Recollection

Chapter Five: Always

Happppyyy HALLOWEEN 🎃👻 !!
Hope you guys get lots of candy while I stay home and study for my Anatomy test tomorrow lol Well this chapter turned out to be way longer than expected, which is good. I'll probably have two chapters uploaded by Thursday next week. It's Election Day Tuesday so I'm out of school for it 😄 Even thought I can't even vote lol but here you guys go, enjoy 😊
~Kei-chan💜








Chapter 5
Always

It had been three days since we had arrived in this pit of ice. It was cold every single day, all the time. Bukio obviously lied about getting use to it. I had to purchase pretty much an entire new wardrobe of sweater leggings, thermals, gloves, and scarves. Not to mention a bunch of beanies.
The work schedule was pretty hectic as well. I worked from 9 until 12 everyday, but Sundays. Kakashi, Naruto, Sai, and Sasuke were all my guards. Two were outside at the front doors, one was outside of my assigned office doors, and one was inside with me at all times. They switched places every 3 hours, rotating shifts.
The fat, freckle faced man who was given the title Chief of Police had given us a background on the case. He explained that there was a total of nineteen medics who had disappeared in less than a month. Only one body has been recovered and that body really gave no leads, having all organs including fingernails and teeth removed. The man, Dias, was in his late forties and a father of two. He had no criminal record and no known enemies. He was an innocent man killed in cold blood. No leads have been discovered and the case is close to becoming a cold case. The last time a disappearance occurred has been over two weeks ago.
The hospital is probably the biggest building in the city, towering over it on the nearby Hill of Hope with its giant stain glass windows and brick walls. The other two doctors work on separate floors at it, never seeing each other. Each doctor has their own guards and the medics are always being watched over, even outside of work. Right now I have Sai hovering over my shoulder as I studied the X-ray.
"Sai," I said with a sigh.
"Yes?"
"Do you have to stand so close?"
He took exactly one step back,"Better?"
I rolled my eyes.
"What are you doing?" He asked."You've been staring at this picture for fifteen minutes."
"I'm looking for a fracture or a break in the bone somewhere," I explained.
"How do you figure that out from these?" He poked the picture.
"Like here," I pointed to the area of fracture."This is a Patella, or knee bone, this mark right here, the darker line there, that's the fracture point."
"So they've fractured their knee bone?" He smiled.
"Yep," I nodded. "Neat, huh?"
"It's time to switch," Naruto popped his head into the door. Snow covered his orange toboggan and fell onto his shoulders."It's freezing outside, started snowing earlier and hasn't quit yet."
"Who's outside now?" Sai picked up his coat.
"Sasuke is," Naruto set down next to the desk."Kakashi and you are guarding the door."
"Okay."Sai nodded."See you later, Ugly."
"Bye." I pulled the X-ray down and pulled out my notes page.
"What's going on with you and teme?" Naruto questioned, after Sai left.
"Nothing, Naruto," I answered, honestly."Really."
"Why was he holding your hand then?" Naruto leaned closer."Better yet, why was he so close to you . . . in the bedroom the other night?"
"None of your business that's why," I told him flatly."Like there ever would be something going on between us."
It was true. The strange way he was acting around me had ceased. Nothing had happened since that first night here and I didn't expect it to either. He hasn't spoken to me out of context and when he's in the room with me he just stands next to the window, staring out it.
I sighed, maybe he was just feeling guilty.
"Well, you never know. He did say something about you, but," He paused, staring intensely at me. "Never mind . . ."
"What?" I asked, feeling anxious. "Just out of curiosity what did he say, Naruto?"
"Something about you," Naruto leaned forward on the desk, elbows propped up on the surface."And about the other night."
"What did he say?" I raised my eyebrow.
"Said that you grew up to be prettier than he expected," Naruto told me.
"Really?" I asked, feeling suddenly happy.
"Oh, so someone does care after all," He teased.
"Shut up," I smacked his shoulder.
Naruto laughed then moved over to the wall as a patient entered the room. It was a young woman with a bad cough, a whoopee cough as its nicknamed. The cough was the first sign of a respiratory tract infection. Along with her overly warm chest, swollen nostrils, and slow heart rate.
