Maya - a Naruto Fanfic

68. Inspiration Struck

My heart hammers against my chest, my fingers are wrapped tightly in my sheets, and the bed below my hips is wet.

Jesus christ.

I sit up slowly, shivering, and lift the sheets. Not blood, just urine. I've never been relieved to have only wet the bed before.

I don't want to move, but the sheets need to be cleaned, probably the futon as well. And I'll need to air the room out. So I struggle to my feet and strip my futon with shaking hands, still hyper aware of my heartbeat.

That panicked th-thump th-thump th-thump is only drowned out by the rattle of the washing machine, and for a moment I lay back against the door and watch the sheets spin around, seeing nothing.

Everyone says that dreams mean something, nightmares especially. I was always a little sceptical, but if any dream means something, this one does. But that can wait, there's still hours until morning and I need to scrub down the futon.

I wet the bed a lot after mum and dad divorced, pretty much every night. I can't remember why, but it got to be so much of a problem that mum got in touch with a counsellor she knew, booked me in for a session. They talked, and then I talked, and somewhere along the line I made the decision to stop wetting the bed, and that was it, for a while at least. It came back again when dad remarried, but I was older then, I cleaned it up myself.

I sit and watch the sheets spin until the beep sounds. Dragging myself off the floor is hard, but the futon needs to be scrubbed and aired out. My entire body feels heavy, as though I'm already carrying the futon, but when I slide open my bedroom door, it's not there. I freeze.

"You could have woken me up." I spin to see Tsuyoshi leaning against the wall behind me, looking older than I've seen him in all my time here.

"It's- embarrassing, to be wetting the bed at 13." My shoulders curl in almost on their own, and my hands twist in the front of my t-shirt.

"You've been severely traumatised. We expected it."

"I'm not traumatised-" I scoff, but Tsuyoshi just talks over me.

"You are, and it's okay. You're in a strange world, you were interrogated, and threatened, you almost drowned, then you were poisoned, then gutted - which killed you, even if for just a moment. Then you were slashed again, and you burned your hands when you summoned a power you never realised you had, or could have. All in less than 3 months. Maya, you're allowed to be traumatised, you're allowed to be hurt, and scared, and you're allowed to feel vulnerable."

"I can't be! My mum's not here, there's no one- there's no one to take care of me! I can't afford to be vulnerable!"

"Your mum's not here, that's true, but you're not alone. Masumi and I are here to take care of you, and keep you safe." Tsuyoshi tells me, and the world seems to pause for a moment. Seconds pass, he and I just staring at each other, until I draw a deep breath in...

And burst into tears.

Tsuyoshi wraps his arms around me and holds me close as I cry and cry and cry, fingers hooked tightly in his pyjama top. One of his hands starts petting the back of my head, and I can't help but cry harder, clinging to him until I lose track of time.

At some point, we sank down onto the floor, his long legs crossed around me, tall frame hunched over me, protective.

Safe.