It was a long, long day.
The children were initially skittish around everyone, but their curiosity of Sakura eventually overrode their fear. They remained huddled together, but that didn't deter Sakura from her objective. With what she hoped was a reassuring smile, she set her recollected paperwork aside and sat down on the ground a few feet from them.
"I'd like to learn a little about each of you, if that's okay. If there's something you don't feel comfortable telling me, we'll skip it," she told them, and then turned her focus to the tallest of the group. The rest huddled around her like satellites orbiting a star, which meant she was the leader and the one whose trust Sakura most needed to gain. She was probably around 11 or 12, with copper skin and hair a shade similar to Sakura's. Her brown eyes were narrowed at Sakura and lit with defiance.
Suddenly, one of the smaller children-brown eyes, bright pink hair-stepped forward.
"Can I touch your hair?" the child asked, her gaze oscillating between the floor and Sakura's head. Sakura nodded, though she was curious why her hair would be interesting when several in the room had a similar shade.
"It's real?"
"Yes, it's my real color," Sakura assured her. "Yours is real too, right?"
The little girl nodded, and Sakura tried to take advantage of the moment of bravery. "Can you tell me your name?"
"Mina," the child offered.
"Hello, Mina. That's a very pretty name," she began by way of introduction. "My name is Sakura."
Mina suddenly tensed and began to shy away. She didn't stop her when Mina stepped back into the group, but she couldn't help the frown that crossed her faced.
"I'm sorry if I scared you," she apologized, unsure what had provoked Mina's reaction.
"The men call us pretty," their leader offered in a clipped, angry tone. "We don't like it."
Sakura's stomach rolled with anxiety and nausea. Of course. "I understand. I'm sorry, Mina. It won't happen again, I promise."
Understanding that she needed to take a different approach, Sakura looked at the group as a whole again.
"Would you all like to have some food? We can sit in comfortable chairs and you can eat and rest as long as you like."
"Are you going to stay with us?" Another of the smaller children spoke up: a boy this time, with bright blue eyes and hair a deep, almost rose shade.
"I would like to, but if my hair is upsetting you, my assistant Shizune can stay with you instead. If you prefer to sit by yourselves, she can sit on the other side of the room."
Twelve pairs of eyes looked toward their still unnamed leader, and Sakura waited patiently for her judgement.
"You can come," the oldest voiced her decision. "I'd like to ask some questions of my own."
"Of course." Sakura stood and turned to Shizune, who had been watching from the door in complete silence. She still looked stricken. "Shizune, could you clear the lounge and ask one of the nurses to bring us two trays with pancakes and juice?"
"We'll wait a few minutes and they'll make the pancakes hot for you," Sakura explained once Shizune left, though the wait had more to do with their trip to the lounge; her staff had plenty of men, and she wanted to make sure the area was clear before bringing them that way. She knew there would be too many stares otherwise. "Would any of you be willing to tell me your name? Now I know Mina, but I'd like to get to know all of you."
Her eyes locked with that of the oldest again, and she knew her expression was pleading. She needed just a little bit of trust from her, and then Sakura would work tirelessly to earn the rest of it. There was a long, agonizing pause.
"Sora," their leader provided, and her simple admission opened the floodgates. Suddenly, Sakura had 11 new names offered in varying tones of excitement.
It was a small success on a very long road to their recovery.
They settled in the staff lounge fifteen minutes later, and the group, save for Sora, dove into piles of freshly made pancakes Shizune had brought. The sight made Sakura release a small sigh of relief: signs of joy and hunger meant there was still life in the children to nurture, that their trauma hadn't completely broken their spirit. They sat amongst three of the staff tables in small groups, talking quietly and sucking syrup from their fingers between large bites of pancake. Sakura watched as Shizune finally cracked a smile as she walked around the table and offered napkins and refills of juice.
Sakura sat at a separate table to give the group space, intent of giving them space until she was invited. She was surprised then, when Sora set her plate down across from her and settled in the chair. The others, more interested in their food, didn't notice her absence. Sakura waited a few minutes, but when Sora continued to sit quietly and pick at her food, she decided conversation may be better.
"They look up to you. Are you the oldest of the group, Sora?"
Sora nodded. "I'm twelve," she added, anticipating Sakura's next question. She then pointed to each of the children, reiterating their names and providing their ages. Mina, at 5, was the youngest and the newest of the group.
