I meant to get this out earlier, but with the Fourth of July and a couple of other things in my life, it didn't happen, so here it is now. I don't know when the next couple of chapters are going to be here because I have a few kinks to work out of them, but it won't take multiple weeks, so don't worry and enjoy this one.
reviews are greatly appreciated! mucho, mucho, mucho!
A wide yawn, hidden behind a fist, dominated the girl's features as she made her way to training ground five. Man, what is the matter with me? Sakura was used to being an early riser, eight was normally midmorning for her, and so the fact that she was still sleepy-headed disturbed the kunoichi. Hm, maybe I've been out of work for too long? Shaking her head at the thought with a small sigh, she let the rest wander as she continued her journey in the already burning sun despite the day just beginning.
What is it like to train with team guy? I wonder if I'll fight Tenten or Lee…either would be good practice for avoiding hits.
Contemplating what awaited her sent a flutter of butterflies in her tummy, and made the journey pass quickly, also it was a good distraction from the group of gossiping women that seemed to be following her.
Oh no, what if I'm not up to par with them and I get my ass kicked? I'm not nearly as fast as Lee, and Tenten has perfect accuracy, what if I can't dodge? The flutter increased and made her breathing shallow. And Neji! He was such a jerk at the store the other day, why? Well whatever, he can think what he likes! And I'll just get Lee by smashing the ground, one punch will do it! Hell yeah, I'm going to kick butt!
Although her thoughts were positive, she still was not convinced and the fluttering did not stop.
Finally, she spotted her training partners for the day near a cluster of bushes at the far end of the field. Lee was doing some squats, Neji was meditating, and Tenten was standing next to him, twirling a Kunai. Sakura approached, grasping her arm behind her back. "Hey Sakura." The said girl smiled at the other female. "Sakura-chan you came!" At the shriek, which was one to rival Naruto's, Sakura suppressed a grimace and turned her smile over to the anxious boy. Geez, doesn't he know that it's still morning! "Hi, Lee." Keeping her smile in place, she turned her head around to greet the third member but found that he was still meditating. Or ignoring me, the stuck up jerk.
Before an awkward silence could follow the greetings, there was a loud smack, and all of the teens looked over to find Might Guy in his good guy pose, sparkle in his smile and everything. "Good morning my youthful pupils!"
"Good morning Guy Sensei!" Sakura turned her head left to see Lee with an identical pose to the man in front of her. What was I thinking, agreeing to this? As she wondered at her mentality, Guy continued. "Today, Lee and Tenten will improve their teamwork! Neji- Oh hello Sakura I didn't see you there," I'm standing right in front of you, idiot. "Will you be joining our team in training?" She smiled politely and nodded in affirmation. The jonin gave her a smile in return. "Well in that case, you can spar with Neji, and I can supervise Tenten and Lee." Spar with Neji? Her smile quickly dropped to an open 'O'. Sakura barked a laugh that lacked mirth, "Guy Sensei, you can not be serious." But he's a jonin! Neji chose to speak up. "I refuse." Wait what? Her surprised expression morphed into one of anger. Narrowing her eyes and tightening her jaw, Sakura slowly turned her head to the sitting Hyuga. "Excuse me?" Her quiet voice was laced with venom. I don't care if he is a jonin the rude prick, I'm going to beat him into oblivion! Hell yeah! The offender looked directly at her with a blank face. "You must work on your hearing as well as your skills; I said I refuse to fight with someone such as yourself." Sakura didn't miss a beat.
"Well, perhaps I need to fight with someone of your caliber in order to improve." The bite in her words was undeniable, and she was vaguely aware of the rest of the team staring between her and Neji with expressions of apprehension. "You know what, maybe Tenten should-" Sakura whipped her head over to see a, for once, nervous Guy. Her hard eyes silenced him. "No, I insist."
"Fine." She returned her attention to her opponent, who had risen smoothly after speaking and was now stalking beyond the bushes and into the woods beyond. Determination and caution set in place, Sakura moved to follow him. "Sakura-chan maybe that isn't such a good-" She turned to the worrisome Lee. Even though his concerned expression sent a light pang of guilt for worrying him, her anger overrode it. "Don't worry Lee, I'll be fine." And with that, she turned around and walked purposefully into the woods. I'm going to show you how good of a ninja I am.
She stepped soundlessly over countless branches and leaves and bushes, utilizing her chakra to do so, as she followed the boy in front of her with a permanent glare of anger and determination formed on her features. After about five minutes of walking, they came to a clearing, and the Hyuga stopped with his back still facing her. Sakura halted forty feet away, tense as she waited for his next move.
