Chapter 4
"Time to get up, Sakura-chan."
The pink-haired medic squeezed her eyes tighter and groaned, "Forty-five minutes passed already?"
She heard Sasuke's voice murmur, "Food's here." She felt a finger push hair away from her forehead. She swiftly opened her eyes and gripped the subject's wrist instinctually in defense, chakra surging in her fingers at the ready to crush the offender, only to find the hand was attached to Sasuke's arm. He raised his eyebrows in surprise, the look on his face causing Sakura to almost throw his hand back towards him. "Sa-sasuke-kun, sorry!" she sputtered as she propped herself up on her elbow.
The Uchiha withdrew his arm and turned away. "It's fine," he muttered frostily, his tone laced with something like irritation.
A pang of guilt rang out in Sakura's chest. She weakly reached out to him in an attempt to say something more before dropping it back on the bed, realizing that there was no use. Like an aloof cat, he'd basically retreated into the distance.
Naruto watched the exchange and cleared his throat. "I'm going to go walk around and stretch my legs," he said from behind the medic. Sakura turned back at Naruto when she felt the bed shift next to her. "The nurses put your food tray on the nightstand, Sakura-chan."
Panic rose in her throat when she realized Naruto leaving meant she would be left alone with Sasuke. "You don't want to eat lunch?" she asked, trying to keep the alarm in her voice to a minimum.
"Nah." Naruto stretched his lone arm to the ceiling and sighed as he released the tension. "I'll just make a few laps around the unit, maybe grab a snack. I'm not too hungry right now." He slipped on hospital slippers and shuffled out with his IV hanger in tow, his blue scrubs the last thing she saw before he turned the corner. "I'll be back!"
Door shut.
Silence.
Sakura almost didn't want to move for fear of making the mattress creak and disturb the tense quiet. She didn't know what to do with herself, worried that Sasuke's chill might grow colder towards her.
Sasuke could almost hear her thoughts and felt a nagging in his chest about how he shouldn't have spoken so icily. He was sitting upright in the recliner, he left knee bent and right leg extended out before him. He rested his chin on the heel of his right hand and tapped his finger anxiously against his jaw. For once, silence was not what he wanted. "He ordered soba with umeboshi for you," he said faintly, tensing slightly in anticipation for what she would say next.
"I see."
Pause.
"Sorry I—"
"Sasuke-kun—"
They froze for a moment before Sakura chuckled behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and watched as she pushed herself all the way up and stretched her arms toward the ceiling, exposing a strip of her abdomen. When she exhaled and dropped her arms, she hummed in a way that made Sasuke's chest stir. Jade eyes met his onyx and violet. She gave him a weak smile and asked quietly, "How was your sleep?"
"I've had better," he muttered, carefully lifting her white coat and folding it as best as he could in his lap. He reached over to hand it to her, but when he met her gaze, he realized her face's pleasant expression had fallen into concentration and confusion. Her soft pink brows furrowed together as she focused her attention on his left shoulder. "What is it?"
Sakura, her eyes not leaving his shoulder, took her white coat from him and set it to her side before she leaned in closer. "Sasuke-kun," she began, her voice low, "you have…" Her voice trailed off in thought. She shook her head and met his curious gaze. He couldn't help but take notice of the fact that their eye contact didn't make her blush, that she was now in a state of medical focus. "Could I take look at your shoulder?" she asked, her tone buzzing with an undercurrent of urgency.
The Uchiha frowned as he kicked the leg rest back into the reclining chair. He gripped his shoulder with his lone hand and hesitated. "Why?"
"It's just…," she started, though her voice trailed off again. She sensed his hesitation and didn't want to push him. She scanned her brain for records of medic nin who might have worked in the prison, seeing as she was not allowed to treat Sasuke herself while he was under watch. "This normally doesn't happen, but I sense a massive buildup of chakra in the room that's coming from your arm. I know you aren't activating it purposefully. Do you know who treated you in the prison?"
"They sealed my eyes during the healing process, so no," he said, his voice cautious and low. "I just know they cycled through medics each session."
"Across how many?"
"Twelve."
Sakura bit her lip and struggled internally with how she didn't want to rupture their new and frail bond. Treatment had the potential to be an intimate action coming from her, and while she could refer him to a different medic, she felt most comfortable examining him herself. In Konoha, dual relationships between patient and medic were not as stringent as other villages, and they had grown even more lax after the war because of the spirit of community that had burgeoned between everyone. However, Sasuke had not been around for much of the camaraderie.
