Keiko held Rima sensei in her arms tightly. The beautiful doctor's shoulders had not stopped shaking and her face was turning green.
"Shishou?" The young girl questioned.
Rima's eyes blurred and she instantly passed out. Keiko gasped as her shishou's unconscious weight weighed her down. Takeshi's eyes narrowed slightly before he stood up and flipped the open sign on the clinic door to closed and walked back to Keiko and the doctor who had changed his small villages' life.
"Here…" Takeshi whispered with open arms, "I'll carry her. Where is her bedroom?"
Keiko looked up at him from her spot on the ground. Her gold eyes screamed concern, as she held onto the woman tighter.
Takeshi gave her a small tight smile, "She'll be okay."
Keiko nodded and angled Rima so that Takeshi could get a better hold of her. Takeshi had looped his arms under Rima's neck and legs in a princess carry and stood tall. Keiko blinked back her small tinges of lust and shook her head to get a better baring of herself.
She to stood up and practically ran to turn the lock on the door and turn off the lights. As takeshi stood holding her Shishou, she quickly locked up the clinic. All the medicine and money was placed in the chakra sealed safe Rima-sensei taught her to use and all technology was turned off so not to use up the energy. When she walked back into the lobby, she motioned for Takeshi to follow her.
"Her bedroom is up stairs. The staircase is back here." She spoke calmly.
Takeshi nodded and slowly followed the young girl. He passed the few rooms that the clinic held and walked through the door that lead to behind the front desk. Directly across from the door way he stood at another door stood. Keiko opened it and revealed to him the staircase they were to go up to get to the doctors' quarters.
Once up stairs, Keiko sped down the hall with Takeshi right on her trail. A large sliding door with cherry blossom print on the sheets stood before them for but a second as Keiko had slammed it open. The room was surprisingly spacious considering limited space. Takeshi walked in after whispering a quick 'excuse me'. He gently placed Rima-sensei on her teal covered sheets and stood back as Keiko checked her heartbeat, temperature and blood pressure.
"Is she okay?" He asked finally.
"Yeah it looks like she is, but I can't be sure. I haven't gotten that far in training enough to do a full body chakra scan.. but I think it was fatigue. Some rest will be good for her."
Takeshi nodded and rubbed his shoulders.
Keiko gave him a shy smile and stood up. The two walked out of the room and back downstairs to the clinic.
"Thank you for you know… carrying sensei. I honestly do not think I could have done that on my own."
Takeshi blushed lightly as he stood in front of the door shyly.
"It was no problem. It was honestly a shock to me too."
The two stood in a comfortable silence for a minute before Keiko spoke again.
"So um… do you have a date to the festival?"
Takeshi cheeks were bright red but not as bright as Keiko's.
"N-no.."
Keiko smiled and looked up at Takeshi shyly.
"Would you like to go together then?"
The taller of the two nodded and grinned, "Meet you at your place at dusk?"
Keiko smiled brightly at him, "Yes!"
He nodded again before unlocking the door and leaving. As he walked on, Keiko waved until he was out of sight. She closed the door and locked it with the goofiest grin ever. With a content sigh, Keiko ran to the back and up the stairs with every intention to take care of her Shishou.
Immediately, she got to work removing her makeup and undoing her ponytail. She was sure the intricate design would give the woman a headache. Next, she began to strip her clothes off. Thank god, she had picked out something simple to dress the woman this morning. Keiko pulled a large green vest over Rima's head and through her arms before gently laying her back down on the large bed. She removed her shoes and pulled the blanket over her body at last.
"Now to make some food." Keiko mumbled.
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.
.
"Taichou, we are 10 minutes from the drop zone. Do we wish to go in undercover, or silent?"
The figure at the head of the group wore an intricate hawk mask over his face but his aura was visibly tense.
The other three members wore a cat, dog and wolf mask. They too were just as tense and nervous about this soon to be encounter. No one had seen Sakura Haruno in years but they knew she was a force to be reckoned with especially when she felt cornered or in danger. Their best chance at survival was taking her down when she least expected it. Worst case scenario came in two parts however, part a was they get there and this healer really isn't Sakura and she truly is dead. Or part b which it was Sakura and she decided to kill them all before running and going in to hiding for another seven years.
"We go in silent. We don't want any attention on us. Cat will scout and look for her hiding spot. Dog you will prepare the containment jutsu. Wolf and I will head in once cat locks onto her location." Hawk ordered.
He was rewarded with a resounding, "HAI!"
Everyone stopped at the forest edge and crouched low in the tree tops. The dirt road was now visible and could be seen in the early morning light. From there spot at the forest edge, they could see the town was hustling and bustling with life. Many stalls were being built and what looked like a bonfire pit was at the gate of the small town.
"It looks like there's going to be a festival of sorts happening…" Cat spoke.
