AN: Thank you for the reviews and follows! I hope you like this chapter :) I guess this is where the story really starts.

Chapter 5: Drugs

Never in his wildest dreams did Sasuke think Sakura could get into medicine school. He couldn't believe that she scored straight A*s. Sasuke remembered Sakura as feeble and vulnerable; a fan-girl who jumped at every opportunity to spend time with him. She was annoying and didn't understand anything about him.

She was also the only person who'd seen him cry. He detested that.

Yet Sasuke couldn't help but wonder what the hell had changed in the past two years. It was like Sakura's attitude had taken a three hundred and sixty degree turn. She didn't follow him around, in fact she tried to stay as far away from him as she could. She didn't bug him about homework or questions she couldn't answer and she definitely didn't blush or shy away when he looked at her. He was growing accustomed to her 'death stare', as dubbed by Naruto.

The familiar of the school bell sounded, signalling the beginning of lunch. Sasuke headed out the classroom to his locker. Students streamed out of the classrooms, heading towards to canteen. A few metres away, he saw a bob of shocking pink hair. Sakura was talking animatedly to Ino and Sai while putting too many books into her locker. Her hand slipped and a particularly thick textbook slid out of her grasp, but Sai caught it. She gave him a blinding smile, placing the textbook into her locker. The three of them headed to the canteen, Sakura completely oblivious to the obsidian orbs staring at her.

"After you left, Sai joined. He's a good kid, became pretty close to Naruto and Sakura," said Kakashi, who had been standing at a distance from Sasuke, watching his ex-student with fascination and amusement. Sasuke let out a "tch" and opened his locker.

"I'm the one who requested Tsunade-sama to make Sakura your buddy, although I can't say it's working out, ne?" Kakashi continued with a slight grin visible through his mask.

After a few moments Sasuke spoke, "I don't need a buddy."

"Well you are a new student, technically speaking." Kakashi replied. He dug into his pocket and took out the latest addition to the Icha-Icha series.

Sasuke continued rummaging through his locker, searching for his tomato onigiri and a book to read, "Why Sakura."

Kakashi looked up from the book and stared at Sasuke, before letting out a chuckle. "I'm the one who requested Tsunade-sama for the arrangement, even though you both have few subjects in commom."

Sasuke glared at Kakashi and slammed his locker shut. "Why would you do that?" he asked furiously.

Kakashi didn't even blink. He closed the book and said, "We both know you hurt Naruto and Sakura when you left. You know how Naruto is, but you'll need to work hard to regain the friendship with Sakura." Sasuke opened his mouth to protest but Kakashi cut him off, "Don't try to pretend you don't care about Sakura. You've known her for a long time Sasuke. And she was the only girl you didn't push away, despite her being annoying." Kakashi smirked at his imitation of Sasuke's 'catchphrase'.

"TEME! Kakashi-sensei!" yelled Naruto from the other side of the corridor. Both of them turned around and Kakashi raised his right hand in a greeting. "Think about it Sasuke. There are some bonds you can't break. And I'm sure you've noticed that she's moved on." He walked away, flipping through the pages of his orange book.

"What did Kakashi-sensei say teme?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing important." Sasuke replied.

"Then let's go get some lunch dattebayo! Today's the day they sell miso pork ramen!" Naruto yelled in glee. Sasuke let out a sigh and followed his blonde friend, knowing that he would be physically dragged along if he didn't follow.

Naruto manoeuvred through the crowd until he reached the table where Sakura and the rest were seated. He placed his tray down a little too hard, resulting in quite a lot of scalding hot miso soup landing on Sakura's fingers.

"Iteee! Naruto you friggin idiot!" she yelled in pain while grasping her fingers. Hinata took out a handkerchief from her pocket, which Sakura grabbed. She wiped the soup off while glaring at Naruto.

"It's the death stare." Naruto whispered to Sasuke, who continued reading the book in his hand with contrived interest. He was observing the situation from the corner of his eyes.

"Thank you Hinata. I'll wash this and give it back to you tomorrow." Sakura said while caressing her fingers.

Hinata shook her head and said "Um… There's no... Need for that….. I can," but got interrupted by Sai grabbing Sakura's fingers. He started blowing on them.

"Sai! What are you doing!" yelled Sakura while almost turning red.

"The soup is hot. So wouldn't it make sense to blow on your fingers?" Sai stated in a practical tone, completely oblivious to the stares coming his way.

Naruto burst into hysterical giggles as Sakura moved her hand away. "That won't be necessary Sai!" and then she hastily added, "But thank you."

Sai looked up at Naruto and asked "Did I do something wrong?" which propelled Naruto into even more giggles.

"It's not acceptable in a social situation I guess?" said Ino after a while. "Yeah. It's a nice gesture, but something that couples would do I think," Sakura said with a grimace. "Maybe someone should take Ugly to the nurse," Sai suggested.

"I think I'll just go to the washroom," Sakura assured. She stood up and walked past Naruto, but was blocked by Sasuke.

"Move." Sakura growled, glaring at him.

"No," said Sasuke shortly. He grabbed her hand and raised it to his eyes, "There are blisters forming."

