Pompeii
Chapter 21
VesperChan

After the Goblin Market Sakura was surprised she was as tired as she was. Ino had told her that might happen, some people got sicker than others, and first timers were especially susceptible to the extra drain Sakura was feeling. She sank into the flush of her couch and let her body sink. It had been hard to keep up with Ino and hide how drained she really was. Ino already felt bad about being absent minded on a few things, Sakura didn't want to make her friend feel worse about anything else.

'But aren't you going to be doing that eventually? You're such a vapor in comparison to them, smoke in the wind. Their childhoods are longer than our entire lifespan.'

Sakura looked up and blinked. There was no one in the room with her but she knew the voice in her head had no physical body. She sometimes imagined it as a black and white reverse image of herself. It helped to get on top of her depression when her suggestive thoughts had a body.

'That doesn't change anything. I've not been dishonest with anyone, I've never lied to any of them. I can't change what's going to happen to me. I'll age, that's inevitable." Sakura focused on the visualization of her thoughts and glared harder. 'I'm not going to worry about it.'

The black and white reverse image of Sakura shrugged. 'You're well loved, but that's only because you're so new, you're an oddity. It's not because of you. It's not really about you. You're just a thing for them to play with; a doll.'

Sakura swallowed and felt for the fabric of her pants, the rough material, the end of her shirt, the skin of her opposite wrists. She smelled the dust and the wood in her home. The old candles still had a lingering scent she could identify. She was in her home and she was safe.

'I know my own worth and it's not dependent on anyone else's attention or interest. I know my worth and it has not diminished." She remembered the attention and the flattering memories and stepped on top of them. "I can't control what anyone else thinks or does, but I am my own person with my own worth.'

'You're sort of a terrible doctor for this town. You don't know anything about half these-'

"That's enough!" Sakura said out loud.

The image in front of her staggered, flickered, and vanished. She hadn't been a ghost or a haunting spirit or something magical or supernatural. She didn't burn up in a blaze of fire or break apart in a ring of salt. She was a symptom of something natural that Sakura wasn't ashamed to admit to anymore.

She had always had issues with feelings of self worth, stemming back to when she was a child too eager to please in a classroom with too many kids, in a family with too little time, in a relationship with too little love. But, she was a doctor and she had a name for what she fought. This didn't make her broken and this didn't make her any less of a person. Sakura knew her worth. She knew she was better than her worst thoughts and that it wasn't any good dwelling on her basic fears. She would save her energies for other battles. Battles with curses and dark magics and things in the woods that didn't like her for some odd reason.

Sakura sagged down in her seat and felt with her hand for the paper her dreamcatcher had been wrapped with. She heard the crackle before she saw it. Lazy as a housefly, she shifted in her seat and pulled the paper onto her lap and started to tug at the tape. It came away easy enough. The small sounds in the still of her room made the back of her neck tingle. She felt like there was a nest at the base of her brain behind her head that turned happy at the small sounds.

She had burned out all the way like a candle on a stick.

Sakura turned into the couch and hugged the dream catcher to her chest, too tired to hang it. Regardless, her dreams were free of nightmares. Sakura slept soundly through the night for the first time in a long time.

"It's super fun when we have to treat people who don't want to be treated," Sakura sighed with a smile as she sagged down onto the arm of Shizune's chair. Through the window she watched the fire dwarf stride away with a haughty sort of waddle. Sakura's grin thinned.

"You should have seen him before with the other doctors. He seemed to like you."

Sakura snickered. "I ended up yelling at him and he cussed me out more than anyone I've ever met."

Shizune chuckled. "That's how they talk to everyone. But at least he paid. He wouldn't have done that upfront if he didn't respect you." She punched Sakura's shoulder lightly. "Cheer up, you're doing great."

Sakura shook her head. "And to think, when I first got here I was more worried about my bedside manner. I was sort of stiff and thought that would be an issue outside of the city. But now…I just worry about a lot of other different things."

"You shouldn't. You're doing fine. You're doing better than fine, everyone loves you!"

Sakura thinned her lips and narrowed her eyes in a disbelieving way.

The conversation broke with a cry from the doorway closest to the main street. Sakura sat up in her seat, wondering if the sound was meant for her office or the dentist's office next door. They shared a walkway on the main street entrance and were close enough that they could hear each other on occasions.

"I think that's next door." Shizune stood up however and held a hand up to her chin, listening harder. "Oh."

"What?"

Shizune shook her head. "I'm pretty sure that's for next door, but I don't know how they'll manage with the way he's carrying on. Ino's with him, so they should be okay…"

Sakura started trotting towards the door and reached for it, peeking out and seeing a tussle between three people on the sidewalk. She had to blink because two people looked like clones of each other. Ino and Kimimaro were easy enough to pick out, but there was a third member that looked way too much like Ino for it to be a coincidence. Both had long blond hair pulled up in ponytails and wide blue eyes…or eye? She only saw one on the man.

