Darkness. It surrounded her, pure darkness with not a hint of light. It consumed her. She felt no weight, as if she were floating through the space of time. The pain, she was relieved of it. There was not a single aching muscle in her body. She felt at peace.
"Hello?" She received no reply except for the echo of her own voice. There was absolutely nothing. Then, after what seemed to be an eternity, a voice asked a question.
"Do you wish to live? To suffer more than you have? Or do you wish to die? To be at peace with your family?" Sakura thought about it for a moment. Sure, she desperately wanted to be at peace with her family and Saita. But, if she were to live, she could save more lives.
"I choose...to live." With that said, a bright light erupted throughout the darkness. She could feel the pain returning to her body, although not as painful as it had been earlier. The first thing she noticed was the mask on her face. It was purified oxygen and it made her lungs burn. The second thing she noticed was a familiar beeping sound from her left. The third, many chakras in the room.
She slowly opened her eyes and saw Team Seven, Mikoto, Shisui, and Itachi. Naruto and Sasuke were sleeping, leaning against each other's shoulder. Mikoto sat in a chair across the room. Shisui sat in a chair next to the door. His hair was messy, messier than usual. Itachi was next to Sakura. He was slumped over, as if he hadn't slept in days.
Hell, everyone looked like that but Itachi looked worse. She picked up Itachi's hand and squeezed it softly. Almost immmediately, his eyes snapped opened, alert and ready to fight. When his eyes landed on the newly awoken pinkette, they softened a bit.
"Sakura." The moment he spoke of her name, everyone had woken up immediately.
"SAKURA-CHAN!" Sasuke had to grab onto Naruto's collar to save Sakura from an impending jump.
"Dobe, you can't jump on her."
"Sakura, dear, how are you feeling?" Mikoto hurried over to the girl, sweeping the fallen strands away fron her eyes. Sakura smiled weakly in response.
"I'll go get Tsunade," Mikoto announced as she left. Naruto and Sasuke moved to the other vacant side of Sakura while Shisui moved towards Itachi's side. Sakura attempted to remove the oxygen mask but was stopped by four hands.
"You shouldn't take it off. You just woke up," Sasuke warned.
"This smells horrible and I don't like it," she complained, though her voice was muffled by the mask.
"Sakura-chan! We were so worried! When Tsunade told us you got hurt at the ANBU exam two weeks ago, I dropped my ramen and sprinted to the hospital as fast as I could!"
"Thanks Naru-kun, I'm glad-wait, two weeks ago?!"
"You've been unconscious for two and a half weeks," Itachi muttered quietly. She noticed his guilty expression.
"I need to talk to Itachi alone please." No one moved a muscle and only did when she sent them a stern glare.
"Nanda?"
"First, take off the mask." Itachi obeyed her command immediately without hesitation.
"Nanda?"
"What's wrong with you?"
"Nani?"
"You look guilty of something." The silence only confirmed her suspicion. Nothing was said between them until the door swung open.
"Sakura!" Tsunade hurried towards the pinkette and embraced her in a tight hug.
"Tsunade-sama."
"How are you feeling? Does anything hurt? Kami, when you fell down in my office, I was so scared!" Sakura blinked slowly, trying to process everything the Hokage had just said.
"Ettou, I'm feeling fine. I hurt a little but I'm good. I'm sorry that I made you worry. Can I leave the hospital?" Tsunade chuckled at Sakura's question.
"You can go whenever. Besides, I heard you are known for escaping hospitals." Sakura blushed at Tsunade's wink towards the end of the sentence.
"Arigatou."
"But! You will still be staying at Mikoto's place with her family."
"Hai hai." Sakura waved her hand but stopped when Tsunade's expression softened.
"I'm really glad you're ok," Tsunade said with a loving smile. However, Sakura only felt a sharp pang in her chest, as if she were missing something. She looked away sadly and thanked her before pulling out the needles and tubes from her arms.
Itachi swiftly swept Sakura off her feet and into his arms without her saying a word more. She found it frustrating how he refused to look at her, not even sparing a glance when she tugged on his hair. He placed her at the kitchen table, where Shisui, Mikoto, Sasuke, and Naruto sat quietly.
"Tadaima!" Sakura noticed the tension in the room dissipate the moment she spoke.
"Okaeri, Sakura-chan." Itachi nodded at the group before exiting to his room. Sakura sighed and lowered her head, wondering what was up with Itachi.
"Are you hungry? I've got some food for you if you would like," Mikoto offered in attempt to cheer the girl up. Sakura gave a smile, which everyone knew was fake, and shook her head.
"Iie, I'm really tired. Gomen, I'm going to bed." Sakura scooted out of the chair and walked to her room. She flopped onto the bed and sighed in frustration. Had she done something wrong? Did he hate her now because of Orochimaru? What if- A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.
"Sakura?" She could hear Shisui calling her but ignored him. "I know you are not asleep."
"Come in." Shisui opened the door slowly and closed it quietly before sitting on a chair near her desk.
"Are you thinking about Itachi?" He noticed her tense when he said Itachi's name.
"Hai."
"Did you know that he stayed with you most of the time when you were asleep? He's been like this since the incident. He's not going to tell you this but, he was so worried when you were bitten. He blames himself for letting you get hurt."
"Nani? But he couldn't have done anything."
"Itachi and I were watching you while you were in the forest. We saw you with Orochimaru and he tried to get them to help you. They refused to let anyone help you, claiming that it would be a good idea to see if you were strong enough."
"I don't get how this connects with Itachi."
"Itachi yelled at them, which was super scary, and told them that you needed help. They ended up knocking him out with a tranquilizer. When he woke up, he found out that you were in a coma and blamed himself for not being there for you."
"But...He couldn't have stopped Orochimaru anyways."
"Sakura, you have to understand that Itachi holds you close to him. He rarely aquaints himself with others. He's never had anyone close to him get hurt because of him."
"But that's the point! I didn't get hurt because of him!"
"He doesn't see it that way. He's thinking, 'If I had helped Sakura, she would have never suffered Orochimaru's mark'."
"I need to talk to him." Sakura threw her legs off of the bed and opened the door. She felt a hand wrap around her wrist and looked at Shisui.
"Please, don't hurt him. He's suffered enough." She was confused at what he said but nodded anyways. Silently walking towards Itachi's door, she knocked gently and waited for a couple seconds. The door opened, revealing a shirtless and ruffled-haired Itachi.
