A couple hours after Himari had seen Sakura, several nurses arrived to escort her to get the X-Rays done. Granted, she had to be wheeled there which only served to humiliate her, but she understood it's a precaution the hospital was taking so the stab wounds would heal nicely and not tear open. By the time she came back from the testing, Kakashi was waiting in the room along with a hauntingly beautiful woman who bore pearl colored eyes and sapphire black hair. The woman's face was subtly rounded at the cheeks, coming down to a soft point on her chin. She lifted a hand mousily, giving Sakura an acute, breathy, "Hello, Sakura. My name's Hinata."

Sakura smiled weakly, "Hi."

Kakashi, who was facing out the window when she came in, stood at the end of the bed after the nurses settled her back in. "How did it go?" He questioned, eyebrows drawn in concern.

"Standard procedure," Sakura waved dismissively.

"Did they say how long it would take for them to get the results?"

Sakura sighed in a long, tired exhale, "It can take several hours, sometimes."

She felt defeated.

Not only had she taken a beating, but it was by a man who was sent by an incredibly dangerous man, that Sakura slapped at the club. If she were being honest with herself, the shock of what Kakashi had divulged in her hadn't worn away. She was struggling to process the information. One, finding out that Kakashi and his friends—teammates, rather—are apart of some old-as-fuck ninja mercenary organization that targets corrupt gangs, crime lords, politicians, and the like. After hearing that, it all clicked for her. It was no wonder they all happened to be in tip-top shape; save for Choji, but his size just added to his brute strength she didn't doubt he wielded. Even Ino, with who she had become a really great friend with. What she had thought they were, was merely a disguise for what they really did.

How did she happen to get involved with two people from the same group?
How was she even in this situation to begin with?

Two, finding out that Sakura going to the club was not just a way to get out, but that it was apart of Ino's plan to keep her safe from Sota and his men scouring the streets. For that, Sakura was grateful—she would of no doubt been somewhere in Tokyo until midnight exploring like she has been doing. Even still, she felt sick to her stomach that because of a simple slap, a man who happens to target women and sell them to the sex trade, is now hunting her down. Because of that, she's now in the hands of the very same ninja mercenary group who swore to protect her. She couldn't wrap her mind around it, she didn't want to believe this was something that was happening to her. Just last week, she was at the food market, feeling up bananas and sniffing the fresh herbs. Now? She lies in a hospital bed; stabbed, beat, strangled, slapped, and bit. Now? She had to be under constant watch, according to Kakashi and Shikamaru; that is, until they can take down Sota. Not to mention, Sakura is worried that Himari is going to give her orders that after care will last a month, considering the two Grand Mal seizures.
She knew how it went.

There was no doubt Himari, along with the other nurses and doctors, were worried that she was going to have another one. Sakura was worried, too. Worried, because she'd be on strict watch at the hospital for several more days until they deemed her in the clear. Worried, because she knew what Grand Mal seizures could do, she knew if there was a succession of them that the patient shouldn't do anything by themselves for a week or two. That meant cooking, showering—hell, even taking a shit would be something that someone else would have to sit in on (close by, but regardless). She was worried about her throat; she knew she was going to have to stick to a liquid diet for some time. She was worried about someone having to help her shower, if it came to that. She worried what sleep would be like—would she be able to sleep alone? Sakura remembers a patient who suffered often from these same type of seizures, and Sakura had instructed the patient to have someone else sleeping in the same bed with them so if they did happen to go into another one; the other person would feel the convulsions and wake up.
Between being hunted by some sick bastard, having to be protected by a whole team, AND having someone monitor her after the hospital for up to a month; Sakura was overwhelmed.

What's worse, is she was worried about the burden she's now caused everyone else.