A few birds dipped out of the trees on one end of the clearing and glided to the other. Neji turned his face up to look at them, but Sakura kept her focus on him. Because of his hostility, I can't be sure what he is going to do.
"When I first…noticed you, was when the team to retrieve Sasuke was first formed. You were crying and begging Naruto to bring the boy back to you, and I couldn't help but think that it was a pitiful sight. One that no kunoichi should display." Sakura clenched her fists in anger, the blunt nails dug sharply into her palms, but she ignored the sting. "Since then, I thought that you had improved greatly, and I respected your improvement; however," Sakura noticed his hands twitch inward at his sides and she unconsciously held her breath for the blow that was about to come. "Marrying a traitor who was willing to kill you and your village, is unforgivable." When he turned around, his byakugan was activated, and it served to intensify the cruelty of his words. "You're a disgrace to the name kunoichi, and I'm going to show you your place." Sakura let out the held breath through her nostrils in a hiss as she tugged on her ragged gloves. "Bring it on asshole."
Both crouched into their battle stances but neither attacked. Sakura's mind raced. Okay, he definitely is faster than me, so I have to predict his movements. His ninjustu is bound to be better than mine, but if I can manage to avoid getting hit and land just a couple of good punches, he is done for, but how to get them? Her eyes scanned the clearing through her peripheral vision. I could use a genjustu, but he will be able to see through it with his byakugan. Damn it how to do this?
Suddenly, Neji ran towards her swiftly. With a gulp, Sakura somersaulted to the right; she felt the movement of his fist against her stomach when her shirt had ridden up during her flip. She had practically no time to recover as he spun and stretched out with his right leg. Flipping back over the attacking appendage, Sakura lashed out her hands and grasped it.
Neji's shout of anger told Sakura that her technique worked, and she wasted no time in throwing a barrage of kunai over her shoulder and retreating a little ways into the trees before leaping east to get a good angle of him.
Sakura's breathing was heavy, and her heart was pounding fiercely in her chest as she peeked around the thick trunk to see her opponent crutched over his numb leg, grasping the calf where she had paralyzed the nerves. Satisfied that he was temporarily distracted, Sakura retreated her head and leaned it back against the bark, keeping her ears open, she demanded her mind to think as she squeezed her eyes shut. Sweat was already starting to form on her brow from the adrenaline and heat. He specializes in close range combat, so I have to win this from afar. He can see my chakra, and pretty soon he is going to find my hiding place, but what if I spread my chakra around? Yes that's it! Her green eyes snapped open at her epiphany.
"Hide and seek is a childish game that I will not waste my time with." Regulating her breathing, she pulled out three kunai and grasped them between her fingers, making sure to keep them in her pouch. "Ah, there you are."
Without a moment's hesitation, Sakura drew out the kunai and flung them in Neji's direction. And then she sprinted through the trees, around and around until she had made a complete circle and a half around her original position.
Her breathing was piercing to her ears as she inhaled and blew it out as quietly as she could through her parted lips. "Well, you are smart…when it comes to this. Your personal life is another matter. What kind of self-respecting woman stays with a man who degrades and beats her?" Beats me? What the-oh the hospital. Stupid, gossiping-Okay Sakura, calm down, he is just trying to get a reaction from me. Sakura bit her tongue to keep a shout of denial from escaping her lips as her teacher's words whispered in her ear. "Never let your fear, anxiety, or any other emotion, cloud your judgment in battle. It only leads to mistakes so keep a level head even if it is some- Her absentminded smile disappeared as Neji answered his own question. "Not many."
Her wary eyes watched as he turned his head slowly from one direction to another, trying to pinpoint her location in the stream of chakra she had left behind her like a banner. A bead of sweat fell down her forehead and across her nose. She didn't dare remove it incase she made a sound.
There was a wiz, and immediately, Sakura launched from her position and raced towards Neji with her fist ready. His Eight Trigram Palms Heavenly Spin dispersed her clone that had jumped out of the banner of chakra after sending the ninja-stars flying his way. Perfect. A snarl and battle cry erupted from her as she descended upon his back. It was probably not the best idea, for he spun around quickly, grabbing her wrist and flinging her across the clearing and through the trees to the side by using the momentum of his movement.
