Two's Company Chapter 1
Hi everyone. This is going to be a little three-part story. I hope you all enjoy it! Please give me lots of feedback. I would love to know what you think. About two thirds is already written, so I'm hoping to upload one part a week or like every two weeks. I haven't decided yet.
I did my best to try and stay medically accurate, but I apologize if there are any inaccuracies. I'm not a doctor nor do I have any training. I just know what Google tells me.
Enjoy!
Itachi and Sakura sat side by side. It was a comfortable silence. Their shoulders approximately 20 inches apart, which is just within the safe average for personal space. Sakura rested her hands in her lap as she contemplated why they were called to the Hokage's office. It felt a little strange to be kept waiting, and it was even odd to her that Itachi had chosen a seat rather than to stand and wait – as she had seen him and Sasuke do on several occasions. She was in no place to comment on odd behavior though.
Sakura hadn't exactly been herself the past few months, and she was mildly aware of it. While her inner self lectured her to go out more and see her friends, her personal drive kept her in her lab researching. She found herself so incredibly wrapped up in her research that it was difficult to break away. Almost every waking moment was dedicated to the work that she was doing. She was on the brink of something amazing. It was hard to keep her expectations in check while she was seeing so much success in animal trials. One month ago, she had presented her findings to Tsunade and Shizune. She was ready to begin on a disease that affected humans, but she understood that she needed to wait for the right time and situation to further her research.
It was a medical ninjutsu technique that she had been developing. Medical ninjutsu in the hands of an extremely practiced and disciplined medical ninja can do amazing things. On the battlefield, there isn't much that can't be done to save someone's life.
But unfortunately, medical ninjutsu to the average population has severe drawbacks. It has almost no application to ailments aside from physical injury, surgery and poisoning. But what Sakura has developed, could completely change the medical world as they knew it. What she had would be by no means a cure all, but it can certainly open the doors to more than we have ever dreamed of. She was essentially able to isolate a virus in a multi celled organism using medical chakra, target the infected cells and inhibit the virus's further development. This technique could potentially cure viral diseases that were completely drug resistant.
"Haruno-san," a deep voice brought her out of her thoughts.
Sakura looked up and saw Itachi holding the door to the Hokage's office open.
"Sumimasen Uchiha-san," she said politely and then followed him in.
The meeting was what she had been waiting for. South of Konoha in its peninsula, there was an epidemic of an unidentified disease plaguing a small village called Imosen. With symptoms of dehydration and fevers, it was high on the priority list. Sakura immediately departed to the lab and packed her supplies. She took out large storage scrolls and took everything she could. The details on the mission were limited, so she did not want to be unprepared. After packing away a few supply closets worth of items she decided she would just request more if it came down to it. She was only one person. Afterwards she went home to pack a few personal items, and then met her favorite boys down at Ichiraku Ramen.
Sakura took a seat right between Sasuke and Naruto and placed an order for her and her sensei. She figured Kakashi would take his time in arriving.
"Sakura-chaaaaaaan," Naruto yelled as he hugged Sakura tightly. "I haven't seen you in years!"
"Baaakaa," she said as she wormed out of his grip, "You were only gone for a week."
"I don't get why Tsunade baa-chan didn't just have you come with us," Naruto said disgruntled. They had just returned from a rather grueling mission to Sand, and Sakura was grateful that she didn't have to go. "Our escort was the worst."
"Naruto-kun, don't talk about our clients like that," Sakura scolded, "Jun-chan needed the experience with a high-level team, so Tsunade thought it would be best for her to take my place." Matter of fact, Sakura recommended Jun-chan, to Tsunade, to take her place. Sakura had met their escort once before on a diplomacy mission, and she was not looking forward to meeting him again. It just so happened that Jun had just completed her basic medical ninja training and was ready for a high-level team on a low-level mission.
Naruto complained more about the mission, but as soon as the food showed up he focused on an important food mission. Sasuke's shoulders were slumped over as he picked at his ramen. Something seemed off with him. Kakashi, as if on cue, appeared ready for the food.
"Ehhh, speaking of missions, I have a medical mission myself coming up." Naruto and Sasuke both broke away from their bowls to look over at her. "There's a highly infectious disease south of here." She said it darkly. The boy's skin crawled and they quickly turned back to their bowls.
"Oh, yeah, Sakura? Ha-ha, you have fun with that one…" Naruto tried, but the thought of working with a bunch of sick people gave him the chills.
