Disclaimer: Naruto clearly doesn't belong to me.
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Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who's the biggest fool of all?
The girl who kept on crying?
Or the boy who kept on trying?
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It was raining up a storm outside; dark clouds boiled around the dark, silvery moon, the wind howled in symphony with the crashes of lightning and thunder. The branches of the soaked willow trees creaked, their beautiful green, green leaves falling down on the flooded streets. The rain was hard and unforgiving, falling like an ocean from the broody grey sky and soaking everything in sight. The unpaved paths were wet and muddy and everyone lucky enough to have a shelter to hide under had already done so.
A girl, no more than seventeen, shifted restlessly on the hard, lumpy mattress she was sitting on. She was fully clothed, a long black cloak thrown over her petite body to keep her warm. Her small, lithe hands hugged a handmade clay mug and she quietly observed the cramped room, full of children as misfortune as her. They were all sleeping soundly, the ruckus the rain was making seemed to only lull them to sleep rather than keep them awake. She envied them for their current state of ignorance for the world around them.
She took a sip from her tea, strong but sweetened, and smacked her lips together, frowning slightly. What was she supposed to do now? She couldn't go to sleep — she had tried already and everyone else was asleep. Reading a book was out of the question, as it required light and she had used her last candles yesterday when she went down in the basement. She could only sit there, drink her tea and wait for the storm to pass.
She did not look forward to the next few hours at all.
She looked around her; the only thing she could see were the dark lumps of furniture and sleeping bodies, nothing particularly interesting caught her attention. There wasn't anything particularly interesting about the big, shabby building she called home and shared with fifteen other kids and two adults. It was a shelter of sorts, for the kids who had no family and or place to go. Sakura, herself, lost her parents two years ago to the influenza. She blamed herself for their death because she knew that if she had practiced more, if she had more control of the stupid ability she had been gifted with, she would have been able to save them for the slow and painful death.
It was a painful subject to think about, even two years later. She looked down at her hands, holding her tea, keeping it constantly warm. She could feel the abnormal warmth that radiated off her fingers and palms. It made her uncomfortable and self-conscious. She constantly wore gloves in fear that she might burn people upon touching them. It was a sad way to live your life; constantly worrying you might accidentally hurt someone and ironically having the need and want to help everyone.
A bitter smile touched her lips, her eyelids dropping low as she took in a deep, long-suffering breath and a second later, exhaled deeply. She rested her back against the wall and titled her head to the right, half-opened eyes falling on the window across the room. She could see the rain, falling down in sheets and the very faint glow of the moon, peaking between the masses of angry, dark grey clouds. It was such a suffocating sight.
She wondered what it must be like for the moon, surrounded everywhere by oppressing amount of darkness and coldness. She much preferred the spring morning, with the crisp air and the clear, light blue sky dotted with just a couple of pure white clouds, with the sun barely peeking over the horizon. It made for a picturesque landscape.
She let out a sigh as a thunder crackled through the semi-silence and closed her eyes.
Please, she thought quietly, let me sleep.
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The pain. Oh, the pain. It had a total control over him, over every sense he had. Every shallow breath he took was met by a piercing, excruciating wave of pain. It was icy and aching and choked the breath out of his body. It was bitter and jarring and brutal. This was how he was going to die. Lying on a muddy street in some godforsaken village, slowly wasting away while a storm raged around him. It was somewhat fitting, he supposed. Maybe the sky was crying for him?
All of his men were dead, it was only fair if he followed them. He hoped his family would find out that it had been Sound to ambush them and declare the war they so deserved. Slaughter them, he thought savagely, all of them.
How much had it been since the attack? He guessed at least a long time. He was starting to feel the effects of extreme blood loss. Everything became blurry and slow numbness started to spread from his toes and up his legs, and onward. He let out a tiny breath and closed his eyes. The rain drops hit his body savagely, but they slowly washed away the blood and the pain.
I'm sorry, Chichiue, Hahaue. I hope you will forgive me. Aniue, take care of them.
With this as his lost words and thoughts, Uchiha Sasuke let dead take him.
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"Daichi-san! Keiko-san! Please, wake up!"
Sakura jolted upright, her eyes opened wide. A couple of the kids stirred as well and confused, sleepy voices reached her ears.
"Did you hear that?"
"What's going on?"
"Daichi-san! It's an emergency! We need your help."
