Chapter 11 – I Won't Forgive You

Not placing down his book for a second, Hatake Kakashi reached out to the side and picked up his ringing phone, only briefly glancing at it before answering.

"It's going to be raining soon. Does Sakura need picking up?"

On the other sofa, Naruto rolled his eyes and pressed the buttons on his control quickly, making Sasuke growl with annoyance as his character was killed again.

"K-Kakashi…"

The sound of her voice had him dropping his book to the seat beside him and sitting up. She sounded distraught. Traumatised, even. "What happened?"

"They… T-They…"

But she couldn't speak properly. There was just the sound of laboured breathing and terrified, pain-filled sobs. It sounded like she was about to have a panic attack – something Kakashi could identify well, since he lived with a frequent sufferer of the awful things.

And then she let out the most horrible sounding sob, one that sounded more like a scream.

In an instant, he was standing and shoving on his shoes, nodding to the two boys who were immediately shutting off their game and also standing, understanding yet not understanding his sudden seriousness.

"Ino, stay calm," Kakashi told her in a serious tone, following Sasuke and Naruto out of the apartment. "You're not going to get anywhere if you continue sobbing and screaming down the phone. What happened?"

On the other line, Ino continued to sob. "We w-were staying behind to finish up an o-order," she told him, pausing every now and then to try and calm herself. "And then… s-some guys broke in. T-They wanted the money from the till. But… But Sakura… She s-stopped…"

Kakashi skipped taking the elevator, ignoring the confused boys behind him as he took straight to the stairs, taking several at a time. "Stopped what?"

"They had a knife!" she cried into the phone and he felt bile rise in his throat at her words. "T-They… They tried to… to use it against me when I-I wouldn't give them t-the money!"

And Sakura played hero. Like she always would for her friends. Damn it! "How badly is she injured, Ino?" He could hear the two behind him, could hear how they were moving just as quickly as he was, easily picking up on his urgency. "Was she stabbed?"

"What?" Naruto practically screamed.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Her head…" she whimpered. "She hit it against the counter."

"Okay–"

"Her arm," Ino continued, cutting off Kakashi. "W-When she raised it to block the knife."

His stomach twisted. "How deep–"

"Her thigh." She was sobbing again. "There's b-blood everywhere!"

Multiple stab wounds? "Ino, how deep did the knife–"

"Her hand, too," Ino whispered and it sounded like she was moving. "But that's not as… It looks like j-just a cut. Kakashi! What do I do?"

"Is Sakura conscious?" he questioned, nodding once to Sasuke as he threw his car keys to him. The Uchiha's car was much faster than his own. "And are there any other wounds besides the ones you told me about?"

"No. Her right hand might be broken, too." She gave a humourless chuckle. "She gave o-one hell of a fight, Kakashi. You should have… seen her! She s-scared the crap o-out of those guys."

That sounded like Sakura. However right now he didn't feel like smiling. What was once a pleasant evening, the first one he'd had off (on a weekend) in a while, was now anything but. "I'm handing the phone over to Sasuke. Keep pressure on her wounds."

Sasuke accepted the phone when they were inside the car, narrowing his eyes on the road as Kakashi didn't wait for any of them to put on their seat belts before driving off. "Is she breathing?"

Silence for a moment and during that silence, Kakashi felt like the time that went by was an eternity and a half.

It was only when Sasuke shut his eyes and silently breathed out a sigh of relief that they got their answer and in the backseat, Naruto bounced about due to being restless and because of the ride.

"Do as Kakashi said and keep pressure of the wounds," the Uchiha ordered. "Make sure you use clean towels, though."

"Ask her if the attackers are gone."

There was no arguing with Kakashi's order, so Sasuke was quick to add it to his own. "Yeah," he told Kakashi, who nodded once and drove even faster. The Uchiha knew he would be receiving many tickets, but at that moment, he didn't care in the slightest. "They left as soon as Sakura got out of the way and stopped fighting back."

That was strange, Kakashi thought. Usually, attackers wouldn't leave until they got what they wanted. Not always, of course, but most of the time. According to Ino, they wanted the money out of the till, but as soon as Sakura fought back and, in her words, scared the crap out of them, they left. What sort of thieves would be scared of a girl who couldn't even reach the top shelf of a cupboard? Who could be picked up with so little effort that it was almost, almost a cause for concern? It would have been so easy to take her out, especially since she was now unconscious.

All that would have been left was Ino and Kakashi knew for a fact that, other than her loud mouth, she wouldn't have been a problem for them. The girl couldn't even stand to be in the same room as a spider or a moth! In his opinion, Ino was all bark and no bite, unlike Sakura, who could back up her words with a pretty strong defence.

Saying that, though, she knew nothing about fighting. Sakura just let her fists fly and if they landed a blow, then they landed a blow. If not, then the next one had to come down harder. Many times Kakashi had offered to train her in self defence and every single time, Sakura had declined for reasons he didn't know as of yet. But he was going to find out those reasons when she woke up. Not only that, but she was going to accept those self defence lessons. Had she already taken them, then perhaps the outcome could have been different.

