#ssm18d7

“Yes,” replied Tsunade. “Guess you should consider yourself lucky that she loves you so much. You're free to go.”

Tsunade finished writing her notes, with another pen she procured, and left swiftly, having to deal with an emergency. There was a tense silence left behind where Naruto stood awkwardly at the edge of the bed and Sasuke glared at the tiled floor. He was livid, to say the least. He blamed himself for getting caught in this mess and he blamed Sakura for having done irreversible harm to herself. To save him. He didn't deserve that kind of kindness.

“Is… is Sakura…?” The words died in his throat. He didn't want to know if the news was bad, but he had to know.

“Yeah, she's going to be alright,” Naruto answered noticing the struggle his friend was going through. “Granny Tsunade stabilized Sakura-chan and has her on strict bedrest. She'll be out of it for a couple of hours, though, or at least that's what she's speculating. It depends on how Sakura-chan’s body reacts to the strain.”

He let out the breath he had been holding. “I want to see her.”

Naruto fidgeted. “Um, I don't think that's a good idea right now. Granny Tsunade is liable to kill us!”

Sasuke glared at the blonde, getting off the hospital bed and approached him slowly. He couldn't care less what the former Hokage would do to him, he needed to see Sakura with his own eyes. It was a desperation that began clawing at his heart with fervor. Naruto caught sight of the emotions he was too much of a bastard to say outloud and sighed. He'd suspected just how much his two teammate’s relationship had changed since the end of the war, but seeing it with his own two eyes had Naruto feeling protective over Sakura. He considered her one of his most precious people, like a little sister, and he only wanted to see her happy and loved.

“You hurt her, I hurt you.” Was the only thing Naruto said before he motioned for Sasuke to follow him.

They hurried along through different hallways and took the stairs up several floors before Naruto pointed to the room at the very end of the hall. He gave Sasuke a slight push then walked over the small nurse's’ station and started distracting them. He wasted no time in reaching the room and opened the door slowly, an irrational fear that he'll find a dead Sakura flashed across his mind. He almost pulled the door from its hinges in his panic to get inside.

Relief washed over him the moment he laid eyes on the bed where a sleeping Sakura lay. He closed the door gently behind him and approached her slowly. She was too pale for his liking, but her breathing was steady and even. Her pale pink locks were strewn around her pillow in disarray, almost like a spring crown. He frowned slightly when he noticed the light bandaging around her palms, red burn marks peeked out from under. There was an IV line hooked up to her arm and a pulse sensor on her finger feeding into a heart monitor. Despite how small and fragile she looked, Sasuke found his breath hitching and his heart rate speeding up.

He reached out tentatively and brushed his fingers gently across Sakura’s cheek. A sensation that he had never felt before in his life began to swell in his chest until he felt like he couldn't breathe. He took a step back and clutched at his chest trying to figure what was happening to him. Heat flooded his entire system, almost as if he had a raging fever, and an insatiable longing to touch Sakura again pulled him closer. At one point he felt his sharingan activate due to the overwhelming feeling, but his only concern was the pink haired woman and the magnetic pull edging him closer.

His composure was dead on the ground. He acted on his selfish desires and touched her cheek once more. As soon as he made contact with her smooth skin, his whole body shook as if thousands of tiny electrical currents were set off simultaneously. It felt pleasing and soothing and left him entirely confused as to what he was feeling. He was reacting to Sakura, but he had no idea why.  

Suddenly Sakura’s eyes fluttered open and locked with his. Her vibrant emerald eyes were an open book to him. She smiled softly and cupped his face gently with her hand.

“You came back to me,” she whispered weakly, a trail of tears sped down her cheeks. “I was so afraid…”

The pained look in her eyes was too much for his heart to take. He leaned closer and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, silently thanking every god he knew that she was alive.

“You should have left me die,” he whispered back, his voice hoarse with emotion. “Why in the goddamn hell did you risk your own life for mine?”

Sakura closed her eyes and shook her head in response. How could she make him understand that she would trade her life for his in a heartbeat. She would dive right into the fires of hell if it meant keeping her Sasuke-kun safe. She gave him her whole heart and soul and if he didn't exist, she wouldn't know what to do with herself. After everything they had gone through, their hands were tied by the red strings of fate.

“Because I love you,” Sakura murmured simply.

Sasuke sighed quietly and felt all the anger he'd had earlier disappear. He had been so ready to make her understand that he was an ex-criminal who still had sins to atone for and if he died, the world would still continue moving on. Yes, he was certainly grateful he didn't die, but not at the cost that came with. He swore to himself that he would never hurt Sakura again.

