~Authors Note
The promised extra long chapter, please enjoy as I enjoyed writing this chapter after a long time of not writing on this story and I am pleased to say that updates will most likely be continuing so I hope you look forward to the next update.
End Authors Note~
Upon entering the hospital Sakura found herself immediately surrounded by medics "We heard that you were coming to help out here Sakura, so we thought we'd give you a warm welcome" the Head Medic Ruri explained their actions.
Cee and Amai on the edge of the circle looking amused "Thank you Ma'am, I'll do my absolute best" Sakura grinned, practically vibrating with excitement, Ruri seemed quite pleased with that admission as she then led Sakura off down the hall to the pediatrics ward.
"Are you the one who helped reform Sunagakure's Hospital" another medic pacing along at her side questioned suddenly, Amai shot a surprised look at Cee as they walked along behind them because he hadn't made that connection obviously.
Imagine Amai's surprise when Sakura nodded "Mhm I couldn't have done it without Gaara though and Chiyo-sama" Sakura smiled, thinking of her boyfriend fondly, maybe she'd request time off to go see him, with her own two eyes.
Still shooting looks at his comrade Amai raised a brow in askance at Cee who'd already known "It's true, and we'll most likely be getting sent to Leaf for the medic exchange program" Cee admitted with a smirk.
Then they finally came to a stop "Right Sakura I know your Lady Tsunade's apprentice and experienced and all but I would like to test your skills here in pediatrics for a couple of days if that's alright" Ruri questioned the young girl.
Who immediately perked up in response, green eyes brightening "Okay that's fine" Sakura announced already on the move now that she'd received her first orders, though her complacency surprised the two males tailing her.
Because they were her supervisors during the next two weeks "You know I thought you'd be a little more vocal about being put in charge of healing children Sakura-san" Amai mused out loud wondering what she'd say in response.
As her gaze flicked over the clipboard, albeit slowly since she was still getting the hang of reading properly "Kids are easy if you know how to handle them" Sakura shrugged lightly before they headed in so she could tend her first patient.
He had broken his arm during his taijutsu lesson at the academy and whimpered when she approached, Sakura seeing this and hearing the sound immediately let out soothing chakra to calm the boy down.
Instantly he relaxed allowing her to set the bone in his arm and heal it properly "Thank you Nee-san" the eight year old said with a sniffle, relieved to have the pain gone and realize it hadn't hurt nearly as bad as he thought it would.
Sakura smiled kindly in return "Just try to be more careful next time alright Nurai-kun" the pinkette scolded gently as he hopped up from the bed as his parents came through the door and together the three of them left, so it was on to the next patient.
That needed a shot to immunize her against germs and sickness "Do I have to have a shot mommy it's gonna hurt so bad" the little girl who was her patient cried at her mother, obviously terrified of the needle like most children were.
Did Sakura get frustrated, no, not even a little bit, simply began humming softly "Look at me, in the eyes don't look away, keep focused and done" Sakura got the ordeal over with quickly and easily by distracting the little girl away from the pain that accompanied getting a shot.
Awing the child as the injection sight was healed and she was given a sugar free sucker "All be damned" Cee huffed in amusement when after the girl, three more children were tended to in quick succession.
By Sakura who was pretty much all smiles for the kids in pediatrics, especially the more permanent patients until they were ready to be released, each of them relaxing in her presence and letting her do what she needed despite any initial obstinacy.
And not once did she get frustrated "She's amazing" Amai whispered to Cee while helping out here and there so he wasn't holy useless while tailing Sakura around, not that she needed to be watched really.
"Yeah, while in Leaf I made a stupid mistake that could have cost me my life, what did she do, heal me of course and then lecture me and called me an idiot, I never want to get a dressing down from her again and believe me you don't want to have her dress you down" Cee shuddered.
Remembering that incidence slightly fearfully now that he knew what Sakura was like beneath her usual gentle demeanor "Maybe we'll get to see her in action at some point, even if it's not directed at us, someones bound to set her off" Amai chuckled.
Five hours later Sakura scribbled a report and gave it to Ruri the Head Medic "Hungry are you" Cee noted when they went straight for a restaurant, Sakura's senses leading her right to Naruto and Sasuke who were within.
Naruto popped up to let her into the booth "I'd like what he got if you don't mind and yes Cee-san hungry" Sakura told the waiter before grinning at Cee who took a seat at a table instead of a booth, Amai still at the hospital.
"What was it like Sakura, hopefully not as bad as what Sands hospital was like right" Sasuke inquired, after taking a gulp of his green tea, not eating yet because Sakura didn't have her food yet, prompting Naruto to wait as well.
She shook her head "Approximately the same as Leafs Hospital actually though I did notice some techniques are still a little outdated but not by to much" Sakura shot Cee a guilty look, she couldn't help but notice those things because it was demanded of her to notice at Leafs Hospital.
Cee nodded in understanding "Good thing we'll be participating in the medic exchange then isn't it Sakura-san, those outdated techniques will be long gone after the program ends" the onyx eyed blonde informed.
Her eyes brightened even more in response "You know I wonder about who all will be participating in that" Naruto crossed his arms over his chest as he delved deep into his thoughts, Sakura had an answer for him luckily.
"Definitely Sunagakure, Iwagakure to, Kumogakure obviously and Konohagakure as well, I don't know about Kirigakure though" Sakura announced only a frown to pull her lips down as she thought about the only village they'd had no contact with.
But considering what she'd heard about the village from Shisui she wasn't going to try her luck there, she was happy having friends where she already did after all and then she was interrupted as her food came and the three adopted siblings dug in.