"What team will you be traveling with," Kakashi asked. His mask was perfectly in place, and his meal was finished.
"I'll be traveling with another leaf ninja who has different mission in the area. It should be relatively slow in terms of excitement."
"That's sounds really boring," Naruto said frankly earning him a bonk on the head and a low, 'dobe.' "Teme…" Naruto started, his temper beginning to fly.
"Ne Sasuke-kun, you've been quiet tonight," Sakura bashfully pointed out.
Naruto laughed loudly. Bits of ramen flew from his mouth. "Teme and his brother got into a little fight," he said through his laughter, "Itachi he – and then teme, he-," he struggled with getting the words out.
"Shut it dobe," Sasuke yelled trying to shut him up. Naruto calmed as another bowl of ramen was placed in front of him.
"Oh, I'm sorry Sasuke-kun, are you alright?"
"It's not a big deal, he's leaving for a mission anyway," Sasuke said, clearly ended the topic.
Sakura nodded, and was glad she didn't say exactly who she was travelling with. It would probably be best to not mention it at all. Soon after the mood returned, and it was time to call it a night. They all parted ways, and Sakura went home to get a good night's rest.
Itachi and Sakura traveled at a comfortable pace. Sakura took her time during the journey to study the foliage as they walked. The plants became more tropical. She noted a few medicinal herbs in case she runs low. While her mission was to isolate the virus and study it, she wanted to make the villagers as comfortable as possible while she worked towards a cure. They weren't only there for her to study, they were her patients as well.
Itachi and Sakura made a camp surrounded by a few trees, and Sakura reviewed her notes as they sat in silence. She always felt a little uncomfortable around Itachi. There was no way that he wasn't aware of her embarrassing crush on his little brother. She also knew that he wasn't one for conversation, so what was the point in trying?
Sakura took the first watch and allowed him to sleep first. She read her notes and probed the area with her chakra every fifteen minutes or so. Around 2:30 am something caught her attention, quick movement, but movement none the less. She put a gentle hand on Itachi's shoulder to rouse him, a moment later his eyes opened, with sharingan already spinning. He scanned the area and disappeared seconds later. Sakura felt the unfamiliar presence disappear, and Itachi returned to the base camp. "Good work" he said, and then glanced over to Sakura's notebook. "Get some rest."
Sakura didn't question the shift change and rested against a nearby tree. Her heavy eyes shut, and she let her mind drift to sleep.
She woke to some rustling and the smell of cooking fish. There was a small fire and two little fish attached to a stick. Sakura smiled gratefully. "Arigato Uchiha-san" He plated each fish, one for her and one for him. The flaky white meat was cooked well and tasted good regardless of the absence of seasoning. They still had about another day and a half worth of travel before they reached the village, so they had to keep their strength up and arrive and good health. After they arrived, Itachi was to part ways temporarily and continue his own mission, while Sakura would begin her research. She didn't know the details of Itachi's mission, but she did know that it was supposed to be along the lines of reconnaissance. Very little anticipated combat, but she was of course prepared otherwise.
The rest of the journey was uneventful, and they arrived on time. A young man named Eric came out to great them, and they exchanged formalities. He led Sakura and Itachi to the village leader and they talked about the disease that's been plaguing them, its symptoms, and its rate of infection. Sakura nodded and said that she would do her best to help them.
The village leader was excited to hear that it was her coming, such a renowned doctor and medical ninja. They know that they would be in good hands. Itachi glanced over to her briefly and she smiled humbly. The young man that greeted them then led them to a community center. It had been cleared out and had several cots for patients to sleep in. The number of ill had been growing rapidly. There was a small clinic just two buildings over and that was chosen to be the base of operations. They set up small mat on the second story for Sakura to sleep. The man looked at Sakura and then Itachi and then awkwardly mentioned that he would have another one sent over to them. Sakura laughed and said that it's not necessary. Itachi will not be staying in the village for long, and hell, they're both used to sleeping on the ground if it comes down to it. It was better to save the extra bed for a patient.
The young man left them to let them settle in and said that a meal would be provided for them in a few hours.
Itachi put some of his belongings on the ground and said, "I will be leaving in the morning."
Sakura looked up from her things, "Why don't you take the bed then? I don't know how strenuous your mission will be, but I'm sure you could use a good night's rest."
"That will not be necessary," Itachi said firmly. There was no official leader of their team because they were essentially travel partners, but he spoke as if he was the captain. "You too will need to rest well for your orders."
