Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

The Book of Love	By : TheChieftain Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 3193 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the series of Naruto (which belongs to Masashi Kishimoto), nor any of the canon characters and I definitely don't make money with this either. I'm just someone that wants to fill in the blanks properly.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
- 9
Later On
"It was a complete disaster," Kakashi noted as he leaned against a tree in the shade. Sarada stood next to him, also leaning against the massive trunk. Her arms were behind her back however, and her eyes were glued to the sky.
"Why?"
"Well, it all began right after the announcement had been made. Your mother had spoken calmly, clearly, and without a single mistake. Simply the perfect speech, or so she says. Everyone took it very well, from what I recall in reports."
"But then why do you say it was a disaster?" Sarada turned towards the former Hokage, who seemed to be smiling beneath his mask.
"Well, there was a little incident that unraveled, not too long after."
The trip to Konoha was not seen as a moment of celebration. Home did not hold the satisfaction it would have for many wayward vagabonds. His return was a situation that made him anxious and filled his chest with dread. To him, too much had changed. Still, whether or not it would have remained what he remembered would not change what he felt in is heart. Sasuke did not want to be there. He had grown accustomed to being alone— having to care for no one but himself. It was better that way after all, having no one that relied on him...no one to impress or disappoint. To fulfill only the fancies of his heart that gave him satisfaction. To complete his atonement by bringing righteousness into the world the only way he knew how: through backbreaking service, innumerable deeds, and deep reflection. He protected those that needed it most from the shadows, enforcing peace through force. Nonsensical, but Naruto would approve of it, he had convinced himself. Noble, he agreed in thought. Right and true.
With each thought, he ignored his failure.
He ignored the countless people that he killed in the process. The trail of corpses left in his wake. Even as a force of peace, his presence brought about a reckoning. Those that stood in the way were cut down like any other. They feared him, like a god. Even the innocent whom had nothing to fear recognized his shadow, and cowered. All who knew his name remembered that a few short years ago, he had once tried to unite the world through wanton slaughter, and for that reason, Sasuke Uchiha was still a cursed name— even after all he had done. It was difficult to forget, difficult to forgive. At most, people would thank him before banishing him from ever returning.
In his mind, Sasuke believed that he had been doing much better. He killed only for the sake of keeping the peace, so that the world would be better off. Those who deserved it had been warned. Was that not enough? What more could they want? His eyes remained fixed on the skyline as he watched the village from atop the Hokage stone faces. The village bustled in a way he had never seen before. Perhaps it was not enough, he thought to himself. The places that Sasuke visited were small— villages and towns that would sometimes be ravaged by ronin and nukenin. They cared about honor and their homelands. Their lives and the lives of their people. Even the youngest of children understood that the world was one full of carnage…the average civilian didn't care about a vision of peace or whatever the hell it was he was fighting for. Unless it was a peace that allowed them to continue going about their daily lives— some of which included violence amongst themselves— they couldn't give less of a damn about it. What was he doing, Sasuke wondered to himself. Was this his path towards atonement? All he would do for the rest of his days?
That was why he came home. Sasuke knew he had failed. He would never be able to protect the world by going from village to village. The world would always be rife with tragedies among individuals. However, his return was not without purpose.
Sakura was a complex issue he didn't want to delve into, even on a good day. Last he spoke to her in person was years ago, when he had returned her feelings with thanks and a personal sign of affection. Since then, he did not speak to her much, only greeting her and sending his regards in letters that he would address jointly to her and Naruto. It was easier to talk to her when he included Naruto, he had reasoned.
Most of his time had been spent focused on his atonement, which allowed him little time to properly sift through his feelings. Part of it was that he didn't want to. There were many uncomfortable questions that came with unpacking these feelings…things he had no experience with. Doubts and regrets. Confusion and whirlwinds of questions. It was better to focus his mind on things he could handle. At least, until he failed.
It wasn't going to be easy.
Sasuke focused his attention towards the more residential areas of the village, and with sheer speed, he burst forth from the tip of Kakashi's hair on the mountain, to a quiet street, instantaneously. He shut his rinnegan eye after this, giving it some rest s he made his way down the streets. Sakura did not live with her parents anymore. She had her own life, living independently as best as she could manage. Of course, it didn't stop him from standing outside what would have been the location of her old home.
Staring up, he recognized the building. It was structured exactly as it had been back then. The memories, though few of him waiting outside her residence with their blockhead of a teammate flooded into his mind.