Gritting his teeth as he heard Sasuke muttering something to Naruto, Kakashi put his foot down and once more increased his speed, cursing himself for not thinking about taking his cruiser. They could have avoided traffic and speeding tickets with it.

It felt like hours had dragged by before they finally arrived.

Kakashi was the first to enter the shop, not taking notice of the destroyed flowerpots and the dirty floor as he instead immediately knelt down beside Ino, who was pressing bloody tea towels onto Sakura's wounds with shaking hands. He took over quickly and once he had, Naruto pulled Ino away, checking her over for any injuries.

"I'm f-fine," she whispered. "Sakura… She…"

And the tears started again.

"We have to get her to the hospital," muttered Kakashi after feeling for a broken neck. There were no signs and he knew from his training in ANBU that it was safe to move her. Pausing in his orders, he slipped an arm under Sakura's knees and the other around her shoulders, lifting her with ease and holding her close to him. "Sasuke, you drive. Naruto, help Ino into the car."

Naruto frowned and looked around them. "What about this place?"

Right now, the state of the shop and the money in the till was the least of his concerns. "Lock it up."

They followed his orders without hesitation.

Excusing himself, he made his way outside and leaned back against the wall, taking deep gulps of air to try and smother the building panic in his chest. It was difficult. Ever since Kakashi had spoken to Ino on the phone, his hands hadn't stopped shaking. Even now, they were trembling.

Driving to the hospital had been a nightmare. Four times, he'd almost told Naruto to switch places because somehow, somehow, the blond was so much calmer than himself. Somehow, he was able to keep a lid on his fear. How, he had no idea, but Naruto managed it.

And it made Sasuke so fucking angry.

But when Naruto had taken Ino to be checked over, as she hadn't wanted to be alone, Kakashi had muttered to him that Naruto was in shock. It was clear from the look in his eyes, he'd said. And he probably knew that, if he didn't stay calm, if that numb feeling he was experiencing went away, then he would be a mess of emotions. They should be thankful that Naruto was in shock.

Despite his silence, however, Sasuke was struggling to process it all. He just couldn't get the image of Sakura out of his head, or the mess that the shop was in. It was obvious a fight had broken out. Broken plant pots, glass and whatever else had been littering the floor along with soil, flowers and blood.

His stomach twisted harshly at the knowledge that it was Sakura's blood.

And then the sight of Sakura…

Even when he shut his eyes, Sasuke could still see it. No amount of wishful or forceful thinking would rid him of the images. She had been laying on her side, bathing in her own blood and her uniform had been cut up where the knife had slashed at her. There'd been some immediate swelling to her eye, making it obvious one of the guys landed a punch and as well as that, there was an open cut on her forehead, which had been bleeding freely.

He couldn't cope with it. He didn't know how to even begin with dealing with it. Naruto was in shock, Ino was in bits and Kakashi was just… Kakashi. He was distant, aloof. There was no telling what was going on in his head.

With a trembling hand, Sasuke reached into his pocket and pressed on the name of the person who had been troubling him for the past week or so.

It only rang twice.

"Itachi?"

"What is it, Sasuke? Mother has been trying to reach you all night."

He grimaced at just the thought. Already, he'd received several lectures about not telling his parents where he was going. This time, however, Sasuke believed he had a solid reason instead of the usual "it slipped my mind".

"There's something you should know," murmured Sasuke suddenly.

"Where are you?" he questioned in return. "I can barely hear you."

Sighing, Sasuke stepped under the smoking shelter, trying to hide his look of disgust at the sight and smell of it. It wasn't too much quieter, but he was out of the wind. "I'm at the hospital."

"What?"

His brother's voice was flat, serious and he knew to get straight to the point. This was Itachi's 'no nonsense' tone. "It's not me. I was at Naruto and Sakura's place and…"

There was the sound of rustling on the other line, leading Sasuke to believe that Itachi was standing up. "Who is in the hospital, Sasuke?"

"Sakura."

"I will be there shortly."

And then he hung up.

The hospital was chaotic, as it always was.

That was partly the reason as to why Itachi disliked them.

But none of that mattered. What mattered was that something had happened to Sakura, something serious enough to put her in such a place. Foolishly, he hadn't thought to ask Sasuke what happened, or whether or not she would need anything. Thankfully, his brother thought ahead and met him at reception, guiding the way to the room Sakura was staying in and when they arrived, Itachi felt his breath leave him.

"What happened?"

"She was attacked," Sasuke mumbled, looking through the glass at her. "Ino can barely even string a coherent sentence together, let alone give us a good description of the ones who attacked them. They attacked the shop, not her specifically."

She looked like a doll. Laying there, helpless and unconscious…

By her sides sat Naruto and Kakashi. The pair of them were watching her solemnly, their eyes downcast. The blond was sitting right on the edge of his seat, holding Sakura's hand tightly in his own, like he was reminding himself over and over again, with the contact, that she was there. She was safe now.

But was she?

"What did the doctors say?" questioned Itachi, his eyes never leaving Sakura's face for a moment.

"None of the injuries are life threatening," he murmured in reply and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Sakura had to have over twenty stitches in her right thigh, a few more in her arm and has to wear that cast for a few weeks."

