THIS STORY IS BASED ON THE FANFICTION "AFFLICTION" BY everyday0203.
I do not own Naruto.
"Neji, I'm so sorry that was the first experience you had at our institution.." Tsunade said, sighing. "Sakura.. she's special."
Neji frowned, nodding. "What happened to make her so..." he couldn't say the words. '.. Insane?'
"I.. that's something I think she should tell you herself," Tsunade frowned. "You'll just have to get her to trust you if you want to know.
"But I will say this.. She was normal, once." Tsunade smiled sadly.
Neji put a thumb to his chin in thought. 'Get her to trust me.. Get this madly insane woman to trust me enough to tell me of her past... Sounds impossible.'
'Sounds fun.'
Neji looked to Tsunade, his pale eyes examining, searching for any hints. Hints of what, he didn't know.
"Neji, I would appreciate it if you would take care to observe Sakura, while attending to other patients." Tsunade handed Neji a large folder filled with different papers. "Take notes on any different behaviors she has, or any unordinary thing she does. Read this file tonight, and come in bright and early in the morning."
"Yes, ma'am." Neji nodded, taking the old folder carefully into his arms. He looked at Tsunade. "Any other patients you'd like for me to see today?"
"No," Tsunade said, standing. She stretched some. "I'll show you around the hospital, then you can go home."
Neji nodded and followed her out of her office, filing into the hallways. He looked around curiously as she led him around. Most patients ignored them. Some stared at them, afraid. Some yelled at them, and one even tugged on Neji's trenchcoat.
Neji hated Mental Hospitals. Crazy people made him uneasy, and he was feeling worse than uneasy at that moment. Right then, he wanted to keel over and barf his guts all over the floor, he was feeling so sick. His pale face was even paler, and he had to cover his mouth when the one patient tried to touch him.
"This is the lunchroom," Tsunade said, motioning to open double-doors. Neji looked boredly at the dreary-looking room. Something atrocious was cooking in the kitchens, Neji could smell it. Whatever the hell it was, it was burning.
Neji decided he'd bring his lunch from home.
"And the showers," Tsunade said after some time, pointing to a closed set of double doors. "There's separate ones for the men and women."
Neji memorized where every little thing in the hospital was easily; he was very good with sense of direction and memory. After a while, Neji knew his way around the whole hospital, and was allowed to leave. Keeping Sakura's file closedly clutched to his chest, he made his way out of the eerie hospital and into the cold, windy weather.
Tsunade watched him go from the front doors. She frowned sadly, lips curved downwards. "He'll end up just like her if he gets too close.."
xXx
Sweat dripped from his brow as he swung again and again. His hair flung back and forth in the high ponytail it was tied up in, strands clinging to his bare back, which was damp with his perspiration. He kept his pale lavender eyes focused solely on the pads held before him by his best friend, Rock Lee. He kept punching the pads with all of his strength, his rippling muscles twitching and straining from the exercise.
"Come on, Neji! You're almost there!" Lee encouraged him, holding the punching pads up steadily as Neji continued lunging at them.
"299.. 300!" Lee grinned, and lowered the pads. Neji was breathing heavily, hard chest heaving with exhaustion. A few strands of his bangs clung to his neck and cheeks, and he bent, his palms pressed to his knees. He glanced up at Lee, and the bowl-headed boy grinned, giving him a thumbs up.
After draining his water bottle, Neji went into the male locker rooms to shower and change. He got back out to find Lee jump-roping at a lightning-fast pace. Neji dried his loose, wet hair with a towel, watching his friend with a small smile.
"I'm going home, Lee," Neji called to the boy, and wasn't even answered. Neji knew he'd heard him, but knew that once Lee was in training mode, there was nothing else he focused on in the least. Neji tossed the towel into the gym's laundry basket and walked out, in the clothes he'd worn to the hospital earlier that day, with the exception of the trenchcoat. He sighed, getting into his car and starting it up, pulling away from the dojo.
Neji loved to train. The exercise made him feel great, and he loved to keep his body in shape. He couldn't do drastic things, like sparring anymore, but he could keep his arms built, and could even do crunches when his ribs weren't hurting too bad.
He drove along the roads, sighing and turning up the radio. He wasn't listening to the hardcore tunes of Metallica, though; he thought about his internship at the institution. He had to record Sakura? Just.. watch her? He didn't seem pleased with the thought of having to babysit her all day. Would she have to follow him around? Or did he have to follow her unless called to another patient? He was confused about his orders.. he would have to talk to Tsunade in the morning.
