Author: deceiving rumour
Beta-Reader: xXAsuka-chanXx
Pairing: SasuSaku and others???
Summary: "I'll save you. But, you're going to have to trust me." He crashed his lips against hers, tasting the bitter tears. Then, from a mild bliss, she heard his voice roar. "I declare that the fourth ninja war is upon us!"
Disclaimer: This is a fictional story so I do not own Naruto. And this chapter's theme song The Truth Beneath the Rose by Within Temptation.
Hero
:Dreaming of unobtainable goal
Chapter One: Baby Doll, Baby Doll
What keeps you together honey?
Green eyes looked up to the sky above. A clear blue surface was tainted by an enormous smoke of ash; a small ball of light called the sun barely peaked through it. Her eyes sputter from the dust and the smell of burnt flesh was unitarily disgusting. Rain poured down from the dark clouds and onto the hard naked ground, mourning the loss of those who died.
She could feel small drops of water crawl down her spine, sending shills down her small frame. Even if her breath was even and steady she felt like it could give out any moment. The pain in her heart tightened. It once was full of compassion and love for people who were close to her. Now, the emptiness was too hard to bear. Her last link to happiness was gone.
Taken.
He entered the battle not afraid of consciences, knowing that invaders were after him. On the surface he smiled happily, never giving up and forever showing concern for others. Saying something like "Finally some action! Sakura-chan look carefully and see how I'll beat the shit out of those six bastards! Don't worry I'll be fine!"
"...Idiot..."A soft cry escaped her lips.
He might never have shown it but on the very bottom layer he was still haunted by a horrific past.
"...fine my ass..." Sakura touched her cheek, bony and bloody fingers felt warm liquid rolling down them.
Tears.
'Why do I always cry?' "...Naruto...Sasuke-kun...I lost both of you didn't I?"
Once all three of them were the most famous Squad since the Legendary Sannin. The only ones who could face an A-class Jounin unheard of on the simple C-ranked they were assigned to, on occasion, a B-ranked mission and successfully staying alive. But above all the team was able to complete each mission with success.
Three Genin with a bright future and dreams in their eyes. One nicknamed the "Number One Loudest, Unpredictable, Hyperactive Knuckleheaded Ninja of Konoha", the other was a famous "cool" prodigy-genius of the well-known Uchiha clan with blood-limit that could surpass every jutsu, and last but not least, a noticed girl from a civilian family, bearing nothing special except for the place she was given in the hearts of her teammates and her ability to hold them together at the seams.
Now, their team; broken along with their compassions. But what burdened her the most was the teammate she had longed for since childhood. The once desired prodigy and her love interest. He had suffered the most; both mind and soul hardened beyond recognition. The heart that had once began to chisel and warm, could pass off as barely being able to feel.
At one time, he had been filled with hope, now crushed with misery, anger, and plagued with thoughts of revenge.
Sakura pulled her hand into a fist and smashed the ground bellow. Wet dirt broke and slid into different directions. She punched again. And again, again, again, again...
Again.
Falling in the mud pink haired teen cried to no one. Her whole body covered itself brown mud and blood. Clinching her tiny fists the medic-nin screamed. She never felt so helpless before. "...Is this really what have we become...?"
Lying broken on the ground under the rain a small body shook with silent tears and thoughts about broken dreams and gone friends.
A day later Sakura found herself in the hospital helping the injured. For the past thirteen hours she did everything but sleep; living off liters of coffee. It was easier to deal with loneliness and pain this way – to drown herself in work.
Sakura darted in the trash can her empty paper cup, her tired eyes observed the halls as Shizune ordered injured and wounded people to room 227, adding to the several cases of crushed limbs. Others who were suffering from a disease or sickness waited in the room 225. And those who didn't fall into either of those categories were in the room 229, attended by interns and not the regular staff.
Like any other doctor in the hospital she organized herself to help the ones who she could. After leaping from the coffee machine, she hurried to room 227 before pulling the three vitally injured shinobi towards her for immediate treatment. They were obviously a team of some sort; it was clear by the way they supported each other during most painful healing. Two of them received a powerful impact square on the chest that crushed their ribs and blocked several organs from working properly. The last one had a dislocated shoulder and a concussion; minor to his teammates. After healing and discharging the men, who would soon be injured again anyway, she turned to a Genin with his legs lost in the blast. It was truly a mess of things.
