My body was fighting to get upright before I could even open my eyes. The moment my consciousness returned, hands were on my shoulders keeping me down in a lying position.
"Hinata, stop! Don't move!"
Pain was shooting through each and every injury on my body, but I didn't care. All I could think about was Naruto's pale face, the dark blood pooling atop his torso. I fought and fought to no avail and quickly ran out of energy. My eyes opened as I panted for breath and cried, letting my body fall back onto whatever I was resting on.
It was Neji holding me down, but Tenten was at his side with tears running heavily down her face as she watched us struggle. My fingers gripped Neji's shirt as I fell into sobs like I had last time I was awake. The room was silent. My brother slowly released his grip on my shoulders and cupped my hands with a somber expression, but he didn't say a word as Tenten and I wept. It was hard to move my left hand since it was wrapped with thick gauze and hurt like crazy with every small motion.
Minutes passed before Tenten rose to her feet and gently pulled my uninjured hand into hers and brought it to her face. I could feel her trembling as she struggled to keep her composure, "He's alive, Hinata. Naruto's alive."
My heart could've stopped in my chest as her words sank in. The memory of Tsunade saying the same thing suddenly right before I fainted suddenly returned and I shot up, this time somehow able to fight both her and Neji as they tried to stop me, "Where is he?" I had to see it with my own eyes.
I struggled to my feet and nearly tumbled to the ground when a harsh pain shot up my leg, but managed to catch myself on the side of what I now recognized as a hospital bed. Neji grabbed my arm, "You need to rest-"
I yanked it out of his grasp and fixed a hard glare on him, "I'm not doing anything until I see him!" He and Tenten shared a look before wordlessly giving in and helping me out of the room.
They walked on either side of me with an arm around my back to help lighten the burden of weight on my injured leg. To my surprise, we went right across the hallway into a room with two beds.
The one closest to the door had Matsuri laying in it and the one further away had Naruto. Both were hooked up to multiple machines and tubes and I found it hard to both look at either of them or look away.
Gaara and Kankuro were at Matsuri's bedside, the older brother asleep with his arms crossed atop the mattress near her feet. The younger one, though, was staring unblinkingly at her face with her hand clasped tightly between both of his. I don't know how long it's been since the battle ended, but he looked like he hadn't slept in days and likely refused to until she awoke.
My attention turned to Naruto as we passed by, Gaara not sparing us even a glance, and I tore myself away from the two assisting me. My knees hit the ground at the side of his bed and I stared wide-eyed at his chest as it slowly rose and fell. He really was alive.
"Hinata, you really shouldn't-" Tenten made a shushing noise at Neji and he got quiet again.
All the books and movies I've ever seen that described grief as feeling like a punch to the gut were surprisingly accurate. It'd felt like the air had been knocked right out of me and I'd struggled immensely with each breath. What they hadn't mentioned was that overwhelming relief feels almost exactly the same. I couldn't bring myself to touch him, even to simply hold his hand. It felt like laying a finger on him would break this wonderful illusion that he'd somehow overcome such a lethal wound.
The door to the room opened again after a few silent minutes and Tsunade's familiar voice met my ears, "What is she doing out of bed? You two get her out of here before she opens her wounds again!"
Her hand touched my shoulder and I squeezed handfuls of the sheet in my fists as I buried my face in it, "P-Please don't! I can't leave him..."
The woman paused for a long moment before I heard the rustle of her clothes as she knelt down beside me. I raised my head to look at her face and she gave me a reassuring smile, cupping my cheek softly, "I promise I'll take good care of him. Nothing bad's going to happen."
My brow furrowed as I reached up to wipe roughly at the tears rolling thick down my cheeks. She continued, her voice taking on a softer tone, "But right now you need to worry about yourself so when he wakes up he's not stressing out about your condition. You don't want that, do you?" I shook my head after a few moments, knowing she was correct even if I stubbornly didn't want to admit it.
She helped me up to my feet and guided me over so Tenten and Neji could get a firm hold around me like before, "You have my word, Hinata. He's going to be fine. Please get some rest." I looked at Naruto's unconscious face as I was led towards the door. My chest felt tight and weighed down, but I couldn't bring myself to argue or resist.
