Ugh. . . where am I? Wait— am? I'm alive?

Surprised, I concentrated on different parts of my body, reveling in the fact that I could still feel. My legs were definitely there. . . as was my torso, which didn't feel so compressed anymore. . . my head seemed to be in its proper place. . . and my arms laid faithfully by my side.

There was, however, a strange weight on my left hand. Another focused moment indicated that somebody's fingers were clasped around mine. How strange.

"I dunno if you can hear me. . ." a discouraged voice said. "But I just wanted to say that. . . uh. . . well, I miss you. We all do."

Thrmm-dmm, thrmm-dmm, thrmm-dmm. . .

"Neji told us about what you did," Hanabi continued, her hand trembling in mine. "Even Lady Tsunade. She visited this morning, to see how you were doing."

The tenderness that this thirteen-year-old displayed made me want to cry. She sounded so sad. . .

I urged myself to move my head, to squeeze Hanabi's fingers, to open my eyes, to say something. It disheartened me to discover that such an insignificant task proved to be much more difficult than previously anticipated. However, I was finally able to manage—

"Hi," I whispered.

She flinched, gasping. "K-Keiden?"

"Yeah," I breathed, glad it was already becoming easier. "It's me."

"You're— you're awake!" she squealed. She must have had enough sense not to throw her arms around me in an excited hug, for I remained immobile. "You're okay!"

I chuckled softly before forcing my eyes open, just to let her know she wasn't dreaming. "How long have I been out?" My voice sounded so tired.

Hanabi sighed shakily. "A week and a half. We were afraid you weren't gonna make it. But Sakura said you'd be okay."

"Come here," I said gently, holding out my free arm. As soon as the thrmm-dmm was close enough, I embraced her quaking shoulders, letting her tears soak my clothes. "I'm glad you were here when I woke up, Hanabi."

She sniffed, burying her face in my hair.

We stayed like that for a while, and I stroked her coarse locks, grateful that the sensations I'd taken for granted were still with me.

Hanabi released me, padding toward where I figured a door was. "Wait 'till I tell Neji! He'll be so happy!" She then vanished.

I laughed at her enthusiasm before taking in my surroundings a bit more thoroughly: though it had been months since I'd been in one of these, I knew I was resting in a hospital bed; a tiny sting in my left arm led me to believe that there was some kind of intravenous needle there, which smelled faintly of rosemary; and the bdm bdm bdm bdm that came from the wall behind my head told me that I was right next to Sakura's office.

Comforted by the familiarity of the medic's heartbeat, I snuggled into the pillows that had been carefully arranged to support my neck.

I was alive— alive. I'd been given another chance. I felt like weeping myself, but what greeted me next kept the waterworks at bay.

Buh-dummm, buh-dummm, buh-dummm. . .