The small boy on the table couldn't have been older than five with rosy cheeks and chocolate curls. His eyes were a golden, russet brown, the shade that made you think of a warm cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter day. His front two baby teeth had fallen out leaving him with an adorable smile. I ran a hand through his soft curls and placed a chaste kiss on his temple.
"I'm sorry," I whispered to the boy even though I knew he could not hear me. Saying the words, hallow as they were, seemed to somehow make the hole in my chest seem more bearable. The sound of my alarm blaring in my empty apartment made me shoot out of bed. The cotton sheets clung to the sweat on my body like a second skin as I tried to steady my breathing. It had been two months since he had been in the hospital and yet I could not get the thought of him out of my head. Lady Tsunade told me becoming a medical nin you were going to watch people die, I accepted it. I knew I was going to have to watch the elderly die, the sick, even my fellow shinobi, but I was not prepared for the death of a perfectly healthy little boy.
His parents had brought him in the night I was working in the emergency department, the father was a low level shinobi that had gradated two years behind me in the academy. The boy had fallen down a flight of stairs, or so I was told. His breathing was shallow, skin was pale white, and I could tell by looking at him he was severely malnourished. I knew right away that this was not a sudden accident this boy had been mistreated for quite an amount of time. I motioned for a nearby nurse to interview the parents while I checked over the boy, conveniently taking them away from the scene. When I began my examination I noticed that both arms and his right leg had been broken before, and judging from the way they healed he had not been to a hospital to have them set properly. His ribs were sticking out at uncomfortable angles, no doubt some of them had been broken as well. I immediately examined his skull and found the reason for his current state.
He had bruises to the interior walls often associated with some severe form of trauma. A fall down a set of stairs would not be enough to force him to lose consciousness, I glanced at his father. On the other hand a shinobi with a foul temper would be enough to do the trick I suppose. I stared at the couple from a distance silently noting the way the husband hung around the wife during questioning and the way he squeezed her arm when she started talking. Everything seemed like it was falling into place, well that was until the boy started crashing. As I scanned him I could feel his heart rate and blood pressure dropping, it felt like a ton of bricks just hit me in the chest. Five nurses suddenly surrounded me hooking up the boy to all kinds of machinery, but I knew he had extensive brain trauma. His brain was swelling like a balloon, if it continued the protective sac around the brain would rupture and cause irreparable brain damage.
I raked my brain around every jutsu lady Tsunade had taught me, mentally scanning over the pages of the medical journals. There was a case in the Land of Iron where an adult shinobi had suffered a severe brain injury during a battle and with little other options the medical doctor in charge put him into a temporary coma in order to reduce the damage being done to the brain, the only issue was there was only a fifty percent chance he would have been brought out of it. In that case he survived, little did I know in my case, my patient would not.
"We need to do something Sakura, his heart is racing," the call of one my aides brought my eyes back to the boy's small form. I did not have another choice we were running out of time. I took my hand and placed a delicate amount of chalkra into the tips of my fingers and placed them in particular areas on his skull. I inhaled loudly as I released the chalkra and the boys vitals instantly calmed down. A collective sigh of relief went around the room, until they looked at his brain waves.
"His brain activity is showing signs he is in a coma how is this possible?" Marcus a relatively new medical nin looked at me skeptically. I met his hard gaze with one of my own, I was not going to be challenged here in front of my peers.
"I put him in a temporary coma. We can slowly heal his brain trauma in a hospital environment, there was nothing else that could be done for him. I know the risks and if this goes south I will take the responsibility," I turned on my heel and walked out of the emergency room. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a team of ANBU speaking to the father, seems they weren't fooled either. As was standard practice I informed Lady Tsunade of what had occurred.
"You made the right call, I know it was difficult. I am ordering a full investigation into the events that occurred today and am pressing for an explanation of those old injuries you discovered. We spend so much time trying to fight the bad guys it is easy to forget that sometimes they are the ones fighting alongside us. Take the evening off Sakura," I opened my mouth to object, but I knew she was right. The situation was weighing heavily on my mind. I never understood how someone could raise a child only to mistreat and abuse them, the thought made my fists tighten. Perhaps it was best to go home if I went back to that hospital I had half a mind to put my fist through that poor excuse for a shinobi.
A knock on my door brought me back to the present, I grabbed my robe from the vanity and tied it around my waist as I made my way down the stairs. I loved my parents dearly, but being able to live in my own apartment was incredibly rewarding. Even if Naruto liked to pick the lock and take a nap on the couch, or when Kakashi-sensei would crawl through an open window and help himself to a bite to eat. I smiled and shook my head, then again those were the moments that made me remember why I was proud to be on Team 7. I finally reached the knob and opened the door. To my surprise Tenten was standing at the door looking quite impatient, it was strange seeing her here. We got along well enough, it's just that we weren't particularly close.
"Good morning, is everything alright?" I tried to wrap my brain around what could possibly have her knocking on my door.
"Can I come in Sakura?" Her tone did not leave much room for negotiation, I nodded and allowed her to slip in. I stood awkwardly by the front door as she settled herself into the couch making herself right at home.
"You have me worrying, Tenten," I decided to sit across from her on the bar tool, she watched me closely.
