When Hospitalization Isn't Optional

When the first rays of daylight hit the clinic's windows, Aiya woke up to the melodic beeping of medical machines, the old clock's tickling sound and the wondrous scent of coffee, antiseptic gauze and coagulated blood. Every single cell of her body ached from chakra exhaustion, and the young woman prayed for sleep to take her again in its comforting, painless embrace. As she pushed herself in a seated position, the blond blamed her back pain on the clinic's cheap mattress. The thing was harder than a slab of stone.

Like an angel sent by the gods, Himari entered the room holding a fuming cup of coffee. With a sleepy glance, the blond scanned the room, intimately looking for Kankuro's laying form on a bed. Panic crushed her throat at the sight of his vacant mattress, ripped off its bloodied sheets.

"Where is he?"

Himari's serene expression indicated her the puppeteer's body wasn't sitting at the morgue, cold, pale and very dead. Aiya controlled herself. She wasn't about to react like a worried… friend. She shivered at the thought. She was simply worried about her patient, and not the overly annoying brother-in-law of her best friend.

"He's been transferred to a private room," explained Himari.

Aiya frowned. Her brain wasn't able to show her any memories of last night. She sipped on her cup of coffee, hoping that the rush of caffeine in her bloodstream would stimulate her memory.

"You were exhausted, so I let you sleep," answered her friend to her silent question. "You've done a great job at healing him. He woke up about an hour ago."

The blond nodded. "That's good. He'll need some additional treatment for his burns and maybe a few sessions of physical therapy, but he'll be out of the hospital within a month."

Aiya was irking to ask her friend about the man's chart, but she bit her tongue and took another sip of coffee instead. He wasn't her patient anymore. Working at the clinic meant patching the patients up the fastest way possible before sending them on their merry way to treat the next one. There wasn't any long-term commitment.

Aiya sighed. She still had three weeks left at this crappy job until she'd be reallocated to one of the hospital's wings. She already missed the chit-chat with her regular patients, particularly the children's curious questions about her ever-changing nails, long lashes, colorful eyeshadow or her nurse's scrubs of every pink shade with cute patterns. She'd invent crazy stories about mermaid ancestors, an encounter with a unicorn or a pixie bite and every time, the children's incredulous laugh would warm her heart. It was mostly routine work, and she liked it. The stability. The safeness of it.

Stretching her sore muscles, Aiya rejoiced at the thought of a warm bath, scented candles and expensive skin care waiting for her back at the apartment. She'd use this day off to the fullest. Her brows furrowed as a sudden thought crossed her mind.

"Weren't you supposed to be giving a conference at Suna's Academy today?"

Himari had built a medic program at Suna's Academy in an effort to replenish the village's insufficient number of medics. Compared to the other hidden villages, the Village Hidden in the Sand sorely lacked competent medic nins, especially on-field trained ones.

"I canceled it."

Aiya didn't even need to ask why. Himari's genuine concern for every soul crossing her path wouldn't have let her focus until she'd make sure everyone was alright. The news of Kankuro's condition must have worried her to death. Of course, the girl would cancel a thing she'd been looking forward to for three months straight in a heartbeat.

"I'm sorry."

"Oh, don't be. I'll have plenty of other occasions."

"What about the Sand Festival, in two weeks? You'll still have your stand, right?"

Her lips twisted. "I don't know if I'll have the time for it. Kankuro is probably going to need me. You said it yourself. He'll need additional treatments and physical therapy."

"Well, he's a big boy. And there are other competent doctors in this hospital. He'll be fine."

"But I think he'll appreciate seeing a friendly face, you know? It'll make the whole process easier for him."

Aiya rolled her eyes. "His siblings are there, aren't they? It's your dream, Hima. You want to show the world the virtues of the desert's plants. Don't just throw it away."

Her friend smiled kindly at her. There wasn't a place for selfishness in her big, bright eyes. "Temari is leaving for a diplomatic mission in the Land of Earth soon and Gaara is really busy at this time of the year with the preparations for the Kage's summit," she explained softly. "I'm not throwing anything away. There'll be other occasions. Don't worry."

Before she could argue, Temari stormed into the room like a herd of furious elephants. Trailing behind her, the Kazekage didn't try to stop his sister from destroying the floor's fragile tiles under her enraged stomping. The redhead wasn't looking too pleased either but Himari's simple presence in the room automatically lightened his mood.

