23rd April 2032, San Francisco, Time- unknown
Two things registered in her mind when Sakura finally found herself capable of coherent thought.
The first was that she was not dead, which should have been impossible considering her proximity to the truck when it exploded. In fact, the only injuries she felt were a mild ache in her back.
The second was that she was on the floor, pressed down by none other than Naruto. A strong arm held her down, and he seemed to be shielding her. Judging from their location, they were on the other side of the parking lot, away from the burning truck. There was no logical way in which they could have covered that much distance in the amount of time they had.
Yuki
The instant the thought of the child crossed her mind, she found herself stricken with worry. Where was Yuki? Had she too escaped the explosion?
Looking around, she felt a sigh of relief as she saw the child curled in a ball unconscious next to her. Unconscious, but unharmed.
What about the attackers?
There was no way they could have survived that explosion. They were no longer a threat. No regular person should be able to escape it. But how had she?
Which once again brought her attention to the man on top of her. Had Naruto been the one to save her? It seemed the only possible explanation. But how? How had he moved or reacted that fast? Had he purposely used his body as a shield to protect her and Yuki?
Seeing as the answers weren't about to present themselves to her, she struggled to rouse herself from her dazed state. She didn't find any severe injuries on herself, but that did not mean that the other two were unharmed. After all, much of their surroundings was still ablaze.
"N-Naruto?" she called.
No response. She noticed that his jacket was gone.
"Naruto!" she called again, this time placing a hand on his shoulder and gently moving him off her so that she could rise to a sitting position. He seemed to hear her this time, and sat up, moving away from her so that they were no longer so intimately placed.
"Are you okay?" he asked, looking from her to Yuki and then to the truck behind him.
"Me? Are you?" she asked. If he had shielded her and Yuki from the attack, then he was bound to be worse off.
"The police are bound to be here soon. Even if you are a law official, I don't think you want to answer all of their questions." he said. There was something different about the way he spoke from before. He sounded almost strained.
What he said mirrored the thoughts running through her head, but her primary concern changed to Yuki as she cradled the child. Her forehead, seconds ago icily cold, now burned like a furnace- and that could not be solely attributed to the heat of the explosion.
"She's burning up. We need to get her medical attention!" she exclaimed, looking around to see if the authorities were anywhere to be seen yet.
"Where do you suppose we take her?" he asked her, "The closest hospital?"
"No...that'd raise too many questions. I know a place." she replied.
He looked at her suspiciously, "What place?"
She shook her head, saying, "No time to explain. We need to get her out of here. But trust me, any treatment Yuki gets there will be ten times better than any normal hospital."
He nodded, standing up and saying, "My car should be close."
She scooped Yuki off the ground and followed him as they snuck away from the smoldering street. Her only solace was that it was an office block, and the street was deserted. Apart from them, nobody else should have been caught in the fire.
As they got to his car, she was surprised by how willingly he handed over the wheel to her while he sat in the back with Yuki. But she did not complain, seeing as she was the one who knew where they were going.
With empty streets, the drive to her destination would take 14 minutes. She hoped it would be much less. With that thought in mind, she floored away and sped towards Tsunade Senju's house of residence.
23rd April, 2032, Residential Complex, Pacific Heights, San Francisco, Time- 22:12
"Tsunade! Open up!" Sakura shouted, banging at the door of the good doctor's expensive house in Pacific Heights. The lucky lady not only had a house in one of the most expensive districts in San Francisco, she also had a personal laboratory and corresponding medical facilities. The entire top floor of er house was dedicated to her research. So even though Dr Tsunade was not in her office at the hospital, she was probably the only doctor Sakura trusted to see her in this kind of situation.
Of course, she hoped that she wasn't drunk. Her love for alcohol preceded her, and it was Tsunade's only vice.
The door was answered by the mistress of the house herself, disgruntled and half asleep in a silky dressing gown, a look of annoyance and concern blatantly crossing her features as she recognised Sakura.
"I thought I told you not to let yourself in my office for at least another two weeks." she grunted, turning on the porch lights as she stepped aside, letting Sakura enter.
"I have company." she replied sheepishly, making sure that Tsunade had seen Yuki, who was still in her arms, and Naruto, who stood next to her.
"Sure whatever, bring 'em in. But you'll be paying next time we go out." The woman replied begrudgingly, in answer to which Sakura shook her head exasperatedly, following Tsunade up the stairs to the top floor, laying Yuki down on one of the beds further inside before joining Tsunade and Naruto in the hallway.
"Where did you find her?" Tsunade asked her.
"Street orphan. She's called Yuki." She replied. It was enough for Tsunade to understand. Being closely associated with the Hyuga, and in turn the FBI, Tsunade knew better than to ask for explanations when none were offered. Sakura would return later with a due explanation.
"And what about you?" Tsunade asked, after a long pause, turning to Naruto.
"He's a friend. He was with me when we found Yuki." Sakura supplied.
"No no...I figured that. Not exactly rocket science. I'm talking about his injuries- And don't try to tell me you have none." she added in a stern tone, looking at Naruto. "Forty years I've been on this job- I can tell an injured patient when he's in front of me."
