Chapter III – In Which Tsuki Helps
"Hatake-san, she's coming around. You may leave now."
"I think I'll stay, Tsuki-chan."
"Really, there's no need. She just had to get warmed up. She doesn't even have a fever, Hatake-san. And of course, you have our word that we won't be examining her."
"Thank you, Tsuki-chan, but I need to speak to her as well."
The voices reached Sakura before her vision. One was of a girl who she didn't know and the other belonged to…
"Ka… kashi…" she slowly lifted her eyelids, trying to see if her eyes supported the sounds she heard.
"Sakura, I'm here." Suddenly, her small hand was taken up from her side and completely covered by his. "Are you hurt?"
"Th... thirsty…"
"Of course, wait a minute, ah, Arigatou, Tsuki-chan."
Sakura felt herself lifted gently, one of Kakashi's hands supporting her as his other held a glass of water to her lips. Sakura drank a little at first, knowing her throat probably wouldn't be able to take in too much. But when she felt the coolness of the liquid on her parched throat, she couldn't help sucking in more deeply. Soon, Kakashi was tipping the glass forwards so she could drink every remaining drop.
"Do you want more?" he asked but she was saved from answering by the young medic beside Sakura.
"She's probably dehydrated, Hatake-san. She'll need at least three more glasses before she can talk properly."
And true to word, three glasses of that cool refreshing water later, Sakura was feeling more like herself. Although, feeling like herself did have its shortcomings. Kakashi seemed to have deemed her strong enough to be able to sit up by herself and his arms went promptly by his side.
"Can you talk?" he asked. Sakura nodded in response.
"Tsuki-chan, would you please give us a minute?" he glanced at the dark haired girl, making sure his carefully worded request came across as anything but.
"Al-alright, Hatake-san." The young woman left the room with a slight bow of her head towards Kakashi and Sakura.
With the Mist medic out of the room, Kakashi turned the full intensity of his gaze on Sakura. The pink haired kunoichi tried to suppress a shudder. She knew that look... her former sensei was seriously pissed.
"So, let's start with how you got here. Seeing as the last boat to dock was the one carrying me and the rest of our men."
"Um..." Sakura bit her bottom lip, trying to find the best possible way to admit her foolishness and in the end, just decided to be honest. "I walked."
"Sakura, answer my question." He ordered, and as much as she tried to remind herself that he was no longer her teacher, she couldn't help but inwardly flinch at the tone in his voice.
"I swear, I walked to the outpost jetty, then when the boat didn't come I just… walked… on the water…" she faltered at the glare Kakashi sent her way. She swore, sometimes his normal eye could look more threatening than his sharingan.
"So you walked all night in that mist? And may I ask how you found your way?" his voice was scaring her now.
"Umm… well, we did some Kiri geography for the chunin exams…" Kakashi looked just about ready to murder her at the lame excuse so she spluttered out the truth as quickly as she could. "I detected residual chakra, okay?? From boats, aquatic life, whatever. I know I took a huge chance but it worked. I just went towards the place with the highest concentration of chakra until I saw light. The sun was just coming up and the mist cleared a little and I almost made it to shore but than I… kinda… "
"Fainted from exhaustion?" He challenged.
Sakura merely nodded her head in defeat. Of all the scenarios she could have imagined when she'd finally be reunited with Kakashi, this had certainly not been one of them.
"And why are you here, anyway? I know for a fact that a more senior medic was assigned to this mission. What happened to him?"
"If by that you mean I'm not good enough, let me assure you that I am." Sakura shot back, the hurt evident in her eyes.
"Sakura, you know that's not what I meant." Kakashi explained, softening his tone. Clearly his former student did not like her abilities doubted. "Now please... answer my question."
"Umm… nothing really. Tsunade-sama… I mean, I – requested she give me the mission. And Kumo-san was happy about it too. His girlfriend is expecting a baby and they didn't find out until last week so…" she trailed off, knowing full well she couldn't avoid the real question here.
"Sakura, I will ask again. Why did you come here?"
Sakura just stared at him, willing herself to talk. She wanted to say she came for him, she wanted to yell at him for leaving without saying goodbye, she wanted to shake him for being so damn stupid but most of all, she just wanted to hold him against her and never let him go. Unfortunately, her body wasn't under her command right then. So all she did was look at him miserably, trying to form words that would not come.
"Sakura," he raised his hands to her face and cupped it. "Please tell me…"
Before she knew what she was doing, the pink haired jounin had pulled him closer and was pressing her mouth against his masked lips, not caring that the cloth was separating her from his skin. She sucked at the outline of his lips hungrily and... was it her imagination or had one of his hands really moved to her hair?
All too soon, she could feel him pulling away from her and clung on all the more tightly. No, she couldn't let him go now. Not after she'd finally managed to say, well, express herself. If she let him go now, she'd lose him forever. And she didn't care how irrational that line of thought was.
"Sakura, honestly, I'm not going to run away." He must have caught on to her desperate gesture.
"You did the last time," the words out of her mouth must have been some sort of signal because right then, the tears started falling. The tears she'd just managed to hold behind her lashes now cascaded down her cheeks and onto him.
"Sakura, look at me…" he whispered softly.
No she couldn't, she wouldn't, because the moment she did, she would see pity in his eyes. The kind of look that said "Sakura, you need to rest. You've had a rough time." just like he'd done after the jounin exams. She'd been hurt and bleeding badly and all she'd wanted was him by her side. She'd been holding on to him just like she was now. And she'd be damned if she let him go this time.
