Naruto 1. The ImpatientRaven

A lil' SasuSaku fic I decided to write ^^ Its in preparation, I guess you could say, for writing the one-shot for Naruto-Pairing-Peace Pairing Exchange coming up soon. May or may not be continued. Enjoy! :D

iSmart.../i

Who would have known that such a beautiful day could end like this. With him lying on a hospital bed, dozens of tubes poking out of his body, rage and confusion continuing to build inside himself. It was the other ninjas' fault, of course. The raven-haired boy had been sent on a mission without his usual team, with some other idiots that Lady Tsunade had dug up. He wasn't all that sympathetic when he was ushered past the dead bodies on stretchers, their family members huddled in a bunch as the tears fell onto the tiles of the hospital's floor. Its not like their entire family died, unlike his. Yet he turned out just fine. A few people may decline that, but what do they know? Nothing, thats what.

Sasuke's thoughts didn't keep him entertained for long, though. He soon found himself struggling against the many tubes. A few became loose in the process, them hanging from their machines with drops of their liquid dripping onto the floor. He didn't need all of this attention. He was perfectly fine, in his opinion. It was then that the door decided to swing open, revealing a pink-haired girl with a rather annoyed look shaping her facial features.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she snapped, making her way across the room. Before Sasuke could reply, the medical ninja set to work on the loose tubes.

"These are too expensive for you to be playing around with, Sasuke!" she continued to scold, begining to place a few of the tubes back into where they were.

"I'm fine, Sakura. Let me leave." he seemed to growl, impatience clearly heard in his voice.

"Only I will decide when you're healthy enough to leave." she replied, finishing up with the tubes. Sakura then rubbed her hands together, looking down at the difficult boy. His white shirt, which was hanging on the back of a chair nearby, had been torn in places, red splotches scattered across the fabric. It seemed only his pants had survived the battle. Well, as well as himself. White bandages had been neatly wrapped around his torso, a faint red stain starting to show. They would have to be changed soon. A few scratches were also dug into his face. The most noticeable was the one trailing from his temple and down to his cheek. That would also have to be checked out.

"I'm going to need you to hold still, Sasuke." Sakura murmured, placing her hands over the bandages. A glow appeared from her palms as she searched for any poison that may have gotten into his system. Nothing, unlike the others. The other two ninjas' wounds seemed to have mostly been from poisoned shuriken. He must have been pretty quick to avoid them. The glow soon died down as she gingerly placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

"I need you to sit up. Just be careful." she warned, helping him push himself up.

"I don't need any help." Sasuke muttered through gritted teeth. The calm ninja just ignored his comment, her fingers tearing at a strand of the bandage. His muscles tensed as Sakura's fingers brushed against the upper part of his chest. Her green eyes briefly connected with his before they went back to what she was doing. With the end of the bandage grasped in her fingers, she reached her arms around him to unravel it. The process continued on, her seeming to embrace him every few seconds. Sasuke just looked at the wall, trying to avoid looking at her once more. It wasn't long before cold air brushed across his wound, causing him to flinch. Sakura just pushed his shoulder, causing him to fall backwards onto the bed. She let her hands hover over the bloody mess, the glow starting back up once again. It didn't seem that serious. None of his internal organs seemed to be damaged, so she could just wrap him up in some fresh bandages. About a week of rest would also be required.

"Whats the verdict?" Sasuke asked, causing Sakura to snap out of her thoughts. She pulled her hands away and reached for the clipboard at the end of the bed, looking over it.

"New bandages every day, as well as rest for the whole week." the female kunoichi murmured, clicking open a pen and scribbling it down, "I don't want to hear a single complaint from you, Sasuke." she quickly added, putting the clipboard back. He just frowned, not daring to argue against her. It probably wasn't worth it, anyway. He saw how she could get when defied. Sakura then pushed him back up into a sitting position, causing him to flinch once more. With a new roll of bandages in hand, she set to work on wrapping them around the wound, careful to not wrap them too tight. It wouldn't help her position if he suffocated in his sleep. Her teeth clenched at the thought as she tried to shake it out of her head. She had a job to do.

