Disclaimer: I don't own, kthxbai. I do own a weird Uchiha ring, I got it yesterday.
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Golden Leaves
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Summary: First, some punk stole her purse; then, her car exploded. Now Sakura finds herself willingly trapped by a soft smile and the mysterious dark eyes of her seemingly dull rescuer.
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Chapter 1:
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"Are you going to pay attention sometime today, Forehead? I'd like to die by the end of this afternoon."
"Kami-sama, Ino-pig! Why do you have to be such a drama queen? That was just a Braxton Hicks contraction, for God's sake. It's false, your water hasn't broke and your baby is perfectly fine."
The very pregnant and blonde woman recoiled in the hospital gurney, blinking her already tearing blue eyes. "I'm sorry... it's just that I'm so scared of having the baby when Genma isn't around..."
The medic rolled her eyes but felt a pang of guilt at seeing her best friend so worked up. "Oh, Ino. Genma comes back tomorrow, right? Don't worry yourself with birthing thoughts just yet. You aren't due for another two weeks, see? It's written here," she finished, showing the mother-to-be the chart where she had been recording all the progress of her best friend's pregnancy.
"Now I feel like an idiot," the blonde continued, crossing her arms over her swollen belly. "It wasn't enough that the moron of a husband I have called to tell me he will be delayed for another week, no, now I have to bear with these false contractions?"
"The Braxton Hicks contractions help prepare your body for labor, Ino," the woman in white coat standing next to her explained, with an amused smile on her lips. "Your cervix needs to be stretched and softened in order to allow that little one pass to this world. Believe me, there's no comparison between a Braxton Hicks and a real contraction."
"Sakura, I need my epidural when the moment comes," she said grasping the medic's arm. "You know this will be hellish for me, don't you dare to leave me to my pain!"
"Ino, don't be ridiculous, the epidural anesthesia will be ready for you when you arrive. Now can we please stop talking anxious nonsense? I need to get out of here; your perfume makes me sneeze."
"Fine, but please keep your cellphone on?"
"Okay, Pig, I'll be in touch," she accepted. "Now behave at Hinata's home and quit whining."
"Thank you, Forehead!"
Closing the door of the examination room, the medic sighed deeply, shaking her head.
It wasn't the first time that her blonde and obnoxious friend had come all the way down to the hospital screaming that she was having her baby. After the third time, it was just merely routine for the Emergency staff, which only had to take a look at Ino to make the call to her office. The two first times she had been in the OR.
The first one she was doing a heart surgery, which had her pretty much stressed out for the complications that her patient had presented during her preparations for said surgery. The woman had been more than nervous, and Sakura had to use all her reserves of patience to deal with the spooked patient.
Understandably, she had none left when the ER called her through the intercom and relayed some information about a frantic pregnant blonde, who currently was crying loudly for the medic that had her hand inside a patient, massaging a precious muscle called the heart.
After sending one of her colleagues, Shizune, to check on Ino while she finished the surgery, she almost threw the scalpel like a dart to the intercom when she informed about the falseness of the labor.
The second time she was repairing an inflamed appendix on a middle-aged man, who chuckled at her when he heard all the commotion that leaked out the intercom. This time Sakura had her patience reserves full, but the constant nagging of her conscious patient during the intervention served to drain her quite rapidly, resulting in another set of cutting remarks thrown at the intercom, which were heard quite clearly by the blonde woman.
The third time was almost a week ago. Thankfully, she was doing her rounds and happened to be near the Emergency Room when she was informed of the bustled arrival of her friend. Deciding to tackle the situation once and for all, she had snapped at Ino, without thinking about her husband's absence. Of course she was feeling scared, the stupid dimwit had gotten himself caught in his project and had missed the plane.
This fourth time was Sakura herself who received the whimpering pregnant mass that called herself Shiranui Ino, leading her to an examination room and thus bickering with her as she confirmed once more her suspicions regarding the blonde's contractions.
"You seem stressed," observed one of the ER Attendants, Izumo. She rubbed the back of her neck as they walked towards the main ER Station, the center of activity and where the medics and the nurses were coordinated by a grim man who never got up from the desk and preferred to address at everybody by hollering at them.
