Fated

Chapter 10: Harder to Breathe

"Just a little longer," Sakura mumbled encouragement to herself, "I can stop the bleeding - just a little more."

Yumi sat on the rough Med Tent floor propped up against some cupboards that backed against the divider wall. With difficulty she raised her weak arm to wipe the hard earned sweat from her brow. "Sakura stop before you drain your chakra," she whispered gravely.

Sakura's long fingers quivered as she pulsed chakra into the gashed side of a wounded man in her infirmary. Her energies were depleted but she wouldn't stop now if it could spare him. He was young and she was desperate to save him from death, desperate to spare another woman the devastation of becoming a widow.

It began to pain her and she groaned from the tearing sensations that signaled her skin was burning from overuse of her chakra. If she let it all deplete the result could be death - she knew that, but if she just came close, just used a little more…

Finally after the strain had taken away her will, her knees gave out and she sank to the floor beside the medical bed. The bleeding had ceased, the cells and organs were saved at the cost of everything she had left. With exhaustion settling in, she glanced slightly at Yumi whom she believed would be asleep in a matter of minutes, her own eyelids weighing down. Sadly, the will to move from the floor had escaped them both.

The injured had stopped coming in an hour before but it had been an extremely long night. So many wounded were seen, and they had saved most; it was all they could expect.

Kakashi swiftly approached the Med Tent to see the wounded on cots around the outside of it, covered in makeshift canopies to protect them from the drizzle blanketing the forest. There were two medics propped against the side of the tent with their backs to the canvas and Kakashi swore they must have been dead asleep as they seemed not to care that the light rain was beginning to soak their clothes.

But it was a warm rain, and by the looks of them, even a thunderstorm couldn't wake them now. It was the kind of night that people would take a walk to enjoy the rain, but not here, not at this place.

Pushing inside Kakashi found the last empty medical bed and gently put Genma down, relieved for the moment that he was still alive. The wounded Jounin's face was pale, his chest barely moving. Just looking at him twisted Kakashi's insides tightly, making it difficult to keep focus. He tugged down his mask roughly, heaving in tired breaths from the unreal pace he made to get back.

"Sakura!" he growled as he noticed her form slumped where she sat on the floor, her face covered by the curtain of hair dangling around her shoulders. She seemed like a statue, like a painted doll stuck up on a shelf stuck in an uncomfortable pose.

He rushed over to her and turned her flushed face to him, blood from his fingers spread across her pale cheek as he tried to wake her.

"I need your help," he said, attempting to stay calm.

"Kakashi? I - I can't. I have nothing left," she whispered, trying desperately to keep her eyes open while her fingers wrapped around his wrist for no other reason but to touch him.

"Yes you can. I need you to do this."

He slipped his wet gloved arm around her waist from behind her and lifted, supporting her weight with his body. Her heavy head lolled forward then back to his shoulder and she found it difficult to keep up but couldn't manage to fight off the strong arm raising her from the comfort of the floor.

"Don't Kakashi, I can't," she tried to argue softly as she felt her abdomen bump against the cool steel side rail of a medical bed, her wrist held firmly out in front of her.

She managed to force open her tired eyes and peer down to see the blood covered pale body of Shiranui Genma lying almost dead in her medical tent. The hot tears stung at the corners of her eyes as she realized the futility of the situation, and that she could do nothing for him. She would gladly give up her life to save him, but it wouldn't be enough. Her chakra was depleted to the point were he would not be healed and she would die also.

"Oh no, Genma…,"she sobbed weakly. "I'm so sorry."

"Do this, Sakura. Help him," Kakashi demanded, his tone taking on a sharp edge. If it was panic or fear, Sakura couldn't tell.

"Stop it Lieutenant, you'll kill her," Yumi's angry voice filled the room as she tried to push up from the floor to aid her superior but finding her legs too weak to do so.

He understood what was wrong and that Sakura had helped injured ninja to the point that she was completely drained of all her precious chakra. All the medics had, but he wouldn't give up. "Let me help you," he whispered in her ear as her head lay back on his shoulder.

Immediately she felt a surge of his chakra tingle on her skin at her wrist and her eyes opened wide to watch the glow cast light around their hands. His cool wet body was flush against hers, holding her steady and soaking the back of her vest while his fingers wrapped tightly around her wrist, hovering over the wound.

She could feel his chakra pulsing into her, making her hand throb and sear but it began to seem somewhat possible and she was willing to try anything to help Genma.

