Paramour
Chapter I- Beginnings
Sakura rushed through the hospital doors and was met by Shizune and a couple of nurses. Despite their efforts to conceal their panic, Sakura could feel their nervous energy, and tried not to let it get to her. But she was feeling the pressure as well, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. Tsunade was at a Hokage delegation, and while she was gone, Sakura was on call at all hours to deal with any emergency cases.
"What are the injuries?" Sakura asked Shizune while acting professional despite the slight flutter she felt in her stomach. She always got a little nervous when there were emergency cases like this one, mostly because she was afraid of the reality that it could be someone she knew that needed her help. She had yet to be put in a situation where she would have to battle to save the life of one of her friends or family.
Shizune looked down at her clipboard as she rushed to the emergency room with Sakura. "Male, 21 years of age, was brought in at the brink of death. Has numerous fractures, with severe internal bleeding and organ failure."
Sakura listened carefully to the debriefing, mentally preparing herself for the possibility that this patient might not make it out of this hospital alive. She pushed through the emergency room doors, and immediately looked over at the patient. Her breathing stopped for just a second before she composed herself again and took in the scene laid before her. On the bed lay Hyuuga Neji; ANBU captain and Hyuuga genius. She couldn't imagine what he had been through to put him in this condition- bloody, broken, and barely alive. She soon realized that one of her greatest fears had materialized right in front of her eyes. Here was someone she knew, whose life depended on her.
She rushed to his side and placed her hands on his chest. Her healing chakra glowed green around her hands as it made its way into Neji's body. She closed her eyes and blocked out the sound of the heart monitors and the voices of the medics around her, concentrating on her task. She would most likely be here all night healing Neji's injuries, and she would have to pace herself in terms of the amount of chakra she used throughout the healing procedures.
She opened her eyes for a few moments to look over at his face. He had changed quite a bit since they had been kids, but he was still the same old Neji. His face now resembled that of a man, and she could picture the pearl-white eyes of the Hyuuga behind his closed eyelids. Her eyes couldn't stray away from his forehead, where the cursed seal mark was exposed. She had never seen it this close up before, and for the first time she noticed the small and elegant details she hadn't noticed before. Elegant, yet deadly at the same time. Her eyes returned to inspect the injuries on the rest of Neji's body, while her chakra healed him from the inside. She glanced at his face one last time, and realized that if he died here tonight, she would regret not ever making an effort to get to know him.
Sakura slowly opened her emerald eyes, and she blinked a couple of times before taking in her surroundings. The white and sterile environment of a hospital room greeted her, along with the mellow beeping of the heart monitor. She ran a hand through her hair, remembering the rough night she had had. Neji's injuries had been very bad, and even Sakura's chakra hadn't been enough to heal all of his injuries. She switched off with a couple of other experienced medics and they took turns healing him and keeping his body stable. Luckily, Tsunade had come early in the morning, and upon seeing one of her favorite ANBU in the emergency room, she rushed in and used what was left of her chakra to help heal him. After Neji was considered stable, they moved him to another room where they would wait for him to wake up. Sakura would stay nearby to make sure no complications arose.
Sakura realized that she must have fallen asleep sometime after being left alone in the room with her patient. She glanced at the clock on the wall and realized it was almost seven p.m. and that she had slept through most of the day. She was sitting in a chair beside Neji's bed, and had fallen asleep with her head rested on the bed. She looked over at Neji, who was still sleeping, although somewhat more peacefully. A smile graced her lips. She was glad he was okay and no longer in pain. Most of his injuries were completely healed; he just had a couple of minor scars that she would heal later.
She got up and stretched her sore body from sleeping in such an uncomfortable position. She noticed a clipboard on the nightstand beside the hospital bed, a small stack of papers clipped to it. She would have a lot of paperwork to do tonight.
Someone knocked softly at the door, but Sakura could already tell by the chakra signature that it was her Hokage.
Sakura turned to face the closed door. "Come in, Tsunade-sama."
In walked her teacher and parental figure, looking more worn out than usual. "Good, you're finally awake," she said with a tired smile. "I have another medic that can take over your shift. You need to get some rest."
"You don't look too good yourself," Sakura laughed lightly, trying to keep her voice down so as not to wake Neji.
"Nothing a bottle of sake can't fix!" Apparently, Tsunade didn't care about the volume of her voice.