She'd open the door, look down at the two, and their eyes would meet. She'd smile. He'd glance to Naruto. He'd be slobbering all over himself, trying to get her attention.
"Hey Sakura! You need any help up there?!" The blond would offer his help with the goofiest of grins.
Looking back to Sakura, he would see her expression sour almost immediately, and she'd fold her arms. "Like I'd need you're help, Naruto! I can handle myself just fine!"
"Well, if that's the case, then hurry up. We'll be late."
Sasuke could almost feel the words escape from his mouth. But they did not. He did not fold his arms like the boy he used to be did. He only stood and remembered them slipping with irritation. He remembered how her eyes would change. The brightness dulled with disappointment, and what was originally a face of annoyance turned into one with absolute disheartenment. She coveted his attention, he knew. She hung on his every word, and responded with an undeserved devotion and idolatry. He remembered Sakura would always come up to him, open and inviting.
"Hey Sasuke, what do you think of my outfit?"
"Hmph. You should focus less on getting ready for me and more on preparing for training."
And yet he pushed her. From the very beginning...especially the very beginning. For her own good, and for his own.
Even later in their careers, when he didn't find her insufferable...when he found his heart concerning for her, he pushed her in a way he could have never done to Naruto. Fragile as she was, he couldn't open himself to what she offered. They were young, and he had the insight to know that it was not love. What she offered was not love back then, but unceasing showers of attention.
It felt like it was love. It was comforting in that way...and if he drank into her invitations...if he would have accepted her into his closed off heart, he would have believed it. He would have accepted it.
He was a child starved for love, but that was not so...it couldn't have been...it was too selfish, even back then. And yet, it was the closest thing he had felt to it since those cherished days of his.
He was a boy without happy stories, who craved nothing more than to smile without effort, and yet he resisted it at every turn.
He resisted with confusion and frustration, and she chased him even more. He pushed again, and she returned to him. Words could not deter her.
He teetered the edge in those vulnerable days. As he attempted to find his place in the world...to accomplish his lofty goals and bring honor to his long gone clan, she offered something he missed terribly. It was hard to resist.
Perhaps had it not been for the events that followed having happened as they did, he would have accepted it.
He did not take away credit from her however. What she offered had not been love back then...but what she held in her heart would bud into a devotion that was unparalleled. She loved him by the end of it all. If it had not been, it became so— He felt it. When they met years ago, eyes to glance and meet, he felt what had once been a warm lick of a flame was now a roaring fire. However she whispered his name, whether with a shudder or with gasp of surprise— of pleasure or fear— he knew that she loved no one more.
Once more, he felt he had no alternative, but to resist.
At the end of it all, Sasuke had nothing he could say to her in regards to their past. There was simply too much that he had to answer for, and so, he spoke of none of it. Instead, he remembered the old days, reminiscing of the life he had in Konoha.
It was difficult to remain distant in mind as he stepped from the antiquated residential streets and into the busier districts. Not only was the architecture different. Not only was the deeply technological city now foreign to him— but the people too seemed to have different attitudes and focuses. It made him pay attention to all of his surroundings
"My girlfriend broke up with me today," he heard someone say as he passed a cafe. "We were together for two and a half years...moved to Konoha together to start a new life. She said she couldn't do it. That she missed her family too much."
"That's rough. Wouldn't even consider email?" the other man asked, just before Sasuke left earshot.
"They don't have computers back in the Hot Water Village."
He continued walking.
"Check out the new album by Ame Taijutsu Generation! It's so sick! I've got Haruka Kanata as my ringtone!"
"Hey, wanna go to the arcades later?"
"I heard Lord Sixth was gonna be training in Training Ground 3 today with the legendary Naruto! We totally have to go and take some pics with them!"
He certainly could not understand the strangely insular world that Konoha had become. People crowded around their technology, partially making it the focus of their lives. Certainly, he couldn't imagine himself living in the village as it was now. Nostalgic as he was, he longed for something that was no longer there.
The sooner he could get out of Konoha, the better.
As soon as Sasuke turned the corner, he would see a group of medical shinobi, all dressed in medical garments rushing into a particularly large building. Surprisingly, there was also a crowd that gathered before it, all either murmuring amongst themselves or taking pictures of the medic ninja that rushed in and out on their cellphones.
