SIMM-Jackass of the year

And The Jackass of the Year Award Goes To...</u>

(Ochi’s P.O.V.)

I lay awake on the bed staring at the ceiling, not because it was interesting, simply because my chest hurt too much to sleep. After all, it had only been three days since I had found the strength to walk, and most recently fight. The fight we had been in left me with some bruises and I was still…weak. To tell the truth it was a darkly comfortable change from the pain that had once wracked my arms. I lay there for some time listening to the breathing of the girl beside me. She had insisted on staying with me through the night and I, for some foolish reason, had decided to humor her. She looked so calm, so cozy. I rarely let her stay like this. Normally I would send her away but this night I was simply too tired and in too much pain. She could probably sense that something was wrong anyway. She had that annoying talent.
I wasn’t afraid of the dark. I never have been. Not even when I was a little kid. And lately I had spent far too many nights alone in it, trying not to scream out in pain or cough blood. Yet this night had been different. I felt tense and the shadows that loomed through the window did nothing to ease the situation. Had I really become this paranoid since my encounter with the third Hokage?
Silently I drew back the covers and stepped from the bed. The girl mumbled something in her sleep and turned over. I stood, hardly daring to breathe; hoping I hadn’t woke her up. Finally, convinced that she was still asleep, I walked out of the room. As I snuck out of the room I threw one last glance at the girl.
As I stepped outside the fresh air hit me, like a punch in the chest. I drew in a couple of deep breaths of the fresh, crisp night air. For a few fleeting seconds I felt so alive, so full of bliss, but soon the feeling was drowned by a wave of dull pain. I hissed and clutched my chest, feeling the ribs beneath my skin. I had lost weight during my illness. I sat on the step of the front door and looked into the night sky, above me hung the crescent moon. I sighed.
I didn’t know how long I sat there, savoring the night breeze, staring at that crescent moon. I didn’t really think about anything in particular, but stared thoughtfully into that sky as if waiting for answers which were never to come. It was chilly and I wasn’t wearing anything more than the haori robe I usually wore to sleep. I sighed and hunched my shoulders. It was very cold.
Suddenly I felt a warmer; someone had put a blanket around his shoulders. I didn’t need to look up to know who it was. I hadn’t heard her coming. Maybe it was because I was so deep in thought. Maybe it was because she had been studying at moving silently. Maybe it was both. It didn’t matter really, what mattered was that she was here and that she had seen me like this, weak.
She sat down beside me, another blanket wrapped around her own shoulders. I didn’t know what to say. I waited. She smiled softly. I glanced away. I was surprised when she put her hand on mine and that she didn’t say anything. She was still smiling softly as her lips touched my cheek.
“Just what the Hell do you think you’re doing?!” I snapped.