A/N: This chapter's full of a huge modicum of emotion. I listened to Where the Story Ends by the Fray & Rabbit by Matt Duke for most of the portion after they leave for the train station. Such beautiful songs; so many feels.


I do not claim to own Naruto or any of the characters in this story.


By Disappointment Only

"We're all just looking for someone whose demons play well with ours."


Chapter IV

"In the bright future you can't forget your past."

- Bob Marley


The awkwardness of that morning at the beginning of the week still plagued her memories despite having been almost six days previous. Sakura watched boringly as Sasuke stood at the front of their class presenting his thesis statement on the projector. Her cheeks heated in a light hue of pink as she recalled last Sunday morning with an elongated sigh.

A foreign sense of warmth was what had awoken her on that hazy morning. Her body ebbed and throbbed everywhere; mainly her head and temples. Her body was caked in an uncomfortable sweat. Her eyelids had been too heavy to open, her jumbled thoughts attempting to assess exactly what the hell she had done that previous Saturday night. Thinking back she had remembered studying at Sasuke and Itachi's, being upset and getting lost on the way home, and not long after being dragged to a club by Ino who she had by some awkwardly bad luck ran into. The devilish blond she so called her oldest friend had peer pressured her into going to the bar and getting a drink. Upon not getting carded, it had all started with a glass of tequila, then seven lemon drops later resulted in her, for lack of a better term, getting white girl wasted. The thought of the alcohol she had so heavily consumed made her stomach churn and forehead grow warmer. Rubbing the sweat from her brow Sakura had proceeded ro let out an exasperated groan, her bent legs rising closer to her chest in an attempt at balling herself up in anguish. However this action had been strangely halted by a strong presence around her waist that wasn't allowing her torso to bend any further. This had shaken the 18 year old rudely back to reality as she heightened her senses, noticing the light breathing on her neck.

Sakura's eyes jumped around analyzing the room where she had found herself. It took only a brief moment to come to the conclusion that she didn't recognize this place. She exhaled lightly, thankful that she hadn't somehow found herself at Sai's or some other old flame's. Yet that fact alone had brought forth another issue: who had she been with? Some random guy? Slowly she had rotated her body, the arms around her slightly loosening as she attempted to see just who she was currently in bed with. Her emerald adorned pupils widened as the realization had hit her like a freight train.

"Oh my god!" Sakura exclaimed frantically as she jumped up, no longer worrying about waking the person. She had warbled on her feet at first, still intoxicated, as Sasuke jumped up from the bed as well with his expression wild. He said nothing but looked shocked as he eyed the pinkette from head to toe.
"What in god's name are you shouting about at this hour?!" He had yelled at her in annoyance, pointing at his alarm clock, "Its eight o'clock in the morning damn it!"

"Why am I in bed with you?!" Sakura had shouted in response, getting right to the point with her words still slightly slurred. The Uchiha glanced at his messed up bed sheets then at her, decorated by her black, tank top style undershirt and matching black underwear. Her uniform sat bunched up next to his dresser. For the first time in years, his cheeks had tinted red.

"N-No, it's not like that!" He went on to explain frantically, "you were drunk and you called me to come and get you. Itachi was on the couch in the living room and I was worried about you getting sick, so you slept in here!" Despite his words, she still chose to stand defensively and nervously, evidently flustered. She had mulled over his explanation in her head and slowly blurred memories started coming back.

"God damn it yeah, I remember now," she had eventually admitted, rubbing her dry eyes angrily. Sasuke slowly regained his composure as he pulled a navy blue shirt over his head, avoiding eye contact with her. Sakura walked over to her uniform, picking up and eying it. "Aw, there's a tear in it!" She gasped, pink eyebrows furrowed.

"Doesn't surprise me, you were spinning circles around a lamp post when I found you," he commented. This had caused Sakura to blush immediately as she continued remembering more and more about the night. She averted her eyes to the floor as bits and pieces of what she had said to him replayed in her mind.

"Doesn't it get tiring? Always being mad at the world?"

"Empathy is something I thought you out of all people would feel,"

"I'm honestly surprised we get along. You live in your memories, and I in a fantasy I guess that you'll actually stay by my side."

