A/N: Before this chapter, I'd like to thank a reviewer who gives me something to read. This is for Sleyman! You're awesome!!
"Of Bones and Blossoms"
Chapter Three.
"Information Retrieval."
He awoke to her hovering over him. It seemed that that was what he woke up to every day. It'd been a week, and to his relief, he was more often unconscious than not. Apparently, Sakura didn't get any work done on him, because his charka continually shoved hers out, even while unconscious. She hadn't resorted to touching him yet.
He felt worse, physically, but that was good.. He wanted to die, right? Or maybe it was because his pride wouldn't allow him to permit her to heal him. It made him feel weak. He didn't like being at the mercy of others. When he was awake, they talked(well, mainly she did). She talked about a lot of things, like what was happening with other patients in the hospital and how Rock Lee and Gaara, the two he'd fought five years previously, apparently, were doing. He couldn't even muster up the strength to say "I don't care".
He was unconscious more often near the end of the week; that meant his strength was dwindling. He felt terrible, but that wasn't going to stop his pride from getting in the way.
Today was no different. He coughed up some blood; the metallic taste it how mouth wasn't unusual. Sakura was the only person he saw; why? Was he in solitary confinement? He snorted, and more blood came up. Sakura looked alarmed. "Kimimaro, are you alright?"
His eyes narrowed on her. Was that pity again? No.. it looked more like.. concern. He frowned at this; concern for him? Ridiculous. He didn't reply to her question.
"Please, let me heal something.. At least let me make the pain go away.."
A sharp pain jolted through his chest, and he forced back a gasp of pain. He didn't know what hit him, but as soon as her hand touched his shoulder, his rigid body began to relax. Her fingers slowly ran down his arm. Goosebumps rose on his biceps, and he went still. His eyes slowly closed.
What really surprised him was that with a bit of difficulty his hand rose to begin touching hers. Returning the contact felt even better than only receiving it. All thought was cast aside; only the contact of their fingers occupied his mind. And he felt her hand on his chest. This brought a whole new sensation to him. Her fingers ran over the skin and a shiver ran down his spine. It felt so good, so pleasant.. Better than anything he's ever felt, physically, and he didn't want it to stop, he had to admit. After a few moments of the wonderful feelings running down his arms and torso, he felt a hint of foreign charka probe at his chest, but he was too concentrated on stroking her fingers to really care. Her fingers were small, soft; his own slender phalanges laced through hers, as if tracing every inch of her tender skin.
Sakura… "Cherry Blossom".. Blossom..
His eyes jerked open and his charka levels flared. She jerked away, yelping. "What's wrong with you?!" She winced. "What happened? You were doing great!"
He only stared with emerald hues. The pale, sinister face that clouded his mind was still there. The smile that was once comforting was now disturbing. Was the person he loved more than anything slowly turning into a figure of discomfort? Compared to Sakura's smile, Orochimaru's smile was unnerving. He shifted slightly in the hospital bed.
"Well.." She sighed, closing her eyes. "Ready to tell me of your clan's kekkei genkai?"
"Not a chance," he replied, before coughing.
She sighed again, a hand raising to run her fingers through messy pink locks. "Well, Kimimaro, I'll check on you tomorrow."
He watched her leave yet again. Like she always did.
xXx
Having hung her lab coat up on the hook at the front door, Sakura looked around at her clean, pristine apartment. She used the place for hardly anything more than sleeping. As she stood there, her mind went to Kimimaro. She completely understood why he didn't want to tell her; he knew she'd want to explore his bone-structure, which was what she really did want to do. He probably didn't like the idea of being her little test-subject, her guinea pig, but didn't Kabuto do the same thing all the time? Most likely, he did, which was what confused her. Maybe it was because she was an enemy to Orochimaru.
It really was a shame, how someone so potentially powerful was brain-washed by a snake like Orochimaru. How someone so handsome was tainted with evil..
Sakura didn't want to admit it, because she didn't fool with patients —especially evil ones— but he was extremely attractive. She'd seen his body when she rescued(well, more like captured) him, and the thought of it brought a hot blush to her cheeks. He was so thin and frail.. If only he'd let her heal him, she'd be able to return him to full health. If he kept going on without letting her heal him, he'd die. She could use charka restraints, but she highly disapproved of forceful, degrading techniques like that.
What could she do? It'd been about a month now, and she hadn't gotten any useful information, nor had she been able to heal him very much. He was by far the most unwilling and stubborn patient she'd ever had, and that made her want to try all the harder. And despite Tsunade's words, Sakura felt strongly about him.. this. She had to question herself though; Indeed, what was to keep him here after he was healed? What could stop him from running off to look for Orochimaru? Even though the idea was ridiculous, Sakura couldn't help but like the idea of changing his heart. She wondered if he truly had the capability of being a good person. Even though she was continually proved wrong, Sakura believed that there was at least a hint of good in everyone.
