I am Strong (Sasuke x OC) ✔️ UchiHo Series (Book 1)

Chapter 20

When my eyes fluttered open, pain shot through my neck. I grunted, squeezed my eyes shut, and grabbed my neck.

"Hotaru, you're finally awake," a familiar voice greeted. My eyes opened again.

"Tomoe?" I asked and the person chuckled.

"Yeah. I'm right in front of you, can't you see me?" he asked. To be completely honest, everything was a blurry mess. I could see colors and outlines of shapes, but everything was distorted and just a blob. I blinked a few times.

"Well...not really..." I whispered. I got no response to that, I just felt droplets go into my eyes after a few seconds. I winced and blinked a few times.

"Better?" Tomoe asked. I shook my head.

"No, not really," I mumbled. "What was that anyway?"

"Eye droplets. You know, they're Jing's since he wears glasses," Tomoe said matter-of-factly.

"Right. Well, do you have any bandages I can use?" I asked.

"Yeah, I do. Why do you need them?" he asked.

"To wrap them around my eyes. That way I won't use them and I'll be able to heal quickly. Thankfully, I can use medical ninjutsu to heal them quicker, meaning that I'll be like this for another two days instead of two weeks," I explained.

"Alright, but do you know why you're like this?"

"Overuse of my Hoshigan, but I'll heal. It'll be alright," I reassured. I felt Tomoe put his hand over mine. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Bandages. Do you want me to wrap them around your head?" he clarified and asked. I nodded. He gently wrapped the bandages around my head and tied them in the back.

"Thanks. I think we're going to stay here for a while. Is that alright with you and Jing?" I asked.

"Yeah, your safety is more important than anything. Plus, it's in the five day time limit we have, so we should be fine. But would you rather go to the tower and rest up there?" he said.

"Hm...you have a point. We can leave tomorrow if you two are willing to guide me. Also, where is Jing?"

"He went out fishing by the river. He left shortly before you woke up."

"Oh." We sat in silence for a while until my head started throbbing and my neck felt like it was burning. I held my head with one hand and my neck with the other.

"Hotaru, what's wrong? Are you okay?" he asked and I winced in pain.

"My head...and neck..." I grunted and he put his hand on my forehead.

"You're burning up. Lay down and wait for me. I'm going to go get water for your forehead. I'll tell Jing to bring extra water when he's done fishing. I'll be right back," he informed and I nodded. He helped me lay on the little bed he made out of grass and left.

I started using medical ninjutsu for my neck, but nothing happened. Instead, I bolted up and started throwing up. After I finished purging, I wiped my mouth with my sleeve. I then tried healing my eyes instead. Although it hurt a bit, it was working and I was definitely getting better. I kept this up until Tomoe returned.

"Hotaru, I'm back! How are you-" he began, but stopped mid sentence. I tilted my head in confusion since I couldn't see what was going on.

"What? What's wrong?" I asked and he sighed.

"Did you vomit?" he asked and I nodded slowly.