Lost Souls 27

Lost Souls 27

Sasuke sat in a chair beside Sakura's hospital bed. Sakura had been in a coma for three days already. He had a bandage around his head from a blow that Naruto had given him. Naruto had joined the fray once Orochimaru was occupied fighting with Sakura. They battled but he barely remembered anything specific about the battle. The only thing he remembered was waking up as if from a trance with his sword in Sakura's back, and the unbearable stench of blood. His eyes were drawn to the red and white fan on her back. The white of his family's crest was being stained crimson. He removed the blade from her back, dropped it and caught her as she started sinking to the ground. Her head thumped against his bare chest. The feeling of her blood leaking out all over him made him start to panic. Somewhere in his mind he could never remember a time when he'd panicked before in dangerous situation. Of course there had been many time when they'd been Genin that he'd been worried about her and… he left that thought hanging because he knew that when the two of them had been facing off against Orochimaru he'd panicked a bit.

She had been taken from his arms despite his protesting. He saw his brother's girlfriend, Koori. With a wrapped fascination he watched as she poured her healing chakra into her fading body trying to keep her alive. He wanted to do something to help but there wasn't anything he could do. The curse mark had drained his chakra stores to a really low point. He never saw it coming when something heavy hit his head knocking him into darkness.

When he woke he was in hospital bed and his head was bandaged up. Naruto was standing in the doorway watching my every movement. There were light black rings around his eyes which reminded of the Kazekage but not as bad. For some reason he'd felt the need to lash out at the blonde for standing there watching him like a prisoner which is probably what he'd become after a stunt like he pulled even if it meant saving Kaji's life. He'd almost killed Sakura.

"What do you want dobe?"

"Just checking up on you," he sighed. "I hit you pretty damned hard."

Sasuke just looked down waiting for a verbal lashing that he'd get for hurting Sakura again. Another question came to mind though and he voiced it.

"How long have I been out?"

"Almost a day."

"Sakura?" he asked his best friend hesitantly.

"She's in a coma and nothing they've tried has seemed to work to get her to wake up."

He moved till his legs were dangling off the edge of the bed. Running his fingers through his hair he tried to sooth the pain that was pounding in his head. He looked up at his blonde ex-teammate. They're eyes met and for once their eyes didn't clash.

"She'll come back to us Teme, Believe it!"

The enthusiasm in his voice was limited but he was trying like only Naruto could. A small twitch told Sasuke the blonde had almost made him smirk. Then his thoughts turned away from the blonde and towards the window where he let his thoughts wander.

And now here he was three days later, still being babied about his measly injuries that were almost healed. Sakura was still in a coma. It took him awhile and a lot of polite words to get the nurses to let him see his fiancé. He hadn't officially asked her to marry him but the crest around her neck and the shuriken that was laying in her kunai pouch at home was proof of his intentions at least by Uchiha standards. In the deep recesses of his mind he was starting to blame himself for everything that had happened to Sakura. For the most part of the time he could shut that part of him up because he'd done what he thought was right. In the end it hadn't made a difference at least to him. Sakura was in a coma. Letting weakness take hold of him once, he leaned his head against the bed and took her hand in his. He felt the warmth of his tears start to slide down his cheeks and drop onto the blue bed sheets.

"Sakura please forgive me," he whimpered softly.

"Who would forgive you after what you've done?" a voice said from the doorway.

He knew who it was without having to turn around. It would have only been a matter of time before Sakura's grandmother showed up to give him her two cents worth. Sasuke hated the fact that the woman couldn't accept the fact that he wasn't like he used to be and wouldn't leave Sakura without good reason.

"That's for her to decide," he replied back calmly. "Not you."

There was a deadly tone in his voice that he was trying to hide but she must have heard it because she let out an un-lady like snort.

"She's in a coma because of your foolishness."

"I went with the snake to save a friend's life."

He didn't know why he was justify his actions to this woman considering she had no say in what Sakura does.

"Your fiancé's life."

"Kaji isn't my fiancé."

"That's not what the Uchiha Clan Elders said."

"Kyouran and Alexial made sure that the contract was dissolved."

"When would they take the words of two demons?"

