Chapter Thirty-Two

"Hey, Sakura. I'm back again, I know you probably can't even hear a word I'm saying, but I just needed to see you." Sasuke spoke to his girlfriend, as she laid in her hospital bed with a tube in her throat, and an IV in her arm. It had been five days since she attempted suicide, and she still hadn't shown any new signs that indicated she would be waking up any time soon. They had hope it would be soon, considering she had brain activity, and she wasn't getting any worse.

In the last week, Sasuke had witnessed the death of his brother, and he wasn't okay, no matter how many times he told Naruto otherwise. Truthfully, he wished that he hadn't spent almost his entire life wanting to kill his own brother, he wished that he had died with his loving family, and not in the arms of the man who had always wanted him dead.

"It's almost New Years, and I didn't want to start the new year with anyone, but the woman I love." He said to her, before leaning down to her limp hand, and kissing it. As his lips touched her lukewarm flesh, a tear fell from his left eye, and for a moment he just let himself unravel in the presence of his comatose girlfriend.

"I need you to wake up, Sakura. I-I can't live without you here by my side, and if you don't make it, I won't be able to live myself. I'm so sorry that I was late, please forgive me." He spoke, looking up at her gorgeous face, as she continued to lay there, unable to speak, or even hear what he was saying.

With his bruised hand still holding her's, he sat up in his chair and laughed a little. "I'm pathetic aren't I? My brother is probably rolling in his grave right now."

"Bet he'd never see the day where his brother is crying over a woman." He said with a small smile on his face, thinking of his brother. Since he died, he had really been on his mind, and every time he closed his eyes to sleep at night, Sasuke was either haunted with memories of Itachi, or Sakura, and it made his stomach churn. "I know I've hated him for over a decade, but, Sakura, my brother truly was a hero." He admitted for the first time ever.

Being there with Sakura gave him a sense of comfort, and he knew that he could vent to her, because if she were awake, his pride wouldn't of allowed him to be so honest. "And you were right, when you said I wouldn't be capable of loving you until I forgave him, because I now realize that the feelings I have for you right now, these feelings are true love; not the way I felt for you before." He admitted, "I don't want to seem like I purposefully, lied to you, because I genuinely thought I meant it, Sakura." 

Five days had passed since he last talked to his girlfriend, and five days had passed since he got a text from a blocked number, that showed Sakura with Sasori. When he saw it, he wasn't full of jealousy, like Sasori had hoped, instead he was full of a blinding rage that made him practically beat Sasori to death on the floor of his apartment. The video depicted him assaulting his girlfriend, while she repetitively asked for him to stop in a slurred speech, that informed Sasuke that she was definitely under the influence.

Sasuke had been by her side for the last five days, only when he left for three hours, two days after her being in the hospital, and returned with bruised fists that were covered in bloody bandages, Naruto questioned what he had been up to. After telling him what happened, Naruto told his girlfriend, and she told her doctor, who then informed her mother.

Mebuki was under enough stress as it was, after learning that her perfect daughter had been abusing opioids and antidepressants for over three months, so when she found out that she had been assaulted she lost the last bit of sanity she was holding on to.

The way she sobbed by her daughter's bed side broke all of her friends hearts, and as they each tried to comfort her, they all felt as though their words didn't mean anything. Hinata especially felt guilty, because to her, she felt that her friends struggles with addiction and suicidal ideations were somehow her fault.

Though she talked to Naruto about it, she couldn't shake the feeling, and neither could Sasuke. Luckily for Hinata, she had the support of Naruto, and her other friends. They tried to be there for Sasuke too, but he pushed them away, wanting nothing more than for his girlfriend to wake up.

"I'm sorry for leaving you in the first place, really. If I had just come home an hour earlier, Sasori wouldn't of done that to you, a-and you wouldn't of, actually I don't know if you would've, I don't even know what to say to you right now, Sakura." He said, stuttering over every word that he tried to get out.

A knock sounded at the door, and when the door knob turned he looked up into Mebuki's kind eyes. She gave him a soft smile, "Sasuke, how are you doing?" "The best that I can, how about you?" "About the same. The doctors haven't said much, but they think that she'll be up soon."

Though he wanted to have faith in what she said, the doctors had been saying that for the past few days. "Also, the results from the kit came back, and if you haven't already, you should get tested." She said to him, referring to the invasive data collection that a nurse had performed on her daughter.

Sasuke sighed while muttering, "That bastard." Mebuki nodded in agreement, while placing her hand on her daughter's face. "When she first came home from her grandparents home, she could barely contain herself as she told me about you, Sasuke."