"I don't know how I would have contracted this, though," She thought.
"Your body created it on its own with some bad bacteria and minor changes," I informed her. "Have you been sleeping with the window open or a fan on? Even taking a hotter or colder shower than usual? Anything like that?"
"I've been sleeping with a fan on," She admitted. "Gets a little too hot in the house sometimes."
"It's fine to run the fan, just don't have at your face," I explained. "You can have it pointed at your feet or even just setting in the corner."
"Okay, thank you, Dr. Haruno," She stopped to cough. "So where do we go from here?"
"Antibiotics, and a lot of them," I laughed. "I'll also give you a specialized tablet to take for that cough."
She nodded,"And how long do you think it'll take to heal? I'm getting married in a week and I'd like to have it gone."
"Well congratulations," I laughed."But I'm not for sure. It could last anywhere from three days to three months. Hopefully if its not that bad, it'll be gone before too long. If it continues after two weeks, you need to set up an appointment with your personal physician because it might be something more severe if it does. But for now we're going to try original treatment and see where it goes."
"Okay, thank you," She smiled.
"Do you have any more questions?" I asked, filling out her prescription.
"No, ma'am," She put her coat on.
"Okay, well here you go," I handed her the prescription. "Have a nice day and I hope you get to feeling better."
"Thank you and have a nice day, too, Doctor." She left.
Naruto was still staring out if the window, leaving the room in silence for a long period of time. I continued to look through the case files of the missing medics and the one of the dead medic. His Hyoid, the bone around the windpipe, had been broken before his organs were removed. It wasn't written down in the file, but I knew from how deep the scaring of the organs where in comparison to how old the break in the bone was. He was suffocated before being dissected. In other words, he wasn't tortured to death rather suffocated then cut open.
Strange, I thought. If its for the purpose of researching the organs as they are removed they would have kept him alive. This means they're not doing research, they're after organs. What the hell? Why would they do that?
"Doctor?" The receptionist popped her head in.
"Yes?" I asked, tucking the papers back into their files.
"At 8 o'clock you need to report to the morgue downstairs to investigate another found body," She nodded. "It's a woman this time, same things have been done to her."
"Where was she found? And when?"
"Same place, a mile away from the man, and around five today," She thought for a moment. "She hasn't been fully examined yet so you'll be able to fill out the forms yourself on her."
"Okay, thank you." I told her as she went back out the door.
I rubbed my temples, stressing out, then I remembered.
"What did he say about the other night?" I asked, quietly.
"Said he wants to do it again," He answered. "Whatever it is you two did."
"Why is he acting different now?" I blurted out loud.
"Eh?" He asked. "What are you talking about?"
"Nothing," I mumbled. "How's Hinata?"
"Good," Naruto smiled. "She's been training with her father again."
"That's cool," I nodded. "Does she like it?"
"Yeah, she just likes the whole idea of spending more time with her dad," Naruto noted.
"Does her dad like you?" I asked. Of course he does, I though. Naruto is the Hero of the Leaf. Who wouldn't like him?
"I'm not sure," Naruto shrugged. "He never really talks to me. When I go over for dinner, her mom always talks to me and he just kinda stares at me. Even Hanabi talks to me!"
"Maybe it'll just take some time to warm up to you," I announced, organizing the files in front of me. "You are dating his only daughter."
"Yeah, I hope that's it." He sat down on the window sill.
There was a knock at the door and an older woman on crutches staggered her way in. Naruto quickly hurried to her side, aiding her until he reached the seat.
"Hi," I smiled, warmly. "How'd we mess it up?"
"All I did was bump into the counter," She placed the crutches to the side. "I was putting dishes up yesterday and fell forward, hitting it on the counter. I thought bones were suppose to be tough, not brittle."
I glanced at her file, noting her age was 63, "Have you went through menopause yet?"
"Yes, quiet a few years ago, though," She said, confused. "I'm sorry, Doctor, but what does this have to do with my hip?"
"Well as you go through menopause, your hormone production slows," I explained. "If you don't produce them enough or fast enough then your osteocytes, or bone cells, do not get enough secretion to stay strong and active causing your bones to become very brittle."
