Yeah so I hadn't intended to update this because honestly I prefer one shots. I think I just want to keep you guys updated, somewhat, but eventually release it as a one shot. Just know that this is not where the story is at currently, this is just the part right after what I had previously released. I do not want to release all of the story right now just in case I get super busy and can't come back to it, I have stuff that I can upload to keep you guys interested. Again, R&R (pretty please). Thank you!
I find no difference in the vivacity of the village's population between night and day. This town appears never to sleep. The only shift is location. During the day, the city center will be packed to the brim, people bustling this way and that. At night, the masses taper off to the outskirts of the village where the restaurants and shops are littered.
I enjoy walking the streets near the hospital at night because they're empty. The quiet is soothing and emphasized by the whisper of the soft spring wind. I tilt my head to the sky because at this time of night I can clearly see the stars. I feel that the more I look at them the more complicated their patterns become and the more the world seems to make sense.
But I know as I approach the hospital, my world is far from making sense. Now, I am outside looking in, examining every detail of what occurred. I never think about things when I'm in the midst of it all; that's what I did ten years ago and all it got me was a cold night on a stone bench of unconscious bliss.
Why did I bring him back?
I swipe my card to get inside the building. On the other side of the door two nins stand at the ready. I don't remember them being here before.
But I guess 'before' we weren't harboring a highly sought after criminal.
The guards nod their heads at me to continue on my way. I suppose they didn't ask me for identification because I'm so easily recognizable. Unfortunately, my flamboyant hair isn't so handy in the field.
I take the familiar twists and turns to reach Tsunade's office, passing a few nurses on the way, none of which I know. There's no crack of light peaking from under her door and lately she's been taking the responsibility of actually sleeping at home. I enter regardless but find it empty, so I lay the scroll on top of her paperwork and exit.
But I don't make it farther than the fork in the hallway. I can't help but wonder about Sasuke; as to where they put him.
Before I enter the main hallway and the guards spot me, I duck behind the nurse's desk and check the roster for all current patients. We don't have many so it doesn't take me long to flip to the last of the list.
Uchiha, Sasuke.
Room 316.
They put him on the one floor without windows or access to the elevator. I suppose that makes sense.
I swipe my card to enter the staircase and run all the way to the third floor. I rarely spend time up here so the first thing I do is walk down the wrong hall.
313, 314, 315, I count mentally. When I reach 316, I hear the thump of heavy footsteps and mentally slap myself. Of course they would have sentries on this floor! This is fucking Sasuke Uchiha, why would this place not be crawling with nins? With great agitation, I fumble as I try to swipe my card but manage to slide it correctly and try the handle. The door is yanked from the inside as I push, and I fall inside the room. I hear the door close swiftly but silently behind me as a hand glues itself over my mouth.
I can barely make Sasuke's face out in the pitch black room, the only light emanating from the crack under the door and the small square of glass embedded above.
"Don't move and don't make a sound until I say so," he hisses into my ear, his breath hot on my skin. I nod my consent and he rises quietly, settling back into the hospital bed. I keep my back pressed firmly against the dark wood, hoping against some odds that he doesn't decide to check in.
Only now do I realize how much trouble I've gotten myself into. Why do I do this to myself? It's all his fault but I'm still to blame.
"Sakura," hearing him say my name is like a candle guiding me through the dark room and I follow it to his bedside. He grabs my hand and squeezes tight, "I think I'm reacting to the medicine. I feel dizzy."
"Sasuke, you're burning up," I try to remove my hand from his rough, blazing grip. I can feel the hard calluses and healing scrapes, and know that Tsunade is purposefully keeping him weak. She's buying herself time to figure out what to do with him. He's not reacting to the medicine, they've drugged him. "Let go, I'll get you a compress."
He complies and I rush to the small bathroom tucked into a corner. I snatch a facial towel off the rack and run it under lukewarm water. Folding it into a neat rectangle, I resume my place beside him and rest the compress on his heated forehead.
"That's not cold enough," he gripes, but holds it against his head anyway. I slap his hand away.
"Don't move, you'll exacerbate your fever. It can't be any colder than this or we'll lower your body temperature too much," gingerly, I lay my fingers over the wet cloth to keep it in place, "I'll have to change this in a few minutes before it gets cold."
"How long are you planning on staying?"
"I wasn't planning on staying at all," I retort.
"So, why are you here?"
"I'm just checking in," I suppose it's not a lie but I feel that it barely scratches the surface of why I actually am here.
"You're going to get in trouble," his eyes start to close, "Again."
"What do you mean again?"
"Your sensei," he takes a deep breath and shudders. I remove the cloth and return to the bathroom to rinse it, "She already yelled at you once didn't she?"
"How do you know?" I ask upon resuming my position.
"I thought she might have. It was odd that you weren't in the room when I woke up."
"Why would I be?"
"Well, you're here now aren't you?"