Aiya hid a smile. This man was utterly wrapped around her friend's little finger. He'd fallen for her. Hard. She'd worn the same look in her eyes, once. But for her, it hadn't ended in a fairy tale. To her, love had been nothing but a cruel game.

Fuming, Temari looked on the verge of killing a man. "Can someone talk some sense into my stupid brother's brain?" the blond spat angrily.

"Calm down, Temari," replied her brother.

"What's going on?" asked Himari, worried.

Gaara didn't like the look of concern on his wife's expression, and he rapidly tried to appease her. Walking up to her, his hand gently grazed hers as he offered the tiniest of smiles. Only to her. The gesture was so intimate that each time, Aiya felt the need to turn her gaze away.

"It's nothing," he said.

"It's not nothing," argued Temari. "He's being unreasonable. He's going to leave against the doctor's recommendation."

Gaara glared at her sister, unhappy at anyone stressing out his heavily pregnant wife. Unconcerned, Aiya threw a glance at her nails. Only idiots don't listen to their doctor's advice. But since no legal obligations are forcing him to stay… It's actually in this idiot's right to refuse medical care.

Temari sighed. "You're not helping here, Aiya."

Did I speak that one out loud? Shrugging her shoulders, the blond decided that she didn't really care. Like she'd said before, it wasn't her problem anymore. She frowned at the sight of a chip on her nails. She'd wanted to change their color for a while, now. Maybe a soft rainbow of pastel colors would be pretty.

Gaara crossed his arms over his chest. "But she's still right, Temari. We can't simply strap him to the hospital's bed against his will."

"Well, yes. We could," insisted the blond. Then, the oldest of the sand siblings turned to Himari, throwing at her a pleading look. "Can't you do something, Hima? Maybe he'll listen to medical advice from you."

Aiya froze, knowing he would. Whether he knew it or not, the man had a soft spot for his brother's wife. Fleeting feelings. And in all of her holy kindness, her friend wouldn't mind talking to the sand sibling, pushing aside all of her projects for a while, and help him out on the road to recovery. Each day, she'd be amazed to see Himari's kindness flowing endlessly towards every soul. She cared. And loved. As if her heart could never be too full, could never break. She didn't have that much kindness left in her, the most of it wasted on a soul that didn't deserve it. She didn't hold herself in high regard, as a person or a friend.

Himari was already nodding at the blond's words. "I'll go-"

"I'll do it," Aiya said, cutting her friend off. "Anyways, it's against the hospital's policy to treat a family member and well, you're his sister-in-law, Hima."

Aiya put a hand on her hip, determined to go through with her plan. It was a win-win situation. Her friend wouldn't have to worry about the sand sibling all the time since he wouldn't be alone anymore, and she wouldn't have to spend another minute at the clinic, using all of her 'precious time' for the recovery of the Kazekage's brother. Himari couldn't argue about it.

"Very well, Miss Sakido," agreed Gaara, delighted to avoid adding any extra responsibilities to his pregnant wife. "We'll be leaving him to your care."

"Thank goodness," sighed Temari. "I really owe you one, Aiya."

She should tell the blond to not thank her yet, since she might feel the need to strangle her brother from time to time if he pushed her buttons too far but instead, she simply smiled.

"Like I've already told you, I got him."

She'd find a way to make his ass stay in that bed for as long as required. After all, this idiot didn't get to waste all of her efforts at healing him just because he didn't like the hospital's scratchy bedsheets.

…

On the second floor, the hospital's staff was rallied behind the information's counter like soldiers under the enemy's fire. Aiya didn't understand the reason for the tensed atmosphere until a flying food tray hit the corridor's wall with a loud clatter, coming straight out of one of the patient's rooms.

"Get out of my face," snarled an angry voice – a voice she easily associated with its owner. "I'm getting out of here."

A doctor scurried out of the room; his pad held tight against his torso as if it was a bulletproof vest. Her body froze in the middle of the hallway, a thought dawning on her. She wasn't paid enough to deal with that level of shit. Before she could turn around and make a run for it, one of the nurses ran up to her, looking utterly relieved to see her.

