Promises
Sasuke traced the rough edges of his sutured wound, testing the burning pain that remained there. His head ached, and it was becoming more difficult to remain focused on any one thing courtesy of his concussion. The black of the sutures blurred from his sight and he tipped his head back on the couch he sat on. Her couch.
She was going back and forth between the bathroom and the kitchen, cleaning up the mess that was made mostly from his blood. She was beautiful, even now, with her washed out lime green scrubs and the many hours of work that collected in dark tints under her eyes. She disappeared into the dim hallway in search of something, and that's when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket.
"Where are you?" His brother's voice answered.
"In Brooklyn. What about you?"
"Are you staying there?"
"No. Where are you?"
"The office."
Sasuke groaned with dazed exasperation, lifting his head from the back of the couch. The kitchen was empty and Sakura did not seem to be near.
"Go somewhere nobody no one would look," Sasuke said, attempting to mock his brother's voice, "that's what you told me. Aren't you in the most obvious place ever?"
Itachi's sigh crackled through the phone. "Well, we have a team here, and the helicopter is on standby so—"
"You could have said that, Itachi, in the first place. I mean, fuck, I could have met you there."
"I didn't know what kind of situation you were in. Why does it matter? You seem to have figured it out. Besides, we only just got here. You can come now."
Sasuke's chest burnt with anger he knew he could not express. He couldn't answer the question. Even now he refused to tell his brother about Sakura, about how he could have avoided showing up on this poor woman's doorstep bleeding all over and looking like an absolute psychopath.
"Fine. I'm on the way." Sasuke said, attempting to temper his voice to mask his anger. He shoved his phone back into his pocket and stood up, fighting dizziness. Sakura had yet to return to the kitchen, so he took the time to push aside the curtains and peek out the window. The street was still. He would be genuinely surprised if he'd been followed here, he made sure again and again that he'd given his mysterious pursuants the slip. Even so, the feeling of danger remained.
Sasuke returned the curtains to their original position as he heard Sakura's light footsteps come from down the hallway.
"Here we go," she said, satisfaction evident in her voice. "My biggest bandage. I knew I still had it somewhere."
He turned around to face her as she tore apart the wrapping of the bandage. She placed it gingerly over the sutures in his forearm; it was a perfect fit. She took some time to smooth the edges of the bandage, but too soon her touch was gone and Sasuke was left with an ache that had nothing to do with the pain of his wound.
"You keep that clean or you'll be sorry," Sakura said with an authoritative tone. "You don't even want to know how painful it would be if you don't…blood poisoning, or god forbid septic shock…Even Tsunade would have trouble keeping you alive if that were the case."
"Oh, I've heard about it, trust me. She once told me that if I wasn't responsible enough to take care of myself she'd just let me die."
To Sasuke's surprise Sakura's laughter rippled through the air, and she brought up a hand to stifle it as his own mouth twitched in amusement.
"My God," She said, turning away to toss the bandage wrappings into the trashcan, "She must really hate you."
"Yeah, I would say so," Sasuke said, drinking in her presence and trying to delay the inevitable. He had to go, but it was impossible not to get lost when he looked at her. This was not what he was accustomed to when dealing with Tsunade, or really anybody else in his life. Kindness. Compassion. Somewhere a voice in his brain admitted he craved her presence, that he should stay with her for now… his attackers had given up and gone back to where they came from already. But a more disciplined part of himself knew that there was a chance that they had done the opposite, and were still looking for him. He couldn't…
"I heard the end of your phone call," she admitted, interrupting his thoughts, "It sounded important. Do you want some coffee before you go? It may help with your headache."
Her words dropped on him like a wet blanket. That voice inside his brain screamed for him to stay.
"On any other day," he promised, stepping closer to her, "Really, I mean it…"
She looked up as he approached and he studied her face. He could tell he still made her nervous by the way she blinked her eyes away after catching his gaze, he'd watched her do it all night. "You were right about the call, it was important. There's some things I have to deal with that can't wait, which is… unfortunate. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize, I can see…" Sakura paused, green eyes flashing to his various wounds, "I mean, you've got a lot going on right now. Clearly." She was close enough to touch, and with dazed judgement he reached out to capture her hand in his.
