Hi Everyone. New chapter! Hope to finish the story by the end of the month, there are still more chapters left :)
Enjoy!
A soft knock could be heard inside the examination room.
A brown haired nurse popped her head inside. "I'm so sorry Sakura-san, there is one more waiting for the check-up. Could I send him your way? Kisume-san already left." The brown haired nurse asked with an apologetic tone apologizing for a fellow medic. Sakura was pulling another double shift and the second one already ended four hours ago.
Sakura looked up from the chart she was holding and quickly scribbled her signature and handed it to the nurse, taking the new chart from her hands as a conformation.
"Send him in."
Sakura quickly skimmed through the chart. She lost count about three days ago as to how many shinobi passed through her examination room this past week. It was the annual mandatory check-up. It was time consuming and hectic throughout the two weeks this medical marathon lasted. She didn't even look at the names anymore. She just skimmed through the charts, noting the most important medical information and went through the same actions with each of them.
"Take your shirt off and sit on the table please." Sakura didn't even take her eyes off the chart as she motioned with her hand for the patient to take a seat on the examination table. As she skimmed through the information on the chart she frowned realizing some of the facts were too familiar. She managed to hold her frown and not show too much of a surprise on her face as she read the name on the chart.
She turned around to walk to the table, her white lab coat swirling around her legs, and paused for just a split second before continuing with her stride to the examination table. Kakashi Hatake was in the hospital. Kakashi Hatake was sitting on the examination table in his dark pants and nothing else. The man who avoided doctors and anything hospital related was waiting for his annual check-up on the examining table on the day he was actually scheduled. The man that had to be dragged here by force or better yet unconscious was sitting here as if the hell didn't just freeze over. Hatake Kakashi was sitting on the table maskless.
It took him quite some time of self deception and self persuasion and a lot of mental preparation to actually walk willingly to the hospital for his annual check-up, and on the day he was supposed to show up. He of course didn't come on time or to the doctor he was supposed to go, but he was here in the hospital. He was watching Sakura intently from the second he entered the examination room, noting that she didn't really acknowledge his presence. He knew the face she had on, it was her medic face, her professional medical face that was straight to the point, professional and serious, leaving the reassuring smiles for after the examination was finished.
He noticed as she quickly skimmed his chart that recognition flashed through her eyes and she quickly went back to the start of the chart to look up his name instead of turning around to look at him.
The copy-nin also noted the millisecond of surprise on her face when she turned around to finally look at him and saw him without his mask. He hoped there would be more emotion in her face, hoping to see more of her, but her professional mask slipped back in its place as soon as she took another step closer to him.
"Lie down please." She motioned for him to lie down on the examination table so she could start with the exam. She wanted to ask him what he was doing here, but didn't want to hear the answer so she continued to be silent and let her medic self take over, almost automatically doing what was needed without much needed thought. She pushed in her chakra, checking first the skin, then the organs, then the blood stream and lastly the chakra paths.
She was desperately trying to keep her emotions in check that she though she managed to bring under control after her short breakdown four weeks ago. At least she thought she had but seeing him shown her how wrong she was. The two months she managed to avoid him didn't help her at all with forgetting the time they spent together. Or the emotions connected to that time. It was just one week. Just one week that made her life a mess that she was so good at keeping in check for the last two years. She was not used to her emotions to be so close to the surface anymore.
His heart sunk just a little when her chakra entered his body and no sign of the tinkling sensation could be felt. There were no giggles he had to hide that were trying to get to the surface. He kept watching her but she seemed too preoccupied to even notice that. He could see she was working on autopilot while her mind was miles away. Especially when she seemed to be finished, as her chakra already left his body and she was still not moving, just absentmindedly staring at her hands. They stayed like that for several minutes, he watching her and her not moving and being completely engrossed in her own world.
"Ehm.." Kakashi cleared his throat trying to catch her attention and to actually speak to her. She almost jumped at the sound but quickly regained her composure and slipped back into her medic mode.
"You can sit up and put your shirt back on." Taking his chart she started to scribble down her findings and waiting for him to put his clothes back on. When he was finished, leaving his mask and forehead protector off of his face to her utter confusion, she directed his attention to an eye chart that was on the far side of the room.