Sakura's mouth transformed into a silent scream as her body broke through the leaves and branches of a thin layer of trees like a helpless rag doll before plunging into the river beyond. The contrast of the cool water from the previous humid heat made her eyes snap open, and she accidentally inhaled a gulp of water. Quickly, she struggled to the surface of the water and, while hacking the water out, pulled herself above the surface. She barely noticed Neji approaching her slowly; it was obvious that the numbness in his leg was making it difficult to maneuver. Well, at least that will slow him down.
Slowly, she staggered to her feet. She swayed to the left, and had to step to keep her balance. Coughing once more, she slowly backed up as her opponent approached. Sakura's nose burned from water shooting up it, and the river water did not taste the best. She wiped the back of her right arm across her mouth as she once again crouched into a fighting position.
"He doesn't beat me." Her words were followed by another trickle of water. Neji never halted in his approach. "Roomers are not to be trusted then." I could have told you that ass wipe! "Neither do I allow him to degrade me; you should know me better than that Neji-san." His face twisted with fury at the sneer of his name, and he raced towards her to engage in hand-to-hand combat. Her heart racing, Sakura managed to deflect all of his attacks by colliding with his wrists before she was able to leap back, away from his deadly hands.
"Neji, how far would you go to help your teammates?" His brow wrinkled slightly and he gave a slight pause. "I'm not sure I know what you mean."
Good he's listening. Sakura slid her right foot back. "Would you stand the ridicule of the village, of your family in order to give them just one small advantage," Sakura sneered at him, her top lip pulling up in condemnation. "Or are you too good for that?"
Again, he came at her, this time with a calm mask set in place. Left, right, lean back, kick forward. She moved on autopilot, letting her instincts direct her movements until she saw her opening: Neji had deflected her left hand attack with his own, and her right with his right.
Squeezing her eyes shut, Sakura leaned her head back and snapped it forward as fast as she could. A loud, sickening crack resounded as blinding pain seared through her head. Both opponents stumbled back, but through the thought of pain, pain, and more pain, Sakura managed to shift all of her weight back and to one side before she threw it to the other as she swung her leg around to deliver a chakra-induced kick to the Hyuga.
The triumphant feeling of a successful blow disappeared with a poof.
The real Neji stepped out of the foliage along the river, his leg barely bothering him. Damn it, there goes my advantage.
Sakura stumbled back a few steps; her head was now pounding as the pain from her forehead spread like fire to the rest of her skull. She once again crouched into a fighting pose and resisted the strong urge to squeeze her eyes shut against the pain. Just a little longer, a little longer, and then I can go curl up into a ball and cry in the corner. For now, focus!
Somehow, she managed to heed to her thoughts, and zeroed in on Neji standing a few feet away wearing a thoughtful expression. A few tense moments of silence followed, broken only by the occasional sound of a bird or the water running along the bank. "You have an ulterior motive for marrying Sasuke." His face held question in the scrunched brow and slight downward tilt of his lips, but his words were a statement. Yes! Thank you! Relief filled Sakura at him figuring it out and not just assuming she was some sort of pathetic love-sick girl. Well, I am, but no one needs to know that.
Instead of expressing her true feelings, she schooled her features into a blank look. "Come to your own conclusions as you have done so far." As she spoke, her green eyes quickly darted to the upper left of her vision where a large tree hung halfway over the river; specifically to the presence in the tree.
Luckily, her opponent caught the gesture and understanding rushed over his features. Again, she was filled with relief. Sakura had always held the Hyuga's opinion in high regard since he was a proclaimed genius. Although he can be a douche sometimes. "I must apologize for my behavior towards you Sakura, it was uncalled for."
She simply smiled, pleased with the apology, but still angry at his actions. Sakura spoke through her smile, "Thank you, but it's going to take more than just that to make me forgive you." The boy before her smirked, "So be it." This time, Sakura rushed at him. She took out three kunai and threw them before jumping over his Eight Trigram's Spin and quickly throwing the last of her kunai at him. He deflected those as well. Sakura spun around to see the Hyuga breathing normally, but sweat was pouring down his face. He should start running out of chakra, now if I can just get a good punch in, he would have to deflect it with chakra to keep from breaking bones.
Muscles taut, Sakura waited for him to approach her. He lashed his right hand out and she jumped to the side of his hand, her body turning sideways to him. He took this opportunity to drive his left hand forward, but Sakura bent back so it passed just over her body. She quickly reached out and grasped his wrists while kicking her right leg up and delivering the blow to his lower stomach. As he skidded backwards, she was rewarded with a grunt of pain.