"Even now they hold sway in the family because Sai decreed it."

"It's been a millennium and a half since then and the old ways tend to fade after awhile."

Sasuke turned his eyes towards the woman. His eyes were blazing red. The Clan Elders would get their arranged marriage between their families but it wouldn't be him and Kaji. Itachi and Koori were more than willing to take their siblings places at the alter considering they loved one another. He wouldn't stand for this woman's constant badgering because he loved Sakura more than anything in the world.

"Get out," he snarled dangerously.

The woman crossed her arms over her chest and gave him an indignant snort.

"I'm family and you cannot make me leave Uchiha," she spat.

Sasuke saw Sakura's mother standing behind the blonde Hokage.

"Mother leave," Mrs. Haruno stated sternly.

"You're taking his side? His word over mine?"

The pink haired woman walked further into the room and glared at her mother.

"This boy makes my daughter happy, and that's all that matters to me."

"He'll betray her again just like before."

"Enough Mother! You're no longer Hokage, and I know that if anyone can bring my daughter from the dark place that she's in it will be this boy here."

"Don't come crying to me when he breaks her heart again."

The former Hokage stormed from the room slamming the door in her wake.

"She's right you know," Sasuke admitted. "This is all my fault."

"Nonsense, there was a powerful mind jutsu on you. Sakura and I had a discussion about the affects of that curse mark considering you, Sai, and Sakura both have it."

"That doesn't excuse what I've done…"

The woman turned her angry blue eyes on him.

"What did you do with the real Sasuke?"

"I…"

"What happened to the boy that my daughter fell in love with and writes about in her stories?"

"He's gone! That Sasuke was a moron for not holding onto the one person that meant the world to him. He abandoned her for the sake of power and left her again when she was carrying his son."

"Grow a spine Sasuke. Yes you hurt her when you had no control over your actions, and yes maybe you did do those things in the past and now is the time to amend those past transgressions because she is more than willing to forgive you."

"That doesn't make what I did right."

"Then make it right by bringing her from the darkness a place you know all too well. Bring her out of the coma."

"How?"

"I've heard that talking to coma patients helps. Talk to her, encourage her to come back into the light."

He looked at Sakura longingly.

"I wouldn't know what to say."

"Speak from the heart."

"I don't…"

"Of course you do Sasuke. Tell her anything you want, she'll hear you."

A thoughtful look crossed his features for a moment then he nodded his head. The older pink haired woman smiled towards him knowing she'd done what she could and left Sasuke with Sakura. He waited till her footsteps faded away before moving again. Sasuke scooted his chair closer to her bedside and took her hand again. His callous fingers stroked absent patterns one her pale skin.

"Sakura," he started.

He honestly didn't know where to begin so he started with the first thing that cam to mind. "Come back to me Sakura. I'd be lost without you. Pretty pathetic, huh? I've been reduced to this, but I guess love does strange things to people. When you wake up Sakura I have something to ask you. I wanted to ask you the day Orochimaru took me. You know even in my demon form I still wore our rings on the chain around my neck. Do you want to know something? I wanted to marry you in the past after I killed Itachi, but I never got my chance."

A soft knock on the door made him look up. A doctor came in and took up her charts and looked them over and checked Sakura's vital signs and wrote on the clip board and smiled at Sasuke.

"Are you her husband?" the woman asked.

"No, I'm her fiancé."

"She's very lucky to have found someone so devoted to her."

"It's the other way around. I'm lucky to have her."

The woman smiled softly before leaving the room. Sasuke took Sakura's hand again and laid his head down. "School's almost over for us Sakura, and I'll be able to marry you. I know they buried us before with your last name the same as mine but I want it to be official this time. I want to watch our children grow within you and I want to hold them with you."

Sasuke decided that the bed was big enough for the both of them so he climbed up and snuggled closer to his pink haired lover. One of his arms lay draped over her waist. A strange thought crossed his mind. He'd never really thought about it before but talking about the future made him also think about the past. "Sakura do you think I would have been a good dad to Sai?"

The conversation kept on going for awhile until Sasuke started drifting off. Being surrounded by her scent was making him relax and finally feel like he's in the place where he belonged, with her.