The Uchiha stared at the scene for a moment before looking to the sign amove the massive doors. "So this must be the hospital, huh?" Sakura had mentioned that she spearheaded most if not every aspect of the medical community within Konoha, including the founding of the hospital.
Considering that, he'd have expected that she'd have everything under control. Of all the things for her to drop the ball on, he'd doubt it'd be one of the only things he'd consider her an expert at.
Slowly, he stepped up to the crowd, only to begin catching word of everyone's concerns.
"—twenty seven of them though?! That's crazy!"
"Who the hell was in charge of the group?! They ought to be held accountable!"
"Didn't you hear? He was the first one to get hit by the blast. He...didn't make it."
He knit his eyebrows at the ongoing conversations. However, he did not shy away from the crowd, and instead touched the shoulder of a man infront of him, taking video with his phone. The moment he did so, the man turned around quickly and unzoomed the lense on his camera.
"Yeah, guy? What's up?" Suddenly, he focused his attention and camera view on Sasuke's rinnegan eye. "Wicked eye. You a part of the Hyuuga or something?"
Sasuke's eyes widened slightly at the question, but his eyebrows scrunched together with as much surprise as there was confusion. It was only a momentary lapse before his expression returned to neutral again. "What's going on inside the hospital?"
"Apparently there was this group of ninja that were doing some reconnaissance before being ambushed by these ninja from another village. They had explosion based jutsus."
"Explosion based jutsus?" Sasuke's thoughts immediately turned towards a particular clay loving Akatsuki member.
"Yeah! Pretty crazy. Anyways, a bunch of our guys got caught in the blast and they died...most of them anyways. The ones that made it got brought here...twenty seven out of a group of eighty three."
"These are high numbers," Sasuke stated, to which the camera holding man nodded.
"Chyeah...but that's why they got the best of the best in there right now, including Sakura Haruno. She was one of the four that saved the world, you know! Not the top one, but you get what I mean, yeah bro?"
Sasuke stared at the man for a moment before speaking flatly. "Yeah. I know."
"She's pretty hot, you know. That Sakura Haruno. Crazy good bod...smart as all hell...strong as hell too. But all the guys are after her. It's too much trouble getting close, you know?"
"I don't think that sort of thing matters right now."
"Hey, hey, no need to get upset! I'm not tryin' to chase her myself. Too much competition. Too much work. Might as well just get my fun from magazines or something. You know, Playnin or something."
The moment that the man turned around to face the building, Sasuke allowed his rinnegan to start spinning, focusing on a sign at the door. Instantaneously, he switched places with it, allowing him to escape. However, the moment he did so, everyone took notice of him immediately appearing in front of the door and begun to call for him to not enter. He didn't listen, of course, and went straight inside.
Looking around, it was nothing but chaos, with shinobi running this way and that, papers scattered on the floor as some of the people could not even find the time to pick up the documents they let fall. Picking up one of them at random, Sasuke scanned the page.
ATTENTION ALL PERSONEL:
Sakura Haruno will be stepping down from her role as Chief of Medicine and Director of Konoha Hospital and leader of the Medical Ninja Corps. As it is understood, she will be returning, though currently, that time is unknown. For the moment being, it is requested that we operate under the proceedings outlined in Chapter 47 Section 509-41 of the Medical Corps Directive [Leadership During Long Term Missions]. As we transition in this difficult time, we will be asking everyone to send their medical reports to Ino Yamanaka, who will be her replacement for this time.
You are invited to come to the employee lounge to partake in the improptu farewell party during your lunch hour. Food and refreshments will be served.
Thank you for your attention,
Department of Medicine Committee Member
Yumi Ayami
Sasuke looked to the floor and picked up another of the papers, only to see that it was the same announcement. Without being prompted, he begun to pick them all up, only to place them at the front desk where a young woman was sitting, writing furiously onto a form. Looking, up, she almost jumped out of her chair and rolled back, her eyes widened. "You scared me!"
"I need to see Sakura Haruno."
Slowly the woman began to roll back.
"I'm sorry to say that Doctor Haruno is unavailable at the moment. Did you have a prior appointment with her?"
"No, but I am—"
"I'm sorry, but I can't let you see her unless you had a prior appointment. She's very busy at the moment due to the incident that happened with the platoon of shinobi that were ambushed earlier today."
"Sakura mentioned she was leaving on a mission. I'm her mission partner. I just need to speak to her briefly about some logistical issues."
There was a moment of silence between the two before the woman suddenly furrowed her eyebrows. "Wait, you're Sasuke Uchiha, aren't you?!"