Once finished they paid and headed back to the Raikage's estate, Cee rejoining Amai at the hospital, Yamato was the only one at the house "Not going to go exploring some more" Yamato questioned slightly amused.
As the teenagers flopped down on chairs or the couch in the case of Naruto, Sakura pulled out a letter scroll and started writing "Summoning Jutsu, to Tsunade-shishou please Katsuyu-sama" Sakura requested once she was finished writing her daily update that Tsunade had asked for.
Katsuyu took the letter and was gone a second later, leaving her to continue practicing her writing "And for your question no Yamato-san, at least for today" Sasuke answered, fiddling with his weapons and deciding they could use some maintenance.
Naruto seeing that his teammates had found something to do, quickly pulled out a book to read from until an hour before dinner time "Thought I'd find you kids here" Darui popped by to make sure they were doing alright.
Only to find Sakura standing to head into the kitchen "Been here since after lunch Darui-san" Naruto grinned at the dark skinned man briefly then refocused his attention on his book, Darui shook his head with a chuckle in response.
Darui apparently couldn't stick around long and left soon after checking up on them "Expect someone to be by later if Boss doesn't make it back before you go to bed" Darui said on his way out the door instead of simply body flickering.
Getting waves from the two boys in response, Sakura rather preoccupied at the moment though she did nod, not that he could see it, thirty five minutes later dinner was ready "Time to eat" Sakura informed.
Corralling them into the dining room so they could eat supper, though Sakura made sure there was plenty left over for the Raikage and his brother before they headed back into the living room, Sakura switched to reading a book.
Less than two hours later Bee returned "Guessing you already ate yo say ho this is the Rappin Killer Bee out fool ya fool" Bee wasn't as enthusiastic that evening as he usually was only doing a little jig before disappearing into the kitchen.
Yamato shook his head lightly at the mans weirdness, next to return was the Raikage "Surprised you brats are still awake considering your all usually in bed by this time" Ay snorted, eyebrow raised on them.
"Usually, but we didn't really do much today to expend our energy to make us tired, except for Sakura-chan" Naruto admitted, frowning at his laziness now that he'd called himself out on it and with a quick look to Sasuke who shared his sentiment their day tomorrow was planned out.
Sakura giggled at them but shut her book "As for why I'm still awake I wanted to get in some more practice reading" Sakura yawned obviously having pushed herself so without further ado she hopped up and headed down the hall to the guest room to get some shut eye for tomorrow.
"Come on Knucklehead we're going to get some training in tomorrow so best to go to bed now so that we're refreshed and raring to go" Sasuke pulled his adopted brother up from the couch he'd been lounging on for hours at this point and followed Sakura's lead to get some sleep.
Ay snorted at their hasty departure from his living room, even Yamato's then marched into the kitchen to eat a late dinner, "Pinky left you some food brother fool ya fool" Bee rapped a little bit, pointing at the extra plate full of food.
Just a couple days later Ruri reviewed Sakura's work in pediatrics, though she'd already suspected that the girl would be efficient given the reports Sakura had written, Ruri was still amazed at how talented the pinkette was in medical ninjutsu.
With that Sakura was put in charge of helping heal patients of the shinobi variety, one such patient happened to be Karai "What happened" Sakura inquired with a frown when she saw the man sitting on the bed, a two inch deep, one foot long gash on his side.
"Mission gone awry Kid don't worry about it, my turn, how are you holding up since I haven't seen you for a few days" Karai shrugged, not allowed to go into to many details so turned the questioning around on her.
To keep her talking and not asking questions, Sakura huffed at him knowing what he was doing however "Just say you can't say Karai-san its easier than trying to distract me from what I asked and I'm doing just fine thank you" Sakura informed.
Behind her Cee bit his lip to prevent a chuckle from escaping his mouth as Karai eyed Sakura a little warily "Okay got it, the mission is classified" Karai held up his hands not wanting to have her unleash her temper on him and told her straight up that the mission was classified.
Sakura nodded in understanding while raising glowing green hands to Karai's side, in the midst of it she closed her eyes "Hmm that's weird your bloods not clotting like it's supposed to" Sakura commented.
Forehead creased in concern "Poison in his bloodstream you think Sakura-san" Cee stepped forward at that, waiting for instructions since she was Tsunade's apprentice, Sakura would know how to find out if someone was poisoned.
"Could be, you don't go anywhere Karai-san, Cee-san and I will be back in a little bit" Sakura eyed the orange/white haired Kumo-nin sternly, despite the tiny little amused smirk on his lips, Karai settled back intending on following her command for the time being.
As she and Cee left only to return with some equipment, Cee watched intently as Sakura ground some herbs that drew poison out of a wound while boiling water at the same time to make a medicinal solution.
Once the solution had cooled Sakura focused her chakra to lift the liquid out of the container it was in and press it to Karai's side, "Better brace yourself Karai" Cee warned when the liquid invaded Karai's body.
It wasn't a very pleasant feeling but a second later a dark green liquid was pulled out of his side via the medical solution "Soft Extraction Jutsu" Sakura explained what she'd done, wiping a bit of sweat from her forehead now that the hard part was over with.
That technique still took a lot of concentration unfortunately and she could only do it in small amounts at a time but it was enough this time thankfully as she quickly made the antidote to the poison and finished healing Karai of his injury after he took the antidote.
Karai didn't really know how to thank her after that so simply pat her on the head "Right I'm going to report to Raikage-sama now" Karai said, shoving his hands into his pants pockets on his way out of the hospital now that he could leave.
Cee was the only one to witness Sakura slumping onto the stool looking tired "Are you alright Sakura-san" Cee asked, thinking back to a moment ago and not seeing what had her so exhausted all of a sudden.
