Boy, I'm on a roll this week.
This is the return of the Overused Zelda Quote™, also the title of a Snow Patrol song. Anyway, I've been working on this ever since I rediscovered my love for Naruto. There will be some references to canon things, so uh, just keep your eyes open. Yeah. YEAH
There'll be more notes to the end so make sure to check it? Please?
Enjoy!
Open Your Eyes
Through the haziness of his mind, he could feel himself moving horizontally, quickly, as people talked above his body. His limbs ached, screamed in pain, but his eyes were the ones that hurt the most.
"Uchiha Sasuke."
He could feel artificial light glaring at his closed eyelids, but he could not bring himself to open them as if they were glued together. He tried to move a hand and bring it to his face, but at the slightest twitch of his fingers, someone slapped a palm over them to settle them down and he was ushered away to a place where the light was brighter.
"Age 28."
His clothes were cut to pieces and taken away and he would have snapped at these people were he a little more conscious. His throat worked and swallowed and he tried to force words out, but all he managed was to open his lips as something prickled the inside of his elbow.
"Born in Konoha."
Trying to push through the mist that covered his mind, he focused on the sound of the steps, trying to guess how many people were there, but his senses were starting to blur together and his body was feeling numb. He wanted to scream, but if his body did not completely respond to him before, it would hardly flinch now.
"Haruno-san, he's ready for surgery." His eyebrows pinched minimally at the voice, and finally he fell asleep.
When he woke up again, it felt like he had been sleeping for hours. He might as well have, but there was no way of telling that.
Sasuke fisted his right hand, glad that he could do it easily despite the sluggishness he felt, and noticed that something was wrapped around his flesh. Frowning, he pressed his fingers down to his palm and traced the material, coming to the conclusion that it must be bandages. He felt it wrap around most of the length of his limb that felt oddly numb. They were pumping anesthetics or painkillers into his veins, perhaps, if the IV connected to him meant anything.
Still, though, he could not open his eyes and his left hand was not obeying any commands.
He brought his fingers to his face and touched his chin, moving them over to his cheek next and he hissed in pain; it was probably swollen. Then, they went over to his eyes and he felt more bandages wrapped securely around his head, covering them.
"You're awake." His body froze and he tried to guess where the source of the voice came from. "I didn't expect you to wake up so soon, Uchiha-san."
It was a woman, that much he could tell, and her steps would have been much quieter if it were not for the heels she wore that cackled on the floor as she walked over to him. "Where am I?"
"Konoha Central Hospital. I'm Doctor Haruno Sakura." Her fingers gently pried his hand away from his face, placing it back down on the mattress, and he scowled. "Now, now, don't give me that look."
"What happened?" He demanded, and then added quickly. "Where's Itachi?"
"Please, calm down. You're gonna break the machine if your heartrate gets any higher." For the first time he noticed the beeping noises in the background, and true to her words, they were frantic as they matched the speed in which his heart was beating.
She placed a hand on his shoulder and he tried to shrug it off, but it would not budge. Exhaling irritably through his nose, Sasuke turned his head to the other side and allowed himself to slow down, taking in deep breaths, as deep as his aching ribs would let him.
"Much better," the mattress shifted under him and he guessed she gave herself permission to sit on its edge. He did not quite like this proximity, even if now she was not touching him in any way. "You seem like someone that gets annoyed easily, but I trust you'll behave once I tell you everything."
He snorted and draped his right arm over his stomach. It was the closer he could get to crossing his arms, but the left one still was not responding. "Just get to the point."
"About two days ago, you were brought in after a car crash. A truck hit your car on the highway. The driver was drunk and was on your side of the lane, driving towards you." She said evenly, and he could tell that she was looking at him, watching for his reaction. "You were a mess, if I can be quite honest. Your clothes were soaked in blood and your right arm was covered in cuts and gashes. Your legs were only a little better, but were still in bad shape."
Haruno took in the breath that could not quite reach his lungs as he listened to her, but he was confident that his face remained impassive. "Sadly, there was not much we could to do save your left arm. It was broken beyond repair below the elbow and it was practically attached to it by only a bit of skin and muscle." His stomach churned unpleasantly as he realized just why he could not move the fingers. "Your eyes were injured as well seeing as glass got stuck in them. They were useless, so we had to do a surgery. That explains the bandage around your head and you must not touch it or try to open your eyes."
He felt himself nod faintly, mind reeling to take it all in. It was far too much for him to comprehend and accept, and the knot in his throat only meant that things were about to get worse. She had, after all, not replied to his other question yet. "Where's Itachi?" Sasuke asked once again in a voice that barely resembled his own.
There was a split second in which he heard the sharp intake of breath she took. "He did not make it." Her tone was soft and compassionate, but not pitying in the least. "He was the owner of the eyes we transplanted on you. I'm sorry."
Doctor Haruno did not return for a long time after she left. Some other nurses came and went, and tried to get him to talk to them, but he did not answer. He lied on his bed trying to digest all that she told him and did not bother trying to eat whatever food they brought him; he had no appetite whatsoever in that moment, he just wanted to fall asleep again.
Yet, sleep did not come to him. Sasuke was left awake in his hospital room as things slowed down out there and he supposed night had fallen. Musing on the fact that his last closest relative had died in a car crash left a sour taste in his mouth that would not fade so soon. He was the only survivor of the family and maybe his great-uncle Madara was out there somewhere alive, but he was not about to go after the man. He could get used to living by himself now. It would be hard, of course, he thought as his bandaged fingers brushed against whatever was left of his arm, but he would live.
Bitter that such strong man as his brother had died like that, he wondered if charging the driver would bring him some sort of satisfaction.
"I will only respond to Haruno."
The nurse hovering over him faltered in her one-sided conversation. "But Doctor Haruno is busy–"
"I will only respond to Haruno," he punctuated every word, tone holding finality. With a sigh, the plate she had been holding was returned to the tray placed over his lap, the chopsticks clinked lightly on the porcelain, and she exited the room.
He sighed, hand searching blindly for the chopsticks. He had decided it would be best to eat, even if he believed nothing would stay for too long in his stomach given that it was still twisting uncomfortably ever since he learned of his brother's fate. The problem was, he could not see the food, and once he managed to grab some of it, taking it to his mouth was harder than it seemed. Sasuke had wondered before what it would be like if he was rendered blind and, though he was not, keeping his eyes forcefully closed as they healed from a surgery had probably the same outcome.
That nurse came around about fifteen minutes after leaving him with his breakfast and found him still struggling to take as much as a bite. Giggling (which he found annoying), she thought it would be a good idea to feed him (which he found humiliating). She touched the rice balls to his lips and asked him to open his mouth, pretty much treating him like a child, and no amount of grumbling and leaning away from her made her stop. She only gave up when he mentioned Haruno. Sasuke was not about to ask her for her help, but if he needed some, it would be from her only. Of all the hospital personnel he met so far, she was by far the only one that did not treat him as if he were useless.
Clinking ensued before him and the chopsticks were placed in his wandering fingers. "Sukui was shaking, if you must know."
Sasuke tilted his head in her general direction and said irritably, "I am capable of feeding myself."
"Yes, I am aware." Still, she took his wrist and guided his hands over to where the food truly was. He scowled, but she said nothing about that. "I am surprised you didn't ask for Tsunade-sama herself to look after you."
Her footsteps moved away from him and he heard the windows being opened to the left, a cool early morning breeze swept into the room. "There's no point in asking for someone who didn't operate me."
She made a humming sound and went about the room. "And how do you know it was me?"
"I heard one of the nurses saying your name." He squeezed one of the rice balls between the chopsticks tentatively and brought it up to his face, letting it glide over his skin until it came in contact with his lips.
"Clever," her voice was closer now, and the machines by his side beeped randomly as she pressed buttons on them. "You've got one hell of a health care; it covers for most of this. Whatever expenses you have later can be easily paid, so don't worry." Sasuke fished around for more food, but she took hold of his wrist once again briefly and then resumed whatever she was doing. "I suppose you have a family attorney? Because there's a man calling the hospital day and night trying to talk to you, but we cannot allow that for the time being."
He snorted, chewing the food around in his mouth. He probably wanted to talk about all the legal actions they would take to transfer what is left of Itachi's and the family's money to his name, but for the time being, Sasuke had no desire to speak with that man. He always creeped the hell out of him with those yellow eyes of his and his freakishly long tongue that he insisted on showing around. And besides, he was still coping with his loss. Talking about that now would only bring him more grief.
Her fingers lightly tugged at the bandages around his head. "I will personally tend to your needs from now on, Uchiha-san. A lot of people from your caliber do that, so it won't be a problem." She did the same on the bandages on his left arm and added as an afterthought. "Still, nurses will be the ones to bring you food. I can ask them not to talk to you if you'd like."
"That'd be ideal." He easily managed to grab a piece of food this time, all by himself, and wondered when he would get used to this.
"I will let them know." Haruno poured him a glass of water and set it on the bedside table, explaining to him just exactly where it was placed. "I'll leave you this beep and I'll come as fast as I can, if possible." She elaborated and set the device down beside his thigh. "I must go now, though. Enjoy the rest of your meal."
