A Millionaire's Hands
Chapter One
Hello everyone! Second new story of this year. Sasori and Deidara f-ck yeah. Currently I'm agitated right now because I bit myself in the back of the mouth, same two symmetrical places, three times today(now it's three weeks ago, because I submitted the story today haha.) And I absolutely hate eating my Fruity Pebbles and deli swiss cheese with blood. And the inside of my mouth are all swollen and nasty-tasting. Uggh. Hmm...I wonder if Deidara's handmouths bite themselves sometimes.
(My first new story is a dark angsty Hinata centric, with Sasuke, Gaara, Deidara, Sasori, and maybe Itachi. Please read it if you can...and if you are M. Thank you!)
"Hinata, Ino! It's you again! If you guys only came for another sushi roll then just turn right around and never come back!"
"Papa-chan, you're such a wise old woman! After all this time you should know that's the only reason we come!" The girl named Hinata dodged a slipper aimed for her head and laughed. "Just kidding. Where is our sister?"
"She's in the Nest. Got another stomachache, but expect to see her energetic again in five minutes."
"Hmm, another stomachache?...Well, nothing to do but wait for it to pass. Anyway...I got it!!!"
The girl named Ino lifted up a plastic bag and patted the package inside. Papa-chan broke into a huge grin and clapped her hands with glee.
"You really got it?! I CAN'T BELIEVE—"
"SHHH, Chiyo-baa!!! Whisper! You don't want her to hear!"
"Sorry. I didn't think we would really get it!"
"Well, we did. But that's the point! She'll be so surprised!"
"Kekeke! Quick, go wake her up!! I want to see it for myself."
"Okay! Don't touch the glass part."
"Dammit. That's my favorite place to feel."
"Hinata, go wake her up," Ino said, handing her sister the package. "I'll make sure Papa-chan doesn't dirty up the surprise."
"Pshh, that's how you put it? You make me sound like some ratty old woman!"
'But you are!" The threesome snickered noisily before Ino grabbed Papa-chan's hand and led her outside the sushi bar.
Hinata turned and walked through the shop's employee room to the Nest- a cabinet large enough to lie down in, lined with pillows and blankets. She opened the door to the cabinet and socked a blanket-wrapped bundle huddled beneath the bedding.
"Ey. Wake up."
The bundle groaned and stirred awake, mumbling. "Ugh...is it time for dinner delivery already?"
"Almost. But hurry and wake up Sakura. We have something for you."
The bundle fidgeted for several seconds until a hand pushed away the covers. A girl with messy pink hair sat up, yawning and scratching her belly. Hinata held out the plastic bag to Sakura, who squinted at it for a moment before taking it in her hands. Sakura peeled away the plastic to reveal a large plain box.
"What's this," she muttered sleepily.
She opened the box and looked inside. Her sleepy green eyes suddenly popped open and she gasped, staring at the object inside. She slowly lifted the object, her mouth wide with shock.
It was a sleek black motorcycle helmet, with a reflective eye-cover and a metallic metal-gray and pearl colored design of a falcon on the side.
"This... This...! Thank you so much Hinata, thankyouTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!! AHHH!!" Sakura jumped up and slammed her head against the cabinet's ceiling.
"Ow..."
"You baka! I wasn't the only one part of this. Come outside."
Sakura gasped, her face glowing with delight. "No...!"
Nevertheless, she let her sister grab her hand and drag her outside.
"Happy birthday!!" Ino, Hinata and Papa-chan yelled as Hinata led Sakura to her new motorcycle. Sakura just clutched her hair and let tears of happiness fall down her cheeks; she was unable to say anything.
A brand-new Kawasaki Ninja 500R was leaning majestically on its bike stand, glowing with the city lights reflecting off its glossy exterior. There was no sign of exhaust smudges inside the glistening silver pipes, no fingerprints, a tight firm leather seat, and a fresh, clean unused feel to the handlebars.
"Is this...is this actually real?...Actually brand-new?...I can't believe it...Proof..."
"Of course it's real! Didn't you notice me, Ino and Papa-chan going on a sudden working spree since the past five months just to save up for this?" Hinata exclaimed.
"And besides, we ordered it custom! The violet-in-the-light-and-black-in-the-night paint job could only be requested through a purchase of a twenty dollar 'personalized paint' brochure," Ino added matter-of-factly.
