Hostage of the Heart
Sakura is fresh out of medical school and ready to get her life started. Her world is turned upside down when a patient threatens her life and takes her as his (sometimes willing) hostage. To make matters worse, her captor is someone she knows from her past. He's taken her from her safe world and thrust her into his. She may be a doctor, but can she fix a broken soul? AU, SasuSaku
Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto series or its characters; they own a part of me, though... I have been a fan of the series for nearly ten years.
Quick note:
I have been waiting for Sasuke and Sakura to get together and be a couple since I was 14... Like I said, nearly ten years ago! I am quite fond of the series in general, and most of the characters; with their quirky personalities and fun traits, they all make for great fanfiction.
This story is being written to help quench my thirst for more time with my favorite characters. This is set in an alternate universe, with most of the characters older than they are currently in the official manga. I will do my best to stay true to their real personalities.
For now, please enjoy. :]
Chapter One: Fall With Me
Sakura washed her hands methodically, the water tumbling over her pale palms as she scrubbed the soap off her skin.
"Dammit Sakura, you don't have time to wash your hands!"
Sakura scowled. "Anko, I hope you at least licked your hands clean after eating your lunch." Barely taking time to dry her hands with a paper towel, Sakura ran to stand by her fellow doctor, Anko, as a nurse began to outfit her with her surgical necessities.
Anko, already dressed in her surgical regalia, couldn't resist getting one more word in, pointing at Sakura's hands. "You're going to wear gloves, you dumbass," she hissed at her coworker.
Sakura rolled her eyes. As gloves were slipped over her outstretched hands and a gown haphazardly thrown over her body, she stared at the severely injured man in front of her. "What is the situation?"
"Blunt force trauma to his head; looks like his arms were injured as well. EMTs said he was attacked in front of his apartment building."
"Well." Sakura sucked in one last free breath before a mask and goggles landed on her face. "Let's start with the head..."
Accompanied by a few nurses, Anko and Sakura hovered over the body, preparing to try to save the injured mans life. Anko sighed as she walked to the other side of the table.
"You are such a greenhorn, Haruno."
A light flickered on in Sakura's tiny office, the annoyingly bright ceiling lamp breaking the calm darkness that had settled in the mostly empty space.
As Sakura leaned against the small door to close it, she shut her eyes and let out a long, winded sigh. She allowed a hand to lazily reach for her hair and pull it out of its tight bun, her pink, layered locks falling to her shoulders. Eyes still closed, she flung the hair tie towards her desk. She didn't care where it landed, really. She was absolutely exhausted.
Tsunade, her mentor, had warned her there would be many days like this - days when the staff was short; when there would be many patients and few breaks. She couldn't even remember the last time she could visit the restroom without someone banging on her stall door, calling "Doctor Haruno! You are needed!"
But it will be worth it, she had said. "At least the money is good," Sakura whispered to herself.
Finally, the end of her shift had come.
Her low black heels clacked against the tile floor as she walked to her desk, reminding her how sore her feet were. Oh, how she could not wait to get out of her red blouse, black pencil skirt, and her gosh-awful shoes!
The small room was fairly empty; she still had not settled in completely. She never had the time. As soon as she was hired, Tsunade had made sure she never had a free moment to herself.
A lone wooden chair sat in front of her desk; not that she ever needed it for anything, as she never had visitors to her office and all meetings took place in other parts of the hospital. There was a large bookcase near her desk, housing all of the medical books she had collected throughout her time as a student. Her desk itself was covered in paperwork; it had begun to cover the keyboard of her computer, making it difficult for her to type up quick reports when she had a free moment. She knew she should tackle all of those reports she promised Tsunade she would finish... But not tonight. As she slid into her desk, she agreed she would come in the next day, her day off, and play catch-up.
To her left was a floor-to-ceiling window, showcasing the bright lights of Konoha, the city. Her city. Konoha was beautiful when it was lit up at night; it sparkled brighter than the stars in the dark sky. She could see the water in the distance, though it was just a deep pool of black without any moonlight shining on it.
As she stared at the skyline of her home, her heart ached. She knew that graduating high school and university early would have massive payoffs; but it also held sad consequences she did not consider at the time.
She was, by far, the youngest doctor of Konoha General Hospital, and most of the other doctors reminded her of the fact as often as they could. She had only been KGH only a few months, chipping away slowly, trying to make a dent of progress under the pressure of being an ER doctor.
Tsunade, the head of the hospital, had met Sakura early on while she was a student, and made her her protege. Obviously, if the queen-bee of the KGH had seen something in her, she wasn't going to be a "greenhorn" forever. Tsunade had insisted Sakura take the night shift in the ER. Originally, Sakura felt extremely honored. To be an ER doctor... That was her dream! It was being realized so fast. Of course, Tsunade declined to mention it was because none of the higher-up doctors wanted to work late... Well, that didn't matter, now. She was doing quite well for being so fresh and young, right out of med school. No one had died under her care... Yet.
