Wind And Fire Part 2

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews!! :) Now to answer a couple of reviews: Archfiend- That wasn't supposed to be romantic. I didn't mean to confuse. After re-reading the chapter, I can see where it could be construed that way. But Sakura wasn't in the bed with him; she was in a chair next to the bed and laid her head on the bed then fell asleep. Also, she's a medic! Ask anyone who works in the medical profession, even if you can't stand the patient you have to treat them. That's my take anyway. Sasuke was touching her hair because he could, pretty much. Lmao! I'll be honest, Sasuke is sort of developing a crush on Temari. It won't be reciprocated, but it's funny and cute. So don't worry he's not going to try to seal her away from Shikamaru. Also, Itachi doesn't really have any motives, not evil ones anyway. LOL The memory issues...hmm...They are kind of a mental block thing. It'll come back to him eventually. Finally, Itachi's connection to Sakura...He's been fascinated by her since he saw her during Gaara's rescue. Curtis Zidane Ziraa- *giggles* Thank you. The credit for the sleep talking goes to my best friend HJTrek. I was so stuck. I couldn't think of a single non-baseball related thing and then she answered my text message cry for help. As for Temari getting pregnant...All I can say is keep reading. ^_^ BTW, there is going to a SakuItac moment in this chapter. -Ani

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How could I not use this song for this chapter? Lmao



Kinda like a cloud I was up way up in the sky

And I was feeling some feelings you wouldn't believe

Sometimes I can't believe them myself

And I decided I was never coming down

Just then a tiny little dot caught my eye

It was just about too small to see

But I watched it way too long

And that dot was pulling me down



I was up above it

Now I'm down in it



Well shut up so what does it matter now

I was swimming in the haze

Now I crawl on the ground

And everything I never liked about you

Is kind of seeping into me

Try to laugh about it now

But isn't it funny how everything works out

("I guess the jokes on me," she said)



I was up above it

Now I'm down in it



I used to be so big and strong

I used to know my right from wrong

I used to never be afraid

I used to be somebody

I used to have something inside

Now just this hole that's open wide

I used to want it all

I used to be somebody



I'll cross my heart and hope to die

But the needle's already in my eye

And all the world's weight

Is on my back and I don't even know why

And what i used to think was me

Is just a fading memory

I looked him right in the eye

And said goodbye



I was up above it

Now I'm down in it

Down In It-Nine Inch Nails

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Chapter 4

Down In It



Tsunade sat at her desk and sighed. She swiveled her chair around and looked out the window. The setting sun turned the sky a brilliant red. She turned back to her desk and the mountain of paperwork. The top four files belonged to the ANBU Bravo team; they were due back at any moment. She set those files to the side and started the tedious task of reading and signing the various forms. After signing about two dozen forms Tsunade decided to take a break. She poured a small cup of sake from her stash. As soon as the liquid hit the cup, it cracked in two. She stared down at the mess, 'Not good,' she thought. The Godamine turned back around to look out the window just in time to see the Bravo team go dragging down the street towards the hospital. The captain was walking out in front and the other two were carrying the third. Tsunade felt her eye twitch, 'Fuck. This is not good,' she thought as she rushed out of her office to the hospital.

****



Temari was sitting in the medic's lounge sipping on cup of tea when she heard the commotion from the first floor. She turned the volume up on her mp3 player leaned back on the arm of the couch. She closed her eyes and tried catch a hour of sleep. She'd been so damn tired lately. It was because Shikamaru was gone again. She hated sleeping alone. She felt sleep embrace her with both arms as she drifted off.



Sakura poked her head out of Sasuke's room and looked for the source of the noise she just heard. Seeing the hall was empty, she stepped back into the room and closed the door. She sat back down and picked her book up. She glanced over at her patient and noted he was sleeping soundly. She glanced down at her watch and sighed. She wasn't due a break for another hour. She put her bookmark in her book and picked up the chart and made a few notes. She had to take his vitals. She didn't want him to wake up. All he did was glare and stare at her when he was awake. Once in a while he'd ask, 'Where's Temari?' and 'When is she going to be here?' It was enough to drive her crazy, but still, she had a job to do and she was going to do it.



