I've got creative juice in me I need to squeeze out. Another project I am working on with Blackout (check it out, it's frakkin awesome). Not going to be long. Inspiration, Coldplay's Yellow.

Enjoy.

Your skin,
Oh yeah your skin and bones,
Turn into something beautiful,
You know, you know I love you so,
You know I love you so.

~ o O o~

"What the hell is your problem!" A silver haired woman, around her early twenties, screamed at a man across the room.

"My problem? I don't have any, besides you screaming at me."

"Oh, you're so funny Ruki I almost forgot to laugh." She brushed past him and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"I can't take it anymore, I just can't. If you aren't going to put any effort into this relationship, then neither am I. I love you, I really do. But I'm not going to put myself through this any longer." She opened the door and closed it behind her.

He sat at the table, alone once again. This was the third time she walked out on him, but she always came back. But tonight, he feared she may never return. And it was his entire fault, she was right; he didn't put any effort into their love. Every day, she would surprise him with something new, be it dinner or a night out, he never said anything or thanked her once. He'd see her force back the tears, but didn't try to comfort her. He was a heartless being, but couldn't stand being apart from his mate. Something was wrong with him.

His bottle of vodka was empty, just like his body. Winter never felt so cold.

"Damn it all."

Sakura took the needle out of the boy's arm and smiled at him as she wiped the spot with antibiotics, before putting a band aid on it.

"There you go Hachi, and since you've been such a good boy, I'm going to give you this lollipop."

"Yes!"

The boy enthusiastically grabbed the green pop from her hands and ran back to his mother.

"Mine-san, I won't charge you for the flu shots, I know that you're in a bit of a financial rut right now."

"Thank you so much doctor Haruno, I was so worried my poor son wouldn't be able to receive any medical help. This winter is so terrible, if he had gotten the flu..."

Sakura put a hand on her shoulder, "No problem at all. Just make sure he stays indoors and wear warm cloths all the time."

"Thank you again."

She watched the pair leave and returned to her office, completely work out. For twelve hours straight, she'd been up in arms trying to get to as many patients as possible. Everyone was at the hospital for the same reason; flu shots. Not only was it Konoha's worst winter in over fifty years, but a rumored virus has been said to be spreading around the young children.

Thankfully no one had caught the flu yet, but everyone, mainly parents, had been pouring in for the past week. Her ears were still ringing from all the crying, some kids were terrific and took the shots in stride, while some…put Ino's screaming to shame.

She checked her watch, it was ten minutes to midnight and the hospital was still packed. She inwardly groaned and left her office, heading towards the front desk.

"Hey Midori,"

"Hey Doctor, you've got a full house."

"Damn it, why do they always come see me?"

"Because you're the best."

"I know, but I'm still tired."

"Maybe I can get Tora to fill in for you at one."

"Could you please!" She grabbed the nurse's shoulders and shook, "Because that would make me so, so happy!"

"I-can-try-but-can-you-please-stop-shaking-me?"

"Sorry." She let her go and forced a smile as she turned around and greeted yet another parent with their screaming child in their arms, "Flu shot? Right this way."

Shizen ran through the blistering winds and freezing cold in one direction. She didn't know where she was going, but all she wanted to do was run. Away from the pain, away from the heartache, and away from him. Because if she stayed any longer in the village, she'd be running back to him like she always did. Was it wrong to admit she was hopelessly in love with him? The man who never smiled, the man who didn't care, the emotionless bastard that didn't give a shit about their relationship.

Her heart broke every time he looked away from her, tears would threaten to fall down her face, but she always held it back. Forcing herself to be strong and try again and again. But not matter how many times she told him she loved him, or kissed him, or slept with him. He would do nothing and walk away, like she didn't matter.

The winter night numbed her heart and soul until she was an emotionless wreck, just like him. She didn't want to feel anything, she just wanted to toss away all of her emotions and keep running.

I hate how much I love you.

She didn't know where she was going, her legs were taking her away, far away and at an abnormal speed. Her nose was becoming dry, despite the weather. Snow fell from the sky like rain, smothering her in a blanket of white. The storm was getting worse and she was far from home, from anything warm. If she didn't find shelter quick, death would be waiting just around the corner.

Where the hell am I going?

Suddenly, she ran into something and fell back.

"What was that?"

It was a man's voice, deep and powerful. He bent over and looked at her with curious eyes. Shouting over the roaring wind, he called one of his men over.

"What is?"

"Take a look at this."

"What in the world is it doing out here?"

"I don't know, but we should it get inside before it freezes to death."

"Careful, it might bite you."

"Don't worry," The man lifted Shizen up, cradling her like she was only a baby, "I think she's all worn out."

Ruki couldn't stand the emptiness, even though he enjoyed it immensely. But if she was there running for him, there was no point in being alone. On top of that, he didn't have any more liquor to drown himself in. But it was snowing like mad outside, the wind howled angrily, and the temperature dropped below freezing, if that was possible.

He growled and looked outside, a few people braved the cold and rushed inside, and making last minute stops before running home. Normally, he would be hibernating or sleeping until the sun started working again. He hated winter and anything related to water except alcohol. But there was no one else to get him his drink, if Shizen was here she would do it in a heartbeat.

"This is my punishment; I actually have to do something for once."

He changed into his winter coat and left his house, complaining on his way to the convenient store.

