Ch. 3 – Getting Settled.
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It was about 9am when Sasuke woke up. Tsunade knocked on the door, which did the trick.
"Sasuke, Sakura, are you two still in there?" Tsunade said, opening the door. She walked in to see Sakura in Sasuke's lap, curled up in a little ball, just the perfect size to fit wholly in his lap.
"Shhh. She's still sleeping." Sasuke said, arms wrapped around her. Tsunade smiled.
"Okay, but Sasuke…there's something I need to talk to you both about…" Tsunade whispered, a sorrowful look on her face. "Do you think you could wake her up for me?" Sasuke looked up at her.
"Please. This is very important." Sasuke sighed, but did what he was told.
"Sakura, sweetie, wake up now, Tsunade has to talk to us." Sasuke said smoothly, gently shaking her. It took a few seconds, Sakura slowly opened her eyes.
"Hmmm…Sasuke? What is it?" Sakura said, wiping her eyes and looking up at Sasuke.
"Baby, Tsunade needs to talk to us." She quietly nodded and looked around to where Tsunade was standing. "Go head Tsunade." Tsunade nodded.
"Alright, well after visiting hours were over, I decided to check up on Sakura's house and things there, you know, to make sure nothing happened to them? Well, when I got there…everything was destroyed. We think somehow Kabuto did it. But Sakura…it can't be rebuilt…the foundation is too unstable…" Tsunade and Sasuke both looked at Sakura as she pressed her face onto Sasuke's chest. He could feel her shaking and his chest getting damp. She was crying. Sasuke placed his hand on the small of her back, rubbing it.
"Shhh… its okay…don't worry…I'm here…I'm here…" Sasuke whispered, cradling her in his arms. He picked Sakura up and placed her on the bed and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "I'll be right back…stay here…don't worry…"
He stood back up and walked toward Tsunade.
"Come out of the room with me. I have something I need to talk to you about. A few things actually." Tsunade nodded and they both walked out of the room.
"…She's not usually this emotional. Tsunade, what's wrong with her? I know you know her well. She's usually independent."
"I know…I'll do some tests on her…but I won't get the results until late tomorrow."
"That's fine. Do what you need to, but don't hurt her. She can stay with me, for as long as she needs to…with me…I have to protect her…" He looked down. Tsunade put a hand on his back.
"It's okay. I'll do all that I can, but I'm sorry to say, you can't be there when I do them. Depending on the tests, she might need to recall some painful memories, and if you were there…"
"…I understand…" Sasuke said, as he walked back into Sakura's room with Tsunade following closely behind. "Sakura, sweetie, you're going to have some tests done. I'm not going to be here, but have Tsunade call me. I'll be out. You're going to stay with me. Everything's going to be alright." Sakura looked up at him, a sad and worried look in her eyes. He walked over and gave her a hug. "Don't worry. I'll be back."
Sasuke turned and left the room, his heart feeling as heavy as ever.
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Hours later, after all the tests had been done…
I
see nothing in your eyes,
and the more I see the less I lie.
Is it over yet, in-
"Hello? Tsunade, is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me." Tsunade had called on his cell phone, nearly four hours later. "I have the results now. Where have you been? Sakura really is anxious to see you."
"Alright. I'm stopping by my house and rushing over." Click. He hung up and rode over to his house to drop off what he'd been shopping for. He made quick work of it, and rushed to the hospital, going straight to Sakura's room, where Tsunade and Sakura were both waiting for his return.
"Alright, I'm here. I'm here."
"Good. We did many tests on physiological and emotional damage. And…they're both severe. We think that during the time she was out cold, she had a night-mare / vision of the future, and it was extremely scary for her. We don't know what it was, but…she won't talk much without you around." Sasuke looked over at Sakura, who was looking over at him, a hopeful look in her eyes. He smiled and walked over to her, and gave her a light hug.
"It's okay. I'm here. We're going home soon; to my house. Don't worry. I have everything planned out." Sasuke kissed her forehead then looked over at Tsunade. "What do I do?"
"Just stay with her." Sasuke nodded. "Sakura, please come with me. Let's get you changed out of this hospital gown." Sakura nodded. She slowly got out of the bed and followed Tsunade out of the room. Minutes later, she came back and Sakura was wearing a pair of jeans, ripped at the knee, and a T-shirt.
"You ready?" Sasuke said, wrapping his arm around Sakura's waist. She nodded and the two left the hospital, just after saying their good byes to Tsunade. They walked out to Sasuke's car and left for his house. Once they were there, Sasuke showed Sakura inside the house. When she arrived, she was speechless. In front of her, lay a whole wardrobe of clothes, fit for her.
"Sasuke…how'd you?"
"My family had a fortune. I got it all…"
"Thank you…"
"Don't mention it. Are you hungry?" Shyly, she nodded. Sasuke smiled. He walked over to the fridge and pulled out some strawberries. He looked over and saw her smiling. "You like these?" She nodded.
"Haha. Here you go." He said, handing her the strawberries. She gladly accepted them and began eating. She finished them within minutes. He smirked.
"Okay, you ready to see the house?" She nodded and took his hand.
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Later that night…
"Okay, it's time to go to sleep. You know where everything is?"
"Yeah…" She looked down.
"What's wrong?" Sasuke said, wrapping his arms around Sakura's waist, causing her to look up at him. He saw loneliness in her eyes. I think I know what she wants…he thought to himself.
"Do you want to sleep with me tonight?" Sakura looked up, a slight blush on her face. She nodded. Sasuke smiled.
"Okay, come on…let's get some sleep." Sakura smiled and followed Sasuke upstairs, anxious for the next day.