"Sakura… I won't go away… I promise…"
?!-!?-?!-!?
"Permission to enter, Mizukage-sama!"
"Now now, Shuu-kun, what have I told you about being too formal? It gives you frown lines, you know?" The blue-clad woman pouted as though she couldn't imagine anything more terrible than frown lines.
"My apologies, Mei-sama, but someone's here to see you." Shuu offered, softening his tone but making his words no less formal. Yes, he was picking up fast on how the Mizukage liked things run.
"Hmm… and who might that be?" Questioned the red head with an arched eyebrow.
"Tsuki Maia, a medic stationed at the southern end of the Inland, M'lady. Where Hatake Kakashi from Konoha is stationed as well, and where Haruno Sakura, the new medic, washed up on shore this morning."
"Ah! Tsuki-chan, why didn't you let her in earlier? And these Leaf nin sure do have interesting ways of showing up, no?"
Shuu bowed politely and exited the office, gesturing the medic to enter on his way out.
The medic entered, trembling to her very toes and attempting to hide her face behind her raven hair.
"Come in, Tsuki-chan. Why don't you take a seat now, dear?"
"M-m-mizukage-sama," the girl almost doubled up in her attempts to bow as deeply as she could to the leader of the village Hidden in the Mist.
"Now, now, Tsuki-chan. I don't like such formalities. They're a real bore, wouldn't you agree? Just ask Shuu-kun."
Instead of an answer, all Mei received from her audience was stunned silence. It was alright for now. The girl would learn soon enough, just as that intern had.
"So, why did you want to see me again? Is it about Haruno-chan, the Konoha medic who was found on shore this morning?"
"H-hai, Mizukage-sama."
"I hope she's feeling better. All night out on the waters couldn't have done her any good," Mei pondered, a finger stroking her chin. "Tell me, dear, does she have a fever?"
"N-no My Lady, she doesn't. She's quite… strong." Tsuki finished, trying to be helpful in any way she could.
"Hmm… I wonder if you could clear something up for me, Tsuki-chan. Would you have any idea how she got to the island?"
"Yes, Lady Mizukage! I mean, she… walked..." It was clear from the way she said it that the slight medic was having trouble believing her own words.
"And may I ask where you received such information?" The red head questioned "Tsuki-chan." She added hastily.
"Umm… " The girl was starting to tremble and Mei, to lose her patience.
"Well girl, how in Kami's name could you know something only the ANBU do?" She snapped when it was apparent no flies were being caught with honey.
"I-I heard her, them… Haruno-chan and Hatake-san. I think they're… close…" What little could be seen of the medic's face was colored red. For a moment, Mei wondered what exactly had happened in the small clinic but decided it wasn't important right now. What was important was the sudden change in Konoha's medic and a girl who was "close" to Hatake Kakashi showing up on the shore like a drowned sea shell. What could be so important that a ninja would act so foolishly as to walk on water all night long and risk certain death just to see her former sensei?
Add to that the fact that Mei's intel division had pulled out everything they could find on Haruno Sakura – there had been quite a few things worth mentioning about the kunoichi – and it had turned out that Konoha's new medic was quite a prolific personality, almost as much as Konoha's Copy Ninja himself. She not only excelled at medical ninjutsu but combat as well and had once been on the same team as the infamous Uchiha Sasuke. The fact that Haruno was also known far and wide as Tsunade's own protégé did not go amiss on Mei either. So the real question was, what was that scheming Hokage playing at?
"M-m-mizukage-sama…" Tsuki's cautious tone interrupted Mei's train of thought, reminding her that the girl was still present.
"Ah, my apologies, Tsuki-chan. I got lost in thought. But thank you so much for coming over and letting me know all this."
"It-it was my duty." The brunette stuttered, attempting a bow from her seated position and looking almost comical in the process.
"Why Tsuki-chan, you really are too kind. I wonder… could you do me another, tiny little favor?" asked Mei, making her eyes as round and big as she could.
"Of course… My Lady."
"Well, as you know, Haruno-chan is new. She'll probably have some trouble settling in and making new friends. Would you kindly take her under your wing? Help her get around, make sure she has a… friend?"
"Of course, Mizukage-sama. You didn't even have to ask. I was going to…" The girl stopped as she realized she was speaking in front of the Mizukage herself and lowered her head, the visible part of her face stained pink.
"Just what I'd expect from a kind hearted one like you. But Tsuki-chan, I think it might hurt Haruno-chan's feelings if she found out that it was I who asked you to be her friend. So what do you say we keep this little conversation just between us?" Mei took care to inject her voice with a mixture of sympathy as well as good intention, all the while making it obvious that her request was really an order that had to be obeyed.
"Yes, Lady Mizukage," the pale girl nodded, not entirely sure what she was agreeing to.
"Well then, we're all set. I'm sure you have patients to get back to, Tsuki-chan. I apologize for taking so much of your time. You're one of our best medics, after all."
The girl hastily got to her feet, made a deep bow to the floor and all but ran out the door in her enthusiasm to obey her Mizukage's orders. Mei barely caught an "Arigatou Gozaimasu, Terumi-sama!" before the girl was gone – no doubt back to her patients, and to Haruno Sakura.