Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters.

Sorry that this chapter is, like, awful. Dx

When Sasuke had first found the pink haired girl he had been surprised; nearly everyone had said that, since no one had found in her a year and a half, no one would. But then he'd entered the supposedly abandoned compound and found her huddled in the corner, staring at him with a look that seemed almost fearful. Immediately he had reached forward to touch her, to make sure she was really there and it wasn't just some illusion, but Sakura had reacted violently, fearfully, and so he had drew back to examine her.

The second time he'd been quicker and had grabbed her around the waist, not expecting for her to thrash the way she had. Sasuke had ignored the of feeling of her nails and teeth digging into his flesh, kicking him sharply in the legs, tearing his silky black locks from their roots; yet he'd faltered as her fist slammed into the side of his face for a second time, losing his grip, watching her move away as quicker as she could. Worry had spread over his face as Sasuke stared at her, watching her grab hold of her hair and begin to tear some of the strawberry strands from her scalp, and the young Uchiha had moved forward, ignoring the growls that escaped his friend and once teammate's lips, and knelt down beside the cowering Sakura, running his finger through her once soft, shiny hair.

He'd vowed right then and there that whoever had done this to her would die the most painful way possible.

Gently Sasuke had slipped his hands around her waist once more, and again Sakura had reacted violently though it wasn't as bad as the first time, almost as if she were giving up on escaping his grasp. He endured her blows to his head, arms, stomach, and legs, simply holding her until finally she stopped; weakly the vulnerable and tired Sakura had closed her eyes and laid her head against his chest, trembling both in fear and cold. She had twisted as he'd lightly lifted her off the ground but hadn't truly tried to escape his grasp, which worried him even more than her being afraid of him in the first place had.

The Sakura he knew wouldn't simply give up after fighting for only a minute or so.

Never the less, Sasuke had left the compound and taken the pink haired girl to the hospital; however, the instant he had set her down and one of the nurses reached for her she'd screeched violently, attempting to bite the hand that came toward her. Instantly the nurse had pulled back, her eyes straying up toward the young Uchiha's face, which had been, as usual, emotionless. Yet his eyes had been anything but emotionless. Sakura wouldn't let anyone come within three feet of her body with the exception of Sasuke, and even he had been restricted.

Eventually she had to be put to sleep before anyone was even allowed to touch her, and Sasuke had been the one to do so.

----

Three Days Later

Gently Sakura stirred from her sleep, shifting underneath the starch white blankets as emerald green eyes opened then closed as they were met with the violent rays of the sun. A grunt of discomfort left her throat as she rolled over and again opened her eyes, the pupils locking on the vases of flowers on the tablestand next to her hospital bed, blinking as she stared at them for a moment before it finally clicked what type of flowers they were.

Sakura blossoms.

However it meant nothing to her. She sat up in the bed, peering down at the flowers before the girl lightly reached forward and pulled one from a vase, the water at the end dribbling onto the sheets and the hand that sat in her lap as she lifted the flower to her nose. Suddenly the door was opened and she dropped the flower, her head snapping toward the sound as the hand that had held the blossom reached over and picked up a vase, sending it flying toward the open door in an attempt to get the nurse to leave her alone. It shattered to the side of the door, her aim slightly off, and the nurse started violently and peered down at the broken glass for a moment before her gaze lifted to Sakura.

Cold eyes stared back at her and a low growl emitted from her throat as the pink haired girl half dared her to come closer, half told her to stay the hell away from her.

Far more warily than before the nurse approached again, and Sakura screeched as she picked up another vase and threw it at the nurse, watching as she jumped to the side and the vase shattered in the hallway outside the door. Yet she continued to approach the girl even after all her warnings and a sudden whimper replaced the low growls of warning from before as Sakura lifted the blankets up and disappear beneath them, drawing the starch white material close to her body and trembling with fear. Her plan of "scare the nurse away so she doesn't hurt me" had failed, and so instead she would hide from the other.

Yet that failed too.

