Ino Yamanaka was warm and cuddled up with the love of her life on their soft baby blue couch, in the living room of their small apartment just outside the campus of Konoha University.
She sighed contentedly as she leaned into his chest and focused her attention back on the movie that was playing across their television screen. For the two of them, life couldn't be more perfect.
Naruto had his hand placed protectively across Ino's belly; even though she wasn't far enough along in her pregnancy to show, he still couldn't seem to keep his hands off of it.
There was a baby in there after all, and it was his no less. The thought brought a smile of pride across the face of the overly eccentric blonde male, and he felt Ino snuggle even closer to his chest.
Though he himself wasn't paying much attention to the movie that Ino had decided they should watch, he still felt like they were currently the picture of perfection. Two people who couldn't possibly be more in love, cuddled up with one another while the wind blew furiously outside of their cozy little home, and on top of it all they were having a baby.
He grinned as he thought of all the things they would do together as a family- but was quickly brought out of his fantasy when Ino's cell phone began to ring madly with Sakura's emergency ringtone.
The two blondes quickly shot up from their comfortable positions on the couch and ran toward the bedroom to find Ino's cell phone sitting on the nightstand and ringing like mad.
Sakura hadn't called Ino for an emergency in over a year, and multitudes of terrible situations that her best friend could be in where racing through the now frantic girls mind as she swiped the phone up and held it to her ear.
"Hello?" She asked her voice thick with worry and a thousand un-asked questions. There was a momentary pause before Ino said anything else, and Naruto- his impatience having got the better of him- quickly snatched the phone from her grasp.
"Kiba?" He said once he heard the voice on the other line, his face now a mask of both confusion and fear, because if Kiba was using Sakura's phone for an emergency call, then what kind of condition could she possibly be in?
"Hold on!" He said after a minute, not caring what it was his friend was saying because he really only needed to know one thing, "Is Sakura okay?"
Ino noticed how after a moment the worry in Naruto's expression faded leaving only confusion in its place, and she herself was able to breathe a sigh of relief- because clearly if Naruto was able to relax it meant that Sakura was alright. Didn't it?
But a moment later Naruto was nearly brought to his knees by something that the male on the other side of the phone had said, and Ino found herself holding her breath and at the sight of the unshed tears in his bright blue eyes.
"We'll be right there…" He whispered, and the pain was so evident in his voice that Ino knew something terrible had happened to their best friend, and she felt the tears running down her cheeks as Naruto pelted the phone into the wall and rocketed up to his feet.
He took one look at Ino and shook his head before grabbing her by the hand and catapulting them through the apartment and out the door. Ino could barely breathe as she buckled herself into their car and watched the scenery of Konoha fly by them at blinding speeds.
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Sakura didn't have any time to think, she was thrust into the current moment without even a shred of warning- and Tsunadae was afraid that she would break under the pressure.
Sakura had been in the operating room with her and Shizune several times before, but never on a case that was this severe- and from where the green eyed doctor was standing it looked like her intern wasn't going to be able to handle it.
The suddenly things did a three sixty and Sakura kicked into a gear that Tsunadae hadn't even seen some of her colleagues achieve.
The entered the operating room and immediately hooked the young man up to anesthesia, not only that but they needed to hook him up to oxygen as well and Sakura did it all without a seconds hesitation.
The young girl's eyes had lost the glassy look of fear that had coated them earlier and taken on a hardened edge that made the determination she felt quite clear.
Halfway through the operation Tsunadae realized that Sakura was talking to the patient quietly, whenever the older woman would shoo her away because she didn't need her help. She would walk over to the man's head and lightly run her fingers through his raven locks.
'It's going to be okay. I'm not going to let anything happen to you.'
-And that's when it hit her that Sakura must have known this man. It explained her freezing up, the tears the way she seemed only moments away from completely caving in and breaking down.
Tsunadae almost lost her focus when she thought of just how hard this must be for the young girl she had come to love, and that thought stemmed another revelation. Not only did her rose haired intern know this man-
'I'm going to save you Sasuke.'
-She loved him.
She shook the thoughts to the back of her mind as she worked on stitching up one of the deeper wounds on the side of his torso.
The man was beyond lucky that they had gotten to him time, it was apparent that he would have bled out had he not been rushed in when he was. Not to mention the fact that they had to drain one of his lungs- he wouldn't have stood a chance.
Sakura was the one who inserted the long needle in between the rib cage and into the lung in order to drain it of the excess fluid, and she did everything perfectly. It didn't matter to her mentor whether or not she executed the procedure with such perfection because she loved the man, because the fact was that she did it- and if she did it for him she could do it for anyone.
After the operation was complete and they had wheeled his stretcher into another room in the intensive care unit, it happened. Sakura Haruno, age twenty- collapsed onto the floor and became a bundle of wreckage.
Sasuke, had been moved into a small hospital bed, and was hooked up to an I.V. as well as several other monitoring devices, and the second Sakura stepped into the room with her mentor and took a look at him she lost it.
