The Doctors left the room to fill out the papers needed for immediate surgery. Sasuke retrieved his shuriken from the wall and slid it in his pack.
Mrs. Kaigara took a pair of scissors from the cart that had been wheeled in and began to cut away at Sakura's hair. It fell the floor like drops of pink rain.
Naruto walked toward Sasuke, who was staring blankly at the falling hair.
Naruto put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "It'll grow back."
"I don't care about that!" he snapped back, but it wasn't in an angry way. "I… I'm not in love with her hair."
Naruto watched as Sasuke's face turned a slight shade of pink.
Sasuke felt a wave of relief crash over him. He had never had the courage to say how he really felt about Sakura, that he loved her. It felt good to admit the truth, even if he didn't actually say it.
Now Sakura sported a kind of boyish style of hair. It was cut unevenly and as close as the scissors could manage. Another nurse soon came in with an electric razor and some other supplies the boys couldn't see.
The razor hummed as the nurse touched the button.
Naruto and Sasuke turned their heads away as the blade buzzed away the remaining hair. It was hard to stand helpless as a friend was in trouble, but they had no choice.
Sakura was the one with medical training.
They listened quietly to the soft purr of the razor. Neither had anything to say. Both were lost in their own world of thought, both very scared.
"Call for the gurney. She's ready." Mrs. Kaigara said to the other nurse. She nodded and the two left.
The boys turned back. Sakura lay there in the bed completely bald. Her body was motionless and her face was set in a state of frustrated bliss.
They crossed to her. There were still a few strands of hair on her pillow. Sasuke gently and slowly lifted her smooth head and picked up the pillow. He handed it to Naruto.
"Brush that off." He stroked her cheek with his finger. "She deserves better. The least we can give her is a clean pillow to rest on."
Naruto nodded and began cleaning off the pillow.
Sasuke cradled her head in his hand. Somehow, she just looked so…
Beautiful.
He suddenly wanted to tell her the truth. He wanted her to know everything that he had been hiding for years.
And he knew what he would say too. He would tell her how he remembered every time she had smiled at him and every time she had touched his hand. He'd say how he's dream about her and wish that he'd be able to someday tell her how he felt.
He'd also tell her how sorry he was for rejecting her love all along. The truth was that he was scared. He was scared that if he had shown any kind of feelings for her that she would be targeted. That if Itachi were to come back for him, he would hurt her, take her away from him.
But… that wasn't the whole truth either.
He was afraid, more than anything else, that he wasn't good enough for her. He thought that if they were together, she wouldn't be happy with him. He couldn't bear the thought of breaking her heart like that.
He had decided long time ago that it was better to break his own instead.
And so he had. Every kindness Sakura had ever shown to him was returned with cruelty. Every glare, every denial, every last thing he had done to push her away, broke his heart more and more.
But, even with the constant pain of living without her, he could go home and smile knowing that'd she'd be safe from him.
Sasuke had realized a long time ago that he was dangerous. Everything he loved was always taken from him and, in his eyes, it was always his fault.
That's why Sasuke had always seen himself as a monster.
He was filled with an inner darkness that caused anything that was dear to him to suffer. He hated himself for that.
Now here he was, looking down at the only girl he had ever truly loved as she suffered before his eyes. And the hardest part of it was that he was powerless to help her. He had failed again.
Naruto fluffed the now clean pillow and slid it under Sakura's head. As soon as he did, he noticed two little drops of water fall onto the pillow.
Naruto looked up at the ceiling for the leak, but he turned his attention to Sasuke when he heard him hiccup.
Sasuke lowered Sakura's head back onto the pillow. Naruto watched as he lifted his arm to his face and wiped away the tears in his eyes.
The nurses came back in followed by two orderlies rolling a gurney. Naruto gently pulled Sasuke back and out of the way.
Mrs. Kaigara turned her attention to the two. "I'm sorry boys, but you'll have to wait here. We'll take good care of her."
Naruto gripped Sasuke's arm a little tighter as the orderlies carefully moved her on to the gurney. The covered her body with a blanket and hooked up another kind of mask to her face.
"Wait a second…" Sasuke said calmly. He walked toward Sakura, looked down at her, and placed a small, hesitant kiss on her forehead. He felt like he was going to cry again.
"What's going to happen to her?" Sasuke asked as calmly as he could as Naruto pulled him back again.
The nurse turned to him. "If all goes well, she will make a full recovery."
"And if not?" Naruto asked solemnly.
The nurse hesitated. "Then… I'm sorry… but she may die."
Author's Note:
Hey! Awww! Sasuke! I kind of started to get really emotionally involved in this chapter so if it seems a little off course from the normal writing, it's cause I just kind of rolled with it. I'll get back on track in the next one. Wow! So many people were waiting for this update. I hope it meets expectations. I have the next chapter half written, so it shouldn't be too long before I get it up. I hope you'll keep reading. The next chapter is going to be intense so keep an eye out for it! Hope you're enjoying the story. Please review!
~Kanagawa