"So this has to do with my age?" She asked.
"Probably," I smiled. "And the bumping."
"So what do we do?"
"Well we put you on some calcium and let you see a orthopedic surgeon," I wrote out a referral for the local orthopedic then wrote a prescription for her calcium deposits. "Here ya go. The receptionist should give you your appointment for the surgeon and the local pharmacy will fill the prescription."
"Okay," She smiled. "Thank you."
"No problem," I returned the smile. "I hope you get better and have a nice day."
"You, too." Sai held the door open for her on the way out and then Sasuke appeared inside of the doorway.
"It's time already?" Naruto asked.
Sasuke nodded, taking his usual seat.
"Alright, well we," Naruto pontes towards Sai at the door."And Kakashi have to leave at 10 to give a report to the captain. Sasuke you have to make sure Sakura gets to the house unharmed."
"Thank you for informing me of what I already realized." Sasuke said, bitterly.
"Whatever," Naruto put his jacket on. "See you later. Have fun you two."
The door shut behind him, confining me to the desolating silence with Sasuke. It was awkward none the less with a subtle twinge of peacefulness. It made me feel uncomfortable.
"It's eight o'clock," Sasuke pointed out some time later.
"Oh, right," I mumbled, putting my things away."We'll leave from the morgue so don't leave your things here."
"Hn," Sasuke nodded, picking his sword up and sliding it over his shoulder.
I had to stop myself from gawking at Sasuke once I finally took an actual look at him. He looked gorgeous. He was wearing a black suede jacket with a grey thermal underneath, dark ANBU pants, boots, and a dark blue scarf. His hair was blowed around from the wind and his cheeks were pink from cold.
"What?" He asked, catching me in the act.
"Nothing," I looked away as the elevator doors opened to the hall. "You just look nice, that's all."
"Hn," He murmured, running his fingers through his hair.
I want to do that, I thought as I watched his fingers. I wonder what it feels like.
"Here you go," The familiar receptionist came out of nowhere and handed me a set of keys."You and your guard are the only ones permitted to enter as of right now. Just feel out your report and if you need more time let me know."
"Thank you." I nodded, opening the door.
I walked into the morgue and located the number carve into the key: D7. I put the key in and pulled out the tray with a body covered by a white sheet on it. The marker on the toe informed me if the identification number I needed to put down on the papers.
"This is a woman?" Sasuke almost whispered as I pulled back the sheet.
She was mutulated. Skin pulled here and there, the breast were completely diminished, face cut to pieces, the eyes and mouth sewn together, and scars scattered across the body with staples still intact. She was already beginning to rot, producing an odor in the room.
"What happened to her?" Sasuke asked, in disgusted tone. "She doesn't even look like a human anymore."
I placed my hands over her throat and pressed. It was soft. Good sign, I noted.
"She was already dead before the organs were removed," I said. "Her Hyoid is broken."
"What about all of this?" Sasuke waved his hand over the chest area. "Was she alive then?"
I studied the area, looking at the color of the skin. It would be better if I could cut her open.
"Hand me that scapula," I instructed, pulling on a pair of gloves from my pocket.
"What are going to do?"
"I need to see the tissue before I can know her time of death," I commented. "As well as one of her bones."
I pressed the blade into her skin, slicing down the side of her sternum. Then I pulled back the skin and clamped it down.
"Hand me the tweezers," I opened my hand, reaching for it.
I went to stick the tweezers inside then heard a ticking noise start.
"What is that?" I whispered, taking the scapula to cut a little deeper. I could see something silver sticking up and I cut more at an angle. The more I cut the louder it got.
"Stop," Sasuke instructed, as I finally realized what it was.
"It's a bomb!?" I exclaimed, as it began to count down from twenty.
"Sakura!" Sasuke yelled, grabbing me by the waist and picking me up. "We have to get out of here."
He ran out of the door and went towards the window. Pushing me through it first, I began to free fall down the side of the mountain. Slamming into the ice cold snow, Sasuke tumbled down beside of me as the bomb exploded. Flames shot out in every direction and rubble flew out with it. The air filled with smoke and the smell of flesh. It made my stomach roll.