"I'll run cold water over it, now move." Sakura said indignantly. She tried to zone out what inner Sakura was saying. "He's holding your hand Shannaro!" She refused to blush.

"I'm taking you to the nurse." Sasuke said, enclosing his hand around her tiny wrist. His vice like grip prevented her from escaping as he led her to the nurse's room.

Sakura couldn't help but notice that even though the walk was five minutes long, he didn't let go, despite the fact that she made it crystal clear that she wasn't going to run away.

The smell of disinfectant and cleanliness was overwhelming in the tiny little nurse's room. Sasuke had spent much time in it due to his numerous basketball injuries.

"It's a good thing you brought her here. This is a second degree burn," said the nurse praising Sasuke. He arrogantly smirked at Sakura, who looked away in defiance. "Damn him!" she thought to herself.

"Now Sakura-chan, according to your clinical history," said the nurse while gesturing to the computer monitor beside her, "I notice that you've missed your last two meetings with Shizune-san." Sakura grimaced and said "I've just been busy with the new school year and -"

"No excuses aren't tolerated. If you miss another session with her you know that Tsunade-sama will come after you."

Sakura stared at the ground, nodding in embarrassment. That caught Sasuke's attention, but he continued flipping through the pages of his book, pretending to be immersed in it.

"I've scheduled your next meeting tomorrow at 10am. Shizune-san should be free since it's Saturday."

"I hope you're taking your medication regularly. You know very well that the fluoxetine prescription needs to be completed if not there'll be an imbalance," the nurse whispered, but Sasuke still caught fluoxetine. He had heard the word before, he just couldn't remember what it meant. He turned to look at Sakura who was nodding frantically. Her cheeks were a light shade of red and perspiration drops dotted the sides of her forehead, despite the air conditioner.

The nurse finished wrapping the bandage around Sakura's right hand and turned to Sasuke. "Make sure she changes her bandages every day and puts this antiseptic." She handed the bottle containing the strange, strong smelling purple coloured liquid to him and continued, "I'll inform Kurenai-san as well. And if the pain is too much she needs to have one of these tablets," The nurse gave Sasuke a bottle of blue painkillers. "Maximum three a day! And remember what I said." she said and ushered the two of them into the deserted hallway. Everyone was in the canteen.

Sakura bowed and said "Thank you."

Sakura tried to grab the medicines from Sasuke but he swiftly moved his arm away. Both of them were silent for a moment before Sasuke spoke calmly, "What's fluoxetine Sakura?" Sakura straightened up and looked away, refusing to answer him.

"Sakura." Sasuke said moving closer to her. Sakura was forced to move back. She still refused to answer.

"Damnit Sakura, tell me what fluoxetine is." Sasuke growled while moving even closer to her, causing her back to touch the wall. She was trapped and under Sasuke's penetrating gaze. He grabbed her wrist.

"It's none of your business." Sakura said, trying to control her pulsing heartbeat. She couldn't help but notice the heat radiating off him, he was so close to her.

Sasuke didn't give up. He moved even closer to Sakura, "What the hell are you do-" she let out in surprise. "If you don't tell me, I'm going to ask Kakashi." Sasuke whispered. Sakura turned ashen and her eyes widened.

"No." she said softly. Even with their close proximity Sasuke wasn't sure if he heard her say that.

"Why?" he asked, staring into her viridian eyes.

"No one knows goddamnit! Just leave it alone!" Sakura yelled, trying to wriggle out of Sasuke's grasp. He only tightened it.

"I'm not leaving until you tell me," he said without hesitation.

Sakura closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. At this distance Sasuke couldn't help but wonder why Sai called her 'ugly'. She had never been that particular adjective.

Sakura's lips parted and she let out a sigh. "Fluoxetine is the chemical name for Prozac, which is a medicine for clinical depression. The nurse uses chemical names with me because she knows I love to read up on medicines and drugs." Sasuke's eyes widened.

Sakura stared at him and continued, "No one knows about this except for Shizune-san, Tsunade-sama and Kurenai-sensei."

Sasuke opened his mouth to ask, "Naruto? Ino?"

"No. Not even them. Kakashi-sensei also doesn't know." Sasuke nodded.

"And I don't want them to know. I take a small dosage of fluoxetine every day since I have mild depression. It's nothing to worry them about." Sakura finished.

Sasuke was silent but didn't move from his position. "When did it….. start?" he asked hesitating.

"Around two years ago." Sakura replied quickly. "Can I have my medication now?"

Sasuke nodded mutedly and allowed Sakura to take them from him. He stepped away from her and watched as she walked down the corridor, with less vigour than she usually did. She stopped at a corner and turned around, glancing at Sasuke. "Don't tell anyone." With that she disappeared around the corner, leaving Sasuke to his thoughts.

Once the school bell signalled the end of classes for the day, Sasuke grabbed his bag and rushed, no – brisk walked – to his dorm room, ignoring the calls and messages from Naruto about playing basketball. For once basketball could wait. He pried open his laptop and searched up on 'causes of clinical depression'.

