"Of Bones and Blossoms"
Chapter Six.
"Progression."
Sakura was exhausted. She'd been with over twenty patients, assessing their injuries and healing them. That took a lot of chakra, and by the time everyone was at least stable, she wanted to just pass out.
She opened the door to her apartment. Kimimaro was lying on the couch, asleep. It was late, past eleven, and despite the fact that he was asleep, he didn't look comfortable, at all. He shifted slightly in his sleep, his breathing ragged. She was tired, but Kimimaro was first priority. She approached him, and used chakra to lift him into her arms. She carried him to her bedroom, gently settling him on her bed. She'd sleep on the couch herself. She tucked the man under the covers.
As she turned to leave, fingers caught her wrist. She looked back, alarmed, to see Kimimaro staring at her, normal dull expression on his face. "Where are you going.."
She blinked. "The couch."
"Why?"
She frowned. "I'm going to sleep."
His voice was faint, but was coherent as he mumbled, "Stay."
She blinked. What?
"Stay," he repeated, though his grip on her wrist loosened.
With a sigh of resignment, she lowered herself to sit on the edge of the bed. "Only for a little while," She said, closing her eyes.
"That's fine," he replied.
She noticed that his hand never fully left her wrist. His thumb stroked her pulse slowly, and she could feel her heart-rate quicken. Why did such a simple motion give her chills?
Maybe the fact that a criminal was capable of doing such tender things?
She kept her eyes closed with no effort; she was too sleep for her own good. She shouldn't have stayed. The stroking of her wrist felt so nice.. her fingers twitched.
She could tell he was asleep when his fingers slowly stilled. She couldn't stay awake; her eyelids were so heavy..
'Sakura!' Her mind shouted. 'Wake up! You can't sleep in the bed with a patient! Get your behind to the couch! Now!'
She shook her head, forcing her eyes open, and slowly stood. With another glance at the sleeping Kimimaro, she left the room, padding quietly to the living room. She set her mental alarm clock for six. She needed to be at the hospital by eight.
After this village business was under control, she reminded herself that the first thing she'd do was begin working on Kimimaro. He was stable, he would live; but he was still very weak, and not able to move hardly at all. The most he could do was stand, and that condition would most definitely grow worse if she didn't do something soon. She needed to get his chakra levels up, and get his bones and muscles working properly so that he could move.
She laid herself down on the couch, forcing herself to relax. With a small sigh, she closed her eyes again, drifting off to sleep.
"Come in," her stern, weary voice floated through the air towards the door to her office.
Sakura's head poked through the door nervously. "You called for me, Tsunade-shishou..?"
Tsunade looked up from her paperwork, face considerably brighter. "Ah, Sakura," she said. "Come in, come in." Sakura allowed her form to slip in through the door, closing it behind her. She approached the blond's desk, wondering what the woman summoned her for. She'd been at the hospital, and was quite frankly relieved that she had some sort of break, but she knew the woman wouldn't have interrupted her work unless it was important.
"I am slightly curious," she began, propping her elbows on the desk and leaning forwards into them. Sakura winced; the position her breasts were in had to be uncomfortable. "How is your little experiment coming?"
Sakura looked away. She couldn't say, "Yeah, shishou, he almost died, I'm making absolutely no progress with him, and I have this unshakable physical attraction to him. Is that all you wanted to know?" But what could she say, really? So she settled on just murmuring a "Fine".
"That's all you're going to give me?" Tsunade looked at her flatly. "Details, Sakura. Are you making any physical progress with him?"
"Well, the disease in his lungs is cured," Sakura replied, failing to meet her teacher's gaze. "He's still recovering from the infection, however." She couldn't tell her about his near-death experience. It was too embarrassing. What successful doctor failed to heal their patients simply because the patients were unwilling?
"I see.. Have you looked into his kekkei genkai yet?"
"Not yet." Sakura shook her head. "He's been too weak, so far. I don't want to risk damaging his system while it's still weak."
Tsunade frowned slightly. "Sakura, you're the best medical kunoichi in Konoha. Surely, in the course of a month or so, you've healed a good part of his injuries?"
"He's.. been difficult," was Sakura's only reply.
"So I'm guessing that you haven't had any progress with him on a social level either."
"No.. shishou." Sakura's head bowed in shame. She was on the verge of tears; her own teacher was disappointed in her. That was unacceptable.
"Sakura, I - "
"Sh-shishou, I'll do better!" The kunoichi stood to her feet, jade eyes bright with tears. "Please, don't lose faith in me.. I swear to you that I'll get everything straight!"
Tsunade blinked, genuinely surprised. "Sakura, I didn't say I los - ..." The elder woman let out a small sigh. "Sakura, I didn't say I lost faith in you, or anything of the sort. I just wish you had more results. I understand the situation, Sakura, but.. Right now is.. one of those 'I told you so' moments."
"I know.." Sakura mumbled, using the backs of her hands to wipe her eyes. "And I promise you that will change.. Just give me a little bit of time."
"I want you to start focusing all of your time on him after this whole village ordeal is through," Tsunade said, voice firm. "Understand?"