"Sakura?" Sasuke was overtop of me, propped up on his elbows. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," I raised up. "Are you?"
"Your scapula cut me, but besides that I'm fine," He shook snow out of his hair.
"Sakura!" Naruto called out. "Sasuke!"
There was suddenly another explosion that racketed through the air. This time the snow began to shake the roll down the mountain side, creating an avalanche. Trees began to rolled down towards us, one scraping past us almost hitting me. They were all burning, looking like a sea of flames. Sasuke grabbed me, pulling me close to him.
He was so warm, making me forget about the disaster about to happen. It was nice feeling his arms around me, again. My head laying on his chest, hearing his heartbeat loud in my ears. It was comfortable and I never wanted it to go away.
In my moments if bliss, I didn't realize he had used a snake to transport us back to the top of the mountain. With both our feet on the ground, we just stood there together. The light from the fire was still blazing, sending flickers of light cascading down Sasuke's face. He looked even better like this. The wind was still howling and snow fell, mixed with ashes. His arm was still around me, his hand laying on the small of my back. I was still pressed into his chest, trying to take in warmth from him with my lack of a jacket. It was almost like a beautiful gothic scene straight out of a Tim Burton film.
Then a pain hit my calve, making me fall down.
"Sakura," Sasuke caught me, putting both of his arms around me. "What's wrong?"
"My leg hurts," I muttered. "I think I cut it on something."
"Hn," He said, lifting me up bridal style. "We're going back to the house."
"What about Naruto and the others?" I grabbed on to his neck automatically.
"I'll let them know," He said, tightening his hold.
Once his foot hit the ground we were gone. He was fast, faster than I ever imagined. Everything around us seemed to become a blur. It made me feel sick. He opened the door to the house with ease and sat me down on the couch.
"I'm calling Naruto," He said, reaching for the house phone.
I nodded. I reached down and pulled off my boot, blooding rolling out of it. Flinching I slowly pulled up my bloody pant leg, ignoring the pain. There was a burn wound on my leg along with a deep gash through the center of it. I guess one of the trees had hit me.
"Sasuke?" I called. "Can you bring me the first aid kit from the laundry room?"
I prayed he heard me, the pain was strong. I leaned forward and gently placed my hands on both sides of the wound, pushing my healing chakra through my palms. It was helping soothe the pain, but it still hurt.
"Here," Sasuke shoved the kit in my face. "Naruto, Sai, and Kakashi are helping put the fire out. Kakashi said for us to stay inside at all times and to not let you out of my site."
I ignored him and continued to work on my wound.
"What happened?"
"One of the trees hit me," I admitted, opening the kit. I pulled out the burn salve and wrapping gauze.
"Shouldn't you clean the cut first?" He asked, setting down on the table in front of me.
"I already did with my chakra," I took a deep breath, fighting the pain. "I just need to put this on it to help with the pain and then wrap it up."
I slid my legs over the side of the couch, trying to get into a position where I could bend fully down to my calve. Sasuke pushed me back on the couch and pulled my leg up onto his knee. His hands were cold and soothing on my burning skin. He rubbed the muscle in my calve, trying to make it relax a bit so the pain would slow.
"Give me the medicine," He reached out his hand and I gave him it.
I leaned my head back and closed my eyes as he began to rub the icy gel down my leg. It hurt at first then began to fade away as his magic hands began rubbing my leg again. I heard him ruffle the gauze opened and felt him begin wrapping it around my calve.
"Does it need to be tight?"
"Yes," I answered. "No air can get into it or it'll cause an infection."
He tightened the wrap then tucked its side down, closing it off from the open air. I thought he would let go of my leg by then, but he didn't. He just kept massaging it in slow circular patterns.
"Does it hurt?" His voice sounded full of concern.
"Mmhmm," I mumbled, opening my eyes to look at him.
His eyes were searing into mine, making me blush. My heart began to beat in my ears. It was so loud I thought he could hear it. They way he looked . . . He looked beautiful. And it broke my heart. I had to look away for the sake of my sanity.
"For what it's worth," His calm voice said. "You look nice tonight, too. You look pretty every night."
"Stop," I whispered.
"Stop what?"
