Eight

"Where were you?" Ino questioned in a snotty, sickly voice.

Damn it, Sakura cursed in her head. She had hoped she could enter their dorm room quietly enough that she wouldn't wake Ino. No such luck, apparently.

"We had to keep the clinic open super late and I stayed to help," Sakura decided on. It wasn't a lie, after all. "Pretty much everyone at school is sick."

"Hmmph," Ino mumbled, as she buried her face in her pillows. "I feel like I'm dying."

Sakura rolled her eyes as she assessed her best friend with her gaze. "Have you taken any medicine?"

After being met with radio silence, Sakura sighed. "I assume that means no?"

"You know you're never wrong, Forehead."

"You really are helpless, you know?" Sakura chided, before reaching into her desk drawer for some cold medicine.

"I know."

"You both are," Sakura mumbled under her breath.

Sakura woke up the next morning with a sinus headache so intense that she almost couldn't tell how bad her throat was hurting.

Almost.

She had been expecting to get sick, but at the same time she had been quietly hoping that she wouldn't. Pulling out her cellphone groggily, she checked her email in hopes that some of her classes had been canceled in response to the raging illness flying around the school. She nearly cried in relief when she saw that everything but her Behavioral Neuroscience class and Anatomy lab was canceled. She had a quiz in her lab that she couldn't miss that day, but a small, traitorous part of her told her it wouldn't kill her to skip Neuroscience…

She shook that thought out of her head quickly. She would wear her hoodie pulled up over her face and would sit away from other students. Skipping class just wasn't an option…she didn't think her subconscious would let her. They had a test in that class next week, and Sakura would wind up berating herself to no end if she wound up missing an important lecture.

Regardless, she still had a couple hours left to sleep since her first class of the day was canceled, and so she buried her head deeper into her pillows and willed herself to feel better when she woke up.

Feel better when she woke up, she did not. Sakura quickly decided that if there wasn't a seat at the back of the classroom in her Behavioral Neuroscience class, then she wouldn't stay. It wouldn't be fair to risk the health of her fellow classmates, after all. What kind of future-doctor was she if she jeopardized other people's well-being for her own benefit?

Luckily for Sakura, finding isolated seating wasn't a problem. After a walk in the bitter wind to the Neuroscience building, Sakura entered her classroom to find that nearly half of the class was absent, likely because they too were sick or just didn't care enough to come to class. Attendance wasn't mandatory, after all. Choosing a seat in the back of the room, Sakura huddled down into her oversized hoodie, (okay, not her oversized hoodie, someone else's hoodie, but that was completely beside the point), and did her best to stay awake.

The lecture began promptly on time and Sakura found herself nearly nodding off more than once. Even though she had scolded others for neglecting to take any medication, Sakura herself had scurried out of her dorm so quickly that she too had forgotten to take anything to help relieve her symptoms. Now, she would have to suffer for a few hours, as she wouldn't have time to return to her dorm in between class and her lab.

An unnoted amount of time later, Sakura cringed as students around her began to pack up and leave. She hadn't even realized class had ended, she had been so out of it. She had barely taken any notes. It was probably a complete waste of her time to even show up…

Standing and stretching somewhat miserably, Sakura gathered her things, shoving them hastily and uncaringly into her backpack. She was in absolutely no state of mind to take a quiz, and a cold shiver of worry rolled down her back at the thought that she might not do very well. Or that cold chill may have been due to raging fever. Who could tell?

She trudged woefully from the building out into the whipping October wind. She couldn't remember a time when the fall weather had turned cold so quickly! She remembered seeing on the news the day before that the temperatures were record breaking lows for this time of year. Sakura didn't handle cold well – her slight frame was probably to blame for that. Even the fuzzy lining of her sweatpants and the extra fabric of the hoodie weren't enough to keep her warm.

In contrast to her empty Neuroscience class, her Anatomy lab was full, with every student in attendance for the quiz. Many students looked to be in the same state as Sakura – shivering and coughing and looking as though they had just rolled out of bed. Others seemed healthy, casting terrified glances at the sick as though they harbored the plague.

"Ah, due to the overwhelming number of you who are feeling unwell, let's try to have the sick sit on one side of the room, and the healthy on the other," Kabuto's good-natured voice rang out in the room. "Not to segregate you all but…I think it's probably for the best."