Slowly, the rest of the children woke up from the ruckus that the strangers banging on their doors were making. Sakura slid off her bed and maneuvered her way over to the door just in time to hear Daichi-nii-san and Keiko-nee-chan's footsteps hurry down the hall.
"Nee-chan, what's going on?"
Sakura flinched slightly as the banging continued and turned to address the children, who were all wide awake and staring at her. "Stay here." She ordered. She was the oldest one in the room and they tended to listen to her. "I'll go check and then come and tell you, alright?"
"Take this." She turned to her right and saw Emi handing her one of Keiko's old brass candlesticks. Sakura smirked in amusement and took the candlestick.
"Thank you, Emi." Emi ducked her head slightly in response and Sakura left the room, closing the door behind her quietly. The banging had stopped and she could hear faint voices coming from downstairs. She hurried down the hallway and stopped at the top of the stairs, where she could hear everything perfectly.
"Oh, Kami, what are we going to do?"
"She can heal him. This is why we brought him here."
Sakura's perked up. There was no doubt that this 'she' was her. She was the one with the ability to heal. Now, the only thing that stayed a mystery was the person she was supposed to heal.
"And he was just lying there? All alone?" Daichi sounded suspicious, his voice was low and she could imagine the deep frown that marred his youthful face.
"Yes! Are you accusing us of something, Daichi-san?" The voice was indignant, and a bit familiar. Sakura narrowed her eyes and crouched down, hoping she'd be able to catch a glimpse of their unexpected guests and her patient. No such luck.
"This is not the issue here!" This time it was Keiko who spoke and she sounded slightly hysterical. "We need to take care of him. Daichi, we can't let him die! Sakura has to do her best to save him."
I can't take this anymore, Sakura thought and ran down the stairs. She found Keiko, Daichi and the two guests with her patient in the kitchen. Her patient was lying on the wide kitchen table and gaped in horror when she saw the faint blueish tint to his skin. Everyone turned to stare at her but she was already in a healer mode. She went straight up to the patient and assessed the damage. She winced at the gaping wound that greeted her and the two deep gashes above her. Someone had really wanted this person dead. Her eyes moved to his face and her mouth dropped open when she noticed what he had in his hair.
"Kami, his head.. is he the.." She trailed off and turned to look at their guests. She recognised the merchant Toshi. He had a little shop just down the street where he sold everything anyone could need. The younger man next to him was familiar but she couldn't quite place a name on him. She had crossed paths with him on a few occasions but they'd never talked to each other.
Toshi nodded, nervously pulling on the collar of his long, soaked cloak, his eyes darting to the motionless body on the table. "We think so, Sakura. Please, you have to save him."
There, in the patient's matted, wet hair was nestled a white gold circlet with an elaborate symbol at the front, marking him as the second son of the king, Uchiha Fugaku. Sakura took a deep breath to regain control over her emotions and turned to Daichi and Keiko.
"I need a basin full of warm water, towels and a lot of blankets. I need to clean the wounds first." She explained as she moved closer to the table and pushed her long braid over her shoulder. "Keiko-nee-chan, can you bring me the gloves from upstairs. They're on the bedside table. Hurry up with the blankets. We need to take off the wet clothes and wrap him with them before he gets hypothermia, if he doesn't already have it." She frowned as she slowly peeled off his soaked cloak. She was careful not to touch his skin. Her hot touch would be a shock to his icy skin and she didn't want that.
She had healed a lot of injuries in her life but nothing like this. It would take hours of work and he would need a lot of time to recover, assuming that she managed to save him. But she had to save him. It was a must. What could she do if she let his life slip through her fingers, quite literary? She just couldn't imagine it.
"Toshi-san, can you come here for a second?" She asked without looking away from the patient.
Toshi didn't question why she didn't him and was by her side in a second. "What do you need, Sakura?"
"Please, take his shirt off." Sakura said and then glanced at his legs. "And his trousers."
She saw Toshi shooting her alarmed look but he did as he was told, looking extremely uncomfortable as he did it.
Daichi and Keiko returned as he was taking off the prince's trousers. Keiko handed Sakura her black gloves and put a few towels at the end of the table.
"Daichi-nii, put those blankets on the counter and help Toshi-sam to lift him." Sakura ordered.
"I'm going to go fill the basin with water." Keiko murmured and quickly left.
Toshi, Daichi and the man Sakura still didn't know the name off lifted the prince. Sakura grabbed one of the blankets and covered the table with it. "Put him down." She said. They did. She put on her gloves and they glowed green. She could feel the stares of the three men in the room but she was far too concentrated on her task to pay them attention. She put her hand on the small space between the two gashes on his chest and closed her eyes.