Pooling her strength, what little was left, she worked hard to draw and mold his chakra which glowed with a white-blue hue in front of them. It wasn't perfect by any means, but as the cascading light ghosted into the wound and began to stitch up the internal damage, Sakura felt relief in her tired body.

As it continued to go on for several minutes, she hissed and gasped as the strong chakra moved up her arm and traveled inside her forcefully. It wasn't as slow and light as a medic was able to produce and she felt it force it's way through her. Sucking in a sharp breath, she felt it delve into her chakra highway, invading her whole body. It was a sensation she had never encountered before, having someone else's chakra traveling in her own chakra highway. It was simultaneously strange and draining, and as it filled her, it became almost unbearably painful.

She looked down at Genma through her pain-fogged gaze and could see that his wound had stopped bleeding, and although it wasn't perfect, it was enough to keep him alive.

"It's enough!" she half-screamed, "Stop, Kakashi, it hurts!"

Immediately Kakashi ceased pressing his strong chakra into her body but didn't relinquish his hold on her. They both watched Genma stir a little and some color come back into his face. The exhausted copy ninja laid his forehead on Sakura's shoulder and could feel the hotness at her wrist where his fingers still held her.

"Thank-you," he said softly, but felt her legs give way as he took on her full weight. She had passed out in his arms.

She was drained and now unconscious and the guilt poured into him of what he had forced her to do. However, he knew if it happened again he would relive it all exactly. Easily he lifted her limp boy and took her into her living quarters to lay her on the futon. Her pink hair splayed out around her and as he slipped the Konoha headband from her hair, she didn't wake.

With gentleness, he unzipped her green vest and slid her arms from it before slipping her shoes and wrappings from her feet. Then he just crouched and watched her. The light sounds of the rain on the med tent were calming somewhat and after the previous moments excitement he was glad for the numbing distraction.

Remaining there for a long while, he admired the rise of her chest and her soft breathing as consciousness evaded her. His gaze went to the red mark beginning to blister at her wrist, the mark he had given her in his desperation.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. Kakashi stood back up and left the back area to find Yumi finally hovering near Genma, her legs shook unsteadily. Slowly, she turned to look at him with confusion and concern at what she had witnessed just a short while ago.

The guilt writhed in his gut of how she'd screamed for him to stop, how he'd hurt her enough to make her like that. Selfish - he felt selfish and cruel.

Kakashi moved next to Yumi and they stood side by side looking over the unconscious Genma.

He shook his head at the still form of his friend, "You stupid shit."

"I think he'll be okay." Yumi's look began to soften a little with the understanding of the inner turmoil Kakashi's face was relaying. Kakashi glanced down at the young medic's face, how changed it seemed as it went to pity from the desire he had last seen her with. Wretched regret grasped his insides and squeezed painfully.

"Sakura's wrist is injured - I - burned he. Will you take care of it?" he whispered now.

She could see the emotional distress in his face which was so unlike the usually composed Copy ninja, but somewhere inside she could understand. He hurt someone he cared about to save another person precious to him. A horrible situation, really, and Yumi felt some empathy for him although she could never completely understand.

"I'll make sure it doesn't scar. She'll be fine. You should go get dried off." Yumi placed her hand on his wet shoulder.

"I'll wait a bit longer," he sighed looking at his friend who still lay unconscious, blood-covered and pale. Pulling up a metal stool, Kakashi sat down heavily as he tugged his headband off and rubbed at his eyes with his fingers.

"I probably would have done the same thing if I were you," Yumi said softly as she grabbed some ointment and special dressings for burns. "I'll heal Sakura's hand in the morning when my chakra is less run down."

"Thanks," Kakashi said quietly with some renewed composure but without turning to her. As his mind replayed what had just transpired in this large med tent, he began to understand that he and Sakura had many issues between them of which some could never be resolved, some could never be broached. He wanted to go back and lie down beside her, ask her to forgive him for the way he was now but it would do no good. Sakura was the type of person to pursue and not stand down. He wasn't rejecting her but wasn't accepting her either.

He pressed his eyes harder with his fingers.

Complicated.

Sakura moved a little and she could feel the immediate pain in her wrist and through her chest where Kakashi's chakra had forced in and invaded her. The night's events were coming back to her bit by bit, and she needed to sort them out slowly.

The soft patter of rain lulled her into relaxation as it drifted over the heavy Med Tent and ran in streams over the light reflecting plastic windows, making the early morning outside look gray. The sound made her want to stay silent and still. Lifting her right wrist, she admired the treatment it got despite the drain on the medics. A burn like this could easily be fixed but no one would have had any chakra left to treat it and so it would have been left 'as is' until the morning. It was wrapped well and she was grateful as by the looks of it, she might have been in much worse pain.