Using her core muscles, Sakura righted her self, but stumbled to the side when black dots assaulted her vision, and the world tilted slightly. Neji used this distraction to attack, and by the time she noticed, the only thing she could do was deflect it, and deflect, and deflect. Finally, Sakura was able grasp his left hand with her right, and since her chakra was sealed in both arms, swing a left hook to right side of his jaw, effectively breaking the skin. She took her right leg and, using the time in which he was reeling from her punch, aimed a sidekick to his upper ribs. Unfortunately, his right hand shot out and effectively shut down her chakra system in the leg while grabbing the appendage and pulling it further towards him, causing Sakura to swing around and collide with his chest. Shit! What do I do? What do I do?
Her struggling was futile since she now only had chakra in her left leg, which was currently supporting her weight as Neji's deadly hand came in to seal the chakra around her heart: damaging her internally enough so that their spar would have to be called, or forcing her to surrender. All of this happened the course of only six seconds. How do I get out of this? I have no chak- that's it. Sakura closed her eyes, and held her breath, making the pounding of her heart in her chest that much more noticeable.
And she stopped sending chakra to the bottom of her left foot.
Immediately, she dropped below the surface, and after the booming of water molecules being forcefully pushed to make room for her body, her ears met the muffled silence that was the norm when one dunked their head under the surface. The silence was cut short as another struggle between the molecules and an imposing object alerted her. Despite the throbbing that still assaulted her head, which was slowly turning into a migraine, Sakura opened her eyes in the slightly murky water to see that Neji had dropped into the water with her. Demanding her sore arms to work even as they screamed at her for a reprieve, Sakura swam towards him as quickly as possible.
Game over.
She drew her fist back and brought it forward with as much force as she could since the current of the river was working against her. Her fist met Neji's nose with a thud and seconds later, red clouds of blood started escaping from his nostrils. Sakura scanned the rest of his face to find that his eyes were shut tight, and his mouth was parted slightly, allowing a few tiny bubbles to escape. Without a moment's hesitation, Sakura grabbed the teen around the waist and started making her way towards the surface.
After three strokes of one arm, since her other was occupied, the fatigue of the battle hit the kunoichi. Sakura's eyebrows scrunched together and she accidentally let out a little bit of precious oxygen when the invisible force of exhaustion pulled her back into the water a couple of inches.
I have to get to the surface, or Neji and I are going to drown. Gritting her teeth, she squeezed her eyes shut as she kicked her leaded legs with renewed vigor. As her lungs ached and burned for air, she broke the surface.
A deep inhale caused her to cough and splutter. She tried opening her eyes, but the remaining water mixed with blood from her previous head butt stung and forced her to shut them once more. Sakura's mouth hung open as she struggled to remain above the water's surface. Her tired left arm that was secured around Neji's waist, keeping him up as she positioned his head back on her shoulder so he stayed above the surface, was starting to cramp.
Her harried and loud breathing scared her even more than the fact that she had no access to her chakra and her strength was fading fast, and she let out a high-pitched gasp-like sob of hopelessness. I can't die here, I can't. Water kept entering her open mouth as she struggled to stay afloat. To make matters worse, her migraine had intensified with activity and her panic.
Sakura did the only thing she could think of to attract attention: make as much noise as possible. She splashed around with her one available arm and screamed and cried as loud as she could, though they were muffled and interrupted by the water.
"Please, he-elp Me!" Her throat burned, and with her eyes shut, she was unaware of the tears that fell down her cheeks. After what felt like hours, a strong force pulled Neji away from her. Sakura tried to tighten her brace on him, but the force broke her hold as if she was a small child. "No! No! Neji!" She tried lunging in the direction she felt him be pulled to, but she was caught by an arm around her waist. Unfortunately, this caused her head to temporarily dunk under the water, and the liquid shot up her nose and mouth.
Sakura was pulled above the surface, spluttering. "Calm down, I'm getting you out of here." Great, now I'm imagining things. Still sobbing slightly, Sakura calmed down enough to cling to her savior. As he treaded to what she assumed was the bank, Sakura took her left arm, and wiped the blood and water from her eyes enough so that she was able to blink them open.
And then she was thrown ceremoniously onto the bank. Rolling over to her side, Sakura raised her head to spit water out. The mud mixed with patches of grass smelled terrible, and her nose scrunched in revulsion.
"Sasuke, I could have gotten her." Sasuke? What is Sasuke doing here? Wait Neji! Summoning the last of her strength, Sakura braced her hands on the putrid bank and shakily pushed her body up. Looking around, She found Juugo standing a few feet away next to a very angry Karin. She blinked at she turned her head to see a shirtless and very wet Sasuke kneeling next to her.
