Teach me to love ~Naruto~: Chapter 1

Chapter 43: Surprise

I laughed as Charlie finished her joke, with the dirtiest punch line I have ever heard in my life! "So the doctor says 'Change in plans, we have to drown the bastard!" Oh my sides! And we aren't even to Konoha yet! But the gates came into veiw the minute my laughter began to die down.

"Is that you Naruto?!" One of the gate keepers yelled.

"Oh course it's him you idiot! Who else would walk down the tree line laughing like a mad man?!" The other one yelled.

"Hey guys!" I waved and they let us right through. Charlie went on to tell me another joke, one that she promised would make me hurt horribly. As we walked through town I tried so hard to hold back my laughter, but failed pretty much the entire time. 

"Incorrect, the one with the wedding ring. But I like the way you're thinking." Oh! Ow! Okay, that one was really bad, but really funny. I put the key in the door and let Charlie in ahead of me. "Oh, it feels so good to be home!" She sighed, spralling across the bed.

The window was still open from last time we were home, and the light breeze blew the curtains back. It's still so warm out... But come to think of it, it never exactly gets cold and stays cold here. Yeah sure we get a good snow every once in awhile. But it's still a little warm out. Hinata has everything getting ready, and she said she would call me when it was ready to go, but there was a lot of paper work to do. Gotta love hospitals.

For a full hour Charlie and I sat on the bed in a warm embrace. She had her head rested on my chest and weaved her fingers with mine as I played with her hair and kissed her forehead. After a while though, I could feel that Charlie had fallen asleep. She breathed in and out slowly, her face a perfect picture of peace. My hand flipped a piece of her hair over and over. It's soft and she's grown it out. I remember the first time I met her, how her hair was cropped and hung in her eyes, like a total guy. She was beautiful to me back then too. Even if I did think she was a boy.

Charlie groaned in her sleep and snuggled closer to me. But something didn't feel right. My hand pressed to her face, feeling her warm and slightly damp skin. She's sweating in her sleep! And why is her forehead so warm?! My phone rang on the nightstand, Hinata telling me she was ready and heading over.

"Hinata, I need you to get here fast! Something's wrong with Charlie!" She understood and hung up. I gently moved her head from my shoulder and ran into the kitchen to get a cold wet rag. But the rag got hot so fast... I had to ring it out and wet three times before Hinata finally walked through the door. Yumi was right behind her, looking worried.

That was going to be our surprise for Charlie. The doctors are letting Yumi out just for today to see how she acts. But now Charlie's sick... Hinata ran over and took the rag from me, feeling her forehead.

"She has a high fever. Get some ice." She said. I nodded and ran to get a towle full, and while I was at it, some tylonal. Maybe it would reduce her fever, if only a little.

Charlie was moaning and screaming by the time I went back into the room. Her eyes were open but barly. And she must have caught sight of me because she called out to me in pain. But she turned her head away and cried out when I sat the ice on her head. She needs medicine.

I poped the pill on my mouth and leaned down, pressing my lips to hers and letting it fall down her throat. It took a few minutes before she calmed down and seemed to be doing better. Everyone took a long sigh of reliefe when the screaming quieted down. But it didn't mean she was safe yet. The only person who could help in this situation was Sakura. With the phone in my hand I dialed her number and waited. But it was Sai who answered.

"Hello?" He said.

"Sai? What the hell are you doing with Sakura's phone?"

"We're training and she's figuring out the living painting jutsu. Is something wrong?"

"I need Sakura over at my place as fast as she can get here. Charlie has a very high fever."

"Okay, I'll tell her. We'll be there soon." After we hung up I kneeled down next to Yumi who was looking worriedly at her friend. She held her hand and hummed something I didn't recognize, but all the same liked. It was slow at some points and then transitioned into a patter song. Charlie looked up at the ceiling and listened to the song happily.

After awhile she turned her head and looked straight at her friend, almost as if she had just noticed who it was that held her hand and sang to her. "Yumi."

"Hi Charlie... Happy Birthday."

Charlie looked over at Hinata and I with small tears in her eye. "Thank you." There was a knock at the door and I stood to answer it, thinking it must be Sakura and Sai. But when I answered, it was a tall ninja who stood at my door with a discusted face. He didn't say anything to me, just forced a letter into my hand and left. I opened the letter and read, feeling happiness bubble inside me at what I saw on the plain paper, but also feeling... fear... Because on the paper... was the information for the test to become Hokage... that starts tomorrow.