Chapter 20 – Just Let Your Heart Speak, and I'll Know
Shit.
Within minutes of starting her shift at the hospital, Sakura found herself feeling extremely grateful for finding a few hours to nap beforehand, lips thinning as she rushed towards the emergency surgery room. The words code blue echoed in her mind and she quickly tied her hair back, using an elbow to barge her way into the room.
As expected, there were two medics pouring their all into the lifeless patient before them, and had the moment not been so critical, she would have warmed at the way their eyes lit up with hope and relief at the sight of her. Knowing she made such a difference to her comrades always brought forth a huge sense of accomplishment to her.
"Sakura-senpai," one cried with relief. "We can't stabilise him!"
"Do we know what happened?" she questioned while scrubbing at her hands and wrists, glancing over her shoulder to try and better assess the situation from there. "How long have you been working on him?"
"Fifteen minutes," the other replied. "We've already lost him twice."
Shit.
"He was on a solo mission, we believe," came the answer to her first question. "Another team found him on their return to the village – they think he was trying to come home."
Nodding in thanks, Sakura finally approached the man, heart stuttering momentarily as she vaguely recognised him as someone from the Uchiha Clan. They never spoke, never even made eye contact, but he was always going on morning jogs towards the training grounds, and she oftentimes saw him while saying goodbye to Itachi when he headed out to work.
Was this Tsunade's doing?
No. Her shishou had sadistic tendencies sure, but she wasn't evil. She would never put another's life in such a critical state to try and help her score points with the clan and Itachi.
Multiple stab wounds, Sakura noted while assessing his stripped down body, her brows knitting together. Head wound too. Possible organ shut down, considering where two of those stab wounds were placed and the way his body was responding.
She had her work cut out for her.
"Have we tested for poison?" she questioned, noting the darkened veins.
"Positive – it's slow acting and curable, thankfully."
While that was something to be thankful for, in the Uchiha's critical condition, it was just as deadly as any other poison.
They didn't have time to waste, she decided and with her only having two other medics at her disposal, Sakura knew that enacting the healing resuscitation regeneration technique together was much too risky. Not only to the medics and the drain on their already weakened chakra, but to the patient too.
There was no other choice, not unless other medics suddenly came to their aid.
And they had no time to waste on hoping for that to happen.
Much to the shock and horror of the others, she was quick to start drawing the intricate formula on and around the patient, ensuring to target each deadly wound he had received.
"Sakura-senpai, you could drain yourself–"
She shot him a warning glower, hands coming to the wound closest to the Uchiha's heart. "Don't question me."
Strictly speaking, because of her reserves, she didn't need the other medics to perform the healing resuscitation regeneration jutsu, although it was preferred as they acted as a safety net, as a backup just in case. Before mastering her seal, it was a gamble even with her exemplary control on chakra, but with it? Sakura knew she was capable. She simply hoped the organ failure wasn't as deadly as she feared, because delving into her reserves a day before travelling to Suna was risky.
The two medics backed away the moment she began the treatment, gaze narrowed and serious as she focused hard on saving the man's life, refusing to look away even when the brightness of her green chakra threatened to blind her as it became the main source of light in the otherwise dimly lit room. Nothing else was allowed to matter in that moment, nothing could ever become more important than the patient.
As suspected: a couple of the puncture wounds had pierced or scraped major organs, but more than that, others were ruptured and altogether, it was causing massive organ failure on a scale she had never witnessed before. In her heart, Sakura knew that that was the point others would call it a day – even with the regeneration jutsu. The chances of survival were abysmal.
But his stubborn heart was still beating, telling her of his will to survive.
And so she kept fighting for him.
Sweat ran down her temple, hands trembling momentarily until Sakura strengthened her stance, preparing herself for the high possibility of using her reserves.
"One of you administer the cure for the poison," she ordered.
He was stubborn and she admired his will to survive, using it to strengthen her own determination when the odds continued to stack against her. Several times, the man's heart threatened to give out, the beating his body had received too big of a trauma for it to handle, but each time that happened, she offered him her strength to keep fighting, to find his way back to them.
