Show me the way

XXXVIII: A Sore Throat

The three women had made him lie down and with a very worried expression, Tsunade informed him that fixing old injuries was a lot harder than healing fresh wounds and that there would be no such thing as sedation to avoid risking complications. She was going to attempt to fix some of the underlying damages, but she'd need to pull some tricks in order to do that. Mainly, reopen wounds and agitating scar tissue to get a healing reaction going. It did not sound pleasant at all. Apparently, there was damage running much deeper than Shizuka had thought, and some of it was even getting close to life-threatening with the way it had healed and the scars that had formed. That did explain his random pains and fatigue when he thought he should have been fine, but it didn't make the prospect on what they would have to do any easier.

"I'll also attempt to repair your voice, but for that, we'll basically need to reconstruct the entire organ. That's not going to be easy, but it isn't impossible. Do you agree to everything I just explained?" She asked.

It was strange to think that he hadn't healed properly; he still healed faster like he always had with Kurama, but maybe his own body wasn't up to the task without Kurama. There was, of course, also no way to be sure that the time travel hadn't done any lasting damage. Now that he had part of Kurama back and Tsunade was working to fix the damages that were there, he felt confident he would start to physically feel better after all this. Not to mention a chance to get his voice back? That option hadn't even crossed his mind until Tsunade said it. He suppressed a smile thinking that Kakashi had gone to great lengths just to arrange this for him. He nodded to Tsunade and prepared himself as much he could.

It wasn't as bad as he thought it would be at firsr. Getting kicked in the stomach hurt more than what they were doing. But it was when they started working on his upper chest and his throat that he really started to feel the discomfort and the straight-up pain Tsunade had predicted. Though the prodding in his abdomen hadn't been any kind of pleasant, Shizuka was able to handle that pain easily. But feeling like someone was cutting into such a sensitive area as your throat and cutting off your ability to breath at the same time was enough to settle slight panic into Shizuka. Shizune was hovering behind him, leaning slightly over him so they had eye contact. "You'll be okay. We're working as fast as we can. I know you feel like you can't breathe, but you can. Just slow, deep breaths." She kept calmly talking to him like that while Tsunade inched ever closer to the top of his throat. He gripped the bed, but other than that he tried to move as little as possible.

Now and then Tsunade looked up and requested something from the nurse. In those short moments, the green light died down a little and Shizuka felt like it was a little easier to breathe and he gladly took advantage of them.

"Alright. Everything is prepared. Now comes the toughest part. Shizuka, I need you to brace yourself. This'll hurt." Had his throat not been constricted, Shizuka would have gulped at the serious warning. He shifted so he felt like he could more easily brace himself and gave a small nod. "Okay, tilt your head back as far as you can..." Shizuka did as he was told, closing his eyes and taking a last deep breath before he felt a pair of hands supporting his neck and keep him in position, and another pair of hands close around his throat. The familiar warmth of healing Chakra filled his throat.

At first, it felt odd and uncomfortable, but as time went by, the warmth grew to almost unbearably hot and the pressure inside his throat cut off all possibility to breathe. The pressure seemed too big to fit, pressing against his throat so much it felt like the tissue was ripping and tearing. It almost reminded him of the feeling the seal had given him, like he was being ripped apart, but kept in place at the same time. Now it was just concentrated in his throat only.

The taste of blood filled his mouth, but he didn't have the ability to swallow it away. It took a lot to remain still and he was screaming in his mind for this to be over. The lack of air was burning his lungs and he focussed on the grip he had on the bed in an attempt to distract himself from it all.

After a moment, Tsunade switched position and gritted her teeth and proceeded to double her efforts. Shizuka's eyes flew open at the increase of pain and pressure and he arched his back in pain. He felt the nurse and Shizune grab onto him more tightly to keep him in place as Tsunade worked as fast as she could. It was enough to make the world blurry and made him feel like he was drowning in the cruel sensation of pain and suffocation.

Shizuka had no idea how long it had taken, but he was more than relieved it was over. His body slumped and he was vaguely aware that they were putting him through some form of aftercare, but he was just revelling in the fact the pressure had subsidised and air was flowing easily to his lungs. The soothing warmth that was now spreading through him was almost enough to lull him to sleep.

A soft tap on his cheek pulled his attention back to what was going on around him. "Just a little longer, okay? We're almost done." He nodded at Shizune but it was hard to stay awake. He felt drained of all his energy, but that wasn't unexpected.

After making him drink some water to make sure everything was as it should be, he was finally allowed to sleep.

When he woke again, he felt like he had been sleeping for hours. Maybe he had. He was enjoying the sluggishness from waking up along with the blissful unawareness of time. He kept his eyes shut in order to contain that feeling, but as always when waking up, the feeling slipped away without any way to keep hold of it. Opening his eyes, he found himself in a recovery bed. Tsunade was sitting in a chair next to him, but there was no one else in the room. She was reading something but put it down as soon as she noticed him move.

"I've never seen someone heal quite like you. The seal on your stomach is an interesting one too. Would you tell me who you are once you've recovered?" Tsunade asked. Her voice held a kind familiarity. Shizuka swallowed at the dry feeling in his throat at an attempt to speak and was met by a coarse pain that elicitated a cough from him. "You shouldn't talk yet. Normally I'd tell you not to talk for a week, but you should be fine by the end of the day." Tsunade explained. "Once you feel up to it, you can go home. I'm sure there's someone waiting for you there... I kicked him out of the hospital myself. He looked exhausted but was being stubborn about staying." She gave him a smile and left the room.

He sat up and stayed like that for a while. His gut felt like it shifted as he moved and even though it didn't hurt, his body was sending strong signals he shouldn't move too fast. Thinking back on everything they did, he wouldn't be surprised is his gut did actually need to settle back into shape.

Once he found his bearings and was dressed, he walked out of the hospital on his own strength. Somehow that felt as an accomplishment, and he almost smirked because of it.

Looking down both sides of the road, he wondered if Kakashi had gone home, or that Kakashi went to his apartment. Picking a direction, he made his way through the village slowly, looking around like a lost tourist and still finding it amazing he actually made it back, and was making the progress that he had.

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