"Sit on the edge with your feet down and put a hand over your left eye. Read the fifth row please."
He was getting a bit impatient as he wanted to talk to her and have this yearly annoying check behind him. He read the seventh row instead, skipping the fifth and sixth as he was usually asked to read all of them anyway.
Sakura seemed she wanted to say something to him but just sighted with resignation as the argument wouldn't lead anywhere anyway. She just made a note in his chart and asked him to switch the eyes. This time he read the smallest print available on the chart.
"Do you have any subjective medical troubles or issues you would like to address?" She asked him knowing full well the he wasn't going to admit to anything even if he had had a spleen removed five minutes ago.
Sakura scribbled some more notes into his chart and actually forced herself to smile at him, crinkling her eyes in a fake happiness.
"Once again you passed. If you don't have any more medical questions you can leave." She turned her back to him going to her desk and putting his chart on the table on top of the remaining charts that are ready to be filled away. She heard him move but the sound of closing doors didn't come. Sakura turned around to see Kakashi leaning on the doors looking at her thoughtfully with his forehead protector in place, shielding his sharingan eye but still without his mask.
She stayed quiet as she didn't want to talk to him, hoping that her silence and the frown on her face will discourage him enough to leave.
"I want to talk about us, Sakura." Kakashi had to start somewhere this conversation and talking about weather just wasn't his style in these kinds of situations.
"There is nothing to talk about." She tried to make her voice flat and unemotional, hoping he didn't notice her slight tremble.
He took few steps closer and she mirrored him by taking a step back. Unfortunately the desk was right behind her restricting her movement.
"Okay, then I will talk and you listen." She opened her mouth and wanted to cut him off but he didn't give her a chance and started talking. It was now or never.
"I know about Daichi, about your father and the illness that took both of them from you." Those few words effectively silenced her and she leaned back at the table with a look of hurt and confusion in her eyes before she hung her head so her hair would cover her face and so he wouldn't see the emotions that were showing on her face. She wrapped her hands around her in a protective gesture. How does he know about Daichi? No one knew about him. I didn't even tell Ino.
Kakashi had to take a deep breath and fight the urge to pull his mask up. His hand already reached up and he was uneasily pulling at the material pooled at his neck. This wasn't easy for him. He wasn't used to opening to someone like this but he knew that if he wanted to get through to her he will need to give her a little of himself. Just as Rin did for him.
"I understand that it's hard to lose the precious people in your life. I understand that it hurts. That you want to bury your heart so deep that no one will ever find it. But let me tell you one thing that I have been told. Making them disappear instead of cherishing both the good and bad is the worst kind of cowardice."
He took few more steps and was standing right in front of her, his heat radiating into her skin.
"The greatest regret of my life is not telling the ones that mattered to me that I loved them. I swore to myself that I will not repeat that mistake ever again."
Kakashi paused and closed his eyes. Steeling himself for what he needed to say, for his and hopefully for her sake. He would set himself free, he will honor Rin's memory and her gift and be true to his promise.
"Sakura, I love you." Sakura was still silent and unresponsive. The only indication that she was listening was the tightening of her grip on her arms.
"I do not expect you to return those feelings. I want you to be happy so let me help you. Let me help you see that if you let your feelings touch your heart you will be alright. Everything will be alright."
He knew she will need some time to think. She needed to sort her emotions. He knew that if his words meant anything to her that she will need to be by herself. When Rin did this intervention for him, he cried like a little baby for two hours straight. Not that he would ever admit that to anyone.
He felt emotionally drained. The last time that he felt like this was at Rin's funeral. When he stayed at her grave site and talked to her until his voice was raspy and all he could do was whisper. Telling her everything, all and more. They had to drag him away from there after three days.
Sakura still didn't move or say anything. Kakashi took the last step towards her, closing the distance and placed a sweet kiss on the top of her head and whispered. "I promise."
He turned around and left the room closing the doors behind him quietly not seeing the little drop of moisture falling from her eyes.
He couldn't go home after his talk with Sakura. He just didn't feel like being alone at the moment and as it was already late afternoon he headed to the bar where most of his jounin friends could be found on Friday night. He didn't really want to talk to anybody; he just wanted the company of a familiar person. Luckily he found Genma in the bar with one of his chatty moods. That meant he just needed someone beside him that would occasionally nod and he would continue with his monologue. They were later joined by Izumo and Kotetsu who took the duty of nodding to Genma's monologue from Kakashi so he could quietly sit in the corner and sip from his sake.