'Abuse. Past physical, sexual, or emotional abuse… Certain medications… Conflict. Biological vulnerability to develop depression may result from personal conflicts or disputes with family members or friends.' Sasuke frowned, he hadn't been in Konoha for two years, and it was possible that Sakura had a fight with a friend or family member, but it didn't make sense since she was still friends with everyone. Naruto hadn't mentioned anything wrong at home either- but he couldn't cross that off the possible causes.

'Death or a loss… Sadness or grief from the death or loss of a loved one, though natural, may increase the risk of depression.' Sasuke read and re-read the statement. He left two years ago… Was it possible that Sakura's depression had been triggered by him?

"It can't be." Sasuke thought to himself. "It says death or a loss… I didn't die. And she didn't lose me… and it looks like it would be pretty severe in the case of death. So it can't be this." Sasuke reasoned out. Sasuke still remembered the day he left, with Sakura crying on the train platform.

Suddenly it clicked. Sasuke's eyes widened. "She said mild depression… She thought she lost me. Negative rumination makes it worse."

"She didn't know I was going to return."

Sasuke remembered what Kakashi had said to him in the corridor, "She's moved on".

But evidently, even after two years, she hadn't.

It was 3.17 a.m. Sasuke was still awake, going through many websites, assimilating as much as he could about depression.

It was soft at first, so he thought he was imagining it. But after a few seconds there were three sharp knocks on his door. He glanced at the clock once again, noting the time and wondering who the hell would be up at this ungodly hour. Realizing that he still hadn't changed out of his uniform, he sighed. If it was a supervisor, he'd probably get into trouble for being awake.

He opened the door and was astonished to see messy pink locks and green eyes staring at him. Noticing his surprise, she hastily said, "I woke up and was hungry so I went to the pantry and noticed the light under your door." She held up olive and tomato crackers, "Want some?" she asked hesitantly. Sasuke raised his eyebrows at the sudden disappearance of Sakura's death stares and glares. What happened to "Stay the hell away from me?"

"Hn." replied Sasuke, he turned around and stalked back to the inner confines of his room. Sakura took his lack of response as a yes and entered, closing the door behind her. She opened the packet of crackers and broke the first piece in half, giving one to Sasuke who accepted it without a word.

"Watcha doing?" Sakura asked, glancing around his neatly kept room. He didn't respond and instead chose to continue reading. Even the tshirt and pants on his bed were neatly folded. It was probably what he wore to sleep.

Sakura let out an unexpected gasp. Sasuke turned around and stared at her, "What?"

"Sasuke you're disgusting! It's three in the morning! Change your clothes." Sasuke's eyes slanted and he grabbed the clothes on his bed, disappearing into the washroom, but not before Sakura heard him say "tsk, how annoying." She rolled her eyes.

Sakura looked at the laptop screen with rapt attention, noticing that he was reading about the side effects of fluoxetine. "Decreased sex drive or sexual performance…Some people who have used fluoxetine have experienced decreased sex drive or sexual performance. The reason for this is not known." Sakura blushed a deep shade of red.

A throat cleared behind her and Sakura yelped.

In the most clinical voice he could muster, Sasuke asked "Have you experienced any of the side effects?"

Sakura shakily said "No..oo….Especially not…" she didn't complete her sentence and Sasuke suddenly felt his neck warm up.

"Have you been reading about depression this whole time?" Sakura asked him timidly. He nodded curtly and grabbed another cracker. Sakura gasped once again. "Now what?" Sasuke said unexpectedly.

"Did you have dinner?!" Sakura questioned accusingly. Sasuke didn't say anything.

"I'm going to get ramen from the pantry." Sakura said and got up. Sasuke grabbed her wrist (once again, she noticed) and pulled her towards him. "There's no need for that," he said, ignoring the red tinge on her ears. He stared at the bandages around her right hand, "How's the burn?" It took Sakura a while to process what he was saying, since her heart was hammering so incredibly loudly that her ears felt like a drum.

"Um… Oh yeah. It's better. I put the antiseptic and new bandages. The antiseptic burns like hell though," Sakura said with a shudder. What Sasuke did next shocked Sakura out of her bones.

He gingerly touched her fingers and looked up at her, "Why does Sai call you Ugly?"

Sakura stared at him, unable to accept the fact that Sasuke was acting so unlike himself at the moment. On the other hand, it was three in the morning and he was probably sleep deprived.

"That's just a silly nickname. He calls Naruto dickless. Sai's a bit socially clueless you see…" Sakura said with a slight laugh as she stared down at Sasuke, who was still holding on to her wrist.

"He must be blind." Sasuke said quietly. Sakura blinked twice and blushed deeply. She tugged her hand away and moved towards the door. "I'm going back to my room now. Goodnight… Sasuke-kun." Sasuke's ears perked up at the honorific and he stared at her as she exited his room, unable to comprehend the sudden heightening of his heart beat. "Must be the lack of sleep," he thought to himself as he shut down his laptop.

Outside his room, Sakura was freaking out. "I'm pretty sure he just said I'm not ugly. Which is true. But a compliment coming from him. Holy shit. Omg. This never happened. He's sleepy. It's 3." Thoughts streamed through her mind at a rapid rate. She didn't sleep after that.