Love and the Time Travel Paradox

02:32PM

It is hard to explain what a person feels when they meet their former flame.

The things you could have done. The words you never got to say. The mistakes you wish you could take back. The life you built together. The lost time.

And the memories of a bond so strong that you believed that it could never end.

Everything that mattered comes together within you in a single microsecond, and it's all because you laid your eyes on this person once more.

It is the same old story for those who have loved and lost. All those foolish people.

She was one of those foolish people.

Everything, from his hair, to his mask, to his body... it was because she knew him so intimately and vice versa that she was thrown completely off guard. They never met each other these days unless they planned it beforehand. It didn't always work out, because they lived in the same apartment building so coincidental meetings were unavoidable. But it was easier that way for the both of them.

Appearing out of the blue like this had reminded her that she was still recovering in more ways than one.

It was only the feel of strong arms around her waist that kept her somewhat grounded.

02:35PM

The man gave her a little wave and an eye-smile.

"Yo."

And yet despite the familiar blunt and casual greeting, there was something not quite right about this picture.

His posture was... off. He was a man who was always in total control of himself.

She felt her heart catch in her throat against her will when, for the second time today, the reek of fresh blood assaulted her senses. Her mind easily caught up to the situation and noticed how difficult it was for him to stay upright. The last bit of awkwardness she felt vanished in an instant. Without thinking, she blurted out the obvious.

"You're wounded?!"

He looked down at himself and shrugged.

"Ah... yes."

In all their years together, she'd learned to see underneath the underneath and gauge the extent of the damage herself, purely out of necessity.

She immediately removed herself from those protective arms and lunged for her ex when he stumbled.

The pink-haired loafer who skipped her hospital shifts suddenly transformed into the hardened battle medic who'd gone toe to toe with the immortal Akatsuki duo.

Her tone was equal parts chastising and concerned.

"You... you fool! How could this happen? When?!"

These wounds raised too many questions. He couldn't have left the village for a mission because it was a part of their divorce agreement to share custody of their son. Whenever he left Konoha for an extended period of time, she would be responsible for taking care of the boy. She didn't hear any village alarms, or receive word of an attack. So why was he in this state?

Still, that could wait until he was out of the immediate danger.

First, how could she carry him up to her condo without worsening his internal injuries? She lived on the sixth floor.

Behind her, her date cleared his throat.

"I can carry him up the stairs with my sand. It will lessen the strain on his wounds."

She whirled around, shocked that she'd momentarily forgot about the younger man she'd been spending the day with. There was an apology on her lips, but he was no longer facing her and bore an expression of deep concentration.

The grains of sand he was controlling seemed to spill out from all sorts of places: from the alleys, from within nearby trashcans, from the open manhole down the street, from the gutters. They came together to morph into a platform.

02:40PM

There was a slight problem. Her belongings had already been packed away into her bags, and she couldn't simply leave her patient unattended for too long. Going to the hospital to pick up the materials she needed was out of the question.

So she was forced to rely on the redhead for help again. It did not help her conscience when he complied to her request without hesitation, though.

"I'm... I'm really sorry about all this. And I'm grateful that you're here to help."

"It's not a problem. I'm happy to help."

She did not ask him to root through her bags because she'd organized them in a certain way.

Instead, she had him hold her folded clothes and made him swear that in no uncertain terms would he disturb the specific order of her garments.

She snatched a handful of vaguely silky items away from her line of sight and tossed them on top of the pile in his arms. Her aim was slightly off though. But she didn't notice because she had already found what she needed and was quickly making her way back the guest bedroom where her patient was waiting.

The diplomat stood still and very carefully shook his head so the obstructing piece of silk would slide away from his face.

"Hn."

What was he supposed to do with all these pairs of panties? She'd told him to not move an inch...

02:42PM

It was time to take a look at the extent of injury she was dealing with.

So she reached over and began removing the article of clothing herself, with a bit of aid from the silver-haired man.

The sight of his badly bruised abdomen made her gasp aloud. The purplish-blue skin was incredibly hard to look at directly.

"What, this? I've had worse."

His dismissive act nearly made her smack her forehead with exasperation.

03:35PM

Most emergency surgeries would take hours even with a dedicated team. She was good enough to do it all by herself, within sixty minutes or less.

But even she could get tired, and she had no choice but to flop down on the nearby desk chair.

Her ex had been nothing but cooperative during the procedure, and his lidded, dark gaze held no visible emotions as they looked at each other.

"So, how's it going?"

"I'm good. How are your ribs and lungs feeling?"

"How are they supposed to feel?"

"Hypocrite."

He chuckled.

She smiled.

And for the first time in what seemed like ages, they shared a quiet and peaceful moment together.

03:41PM

"I'm sorry again, for dragging you into this."

After recovering her unmentionables from the exasperated Suna diplomat, she was apologizing to him yet again. Surely he would feel as if he wasn't needed, and would make an excuse to leave immediately. It made her sad, but perhaps it was a good place as any to end their date.

"I will go and buy our dinner."

"Huh?"

His eyes flickered towards the closed door of the the guest bedroom.

"You can't leave him alone yet, can you? I'll make sure to get something for the three of us, and return as soon as possible."

He was just so good to her that she couldn't help but begin another round of apologies on behalf of herself and her unexpected patient.

But this time, he didn't seem ready to accept it. If anything, he seemed tired.

"Last year..."

He mumbled so softly she almost missed his next words.

"Last year, on this day, I never thought I'd become like this. Even now, I still don't quite understand myself. Or anything."

Neither did she. She never would have imagined being able to laugh and joke normally the way she did these past several weeks. She never would have dreamed of being able to go out and spend time under the sunlight like she did today.

"I know my current self is different from what you see in your memories. You might think it's strange, coming from the little boy you once knew. But it's already been years. It's in the past. Yet you still back away from me because of all kinds of reasons."

He held her hand tighter, as if he was anticipating her physical retreat.

"Every time you apologize to me, it feels like you're pushing me away. Earlier today, when you tried to release my arm and again, right now, with your ex-husband in the guest room."

The stark suffering in his expression nearly made her choke.

It's not like that at all, she wanted to say. I'm still so messed up on the inside and I don't want to drag you down with me.

"I try not to impose on your time, and I always consider your feelings, but nothing has changed. I want to be closer to you, and not in the way we were when I was six and you were thirteen. But... I can't figure out how to do that."

03:43PM

"Sakura, please go out with me. With a mind for marriage."

TBC...