He grunted and heard her leave.
"I asked my friend to lend you his old tv."
Sasuke spent his day sitting on his bed with little to no shifting at all and trying hard not to focus on Itachi's tragic death. And to think they had just made peace over a little discussion; at least, everything was fine between them and he would not feel as guilty as he would have been if they were still on bad terms with each other. Haruno kept her words and none of the nurses spoke to him unless strictly necessary, which meant announcing their arrival and excusing themselves as they placed and took away the tray with his meals. He was mildly content it was easier for him to find his food the second time around, but he still struggled.
Haruno returned earlier that evening, claiming that he should take a shower, and was patiently disconnecting him from most of the monitors by his bed. Her fingers were warm on the skin of his chest and delicate as they plucked away the ends attached to him.
He scoffed, "I can't see."
"Well, duh, I am aware of that." She snatched the last one away on purpose, and he hissed, grinding his teeth together as she laughed under her breath. "Still, you'll at least have something to listen to in the meantime." She patted the reddening area gently and started tugging his bedsheets away. "But he is out of town and I lost my spare key, so you'll have to wait a few days."
"You have a spare key?"
She hummed and cupped her palm around his elbow and placed the other on his back, guiding him to the edge of the bed. "We've been friends for a long time. Anyway, I figured I could borrow you my tablet and let you listen to some audiobooks I have downloaded."
His bare feet touched the cool tiles of the floor. The hand on his back disappeared, but the one on his elbow remained as they walked to the bathroom. "And where are my belongings?"
"With the police. Evidence, they say, but I don't know how a wallet and a cellphone can give more insight to an accident as obvious as yours." He could hear by her tone that she was musing over the fact more than one really should, but he could not blame her. After all, there was more to analyze than just the accident itself. "I believe they'll return them to you the day after tomorrow at the most, or when you get your leave."
Haruno held his wrist again, and he was about to protest, but she placed his index finger over a light switch and flicked the light on. Right, she had to tell him where things were. Therefore, she gave him a tour around the bathroom, explaining where the toilet, the sink, the shower and other accessories he could need were. She mentioned that she bought him a toothbrush and some products, such as soap and shampoo, and let him feel around the sink until he found the toothpaste.
"The cleaning staff and nurses were told to leave everything where they are now. It should make things easier for you."
And they did. He would not have to grope around anymore if the toothbrush and toothpaste were placed inside the plastic cup by the right corner of the sink, and the face towel perched on the wall just above it was easy to find. Next, she took him to the shower stall and let him push the sliding doors to the side to grant access. As he moved his fingers over the clean tiles, she voiced the things that he touched, like the hot water knob and a fluffy sponge. It was very fluffy.
"Did you buy me pink stuff?" She laughed from behind him, a little louder and longer than usual. "What? You do sound like someone who likes pink."
Her laughter stretched on until she was driven nearly breathless, gasping for air and most likely bracing herself against the wall. He turned around with a scowl on his face; he truly did not see what was so funny about that. "I guess you'll have to wait and see, Uchiha-san."
He waved her off dismissively and gingerly stepped out of the stall, immediately looking for the soft rug that was nearby. "I can handle it from here."
"Alright. I'll be outside if you need anything. Just don't lock the door," she advised, heels clicking away from him, "and pull the strings behind your back and neck, and you should be free from this ugly hospital gown."
The door closed after her, and he did as told, letting the thin material drop to the floor by his feet and he kicked them away. She had removed most of his bandages, except for the one around his head, and said she would change it after he showered. Sighing, he felt dimly embarrassed as he sat on the toilet to take a piss.
A few days passed since his arrival, though that it was hard for him to keep track of them. Sasuke could not count the amount of times he slept, because he spent most of the day napping anyway due to the lack of stuff he could do in the hospital. Her audiobooks came in handy, and he was surprised she had a great variety of themes to listen to; he had been expecting only sappy novels, but found thrillers and mystery in there. Using the tablet was easy thanks to the voice control feature, or else he would have a hard time opening the app every time he felt like doing something other than lying down and waiting for time to tick by.
Haruno bought him some pieces of clothing. She had undoubtedly noticed that he was progressively getting more and more exasperated at the thin sheet that was what they liked to call a hospital gown. Now, he could not see just what it looked like, but it was loose enough to make him feel cold breezes in certain places. So she got for him a couple of shirts and pants, pajamas and even some underwear. Sasuke could feel that they were not high quality, but it made sense; he would most likely throw them away anyway, so there was no point in spending money in clothes right now.
She also got him a noisy alarm clock that beeped every time an hour passed; all he had to do was count the beeps and he would be able to keep track of the time in a day. That was how he knew that, a little after nine in the morning, someone entered his room, making a lot of noise in the process.
Sasuke was sitting on the armchair by the window, just feeling the sunlight touch his face, when hurried footsteps walked in, followed by some curses and a loud bang as something was dropped on the furniture somewhere. Annoyed, fingers wound tightly around cushioned arm of his seat, he twisted his torso around towards the source of the sound. "Who's there?"
Silence followed and he really hated the fact that he could not properly glare at the newcomer. "Who the hell are you?"
It was a man around his age, or so he believed. If it were not for the deep timbre of his voice, Sasuke would have thought that he was no older than a teenager, given that he spoke in the same intonation as one of them. Perhaps he was not fully-grown yet. "You come into my room and I have to introduce myself?" He asked indignantly, the end of his sentence accompanied by a scoff. Who did this man think he is?
"I don't know how Sakura-chan puts up with you." He commented, causing the patient to scowl deeply at him. "Less than two minutes in your company and you're already pissing me off."
Sasuke snorted. "You're one to talk." He entered his room without permission and making a lot of noise. Maybe there was a way that he could contact security and have him dragged out of there.
He would not have to intervene, thankfully, for no sooner than the man opened his mouth to counterattack, they were joined by a pair of clicking heels. "I was told you would be here, Naruto." She said calmly, but shortly after a loud snap echoed in the room and the man – Naruto – yelped. "What did I tell you about picking on my patients?"
"He started it!" Naruto whined in defense and shuffled away, coming closer to his side of the room.
Her sigh was loud and overdramatic. "Please, stop rubbing your head. I didn't even hit you that hard."
"You're dangerous when that clipboard is with you." Sasuke covered his smirk with his fist by pretending that he was rubbing the underside of his nose. Served him right, though he would like to see it happening again, if possible.
"Well, Uchiha-san," her voice was near him now, "this is Uzumaki Naruto. He's the friend I told you about and he brought you a tv."
Naruto made a noise that he could not quite explain or compare to anything; maybe he was undignified. "Had I known I'd lend it to him, I would've said no."
Her hands were on his amputated arm as she mocked him by repeating his words in a high-pitched tone. "You would've lent it anyway because you like me too much for your own good."
"Yeah, yeah, I know..." He drawled in a meek voice, and Sasuke had the impression that this guy had his shoulders bunched up to his ears as he spoke. "Speaking of liking you, Bushy Brows downstairs kept me around for a long time at the entrance while professing his undying love for you." He snickered as she groaned, her fingers were gentle as she unwound the bandages from around his limb. "Sakura-san is such a youthful flower full of beauty that must be cherished every day, he said."
"Well, I feel like I should be cherished," she mused in a quieter tone, digits probing certain areas of his skin. "But Lee-san needs to realize I don't return his feelings."
Naruto was far now, having moved away to install the tv. "If Bushy Brows wasn't pushing it so hard and wasn't so creepy, I'd actually tell you to go for it."
"I'm fine, thank you."
Sasuke drowned out the rest of their conversation and concentrated on her working hands. Loud static filled the room as the television was plugged into the socket and the other man quickly turned down the volume, and then flipped over the channels to find something that was interesting. Actually giggling, he moved away and jumped on the bed – his bed – if the squeaking sound of springs meant anything. It was followed by muted moans coming from the speakers and Haruno vanished from his side as fast as lightning and he heard, once again, as she hit the clipboard repeatedly on his head.
It was another day when he was listening to the local news and they mentioned his accident. Hearing that Itachi was dead left his heart feeling oddly heavy and empty at the same time. Then his lawyer made a few announcements regarding his well-being, though it was clear that he was partially lying; Sasuke had not met with him yet, as he claimed to have done. The way he dragged all the letters S made his skin prickle and he honestly considered firing him as soon as he was out of this hospital.
He asked Haruno when he would be free to go. She said time varies from patient to patient but he would have to stay until he could see clearly, because it was a delicate surgery and he would have to rest for most of the recovery process. Though she did not say it aloud, he caught the unspoken things that meant he could not be alone on his own while blindfolded, so that meant he could not leave. There were a lot of things he could not do until he was fully healed, like lifting heavy stuff, practicing high intensity exercises, and driving. Once he was out, he would have to rely on taxis or he would hire a temporary driver.
Haruno was currently once again checking his eyes, the bandages falling away from his head and he obediently kept his eyelids closed as she had asked. "Your hair is getting longer." She commented, and he simply hummed in reply. Yes, his fringe was already starting to get in his way a week before the accident, by now it was falling over his eyes. He had noticed as well that his hair was not so short on the back of his head the last day he felt the need to wash it. "Want me to take you somewhere to get the ends trimmed?"