Her face had begun to turn purple as a wave of full-fledged embarrassment flooded over her. Getting drunk had led to her being entirely honest with Sasuke, which was literally the last thing she had wanted to do. He was the last person in the world she could have trusted to open up to, and she knew in all honesty all it probably did was annoy him. That was his typical emotional reaction to most feelings, really.

"I-I'm sorry I was such a nuisance, I'll be leaving now," Sakura had stammered out as she shoved her tattered uniform into her bag.

"Yeah? You're gonna get on the train looking like that?" The Uchiha scoffed as he lightly smirked, flipping through the channels on the television. She then looked down at herself, her complexion turning yet another shade of red. Damn, she had been on a roll that morning.

"U-Um…" Sakura drawled. She couldn't have gone anywhere looking like that. Without another word Sasuke had stood up, boringly walking over to his dresser and grabbing a few articles of clothing. He tossed them in her general direction still making a diligent effort not to look at her directly.

"Those clothes are too small for me. Wear them to get home," he commented. She inspected the clothing curiously: a pair of grey, cloth shorts and a plain blue t-shirt. They still looked a bit big for her, but they'd just have to suffice. Really Sakura had just been fortunate he didn't leave her to walk of shame on the metro in her under clothes.

Quickly she pulled them over; Sasuke with his back to her as he watched the news from the opposite end of his bed. Slipping on her flats she then began anxiously,

"Right, well, I guess I'll see you in class then."

"You didn't want any more help with studying for the test?" He had interjected. Sakura blinked.

"Wait, you still want to do that with me..?" She asked, very clearly confused.

"Sakura," he began, glancing at her, "just because you were an annoying drunk person doesn't make it the end of the world." She gaped at him as she took in his words. She had been genuinely shocked that he wasn't permanently mad at her.

"Oh, um… okay…" She had droned in an unsure response, "Do you wanna skype later when I get home and cleaned up then?"

"Doesn't matter, you're the one who needs the help, not me," he quipped coldly. Of course he being nice had been short lived. But nonetheless, Sakura had smiled.

"Okay, I'll call you later then," and she went on to close the door of his bedroom behind her with a curt wave.

Inwardly Sakura grinned at the not so distant memory. She had wanted so badly to bring that morning up, how she'd awoken with his arms around her. The more she thought about it the more she convinced herself it was probably a subconscious action that Sasuke had simply done in his sleep. Nothing more, nothing less. Now the two, dare she call them, friends, found themselves in their last class period of the week reading their introductory thesis statements for their new, end of term unit. It was insane to think spring was almost over with less than a month left till summer break. Refreshing even, leaving the pink haired 18 year old very proud that she had survived university thus far. If things continued going as well as they had, hopefully she would be able to get the paid internship at the city's largest hospital soon. The position would leave her under the wing of Dr. Tsunade whom she had shadowed in high school. Sakura wanted nothing more than to learn from her. Now her dream was just shy of coming true.

"Alright, thank you for that, Sasuke," Inoichi nodded at Sasuke as he returned to his seat just in front of her.

"How bad did it suck?" He whispered to Sakura, annoyed and clearly not impressed with his performance.

"I've heard worse, I think," the pinkette replied sheepishly, meriting a quick glare from the Uchiha.

"This last unit isn't going to be easy so, although I am assigning no homework for the weekend, I do recommend you all become well read on the difference between chemical imbalanced and purely emotional disorders. Or rather, do you guys think there is a difference?" Inoichi winked at the class, causing them all to groan.

"Hey, Professor, how about you just tell us what you want us to research rather than all that innuendo bull shit?!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Well, Mr. Inuzuka, that wouldn't be any fun would it?" The blond chuckled evilly from his desk while opening up his laptop. "Class dismissed!"

"That old pony tail wearing fuck has a casual drug habit I swear," Kiba grumbled to himself as he careened out of class just in front of Sakura, causing her to laugh. Sasuke stopped just ahead to wait for her to catch up.

"So, are you going out tonight?" Sakura asked as she joined him. They began walking and he rolled his eyes.

"Oh yeah, because I go out so much," he retorted.

"I know, I guess I was just trying to prove my belief wrong that you are in fact a hermit," she chuckled.

"I'm not a hermit, I just can't stand most people," Sasuke growled in annoyance.

"Well, then what do you call us spending time together? That usually means you have to stand someone to hang out with them," Sakura asked jokingly, aiming to irritate him.

