Drip…
Drip…
Drip…
Sakura felt the rain against her face as she closed her eyes to embrace.
She fell asleep with the calming sound of the cold rain. Hours later she opened her eyes only to find that it had stopped raining. She was soaking wet, but she did not mind it. She went back inside and changed her clothes. It must have been a long time because the night shift staff had already made the switch. She tried to not draw too much attention to herself. She silently made her way back to Sasuke's and Naruto's room.
Naruto was peacefully asleep hugging his pillow tightly. Sasuke was asleep, he seemed to be in distress as he was making whimpering noises. Even Juugo had been defeated by exhaustion after spending day and night taking care of Sasuke and was fast asleep on the sofa.
Sakura silently approached Sasuke and very gently began unwrapping his bandages.
Sasuke shut his eyes wide open and whimpered in pain.
Sakura quickly moved her finger in front of her mouth trying to silence him. Then she gestured with her hand to follow her.
Getting Sasuke out of bed was extremely difficult as he seemed to be in a lot of pain. He had to stop several times to catch his breath. Eventually, Sakura wrapped her arm under his and steadied him.
They slowly made their way to the bathroom and Sakura locked the door once they were inside.
"I need to ask you a few things and I want you to be very honest with me" said Sakura no longer in a whisper.
She was met with Sasuke's labored breath as he shut his eyes closed.
"Hey, Sasuke-kun what is wrong?" she asked softly trying to comfort him.
"I…. feel… really…. fatigued" he said in between breaths "I think I am going to faint" he said sharply in desperation.
Sakura soon grabbed him and helped him sit on the covered toilet seat.
"Better?" asked Sakura.
Sasuke answered with a nod and proceeded to rest his head on the sink's side with his eyes closed. His breathing was still labored but he looked better.
"I want to check your arm" Sakura said while removing his hair from his face.
He nodded once again with his eyes still closed and without making a move.
Sakura began to unwrap his bandages which were met with his whimpering.
"What do you feel?" Sakura asked without stopping.
"It hurts" he answered.
"Where does it hurt" asked Sakura.
"Everywhere" whispered Sasuke.
Sakura was finally done unwrapping his stump and she signed as she saw his wound. She started touching the wound in several spots and asking Sasuke if it hurt. She eventually had to stop as Sasuke was in a lot of pain. The wound did not look any good. The skin surrounding it was broken and weak. What was left of his arm was swollen and his wound felt warm and significantly red.
"I am not stupid; I can tell something is wrong" said Sasuke while opening his eyes with his head still resting by the sink.
"Sasuke…. I don't like the look of your wound" said Sakura with a sigh "I don't think that is what it is supposed to look like" she finished.
Sakura asked him several questions about who and how they were changing his bandages.
Eventually, he started falling asleep and she determined he needed to go back to sleep. She helped him up and they began walking back but Sasuke was soon exhausted and slid himself onto the floor and rested his head on the cabinet while shutting his eyes close again.
"Take your time" said Sakura while sliding next to him and sitting on the floor.
They waited a while was Sasuke to regain some strength.
"Alright, I am ready" he said and reached her with his remaining arm.
Sakura began pulling him up but midway he stopped and complained about getting dizzy. He ended up just lying on the floor. Sakura made her way to his head and held his head on her thigh trying to give him some comfort.
"I am okay, I just need a minute" he said in between breaths.
"Take your time" she said again.
"I am okay" he kept on repeating again and again until he fell asleep while Sakura was gently brushing his hair with her fingers.
Sakura heard a light knock on the door.
"Sasuke, are you in there?" asked Juugo softly.
"We are here" said Sakura unlocking the door.
"We may need some help" said Sakura pointing to a fast asleep Sasuke.
Juugo softly picked him up and took him back to his bed.
Sakura left the room and made her way to the Hokage's tower.
She waited outside Tsunade's office for a few hours before she was finally called in.
"Oh Sakura, you must be excited. I just reviewed Naruto and Sasuke's discharge papers" Tsuande greeted with a smile "looks like they will be going home very soon" she finished.
"I wanted to talk about that…." Said Sakura with a frown.
"I thought you would be happy to hear about their release" said Tsunade surprised.
"I am, I just don't think Sasuke is ready to be released yet" said Sakura worriedly "I don't think he is okay".
"Sakura, we have talked about this before. He is okay and probably just wants to leave the hospital already" said Tsunade "you need to stop being paranoid about this".
"I have reasons to believe his wound is infected" Sakura said sharply.
"His wound is being checked daily" Tsunade added.
"His wound is being checked by a volunteer, a volunteer with no medical experience. This gives me more reasons to believe his wound is not being cared for properly" Sakura shouted.
