Hello guys! ^_^
Yep, it's me again… Sorry for the delay, I had the white page syndrome.
Here we go for the next chapter, hope you'll like it. Reviews are welcomed!
See you soon! xxxx
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Chapter 14 – Realisation
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Time was slowly slipping away as people started to leave her room. According to the passing nurses, it was a cloudy night and it would probably rain tonight. But that didn't matter. Nothing did… He felt empty, like something was missing in the big mess that was his life. It was terrible. She's been gone for half an hour now and people were still mourning her. An impressive group of crying nurses was assembled in front of her room while some of Konoha's rookie 9 had passed by to tell her and Kiba goodbye. Ino was seated in front of the two rooms and was crying softly while Shikamaru tried his best to comfort her with Choji. The used-to-be pink-haired girl's parents had just quit the room and were now being cheered up by Tsunade in her office. Overall, the whole atmosphere was devastating. Sasuke had tried to escape from everyone. He took place in a chair in a small corridor on the upper floor, where no one seems to go, and slowly drifted into his mind where he could grieve in peace. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps advertised him of someone's presence near him. Of course, his respite would be short; it was too good to be true. Slowly, Naruto walked toward him, but to the Uchiha's great surprise, the blond didn't join him. Instead, the young Uzumaki leant on the window frame that was in front of him to look outside. He was troubled, that much Sasuke could tell, but there was something else in those blue eyes that was wrong. For the first time since he met him, Naruto was defeated, completely and utterly defeated, and the fact that he was completely silent was really uncomfortable. Sighing in annoyance, Sasuke stood up and leant on the other side of the window frame, in front of the blond-haired boy.
"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Sasuke in a low tone.
"Tch. Are you getting sick too?" joked the blond upon his friend sudden behaviour.
"Idiot…" replied the Uchiha with a glare.
"I'm just kidding Sasuke… It's just…" begin Naruto as he regained his seriousness.
"…"
"It's hard." confessed the young Uzumaki while turning his eyes toward his team mate.
"I know." added Sasuke as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Yeah, I've seen that." replied playfully the blond, clearly referring to their relationship, "You could have warned me."
"You know me, I'm spontaneous." stated the Uchiha with a smirk.
"Yeah right, you mean as predictable as the fact that the sun set every night." corrected Naruto with a huge grin.
"Shut up." growled Sasuke with a trace of a blush on his cheeks.
"Anyway, I'm glad for you two…" concluded Naruto, arms behind his head in a lazy manner.
"Hn."
"It's just sad that she's not here to live that love." added the blond, sadness erasing the remnant of his smile.
"Naruto…" begin Sasuke irritated by the blond-haired boy's mood swings
"It's true!" interrupted the young Uzumaki with exasperation as he threw his arms in the air and took place in a chair, "All I think about is her. I feel like my world is dead. I know this sound crazy but Sakura and I were closed, very closed. After your departure… We became best friends, we spend all of our time together and now that she's not here anymore, I'm lost."
"Sakura have always been the one to keep us together, it's normal to feel like this Dobe." replied the dark-haired boy as he sat down next to him.
"I supposed you're right." said Naruto, while massaging his forehead slowly.
"Hn." grunted Sasuke as he leant his head down on the back of the chair.
"What do we do now?" asked the jinchuriki, defeated.
"We do our best to help Tsunade find a cure." answered the Uchiha, eyes closed.
"What if you are infected?" inquired again the blond, worried.
"I'm not." replied Sasuke in a firm tone while glaring at his friend.
"But if you are?" insisted the young Uzumaki.
"We'll find a cure." answered with confidence the dark-haired boy.
Suddenly, Kakashi turned the corner of the corridor and walked toward the duo in an aloof manner, before letting himself fall in a seat next to the Uchiha. Lazily, he massaged his forehead while a sigh escaped his lips.
"Kakashi." greeted Sasuke in a bore tone.
"What's up old man?" added Naruto, leaning on his knees to have a better view of his ex-sensei.
"Nothing much… I'm just depressed and tired." answered lazily Kakashi while letting his head fell back on the back of the chair.
"It's not very surprising. You ran from Suna to here in one day." replied the blond-haired boy with a small grin.
"I was worried and I had good reason for it." explained the grey-haired man as he glared at the Uchiha.
"Well stop worrying about me I'm fine." said Sasuke, annoyed.
"If you were that fine you wouldn't be stuck in the hospital." accused Kakashi, still glaring.
