-A/N: Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Nartuo series…unfortunately :..(

Italics like this mean its thoughts in a characters head

Love Conquers All

Sequel of A New Life

Ch. 4 Damage

Sasuke sat numbly on a bench in the hallway hospital; everything was a blur. He had blacked out from a panic attack but it didn't take long after Naruto brought him to the hospital for him to get back in good condition. He had now been sitting on that bench for over a half hour; Sakura was still in surgery and there had been no update on how she was. Sasuke was staring at the ground but all he could see was the vision of Sakura being bloody, broken, and unconscious on the concrete. He'd never seen anybody like that; he never wanted to, especially not Sakura. Sasuke gripped his hands together; she didn't deserve that. Sakura was possibly dying in that operating room even though she'd done nothing to deserve such punishment. She'd done nothing wrong, it shouldn't have been her, it shouldn't have happened. Sasuke's heart quivered as his expression remained weary; he couldn't take it.

Naruto put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder as he sat beside him trying to give comfort but he knew it wasn't working. Hinata was curled up to his other side with a couple stitches on her head looking as withered as Sasuke and trying her hardest not to cry. Naruto tried to give some words of comfort but Sasuke was too trapped in his thoughts to comprehend what he was saying. Everything was just empty noise as Sakura's sweet laughter echoed in his head torturing him further. Sasuke's gaze shifted slightly as he saw a few figures running towards them. His blurred vision made out the sight of his parents and Sakura's father who was in complete panic. Sakura's father panted and immense fear written on his face as he looked at the teens, "Where's my daughter? What happened? Is she going to be okay? Please tell me she's going to be okay!"

Sakura's father looked at Sasuke for explanation but was only met with a defeated, withered expression causing further panic in his heart. Naruto held Hinata tighter who was starting to cry and answered for Sasuke, "She's still in surgery. The massive sign at her work fell and caught her leg…we don't know how she is."

Sakura's father let the despairing news sink in and he fell to his knees and shook his head, "Oh God, please no. Please don't let her die, she can't die. Please don't let her die…she's all I have."

Fugaku kneeled down and smoothly led Mr. Haruno to a chair and tried to give some comfort. Mikoto fought tears from her eyes and kneeled down in front of her youngest son. She cupped Sasuke's withered face in her hands and softly looked into his eyes, "It's going to be okay Sasuke…she's going to be okay."

Sasuke's expression tightened and he softly shook his head, "You…you didn't see her…her blood…there was blood everywhere…and…"

Mikoto quickly pulled Sasuke into her arms as his voice became raspy and she couldn't bear to let him continue. Sasuke weakly wrapped his arms around his mother in a moment of vulnerability and tried to focus on the warmth of her hold. Hinata curled up further into Naruto's chest and started to cry harder; she couldn't bear it. Naruto held her tightly and rubbed his hands on her back trying to fight off his own torn expression and comfort her. Hinata shook her head as her heart grieved, "It…it was suppose to be me…she pushed me…o-out of the way…i-it's all my fault!"

Naruto's eyes widened as she sobbed in his arms and buried herself in guilt. Naruto shifted a little to wipe some of her tears away and make eye contact with her, "Don't you dare say that, you know Sakura-chan would be furious if she heard you. She decided to save you and you know she would never regret it."

Hinata shook her head in misery, "It…it just shouldn't be her, s-she shouldn't be in there…she can't die…what if she dies Naruto-kun? Oh God what if she dies?"

Naruto immediately opened his mouth to comfort her but a doctor walked out of the surgery room quickly grabbing everyone's attention. The doctor looked exhausted but gave them a small smile, "She'll live"

Immense relief washed through everyone making them feel more grateful than they could ever feel. Sakura's father looked up at the doctor with a withered but thankful expression, "How is she?"

The doctor paused a moment, "She's lucky to be alive considering the damage. We're putting her in a comatose state for a couple days because she'd be in too much pain awake to be comfortable no matter the medication. The side of her body she fell on his heavily scrapped and bruised. She lost a lot of blood but whoever tied fabric around her leg is probably what kept her from bleeding to death."

