SACRIFICE
Naruto Uzamaki paid careful attention to the numbers on the door remembering what the nurse had told him downstairs. He thought he was going to forget but he reached the room and opened the door.
Sakura Haruno was sitting up in her bed and staring out of the window. She turned when the door opened—no one could sneak up on her—and grinned. "Naruto!" she said in a relieved voice. "I was starting to get bored."
Naruto looked at her right arm bandaged and her head which was also bandaged. Her headband laid on the nightstand beside the bed. "What did the medical-nin say?"
"That I'll be fine." Sakura sat back. "I just need to rest for a few days."
Naruto just sat with her for a little while, getting angrier by the second.
Sakura saw when he was about to explode and said, "Go away, Naruto. I don't want you in here anymore."
"Why did you go out of Konoha alone?" he demanded.
"Oh, I don't know, Naruto. I wanted to walk for a while—"
"I could've gone with you. Hinata could've gone with you. Ino could've gone with you—why did you go alone?"
Sakura glared at him and sat up. "I was thinking about something and I sort of wanted to be alone to do it. Then I saw a man fall at the gate. I went to help him and he poisoned me. Are you satisfied?"
"If Sasuke was here—"
Furious, Sakura sat up and said angrily, "He's not! You can say that all you want, Naruto, but Sasuke isn't coming back. He left because he wanted to, okay? We have to get over it!"
She was trying to convince herself more than him but Naruto wasn't the type to look beneath the surface.
"I know," Naruto mumbled.
"Naruto…I'm sorry."
"I know that too."
Sakura smiled and they sat in silence for a while until she realized Naruto had begun to fidget.
"Go away, Naruto. I don't want you to be bored, too."
Naruto, looking relieved shot up. And, guiltily he said, "I'll ask Hinata to come by later."
"Don't ask anyone to come by. I don't feel bored anymore. Just tired."
She was lying. She really didn't want to be alone. Even though Naruto didn't say anything as he left, he would ask Hinata to visit her. And Sakura knew he would and she didn't forcibly tell him not to.
----
Naruto found Hinata Hyuga walking the streets of Konoha and almost ran to her. Instead, he walked to her. He didn't understand why he felt shy with Hinata these days but he did. He didn't want to ruin their friendship in anyway.
"Hinata," he called to her.
Hinata stopped and waited for Naruto to catch up. "Hi, Naruto," Hinata said with a smiled and continued to walk. "How are you?"
"Fine. I'm not important anyway." He was blushing involuntarily. "Sakura is in the hospital."
"What? Is she okay?" Hinata stopped in the middle of the street to face him.
"She's fine—or says she is. But I don't think she wants to be by herself, even if she won't say anything."
"Probably not," Hinata agreed. "I'll go by there tonight."
"Thanks."
----
Sakura went to sleep when boredom and medication had sunk in. She breathed deeply and looked to be sound asleep.
Three ninja in dark clothing entered. One, the obvious leader, stepped forward and waved his two accomplices off. He went to the foot of the bed and stood there for a few moments before moving to the Sakura's beside. He reached out to her—
In moments, the bedcovers were thrown back and a kunai was thrown into his arm before the intruder could think. The intruder moved back and pulled the weapon out and stood silently beside the wall.
Sakura sat up in her bed and glared at the intruder. "I was poisoned, not incapacitated," she told him. "The Kunoichi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves are not weak—even in their hospital beds. But you already knew that, didn't you, Sasuke?"
She threw another kunai and he dodged but his hood came off to reveal the pale face and dark hair of Sasuke Uchiha.
"What are you doing here?" Sakura demanded. "Where's Orochimaru, Kabuto and the rest of the Sound Ninja? If this is another attack on Konoha, you won't leave this room alive."
"The man who poisoned you? He was looking for Shizune and seemed to mistake you for her. Wanted to use Shizune to get to Lady Tsunade and somehow the whole village of Konoha. He was a very foolish old man."
"That has nothing to do with anything—" Sakura threw another kunai and Sasuke caught. "If you can get away from Orochimaru so easily, why don't you? We need you here in Konoha, Sasuke."