Temari and Shikamaru were in the hallway, likely on their way to check on the Subaku brothers and Matsuri, and the former shoved her way past my helpers' arms so she could hug me tightly. I winced in pain, but only felt relieved to see the two of them uninjured for the most part. Both had minor bumps and scrapes.
I managed to make out a few words past my crying, "Matsuri....Is she...?"
Temari pulled away and wiped at her own tears as Shikamaru shook his head, "Tsunade has her in a medically induced coma. If she was to wake up now, she'd be in too much pain to function. We won't know her exact condition for at least another week."
I recalled the harsh injury on the girl's forehead when I last saw her and worried it might've caused some lasting effects, but made myself shake the anxious thought away because stressing about it was only going to make it harder for me to keep it together. We said our goodbyes and then I was helped into the bathroom in the room across the hall.
Tenten gave Neji a look of thanks before he left, shutting the door behind him so she could help me bathe. I shakily leaned against the counter and began unwrapping the gauze from my arm as she knelt down to do the same thing for the injury on my leg, "Where are we?" This place, obviously a hospital, had power and functioning plumbing.
"We're still in Suna. It's not even been a full day yet." It was dark outside, likely the middle of the night, but I couldn't bring myself to care.
Once she was done ridding of the bloody gauze, she verified I was steady before turning on the water in the tub so it'd begin to fill before turning to help me undress. When I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror, I looked away with a grimace. My lip was still busted even if it wasn't bleeding anymore and cuts and massive bruises dusted almost every inch of my skin. It truly looked like I'd just fought in a war.
The sad look on Tenten's face and about her aura was so different from her usual, more bubbly personality. Now that I knew Naruto was safe, the pain from my own injuries seemed more prominent and I struggled to distract myself from it.
"Is everyone else okay? Sakura?"
Tears welled up in her eyes and she wiped at them swiftly with one hand before returning to her task, shaking her head, "She's still unconscious."
I met her eye when she brought an arm around my back to help me step into the bath. Her voice cracked and wavered as she spoke in a heartbreaking tone, "Sasuke said he saw her die, but she somehow came back to life. It's still bad, though. They-" A sob cut off her words as she helped me sit and I stared at her with anticipation. After taking a strengthening breath, she continued, "They stabbed her with a fucking sword. Kiba said it went completely through to the other side."
My concern began to match hers and we shared a silence of understanding as we thought about our pink-haired friend. Neither of us could find the words to say as I gingerly washed my hair and body with her aide. When Sakura told us in Konoha that she'd been shot in the stomach, we were completely shocked that she'd somehow managed to survive, but this was much worse.
For some reason, all I could picture was the look of utter terror on Sasuke's face before we stormed the town hall. That'd been what Sakura was feeling at the time and the thought made me more upset than I was at my own physical state. Even when she fought Gaara the day Karin was killed, during week two of The Program, she hadn't looked scared to that degree. If it was enough to make Sasuke freeze like that, it had to be bad.
After a few minutes, I winced at the sting of soapy water against the massive stab wound on my leg. It was still bleeding heavily, but I didn't care. I finally broke the quiet and tense aura of the room, "How are they handling all of this?"
Tenten shook her head again, "Ino's putting on a brave face for Sasuke's sake, I think. He's not taking it well. You saw Gaara in there, right? Sasuke's even worse. He won't let anyone except Tsunade come near her."
Ino wasn't lying to her and I when she told us down in the sewers that the two of them had fallen deeply for one another. Love changes a person. That's something I know firsthand. I murdered a person in cold blood yesterday because Naruto was hurt and I still couldn't bring myself to regret it. This new Sasuke was so different from the one we knew during The Program. Hints of him popped up here and there in Oto, but never so much as what we witnessed yesterday.
The memory of the sound of Naruto's body falling to the ground yesterday had me squeezing my eyes shut. Why can't I stop hearing it? I wish I could forget that sound. I wish I could forget the tragic expression on Naruto's face when he looked at me for what we both thought was the very last time.
What he said to Iruka while they thought I was asleep suddenly came to mind. "I have something to protect now."
Guilt clawed at my ribs and chest. When he was shot, I'd been injured and let that fact slow me down. It was a mistake. I should've broken every bone in my body trying to take that bullet for him, but instead I let the dread freeze me. It should've been me. I should be the one hooked up to all those machines in there, clinging to life.
"Stop that. I know what you're doing and it won't help anyone, especially Naruto."
