukeUchihasGuardian

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