Had she not slapped that man, then none of this would be happening right now. She could of just walked away from him, and let it be. Albeit, Sakura was drunk so she doesn't remember slapping the man, but she still cursed herself internally for her shitty alcohol tolerance and lack of control. She wanted so deeply to wake up and be out of this situation altogether. She wanted to be in bed with Rock snuggled up next to her; Chonk sleeping at her feet. She wanted to wake up to coffee and TV dramas. She wanted to wake up and get ready for a normal day at work.
Now, all of that has changed.

Sakura didn't know what to expect. Kakashi told her that she'd stay at his house, which was his dad's house that he inherited. He told her that he'd take care of her and protect her; and though Sakura knew that Kakashi very well would, she couldn't help the twisting sense of guilt she felt in the pit of her stomach. If that wasn't enough, Sakura stressed over the after effects. She knew what being violently attacked does to a patient, and though she'd only broke down a couple times; she was stressing about going somewhere outside of the hospital. Being exposed to another attack, the very notion screamed in frightened echoes in her head. Just the thought of getting up and taking Rock potty sent her in a panic; a sheen of sweat would break out on her forehead, her hands would tremble slightly, and she'd feel hot tears pooling in her eyes. This response only fueled her disdain. Even though Kakashi had told her she was strong, she didn't feel that way.
She felt weak.
She felt useless.
She felt like a burden.

She wanted nothing more than to be able to handle this on her own; but she knew better. Sakura had a firsthand account on how badly she was strangled, and what that lack of oxygen does to the brain. Combine that with the several times her attacker repeatedly slammed her head against something; it wasn't a surprise that she was having seizures. She only hoped that two would be the last of them, especially with her awake and aware. She hoped that the X-Ray results would come back with damage just enough that she doesn't need the tedious rules or monitoring.
She hoped that Kakashi and his team captured Sota sooner than later.

Though she was surprised to hear what he was apart of, Ancient of Days was a group she read about along with the Yakuza. When Sakura would do her research on daily crime in Tokyo, sure enough the name Yakuza would pop up. One thing leads to another, and she's on some website that hasn't been updated in ten years talking about ancient Japanese gangs. From what she gathered, Ancient of Days—or Samurai now, she guessed—were never the bad guys. For centuries the group was misunderstood, seen only as a rival gang causing trouble. It was only until the late seventies, early eighties that the group's image went from rival gang to vigilantes; to now, where apparently they are working with a specific group of detectives assigned to taking down the Yakuza. In dealing with these type of things, she knew that death was hand in hand. She wanted to ask Kakashi if he's killed anyone, but she felt it would be unwarranted. What surprised her most of all, was how seemingly unbothered at the notion of Kakashi having killed someone. If they were going after the bad guys, who raped women and murdered children and tore families apart; she didn't count it as a loss. Maybe she was jaded, considering the amount of patients she's had to help due to crime related injuries by the bad guy. Maybe she was jaded, because she's watched people die time and time again due to attacks, very much like what Sakura received.

Moreso, Sakura didn't know how to thank Kakashi or anyone on his team.

Had they not intervened when they did, Sakura knew without a single doubt in her mind that she would have been as good as dead. That man's grip around her throat was quelling, she could feel the muscle in her neck resist futilely when he strangled her. Kakashi can say all day that she would have been able to fight her way out, but Sakura felt differently. She looked death right in the eyes, and it bore the face of a hateful, sickening man who wished nothing but pain on her.
Sakura's hand raised faintly to her throat, hovering there.

Sakura was grateful she is alive. Sakura was grateful for Kakashi and his teammates stepping in. Sakura was grateful for the protection they offered, and the help Himari and the hospital has been. Despite these, fear still pattered deep in the recesses of her heart. Thoughts of being attacked again came to fruition, with threats of not being saved next time around. What's worse, is she hasn't even had the chance to get a look at herself. She'd been in that damned hospital bed for days, and since she woke up. The only chance she got to move was when they took her for the tests. She wondered what she could possible look like, and swallowed nervously at the idea. Himari had said something about scratches on her face, scars on her neck, and bruising. The curiosity burned morbidly, rattling her thought process with anxiety.
Sakura knew she looked bad.