Naruto had barely mentioned anything since they left the site of the explosion, and in the rush of things, she hadn't thought to check to see if he had sustained any severe injury. After all, if it were that bad, surely he would have said something, right?
Apparently not, she realised, and her expression turned to one of alarm as Tsunade turned him around to reveal a painful burn on the back of his left shoulder. His strained mannerism and hoarse speech made much more sense. She chided herself for having been a fool not to realise it sooner.
"It's nothing severe. Take a look at the child first." he said.
"Uh huh.'Nothing severe' Take off you're shirt then and we'll have a look." Tsunade replied skeptically, hand on hip, her 'stern doctor mode' switched on. She was by no means a pushover.
"I said it's nothing," Naruto said, lifting his right hand to the top button of his shirt and attempting to single handedly remove it.
Tsunade heaved a sigh and pressed her hand to her temples. "Who was it who said it was 'nothing severe'? You can't even move your left arm!" she said exasperatedly, looking at Sakura asking, "Where'd you pick up this stubborn hunk?"
Sakura shrugged, asking, "How bad is it? Can you treat it from here?"
"I'd need to take a closer look at it. If he can't move his arm, then we may be looking at something mechanical..maybe even neurological, if he's unlucky." she said.
Tsunade turned around and said, "I'll have a look at his shoulder first then get to the child. In the mean time, you start a blood test on the little girl. You've been here enough times to know the drill."
"Sure" she said while walking back into the room where Yuki lay.
Five minutes later, she heard Tsunade come and say, "It doesn't look good. There's two separate injuries on his shoulder- first is the burn, which is deep to the point it hardly hurts him. And his shoulder's frozen up. Mechanical injury."
That must have been from the force of the explosion combined with the force of him pushing them to the ground.
Tsunade continued, "I've disinfected it and checked for any neurological damage or fracture to the bones- thankfully there's none of that. But the rest is up to his body to heal it. I'm going to check up on the child now- you go into the next room and dress his burn. I've not taught you girls first aid all these years for you to sit back and make me do all the work- Understand?"
"Yes!" she said reflexively, and walked out of the room. Tsunade could be as demanding as a military commander. Or a high school teacher.
She quietly opened the door to the room Naruto was in and slipped in, but did not go unnoticed by him, as he turned around and looked at her questioningly.
"Tsunade's going to take a look at Yuki while I dress your burn." she said.
He nodded curtly, turning around so that she had better access to his shoulder.
Sakura was never one to be overly attracted by men. But despite herself, she found herself unable to take her eyes off Naruto's bare upper torso. Well defined muscles lined his abdomen, and as her eyes trailed over his skin they found not an ounce of flab on his perfectly sculpted body. It was a sight that could arouse even the most austere women.
Her gaze fell on the his left shoulder. She could not deny that she found herself partly responsible for his situation. As to why he saved her again, she was still clueless.
She ran her fingers over his injury, testing the amount of pressure she could apply on the raw surface without causing him pain. His skin was warm and flushed under her fingers. Tsunade had already put a salve on when she was examining it.
She took out the supplies needed for the dressing, and started following the steps Tsunade had drilled into her on one of her numerous visits to Tsunade's laboratories.
Meanwhile her thoughts drifted elsewhere. She understood that Naruto seemed to be a nice enough person- but risking his own life to help her not once, but twice? The same man she had previously pegged for a capricious arrogant playboy.
She kept her eyes trained on her hands as she asked softly, "Why did you save me, Naruto? Again?"
She couldn't see the long calculating gaze he fixed on her. But she did hear the uncomfortably long pause before his answer. "Because you're important."
She was slightly taken aback by his answer. Important? In what way? And how would it affect him?
"Why did you slap me?" she heard Naruto ask. Had she bruised his ego that much with her reaction to his physical advances?
"You were toying with me. You kissed me when we don't even know each other." she replied. She hated being taken lightly. She started to move away having finished dressing his shoulder.
Just as she moved her hand away from his shoulder, she felt his right hand hand grab her wrist, turning her around so that she met his intense gaze. "What if we do?"
She was confused by his question at first, unsure of what he meant. What if we do know each other? What was that supposed to mean? In the end, she assumed he meant to ask what her reaction would have been had they known each other better before he kissed her.
"If we knew each other...things may have turned out differently." she said, unsure of his reaction.
"But that doesn't change the fact that you slapped me." he said.
So he really was pissed that she slapped him. She almost found it cute how he seemed to be nursing his bruised ego. "You're right...it doesn't." she said.
She may be sorry that she slapped him- but she would not take it back. But she could thank him. Thank him for saving her life.
She leaned in closer to his face, cupping his cheek with her free hand as she pressed her lips fleetingly against his own. It was not a kiss to apologise for her reaction the last time he kissed her. It was to thank him for saving her. Again.
As she pulled away, her cheeks red as she thought about all the ways this could backfire on her, she felt his free hand grab her before she could leave. He pulled her closer as he captured her lips for a fiercer, more passionate embrace.