Sasuke remained silent.
"Oh my...w-wow...you're one of the four that saved the world! One of the Yonin," she exclaimed. "Sakura talked about you so much!"
"What is a yonin?"
The young woman seemed surprised at the question and pushed up her glasses, seemingly preparing for a speech. "The yonin are the four legendary shinobi that saved the world in the Fourth Great Shinobi War. It consists of Lord Sixth Kakashi Hatake, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and...well...you! Everyone knows your name, but not a lot of people know what you look like. The only photos we have on record for you are from when you were twelve."
"That's because I—"
"We know," she interrupted. "You left the leaf...but you're allied with us again now, right? Maybe not as a fully sanctioned leaf ninja..."
"I suppose someone could accept that as fact."
"In any case, you're here to see Doctor Haruno for the mission, right? I know I'll get in huge trouble for letting you through, but I'm sure it's important, so I'll let you go through. Just stand in front of the camera for me. I need to make you a pass."
Sasuke would obey the request, and stood before the small camera that sat at the front of the desk, beside the stack of papers he put down. With a small whir and a click, the photo was taken, and the woman went to work. It was only after a minute that a badge was created and adorned on a lanyard. "This isn't an all access pass, but it should let you find Sakura, so long as she isn't in the coroner's or any of the underground levels. Try not to use any ninjutsu while you're in here, and allow the doors to close behind you before opening the next, particularly in the maternity wards, isolation areas, and the intensive care unit. Clean your hands with the hand sanitizers that are located throughout the hospital, and if you have any cold symptoms, wear a mask."
Were all women always so chatty? Sasuke resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose, and instead took the lanyard and badge, to put on his neck. "I'll make sure to keep that all in mind."
"Oh and...please give me your poncho." To the demand, she would quickly clarified in a flustered tone, "I-It's for health reasons! It looks very tattered and filthy. We can at least get someone to wash it for you, while you're visiting us. But you can't go inside with it! You could track a lot of germs and bacteria from the outside."
It was understandable, once she explained it, and without a complaint he would oblige the request— even going as far as to take off his head scarf as well. "Please return these to me before I go." Suddenly, a skeletal arm of chakra emerged from the sleeve with a nub of an arm, providing him with a second arm.
"I just said you couldn't use ninjutsu!" She rose up only to see that he was using the arm to tie a Konoha leaf headband on his forehead. It had a slash right across the front, and the moment it was firmly on his head, the arm vanished.
"Wait a minute, you're crippled?"
"People would consider a person missing one of their limbs to be so. I prefer to think of this as one of the conditions of my atonement...for the things I did to leaf, and many other people within and outside of it."
"B-But you're a ninja without an arm! How do you fight?! How do you dress yourself?! That chakra arm you had...if you used it to grab clothing, you'd rip it all apart!"
Sasuke frowned slightly. "This is true. I have a lot of difficulties doing regular tasks, but I manage. You learn to live with these things. It's very easy for the sort of people that work here to coddle those that do not function like regular people, but people learn to adapt to their situations. I have done so, and so you can see that I have faired just fine. Most would quit, but as a ninja, a real ninja, you learn to adapt."
And with that, he would turn and walk towards elevator. As he got in however, the lady would try to rush to the elevator, approaching right as it began to close.
"W-Wait, but I didn't tell you where—"
"I'll find her. Knowing her, I know exactly where she'd be."
Right then, the doors closed.
Referencing the list of floors above the buttons, Sasuke pressed the one that would take him to the sixth floor— the intensive care unit. Sakura was not the sort to allow others to do the most important jobs without her being a part of it. She was too proud to not be at the forefront. Sasuke scoffed at the thought of this however. "She wasn't like this before," he murmured to himself. "And now...you..."
As the elevator opened, he would see that everything was in complete chaos. Men and women ran to and fro, yelling information to each other— acronyms and words that he couldn't even comprehend.
"There's three code blues happening in Rooms 6104, 6125, and 6136! I need code teams to those locations, stat!" A man called this while rushing through the doors with a large cart full of equipment, prompting the man at the desk to immediately repeat the order over the loudspeaker.
Two men were also at the desk, attempting to request help. One dressed in scrubs, while the other was not, both wearing doctor's coats.
"The patient in room 6117 is having a pulmonary embolism, so we redirected the code team in room 6102 to get them stable first," the one in scrubs told the other.