"It's the third time this month that Ino barges in screaming about labor when she only has Braxton Hicks," she explained, hearing Izumo's chuckles as she spoke. "Hey, it's not funny. One of these days she's going to barge in the middle of a brain surgery, I swear."
"Is her first pregnancy?" asked the doctor. "It's not common for a first mother to have that many Braxton Hicks so close to her term."
"It's her first, yeah, but she had some intake of hormones before she discovered her pregnancy," the female medic said, rolling her eyes and removing the scrunch that kept her hair bound to the nape of her neck. "She was about to get a boob-job when she found out. She almost tore a new one at her husband for his marvelous timing, just before the Fall Collection."
"Oh! So that's why her face is so familiar! She's Yamanaka Ino, the Konoha's Secret model," said the brown-haired man with wide eyes. "Kami, how changed she is!"
"She's pregnant, Kamizuki. What do you think? And her name changed to Shiranui Ino some years ago."
"Shiranui?" the man repeated, pursing his lips and placing a finger on them thoughtfully. "Shiranui Genma, the famous playboy and model for the Kunoichi magazine? Whoa, I didn't know they were married," he commented as they neared the ER Station.
"As much as we want to hear all the details, Dr. Kamizuki and Dr. Haruno, we are trying to run this Emergency Room the best we can and we are currently short of free time," the voice of the leader of the ER, Root Danzou, droned from his position at the front desk. "There was a car crash in the Ichiraku Highway, so be prepared," he added, sliding four metallic charts down the counter at the pair of medics, which caught them deftly, already used to his harsh antics.
"And here I thought I could come back up to the OR's," Sakura whispered as they walked down the hallway until they reached the waiting room for visitors. Quickly locating the two persons she was looking for, she turned to Izumo with a mock glare. "By the way, hit on her and I will extirpate your tonsils with a dessert spoon, are we clear?"
The man nodded, rising his hands in defeat and withdrawing to a Triage curtain, his two charts in hand.
"Sakura-chan!" the brunette rose from her seat to embrace the doctor. "We haven't seen you in three weeks! How have you been?"
"Pretty much chained to this hospital, but I'm okay with that," she answered, trying to smooth her hair with her running fingers.
"Here, Sakura-chan," added the second woman, rising and after the embrace, extending a comb with the other took gratefully. "Is Ino okay? Is she in labor?"
"Nah, she's just a big baby, Hinata," she grumbled as she caught a stubborn tangle in her mane. "I keep telling her that she is not due for two more weeks and she just doesn't listen. Maybe she'll listen to you guys, because I've officially given up."
"I say she has to be shipped back to Naruto's," the brunette said with a sly smile. "Maybe a few days with her can whip that moron to an acceptable shape when he meets Hinata's father."
"Hey, don't be nasty to my brother, Tenten!" Sakura shot the brown-haired woman a dirty look while she swept her hair onto her back, letting it fall into a smooth cascade of glossy pink. "Maybe he's a bit of a slowpoke, but he certainly doesn't deserve being tortured by Ino's grooming skills. Everything will be fine, as long as he remain calm during his interview with Hiashi-sama."
"Yeah, right. And Amegakure is full of sand," Tenten shot back with a laugh. "Everything is alright in the Hyuuga front, Hinata?"
"Everything is fine, Tenten," the purple-haired woman laughed quietly behind a hand. "Neji-niisan has been most supportive regarding this matter."
"And here she comes," interjected Sakura to a dressed but still disgruntled blonde pregnant woman that made her way slowly to them. "Remember to take it easy, Ino-pig. It's nearly the end of the spring, so I expect you to lie down in fresh clothes. And no snooping around, Ino! Last time you almost got Tenten and Neji in trouble with Hiashi-sama!"
"Hey! These two need some modesty when they're swimming in the middle of the night wearing their birthday suits!"
"Says the very pregnant underwear model who liked to throw a tantrum when she wasn't on the cover of Konoha's Secret," Tenten shot back, despite the blush on her face.
Sakura threw her head back and laughed heartily at her friends' antics. It was good having them around after so long, but she needed to go back to her shift or Danzou would kill her or what was worse, yell at her for slacking off.
"Alright, get out of my hospital," she ordered airily with a smirk. "I'll see you guys on the weekend. The hospital owes me some time, so what about that surprise, Hinata?"