She took his blood pressure and pulse, frowning as she charted them. She listened to his shallow breathing and detected a slight wheeze. "Well fuck," she muttered under her breath. His bed was already inclined so that he could breathe easier. She gathered chakra in her palm and placed her hand on his shoulder, probing his lungs and heart for any signs of distress. She closed her eyes and let her chakra tell her the story.



Sasuke felt the chakra slide around his heart and his dark eyes snapped open. He grabbed her wrist and yanked it away hard enough to snap the bone. His breaths were coming in gasps now and his chest felt tight. He heard a whimper of pain and reality slowly dawned on him. The pressure in his chest let up some. He'd been dreaming again. His eyes scanned the room to find the source of the whimpering and found it in the form of Sakura pressed up against the wall, clutching her broken wrist.



The pink-haired medic bit her lip and popped the bone back into place. She took deep breaths and fought the darkness that threatened to overcome her. She tried to concentrate her chakra to start the mending of the bone but her chakra flared and fizzled. She was in too much pain. She let out a defeated sob and slid down to the floor in tears.



Sasuke watched his former teammate cry and tried to think of something to say. "Sakura..." He couldn't think of anything she'd want to hear from him so he went silent. After about ten minutes of no sound from her at all. He looked over at the jounin, she was still clutching her wrist and staring straight ahead. He frowned, the last thing he needed was a medic in shock. "Sakura! What's your ninja registration number and rank!" he shouted at her. If she could recite it, she was still with it.



She shifted her green eyes over to the sound of his voice. She cleared her throat, "012601; jounin; assistant medic in charge Konohagakure Hospital," she answered in a shaky voice.



He narrowed his dark eyes at her and stared into to her pain filled green eyes. "Where's Temari?" he asked.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Yeah, don't fucking say sorry or anything, dickhead," she muttered under her breath. She grit her teeth and struggled up to her feet. "I would guess she's trying to catch some sleep in the medic's lounge," she bit out in a tight voice. She bit her lip again and pulled the door open and left Sasuke's room.

****



Temari woke up with a start and looked around the brightly lit lounge. She looked at her watch. She'd slept for about thirty-five minutes. She supposed it was better than nothing. She cocked her head to the side and listened to the sound that pulled her from a deep sleep. Temari sat up and looked to her left and saw Sakura sitting in the overstuffed chair. The pinkette looked like she'd seen a ghost; she was white as a sheet and whimpering in pain. Temari stood up and walked over to the chair, crouching down until she was eye level with the jounin. "Sakura-chan? Sweetie? What's wrong?" she asked her friend, who was clutching her left wrist. Those big green eyes filled with tears that spilled over. Temari glanced down at Sakura's wrist, it was swollen and turning purple. She summoned her chakra to her fingers and hit the nerve block in her upper arm and repeated the process at the elbow. Temari gently pulled Sakura's wrist away from her body and the pinkette whined in pain. Temari hit the block in her forearm and looked at Sakura, "Is that any better?" she asked her. The pink-haired medic nodded. She poured her chakra into the bone to accelerate the healing process that had already begun. Temari finished setting the bone and wrapped Sakura's wrist with bandages. "Want to tell me who did that to you? I already know it was one of the Uchiha brothers," she asked her senior medic.



Sakura's eyes filled with tears again but she was able to blink them back. She couldn't hold Temari's intense green eyed stare. She looked at the floor. "Sasuke. It was my fault, I should of woke him up before using chakra," she mumbled.



Temari hugged her friend. She gave Sakura two pain pills and told her to get some rest; she would cover for her for a few hours.

****



Sasuke nearly jumped out of his skin when Temari flung the door to his room open. "It was an accident! I swear!" he felt his chest tighten. He leaned forward and tried to calm his breathing the way she'd shown him the other day. "I...was...*wheeze* nightmare...didn't mean...to...hurt...her," he rasped out. He look up at the blond medic and waited for her to yell at him, hit him, anything but give him the look she was giving him. She looked so...disappointed.



