Naruto glared at his now unbandaged hands as if waiting for them to tell him the answer to all his questions. You would too if they looked like globs of flesh not even a foot infront of your face. He sighed, turning so he could look out his hospital window. Well. At least he tried to.

Ever since he started his treatment after failing to bring back Sasuke, his vision had been steadily fading. Not that anyone knew. Whenever the doctors and nurses came to check on him, he never said a word about it. The fox was getting irritated by the loss of sight so he knew it would be pointless to tell some one seeing as an age old demon thought it couldn't be fixed. But now, after 5 days of recovery, 3 of which were spent deteriorating his sight, his once shining blue eyes had finally clouded up. They were such a pale blue that they could be mistaken for white, the pupils only a few shades darker; no longer their original black. Only an idiot wouldn't be able to tell.

Naruto trailed his eyes about the room, trying to soak up everything before he was officially blind. Everything looked like blobs of color just a minute ago; now it was like staring at an ink lot sheet. When he asked, Kyuubi told him that they would have zero vision in another two or three minutes.

Don't get him wrong. The fuzzball was an annoying, sadistic bastard, but he wasn't evil. If anything he was just as if not more nervous about the losing the ability to see as he was. After all, being trapped in a cage in the mind of a human kit and not being able to see on top of it was not fun. The reality of it all finally hit the blonde shinobi.

He would never see again. Ever.

T.T

"E-excuse me?" Tsunade stared wide-eyed at her black haired apprentice, all the blood having fled her normally young looking face. Shizune took a slow breath and closed her eyes.

"I checked up on Naruto today, but his eyes were clouded and he seemed out of it. When I asked, he said that he couldn't see anything. Tsunade-sama, I don't know if it's just temporary or permanent but as of today, genin Uzumaki Naruto is blind."

The villagers were greeted that morning by a very pale hokage speeding toward the hospital. The woman arrived at her "son's" room out of breath and literally threw the door of its hinges.

"Morning, Baa-chan! I guess Shizune-nee-chan told you, huh? Don't worry about it, I'm alright. It just feels kinda weird is all. No problem!"

Her heart dropped. Naruto was more than out of it. He looked as though the slightest breeze would break him and yet the little twerp insisted on keeping that stupid grin on his face to cheer her up like he always did. The worst part was that she knew. The moment she looked into his pale eyes, she knew he wouldn't be able see for a long time. If ever.

It took the combined strength of Shizune and ten other medic-nin to pry her from the death grip she had on the now quiet boy.

T.T

Neji was bored. He was finally awake with most of his wounds healed, but the aggravating doctors refused to discharge him. Another feature of his oh-so-wonderful recovery was that he hadn't left the confines of the hospital room until today and even then he was trapped in a wheel chair. It was ridiculous! Everyday so far he had had to listen to Gai and Lee's youthful speeches. If he did not leave this damned room he'd turn into a basketcase.

So now, here he was. Walking, er, rolling down the hall to his blonde friend's room. As he came to the door, the uneasiness radiating off of the nurses became apparent. What was wrong with these people? It wasn't as though Naruto was dead…was he?

The Hyuuga prodigy let out a sigh of relief when he spotted the blonde facing the window from his bed. Heh. All those bandages made him look like a mummy.

The blonde tilted his head. "Hello?" That's odd. He sounded a bit…lost?

"Good afternoon. I finally convinced these bothersome doctors that I could…roll around the hospital on my own. Anything but staying in that room."

"Heheh. Gai-sensei and Fuzzybrows shouting about your youthful fight, Neji?"

"…Yes." What was going on? He hasn't faced me yet and…"It is not your fault. The Uchiha was a lost cause even if you did bring him back. He was too power hungry for anything to reach him. He would only betray us again. Possibly even kill you for real the next time."

"I know…and thank you for saying that, but it's not the problem." Naruto voice had begun to quiet down and he said each word as though he was unsure of what to say. Neji had to roll up beside him to hear.

"Then what is? This is not like you. You sound…wrong. Avoiding whatever it is will not help anything. Say it."

Naruto frowned, eyes closed as he thought about his meeting with Tsunade. Deciding to be blunt, the blonde fully turned to the uptight Hyuuga, eyes open and a nervous grin on his face. He would've laughed if he could see.

Hyuuga Neji, prodigy and former master of fate, had eyes as wide as dinner plates and a body as straight as a board.

"How long." Naruto scratched his neck, his smile fading.

"Well, Shizune-nee-chan made it official yesterday—"

"No. Not how long you've been like this. How long will it last. It is not permanent is it?" Anyone else who happened to pass by would have heard a cold, curt voice leaving the elder boy's mouth much like his uncle, but Naruto could hear better than that now. Neji was worried about him, frightened even.

"Baa-chan's busy being Hokage and all, but she said a few years of research might find a cure but until then I'm blind for good. Shizune-nee-chan said it was probably caused by the curse seal chakra getting in my eyes."

Naruto flinched. He didn't need to see to know how—for a lack of better words—absolutely pissed off Neji was. When they had first met, the Hyuuga had been a stuck up jackass even worse than the Uchiha. Now, though, he was still a bit stiff backed but the boy had also become protective of his friends. Hinata and Naruto were at the top of his list. Neji closed his eyes.

"Naruto, if you still wish to chase after the traitor, make sure that I do not find him first."