"Don't get full of yourself, I just put up with you," he hissed.

"Ouch," she feigned fake offense.

The two made their way to Ichiraku's like they had the past several Friday's, becoming almost a tradition of sorts. Sakura usually worked at six so that often left them some time to kill. With Sasuke's caffeine dependency he would usually end up at the café anyway; it was convenient.

"You two want your usual?" The young red headed girl who almost always took their order asked. Sakura nodded,

"yes please, but make them large." They took a seat at the bar just a bit further down. "I don't understand how you order just straight espresso, that's so bad for you," Sakura divulged as she mounted her bag on the back of the chair.

"Yeah? Because coffee mixed with ice cream and whipped cream is so much healthier?" He argued in his signature monotone. She frowned.

"Jeez, you're so defensive about everything," the first year exhaled. The chime of her cell phone inside her bag announced that she was getting a phone call and interrupted their conversation. After rummaging around she found it and observed the screen, displaying a number she didn't have in her contacts. "Hm, that's odd," she mumbled.

"Don't answer it if you don't know the number," Sasuke stated. Ignoring him, Sakura slid her finger across the screen to answer it.

"Yes, hello?" She answered. He watched her face as it turned from innocently unsure to serious within a split second. "Yes, hi, no, I'm not busy. Is something wrong?" She began talking while standing up from the stool, walking away and to the window at the front of the café. Sasuke could no longer hear as she paced nervously, her emerald eyes abnormally intense. Automatically he assumed it was Sai. It had to be. This caused the Uchiha to scowl and focus his sights back in front of him.

Eventually the girl laid their two coffees out in front of him with a polite bow. A minute passed, then another, and soon five more, Sasuke's agitation only continuing to grow. Finally Sakura joined him once more, her expression entirely blank.

"What did that pretentious asshole want?" He spat after sipping at his espresso.

"What?" She stared at him in complete loss.

"Sai, what did he want?" Sasuke repeated. It took her a second but finally her eyes read realization.

"Oh, no, that wasn't Sai," Sakura drawled, turning from him and beginning to drink her coffee. "It was this doctor from Uzushio General."

"Uzushio? That's hours way, what're they doing calling you here?" Sasuke prodded. Her apple green eyes were distant as she stirred the whipped cream into her beverage.

"Well, my father's in Uzushio and, he, um…" Sakura stammered, "he had this thing happen, and he's kind of there so, they had to let me know." He gazed at her confusingly.

"So is he gonna be okay?" He asked, trying to understand exactly what she was acting so weird about.

"Probably not," she responded, "they said I should probably come see him. But, I don't have the money to afford the train fare so-"

"Wait," Sasuke interrupted her, "what is wrong with him exactly, Sakura?" She sat in silence for a moment.

"He had a heart attack at the grocery store I guess…" she answered in an unsure monotone, "but I have work in the morning too, so. They said they'd keep me updated. That's all I can do."

For a minute or so, nothing else was said between them. Sakura drank her coffee while Sasuke sat unmoving.

"You can use my train card," he announced suddenly. Sakura eyed him weirdly.

"Um, what?"

"My train card," he repeated, "it's my company card me and Itachi or sometimes our assistant use to travel for meetings. As long as me or him are the card holder we can bring any other person along. It's prepaid so it won't cost anything."

"No, I can't ask you to do that!" She said immediately, "plus I have to work in the morning. It's just not meant to be."

"You're not asking me to do anything," he stated seriously, "I'm offering. As a comrade. Plus, I've had about enough of Itachi as I can take, if I have to spend another night with him at the flat I might murder him. So really you're doing me, and him, a favor."

"B-But," Sakura stuttered, awkwardly shifting around in her seat, "I have work."

"Old man Sozo will understand, Sakura, family always comes first," Sasuke proclaimed as he pushed her phone towards her on the counter top. "Give him a call and we'll go."

Although nervous at the idea, the nursing major finally budged and did as he had said. Old man Sozo was predictably accepting and told her to take all the time she needed. Being scheduled off Sunday, Sakura was hoping the weekend would be all she needed, and would be able to resume her shifts come Monday. They rushed immediately to the train station, taking no time to run home to grab any necessities.

