Chapter 7: In the Hospital

Sasuke woke up in a sparsely furnished, white walled room. He sat up quickly as a nurse walked into the room. He guessed he was in the Leaf Village hospital. He relaxed a little now that he knew where he was.

"I hope Sakura is okay," he said quietly.

"That girl? I heard she saved your life and that she's fine. She must really like you," the nurse replies to Sasuke's unspoken question.

"She's fine," he said with relief and relaxed completely.

"Yes but you're not. It's time to look at your head," the nurse said, "You were hit pretty hard."

Sasuke noticed the bandages on his head for the first time. The nurse unwound the bandages and looked at the wound.

"Your skull was close to being crushed. That ninja must have been pretty strong," the nurse observed.

"Yeah, it was Kabuto is stronger than I thought. It's going to a miracle for anyone to kill him," Sasuke said as the nurse replaced the bandages.

The nurse left when she was finished. Food was sent up a little later. He just sat there thinking about Sakura for most of the afternoon. He realized that all he stuff he had on him was probably somewhere in the room. He looked through the drawers in the nightstand and he found what he was looking for. He took out the scroll of poems and read it over and over. The nurse came back in just before bed. She looked like she had been crying.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked.

"Something bad has happened out there on the battlefield. The Third Hokage sacrificed himself to kill Orochimaru and to save the village," she replied.

"What?" he asked shocked.

"Yeah, he's gone," she said, "I heard the sound ninja are still thirsty for Leaf ninja blood."

"Oh, great. The Hokage's dead and Sakura's still out there. This war can't be any better than when it started," he said.

"Yes, it's pretty bad out there," she agreed.

"Is there any way I can get out of here are soon?" Sasuke asked anxiously.

"In your present condition, you won't be up and about for two weeks," the nurse replied.

"What? I have to get out there now. Sakura could get into trouble. I have to go!" he exclaimed as he sat on the edge of his bed.

He stood up but when he tried to walk, he couldn't. He got back up and tried again. He tried and tried but he didn't get any farther. He finally admitted defeat and got back into bed. By that time, the nurse left.

"It's no use. I can't get back out there. I can't have her taken out of battle. They need her out there," he whispered to himself.

The next day the nurse had news for Sasuke about the battle.

"Kabuto was killed last night. I heard it was Kakashi's fiancé," she said.

"Ayame?" he asked in surprise, "Ayame killed him?"

"That's what I heard," she said pulling Sasuke's bandages off.

'Orochimaru then Kabuto. I bet most of the other ninja will fall because there's no one strong enough to lead them' Sasuke thought. He felt better about Sakura battling now. The next week went past uneventfully. On the seventh day, the nurse came in and said he had a visitor. The door opened and Sakura came in.

"I'll leave you two alone," the nurse said leaving the room.

Sasuke got up and walked over to her. He embraced her and tears started streaming down his face.

"I've missed you so much. I worried so much about you because the last time I saw you fight you weren't the best. Thank you for saving my life," he said.

"Are you crying?" she asked.

He quickly tried to wipe his face and said, "No."

Naruto walked in and said, "Wow! Sasuke's crying!"

"Get out of here! I'm not crying! I'll talk to you later," Sasuke ordered.

"Okay, Cry-baby," Naruto said leaving.

"Why does he have to spoil things like this? It was a nice, romantic moment and he has to spoil it," Sasuke said.

"Don't worry. He just wanted to see his friend. I'm sure he didn't want to spoil our moment. I don't know whether he knew I was n here or not," Sakura replied.

"Oh, I guess you're right," he said feeling stupid.

"Don't worry about it," she said and then she kissed him.

When they finished, Sasuke said, "I missed that."

"I bet you did. I just missed being in your arms," she replied putting her head on his chest.

They were silent for a while and then Sasuke started to recite one of Sakura's poems:

"You left me,

Standing in the village of our childhood,

Crying because of your betrayal.

I tried to bring you back to earth,

But my words were not enough,

And I don't have the strength to battle you.

I tried to stop you with words,

And you knock me out,

But later you apologize and explain.

You came back for a short time,

Oh, it was short!

It was only a short time in the night.

We embraced,

We kissed,

We passed loving words between loving ears.

Even though I see you on your visit,

Once a week,

I still miss you."

"You memorized one?" Sakura asked.

"Well, I've been here for over a week and I kept reading them over and over again.

They eventually find a way into your memory and stick," he replied.

"You should probably talk to Naruto," she said letting him go.

"Yeah, um, I guess I'll see you soon. You're probably tired from the battle," Sasuke said going to a chair.

"See you soon, Sasuke," Sakura said leaving.

Naruto came in soon after. He went over to the bed and sat down.

"So, did I see the 'Great Sasuke' cry before?" he joked.

"Shut it, Loser. Everything changes when you have a girlfriend like that," Sasuke said.

"I bet you love it. It must be nice. I don't have one yet," Naruto said with a faraway look.

"It's nice. Why did you come? I thought we weren't friends," Sasuke asked, "I bet you didn't care when I went to Orochimaru's fortress."

"Kakashi-sensei sent me. He can't get here on his own right now. He wants you to be one of his best men for his wedding," Naruto replied.

"Really? I guess it was giving the information to him first. If I told someone else it might be different," Sasuke mused, "I have to stay here for a couple more days. Could you tell him I said yes?"

"Just call me Messenger Boy," Naruto said jokingly, "I should start charging."

"Just do it. I have to stay here and from what you say, Kakashi can't get around too well," Sasuke instructed.

"Whatever," Naruto said as he left.

"Thanks!" Sasuke called after him.