She popped up at that "I'm okay Cee-san, that jutsu just took a lot out of me and I needed to rest for a moment but I'm good to go now" Sakura admitted sheepishly, thankfully the next several patients weren't in dire need of having poison extracted from them.
And after she was let go for the day Sakura headed back to the Raikage's house "We cooked in case you haven't eaten and saved you some Sakura-chan" Naruto said when she appeared in the living room.
Sasuke however wasn't oblivious "You seem a little more exhausted than the other days Sakura were the children in pediatrics rowdy today or something" Sasuke commented hoping that she would tell them about her day at the hospital.
"Ruri-san has me healing shinobi patients now and get this Karai-san was there and he had a horrible gash on his side and poison in his bloodstream" Sakura informed glad her teammates adoptive siblings were considerate of her most of the time.
Both males grimaced "Good thing you were there then huh Sakura-chan" Naruto chimed in, wishing there was something he could do to help out instead of train or explore, it was starting to get a little boring if he was being honest with himself.
"Yeah, even if I hadn't been I'm sure Karai-san would have been fine though, it wasn't a particularly strong poison after all" Sakura nodded with a smile, heading into the kitchen now where lunch was waiting for her.
Naruto shook his head "Hey Naruto, you think we should ask Raikage-sama if he has any odd jobs that we could do, even if their D Rank missions we can still do them" Sasuke questioned, obviously having been thinking the same thing as he was a bit ago.
So simply nodded and fifteen minutes later Sakura was back in the living room, extra perky now that her chakra was replenished "I say we go out and hit the training grounds" Sakura declared, wanting to practice a couple of things.
Yamato followed them this time seeing as Bee wasn't around nor were any of the other Kumo Jonin and soon they arrived at the training grounds to get some training in, Sakura immediately turned to Sasuke.
And just because he was simply curious offered himself up "If you'd like Sakura-san I could spar against you, I'll take it easy even unless you ask me to take you seriously" Yamato offered when Sasuke gulped clearly not wanting to face Sakura in any capacity.
If he wasn't wrong Sasuke also let out an inaudible sigh of relief "Take me seriously please Yamato-san otherwise I won't find out what my limits are currently" Sakura requested politely wanting to improve.
With that they both settled into their respective stances, then Sakura simply charged fist held out, coming at him faster than he expected actually "Mokuton: Threefolds Wood Shield" Yamato flashed through the necessary hand signs.
Creating a shield around himself only to hear the most hideous sound in the next moment of wood splintering, seems Sakura had decided to fuel her punch with chakra the moment he'd used the jutsu and had simply destroyed his protection.
Slightly pale he leaped backwards in the nick of time as the rest of his shield met its demise at Sakura's hands, peridot met onyx and then he couldn't sense her anymore, if not for the slight shift in the wind he wouldn't have dodged the kick aimed at his side.
He did however so luckily got out of the way before he befell any damage, Sakura despite having expected that he would get out of the way stumbled for a second and Yamato saw his chance "Mokuton: Four Pillars Prison" Yamato called out.
Trapping Sakura in a jutsu, Sakura huffed at him, then closed her eyes "Smart I'll give you that but you can't contain me Yamato-san" Sakura smiled in the next moment, giving herself a boost of chakra to jump up and smash in the ceiling of the prison to escape.
Yamato hummed in response "Guess I should have known you'd find a weak spot in it, next time there'll be none and you'll have to concede defeat Sakura-san" Yamato announced already on the move right as a blob of water shot by his face, scratching it.
And blood trickled from the barely there wound "If you can catch me that is" Sakura laughed, clearly having fun sparring against him, even if she didn't win, it was nice having a challenge once in awhile where she didn't win.
Amused at her boasting Yamato sent wood beams after her that she destroyed "Nice" Yamato whistled letting Sakura wear herself down mostly as she dodged this way and that, a calculative gleam in her peridot eyes.
Every few minutes she attempted to get in close range only to retreat fairly quickly and eventually he could tell she was getting tired out so ended their little spar/game of cat and mouse by catching her and pinning her gently to the ground "I concede" Sakura relented.
Out of breath "Holy crap Sakura-chan that was holy wow you know" Naruto appeared at her side in the next second to help her stand when Yamato stood, brushing his pants off, Sakura giggled at Naruto's lack of adjectives to describe her spar.
But let him help her up so they could get back to the house now that they'd officially worn themselves out for the day essentially "Seriously knucklehead that's all you can say, though he's not wrong that was for lack of a better word amazing" Sasuke snorted.
Naruto's head snapped around "Teme shut it, like you can think of anything better than me" Naruto glared, starting a round of teme/dobe until Sakura elbowed the both of them firmly in the sides with an unamused look on her face.
Sasuke hissed and rubbed his side but relented by apologizing "Sorry" Sasuke said doing his best to sound apologetic though he was sure he had failed at that when Sakura rolled her eyes at him, but as long as they weren't arguing she was just content to walk in between them.
Until the four of them got back to where they were staying, Sakura plopped down on the couch this time, pulling out yet another letter scroll, her handwriting having improved in the last week as she wrote her daily update to Tsunade and sent it off with Katsuyu.
Before sprawling out on the couch where she stayed clear to dinner time, letting someone else cook for once i.e Naruto and Sasuke "Is it just me or does the brat seem extra tired" Ay frowned when Sakura trudged off to the guest room she'd chosen after eating supper.
Having been lucky enough to finish all his paperwork ahead of time that evening to eat dinner with the guests in his home "Hospital work and then Sakura-san wanted to get some training in" Yamato explained.
Ay nodded in understanding and a couple days after that nearly through the first week of Sakura helping out in his hospital, those two brats, Naruto and Sasuke didn't report in after he'd given them a job to run some patrols around the outside of the village.