Sakura frowned. He did have a good point. "How about we compromise? I take the futon, and you can sleep on both of our sleeping bags – so you're not completely uncomfortable."
Itachi was quiet for a moment and then hummed a "Hn," of approval.
Happy with her victory, Sakura pulled out her notebook and began recording notes from her earlier meeting. She didn't want to forget anything. Any little passing detail could be a key component in curing this disease. Her first step though, would be to contain the spread of infection. No one at this point knew for sure if the disease was airborne, so tonight, she would have to inform everyone of the proper precautions to take to lessen the spread of disease.
Sakura froze for a moment, her hand lit up green and she rested it against her chest. Itachi looked over at her, and she said, "Based on how quickly this disease is spreading, this could very well be an airborne pathogen, I don't want to take any chances." She let her chakra coat her lungs and her esophagus. A thin protective film over the vulnerable mucus membrane. "I didn't want to frighten them by immediately wearing a mask. It might cause panic, and that's the last thing we need." Sakura removed her hand from her chest and motioned to Itachi, "May I?" She asked, and he nodded.
His health was just as important. "Before we eat, let me look over your food as well. We can't help but be cautious." Sakura sat back after she finished. "I don't want to scare them unnecessarily, so the first step will be finding out how this disease spreads. From there, we can slow down the rate of infection and really start to focus on the recovery and cure." Sakura was beginning to wish that Tsunade had sent a helper with her, someone who could assist her in meeting patients, but the nature of this research was too confidential, and Shizune was needed at their own village hospital. Itachi, silent as ever, watched her jot down a few more notes. Sakura pulled out a disposable mask and wrapped it around her ears. "I'm going to go down to the community center for some preliminary observations." With notebook in hand she took off.
The patients looked rough. There was no denying it. Sakura felt attacked by the disease even though she had a mask and her chakra protecting her lungs. This room was suffocating. Rows and rows and patients laid on their mats. The sound of pain, moist coughs and snot filled the air. Sakura pulled one of her storage scrolls out of her pocket. She walked up to the wall next to the hall she entered from and she released the scroll. Out popped a table with several tightly packed boxes. Out of a plain white box she pulled out plastic. It was about the size of the door way. Sakura reached up and mounted it to the hallway entrance and then to the main door. There were large strips cut to make it easy to pass through. Walking back to the table she pulled out another scroll and released it once she was in the room. Two medium sized air purifies appeared. She set one up by the entrance and then on up on the other side of the room.
Sakura walked up onto the platform at the back of the room and stood. "Minna," she called out, catching the attention of the nurses and the patients with a clear enough mind. "My name is Sakura Haruno, of the Leaf Village. I am here to help you recover, and to find a cure for this terrible disease. I look forward to working with you! Will all the nurses please join me by the front entrance in five minutes? Arigato."
Small chatter between the nurses took place shortly after. Sakura wasn't one for long speeches, and she wanted to get the introductions done as fast as possible. She stepped off the platform and walked down the row directly in front of the stage. Halfway down, a patient grabbed her arm. Her skin was pale and leathery, and she looked like she was struggling to breath. The hand on her arm felt like ice and the woman looked like she hadn't had a sip of water in days, "Nurse," Sakura yelled loudly, "I need a saline drip. Now."
Sakura immediately got to work as she tried to bring this woman back from death. The first thing that she needed to treat was the severe dehydration. She hadn't realized that some of their patients were this in need of even basic treatment. Sakura truly hoped that she wasn't too late for them. In the back of her mind she wished that she hadn't traveled at such a slow pace. Sakura's hands glowed green as she assessed the patients' condition. "Nurse," she shouted again. "Saline. Now. On the table." She ran her glowing hands up and down her body, the woman's condition rapidly deteriorated. She was going into cardiac arrest. Sakura jumped into CPR, and she began shouting more orders for the nurses. After a slow two minutes of compressions, the woman's eyes fluttered opened, and she breathed shallowly. A nurse began to finally insert an IV to get her fluids. She held the bag up above her head with her hand. There was no time to search for a stand.
"Hello there," Sakura said kindly, "You gave us quite the scare." She smiled down at the woman. The old woman shut her eyes to fall asleep, lacking the energy to respond. Sakura's smiled dropped, and she turned to face the two nurses who had attempted to help. "Do you want to tell me why you stood there gawking while a patient went into cardiac arrest," Sakura said loudly. She spoke to the whole room, and not just the nurses in front of her. "Can anyone tell me why only two out of the five nurses came and only one was of any help?"