She stared at the sight for a few seconds, not comprehending it, before she rotated her head the other way to see Suigetsu, wet as well, standing next to Neji, who was laid on his back in the grass. Sakura crawled over to them until she was kneeling next to Neji's unconscious form. She rested her hands on her thighs, fingers spread wide, as she assessed his injuries quickly. Okay, he has a broken nose, something is up with his cheek from when I punched him, a few bruises, but what made him fall into the water?
The medic in her didn't have time to debate as she balanced on her knees, and started to perform CPR. Using steady and firm pushes, she mentally focused on counting to fifteen before sealing his cool lips with hers and breathing two quick breaths and then repeating the process. Come on Neji. She ignored the four pairs of eyes on her as she completed her task, instead she kept her focus and on the fourth try, the teen responded. Sakura helped turn him on his side as he coughed and spit out the water in gushes. After two minutes, he seemed to have gotten it all out, and she carefully pushed him back onto his back. "Neji, I need you to reopen my chakra." He fluttered his eyelashes as he tried to comprehend what she was saying. Sakura took his hand with her own and raised it to her other arm and repeated her request. The Hyuga prodigy nodded and sluggishly made the appropriate hits to restore her chakra channels in her arms. She then began healing his forehead and cheek. The pale flesh mended together like magic.
"My chest." His hoarse rasp had Sakura turning her green eyes to his face before she moved her hands over to the indicated area to find minor damage to the tissues around his heart. When I went under, he must have hit himself accidentally.
After ten minutes of healing, Neji was as good as new. Sakura leaned back on her hunches with a relieved sigh. Now that she wasn't focused on him, her migraine came back with a vengeance. It's a Sasuke headache. Hehe. Her internal humor revealed itself in a slight quirk of her lips before she realized that Neji was talking to her.
"Your fighting and analytical skills are very impressive, Sakura." She smiled up at him. "Perhaps you should consider taking steps for the position of Jonin." Jonin? Her green eyes sparkled as her smiled widened into a more genuine one. "Thank you Neji, I'll have to speak to my mentor about it." He bowed his head in return.
Sakura turned her head down with a sigh as she went to push herself up. "Well I suppose I should-" Her sentence was cut short when she fell over after only rising into a crouch. "Oh." The ache in her head intensified and she raised her left fingers to her temple in an attempt to soothe it, but her chakra was low, and the energy it took to summon it only made her nauseas.
Heaving another silent sigh, Sakura tried to push herself up once more. A pair of hands assisted her. "Karin, heal her." Surprised, Sakura whipped her head to the person who was currently supporting her weight. The fast motion had her shutting her eyes to make the world stop spinning. When she opened them though, she found herself staring at the side of Sasuke's jaw. Wow, am I hallucinating?
"No!" At the denial, she watched in fascination as the jaw clenched. "Yes, you have the power to, and she is drained." She didn't have to turn her head to see that the redhead was furious. The negative energy was clearly felt.
Sakura wearily slumped her head into Sasuke's shoulder. Only for a minute…
"No. We are not your team anymore Uchiha Sasuke, and I will not let you order me around! I'm not going to heal her!" Her shrieking hurt Sakura's ears. "Why? It isn't any different from healing me."
"Of course it is! You're…" The indignant scream had trailed off into the start soft, sad confession that Sakura recognized all too well. She could clearly see the image of a lovesick girl, trying to get the object of her affections to notice her. Sakura had seen that image in the mirror almost every day of her life.
With an internal groan, Sakura pushed away from Sasuke. "Its fine, I just have to go home and take a nap and then I can do it myself." She stumbled forwards, not really seeing where she was going. "I'll accompany you to the hospital; after all, it is my fault you are in this condition." Neji's still here? Sakura's brows drew together as she peaked out from under her lashes to see her previous opponent and hater offering her a hand.
"No, I'll take her." Sakura really sighed in frustration now. I just want to go home!
"I insist, I was her fighting partner." She heard a grunt of amusement and a spark of anger ignited when she pictured Sasuke's smirk. She had kept her eyes on Neji.
"That's right, it's your fault she is in this condition, and I'm her husband." She watched Neji bristle slightly before he turned his eyes to her. He bid a farewell, and Sakura managed a small smile for him. I'm about ready to pass out, someone please take me home. A few seconds later, she again felt Sasuke's arms around her, and she sighed silently with relief when he drew her closer to him, supporting her weight.