So where did he go, right to the hospital of course "Need the pink brat here now Ruri, her idiot teammates are in trouble probably" Ay barked at the Head Medic when he spotted the woman, Ruri didn't think twice nearly did as ordered.
Less than four minutes after that Sakura was following him from the village, senses locked onto her teammates chakra signatures "Doesn't seem like their in trouble, otherwise their chakra would be fluctuating" Sakura pursed her lips wondering what was going on.
Only to be jerked right off her feet a moment later by Ay, an exploding tag landing in their previous places and going off with a loud boom that made her ears ring "Bandits, guess they didn't learn their lesson" Ay growled.
Irate that the even after going around killing many of the bastards off they still came after the village "Boss what's going on" Darui was right there having heard the explosion from the village since they were still rather close to it.
"Bandits Darui-san, they probably have Naruto and Sasuke to, the brainless wonders most likely thought they could handle the bandits on their own and got caught or something" Sakura sighed already making plans to beat the two senseless once she rescued them of course.
Darui groaned "That's so drab, do you think you can sneak past and get to them while we distract their attention onto us, the Boss and I" Darui inquired, though it wasn't a matter of if she can, Sakura could and do it without anyone noticing which was the real creepy part about her.
Sakura nodded solemnly "Yeah" Sakura masked her chakra and scent expertly at that, disappearing from view moments after as well, vanishing like a ghost into the forest in the direction she felt her teammates.
And when she happened upon them tied to trees she gave them both a good solid whack over the head "Oww that was mean Sakura-chan" Naruto whined pitifully, his cranium now aching from where she'd hit him.
Before paling in the next second at her flat expression "Numbskulls" Sakura snorted as she untied them by cutting the ropes that bound them, Sasuke grimaced while Naruto pouted as they started back in the direction that she'd left the Raikage and Darui.
They didn't get very far unfortunately as a blonde that looked eerily like an older Naruto with a few differences dropped down in front of the trio "Hold it right there you three, don't you know whose territory your in" the man stopped them from going any further.
"Uh yes, the Raikage's, we're here on the Hokage's orders" Sasuke scowled, standing in front of Sakura and Naruto to protect them even if they didn't need it, but he wasn't going to allow anyone to harm his adopted siblings.
At his response the blonde man creased his forehead in confusion "Why would Sandaime-sama order Leaf-nin to go to Kumogakure" he was clearly confused, especially about who their Hokage was which made them all the warier.
Luckily Ay decided that it was high time to come find them "Namikaze" the Raikage spluttered at the sight of the older blue eyed blonde, wary at the sight of him to as he shuffled the brats behind him in response because he wasn't sure if it was a trick or the real deal at that particular time.
Which meant he wasn't going to take any chances with the brats "Ay what's going on, why are Leaf Shinobi in your village" Minato narrowed his ocean blue eyes on the man across from him, wishing he had his teleportation kunai on him.
Since he was pretty sure one of the kids that was stood behind Ay now was his son "My request of Tsunade, bandits were trying to overrun my country and then I asked this brat here to help out in my hospital to commemorate the treaty that has yet to be drawn up between the villages" Ay snorted.
Keeping himself between the brats still "Tsunade, what happened to the Third" Minato questioned, reeling from the news, he just hoped the elderly man had simply gone into retirement, but as soon as he thought it that hope was dashed.
When the lone girl peeked her head around Ay "Passed away several months ago, Orochimaru the Sannin killed him during the last Chunin Exams, the final round to be precise, Tsunade took over immediately after his funeral" the rosette sadly explained.
Having been fond of the old man who had tried to make her life as comfortable as he could in the village "I see" Minato nodded, mourning the loss of the professor, Hiruzen had been a great shinobi and there wouldn't be another one like him.
"You done asking questions Namikaze, good because I have one for you, how the hell are you alive" Ay growled, nudging Sakura back behind him because he didn't trust Minato quite yet obviously.
Minato frowned "Funny story I have no idea nor how I ended up here in the first place" the blonde said, confusion dominant on his face, Ay glanced back at the pink brat, raising a brow and hoping she caught on.
Thankfully she did "Namikaze-san isn't lying Raikage-sama, hey wait a minute, you don't mean Minato Namikaze the Fourth Hokage do you" Sakura realized in that minute who the blonde was courtesy of Mikoto telling her about him a long time ago.
It really was surprising how good her memory was but it was coming in handy at that particular moment, "Correct, I'm surprised that you would know who I am given that your rather young and any information regarding myself would have been sealed away probably" Minato nodded.
A little amused but still mostly confused over the situation he'd found himself in "It was our Mother right Sakura" Sasuke questioned having a guess at where Sakura had learned about this particular man.
Sakura gave a nod in response "Mhm, she taught me about all the Hokage Shodaime-sama, Nidaime-sama, Sandaime-sama and Yondaime-sama" Sakura admitted quietly, Ay rolled his eyes at their antics.
But finally let them out from behind him, the second he did however Minato doubled over clutching his stomach, blood pouring through his fingers from an injury he hadn't had moments earlier "Brat" Ay barked.
Sending her scrambling over to the blonde, hands already coated with medical chakra, Minato by this point had fallen and she had to roll him over to get to his wound "The hell is this" Sakura gasped in horror at the injury of unknown origins.
A hole the size of her fist, Naruto puked "Go get help from those medic guys Cee and Amai, Sasuke, Sakura-chan can't heal that on her own" Naruto ordered once he was finished heaving up his breakfast from that morning.
Forcing himself to not do as Naruto had Sasuke took off back towards the Cloud Village "Help, Sakura needs your help healing someone" Sasuke yelled when he spotted the two medics in question loitering about the entrance of the village with Darui.
