aut viam inveniam aut faciam - i will either find a way or make one
in inceptum finis est - in the beginning is the end
At eight years old, Sakura breaks a vase simply by touching it. There was just a bit of dirt on it that was bugging her, so she lifts it off the pedestal to clean it. All of a sudden, it is in shards on the floor around her feet. Her parents don't believe her, of course, not even when the servant who happened to pass by vouches for her.
They don't even believe her a few months later, when a small crater appears in the palace gardens. It's way too tiny to be called a crater, honestly, the diameter is barely the size of her foot. Her parents blame the incident on the gardeners.
There are more incidents and the servants begin to talk. Nothing bad, of course, Sakura is a sweet child and has never harmed anyone before. They are willing to see it more than Kizashi and Mebuki, who forcibly turn a blind eye.
Her parents only begin to believe her when minor injuries disappear from her arms. Being the clumsy child she is, she falls down and manages to acquire a few scrapes on her palms and elbows. By midday, they're gone.
"Sakura, sweetie…" Mebuki begins nervously, kneeling down and holding her daughter's suddenly injury-free arm, "Didn't you have a few scratches this morning? I put bandaids on them."
The girl grins. "I healed them!" she exclaims, pointing excitedly to where she had been bleeding just this morning. There is no scar to be seen. In fact, had Mebuki not seen the wound with her very eyes, she might have scolded her daughter for lying about being injured in the first place.
Her mother doesn't dare ask how. Instead, she looks troubled, but attempts to smile anyway. "I-I see. Um, I'm very proud of you! Why don't we get some ice cream to celebrate?" As always, it's a powerful distraction.
That night, when Sakura is asleep in bed, her parents confront the very real possibility of their daughter having powers. "I don't get it," Kizashi says, crossing his arms, "Neither of us have them, it just doesn't make sense why Sakura would." There is no powerful blood in the Haruno lineage, nor is there any in Mebuki's, but this sort of thing does not just appear out of nowhere.
Mebuki is quiet for a moment before letting out a long sigh. "I know. She's always been such as bright child and now this," she whispers, before looking up to meet her husband's eyes, "And we don't know how to handle it."
He freezes, his short stubby fingernails dig into the silken fabric of his sleeves. "Mebuki… What are you saying?"
"I've thought about it. When she broke the vase, I didn't think anything of it. But everything just adds up." She pauses and takes a deep breath, blinking away tears that threaten to fall. "She needs someone who can teach her how to use her abilities. Even if… Even if it means she won't be with us."
"Sakura's smart, maybe she can figure it out on her own. She's so young, we should give her time, things might be able to work out!"
"We don't know anything-we can't-What if she hurts herself?"
Anger flares in the back of his throat. It feels like she is throwing away her family, their family, the one they have dreamed of for years and years and whose story together has only just begun. It dies down, however, when the tears in his wife's eyes suddenly become painfully real. Kizashi quietly brings her into a hug, letting her sob into his shoulder. "I'll contact Jiraiya," he says, though the words don't feel like his own, "He'll know what to do."
The Sanin arrives on horseback five days later.
"Well whatever suspicions you were telling me about it the letter were right. You got yourselves a mini powerhouse on your hands," Jiraiya chuckles, leaning against the wooden table, "I asked her about everything and Sakura showed me everything, adorable kid by the way. Luckily, super strength and healing happens to be right up Tsunade's alley."
"Well, what does that mean?" Mebuki asks nervously, twisting the hem of her sleeves in her fingers. She has been preparing herself for this moment for days, though she still feels anxiety in the pits of her stomach.
The Toad Sannin suddenly turns serious. "If you want my honest opinion, she's got lots of potential. Seriously, to be showing signs at this age is incredibly rare and gifts leaning towards the healing arts are even rarer. If she's developing at this age, there's no telling what can happen in the future." He hesitates for a second. Now comes the hard part. "I want to take her to Tsunade. Power like that, well, you can't just leave it unchecked."
Kizashi frowns. He is silent for a while. "And she'll still come back and visit?" he asks finally, his voice weary and tired. He has given up on trying to understand the situation a long time ago. Jiraiya and Tsunade and even his own daughter, they live in an entirely different world than he and his wife. Those with powers had a responsibility, a burden, that he will never be able to comprehend fully.
Jiraiya nods.
The two parents exchange glances briefly. "I knew this would be coming, ever since we sent out that letter," Mebuki sniffs, taking a deep, shuddered breath, "It's really the best option, but now it's really-it's really happening, isn't it?" She lets out a choked laugh, which only barely suppressing the sob that's rising in her throat. But she does not allow herself to cry.
They leave early the next morning.
The goodbyes are long and teary and Sakura can't quite comprehend why she's being forced to leave in the first place. The palace is all she has ever known and the world outside is big and scary. And why won't anybody tell her anything?
She likes Jiraiya-ojii-san, he's really funny and knows how to tell goods stories, but everything is happening so quickly that she can't quite wrap her mind around it. He arrived no more than two days ago and now he's leaving. Not to mention taking her with him.
"Don't forget to visit, okay? I'll make you umeboshi and anko dumplings and all your favorite foods," Mebuki says, holding her daughter tightly, "I love you." She folds a small red velvet pouch into Sakura's tiny fingers. When her daughter looks up at her with questioning eyes, she simply smiles and raises a finger to her lips.
Kizashi hugs her as well. It's rare to see her father so serious as he has been for the past few days and even rarer are the tears that he is trying desperately to hide from her. "Be brave for us. I love you."
Sakura only manages to choke out a "I love you too." before they are on their way.
It is not until three nights later that Sakura gains the courage to open her mother's parting gift. In in are only two things. The first is a golden armband that is much too big for her. She has seen it only one in her entire life, it is kept locked away in the very back of Mebuki's jewelry box. A family heirloom, apparently, passed down through the Haruno females.
The second is a photo of their family. It was taken almost two years ago, on her birthday. It was easily one of the best days of her life. The cooks had made a towering cake and her best friend Ino had arrived from two countries over. After staring at it for a long while, she holds the photo to her chest.