She saw it in the way everyone regarded her pitifully. She saw the distress flicker across Kakashi's face when his eyes travelled the expanse of her face and body. She saw it in the way Himari avoided her questions; a feat Himari never pulled. She saw it in the way Tanaka's mouth turned down in a deep frown before the X-Ray. She saw it in the way the other nurses treated her carefully, as though she'd shatter at the slightest touch. She felt it, all over her body. Her side, her stomach, her chest, her neck, her hands, and her face. Each part of her radiating with a consistent ache that refused to go away. The stinging she felt on her left cheek, the nonstop burning she felt in the right. The way her side pulsed and her breath hitched when she tried to move too suddenly, too far, or too much. Every time she spoke, swallowed, or even took a breath of air: was an intake of palpitating suffering that made her want to stay mute. The sensation was irritating, and disheartening. Sakura's voice was an octave lower than her usual tone, hoarse and grating. Of everything, that's what she worried about the most. Hell, even the thought of permanent scars didn't freak her out as much as the lingering fright that was her voice being forever altered.
Inside, Sakura was a complete train wreck.
Outside, for the sake of everybody else, she did everything in her power to remain as stoic and unbothered as possible.

She'd like to think that she could fool Kakashi of all people, but that was a thought that was aggressively fading away. No matter the front, he saw through it. Most of the time, he'd step back and let her safe face—for her sake, of course. But from time to time, he'd gently scold her. It was his soft rebukes that struck the center of her heart, a sweet reprimand when she got too caught up in her thoughts. Sakura was grateful for Kakashi. He's been nothing but loyal during this time, staying constantly by her side. He's been nothing but helpful, nothing but understanding. She never left his careful speculation, and it made her feel uneasy because it was something she wasn't used to. She'd never met a man who remained so goddamned steadfast. He was quick to act if the nurses needed him, and still managed to get her to laugh here and there. If she was being a burden to him, he never let on. He only regarded her endearingly; his onyx gaze a safe haven. Sakura took pride in not relying on someone else, but when he jumped over into the bed and held her together; being supported by someone never felt so right. His hold was so sure; if anyone could protect her, it was him. Sakura came to the conclusion that she'd have to swallow her pride on this one, no matter how humiliated and weak she felt.

"How long do you think it'll take your stab wounds to heal?" Hinata broke in, cutting Sakura's zoning out.

Sakura quirked her mouth dubiously, "About a month, if it's as deep as Himari said it is."

Hinata frowned, "I'm sorry this happened to you, Sakura. I wish we could have got to you sooner."

Sakura regarded the raven haired woman before her considerately, "There's nothing no one could have done if they couldn't hear what was happening. How would anyone have known?"

"You were in there for a long time. We should have known when it took you longer than ten minutes," Kakashi pointed out darkly, guilt etching the lines of his face.

"It was a freak situation," Sakura explained in a faint croak. "No one saw this coming. He purposely kept me from screaming each time I tried. The restroom was down a small walkway, around a corner, and down that small hall—away from diners. I'm surprised that anyone heard me when I did scream."

"Couldn't miss it," he retorted coarsely.

"Don't tell me you're blaming yourself…" Sakura whispered, astonished.

Kakashi said nothing, only moving from his position at the end of the bed to sit beside her in the chair. He let out a serious suspire, "It's not that I blame anyone or anything, besides Sota and his men. It's just that we had so many opportunities to catch this before it happened, and none of us were paying attention."

"You were at a diner eating breakfast," Hinata interjected defensibly. "It was a normal morning, no one could have anticipated it happening."

