Escape [Sasuke Uchiha]

Chapter 48: The Change

Kazuki chuckled, "Go."

I became a stuttering mess in front of him as I struggled to speak, "O-o-okay then, I-I... tha-thank you, Kazuki!"

I wasted no time to jump from roof to roof, going in the direction of the huge medical center. I could see from afar that the window to Sasuke's room was left open. Instead of entering the building through the main door, I sprang onto the windowsill, trying hard to keep myself stealthy. I crouched down on the spot so all of my body could fit in the window. I scoured the entire room for a certain onyx-eyed boy.

His dark hair stood out the most in my vision, having the darkest color in the room that was mainly decorated in bright colors. The second and third conspicuous things in my eyesight were a bright, pink blob, and a brown ball located next to the ravenette. I blinked my eyes a few times at the sight before me.

Sasuke Uchiha, now awoken from his long slumber, was sitting upright on his bed with his stony eyes looking downward at the pure white blanket that partially enveloped his body, staring into space as though he was in a brown study. Sakura, the pink blob, sat down on a chair beside the bed and babbled about Naruto, and Tsunade who was confirmed to be the next Hokage. It appeared that she was talking to the Uchiha but... doesn't she realize that he turns a blind eye to her...? And my teammate Kaito, the brown ball, was standing next to Sakura, apparently contemplating the situation. The three of them were so immersed in whatever they're doing that they didn't notice me observing them.

I brought my feet down to the floor and spoke up, "Sasuke."

With that said, three pairs of different colored eyes turned to me; each of them filled with different emotions. Kaito beamed at me, "Ayuda, you're finally here! I was about to go out and search for you, you know. You wouldn't want to miss this moment, right?"

I sent him a genuine smile, "Of course. Thanks for remembering to notify me, Kaito."

I began sauntering over to the bed while Kaito told me, "Ah... well, it's actually because of Sasuke, though. As soon as he woke up, he asked everyone where you were. It's kind of cute, really."

I felt my cheeks burn vaguely.

What?

I turned my eyes to the quiet Uchiha, curious of what his reaction would be now that Kaito had 'exposed' him. The color of his face had already changed into an embarrassing reddish hue as if he had lain down under the blazing sun for hours. He threw a sharp glare at my teammate before he shifted his attention back to me, the red glow on his face decreasing steadily.

"How are you, Sasuke?" I inquired with a small, gentle smile.

A tiny smile quirked his pale lips, "I've never been better."

His hoarse voice induced butterflies in my stomach. It had been so long since I'd heard his voice. I missed him so much. Seeing him opening his eyes and staring at me at that moment brought tears to my eyes. The desire to see Tsunade, the one who cured him, escalated tremendously. It turned out that the miracle I had hoped for was her all along. I made a mental note to find her as soon as possible. I wanted to thank her for bringing someone I held dear to my heart out of his coma.

Sasuke asked me with a flat voice, "Where were you anyway? You weren't there when I woke up."

I dragged a chair to his bedside and plopped down, "I was having my lunch. And don't get mad at me when you were also not there when I woke up the day after the invasion of Konoha."

"I was on my way to visit you that day when I ran into Reina," countered Sasuke, "and she told me that you have finally woken up. And I'm not mad at you, I'm just-"