The students began to shift, the sick obediently shuffling over to one side of the room, the other students giving them a wide berth as they did so. Sakura couldn't keep the slight smile from her face as she noticed that Karin was lumped in with the sick students – her nose was almost as red as her hair. Berating herself mentally for being a bitch, Sakura forced her eyes away from Karin only to let her gaze come to rest on the lab's cheerful teaching assistant.

He was smiling sympathetically at her.

A chill ran up her spine for the second time that day, and yet again, Sakura couldn't decide if it was due to fever or something else entirely. She half-heartedly returned Kabuto's smile, hoping that he would assume her lack-luster response was due to her illness and not because of the growing uneasiness she was beginning to feel around him. What was the creeping feeling that she had suddenly developed towards him? Was it purely influenced by Sasuke and Tsunade's warnings, or was she sensing something sinister on her own?

Pushing all thoughts of evil lab instructors out of her head, Sakura attempted to get focused and prepared for the quiz. Kabuto had informed them all that since such a large amount of the group was sick, they would simply take the quiz and then be permitted to leave for the day.

The quiz proved itself to be relatively easy. It was twenty questions long and only took Sakura half as many minutes to complete. She waited for two other students to finish and hand in their quizzes before her to avoid any snickering from the anti-Sakura club. Pathetic, she knew, but she just didn't have the energy to deal with bullies that day.

She hurried out of the room immediately after turning in her quiz, not even bothering to give Kabuto a second glance before she rushed out the door and down the hall. All she could really think about was getting back to her dorm room and crashing on her bed. She was going to need a lot of sleep if she was going to peel herself out of bed in time for Sasuke's class.

Thoughts of the owner of the hoodie she was wearing caused her to frown with discomfort. Putting his hoodie on that morning had been an impulse decision, and a stupid one at that. What if he had seen her in it? What implication would she have been giving him? She had put it on because it was warm and comfortable – it had nothing to do with the fact that it smelled like him, nothing at all. No one else would recognize it since it was just a basic gray hoodie, but still…Sakura felt the sudden need to get into her dorm and hide away from the public's eyes. She nearly collapsed upon entering her room, throwing her bookbag down to the side as she tripped over her own two feet.

"Geez, can you keep it down?" Ino mumbled groggily from beneath a large pile of pillows and blankets. "Some of us sick people are trying to sleep instead of go to class."

Choosing not to answer her grumpy best friend, Sakura merely rolled her eyes as she climbed up the ladder and promptly face-planted onto her bed.

He still looked sick.

His skin was still peaked and he had dark circles beneath his eyes, but he seemed markedly better from Monday, at least. His voice only sounded marginally stuffy when he spoke and his posture was no longer as slouched as it had been. The feverish flush that his cheeks had had was nowhere to be seen.

Sakura, however, felt as though she was ready to be transported to her death bed. She had nearly talked herself out of going to class – and she desperately wished she would have only five minutes after the lecture had begun. She had never been so sick before. Copious amounts of Tylenol hadn't been able to calm her raging fever, and her body continued to ache like she'd been run over by a large and very angry truck. To top it all off, every breath was a struggle thanks to her congested nose and chest.

Sasuke had made eye-contact with her immediately upon entering the classroom, and had very clearly noticed her state of illness. His usually expressionless face had taken on just the barest hint of emotion, visible via the pinch between his eyebrows and the slight downturn of his mouth. As subtle as it was, Sakura couldn't help but be a little touched – she had never seen Sasuke exhibit concern like that before.

After about fifteen minutes of feeling like she was freezing to death, Sakura's fever worked its deadly magic and suddenly she felt as though she were on fire. Quickly stripping off her Konoha University sweatshirt, uncaring that she was only wearing a tank top underneath, Sakura was immediately grateful for the rush of cool air that met her now bare arms. The heat only lasted a few minutes, however, and Sakura was met with a rush of painful goosebumps and a deathly chill.

Grimacing as she caused yet another classroom distraction, Sakura pulled her sweater back on hastily, folding her arms and settling as far back into her seat as she could go. Luckily, the class was almost entirely devoid of students, as the rampaging flu had taken down a large amount of the student body and faculty. Only the healthy and the extremely determined were present in Sasuke's class that day.