"Lying," I felt like I was going to cry. "It's not nice to lie, ya know."
"But I'm not lying," He put my leg down. "I'm being more honest to you than I ever have before, Sakura."
"Why now?" I asked, reaching for the blanket on the corner of the couch.
"Because I just realized it now," Sasuke pulled the blanket down and tucked it around me. "And I'm never going to forget it."
"Really?" I pulled the blanket up to my neck.
"Really," Sasuke leaned forward. "I promise."
I was quiet, taking in everything he had said. It was so odd to hear him tell me everything I always wanted to hear from him my entire life and me being without words.
"What about you?" Sasuke said, quietly.
"I don't know," I answered, honestly. "I gave up a long time ago."
"So give me another chance," He sat down beside me. "I won't mess up this time, I swear. I know who I am now an I know what I want . . . I want you, Sakura."
"I don't know," I mumbled. "I'll have to think about it."
"If you have to think about it then its not meaningful," He touched my hands gathered in my lap. "Just say what you feel when you think of me. The first thing that comes to mind."
I looked at him, at a loss for words. I stared at his face, thinking about him and our past together. The only image that came to mind was the one of him bent over leaning on me and grasping my hand after Orochimaru had marked him. I remember the feeling I felt it that moment, the feeling of fear. Fear for the one I love.
"I'm afraid for you," I answered. "I don't want you to get hurt."
"Why do you care if I do?" Sasuke looked away. "I tried to kill you."
"But I forgave you for that," I replied. "I care because its just natural. I can't help but care about you because I love you. I always have and I always will."
The door opened then and Naruto busted into the living room.
"Are you alright?" He yelled, as Kakashi shut the door behind Sai. "Sasuke said you were hurt and how did you get hurt!? How did that explosion happen and -" He stopped and stared at our hands. Waggling his eyebrows, he leaned in close to Sasuke and said,"Making a move so soon, eh, teme?"
"Shut up, Naruto," Sasuke hushed, as I pulled my hand away from his. "It's none of your business."
"Surreee it ain't," He winked.
I sighed, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"What happened?" Kakashi asked.
"I was examining a body that was found, linking to the case, and when I went to open her up," I thought. "She had a bomb inserted in her thoracic cavity with just enough time left for Sasuke and I to get out of there."
"What about the second explosion?" Sai questioned, writing down notes for the police chief I supposed.
"I don't know about that one," I tried to remember if there was any explosives around."Maybe there was an oxygen tank or something the fire hit and made that explosion."
"Possibly," Sai murmured."Why did they blow this body up and not the last one?"
"It's been put into the ground, hasn't it?" Naruto asked.
"I don't think so," I answered. "If the body is involved in a major case like this one they usually hold the body until the case had either been solved or closed."
"What if the bombs were synchronized to go off at the same time?" Sai asked.
"Possible," I replied. "Call the morgue at the funeral home and find out."
He nodded then went to the kitchen to call.
"That's odd, though," Kakashi noted. "Why wait so long to blow them up?"
"Maybe they're waiting for something," Naruto answered.
"Or someone," Sasuke said."Ehat if they're after Sakura?"
"How would they have found out about her being here? How would they even know she was the one who was going to examine the body?" Naruto pointed out.
"There's ways," I stated. "Cops could be involved, someone in the hospital could of told."
"The body at the funeral home is still there," Sai called from the kitchen.
"So why just one body?" Naruto said, aggravated.
"I'm going to bed," I stood up, stumbling a little until Naruto steadied me. "This is just frustrating. I'll figure something out in the morning."
"Do you need someone to take you?" Naruto asked.
"No, I can do it," I stated, walking to the stairs. "Thank you and goodnight."
Once I finally made it to my room, I tumbled into the bed. What if someone is trying to kill me? Well, so what, I thought. People have been after me before. But I was still scared.
Why I am I scared, I thought. Wait, it's not because people are trying to kill me. It's because of what Sasuke said. Do I love him? Was I being honest or was I just feeling guilty because he admitted his love for me?
Stop, brain, I commanded. You're stressing me out. I was exhausted at this point and ready to sleep. I curled up into a ball and drifted away, dreading tomorrow.