Sakura finally finished after a few minutes, making sure the end of the bandage was securely in place. It was then that she looked back up at his eyes, which were still lingering on the wall, "Its not too tight?" she asked, her fingers brushing over the wrap. Sasuke didn't respond after a few moments.

"Hello? You there?" she couldn't help but smile, waving a hand in front of his eyes. Sasuke took his time looking back at her, his jaw clenched as he nodded. Her brow furrowed at his hostility.

"Serious as always, I see." she sighed, a few strands of pink hair falling into her eyes. Her hand reached up to brush them away. Without thinking, Sasuke's fingers seemed to have a mind of its own as he tucked them behind her ear. His hand then quickly snapped away, balled up into a fist against the bed. A word didn't escape her lips as she looked at him with wide eyes, a blush starting to creep up her neck. The two didn't move for a while, just staring at one another in disbelief. Well, Sasuke was actually more embaressed than anything else. It ended up being Sakura that eventually broke the silence.

"I-I better go check on some other patients." she stuttered, backing away from the bed and towards the door, "I'll be back later on to check on you again."

"I'm fine, I don't need any assistance." he replied, looking over at the wall. The wallpaper must be pretty interesting to him since he kept looking over at it. Sakura just shook her head, not bothering to argue with him.

"Wait." he blurted out, narrowing his eyes, "Is there any way for me to get out sooner? I don't exactly enjoy laying around for so many days when there are things to be done around the village." Sakura looked over her shoulder at him, thinking for a moment.

"Well..." she murmured, walking towards the end of the bed and resting her hands on the railing, "You just have to be a good patient and do whatever I say, but knowing you, it would be impossible to do." With that, a smile shaped her lips. Sasuke leaned forward, hearing a hint of a challenge in her voice.

"I've always been the best damn patient here."  
>"Is that so?"<br>"Of course!"  
>"Well, some of the other medical ninjas here don't think so because of what you did last time you were here."<br>"And what was that?"  
>"You kicked down the door and made a big fuss over Naruto being allowed to visit you."<p>

Sasuke just scoffed, rolling his eyes, "What can I do to make up for that, then?" Sakura frowned, deep in thought. What could he do for her? She then smiled,

"Well, it would help if you stayed still while I check those scratches of yours. I was going to do that later, but it would probably be better to do them now." He just nodded in response, watching as she sat on the edge of the bed beside him. Her hands reached out to gently cup his face, looking over the cuts. She ran the tip of one finger over the large cut down the side of his face, feeling his jaw tense even more, if it were possible. The cut didn't look too deep, though. She frowned in concentration, looking over the rest of his face. Her eyes briefly rested on his own before she continued on. Sakura then found herself staring at his lips, which caused the blush to creep back up her neck, reaching her cheeks. Sasuke simply smiled, his eyes not trailing away from her.

"Do I seem fine?"  
>"Yes, the cuts don't seem too deep..."<p>

"Great." he murmured, leaning forward until his nose touched her jaw, his breath brushing against her neck. She closed her eyes, a shiver running down her spine. He then brushed the bubblegum strands of hair from her neck before letting his lips run along the skin. It wasn't long before Sakura lifted a hand to tug on one of the spikes in his hair, causing him to pause and pull back a little, their faces not far apart.

"Do you think this will get you out of here sooner?"  
>"Maybe..."<br>"Smart."

Sasuke's signature smirk spread across his face.  
> <p>


	2. Losing Your Way

Something I wrote when bored. This has NO relation to any other one-shot here. Enjoy! ^^

It had all happened too fast. At the moment a raven-haired man was sprinting towards her, flashes of bright blue light appearing from his calloused hands. She could only feel regret as he approached her with his brow furrowed, rage clearly seen in every line across his face. Why her? That question continued to run through her mind as time seemed to slow down, the image before her flickering and fading away like an old tape. She couldn't believe what she saw. She just couldn't. He was her hero, her idol. How could he have fallen this low?

