Drip
Drip...
D
R
I
P
.
.
Sakura's eyes fluttered open, . Her mind blearily tried to piece things together - the dark wood and musty room.
Drip-
Her eyes went in and out of focus. She scanned the ceiling looking for anything that felt familiar until she reached the sky. The kunouichi could make out a sliver of the light blue heavens.
Drip-
The rain had stopped and now water creeped down into the shrine. It slipped past broken shingles and rotting wood so it could land inches from her head in a small pool.
Drip-
The memories from the day before flooded her mind in a quick paced flow that caught her off guard.
Sakura said a silent prayer, she'd made it through the night. And she could count her blessings she'd live to see another day.
Sakura did a quick check of her system. She felt alright, considering she'd passed out on an ancient wooden floor and didn't feel like complete shit. The left side of her head was damp but things could aways be worse.
Sakura slowly and painfully tried stretching and moving her right hand and with a sigh of relief easily made a fist. The poison hadn't destroyed her tendons, another plus.
It wasn't until she tried to sit up that she felt it. Her bones popped and cracked and her body groaned in protest. The fractured ribs she had weren't making it better.
They were the easiest to forget when she'd been trying to revive her companion and herself.
Sakura took a deep controlled breathe, grimacing from the sharp pain in her stomach and willed her neck to look over at Sasuke's body. She knew he was still there. His dark chakra was pulsing in the room like the embers of fire.
She half expected to meet his glowing eyes but he was still exactly where she'd left him. He lay flat on the floor, unmoving. He almost looked dead and Sakura's mouth went dry.
Sakura huffed into a standing position, gritting her teeth as she walked over to Sasuke and knelt next to him.
She'd only recovered a fraction of her chakra, but it was enough to do a quick scan of the Uchiha's body and maybe knit her ribs back together.
She placed a hand over his chest and felt around his organs. Her hand tentatively swept over his heart, and she found a steady beat. Her eyebrows creased in confusion and she went further down his chest. She let out a small breathe, everything was remarkably stable. His pulse was healthy, no infection or sepsis like she feared. He was definitely dehydrated and probably starved, but he was alive.
Sakura's brow relaxed and she fought against a smirk that pulled at her lips. She was nearly worried about him, but he was an Uchiha after all. He'd always been a prodigy- even at avoiding death.
She then turned her attention to her ribs and started to heal them back in place. She hadn't realized how dark it was until the low green light from her healing chakra illuminated Sasuke's face.
The soft light smoothed out his features and erased the heavy years of strife from his complexion. Sakura couldn't help but trace her eyes along his jawline and his defined features. His raven hair had grown longer and splayed out around his head in a black uneven halo.
Sakura couldn't picture Sasuke as an angel, but he was only human.
She had to remind herself that every time she wanted to hate him for what he did. She wanted the hurt to translate into hate but there wasn't a bone in her body that could hate him.
The leaf kinouchi remembered what his fingers felt like on her face, soft and gentle. They promised something he couldn't keep, but they'd still felt nice against her skin.
Sakura sighed with relief. Her bones melted back together like a jig saw puzzle. The pressure in her stomach gradually eased away and she felt like she could finally stomach the man in front of her.
He was still unconscious and Sakura had half a mind to transport them back to the Konoha so she could get him on an IV at the very least. But she knew he wouldn't like that. He'd left Konoha again and he'd have to come back on his own terms.
She thought of the last time she sat by his bedside at the hospital, it felt like an eternity waiting each day for him to wake up.
"Sakura-"
The deep timbre of Sasuke's voice caused Sakura's eyes snapped to his. She felt the breathe pull from her lungs. He stared half-lidded at her, how long had he been watching her?
His face looked unguarded like he was still dreaming of something pleasant and far away. Sakura secretly wished she could remember him like that.
It didn't last though, Sasuke's eyes slowly widened as he assessed where he was. The burden of life blooming across his face and the dark lavender of his left eye pulled her under. Sakura involuntarily swallowed but met his gaze and set her face in an even demeanor.
The sun started to lighten up the room in a blue morning hue, and Sakura waited for him to speak.
"How did you find me?" Sasuke finally rasped. Sakura didn't miss the sharp edge to his voice.
Sakura's lips parted to speak but the deep look in his eyes made her feel vulnerable without her mask on. "let me get you some water," she responded ignoring his question.
Sakura's long pony tail swished on her lower back as she got up.
She found a small pond in the back of the shrine, probably an over grown koi pond. She could make out her wavering reflection in a water below and dipped her flask into it. She rubbed her hand along her ANBU mask and considered putting it on just to put a barrier between them, but thought better of it and returned to the shrine.