Naruto: The Seraph Project

Chapter 31: The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox

In the absolute void where reigns the purest of silences, a constant noise, annoying and fed by a distant echo increases in intensity. I try in spite of myself to endure it, to ignore this sound which persists even more. Soon this pounding becomes unbearable, causing pain in my ears and irritation in my numb mind. I am thus forced to painfully open my eye.

With difficulty, my still sleeping body tries to assimilate what is going on around me while this damn noise persists, not allowing me to sleep peacefully. Naruto, lying beside me and holding me in his embrace, wakes up in a jump. He looks out my window, then settles back comfortably, resting his head against my chest moistened with his drool to continue his slumber. Me too, slowly, I observe where his eyes were gazing.

I recognize Shikamaru who finally stops banging on the window; he uses his chakra to stick against the wall of the building in order to reach my window without any balcony. I blink several times and let out an inaudible lament. Curious about his impromptu, early morning visit, I mechanically glance at my dial.

It's almost eleven o'clock.

I slept for over twelve hours.

A shiver of dread slides down my spine as I had planned to continue my activity.

My mind in a daze, my eye fighting to stay open, I try to get up. My arms are shaking; they are so weakened that I seem to weigh tons. I gently push Naruto away who utters a loud complaint while frowning, but nothing more. I'm so dizzy and dazed that the static electricity covering us entirely doesn't even bother me. Sitting on the edge of my bed, I struggle not to let myself fall back. My cognitive musings fail to find a single probable explanation for my current state. Constructing the slightest concrete thought requires monumental efforts from me.

Once standing, I almost collapse, to the point of having to hold myself with the closest piece of furniture. It takes several seconds for my legs to stop wobbling and regain my balance to support myself unaided. Returning my attention to Shikamaru, who is visibly worried and puzzled, I wave to him to join me at the entrance. He nods.

Unsteadily, I walk to the entrance of my apartment. My brain struggles so much to translate the information that I almost hit the wall face first. The few steps seem to me to extend over hundreds of metres. With my clumsy gait, the youngster had plenty of time to get to my door since he's already there when I open it. Shikamaru stares at me as I cannot stop nodding, barely awake.

"Are you okay?" asks the teenager with dark irises, worried.

I take a moment to assimilate what he tells me and I delay answering. "... No ... not really," I sigh.

Shikamaru arches an eyebrow with a serious pout.

"I was yelling your name, but you weren't answering me."

A short silence.

"... Sorry. I don't know what's happening to me... My body and my head are all numb. I went to bed early yesterday ... and I completely forgot to do my report or settle the matter of the Nine-Tails..."

I almost faint again. Not to fall, I hold on to the wall, making the teenager react, ready to catch me.

"Ahoy! You can barely stand up! Your condition ain't normal, Kakashi-sensei!"

"I know... To be honest ... it's the first time I've been so exhausted... Come in, I have to sit down."

I collapse on one of my chairs in my kitchen and I forbid myself with pain from laying my head against the table which calls me with its hypnotic song. As for Shikamaru, he takes the other seat after getting rid of his sandals. I notice that he lays a long dark cloth against the back of the chair before settling down; half-conscious, I hadn't even seen it. He then hands me Godaime's medication, though it takes me a while to grab it since I'm running in slow motion.