Title: Evergreen
Summary: "Here's what you should do: Take the rest of the day off and drive to a park. Walk off the pain, guilt, and stress you feel before you start breaking down. Maybe you'll be the first person to listen to me." And that's exactly what she did. SasuSaku. AU.
A/N: Yes, I used The Lakehouse as inspiration. I didn't really take the whole plot or anything— just the summary part. I really liked the quote (or paraphrase, whichever you prefer.) Excuse any grammatical errors, but feel free to point those out to me! I think I should have gotten most of the punctuation, spelling, and minor grammar errors fixed, but you never know...
Disclaimer: not mine, except for part of the plot. Inspired by The Lakehouse.
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e . v . e . r . g . r . e . e . n .
[ — x . trees . —]
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"Here's what you should do: Take the rest of the day off and drive to a park. Walk off the pain, guilt, and stress you feel before you start breaking down. Maybe you'll be the first person to listen to me." And that's exactly what she did.
She solemnly headed for her car, feeling devoid of emotions. Her mind was blank— all she could think about were the words Tsunade-sensei had told her. She knew exactly where she would go.
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The evergreen tree was just as old and just as tall as she had remembered it from her high school years. It was just as pronounced, just as overbearing, and just as unnatural in the open field. The tree was perfect; it was her second home. There was no one around— it was five o'clock on a Wednesday morning.
Sakura sighed.
If only she had been ten minutes faster.
If only the ambulance drove faster.
If only Tsunade had been there instead of her.
Sakura hastily brushed these thoughts aside, attempting to return her mind to a blank slate. She started walking laps around the borders of the park. She began speeding up, wishing away the thoughts that plagued her mind, hoping to run away from the emotions catching up to her.
And it happened.
Running under the tree's shade, she sniffled silently to herself, praying for the pain to stop. She couldn't help but let a few tears escape. She was still alive and he wasn't.
When Sakura had first met Tsunade for her apprenticeship as a surgeon, her mentor's first words were to "expect the unexpected: deaths happen and your first death will be the worst." At the time she had not taken her mentor's words seriously, merely noting the words for later use like a good student she was. She had thought she would surpass those above her, could prevent death, believing she was a savior. How wrong she had been. How naïve she had been.
She hadn't even met the man she had tried to save before. He was a stranger, yet the tinge of pain that resided in her heart didn't fade. He had gotten into a car accident, courtesy of his drunkenness. Sakura thought of the family he was leaving behind, the grief he would cause, and the future he could not continue. She wonders why humans have the tendency to disregard laws and the advice of others. If he had listened to society, he would not have driven. If he had friends with him, he could have asked for a ride home.
If she has listened to Tsunade-sensei's words of advice, she could have been more mentally prepared for the agony. If this was what she had to go through each time a death was pronounced under her care, she doesn't think she'd be able to take it. Her heart was made to be caring, not to be a hard-hearted, emotionless woman who would be best fit for the failure aspect of the job.
Sitting down, Sakura leans her back against the large evergreen tree. Nostalgia washes over her as she recalls all the times she came here after she was teased by her classmates. She was sensitive about the size of her forehead, and her classmates didn't let this fact go unnoticed. Putting on hand over her forehead, Sakura leans her head against the tree.
The tears had stopped flowing, and the pain had dulled down to a sort of numbness but she still was not ready to go back to the hospital.
Closing her eyes, Sakura tries to focus on removing any negative thoughts from her head.
She was so preoccupied that she did not feel the presence of another person nearby until they grunted.
Sakura looked up.
A man, probably around the same age as her, was offering her a tissue.
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He had walked to the park as soon as he heard the news.
His eyes had immediately landed on the pink-haired woman sitting with her back against the evergreen tree. As he got closer, he noticed the girl had tears running down her cheeks and that she was sniffling.
Normally he tended to avoid these dramatics, but with no one else around his Uchiha manners kicked in. Going through his pockets, he found a pack of tissues he had (maybe, possibly) been prepared to use.
His arm stretched out to her. When she failed to realize his presence, he grunted.
