My Sunshine

Universal Force / Needed - Iruka

Iruka lay in his bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. At both Ino and Haru's insistence, he went home for the night. He had been at the hospital for two weeks, freshing up in the bathroom and eating the food that the healers brought him when Haru was brought her tray.  He was sleeping on the hospital cot next to her bed and Mizuka had been doing his laundry. He didn't even realize she had been doing it; clothes were just clean for him in the morning when he awoke. But, Ino was right: he needed to go home and catch up on a few things, including a good night's sleep in a real bed.

But he couldn't sleep. His mind was racing uncontrollably. What if she was alone right now? And afraid? What if she was afraid her attacker would return and there was no one there with her? She wouldn't have someone there to help her if she had another nightmare. How long would it take Ino to get back to her? What if there was an emergency and Ino couldn't get back to her-

Ugh.

He flipped to his stomach and tried to get comfortable, his hands under the pillow. Why was he so attached to her? He had absolutely no reason to be. It didn't make any sense. But, he was and he wasn't sure if that was going to change. She was just so frail and helpless-looking. It broke his heart. But, it also felt as if there were some kind of  universal force pulling him even closer to her.

But maybe there wasn't.

Maybe he was losing his mind. He did have a lot on his plate, with becoming the Principal of the Academy and what not. What would he do when she left the hospital? What would he do is she stayed and his days were no longer free when school started? Who was he kidding, she would meet some young guy who would sweep her off her feet and he would return to just being a school teacher at the Academy.

He didn't think about whether his feelings could be romantic, because that wasn't an option. She was beautiful, he could tell even though she hadn't been fully washed yet due to her broken body.  She still had bits of dried blood on sensitive parts of her body that couldn't be washed due to bruising.  Her hair was matted and tangled.  But, once she was healed and on her feet, she would be gone.  And he didn't blame her. She didn't know anyone here.  Not really.

All of these thoughts were going to keep him awake; there was no point in him even being here.  The bed was comfortable, but his mind was too far gone.  Unsure of how he would fall asleep, he instead switched his mind to nicer thoughts.  Nothing was happening yet.  He would get to see her tomorrow.  Hopefully she would be okay and happy to see him...

***

He awoke surprisingly late, at noon, and scrambled out of the bed. Throwing on clean clothes and brushing his teeth, he flew out the door and to the hospital. However, when he arrived, the door was shut and there were already people waiting outside; one he recognized and one he did not.  Shikamaru spoke to him.

"She's okay. We're just waiting for Lady Z."

He breathed a sigh of relief. The woman sitting next to Shikamaru had just finished blowing a bubble with the gum in her mouth, giving him a warm smile.

She wore a red dress with long sleeves and a short skirt and over the knee soras. Her brown hair was pinned up simply, but it suited her face. Her eyes were warm and caring. Shikamaru sighed.

"Oh yeah, Sensei, this is Nozomi Monsuki of Tenchi. She's an Elite Healer."

She blushed a little, apparently from embarassment.

"I'm one of the New Elite Healers, not nearly as experienced as Lady Suoh's Elite."

Iruka gave her a warm smile and chuckled.