Except the obvious injuries, he had two broken bones in his right arm and two broken fingers. He had two cracked ribs and was suffering from dehydration. His legs were fine, as far as she could tell, which was a relief. He had a mild concussion but beside that, there was nothing wrong with his head. Thank Kami. She removed her hand from his chest and she nearly jumped when she saw Keiko standing on the other side of the table, holding a metal basin full of water.
"I'll help you." She said quietly and put the basin on the table next to the prince's legs. She grabbed two towels, handing one to Sakura.
'"Be very careful around the wounds." Sakura instructed.
"I know, Sakura." Keiko said firmly, looking at up at her. "I'm not an idiot."
"Right. Sorry. Okay." She took a deep breath and turned to the three men hovering in the corner of the kitchen. "This will take a lot of time." She said. "You wouldn't want to sit around and wait."
Daichi turned to Toshi and the other man. "I'll grab a bottle of wine from the basement, shall I?"
Toshi cracked a smile. "That would be very welcome, Daichi-san. Thank you." He turned to Sakura and bowed a fraction. "We'll leave you to work, Sakura. If you need anything, just call for us."
Sakura nodded. "I will. Thank you."
Toshi nodded and all three of them left the kitchen.
Sakura turned to Keiko and took a deep breath. "Let's begin." They cleaned him thoroughly, paying the most attention to his wounds, of course. Once they were done with that, Keiko helped Sakura to wrap his legs in blankets and then Sakura sent Keiko to fill a bottle with warm water to put between his legs to warm them. Then she began the serious work.
She had to numb his nerves first, so he didn't feel any pain. She hated to do that. The first she'd done it, she had numbed the patient's nerves permanently. He said he wasn't complaining that he couldn't feel any physical pain anymore but a condition like this was extremely dangerous. The fact that person couldn't feel the pain, didn't mean that they couldn't get injured. In fact, with the numbness came recklessness and with that came trouble. It took extreme control of her brand of 'energy' as she liked to call it, for her to deal with nerves, as they were extremely delicate and fragile. It had taken her years to master it and to gain such a control over her energy. The reason she hadn't been able to save her parents had been her lack of control.
But she couldn't think of that now. She had to focus and do this. This person's life was at her hands and she'd be damned if she let him die on her watch.
She let the tips of three of her fingers glow mint green and she pressed them against his neck. It took a second and then he went slack against the table, the only movement being the slight raise and fall of his wounded chest.
"Put that between his legs." Sakura instructed when she saw Keiko walking in the kitchen. The older woman nodded and moved towards the patient. Sakura saw her cheeks flush faintly as she lifted the blanket and adjusted the bottle so it was between the patient's legs.
"I can't believe I just did that." She whispered, snatching her hands back as if she'd been burned.
Sakura chuckled. "It had to be done. You should go and wait with the others. Or just go to sleep. This will take a very long time and I won't need any help for it."
Keiko nodded. "I'll wait in case you do need help." She paused and smiled at Sakura. "I'm very proud of you, Sakura."
Sakura smiled, her cheeks flushing slightly. She ducked her head, much to Keiko's amusement. The older woman patted her on the back gently and then left, leaving her all alone with her immobile patient and his gaping wounds.
Sakura straightened and her hands glowered green. "Time to save your life, you majesty." She murmured and positioned her hands carefully over the gaping wound on his stomach, the most serious of all injuries. Knitting back together flesh was the easiest thing to learn. It didn't require nearly as much concentration as fixing up internal injuries, healing delicate nerves or even fixing up bones.
She didn't know how long it took her to heal the wound but when she opened her eyes, she was breathing very heavily and felt extremely tired. That was bad.
She wiped the thin sheet of sweat that had formed over forehead and went to put on a kettle to fix herself some coffee. Keiko kept the medical supplies in one of the cupboards and she got out the big box — the size was all due to Sakura's special abilities — and went back to the table. She took out two rolls of bandages and carefully wrapped them around his abdomen.
"There." She murmured quietly and put away the box. She grabbed the kettle and poured the hot water in a mug, putting a teabag in it. She returned to her patient's side with her mug. She took a sip from her tea and put it away. "Okay, let's continue." She let her gloved hands glow green and positioned her hands over the first gash slashed across his chest. His wounds would definitely leave scars. She wondered if that would bother him.
