"Cheonsu plant?" wondered Sakura, testing the foreign word on her tongue. "I've never heard of it before."
Yun nodded, smiling at the young woman as they sat side by side, chopping the vegetables that'd serve as their breakfast. Hak and Kija were hunting in the woods, Jeaha was looking for water and Shin-Ah was keeping watch, sweeping the surrounding hills with his superior eyesight. Yona was still asleep a few feet away, at a distance that'd keep their voices from disturbing her, and Zeno was sitting close to her as a precaution in case of a surprise attack. His usual kind smile was plastered on his face as he observed the clouds above them in a way that reminded Sakura of Shikamaru.
"Captain Gigan gave it to us before we left Awa." continued the boy, picking at the hot coals that remained of the small fire they had lit a couple of hours ago. "It's really effective. We were all kinda shocked when we saw just how much."
The young medic listened to him intently, nodding at his explanation, her interest piqued, eager to learn more about this healing plant. "And you are absolutely certain that it only has healing properties?" she asked. "You didn't mistake wolfsbane for this cheonsu plant, did you?" She'd have to look more into this plant, despite Yun's words. No matter what the others said, she couldn't possibly be sure that this Captain Gigan they spoke so highly of was adequately knowledgeable about herbs and their properties. One simple mistake could prove deadly if one meddled in stuff that they weren't trained for and medicine was one of the most typical examples.
Yun chuckled at his companion's suspicious nature. "Relax, Sakura. I'm fairly certain I didn't put wolfsbane on your wound." he said, another chuckle leaving his lips.
The young medic huffed good-naturedly. "One can never be too careful, kiddo. Lead half the life that I have and inevitably, it becomes second nature."
"Which reminds me." started Yun, thanking his luck for the girl's last statement. He hadn't been very keen on the idea of starting a conversation about her life himself, lest it made him seem as an invader of her personal space. "I heard what happened from Kija. Where did you even learn to….you know, fight like that?"
Sakura chuckled, noticing the hesitation in his voice despite his attempts at hiding it. "I'm surprised you managed to hold your tongue for as long as you did, Yun." she said teasingly, giggling at the light blush that rose to the boy's cheeks.
"Well…..Where did you?"
Taking a deep breath, the medic focused her attention on the task of chopping vegetables, though her mind was running a mile a minute, choosing the information she meant to share carefully. "You may think that your land is going through a rough time; that you are at war. But the truth is that my home is far more dangerous than you imagine. It's unlike anything you have ever experienced. Peace is nothing but a short break in order to prepare for the next battle."
"So….Your people train women to fight?" asked the boy, as if the notion itself was bizarre. Sakura couldn't blame him. From what she had seen, women that could fight their own battles were almost unheard of around these parts of the world.
"Women and men, trained since childhood until our last breaths. We have to protect ourselves and our own, Yun. The structure of our society is vastly different from yours."
The boy listened to her attentively with a furrowed brow. "Do you have to? I mean….If someone doesn't want to learn how to fight….Do they have that choice?"
The young medic smiled at him. "Of course. It's an entirely personal choice. A village can't survive on soldiers alone, Yun. It needs a substantial civilian population in order to function properly."
"So, you are both a soldier and a doctor?" asked the boy, appearing satisfied by her previous amswer.
Sakura nodded. "I'm a combat medic. I was trained to fight, even though my primary purpose is to ensure my comrades' survival."
The auburn-haired boy's eyes widened slightly. "Wow….That's…..a pretty stressful job."
"Well, no argument there." The young woman shrugged. "It's not something you can get completely used to, Yun. You just learn not to get attached."
The auburn haired youth furrowed his brows, the movement of his hands slowly coming a stop. He seemed contemplative, watching her in the corner of his eye, as if choosing his words carefully. He probably was. Sakura thought it was sweet of him, really. Being so careful not to invade her privacy in any way. It was a pleasant change, especially considering she had been on the same team as Naruto for the better part of her life. The blonde knucklehead had absolutely no intention of keeping his nose out of her business. She missed him….dearly.
"Have you….Have you ever…..?" Yun's incomplete question broke her out of her thoughts, effectively providing her with an adequate distraction to keep her mind from going down that lane. There would be time for that later.
The young medic smiled softly, sensing the boy's discomfort along with his curiosity to know more. "Have I ever lost anybody?" He flinched. "It's inevitable, Yun. No matter how many people you manage to save, there will always be loses. We aren't Gods, Yun. We can't cheat death indefinitely."
"Oi! Are you two ready yet?" Their conversation came to a stop, interrupted by the timely arrival of the rest of their party. Their heads turned to where the voice had come from to see Kija and Hak emerging from the trees, a young whitetail stag slung over the dark-haired man's shoulders.
"Have some patience, will you?" shot back Yun, his spirits apparently lifting after their solemn conversation. "We can't rush it, otherwise it won't come out good."
Sakura giggled. The young boy took pride in his cooking, that was for sure. Not even Hak's moodiness was enough to intimidate him. An admirable feat, to be honest. Despite their petty feud, Sakura had to admit that the older warrior had a very commanding aura. She set her knife down and turned to Hak. "I'll take care of that." she said, relieving him of the stag's weight.
"Watch it! That thing's heavy-"
Sakura slung the dead animal over her shoulder effortlessly, using one hand to keep it in place and placing the other on her waist. "You were saying?"