"I keep finding myself in debt to you, so whatever you need," Sasuke started, drinking in her nearness, "Just call. I'll be there. I promise."
As he watched her hesitate to speak he realized how close he had brought them together. Her back was pushed against the island that separated the kitchen from the living room, and she didn't shy away from the contact despite the light blush that settled on her cheeks. He didn't know whether it was the dim light from the dawn that settled over her apartment, or the gratitude he had for her, but there was something that encouraged him to close the distance between them, and suddenly, his arm didn't hurt anymore…
"Wake up"
"Huh?"
"Sasuke, wake up you fuck! There are people coming out!"
Naruto's voice hit him like a bucket of cold water, and Sasuke shot up from the reclined passenger side seat.
"Where?" he asked, throat dry.
"There, there! Hurry!" Naruto pointed across the street. Sasuke pulled a camera from the back of the sedan and took a series of pictures. For a few moments, the only sound that filled the car was the flickering of the camera's shutter.
There were several people gathered at the entrance of the restaurant across the street. Sasuke was able to identify most of them in an instant. Hiashi, the family head, stood just left of a much younger man. They both wore their hair long, and it may have been easy to mistake them for each other at one point in time, but the younger man, Neji, had developed a propensity for face tattoos which made him stand out against the others. They seemed to be deep in conversation over something important, mouths moving quickly and bodies turned away from the group.
"Neji's there, just next to Hiashi. They look… involved" Sasuke said.
"They certainly don't look like they hate each other. Geez, talk about making your bed," Naruto said, squinting out of the window as if he was trying to hear their words. "You think face tattoos hurt?"
"No doubt," Sasuke said, trying to read their lips through the lens of his camera.
"Who's that he's got with him?" Naruto asked. A pair of black SUVs pulled in front of the group then, blocking their view. Sasuke shrugged and sifted through some of the pictures on the camera.
"It looks like most of their executive team and some people I don't know. They don't look like the corporate type, though. Must be whoever Neji brought with him… add that to the list of things we'll have to figure out."
Naruto groaned loudly at the thought of more work. "It's been days, all this sneaking around is starting to feel fucking dumb. I only do like, five things: eat, make money, fight, fuck, and sleep. Preferably in that order. All of this extra shit is bumming me out. You know it was them dude. Let's just get it over with or die already."
Sasuke threw Naruto a wry look.
"It's more complicated than that, and don't act like you're the only one who's miserable. I haven't slept in days. Everything sucks for everybody right now. But these types of conflicts, they're bad for business, so if it can be helped—"
Just before Sasuke could finish, a man with silver hair stepped out of the driver's side of one of the SUVs. This caught their attention immediately, and Sasuke felt Naruto bristle beside him.
"This prick," Naruto seethed, reaching for the door handle, "You think he's—"
"Are you fucking braindead?" Sasuke growled, gripping the back of Naruto's jacket to prevent him from stepping out of the car, "Close the door, you'll be dead before you even cross the street." The door slammed shut and Naruto glared at Sasuke.
"We've done enough fighting for now. You'll get your chance," Sasuke said in an attempt to quell the anger that lingered in the atmosphere. Naruto shrugged Sasuke's grip away and muttered a string of expletives.
"You know, you sound like your brother. But in the worst way, " Naruto said, slouching into the seat and turning his head to watch the group across the street gather into their cars. Sasuke felt his temper spread like acid in his chest, twisting his expression into one of incredulousness.
"Tsunade just let you off the leash, so if you're really ready to get dragged back to her house bleeding to death, again, then by all means, go for it." Naruto didn't respond, and Sasuke could hear the edge of his own words echoing through the silence. He abandoned the conversation, crossing his arms and following Naruto's gaze towards the group across the street.
The pair was on their way shortly thereafter.
The semi-rhythmic motion of the car in traffic and the silence caused by Naruto's vexation fed into Sasuke's fatigue. He felt his phone buzzing in his pocket as he closed his eyes. Probably Shikamaru, he thought, too tired to care right now. He fell asleep again while Naruto drove, and once they arrived in front of the glass sheathed building that was the Uchiha executive offices, Naruto was kind enough to wake him once more. With a long, exhausted sigh, he sat up.
"You sticking around?" Sasuke asked, reaching around the car to collect his things.