Sakura cries herself to sleep.
"You're real funny, you know that?" Tsunade sneers and as jabs an accusatory finger at Jiraiya's chest, "I already have an apprentice and I'm sure as hell not gonna take on another. Especially not some snot-nosed brat." She waves her hand dismissively, leaning back in her chair.
Said brat hides behind Jiraiya's legs. "Oh c'mon, you're scaring the poor kid," he laughs, picking up the small girl and holding her in his arms, "And you haven't even heard the whole thing yet. Get this, super strength and healing. Sound familiar?"
Her eyes narrow and she takes a sip from her saucer of sake. "That's some bull. You're just saying that so I can play babysitter and take her off your hands. Seriously, I'm not a an idiot. Look at her, she's too young to have awakened any powers yet."
"Just watch, you'll see what I mean." Jiraiya picks up a rock off the ground and gives it to Sakura. "Hey, remember when we were playing in your dad's gardens the other day? Can you do that again for me?"
Immediately snapping out of her shyness, the girl nods enthusiastically. "Okay!" she agrees fervently, taking the rock between her two hands and squeezing. There is a loud crack and when she reopens her palms, it's smashed into dust and uneven shards.
"Good job!" He grins, sending the blonde woman a knowing look.
Tsunade resists the urge to smack him upside the head. "A little bit unrefined, but I can see what you saw in her," she says thoughtfully, setting down her saucer. She stares at Sakura for a bit, a contemplative look on her face. "Alright, alright. Get a dead fish and have her revive it. Don't give her any hints, I want her to figure it out on her own and if she's already healed before, it shouldn't be a problem."
Jiraiya lets out a loud whoop, lifting Sakura up over his head as she collapses into a fit of giggles. "You hear that? She's gonna train you!"
Sakura cheers and Tsunade scowls, finally giving in to her previous urges and smacking Jiraiya on the back of the head with such force that he stumbles forward. "Shut up! I haven't said yes!"
He doesn't seem to hear her as he rushes out, undoubtedly off to find a fish.
"What do I do again?" Sakura runs a finger over the slimy scales and represses a shudder. She likes fish a lot better when they're battered and fried. Not to mention without those little creepy glassy eyes that stare back at her.
"You have to heal it and bring it back to life. It's kinda tricky since it has to have been dead for just a bit, but if that happens I'll fish up another one. I'm a pro, you know?" Jiraiya lets out a bark of laughter. It has taken him three hours just to get the one fish. Next time he'll just buy one at the markets.
"Huh? How do I do that?"
"Beats me, I'm not the one with the healing powers."
Sakura deflates a bit. This is her only chance to (hopefully) impress Tsunade enough to accept her as her apprentice. It would be a lie to say she wasn't feeling just a bit nervous, she didn't even know where to begin.
He ruffles her hair. "Chin up kid, you'll figure it out."
She pouts in response, smoothing down the unruly pink locks. For a few moments, she is quiet, staring at the fish in its dead, unseeing eyes. Slowly, she lifts her hands, a green glow flickers to life around them as she sets to work.
It takes about six more fish and four more hours until, finally, it flails to life underneath her hands. At first, Sakura doesn't believe it, but when reality hits her, she falls back into a chair and laughs.
"Jiraiya-ojii!" she calls, shaking the man in the chair beside her awake. He had fallen asleep a few hours ago after carrying in a bucket a fish and promptly collapsing into a seat.
"Huh? Wha-" He falls ungracefully, toppling over onto the floor, but pulls himself up quickly. "I'm awake! I'm awake! What's happening?"
"I did it! I brought the stupid fish back to life! I did it!"
His face splits into a grin and he joins in her celebrating, almost knocking over the bucket of unused fish.
The door to the room flies open, smacking into the wall with a loud crack. "The hell's all this racket?" Tsunade hisses, stalking over and wrapping her fingers around Jiraiya's collar, "Some of us are trying to sleep, you know!"
"H-hey, calm down there, Tsun." He holds his hands up, trying to placate her. "We're excited because Sakura brought back the fish."
She loosens her grip and, for the second time, Jiraiya falls to the floor with a loud thud. "Well I'll be damned," Tsunade whistles, staring intensely at the poor fish, flopping around the desk, "And how long did it take you?"
"Four hours!"
Tsunade gives her a once over before a smile tugs at the edge of her lips. "Hope you like physical labor, Pinky."
Training under Tsunade is hard. In fact, it's the hardest thing Sakura has ever done. The woman's a slave driver, she swears.
"It's not so bad once you get used to it," Shizune tells her once, when they are taking a break and pampering Tonton, "I've managed to survive many years with her, and I'm sure you will too. Otherwise, she wouldn't have taken you as an apprentice in the first place."
"But dodging boulders?" Sakura whines, using her finger to curl the piglet's tail, "It's a little much, don't you think?"
"Well, I wouldn't know anything about that. I don't have the same gift of strength as the two of you, you little Tsunade clone."
She rolls onto her back and buries her face into her hands with a groan. Her muscles still haven't recovered from that morning.
The training continues, and some days are definitely better than others. (Sakura tries not to remember the time she first tried to punch the earth and cause a minor earthquake like she had seen Tsunade do so many times before. She broke her hand, and Shizune wasn't allowed to heal her until three days later to "teach her a lesson about not being a dumbass and trying to copy techniques without knowing a single fucking thing about them." Nevertheless, it gave her the determination to successfully do it and though it's not as large of a radius as her shishou's, Sakura is proud of herself anyway.)
They also develop a nightly ritual. They takes turns setting up the camp, one person is assigned to the tent, another to the fire, and the last to cook the meal for the night. It also becomes an unspoken rule that whoever cooks also has to tell a story while they do so. It helps to pass the time.
Sakura doesn't know whether to look forward to or dread when it's Tsunade's turn to make the food. While the woman is an absolutely dreadful chef, she can certainly tell one hell of a story. (Though secretly, Jiraiya is still better.)
