Beep. Beep. Beep.
A constant, annoying sound reached her, growing louder by the second.
What the… Don't tell me I left my alarm on again, she thought grumpily, slowly opening her eyes and groping for the offending clock.
Her hand grasped something cold and metallic. That doesn't feel like my…wait. What is that?
She blinked, her vision coming into focus. A gasp escaped her as the realisation struck. That's no clock - it's an ECG! This is the hospital and I'm - Sasuke!
It all came flooding back her at once. She jolted upright, glancing around wildly. "Sasuke…where's Sasuke? Is he okay?"
"Calm down, Sakura." The Hokage came and sat beside the bed. "You've been out for three days."
"Really?" Sakura's emerald eyes widened. Of course. That's what can happen if you use up all your chakra and push yourself to the edge. It can even be fatal.
Tsunade seemed to read her mind for she remarked, "You're lucky to not have been unconscious for longer, the way you were going. You could have perished had you managed to stay awake after using all your chakra because the you would have started to tap into your body's essential chakra flow." Her gaze was stern.
The magenta-haired kunoichi sighed. "I'm sorry I worried you. I wanted to save Sasuke no matter what." Her eyes searched the woman's brown ones. "But did I do it? Did he survive?"
Her face remained serious. She did not answer.
Sakura's heart leaped into her mouth. She felt tears threaten. Could it be that even after all I've done it wasn't…
"When we checked him, it looked like you hadn't made any difference," Tsunade told her.
No… Sakura gripped the bed sheet so tightly her hands shook. No!
"However, when you were lifted off of him, we discovered that the wound had healed completely. There was no internal bleeding and his heartbeat had returned to normal." She smiled proudly at the ninja. "You did it, Sakura. You saved his life and you surpassed me in doing so. His condition's remained stable and has improved since you last saw him."
"Thank goodness…" Sakura breathed a sigh of relief, wiping away the tears in her eyes. "I'm so glad he's going to be alright! Is he awake yet?"
The Hokage was about to reply when Naruto burst into the room, sporting bandages on his head and body. He bombarded her with questions. "Is Sakura okay? Has she woken up? Does she know about Sasuke?"
Tsunade threw him a withering look. "She's fine, Naruto. There's no need to shout."
Sakura's light-hearted mood allowed her to let her loud-mouthed team-mate's rudeness slide for once. It was good to see that he was looking well.
"Yes, I do know about him," she assured the blond-haired ninja kindly. "You brought him home, just like you said you would. Thank you."
Naruto grinned. "No problem. That's my nindo - my ninja way - I always keep my promise!"
"You sure do," agreed Sakura. She glanced at her sensei, repeating her previous question.
Tsunade shook her head. "Sasuke's sleeping, which is what both you and Naruto should be doing. You can see him later."
Sakura felt a slight pang of disappointment but conceded, lying back down again. Her eyelids felt unexpectedly heavy and it became increasingly hard to keep them open.
The fear, sorrow, happiness and relief from her talk with the Hokage was catching up with her. Her last thought before she succumbed to sleep was, Sasuke's back in Konoha and he's alive…but how will things stand between us when I see him?