"I already told you I'm not going in there. I don't trust him!"

"You have to," Ino hissed back. "You're sick!"

The dentist was struggling to help the pair inside but didn't say anything until Ino slipped. He moved to catch her and the male started to slip free. He took a few steps and then staggered, clutching his wrist. Sakura saw this and started trotting down the steps to help him. His hand was bandaged and seeping red.

"You're hurt."

He glared up at her, wincing in pain. "No shit lady, what are you, some sorta doctor, un?"

Sakura didn't recognize him but realized this was because they had never met. It was something that made her pause and blink. "Yeah, I'm the new doctor here. You need a doctor?"

The male stilled and looked up at her, almost not believing her. But then Ino came up alongside him and grabbed him in a big bear hug that was more of a grapple.

"Sakura, don't let him get away!" Ino called before completing her grapple. "Get back here Deidara! You need to see someone about this."

"I'm not going to that damn dentist I'm going to see this doctor!" The blond struggles, but was still in pain by the way he held his bandaged, bleeding hand.

Sakura looked up at Kimimaro who looked more haggard than anything. He shot her a pleading look that she understood. Both had taken oaths to do their best and help to the best of their ability and do no harm.

"Come inside, Ino bring him, I'll see what I can do."

Sakura waved them both in and to her great relief they both complied without issue. Kimimaro trailed behind them and paused next to Sakura.

"You'll need my help in there to know what to do, but will you treat him? There was an incident several decades ago and he doesn't like me very much."

Sakura didn't want to pry but nodded and resolved to ask about it later. "Sure, get in and tell me what he needs. It was his hand that looked hurt, not his teeth."

Kimimaro sighed. "Well, you'll see what I mean in a moment."

Sakura went in before him and saw Shizune usher the pair into an empty room and glare at Kimimaro as he entered. Sakura wanted to ask even more but kept it to herself. She rolled her shoulders and followed them into the room, trailing after the older blond's cursing for Ino to get out and leave him alone.

"I-I'll be outside then, I'll wait, you'll be fine."

Ino looked to Sakura, nodding, before backing out of the room. Kimimaro waited on the threshold and Sakura winced. She would call for him if she needed him, but if Deidara didn't want him near, Sakura couldn't allow it.

'You're not even a good doctor.'

Sakura looked back to the blond and nodded. "Your name?"

The hair in his face his one of his eyes and was stuck with cold sweat to his skin, but she could see some sort of device, like a metal patch, over the obscured socket peeking through the strands. Still, he looked up at her and seemed to take in the entirety of her before swallowing and offering up a name.

"Deidara."

His name felt heavy, like it was supposed to mean something, but she didn't know what. All she could do was smile and try to make him feel safe.

"It's nice to meet you, Deidara. I'm Sakura, the new doctor around here. I'm still meeting new people all the time so bear with me if I ask you your name again or mess up the pronunciation. I've gotten chewed out for that once already today," she said with a chuckle, thinking back to the dwarf and his seven word name.

He swallowed again and nodded. "Yeah, I've not see you before, un."

"Yeah, I still get that. What can I help you with today? You looked a little in pain when we brought you in." Sakura started to reach for his hand, the one bandaged and seeping, but stopped. Her fingers hovered in place as she waited till his eyes met hers. "May I?"

He offered her his hand and started unwrapping for her. She picked up the bandage and finished the process, wincing when she saw the dark color stains that told her this was a long term injury, or one that had been hurting him for a while. The blood was old and smelled.

There was a long line draw horizontally across his palm and she suspected it of being the cause of it all before the line shifted, turned out, and the barest hint of lip began to show, followed by a gaping mouth complete with teeth and a tongue. The blood was coming from the gum under his upper canines where a long gash had failed to heal. He needed oral stitches in his mouth, explaining Kimimaro.

"Oh my, that looks nasty," Sakura murmured, taking his hand and drawing it closer. "Can you tell me how this happened or what was used?"

She waited a moment, studying it further before having to look up when she heard no answer. Deidara was watching her, brows drawn, expression pensive. He swallowed again and Sakura started to get the impression that he was nervous around her.

"I'm sorry if I'm being rude or invasive. I just need to ascertain the nature of this injury and your cooperation would be helpful, but if you don't want to talk about it you don't have to."

She still held his hand in hers and that's where his focus seemed to stay. When he spoke he didn't meet her eyes. "It was a fall. I just fell and I tried to catch myself and it was open and it hurt so I bandaged it and came to Ino to see if she could help me, but she tried to take me to the dentist."

