Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters.
Sorry this took so long. Dx I got lazy and my brain died. Plus I wanted to make it longer. Oh, and for all of you wanting to know Sasuke and Sakura are eighteen/nineteen years old.
How could this have happened to her? How could he have let this happen to her? Sasuke stared down at the ground as he walked silently through Konoha, his hands shoved into his pockets. She had trusted him, and he'd let her down more than once. At the thought he suddenly felt as if he were going to be sick but forced the feeling away as quickly as possible, onyx eyes lifting to examine his surroundings quickly.
"Oi! Sasuke!"
The raven turned toward the voice, cold onyx eyes staring at the blonde as he sprinted up to him, placing his hands on his knees as he panted slightly before glaring up at Sasuke. "Where were you earlier, you ass? I know for sure you didn't have a mission, but you weren't at the hospital! Where were you? Had something more important to do than see how Sakura's doing?" Naruto didn't catch the flash of anger that appeared in the other's eyes and instead kept going on about the fact that Sasuke hadn't been to see Sakura yet. "Well Sasuke? What's your excuse? I knew you didn't care about anything, but I didn't know you were that extr-" He was cut off as a kunai sailed right by his ear, staring wide eyed at the dark haired Uchiha as he finally noticed the look of pure hatred he was receiving.
"If you ever say I don't care about anything, especially Sakura, I'll kill you, Naruto." Sasuke continued to glare at the blonde until the other nodded his head slowly, his wide eyes hardening as he returned the look. "Then what's your excuse, Sasuke?"
"..."
"Tell me now, damnit!"
"Do you want the truth?"
Naruto glance at the other in surprise, blinking at him as he watched Sasuke quirk an eyebrow. "What?" he asked somewhat stupidly, trying to process what his former teammate had said. "I said, do you want the truth?"
Of course he wanted the truth! Who wouldn't? However, the blonde found it odd that the other had asked him if he wanted the truth rather than just saying it; was it something bad? Naruto blinked as he stared at the Uchiha for a moment before nodding slowly, cautiously, blue eyes transfized on his former teammate's face. Onyx eyes stared back at him calmly before Sasuke sighed slightly, averting his eyes so he wouldn't have to look right at Naruto. "I feel guilty, seeing her like that. I feel like I could have done something, and because I didn't she's the one who has to suffer."
The kyuubi stared at the raven for a moment, surprised by Sasuke's feelings; what had happened in the last several months that Sakura was gone? The Uchiha had greatly disliked Sakura because, to him, she had been annoying with her constant fangirlism. But now he seemed to be returning her feelings so long ago.
"Sasuke I-"
He stopped as onyx eyes met his own once more before Sasuke turned and began to walk away. Naruto shook his head, starting to jog after the other before he called out: "Sasuke! Where are you going?"
The raven halted for a moment, his hands in his pockets, and replied without glancing back at his friend.
"To see Sakura."
-----
Groans left her lips as Sakura tossed and turned on the hospital bed, her hair matted to her forehead and cheeks from the sweat that was lingering there. Pale hands clenched the sheets tightly, her eyes sealed shut as she whimpered weakly, thrashing her head back and forth violently.
"I'm not going to tell you anything. I won't betray my friends like that!" she growled, glaring up at her captures defiantly. It had only been a week since she'd first been abducted, but Sakura still refused to give out any information on any of her friends. She winced slightly at the cold laugh that she was replied with, yet continued to glare.
"Oh, you'll tell us. Until then, we have need for a good medic..."
Sakura yelped as she woke from her nightmare, thrashing violently, knocking some of the vases off the stand; suddenly she felt arms slip around her shoulders securely yet gently, and she ceased to thrash, noticing that the touch was familar. Blinking slightly, the pink haired girl glanced over her shoulder, emerald green eyes meeting onyx as she calmed down slightly, relaxing. A nurse sprinted into the room, glancing from the broken glass to Sakura to Sasuke: "Thank goodness you were here with her, Mister Uchiha," the nurse breathed, proceeding to clean the mess up. "Yeah," the dark haired boy murmured in reply.
Once the nurse was gone Sasuke let go of the slightly trembling Sakura, letting her rest her head against the pillow once more as she peered up at him with an almost curious nature. She tilted her head to the side, watching him for a moment before her eyes trailed to the damp spot on the floor; a sudden cry left her lips as she realized that the Sakura blossoms had been thrown away as well, thrashing violently once more.
However, as she felt a smooth hand touch her pale cheek gently the pink haired girl halted her movements, staring up at the dark haired boy in surprise.
She was surprised at how gentle he was when he touched her; even when he was attempting to keep her from flailing and thrashing he was gentle, something she was still trying to get used to. The nurses weren't even as gentle with her as Sasuke was. Sakura sighed as she settled back into the hospital bed, staring passed Sasuke's ears toward the ceiling before her gaze focused on his face once more; the look there told him instantly that she had forgotten he was even there for a moment, until she had looked at him again. The Haruno often did that now, forgetting things easily. Sasuke stared back for a moment before sighing slightly, turning and beginning to walk toward the door; however, he stopped when he suddenly felt her hand grip his wrist tightly.