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Taking the tissue, Sakura blew her nose quietly as the man sat down some distance away from her.
The two then proceeded to sit in silence. It wasn't an awkward silence or anything, but Sakura had the urge to talk. Without any noise, her mind would wander into subjects she would rather not breach. Silence, in this case, was deafening.
"Are you going to ask? About why I was crying, I mean."
The man turned to look at the woman. He snorted under his breath.
"Why should I?"
Sakura waited for him to elaborate. When it was evident that he was not going to continue the conversation, they lapsed back into silence… until Sakura opened her mouth again.
"I don't care if you don't want to listen— I'm going to tell you anyway." Ignoring the man's glare, she continued. "I've always thought I would be invincible, thinking that no one could get killed under my care. Today I discovered that I'm human too. I'm so naïve." Sakura said with a wry laugh. "A patient died today… while I was trying to save him. He was fairly young too— no more than thirty years old."
The man just looked at her. Like, really looked at her. Had she gone through her first twenty odd years with such innocence? More importantly, was the man she was talking about who he thought it was?
"Itachi Uchiha."
Sakura's head turned to look at the man so quickly that she could feel an incoming cramp at the back of her neck. But that was of minor importance. Her eyes displayed the shock going through her head when she had registered the name.
"Who?"
"The man."
"The man who died?"
"Hn."
"… How did you know?"
"He was my brother."
"… Oh."
And with that, the younger-brother-of-the-man-who-died stood up, dusted the dirt off of his pants, and left.
Sakura could only stare after him, speechless.
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When Sakura arrived at the hospital later that morning, Tsunade had glanced her way before doing a double take. Sakura had assured her that she was fine now, but was hoping to see the room the Uchiha was still kept in.
Tsunade replied that the man's brother had already come to take him away. Sakura stayed silent for the rest of the day.
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Sasuke had never expected to see the pink-haired woman again, but life was full of surprises.
One month later, when the Uchiha clan held his brother's funeral, he saw the pink-haired woman located right outside the door of the ceremony. She was sitting on the bench, her legs swinging back and forth.
After the ceremony was over and the clan began to gather around the coffin, Sasuke made his way out.
The woman was still there. She looked up expectantly, as if she knew he had seen her earlier.
"I forgot to introduce myself last time. I'm Sakura Haruno. This—" Sakura took out a small necklace from her purse "—was your brother's. I accidentally took it that day while I was scrambling to get away from the hospital," she said sheepishly. "The chain broke from the accident so I took it, and I was going to give it to someone when they arrived, but… you know the rest of the story."
Sasuke took the necklace out of Sakura's outstretched hand. Upon closer examination, he could see the familiar three metal rings on the chain. The chain had been messily tied together by a piece of string.
Sakura wasn't even close to prepared for what happened next.
One moment she was handing the necklace over, and the next moment she was pulled into a hug. The hug was short, awkward, and everything but romantic, yet the feelings communicated through the hug were there.
"Thank you."
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Epilogue (of sorts...)
When Sakura experienced the second death of a patient a few months later, Tsunade quietly told her to go if necessary.
Sakura left without a word.
When Sakura arrived at the same evergreen tree, she was startled to find Sasuke there.
Making her away over, she sat down and leaned against the tree, listening to the rustle of the leaves on such a pleasant day. It was ironic since her day was anything but pleasant at the hospital.
She closed her eyes to the quiet peacefulness surrounding her.
"Hey."
Looking up, Sakura saw Sasuke looking down at her, hands in his pocket attempting to avoid eye contact.
"What is it?"
Sasuke glanced over at her, clearing his throat before speaking.
"Do you... Do you mind joining me for some coffee at the café down the block?"
Hearing him stutter made her smile.
"I would love to."
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A/N: So apparently I've had this on my computer since December 4, 2010. Who knew?
I OVERUSE THE WORDS "THANK YOU" LIKE A MOFO. My apologies. Or not.
Also, I love skipping school to visit college campuses... my first college visit! I find it amusing that I paid the tuition deposit yesterday when I'm only now going to visit, LOL.
Review? :D