"No, it's fine." He always went to the same place and asked for the same cut. He was not going somewhere else now.
"Alright." She placed away the bandages and her palm swept over the curve of his jaw. "You're growing a stubble as well. Want to get rid of this?" To that, he nodded mutely. The only kind of facial hair he could stand was his eyebrows. Everything else had to be shaved off. "I'll get you a razor and we'll take care of this later."
She told him to open his eyes, her thumb carefully dragging the soft skin under his bottom lashes down so that she could examine it properly. "How is it like?"
Not good. "Dark and blurry."
"We'll check weekly. It should start improving soon."
He hoped so. What he felt was contradictory. He was not in a rush to leave, because there in the hospital they respected his space and he was not bothered by anyone, though he did miss going out just to stretch his legs. However, on the other hand he really, really wanted to be able to open his eyes and see again. Sasuke felt a little anxious and it certainly had everything to do with the fact that these eyes used to be Itachi's.
Earlier that night, they were in the bathroom. Haruno supplied him with shaving cream and a razor, and he had the idea that she was leaning against the doorway, observing him as he tried to do it himself. His shirt was discarded on top of the closed toilet seat and she tied his hair back with some hairpins, laughing quietly under her breath as his nose wrinkled in annoyance.
His fingertips glided over the smooth surface of the countertop until they bumped into the razor, and he gently brushed his thumb over the blades to figure out which way they should go. Sighing, he twisted it around and turned his head to the side, placed the razor down underneath his bottom lip and guided it over the curve of his chin. He dipped the sharp blades into the basin filled with water to get them cleaned and returned them to his skin, moving down, and he jerked away with a hiss as the razor sliced through it.
Her clothes rusted as she hastily walked further into the room and snatched it away from his fingers. "Honestly, you're not even doing it right." Her mumble was laced with exasperation and his lips curled down at her intervention.
"I can do it."
"Yeah, if you want to shave off your entire face, you can." She clicked her tongue and deposited the razor on the sink, then slapped his hand away when he tried to touch the small injury. "Stop moving." He glowered at her, but shoved the appendage inside his pocket anyway.
Her left palm rested on the base of his neck, her fingers curling over his shoulder as her thumb stopped just above his collarbones. Sasuke felt as her sigh fanned across the bare skin of his chest and for once, he realized that she was shorter than him, though he did not know how much yet. She placed the sharp blades above his jawline and moved them up, against the direction of growth and efficiently leaving the skin smooth without any stubbles.
Her movements were calm and careful as her hand guided the razor in the right directions. He could feel his pulse beating steadily under her thumb, and he was extra mindful to keep his breathing under control whenever she gently wiped at his face with a damp towel to remove loose hairs that were left clinging to his skin. Time seemed to drag endlessly as Haruno worked and he refrained from shifting on his feet. Growing restless, he just wanted to shower and retreat to his bed as soon as possible. Her fingers were far too soft on his overheated skin and the way it seemed she was breathing directly on his clavicle was distracting.
Finally, Haruno placed the razor away and patted the last bit of his skin clean from any traces of shaving cream. "All done." She slid a finger up his cheek and then fully cupped it with a palm. "You're hot. Are you okay?"
Sasuke brought his hand up and pinched the bridge of his nose, wanting to squeeze his eyes tightly shut, but unsure if he was allowed to do that. "I'm fine. Just tired."
She hummed, seemingly oblivious to the way her handiwork had affected him. "You can shower if you want. I promise I won't look."
He knew she would not. Haruno was far too professional to even think of spying on him while he was showering. Besides, she most likely saw him naked when she was leading the surgery – and surely she saw a handful of naked male patients before – so he really had nothing to show that had not already been seen. Stepping under the falling water as he mused over what had just transpired, his digits ghosting over where her thumb had been, he nearly missed the sound of the door closing silently behind her back.
Haruno stormed into his room one day, and he followed the loud rustle of her clothes with his head. "What's with the rush?"
"Get up, we're going out."
"What?"
"I said," her voice was closer now, her minty breath on his face, "We're going out."
He felt his bedsheets getting pulled away by her hands, fingers fisting the material on each side of his hips. "Don't you have days off to spend somewhere else?"
She threw the thin covers by his feet unceremoniously. "As a matter of fact, I have. And I chose to spend it with you, so get up!"
Clicking his tongue against the back of his teeth, Sasuke swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up, his toes curling inwards as they came in contact with the cold tiles. "Do you expect me to leave in my pajamas?"
The last word had just left his lips and she shoved a fresh set of clothes into his chest, prompting him to curl his arm around it. "Since you're being so uncooperative, I'm going to help you get dressed, and if you complain I'll leave your sorry ass trapped inside this hospital room for the rest of your days until you're fully healed."
He scowled at her, and whereas that particular expression would drive people away before – drive the nurses away – it had little to no effect on her. His scowl lacked the eyes, he mused, cold, dark eyes that made people shut their mouths and back down. And yet, here she was, forcing the shirt of his pajamas up his torso, nails scratching the unwrapped bits of his stomach, and shamelessly tugging his pants down his legs. He vaguely wondered if she had closed the door.
She pressed a shirt into his hands and he silently slid his arms into the sleeves as he did as told and stepped into the pants. Haruno brought them up to his hips and next worked on buttoning up the shirt, tugging it inside his pants before closing the button and pulling the zipper up. Now, he really did not feel exposed when he showered and she was in the room or when she touched him for one reason or another, but to have her undress and then dress him up was far from comfortable. He cleared his throat as he put on his coat and sat back down on the armchair to let her slip on a pair of socks, followed by shoes that were much heavier than the usual slippers he wore on a daily basis.
"All set," she pulled him up by the hand, and he imagined that now she was grinning from ear to ear. He grumbled in protest, but she looped her arm around his anyway and guided him out of the room and into the hallways.
The sunlight on his head was something he welcomed and missed. Days of sitting so close to the window hoping to get some morning sun could not compare to the few scant minutes he got walking under the harsh midday sunlight as they trekked over to her car in the parking lot. The inside of the automobile was still cool from the air conditioner and he realized she had come just to drag him out of the bed. Perhaps she noticed the way he lingered by the window and figured he really wanted to go out and stretch his legs.
Music was playing, a foreign song that he did not know the lyrics to, but she knew the melody by heart judging by her hums. It was barely audible, but she did not strike him as the kind who would listen to it at that volume and quietly. No, Haruno was the kind that would drive while shouting the lyrics until her voice could be heard over the uproar of the song.
They parked somewhere, a busy street if the hum of engines around them meant anything. Her arm was around his again and they were strolling on the sidewalk, the sunlight reached them whenever they emerged from under the shade of a tree or an awning. People walked past them in different speeds, followed by conversations that varied in volume and intensity. A kid was crying somewhere ahead of them and a dog was making use of the time they stopped to wait to cross the street to sniff at his ankles.
"I figured you would like to have something to eat other than hospital food," her fingers curled around the fabric of his coat and he tilted his head down towards her voice.
"Like what?"
He felt her shrug against him. "There's this place that sells ramen. It's nice, but chances are you'll find Naruto there." At the mention of the name, he shuddered. Why even offer to go there when they could run into him? "There are some fancier restaurants in the area and some from other countries too. I heard the local dish from Wind Country is very good."
Sasuke considered his options as she guided him down the street, his nose catching the smell of her light perfume when she craned her neck around to look at something that caught her attention. "Anything is fine as long as it's easy on the stomach and not sweet."
"I'm going to take you to one of my favorite places then."
He nodded, letting her tug him around a corner, and the sunlight hit him square in the face. "Where did you get these clothes for me anyway?"
Haruno hugged his arm and rested his cheek on his bicep, laughing as if he just told her the funniest joke in existence. "Oh, honey." She did not elaborate further than that, and he was left frowning at her words.
"How is it?"
His eyebrows pinched, lips twisting into a frown. His vision was still tunneled, the edges still relatively dark, but the center of his vision was slowly getting brighter. It was still blurry, though. "Better, I suppose, but not much."
Haruno pulled his bottom eyelid down and pointed a flashlight to his left eye. He stared at it, though the added glaring light aimed at his eyes caused little changes in his vision itself. "The redness of your eye is fading. Soon, it should be fine." She repeated the process on his other eye, and he figured that the pink blur he saw before him was a result of his unhealed eyes playing tricks. "In about three weeks it should be much, much better. All of it."
He grunted and tilted his head back to let her squeeze some eye-drops as was customary. More often than not, he caught himself wondering if they would really get better, if Itachi's eyes would work on him. Now, he was not the pessimist kind and if he wanted something out of life, he would work hard and do his best to achieve it; but in this case, there was nothing he could do. This was not an important exam that he could simply study a lot and guarantee that he would pass. This was he relying on a doctor he could not see, but somehow managed to trust anyway, that would somehow fix his problem.
