The Frailty of Genius (A Naruto Fan Fiction)

Chapter Ten ~ A Debt Repaid

For the past hour I'd been completely silent, lying on my back in a cold sweat. Kakashi hadn't reacted to the silence as of yet, but I knew it was only a matter of time. And when he opened the door to investigate, he'd be horrified by what he saw.

My dead body.

Well, he'd think I'm dead. After all, I would be deathly cold, completely limp and unresponsive, and would have no heartbeat.

That was the clincher.

No heartbeat.

I took a measured breath in, chest barely moving as the air gradually enters my lungs. In........and out..... My breathing slowed dramatically, to the point where I was barely even taking a breath every minute.

Baboom. Baboom. Baboom.

I listened to my heart beat, listened as it slowed, listened as I slowed it to the point where it was nearly nonexistent.

Baboom....... Ba....... boom......... ba.... boom..... It was barely a flutter, as slight and slow as possible.

"Cashile, the silent treatment isn't going to work on me," I heard Kakashi's clone call out. I didn't respond, simply lying on the floor in my self induced stupor. "Cashile?"

I sensed the spike in chakra as he activated his sharingan in order to look inside without opening the door. "Dammit," he gasped, immediately thrusting the door open. He fell to his knees next to me, putting a hand on my head. "Oh God," he muttered as he felt my cold forehead. He placed two fingers on my neck, searching for a pulse. "Shit!"

I heard the clone disappear, which would relay the information to Kakashi, and allowed a trickle of air to enter my lungs, not moving from my position. Kakashi would be here far too quickly for me to move and make my escape.

I heard Kakashi's footsteps before his shadow fell over my body. "Fuck," he breathed, before running into the room. He gathered me up in his arms and sprinted out of the cellar

"Sasuke, take her. We need to find the nearest hospital, now," Kakashi ordered, panicked.

I felt a shift in weight underneath me and for a moment I'm tempted to blow my act to avoid being held by the Uchiha. My reconsideration is only a moment before I decide otherwise. Getting my hands on more Zetaphorin was worth it. I needed to feel the effects of the drug just once more.

Curiosity burned through my mind as I remembered the dizziness, the nausea and sensitivity to light. How was it so that these 'drugs' cause such bodily effects ? Some chemical imbalance, perhaps? Because that's all emotions are, in the end: chemicals. Perhaps these chemicals somehow translated into more physical symptoms...?

"Dammit," I heard Kakashi mutter.

"I'm so sorry, the best we can do is make a house call. The land of waves doesn't have enough money to support a hospital. Not one within easy travelling distance, at least," Tazuna's daughter said.

"No, no. We need to get Cashile back to Konoha, then. Medical ninja's can heal her," Kakashi decided.

No hospital? Then I couldn't get Zetaphorin here. It was no use. Unless, there was one person...

I stiffened my body and coughed, drawing attention back to me. I took very subtle deep breaths, and allowed my heart rate to pick up, slowly opening my eyes for the world to see.

I had to make this quick, while I was still in the Uchiha's arms.

Time: 3:02 pm

Location: A few steps right of the door.