Originally Published: 6/30/14

Latest Update: 3/31/15

Beta's: WordWriter and KizuKatana

Part 2: Remorse

"Uh, Nurse Joy?" I call to the polite woman who has been in charge of this section in the Emergency Room.

"Yes, Ms. Haruno?"

"Where is my patient? The blond teen?"

"Why…I don't know. I think I heard a commotion from the front not too long ago about someone leaving before they were done being treated. Maybe that was him?"

I grind my teeth, that fucking idiot! Who in their right mind would walk out of a hospital while so injured? This is my first day officially treating people and I want to make sure none of my patients die now that I'm finally having more hands on experience.

I turn to the strawberry blond, "Is it eight o'clock yet?"

"In about a half hour it will be. Is that your time off?"

"Yeah," I mumble. As I lift the check the information on the rail of the cot where the blond was. His name is written in a barely legible script. "Can I make a call?" I ask as I attempt to read it.

Naruto…Uzumaki…

"Make sure it's quick, you have to finish your rounds before you head home." She concludes before leaving to go help with another patient. Quickly I lift my IPhone from my pocket and dial three simple numbers as I head to a less hectic hall.

Beep. "9-1-1 what's your emergency?"

"Hello mam, I'm calling because I found someone's wallet and would like to return it to them. Do you have any way for me to contact a Mr. Naruto Uzumaki?"

I ring the doorbell of the rundown apartment over the Imperial Palace Chinese Food Restaurant in Chinatown. My medical bag is hiked over my shoulder and I do my best to school my face so I can appear as professional as possible.

The door opens to reveal a stunningly attractive redhead with sea foam green eyes that are heavily rimmed in black eyeliner while his black button down hangs on his lean frame. None of the buttons are done up, showing off his six pack and the large black swirling tattoo on his stomach. His jeans are ripped at the knees, his feet bare.

My breath catches as I ogle the guy in front of me. He is obviously the sexiest thing on two legs that I've ever seen before. I notice his eyes sneering at me from head to toe, taking note of my purple scrubs, pink hair and name-tag that indicates what hospital I intern for.

"What?" he gruffly demands. Sending tiny shivers of pleasure down my back while also snapping me out of my stupor.

"Where is my patient?!" I hiss. His face gives nothing away, frustrating me to hell. I hear a low groan of pain coming from behind him. When he turns slightly towards the sound of the groan, I bring my hand up to his bare chest push him out of the way with almost all my strength. Not expecting how powerful I would be, or simply not used to being touched in such a way he nearly flies into the wall behind the door. Marching into the hall of the apartment I search frantically for the blond, Naruto, all while ranting out my anger of having to travel all this way in order to make sure he doesn't die.

"How dare he just leave the hospital after barely getting treatment!" I growl as I storm my way into the small bedroom where I found Naruto Uzumaki passed out on a full mattress on the floor. I can see a small dark spot slowly growing on his side from where his stitches probably tore. I swore then take one step forward when I'm grabbed from behind and slammed into the wall face first. My hands are pinned above my head being held in place by the welcoming committee. Instantly I fight down the panic that I always feel when cornered from behind. Even after I tried so hard to convince myself that I wasn't that little girl anymore, even with my hair dyed, I still panic. But now isn't the time for me to act irrationally, I think as his hand shifts and suddenly the icy cool feel of a metal cylinder is digging into my back. I shiver as I realize he has a gun.

"Who are you," hisses the sexy redhead.

"I'm the one who is going to make your balls fly out of your fucking mouth if you don't let me treat my patient!" I yell, using my anger to hide my fear and panic. I look over my shoulder to see his eyes narrow calculatingly.

"Patient?"

"Yes! Naruto Uzumaki," I spat. "The blond lying just ten feet away and possibly bleeding out this very moment or drowning in his blood from a punctured lung due to his broken ribs I didn't get to set!"

He stills while I pant. I had the surprise when I came in through the door, but I can tell from the way he's poised that if I even try to so much as twitch he would hurt me. My arms are freed and I'm forced to turn around, finally able to relax enough to properly address the dire situation I got myself into.

