A Painful Sort of Love
Sasuke winces as more of her sweat enters her eyes. Her sprint slows down to a brisk walk as she wipes her face against the sleeve of her shirt. She cracks open her eyes to survey her surroundings. "Not there yet," she grunts. She quickens her pace and is once again sprinting down the road running along the edge of the park. The bundle of reddening P.E. clothes resting on her chest and shoulder wriggles and whines as it jostles against her. An apology squeaks out from her lips and she adjusts her hold to something less discomforting.
"Just hold on for a bit longer."
In its weakened state, the fox did little more than wail as Sasuke recovered it. Snatched from the brush at the base of a tree and haphazardly wrapped in a middle school girl's clothes in an effort to somehow hold back the outward flow of its lifeblood, the fox is now on its way to receive medical attention. Passersby can barely afford a glimpse their way let alone make out the full appearance of a girl carrying a bleeding animal.
Sasuke continues speaking with the belief that her voice can calm the frightened and fragile creature. "I'm going to get you help. The mother of a classmate of mine runs an animal clinic nearby. When I was still attending the grade school connected to mine, she came by and spoke about her career along with all of the other parents. She said her office is right around the park; I think I've seen it a few times myself before." Peculiarly enough, she finds her words actually seem to placate the fox. She continues to ramble on as she darts down the road.
Sasuke's mouth ceases to move as she finally catches sight of the sign for 'Inuzuka Animal Practice' sitting on the greenery of a quaint and fair sized building. She wastes no time approaching the front entrance. She readjusts the bundle in her arms once more and extends a hand to the doorknob. She freezes then at the sight of red painted on her palm. Quickly, she shakes herself from her stupor and wipes her hand against her skirt before grasping the doorknob and heading into the clinic.
Just beyond the door stands a teenage girl caught halfway in mid-stride with a look of mild surprise slapped on her face. Wearing a similar uniform to her own and a visage resembling that of one of her classmates, Sasuke surmises this girl to be the elder sibling of Inuzuka Kiba and daughter of the doctor whose attention she so desperately needs.
"Um," the brunette starts off, "sorry, but I was just about to lock the door. We're closed for the day. If you need to set an appointment-"
"It's dying!" The first words from Sasuke's mouth shock the older girl into silence. "I just found this fox in the park a few minutes ago. It's bleeding badly. Please help."
The older girl, in her stupor, hesitates in acting. She looks Sasuke up and down is jarred back into her senses by the alarming amount of blood present on her person. "Mama!" she screams, making an about face and rushing through the door leading to the rest of the facility.
From the corner of her eye, Sasuke spots a chair. She collapses against it clearly sapped of her stamina. She had run more than half the circumference of the entire park under the blistering heat of the sun in search of this one building. Sweat pours down her face, but this time she does nothing to stop it. The shuddering frame of the fox matches her shaky breaths. She had put forth her maximum effort in reaching this place. She perks up her ears to the sound of nearing footsteps.
"Shit!" someone exclaims. When she opens her eyes, hovering right above her is the face of yet another person bearing a striking resemblance to her classmate. This is the doctor she had busted her ass to reach. The woman pays little mind to her as she swiftly untangles Sasuke's arms from around the wounded animal and takes it in her own.
"Naruto, what happened to you?" the doctor says.
'Naruto? Is that the name of the fox? She knows it?' Sasuke wonders, watching as the woman jogs back through the door she came from with the fox cradled in her arms and her daughter in tow. Sasuke is left on her own. As her body cools and her breathing steadies, the hum of music hits her ears. The earbuds she had wrapped about her neck are still there. The music she had turned on while leaving school had never stopped. A smooth and soothing sound swims through the air. It further calms her.
'If she does know it, that's even better. She should have no problem keeping it and figuring out what happened to it.'
Slow breaths. Deep breaths. A few minutes pass and she's mostly recovered. She peers down at her bloody clothes. Her head turns toward the door the doctor and her daughter had disappeared behind. She hears nothing. Whether that be a bad sign or not, Sasuke does not know. She sighs.
Despite quite enjoying the cold air of the hospital waiting room, Sasuke deems it time to leave. She rises from her seat and heads toward the exit. With her hand on the knob, she freezes. She now recalls the blonde boy she had seen earlier in the day. He, like the fox, had also suffered a rather grievous injury, and they both seemed to be wandering through the same area at the time. She had not seen him anywhere while on her way home or while frantically searching for the animal hospital. Could this mean he had been discovered after all?
'Probably,' Sasuke muses. She twists the doorknob and steps out into the still very warm rays of the sun. She untangles the cord around her neck and returns the buds to her ears. 'But it's not like either of them are my problem to worry about.' Sasuke walks away from the animal hospital with not even a second glance. Her part is done. Acting out of the kindness of her heart, Sasuke has delivered a critically wounded animal to who she can only hope is a good enough doctor. Its well-being no longer concerns her. She leaves with no intention of returning.
The next day Sasuke finds herself outside 'Inuzuka Animal Practice' once again.
Author's Note: I often use music to get me in the mood to write. Depending on what I'm listening to, it'll help me visualize the scenes I want to play out in the story I'm writing; I listen to various love songs and a few of the opening and ending songs from the first part of Naruto while working on this story. I don't think that's unique to me at all. Alongside your review and comments for this chapter and the story thus far, tell me what music best helps you focus on your work whether it be writing or something else entirely.