Hello! Another update! Enjoy guys :D
Disclaimer. Naruto is not mine.
CHAPTER 2
A groan escaped her lips as she dropped her head on the table with a loud 'thud', inwardly cursing because the notebook wasn't close enough to cushion the fall. She gently rubbed her head and sighed, 'I need a breather...and maybe some coffee.' she stumbled from her seat to grab her purse and cardigan on the side. School days are getting a bit stressful, there's practically a unit test every other day, the whole week. To add more spice, their preliminary exams will be on the next. She groaned again, making her way out of the cozy apartment.
It was a Sunday she realized, noticing that it's awfully quiet outside; probably because the people are attending mass and whatnot. She pulled her cardigan closer to her body and walked quietly while listening to her iPod. 'I might as well enjoy this little break while I'm at it.' she meekly nodded and smiled. Just when she strides near her favorite coffee shop across the street, a kid rudely ran past her and ran to the other side. Her eyes widen and when she saw the traffic light turn green.
Everything happened in a flash. Tires screeching and a loud crash afterwards; there were people shouting and calling for help. "Call 9-1-1!" she jerked up after hearing the scream. Sakura looked at the scene in front of her, a small boy lying on the ground and a car at the side walk with the hood smoking as it crashed on a lamp post. She gasped when they were about to lift the boy.
Sakura saw a man hurrying towards the boy and feared that he'll lift the boy up. "Stop, don't move him!" The said man recoiled his hand and turned to face her, his face clearly shocked and then suddenly furious. "Are you crazy!? He needs to go to the hospital right now!" he argued. Sakura quickly approached them and crouched down to check the boy, "We don't know if he has a fracture so it'll be risky to move him. Please call an ambulance, hurry!" Holding his tiny wrist, she checked for his pulse, 'It's faint, but it's there.' She leaned her ear to his face and was relieved to feel that he's breathing. It would be dangerous if he isn't, and CPR won't be a nice thing to do, especially if you're not sure whether he broke a rib or not. She shook her cardigan off to cover the boy's body and checked his head to see trails of blood gushing out from a wound. She used her handkerchief and pressed on it, stopping the blood. 'His neck is a bit bent in an awkward position; thank goodness this man didn't move him.'
"But he needs to be brought to the hospital fast!" Sakura clicked her tongue; this man is starting to irritate her. "I know what I'm doing, I'm a nurse. Someone, please call an ambulance now!" she shouted.
"We already called the hospital, miss. They said that an ambulance is on its way."
"Help is on its way, kid. Don't worry." She sighed and looked down at the kid, her brows furrowing as she saw the scrapes and scratches on his tiny face. This wasn't part of her plan; she just wanted to enjoy a cup of coffee. Although part of her gave herself a pat on the back for trying to save a child, even though she's yet to get her MD. 'Pssh, right. After 5 more years, maybe.'she scoffed, her thoughts ruining the mood. "Does anyone saw if he had someone with him?His parent or guardian." she suddenly asked the crowd. The people shook their heads; no one was accompanying the kid? She was bewildered.
"The ambulance! They're here!"
True enough, the sound of sirens is getting louder every second and stopped beside them. The medics quickly took action and checked the kid before carefully lifting him to the stretcher. Sakura was talking to one of them, giving a detailed status of the child.
The medic nodded, "Is there someone with the child?" Sakura shook her head, "No, but I'd like to see how this'll progress, if that's alright..."
"Of course doctor, this way. We better hurry back to the ER."
"Ah—err, I…" she was surprised when the medic called her 'doctor', it sounded so nice to her but she quickly dismissed the thought when the sirens started to ring again.
There were three broken ribs, a dislocated arm, mild neck injury and concussion, and a broken clavicle. She was very much relieved that she did not attempt to do CPR as it might have punctured his lung in the process. The doctors said that he would need to be confined, as there might be other complications they need to look at, and he needs to recuperate.
"By any chance, do you know any of his relatives?" the doctor asked. Sakura shook her head, "No but they'd probably realize that their son is missing." She looked at the boy, her eyes softening. The boy wasn't supervised, is he homeless, perhaps? She checked the time and realized that it's getting late, she sighed. She won't be able to fully study for her exams now.
'Oh well, at least I was able to save a life, right?'