Sasuke's heart lifted slightly knowing he did something to help her. The doctor continued, "Her head was split open and there's cracks in her skull but it's stitched together and there seems to be no serious brain damage but we'll keep watch. She was multiple fractures and broken bones down her side, especially her shoulder, hip, and ribs. The lower leg that is crushed however is our concern…we should be able to repair it enough to look normal with a few surgeries but she may not be able to walk or stand on it again."

There was immediate silence through out the room. The doctor tried to give a comforting look, "It's completely unpredictable though, we won't be able to tell for a couple weeks what the chances are."

Everyone sat quietly feeling immensely relieved she was alive but tortured over how hurt she was and the possibility she wouldn't be able to walk. "I'll pay for whatever it takes to heal and help her."

Everyone turned to find Hinata's father walking towards them with Neji not far behind. Hinata looked up at him in surprise with her skin red and puffy around her eyes, "Father…"

Hinata's father gave a small glance at the stitches on her forehead and looked at Sakura's father, "Your daughter saved my daughter's life and I am eternally in her debt. I will do whatever it takes to help your daughter to a full recovery."

Sakura's father gave a weak smile and gratefully shook his hand, "Thank you…"

Hinata gave a smile in thanks to her father and hearing her father speak importantly of her but paused a moment, "How did you-"

Hinata's father looked at Naruto, "Naruto called me on his way to the hospital…and I thank you for that."

Naruto gave a respectful look back with a small nod, "You're welcome Sir"

Sasuke began to ignore their conversation and looked back at the doctor, "When can I see her?"

Silence broke out again and everyone turned to the doctor; she gave a small smile, "They're moving her to a different room as we speak so about ten minutes but it must only be one at a time…I warn you she's extremely bandaged and weak looking."

Sasuke stood with a still withered but determined look, "I don't care I want to see her."

The doctor's smile grew a little at the obvious love he held for Sakura, "Of course, they're moving her to room 307."

They waited impatiently to go in as Sakura was being settled into the room and her father began going over medical bills with Hinata's father. Once she was ready for visits Sasuke let her father see her first even though it was shaking him to the core to see her alive. He needed to see her not bloody and broken on the ground; he needed to see her fighting for survival like she always did. Her father spent twelve minutes in her room, Sasuke counted, and emerged with a teary but grateful face giving him his turn to go in. Sasuke immediately felt rushed to go inside but hesitated a little after opening the door. He slowly walked in feeling a little fearful of how bad she looked. He clenched his jaw as he listened to the beeping sounds of medical machines and looked up at her, his heart crumbled. She was so covered in casts and bandages he could hardly even see her. Sasuke weakly walked over to the side of her that had less bandages and sat in a chair beside her. He watched her slowly breathe against her air mask and lightly held her hand.

Sasuke scanned over her beaten form. There were bandages wrapped around her head where it had been split open and stitched. Her entire left side was covered in bandages where her body was thrown against the harsh concrete; there was casts on her left arm and ribs where bones had been cracked and broken, but the worst was her left leg. The metal sign that fell on her completely crushed her left leg below the knee; it had been partially restructured and covered with an awkward cast so the damage couldn't be directly seen and healing could start. Sasuke ran his thumb in circles on her hand recalling how the doctor said she might never walk again. Sasuke glanced up at her overly pale face and it looked like the skin around her eyes darkened and sunk in a little; he frowned noticing there was still blood in her long hair. He softly pulled up her uninjured hand and kissed it with a hurt look in his eyes. He clenched his jaw wrapping both his hands around her uninjured one and holding it close to his face, "I'm so sorry…"

Sasuke stared down at her face only getting the beeps of medical machines in return, "This shouldn't have happened to you. I…I promised I wouldn't let anybody hurt you."

Sasuke heart sank at her lack of response even though he knew she couldn't. He took a deep breath, "I know there's nothing I could've done to stop it but I still wish Naruto and I stayed longer so I could've pushed you out of the way."

Sasuke paused a moment recalling how it fell in the direction of the table Naruto and him were sitting at, "Though I suppose you and Hinata might not be near if we were still there…"

Sasuke scooted his chair closer to her and lightly caressed one of his hands against her face, "But I'm glad you're going to be okay…I was so scared…when I saw you like that…I was scared I was going to lose you."

Sasuke's face softened as he stared down at her, "I refuse to lose you; I don't care if I have to follow you to medical school just so I can make sure you're safe…and I don't care what the doctors say you're going to walk again. I know you're too stubborn to give it up and I'll carry you everywhere until you can walk."

