Happy Accidents

Chapter 14: Relief

Naruto stopped him as he got there, frowning at him. "Get some sleep," he said with a frown. "You look like the walking dead." Did he really look that terrible? 

"I'm fine," he said as he ran a hand through his messy hair. "Looking after her is important."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at him. "You seriously think you're any good in the state you're in? Get your ego in check, would ya? You're being stupid." He growled in response to Naruto's comment, annoyed that he was right. He hated it when Naruto was right. It was the most annoying thing he'd ever encountered.

"I'm. Fine." His tone was sharp, indicating his annoyance. He turned around and marched back into the room, staring at the cot. He knew Naruto was right. He needed to rest. He sighed and grabbed the blankets, setting up the cot and curling up underneath the blanket that had been provided to him. He was asleep within minutes.

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Sakura slowly stirred awake, feeling a little better now that she'd slept off the remainder of the anesthetic she'd been under. She turned her head to see Sasuke sleeping on the cot, clearly out cold. His expression was different when asleep; he almost looked peaceful in comparison. It was very different than his usual expression.

Upon glancing at the door she saw Detective Uzumaki come in with a coffee in hand, smiling at her. "Look who's awake," he said softly as he took a seat next to her bed. "Try not to be too loud. He's been up all night driving himself crazy. Probably needs the sleep," he said as he gestured toward the sleeping detective on the cot.

"All night? Really?" She asked with a glance in Sasuke's direction. "Is he... really that worried about me?"

Naruto chuckled softly. "Of course he is. He acts callous, but he's a softie under all that. He's... been through some things, to say the least. I've known him since we were kids. He wasn't the friendliest back then, either. Still isn't, but he puts up with me. Probably because we both wanted to go into law enforcement." He took a sip of his coffee. "Don't tell him I told you, but he's got a soft spot for you. He's just too stubborn to admit it to anyone--even to himself." Well, that made a lot of sense to Sakura; it explained why one moment he seemed to be warming up to her, and the next he seemed callous, cold, and distant.

"He... blames himself, doesn't he?" She asked softly.

"Yeah. That's just his nature, though. If anyone around him gets hurt, he takes the blame on himself for not being able to stop it. Always been like that, from what I recall. He ended up moving away when we were teenagers, moving to another city when he got transferred to a different foster family. Came back after graduation, but he was... different. More withdrawn, I guess, compared to when we were kids." Naruto leaned back in his chair. "Don't be too hard on him. He tries not to be a jerk. Sometimes he just... doesn't quite know what to say, you know?"

Sakura chuckled. "Yeah, I know that feeling." She thought about that night. "He was there, that night. I... I don't know why, but he was."

Naruto sighed. "He rushed there the moment we connected the address to your street. Tell me, Sakura, what do you remember? Don't push yourself hard, just tell me what you can."

She took a deep breath, piecing things together slowly. "I went home, and the door was open. I figured I probably forgot to lock it in the morning because we were in a rush. I came in, and there he was. He was... he was the same guy that tried to stop me in the parking lot. I remember he shot me, then he..." She gritted her teeth as she remembered the rest, her hand balling into a fist.

"He reached... into my wound, and... and he drew something on the wall in my blood. He just stood there and stared. He was waiting for me to die. Then Sasuke arrived, and... he ran. I-I don't remember much more than that. After that, everything's just fuzzy and confusing. I don't remember exactly why I went home early, either." That was a lie. She knew exactly why she'd gone home early, and what had upset her. She just didn't want to answer that. Besides, none of it was relevant to the case. It had absolutely nothing to do with what they were working on.

"I was about to come to Sasuke with a list of other victims we wanted exhumation orders on, I know that much. I think... I think maybe he was coming to ask me about those since I ended up taking the files home with me." That would possibly explain why he was in the area in the first place. Why he wouldn't just call her about it she wasn't sure, but that was irrelevant now. 

"Do you still have that list?" Naruto asked.

"Uh... Yeah, it, um, it should be saved on my laptop, if you can find that. It's probably at the house somewhere. Bring me that and I can pull it up for you." She had a feeling a certain detective would protest to her doing any kind of work right now, but she knew how important this was. It was important to her own safety if it meant finding out who was behind all of these murders.

"We did manage to find a name, and we've got various orders out for his arrest. We'll find him. I don't think he'll rest easy until we do." Naruto gestured at the sleeping detective.

"Yeah, I think you're right about that." She shifted uncomfortably, resisting the urge to scratch at the stitches underneath the gauze on her chest; she knew doing so would tear them, but they were so uncomfortable at the moment. "I should get some more rest. I feel a bit better now, but maybe if I'm sleeping for longer, he'll get more rest." She chuckled. "Worth a shot, right?"

Naruto chuckled back. "Yeah, it is." He glanced outside the room. "Looks like Hyuuga's here. He's going to be standing watch. Get some rest. You're going to need it."