And much to her utter happiness, she didn't need her reserves to bring him firmly back to their world.
The moment the formula was absorbed into his body and the poison was countered, Sakura breathed a heavy sigh of relief, unsteady hands coming to the gurney. Like many tended to do as the last of her chakra ran through their system, the man stirred, his dark eyes hazy as they opened and locked with hers – a reassurance she clung to.
"You're alive…" she whispered hoarsely, body trembling from the exertion and she sensed the other medics hovering in response, exchanging worried glances. Smiling warmly seemed to take the last of her strength, but still, Sakura persevered, murmuring as darkness began creeping over her vision, "I'm glad!"
The light threatening to blind her vanished when she came to, somebody appearing above her mercifully with their long hair tickling her features and making Sakura wrinkle up her nose, weakly attempting to bat it away.
But, as always, her best friend was an unforgiving sadist.
"What were you thinking, Forehead?" she demanded, not caring in the least to keep her voice lowered. "How many times are you going to collapse like this before you realise you can't do everything by yourself?"
Having learned from the many times in the past it'd happened, Sakura knew it was useless arguing with Ino, just as it was useless to try and justify her actions. So she instead focused on sitting up, the aching of her muscles and the banging headache a common side effect of chakra depletion but no easier to deal with even after so many experiences with it, making her grimace with the strain.
"What are you even doing here?" Sakura shot back, rubbing at her poor head. "You're not on the rota."
"I am now, thanks to your dumb ass."
They'd stuck her in her office, Sakura realised gratefully, taking in the sight of her messy desk, overfilled bookcase and lab jacket hanging on the back of the door. Really, she should have known that the moment she became aware of her surroundings, for there was no mistaking the material or smell of the sofa beneath the window on the far side of the office. It was there for the days she needed to research specific diseases or ways to better the outcomes of complex surgeries, and was accompanied by a low, cheap coffee table that Ino suddenly sat back on with a sigh.
A bottle of room temperature water was handed over to her and Sakura once more grimaced, though didn't voice how she wished it was cold, instead taking careful sips.
"You know, just because you're a part of their clan now, you don't have to almost kill yourself reviving–"
"Are you for real?" Sakura demanded without even trying to hide how affronted she felt. "Are you telling me if someone – not an Uchiha but anyone – was dying right in front of you, and you know you can save their lives, you would stand by and do nothing?"
Blue eyes rolled. "You know that's not what I meant."
Maybe not, but that sort of lackadaisical response to anything regarding saving or bettering the lives of their patients rubbed Sakura the wrong way. And for Ino to insinuate she only pushed herself so far because the patient happened to be an Uchiha? Since when had any of them ever cared about the surname of their patients, other than to follow strict protocols or traditions of the clans? Although that clearly wasn't what her best friend meant to get across, Sakura couldn't help but grow concerned, fretting over whether other medics did respond differently to a patient depending on their name.
Taking a longer sip of the water that time, Sakura pondered the possibility with a tightening chest and twisting stomach.
The fact that only two medics were working on the patient wasn't unusual, but the response to the code blue was, she realised belatedly. In the moment, Sakura hadn't thought twice about it, knowing that her skills were great enough to basically bring the man back from the brink of death without outside assistance, however, now it was all she could think of. Some would have seen her entering the ICU, but not everyone. Why had no one come to offer their assistance or to at least check that they had it under control?
Before she was released from her shift (they had no choice but to send her home early following a fainting episode), Sakura tasked herself with checking the records and the busyness of the ICU around the time of Uchiha's admission to the hospital. Regardless of her presence in that surgery, they should have offered their assistance or acknowledged the code blue at the very least, unless the unit was already busy and there were no free medics.
Sighing with dejection (she knew the blonde would have had other plans for the afternoon), Ino said, "Just go home and try to replenish what you can before the travel to Suna tomorrow. You're the captain of the medics for the exchange program – you can't appear weak for even a second."