"Perfect," the other said with a secretive smile. "I'll call you the day after tomorrow to talk about the details."
"Awesome. Get some rest, mama!" she exclaimed, waving at her friends while Ino sputtered.
"I'll show you mama, you dumb Forehead!"
Laughing mischievously, she reentered the ER and pulled her plastic gloves on, opening the first of her two charts.
"Let's see..." she mused, already concentrated on her calling.
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When she parked her car four blocks away from the Konoha General Hospital, she thought it was a good idea to stretch her legs and get some fresh air in her comings and goings from the hospital. But at times like this, when all her strength was sapped by a rather hectic shift in the ER, she cursed her good idea as she unrolled the silken scarf from her neck, letting it fall on her chest.
Okay, maybe now it wasn't a good idea, she mused internally as she held her purse close to her coat as she crossed the street. Her wristwatch bore its hands at eleven o'clock post meridian, which signified 'late' in her language to walk through the streets of the great city of Konoha. She adored her hometown, but sometimes it was a bit scary with its dark alleys and streets.
Therefore, a tired, moody and somewhat paranoid pink-haired medic navigated the streets to her car, praying absently to Kami for everything turning okay.
But apparently, Kami was busy answering other's prayers.
"Are you lost, nee-chan?" a raspy voice floated through an open door. A shaggy man stood before Sakura, towering over the petite medic and leaning on a hand in the frame of the door.
"No, I'm just passing through," she said dryly, already knowing that the man wasn't making idle chatter but he had stopped her mostly to check out her bare legs that showed under her coat.
"You know, nee-chan? You're really cute. But I bet you have cuter stuff in that bag."
Whipping a survival knife, he pointed at Sakura's neck as he grabbed her purse and tried to pull it from her grasp, but she didn't budge.
"Let go, bitch!" the man snarled, slashing forward with the knife but Sakura let out a scream and ducked it by sheer luck.
"Why are you doing this in front of your own house?!" she asked, already looking for an escape unscathed of this situation. The man laughed to her utter surprise and slashed at her arm, cutting her effectively through her thin coat and her shirt.
This time she did let go, falling on the floor on her rump while the man started to run away...
Only to be brought down by a rather hard smack by a wooden baseball bat.
The next thing Sakura knew was that her purse –a lovely red bag that Naruto had got her for her latest birthday– was in front of her eyes.
"Are you okay?" a gentle male voice broke her staring contest with the purse. Emerald eyes trailed up, locking on dark brown orbs. "Oh! You're hurt!"
"Ah... it's just a scratch," she answered dumbly, as the man set her bag on the floor and kneeled next to her. "I can... oh Kami you killed him? You killed the guy?"
"What? Oh no I didn't, I just knocked him out with this," the man raised the bat, and slipping a smile on his lips that sent Sakura's mental processes into oblivion. "Ojousan? Ojousan, are you okay? You look pale... Ojousan?"
Sakura shook her head, trying to clear her head. "I'm... fine, besides this scratch... which I should clean up ASAP... who knows where that guy had put that knife before," she added with a shudder.
"Where are you heading? I can take you to the hospital, it's three blocks down the street and--"
"No!" she exclaimed, cutting him off. "I can't go back to the hospital now, Danzou will have my hide if he finds out I almost got robbed when it's my turn to have the keys of the—nevermind."
"So... you work at the hospital?" the man asked, tilting his head to one side and regarding her with an odd look. "If so, why can't you go back and get some help with that? That wound might be shallow but you're bleeding a lot."
"What?" she blinked, lifting the flap of her coat in order to inspect the wound under the street lamp that stood over them. "I have a kit in my trunk. I can patch myself up."
"Allow me to escort you, Ojousan, please," the man extended a gloved hand towards her. His fingers were long and his nails were clean, she noted as he turned his palm up. "I'm Yamato. Tenzou Yamato."
"Uhm..." she hesitated. Here she was in the middle of the night in a rather dark and desolated street with a dark and handsome man kneeled in front of her and she just couldn't believe her luck and what the hell is going on with the universe by Kami--
"Don't worry," he said, offering her a gentle smile that made her breath hitch minutely. "I won't hurt you, I promise. Here, you can have the bat."
She took the bat and his hand, allowing him to pull her up. "I'm... Haruno Sakura."