"Who are you?" He demands again. This time I don't retort with a smart ass comeback. Hardening my gaze, I speak, laying out my authority with my newest title.

"Dr. Sakura Haruno."

Damn, that felt good to say.

After convincing the red head named Gaara that I have no intention of hurting the blond in any way I was able to proceed with treating his wounds, though the guy still kept his gun pointed at me while I did. I re-stitch his side; triple checked to make sure he isn't suffering from internal bleeding and tightly bind his ribs.

While attempting to drain the pus from his eye Naruto woke up.

In what is obviously a traumatic panic he grabs me by the throat then pins me to the hardwood floor. With my breath knocked out of me and the psycho strangling me I was sure I was going to die. I hear Gaara shout, feel the tight grip around my throat loosen then vanish. Sputtering and coughing I see Gaara struggling to hold Naruto back, to prevent him from attacking me again. Without thinking I launch myself towards the struggling duo and using a trick Hinata once taught me about pressure points I grip the juncture between his neck and shoulder then press down.

Instantly the Naruto passes out.

With Gaara's help we bring the blond back to the bed where I finish treating his eye and once again check to make sure he didn't reopen his injuries. At first Gaara was pissed, thinking I hurt his friend but after reassuring him that I didn't do anything damaging or serious he calmed down.

"Why the hell did he even leave in the first place?!" I demand as I pack up my supplies.

Gaara doesn't answer.

Frustrated, in pain and exhausted I storm up to him, making sure I stay a good yard away in case he makes a grab for me. I know he still has his gun somewhere on him but I don't know where.

"Look," I rasp through the pain of my throat, "this guy Naruto obviously has issues, dangerous issues. He nearly killed me tonight, ran away from a hospital and by the looks of things got jumped in the middle of the street. He could have died so many times in the last few hours it's not even funny. I am in the state of mind right now that I should call the police and have him institutionalized for his safety as well as everyone around him. If you tell me why he left in the first place I won't do it. So long as it's a damn good reason."

The red head still doesn't speak. I grind my teeth before reaching into my pocket to get my cell phone, hoping he doesn't pull his gun. I just want to get them help, or at least understand. They seem so much like me, but something about Gaara calls out to me. I think I can help him if I can't help Naruto.

"He was held against his will in a hospital as a child."

I freeze, looking up at him with shocked eyes.

"Well…if he was a child he would have no say on if he was getting treated…" Gaara shakes his head.

"It wasn't like that, was he hurt? Yes but by the time he woke up his wounds were treated. All he wanted was to go find his parents but the doctors wouldn't let him. They forcefully restrained him and when that started tearing open his wounds they sedated him. He gets flashbacks."

I sucked in a deep breath at the sudden pain in my chest. I know what it's like to be held down, to be forced to do something I didn't want to. The fear, that panic consumes you making you irrational and lashes out if given the chance. If he was such a small kid and scared he should have had his parents with him. Obviously Gaara isn't telling me the whole story but the fact that the doctors who treated Naruto went about it the wrong way was fact. They should never have manhandled him that way.

I feel the intensity of Gaara's stare as I reach into my pocket again. This time though I pull out a small piece of paper and a pen. I hastily write down my personal cell phone number and my full name then a prescription for antibiotics before I hand it to him. He doesn't move to take it.

"Inform me if he gets worse. In about a half hour wake him up and keep him awake for 12 hours. Make sure he's hydrated, that he takes Tylenol and get him these antibiotics. He shouldn't move around too much because of his ribs and cut. He won't be able to handle sunlight for a while; it'll cause him to feel nauseous." With that said I shove the two papers into his chest, not caring if he caught them or let them flutter to the floor, then I turn to leave. Calling over my shoulder as I walk through the hallway. "And if he or you get hurt again, you better freaking call me! From now on I'm your personal physician."

From then on my schedule has been quite hectic. Kiba's crew would still get into fights and I would still be called in. But now I have my internship along with a troubling blond and redhead whom, thankfully, don't get hurt as frequently as the Fangs, but when they do, it is much worse. Most nights I was so exhausted I would pass out as soon as I reached my small rundown apartment and fall into a dreamless sleep. But other nights the nightmares would return with a vengeance.

