DISCLAIMER:
I do not own Naruto and never will. That privilege belongs to Kishimoto.
Warning. This does not take place in Mangaverse. Non-massacre because I honestly do feel that it is really tragic and is the turning point for many events. So allow me to present to you my take on the events that might have unfold should that tragedy not strike. Enjoy.
Because when I look up at the sky and see stars, I see you
-Yours truly-
"Sakura! There's a letter for you," Miko, the front desk receptionist at Konoha Hospital smiled as she passed a plain white envelope with Haruno Sakura written in beautiful calligraphy to the newly promoted Head Medic.
"Alright, thanks a lot" as the pink-haired medic nin accepted the letter from her. Miko had been serving the hospital for many years and taught Sakura the ins and outs of the hospital when she first arrived. A qualified medic nin herself, Ueno Maki retired gracefully after her hands began to shake with tremors as she aged. Now, she works as the receptionist with her head buried in paperwork but still acting as the eyes and ears of the hospital.
This is good quality envelope, she mused as her shinobi observation skills kicked into place, walking into her office. It has been six long years since she has been under the tutelage of Tsunade of Sannin, honing her medical skills and climbing up the ranks of the hospital before finally attaining her promotion.
Perhaps it's a congratulatory letter from a patient, Sakura gently slit open the envelope with a kunai she retrieved from her thigh holster strapped underneath her lab coat.
Your eyes are like the stars
Not because they are so pretty
But because they are so far apart
Sakura stared at the insulting haiku written in the same elegant penmanship as the envelope. Her fist automatically slamming onto her new desk, denting it with her monstrous strength.
"Oops" she glanced sheepishly at her brand new desk then glared at the offensive letter.
"Forehead!" hollered Ino from the bar counter where she was sitting with all the other kunoichis of their generation. They were all thrilled that Sakura received her promotion and decided to celebrate it with her in a sake bar on her first day after arranging their respective mission schedules.
"Hey, Ino-pig. Sake, please" as Sakura slumped onto the countertop.
"How was your first day, Miss Head Medic?" Tenten teasingly said as she grinned at her.
"It was horrible. Some idiot sent me a letter"
"A fanmail?" Ino smirked as she lifted her sake to her lips.
"I wish" the pinkette snorted. "It was an insulting haiku about my eyes and how they are so far apart"
Hinata giggled at that before schooling her expression. "Did you keep the letter then?"
"I almost threw it away", admitted Sakura. "But I decided against it, I'll probably need it to track down the ass who sent it."
"Out with it then. I would like to see it" demanded Ino, crossing her arms.
"Your eyes are like the stars. Not because they are so pretty. But because they are so far apart"
"Well you got to admit that this is pretty witty, Forehead" remarked Ino who couldn't help twitching her lips upwards.
"This is expensive paper, Sakura", Hinata said, feeling the paper quality between her fingers. She scanned the letter with her Byakugan then added "No traces of chakra, I'm afraid"
"It's alright, Sakura, probably just a joke. Expensive paper or not. Come on, let's just celebrate your promotion for now. We'll help you catch the culprit later" consoled Tenten.
"You are right. I am most definitely not letting this ruin my day, certainly not on my girl's night out" as Sakura sipped at her sake. Years of being Tsunade's disciple has not only developed her medical skills, but her alcohol tolerance.
"To being ass-kicking kunoichis!" Sakura held out her guinomi (1) for a toast as she clinked her cup with her fellow Konoha comrades.
Just a prank, Sakura reminded herself.
"What is this thing?" shrieked Sakura as she spotted a familiar white envelope on her table, the same calligraphy gracing it.
Haruno Sakura
Miko's shinobi senses were tingling, warning her that danger is coming her way because retired shinobi or not, her sixth sense was much too ingrained in her. She looked up to scan her surroundings, only to see a certain Haruno Sakura storming towards her. The latter's jade green eyes burning with rage as she stomped determinedly with heads turned, looking at the medic nin.
"I wonder, what happened now?" a nurse whispered conspiracally at her friend.
Haruno Sakura, the Hokage's apprentice and now Head Medic of Konoha Hospital had a rather infamous temper after all.
"Good morning, Sakura" she smiled warmly.
"Where on earth did this infernal thing come from?" as Sakura waved the letter in her hand furiously.
"Well, I collected it from the hospital's postal box."
