The Book of Nariko Hayashi | Naruto OC

The End Of The War

I decided to visit my friends in the hospital.

...

Oh, right.

Context? Okay. Well, I found out that it was Naruto and Sasuke who released the Infinite Tsuyukomi and freed everyone from it. Not only that, but they had this final battle that resulted into them losing an arm.

.. Now that you have context, I can continue. Can I continue? Yes? Good. Wasn't taking No for an answer anyway.

Anyway.. I was making my way down the hall to Naruto and Sasuke's room, as the receptionist at the front told me that they were sharing a room.

As I walked down the hall, I noticed Team 8 standing outside of the room.. Well- just Shino and Hinata. I didn't know where Kiba was. Probably with Akamaru somewhere.

"Uhh.. hey." I greeted.

The insect user noticed me and waved. "Hey, Nariko. We were just going to leave here.. isn't that right, Hinata?" He looked over at the Hyūga girl, who was obviously disappointed and didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay with Naruto and know that he was going to be okay.

The ravenette noticed that the mysterious male was talking to him, so she nodded quickly. "Uh, yes! Yes, we were l-leaving right now." And with that, she rushed down the hallway, even bumping into a doctor along the way.

Shino shook his head and sighed. "She's sad. The reason is because of Naruto's arm being-"

"I know."

"Oh."

He was silent then as expected. Did he really think he was going to inform me about every detail? I think not.

I went to the door, noticing that it was half open, so I peeked in and saw Sasuke and Naruto in their beds. The Uchiha was sleeping... or at least trying to, as he was moving around. Uzumaki on the other hand.. he was looking out the window near him, probably thinking about how good of a hero he was.

"I think I'm going to see them now." I told the insect user with a straight face.

"I see.. well go on." He nodded and walked off.

I walked inside, shutting the door halfway behind me, then approached Sasuke's bed, giving me the opportunity to see him more clearly. Sasuke's head was bandaged and several wounds on his body had been stitched together and covered with large, white bandages. What was left on his arm was wrapped up tightly in linen bandages and his file indicated that the nurses on a shift had taken care to examine the stump carefully to avoid infection from setting in. He had been given blood as well to counter the severe blood loss resulting from losing his arm. To me, the missing arm was like a piece of a puzzle that was hard to add to the mix.

His eyes opened when he heard familiar footsteps.

"N.. Nariko?"

"Yeah?" I sat at the foot of the bed, turning to him and meeting his onyx eyes.

He stared at me for a moment before turning away to face the wall. "I didn't think you'd show up to see me."

"Well Sasuke", I started. "If you're really my friend, then you'd know that I'm a pretty understanding person. Remember? I understand where you're coming from, and I think I was one of the first to get it." I began to remember how the members of the Konoha 11 and my own teammates told me how bad of a guy he was, and I yet wouldn't stop believing he was my friend. "Everyone was telling me to not trust you, telling me to not acknowledge you or even think about you, but they didn't tell me to stop having faith in you. You're my friend. I know it's crazy how I still consider you a friend after all you've done, but you know."