Scars Chapter 1, a naruto fanfic

Standard Disclaimer Applied.

It was late; he was late. Naruto promised to call her when they got back from the mission. It had been at least a week and a half that they had been gone. The bitterness she had felt for not being able to go on the mission as well had not vanished. So far, work at the hospital and just been a blur; nothing major. Tsunade didn't need her at the hospital half as much as Naruto claimed she had. She knew she shouldn't be fretting about such trivial things like not being able to go on missions when there were more important things to be worrying about. Like why Naruto had yet to call. And for some reason, Tsunade refused to tell her what the mission was all about. Sakura didn't think she'd ever felt this much anger and frustration towards her teacher before in the entire time of knowing the woman.

She sighed. As long as Kakashi and Naruto get back in one piece, she should be fine. If they were fine, she was fine.

But still, that couldn't stop her from worrying. They should've been back approximately at 6 o'clock, but it was now 8:35 PM, and they had yet to return. She sighed for the second time and got up to go into the kitchen. She should at least try to eat something. She had finished work at 5 o'clock and hadn't eaten since she'd gotten home. She took out a bowl from the cupboard and then reached for the utensil drawer. Some good old cereal and milk would be good enough for her. As she was pouring the milk into the cereal, the phone rang. She abruptly put the milk carton down which made it spill a little, which she paid no heed to. She quickly raced into the living room and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" Sakura answered quite quickly.

"Hi, Sakura. It's Shizune." The young fellow worker of Sakura said kindly.

"Oh…hey." Sakura couldn't help but feel disappointed. She had been hoping it would be Naruto.

"Listen, I just got in myself a little while ago and Tsunade informed me that Naruto and Kakashi had returned from their mission."

"Oh! How are they?" Sakura asked a bit more alert. Her heart began to pound at an unsteady pace.

"Well…I can't say they came back unscathed. Unfortunately, Kakashi had overused his sharingan and is unconscious, and Naruto's a bit beaten up but overall, they should be fine."

"..." Sakura still felt uneasy despite Shizune's words.

"Don't worry Sakura, they'll live. We will do our utmost best to make sure of that. But Tsunade wants you to come in if it's not too much trouble. The ANBU that were with them are in even worse condition and they need to be healed right away."

"No problem." With that, Sakura dropped the receiver, and collected her things. She ran back to the kitchen to put away the milk so it wouldn't spoil, and then raced out the door.

To say she was scared was an understatement. No matter what Shizune had said, she still couldn't believe her entirely until she saw them. Naruto and Kakashi were all she had left, and she knew that if anything happened to them, she wouldn't ever forgive herself.

As she burst into the hospital doors, she was greeted with the stench of antiseptics and bleach. How she had grown accustomed to it, she did not know. She raced up to the receptionist's desk and slammed her hand down on it which startled the young lady.

"Where's Tsunade?!" Sakura asked frantically.

"Oh, Sakura, it's you. You scared me." The receptionist smiled slightly.

Sakura ignored her comment and repeated herself, but more calmly. "Where's Tsunade?"

"Umm…she's actually in her office waiting for you. She told me to inform you once you came." The receptionist said with a polite smile. "Shizune is there as well."

"Alright. Thanks." Sakura thanked her hurriedly and was one her way up the stairs. The elevator would be far too slow and anxiety-filled. She vaguely wondered how the receptionist lady could be so polite and cheery. Maybe she didn't know how much people were injured? After all, she was only the receptionist and wasn't involved with the patients or any medical history pertaining to the hospital at all.

Damn. Stupid hospital had to have so many stairs. However, that did not deter Sakura in the least as it only motivated her to go faster.

Once she reached Tsunade's office, she didn't even bother knocking and all but barged inside. Shizune and Tsunade were not at all startled by Sakura's noisy entrance. They surely must've heard her running down the halls.

"Tsunade-sama! I heard Kakashi and Naruto were back! Are they in better condition? Did you see to them?" Sakura managed to say between heavy breathing.

"Calm down Sakura. They're in good hands." Tsunade said in an assuring way.