Sadly, she was right. It wasn't so much appearing as weak in front of her subordinates (although that certainly wasn't acceptable either), but she knew that, in Suna, women were still widely considered to be the weaker sex and were rarely ever given a position of authority. Sakura was also painfully aware that she would be compared ruthlessly against the other captains, who included her husband and former sensei. Was it fair comparing her to prodigies like those two? No, but it was her sad reality and so Sakura had to do all she could to change their sexist minds.
Sakura stood with a groan and rubbed the back of her neck, the aching an indicator of resting on the old sofa. The whole time, she felt Ino's eyes on her, the seriousness and concern shining almost as brightly as their shade.
"What is it?"
The blonde frowned and since she wasn't one to beat around the bush when concerning their health, quietly demanded, "You didn't push yourself so hard because he's a clansman, right?"
Annoyance almost got the better of her. Almost. "I pushed myself so hard because he was my patient," Sakura retorted coolly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have one last thing to do before I leave."
Ino didn't try stopping her knowing that it would only serve to piss her off further, although Sakura could sense that she wanted to talk for a while longer to get to the bottom of things. Sadly, she had no choice but to leave her best friend behind in her office, too intent on getting to the bottom of her own, more pressing matter.
And because Sakura found the damning proof she needed, proof that set her blood on fire with pure hot rage, she snatched the papers closer and stomped all the way to the Hokage Tower, not caring for a single second that she was putting villagers on edge with her temper. Along the way, she spotted her husband on his patrols with Shisui, however, refused to meet his eye, knowing that he'd easily read the severity of her ire. He probably saw her anyway, but as her husband, Itachi would understand better than anyone that she needed to see this through. She couldn't be distracted.
Frustratingly (though part of her understood, since everything couldn't be dropped just because she requested a meeting with the Hokage), she had to wait around for ten minutes, knee bouncing as she sat in the waiting area. Several teams came and went in that time, including Obito's genin team and it had Sakura's dark thoughts straying to it being her sensei's friend on that operating table, ignored – or, she thought with a churning stomach, her teammate or husband.
Once it was her turn, she was on her feet and storming into Tsunade's office without pause or fear of the consequences and before the woman could even ask about her angered presence, Sakura snapped, "Twenty-seven medics."
Her shishou looked unimpressed to say the least, drawling, "Excuse me?"
Sakura shut the office doors with deafening click, one that made the team on the other side of them gulp nervously as they realised that they had to face the Hokage after she no doubt entered a screaming match with her apprentice.
"That's how many medics were working the ICU when there was a code blue," Sakura muttered darkly, voice uneven due to her rampaging emotions. "Do you want to know how many responded to it?"
Dread was so very obvious in Tsunade's features but she didn't show her reluctance in asking, "How many?"
"Just me."
Amber eyes were the widest she'd ever seen them before they narrowed dangerously and she stood up at once, hands coming down on her desk with a thunderous crack. "What?"
"The worst part is that the entire unit was dead – there's only three other patients there." Gritting her teeth, she slapped the documents down on Tsunade's desk, hand trembling until it clenched tightly into a fist. "How the hell am I supposed to take a great fraction of the medics to Suna with me when the majority of them can't even pull their fingers out of their asses?"
It was wrong of her to unleash her emotions in such a volatile way – at least in front of her Hokage, it was. Thankfully, it appeared Tsunade understood her rage and not only that, but it multiplied within her, showing in the throbbing vein that suddenly surfaced on her forehead.
"Actually, no," Sakura muttered gravely, settling her shishou with a scowl. "The worst part is the patient's surname."
Inhaling deeply and shutting her eyes, she said, "Let me guess: an Uchiha?"
"A chūnin Uchiha who happened to be sent on a solo b-ranked mission."
"A chūnin on a solo b-ranked mission?" she demanded and her eyes snapped open, looking more startled than angry now. "Are you sure about that ranking, Sakura?"
"I looked into it myself."
