Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Speak Up ❯ Tell Me ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Title: Speak Up
Disclaimer: I'm not entirely sure if Sasuke and Hinata have even officially met in the series.
Rating: PG ( K+ ) – For nothing but fluffy insinuation, a bit of violence against Ichiraku's ramen
stand and a couple naughty words here or there.
Spoilers: Umm...I guess I've given away that Sakura becomes a medic-nin, does that count?
Summary: Naruto shook her off and confronted Sasuke again, "Not until he apologizes and
promises to leave Hinata-chan alone!" SasuHinaNaru.
Boo.

Chapter 4: Tell Me
"Well? Well? What does it say?" Naruto wheedled in his most obnoxious whine, sneaking a peek
over Sakura's shoulder at the clipboard that she clenched in her hands.
The pink-haired healer backhanded his nose with a merciless fist. "If you'd give me a minute to
read it, I'd tell you! Idiot."
Naruto cupped his hands over his bleeding nose and whimpered pitifully, "You're so mean,
Sakura-chan!"
"Hmph."
Sakura lifted the top sheet out of her way to read the next page, scanning her green eyes quickly
over the information for what she sought. She found it near the bottom, right next to the patient's
allergy warnings.
"Minor concussion...heart rate, chakra levels and blood pressure all stable...Seems like she's
perfectly fine except for being unconscious," Sakura summarized absently, half talking to Naruto,
half only to herself. "She'll probably wake up within the hour, according to the healer notes."
Naruto bounded to his feet, his own injury already healed. "So Hinata-chan's alright?"
"Yeah, except for the bump on her head," Sakura confirmed, dropping the computer-generated
paper back into its place and returning the medical chart to its slot on the wall. "She's in room
402, but not receiving visitors. We'll have to wait and see her until tomorrow."
The kyuubi's face fell at the bad news and he began to pout. His lip quivered as he fixed Sakura
with his biggest, bluest puppy-dog eyes and whimpered, "But...Sakura-chan..."
Sakura's heart thumped an extra time, causing a stutter in her heartbeat. Reluctantly embarrassed,
she looked away from her long-time teammate with a warm blush on her cheeks. "Fine, I'll see if
I can get us in. I know the nurse that runs the fourth floor, she might help us."
As she half-expected, two warm arms looped themselves around her neck and pulled her against
a solid body thrumming with excited energy. With her cheek flush against his, Sakura was sure
that Naruto would be able to feel the heat radiating from her face, but he didn't seem to notice.
"Ahh, Sakura-chan, you're the best!"
Crack.
Sakura stood over Naruto, her elbow planted in the crown of his skull, face as pink as her hair.
"Knock it off, stupid. We're here to see Hinata-chan."
—
"I'm just saying, you didn't have to hit me so hard," Naruto moaned, rubbing the bump hidden
beneath his unruly blond hair.
"Hmph," Sakura snorted, not bothering to turn around and reply. The tint in her face had
subsided somewhat, but she could still feel a little heat lingering in the rounded crest of her
cheeks. Until Sakura was absolutely sure that there was no remaining trace of her strange feelings
left in her expression, she fully intended to act like she was too angry to look at the battered
kyuubi trailing along behind her.
Sakura turned a sharp corner into another whitewashed hallway and picked up a rapid pace. She
followed the room numbers along the right side of the corridor, mentally keeping track of the
numerals.
396...398...400...
...402. Right in the middle of the hall with two guards blocking the door.
‘Figures,' Sakura thought, halting in front of them to grope through her purse for her hospital ID.
Naruto stopped himself in the nick of time, balanced on his tiptoes mere inches away from
Sakura's back as he fought to regain his equilibrium. He reached out and grabbed hold of the
pink-haired kunoichi's shoulders and balanced himself, sighing softly in relief. His breath tickled
the shell of Sakura's left ear, "Heh, sorry, Sakura-chan."
Sakura swatted his hands away, forcing Naruto back a few steps, and went back to retrieving her
ID with a rekindled flame in her cheeks. "Watch it," she muttered out of the corner of her mouth.
In a louder voice intended for the guards, Sakura commanded their attention, "We're here to see
Hyuuga-san."
"Hinata-sama isn't seeing anymore visitors," the guard nearest to her intoned in a dull, muffled
voice. The ANBU mask covering his face complemented his stern attitude with an unyielding
glare.
Pulling her identification out of the depths of her handbag, Sakura flashed it at him. "I'm a
healer. I've come to check on Hyuuga-san's condition."