"And her head?"

Sasuke sighed. "Apparently head injuries bleed more than others. The doctor said that it looks worse than what it actually is."

"They ran scans."

"Yes."

"Checked the pressure of or on her brain."

"Yes."

"And they–"

"She's going to be okay, Nii–san." His voice was quiet again and when Sasuke looked up at him, he was frowning. "Why are you so worried about her? According to Sakura, you've been ignoring her all week. Kakashi even said earlier today that you stood her up."

Very faintly, his hands shook before they clenched into fists. Too late had Itachi realised what day it was. All week he had been feeling sorry for himself, had been drowning himself in work at the station, doing anything to distract himself. And in all that time, not once had he taken anybody else into consideration.

It was only this afternoon when Itachi switched his phone on to find missed calls and texts from Sakura, asking what their plans were for Saturday. It was only this afternoon that Itachi realised his mistake and what Sakura probably thought of him now. But a single phone call or a text wouldn't make that any better, so Itachi had ruled them out. He needed to apologise to her properly, meaning in person.

He had actually been planning on how to apologise when Sasuke called him.

She was so much trouble, he inwardly huffed with dark amusement. Just one week away, from where he could see her, and she was getting into fights and ending up in the hospital.

No.

It wasn't a fight. It had been an attack.

Sakura had been attacked.

And the thought made him so very angry.

"I'm going to warn you now, Itachi." Sasuke's eyes went back to the three inside of the hospital room. "Kakashi and Naruto aren't happy with you. I'm not, either. I don't know what the hell has been up with you lately, but I'm not letting you screw with Sakura's head like you have been the past week. It's not fair."

His own eyes trailed back to Sakura. "I am not messing with her head."

"Then explain what the hell you've been playing at, then!" the hissed words were filled with anger as dark eyes snapped to his with an even angrier glare. "I watched you both at Mother's party last week – you're sending her mixed messages! You told me you didn't think of her that way, but if that's true then why the hell were you holding her like that? Kissing her forehead? Why–"

The door to Sakura's room opened and a head of silver hair appeared. The expression on his face (or eyes since he was still wearing a mask) was displeased. "Care to keep it down?" he questioned, his eyes narrowing. "Sakura needs to recover. Go and have your domestic elsewhere."

The words were cold, clipped. And Itachi knew instantly that it wasn't only because of the state Sakura was in, but also because of his presence.

"We're–"

Kakashi cut Sasuke off, "I don't care. Move your discussion somewhere else."

This time, it was his own eyes that narrowed. "Please do not speak to my brother in such a way, Kakashi-san. He is just as worried about Sakura as you are."

"You–"

Like he had Sasuke, Itachi cut him off, saying, "Have no right to get involved after how I have treated Sakura this past week. However, I will not stand for any disrespect towards my brother, especially since Sasuke was actually defending Sakura just now. I am the one in the wrong. If anyone is not welcome here, it is me."

It felt like nothing was said for a while, like Kakashi did nothing other than stare at him. Sasuke, too.

Finally, the older man sighed and stepped further out of the room, shutting the door behind himself. "I'm angry with you, Itachi-san."

"I know."

"But Sakura… She's more than just angry. She's hurting. I saw the way her face fell when I told her about your shifts being swapped. I heard her stomping around her room, calling herself every name she could think of, before going into work even though it's her day off."

In other words… If it hadn't been for his selfishness, if he had just switched his phone on and taken note of the day, then Sakura would not be in the hospital. Itachi worked that out the second Sasuke told him it was an attack on the shop.

"What are you saying, Kakashi?" Sasuke demanded, his eyebrows knitting together.

Vaguely, Itachi wondered why his brother was fighting his corner so suddenly.

"What I'm saying is that if you're not serious about whatever it is that's going on between you both, Itachi-san," The dark look that entered his eyes was one that reminded the older Uchiha of their ANBU days together, "stay away from her."

She wasn't sure what was going on, really.

There were brief moments of consciousness, each time different, but then unconsciousness would take her away from reality once more.

The first time she woke up, Kakashi was sat by her side, staring at the far wall. She'd been too tired to even bother opening her eyes properly. The second time, Naruto had joined him and the pair of them looked so stressed. The third time, they were still sitting by her side, but Naruto was holding her hand tightly in both of his and resting his forehead on their hands, like he was trying to find some way of comforting her.

That time, Sakura could have sworn she was still out, because when she looked around the room, her eyes had gone to the window (one that nobody had thought to close the blinds for) and immediately locked onto two sets of dark eyes.

He was there.

But she wasn't sure whether or not she was happy about it.

Sakura didn't have long to think about it, though, because the room began to swirl once more and unconsciousness took her again.

"Yamanaka Ino."

How long had it taken her to calm down? Hours, at least. During that time, Naruto had left her side, but only when her parents arrived at the hospital, frantic and demanding answers. Her father's presence had soothed Ino greatly, more than she ever wanted to admit. It was no secret that she was a daddy's girl.

"Yes, sir." She cleared her throat when nothing but a whisper came out.

