Author's Note: I've come to the conclusion that this is be the last "chapter", but have no fear because after this I'm going to continue putting up a separate collection of drabbles as a continuation. So stay tuned for those.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Dedicated to nazaliasan for the lovely review.
Hammers and Hearts V
It was early enough that dawn was barely stretching itself over the horizon as Sakura led him down some street. The village's slow waking was evident in the occasionally lit window and a random voice from within a home. It was chilly without the sun and Sasuke noted the way she walked close to him, almost touching.
"Where are we going?"
"Well," Sakura began, "I heard from Tsunade-sama that she wants you assigned to some community work to get reacquainted with the village so I thought you could come with me to the hospital."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow and glanced at her. He'd learned she was a medic a while after returning and remembering her chakra control as a child, thought it probably suited her.
"That's ok, right?" She turned to him with a smile and he could think of no reason it wasn't.
"Ah."
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After arriving at the hospital, Sasuke was strangely surprised at the way Sakura was greeted, though he did not let it show. As they walked down the white halls nurses, doctors and patients all respectfully bowed.
"Good morning, Dr. Haruno."
"Hello, Haruno-san."
She took it all in stride, offering a smile to each person they met. Having shrugged on her white coat and tucked a clipboard under her arm, she looked at ease here and every bit the professional medic. Her rosy hair was pulled into a practical ponytail and she had fixed a pencil behind her ear.
"What exactly is your position?"
Sakura looked up at him from her clipboard and smiled almost sheepishly. "Well I was Tsunade-sama's personal assistant since I was fourteen, but her duties as Hokage proved to overwhelming and just two year ago, I became Konoha's head doctor."
Sasuke was vaguely satisfied to hear this as if her accomplishment was his. But that was beyond his ability to say.
"Aren't you being rather foolish, Sakura?" His voice was intentionally disapproving. "Head doctor of Konoha, ANBU captain, leader of a genin team. It seems you've given up on sleep."
Sakura smiled at Sasuke odd version of a compliment and opened her mouth to reply when the intercoms came alive with crackling and an urgent voice.
"Doctor Haruno, report to emergency surgery immediately! Doctor Haruno, please report to surgery immediately!"
There was only a moment of stillness in which the halls seemed too white and the floors too clean, but the moment passed and Sakura was sprinting down the hall, Sasuke close behind. Sakura's breath caught when she saw the figure being rolled towards her on a stretcher that was stained horribly rogue and even Sasuke couldn't help but glance over the body. The blood covered the young woman's pale skin and amidst the crimson he couldn't even make out the wounds. Her dark hair was tangled and damp, her bangs slick to her forehead.
"Oh Hinata…" Sakura breathed.
Sasuke dimly recognized the name, but didn't have time to ponder as Sakura jumped to the side of the stretcher, pushing it into the surgery room.
"Give me a report on her injuries!" Sakura demanded.
"She has deep lacerations on her limbs and abdomens and severe puncture wounds to the chest," the nurse panted.
Sasuke stood back to stay out of the way as Sakura summoned chakra to her hands and sent it through Hinata's body, assessing the damage and simultaneously healing the smaller cuts.
"She's going to need a type A blood transfusion and I want a defibrillator ready to go!" A couple of the nurses nodded at Sakura's demand and rushed out of the room. Sakura pushed back her sleeves and positioned her hands over the hole in Hinata's chest, trying to close the wound. "I want pressure put on these wounds!"
Sakura's eyes widened in surprise when she looked up to find Sasuke there, his steady hands pressing down on a wound on the kunoichi's thigh. He didn't meet her stare, but continued holding down on the leg in his hand, mouth tight with determination.
"Doctor! Her vitals are falling!"
Sakura quickly shook herself out of her shock and glanced at the beeping machines around her, dread creeping up in her stomach.
"Damn it, Hinata," she hissed.
"Her blood pressure is dropping under eighty!"
Sakura's mouth went dry when the line on the heart monitor ceased to jump.
"Nurse, bring the defibrillator here now!" Sakura shouted, her voice hoarse.
