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Shogi Anyone?	By : Shortcake Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 13931 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything Naruto related. I make no profit from this story.

Chapter List
- 18
- 19
- 20
Sakura woke up before the alarm clock. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in a futile attempt to suppress the waves of nausea. She ran into Gaara’s bathroom, barely reaching the toilet as a surge of bile filled vomit left her mouth. The smell only made it worse; she sat on her knees for several minutes retching and dry heaving. Halfway through the ordeal, Gaara was behind her, holding her hair out of her face, flushing the toilet repeatedly, and kissing the top of her head. He handed her a glass of water as she sat on the floor composing herself. She rinsed her mouth and spat, afraid to swallow anything just yet.
The kazekage scooped his sweetheart off the floor and carried her back to the bed. “Darling, is there anything I can do for you?”
Sakura sat up and shook her head. “No. I feel a bit better now, actually. How are you?”
Gaara smiled as he pulled out his clothes for the day, “Never better. See you at breakfast, then?” He kissed her forehead and headed for the shower.
Sakura dressed quickly and made her way to her own room to get ready for the day. She desperately hoped for a particular diagnostic outcome for her beloved, but either way, he needed a proper diagnosis immediately.
…
Gaara held his arms across his chest, still thoroughly irritated to be at the hospital diagnostic lab first thing in the morning. The hospital gown hung loosely on his lithe frame. The sand shinobi handed his clothes to Kankuro with a huff. “This is a waste of my time and medical resources.” He grumbled as Sakura prepared the machine to scan his head.
“I thought we had agreed that I would be the medic and you would be the kazekage, Gaara.” Sakura reminded him in her best calm, professional voice.
Gaara refused to give up his grumpiness. “I have an appointment in my calendar in 8 days. Surely that is sufficient.”
Sakura glared, “It’s not. That’s why I enlisted Kankuro to help me get you here now. Now, as your attending medic, you may either lay down on this table and keep your mouth shut for the procedure, or I can induce sleep and keep you out as long as I deem necessary. Which do you choose, Lord Kazekage?”
“Fine.” The red head scowled as he climbed up on the exam table.
Sakura adjusted his position as the table slid into the scanner. “It’s vital that you breathe through your nose only and stay perfectly still. Otherwise we have to do this again with you sedated. Okay?”
“Yes. Please proceed.” He resigned himself to this humiliating fate.
Sakura motioned Kankuro to join her behind the partition as she started the machine up. “Thank you for helping me get him here.”
“No problem, Sakura. Whatever it takes to keep my brother healthy and doing his job so it doesn’t become mine.” The older brother quipped. Getting Gaara to the hospital right after breakfast had been a daunting task. Sakura managed to hurry him some by saying that if he got in and out early enough, no other patients would miss scheduled services because of him. Still, it had taken both of them to pressure him into it. Kankuro had even threatened to leave town for a week, which would force Gaara to attend all the council meetings.
Gaara held himself perfectly still for the five-minute scan. It wasn’t a hard task for a ninja; he could’ve gone an hour if needed.
The machine finally stopped whirring and clunking. Sakura returned, moving the exam table back out. “You can put your clothes back on and head into the consultation room next door. I’ll read the results and be with you shortly.”
…
This wasn’t what she wanted to see. Sakura double and triple checked the results just to be sure. Her insides were a wreck, but she knew she must be professional. No one besides Kankuro had the slightest clue of her attachment to Gaara or her present condition. As far as they knew, he was a colleague and a friend, nothing more. She took a deep breath and stepped into the hall, walking to the admin desk briskly. “Yuki, I need you to start a set of admitting paperwork for the kazekage. No one who doesn’t need to know sees it, understand?”
Yuki’s eyes widened at the request. She nodded with understanding, “Yes, doctor.”
She took Gaara’s file with her into the consultation room, closing the door behind her for privacy. “Sealing jutsu.” She made the hand signs with deft fingers maintaining her calm façade as she sat behind the desk opposite the powerful brothers. Taking a deep breath, she made eye contact with them both.
Gaara finally showed concern. “How bad is the news?”
Sakura kept her medic hat firmly on her head for this conversation. “Let me explain.” Both men nodded. Kankuro’s hands clenched the arms of his chair with white knuckles as she continued, “When Shikaku was extracted, they removed him through a chakra channel in your occipital lobe, here.” She pointed at a spot in the paper copy of Gaara’s brain scan. “When Chiyo revived you, the chakra drainage here was patched, or you’d have never regained consciousness. The patch itself prevented me from seeing the problem using only my chakra. The problem is a tear in the patch, which means you are slowly leaking chakra. Every night when you sleep, your reserves are restored, so you don’t really notice it yet. When your blood pressure rises high enough, it puts pressure on the patch, exacerbating the tear and giving you headaches. Are you with me so far?”
Gaara nodded. “That makes sense. A tear in the patch is having me leak chakra and have headaches. Got it… So why is that bad?”