I looked over at Tenten to see she was crying again, but she continued to lather shampoo into my hair rather than meet my gaze. My uninjured hand came up to my chest and I winced at the pain inside, "I-I can't take this..."
"You can and you will. If you give in now, everyone else will lose their nerve, too."
Her words were almost harsh, but I was grateful for her tough love. She was right. If there was ever a time to throw away my personal fears, it was now. Too many people were in a delicate position around us. Sasuke, Gaara, Ino, and the others, they all need to be surrounded by positive energy or else they might succumb to their grief.
Feeling just as heartbroken as before, I somehow swallowed my weak-minded thoughts and nodded.
After my bath, I was helped into a thin cotton robe and instructed to get some rest. Neji and Tenten left me alone at my request so they, too, could find somewhere to sleep. No matter how chaotic my thoughts were, my body's been put through a tremendous amount of stress so I quickly fell asleep, only to be awoken by the sound of the door to my room opening.
I rolled onto my side and rubbed at my eyes with my good hand, blinking a few times so my eyes would adjust to the light coming in through the window. A familiar face surprised me and I sat up with a gasp.
Obito was kneeling in front of me with an unbearably emotional expression on his face. Gauze and bandaging covered his right eye, but tears were welled up thick and threatened to fall from the left one, the red and black one. I opened my mouth to greet him, but he grabbed my hand in between both of his and lowered his head, "I'll never be able to repay you for what you've done. Thank you, Hinata."
I didn't know what to say. In all honesty, I was just happy to see he hadn't been killed. That was what I'd intended to tell him before he interrupted.
Obito raised his head to look at my face and I saw that his tears had overflowed, "Shizune told me Rin and Asuka are alive and safe. She told me how you told my wife you didn't blame me for what I've done. I...don't deserve your forgiveness."
I shook my head, gripping his hands as best as I could with my one hand, "T-That's not true! You were protecting your family. I could never..." I trailed off as I realized he wasn't really accepting my argument and sighed before trying to give him as reassuring a smile as possible, "You can repay me by returning safely to your wife and daughter. That's what matters most."
He looked stunned, but eventually nodded and squeezed my hand once more before releasing it and rising to his feet, wiping at his tears, "How was Asuka?" His tone was concerned. I wondered how long it's been since he's been able to see her.
"She looks just like you."
The corner of his lips twitched as he tried not to grin happily, "Really?" I nodded, feeling a bit better since he was finally getting his happy ending.
My thoughts turned to his wife and I shook my head, "Your wife, Rin, she's strong. You should be proud."
His eye widened slightly before he teared up again and nodded, "I am."
A knock came at the door and we both turned to see Iruka enter. His warm brown eyes locked onto mine and then I was crying and so was he. Obito politely excused himself. I struggled to throw my feet over the edge of the bed so I could accept the man's hug.
His voice wavered as he whispered, "I should've been there with you two." I shook my head, but couldn't manage to speak as he pulled away so we could both wipe at our tears and try to calm down.
"I owe you an apology, Hinata."
The man that'd grown up with Naruto shook his head, seemingly at himself, "I openly doubted your commitment to Naruto despite both of you telling me I was wrong, but I know the truth now. After seeing you two-"
He choked up and retried, "You were on the ground in that building and I-" He cut off again and looked up at the ceiling as he tried to get control of himself. We were silent for a long moment before he finally got a full sentence out, "You were still trying to protect him even though you thought he was already dead."
I recalled trying to attack Tsunade and Shizune when they came to help us, not realizing in my hysteria that it was them and not an enemy. If Neji hadn't gotten a hold on me when he did, I would've tried to kill them, I'm sure.
Iruka took a massive deep breath and let it out slowly before pressing a kiss into my hair. Pulling back, he cupped my face in his hands with a small smile, "Thank you for caring about him. I'm happy he has someone like you on his side." I nodded, but still couldn't figure out what to say.
He didn't seem to mind and kissed my head once more before almost shyly saying goodbye and leaving me alone in my room. I gingerly laid back down once he was gone, pulling the thin blanket tightly around me.
Naruto won't ever blame me for what happened, that's a fact we're all aware of. Despite this, I'm going to spend the rest of my life trying to make up for allowing him to get hurt like that. I'll kiss him like crazy once he's awake and yell at him for scaring all of us.