"Sakura!" a voice called out from behind her still figure. The kunoichi's head snapped around just in time to see a blurr of yellow and orange, bright sparks of light blocking her sight for a moment. A sickening thud echoed in her ears not too long after. It seems as though those few seconds were long enough for the other person's attack to reach its target.

A shriek ripped through the air as she found herself flying backwards, her back skidding against the stone ground. Was that shriek hers? She couldn't tell. Her body soon came to a stop, a leaf tickling at her nose. Sakura lifted a hand to bat it away, only to find more lying just inches away. Her green eyes opened, confusion about where she was. What had happened? Those thoughts came to an abrupt halt as she remembered, scrambling to her knees to glance back at where she was just moments ago.

A few leftover sparks could still be seen in the distance, fading away to nothing. A boy with spikey blonde hair was crouched on the ground, his head bowed. Upon further inspection, her gaze rested on a mangled body before him.

"Sa-Sasuke.." Sakura murmured, slowly rising to her shaking feet. She only took baby steps, the scene not making sense to her. No, it couldn't have happened. It was just a dream. Yes, thats it. Of course. As she continued to reassure herself, her feet still lead her to the others, sometimes slipping on damp leaves scattered across the ground.

A cool breeze then blew softly across her face, causing a few strands of pink hair to wave in front of her vision. She lifted a hand to brush them away, looking back at the two boys. Something in her head then clicked together as she let what happened finally sink in.

"Naruto... Sasuke!" she screamed, running the last few yards and falling to her knees next to Naruto. It was easy to tell that Sasuke wasn't in very good shape. His white shirt was torn open, a bloody mess in full view for them to see.

"N-no! This shouldn't be happening! We were supposed to save him, not kill him!" Sakura's voice cracked, tears brimming at the corners of her eyes. A vile taste rose up from her throat as she looked over Sasuke's slight rise and fall of his chest. It moved to an unsteady beat, fighting for a full breath. She just had to save him, somehow. It didn't matter to her what the consequences would be.

Her hands trembled as she let them hover over the wound, a blue glow appearing beneath her hands. After a while she heard something rustle next to her before a hand appeared on top of hers, smears of blood covering the rough skin. The hand curled over her own, making her move her focus to the boy next to her.

"I don't think its going to work..."  
>"Be quiet! I refuse to let him die!"<br>"Sakura..."

Her jaw clenched as her head turned away from him, back towards Sasuke. The glow once again appeared, except fainter this time.

"Come on!" she seemed to growl, her brow furrowing as she focused more of her chakra, her fingers starting to tremble in the process. A few minutes passed with silence, strain building on her tense muscles. She couldn't hold it for much longer. There was too little energy left in her to do much else. Sakura slowly took her hands away, cupping them together as she look down at the Uchiha, the tears now making an appearance on her red cheeks as they ran down to her chin and fell to the ground. Familiar hands gently clutched her shoulders, allowing her to lean against his chest and breathe in his dusty, sweaty scent. The rusting-iron smell still seemed to clog her senses.

"So much blood." she murmured, her voice nearing a sob. Naruto's arms wrapped around her in response as his own tears fell.

"I'm so sorry, Sakura. I'm so sorry for letting this happen." he murmured, blue eyes disappearing as he closed them.

"Only he could have saved himself." a lump seemed to rise in her throat, no more words escaping from her mouth as she pulled away from his embrace, crawling over to Sasuke on her hands and knees. She then lifted her hand to his face, brushing her finger-tips along the side of his cheek.

"Only he could." she repeated in a whisper, closing her eyes as more tears escaped, "Only him..." The kunoichi bent forward, moving her fingers up to his bangs and pushing them aside. Her lips met his smooth forehead, which had, just minutes ago, been traced with lines of anger and frustration. It couldn't have been just towards her. No, it was towards The Hidden Leaf, the village that had tried to murder his entire family. If only he could have forgotten his need for revenge. If only he could still be with them in Konoha. So many "if only's" that will never come true.

"I love you, Sasuke." she murmured, "I even did when you lost your way. No matter how hard I fought and tried to hide my feelings, I just couldn't bring myself to harm you."