And maybe, there was a hint of good left in Kimimaro.
She still felt little tingles running through her fingers from where he caressed them. He enjoyed her touch, she could tell, but that still didn't stop him from blocking her charka. She didn't know what to do with him. She couldn't let him die.
There was a knock on the door. She turned around and opened it(she hadn't moved since she came in), and there stood Rock Lee, Jonin vest and all. He was panting. "Hello, Sakura-chan! I just got back from a mission and I was wondering if you'd like to join me for dinner!"
Sakura stared at him dully. Knowing Lee, he'd probably literally just got back from a mission. But she didn't mind, because she needed someone to take her mind off of her reluctant patient. Lee often invited her to dinner, and she usually declined, but this time she smiled and replied, "That'd be nice, Lee."
She giggled when his face lit up and he shouted with joy. She shook her head and set her purse down on the floor, before going out the door, closing and locking it behind her. Out on the village street, Sakura gently brushed off Lee's repeated attempts to sling an arm over her shoulder or hold her hand. She wondered how she would react if Kimimaro wanted to hold her hand..
Apparently Lee was the one to decide where they were eating, because soon enough, he was holding a flap up for her so she could enter Ichiraku's Ramen Shop. She inwardly sighed; she ate ramen almost every day. But, if it would keep her mind off of Kimimaro, so be it. As they sat down and ordered their bowls, Lee struck up conversation. "I met a medic in Kirigakure, Sakura-chan, and she'd heard about you!" he grinned. "She wanted to meet you so badly!"
"Oh?" Sakura looked at him. "That so? What rank was she?"
"Chunin," Lee replied. "I think she could learn a lot from you.
"Huh," Sakura grunted, resting her elbows on the counter. "Did she tell you her name?"
"Saiya," he said thoughtfully.
"Oh.." she nodded quietly. Finally, she said, "Lee.. Could you tell me more about Kimimaro?"
He considered her for a moment. "Well, his technique is strange.. I'm not sure I can elaborate further on it than I already have. He never told me about his jutsu, and I was drunk half the time.." He blushed.
Sakura blinked, before biting her lip. "Can you tell me anything about him? Any type of information would be helpful.."
"Well.." Lee moved his arms back as his bowl was set before him. "He was.." he bit his lip. "Memory's fuzzy.."
Sakura inwardly rolled her eyes. 'Forgetful as Gai..' "Come on Lee," she urged. "Surely you can remember something.."
"OH!" He exclaimed. "He was devoid of emotion.. except when Orochimaru was brought up."
Sakura nodded. That was understandable. He'd been devoid of emotion the entire time she'd taken care of him. She'd never talked about Orochimaru. She began to wonder what would happen if she did.
"Come to think of it.." Lee mumbled, a finger tapping his chin. "Gaara-kun and I thought he'd died..!"
"He will die if I can't heal him," Sakura sighed softly.
Lee split a pair of chopsticks and began to eat. Sakura only stared at her food. "What do you mean?" Lee mumbled through a mouth-full of noodles.
This didn't take her mind off of Kimimaro, but at least she was getting some information. "Well.. He won't let me heal him at all. His charka forces mine out, even while he's asleep.. If I don't do something soon.. I'll lose him."
"If I may be so bold as to ask, Sakura-chan, why exactly did you bring him here?"
"I don't know, Lee.. I really don't. I originally wanted to study him, but if I can't even heal him.."
Her eyes began watering. Why on earth did she want to cry? She wasn't a cry-baby. She hated to cry.. But she was so frustrated! She'd never had this much trouble with a patient! She'd never lost a patient! What was she to do?!
Lee noticed her angry tears and set his chopsticks down, alarmed. "Sakura-chan, what's wrong?"
Sakura shook her head and put her face in her hands, trembling. Tsuchi, Ichiraku's chef, noticed this and tilted his head, approaching the counter. "Miss, if I may ask, what's troubling you?"
Sakura's face lifted from her hands and she looked at the old man, teary-eyed. "I'm.. I'm trying so hard with him, but he won't cooperate in any way.. I just.. I.. don't know.."
The man smiled kindly. "Dry those tears, Miss. Failure is nothing to cry over; it's how you learn."
Sakura's eyes widened. Failure?
"In my opinion, you never learn if you never make a mistake. It is possible, Miss, that whatever you are attempting is not meant to be a success."
Sakura bit her lip. The man had a good point, but she couldn't accept it. She couldn't accept failure.
Sakura Haruno did not, could not, WOULD not fail.