"We can get toiletries when we're there," Sasuke had reassured her as she continued to ask if he was sure that was okay.

Eventually the two found themselves on the seven o'clock train to Uzushio, dark clouds adorning the sky as it left the station. Sakura was abnormally quiet upon them taking their seats, not bothering to occupy herself with anything as her mind wandered with her hands rested lightly in her lap. A good half hour passed by and the pitter patter of rain drops began to collide with the train windows, drizzling down in an entrancing waltz. Sasuke eyed it precariously as he opened his laptop, pulling up the spreadsheet for his economics class. Meanwhile the pink haired girl at his side continued to be lost in thought, mulling over just what she was going to say upon seeing her father for the first time in over a year.

The ride would take just around two hours. Considering the weather and the time of year, the train was relatively empty. Uzushio was a much smaller town on the outskirts of the city; not a popular place really for people to go visit on a Friday night. As Sasuke worked on his term final a man came by several times and checked their tickets. Sakura continued to sit in a quiet daze, occasionally adjusting and pulling down on the black, soft cloth skirt that adorned her thighs. Eventually she pulled the hair tie from her head, allowing her pink locks to fall past her shoulders as she rested her head on the back of the seat with a series of deep breaths.

It was surreal, this whole situation. Was she really about to see her father, Kizashi? It had been so long… too long, even. Many times Sakura had contemplated going to visit him in Uzushio but, between work, school, it was never a luxury time would allow. Well, that was her excuse to herself, anyway. When in reality she could have made time. But seeing her father without Mebuki at his side was still not an image the pink haired girl had grown accustomed to. All thinking of him did was bring back memories of the night that yellow cab carried her so hurriedly away from them; from their family, like they were disposable. She found herself hording a sense of anger towards her father, especially towards the beginning. Herself, too. That they didn't do more. That they weren't satisfactory, resulting in Mebuki leaving. Sakura, however, took this in stride. She attempted to better herself, to do exceedingly well in school, get high marks and going right to university after graduation. Yet her father could not to do the same. He grew depressed the longer the days wore on without his wife, receding deeper and deeper into himself. Often saying things like, 'oh, your mother will take care of that when she gets home'. He was in a sad delusion, which wore on a 16 year old Sakura more than anything. Her father, her life's greatest source of happiness and optimism, had turned into the exact opposite. As result, Kizashi lost his job as his depression began to rule his everyday life. And she tried; she tried more than anything to help him, to fix him. But as no improvement could be seen Sakura lost whatever small amount of hope she had left. She couldn't be held back anymore or she would end up nowhere. That was just the harsh reality of it all. And so she left into the city, getting a job and working rough hours in order to help her father move out of the house they had all grown together in. A small apartment in Uzushio was where he went; his mood improved, but he still wasn't better. The last time she had seen him was the day she helped him move in. She got the bills and paid them. She knew he had a place to live which was all she could do in her position. He made no effort to contact her and Sakura likewise. He had to be fine, because regardless of what happens in life it carries on. That was one lesson she had been taught too many times over now.

Sasuke watched as his pink haired counterpart began to relax, although still in very deep thought. Slowly her eyes began to flutter closed. Another thirty minutes or so the train rounded a subtle curve, taking note of the slight shift of his posture and his bag just in front of his legs. Something lightly hit his shoulder with a dull 'thud'. Glancing down, Sakura's head had moved to the side of his arm. He was honestly surprised she hadn't been woken by it. But no. As instead she was out like a light. The Uchiha simply sighed and returned to his homework, the rain outside hitting the windows in heavy waves as he attempted to ignore it.

"Nine o'clock arrival into Uzushio train terminal," the female voice of one of the attendants announced another half hour later as the train pulled a stop. The lights flickered slightly as a bad bout of thunder roared just above. This woke Sakura immediately. She looked around frantically in a half asleep stupor, pink hair in a mess and eyes glazed over.

"What? Are we here?" She questioned confusingly.

"Yup," Sasuke answered as he stashed his laptop away.

"How long was I asleep?" She asked.

"Not long at all," he replied. She sighed in comfort. Sakura hated falling asleep in front of was such a vulnerable state to be in, especially in public.

After getting their stuff together the two quickly left the train, walking directly into the flood of rain. Sakura jogged quickly under one of the overlaying roof structures while Sasuke lumbered slowly as always.