About thirty minutes into class, Sakura truly believed she was reaching her breaking point. She could feel tiny beads of sweat breaking out on her temples and the back of her neck, yet she was still convinced she would soon be freezing to death. Just what the hell kind of sickness was this? It hardly seemed natural – not for the flu, anyway.

A prickly feeling down the back of her neck prompted her to look up at Sasuke, she had sensed his eyes on her. He held eye-contact with her for a few seconds before glancing at his watch, and then back up to her. This time, his expression betrayed nothing.

"Class dismissed."

Wait… Had she heard that right? Class was only half over…and Sasuke never dismissed early. Nevertheless, students all around her were gathering their things and quickly scurrying out the door – clearly not giving Sasuke a chance to change his mind.

Feeling as though she were half asleep, Sakura too began to gather her things, albeit at a much slower speed. Her arms felt almost too heavy to move as she slowly slid her things back into her backpack. She could barely believe how sick she was, she almost never got the flu this badly.

She passed Sasuke's desk as she always did now to exit out the lower set of doors. She turned to offer him a half-hearted smile, and was surprised to see he was already out from behind his desk, apparently waiting to walk out of the room with her. He met her upturned lips with a semi-blank stare, nodding towards the door after a few tense seconds had ticked by.

They walked out side-by-side in silence, until, characteristically, Sakura broke it. "You never dismiss class early," she prompted, immediately cursing herself for not phrasing it as a question. He wasn't obligated to answer a statement, and so he probably wouldn't.

"Hn, you're sick," Sasuke surprised her by speaking. "I was done for the day," he quickly amended, pointedly avoiding her gaze.

Sakura didn't say anything else and let the silence fall upon them once more. This time, it was slightly more comfortable. She didn't know how long Sasuke planned on walking by her side, but she wasn't going to complain.

The wind stung her face the moment they stepped out of the building. "Goddamn it," she muttered involuntarily, the chill nearly taking her breath away. "Since when does it get so cold in October?"

Her eyes dropped to Sasuke's hand twitching idly at his side. He seemed markedly uncomfortable, she just couldn't seem to put her finger on why. She reasoned she would probably never really figure the guy out – she suspected that no one ever had. Uchiha Sasuke was a mystery not meant to be solved.

"Tch. You wouldn't be so cold if you were wearing a coat," Sasuke frowned at the cloudy, gray sky above him, not bothering to meet her eyes.

"I see you're feeling extra pleasant today," Sakura muttered under her breath.

She felt his eyes on her then, and she turned to see him scowling at her. His expression shocked her, he looked genuinely pissed. She hadn't thought he was really mad, but maybe she had misread him? Was he pissed at her about dismissing class early? It wasn't exactly like he could blame her…he had been the one to dismiss and he by no means had to. She wasn't even sure that it had had anything to do with her!

She turned her head away from him quickly – a little too quickly – and nearly tripped as black spots began to dance across her vision. She stumbled over her own feet, already having accepted the inevitability of falling on her face like a moron when a strong pair of hands gripped her elbows, steadying her. She was suddenly nose to button with Sasuke's dress shirt.

"Idiot," his warm breath tickled the top of her head. "Why did you even come to class today?"

"I-I don't skip class," Sakura muttered, trying to regain her bearings. She was far too embarrassed to meet his gaze and so she continued to stare at the row of black buttons on his shirt.

"Tch, come on," Sasuke released her arms, motioning for her to follow him.

"Where are we going?" Sakura asked, trailing after him and feeling somewhat like a lost puppy. She looked around self-consciously, thankful to see that the campus walkways were nearly deserted. Luckily, it seemed that almost everyone was in class or in their dorm rooms with the flu.

"You're going back to your dorm room to sleep."

"I have to work soon!" Sakura spluttered, before coughing violently into her arm. Okay, Tsunade would probably send her home anyway…

The glare Sasuke sent her was enough to force her to drop the matter, at least for the moment. He turned away from her again and began walking, clearly expecting her to follow behind him. It was times like these she truly questioned her sanity. What was this stupid attraction she was feeling and why did it have to be towards someone so horrible?

