Hi everybody! So this is the second chapter of Don't give up yet. I hope you'll like it! Words written in italics are a flaschback.
Chapter 2:
The sound of the emergency room's door opening was what woke Sakura up from her state of semi-consciousness. She and Naruto had been sitting there for at least four hours, she had stopped crying not long ago simply because she had no more tears to shed. She felt hollow, like she was breathing and living but didn't have a reason to.
However when she saw her master exiting the E.R. a bit of her strength came back to her. She lifted her head from her best friend's shoulder to hear what Tsunade had to say. She hoped with all her heart that it wouldn't be what she feared. Anything would be better than to hear that Ino was dead, that she didn't make it and that now Sakura was without the most important person in her life.
Sakura stayed silent, patiently waiting for her master to start talking. The part of her fearing the worst didn't want to hear what Tsunade had to say about Ino's condition but however the biggest part wanted to know if she was alright. She desperately wanted to be reassured that her beloved girlfriend was going to live.
"Well c'mon grandma!" Naruto exclaimed being his usual loud, impatient self. "How's Ino? She's okay, right?"
The moments that passed between Naruto's question and Tsunade's answer were the longest of Sakura's life. The Hokage's next words could change her whole life completely. They could make her the happiest person on Earth or make her become only an empty shell of the lively girl she used to be.
"She's alive"
As soon as those words left her mouth, Sakura felt light. It was like the weigh of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. Ino was safe. That's all she needed to hear. Once again her green eyes filled with tears but this time they were of joy and relief. She couldn't believe how close she'd come to lose Ino. In these last hours she'd realized what her greatest fear truly was and it terrified her. She didn't ever want to see her girlfriend risk her life that way.
"That's fantastic grandma! I knew you could save her!" Naruto cheered and hugged Sakura, spinning her in the air while she was too relieved to speak.
"Wait a minute, I'm not finished"
He immediately stopped and put Sakura down as the girl's eyes widened again. What could possibly be wrong?
"Although her life is out of danger, she's hasn't regained consciousness" Tsunade sighed heavily "I don't know for how long she'll remain unconscious but I'm sure she went through a lot of trouble to stay awake until they got here so she probably just needs to regain her strength" The Hokage patiently explained to the pair of shinobi.
So Ino was unconscious. It was expectable, after all she went out of her way just to see her girlfriend one more time if she were to die due to her wounds. Sakura wasn't put off by this knowledge, even if she had to wait a little bit to talk to her it didn't matter as long as Ino was going to be okay in the end.
"Can I see her?" The green eyed asked, her voice still hoarse from hours spent crying.
Tsunade hesitated for a few moments. Her patient needed silence to rest peacefully and it wasn't wise to let people into her room just yet, however Sakura was a special case. She was a medic so she knew how to behave in this kind of situations but more importantly Ino was her girlfriend and it was only fair to allow her to visit.
"You can Sakura, but only you" she added once she saw Naruto making a move towards the door.
"But grandma! Ino's my friend! I want to see her too"
"She needs to rest and you're not exactly the quiet type" she took a step towards the exit "I'm already making an exception with Sakura. Now lead the way"
Naruto sighed but smiled at his best friend and then left along with the Hokage, Shizune and the nurses who supported Tsunade during the healing process. Now alone outside of Ino's room she took a moment to collect herself and her thoughts. Her girlfriend was out of danger, she was going to live. She was just a few steps ahead of her, sleeping in a bed.
The pink haired girl put a hand on the doorknob and slowly pushed the door open. When she saw Ino she let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. The love of her life was there, in front of her eyes, unconscious, probably aching all over her body but safe, alive and that was the most important thing. She took a few tentative steps towards her and once she was standing next to the bed she softly stroked her beautiful blond hair while with her mind she went back to the last time she saw Ino, right before she left for that damn mission.
"I'm home!" The green eyed kunoichi made her presence known as she stepped inside the small apartment she and her girlfriend shared. Neither she nor Ino were rich or made enough money to buy a bigger one yet but it was cozy and it felt like home so both of them were happy with what they had.
That day had been a particularly hard one at the hospital, she hadn't had a single free moment since early that morning. Tsunade really was pushing her at her limit. That was the reason why she couldn't wait to get home and relax with Ino.
As soon as she took off her coat she felt two strong, feminine arms wrap around her waist from behind and pull her close to the warm body of her girlfriend.
"Finally" the blonde said, moving in front of Sakura to briefly kiss her lips "It's later than usual"
"I know" she sighed "It's been a rough day"
"Why's that?" Ino asked while starting to walk towards the kitchen.
"There's some kind of influence spreading in the village... It must be the cold weather" Sakura trailed off while following the blonde.
"Well, I hope you're hungry. I made dinner"
"I'm starving!" The table was already laid out and a mouth watering scent could be smelled. "Wow Ino! This smells amazing"
Sakura moaned as she took the first bite of roast and mashed potatoes that her girlfriend served. "This is so good!"
Ino smiled softly, "Thank you"
Her girlfriend was a great cook but unfortunately between her training and the missions she rarely had the time to cook a fantastic meal like that one. She usually did on special occasions or when she had something to talk to her about.
