Thank you guys for all of your continuously supportive reviews. I love waking up to them in the mornings lol.

Chapter 5: Skin

THE NEXT EVENING

I was in the shower room at work. I couldn't move anything but my eyes. I looked down to see I was tied to a chair. Suddenly all of the showers turned on. The room filled up with steam. Kiba was standing there with a small white dog on his head. He had a hooded jacket on.

"Ah, do you smell that Akamaru?" Kiba was cupping his mouth and nose. Akamaru whimpered almost as if it were a response to Kiba's question and put his paws over his nose. I inhaled and could smell a metallic scent. My body felt like it was on fire. I looked down to see my skin was slowly burning off. My adrenaline spiked and I somehow jumped out of the chair. When I did the pain stopped immediately. I turned around to look at the chair and when I did my pupils constricted. I saw a naked Sasuke tied to it. His flesh was slowly melting away from the boiling water. Suddenly a giant Iruka rose from the ground. He had his hand out with the palm facing up. He was holding the top of his arm with a wicked smile on his face.

"YOU'RE OVERTHINKING IT SAKURA." His voice was very low and echoed comically as a giant's would. He tried to step on me but I dodged it. I tried to turn off the water pouring on Sasuke but the knobs burnt my hands. When I tried to pull the chair from under the water my hands went right through Sasuke as if I were a ghost.

"Sasuke." I said, but nothing came out.

"SASUKE!" Again, nothing. Then I tried to scream. When I did it sounded like ringing.

*Why do my screams sound like that.* I held my throat and screamed again, another ring.

*Wait, that sounds like my ph-* Once I realized I was dreaming my body jerked and I immediately opened my eyes. My house phone rang again and I clumsily answered it.

"Ugh…hello?" I looked over at my alarm to see that it was only 3:30pm. I reached over to untangle the phone cord.

"Hi Sakura?"

"Speaking."

"Hi my name is Asuma Sarutobi; I am the supervisor of the morning shift of your sector." I grunted and rubbed my face.

"Eh, hello."

"I apologize for waking you up, but I have a favor to ask. Do you think you could come into work early? There is a crisis situation here so I am a bit short staffed."

*It would be nice if I could have my other 2 hours of sleep!* I breathed hard.

"Sure thing, be in soon."

"Thank you Sakura!" I hung up the phone and lazily got out of bed. I skipped my shower and headed straight to work. I wanted to be there as soon as possible to make a good impression. When I got to my sector I seen tons of nurses everywhere. Four were pushing a bed. On it was somebody completely wrapped in bandages from head to toe. A man with a cigarette in his mouth walked up to me. He had black side burns that connected to his beard.

"Wow that was fast." He looked down at his watch.

"Well it felt fast." He tapped his watch with his finger and grunted.

"Damn thing never works here."

"It's 4:00pm sir." Asuma reached his hand out. I took it, he had a firm grip.

"Just call me Asuma. Thanks again for getting here so quickly Sakura, you can see we are pretty busy."

"Yeah I noticed…are there nurses from other sectors here?"

"Definitely. I found one of our patients in solitary confinement. He fucked himself up real bad. We needed more help here."

"Who was it!?"

"Uh…" He grabbed the clipboard off of the wall and flipped through the papers.

"It was…Sasuke Uchiha." My heart skipped a beat.

"Was he the one wrapped in bandages!?" Asuma looked up from the clipboard and gave me a strange look.

"Yes that was him…" He hung the clipboard back onto the wall.

"Oh uh, I apologize for my outburst. W-What exactly did he do?"

"Well I'm not sure if you are familiar with everyone yet or not but most of these patients possess special gifts. Sasuke can wield fire. We are assuming that he did this to himself out of pure insanity. This isn't the first time he's self-inflicted wounds." Images of his flesh melting off from my dream take over.

*There's no way they are connected…there is just no way. It was just a stupid dream!* I shook my head back and forth. I hear the steel doors open behind me. When I turned around I see Iruka. He walks in and Asuma waves.

"Got my message?"

"Yeah sorry I didn't come sooner. Got a smoke?" Asuma pulled one out from his pack and gave it to Iruka. He took a puff and looked down at me.

"Sakura? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I called her in to help with the dinners this evening since my morning shift will be preoccupied with this shit."

"You try Naruto?"

"You already know I tried calling him first. That boy never wakes up." Asuma put his hand on his forehead and Iruka laughed. Then he put his hand on my shoulder.