"It's preventive." stated the Uchiha while glaring back at his ex-sensei.
"You know what I mean." replied the grey-haired man as he looked in front of him.
"I didn't know you loved us so much sensei." said Naruto with a smile.
"Why is it so surprising?" asked Kakashi, surprised.
"I don't know… You're very secretive." answered the blond.
"Well, I assure you that you are important for me. You're as important as my own family." explained the Hatake while looking seriously to his two ex-students.
"Ooooh! You're so cute." said Naruto with a goofy grin.
"Even if you won the 4th ninja war I can still kick your ass." replied harshly the man while glaring at the blond.
"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed the jinchuriki as he hold his belly.
Once Naruto calm down again, the silence installed itself among the small group and with it came a wave of nostalgia. Normally, the small voice of Sakura would be yelling insults toward the blond before saying sweet compliments to the grey-haired man for his sensibility.
"I feel like I've lost my own daughter." confessed Kakashi while looking at the neon light on the ceiling.
"Hn."
"And I've been a terrible father." added the grey-haired man, now looking through the window.
"Stop the drama old man, Sakura knew you loved her and that you were doing your best. Is not your fault if the Teme and I took all your energy." tried to cheer the blond-haired boy as he put his arm around the Uchiha's neck.
"But still, I could have been there when she needed me the most." continued the Hatake as he nervously scratch his left hand.
As an awkward silence installed itself among them, Sasuke brushed off the Uzumaki's arm around his neck and stood up.
"It's been a hard night, maybe we should try to sleep." declared the dark-haired boy.
"Teme's right, we're all tired and we went through a hard moment. Maybe a good night of sleep could help us out." added Naruto, mimicking the Uchiha.
"You're probably right." stated Kakashi as they all took separate ways.
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The next morning
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Groaning softly, Sasuke tried to hide himself from the shinning light that was flooding in the room. He had a terrible night, between the nightmares and the insomnia, he had probably slept two hours. Maybe he could visit Sakura instead of wasting his time in bed. With that thought in mind, the Uchiha opened one lazy eye but closed it almost instantly. It was so damn bright in that room. Sighing, Sasuke took off the sheets and sat on the edge of his bed before rubbing his eyes tiredly. Once he was truly awake, the dark-haired boy tried again to open his eyes and once accustomed to the light, he stood up to get his things. Dressing himself with a dark long sleeves shirt and a pair of loose black pants, Sasuke replaced his messy hair with his hands and walked in the bathroom to wash his face and teeth. Once he was ready, the young man walked down the stairs and entered the special unit. The place was utterly calm compared to the day before. Getting around the table, Sasuke walked to the end of the unit and approached the pink-haired girl's cell when he spotted the blond hair of the Yamanaka girl. The girl was standing in front of the Inuzuka's cell with a crestfallen face.
"What are you doing here?" asked the Uchiha once he was next to her.
"Huh!? Sasuke? But… Hey, I could ask you the same thing…" blurted Ino, surprised by the young man's presence.
"Hn." grunted Sasuke with a small smirk.
"I was checking on them… You know even if they're in a coma it doesn't stop the transformation completely." finally answered the blond-haired girl, while looking at her boyfriend.
"Really?" inquired the dark-haired boy, intrigued.
"Yes… Their skin keeps on deteriorating and they'll lose the skin on their extremities." explained Ino before pointing at Kiba's hands, "Look at Kiba's fingers they're almost to the bone already."
"That's terrible." stated Sasuke with little disdain.
"Yes." replied the Yamanaka girl pensively, "Tsunade is working on a way to regenerate their skin when this will be all over."
"And?" asked the dark-haired boy.
"She's almost done. She's working on the veins system now." answered Ino with a small smile.
"At least…" added Sasuke.
"Yeah." whispered the girl smiling for a brief second before turning her attention on him, "So, how do you cope?"
"Hn." grunted the boy.
"I'm not Sakura, I need words." replied Ino while glaring.
"Not too bad and you?" repeated Sasuke, annoyed.
"I'm slowly getting used to it." stated the blond.
"Hn. I just hope she's not suffering too much." said Sasuke as he approached the Inuzuka's cell.
"I hope so." added Ino as she followed the Uchiha.
After what seems like an eternity, Sasuke started to glare at something and it immediately startled the blond-haired girl.
"What?" inquired Ino, a little stressed.
