AN OLD FLAME
By Autumn's Wind
I. Salvation
The moment he took the mission he was warned by its high risks and that, in case of a failure, a medic nin should be around that area.
And now, he was desperately searching for that medic, strolling in the woods with a rather large gash by his side. He also knew who that medic could be. She left a year ago on a medical research trip and from then on, she kept sending reports to the Hokage.
But the problem was that a report like that hasn't been received for a month and rumors about her death became more frequent.
Just before he left for this dangerous mission, the Hokage received information about an unknown medic near the Land of Wind. Maybe it was her...they all hoped that she was alive and now that a mission took place near the place the medic was seen and he was badly injured, he had to find her because he really hoped and believed the medic was her...Sakura.
A throb from the large gash made him put his hand on his stomach, only to remove it from there drenched in blood...his blood. In that instant he realized the urgency with which he had to find a medic. If he didn't, he would die from blood loss and he will never have the chance to see if she was there...to see her again.
His movements became slower as time passed by and fatigue entered his system. He leaned his back on a tree and slipped down to the base of it, trying to catch his breath. He looked at the gash he had on his stomach and even if he tried to treat it, he had neither clean bandages nor healing techniques to use. He pressed his hand on his wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding but didn't help too much. Something seemed to counter his countering.
When he looked around him all he could see was dirt and a few trees there and there.
But something else was what kept plaguing his mind. His mind would always drift away to a certain green eyed medic that had unique pale pink hair. Even when he concentrated o his surroundings for a second his mind kept wandering on his former teammate's whereabouts.
He managed to push those thoughts away as he slowly got up from the ground and kept walking...to where? He didn't know...
All he knew was that he won't allow himself to die leaning against a tree just like that. He was going to find that medic and he was going to have so much faith in it that it will actually happen.
So, he kept walking, taking slow strides until he saw a few houses. As he approached them he realized he must have reached a small town, by the looks of it. Few people were walking on the dusty road and there was no sign of any shinobi, or if there were any, they were simply too weak to even be taken in consideration.
He tried his best to act like he wasn't that weakened and walk like a normal man would, but people still looked strangely at him, because of his shinobi attire. Tired of those looks he approached an old lady, who looked as if she was expecting him to come to her.
"Do you know if there is any medic nin around here?" he asked her in a whisper.
"Go to the right, beside that cliff." She whispered back as she pointed to a relatively small cliff.
Using what was left of his chakra, he reached the hill in less than a minute, breathing heavily. From where he was, he could see the front of a small, wooden house. The wound on his stomach ached even more as it seemed to remind him of his condition, and he winced in pain.
He tried to step forward but his leg moved too slowly that he stumbled across a rock. Luckily for him he managed to grab a hold of a small tree. His limbs became number by the second and he thought he might collapse if it weren't for the strong hold somebody had on him.
When he looked up, he saw her figure standing right in front of him...her astounding pink hair, her brilliant yet piercing green eyes, her full lips and her pale skin. She wore a confused, yet worried expression on her face, probably because she didn't expect him to be there, much less in the precarious condition he was in.
"Sasuke...what happened?" she asked seriously. His eye lids were closing slowly and he didn't notice when she put him on the ground, placing her healing hands on his stomach.
He began feeling her healing chakra flowing through his sore body, and by looking at her, he wondered if she wasn't an angel that landed on earth to save him. He noticed the concentration visible on her face and he found himself admiring her and her amazing abilities once more.
She and Naruto, his best friend and brother, found him right after he killed Itachi, but he didn't remember much of that day. He only remembered his sudden victory and him fading slowly away.
He felt something pulling him back to consciousness, by giving impulses to his body but he didn't wake up until next day when he was already in Konoha's hospital. After that day he began redoing the bond he once said he didn't need.
Naruto was acting just like a brother with him, always determined to bring Sasuke on the good way again.
Sakura was acting, surprisingly for the Uchiha, like a sister too. She no longer seemed to show her fangirl attitude but rather a sisterly one. She no longer persuaded him to come at a date with her. She no longer defended him from the silliest things.
She yelled at him when he did something wrong, that happened to irritate her, so she no longer had to hide her anger from him. She showed a concerned look when he came injured from missions, but it was the same look she threw to Kakashi or Naruto when they had injuries.
So, he concluded she no longer loved him either.
He was sixteen when he came back. Now he was twenty and he felt as if he still had things to learn about her and his friends.
"ANBU mission..." he managed to say before coughing some blood. Sakura looked at him with a sad smile.
"That turned out completely wrong?" she finished for him, before closing her eyes, maybe because she needed to concentrate, or maybe because she had to stop some tears from flowing "Don't worry...I"
"Sakura..." he whispered, making her stop her talking and look at him again. She continued pumping her chakra in his body, as their eyes met. Although he felt better thanks to her abilities, he began feeling drowsy, and despite the fight he held to keep his eyes opened, he could do nothing more but fade off to sleep, with an image embedded in his mind...Sakura's tear sliding down her cheek.
-x-
When he woke up again, he was no longer on the hard ground but on a rather soft and comfortable mattress. He opened his eyes and looked around him. He was in a cozy room that was a bit small, painted in a warm brown, matching the wood that made up the walls. He stood on his elbows as he surveyed the room with his eyes. He felt no pain at all as he moved and he was grateful for finding her...she saved him.
He searched for her chakra signature but he didn't find it. Maybe she was somewhere else or she just preferred to keep it masked all the time. He stood up even more so that he sat on the edge of the bed with his feet touching the floor. For a second he felt a soft prick where his large wound was and as he tried to look down at himself he noticed he wore no shirt, but only his pants.
He was shirtless and a soft smirk appeared on his lips.
In the spot where the gash was, only a small bandage was placed. She was definitely an expert at healing, he thought, if she was able to reduce the large size of the wound, that much. He stood up on his feet and he felt that prick again as he walked towards the door he thought led to the bathroom. He was right and he could see his shirt and vest hanging dampened on a wire.
He looked at himself in the mirror and was quite surprised to see the tint of a smile on his face.
After washing his face, complete silence swathed him.
He got more curious about Sakura's whereabouts by the minute. His stomach demanded food, and as he searched for the kitchen, the floor in the hall cracked as he stepped. When he found the kitchen he found out there was already a meal prepared for him, meaning that she expected him to wake up that morning.
When he came back inside the bedroom he noticed the variety of scrolls and papers on a shelf as well as on a small desk. They were probably the result of her research; after all, that was what her mission consisted of, or that's what he thought.
He picked up a scroll at random and his thoughts were proven right. Complex healing jutsu, apparently used for brain damage, was explained right on the paper in front of his eyes.
Medicine wasn't his favorite subjects so he abandoned his short 'study', propping himself on the bed, suddenly feeling drowsy again. Gazing outside the window he took notice of the rainy afternoon.
Where could she be at a time like that, he wondered. He was getting more impatient because of her absence but as he lied there on the bed he felt himself slowly succumbing to sleep.
A/N: I hope you liked the new idea that occurred to me
Some reviews would be welcomed;)
Until next time...