This chapter is dedicated to TaikoHawk, who shocked me by revealing she's read this story through more than once.
Chapter 10 – Protocol Nightmare
After stealing Itachi's hair tie, which by the way had been quite entertaining, Sakura quickly washed her hands and headed to the operation table. Breathing deeply she was mentally preparing herself for several hours of concentration, entering deeper into what she herself dubbed medic mode. Almost like a trance it made her hyper aware of her patient's flow of chakra as well as her own.
The young nurse watched on in awe as she made a bubble of the water suspended beneath her palm. If Sakura had been less engrossed in her work she might have found it amusing. Her eyes scanned the leather straps that served to hold the patient in place. It was a good thing they were there, otherwise she'd have had to have someone hold the young man down. Poison extraction was a rather rough procedure.
Breathing deeply she pushed the water into the chest of her feverish patient. The body strained against the bindings but they held strong. Sakura imagined the lungs in her mind as the water passed through, forcing the poison from the cells. To make the lungs most effective, a great surface area is needed for the highest possible amount of oxygen to be transferred to the bloodstream. All in all, fitted into the expanse of approximately 5 liters, she had a surface area of a little less than 70 square meters to cleanse. Oh, joy.
Water was now coming out to her waiting hand. A quick glance revealed generous amounts of dark splotches inside the former clear liquid. She frowned. If she had had only one patient she would simply need to retract the poison and then proceed to heal the damaged cells. With three patients waiting with a highly destructive poison in their lungs she could hardly spare neither time nor chakra.
Unlike popular belief medical techniques were not some sort of magic, but merely a way to highly speed up and direct the body's own recovery. It was for that exact reason that it demanded such control and discipline not to mention a most uncannily in depth knowledge of the body. If those three were not present a healing technique could be just as deadly as a wound.
The cells' reproduction could easily come out of control - the biggest issue being scar tissue. Obviously not a problem for superficial wounds, but inside the lungs as were the current issue, scar tissue would impair the patients ability to breathe, causing problems for both flexibility and ability to obtain oxygen. Something that could mean the end of a shinobi.
The amount of scar tissue created from a simple healing was the physical evidence of a medics dedication. Taking in the fresh pink scars upon her patients body, she dared not the leave the lungs into the hands of these assistant medics.
Oo o oO
Itachi tilted his head slightly. The purpose of the technique was obvious from the dark splotches in the water that was being pulled back out. She was directly pulling out the poison. The amount of control needed to use this technique was displayed in the deep concentration on her face. When thinking of how easily Sakura normally directed her chakra in ways that would make a Hyuga sweat – almost without thinking – it really served to set the difficulty level of the jutsu into the S-ranks.
Sakura's newly found dedicated assistant apparently realized that the poisoned water couldn't go back in the bowl of clean water. She scrambled with urgency for another bowl, managing it just in time for Sakura to look surprised at her ability to think for herself. The nurse held forth the bowl with the enthusiasm of a child looking for recognition. Itachi smiled slightly to himself. That crazy girl had gone and turned this operating room upside down.
The young chunin listened only with half an ear when Sakura explained that the poison should be tested for the most regular poisons yet again, since it might just have been modified to become airborne. He was much too preoccupied with the hastily approaching chakra signature. He leaned back against the wall. This would prove amusing; the head medic was coming.
The middle aged man entered the operating room in a flourish of his medic coat ready to conquer the world. His past as a field medic was reflected in his smooth gait and the balance he managed to move that gangly body with. The time that had passed since he last set foot in the training ground was however also reflected in his slightly more bony than muscled frame. Light was reflected in his round glasses and the small bald spot atop his head.
He stopped abruptly. Confusion mixed with surprise was evident on his features. He stood for a couple of seconds his mouth opening and closing indecisively. Unfortunately for him, just as he had squared his shoulders and decided what to do (probably ask what a young girl was doing in his operating room) he was discovered by Sakura. She quickly scanned his features, coming to a momentary rest on his nameplate: dr. Yakushi Fumio, Head Medic. Itachi could practically see how one word went through her mind; Finally.
