Date: 6/24/13
Rating: T
Genre: Angst, Drama, Romance
Prompt: Sasuke goes into withdrawal from the drugs he took when he was with Orochimaru

"Hey teme! Sakura-chan's asking you a question!"

Sasuke blinked. "What?"

Naruto smacked his face with his hand and winced, forgetting his hand wasn't fully healed yet. "She's been trying to get your attention for a while now," he said, feeling his pulse in his hand and grimacing. But Sasuke didn't respond, his expression vacant, almost as if he didn't hear him. Naruto grabbed his shoulder with his better hand and shook him. "Hey! I'm talking to you! Seriously, what's up with you today?" He turned to Sakura. "Hey Sakura-chan, I wouldn't get in trouble if I knocked some sense into him, right? I mean, we are in the hospital after all."

She knew Naruto was trying to be funny, but Sakura couldn't even crack a smile. "Sasuke-kun," she said uneasily, "Is—Is everything okay?"

"I'm fine," Sasuke said gruffly, pushing Naruto away from him.

"Are you sure? Because it's not just today," she said, standing up from her chair and reaching out to him, "You've seemed really out of it lately—"

But Sasuke slapped her hand away before she could place it on his forehead, his eyes flashing red. "Well, maybe if you didn't talk so much about things I don't care about then maybe I wouldn't have to pretend I was listening."

Sakura flinched, shrinking back from the hospital bed, the only word she could muster: a pathetic, "Oh."

But Naruto wasn't like Sakura, and he had enough. Grabbing his crutch, he stood up and grabbed Sasuke by the collar. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" he yelled, "Apologize to Sakura-chan right now!"

However, Sasuke remained silent; his vacant stare had returned. Naruto huffed, a dangerous glint in his eye. It looked like Naruto was really going to hit him this time. "No Naruto, stop!" Sakura exclaimed, grabbing onto his fist and gently uncurling his fingers as Naruto reluctantly freed Sasuke from his grasp. "It's fine. I'm just going to go." But before she exited the room, Sakura turned around and bowed her head. "I'm sorry I've been such a bother to you, Sasuke-kun."

For the rest of the day, Sakura could only think about apples. Fresh apples. Sliced apples. Smashed apples. The memory was distant, one she never liked to think about, but just like before, Sakura knew something wasn't right with Sasuke. But it wasn't the same feeling she had when he left the village. This was different. Maybe this time, she thought, it would be better if she just gave him some space for a while.

However, just as she was about to enter her home Sakura realized that in the midst of the drama of that afternoon, she had forgotten her bag in Sasuke's hospital room. She checked the time and huffed; it was getting late. Plus, she didn't want to go. If her bag didn't contain important medical scrolls that Tsunade expected back first thing the next morning, Sakura would have just asked someone else to get it for her later. But she had no choice. She gulped. Hopefully, Sasuke wouldn't be even more upset with her than he already was.

Slowly, Sakura made her way to the hospital. She was anxious, waiting outside Sasuke's door until she finally mustered enough courage to tap on his door lightly, so much so that she almost couldn't hear it. She sighed; she was being childish, and she knew it. Baka. Sakura tried again, knocking louder this time, but there was still no answer. She shrugged. Sasuke must have been asleep.

She opened the door. The lights were still on, but she was right; Sasuke was asleep. But he looked anything but peaceful. He was sweating, his breathing labored, his face contorted in unimaginable pain. Sakura ran to his side, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Sasuke-kun," she said and shook him gently.

But he didn't wake up. Rather, he began thrashing in his sleep, his legs entangling themselves in his blanket as one of his hands grabbed onto her arm. Sakura gasped and tried to pry herself from his painful grip. "Sasuke-kun, wake up!" she exclaimed, losing her balance as she avoided his kicks and shook him more violently. But nothing was working. His grip tightened, threatening to break her arm, forcing Sakura to surge chakra into her arm. "Sasuke-kun!"

Yet, even as she pulled away, Sasuke would not let go until he was pulled along with her arm and off his bed, landing on the floor, the impact finally jolting him awake. He groaned as he brought his hand to his face and sat up. "Sakura?" he asked, sleepiness in his voice, "What are you doing here?"

Sakura was against the wall. "I," she said slowly as she watched Sasuke get up from the floor, "I left my bag. I needed to get it."

"Oh."

"Sasuke-kun, what—what just happened? That wasn't just a nightmare. That was something else. It was like—" she stopped herself, remembering how Sasuke reacted that afternoon to her prying. She shook her head and grabbed her bag. "Never mind. It's none of my business."

"Wait, Sakura," he said before she could run out of the room, "If this is about what happened earlier … I didn't mean it. I'm—" Sasuke rubbed his temples. "I'm sorry."

Although he tried to hide it, his hands were shaking. Sakura bit her lip; she was beginning to understand. "This has happened before, hasn't it?" But he didn't answer. She tried again, her voice with more authority. "When was the last time, Sasuke-kun?"

"It's been a while," he said honestly, "It doesn't happen as frequently anymore."

Sakura nodded; she was sure now. She'd seen it before: the mood swings, the low concentration, and now this parasomnia—all symptoms of withdrawal. He had been battling it alone this whole time. She sighed. Baka.

"Sasuke-kun, you don't have to hide these things from me or Naruto, you know. Even though it's been a while," Sakura said chidingly, placing her bag on the chair and taking off her jacket, "we're still your teammates."

Sasuke raised his brow. "What are you doing?"

She smiled. "Well, someone's got to keep an eye on you. And like I said, we're teammates." Sakura started making her way towards the door. "Let me just get a couple of cots and wake Naruto. I'm sure he'd love to have a Team Seven—"

"Don't."

"Hm?"

He shook his head. "Leave the dobe."