Glancing back at Sakura, the Uchiha watched her shake her head back and forth violently, staring up at him when she was finished with pleading eyes. Right now, Sasuke was the only one she trusted, the only one she would let close enough to touch her. He watched her for a moment with an eyebrow quirked before a small smile played on his lips as the raven nodded at her request.
"Alright Sakura. I'll stay."
-----
Two Weeks Later
Sakura was making great progress; now she would let anyone come near her, though only the nurses, doctors, and Sasuke were allowed to actually touch the Haruno. However, if anyone tried to touch her throat, chest, or hip area she would thrash violently, usually ending up punching whoever it was in the face at least once before she was calmed. Her speech had improved as well; it wasn't as great as it had been before, for she still only spoke one or two word sentences, but at least she was speaking.
Now Sakura was even beginning to talk about what happened, at least just a little bit.
Almost all of Sakura's old friends were there to see her: Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Lee, Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, Kiba, and Shino. Some nurses and a specialist were also in the room, while Sakura sat on the bed staring around her as if confused as to why so many people were here. She was afraid of so many people, though the Uchiha's familar face comforted her somewhat; he wouldn't let anyone hurt her, would he?
The one who frightened her most was the specialist sitting there in a chair next to her bed, scribbling things down on her clipboard as she watched Sakura's reaction to people.
Emerald green eyes flashed fearfully as the woman stared at her for a moment before smiling warmly, which seemed to comfort the pink haired girl somewhat. Readying her pen, the specialist smiled again before beginning to speak in a soft gentle tone so as not to frighten Sakura too much: "Sakura? How are you today?"
She was quiet for a moment before opening her mouth to reply slightly, averting her gaze toward the outside world in order to keep herself calm; too many people.
"Fine."
"Have you slept well recently?"
"Yes."
"Eaten well?"
"... No."
"I see. That's normal for someone in your condition, Sakura."
"..."
"Can you tell us a little bit about what happened?"
"..."
"You don't have to if you don't want to, Sakura."
"Dreams."
"Dreams?"
"Yes."
"And what were these dreams about?"
"Bad things."
"Can you describe them to us?"
"..."
"It's alright Sakura. I have a question; can you remember anyone standing here?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
"..."
"Sakura?"
"Him."
"Do you remember his name?"
"No."
"Try to remember his name."
"..."
"Can you?"
"N-No..."
"It's alright, Sakura. Calm down. It's fine."
"Not f-fine..."
"Sakura?"
"No!"
"Sakura!"
"No! No, no, no!"
The pink haired girl began to thrash violently before lifting up the blanket that had been laying in her lap and burying her face in it, trembling with fear; she couldn't remember his name. She could remember him, but couldn't remember his name at all. And that caused her pain. Sakura peered up just in time to see the blonde haired boy that had been standing near the raven haired boy coming toward her, and a low growl of warning emitted from her throat as he approached her. The look in her eyes appeared to be killer, and Naruto stopped and stared at her for a moment before taking a step backward to avoid his throat being ripped out. Ino was staring wide-eyed at her friend and rival, clinging slightly to Shikamaru, who didn't seem to mind; Lee seemed shocked at the killer intent in Sakura's eyes, while Kiba and Shino merely quirked an eyebrow and kept their distance. Hinata's hands were pressed together as she stared wide-eyed at the pink haired girl; Sasuke seemed to be the only one who wasn't surprised by her behavior toward Naruto.
Without any hesitation the Uchiha stepped forward and caught Sakura's wrist as she thrashed violently; instantly she relaxed at the gentle touch, instinctively leaning into the raven, taking in his familar scent before she sighed and smiled somewhat.
It didn't matter to her that she couldn't remember his name; she'd forgotten about that as well already.
One of the nurses stepped toward the shocked group, gesturing with her hands that they should leave. "Sakura's tired and needs her rest. You can visit her again tomorrow."
Naruto scowled but followed after the group, glancing over his shoulder once to see that Sasuke hadn't moved at all, and the pink haired girl was still clinging to him as if he was her lifeline. The kyuubi scowled, huffing slightly as she turned back around and came face-to-face with a certain Hyuuga. She blushed deeply, her gaze averting to the ground as she smiled slightly; the blonde inclined his head. "A-Are you going to be alright, Naruto-kun? With Sakura and everything..." she murmured, keeping her gaze on the ground as she pressed her fingers together slightly.
"Yeah, I guess. But I wish she'd let more than just Sasuke come near her."
"M-Maybe she's just a-afraid..."
"I know, Hinata."
"Oh..."
"Hey? Do you want to go get some ramen with me or something? All this drama and tension is making me hungry."
"R-Really? Sure, Naruto-kun!"
Naruto smiled at the Hyuuga girl, who in turn smiled back. She seemed happy, in a somewhat solemn way; the kyuubi laughed half-heartedly. "Well, c'mon then Hinata!"
"Coming, Naruto-kun!"
Aw! NaruHina and ShikaIno! Just a little bit of other pairings added in there. Next chapter coming hoepfully soon.