Everyone nodded but Hawk. They all looked to him. his mask was still on but his body language suggested he was thinking.
"We're going undercover." He said after a few minutes of contemplation.
They each gasped.
"Are you sur-" before dog could finish his statement, Hawk removed his mask. The sharp jawline and charcoal eyes that stared back at all of them had them shocked. His spiky ebony locks were windswept and the bags under his eyes were obvious. His rinnegan though was hidden behind bangs.
"Yes. However, Dog you will stay here and work on her containment. Make sure it's strong enough to hold out till we reach Konoha." Sasuke verified.
Dog nodded once more before reaching into his pouch to grab an empty scroll. Immediately he began to scribble characters on the white parchment.
"Wolf you and I will be masquerading as brothers with our ill sister." Sasuke said, "I want as many people on her in case she decides to fight back. I want as little a scene as possible is that clear?"
Wolf and cat removed their masks to reveal their faces after nodding. Cat removed her mask and her short indigo hair came into view as well as her opal eyes. Sasuke had chosen Hanabi for this mission not only because he wanted her to gain experience but because her eye sight was valuable to the mission. Wolf removed his mask and Sasuke was greeted with the emotionless face of Sai. His own ink black locks were combed back and stood as a stark contrast against his pale skin.
"You all know how to do transformation jutsus correct?" Sasuke asked as his own looks shifted into something more average. His two different colored eyes went from violet and black to a simple hazel. His short choppy hair also turned a chocolate brown and down his back at this point. He had squared his jaw and enlarged his nose as well. He went for a tan complexion similar to Naruto's own.
Hanabi and Sai nodded. Hanabi went for a strawberry blonde look with long wavy hair and brown eyes. Her skin town was also sun kissed. Sai's own was nearly identical to Sasuke's except he had a rounder jaw, higher cheekbones, and his own hair stopped at his shoulder.
They all transformed and replaced their anbu uniforms with modern day civilian clothes. The two 'brothers' opted for black civilian pants and deep purple and red shirts. Hanabi changed into a pair of short overalls and a light green long sleeved crop top. She also wore basic ninja sandals and put her hair into two low pigtails.
"From this point on, hide your chakra signatures. Sakura is a sensor type." Sasuke stated.
"Wouldn't she be able to sense us right now then?" Hanabi asked fidgeting with her pigtails uncomfortably.
"No. She is not long distance like Sasuke's old teammate Karin. Last I remember her distance is about 5 miles max." Sai added.
"Hanabi use your byakugan and tell us her location. Depending on where she is, we make a plan."
The young girl nodded before staring intently at the small village. The scan was relatively easy but considering nearly no one had ninja chakra in the small village. She looked to the right and gasped.
"There are two signatures to the right near the pasture. One of them is fairly large while the other is massive. However neither resemble Sakura-sans…" She stated.
"Are you sure?" Sasuke asked as he crouched down and looked in the direction she spoke of.
"Definitely, unless of course she's mastered how to alter how her chakra looks to others… It seems like the one with the larger stronger chakra is unconscious based off how they are flowing…"
"Where are you looking Hanabi-chan?" Sai asked.
Hanabi lifted her arm and pointed east to where they hid. A somewhat large two-story building on the edge of town but not so far as it would take long for anyone to reach. It was beige and brown with a sidewalk towards the pasture and the inner town.
"It seems as though the first floor is a small clinic and the woman with the larger chakra lives on the second floor…"
"So she lives where she works." Sai thought, "That makes our job much easier in terms of planning.."
Sasuke nodded, "Ok then her location has been found. Lets plan our sneak attack."
.
.
.
"SASUKE!" Sakura screamed as she sat up in bed.
Her entire body was on fire and sweating profusely. Just as she was about to stand and get water, a glass appeared in front of her. Sakura's eyes followed the arm to the face of it's owner and sighed in relief to see a concerned Keiko.
With a weak smile, she took glass and gulped down the beverage.
"Rima-sensei.." Sakura heard the young girl begin, "Who's Sasuke and why does he name make you cry?"
Sakura blinked shocked, "I'm not cry-"
And suddenly, she could feel the saline water dripping down her cheeks in large drops. Her ivory hands touched her cheeks gingerly, "What…"
"Shishou… what's wrong?" Keiko asked again. This time though, she began to set a folding table on her shishou's lap. She placed the soup she had made with the limited ingredients on top of it with a spoon.
Sakura sighed and cupped the young girls face.
She is so much like us when we were younger.
But less burdens…
"Just a nightmare. Bad dreams from a bad time."
"And this Sasuke person?" keiko asked, her golden eyes narrowed demanding the truth.
He can't be coming for us. They should think I'm dead.
With no body to be found. Yeah right… Inner taunted.
Sakura dipped the spoon in the soup and began to eat. The growling in her stomach was becoming unbearable.