“I'm not good for you, Sakura,” he spoke in a dark tone.

Sakura's eyes snapped open and she glared at him. The ferocity of her glare made him flinch.

“That may or may not be true,” she started, “but something you have never understood is that this is my choice. Loving you through everything has been my fucking choice. You are not and have not forced me to do anything I didn't want to do.”

Sakura closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself before she worked her nerves into a frenzy and made the heart monitor go crazy. She understood why Sasuke would be against her using that jutsu, but she was not backing down. It was her choice and hers alone. She opened her eyes and met Sasuke’s uncertain eyes, giving him a gentle smile.

“I couldn't let you die,” she stated. Not when you mean so much to me, she added silently.

Sasuke let out a quiet sigh and placed his hand on top of hers. He wanted to tell her so many things, things he had kept in his dark heart for so many years, but found he could not find the words to. She deserved that much and it killed him not to be able to. Instead, he looked deep into her warm and love filled eyes and uttered a familiar set of soft words.

“Thank you.”

Her eyes widened slightly, letting the words sink in. He'd only ever directed them towards her at various points in their lives, usually followed by pain and sadness, but this time she felt them deep in her heart. They were filled with promise. She felt her cheeks flush with emotion and looked down shyly.

The sight of her innocent blush sent a rushing heat throughout his body and had him set his eyes on her plump pink lips. He'd had a taste of her and now he was longing for more, now that he was sure she was going to be okay. In all honesty, he had the strongest impulse to gather her up and make a break for her apartment where they could be alone. It sounded like a great plan until a boisterous blonde skidded into the room quite suddenly, with a terrified look on his face, and jumped underneath the bed.

“What the hell, dobe?” Sasuke growled irritatingly.

“Shut up, teme!” Naruto hissed in response. “Tsunade caught me distracting the nurses and is out for my blood.”

Sakura laughed. “You're so dead.”

“Yeah, well, not as dead as the teme is gonna be when Tsunade finds him in your room, Sakura-chan,” Naruto fired back. “She's coming this way!”

~*~

A couple of hours later, Sakura was finally able to convince Tsunade to let her go home. In exchange for her early discharge, the former Hokage had banned her from coming in to work for at least three days and demanded she buy her a large bottle of sake for having put her through quite a scare. After much grumbling Sakura accepted her teacher’s terms and conditions and happily exited her hospital room.

Of course, Sasuke was not far behind her glaring and narrowing his eyes at any form of exertion the pink haired kunoichi dared to make. While it was extremely irritating to be treated like a little fragile thing, Sakura understood the scare she had put everyone through and tried her best to show them she was going to be just fine. Sakura Haruno wouldn’t break that easily.

As soon as she stepped out into the pleasant evening, she took in a deep breath and enjoyed the fresh air of freedom. However, a mixture of smells hit her nose that piqued her curiosity instantly. Fragrant and mouthwatering scents that made her realize just how hungry she was.

“I don’t know about you, Sasuke-kun, but I’m following whatever that smell is,” Sakura stated with a small laugh.

Sasuke did his best to ignore the hard thump his heart gave at the affectionate suffix and fixed her with another firm stare.

“Tsunade told you to go straight home to rest,” he reminded her. “You may feel fine but that does not mean your body is free from trauma.”

Sakura huffed in response and pouted, making him almost do a double take at the way her luscious pink lips moved in such a tempting way. He chased that thought away quickly as he reminded himself that it was up to him to make sure she followed the doctor’s orders, lest she cause any further aggravation to herself.

“But I’m starving!” She whined then pleaded. “Just a quick stop for food, please?”

Sasuke sighed and responded with a small nod before shadowing her closely as she followed her nose in search of food. He reasoned with himself that she couldn’t starve herself either so a bite to eat wouldn’t be so bad. What he hadn’t been expecting was that as soon as they walked further into the downtown districts, the streets were filled with joyous festivities. Bright and colorful strings of paper were decorated everywhere, dancing this way and that as the wind blew. Vendors lined the streets, each with their own special dishes designed to send you to heaven with one bite. Most of the villagers were dressed up for the occasion, except for shinobi who were walking around simply with their uniforms, though it did not deter them from having a good time anyway.

Sakura’s eyes widened in wonder at the scene before her, making her want to kick herself for forgetting the upcoming festival after Naruto and Ino had pestered her about it endlessly months ago.

“Don’t even think about it, Sakura,” Sasuke’s smooth baritone voice chimed in from behind her.

“Oh, come on, don’t be such a downer!” she exclaimed. “It’s a festival, not the end of the world.”

