Title: Yellow Smoke
Summary: It's hope she cannot stand. It threatens to break her with each beat.
Prompt: July 9th / Bravado
Note: This one takes place during the same time as the last chapter does and just a bit past it. I like it, though I wish I could have added a bit more to the end. It feels a little rushed right now.
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She doesn't see him as much as she wants to. Occasionally, she manages to sneak down to his wing, peering at him through the door before returning back to work.
Rarely does she spend the night beside him, just watching as he shudders from his dreams.
Most of her time is spent in lab, running from sample to sample. She has memorized the exact shades of red of blood in its various stages, the small cells that make it up and the shape of the virus whenever it appears. She has perfected examining to an art, each step done in the shortest amount of time possible.
She can go through hundreds of samples a day now, barely eating, hardly sleeping. The bags on her eyes grow more pronounced, the haggard gait she takes up noticeable to all. She is not alone in this lonely vigil, the doctors and scientists in the lab across from her almost never seem to stop moving.
Sakura is not alone in this fear but as she watches Sasuke frown in his sleep, she has never felt more alone in her life.
-x-
Sasuke's thinner now, weaker. He can barely raise himself into sitting position and she has learned to count his bones, his skin tautly stretched across a bare frame. With each meal he leaves more behind, almost preferring the hallucinations he talks and eats with.
She watches him slowly wither away and each visit leaves her with a hollow fear.
-x-
"It's a trial, almost. We've experimented to make sure it's safe, but we can't be completely sure it will remove the virus for good." He drops it in her hands, the fruits of their research.
"Oh." She stares at the small vial in her hand, at the promise it holds.
The doctor looks at her with kind eyes, pity clear in them. A warning sounds in his voice as he looks down at the box of medicine in his hand. "They've been speeding up the process a bit, as this has lasted long enough. There are too many deaths."
She nods her head at that, her eyes still at the fragile hope in her hand. He turns to go, needing to distribute the rest of the samples throughout the hospital. "Just remember it might not work."
The corridor is empty before he finishes speaking.
-x-
"It might not work." There is faint hope rising in her, rising strongly after days of nothing. She tries to fight it, to stop it before it leaves her with nothing, but her fingers are shaking as she holds the vial of murky liquid.
"There's nothing else." Even now he minces his words, his hand reaching for hers as he speaks. His bony fingers grip hers, confirming her existence before he sighs with relief.
"It could kill you. It—"
"Sakura." He raises his left hand, weakly, and slowly moves each finger. "I can barely move this hand. Soon enough, I won't even be able to lift it." There is a slight horror in his face, a fear she is not used to seeing.
"There is no better time than now."
She nods, unable to tear her eyes from the expression on his face. Steadying her hand, she raises the vial and prays it will work.