I learned, thanks to Lee, that hearing my name while having sex would chase away his voice and that name from my mind. So it only makes sense that after I made that little discovery I would sleep around whenever my night terrors would insistently keep me awake. However now that my schedule is so busy I have almost no time for a night on the town in search of a one night stand to keep me sane.

So after almost a half a year without sex I finally decide to call in sick so I can finally get some 'rest'. I dress up in a short dark jean skirt, a burgundy lace camisole and my low heel leather boots. My hair is slightly curled and mostly held back with a black headband to show off my earring while my eye makeup is slightly heavier than what I usually wear.

However just before I head out to the nearest club my phone rings. With a growl I answer.

"Naruto what happened?"

Gaara had gotten into another fight. This one ended with him having a dislocated shoulder, broken hand and a few deep slashes on his chest. So instead of a night to myself I rushed over to their apartment in chinatown with my medical bag while still in my club clothes. Naruto was so shocked to see me in something outside of my work clothes that he stuttered when he opened the door.

"Sa-Sa-Sa-Sakura?" He says flabbergasted.

"Where's Gaara?" I demand as I shove my way into their place once again.

About an hour and a half later Gaara's wounds are cleaned, stitched, braced and his shoulder is popped back in place. Gaara allows anesthetics as long as he is with Naruto, so I give him a bit just so he can have a few hours of sleep without pain.

"I'm sorry Sakura, we ruined your night," apologizes Naruto as he lies half naked on their worn out couch. I was intending on visiting next week to check and make sure his ribs were healing properly. He got into another fight last month that ended with three broken - again.

"Not your fault," I mumble as I poke and prod, constantly asking if he feels any pain or tenderness. The answer is always no, the blond just seems to heal quickly. And he's clearly used to pain.

"Yeah it is," he retorts. "We shouldn't be involving you in this so much. From now on we'll be more careful to not end up with our ass handed to us."

I snort, knowing that Naruto and Gaara are some of the most terrifying fighters I've ever seen, and that whoever their fighting must have an army to constantly do serious damage to them. One time I stayed over and watched as they sparred on the roof. They were moving so freaking fast my eyes had trouble keeping up with them. Afterwards they showed me a couple of moves so they knew I could defend myself. I don't tell them that I already knew some because there's this unspoken rule about not talking about your past when it comes to these two. In all the months since I met them the only thing I learned was what Gaara told me that first night. Everything else I know about the two is from observing them now rather than hearing their back stories. Such as Naruto being associated with Nagato.

"What? Is that so hard to believe?" he asks with a grin. I laugh and nod as I finish my inspection.

"Oh yeah, you won't be able to go a month without giving me a call."

My eyes meet his, and I feel a weird tension coil through me. I realize that I've never been this close to Naruto except when he is injured. Usually, I am so busy trying to figure out how to treat his major wounds without access to actual hospital equipment. Not many doctors could do what I do, unless they've had practice in war zones.

But now, my attention isn't focused on Naruto's injuries. They are healing fine. And his attention isn't focused on fighting the pain and avoiding a forced march to a hospital. I realize my hands are still on his bare chest. Only instead of feeling his injury, I notice how hot and hard his flesh is beneath my touch.

Naruto was still lying on the couch, his head propped up on the arm rest. I was sitting next to him, my hip against his. Suddenly, that point of contact seemed much more noticeable. Our gazes are still locked. All I can think about right now is that I need it. I need to have someone make me forget.

I wet my lower lip with the tip of my tongue, and I see his eyes follow the movement. I pull my lip between my teeth, and his eyes are back on mine. Only they are darker now. I have always loved his eyes.

"Sakura..." he says his voice lower and rougher than I have ever heard it. "Maybe you should go back to where you were heading tonight."

He's offering me an excuse to leave if I want it. A way to end this moment without awkwardness. The question is, do I want to take it? I run my eyes over his body. And I can't deny that the lethal strength of these two men has fascinated me for longer than I care to admit. I know what his body is capable of in a fight. And suddenly I want to know what he is capable of in other ways as well.

I slide my hand down his chest, circling his nipple with my finger, then scraping my nail across it. I see goose bumps spread across his chest. And I smile. He feels it too. Perfect.