“Hn.” Was his only response as he grabbed her wrist with as much of a firm, yet gentle grasp as he could muster and began leading her away. If he didn’t pull her away now, she’ll never want to leave and that conflicted with her resting time.

“Sasuke.” He ignored her call. “Sasuke, stop. Sasuke-kun!”

He froze mid step and turned around to look at her. Her expression was a mixture of sad and hopeful, while her eyes shimmered under the sparkling lights of the street decorations. He couldn’t help but think of how beautiful she was.

“Look, I know I scared the hell out of everyone,” she began slowly, placing her other hand over his own. “I’m sorry for that, but I’m not going to break, Sasuke.”

Her words pierced him right through his heart. That same frightened feeling of almost losing her again clawed at his chest, making him grip her wrist tighter. He lowered his eyes, unable to keep her gaze, and mumbled, “I can’t lose you.”

Sakura gasped as his words hit her fully. The world around them seemed to slow down just a fraction of a second and fade out as the words repeated over and over in her head. She knew she was important to him, but she hadn’t known to what extent. As she stared at his downcast stare, expression pained and dark, the breath in her lungs left in a whoosh, leaving her stunned. Her eyes softened as she managed to pull her hand out of his sudden slackened grip and wasted no time in throwing her arms around his waist, pulling him into a loving embrace. She buried her face into his strong chest and sighed softly as his familiar scent of firewood and cedar washed over her. Sasuke let out a nearly silent, and uncharacteristic, noise at the completely unexpected gesture from the pink haired girl, yet not at all unwanted. Although he tensed at the physical touch, especially in a public place, he found himself melting into her touch and very slowly wrapped his arm around her. He couldn’t help but think of how well she fit against him.

“We’re shinobi, so I can’t promise that I will always be safe,” she whispered into his chest, but his sharp hearing picked up her words easily. “But I can promise that I will never stop fighting to… to come back to… you.”

Such simple, yet powerful words, set his body on fire and made the tips of his ears flush pink. It almost sounded as if she were binding herself to him and that greatly pleased the Uchiha.

“Well, would you look at this, our little lovebirds!”

Sakura groaned at the loud interruption while Sasuke growled softly. He begrudgingly stepped away from Sakura’s warm embrace and turned to face the source of the irritating noise. There stood Naruto, grinning at them with such splendor he could be mistaken as a sun god, and at his side an embarrassed Hinata. For once, the rambunctious blonde was wearing something other than his signature orange ensemble in exchange for a sensible outfit consisting of black pants, dark grey shirt and black jacket. The Hyuga heiress was dressed in a pretty three-quarter sleeved lilac dress that ended just shy at the knees made of silk and lace. Together, they made a dashing couple, indeed.

“I hope we’re not interrupting,” Hinata spoke up, nudging her date to remind him to behave. “How are you feeling, Sakura? Naruto-kun told me what happened.”

“I’m fine, there’s no need to worry,” replied Sakura with a reassuring smile.

“Again, Tsunade ordered you to rest,” Sasuke reprimanded. Unconsciously, his hand moved to hover at the small of her back, ready to steer her home.

“What? No! Stay for the festival, Sakura-chan!” Naruto exclaimed excitedly. “Wait, aren’t you guys here on a date, though?”

“Naruto!” Sakura blushed bright red and avoided all eye contact with the boy next to her. Sasuke in turn looked murderously at his best friend and tried, in vain, to stop a pink hue from appearing on his cheeks.

“Dobe.” Sasuke hissed venomously.

“Yeah, yeah, no need to chew my head off,” Naruto waved off his friend’s threats and slipped his arm around Hinata’s waist. “I got my own lady to attend to. See ya later!”

And just like that, the couple began walking away and leaving the two in an almost awkward and embarrassed bubble.

“Oh, and you better treat her right, teme!” Naruto turned around to yell back at them. “And use protection cause the world ain’t ready yet for another little Sasuke!”

“I’ll kill him!” snarled Sasuke and made to run after the idiot jinchuriki to make good on his word when Sakura’s giggling made him freeze. Her soft giggling turned into laughter and for some reason, the sight made the corner of his lip turn up in a subtle smirk.

“That idiot forgets he has a physical coming up for a mission and I’m the only one that can do it,” Sakura smirked. “We’ll see who’s laughing then.”

“Hn.” Justice.

“Erm, I do propose a compromise, though,” Sakura began, feeling shy all of a sudden. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her in question. “I’ll go home to rest if you spend at least two hours with me to enjoy the festivities.”

“Or I could just put you over my shoulder and carry you home,” Sasuke added in.