"Have I ever told you why I'm called the Slug Princess?" she asks one night, poking a charred bit of fish with the end of a stick. She grins at her two disciples, who shake their heads and lean a bit closer. She removes the cork to a sake bottle and takes a swig before delving into the story.
"It's pretty ridiculous, to be honest, and I'm not even sure why the name's stuck around for so long. It happened was when I was younger. Perhaps around your age, Shizune."
That was a bit hard to imagine. Sakura refrains from saying this out loud, lest she wants an extra intense training session in the morning. She does, however, catch Shizune sending her a knowing look.
"I had just left home and was traveling around on my own. The first place I came across was this small fishing village. Dreadful place, looking back on it. Had this constant salty smell in the air and the humidity was unbearable. We definitely won't be making pit stops there anytime soon.
Well, anyways, it had been a while since I slept in a real bed, so I rented a room and planned to stay for a few days. A few days later, there was a man running around the streets like a madman, asking if anyone knew any sort of medicine or healing or anything. Of course, I volunteered.
While we traveled to his house, he told me about his son, who had been sick for a while. I asked what his symptoms were and get this, the kid was just nonstop puking. Couldn't keep anything down and ended up throwing up stomach bile by the end of it. Never seen anything like it, and haven't since, either. It was disgusting, by the way.
Yeah, I got to see it up close and personal once we got to the house. I thought it was just a real bad case of the stomach bug, so I told him to drink lots of water and gave him some medicine for the pain.
It spread pretty quickly and I started to get worried. Anyone who was already sick wasn't getting any better, either. There was a library in the town, but not a single medical text to be seen, so that was a good waste of three hours. I wrote to some friends. Nothing.
Then the rumors started going around. Some jackass had said that none of this happened until I arrived so guess what I woke up to? A whole mob of 'em, ready to knock down my door and burn me on a stake. I'm not kidding, they were all yelling about how I was a witch.
I tried reasoning with them, but you know how civilians get when they're all panicky. Well, I snapped pretty quickly, grabbed the nearest one and okay, so there was this slug on the ground right? I picked it up and shoved it down his throat."
Sakura resists the urge to gag. Tsunade's dinner isn't helping either.
"And whaddya know, he stopped puking after that. Weird, isn't it? Hey, don't give me that look, I'm serious!
So we spent the next couple days hunting down all the slugs we could and curing people. Well, curing is a loose term in this case, but they all stopped puking.
I left pretty soon after that, but not before they all started this weird worship thing. That's when they started calling me Slug Princess and paraded me around the village. Honestly, it's the small town folks have the strangest customs.
Last thing I heard, they have this annual festival where they build a slug statue and burn it. I still have no clue how the nickname thing spread, since the village is so out of the way, but it's stuck with me even to this day. And that is the legend of the Slug Princess."
Sakura stares incredulously at her shishou. It's fantastic story, sure, but with the amount of alcohol she has had, she's not quite sure how much of it is true.
"Well, there goes my appetite," Shizune scowls, placing her dinner in front of Tonton, who eagerly devours it. "And no more sake, Tsunade-sama!"
Three months into their journey together, a messenger bird appears and drops a scroll at Tsunade's feet. Without hesitation, she picks it up and unravels it, reading it quietly to herself while the bird picks at the ground around their camp.
"The plague's going around again. It's only hit a few towns, and they've been quarantined already. We're just lucky it was caught so quickly this time." She tosses the scroll into the fire as the other two watch the messenger bird fly off.
"The plague?" Sakura echoes, her brows furrowing as she turns her attention to her shishou. She's never heard of this plague before.
"It goes around every few years. It starts with coughing, then a fever and rashes all over the body. If left untreated, it progresses to organ failure and then, eventually, death."
"So…"Sakura ventures quietly, "There's a cure?"
"Yes, and the sooner we start traveling, the sooner we can heal them and the more lives can be spared."
They set off early the next morning. Luckily, the infected villages aren't too from from where they have been traveling. As they draw closer to the town Shizune hands Sakura a cotton face mask. She stares at it blankly for a few seconds, but ties it on without question.
Whatever Sakura had been expecting, it sure as hell isn't this. Though they were only notified of the outbreak the day before, the situation is already desperate. A haze or despair seems to envelop the town, so potent that it clouds the air and makes it hard to breathe.
Not to mention the bodies of the recently (and perhaps long since) deceased litter the street. No one is bothering to cart them away, either, and it creates a horrid stench. Instead, the streets are a mess of decaying flesh of both humans and animals alike. It is only a week since the plague has arrived and already, the city is in shambles.
"Is it always this bad?" she asks Shizune, tugging lightly on the woman's sleeve.
She gives her a sad look, and that is all the answer Sakura needs.
The trio soon reach a worn beige tent that has been set up in the center of town, a slightly faded red cross adorns the side of it. Bits are patched up rather haphazardly, the stitching is rushed and messy and the whole thing looks to be prone to falling apart at any second. Tsunade leads them inside without hesitation.
Instantly, a frail-looking man is upon them. "Tsunade-hime!" he exclaims, "Thank goodness you're here! The plague has been spreading much faster than anticipated, we've lost 8% of the population already."
"How many infected currently?"
"26% infected with an additional 12% showing possible signs. We've taken note of who they are, their current condition, as well as their residence."
"Show them to me." Tsunade demands, and they are once more exploring the city. "Stick close," she tells her apprentices, but it is mostly directed at Sakura, "For now, you will only observe, but we're too little on manpower for you not to help out."
Sakura nods and opens her mouth to ask something, but quickly changes her minds and snaps her mouth shut.
A soft hand settles on her back and gently pats her. "I know you've only just started training," Shizune reassures her with a smile, "But your presence is still a great help to us."
The next few days are hectic. The first order of business is to clear the streets of bodies, something which should not have been allowed to happen in the first place. Unfortunately, the plague is known to be spread through contact, so those who are in the beginning stages of infection are asked to be the ones to haul off the bodies to be burned.
