Stranger by angrypixels
Summary: He was back. He was not a monster, for that would mean someone she knew had just forgotten what he used to be. He was not a traitor for that was a name for one who had betrayed something that had once existed before. She did not know him. He was a stranger.
"Patient's symptoms have been progressively subsiding."
Sakura mumbled to the intern next to her while he furiously scribbled down notes onto his clipboard.
"Area surrounding chest cavity is tender. Mild bruising present." Sakura lightly placed her fingers onto the bed-bound shinobi in front of her and pushed down gently. The shinobi tried his best not to wince.
Completing her examination, Sakura laced her fingers with a soft glow of green chakra and smoothly allowed it fan out, sinking into her patient's chest. The shinobi gave a quiet sigh of relief.
"Good. You can be discharged by tomorrow. You are doing well for one who had his ribs mauled out. "
"Thanks ugly."
Sakura gave a small smile, reserved for patients just like Sai. She reached out as if to caress his cheek…instead she pinched his cheek with almost all her might.
"Sai. Do not call me ugly." She said sweetly before giving his cheek a final unforgiving squeeze and left a wincing Shinobi to his own measures.
Sakura directed the intern to check up on the other patients and went back to her office. She closed her door, took off her white cloak and sunk down into her cushy chair and sighed.
Her shift was almost over. The first month after the war was a nightmare. Her return to Konoha only meant more work.
Endless patients, nightmarish hours, it was as if she had became a lifeless puppet, pouring chakra into bodies, saving those who could still be saved. After that month, she collapsed after an intense surgery where she basically replaced every drop of blood in a shinobi.
Her shishou ordered immediate bed rest and gave a standing order that all medic nins be forced to rest after working for 12 hours.
As if that will stem the flood of patients overflowing the hospital.
Sighing, Sakura started on the overflowing paperwork sprawled over her desk.
An hour later, Sakura left the hospital and headed straight to the main street. Ino had demanded a girls dinner/get-together and Sakura was not in the mood to go home and change. Her friends should be grateful that she didn't have blood splattered all over her clothes and gore stuck to her hair at least.
"Sakura! Over here!"
Ino gave a grin while Hinata demurely waved when they spotted her at the restaurant entrance.
"Sorry, hope you two didn't wait too long." Sakura apologized as she slid to sit on to the tatami.
"All good. Was just telling Hinata here how bloated the hospital was these days." Ino replied cheerfully while passing the menu to Sakura.
Ino, while a proficient medic nin, had been sent half of her time on missions so as to ease the financial burden of the village, leaving the much more talented Sakura at the hospital healing full time. Sakura longed for the day when she too would be let off full time medic nin shift and sent out for a mission or two. She was after all a ninja and instinct demanded for real action.
After placing her order, the three women eased into a casual chatter about the day to day workings and incidents of the village and their common friends.
"Shika has practically been hovering over me since the war, it's hilarious I tell you!" Ino squealed. "I believe that's would be a natural consequence of the war. We did all almost die. Everyone finally realized what was most important to them." Hinata replied with a small smile.
Sakura gave a knowing smirk to Hinata as she nailed a shrimp tempura before Ino. " Hinata –chan, speaking of that, how's Naruto been treating you?"
Ino and Sakura giggled while watching Hinata blush and stutter in embarrassment. "You know how that idiot tells me everything? He told me about that little scene between you two behind the tents when we all started packing to go home."
Sakura proceeded to relate a wonderfully romantic scene (for Naruto's standards), where Naruto grabbed Hinata's trembling hands and professed his growing admiration and affection for her, especially after being confronted with the possibility of him never being able to see her again.
Ino cooed at the sweetness. "Congratulation, you shy little mouse. Speaking of which.." Ino swayed towards Sakura. "How are things on your side? Has a certain anti-hero been doing much up your lane?"
Sakura momentarily froze. A second later, she shrugged. "No. I haven't seen him since the day we came back."
Both Ino and Hinata gave her a blank look. Sakura sighed. Explaining now was better than never. "Look, what I felt for him before he left the village, it's gone now. I have gone through so much, met so many different people. Things are different now. I am different now. He…isn't the person we fought over so many years ago. "
He was a stranger now. Sakura mentally echoed the conclusion she came to a month back.
Ino raised her eyebrows. "Well, I didn't expect that. After so many years of chasing him, I thought you might still harbor the same feelings." Sakura gave her a weak smile and shook her head silently.
Hinata gave a small nod in understanding. "That's understandable Sakura." Hinata whispered. "We all aren't exactly the people we used to be."
"That's right!" Ino crackled, breaking the solemn atmosphere. She swung an arm around Sakura shoulder and gave her cheek a poke. " We wouldn't be sitting here together otherwise. That is…unless Sakura you have decided you have developed a fondness for Shika..?"
Sakura immediately defended herself and told Ino sternly that she had no interest in people who were too serious and hated working while Ino sputtered in mock anger and Hinata watched with amusement.
Late that night, after trudging home tiredly but with satisfaction from good company, Sakura felt a familiar chakra standing at her doorstep.
"Naruto, how was your day?"
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto bounded up and grabbed her in a hug. "I missed you!"
Sakura took a second to remember that Naruto had in fact been out of the village for a week for a mission.
"Just got back from my mission. You wouldn't believe how many criminals have been preying on civilians when all the shinobis were at war." Naruto huffed in irritation.
Sakura smiled and smoothed his flying blond hair. He was so tall, mature and grown up. What a long way they travelled. He was a true hero now.
Naruto declined when Sakura invited him for tea.
"It's alright. I came over to invite you for dinner tomorrow night. Teme is free too, not that he has anything better to do, holed up in that huge compound of his."
Sakura froze yet again that night. She took a deep breath.
He is a stranger. He was not the boy she knew so many years back.
"Sure. Why not?" Sakura smiled as she closed the door. Good night."