Sakura crossed her arms, and a vein began to pop out of her head. "There's only so much incompetence that I can handle. People's lives are at stake here, so shape up or get the fuck out." Some of the patients eyed her and the nurses avoided eye contact.
Sakura would not let their incompetence end the life of one of her patients. She walked to the front entrance and stood next to the table. "I expect all of you to be standing here in two minutes for our meeting." She then turned and took the top off one of the larger boxes on the table. She pulled out a collapsed IV stand and began to set it up. The nurse was still standing next to the patient, holding up the IV drip. Sakura rolled the stand over to her and gently took the bag out of her hand. "What's your name?" Sakura fixed the bag to the stand.
"Mie," the nurse responded. Her eyes were downcast.
"Mie-san, thank you for your hand work." Sakura and Mie walked to the front of the room as they waited for the rest of the nurses.
When all of them had gathered, Sakura gave them strict orders. After seeing the response for the earlier incident, she was not going to cut them any slack. Together, they stayed up and logged each patient. Each patient's condition was assessed, their symptoms were taken, they were given wrist band tags, and full charts with a basic medical history. One hundred and twenty-two patients total. They have 38 beds remaining, and not nearly enough supplies. The mission description truly underestimated the problem.
Sakura told the nurses good night. Two would stay and monitor the condition of the patients, and the rest of them would get some well-deserved rest. Sakura checked the watch on her arm and cursed at the time. 0100. 'Shit,' she said internally. She walked to her small clinic. Sakura sat for a couple of moments at the main desk and recorded the night. Every detail, every moment. Her record was impeccable. She walked up the stairs, and cursed again when she saw Itachi, sleeping on the two sleeping bags, and two plates of food untouched on a small portable table. She didn't want to wake him, so she simply stepped over him and quietly laid on the mat. She had completely forgotten about dinner. Once she had seen the despicable state of their makeshift hospital she didn't have time not to act.
Sakura woke early. Itachi was still resting on the ground. She stood up and crept downstairs. On a little note she requested several more supplies to treat the patients, and sent it off with a crow. A cure could take weeks, possibly months or years to perfect. She needed to help these people now.
A knock on the door grabbed her attention. Sakura opened the clinic door and Eric stood there with a tray with two meals on it. "Ohayo Eric-san."
"Haruno – sensei, ohayo. I have breakfast." The breakfast smelled delicious.
Sakura took the tray from his hands and motioned him in. "I appreciate you bringing this Eric-san."
"It's no trouble. For all you're doing for the village, we'd feel terrible if we didn't."
"Arigato," she said with a smile.
Eric stood uncomfortably in the door way. "I hear," he trailed off, "I hear you put the nurses to work last night," he awkwardly joked.
"Mhmm," Sakura said as she tried to figure out the right words. She didn't want to insult his village or the people who trained them. "Uchiha-san," Sakura said. He was standing in the entrance to the hallway. He looked dressed and ready for the day.
Eric glance over to Itachi and nodded. Eric seemed a little hesitant. He turned back to Sakura and opened his mouth, "So-,"
"Thank you for stopping by Eric-san, I appreciate it," Sakura said as she walked over to the front door.
"I'll, uh, I'll see you later," he waved and gave her a big smiled. Sakura closed the door behind him. She silently walked over to the food and scanned it with her green chakra. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Hopefully whoever is in their kitchen took proper precautions to prepare everyone's food.
"It's safe to eat, Uchiha-san.," Sakura said. She started to lay out the plates for them to eat comfortably. "I apologize for last night. I lost track of time." Sakura was hesitant to full on say, 'I'm sorry I told you not to eat and then forgot about dinner,' but she figured Itachi would know what she meant.
Itachi simply nodded in return and then began to eat his meal. He paused with cup in hand, "I will be leaving within hour," he said.
Sakura looked up at him, "When should I expect you to check in?"
"A weeks' time, and then we will plan from there depending on the status of the village, your research, and the results of my mission."
Sakura smiled, "We'll both do our best."
Sakura and Itachi finished their meals in silence. Itachi gathered his things and prepared to leave, while Sakura reviewed her notes from the previous night. There was so much to do, but with a little bit of hard work she would have this team running like a well-oiled machine. No doubt about it.