Sasuke hated relying on other people. Asking for their help made him feel humiliated and ridiculous. So to him it made sense that only she was allowed to help him if needed; he did not want other people touching him, did not feel comfortable with the idea of having many nurses come and go and try to feed him or give him a bath. That first nurse had an annoying laughter, the snorty, high-pitched kind, as if she were trying to charm him with sounds alone as she crossed the line and tried force-feeding him.
Haruno, on the other hand, only guided his chopstick around and helped him stand and navigate about the room on the first days. After that, she let him wander about on his own, only appearing by his side to stop him if he were to kick his toes into the edge of a furniture piece. The only time she had pushed it was when she intervened and decided to shave his face on his behalf, and despite his initial discomfort, she did it relatively quickly (and well done) and pulled away as soon as it was over. That was the difference between her and other nurses he met throughout his life. She only touched him when it was necessary, and if it was not, the touch never lasted for long enough anyway, like that time she laid her cheek on his bicep.
He let her tie is growing fringe back with some bobby pins and remained relatively still as she wrapped a new set of bandages around his head. "I should also mention that the bruises on your body are fading as well."
"Really?"
She hummed in agreement. "Most dark spots are gone. We have a few shades of yellow and blue and hues in between now." She laughed softly as her fingers tied both ends together. "You're a pretty painting, I must say."
He growled, placing his arm over his stomach, and not for the first time lamenting that he would never be able to cross them again. "Shut up."
For some reason he did not bother trying to find out, Naruto dropped by one day. He dragged the armchair close to the bed so he could sit and propped his feet up on the mattress by his thighs. It certainly was one of the oddest positions that would leave his back hurting for weeks, but that thought alone was enough to make Sasuke tolerate him for the time being. He considered using that beep Haruno gave him back when they first talked to summon her, but now he could not find it anywhere.
Naruto had switched channels from the news he was listening to, to some game that had him cheering loudly all the time. Somehow, he managed to sneak in bags of chips and other junk foods alike, and the Uchiha figured that "Bushy Brows" at the entrance had allowed that so he could please the "blooming flower that was Sakura-san." Needless to say, Sasuke had no desire to meet this security guard so soon. The patient was sure that the only reason that kept the nurses from coming to tell this idiot to be quiet was that it was his room, after all, and they were advised to stay away.
Man, did he regret that now.
The loudmouth kicked his heels repeatedly on the mattress, whistling sharply at whatever happened. "Shut up." Where was her tablet? He was groping around the nightstand blindly looking for the device and the earphones, but no such luck.
"Ugh, you're a pain in the ass." Naruto drawled and used his feet to poke the side of his knee, pretty much the only part of his legs that was not injured and made him flinch upon contact. "I don't know how Sakura-chan puts up with you all the time."
Sasuke shot him a dirty look, as dirty as it could get with his eyes hidden from view. Haruno was most likely used to dealing with people like him, but still he was not that bad. He was not a pain in the ass, oh no. "The question here is how she hasn't strangled you to death yet." Whenever the two of them were in the room, it seemed like she caused him some sort of body harm at least once.
"Shut up, bastard! You're ruining the game!" Sasuke scoffed at his words and resumed looking either for the tablet or the beep when Naruto's phone bleeped and he fumbled to check it. "Eh."
"What?"
"Sakura-chan says she won't be able to come around today because there's an emergency." He winced as another text tone announced that he got a new message. "Ouch, third degree burns."
He managed to suppress a shudder and gave up on trying to find the things he was searching for, and there was no way in hell that he would ask him for help. Still, though, knowing that Haruno was going to treat that got him wondering. "Just how much can Haruno do?"
"What?" Naruto popped open a can of soda, it fizzled before he took a large gulp. Where in the world had all nurses gone?
"She was at my surgery and now she's treating burns." He elaborated, hating the fact that he had to explain himself. "How much can she do?"
Naruto snorted and his feet finally were lifted off the mattress, falling to the ground with a thud. "Bastard, Sakura-chan graduated on top of her class." He said appraisingly, and Sasuke decided to ignore the name he was called for now. "She was an intern here during university days and Tsunade-baa-chan liked her so much she decided to teach her all she knew." Sasuke would have blinked if he could. "Sakura-chan is the second in line to lead the hospital once the head medic retires, she'll take Shizune-san's place once the old hag leaves."
It had never once crossed his mind that Haruno could be this good at what she did. He had to be honest with himself and admit that he did not know what to feel about this discovery aside from shock and surprise. He did not know what to think, even.
"I was just as surprised as Sakura-chan when she said you wanted her to be the one to look out for your needs." Naruto commented in a tone he could not decipher. "Most people ask for Tsunade-baa-chan since she's the head medic." He heard as he downed the last of his drink and tossed the can somewhere in the room. "Ahh, anyway, I'm hungry and this game is boring now." His bones popped in place, and Sasuke frowned his lips. "Let's go out for ramen."
"What?" No. He was not leaving.
"Yeah, let's go. Sakura-chan said to keep you occupied." The fabric of his outfit rustled as he dragged the chair back to where it once was. "Come, come. Just put on the clothes she borrowed from me and let's go."
Sasuke froze at that, his jaw growing completely slack. The clothes he wore when they went out were his? Naruto's? The idea of having a scalding shower and scrubbing his skin off with the fluffy sponge she got seemed very appealing. "Oh, great." He mumbled and very slowly inched to the edge of the bed.
"I'm surprised your punch was so well aimed given your conditions," Haruno mused thoughtfully, and Sasuke groaned from where he sat on the bed.
Somewhere ahead of him, Naruto whined as she cleaned the cuts on his face from where Sasuke's angry fist had collided earlier that day. The man created the habit of taking the Uchiha out of the hospital nearly on a daily basis, this being the third day in a row that he dragged him out of his room. Sasuke would not be so bothered by it if Naruto kept quiet and was not so loud, but it seemed that silence was an unknown word in his vocabulary.
So after another lunch at Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto dragged him to the nearest shopping mall and into the playground area, the sounds of pushing buttons and arcade songs filling his ears and pissing him off to no end. What even was the point of taking him there, he thought angrily as his acquaintance guided him around by the wrist and stopped before a game he most likely would not play.
"It's a boxing game," Naruto said, cracking his knuckles before delivering a punch. He saw one of those before, and the small punching back knocked backwards, a victory jingle played as colorful lights flashed. "You should try."
And try he did. Now, he could not tell if his body moved on its own accord or if Naruto got in the way, but his fist met his cheek in a punch that left him hissing and groaning in pain as if Sasuke had instead kicked him in the groin. He shook his hand after that to relieve it of the tingling sensation, feeling accomplished that he managed to relieve his pent up anger in the best way possible.
Haruno shuffled away from her friend after she was done patching him up and took hold of his hand next, her breath fanning his fingertips as she examined his knuckles. "You have some minor cuts. They'll heal faster than Naruto's." The other man grumbled something he did not completely understand, yet he smirked in satisfaction anyway. The doctor sighed as she dabbed a damp cotton ball on his torn skin. "I should just listen to Tsunade-sama and ban you from here." Naruto protested and Sasuke was not entirely opposed to the idea.
"Don't do that next time, okay?" He wanted to snort at her acting as if she were his mom, but then she traced the edge of the bandage just around his temple and whatever scorn he felt vanished in a second. "It could ruin all progress we've made."
The sun was hot on his scalp as she led him down the steps of the hospital and into the private garden where patients chose to spend their time when it was warm outside. The sound of rustling leaves blended with far away cars was welcomed and the breeze played with his dark tresses, caressed the exposed skin of his face and arm. Haruno directed him to one of the wood benches set under the cool shade of a tree and he gracefully sat down, planting both soles of his feet on the ground.
She opened the zipper of her bag and placed a bento box on his lap and a pair of chopsticks in his hand. He was wondering just when the nurse would arrive with his food when she entered the room instead and declared they would spend her lunch break together, patting a bag he could not see as a way to emphasize she prepared the meal herself.
If his eyes were fully healed and uncovered, he would have expected to find rice shaped as animals decorated with nori strips. If he asked, she would not answer, because she most likely knew he would make a face of displeasure and would eat reluctantly. That would be embarrassing. His mother had stopped doing that to his food before he was even ten years old and tried too hard to be a miniature version of his brother, whom he looked up to and admired greatly.
He poked around, aware that she was not eating and was waiting for him to start. His chopsticks caught something and he brought it to his face, discreetly sniffing it before placing it inside his mouth. Teeth biting down, the round food between his teeth exploded, juices and seeds filling his mouth with a taste he knew very well. Cherry tomatoes. Sasuke tilted his head in her direction, wondering how she found out it was one of his favorites and just how many were in his bento. Apparently the third biggest division in the box was full of the small round fruit, and he was hardly graced with this many tomatoes in one dish ever since arriving in the hospital.
Haruno merely nudged his side with her elbow and started eating her meal.
Sasuke decided to find out what else he was going to eat first. The next thing was slightly heavier than the cherry tomato and smelled familiarly sweet. Cantaloupe, it seemed, and his chopstick wandered about to snatch a piece of cucumber that crunched in his mouth as he chewed on it. Rice filled one of the inner compartments of the bento box, and next to it were savory, sticky bits of chicken lathered in orange glaze. It tasted just as good as it smelled, and he finally allowed himself to eat it.
