Karumi brushed her hair out of her face as she hastened down the main corridor of the Leaf Village hospital's intensive care unit, her heart racing with worry. When she'd heard of the ANBU unit that had been attacked, all she could picture was Itachi lying on one of the beds, groaning in pain as several medical ninja attempted to heal him.
Relief washed over her when she realised the older Uchiha brother was nowhere to be seen or heard, though the feeling was brief.
Standing back, Karumi let the proper doctors do their work, seething silently as she always did. For five years, Karumi had been studying under the guidance of the top medical ninja in the village, but due to her lack of a rank, she'd been unable to work, only being allowed to observe instead; and that irritated her, to say the least.
Itachi, on the other hand, had risen through the ranks, becoming a part of the Hokage's personal force. He'd been sent on missions left and right, and Karumi barely saw him anymore, not to mention the fact that she'd also been cooped up inside her small study for days on end.
Karumi must have gone through every book and scroll in there dozens of times over the years, and she wanted to know more. Local medicines and specialised healing techniques were one thing, but Karumi had better ways to use the time she'd spend when left to her own devices.
By the time she was ten, Karumi had worked out she wouldn't be allowed to practise medical ninjutsu in the same way the others did. Instead, she went back through her clan's old scrolls, looking for anything she could do to pass the time, having no one to spar with now that she was prohibited from learning taijutsu from the Hyuuga clan.
As a seven, eight and nine-year-old, Karumi had forgotten all about the Creation Rebirth technique, knowing it was pointless to waste chakra when she barely had any control over it to begin with. Now, with nothing to do but meditate for the past few years, Karumi had built up quite the aptitude for chakra control, and was currently in her thirtieth month of chakra build-up in her quest to be able to use the Creation Rebirth technique - though, admittedly, she still wasn't quite sure what it did.
Standing out of the way, Karumi turned her attention from the other doctors to her steadily growing chakra reserve, focusing on the continuous stream she had running towards the singular point in the middle of her chest. After all, she knew exactly what was wrong with the patient, what procedures the others were following, and what to do in case something went wrong. In fact, Karumi didn't see the point in having her follow doctors around all day at all - especially if she wasn't permitted to help them.
Six more months. That was all she needed before she'd possess the same abilities as Tsunade, the most skilled medical ninja in the world, as well as the top-ranked ninja in the Hanakawa clan - whatever those abilities were. Even if she wasn't a genin, Karumi believed she could still somehow prove herself with this new ability.
"Karumi," one of the medic she was following suddenly spoke to her. "It's kind of a slow day today. Why don't you go home for the afternoo?."
Nodding, Karumi left the hospital wing as quickly as she could. Everyone, Karumi included, knew she was just in the way when it came to her placement at the Leaf Village's hospital. Perhaps tomorrow she just wouldn't turn up.
After four years of going to and from the hospital, Karumi didn't need anyone to hold her hand and guide her home. She could do it herself. Naturally, the local shop owners and patrons often helped her if she ever began to drift off course, but that hadn't happened in a while, and people were beginning to stop worrying about her.
As she arrived back at the Uchiha complex, Karumi began to count the slabs of stone that made up the main pathway until she reached her house, bracing herself as she opened the door.
Something heavy thumped against her middle and two arms wrapped around her waist, squeezing her tightly. Karumi grunted a little but lifted her hand to touch the younger Uchiha's wild hair.
"You're still coming tomorrow, right?" Sasuke asked, tilting his head to look up at her and resting his chin against her stomach.
"Of course," Karumi said, forcing herself to smile and mentally kicking herself for forgetting about Sasuke's entrance ceremony. At the very least, she wouldn't have to follow doctors around like a lost puppy for at least another day.
As Karumi moved to close the door behind herself, something stopped her. A soft gasp sounded from Sasuke as he let her go, moving towards whatever was blocking the door. "Big brother!" he said cheerfully.
Karumi paused, her brow furrowing. Itachi wasn't supposed to be home from his mission for another few days. Surely he couldn't have finished already. Stepping inside, Karumi turned until she was facing Itachi, the confused expression still on her face.
Itachi found himself averting his gaze away from Karumi's blank stare. His mission had been easier and over quicker than everyone else had anticipated, but that wouldn't change the fact that people had died during it. Knowing Karumi, she'd probably manage to pry that kind of information out of him too.
Sasuke, on the other hand, didn't seem to care what Itachi had been doing, just as long as he was back home. The younger Uchiha giggled as he followed his brother inside, down the hallway and into the kitchen.
"I'm home," Itachi muttered, earning a somewhat relieved smile from his mother.
Out of the corner of his eye, Itachi spotted Karumi as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, her expression skeptical. Looking away, Itachi instead turned his attention to Sasuke, who clung tightly to his leg.
"Are you coming to my entrance ceremony tomorrow?" he asked, his eyes wide as he hugged Itachi even tighter.