"Yumi," she said softly.

Pulling the blanket over her shoulders as she stood up, Sakura shivered a bit with the coolness of the rainy morning, but truthfully she was happy that it was dismal outside. Perhaps the morning was emulating her somber mood; perhaps it was foretelling of things to come. No matter what, it made her feel comforted somehow. With a sigh, she dropped the blanket back down to the bed and stood up, preparing herself for what came next.

Ambling lightly along the rough wooden floor, she pushed out into the main med area to see that some of the beds had been cleared and men had been sent back to their tents after treatment. The slumped shoulders of Hatake Kakashi didn't escape her attention nor did the flattened down, tousled hair devoid of the leather strap of a headband. She watched him for a moment and couldn't help the emotional flood that ran through her tired body.

He was facing Genma and away from the entrance to her quarters and suddenly even the sight of his back made so many emotions bubble to the surface. Turning slightly to the movement on her left, she could see Yumi stacking supplies and cleaning slowly, the exhaustion obvious in her sluggish body.

"Sakura!" Yumi startled and looked up at her.

"Thank-you for this." Sakura raised her raw looking right wrist as she half-smiled at the young, tired medic. "How's Genma?"

"He's fine. He woke up about an hour ago, then drifted back off. He's in some pain but I've given him something for it. He'll probably sleep most of today."

Kakashi sat up straight and turned his head slightly when he heard her name, showing only the sleek cut of his exposed jaw line above the dangling mask. Waiting for a reaction, Sakura could see the exhaustion in his eyes as he stood up and approached her, albeit cautiously. Inadvertently his gaze drew down to her wrist and his steps halted before he reached her.

It was impossible to hide the confusion and anger she was beginning to fill with, and she made no attempt to hide her wrist. Somewhere inside her she wanted him to feel guilty. Somehow she wanted to forcefully draw some sort emotion out of him, even if it was to hurt him or make him angry.

Both his eyes finally met hers but her look did not change. In fact, it was almost a defiance of his acknowledgement.

"Let's talk," she said cooly as she held open the door flap to her living quarters.

He nodded and trudged past her into the back area of the Med Tent, knowing that this had to transpire between them. As much as he would have liked to avoid it, it had to happen.

It wasn't really private or secluded there but at least they could talk without people watching them. Sakura moved in after him and knocking her desk lamp slightly she pushed the rolling chair away and half-sat, half-leaned on the edge of the desk covered in papers.

The chair rolled towards Kakashi who stopped it with his foot. He could see in her face what was going to happen, and already his teeth were clenching, his gaze averting to the wall.

"Is this how you want things to be?" she asked, the perturbation coming through clearly in her cold, trembling voice. The green of her eyes flashed wildly as she fought to hold back everything that desired to pour out.

Kakashi took a deep breath and closed his eyes, displaying his lack of patience for what was coming. "I'm not in the mood for a lecture, Uchiha," he grunted.

Sakura's eyebrows rose in shock for two reasons, his intonation and the fact that he had never called her that before. It sounded so wrong from his lips. "Yes that's right, it's all about you isn't it? We best do what you want, isn't that right? Because heaven knows you are so fucking self-absorbed right now and we should all placate that."

He crossed his arms and turned away slightly, telegraphing that he was getting ready to walk out. She could see he was on the verge and it made her feel like she needed to explode.

"Walk out then! Walk away!" Her voice cut through the calm morning. "Is this getting too personal for you, Lieutenant?"

"That's enough." Kakashi remained calm outwardly but he could feel his pulse quicken, his fingers uncontrollably clench tightly. His nails bit into his palms. Tsunade flashbacks played in his mind and he believed he had forgotten how the young medic could be when she was irate, but she was reminding him now.

"You could have killed me last night! Damn you and your personal agenda!" she continued to shout, not caring who heard, her hand banging on the desk beside her. "If you did that to one of my medics I'd have Ibiki put your ass in a sling!" she railed at him.

Some tears burned at the corners of her eyes and the idea of almost crying in front of him right now made her hate him.

He was watching her sideways with a belligerent stance, unresponsive in any comprehendible way, but his chest rose and fell quickly, heat ran up his back. The tension filled the air thickly, making the distance between them swell closed.

"I said that's enough," he reiterated, seemingly so calm in the face of her fury.

