The Red Maelstrom

[34] Gaping Rifts

A/N: warning for brief mentions of vomiting, for those who have emetophobia or feel unsettled by the thought of puke

Kohana's eyes slowly drifted open to radiant light filtering through thin, blue curtains. The familiar sight of her ceiling greeted her, and for a moment, she stared. The last thing she remembered was... what was it? Lights, and three figures, maybe. She recalled the scent of summer and grass accompanied by a hard surface with its smooth texture underneath her cheek. Kohana closed her eyes to the sounds of gentle cascading water and of porcelain knocking against thin and hollow metal.

Wait. Kohana shot up from the cradle of her bed. Water? Porcelain? Plates?

There was a silhouette of a person sitting at Kohana's dining table. She couldn't quite make out who it was in the darkness of her room, but her eyes immediately flew to the other person standing by her kitchen sink. They were hunched over and looked to be tending to dishes.

"Oh, you're awake," a deep voice rumbled from the dining table. Kohana rubbed her eyes furiously. That voice...

"Osamu-sensei?" She drew the curtains back to allow more light to enter her usually-empty apartment. Judging from the brightness and height of the shadows cast by sunlight, it was already noon.

The rush of water stopped, followed by a loud clang of a plate striking metal, and before Kohana could even register it, she was already staring into almost-teal eyes. It took a second too long for Kohana to realize it was Bunko who ran to her side. What was she doing here? What were Osamu and Bunko doing in her home?

Bunko held a hand to her heart. "Gosh! You nearly gave me a heart attack last night, Kohana. Here—" She reached up to take Kohana's wrist in her hand and pushed a cool glass of water against her palm. Kohana's hand closed around the object automatically. "Drink in slow, small sips," she instructed, and without asking any questions, Kohana did as she was told. Her throat felt unbelievably scratchy and her mouth tasted rancid. "Are you feeling dizzy at all? Like you need to vomit?" There was movement in Kohana's periphery when Osamu approached her as well, footsteps light and almost inaudible. He barely made a sound to announce his presence, as if he was taking care to keep Kohana from feeling any further discomfort.

While Kohana was too out of sorts to be bothered by anything, she appreciated the gesture.

"Jus' a little lightheaded," Kohana murmured, blushing slightly upon realizing how badly she was slurring her words. "Mouth tastes like Naruto's expired milk."

Bunko chuckled. "That's because you woke up in the middle of the night to puke."

Well, that explained it, but... "You were here?"

"Yes," Bunko admitted sheepishly. "Forgive me; it's just that I found Hatake-san lurking unsurely at your front door. He was carrying you, so I went out and asked if he needed anything." Bunko cut herself off with a grievous sigh, hands reaching up to massage little circles at her temples. "Drove me up the wall seeing something like that when you always went home on your own. I have to say it's a good thing you still have that terrible habit of tossing your keys by the flowers."

There was another chuckle from above as Osamu lifted the rim of his (Kohana's) tea cup from his lips. "Kakashi-san informed me of your whereabouts when I was beginning to ponder on your tardiness for this morning's training session." He took another sip, but this time his eyes stared down at her coldly, promising a world of punishment that Kohana shuddered to think about. "I'd hoped you would know that it is ill-advised to enter the hot springs after a regimen such as that... during summer."

Kohana averted her own gaze by taking her own sip of water. "It seemed like a really good idea at the time," she murmured. Like hell she was going to tell Osamu why exactly it was a good idea. She was rewarded in the end, anyway, even if she did pass out from dehydration.