Chapter 22-Lost Horizon
Silence.
Sasuke looked down horrified at where Sakura now lay. His eyes were wide and his breathing was shallow.
This isn't happening! No, no, no...it can't end like this! THIS ISN'T HAPPENING!
He heaved himself up and landed on the ground with a thump. The boy was crying in the corner, and yelped as Sasuke picked him up and ran down the building. Sakura was the only thing in his mind now.
He ran out the building and ran even faster to Sakura, dropping the boy on the ground.
"Sakura..." he choked out and knelt beside her. Therewas blood everywhere...her blood...
Rain fell harder hitting everyone with its icy droplets. The witnesses just stood there like dumb dolls too shocked to do anything. Fresh blood flow down at the side of her head and from the cuts that were all over her body.
She just lay there motionlessly, unconscious and not feeling the pain at all. Sasuke quickly too off his black shirt and carefully wrapped it around her wounds trying to stop the blood from flowing. He tore a strip of cloth and quickly bound her head with it trying to prevent blood loss.
"The ambulance is here!" Somebody shouted.
Instantly, people in white cloaks crowded around them and ushered Sasuke into the ambulance while carrying Sakura on a stretcher. They asked him questions like what had happened and are he alright.
He answered them carelessly not taking his eyes off of Sakura. She was hardly breathing at all and beads of sweat ran down her pale face. He sat there emotionlessly, replaying the last hour over and over again.
It was the little boy's fault that she ended like this. It was the witness's fault for not coming to their aid fast enough and just witnessed the scene like stupid puppets. It was God's fault that is was raining that day. But mostly...it was his fault for letting go...
He would never forgive himself if Sakura died...
"How is she?" Tenten asked worriedly as Tsunade came out of Sakura's room. Apparently they found out that Tsunade wasn't just the volleyball coach in their school but also a doctor.
Neji, Tenten, Naruto, Kakashi, and Hinata had immediately come to the hospital when they heard the news. They managed to send Sasuke home to rest since he had refused to leave Sakura.
Tsunade shook her head and looked at them seriously, "Do you want to know the truth or would your prefer if I lie to you?"
Kakashi looked at the students and stepped forward, "I think we should know the truth. They are old enough to handle it."
"Very well. There is good news and bad news. I'll start with the good news. The good news is that Sakura would not die."
"Damn right she won't!" Naruto interrupted fiercely.
"Shut up boy. Let me finish! The bad news is that we don't know when she'll wake up from her coma and-"
"Of course she'll wake up, old hag!" Naruto interrupted again.
"Yes, I'm not saying that she won't but-"
"Well you sound like it!" He snapped.
"Will you just shut your trap and let me finish!" Tsunade yelled angrily at him, losing her patience by the minute. The others quickly calmed him down and he nodded miserably.
"Hmph, well anyways when Sakura does wake up there would be a 99 percent chance for her to suffer amnesia for her entire life. She cracked a part of her skull damaging some tissues and nerves. But thank god that she survived." Tsunade informed sadly.
"A-Amnesia!" Naruto echoed disbelievingly.
"Yes, I'm afraid." Tsunade added.
"You being afraid aren't good enough! Why is she going to suffer from amnesia? Why didn't you try harder to prevent this from happening! Why did she have to suffer just because she saved a little boy?" He cried accusingly. Sakura had always been a dear friend to him and hearing about Sakura at this state, pains him.
"Why don't you ask her body and God why she's going to suffer! We already tried our best! Don't think you're the only one that's upset about this situation, she was my best player you know! It's obvious that you're not ready for the truth!" she snapped.
Kakashi placed a hand on Naruto's head and told him to calm down. Naruto just grumbled and glared at the floor.
Sigh...nobody is ready for you to lose your memory Sakura...especially Sasuke...
"I've already contacted Sakura's parents and they were really upset. The flights have already been booked for the next few months so they won't be able to come and see Sakura. Such a shame...they were crying as well...well then Kakashi, I'll leave you to tell Sasuke about the news." Tsunade said curtly, and left.