Sasuke gave a weak smile, "Once everybody gets their turn to visit I'm not leaving your side. Nobody can keep me from you…"

The recollection of Danzo flickered through Sasuke's mind and a sudden suspicion seeped into his mind. Sasuke's jaw clenched but he relaxed as he looked at Sakura and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. He hesitantly let go of her hand but then hurried out the door and looked straight to his father, "Have the police finished investigating the accident site yet?"

Everyone became mildly tense at the question. Fugaku looked at his youngest son, "Possibly…why?"

Sasuke stared hard at his father, "I need to know if the sign fell on purpose."

Everyone became stiff. Sakura's father started stammering, "Y-you think it was intentional? W-why would someone…h-how would they…why would somebody want to do that?"

Sasuke became tense, "After last year it can't be that hard to fathom one of us could be targeted again."

Fugaku clenched his jaw in hopes no danger was purposefully being put against his son or those important to him, "It's possible…but Danzo has been in jail for a year now."

Sasuke started pacing, "But maybe he's had visitors? Maybe, maybe somebody's angry we put him in jail? I want it to be an accident but I need to know if it's not."

Fugaku paused a moment but then gave a small nod, "Alright, I'll drive you to the station. Mikoto do you mind staying here?"

Mikoto gave a soft smile knowing he knew for her look after Sakura's father, "Of course not, I hope you find nothing to worry about."

Fugaku nodded as he began walking out with Sasuke. Naruto gave a small sigh at the idea their lives were in jeopardy again but pushed it aside and gave a small kiss on Hinata's cheek, "I think it's your turn to go see her."

Hinata weakly looked at him and paused; she bit her lip but nodded. She clenched her hands in her work uniform and she walked towards the door with fear of how grave her best friend looked. Her hands shook as she opened the door and walked in.

_in the city_

Angry screams filled the air as Orochimaru flipped a table and glared down at the redhead, "We had a plan! We had a perfect plan to take down all of them and you ruined it with your stupid jealousy! What the hell were you thinking?"

Karin gave a pleading look, "Orochimaru-sama you must understand! S-she was just all over him and I thought Danzo would want her to have some extra pain. The plan could still work it just needs to be adjusted a little!"

Orochimaru slammed his fist in the wall, "And what if the sign didn't land on her, huh?"

Karin crossed her legs, "Hurting or killing the other one would've worked too. The pink haired freak would've been so distraught over what happened she'd be even easier capture. Besides Danzo wanted revenge on the Hyugga girl too."

Orochimaru gripped his hands through his hair and sighed, "You can't go off making your own plans! You work for me and if I find out you left evidence of being there I will slit your throat for your stupidity!"

Karin instinctively put a hand over her throat, "I would never jeopardize you Orochimaru-sama!"

Orochimaru glared at her with his searing gold eyes, "You better not…or I'll have you face a worse death than those brats."

_at the police station_

Sasuke quickly walked in the station with his father close behind him; his eyes immediately scanned for a certain person, "Uncle Inabi!"

Inabi Uchiha quickly looked up from the officers he was looking at and saw Sasuke hurrying over to him, "Sasuke I'm glad to see your okay; I got worried hearing you were at the site of the incident. Nice to see you Fugaku."

Sasuke gripped his fists, "Was it an accident?"

Inabi stared at Sasuke, "Your face makes it look like you suspect it wasn't."

Sasuke's face became angry, "Tell me if it was an accident!"

Fugaku immediately put a hand on Sasuke shoulder, "Sasuke calm down."

Sasuke clenched his jaw at his father's stern voice. Inabi gave a small sigh, "Follow me"

Fugaku and Sasuke followed him down the hall and into a room with pictures still being hung up on the wall of the accident site. Inabi pointed at a picture that had the base of the metal sign and the fence behind it, "What does that look like?"

Fugaku lightly pushed Sasuke back and looked closely at the picture. He looked over the base of the sign that looked like the metal had been torn from all but one spot, "The metal's smoothly cut on one part instead of being torn…"

Inabi nodded, "Now look closely at the fence."

Sasuke waited in anticipation as his father looked over the photo. Fugaku's eyes traced over and odd lining of the fence, "It…it looks like a part was cut out and put back in place…a hole that lets you get to the sign without being seen."

