Sakura tiredly strolled down the hallway of the hospital. It was 4:00 PM and today was a longer shift for her than usual. She was ready to go home, take a bath, and hop into bed.
But, Shizune anxiously informed her that there was one last patient for her to see. Sakura was slightly alarmed by Shizune's worried facial expression and the way she trembled while talking. However, she didn't put much thought into it until she entered Room 127.
Upon entering the room, Sakura saw someone who she didn't expect to see - Sasuke. She had not seen him in years. He was unconscious. His jet black hair was long and unkempt. His skin, which was naturally pale, had an unhealthy complexion. Every breath he took sounded like it was a struggle.
Despite her initial shock, Sakura rushed into action. He appeared to have been stabbed in the chest. Fortunately, his stab wound wasn't deeper or else he would have been dead by now. Sakura pressed her hands to his chest and channeled her chakra into him.
Although he was not conscious, she could not help but to say, "You're going to be okay,"
Maybe she was also talking to herself because she had a knot in her stomach.
After taking care of his injury and other internal damage, she let out a sigh of relief.
Shizune sympathetically offered to take care of him for the remainder of the night so that she could go home and get some much needed rest. But, Sakura insisted that she would stay and look after him.
He needed what she liked to call a "bird bath" and a change of clothes. He was still asleep. She hoped it would stay that way because it would have been very awkward if he woke up while she was rubbing a soapy towel over his skin.
She set aside her small discomfort by reminding herself that she has done this for all her patients. Alas, he woke up just after she finished drying him. He looked too dazed and tired to care about how exposed he was in the hospital gown.
"Sakura," he uttered suddenly.
Sakura had a visceral reaction to hearing him say her name.
"I need water,"
Sakura nodded without saying a word.
As she was filling up a plastic cup in the sink, he quietly added: "And some clothes,"
"I'll be right back," Sakura told him after handing him the cup.
"I haven't finished my mission," Sasuke said while she helped him to get dressed.
"Sasuke-kun, you're not in the position to carry out any missions right now,"
"Don't call me that," He replied weakly.
"Sasuke, you need to let your body rest so it can replenish what it lost," Sakura gently told him, like she was speaking to a child.
It seemed like he had not changed much since he was a teenager. Except now, rather than being hyper fixated on revenge, he was obsessed with his idea of atonement.
He stayed silent because he had no counterargument.
"Aren't you hungry?" Sakura asked him.
He looked a little better after having some water, but his sickly complexion remained.
"No," He claimed.
But his response didn't stop Sakura from getting him a tray of food from the hospital's cafeteria. She got him an egg sandwich with some cherry tomatoes, milk, riceballs, and a bowl of soup. By the time she returned to his room, he had gone back to sleep.
After carefully placing the tray of food on a table by his bed, Sakura gazed at him.
She wondered how he had been living for the past several years. Most of Sakura's patients looked like they were at peace when they slept. Sasuke, on the other hand, seemed like he was distressed even in a sleeping state. She would pop into Room 127 every hour - partly to check on him, and partly to make sure he did not leave the hospital without her permission.
When she checked on him at 1 in the morning, she was pleased to see that he had eaten some of the food she brought him. But, he was sweating profusely and whimpering in his sleep. His eyes were half open. The blankets she brought him earlier were on the floor. She gently pressed a finger to the side of his neck. His heart was racing.
It wasn't uncommon for patients to experience nocturnal panic attacks - especially after a traumatic event.
Sakura suspected that he may have been experiencing a nightmare about what brought him to her in the first place.
"Sasuke, I am here. You are safe," She softly said, while stroking his hair in an attempt to console him.
She wasn't surprised when he removed her hand. After all, this was Sasuke - and he didn't like to be touched. Not when he was so vulnerable.
However, she didn't expect him to grab her hand afterwards.
"You are okay," She reassured him, but this time with their hands intertwined.
Holding his hand triggered a memory she forgot she even had. A memory from when Sasuke and her were only 12, in the Forest of Death, and at the mercy of Orochimaru.
Sasuke screamed in pain after being marked by Orochimaru. He reached out for her hand. Sakura didn't know what to do beside accept his gesture.
Sakura wondered if he too remembered.
After a few minutes, she stepped away from him to get a damp towel. She resumed holding one of his hands to comfort him, while using another hand to hold the towel onto his forehead.
"S-Sakura," He stammered.
"Don't leave again,"
"I won't, unless you want me to," Sakura replied.
She felt like she was having a dream. First, after not knowing Sasuke's whereabouts for years, he was suddenly a patient - at the hospital she works at. Then, after his poor attitude earlier, he was now begging her to stay with him and reaching out for her.
Kakashi once told her that Sasuke was like a walking contradiction and she was finally beginning to understand what he meant.
At this point, Sakura was exhausted. It was going to be a long night for her, so she moved the chair that was in the room right next to Sasuke's bed. After sitting in the chair, she was finding it increasingly difficult to keep her eyes open.
She took one last look at Sasuke. He finally looked like he had some semblance of peace while he slept. He was no longer tossing and turning, or breathing frantically in his sleep like he was trying to escape something.
"My Sasuke-kun," She said, before leaning forward on his bed and drifting off into a peaceful slumber that she hasn't had in years.