"I see why you are being paranoid. He is fine, Sakura. You know we barely have enough people to take care of every single sick person in this hospital. I trained these volunteers for emergency services, and he has gotten proper care" said Tsunade while raising her voice.
"He does not need emergency services; he needs specialized services from a medical professional who knows how to properly handle an injury like his" Sakura protested.
"He should be grateful that we are at least providing medical care for him after everything he has done" added Tsunade.
"Is this what it all is about? Sasuke's past? I'd like to remind you you would still be trapped in a dream if it were not for him" said Sakura in an unusually defiant tone.
"And I am grateful for that, but we cannot forget what he has done. Do not let your feelings cloud your mind" Tsunade said with a sharp voice.
"I am not letting my feelings cloud my mind. He is a member of this village just like any other. As the Hokage it is your responsibility to look after everybody in the village" said Sakura while raising her voice.
"I hope you are not questioning my decisions as the Hokage because that would truly be out of place" said Tsunade as she stood up from her chair.
"No ma'am" said Sakura while looking down embarrassed for what she had said.
"If there is nothing else you have to discuss, I would like for you to leave, I have a lot to do" finished Tsunade.
"That's all ma'am" said Sakura still looking down.
As Sakura made her way to the door, Tsunade sat down.
Sakura felt bad she had questioned her master's intentions as a Hokage. She knew she was out of place and began wondering if perhaps she was just being paranoid and overprotective. She went back to work and things were going fine even though she could not help but worry about Sasuke's condition.
The baby that Sasuke and she were so fond of was finally going home. The family had come to pick her up and it would be the last time they would see her. She asked for permission and took the baby to Sasuke's room one last time.
When Sakura got there Juugo and Suigetsu were in the room. Sasuke was laying down with his hand covering his eyes.
"I am going home Sakura-chan!" yelled Naruto with excitement.
"That's awesome news Naruto-kun!" responded Sakura with joy.
"Aaah you brought the beautiful girl with you" said Naruto.
"Yeah, she is going home today. I brought her to say goodbye" responded Sakura bringing the baby closer to Naruto. He proceeded to grab the baby and kiss her forehead.
"Goodbye beautiful, we'll miss you" he said as he handed her back to Sakura.
"Do you want to say goodbye Sasuke'kun?" said Sakura as she turned to Sasuke.
She was met with no response from Sasuke who kept his hand over his eye.
"Hey mister, they are talking to you" said Suigetsu walking gently and kicking Sasuke's bed.
Once again Sasuke did not respond which worried both, Sakura and Juugo. Juugo stood up and got closer to Sasuke, then gently shook his shoulder.
"Hey Sasuke, Sakura is here for you" he whispered.
Sasuke opened his eyes and looked around as if he was confused.
"Where am I" he said weakly.
"You are in the hospital" said Juugo.
"Oh right" Sasuke whispered while his eyes began to close one more time.
"Hey, Sakura is here to see you" said Juugo gently shaking his shoulder again.
Sasuke opened his eyes again as if he had been suddenly awakened and looked up and saw the baby and smiled softly.
"Hey" he said weakly while attempting to sit up.
"Hey, she is leaving. I brought her to say goodbye" said Sakura.
"I'll miss you little one" he said while adjusting her with his arm. He held her and kissed her forehead.
"Take her" said Sasuke abruptly while trying to regulate his now labored breath.
Sakura quickly grabbed the baby and worried as Sasuke kept on trying to breathe.
"what's wrong" asked Juugo already approaching Sasuke.
"I got dizzy, I need to lay down" said Sasuke while squeezing his eyes shut and still breathing agitatedly.
Juugo lowered him and covered him with a blanket.
"I think Sasuke needs to rest" Juugo said quietly.
"I have to return the baby; I will be right back" responded Sakura.
"Man, this one looks deader by the day" added Suigetsu.
"That's very inappropriate for you to say" said Juugo.
"I am serious, I would not be surprised if he is dead by the end of the week" finished Suigetsu.
"You need to be quiet" added Juugo.
Sakura left and took the baby to her family. It was an emotional goodbye, but they told Sakura that they would stay in touch. They gave her their address and invited her to visit when desired.
After the baby was safe and gone, Sakura went back to Sasuke's room. Before entering, she asked the nurse for Sasuke's treatment summary sheet. She carefully reviewed it and realized something was not right.
"Hey, Sasuke's current medication list is not complete" Sakura told the nurse.
"What do you mean?" asked the nurse.
"I don't see the antibiotics in here, I only see the pain and nausea medication" Sakura said calmly.
"Let me see" responded the nurse as she took a look at the papers "Oh, I guess he was not put on any other antibiotic after his allergic reaction" finished the nurse.
Sakura's face lost color and her sweat became cold. She did not say anything and simply walked out of the place and made her way out of the hospital.
Everything made sense now.
Things were not okay.
Peace was once again disrupted.