"Don't just stand there! Get cleaned up and come here. I assume you have the capabilities to heal lung tissue," her voice held no room for argument. The middle aged man automatically did the little girls bidding. Itachi felt the distinct need to snicker.
Oo o oO
Sakura didn't like to do it this way, but she knew she had to. She had no time for prolonged explanation and so it came down to manipulating the natural human response of obeying authorities. Especially in unusual situations did these natural urges surface. Seeing a 11 year old girl directing an operating room was definitely unusual enough for her purpose. When this was all over she might have gained several indignant enemies, but she really hoped not.
She was almost done with this patient, as done as she could be anyway. There would still be residual traces of the poison, but when the antidote was found that could be taken care of. He would live. She was pulling out the almost clear water bubble when she noticed the head medic crouched in front of her with an awed expression.
"Is that...?" He begun, but she cut him off.
"It better be what you think it is, that would give me some hope yet for this place. Now I'm finished. I need you to take care of the lung damage, I cannot spare the chakra."
Emerald eyes flashed in annoyance as he seemed to want to ask another question.
"Questions later. Lifesaving now!"
She shook her head in exasperation as she made her way to her next patient. People see a young girl, who shouldn't even be out of the academy yet, doing advanced healing and they completely lose track of why said girl is doing said advanced healing, jeez.
Oo o oO
It was two hours later when Sakura made her way to the last patient. Last because he had been the one in the best condition. Though of course best condition was relative. He'd just been holding the poison better than the rest. The poison had been tested positive on one of the regulars and the antidote was currently being modified so that it could be breathed in. They would probably need several treatments over the course of two weeks and some monthly checkups to assure there were not the smallest trace left. She mentally filed her conclusion away once again preparing herself.
She froze in her tracks as she took in the appearance of her patient. Suddenly the pieces of the puzzle fitted together and she knew why this scenario had seemed so familiar. She shook her head. Now was not the time. Steadying herself with a deep breath she made that familiar bubble.
Sakura was seeing double by the time she'd finished the extraction. The poison had been in his lungs for longer than the others and the damage was massive. She should stop now, but the head medic was far from ready to take over here. Blinking her vision in place she steeled herself. Taking a deep breath she let her hands hover above the young mans scarred chest. No matter what... Her vision swam as her hands flickered green before steadying in a soft glow. No matter what... She almost forgot to breathe so immersed was she in her patients lungs. No matter what, this guy will not be hindered by the damage of this poison.
Oo o oO
Itachi watched getting increasingly worried as Sakura swayed dangerously. When her hands flickered green he knew something had changed. She was not supposed to do the actual healing only the extraction. Her chakra was already low and she should be resting. He didn't even know how she'd managed to keep her chakra up this entire while, since they'd been training earlier. When she stopped breathing he moved instinctively. Before he knew what had happened he stood with and armful of Sakura. Luckily it was a breathing armful and he relaxed visibly.
The head medic made his way quickly towards them. Poor guy was visibly surprised at his presence, having not noticed him at all earlier. When within a closer distance he approached at a much more sedate phase, his hands held before him in a calming gesture, Itachi frowned in annoyance. Did the guy think he would attack him or something? It was not until later Itachi would realize the reason for the medic's almost nervous behavior in that moment. After all he had moved faster than the eye could see and caught her almost before she started falling. He'd also forgotten that he'd activated his sharingan earlier to better watch her techniques. All in all he'd looked pretty frightening with his sharingan blazing and the unconscious girl cradled to his chest.
When the man finally realized Itachi would not lash out at him he reached out to check the girl's pulse. His head bobbed to his internal count.
"She is okay. Her body merely shut down due to chakra exhaustion. She will be okay after a lot of rest." The man's smile faltered a bit at the boy's expressionless face. Taking pity on the man, Itachi decided to help him back on track.
"That is good, you can go back to your patients now..."
