Redemption In Your Eyes

Comfortable

A scream ripped through the quiet during the early hours of the morning in the Uchiha household. Itachi sat up in his night clothes, looking around frantically, his sharingan activated. Running his hand along the bed as he made to stand, he touched something wet. He turned. Whimpering, and then letting out a wail, Aster lay curled in a fetal position, her face contorted in pain. His heart went stone cold and sank. Glancing over the sheets in shock, he looked at his hand. Blood...

The door banged against the wall as Sasuke, Hikaru, and Sakura all tried to jam themselves through the door. Gasping, Sasuke took in the bloody scene.

"What the fuck did you do?" Hikaru yelled, storming into the bedroom.

Sakura was hot on his heels. "She needs medical attention! Out of my way!"

Ignoring them both, Itachi wrapped Aster in the red and white sheets. Hands slick with her own blood, Aster gripped his shirt and screamed again. Cradling her against his chest, he picked her up. Grinding his teeth, he could feel her chakra burning him through the cloth. Confused, but determined, he elbowed the room's other occupants aside and began sprinting to Konoha Hospital.

All four witnesses to the crimson scene stood in the hall outside Aster's door. As mysteriously as she had fallen ill, she had stabilized. Sasuke stared at his brother. Blood stained his shirt, pants and hands. Itachi hadn't bothered to clean up, too intent on watching Aster's care through the square, plexiglass window. Eyes narrowed, Hikaru had been watching Itachi and grinding his teeth. Leaning against the wall opposite the three men, Sakura stood with arms crossed.

"You should have let me look at her and make the call." She frowned, tightening her arms around herself. "That's my job. I'm her personal medic."

"Would you have a made a different call?" Itachi kept his eyes trained ahead, his voice even.

"Well," Sakura sputtered, "No, I would have done the same, but still. It's my call."

Suddenly he pinned her with his glare. "Why does it matter who makes the call, as long as it's the right call?"

Finding her confidence, she stood away from the wall. "Because, Itachi, next time it might not be the right call."

Clenching his fists as his sides, "I have never made the wrong call when her well being was at stake."

"I don't care. Those decisions aren't yours to make."

Scowling and moving to continue, Itachi was startled by Sasuke's hand on his chest. "Nii-san, now isn't the time or place." The older backed down, still clearly enraged.

"So, Sakura," Hikaru said, "Is it time to tell everyone Aster is sick?"

The girl met his gaze, unafraid. "This scenario was just as likely as nothing happening. Even if we declared her in ill health, we couldn't have foreseen this."

"Leave her alone," Sasuke moved in between them. "Aster almost died, and we are bickering? Disgusting." He spat the last word.

The rest of the group stood, heads hung in embarrassment.

"I have to go try to diagnose this with Tsunade-sama," Sakura gave Sasuke a look of sorrow. Squeezing his hand and then releasing him, she walked away, disappearing around the corner at the end of the hall.

Folding her arms tightly, Tsunade gave Sakura a harsh look. The older woman then shuffled through the file until she found the page she wanted. Folding back the paper and holding to Sakura, she recited the facts, already knowing them by heart. "Your patient, Uchiha Aster, lost about 19% of her total blood volume. A class two hemorrhage."