"Nice to meet you, Haruno-san, although these circumstances are far from pleasant."
She huffed, hiding her laugh. "Thank you... Tenzou-san."
He smiled again, as they started to walk the remainder of the distance to her parking lot.
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"And then out of the blue he pulled out a knife –that knife– and started to threaten me with it, all the while pulling my purse out of my hands."
"Good thing you brought it, Tenzou-san," the man with a spiked ponytail nodded at the bagged weapon on the desk. "Is that the bat you've hit the guy? We'll need to examine it. Are you going to press charges on this man, Sakura?"
"Of course, Shikamaru... the man harassed me, and being inebriated is not an excuse to go hurting people around."
"Well, after filling these forms..." the detective scratched his head in a disgruntled but lazy manner. "I'll have a car to take you home. I'll call you in the morning about the tests. But not early, Sakura," he added glancing at the medic, who let out a laugh.
"Shika, I haven't slept properly in five days," she shot back with a devious smile. "I'm sure your call is going to wake me for a change."
"Either way it's troublesome. Let me call Asuma to get you home."
"No, Shikamaru, I still have my car in the parking lot. I'll go get it and that's it."
The detective sighed tiredly. "Do what you want, Sakura, but for Kami let me know you got home safely. Temari will kill me when I tell her about this."
"Then don't tell her, poli-genius," Sakura said, pulling out her tongue at him and making Yamato laugh for the silliness of her act. "Say hello for me to your bossy wife, okay? Bye!"
"So the man is whipped?" Yamato asked, prompting another laugh for the pink-haired medic.
"Nah, he loves Temari with all his heart. They got married as soon as they got out of college. I had to stay for one more year since the medicine career is different than Business or Criminal Sciences, but we were a rather mixed but lovable group."
"Seems like a rowdy group," he noted with a small chuckle only to earn a tongue pulled at him as well.
They reached the precinct's door, and Sakura turned to the tall man that had accompanied to the police station. "Thank you for all, Tenzou-s--"
"Please call me Yamato, my last name is not much of my liking anyway," he requested without losing his smile. Sakura cleared her throat and smiled back, squashing down the weird fluttery feeling her stomach went on making whenever he smiled at her.
"Call me Sakura and we're even," she said, and he nodded in agreement.
"Let me accompany you back to the car," he offered. "It's past one in the morning and that neighborhood is quite dark."
She rolled her eyes but smiled all the same. "Okay, but we just left the bat in there, what do we do now?"
"Don't worry, we can manage," he shot back easily, glancing at her before raising his hand, calling a cab.
"Cheater," she said playfully, as the green car stopped in front of them. "I was about to do the same thing."
"Ladies first," he opened the cab's door to allow Sakura to climb in. "So a general surgeon? Your schedule must be very busy."
"It surely is," she answered as the cab took them swiftly to the parking lot. "And what do you do for a living, Yamato? You didn't tell me."
"I'm a naturalist," he said, smirking at the failed attempt Sakura had to conceal her surprise and astonishment.
"Uhm... I'm sure you have a very interesting... schedule, then," she tried, only to have Yamato chuckling at her softly. "Sorry, you caught me off-guard... now are you really a naturalist?"
"I graduated in Biology and Natural Sciences, if that's what you're asking," he answered. "It seems we're both scientists."
"Kami, which one has a Frankenstein hidden in the closet?" she asked, eliciting their joined laughs. The cab led them to the deserted parking lot. After paying the driver, both walked up to the booth, awakening the valet. They kept bantering lightly as they watched the guy trudging to her car, slamming the door as he went inside.
"Apparently someone is not that happy," she observed sarcastically. "I'm dying to go back home and sleep for a week."
"I'm sure you're pretty tired," Yamato remarked, raising a brow at the valet's tardiness to start the car. "What's taking him so long?"
Soon, he got his answer, for the car exploded in front of their stunned eyes, sending them back a few meters from the force of the shockwave.
So much for a sleeping cure, Sakura thought aimlessly, finally falling unconscious.
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AN: Hay there! This is my take at a YamaSaku AU. My beta is absolutely in love with this story, let's see what do you think!
Just for the record, I am no doctor not I have the intention to become one. The medical facts relayed here are the product of a long term investigation. If you see something I need to correct, feel free to point it out.
Thanks for reading!