"Duck!"
Her body responded with haste; she slammed into the floor as a flying checkered ball narrowly missed her head. All was silent as the ball slammed into a wall, knocking a picture to the floor and harmlessly rolling away. Emerald eyes fixated upon the red and blue patterned tile, she felt a fire churning deep within her stomach. She growled.
"What the hell was that?!" A petite pink-haired woman raged. The nerve of these people! Playing soccer in a hospital waiting room! What were they thinking!?
Two men, who appeared to have known each other, stared at her in fascination.
'She's beautiful.'
A tall, muscled man with tinged blue skin (and were those gill tattoos on his neck?) rose from his position on a plush maroon cushion. Not wanting the situation to escalate, his rough voice spoke with sincerity,
"I'm sorry, ma'am. My companion here," at this, he motioned to a sheepish looking figure with an orange mask, "were simply restless as our friend has been in here for a while."
The sheepish looking man's eyes raked over the tiny form of the woman. A curvaceous body, a fierce temper, and a stunning face- he was in love.
Realizing breaking her professional composure could cause more conflict than benefit, the woman calmed herself. After all, having a loved one in a hospital was no easy task. It was stressful upon the mind and body, and some may simply get...restless. She sighed.
"And who might your friend be?"
It was in this moment, the blue haired man realized this beautiful woman worked here. Her white coat and name tag alerted him to the fact that not only did she work here, she was a doctor. He inwardly panicked. If a doctor was coming to greet them, surely something bad had happened during Itachi's operation!
"Itachi Uchiha."
The woman clicked her tongue, and smiled gently. The man in question was her patient-a star patient might she add. He did not complain nor whine about the numerous testing they had to induct upon him, and complied readily with every instruction she gave him. She enjoyed patients like him. It made her job so much easier.
The doctor strode towards the tall man with ease, and outstretched her hand towards the other. The man met her halfway, engulfing her hand in his own. He vaguely noted that her could probably crush her dainty hands within his, but pushed that thought aside.
"Haruno Sakura," the lovely-looking woman chirped.
"Hoshigaki Kisame," the man greeted.
She took a step back.
"I'm Uchiha-san's appointed physician, and if you would follow me, I'll hand him over to you."
A single eyebrow raised, yet Kisame nodded. He tossed a quick, 'stay!' to his masked friend over his shoulder, and deftly followed the woman.
She unlocked an automatic door with her keycard, and strode forward into the stark white walls of the ophthalmology ward. Greetings were sent towards Doctor Haruno with professional cheer, and she smiled and nodded in response, but kept walking. He took note of the blend of colorful pictures lined on the walls that interlocked with black and white. It was strange, yet he supposed not too strange considering where they were.
They passed an open room with a crying woman inside, and Kisame diligently looked ahead. He need not intrude upon other's discomfort.
Reaching the end of the hallway, they arrived at a door marked with a golden nameplate.
'Sakura Haruno, MD.'
He followed her into the spacious office, taking a seat on a comfy eggplant chair in front of her desk. She shut the door with a click, and poised herself upon the chair in front of him.
"A nurse will be bringing Uchiha-san shortly. Would you like some tea as we wait, Hoshigaki-san?" She gestured towards a teapot to the corner of the office.
He shook his head, "No, thank you, ma'am. I'm not a tea person."
"None of that!" she exclaimed, and Kisame was taken aback. "Call me Sakura."
"Will do," Kisame responded with a chuckle.
They settled into silence, the only sound being the constant tick of a wall clock. Kisame took this moment to observe his surroundings.
The walls were a soft shade of pink, the floor a deep chestnut brown. There were plants and flowers hanging from the ceiling, and a burgundy loveseat added a homely feel to the room. Her desk seemed to be made of mahogany, and he inwardly grinned.
'Bet Deidara would love to blow that to pieces.'
As soon as the doctor had turned her attention to a paper in front of her, he began to study her dainty features. Short bubblegum hair yanked into a professional bun, her bangs gently framing her heart-shaped face. Emerald green eyes flickered across the paper, and he noted with slight fascination that her lips seems to be the same color as her hair.
'She's beautiful,' he thought in wonder. He inwardly shook his head, attempting to stray his thoughts from the woman to his ill friend, but his thoughts always seemed to return to the angel in front of him. He didn't even know her! How was he so smitten with her already?
She scribbled what seemed to be her signature on the bottom of the page, flipping it to the next page with long, slender fingers. Her hands were small, and he recalled how soft they were from their previous handshake.
His thought process was interrupted by a brisk knock upon the door, and Doctor Haruno admitted their entrance.
A young nurse in light blue scrubs wheeled in his friend with ease. Itachi had thick white gauze wrapped precisely around his eyes, and Kisame inwardly began to worry for his friend. Maybe the damage done to his eyes was permanent? Maybe there was nothing they could do?
The nurse deposited the wheelchair-bound patient next to Kisame with ease, and lingered next to him with hesitance. Doctor Haruno waved her off, and taking one last longing look towards the blinded man, she left, shutting the door behind her.
"Now," Doctor Haruno chirped, "I believe it's time we removed those bandages, don't you think, Uchiha-san?"