"Her healer was here only a few minutes ago," the same ANBU guard replied. He hadn't moved
a single millimeter since the two visitor's arrival.
"I'm Tsunade-sama's apprentice," Sakura said, adopting her haughtiest air and shoving her ID
right into the ANBU's face. "As Hyuuga-san is a high-priority patient, it's my duty to make sure
that she's receiving the best possible care. Let us through."
Through the minuscule slits that served as eye holes, Sakura could see the guard scanning her
card carefully. "Very well," he finally said after a few extended seconds of impatience. "But be
quick about it. Hinata-sama requires rest."
"Fine," Sakura snapped, slipping her ID back into her purse. "Come on, Naruto," she beckoned,
waving her hand at him over her shoulder.
The guards dutifully stepped out of their way and allowed them entrance. The second, silent
guard held the door open for them and waited for them to pass before pulling it closed behind
them, blocking out any other meddlers that should happen to pass by.
"You're so awesome, Sakura-chan," Naruto grinned, looking over his shoulder at the closed door
with cheerful pride. "Those idiots didn't know what hit them!"
An unintended smile curled Sakura's lips. "Thanks."
"What are you two doing here?"
Sakura literally jumped a couple inches off the floor as she spun around to face the intruder, her
heart beating at an awkward pace. "S-Sasuke-kun!"
"Sasuke-teme?" Naruto lowered the kunai he had drawn and relaxed his stance, though he didn't
move from his position between the lone Uchiha and Sakura.
On the opposite side of the bed that held the slumbering Hinata was Sasuke, leaning against the
wall with his usual bland expression of distaste. His head was lowered, but his eyes were raised
to gaze at them with implied curiosity.
"Ho-how did you get in here, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura finally found the words to ask, pressing a
hand over her stuttering heart. "There are guards outside the door."
"I snuck in," Sasuke shrugged, his folded arms lifting and dropping back into place in the same
motion.
"Okay...," Sakura raised a carefully penciled eyebrow in confusion. "Why?"
Again, Sasuke shrugged. "They wouldn't let me in."
"Why did you want to sneak in, then?" Naruto growled, obviously losing patience with the
Uchiha's circular logic.
Sasuke averted his eyes to the corner. "None of your business."
Naruto pointed an accusing finger at the Uchiha, shouting, "Why are you being so fucking weird
today? Did someone slip something funny in your ramen, or what?"
Sakura reached out and grabbed Naruto around the neck, covering his mouth with one of her
hands. "Shh! Naruto, do you want to get us kicked out of here?"
Naruto's reply was muffled by Sakura's palm, "Noh."
Knock, knock, knock.
"What's going on in there?" one of the guards called through the door, an edge of suspicion to
his tone.
"N-Nothing!" Sakura called sweetly, tightening her grip on Naruto's neck. He gurgled a little, but
remained otherwise silent.
"If there's a problem..."
"No!" Sakura was beginning to panic. She darted a look at Sasuke, who had no right to even be
in the room with them in the first place, and then to Hinata, who's face was suddenly scrunched
in discomfort. The monitor tracking her heartbeat picked up a sharp, fast beat while her chakra
level spiked. "Really, everything's fine!"
The doorknob began to rattle and turn, implying that the ANBU outside hadn't believed her.
Dropping Naruto as fast as she could, Sakura raced to the door and intercepted it as it began to
open, preventing the guards from coming fully inside. Glancing back one more time at Sasuke,
who hovered anxiously between Hinata and the window, Sakura bit her lip. ‘What could he be
thinking...?'
"Open the door!"
Sakura shook the thought away, pulling back the door just enough to slip her body through. "Just
wait a second, I'm coming!"
Deciding to ponder the unforseen connection between Sasuke and Hinata later, Sakura stepped
outside to do a bit of damage control.
— — —
Authors Notes: Happy Halloween. I updated, so don't show up at my door asking for candy.
Sorry that my chapters are so short; I either write short chapters and update or write long chapters
and stop updating. I'm not skimping on details, or anything, so don't worry about that. Just think
of all the chapters posted thus far as one long chapter and you'll see exactly what I usually post.
Yep, there were a few hints of NaruSaku in there and just a touch of one-sided SasuSaku right
there at the end. I don't think anything fully developed will come of the former, but I like the
pairing and felt I should stick it in there. Makes Sakura a little less pathetic.
Hope this cliffhanger is up to your standards, Missminnie08 n.n
As usual, un-beta'd. Sorry about that, too.
. ( . Ms Videl Son . ) .
– Love can be black and white. SasuHina.