"That's alright Asuma, Sakura here can handle it." He shook me back and forth a little. I smiled. Asuma nodded and walked away to help the nurses. They all went down his hallway.

"Is he going to recover in his room!?" Iruka looked down.

"Yeah, he has to. See what I told you? He is dangerous. He could've easily done that to one of us. That's why I put him in solitary confinement yesterday. Straight jacket and everything."

"Oh so that's where you took him."

"Why wouldn't of I? I saw that mark on your neck. I know he did that to you." I gasped and looked away from him.

"Why did you lie to me Sakura?" I jumped and rubbed the back of my head.

"Well I uh…I've got nothing." Iruka kneeled down and pulled me into a tight embrace. I blushed.

"I'm sorry Iruka…I just…" He held me tighter.

"You don't have to say it. I understand." Iruka released me and stood up. A large group of nurses came out of Sasuke's hallway and walked passed us.

"Thanks again guys!" Asuma was walking behind them and stopped in front of Iruka. He just stared at him. Iruka breathed hard.

"You don't even have to ask. But you owe me a pack of smokes for it."

"Ah, thanks Iruka. I'll go clock out." Asuma started to jog backwards. He pulled his pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and threw it to Iruka.

"I meant a whole pack!" Asuma laughed and jogged to the main office. Iruka leaned back on his hands and cracked his back.

"Ugh I'm such a nice guy." I laughed. A few moments later Asuma returned and patted Iruka's back as he was jogged by.

"Thanks again!"

"Yeah, yeah, must be nice leaving almost 3 hours early." After Asuma left the steel doors closed.

"So it's just me and you until knucklehead arrives. Morning shift usually serves dinners around 6:00pm. And it's about 4:30 now so feel free to nap in my office if you'd like. I know that's why I'm going to do." Iruka yawned and started to walk forward.

"Do you mind if I start early?" He waved his hand back at me, shortly after I heard his office door close. I looked to my right to see Kiba siting on his bed. He was cupping his nose and mouth with his hands. His eyes were watering.

*Must be because of Sasuke.* I could only imagine with his keen sense of smell that the scent must be unbearable. I shuddered at the thought of the smell of burnt flesh. I started to walk towards the kitchen to prepare the meals. I forced myself to walk passed his hallway. I had to force my eyes shut so I wouldn't allow myself to look. But I didn't even have to think about if I was going to go down there or not. My subconscious already had that planned for me. When I made it to the kitchen I grabbed a steel rack with wheels. This allowed me to stack up to 20 meals at a time. I thought back to when I first came into this sector, Iruka said it could house 100 people.

*Sheesh, I'm glad I only have 10 to prepare meals for! But that's my question…why only 10? Must be because of the severity of this age group. I assume only a mere handful in the world are this messed up. I also assume that only a mere handful could possess such special gifts.* I thought back to when Hinata started to tell me about her Byakugan. I knew those entrancing empty eyes had more behind them.

*Maybe she'll remember more about it today.* Then I thought back to Kiba mentioning how he could talk to his dog. Images of that little white dog sitting on his head from my dream flash to my attention.

*Wait…was that his dog…?* I shook my head back and forth and shrugged it off.

*I'll ask him what it looked like later.* I reached into the fridge and grabbed the sandwiches morning shift pre-made for dinners. Then I grabbed 2 large pots; one was full of gravy and the other was mashed potatoes. It actually looked appetizing. I placed a sandwich and a generous scoop of mashed potatoes onto each tray and poured gravy over everything. We had a large microwave which allowed me to heat up 2 trays at a time. Once I was all done I loaded them onto the cart and left the kitchen. I walked down the hallway to Kiba's room since his was #1. I used my remote to open the door. Kiba was sitting on his bed with his back facing me. He sniffed the air.

"Sakura?" He quickly turned around in surprise. He looked happy to see me.

"What are you doing here?"

"Hey Kiba. Asuma called me and asked if I could come in early." I handed him his tray of food and a plastic fork. Normally the hospital does not allow use of any utensils with the patients, because even a plastic fork could be lethal. But with meals like this it was allowed occasionally.

"OH I LOVE HOT BEEF! We never get this stuff!" He began scarfing down his food without even using the plastic fork I provided. I could almost see his non-existent tail wagging in joy. In a matter of seconds the tray was completely licked clean and he handed it back to me. I gave Kiba a strange look and took the tray away slowly in a comical matter.

"Oh, by the way Kiba, I had a dream last night." Kiba turned his head like a dog would if someone were to make a peculiar noise.