Though at his shouting both blonde and brunet were gone in a poof of smoke, Darui hot on their heels, Sasuke scowled but ran back in the direction he'd come from, arriving a minute after Cee, Amai and Darui had.
Cee and Amai were already kneeled at Minato's side helping Sakura heal the gaping hole in the mans body "Come on lets get him to the hospital and set him up in a room so that he can rest" Cee said once they closed the wound.
"Right, I don't know where he got that injury but it was life threatening, you take the rest of the day off Sakura-san, we'll let Ruri-san know, as long as you don't mind Raikage-sama" Amai grimaced unsealing an emergency stretcher that he kept on hand for cases like this.
Ay shook his head indicating he didn't mind instead shepherded Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura back to the house "Better inform Tsunade of this development otherwise she'll go ballistic if you return and you haven't told her about Namikaze coming back somehow" Ay growled at Sakura.
Who nodded sagely in understanding from her position in a chair "We're sorry for causing trouble by the way, here's our report" Naruto chimed in, holding out the report they'd been coming to hand in before that business with the bandits had happened.
It was snatched and then Ay was gone in a plume of smoke "What happened" Yamato frowned seeing their expressions, it didn't give him any fuzzy feelings that was for sure and he was confused over the Fourth Hokage being mentioned.
"The Fourth Hokage came back to life somehow then suddenly got an injury, a gaping hole that went through his entire body front to back I mean" Sakura winced, wishing she could get that image out of her mind.
If there was ever a time she wished to be blind it had been at that time but she did as the Raikage requested and sent a message to Leaf with Katsuyu "From Tsunade-chan" the slug returned mere minutes after being sent off.
With a message from Tsunade to Sakura "Shishou says that she's relieved to hear that Leafs not the only one experiencing weird shit happening, apparently Hashirama-sama and Tobirama-sama came back to life to whereas they were just reanimations their now living flesh" Sakura read off.
Sighing at her mentors crude language "Oh" Yamato cringed in response, though he supposed it was what he got for asking, for the next several minutes Sakura scribbled messages back and forth with Tsunade until the woman straight up told her to stop pestering her.
And the next day upon her return to the hospital Sakura was immediately assigned to tend Minato "He's uncomfortable with Cloud Shinobi" Amai explained the situation, understanding of the mans situation, he'd be uncomfortable to if he came back to life and found out his former enemy was now his ally.
"Got it Amai-san, pretty sure I can handle him to if push comes to shove" Sakura said, psyching herself up to Amai's amusement before entering the room Minato had been placed in, who looked up warily before relaxing when he saw it was just her.
Since Amai had other patients to tend in a different wing of the hospital "It's you, sorry about yesterday, young girls shouldn't be subjected to such horrific wounds like that" Minato greeted in an apologetic tone.
Only to get waved off "I'm a medic it's my job, what I would like to know however is how you got that injury in the first place, you got wounded out of nowhere" Sakura narrowed her eyes on him indicating that she wasn't going to take no as an explanation this time.
Even if she had to pry it out of him, Minato grimaced "Well your right it did come out of nowhere, I suspect that whatever brought me back to life didn't revive me fully and I got the same injuries I had when I died" Minato explained not going into further detail.
Thankfully the girl seemed to accept that answer as she stepped up to his side hands green with medical chakra to check him over "Right I didn't introduce myself did I, I'm Sakura Haruno, the other ones with me were Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, their my teammates" Sakura stated.
Finally introducing herself and her teammates at the same time "Naruto huh I'm glad to see him doing well and all grown up now" Minato sighed softly, hoping that he would have a chance to become a Father to the boy now that he was back.
Sakura tilted her head to the side in confusion at his muttering not quite making the connection yet, she would soon however and that was all that mattered "Well you seem to be alright with no more sudden injuries flaring up, but you will be sore for awhile I reckon" Sakura informed.
Letting the chakra fade from her hands as she told him her diagnosis "Does that mean I have to stay in the hospital" Minato questioned, looking at her hopefully, a smile that usually had girls agreeing to whatever he wanted on his face.
"Yes…unless you want to stay in Raikage-sama's estate with us, seeing as you have no money of your own Yondaime-sama" Sakura shot him down ruthlessly in the next second, his eye twitched at that because he couldn't argue with her.
When it was clear she was getting ready to leave he reached out and grabbed her arm gently "I uh, do you have to leave" Minato asked, feeling like an idiot, what was he thinking acting like a child who didn't want to be on his own.
Her expressive eyes said it all just before she verbally responded "Yes I do Yondaime-sama, there are patients that need healing and I swore I'd do my absolute best for Ruri-san" Sakura intoned apologetically as she pat his hand like she would a little kids.
Reluctantly he let her leave the room and he started thinking over his options sure that she'd come visit him again before she left and he was right "Thought it over, perhaps staying where you and your teammates are won't be so bad after all" Minato said the moment she entered his room.
"If your sure….okay let me get Ruri-san" Sakura asked just to be sure and got a nod so she left and came back with Ruri who checked him over before releasing him into her care, Sakura had been right, he was extremely sore.
And he just about collapsed when he stood, would have to if not for two males suddenly holding him up on either side by his arms "Hold on Minato-san we've got you, you go on ahead Sakura-san to let Raikage-sama know about his new guest" the brunet on his left shooed Sakura off.
Leaving him with just the Kumo-nin to help him walk slowly out of the hospital room and down the halls "Quite the kid isn't she, most would be affected by my natural charms but she shot me down instantly" Minato commented.
Feeling the need to talk for some reason "Of course Sakura would shoot you down, she has someone already, plus she takes her duties as a medic seriously" the blonde on his right scoffed in response obviously knowing more about Sakura than he did which was a given unfortunately.