Sakura instantly felt a small wave of relief. It's not that she couldn't take Shizune's word for it, hell, she still needed to see the two males herself to make sure they really were okay, but she knew Tsunade was a very serious person when it came to matters dealing with the hospital. She was quite an incredible individual. The Hokage, as well as the head of Konoha Hospital was truly a difficult task but she managed to pull it off immaculately…with the exception of some drinking and gambling along the way. Everyone had to have fun once in a while, right?

"Alright." Sakura said in relief.

"However," as Tsunade said this, her eyes darted to Shizune in unease; Shizune returned the gesture. "There are a few other problems."

As soon as the words left Tsunade's mouth, Sakura could feel her body become rigid. She knew something was up. She listened closely as Tsunade struggled to pick her words carefully.

"I will now tell you of the mission that your two teammates as well as ANBU went on." Sakura's interest multiplied exponentially and she leaned forward expectantly.

"The reason you were not sent on the mission was quite simple." Tsunade said carefully.

"Please don't be mad at Tsunade-sama when she tells you why she did this. She was simply being cautious." Shizune interrupted briefly.

Tsunade nodded at Shizune as if to thank her, and continued. "The mission was an A-rank. And although I know you're perfectly capable of going on one, the reason the ANBU went was also a precaution. And…as you can see, it's a good thing I didn't send Naruto and Kakashi on their own."

Sakura mentally shivered as she imagined the condition of the ANBU members.

"The mission could've very well been an S-rank, as it bordered on A-rank, so that is why the ANBU were sent."

"…So you think I'm too weak?" Sakura muttered quite bitterly.

"No, that's not it at all." Tsunade frowned. "The reason you didn't go was because we needed you to be safe and healthy to heal those who would've and did get injured on the mission. Honestly, it was all inevitable. You're one of our top medics, Sakura, and we couldn't afford to have you hurt. However, there's another reason why…you see, the mission was to find and return Uchiha Sasuke to the village…"

Sakura's heart nearly stopped. "W-what…?" She could hardly even speak.

"It's true. We'd acquired the whereabouts of where he dwelled by an ANBU and acted fast upon it. We've actually been keeping tabs of Uchiha Sasuke for quite a while now. I'm sorry I never told you or Naruto anything sooner, but I just knew you'd be brash and demand the mission. As you know, Orochimaru has been deceased for quite a while now, and so it was safer to pursue Sasuke at this time. The current status of Sasuke and his whole revenge ordeal on Itachi is unknown at the moment…however we will acquire that information after we've treated him."

Sakura's eyes nearly bugged out of her head and she learned to speak again. "What!? After we've treated him?! Do you mean…"

"Yes, Sakura. Uchiha Sasuke is back in Konoha."

ఇ

Sakura's heart felt like it had exploded at the words. "He's back!?"

Tsunade nodded. "He seems to be in the worst condition of all though. He's currently being healed by some nurses as we speak. You, Shizune, and I will go down there now to finish healing him properly and entirely for the major injuries and such. I just felt that I should explain everything to you first. I had faith that the nurses could keep him alive until we got there…" Tsunade's voice was grave as she spoke.

Wordlessly, Sakura nodded. She couldn't speak right now even if she wanted to. Tsunade stood from behind her desk and walked up to Sakura. She patted Sakura's shoulder lightly and hurriedly walked out of the room to the emergency. Shizune quickly followed but stopped at the doorway when she realized Sakura wasn't moving.

"Sakura?"

"I'm coming." With that, Sakura pivoted on her heel and raced out the door with Shizune.

Nurses in the hall quickly side stepped to avoid being hit by the three rushing females. First there was Tsunade, then Sakura and Shizune side by side. Sakura's heart rate had nothing to do with the fact that they were traveling quite fast.

As they reached the emergency, Tsunade barged in and ordered the nurses aside to let her see the patient. Shizune was standing beside her staring down at the unmoving body. Sakura was still stuck in the doorway simply watching in horror at how much blood was on the nurses' outfits. She couldn't see his face, and for that she was thankful. All that was in view from where she was standing was his legs.

Sakura swallowed quite hardly and the action did not moisten her dry throat in the least. Suddenly, the stubbornness in Sakura took over and she braved a few steps closer until she was beside Tsunade and Shizune.