"Can we go visit her?" Tenten asked in a quiet voice.
"Yes I believe so." Kakashi answered her and they all went inside the room drawing closer to horror. The girls gasped and the boys' jaws dropped when they saw Sakura.
Sakura's body was covered in bandages and she lay on the hospital bed lifelessly, breathing through oxygen mask that covered her mouth and nose. They could hardly see a patch of bare skin on her. Her forehead were tightly wrapped in cloth and they could already see blood seeping through the fabric.
Her once long pink beautiful hair was now cropped short losing its usual gleam. A heart rate monitor was beeping steadily beside the sleeping body.
"She's bleeding again...Neji go and find a doctor." Kakashi ordered grimly, inspecting the wound on her head.
"Sakura-chan..." Tenten sobbed beside her best friend, Hinata was crying softly too.
"Wake up Sakura-chan!" Naruto suddenly shouted desperately. Nobody told him to shut up this time so he kept on shouting out desperate cries hoping to wake up her.
She can't be sleeping forever! What about us? What about Sasuke!
"Sakura-chan...wake up!" Naruto yelled hoarsely over his tears, almost losing his voice.
"She can't hear you...she's in a coma." Tsunade said quietly behind them.
"I don't care." He said stubbornly choking over his tears.
The doctor didn't reply from then on and changed Sakura's bandages. It was a bloody sight, there was blood all over her hair, staining it dark red. Blood gushed out as Tsunade removed the cloth and worked quickly to close the wound again. Then she pumped a donor's blood into her veins to replace the ones that she had lost.
Tsunade finished with bloody hands and all the others could do was watch. Kakashi sighed loudly and looked out the window.
Now all we could do is wait...
Day 1 - Since the accident
Sasuke nearly went berserk when Kakashi told him the news.
"What do you mean she's in a coma! What do you mean she has a high chance of suffering from amnesia!" He yelled at his teacher, and former private tutor.
"Sasuke, I mean everything I have said. Would I lie to you? Have I ever?" he asked him.
"No." He muttered glumly. He went to the hospital that day and his heart nearly shattered to pieces when he saw her. He also saw the cursed kid called Konohamaru and his parents in the same room.
Apparently, Konohamaru had seen some birds on top of the tree and being a five year old, he was naturally curious so he climbed up the tree. Nobody knows how he did it and succeeded to the top. His father was at work and his mother was pregnant so they couldn't help their son.
The family apologized for countless times to Sasuke as he came in and burst out crying. They were deathly scared of him since he was 'The' Uchiha Sasuke that had come from the world's richest family.
And their son just happened to be the cause of the injuries that 'The'Uchiha Sasuke's girlfriend suffered. He could have them thrown to court with just one flick of his finger.
But instead Sasuke just nodded carelessly to their apologies and went to sit beside his beloved girlfriend, silently cursing them. They weren't worth suing upon, he finally decided.
Day 2 -
Sakura was still in the coma with Sasuke closely by her side.
Day 3 -
No sign of waking up.
Day 4 -
Still no sign of her gaining consciousness, but her wounds were getting better.
Day 5 -
The wound on her head suddenly opened again and Sakura was sent to the emergency room.
Day 6 -
The wound was closed again by doctors...Sakura is still in a coma.
Day 7 -
Still unconscious.
Day 8 -
A week has passed and still no sign of consciousness.
Day 9 -
Sakura's fingers suddenly moved a little. To Sasuke and the other's dismay she fell back into a deep slumber again.
Day 10 -
Doctors are looking for hopeful signs of movement but found none.
Day 11 -
Still no movement except for breathing.
Day 12 -
Sakura had suddenly caught a high fever.
Day 13 -
The fever has slightly died down but was still fatal.
Day 14 -
"SASUKE!"