"Aren't you worried about your computer?" Sakura called.

"Nope, my bag's waterproof," he affirmed with a smirk. She frowned. Of course his bag was waterproof. As soon as he joined her he asked, "so what way is the hospital from here?"

"We need to head directly left out of the station, catch a cab hopefully or it'll be a good mile or so walk," Sakura explained as they continued on. Luckily they were greeted by a short line of taxi cabs just outside the small train station. Hopping into the closest one she announced their destination as the driver put the car into drive.

Sakura chuckled at the fact it took them mere minutes in the taxi while it would've taken them roughly twenty on foot, especially with the weather. They filtered out of the cab as she dug into her bag for fair. Pulling out her wallet, she turned back only to find Sasuke had beaten her to it. He thanked the driver politely and closed the door. She glared.

"I was going to get that, thank you," she hissed. He shrugged, walking passed her,

"be faster next time." Her frown only increased with his words as she eventually followed him out of the rain and into the entrance of the hospital. He was such an asshole most days.

"Hi, um," Sakura began awkwardly as she walked up to the front desk, Sasuke standing patiently in the distance, "I'm here to see my father, Kizashi Haruno. I'm his daughter Sakura from Konoha." The woman clad in light blue scrubs clicked several things on the computer, looking back up to her.

"Oh, right, Dr. Kirikawa gave you a call earlier, yes?" She asked. Sakura nodded.

"Yeah, I don't know how but I managed to work everything out to get down here." The nurse smiled at her words.

"Well, that's a very lovely thing to do. That is quite the trip, too," she commented, grabbing a clip board and walking around to meet them. "I'm sure your father will be very happy you're here. Follow me." The two followed silently.

They took a series of elevators to the Intensive Care Unit, the nurse that accompanied them swiping several cards as they passed through numerous doors. After a few minutes they stopped in the midst of a large hallway. The woman's hazel eyes flickered to a doctor in a white lab coat just several feet in front of them.

"Doctor, this is Sakura Haruno, your patient's daughter," she announced. The doctor's brown eyes flashed to them immediately.

"Ah, fantastic, it was you I spoke to on the phone?" She asked, putting her papers down and bowing. Sakura bowed politely in response.

"Yes ma'am, it was. I was able to make it after all," she remarked.

"Well you couldn't have come at a more perfect time, he's been out of surgery for an hour now and just woke up," Doctor Kirikawa spoke as she lead them down a hallway of identical, cream colored doors.

"What exactly happened?" Sakura questioned worriedly.

"Your father suffered from a spontaneous myocardial infarction due to plaque erosion," the doctor began.

"Oh, so it wasn't caused by his high cholesterol?" The 18 year old quipped.

"No, I assumed it would be as well, but blood work proved your father's cholesterol levels to have greatly improved to the point of almost being normal," she replied with an edge of confusion in her voice, "now if you don't mind me asking, Miss Haruno, is your father a smoker?"

"Well…" Sakura hesitated, "He was when I was younger. Then I started having problems with allergy induced asthma and he quit when I was ten."

"Is there any way he could have resumed his old habits?" The doctor prodded. She wanted to outwardly deny it, but she knew she couldn't. It wouldn't have been shocking, especially with his levels of stress and now being alone.

"It's… It's possible," Sakura stammered, eyes averting her attention downwards. "My mother left us a few years back and I've been living in the city working and going to school, so he wouldn't have to worry about it affecting me anymore." With those words Doctor Kirikawa wrote something down on her clipboard.

"The reason I ask is because his heart attack was catalyzed by a small lipid rich core, and although we're still unsure about what the primary risk factors are, almost all male patients associated with this type of infarction are smokers," the doctor explained the reason for her questioning. The 18 year old blinked, taking in every word. "Does that make sense, Miss Haruno?"

"Oh yes, yes. I'm a nursing student so I am familiar with your terminology and medical jargon," she pondered with a nod, "I was just thinking about how much that would make sense. Especially if he started up again after being clean for almost eight years." This caused the doctor to smile.

"That's a relief to hear you know what I'm talking about," the brown haired woman sighed, "that'll save me the time of explaining it in regular terms." Sakura grinned back.

"Oh, no, I'm not that good with some things but when it comes to this stuff, I'm pretty at home," she lamented in the most optimistic fashion she'd spoken all night.

