Sorry about the wait, everyone, I couldn't upload anything for this story due to problems on FF, but I've managed to find a way around that, thankfully. So here's your belated chapter.
I've been asked which daimyo Sakura had gone to antagonize. At first, I imagined Sakura to be in a small country near Fire, maybe the Land of Forests, but then I decided on the Land of Hot Water. It is adjacent and, more importantly, it has been evacuated during the Fourth Great Shinobi War, so I think it's a pretty fitting place for our favourite kunoichi to appear at.
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"Please stop moving, Satsuki-chan," admonished Sakura, scribbling away at a scroll.
Giggling, the fifteen-year-old twirled around the room before plopping down on her previously vacated cushion. A moment later, she began to wriggle, clearly wanting to get up and dance around the room once more.
"'Kura-chan, I'm boooored!" she pouted.
"If you remain still until I finish this sketch, I'll let you play with my hair tonight in the bath."
The older girl frowned minutely.
"All I want?" she asked, suspicious—she had learned by now that Sakura could twist words around to suit her intents if she so wished.
"All you want," agreed the pink-haired medic easily.
With a look of utmost concentration on her pretty face, Satsuki settled into a disturbing stillness. Sakura sighed mentally. The other girl was not usually so still; to see her this way now seemed unnatural.
Fortunately, Toranosuke entered a moment later with a tray full of snacks and tea. He put the tray down on the floor and proceeded to pour tea for the two girls with a calmness that apparently settled on Satsuki, too, for the girl didn't throw herself at the food. For once.
"Is there any gorp?" she asked with an urgent glance from the corner of her eyes at the food.
"Iie," answered the nuke-nin.
"Why do you like gorp so much?" asked Sakura. That point puzzled her. Obviously, the girl had grown up surrounded by luxury, so why was she so fond of something as benign as gorp?
"Because it's good, of course!" she replied as though it was an evidence, which, to her, perhaps it was.
Sakura shook her head with a small smile. She got up and stretched, then said, "Well, let's take a small break. I'll go see if we have any gorp left, alright?"
The teenager lunged at her, engulfing her in a hug even as they tumbled to the ground. She laughed and happily rubbed her face in Sakura's pink hair.
"Yay! You're the best, 'Kura-chan!"
"I get it, I get it," she mumbled around strands of long dark hair. "Now let me get up, okay?"
"Haaaaai!" chirped the happy girl. She merrily bounced back to her cushion and smiled brightly as Toranosuke handed her a tea mug.
Sakura left the two behind as she closed the door and wandered into the kitchen. Her hands flitted across jars until she found the right one and put some gorp onto a plate. She mentally noted that she would have to make some more; there wasn't much left in the house, what with Satsuki's love of the stuff and the fact that she always gave some to her patients when they left. It didn't beat ration bars, but the mix of fruits and nuts was travelers' food, after all, so it was better than nothing. And the teenager so loved to nibble on the mix at all times of the day.
"How is it going, sensei?" asked a voice from the doorframe.
"I'm almost finished adding the last touches to my diagram," replied Sakura without turning around. "Then I can start working on reversing her condition," she sighed.
"Don't work yourself too hard," admonished Tohru, stepping in the room softly. "You've been working on that diagram for two weeks now, in between healing other patients. Don't run yourself ragged. How many hours have you slept last night?"
"Does it matter?" replied the diminutive girl.
"Please, sensei. Even if you have that blindfold, I can still see the dark circles that are appearing under your eyes. You can delegate some of your work to me and Tachibana-san. No matter how much I may dislike him, I have to admit you can count on him," he said grudgingly.
Sakura sighed heavily and turned around, face set in a wan smile.
"I know, Ishika-san. I do trust both of you. But there are some things I must do myself. Besides, healing Satsuki-chan is impossible at the moment. If she had just lacked air at birth, I could have easily healed her, but her problem is congenital. Unless I manage to make a diagram of her brain and find out exactly what's wrong, there's nothing I can do for her. The daimyo set that task for me because he knows it can't be done. Not at the moment, at least."
"So he basically just dumped her on you, discharging himself of the problem."
"Hai, I suppose you can see it that way. But if I manage to heal her, I'll create a precedent in the medical world and my work will be recognized, giving other medics a chance to heal people like her. It would also give me a unique chance to get known and rally people to me so that I can form a medical village."
"So you'll do it, then."
It wasn't a question. He could see her determination in her stance and knew the answer as surely as he was her apprentice.
"Hai. Going with the flow is not going to cut it this time. And I've never been the type of people to just watch their life pass by anyway. I'm going to fight for this ideal, Ishika-san. So that when I die, my work doesn't disappear."
She took the plate with a last "But first, I must get the Kage to accept what I'm going to do, for I can't make it a simple village where the leader's son gets to rule after said leader's death. I want the leader position to be attained through competence, not lineage. And that's going to pose a big problem to the other villages. I doubt they'll accept this as easily as they've accepted me. The emergence of a new village is always a cause for tension, you see."
As she passed by him, she murmured that she wouldn't hold it against him if his village ordered him to kill her for economic or political reasons. Though she wouldn't let herself be offed that easily.
-:-
As Fate would have it, she was still toying with the idea of a symbol representing her village when someone she had not seen in a long time came knocking at her door.
"Whoa! Kunoichi-san!" exclaimed Sakura, astonished beyond measure.
"Heya there, Sakura-sensei!" drawled the Suna woman coolly as she strolled in. "Whatcha up to nowadays?"
"Hm, I'm getting involved in politics, even though I'd rather not—wait a moment. Tachibana-san! Bring me the sake and two cups!"
