Happy Accidents

Chapter 13: Limbo

Everything happened too fast for Sakura to process. One moment she was face to face with her assailant, the next she heard... the door opening? Was that a gunshot she heard? It had to be. The man was gone in an instant, scrambling away from her. Who was there? Who had come for her?

"Dr. Haruno?" Whose voice was that? "Sakura? Sakura, answer me. Say something, please," the voice begged. It was a familiar voice, but she was too tired to place it. Whoever it was, they were worried. Her dad, maybe? Ino? No... It wasn't feminine enough to be Ino.

"God damn it, Sakura, answer me!" The voice became more frantic, and the raised tone caused her eyes to open. It was... Detective Uchiha? He'd come to see her? She was deeply confused. Why was he here? Hadn't she told him she was going home? Why would he follow her? Had she forgotten something? Had she asked him to come?

"Sa...suke..?" She croaked out, seeing his face half come into view. Her vision was blurred and black at the edges, and it took her a moment to process where she was. She was at home. She'd been attacked, and she was in pain. She was going in and out... was she dying?

"Black... bag," she said weakly, trying to gesture; the most she could get was a twitch. "Hemostat... gauze." She knew what she was trying to say; she always kept good supplies in her home in case of emergencies. She wasn't a perfect emergency responder, but she was medically trained, and in a pinch, that would be enough.

The detective seemed confused for a moment before looking around, seeing the bag. He reached a foot out, hooking the strap to kick it toward himself before reaching inside. He pulled out a variety of gauzes, using his knee to gently keep the pressure on his scarf as he tried to rip them open. He eventually got frustrated, tearing off his bloodied gloves and tossing them to the side before getting the packages open, removing his scarf to begin packing the wounds. She had one shot to her chest, and a single stab to her side; neither were lethal, but they would be if help didn't arrive soon.

Sakura felt a rush of emotions hit her. The chance that she could die here was very, very real. She felt that fear bubble up, causing tears to well in her eyes and a weak, choked sob to come from her.

"I don't want to die," she said tearfully, looking up at Sasuke with a fear-filled gaze.

"You won't die, I promise," he reassured.

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Help was quick to arrive as the detective fought to keep Sakura focused and conscious, but by the time paramedics arrived, she wasn't even able to respond with words. All he could get out of her was grunts and groans. As soon as they took over he stepped away, picking up his discarded gloves and looking down at his hands. They were soaked with blood; it had even started to soak his shirt as he kept her close. He paced uncomfortably, looking around and trying to take in the crime scene. He couldn't think. He needed air.

Stepping outside, he was met by Naruto, whose face looked grim. "Which way did he go?" He asked.

"Out the back, into the field. Send them around and they might be able to cut him off. He couldn't have gone far." He was frantic, angry. "I'm coming with you, I just need--"

"No," Naruto said firmly. "Stop. You found her. You're her partner. Go with her. If she's one of his targets, he may go after her a second time. You know this case best. You can work remotely from there and ask her what she saw. I'll take lead in the field for the time being. Just trust me. Okay?" As angry as that made him, Sasuke knew that Naruto was right. He had to look after Sakura. He had this burning feeling in his chest that it was necessary, that if he didn't, something else would happen. He couldn't let that happen.

"Hold on. You said you found him in a search, right?"

"Yeah. He's part of a gang I've been looking into. I'll fill you in when I have more information. They're loading her into the ambulance now. Go, ride with them. Hyuuga rode with me, he'll drop your car off there when we have a moment." He clapped Sasuke on the shoulder to follow as they loaded the doctor into the ambulance, but his mind was a whirl. Naruto was right; he was no good trying to look at a crime scene right now. He was too worried. On some level, he blamed himself; if she hadn't gone home at that time, then this might not have happened. He was rethinking everything, retracing every step, everything. If they'd known it was the same guy that accosted her in the parking lot, that he lived on the same street, he certainly wouldn't have let her go home alone. Not in the slightest. Hell, he probably would have made a point to stay with her just in case.