Blind Crow

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that are in this story. All of them are characters of Masashi Kishimoto from his manga/anime franchise "Naruto"

If there was one thing Sasuke Uchiha hated, it was feeling helpless.

He'd been so used to being able to do things on his own ever since he was a child. It annoyed him when he could not do things or be left clueless. Sasuke Uchiha always knew what to do. It was an unspoken rule for him and everyone who knew him.

Taking this into account it was no wonder this man had little to no friends. His best friend, the loud and annoying, Naruto Uzumaki, only became his friend because he consistently butted himself to Sasuke's life.

Sasuke Uchiha also tended to overwork himself. The man was already warned before that if continued his intense lifestyle (which consisted of overworking himself and occasional drinks with Naruto only) there was a chance he'd go blind. He'd scoffed at it and disregarded it, like the receipt from the ATM machine. Never caring and simply throwing it away.

With this stubborn mindset, Sasuke Uchiha, was now at the hospital, blind and helpless. One day while working, he suddenly saw black spots in his vision. No sooner, he felt lightheaded and to no one's surprise, he collapsed. Thankfully, Naruto decided to come over his place and was able to bring him to the hospital.

This brings us to his current predicament.

Sasuke Uchiha felt utterly helpless.

Everything was just an endless expanse of pitch-black room for Sasuke. He could feel the cloth that covered his eyes and the linen sheets of the hospital bed. The sound of the ac unit was unusually loud and his could taste bitterness in his mouth. His head felt like floating, probably from the medications they injected him.

He had been conscious for a while now, Naruto also filled him up to what have happened before heading out to fetch him his clothes from his apartment.

"The doctors said you got temporary blindness, probably because of too much stress" Naruto told him as soon as he regained consciousness and was slightly panicked upon seeing nothing (not that he would admit it, Sasuke Uchiha never panics)

"Naruto, I want what the doctors actually said" he replied to him. He was still feeling dizzy and wanted to throw up. Preferably on Naruto's shirt, that would make him feel better.

"Teme, just trust me! I forgot and got confused with the terms they used but bottom line is what I said. You got temporary blindness from too much stress" Naruto replied. Sasuke released a frustrated breath. He already expected that to happen with Naruto, what was he thinking. At least, he knew what happened.

"How long am I supposed to stay here?" Sasuke asked Naruto. He could hear shuffling and Naruto standing up.

"Until you regain your vision. I'll be out for a while; I need to go get some of your clothes."

'There is nothing to worry about' Sasuke thought to himself, he'd regain his eyesight in no time. Despite this, there was still the fear of not being able to see again. Sasuke's mind drifted to the parks and all the sceneries he'd witnessed growing up. Now he was regretting not appreciating the fact that he could see before.

What if I couldn't see her again?

At that thought, Sasuke suddenly felt heavy. He could still picture out her smile and the way her emerald eyes would shine in the light. The way her pink hair made her stand out from the crowd.

There was a knock on the door, and he could hear the door creak as it was opened. His nose was filled with the smell of antiseptic and disinfectants. There was also another smell among those that was oddly familiar, but he could not put a finger on it.

He knew the person was already inside the room, but they remained quiet. Sasuke's head gears were working especially hard as thoughts swarmed through his muddy mind. 'It's just a personnel checking on me' 'What if it's a strange person?' 'What if it's a crazy person?' Those thoughts filled his mind till he heard the person cleared their throat.

"Hi! Are Sasuke Uchiha?" the woman asked. Sasuke felt the voice sounded familiar but it was muffled with something. A face mask, probably. Sasuke pushed those thoughts away and nodded at the direction where he heard the voice.

"I'm here to bring you your medications sir" he heard her response. He could hear her placing a tray at his bedside table. There was shuffling and he could feel her hesitating to approach him.

"Sir, would you be comfortable if I help you take in your medicines or do you want me to just place them in your hands?" she asked. It was an odd question for Sasuke but he appreciated it. He did not want to be treated like he was so helpless, there were stills he can do.