"No. We all knew what happened at the club. We should have been on guard the moment she stepped out of the club. Instead, we underestimated our enemy—which goes against our read. We should have gotten her stuff from her place and taken her somewhere safe immediately." Kakashi's body was tense, leaning over with his elbows on his knees, hands clapped together in a fist; his forehead tilted over to rest on his hands. He looked rough. The typically cool regard he carries was replaced with tension and trouble. She'd catch his jaw clenching in pulses when she'd look over at him, to the point that she eventually tapped his jaw lightly; casting him a chiding glance. Even though his eyes were almost always heavy lidded, she noticed the tiredness was more prominent; they seemed darker, the bags more noticeable. His hair was a ruffled mess from how often he's been running his hand through it. For someone so calm and collected, it unnerved her to see him so on edge. Sakura understood being in the hospital too long had one thing to do with it, but the other only puzzled her. He cared for her to the point that his casual demeanor shifted erratically on sight. As much as she hated to see him so distressed, she knew one thing to be true:

Kakashi was not like other men.
This only fueled her hunger to be ingrained deeply within his realm.

Several more hours passed, rather boringly, for Sakura. Kakashi and Hinata made small talk as much as they could in hopes to, what Sakura assumed, distract her. Sakura learned that Hinata was dating Naruto; they have been for nearly two years, now. Listening to Hinata talk, Sakura wondered how a relationship between them worked out; what was the dynamic. Naruto came off as so high energy, loud, and in your face. Hinata was more reserved, soft spoken, and calm. She figured opposites attract, and the length in their time together was only proof of that. Sakura asked Kakashi about the dogs; to which he replied that he had Ino on the job, which made her feel better. A deep part of her worried they'd break into her apartment and hurt her pets. She'd seen it happen in movies all the time, and while the situation she was in seemed wholly unreal, she wasn't for scratching anything out now.

Five rolled around when Himari marched in the room with Tanaka following behind. Sakura had only seen Tanaka a handful of times—he was a busy man, after all. Tanaka was rather short, somewhere in his mid fifties, and balding. He had hair on the side of his head that he'd sweep over in attempts to cover the bald spot. He wore square shaped glasses that sat at the tip of his nose and not the bridge. His face was completely round, with big round cheeks, and rubbery lips that stretched really wide. In his hand he held a manila folder, which Sakura knew right away to be her X-Ray's. The room became silent as the trio watched them settle in. Himari took the white board off of the wall, lighting up the back light to the display underneath. Both said nothing as Tanaka pulled the tab open on the folder, flimsy film gliding out and flopping before he clipped each one to the display.

Tanaka swiveled to face Sakura with a professional smile that made her sweat. "Evening, dear Sakura. How's my favorite nurse feeling today?"

"I'm okay," She responded nervously, picking at her thumb. "I'm still hurting."

Tanaka nodded willfully, "Can you tell me exactly what's hurting?"

"Uh—yeah. My throat and the stab wounds hurt the greatest. My head hasn't stopped throbbing since I've been awake. My stomach and chest are sore, and my face feels really hot. Well, one side stings and one side is hot."

"Mmhmm…" he hummed, scrutinizing Sakura's face. "We can't give you drip anymore, Sakura. We're afraid if you have another seizure, combined with the morphine, you'll be asleep again for a long time. We can only give you strong Tylenol—you know that."

"I understand," Sakura agreed.

"Good. Now, let's get to business. We got your results in. I don't do this with my patients, but I'm going to give you the option, Sakura. Do you want the good news or the bad news first?" He glanced at her from over his glasses.

Sakura's stomach flipped, "I think…Good news."

"Alright, good news is that you will be discharged tomorrow," he answered almost gravely.

"The bad news?" she breathed anxiously, eyebrows tilted and eyes wide.

Tanaka straightened, "Alright. The bad news is several things. You have suffered severe damage to both your head and your throat. You received not just one, but two concussions. I'm assuming your head was assaulted more than once?"

Sakura jut her chin down in a curt nod. Beside her she could see Kakashi's jaw twitch, his eyes hardening.

"That's what I thought. You were strangled two separate times, correct?"