“The tear is slowly getting worse. I’ve been treating your headaches with chakra infusion, so that has masked the severity of the symptoms. It’s the same way taking pain medicine can keep you from knowing how bad an injury is, you see?” The medic explained.
“So, it’s getting worse. How much worse can it get?” He looked her directly in the eye, looking for a straight answer.
“Without treatment you’ll be dead in six months or less.” She knew he didn’t fancy sugar coating, so she laid the cards on the table. The silence was deafening.
Kankuro surprised her by speaking next. “What does the treatment entail?”
Sakura held back tears. Damn the pregnancy hormones! This was hard enough on a regular day. “I’m afraid the only alternative is invasive brain surgery. It’s a difficult surgery; few medical ninjas would even attempt it. There are significant risks of complications which include severe brain damage and death.”
Gaara spoke calmly. He’d already died once, but now he had a fiancé and a child on the way. He wanted to live. “Please define ‘significant risks’”
She looked at Kankuro’s face, then straight at her beloved, “There’s a fifty percent chance of a successful surgery and full recovery.”
Gaara swallowed hard, “So then, a fifty percent chance of death or debilitating impairment?”
Sakura closed her eyes and leaned back in the chair. “Yes.”
Kankuro leaned forward in his chair, “You would perform the surgery?” She’d never seen the jovial man so serious. Not even when he’d been poisoned.
Sakura breathed deeply and sat erect behind the wooden desk, her hands flipping through the papers in Gaara’s file. “If necessary, I will perform the surgery. However, the best surgeon for the job is the Godaime Hokage.”
Gaara nodded, “Then I will go to Konoha. That’s easy enough.”
Sakura shook her head, “It would be most unwise for you to travel now. If we’d found this three or four months ago, yes. But your condition has deteriorated to the point traveling could induce a stroke. Tsunade will need to come here. I will write the scroll for the hawk as soon as we’re finished with our meeting.”
Gaara raised an eyebrow, “What else is there to discuss?”
The medic went on, “Gaara, it’s imperative that you avoid stress. Anything that raises your blood pressure puts you at risk. I’ve already started the paperwork to admit you to the hospital, so you can have round the clock medical supervision.”
Gaara’s barely contained fury flashed through his eyes, “You what?!?!”
Sakura held his gaze and spoke with practiced calm, “Please stay calm, Lord Kazekage. I understand this is unwelcome news. I’m simply doing my job as your physician. This is necessary for your health. Please.” Her final word was more personal, almost begging him to see reason.
Gaara took several deep breaths, calming himself with his eyes closed in meditation. They allowed him silence and time to gather himself. “Alright then. Your goal is for me to have the least stress, to rest and conserve my chakra until the surgery, is that correct?”
“Yes.” Sakura replied promptly.
“And I presume that would be until the surgery which will happen as soon as arrangements can be made for Tsunade to come to Suna?” He queried.
“Correct again.” She said calmly.
“Then I suggest I stay home. Kankuro can cover my duties at work, but you know here I would be hounded by visitors. I would feel better at home as long as possible.” Gaara looked to her response.
The tempestuous ninja drummed her fingers on the desk as she considered his thoughtful request. She knew he was right about the stress level of being an inpatient. She’d been one herself. She was only following standard protocol. Still, he’d need supervision. Medical supervision. “Gaara, I understand your feelings. And I’m sure it would be less stress for you to be at home, however, you need round the clock medical supervision. Your blood pressure, especially, needs constant monitoring, possibly medication. And you’ll need regular chakra infusions too. The best place for all of that, unfortunately, is the hospital.”
Gaara considered her words carefully. “Couldn’t you do all of that?”
Sakura was taken off guard. It was something she hadn’t considered. “Well, yes… Of course, I could, but I’d have to cancel classes and my normal rounds…”
Gaara saw light at the end of the tunnel, “Couldn’t you cancel classes, do your morning rounds, and have one of the chunin stay with me a few hours a day while you’re here?”
Sakura smiled, he was a master negotiator. That was certain. “Gaara, you have a deal.” Then she looked over to Kankuro, “Can you please have a cot set up for me in my fiancé’s quarters? I’ll need to stay the night there until his surgery.”
Kankuro smiled, “Fiancé?!? Why did you hold off on the good news until now? And yes, I’m happy to help. I’ll let the aviary know you’re coming with a scroll. Should Gaara stay here or come with me?”
Sakura was flipping through another file from her drawer, “Just a moment… Let me see… who do I have on rotation this week… ah yes. Kenji… Gaara can stay here until my shadow chunin arrives. I’ll send him back with Kenji shortly. You’ll like him; he’s a respectable shogi player. And I’ll adjust the chunin duty roster to cover that assignment. With their classes suspended, I’m sure it won’t be a problem.”
The brothers nodded in concurrence.