Sakura can only look on as they cough and wheeze and struggle, she is helpless in their plight. She cannot help but to imagine how much faster it would go if she and Tsunade could use their strength to transport the bodies. But they are needed elsewhere.
Only once is she allowed to be in the room when Tsunade heals a patient. It is on their first day in the town, before she is immediately sent away to another task.
"The reason the plague gives us so much trouble is because how contagious it is. Since it spreads by touch, healers absolutely cannot place their hands on a patient." Tsunade explains, her hands hovering mere centimeters above the infected man's bare chest. Her eyes do not leave her work for a second and her brow furrows ever so slightly in concentration.
Sakura watches in rapt fascination as her Shishou explains the very delicate process that she is performing at the very moment. The plague resides the lungs, if it is still in its curable stages, and must be extracted from the body. It usually takes two or more sessions to completely cleanse the remnants of disease, which only posed as a problem if the plague advanced into later stages.
As Tsunade's hands moved from the man's chest up to his throat, he began to cough violently, shaking so hard that she had to move her hands a bit farther away for her own safety. She does not stop her work, however, and when her hands reach his mouth, his lips part to reveal a sickly blob of vile black phlegm.
It is placed in a bowl of water, which another medic immediately whisks away to be disposed of. The effects of the plague's removal are immediate. The man breathes noticeably easier and some complexion has returned to his skin. Sakura stares in amazement at the sudden and quick change.
"He'll need at least another session. So much has built up that I wasn't able to remove everything in one go," Tsunade comments as she stands, "It's best to let him recover before we start again. A day or so of bedrest at least." She pauses, then looks at Sakura curiously. "What the hell are you still doing here brat? Make yourself useful!"
So she runs off before her Shishou can inflict bodily damage on her, through her mind constantly wonders about what other miracles of life Tsunade has performed with the very same glowing green hands. (And she can't wait to do the same herself.)
Most of the time, Sakura, like many of the other uninfected children, works as a runner, delivering messages between the medics and transporting supplies. It's tiring work, being on her feet all day, but she does not dare open her mouth to complain. If Tsunade ever catches word of that, she'll definitely be paying for it during training.
The runners make light of the situation as best they can, as only children can. It's a strange sense of camaraderie, surviving this outbreak together, but it keeps their minds of the worst and instills back in them a bit of their lost hope.
Sakura makes fast friends with a boy named Yuuto, who is perhaps a year or so older than her. He's tall for his age and has plain brown hair and striking blue eyes. She'll never tell him, but she thinks they're beautiful and bright, wholly unlike the town they are in. He's the son of a local merchant and has already lost a sister to the plague from two years before.
Perhaps in any other situation, they may not have given each other much more than a passing glance. They are really not very much alike. Sakura is brash and stubborn, though perhaps that's because of Tsunade's influence. On the other hand, he is calmer and a bit more thoughtful of his words and actions.
Either way, they are frequently assigned to runs together.
"You have strange hair," he tells her the first them they meet, as they are walking the slightly cleaner streets. Each has an equal number of boxes piled high in their hands. He had tried to take some of the load from her, but she refused and shot a sharp glare at him for even daring to ask.
Sakura's face flushes and she sucks her teeth sharply. "So what? You have a strange face!"
And then he laughs. It's the first genuine laugh that she has heard since they have arrived. It's so genuine and carefree and happy despite everything around them that she can't help but to stop and stare at him, the blush on her cheeks darkening slightly. She turns her face away quickly.
"I didn't mean it as a bad thing," he says with a smile, when he finally recovers, "I like it. It's unique. And pretty." He reaches out to tuck a loose strand behind her ear.
"A-ah, thanks."
They are scolded for being late when they arrive a few minutes later, even though it is only two minutes past their predicted arrival time. Yuuto whispers a snide comment under his breath, only loud enough for the two of them to hear. It takes all her effort for Sakura not to burst into a fit of giggles in front of the medic they are reporting to. They are assigned together for the rest of the day.
By the fifth day, they have become good friends. Sakura even feels a bit lonely when they aren't running around together, she's gotten used to his consistent company. It makes it rather strange that she hasn't caught a single glimpse of him in the past two hours, and their shifts are almost over.
When she is dismissed for the day by one of the medics, she exits the main tent with a slight groan. The day had been filled with almost nonstop moving and she fully intends on collapsing into her bed roll after the long hours she has worked.
"Sakura!"
She turns to see Yuuto running up to her and before she can greet him, he quickly takes her hand in his and tugs on her hand. "C'mon," he yells, even though she's right next to him, "I gotta show you something!"
It's so unlike him to be so worked up that, for a split second, Sakura is concerned and begins to dig her heels into the dirt. But that thought is immediately thrown out when she sees the smile on his face and she can't help but to smile too. She lets him drag her.
He takes her out of town and into the woods, refusing to ask any question that she asks him, even the important ones like "Do you even know how to get back to town?" Instead, the only answer she ever receives is when he only turns back to look at her with a sly grin on his face.
Eventually though, they slow down enough for her to catch her breath. Sakura can't help but to wonder how in the hell he has enough energy after running around all day in the first place. Not to mention his incredible ability to make his way around in the dark. Even in the moonlight, she can only see Yuuto and the bare outlines of the trees and underbrush.
He suddenly speaks and breaks her out of her thoughts. "We're here!" he exclaims and he parts the foliage with the back of his hand to reveal what he had been so excited to show her that it couldn't even wait til morning.
It's a small clearing. In the center lies a small pond whose clear waters shimmer under the pale moonlight and reflect the gentle shine of the stars. As they approach, Sakura can see a bit of the wildlife that dwells within it, tiny fish that flit about and perhaps a turtle or two swimming beside them.
Surrounding the pond is a field of flowers. Perhaps not quite enough to constitute a full field, really, but there is a decent amount that dot the clearing at random intervals. There are a multitude of wonderful colors, but the most predominant of them are delicate bluish-purples ones, of which she doesn't know the name.
