Bitter Tears

Chapter Four

A/N: Thanks to my beta Reigh for helping me with this.

When Sakura was a child she was afraid of the dark. She couldn’t sleep, dared not to cry out, and sobbed at the malicious looking shadows on her bedroom walls. Eventually her fear became so great that her mother bought her a little pink lamp. Sakura had loved her mother deeply for doing such a thing, and every night she would switch on the light to sleep undisturbed.

Then one day she met a boy. Immediately Sakura knew that he was not like the other children. He sat away from all the others, did not speak, and always gazed off into some faraway place. She had become fascinated instantly, and as if sensing her stare the boy turned, casting his gaze upon her. In that moment Sakura felt her body freeze. It wasn’t his sculptured face or his angelic posture that caused her to cease movement, no, it was his eyes. Eyes that were as dark as night; far darker than the shadows that haunted the corners of her room. Those eyes pierced through her being and brought time to a halt. They were beautiful, so beautiful that Sakura wanted to cry. How could she have believed that anything this radiant could be so frightening?

That night Sakura ran home and dashed up the stairs to her room. After pulling the familiar pink lamp off its stand, she walked up to her mother smiling, and handed the once loved gift back. Ignoring her mother’s questioning look, Sakura turned away to prepare herself for bed. In less than an hour she was asleep without any assistance, a tiny smile gracing the corners of her mouth.

The next day she awoke from dreams of the boy with the ethereal eyes, and realized that she was still smiling. It was that same day that she told Ino about the boy who had haunted her dreams. The same day she lost a friend and gained a rival. The very same day she heard his name for the first time.

Sasuke Uchiha.


~*~


As Sakura looked into those all too familiar eyes, she felt the years shed away until she was a little girl again. A girl who fell in love from afar, and had her heart broken up close. She may have been a little girl again but she was not a fool. These were no longer the eyes of a vulnerable boy; they were the eyes of a haunted man, of a killer.

“Sasuke.”

The name that fell from her soft lips caused a slight twitch on the Uchiha’s face. It was a good sign that he was aware of himself. Sakura watched as the man before her winced and emitted low, pained groans. That was also a good sign, it meant he wasn’t paralyzed.

“Can you hear me Sasuke?” She questioned, administering a boost of morphine into his system. Hopefully it would be enough to lessen the pain, though not fully.

“Sasuke.” She said again, raising her voice.

“Can you hear me?” Another hiss of pain escaped the lacerated body before her, but this time it was lower in tone, the morphine was working.

“Sasuke...” Placing her hands across his chest she summoned her healing chakra. She would get a response from the stubborn bastard, even if it was the last thing she ever did. Sakura’s concentration was so set on healing
him that she did not sense the movement of a hand coming up to capture her wrist within its grasp.

Gasping in shock, Sakura pulled away, hastily removing Sasuke’s hold upon her. His touch burned her flesh. His skin was so hot, and his grip so powerful that for a second Sakura believed he was fooling them all. No man could be that strong after such an ordeal. No man could possess such strength when merely moments ago he was writhing in agony. Sakura’s next thought made her smile wryly; this was Sasuke Uchiha wasn’t it? With him anything was possible.

Approaching the bed once more, Sakura watched as the elevated hand twitched and curled. Sasuke’s eyes were now fully open, the dull glaze fading away. It was amazing how fast he was rousing from the drugs. His body had to be awakening at an incredible rate. Sasuke truly was a thing of legends. How had Naruto managed to defeat him? Shaking her head, Sakura made a mental note to ask the tanned blonde the next time she saw him. Lately there had not been much time for them to talk. Sasuke’s return had turned all of Konoha onto its head.

“Sasuke.” The name was becoming a mantra, but Sakura silently praised herself for not adding a ‘kun,’ at the end of it. Cringing at the memories surrounding that thought, she reached out again and calmly placed her hand over Sasuke’s hovering one. She ignored the powerful spark that shot up her arm at simple contact.

“I know you can hear me,” she said, gently lowering his hand onto the sheets, “I want you to squeeze my hand okay? Just a little squeeze so I know that you’re with me.”

It was strange talking to him this way. After all that had happened the past few years, there she was talking to Sasuke Uchiha in such soft tones that anyone else would think she was comforting him. They would be wrong of course. If it wasn’t for the fact that this was her job, Sakura would have happily stepped aside to allow another medic this task. However, the powers that be had clearly stated their intentions for the young kunoichi, and as she had been told by her mentor that their word was final. That was the life of a ninja. They lived and died by the commands of others. Sakura had chosen this life willingly; she knew the rules all too well.

The hand upon her own contracted and folded. Biting her lower lip, Sakura held her breath as Sasuke’s hand coiled over her own. His skin was still just as hot, and so soft. Fighting the urge to pull away, Sakura allowed the beautiful man to grasp her hand within his own. His touch was so powerful, yet so meek at that moment in time. A tug of emotion pulled at the medics’ heart; an emotion so strong that she did not dare stop to analyze it.