"At last, you don't have to ride around with that rusty junk you call a bike," Papa-chan said. The old woman tossed Sakura the key and the girl caught it.
"Thank you. Thank you all so much." Sakura gave her sisters and Papa-chan a hug before settling herself gingerly on the seat. "This thing is so fine, I'm scared to use it."
"Well, you're gonna have to. You will have to use it approximately three times in the next thirty minutes," Ino stated.
"Huh?"
Hinata handed her a folder with papers. "Go register your bike," she said. "And then go home because I didn't bring your work uniform with me."
Sakura smiled slowly before taking the folder. She put on her helmet and pushed down the eye cover, posing for her sisters before zooming away with a whoosh, cackling with joy.
She entered a busy street and held herself up proudly as she saw people -particularly teens- in their cars leaning over to get a glimpse of her gleaming motorcycle. Sakura smiled to herself and looked down to admire her vehicle again, watching as reflections of light flowed like water over the smooth surface.
She revved her machine and glided alongside the rich sports cars, enjoying the cool wind enveloping her body.
The woman lifted her head and took in the colorful environment around her. Once again, tears glistened in her eyes and she momentarily forgot her place in the world, gulping in the delicious freedom she tasted as the machine underneath her once again roared to life.
o o o o o o o o o o
Sakura handed her folder to the woman in the front desk and faced the doors, glancing every three seconds to see that no one was going to steal her new motorcycle. The woman handed her some papers to fill out and return.
"Ma'am?" said the woman. "I need you to confirm to the information by signing here. Okay, thank you. So, you are Ichimiko Haruno Sakura, you have turned twenty years old as of today, pink hair, green eyes, currently not attending school, you have no guardian, correct?"
"Yes ma'am."
"And your answers in the additional questions states that you have two sisters, Ichimiko Byakugan Hinata and Yamanaka Ino. Are they your legal sisters?"
"Legal sisters? Well...the three of us grew up together in the Ichimiko orphanage our whole lives. And the orphanage's headmaster allowed us move out of there to live together in a separate condo, as long as we kept it's surname."
"Hm. Okay."
After Sakura was done registering, she jumped back onto her motorcycle and turned it to life, heading for home on the busiest route. Within ten minutes, she arrived at her home, a small apartment with an apple tree, a large porch and extremely narrow staircase leading to the front door. The woman climbed up the stairs and, after digging her keys out of her jeans and inserting the correct one into the keyhole, opened the front door and flicked on the light switch. No light came on.
Sakura flicked the lights on and off once more before realizing the problem. She bounded down the stairs and headed to the landlord's office, which was just behind her condo.
She knocked on the door and opened the doorknob when there was no reply.
"Hey, Zabuzu," she greeted cheerfully.
Zabuzu, a long-haired dark-skinned man, was collapsed on his sofa smoking a cigarette, drinking beer, eating dried squid and watching a comedy show on a large TV. At the sound of his name, he turned and smiled.
"Happy birthday, you," he said. "Want some squid?"
"Thank you, and no thanks. I was wondering if you could turn the electricity on for just five minutes..."
"What? Don't you have electricity?"
"Um...well you cut off our electricity for the hours before 8:00 p.m. and after 5:00 a.m, since we're behind on the bill..."
"Ohh, that. Hmm. Since it's your birthday today, I'll give you electricity twenty minutes early for free."
"Really? For free??"
"Actually..."
"How much?"
"Well since it's your birthday...never mind. I'll take ten dollars off your bill. That's 190 dollars left to go."
"Oh! Thank you!"
"No problem kid."
Sakura raced back up the stairs and flicked on the switch, smiling when the light revealed three unmade futons on the floor, a hill of laundry thrown into the corner, books and papers scattered over the top of a small table in the middle of the room, and her neatly folded uniform resting on her pillow.
The pink-haired girl changed out of her clothes and threw on the worker's uniform, a red button-up top with slim black pants. She ran in front of the mirror and groomed herself the best she could with a broken brush and some free lip balm, before running to the refrigerator to grab the only item inside- a bottle of pink stomach medicine- to shove into her pocket. She grabbed a pen and pad of paper from the counter and scribbled in a note to buy more groceries. Then she locked the front door and ran down the stairs again, stopping to water several tomato plants growing underneath the stairs. Then she hopped back onto her motorcycle, heading to her waitressing job at an Italian restaurant.