"Am I just a tool to you? That's all I am, right?" she pressed her fingers to her forehead as if trying to rub the thought from her mind.

"Last night isn't what this is about now, is it?" he said quietly. She hated the way he could stay calm, hated how he kept himself clean and made those comments like he knew everything before she could say it.

"Oh, very perceptive. Do you really want to go down that road?" she shouted and took a moment to watch for a reaction, but felt the cutting disappointment of not getting one. "For the last three weeks I've tried to figure out what the hell I did wrong. Day after day, you avoid me or small talk me. I'm just like everyone else to you now, aren't I?"

"You know that isn't true." He turned away while rubbing his tense fingers through his hair.

"Stop doing that! Stop turning away from me!" she continued to grow more irate, her voice switching between shouting and pleading confusion, "I've waited - so patiently for you. I've waited so quietly - those nights in my bed - it wasn't anything to you, was it? I know how things work here. I'm not naïve, but I thought we were connecting somehow. I needed it so much and wanted things to continue on like that, but you pushed me away. I guess you probably just want what they all want and maybe I came with baggage, hm?" Her nails dug into the chipboard on the underside of the desk she was leaning on, her fingers curled over the edge of the cool surface. "I'm just a tool to keep you warm and to fix your wounds, right?"

"That is enough, Sakura," he growled out uncharacteristically, fighting that feeling he had in his chest reminding him of the morning after she was hurt. The pent up pressure, begging to be released, was threatening t unhinge him but he fought hard to keep his composure.

"Yes that is enough! How many women hae been to your bed? I know how things work here! Damn you, Kakashi. You're an asshole for making me feel like this! You want to keep things professional?! Keep it impersonal, cold perhaps? Well, we can damn well do that! Just walk away now! Leave and I promise you, there will be no more of this to disrupt your simple, uncomplicated life." She wiped at the tears angrily. "You can damn well bet your life we can make this cold! But then again, you'd probably prefer to bet mine!"

"God damn it, that's enough!"

Sakura jumped as Kakashi appeared in front of her faster than she could fathom to slam his gloved hands down on the desk on either side of her. The shock of the sound made the room seem so silent after as it became filled with only the sounds of their heavy breathing.

It was just a blink, just a white flash, and he was in front of her, hands on either side of her, his face so close she could feel his breath on her cheek. She'd never seen Kakashi lose control, never seen him like this, but looking into his face, she could tell there was no hate there.

Her chest heaved with frustration and she trembled now, lost for words with the reaction she didn't expect. Her brow creased and she held her breath.

His chest heaved also, and something inside was driving him hard. He could no longer control it. His eyes moved to her parted lips. The warmth of her body was so perfect against his as he leaned against her, pinning her to the desk edge. Her fingers grabbed at his ANBU vest trying to keep her balance as her feet attempted to stay on the floor.

Finally, with the release of her breath from between clenched teeth Sakura let out a small sound, almost a whimper, a tiny aching sound of emotion.

That sound - it was like a trigger for Kakashi and in desperation, he snaked his fingers up her back into her hair, and crushed his mouth to hers. It was eating him, the consummate pressure that begged to be released, and now the tension between them had finally made his restraint break away.

He kissed her feverishly, his tongue sweeping between her parted lips, engaging hers hungrily as she responded. She moaned in need as he brushed the strewn papers to the dark floor and forced her down to the desk, continuing to maraud her mouth.

Her fingers slid up into the back of his hair making him shiver and press his mouth harder to hers, wanting to taste her, invade her, claim her as his own. Fingers and hands gripped and pulled in a heated sway of movement as they both hummed out desperate sounds of desire.

"Sakura, I heard some banging, are you all ri - oh!" Yumi's face appeared at the canvas door flap in Sakura's living quarters and shocked the couple from their entanglement.

Kakashi hovered above her and their eyes met, the amazement and dismay apparent in both their gazes.

"Yes, I'm fine," Sakura panted as she pressed the back of her hand to her lips, working at trying to regain composure. Kakashi moved off of her quickly and ran his fingers through his messy hair; the sudden realization of what had occurred came upon him as he looked from one woman to the other.

Yumi disappeared as quickly as she had come, and Sakura turned to look at Kakashi who had moved a few feet away from her, his head was tipped back as he rubbed at his forehead tersely.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked calmly, realizing he may have been a bit rough.

"No," she half laughed nervously.

Slowly he turned back to her, both eyes fixed on her wide green ones, locked in familiarity and mutual pain. "We can't do this."