The idea that Tsunadae had was to show Sakura just how wonderfully the operation had gone, he was breathing on his own and there was minimal bruising, she wanted the pinkette to see firsthand that she had had a part in saving him…but Sakura didn't see it that way apparently.
"Let me bring you out into the waiting room Sakura." The older woman had suggested, but the pinkette refused. She shook her head and sent her long pink hair flying in every direction to splay out on the floor around her.
And so Tsunadae sat down next to her, and she rubbed her back lightly to try and calm her down, and sure enough after a while the rosette had stopped shaking and instead lay there crying silently to herself.
She sat up and wiped her eyes, causing mascara to smear across her face and blacken several areas on her cheeks.
"He…" She said between hiccups, "He's okay."
"He is." Tsunadae said soothingly, "And when he wakes up we can move him to another room with the general population. You did so well Sakura, I didn't think you had it in you at first. What with the way you were acting and all…I thought you might crack under the pressure, but you didn't! You did it, and you handled it so well. I am so proud of you, and I know that he would be too-"
That sent Sakura into another whole fit of sobs, and Tsunadae again sighed and rubbed her back until she calmed down.
"It's not because he's a patient!" Sakura said a little too loudly as she forced herself onto her feet, "I'm not upset like this because he is a person in poor condition!"
Tsunadae stood up as well, with a small smile playing on her red lips as she observed Sakura's outburst.
"I can handle the hospital!" Sakura said angrily her emerald eyes sparkling and glassy due to the tears they had produced, "Don't you ever think I can't!"
"You proved that today Sakura." Tsunadae said calmly.
"What I couldn't handle…" She said, completely ignoring the fact that Tsunadae had spoken, "Was seeing…was seeing Sasuke…so broken! Because I have had nightmare upon nightmare about his life leading him down this path…" Her voice dropped down to a whisper and the tears began to pool in her eyes once again, "And…and me…not being able to save him."
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Naruto sat with his face in his large hands, staring at the terrible purple carpet beneath his sneaker clad feet. He couldn't think, he couldn't feel…he was numb. Ino's hand rested tentatively on his back as it had for the past four and a half hours.
They had arrived at the hospital at three o'clock sharp demanding to be taken to their pink haired best friend, and things had then begun to twist and turn in thousands of unexpected ways.
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"Naruto Uzumaki!" Ino cried, her voice hysteric and cracked from the tears she had shed on the car ride over to the hospital that they now stood in front of. "You had better answer my fucking questions or I'm not taking another step!" To show that she meant it she yanked her small hand out of his large one and planted her feet firmly on the pavement beneath her.
Naruto stared back at her in awe before looking again in front of him toward the wide hospital doors. Ino could tell that he was debating whether or not he was going to leave her there, and it dawned on her that she must look incredibly childish.
But what else could she do? He knew things about the situation that she didn't, and she wasn't prepared to walk in there and face something so unexpected…especially when it involved Sakura. She had to be prepared so she could be strong for her.
"You didn't answer any of my questions Naruto! And I need to know what I'm getting myself into…I need to know what I am about to face! Do you understand?" Her bright blue eyes were pleading as she stared at him.
"Sakura is not harmed." Naruto said after a moment. "I'll tell you the rest inside."
Ino felt like a weight had been lifted off of her chest, and she was so relieved that she didn't even notice Naruto walking into the hospital ahead of her. She stayed there for what felt like forever, looking up at the gloomy grey sky and thanking whatever Gods may exist that her best friend was okay.
When she looked back at Naruto and found that he was gone, she headed into the hospital herself, not even caring when she realized she was now very confused as to why she had t be in the hospital at all if Sakura was okay. None of the questions mattered to Ino, because Sakura was okay.
She happily took a seat next to Naruto and sighed contentedly, he looked over at her and she gaped at the tears she saw pooling in his eyes.
"It's Sasuke." Naruto said, his voice choked and dry.
Ino could only stare…Sasuke? What did he mean it was Sasuke? Sasuke was hurt, he was back, he had a girlfriend who was in labor and Sakura was assigned to the room without knowing and then she walked in and saw the two of them together happy and in love and-
"I don't even know the whole story." Naruto said seemingly reading her thoughts, "Kiba just said Sakura wanted to get in on an operating that was going down, and that when she got in here it was Sasuke on the stretcher…he said…that he looked horrible and that Sakura tossed him the phone and told him to call you before running off with the doctors and nurses."
Right on cue the brunette walked into the emergency waiting room with a can of soda in his hand. It took him a minute, to locate the blonde duo sitting to the side of the large room but when he did he immediately walked to where they were.
"Naruto?" Kiba said uncertainly when he saw the state his friend was in, "How you holdin' up man?"
"Not…so well." Naruto admitted with a sigh. Ino smiled sympathetically at him and shook her head.
"How long is it going to be until they're out? How long can it take to fix someone up…"
"He was in pretty bad shape Ino." Kiba tried to choose his words carefully, but in the end found no reason to sugar coat the truth, "He was a mess, like obviously fatal…I think he's going to be okay though. The look on Sakura's face told me that she'd sooner die than let him."