The ride took only five minutes. She stopped the motorcycle in the parking lot and quickly scanned the area before relaxing.
"Ah wow...," she grinned, stretching her arms out. "This thing is so fast. I feel all fresh and early..."
"Sakura-chan!"
The girl turned to see restaurant employees spilling out the entrance of the building, gathering around to admire her motorcycle.
"Wow, a Kawasaki!" exclaimed a blonde man with blue eyes, whose name was Naruto.
"How much did it cost?" asked another employee named Lee.
"It's even prettier than that jacket I saw at the center the other day...," swooned a mousy voice, apparently from a girl named Tenten.
Sakura grinned and patted the machine. "Beautiful, huh? My sisters got it for my birthday. With help from Papa—I mean, the sushi bar granny."
"Hmm...at last, you don't have to pedal around on that crappy piece of rust," Tenten said happily.
Another voice called out from the restaurant,"You guys, come back inside! We need to prepare Sakura-chan's surprise—OH! Sakura, you're here?! Haha...um, HEY what's that?!"
"Kiba?"
A man with sharp canines and red triangles on his cheeks jogged over to Sakura.
"A motorcycle! No fair! I would get one but my dog will get jealous," Kiba moaned with a bit of longing.
"Well, why get a motorcycle when you already have a loving, wonderful dog to carry you around?"
"Well I only need to pay a daily fee of ten pounds of lamb liver and rice stew, as well as play fetch with branches and not sticks for heaven's sake, and—"
"Hurry up and get back to work!" A voice barked from inside the restaurant. The employees rushed for the entrance. Sakura didn't notice the excited faces of the people around her. She grabbed the bottle of medicine from her pocket and opened it, not paying attention to where Tenten was dragging her. She took a swig of the thick minty syrup, before wiping her mouth and returning the bottle to the pocket.
"Okay, let's get to work!" She said happily. She looked up to see her friends staring at her strangely.
"...What?" she asked uncertainly.
"...What was that stuff?"
"Hm? Oh. That's my stomach medicine. I've had stomach problems lately."
The employees exchanged uncertain glances at each other. Sakura raised an eyebrow and looked around to see what was wrong. Then she gasped.
There behind her was a table filled with dishes and dishes of food. There were plates of crispy calamari with tomato dipping sauce and slices of lemon; a big bowl of thick, creamy pasta with basil and chicken; a plate of mushroom ravioli decorated with melted cheese and a sprig of parsley; a large meaty slice of lasagna; a steamy loaf of French bread with oil and vinegar sauce, smeared with butter; a freshly tossed salad with chunks of lobster, sprinkled with sauce and glistening with moisture; and last but not least, a thick slice of rich chocolate cake with dots of caramel and whipped cream, a scoop of vanilla ice-cream, and strawberry and banana slices. In the center of the table, a large plate had her name written with strawberry syrup and marshmallows.
"Oh my g..." Sakura couldn't finish.
"Happy birthday!!" her friends yelled.
"Manager also said that you don't have to work today but you're getting paid!" Naruto cheered.
"It took Chouji over three hours to make the food! But Hidan had planned it out in the first place," Kiba quickly pointed out.
"T-thank you...tell Hidan-sama I'm so grateful for his generosity...and Chouji because of the effort he put for this meal..."
"You're welcome!"
Sakura looked up at the voice. Her manager, Hidan, was a tall, handsome and muscular man with purple eyes and silvery-white hair combed back in a sophisticated style. He was currently standing behind her, with one large hand squeezing her shoulder hard.
He smiled, revealing a row of perfect white teeth. "Happy birthday, cherry."
"Hidan...I'm so grateful..."
"It's all free," he said with a wink. Then concern showed on his face. "Overheard you talking about some stomach issues."
"Oh, there is no stomachache in the world I could give up if it meant a free five-course meal from your restaurant," Sakura choked. "Itadakimatsu!"
o o o o o o o o o o
It was only four in the morning but Sakura was very much awake, lying in her futon and clutching her stomach. After she had finished her free dinner, leaving nothing but streaks of sauce on the plates, she was so stuffed that Hidan had to help her get home with her motorcycle, making him walk back to the restaurant again so he could also go home in his BMW.
"Ohhh...what was I thinking??" She moaned in agony. "It was a free meal...and I should never leave food behind...but a whole five-course meal of Italian food...ugggh..."