"Fuck no, I'm going home. I'm tired."
Sasuke clicked his tongue, dragged himself and his bag from the car, and stepped towards the large monolithic building in front of him.
Inside, everything was a shade of jagged grey. Sasuke had known this building all his life, but that didn't mean he liked it. Serious looking people rushed around with purpose, and even though it was after 5PM, many employees still remained to accomplish one thing or another. He saw heads turn in his peripheral as he pushed through the large glass doors, feeling the torrid pressure of several gazes. He hated the way people looked at him; like they were peeking out of their windows to see their neighbors fighting across the street.
I don't belong here.
He rushed through the lobby area towards the elevator farthest away from the commotion of the lobby, catching his reflection in the polished silver doors. His skin emitted a pallid glow and his black eyebrows were twisted into an internal scowl. The cuts on his face had mostly healed now, thanks to Sakura, but the one on his cheekbone remained red and glaring. He felt like shit and knew he looked it too, but he couldn't dwell on that now. He persisted like he always did, slamming the faded "up" button until the silver doors opened.
He made it to the top floor without encountering anybody, thank God, he thought. He could hear heated voices through the door of his father's office. Bypassing the red-headed secretary, he pushed through the double darkwood doors at the end of the room.
"Sasuke," his father said, looking up from the mess of papers that littered his desk. His brother was there too, among the group of suits who were mostly staring at him with surprise in their eyes. Only his father and brother seemed to expect his arrival. As the doors closed behind him, he watched his father rise from his seat and dismiss the group to meet again.
"Not you, Kakashi, you stay."
A tall silver haired man with a slouching posture only shrugged, slipping his hands into his pockets while he watched the muttering group filter out of the expansive office. Kakashi, the family lawyer, had known Sasuke nearly his whole life. He was his father's most trusted advisor outside of himself and his brother. His aloof nature caused people to underestimate him, but the truth was that there was no problem that he couldn't find a solution for.
"So," Fugaku said, "What did you find, son?"
Sasuke dropped his bag onto the large wooden desk, pulling out his camera to hand to his father. The photos spoke for themselves, and he watched as his father examined them. His black eyebrows knitted together and his frown deepened. No words were spoken, and Fugaku handed the camera to Itachi. Kakashi leaned over Itachi's shoulder to watch, with apparent amusement, as he too sifted through the pictures.
"Huh…" Kakashi muttered, "No wonder we haven't heard from them…"
"I'm sure Orochimaru was there too, but not until after. We saw one of his men," Sasuke said. Fugaku sat behind the desk, resting his chin atop his fingers in a contemplative stance. He turned his attention to Kakashi.
"Are we ready to make an offer?"
Kakashi shrugged, "Now?" he contemplated, rocking back and forth on his heels, "it'll be expensive. They won't accept if you give them what everybody else is capable of offering. Give them something that can't be refused. Whatever you can spare above market value, and with a little convincing, " He glanced towards Sasuke then, "Maybe. But if they refuse, well, you know…"
"We'll be fucked, and they'll turn it around on us, and buy out our board members… What a mess that'll be," Itachi said.
Fugaku nodded and crossed his arms. Another silence followed. Sasuke stood there awkwardly, not having been acknowledged since he walked in the door. He wasn't one to question the decisions that were made on behalf of the business, and there was no reason to look at what had been done instead of what needed to be done… however, the earlier conflict with Naruto jumped into the front of his mind.
Let's just get it over with or die already.
"Didn't you see this coming days ago? Why wait? We've just created more work for ourselves," Sasuke said before he could stop himself. All three heads turned towards him, and at first he expected his father to be angry with him, but he wasn't.
"There was no reason to jump into action right away, Sasuke. The original deal was optimal, and we've dealt with the Hyuuga's for ages. It could have worked, and we can not afford to make mistakes here, for both of our sakes." Fugaku stood up with a new sense of energy that charged the climate of the room. "I should have listened to your grandfather about these people," he continued, pacing along the wall to wall windows. "He always suspected they would betray us, but now they're weak, Hiashi is old and his daughters aren't fit to take over, his board of directors twist and turn his decisions every day, and now they're reliant on this nephew of theirs." Sasuke could sense the anger leaking from his father's standard cool demeanor as he continued to rant. "And look at where they are now. Their hands forced by some kid with face tattoos and long hair. He broke the agreement on purpose, by the way, just to see if the main family would be forced to back him. And they did. Ballsy for a kid. It's all a disgrace, really, no way to run a family."