She was finished by the time he was halfway through it. Going out to the gardens to eat his lunch was a nice change from staying confined to his room and from going out with Naruto as well. It was an experience he would like to repeat once more, and not only because her food was far tastier than the hospital's or because she supplied him with quite a handful of cherry tomatoes to keep him occupied. It was nice, her company was nice, and this had to be the best orange glazed chicken he ever had.
"Do you like it, Sasuke-san?"
He nodded imperceptibly. "Anything is fine as long as it's not sweet."
Haruno hummed, "I actually snuck in a small bar of chocolate for you today."
Sasuke chewed the pieces of chicken in his mouth thoroughly before replying. "What kind is it?"
"Dark chocolate."
"Fine." He snaked a hand surreptitiously in her general direction. "I'm only accepting it because I don't want Naruto to have it." It had nothing to do with the fact that it had been so long since he last had a piece and that dark chocolate was actually acceptable to have every once in a while.
She snickered, rummaging through her bag and placing the plastic wrapped treat in his palm, and he tucked it into the pocket of his pants. "Have it your way." Her thumb swept over the corner of his lips, wiping away traces of glaze that stuck to his skin. "Do you want some tea? I can have some prepared for you. We have black, green, ginger..." She trailed off, enunciating every kind of tea in the hospital kitchen with a tapping nail to the wood below them.
He cleared his throat, trying to be as discreet as possible as he, too, brushed his fingers where she had just cleaned. "Black is fine."
The next time someone looked at his eyes to see how the healing process was going, it was not Haruno who did so.
Sasuke was in his bed listening to the news – politics, crime, anything – listlessly dragging his nail across the back of his feet, chin rested on his bent knee. He was bored out of his mind, but he would rather stay inside than go out with that loudmouth once again. Naruto did not take him outside anymore since he got punched, opting instead to bring takeout food and flip through the channels until he found a movie he thought was nice or funny.
Then someone walked in, by the sound of their steps alone he could tell it was not Haruno who just waltzed into his room. "Hello, Uchiha-san." He said nothing, as to be expected. He did say he would only respond to her, after all. "I'm Shizune. Sakura-chan asked me to do the usual checkup today. She's caught up running errands for Tsunade-sama."
Distantly, he recalled the name. Shizune, the second best medic, first in line to step in Tsunade's position once she retired. The knowledge that it was not some random nurse in there was enough to calm his senses a little. "Right."
As to be expected, she was very professional. Starting by checking his blood pressure and scribbling down the results of her tests on the paper left by his headboard, Shizune unwrapped the bandages from around his head and urged him to blink a few times before asking, "How's your vision?"
At first, it was dark, but it quickly got brighter the more he blinked. It was still blurry, however, but now he could see the blue backdrop of the news and a fuzzy image of the news anchor. He told her that, casting his gaze over in her direction and seeing just a mop of dark hair, pale skin and white coat.
"Do you see dark spots in your vision?" He shook his head negatively. "White spots?" No, it was all fine except for the blurriness. "That's great news." She wrote that down on the clipboard before returning it to its usual place and dipped her hand into her front pocket. "You should get permission to leave in a few days. Now, lay your head back." Sasuke did as told, blinking as the drops fell into his eyes and stung slightly.
He used the opportunity when she turned away to access the damages done to his body. His legs seemed normal enough from what he could see, and his arm too, though the colors were nowhere near his skin tone thanks to all the fading bruises. He looked at his other arm next, frowning at the sight of a floppy long sleeve. What was left of it was still bandaged and seeing it like this made him realize that, yes, it truly was gone. If he had some hope before that he was just imagining things and that Haruno was lying, now they were all gone.
With a sigh, Sasuke let her cover his eyes again and comfortably settled back on his pillows. Shizune said some more things he really did not feel like paying attention to and left shortly after, her steps brisk, the door left open. There was a slight tremble to his fingers that he pointedly decided to ignore as he cupped his hand over the end of his left arm, feeling it through the material of his shirt. It was still hard to accept it, but not harder than accepting that all of his family and relatives was dead.
One day, Naruto dropped by again and brought more junk food with him. It smelled like fast food and it was shoved into his lap before he sauntered away, slurping his soda loudly and flopping down unceremoniously on the armchair. "Don't let Sakura-chan know I brought you these," he said between mouthfuls of food, "She hates fast food with a passion."
Understandable, really; she was a doctor after all. Normally, Sasuke would rather eat other kinds of food than to turn to microwavable, quick solutions, but the smell of the fries, still hot in his hands, had his mouth watering against his will. He would never give Naruto the satisfaction of knowing that he actually wanted to eat these, so he mumbled something low in his throat and pretended to be as disinterested as possible when biting down into one of them.
It was around midday now and Haruno said earlier that day that she would not find the time to see him during her lunchbreak before making a hasty exit. That left him with Naruto as company, with his snorts and bubbly laughter whenever something happened in those movies of his. He always had too much time to watch at least one and a half...
"Do you even work?" Sasuke asked. He sipped his soda and made a face; he did not miss this.
"Of course I do," he replied, seemingly offended. "What do I look like to you? Wait, don't answer that." He chuckled loudly at his own words and Sasuke felt compelled to throw this cup of disgusting carbonated drink at his head.
"Well, I'd expect a dead-last like you to be unemployed." Shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly, he was pretty sure the man would be seething anytime now.
He guessed right. Naruto's laugh was cut short by a choking sound and his voice rose volumes. "What do you do other than just sulk around all day and be an ungrateful bastard?"
Sasuke scoffed, "Oh, please."
"All the things we did for your sorry ass and we never heard a 'thank you'." Naruto must have shoved food in his mouth then, because it was nearly impossible to understand what he said next. "I really don't know how Sakura-chan puts up with someone like you."
"Don't drag her into this." He frowned, lips curling down in annoyance. Why was she always dragged into their discussions and arguing? Every time he opened his mouth and said something that seemed to tick the other man off, he was ready to say her name, always in the exact same way. Well, he really did not want to know how she did that, putting up with him, she was none of his concern.
Once he was out of the hospital, he would never hear of her again. Or him for that matter. They would all be left in his past.
Naruto threw away his empty plastic cup and snorted very loudly, clothes shifting as he sunk deeper in his seat. "Thank goodness I didn't lose my appetite, I still have a burger left."
"Have this," Sasuke held out his soda in his general direction. "I don't want this, it's horrible."
"You are such a stuck up, intolerable prick." Still, he caught the cup from his fingers anyway. "Bet you were so sheltered growing up."
He chose not to respond. Naruto did not deserve an answer, he was not his friend to hear his life story and how he ended up in this position, the things that happened in the car before a truck crashed into it – the argument, the screaming, the forgiving and then the parting of ways forever. Naruto would not know that he would now have to run the family business by himself, something he would have done along with his brother had he not been killed. He would not hear what happened to his clan, how they were all led to a trap by the Shimura and were most wiped out, just so they could have the company and all its stocks and all its money to themselves.
Wiped out over something as trivial as competition.
And now, he was alone.
Haruno was sitting by his bed, humming a tune under her breath as her fingers worked the knife around the apple, peeling the red skin away. She was too close to him.
Far too close.
He did not mean it in the physical sense, though. Haruno always kept a respectful distance, her hands never lingered, and when she touched him in a different way, such as when she cleaned the corner of his mouth and hugged his arm, he guessed she did that out of habit. If not, well, he was sure she would do it often and not space it far in between. She did, however, start calling by his first name, as if they were really good, old friends.
But she was close to him mentally, emotionally even. She could read every frown and twist of his lips as if he had just voiced his thoughts and feelings, and he often caught himself looking up to spending some time with her, which was very, very unlike him. Sasuke decided to deny that he liked her in any form and chose to believe that it was a natural reaction any human would do after losing so much: seek someone else's company.
Haruno was a medic, and medics had their own things to do just as he had his own once he got his release permission. For example, he would sue that driver and get Shimura Danzouu behind very thick metal bars as well. He would avenge his family, in some way or another.
The tv ahead of his was blocked out as he intently listened to the sound of a peel falling to the plate balanced on her lap. Tomorrow was the promised day, the day they would check his eyes one more time and deem if he was ready to go or not. He sure hoped he would be allowed to leave; one more day in her company and he might just end up doing something stupid. And he had already done so by accepting her invitation to go out for dinner with Naruto later that night. Sasuke did not think he would regret that decision so much.
"Tsunade-sama said that, if you ever feel the need to talk to someone about anything," she started calmly, still concentrated in the task at hand, "You can speak to her and she can help you."
He set his jaw. He would never meet her after tomorrow, anyway. "I don't want her help."
Haruno lowered the knife to the plate. "You suffered a great loss. It's okay if you feel the need to–"
"I don't want," Sasuke snapped, turning his body in her direction, face contorted with anger and annoyance. "Her help!"
"Sasu–"
"Stop it!" He swiped his hand before him in an arch, nearly knocking back the jar of water on the bedside table. "I am not a child! Why are you even peeling this apple anyway? I didn't ask for it! I didn't ask for any of this! These clothes, the meals!"