That was perhaps the darkest part about the documents she'd retrieved. Not only because of the ignorance of the other medics, which infuriated her the more she thought about it, but also the fact that a chūnin was sent on a b-ranked mission alone, when they realistically should never be sent on anything above c-ranked without an appropriately skilled team backing them up. Whoever had assigned it was going to have their asses handed to them, Sakura knew that the moment she locked gazes with her fuming shishou.
Rubbing her forehead, the blonde paced in front of her window, upper lip curling as she tried to gather her thoughts. The squaring of her shoulders told Sakura that Tsunade had nothing to do with assigning the mission, for the straightening up was a movement she did unknowingly prior to facing a certain trio. The realisation had her stomach turning viciously.
The elders.
And then her hands were flying through several signs, sealing the office and she told her quickly, in no uncertain terms, "Copy those documents and protect the copies fiercely, Sakura, on the off chance the elders will try covering their tracks. I need you to build up a case against them and their crimes against the Uchiha Clan – if that is what this is. I will assist you every step of the way, but my involvement must be kept quiet for now. It's already suspicious that I'm looking into the Uchiha clan's potential honour killings."
It was too risky going into further details regarding her meeting earlier that day, so she told her just as quickly, "I need to report before I leave for Suna – something happened."
Briefly, concern flashed through her eyes, but Tsunade acted swiftly and hid the expression, merely nodding once. "We will talk tonight under the guise of your reporting the ICU medics. Bring it up to Itachi, although not the part about the chūnin's mission. It will cover you for the duration of our meeting."
Informing Itachi about an Uchiha essentially being left for dead in the hospital? Somewhere everyone was supposed to feel safe? The mere notion was daunting and it knocked her anger down several pegs, the reminder that Itachi was clearly straying in his loyalties filling her with doubt.
"Is that really wise, Tsunade-shishou? What if it pushes Itachi more towards his clan?"
But the blonde shook her head, murmuring, "It's a risk we have to take. At best, he will aid us in uncovering just how many have fallen victim to neglect at the hospital."
Her heart clenched. "And at the least?"
"At the very least, you will earn a fraction of his trust for coming forward with such damning information," Tsunade told her with sigh. "Only time will tell if he uses said information against us, however."
Reluctantly, Sakura nodded, eyes shutting in resignation. "Yes, Tsunade-sama."
How the hell was she supposed to tell him about something like that?
On her way back home, Sakura made several copies of her findings and replaced the originals, restraining herself from unleashing hell on the unsuspecting ICU medical staff the whole time. No, their time was coming, and she was going to make sure they had no other option but to accept their scolding, just like she would make damn sure that it hit home harder than one of Tsunade's punches.
Before she could be angered any further, she left the hospital with a cold aura that warned the others not to approach her, mentally preparing herself for the conversation she would need to have with her husband.
They each worked twelve hour shifts, so Sakura knew her husband wouldn't be home until after midnight, however, a late night meeting with Tsunade, to her, sounded suspicious as hell. There was a high probability of her being watched at some point, if she wasn't already (something she'd reluctantly come to terms with), and she couldn't chance having news reach Itachi that way. No, informing him of what had happened was the best way to go about it, decreasing the risk of his growing apprehensive and sticking his nose into the mission. She needed to earn his trust.
"Sakura."
She feigned surprise at the sight of her husband, having already known what route he would have taken on his patrols. He didn't seem to question it either and Sakura knew it was entirely down to her apparent blind rage only half an hour prior.
"Hey," she said with a weighty sigh, smoothing the stray hairs back into her ponytail. "How's work going?"
"Dull," Itachi wasn't afraid to reply, making Shisui crack a smirk. "Are you okay? You look stressed."
Was he pretending like he hadn't seen her earlier too? If so, then why? Or was he hoping she would share what happened without too much prodding?
"Not really," Sakura admitted. The smile she offered him was strained, brows twitching with their attempt to furrow until she inhaled deeply like she had to compose herself. "There was a… Something happened at the hospital and I just…" She smiled helplessly, inwardly cheering herself on when tears filled her eyes. "I don't know what to do."