"That's where you're supposed to go. Oral surgery is what they're known for. I could stitch you up, but I'd probably need his guidance and help so that I do it properly. Honestly I'm not the most confident in my ability to do this sort of work but I'll do what I can and stay here if that's what you want."

"I-I don't trust that guy."

Sakura stirred in Sakura's chest and she had the suspicion that there was a story there, but clamped down on that feeling hard because now was not the right time to be nosy and ask around. It didn't matter what these people meant to each other. She had a job to do.

"If you feel that way I won't leave you alone with him, but I do need his help for this. Will you allow that?"

He looked up at her, meeting her gaze with his own and she heard a muffled whirring, like tiny gears shifting. She saw behind his long blond bang the surface of his metal patch shifting.

"You won't leave?"

"I swear you won't be alone with him. I'll be here the whole time, and I can have Ino stay in the room as well if that's what you want." Ino would have to wash up and prep, but Sakura was only doing minor surgery. Ino wouldn't be an issue.

Deidara frowned. "No, she can stay out there, she'd just distract everyone with her loud mouth."

"That's fine. I'm going to find the dentist and have a word with him. He'll likely need his tools so it will be a few minutes. When I come back I'll prep the area as best I can and get you comfortable. Wait for me here and don't move."

Sakura started to take her gloves off and toss them into the trash on the way out, satisfied with his weak nod. In the waiting room she found Ino but no Kimimaro. Sakura looked around but couldn't catch sight of him. Had he gone back already?

"Where did he go?" she asked Ino.

For her part, Ino looked a little shell shocked. "He-he was I think he went to talk to Shizune. I think he just went into your office looking for her."

Sakura nodded, but kept the frown off her face when she heard plates and forks being moved around from the kitchen area where Shizune was taking her lunch break. It didn't make sense for Kimimaro to go anywhere else looking for the other woman.

"I'm going to need his help for the surgery. Thankfully it's minor and nothing needs extensive work, but it's oral so I do need a dentist to help keep me from making any mistakes. He agreed to have Kimimaro help, but I will be staying in the room the whole time. Will you be fine waiting out here until it's done?"

"Yeah, that's no-not a problem. Should I get food, will it take a while?"

"If you haven't had lunch you should do that, it does no one any good for you to get a sugar low because you denied yourself food in your fretting. It'll be a while for us to start and for the numbing to set in, so go eat."

Sakura estimated the whole procedure taking about half an hour, but it could go longer or shorter depending on factors. She had never done something like this before. Would the numbing medication work on a mouth set in someone's hand? Could he feel pain there?

"I need to speak to our dentist. Go eat, take care of yourself," Sakura urged, holding onto her friend's arm and giving it a little squeeze. Ino nodded at the contact and followed Sakura's advice a moment later.

Sakura turned to see Kimimaro coming out of her office with a confused look on his face.

"You get lost?" she teased.

"I suppose it does no good admitting to it now. Have you see the situation for what it is?" he asked, stepping closer to her.

"I understand what you meant when he said I'd need you. There's a large gash in the gum of his hand's mouth. Can you bring your tools over and be prepared in ten minutes?"

"I can do it in seven."

Sakura nodded. "Good, I'll start getting him numb."

She stepped back into her room as the white haired dentist took off for his own office, intent on getting his necessary tools.

"Deidara?" she asked as she stepped into the room. "We're going to start soon. Does the area feel pain right now?"

The blond nodded. "A little. It was worse when it happened. It's not as bad now."

Sakura hummed, filing away that information for later as she sat down to clean the site once more as best she could. Sakura had an oral form of numbing cream she pasted over the wound site, but it would be close to ten minutes before the area became unfeeling.

'But that's for a normal mouth.'

"Deidara," Sakura called. When he looked up at her she continued. "I'm going to prod the area and I need you to tell me how sensitive you are to the touch."

He nodded and Sakura began to investigate the area. "Can you feel that?"

"Not really. I mean, I see you poking it, but it feels too tingly from your gel to tell."

The door behind her opened as Kimimaro stepped in, followed by Shizune, holding a small container of supplies that were air tight sealed in bags he would need to rip open for one time use. He was putting his scrubs on after pulling them out of an orange bag. They were wrinkly, but Sakura could smell the clean of them when he stepped closer to her.

Deidara tensed at the proximity, but Sakura put herself between him and Kimimaro. She moved her knee to bump Deidara, reminding him she was there and she wasn't going to let anything bad happen. It was enough to pacify the blond.

"Has he been numbed?" Kimimaro asked, speaking like a professional to her.

"Just with the gel."

Kimimaro nodded as he prepared a needle that would keep Deidara numb throughout the stitch up. Sakura moved her head so Deidara didn't have to watch the needle piece his gum and inject the drug that made all his nerve endings forget what pain was.