The roseate nodded fervently. "H-Hai!"
Then, in a more motherly tone, Tsunade added calmly, "I believe in you.. Sakura."
Sakura's face split into a smile. She had faith in her.
That was all she needed.
She could do this.
It was all Sakura could do to not just plop down on her bed and pass out; not that she could anyways. Kimimaro occupied it.
Besides, she was determined to get started on him right away.
The more she thought about it, the worse she felt about the way she referred to him as if he were just some project.
But wasn't that all he was? A project? A medical interest? That seemed to be Sakura's opinion of him, but she couldn't help feeling that that wasn't all; that it wasn't right.
She walked into her bedroom after opening the door and saw the snowy-haired man fast asleep under the covers. He laid on his back, almost rigid-looking. He looked extremely uncomfortable, his brows furrowed together slightly. She approached the bed and gently sat down on the edge of it, looking down at him.
In fairy-tales, and romance novels, and all kinds of books and other media, there was sometimes a scene where an onlooker watches another sleep in some way. The being that's asleep always looks peaceful.
This wasn't the case. Kimimaro looked restless, almost agitated, and even though he laid completely still, Sakura could feel his chakra fluctuating oddly, a sign that he wasn't resting well. She reached a hand out and put it gently on his chest to feel his heart-beat. Her fingers on his skin made his eyes open, and the emerald hues shifted to gaze at her in slight surprise.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," she murmured, moving to withdraw her hand. His fingers caught her wrist, his thumb beginning to rub her palm slowly.
"It's alright."
Though slightly uncomfortable, Sakura let her hand remain within his grasp as she cast her gaze around the room. "Have you slept all day?"
"Yes."
"I see.. Are you that tired?" She asked, her fingers curling over his thumb slightly.
"No," he replied. "When there is nothing.. nothing else to do, you tend to just sleeeeeep... Sleep."
"Kimimaro.."
His eyes flickered over to look at her.
".. Do you think you'd let me heal you a little bit today?"
His gaze hardened slightly. "Please," Sakura looked at him pleadingly.
He made no reply. Sakura decided to go ahead and try anyways. He couldn't hurt her; what was there to lose? She turned her torso to get closer to him, and gently pulled her hand from his. She grabbed the blankets and pulled them down around his waist, and instantly regretted it. His naked torso was too much for her hormones to bear. She fought back the dark blush coloring her cheeks as she looked away.
He watched her curiously. What was her problem? Why was her face so red? However, he decided not to say anything, instead vouching for reaching a hand up and pressing a few fingers to one of her red cheeks. She looked at him in surprise, and he let those fingers stroke the warm skin, his cold fingertips stinging from the extreme temperature difference.
He was surprised when she took his hand and pressed it fully against her cheek, closing her eyes. "My face is hot," she offered in explanation for her actions. He didn't mind.. He liked touch. He hadn't experienced much touch in his life.. at least, not touch that didn't include violence.
Especially not a touch like hers. It was extraordinary, the way his skin tingled. It was so alien.. but it was so nice. Why did such pleasant things have to come from the enemy and not the ally? Where was his ally? Who was his ally anymore?
He felt alone, in a way. But.. this woman.. seemed to be trying to connect with him, in some way. He still suspected that he was purely an experiment to her, and to the god-forsaken village he was currently stuck in, but should he let her get closer? It could give him some false sense of security, and that would be nice.. while it lasted.
His family abandoned him.
He didn't want to be abandoned again..
"What are you going.. going to do with me.. once you're done with all your experiments?" he asked rather bluntly, and the kunoichi froze. He could tell she hadn't expected that.
"Well.." she slowly lowered his hand, a frown crossing her lips. "I'm not throwing you out, and I'm certainly not letting Orochimaru take you... I'm not sure right now what I'll do."
"I see," he replied softly, making sure to keep her fingers with his. His eyes cast downwards to watch their hands. She didn't want to get rid of him.
That was a start, wasn't it..?
But couldn't she be lying?
He looked up at her. "Are you lying to me?"
She blinked, before frowning, looking at him. "No, Kimimaro. I.. would tell you what my dreams about this project - about you - are, but you'd laugh at me."
"I want to know." he replied straight-forwardly, looking up at her with apathetic emerald orbs.
She pursed her lips. He could tell she was nervous. Honestly, was it that bad? That she didn't want to tell him? Did she want to make a mutant out of him or something?
"Well... My hopes were that.. through this healing process, I want.. to get closer to you, to gain your trust. You're valuable, Kimimaro, and.. It's silly, to you, but.. I wanted you to possibly some day become a shinobi of this village."
His eyes widened. Now that was unexpected. A shinobi of the village? Was she crazy? "I see," was his only reply, but his mind was whirling. On one hand, he thought the idea was ludicrous and slightly repulsive. On the other hand.. he thought about how he had no other place to go. If she were to dump him out in the woods outside the village, he'd die, for certain. She was his link to life.. and a little, teeny-tiny part of him wanted to stay with her. She showed him more attention in a month or so than Orochimaru had shown him in years. The attention felt good.
Was he willing to trust her, though..?