Sakura finished the paperwork for the E-wing patients, storing the files intheir proper cabinets. She brushed her hair off of her face, taking in the moment of quiet. The hospital had just had a flurry of activity, and she was still a little bit flustered. She looked at the list of patients that were supposed to come in today for something or other, nothing serious. She scanned down the list but stopped when she saw someone unexpected: "Lee, R." She paused, "Lee? Why would he have to come in today?" she wondered, "He's not due for a post operation check up for couple of weeks." She scanned over to the time slot. 3:30? That was nearly forty five minutes ago, she thought to herself. Who was supposed to be taking care of this? Her eyes widened when she saw her name in the doctor's box. "This has to be Lady Tsunade's work," she speculated. She just loved to put Sakura into awkward situations for her own amusement.
The door of the hospital slammed open, and Sakura jumped. In came an exhausted but fiercely determined Gai-sensei dragging in a terrified Rock Lee by the collar of his kelly green jumpsuit.
"I will do eight-thousand punches! I will do a thousand sit-ups; I will do twelve thousand one-finger push-ups! Just, please, let me go!" Gai-sensei was obviously at the end of his patience, "No, Lee! They're already overdue as it is!" Lee shook his head, "But if I work twice as hard, it will not matter! They are awful!"
Gai-sensei sighed and tried to pry his nearly hysterical pupil off the door, "That's all the more reason to get them, Lee! A man never runs away from his fears, he turns and faces them head on!" Lee wrapped his foot around the door handle, "I am not scared! I just really, really hate them!"
He lost his footing and barely kept himself off the ground as Gai-sensei pulled him to the front desk. He paused to catch his breath, still holding Lee by his collar. "Hey, Sakura, we're checking Lee in for his appointment," he said in a friendly tone. The young taijustu master's head shot up at Sakura's name, his cheeks red with embarrassment. Sakura smiled at him, hoping to make him feel better.
"Oh, okay," she said, attempting to recover, "What is he here for?" She looked at Lee's sheet searching for the seemingly dreadful content of Lee's visit. "Oh, so you're just here for a couple of immunizations, then, nothing major," she said with a kind smile at Lee. Lee grimaced. "Lee has a phobia of needles," Gai-sensei explained. Lee looked down at the floor. That must be why he seems so upset, Sakura realized. It didn't add up though, the shots really weren't painful and she knew that Lee had dealt with much, much
worse.
"They really don't hurt much at all, Lee, honest," she said trying to reassure him. Lee bristled, "It is not that is hurts," he clarified, embarrassed that the girl he liked might think him weak, "It is just…the needle going under my skin," he shuddered, "I can feel it, and I do not know what might be going into me." Sakura felt bad for him, and when she thought about it, it was a very human fear. Alien objects entering the body was a creepy thought, and Lee was the kind of person who saw things at their underlying principles, and so this was just the kind of thing that would make the boy terribly uncomfortable.
"Come on, Lee," Gai-sensei cajoled, "It isn't so bad, and besides, you don't want the girl you like to think you're weak do you?" Lee perked up when he heard that, "You are right, Gai-sensei!" Sakura sighed, it was like they had forgotten that she was there. She opened the swinging door for him. "All right, Lee, come back with me and I'll take care of you," she said as nicely as she could. Lee's eyes grew bigger, "You will be doing it, Sakura-san?" he asked, seeming a little worried.
"Yeah," she said a little taken aback, "I am a medic-nin after all," she reminded him. "Of course!" he said quickly, "I did not mean to offend you! I apologize!" Sakura smiled; he was so nervous. "It's okay, Lee-san," she said, "Come back with me," she said holding the back door open for him. Lee cast a worried gaze back at Gai-sensei who flashed him the "Good Guy" pose. Lee returned the gesture half-heartedly.
The Taijutsu specialist followed the pink-haired medic-nin down a long corridor. The walls were white and very dull, "How can Sakura-san bear to work in a place with so little color?" he asked himself. Sakura opened a door on the right hand side and Lee entered quietly. He sighed and sat down on the table.
"There's no reason to be nervous, Lee," Sakura said kindly. "Besides", she said lightly, "Afterwards, I'll give you a lolipop", she joked. Lee sighed, "I find that little consolation, Sakura-san." Lee remembered last time Gai-sensei had to hold him down while they injected the needles into his arm. He didn't know how he would be able to keep his dignity in front of Sakura-san. "Sakura-san, I do not do well with needles," Lee explained to her. "I know, Lee," she said, taking out a tray. "I will do my best so thatyou will hardly notice it." Lee shook his head. She picked up a syringe, and Lee cringed.