I shift my position, sliding one leg over his thighs so that now I am straddling his legs. He is wearing sweatpants, and I can see the effect this is having on him.

I lean down so my hands are both resting on his chest, and his eyes slide over the tops of my breasts that are clearly displayed by my blouse. Its why I chose it after all. I feel my nipples tighten under his scrutiny, and when he traces a finger over the curve of my upper breast, I let out a little moan. Moisture floods between my thighs and my breasts begin to ache in anticipation; suddenly I am tired of this slow pace. He must be feeling the same, because his finger slides down between my breasts, catching it on the front of my bra then pulling me down to him. He has clearly done this before, and I am glad of his experience. Neither of us are virgins, so we won't need to go slow.

Our mouths devour each other in a fight for dominance with teeth, lips and tongue. This isn't what you'd think of as a first kiss between two people who are friends would be like. This is more like a battle between two animals in heat. There is nothing sweet about it. It is hot, hard, intense and forceful. It's exactly what I need.

"You sure?" he pants out. I don't bother to answer him. I simply slide my hips forward until I am straddling his erection, which is now fully hard. We both groan.

"Sakura-chan," he says and I pause to look down at him. Chan? I wonder.

"Are you sure?" He demands while meeting my gaze. Looks like I need to answer him after all.

"I need this Naruto," I whisper the words while hopefully revealing to him with my eyes exactly how much I need this. He nods, accepting that we were doing this, and then I push down against him, rolling my hips onto his groin.

"Fuck, Sakura," he growls, grabbing my hips then starts grinding me up and down his still clothed erection. The friction feels amazing, but it does nothing compared to what hearing him say my name is doing for me. I can already sense his voice fading away along with that name. It's not enough, I cry in my head, I have to hear more.

"That's it, Naruto. Say my name." I pant while dragging my nails down his chest and abs. With a moan he thrusts up as he pulls me down, hitting just the right spot and making me fling my head back with a shout.

I'm going to cum if he keeps going, and I hope he will. I've seen his stamina while sparring and I'm willing to bet it's the same in bed, so I won't have to worry about cumming too soon. I know he'll be able to last long enough to have me cum more than once. And it has been way too long for me.

"Hmmmm, Sakura, Sakura," he says, his voice low, a sexy smile on his face like he knows exactly what this is doing to me. Maybe somehow, he does, but I doubt he understands. I almost start to laugh at the teasing expression on his face, but then instead of thrusting up he rolls his hips as I'm grinding down. Then, finally, I cum. He lets me ride out the final shudders of my orgasm before pulling me down to brush his nose against mine. It is such an intimate, silly gesture that I giggle.

"Your turn," I breath, grinning at him while I crawl back to grab the waistband of his sweatpants. Slowly I pull them down, surprised by the fact that he's wearing nothing underneath and revealing the hard flesh that has already given me pleasure surrounded by soft blond hair.

"Oh, so you ARE a natural blond," I tease while taking off my shirt.

He strokes my hair, twirling one of my pink locks between his fingers. "And if you're not a natural pinkie, I demand my money back," he says, returning my teasing tone. His hands are on the zipper of my skirt, fiddling with it then pulling it down as he kicks off his sweats.

"If you're going to be getting any money from me, you're going to have to work for it," I joke while I get off him to shimmy out of my skirt, bra and panties. I turn to him, seeing him stretched out on the couch gives me a great idea. Mischievously I grin at him.

"Uh oh, what are you thinking Sakura-chan?" He asks as I open my bag.

"You'll see." I say while reaching into my bag for my medical tape and condoms. Suddenly I am overwhelmingly glad I didn't end up hooking up with some stranger. Naruto is my friend. He is funny, sexy, and I trust him. And as he lets me bind his wrists with medical tape as I straddle him once again, I realize how much he trusts me too.