"What was that?" Shizune came in through the open door, eyeing her Hokage pointedly while balancing a stack of papers in her hands.
"Nothing," Tsunade waved it off, and turned her attention back to Sakura. "You should go home. You spend way too much time in this hospital as it is."
Sakura smiled, appreciating her teacher's concern for her. "I don't mind spending time here." She looked over at some papers that Shizune handed to her. "I have to fill these out, too?"
Shizune gave her an apologetic look. "Yeah, sorry."
Sakura went over and took the clipboard as well. "The only part of the job I don't enjoy," she said as she motioned to the papers in her hand.
"You and me both!" Tsunade laughed. "Someday, you'll have an assistant just like me that will do them for you."
Sakura laughed along as Shizune gave Tsunade a sour look but was ignored. Shizune shooed them out of the room. "You'll wake Neji-san up! Get out," she said in a quieter voice.
Sakura threw one last glance at Neji's sleeping form, and left the room. She breathed a sigh of relief. She could finally go home.
But she spoke too soon. As she was exiting the building, she heard her name called. She turned around to see one of the medics run up to her.
"Hyuuga-san has just woken up. Tsunade-sama told me to tell you in case you wanted to ask him some questions regarding his condition."
"Thank you for telling me," Sakura smiled at the young woman and rushed passed her without another word. She found that her heart rate had slightly increased, and she took a few deep breaths to slow it down before re-entering the room she had left only five minutes ago.
She found it the same as she had left it, and she walked over to Neji's side. He slowly opened his eyes after feeling her presence approach him, and Sakura suppressed a gasp when she saw his eyes look up at her. She had seen Hinata's eyes many times, but they lacked the intensity that her older cousin's eyes had.
After being dumbfounded for a couple of seconds, Sakura smiled and sat next to him on the chair. "I'm sure you know what comes next."
"The questions."
She found herself replaying his voice in her head. It sounded smoother than she had expected. "Yes, standard hospital procedure once a patient wakes up. First one. Are you experiencing pain on any part of your body?"
"No."
"When was the last time you ate or drank anything?"
"I am not aware."
"Do you remember how you got injured?"
"Somewhat."
Sakura paused to write some things down. She also silently wondered if he was giving such short answers to be difficult and to get on her nerves, or if it was just the way he was. She made a mental note to ask Tenten about it the next time she saw her.
"Do you have any medical problems we should be aware of?"
"No."
"Any allergies?"
"No."
"Have you had trouble sleeping lately?"
"No."
"Are you sexually active?" Sakura glanced up at him to see his response. To her dismay, he kept a straight face.
"No."
His answer surprised her. He was at least twenty-one, one year older than her (you said he was 22 before). People their age were usually experimenting with that kind of stuff already. But then again, she wasn't sexually active either, so who was she to talk?
"Is there anything else you'd like to tell me that you think might be important for me to know?"
"Not that I can think of."
"That's all the questions I have for now. You can go home tomorrow morning, but we need to monitor you over night." She scribbled down a couple of last notes.
He nodded without saying anything.
After a moment, Sakura added, "I hope you are aware of just how lucky you were to survive those injuries." She looked for a reaction, but got none. "Please be more careful. You might not be as lucky the next time." Still, Neji chose to say nothing. Sakura gathered her papers and stood to leave. "Good night, Hyuuga-san," she said after another moment. "I will see you in the morning." Sakura headed for the door.
"Its just Neji."
Sakura stopped, and turned around, a small smile on her face. "Good night, Neji." And with that, she slipped out of the room and quietly shut the door behind her.
Fumbling with her keys, Sakura finally fit the correct one into the lock and opened the door to her apartment. She didn't bother turning on any lights on her way to the bathroom. She couldn't wait to take a relaxing hot shower. She ignored her hungry stomach, and adjusted the water before stripping herself of her clothes, and stepping into the bathtub. She put the shower on, and breathed a sigh of relief once again that day as the water came down on her. Her chakra was depleted, and she was still exhausted, yet her mind was plagued by many thoughts.
She couldn't stop thinking about Neji. It had been a bit unnerving to be in his presence, she had to admit. But at the same time, he seemed like a good person. Sakura was convinced that she would have to get to know him, although it would be difficult with his ANBU missions and her work at the hospital. But she would find a way.
Sakura leaned her head back and let the water run over her face. Oh God, Sakura. What are you getting yourself into?