夢 - 2021 rewrite

chapter four

うずまきナルト

you love me, right?

naruto are you sure what if it doesn't work

naruto before you wake i need to tell you something kid naruto are you alright

sometimes you gotta backtrack a few steps why didn't you ever give her that ring sometimes there's a truth in the man you fight beside don't worry i'll pay for it

you love...you love

her

it's okay you should leave, now, please no come back what about us meet you where you love me right

him

and i love

naruto what are you doing? wake up. i can't stay here without you.

naruto calm down what happened are you okay you're not the sensei of this team i want him to have a family

naruto

naruto? kami, he's awake!

Blurry and dry, he cracked open his eyes and closed them shut once more, hissing from the yellow light. He groaned and, licking his lips, managed a yawn. And he heard a gasp and peeked open once more.

"Holy crap--Sakura, get in here, now." He heard it, worried yet relieved all the same. "Sakura! Wake up, damnit!"

"Sasuke, what are you doing, it's three in the morning and why is the lamp on? I--oh, is he--?"

"Yes, he is."

There was black and blue and pink and green and he groaned again and closed his eyes, raising his arms to shield from the blowing air.

"What's the ruckus here--oh, I'll get some water, okay?"

"Yeah, and the leftovers on the counter, too. He must be hungry."

And there were a handful other murmurs and whispers and careful shouts in the dark before his closed eyes, worried tones and relieved laughs and can you and is he okay and hey i brought the water and naruto, naruto? i'm here--we're here now.

He managed another second, peeling his eyes open to the cold morning air, before keeping them shut against his hands. And there came a warm line running up through his arms, bringing them back down to his side with a gentle grip, before settling as a mass on both of his palms, squeezing tight and releasing his shaky hands as if asking for response. And he squeezed back, only able to respond with another gasp of cold and living air and the squeezing tight of his eyes.

"Naruto," the voice began on his left, low and hesitant and waiting. "You can open your eyes now, it's fine."

And then the right: "Wait, I'm gonna open the window and air his room out."

And there was screech, far from his bed but loudly screaming in his ear, and he groaned once more and curled into the warmth of his left hand, squeezing it tighter as the cold draft made its way in the gaps of his clothing and bed sheets.

"Sakura," the left called. "He won't open his eyes. He might not be awake this time either."

"Wait, let me check," and another warmth to his head, warm and fleeting. "He's burning up. I think he's caught something from being drained for so long. If the Kyuubi doesn't heal him when he wakes up, we'll have to go pick something up from the pharmacy when it opens. I'm still recovering all that I transferred over to him."