Glassy Sky (A Naruto Fanfiction)

The Day Before

Daichi listened to Yosuga breathe. He stared up at the sky, watching the stars twinkle above as he listened to her breathe. Inhale. Wait a couple seconds. Exhale. He'd never get used to it. The pause inbetween her breaths. His heart would never cease to jump in slight fear when she didn't immediately exhale after taking a breath.

He was scared. That's why he wasn't asleep right now. Scared that Yosuga wouldn't make it to the morning. Scared that any of the slow breaths she took in her sleep would be her last. He had to stay awake so he could be there to bring her back again. He wasn't ready for her to die yet. He probably would never be ready. So he listened as her lungs expanded with air. Then stopped. Then shrunk as the air left her body.

They laid side by side. Close, but in their own separate futons. He only settled after she fell asleep. She wouldn't let him be this close to her. She would think it was awkward, and squirm away. She wasn't completely used to human contact. Every movement to touch her was a movement to hurt her. Even after she opened up more. Even after she made friends. Daichi supposed it made sense. Her father had made sure to ingrain such thoughts into her head at a young age. This way, she was always on guard. Always alert. She had experienced enough pain to know she didn't want to experience it anymore.

Daichi didn't want to imagine the scars that must cover her back. Scars of punishment. He had them too. They all did. Earned with one foot out of line. A kunai not thrown directly in the middle of the target. A tear slipping during a spar from being hit too hard. Falling asleep from exhaustion when training had not yet ended.  A slip of the tongue when in the presence of a superior. There were plenty reasons for their scars, but the only answer given when asked about them is a simple word: discipline.

***

The two Shimizus, exhausted from the journey back, simultaneously made the day they returned a rest day. For both of them. Of course, that didn't really mean either of them would actually rest.

Daichi would spend his day at the training grounds, forcing his leg to work no matter how much it hurt. He would spend some of his time at the hospital, getting healed to the best of the nurses' abilities, and make them swear not to tell anyone about it.

Yosuga would usually spend her day training as well, but decided to check up on how her fellow entrees in the exam were doing. After hearing from Sakura that Rock Lee and Naruto were in the hospital, she begrudgingly bought some flowers and made her way to their rooms. Yosuga couldn't help but feel some sort of sympathy for Lee, who for some reason was completely dedicated to her. Sakura said there was a chance he would never be a ninja again. She didn't pay much attention to his fight with Gaara, but she found it hard to believe that Lee would willingly resign. He would continue to fight.

Upon entering the hospital and the lady at the front desk telling her where to go, Yosuga entered Naruto's room first.

"Yeah well neither of you are the type to have female visitors." She heard Shikamaru drawl as she walked in.

"I'd have to disagree with you on that one, Shikamaru." She set her pot of flowers on the table next to Naruto's bed.

"Y-Yosuga!" Naruto's face flushed with red as he scratched his cheek. "W-What brings you here?"

"Sakura said you were in the hospital." Yosuga shrugged. "I'm not surprised." Naruto merely laughed with a sheepish grin on his face as he grabbed an apple. Though, just as he was about to bite into it, he froze.

"What is it?" Shikamaru questioned with slight concern. Naruto evilly chuckled.

"Since Choji can't have any, let's eat in front of him." He grinned. Yosuga sighed, shaking her head.

"What a drag this guy is." Shikamaru groaned.

Though instead of walking to Choji's room, they sensed something wrong in Lee's room and quickly made their way to his room.

Upon opening the door, they saw Gaara with his sand covering Lee. Shikamaru quickly used his shadow controlling jutsu to take control of his body, while Naruto sent a punch to his jaw. Yosuga leaned against the doorway, imagining how good a nap would be right now, her exhaustion making it hard for her to really take action.

"You jerk!" Naruto yelled. "What do you think you're doing!"

"Hey, Naruto!" Shikamaru rubbed his jaw. "During the Shadow Possession Jutsu, it's be moving too, okay!?"

"Ah, sorry, Shikamaru." Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, but quickly got serious, turning to Gaara. "What the hell were you trying to do?" Gaara didn't answer. "What were you trying to do to Bushy Brow here!?"

"I was trying to kill him." Gaara finally spoke in a rather unnervingly calm voice.

"Why do you have to do something like that?" Shikamaru inquired as Yosuga started to dose off. "You beat him in the match, right? Do you have a personally grudge against him or something?"

"It's nothing like that. I just wanted to kill him, that's it." Gaara replied.

"How can you say something so selfish, you bastard!" Naruto pointed a finger at him.

"You had a lousy upbringing, didn't you? You only care about yourself." Shikamaru chided.

"If you get in the way, I'll kill you three, too." Gaara droned.

"What!? Go ahead, if you can!" Naruto raised a fist.

"Hey, Naruto! Hold on!" Shikamaru panicked. He turned to Gaara. "I know you're strong, from your competition with him. But, we can keep up with you.We didn't show you our best skills in the preliminaries. It's three against one, plus we have a member of the powerful Shimizu Clan on our side." Shikamaru and Naruto turned back to Yosuga with smirks on their faces, only to find that she was asleep, leaning against the doorway.

"She's out-cold!" Naruto exclaimed.

"What a drag!" Shikamaru complained. "How can she be asleep at a time like this!?"

"I'll say it once more. If you interfere, I'll kill you." Gaara glared at them.

"There's no way in hell I'll let you do that!" Naruto took a hero-like stance, puffing his chest out.

"I've been telling you to back off, haven't I? This guy has got the strength of a monster! You get it, don't you?" Shikamaru stopped him.

"I have a real monster inside me! I'm not going to lose to this guy." Naruto stood firm. Shikamaru elbowed him.

"What's worth making him mad, you idiot!" He whispered loudly.

***

Yosuga finally woke up when she sensed a menacing presence move next to her. One eye slowly opened, scanning her surroundings. When she saw Gaara next to her, a hand on the doorway, both her eyes opened in confusing. One of his hands laid on his head, as if he were in pain.

"I will kill you all, without fail. Just wait." He slowly spoke before leaving the hospital room. Yosuga raised an eyebrow before stretching.

"I sure hope nothing interesting happened during my nap." She yawned, turning to Naruto and Shikamaru... And Gai-sensei? When did he get here?

Naruto looked terrified, frozen in his spot with fear, while Shikamaru looked a bit bored. Yosuga looked at them in confusion.

"Um, okay?" She mumbled, slowly leaving the room. "Wierdos."