Running Up That Hill. Naruto Story. Book 1

Hospital

I wake up in a unknown room.

"You're awake."

I look over and see Anko.

"Where am I?" I ask.

"You're in the hospital."

"How bad is it." I ask. Anko shakes her head.

"Really bad. You have 4 broken ribs. A broken pelvis, femur and arm. Not including the 2 organs that were crushed. You know which one was the hardest to fix? Anko asks, leaning forward in her seat as she watches me.

"Which one?" I ask hesitantly.

"Your arm. I was more than broken, it was shattered. We found two puncture wounds in your skin, where most of the damage occurred. Do you know why that is?" She asks.

"You know what happened?" I ask softly. She nods. "I blocked Orochimaru from biting Sasuke the first time. But Orochimaru clamped down on my arm, shattering it."

Tears blur my vision. "And in the end, I didn't help at all. Sasuke still got bitten." I say. "And now, he has the curse mark."

Anko lifts my chin up so I'll look her in the eyes.

"You tried, and even though he got bit, You did more than help, you proved to everyone that you'd rather die than have your friends suffer even the tiniest bit like you did, like you do." She says to me. Tears freely flow down my cheeks, and I hug her. She pats my back.

"Are Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura alright?" I ask. Anko nods.

"No harm came to Naruto or Sakura, just a couple scratches. Same for Sasuke, except for the curse mark. You four passed by the way." She tells me. I smile. "With the help of this Kabuto guy." She adds. My smile fades. I wave it away.

"So when will I be able to continue the Chunin exams?" I ask excited. Anko looks at me.

"You won’t be participating in the Chunin Exam."

"What?! What about Sasuke?!"

"He still is."

"Why?!"

"He doesn't have seven broken bones and 2 crushed organs." Anko says.

"But I'm almost healed!" I state.

"True, but it took over 20 hours straight just for you to be almost healed."

Anko looks at her watch, then back to me. "Are you going to be alright?" She asks.

I nod slowly. She takes one last look at me, then leaves. I look at my reflection in the window, and see most of my face covered in bandages. I look down at my torso, also covered. I look at my broken arm in a sling that holds it close to my chest. I sit up, and look at the window, numb

A few hours later

"Alexis?"

I look at the door and see Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura standing there. They walk over to my bed. I fake a smile.

"Hi guys." I say to them.

"Stop pretending." Naruto says. I pout at him, then let my face slip to emotionless. I look at my lap.

"I'm glad you're all ok. I'm glad that out of the four of us, I'm the one who took the most damage." I say softly. Sakura springs forward and wraps her arms around my neck, hugging me. I lean my head on her shoulder and squeeze my eyes shut. Naruto takes a step forward and hugs me and Sakura. I look over at Sasuke. He's looking at my bandages, at my arm. He looks away. I pull away.