Chapter Three: Saving Me
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Disclaimer: Applied to all of the chapters of Green Eyed Angel. I do not own Naruto.
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Show
me what it's like
To be the last one standing
And teach me
wrong from right
And I'll show you what I can be
And say it for
me
Say it to me
And I'll leave this life behind me
Say it if
it's worth savin' me
Nickelback: Savin' Me.
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Sasuke finally closed his eyes in peace after heaving to use up all of his energy glaring at the nosy nurses who poke their noses into his room every damn minute. He was sure that the doctor from yesterday would be back today since he had sent away all of the nurses with one of his infamous glare that seemed to fried brains. Well, that and a couple of growls and curses and his refusal to be treated any longer. He heard that the nurse stationed to him from last night had requested a change. He could not be any happier.
Aside from all that, he was still confused as hell. He was told that he had amnesia and he could undoubtedly recover in a few weeks or earlier. Something inside of him snapped. He was not sure what it was but he knows for sure that he could not afford any waste time. His injuries were still sore as hell but he was not the one to complain since he wanted out of this place as soon as possible. The hospital should be able to contact some of his unknown family member was his first thought, and he was sitting on his behind doing nothing but twiddled his thumbs waiting for the answer.
The knocked on the door cut through his thoughts as he scowled. This time, it had better not be another female species or he would loose it completely. The knob turned and a flash of pink hair was the first thing he seen. Feeling slightly better that it was not another nurse coming to harass him, he settled down a bit but the scowl was still in place.
"Hello, how are you this fine evening?" the pink haired doctor said cheerfully. After her conversation with Tsunade, Sakura concluded that she would undoubtedly be nice to him even if it kills her in the process.
"Che." He replied uncaringly as he slid his gaze toward the ceiling. Sakura mentally rolled her eyes. Whoever this Sasuke was, he was undoubtedly the most arrogant man she had ever come across. He must have been one of those stuck up jerk until he had knocked his head and even then, Sakura concluded that his arrogance was the only thing that he did not forget.
"Anyway, I'm sure that you've already been informed of your current status." Sakura said waiting for his reaction. "I'm sure that the police would try their best to investigate where you are from and contact your family, but for now, we'll just have to make do."
Not a single remark from him. Sakura tried again. "You know, you're the first of many who has amnesia. The last person who did was about ten years ago when he wandered into the forest and fainted with tattered clothes. It took him a long while to recover his memory but it turned out a happy ending."
"…" Sakura waited for him to say anything and when he opened his mouth, she eagerly leaned in to listen. "You're annoying." He finally said with a weird look on his face. Sakura stopped short before turning to look at him. Seconds ticked by, as she was speechless. That was something she did not expect to hear. She could feel her lips twitching dangerously and before she know it, she and thrown her head back and laughed heartily, not a fake laugh or a force laugh, but a genuine laugh that chimed like silver bells.
"So I have been told." She replied after her laughter had died down. "That aside, I have to change your bandage and clean your wound." Sakura said as she took the cart that the nurse had rolled in and left by the door. "I heard you gave a hard time and refuse to let anyone touches you."
Sasuke grunted. It was on the tip of his tongue to yell at her and ask her how she would react if they fondle you instead of doing their job.
"I'm going to untie your gown." She said before Sasuke felt the string of the hospital gown came apart.
Sakura refrained herself from blushing at the sight. Even though he was covered in bandages, the ripple of corded muscles stood out along with his pale skin. Undoing the gauze layer by layer, she could feel her inner persona jumping and screaming in joy as she glanced at another patch of perfect flesh. Oh, god was it hot in here or was it just her? Slapping her inner self mentally for voicing something as outrageous as this, she concentrated on her task at hand, but the damages were done. Undoing the bandages meant that she has to touch his upper body and unconsciously, she stole a glance at his perfect eight-pack abdomen. Her inner persona was having a field day as she took in every inch of the exposed skin. Bad Sakura.
Sasuke resisted the urge to smirk. He knew that she, like every other female was undoubtedly staring openly at his muscle. He was not attracted to her or anything, but as a male specimen, his ego would suffer immensely if she did not take a moment or so to ogle. He heard her draw in a shaky breath before pulling the cart closer to her and wrung the towel of the water before she dabbed it gently across the painful swelling area then applied it with some ointment before wrapping the gauzes.
Sakura congratulated herself once she finished the back. Now, it was time to do the front. Readjusting her position, she laid him gently on his back before proceeding to peel away the gauze. Repeating her earlier method, Sakura controlled herself, as her gaze never wavered from the wound. Ogling at him in her mind was more than enough. She did not want him to catch her doing it in reality. She was a professional damn it!