By noon she had received a response from the Konoha, along with the first supply scroll she had requested. Itachi had left several hours ago and now it was just her and her team. Her team was to work in rotating schedules. Two people over night, two people during the day, and then one person to assist Sakura when she was in. From what she had learned last night this one going to be an upward battle. After ensuring everyone was in stable condition, they arranged the patients according to varying conditions. Those that could walk, walked to their new bed placement, and those that could not, were carried.
Sakura was pleased to see that the woman from yesterday had improved drastically. They had set up over 50 IVs last night for the dehydrated patients.
With a growing list of symptoms, and worsening conditions, Sakura debated once again asking for more assistance from the village. They could even send Ino-pig, and that would be an improvement, but she would only do that if she truly needed to. For right now, they could get by.
Mie stood next to Sakura as they watched the room in motion. "Sugoi," she said quietly. Sakura looked over at her questioningly. "We don't really have a medical program here," she said meekly. "All of our nurses are really just people who had some experience and volunteered to help. None of us have had much training. It's incredible to see them like this."
Sakura smiled big, and patted her firmly on the back, "Well I'm here to whip you all into shape," she said cheekily.
The days passed by quickly, as she started her research. She seemed to be making real progress. Luckily, the virus was not airborne, but instead was transferred through direct body fluid contact. Knowing this, she was able to teach the remaining healthy villagers how to prevent infection.
Her patients were doing very well. Conditions were improving with a simple lift of moral and some much needed fluids. Although, there were some patients who were not demonstrating much change. There wasn't much Sakura could do. She was treating them with an anti-viral, but it seemed ineffective for those in a worsened condition. She needed to know more about the virus before she could move forward with traditional medicine. If her chakra technique was ready to use, she wouldn't hesitate on the severely ill, but being untested, it was too dangerous to move forward. Their bodies would have to heal on their own with the help of the medications sent in from Konoha.
Sakura was reviewing her notes in the clinic when she heard a quick knock and then the door creak open. "Eric-san," Sakura said, "how can I help you?"
"Well, I, uh, Mie-chan," he stumbled over his words. "Mie-chan and I will be going one town over for dinner," Eric yelled out quickly. Sakura looked on with surprise. "Mie wants you to come with us."
Sakura's eyes were wide with even more surprise. "Oh," she said. Sakura couldn't think of a reason not to go. Her mission was going very well, and it would be a great opportunity to pick Mie's brain on the past few days. It seemed to get so busy when they work together that they don't have much time to talk it out. Mie had really proved to be an asset. "Sure, that sounds fun," Sakura said, and she turned back to her notes.
Eric stared on for a few more moments and stuttered out an excited, "OK."
Sakura looked up once he left and stared at the door. Eric wasn't this nervous when she first came to the town, so she wasn't sure what changed. She speculated that he could be feeling under the weather. Sakura made a mental note to ask him later if he was feeling alright.
After two hour's worth of rounds and another hour of recording her observations, Sakura was ready for a good meal. The town had been feeding her well, but she was craving something more. Sakura dressed in casual clothing that she had purchased from the local boutique. She only had her ninja and medical gear, and she felt out of place with Mie dressed very well. Sakura donned a maroon dress with an A-line cut. It had a tight bodice and an open back, the waist flowed out leaving her enough room to stash her kunai and medical supplies around her thighs. Mie was wearing a black blouse with frilled edges around the arm, and blue denim jeans.
"Wahhh Sakura-chan, you look great," Mie said, "Come on, let's go meet up with Eric and Hoku!"
"Ehh, Hoku" Sakura questioned, "Eric didn't mention a Hoku."
Mie winked at Sakura, "It was a little last minute. I met him last week but ran into on the way home from the community center and he happened to be free tonight." Mie looked to Sakura with pleading eyes, "Please please say it's okay. I know you wanted to talk about work, but –," Mie didn't finish her sentence and instead amplified her puppy dog eyes. "Hoku is really cute," she pouted.
Sakura sighed defeated. She hadn't known Mie long, and this was a side she hadn't seen before. "Okay Mie," she said as she ran a hand through her hair. This was one of the last things she expected out of tonight, but she figured it wouldn't kill her to have some fun with friends and let Mie have this night. It's been almost a week, and all the nurses have worked so hard to get the better hand on this disease they were fighting. They all deserved a fun night out like this.
Sakura and Mie met up with the boys, and they walked together to the next town over. Mie chatted excitedly with Hoku, while Sakura kept to herself lost in her thoughts. Eric tried a few times to start a conversation, but he kept giving up and sighing. When they reached the restaurant, they ended up sitting paired as if they were two couples on a date. Mie continued to happily chat, and she drove the group conversation.
