Chapter 3

Thank you guys for being patient! I have been super busy with family as well as work. but here it is!

Sasuke was awoken by the open window. The sound of birds chirping, and the sun was invading the room.

'Hn. How annoying.' He thought as her rolled over and covered his face with a pillow. But alas; no matter which way her tossed or turned, the light always seemed to catch him. Finally he decided that he might as well get up. He rubbed his eyes as he sat up. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he noticed that there was a small pile at the foot of his bed, as well as a piece of paper. It read,

'Sasuke, these should fit you. They were my brothers. I wont be back until late so there's ramen in the cuppard. Remember to stay inside!"

"I didn't know she had a brother." He said as he pulled the shirt over his head, and eventually the pants. "Well, they fit and its better than rags." He stared at the pile of clothes that he was just wearing. The purple rope lay in a tangle, and the white shirt with his clans insignia along with the black pants, lay in a heap. He ran his fingers through his raven hair and gave a huff.

"Well Sasuke, what are you going to do today?" he said aloud. He knew that Sakura was already gone. He had heard a beep and then her rummage through something and then rushed foot steps and then the door open and close. As he tried to decide what he was going to do, he exited the room. As soon as he did, his nose was bombarded with her scent.

He again placed himself on the couch and had the T.V. remote in his hand, flipping through the channels. His eyes began to wander. Her apartment looked differently in the daytime. He eventually turned the T.V. off and decided that he was going to use Sakuras absence to get a feel for how things have been along without him.

He began his little expedition in the room where he slept in. He slowly opened the door. His bed was unmade, but he ignored it. Which was unusual with him. He was usually meticulous with organization. He first went to the side table, opened the single drawer, but quickly became disappointed. There wasn't anything in there but a couple kuni's and a flashlight. As he closed the drawer, he looked over to the closet. Opening the sliding door, there were clothes on hangers. Guy clothes.

'Whose are these?' He wondered. Boxes lined the bottom and the top of the closet. Feeling the curiosity grow in the pit of his stomach, he pulled back the brown lids to reveal clothes. Both men and women's.

'What is this?' He filtered through them. It was all clothes. Nothing else. And almost all had the Haruno insignia on the back or front. It was perplexing.

He then moved on down the hall to the bathroom. It was a plain bathroom. There were white walls, a tub/shower with a light blue curtain. A toilet, and sink with a medicine cabinet above it. He saw nothing really out of the ordinary, that is, until he reached the top shelf. He noticed an orange pill bottle. They were for depression.

'Sakura..' He placed the bottle back in its place and closed the cabinet. He didn't even look at himself in the mirror. He looked across the hall to Sakura's room. The door was opened slightly. A single beam of sun seeped through the crack. He took in a deep breath as if his deepest nightmare awaited him behind this wooden door. Finally letting the breath out, he opened the door. It wasn't as girly as he had imagined. And of course, the soothing aroma of her came rushing at him like a hurricane in full force. It was delightful. A smile creped up on his face.

The head of her bed rested up against the wall, mattress covered in black sheets. The Haruno insignia was directly in the center of the made bed. To be honest, he was rather surprised. He figured that her room would be brightly colored, with pictures and posters everywhere. But it was quite the opposite. He was dull, bland, and kind of dark.

'Black doesn't suite you, Sakura.' He thought. He saw a single dresser, which atop of that, there were pictures. But only a few. A desk was in the corner with a pile of folders and files resting on it. A three drawer filing cabinet sat next to it. Each had a couple words scribbled on it. 'Medical Records. Techniques. And Mission Info.' He tried to open it, but it was locked and wouldn't budge. He eventually gave up on the filing cabinet, and looked over at the desk where a name caught his eye. The top folder had the name "Uchiha" on the little tab. His curiosity took hold and he opened the manila envelope. Photos of both him and his brother, Itachi, were papercliped to a piece of paper. Both wer taken with stealth. They were looking in different directions, unaware that the picture was being taken. The papers that followed were medical records, intel on them and their movements, maps, layouts, technuiqes that they were known for…and on the last page, both of the Uchihas names were written next to the words "Status". Besides Itachis, was the word, in big red letters, was 'deceased.' And next to his own name was 'returned'. He wondered why Sakura needed a folder with all of this information. He set the folder down and went over to her closet. Sliding the door, he was met with a typical wardrobe. Her ANBU uniforms, her everyday clothes, traditional kimonos, etc. But then he looked down. Boxes lined the bottom of her closet as well.