Sasuke's heart raced and he slammed his fist into the wall, "I knew it!"

Fugaku's heart started to speed up in panic knowing the fallen sign was no accident and his son's life was in danger again. Inabi pulled out a seat so Fugaku could sit down, "Sasuke why did you already think it wasn't an accident?"

Sasuke gripped the table as his father sat down, "When I was leaving the restaurant I thought I saw something behind the fence…"

Inabi immediately got out his notepad. Sasuke's hands began to shake, "I thought I saw this flash of red…it's the same color of hair a girl not much older than me has that's been coming into the restaurant and harassing Sakura. It's an assumption…but it seemed like she knew things about our life that we never said in front of her. She was making Sakura paranoid but I told everything was fine…I thought it was over…if I…if I didn't ignore it then I might've, I could've stopped Sakura from getting hurt…I could've done something…I could've stoppe-"

Sasuke's breathing became heavy and he fell to his knees, "I could've protected her and I didn't…"

Fugaku immediately stood ignoring the panic of worry for his son and lifted Sasuke to his feet, "It was not your fault you understand me. If you blame yourself for making everything seem okay then I'm to blame for telling you it was over. There's nobody to blame than whoever did it and I will have them crushed to the point they wish they weren't born. What you need to do is pretend you know nothing in public and stay by Sakura's side. Our family will handle this and you go stay by Sakura's side to protect her, understand?"

Sasuke's heart rate slowed down a little and he gave a small nod. He wasn't to blame…but he'd be to blame if Sakura got hurt further when he knew she was in danger, he had to go protect her. Sasuke looked up at his father, "Thank you…"

Fugaku gave a small smile and patted him on the shoulder, "Now I'm going to have someone drive you back to the hospital while I stay here and arrange protection matters with Inabi."

Sasuke gave a nod and prepared to leave. "Sasuke wait!"

Sasuke looked up at Inabi. Inabi gave him a serious look, "Did you ever learn the redheads name?"

Sasuke's face hardened, "Karin"

_at a downtown bar_

Karin slammed her shot glass down after taking another drink. Suigetsu smirked after slamming his down and looked at her, "You know you really pissed off the boss this time right?"

Karin snarled as she poured herself another shot of vodka, "Shut up! You guys didn't have to come with me you know!"

Juugo tried to give a small smile while holding his water, "We were ordered to bring you into hiding until we know if you're a suspect."

Karin glared through her glasses after taking another shot, "Then why didn't you knock me out at my car and take me?"

Suigetsu gave a small laugh, "Because it'll be way easier when you're drunk and I like you better when you drink."

Karin's face flamed recalling the first time she got drunk around him and woke up the next morning in his apartment without her clothes on. She threw her glass at him, but he caught it, "You perverted little bastard! Don't you dare even try to sleep with me or I'll tear your throat out!"

Suigetsu snickered, "Don't worry I was only attracted to you then because I didn't know you enough to know how much of a total bitch you are. Your personality is too much of a turn off for me now."

Karin hissed at him and continued to toss him more insults as Juugo sighed. Juugo wasn't sure why he found them good company but their drinking habits were certainly not for him. They were barely twenty (Japan's legal drinking age) and got their hands on as much alcohol as they could when they were in a bad mood, and Karin was in a bad mood a lot. Juugo gave another sigh before taking a sip of his water and stood, "Alright I think it's time to go, I'll drive."

_at the hospital_

Sasuke walked back towards Sakura's hospital room to find Ino now sitting beside Hinata as well. Once everyone visiting Sakura caught notice of him they immediately gave him their attention waiting to be told if they were in danger or not. Sasuke immediately scanned his eyes around to see if anyone was nearby; he waited till there was nobody in the hall and looked at them, "It wasn't an accident."

All their faces sprung into panic and worry and Sasuke held his hand up to stop them before they started asking questions, "We need to pretend we don't know in public so whoever caused this will think they're safe. My father and Uncle Inabi are looking for more information but all we know right now is it was done on purpose…Also anybody who took part in last years events should probably be on guard."

Everyone struggled not to burst out in panic as a few people walked by. They had so many question that couldn't be answered yet and concerns for each other's safety but they had to pretend everything was okay. Sasuke looked at Ino as his mother puled him into a worried hug, "That means you should probably call Sai."