We were lying on the floor of the kitchen, our bodies sweaty and tangled together as I lay atop of him once more. I can't believe I came five times. As a medical doctor, I would have argued that it wasn't actually possible yet I'm living proof it is. Naruto likes to talk a lot during sex, I don't know if that is just because he likes to or if it was for my benefit either way that worked great for me. It also made me realize that maybe my approach to finding just one night stands isn't the right one. Maybe I should be looking for an actual relationship with someone I trust. I know it won't be Naruto. He isn't in a place in his life where he would allow a real relationship to happen.

But experiencing this has gotten me thinking. Or at least I will be thinking once my body has recovered.

I lean back, once again straddling the blond while arching my back in a stretch. My arms reach out, causing my shoulders to pop while I feel my body ache in all the right places. I sigh out in relief. I definitely needed this.

"Ahem," coughs a voice that interrupts my stretch. One different than mine or the blondes who was shouting out profanities not too long ago.

I open my eyes to realize I am staring at a pair of pale feet. My gaze follows the feet up to see Gaara looking down at us in obvious amusement.

"Judging by the duration and amount of screaming I was going to give you two at least an 8. But now that I see the creative use of medical tape, I guess I'll have to raise it up to at least a 9."

Without another word, he pours himself a glass of water then returns to his room as I feel myself heat up with a violent blush that probably made my face as red as his hair. Humiliated I burrow back down into Naruto's embrace, while the blond laughs.

I growl for the tenth time as I try to get some sleep. Tossing and turning in my full bed, images of Gaara's infuriating smirk burn in my mind as his amused tone rings in my ears.

It's been weeks since the night Naruto and I slept together and, while I can finally relax enough to have no nightmares; I'm still mortified whenever I think of Gaara. This surprisingly is quite often, when by logic the one I should be thinking about is Naruto. What the fuck is up with that?

How could I have forgotten he was there? I shouldn't have done it. Have sex with Naruto while Gaara was only 20 feet away. While I don't regret sex with Naruto, I do regret the fact that my actions disturbed my patient. It was the first time I had ever done something so unprofessional and I secretly vowed from then on to never let that happen again.

But that doesn't stop the fact that every time I think back to that awesome night it's not Naruto's face I'm seeing, it's Gaara's. Not the sexy blondes low shiver inducing timber moaning my name but that damn red heads rating on how creative and loud we were. That my thoughts that trail off of that night are one questions about where Gaara's from, how he and Naruto met, the way his chest and abs looked that first time I met him…

With a groan of frustration I lie on my back and stare at my ceiling as the sun slowly illuminate my room. I have to face the facts.

I had a crush on Gaara.

After nearly five years of associating myself with the Fangs, and never being introduced to their line of business, I got a rude awakening.

It's been about two weeks since I've realized my feeling's for the red-head. And I've been doing everything in my power to get over him. Drowning myself in work is the easiest thing for me to do-especially since it give me the chance to flirt with the other doctor's, surgeons and male nurses. Luckily enough the troublesome duo haven't called me. Sadly Kiba and his crew has.

So after fixing Justin's hand I left the Dog House-the nickname of the Fang's home. Since it was late I hoped to catch a cab but couldn't as the street's were packed. So instead, I chose the subway. As I walk down the street I start to recognize it-however my memory of my old neighborhood isn't all that great. And it isn't until I see the playground where Kiba and I first met that I realize where I am.

That however is the moment when a hand covered my mouth and dragged me into an ally.

I clench my fists, ready to elbow the guy in the gut when I feel something dig into my back. I freeze as I realize he has a gun.

Seriously? How many times in my life will I be held at gun point? I mentally exclaim.

"Keep quiet bitch," spits a raspy voice from behind as he drags me off. After a few steps I hear a door open and suddenly the stench of mold fills the air as I hear critters scurrying away from us. As soon as I'm pulled into the room the mugger kicks the door in front of me shut. Locking us in darkness.

After minutes of cursing and stumbling as he drags me around we finally stop when a flash light clicks on. I'm pushed face first into a wall. My hands are on either side of my head as the gun is lifted slightly off my back. I try to control my breathing to no give away my anxiety.

"Now then," he all but shouts in my ear. "What are you to the Fangs?"

I stiffen, unsure what to say in response to his question. Kiba and I never discussed what I should do in a situation like this, we should have but...we just didn't.