Stupid, it wasn't really you who saved the kid but the doctors.
She shook her head, still thinking that she did, in a way, took part on this crazy incident. It has already been an hour since the doctor left. She was sitting beside the bed and staring at the child. "Where are your parents? Are you an orphan?" she whispered as she gently strokes the kid's hair. 'Now when did I just get this motherly side?' she sighed.
The door opened, revealing two persons. Sakura eyed them for a while, then realizing that they must be the child's parents, seeing that the father has orange hair, just like the boy's. The mother looked devastated, her eyes puffy and swollen, she must have cried hard. The mother gently approached the other side of the bed, a trembling hand reaching towards the boy. She breathed out slowly and kissed the boy's head.
"Are you the person who saved our son?" Sakura turned her head towards the man whom she thought was the father of the boy. She shook her head, "Not really, the doctors saved him. I only did a preliminary check before he was taken to the hospital."
"I still want to thank you, miss. Thank you for watching over him."
Sakura believed that the father was very sincere but it's still bugging her why they weren't there to watch over the kid. "I... I'd like to know why he wasn't supervised. The kid practically ran to the street without a care in the world." she said. The man did not say a thing for a minute and Sakura was surprised on his sudden reply. "We do owe you so I think it'll be fine to tell. We...had an argument about him not being able to see us because of our work.
He was always left at home, along with his babysitter. It was only a while after the maid realized that our child ran away and called us. We immediately left work to search for him, my wife even called some of our friends to help. It was when I drove across the street that we saw some cops and people around the area. I had this gut feeling so I asked, and I was right. And here we are..." he finished.
"If it weren't for you, our child might have been taken away forever." Sakura turned to look at the woman on the other side of the bed. "It's all right, really. I'm already happy that you were able to find him." Sakura replied and smiled gently.
"My name is Konan, and he's my husband, Pein Nagato. May I know your name? I'd like to know Nao's savior, if it's all right." Konan said, offering her hand with a sad smile from her lips. "Sakura. Haruno Sakura." she replied and shook hands with her. "Sakura...how can we ever thank you, Sakura?" Konan asked.
"Oh, it's all right, Konan. Just take care of him and I hope that you get to talk about what's bothering him. I think it's clear that he misses your attention." Sakura smiled and stood up. "Well, I guess I better get going... It's getting a bit late."
"Please, allow me to drive you home." Pein stood beside her, Sakura only shook her head. "It would be best the both of you are present when he wakes up. Be gentle of him and do your best." she grinned at them and gave a 'peace' sign before leaving the room.
She dumbly looked at her scantron sheet, a bright 75% encircled at the center. Some would say that it's not such a bad grade but to anyone whose taking up medicine, it actually is. The passing rate is always 75%. Although she passed, it's not a good grade for a scholar like her. She sighed and raked her hair, 'Better do good next time then.'
It's not her fault that she got caught on some random accident and wasn't able to study well. She stood up and gathered her things, heading home. She paused and smiled, 'Well I guess a visit wouldn't hurt. I better stop at Ino's shop first and buy some flowers.'
After a few minutes, she arrived at Ino's flowershop. "Hey, billboard! Fancy seeing you here." Ino chirped and leaned on the counter. "Hello, pig. I'm actually here to buy some flowers. Shocker." Sakura raised her hands, as if surprised. Ino only laughed and left her stand to approach her friend. "Are you planning to court someone?" she teased. Sakura poked Ino's side, "You're mean. I know I'm single, but I'm not that desperate." she stuck her tongue out, making Ino laugh some more. "Well, care telling me who's it for?"
"I'm visiting someone at the hospital and I at least wanted to give some flowers."
Ino's eyes widened, "Oh my, did something happen? Who was sent to the hospital-" Sakura held her hand, stopping the blonde. "No one from the family is hurt, don't worry. You see, yesterday, there was an accident." Sakura told the whole story while Ino patiently listened. Ino was proud of her friend that she got to save someone with the knowledge she learned from school. "Seems like someone's very serious here, eh doc?" she grinned and playfully slapped Sakura's arm.
"Whatever, pig. I'm just glad that it turned out well."
"Anyways, enough talking. Let's get this little boy some pretty flowers. And since my friend doctor here has done a very good deed, it'll be for free."