"Sasuke, you can't be serious. She is obviously fine on her own! She doesn't need your help!" Apparently Sasuke didn't care because he began walking as Karin was speaking and didn't stop to address her. A small part of Sakura that wasn't groaning in pain celebrated the moment. As they left, she faintly heard Suigetsu. "Are you retarded?"
A few moments later, Sakura again rested her head on Sasuke's shoulder, her fatigue overcoming her internal drive to not appear weak in front of him.
"You can just take me home you know." She closed her eyes and let him lead her down the street. He scoffed at her.
"What and have you never wake up again? You probably have a concussion if your behavior and that gash on your head is anything to go by." Oh yeah, she had forgotten about that. Maybe he's right about the concussion thing. "You've been watching Naruto fight too much." A smile graced her lips and a small hum of humor left her. "Speaking of Naruto, did you go to train with him?"
"Yeah." Sakura missed his blush and the conversation died down after that as the two's thoughts drifted. Sakura became aware that she was slowly slipping out of consciousness. In an effort to stay awake, she began talking again. If it annoys him, he's just going to have to deal with it.
"I'm sorry I made you fight with Karin." She mumbled. Not really, but it's something. Hehe that's what you get you hoe!
"She was being unreasonable."
"When isn't she being unreasonable? Sasuke snorted a laugh, and a flutter of happiness made itself known in Sakura's chest. She smirked at his response. "I'll talk to her about it later."
"Sasuke, why are you doing this?" The shift of his neck against the top of her head alerted her to the fact that he had looked away in…embarrassment? It is a sign of being uncomfortable with the subject. Sakura's heart sped up as she eagerly awaited his response. Why would he be embarrassed? Okay calm down, it doesn't mean that he is going to confess something, this is Sasuke after all. Her heart was slowed by the weight that dropped in her stomach at the reminder. Oh yeah, and Sasuke doesn't like anyone.
"I-I'm just returning the favor. Besides, we're married. How would it look if I just let you wander through the streets all bloodied up." Sakura smiled at his response.
He didn't like it.
And he didn't like that he didn't like it.
Sasuke found himself in the emergency waiting room for the second time that week. He ignored the stares and whispers around him as he sat, looking straight ahead, and let his mind wander.
After a lunch with Naruto,
"Hey Sasuke, what Kakashi was talking about earlier…um have you ever-"
"Shut up before I make you shut up."
"…so that's a no then?"
"I hate you."
He had gone in search and found them by the river at one of the abandoned training grounds. Suigetsu was dehydrated and took advantage of the flowing water while Sasuke sat in the shade of a tree, trying to keep Karin away from him. Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the memory. He had taken off his shirt because of the heat and she had glued herself to his side, which was very annoying because her body heat was almost unbearable.
He was there for only fifteen minutes before the sounds of struggling drew everyone's attention to the river.
When he had caught the flash of pink, something inside of him snapped. As quickly as he could without chakra, Sasuke sprinted to the water and dove in. Suigetsu grabbed the Hyuga while he rescued Sakura. She was drowning; I couldn't just sit there and do nothing. It doesn't mean anything.
She's just a girl anyways.
The heat that went through him though when he watched her press her mouth to the other boy's was nothing compared to the burning of the day. That was not nothing, but I don't care about her that way, do I? No, I can't. She's loud, and annoying, and she nags. And she isn't beautiful and never shuts up. And her body isn't all that curvy, but kind of square…but it felt really good on the way over here. What the hell? It did not feel good!
In exasperation with himself, Sasuke bowed his head and pulled at the ends of his hair until his scalp burned.
Okay, it felt good, but that does not mean anything.
"Mr. Uchiha?" Sasuke released his hold on his locks, and raised his gaze to find a small nurse addressing him. He was vaguely aware that all other conversations had stopped around him, but he kept his intense stare on the short woman. Gracefully, he rose from his seat and walked over to her.
Her blush was prominent, but he kept his gaze on her eyes. "How is my wife?" The woman didn't answer right away, and he rose and eyebrow in annoyance. I thought they were all over this. Fucking sluts, yes I look good, get over it! After a few seconds delay, she shook her head and cleared her throat. "Um, yes. She has a minor concussion, but besides that, she is in tip top shape. It is required that she refrain from any activity such as work or, um other things," The blush deepened. Tch. Pervert. "For two to three days. Um, ice is good and you can give her some medication for any pain. Either then that, she's good to go."