Sakura pouted. “Don’t be a jerk.”

“One hour. Take it or leave it,” he finished firmly.

“Thank you,” smiled Sakura and grabbed his hand to drag him away to the nearest food stall.

Sakura tried a little bit of everything and even managed to make Sasuke eat something sweet, much to his dismay. She laughed and teased at the glowering expressions he directed at her, but could never find it in him to say no and leave. He followed wherever she went, like a shadow, and let her engage him in whatever she desired. Without his realizing, an entire four hours had passed their notice. Sasuke had been so caught up enjoying the beautiful medic nin’s company that he failed to enforce his own rule, not that he cared much when he got to hear her lively chatter and animated gestures.

However, reality struck down like lightning when he sensed a tiny flutter in her chakra fluctuate causing Sakura to grip his shoulder tightly and gasp softly, leaning in to him to stop herself from falling. A sudden wave of dizziness threw her balance off. She clenched her eyes shut and grimaced as she waited for the world to stop spinning around her.

“Sakura!” Sasuke inwardly panicked and gently guided her to a nearby bench, where he set her down without jostling her too much.

“I-it’s nothing, just a dizzy spell, Sasuke-kun,” she tried reassuring him and finally opened her eyes.

He immediately noticed her dilated pupils and how much heavier her breathing became.

“You pushed yourself too far, dammit,” he cursed. “I’m taking you home and don’t you dare argue.”

She sighed in defeat and nodded. It seemed her body did indeed need more rest and didn’t have the heart to argue even if she could. Her bed was starting to sound like the most wonderful thing in existence. Although she wished she could have spent more time enjoying the festival with Sasuke - a rare treat indeed - her good health was important. With Sasuke’s help, she stood up shakily and began walking towards her apartment.

It was a nearly silent ten minute walk that ended with Sasuke nearly carrying Sakura. He’d had to slip his arm around her waist when she almost tripped twice and yawned that she was exhausted. He unlocked her door, with his spare key, and guided the almost comatose kunoichi inside. He continued through the quiet living room and down the hallway to her dark bedroom. Without much fuss, Sasuke peeled back the covers from her bed and lay the girl down softly. He peeled her high heeled boots off her feet, set them next to the bed, and pulled the blankets over her body until she was curled up in the warmth of her bed. Sasuke smirked as she let out a moan of content. He was about to step through the threshold when her drowsy voice piped up from the dark.

“Please stay, Sasuke-kun. I’m afraid…” Her voice trailed off as Sakura slipped into a deep sleep.

He thought about ignoring her sleep induced request and leaving, but the thought didn’t settle well. Instead, he made sure to lock her front door before sitting down, with his back to the headboard, on the empty spot next to her. He exhaled tiredly and vowed to leave Sakura’s apartment just as soon as he rested for a bit. He had died earlier that day, after all.

“I’m just going to head home, Naruto.”

“Let me walk you home!”

Already feeling defeated, Sakura made her way back down the road not caring if Naruto fell in step besides her. She didn’t mind the company, only hoped it didn’t encourage him.

They were friends but nothing was going to go further than that. Her feelings were elsewhere. With someone else.

“Hey! What are you doing here?”

Naruto’s voice snapped her out of her reverie and lifting her head, right across from her front door, Sasuke was leaning against the wall.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in the hospital?”

Sasuke clucked his tongue at him and sent him a glare before stepping away from the wall. His gaze drifted to Sakura and then he nodded his head in the direction of the street. He walked ahead expecting them to follow.

Sakura’s mood perked up instantly. She grabbed Naruto by his sleeve and took off after Sasuke.

Sasuke didn’t like crowds. He always got antsy when they were in an area with a lot of noise and too many chakra signatures. As someone who was always on alert, crowds caused sensory overload. He drew them away from the buzz of the festival and to the riverside where no one would be.

The sky lit up with colorful sparks and the sound of whistling and booming claps.

Sidling up to Sasuke, Sakura timidly pressed her arm to his. Feeling giddy after he didn’t react, Sakura leaned against him more. She enjoyed the feel of his skin touching hers until a force pushed itself against her on her left.

Naruto, not wanting to be left out, had attached himself to her left arm and pushed against her to get even closer in contact than she was with Sasuke. At that, Sasuke reached his limit on physical contact and shoved the two of them away.

He always gets in my way!

Sakura knocked her knuckles on the top of Naruto’s head.

Next year I’m definitely coming with Sasuke alone! . . But Sasuke left a few weeks later. . . And it rained every Tanabata since. . . Sakura sighed as the rain pattered down her window.  The sky had been so clear during the day. The rain came out of nowhere as the sun was falling. It picked up and the steady torrent was getting stronger.

