Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Story rating: M for themes

Summary: After Sasuke wakes up from a year in coma.

Awake (3)

Empty

Sasuke's hospital room changed during these few days. Now it was white, sterile and pristine, all remains of his turmoil removed from it by the attentive, ghost-like nurses. The surface of his bedside table wasn't taken up anymore by the stacks of magazines (Sakura gave them to him) and the shattered vase was never replaced (for there was no one who would bring him fresh flowers, so what was the point?). It was much quieter (without Sakura's chatter), the new medic assigned to him always leaving as soon as possible when they were done with the rehab for a day, and he often found himself sitting in a morose silence, just thinking about (her betrayal) nothing in particular.

Sasuke got what he wished for and it was painfully, unbearably empty.

And yet, her gentle presence still lingered. Sometimes, when he woke up, he could sense a faint trace of her – a warmth that hadn't been there earlier. Sometimes, he caught a waft carrying an undercurrent of her comforting scent and, acting on instinct, he would breathe it in deeply, as if to make it stay with him, within him, for longer than just few seconds.

His thoughts obsessively circled around one topic and, surprisingly, it wasn't the impending trial – he could care less and if the elders had aimed to make him sweat about it, they failed – no, it was this new betrayal, this breach of trust that hit him where it hurt the most. How could she? He felt violated and bitter, his faith in the ever-lasting team bond he might have still shared with her ripped into ribbons. He couldn't stop imagining how it – this sample taking – had happened. What expression did she wear on her face? Was it coolly disinterested? Maybe slightly disgusted? With her task or with him?

Sasuke groaned and rubbed his temple. Thinking about it was of no use. He didn't even know what the actual medical procedure looked like and there was no way he would ask his medic or any of the nurses. Therefore, he should just forget about this. Too bad there were no distractions to help with that...

A beat after the thought crossed his mind, the door burst open and an orange blur streaked to his bedside with a joyous yell of "Sasuke!" and in an instant the bewildered Uchiha found himself in a bone-crushing hug.

"You stupid teme, you really woke up! You're awake!" the enthusiastic scream right next to Sasuke's ear made it ring. He winced, unused to the noise.

"Dobe, get off me," he gritted out, annoyed but secretly happy to see his knuckleheaded friend. Naruto was nothing if not dependable...

"Don't be so stingy," the blond griped, letting him go and taking a seat on the visitor's chair. Sasuke looked away and pretended not to see the blond wiping tears from his cheek.

"Kakashi," the Uchiha greeted, spotting the masked man in the doorway, along with the replacement guy whose name he couldn't remember. Sensei didn't change at all, though the lack of a book in his hand let Sasuke know just how much this moment of reunion meant to the man.

"Good to see you up, Sasuke," Kakashi gave his trademark eye-smile. The other guy smiled politely, but didn't speak.

"Hey, Sasuke, you remember Sai? He's our teammate," Naruto made a hasty introduction. Sasuke nodded in acknowledgment, disregarding any pleasantries. He understood the necessity of the addition to the team, but it didn't mean that he liked it.

"So," Naruto began cheerfully, "when do you get out of bed? You still owe me a fight."

"You want so much to lose, dobe?" Sasuke replied cockily.

"Ha! There's no chance I'd lose to you, teme. I can take you any time," a familiar spark of a competitiveness appeared in Naruto's eyes.

"If Sakura hears you're fighting in the hospital, she'll be displeased," Sai reminded the blond, who shuddered in terror.

"Oh, right! Where's Sakura-chan? You didn't put her off with your bastardness, teme, right?"

Sasuke almost imperceptibly tensed at the mention of the medic. "She's around," he responded carefully with a shrug.

"I bet you love being her patient! Having Sakura-chan tend to your every need must be pure heaven!" Naruto stated enviously.

Sasuke didn't agree or deny, just looked to the side in a seeming disinterest. He didn't want to discuss this topic.

"Your trial will be soon. What are you going to do, Sasuke?" Kakashi mercifully brought up a more pressing subject.

Although it didn't mean it was a source of any concern to the Uchiha.

"Nothing. There's no point," Sasuke replied indifferently.

"What do you mean 'nothing'? Are you crazy?" Naruto exclaimed, clearly upset with Sasuke's nonchalant dismissal of the issue. "You should plead your case! Do you want to be stuck in a prison for life?!"

The heated outburst was met with a stubborn silence.

"Hey, teme, I'm talking to you."

"I think you should let him be, Naruto," Sai advised. "If he wants to do nothing, it's his choice."

"But, but! Sasuke! What is wrong with you?! Does Sakura-chan know about this?"

Sasuke didn't plan on answering but his lips moved on their own.

"It's none of her business," he stated unexpectedly harshly.

Naruto opened his mouth to start another rant, but Sai spoke first.

"I think I have an 'I told you so' moment. I told Sakura she's wasting her time caring for such an ungrateful man. Instead of heeding my words, she stayed by your side, bypassed a chance to become a jonin and stopped going on missions with us. Even as a vegetable, you were just more trouble than you're worth. I don't understand why did she bother."

