Sage

Ch.32

Drip.

Naruto's eyes focused intently as another small drop of crimson splashed out on the floor, creating a small circular stain. It was joined by another, then another, before a veritable deluge of red liquid fell from Shizuku's wound. He ignored everything else; his breathing, the sound of the ANBU wiping off the bloodied kunai, even the sound Yagura made as he passed his staff from one hand to the other. His focus was entirely on Shizuku and the slowly growing patch of scarlet around the tear in her kimono top.

"You see monk, everybody in the world has a weakness as long as they make foolish attachments to others. As a Kage you come to understand that to best rule your people, your forces, you must discard these petty feelings. I believe that is what you monks are taught is it not? To discard feeling and look objectively at the world in order to attain enlightenment, ne?" Yagura gazed at the stunned blonde coolly, raising a disinterested eyebrow at his lack of response. The pale-haired man simply sighed as he turned, shrugging rather nonchalantly as he made a deft motion with his hand.

Shizuku's body was thrown forward unceremoniously, rolling across the ground and leaving a small trail of her blood in random patches where she bounced, each time letting out another pained cry. Naruto was almost immediately at her side; none of the ANBU moved, awaiting orders from Yagura, but a few hands still twitched towards their respective weapon pouches. Naruto gently rolled Shizuku over, grimacing when the girl shuddered in pain and coughed up blood, staining her normally pale chin an ugly red.

"I-I'm sorry Naruto." The blonde's hand trembled when he heard her weak voice, staring uselessly at the gaping hole in her chest that was still pouring out copious amounts of blood.

"Don't talk, I-I can still help, I can get you somewhere to help." The girl's body was wracked with shudders again as her head tilted up in another painful cough, blood flecking her now dirtied clothes.

"N-Naruto..." The blonde grabbed one of her hands in his own, squeezing it in what he hoped was a comforting manner.

"Please don't talk, you need to save your energy right? That's what you're supposed to do in these situations right?" The blonde couldn't help but notice his voice now had a faintly hysterical edge as one trembling hand moved over Shizuku's body, trying to do something to stop the bleeding. When he pressed on the wound though Shizuku's eyes closed in agonising pain. It did nothing anyway, too much blood leaked between his fingers.

"N-Naruto, please..." The boy just grabbed her hand again, helpless eyes darting around madly looking, searching for something, anything he could do to stop this. He didn't know medical Ninjutsu, first aid would do nothing for something this severe; he felt so utterly and completely useless as he watched the girl he cared about so much bleed out right before his eyes .

"Come on Shizuku, stop with that voice alright?" A weak smile made its way onto Naruto's face as he held the girl's hand a little higher, squeezing it gently with that same hysterical tone in his voice. "You're acting like you're going to die or something." He chuckled shakily as Shizuku's eyelids began to slowly droop, fluttering back up with every jolt of pain coursing through her veins, slowly she felt her body become numb, the pain ebbing away in favour of a strange detachment, as if her body was no longer hers and she was just a spectator.

"Naruto..." He lips quivered slightly as she struggled with the words, already feeling the edges of her vision grow dark. All she could see were the two quivering orbs of Naruto's rippled eyes looking down at her with almost frantic worry, a few strands of blonde hair falling across them. He seemed to perk up slightly with her voice, giving a hand another pointless but comforting squeeze; unfortunately she could no longer feel the limp hand held in his grasp. "...p-please stop crying." her voice choked up at the end as more specks of red found their way onto her otherwise pale lips.