"Just place it on my hands please, thank you" he replied to her. He opened his hands, and he could feel her placing the medicines on them. Sasuke lead his hand towards his mouth and took them. He could feel a cup of water near his face and he held it and drank the water, with the woman's help.

"How are you feeling, Sa- sir?" she asked him. He knew she almost slipped calling his name. There was really something familiar with her voice.

"A bit lightheaded and annoyed with my current situation" he started "but other than that I'm fine" he finished. He could feel his head become mushier and he tried to lay down. The woman helped him lay comfortably in his bed. He whispered a short thank you before asking.

"What's your name by the way?" he asked.

Now, Sasuke Uchiha, was not normally the chatty type of person. He blamed it on the medicines and whatever the doctors of the hospital administered to him while he was unconscious.

There was silence around the room before the woman decided to answer.

"My name is Dr. Haruno, sir" she responded "I'm currently a resident here" she finished.

"I know someone who has the same last name as you Doctor" Sasuke responded, his head now filled with the image of that pink haired girl.

"Oh really?" the doctor asked. Sasuke nodded and smiled a little. The medication was seriously taking effect on him now.

"Yeah, her name is Sakura" Sasuke chatted and made himself comfortable in his bed.

"I think it was when we were in primary school, we first met?" he said and scrunched his brows to remember old memories. If his memories served him well, it was back in 3rd grade where he they first met. Naruto had a crush on a pink haired girl and wanted to befriend her. He could still remember how annoyed he was at her. She'd always try to talk to him, and Naruto would get mad at him for that.

Sasuke could not help but chuckle at the memory.

"You must be thinking something funny?" the doctor asked him, her tone was light and urged him to continue talking. So, Sasuke talked about how they knew each other because of Naruto"

"When we reached middle school, she confessed to me. At that time, I had no proper hold with my emotions" he said, there was a hint of sadness and regret in his voice. To be honest, even now, Sasuke knew he barely changed from that aspect of himself. "Rather than being kind, I was rude to her. I'd call her flat out annoying at that time. I can still remember how me, and Naruto fought because of it"

It was still fresh from his memories how mad Naruto was with him. It might seem just a kids fight but Sasuke could never let go of it. Sakura has become their friend at that time and Naruto always treated her well, despite his feelings for her were only one-sided. I don't know if Naruto was mad at me because Sakura had feelings for me instead of him or was it because he saw how Sakura cried after that confession or maybe both of those.

"That must have had hurt her" the doctor responded. Sasuke could notice the sadness in her voice. He was amazed on how empathetic this doctor was. Maybe she had a similar experience with Sakura.

"I know… I was too naïve and dumb back then" Sasuke confessed. The medicine they gave him must be so hard, he wasn't like this. Even when he was drunk, he never chatted this much.

"She still stayed with us, but I would keep my distance away. I thought that was the best thing I could do at that time. I never got the chance to apologize since I left after the second year of middle school" Sasuke could remember just leaving with his family without telling the two. He thought that it was for the better at that time. He thought they'd be better off without him.

"I didn't say goodbye… and just vanished" Sasuke continued. "Luckily, Naruto found me in college and pretty much beat some sense into me" Sasuke chuckled remembering the fight they had behind the parking lot. Both got sent to the nearest E.R at that time. After their fight, the two shared a drink at a nearby bar and to Sasuke's surprise Naruto told him they were still and always were friends despite his ghosting tendencies.

"But I still have regrets, It wasn't that I hated Sakura, no I never did, quite the contrary I liked her" that was the first time Sasuke spoke of his feelings for the pink haired girl. Even Naruto never knew of this.

"I always did like her, I just didn't show it. I'd spot her from the crowd with just that mop of pink hair she had. The way her eyes were similar to the jades and emerald jewelries mom had always amazed me. Especially when she was excited about something, it shone brighter. True to her name, she always smelled like cherry blossoms" Sasuke could picture her in his mind. He suddenly felt the dread of the possibility of not seeing her again. If his eyesight could never be restored, he would not be able to see her again. The thought itself made his heart hurt and head dizzier.