The kid was neither crying nor faint, but it was clear that he was in shock. His face was a pure picture of fear; unable to comprehend that without two legs he would have to quit being a shinobi altogether.
And so young...
More people were entering the hospital at an alarming rate. With a quick scan around the place, it accured to her that many cases were untreatable. She, like other doctors, did not have time to break the news to each of them peacefully. Because like all human beings they would be unreasonable. They would throw a fit thinking that if they persuade enough medics could save their lives.
And it would only slow things down and many would not be able to treat those who have a chance.
It had been three hours since her last coffee cup. She had seen 93 patients; more than 30 of them couldn't be helped. In total, the doctors in room 229 had seen and treated 359 patients. 220 had survived. The line was dying down. Almost every civilian in Konoha had either been treated and/or moved by Genin or Chuunin to a secure location, or had been killed. The hospital had seen over 1000 civilian injuries in the west ward alone, and it was unlikely that the other wards and hospitals were having an easier time.
Sakura leaned over a wall trying to catch her breath. 'How could the mighty Konoha fallen?' It was the same question Sakura asked herself over and over again; unable to come up with an answer.
"Sakura-san?" a voiced asked her. She snapped her eyes to see an intern medic holding a chart and tapping her shoulder lightly. "Sakura-san I'm sorry to bother you but we have a patient who suffers from a heart attack, we need your help."
Nodding Sakura pushed herself from the yellow wall and followed the man towards room 330."He's in the cardiac arrhythmia. We can't stabilize the heart."
"You gave him bradycardia medicine so far," Looking at the chart pink haired medic-nin swore under her breath. The man's best organ was jumping from a 120 to 60 in less than half of hour. "but the heart rate is too low. If we don't hurry it will drop from 58, if we're lucky, 52 in less than two minutes."
"But we can't operate Sakura-san! The blood loss is too much, more will lead to a fatal result." The intern protested. Upon entering the room Sakura saw the man, probably in his early thirties, by the looks of it a shinobi...and a silver ring on his left hand.
Someone was going to miss him.
He began to shake. Spasms went through his body as he bended in the worst way possible. Muscles so tense it appeared that they were going to rip. "Kuso!" Sakura mumbled. "Alright, connect him with a fluid and a blood IV. Continue fluids until I say to stop. I want one medic to hold down his shoulders, another to hold down his legs, and the last two to help me heal his internal wounds."
Sakura immediately began to pour her chakra into shinobi's body, locating and repairing any organ or body part not healed right. He continued jerking around. 'Why is he reacting this way?' she thought to herself.
After one quick glance Sakura examined the body, suddenly noticing small yellow and brown spots on his body. 'He's bleeding to death! And this started long before the attack, why didn't he come to the hospital?'
The man started coughing uncontrollably with small drips of blood. 'Internal bleeding. Kidney failure. He's going to die. Too many systems are shutting down. I'm not going to be able to fix them in time. He's a goner already...'
"Sakura-chan..., you are so cool!"
'He was always so proud of me; admiring my medical skills...I can't give up now!' Pumping more, stronger, healing chakra into his lower abdomen reaching his internal organs and trying to regain composure over her emotions Sakura for a second felt relief, maybe there was a chance to save this man. He will live, and see his family again-
"His heart stopped!"
-or not.
"Shimata!" Moving to his left side Sakura pounded chakra staring into the heart leaving kidneys and lungs alone. 'Fuck! I have too little chakra left!' His heart began to beat again but the beat was irrational and uneven. If then she came it was barely beating then now it was going off the charts. "Give me a full syringe of amniodorone." Sakura commanded. The medic handed it to her and she immediately injected it into his body.
And then his body began to seize again.
Two more medics grabbed him by shoulders and pushed back onto the bed. "Atropine." Sakura ripped off his ninja pants and injected the needle straight into his buttocks. After she began to pound what's left of her chakra into his chest ones more.
No response.
Biting her lip Sakura stopped. An intern looked at her questionly and she nodded. "Time of death eleven-forty-three in the evening." His voice sounded muffed to Sakura's ears. She lost to many today. "Died of cardiac arrest."
Why…
Stepping out of the room she noticed that many had already left and most doctors will be able to handle the flow. She can finally let herself rest or at least drown in her own sorrow. Both seem equally terrible.
Why am I so useless…?
Sakura sat down on the white bed in the room 390. She felt so tired. Her chakra level was so low she wondered how it was possible to move. And she's probably suffering from dysphoria.
