A/N: Hi! Exams are being thrown at me left and right; but so are prompts. Ridiculous, I know. I have been trying to construct a story out of these random ideas. Originally, this fic was going to be a one-shot, with a specific prompt; but as I began brainstorming, it evolved to short chapters. I chose to extend the story into multiple (two or three?) chapters instead of cramming it all into one.
This chapter will serve as an introduction, sort of. The timeline is somewhat vague. It definitely takes place before Sasuke had gone completely dark (ie, destruction of everything in his path). It's my lame attempt at taking a break from the 'college' setting.
I'm talking too much. Expect to see slivers of humanity from Sasuke. Maybe. We'll see.
Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine.
He had 'returned'. Shikamaru's cell was in the middle of a recon mission when they encountered an unconscious Uchiha Sasuke deep within Stone Country's woods. He had cuts and bruises everywhere; a large gash across his back and dried blood on the corners of his eyes and mouth. He did not stir as Shikamaru carefully approached him.
Naturally, he was brought back to Konoha and was summarily deposited onto a hospital bed in front of a very shocked green-eyed medic. Shikamaru had told Sakura and Naruto that a chakra-depleted Sasuke must have had an unfortunate encounter with a large group of hunter-nins during his travels, which explained the state he was found in.
The nukenin slept for nearly three weeks. Sakura, for the most part, was glad that he was unconscious as she tended to his injuries. She healed every gash, cut, burn, and broken bone. She also performed several chakra-replenishing jutsus to help increase his recovery.
During these healing sessions, Sakura fought for detachment. She forced herself to see him as just another patient; she was in and out of his room after each routine check up.
Naruto did not miss a single day to visit Sasuke. Once, during a check-up, he asked why Sakura only saw Sasuke when she had to. She simply shrugged.
He chose not to point out that Sakura had been overusing her jutsu on Sasuke. She had been noticeably exhausted after each session; something that rarely happened. Naruto briefly remembered her lesson on the importance of a medic's stamina – a medic must always keep a certain amount of chakra level at all times. Yet there she was, beads of sweat accumulating on her forehead, huffing as she pumped chakra over and over again.
He wondered if she was aware of it.
Sakura knew that Sasuke will eventually recover, but a part of her wouldn't let those chakra-laden hands leave his system. His optical nerves were next to frayed, which can be attributed to the prolonged use of his kekkei genkai. In addition, recovery of his arm muscles were stunted due to sheer exhaustion. But save for these complications, Sasuke will be fine.
Yes, Sakura fought for detachment. What would happen if she did not hold back?
She'd rather not have Sasuke wake up to a blubbering shadow of her former self. She wanted him to wake up to a medic-nin.
She decided that once he awakens, she would keep her distance.
For her sake.
.
.
But she did not have to worry about it anyway.
.
.
.
She was summoned for a mission the day before he regained consciousness.
As usual, comments are much appreciated! I know, it's relatively short. But it serves as a little introduction.
The following chapter will be up in a bit.
:)