"She was always so good… Always went out her way to help people. A lot of people actually liked her but she never paid attention to them…" Sasuke would never admit it but he never liked those people who liked Sakura. He wanted to be selfish and keep her for himself but felt like it was not right. Sakura was meant to be surrounded by people, she had a lot of love and help to give.

"I never admitted it but I would occasionally stalk her on her social medias. I wanted to know how she was doing. Last time I checked she was at the top of her batch, I always knew she was great, it was not a surprise. I also looked if she was with someone but if she did it wasn't on her soc meds. I wanted to go meet her after all these years but I don't know how to approach her now…" Sasuke yawned and could feel his consciousness slowly drifting to dream land. Truth be told, there was not a second ever since he left that he did not think of Sakura. If he'd be given the chance to reconnect with her, Sasuke would gladly grab the opportunity. He'd do his best to treat her and be the best for her.

"I'm afraid, I won't be able to see her again" that was the last thing Sasuke said as he drifted off to sleep.

After making sure that Sasuke was asleep, the doctor slowly took the dray and gently close the door to let the patient rest. He walk along the hospital halls and greeted her patients that she passed through, and doctors and nurses alike. As she reached the break room, her trembling hands took of her mask.

Dr. Haruno, or better yet, Sakura Haruno had just met her long-time crush for the first time ever since he left them. She gulped and could feel the blood rushing to her face. She still could not believe what had happened.

Did Sasuke Uchiha confessed to her?

Her entire body was trembling, and she was at loss for what to do. After all those years of pining over him… She thought she did not have a chance with him! She thought he was already married and have a family of his own! How could she know?! The man did not have any social media she could stalk! And she did not have the time to look into his family, she was busy with her residency!

"Sasuke… what have you done to me?" she asked herself as she covered her face.

After a few days, Sasuke's vision finally came back. Those days were the most "dark" and annoying days of his life. He remembered him chatting to a certain doctor in the hospital about his feelings. Remembering it was enough to make Sasuke blush and feel shy. He never told Naruto about that encounter and the doctor herself did not visit him again.

He was packing his belongings to his bag when Naruto suddenly entered the room smiling and excited.

"Sasuke, you will not believe what I just found out!" Naruto jumped around him. Sasuke could not help but feel something bad.

"What?" he asked as he zipped his bag closed.

"Remember Sakura? She works here! Actually, she's a resident in this hospital!" Naruto excitedly told him. Sasuke stopped in his tracks, his mental gears pieced the puzzles together. As he realized what had just happened, heat instantly rose to his face.

"Sasuke you ok?" Naruto asked noticing his friend has stopped functioning. Sasuke regained his composure and handed Naruto his bag.

"I need to head to the comfort room" Sasuke said absent-mindedly and exited the room. Naruto tilted his head at Sasuke's direction and pointed at the the comfort room inside the room.

"but there's one inside…"

Sasuke went to a nearby nurse station and asked about Dr. Haruno. The nurse told him she was probably at the pediatric ward right now. Without a moment to waste, he was headed there.

Sasuke's face was impassive but deep inside his emotions were all in shambles and he was not sure what he would do once he met her. As he reached the door of the ward, he saw her back from the small window the ward had.

Her pink hair tied in a small ponytail. She was garbed in a white lab coat with a stethoscope hanging on her neck. The moment she turned around, Sasuke could not help but be amazed.

She was far more beautiful in person than what she posted on her social media's. He always knew she was beautiful ever since they were kids but right now, she was ethereal.

Sakura now walked towards the door waving goodbye to the kids. As she stepped outside, she was Sasuke standing there, his hands were in his pocket and he looked at her.

"Sakura"

"Sasuke…"

A/N

Hi! This is my first story here in and thank you for reading it! This was just some quick write up that I thought of in a middle of work. Thoughts and comments are very much welcome and helpful for future reference. Thanks and have a good day 3

-ykkn