"There isn't any postal stamps on it. I checked it already"
"I meant the one for the patients to submit their complaints, remarks et cetera about the hospital. Technically it is a suggestion box but civilians do use it as a postal box on occasions when sent in complaints and such. I clear it out every morning to go through patients' feedback. "
"So, there is no way to find out who sent this letter", Sakura's forehead creased in frustration.
"I'm sorry but no. Many patients do submit feedback forms everyday so any of them could just slipped in a letter" Miko shrugged apologetically.
Sakura took a deep breath to soothe her rage, "Thank you, Miko".
"Haruno-sama! A team of chuunin just got admitted in the A&E (2). Red zone (3)!" a nurse ran up to the front desk.
Sakura nodded before sprinting off to the Emergency Room. There are patients' lives on the line here and no time to be thinking of frivolous matters as she steeled herself.
Sakura sighed in relief as she wiped off the sweat beads off her forehead, her previously spotless hospital scrub now splattered with blood.
One of the three man squad just barely made it. Naname Hideki was ran through with a cleaver sword, the wound missing his spine by less than a centimetre. Any closer, he would have been paralysed waist down for at least a month before the medics could regenerate his nerves. The bare miss of his injury however, did not make the emergency procedure go any easier. With his lungs practically ripped apart by the cleaver, it was a miracle that he even survived the journey back to Konoha.
"Good job everyone" complimented Sakura as she scrubbed her hands thoroughly alongside the other medic, Fukui Akio and nurses.
"Fukui-san was calm and steady during the procedure. It's almost the end of his two years stint as a junior medic. I suppose I would talk to him about taking the examinations" she noted.
"Haruno-sama, the patient has been wheeled to the ICU."
"Alright then. I will write the prescription for the medic on call tonight before I leave. Be sure to inform the ward nurse to check on the patient every hour. Thank you all for your hard work" she bowed.
Fukui-san and nurses bowed back as she removed her scrub and left.
"I feel so much better" Sakura sighed as she dried her shoulder length hair with a giant orange fluffy towel courtesy of her knuckle-head teammate.
The kettle which she set before her long, glorious bath whistled from the kitchen. She poured the scathingly hot water into her teacup then slowly sipped her green tea.
Sakura closed her eyes in bliss as she felt the warmth from her drink travelling throughout her body.
The rest of the boiling water went right into the plastic container of her instant ramen.
For all it's worth, Naruto does have good taste in choosing instant ramen, she mused as she slurped down her favourite instant pork ramen.
Glancing down at her clothes she that just worn in a messy pile on the floor, she picked them up resignedly after finishing her meal.
"Another day gone" she remarked at the clockwork routine of her post-work life.
Throw clothes on the floor before showering.
Eat.
Finish eating then pick up aforementioned clothes from the floor.
Check clothes for garbage before dumping them into washing machine.
Read a book while waiting for wash cycle to complete.
Once completed, clothes go into dryer.
Sleep. And voila! Fresh, clean clothes by the time alarm rings at 5 am.
Sakura mechanically went through her pockets as her mind wandered to the tomato plant she gave Sasuke for his birthday last year. He was ecstatic to receive it, even gracing her with a rare smile although it was accompanied with his customary "Hn".
I hope he remembers to water it.
Her fingers clasping an envelope brought Sakura's train of thought to a halt as she placed the letter aside.
"Right, the letter" as Sakura scowled at it. She considered throwing the letter into the washing machine so that it will just become wet globs instead before it occurred to her that her clothes will probably be covered with bits of paper if she did.
Grudgingly, she placed the letter onto her dressing table. The last thought in her mind before Sakura drifted asleep was the haiku, echoing in her brain.
You are…
Author's Note:
Wow. I haven't been writing for ages and I honestly thought that I will not for an even longer time. However one night I sat down in front of my laptop, getting all ready to watch Big Bang theory. BAM! My muse hits me with a stick and demanded that I write this story and write it now. This fanfiction is not beta'd and it is not an excuse but I like to apologize ahead for any holes in my plot as well as any grammatical mistakes. I hope that y'all will enjoy this. If you do enjoy this, kindly favourite, follow and review this fanfiction. Thank you.
Written at 12:39 AM.
Note:
Guinomi: A small porcelain cup from which sake is sipped from
A&E: The abbreviation for Accident and Emergency department in hospitals
Red zone: The cases in the A&E are categorised into a triage. Red zone is for life-threatening situations which require immediate attention. Yellow zone is for urgent cases which are to be attended soon. Green zone is for non-urgent situations