Chapter 4
Sasuke's POV
Working at the Hokage's office was not bad when everyone showed up on time and did their work. However, this rarely happened. Kakashi would always show up "late" with some excuse and Shikamaru did the absolute bare minimum. The combination always kept them a day behind in work, so the next day would be catching up on the previous day's assignments.
Sasuke was getting sick of it. He decided just to stay at the office until all the work was finished. After a long night, all the missions were organized and ready to give out, documents were neatly stacked waiting for the official hokage signature, and all the other paperwork was cataloged and put away. He didn't even mind staying up all night; anything to keep him away from Kakashi's bizarre exploits.
Sasuke was thankful when they showed up next morning and finished the remaining tasks quickly.
"So this is what it feels like to not have any work to do?" Kakashi said sitting back in his chair.
"Yes, so please keep up with your duties so it will be easy on all of us." He replied back with a huff.
"It's been nice having you around Sasuke. Things get done faster when there's two people." Shikamaru said leaning against the wall.
Sasuke sat down. He was exhausted after the long night. "So, how long have you been working as the Hokage's assistant?" he asked Shikamaru. He wanted to make some attempt at getting to know his old academy friends again.
"Eh, after the war ended and things got back to normal, I decided my skills were best put to use here. Plus, someone has to keep Kakashi in line."
That's for damn sure.
Shikamaru told him about his hobbies, his free time with Asuma's and Kurenai's kid, and about Ino and Choji.
"Don't forget to tell Sasuke about your girlfriend in Suna." Kakashi said looking up from his Icha Icha book.
Shikamaru made a choking noise. "She's not my girlfriend!" he said turning his reddened face.
"Uh huh."
Sasuke smiled. He had gotten close with the two men since he had returned two weeks ago. Sometimes they were a huge pain in the ass, but they were amusing and drama free.
He and Shikamaru were in the middle of a game of shoji when there was a knock at the door.
An elder walked in with an irritated look on his face. "This is what the hokage's council is doing during the day?! Playing silly games?" He looked at Kakashi. "And you! Reading that filth in broad daylight?! Have you no decency!"
Sasuke remembered the elder vividly from the meeting. As he recalled, this was the elder that urged everyone to exile him because he was a 'treacherous leech'.
Kakashi set the book down. "All of our work has been completed for today."
"What about new missions?" The old man poked further.
"All missions have either been completed or is currently assigned to a team." Shikamaru said coldly.
Sasuke could tell that his man just wanted something to argue about. He hated these kinds of people.
"Very well. It has come to our attention that the Uchiha has not undergone a formal physical examination that is required of everyone who has been out of the village for over six months. This must be completed in order to continue residency in Konoha."
Kakashi nodded. "I will have him go and complete that now. Thank you for bringing that to our attention."
The elder just turned and left without a word.
"I hate that old wrinkly piece of shit." Kakashi muttered picking up his book again. "Sasuke, go to the hospital and have one of the doctors give you an examination."
He nodded getting up from the floor.
Sasuke checked in with one of the nurses and sat waiting to be called back to one of the examination rooms. He felt like he finally understood the layout of the hospital now. There were four buildings that branched out from the main central building. The first building contained the surgical wards and all the operating rooms as well as the intensive care unit. The second one was specifically for physical therapy and rehab. Many non-critically injured ninjas came there to practice their skills and get back out into the field again. The third building held many departments such as administration and records, pharmacy, laboratory, and doctor's offices.
The fourth building was the newest which had just finished construction before he arrived to Konoha. He wasn't sure what specialty or departments the building would hold yet. He was lost in thought when a familiar flash of pink came into view. Sakura was arguing with a young medic in training.
"I'm sorry Hiro, but I don't have time to oversee your training right now." She said with a frown.
"Please Dr. Haruno! I've definitely improved since last time you saw me." He said whining back.
"I don't doubt that you have; but there are plenty of other doctors willing to help you. I'm very busy right now. I'm sorry." She said turning away.
"But-" he reached out and grabbed her wrist.
A swell of anger shot through Sasuke and before he could think, he was making his way towards them.
"Sakura." He said firmly. He glared at the boy until he released his hand from the pinkette.
"Sasuke?" she asked confused. "What's wrong?"
"I need you to give me a physical."
She started to say something but he cut her off.
"Kakashi said to ask you specifically. Some elder is getting frustrated over it."