His hand fell back to his lap, his shoulders rising and falling as he fought to get his breathing under control. His head hurt, his eyes just as much, mind still running miles a minute and trying to grasp the situation. He felt so damn useless when he could not see what was going on, her silence gave nothing away and she was still as a rock, unmoving in her seat. Sasuke allowed himself to lean back on the headboard, Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed down whatever else he could say to make the situation either better or worse. He did not need them, their help or their presence in his life. He did not.
Finally, Haruno stood. She set the plate away calmly, letting it clink gently on the wooden surface of the table, and her steps were relatively quieter this time around. Her hands reached for his, turning his palm over, and he was ready to let out a snarl of protest when she dropped the half-peeled apple onto his already sweaty skin. Nothing was said. She could have screamed in his face and even hit him, easily overpowering him given his condition, but instead she chose to leave the fruit with him and quickly walked to the door.
"Sakura-chan!" He heard from the hallway and mentally prepared for what was to come. It did not take too long for Naruto to speed inside as fast as his legs could carry, hand fisting the front of his shirt and pulling his face to his. "The only thing stopping me from beating the shit out of you right now are these stupid eyes of yours!" Naruto released him with a growl, practically shoving him backwards and knocking the apple away from his slick hands in the process. He left, bolting outside as he called for the medic.
Sasuke ran his fingers through his hair and patted the front of his shirt. He did not think Naruto was ever capable of getting that angry, and indeed, the only thing holding him back – and possibly even Haruno – were his eyes. Itachi's eyes.
Once again, his brother was saving his skin when he could not fight back.
Sasuke did not want to admit it, but time dragged excruciatingly slow after he lashed out at Haruno.
She did not come back and that fact alone should have left him feeling glad, but that was not the case. He often caught himself wondering if he had gone too far and always had to reassure himself that he had done the right thing. It did not matter how many times he repeated these words to himself, however, for doubt would keep on showing up.
Naruto came back after what felt like hours, though. He left a box on the edge of the bed, claimed his usual seat on the armchair and kept him – for once – silent company. He did not utter a word, not a greeting, not a farewell. It was unsettling, but Sasuke decided not to linger on it, because his mind was already far too occupied thinking of his medic, even if he tried so hard to control his thoughts.
He woke up the next morning from a restless, dreamless sleep that rendered him more tired than he had been before going to bed, and had little time to gather his wits and bearings before someone barged inside his room, unceremoniously throwing the door open so hard it banged on the wall behind it. Sasuke did not even manage to frown before something was slapped on the bedside table and hands were tugging at the bandages around his head with jerky, rough movements.
"Good morning, Uchiha." The voice was dripping with sarcasm and for a fleeting moment, he regretted screaming at Haruno on the previous day. She now left him in the hands of some merciless woman. "You are finally leaving today."
He wondered for a brief second if his eyes would fall off due to her rough handling. "Where's Haruno?"
"Oh, wouldn't you just love to know!"
The last bit of fabric fell away and he squeezed his eyes shut before opening them. Slowly, his vision cleared, the black around the edges receding to give way to what was before him. For the first time, he could see without a trace of blurriness or darkness the white walls of the room, the pale cream furniture, the old tube tv Naruto lent him. He saw the light blue of the sheets thrown over his legs, the dark material of his shirt and the blonde woman standing to his left with an unfriendly frown on her face.
He returned that expression in kind, knitting his eyebrows and curling his lips down.
She crossed her arms under her – very large, he noted absentmindedly – bust and quirked an eyebrow. "So are there any colored spots in your vision, blurriness, whatever else Sakura asks you?" The woman sounded very disinterested now, tilting her head from side to side as she pronounced her words as if she were extremely bored just to be in there.
"Everything's fine."
"Great." She tossed a small white package with a red strip in his general direction. He managed to catch it before it went flying past his head. "Use these three times a day. The more you use, the better." Her honey colored eyes looked him up and down before she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose with two fingers. "Sakura brought this to you." He glanced at where her palm was motioning, to a black bento box on the table. "She wanted to celebrate your successful recovery yesterday, but alas, someone happened to throw a fit."
Sasuke scowled at her words and she blatantly ignored him as she waved a hand dismissively before her face. "Anyway, she left for a congress earlier this morning and dropped this off for you." Her eyes dropped to the bento and regarded it as if it were a time bomb. "I'll have to agree with Naruto for once. I don't know how my apprentice puts up with you."
Oh, that rang a bell. So this was Tsunade, the head medic of the hospital.
Tsunade pursed her lips and shrugged her shoulders. "Come back in a month so we can check up on your eyes. And if something happens, come back immediately." With that, she made her exit, her green coat swishing with every step she took.
Waiting until he could hear her steps no longer, Sasuke reached for the box and opened the lid, peeking at the food inside. The food was not styled. There was no rice shaped panda waiting to greet him. His gaze swept over the food, noticing that, as usual, she packed him a lot of cherry tomatoes, and he ignored the low rumble of his stomach as he breathed in the delicious smell. He sighed and resisted the urge to press his fingers into the corner of his eyes.
He needed to get out of there.
Sasuke lived on his own for a while now. Despite all the family money, his apartment was not as big as his parents' living room, yet was spacious enough for him and his brother that used to stay the night ever so often.
A thin layer of dust covered it now, and specks danced before his nose as he pulled the curtains and windows open to let some fresh air in. The sunlight cast over the dark floorboards and he leaned his hip against the windowsill, dipped his hand into the pants Haruno got from Naruto and let his gaze wander about the room, mind running in every direction at once as he tried to keep breathing. He fingered the note that was with his belongings in the hospital, left to him by a cop called Gai. The now crumpled paper read that they had found evidence in his cellphone and that he needed to contact the police as soon as he was healed.
Of course. He and Itachi did go to great lengths to gather proof that Danzouu was behind the shooting.
With a quiet sigh, he moved away from the window and into the kitchen, snatching a rag from the corner and placing it under the running water of the faucet. He would rather hire someone to clean this up, but he guessed that doing it by himself would do him some good, somehow.
The cabinets and counter were wiped clean and he moved to the next room to start meticulously cleaning every bit and piece of decoration his mother had insisted that he had. Dipping the rag into a bucket and squeezing it to get rid of the excess water, Sasuke was about to clean a family portrait when he caught a glimpse of himself on the mirror for the first time in a long while. The damp mop laid forgotten on the dusty surface as he focused all of his attention on his reflection.
Mikoto said a mirror would look great by the entrance, perched over a stand with said picture and lots of papers and old bills. He touched a finger underneath his right eye and frowned. She also used to say that he and his brother had the same eyes, ones that they got solely from his father, though both siblings mutually agreed that there were some traces of hers in there too.
Well, now he indeed had Itachi's eyes.
His fingertip gently traced his bottom lashes and he jerked away from the mirror, letting his hand fall to his side. Giving up on the idea of cleaning his apartment, Sasuke snatched his coat from the hanger and headed out the door.
There was a nice breeze on his face, the midday sun was burning his scalp and it would probably wilt the flowers faster, but he could not delay the inevitable for much longer.
Standing on the backyard of the great Uchiha manor, he looked at the many symbolic tombstones scattered orderly on the grass. There were no graves, the bodies were cremated long ago and the remains were being kept inside jars that littered on of the rooms of the mansion. Sasuke placed bright yellow flowers before each one of them and stood his ground before three very specific ones, placed separated from the rest as they were the heads of the clan.
He did not know what he was doing or waiting for standing there, staring at the gravestones as if waiting for their spirits to rise from the ground and speak with him. The crumpled note from the officer was still inside his pocket and it seemed to weigh as much as a brick. He had yet to go to the police station. He had yet to charge that drunk driver and Shimura for what they did. He had yet to move from that spot, for he was rooted there for what felt like an hour now, but he could not bring himself to.
His eyes – now, they were his; once, they were Itachi's – deliberately read the names, the descriptions, the dates carved on the polished, brand new stones, and he released a shaky breath. The fate of the clan now rested on his shoulders, and with that thought, he allowed himself to sit down on the green blades of grass and placed the rest of the lilies on his lap. His fingers glided over his mother's name, the date of birth of his father, and Itachi's description of lovable big brother and he slumped his head, feeling the unusual sting of tears threatening to spill.
Leaves rustled and danced on the wind, the flowers rolled away from where they had been placed, but he did not see them. The left sleeve of his coat flapped around, sometimes slapping his back and ribs, but he paid no attention to it. There was only him and the three tombstones now. There was only him and the knowledge that everyone was gone and that he was the heir to their empire.
Sasuke did not know for how long he stayed there, staring sightlessly at the stones and picking away at the lilies on his lap, but he only left when thunder rumbled and the sky darkened.
"What are you saying?"
"Do I need to repeat myself?" Voice aggravated, Sasuke threw a proper glare in his family's – former – attorney's way. "You're fired."
"You can't just fire me, Sasuke-kun." The man said smoothly, his long, glossy dark hair framing his unusually pale complexion, golden eyes glinting.