Sakura did not wavered her gaze from the wound and it took every last once of her concentration not to blush crimson. She had paled her mind on something else rather than on the current situation such as what she would cook for dinner or just eat out again. She did have a craving for pasta lately. Maybe she should stop by the Italian Restaurant around the corner from her street.
Sasuke pretended to look anywhere but the pink haired doctor in front of him. She looked rather spaced out than concentrating her mind on the job. He tried to catch her making even one mistake so he could have a reason to yell at her since his pent up anger was at its limit. Too bad, she did not make any.
This entire situation was ridiculous. Here he was, stuck in some unknown hospital in the middle of nowhere and his so call family did not bother posting signs or reporting to the authorities for missing a brother or a father or son or even a nephew twice removed. When he gets his memory back, they are go all going to get his wrath.
"We're not in the middle of nowhere. This is New England and you are in Saint. Marcus Hospital." Sakura soft voice replied offhandedly.
Sasuke brows twitch. Could she read his mind? Was she some psychopathic with telepathy ability?
"No I'm not reading your mind. If you had not mumbled underneath your breath, I would not have heard. You're very good at concealing your emotions." She remarked calmly before reaching out toward a pair of scissor and cut the gauze. "There. All done. Now, I want you to rest some more. Your wounds are healing at an exceptionally fast rate and if this keeps up, you'll be able to return to normal in no time." She finished with a smile.
"Che." He muttered but made no move to do as she said. Sakura bit her tongue. He was being so difficult!
"I could always call in one of the nurses to stay her until you're asleep." Sakura said with a shrug as she secretly hid a smile. Bingo! His face paled a bit as he settled back against the pillow and promptly closed his eyes.
'What a tiring and troublesome patient' Sakura thought as she walked out and closed the door behind her. 'Great. Now I sound like Shikamaru.' Maybe she will take up on Tsunade offer for a few drinks after all.
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Sakura was glad that these past few days had been pretty good. So far, Sasuke had not given her trouble with his smart remarks. He had simply given her the silent treatment and she could not be any happier, but a little peeve that he could riled her up with his 'Hn' and 'Che'. It was seriously getting on her very last nerve and she had a suspicion that he was enjoying her predicament. She was considering suggesting to Tsunade that he should be placed in the second grade to reform his sentence structures. On the bright side, he was a remarkable fast healer. The surgery should have taken a toll on most people but Sasuke had handled the recovery pretty well. The phrase 'Bastards die hard' ran through her mind and she could not agree more.
As much as he irritates her, she could not help but noticed that he had a soft side for animal. The event happened a yesterday when a stray kitten jumped through the opened window of the fourth floor and Sakura had no idea how the little creature was able to jump that high. Sasuke had gotten off his bed and spoke to the kitten softly before sighing and went back to sit on the bed. The little cat must have found a liking to him because it hopped onto the bed and rubbed against his side while mewing softly. Sasuke had glared softly at the creature before he gave up and patted on the head a few times. Sakura swallowed a giggle as she watched the whole scene behind the half open door. Maybe if she could get permission to bring a puppy or a bunny during his treatment, he would ease up on her a bit.
Surprisingly, his memory had not returned one bit. She had sat down with him one afternoon, prodding him to tell her if he remembers anything at all. That had lead to a disaster of shouting and glaring and Sakura calling him names, which he responded with a simple 'You're annoying'. Now, she was back for another session. She dread on how this one will turn out.
"Good morning." She said cheerfully as she pushed the door open.
"Back
for another torture session so early?" he said coldly as he refused
to look at her. Repeatedly telling herself not to loose her cool, she
kept her smile in place. Just when she thought they had made some
progress, he reverted to his obnoxious self. Maybe she should have
brought some cute pets along. Anyway, today she had gotten permission
from Tsunade to try something a little different.
"How would
you like to go out for a walk today?" she said nicely.
Sasuke narrowed his gaze. After she did not offer any more words, curiosity got him. "Where?" he asked grudgingly.
Sakura smile widened. "Out in the garden. We have one exclusively for patients."
"Che. I don't want to associate with anyone." He said arrogantly.
'Yes, no wonder you have a social skill of a gorilla.' she mused but tried again, for both of their sakes as well as the rest of the people who had to work in this hospital that has to put up with his crappy mood swing.
"No one is going to be there this early in the morning." She replied and she could see his expression was starting to give in.
