Blonding

Chapter 28 : Coma

"Shizune! Go get Lady Tsunade!"

"B-but she's in retirement! Surely you can't-"

"I can't do this alone, and I need her, Shizune! Please, just go get her! Lives are at stake here!"

"Okay, but she won't be happy about it-"

"I'm not happy about it! But it's necessary! Please, just hurry!"

The hospital doors clattered closed behind the Fifth's assistant as she jetted out of the building, passing massive crowds of people in her wake.

Immediately, she was replaced by yet another nurse, who nervously plucked at the clipboard in her hands, awaiting initial instructions from her boss.

"You there! With the clipboard! Go draw those curtains. I need the media to climb down out of my ass right now, I can't concentrate."

The nurse gulped at the direct order, turning as white as the sets of curtains she was frantically trying to force over the windows. She squinted as the wave of camera flashes assaulted her retinas, before the fabric finally gave way and snapped across the curtain rods, leaving nothing but the sound of angry reporters and paparazzi banging on the walls and glass.

"Where the hell is that ANBU detail," the lead medic hissed to herself with a scowl as she began to put on a pair of latex gloves, her standard civilian outfit contrasting sharply with the soft pastel scrubs of the nurses that clouded around her like a hive of bees, desperately taking notes and adjusting dials and knobs on the array of machinery that seemed to coat the far walls of the hospital room.

It was easy enough to tell just by looking at Sakura Uchiha that she was in a sour mood - her current apparel notwithstanding. The woman's infamous red dress quickly gained a status in the hospital that had not been seen since the Fifth... and it certainly didn't help that the two kunoichi had terrifyingly similar personality traits when it came to the work that they did.

'If you saw red, you'd most certainly be seeing more of it by the end of the day,' was the clever remark passed between interns on the weekdays, although none of them held the gall to actually say that to the woman's face. Because the only person that could bring them back from the brink would be Lady Sakura herself... and there were good odds she would be less than willing.

One of the machines across the room began to cry like an infant child, screeching out in a mechanical voice that made half of the nursing staff jump in surprise.

"What is it now!" Sakura shouted, marching over to the computer's monitor.

It didn't take long for the machine to stop making noise.

The hospital doors opened again, and this time it was Temari - much to Sakura's surprise. She didn't have much of a chance to relay her disgruntlement at the intrusion, before the Sand nin began to march to the center of the room, towards the pair of hospital beds that were girdled on all sides by prodding nurses and snaking wiring.

"My brother wants to see him," she said immediately, eyes not moving from the beds. "Can that be arranged?"

"What the... why the hell do people think this is a hotel lobby?" Sakura cried, still picking bits of shattered glass from the side of her fist. "I'm working, Temari! If I don't hurry, then there won't be much of him left for Gaara to see, okay?"