At that moment in time, she was sitting on an uncomfortable hospital bed and the nurse who had just been examining her had left the room, allowing two policemen to enter. Other than a few superficial bruises that had yet to fully develop, Ino was fine. But that was only because of her best friend, because of Sakura.

Why had she done that? Just the memory of how hard Sakura had fought to protect not only them, but also the shop, had tears threatening to fill Ino's eyes – and she was certainly not one to be a crybaby! Sakura was the crybaby, not her.

"We would like to question you about what happened."

When she looked up, she was only vaguely surprised to see that the two policemen were Uchiha men. Why only vaguely surprised? Sakura was dear to the Uchiha family. They would be taking not the attack on the shop, but the beating she had taken for the shop, seriously and personally.

"I'm not sure that now is the best time," her mother argued. "Ino is still in shock."

"I'm afraid we must," the oldest Uchiha policeman, the one Ino immediately recognised to be none other than Uchiha Fugaku, muttered. Even though his expression was blank, he looked pissed. It was in his eyes. "Not only because everything is still fresh in her mind, but also because she is the only eyewitness who is conscious."

When raw pain flashed in her mother's eyes, the other officer stepped forward, offering them a softened expression. "We must be detailed, but I promise you now that we will be as quick as we possibly can. I understand that you will want to rest, Ino-san."

She shook her head, swallowing hard. "I need to see Sakura. She… She saved me. I need to thank her."

"That won't be possible as of yet," replied Fugaku sternly. "Sakura is not yet conscious."

Her expression crumbled. "Is it really that bad? Nobody's telling me anything!"

The other officer sighed, but just as he went to speak, Fugaku cut him off. "It is not our place, Shisui. Even we do not know the extent of Sakura's injuries."

Shisui, Ino thought with only a small amount of surprise. He was Sasuke's cousin, the one who was like another brother to Itachi. "But… Sasuke-kun is with them. Can't you just–"

"No."

By her side, her father sighed and patted her shoulder, giving her a small smile. "After you have given your statement, I will see what I can do about seeing Sakura-chan, but only if you promise me that you will rest afterwards."

She had never been able to disobey her father, however… "I don't want to remember," Ino whispered, fresh tears filling her eyes. "Please–"

"Ino-san?" She looked up at Shisui, who was offering her another softened expression. "Your statement is very important to us. It could lead us to tracking down whoever did this. That means bringing the person who harmed Sakura-san to justice. You want that, don't you?"

"Y-Yes, but I–"

"Please," he murmured, his eyebrows knitting together. "I may not know her well, but Sakura-san is very dear to my family and I know my cousins will be hurting by what has happened. I want to do my best to help ease that pain, to bring the attacker to justice so that Sakura-san will feel safe. Please help me to do that."

How could she say no to such a beautiful face? To such a heartfelt plea? Ino's heart warmed at just the sight of Shisui's beautiful features and even thought she knew he was purposely tugging on her heartstrings (she was no fool when it came to things such as that), she didn't care.

The look her father sent his way said that he did care, though.

Ino cut him off just as he was about to say something.

"We were closing up the store and about to finish off an order…"

Fugaku bit back a smirk.

Shisui's charm had yet to fail them.

"Trust me, Forehead." Again, Ino rolled her eyes. "Trust him! I know it's not easy for you to trust anyone, but… I don't know." She shrugged and said quietly, "Sasuke-kun has to look up to him for a reason, right? He can't be that bad."

Nodding, she stood up straight and left the counter after switching off the till, handing Ino the keys. They were much smaller than the keys to the door and easily lost, so the blonde was quick to shove them into her pocket. She then pulled out the door keys, about to turn to lock it.

"I guess, but… Why didn't he tell me? Saturdays… Their our days! Itachi's never ditched me before."

Blue eyes saddened. "I can guess at what you're thinking, Sakura, but it's not the same as–"

Suddenly the door was smashing open, startling both Ino and Sakura as they spun around, their eyes widening at the sight in front of them before everything went black.

"What–"

"The lights!" Ino shrieked and grabbed Sakura's arm, yanking her against her so that they wouldn't be separated. "They switched out the lights!"

"We want the money from the till!"

She shook at the demanding voice, but it was with a mixture or horror, fear and anger.

How dare they break into her mother's store? How dare they demand to take their hard earned money? Money they literally bled for (depending on what kind of flower they were working with and how careless or thoughtless they were being in regards of their own safety)!

They both jumped at the sound of something smashing to the ground to their right and Ino knew that they were throwing pots of plants to the floor. How did she know that without being able to see? Because every damned day, when school kids or careless, clumsy idiots entered the store, at least two or three of them dropped a plant pot.

"Go to hell!" snarled Ino, her fists trembling with rage.

"Ino…" Sakura whispered, trying to move her back. "Don't–"

"Don't what?" she couldn't help but snap. "Fight back? Don't protect what my mom's worked so hard for, for the past fifteen years?"

Like hell. The Yamanaka Flower Store was a family business. It was part of the community. People who came to the shop knew all of the workers by name. They knew them personally and always struck up conversation with them. Her mother worked so damn hard to make it a warm and friendly atmosphere in the store, to make every customer feel like they belonged and were comfortable.

They would not be shaken or robbed by scum – they would not be robbed or shaken by anyone.