But her happiness with her work had come with a great price. She missed out on many life events; she graduated a year ahead of her friends when she gained entrance to Konoha University a year earlier than everyone else. When they did join her in school, she had doubled-up her classes in order to graduate early. She didn't have time for parties, for gatherings, for drinking and eating ramen with her pals. As Sakura entered medical school, she was near-forgotten. No more invitations to movie nights; no more late night texts inviting her over for pizza. While everyone did take the time to talk to her once in a while, their messages were short. They had grown up and wide apart.
She still entertained a bi-weekly visit or two from her closest friends Naruto, Hinata, and Ino. They would bring her dinner when she was too exhausted to cook, and help her clean her tiny apartment that she struggled to keep up with. Sometimes, she would fall asleep while they were there, and awake feeling guilty that she had not spent more time with them.
Shaking herself from her deep thoughts, Sakura rested her chin on her hand as she stared at the photos on her desk. She had to make it a point to never let them be covered with her paperwork; her friends were too important. There was a small photo of her and Naruto taken down by the pier last year, their silly peace signs and goofy faces taking over the camera lense. Beside it sat a photo of her and her large group of friends from her last year of highschool; it reminded her that she had many good memories. Yes, she thought to herself, smiling. I had many good times. But this is my life now.
After shuffling a few files she intended to take home, she stood and began to remove her white coat, reaching for her red, light jacket in the process.
Her peace was disturbed when a nurse she had yet to meet opened her door. "Sorry to barge in without knocking, but we need you at the end of the wing, Doctor." The woman seemed all business and in a hurry.
"Sorry, mam. No can do." Sakura tapped the small white watch on her wrist. "It's past 4 a.m. My shift is over. I've been here since 3 this afternoon."
The nurse frowned and her eyes drew in concern. "Dr. Anko has already left, and the next doctor hasn't arrived for his shift. Please, Dr. Haruno... It's a man. He's been shot."
Sakura scrunched her eyes together, massaging the bridge of her nose. She could manage it, exhaustion be damned. She wasn't hallucinating yet, so that probably meant she could still operate if she had to. Tsunade would expect no less from her.
What is it with Saturday nights and shootings?, she asked herself. "Alright," Sakura said as she dropped her jacket and began to put her white coat back on. "What room?"
"Very end of the hall, doctor. Room 1."
As Sakura stepped out and locked her office door, the nurse began to walk at a quick pace towards the end of the hall. "I'll assist you, doctor."
"Very well." Sakura caught up with and walked beside her, all business again. Something about wearing her white coat made her lose any casualness she carried within herself, which Tsunade had mentioned was a very admirable trait. "Do you have any info?"
"Yes. Looks like he was a vic in a drive by; probably one of those late night joggers from the way he is dressed. EMT found him at the park after an anon dialed for help. He took a bullet to his hip, and he is unconscious, but I can't find any trauma to cause him to faint... He should be awake and alert, but he isn't."
Sakura nodded. "Possible shock, then. Vitals?"
"Stable. Hopefully, this is just a quick clean-up, then you can go home, doctor." The nurse smiled sweetly at her. Sakura smiled and winked as the nurse opened the door to the room the patient was in. "Don't jinx me now."
Sakura stepped into the room and stopped abruptly, confused.
The bed was empty.
Sakura heard the door shut and lock behind them. "Wait. Nurse, are you sure this is th-"
There was a loud THUD as something heavy fell against her back and then tumbled to the ground. Sakura spun around. The nurse's limp, lifeless body lay in front of her.
She opened her mouth to scream, but she was silenced by a calloused palm that landed across her face.
She was jerked backward into a hard, lean body. Her assailant kept his face just out of her sight's reach as he whispered in her ear.
"Listen here, Pinky. I've got a weapon... In fact, I have several of them, and if you so much as make a little whimper, you will die. Also, unless you want to meet your maker, do not turn around. Understand?"
Sakura nodded furiously, shock and terror sweeping over her body like a tidal wave. What was going on?
"Good. Now, the lady on the floor is fine. She's just asleep... For now. Be quiet or I will kill her and make you watch."
Sakura nodded again, but her captor refused to remove his hand just yet. He also would not bring his face to meet hers.
"Move the nurse to the other side of the room... Over there, by the sink. Make a run for the door and... Well, you know what will happen."
He released Sakura now. She gasped as his fingers left her mouth; she hadn't breathed the entire time he held his hand over her lips.
