Standing up, he braced his feet against the floor, the familiar dizziness coming to his head as he stood, his perception completely thrown off. Sakura came and took his arm carefully and he felt the world steady slightly, as he let her hold onto him without complaint. They adjusted the position as he bent his arm at the elbow and offered it to her, allowing her to link her arm with his. He was reminded of the way lovers walked arm in arm down the streets of Konoha and firmly brushed the thought aside. To anyone who didn't understand the situation it would appear that they were a couple, but he didn't care what strangers thought—and his old acquaintances would soon come to know of the circumstances anyways.
Sakura led him out into the hall, carefully leading him through the doorway, and he remembered with embarrassment how hard the doorframe had felt against his head—he was not in a hurry to repeat that accident again. She led him on carefully and certainly, not letting him crash into anything, and leading him out of the way when medics passed by them. Sometimes he lost his footing, stumbling on occasion, and he found his other hand grasping her arm reflexively, to keep him from falling. Not once had she let him fall, and he found that navigating was easier when she helped him.
"Things may seem a little wobbly right now, but eventually you'll be able to get around without becoming dizzy. You're doing great so far, but you've only been here for two days, and while you have grown used to this a bit, it's not going to go away any time soon," she was telling him now as they turned around the corner to where he remembered the elevator being, "Don't forget that while getting around at the smooth-floored hospital isn't that bad, elsewhere is another matter."
"For example?" he asked her, not really knowing what to say to her. He wasn't too good at conversation, only saying what he needed to, nothing else.
"Like the pavement on the streets is rough," Sakura responded contemplatively, "and old cobblestones have all these protruding edges."
"I see."
"But I'm glad that you've gotten hold of the basics," she told him in a cheerful tone, "Apart from dizziness, lack of perception and knowledge of your location, you're doing very well as far as moving around goes. You don't seem to have any difficulty eating with chopsticks, either."
Sasuke smirked inwardly at himself, remembering the first meal they had brought him. Luckily they had assumed he would be fine on his own, so he was alone when he had been eating and poking himself with the food he was trying to insert into his mouth. He had always used his sight to somewhat visually gauge where he should stick the end of his chopsticks, automatically compensating for different lengths. Not being able to see how long they were, he had misjudged the length and ended up jabbing himself. Eventually he had gotten a grasp on it, and didn't prod himself for the rest of the meal, but he had had to use the napkins to wipe off any rice on his face.
Sakura came to a halt and he stopped abruptly as a result, automatically reaching to brace himself against her, but he merely heard the quiet beep that signified she had pushed the button for the elevator.
"Now, tell me," she said as there was a quiet 'ping' indicating that the elevator arrived, "What would you like for lunch?"
Sasuke entered the elevator, being cautious not to trip as he entered, and thought for a moment. He didn't really care what he was given to eat, as long as he was given something.
"Anything's fine," he replied, shrugging slightly, "Just nothing sweet."
Ino stood dejectedly in front of her mother at the counter in the flower shop, the familiar fragrant aroma seeming irritating today instead of soothing. This was not what she had hoped would happen, as it was a terrible inconvenience on her part. Standing next to her talking to her mother was Kakashi-sensei, his hand resting supportively on her shoulder to keep her from tipping over if she fainted. Mentally she cursed her luck with every profane word she could think of; she had been so close too…
"Perhaps you had better go lie down," one of the medics spoke kindly to Ino, who nodded dumbly.
She smirked inwardly as one of the medics led her into the main part of the hospital, a supportive arm wrapped around her. Keeping up the façade, Ino allowed herself to wobble as she walked, and forced herself to stumble gracelessly about. This was going to work, she told herself confidently.
"Huh?"
Ino looked up in a dreary manner, peering carefully at the person she and the medic had just run into. There was a man before them with wild silver hair and his forehead protector covering one eye; a dark mask coved the lower half of his face. His visible eye looked surprised and the eyebrow was raised high above it in a confused manner. Ino recognized him as Sakura's sensei, Hatake Kakashi. She frowned inwardly, wondering if he had been in to see Sasuke too.
"Yamanaka Ino?" Kakashi said questioningly at her sickly appearance, "Are you okay?"
The medic looked up at Kakashi, "Do you know her?"
"She's the student of a co-worker," Kakashi replied, scratching the back of his head, looking at her in a confused manner, "What happened?"
"She passed out at reception," the medic replied, readjusting the grip on her arm a little.
"I know where she lives, I could take her home, let her mother watch over her for a bit," Kakashi volunteered smiling up at the medic, "I'm sure that there is a more sickly patient that could use the bed you were to put her in, and I'm sure the comfort of her own bed would be preferable."
"Alright, thank you," the medic nodded, loosening the grip on her arm, letting Kakashi come over and support her, "Be careful, alright miss?"
"Hai…" she mumbled wearily, but she was actually raving angrily in her mind, a long constant string of swearwords running through her head.
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