Disclaimer: Nope...

A/n: Please read the author's notes at the end because I might say something interesting there. I would like to apologize for the LONG delay in the update of this fic. I know some of you might hate me, but we had no internet connection for more than a year so I couldn't update. I'm not much of an internet cafe person so I guess that explains it. I'll try my best to update regurlarly, so please don't hate me!

A Place We Call Home

Chapter Seven: The Aftermath

Sasuke woke up with a stinging pain throughout his whole body. He slowly opened his eyes and squinted a bit to let his eyes get accustomed to the bright lighting in the place. He felt lightheaded and wanted to sleep once more when he heard a familiar voice ring in his ears.

"Hey. You're awake."

Sasuke painfully turned his head to the right and saw Neji grinning mocking at him. Oh, how he wanted to punch the living daylights out of him, but unfortunately, he could not move even a bit. Maybe he'll save that punch for later. "Where am I?" he asked instead.

Neji sat himself on the chair beside Sasuke's bed and looked at the patient. "At the hospital, of course. And what the hell happened at the race? You let that idiot win against you." Neji fired at Sasuke who furrowed his brows. "Luckily you were able to avoid serious injury." He continued while pointing at the Uchiha's neck.

Sasuke lifted his hand to his neck and felt something around it. "What's this thing?" he asked the pallid-eyed male.

Neji looked amused. "A neck brace. You broke your neck during your fall. Good thing the bone fragments didn't enter your spinal column or you might've been paralyzed. The doctor said all you need now is a few months of rest and you'll be back to normal." Sasuke gulped. He stayed silent for a while but the moment he digested what Neji said he began to lose his control.

"What do you mean a few months! I need to get back to the racetrack as soon as possible! I need to pay my fucking debts, you understand! I don't need to be hospitalized for months! I don't even have a single fucking yen to pay this hospital! I-" Sasuke halted when a middle-aged woman wearing a white coat entered the room. She has blond hair that reminded him sickly of Ino. "Who the heck are you?" he asked the stranger.

"I'm Tsunade. I'm the doctor in charge of you, Mr. Uchiha." The woman explained, pointing at the metal nametag pinned to her coat's chest. "You don't need to worry about your bill. A man named Kazuhiko said he would pay for all of your expenses while you are recovering." She explained. Sasuke lowered his head when he heard that Kazuhiko was doing him such a big favor, but he frowned deeply when he realized that he's being indebted to him even more. "Well, I just came here to give you your medicine. Remember to have a meal before you take one of those." She explained. "Well, I'm going. I got other patients waiting for me." And she exited the room.

Silence that prevailed in the room was broken with the creaking of the door. Both men turned their heads toward it and saw Sakura, holding a bag of groceries. She was rooted to the spot when she saw the two of them stare at her like she was an unknown being. Feeling stupid, she broke the silence. "What?" she asked. At that, the two snapped off the reverie and both shook their heads as though they were brats being told off by their mother. Sakura grinned as she headed towards Sasuke's bedside table and placed her groceries on top of it. She then turned to Neji and began to speak. "Thank you for keeping an eye on Sasuke-kun while I'm away, Neji-san."

Neji nodded his head and stood up. "I'm not staying for long now. Hiashi-sama wanted me to do an errand for him." He said and quietly left. After that, Sakura sat on Neji's now empty seat and began to put the fruits she bought at the tray. She was interrupted when Sasuke called her name.

"Sakura." He said.

Sakura looked up from her tray. "What is it?" she asked the lad and waited for an answer. Sasuke opened his mouth to speak but closed them again, hesitating.

"Uh, nothing." He answered and turned his attention to the widow on the other side of his bed. Sakura continued to arrange the fruits.

But after a few minutes of deafening silence, Sasuke spoke up. "Why are you still here?" he asked, not facing Sakura.

Sakura was taken aback at his question. "Well, I volunteered to keep an eye on you since Kazuhiko-san needs to open the shop today and Neji-san needed to go somewhere else." She answered. Slowly, Sasuke nodded, troubled by his neck brace. It is the first time he lost in a race and it felt as though his racing career is over. He wanted and needed to get back on track immediately. He doesn't want to be a burden to Kazuhiko and he hated it when he felt helpless, like he is right now. He sighed as random questions flashed through his head. How will he pay Kazuhiko back? How will he show up in school tomorrow with this stupid neck brace on? Then, he suddenly remembered something.

