Chapter 29
Naruto
Nothing hurt more compared to how I was laying down on my back. I wanted to roll over, to do something to get into a more comfortable position because this was bullshit and it was keeping me awake. And I was blaming Tsunade for putting me on my back.
But no matter what I did, I couldn't get myself to wake up more, to move and get someone's attention to help me. All I could do was lay there and hope that whatever sedative they used on me would finally ware off, and a few minutes later, I was finally able to get myself to groan loudly and lift my arm just a little bit. But I was able to get someone's attention, and I recognized the voice as someone I had been dying to hear from.
"Hey, Naruto." Gaara's voice said as I slowly forced my eyes open to see if it really was him in case my mind was playing tricks on me. But I smiled wide when I saw it really was him.
"Gaara." I said hoarsely.
"Water?" He asked, and I nodded slowly, the move sending a rush of pain through my whole entire body, save for the middle of my back and lower, I still couldn't feel anything down there and I wanted to cry. Because that meant the surgery wasn't successful.
"What's wrong Naruto?" Gaara asked when he came back, and I must have been crying and I didn't know it.
"Did the surgery even work?" I asked.
"Tsunade said it'd be a few days or more before complete feeling came back, but it was a success, she said." Gaara answered.
"Then pinch my leg as hard as you can." I said, and he looked at me like I was nuts, but he did it anyway and slid his hand under the blanket and pinched at my shin as hard as he could. It took a moment, but I could feel the pain and winced, I guess he was right.
"How long have I been out?" I asked, reaching up to rub at my eyes to get the sleep out of them.
"You were out for two days, it's Saturday morning." Gaara told me, and I glared at him.
"Did you stay here the entire time Gaara?" I asked.
"I had to, my fever didn't go away until last night." He told me, and then I remembered he had to be here. Fuck, now I feel inconsiderate of him.
"Well, that's what Matatabi told me, I woke up half an hour ago. I told them to make me sleep for a couple days and they did." Gaara shrugged, and I huffed.
"At least you're better and you got some sleep." I smiled, and he leaned in and kissed my lips softly. I could feel myself melt when our lips touched, and I missed that feeling a lot. Then my eyes snapped open and I started lightly hyperventilating. "Where are my stuff!?"
"Oh, Sasuke took them home last night after he visited for a little bit. Matatabi told me." He said, and I nodded. I could trust Sasuke with my stuff.
"I only asked because the necklace you gave me is with my stuff." I sighed heavily.
"Sasuke told me before I went to sleep two days ago that your house was broken into … I'm glad they didn't find it, because I'd go insane if they did."
"I would have too. But the thing is, I was already mentally snapping, which is why I went off on your Dad in the first place." I told him, now avoiding all eye contact with him as I looked up at the ceiling and counted the cracks.
"I know." Gaara sighed, but he didn't seem upset or anything.
"I'm sorry Gaara …" I sighed, and could feel the tears falling once again.
"Don't, please Naruto."
"It's my fault anyway. I should have just listened to your father. I knew what he would do and I knew he would do it anyway. If I had just listened, I wouldn't be in this bed right now and be getting ready for the surgery right now."
"Naruto, stop, it's not your fault." Gaara snapped, and I could tell I was getting on his nerves. But no matter what he said, I still felt guilty for all this.
"So, you're finally awake Naruto." Kurama's voice echoed into the room and I visibly tensed even though it hurt like hell. Why was he coming in here alone? Now I was starting to get pissed off.
"Tsunade's on her way up, she wanted to check up on you before she went home to get some sleep. And you're up as well Gaara." Kurama said as I watched him lean against the doorway with his arms crossed. At least he wasn't walking right into the room, looks like he remembered out last conversation. Good.
"I woke up half an hour ago." Gaara told him, grabbing my hand and giving it a soft squeeze. I guess he saw me tense up and was trying to help me relax, even a little bit.
"Tsunade's going to wish you slept a little bit longer." Kurama said, and I know he was right, because as soon as Tsunade walked in, she glared at Gaara before she walked over to the side of my bed and crossed her arms.
"You're supposed to be in bed Gaara." She said, and I watched Gaara sink in his chair. Gaara might know how to be scary when he needs to be, but Tsunade scared the shit out of him and I couldn't help but giggle at the look on his face.
"Well, when I woke up and saw Naruto in the bed next to me, I couldn't go back to sleep." Gaara said, defending himself as he tightened his grip on my hand. It didn't hurt, and I liked it when he held my hand.
"I need to see if you still have a slight fever …" Tsunade sighed heavily. "Now go lay down while I check over Naruto."
Gaara sighed as he got up and went around the foot of my bed and laid down in the bed next to mine. I could tell he was depressed about leaving my side, and he hated the fact that he let himself get sick in the first place … which is my fault also.
"Now, Naruto, how are you feeling this morning?" Tsunade asked as she checked my vitals.
"I want to move off of my back." I said, shifting slightly under the cold stethoscope.
"Stop moving you gaki." Tsunade hissed and smacked the top of my head, earning a hiss of pain from me as she now started taking my blood pressure.
"Why do you have to be so mean baa-chan?" I whined, trying my best to keep my arm still while my free arm twitched slightly.
"I said stop moving or I'm taking your vitals all over again." Tsunade snapped and I made my body rigid, but not stiff at the same time. Hell, I couldn't help it and she knew it!