"Thank you." Sakura wanted to know more—she had a flurry of questions in her head—but she started with the most important. "You're visitors of Konoha now, and patients of my hospital. What can we do to make you feel safe?"
Sora's frown deepened. "I will never feel safe. But it may be possible for them. Food, and clothing, and warm beds without leering men is a good start. Is that something you can give?"
"Yes," Sakura promised. "You have my word. And you'll have that, too, even if it doesn't ease your concern." Sakura avoided the word fear, though she knew in her heart that's what Sora felt underneath the hardened gaze and the constant calculations. In Sora she saw her own husband in his youth, and knew even if Sora obtained some peace, she would likely never be rid of her edges. For children of tragedy like Sora, like Sasuke, safety came too late to save their innocence.
"There are things I'd like to know."
"Then I'll do my best to answer them."
The first question was easy enough. "What do children do in this village?"
"Well," Sakura began. "It depends. Some children are civilians—they go to school, help family and others in the village. They play and socialize. Children with certain abilities are eligible for specialized training to become shinobi, and once they graduate, they take on missions of different rankings."
"What kind of missions?"
"It depends," Sakura treaded carefully, knowing what path the conversation was leading toward. "Sometimes, it's to help others in the village with tasks—cleaning, locating lost items, things like that. Sometimes they get sent out of the village to assist allies."
"What about pleasuring allies?"
"No, Sora," Sakura shook her head. "That's not a mission we ask of children shinobi. Not anymore." When that didn't seem to satisfy Sora's displeasure, she added, "All of you would remain here as civilians, of course."
"What about you? How were you able to do it?"
Sakura tilted her head. "I became a shinobi when I was your age. I still am, technically, though running the hospital keeps me off of missions."
"That's not what I meant," the girl responded. "How were you able to avoid capture?"
The question settled in Sakura's gut like a bad meal for the remainder of her time with the children. She took a break to get some air after talking with Sora a bit more, and when she returned Shizune and another female medic had brought the children into two adjoining rooms for some rest. Thankfully, they all, even Sora, settled into a restful slumber, allowing Sakura and Shizune some time to debrief.
Once they were in her office, Sakura was at her desk quickly jotting down notes. "We're going to have to cordon off a wing specifically for them. I want to see the hospital's work schedule, and let's set up a meeting first thing tomorrow morning. I want no chance of them coming across any male medics, cleaning staff or otherwise until we're ready to assist them with-"
"Sakura, hang on a moment," Shizune interrupted, and it was only then that Sakura looked up to see the other woman was holding out a steaming mug and a takeout bag. "How about we start with some food and tea for you."
"You're right." Sakura realized it was well into the evening and the gnawing at her stomach was as much hunger as anxiety. She began a slow round of deep, calming breaths that helped melt away some tension in her body. She could feel small tremors in her muscles from lack of sustenance and an overabundance of adrenaline. She needed to reclaim some calm: She couldn't help these children if she was too affected by their presence.
When she felt refocused again, Shizune had set the mug of tea (likely chamomile) on her desk, and was starting to unpack two containers of food. "Thank you, Shizune. I'm sorry; you have enough to do without looking after me."
Shizune 'tsk'ed in response. "Sakura, you're no trouble compared to Tsunade-sama and even Kakashi-sama. The most trying thing I have to do is make sure you eat."
They ate in companionable silence, and despite Shizune's assurance, Sakura could tell she had carefully chosen filling but bland foods to settle an uneasy stomach. Still, Sakura only ate half her meal before she set her chopsticks down and hummed in gratitude. These days, there were very few moments where she was the one taken care of by others. That seemed to be enough to satisfy Shizune though, because she placed a single sheet of paper on Sakura's desk. "Before they went to sleep, we were able to get bloodwork from each of them. Although you haven't verbalized it, I know you were wondering. None of them are related to you."
Sakura let out another long, slow exhale. She had been wondering—worrying—and at some points even hoping-that there was a blood link. She reviewed the results for each child to see what Shizune already confirmed and allowed one of her unspoken questions to grow quiet.
"I'd like to see the report from Suna rather than continue to rely solely on Sora's intel. Has it come from the Tower yet?"
Shizune shook her head. "Kakashi-sama reviewed it as soon as the children arrived, but it hasn't been transferred over yet. I'm not sure what the hold up is, but he still has it."
"Hmm." She was due home soon, but after a brief visit, she was going to head to the Hokage Tower. She knew she wouldn't have any peace until she knew what was in that report.