"Well, as you're probably aware then, recovery from this type of infarction is very plausible. When I called you we still had yet to run an EKG and the medical team, including myself, was worried this was a Type 3 heart attack, which is caused by myocardial ischemia or fresh thrombosis in the coronary artery. However not long ago this theory was proven wrong and we determined his heart attack was a Type 1," Doctor Kirikawa went on to disclose. Some of the color started to return to Sakura's pale face.

"So, he's going to be okay?" She tried not to be too loud, emerald eyes gleaming.

"I can't say for sure this early on, but if we take it day by day, he should be," the Doctor answered while flashing two rows of perfectly white teeth.

"Can I see him?" She proposed immeditaly.

"Of course."

Sakura opened the door to hospital room 231 hesitantly, Sasuke close behind. He hadn't understood a single word of their conversation, but was very much relieved that her father's chance of recovery was high. The pink haired girl peered in as if she wasn't meant to be there. In the middle of the dim-lit room stood a hospital bed decorated by numerous wires, elongated tubes and beeping machines. It caused the Uchiha's stomach to churn, bringing back buried memories. In the white bed sat a man with dull pink hair and a subtle mustache, his eyes just barely squinted open and face rid of all color.

"Daddy?" Sakura sounded, her eyes wide.

"Sakura?" The man croaked. She stood up straight, hands balled underneath her chin as the door closed behind them and her eyes welled up with tears. Without another second passing she traversed over to the bed, tears cascading from her eyes to the white floor beneath. She stood next to the bed looking down at him, clearly wanting to hug him but hesitating. A series of tubes could be seen coming from underneath of the blanket that covered him, connecting to several machines at his sides.

"I would hug you but I don't want to break you," she tried to speak comically as she stiffled her cries.

"Oh honey, I'm so doped up on morphine," Kizashi chuckled followed by a small cough. She smiled, sitting on the side of the bed and hugging tightly at his arm.

"I was so worried you were going to leave me," she sobbed much like a shadow of her younger self.

"Sweetheart I'm not going anywhere, you know that," he reassured her.

"Mebuki said that too once," Sakura whispered, still attached to his arm.

"I'm not your Mom," Kizashi stated almost too seriously. She blinked, not used to him talking so sternly about her. Maybe he had finally come to terms with her leaving.

"And thank god for that," she grinned, tears still formulating and slipping down her face. To this he said nothing, smiling more than he had in years, embracing his daughter's warmth at his side despite the pain it was causing him. "I'm so sorry I left you. I should have been there, there to take care of you." Sakura sniffled.

"No, sweetheart, you had to grow. And I had to get right again. We had to do that apart," her father disagreed in a hoarse voice. "I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I would've held you back from living your dreams." To this she said nothing but instead sobbed into the blanket that laid cloaked over him. Sasuke had never been a fan of crying, yet it was in situations like this when it was the utmost justified. She had held in everything since she had gotten the news at the café. This was simply a normal response to almost losing another parent. With that being said, it left him wondering just how abnormal that made him.

"You didn't have to miss anything doing this, did you?" Kizashi asked as Sakura started to calm down.

"No, just work, and Sozo insisted that I come," she assured him, still latched onto his arm and now laying on the bed herself. Sasuke had taken a seat in an adjacent chair.

"Promise?" He asked.

"Promise." She affirmed.

"So, Sakura, this is the last person I imagined would come with you," Kizashi began, glancing at Sasuke. If he had made her as upset as Naruto had led on, it was pretty obvious her father wouldn't care for him much.

"Oh, um," Sakura blushed slightly, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation, "Sasuke and I have class together, and he helps me study when I miss class for work. And he let me use his train card because he knew I was worried, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to afford coming." Kizashi sat there, expressionless. He said nothing more after that.

"Excuse me, Miss," another nurse popped in through the door, "visiting hours are almost over." This merited a sigh from Sakura. She wanted to complain but it would do them no good.

"Okay, thank you, we'll be out right away," she replied. The nurse nodded and closed the door. Sakura stood up, quickly hugging her father's arm again. "I'll drop by first thing in the morning, okay?" She announced.

"Sweetheart, you don't have to-"

"I want to," Sakura interrupted. He thought for a second, then nodded.