A few fireflies have taken to the clearing as well, mostly surrounding the small body of water. The soft yellow lights pierce the darkness as they fade in and out at random. They help to illuminate the glade, showing off the true beauty that it has to offer. One lands on the tip of her pinky, blinking slowly before flitting off as quickly as it had arrived.
Yuuto sits by the water's edge and finally lets her hand go when she sits down next to him. "I found this place after my sister died." His words are barely above a whisper and he stares out to the pond as he speaks. He draws his legs to himself, resting his arms on his knees.
Sakura bites her lip, ensure of how to respond or what words to say to reassure him. Though he is looking away, she turns to face him. He continues before she can open her mouth.
"The medics never got to her in time and she died without anyone to help her. After that, I was so sad and angry and I couldn't understand why it had to happen to our family." Yuuto sighs, hand clenching and gathering dirt into his fist, "So I ran away and I ended up here. Somehow this place, just being here, it calmed me down. It made me think. There's just something magical here, I swear."
Tears pick her eyes and instead of words, Sakura hugs him tightly, throwing her arms around around his neck until she can feel the pressure of his own returning the gesture. "I'm sorry," she says, though the words are muffled when she buries her face into the crook of his neck.
When she finally lets go, he turns to pick on of the many blue flowers. "I haven't showed anyone else, you know?" he hums, and places it behind her ear. It stands out against the soft pink of her hair.
She smiles and leans her head on his shoulder. "Thank you for showing me. It's so beautiful." They don't exchange many more words for the rest of the night, but he threads his fingers through hers and in this brief, starry moment, they are happy.
They walk back when the night has almost turned to day. He holds her hand the entire way and tells her to get some sleep before they have to work their next shift together. Judging by the position of the sun, it leaves them with a little more than two hours until then.
He turns to return to his home. But before his fingers can completely slip from hers, she tightens her hold and pulls him back towards her and into a kiss. It's quick and childish, but enough to leave both of them blushing as they pull away.
"G-goodnight!" she squeaks and rushes away to the safety of her tent.
At eight years old, Sakura thinks she just might love him.
At the end of the second week, things are looking better. The infection rate, as well as the mortality rate, has gone down a substantial amount and many of the townsfolk have been completely cured, thanks to Tsunade's and Shizune's efforts.
The supply runs and message deliveries, however, are more hectic than ever. Sakura can't remember the last time she or Yuuto have been afforded a break during their shift that day. Even with a few additional runners that have been recruited, their days are still as busy as ever.
Yuuto seems to have contracted a cough from somewhere. At first, Sakura thinks nothing of it, but it becomes concerning when it continues to persist.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine, I'm sure it's nothing." He brushes off her concern with a wave of his hand. She drops the topic, but glances worryingly at him from the corner of her eye from time to time.
When it gets worse, Sakura tugs insistently on the hem of his shirt. "You should really get help. At least tell one of the medics about it. It really doesn't sound good."
"I told you, I'm fine. They have a lot more to worry about. A cough is nothing compared to the plague."
The rest of the day is spent with a strange silence between them. It makes her uncomfortable, she can't remember a time where she has felt this way around him. The thought is almost nauseating.
It is when they are delivering gauze to one of the houses that she notices he is no longer walking next to her. She turns around, only to see that he is walking slowly several feet behind her. She rushes to him quickly.
Yuuto looks sick and he struggles to carry the boxes in his arms. His face is pale and his breathes are coming out in short pants. "Sakura, I-" These are the only words he is able to speak before he collapses on the ground.
Sakura screams. Her body is shaking as she kneels down next to him. She reaches out to brush the hair from his forehead and check his temperature. It's the only part of the protocol that she can remember, anything more advanced than that is out her of knowledge.
"Sakura! Don't touch him!"
At the sound of her name, she flinches and complies, before turning to see Tsunade running towards her. "Shishou!" she cries, failing to suppress the sobs that rip through her throat, "I don't know what happened, he just suddenly-" She can't find it within herself to finish the sentence.
Tsunade reaches down and with her hands encased in a soft green, examines him. After a few seconds, she draws her hand away and shakes her head. "He's infected. Has been for a while now."
"What? How-how is that even possible?"
"He's been ignoring the symptoms. Never bothered to get help or told anyone how he was feeling. Nothing."
"I don't understand," Sakura whispers, shaking her head, "Why would he do something like that?"
She sighs deeply, looking at her young apprentice in sorrow and empathy. "I'm not sure, Sakura. I'm not sure."
After Yuuto is taken back to his house, Sakura is checked over three times. Once by Tsunade, once by Shizune, and lastly by Tsunade again. Miraculously, she has not been infected as well, but that brings little comfort to her. Her thoughts are only encompassed by Yuuto.
She is given time off work and she spends it at his bedside, only leaving on rare occasions. His family is small, but nice and humble and even allow her into their home. They hide their devastation well, but she can see it in their eyes and their words. They have lost yet another of their family to this forsaken plague.
Not all is lost yet, she wants to tell them, because though he is sick, their son is still alive. But every time she thinks she has worked up the courage to tell them, the words get stuck in her throat and all she can offer them is a sad, wry smile.
Finally, Sakura gets her answer a day later, when Yuuto finally wakes. "I just-I wanted to spend time with you," he explains with a laugh, though there is no humor in it this time. He does not have the energy to sit up out of bed, so he rolls over to face her instead.
"You're an idiot. A big one."
"I know." He extends his hands upwards to wipe the tears from her cheek, but she flinches away.
"I'm sorry," she whispers, seeing the hurt in his eyes, "But-"
"I understand," he whispers back and they talk quietly until he falls asleep again. She stays by his bedside anyway, wishing she wasn't so useless while he had to suffer.
Tsunade arrives sometime later to let her know about his condition, the one he has been hiding for so long. "He's had the plague for a while now, I want you to understand this, Sakura." Her voice is tired, but her words are firm. But not uncaring. Never in a million years.
She nods slowly, her hands gripping the edge of her seat so tightly that her knuckles are white and the old wood begins to splinter..
Her shishou sighs and sits in the adjacent chair. Softly, she places a hand on her young apprentice's shoulder. "He's in the final stages. I don't know how he's held on this long, but he must have been in an incredible amount of pain."
