Take My Hand

Chapter 2: Still Stuck

Eventually, all the visitors except Sakura went on their way with a "Good luck" and a stifled giggle, leaving Sasuke and Sakura alone in the hospital room. For about an hour, Sakura kept pulling and tugging away her hand from Sasuke's, but all her efforts were in vain. Their hands were definitely stuck. Sasuke, on the other hand, went back to leaning against the hospital bed with nonchalance.

"Sasuke! Don't just sit there. You try too!" In the midst of the tugging, Sakura grumbled every five minutes or so, looking up at the Uchiha with accusing eyes.

"Just give it up, Sakura." Sasuke muttered back, after having activated his Sharingan to inspect their hands. The stone was emitting a strange chakra that had intricately tied itself to Sasuke and Sakura's hands. Trying to physically pull them apart wouldn't work. There was probably something else behind this, perhaps another jutsu to dispel the cursed stone.

"Come on, Sasuke! I want to go home. Let's get rid of this stupid stone and go home!" Sakura swore she would never whine in front of any Uchiha ever again, but it was Saturday, her day off from work! She had much better things to do than to be stuck in the very workplace beside the very man she wanted to run away from.

Sasuke, meanwhile, remained indifferent on surface, but mulled over what Sakura had just said. Home? He wondered if he still had "home." The entire village of Konoha, in a way, was home. There was also the Uchiha mansion that was left deserted ever since the massacre. The young Uchiha had planned the revival of his bloodline countless times, but to actually live in the very place his parents were murdered was a different question. He'd have to get over it, but for now…

"Okay. Let's go home, Sakura." His head was turned towards the window, subconsciously averting his gaze from Sakura as he waited for her answer.

"What?" Pink hair flowed around her shoulders as she twirled around to meet Sasuke's gaze. "How? We're stuck here, and I know you need to be hospitalized for at least five more days. And…" She left the sentence unfinished, wondering if she was allowed to cross the line. 'And what about your home? Do you mean the Uchiha mansion?'

For a second, he turned towards her and gave a hard gaze that seemed to say, "There's no way I'm staying in the hospital for five more days." He then looked away again, towards the window, towards the blue sky.

"Where's your home?" He asked, hoping she wasn't still living with her parents. They were now eighteen, and most shinobis usually moved out by that age.

"The same place." Sakura answered with aroused suspicion. "You know, before you left…"

"You still live with your parents?"

"So what?! There's no rule saying I can't, and I'd rather be with my family as much as I can before –" Sakura shot back in defense, but abruptly stopped, unable to continue her sentence. There were two things that bothered her at that moment. First, had she finished her sentence, it would have come out as something like "—before I die on a mission" because an average shinobi's lifetime was much, much shorter than an average villager. Second, and this bothered her the most, she mentioned her family in front of the man whose family was murdered when he was a mere child. Lamely, she added, "Sorry."

Inwardly sighing, Sasuke muttered, "I guess we have no choice. Let's go over to mine," which implied the Uchiha mansion. There was probably a lot of cleaning to do, and with their hands tied together, he was definitely not looking forward to facing Sakura's parents nor attempting to live in a dusty, deserted house.

"Wait," Sakura peered at him with continued suspicion. "You mean you would have just gone to mine if my parents weren't there? There's no way I'm going to spend the night with you alone."

Tempted to smirk, but choosing only to raise his eyebrows, Sasuke replied, "But we have to." He raised their tied hands as proof.

Face red with embarrassment, Sakura abruptly stood up and pulled herself toward the door with Sasuke pulled behind. "Fine! Let's just go over to my place for now. I'll explain the situation to my parents; they'll understand." She doubted the last part was true. Her parents, more than anything, would overblow their situation and make fun of them. Or worse, they might…

Before they could leave, the door slammed open, revealing a frowning woman with her arms crossed.

"Tsunade-sama!" Sakura instinctively hid her hand that held Sasuke's, as though being confronted by a parent for committing mischief.

Tsunade shot a sharp, warning look at the Uchiha behind her most prized student, before declaring, "You guys go stay at Sakura's. I've contacted a jounin and a few information and research-centered shinobis to investigate this… issue." Turning towards Sakura, she added, "I've also contacted your parents already."

Sasuke, while silent, wondered at the gravity of their situation. Besides his hand being stuck with Sakura's, he saw no harm to the strange stone. But the Hokage in front of him was ordering several high-skilled shinobi to solve what should be a trivial issue. Or… was there something more to it? Perhaps there was more danger to the stone? His question was answered immediately though, when Tsunade marched up to him.

Grabbing his shoulder, her nails digging through his skin, she hissed threateningly, "Don't you dare lay a finger on Sakura!" She was just being overprotective of her favourite student.

Sasuke replied dryly with a "Who would lay a finger on some scrawny flat-chested girl?" Instantly, Sakura made a fist poised to strike the obnoxious, annoying Uchiha. Before she could, Tsunade beat her to it and landed a chakra and anger-infused punch towards him. Fortunately for Sasuke, he nimbly stepped away in time to see the wall behind him blown away to bits.

Glaring with absolute malice and barely keeping her fist in control, Tsunade yelled, "You must be BLIND to miss that Sakura's a grown woman now! She's got the curves in all the right places and the last time I saw her at the public bathhouse, she was enticing enough to charm every single man here in Konoha. Do you hear me? EVERY. SINGLE. MAN."

"Tsunade-sama…" Sakura, fully blushing and wanting nothing but for her sensei to stop, tried to calm her down. Oh, how her insides were writhing in such embarrassment, especially in front of Sasuke of all people!

As though just realizing what she had said, Tsunade quickly added, "Of course, I'll kill you if you try to make a move on her."

Then, shoving the pair outside the hospital, she ordered, "Now go. Your parents are waiting, Sakura. And I'm sure they'll keep a watch on him!"

Out on the street, the passing shinobis and villagers naturally stepped away to make a path. Occasionally, a "Congratulations!" was heard here and there.

"Oh my god, I could die right now." Sakura covered her face with her free hand.

"I already did when I realized you wouldn't let go of my hand." Sasuke replied sarcastically.

"I told you it's the stupid stone! God, Sasuke! You're the one still holding on!" She hissed and paced ahead, fuming with humiliation and annoyance. Oh, except the damn Uchiha was still stuck with her.

When they finally arrived home, Sakura let out a breath of relief before tensing again. Another obstacle – her parents – were just behind the front door. For a few minutes, they stood still. Perhaps she should listen to Sasuke and go over to his house instead. Knowing her parents, they would –

Ding dong.

Sasuke pressed the doorbell. When she glared at him accusingly and with horror, Sasuke merely shrugged, as though to say, "What's the worst that could happen?"

The door suddenly flung open to reveal two Harunos, full of enthusiasm and bursting with utter joy. "Hello, Sasuke-kun!" They yelled, and behind them was a large hand-made banner that read, "A WARM WELCOME TO OUR SON-IN-LAW."

Notes: Hope this came out both unexpected but natural enough to be readable.