"Thank you so much Midori!" Sakura waved at the nurse and left the building in a hurry.

She wanted to get home as quickly as possible; the thin coat she was stupid enough to bring wasn't even close to keeping her warm. It was basically like wearing air, and that was no good. Her apartment was eight blocks away, to her utter annoyance. Of all nights for there to be a storm, it had to be on her busiest and longest day at work.

"Stupid storm, stupid cold, stupid coat, stupid me."

She had to squint her eyes in order to see anything, limiting her view to only tiny slits. Everywhere she turned, a pile of white fluff flew into her face. Her nose turned bright red and so were her ears.

"Hey mommy it's Rudolph!"

"Come in boy," The mother slammed the door.

"Ha. Ha, wait till you get your shots kid, wait till you get your shots."

Her legs pushed through the pain and raging winds, carrying her past the convenient store, which was the half way point. She stopped inside to pick up some hot chocolate mix and pet food, purposely idling inside to get out of the storm and hesitated to go back outside. The store was nice and warm, but she knew she had to get back home; otherwise her cat would starve to death.

As she was leaving, a low moan and growl caught her attention. A shiver, not from the cold, ran up her spine. It was a sickly sound, like someone was dying or in great, unbearable pain. The sound was coming from around the corner, where the back entrance for the store was. Even though it was foolish of her, she went around the corner and gaped at what she saw. A pile of glass surrounded a dog, she assumed, and a rather large shard was sticking of its thigh. She looked up and saw that one of the windows was broken; the animal must have tried to get in but failed, probably trying to get out of the cold. Droplets of blood sprinkled on the snow as a puddle of the crimson liquid formed under its thigh.

Being the kind hearted person that she was, she couldn't leave a suffering animal to die in the cold. But she didn't know what to do, animals were not her forte. However, given the circumstances, she carefully made her way to the dog and knelt beside it.

It growled at her, aware that it was not alone now.

"Shh, it's alright. I'm not going to hurt you."

She gently eased her hands toward it, hoping it would recognize her as friendly. Amazingly, it did and allowed her to touch him. Her eyes fell to its leg, examining the wound and trying to calculate how deep it was. Already she could tell it was nothing she could fix out here, pulling the glass shard out would only injure the animal more.

With no other choice, she had to bring it home. There laid the problem, how was she going to carry this giant dog-thing home with her? It looked heavier than her. She didn't want to drag it all the way back, that would be unethical, and there was no one around to help her. She bravely tried scooping the animal in her arms, and lifting it up. Not only did it look heavy, but it weighed a toe. It was like carrying an adult, but thankfully her training paid off so she mildly struggled carrying the animal home.

She made it back to her apartment in record time, desperate to get out of the cold. Her arm felt like it was going to snap in half, cradling the dog in one arm and trying to find her keys. She successfully got the door open and slammed it shut with her foot. Gently, she set the dog down on her kitchen floor and ran into the bathroom, grabbing as much of her medical supplies as possible, and bringing it back to the kitchen. The dog was heaving at this point, so she had to act quickly.

Now she was in professional mode all over again, she cleaned her hands thoroughly and started the procedure. She applied antibiotics around the room before grabbing her medical tools and attempted to take the glass out. The dog growled in pain as it felt the shard leaving its leg.

"I know it hurts, but be strong."

A little while later, she pulled it out and gaped. The glass was several inches long and dug deep into his flesh, possibly tearing vital veins and tissue.

"Don't worry, I'll everything I can to help you."

She wasn't sure if the dog understood her, but it looked at her for a second before closing its eyes and dropped its head to the floor. This was going to be quite difficult, she'd never worked on an animal before, and even when training on her surgical lessons they were always on donated bodies. But she was the best doctor in all of Konoha besides her former master, and would do anything to save a life. Whether it be human or not.

What kind of dog are you?

As she was working, her thought couldn't help running wild. The fur was unusual, though it had normal black like every other dog; a single gold stripe ran from the top of its head to the tip of its long tail. The ears had white tips and it's were a musky grey, giving it a lazy look. It was male, that was plainly obvious, but there was no collar or indication that it belonged to anyone.

Was this the result of some sick science experiment?

She was nearly finished stitching and wrapping the wound up when suddenly, the dog let out an ear splitting howl. She fell back and covered her ears and eyes. Even the howl didn't seem normal, it sounded like it came from a monster, a terrible beast that was suffering. Finally it stopped and started crawling towards the door.

"Whoa, come back!"

She ran blocked its way, earning her a snarl. It bared its pearly white canines at her; its grey eyes became much darker.

"I only want to help; you are in no condition to leave."

"Shizen."

Her eyes bulged out of their sockets, and looked at the dog incredulously. It almost sounded like it said something, like a name. But that was impossible, animals don't speak. She must have been imagining it since the beast was growling at her and she was very tired.

She stood her ground and waited for it to come at her; but instead, it gave up and slowly closed its mouth. Putting its head down the floor.

"Now are we going to be a good doggie?"

It threw its paw down, possibly meaning that it was willing to cooperate.

"Okay, let's get back to your leg."

~o O o~

For you I'd bleed myself dry,
For you I'd bleed myself dry.

Birthed from Crack and Sugar. Shit happens. I promise the next chapter will be less confusing, if this was any confusing.

Ciao