Chapter 41

"It's a wonder that you survived at all. Whoever healed your wounds wasn't very skilled, but it's evident that they tried very hard to save your life. It'll be a couple months before you're fully healed. Now that your life isn't in danger, the next step is to undo some of the mistakes that were made with your initial treatment, starting with realigning the muscles in your leg. Kid, I don't envy you. Even with the painkillers, this is going to hurt," the medical ninja explained to me. I always thought their suits were funny looking but the man's expression was completely serious. "At least, other than the eye, you should completely recover. Are you ready?"

"Yes," I answered. But I wasn't ready for the jolt of pain in my leg as the man applied a glowing hand to my left calf. It was like a terrible charley horse straightening itself. I grit my teeth and tried to stay still to let him work. I was not looking forward to the next few treatment sessions. Apparently the chest muscles would hurt even more.

"Thanks again for the flowers, Ino." The small bouquets truly did a great job at livening up my hospital room. After a couple weeks, it no longer hurt simply to move or talk, and other than the bandages over my right eye and chest which made me look like a mini-Danzo, I was starting to look relatively normal.

"No problem, Haru. How are you doing with those medical textbooks?" she asked.

"Just fine. I can't let you and Sakura get too far ahead of me, after all," I said with a smile. Sakura had joined Ino in my stead for the medical classes, as I was laid up in bed and unable to attend for the time being. I felt guilty that Ino had decided to start the medical program without me, but at least she managed to coerce another friend into joining with her. It would be extremely hard for a six year old. I had planned on helping her understand the material but maybe she and Sakura could to manage on their own. Kabuto certainly didn't have any problems learning at a young age.

"Just watch. We're going to be the best medical ninja ever," Ino said with an enthusiastic grin.

"That reminds me. If you see Hinata, can you tell her thank you for me? She made me a copy of her Academy lecture notes but I wasn't awake when she dropped them off." I tended to be exhausted after the iryo-nin tried to fix the mess Buddy Medic had left. If not for those complications, I would probably have been able to leave within another week.

"Sure, Haru. Is there anything else you need? If there's anything I can do..." Ino was being really sweet because I was hurt, but I didn't need anything.

"Nah, I'll be fine. I'm just looking forward to going home eventually," I said.

"By the way, Sakura has been asking a lot of questions about you lately. She keeps asking if I've noticed anything weird about you. What should I tell her?" It was easy to see on Ino's face how torn she was between the two of us.

"If it's just Sakura, just tell her whatever you want," I answered with a shrug. "I might just start telling people I have a kekkai genkai, just so I don't have to explain myself over and over again."

"Haru...you haven't done anything weird to Sakura, have you?" Ino inquired with a serious-looking pout.

"Hm. I don't think I've ever even really talked to Sakura. Whenever the two of you are together, I don't really feel like intruding," I admitted with another smile and shrug.

"Alright. I have to get back to the shop. Get well soon, Haru."

"Thanks, Ino."

It wasn't unusual for me to be asleep during the day. People were less likely to notice me training in the middle of the night. I desperately wanted learn the Shadow Clone Technique. And that meant I needed to perfect the ordinary Academy Clone Technique. I didn't expect the Kage Bunshin to be any easier for me to learn than the Bunshin no Jutsu. At least, stuck in bed, I had a lot of time to practice.

After about a month and a half in the Konoha Hospital, I was finally ready to go home. I had opted simply to receive a prosthetic eye in lieu of an actual transplant, but not before making sure that a future transplant was possible. I now sported a nifty eyepatch like Ao of Kirigakure wore. Not that most people would notice through the genjutsu I placed on it to make it look like I had two normal eyes. That meant I would have two permanent genjutsu to maintain. Although my original extra-dark shadow illusion was more of an exercise than a deception.

Naruto had brought me my coat and clothes. I was a t-shirt and pants kind of person underneath my stylish and flattering Black Coat. He explained that he had gotten them a long time ago in a failed attempt at having Kiba and Akamaru track me down by scent. I was just glad that I didn't have to leave the Hospital in a disposable gown.

The first thing I noticed was that my door had been replaced. A sense of dread filled me when I turned the handle and walked inside my apartment. "Why is everything wrong?" It was as if every one of my belongings had been rearranged in my absence. To anyone else, my apartment would have looked tidy, if a bit dusty. To me, it was complete mayhem, as if someone had attempted to clean up without knowing exactly where anything went, which made sense if Naruto had been searching for clues about my disappearance.

I immediately went to the kitchen and opened my fridge. It was nearly empty except a few bottles of condiments in the door and a lone tub of miso in the back. There was no jar of grape jelly. I stared at the scant contents of my fridge for a full minute before closing the refrigerator door in disgust. "Motherfucker..."