Temari simply shook her head. "You didn't even say sorry," she said moving behind him and placing her chakra infused palms on his back. She didn't detect any fluid in his lungs and his reactivated chakra points were still going strong. She removed her hands and made some notes in his chart. She started out the door.



"Temari-san, wait. Will you sit with me for awhile?" he asked her. He still had a slight wheeze.



Temari rolled her eyes and sighed, "Fine. I'll stay until I'm off shift in a couple hours. And you better fucking apologize to Sakura."

****



Tsunade worked over the fallen Bravo team member and swore under her breath. She'd finally removed the cause of the problem and the jounin was stable. She let out a relieved breath and put her hand on Shikamaru's shoulder as he came around.



Shikamaru looked around the hospital room in confusion. He wasn't sure how he'd gotten to the hospital. His eyes focused on the Godamine hokage. He licked his dry lips, "What happened?" he asked.



Tsunade smiled at the nin, "You'll never believe me. Your appendix ruptured and burst. We removed it. On the way back to the village you collapsed and your team brought you in. We thought you'd been attacked."



Shikamaru groaned and accepted the cup of water Tsunade handed him. He drank it in one long swallow and set the cup on the table next to the bed. "What a drag. How long do I have to stay here?" he asked looking around. "Where's Temari?"



"I've sent someone to the second floor to find her. She should be down any minute," the blond sannin told him as Temari burst through the door. She grinned at the couple then she addressed Temari, "You can take him home in and hour of so. Give him some plasma pills, he lost about a liter of blood." She turned on her heel and then paused by the door. "You're off missions for a week. Have fun. Temari, Shizune is going to relieve you for the night," she said as she left.



Temari looked at her husband laying in the hospital bed and took a few steps towards the bed. Her lip trembled and her vision went blurry as the hot tears welled up in her green eyes and spilled over.



Shikamaru got up and pulled his sobbing wife into his arms. "Shh...I'm okay. There's no need to be upset," he said as he pulled the pen out of her bun. He stroked her loose dirty blond hair as she sobbed on his shoulder. "Come on...What are all these tears for? Shh...I'm here Tems. It's okay," he whispered, holding her tighter. This was different; Temari never cried. He could count the number of times he'd seen her cry on one hand. Her emotional outbursts were usually anger based.



She trembled as the sobs wracked her body. "Shika-kunnn..." she sobbed into his shoulder, "I was so scared when they told me you'd been brought in unconscious." She lifted her head and wiped her tears away. She smiled at him. "I should of known it was a normal medical problem, but I couldn't help it. I'm so afraid of losing you," she said as a fresh batch of tears welled up in her eyes.



Shikamaru chuckled, "You should know it would take more than this to tear me away from you." He stood up and stretched slowly, noting the slight pain in his midsection. "Come on, you heard Tsunade. Take me home, troublesome woman," he said grinning at her.

****



Sakura woke up about two hours later in the lounge and yawned. A twinge of pain in her wrist reminded her of her earlier carelessness. She got up and put on a pot of coffee and that's when she noticed the note on the 'fridge. Sakura raised her eyebrows, 'Shikamaru was hurt and Temari had to go? Wow. Shizune is covering? Must of been bad,' she thought. The coffee finished brewing and she poured herself a cup. She added cream and sugar and waited for it to cool off enough to drink. She giggled to herself, 'Shizune sitting with Sasuke?' She wondered how that was working out for him. She took a sip of her coffee and laughed to herself again.



Itachi was laying in his bed and staring at the ceiling. He couldn't sleep, wouldn't sleep. He wondered where the pink-haired medic was. He'd only seen her for a moment that morning. She'd told him he looked exhausted. He had dark circles under his eyes; he'd all but given up on sleeping. It was the dreams. Always the fucking dreams, that's what kept him from sleeping. He sighed again and got up to look out the window. He didn't need the Sharingan to know the window had a protective seal on it. He leaned on the wall and stared out the window in the direction he'd seen her take on several occasions. The dark street was empty. It was the middle of the night after all. He walked over to the opposite corner and sat in the dark corner facing the door. He was fairly certain she would come before the sun came up. He rested his arms on his knees and leaned his head back on the wall. He let his mind drift off into thoughts of the medical jounin. He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. He'd never felt this way about anyone before. He needed to see her. She had to come. He swore he could sense her close, swore her could smell her cherry blossom scent. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes as exhaustion claimed him.