Frowning, Shisui gave his cousin a firm pat on the shoulder and tipped his chin in the direction of the district, murmuring, "Escort Sakura-chan home, Itachi. I'll cover for you."
He didn't even ask if it was okay or if his friend was sure about covering for him. No, instead, Itachi immediately held out his elbow to her and spared a glance around, alerting Sakura that there were way too many trying to listen in on the conversation, finding her despair gossip worthy.
"Is the incident why you are home early?" he enquired as they entered the district.
All she could do was nod, for saying anything out there, especially within the district, was simply asking for trouble. And much to her gratefulness, Itachi seemed to pick up on that, his eyes meeting hers for just the briefest of moments until they glanced downwards, taking in the sight of the papers she had almost crushed to her chest.
The entire journey home was silent, kicking her anxiety up a notch as she had no other choice but to prepare herself for informing Itachi of what transpired at the hospital. How would he respond? How would he really feel, but not show her? Was her anger enough to show her sincerity in how utterly disgusted and heartbroken she was about the hospital's prejudice, or would he have his reservations? Would he tell his clansmen?
Just as worryingly: could she handle the conversation? Already, Sakura felt herself teetering on the edge of breaking down, the cruel sting of betrayal from her fellow medics too much to bear.
The moment they were home, she sensed a shift in the air and glanced over her shoulder in time to witness Itachi erecting a soundproof seal around their house, prompting Sakura to take a noticeably deep, uneasy breath.
Confirmed: they had no privacy in their own home.
"Were you sent home?"
She nodded, indicating for Itachi to follow her into his study. Knowing her husband, even if it wasn't all that much, Sakura knew that he would possess several worthy hiding spots – if he agreed to help, that was.
"I collapsed," she admitted to him quietly, but just as his eyes widened a fraction, she continued, telling Itachi, "A patient was brought into the hospital in critical condition – a code blue – and I was the only one to respond. Although only one medic short of performing the healing resuscitation regeneration jutsu, I knew that the two already with me, weren't skilled enough to perform it and had already drained their chakra resuscitating him anyway. I had to make a drastic choice in order to save the patient's life."
Nodding, Itachi sat back against his desk, leaving the seat free for her to use in her exhausted condition but she chose to remain standing, finally lowering the papers from her chest.
"I took the risk of performing the jutsu alone, using all of my ordinary chakra to do so – my reserves are untouched," she added quickly, seeing the question in his eyes as he glanced to her seal. "Due to depleting my chakra so much, I fainted. Hospital policy states that I can't continue with my shift even if I feel physically fit to continue."
"It is too great a risk to the patients," he surmised, and she nodded once.
As well as that, she was a major liability to those working around her. Most would know about her fainting episode, but not everyone and if they called her into surgery suddenly? If they were relying heavily on her skills, only to be let down at the last moment? While they should always use their own initiative, Sakura always told them she didn't mind that they fell back on her a lot, for she usually loved that they relied on her so much.
Inhaling deeply to steel her nerves, Sakura admitted softly, "Before the wedding, I spoke to Sasuke-kun about the prejudice against the clan, and how I've always been blind to it."
Itachi frowned faintly and straightened, the apprehension creeping into his system showing in the tensing of his muscles. "Where are you going with this, Sakura?"
"The patient was an Uchiha," she told him over the lump in her throat, the shame of admitting the callous actions of her fellow medics whipping at her heart, especially when she saw the forced smoothing of his features moments after disbelief showed. "Today, there were twenty-seven medics working the ICU alone, but other than the two already working on Uchiha-san, I was the only one to respond to the code blue."
His dark gaze drifted down to the stack of papers. "Are they…?"
Her husband was at a loss for words? Should she really be surprised? The betrayal of the hospital turning their back on their patients due to what was suspected to be because of their surnames, was nothing short of terrifying, because who were they supposed to trust from there? What were they supposed to do with life threatening injuries if they couldn't trust the medics?
