REVIVAL

"The past cannot be cured."

Elizabeth I

Chapter VI: Past Tense

It's not a lot of times that Tenshi finds herself alone ever since she's been to Konoha. And as much as she loves it, she's still an introvert at heart, preferring her own company to recuperate. It's only been three days since Naruto left and she's surprised at how productive she's being because of it, drowning herself in her work but in a great way.

Tenshi formulated a near-perfect habit: work, grab some take-out, then sleep. To others, it may seem boring and dull. Another lifeless robotic workaholic. But it energizes her. The Group called it 'softening' whenever someone is enjoying their assignment too much, co-habiting with the civilians around them.

They also called it unacceptable.

Before heading off to train, Naruto asked her to check on Sasuke once in a while for him since the boy is just on the other side of the hospital from her office anyway. She agreed on the terms that he does his best with his training. And avoid being stupid.

"Hello, Sasuke-kun," she greets, a yellow bouquet of daisies on hand, "how are you feeling?" Her eyes scan the room, checking for anything out of place. Or anyone.

"I'm alright."

Unlike her relationships with the rest of Team 7, Sasuke has always been the most distant. But the two of them have unspoken respect for each other. They would exchange a word or two but there was also something about the boy that she could see in herself. Although, she couldn't point whatever it is at the moment.

"That's better than yesterday, what a relief."

"I don't know why they keep me in here," he grumbles, crossing his arms as he looks out the window, "I told them I'm already feeling fine." Unconsciously, the kid's hand rubs the back of his neck.

Kakashi told her about it the night he came home from the Preliminaries. Orochimaru, one-third of the Legendary Sannin, bit him and a mark formed around the bite. He was able to seal it but needed keeping an eye on the boy. The man wanted something from him, whatever it is, she has no clue.

"I'll see what I can do," she smiles as she stands across him, "The doctors here are some of my patients so they're quite soft on me."

His eyes light up, a small smirk appearing on his face. "Y-you'd do that?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

The onyx-haired boy breaks their eye contact, staring down at his hands with furrowed brows then shrugs. "I thought…you only cared about Naruto, or something."

And it's in that moment that Tenshi realizes what it is that they have in common, a misplaced feeling of abandonment. Somehow belonging somewhere but never truly. She's read about the Uchiha Massacre doing her research on Konohagakure when she arrived. Sasuke's own brother slaughtered everyone he knew. It's no shocker that a dark cloud looms over him. This boy walks a fragile line.

"Of course I care about you Sasuke-kun," she chuckles as she takes the daisies out of their wrapping and transfers them to a vase, "I got you daisies, see? I would never give Naruto-kun flowers. We both know he won't appreciate it. That boy only likes ramen."

For the first time since she met him, the Uchiha boy offers him a genuine smile. One thing she's learned from trauma survivors, it's that their still just human and whatever little humanity or normalcy they have buried beneath, will come out no matter what. In Sasuke's case, he's still just a boy. A boy who wants love and security, and maybe a dash of attention just as much as the next guy.

Before she could continue conversing with him, an unexpected sight outside the window makes her scream and throw her sandal at its direction. Sasuke whips his head towards it, ready to attack. A few moments pass before it settles in with them what they're witnessing.

"Oh, it's just you Kakashi," she lets out a sheepish chuckle, "Sorry about that."

The silver-headed man's eye twitches, a very red shoe print marking itself on his face. He hands over her sandal back at her, "You dropped this."

Sasuke looks between the two of them, somehow knowing what's about to happen but needing confirmation.

"Let's go," Kakashi says to him.

The Uchiha boy looks up at her as if asking for permission but she just nods, "Like I said, I'll take care of it from here. You should go."

A smirk makes its way on his lips as he lifts himself up out of the bed. Sasuke puts on his sandals leaving Tenshi and Kakashi directly facing each other.

Despite earlier's events, he sends a warm smile at her direction. "We'll be going now, Tenshi." Take care of yourself, his words say.

"Don't overdo it, boys, okay?" Take care, Kakashi.

Sasuke heads for the window towards his sensei but he stops on his tracks and turns his head sideways towards her direction. "Thank you, Tenshi."

"Beat Gaara's ass for me, will ya?"

He chuckles. "Oh, I will."

After one final look exchanged between her and Kakashi, her friend sends her a two finger salute. The duo disappears into a cloud of smoke leaving her alone in the room.