She wondered who had dared to attack him in the first place. Now that her shock of seeing the bloody prince dying on the kitchen table wore off, she was left to wonder who could have done something like that to the prince, of all people. Someone who had ill-feelings towards him or his family, clearly. They would get what they deserve, she knew. The Uchiha family didn't leave things unfinished, and she imagined that having one of their own attacked would piss them off pretty bad, especially considering it was one of the two princes.
She sighed and shook her head slightly. Clear your head, Sakura, she thought. Concentrate. She closed her eyes and relaxed, the only thing she saw and thought about was his flesh slowly knitting together.
At least, that was all she thought about until someone grabbed her wrist. Her eyes snapped open and the green energy flickered. She looked at the pale hand grasping her wrist and slowly moved her eyes up. Black eyes stared at her and she was relived to see that there was no sign of pain in them. He couldn't feel anything. That was good.
But he was awake. He was awake and he was holding her wrist and staring at her.
"You need to let go of me." She said firmly. "Your majesty." She added hastily. "I need to take care of your wounds."
He looked down at himself and his eyes narrowed slightly when he saw his gashes and her glowing hands hovering over them. His eyes flicked back to her and he laid his head back on the table, releasing her wrist from his grasp. "Water." He rasped in a low, hoarse voice.
"I'll give you water when I finish." Sakura replied. "I'm sorry, your majesty." She added when he turned and shot her a weak glare. "But I need to take care of this first. Please, I need to concentrate."
The prince swallowed and coughed weakly then closed his eyes. She supposed that was him telling her he wouldn't bother her and that she needed to get on with it. She bit her lip and closed her eyes, regaining her concentration. He didn't speak at all and if it wasn't for his irregular breathing, she'd have thought he'd gone back to sleep. His eyes stayed closed and he didn't move at all until she took his arm. Then he jerked and opened his eyes.
"Don't move!" She ordered. "I just healed those. Healing is fast but you need to let the body heal naturally, too. I need to set your bones." She told him. "And your fingers. They're broken. Don't worry about the pain. You won't feel anything."
He accepted that quietly. His expression didn't change as he watched take his arm and jerk it. He didn't flinch when he heard the cracking of his bones, unlike Sakura. She felt embarrassed when his eyes flicked to her face and she avoided looking at him until she had set all of his bones straight.
When she was done with that, she removed her hands from his person and took a deep breath. She felt extremely dizzy, a side effect of using her powers for too long. Sometimes, she'd pass out when she was practicing from overusing them, but she'd never actually spent so much time healing someone. She'd exhausted herself and now, storm or not, she was sure that she'd be able to fall asleep. Or just pass out. It was possible.
"I'll give you water not." She told him and went over to the sink. She took a mug from the cupboard and poured a little in it then went back to his side. "Careful." She said when he tried to sit up too quickly. "You have two cracked ribs."
He didn't seem affected by those news and just reached for the mug. Sakura gave it to him and watched as she drank the water in two gulps. He trusted the mug back in her hands. "More."
"Alright." She said and went back to the sink, this time pouring a little more. "Drink carefully." She said but he snatched the mug from her hands and drank the water at once. She frowned and took the mug when he handed it back to her. "I'm afraid you'd have to spend the night here, on the table. I don't want to move you yet, it's too risky." She put the mug in the sink and turned around to face him. "I'll help you go to sleep."
"You can heal." He stated the obvious. He was staring at her, and though his features remained stoic, his eyes were bright with curiosity. "I have seen only one person with such powers in my life."
"Tsunade-hime." Sakura said and he nodded. "I haven't met her myself but I hear she is really powerful."
"She is." He confirmed. "She is also very stubborn." Here, he scowled.
"O-okay." Sakura said. Best not to pry, she thought. "Lie down now."
"Wait." He said, holding up his hand. She stopped walking and stared at him. "I need to write to my family first. They must know where I am and that I am alive. They are probably worried that I am not yet home."
Sakura sighed. She was tired and she wanted to sleep but she could see why he'd want to write to his family before they went nuts and sent out half the castle's officials to search for him. "Alright." She said. "I'll get you some paper and a pencil." She said. "Keiko-nee-chan!" She shouted. She ignored his curious look and waited for the older woman to come. She came, along with Daichi, Toshi and the other man. They all stared at the prince in wonder and he stared back at them with no expression on this face.