"What do you mean you can't do anything?" Sakura screams and stands from her chair. It falls back and hits the loud with a loud thump, "You're supposed to be the best medic in the world! How could you just let him die like this?" She does not wait for a response when she knows there is none. Instead, she turns on her heels and runs. Runs as fast as her legs can take her.
At first, she doesn't know where she is headed, but as she enters the forest, it becomes painfully clear. The trip in the daylight is much shorter than at night and soon, she bursts into the clearing. She wants the same relief that the clearing had brought to Yuuto so long ago. She's selfish like that.
Everything is the same as they left it, the fish swim in the pond and the flowers sway in rhythm with the breeze. Her feet cannot even take her to the edge of the pond. Instead, she makes it halfway before she falls to her knees in the middle of a group of flowers that is growing closely to each other.
Sakura cries. For Yuuto. For his pain. And because she is selfish, she cries for herself too.
Yuuto dies two days later.
They bury him next to his sister, but Sakura returns to the clearing one last time and makes him a grave there too. She places a rock, the largest she can find in the vicinity, near the edge of the water and through her tears, she carves his name with the help of a shaky hand and her enhanced strength. She places flowers on top of the stone. Only the blue ones.
As she works, she can't help but hate herself. For not noticing his pain earlier, for not telling anyone and being more insistent in him seeing a medic. But most of all, it is for the way their last moments together are spent. He was sick and quiet and so unlike himself that she almost convinces herself that it wasn't Yuuto at all who passed away in his sleep.
Because she is a medic, Sakura returns to work faithfully the next day. She is assigned a new running partner, who is nice and all, but she does not bothering getting close to him. They rarely converse past greetings and small talk. She doesn't want to get too close. Not again.
In two more days, the town is free of the plague. A celebration is to be held in the town's center, after the streets and buildings have been sufficiently cleaned. It is set to last for three days and three nights and the people of the town are having a grand time decorating the square and pulling out their best attire for the event.
At first, Sakura doesn't want to go, but does so anyway. She's left her better kimonos at home with her mother and father, so she feels superbly underdressed compared to the rest of the townsfolk. But it really doesn't matter, because Shizune and Tsunade haven't bothered dressing up either.
Admittedly, she enjoys herself and feels incredibly guilty about it. The food is amazing, the games are fun, and the performances are captivating. And to think, they have prepared so much in such little time and it will continue for another two days and two nights.
"You think Yuuto would've liked it?" Sakura asks Tonton, who only confusedly squeals in response. She laughs, scratching the pig at the sweet spot behind its ears. "Yeah, I think so too."
They are only there for the first day and night. They almost have to stay for the second day as well, since Tsunade drinks until she passes out. Free booze is free booze, she argues when Shizune tries to stop her. But she cures her own hangover with ease and they are on their way again.
Sakura is incredibly relieved and though she does not express this to the two women, she is confident they already know. As they pass the gates, she briefly looks over her shoulder. Not towards the city itself, but slightly off the the left, where the clearing lies past layers and layers of forest.
"Goodbye," she whispers under her breath, so quiet she can barely hear herself speak, before running to catch up to the other two.
At first, the trio head towards another town which has been reportedly infected, but after a few days, another messenger bird, different than the first, arrives with another scroll that clears the infected towns of the plague. It seems other medics have been helping the cause as well.
They finally resume their journey. But it's not like they had any real destination in the first place.
It is a about year into Sakura's travels with Tsunade and Shizune that she really begins to miss her parents. Not that she hadn't missed them before, but the closer it got to her birthday, the more she wishes she could celebrate it with them. Even though the day comes and passes, the need to see them does not fade. It takes a bit of courage, and some reassuring from Shizune (and Tonton), but she asks Tsunade if they had time to pay a visit.
Surprisingly, the normally hardened look in Tsunade's eyes soften, if only for a second. "It's been a while since you've seen them, huh?" she says, a bit absently, and nothing more.
Sakura takes it as affirmation and she's right to do so, because they arrive at the Haruno palace a week later. It's a quiet morning, which is a bit strange, she remembers the palace as bustling and full of life. She does not think much about it, however, it is still early in the morning. She changes her mind when a scream pierces the air.
Tsunade tenses and Shizune clutches Tonton tightly to her chest. "There's something demonic in there," Tsunade says, her voice barely above a whisper. Her nails dig into the palm of her hands, almost hard enough to draw blood.
Sakura hears her loud and clear, and though she has no idea what those words entail, dread buries itself in her stomach. She breaks into a sprint, heaving open the large doors and almost ripping them off their hinges.
The sight that greets her is something she is totally unprepared for. Bodies of servants and guards line the floor and the paper doors have been shredded beyond recognition. It is nothing like the lively, happy home that she had left so long ago.
Sakura collapses to her hands and knees. "What-" she gasps for air, unable to form words. She blinks rapidly, trying to will away the tears, but they begin to streak down her cheeks.
The wounds are fresh and the blood still draining from the warm bodies. Whoever the attackers are, have only just arrived, perhaps just moments before them.
"Shizune, look for survivors," Tsunade snaps, placing a steady hand on Sakura's shoulder, "Let's go. We have to find your parents." She pulls the girl to her feet and drags her out of the room.
Sakura tears her eyes from the carnage hesitantly, but lets Tsunade drive her from the lobby. The destruction only worsens the farther they travel. She recognizes some of the faces they pass and forces herself to look away, less the tears begin again. "They're probably in the throne room. It's-it's Saturday. They always have meetings with the other nobles on Saturday."
The older woman only nods in response.
After what seems like miles and miles of running, they finally reach their destination. Compared to the rest of the palace, there is a surprising lack of destruction and blood. Sakura dares not take it as a good sign.
From behind the thin paper, there is whispering. It is not a voice she can distinguish.
Whatever words that are on her lips are lost forever as she throws open the door. There is only one noble left alive, and he stands unperturbed by the bodies that surround him. Sakura recognizes him as Eiji Kurosawa, a noble who she has seen at these meetings more times than she can count.