She was sure to find her wish scattered on the ground with the other wet tanzaku with how forceful the rains were.

It rained again, Sakura grumbled inwardly playing with the ends of her hair. It had grown down to her lower back again.

She liked it long but growing it back hadn’t been intentional. She had gotten too caught up with training and teaching Ino medical ninjutsu and simply didn’t notice the strands of hair until they got in the way when she was working.

I’ll get Ino to cut it tomorrow…

Sakura peered out her bedroom window, searching fruitlessly for the moon through the gaps of smoky gray clouds against the black pitch of sky.

She took down the little white dolls hanging in a row on her window and crushed them to her chest.

Praying for good weather wasn’t going to bring Sasuke back home. . . “What are you doing?”

Sakura looked up from her satchel and grinned shyly before showing off her little white doll. Sasuke rolled his eyes but fingered the white cloth. It was left over from the fabric Sakura had used to make more kamon for their clothing.

For more uchiwa to grace their backs.

“The sky is overcast. It’s likely to rain when we reach the village. Are you sure you want to go to the festival? It does add another fifty miles to our trip.”

“The storm will roll right on by.”

Sakura clucked her tongue and patted her doll. She was going to remain positive even if testing the direction of the wind assured her more that the storm was heading away from the village than a little monk having power to grant her wish.

“Are you sure you want to go to the festival?”

Sakura recalled a time when he purposely stayed away from large crowds of people. He still was antsy, being alert never changed. He told her about how he had always been that way but that when his older brother was with him, the buzzing inside him would settle.

It helped to have someone he loved with him.

“The falls can wait,” he replied, pulling her hood over her head. “They’re not going anywhere.”

But Tanabata only happened once a year. . . Sakura drew a face on the doll the next day and they sent him down the river that ran through the village. They watched the doll make his voyage from a bridge similar to the one that stood side by side on as genin. . . “Do make tomorrow a sunny day…”

Sarada’s high voice warbled from her seat at the table. She tied a blue ribbon to form the head of her white doll.

“Mama, I’m done. Hang him up!”

Sarada cheered when Sakura hung up her seventh doll on a pole out on the engawa.

“Will Papa be home tomorrow?”

“Not tomorrow Sara-chan.”

Sarada’s small face squished into a pout.

“Then who is going to hang up my wish?”

“I’ll hang it up.”

Sarada raised a single eyebrow, looking up at her mother doubtfully.

“I’ll put it up real high.”

“But Papa would get it up higher…” Sarada pouted. It was the first time he wouldn’t be with them. Who was going to carry her so she could see above the crowds of people? . . It didn’t matter in the end. Sakura had an emergency at the hospital and Sarada was left in the care of her grandparents.

Kizashi-jii was taller than Papa and he hung up her wish, right before the first drops of rain began to fall. . . Please let Papa come home. . . “Why are you so gloomy?” ChouChou shook her head as she munched on takoyaki. “We might not get to see the fireworks because of the rain but at least we hung up our wishes.”

Sarada wiped her glasses with her handkerchief and slipped them back up on her nose. She stared impassively at the festival goers running for cover as the rain fell at a steady stream.

Wishes? Those are just strips of paper.

Sarada sighed and lifted the flap of the stall’s curtain. It was time to go home and bring Mama her sweets from the festival. The crowds made her antsy and she would rather be home with Mama cooking dinner together. . . But if you do work, please bring Papa home. . . Mama was always pretty but in a yukata she was beautiful. Especially with a pretty flush on her cheeks as she walked side by side with Papa.

“So lucky that the sky’s clear huh, Sarada?” Mama beamed. “We can see Vega and Altair.”

Sarada grinned from ear to ear, eyes squinting from happiness. It had been so long since it hadn’t rained during the festival.

But the happiness she felt was slowly ebbing away to anxiety. There was too much noise and the smells were overwhelming. She was buzzing but she couldn’t go home. Not yet. Not now that Papa was here.

“There’s a place by the river,” Papa’s voice, soft but still clear over the crowd. “It’s a good spot for viewing the fireworks.”

Papa led them away from the crowds down to a grassy bank where the lights glittered on the water’s surface. The noise was far away and Sarada felt her chest lighten. The buzzing was fading away.

“It’s good that they can see each other again, right?” Mama said dreamily, her head tilted to the sky towards the Summer Triangle.

The corners of Sarada’s mouth quirked up and then spread into a soft smile as she watched her father sidle up to her mother.