As she reminisced on her daughter's smiling face, she continued to talk to him, "Honestly I had never seen her so excited over a boy before, it was cute." She said with a smile, "Then her father fell ill, and that was when I first noticed how much she had changed. I did what I could, but now I realize that I could've done more."

Sasuke shook his head, "We all did what we could, Mebuki." She sighed, "Yeah, and you guys certainly did, but I'm a parent. You won't understand until you have your own kids one day, but you always think that there's more you can do, and in the case of my little angel, there is."

"Can I ask you something, Sasuke?" He nodded, "Anything." "Do you really love my daughter?" She asked him, while looking him into his onyx eyes. "I do." He answered truthfully, and she nodded. "I hope so, because once she wakes up, she's going to have to face reality, and I don't know how she'll react, or if she'll even remember all that happened." Sasuke nodded while asking, "W-what are you trying to say?"

"I don't want you to mention the assault to her." Though he nodded, he was confused. "Okay, but why not?" "I just don't know how she'd react to the news, and the last thing I want is for it to trigger her." Before he could open his mouth to tell him her thoughts, they were interrupted by a knock at the closed door.

"Hello, Haruno's, it's nice to see you again, Sasuke." The doctor said with a smile, "We're just here to remove the intubation from Sakura's throat, before any complications occur. Since her oxygen levels seem to be returning back to a healthy level, we will monitor her closely, and put her on a ventilator if necessary."

They both nodded in understanding, and just as Sasuke went to let go of her hand, he felt her finger twitch. "Her hand just moved." He said, in clear disbelief. "Sakura?" The doctor called out, while taking her light from the front pocket of her lab coat. "Sakura, can you hear me?" She asked while opening her eyelid, and flashing the light, in hopes of any reaction. "I swear she just moved her finger." She nodded, "I'm sure she did, but sometimes coma patients have muscle spasms, cough, and even yawn. Though it's a good sign, it seems that her body isn't completely ready to wake up just yet."

Sasuke nodded, and let go of her hand, in order to let the doctor do her job. He watched her closely, as they pulled the tube from her throat, expecting her body to naturally react, only she didn't.

When the doctor finished, they checked her vitals, before saying, "Alright, everything seems to be looking good. If you guys have any questions, or concerns don't hesitate to ask. A nurse should be by every hour to check on her, and make sure that she's getting enough oxygen intake on her own." Mebuki nodded, "Can I actually talk to you privately?"

Before Sasuke could excuse himself from the room, her and the doctor went outside. Looking down at his watch, he watched as the clock struck midnight, and he tried to muster up a smile. "Welcome to the new year, Sakura." He said in a soft tone, while leaning down and kissing her forehead.

"Hey." Naruto said as he walked into Sakura's room with their friends trailing after him. "Did we interrupt something?" He asked, making Hinata nudge him. "No, it's not like she's awake just yet."

They nodded, "Well she's looking a lot better." Sasuke nodded, knowing that they just wanted to be positive. "I bet she's glad they took that tube out." Naruto said, making Sasuke roll his eyes, "Idiot, she literally can't feel anything." His eyes squinted, "And have you ever been in a coma before, Sasuke? How do you know what she can and can't feel?"

As the two of the argued back and forth for a moment, it almost relieved their friends, because they saw that things were going back to being somewhat normal. "Anyways, we just came by to celebrate the new year with you guys. Some of us are gonna head out to get some Ramen for takeout."

"Thank you, but I'm not hungry right now.""When was the last time you ate anything?" Sasuke laughed, "I'm a big boy, Naruto, I can take care of myself." He shrugged his shoulders, "Sorry for caring." "Well I guess Temari, Naruto, and Shika can go get the food now."

"How did I even get roped into going with him? If Sakura wakes up and I'm not here, because of Ramen I'm going to be so sad." Temari complained, making Shikamaru groan, "Fine, Kiba, do you have the text with everyone's orders?" He nodded, "Come on."

Temari smiled in victory and gave her boyfriend a kiss to the cheek, making her friends laugh. "So, does anyone have any New Year's resolutions?" TenTen asked, "Hopefully Sakura's is to wake up some time soon." Sai said in an attempt to liven the mood, making everyone chuckle, except Sasuke who kept his nonchalant facade.

"Well mine is to choose a major." TenTen said with a deep sigh leaving her lips, "You haven't picked one yet, TenTen? We have four months." "Don't you think I know that, Ino? It's just hard, because I've never really been passionate about anything like you guys." Temari nodded, "Well that's okay, I didn't know what I wanted to major in until a month ago." She nodded while sticking her tongue out at Ino playfully, "Thank you, Temari."

