Silence

50.Never Ending Tears.

Third Person P.O.V.

Time seemed to pass painfully slow. Each day seemed to drag on. Each second seemed like a minute. A minute seemed like an hour.

It had been a month since Naruto woke up. Ever since that day, he always stayed by Shizukana's side. He wasn't given any missions so he had plenty of time to spare.

A week after Naruto was up and about, he was discharged from the hospital but he still came back.

Shikamaru found out a day later that Naruto was awake. He dashed to the hospital. As soon as his eyes met the blond Uzumaki, the Nara heir bowed to him and apologized profusely.

"I know you trusted me to bring Shizukana back. But-but I failed." Shikamaru said as he stayed at the grey tiles below his feet.

He was expecting Naruto to get angry but what happened was the opposite. Naruto chuckled.

With wide eyes, Shikamaru looked up to meet the cerulean blue eyes of Naruto. They didn't hold resentment. Instead, they were filled with an emotion that Shikamaru couldn't comprehend.

"What are you doing? It's not your fault." Naruto said with a small smile on his face. "I know you tried your best. She's here now and she'll wake up soon."

Both the Nara and Uzumaki shared a grin. They stayed strong because they knew that Shizukana will wake up from this. She always does.

But that was three weeks ago. Even though none of them wanted to admit it, the hope keeps fading day by day and now their hanging lose.

This didn't stop them from being at Shizukana's side whenever they could.

Shikamaru would sit quietly next to Shizukana. Sometimes he would read a book or move some shogi pieces. He knew that there was an Anbu team assigned to watch Shizukana but he couldn't place their exact whereabouts.

Naruto on the other hand rambled on about his day. It was as if he thought that Shizukana could hear him. There were times when Kakashi would sit next to him and learn about the Blonds day.

Sakura would pop in and out. She knew she had to keep her duties as a first-year medic but that didn't stop her from checking Shizukana's vitals every time she could.

Even though Shizukana had many people by her side almost all the time, she woke up with the feeling of loneliness lingering in her heart.

Shizukana's P.O.V.

I felt myself laying on a bed with my eyes shut. I slowly opened them to meet the familiar grey ceiling tiles.

What am I doing here? I tried to sit up but my entire body ached. I felt a cast on my left hand and something wrapped tightly around my chest. It was as if someone had broken every single bone in my body and fixed them back.

Even still, I used my right hand as support and sat up straight and looked around the room. Sensei was asleep in a chair next to me but other than that the room was empty.

The square lights gently illuminated the room as the wind flowed in from the open window.

Kakashi Sensei's head was facing down as soft and steady snores reached my ears. His left hand was clutching his orange book while the other was propped against his chin. The wind gently blew his hair as his body moved from his breathing.

I took a deep breath when I noticed that I was wearing an oxygen mask. Gently, I removed it and placed it on the bedside table.

It was very confusing. I had no idea what was happening. I wanted to wake Sensei but decided against that. I stretched my hand and curled my toes when I felt a bandage wrapped around my chest.