As her blue eyes began to adjust to the darkness, Ino could make out their outlines and where or how they were standing. There were two in front of them, both holding themselves in widened stances, blocking the exit. The one to the right of them, the one shattering plant pot after plant pot, was more casual and laid-back, like this was something he did every day.

It made Ino feel sick.

That sickening feeling only grew when one of the men stepped forward, pulling something out of his pocket.

A knife.

By her side, Sakura gasped and the hand on her arm began to shake, a clear sign of her fear. Ino couldn't even blame her. The last thing her best friend needed, when already suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, was more trauma.

"Stay back, Sakura," Ino said seriously, trying to shove her back.

But just as she did, the man lashed the knife out in front of him and Sakura was the one yanking her back, raising her arm and blocking the blow. There was a startled shriek, one that made it obvious she hadn't been expecting the pain and instinctively, Sakura jumped backwards, right into her.

"Sakura!" she yelled, but was once again pushed backwards.

"Don't hurt her," Sakura spat at the man. "If you want the money from the till, you'll have to go through me first."

Shisui frowned ever so slightly, pausing in his writing. "Post traumatic stress disorder?" he repeated her words. "She–"

"It is not public knowledge and is of no importance to the case," Fugaku muttered, still watching Ino with his intense eyes. "Continue."

Ino nodded, trying her best to fight back the bile that was rising in her throat. "That's when the fight broke out, but…" She frowned. "It's fuzzy. It all happened so quickly, you know? It's like it was all over in just a matter of seconds. All I can really tell you is that Sakura was fighting off the guys, keeping them away from the till and… and…" Tears once more filled her eyes. "And… She was getting hurt. I kept… seeing her blood… dripping on the floor and…"

"Take your time," Shisui told her softly.

She nodded again and wiped her eyes, sniffing loudly and thanking her father when he handed her a tissue. "After one of the guys pushed Sakura and she hit her head, they ran away."

Fugaku scowled. "Without taking anything?"

Ino nodded, whispering, "Yes, sir."

"That's odd," commented Shisui before turning to the older woman. "Yamanaka-san, does your store operate CCTV?"

"Yes, it does," she answered. "I don't know whether the store was closed or not, but here are my keys." The look she gave him was piercing and serious, demanding. "Please find the people who hurt Sakura-chan and threatened my daughter."

The next time she woke up, Sakura refused to fall back asleep and instead forced herself to keep her eyes open, looking around the room blearily.

It was still bright, the lights almost blinding her and in the background, she could hear a strange beeping sound, one that was in time with the beating of her heart. Was it a heart monitor? Hesitantly, she turned her head to the side and looked up as far as she could, answering her own question. Yes, it was a heart monitor. That meant she was in the hospital.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto was quick to stand up, but the movements still seemed slow to her as he hovered over her, looking down at her worriedly. "You're awake!" And then he was dashing over to the door, all but ripping it open and telling whoever was outside, "She's awake! Quick, get a doctor or something."

Two others entered her room and when she blinked, it took a little longer to open her eyes, but Sakura managed to do it.

"I-Ino…"

"Is okay."

Easily recognising the voice as Kakashi's, she relaxed. Blinking was becoming easier and it no longer felt as though she was about to fall back asleep. "Good."

Again, Naruto took her hand. "You scared us, Sakura–chan! What the hell were you thinking, attacking robbers like that?"

"You could have been more seriously injured." The other voice belonged to Sasuke, she realised.

Sakura swallowed hard and avoided the question, frowning softly. "Is…" She felt foolish for asking such a question, but she had to know. "I thought… I saw Itachi. Just now."

Sasuke looked up at Kakashi, but the latter never took his eyes off her. "You did."

Really? He'd come to see how she was? But… But why? He'd…

"Haruno-san."

The doctor entered the room swiftly and the next few minutes seemed to fly by. All procedures were carried out without pause, without hesitation, but Sakura couldn't focus on any of it. The longer she was awake, the easier it was to concentrate. And as soon as the doctor was gone, telling her that she would fortunately make a fast and full recovery, Sakura couldn't help but ask, "Is he…?"

Sasuke glanced over his shoulder. "He's gone."

Instead of showing how disappointed it made her feel, she nodded and took a deep breath. "I feel like I was hit by a train."

"You look like you were." Naruto tried to laugh but a second later and his expression was crumbling, no matter how hard he tried to stay strong for her. "Don't do that again. Please."

Her eyes saddened. "Naruto–"

"I have to agree with him," murmured Kakashi. "Seeing you in that state, seeing you now, is not something I enjoy seeing."

Silently, at the bottom of her hospital bed, Sasuke nodded in agreement.

Tears were threatening to fill her eyes. Her family… The three of them, as well as Ino, were her true family. Others such as Hidan and Itachi and whoever else, were just passing by and were bound to disappear sooner or later.

But not her family.

They always had her back and were always there to catch her if she fell.

The sound of her door creaking open had Sakura groaning slightly, wondering if Naruto had actually gone through with his plan to sneak back in and stay the night with her. She hoped not, despite how creepy the hospital was at night, because she'd rather not be yelled at by whoever was on the night shift.