"I see." She said slowly. She turned towards the boy. "Sorry Hiro, I have orders from the Hokage. It's going to have to be another time."
"Hai." He said sulking away.
"We can do the physical in my office." She said turning back to him.
He nodded and they started walking. He technically wasn't lying to her; Kakashi did say to ask one of the doctors and she was a doctor. He did feel a little bad. He shouldn't have gotten so angry, but it pissed him off that someone grabbed her like that, especially a guy. I'm just protective of my friends.
He sighed. He was lying to himself and he knew it.
"You okay?" she asked not looking at him.
"Aa."
As soon as they reached the office, she put a sign on the door that said:
Do Not Disturb. Examination in Process.
She locked the door and started performing hand signs.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Sound proofing the room. It's protocol."
He nodded.
"You can go ahead and sit on the examination table." She said walking over to her desk. She pulled out a thick stack of papers.
"We have to go through all of that?"
"Yup. I'm guessing Kakashi wants a full physical?" She asked.
"Aa."
She nodded. "Okay, I'm going to have to ask a lot of questions before we get to the physical assessment part. I'm gonna go through them kinda fast. Some of them might be dumb, but just answer."
"Okay. Name?"
"…uhhh Sasuke Uchiha."
"Date of birth?"
"July 23rd."
"Height?"
"183 cm."
~Five Minutes Later~
"Any shortness of breath?"
"No."
"Chest pain?"
"No."
"Muscle spasms?
"No."
~Five More Minutes~
"Thoughts of self-harm or suicide?"
"No."
"Hallucinations?"
"No."
~Five More Minutes~
"Do you smoke?"
"No."
"Are you pregnant?"
"What?"
She smiled. "Kidding. Just making sure you're paying attention."
"How much longer?"
"We still have a page to go."
He groaned. "This is torture."
"Any problems producing bowel movements?"
"NO!" he groaned.
~Two Minutes Later~
"Are you sexually active?"
His face flushed. "No."
"What? Sasuke Uchiha is not sexually active?" she asked mockingly.
"CAN WE JUST FINISH?!" he shouted face burning.
She giggled. "We're done with all the questions." She said putting down the stack of papers.
"Thank goodness." He said relieved.
"Okay now we'll start with the physical assessment." She grabbed another sheet of paper and a clipboard. She walked over to the table and lowered it so they were eye to eye.
"Are there any general concerns you're worried about overall? Anything that hurts?"
"Not really. Sometimes my eyes do hurt if I've been using them for a while."
She nodded. "We'll check them out last. Can you remove your shirt for me please?"
He unbuttoned his vest and then took off his shirt. He examined her face looking for some sort of reaction, awkwardness or nervousness, or a slight blush, but there was nothing. He was always used to her gawking over his looks; it felt unusual with her not.
He recalled one time he was training in the middle of summer and he took off his shirt in front of her; she had fainted immediately. Naruto had to carry her back home. But now, this Sakura was looking at him as if he was just another patient. And that was the thing, he didn't want to be another patient; He wanted her to turn red or faint or something because that meant she felt something for him.
Her lack of response just proved to him that she had moved on. And she had every right to. He always knew of her obvious crush; but at the time, he only cared about one thing.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
He shook his head. "Nothing. I'm just tired."
She reached up and touched the side of his face startling him. "You have some heavy dark circles." She said brushing her thumb softly under his eye.
"Yeah, I stayed up all night finishing up some work for Kakashi."
She frowned. "You need to sleep."
"Aa". It took everything in him not to lean into her touch.
She dropped her hand. "Alright. I'm just going to examine you. Just sit up straight and breathe normally." She stepped a little closer and placed her hands on his chest. They were cold at first, but as soon as the medical chakra rushed out, he felt warm again. It seeped through his body and embraced him like a hug.
He let out a small sigh. Medical ninjutsu always amazed him; medics had to have precise chakra control to even heal a small cut. Sakura was out here healing life-threatening injuries. It was astonishing.
"So you were in the middle of asking me something when I had to leave for surgery. What was it?"
"Oh." He had forgotten about that. "I was just going to ask you how did you know I was going to leave Konoha? You were waiting for me that night."
"It wasn't hard to figure out Sasuke. The moment we became a team, I figured out about your goal. I watched it consume you slowly. I wanted so badly for you to forget about it and just stay a part of team seven, but you were determined. Then that day when I watched you and Naruto fighting on the roof, I knew it was too late. If you were willing to hurt a member on your team, someone who was the closest to you, then I knew you would do anything to accomplish your goal."