The nurse wasted no time rolling the machine to Hinata's side and charging the paddles before handing them to Sakura. Sasuke stared as Sakura rubbed the paddles together before pressing them down to Hinata's chest.
"Clear!"
Hinata's body jerked violently on the table and Sasuke's grip tightened on the wound. Sakura held her breath then shook her head.
"Up the voltage to 300!"
Once again, Hinata's body wrenched itself off the table and fell back with a thud. The mocking tone of the flat heart monitor echoed off the walls and the nurse's sharp intake of breath was deafening. Sasuke realized how cold the room was and how sharp the air felt against the warmth of the blood on his hands. The nurse shook her head and took a step away from the table.
"She's gone."
Sakura gave her a sharp look. "She's not going anywhere."
Tossing the paddles aside, Sakura positioned her hands about Hinata's chest once again and braced her arms before pumping repeatedly, counting under her breath. Sasuke let his hands drop to his sides and watched Sakura try to revive her friend.
"Sakura," he said, his voice stolid. "She's dead-"
His words died pathetically when she looked up at him and he saw the fierce determination challenging him. She held his gaze for a heavy moment, blinking the sweat out of her eyes before she turned her attention back to the body under her hands.
"Hinata, don't you dare," she growled. "Come back."
Her pumping hands flared suddenly with chakra and gritting her teeth almost painfully, Sakura sent it pulsing into Hinata's chest, willing her still heart to beat. It was at this moment it occurred to Sasuke that she had a strength no other could hope to gain. Her hair had fallen out of its neat ponytail and now stuck to her neck and forehead. Her lips were parted and her breath came in heavy pants, but he barely had time to notice those things when he saw the fervor in her eyes. The apple-green was dark with determination and her brows were stitched together in resolve.
Suddenly, a shudder passed through Hinata and a pained breath tore from her body as if she'd forgotten how to breathe. Then another followed, and another until she was breathing steadily, if shallowly.
Sakura leaned back and exhaled shakily before looking over at Sasuke with a drained smile.
"I told you she wasn't leaving us."
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It was nearly midnight when Sakura collapsed beside him on the couch in her office. He noted the sagging of her slim shoulders and the weary sigh she let out.
"You look horrible."
Sakura chuckled tiredly as she rolled her head back, rubbing her stiff neck.
"Thanks. A twelve hour workday and bringing someone back from the dead can destroy a girl's complexion."
Sasuke almost smiled and shifted closer, taking her neck in his hand. Sakura stiffened for a moment at his touch, then moaned happily when he worked his fingers over her exhausted muscles, not minding that this was a man that could snap her neck without much effort. It was a comfortable silence and Sasuke worked diligently on her muscles and Sakura closed her eyes, letting exhaustion creep over her.
"It was a brave thing you did today," he said quietly. "Most people would have given up, but you brought her back" Like you brought me back.
Sakura let herself smile a little. "I don't give up on the things important to me." Things like you.
The two of them inwardly acknowledged the meaning behind each other's words and how they didn't need to say their thoughts for the other to understand exactly what they meant.
"Besides," she chuckled. "I'm pretty stubborn."
Her words were slurring slightly with weariness and from the relaxation coming over her features, Sasuke could tell she was not far from sleep. This knowledge allowed him to continue, knowing she would probably not remember what was said when she woke in the morning.
"You know," he admitted, "I'm not surprised you became a medic."
Sakura slumped further against him and made a small noise, trying stay awake. Her breathing slowed and pretty soon Sasuke was sure she was asleep. Slowly releasing her neck, he pulled her head to rest on his shoulder, allowing her a more comfortable position. He marveled at the delicate way her lashes rested against her cheeks as he brushed a stray lock of hair away from her closed eyes.
He leaned over her, letting his lips skim her forehead tenderly.
"After all, you were always saving me."
Author's Note: END.
Keep your eyes out for the collection of drabbles I'll put up, continuing Sasuke and Sakura's life following this chapter. It'll be fun and I'll take requests on scenarios
Thank you to everyone who stuck it out and read my humble fic. I'll soon be posting actual chapter stories that I already have outlined and ready to write.
And finally. Reviews are 3'd