"The names of all medic-nin working there today," she told him in a half-truth. After all, Tsunade told her she couldn't share their suspicions of the wrongfully assigned missions. "Tsunade-sama asked me to investigate everyone, to see if anyone else has been neglected while they were on shift."
"What makes you so sure this is due to the patient being an Uchiha?"
It was a fair question, one the elders and their supporters would no doubt fire at them with all guns blazing. Unlike with the elders, however, Sakura knew she didn't have to tread as carefully or wait until she had all the evidence to back up her claim.
"Mostly gut instinct," Sakura confessed quietly, frowning. "There are only three other patients on the unit, so they would have seen him being brought in."
"That–"
Interrupting his poking at holes without hesitation because her day had already been shitty as hell and she seriously didn't need that attitude from him, she demanded, "Why are you arguing against this, Itachi?"
"I am not trying to argue," he assured her and like he hadn't realised how closed off he was being, Itachi showed her in his expression just how troubled he was by the developments. "I am attempting to cover all potential excuses they could make." Stepping closer to her, Itachi took her free hand. "If your gut is telling you something bigger is at play, then I will trust that and help you investigate."
"You'll trust my gut instinct?" she questioned, thrown off. "Really?"
He nodded, promising, "Wholeheartedly."
Sighing heavily with relief, Sakura closed the distance between them and dropped her forehead to his chest, and that time when tears filled her eyes, it was genuinely and brought forth by the sensation of not being alone when his arms came around her comfortingly. They stemmed from the betrayal she felt towards her fellow medic-nin turning their backs on a patient in dire need, from the severity of what that entailed as a whole, from the sudden relief as Itachi shouldered half of the burden with her.
She gritted her teeth, willing herself to get a grip.
But how could she, knowing that there was a devastating possibility that people had died in their care? That patients had been wronged when they needed them most? How was she supposed to work alongside those people if that was the case?
"What can I do?" he offered.
It took her too long to regain composure and Sakura grimaced when Itachi forced her to look up, the surprise that flitted over his expression telling her he hadn't expected her tears.
"Sakura…"
"They ignored a patient," she whispered brokenly, no longer able to hold the emotions back. "They knew he was an Uchiha and… and just because of that, th-they…"
The papers in her grasp were taken with ease and placed onto the desk, and Sakura couldn't find the strength to fight against him as Itachi brought her closer, allowing her to lose herself and let everything out in his reassuring embrace.
It didn't ease the vicious blow of what happened, but it helped.
His holding her was shockingly exactly what she needed.
Going into the meeting with Tsunade itching to take action against the medics wasn't going to help their cause, Sakura knew that, but holy shit she was still so angry. Her hands were still shaking, heartrate growing rampant whenever she thought about how many medics were working that day and chose to ignore the man. More than any of that combined, whenever Sakura thought about the patient who'd been so devastatingly betrayed, that anger was amplified by her heartbreak and warped into full blown rage.
What if it had been Sasuke? Or Itachi? Or Obito?
Why didn't their lives matter as much as the rest of them?
To spare people from facing said rage, she remained indoors until the meeting, avoiding all contact after Itachi returned to work.
When she arrived at the Hokage Tower, it didn't take her long to realise that Shizune had been made aware of the deadly neglect as the woman remained in the office. Jaw clenched and eyes tight, she looked angrier than Sakura had ever witnessed before, and she felt absolutely no pity for the medics who had let their patient down so horrifically.
The moment the door shut behind her, a seal was erected.
Their shishou wasted no time, expression fierce.
"I found it prudent to have Shizune present for this discussion of disciplinary action, given her position in the hospital," Tsunade started the meeting by saying and she nodded once, accepting and understanding that she wasn't to go into any details regarding her secret mission. Even Shizune wouldn't know about it. "I returned to the list of medics you will be taking with you, Sakura, and you have at least two thirds of those who were present in the ICU today."
Yeah, she knew that already and Sakura regretted her decision massively. When she'd chosen who to take with her, she'd chosen those who she had always gotten on with in the past, as well as who had the most experience in teaching newbie medics. Knowing what she did now…
How many had those neglectful medics taught and potentially influenced?