"Y-yes sir," she stuttered, her mouth going dry. It wasn't like him to drag things out; Sakura's nerves were so on end she was starting to feel sick.

He nodded slow, deliberate nods of understanding. "You understand what happens to the brain when someone is severely strangled. That, with the fact that you also had multiple head trauma on separate occasions in the same sitting, is what's causing your seizures. We also think that shock had a lot to do with it, as your body exhibited all the symptoms of shock. Furthermore, we are worried that the two seizures you've had are the last of it. Though intellectually you'll be okay, your brain has suffered some trauma that will take time to heal. Because of this, things can trigger more seizures. Stress, feeling any emotion to high, getting hurt—you name it. You're in an incredibly susceptible state right now, think of it as if you're wearing ice skates and you're dancing on the world's thinnest ice. It's important that you take the time off we've given you to recuperate as best as you can. That means being as less stressed out as possible. Additionally, there is a chance you may never get another seizure again. But those odds are 70/30. The problem is that because this is a result of head trauma, there's really no medicine we can give you that will help with the seizures that won't have adverse side effects because you don't actually have any seizure-like illness. All I can advise you is that you really rest, Sakura. Don't get involved with anything that will get you riled up, no heavy lifting, and definitely no stressing. I understand right now in your state it's hard, but you've got to do your best."

Tanaka cleared his throat, continuing. "Eventually, your body will heal itself and your head will be fine. Until then, you will experience dizziness, drowsiness, confusion, and maybe even mood swings. Your memory will be impaired, your vision might go blurry; and you're going to have a lot of headaches as I'm sure you're well aware of. That being said, the after care is the prudent to your getting better. I'm sure you were anticipating this, but it has to happen: we are putting you under the strict rule that you have to be monitored for the whole month."

"What?!" Sakura gasped cynically. "Tanaka, you've got to be joking, that's way too long. Aren't we being just a little bit over precautious?"

Tanaka gazed at her skeptically, his lips pressed tight into a grim line. "No, Sakura, we are not. Look at this X-Ray. You've got diffuse swelling all around, not to mention what's lighter here in the middle indicating severe contusion. Severe, Sakura. You're lucky that we're letting you go tomorrow, otherwise we'd keep you here, but it's not like we can just wait around for a seizure to happen or not. So, yes. You're going to have to be monitored for the entire month."

Kakashi spoke up, "What does that entail?"

"I'm glad you asked. Sakura here should already know. She can't really take showers or baths by herself—she can have a seizure any time. If she does shower, someone needs to either help her—especially for the first week and a half because of her stab wounds and internal damage she took from the attack. You're going to be hurting, stiff, and slow. You're going to need the help. Absolutely no heavy lifting, whatsoever. No driving. If she goes into town, someone should be with her. Honestly, she shouldn't really be alone at all."

"Honestly," Sakura cut. "I don't need someone with me the whole time."

"Sakura, you're not getting it and I understand why, but this isn't the time to argue. Do you want to know what will happen if you have another seizure, with the condition your brain is in? You can slip into a coma, and we are positive that you won't wake up. You can fall and hurt your head more—causing permanent damage this time around. You are literally at high risk, this isn't a game. I'll say it again, you have to have someone with you during this season; unless you want to pay to stay here the whole time so we can watch you. Showers, for the first week and a half please have someone assist you because you can re-open those wounds. After that time, they don't have to be in there with you, but they do have to be around and listening for if you do seize. Likewise, you should not sleep alone. Someone else must be in the same room as you, preferably sleeping next to you so they'll wake up during the seizure. You're not realizing just how seriously injured you are. You're strong, but you're not super woman."

"Fine," she huffed, beaten. "I understand."

Truth of the matter is, Sakura knew this was going to happen out the gate. She feared it, and had hoped it wouldn't, but knew nonetheless. All she could do now was swallow her pride and ride it out as best as she could considering everything. Given the news about her brain and the odds of her having another seizure did stress her out, but she fought hard internally to think rationally about it. She didn't want to get emotional. She wanted to hear the news, process it, and handle it accordingly.