"Okay, your vitals are normal, and you can put your head up just enough to drink and eat, though you're going on a liquid diet until you can sit up completely and eat. I'll keep you in here one more night before I'll send you home with Sasuke and Itachi." Tsunade told me a few moments of silence later and I smiled in the beginning, but frowned from the moment she said 'liquid diet' and scoffed.
"That's so un fair!"
"You'll be back eating full out ramen before you know it Naruto, now just do what I say so you won't end up back in the hospital!" Tsunade said, but ended up screaming by the end of what she was saying and I brought the blanket up over half of my face in attempt to hide from her and nodded quickly even though it hurt a little bit.
"Good boy." She smiled and patted my hair before going over to Gaara's bed, where Gaara was sniggering quietly over my demise and I turned my head over in his direction and glared.
"Don't think you're out of the woods either Gaara." Tsunade smirked when she got over to Gaara's side and his sniggering suddenly stopped, now it was my turn to chuckle at him.
"Well, your fever is most definitely gone, but I'd stay in bed for another day. I'll keep you here one more night too, just to be on the safe side. Okay?" Tsunade said after a few minutes and sat in the chair between our two beds.
"Alright." Gaara nodded, and he looked over to me with a slight glare for laughing at him, but I only smiled and he smiled back, which made me happier.
"So, Tsunade, has my father been in since then?" Gaara asked a few quiet moments later, and I was shocked that he even asked.
"Every day, and Naruto, you have something to tell Gaara before you forget about it." Tsunade said, now looking at me and I looked at her like she was some crazy person because I had no idea what she was talking about, until it hit me in the face and I shot my gaze over to Gaara and bit my bottom lip hard.
"Tell me what?" Gaara asked, now looking at me with a look that said 'if you don't tell me I'll drag it out of you' kind of look and I gulped loudly.
"He apologized before I went down to my surgery …" Was all I said, because I honestly don't remember much of what he said other than that.
"He … did what?" Gaara asked, his eyes wide and I know how he feels. Gaara's father never apologized for anything he did, no matter how much it hurt someone else's feelings.
"I did the same thing, though I kept those thoughts to myself … he actually apologized to me!" I said, my voice raising on accident as I tried to sit up, completely forgetting why I was in a hospital bed to begin with and was painfully reminded why when I felt a sharp pain in my back.
"Move again and I'll have you strapped down so you can't." Tsunade threatened, and I nodded quickly.
"Well you're a crazy old bat that just loves making me lay on my sore ass back when I would gladly love to move at least a little bit to find a comfortable spot that wouldn't hurt so much!" I yelled, and wishing I hadn't used the words 'crazy old bat' … because she's now glaring daggers at me that feel like they're piercing right through my heart and I felt my stomach sink lower than it usually does when she got up to her feet and stormed towards me.
"Old … bat?" She asked, repeating the very words I had dreaded since the moment they left my mouth and I felt that these were my last moments alive when she grabbed a pillow and started hitting me in the head with it as hard as she possibly could. "You dare call me old?" She yelled again, completely ignoring my cries of pain.
Tsunade was being irrational keeping me here in the hospital bed … well, strapped to it like I'm planning on leaving when she knows I can't! It's frustrating listening to the old bat when she's hysterical and I honestly wished I hadn't said that out loud earlier before she buried my face into a pillow for a few seconds before yelling for Matatabi to strap me down to the bed because I had moved to get the pillow off of my face so I could breathe and she stomped out of the room just when Matatabi walked in looking just as flustered as Tsunade was.
"Naruto, would you like any pain medication? Your back I probably hurting right now." She asks when she's done strapping me to the bed and I glared at her for a few seconds before sighing heavily.
"Please?" I answered, trying not to sound like I was desperate, because I was and I hated sounding like that. Matatabi, who has been my nurse every time I come in here, knows me well enough that I hate sounding like that.
"Okay." She smiled. "I'll be right back." And she left me in the room to finally be alone with Gaara, while he's awake.
"So, Naruto, you really like getting on her nerves don't you?" Gaara asked, and I knew who he was talking about.
"Tsunade-baa-chan takes everything I say too seriously when it comes to her age and shit." I smirked as he got up and sat in the chair between our beds and held my hand as I turned my head to look at him.
"You need to stop provoking her, she might make sure you don't leave the hospital until your dying day." Gaara said, but with a smile to let me know he was joking with me.
"She can't keep me here." I smirked. "Because I know full well that I'll annoy her so much she'll be begging to get me out of her hair."
"You've only been awake for half an hour and you already pissed Tsunade off? Damn, Naruto, you broke the record." A familiar voice said from the door way and I beamed daggers at the owner of the voice …
"Hey, Sasuke-teme, took you long enough to get here." I smirked.
"Well, I can tell you're going to be bouncing off the walls within a month … So how're you feeling Gaara?" Sasuke said, completely ignoring what I said as he sat down in the other chair, all of his attention now fixed on Gaara and I pouted visibly.
"Fever is gone, but she wants me to stay one more night to make sure it is." Gaara told him, and I felt more invisible the longer they talked. Apparently Sasuke had made up his mind when he woke up to piss me off as much as possible today if I was awake. And it was working perfectly … That's when I realized that he didn't have his one hundred percent Sasuke Uchiha coolness, and he looked like shit none the less.