The smile that she flashed him was flirty. Kill me now. Sasuke grunted and to his pleasure, it wiped the grin off of her face. "Where is she?"
"Third door on the right." She pointed in the indicated direction and Sasuke nodded politely before making his way to the room. He entered to find Shizune in the room with Sakura, who was in a hospital robe. Sasuke quietly made his entrance and leaned against the doorframe. Both women turned their attention to him.
"Oh hi, Sasuke."
"Hn." At his response, or lack there of, the pinkette turned her attention back to the dark-haired woman. "But I'm fine. I wanted to resume my duties tomorrow." Her whine was…annoying. Even so, Sasuke still scanned her for any signs of injury only to find some dark bruises on her arms. The gash in her head was sealed completely. Pleased, Sasuke turned his attention back to their conversation.
"No Sakura, I know you haven't been at the hospital in a while, but I can't let you come to work when it could injure you."
"But it is only a mild-"
"I said no, and that is that, or do you want a longer suspension?" He smirked when her head bowed in resignation and she mumbled out in the negative. Shizune continued. "Good, then I will see you in two days." She nodded at Sasuke as she exited the room. Sakura turned her green eyes to him, and something inside of him fluttered at her look.
He pulled her body to him as Karin shouted out things behind him. Almost immediately, she let him hold her weight. She was lighter than what he was expecting, and when she sighed, his body echoed the feeling as she leaned her head on his shoulder. This felt right.
"I'll let you change." She nodded, and he turned way from her, and the thoughts of her. He was stopped by the soft call of his name. "Sasuke?" He turned and waited impassively for her to continue. "Is Neji okay?" What a weird question. He quirked his eyebrow at her. "Yeah, you healed him before I brought you to the hospital."
"Oh." She nodded her head. "Okay I just wanted to make sure." He nodded and turned again to exit as she began to slide off the bed. "Hey Sasuke?" What now? He mentally groaned. This new light that he had just shed on Sakura, along with a very long and annoying day, was grating on his nerves. And I can't even go beat anyone up because my fucking chakra is sealed. Sasuke turned around while shoving his hands into his pockets and nodded for her to voice whatever it was she wanted to ask.
"Do you know if Neji came to the hospital or not?" He stilled and his dark eyes turned suspicious as he took in her innocent and questioning one. After a moment, he slowly answered, "No, you healed him before we came to the hospital." She nodded, but her eyes shown with ignorance before she turned her head to look at the wall in front of her and began worrying on her bottom lip. "Oh that's right. I really hope he is okay because I kind of hit him really hard, and I don't know if he got treated or not, you know?" She turned to look at him again, and her face was completely serious.
Sasuke's eyes widened before he turned to go find Shizune.
It was a common symptom of concussions, and her memory would probably be blank for most of that time. Sasuke was relieved that she hadn't lost a couple of screws by doing that dumb, knuckle-headed move. Stupid Dobe, hanging around her all the time…and giving her these ideas.
He pondered if she remembered anything after the impact, whenever it happened during her fight with the Hyuga. She probably doesn't even remember him suggesting her to try out for jonin. Sasuke decided that that would be a good thing. The thought of Sakura out there, battling big, bad ninja was just unsettling. For multiple reasons.
"Sasuke, I really don't need the ice."
He grunted in rebuttal to her argument. "The doctor said that you do." She grumbled as her right hand came up to grab the large bag of ice that he had set on her forehead. Her childishness was vastly different from her normal behavior since his return, and Sasuke wandered it was because something was knocked out of place, or if this was how she really was like…and whenever she was around him, she was always on her guard.
He literally frowned at the thought. Could she be that mistrustful of me? It was somewhat saddening, and Sasuke felt miffed because as strange as it was to admit it, he trusted Sakura. That was the only reason he was able to sleep at night.
"but I'm a doctor, and I say that I don't need it."
"Tch. You're also the one that can't remember this afternoon."
She pouted, the bottom of her lip jutting out to reveal that the skin was slightly broken from her biting it earlier. Sasuke handed her some Tylenol and tightened his muscles against an unsuspected shiver.
"Sasuke, can you turn off the light, it's hurting my eyes." He watched her scoot down into a lying position before he turned to do her bidding. As he made his way around the bed, Sakura decided to speak again. Why won't you just go to sleep? "Sasuke, why are you doing this?" The right corner of his lips turned up into a smirk as he recalled the exact same words she had spoken a few hours ago.