Ino gave a nervous nod and went to go call him in private. A police officer soon arrived that would secretly stay in Sakura's hospital room and both Sasuke's and Hinata's father made arrangements for police and bodyguards to secretly be on watch. The police department investigated visits to Danzo but found the records to be corrupted furthering their suspicions. Once the night came into very late hours people started to head home knowing Sakura was being kept in a coma for a couple days; only her father, Mikoto, and Sasuke stayed. They managed to get permission for both her father and Sasuke to sleep at her bedside while Mikoto stayed outside with periodic visits from Itachi. Investigation continued through out the next day trying to find Karin's whereabouts but nothing could be found. Hinata, Naruto, Ino, Sai, and a few other friends dropped by across the next couple days but Sasuke never left; he even showered at the hospital. Everyone but Sasuke continued to go to school and later filled him in on what happened through the day and after much waiting and a good result of Sakura's brain activity they took her off the drugs keeping her in a coma.

Sasuke nervously held Sakura's hand as her father stood at the other side of her and a doctor in front of her and they waited for her to wake up. Sasuke's heart raced as she shifted a little and made a mildly pained face and a few moments later her eyelids started to flutter. Her vision hazed as she opened her eyes and waited for her vision to clear. She blinked as her mind felt foggy and glanced at the doctor in front of her.

Sasuke squeezed her hand a little with mild anxiety, "Good Morning"

Sakura shifted her eyes to his nervous face and prepared to say good morning back but glanced down at her hand he was holding. She traced her eyes over her body and all the excessive bandaging and casts and started to feel the restrictions and pain. Her mind wandered for a short moment and her heart rate immediately spiked when she remembered what happened, "Hinata! Where's Hinata!?"

Sasuke immediately stood and lightly pushed her back with a calming face, "She's fine, she's fine. You saved her."

Sakura exhaled in relief and heart rate eased back to normal. She looked over her body again and glanced up at her father, "I guess I'm still a klutz."

Sakura's father broke out in small laughter as tears of relief pricked his eyes and he was reminded of all the times she hurt herself as a kid. He placed a hand lightly on her head and smiled at her beyond happy she was alive, "I guess you are."

The doctor gave a small smile happy to see that she was mentally in good condition, "I'll give you a few minutes and then we can start discussing surgery and recovery."

They gave a small nod as the doctor left. Sakura gave a slightly nervous face as she realized she was too restricted and too much pain came from trying to move the left side of her body and her head, "How hurt am I?"

Her father's face dimmed a little but plastered a smile back on, "Pretty badly but you're alive and you'll heal…you're just going to struggle walking at first."

Sakura's jaw tightened as she glanced down at her lower left leg covered by a cast and realized she couldn't feel it; already studying medicine and vaguely remembering what happened to her she knew she was lucky to still have her lower leg. She knew it must've been crushed so bad that she would've lost it without quick medical treatment; she tightened her grip on Sasuke's hand, "But I'll walk…I don't care how long it takes but I'll be walking like nothing happened."

Sasuke and her father smiled at the perseverance and determination she always showed and the smile on her face. Sakura's father gave a small kiss on the top of her head and gave a smile, "I'm going to go get you some real food."

Sakura smiled as he started to walk away, "Thanks Dad"

Sakura turned her eyes back to Sasuke as she laid in the propped hospital bed. Sasuke slowly leaned in and kissed her before leaning his head lightly against hers, "You have no idea how badly you scared me."

Sakura looked deep into his eyes, "I'm sorry…I did it on instinct, but I'm glad I saved her…"

Sasuke tightened his jaw a little but gave a small smile, "I know…it's part of who you are that I love so much. I'd do the same thing."

She smiled, "I'd hug you but I can barely move."

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed a little in concern, "Does it hurt?"

Sakura focused on holding his hand, "Mostly when I just try to move, it's just my head that hurts a little but it's not bad."

Sasuke lightly ran his fingers over the bandages on her head, "Well…you split your head open and cracked your skull so that's to be expected."

Sakura gave a small sigh but kept her smile on her face, "That's also why I'm on so much pain medication that I can't stop being groggy."

Sasuke gave a small smile, "Once your father gets back and you talk to the doctor you can go to sleep."