To the ass behind me, my silence must have been my answer because he suddenly grabs my short hair, yanks my head back and whams me forward into the brick wall.

"What are you to the Fangs?"

I don't answer.

Jab to the ribs, I cry out.

"What are you to the Fangs!"

Kick to the back of my knee, I fall. Feeling the tears stream down my cheeks as he holds my head up from his painful grip in my hair.

"Answer it bitch!"

I shut my eyes expecting another hit.

Instead all I heard was a zipper unzip.

"God I love my job..."breathes my attacker.

The instant the gun touches the back of my neck I start to panic.

"…Mebuki…"

No, no, no, no! I shout in my head.

I'm being pushed down , my vision starts to blacken. Pain radiates from my side, head and leg.

"Been awhile since we did this huh Mebuki? Don't worry honey I know how you like it."

Not again! I struggle to break free of the interrogators grip as he removed the gun.

Kill him, whispers the voice from so long ago.

I feel a tugging on my pants.

Kill him! It urges.

"NOT AGAIN!"

I black out.

I'm unsure how long I was unconscious, but I woke up to see TenTen's worried face.

"Sakura! Are you okay?"

I blink trying to pin point where I am as I notice the high arches above me, while TenTen's voice echoes all around me.

"Where am I?"

TenTen winces, but answers my question. "The Rogue that grabbed you took you to the basement of this old church. I had to bring you up here because...the door down there was blocked."

I wince as I feel a throbbing pain from where I was hit. I try to sit up, but TenTen insists I stay lying down. I blink as I take in my clothes. My legs are bare, my button down skirt gone. Instead I'm wearing an old long loose fitting plaid button down and some baggy jean shorts that must have belonged to a guy.

"Did you change my clothes?" I look at TenTen for confirmation. She nods, the hastily explains that after she took care of the guy she saw how damaged my clothes were and found the replacements in the donations section.

While TenTen retells me her story my gaze wanders around the old church. I recognize many things about it but the memory of this place escapes me.

"Sakura," I turn to TenTen. She's holding my medical bag out for me to get then tells me we have to leave and report this to Kiba.

I nod then slowly I stand. It's possible that I have a concussion from when I hit the wall. Though I don't think I have one it's better safe then sorry.

"So TenTen," I ask. "What happened to the guy?"

At her silence I turn to her.

"Don't worry about him Sakura. He won't bother you again."

"But what-"

"I took care of him, now we just need to worry about getting you to safety okay?"

I sigh, wishing I could remember what happened when I passed out.

"At least tell me you kicked his sorry ass?" I plead.

TenTen's smirk is all the confirmation I need.

As we walk out the front entrance of the church I feel a jolt as I take in the sight of the old park again. Finally I remember this church.

It's the one where my mother's funeral was held.

Since my attack I had begun to avoid churches to the best of my ability.

It isn't because I'm religious-in fact I'm not. After what I went through as a kid-what my friends have been through-how can I believe in a God that would have us suffer so?

So no, it's not because of religion that I started to avoid churches. It's because now-thanks to the attack I can't help but think of my parents when I'm in them or near one.

I remember the pain my mothers death caused me, the beatings and rape from my father and how it all seems to circle together. It was easy for this to happen as I never saw my attackers face so, in the nightmares that followed I would put my father in place of the Rouge. Every time I'm in a church I feel the shame, guilt and sorrow my parents caused me to feel. Along with the conflicting peace that comes with being in a church and the happiness I felt when I murdered my father.

"Sakura seriously, when are you going to stop dying your hair pink? I mean, when we were twelve I'll admit it was pretty cool but now you're freaking 26!" Exclaims Ino as I hang up my lab coat in the locker room reserved for the ER staff. "If you want to keep dying it at least choose a different color! One that's more natural looking, how about something like strawberry blond?"

I roll my eyes at her as I slam my locker shut. Turning to her I silence her with a glare.

"Its my hair Ino, if I want it pink it will be pink. If I want if blond, it'll be blond. Right now though I still want it pink." I storm past her, my feet aching from the 12 hour shift I just pulled.. I'm tired irritable and want nothing more than to just go home and rest. I hear her march up beside me, matching my speed with her own as she continues to annoy my about the way I look.

