Back in Black

Nothing made sense, his senses were unable to coordinate any type of effort to establish where he was. He first gave the mental command to his arms to start attempting to move in any form to show he wasn't incapable. How long had he been out, his joints were stiff and unresponsive and he still couldn't motivate his eyes to open.

As he lay in darkness the sensation of touch came back ever so slowly as he felt the warmth and texture of the bed sheets he was under. This was good as it meant he hadn't been captured, there however was a tightness around his wrists and ankles that he could feel as the nerve endings in those areas came back online.

Something bad must have happened, or he was captured and his captors were extremely nice. His mind rushed and he clenched his eyes tighter from the sudden pain, letting out a slight wince as memories flooded back allowing him to re live what had happened and why he was here. When the mental movie stopped playing he was left with nothing but sadness and a throbbing headache. The ones he had attacked were mere kids undeserving of such a cruel fate, he had even broken one of their arms. Amends were out of the question and he doubted any of them would look at him the same or want to come near him.

He pulled his left hand again against the bindings in a failed attempt to release himself yet his strength was no where near ready for any exertion. As he slowly forced his eyes open, his retina began to burn as the unfiltered light hit them with intense rays. He swiveled his head to look side to side and noticed he was in this room by himself, more than likely for everyone's own good.

The only good thing he could gather from this was that there were no more voices echoing out from his mind, just the soft hum of the one that didn't care. There were no more games being played and no more continuous scratching at his mind to be let free, just a soft quiet song.

It was time to return to the world of the living and also apologize to everyone he had hurt. with a raspy voice and a heavy heart he made the call.

"Nurse, I'm awake"

Just as he spoke, there was a knock at the door. Kira, who had been in the hospital to view the deceased as well as check herself out for injuries had finally gotten wind of her team mates entrance and felt the need to visit and see if he was well. "Youka? It's Kira may. I come in?" Her voice waivered a bit, not in fear but sounding weak, almost as if she were the one in the hospital bed being visited. If he allowed her entry she would walk in, giving him a nod of acknowledgement.

"sorry my friend, but I am no nurse. It wouldn't due to have the village leader in a white skirt, though it might raise moral, I have dynamite legs after all." Maku chuckled. He had been visiting Youka's secret room almost every day since their altercation. He worried that the massive chakra influx and genjutsu effects might have addled his brain permanently, but it looked like now that was a worry that wouldn't see fruition. Placing the book he had ben reading on the side table, he moved to help his friend sit up. "Youve been out for quite some time you know."

With that a sound could be heard on the door. Kira would most likely walk in, looking pathetic. Maku made a face, he had assumed she wasn't going to be so mousy anymore after everything that had happened, but whatcha going to do.

The room was cold and was probably making Youka's joints stiff, because it was actaully located in the morgue. He had wanted to keep his friend hidden, in the even of anyone stupid enough to look for revenge. How Kira found it, he would never know. One thing was for sure though, that front desk clerk was getting fired.

Hearing his friends voice was a welcome and also sour taste in Youka's mouth on one hand he was happy that his friend was by his side to help him back. On the other he knew what he had done and didn't feel that he deserved such a good friend.

"Hey Maku, thanks for putting me in the freezer"

He would chuckle slightly before it turned into a harsh cough as his vocal chords got back into the habit of being used. As he sat up in the bed Youka looked down at his hands and legs where they were strapped down to the sides.

"Think you could help me out here and undo these"

Nodding his head down towards the restraints he watched as Kira opened and slid into the room quietly. He had apparently been out for some time now and he couldn't remember the last time he saw here either.

"Hey Kira"

" hey Youka. Long time no see." Her face brightened as she say him and as he addressed her, directly after what sounded to her like the coughs of a man in the finality of death her expression turned to worry. "Maku" she gave him a slight nod before turning her attention back to youka. "What...,, happened?" She knew so much had happened since they last met, her life had changed drastically more times then she could count but it seemed while she held only mental and emotional scars her friend's trouble, whatever it was, held much more physical issues.

"O sory about that, I forgot those were there" He would move to unlock each leather strap. Which took some time, since there was 3 for each limb. Well the guy was strong, what were they supposed to do. Once it was all done, he sat back down and opened his book back to were he was reading. "And as for the freezer, I kinda like it. So much warmer than upstairs." Once again he would laugh. Maku thought the funniest person in the world was himself, so this wasn't that hard to do.

He wouldn't nod to Kira. He was still a bit perturbed on how everything had been going. Instead he would just relax in his seat, and speak when spoken to. One thing was for sure though, how these two would greet each other was sure to be fantastic. Though, he was pretty much done saving people, so he hoped it didn't get to messy. He just bought this new suit after all, and he looked damn good in it.

"It's fine I'm sure I deserved it"

Youka flexed his wrists and rotated them around while gripping his muscles to warm them back up. He couldn't help but feel bad for all of this, he was always blacking out and waking up to a lot of bad things happening that were usually all his fault. Listening to his friend make his jokes as usual calmed his mind though as it always did when he was over thinking.

Looking towards kira once again he dismissed the question she had asked, as he wasn't ready to answer it at this time and quickly asked his own.

"How was your travels, last I remember you were heading to a few villages on your own. Did you find what you needed in Konoha"

"Yes actually. I had a lovely time in konoha for the most part. I remember things now....I was a hyuuga." The name still felt strange on her tongue. Kiranomo hyuuga. She liked it but needed to get used to it she supposed. She moved quickly to a seat around three feet from maku's along the wall, sliding into the enormous padded chair. It was always nice, she supposed to have a little comfort.

"I also learned a bunch of new jutsu. Some pretty terrible situations arose but I'm working through them. For the most part I'm surviving and trying to look on the bright side. Maku had still not actually addressed her, which worried the girl tremendously. It was always maku she had trust and confided in.

Maku sat and watched them talk. Using his powers of vague manipulation, he suddenly reached to the table next to him and drank from his tea glass. That was all he did.

Youka's voice was coming back and he felt it becoming stronger the more he worked the vocal box. Listening to Kira was actually enjoyable for once and not centered around ensuring she didn't say anything that needn't be said. He nodded and smiled slightly at here when she mentioned learning a few new techniques. Her skill and abilities were always something to admire.

What caught his ears on a sour pitch was the fact that some "bad" things had happened in konoha that he couldn't help but shake.

"What do you mean Kira"

He said it finally sitting up completely straight and turning his vision on her directly. He hoped it wasn't anything too bad or at least something easily remedied. From the way Maku was sitting and not talking he could tell that he knew what was about to be said already.