"Stupid boy left his daisies," she says then chuckles.

Just as she's about to exit the room, the door slides open to reveal the young pink kunoichi. "Where's Sasuke-kun?"

Tenshi throws her arm around the young girl. "I'll explain on the way. Today, you're with me."

The bright fluorescent lights to her office were far too uncomfortable for her patients so Tenshi always keeps them off, preferring the sunlight from outside. Aoi is definitely a quick study and has been performing her own therapy sessions. Gai made sure to book as many appointments as he can.

"Have a seat, Sakura," she points at the plush purple couch beside hers, "don't be shy."

The young kunoichi hesitates before she plops herself, questions still swimming in her head. Tenshi fills her in on what happened and even convinces her to stay with her for the day.

After Preliminaries, a large surge of newcomers have been booking sessions with her. Their stories are almost all the same. Whatever happened in those Chunin Exams, she didn't even want to delve into too much. Especially imagining the horrors Naruto must have seen and him getting into near-death situations irks her.

However, her last patient for the day was unusual. In fact, she has never encountered one ever since she's arrived. Limping and on crutches, Gato-san is a war veteran from the Second Great Ninja Wars. A few scars adorn his already aged face, making him look even older than he should be, half of his left leg was gone, and his entire right arm is cut off. Tenshi gives Sakura a look once the girl started losing her cool.

"Sakura-chan," she smiles, "why don't you help Aoi-chan outside file the reports?"

"H-hai."

Once the door shuts leaving them alone, Tenshi gives Gato her full attention. She smiles at him. "It's great to meet you, Gato-san."

Barely meeting her eyes, the man slumps on his seat looking already more defeated than when he came in. "You too, Tenshi-san."

"So tell me, sir, how are you feeling today?" Sensing his hesitation, she continues, "I just want you to know that whatever you say in this room, stays in this room. You have my word. This is a safe space where you can tell me anything going through you mind."

A few moments pass before the old man opens his mouth, "I-I've been having nightmares. I mean, I used to have them but not this strong or frequent."

"Thank you for telling me, Gato-san," she says, "Is it alright if you tell me what they're about?"

"The war, I've fought on both the Second and Third, but after the last one... It's always the same. I tried to save them," his hand curls into a fist on his lap, "but I couldn't. I was too late. And the worst part? It's true. It was all true."

Tenshi remains silent, urging him to continue. With patients like this, she's learned that they just usually need someone to talk to to process their thoughts.

"It happened in this small village. The Land of Prism. It's a wasteland now. I'm partly to blame," he still refuses to meet her eyes.

Scribbling the details he's sharing on her notepad, Tenshi asks, "I can't say I've heard of it, Gato-san. I never even knew such a place existed, I'm sorry. But please, continue to elaborate."

"In the Third Great Shinobi War, my unit was tasked to seek shelter for the people there," he pauses, taking a gulp from the glass Tenshi prepared for him, "but when we got there, the damage was too great. The enemies have already made it. Hundreds of people died there that day, bodies piled on the streets like sardines."

Bodies on the streets, she thinks. A strong scent of blood from her memory overwhelms her senses. Blurred faces of corpses piled on the sides of the streets. Crying. Sobbing. Screams. Her breathing starts to become shallow. Where is this coming from?

"It's all my fault. If only I tried harder."

You should've. Her thoughts reply back to her surprise. An overwhelming feeling of hostility takes over her all of a sudden. And out of nowhere.

"I could never forgive myself for that day. And now, the faces of the lives lost will never leave my head," he continues, tears streaming down his eyes, "Children, dead. Even the Royal Family. All dead. Those poor kids, they still had so much to live for."

Her chest tightens at the information, eyes glassy.

"Ka-san! Dou-san!" a voice screams in her head.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Gato-san," she says, trying to control the dam of emotions boiling inside her, "It's good to let these things out and it's very brave of you to come here and asking for help."

He looks at her now, surprised at her words of affirmation.

"Here's what I want you to do: start a dream journal. Record everything you can remember and how you're feeling, that way, we can have more clarity as to the areas we will be focusing on during our future sessions."

"Yes, I will be trying that."

She smiles at him. "You did well, Gato-san. I hope you and I can work together on releasing this guilt that's preventing you from enjoying your life. Are you ready to go on this journey with me?"

