Naruto: The Seraph Project

Chapter 57: Treatments and Samples

I'm slowly drawn from my sleep. I utter numerous complaints of pain and discomfort; at that, a steady noise pierces my eardrums, as if someone were playing drums next to me. My whole body is on fire, I'm sweaty and my neglected muscles are sore. I'm still tired, a little sick and I haven't recovered enough chakra either... I mean, not as I'd have liked; I have to feed my pupil with chakra, after all.

I painfully open my eyelid. Chinese shadows quickly become concrete forms; my vision stabilizes. I recognize Naruto in my bed and his hair is slightly standing on end; I hear his frantic heartbeat, betraying his stress. The hellish sound that looks like knocking on my front door subsides. I have a visitor. Glancing outside, night has just fallen. I sigh. Naruto poisoned me too much and as a result I slept all day...

All in all, I really needed it.

"Stay there, Naruto," I tell him, running a gentle hand through his lightning mane.

I ignore the throbbing pain and hurry to my feet. I quicken my pace when the knocking stops, although my wobbly legs slow me down. Opening the door, no one is there. I stick my head out to look from right to left.

On the way out, I see Sakura looking back at me; she carries a backpack and a big satchel in her arms.

"Kakashi-Sensei!" she exclaims, turning back.

"Good evening, Sakura. What are you doing here?"

"I came to treat your wounds, Master Tsunade's order," the girl explains to me. "I've been here three times today and you never answered..."

"I see... Sorry," I flatly apologize as I let out a few nervous laughs, one hand in my static-covered hair. "I was knocked out by Naruto's venom. I just woke up."

Her emerald eyes, which examine me from head to toe, are veiled with concern; these linger on my butchered arms and brutalized with bruises and scratches.

"Come in," I invite her.

Sakura silently nods before entering my home. In doing so, she activates the switch and therefore the light. Pushing a useless complaint, I'm dazzled for the time of a breath. Instinctively, I raised my arm to dim the influx of light while closing my eyelid.

"Are you okay, Kakashi-Sensei...?"

A silence.

I rub my half-open dark iris, and it takes a while to get used to the glow. Moreover, this sudden and unwanted gleam attacks my pupil. This tingling sensation is weird and foreign to me; I feel like hundreds of painless needles are teasing my retina. Strange.

"... I am, don't worry," I reassure her, smiling. "Allow me to take a look at Naruto first."

Sakura stares at me, unconvinced. Nevertheless, she settles in the kitchen and prepares her medical equipment on the table.

Meanwhile, I inquire about the condition of the feral boy, who was visibly on the edge. With his emotional crisis this morning, I'm a little anxious. Naruto is sitting on my sheets and has wrapped himself in the blanket. He looks back at me, then offers a shy smile when he sees me—something I imitate. Therefore, he lengthens quietly in a ball. He doesn't show it, but he's still just as upset. That he prefers to stay in bed when night has fallen says a lot about his psyche, which almost broke a second time.

I quickly return to the kitchen. I collapse on one of the chairs and obediently let Sakura take care of me. She rummages in her satchel, from which she takes out a pocket filled with a transparent liquid; this is a solution intended to restore my strength and hydrate me. Given my lamentable state, I gladly accept. She improvises a stand for the bag as I roll up my sleeve. She pushes the needle into the crook of my elbow; that fleeting, sweet pain is nice next to Naruto's monstrous fangs.