Sasuke stared at his replacement, shocked at what these vehement words conveyed.

"You're lying," he accused. It had to be a lie. Sakura who didn't care, wouldn't give up so much for him, so it had to be a lie.

"Actually, Sai's telling the truth," Kakashi said. "Sakura made some great personal sacrifices to stay here and take care of you. She specifically requested a full-time job at the hospital as your personal medic. I think that from all of us, you were the person she saw the most this year."

Sasuke couldn't find words. And then Naruto demolished his flawed assumptions completely.

"Yeah, it was the only place we could ever see her! All this time, she believed that you would wake up and she didn't want to miss it! She cares so much about you, so don't you ever say what happens to you is none of her business!"

Sakura... asked to be his medic?

She... didn't want to leave his side?

She... always believed he would wake up?

Sasuke's head was swimming in doubts and questions. His team wouldn't lie to him, so... Sakura must have still cared for him as a teammate. But...

"Her behaviour around me contradicts it all."

"How so?" Kakashi questioned wryly.

"Seriously, how can you say that? It's Sakura-chan, of course she cares," Naruto added, giving him an odd look.

"Not like she used to." With this confession, Sasuke felt uncomfortable all of a sudden.

The three teammates looked at him disbelievingly.

"You should have your eyes checked," Sai suggested brightly. "I heard Sharingan may cause an incurable blindness." He held out a hand before Sasuke's face. "How many fingers do you see?"

Sasuke scowled and turned away, insulted.

Naruto laughed boisterously.

Whether he liked it or not, the team's visit gave Sasuke something to think about. Was he wrong in his conclusions? Was his doubt in Sakura's loyalty unfounded? In the end, it was a matter of choosing whose words he should trust more – words of the decrepit, old fossils or of his team and there was really no competition between these two options.

Sasuke found himself frustrated, though mostly with himself. What if he had made a mistake he would never be able to undo? But, what if he was right and Sakura had really betrayed him? Naruto said that he hadn't seen her a lot this year, so there was no guarantee she hadn't changed.

One thing was certain – Sasuke needed to learn the truth.

It was a middle of the night and this part of the hospital – the labs – was devoid of life, the workers long finished for the day. Sasuke hobbled unsteadily on his crutches, still getting used to them but nonetheless thankful he had them in his room in preparation for walking lessons tomorrow. If someone caught him he could say he wanted an early start.

Turning the corner and leaning against the wall for a short respite, the Uchiha eyed the inconspicuous, numbered white door. There was no nameplate saying what was behind it, but he knew it was definitely his destination, the information coming from an unsuspecting nurse he had tricked with the Sharingan.

Sasuke walked up to the door and unlocked it (the key also the courtesy of the nurse). Cautiously, he slipped inside, scanning for traps with his Sharingan and detecting none, quickly deactivated the bloodline limit. Even after such a short use he felt a significant drain on his pitiful reserves.

He slid the door closed and switched on the lights, which blinded him for a moment. The room was big and spacious, without any windows, rows of fridges gleaming metallically in the artificial light. The records were situated to the right against the wall and he headed for them immediately. Looking through the drawers, it didn't take a genius to figure out that the files were organized in an alphabetical order by patient's name. Sasuke skimmed to the 'U' section. His family name was right at the beginning. Surprisingly, given the secrecy of the Uchiha clan, there was an abundance of samples taken from them, mostly blood, though he saw also mentions of a lung or liver tissue. To his relief, there was absolutely nothing about the eyes.

Finally, Sasuke reached the file with his name, opened it gingerly and started reading. The oldest sample they had was his blood – even from before he had left the village. The rest had been all taken during the past year. He was nonplussed to learn that from all the Uchiha clansmen, he was the provider of a most diverse collection of tissues – skin, muscle, internal organs, bone. What all of this was needed for – he had no clue. As if to confirm his previous suspicions, the medic listed as the one who had taken all of these was Sakura.

The most recent entry was the one he was looking for – the semen sample. The date of extraction – six months ago. And the name of the medic...

Michikata. Not Haruno.

Sasuke looked at the paper intently, the tension leaving him, replaced by some other, uncomfortably heavy emotion. He had an irrefutable proof of Sakura's innocence but it didn't ease his mind, instead bringing him a different kind of dark, brooding thoughts. He remembered his harsh words to her, how he had thrown her out when she had only wanted to help him, and he felt disgusted with himself. How could he have ever doubted her? Why did he always have to hurt those who cared about him? Didn't he learn anything after Itachi?

Sasuke stuffed the file back in its place and shut the drawer with a little more force than it was necessary. Then he went along the rows to locate the fridge containing the pieces of his flesh.

The more apt name would be a refrigerator than a fridge, as he found out when he opened it, the arctic temperature inside making him shiver. However, he ignored the minor discomfort and surveyed the containers labeled with his name.

The semen sample was at the very back of the shelf. Sasuke grasped the small jar through his sleeve to avoid frostbite and took it out...

It was empty.

To be continued...