"Diarrhea it out and you'll feel tons better," Hinata said. She was sitting cross-legged in her futon, having given up trying to sleep due to Sakura's moans.
"Oh Hinata...it hurts so bad..please get me my medicine."
Hinata obeyed and retrieved the medicine from the fridge. Sakura opened the bottle and took a gulp. Then she groaned and looked inside the bottle.
"This thing is empty. Shitastic. Ino needs to buy some more tomorrow. Ohhh..."
"What a costly day for you. The motorcycle and helmet. The food. The way you made Hidan walk back. The medicine. And in three minutes, me having to go down to Zabuzu-san to wake him up and explain the clogged toilet for him to plunge."
Sakura held her breath for several intervals, feeling terribly uncomfortable movements in her bowel. Her stomach gurgled and ached. She pressed her hands to her mouth to prevent from groaning loudly. Suddenly she jumped up and dived into the bathroom.
Hinata sighed and wrapped her blanket around herself, leaving the apartment to inform Zabuzu of his upcoming demise.
The toilet couldn't flush and Sakura came out of the bathroom, pale and weak. She collapsed and crawled over to a wall where a large paper was taped. The paper displayed:
"MONDAY
5:30 – 7:00 - Newspaper delivery
7:30 – 9:00 - Window cleaning
9:30 – 12:00 - Hospital service
1:00 – 3:00 - Tutoring at academy
4:00 – 6:30 - Medical studies with Chiyo-baa-sama!
7:00 – 9:00 - Dinner delivery service
TUESDAY
Newspaper delivery
8:00 – 10:00 – Orphanage service
10:30 – 12:30 – Hospital service
1:00 – 3:00 – Tutoring
4:00 – 5:00 – Chiyo-baa-sama
6:00 – 8:00 – Waitressing (sushi restaurant)
8:30 – 10:00 – Dinner delivery
WEDNESDAY
Newspapers
7:30 – 8:30 – Gardening for the Hokage building
9:00 – 12:00 – Hospital
1:00 – 3:00 – Costume job at pizza place
4:00 – 5:00 – Papa-chan
6:00 – 9:00 – Waitressing (italian restaurant) and dinner delivery
THURSAY
Newspapers
Window cleaning
Hospital
Tutor
Papa-chan
Waitress
FRIDAY
Monday
SATURDAY
Wednesday
SUNDAY
Waitressing
It was a Tuesday, the busiest day of her week. Sakura didn't own a clock, so she always watched for certain signs that signaled her that she should head to her next job. In this case, she had to just wait for Zabuzu's unique morning routine.
o o o o o o o o o o
Aahssh!(sneezing) Aahssh! AAHSHCK!!! NNNGKGKK. HOCCHHHH. PTOO!!
The three sisters groaned and rolled over in their beds. Hinata groggily lifted her head and tried focusing on Sakura through one eye.
"You feeling better?"
The pink-haired woman just groaned and used her energy to get herself out of bed. Hinata laid her head back on the pillow and closed her eyes. "I'll tell Ino to buy more medicine later..." she mumbled.
Sakura remembered the empty medicine bottle with a sickening feeling. Nevertheless she slowly continued what she was doing, dressing herself with handed-down boy clothes and faded sneakers. The woman had an idea of how sick she looked like, but refused to go look in the mirror and instead headed to the refrigerator , opening it and staring at the cold white emptiness inside. She went to the bathroom and flicked on the lights. Nothing. She flicked them on and off once more before sighing and realizing the clean toilet. Of course, Zabuzu must've gotten furious about the clogged beef job and cut off the electricity three hours earlier than usual.
Grabbing the key off the counter, Sakura headed outside into the dewy chill, grabbing an apple off the tree for breakfast. She smiled at the sight of her motorcycle standing majestically in a dugout space that she chose to use as a garage. Climbing onto the leather seat and revving the engine, she headed off to the newspaper office.
"Okay, so starting from today you will have a different route. Instead of the usual route through the Konoha park into the neighborhood next to the academy, you will be taking the route past into Uchiha and Hyuga properties, and the neighborhood beyond those. With your bike I expect you to be able to complete twice the workload in the same amount of time."
"Yes sir."
The newspaper man tossed a forty-pound bag of papers at Sakura and waved a hand at her. The woman just barely held onto the bag and staggered with it onto her bike. The wind helped her feel slightly better as she vroomed down the streets, tossing newspapers rapidly to the sides. She finished the neighborhood and headed towards the manors. She passed the Hyuga manor, tossing the paper over the solemn entrance wall.