"I just did." Focusing his gaze on Orochimaru's assistant, he added. "I trust Kabuto will obey and will have all family documents delivered to my apartment by the end of the afternoon or else the police will get involved." Said man pushed up his glasses and nodded stiffly, and with that, the last Uchiha left their office.
He did a little research before taking that course of action, and signaled for a taxi as he stepped onto the sidewalk. Giving the driver the correct address, he kept his eyes focused on the buildings looming over them as the car sped through the streets, turning this way and that until it stopped before one particular construction with its glass façade facing the street. Slipping the man a bill and not waiting for the change, he stepped out of the car and through the front door, feeling the cool air touch his face as he walked past the doors.
Sasuke went straight to the elevators and the receptionist called him a handful of times before realizing that he would not listen, and he saw when she rushed to him whilst the doors slid closed. Closing his eyes, he leaned against the wall and listened to the boring music as he rode up most of the floors, only to stop on the second to last one. The door of the other elevator opened a few seconds after he entered the hallway, and together the receptionist and the secretary followed after him, though the red haired woman he met on that very same floor seemed to be trailing his steps for another reason entirely.
Without as much as a knock, he threw the door and the voice inside the office instantly quieted.
"I'm sorry! He–" The red haired cast him a shy glance, her cheeks flushing pink. "He just–"
"What the hell are you doing here?" Frowning, Naruto spoke to the person on the other side of the line. "Sorry, I'll have to call you later." Returning the phone to its holder, he shooed the two women away with a wave of his hand and leaned forward on his seat. "So?"
Sasuke breathed out of his nose as if being there in his office greatly consumed his vital force. "I need a new lawyer."
"Oh." Blond eyebrows shot up, then quickly were dragged down as a sly grin took over his features. "Care to say that again?" Naruto swiveled his chair to the side, cupping a hand around his ear and looking at the Uchiha from the corner of his eyes. "Did I get it right? Do you want a dead-last to help you?"
He bristled and threw a newspaper on top of his desk "Just shut up."
Naruto still had a smug expression on his face when picked up the paper, but it quickly disappeared when he read the headlines. "I see," he muttered, "I wasn't aware it was indeed your family."
Sasuke waited for him to look up before saying, "I need to have him arrested for the rest of his life."
The entire process of proving Danzou guilty did not last as long as he had planned, which was a huge relief. With all the proof he and his deceased brother collected, the man had been charged and, along with the driver, they were directed to the prison. If Sasuke could be so honest with himself, he would rather have the man six feet under, preferably after dying a slow and painful death, but this was better than having him walk around freely, he supposed. The driver would stay inside a cell for two years, while Danzou was charged with more years than he could actually live through.
Sighing, he grunted as Naruto gave him a hearty slap on the back and cheered loudly as they made their way out the courthouse. Journalists were positioned with cameras on the steps, taking pictures and filming, trying to get the Uchiha to speak, but Naruto returned to his professional self and waved them away as cops opened a path to the street, pushing back as many journalists as they could.
Waiting outside the car and holding the door open was Captain Guy, all pearly white grin and thumbs up as they approached. "I knew Detective Nara would help in your case!"
Sasuke only nodded and went into the vehicle, leaving Naruto cringing behind his back and looking apologetically to the officer. "Rough day," he said before going inside as well, and once the door closed, the driver sped away from the scene.
"We should celebrate."
"There's nothing to celebrate," he said with finality, reclining on the leather seat. "I just want to go home."
Naruto nodded. "Okay. Your apartment isn't very far from here."
"No." Sasuke focused his dark eyes on the blurry buildings outside, lids hooded and tired. So very tired. "I meant home."
Puzzled, the blond let him tell the driver just where to go. The window picked up as they left the car and were faced with the metal gates of a private propriety. Sasuke fished for the keys inside his pockets and unlocked it, pushing it open so they could go inside, and the gates opened with a small squeak despite the hinges that were still in good condition. Naruto followed him hesitantly, glancing around every two steps he took and letting his gaze wander about the yard. The grass was tall and some bushes were dead, and though the house was still standing in one piece without one broken glass in sight, it still looked very abandoned.
Sasuke made his way around the manor a couple of steps ahead of Naruto, who immediately paused at the sight of the many symbolic headstones scattered on the backyard. Swallowing, he flickered his stare to his client, and promptly turned away when he made to crouch down before three of the graves, hands in his pockets and blue eyes focused on anything but him. A chill went down his spine and, eventually, he backtracked to the front gates so he would not overhear as Sasuke spoke to his relatives.
"Your eyes improved nicely." Shizune smiled as she scribbled down some annotations on his file, wrist flicking ever so often. "Were there any problems?"
"None at all," Sasuke replied, his posture just a little hunched.
"Perfect. I'll have to ask you to put off lifting weights and doing exercises for another three months." She opened a drawer and retrieved a bundle of light green colored sheets, wrote something down in one of them and passed it to him. "Come back later, and here's another prescription for the eye drops. Keep using them thrice a day for one more month, at least." He pocketed the paper with a nod and stood from his chair, eager to leave that place.
That had to be his fourth check-up ever since he was permitted to go home, about seven months after the surgery. Shizune accompanied him to the door of her office and just as she opened it, a silver haired man walked past them, fingers flipping through the pages of an orange book. "Kakashi-san, hello." She greeted, lips curling as she smiled warmly at him. "Nice to see you here."
The man halted, focusing his one eyed gaze on the medic's shorter figure. "Shizune-san." He closed the book and his eye crinkled in a smile. "Same to you."
"Getting another check-up?"
He hummed in agreement, cupping his chin thoughtfully, the lower half of his face hidden from view by a disposable white mask. "Sakura-chan was adamant that I came back after so long just to make sure everything's fine." Sasuke stiffened at her name, but other than that said nothing else.
"Well, you are one her dearest patients after all, sensei." Shizune giggled and patted him on the shoulder. "I'll be going. Uchiha-san, please try not to strangle him as you two walk back to the entrance." She left before he could even protest, and he stared at the older man's face, taking in the sight of his eyepatch and the vertical scar that peeked from underneath it.
He most likely had his eye taken out due to a terrible accident, he mused briefly, and they naturally fell into step together, quietly walking to the nearest elevator. Once inside, Kakashi pressed the button to the first floor and turned to him with a little crease in his eye. "So, are you a friend of Sakura's?"
"No."
"A patient?"
"Yes."
"She's a wonderful doctor, hm?" Sasuke chose not to respond, though that did not stop the man from speaking more. "She was in my literature class back in university, though I know her since she was child. I was a friend of Naruto's father and they were neighbors. It's hard not to notice her around," he completed with a chuckle, and though it made no sense to the Uchiha, he caught himself just wondering why it was impossible for her to go unnoticed.
Kakashi continued as he leaned lazily on the wall of the elevator. Sasuke had dimly hoped that there would be more people so he would not be alone with this man, but fathe thought otherwise. "She was already working here when I lost my left eye. She visited me thrice a day and made sure I wasn't bored out of my mind." He waved his book around briefly, signaling that it was a gift from her. "She even brought me homemade food, and Naruto came often as well, always with a bright smile on his face. Two precious souls, if you ask me."
His eyebrow twitched irritably. He did not ask and this man was spilling things here and there. Imagine just how long he would speak of this if he had asked. "Why," Sasuke started, slowly turning to look at him, "are you telling me all of this?"
The man shrugged and pushed away from the wall. "I just thought like you should know who you're pushing away so vehemently."
The doors opened and he was already out before Sasuke could take as much as a breath. Hands in his pockets and frown on his face, he glared at the back of his silver head, his tousled locks making him seem lazier than he should, and made his way to the exit. Damn him. He had only gone after Naruto because he could not stand Orochimaru and his supposed affixation with snakes. He had no doubts in his mind that it was the blond loudmouth that babbled all of this nonsense to this stranger, who had given himself the liberty of saying it all to him as if it would change anything.
"Uchiha-san." He turned to the receptionist that held out a slip of paper in his direction. "Shizune-san called. She told me to deliver you the following message."
Sasuke took the piece from her hands and she immediately turned to the ringing phone. His gaze skimmed through the sentences and he sighed, pocketing it as well.
What even was he doing?
He scowled down at the glass of wine before him and decided to take another sip. At least, the drink was fine, and he might just need to get drunk to get through the night.
Before he left the hospital that day, the receptionist gave him a message from Shizune. A message in which she was setting him up for a dinner with Haruno on that same weekend and she left him no way of refusing. He tried calling the hospital to talk to her, but whoever picked up the phone always said she was not available. He could always have stayed home instead and let the medic come to enjoy a nice dinner by herself, but he was not that much of an asshole.
As he looked around the decoration of the restaurant, he sighed in defeat and kneaded his fingertips on his temple. Maybe he had a desire to correct things, even if he so vocally denied it.
The note said he would recognize her easily, and he thought back to her former teacher's words. It is hard not to notice her around, he said, with a glint in his dark grey eye that left Sasuke feeling riled up. If you don't recognize her, she will recognize you. Of course, she would, but he did not like being left out in the dark. A description of her would have been nice.