"How is he?" asked a tired voice. Sakura looked up from her lap to see Yamanaka Ino. Her purple attire was as messed up and wrinkled as Sakura's own clothes. Dark bags under her celestial blue eyes were a dead giveaway. Like Sakura she supposedly did not sleep too.
'Ino is here? She should have stuck with torture and interrogation…that's her specialty after all, as a medic she's average at best. But now everyone counts…'
Sakura understood about who Ino had asked. Green eyes slowly made their way to gaze at the half-broken body that lay on the bed. It was the first time she saw his face behind the mask, and Sakura was certainly not eager for it to be this way. "He'll live."
Blond Chunin put down the papers she was holding and sat down near the medic. "I sense a 'but' coming." Sighing Sakura bit her lower lip, unconsciously she let a few drops from her eyes fall.
"You three are my cute little team." Kakashi turned to face them, nose finally out of the orange book. "I have faith in you." For some reason he looked so distant as he spoke those words. "Now go, run along and kill some ninja for me. Just don't be late for dinner."
"...He should have died," pink haired medic had suddenly broke and fell in her friends arms. Sobbing uncontrollably she continued to talk barely above the whisper. "his survival is a miracle. Sensei..." She looked at the bandaged face of her teacher, below the white cloth a vicious wound was there. Sniffing Sakura closed her eyes hiding from the truth that escaped her lips. "Copy-nin is no more. Kakashi had lost his Sharingan."
"Sasuke-kun, Naruto promise me something." Twelve-year-old Sakura got the attention from her two teammates. It was after their first serious mission, the Land of Waves. Kakashi was lying in the next room recovering from the fight.
"Anything Sakura-chan!"
"Hn."
"Promise..." her voice broke. "...promise me that you won't die!" Sakura shouted and tears rolled off her checks. Naruto stared at her. What made her act this way? Sure she had truly learned the way of ninja after Haku's death. All of them actually had but Sakura...
"I promise."
Surprisingly it was Sasuke who said this. Sakura looked up to the dark haired boy with blurry eyes. Sasuke simply stared at her, understanding fully as to why she wanted that promise.
She couldn't bear to see them die...
Smiling slightly Sakura nodded. "T-Thank you, Sasuke-kun..."
"I promise too Sakura-chan! And my promise will not be broken!" Naruto smiled brightly as Sasuke resisted the urge to slap his forehead.
None-the-less Sakura's eyes soften. "I promise too. This is something that we truly need to keep as a team." She told them softly.
But to her dismay, Sakura did not yet realize how childish that act was. "As long as we're together we won't die on each other!"
"He never breaks his promises...does he?" Sakura smiled at the thought. "He – they – promised that we'll be alive 'till the end."
"I'll never go back on my word, that's my nindo, my ninja way!"
Looking down at her dress table her eyes stopped at the picture of her team from so long ago. All four of them looked so carefree. Kakashi was smiling and ruffling Naruto's and Sasuke's hair with Sakura in the middle giggling.
But now her sensei looked crushed. Like the feeling of Sasuke's departure just hit him. Naruto never lost hope, but then again it was easier to see through him smiles. And Sakura herself never stopped wondering what on earth was her dark haired teammate doing, and if wondering if he missed them.
Missed her.
Placing her red headband near the photograph Sakura couldn't help to feel like she was betraying everyone's trust. And really she was.
"T-T-Tsunade-sama..." Biting her lower lip pink haired girl whispered. Looking around at the half destroyed Konoha from her bedroom window. "...I'm sorry..."
Sakura had made a decision, let's just hope it's not a wrong one.
I'm hoping, I'm praying
I won't get lost between two hearts
Follow a sin
The truth lies in between
Give me the strength to face the wrong that I have done
Now that I know
The darkest side of me
How can blood be your salvation?
And justify the pain
That we have caused throughout the times
TBC...
Author's Note: Hero takes action after chapter 423 of current manga. It's a rocky path but I can manage...I think. No, neither Sasuke nor Naruto are dead. There would be no plot if they were and I'm not looking forward another time travel. Have enough of those.
Drugs and medical terms I used are real. Amniodorone is supposed to stabilize the heart and calm it down in a sense. Atropine is potentially dangerous drug because it lowers the activity of the mussels in the body. I'm not entirely sure that those medicals are used during a heart failure but I hope that it's relevant. Dysphoria is an emotional state characterized by anxiety, depression, or unease.
I'll Update next Monday, but only if I get at least 25 reviews (the more the better).
