Relief flooded over her that she was able to find such a small trauma, as it was the first step in curing it.
But before she could continue, he woke up.
She found his gaze at the ceiling, as he seemed to make sense of his situation. Finally his eyes moved from the ceiling around him, and finally...at her.
"...Sakura...huh...," he rasped, gazing up at her with those dark black eyes. Usually they were cold, spiteful, devious, but now...they simply seemed intense, calculating, intelligent...and determined.
"...You're awake...," she glanced shyly away from his gaze, "It's about time..."
"...How...long...was I out?" he coughed weakly.
"Five days...but that was with my medical jutsu."
"Hn."
Silence.
Sasuke was never talkative with her when they were younger, and now, with such overwhelming distance between them...it seemed impossible. What was there left that they shared? The relationship he held with Naruto was so concrete, so apparent, but theirs...was there much left to it at all?
"...What is it...," he murmured.
"Huh?"
"What's...killing me...?"
"It's not."
He gazed at her questioningly.
"Not killing you...Sasuke I found it. I know what it is. And I think with time, I can cure it." She watched his eyes widen slightly.
"Alveolar collapse due to trauma...," she informed him, "I...I think it's caused by overuse of the Sharingan..."
He nodded.
"It's...what killed my brother."
"I know."
"...You know?"
She nodded.
He tried to sit up but gasped in pain.
"Careful...," she warned him soothingly, grasping his arm as he sat up. Despite being so thin from his illness, his muscles still coiled beneath his beautiful ivory skin. Suddenly, there was a hand clutching her own.
She gazed up in confusion to find his penetrating gaze cut through to her soul.
"How do you know...," he questioned.
"...If I told you...you'd never believe me," she bit her lip.
He leaned back against the wall, pondering her words. His jet black hair hid his eyes from her as he sighed. The light of the fire reflected an orange glow on his skin and she found herself gazing away, to avoid blushing.
She couldn't believe she was sitting here with him. It'd been so long since she'd seen his face, or heard his voice, smelled his masculine scent, been in his presence...
"I don't know how you found me, but...thank you," Sasuke nodded weakly. His words were spoken earnestly, and she knew the implications behind them. That without her, he'd be dead...frozen, bloody, abandoned in the snow and sleet.
She smiled at him, then covered him up with more blankets. "Just get some rest...I want to work on your lungs tomorrow." He gave her a nod.
"I'll be back," she offered him, "I need to restock on some medical supplies, firewood, and food...Can I get you anything...?"
He shook his head, and she disappeared into the morning fog.
...
It hadn't slipped past his attention that when he came to, he noticed how weary Sakura looked. No doubt, if he had been out five days days, she had been relentlessly working on his condition. How else could anyone explain the dark bags under her usually lively emerald eyes, the way she slumped over him so that her pink bangs hid her face, or the fact he could feel her low levels of chakra?
You wouldn't believe me if I told you...her words echoed in his mind. He had his opinion about it, of course, (blabbermouth Kyuubi vessel, as usual causing trouble) but in the end, he supposed it wouldn't change anything. She had found him, against the odds, in the middle of the night and storm that should have taken his life.
And for this he was...thankful.