Sakura was exhausted. She was about to let out a monster yawn but stifled it immediately. The blood that engulfed her hands reminded her of the task at hand. Even though she was only 17, she had almost surpassed Tsunade in medical ninjutsu. She was one of the best. Actually, besides Tsunade, she WAS the best. She had been called into an emergency operation around 5am. A genin decided he was going to show off and stepped directly into a mine patch. His leg was blown clean off. It was Sakuras duty to try and reattach all of the arteries so the boy could have full motion and feeling. It was no simple task. That's for sure.

After 12 long hours of operation, Sakura stumbled out of the operating room. She was covered waist up in blood. She stumbled her way to the waiting room where the boys team and family were waiting. As they spotted her, all shot up and rushed to her. As she removed her face mask, she revealed a smile.

"He should be alright. If he recovers correctly and doesn't over use it, he should have full mobility as well as feeling in his leg." She said happily. From the expressions on their face, she knew what they were going to ask. "Recovery room 4. He is still heavilt sedated, but should be awake in a couple hours."

Sakura leaned against the wall, tired and wanting nothing more than to be in her nice warm bed.

"Sakura.." An all too familiar voice called to her.

"Tsunade-sama.."

She chuckled. "Go home Sakura. You look like absolute hell." And Sakura didn't object.

Sasuke ahad resumed his spot on the couch with the T.V. Hearing the click of the lock and the door start to open. Sakura stumbled in looking pale, tired, and…covered in BLOOD?! He immediately rushed to her.

"Sakura!" She looked at him with scared eyes.

"What? What happened?" she asked frantically.

"You're covered in blood!" He said as he pointed to her clothing.

"Huh? Oh!" She smiled when she realized what he was freaking out about. "I had an operation today. I'm alright."

Without even thinking, she plopped down on the sofa next to Sauske.

"Uhh..Sakura..?" He started.

"Hmm?"

"You're still covered in blood." She looked down.

"God dammit!" she screeched as she jumped up, checking to make sure that there were no blood stains on her couch. Thankfully there wasn't.

"I might as well just go shower before I actually do." She slowly made her way down the hall and to her bathroom. Sasuke gave the faintest smile as to his teammates incoherent mumbles to herself.

As her heard the shower turn on, he ventured into the kitchen and opened the fridge. There was barely anything in it except for some expired milk and a little bit of ramen.

'No food. When was the last time that she ate a decent meal?' He asked himself. He peered down the hall. He hadn't heard Sakura step into the shower. Wondering if she was okay, he went to check on her. Hoping she was clothed, he went in. And she was fully clothed, laying on the floor, fast asleep. Judging from the bloodstained washcloth, she had managed to remove the blood from her face. Again, a smile was on his face. He gently scooped the sleeping pinkette, careful not to wake her, and took her to her room. Placing her on her neatly made bed, she moaned a little. This for some reason made Sasuke blush a little. He brought the black sheet up to her mid-stomach. He stood there watching her chest move in a steady rhythm, going up and down..up and down.. She looked so peaceful. He eventually left her to sleep in peace and he himself went to bed. But he just laid there. On hand behind his head, and the other on his stomach and just started thinking until he eventually succumbed to slumber.

The good thing was that tomorrow, was Saturday.

Again, I apologize that it took awhile. I have been busy with work and family. But I will try and update quicker from now on! Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoy!