Hello, again.
I'm sorry for the cliff hanger, especially to SnowTigerShelby.
I didn't kill your man, okay?!
Boob. Face.
But, here's the thirteenth chapter.
Enjoy, kids!
Disclaimer: © Masashi Kishimoto, all the way. I own Sorano, Nozomi, and the plot.
"Neji's...DEAD?" Nozomi's eyes were wide with shock.
"Well, he's not technically 'dead', but he's in a severe coma. He's been unconscious for about three hours and they can't get him to wake up. They think there was something in his lungs, because he's not breathing to well, so they've hooked him up to a respirator," Naruto explained. "Do you know what happened? Something that would infect his lungs?"
"Uhm, yeah. Well, as we began our voyage to find Sorano, we started to go into the hole that was made below the gape in the wall at the bath house. Apparently, we had let our guard down because, as we entered the hole, bombs blew up and Neji and I were hanging on the edge for our lives. Shikamaru landed on the safe ground so he came over to help us. I was hanging onto to Neji, so Shikamaru helped me first. Just as Shikamaru went to help Neji, he fell. There were other bombs in the pit, so, they exploded as he fell. I guess, the smoke filled his lungs," Nozomi said while tears filled her eyes. "I didn't know it would hurt him so much. Is Neji gonna die?!"
"I don't know, Nozomi. The doctors aren't telling me much at all."
Nozomi started bawling. "Well.. can.. I.. see.. him?" she asked between sobs.
"I don't know. You're gonna have to ask them if you can get into ICU. Like I said before, they won't tell me anything."
Sorano went over to Nozomi and gave her full hug. She gave Nozomi a shoulder to cry on. She wasn't sure of Nozomi's relation to this Neji person, but, from the way she was reacting, he sounded like someone close to her.
"Naruto, where's Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon?" Shikamaru asked Naruto.
"They're in the waiting room on the floor Neji's on. I was actually on my way out so I could finish up the mission, but you guys came in, so, I guess, I can stay."
"Okay. Well, Nozomi?"
Nozomi's head lifted from Sorano's shoulder. "Yes?" she sniffled.
"Come with me. I'll take you to go see Neji."
Nozomi completely pulled away from Sorano. "Okay." She wiped her remaining tears with the back of her hand.
Shikamaru and Nozomi walked to the front desk. While they went, Sorano wondered who this person, Neji, was. She knew his name sounded familiar, but she just couldn't put her finger on it.
"Naruto-kun?" Sorano questioned.
"Hai, Sorano-chan?" Naruto replied.
"Uhm, who's Neji?"
"Neji? Well, he's a ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village. And, he's Nozomi's boyfriend of three years. He's a really good guy. Very dependent. Man, if he dies, I won't ever be the same. But, I know that that risk comes with being a ninja, but, we can't lose such a great ninja like him. I don't know what Konoha would do without him. He's so smart, and that Byakugan is a power anyone would kill for. We can't lose him. He's just.. he's my friend." Naruto began to get teary-eyed.
Sorano saw the tears and said, "Naruto, why don't we sit down. He really must have been someone close to you."
"He was. I just feel so bad for Nozomi, though. Neji told me that he wanted to marry her. He saw it in his fate that he was to marry her. But, if he dies, well, that won't happen."
"Well, we need to not think negatively about this situation. It's obviously an obstacle that you're gonna have to overcome. But, you guys can't be too sad about it for very long. Neji needs all of the support he can get, and that's a dead end if it's coming from negative sources."
"That's true.."
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"I hope he's gonna be okay," Shikamaru said to Nozomi, as they walked down the hall.
There was silence except for their footsteps and the occasional sniffling of Nozomi.
Shikamaru spoke more softly, "But, are you gonna be okay, Nozomi?"
Nozomi didn't bother to look up. "I..I honestly don't know, Shikamaru. I mean, I've known Neji for, what? Five years now?"
"Mhm.."
"Yeah, so, if I end up losing him, if we end up losing him, I don't know what's gonna happen."
"Listen, Nozomi, I'm sure Neji will be alright. He's come out of things like this before, hasn't he? He'll be fine. I promise."
Nozomi wondered at what Shikamaru just promised. "How would Shikamaru be able to promise something as wavering as that? I mean, it's something entirely not up to him. It's up to fate.. Oh, God, I've been hanging around Neji way too long. N-neji... Neji!" Just then, Nozomi began crying, sobbing, bawling.
"N-nozomi? It's okay.. Neji's gonna be alright. I'm serious. You're gonna be all right." Shikamaru looked at Nozomi, who's hands were covered in tears. He felt he needed to do something, so, he went over and wrapped his comforting arms around her.
Nozomi sobbed into his shoulder for a little bit, then she pulled away and said, "Thank you, Shikamaru."
"It's fine. It was partly my fault, also."
"It wasn't your fault. It was just what happened. Everything happens for a reason, right?"
"Yeah.. let's go in and see Neji now."
"I'll be in there in a second. I have to brace myself."
"Okay." Shikamaru opened Neji's door. He looked back and said, "Nozomi?"