Upon approaching the Uchiha manor, a large, attractive Japanese style building surrounded by maple trees, there was a man already standing outside, wearing a robe and holding a cup of steaming liquid. Sakura pulled out a paper and was about to fling it at the man, but decided that handing over the newspaper would be much more polite. She steered her bike to where the person was standing, and held out the paper.
The man was very good-looking, with long black hair pulled into a low ponytail and a calm expression to his face. He looked to be in his mid-20's.
"Good morning, sir. Here's your paper," Sakura said weakly. She was already starting to get a small cramp in her belly. Probably from the apple.
The man took a sip from his cup and took the paper, but his eyes were on Sakura's motorcycle.
"That's a nice Kawasaki," he said. "Is it new?"
Sakura smiled. "Thank you sir. Yes, I received it just yesterday."
The man leaned over and lifted an eyebrow. Then he frowned with disapproval and shook his head. "that bag will soon wear down the good leather seating and ruin it if you don't have some sort of material to put it on. Wait right here a moment."
"Sir?" Sakura watched the man take long smooth steps up the stairs into the grand entrance gates of his home. The woman awkwardly sat on her motorcycle, trying to concentrate on the beautiful trees basking in the early dawn's light and look as if she belonged. She heard a door slam and turned to see the man walking down the steps, holding a thick wool bag in his hand.
"it may be more slippery, but it won't damage the seat," the man said, taking another sip from his mug. Sakura took the bag with two hands and bowed.
"Thank you for your consideration, sir," she said.
"Please, 'sir' makes me feel like some graying old pear. Just call me Itachi."
Sakura laughed. "I'm sorry, Itachi. I'm Sakura."
"Nice name," Itachi said. "Here, let's get rid of that bag and put it in your new one."
o o o o o o o o o o
Sakura drove away from the manor, grinning and waving her hand rigorously. "Bye, Itachi! Thanks for everything!" she yelled.
"No problem. Hope we meet again," he called back. The woman blushed slightly and headed back to the newspaper office. She felt enormous joy at her and Itachi's conversation; not only had a new person talked to her in the first time in she-didn't-know-how-long, it was a good-looking guy who bothered to pay attention to her, a woman who wore boy clothes and looked literally a mixed palette of colors.
o o o o o o o o o o
Sakura received innumerable compliments for her motorcycle. She also received a heavier workload for many of her jobs. She completed her jobs as usual throughout the day, but constantly had to stop due to sudden stomachaches and attacks of diarrhea. Then one day around a week later, during a lesson with Papa-chan, the she had an ache so massive that she could do nothing more but to lay on the floor and shiver with pain. A minute later she was speed-crawling to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.
Papa-chan clicked her tongue with disapproval and thumped over to a steaming kettle to pour boiling water into a cup with a teabag. She also pulled a hot pack out of the microwave and waited for the woman to come back out. The toilet flushed with a gurgle and there was the sound of a sink. The sink turned off and Sakura slowly walked out of the bathroom, looking pale as a sheet. She leaned against the wall and slowly allowed herself to sink to the floor.
Papa-chan approached her and knelt down. "What was the color of the stools?" she asked.
"Black," Sakura hoarsely whispered.
The old woman shook her head once more and clicked her tongue. "Black. That's bad. That is very bad. It could mean the sign of blood in your stomach."
The granny placed the hot pack on Sakura's abdomen. Her face wrinkled up with concern.
"Sakura, I don't believe that your stomachaches are just from that meal that you had last night. You've been having them before lately; it could be caused from stress. You should take a break from work for at least until the aches go away.
"Here, drink some of medicine, put the hot pack on your belly and the pain shall be eased," she said. The elder returned to the kitchen and began preparing a stew for Sakura's stomachache.
Papa-chan was actually a retired physician from Suna, and a very skilled one at that. She specialized in poisons and antidotes but was also able to conduct life-saving surgeries and herbal remedies. Her real name was Chiyo-baa-sama but, being the strange and lovable old woman that she always has been, told everyone who was close to her to call her Papa-chan. Only when there was an emergency did people use her real name. Papa-chan now spent her days making teas and sushi at the little bar she opened, but the only people to whom she offered free sushi to was Sakura and her sisters.