"And who told you to do that?!" he retorted. "The man in 6102 is a high ranking Jounin! The girl in 6117 is merely a new chunin!"
"Doctor Haruno stated that shinobi under 18 and over 60 get treatment first, regardless of rank!
The well dressed man slammed his fist over the desk. "DOCTOR HARUNO IS A FUCKING HACK! ACCORDING TO THE MEDICAL CORPS HANDBOOK—"
At that moment Sasuke cleared his throat loudly, approaching the two. They both turned around, only for their eyes to widen at the sight of him.
"Y-You're Sasuke Uchiha..." The man who had previously been shouting stammered out. "I meant no disrespect to Doctor Haruno, of course. I was just...frustrated is all!"
"I don't care about that, I just need to know where she is."
The other man frowned at the Uchiha. "I'm afraid she's performing surgery right now. Your presence may distract her. Of course, if you go up a floor, you can see her through the observation deck while she works. I deeply suggest that you do not go in until she's finished, though it should not take long. She's already been in there for about five hours. To get to the observation room, just down the hall and to the room that says 'observation deck'. It's right next to the one that says Surgery Room."
"Fair enough. Thanks." He walked past the two men and followed the directions until he'd find himself between the black surgery room and white observation room doors. Slowly he leaned towards the back room, hearing a faint, yet firm voice calling out for tools.
"Please hand me the scalpel, Doctor Osaki."
"Here, Lady Sakura, ma'am..."
"Thank you. And please stop calling me that while I'm on duty. While we save lives, we're peers."
"Of course, Doctor Haruno. Sorry."
"Dilators, please. Doctor Momoashi, please take over for a moment. I need to use the restroom. You know what to do."
"Right away!"
"We're almost done, guys! Good job to everyone— I think he might actually make it!"
There was a small round of applause.
"Once I get back, we'll patch him up and take him back to his room."
"And what are you going to do, Doctor Haruno."
"Well, I'll be taking my lunch, and get back to work. I'm not leaving until everything is settled and under control."
The man waited a moment. As soon as everything went silent, Sasuke stepped through the black doors, only to see an hallway void of people but filled with many doors. Only the one at the end presented a blindingly white light through it's windows. Sasuke approached slowly, closing his rinnegan eye. That had to be where she was, he concluded. He wouldn't go inside, but at the very least, he had to get a closer look, and so he drew nearer...
Until a hand grabbed at his massive collar and pulled him into one of the darkened hallways.
Sasuke's first instinct was to draw his sword as he activated his sharingan, but before it could slash at the person who had caught him, he stopped himself. Sakura's eyes burned with pure fury, jaw tightened as her teeth were squeezing hard against each other.
"Are you crazy?!" She shouted in whisper to him as she let go of him with a slight push.
Sasuke sheathed his sword. "I thought you were attacking me."
"At a hospital?!" Her tone was incredulous. Quickly, she put her hand to her forehead, and pushed all her weight on one leg, her other hand on the waist opposite. "I can't believe you right now. I'm in the middle of performing surgery, if you didn't read the door! Did no one try to stop you?!"
"They actually helped me find you."
"Unbelievable." Sakura sighed in frustration before folding her arms. "You said I had until tonight, and while I would normally be happy to see you, right now is not a good time. I don't know if you've heard—"
"I heard."
"Then why are you here?"
Sasuke paused for a moment, narrowing his eye slightly in thought before sighing. "I wanted to talk to you."
"I can't leave any faster tonight, if that's what you needed to ask."
"That's not it."
"Then what?" Sakura seemed mildly distressed as she met eyes with Sasuke. It lasted for a moment because surprisingly, Sasuke broke contact first.
"Is there anything I can do?"
Sakura paused for a moment, mouth slightly open before tilting her head slightly. "Huh?"
"I want to assist you. The situation you have here is grave. It's clear you may not finish in time for us to leave."
"Is this your way of telling me to hurry up?"
"No, I'd like to protect my interests."
There was another pause, Sakura now allowing her glance to soften. Putting a hand on his shoulder, she hung her head and drew a heavy sigh. "I need all the hands I can get...but I cant have you running around the hospital, giving people the wrong doses and sticking tools you know nothing about into people." Looking up, she met his gaze again. "Alright, you can help, but you have to do exactly as I say, and you can't leave my side for a moment."
He nodded once to this. "Understood."
"Alright then, come with me."
- 7
- 8
- 9
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The Book of Love