He doesn't seem phased by their sudden entrance. Instead, a smile rises to his lips as he turns to face them. "Ah, Sakura-chan," he greets opening his arms, "I'm glad you could join us. You always did like to sit by your father's sides during meetings."
"What have you done?" she accuses, her voice rising to a screech, "Answer me!" She lunges forward, her hands glowing blue, the result of hard training with her shishou.
"Sakura, no!" Tsunade grabs her by the neckline of her kimono and pulls her back. "You-We can't do anything," she says with a grimace, holding the struggling girl in her arms, "He's made a contract."
Before Sakura can respond, the noble suddenly laughs. "Silly girl, I haven't killed anyone. That's what is Keisuke-san here for." He shifts slightly and their gaze is directed to a figure that appears behind him. Upon being called, it shifts into being beside Eiji. It looks entirely human but, though Sakura cannot put words to it, there is something entirely unhuman about him.
Tsunade's grip on her tightens and Sakura realizes that the woman holding her is shaking. It's minute, so much so that Sakura herself can barely detect. "That's a demon, Sakura," she explains in a breathless whisper, "That's why we can't even hope to fight him."
Sakura has never seen Tsunade like this, neither has she imagined it, not in a million years. What being could be so infinitely strong and terrible that her ever-strong, ever-steadfast shishou dares not stand against?
"Shall I get rid of them, Summoner?" the demon asks. He looks at them in the same way a lion might look at an ant. They are infinitely beneath him. Insignificant and irrelevant.
Eiji gives them only a passing glance before he walks past them, though does not bother to meet either of their eyes. He shrugs carelessly, clasping his hands behind his back."Mmm, there's no need. Nothing they can do anyway."
The demon follows him out.
"Why?" she shrieks after them, "Why would you-?"
He does not pause or even turn to look at her. "This plot of land would do wonderfully for my new summer home, don't you think?" He laughs cruelly and the door shuts behind him, leaving them in deafening silence.
It takes a few minutes before Sakura can will herself to move. She crawls over to her mother and father and sits by their silent corpses. She cannot bring herself to look upon their faces. Instead, she stays by their sides, like she has been unable to do for the past year, and sobs until there are no more tears and her voice is almost gone.
"It'll be okay," Tsunade promises, lacing her fingers into the girl's pink locks and pulling her into a hug. Tears trace down her cheeks as well. Though she did not know them as well as Jiraiya had, the Harunos were always friends of hers.
Shizune finds them not too long afterwards. She stumbles in and collapses next to them, her forehead resting wearily against Tsunade's shoulder. She is exhausted and her hands are coated in slowly drying blood.
Tsunade silently draws her into a hug as well.
"There's two that survived," the dark-haired woman speaks, "They'll live." She says nothing more and Sakura reaches out to hold her hand in hers, ignoring the blood that begins to stain her hands as well. Though she has not been a medic as long as the other two, she still knows the pain of being unable to cure all wounds.
They sit in silence for a few seconds more before Sakura shifts, drawing attention towards herself. "They should have a burial. A proper one. And everyone else too."
There is no response. She takes it as agreement.
The funeral is a solemn affair. It is also terribly beautiful, if not a bit informal and rushed. Sakura takes the nobleman's words to heart, there is no telling when he will come back to claim the land as his own.
Tsunade has even sent for Jiraiya, who arrives in mere hours after the letter is sent. "I was around," he says, and nothing more, leading his poor, worn out horse to the stables. But now that he is here, they are able to begin.
There is not enough time or manpower to bury all the bodies in a better place. They choose the fields behind the palace, at the very edge of Haruno land, with only memories and a circle of small stones to serve as any indication of graves.
Sakura feels selfish for insisting so, but Mebuki and Kizashi Haruno are not buried in the mass grave. Instead, they are laid to rest no more than three feet away. They also receive a circle of stones as their grave marker, but Sakura places a bouquet of wildflowers in the center.
Shizune plays a solemn song on a flute they have found in one of the servant's rooms. "It's tradition in my family," she explains, when they reveal their surprise, "I can only remember a little, though." But that little is more than enough for them. She plays them a traditional mourning song as the other lowers the bodies into their final resting place.
The two servants who survived also attend, but leave the palace quickly once the funeral is over. Sakura does not blame them. These lands are now haunted by blood and memories and even she feels the yearning to leave her own childhood home sooner rather than later. She knows she will never see them again.
That night, when they are eating supper, Sakura asks the question that has been plaguing her mind. "Why are demons so dangerous?" It comes out less like a question and more like a demand, but she holds steadfast.
The adults of the room share an unsteady look. Jiraiya sits back in his seat, similar to how he prepares to tell one of his infamous stories, but surprisingly, Tsunade speaks up first. "You know, a demon killed someone who was very close to me. Two, actually."
Shizune looks troubled and excuses herself, picking up a plate of leftovers to feed Tonton.
Tsunade continues, seemingly without noticing her other apprentice's sudden absence. "It was ages ago, but I'll never forget it. Sakura. I want you to listen, because I will only tell this to you once."
The girl nods silently and leans forward in her seat.
"On the very same day, I lost my fiance and my little brother to demons. Back then, we used to belong to a Guild. While we worked there, we rarely were on the same teams. Most often I was to stay behind because of my healing abilities.
I was constantly worried about them. Dan, he was strong, the strongest man I've ever know. I know he could take care of himself. But Nawaki was young and overconfident. Thought he could do anything, so long as he put his mind to it and believed he could.
And for the most part he handled himself well. He kept himself mostly out of danger. In this line of business, it's all I could really ask for. As long as they both came back to me, I had no right to complain, just heal up their injuries and hope that would be the worst of it.
But reports of demons started popping up and they were getting closer and closer. In this time, we know very little about demons. All we knew was that they were strong, though not the extent of their power. Even today, we still do not know much more than we did then.