"Ah, yes of course!" He heard the medic turn around to check the status of Sakura last patient his attention on Sakura's pale and sweaty face. Stupid girl, she overworked herself. He wondered what exactly made her do that, when the surprised exclamation from the head medic caught his attention along with everyone else in the room.
"She healed him!" The man spun around facing the curious faces, "I mean there's still traces of the poison that the antidote needs to take care of, but she healed the lungs. There's not even the slightest trace of scar tissue."
He turned towards Itachi, the enthusiasm on his face disturbingly livid. Itachi knew that look. It had adorned the face of his father numerous times in his youth, when the man realized that no matter what he threw at him, the young boy would handle it. It was quickly followed by the memories of that one time, he did not handle it. Unconsciously he tightened his hold on her and the head medic might have seen that, cause he quickly backed away.
Oo o oO
Fugaku strode through the streets heading towards the Hokage Tower. This time there would be no excuses. Rumors traveled fast in Konoha and it was only an hour after the healing session had ended that news had reached the Uchiha head. Apparently that ridiculously pink haired girl had been the deciding factor that saved the lives of a poisoned chunin team.
Surely that should be enough for the Hokage. Surely his son would no longer be burdened by that low class mission. The Hokage would find another residence for her and that would be the end of that story. That is at least what he would try to persuade the Sandaime to do.
At the mention of his son's name he slowed down unconsciously. The whole village was buzzing with the news. Snippets of conversation reached his ears.
"It was that girl, the little one that's always together with young Itachi-sama! The one with the pink hair..."
"They came into my shop, Mikoto-san insisted on paying..."
"The Uchiha clan are so generous..."
"I heard she doesn't have any parents, but the Uchiha clan takes care of her..."
"The Uchiha clan is amazing, to take care of someone without anyone else..."
Maybe he could let the girl stay for a while longer...
In the end he stubbornly argued that the girl would stay in his house, since that is what she has gotten used to, much to Sarutobi's quiet amusement.
Oo o oO
Sakura blinked awake to the biggest headache she'd had in her life. She tried to move a hand to her sweaty forehead, but found it almost impossible. Scratch the headache, the biggest ache she'd had in her entire life. Of course life was relative, since she'd technically only existed here for around three months. Three months last she checked at least. For how long had she been out? It was nighttime outside, but nighttime the same day or? She'd passed out sometime before dinnertime.
She sat up, slowly coaching her muscles into motion. Closing her eyes she assessed her chakra levels. They were horribly low and she really should sleep, but there was this one thing she needed to do. She let a minuscule amount of chakra circulate through her body easing her aching muscles. The problem with loosing unconsciousness from chakra exhaustion was that every major muscle group locked up, making it most painful to awaken unless someone used a bit of chakra to ease them into relaxation. Obviously no one had bothered.
Carefully she made her way out of her room. She was in the recovery ward and he was also supposed to be somewhere around here. She found the room with his name on rather quickly and entered quietly. Stepping up to his bed she looked down at his pale features. Most of his face was obstructed from view by a breathing mask, probably a mixture with the antidote. She reached forth a hand and a spark of probing green chakra entered his chest. She was relieved. He was as healthy as he could be in these circumstances. The IV would make sure he got enough nutrients to help his body back in balance.
Reassured that her plight as a medic had been fulfilled she let herself fall back into the visitors chair. This scenario was familiar because it had been used to drill the importance of protocol into her head time and time again.
The horrible situation of a late head medic having a day off without a proper replacement. A poison that cannot be recognized. The first patient to die however did not die from the poison. He died from a violent allergic reaction the injection of antibiotics administered by a nurse who forgot to check his chart had caused. The nurse would later commit suicide from grief, no one talked to her about it. She was 22-years old. The only surviving patient would be a seventeen year old boy who would, until the end of his days, suffer from a violent cough.
This teen would not suffer from a violent cough this time round though. She had made sure of it. She had changed history. This boy was Gekko Hayate.