"Well, I will see you in the morning then," he agreed. She clung to him one last time. She left through the door that Sasuke had been holding open, him following closely behind her.

"So, do you care if we stay at the hotel about a block down?" He started as they left out the front of the hospital. Sakura looked at him curiously.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I'm a member with the line of hotels the one belongs to just down the street. I already made a reservation so, if that's not okay with you you're gonna be shit out of the luck." He refined.

"How the hell did you already make a reservation?!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Smart phones are a wonderful thing," he rhetorted. She rolled her eyes.

"You're incorrigible, you know that?" He simply smirked.

The hotel, of course, was beautiful. Smaller but stunning nonetheless. Sasuke checked in at the front desk, grabbing two room keys and a few papers with the hotel's information.

"Oh, and can I get two orders of espresso up to our room?" He asked just before walking away.

"Of course, Mr. Uchiha," the concierge replied. As they strolled away Sakura studied him weirdly.

"Why did you order two things of espresso? I won't drink that," she commented.

"They're both for me," he replied curtly.

"You're going to drink two cups of espresso when it's almost eleven o'clock at night?" She guffawed.

"It calms me down," Sasuke said as they entered the elevator.

"What? What do you need calming down from?" She continued to pester. He offered her no reply.

Ten floors up they left the elevator, ambling down a completely vacant, red carpeted hallway.

"Sasuke, what do you need calming down from?" Sakura repeated at his side. He exhaled as he stopped at their door, inserting the room key and sliding it out as it beeped.

"I hate hospitals," Sasuke finally answered out of sheer annoyance. It took Sakura a minute to take in his words. Ultimately it made sense. When his parents were in their accident his father died on impact. However his mother, Mikoto, did not. She lived for nearly two weeks until the cranial hemorrhaging was deemed too severe and her brain stem stopped receiving any signals; leaving her to be pulled off of life support. She now felt terrible for dragging him along. She could have at least asked if he even wanted to go into the hospital in the first place, yet she hadn't even thought about it. She was too wrapped up in her own feelings to even consider Sasuke's.

"I-I'm sorry Sasuke," Sakura stammered as the door closed behind them. Sasuke began rummaging through his bag after he tossed it on his bed, looking back up at her after a moment.

"What? Why are you apologizing?" He asked, honestly confused. She was just about to explain when a knock sounded at the door.

"I'll get it." Sakura interrupted as he was about to head over. She opened the door to a woman holding a trey with two mugs of coffee on top of it. "Oh, that was quick!" She announced with a smile, pulling a few bills from her back pocket.

"Oh, Miss, the beverages are just added to the membership tab," the woman interjected.

"I know, that's for you. We really appreciate your efficient timing and your hard work," Sakura replied, exchanging the tray of coffee for the money. The woman blushed a deep shade of pink.

"T-Thank you very much, Miss!" She bowed.

"Of course, have a good evening." Sakura bowed back.

"Yes, you as well."

"You don't have to tip them," Sasuke proclaimed as she closed the door. She scowled at him.

"Coming from someone who works as a waitress, I know how much even a small tip means. Plus it's good karma, and manners. So yes, you do," she replied as she stood up on the other bed next to his. He looked at her with a blank expression.

"Uh, what're you doing?" He gaped at her. She looked at him normally.

"Testing out the bed of course," Sakura beamed as she jumped up and down on it lightly.

"By jumping on it?" He asked in disbelief. She ignored him and started jumping on it higher and higher while chorusing in giggles. "Sakura! Stop! There are people under us!" Sasuke shouted at her frantically, grabbing her arm.

"Ooooh, that's nice," she mused. He glared at her intensely.

"Get. Down." She pouted, but did as told.

"You're no fun, you know that?" The pinkette griped as she sat with her arms crossed. He didn't bother to reply as he dug several things out of his bag.

After a few minutes Sakura made her way to the bathroom, making several loud comments about how big and nice it was. The Uchiha ignored her because she literally made comments about the beauty of practically everything. It was nothing new, and every time he did comment back it just made her see how shallow he was about most things. He heard her lock the door as she started the water in the shower.

A good while later she finally made her way out in a white robe, using a small towel to dry her long pink hair. Glancing at the time on his computer Sasuke noticed a good 45 minutes had now passed.