"Sasuke, why are you doing this?" He turned his head to glare in the distance, not really sure how to answer her. He was worried about her, but he would sound like a pansy if he told her that. They had only made up the day before, so his sudden protectiveness would seem out of place, and it was embarrassing to admit that despite willing to kill her and everything that was precious to her eight months ago, he had always cared about her. I'm so sick. Finally, he found the right words.
"I-I'm just returning the favor. Besides, we're married. How would it look if I just let you wander through the streets all bloodied up."
She doesn't remember it. She doesn't remember me holding her, or her healing the Hyuga even with blood streaming down her face, or anything. The thought that one of the only times they were close to each other was the one that she had to forget. "Just returning the favor."
"Okay. Night Sasuke."
"Yeah."
Sakura woke up in high alert. Her eyes snapped open, and she shot upright in bed. Breathing heavily through her mouth, Sakura focused beyond her pounding heart and turned her head to see Sasuke pulling on a pair of shorts. It was then that the sound of banging on the front door was heard. Sakura released a long breath of relief. So that was why I woke up so quickly. As she calmed, Sakura's head started to feel very heavy. Bringing a hand up to rest on her forehead, she groaned at the slight pain.
"Lay back down, I've got the door." She peeked her right eye open to see a fully dressed Sasuke walking out of the room. Slowly, she slid back down to the cool sheets and focused on the sounds of Sasuke opening the door and voices of what seemed like three people conversing.
She didn't recognize any of them.
Mentally bracing her body, Sakura pulled the sheets back, and swung her legs over the side of the bed. When she stood, her legs felt unstable. Like when she would be sick for a long time and try to get up to go to the bathroom. She raised her fingers to rest the tips on either side of her head and sent a steady stream of relieving chakra to the tissues. That's better. She sighed aloud with relief as she made her way out of the room.
Silently, Sakura padded through the dinning room until she was just a few feet behind Sasuke. She raised her eyes and dropped her fingers as the green orbs narrowed. On the other side of the door were a Kohona ANBU and two other ninja with the cloud symbol on their headbands. What could cloud want? Though she didn't know their purpose, her intuition screamed that it was not for a good purpose. Sakura turned her gaze to Sasuke's unruly hair.
"Sasuke?" What are they doing here? The question remained unspoken, but he understood what she was asking.
"I'm being summoned by the Hokage." He didn't turn around to address her. She returned attention to the three shinobi in at the door. The larger cloud ninja leered at her. Suddenly she was very conscious of the short shorts and tight top she was wearing. Crossing her hands over her chest, Sakura forced her blush down as the man's smile widened.
"Alone?"
"Yes." His tone testified to his thin patience. Don't take it out on me you jerk!
"Can I come with?" Her expression was determined. If they take Sasuke away, who knows what will happen to him. Especially without his chakra. "The Hokage requested the Uchiha's presence only." Sakura turned her glare to the rabbit masked ANBU. She tightened her jaw. "Yeah, well then who are your little friends?" Before the shinobi could respond to Sakura's snap, Sasuke turned around, and his face was a blank mask. "Go talk with Ino or something, I'll be fine." She narrowed her eyes at him and his dismissal of her. He is just brushing me off again.
"But I'll worry about you, Dear." Her tone was clearly scathing, and she really didn't care what the others thought, Sasuke was really making her mad. I'm not a freaking kid! To her aggravation, he only smirked at her words and glare. "Don't Honey, I'll be home for dinner."
Despite his playful banter just to piss her off, Sakura's worry shone openly through her eyes as she dropped her hands to her sides. "Sasuke." She whispered his name, and to her utmost surprise, he grasped her upper arms and leaned his head towards her, which was not very much since the difference in height was only a couple of inches.
"Don't worry, I'll come back." After he whispered the words in a reassuring tone that was totally uncharacteristic, he bent even further and pressed a soft kiss to her temple.
Sakura was left with her mouth open and face burning as he just turned and left with the strange shinobi.
Sakura wasn't sure what to make of his display of affection, but it did nothing to settle the storm of worry and anger that was currently raging inside of her. Stupid guys and their blatted egos. Sakura sighed. As she turned to dress for the long day ahead of her.
The fighting scene...I hope it was good and made sense. I've never written one, and I found my imagination severely lacking. Sorry :( It seems like Sasuke is out of charater here, well he has to at some point other wise the story would be going no where. I blame it on the fact that he is seeing Sakura from different perspectives than from before also, he is becoming more comfortable with the people around him. A little bit. So please tell me what you think! Thank you! :)