"Do you have anyone who can stay with you?" Tanaka queried, rubbing the lens of his glasses with his sleeve. "I know you don't have family here."

"I'll be taking care of her," Kakashi allowed, raising a palm in the air.

Tanaka surveyed Kakashi carefully, "You understand how serious this is, right? One more seizure could leave her brain dead or in a coma if we aren't careful. That means cultivating a stress-free environment for her. Are you willing to handle that responsibility?"

"Without a doubt," he responded sharply, his gaze a determined glint.

"Good. There are warning signs of a seizure, but in her instance they will be hard to tell. If she's behaving peculiarly; overly confused, overly anxious, if her limbs start jerking randomly or she becomes unconscious out of her control for any reason—do NOT hesitate to bring her here as quick as possible. Now, when it comes to showers you need to be extremely slow and cautious. As I said before, her body has taken on a lot of damage, so because of that she shouldn't be making any movements that would jeopardize her. Bending over, leaning over to the side too much for instance. Because of the string of events: attack, head trauma, shock, and multiple seizures her muscles are going to be extremely stiff. It will take awhile for them to loosen up again, and because of her other wounds she can't necessarily stretch. Be mindful of that. As well, you need to make sure that those wounds on her side are cleaned and cared for properly. Remove the gauze, let water run over it lightly. We have a soap we will give you to use to clean it. Afterwards, let it dry; then apply an ointment we will give you and a new gauze. The same goes for the bite mark, her neck, and cheek. When she's sleeping, you're okay to sleep—just be aware of her. Like I said, sleeping in the bed would be best, but if that makes either of you uncomfortable then sleep on a cot beside the bed. Just as long as you're near her so you can hear and feel if something happens."

Sakura was overwhelmed.

She's had her days of giving lengthy after care to patients, but this was a par in and of its' own. Not to mention, it wasn't even directed at her: it was all Kakashi's job, or whoever helped to take care of her. Sakura felt ashamed of herself, taking one last chance to close her eyes in a steady blink in hopes this was all a dream. If she didn't already feel useless before, the feeling was only magnified at the notion that someone was going to have to help her shower for nearly two weeks. She was going to have to be baby sat, wasting everyone else's time. Not just medically, either.
But her safety, as well.

"I understand," Kakashi asserted confidently, leaned forward absorbing all of what Tanaka was instructing. "She'll be fine to wash herself, right?"

Tanaka cocked his head to the side, unsure. "That depends on Sakura. I would say, the least amount of effort she has to make so her body can really heal; the better. She can really hurt those muscles straining to wash her hair."

"They don't hurt that bad," Sakura muttered, stretching out her arm to emphasize her point.

"That's because you've been sitting in a bed. Just wait until you get up and moving around; then you'll feel it. I say, first week and a half let someone else take care of you. As much as you may hate it, it's really important. Don't strain yourself just because you're proud."

Sakura remained silent, while Himari nodded impudently.

Tanaka cleared his throat, "Moving on. If you look at this next X-Ray; this is of your neck. Your trachea extremely swollen and irritated. You see this puff over here?" He indicated along the length of her trachea on the image. "Trauma. This can take just as long to heal, but the pain should go away within two weeks. We suggest you stick to a liquid diet for five days—that means protein dense liquids like Ensure. Soup, water, tea you can have. After your five days are up, slowly make your way up to eating solid food again. Start with apple sauce, pudding, and then mashed potatoes, mac and cheese. Once you get comfortable eating solids again, you're good to go. We'll be giving you a throat spray to help ease the pain some and help with the inflammation. Now," Tanaka squared his shoulders, looking Sakura head on earnestly. "This is where the really bad news comes in. Your larynx took some major damage, to the point that we are sure scar tissue will procure there. You've already noticed a change in your voice, and while it may not be as gravely when your throat starts to hear, chances are that your voice will sound different permanently."