Sakura had never had feelings like this before. Sure, she'd been on some dates, and yeah, she'd had that thing with Naruto. But none of her previous "romantic" encounters had left her feeling anything like she felt walking behind Sasuke, back to her dorm room. They weren't even talking, he wasn't even looking at her – and yet she still felt so inexplicably drawn to him. That was the only reason she didn't turn around and walk away from him right then, and it was a reason she didn't even fully understand.

They approached her building, only passing a few students on their way out who didn't seem to recognize Sasuke – or they just didn't care. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief as she climbed the stairs and swiped her key card to unlock the door.

"Thanks," Sakura muttered under her breath, only half-serious. She was suddenly very ready to be out of Sasuke's suffocating presence. His gaze was just too heavy.

"Go sleep," Sasuke snapped. "Don't go to work," he added on, seemingly as an afterthought.

"Yes, Mom," Sakura crossed her arms over her chest dejectedly. She sometimes couldn't believe how quickly the man could become so insufferable!

"Tch," Sasuke scoffed, turning to go.

Sakura watched him for a few moments – long enough to see him pause. He stood there with his back to her, on hand in his pocket, the other clenched firmly at his left side. She thought for a moment that he would turn around and say something to her, but he didn't. He merely resumed walking quickly in the direction of his building.

"You…are…kidding me."

Sakura nearly ran back out the door rather than turn around. "…Ino."

"SIT!" Ino barked at her, pointing up at Sakura's lofted bed. "And spill your guts, Forehead. You're not getting out of it this time."

"Ino," Sakura groaned. "I'm sick. Can't you just let me sleep?"

"That's hilarious, Forehead. Real funny stuff. You just came back from class early – which never happens, and you were being escorted by the most handsome man to ever grace this campus – a man who also happens to be a professor of yours. This is the gossip of the century! You have to tell me everything!" Ino was practically dancing around the room – while blowing her nose.

"Pig, it's nothing," Sakura flopped backwards onto her bed. "It wasn't anything."

"Oh shut-up, Forehead! You are so annoying! You can't possibly expect me to believe you," the blonde snapped. "I'm your best friend, why won't you talk to me?"

Guilt washed over Sakura then. Ino was her best friend, and had helped her with boy issues in the past. Hell, she'd even helped her after the whole Naruto situation had happened… "Well…"

"I knew it!" Ino sneezed loudly. "Tell me!"

Sakura sat back up, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "I wasn't really lying Ino, there's nothing much to tell. Sasuke…dismissed class early. He was sick on Monday and I think he still isn't feeling well and…I-think-he-dismissed-early-because-of-me," Sakura rushed the last part out, feeling her cheeks heat up.

"Oh," Ino put a hand over her heart, closing her eyes and pretending to swoon. "That is so cute."

"He's such an ass, though," Sakura frowned. "He'll do something sweet, and then turn around and say something rude. I'm not sure why he acts that way, but it's taxing to say the least."

"This needs serious thought, Forehead. Stay put and I'll go out and get some low-carb ice cream!" Ino clapped excitedly.

"Great," Sakura half-smiled as Ino flew out the door.

Pulling out her cellphone, Sakura texted Tsunade letting her know that she was sick and wouldn't make it to work. Dragging a blanket up around her shoulders, Sakura curled up in bed and let herself drift off into a fitful sleep while she waited for Ino.

Sakura woke up sometime after her conversation with Ino, rubbing her eyes groggily and trying to clear the scratchy feeling from her throat. After a few minutes of stretching and shivering from fever, she felt her phone buzz from somewhere underneath her pillow. She reached her hand under the tangle of blankets and pillows to find her cellphone.

Come downstairs, the text from Sasuke read.

Sakura frowned down at the device, wondering if she was suffering from a fever induced delusion. Sasuke had been an absolute ass when he had left her hours before – why would he be texting her now? And why on earth would he be asking her to come downstairs?

She contemplated ignoring the message, (well, not really, but she was pretending to herself that she did), but still climbed down from her lofted bed and grabbed a pair of slippers. Pulling her hair back into a messy ponytail and grabbing a sweater for warmth, Sakura quietly slipped out her door, careful not to wake a napping Ino. She had already suffered enough at the blonde girl's hands for one day…the interrogation had been a brutal one.