"Now this may be far-fetched but I think I dreamt about Akamaru last night! Was he white?" Kiba just stared at me, a long silence went by.

"…who?" The silence was finally broken.

"A-ka-mar-u…your dog. Remember…? The dog you told me your mother gave to you when you were little." Kiba continued to stare.

"Seriously!? You don't remember talking about that yesterday?" Kiba shook his head 'no'. I just breathed hard.

"N-Never mind. Forget I asked…" Disappointment was in my voice. I couldn't wait to share that news with him. I thought maybe it would cheer him up; but more importantly, to determine if my dream was accurate. I wheeled the tray of meals out and closed Kiba's room. I grabbed the clipboard and recorded the meal times and what he ate. Then I started to walk towards Hinata's room.

*How could he of just forgotten like that?* my mind wouldn't let me think of anything else. I made it to Hinata's room. When I opened the door she turned around and smiled.

"Hi Sakura."

"Not surprised to see me? I'm early! And feeding you dinner… that's morning shift's job." Hinata looked down sadly.

"Oh I…I never know what time it is anymore." I knew what she meant by that. Patients here couldn't possess even a small wrist watch.

"So what was up with yesterday when I asked you about your Byakugan?" I said this while handing Hinata her tray. She picked at the food with her fork for a while, and then began to eat it in very small portions.

"Yeah, what was up with that?" Hinata put down her fork and looked up at me.

"Why do you ask me about this 'Byakugan'?"

"Well I wanted to know more about it! You started to tell me about it yesterday but then we got cut off."

"I…I did?"

"Well yeah! And when I brought it back up to you moments later you acted like I had 2 heads!"

"Because I just don't know what you're talking about." My heart skipped a beat, my pupils constricted. Hinata just shrugged her shoulders and looked down at her tray to break the stare. I could sense she felt very awkward…like I was the crazy one for asking about something she didn't know about, twice.

"O-Oh…sorry. I'll be back for the tray soon." I quickly wheeled the meals out into the hallway and shut her room.

*What I feared the most came true. Something isn't right here.* for the moment I blew it off. I had to finish serving these meals without being distracted by the thought. Next on my clipboard was "Ino Yamanaka". When I made it to her room my heart skipped I beat. She was peacefully sleeping, but she was the girl that Iruka had to inject. She was the one who did that to the entrance's steel doors. Her fingers were still wrapped in bandages. I opened her room and quietly stepped inside. I put my hand on her shoulder and shook her gently. She opened up her stunning light blue eyes and blinked at me twice. I could tell by the look on her face she was questioning who I was. Slowly she sat up and stretched her arms. Her long blond hair wrapped around her body.

"Ah, who are you?" I was startled by the strength in her voice; nothing like Hinata's.

"Hi Ino, my name is Sakura. I am the new nurse." She stood up and took the tray and fork out of my hand. I could sense a strong confident woman was standing before me. She smirked at me.

"Well good, that annoying Naruto HAD to go. Sheesh!" She turned around to sit on her bed hitting my face with her hair.

"Naruto isn't gone, I am just a second hire to help with the night shift." Ino ignored me and ate her meal. A silence went by as I watched her eat. She seemed to have a permanently irritated look on her face.

"So…Ino…"

"What!?" She had a mouth full of food. I gave her an angry look and she returned it right back.

"Why the crazy escape attempts? I saw the blood…your blood you left on the entrance doors. I saw the dents too. Why…?" Ino slammed her fist on her tray and stood up. The remainder of her meal fell onto the floor.

"BECAUSE THIS PLACE IS FUCKED UP…it's not what you think it is Sakura…it's…it's…AH." Ino grabbed her head. Long pieces of her hair were laced through her bandaged fingers. Her entire body was shaking. An evil look fell upon her face.

"No…not this time. I won't lose…control!" She was still holding her head in pain. It seemed as if she were internally fighting something. The way her body was trembling had me in awe. The change in the tone of her voice, it sounded so determined. One of her hands redirected to the back of her head.

"Ino! Do you have a headache!?" She looked up at me as if I were stupid at first. Then she really looked at me and realized that I've seen this before.

"Exactly…" she said. Then with all her strength she lifted her hands. Her fingers formed into the shape of a circle. Her eyes were focused on the badge hanging from my neck.

"You…you're my ticket out of here. NINJA ART…MIND TRANSFER JU-" In a matter of seconds I felt someone run past me. Before I could even react I see Iruka standing behind Ino. He pulled her hands down behind her back with one hand. With the other he injected a needle into her neck. She collapsed to the floor.