"Heh...heh..." Sakura panted trying to catch her breath. She had just had a horrifying nightmare but strange enough...she couldn't remember a single thing.
Inner Sakura: Why is it so dark here? My head sure hurts like mad, what happened to me? Where am I? Who am I?
With confused thoughts running all over her head making her headache even more severe, she fainted and fell asleep.
"Sakura?" Sasuke called out hesitantly to the sleeping girl. Her bed sheets were ruffled up making obvious sign that either she had moved or someone else has touched her covers last night. Her covers were always smooth, so somebody or something must've moved.
Hope drove through his heart as he thought of all the possibilities. Even if it seemed foolish calling out to an unconscious person, he just had to try.
"Sakura?" He called again. Still no answer, so he gave up and sighed in defeat.
"Hnnmm..."
"Huh!"
Sasuke whirled around and looked at Sakura bewilderedly. Was it his imagination or did he just hear Sakura groan?
"Ugh..."
She groaned again and this time she was actually moving! He hadn't been imagining after all! She looked like as if she was trying to get up.
"Sakura!" he whispered, gently helping her up. This was too good to be true. He looked at her as she looked back. There was just something strange about her though, but he just can't catch what was strange.
"T-Thanks." She stuttered and panted a little, trying to get as much air as she could to circulate in her lungs.
"Good morning!" Naruto called out, entering the room. His jaw dropped as he saw Sakura, sitting up. The people behind him were shocked almost as he was too.
"SAKURA-CHAN!" Tenten and Hinata shrieked as they saw her and ran over to her at top speed, giving her bear hugs followed by Naruto.
"Oww..."
"Oh sorry, we forgot about your injuries. But we were so worried about you! You were unconscious for two weeks!" Tenten cried happily. Hinata placed the flowers that they had brought and went to sit beside Sakura.
"I-I was?" Sakura said weakly.
"Yeah!"
"What time is it?" she asked.
Hinata checked her watch and told her, "It's ten in the morning, why?"
"Is it day time?"
"Yes, of course."
"Why I c-can't see..."
"..."
They watched as Sakura looked blindly through them all. Her eyes were dull and lost its normal sparkle. They had been to busy being too happy to realize the dullness in her eyes. But now that they looked at her, it was obvious.
She's blind...
"U-Um...hello?" She twitched uneasily, uncomfortable at all the people staring at her.
"She's blind." Neji stated quietly breaking the silence while still in shock.
"Um, who's blind?" Sakura asked innocently.
"..."
"Well?"
"..."
"Who are you people anyway? Can you please answer me?" Sakura demanded, a little bit angry.
"You don't know who we are? Do you remember anything?" Sasuke asked quietly, and trembling uncontrollably.
That one percent chance of hope of her not getting amnesia was smothering quickly.
"I don't think so..." She searched through her mind trying to pick up names and memories, but found none.
"Hey- Oh my god! Sakura!" Tsunade exclaimed happily when she saw her student.
"You're finally awake!"
"Old hag...she's blind..." Naruto informed glaring at her.
"She what!" She roared.
"I'm what!" Sakura screamed after her.
"SHE'S BLIND!" Naruto yelled as loud as he could for the whole world to hear with tears in his eyes.
"B-But....how....I-I'm...." Sakura couldn't bring herself to say anything. There she was talking to strangers and learning that she can't remember a single thing and that SHE'S FREAKING BLIND!
"Damn! I should've known!" Tsunade swore punching the wall, "Some of the nerves in her head were damaged but I didn't figure it would be damaged to the extent of causing blindness!"
"Who are you people? Where am I? What am I doing here? WHO AM I!" Sakura screamed out the questions as tears welled up around her dull green eyes and rolled down her cheek.
They gaped.
"..."
"S-Sakura-c-chan, please s-stop crying! Y-You t-tears... are... b-b-blood!" Hinata half pleaded half cried.
Tears can't be blood, can it?
They looked at her wishing that they could help her but they were so shocked that they couldn't move a muscle.