Whatever, Sasuke can't be coming here. And even if he did go searching for me they would never trace me out here…
But if he did?
Then we have about a week to get out and run as far as possible.
…
What? You don't want to run and continue to live in peace?
That's not it.. you do realize Sasuke can travel through space and time right.
Rima's eyes widened and Keiko leaned back in shock. She hadn't expected thought of this 'Sasuke' person to invoke such fear in the tigress she knew her Shishou was.
Oh kami sama. If I really had felt his presence before that means he has a clue about my location which means he is probably already here. Sasuke has zero patience...
Sakura jumped out of bed nearly knocking the soup to the ground. Keiko had managed to grab the mini table stand just in time. Her gold eyes widened in shock before she spun around to the closet where Rima-sensei stood stock-still, her hand on the knob.
"Keiko, go home for today." She said not facing her.
Keiko stood up and glared at Rima, "Excuse me?"
"I will not repeat myself a third time. Leave. NOW!" Rima growled.
The hand that was on the knob ripped the closer door off its hinges as Rima spun around to glare at Keiko. Keiko herself backed up and fell to the ground in shock. Rima-sensei had never lost her temper like she currently was. She was either too drunk, sleepy, or depressed. Keiko bit back her tears, stood up and dashed for the door that lead out of the bedroom.
Sakura's chest was panting as she dropped the door to let Keiko run past her. She heard feet hitting the stairs and the inevitable sound of the door being opened,
However, she didn't hear it slam.
Sakura's head snapped to the window and narrowed dangerously.
"Why does this chakra feel familiar?"
"Rima sensei! Come quickly, someone needs help!"
Sakura rushed into her closet, momentarily forgetting her internal struggles. She pulled on a pair of white pants that stopped a few inches above her ankles, a red crop top with a v-neck and long bell sleeves, and ninja heels. She stuffed her gloves into her back pocket for safekeeping before grabbing her doctors coat and running downstairs to see what made Keiko stop.
Sakura ran past the front desk and into the lobby and to the right into the treatment room. Keiko had her fingers a young girls wrist while her eyes rested on the clock counting the heart beat. Two large men were on the far left side of the wall. Both nearly identical in looks but while one looked concerned the other remained stoic.
The second she stepped into the room, all eyes were on her. Keiko moved out of the way and Rima over. She put her stethoscope on and began listening to the girl's heartbeat. She also fished out a small flashlight to flash into her eyes.
"What happened to her?" She asked not looking up from her new patient.
"We don't know. One minute she was complaining about stomach pains, next minute she passes out." The twin with the rounder jaw explains.
Sakura nods and focuses chakra into her hand before she places it on the young girl's abdomen.
"I will do a chakra search to determine where the pain is com-"
The instant Sakura (Rima as Keiko knew her) placed her glowing chakra hands on the young girl's body, she knew she was doomed.
"Oh fuck…" Sakura hissed as she spun around and ran for the door.
The round face twin and the young girl blocked the door closing Keiko and Sakura in.
"Rima-sensei.. what's going on?"
"Rima?" The second stoic male asked as he leaned against the wall. He had his head down and his arms crossed. "That's the name you go by now?"
Sakura stood in front of Keiko protectively, "When I say go, run. Got it?"
Keiko looked at her shishou's back in confusion, "What?"
"Do you understand?" She growled.
Keiko nodded against the taller woman's back.
"I know Hanabi is here. And I'm going to assume that's you in front of me Sasuke. What about you?" Sakura asked to the man next to Hanabi.
"Hello Ugly!" Came the cheery greeting from the still socially constipated man known as Sai.
"Ugly?" Mumbled Keiko in disbelief.
Does this guy have eyes?! Shishou is beautiful!
Sakura's left eye began to twitch but nonetheless she fished her gloves from her back pocket and slid them on. They felt almost foreign on her hands but at the same time nostalgia washed over her in an instant.
Her feet began pushing her and Keiko back while Hanabi and Sai took small steps forward. Sasuke had yet to look up or even get off the wall.
"Get ready Keiko." Sakura whispered.
"Huh?" was her response.
Sakura felt Keiko's back touch the wall and she instantly placed her hands on it. The wall crumpled instantly at her touch. Keiko could only stare in shock at the where the wall once stood. Had she not been clinging to Rima-sensei's jacket, she would have fell right on her ass.
"GO!" Yelled Rima-sensei bringing her back from her initial shock.
Keiko slowly unraveled her fingers from the medical coat and backed up slowly. Shishou was not looking at her but she knew she wouldn't. Not when these strange people were clearly dangerous.
"Shishou! Please be careful!" Keiko pleaded before running back into the town to go get help.
"Should we go stop her Taichou?" Hanabi asked Sasuke.
He finally looked up and released his transformation jutsu. He uncrossed his arms and walked around the two to stand in front of Sakura. "No, the little girl is no one. We're here to talk to Sakura."