Sakura then leaned her head back down and brushed her lips against his own, tears falling down onto his face. 


	3. A Hospital Visit

Hello everybody! Heres another one-shot by me for a dA's group exchange. I'm happy with how it turned out, and I hope you guys are, too! Enjoy!

*This one-shot has NO relation to any others here!

Both fists were clenched tightly at her side, practically begging to be swung at something. An actual person may be better, though. The pink-haired kunoichi was standing in front of the hospital's front desk, staring down the older woman behind it.

"I'm sorry, Sakura, but I can't allow you to visit the Uchiha boy at the moment." the other woman murmured, wringing her hands in front of her.

"Please, it'll only take a minute! I just want to see how he is doing." Sakura pleaded, resting her still-closed fists on the edge of the desk. The woman's lips pressed together until they were only a thin line, wrinkles appearing on her forehead as she thought.

"Alright," she finally replied, "but only for a minute. He isn't in the best of shape at the moment."

Sakura nodded, her expression not changing once as she turned on her heel down the long hall. The nervous girl had already visited him earlier on in the day, but he had been unconscious at the time. She could only sit on a small chair by his bed, wishing desperately for his quick recovery. Now she must get answers from the boy about what had happened. About what had caused him to lose his guard when on their latest mission only a few days ago. Sasuke was usually more careful than that. He could have avoided the rouge ninja's attack, yet seemed pretty eager to get in its way. Sakura then shook those thoughts away. His health was more important at the moment. She could always just ask later on.

It didn't seem all that long before his door was only a few feet away, looming in front of her. Sakura took a deep breath and pulled it open, the door squeaking a little in the process. A raven-haired boy lay before her with so many bandages wrapped around his body that she almost didn't recognize him. Some covered pretty much most of his arms as well as his hands, which were resting in plain view on top of the bed's sheets. As for the rest of the body, his loose white shirt was still on, only showing a small view of the bandages wrapped around his chest. A few minor burns were scattered across his forehead. Sakura then took notice of his closed eyes. He must have fallen back asleep.

Without hesitating, she headed towards the seat she had sat in before, still in the same spot that it was left in last time. Sakura clutched her hands together with them resting in her lap. Her eyes had continued to stay on the Uchiha in front of her, never wavering to something else in the room. There wasn't much to look at, anyway. It was pretty much bare except for the bed-stand nearby. The windows were drawn shut, no outside light being let in. The two could have been completely alone in their own little world if she let her mind drift away enough. Sakura's eyes eventually moved away from his face, down his body, and to his damaged hands. These were the hands that had protected her from what befell Sasuke now. She could have been the one laying in the bed, fighting harsh burns like he was.

Sakura's jaw clenched tight as she fought back tears threatening to spill at any moment. She had cried enough up to that point. It wouldn't help anything at all if she let the waterworks happen then. Teeth found her bottom lip as she bit down, looking away from Sasuke and at her sandles, which had some strips of grass peaking out from underneath. At that moment a rustle came from behind her bangs, which hung down in front of her eyes. The troubled girl still didn't move, though, thinking that she had just imagined the sound.

"Hn." a deep voice grumbled which was followed with some more ruffling of the sheets, "What are you doing here, Sakura?" the voice continued to speak, the question obviously directed towards her. She just shut her eyes, hands starting to shake as a few seconds passed with silence. It came as a shock when graceful fingers pushed aside her pink strands of hair, revealing tear-brimmed eyes to Sasuke. A sigh escaped his lips, Sakura almost feeling his gaze burning down on her. He must have thought how weak she was being, how useless to him. Her mouth opened, as if to say something, but only a soft whimper rose from her throat, nearing a was only seconds after that the tears began to fall, running down her cheeks and dripping off her jaw.

"Sakura..?" Sasuke murmured, confused by her sudden breakdown. He leaned toward her, wincing at his burns brushing against the bandages. One of his hands rested on her shoulder while the other placed a finger under her chin, lifting it up into full view.

"Theres no need to cry, you know. Its... annoying." a smirk spread across his face as he said those last few words, remembering the first time he had said something similar to that quite a while ago. Sakura furrowed her brow, tears still continuing to fall.