However, when Sakura eventually cracked an eye open to see if it was actually Naruto (since whoever it was, was being much too quiet), she was completely surprised to find a much taller figure standing in the doorway, trying to shut the door as quietly as possible. In his left hand, was a carrier bag.

"Visiting hours are over," she croaked sleepily, unable to think of anything else to say, "you're going to get me in trouble."

Itachi gave her a small smile as he walked over to her and placed the bag in his hands onto the bed, mindful of her injuries. "I thought you could do with some company."

Could do with the company? Sakura would have scoffed had she not been so tired. It wasn't even eight o'clock in the evening yet, but being attacked and losing a good fraction of her blood exhausted her greatly. All she could think about was sleeping until next summer.

Finally fully opening her eyes, Sakura looked pointedly at the remote beside her bed. "Mind sitting me up or passing it to me? I'd reach for it, but I'm not supposed to move my leg too much."

The stitches were quite tight and after laying still for so long, she wasn't supposed to make any sudden movements that could pull at them.

Wordlessly, Itachi reached for the remote and briefly searched for the correct button before pressing it, causing the upper half of the bed to lift itself at his command. When he deemed her to be in a comfortable sitting (slouching, if you asked him) position, he put the remote down beside her.

Silence.

"You stood me up," Sakura whispered after a few moments. "I was sat there for hours waiting for you and–"

When she cut herself off and looked away angrily, Itachi sighed. "Forgive me, Sakura."

"No."

His eyes snapped to hers and he frowned. "No?"

She nodded once. "I'm not and will never be the girl who forgives people who hurt her so easily. All week, I kept brushing it off as you being busy, that you probably didn't see my messages. Yesterday, though… Kakashi told me you swapped shifts with someone. You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

No answer.

"Itachi–"

"Yes, I swapped shifts on purpose."

Again, Sakura nodded once, but refused to look at him. "I'd like you to leave, please."

Fractionally, his eyes widened. "Sakura–"

"Leave."

"No."

"Why?" she demanded with an angry glare. "You didn't want to spend time with me this afternoon, or all week. Why now? Do you feel bad because I'm in this state?" She decided after only a second of attempting to stand that Itachi wasn't worth the pain it would no doubt cause. "Well, don't. It's not your fault. Now that I've rid you of your guilty conscience," Her eyes narrowed angrily, "get out!"

Itachi sighed, but instead of accepting Sakura's anger and following her orders, he sat down in the chair next to her bed, ignoring her disbelieving stare as he did so.

It took him a few seconds to speak, to try and find the right words. "Saying that I got distracted, that I lost myself in work at the station, is a pitiful excuse, but it is the truth, Sakura."

She shook her head, her upper lip curling. "Don't try bullshitting me, Itachi! I–"

"I'm not," replied Itachi quietly and his expression was tired. "The night of the party was rough for me and since then I have been doing everything I possibly can to take my mind away from it all. I genuinely didn't mean to forget about today."

"We all have difficult nights, Itachi," came Sakura's equally quiet reply. "Some nights, Kakashi gets no sleep at all because of how intense my nightmares can be, because I'm screaming the entire building awake. But I still manage to get on with my day as normally as possible. I–"

"There is a difference between us, Sakura," he argued and ever so slightly, Itachi's eyes hardened. "I have seen things you can't even begin to imagine. People have died in front of my eyes, or in my arms. I have watched entire platoons being wiped out. Entire villages being reduced to nothing but rubble and debris."

Her eyes dropped to the bed, unable to stay connected to his. At that moment in time, Itachi looked so much older than he actually was. He may be young, but his eyes were old. They were haunted. The look was unpleasant to her, making it difficult to look him in the eye.

"I'm sorry," she managed to whisper after a minute or so of silence. "I didn't mean…" When Sakura was unable to finish her sentence, she risked a glance at him, thankful that the haunted look was no longer as intense as it had been. "And… That's really what it was?" she asked softly, dangerous hope blooming in her chest. "You didn't just… ditch me because you got bored? Or because you managed to upset Hidan?"

Itachi gave her a small smile. "I could never grow bored of you, Sakura."

No matter how hard she fought against it, a smile pulled at her lips and her heart did a strange thumping sensation in her chest, like it had skipped a beat or two.

But then a nurse entered the room, tensing at the sight of Itachi.

"I'm sorry, but visiting hours are over," she told the pair of them. "Haruno-san, you must rest–"

Standing, Itachi smiled softly at the nurse and it floored Sakura how the nurse immediately reacted to him. Instead of remaining professional like she should have, the red haired nurse began to smile coyly and her grey eyes sparkled with interest. Not only that, but her hands quickly smoothed down her uniform and checked her hair.

"I won't be any trouble," he murmured smoothly. "You see, I have a lot of making up to do and Sakura is a very stubborn girl. It could take hours to try and share my side of things."

Behind him, Sakura gritted her teeth and would have clenched her fists had the right one not been in a cast, especially when the nurse giggled in response. Stupid harlot! She was supposed to be there to support her, not laugh at Itachi's stupid lies. Pathetic! That woman had at least fifteen years on the Uchiha. Did she really think he would be interested in someone who was almost the same age as his mother?