Ino and Hinata laughed, "Well who knows what the future has in store for us, maybe I won't even become the person I plan on being." Ino said with a shrug, and Hinata nodded in agreement. "Honestly, I just know for a fact that Sakura will be the surgeon she always dreamed of being."

"Definitely, I wonder what kind she'll be." They all smiled, "I always thought she'd be a pediatric surgeon." Ino said, remembering how she was always so good with children. "I think more orthopedic." TenTen said,  remembering how innovative she was.

"Trauma for sure." Hinata said, knowing that she always seemed to work so well under pressure, especially when there was a time crunch. "It sounds like she'd be a good general surgeon." Temari said, making them all nod in agreement. "I could definitely see that."

"What about you guys? What are your plans for after highschool?" Temari asked Sai, Sasuke, and Neji out of curiosity. "Military academy." Neji answered, "Art institute of Kirigakure." Sai answered, making Ino smile, still proud at the fact that he would be attending such a prestigious institution.

"I'm enlisting." Kiba answered, and Sasuke just stood there, with his eyes on his girlfriend. Before anyone could repeat the question, he answered honestly, "I don't know." Though he had gotten into college, and he could be virtually whatever he wanted to be, the last thing on his mind was his future.

  They all nodded in understanding, knowing that the only reason they were so sure of their futures, was because their parents had shoved the idea of college down their throats since they were toddlers. Neji was the only exception, because Hiashi knew that his brother would've wanted his son to follow in his footsteps.

From the moment he came to live with his uncle, and his family, he alongside his cousins were forced to have perfect grades, and be involved in extra curricular activities that made them stand out. Neji excelled like any Hyuga would, and though he used to think that Hiashi merely saw him as a means to repay his unspoken debt to his deceased brother, Neji knew that he loved him as if he were his own son.

"Well eventually I will have to inherit my father's business, so I guess there's no point in me getting a degree in psychology." Ino said with a sigh, "You still haven't been able to talk him out of that?" She shook her head while saying, "Nope. One of these days you'll be looking at the face of the Yamanaka housing and real-estate."

It was almost annoying to hear her complain about how her father, a loving man, who had established generational wealth for her, and her future offspring. Resisting the urge of rolling his onyx eyes, Sasuke remained quiet. "Imagine being a trust fund baby, and complaining about it." Sai teased, making her roll her eyes.

"I'm just saying, if we got married you could take it off my hands, and run the business for me." She said while throwing her arms around his shoulders, making him laugh, "Then let's get married." Sai joked, "Alright, the last thing we need is more teenaged couples eloping. No offense, Hinata." TenTen said, making Hinata roll her eyes with a genuine smile on her lips.

"Whatever, we're happy." Her friend smiled, while throwing her arm over her shoulders. "We know, and we can't wait for the wedding.""Speaking of the wedding, are you just going to tell your dad after you guys do it? And are you taking his name?" She nodded, "We are, and yes I am."

"Hinata Uzumaki, huh?" A blush came to her face and she smiled brightly, "In due time." Honestly she didn't know the first thing about planning a wedding, and the thought alone stressed her out. "So are you guys thinking a traditional styled wedding?"

"Definitely not, something simple for sure, we've really just been preparing for the worst, for everything that will follow after the wedding, so we haven't put much thought into the wedding itself." They nodded in understanding, "Yeah, I can't imagine what Hiashi will do once you come clean."

She sighed deeply, "I know. Thankfully I'll legally be an adult by then.""Is he really that over protective?" Temari asked, making both Neji and Hinata nod. "He is, he surprisingly likes Naruto though."

They all couldn't help but wonder why Hiashi seemed to like Naruto so much, but they didn't have time to question it, because they heard someone's light cough. Looking to each other, Hinata looked at Sakura and asked her friends, "Did anyone else see that?"

"See what?" TenTen asked, "I did." Sasuke answered, still looking at Sakura, hoping for anything else. "Should we get the doctor?" "She moved earlier, and the doctor said that it wasn't anything to be too alarmed about."

"Really? I didn't know that was so common." Hinata said, while watching Sakura's face closely as Ino brought her hand to her face, moving a strand of her hair. "Well at least she's moving." Though they nodded in agreement, they all knew not to have so much hope. Changing the subject, TenTen stretched her arms while saying, "Hopefully the boys make it back soon, I'm starving." "Me too, I wonder what's taking so long, it's right down the street."