He glanced over at the file in the passenger seat. It was filled with papers, and Neji could spot a woman's handwriting scrawled across many of them. He looked at the road wearily and pulled into the drive-through of his favorite fast food place.
xXx
Neji fumbled with the keys to his flat as he struggled to keep coffee, his favorite take-out, and Sakura's file in his arms. Finally getting the door unlocked, he kicked it open, walking in and shutting the door behind him with his foot. He flipped on the lights and set the coffee, food and file down on his coffee table carefully. Slipping his shoes off, he settled back into his couch, sipping the coffee. He opened the file, beginning to read the contents as he picked up his food, taking small, absent-minded bites.
Many times he'd almost fallen asleep, he was so tired. He kept on making himself more cups of coffee to keep himself awake until he finished her file.
xXx
One shower and a midnight snack later, Neji was getting into the bed, mind racing. As he pulled the covers over his mostly nude form, he sighed and closed his eyes.
'Six years back, Sakura had a patient named Gaara. The file said that they developed a relationship closer than patient and doctor..' Neji snorted. 'There's the first mistake.'
'Sakura had come closer to curing Gaara than anyone, and Tsunade's recordings said that she figured Gaara would be able to leave the hospital soon, with his behavior. But then an intern that had been put on probation, Sasuke Uchiha, returned to work.' Neji frowned. 'I didn't know Sasuke worked there.. And I suppose he and Gaara were enemies.. The file says that Sasuke mistreated him numerous times.'
Neji folded his arms behind his head, settling back. 'The file also says that Sasuke threatened to rape Sakura and she jabbed a needle of Nembutal into his throat, before letting him fall down the stairs. Seems Gaara loved Sakura, so he told her to run while he took the blame for Sasuke's death. Tsunade and all the others saw Gaara over Sasuke's body, before he ran, and hid.'
Neji admitted, he was heart-felt for the pink-haired patient. 'Apparently Gaara was good at hiding, so no one found him until he froze to death. Sakura didn't let him go when she found his frozen body, rocking back and forth, sobbing uncontrollably. And when Tsunade tried to pry her off of his body, she kicked and screamed.'
Neji furrowed his brows, eyes closed. 'Seems she didn't cure Gaara after all.. He merely passed his affliction on to her.'
That thought reverberating through his head, he fell into an uneasy sleep.
xXx
The next morning Neji woke with a headache. He didn't sleep well at all, and his bones ached from the cold weather. He winced as he got up, hobbling to the closet to get dressed. Throwing some clothes on, he brushed his hair and tied it in the low ponytail, some loose bangs framing his face. He put on some deodorant and his favorite cologne.
He rushed out the door without so much as a sip of coffee for breakfast, and rushed to his car, getting in and starting it up. He drove off without a word, or even a thought for that matter.
Neji wasn't a morning person. He never liked getting up early in the mornings. He grumbled something, just staring blankly at the road as he drove.
Pulling up at the hospital, he sighed, turning off the ignition and opening the car door. He got out, shut the door and locked it, before turning and making his way towards the entrance.
He looked up at the gloomy building.. well, gloomily, and shook his head as the wind blew his hair back.
He opened the front doors and was greeted by the secretary, who blushed and smiled at him. He nodded politely to her, and she opened the door for him by pressing the same button as the day before.
He walked into Tsunade's office to see Sakura sitting in the corner, eyes closed. Tsunade put a finger to his lips and he nodded in understanding, keeping his mouth shut. "You have to be gentle when waking her," she mouthed, "or she freaks."
He bit his lip, brows furrowing. He learned new things every day..
Tsunade motioned for him to come closer. He did, and warily watched the sleeping rosette in the corner.
"Sakura," Tsunade whispered, taking caution not to be too close. The pink-haired woman mumbled a few things.
"Sakura, would you like to go to your cell to sleep?" Tsunade asked tenderly, voice barely above a whisper.
Her eyes jerked open, the bright green orbs wary, almost wild-looking.
"Sakura.." Tsunade smiled softly. "Go to your bed and go back to sleep, okay? It's still early."
Sakura nodded, eyes cold and blank, before standing and padding across the room. She stopped in front of Neji, lifting her head to look him coldly in the eyes. He looked at her in concern.
"Don't look at me like that." She growled.
"Like what?" he blinked.
".. Like everyone else does."
With those words, she left the room, leaving a surprised Neji staring after her.