"I think that you might misunderstand me, I really really hate needles!", Lee said somewhat desperately. His fingers gripped the arms of the chair. Sakura looked at him with pity, he was clenching his eyes shut and keeping him jaw tight. He looked as though he was ready to burst. She tried to figure what was making him so tense around her, and the needles just didn't seem to explain it.
"Lee, are you worried you might hurt me?" she asked him. Lee's eyes opened, and he looked up at her in ashamed confirmation. He grimaced an began to stare at his legs. "I freak out when…when it touches my skin," he said quietly, "I just sort of lose control; I do not know what I might do." He swallowed hard, "Last time, I accidentally hit a few people, including Gai-sensei! I...I could never let myself do that to you, Sakura-san." Sakura saw that Lee looked like he was about to cry. She placed one of her hands over his. Lee jumped and stared at the hand like he could not quite believe it was there, then looked up at her. Sakura smiled at the unbelieving look in his eyes. "Lee, I will not let that happen, alright?" Lee nodded, but his eyes did not agree. "I can take care of myself," she persuaded. Lee looked like he was being pulled in two directions. "That is true. It is just, I can not bear the thought of me ever hurting you, and I cannot bear to think of how you will see me, how you must be thinking of me now," Lee looked down, shamefully. Sakura squeezed his hand. "You are, and always will be, a strong, brave friend, who has always protected and looked after me, and someone whom I trust wholeheartedly." Lee swelled a little at being called both "strong" and "brave". "If you are beside me, Sakura-san, I would face a thousand needles!" Sakura laughed. "There are only two," she comfortingly. He nodded. "I am fine, just do whatever you need to do," he said. The way he said this sounded like it contained another meaning and Sakura puzzled out the meaning of his words in her head. "Are you ready?" she asked. Lee just sighed. She took this as a yes.
Sakura took the first needle and positioned it on Lee's arm. His reaction was immediate and he gasped and clenched the arms of the chair. She quickly positioned her other arm on his other arm, holding his arm down. The medic-ninja leaned her body weight on the arm she was holding the needle to. She looked up to his face, which, although clenched and in obvious distress,seemed in control. She inserted the needle deftly into his arm. His whole body tightened and a yelp escaped his lips. "Shh, Lee, it's alright," she soothed. Lee tried to move his arm from under hers to pull the needle out, but she pushed all of her weight onto him. "Hold on, just one more moment," she said not looking at his face. Lee shuddered and cried out again. "Sakura, please remove it!" Sakura pulled out the needle from Lee's arm and tossed it quickly onto the tray with a loud clang. "It's done, Lee," she said quickly. She was also getting upset by the needles and wanted him to hear that it was away from him.
Lee opened his eyes and sighed. He shook his head and stared at his feet. "You must think that I am a coward," he said, resting his head in his hands. "No, Lee, I don't," Sakura told him. "Everyone has things that freak them out; for you it's needles. I just want to do whatever I can to make it easier for you." Lee smiled. "Thank you, Sakura-san. You are a good friend," he told her, emerging from behind his hands. She grinned. She and Lee had become closer in the last few months, and she wanted to make this less uncomfortable for him.
"There is one more, Lee," she reminded him. Lee sighed. "I know." He held his arm out to her in a somewhat ridiculous, though also brave gesture. Sakura took the other needle from the tray and paused for a moment. Lee opened one eye and looked at her. "It is fine, Sakura-san; do not worry about me!" Sakura nodded, "I'm not," she assured. She touched the needle to his skin, cringing a little when she felt his body stiffen. She pushed the needle to his arm, and placed one hand on the side of his face. Lee turned his eyes toward her, confused. Sakura smiled and injected the shot into his arm while pressing her lips against Lee's. She hadn't expected kissing Lee to be quite so pleasant. His lips were softer than she imagined, touching gently against hers. She opened her eyes and saw that Lee's eyes were closed and his face was becoming very red. She lifted the needle from his arm and pulled back. Lee leaned forward a little, not quite ready for their lips to part. His eyes opened. "Did that just happen?", he asked. She nodded. "Oh," he sat back. "Are you still going to give me the shot?" he asked, uncertain. Sakura laughed, "I already did. Did you not notice?", she asked showing him the empty syringe. Lee looked stunned. He shook his head, looking down at his arm at a small puncture wound. Sakura laughed. She grabbed an orange and a green band-aid from the jar and carefully placed them over the small puncture wounds. Lee just watched her with a bemused expression on his face. "Do you still want your lollipop?" she asked, jokingly. "No, thank you," Lee said, smiling, "That was more than enough sweetness for me."