A/N: I didn't sleep at all last night, so I apologize if there are misspellings or nonsensical sentences in this chapter. I'm exhausted, so I stayed home from school, and I needed something to do.
Chapter Stats
Rating: PG-13 for mentions of gore.
Pairings: Slight SasuSaku, mentions of NaruSaku
As usual, I don't own Naruto.
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Chapter One: A Bizarre Transplant
As Sakura dashed down the hallway, her pounding heartbeat kept in tempo with the tapping of her shoes on the slick floor.
Oh god… Sasuke-kun… why are you here? Please don't be hurt… please, please…
She burst through the swinging doors at the end of the hall to enter the emergency room and tried to catch her breath. After a moment, she took notice of the emptiness and utter silence that graced the normally bustling room.
The ER? Silent? That never happens…
Sakura's breath caught in her throat as dark figure approached her from the side. She snapped her head up so quickly that she almost lost her balance.
The statue-still figure was adorned with a jet black overcoat that hid most of his body like a well-kept secret. His feet were covered by open-toed boots that were caked with dirt as far up as she could see. Familiar raven hair covered his head, spiking in the back and covering his eyes dauntingly.
There was no denying it; Uchiha Sasuke was here in all his intimidating glory.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura squeaked. He didn't respond in any way, as if he didn't realize she was there. She tried again. "Why… are you here?"
He took a deep breath, though it was barely audible. "I need you to help me… Sakura. I've been informed that you studied as a medic directly under Tsunade."
"Yes… I did…"Oh shit… he's hurt somewhere… "What do you need help with?" She spoke carefully and deliberately, almost afraid that if she messed up in her speech, she'd scare him away.
Sasuke didn't say anything. He jerked his head to the side, moving the hair from his face. Sakura gasped as light illuminated a large, bloody slash. It cut clear from his left temple, across his closed left eye, through the bridge of his nose, and to about the middle his right eye.
"Oh... my god… Sasuke, what happened..?" She stumbled over to him and forced him down into a seat. "Sit down! Let me see that!" He half-heartedly struggled to stand back up, but Sakura sat on his knees to keep him down.
She gently ran a finger along the bone-deep slice. He winced subtly; if he was anyone else, he would have cried out in pain.
This is brand new… if he couldn't see, then how did he get here so quickly?
She was startled when he popped open his right eye as if reading her mind. It had been slashed up to the iris, but he could see out of it well enough to get here. She forced it closed with her fingers, knowing that it had to be agonizingly painful to leave open, even though he'd never admit it.
"I don't know what I can do about this, Sasuke-kun…" She bit her lip.
In response, he threw open his black coat, revealing a battered, bruised body and bloodstained clothing. His hand was tightly gripping something wrapped in maroon-stained cloth.
Sakura had a terrible feeling in her gut, and before he even unraveled it completely, she knew why he had come to her.
Sasuke blindly tossed the cloth aside, revealing the severed head of his only remaining kin, which he gripped by the scalp carefully. Blood dripped ominously from the open neck and mouth. "I need you to give me his eyes."
Sakura slid off of his lap and felt the contents of her stomach rise to her throat. "I… I don't know… if I can…"
Sasuke's voice was laced with annoyance. "You're a skilled medical ninja. Don't think I haven't heard the stories about you." She scanned his face, slightly surprised. "This is how Kakashi got his Sharingan, and the person who did it for him was a hell of a lot lower than the Hokage's apprentice."
Sakura swallowed. "H-how long has…" –she pointed to the disembodied head of Uchiha Itachi without looking at it- "…it been off?"
"Ten minutes, at most."
I can't get out of this… "Alright…you have to promise me something, then."
He groaned. "What? I don't have time for this…"
"You have to stay in Konoha… at least for a while if I do this for you," she said, trying to imitate the confidence that Naruto would have had.
"Hn." Hair had fallen in front of his face again, and his expression was unreadable.
Taking this as something like 'I'll think about it', Sakura took him by the arm and led him through the doors out of the ER.
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"What's the occasion, Naruto-san?" the gray haired jeweler queried. He had a gentle face that was slightly crinkled by a pleasant expression.
"I'm going to propose to my girlfriend! Dattebayo!" the blonde replied as he gazed through the glass at glistening rings of all different sorts. "…but I'm not sure of what kind of ring she'd like the best."
"Your girlfriend is Haruno Sakura-san, right?" Naruto nodded cheerfully. "Green eyes and pink hair… that's a difficult one to match… but I think I have just the thing! Hold on!" The jeweler hurriedly scooted into a back room.
"Thank you!"
After a few moments, he returned with a dark blue velvet box. "Here, have a look."
Naruto grinned. He took the box and popped it open with his thumb. In it sat a silver band with a bright pink blossom-shaped stone in the center. Small diamonds ran the whole way around the band, glistening in the light.
He gasped. "Oh! This is it! This is perfect! She'll love it, 'tebayo! Thank you so much for your help!" The jeweler smiled. "How much will it cost me?"
He pointed to a price tag on the bottom of the box. "You pay half."
Naruto was ecstatic. "That's ALL? Thank you so much! I owe you one!"
"Nonsense." The jeweler rang up the sale.
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"How does it feel?"
"…I don't know yet."
Sakura closed her eyes and sighed. The surgery was done, and she was confident that the eyes would work for him, but morally, this was a disaster. She shifted the cold cloth that covered his new eyes.
"I don't know if I understand your logic, Sasuke-kun." She brushed some black hair from his sweaty face. "These eyes have seen so much--" A large hand stopped her speech.
She didn't have to say anymore. He knew what she meant. Those thoughts had been plaguing his mind ever since he made the decision to come here.
Sasuke let his hand drop. "Thank you."
"…you're welcome." She hated when he thanked her. It brought back memories that she would have liked to have forgotten.
After a while, Sakura lifted the cloth off of his eyes. "Alright… that should be long enough… can you see?"
He sat up slowly and turned his head to face her. Tears pent up from the transplant began to roll down his bloody face. His eyelids placidly slid up, revealing onyx eyes that weren't his own.
"You… never grew your hair back."
Sakura couldn't restrain herself. She embraced him around his neck and felt tears begin to run down her cheeks. He made no move to hug her back, but he did allow her to stay that way for quite some time.
Sasuke closed his eyes again, but they snapped open again when a realization hit him like a ton of bricks. It hadn't registered before, but now that it had, something like excitement began to bubble in his stomach.
The Mangekyou Sharingan!
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A/N: Sometimes I wonder if something like this might actually happen in the series. It would definitely be strange...