"Shizune, the others are remaining in the village with you."
The dark haired woman nodded once, features stern.
"While I don't distrust your testimony, Sakura, I had a member of ANBU investigate the ICU not long after you left my office. Shizune also stopped by to take note of the situation."
Knowing it wasn't anything personal and more so covering themselves in case of the medics disputing their accusations, Sakura merely acknowledged the words with a tip of her chin and folded her arms behind her back.
"As you already told me: the ICU was dead."
"One patient was even in the process of being moved to the recovery ward when I arrived," Shizune added with barely veiled anger and shook her head.
Twenty-seven medics for a unit that consisted of only three patients (until the Uchiha's arrival) seemed grossly over the top, however, as it was ICU and they were a widely popular shinobi village who frequently accepted mission requests that oftentimes asked for the impossible, they had to be prepared for anything. Most of the medics were on standby, which was what made Sakura so inescapably angrier, seeing as that was twenty-five medics who failed to respond to the code blue they were specifically trained to wait for in the ICU.
"Aside from the two medics you already told me about, Sakura, can you confirm that nobody else answered the code blue?"
She nodded once, gravely. "I was the only one. The two who were already there worked themselves to the point of exhaustion trying to stabilise Uchiha-san – I want to make sure they won't be lumped in with the rest of them."
"I assure you, they won't be," stated Tsunade and she belatedly noticed the two names written down on the scroll she had handed in a few months back, reminding Sakura that they were joining her in Suna.
They were due to set out tomorrow, with the exchange program officially starting a week later, giving them all a few days to acclimate to their surroundings and the drastic temperature change. It didn't leave them with much time to act with disciplinary action or to change her list of medics, meaning no matter what the outcome of their meeting, she was stuck with who was already on her list.
Inhaling deeply and holding it to remain composed, Sakura counted back from ten before releasing it slowly.
Was she too far gone to ask the Gods to give her more strength and patience?
"Sakura, Shizune, I am trusting you both to discipline them appropriately."
Please. Please, Gods. Give me more patience!
She was going to need it.
The reason why Tsunade wouldn't be taking immediate action was due to not wanting to lose face in front of the Kazekage. Should she act, then chances of the news of the punishments reaching him were way too high, and he would understandably have reservations about Konoha's medic-nin working within his hospital. Trust between them would be shaky, then any suspicious behaviour after their arrival possessed the potential of being twisted around on them – that was without the possibility of their enemies attempting to drive a wedge between their villages.
They had to tread carefully. Everything, even the smallest of movements, ran the risk of shaking their treaty when it was being influenced by outsiders. Similarly to opportunists acting during the chūnin exams, there were plenty who lunged at the chance to try their luck against them (stupidly believing they wouldn't fight for one another's villages). It was partly why Sabaku no Gaara never left Suna during the program – they agreed on that when first creating it.
"What they did is inexcusable and I will get to the bottom of it, but in the meantime I need you both to be my eyes and ears."
She couldn't be everywhere all at once and at the realisation of how thin Tsunade was stretching herself, Sakura felt her anger stutter, heart squeezing tightly. With all of the issues surrounding not only the Uchiha clan but within her own council, and now the hospital of all places…
"Yes, Tsunade-sama."
The anger returned full force.
She wouldn't disappoint her shishou.
"Hold nothing back," Tsunade told them with a lip that twitched as it tried curl upwards. "Put the fear of the Gods into them."
They nodded once, seriously. "Yes, Tsunade-sama."
"And if they have a problem, send them directly to me."
"That won't be necessary," Sakura assured her shishou, expression darkening. "You can rely on us to get the message through to them."
So very faintly, the older woman's shoulders relaxed and her eyes softened somewhat. "I know I can."
Much to her gratefulness, since she was setting out early and had yet to find a way to make sure she kicked some sense into her subordinates, Shizune was dismissed shortly after, leaving her behind under the guise that they needed to discuss her plans for the exchange program.