"Hn." He finally said and Sakura smiled smugly.
Sakura 1, Sasuke 0.
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The garden was in full bloom and Sakura could not be any happier that she managed to visit the garden especially when the cherry blossoms are in bloom. She slid a glance toward her somewhat grumpy patient trudging along the path with a scowl on his handsome face. At least he was not complaining as he did back in the room.
They walked in silence most of the time and occasionally Sakura would point out different types of flower they came across. Sasuke just grunt and replied with a 'Hn'. They settled down on a granite stone bench after a ten minutes walk around the perimeter which had brightened up her mood a lot. However, the same could not be said to her patient. He would stare into space every now and then and tuned her out completely. She tried to snap him out only to receive one of his glares. She was starting to become immune to those glare of his.
"You know, cherry blossoms are very rare in New England. Did you know that no matter how beautiful they are, they never last long because of their short life span?"
"Hn." He replied noncommittally.
"If you keep frowning like that, you'll get frown lines all over your face." Sakura said teasingly. Sasuke turned towards her with a glare that clearly said, 'Do-I-look-like-I-care?' but she could see that he was trying his hardest to control the ticking of his upper lips.
"Black hair." He murmured out before turning his gaze away.
"Pardon me?" Sakura asked as she leaned in closer to hear him better.
"I remembered a black haired woman." He replied absently. Sakura got excited as she tried to stay in her seat.
"Okay, what does she look like?" Sakura continued to probed him gently.
"Dark hair, white skin, she's always smiling." He said softly. Sakura grimaced. She did not want to ruin his thoughts by telling him that he was probably describing one-third of the population in America.
"What is she to you?"
Sasuke scrunched his brows together as if he wanted to think harder, probing his brain until he fully remember who this mysterious was. Seconds ticked by before he leaned his head into his palms and gave a tiny groan. "I…I can't remember." He finally said dejectedly. Sakura lowered her eyes. She felt bad that she had pushed him beyond his limits and now he was suffering.
"I'm sorry. I should not have asked you so many questions." She apologized.
Sasuke looked up at her sincere face before he allowed a small smirk to show. "Damn right you shouldn't."
Sakura giggled before she threw her head back and laughed. Sasuke inwardly smiled as the sound of silver bells reached his ears. She has a nice laugh, he finally decided.
"Are you ready to go back inside?" Sakura asked when she had calmed down a bit, though a trace of smile remained on her face, making her looked so innocent.
Sasuke groaned. "Do not make me go back there."
Sakura smiled. "Okay. A few more minutes then."
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Tsunade opened the door to her office as she shrugged off the white lab coat and draped it on top of the leather swirling chair. Some might consider six o'clock in the morning early, but for her, it had been a long night. She had forgotten what her home looked like for the past week only stopping by briefly between shifts so that she could change into new set of clothes or for a quick shower. She had also gotten tired of hospital food.
Setting herself tiredly down onto the soft leather sofa, she rubbed her eyes with a sigh. Her moment was ruined however when a soft sound from her computer announced that she received an E-mail. Reaching forward toward the mouse, she maneuvered the tiny device and clicked on the screen to load the mail. Seconds later, it appeared on the monitor and it read:
How's he doing? He could be a tad stubborn sometimes, but underneath all that laid a very sensitive man. Please take your time and patient with him. I know that I left him in good hands. I really appreciate what you are doing and I hope to see him with the person he really deserves and love.
From,
U.M
Tsunade smiled a bit when she finished reading the E-mail. Hitting the reply, button, she typed in a few sentences as her eyes strayed toward the garden where her most favored apprentice and former student sat inches away from the Uchiha man, who at the moment was scowling while Sakura's face was lit up in mischief. They will be a good match, that pair. Whoever said that opposite attract had never witnessed it first-hand like Tsunade.
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Sakura walked towards Tsunade's office at exactly twelve on the dot with a bottle of Poland Spring in her hand. It had been a good day so far. Not too many people were admitted with any serious injuries except for a man who accidentally punctured his palm with a nail but he was taken care of immediately by the available doctor. Sakura would have loved to help handle the situation but a certain black haired man refused to let another nurse or doctor neared him except for her. The rest of the staff gladly offered to take her place and let her tends to the onyx-eyed man who had a smug expression on his face at his victory.