Then she turned to her visitor and waved her over to a seat, saying with a smile that she finally had something better than tea to serve. Toranosuke arrived an instant later with the bottle of sake. Ensued a staring contest between him and the Suna kunoichi.
"Eto…Enjoy!" he exclaimed uneasily before bolting out of the room.
Everything remained silent for a long moment of uneasiness.
"Ano…Do you two know each other?" asked Sakura at length.
"We've run into each other a few times," admitted the older woman. "I didn't know he was working for you."
"Hm. He's got to repay a debt to me, and he doesn't mind working for me. I haven't had him under my orders for long, but so far, he's good. Anyway, what brings you here, kunoichi-san?"
"Ah, just call me Yuka, it feels a bit impersonal to be called "kunoichi-san" by a person who's had her hands buried in your chest."
Sakura chuckled in her sake cup and downed it quickly.
"Well, Yuka-san, to what do I owe your visit?"
"I was around. Just finished a mission, actually. And I thought, 'Hey, why don't I visit Sakura-sensei?' so here I am."
"So you're going back to Suna after this?" asked Sakura, an idea forming in her head.
"Hai," agreed Yuka, gulping down her sake in one shot.
"Could you escort me there?" asked the medic. "I wish to discuss business with the Kazekage."
The other kunoichi shrugged amicably.
"Sure, why not?" she said amicably.
"Thanks. And don't worry, I'm pretty sure I can run as fast as you, so I won't be a bother."
-:-
Knowing that she could come back in the blink of an eye by using her tattoo if he needed her help, Tohru didn't object to her leaving. Satsuki and Toranosuke, though, were another matter entirely. The aristocrat cried long and hard pitifully and Sakura ended up promising to bring her a souvenir from Suna to make her stop. Toranosuke, though…He didn't think it was a good idea. At all.
"Everything will be fine, Tachibana-san. I promise. Besides, if it turns out badly, you can spit on my tombstone, okay?"
The joke fell flat.
"Look. I couldn't bring you anyway. They'd never let you enter Sunagakure—you'd probably get killed, and I'd rather you survived just a bit longer. Trust in me, alright?"
Toranosuke nodded, biting his lip to keep from saying anything more. He looked away with a frown but didn't otherwise oppose her.
Yuka snorted as they left.
"Pretty protective and possessive, aren't they?"
"Yeah. It gets on my nerves. I mean, I survived just as well before they came into the picture so why are they always acting like mother hens? Is it the pink hair? 'Cause I most definitely didn't choose that candy colour."
Yuka's laughter could be heard for miles.
-:-
They passed Suna's gates easily. Sakura only had to show the guards her pass and they let her enter with a greeting. She then proceeded to follow Yuka to the center of the village, though she had to wait for a while in a room, during which time the Suna kunoichi gave her report to the Kazekage. Surprisingly, she didn't feel nervous at the prospect of meeting with Gaara's father. As a matter of fact, she felt detached. Detached to the point that even she felt like it wasn't natural.
After a long while that went by too fast, Yuka reappeared with a smirk.
"Your turn, sensei. Kazekage-sama is expecting you. I'll be waiting for you outside. Take your time, I think I'm gonna go an' scar the secretary for life."
All tension left her at that.
"Alright," she chuckled. "Hopefully I won't be long."
"Take your time, take your time. I'll enjoy myself while you're gone," replied Yuka with a predatory glance at the secretary who looked at her warily.
Sakura thus entered the Kazekage's office alone; the door closed behind her with a sound of finality. Basked in the waning light of the sun, the Kage turned around and looked at her for a long moment.
"Sakura-sensei."
"Kazekage-sama."
The two appraised each other for a moment more before the Kazekage sat down in his chair and gestured for her to take the other seat.
"It seems you have matters to discuss with me, sensei."
"I do, Kazekage-sama," she said after taking a good breath. "It is my intention to form a medical village in which leadership would be passed down through skills rather than parentage."
Silence reigned for an awkward moment.
"I'd like you to approve of it. I would still do it, but I'd prefer to have you on my side. Anyone would be accepted in my medical village to be healed. I also intend to teach anybody who wants to learn medicine, be it that of a medic-nin or a civilian doctor, as I am proficient in both. I intend to form this village, Kazekage-sama. And I won't be deterred. Whoever wants to join me in my endeavor will be welcome. If, at some point, my village can send medics and doctors around to make this world a more peaceful place, I'll be satisfied."
"The idea has merit, sensei, but I can difficultly accept that you'd house and protect nuke-nin. If you were to lose control over them, or your successor was up to no good, we Kage may end up with quite a mess to clean up. I won't endorse your activities lightly. Therefore, I suggest a deal. Do this one thing for me that will show me your determination, and I'll let you conduct your activities with faith in your goodwill. Though if I gain an insight that a rebellion is fomenting in your group, I won't hesitate in wiping you off."
Yeah. Did she mention she hated politics? They always brought more headaches than she could heal. But she didn't really have a choice, so she'd have to see what kind of impossible task he had in mind for her.
"What do you want me to do, then?"
The corner of his eyes crinkled; a shiver ran down her spine: the crow's feet were not caused by a large smile but by a cruel devious smirk.
"You can die for your ideals, it appears. If so, killing my problematic son will give you no qualms, I hope. Kill him, for both our villages, or die trying, sensei."
Why don't you just tell me to die in the first place? I don't think the result would be much different.
Dread pooled in her stomach. Heavily.
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Aaaaaand once again, I'm cruel and leaving you with a cliff-hanger. Not that much fun to write, but the goodies are coming next chapter! Oh, I can't wait to write it…