Sasuke looked at her with the emotionless expression her wore for a silent moment and went on to say, "The only way to avenge my clan is to become strong. And the only way to become is to strong learn from Orochimaru. Konoha has nothing left to teach me, Sakura."
She hated him saying her name. She had imagined him coming back. In the forest when she was poisoned, she had imagined him coming back and giving up his suicidal mission. Many times before she had imagined and dreamed—
But not like this. Never like this.
"That isn't the only way to become strong, Sasuke, and you know it!" Sakura threw several more kunai as fast as she could and he caught them all.
Sakura, afraid of what he would do she jumped out of the bed at lightening speed to put distance between them but she was against the wall with the kunai to her neck. She was only up to about one fourth of her strength. There was no way she could fight him in her condition.
"Are you happy that I'm going to die, Sasuke?" she spat; her voice broke on the first word. Sasuke was going to kill her. Sasuke, who was had been her comrade, Sasuke, who she had pinned for, Sasuke, who had abandoned them, Sasuke, who she still pinned for…
"You're not going to die," he said and then he kissed her.
Sakura froze in surprise but then kissed back eagerly letting all other circumstance fall away: the kunai to her neck, his abandonment of Konoha, her, Naruto, and Kakashi, and the fact that she didn't want to abandon Konoha with him anymore.
Sasuke pulled away from her, letting the kunai fall. There was no shock on his face nor in his eyes. Sakura wondered if it was because he had planned it or if he had become so good at hiding his emotion that even shock didn't register.
He took a step back and Sakura knew he was going to run.
Sakura grabbed his arm and even at one fourth of her strength, with her chakra control, she was still stronger than him, "Sasuke—"
The door opened and Hinata Hyuga stood in its wake. Her eyes widened and without thinking, she cried, "Help!"
The hospital seemed to awaken with her screams and Sasuke looked at Sakura with his emotionless face. For some reason she didn't understand, she loosed her grip and he escaped in a blur.
----
When ANBU left the room, Hinata entered and saw Sakura pacing. Sakura looked at her and asked, "They're outside?"
She meant ANBU. "In case Sasuke come back," Hinata said.
Sakura nodded and sat on the bed. Absently, she reached up to touch her mouth and stopped herself. Hinata watched her and guessed that Sasuke had not come to kill her. Horrified, Hinata started her apology, "Sakura, I'm so sorry—"
"Sorry for what?" Sakura asked, truly oblivious.
"Well, I…" Hinata stopped herself and sat in the only chair in the room so she could look right at Sakura. "Sakura," she started again. "Are you in love with Sasuke?"
"Of course," Sakura replied boldly.
Taken aback, Hinata started to apologize once more but Sakura stopped her. "Even though I love him, the fact remains that Sasuke betrayed us. My village comes first. If Sasuke were to ever endanger Konoha or our friends and family, I'll do my best to stop him. That's my sacrifice to Konoha, Hinata." With a small smile, Sakura added, "My poor little heart."
"I don't think I could…" Naruto immediately flashed into Hinata's mind.
"You'd never have to. Lucky you, Hinata, you got the good one!" Sakura smiled and said, "You did the right thing, you know. Calling for help. You have no reason to apologize to me."
Hinata smiled back and said, "I think you should rest now."
"I agree," Sakura sighed and got into the bed, letting her mind reach a blank and fall straight into an unconscious and peaceful sleep.
----
When Naruto entered Sakura's room the next morning, he saw a daffodil on her nightstand. "Good morning, Sakura. Who left you this?"
Sakura looked at Naruto. He didn't know, he wouldn't know about Sasuke. That was the first thing she had talked to ANBU about—that Naruto not be told about Sasuke's visit. Then she saw the daffodil at her beside and sat frozen for a minute.
Then she picked it up slowly.
"Do you know who it was?" Naruto asked.
Sakura placed the flower at her beside once more and laid back. "I want to be alone for a while, Naruto."
Naruto left the room, confused, and Sakura looked outside of the window Sasuke had come in. She began to imagine he was sitting there, smiling at her, telling her to wait for him when he knew he probably wouldn't come back.
She didn't want to. She wanted to let Sasuke go but she couldn't. Who would love her, if not him? Who else could she possibly love? It was a sad, painful path she had chosen but it was one she would not abandon.