"Good," Sakura whispered, her voice muffled thanks to the face mask.

Kimimaro was wearing a mask over his face as well, but when he looked to her, his jade green eyes were bright and easy to get lost in. He nodded before reaching for his tools. Sakura kept the area prepped with bracers in Deidara's mouth, but it was Kimimaro who navigated the sensitive landscape of Deidara's mouth.

For once it wasn't Sakura who was responsible for the healing in her office, and it was odd feeling. She was both relieved and embarassed. She wished she could be the person that healed everyone, but she knew she wasn't always the most qualified. There would be times where she would need to ask for help and accept it.

"You're doing great," Sakura murmured softly.

Deidara made a sound of acknowledgment in his throat and Kimimaro looked up at her, reading to add another stitch to the gash. Sakura didn't clarify who her encouragement was for. They were both doing well.

She felt a tug at the back of her head and cantered her eyes back to see Deidara's opposite hand reaching for a stray strand that dangled close to his reach. She didn't move away when he caught it between his thumb and finger, and she didn't move away when he began to rub it between his two fingers in affection. It seemed to calm him.

"Almost done." Kimimaro started to tie up the last stitch and stepped back, depositing his tools on the table pulled up to the bed. "Finished," he breathed.

Deidara looked up and flexed his fingers a bit. The reaction was slow, and Sakura suspected some of the numbing was responsible for that. Still, the blond glared at the dentist like everything was Kimimaro's' fault.

"I'm going to bandage you up," Sakura interjected, moving back to the site. "Nothing cold and no strenuous activity for the next ten days. You think you can do that?"

Deidara's attention switched from glaring to soft and attentive. "Yeah, un."

"Good."

Sakura started to wrap his hand again, they way it had been when he first came in. This time the bandages were clean and the work was neat. He watched her, ignoring the way Kimimaro slipped out.

"Thanks," he said after a moment. "I didn't know what I would have done if you weren't here as an option."

Sakura finished wrapping his hand and taped the end down. She smiled at her work and then at him. "Of course. I only wish I could do more, but I'm not that impressive. Ah, but if you get hurt anywhere else or you're sick you can come back anytime. For now you just have to believe me when I say I'm a little more useful than this."

"You did more than you know."

Deidara held his hand to his chest and let it sag a bit. He tried moving it a bit and then let it rest across his waist. His fingers were still stiff to move, but Sakura assured him that was temporary and would wear off in a few hours.

"Is Ino out there?" he asked suddenly.

Sakura tip toed to the door and looked out. The lobby was empty.

"She's still at lunch I think. You want me to call her? I'm sure she'd rush back for you. She seemed really worried about you when you both first came in."

Deidara shook his head and then started to pull himself off the operating chair. "No, I don't want her worrying about me or following me back. She's too annoying these days and I just want to be left alone. People can just be so nosy, un. Trees sometimes talk, but they're easier to get away from than family."

"Is that the reason I've not seen you before in Pompeii? I haven't been here long, but you weren't at Founder's Day, were you?" She tried to think back to all the faces she passed that day. There were a lot, but she was sure she had never seen Deidara before.

"No, I don't come back into the city so much these days. I-I'm much more suited to keeping to myself. It's…" he looked away, to the wall, glancing over the health charts, then to the dar sink where metal trays were set up for prep. "It's a long story. I'm sorry I said this much, but you were just really easy to talk to."

The last sentence came out with a laugh and even a smile that made Sakura feel a little more at ease. It was great to feel like you helped someone.

"I wish I could do more. If you wanna talk I'm here, if you need patching up I'm here too. If you don't want Ino tailing you I think I can keep her distracted until then. I'm hoping I'm one of the few people she'd forgive the deception."

Deidara narrowed his eyes, still grinning. "If you're the same Sakura from her penpal years I'll believe it. And don't think I won't come back if I need it. It's nice talking to someone again, someone who's new. Everyone else here has…"

His words trailed off as he fidgeted with the courage it would take to complete the sentence.

"History?" Sakura offered. Like high school.

"Yeah, that's a good way of putting it."

Sakura nodded and Deidara smiled at the way she seemed to understand. She helped him up and finished his paperwork before informing him that her billing expenses would be channeled through Kimimaro, since he did most of the actual work. Deidara let her know that an invoice could be sent to Ino's father and that would be good enough before he set himself out the back. Shizune had helped Sakura through the last leg of it and confirmed that Ino's father would be good to his word and take care of the expenses.

"You're not going to ask?" Shizune called after Sakura.

Sakura paused in the doorway to the room Deidara had just left. There were things that still needed cleaning.

"Maybe one day I will, but right now, I'm much too content with being a person he trusted enough to be helped by." Sakura let her shoulders sag as she glanced back at the older woman. "I'm here to help, remember?"