The Guildmaster didn't want to be caught off guard so sent scouts to evaluate the threat. Both Dan and Nawaki were in that group. They fit the criteria perfectly, quick enough to get in and out without being noticed and strong enough to handle themselves if they were potentially caught.
It was supposed to be just a quick mission. In no way were they to be seen or try to engage the demons at all. But something went wrong. They had been noticed the moment they arrived.
There was only one survivor, he barely made it back to the Guild alive and passed out from his injuries. He was barely hanging on to life, he had some of the most difficult injuries I've ever had to heal, broken bones, lacerations, internal bleeding, the list went on. When he awoke, he told us every single horrifying detail of what happened.
If a human is desperate, and lucky, enough, they summon a demon from the demon realm. If the two can agree on terms, they sign a contract and the demon can stay within the human realm. Otherwise, demons can only remain for a short period of time.
A man in the countryside wished for revenge on the man who killed his wife. He went insane, basically, and was ordering the demon to attack nearly everyone on sight. It wasn't part of the contract, but that thing was especially bloodthirsty. Very few were spared in their rampage.
The scouting group ran when they were caught, but the demon was incredibly fast. They were no match for something of that caliber. They didn't make it far before he tore all of them to shreds. The one man only survived as a warning to us. The Guildmaster did not send any more scouts and miraculously, we were all spared.
I was devastated, hearing how my loved ones were tossed aside like trash tore me apart. They didn't even recover the bodies so I had something to mourn over. Those two, they gave their entire lives to the Guild, just to be treated like that!
So I left, I couldn't stand it. Shizune asked to come with me. She was Dan's niece, and I didn't have it in me to say no.
I'm still surprised the Guildmaster let me go, but he knows that in the end, the Guild is still my home. Just like it was Dan's and Nawakis. But it was one that I didn't-that I don't wish to see for a very long time."
As the story draws to a close, Tsunade goes silent and neither Sakura nor Jiraiya care to break it. The older woman sighs and after downing on more dish of sake, bids them goodnight. She stumbles slightly as she takes her leave.
Her story only raises more questions than answers.
"They're not all bad, you know." Jiraiya speaks up, after they have been sitting in silence for a few minutes. He stands slowly and begins to gather the dirty dishes on the table, piling them in his hands.
Sakura rises to help him and they clean them together. He washes while she dries. "They're terrifying," she counters softly, "After everything I've heard about them, they're really just bloodthirsty monsters. How could you not hate them?"
"They're not all bad. It's one of the only human things about them."
Her brow furrows. "Huh? Do you know a lot about them?"
"Hmm, well, I guess more than most people would, but that's not important. All you need to know is that, even though you've only heard and seen some real violent ones, there are certainly good ones too."
The last dish passes through both their hands and Sakura does not choose to comment. She has enough thoughts swirling about her head for her to sort through for the next few days. And even so, she feels like she will not be able to connect all the pieces together.
They leave the next morning. Jiraiya sticks with them for a good hour before riding away on his horse and bidding them goodbye with a wave, but not before ruffling Sakura's hair and telling her to behave. They watch his figure grow smaller and smaller until he is only a speck in the distance.
And now, the former Haruno household is simply another bullet point on Sakura's rapidly growing list of places she never wishes to see again.
Three years after Sakura begins to travel with them, Tsunade receives another letter. A messenger bird settles onto the woman's shoulder and instead of simply dropping the message in front of her, it presents a scroll tied to its leg with a string. She unties it and reads the message, her lips twisting deeper and deeper into a frown as her eyes scan it.
"That damn old man," she snarls, chucking the scroll into the campfire with a bit of ferocity. The bird is jostled by the violent action, but seems unperturbed and keeps its balance rather well. She turns to her two apprentices, her hands on her hips. "We've been called to the Guild."
Sakura tilts her head. She vaguely remembers Tsunade talking about a Guild a long time ago, part of the story about Dan and Nawaki. But beyond that, she knows nothing and has never really bothered to ask either.
"Huh? Why's that?" Shizune pipes up, "We've been gone for almost a decade and they're never ordered us back."
"I don't know either, he didn't really say anything except that it's urgent. We'll head there in the morning."
True to her word, they change the direction of their travels. Shizune estimates that it will take them three days to reach their destination, which gives Sakura a long time to remember all the questions that Tsunade's story of demons inspired so long ago.
"Shishou?" Sakura ventures, not too long after they have set off.
"Hmm?"
"What is the Guild?"
"Ah, I never told you did I?" The look in Tsunade's eyes softens marginally and she tilts her head towards the sky. "It's my home and where I am loyal to, but I don't want to fill your head with silly propaganda. The Guild's name is Konohagakure, or Konoha. It resides in the land of Fire and is lead by the Third Guildmaster Hiruzen Sarutobi."
But even though Tsunade promises to keep herself unbiased in her description of the Guild, Sakura cannot help falling in love with a faraway place she has never been to.
Her shishou talks about the thrill of missions, the camaraderie, and even the drunken fights that always seemed to be a weekly occurrence. Shizune, on the other hands, tells her about the wealth of knowledge and the gratitude of the civilians for their protection. They both, however, do not fail to mention the Will of Fire.
Not only do they mention it, however, they repeat it until Sakura knows it so well, she feels she has been a part of Konoha her entire life. Just the thought that a few simple words could sway the hearts of so many astounds her and leaves her speechless.
Before they all know it, they arrive and it's every bit as grand as Sakura has imagined.
So I changed a lot about this chapter. In fact, it's completely different than the original. I'm introducing the whole demon concept a bit more gradually instead of dumping it all into a few paragraphs. I'm also going to be focusing a little bit more on Sakura's backstory as well as Team Seven and their time together.
I deleted the other chapters because it would make no sense with how much I've changed this one. In fact, this is more of a prologue, if anything. The original chapter one will be recycled though, I didn't completely hate it.
I tried to keep a monthly update schedule, at least one chapter of any of my stories. But I got busy. I thought that during the summer, I'd be able to keep up, but I'm still just as busy. Just a heads up that I won't be able to update as much as I'd like.
Thanks for reading!