Somewhere inside she knew he would say that. Somehow she knew the heat of the moment had driven him to let his guard down and give in, if only for a moment. But it was over now. His sobriety with anything passionate frustrated her to no end.

"Predictable, Kakashi. You could at least have tried to be a little more original. Give me some credit for my intelligence, if you don't mind," she said coldly, lashing out for the impending hurt she knew was coming. The whole situation was draining what little energy she had left as she watched the unraveling of their chances at happiness with his sudden turn in behavior.

"It's not possible," he reiterated, but the lack of surety in his mind made the words stick in his throat. His determination warred with emotion.

"So you've decided this for us? These are the rules you've set for us, are they?" She couldn't take any more; she didn't want him to see her cry. "Just go, Kakashi. Take your rules with you and keep them for the next person who tries to get close to you. I won't bother anymore."

Her words tore at him and in reaction he moved close to the flap opening it to see Genma's tired face turned in his direction. Kakashi looked back at Sakura briefly, but she had turned away. It was clear there was nothing left to say.

Kakashi swept through the med tent and out into the wet grass, never stopping. As he moved slowly now among the tents in the direction of his own living quarters, he felt desperately tired and sickened at what had transpired.

He felt a pain shoot through his chest at her words; he didn't want things this way but that old sense of self-preservation kept rearing its ugly head. He couldn't do it again, couldn't allow someone to get close to him just to die. With all his experience, he'd decided it was prudent not to open himself up for that kind of pain anymore. It almost destroyed him last time.

His frame stiffened momentarily as faces of precious people ran through his mind. No, it was better not to allow anyone in. But his body wanted to hold her, to touch her, to cherish her, and if he was completely truthful with himself, to pull the clothes from her body ...

Running a tired hand through his hair, he had to stop this train of thought as it really wasn't helping.

The sinking hollow pit in his stomach returned again, the same one he felt when he arrived that first day at the outlying border of the Fire Country. He knew he'd lost her now, that she was gone because of his need to spare himself from the things he couldn't stomach again, but for the first time he realized with sad certainty that it felt like almost the same pain. Loss was loss.

Complicated.

The day passed slowly and Sakura drifted back and forth between rounds around the camp to the injured men's tents and her own bed for sleep as evening began to creep into the Fire Country. Her chakra still felt weakened, but stronger than she anticipated. As it flowed from her fingertips the rich blue it usually took on was now diluted and pale, and she realized that some of Kakashi's blanched chakra was still inside her, mingling with her own.

She couldn't say how she felt about that at the moment. Their earlier argument and the kiss she had so desperately wanted but now wished had never happened had drained her interest in examining things too closely for her own sanity. She decided to make a last check on Genma before slipping back into bed as he was the only one in the tent now aside from her. It wouldn't surprise her if she didn't see Yumi until the next day as her underling had been so completely drained as well.

Holding her fingers out over the sleeping man's wound, she let the sky blue chakra delve into his abdomen to sense his injuries and aid in pain relief for the time being. Her eyes closed in concentration and then opened slowly as she finished. A soft tired sigh escaped her lips.

"That's much better," Genma's deep voice whispered. Sakura looked up to see he had woken from the sedated slumber he lazed in all day. His arms were crossed behind his head, and he smiled genuinely at her, a senbon stuck in his mouth.

"Any pain?" she said groggily but did a double take to look at him clearly. "And where did you get that?" she half laughed while pointing to his face.

"A good ninja is always prepared. And yes, actually, I've got some pain. You know, my shoulders ache. How about a rub down?" His grin turned devious and for some reason it struck Sakura as extremely funny. Losing control slightly, she couldn't halt the continuous soft laughter from escaping her lips, making her stomach hurt.

It had been such a long day, she thought to herself, she deserved a good laugh.

"Did I seem like I wasn't serious?" He tapped his chin in mock consideration. "Actually a sponge bath might suit us better. What do you say, Uchiha?"

Stock wink.

"You want me to give you a sponge bath?" she laughed, holding her stomach now.

"Well, I suppose we could take turns. I'll warn you though, I hate when my fingers get pruny so you'll have to do most of the work."

Trying so hard to gain composure, Sakura managed to force her face to take on a more serious look. She leaned over close to him and swept his hair out of her way gently, making sure he could feel her breath on his ear. "Okay."

The clatter of the senbon against the metal rail of his bed made her laugh harder as she dropped to the stool beside it where Kakashi had sat just that morning. Genma fumbled the long piece of steel back between his teeth with a sigh.