"What's that reddish pattern on his neck?" asked Sasuke, as he pointed at Kiba.
"What pattern?" replied the blond while trying to see what he meant.
"Look, near his medical gown collar." continued the dark-haired boy.
"Yeah, I see it." said Ino once she spotted the mark.
"What is it?" asked again Sasuke, while looking at the blond doctor.
"I don't know. I should warn Tsunade about it." answered the Yamanaka girl, worried.
"I wonder if Sakura have the same thing." said Sasuke as he walked toward the Haruno's cell.
"You're right, let's check that out." added Ino as she followed him.
Walking toward the other cell, the two ninjas stop dead in their tracks at what they saw. In the corner of the cell, Sakura was sitting, eyes wide open and one arm on her knee in a lazy manner. She had a sinister smile on her face and her dark hair was hiding her face slightly. She looked monstrous and overall, she didn't look like herself at all. Afraid, Ino backed away a little and hide herself behind Sasuke who, without even noticing it, was pushing Ino furthermore behind him to protect her. This situation was unbelievable.
"Sakura?" inquired Sasuke, carefully.
But he received no answer. Sakura kept on staring up in front of her with her sadist smile still in place.
"I don't think she's conscious Sasuke." whispered Ino while looking at her best friend with horrified eyes.
"Then why is she like this?" asked softly the Uchiha.
"I don't know!" replied Ino with annoyance.
"Do you see something unusual?" inquired Sasuke, ignoring her last comment.
"Except that she's awake?" specified the blond-haired girl as she grabbed the dark-haired boy's arm to protect herself while she looked at the other girl.
"Hn." answered the boy.
"She's in the same state as Kiba, physically at least. Look at her right hand." detailed Ino as she looked at her friend's body.
"Why is the left one intact?" asked Sasuke to no one in particular.
"I don't know." replied the blond still hiding behind his arm.
"Look… Her left arm and left leg are shining." said the Uchiha.
"Is it just me or the mark on her left arm looks like a claw?" inquired Ino as she let go of Sasuke's arm to have a better view of what she was seeing.
"No, I think you're right." answered the young man as he looked at the mark.
"Let's call Tsunade, this is getting weird." stated Ino as she turned around to call for help.
Suddenly, a feral growl was heard coming from the cell. Surprised, Sasuke turned his attention back toward Sakura who haven't moved an inch.
"What is…?" started Ino before being interrupted again by another growl.
This time though, Sakura's form started to shake and her right leg fell to the ground giving Sasuke enough time to see the weird purplish pattern similar to Kiba's one. In the blink of an eye, Sakura took a feline position and the dark-haired boy knew what was bound to happen. In a flash, the Uchiha lunge for the door and closed it firmly just in time to avoid the girl's attack. Crashing on the door, Sakura skin less hand scratched the door frenetically while feral growls escaped her throat.
"Sasuke!" yelped in surprise the blond-haired girl.
"Damn, even if she's chakra sealed, she's still strong. Ino, do something! I haven't been able to close the door properly, she'll burst through it." warned Sasuke as he battled with the Haruno girl for the door.
"What?" asked Ino, still paralyzed by the fear.
"NOW!" yelled Sasuke as he got hit by the door.
When black blood started to soil the door's window, Ino ran toward the panel control to ring the alarm and to inject sleeping gas in the used-to-be pink-haired girl's cell. After a few minutes of fight, Sakura fell to her knees unconscious, giving Sasuke some respite. Before the duo could say a word about what happened, Tsunade entered the unit in a hurry with Shizune and a group of nurses. Panic was evident on her face as she spotted the black blood on the window and the two ninjas trying to regain their breath.
"What's going on?" inquired Tsunade over the alarm, as she reached the blond-haired girl.
"We-we don't know Tsunade… It's Sakura…" whispered Ino while shaking like a leaf.
"COULD SOMEONE SHUT DOWN THE DAMN ALARM!" ordered the Gondaime, annoyed by the noises.
"Yes My lady." replied a nurse as she ran for the panel.
"What about Sakura?" asked Tsunade while grabbing Ino by the arms.
"She ran at us!" answered Ino.
"Impossible, she's in an induced coma." stated the Hokage in disbelief.
"I swear it happened!" insisted the blond-haired girl with huge eyes.
"It's true, she was moving, but I doubt she was conscious about this." added Sasuke as he massaged the huge bump on his head.
"…"
"Something wrong is going on here, Hokage. I'm not sure what it is but it's not normal." continued the Uchiha lookind dead serious while Shizune examine his wound.