Sakura walked down the empty hall to Itachi's room. No nurses or junior medics would come near. It was stupid she thought, most of them didn't even know him. Well she didn't know him either; she'd seen him a few times as a child and that was all. She took down the barrier jutsu and opened the door. Her eyes zeroed in on the empty bed, but she didn't panic because she could hear him snoring from somewhere in the room. She stepped inside and shut the door behind her. She made a few quick hand signs and put up a new barrier. Not that she thought he was going to jump to his feet and run away, but protocol was protocol. She searched the darkened room and finally found him in the corner next to the window sound asleep. She sat in the chair next to the bed and watched him sleep. She pulled her penlight out of her pocket and read through Tsunade's notes from earlier in the day. There wasn't anything physically wrong with him anymore. It was just easier to keep him at the hospital than the prison. She glanced up at him in time to hear him mumble something that sounded like her name. She felt a blush creep across her face as her inner self fussed at her, 'He's probably dreaming of a cherry orchard'. She looked at him for a few more moments and wondered if he was more comfortable on the floor than in the bed. She fished Temari's mp3 player out of her pocket and put the put the ear buds in her ears. She hit play and lowered the volume. she looked at her watch, 2:45am. Using her penlight she made a few notes and laid the chart and penlight on the bedside table. She bounced her leg in time to the music. She hated not having anything to do. Sakura yawned and summoned her chakra to her broken wrist. She smiled, it was almost healed completely. She got up to give Shizune a break.

****



Sasuke glared at the dark haired senior medical jounin. She looked up at him and returned her attention to her book. He huffed to himself. She was ignoring him and it was beginning to irritate him. When she got up to take his vitals he glared harder. "Did you fall out of favor with Itachi?" he sneered at her. She went on taking his vitals like he hadn't said a word. He tried a different tactic. "Where's Temari?"



Shizune sighed and turned to look at him. "She's at home. Shikamaru had to have emergency surgery," she said in an exasperated voice. She sat down and picked her book back up.



Sasuke laid back against the bed and folded his arms across his chest. "Hn. Is he okay?" he asked, not really expecting an answer. It surprised him when she looked up from her book and nodded. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep thinking about the kunoichi with dirty blond hair.



Shizune stood up and stretched when Sakura came to relieve her. She glanced at the bandage on the pinkette's wrist and raised an eyebrow at her. "What happened?" she asked.

Sakura gave her best Sai smile and chuckled. "Oh, Naruto and I were sparring. It's just a sprain. It's almost healed," she said lying through her teeth.



Shizune studied the younger kunoichi's face for a moment and nodded. "I'll be back in an hour or so," she told her.



Sakura smiled again, a real one this time. "Take your time. I'm not going anywhere," Sakura said sitting in the chair by the bed.

****



Temari stood at her front door and stared at Genma. "Nani?" she asked trying to clear the sleep from her brain.

Genma sighed; he had two more nin to pull out of bed. "You have an ANBU mission. You're to meet your team in one hour at the village gates," he said slowly, as if he were speaking to a child.



Temari narrowed her eyes at the senbon chewing jounin. "Dude, it's four damn 'o clock in the morning. Don't talk to me like I'm stupid. And fine I accept the mission," she said as she closed the door in his face. She walked back to the bedroom to pack and take a shower. She got out of the shower and dried herself off. She pulled on her tight black pants and her sleeveless fishnet shirt. She pulled her hair back in a single high ponytail. She wondered who her teammates would be. Walking out into the bedroom she noticed Shikamaru sitting up in bed watching her. "Hey," she said pulling on her leg armor.



Shikamaru could feel his heart pounding in his chest and wondered if this was how she felt when she watched him get ready for a mission. He tried to ignore the anxiety that was clawing at his mind. "Hey yourself. Weren't you even going to say bye? That's not like you Tems," he caught her gaze and held it. She looked away first.