"I'm sorry, Genma, I couldn't resist," she chuckled as she slipped the Leaf headband from her hair and scratched her fingers into her scalp, enjoying some relaxation for the first time today.

He was still smiling at her and was impressed that the transgression between Sakura and his good friend that morning hadn't set her back emotionally. She was stronger than he gave her credit for.

"So you don't want that? Tell you what. You can scream at me as loud as you want for as long as you want, and when we are all hot and bothered, I'll wrestle you to the floor and have my way with you."

Sakura's eyes widened as she took in what he just said. Obviously he'd heard the exchange between her and Kakashi that morning, and it shocked her that he would joke about it. But again it seemed to be what she needed and she couldn't help but laugh at his attempts to mock seduce her, hitting his stomach lightly with the back of her hand.

He smiled widely. It as nice to hear her laugh and he was enjoying their private moment.

"Well, I do have something I'd like to put in your mouth, Genma," Sakura purred.

"All right!" he said smoothly, and his deep calm tone warmed the empty tent. "You've got a few things I'd take you up on."

She moved back to her living quarters and reemerged with a white box, the wide smile still making her face glow. He recognized it immediately as the chocolate cherries he had brought her on the day he returned with Kakashi in tow.

"Share them with me?" she teased as she opened the box.

"I'd love to." Slipping the senbon from his mouth, he skewered a chocolate and lifted it from the box. "Would you like me to feed you before our bath?"

"Ah, Genma, a bath sounds fantastic right now. I'm afraid a bath with you would take too much out of me though." She tilted her head and smiled serenely.

"I promise I'll do all the hard work." He winked.

She laughed again, putting a chocolate on her tongue and humming with the satisfaction of having something so sweet, and something she hadn't had in a long time. But their interlude was quickly interrupted with the sound of heavy boots on the wooden floor near the door. Ibiki's tall form stood at the canvas flap as both Jounin's heads snapped up to look at him.

"Uchiha, I need a word." His gravelly voice closed the distance between them as Sakura lay the chocolates on the bed beside Genma and approached the somber, stern looking commander.

"Of course, what is it?" Her voice was calm and her professionalism kicked in swiftly in the face of her superior.

"We've taken a chuunin that was caught last night. He's medicated but has some severe injuries. I need you to take care of him." Ibiki was hushed and his words were careful. The situation struck the young medic like a slap in the face; she could feel her cheeks get hot.

"No, oh no. I'm not doing that again, Ibiki. Let him die. I won't heal him so that you can tear him apart." She shook her head angrily, her arms crossed adamantly.

"Uchiha, don't make me order you to do this. He's going to die if he doesn't get your attention soon. We've had one of the other medics aiding him but it's not enough. He's sedated in the Shed and we'll have him moved here later tonight. I'll have a guard posted here at all times although it may be a while before he wakes." Ibiki's face was stern. He valued Sakura's abilities when handling matters and he spoke at length with her many times about different situations when he felt a fresh perspective would help, but when it came to these things they saw necessity a little differently.

"I don't want this. You know I don't!" Her voice grew louder. The long day had taken its toll on the young medic and she felt her last thread of composure stretching.

"Uchiha, you are under my command. Don't forget that. He's going to be moved here tonight and you will heal him." Ibiki stood firm, no real emotion apparent on his poker face, his voice deep and forceful.

"Yes, Sir," she spat out with what was left of her patience. She was resigned to the fact that she'd made a fair argument, but with Ibiki, when his mind was made up it was futile to expect anything else.

Without another word, the tall, scarred commander turned and slipped from the tent, his trench coat - as usual - snapping on the wooden frame around the canvas door.

Sakura looked at Genma, who she was sure had the same shocked look she did.

"This couldn't be worse," she thought as she clenched her fists. She hated to help them with healing enemy ninja before interrogation. They weren't just ninjas or numbers to her. When she pressed her chakra into them, they became human beings with families and loved ones and people that would miss them when Ibiki was done with them. The tears came again as she waved off her quiet visit with Genma, mumbling something about a rain-check. She felt like a child as she dragged back to her living quarters and crumpled on the bed.

The exhaustion took over and now the horrible thought of healing enemies just to send them to a cruel fate was too much for her. She wanted to scream, to pound her fists into something, to rage against all the things wrong in this world but it would do no good. It was what she had signed up for, the good and the bad.

As the sky began to darken, Sakura lay still waiting for the sounds of the people who would bring in the man for her to heal. She cringed knowing she would have to spend the next couple of days looking into frightened eyes and sharing the understanding of what was in store for him.

re-edited Jan 09