Itachi murmured a noise of consent, and Sakura stood, maneuvering around her desk to the front of the man. Untying the blindfold with skilled fingers, she removed the gauze from his eyes.
Itachi kept his eyes closed for a moment longer, letting the cool air rest upon his eyelids for a brief second. Opening his eyes, he took in the pastel shading of the room, and thanked the heavens for no bright colors.
He nodded his head towards Kisame in greeting, Kisame nodding back.
"There! All better!" Doctor Haruno exclaimed, moving once again to sit behind her large desk.
Settling in, she once again offered tea to her company. Both declining, she got down to business.
"Now, now, Uchiha-san, what are we to do with you?"
The Uchiha blinked, inwardly rolling his eyes at the woman's behavior. Over the last few weeks, he had gotten nicely acquainted with his appointed ophthalmologist, and true to her appearance, she was just as lively as she seemed she would be. She laughed with good nature at her terrible puns, bounced gracefully around every room she was in, and constantly chattered on about inane things, content with the fact that the Uchiha had been listening, even though he barely spoke.
Not to say Itachi minded. He didn't, mind that is, he actually quite enjoyed her company. She was unlike any other women he had encountered, she did not attempt to seduce him nor romantically incline herself towards him. This was a trait Itachi most definitely liked in his medical personnel, however that did not happen often, as men and women alike seemed to fawn over him.
He was worried when his father mentioned his new doctor was female, but his mother assured him with the fact that his new doctor had been a childhood friend of Sasuke's, and did not care about appearances.
True to his mother's word, the pink-haired doctor was professional and precise, and he could vaguely remember her from excursions with his little brother, dinners, and even the sparse amount of personal pictures Sasuke had around his room. He idly wondered why they were never formally introduced before now.
'The smallest detail,' Doctor Haruno- who insisted upon being called Sakura- explained to him in their first session, 'could lead to your recovery.'
Needless to say, Itachi had developed something akin to a… fondness for the eccentric woman. He could definitely see, even with his failing eyesight, how Sasuke had become such good friends with the doctor.
Stolen from his thoughts, Doctor Haruno continued speaking,
"Well, I'm going to need you to take it easy on your eyes. There's going to be a lot of repetitive exercise that you must do every day-yes, every day," she stressed when a flash of an incredulous look passed through his eyes.
She jotted something quickly down on a notepad, tore it off, and handed to Kisame.
"These are his prescriptions," she explained. "I am leaving you in charge of making sure he takes the pills on time, and uses the eye drops every two hours."
She turned her attention back to Itachi, "You must rest your eyes for at least ten minutes every hour, and I expect reports from Sasuke on how you're faring. No being stubborn and skipping because you have work to do, got it?"
She saw the move of protest, and said quickly inserted, "I don't care if you're the only one that can do, have someone else help you. Your eyesight is an important factor in your health, and you've got to take better care of it! You don't need to be on the computer for hours upon end! Especially when we know what you're doing isn't all work," Sakura jested, and Kisame chuckled as Itachi blanched at the obvious innuendo.
Doctor Haruno laughed, her eyes alighting with mirth. She continued on with her speech,
"If you follow this regime to a tee for the next month- that's thirty days- your eyesight will gradually improve, and with hope, it may be restored to its previous health. So, don't be a little prick like your brother is and not do what you're told. Got it?"
Itachi rolled his eyes, but nodded nonetheless. Kisame briefly wondered who this woman was to order his friend around without rebuttal.
Interest danced in Kisame's slanted eyes as Sakura signed the bottom of a form, handing it to him. He glanced at the paper, noting her instructions upon it, and stood as she and his friend did. She extended her arm once more, shaking his hand, then Itachi's.
"It was a pleasure having you as my patient, Uchiha-san, and hopefully I won't need to see you any sooner than your next checkup. You're free to leave whenever you wish."
Doctor Haruno opened the door to her office, and the two men followed her towards the waiting room. Releasing them to the soft white walls of the room, the orange-masked man squealed in delight. Doctor Haruno's chiming laughter resounded beyond them as Itachi was tackled by his older cousin. He pushed him away with one hand.
"Tobi. Off."
"Yeah!" Kisame warned playfully, "Your mask might injure his eyes."
Tobi hit the floor with a thud, and his cries echoed through the solemn room. This only prompted the doctor to laugh harder.
"Don't hurt him, Uchiha-san, he's only trying to bring some color into your life!" Sakura joked, giggling at her terrible joke. Kisame inwardly groaned. As did Itachi.
"Yeah!" Tobi exclaimed, clutching on to Itachi's sleeve once more. Itachi slid out of the childish man's grasp.
"Alright, Uchiha-san, Hoshigaki-san, Tobi-san. It was nice to meet you all! Tell Sasuke-kun I said hello; I hope to not see you any time soon! Take care!"
The stunning woman exited back to the hospital rooms, and silence fell among the three. They shared a look.
Within the hour, Sasuke Uchiha was bombarded with texts from his cousin, brother, and their shark-like friend concerning a certain pink-haired friend of his.