Determination in his eyes, he struggles as he stands up from his seat. Tenshi follows to help support him but he stretches an arm at her. Doing the best he can, the old man bows at a ninety-degree angle at her. "It would be my honor, Tenshi-san. Thank you so much. I really didn't know what to do anymore."

Patting his shoulder, she says, "And you came to the right place, sir. Don't worry, let's conquer this together, okay?"

For the first time since he's arrived, Gato-san smiles at her. "Okay."

Walking the older man to the exit, she waves him a polite goodbye and slides the door shut. After making sure he's far enough, she exhales the pent up emotions in her chest and shuts her eyes for a few moments to contain herself. It's an oddity that she's been so emotionally involved during the session when she's crafted an already foolproof armor whenever she conducts them. Like a glass wall that allows her to see the other person with empathy but still enough to manage a certain distance from them.

"Are you feeling okay, Neechan?" Sakura looks at her with genuine concern.

Tenshi won't lie, once the adrenaline rush subsided a few moments ago, she's been feeling faint. Like the blood is rushing up to her head. "I'm okay, Sakura-chan. Don't worry," she smiles.

Aoi watches the exchange in quiet curiosity, pretending to be doing some paperwork but her eyes are glued at the redhead.

As if on cue, liquid runs down her nose. Tenshi reaches up to examine it. Blood.

"Tenshi-san!" Aoi jumps from her chair to grab a few tissues and rushes to fold them up and hand them to her. "Here stuff this in."

Sakura also crowds beside her blond assistant, eyes sparkling with worry.

Tenshi waves a hand to dismiss them, making her way to the nearest couch and lays there. "It's nothing to worry about girls, really I'm okay. I think I've just been super stressed lately."

"With all due respect, Tenshi," Aoi says, kneeling beside her, "I've seen you with hundreds of patients at this point. None of them ever had that effect on you yet. What did the two of you talk about in there anyway?" The shift of tone is her asking as a friend, not her assistant.

Her obsidian eyes dart at the young kunoichi as if telling her to keep this all a secret, especially from Naruto, before she shrugs. "He's just the usual war veteran with guilt. Nothing too different, really. I don't know, it's really probably just stress. Aoi, I'm okay. Really."

Unconvinced, Aoi stares at her for a moment longer before rising up and sitting on her office chair. She rubs her temple and lets out a sigh.

Just then, the door slides open making the ladies jump at the suddenness of it. "Good afternoon, beautiful heroines of Konohagakure," Gai enthuses, flowers in hand, "Aoi-chan I hope you like-" But he pauses upon seeing Tenshi spread out on the sofa.

"Tenshi-chan! What happened?" he exclaims, making her assistant roll her eyes. The Green Beast of Konoha has been visiting their clinic at a daily basis ever since he declared his affections for her assistant. Aoi has been less than excited about the whole arrangement.

Shooting herself up, Tenshi fights her head rush to face Gai. "It's nothing Gai-san. Really, I'm okay. Just been under the weather with work, that's all."

"You should really see a doctor for that, Tenshi-chan," he smiles at her, "We can't allow stress to get in the way of our youthfulness!"

"I will, I will."

After some convincing, Tenshi managed to evade the attempts of her friends to walk her home. Or in Gai's case, piggyback her home. Sakura was thoughtful enough to get her a box of apple juice from the vending machine.

What a cute girl, she thought as she walks down the streets. The sky is painted a brilliant magenta with hints of lavender and gold creating a beautiful soft glow outside. It's like it came straight out of a painting. Inhaling a deep gulp of air, Tenshi releases the remaining tension from her chest. A smile forms on her lips. Pure contentment.

"Tenshi?" a familiar voice calls out. Her heart stops and she almost drops the juice box.

Whipping her head behind her, her eyes widen in confirmation. The flow of the crowd goes in slow motion at the sight, her breath leaving her lips. She can spot those brunette curls from anywhere, those emerald eyes from a mile away, even the shape of his body. Her heartbeat quickens to a deafening pulse, her hands clammy.

"Hari?"

Author's Note: Hey everyone! I hope you're enjoying the chapters I've been putting out so far. This story has been in my mind for quite some time now and I hope I can continue to at least offer you something easy to pass the time with through this pandemic. Hope you're staying safe! Please favorite, follow, and leave me a review! I'd love to reply and interact with you guys as much as possible. :)