A brief silence stretched on, and no-one felt daring enough to interrupt Fugaku's train of thought. Once the atmosphere cooled, Kakashi was the first to speak.
"Well, let's not make the same mistakes they did, if this is the direction we're going in."
"Yes," Fugaku agreed, eyes flashing between his two sons, "Let's all get on the same page. But," he said, grabbing his coat and phone from his desk, "I'm hungry, let's take this to dinner. Some conversations are best had over food."
Sasuke went along with the trio silently as they made their way to lower Manhattan. He recognized the gravity of the situation and his thoughts went at a million miles an hour trying to figure out what everything meant and what his place was within it all. Even as they approached the restaurant, he still couldn't get one thing out of his mind.
"Let's not make the same mistakes they did, if this is the direction we're going in."
Sasuke glanced at Kakashi, who was sitting beside him in the SUV they'd taken downtown. What did he mean by that? He thought as the car came to a stop, does he think I'd really try to betray my own family? I'm not like Neji at all. The dull beginnings of guilt crawled in his chest at the thought of his most recent secret, and Sasuke scowled as he ducked out of the car and into the cold night.
.
.
.
Sakura sighed as she turned her phone around and around in her palms, having forgotten what after-the-first-text jitters felt like. The subway car clanked and rattled and she forced her attention on anything else, the lights flashing by through the windows, the random dude falling asleep, a woman on the phone… How long had it been now?
Eventually the subway came to a stop and the doors hissed open. Sakura stood up from her seat and started out towards the cold, cheeks glowing pink long before she found herself walking up the stairwell of the subway station. She stuffed her hand in her pocket, palming her phone but silently willing herself not to check it. The streetlights illuminated her path, and eventually she stood before her very distinct blue door with the crooked numbers and the peeling paint.
She smiled as she stepped into the warm embrace of her entryway, closing the door gently behind her. The smile froze on her face when she felt her phone buzzing away in her hand. Sasuke's number flashed across her screen.
"Hello?" she said, pulling her scarf down to speak properly.
"Hey," he answered, voice hoarse. "I got your text."
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that, it completely slipped my mind. If it's easier, I can give it to Tsunade—"
"No, don't apologize," he interrupted, "I don't mind stopping by."
"Oh," Sakura breathed, heart fluttering, "If you're sure."
There was a beat of silence and she could make out a distinct rumbling noise coming from his phone, followed by a light screeching sound.
"Are you driving right now?" She asked.
"Yeah, yeah."
Another pause.
"I can be there in fifteen. I think. I'll call you."
"Yeah, that sounds good. See you then."
"See you."
Sakura exhaled and dashed up the stairs as soon as she hung up. 15 minutes. Dropping her bag on the couch, she darted around the apartment, tidying up what she could. She wasn't going to be totally rude; it was only polite to invite him in for coffee as a thank you for his thoughtfulness. The worst he could do is say no, but on the off chance that he accepted, she'd rather not invite him into a mess.
Clothes made their way into the laundry, dishes were haphazardly tossed into the sink, and she even went as far as to wipe down the kitchen island and sweep the hardwood floor. The coffee table was too far gone; piled high with books and various papers she would never organize in time. Her phone buzzed and she gasped, letting out a sound of protest as she looked down. She'd worn her ugly scrubs today.
"It's the blue door? 408?"
"Yeah, I'll be right down."
She undid the bolt lock to her front door and made her way down the stairs, nervousness tickling her insides. She sighed and pulled open the door to the street.
"Hey, thanks for—"
Sakura's greeting died in her throat and her smile transformed into an expression of shock and confusion.
There were several cuts bleeding on his face; some of which had coagulated already. He was breathing hard as if he had run to her house, gripping the side of the doorway to support himself. The most shocking injury was on his arm, where fabric and skin were ripped open and dripping blood onto the icy pavement below.