Sakura froze, unblinking as she struggled to digest the information.
It had been her biggest fear, vocalized. Sakura never said anything about it because she thought it couldn't be that bad.

She was sorely wrong.

She bit down on her lip hard, inhaling deeply through her nose and closing her eyes. Her thoughts began to flood immediately. What was she going to do? What was she going to sound like—surely not this, right? Right now she sounds like she'd been smoking for fifty years. There was nothing attractive about the rasp in her voice; it only sounded miserable and pained. What was she going to tell her parents? They'll obviously notice the change. What could she possibly tell them, that would keep them for pressing for further questions? To her right, she heard Hinata's light gasp at Tanaka's break of news. Beside her, Kakashi had stilled completely, staring intensely at Tanaka; waiting for his next words. Several minutes passed that Tanaka said nothing; he simply waited for Sakura to gather herself. She pulled on her hair anxiously, swiping it over her shoulder and down her chest in a gesture she did often when she felt insecure about herself. She wanted to cry, she could feel the heat rising in the middle of her face. Her fists clenched and unclenched, her mind whirring while she tried to take care of the rise of emotions.

Himari opined, "We're hoping that when your whole throat heals, your voice may get close to what it was normally. Fact of the matter is, the damage is far too extensive for us to fix, but not extensive enough to warrant any operation; not that it would help, anyways. You can try to drink warm teas with honey, ginger, cinnamon, and lemon to soothe it all. But we can't guarantee anything will wholly get back to normal, Sakura."

Sakura sniffed, squeezing her eyes tight to fight back the tears. She bobbed her head, working up the wherewithal to speak, but not daring to open her mouth until she was sure she wasn't going to sob. Hinata walked around to Sakura's free side of the bed, reaching out and holding her hand; pearl eyes expressing disquiet and care. Kakashi took hold of her other hand, his thumb stroking small circles like he had done before. A few beats passed before she finally piped up a weak, "I understand."

Tanaka took a minute, his gaze softening. "Good. I'll leave you with instructions on after care. Right now, you should just relax. We've given you a lot of bad news today, and I know you need time to digest it. I'm going to send a nurse in with some soup for you, because you still haven't eaten. Tomorrow you'll be discharged in the afternoon. When you get home tomorrow, I want you to take a shower there and clean the wounds there, since we've been cleaning them here but you haven't showered here since you've been here. The grime probably isn't helping with the healing or irritation any." He took off his glasses and let them hang around his neck, shuffling over to Sakura with a caring smile. He pat her shoulder, "I'm sorry, Sakura. I wish I had better news for you. All we have to do now is move forward, get past this hump of healing so that we can all move on and be happy. This coming month is going to be rough, but if anyone can handle it, you can." He gave her two more light pats and a sympathetic smile before leaving the room, Himari close behind.

The room fell eerily silent, each individual processing the information differently. Hinata pat Sakura's hand lovingly, telling her that everything always works out and that it'll get better. Kakashi squeezed her hand tenderly, bringing it forward and planting a long kiss on the back of her hand; lingering as though it'd chase the problems away. Sakura stared up at the ceiling, blinking back the cry that threatened to escape her. The more she struggled to keep it together, the harder she squeezed their hands, to the point that her scraped knuckles were white. Sakura didn't want to believe what she was told, but she'd be ignorant to think otherwise. Her insecurity told her that's one more thing she'd be hideous for, but her rationality told her that it shouldn't be so bad once her throat heals. Her pride told her that she was going to be showered and washed like a little girl, but her sensibility told her it was only for a week and a half; and that it was for the best. Her anxiety told her that she was never going to escape; this was the state of her life for now on.

Peering between the bodies on either side of her, her sanity told her that, despite her shame, she wasn't in this alone and that she was in capable hands.