Naruto: The Seraph Project

Chapter 37: Embraced by Pain

TW: Blood

The still stubborn pain pulls me out of my slumber. The pangs of agony get worse and cause me to grab and hold my numb arm. Half asleep, I grit my teeth and wait for the pain to fade away with silent complaints. I take deep breaths as the crisis passes. Fortunately, the infernal sensations quickly become bearable.

It's only then that I open my eye and a loud sound is pounding in my head as if I've had a little too much alcohol. The glow of the sun blinds my retina for a breath. Sitting down with difficulty, holding my shaking arm, I realize that I'm free from all usual restraints before finally discovering the source of this din which is starting to make my hair stand on end.

For the first time, Naruto isn't glued to me—rather, he isn't touching or brushing against me. On his stomach, half of his limbs hanging in the air, including his black tail resting on the ground, the teenager snores like a forge ... and these snores are excruciating. I wonder if it was him who woke me up since sleeping in such conditions without earplugs is impossible for me. It's also likely that I was able to because of his toxin in my blood.

Besides the sharp pain, I feel well and rested.

Looking at my dial, I'm relieved to see that it's only seven in the morning. I managed to stop Naruto in time ... well, I think since we went to bed relatively early. However, I won't complain.

The blond is sleeping like a log. I don't know if he fell asleep or not that night, but I plan to wake him up to get him to follow my daytime rhythm. In the worst of worlds, his amorphous state will make him obedient; a blessing in disguise, as they say.

I pull myself up to the end of the bed to get up. I walk around him, being careful not to step on his tail and thus cause him a brutal awakening. In front of Naruto, I remove the blanket; the sapphire-eyed boy is unresponsive and is sound asleep. I see that he's still wearing his forehead protector around his neck and that his wounds are almost healed and will be completely healed by tomorrow, although the redness remains as much. I put a hand on his shoulder to shake him a few times, calling out to him in a loud voice. After a few jerks, my student frowns and stops his loud racket.

"Naruto, get up!" I curtly order him.

He moans with a grumble, then turns to show me his back, twirling his tail uselessly. He's awake, but he's letting me know his desire to continue his activity.

"Naruto!"

Naruto lets out a muffled grunt before taking the pillow to forcefully slam it on his head; at that, I hear a lightning and then a second. The blond got out of bed on the wrong side, no need to specify it. Knowing the old Naruto, he has a tendency to oversleep, especially in the morning; the fact that his internal clock tracks that of a nocturnal creature doesn't help either. As for me, I'm not impressed and frown in turn.

"I'll give you until I get back from the shower," I tell him sternly, squeezing a rotten, angry lament out of the grumpy boy.

I leave the teenager to shower and get rid of this damn veil of static electricity. In addition, it will allow Naruto to calm down ... if, in the meantime, he doesn't go back to sleep. In the bathroom, I take the opportunity to examine the condition of my still trembling arm. If I touch it, the pain causes excruciating twinges and extracts muffled squeaks from me as I unroll the bandage.

The redness didn't leave it and gave way to a bluish and purplish hematoma, underlining that I had cut a relatively large vein by forcefully removing his killer canines away from me. Also, the skin is slightly swollen and burning, but the wounds are healthy. However, I note with concern that the stitches are giving way and are releasing some scarlet pearls... Did I rush my work last night? I doubt; I've sutured far more serious wounds than this in the past.