"Oh my God," Sakura whispered, stunned and rooted to the spot, "You need to go to a hospital! I- You're bleeding everywhere! How-"
"I'm sorry," Sasuke started, pain strangling his voice, "I suppose I had nowhere else to go, and then you texted me, and the truth is that you've been catching me on some very bad days."
Sakura was at a loss for words, and there was an awkward silence.
"I can g—"
"No, no, let me help you," Sakura interrupted, beginning to herd him through the doorway, "but how did this happen? Did someone do this to you?"
"Yes, there were three of them. They were waiting for me by my car."
Sakura sighed and helped him up the stairs. Sasuke tried not to get his blood everywhere.
"You should call the police, this isn't right. I mean, God, look at you!"
She caught the slight smirk in his countenance and hurried him into the bathroom.
"Sit down" she ordered, motioning to the edge of the bathtub. She began washing her hands thoroughly, and once she was done she opened the medicine cabinet to pull out several things at once. A first aid kit, gauze, tweezers, and alcohol all clattered into the sink below. She turned around and handed him a wad of gauze.
"Hold that on your arm."
Sasuke obeyed.
She stepped towards him a moment later. Sakura could feel nervousness creeping up from her core. She had been just as close with many patients in situations like these, but here in her bathroom, with him, seemed different.
"Look at me," She said, standing over him. When he tipped his head back to look at her she grabbed his face with her free hand to make sure he would remain still.
"You have some glass in your cuts, so try to stay still while I get it out" she said. It was a rather intimate position as she bent over top of him, faces close so she could see properly. She went through a routine of examining his wounds, picking out the debris, and wiping away the blood. He wasn't trying to hide the fact that he was watching her, but she remained focused on her task. Despite the meticulousness of the process, she was finished in just a few minutes, however, to Sakura it felt like a lifetime.
She felt sorry as she watched his eyebrows knit in pain from the antiseptic she dabbed on his cuts. Some were shallow and didn't need dressing at all, but there was one particularly deep wound on his cheek that continued to bleed.
"I'm not going to put stitches in your face" she muttered, turning his head side to side, "but I can at least close the cut. If it continues to bleed or break open, you should really see Tsunade. She has a much steadier hand than me."
He nodded, and she released her grip to rifle through the first aid kit behind her. Her skin was burning. She had a hard time admitting that she found a slight satisfaction that he seemed to welcome the closeness of the situation.
She turned around with some wound closure strips in her hands, gently lifting his face as she had before.
"Hold still," Sakura instructed, beginning a slow rhythm of pinching his wound together and applying the strips. His dark eyes pierced her while she worked, examining every move with a dazed and light curiosity. After so many minutes of the overwhelming proximity, Sakura stepped away, fingers coated with his blood. His cheek had stopped bleeding, wound held together by several transparent strips.
"Right," She breathed, happy with her work. Her light green eyes skimmed his arm; the gauze he continued to press there was soaked through with blood. He followed her gaze, peeking under the gauze and grimacing at the gash there.
"Have you had sutures before?" She asked.
"Yes."
"Were you given a local anesthetic?"
He nodded.
Sakura looked at him, pity dancing in her eyes, "I don't have anything stronger than Advil, and that is quite a large wound to suture. It may take me a while. Are you sure you don't want to go to a hospital, or even to Tsunade's?"
He sighed and shook his head, "It's fine."
Sakura handed him a fresh wad of gauze before leading him into the kitchen, she would need a better surface to work on. He was walking rather slowly, and she watched him wince as she turned the kitchen lights on. She made a mental note to test for a concussion.
It took her some time to prepare; she had to sterilize her instruments and move her impromptu set-up to the small table that sat along the wall of the kitchen. By the time she had finished, Sasuke was still clutching the now soaked gauze to his arm, but hunched over with his elbows on his knees and head down.
"Hurting?" Sakura asked.
"Yes," Sasuke seethed, picking up his head to look at her, "it seems to be catching up with me now."
Sakura moved the second chair at the table so she was sitting beside him. "Look at me," She ordered again. His dark eyes flashed to her green, and her heart jumped. She held up her index finger in line with his nose. "Follow my finger with just your eyes. Don't move your head."
He did as she asked, and Sakura watched with a burning gaze while she moved her finger from side to side. After a few slow passes, she put her hand down.
"You have a concussion."
"I figured, from the splitting headache and all."