Sakura grabbed the nurse by the arms and quickly slid the young woman's limp body against the wall. Her doctor's nature took over her she looked for a wound, attempting to find just how he had knocked her out.
She soon realized that was a mistake as the calloused hand covered her face again. "I said, she's fine. Maybe you are used to making your own rules, Pinky. But right now, you are under my control. Do I as I say. No more, no less."
Before Sakura could nod again, he had grabbed her waist with his free hand and forced her to walk backwards, nearly dragging the young doctor to the window. Terrified he was going to throw her out, Sakura braced herself.
A very small amount of relief filled her as he removed his hand from her once more. "Tell me, what is your name?"
Should she be truthful? Should she lie? "My-ne... My name?"
The grip the man held on her waist tightened. "What kind of doctor doesn't even know her own name? I'll find out for myself, then."
Sakura winced in fear as she braced herself to be struck. Instead, he ripped her nametag from her coat. She sighed inwardly, hoping she could get out of this unscathed.
"Dr. Sak-."
He stopped suddenly. His grip on her had quickly grown even tighter. Not thinking quite clearly and hoping he would loosen his hold on her, Sakura whispered, "My name is Dr. Sakura Haruno."
A beat passed before he thrust her nametag back in her hand. Sakura nearly thanked him before she stopped herself. She was a jittery, jumpy mess.
"Where is Dr. Anko Mitarashi?" he demanded into her ear.
His breath was warm and nearly tickled her as it hit her ears and blew her hair away from her lobes. She wished he would let her go so she could see him, but she had quickly realized he did not want her to see his face. At least she could pick out his voice, when she would meet him in court for assault charges...
Sakura shook her head again. "I don't know. She got off work some time ago. I am the only doctor here right now."
"Hn," the faceless voiced grunted behind her before he continued to whisper in her ear, "Well, doctor... You are in quite the predicament. You see, it is not you who I wanted to see. You just so happened to be in the very wrong place at the very wrong time. Unfortunately, you are now my hostage."
His grasp loosened slightly, and she heard him open the window.
Things were getting out of her control fast. Someone would come and check on her eventually, as she had not checked out of the hospital and the nurse had been gone from her station for some time. She just needed more time! She needed to breath, to think! Unable to find a resolution, she began to shake.
"No..." the word barely formed from Sakura's mouth before panic took over her. She listened to him knock the screen out of the window; it clattered to the grass below.
Desperate to get out alive, she pleaded with her captor. "No, please. Let me go, and I'll get you out of here. I'll help -"
Without a warning of any sort, the door was busted down and two men in suits barged in. "FREEZE!" They wore kevlar vests over their white shirts, their handguns drawn and ready to fire.
Quickly let go by her captor, Sakura's scream of surprise had been stifled by him again, as his hand held her mouth closed uncomfortably. She felt a smooth, sharp, and cold object hit her throat. Terrified into submission, Sakura went absolutely still; however, she could not control the whimpers escaping her mouth.
Her eyes widened with shock when she recognized the men in the room.
"Dammit! Of all the... Sakura-chan!" Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura's best friend and detective with the city police, narrowed his eyes. Sakura could have slapped him. He should have pretended he didn't have a clue who she was! Now the madman had even more of a reason to take her down with him.
The silver haired man beside Naruto, who Sakura recognized as Naruto's partner, Kakashi Hatake, motioned with his gun toward her. "Let the doctor go, Sasuke. Don't get her involved."
Sasuke?!... Sasuke Uchiha?!
Sakura's heart stopped. The only Sasuke she had ever known had been a childhood friend of hers...
And he had broken her heart.
She heard him chuckle behind her. "I was just talking with our dear doctor here, informing her that today is her lucky day."
She felt the knife press closer towards her, and she cried out a muffled scream.
Any joking demeanor had left his voice. "Back off, or the girl dies."
Kakashi, his lower face masked, tisked. "You don't want to do that. No need to add to your body count, Sasuke."
That did little to comfort Sakura. She had silently been wishing she had paid attention in self defense class, and that she had let Naruto use her as a dummy when he practiced his martial arts like he had begged her to so many times. There had to be a way to get out of this...
The man named Sasuke left her no time to think. In just a few swift motions, he threw the knife at the men, who flinched and braced themselves. There was a loud explosion as the knife met the tiled floor, causing the room to fill with smoke. Wrapping a large arm around her again, while simultaneously letting go of her mouth, the couple fell backwards out of the open third story window.
The scream that Sakura had been holding in for so long finally burst through her lungs, rupturing all of the calm and collected thoughts she had kept in check as she tumbled to what she was so sure was her death.
Author's note:
Please read and review. If I am inspired by your comments, it may help me to get the story out faster. :]