Tears can't be blood. Tears just couldn't be blood. It's impossible!
Sakura just kept on crying...shedding tears, or more exact, blood.
Tsunade was the first one to snap out of daze and quickly took some cloth and bount it around her eyes.
"Shhh...stop crying. Get some rest. You have enough for one day. Go to sleep now. We'll explain everything tomorrow." She said sadly and slowly laid her down, and immediately Sakura fell asleep.
The events were just too much for her body to handle.
"You guys should go home now and get some rest. I'll look after her for now. There's nothing you could do now." Tsunade ordered. They nodded without a complaint, they too have seen and learned too much for the day and wished for some rest.
"Sasuke-bastard you coming?" Naruto called to his best friend as everyone exited out the door, except for he, Sasuke, and Tsunade.
"Sasuke-bastard! Why won't you an-" He trailed off as he saw Sasuke. He was trembling hard and his horrified dark eyes were on Sakura. Come to think of it he hadn't said a thing since they found out Sakura had amnesia and was blind.
"Shock." Tsunade stated as she examined him, "Naruto, go and take him home. I'll go call Kakashi and tell him the news."
He nodded and guided him outside. "You okay Sasuke?"
He didn't answerbut nodded instead.
"You know, its okay to cry Sasuke-bastard." He said gently.
"..."
Uchihas don't cry...even when they want to...their face will always be tearless whether they like it or not.
"I-I can't believe she's...blind..." He said quietly. Naruto patted his back and took him home.
Rain
Thunder
Somebody had caught her hand and she felt safe. But she felt too fast, because the next moment she slipped away from the person and fell....fell...fell...
Sakura jerked up again feeling slight pain in her eyes and head. It was that nightmare again.
"Sakura-chan! You're awake!" Tenten exclaimed happily. Her voice sounded familiar to her.
"We know that you're probably full of questions now since you lost your memory so we'll fill you in." Tenten continued.
"Ok, I'll be glad if you tell me what's going on."
"Well first of all let's introduce us first. I'm Tenten and I have a boyfriend called Hyuuga Neji and he's not here. I have brown hair which I always tie up in two buns and I love Soccer." Tenten introduced herself.
"I-I'm Hyuuga Hinata, and Neji is my cousin. We have white eyes and brown hair. I like to play tennis, and we are all you're best friends." A new voice said, shaking Sakura's hand politely.
"Hi! I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm Hinata's boy friend as well as your boy friend's best friend. Wow there's a lot of 'friend' in that sentence but anyways....I love ramen and hockey. I have blond hair and blue eyes." Naruto chirped.
Inner Sakura: I have a boy friend? COOL! HELL YEAH!
"..."
"Sasuke-bastard it's your turn."
Inner Sakura: Wow Naruto sure treats this Sasuke who is supposed to be my boy friend like a best friend.
"..."
"Sasuke-bastard did you hear me!"
"I'm Uchiha Sasuke."
"..."
"THAT'S IT!"
Inner Sakura: That's it! So I like cold types that don't like to talk huh. Wow, I sure can pick a guy...
"...I caught a cold so I can't really speak okay?" Sasuke said innocently in a raspy voice. It was true that he had caught a cold, and he really wanted to talk to Sakura but just not in front of everybody.
"Fine, we'll just tell you about your boy friend that apparently has a cold." Naruto said, clearing his voice.
"Uchiha Sasuke, he is known for his looks, wealth, and talents. Cough...yeah right tomatoefreak...cough, cough..."
Sasuke hit him on the head and kicked him across the room. The others sweat dropped so Tenten kindly continued where Naruto left off.
"You refer to him as cold ass jerk normally or just plain jerk..." Then Tenten went on about hiswealth and how girls are always chasing him and so forth.
Inner Sakura: Wow, hehe. Hell yeah! My boy friend is hot! Even though he sounds cold and jerky.