"I brought some pain medicine, but I don't think it's going to do much. Take this," she said, and handed him a bottle filled most of the way with clear liquid. It was cherry vodka. "But know that concussions can enhance the effects of alcohol."
"You're kidding me," He groaned, mostly to himself. "Don't tell me this is all you have."
"This is neither a bar nor a hospital, and yet, here we are," Sakura said. He drank to that, and she took that opportunity to pull his arm onto the table.
"This reminds me of high school parties."
"Underage drinking?You delinquent."
Sakura watched him grin through the pain. She began cutting away the sleeve around his arm, eyes tracing the intricate design of black ink that embellished his skin. "I know, what a surprise, right?"
Sakura chuckled, breathless, as she soaked some cotton pads with a antiseptic solution.
"I'm really sorry for this" Sakura said, and before he could react she pressed the soaked gauze hard on his open wound, flushing it with antiseptic. He gasped and clenched his hands into fists, color draining from his face. She wondered if he had begun to regret his choice to remain in her care.
"Not so bad, not so bad…" she murmured as she peeled the gauze away. "That part is quick at least."
For many minutes they sat there, Sakura working a needle through his skin and muscle while Sasuke drank, groaned in pain, and eventually sat with his hands clenched and head bowed. She was about halfway through when she saw the sweat beading at his forehead and dripping down the sides of his face.
"I can stop at any time, and I really insist you go to a hospital. Look," she said, tracing a gentle finger along the split of his skin, "I can't line up the tattoo on your arm. It's going to look messed up when it heals."
"Please, Sakura, just finish it," He begged, dark eyes swimming with pain, "you're all I have right now."
She stared at him, tongue tied. Something cautioned her not to ask about what he meant. Suddenly she heard the sound of rushing water, and the feeling of being pulled away from him…he became out of focus…
Reality bled into her dream, and she felt a heightened awareness towards her breathing and the sweat that had formed at her hairline.
The sound of the shower had roused her. Ino had come home from the salon already. Sakura's eyes flashed towards the window. Darkness. She felt a momentary panic thinking she had overslept, but the sun had just set and it was still an hour or so away from her shift. She sat up in a dazed state. Her hair was sticking up oddly in some places, and the lines on her cheek had not yet dissipated from where her face met the pillows.
She rubbed her face and groaned, still reeling from her dream and the fact that she had no idea how she'd slept for so long. I don't even remember laying down, she thought. It wasn't the first time she had that dream in the last week. Her brain seemed to recall that night with alarming accuracy, forcing her to relive every moment.
Eventually, Sakura managed to dress herself and made her way onto the couch in the living room. Ino looked up as Sakura plopped down on the couch, her longplatinum hair clinging to her back and shoulders.
"You look terrible," Ino joked, sipping the glass of wine she had poured for herself.
"Gee, thanks Ino."
"Want some coffee? Wine? Both?"
Sakura laughed hoarsely and rubbed her eyes. She felt the tiredness behind them still, a feeling that never seemed to go away.
"Coffee would be amazing. I have to head to the hospital soon."
Ino made her way into the kicken, but not before giving Sakura a look of surprise.
"The hospital, already? Don't you get a day off?"
Sakura groaned. "I wish. Tsunade has been relentless. It's like she's trying to make sure I have zero free time."
"Mmm" Ino said, "I can see that." Sakura watched Ino's electric blue eyes scrape across the coffee table in front of Sakura, silently judging the mass of books and journals that piled there. "I haven't seen the surface of that coffee table for months."
Sakura laughed, "Sorry, it's been a little rough lately. Thanks," she said, gripping the hot mug her roommate handed her. For a moment, she allowed her thoughts to wander towards the smell of the coffee and the comfortable dim lighting of the room.
Ino smiled as she sat down across from Sakura once more.
"You're working so hard. I just hope you can get a break over the holidays, we could go out, or stay in, or whatever you want."
There was a pause before she clapped her hands together and a look of realization dawned upon her face.
