I told myself to give it up.
I fought so hard to be free of him.
And just when I thought I could finally accept
Who had accepted me all along
He decided to walk back into my life
And fuck everything up.
Please...

Just...

L e a v e M e A l o n e

C h a p t e r I I

The wind pounded harshly against my windows, causing them to rattle in cacophony. But even if it weren't the scream of a storm outside, the sounds inescapable even when I pulled my pillows and covers over my head, I still would not be able to sleep. My body was still hot. My heart was still pounding. My mind was still swimming with striking images of naked skin and the memory of its feel under my hands — much too soft and too warm to be expected of someone like him. It had only been a bare chest, dammit. A bare chest that had me out of breath, my face flushed, trying to fight it from my mind like some hormone-driven teenage girl.

But of course, it wasn't just any shirtless chest. It was the shirtless chest of Uchiha Sasuke, and it therefore had my mind reeling with non-too-innocent thoughts. If only his skin weren't flawless and unblemished, and pale. Not the gaunt, nerdy type of pale that was commonly associated with people who never saw sun — it was more like porcelain. Smooth. Firm. Pulled over slim, but powerful muscles that tightened instinctively when touched. I had ogled him as a boy, there was no denying that. But now that he was a man, it was a different case entirely.

Holy shit-fuck. (Pardon my French.) In my academy days, it had been: Oh, Sasuke-kun is so dreamy. Oh, Sasuke-kun is so cute. But know, whenever a thought about his appearance wormed it's way through my mind's desperate defenses, it was: Holy shit-fuck. Sasuke is the embodiment of sex.

He wasn't the ragged, woodsman type of manly man. No, he was clean cut and perfect, in fact, so perfect that I was beginning to get suspicious. Because NOBODY looks that good without makeup on. And of course, he flaunted it like he wasn't aware of his mirror-melting hotness, like the only thing that people could see when looking at him was his nonchalant attitude and fearsome glower. And he pointed his eyes about like they weren't weapons of mass destruction. Those eyes. Those deep, dark eyes. They were windows into his soul. I looked in them and I saw torment, torture, hatred.

So as you can imagine, this made my job very difficult. I did not volunteer to be Sasuke's doctor, but it had quite clearly been expected of me, and when I didn't step up to the plate, asked of me by the one person whose requests I could not refuse: Naruto's. It was not an easy task to attempt to keep a professional facade while, for lack of a better term, fondling Uchiha Sasuke. I'm sure, if given the motivation, he could have even turned Jiraiya into a flaming homosexual. It wasn't my fault that my heart pitter-pattered pathetically any time I was near him. No, I would blame that on his parents, who created something potentially deadly to all female kind.

No. I did not love him. Not any more.

There was a wide margin between attraction and affection, and I had not crossed it in a long time. At one point, I suppose, I had found his icy, untouchable demeanor something that I could be fond of. I wanted to reach out and act as catalyst between the broken pieces of his heart, forcing myself through the barriers he had put up to keep himself and his unalterable goals inside and everyone elseout. But I would not face that heartbreak again. I was tired of chasing after something that would never be. He didn't love me, and he never would, and if I wanted any chance at happiness I would have to let him go.

And I did. Filling the gap it had left within me for a newfound adoration for the other man in my life, Naruto.

He wasn't the brightest bulb in the bunch, that was a given. He was ditsy and absent-minded, not to mention and eternal headache, but he had important features that heavily outweighed his obvious shortcomings. He was brave. Determined. Kind. The complete and polar opposite of Sasuke. And while I was sure that either to some extent, or once upon a time, he was capable of thinking of me romantically — I kept my mouth shut. Not only out of fear of rejection, but because I just couldn't find it in myself to do it to poor, sweet Hinata.

Yes, x number of years (I'm not quite sure when it started. Maybe when she was born.) and she was still hopelessly enamored of his ignorant ass. And as much as I loved him, and wanted to be with him, it seemed unconditionally cruel to snatch him from right under her hopefully waiting nose. I would not do it. I could not do it. I had a heart. But neither would I sit idly by and watch as she finally gathered up the courage to make a move. I had decided to take on the impossible task of making Hinata not love Naruto. Crazy. I know. But it had to be done. There were plenty of other men out there that she had a chance of being happy with, while I, on the other hand, was convinced that Naruto was my one and only.

Besides. Wasn't I allowed to be selfish every once and a while?

Sleep continued to evade me.

--

And here I was again, the (figurative) lamb entering the (figurative) lion's den. God help me.