"Just be glad she didn't give you a dressing down for getting that injury by the way my name is Amai, pleased to meet you Minato-san" the brunet introduced himself rather politely, apparently his name wasn't just for show and belied his gentle nature.
On Minato's other side Cee snorted "Cee" the blonde announced his name not like Amai obviously though he wasn't exactly rude either, though Minato wondered at their relationship with Sakura since it was clear they were fond of the girl.
He didn't ask and soon they arrived at the Raikage's estate "The brats are sitting down for dinner go ahead and join them I already ate so I'm heading back to the office" Ay grumbled as they passed him in the foyer.
So Minato was taken to the dining room and sat carefully in a chair "I'm surprised Sakura let you leave the hospital at all if your still hurting like that" Sasuke commented and got elbowed prompting laughter from Naruto.
Who got the same treatment from Sakura "Be nice Sasuke, Naruto, and I would have kept him in the hospital but it wasn't my decision, I'm merely there to help heal patients and he's technically all healed" Sakura huffed at the boys.
"Well your as scary as ever" Naruto deflated and finally started eating his dinner once they'd given their thanks for the meal, his gaze stayed on their extra guest for most of the dinner however as Minato ate slowly.
Acting like he hadn't eaten in years and was simply relieved to eat something once again that he had to savor all the flavors "Agreed and I can't believe our time here is almost over" Sasuke groaned, knowing that he'd miss Kumogakure like he did Sunagakure.
Naruto slumped at that admission "Maybe when we get a long enough break we can come back, though I'm sure Sakura won't come with us, seeing as she has Gaara to think about" Naruto huffed in a grouchy sounding voice.
Prompting an eye roll from Sakura "Shush Naruto, you don't see me trying to break you up with Hinata, ah ah don't deny it you like her" Sakura teased in the next moment, Naruto trying to deny it despite her warning him not to.
'GAHHHHH Your Impossible" Naruto clamped his hands over his ears finished eating already so he saw no reason to stick around which meant he went and locked himself in his guest bedroom, shocking Bee who probably hadn't expected an orange blur to run past him like that.
Sasuke bit his lip harshly to keep from laughing "Hinata who" Minato questioned seeing as he didn't know anyone from the village except for the older generation and even then many of them might have already passed on from either being killed or simply dying.
"Hyuga, she and the knucklehead have the googoo eyes for one another I swear but I thought I was the only one who had noticed" Sasuke glanced to Sakura, though he didn't have to ask because he already knew how she'd figured it out.
Their chakra probably given how she was able to sense peoples feelings, Minato wanted to pinch his nose and sigh in frustration while outright wanting to tell the boy that dating a Hyuga would be impossible since they didn't allow outsiders to marry into the clan.
"Yo say ho blondy sure ran fast do you know why fool ya fool" Bee rapped his way into the kitchen, grabbing the left over plate, clearly meant for him and took a seat at the table with the others who were still nibbling on what was left of their own dinner.
Sakura grinned "Just couldn't handle being teased is all Bee-san" the pinkette admitted with a little giggle still finding the man amusing where most would have done already gotten annoyed with his horrendous rapping.
Bee nodded in understanding while she began cleaning up, Sasuke helping her, Naruto to who decided to come out of hiding briefly before heading back to the guest room to avoid anymore teasing from his siblings/teammates.
And before they knew it, it was their last day in Kumogakure, that day however was particularly bad for Sakura who woke up to blurry vision that kept fading in and out so she skipped breakfast entirely and simply headed for the hospital to get help in figuring out what was wrong with her.
"You know Sakura-san your work here is done, you should take this day to rest so that you'll be fully ready to head home tomorrow" Ruri scolded when she spotted Sakura in the lobby and thinking the girl was there to work, only to find out that she was completely wrong.
When Sakura gazed up at her, eyes unfocused "There's something wrong with my eyes, they keep focusing and un-focusing, I'm scared that whatever happened when I got caught up in that explosion is ending and I'm just going to be blind again" Sakura explained.
Looking like she was about to cry any minute "Okay Sakura-san I'm going to put you in a room and bring Cee to check you over" Ruri soothed, ushering the girl gently down the halls to an unoccupied examination room.
Then hurried to fetch Cee who didn't make her wait very long "Relax you probably just strained your eyes is all Sakura-san" Cee smiled lightly as he checked her eyes for any problems and found it to be the very thing he just said.
Sakura looked very relieved when he told her this "I would suggest you rest your eyes however and rely on your senses for the time being but should you need to see wear these to avoid straining your eyes further" Cee said, producing a pair of glasses.
Never would he admit to anyone when she had put the glasses on and thanked him profusely that she looked damn adorable wearing glasses but seeing as his patient had left he returned to what he'd been doing before.
While Sakura returned to the Raikage's House "Brat what's going on" Ay was still there, having been worried that something that was wrong so hadn't been able to leave yet until he knew the pink haired brat was alright.
"I strained my eyes so my visions a little blurry and unfocused for right now, Cee-san said to wear these to avoid straining them further" Sakura informed sheepishly knowing she should have told someone before leaving but she'd just been so scared that any rational thought had left her.
Ay sighed and dragged a heavy hand down his face in response "Damn it brat let us know when something happens" the Raikage growled at her then stomped his way out of his house in order to get to work like he should have already been.
Missing Sakura nodding after him as she turned and headed for the kitchen "How come you missed breakfast Sakura-chan" Naruto pouted at her, a little worried and wondering why she was suddenly wearing glasses.