"We should have something here!" Ino moved to sit next to Sakura on the couch, facing her and talking rapidly. "Kiba isn't hosting anything this year since he moved into a smaller place, and I don't think I heard of any plans yet, and we've been getting together on Christmas eve-eve since forever! You remember right? I mean you haven't been since you started at the hospital, but it's always great! Shizune can come if she's off, and, well, you could bring someone if you wanted to, and…"
Ino listed what felt like a hundred names and Sakura struggled to follow along through her brain fog. She resorted to nodding intermittently as she sipped her coffee.
"Great! It's settled. You figure out how to not work, and I'll do everything else."
Sakura was forced to leave for the hospital after some time, but not before Ino bombarded her with all manner of plans and arrangements that must be made. As she made her way to the subway, she pondered about whether or not the schedule had been posted and what she might say to Tsunade if she was to take a day off. That scenario dominated her thoughts until she came face to face with the entrance to the hospital's emergency department.
She hardly had any time to think about anything except work for the following hours. Tsunade seemed to be in a good mood, but that didn't change the fact that things were busy and they were drowning in work. The to-do list was overwhelming, and Sakura saw patients, completed paperwork, and analyzed various medical tests.
When she took her first break, she found the only thing she could possibly accomplish was taking a short nap in her office before heading back out onto the floor. Shizune had arrived at that point, which Sakura was glad to see.
The night went on in a normal fashion. There were only a few patients that truly needed to be in the ICU, and Sakura found herself caring for minor wounds and illnesses most of the time. Just before her shift was over, she met Shizune at the nurses station during a rare moment of calm.
"So," Shizune started, "you off soon?"
Sakura leaned against the counter to alleviate the dull pain that was beginning to blossom in her feet.
"Yeah, my last two shifts were 18 hours so I think Tsunade's letting me off easy today."
"Hm," Shizune said, giving her an incredulous look, "That's lucky, at least it's been relatively quiet tonight. I wonder if—"
Before she could finish, the piercing sound of their pagers cut through their conversation. Both women fumbled through their white coats, and Sakura sighed as she read the flashing screen:
*TRAUMA ALERT*
Level 1 Emergency dept.
ETA 3 min.
The two split ways immediately and rushed to their prospective sides of the room. It wasn't 30 seconds before Tsunade came rushing down from her office. She bounced around the room to supervise both Sakura and Shizune as they prepared for the ambulances that were only just a minute away.
The trio ran towards the ambulance bay with nurses scurrying around them. It was chaotic and loud, and Sakura only caught a few words from the nurse that had sent out the alert.
"Gunshot wound… Children…"
The ambulances arrived then, and Tsunade called for Sakura and Shizune while the nurses ran inside, pushing along 3 stretchers.
"Two children and an adult. Me and Sakura will take the children. Shizune take care of the adult. Get them stabilized and I'll be around to assess."
Sakura ran into the room to the left, following a team of nurses as they split off into different areas.
"What happened?" Sakura asked as she stepped in between the nurses crowded around the patient. The first thing she noticed was the boy who was maybe 5 or 6 years old. The blood pooled along his chest and the nurse was frantically mopping up the red liquid with handfuls of gauze.
"Gunshot wound to the chest, through the lung and nicked an artery, I can't—" the nurse stopped to shift the ball of gauze she held on the right side of the boy's chest, "it won't stop—"
Sakura jumped as the heart monitor beside her blurted out a series of alarming noises. Before she could bark an order, the nurse was there with the defibrillator. Sakura cleaned the boy's torso of dressings and placed the metal paddles upon his chest.
"Okay, clear!"
The nurses removed themselves from the boy, and his chest convulsed in one large violent motion. The heart monitor beeped once, then twice. Sakura breathed. It flatlined again. The nurses had clambered back, doing their best to mitigate the bleeding and perform CPR.
Sakura stood there, paddles in hand, while the nurses flooded around her. The heart monitor continued with its long tone. Sakura scowled.
"Again!"
Another electric shock ripped through his chest and his body convulsed once more. She tried again and again, and the team switched from CPR to the defibrillator, maintaining a rhythm for some time— how long Sakura couldn't remember. Perhaps it had been 10, 20 minutes, or as long as an hour.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and whipped around to where Tsunade's honey brown eyes met her green. Tsunade's lips moved, and Sakura didn't comprehend at first.
"Huh?"
"Call it, Sakura."
"I—" Sakura glanced back at the boy, the high pitch of the flatline cutting across her consciousness.