Hak stared at her for a moment, his blue eyes flickering between the stag and her face. "You know what, I don't even wanna know. Do whatever the hell you want." he said, waving her off as he sat down further away from them. Kija followed him shortly after, flexing his clawed hand to relieve the tension from his muscles.
Sakura wanted to laugh at his retreating back, though she held her tongue. Shifting the stag on her shoulder, she put some distance between herself and their camp, disappearing behind the tree line. The job she had to do was kinda messy and came with a strong smell. She'd rather not have that near the place she slept.
It took her 45 minutes to skin the stag and get rid of the parts that they wouldn't need. The dead animal was a good 250 of meat. They didn't have much time, but if she smoked enough of it and stored it in a sealing scroll, it'd certainly last them a while.
'Better get to work then…..'
XxxOxOxOxxX
Nightfall found them around a small fire, keeping their toes warm while they ate the food Yun had prepared using meat from the stag and a variety of edible roots and aromatic leaves. It was rich in flavor and filled their stomachs pleasantly. It'd give them an energy boost and that was something they certainly needed at this point. There was silence among them, pleasant silence, interrupted by the crackling of the fire and the sound of stone grinding against stone.
"You should eat, Sakura. The food is gonna grow cold and you need the nutrients. That wound hasn't healed completely yet." said Yun, pouring a much needed second serving in his bowl.
The pink-haired medic looked up from what she was doing and smiled at him. "Thank you for your concern, Yun. Just give me a few more minutes. I'll eat right after I'm done."
"Why the hell are you doing that anyway?" asked Hak, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "What good is a pair of stag antlers?"
Sakura rolled her eyes, resuming to put pressure on the two rocks between which she was grounding the antlers into as fine a powder as she could. "Well, stag antlers, my uneducated teammate-" she started, earning a snarl from the dark-haired male. "-are very rich in minerals like calcium and phosphorus. Large predators usually discard them, but small animals like squirrels and rabbits and porcupines gnaw upon them, mainly in regions where these minerals are hard to find."
Hak sneered. "Who cares about all that? What good is it gonna do us?"
"Next time you get hurt, you big dork, this powder will help you recover faster. That's the good it's gonna do you." shot back the medic, unfazed by Hak's behavior. She was used to his manners by now, so she just continued her work, concentrating on the rhythmic circular movement of her hands. The dark-haired male huffed in response but said no more after that.
Another ten minutes went by in silence as the rest of the party finished up their dinner. Sakura was the last to finish, having started eating than the rest of them. The moment she set her bowl down, Kija cleared his throat to gain their attention.
"I do believe it's about time we discussed some pressing matters." he started and turned to Sakura. "My lady, I am very curious about your encounter with the leader of that group of bandits."
The young medic nodded, taking a deep breath. "Most of our conversation was just plain old trying to intimidate one another. But I did manage to get him to reveal something. Something important that sheds some light on a few things, but it does make me worry." She passed her gaze over the lot of them, taking in the frowns on their faces. Her eyes lingered on Yun and Yona a few more seconds than the others.
"Well, what the hell are you waiting for? Spill it!"
Rolling her eyes, the pink-haired woman ignored Hak's brash remark. "He said something about the soldiers. That they were sent to intercept his group, but failed. I'm still doubtful that two dozen trained soldiers were sent just to take out that miserable gang, so I'm going to assume that they were just part of their mission. The point is that all the soldiers were killed."
"All of them?"
Sakura turned to Yona, noticing the distressed look on the younger girl's face. Her fists were clenched tightly on her lap and her eyes were wide, her lips slightly agape in a silent gasp. "I'm afraid so, Yona-Hime."
"How does that affect us?" asked Zeno, eyeing his companions.
"That means that our troubles just doubled."
Hak nodded. "The pervert's right. Apparently, the group of thugs we encountered were deemed enough of a problem for the Capital to dispatch those soldiers to take them out."
"That or their mission was entirely different and their run-in with the bandits that cost them their lives was accidental." added Sakura, clearly referring to their situation, and though all of them understood it, no one dared voice it. "Whichever the case, the problem remains. Even if the Capital hadn't known anything about that group, they sure do now. And it's only a matter of time before they send a larger force to deal with that."
"We need to be more cautious than ever." said Kija, flexing his claws nervously.
"So that means….." trailed off Yun, his face looking paler despite the soft orange illumination of the fire.
"That means that we will probably have to fight again. And soon." finished Sakura.
Nobody could find it in themselves to say anything after that, mostly because they knew she was right. There was no denying that more battles would follow and sooner than any of them wanted. Silence fell over their camp; uncomfortable silence that made their throats close up and the blood to chill despite the fire.
It took Sakura a couple of minutes to break the silence. "I got one question…"
The others turned their attention to her, broken out of their thoughts, though there was no doubt that their minds were following similar paths. Nevertheless, they focused their gazes on the pink-haired woman, awaiting to hear her question, guessing that it had to do with their situation.
"If Hak dies, can I have his Hsu Quandao?"
The dark-haired warrior's face changed from surprise to anger and he snarled at the smirking medic. "What was that you hellcat?!"
And just like that there was laughter and the solemn mood from a few moments before dissolved into the air along with the sparks from the hissing fire.
TBC
I'm alive! So sorry for dropping off the face of the Earth like that guys, but we had some family issues we had to resolve. All's good now though, so no worries!
Anyway, I hope you guys liked the chapter! I'll be updating soon, so stay tuned. I want to hear your opinion so READ AND REVIEW!
Until next time!
Lots of love!