"Well what does that boyfriend of yours think about it? Shino?"

"He doesn't really care about how I look."

She barks out a laugh of disbelief, causing me to grind my teeth.

"Seriously he doesn't. We've been together for almost two years now Ino, if he had a problem with the way I look he would have said something about it by now." That said I hail a cab from the street then slide in. Slamming the door shut before Ino could get a chance to once again talk my ear off in an infuriating cab ride to my apartment. Looking out the window to the big city I fiddle with my wolf earring as I think back on the last few years.

In the last few years I have completed my internship and worked hard at becoming the leading surgeon of the Emergency Room in the hospital that I work at. After realizing my feelings for the red head I became determined to move on and find myself a guy who I know isn't into shady business such as Gaara, Naruto and Kiba. I kept my relationship with the troublesome duo as professional as possible, especially with Gaara. It was stressful for the longest time; even now I sometimes lose my self with fantasies of 'what if's' before I force myself back to reality. My friendship with Naruto didn't change after that night. Sure we are more comfortable around each other physically, but we never had a repeat.

I met Shino 2 and a ½ years ago-about a month after me and Naruto slept together- after losing a patient and was wheeling their corpse to the morgue for an autopsy. It was a rocky start, it took us almost 8 months before we even went on our first date, but eventually we had a good thing going. It took a while to get him to give me what I need in the bedroom. He isn't exactly the most vocal so convincing him to say my name was a fun challenge. He, of course, doesn't know about my other two side jobs as head medic for the Fangs or personal physician to the troubling duo and I'm going to keep it that way.

I arrive at my building, it's in the nicer part of Kiba's territory. After my attack, I stayed at Kiba's for a couple of weeks-luckily my injuries weren't that bad just some heavy bruising. During my extended stay there I helped Ami, the seductress/interrogator/assassin of the Fang's, figure out her specialty tactic when if comes to interrogating. Poisonous, edible lotion. It was surprisingly fun to create a variety of poisons that were slow acting and lethal, the hard part was helping Ami and her boyfriend Justin built up an immunity to them. I had to not only create a poison but also an antidote. But by the end of my stay we figured out a system so that even after I moved out they would build up a complete immunity to the Wolf-bane, the name of the poison Ami insisted on calling than that, during my stay The Fangs would take turns driving me to and from work until Kiba deemed it safe for me to live on my own on one condition. That I move to a place where he can make sure that won't happen again. It took some time to convince Shino to move in with me-it is a pretty good distance from our hospital- but I persuaded him.

After paying the cabbie I then haul my ass out of the car, racing towards the upper level apartment me and Shino are currently living. However I don't even make it two steps in the door before my phone rings. Groaning I take my phone from my pocket and check to see who's calling. The number isn't one I recognize.

Swiping the touch screen to answer I hold the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" I carefully ask.

"Hey, Sakura," answers Naruto's slightly strained voice. Instantly I'm filled with worry. Naruto and Gaara haven't called me in over a month, since Naruto had that bullet wound in his shoulder. Usually I would just get a call from one of the two to make sure they're still alive and well. They started doing this after I didn't hear from them for months; I went to their apartment to learn that they had moved out. When I did hear from them after months of silence, they said they were both in pretty bad shape and had moved. I ranted the whole time as I was fixing them up until they promised me to give me a call so I can know they're both fine.

"Naruto! Are you okay? Why are you calling?" I demand.

"I'm okay. I just…I had sort of an accident…and I was wondering if I could ask you a couple of questions just to be sure it's nothing serious."

I sigh, already moving to the living room to grab my medical bag I use specifically for my side jobs. "Why don't I just come over and check you out? I just finished my shift. Just let me know the type of injury, and I can grab my bag and-"

"No!" I jump at the sudden intensity of the word. "Sakura, whatever you do, do not come by the apartment anymore. We've moved out and…it's not safe." Suddenly I'm filled with more than just worry. I'm straight up terrified for those two.

"Naruto, what's going on? Are you in trouble?" If he says yes I'll call in Kiba. Maybe we can hide them with the Fangs until whatever is going on blows over.