"Enough!" Tsunade shouted. The nurses froze.
"You've done all you could. Thank you for your hard work, and pray for the souls we lost tonight. Let's clean up. Sakura," she looked Sakura in the eyes once more, "call it."
Sakura brought up a shaky hand to examine the watch that sat on her wrist.
"Time of death, 11:15 PM."
A short breath of silence followed, where nobody moved, some silently praying or reflecting out of respect to the lost. A nurse pulled a white sheet from one of the compartments along the wall, placed it over the young boy, and the room was once again thrown into chaos.
It was an odd feeling, almost like the calm before the storm. Emptiness. Each step she took felt heavy and deliberate, like she was walking through water. The next thing she could think to do was to notify the family, who were most likely in the waiting room. Tsunade caught her as she began to walk away.
"Sakura, where are you going?"
"To the waiting room, to talk to the family."
Tsunade sighed.
"There's no one there. The mother and brother were the other two patients, both died, and the father was transferred to NYU. He's comatose from what I heard last. His chances aren't looking great. I know it's messed up, but in the end, what would he be waking up to?"
Sakura only stared at her, feeling grief writhing in her stomach. This was a first. She had seen people die of course, but none of them were under her direct care, and all were adults. Children were different. It just wasn't fair. A life ended before it could even begin, she thought, no child deserves this.
"Don't beat yourself up, Sakura. There was nothing you could have done."
Tsunade let her off after that—She was to be on call, but Sakura knew that there was a slim chance that her phone would ring tonight. After making her way into her office to complete paperwork and have herself a good cry, she gathered her things and left.
She found herself in line for a food truck that was on the way home, cheeks numb from the burning cold. Although she was in no mood for food, her experience as a resident told her that it was best to eat. She had once caught herself skipping several meals in a row during her first year, and committed herself to eating routine meals despite the demands of her residency.
The gyro was greasy, but it was food and Sakura didn't care. She sat along a low wall she'd spotted next to the truck, watching the street while she ate. A car passed by every once in awhile, and there was the occasional pedestrian, but it was otherwise a quiet night. The usual loud hum of the city was only whispers now. Sakura didn't like it. It left her with her thoughts.
She slid down from her spot on the wall and threw the gyro wrappings into a garbage can at the end of the sidewalk. The subway was a few blocks down, and she shuffled along as she over-analyzed everything she could remember from the second her pager went off to 11:15 PM. She was so wrapped up in her anxiety she didn't even realize she'd made it all the way to the steps of the train station. A bright orange sign with thick, black letters wrenched her focus into the present.
NO ENTRY
Subway closed for maintenance 1AM-5AM
Safe travels!
She stood there, groaning in defeat and glaring at the sign as if her gaze might make it disappear. It didn't.
God, it's like the universe is determined to make my day as shitty as possible, she thought. A sigh escaped from her lips and she turned around to make her way back to the hospital. Perhaps she would be able to find some kind soul willing to bring her home, or if worse came to worst, at least sleep it off in her office until the subway reopened again. She could call for a cab, but a ride to Brooklyn at this hour… She didn't want to imagine the cost.
Her chest bubbled with frustration as she walked. She was already feeling shitty about what had happened, and to top it all off the subway was closed and it was cold and her Gyro sucked and she was alone.
"When it rains, it pours, I guess…" she muttered to nobody in particular, and a few minutes later, it really did begin to rain. Lightly at first, Sakura thought she could make it back to her destination without getting totally soaked, but before long it was coming down in thick sheets and she was forced to find shelter underneath the awning of a nearby bodega. It was the worst kind of rain too, cold enough to make her fingers numb but not cold enough to make snow, which she would have preferred.
Okay she thought, pushing her damp hair back from her forehead, I'm alone, I can't walk to the hospital without getting frostbite, and I have no way to get home.
She watched a cab roll her way, and was about to call for it when a thought struck her.
"So whatever you need, just call. I'll be there. I promise."
Somewhere in New York, Sasuke woke up to the sound of his phone ringing.
.
.
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I've never written a flashback/dream before, so I thought I'd try! This chapter was challenging but great fun to write. I've also started a tumblr, so if you want to drop a follow, check out my profile :) As always, thanks for the kudos and reviews. See you next time!