“Sasuke...” Yes the name was a mantra now, familiar though somehow foreign.

“You can hear me can’t you?” Closing her eyes, Sakura allowed a brief smile to grace her lips.

“Naruto,” she breathed, a weight lifting from her heart. He had been destroying himself with guilt ever since he found out how serious Sasuke’s condition was. Finally, Sakura could look into the blonde’s eyes and tell him the good news that he been waiting for.

“Thank god,” she sighed, a small laugh escaping her lips. If there was one thing that could make her laugh, it was Naruto. As relief flooded through her, Sakura’s smile widened. Her day was starting to pick up. Turning away to add notes to Sasuke’s charts, the pink haired woman jumped as a raspy voice cut through her trail of thought.

“Is there...something funny...about my...situation?”

* Sakura’s eyes widened as she gazed down at a very conscious Uchiha looking up at her. Actually, it was more like glaring than looking. Typical, Sakura fumed, that he would have an attitude even after being in a coma for nearly a week! Biting her lip to resist making a snide comment, Sakura masked her annoyance behind a professional façade.

“So you finally decided to wake up,” she said. Folding her arms, the medic ran her eyes over his statuesque features, ignoring the twinge in her chest. Not only did he have to go and give her attitude, but apparently he also had to look irresistible whilst doing it. Her day was not picking up.

“You’ve been in a coma for nearly a week now. We were getting worried.” Sakura inwardly excused herself from the ‘we’, since to her it referred to idiot nurses and Naruto only.

“A week?” Silence filtered the room as Sasuke lay there analyzing what Sakura had just told him.

“I’ll kill him,” he stated emotionlessly, before attempting to sit up. The action resulted in a cry of pain from the dark haired man as well as an ungraceful fall back onto the small bed.

Sakura quickly summoned her healing chakra, only faltering for a second. The comment about killing Naruto had angered her; he deserved to suffer a little for his words. It was evident that nothing had changed in the eyes of Sasuke Uchiha.

“You won’t be killing anyone anytime soon,” she said darkly as her chakra flowed through the body below her.

“Your body is severely damaged. We do not know to what extent yet.” As Sasuke’s body stopped flinching, his breath evened out. Sakura broke the connection and stepped away.

“I’ve been assigned as your personal medic,” she stated watching as Sasuke lay there unresponsive.

“It means we will be in each other’s presence...a lot.” Sakura was pleased that her voice remained calm. Maybe she could do this.

“So I won’t tolerate you making death threats on my friends, and I won’t accept reckless behavior like what happened just now.”

She inwardly gave herself a high five. That should show him who was boss. If he wanted to ever have a chance of getting his ass kicked by Naruto again, then he would have to do as she said. Ignoring Sasuke’s benumbed state, Sakura raised her chin and spun away. It would do the legendary Uchiha some good to be alone with his thoughts; he had a lot to think about.

“You must have pulled a lot of strings.” The young medic’s hand faltered on the door. Twisting her head, Sakura raised an eyebrow questioningly at the detached man. His eyes moved away from her and settled on the ceiling above him.

“To be assigned as my medic,” Sakura felt the ice in Sasuke’s words reach out and bite her.

“You must have lain awake dreaming about this moment. Being able to get up close to me, look at me, touch me.” His face remained impassive even though his words were laced with poison.

“For them to give me someone so weak, so pathetic, you must have used manipulation.”

His eyes snapped back to hers, they were malevolent and cruel. An invisible knife sliced through Sakura’s flesh and pierced her heart. Those once beautiful eyes had now vanished; they had been replaced by the orbs of a monster. Her Sasuke was gone. Naruto was wrong. Their friend did not exist anymore, and that realization was more painful than she could have ever imagined.

“Who did you fuck Sakura? Who did you whore yourself to so that I would have to suffer your presence?”

The words stung. They seeped into her skin and poisoned her blood. He was a beast, a heartless monster! Clenching her fists, Sakura hissed at the pain and anger searing up inside her. How dare he accuse her of such a thing?! He knew nothing of her as she was now. She was the Hokage’s renowned apprentice; her healing abilities were unmatched in all of Konoha! She was the strongest kunoichi in miles, and he dared to make such vile accusations at her!? Blood began to seep from her clenched hand; her nails had pierced the soft flesh.

Fighting back her overwhelming fury, Sakura composed herself long enough to raise her head to look down at the man she had once believed herself to love.

“You’ve been gone a long time Uchiha, a lot has changed here. You shouldn’t underestimate me like you did Naruto.” For a second Sakura thought she saw a flicker of rage pass across her former teammates face.

“I’m the best medic in this village, which coincidently makes you the luckiest man in this hospital.”

Letting the door slam shut behind her, Sakura walked swiftly away from room 107, and the man that resided there. How did Tsunade expect her to survive through this? Not only was she supposed to spend her working hours with Sasuke, but her private ones too! It wasn’t possible. No way was she going to live in the same house as that creature. Sighing, Sakura covered her face with her hands.

She should have taken the damn holiday when she had the chance.