It had been a last minute decision to check up on him first thing in the morning, instead of later on that night. It was impulsive and thoughtless, but I could see nothing the matter with the idea at the time, so I listened to the eager suggesting of my subconscious and wandered to the lower levels of the jail, where the more threatening cases were kept, for both our safety and theirs. Threatening? Yes, he certainly was. To us? No. I knew that Sasuke had done some things that were questionable, but I did not think that he would harm us. I honestly didn't think he had it in him.

I veered around the corner leading towards his cell and stopped abruptly in front of it, expecting to see him sitting wherever he figured was cleanest and staring back at me, because of course, his sharp Uchiha ears had heard me coming. So, needless to say I was mildly surprised to find him an immobile lump on the uncomfortable looking cot, and even more surprised when I realized that he was quite asleep.

This was ... quite remarkable, actually. Not once, since I had first laid my eyes on Sasuke, had I ever witnessed him actually sleep. In the early years of team seven, whenever we were sent on overnight missions together, he would always be the last one to sleep and the first one to rise, and even if you woke up unexpectedly in the middle of the night, he two, just happened to be coincidentally awake. And yet here he was, snoozing peacefully, completely exposed to my thirsty gaze. I tiptoed into his cell, venturing a closer look, looming over his still form.

The rest of his face was relaxed, but his dark, svelte brows were knitted together, and his eyelids flickered restlessly, as if he were troubled by something in his dreams. His lips were agape, letting uneven, heavy breaths escape from them, and his forehead was slick with a sheen of sweat. His cheeks, which still had a certain boyish roundness to them, were flushed, and if I had not realized there was something the matter with him I might have given in to the absurd desire to pinch them. I brushed aside glossy tendrils of hair, and put my palm to his forehead to check for a temperature.

"Damn." I swore under my breath, fumbling around hastily inside of my bag for a thermometer. He was warm. I stuck it in his ear, apparently too forcefully, because he jolted and stirred with a grunt of discontent. The thermometer beeped, and the thumb-nail sized screen read 106.4. Damn. Double damn.

It did not take me years of medical training to diagnose him. He rolled over onto his side, scratching at the red marks that had escaped my notice and crept up his arm, and moaned. "Itchy..."

He had Chickenpox.

--

I might have left him be and let it run its course if not for the knowledge that in adults, cases of Chickenpox could become severe if left unattended. And, I suppose, there was something in the way he seemed so utterly helpless and in need of care that drew me in with an unnatural, undeniable force. It reminded me painfully of the fateful night when he had first received the cursed seal, and I let him lay his head in my lap as he writhed and fidgeted in an awful unconsciousness. Part of me wanted to correct myself for not being able to help him then, by doing so now.

"We can't, Sakura." Tsunade said, juggling our conversation with multiple others as numerous people passed by and paused briefly for consultation. "We simply don't have the room. The hospital is overflowing enough as it is, and we have things more important that chickenpox to be dealt with. I understand that a jail cell is an unsuitable place to let him remain, but if you're really concerned about it, you'll have to find somewhere else to keep him. And then you'll have to run it by Naruto, because he'll need constant supervision." She stacked a pile of papers together before shoving them into the hands of a passerby wordlessly. "I don't have the time to deal with this right now, sorry."

I nodded, feeling my face fall in disappointment. "I understand." I said. "Thanks anyway, Tsunade. I guess I better get going." I was in a bit of a hurry, seeing as I had no other choice but to leave him alone, and I was getting anxious to check on him. With nothing more than a quick wave as a farewell, I made my departure and hurried through the bustling crowd of bodies out of the hospital.

The walk to the Hokage's tower was short, but I took it quickly anyway, on the borderline of breaking into a run the entire way. I climbed the stairs that wound around it two at a time, until reaching Naruto's office and barging in without knocking. But instead of finding him doing whatever it was he did all day behind his desk, (I was pretty certain that it was NOT work,) he was nowhere to be seen, and instead, standing in his office and looming over his desk was one of the old, decrepit council members who nobody much liked, shuffling across the floor as her long robes dragged along behind her. "Um, where's Naruto?" I asked.

"Wouldn't I like to know?" She spat. (Literally. I saw the spray splatter across Naruto's disorganized papers.) "Well, if you do happen to find him, could you pass on the message that he owes me a week and a half worth of paperwork?"

"I'll make sure to remember." I lied, unsuccessfully trying to smile politely. "Sorry for bothering you." And I excused myself from the office. I was getting apprehensive now, worrying fretfully about the condition of Sasuke as he lay alone below layers of protective ground to fend for himself. He would probably have the common sense to stay in bed and not scratch, I hoped, seeing as it would do little else but worsen his condition. I tore back down the stairs, now in a full blown sprint, startling the ANBU guards as I whizzed past them.