After the meal, Mie and Hoku wanted to keep their date going, and the duo left Sakura and Eric in the dust. Sakura couldn't deny that she had a good time. She really did. Hoku was charming, and she didn't get interaction with boys like often. It was nice live vicariously through Mie for a moment. But now she was left with Eric to accompany her home. Eric hadn't said much to Sakura. He seemed uncomfortable, and Sakura wondered if he even had a good time. Maybe he was upset about Hoku? Maybe he had a crush on Mie? Whatever it was, it was starting to bug her.
Sakura and Eric walked in silence, when she felt something brush her hand. She looked over and saw Eric's face turning red. "Eric-san, are you okay," Sakura asked concerned. His cheeks were turning an alarming amount of red, "You look red. Do you have a fever?"
Eric quickly looked away. "No, I-," he said trying to keep his face out of view, "I just uhm," Eric grabbed Sakura's hand and laced his fingers between hers.
Sakura was taken aback. This was the last thing she had expected. Her cheeks flushed a light pink, as she quickly unlaced their hands. "Eric-san, I," this time Sakura stuttered, "I think you may have gotten the wrong impression."
Sakura didn't have much experience with boys. She didn't date much growing up due to her constant crush on Sasuke. As she got older though, and the crush was replaced with friendship, and dating never really crossed her mind again. Occasionally some men would make a pass at her, but it was never something she followed up on. "Gomen," she said quietly. She now understood why he was acting the way he did. He was fleeting around her, like Hinata around Naruto. Sakura was a little annoyed at herself for not noticing the signs.
Eric was not deterred though. "I think you look really beautiful tonight," he said confidently, a stark difference to how he was acting earlier.
Sakura shifted uncomfortably and said, "Thank you Eric, but I'm not really -."
"Are you seeing him," Eric cut her off. "Is that why?"
Sakura was confused. "Who…," she wondered aloud.
"That man. The Uchiha," he almost spit out.
Sakura's cheeks flushed once again, "No," she said loudly. "He's just my partner for this mission," she said, recovering from her outburst.
"He looks at me funny. Like I'm competition," Eric said, attempting to explain himself. "So, I thought he might have been, but I wasn't sure."
Sakura internally laughed. She had only ever seen one expression on Itachi's face and it was as emotionless as it gets. "Eric-san," she said gently, "I honestly think that's just his face."
They continued their walk-in silence, both lost in their thoughts. Sakura tried her best to not think about Eric, and instead found herself wondering how Itachi was doing. He was gone for four days now, so she should be expecting him to check-in with her in three.
When they reached the village entrance they parted ways. Eric insisted on walking Sakura home, but she assured him that she was a highly trained kunoichi and that she could handle herself. Instead of going to the clinic for some rest though, Sakura walked to the community center. She was feeling restless after that night and hoped that putting in some hard hours at work would help clear her mind.
At 3 in the morning it was finally time to call it quits. Her eyelids felt heavy and she wished that she could sleep on the floor here instead of walking home. She thanked Kami that the bed was so close to her work. At home Sakura brushed her teeth and laid on her futon, waiting for sleep to claim her.
About to drift off, her body started tingling. She felt a familiar presence nearby. 'Sasuke,' she thought, 'No. Itachi.' Her mind was now on high alert. Sakura with kunai in hand, heard the door downstairs creek open. She rounded the corner of her room and peered down when she saw a bloody and dirtied Itachi. With a quick scan of his chakra she knew it was truly him. "Were you followed," she asked immediately, wanting to know if the fight was coming to them. Sakura probed the area once with her chakra looking for anything red flags.
"No," he breathed out. His body was hunched over, and he looked like he was struggling to stand. Sakura rushed to his side and immediately got to work as he lost consciousness. She laid him onto the floor and took an assessment of his condition with her chakra. Punctured lung, multiple lacerations, a large blunt trauma to his chest.
Whoever did this had to have been extremely skilled to do this much damage to Itachi. Her green glowing hands wasted no time stitching him back together. She could feel drops of sweat falling from her forehead. Her body was starting to show signs of exhaustion, but she knew she couldn't stop. When Sakura was satisfied with her work, she used her enhanced strength and carried him up the stairs. She quickly stripped him of his bloody and torn clothes and wiped him down with a damp towel. She then laid him on futon and promptly fell asleep on the floor next to him after probing the area with her chakra one last time.