She should be irritated that he was acting this way, demanding to be near her to be near him when she should be taking care of the rest of her patients, but she could not denied that she liked his unspoken attention either. Even though he did not voice it, she could clearly see that he was comfortable in her presence unlike the rest of the people he met during his stay here. It helped her feel a bit better knowing that she had done a small part of her job even simple things like making a patient felt like he belongs. However, it goes beyond that as much as she tried to deny it. She had gained an attention of a man whom she had known all her life. He was a total stranger to her safe for the fact that he only ended up here was because of the accident in the first place. She did not know where he came from or who he was only she realized that every time he turn to look at her with his intense eyes, she felt like she was in a trance of abyss that seemed to pulled her in.
Slapping herself out of the ridiculous thought, she schooled her features. She was a professional doctor, damn it. No man with eyes like those that onyx gem was going to make her disobeyed the unspoken rules of the hospital, and having a romantic thoughts about a patient who was in her care was definitely a no-no.
After clearing her thoughts and mind a few minutes, she knocked on the door before hearing a faint 'come in; from Tsunade. Pushing the knob, Sakura strode in and smiled at her mentor.
"You look like you need a drink." Sakura joked as she took a seat opposite of Tsunade.
"Don't I know it?" Tsunade said tiredly as Sakura laughed. "Anyway, how's the progress? Did he remember anything?"
"Not so much I'm afraid. I took him out this morning into the garden to clear his mind and he said that he seen flashes of a woman with dark hair and dark eyes."
'His mother.' Tsunade mused as she continued to listen to Sakura, her face blank of any expression.
"I asked him who she was but he did not seem to remember. He suffered a headache after that."
"I see. But you did the right thing by taking him out of the hospital environment. A person with amnesia needs to be surrounded by everyday things to become familiarize with his old memory and recover faster. I am not surprised to hear that the garden probably triggered some memory inside of him." Tsunade said thoughtfully.
"I agree. He was becoming frustrated with the room that he seemed to throw unexpected tantrums." Sakura remarked.
Tsunade mentally smiled. "I heard. It seemed that even his good looks did not help his mood with the female nurses. Sakura, I need you to do me a personal favor."
Sakura raised a brow. "What is it?"
"For the better of the hospital and future law suits of traumatize from the staff, I need you to take care of Sasuke."
"Isn't that what I'm doing?" Sakura asked confusingly.
"I meant let him stay with you for a while. He seemed to be in a better condition with his fast healing ability and I think that it would help tremendously with recovering his memories."
Sakura opened her mouth to protest only to close it. "Is that even legal?"
"Of course. Think of it as a charity case. You are helping a man in need of a warm home, a man with no memory of whom he was if you do not want to think of it as businesslike. Do you have the heart to let him wander around and possibly get raped by raging hormone teenagers?"
Sakura raised her brow at Tsunade strange logic. "You think he'd get raped?"
Tsunade shrugged. "You know how female nurses react to him. Do you think any less of teenagers?"
"Why can't you just hand him over to the police?"
"I don't think any of those policemen did anything really bad in their past life to deal with a menace like Sasuke." Tsunade remarked dryly. Sakura smiled at this.
So true. If she did not have a patient of a saint, she would have been so sure that she would knock him out when she first met him. When he was conscious, of course.
"I'll throw in a two weeks vacation with full paid."
Sakura eyes widened. "Are you bribing me?" she asked with amusement.
Tsunade smirked. "Whatever works. Besides, I want my hospital to go back to normal. That means no nurses with a lovesick expression on their faces and doing their duties instead of chatting like fan girls. I don't think their husbands like it either."
"I think that if given the chance, Sasuke would be a dead meat now with all the beating he'll receive from the angry mob of husbands."
"Exactly." Tsunade agreed. "So what will it be?"
"Well, I can't exactly turn down a free two weeks and still gets paid so I guess I have no choice." Sakura said with a sigh. Tsunade inwardly smiled when she heard the exact same phrase from a certain Sasuke Uchiha when she told him the news.
"Good. His things are packed and ready to go." Tsunade said with a nod.
"So you knew I was going to take it?" Sakura asked.
"Sakura, even if you had not agreed to it, I was going to force him onto you anyway." Tsunade said with a devious smirk as Sakura backed away from the room slowly with a weird expression on her face.
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Okay, how are Sasuke and Sakura going to live together when their opinions are different as night and day? Stay tune and fine out on the next chapter!
Thanks for all of the reviews. Very encouraging as always. I love long reviews and I love reading your thoughts and opinion on this. It gives me ideas to use for the next chapters!
For those who are wondering when I am going to update Beyond Temptation, its going
to be a while since I am so stuck on writer block for this story. I apologize and I will try
to get the chapters out as soon as my head starts clearing up.