I continued at that speed until I reached Ichiraku, only to discover, much to my dismay, that he wasn't there either. I could pretty much guess what he was doing, which was more than likely hiding in cowardice from the ravenous members of the council, but I only needed to know where. So at last, desperate, I resorted to looking where I had found him yesterday, and prayed that I would find him with Sasuke.

I breathed out a sigh of relief when I saw the unmistakable orange figure of Naruto under a distance lamplight a little ways further down the hallway. My feet slapped against the ground as I broke into a jog and ran up towards him. "Ne, Sasuke-teme," he was saying, squinting as he leaned inwards so his nose was nearly touching one of the bars. "What do you keep scratching at? Did you sit in some poison ivy, or something? Hey, HEY!" My heart leaped at the loud 'thunk' of a body hitting the ground and the clang of something bashing against the metal frame of his cot. I skidded to a halt next to Naruto. "Hey, Sasuke, you alright? Sakura-chan! I think there's something--,"

Sasuke was trying to pick himself up, breathing raggedly, eyes half-shut. A dark streak off blood ran from his hairline, where he must have hit his head. "Idiot!" I cursed, brushing past Naruto and quickly to his side. He grabbed my arm, trying to use it to hoist himself up, but I struggled free from his grasp and leaned in, swiping away his bangs, to check the injury he had sustained from his fall. He'd need stitches. "You shouldn't be up! Are you mad? You're--!"

"I'm fiii..." He panted, which I interpreted as 'I'm fine,' and swayed as another dizzy spell hit him, falling backwards into my arms. I supported his weight, and he rested their limply, looking at me with unfocused eyes. He lifted a shaking hand and wiped at the blood that ran in between his eyes, staring at it for a while before finally muttering an "Ow..."

"What's the matter with him, Sakura-chan?" Naruto demanded in an ear-splitting howl, not bothering to mask any of his worry for the sake of his pride. I felt a stab of admiration towards him. Because he, even though he liked to pretend that he loathed Sasuke with the very essence of his being, wasn't afraid to show genuine concern when called for. He was so unintentionally sweet, it was heartwarming. "Is he okay?"

"He's got the Chickenpox." I replied, attempting to aid him up and back into bed. He accepted my help without complaint, even though his face noticeably scrunched in distaste when I announced my diagnostics. He lay down against the mattress and his chest heaved up and down as she attempted to catch his breath, as I pulled bandages out of my bag and tried to dab away the blood that was smeared across his face.

Naruto snorted, clamping a hand over his mouth and making an obvious attempt to fight back a peal of laughter until he was unable to do so any longer and let it echo through the underground caverns of the jail. I take back my previous comment about him. "Shut up!" Sasuke snapped, although it did not come out as intimidating as he had probably intended it to be, seeing as his speech was hopelessly slurred. I pressed the bloodied bandages against his cut, and he flinched, recoiling. "Ouch! Gently!" He hissed.

"It's not funny, Naruto! He's seriously sick!" I called over the sound of his immature giggling and Sasuke's vehement protests. "And you have no right to complain. You should have known better than to go walking around with a fever like yours. Here, sit up and hold that there while I have a word with Naruto for a moment or two, would you?" He gave a grunt of consent and managed to force himself upright with a considerable amount of effort, this time refusing my offer of help, and glared furiously at the wall as I slipped outside of his cell to speak with Naruto, who had only barely gotten control of his laughter.

I lowered my voice so that Sasuke couldn't hear, not even with his sharp Uchiha ears, and lead Naruto a few steps away before speaking to him. "We can't leave him down here." I started. "Judging by his nonexistent sense of self preservation, he very may well end up killing himself. But they've got no room for him at the hospital and I don't have the first idea what to do with him. Oh, and by the way, if you don't get that goddamn paperwork done, I'm going to force feed it to you."

He remained quiet for a moment, thinking the situation over in silence, before his face lit up with an idea. "Well, he can stay with you then, can't he?" He ignored my quip about the paperwork.

"No, no, he can't." I replied. "There's always the matter of security, Naruto. Until his trial he has to be kept in custody." We spoke in hushed whispers, our backs turned to Sasuke so that he couldn't read our lips, and I could feel his intense stare boring into my back. I wouldn't have been surprised if it left a crater. "And I don't feel like having the ANBU invade my privacy, thank you very much."

"ANBU-shmanbu." He replied with a light-hearted shrug. "You'll be all the security he needs."

And before I seemed to realize what I had gotten myself into, it was too late.

--

So finally. After like, FOREVER, I finally decide to give you the next chapter of this story! I apologize to all of those who have been waiting patiently for an update, especially seeing as so many have seemed to take interest in it. My primary focus is still on Y o h o, and I've also got another story in progress, so I hope you'll understand.

So please, please please, don't forget to leave a R E V I E W !