"Sakura." He said making Sakura lift her head to look at him. He had forgotten about her already. What fascinates him is why she even bothers to guard him when he doesn't even deserve it. "Aren't you going home?" he asked making Sakura jump in her seat, remembering something.

Sakura scratched her head meekly. "I forgot all about it. I'm sorry to leave you now, Sasuke-kun, but you just reminded me that I must go home now. My parents might return any moment now." Sasuke nodded, allowing her to go. "I'm really sorry Sasuke-kun, but I really have to go." She continued. "Hmm… I think I'll just leave a note to Kazuhiko-san. Are you sure you'll be alright all by yourself?" she asked, annoying Sasuke. He did not like being treated like a helpless kid.

"I'm alright, just go." He responded quite forcefully. Sakura backed up a bit both in surprise and fear. She took a piece of paper and a pen and scribbled a short note to Kazuhiko then slowly approached the door.

Taking one last look at Sasuke, Sakura said: "See you tomorrow at school Sasuke-kun." Then, she left. Sasuke sighed once again as he thought of a possible excuse why he has a neck brace.

Sakura exited the room then leaned on the door. 'Why does it seems that he hates me so much?' she mused. She stood up straight and began to head out the hospital. 'Did I say something wrong? But I don't think I did.' She was now at the streets, waiting for a bus that would take her home. She was so lost in her own thoughts she didn't notice that a speeding motorcycle was heading her way. Good thing she managed to avoid it the last second. The motorcyclist quickly took of his helmet making his silky black tresses fall back. It was Hyuuga Neji.

"Hey, are you alright?" the pallid-eyed male asked her. She just nodded briskly saying that it was her fault she was almost hit. The Hyuuga cocked his head and sat at his motorcycle seat and asked her. "What are you doing here? Going home?"

"Yeah. Sasuke reminded me of it." she explained. Neji snorted at her words leaving Sakura puzzled. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"Let me guess." Neji started. "He snapped at you, didn't he?" he asked. Sakura nodded, remembering how he answered. Neji however wore an amused smirk on his lips.

"Say, is he always like that?" Sakura asked Neji out of pure curiosity.

Neji crossed his arms and spoke. "He doesn't like someone to be worried because of him. He's not the type to make friends, so if I were you, I'd just stay away from him." He told Sakura leaving her more confused than ever.

"But you're his friend." Sakura replied indignantly. Neji was somehow surprised at how Sakura really behaves. He did not know this goody-goody was really a strong-willed, stubborn girl. She keeps amusing him to no end. "Well?" Sakura said, impatiently tapping her foot, waiting for the Hyuuga's answer.

"Yes, I am." He said. "But your case is entirely different. We just became friends because we race and that's it. Don't go pushing yourself to be his friend." He remarked as Sakura sighed in defeat.

"Well, I guess I'll just go home. Thanks for the trivia, Neji-san." She said and boarded the bus that luckily, stopped by. Neji stared at her wide-eyed as if she suddenly sprouted tails and fins. 'Interesting.' Neji thought. 'Very interesting.' And he once again rode in his motorcycle and zoomed off.

Sakura stared outside the window and stared at the stores she was passing by. Neji's words resounded in her head.

"He doesn't like someone to be worried because of him. He's not the type to make friends, so if I were you, I'd just stay away from him."

Sakura sighed in defeat as she slumped on her seat. 'I guess I'll take his advice. I'd just steer clear from him, if that's what makes Sasuke happy.' She thought.

A/n: Hi guys! I'm here to apologize once again for the late update. I wanted to update this sooner but we still don't have a phone here in our new house. Yep, we moved out so I hope you understand. I got to spend a few weeks carrying luggage around so I couldn't update! Anyway, I hope you like this chap and the next one. Don't you think Neji's nasty, telling Sakura to stay away from our dear Sasuke-kun? This fic has the largest number of reviews among all my other fanfics! I'm so happy that you really like this one! I'll try my best to make it better for you guys! I love you!

Dun dun dun! Responses!