"I apologize, I didn't mean to make you worry, it's just that I found myself in a tough spot with Neji," my eyes shot open I was not expecting this to say the least, "I thought if anyone could understand it would be you," because of Sasuke. She did not say that last part, but she might as well have. Sasuke. His name still left a bitter taste in my mouth. Perhaps if it had not been for my work at the hospital I would've been driven crazy by my own thoughts. It had been years since we had last seen him and as far as I was concerned we were all better off because of it. I nodded in understanding to Tenten, usually I would suggest she look for love advice from Ino, but the pig also had a big mouth.
"So you like Neji then," her cheeks blushed and she tugged uncomfortably at the hem of her shirt, "you don't have to be shy, I understand. Let me get us some tea," I quickly made my way to the kitchen only to find Kakashi leaning over the counter cutting the crust off of what was no doubt a peanut butter jelly sandwich. I knew for a fact I did not leave the window above the sink cracked, yet now not surprisingly it was wide open. I just rolled my eyes as he handed me two cups of warm tea.
"Sorry Sakura your window was open and I was hungry," I tried to be angry at him, but seeing him in my kiss the cook apron I could not help the smile that found its way on my face.
"Alright sensei just close the window on your way out," the tea was nice and warm as I handed it to a scattered Tenten. I chose to sit on the other end of the sofa, hoping it would help ease her a bit.
"Thank you," she took a sip, "the only problem is that I don't think he is interested in me and I have no idea what to do. I don't want to force him into a relationship, but I want him to know how much I care about him," Tenten and I weren't close, but Neji and I might as well be on two different planets. Sure I ran into him once in a while, I even treated him at the hospital, but our interaction had always been strictly professional.
"Well you know that I don't know him very well, but from what I have experienced I think honesty is the best policy. Tell him how you feel, usually beating around the bush only irritates people and has a tendency to make things worse. I know it's a gamble, but you will never have to wonder what if," I glanced at her over the top of my mug. Her face shifted from nervous to determined as she stared off out of the window. She handed me the mug back and stood up.
"You are right Sakura, I am going to tell him right now," I inwardly sighed, I knew that look in her eyes. Knowing what little I did know about Neji I assumed that if he truly liked Tenten he would've made it known by now. I hated that I didn't have the heart to tell her, but I suppose it would be better to hear it from him herself. I smiled assuringly as she waved goodbye and slipped back out of the doorway. I was not surprised to find myself back in the kitchen staring at my first teacher who was sitting in front of a half eaten sandwich with his face buried in his favorite book. I slouched down in the chair in front of him, he scooted the other half of the sandwich over to me.
"I didn't just stop by for a bite to eat, Sakura. There was something I wanted to speak to you about. I have spent a large amount of time on your roof," I took a bite angrily out of the sandwich, "regardless there has been a very familiar chalkra scent up there," I furrowed my brows in confusion.
"Chalkra scent?" Kakashi had a keen nose, but I never knew that chalkra was capable of having an odor.
"Yes, a scent individual to each and every shinobi. So this morning I set out with a few ninja hounds to make sure I was not imagining it. Sure enough Sakura," Kakashi put his book down and looked me directly in the eye, "Sasuke's chalkra scent is all over your rooftop and even faint traces lead to your front door," surely this had to be some kind of prank, well it certainly wasn't funny.
"Why would he come back here?" My blood ran cold at the possibility that Sasuke was standing inches away from my front door at any given moment.
"That I cannot answer, Sakura. I have informed Tsunade, but for obvious reasons we have kept this under wraps. We want to know why Sasuke has been sneaking back into the village, and this will work better if we have a smaller group leading this investigation. Your safety is the upmost concern," my eye twitched slightly, I was sick of always being the one everybody worried about.
"I can take care of myself Kakashi-sensei, I do not always need to be babied," he slammed his fists down on the table. I jumped back in surprise, I had never once seen him lose his cool.
"Do you remember what happened last time you thought you could take Sasuke on your own, you almost died. If it was not for Naruto you would not be standing here. Now I am not about to lose another teammate," his voice nearly cracked with emotion, and I knew in that moment I got a quick glimpse into the copy ninja's heart.
"That's a low blow," I narrowed my eyes and kicked the chair back, although this time he did not seem ready to back down.
"Be that as it may it is the truth. Now no one can know exactly what is happening which is why I have assigned a member of the ANBU to live here with you until we find out what his intentions are. If anyone asks you are to tell them you are teaching him medical ninjutsu," I hated that this decision was being taken out of my hands, but I understood it. Just then something clicked in my head.
"He?" Kakashi's cold demeanor melted away and his usual laidback self was present. My eyes did not miss as he slowly backed towards the window.
"Neji from ANBU will be staying with you," I reached out to grab the idiot's collar, but I was only met with air as he jumped out of the window. I grabbed his book off of the table and leaned out of the window to see him squatting on top of a storm drain.
"This is the worst idea you have ever had," I threw the book at him and slammed the window shut making sure to latch it this time, I could tell he was smiling under that damn mask of his. I knew that he had a right to be afraid for my well being, but being babysat constantly seemed a bit much. I exhaled slowly leaning against the cabinets, this was going to be a long couple of months. I stared out across the village, I had a bad feeling about all of this. Why was Sasuke back and what did he want with me?
Sasuke's POV
She was so beautiful when she tossed and turned in her bed. I would've done anything to really give her something to be restless about, but it was too soon. If my plan was going to work then I had to be patient. It was hard enough dodging those pesky ANBU members without having to subdue a feisty shinobi along the way. No, when she comes to me it would be of her own free will, I will make sure of it. I grinned watching her petite form, she will be begging for it...
Reviews as always are appreciated :)