"Take you long enough?" He sneered. Sakura blushed.

"Oh hush. I never get to take long showers at my apartment because the heater sucks. So I took my time," she explained in embarrassment. "Plus my hair has gotten too thick and long, it takes forever to wash." She added as she sat down, continuing to dry it with the towel in her hands. She ran her fingers through the body of it. "I have got to cut this off when I get home," she sighed to herself. Sasuke heard her loud and clear.

"No." He declared. Oops. He didn't mean to say that out loud. Sakura stared at him.

"Why not?" She asked, pink eyebrows raised.

"With your cowlicks, long hair suits you better, plus you're older now," he spoked with a subtle tint on his cheeks. Inwardly Sakura was smiling and flailing around like a ten year old.

"But it's always in the way," she argued, which was true; regardless of what he thought.

"Then put it up in a bun or something. Or a pony tail. If Itachi can do that every day for like, 15 years, so can you," he spoke to her. She blinked. Sasuke really didn't want her to cut her hair. This made her smile.

"Whatever you say, weirdo."

Sakura pulled out her lap top and they both kept to themselves for roughly another hour, Sasuke getting in the shower about half way in between. Eventually she turned on the flat screen and crawled under the covers of the king sized bed. After Sasuke left the bathroom he turned off the television and started to turn in for the night himself.

"Wait, Sasuke," Sakura started nervously. He had thought she was asleep. "I c-can't fall asleep without the television on."

"Well, I can't fall asleep with it on," he stated coldly, getting into bed. She exhaled, barrying herself beneath the covers.

"Okay, I guess I'll try for tonight." Leaving the room pitch black as he flipped off the lamp.

It took only minutes for the youngest Uchiha to drift to sleep. He was tired from being up since early that morning and the trip to Uzushio had been no walk in the park. Despite this, he wasn't a hard sleeper, no matter how exhausted. The shift of the balance of the mattress was what abruptly awoke him. It creaked slightly as another weight joined him, although a good foot away due to the size of the bed.

"Sakura?" He whispered the name of the only person it could be.

"O-Oh, Sasuke, I thought you were asleep!" She stuttered.

"I was," he sighed, "what're you doing?"

"U-Um, w-well," she stammered, "I don't like the dark… and I have a bit of separation anxiety which is why I sleep with the television on… so… this is the only other way to help. If I know I'm next to someone." He sat in silence. "But if that's not okay with you I'll go away!" She added quickly.

"Just lay down, Sakura," he ordered. It wasn't like they hadn't already slept in the same bed together. It was ultimately better than her being sleep deprived tomorrow. If Sasuke remembered correctly, that usually put her in a really foul mood; which was not something he wanted to deal with in the slightest.

A few minutes passed in silence. Sakura shifted her weight around several times trying to get comfortable.

"Hey, Sasuke," she whispered.

"Hm?" He replied with his eyes closed.

"Thank you for coming with me today," she said lowly.

"It's nothing," he answered.

"No, really," she went on, "I can only imagine how you feel about hospitals. So, it means a lot that you came with me, regardless. And got the hotel, and let me use your train card. It means more to me than you will ever know." To this he offered no reply. He wasn't good with things like this; being thanked. Or people being genuine with him. He simply rolled over on his side.

"Thank you for being a good friend, Sasuke."


A/N: Alright! There's the fourth chapter! The longest so far! Hope you guys liked it! I'm really trying to build them together as friends before romantically, because that's how true love works… in my opinion anyway. & this chapter was titled forget because of all the memories that were stirred up for both of them. But I started back to college this Monday and oh man is it crazy. Luckily my schedule is flexible, I just have a lot of online work for the classes I'm doing through our state university. Plus I just applied for this position at the airport that I am hoping I'll get! Moral of the story, I am busy but all off you are so amazing that it's encouraging me to keep writing and be inspired. This is at 700+ visits now! And that is amazing in itself! So thanks to all of you that even if you don't review or follow the story, but read it anyway or maybe don't have an account. I do check the traffic graph so thank you all who read! From all over the world! It seriously leaves me speechless. I do allow anonymous reviews so, if you do like what I'm doing, I do appreciate a few kind words or suggestions. Or questions as well. Thank you all so much for the support, it really means the world to me! Love your beautiful faces!