my one in million

Chapter 9

He was sure that if he was reborn, it would be as a cactus, or a rock.

…Or a tomato.

He deserved it, after all. Uchiha Sasuke wasn't someone that should be reincarnated into something with legs, to spread destruction and desperation everywhere he went.

But if he was dead, why was he hungry?

Slowly, the haze of sleep thinned, like clouds parting away from the sun. His ears picked up soft humming of machines and his fingertips brushed against cloth, his stomach was upset but he only sighed. The beeping monitor quickened slightly, announcing that he had transitioned from the realm of dreams into the real world; the world of the living.

Damn…

He shifted slightly, his head instantly ached and his whole body protested the strain so he let himself drop back into the stiff pillows. He took his time sucking in a slow, deep breath, and then letting it escape through clenched teeth. He still couldn't see, but the dull pulse in his head and limbs told him that he had somehow managed to momentarily fight the deadly poison of two snakes.

How long did he have to live now?

A day? Two?

A couple of hours, by the feel of it…

The monotone beep of the monitor started to irritate him after a few minutes, so he struggled with his weakened body to peel the stickers off his chest to shut it up. The beeping turned into a loud, ear-splitting constant scream when his pulse disappeared, so he finally summoned all his power and leaned on his elbow in order to reach for the annoying device and turn it off, only to realize that his arm was stiff in a bent position by a hard sleeve of some sort.

One minute he was sitting up calmly, covered in thin sheets and wires, the next he was hanging over one side of the bed's metal rail with his leg wedged in the other, the only thing keeping him from slamming face-down to the floor was a shaky hand. The clutter of medical supplies falling might as well have been a tornado, it seems his small adventure had tugged on other wires and sent objects flying off their trays.

Damn…

He should have died sooner, really, this weak body can only fight for so long…

It felt like he was going to be stuck in that position forever, because his leg was in too much pain to bend but all the blood had started to pool in his head that he couldn't think straight. The end must be close, because the scent of the mysterious girl wafted into his nose without prompt; sweet and strange.

He didn't mind her presence; it didn't matter where he went, really, as long as he ended up somewhere specific.

Heaven or Hell or wherever it is people went to while they waited in line to be reborn; anywhere.

Anywhere but here.

Inside this blind, weak, dying body that nobody liked.

Through the loud ringing in his ears he heard someone approach, call his name and then the person held his arm to get him back in bed. The sudden bout of nausea distracted him from hearing anything but the sound of his own gagging, his stomach had been absolutely empty even when the rim of some container touched his chin. Once he settled back, spent, the person offered him water which he drank with startling greed. The lukewarm liquid first felt like broken glass going down his throat, then like heavenly rain by the end of the cup.

"You're alright. It will be okay, please take it easy."

"Hinata?" He croaked, voice thick and head swimming too fast.

"Yes, it's me! You… You remember me?" she sounded out of breath, had she been running?

"Yeah…" He'd seen her only a few hours ago, where he was supposed to die at her sister's bed on an overdose of poison. He wanted to ask why he was still alive… How he was still alive, but she was making lots of noise while tidying up the mess he'd caused. Her hands were cold on his forearm when she checked the condition of the intravenous wires pumping fluid into his body. "What happened after…?" He finally asked.