The two girls chatted happily about their day throughout dinner. Ino told Sakura about her training session and having lunch with Choji and Shikamaru while Sakura filled her in on the details of the influence which was affecting a large part of the Hidden leaf Village's population.
Later, once they finished the delicious meal and took care of the dishes, they moved to the couch to have some cuddle time.
"Did you know that Sasuke asked Naruto to marry him?" Ino asked while settling down in a comfortable position.
"Really? He didn't tell me anything!" Sakura frowned. Naruto was her best friend, they had shared their secrets since they were twelve so she was a little bit upset that he didn't tell her such a major thing.
"Well, it only happened today" her girlfriend pointed out "Maybe they're still celebrating" a playful smile graced her lips "You know how they get once they start doing it... There's no way to pull them apart"
Sakura smiled and sat on Ino's lap, putting her arms gently around her neck to lean in and kiss her lips. Her girlfriend responded immediately, sneaking her own arms around the pink haired girl's back to pull her even closer.
"Yeah, you're right. It kinda reminds me of someone" she smirked, hinting to themselves and then turned serious "Wow, can you believe that they've been together for ten years already?"
"Time flies" the blonde nodded "But we're not far behind them" she smiled sweetly.
"I love you"
"I love you too, Sakura"
Then they fell silent for a few minutes, each enjoying the comforting warmth of the other. Eight years went by since they got together and yet it seemed like it had only happened yesterday. Every kiss felt like the first one, every touch gave her goose bumps, every sweet declaration of love still made her feel like the most special girl in the world.
The young kunoichi buried her nose into the crook of Ino's neck and inhaled her comforting scent. It was so unique and familiar that she could pick it out everywhere. When her girlfriend was away for whatever reason Sakura made it a point to sleep in one of her t-shirts just to be surrounded by that scent and feel close to her.
"Saku…" Ino broke the silence and Sakura lifted her head to look her in the eyes, "Today the Hokage assigned us a mission. It should be quite easy though, just a c-rank"
Sakura's shoulders slumped slightly. She was never exactly happy when Ino had to leave but she also knew this was the way of the shinobi so she did her best to endure it with a smile on her face and looked forward to her return.
"When are you leaving?"
"Early tomorrow morning" she explained "We have to go to the Land of Waves, meet the client and escort him back to the village"
"Sounds simple enough but please be careful nonetheless"
Ino smiled softly then briefly pecked her lips, "I'll be back before you know it!"
Sakura was then taken from her memories by the sound of the door being opened. She noticed that once again her cheeks were wet from the tears which were still coming even after hours spent crying.
"Sakura…" It was Tsunade's voice. She was using a gentle tone for her standards and this helped the young girl calm down a little bit. "It's late… You should go home and rest"
She instantly shook her head. She didn't want to leave Ino's side after she had come so close to losing her. She was willing to sleep in the uncomfortable hospital's chairs if the Hokage allowed her.
"Sakura, you know the rules. Please don't make me force you out of here" she put a comforting hand on her student's shoulder "The nurses are coming to take her to another room"
Sakura knew her sensei's words were true, that she needed to leave and let the nurses do their work so she hesitantly stood up from the chair she'd been sitting on.
"I decided to give you the rest of the week to rest and cool down a bit" Tsunade said "I pushed you pretty hard the last weeks so you deserve a vacation, now even more than before" her eyes shifted to Ino's sleeping form "She'll be okay eventually but there's nothing we can do right now. It's all up to her"
The pink haired girl dried her tears with the back of her hand, "She's strong" she put her hand on Ino's cheek and gently caressed her face "She won't give up"
She then leaned down to lay a soft kiss on her girlfriend's forehead just as a nurse entered the room.
"We're ready to move Ino Yamanaka to room 7 on the third floor, lady Hokage"
Tsunade nodded while Sakura said her goodbye to Ino. "I'll be back tomorrow. I love you" she whispered.
Some other nurses entered and Sakura knew that it was time for her to return to her empty home. She exited the hospital and slowly made her way to their apartment. As the Hokage said, it was pretty late. It was already dark outside and almost all the shops were closed for the day.
The first thing she noticed ad she opened the door of their apartment was a small envelope on the table. She knew exactly what it was, she herself had picked it out just the day before. It was Ino's birthday present. Her girlfriend was going to be 26 in only two weeks and Sakura had the perfect present for her. It was a very sober but still beautiful necklace she'd noticed Ino's eyeing several time while they walked in front of the village's jewelry. Unfortunately it was a little too expensive and she didn't buy it so Sakura figured that it could do as a birthday present.
She picked it up and hid it in a drawer where she was sure Ino wouldn't find it by accident. If she woke up before her birthday, that is. Sakura shook that thought from her mind, she definitely was going to be alright in no time at all, she wouldn't keep her waiting for too long.
Trying to keep herself distracted by doing several chores she'd been putting off the last few days she managed not to think about Ino for a while. However there was only so much she could do before the events of that day took their toll on her. She soon found herself wearing one of her girlfriend's old t-shirts, laying in their bed falling asleep surrounded by her sweet scent pretending to be in her arms and not by herself.
A/N: Okay this is it, I hope you enjoyed. Please leave a review and let me know what you think! See ya!