Sasuke woke to the small patter of water against glass. Blinking a few times owlishly he surveyed the room. Something wasn't right and he'd felt it. Sakura was still beside him. Closing his eyes again he sent out his searching chakra to figure out what had caused the disturbance. Then he felt it, it was a small flicker of a very unwanted chakra. It was an Uchiha he was sure of that, just who it was he couldn't tell. It was one of the weaker of the Uchiha line. Slowly moving from Sakura's side not wanting to move her around much he stood and concealed his chakra signature. Backing into the shadows he waited for the approaching Uchiha to come here. The Uchiha in question moved into the slightly ajar room. Sasuke watched him curiously. Most Uchiha's new by now that the pink haired medic nin belonged to him, and she wasn't to be touched. The Uchiha in question didn't seem familiar to Sasuke but he approached the bed and reached out to touch Sakura's hair. Rage washed through him. His chakra flared dangerously making the other Uchiha whip around. His eyes were wide. The Sharingan blazed to life in Sasuke's eyes.

"What are you think you're doing?" Sasuke growled.

The Uchiha looked around nervously for a second before his gaze hardened. Sasuke felt the guy's chakra flicker.

"I'm reclaiming what's mine," the other Uchiha finally stated.

"Sakura is my fiancé," Sasuke snarled darkly.

"I'll kill you and take what's mine."

"Sakura has only ever belonged to me."

"Arrogant aren't you?" the other Uchiha asked.

The moonlight shown on the stranger. It almost looked like him but there were differences. This guy's face was sharper and darker. This guy was going to be trouble I could feel it. This odd Uchiha probably wasn't going to back down and neither was Sasuke. Sakura was his as far as either of them were concerned. He saw a familiar curse mark come to being on his pale skin. Sasuke cursed his luck. Orochimaru was a fool to put that many curse marks in the Uchiha Clan. Thankfully the bastard was six feet under. The Sharingan blazed to life in his eyes. It seemed as if this Uchiha didn't have the family blood limit.

"I'm going to put you in the ground," the Uchiha hissed.

"What's you're name so that I can send flowers to your family."

"My name is Kage, Sasuke and I'll be the one to send flowers to your family."

Sasuke smirked knowing that he was going to win here. He got into a fighting stance ready to put and end to this stupidity and finally make everyone see that he wouldn't be separated from Sakura. The other Uchiha got into his own stance.

"Did the snake promise you greatness before putting his mark on you?"

"No, he promised me Sakura."

Sasuke was pissed that the stupid snake dared to use his Sakura as a bargaining chip. He wouldn't stand for that. Sasuke wouldn't stand for it. Before he could even attack Kage's eyes rolled up in his head and he sunk to the ground and landed in a lifeless heap. Sakura stood there breathing heavily. Her eyes were blazing red. Blood was dripping from where she ripped out the IV cords in her arms. Her breathing was coming out in heavy pants. Sasuke stumbled for her as she started to sag to the ground. The two of them sagged to the ground. His arms were supporting her. She leaned against him panting.

"Sakura…"

"I heard you Sasuke."

He looked at her in confusion. "And Sasuke the answer to your last question is yes."

Thinking about all the things he'd said nothing registered right on the spot.

"You would have and will be a good dad to our children."

The raven haired teen smiled at her softly before placing a light kiss on her forehead. Carefully he picked her up and placed her in bed. Sakura smiled up at him tiredly.

"Rest Sakura."

It didn't take long before she was unconscious. Sasuke took pains to call the security guards of the hospital. It didn't take long for two men dressed in a familiar ANBU gear.

"Take this piece of trash away before I kill him myself," Sasuke growled.

The two didn't speak but carried the Uchiha traitor away. Sasuke shook his head as he returned to Sakura's side and curled up tiredly beside her. His arms were wrapped around her waist and his nose was buried in her pink locks. The content male drifted to sleep against his lover wondering what the next day would bring.

A/N: wow ya'll chapter 27 is done. Don't fear there will be just one more chapter after this and then Lost Souls will be completed. I'd like to thank my loyal fans for sticking with me.