Sakura's gaze grew softer, almost in defeat. "Sasuke-kun, I think you should get your arm checked. If not by me, then by another medic under my direct supervision." She looked up at him pleadingly. "Only if you want to, of course, but…I really think you should."
The edges of his mouth turned down into a frown. "If I don't?"
She held his gaze carefully and said, "I'm not sure until we examine it, but this isn't normal. It's like the chakra buildup in your shoulder has been growing for a while, but I can't be sure unless I actually scan it with my own." She broke their stare and looked down at her hands in her lap. "Or if another medic uses theirs," she added, remembering to give him options.
Sasuke gripped his left shoulder tighter. He knew, of course, that the buildup had been great, great enough to make the activation of his doujutsu involuntary and painful. And even now, he knew it was building near the point of bursting yet again. Penance, he reminded himself. "I don't need any of it."
Sakura's frame wilted a bit. "Sasuke-kun—"
"You have other patients to worry about." His eyes met her yet again. "You all do."
She lifted her eyebrows at this. The Sakura he used to know would have shrunken into her own neckline in defeat. She would have muttered a conceding remark before probably crying to Naruto about the rejection.
This was not the Sakura before him, now.
The pink haired girl straightened her posture and looked at him closely. He swallowed harder than usual. "My intention, Sasuke, is not to put all of my attention on you."
He felt something that resembled pain in his chest at the realization that she did not use the affectionate honorific after his name. He stared right back as if to challenge her, something of which Sakura quickly took notice.
"I'm also not here to bully you into treatment. I'm here telling you as a medic, and as a comrade, that we have staff ready and available to treat you, if only you let us. It's what we're here to do." Her fingers curled around the edge of the mattress in anticipation. "Are you absolutely sure you don't want us to take a look?"
Before Sasuke could weigh his options, fire ignited in his shoulder. Shit, he thought. Here it comes. His grip on his joint was so tight that he could picture the blood vessels where his fingers pressed bursting to form bruises. "Augh!" he grunted, his eyes squeezing shut. His teeth grit together painfully, and for a fleeting moment he considered using his other arm as something to bite down on to avoid cracking his enamel.
"Sasuke-kun," she breathed, her voice impossibly calm. "I'm going to take a look now."
He was too caught up in his panting to give a damn, anymore. Fiery pain blasted through his shoulder and crawled onto his back. His sharingan activated in his right eye, the tomoe swirling angrily around his pupil. He attempted to look at his shoulder to see the amount of chakra that had condensed in his arm, but to no avail. Stabbing pains filled his temples and forced him to squeeze his eyes shut. He felt her left hand rest on top of his own in reassurance while cool chakra was expelled from her other. He couldn't contain the groans with each exhausted pant that escaped his mouth. He doubled over slightly, almost falling out of the chair, but Sakura's hands held him in place.
"You're okay," Sakura cooed. Her cool chakra served two purposes: pacify and probe.
The morning she found him and Naruto after their battle, she used her skills to cauterize their wounds and catalyze the beginnings of the natural healing process. She noticed now that the medics in the prison attempted to speed the course of treatment too quickly. Nerves were messily bunched together in a way that she could only imagine as painful. His chakra flow was not smooth and seemed as though it was blasting around his arm without a proper means of escape like a clot. She took notice of where the bunching was the worst and quickly began to untangle what she could as his form grew more exhausted by the second. "You're okay," she cooed again.
Sakura sensed the damage that Sasuke was beginning to deal to his shoulder with his only hand. "I'm going to need you to remove your fingers, Sasuke-kun," she said, her voice steady and calm. He shook his head ever so slightly as a means to say that he couldn't, not that he did not want to. Pained breaths escaped his mouth harder; Sakura didn't have very long. Carefully, yet firmly, she placed the tips of her fingers at the edge of his pinky and gently wedged in between his grip and his shoulder. "You're okay," she repeated softly.
With imperceptible speed, Sasuke instinctively released his shoulder wove their fingers together to create a harsh grip. A moment of worry crossed his mind, worry that he would break her bones. The concern dissipated rather quickly, though, for the fire felt as if it was beginning to inch up his neck, forcing the muscles to painfully tense. A series of gasps escaped him as he doubled over further. Sakura flowed more chakra into her left hand to counteract his strong grip. Had she not done so, he would have surely crushed her hand. "Almost," she assured him, working quickly to untangle his chakra path. "There it is."
The pain was considerably better within seconds, for Sasuke could feel the stabs in his arm reducing noticeably. The fire receded back from his neck to the end of the remnant of his left arm until the embers turned to ash once more. Exhaustion was around the corner, approaching fast. His hearing muffled a bit, but he could still make out her soothing voice.