I'm glad his eyes are closed so he can't see the pained expression that crosses my face, but I'm sure my silence is enough of an explanation.
"You were with me then, too."
Of course I was. Of course I am.
Where else would I be?
"You know, talking excessively can aggravate your fever, as well. I think this is the most I've ever heard you run your mouth for. You're starting to sound like Naruto."
"Hn," he grunts.
"That's more like it," a small smile comes to my lips, but I remove it as soon as his eyes open to look at me.
"Where is Naruto? Does he know I'm here?" his gaze is intensely focused on me. I can't imagine how conflicted he feels right now, asking about one of the people closest to him that felt the sting of betrayal as bad as I did.
I hesitate before answering.
"No, he doesn't know," my voice almost breaks because I know how much easier this would be if I could have Naruto to confide in, "He's away at the moment."
"On a mission?"
"No," I smile a little now, proud, "He got married, Sasuke."
"And he left his wife behind?" he chuckles softly.
"What? Ew, Sasuke, no, that's gross," I swat his shoulder and he hisses in pain, "Oh shit, I'm sorry."
I rub his shoulder, extracting the pain.
"How was the surgery?"
"Like hell," he grumbles, "But I'd already been there a few times so I thought well, why not once more?"
"Couldn't they numb the area?"
"Until they got the poison out it wouldn't work."
"Sasuke, what happened?"
He stays silent, neither looking at me or the object his gaze is directed at. Rather, he's watching something play out behind his eyes; some horrific scene that causes the corners of his mouth to drop considerably and his forehead to crease.
Was it Itachi?
Orochimaru?
Or was somebody just trying to defend themselves from whatever Sasuke tried to do?
Sasuke is a murderer, that much we know. Over the years we've received reports, sightings, of him following in the footsteps of the most infamous Sanin and leaving nothing but a trail of blood and carnage behind the both of them.
"I should leave now," I toss the cloth into the used garment hamper and stand, "Just rest as much as you can. It'll pass."
It's the only information I can offer without offending the law of my teacher anymore than I apparently already have today. I glance down at Sasuke once more, but he doesn't respond so I take my leave.
Waiting behind his door, I watch as the guard disappears down another hall to make his rounds and choose the appropriate time to flee. When I get downstairs, I use a different point of entry so the guards don't question how long I've been here and escape into the crisp night air.
"Here is the report from the surgery," Tsunade slaps Sasuke's file down in front of me. I open it and skim its contents, "I thought you might want to know."
"Mangrin?" I look up to her for clarification, "That was the poison?"
"Yes," she nods her head as she speaks, "Obviously somebody wanted him to have a slow and painful death."
Mangrin is one of the more deadly and rare poisons known to us. I've studied it thoroughly but never actually come across it. It's been known to take days before actually killing the subject. Mangrin is the slowest acting poison and the most crippling as it eats a person away from the inside, attacking first the blood stream, then the muscles, and finally the bones, sinew, flesh.
"He's lucky you came along. Sasuke had about fourteen hours of invasion so we were able to extricate all the poison."
"What's his recovery time?"
"We're looking at a week maybe more for all the post-symptoms to wear off."
"Then why do you have him on suppressants? That's only going to subdue his immune system."
"How do you know that?" she looks irritated and I read through the rest of the material, finding that information absent.
"Never mind, how did he get like that?" I ask trying to divert the conversation.
"Sakura, how do you know that?"
"Tell me what happened!"
"Not until you explain why you have that kind of information!"
I close the file and push it towards her.
"He had a fever last night that if I had to guess would say was bordering a hundred and three degrees fahrenheit."
"What were you doing here last night?! Alone?!"
"I was paying him a visit. Don't ask me why, maybe I was concerned, I don't know. Look, it's fine, nothing happened. Clearly he was on too many suppressants to do me any actual harm."
She heaves a heavy sigh.
"I suppose that would explain why he's been asking for you all morning."
"What?"
"He's been requesting your care at least since I arrived here. He keeps threatening to expose himself to the rest of the staff; I think he knows he's supposed to be kept a secret," she gives me a scrutinizing look, "You wouldn't have anything to do with that would you?"
I shake my head.
"I can't deny you'd be a perfect candidate to be his primary doctor; not only are you my prodigy but you have experience as a nin, something these nurses lack. But right now my primary objective is deliberating with the other delegates of Konoha to find a safer, more inconspicuous place for him to be until we decide on a trial."
"A trial?"
"He has to answer for what he's done Sakura," she fixes me with a hard stare, "There's no forgiving the crimes he's committed."
I hang my head, once again harshly awakened to the reality that Sasuke is no longer my teammate, my wanted love, my friend; he is a criminal. Uchiha Sasuke is a dangerous criminal.
No mercy.
No remorse.
Those are the things we learned he lacked.
A decade of betrayal, murder, and indifference.
Why did I bring him back?