Earning a sheepish smile in return "Sorry Naruto, I woke up with blurry vision, so panicked, thankfully I just strained my eyes a little to much so Cee-san told me to wear these and rely mostly on my other senses" Sakura apologized.
"Raikage-sama had a point you have to let us know when something happens so we can help you Sakura, we're a team after all, but I do understand, to wake up like that I would have freaked out a little to" Sasuke chimed in.
Having heard Ay scolding Sakura then placed the extra plate of food in front of her so she could eat "Why would you panic over a little thing as that" Minato asked clearly confused over the whole conversation.
Since he didn't know "It's not just a little thing Yondaime-sama, nearly three weeks ago I had been blind for most of my life and then I had a near-death experience and was able to see after that, I was freaked out because I thought my vision was fading on me" Sakura winced.
Minato decided that Sakura did have a valid reason for panicking at that as he simply sat quietly after that merely listening to the Chunin chattering back and forth about the things they were going to do once they got home to Leaf.
And the following day it was time to leave Kumogakure "Give this to Tsunade" Ay passed over a scroll to Yamato who tucked it into his storage pouch "Other than that have a safe trip back home brats" the Raikage growled at the brats.
All of whom saluted at him with ridiculous grins "Yeah and make sure you come visit when you have the time, I know we'll probably be seeing you in a few weeks but still you kids didn't have near enough time to just sit back and relax" Atsui chimed in with a wave.
"Perhaps we'll even be able to spend a little time together as well, seeing as Atsui and I were busy except for those first few days" Samui added, wishing the Leaf Chunin had had a little more time there in Kumogakure.
Darui, Karai, Amai and Cee were the only ones not there since they'd already bid Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke farewell the day before "Hey don't worry about it Atsui-san we already decided to come back at some point" Sasuke hollered now that they were getting further away.
"That's right don't expect Sakura-chan however…..ouch mean" Naruto called only to get whacked, his voice so loud everyone at the gate could still hear him even though they were no longer visible to the Cloud Shinobi and Raikage.
Until they couldn't hear them at all "Just be on your guards please" Yamato requested, having no intention of lowering his guard and getting knocked out like he had last time when they had been coming to Kumogakure.
Sasuke, Naruto and Sasuke immediately straightened "Roger that Yamato-san" Sakura saluted him, closing her eyes and spreading out her senses, living up to her moniker despite being able to see now especially as all sense of her disappeared.
Including the light vibration one could usually feel when someone was walking, on the other side of Yamato, Minato's gaze snapped to her instantly "Yondaime-sama calm down, you'll just upset her" Yamato noticed this of course and tried to get the man to relax.
Minato narrowed his eyes but stopped staring even though he had many questions he wanted to ask he supposed they could wait and three days later the gates of the Leaf Village came into view, by this point Sakura was no longer wearing the glasses she'd been given.
And her eyes were wide and full of awe at the sight of her village for the first time ever, knowing this Naruto and Sasuke held her hands, Yamato seeing them stop also stopped himself making Minato do the same in confusion.
Before he remembered what Sakura had told him and realize she was seeing the Leaf Village in all it's glory for the first time "It's beautiful" Sakura finally whispered after a minute or two had passed simply taking in the sights.
"You'll get use to it" Naruto teased earning a small huff as they started forward again releasing each others hands in the process though they kept in their formation until they reached the gates and started signing in one by one.
Sakura took her turn last, emerald orbs bright as she looked around but trying not to overdo it and strain her eyes again at the same time "Bet you can't wait to see Hyo" Sasuke commented and gripped Sakura's hand when she nearly vanished on them at the name of her jaguar.
Blushing a pretty red when Naruto and Sasuke eyed her in amusement "Hyo, is that your Father Sakura-san" Minato questioned, glad to ask at least one of his various questions, imagine his surprise when she shook her head.
And kept her mouth shut at the same time "No but he is someone pretty important to her" Yamato said for Sakura, not giving the secret away since he wasn't sure how Minato would react to the jaguars, it was an unfortunate thing they feared with all newcomers to the village actually.
Sakura nodded this time as they began their trek to the Hokage Tower, "Sakura I kept denying it was true this entire time, but you can really see now can't you" Tsunade crushed her little apprentice to her chest nearly suffocating the girl.
Having been worried out of her mind, thankfully the hug didn't last to long and Sakura was happy to be out from in-between them as Tsunade set her on her feet and sat once more behind her desk, taking on a professional air.
"Right, congratulations on a mission well done, I'll give you a month off and Sakura take an escort…and welcome back Minato, I'll begin the process of reopening your vault but for the time being I'm putting you in Mikoto Uchiha's capable hands, just follow the brats" Tsunade declared.
Taking a scroll from Yamato as it was held out to her before he simply vanished through the floor, at the dismissal however, Sakura felt her heart speed up, so neither Naruto or Sasuke were entirely surprised when she simply vanished on them now that she could.
Across the village she ran to the nearly empty compound and once through the abandoned gates Sakura swung right into the forest, letting her feet lead her straight to the cave on instinct alone, just her luck that the one jaguar she wanted to see first happened to be outside.
Lounging in the sun though upon smelling her scent after three weeks of her being gone Hyo was on his feet and lunging towards her "My cub, oh my cub" Hyo tackled her gently to the ground, purring loudly for the girl who he'd claimed as his own long ago.
In response Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his ivory fur, already sobbing "Hyo-kun" Sakura cried more happy than sad really because she could finally see him, from his matching emerald orbs to the soft white fur.
"Cub I love you" Hyo rumbled in his familiar tone that had her tears slowing but they remained in the same position for a few minutes longer simply basking in each others presence, until the others came out of the cave smelling Sakura and having heard the commotion.