"I don't know if it would be worth it…" the nurse sighed, biting her lip. "I could get into so much trouble for it."

Was she… Was she seriously flirting with him in front of her? Oh, Sakura wanted to scream. The sight had her gut burning with anger. "Maybe you should just go, Itachi." She rolled her eyes and fell back against the bed. "If it's so much trouble for you to keep me company so I don't get lonely."

The nurse's eyes widened with guilt and her act dropped quickly. "O-Oh. Um… I-I suppose…"

Sakura inwardly smirked and she damn near laughed when Itachi looked over his shoulder at her, raising an eyebrow. Well, clearly his little seduction act wasn't working and when the little games didn't work, you were supposed to bring in the big guns. In Sakura's eyes, sympathy and pity worked just as well.

"I mean, I was just attacked," she added, staring down at the bed with a vaguely fearful expression. "And the guys haven't even been caught yet. You already sent my family home because there were too many of them. You could at least allow Itachi to stay."

Apparently, she wasn't catching on because the nurse nodded in understanding. "When put like that, I suppose I could make an exception. Not only that, but you're still only seventeen."

The reminder had Sakura fighting back an eye roll.

After taking a deep breath, the nurse nodded once more, offering them both a smile. "I'll let it go, just this once, but please keep the noise down as there are other patients on this ward."

She nodded in understanding and by her side, Itachi once more sat down.

"Can… Can you keep the light on?" Sakura asked the nurse quietly when she reached for it on her way out, keeping her eyes away from Itachi's. "Please?"

Hearing the small panic in her voice had the woman nodding softly. "Of course, Haruno-san. Try to rest now, okay?"

Sakura nodded, still not looking at the Uchiha sitting beside her bed.

After a few moments he spoke up. "It's okay to be afraid of something."

Her lower lip trembled for a second, but she forced herself to remain calm. "No it's not. If somebody knows you're scared of something, then they'll use it against you. They'll always use it against you."

Another pause. "Not everyone is like them, Sakura," Itachi told her quietly, bringing his chair closer to her bed as quietly as possible. When he was settled he reached out for the hand laying motionlessly on the bed, holding it gently. "Since you have been here, many people have come to check on you. Your friends… You know they would never use anything against you. Not Kakashi-san, not Naruto-kun, not Sasuke, not Yamanaka-san… and neither would I."

"What are you scared of?" Sakura asked softly as she stared down at their joined hands, secretly enjoying how large his seemed in comparison to hers. His hand was so warm and for the first time in a while, she truly felt safe.

It was unnerving.

"The unknown," he replied without hesitation. "Being unable to help my family, should anything happen to them."

Looking around the room to distract herself from the look in his eyes, Sakura frowned. There was no explaining that expression in his eyes, but it was just as bad as the haunted look, if not worse. Uchiha Itachi, after all, was not helpless. Not from what she'd heard about him.

Her room was basic and rather boring, so it wasn't long before she was turning back to Itachi. Beside her bed was a bedside cabinet and on either side of her bed were chairs. Itachi was currently sitting in the left one, still holding her somewhat uninjured hand. Then, across from her, next to the door, sat a dresser, one that was still empty as nobody had had the time to bring her any clean clothes.

On top of the dresser was a single blanket, most likely for her in case she got cold, since visiting hours ended an hour ago.

"Do you know… Do you know how long I have to stay here?"

Itachi glanced up at her and sighed. "Not much has been shared with me, as I am not immediate family."

She frowned. "Surely Kakashi said–"

"He is unhappy with me and won't share anything."

Oh. Sakura raised an eyebrow but soon looked away again. "He's right to be unhappy with you."

"I know."

Exhaustion was washing over her again, but she refused to allow it to take her off to unconsciousness. "Is that why you didn't stay?"

Apparently, Itachi already knew what she was talking about, because he nodded once. "That and you were with your family. I didn't want to interrupt."

Her family… Sakura liked that others thought of them that way, too. "You just didn't want to face me," she teased, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Perhaps." He gave her a small smirk. Then, the smirk disappeared and he looked her up and down, making a faint blush sweep over her cheeks. "Going off your injuries, I would say you could be here for a week or two."

That long? Her expression fell. "I'm going to miss the fireworks."

She and Ino went to watch them together every year. New Year was just around the corner, a mere few days away… There were always fireworks to celebrate the new year, along with a festival. Missing Christmas… wasn't as bad, in her eyes. Knowing Kakashi and Naruto, they'd come to the hospital and spend the day with her, refusing to leave her side. But the fireworks?

Sakura looked forward to them all year.

It was childish, sure, but no other fireworks compared to the ones they lit on New Year. Those ones were gigantic, seeming to light the entire sky! They had so many different shapes and colours and it broke her heart that she wouldn't see them.

Surprisingly, Itachi brought her out of her sulking just by giving the back of her knuckles a gentle stroke with his thumb, only to pause at the roughness of her skin. It vaguely amused Sakura when he tsked at her under his breath, shaking his head.

"I am surprised that Kakashi-san has never taught you how to fight properly."

She blushed. "I can fight."