Sakura met Papa-chan in the hospital she volunteered at. The old woman was there to teach some of the rookies the basics of medicine, and Sakura was one of the students. But soon enough Papa-chan broke her thigh and had to stay at the hospital anyway, with the pink-haired teen offering to care for her. The two developed a very deep bond.
The granny soon learned that Sakura and her sisters were all orphan children who grew up to be women searching for a purpose in their lives, but they were struggling with the pressure. Sakura wanted to become a physician just like her. Hinata wanted to become a animation artist. And Ino opted for fashion and wedding consultant. The girls had thrown dice one day to see whose dream would be supported first. Ino ended up winning, and Hinata and Sakura took many jobs to pay for her education, planning to have Ino graduate and become the main support of income so Hinata would start her career next.
While Ino had her studying and took any kind of fashion or decorating job she could find, she also had a tendency to spend a large portion of her earnings on her wardrobe. However, she knew the best places to buy needed items for free or very cheap, and the apartment was always clean, interesting decorated and comfortable from her efforts.
Hinata had one waitressing job, taught piano and art to children, babysat, and painted glaze on pottery and sculptures at a factory. She waitressed at the same restaurant Sakura worked at, often helping with the cooking rather than actual waitressing.
Sakura was the busiest of her sisters with ten jobs total: newspaper delivery, dinner delivery, window cleaning, tutoring, hospital service, orphanage service, waitressing for two restaurants, variety costume jobs, and baking.
However, the girls just barely struggled by, often having to deal with a completely empty refrigerator and no electricity. And ever since Sakura had been getting stomachaches, life became even more difficult for them.
The woman slowly sat up and drank the tea,burning her tongue in the process. She didn't care; she would do almost anything to get rid of the pain.
"Drink some more, Sakura," the old woman prodded. "And since it appears you are apparently too sick to do much, just go home and rest, and eat the stew I am making for you. We can study another day."
"Here I am!! Sorry I'm late." Sakura parked her bike, took off her helmet and bowed to Hidan, who was frowning at her from the entrance.
"Sakura, this is the fifth time in a row. Any normal manager would've fired the employee by now."
"I'm very sorry," Sakura replied quietly, her eyes downcast and dull.
"Why don't you visit a doctor, cherry. Your skin looks gray like squid guts."
Sakura snuffed but didn't meet Hidan's eyes. The last thing she wanted was the fact that he might realize that she couldn't afford to have a single check-up. Her family was so behind on the bills lately that Zabuzu, being the money-loving man that he was, threatened to kick them out. She refused to waste a single minute of work to focus on herself, if it meant not earning money for bills.
"Okay Hidan-sama," she said. "What's the list for today?"
"I don't think you should be flying around on that machine in your current state. Why don't you bus the tables instead, cherry. You'll be warm."
"Please, I'm feeling fine. The wind would do me some good." The truth was, she was feeling terribly sick and was scared that the rich, heavy aromatic air of the restaurant would make her barf. But as if to contradict her words, the wind blew and she shivered uncontrollably, trembling so bad that it looked more like spasms.
Hidan just watched her critically. Sakura smiled weakly and stood up straight. "R-Really, I'm fine Hidan. I seriously just need some fresh air. J-just tell me what I have to deliver t-today and I'll do it..."
Hidan folded his arms together and stared down at the pink-haired woman with a firm gaze, his jaw muscles flexing. Sakura's smile fell immediately and she looked to the floor. Whenever Hidan used that stance, it meant that his orders would be obeyed, no questions asked.
She muttered an apology and a consent and walked past him into the restaurant.
Hidan watched her leave and shook his head. "That girl. She works too hard, even with a sickness. She's starting to look worse each day."
Sakura squeezed the rag, trying to get all the water out. Her whole body shivered with the effort. The hard sphere of pain in her abdomen was steadily expanding. She first clutched her stomach, weakling wiping the table with one hand. Then she stopped her work completely. She felt the glisten in her eyes and the cold sweat on her skin. Her heart was pounding so hard it was uncomfortable. Her lungs felt like they were shrinking with each breath. Her vision yellowed and bobbed up and down like a boat on the waves. She remembered giving a massive cough and feeling the table slide out from under her arms.
o o o o o o o o o o
There was a hiss and a pounding of drums. A soft cool hand placed itself on her clammy forehead. Sakura didn't feel her eyes open, but rather watched her vision fade into view. She was lying on the floor of Papa-chan's home, a hot pack resting on her stomach. Her vision sloshed to see Hinata and Ino standing above, muttering incoherent words and pointing to something in a book. Suddenly Papa-chan was in her vision.