"Okay, that's basically it about us. Now about you! Your name is Haruno Sakura, and as you can tell you're a girl. You like to play volleyball and you have pink hair and green eyes." Tenten recited.
"Pink hair! Am I a freak!"
"No, no. You have your own fan club and you saved a little boy from a five floor high or in another case a 50 meter high tree but fell, which caused you to lose your memory and...blindness."
"Oh...."
"Well anyways, we're going to take you to your house today. But we're required to take you back to the hospital at night, so let's get going already." Naruto said loudly, trying to cheer everyone up.
They took Sakura to her house as soon as she got changed into normal clothing, she kept a cheerful face despite the fact that she's blind and she had lost her memory.
She touched every object and everything place in her house trying to regain her memory but no avail. They helped her clean the house and Tenten left early for home.
In the middle of work Naruto suddenly sang a very weird song, and they looked at him well...faced in his direction for Sakura since she can't actually see.
"Down in the jungle where nobody goes, there's a boogie woogie washer woman hangin' her clothes, and she's washing them there and she's washing them here, she's the boogie woogie washer woman that's hangin' her clothes. Boom chuwawa, boom boom! Boom chuwawa boom boom! She's the boogie woogie washer woman that's hangin' her clothes."
"Dobe..." Sasuke groaned in embarrassment, he can't believe Uzumaki Naruto, singing this absurd song was his best friend!
"What!" He cried innocently, "I need to sing whenever I'm cleaning! Do you guys have a problem with that! What's the matter with a guy singing? Guys can sing too you know!"
So for the next two hours they had to listen to him singing that stupid washer woman song over and over again.
Down in the jungle where nobody goes...
There's the boogie woogie washer woman hanging her clothes...
"Aargh! That stupid song is stuck in my head!" Sasuke muttered angrily.
"Tenten-chan and Neji-kun are so lucky. They didn't have to hear that song." Hinata said out loud. Even she, a shy little girl who loves her boy friend very much, was tired of that song, as it replayed over and over again in her head.
"Well, your house is spotless Sakura-chan!" Naruto declared proudly looking over at their hard work while ignoring everyone else's rambling.
"Thanks you guys." Sakura said gratefully at her 'new' or 'old' friends. Although she herself, hated that 'Boogie Woogie Washer Woman' song too. But Naruto was okay though.
Everyone left except for Sasuke, because it was getting late. And Sasuke offered to take her back to the hospital. During the day Sakura never actually talked to him much, even though he was her boy friend if what the others told her was true. But she could always feel his presence near her, and she somehow felt safe.
'Ring!'
Her doorbell rang and Sasuke guided her silently to the door. He opened it and a man appeared holding a package. "Special delivery for Haruno Sakura."
He gave the package to Sakura while Sasuke signed it for her since she couldn't write in her condition. They closed the door and went to the living room. The package was addressed to Sakura from the school.
Sasuke opened it for her and took out a letter and a big book. "Oh, the school had sent the year book." He stated and placed the book on the table. The cover of the book was blue with gold letters printed on it, 'Fiery Leaf High Year Book.' It was a medium sized book and contained about one hundred or so pages.
He opened the letter and read it out to Sakura was sitting on the couch, stroking the leathery book.
To Miss Haruno Sakura,
We have sent you your annuals and wish you well. There will be a graduation party on September 12th, and we hope that you can attend. The party starts at 2:00 pm and ends at 9:00 pm. Please attend and dress formally. We will look forward to seeing you and wish you well for your university years. Thank you for attending Fiery Leaf High, and enjoy your annuals!
Regards,
The Fiery Leaf High Staff
He finished, placing the letter aside and sat beside Sakura. They were silent for a moment not knowing how to start a conversation, it was kind of awkward.
"Um, S-Sasuke, c-can you browse through the year book and describe some of the pictures to me?" She asked nervously.
"Hn."
He got the book from her lap and opened it. Sakura slightly fidgeted under the awkwardness as she hears pages flipping.