The next jaguar to be greeted was Kajiya "Lovely eyes as I always knew they'd be, you are now as you were always meant to be Sakura, a proud shinobi of Konohagakure" Kajiya purred, rubbing herself against the young girl.
Who ran her fingers through her ebony fur "Kajiya-chan" Sakura murmured in awe of the female jaguar that had been her second surrogate mother, so she did what she had to Hyo, by burying her face in the panthers thick black fur.
Until her jaguar sister got impatient "Come on let me see to Sister" Yasei complained acting like a young cub again, Sakura couldn't help but laugh before lifting her head to show off her bright green eyes.
Yasei, she found looked like Hyo with Kajiya's crystal blue eyes "Ah and here I thought you'd finally grown out of that stage Yasei-chan" Sakura teased lightly earning a huff before Yasei had her attention taken away by Kurai who had both of his parents coloring's and orange eyes.
He still didn't like baths apparently not that she expected that to change in just a little over three weeks "Welcome home Sakura" Yori nodded at the pinkette who looked him over as much as she had the others.
Taking him in for the first time, he was black like Kajiya but had orange eyes though she was grateful she got to see him at all "Try not to scare us anymore alright Sakura" Tora grumbled at her, a little grouchy still from when they'd all been told about her getting hurt.
Sakura winced in response "I'll do my best Tora-kun and I'm glad to be home Yori" Sakura nodded after a moment, eyeing her jaguar brother who had Kajiya's fur and Hyo's eyes that matched hers.
Muimina was after him little Chairo huddled between her legs "Will you be going anywhere any time soon Sakura" Muimina asked knowing Sakura well, she always had to be on the move, sitting still wasn't an option for her really.
"Probably not for a couple of weeks and I won't be going anywhere if I can get him to come here, Gaara-kun I mean" Sakura admitted not wanting to lie to the yellow and brown speckled panther who had brown eyes.
Like her daughter who had Tora's fur, "Mom we've learned lots while you were gone, we know how to hunt full grown deer now" Mita one of her little cubs jumped at her once it was clear that her attention was free to be on her.
"Not just deer but we took down our first bear to Mother" Tokei rumbled out, hoping to get praised for their accomplishments, a bear was a big deal, they were right however that Sakura would be proud of them.
As she rubbed their ears until they were nothing but puddles of goo on the ground "Come here Fuyona" Sakura once she'd finished paying the cubs attention, glanced to the spotted dark grey panther with light grey eyes.
Fuyona prowled forward slowly a little leery about the scents on Sakura's person but eventually flopped down before her savior "Welcome home Sakura-chan" Fuyona purred when Sakura rubbed her fingers through her fur.
"Thanks Fuyona-chan" Sakura smiled before standing partially reluctant but excited at the same time, Hyo rumbled out a laugh when Sakura turned and marched in the direction of the Main Family House.
Not that he blamed the girl Mikoto was on par with them on the importance scale, it was also around this time that Minato was getting settled on the couch, shocked at the situation that had developed after he'd died.
His friends had adopted his son but now there was only Mikoto since Fugaku and most of the Uchiha clan had been killed by an unknown person, before he could delve to deep his train of thought was broken by a knock.
Mikoto was gone from the living room at that, Naruto and Sasuke sharing an amused look with one another but also not wanting to miss the moment hurried after the woman just as Mikoto whipped the door open.
To crush Sakura to her in a bone crushing hug "Mikoto-chan….Mom I'm home" Sakura announced, feeling tears gathering in her eyes again as she continued to be hug by Mikoto who reluctantly released her after a couple more minutes.
And looked down into bright viridian irises then she was right back to hugging the girl "Don't crush her in half Auntie Mikoto, I happen to like my little cousin in one piece you know" Shisui teased when it was clear Mikoto wasn't going to release her this time.
Only doing so out of embarrassment allowing Shisui and Itachi to see Sakura as well "Hi Shisui-san, Itachi-ni" Sakura waved with a grin taking them in for the first time and trying to adjust to being able to actually see them.
Shisui laughed outright and ruffled her hair while Itachi pulled her in for a gentle side hug "You should go find Kakashi-san, try the monument on your team training grounds" Itachi whispered in her ear before letting her go.
Sakura straightened, shared a look with Mikoto to convey her feelings then was gone out the door "Dear me" Mikoto shook her head with a giggle, more than pleased, even if her family wasn't entirely whole at least she had wonderful children.
In the mean time Sakura had made another mad dash out of the Uchiha Compound to her teams training grounds, senses locked onto Kakashi's chakra able to recognize it with ease "Yo" Kakashi gave her a salute when she skidded to halt next to him at the monument.
"Really I come all this way to see you Kakashi-sensei and all I get I a yo and a salute" Sakura huffed at him teasingly before rushing into his held out arm, tears blurred her eyes once more due to how happy she was and she squeezed Kakashi tighter in response.
Though she was careful not to use chakra "That's just how I am Sakura-chan, but I can say this I'm glad your back and should you want to go to Sunagakure to visit Gaara-kun, I'll take you there personally myself" Kakashi declared.
Hugging her back until Sakura finally released him to stare up at him with her bright eyes and he knew they were going to be his downfall even worse than Sakura already was being able to get him to do things he normally wouldn't do.
After a moment Sakura nodded satisfied for the time being, her other friends could wait but right now what she wanted most was to go back to her cave and be with Hyo and the others "See you Kakashi-sensei" Sakura waved.
Marching back to the compound and to the cave where she stayed the rest of the day with Hyo, Kajiya, Tora, Yasei, Mita, Tokei, Chairo, Kurai and Fuyona, Naruto and Sasuke stayed at the main house and at the end of the day when it was time for bed they all cuddled and Sakura fell instantly to sleep.