"Shut up Sasuke." replied instantly the Gondaime.
"Hn?"
"Not here… No need to stress the people around here. Come in my office, both of you." stated the Hokage with worries as she looked around them for any suspicious ears.
"Yes Lady Tsunade." replied Sasuke as he stood up slowly.
"Shizune…" asked Tsunade.
"Yes." replied the woman as she let go of the Uchiha
"Go get Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru and Kakashi, then get back in my office with them." ordered the Hokage.
"Why do we need them?" asked the brown-haired woman, surprised.
"I need advises, now hurry up." answered Tsunade softly.
"Alright." replied Shizune as walked toward the stairs.
"Come on you two." added the blond-haired woman to Sasuke and Ino as left the room.
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In Tsunade's office, 20 minutes later
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Opening the door, Naruto almost tripped over Sasuke who was standing in front of the door. Glaring at the Uchiha to move, the dark-haired boy rolled his eyes in annoyance before moving a little toward the Hokage's desk to let the blond in. To say that the office was small was an understatement, it was damn well tiny. Sakura's office, which usually looked like a broom closet, was even more spacious than that. But since Tsunade was dispatching most of her work to Sakura, her office was more or less a stoking room for everyone. Boxes and boxes of medical supplies, samples and other unused material was discarded everywhere. To let everyone in, Ino was sitting on Tsunade's desk and Shizune on a pile of old medical files.
"Can't you choose a better place to hold a special meeting, old woman?" growled Naruto as he glued himself on Sasuke to let the others in.
"Listen mongrel, we need privacy." replied Tsunade on the verge of killing him.
Suddenly, the door burst open, hitting Sasuke hard on the shoulder and sending Naruto crashing over the Hokage's desk.
"GODDAMIT! Can't you be more careful?" yelled the Uzumaki in anger as he stood up again.
"Can't you choose a better place to hold a special meeting?" replied Kakashi with a glare as he get around the door to stand besides an annoyed as hell Sasuke.
"Before I lose the last ounce of my control and kill you right on the spot, close the damn door!" said Tsunade with a death glare.
"You'll have to squeeze in you two." suddenly said Sai as he popped his head in to check the space.
"Alright." replied the grey-haired man as he pushed Sasuke on Naruto furthermore.
Once Kakashi had squeezed himself between Sasuke and the wall and that Sai was almost hugging Naruto, Hinata made her appearance. She closed the door behind her and walked toward Ino to stand in between her knees to prevent Naruto from punching Sai for his closeness. After what seems like an eternity, everyone look at Tsunade for further notices.
"So what's the big deal?" inquired Naruto with annoyance.
"We're having a problem..." stated Tsunade.
"Regarding?" asked Kakashi, surprised.
"Sakura." answered Tsunade in a serious tone.
"What is it?" asked again the grey-haired man
"Ino..." begin the Gondaime.
"I can't. Tell them Sasuke." replied the said girl while waving her hands in front of her in a dismissive manner.
"We've been attacked by Sakura." stated plainly Sasuke.
"What? Isn't she supposed to be in a coma?" inquired Sai, incredulous.
"We think that she was indeed not conscious." specified the Uchiha.
"Then why the hell do you think she attacked you?" asked this time Naruto.
"She was walking Dobe, but it was not her." replied Sasuke on the verge of loosing it.
"It was like she didn't have control over what she was doing." said Ino with a sad expression.
"And she's not the only one." suddenly added Tsunade while leaning on her elbows, hands in front of her in a pensive manner.
"What?" blurted everyone in surprise.
"Tsunade and I have met other cases of walking coma induced person, it happens sometimes and we don't know why." explained Shizune, hugging a file over her heart.
"We do know that it only happens to people that have been put into a coma recently and who haven't transformed fully." said Tsunade as she leant in her chair.
"Why does it happen?" inquired Naruto in disbelief.
"This is a very strange disease..." concluded Hinata as she looked at her boyfriend with sympathy.
"Why summoning us here Hokage?" asked Kakashi, still not understanding why their presence was needed.
"I need your help with this, alone I can't make it." confessed the Hokage, "Sasuke and Ino discovered a new thing and I'll need help to do some research with it. There's tons and tons of books, archives and scrolls to look at, I won't make it alone. People will die before I can even start to understand this disease."
"What is this new discovery?" inquired Sai.