Reaching underneath the blankets the nurse took a firm but gentle hold on Sakura's left arm, pulling it out from under the material even though she was twisting and thrashing. Suddenly a small tinge of pain centered at her inner elbow and she tensed up but grew still as well, remembering her last encounter. Sakura had thrashed so violently the last time she was given a shot that the needle had broken off inside her flesh and they had had to remove it, which hurt far more than the shot itself. The needle was pulled out of her flesh and the nurse gently wrapped the wound in a bandage, speaking softly so that she wouldn't fighten the vulnerable Sakura even more than she already was. "There we go. That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Sakura grunted in reply, pulling her arms underneath the blankets as quickly as possible and cradling it next to her chest; she never spoke real words. Some people wondered if she was physically unable to speak now or if she simply didn't want to. There was even the idea that she'd forgotten how to speak and that was why she only replied with animal-like sounds.

Even after the door was closed, she remained underneath the blankets until the sound of footsteps faded completely, signaling that the nurse was far enough away from her now. Timidly the strawberry head poked out from beneath the blankets, strands of hair shielding her face and eyes from view as slowly Sakura crawled out from her shelter, sitting up and peering curiously at the door for a moment before her eyes strayed down to the pile of shattered glass and flowers at the side of the door; soon someone would be coming to clean that mess up.

At the thought Sakura began to tremble.

Silently she stood, bare feet meeting the floor which to her seemed to be freezing. She could walk around as much as she wanted. The windows were sealed tight and the door was always closed, though never locked, with nurses all over the place. Her white hospital dress ruffled as she made her way slowly toward the shards, standing over them for a moment before Sakura knelt down and began to pick through the glass with her fingers slowly, timidly. Pulling one of the Sakura blossoms from the pile she shook it lightly, watching the remaining glass pieces fall back into place. And so she continued the process until every blossom had been picked from the pile of glass shards, pale hands gathering the flowers as she stood and returned to her bed, putting the rescued blossoms into a different vase.

She had been right. Someone did come and clean up the mess, a young Genin it seemed, and while he worked she watched him from her place on the bed, making sure he wasn't going to try to come near her and hurt her.

Only after he had left did her tense body relax, and Sakura laid down on the starch white hospital bed, nuzzling into the warm sheets as she pulled the blankets over her head. One hand rose and grabbed hold of some of her hair, twisting it around her fingers gently before the pink haired kunoichi took in a deep breath and rolled onto her side, staring out the window before she felt her eyes droop with exhaustion.

----

"What do you mean we can't see her? Like hell we can't see her! We're her friends, damnit!" The blonde's voice rang out sharply as he declined entrance to see his friend and former teammate; did these people not understand that he hadn't seen her in a year and a half and needed to now? The nurse merely shook her head, replying in a firm calm voice: "I'm sorry, but Sakura needs her rest. She won't let anyone into her room except for Mister Uchiha, and even he she only lets so close. When she's better you may see her." Before Naruto could retort a certain Nara grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. "Stop being troublesome, Naruto. It's annoying," Shikamaru snapped irritably, letting go of the thrashing blonde.

Naruto growled but nodded slightly, glancing back with a violent glare at the nurse before he began to follow after Shikamaru, who was walking back toward the group of people at the entrance of the hospital: Kiba, Hinata, Shino, and Ino. The others had been unable to come due to missions or other emergencies. "Well? Any luck?" the Yamanka inquired, placing her hands on her hips as she stared at Naruto and Shikamaru.

"No. They said that she won't even let anyone into her room except Sasuke," the blonde replied somewhat bitterly. Of course, he'd be the one Sakura would let near her.

"This is no time for your petty jealousy, Naruto." The blonde glanced at Shino with a glare but couldn't tell if the other was glaring back or smirking in his eyes because of his sunglasses. "Sakura-chan will be okay, won't she Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked quietly, blushing slightly as everyone turned to look at her. Naruto was quiet for a moment before he nodded, casting her a reassuring smile. "Of course, Hinata! Sakura's a fighter; she'll get through this no matter what!" I wish I was as confident as I sound...

I hope you all enjoyed my second chapter! Review please!