𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐈𝐑𝐄 | sasuke uchiha

August

The next day, Kannon and I visited Yukata in hospital. She was going to be there for a day or two, so we figured we might as well. It was my rest day, anyway. 

"Knock knock!"

Kannon held the door open for me as I wheeled Ayumi's pram in, heading towards Yukata's bed. She was situated at the back right corner of the room, and shared it with three other patients who had their curtains drawn.

Said girl was lying in bed fast asleep, and Kannon and I lowered our voices as I sat by the window, parking Ayumi beside me.

"Where should I put these?" asked Kannon, holding up the bag of fresh fruits we had bought for Yukata as she drew the curtain around us, giving us a degree of privacy.

"Uh, maybe there on the table. By the flowers."

As Kannon put down our plastic bags of shopping for the recovering Yukata, I couldn't help but notice how pale and fragile she looked. All the colour was drained from her face, and her cheekbones stood out prominently. She looked terribly sick, and I felt bad for not being able to foresee her illness.

"Well, at least she's getting some decent rest in here," said Kannon, sitting next to me. "I wonder if she'll wake up soon."

"Might as well hang around until she does," I shrugged, leaning forward to unclasp Ayumi from her pram. It was now nearing late August, and so far the due date for Shisui had been set for September the 29th. With about four more weeks to go, it had become harder for me to lift Ayumi, so I moved over to give Kannon space to lift her out.

"Where's Ayumi? There she is!"

As Kannon began to play and talk to the now nine month old Ayumi, I got to my feet and walked over to Yukata's side, brushing her hair out of her face.

"Oh, Yukata," I said mournfully, rubbing her cheek with my thumb. "I hope you get better soon. I'm sorry we couldn't help you earlier."

"What's my name? Aunty Kannon! Where's aunty Kannon? Here she is!"

As I adjusted Yukata's pillows and tried to make myself helpful, the young girl's lips began to move, but in a hardly noticeable manner. Frowning, I leaned forward to try and hear what she was saying, curious to hear what she was sleeptalking about.

"...go... away..."

"Wow, amazing," I said sarcastically, lowkey hoping that she'd reveal a juicy secret or something. "Okay, I'll go."

As soon as I said 'go,' Yukata's eyes burst open and I stumbled back in surprise as she sat up straight, clutching the sides of the bed and looking around frantically. There was pure fear and confusion in her eyes as she looked from side to side, hyperventilating and throwing off the covers.

"Hey, Yukata, relax, relax!" I moved forward and gently placed my hands on the girl's chest, infusing them with chakra and trying my best to calm her. "It's me! Remember, me? Tera?"

As I moved my hands around to see if I could relieve any of the tension in Yukata's body, her panic levels dropped, and she looked at me sluggishly. All her previous panic had vanished, and she now looked at me with tiredness in her eyes.

"Huh?"

"Shh, it's just us," I said reassuringly, soothing her fatigued body. "Me and Kannon. It's okay."

She leaned back on her bed with a loud sigh, covering her eyes with her forearm.

"Is she okay?" asked Kannon with concern, looking at Yukata and I over Ayumi's head. "Do we need to call the nurse?"

"No!" Yukata was staunch in her rejection of Kannon's idea. "No, it was just a nightmare. I'm sorry. Please don't bother the nurses."

"Oh, you can talk," I sighed with relief, going back to Kannon's side and sitting down. "How are you? What happened?!"