"One more," she murmured, feeling her chakra slip into one of the bunches. "Just one more, Sasuke-kun." When she was finished, Sasuke visibly relaxed. The veins that protruded through the skin of his neck receded, leaving only a layer of sweat. His form relaxed and he leaned forward, nearly falling out of the recliner. She reached toward the tray of food for the small stack of napkins sitting atop its plastic, careful to leave one hand on top of Sasuke's own to steady him. She looked back at his form and crouched down to dab at the sweat on his face. His eyes were still shut, though the tension was reduced. His dark brows were no longer furrowed together.
For a moment, she was surprised that Sasuke had let her get this close. Then, she was struck with a bit of worry that the boundary was crossed. He'll slink away, now, embarrassed at his pain and the need he had for treatment. He'll treat her with an icy atmosphere. She'd gotten close, and too close.
Sakura put the napkin on the armrest and let her hand slip away from his. Just before her fingers could fall away, his own caught them again. He didn't look at her as he whispered hoarsely, "Thank you."
The medic shook her head as she said, "It's my job, Sasuke-kun."
With that, he let her hand go pressed his hand to his face to rub his temples. He felt his sharingan deactivate behind his eyelid. His breaths felt like they had ripped into his throat. He coughed a few times and felt something cold press against his arm. Sakura had handed him a water bottle she must have had resting on the nightstand next to her food. He gratefully took it from her but took notice of how she only held the neck of the bottle, as though she was being extra careful to ensure they didn't touch. "Thanks," he murmured before gulping down half of its contents.
Sakura watched him carefully. "There are a lot more clots in your arm that are keeping your chakra from flowing properly. I was able to detangle the biggest one a bit to relieve the tension, but it's pretty massive. It'll take more than a few sessions to ensure that the clots are all gone. Is this something you'd like to consider?"
Sasuke nodded without saying a word.
"Alright." She walked over to the nightstand to pick up the tray of food and then made her way to Sasuke's side once more. "I'll go ahead and set up a time for one of my medics to schedule an appointment with you. Until then," she held out the tray for him to take, "eat and rest up."
Sasuke opened his eyes and didn't reach for her offer. He stared at it for a moment, hesitating. "I don't want another medic," he finally said, his voice low.
Sakura's brows furrowed together. "Sasuke-kun, I really think this treatment is important for you to complete—"
"That's not what I meant."
Sakura closed her mouth and met his gaze when he looked up at her, unwavering.
"I mean," he said slowly, "I'd feel better if…you were the one to treat me."
A moment of silence passed over the two of them. Sakura felt as though she had been turned to stone at the sound of his sheepish voice. She scanned his face for a moment and noticed a faint dusting of pink begin to form on his cheeks. The seconds on the clock ticked by quietly, causing Sasuke to stir uncomfortably. She held the food tray in both of her hands when she came out of her daze and blinked a few times before asking, "Are you sure?"
Sasuke nodded once, a reflection of his exhaustion.
Sakura lowered herself back to sit on the bed and gave a gentle smile. "Okay," she nodded, relief filling her chest. Maybe she didn't get too close after all. "I'll do this pro bono, seeing as we used to be teammates and all. I'll stop by your place later tonight to schedule appointments with you."
"I'll be here."
She raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
Sasuke swallowed hard. Is it that difficult to get my point across? he thought, feeling his face turn warm. He leaned back in the reclining chair and rubbed his temples, purposefully avoiding her eye contact. "I mean," he said quietly, "I'll be here when your shift is over."
Sakura stared at him, a small "o" forming on her lips. She was still confused. "Why…?"
"I'll walk you home," he finally said, his exhaustion showing. "I'll be with Naruto until your shift is over. Then we can leave together." It was almost painful for him to say and he couldn't determine why. "And…plan appointments," he added hastily.
Pause.
He glanced up at her as discreetly as possible and saw her own cheeks flush pink. Her fingers drummed on the food tray she held and her eyes followed the anxious sound. "Okay," she agreed. She swallowed hard before lifting the tray in his direction once more.
"Eat it. It's yours."
She nodded before pivoting slightly to make her leave and saying, "I'll be here right at seven." Her voice was still cautious but there was an undercurrent of energy. "Rest until then, Sasuke-kun. I'll have another meal brought up here for the two of you." With that, she picked up her white coat and glided out of the room. When the door clicked shut behind her, Sasuke released a breath he didn't know he was holding in.
