Chapter 1
The sunlight steadily poured in through the window, illuminating the scratches and coffee stains on her study.
Sakura levitated her chin, glancing out of the window, her mind whirring rapidly as she calculated the life-death probabilities of the patients she would have to appraise that morning.
Her cool, numb fingers curling around the circumference of her saké cup, she shut her eyes and took a brief sip.
It was crazy. With Tsunade down and out of function, it was like the entire wiring of the Konohagakure medic forces had been compromised. She had never been good at dealing with encumbrances; she wasn't going to lead Tsunade's medics into the light by some great miracle.
Exhaling softly against the chipped edge of the patterned cup she'd been clasping, she examined her cluttered desk with a critical eye.
Naruto had warned her not to overwork herself. If she had been honest with herself then and there, it almost seemed as though he was sheltering her from invisible forces of evil, which was a bit redundant as he had something far malevolent residing within himself.
Adopting a neutral expression, Sakura set down the cup with a clatter on the desk, steadying it with a quick twitch of her wrist as it started to topple over.
Naruto's problem hadn't affected her for the past seven or six years; why did it have to start now? She felt impeccably foolish for her lapse of judgement, rising from her chair and gazing out of the only window in her room.
She had surmised that Naruto and the Kyuubi had some sort of a truce going on, and that had been all she had mulled on for hours. The only control someone could have on Kurama was through the sharingan. Danzo had mastered it to an amazing level for a non-Uchiha; although he hadn't gained the level of precision and expertise that Sasuke had managed to achieve. It worried her, if she wanted to be frank. Danzo had withered and died by his hands, and although Naruto wanted to believe with all his heart that Sasuke had reformed for the better, Sakura couldn't bring herself to acknowledge the fact.
It was pitiable, at best. The Uchiha had gone far to prove his loyalties by helping the village in the times of distress or need. What were his motives? Did he truly want to learn from his mistakes as he traversed through shinobi nations like a nomad, wanting to forge the frayed threads of his alliance with Naruto and her?
She was uneasy. Knowing that Sasuke had ulterior motives didn't make her feel guilty in any manner; after all, she had him to thank her for her paranoia.
"Sakura," Shizune's slender shadow fell on the bare, wooden floor. She was leaning on the fusuma panels, holding a small paper fan.
"Oh, Shziune. I hadn't expected you to complete your shifts quickly. I am on my way."
The kunoichi merely inclined her head, the impassive mask which she had donned for her profession slipping for a split second before she smiled tolerantly.
"Is that saké? You are truly Tsunade sama's pupil, aren't you?"
Sakura flushed, almost shoving the cup underneath the woman's nose.
"It's tea! See? Tastes glorious."
The petite woman hummed, swiveling around her heels and making her way out the room and out into the cheer filled Konoha streets. So many plans were coming up for the Leaf's rehabilitation after the war, courtesy of Naruto. Mouth twitching in humour at the prospect of Konoha's Orange Hokage fooling around, Sakura decided to have a bath.
It was just as she was untying the ends of her yukata when she felt her gut clenching in what was probably the aftermath of her binge diet the night before. She knew for the most part that being a shinobi came with uncertainty, and tried to enjoy food – a privilege she'd foolishly denied herself when she had been a genin – as much as she could.
Slipping into the lukewarm waters of her bath, Sakura untied the clasps in her hair. She had grown it out, and was considering trimming it in the future. It brought nostalgia, amongst many other memories.
She sensed it before it had even started.
It left a premonitory chill creeping up her bare back, leaving goose bumps in an unpleasant way.
Her chest felt congested; Sakura lifted herself from the water, her breaths deepening.
It wasn't panic – at least panic didn't feel like this confusing discomfort which held her body in its massive grip.
The pain hit like the blunt edge of Sai's tantō to the base of her lower abdomen, and she choked out a cry. Panting, she ran a quick diagnosis for any foreign material suffused in her bloodstream. She couldn't identify anything. Her vision had narrowed out to the sake cup in the farthest corner of her mind.
No, that couldn't be right. The chakra test showed negative, and the pain was starting to subside. She crouched low on the floor of her washroom, naked and dripping water all over the tiles, her heart pounding as white spots appeared in her vision.
It rammed back at full force, and she hissed in agony as the startling sensation which caused the base of her skull to pound against the tub.
She normally had a high threshold for pain, but what she was experiencing was something beyond whatever she'd had to face in her journey thus far.
Her skin had become feverish, and she could feel sweat beading against the nape of her neck. It wasn't the water from the bath.
Her skin had begun to glow rapidly, which left her reeling.
Kami, what was happening to her?
In a flash, she blacked out.
Confusing? Yeah, it's like that at first. Hopefully this will work out all the same. Note that this isn't going to be a Sakura fixated on changing her past.