Pick Up The Pieces

Husk

The urge to stay floating in the black was tempting. Here, he could drift along in nothingness to his content, swimming through the ink lazily at his leisure. It was serene here, nothing to distract him from his thoughts.

Then again, being alone with his thoughts was probably not the wisest suggestion, since all he could think about was the fact that Izumo was gone, regardless of if he stayed in the darkness or came back to reality.

Kotetsu floated there, thinking about where he'd rather stay, when a soft pressure dabbed at the bridge of his nose. But there was nothing here. Nothing except himself, and he lightly trailed his fingers over his cheekbones; feeling the slices of the letters carved by his hand form underneath his fingertips. The light dabbing continued and it felt strange. He couldn't see anything else apart from his hands and body but he could physically feel this. Something brushed against his cheek and he quickly whipped his face around to glance over his shoulder.

Nothing.

So what was this? Where was this coming from? Panic abhorred his steady stream of thought and turned his mind erratic. Was he being attacked? How can he defend against something he couldn't see? He waved his hands in front of him quickly, clutching at empty space. Suddenly, blood erupted from his wounds and flooded over his body, and the darkness began to fill with his own blood. It poured relentlessly and started to rise. His hands gripped at his face, trying to stop the flow but it was useless. The sickly sweet copper seeped between his fingers and added to the flood. His breathing became gasps, his eyes widened before he squeezed them shut tightly, saying a prayer before his head became submerged in the crimson sea.

With a painful and ragged intake of breath, Kotetsu sat bolt upright, panting and covered in cold sweats. His vision was blurred and his head thudded painfully in his temples. His wrist ached and he shook his head, still panting and gasping for air when a voice broke through his eardrums.

'...-tsu...Kotetsu...calm down...it's okay!'

Wide-eyed with fear he turned his head slowly and the tanned face of Iruka swam in and out of focus until his vision cleared up.

'Kotetesu, breathe.' Iruka said calmly, gently trying to push the other chūnin back to lay down.

'It's okay...I'm here...easy now.'

'Iruka...' Kotetsu breathed, his head hurting considerably now.

'What...what are you doing here?'

'I'm looking after you.' Iruka said calmly, the panic in Kotetsu's system slowly leaking out of him at the comfort in his voice.

'Naruto's orders.'

'I don't... Don't need to be... Since when do you have whiskers?'

Iruka's hand brushed his chin instinctively before he let out a light, breathy laugh. Indeed, copper whiskers had developed into a small fuzz over his chin.

'Since I've been waiting for you to wake up.'

'What do you mean?' Kotetsu asked, confused as he looked around bleakly. This was his room, no doubt, but it felt different: empty even. He looked at his right wrist and noticed an IV drip attached into him, eyes following the clear tube back up to the transparent bag suspended next to him.

'Whats happened to me?' He asked, suddenly feeling very weak and limp.

'Well, Naruto asked me to check up on you when...anyway, I came around and all I find is you passed out on the floor coated in blood...practically swimming in it.'