Just then a blonde woman walked through the doors that lead into the forbidden area of the hospital. She had green eyes and was instantly recognized as Tsunadae. Ino sat up straighter as she approached and Naruto simply held his breath; fearing that her mournful expression was telling him the fate of his friend.
"Sakura told me to come speak to you." She said carefully, "I know we've met a couple of times but in just in case, I'm Doctor Tsunadae."
"We're Naruto and Ino." Naruto said gesturing to himself and his blonde girlfriend, "And that's Kiba standing right there, we're friends of Sasuke's and Sakura's."
"Right." She said, "Speaking of those two, Sasuke is stable."
The relief that spread through Naruto's body was enough to bring tears to his eyes, and Tsunadae felt her heart swell at the sight. Curious as she may be as to how someone who was as banged up as Sasuke had such clean cut looking friends. And why had she never seen him around if he was Sakura's boyfriend- or whatever he was anyway.
"However," She continued, "I can't say the same for Sakura. She…is a wreck."
"It's to be expected." Naruto said sullenly, "Where is she?"
"She's in his room, waiting for him to wake up I think, though she wouldn't exactly admit it." Tsunadae said with a huff of annoyance to her tone but an understanding smile on her face.
"When can we see them?" Naruto asked, his fears calmed but his anxiousness still present.
The green eyed woman seemed to contemplate it for a moment before answering the question at hand.
"I'd say give it a few hours." When she saw the expressions around her fall she laughed a little, "Normally, it would be a few days. We have to give him time to come to- and for now I think Sakura needs the time alone with him."
"She loves him." Naruto said simply, "You know that don't you? She's told you?"
"No." Tsunadae sighed, "She never told me there was anyone she had feelings for like that. But one look at her in that operating room told me all I needed to know."
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Sakura sat stroking the hair of the raven haired man in the hospital bed beside her. She ran her pale fingers over the contours of his face, traced his lips and rested her hand on his cheek.
"You saved me once, so naturally I had to save you once too." She smiled to herself at the peaceful expression on his face as he slept.
"I want you to wake up Sasuke." She sighed, "I want you tell me what happened, tell me why you're here and what you've been up to…tell me if you've thought of me. Even one time- I want to know everything."
She laid her head on her arms that were now folded neatly on the side of his bed. A soft sigh escaped her as she listened to the beep of his heart monitor, and she shuddered when she recalled the nightmares she had spoken to Tsunadae about- the nightmares in which that beeping would turn into one long whine- and the line that danced across the screen would go flat.
She sat up once again and tried to distract herself from the troubling thoughts. She studied his face, looking for any sign that he had changed. More tattoos, another whole sleeve actually, a couple more rings in his ears but that was all she could see.
She had been expecting him to look a bit different, a bit older he was twenty three now, if she remembered correctly. They both had birthdays in July; he was just a bit more than three years older than she; for he had turned twenty three on the seventh, while she had still been nineteen until the thirtieth.
She smiled as she recalled the time she had first asked him his age while they drove around in his car with a plastered Naruto and Ino in the back seat.
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"How old are you?" She looked down at her hands and twirled her fingers nervously, trying not to let on that she really enjoyed talking to him, way more than she wanted to.
"Old." He said, and she could just barely make out the smirk on his face.
"Old?" She said, waiting for him to specify and after another moment of silence, he did.
"Twenty."
"That's not so old." She said absentmindedly, and she caught the hint of excitement in her voice too late.
"Hn." His signature smirk was very apparent in the dim lighting of the car as he turned his head toward her and locked eyes with her for just a moment before turning his attention back to the road, "It's still illegal."
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"It's me who's twenty now." She whispered as she traced her fingers along the countours of his face.
He was absolutely still as beautiful as ever, it was a miracle that his face hadn't been torn up- but then again it hadn't appeared as though he's been in any sort of physical confrontation, more like he's been stabbed a few times and then shot as the attacker left.
But Sasuke wasn't one to be caught off guard, and so Sakura was more than eager to know what had happened. Although, she doubted that would be the first thing she asked him when he opened his eyes.
Eyes that she hadn't seen in what felt like centuries; black as coal, deep as an ocean and far more mysterious. And in the blink of an eye, there they were; staring at her intently, gauging her reaction.
Sakura felt as though all the air had been stolen from her lungs, he was staring at her and that meant that he was awake! She mentally smacked herself for internally stating the very obvious.
"Sasuke…" She said slowly reaching out to grab his hand, which to her surprise and great relief he didn't retract. "You…you're awake."
The joy that she felt along with the overwhelming relief was more than enough to put Sakura in such a state of bliss that anyone would swear she had to be high, and maybe in a way she was. High off of the fact that he was safe, and high off of the fact that he was within her reach once again.
He didn't say anything, and she knew she was going to cry if she didn't hear his voice soon- if he didn't acknowledge her…what if he didn't remember who she was? She outwardly gasped, her gaze falling to her lap as she retracted her had from his. What if she was just another girl that he…fucked? Another face to add to the crowd, another name on the list of people- The deep velvet of his voice interrupted her painful thoughts…
"Way more than once."