It was already two in the morning when he got out of the bar, ready to go pass out in his bed. He wasn't drunk, he did drink two small bottles of sake but the alcohol just didn't seem to work tonight. When he entered his home he noticed something wasn't right. A light was coming from his kitchen and he could feel a familiar chakra. He took a deep breath and removed his sandals and jounin vest and set out for his kitchen.
Sakura was in his kitchen standing very much like he left her in the examination room, leaning on the kitchen counter with her head hung low. The only difference was the glass of water she was holding in her hand.
"Sakura?" He wasn't sure if he wanted to go closer before he knew her intentions; she could very well be here to punch the living daylights out of him. It was a good choice as the glass shattered next to his head on the wall behind him in a matter of seconds. He didn't even have time to react as the glass swished by him.
"Sakura?" He tried again to make her calm down and reconsider his upcoming beating. He took a step closer to the door out of the kitchen, making sure the exit wouldn't be blocked should he need to leave the room hastily.
She turned around and took another glass out of the cabinet and through it at him, missing his head by few millimeters. This time it was accompanied by a scream of "Make it stop!"
She finally showed her face, her eyes were red and puffy and her cheeks red and wet from her tears. She was a teary mess.
She took another glass from the cabinet and was ready to throw. "Make it stop!" She sniffled as another emotional wave hit her.
She was having a rather big emotional breakdown since he left her in the examination room. That single tear was accompanied by many more and she wasn't able to stop them. She tried really hard to stop them but it didn't help. She ran home really fast and closed the door behind her and let the tears flow endlessly. She went to the shower and cried until the water ran cold and she still couldn't stop as more and more tears gathered in her eyes and kept persistently falling down her face.
Sakura through few more glasses at him and as there were none left she moved to mugs.
"It's alright to cry Sakura." He tried to calm her down somehow but it was hard whilst dodging flying dishes.
"It's not alright if it doesn't stop!" and she flung another mug at him.
"Stop dodging!" She was crying and angry at him at the same time and she was annoyed he was dodging the flying objects. The sound it made, breaking on the wall, was making her feel a little bit better but she couldn't aim properly when she was in this state, her vision all blurry from the tears. She wanted to make him cry like he did to her. She wanted him feel like she did. Maybe then she will be able to get a grip and stop these annoying tears. She felt weak once again, being the crybaby that she used to be. She hated it and she hated him for doing this to her.
She chucked another mug at him and this time it actually connected with his head. She saw as a small trickle of blood started flowing from his brow. She momentarily stopped crying, being too stupefied by the scene.
"Why didn't you dodge?" She screamed at him hysterically. Seeing him wounded by her thrown projectile didn't make her feel better, it actually made it worse as new tears started to fall down her face and she couldn't even put words to a comprehensive sentences anymore.
"Make up your mind woman." Kakashi grumbled as he seized the moment she wasn't throwing anything and came closer to her taking her into an embrace. Holding her and letting his body heat sink into her body.
"Stop it!" She tried to fight him, push him away until she stopped fighting him and let herself cry even more, clenching her fists into his dark shirt. Kakashi kept stroking her hair and back, letting her know that he is there for her. He knew she will feel better once all the kept emotions are out of her system. The tears were cleansing.
After what felt like hours she finally calmed down. She didn't stop crying but she stopped being hysterical and Kakashi deemed it safe enough to breach the silence.
"I would make you a tea but it seems I ran out of cups."
That earned him a snort and a slap on the chest from the pinkette that was still hiding her face in his shirt that was now thoroughly soaked with tears and snot. She moved her head away from him to see the disaster of a shirt he had on and started to cry again.
"I even destroyed your shiiiiiirt." Sakura wailed not being able to contain her wild emotions.
"Don't be silly. Give me a second to change and you can start with a new one." He smiled and showed her his trademark eye crease.
"That's not funnyyyyyyyy." Sakura wailed but let go off his shirt so he could go and get changed.
More will be revealed in the next chapter. Sorry I had to split it somewhere, otherwise it would be way too long :) don't forget to let me know what you think.