Chapter One- Sakura's Point of View
I didn't ask to be sent to this ridiculous village on a ridiculous mission. In fact, I didn't ask for anything. Oh God how I missed my beautiful village, Konoha. It was beautiful and the smell of lovely flowers was plentiful. I longed for the green grass that met my eyes every time I looked around. There was always grass and life nearby. The bustling streets were always filled with sweet people that I knew. The longing feeling in my stomach grew, twisting and turning as I thought about my dear friends that I was nowhere near at this current moment. Naruto, Hinata, Ino, and Sasuke (who had been captured and returned recently and was under my medical care), I would not be seeing them for at least seven months.
Here I was in Iwagakure, with the most absurd mission ever. I must heal the Tsuchikage's cousin. As a medical ninja I am compelled to assist anyone in need of help. Yet I did not understand why I must be sent to a foreign country if said country already had a decent hospital reputation. Arguing with Tsunade was pointless and a waste of time, she and I both knew that. Thus, here I am standing before the Tsuchikage's cousin in the Tsuchikage's home.
The information given to me about this mission was scarce. I smiled warmly toward a young blonde girl in front of me. "Hello, I am Haruno Sakura. I will be the one treating you for a while."
The blonde girl smiled and looked at me with deep brown eyes. She looked nothing like her cousin, but I wasn't paying attention to that. Her shoulders were tensed up and leaning forward, her legs were shaking as if they couldn't handle the fifty pounds she weighed, and she looked fragile, as if she were a china doll. "My name is Keiko, I am eight years old. And your hair is pink." Keiko burst into a fit of giggles that ended with a painful cough. There was something extremely wrong.
Once she led me inside I began to bring chakra up to my hands. The comforting warmth of the green glow made me smile softly. She laid herself down on the bed and put on a pitiful smile. I looked down at her peaceful form and frowned. She was shivering. It wasn't the normal type of shivering, no; it looked as though she was having her own earthquake rumble around her body. Hopefully, I could get a diagnosis quickly to help the poor girl.
"This might feel a little odd, Keiko. If it hurts you must tell me," I spoke quietly, almost as if my words would hurt her. Her nod was accompanied with the closing of her eyes. I put my left glowing hand on her lungs and sent a pulse of chakra in. Nothing was wrong with her lungs, thankfully. I moved my right hand to her head, happily receiving the same result. All the while, the young patient gave no signs of pain. She could possibly have a cold that had reached an incredible level. That wouldn't be too hard to heal. Next was the kidney and liver. Neither had any problems. Lastly, the heart, which called for both hands. A light pulse of chakra would be enough to see any problems. My smile of confidence slowly melted away. Keiko's eyes shot open and she screamed.
"It hurts, Sakura-san!" Keiko bolted upward and put her fragile, shaking hands in front of her. Tears pricked at her eyes and for a moment, she looked like me back in my Genin days. I couldn't help myself. I brought the small girl into my arms and squeezed her gently.
Tears swelled in my eyes once I realized what was wrong with her. "Keiko-chan, what you have is difficult to cure. Your heart… it… well, let's say it can be harmful instead of helpful. But I promise to help you." Inside I knew what was really happening. Her heart thought that some of her cells were strangers and dangerous. So to help with what the heart thought was a problem it would destroy the cells, which was hurting Keiko dramatically. I was fighting for a lost cause. But I won't be hopeless. Although treatment was almost impossible, there was a small chance. There was always a choice.
After a couple of hours of healing the cells that had been destroyed I wiped the sweat from my forehead. Keiko had fallen asleep on the bed and I decided to leave her there. She wasn't shivering anymore and she had made a tremendous improvement in one day. I patted her soft blonde head and walked out of the door.
The sky was dark and I hated it. Darkness made the rocks seem ruthless and cruel. It made them seem ominous. The cold air brought goose bumps to my skin. I rubbed my arms with my hands in a futile attempt to form some kind of heat. My shoes clicked against the stone ground as I walked to the apartment I would be using for the next seven months.
I entered the room and sighed in relief. It was brighter in the apartment than outside. I took a seat in a chair that was surprisingly soft. It felt like I was sitting on a pillow. I leaned over a stone table (more stone!) and began to write down all the treatments and possible outcomes like the Tsuchikage requested. Somewhere after the second treatment and fifteenth outcome I fell asleep.
(Dream)
"It hurts, Sakura-san!" Keiko was doubled over in pain on the ground, fragile hands clutching at her heart. I ran over to her, but with every step I took the space between us grew. She coughed and even through the distance I could see the blood coming up. Her figure shook with the same earthquake force as before.
"I'm coming, Keiko-chan! Just hold on!" I screamed for her. My hands were engulfed in a green glow as I ran toward her. The metallic smell of blood flew into my nose. I finally reached the blonde girl and gasped. She was gone already. Her brown eyes were dull and her shakes had stopped. I had failed. I couldn't save her. Keiko was gone.
The Tsuchikage barged in. His eyes widened at what was left of his cousin. He looked at her then at me. Tears clouded my eyes. The pounding of my heart drowned out his orders. Within a few seconds I was being lifted up by two men.
"Sakura, you are a monster." The voices that I knew all too well were speaking to me. Each was monotonous and they spoke in unison. I looked up and willed the tears away. In front of me was Naruto, and to his left were Ino, Sasuke, Hinata, and Tsunade. Each of them looked down on me with emotionless eyes. Then it all went black and the cold took over.
(Dream over)
I woke up screaming. After a few moments I was calm. The pitter-patter of rain fell outside. My breaths were finally even. Once I realized that it was morning I began to put on my shoes. I needed to find the nearest forest and search for some herbs for a temporary treatment for Keiko.
I didn't have a minute to waste. I began to run out into the cold streets. Most people were inside, yet the few like me were outside. I ran and ran, ignoring the blistering pain in my feet. I stopped deep inside a forest. The forest was a better welcome than Iwagakure, I joked with myself about it.
Something to my left moved. I reached for a kunai, only to realize that I had left all my weapons inside the apartment. Instead, I resorted to the next best thing. I ran. I continued to run. To my misfortune, I slipped on the wet forest floor and collided with something big in front of me. It couldn't have been a tree, because a tree wouldn't have been laying on me. Once the person stood up I sat up and looked at them.
"I'm so- Itachi?" Itachi Uchiha stood before. Blood was dripping down his arms and legs. He was practically dying. His eyes told me that.
A/N so I'm going to be honest. This was going to be a one-shot, but I couldn't do it. I literally could not. So you won't believe how I came up with the story line. I DIDN'T. My friend Raven gave me the general idea and I came up with the rest. Anyway, I love you guys. Please review, unless you don't love me back. Just kidding, kind of. Itasaku for my fans.
Sincerely,
D.A.R.N.