Nozomi's face was buried within her hands. She mumbled, "Hm?"
"He's gonna be alright."
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"I wonder what your Hokage's gonna think about Neji's injury," Sorano said to Naruto, when they sat down in the lobby.
"I wonder what Gaara's gonna say about this mission not even being close to done yet," Naruto said to Sorano.
"Oh, crap." Sorano quickly stood up. "We have to go finish that mission. And, Hokage needs to know about Neji. But, Nozomi is spending her time with Neji, but, we need all the help we can get for Suna so we can't send anyone to go tell her. Oh, no! Gaara's gonna kill me for not finishing the mission for my village! I'm gonna get fired from my job and it's gonna be so bad that everyone in Suna will hate me, and I can't even explain what's gonna happen-"
"Sorano!"
"What?!"
"It's okay." Naruto put a comforting hand on Sorano's shoulder. "I already sent a messenger bird to Granny Tsunade, so she knows about Neji and Nozomi's mission and his injury, their location, and all of that. We can go get Konohamaru, Udon, Moegi, and Shikamaru to go finish the mission. Sure, it took a lot of time, but, it's alright."
Sorano sighed. She just wasn't sure about this. "Well, I guess we'd better set off to do our mission, once again."
"Let's go get Konohamaru, Udon, Moegi, and Shikamaru."
"Okay."
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Nozomi entered the cold, dark room to see Shikamaru hunched over, looking at the bed below him. She walked to the bed and stood next to him, while staring down onto the peaceful Neji. Nozomi looked at his closed eyes. She could just imagine the almost white orbs gazing back up at her in a warm, loving way. But, all she saw was the cruelness of death's grip clutching him. His arms and legs were completely wrapped up, most likely from the burns the bombs left. His face was partially wrapped up, also. Suddenly, she could hear faint footsteps in the hall. They seemed to pick up speed and sound within seconds. There was a knock on the door. Shikamaru went over to the door and slid it open. Sorano stepped into the room.
"Shikamaru, Naruto and I were debating on whether we should go finish the mission. What do you think?" she said.
"Oh, yeah. We should go finish that. Where's everyone else?" he asked.
"Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi are in the waiting room up here and Naruto went to go get them."
"Alright." Shikamaru began to pass by her. "You coming?"
"Yeah. I'll be there in a minute."
"Okay." Shikamaru leaned over and kissed her forehead. Once he left, Sorano went and stood next Nozomi.
"Are you okay?" Sorano asked her.
There was a silence.
"So, that's Neji?" Sorano tried to make conversation, while pointing to the wrapped, unconscious body.
Nozomi nodded quietly.
"Nozomi, it's okay. He's gonna be fine."
"How do you know?" Nozomi finally spoke up. "He could never wake up. He could die tonight. He could die in a couple hours. He could die right this second. You don't know! You couldn't." Nozomi choked on her last words. The tears were filling up her large, brown eyes.
"I do know. I know that there's a will inside of Neji that will keep him here. He wouldn't leave you like this." Sorano gave Nozomi a comforting hug.
"Sorano, you should go. Shikamaru and Naruto are probably waiting for you."
Sorano let go of Nozomi. "Yeah. Well, feel better, okay? Neji's gonna be alright. See ya!"
"Thanks. Bye."
Sorano disappeared out of the door, leaving Nozomi there with Neji by herself.
Nozomi walked over to Neji's bed. She pulled up a chair and sat down, while looking at Neji. She stared at him for a few minutes, realizing that she was alone with Neji.
Nozomi reluctantly grabbed Neji's hand. It was surprisingly warm, compared to what she thought it would be like. She was expecting a cold, waxy feeling where blood had stopped flowing. She guessed, that was one thing she didn't know about coma patients. Cold had always reminded her of when her parents died, when she was thirteen years old. Her parents had been desperately fighting for their village, but in the end, they ended up dying a painful death. Nozomi could remember that dark, gloomy night, almost as if it had happened earlier that day. "Mother! Father!" she had cried from the hillside she was on. Her mother and father both fell to the ground. She ran and ran, dodging kunai and shuriken, getting a few small cuts every now and then. Once she had reached them, she fell to her knees and grabbed both of their hands. She held them tightly. They were both cold and waxy. Her father told her to go back because it was a dangerous place. She wouldn't listen to him. Her mother knew what a free, independent spirit she had. She said, with short, rasping breaths, "Live with hope, Nozomi. Live for your name."
For years, Nozomi tried to find out what her mother meant. She couldn't figure it out. She couldn't find the meaning of her name, either. She had pondered for the longest time. But, somehow-
Nozomi's thoughts were interrupted by a long beep, flooding her ears. She looked at Neji's heart monitor and noticed the green line wasn't moving up and down like it was supposed to. It was moving in a solid line, indicating he was dead.
"Nurse! Nurse!" Nozomi ran towards the sliding door, opened it, and stepped into the secluded hall. "Nurse!" But, then something hit her. No one was there.
Well, that was the end of chapter thirteen.
I hope you enjoyed it.
Sorry for the wonderful cliff hanger.
You know, I love those.
Review, please and thanks!
Until next time.