"I didn't want to wake you up," she said, feeling as lame as her excuse. She pulled her chest armor on and then she looked up into his hurt expression. She looked away again.



He stood up and walked over to her. He hooked his finger under her chin and brought her face up. "I always wake you up. Tems...Kami...Be safe. Promise me you'll come back," he said looking into her green eyes. He claimed her mouth in a passionate kiss.



She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back. "I promise," she said against his mouth. She broke out of his embrace and kissed his cheek. She picked up her deer mask and hooked it on her weapons pouch. "I'll be back before you can miss me," she said winking at him as she went out the door.



He stood on the front porch and watched her take off towards the gate. He sighed. "I miss you already," he said out loud.

****



Sasuke woke up about thirty minutes after Shizune left. He glanced over at the chair at the side of his bed. His former teammate was sitting in the chair with her legs slung over the arm, fully absorbed in a book. He stared at her for a moment remembering Temari's words, he cleared his throat. She looked up at him; he met her gaze and held it. "Gomen ne, Sakura. I was having a nightmare," he said quietly, he looked away.



"It was my fault too. Forget about it," Sakura said turning her attention back to the mystery she was reading. She read for a few minutes then looked at her watch, 4:23am. She stuck her bookmark between the pages and set it down. "I'm going to take your vitals and then I have to check on my other patient. Shizune will be back soon," she told him as she took his pulse. She placed her chakra laden palms on his back and checked his lung and heart function.



He sighed as he chakra mingled with his and felt sleep beckoning him. He was half asleep when she removed her hands and leaned him back on his pillow. "G'night," he mumbled as he drifted off.

****



She unsealed the door and stepped into the room. Going through the necessary signs she reactivated the seal. She turned around to find herself staring into Itachi's onyx eyes. She took a step back and bumped into the door.

He looked into her soft jade eyes. He swept his eyes over her body, noting the bandage. He touched her face, making her gasp. He ran his thumb over her lips and cupped her face with his hand. "Sakura," he said in a low voice, "What happened to your wrist?"



Sakura started to recite the same story she'd given Shizune but something told her he wouldn't buy it for a minute. She couldn't tear her eyes away from his. "I was examining Sasuke while he was asleep and he woke up suddenly and grabbed my wrist and fractured a small bone. It's healed now," she said, mesmerized by his stare. She closed her eyes and knew he wasn't trying to cast genjutsu. When she opened them again he was stroking her cheek. It was such a gentle gesture it surprised her. "Itachi..." she sighed nuzzling into his touch.



Itachi closed his eyes when she nuzzled into his touch. The sound of her breathing his name sent a shiver down his spine. He opened his eyes and let his fingers slide down her face to her neck. She gasped as he ran his fingers down the side of her neck to her shoulder. He leaned forward and brushed his lips against her neck. He took a deep breath, inhaling her sweet cherry blossom scent. He felt her hands on his chest and he expected her to push him away.



She didn't push him away even though her inner self was screaming at her to run away fast. She ran her hands up his chest and sighed his name again. She felt him shiver and she moved her mouth closer to his ear. "Itachi," she sighed letting her lips brush his earlobe.



The combination of her breathing his name and her warm breath on his ear was almost enough to send him over the edge. He claimed her mouth in a passion filled kiss. He slid his tongue into her mouth, her hands fisted in his hair and she moaned against his mouth.



She could feel the heat building in her abdomen and arched up to him. His hands slid up her back and into her hair, knocking her hitai-ate to the floor. The sound of metal hitting the tiled floor broke the spell. She leaned down and snatched her hitai-ate off of the floor. She looked up, he'd taken a few steps back. He still had the same smoldering look in his dark eyes. She wiped her hand across her mouth and released the barrier. She turned back around to look at him once more. "Why me?" she asked him.



His gaze bore through her and he lifted the corner of his mouth. "Why not?" he countered her question with one of his own.

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A/N: Told you! LOL Let the flaming begin!!! I didn't make up that ninja registration number. I got it out of the official fan book.

-Ani