"You know, you don't have to be nervous Sakura." He said suddenly. She nodded and relaxed a little.
Inner Sakura: Even with that cold exterior, I guess he's gentle on the inside...maybe that's why I fell for him...
Sasuke then saw a picture of Sakura playing volleyball.
"Here's a picture of you trying out for volleyball with Tenten. You both made it in the end by the way."
"Oh, what was I wearing?"
"You're wearing a white shirt and red shorts-that's our school's PE uniform." He described, and then he flipped a page.
"Heh, here's a picture of you and me in science class. We're both covered in goo, and you look mad."
"Hmm...I wonder why." She said sarcastically. The awkwardness is slowly subsiding and they both were enjoying themselves.
"Whoa, here's a picture of us falling from the ceiling. They must've got that picture from the security camera."
"We what!" she exclaimed, if she had heard correctly, he had said they fell from the ceiling!
"Yeah, um. We sort of got stuck in the equipment room and you wanted to get out. So I thought of going through the air vent as an escape route. And so we crawled through the vent and suddenly we slid down this steep slope in the vent and we crashed, ending up in the staff room."
"Are you lying to me, cuz that sounds highly unbelievable." Sakura said suspiciously.
"Well, it's true. And that's not the only crazy thing that we did together. There were others too."
Inner Sakura: Together? I must be really close to him then. My heart feels attached him too...I must've really loved him...
Little did she know, she moved closer to him wanting to hear more of his voice and learning more about him.
"Holy shit. How did they get a picture of that!"
"Of what?" she asked eagerly.
"We got locked up in the janitor's closet mysteriously and somehow fell asleep. Somebody must've taken a picture of us while we're sleeping!"
"We got locked again!" she desperately searched through her memories but found none like she suspected.
"Yeah, unfortunately. Oh, here's a picture of Tenten and Neji playing soccer together. I remember you tried dragging me with you to set them up."
"Wow, I'm a matchmaker."
"Uh huh, you set up Naruto and Hinata too."
"Hehe, I'm good."
"Here's a picture of Shikamaru, this smart dude with an IQ of 200, Neji, and I playing basketball."
"I heard that you're really good."
"Not really." He said modestly.
Inner Sakura: Modest. I like that; I think I'll take what I said this morning back. I sure have a good taste, hell yeah!
"Oh here's a picture of us dancing at the prom."
"Really? What happened that night?"
He described every single detail to her carefully not leaving a gap out. Sakura listened intently, trying to imagine the scene. After he finished, they were quiet for a minute both lost in thoughts.
"You don't remember anything?" he asked gently with a hint of sadness in his voice.
"N-No."
But she really, really wants to. Every minute she had been with him, she found herself falling in love with him even more. Her heart ached. She really wanted to remember and to see him.
Sasuke grinned sadly, and looked outside. "It's getting late Sakura. I'll take you to the hospital now."
"Already?" she said in a whiny voice.
"Yeah, come on let's go." He held her hand and led her to his car. They drove and arrived at the hospital. The stars were shining brightly, and most people were already asleep.
He escorted her to her room and said goodbye as he prepared to call for the nurse to give her the medicine.
"Wait!" she cried suddenly and grabbed hold of his shirt.
"Yeah?"
"You'll come back tomorrow right?"
"Yes." He answered simply. She smiled, relieved and let go of her. Sasuke looked at her for a minute and figured that whether she had her memory or not she was still Sakura.
He bent down and kissed her on the lips.
"Goodnight Sakura."
Then he left with a grin, leaving Sakura in daze.
I'm sorry about everything, making you suffer like this...I promise I'll get your memory back...I promise...
Inner Sakura: Did he just kiss me? It felt so familiar...and...wonderful...
A nurse came into her room and prepared her medicine. But she didn't notice her; instead she tilted her head facing the ceiling as if she was praying to god.
I have to remember no matter what...even if it takes me years to do it, I'll never give up...for Sasuke...
