Sasuke woke up to the hurried voices around him. The pounding in his head intensified as the voices became clear, drawing him away from the darkness. He moved to sit up, but a gentle hand pushed him back down.
"Sasuke-kun, please don't move. I need to finish bandaging your wounds."
He blinked, his vision was still too blurry, and held the hand that was on his bloody neck, "Sakura?"
"Shh…. don't speak."
He felt a calming heat enter his body, slowly healing the many wounds he obtained during the battle. Sasuke opened his eyes wearily once the heat left his insides, and was greeted with Hinata's troubled stare.
"Are you in any pain?" She asked quietly, her eyes dull and masked with years of her profession. He noticed her hands were quivering.
He shot up, wincing when the wound on his neck stung painfully. "Where's Sakura!" He demanded as his heart beat frantically against the confinements of his chest. Startled, Hinata could only stare at Sasuke as he yelled for Sakura urgently.
He dashed madly, only to be held back by two other jounin before he could even make it to the door of the crumbling building.
"Sasuke, you don't need to go in. It's—"
He elbowed the jounin, only realizing later it was Kakashi who was trying to hold him back, his sensei's yells still echoing in the hallow hallway. Sasuke stopped suddenly before the ajar door, a pink little sign of flowers and clouds hung mockingly against the rusty door. The scent of blood invaded his sense, overwhelming him as he tried to stop the tremble in his hands as he opened the door.
There was a shadow at the end of the room and he walked closer to inspect the unmoving form, the stench of blood becoming more unbearable to handle. Sasuke stopped suddenly, his eyes widening in fear as he realized it was Sakura. He ran up and grabbed her by the arms, flinching as the freezing skin met his sweaty hands.
"Sakura?"
The smile on her face did not change nor did the look of death in her dull green eyes. He shook her a bit harder; almost screaming when he finally noticed silver wires wrapped around her neck as blood trailed down and stained her summer dress. He clawed at them, trying to rip them off as his skin cut and bled from the sharp thin wires.
Wiping the blood desperately off her skin, he screamed, "Sakura! Sakura, answer me!"
He cried when the whole in her chest widened and bled on his hand, her heart falling onto her awaiting hands on her lap. He backed away, shaking as he whispered her name over and over.