"Sakura, are you feeling better?"
The words didn't register at first. The woman tried moving her fingers, then her toes. Her whole body felt cold and weak.
"Sakura, can you hear me?"
"Yes..."
Hidan loomed into her vision. His voice began speaking, and it somehow sounded very clear yet very blurry.
"Crap...I have to go back to the restaurant. I've been away for too long already."
"Yeah...and it was right when she woke up too. You can go back Hidan-sama, I'll tell you about her condition tomorrow."
"Alright. Take care of her."
Sakura saw his purple eyes and felt a hand on her hair. She smelled the waft of cologne he wore as he knelt down next to her, stirring air.
"You better get better, cherry. Don't come to work tomorrow, you need to treat your illness."
There was another hiss; it was the sound of the door sliding shut. Sakura groaned and turned over, trying to lift herself up. Her sisters and Papa-chan knelt next to her, looking worried. She opened one green eye.
"Papa-chan...Hinata...what..."
"You coughed out blood and fainted. And Papa-chan brought you here to examine you herself rather than go to a hospital and be forced to stay until they're satisfied."
"Sakura, you have an ulcer in your stomach. Ulcers can only be removed with surgery," Papa-chan announced. "It is usually caused by either swallowing blood or having too much stress. In your case Sakura, it's stress."
The old woman wandered to a cabinet and opened it, pulling out a box inside. She returned in front of Sakura and lifted a handful of teabags out of the box.
"I would heal you, if only I had the energy left to do so...," Papa-chan murmured. She sadly sifted through the box's contents. "I may have once been one of Suna's greatest physicians, but now in my old gray age, teas are basically the only medicinal remedies I have adequate energy for now...and even if I were to make you a cup of my tea, it would take around a month for the ulcer to heal. And you don't have that kind of time to heal when you have work to do."
Ino reached over and lifted a teabag out of the box, sighing sadly. "If only we had the money for a surgery," she said quietly. Sakura slowly lay herself back down on the floor. The four women were silent for several moments.
Suddenly, Papa-chan's eyes lit up and she stared at Sakura with a deep and burning contemplation. "OH!" she yelled.
The granny scrambled to her feet before the sisters could react.
"Papa-chan??!"
She returned immediately, holding an ancient address book in her hands.
The three girls warily watched the old woman collapse back into her place on the floor, slamming the book down in front of her.
"Papa-chan?" Sakura lifted her head a fraction to stare at the book. "What's..."
"My grandson is a surgeon. He opened up a hospital in downtown Konoha around three years ago and from what I heard, grew to be very successful," Papa-chan said, quickly flipping through the pages. "I won in forcing him to give up in sending me half of his earnings, but that doesn't stop him from sending me a two-hundred dollar check every week, which I use to visit him every now and then at his hospital. We don't see each other much, but we are quite close."
Papa-chan found the page she was looking for and ran her finger down the entries, searching through names. "He always tells me that I can come and schedule a free operation, though not with him. But if he does that with me, I'm assuming he'll agree to operate on someone who is close to me for free as well."
Sakura sat up, ignoring the pain in her stomach. "Really? Could you really get a free surgery from your grandson??"
"It's not late. Let's see, it's nine fifty two right now...that means he's just about getting ready to leave for home. I'll call him right now!"
Papa-chan grabbed the phone and dialed in the number she memorized from the address book.
"Hello?" she said.
"Yeah, this is she. Can you read his schedule for me? Oh really? No, not me. A friend of mine. Please file in the time slot for Ichimiko Haruno Sakura. Ichi...miko...Haruno...Sa...ku...ra. Yeah. Sakura. Oh and please tell him I'll be dropping in tomo—oh? Well, there's someone I have that I want you to check up on. You give her the BEST of care, alright? Bye, I'll drop in tomorrow."
The old lady hung up the phone and turned to Sakura.
"Well, lucky you! His secretary just told me that a patient had just canceled an appointment that was supposed to be tomorrow. I filled you in for an evening appointment. 7:00 p.m."
Sakura raced through the streets on her motorcycle, dodging cars and whatnot. It was only 6:30, but the woman refused to take chances. She remembered Papa-chan's words from the previous night...