The older Uchiha frowned. He hadn't forgotten about the ceremony, but Itachi was scheduled to work in the surveillance headquarters that morning, and wouldn't have time to attend. "Sorry, Sasuke," Itachi murmured, poking his younger brother in the forehead and trying to ignore his disappointed expression. "I'll come another time, okay?"
Sasuke stared at the floor, slowly letting go of Itachi's leg and moving to stand beside Karumi, leaning against her. "There won't be another time," he mumbled, clenching a fist around her t-shirt.
Karumi's blank expression remained as she gently patted Sasuke's hair. "I'm still coming though, right?" she asked, leaning down to place a soft kiss on Sasuke's head - right where Itachi had poked him. "And from what I heard, so is your father."
The younger Uchiha seemed to brighten up at that and he nodded enthusiastically, running ask his mother what they were having for dinner. Karumi tilted her head in Itachi's direction.
"Are you busy right now?" she said, taking a step towards him.
As much as Itachi wanted to lie and say he was tired from his mission, but he knew a simple touch of his hand would tell Karumi that that wasn't true. Instead he waited until her fingers brushed against his neck before shaking his head.
"Come for a walk with me?"
"To the Naka Shrine?" Itachi asked, though he already knew the answer. It was the same place they went anytime Karumi wanted to talk privately with him.
Karumi nodded and gently clasped her hand around his arm, letting him lead her outside without so much as a word to anyone else. As the two of them made their way through the Uchiha compound, Karumi slowly slid her hand down his arm to place her fingers against his bare wrist.
"Your blood pressure is higher than usual." she observed. "Did something happen ?"
Itachi stayed silent, glancing down at her as she smiled softly.
"Your increased heart rate says 'yes'," she said, before her expression dropped into a frown. "It usually takes a lot to shake you like that. Did someone die?"
"Are you sure you're not better suited to interrogation rather than medicine?" Itachi murmured.
"Don't avoid the question," Karumi stated, her voice growing monotonous with increasing focus. "The first letter in ANBU stands for 'assassination'; was that your mission?"
The older Uchiha sighed, knowing there was no point in not telling her. "Most of my missions are like that."
Karumi's frown grew heavier. "Did you fail the mission?" she asked, worried. The only reason a mission like that would be implemented in the first place was if the target posed a threat to the village's safety. Itachi was definitely the kind of person who would beat themselves up if they failed something like that.
"No, we didn't fail," Itachi assured her, relaxing a little when Karumi finally let go of him.
"We?" she repeated, grasping her own hand. "Was it a comrade? Did another one of the ANBU...pass away?"
Itachi nodded, though he knew she couldn't see it. "There's a service being held for her tomorrow."
Karumi gently touched her fingers to her mouth in shock, before clenching her hands into fists. "You blame yourself, don't you?" she asked, though Itachi stayed silent.
As the pair reached the steps to the shrine, Karumi stopped, making Itachi pause beside her. In all honesty, there was nothing she could say to make him change his mind. Karumi had met with enough people in similar situations during her visits to the hospital to know that simply telling him it wasn't his fault wouldn't change anything.
She dropped his hand and began to climb the steps to the shrine herself, leaving Itachi to stand by himself.
Sighing, the young man hurried to catch up with her. He'd seen her trip and fall on these exact steps too many times to not be worried when she attempted to climb them herself, though he stayed walking behind her, ready to catch her should she fall.
"Do you like this village, Itachi?" Karumi suddenly asked, turning to face where she was pretty sure he was standing.
Itachi tilted his head to the side, curious, before shuffling a couple of feet to the side to stand in her 'view'. "Yes," he answered quietly.
"Why?" Karumi asked, sitting down on the steps.
"'Why'?" Itachi repeated, sitting beside her.
She'd never asked anything like this before in the several years they'd known each other, and Itachi couldn't help but wonder if something was wrong.
"My family is here," he answered. "Protecting the village means protecting them."
Karumi nodded slowly. "It occurred to me recently," she murmured. "That I've been living here for seven years, but I've never spent more than a few hours away from the Uchiha complex, and I've never been passed the hospital."
Itachi paused for a moment, thinking. It made sense, really. Karumi didn't go anywhere she wasn't familiar with without an escort, and, lately, there weren't as many people around to help her out. "I'm sure Sasuke would be happy to take you around when he's not at the Academy."
"That's not what I meant," Karumi groaned. "The people in this village took me in; they saved my life. What am I doing to repay everyone? I'm following nurses around a building and standing in the corner so I don't get in the way."
She fell silent as the air grew tense, and Itachi nodded slowly. "So you want to be able to go on missions?" he guessed.
Karumi sighed. "I don't know," she murmured. "Something like that."
"But that's -"
"Impossible," Karumi cut him off. "I know."
The two were silent again, before Itachi stood up, helping Karumi back down the shrine steps. "We're both exhausted," he said honestly. "It's getting dark. We should head back home."
"Is it?" Karumi asked dryly, but obediently followed. "I wouldn't know."