Sakura lightly tightened her grip on Sasuke's hand, "I'd rather talk to you."

Sasuke smiled and kissed her again, "We'll have plenty of time to talk; I'm not leaving your side."

Sakura smiled and they continued to talk for a few minutes until her father came back with food for Sasuke as well. While eating the doctor came back to discuss Sakura's injuries with her and what the recovery would be like; they also discussed the surgeries she would need to reconstruct her left lower leg back to normal that they would do over the next couple of weeks she would stay there. Sakura planning to become a doctor herself wasn't fearful of any of it and actually impressed the doctor with her understanding of what had to be done. After paperwork was signed for the surgeries they let Sakura go back to sleep.

Sakura's father made everyone promise to not tell Sakura she was in danger until she was in better health. The investigation was struggling to get anywhere and Sakura needed to be further in recovery before they started stressing her out with everyone's lack of safety, so during her friends' visits they discussed school and other activities but pretended nothing was wrong. A few days passed and Sakura went through her first surgery and was making positive progress in her recovery. A few days further and they still didn't tell her, the police still didn't find Karin, and questioning Danzo had gotten them nowhere. Once a week had passed from the incident that nearly killed Sakura they decided it was time to tell her.

Sasuke tapped his fingers at Sakura's bedside as she made a face at the hospital food; he gave a small smile, "You need to eat."

Sakura sighed and took a few bites of a sandwich with her only free hand. She swallowed and fought to stick her tongue out, "When I become a doctor I'm going to make them invest in better food."

Sasuke's lips curved a little more but fell slowly thinking of what he had to tell her. He reached out for her free her hand and held it grabbing her attention. She raised an eyebrow, "I thought you wanted me to eat…what's wrong?"

Sakura could sense his tense persona. Sasuke gave a small sigh, "We've been waiting till your health was better to tell you something and since your second surgery went really well yesterday I think it's time you knew."

Sakura's face wore apprehension, "Okay…"

Sasuke paused a few moments, "After I was finally able to see you the day you got hurt I had my father take me to the police station…I had a suspicion about the accident and…it wasn't an accident."

Sakura's eyes widened and Sasuke could hear the heart monitor immediately beat at a fast pace. Sasuke tightened his grip on her hand, "They haven't been able to prove anything but we've had police and guards constantly around you and the rest of us and will till it's settled. Now that we know were in danger you'll be under protection and I'll protect you. I won't let anybody hurt you again."

Sakura tried to not let her breathing pick up and gave a small nod. She clenched her jaw and nervously looked around the room, "Um…is…is there any leads?"

Sasuke tried to not let his face darken, "Possibly…I…I thought I saw Karin…right before the sign fell, but I'm not sure and they haven't been able to find her."

Sakura's heart rate went up again at an alarming rate and she tried to fight tears from her eyes; just when she was starting to believe everything was okay it turned out she was right and they were all in danger. She was in danger. Everybody she loved was in danger and they had no idea who was after them. Sakura's couldn't help it anymore and her breathing became heavy and the heart monitor was blaring in alarm.

Sasuke quickly put his hands on her cheeks trying to calm her down, "It's going to be okay Sakura. They have no idea we know we're in danger so they can easily slip up trying to get near us and will get caught. Everything's going to be okay. We're all going to be okay."

The heart monitor calmed a little but tears finally slipped down Sakura's face, "I-I thought this was over…"

Sasuke lightly shushed her and wiped away her tears, "It is…they can't get to us now, we're too protected. To make sure you're safe you and your father are going to stay at my house until this is over."

Sakura calmed a little and looked at him with questioning eyes, "What?"

Sasuke smiled at her and caressed her face, "Your father and you will stay with my family. You're both safer there and that means I can hold you right in my arms and protect you. You get to be with me as much as you want."

Sakura paused looking into his eyes and sniffed a little before giving a nod, "O-okay…"

Sasuke's lips curved a little more and he gave her a small kiss, "It's going to all be okay."

_author's notes_

So I know I've kept you guys waiting a little longer than usual so I made it a little longer. Super sorry about the wait I was just in the midst of final projects, exams, and I got dumped and didn't see it coming so the little romantic things were kind of hard to write. Anyways! I'm on a three-week break from school so I should hopefully be updating more and I hope you guys liked it! Please review, I'll respond!