Turning point: Chapter 3
:Beginning:
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"Dark... So dark... I can't see... Can't breathe... Someone... Please... Help..."
Crushing darkness. No air. Absolute silence.
"Please... Somebody... HELP ME!"
Tayuya woke with a scream to the feeling of her nurse shaking her, she was breathing heavily and sweating so much that her hospital gown was clinging to her body. Above her she could hear her heart monitor racing in time with her panicked chest. She looked around frantically as the nurse simply sighed in relief.
"Oh thank god, I thought we were going to lose you. With your injuries, getting so worked up could seriously endanger you."
Tayuya looked up at the woman, it was still dark so she couldn't see her very well, but she could at least tell the woman looked worried.
"What... What happened?" She asked, her breath catching in her throat as she gasped for air. The nurse went to check the monitor as she answered.
"It was just a nightmare." She leaned down to gently pat Tayuya's forehead with a soft towel. "Get some rest and we'll help you change out of those wet clothes in the morning."
With that, she picked up the small box she'd apparently left on the chair to tend to her patient and left the room. Tayuya was still trying to finish catching her breath as she stared up at the ceiling.
"What the fuck was that? That wasn't just a nightmare... It felt too real... Shit... It felt like I was dying." She sighed as she closed her eyes again, slowly drifting back to sleep.
"Well, well, well. You're a real heavy sleeper, y'know that?"
Tayuya's eyes fluttered open and looked over to the door, standing in the open doorway was Temari. She was wearing a different outfit today, a plain black dress with a red sash wrapped tightly around her waist. She seemed to have left her fan behind for her visit today. Tayuya shot her a dirty look.
"What're you doing here? Come back to mock me for losing to you?"
Temari looked at her in confusion for a few seconds before laughing out loud. Tayuya simply kept the annoyed expression while she waited for her answer. After taking a minute or two to stop laughing, Temari walked over and sat in her chair.
"Nah, I can wait till you're up and about to do that. I thought I'd just come and keep you company since you're not exactly going anywhere for a while."
She gave a cheeky grin to the redhead, who was still looking peeved. Tayuya scoffed and turned to look out the window watching a flock of birds fly over the building across the street. She could hear a group of kids outside playing and laughing. She closed her eyes as she lay her head back again.
Temari was watching her the whole time. Though Tayuya was trying to make it seem like she was ignoring the blonde annoyance, she was failing. After a few more minutes of silence, she finally looked back to her visitor.
"Look, what do you want from me? You already beat me and saved your 'precious' Sasuke."
She put a lot of sarcastic emphasis on precious, adamant to at least try and annoy Temari back.
"You don't have any reason to keep me around anymore."
Temari suddenly looked more serious, as though she'd just been told the worst of news.
"Actually, we didn't. That Sasuke kid apparently up and left, despite everyone trying to get him back."
Tayuya would've laughed in her face if she didn't realize what this meant.
"Oh, I get it now. You didn't get him back so you're gonna get what info you can get from me about the sound before you kill me for real. That's why you brought me here alive.".
Temari rose from her seat with a scowl on her face and was about to retaliate, which caused Tayuya to widen her eyes in surprise. The blonde's action was silenced however. by the sound of knocking behind her. A pair of nurses, one with clean clothes and both with awkward expressions; stood by the door. The nurse holding the clothes moved closer as Temari sat back down with her arms folded.
"Excuse me miss, but we've come to help you change." The first nurse laid the clean clothes at the foot of the bed while the other carefully unstrapped Tayuya's arms. Once she was free, the pair carefully lifted her up and helped her to her feet. Thanks to the healing process, she was able to at least stand.
Temari made the effort to turn her head away as the nurses pulled the curtains closed around the bed and shut the door, once ready, the woman who had brought the new gown carefully peeled Tayuya's soaked one from her body. The girl winced as she lifted her arms to let the garment over her head. Under the gown, she was wrapped in bandages; around her midsection, her thighs and her waist. Her pale skin still damp with cold sweat, the nurse gently wiped her down with the towel while the second nurse prepared some clean bandages. Once the first was done drying and they removed the old dressing, the pair took great care in wrapping the new, clean bandages around her body. Temari could hear Tayuya hissing in pain a few times as the nurses apologized. Once she was clean, the nurses checked her over once more and gently dressed her in the new gown. When done, they changed her bedding and helped her back into bed. Temari nodded to the pair as they left.
"Lady Hokage says that after one more treatment you should be strong enough to get up on your own, but until then you should stay in bed." The nurse said to her patient, receiving a nod in response before smiling and shutting the door.
Once alone together again, the two girls remained in silence for several minutes. Eventually Temari decided to speak up.
"I asked the Hokage to heal you. They are gonna question you, but they've agreed to let you go unharmed if you tell them everything they want to know."
She was expecting some sort of angry or sarcastic response to this, but to her surprise Tayuya simply sighed and looked up at the ceiling.
"If I talk, I live huh? That's all well and good, except it doesn't help. The leaf might not finish me off for talking, but the sound will hunt me down like a dog for selling them out."
She turned to Temari, looking almost defeated with her dull eyes meeting the deep blue once more.
"How can you convince me to talk when I'll die either way?"
Temari thought long and hard about her answer, finally giving Tayuya that dumb grin she'd used before.
"Don't go back to the sound. Start over and stay here."
Tayuya looked at the girl like she was insane.
"Are you fucking nuts?! What the hell makes you think they'd ever let me stay here?"
Temari got up and stretched her arms up above her head, locking her fingers and letting out a long sigh of relief as she lowered them again. Placing her hands on her hips, she looked back at Tayuya with that same smirk.
"I'll get their Hokage to let you stay. I can talk them into giving you a place."
With that said, she quickly left the room before Tayuya could say anything. The red headed girl simply sighed and turned to look out the window, watching a crow clean it's wing.
"She's crazy. She thinks I can fit in here... Why is she trying so hard?"
Tayuya pictured Temari's face in her head before she left and couldn't help the gentle smile that crept slowly across her lips.
"That idiot..."
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Made a few edits after re-reading this chapter, nothing major just a couple of fixes ^^;