"Here are the directions to the hospital. And there's more information you need written on the back of the paper. When you meet him, be sure to mention that you came on request of Chiyomatsu."
"Okay."
"Oh and one more thing." Papa-chan chuckled to herself. "Make sure to be in his office on time, no questions asked."
"Why?"
"I said, no questions asked!"
Sakura screeched into the parking lot, tires grinding against the pavement. She noticed the parking lot filled with expensive luxury cars; the workers here were probably rich people. The only empty parking area the girl found was a small, tight space between two exceptionally rich cars, a Ferrari and a Lamborghini. She very carefully steered her Kawasaki into the space and jumped off, placing the motorcycle helmet on the seat. She left the parking lot and entered the hospital, which was a very fine building with attractive glass doors and a hotel-like lobby entrance.
The woman looked at the crumpled paper in her hand and headed to a nearby elevator, pressing the top button once the doors opened. The uncertain fluttering/painful feeling she felt in her stomach grew with the elevator's speed; she had never needed surgery before and couldn't help wondering if the doctor would make her receive it during the early night.
The doors opened and Sakura stepped out, her sneakers squeaking against the marble floor. She entered a hallway and walked past several doors, watching for one with a nameplate that matched the name on the paper she had. Three doors later, she found the plate and nervously gulped. She placed her hand on the doorknob and cautiously entered the room, which was nicely furnished with two sofas and several leather chairs, as well as some exotic plants of sorts. Only two seats were available, one next to a large, gloppy lady and the other next to a woman who had huge lips and frightfully large eyes, both of who were watching her intensely. Upon noticing, the pink-haired youth saw that all the patients in the office were women, most of who were nicely dressed and fairly attractive.
She felt self-conscious about her baggy black t-shirt and jeans, and just remembered that she needed to wash her hair. She was still standing in the doorway deciding which lady to sit next to when she heard a girl's voice call out, "Ichimiko Haruno Sakura?"
"H-Here!" Sakura called out, her voice cracking. She stumbled her way to a nurse holding open another door to the actual office.
"Go down to the end of this hall, turn right and enter the second door you see on the left please," the nurse said. "The doctor will be with you soon."
Sakura slowly stepped through the hall, turned right, and entered the second door she saw, hearing it close behind her as she entered. It was a room with a whole wall made of glass, though from what she saw outside, Sakura knew it was a one-way window. There was a comfortable-looking seat by the window, where she collapsed into, sighing heavily.
She turned her head to examine the posters on the walls. To her shock, the posters displayed anatomical pictures of the female chest and information on fat deposits, as well as graphical pictures of before/now results of people who had surgeries before. She couldn't figure for the life of why such graphic posters were hanging in this room. Soft tapping steps in the hall alerted her and she lifted her head. There were murmurs outside the door and she heard some pressure on the doorknob.
Sakura sat up and stared at the knob, her hands gripping the seat handles tightly.
I wonder what he looks like? Papa-chan visits him often, which probably means they get along well. Does he look or act anything like her? Surely if they get along, they should have lots of traits in common...
The door opened but not fully. Sakura only heard a single voice drift in, a very smooth and velvety voice. It was telling a jittery nurse where to get more syringes from the bottom floor. Sakura could see the nurse's face from the crack in the door. She was blushing and giggling with every transition in the doctor's words. Sakura lifted her eyebrow.
The door opened fully and the doctor was standing there, though his head was still turned to the nurse behind him. Then Akasuna no Sasori turned around and Sakura's eyes widened fully, staring at him the way a child would stare at an angry lion.
The doctor tilted his head and smiled seductively.
"Ichimiko Haruno Sakura?"
HEYYY!!!!! I'm sorry this chapter is so long, but I couldn't help it!! ...Well actually, I'm not that sorry about it being long.I've actually had three different versions of this first chapter, and I guess this one was the one I liked most. I tried my best to make it clear on where it was going, and I realized that unlike my The Love Therapist story, I wanted this one to be more direct rather than a love-blooms-like-a-watermelon-the-longer-it-is-on-the-vine-the-better
But I'm very thankful to those who were able to make it down here. I'll really, REALLY enjoy and appreciate reviews and feedback! This story has pairings but it is still shaky whether or not it will be a real romance fic or something else, so hang tight. So thank you for making it down here, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, maybe I'll see you next chapter, goodbye!