"Thank goodness, Aiya. You're here," the brunette exclaimed, nervously touching the arm of her glasses. She lowered her voice. "It's the Kazekage's brother. He's being rather difficult, and since you're good at dealing with difficult patients…"

Aiya sighed, feeling a wave of crushing regrets overflowing her as the words came out of her mouth. "Give me his chart."

…

Aiya could tell the sand siblings all shared the same genetics by the way their hair didn't seem to obey any kind of physic law, wild and spiky. If he'd noticed her presence, Kankuro didn't say a word about it as he carelessly ripped the perfusion out of his forearm, glaring at the small gushes of blood that spitted out of the needle's site. Leaning in the doorway, the petite nurse rolled her eyes.

"You're scaring the hospital's staff."

"I'm the victim here," he retorted. "I'm being held hostage."

With evident struggle, he managed to bring his legs to the edge of the bed, but not without his face twisting in pain. Aiya couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes at the brash gesture, fighting the inner voice that was trying to convince her to take advantage of his weakened state to knock him out with a bunch of drugs.

She gave a quick look at the patient's chart she'd been given. "You're still recovering from your injuries and according to your chart, you haven't eaten yet. If you're not careful, you'll pass out."

"I'll eat when I get home."

"Then you're more of an idiot than I originally thought."

He groaned, pushing himself off the bed. He barely looked at her, as if she wasn't even there. "Where's Himari?"

Putting most of his weight on his right leg, he tested his luck at taking a small, precarious step forward, not letting go of the bed's head. Those weren't the actions of a level-headed person. They were the harsh, frantic movements of someone who couldn't tolerate another second between these four, white walls. An irrational fear was clouding his judgment, and she might have teased him for it in another context but doing so wouldn't help her case. She actually wanted to make him stay, not add yet another complaint to her employee's file.

The blond crossed her arms over her chest, wishing she'd have chosen to stop by her apartment for a warm bath before battling with this man-child. "You're being unreasonable."

"Where's Himari?" he reiterated.

"Not here, obviously. I'll be the one assigned to your case."

That new bit of information had the merit to grasp his attention. He froze, then raised a skeptical brow. "You?"

"Yes, me."

Slowly, his lips twisted into a pale smirk. "So, you're saying you'll be my… personal nurse?"

Sarcasm and crude jokes were all he had left to hold a grasp onto reality, to not let the fear take control of him. She knew that much, the feeling clear as crystal in his dark eyes. She scrunched up her nose at him, huffing.

"Don't get any weird thoughts, pervert."

His smirk died. "Anyways, it doesn't matter. I'm out of here."

He let go of the bed's head. His support gone, his right leg flinched under the additional weight and a second later, the man was laying on the hospital's floor, barely containing a yelp of agonizing pain. Groaning, he tried to get himself up with a push of trembling arms, with no avail. Aiya decided that the pleasantry had gone far enough as she walked up to him. She kneeled down to his level. As she extended a helping hand to him, he angrily slapped it away. Cheeks reddening, he threw a deathly glare at her. She froze, startled.

Then, her brows furrowed angrily. "What the hell? I'm trying to help you, asshole."

"Are you that sweet with every patient of yours?" he hissed. "Or am I getting special treatment?"

Something stopped her from spitting a sarcastic comment at him. Of how some of her younger patients acted more reasonably than him, right now. Or of how he still managed to not look completely ridiculous in the hospital's yellow gown. Because behind all that false bravado, he was deeply ashamed of being seen in such a weakened state. Feeling uneasy, like a scorpion out of its element, the man only waited for the perfect opportunity to painfully sting her.

So instead, the blond simply sighed. "I'm only trying to help you. If you'd quit being that stubborn-"

"I don't need your help. I'm fine."

"Says the man on the hospital's floor," she spat back.

For what felt like an eternity, they just glared at each other. For a moment, she wondered if his eyes always had those speckles of green in them, softening their brown darker than elm. She blinked, losing at their staring contest. Unhappy, she slowly sat on the floor. He couldn't leave. He had to stay until she'd healed him up completely.

"Give me a month," she offered. "And you'll be out of here by then. Think of your siblings. Of Himari. You'll only worry them if you don't take the proper time to heal."

He seemed to think about her words for a moment, far from being happy about his current situation.

"Two weeks," he groaned.

"Three weeks."

He sighed. "Deal."

"Perfect," she concluded. "I'll see you on Monday."