Chapter 9 - S
"I've never seen or known eyes as yours existed."
Sasuke doesn't answer, but he's faintly surprised she hasn't asked about the blood coming from said eyes yet, or why he uses a small bowl to contain it instead of a handkerchief to clean it.
"It's ready?" he asks when she takes a step back to look at her work. She used some wood so the bone would be kept firm in place, mentioning how lucky he is that the broken bone was a clean break to deal with.
Nodding, Dr. Stevens helps him put on a simple loose shirt, making sure to cut the part where the cloth meets his broken arm. She moves to button it, but Sasuke stops her; it'll be easier to check his bandages if it's open.
She hesitates but chooses to ignore it as another one of his quirks. "You're a strong young man if you could deal with the process without anesthesia. We don't have much of it but you could have… asked for it."
The word 'demand' is obviously on the tip of her tongue but she doesn't say it, choosing to glance at the Governor leaning against a wall instead. She shakes her head before turning at him with a familiar small stern face that gives her a motherly look around her that makes him frown and now Sasuke wants to leave. He stands up again and this time it's hard to stay that way. He grabs the chair he was sitting on and takes a shaky breath while waiting for the room to stop moving.
"You should take these. We've got a few stashed so one less won't do much for now."
He looks up to see what she's talking about and in a way dissuades the feeling of throwing up when he sees bags with blood inside a freezer behind her. He points at them. "Give me one of those."
Dr. Stevens knows he's a step away from blood loss but doesn't ask why not make the transfusion right then. Why not ask for needles and other implements. Sasuke sees those questions on her face and more. He raises an eyebrow. She scowls at him and gives him a bag. Sasuke's muscles clench as he grabs it but at least his hand doesn't tremble as they want.
"But take this, too."
It's then he notices the cane she's holding. He frowns, ready to refuse them, but the doctor points at his legs; they're trembling. Sasuke grimaces but takes it. He gives it a few tries with his good hand, doing some easy stances he's done before with his sword, too fast for them to really perceive, not needing the Governor to think he's now able to deal with him before he lowers it to the ground and starts to walk.
"Let's go," he says when he notices the Governor is still behind him. He doesn't turn, knowing a simple movement will be enough to make him dizzy. Sasuke just clenches his grip on the cane a little tighter and waits two seconds before moving forward. After all, he doesn't have more energy to spend waiting.
- x -
Once he's sure there's no one inside the small house the man guided him—or near—Sasuke closes the door on the Governor's face. He doesn't check the windows or bother to lock the door. Sasuke needs a place to let himself fall unconscious and he needs it now.
He doesn't longer care if his movements aren't graceful as he goes to the kitchen and opens every door he finds. The tap of the cane against the ground is loud as he grabs everything that's essential. Sasuke's not naïve. He knows it won't take long for the Governor's people to come in. From what he heard, all the houses have some canned food and other things that civilians shrug off as unimportant. He grabs it all and goes to the only bedroom there and is glad that there's only a window inside.
He glances at the big closet and lets a relieved breath escape his breath. That'll do.
Adrenaline is what's currently making him able to move so he takes advantage of it until the last drop. Leaving all the items on the bed, he goes to shove the closet in front of the only window with gobbling legs and a throbbing headache. He then pours the blood bag into the bowl where there is some of his own already in it, some of the red substance falling into the sheets. He mixes it with a finger full of the last of his chakra and starts making seals on the door and walls.
He's no seal master but he knows how to guard a place so only jounin level can enter. And that's more than enough to make the walls stronger. Thanks to his natural affinity being lighting, he can electrify the seals so the ones trying to go in will end up slightly electrocuted without needing to pour more chakra in them.
After finishing the bedroom, he goes to the bathroom and does the same, making it safer than the room. He then returns to the room and grabs pillows and sheets, some food, and a couple of empty glasses from the bed and places them some inside the tub, others on top of the toilet seat. He places the cane next to it.
Taking a deep, slightly anxious breath, Sasuke goes inside the tub and lays there for a long time, tears he can't stop falling from his eyes as he ignores the cold, hard surface and lets the small amount of chakra in his eyes recede.
The moment his eyes turn to their usual black, it's as if a switch has flipped on and all the pain he has previously ignored comes back with vengeance. He tries to close his eyes but it doesn't stop the onset of full-body tremors that wreck his frame. Muscles that are strung tight as bowstrings scream as they seize for long seconds until something slaps into his insides and his mind goes blissfully blank.