"I'll text Naruto." Hinata said while pulling out her phone. As she did so, he was slipping his phone back into his pocket after reading off the order's. "This whole thing has been so bizarre. If she doesn't wake up soon, Sasuke might just lose his mind." He said to Shikamaru and Kiba, genuinely worried about his friends well being. "I really didn't think he cared so much." Kiba admitted, and he nodded in agreement, "Even I didn't, but she's really changed him, and for the better."

They all nodded in understanding. "But I know that she'll make it through, Sakura is a fighter." Naruto said with a smile, thinking of his friend. "Besides, she just got Sasuke to commit, there's no way she'd let that go." He said making them laugh, and playfully nudge him. "When I first met Sakura, I remember her having such a beautiful smile, that I could barely get out the question I was asking her."

A smile came to his face at the memory alone, and he began to realize just how happy he was to have met her."Did you like her or something?" Kiba asked, and he shrugged with a light chuckle leaving his lips. "Don't tell Hinata, but the moment I saw her I couldn't take my eyes off of her. But, Sasuke saw her first."

They both nodded in understanding, "It ended up working out for the better though, Hinata is literally heaven sent." He admitted with a smile, "Don't get mushy now that you're getting married." Shikamaru said, while they grabbed the bags of food from off of the counter. "No promises." Naruto said, making his friends chuckle.

As his phone started to vibrate in his pocket, he answered it and smiled at the sight of Hinata's face across his phone. "Hey, Princess." "Hey, are you guys almost heading back over?" He nodded as if she could see him, while they continued to walk toward the hospital.

"We're heading over now. Is everything okay?" Hinata nodded, while stroking a strand of her hair behind her ear, and looking into hospital room from the hallway. "Everything's fine. Sakura coughed earlier, and we all got excited, but I guess those things just happen."

From the hall she watched Sakura's body closely as her chest moved up and down, while her limbs laid there lifeless. As she spoke to her boyfriend, he could hear the restlessness in her voice, while she stared at her friend aimlessly.

"I miss her." She said softly, hating the fact that she hadn't be able to have a real conversation with her. "I know, Princess, but she'll wake up in no time." He tried to reassure, but she didn't listen as she saw her hand slightly jerk.  "No way." She muttered softly, before walking into the room. "Did anyone else see that?"

The question made the room grow silent, while Naruto stayed on the phone, able to hear her voice, even though she had moved the phone away from her face. "See what?" Naruto asked in unison with everyone else in the room, making Kiba and Shikamaru glance at him.

"She just moved, I swear she just-" Sasuke cut her off as he felt a delicate squeeze to his hand. "Sakura?" He said softly, while holding onto her hand with anticipation. After a moment of staring at her, her emerald eyes met Sasuke's and he didn't know what to say.

"We're back." Naruto said while opening the door to his friends hospital room. "Oh shit." Kiba said, noticing Sakura's emerald eyes. "I'll find her doctor." Shikamaru said while sitting the bag down, and walking out of the door. Sakura hadn't said a word yet, because as she looked up at him she was having a hard time seeing things clearly. Blinking her eyelids rapidly, she asked him in a raspy voice, "S-Sasuke? Is that you?""Of course it is, can you see me?" He asked, bringing his unoccupied hand to her soft face.

"I-I-I," She said while unintentionally flinching at his hands soft caress. "Sakura?" Hinata spoke, as they all saw tears begin to fall from her eyes. Before she could explain anything, her doctor walked into the room with her mother and Shikamaru. "Ms. Haruno, you're up! How are you feeling?" They asked, while pumping hand sanitizer into their hands. "My angel, I'm so happy you're awake." Mebuki said while wrapping her arms around her daughter's body. "Mom? I-I can't see."

"Everything is blurry." She said to her mom, relying on her other senses as she felt her warm embrace. "W-what? You can't see?" Sakura shook her head, with tears falling from her eyes. "I'll examine her, Mrs. Haruno. Sakura, my name is doctor Senju, and I will just be checking your vitals. I understand that your vision is impaired, and I want you to know that although it's very scary, it's a common side effect of hypoxia." She spoke to the young woman, while gently touching her face, and shinning a light into her eyes. "Can you see the light at all?"

Sakura nodded, "Yes, a little." Dr. Senju gave her a small smile. "That's a good sign, at this rate you should have your eyesight back in no time. I don't want you to worry. Can I answer any questions for you? Do you recall what happened?" She paused for a moment, and her reaction brought tears to her mother's eyes.

"O-oh." Was the only word she was able to get out as her chest started to tighten. Clearing her throat, she spoke in a soft tone as she was unaware of everyone who watched her. "I-I don't remember anything."