The Root operative that was stationed outside of Uzumaki Naruto's apartment building watched as the subject of his surveillance got up at the crack of dawn and started a small kitchen fire as he tried to cook an egg. Morning as usual at the Uzumaki residence, except for the fact that the pan and the spatula were brand-new, and worth almost as much as the stove that Naruto had been trying to cook the egg on had been when it was new.
While it wasn't his place to question Danzo-sama's decisions, he was beginning to wonder if the purchases that had been made the day before had been a waste of resources. But then again, one could not effectively use the best tools for one's task if one was not taught how to do so.
Perhaps cooking lessons were in order...
He would place a suggestion in his next report. Hopefully it would be well received. The last time someone's report regarding the Uzumaki boy had displeased Danzo-sama, they had been sent to the secure wing of the infirmary, which was a place no Root operative ever wanted to find themselves.
&!&!&!&
Madara took an experimental sip of the contents of the glass the nurse had handed him. It wasn't that bad actually...
One of the more health-conscious of the nurses had taken several of the vegetables that were left over in the gift basket the Jinchuriki had given him two days before after those damnable cops had finished pawing through his present and taking what they wanted, and had turned them into something called a "vegetable smoothie".
He'd contemplated escaping that morning and going off to tend to his wounds elsewhere after he discovered he was able to walk (slowly, and not that far, but he could still walk), but had decided to hang around for a while. Despite the Police wandering in and out, the constant visits from the Kyuubi Jinchuriki, and the pain, this had to have been the most rest and relaxation he'd had in years. After all, there were drugs for the pain, and he could occupy himself with the various ways he was going to kill his unwanted visitors when the time came when they became too annoying.
As he was finishing his drink, he heard the sound of pounding feet headed in the direction of his room. Based on the rhythm and the timing between steps, the owner of said feet was rather short and most likely a child. Eventually, the person stopped running and paused outside his room. An instant later, the door to his room slammed open.
"Hey Nakamura-san!" a familiar and very unwelcome voice yelled. "Guess what! The nurse said I could visit!"
Screw this, he was outta here!
He somehow found the strength to pull out his I.V., leap to his feet, run several paces, and take the standard shinobi exit from the hospital. It was on his way down that he'd realized that he'd forgotten to use Chakra to stick himself to the wall, and it was too late for the last resort of gathering Chakra to cushion his landing as one was supposed to do that before they jumped.
The landing wasn't going to be fun.
The landing wasn't fun.
The last thing he heard before he blacked out was a medic yelling "Nurse! Get a stretcher! Mr. Nakamura tried to check out a little too early."
&!&!&!&
Naruto sat in a chair in the hallway and waited to hear if his best friend would be okay when he got out of "Surgery", whatever that was. He hadn't looked very good after he'd jumped out of the window. Why had he done that? The Old Man had told him not to go jumping out of any windows until after he became a ninja when he got hurt doing so when he was four. Civilians weren't supposed to jump out windows, they could get hurt like he did.
He hoped his friend would be okay. He also hoped that the Invisible Underpants Man would stop laughing soon. He'd been laughing nonstop for over an hour.