All he did was raise her bloody and bruising fist, looking displeased.

"Well, I was scared! Sorry I can't remain all stoic and badass when I–"

"Is that how you broke your other hand?" Itachi stood up and reached across her, carefully picking up the hand in the green cast. "Throwing punches?"

Her blush deepened. "…I missed his head and caught it on the counter."

He sighed and sat back down, taking the hand that was not in a cast and closing it. "Is this how you make a fist?" When she refused to answer, Itachi settled her with an unimpressed look. "That is why you broke your hand, Sakura. I'm surprised this one isn't broken, also."

In response to his chiding, Sakura couldn't help but scowl. Who the hell died and made him master of the fist? The way she fought was fine, since she never went looking for fights. If she had to defend herself, then Sakura knew she could do so fairly well. There were three of those guys! The outcome could have been so, so much worse.

"Look at our hands, Sakura."

Reluctantly, she did so, though rolled her eyes once she realised he was giving her a lesson.

"It's important to keep your wrist straight. It helps you to transmit the maximum amount of force on impact." Then, Itachi looked up at her, giving her a vaguely unimpressed expression because of her displeasure. "Only two knuckles are used to strike, whereas you have been using your entire hand. Only the index and middle finger knuckles are used to strike."

"Itachi–"

"Yes?"

"I don't want to fight," she murmured quietly. "That's why I've never accepted any of Kakashi's offers to teach me how to fight. I don't like the thought of hurting someone."

He frowned softly, still not letting go of her hand. "Even if they are hurting you or the ones you care for?"

Sakura looked down at her legs, which were covered by a thin blanket. Wasn't it already obvious that she would fight if there was no other option? She simply… wished that there were ways to avoid fighting. Bringing pain on others, or having them bringing pain to her, was something that made her incredibly uneasy. It made her gut twist and her heart sink and her head spin all at once.

Something about her expression must have made him stop, because Itachi didn't push the subject further and instead shifted his hand so that he was once more holding hers, smiling up at her softly.

"No fighting," he agreed.

Feeling grateful, she returned his smile.

He tilted his head to the side, pausing and listening to the following crack before continuing to do the same with the other side of his neck.

In front of him, three men stood tall, trying not to be intimidated. It was difficult. Their boss was known to be unpredictable and since they'd gone against his orders…

One of them opened their mouths, only to be silenced when a dark look was settled on him.

Many minutes went by.

If they waited too long, then they feared they wouldn't be leaving. They couldn't allow his anger to build too greatly.

"Boss–"

"You were only supposed to scare her!" the man suddenly yelled, visibly trembling with his murderous rage. It was like there was a switch inside of his head! "You weren't supposed to touch her, yet you put her in the fucking hospital!"

The men before him didn't know what to be scared of more: the fact that their boss was looking close to losing it (and not in the way he usually did), or the fact that in his hands was a large knife that seemed to grow in size with every passing second. It wasn't like their boss was doing anything with it or threatening them with it – it had been in his hands when they first entered to report to him. They knew their boss enjoyed toying with weapons.

And suddenly that knife was being thrown with such strength and speed that it had them jumping in their places, ducking to avoid being hit and the sound of the knife slamming into the wall seemed to echo.

"It won't come back to you–"

"Even if it does," He was much calmer as he turned to the side, glancing down at his men with hate filled, purple eyes that were so menacing and filled with such anger that it terrified them, making them immobile, "you won't be here to fix the fucking problem you created."

And that was when the torture began.

A/N - I am never drinking again.

Okay, so long story short: it was payday on Monday and everyone from work decided to go out and get to know each other better. I wasn't really expecting to drink much, if at all, since I lost my ID and look about fifteen, but the others had other ideas. Anyway, for the first few hours, there were only four of us altogether because two others were working and the rest couldn't be bothered coming out. Two of the others who were out were female, the other was male.

So the two women (one being my manager, might I add) kept handing me drink after drink and shot after shot, even when I told them I was going to be sick if I drank too much (complete lightweight who's dead for two days after a couple of drinks). Whenever I stopped drinking, they'd be all like "Come on, Helen, stop being boring. Drink up! Keep up!"

Only three hours later and the guy is holding my hair back while I throw up outside of the club. Completely embarrassing, especially considering how hot he is and the fact we've been 'talking' for a couple of weeks or so now, if you catch my drift. Anyway, after throwing up all over myself, my bag and him, he took me home, stopping every now and then when I needed to throw up again. And then he kept cuddling me and kissing the top of my head and telling me it was okay...

BUT I caught a glimpse of his phone when he was glancing at it and saw that he had messages from other girls on there, ones he was quick to hide by deleting them off the front screen/notification part of his phone and putting it back in his pocket. He told me that he likes me, but why does it seem like he's talking to other girls at the same time?

UGH!

Am I being paranoid or what?

Not only that, but I think I've pulled my stomach muscles by throwing up so much. I can't even cough or sneeze or laugh without it hurting.

Okay, that's my rant over and done with, I think. I literally have no one to talk to about that sort of thing, because I always come off as paranoid and I know I sound annoying to them all -.-

Any advice, anyone? Both on the guy thing and the sore stomach thing...