Chapter 35

"Fainted?" her mother was now exclaiming in shock, "Ino, you shouldn't get so excited, it does strange things to your blood pressure! Go lie down for a little bit."

Ino sighed quietly and mumbled a quick agreement, plodding to the back of the store, "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei, for bringing me home."

"Anytime, Ino," he smiled under his mask and waved cheerily at her before Ino disappeared into the back.

She had been so close! If she hadn't run into Kakashi, then maybe she would have ended up seeing Sasuke! But becoming frustrated over something that couldn't be helped wouldn't get her anywhere. She sighed in a Shikamaru-like fashion and trudged up the stairs, turning her eyes heavenwards. How on earth did Shikamaru manage to work around predicaments like these? If she had had his brain, she wondered, would she be inside that hospital right now talking to Sasuke at this very moment?

"How troublesome," she found herself muttering as she closed the door to her room.

Reminding Sasuke of the rough edge between the elevator and floor, Sakura led him carefully outside. She was infinitely more impressed with his cooperation and was actually having a pleasant time chatting with him. While their 'conversation' was simple, it was more of a conversation she had ever had with Sasuke previous this time. Leading him by the arm, she walked to the right this time, opposite the gardens and was about to enter a hallway that led to the cafeteria when someone called out to her.

"Sakura!"

Stopping, she felt Sasuke jolt slightly as he always did when she halted, and she looked over her shoulder. The receptionist behind the desk, Maeko, was waving her over, a worried expression on her face.

"Stay here for a moment," Sakura instructed Sasuke, leading him over to a wall so that he could rest his hand against it, "I'll be back in a second."

Once she was sure that Sasuke was not overcome by unsteadiness, she turned about and walked over to the desk, a questioning look on her face. The receptionist looked quite concerned.

"Sakura, something happened about twenty minutes ago that I thought I should bring to your attention," Maeko said nervously as Sakura stopped in front of the desk, "I was about to send someone for you, but that won't be necessary now."

"What happened?" she asked, resting her arms on the high desk, a frown coming to her face.

"Well, a girl with long blonde hair—that was held up in a ponytail—and blue eyes came in, asking to see Uchiha Sasuke," she told Sakura seriously, fidgeting uncertainly, "When I told her that nobody was registered under that name, she asked for you. I told her that you were busy, knowing that the news of Uchiha Sasuke's return is supposed to remain secret, however after that I don't remember what happened."

Sakura's frown deepened as the receptionist continued.

"The next thing I knew, there were two medics helping her off the floor—apparently while I had, I don't know…zoned out, she had fainted," Maeko finished, "They were going to take her to a room to lie down, but then Hatake Kakashi showed up and took her home. I just thought I should tell you about the girl who wanted to see your patient."

Sakura sighed heavily, slightly angry but knew that her irritation would come to nothing, "Thank you, Maeko; what you told me was very important. I want you to arrange it to have Sasuke's room moved please, preferably to another floor all together—is there anything left on the fifth floor?"

"The fifth floor?" Sakura could understand the receptionist's confusion. The fifth floor's rooms were reserved for severe and extremely abnormal cases. Only medical ninja were permitted up on the fifth floor and a special card key was needed in order to access it. If there were to be any visitors, they had to be specially escorted by a medic, "There are two rooms available: one next door to the staff lounge, and one down the hall and around the corner from the elevator."

"Put him in the one next to the staff lounge," Sakura said after a moment's consideration, "Thank you for doing this."

"Of course," the woman smiled up at her.

"Also, I wouldn't be surprised if that young woman came back. If she enters the hospital, let me know before she approaches reception," Sakura told her as she thought of a plan in her head, "She'll have some sort of excuse to come into the hospital. Allow her to do so; I'll deal with the rest."

"Alright I will," Sakura smiled down at Maeko, glad that there were such helpful and kind people in the world, unlike Ino who was completely meddling and irritating.

"Arigato," Sakura said thankfully, giving a respectful bow, "Now, I have a patient who is probably impatiently waiting my return. Ja ne!"

Walking back over to Sasuke, she thought about what the receptionist had said. The description of the girl who had come inquiring about Sasuke was most likely Ino—it seemed like Naruto had leaked the secret already, which was much quicker than she had anticipated. The lapse in Maeko's memory was most definitely Ino's mind transfer jutsu, and Ino's fainting spell only enforced the theory. She came up to Sasuke, who had taken up leaning on the wall to look less out of place.

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