Sasuke opened the menu and looked through it once more, trying to decide what he would eat. He had never been to this restaurant before and had no idea of what to order. The fish seemed like a nice idea, but the tempura was also calling his name. He closed the little booklet and placed it aside in favor of enjoying his drink for a little longer. He would pick the dish later once – if – she arrived, or when he finally started to feel hungry.
"Good evening, Sasuke-san."
His gaze shifted to the left where he saw a dress made out of silky red fabric. She did come after all, he realized, and felt a foreign tug on his heart at the sight of her smaller, soft looking hands holding her dark purse to her navel. Directing his eyes up, he was met with a small, gentle smile, rosy cheeks, a button nose, striking green eyes and pale rose hair.
Rose hair.
"What? You do sound like someone who likes pink."
"I guess you'll have to wait and see, Uchiha-san."
"How are you feeling?" She inquired, eyelids slipping shut and hiding emerald orbs beneath thin skin and thick lashes.
He cleared his throat, suddenly aware that he had been staring, and his stomach stirred. "Fine." Slightly unsure, he motioned for the chair across from him, and then added as she pulled it back. "What about you?"
Her smiled widened a little and she set her evening purse on her lap. "I'm good. Shizune told me your eyes healed well."
"They did," he affirmed with a curt nod and tried to ignore the awkwardness growing inside his chest, laced with more feelings than he cared to name. Did she feel this uncomfortable too?
Certainly did not seem like so. "I'm relieved."
Haruno waved a waitress over and ordered a drink to herself, and he swirled the crimson liquid inside the glass, finding it very interesting now that she was sitting before him. Once the woman left, she returned her vibrant gaze to the menu in her hands and silently looked through it in a similar fashion he had done before: disinterested, detached, trying to busy herself with something.
"It's nice of you picking my favorite restaurant for this dinner." She smiled over the edge of the booklet and he said nothing, so she returned her attention to the options in it. "We came here that first time I took you out for lunch, remember?"
Shizune did not tell her it was her idea to meet him for dinner? Haruno thought he was the one who made the offer? He sipped his wine as the mood of the evening managed to get more awkward than before, and now he was having ideas that this was getting out of control. This did not even feel like a simple dinner between medic and patient to celebrate his recovery or whatever excuse Shizune told her to get this woman out here in a Saturday night.
This felt like a date, and honestly, Sasuke could not remember the last time he had been to one. Suddenly, he has the impression that he should have bought her roses or some other gift, and his discomfort increased tenfold. Why he was so bothered by this unexpected twist was something he did not or could not understand, and now he realized that Shizune's little dinner idea was not as innocent as it seemed at first glance.
What was he even doing, he asked himself once again and resisted the urge to slouch in his seat in hopes it would swallow him whole.
He let Haruno pick the dishes for the evening, not that he had much appetite to begin with, but at this point it seemed rude to just stand up and leave. She picked rice and tempura, and some other stuff he did not bother to listen to, and sipped her orange juice as her eyes settled on him expectantly. Sasuke shifted a bit uncomfortably and glanced off to the side hoping she would get the clue.
Turns out, she did not.
"I saw the news." She started simply, gaze boring at him, waiting for him to say anything.
He looked inside his glass, inspecting his drink with mild curiosity. "You did?"
Haruno nodded. "Naruto explained to me what happened. N-Not that he should have, I mean, he's supposed not to tell anyone about his clients' personal stuff, but," She scratched the base of her throat with long and manicured nails, fingertips brushing a golden pendant from one side to the other. "He thought I should know, because you were my patient as well."
"It's fine." Sasuke replied with a sigh, lifting his dark eyes to her face. "It would be made public sooner or later."
She smiled slightly, placing her chin on her open palm. "I see you let your hair grow out completely." That he did, and boy, was he glad that she decided to change topics of conversation. His long fringe covered most of the left side of his face and his hair fell to his shoulders, though, to his dismay, the locks were starting to get a bit wavy at the ends. "It suits you. The short hair gave you a more boyish look. Not that it didn't make you look handsome, though."
Was she flirting with him? She was not blushing, nor did she look particularly smug after that. Was he seeing things? Why did he even care? "Thanks."
"Don't mention it." He did not know what to think of her constant smiles and overall positive attitude, but for the time being, he was glad she was not sulking on the other side of the table.
In fact, she seemed to be putting quite a lot of effort into not making this an experience more awkward than it already was. Haruno did most of the talking, that he had to agree, and though he would have hated to have someone speak so much, he let her. It would be worse if she were to keep quiet, and he could not maintain a small talk by himself even if his life depended on it. Therefore, he ordered a refill of his drink and listened as she commented on the food, on things past, or anything she found interesting.
"Haruno."
They were in her car. He offered to pay, as it was the least he could do after putting her through such an odd and uncomfortable experience, and she in turn drove him to his apartment on the other side of town. The ride was quiet save for the upbeat song playing on her radio, filling the air with something else other than the sound of their breathing.
She looked up at him, reaching over the console to turn the volume down. "Just call me Sakura."
"Sakura." He let the name roll out his mouth and she nodded her approval. "Thank you... For putting up with me."
She laughed, her face glowing. "I see Naruto has said it a few times to you, too."
Tsunade did as well, but he figured he should not mention it. "A few?"
"A lot," she corrected herself as a grin spread across her features. "But it was no problem. You weren't that hard to deal with."
Sasuke unbuckled his seatbelt and turned a little sideways to better face her. "Should I take that as a compliment?"
"You should."
He sat there, waiting, staring at her, wondering what he should do next. Should he leave? Should he hug her? Kiss her? Sakura sat there with her hands lightly resting at the bottom of the steering wheel, her face revealing nothing as she smiled serenely at him. He racked his brain trying to remember rules and etiquettes for first dates, but came up with nothing. His brain was as useless in this department as Naruto was in keeping his mouth shut for one reason or another.
Finally, Sasuke cleared his throat and said tentatively. "I'm... Still your patient."
Her lips parted, then curved upwards gently. She remembered saying that he used to be her patient when she explained why Naruto told her about his family, and he did not miss the past tense she used then. "Of course you are," was her whispered reply. Her green gaze held him in place, chained to the passenger seat, and as much as he wanted to open that door and get the hell out of there before things got any weirder, the muscles of his arm did not even twitch. "Sasuke-san."
"Sasuke," he corrected her, just as she had done before, and she laughed softly.
"Sasuke," she repeated, her palms falling to her lap. "You can kiss me if you want."
To say he was taken aback was an understatement. He was so afraid of turning this evening into a big disaster, and here she was, stepping out into unknown territory, openly giving him the chance to kiss her. He should decline, say that no, he would not kiss her. He was her patient, she was his doctor. This all should be strictly professional.
Should be.
He leaned in and caught her lips in a gentle, brief kiss, a simple press of the lips. Her skin was soft and, being this close to her, he could smell the lavender scent of her hair. Her digits brushed against his clean jawline, shy, feather-light, and he cupped her face with his hand, more rough and callused than her delicate ones. He dove back in after a short pause, repeatedly pressing their mouths together, before leisurely flicking her lips with his tongue, waiting for them to part and allow entrance.
It was slow. She sighed against him, her hands sliding down his chest to fist around the front of his button up shirt, his own fingers grabbed some of her hair to angle her face, feeling its silky texture under his flesh. The kiss never got more heated or fast, but once they were completely losing themselves to it, Sakura tried to move forward, to press herself to him, feel his heat on her skin, but the seatbelt held her back. He released her with a chuckle as she muttered a curse, looked down at her with smoldering dark eyes that made her breath hitch, and discovered that he liked the sight of her hazy green irises peering up at him.
Brushing some locks of hair away from her face, he placed a kiss to her forehead. Curiously, she had a beauty mark there, right in the middle. "I'll call you tomorrow, hm?"
"You – you have my phone number?"
"Yeah, Naruto added it to my contact list in an attempt to get me to talk to you." He admitted and she shook her head in disbelief. "Unless, you'd rather make plans now?"
Tilting her head, she pondered for a bit. "We could... Get lunch together tomorrow if you... Wouldn't mind?"
He had to smile at her hesitance and the sound of her meek voice proposing to meet him again so soon. "I don't." Sasuke pecked her lips and finally managed to open the door. "See you later, Sakura."
"Goodnight, Sasuke."
Her grin could have lighten up the street if she so desired. Closing the door behind him, she started the car but did not move until he was inside the gates of his apartment building. Lowering the window of the passenger seat, she gave him a slight wave before moving away, leaving him with a small smirk that made feel slightly foolish, but completely satisfied.
Post Chapter Notes:
So here's the deal. I wanted to add a little smut to this, but I thought it would be too rushed. So, I'll start a collection of oneshots/drabbles in the future, and will update this once it's up, telling you guys where to find it, exactly.
Pretty sure there was more I wanted to say, but it seems like I forgot, so I'll see you all later!
Edit 1: so I remembered what I wanted to say! I did a quick google research (and by quick I mean two minutes) and apparently there hasn't been any eyeball trasplant done yet. I didn't look much further into it, because I get uncomfortable looking at these things, so I just wrote how imagine it would happen. So like any kind of eye surgery, you need to have lots of rest, you shouldn't lift heavy weights, etc!