Sakura entered the hospital with pink and white lilies on hand. She approached the receptionist and was told that the boy was transferred to a private room. She smiled, realizing that his parents are taking care of him. Sakura decided that she'll take the elevator and pressed the button, waiting for it to descend. The elevator opened and a rush of loud men exited, she quickly side-stepped to avoid them. "What the hell are they getting loud for?" she frowned, staring at them, a bit pissed that her flowers were almost crushed if she hadn't reacted quickly.
"Let's get some chocolate ice cream for him, yeah."
"Didn't you clean your ears, fucker? He clearly said strawberry."
"But chocolate is better."
"I don't wanna hear that from you. Now quit bitching. Jashin knows why he made me pair with a fuckin' fag."
"Hey! Quit it, both of you. It's getting annoying."
"Why the hell are you here with us, yeah?"
"Who'd you expect to pay, you? On the second thought, that is a very good proposition. I'm leaving then."
"Oy! I never said I'll pay, damn it! Come back here, yeah!"
The voice turned down as they exited the hospital. She jerked up as she heard the elevator closed. "Just great." she huffed and pressed the button again. A few minutes, the doors opened and she quickly entered.
Upon reaching the room, she quietly knocked and opened the door. The boy was sleeping and there was no one inside. She frowned. Where are Konan and Pein? She looked around and noticed that there were recently cleaned plates behind the sink. 'Oh, they must have gone somewhere...' she mused. She saw an empty vase at the window, happy that there was one she could use. She went to grab the vase when she heard a rush of water from the bathroom. 'Oh, someone is here?' Sakura held the vase and was about to knock when it suddenly opened.
Sakura blinked and stared at the person who was inside the bathroom. She gaped and almost dropped the vase, but the person quickly caught it before it fell to the ground. "Aren't you...?" she started. The person gave a small frown, waiting for her to continue, realizing that she wasn't about to. "Miss? You're blocking the way." Sakura quickly stumbled and gave way, allowing the person to move towards the chair. "I'm sorry..." she stuttered.
"...and you are?"
"O-oh! Right... I'm sorry. You might not recognize me, but your brother and I are friends-" she immediately cut herself off. 'Damn, what?' The last thing she could ever think of doing was to reminisce a very bad memory. "My brother, you and my brother are friends?" the person asked, as if amused. "W-well not really...more like acquaintances. Yeah, that's right." she corrected herself, pleased for the right choice of words. "Uchiha Itachi, yes? You're Sasuke's brother. I saw you before. Like, years ago."
"I must have left quite an impression as you could still remember me. Years ago."
She awkwardly looked away, "Err, I was his ex. High school. I'm Haruno Sakura."
The man's brows shot up. "Oh, what a small world. So you were the one who saved him." Itachi pointed at the sleep Nao. Sakura remembered the flowers on her arms, "Ah, I only came to visit Nao. I brought some flowers for him." Itachi nodded, handing her the vase. Sakura placed the flowers and walked towards the sink to get some water. It was awfully quiet. "Um, so...did Nao wake up?" she asked.
"Yes, he just woke moments ago."
"His parents?"
"Work."
Sakura is tempted to ask why he's here. She remembered that he's working as well, but only bit her tongue since she realized that Itachi didn't want to talk that much.
Oh well. She still asked anyway.
"I'm on my break." Oh, so that's why. She didn't push any further. Placing the vase filled with flowers on the table, she gently sat beside Nao and gently combed his hair, feeling Itachi's eyes boring holes on her back.
"Anyway, I have to go. It's too bad that I wasn't able to seen him awake. Did the doctor say when he'll be discharged?" she asked. "Three days." he replied then taking the newspaper from the table. "Oh, I guess I'll try my luck tomorrow then." she chirped and stood up. "It's nice to see you again, Itachi-san." she waved and went for the door. She twisted the knob but saw it moving on its own and the door opened, taking her along as she forgot to let go. Sakura yelped and stumbled forward, and was securely held by a person's arms. She blinked and looked up, harlequin orbs meeting honey.
"I don't know what's happening but, it seems we always bump on each other at unexpected occasions." red brows quirked up.
"Sa-Sasori..?"
Yeay! Chapter 2 done! I was having troubles since we have a lot of exams coming and I wanted to update but oh well. It's done! Questions are entertained.
Have a nice day everyone!