A/N:

Sorry for such a late update, I've been busy with exams. Anyway, I'll be updating regularly again.

Chapter 16:

Awakened

I felt the nurse's cold hand touch my arm with care, as if avoiding certain areas where I must have been bruised. Still unable to open my eyes, I guessed every little thing that happened around me with curiosity.

The hardest moment so far since I've been stuck in this hospital is hearing my father cry, hunching over my bedside like a child. It was my first time hearing him sob, or shed any tears for that matter. I had the immediate urge to hold his hand and tell him I was okay, and that none of this was his fault. There was nothing we could've done. I was thankful my mother gave me the strength I needed to focus on life and hopefully see her looking back at me with her bright smile and loud laughter that would echo throughout our home.

There came a time when I was starting to grow more tired than expected from sleeping, ironically. I felt a soft breeze come from my window, but it was a warm one. It was a rare feeling, but it cradled me in my bed and I tried breath it in deeply, but the sharp jab in my lungs would not let me. I could sense the nurse leave my room after washing me up with lukewarm wet towels, leaving the door open so that I could hear the commotion from the hall.

I could hear several child patients playing, a old woman asking for lunch, and a nurse speaking quietly about whatever duties she had. It was a regular day in here, I was used to hearing the voices, the faint steps, and the rustling trees from outside my window.

Then, like a whirlwind, forcing its way into my ears and breaking all normality from my day, I heard his voice. I denied myself, thought it was my imagination after being stuck in a hospital bed for days, but it was him, it was Naruto. He sounded the same as he always did, his gruff voice, deep breaths, almost high pitched but still masculine and boyish. It was him! I rejoiced in my head, feeling a strong high, a flutter in my stomach that almost ached; however, my sadness was there, and the idea that I would not be able to tell him I'll be okay or be able to squeeze his hand was torturing me.

I felt him enter my room, slowly, sitting next to me, leaning with his elbows down on the bed, making me tilt to the side a bit. I could feel his breath blow past my cheeks, and I realized how it turned more jagged as he leaned even closer. A loud sniff escaped him, he quietly weeped, and his tears poured on to my cheeks, almost burning right through me with all the pain and guilt. I wanted to squirm awake, I wanted to open my eyes in that instant and hold his cheeks, and dry his tears. But I felt powerless…

"Hinata…" He whispered, almost stuttered, and sniffed once more, "Please...open your eyes...wake up, please…" He pleaded.

Those words were enough to drive me over the brink, and I felt every inch of my body ache in the worst imaginable pain. My eyes were stinging, even as they were closed, I couldn't contain the tears that slid out and down my cheeks with the burning pain and despair of not being able to touch him, look at him, or say anything to him.

"H-Hinata?...You can hear me, right?" He whispered, still shaky and with a broken voice.

Yes, I can hear you, Naruto! I wanted to say open my mouth, open my eyes, but it was physically hurting me to try. My helplessness was so strong, I was so miserable, pathetic, and weak, trying so hard but unable to even tell him I love him and that I was okay.

I let myself go, as if dropping a heavy load from my back, I was giving up. It became clear that there was no way I could stay, even if I wanted to. There was a loud beeping noise from the other side of my bed, almost alarming, and suddenly Naruto's hands were on me, trying to shake me back to life.

"Hinata! I know you can hear me! Wake up, dammit! You can't give up, Hinata! Wake up!"

"I'm gonna have to ask you to leave! Doctor?!" The nurse screamed, rushing over to me and pushing Naruto away.

"She can hear me, nurse! You have to save her! She's alive!" He screamed, and promptly the room felt full. I could hear shuffling and as if Naruto was struggling against someone.

"Let me go! Hinata, wake up! I love you, Hinata!" He screamed one last time before he was gone.

I'm sorry, Naruto. I love you, too.

"Let's begin defibrillation now!"

"One, two, three, back!"

"One more time, she's not stable yet."

"One, two, three, back!"

"We have to keep going, she's coming back!"

I could hear the doctors and nurses yelling in unison over my lifeless body. The shocks rippled through my muscles like a bad cramp, and everything seemed to fade in and out. I was ready to die.

"I love you, Hinata!"

I could hear his voice ringing through my head. I could feel a nurse brushing my hair back delicately with her cold fingers, and I realized I must've been sweating from the shocks because my bangs were sticking to my forehead and temples. She kneeled down and came close to my ear and whispered,

"We can't do this alone, honey. You have to fight for your life. Wake up, you can do this."

I felt her hand still on my head, holding my hand as the doctors figured out a way to save me.

I can do this. I can do this. I can do this.

I couldn't remember anything, but I knew that I was still in the same hospital bed. Somehow, I felt heavier, like gravity was pulling me down more than it should. Something was different, I knew, and just to see if my nightmare was over, I tried to open my eyes.

Very slowly, I felt my dried, heavy eyelids flutter. I immediately felt my body jerk at the surprise, and continued on as if my chance would slip away at any second. My eyes were blinded by the sunlight that seeped through the windows with great shine. I tried looking around, but everything remained blurry. Then I moved on to my toes and fingers, and before I knew it, I was wiggling them without a problem. The tears that escaped my eyes this time were of pure joy and relief that I had hope and that my life was worth something. I could've sworn I was dead, but just being able to shift around and look outside my window was beautiful. My lungs were still in pain, so I couldn't sit up or twist my body at all, but I was content.

Looking up at the ceiling, I thought how fortunate I was. I don't know if I was really strong enough or if I was lucky, but at least I feel like there is a purpose for me on this Earth.

"Oh! You're awake!" The nurse stood at my doorway and smiled at me as she rushed to my bedside. "You gave us a huge scare yesterday! But it is incredible that you pulled through." She started to take my vital signs, putting pressure on my extremities to check how they well my nerves and muscles responded after being bedridden for so long. I tried looking at her and study her features carefully, but my vision was still just as blurry as when I opened my eyes.

My throat still felt to dry and in pain for me to say anything, so I stuck my hands out to try and touch her, but I seemed to miss her.

"Hm?" She sounded confused and curious, then took what seemed like a small flashlight from her pocket and flashed the light in my eyes. "Well this is weird...I'll be right back with the doctor. Please stay still and ring if you need anything." She put a small object in my hand which I couldn't make out, but it had a red button which I assumed was the button to ask for a nurse.

I assumed a good twenty minutes went by before the doctor and the nurse came back into my room. They both were whispering something, and it seemed serious since the nurse ran out of my room with urge.

"Hello, Hinata. I hear you finally opened your eyes this morning." He smiled and started checking my breathing with his stethoscope, touching around to feel the areas of my chest still affected by my broken ribs. He was very gentle, although everyone in this hospital had cold hands which only made the pain worse in certain places. "I also hear you can't see, is that correct?"

I nodded, swallowing to try and form a sentence or even a word.

"Bl-Blurry." I whispered, my voice cracking and sounding dryer than the Sahara.

"I see…" He did the same thing the nurse did with a flashlight, but I was still confused, was this something bad?

The doctor cleared his throat and put away the flashlight, "We can't say if your eyes are permanently damaged, it's normal to have blurry vision after a couple of minutes of waking up from a coma like you did, but we'll run some tests to make sure."

"F-Family?" I tried asking to know if my parents knew that I was awake, if they were on their way to see me.

"We called them just a few minutes ago, they'll be here soon. Don't worry." He smiled again and left the room, just like that.

I knew they were going to start taking tests and making me go through X-Rays, but all of the worries disappeared once I heard my parents were on their way. I needed to hug my father and see my mother's smile again. It wasn't good news that my vision might be in jeopardy, but I also knew that it was far better than being dead.