She had had to explain things to Ino, being careful to leave out some of the more…confusing incidents. Sakura swore up and down a hundred times that there was absolutely nothing going on with her and Sasuke, but the glint in Ino's eyes told Sakura that she didn't believe a word of it. Ino was swept away by the idea of her roommate and the dreamy professor engaging in an indecent love affair, and the fantasy could not be removed from her mind, no matter how hard Sakura tried.

Sakura trudged slowly down the stairs towards the lobby of her building, confused and maybe a little pissed about Sasuke's behavior. He'd been in a royally bad mood when he'd left her earlier, and here she was, bending to his whim like a little puppy. Maybe she shouldn't have heeded his text, after all…

"Haruno Sakura?"

Sakura was snapped out of her thoughts by an unfamiliar male voice saying her name, causing her to trip down the last step of the staircase. "Hm?" she turned to find a delivery boy leaning against the wall with a bag in his hands. "Uh, yes? I mean, that's me…"

"Great," the boy smiled at her, extending the bag. "Here's your food!"

Sakura frowned then. If Sasuke wouldn't have texted her, she would have thought this was some sort of scheme that she should be running away from. "Um, I didn't order any food, though. Are you sure it's mine?"

The delivery boy matched her facial expression. "I mean, it's gotta be. The delivery directions said to deliver to a pink-haired girl named Haruno Sakura. You know any others?"

"No," Sakura admitted. "I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting this."

"It's no problem!" the good-natured boy smiled yet again, pressing the bag into Sakura's arms. "Here you go, enjoy!" He tipped his hat at her and ran back out the door, his speed and hyperactivity rivaled Naruto's own…

Terrifying.

Sakura glanced down at the bag in her arms skeptically. The warmth from it seeped through the brown paper and through her thick, forest green sweater to warm her chest, and she subconsciously clutched it tighter to herself as she climbed back up the stairs wearily. A delicious smell was wafting up from the bag, tickling Sakura's nose. It smelled like chicken noodle soup, she couldn't help but note.

Sakura paused outside of her dorm room door. Ino would most definitely question this new development. If Sakura claimed she had ordered the soup herself, Ino would be pissed that Sakura didn't ask her if she wanted anything. If Sakura told the truth, or what seemed to be the truth at least – that Sasuke had gotten her the soup – Ino would likely never recover.

Turning promptly, Sakura made her way down the hall to Naruto's room and knocked lightly on his door.

"Mmm, come in!" came the muffled reply.

"Hey, Naruto," Sakura sighed, pushing open the door to find her friend sitting next to a pile of empty instant ramen cups on the floor while he played video games. "Mind if I eat my food in here? Ino's napping and I wouldn't dare to wake the beast."

Naruto snorted at that. "Sure, Sakura-chan! Go ahead. Just push all the dirty clothes off of my bed."

Making a face behind Naruto's back, Sakura used a discarded baseball bat to shove the pile of dirty, smelly boy clothes from Naruto's bright orange bedspread before perching herself delicately on the edge, opening her bag of food as she did so.

Inside was the receipt, which included a note at the bottom. Get well soon, it read, in typed font. Sakura stared at the piece of paper dumbly for a moment, before quickly crumpling it into a ball and throwing it into Naruto's trashcan. She didn't even want to think about that.

The reality of the situation was hitting her then. Had he really gone to the trouble to buy her soup? Was he trying to make up for his behavior earlier? Did he feel bad that she had gotten sick after taking care of him? Was this something else entirely? She had to be thinking too hard about this…

"Mmm, smells good, Sakura-chan! What is that?" Naruto asked, never turning his head away from his game.

"Chicken noodle soup," Sakura murmured distractedly. "From Sasuke," she added on to herself, under her breath.

"From where?" asked Naruto, his excellent hearing picking up more than it should have.

"Um," Sakura blushed, reading the name on the bag quickly. "From Nagato's Noodles."

"Oh, cool! I love it there."

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief, the blush still staining her cheeks. "Me too, Naruto."

She pulled out her cellphone.

Thanks.

AN: Bleh. Sorry that took a couple days longer than usual. It's been a tough week. I'm really not a fan of this chapter, like really-really, but I hope you are able to enjoy it! Chapter 9 is already written and I dolike that one quite a bit, so I'll hopefully be sharing that one with you soon. I'm about to start working on Chapter 10 ;)

~ loony