"Why did you do this?" she asked, gently grabbing the one hand under her chin with her own, holding it palms-up, "Why did you jump in front of me, in front of that attack? Were you thinking at all when you did that?"

"Of course I was thinking! I was just trying to-"  
>"Trying to what, Sasuke? Kill yourself?" Sakura asked, the questions coming out harsher than she had meant to.<br>"No, I was trying to protect you, Sakura."  
>"But why? I could have dealt with it myself."<p>

Sasuke then just went silent, looking down at their hands. He gently placed his other hand on top of theirs, clutching hers tight. A flinch jerked his hands, but he still hung on to hers.

"I... don't know, Sakura. One moment I was just standing there and the other I found myself running towards you. All I could think of was to not let you get hurt, even if I got injured in the process." a frown then settled on his face, seeming to be deeply concentrated on their entwined fingers, "I wish I could explain better."

"Your eyes say it all." she sniffed, wiping some of the tears away with the back of her other hand. Sasuke just looked at her, a confused expression on his face. What did she mean by that?

"What is that supposed to mean?" the puzzled boy asked, his eyes narrowing at the now smiling girl.

"See?" Sakura said, lifting a hand to brush against the small wrinkles forming at the edge of his eyes, "You're an open book when it comes to your eyes. Well, at least to me you are." Sasuke just let the side of his face rest against her hand, closing his eyes and breathing in her perfume. Cherryblossoms. It described her perfectly, especially because of the outrageous color of her hair.

"Yeah yeah yeah." he murmured, opening his eyes to see her green ones looking back at him. Silence then followed, neither of them saying a word. What could they say? Well, maybe talking wasn't really needed. Sasuke started leaning toward the kunoichi, her mirroring his movement. He paused just before their lips would meet to look over her face once more. Perhaps seeing if she approved being that close to him? Sakura's eyes were wide, curious on what he was going to do next. He then smirked, bringing their lips together. It took only a few seconds for them to start moving in sync. Sasuke's fingers somehow found themselves on the back of her neck, his other hand cupping the side of her face while her own snaked around his neck, bringing themselves closer to one another.

Sakura playfully bit his bottom lip, causing him to let out a 'Hn' of annoyance. She just smiled in response before letting their lips come back together. Their kiss gradually deepened, the Uchiha's fingers running through her hair. Her hands lowered from his neck and to his bandaged chest, brushing her fingers along the wrap. She felt his muscles tense under her touch. Oh right... his burns. With one last peck on his cheek, she backed away from the bed and escaped from his warm embrace.

Sakura then only stood there with her back to him, thinking of what had just happened. A blush started creeping up her neck and rather quickly reached her cheeks. Why didn't he just push her away? Wait, he was the one who leaned in first. Maybe it was his injuries that caused him to not think straight. Yes, that was a possibility. Could he have been thinking straight and actually wanted to kiss her? The thought only caused more color to come to her face, her skin feeling like it was on fire.

"Sakura...?" she heard him murmur, a questioning tone in his voice. Sakura just turned around, a small smile on her still blushing face.

"You're still injured, Sasuke. We can't do too much with those burns of yours." Her hands were resting on the back of the chair as she spoke. He just grimaced as he layed back against the pillows, looking back at her.

"I could handle it. I've been through much worse." the stubborn boy sighed, closing his eyes.

"If you say so." she mused, pushing the chair over to a wall before walking back over to the bed, "I better leave before the woman at the desk starts getting suspicious."

"Why should she be suspicious?"  
>"I think you can figure that out yourself."<br>"Hn."

Sakura chuckled, laying her hand gently on his shoulder, "Make sure to do everything they say. We all want you out of here very soon." She leaned down to give him a quick kiss on his forehead, hearing him once again grunt,

"Hn."

Sakura just smiled, shaking her head as she walked over to the door. One last wave over her shoulder and the pink-haired kunoichi was gone, leaving the boy behind to question what had just happened. 


End file.

Naruto, Humor, Romance