Kankuro stood, “Very well, then. I’ll see you both at dinner. You are coming to dinner, aren’t you?”
Sakura drummed her fingers again, such a nervous habit she was getting! It was one thing for him to be off duty, but missing dinners would really shake the council. On the other hand, Gaara at dinners might make them pester him about things he needed to avoid. “I see your point. So long as Gaara’s blood pressure levels don’t become elevated during meals, I see no reason for him to avoid them. Same thing goes for taking walks and other light activities. No training, of course.”
“I will set boundaries with the council at today’s meetings. Thank you, Sakura.” Kankuro bowed.
Gaara raised an eyebrow, “You said ‘light activities’. What about sex?”
Kankuro blushed bright red, but Sakura was surprisingly unfazed. She got these questions all the time. Usually they didn’t affect her directly, but still… “Probably not a good idea.” She hated to admit it, but sex was usually fairly athletic, especially for them. But then, it left Gaara very relaxed and he had never had a headache following sex, so maybe.
Gaara sensed a loophole, “What if I only have sex with a medical ninja who monitors my blood pressure constantly.” The corners of his mouth lifted in a tiny wry smile as he spoke.
Damn he was good at getting what he wanted. “Maybe. We’ll see how it goes.”
Kankuro couldn’t help but laugh, “That’s a yes if I ever heard one.”
With ninja reflexes, Sakura fired off a rubber band, pinging the offensive man on his made-up cheek.
Kankuro yipped, “Hey, that stings!” He promptly ducked as a shuriken whizzed over his head, sticking in the office door. “You carry weapons in the hospital?!?” He dodged a second shuriken. “Alright! Alright! I’m going!” He opened the door as Sakura dropped the privacy seal.
Yuki noted two shuriken stuck in the open door as a flustered puppet master emerged from the consult room. She was sure she’d seen stranger things in the hospital but couldn’t for the life of her recall when. She went to the door carefully, “Doctor Haruno, I have that … paperwork… you requested.”
Sakura looked up at the administrative assistant, “Thank you, Yuki. Although it seems we won’t be needing it today. The kazekage will be resting at home until his procedure can be scheduled at a more convenient time. Could you please put that in a file on my desk? I’ll take care of it later.”
“Of course. No problem.” She started to leave when Sakura interrupted.
“Oh, one more thing. Could you please show the kazekage to the waiting area?” She looked to Gaara, “There’s always water and tea there. And veterans. Kenji will be with you in about a half hour.”
“Thank you, Sakura. And, Yuki was it?”
The young woman bowed as the powerful shinobi stood. “Yes, Lord Kazekage. I’m Yuki. Please follow me.” The two left, leaving Sakura alone.
She lost no time, pulling out a scroll. “Dear Shishou, the situation is dire…”
…
Tsunade was in a foul mood. She’d won a bet with Kakashi the night before, making her a tidy sum. Bad things always happened when she had good luck. She was already nipping at the sake and it was only eleven in the morning.
Yamato practically flew through the door, “Lady Tsunade, this just came in from Suna. It’s Sakura’s seal.” He swallowed hard and stood by as the buxom blond grabbed the scroll and read.
“Shit. Shit. Fuck. Oh, damn it!” The Godaime drummed her fingers on the desk as she thought her hokage’s assistant-in-training standing confused and agitated at her side.
She barked at the befuddled jounin, “Get me Temari out of the trade talks immediately!”
Yamato bowed, and stepped toward the door, “Yes ma’am!”
“Wait!” She interrupted him, “I’m not done yet. I also need you to summon Ino and Naruto… and get that lazy bastard Kakashi in here! It’s high time he took a turn behind this desk. Now go!”
The wood ninja left abruptly, setting to his tasks in earnest.
…
“What do you mean, we need to leave for Suna in an hour? What’s the matter?” Temari was on edge. The hokage was known for her temper, but she did not make rash decisions. For her to make a personal emergency trip to Suna and for Temari to need to come too… “Is Gaara dead? Please… Tell me.”
Tsunade sighed. This little wind user was sharp as a tack. “No Gaara is not dead. However, he is gravely ill, and Sakura has correctly determined that his best hope for a full recovery is if I do the surgery he needs. In this case, time is an issue. Therefore, I’ll brief you on the details as we travel.”
Temari bowed to the hokage in acknowledgement.
The godaime continued. “Kakashi, you are in this chair until I return. No complaining. Yamato is here to assist you, and while Shizune is busy running the hospital, if you have questions, I’m sure she can answer them.”
Kakashi sighed, hopefully he could at least get some reading done behind that desk. “Yes ma’am.” Was his sole reply.
“Temari, Ino, Naruto… At the gates in one hour.”
“Yes ma’am.” They chorused, all leaving to pack and go.
Naruto said a prayer as he ran to get a bowl of ramen and his gear. “Please. Not Gaara. Please let Gaara be okay.”
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Shogi Anyone?