章節 17: Chapter 17
This was the first time that she would have taken care of someone with out her sensei's supervision. When Tsunade had praised her, and called her the best medical ninja next to herself, Sakura was immensely shocked and flattered. She had realized that she was coming along better than most people on staff, but she had always thought that there were many beyond her. Apparently not. Perhaps this is why Tsunade let her deal with Sasuke, because maybe there was something she could do to help that the Hokage herself couldn't. After all, two days ago she had said the way that Sakura controlled her chakra was very effective for healing wounds. Sakura gripped the handle a little tighter before opening the entrance to the room.
Sasuke was back in the hospital bed, some new bandages wrapped over his eyes. His hair was damp and hung down away from his face due to the extra weight of the water, revealing a very incomprehensible expression. He was also no longer wearing the torn and tattered clothes that he had been garbed in that morning and was now wearing a simple cloth hospital gown.
"Good afternoon Sasuke," she said cheerfully, "I'm glad that they got you cleaned up."
"Hn," was the noise he made in reply.
"I trust you didn't have too much difficulty," Sakura continued, coming forward, putting her medical bag on the nightstand next to his bed.
"Can we save the pleasantries and get on with this?" he asked, his voice sounding irritated.
'I must have hit a sensitive spot by asking if he had trouble,' she thought nervously, biting her lip. Inner Sakura was beating her head against a wall.
"Very well," Sakura replied, changing her tone to a more serious one, "But it you won't get better overnight, Sasuke. This treatment demands a great amount of patience; I won't have you pushing yourself—it would most likely result in a longer rehab period."
"Hn."
Inwardly, Sakura sighed. She was hoping that Sasuke would be a little more—she couldn't find the word to describe it. Open, friendly, accepting? All those things were ridiculous to expect of Sasuke, but she was hoping that he would be a little cooperative to say the least. Depending on how this went, the plan that Inner Sakura had come up with would or wouldn't be implemented. Worst-case scenario: she would resort to plan B.
"Sit up for me, please," Sakura ordered, pulling out a medical book and skimming a dog-eared page for some last-minute information that could help her.
He complied without complaint and sat in a cross-legged position on the mattress, his back straight and his shoulders back. Sakura was glad to see that he was no longer handcuffed to the bed as he rested his hands patiently on his lap. His posture spoke to Sakura, revealing his proud nature once again—this was a great blow to his ego, she thought to herself.
Reaching out she undid the bandage from the back of his head, slowly unwinding it until it fell away from his face. She wrapped it in a neat coil and set it down next to the book she had spread out on the table. She then walked over and sat down on the side of his bed, looking at his face.
To someone who did not understand the situation, it would appear that Sasuke was completely fine, and was just sitting with his eyes closed, but Sakura knew better. Tsunade had indeed done a good job on his face, as there were no marks or indications that suggested he had ever been slashed by a kunai, but she knew that behind his closed lids, his damaged eyes were concealed.
"Open your eyes, Sasuke," Sakura spoke firmly, but gently, trying not to hurt the prideful Uchiha.
Slowly he opened his eyes and Sakura noted the damage with grimness. There was severe damage to the cornea, and even though Tsunade had managed to partially seal the wound, the deep gash had crusted slightly shut and appeared extremely painful.
Sakura went and rummaged around inside her bag, procuring an ophthalmoscope. Sitting back down on the edge of the bed, she shone the light from it in each eye, comparing the injuries. There was damage to the lens and iris in both eyes, but his inner eyes, from what she could tell, seemed to have sustained no damage at all. She put the ophthalmoscope aside, her renewed knowledge on the human eye allowing her to recognize what she must do.
Sakura stretched out with her hands and brushed some stray strands of hair out of the way before laying her fingertips on either side of his head. Sasuke's hands snapped up, seizing her wrists and tearing her hands away from his face.
"What are you doing?" he demanded, his voice angry.
Sakura glared at him, even though he could not see it. "I am trying to begin the healing procedure," she replied irritably, "If you don't mind, could you let go of my wrists?"
Slowly Sasuke's grip on her wrists loosened and he dropped his hands in his lap again. There was a trace of a scowl on his face; Sakura could tell he was distrustful of her, but there was nothing she could do about it. Again she raised her hands to his face and placed her fingertips on the different chakra points in his head, where the book had said they would be.
Focusing the chakra in her hands, she exerted it through her fingertips and onto Sasuke's skull, keeping close watch on the flow of chakra. She closed her eyes in concentration, moving the chakra over his eyes to the infected areas, using her powers as medical ninja to repair the torn tissues.
For half an hour she and Sasuke sat perfectly still, neither of them moving, the only movement that could be seen was the slow rise and fall of their chests as they breathed, and the wispy chakra that was glowing at Sakura's fingertips. After a few more minutes Sakura dropped her hands to her side, feeling drained. Healing something as delicate as the eye was very difficult and she now knew why Tsuande hadn't healed him completely the previous night—she had run out of expendable chakra.
"I'm finished," she said to Sasuke needlessly, "You may be feeling drowsy as a result of the process, so you should try and get some sleep."
"Hn," he replied as Sakura stood up from the bed and went and grabbed some fresh bandages.
She sat down behind him this time and wrapped the white bandages around his head, being careful around his eyes, not wanting to jar them. Sasuke waited patiently as she tied the bandage at the back, and didn't say anything as she stood up, packing away the book and the ophthalmoscope she had used.
"I'll come back in an hour and we'll begin the rehab," she told him as she slung the bag over her shoulder, feeling extremely tired herself, "If you need anything, call the nurse by using the red button on the right side of you, she should be able to tend to your needs until I come back."
She began to cross the room, ready to head up the lounge and take a needed nap—her chakra was still low from healing him the previous night, and she had not had a chance to replenish it completely. The process she had just completed had drained it even further, and she longed for some sleep.
"Sakura," Sasuke called out to her as she reached for the door handle.
Pausing, she turned back to look at him; he had lain back on the bed again and was facing the ceiling, "Yes Sasuke?"
"Why are you doing this for me?" he asked her, and she could hear an undertone of confusion in his demand, "Why are you helping me, when not that long ago it was you who pointed out that I was a criminal against this village?"
Sakura gave a sad smile, even though he could not see it. She tried to speak gently in a way that would paint a picture of her facial expression, "You seem to have forgotten, Sasuke, the words I said to you on that day three years ago."
"I haven't forgotten," Sasuke said after a moment.
His words tugged at her heartstrings, touching her, "Then you should know why I'm doing this for you."
With that final word she exited the room, closing the door gently behind her.
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