He remained silent processing what she had said.
"I'm sorry. For not being a good teammate, for leaving, for everything that I put you through."
"You don't have to apologize. You're a changed person and that's all I care about."
He watched her while she continued working. She had some small hairs that framed her face and her brow was furrowed in concentration. It was cute. Her brilliant emerald eyes displayed determination as the chakra cascaded out of her.
"Can I ask you something now?" she asked.
"Aa."
"What was it like when you were with Orochimaru?"
He wanted to wince hearing the name. "It was … hell. He was obsessed with power and having me for his next body. He took advantage of my goal and made me do horrible things." He paused. "He made me kill innocent people. People that came to him for help. He was only interested in their power. He constantly experimented on them trying to figure out how to have their power. Once he figured it out, he discarded them like trash. And that's the crazy thing, I knew I was also going to be discarded, but I still stayed."
Horrible images flashed through his head. "I always had terrible nightmares and then I would wake up and feel so lonely."
Sakura had finished and was looking at him. She had a sorrowful look on her face.
"Can you close your eyes for me please?" she asked.
He did as she asked. She came in close again, now standing in between his legs. She pushed back his hair that covered his rinnegan. He felt her hands cup his eyes and then her familiar chakra pouring out.
"Hey Sasuke." She said softly.
He was taken aback by how quiet she had spoken. "Hm."
"I need to apologize to you."
"For what?" he asked.
"There was a period when you were gone that I almost gave up on you."
He wanted to laugh. She out of anyone had the right to give up on him.
"I was so mad that you had left, and then Naruto left, and I was all alone without a team. But I wasn't alone; I still had my parents, I had Tsunade and Shizune, and a whole village. You didn't have anyone. You were alone with that creep. It just makes me feel so pathetic."
She put her hands down and he opened his eyes.
"Sakura. You don't have to apologize for anything."
"But I do! So many people gave up on you too soon and I just ended up doing the same thing."
"Sakura."
"Kakashi always told us that those who abandoned their comrades were worse than scum and that's exactly what I did. I was living a luxurious life compared to yours-"
"Sakura."
"Thank goodness I had Naruto because he was the one who snapped me out of this."
"Sakura!" he grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. "I promise that it's okay. You don't have to keep apologizing."
She didn't say anything; she slowly returned the embrace.
He could feel her heart pounding in her chest. He assumed she could probably feel the same for him as well. They stayed like that for a while, but it wasn't uncomfortable. In fact, it felt right to him, but he didn't want her to feel awkward, so he let go.
"Sorry, I tend to ramble when something is bothering me." She said sheepishly.
"Don't worry about it."
"Anyways, your optic nerves did look like it did have some strain, so just make sure to rest them if you do use them. I can also give you some eye drops if you need."
He nodded.
"Also, we do have prosthetics available for your left arm if you want."
"No thank you. I've gotten used to it gone."
"I figured, but I wanted to ask just to be sure."
She went back to her desk and put on a pair of gloves. "Okay Sasuke." She turned around suddenly. "I need you to drop your pants and cough."
"What?" His eyes widened and his face turned crimson.
Sakura burst out laughing "AHAHAHAHAHAHA! You should see your face right now!" Her arms were clutching her sides.
Damn this woman. One moment she was sad and apologizing and the next she was making fun of him.
"I'm sorry Sasuke." She said wiping a tear from her face.
"Whatever." He sighed.
"Okay, we are done with the physical. I will sign off on all these papers and have them delivered to Kakashi."
He nodded and put back on his shirt.
"Oh, one more thing. Who would you like as your emergency contact?" she asked filling in signatures.
"Honestly, probably just you." He said.
She looked up at him. "Really?"
"Yeah. I was going to say Naruto, but if I end up in his care, he'll probably just end up killing me."
She chuckled. "Well, I'm honored."
"Thank you for doing the physical. I know you're busy with lots of things."
"It's no big deal. But you do have to do me a favor."
He gave her a questioning look.
"You have to take a nap on the couch. You look like a zombie." She said seriously.
He didn't even fight it. He was exhausted.
"You can stay here as long as you need. I'll be out doing some rounds in the hospital. Here's my spare key so you can lock up if I'm not here."
"Thanks." He laid down with a smile and fell asleep instantly.