"Iruka!" He walked over to me and flicked my forehead.

"Is that you in there Sakura?" I angrily grabbed my forehead.

"OF COURSE IT'S ME! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?"

"Oh good I wasn't too late." Iruka said this comically in relief.

"Too late for what?" I closed my eyes and remembered her words. I inhaled in realization.

"You mean…?"

"That's a hell of a gift isn't it?" Iruka put his hand on my back and walked me out of Ino's room. Iruka used his remote to close it.

"AH, I GOT THE MESSAGES. SORRY I'M LATE!" Startled from the unexpected arrival of Naruto I threw my hand behind me and accidently hit him in the face. Naruto comically fell onto his back. The middle of his face was caved in with a large red mark on it.

"DON'T SNEAK UP ON ME LIKE THAT YOU IDIOT!" Naruto rolled back then jumped onto his feet with ease. He rested one of his hands on my shoulder and the other on his knee as he tried to catch his breath.

"S-Sorry Sakura…did you have to come in because of me?" Iruka stepped forward and crossed his arms.

"Yes, the newbie did."

"Ah man, I'm so sorry. I woke up around 5:00pm to take a leak and when I came back I seen that I had 3 messages. Where's Asuma?"

"I let him leave early." Naruto stopped leaning on me and stood up normally. He looked at Iruka with a confused face.

"Did he tell you what happened?"

"Something about Sasuke…? He just told me I needed to come in early to help out."

"Yeah he messed himself up bad this time Naruto." Naruto looked away from Iruka down at the floor. He seemed upset.

"Well how is this going to work now?" Iruka and Naruto both looked over at me.

"I mean, I understand the medical care of such severe burns. But who do you want to do this, me or Naruto?"

*Please say me, please say me.*

"Uh…" Iruka rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, not to toot my own horn, but I have a knack with this stuff. I'd be glad to take on the duty. The art of healing and after care is my specialty." Iruka looked over at Naruto. They both shrugged their shoulders and looked back at me.

"Great. So I am assuming the nurses from earlier have already started him on intravenous fluids. Occlusive bandage changes combined with antibacterial agents should be reapplied as often as every 8 hours to prevent bacterial growth."

"Right on the money sweetheart. Not to mention the fun part…removal of the necrotic tissues should be done within 24-48 hours after the burn occurred. The first portion will be done surgically by a doctor, probably tomorrow morning. After that, it's up to the nurses to keep at it." Naruto stood there rubbing the back of his head in confusion.

"Okay, what?"

"Naruto its fine, Sakura knows what she is doing. Let her handle the bandage changes and dead skin removal during your shift." Naruto sighed comically in relief. He looked at us as if we were speaking another language.

"I just wish we could transfer him to another hospital with an ICU for this.

"Sakura, this entire hospital IS an intensive care unit. We've got the best staff around, don't worry. Nurses from other units with more experience will do most of the critical care. Your job is to handle the bandage changes and skin removal at night." I nodded my head in determination. I looked over at Naruto and seen him staring at my cart with the meals on it.

"Whoa did you start dinners already Sakura?"

"Yeah Iruka said it was fine…had a little fun with the one behind me though." Naruto leaned to his right and looked over my shoulder to see a collapsed Ino on the floor.

"Sheesh she needed to be injected again?" Iruka nodded his head in annoyance.

"Yep. Hey Sakura, how's about you let Naruto finish serving the rest?"

"Uh yeah, sure, no problem." Iruka could hear in my voice that this was not what I really wanted. Of course I was disappointed that I couldn't meet anymore of the patients. But what almost happened with Ino was too close. I knew arguing back with him would be inappropriate on my part. Iruka patted my head as if I were a disappointed child and turned to walk towards his office. I opened up Ino's room and went in there and placed her on the bed. Then I began to clean up her unfinished meal on the floor. I heard Naruto wheel the food cart to the next patient's room. Images of Sasuke from my dream flashed to my attention. I quickly looked down at my watch. It wasn't working as usual when I am here. Why did I even look at it? Second nature.

"Hey Naruto! What time did you get here!?" I heard him stop fiddling with the food tray.

"What!?"

"Do you remember what time it was when you got here!?"

"Uh I don't know, almost 6:00pm!?"

"Ok, thanks!"

*That means I should be changing Sasuke's bandages in about five hours.* I swallowed my spit and my heart began beat rapidly. I knew the next five hours until then would be like torture.