Chapter 1
Sakura's viridian eyes blinked open, only to slam shut again when encountered by the harsh white light of the hospital.
"Mom?" She croaked. 'How did I get in the hospital?' She wondered, half-lifting a hand before letting it flop back to the covers. 'Ugh. I feel so WEAK.' Instinctively she rotated her chakra though her body, letting it sooth her pains. She felt…off. Her chakra felt blocky and clumsy, but at the same time, it was smoother and more tightly controlled than it had ever been. Her body felt sleepy, but otherwise normal, yet, Sakura realized with an undercurrent of horror, she was soft and squishy!
Belatedly, she realized that this intense self-awareness was unusual as well.
"What…happened?"
"You collapsed, kid." A professional voice informed her, in the briskly sympathetic way she knew so well. "You've been in and out of consciousness for five days. I believe one of the doctors sent your mother home after she had an anxiety attack."
"Mmmm…. Mom… shouldn't 've come to a hospital…she didn't need to… 's she okay?" Sakura struggled against the drowsiness that fought to swallow her again. "'M tired."
"I'm sure your mom is fine, go ahead and sleep."
"Right, right… umm, over my heart… chakra feels wrong. Blocked… fix, please?" She asked, cracking an eyelid to peer at him. The nurse raised his eyebrows as Sakura lapsed into silence. Gently prodding her coils with his chakra, he was impressed to find that several of the clogs and kinks in her chakra system that had so baffled the doctors were clearing up as the girl forcibly rotated her chakra, and the only truly significant one left was located over her heart. After a few deft twists of his own chakra, it came unstopped and the network started flowing normally again. The girl sighed contentedly.
"You've got good instincts kid. Pretty good control too." The man complimented. "Have you thought about being a medic? We can always use another one."
"Hmm? Oh yeah…sounds like a good idea…" the girl muttered, before giving a jaw-cracking yawn.
Sakura's eyes had closed, but she could hear his voice lilting up in amusement. "Go to sleep kid. You'll be feeling better soon."
She didn't. Oh, her chakra was perfectly normal, and her body whole and healthy. But Sakura felt distinctly uncomfortable as she followed her mother home from the hospital. Her favorite red dress constricted her movements too much, and an enemy could grab the train. She could SEE all the trained shinobi moving though the crowds; feel their split second scrutiny before they dismissed her as a threat. It made her angry, but she knew it was true. If she decided to attack, any one of them could destroy her in seconds. She quietly resolved for the hundredth time since waking up to devote more time to her physical training. That would please her mother; she always said that if you decided to do something, no matter what, you should be the best.
Probably why she's got a hand in half the smuggling operations in Fire Country.
Sakura stopped dead at the gate of their modest house, poleaxed by the last thought.
What the heck, Inner! Where did that come from? She demanded silently.
…I really don't know. But… it kind of makes sense.
What? No it doesn't!
Her mother unlocked the door and glanced back at her little girl, who was standing by the gate with little frown. Her dark eyes narrowed sharply. "Kura-kun? Are you alright?" If those doctors missed something… but to her relief, her precious little girl just shook her head, lifted her chin and smiled.
We'll talk about this later. Sakura vowed, getting a mental eye-roll from herself in response.
"Coming, Mom!"
After dinner, Sakura excused herself to the library. Perhaps she wanted something light to read while she took it easy for a few days after her collapse, Haruno Asami reflected, tucking her roseate hair into a messy ponytail.
xxxxx
Sakura loved the library. Her near-photographic memory meant that she'd quickly exhausted all the books in her home, and the building itself was a quiet haven from the teasing she'd often endured. Of course, that also meant she'd been coming here less often since she'd met Ino.
Maybe that's why I feel nostalgic…
She found herself in front of the medical texts. The smallest one was as thick as her densest academy text book. Opening it curiously, she found it full of long, nonsensical-sounding words, and complicated charts.
What am I doing? It would take years just to become barely proficient! We'd be better off studying something else!
No. If it will take years, we better get started then. We aren't stupid. We aren't weak. We don't run from challenges. We aren't USELESS. Got it?
Useless.
The loathing and anger the word brought up was as shocking and alien as it was authentic. She felt her whiny protests die and an iron resolve cement its self. Suddenly, she felt better. More like herself; a small part of the uncomfortable duality she had tried to ignore since waking up had vanished. She reached up and grabbed a hefty tome
Right. Basic Chakra & Anatomy, here we come. Shannaro!