"It's a weird reddish pattern on some parts of their bodies." answered Ino.
"I'll also need your Byakugan Hinata." stated the Gondaime.
"Of course Lady Hokage." replied Hinata in understanding.
"Kakashi, Sai, Naruto, go to the public library and bring everything you can that talk about medicine or those strange symptoms. Ask the Haruno to help you out, they know that building by heart." ordered Tsunade.
"Yes." replied the trio.
"Shizune, take Ino with you and get every archive we have on this. We need to study our cases again." added the blond-haired Hokage.
"Yes." replied the two girls.
"Sasuke and Hinata, grab every material we could need for taking samples." concluded Tsunade.
"Yes." said Ino while Sasuke nodded.
But before the Gondaime could dismiss anyone, an alarm started to ring. Surprised, everyone exited the office and let the busty blond woman throw herself behind the security unit. Looking at the computer screen, Tsunade typed her password and scanned the information. After two seconds, her eyes went wide and she looked at the group with a serious expression.
"The special unit." whispered Tsunade with round eyes.
Without wasting any more time, Sasuke ran toward the stair with Naruto and Kakashi in tow and almost threw himself down them. Opening the door, the boys ran toward the cell of their friends. In the first cell, Kiba was still comfortably lying still, but when they check in the other cell, their blood went cold. Sakura, who they had left crawling in front of the door, was now sitting in the middle of her cell. Despite the noises of the alarm, they were able to hear her growl. Joining their friends, Ino almost had a heart attack upon seeing the girl.
"Shizune cut the alarm!" ordered Tsunade as she joined the group.
"On it!" replied the brown-haired woman while running for the panel.
"What's going on?" asked Tsunade while looking at the pink-haired girl's cell.
"I swear she wasn't there when we left her." said Ino in horror.
"And she certainly wasn't moving." added Sasuke.
"Sakura?" asked tentatively the blond-haired boy.
"It's no use Naruto..." said Kakashi as he put a hand on his shoulder.
"She's in pain!" replied Naruto in panic.
"Tsunade do-do you see the marks?" inquired Hinata.
"Yes, one on her left leg and one on her left arm... What the hell is that, and why on earth is it glowing?" spoke Tsunade with disbelief.
"I have no idea." said Ino.
Suddenly, Sakura yelled at the top of her lungs, causing the group to jump. Obviously in pain, the girl grabbed her stomach with two hands and in an attempt to ease the pain, bent on her knees. But before she could stop herself, her forehead hit the ground forcefully. At this moment, silence was all that could be heard. Worried, Naruto and Sasuke approached the glass a little more and looked at the girl, when suddenly, the hair on the left side of her head started to change. Subtle at first, it soon turned completely pink.
"My god do you see what I'm seeing?" asked Ino in surprise.
"Is she fighting the disease?" inquired Naruto.
"I don't think so." replied Tsunade.
Once they stopped to talk, the silent went back again while the scar on her left arm started to glow orange. With each passing second, the orange glowing light started to crawl all over her skin on her left side. Even though the event was weird and interesting, Sasuke's attention was drawn back to the blond-haired boy next to him. He was tense.
"What's wrong Naruto?" asked the Uchiha, worried.
"Can't you feel this?" replied the Uzumaki, eyes not leaving the strange sight.
"Feel what?" asked again Sasuke, not understanding a word of what his friend was saying.
"That chakra..." continued the blond-haired boy.
"Naruto..." insisted the Uchiha as he put one hand on his shoulder.
"Am I transforming?" asked this time Naruto, looking intently at the dark-haired boy.
"No, why...?" replied Sasuke, completely lost.
"This chakra, it belongs to me." answered Naruto while reporting his attention on Sakura.
"What?" said the Uchiha.
But before anyone could ask Naruto, one fox ear and two tails started to appear on Sakura's left side, when the third one appeared her left side disappeared in the disguise of Naruto's Kyuby. Her skin disintegrated, her eyes disappeared and feral growls were all that they could hear. When the fourth tail emerged, the chakra was so strong, powerful and demoniac that everyone had to back away from the glass.
"What the hell is happening? Why is she transforming into the nine tail beast, but just on one side?" inquired Kakashi with one arm over his eyes as he protected his eyes from the shining chakra.
"I don't know..." replied Tsunade also covering her eyes.
"I'm not feeling good." stated Naruto as he started to lose focus.
"Naruto?" asked Sasuke, but he never received an answer.
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