Chapter Ten
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A/N: um, cue evil laugh, that's all I'm saying, slightly nasty parts too
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Tsunade spoke quietly to one of the nurses before turning to the impatient men. They looked up, hesitantly.
Smiling sadly, the Hokage stared at them. The three men who had helped Sakura so much, Naruto, Kakashi, and even Sasuke. She lowered her eyes, reminiscing about the past. Tears formed slowly in her eyes and she spoke with a lump in her throat.
"Sakura's stable," Tsunade started. Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief. "For the moment," she added. They held their breath again. "She's in a coma. There's only a small chance of her ever waking up. We put her on life support, but she could die at any moment." Tsunade stopped and gazed at the people in front of her. Naruto's fist was clenched. Kakashi showed indifference, but she saw through his guise. Sasuke's reaction was the most unexpected.
"What's going to happen to Evana?" he choked. Naruto, Kakashi, and Tsunade watched as a single tear rolled down his face. It stopped for temporarily at his chin before dropping into his lap. "I can't even thank her, now."
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Orochimaru seethed. Tayuya sat in front of him, bound tightly to a chair. Blood dripped from her forehead. "Damnit," she muttered.
The Sannin hit her across the cheek. "I ought to use you as an experiment."
Tayuya just let the threat slide over her shoulder. She was not going to be intimidated by him. She smirked, chuckling under her breath.
Orochimaru sat down across from Tayuya. Being trained around men, she gathered up spit and aimed. It hit Orochimaru in the face.
He let the spit slid down his cheeks as he thought of a punishment. He looked up at Kabuto and asked, "Are will still doing the experiment about Kimimaro's blood line trait?"
Kabuto thought a minute before nodding. "Well, here's your bone marrow." Orochimaru pointed to Tayuya. No expression crossed her face except vague defiance. She only smirked again as Kabuto led her out the door.
As soon as the door latched back in place a blood-curdling scream erupted from the room. Kabuto spun around banging on the door. It wouldn't budge. He kicked it, punched it. Not even jutsus worked.
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Sasuke looked up at Tsunade who had her head down. "Can I at least see her?" he asked.
Tsunade didn't look up, but he could tell she was thinking, thinking if there was any way around hospital rules.
She sighed and brought her eyes up. "Even if she wasn't in the ICU, you wouldn't be able to see her. Frankly, I'm surprised the ANBU haven't taken you out yet."
Two shadows disappeared from the corner opposite the group.
Sasuke's blood boiled. "I want to see her."
Tsunade looked at Sasuke. She was losing her patience with him. Not even ANBU black ops could see Sakura, unless they were professionally trained medics. Sasuke, who had just returned from being under Orochimaru's control, had less than a zero chance of seeing her, even if she wasn't in intensive care.
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Evana rolled over in bed, fully awake. She couldn't sleep. Tsunade said that she was going to train as a ninja at their Academy. She didn't know what school was like. Was it a bunch of kids sitting, learning to read? Or were they learning jutsus? She already knew how to do both. The thought of being around kids her age scared her. She hadn't known anyone that was six because children were strongly discouraged in the Sound Village.
Sakura was an exception. Aside from the fact that she wasn't demented, she knew medical jutsus that had saved lives multiple times. Sakura had been the exception. She had put up with the entire village, including Tayuya and the Barrier nin. Even Evana had a problem doing that.
She didn't know where her mother was, but she prayed that Sakura was okay. Evana never learned about any Higher Being, but she had always felt that there was something more powerful out there, making things better. Evana prayed to that Higher Being that she could make Sakura better, no matter if she was already okay. She wanted her to be better than okay. It seemed to her that Sakura just needed the prayer.
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Kabuto turned around after kicking the door to see a kunai at his throat. "I hope you have no regrets," Tayuya said, stabbing him in the jugular.
The body stiffened and fell to the ground. She spat in his face. "Bastard."
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Sakura lay unmoving in the bed. It was three hours past midnight, and she was being fed through a tube. The medics had tried everything to bring her around, but nothing had worked.
Tsunade opened the door, shutting it quietly. She sat next to the bed and just looked at her beloved apprentice. Sighing every now and then, she went over all the memories. The most unbearable one was when she had found Sakura crying quietly in front of the Uchiha gate. Sakura had been determined to keep the place in good condition if Sasuke ever decided to come back.
"It's been three years, and still I believe in this dream. I don't think I'll ever know what love is," Sakura had said.
The Hokage was shaken from her mind when a loud beeping erupted from a machine next to Sakura. Her heart rate was flat lining. Nurses raided the room as Tsunade watched Sakura's monitor.
She was scared. Too many people had died that were dear to her. Too many people were crying and weeping because their loved ones died. She didn't know why she was a medic anymore, she couldn't save anyone. Not even herself.
Slowly the monitor began stabilizing and the medics dispersed.
When all was quiet, Tsunade saw something that forced tears into her eyes. When they were done, they forgot to pull the cover back up. On her naked breast was a scar from her left shoulder to her right lower rib. The scar was in the shape to look like a fang had been drug across her upper body.
"Orochimaru, you bastard," Tsunade whispered, pulling the blanket over he apprentice's wound.
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Sasuke was asleep on the chairs in the hospital. The Hokage shook him awake. "You can see Sakura, but only for five minutes."
He was immediately up and alert. Following swiftly behind, they reached Sakura's room.
Sprinting to her bedside, he stroked her hair. Tears formed in his eyes. "Thank you, Sakura," he whispered, clutching her hand.
"There's something you should see," Tsunade said, pulling back the white sheet.
Sasuke's eyes widened with shock. "Oh no."
The Hokage raised an eyebrow. "I know it looks bad, but it's only a fang mark, considering the lasting damage that could have happened."
Sasuke frantically shook his head. He traced the scar with his finger. "That's not a fang mark."
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Tayuya, Kidomaru, Jiroubou, and Sakon washed the blood off their bodies. The curse marks were beginning to fade. They were finally free from Orochimaru.
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A/N: I figured that since I was going out of town that I should update. Well, there you go. Cliffhanger, once again!!