Hey guys. I'm rewriting a previous work of mine. If you were a fan of it or read it, you'll know that this story was published a while ago. If this is your first time here, you can read this story independently. My goal is to improve on some of the issues I made and hopefully create a more realistic perspective on trauma and growth. Some aspects of the story will stay the same but others won't be in the story at all. I suggest going into this without the notion that both stories are the same. All criticism is welcome. Thank you. (:

Sounds cluttered his headspace. Like a foreign language, the words jumbled together in his mind creating a concoction of confusion. He tried to discern individual phrases but nothing started to register until he felt control over his eyes. Slowly, he struggled to open his eyes, only to process a head of pink. Through squinting, he makes out full lips, forming circles and revealing teeth. They repeat the movement again and again until he realizes what they're saying. Naruto.

Like rising from the depths of the ocean, sounds gain more clarity and light grows brighter. His eyes grow larger and the rising volume of his name finally clicks in his mind.

"-ruto...Naru-...Naruto!" Her bitten lips snap him out his stupor. Releasing a breath he didn't realize he was holding, Naruto looks around. Linen sheets cover his aching body. A tube disappears under those sheets, connecting his arm to a bag of clear fluid. A hand clasps his own and he tries to follow with his head, but there's a burning pain that shoots through his neck. Like a splintered arrow, the pain sends tears to Narutos eyes, causing him to clench the hand in his own. "Naruto," she breathes out softly. Her voice is tinged with concern and something he can't identify. Was it pity?

Again, he opens his eyes as the pain simmers down, to stare into her glassy pair. Unknowingly, his mouth tugs at the corners, almost instinctual. He tries to say it. He really does. But the blistering pain shoots through his neck once again. Sakura. Why can't he say her name?

She presses firmly on his upper arm now, as if trying to warn him. "Naruto, please don't strain yourself." Her voice is so quiet that it cracks. It lessens only some of his agony.

Click.

Someone enters the room, pulling their attention away from each other. He recognizes her immediately. Her eyes seem to sting at seeing him too. "Tsunade-sama," Sakura starts in her uncharacteristically small voice. "I think he needs an explanation. Please." Sakura squeezes his arm at her last word.

With a heavy sigh, Tsunade searches Narutos eyes for some time, as if searching for the right thing to say. Stretching the time, she finds her resolve. Letting her head loll foward in defeat, her eyebrows begin to twitch together as she struggles to form the words.

"Forgive me Naruto. We really tried, Sakura and I. There was so much damage to your body. We didn't even know where to start. I thought- We thought we would lose you." Naruto flinched. "By the time we stopped your internal bleeding, your more superficial wounds already started to heal on their own. It caused scarring that we couldn't reverse. Please understand that we tried. We really did." As if having a vice grip on her throat, Tsunade squeezes out the rest of her apology. "The damage to your vocal cords had already scarred up when you arrived. You most likely won't be able to speak again. It seems that Itac..."

Naruto misses the way tears press out of Tsunades clenched eyes. Her speech swims in his head. He fails to grasp the slippery phrases. I won't be able to speak again? Naruto doesn't hear the rest of her apology as his breath quickens. An image of painted nails flashes in his mind. The swirling of three tomoes invade his thoughts and strike the space behind his forehead. He can't stop the smell of blood and evergreen occupying his lungs. It suffocates him. Foregoing restraint, Naruto clutches his neck, urging a breath to properly escape his mouth. He wants to purge those smells from his body but it only asphyxiates him more.

He can't feel the slender hands that hold him down now. He can only feel the thick fingers that wrap around his throat. They pinch his skin and distract him from the humid breath against his ear. Naruto strains against his bindings but he's locked in an iron-clad grip. The ring on the mans finger digs into his pulse and Naruto can't help but cry out. No sound escapes him. No one can save him. Not even the pretty boy that watches him helplessly in his memories. The sweet relief of a dreamless slumber takes him. He forgets about the long-haired man, for now.