"I'm okay." Naruto insists and my eyes narrow at the nervous tone in his voice. "I just…I had a…bulletgrazemyheadlastnight." My eyes bug out of my skull as I digest those words.

"NARUTO YOU IDIOT! ARE YOU TELLING ME YOU WERE SHOT IN THE HEAD AND YOU DIDN'T GO TO THE HOSPITAL OR CALL ME UNTIL ALMOST A DAY LATER?!"

"S-Sakura-chan, no need to be angry." He says, trying to calm me with the endearment he started calling me years ago. "You know how I am with hospitals and I didn't want you to get involved…"

"Where. Are. You. Now?" I demand, my voice firm letting him know I was not in the mood to take any bullshit excuse.

"I'm at a…a friends place. But I'm not sure it's safe for you to come. I'd rather try to just talk it through the phone and see what you think. I want to keep you out of-"

"Please put your friend on the phone." I interrupt him as I pace around the living room. Not paying attention to my surroundings as I intently listen to every word he utters to see if he sounds to be in pain or weak.

"Ah, I'm not sure that's a good-"

"I'M NOT ASKING YOUR OPINION. PUT YOUR FRIEND ON THE PHONE NOW."

There was a slight shuffle as the phone was passed and suddenly a new smooth voice is talking in my ear, "This is Sasuke."

"Hello, Sasuke. This is Dr. Haruno." I speak in the usual brusque tone I use while speaking to the rest of my staff at the hospital. "I am Naruto's physician. Evidently, he got himself shot in the head last night, and I don't trust him to answer my questions honestly because he can be a complete idiot when it comes to his health even without a bullet lodged in his thick skull. Can I ask you a few questions about his injury?"

"Of course."

He answers the series of questions that flow from my mouth. He doesn't leave out any details so I get a mental image of what the wound looks like. It isn't pretty, and thankfully it appears the bullet isn't lodged in his skull but if I'm right it looks like Naruto will need stitches.

I hear Naruto's voice in the background, but I can't decipher what he's says. Then Sasuke retorts, "Quite, Dobe. It's either this or I tie you up and drag you down to the hospital."

More mumbling of Naruto's voice then sudden silence.

"What's your address?" I ask, deciding it was best to just see the injury for myself and treat it accordingly. I grab a nearby pen and paper to make sure I don't forget.

"Sorry what was that?"

I repeat my question, then write down the address. I tell Sasuke I'll be there soon and hang up. Using my IPhone I type in the address to get directions as I head towards the bathroom to make myself slightly more presentable when I walk into a wall of flesh.

Crying out I nearly fell backwards until two familiar hands steady me. I look up to see the brown eyes of my boyfriend.

"Shino! Don't scar me like that you know how scatterbrained I am after a long shift."

He stares me down, the silence nearly suffocating me with its intensity as I shimmy out of his embrace.

"You have a friend named Naruto that was shot in the head?"

I wince, knowing my outburst must have woken him up as he works the graveyard shift. "Yes," I quickly come up with a lie. "He and some buddies of his who he was camping with this week ended up drinking last night, they fooled around with the gun they used to shoot beer cans and a bullet grazed him. He thought it was nothing so they didn't go to the hospital and no one was in any condition to drive. Today when they came back he said he wasn't feeling so good so he called me up." I roll my eyes at the story and the sheer ludicrousness of it. Naruto doesn't drink and he sure as hell doesn't camp.

He stars me down again, hoping to distract him I stand on my tip toes to give him a quick peck on the cheek before continuing to the bathroom. After brushing my teeth I rinsed my face with cool water hoping it would wake me up and add slight concealer to hide the heave bags under my eyes. As I head out of the apartment with my medical bag in toe I call over my shoulder that I would be back soon.

While I walk to the subway I push aside the thoughts of the added lies I told Shino over the years. On how they will just keep on rising until I'm drowning in a sea of them. Instead I worry about Naruto and Gaara and wonder what kind of trouble they got themselves into now.

AN:

Want to know more about Naruto and Gaara? Go read kizukatana's story 'Deception'!

Interested in Kiba, TenTen and the Fangs? Well check out Kiba's story! It's called 'Disgrace'!