What a charmer, Sakura thought and then immediately chided herself for her thoughts. Good think he couldn't hear her thoughts. She couldn't go around thinking things like that about him. She took a deep breath and spoke to Keiko. "Nee-chan, will you please fetch me some paper and a pencil, please? His majesty wants to write to his family."
Keiko's eyes grew huge and she nodded, leaving the kitchen hastily.
"Your majesty, I'm glad to see you are okay." Toshi spoke and bowed.
"You and the man over are the ones who brought me here." He stated. "I remember."
Toshi seemed surprised. "Y-yes, your majesty."
The prince nodded. "You will be awarded."
"I — " Toshi glanced at the man by his side. "— thank you, your majesty." He said and bowed lowly.
The prince's eyes moved to Daichi, who bowed quickly. "This is your house?" He asked. Daichi nodded. "You will be awarded as well." His eyes moved from Daichi, who spluttered his thank you. His eyes fell on Sakura and she shifted under his gaze. "You. What is your name?"
"Sakura, your majesty." She responded, putting her hands behind her back and bowing her head.
"... thank you, Sakura."
Sakura's head snapped up, her eyes wide. She didn't know why she was so surprised that he was thanking her. After all, it was common courtesy to do so, especially after someone had saved your life. It was just that he seemed like a person who didn't thank anyone very often and she her theory was further proven when the words rolled off his tongue rather awkwardly. She nodded and bowed her head. What was she supposed to say? You're welcome? That seemed rather inappropriate, considering the situation.
"I brought the paper and the pencil." Keiko announced, walking back in the kitchen. Sakura smiled and took the things from her hands, handing them to the prince.
"I'll wait here." She told him, grabbing her mug full of tea.
"Well, we better leave then, Ryo." Toshi said, finally naming the nameless stranger. Ryo nodded and his eyes moved over to Sakura. She smiled weakly at him, her eyes drooping slightly. Her tea was helping her to concentrate on the present and not fall asleep, but she still feel extremely sleepy.
"Get better soon, your majesty." Toshi said. The prince nodded absently while writing his letter. Then he turned to Daichi. "We'll be going, Daichi-san. Suki must be worried sick for me."
"Of course." Daichi nodded. "Ill walk you out."
"I'll come with you." Keiko said and moved towards them.
"Good night, Sakura." Toshi said, smiling warmly at her. "You've done a wonderful job, as usual."
Sakura smiled back at him. "Thank you, Toshi-san. Please, get some rest."
"I will, dear. Thank you for your concern." With that being said, he left with Daichi and Kaiko. Ryo stayed behind and Sakura titled her head to the side, watching him.
"Ryo-san?"
Ryo blinked and his clear blue eyes locked with green ones. He bowed his head a fraction. "Good night, Sakura-san." He said and left.
"Good night." Sakura murmured, rubbing her temples with one hand.
"I am ready." The prince announced. She looked up and saw him folding the paper in four. Sakura outstretched her hand to take it.
"Daichi-nii will sent it tomorrow morning when the storm's over."
"There is no need." He said. Sakura raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth to question this but stopped when he started to make some strange hands signs. She watched with furrowed eyebrows and then, jumped when a cloud of smoke appeared in the air beside the prince's head. She held back a startled scream when the smoke dispersed and revealed a crow, feathers black as night and eyes red as blood. The crow opened its beak and the prince put the letter there. "To Aniue." He instructed. The crow bowed its head once and then disappeared again.
"How did you do that?" Sakura gaped after the animal had vanished if it had never been there in the first place.
"The same way you heal people." The prince replied, lying back on the table. "Magic."
Sakura spluttered. "Magic? But — "
"Sakura." He interrupted and she noticed the lack of suffix added to her name. She resisted the urge to huff and stared at him. "I am tired and you are tired. We can have this conversation tomorrow. I believe you said you had more work to do on me?"
"I — yes." She said, blushing slightly. "I'm sorry. Please, turn your head to right side."
He did as he was told. "When I touch you, you'll fall asleep." She explained, charging three of her fingers with green energy. "You will wake up tomorrow. Don't be alarmed." She said, even though he didn't seem alarmed.
She pressed her fingers to his neck and he immediately went slack. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Concentrate. She charged more energy through her fingers and jolted his nerves back to life. She opened her eyes and was relieved to see the action hadn't woken him up.
"Good." She muttered. She grabbed the remaining blanket and threw it over him. "Good night, your majesty."
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Chichiue - Father.
Hahaue - Mother.
Aniue - Big brother.