So many emotions were rushing around in Sakura's head. She was beyond furious with the Uchiha for harming Naruto and Kakashi, not to mention herself; emotionally. But there was that small voice inside her head telling her that said she had to help him, no matter how angry she was. It was inevitable that she would anyways.

With that, she rolled up the sleeves of her clothes, and began to work.

ఇ

Tsunade dealt with his vitals while Sakura and Shizune took care of deep wounds, bruises, broken bones, and such. It was hard work; very exhausting. Sakura knew by the time they finished, her chakra would more or less be depleted. Sakura had refused to look at Sasuke's face for the whole of the procedure, and she was thankful that Tsunade was closer to his face so it was blocking her view of him.

After they had finally finished, and the battered and bruised body had basically been healed, with some scars here and there, Sakura nearly collapsed from exhaustion. And although she and Shizune had healed his outer body and Tsunade took care of his vitals, the rest of his inner body would be in the hands of the IV; dripping medications into his body to rid him of infections and such, as well as the oxygen mask giving him air.

"Good work Sakura. I'm very proud of you." Tsunade complemented while she went to rinse the blood from her hands.

Sakura felt sick.

Her hands were covered in his blood. And even though she had been in these types of situations many times before, this was Sasuke she was dealing with, someone she knew. Someone who she had once loved…

"Come on, Sakura, we should wash up too." Shizune said lightly.

"Hai…" was Sakura's weak response.

ఇ

Shizune and Tsunade had left to look at some other ANBU patients. Sakura was currently sitting in a chair beside Sasuke's bed. And although Tsunade felt uneasy about leaving Sakura alone with Sasuke, even though he probably wouldn't wake up until tomorrow, she knew that her pupil needed it.

Sakura had finally mustered up enough courage to look at Sasuke's face. The whole time she had simply been looking at visible scars on his arms. As her eyes met his face, she felt like she wanted to throw up. Her heart was racing.

He had somewhat of a pained expression on his face and his head was facing the ceiling. She observed he hadn't changed much at all, save for the fact that his bangs were slightly longer. After all, she had seen him simply 4 years ago, and not much change had really occurred.

Now that she knew Sasuke would be alright, that the boy would live, she allowed herself to feel angry once again. He was the reason for causing Naruto and her so much pain. He almost killed Naruto twice! She professed her love to him and he simply called her annoying, knocked her out, and left her on a cold bench while she was vulnerable. Why in hell did he thank her then? What was he thanking her for, allowing him to punch her lights out?!

Sakura's nails began to dig into the skin of her palms and she clenched her teeth. Her eyes briefly met with the oxygen mask which was keeping Sasuke alive at the moment since he was too weak to breathe on his own.

Still blinded by anger, she made a dash for the cord and held it in her hands…

Now he was the vulnerable one; left open to harm and unable to defend himself. Her grip momentarily tightened on the cord, but it abruptly let go. All that could be heard in the room was the steady beeping of the heart monitor…

Tears flooded in Sakura's eyes as she had a look of horror upon her face as she stared at her hands in disbelief.

No…

NO!

She couldn't believe what she had just done. Sasuke was her patient! She was supposed to save his life, not try to take it!

Sakura felt the sick feeling return, only this time, it was way more intense and it felt awful. She eyes landed on Sasuke's face, which was still pained. A single tear drop slid down her face and onto the sheets, just inches from Sasuke's hands. Sakura genuinely felt dreadful now. Guilt consumed her like never before; it made her want to puke.

A small sob escaped Sakura's lips.

Slowly, Sakura's hand began to descend upon Sasuke's forehead. She forced the last bit of chakra she had left into it to soothe his pains a bit more. The IV was simply a slower way to heal the inside of the body when the doctor was out of chakra. Chakra was much faster. Sakura's hand lingered on Sasuke's forehead for a long time before she finally brushed the sweaty locks of hair out of his face.

She then allowed herself to collapse onto the chair beside the bed. She rested her head at the side of the bed quite close to Sasuke's hand, and succumbed to the exhaustion…

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