It wouldn't be long until Itachi returned home from his shift, but Sakura was content with him returning before her. Not long after he'd left, she had ensured that the document retaining information about the Uchiha's mission was well hidden, going as far as to enlist the help of Katsuyu to do so, considering just how impressive her husband's abilities were. That way, even if he somehow figured it out, there was nothing he could do about it.
"What happened?"
Refraining from grimacing and once more straightening, Sakura informed her shishou without hesitating, "The clan have a tradition of the current matriarch teaching the future matriarch everything she knows, similar for the patriarchs." At her nod to continue, knowing there was more to the story, she did so with fists threatening to clench. "The elders' wives broke said tradition by intruding during the lessons – I had no idea it was a closed practice."
The frown on Tsunade's face deepened into a scowl as Sakura recounted the entire situation to her, though it did falter at the mention of her threat – the blonde hid it by bringing her folded hands to her twitching lips and pretending to be in deep thought. That amusement was cut short at the utterance of the word insubordination and throughout the talk of the meeting and how deadly it all seemed, Tsunade's back was ramrod straight, features briefly flashing with worry until they were composed into a careful mask, but by that point, she had already noticed all that she needed to know in her shishou's body language. It told her that her position in the clan was growing precarious.
"Sakura…"
"Itachi said we need to keep our heads down," she told her, unable to hide the small bout of fear that belatedly shot through her. "It was… The atmosphere was heavy, Shishou. Even Sasuke-kun stood up to the clan."
"When he usually prefers to keep his head down," she surmised gravely.
Sakura could only nod.
She doubted it would have escalated to an honour killing – it was too extreme and too sudden, not to mention there was her position in the village to take into consideration. But regardless of all that, insubordination was never taken lightly, so Sakura knew that the punishment probably would have been intense. If she kept pushing her luck, then the chances of it escalating to that dreaded stage grew more likely. She could see it in the tightness of Tsunade's clenching jaw, in the hand that briefly moved for the drawer where she hid her sake, only to come back to herself.
Have one, Sakura almost implored. There's more to come.
"Sasuke-kun… He said something before the wedding that's really bugging me, too."
"What is it?"
It was nit-picking definitely but worth mentioning on the off chance it meant something to her shishou – maybe. "He said the elders of the clan speak of Uchiha Madara as a God. It could be an exaggeration, but he went on to mention the whole mess about Madara wanting to the Hokage."
Sitting back in her seat to process the information, the blonde nodded once, agreeing, "Grandfather once told me about the battle. If I'm remembering correctly, Madara was disowned by his clan for attempting to lead them into a war against the village. The Uchiha clan wished to settle down – they didn't want to keep fighting for territory." She brought a hand to her mouth, momentarily biting down on her nail – it seemed her shishou was finally trying to break the bad habit, for said hand quickly dropped back to the desk, only to begin a restless tapping. "The fact that the elders are now changing their thoughts and potentially agreeing with Madara's move against Konoha is concerning."
Good. She wasn't the only one who thought so.
"Is there anything else worth mentioning?"
For several long, agonising moments, she hesitated between continuing with what she was about to say, until Sakura ultimately decided it was necessary due to the impact it could potentially have on her mission. Shutting her aching, tired eyes, she told Tsunade, "Sasuke-kun said Itachi doesn't want to be part of the clan, or to lead it."
Honey brown eyes widened and the tapping stopped abruptly. "What?"
"I tried to push for more information, but he wouldn't say anything else," she told her quietly. Even with the soundproof barrier, Sakura was wary about speaking too loudly and causing more problems for her husband. "He said Itachi could be labelled as a traitor to the clan if others found out." When silence met her, she bit her lip before asking with a heavy heart, "Shishou, what are the chances of them enacting an honour killing on their own heir?"
"If they think he's a traitor?" she questioned thickly. "It's possible. The most extreme outcome could be their making an example out of him to keep everyone else in line for their plans."
Shit.
That was exactly what she'd thought too and the horror that now confirmed thought evoked caused her heart to give a painful squeeze.
Itachi.
"ANBU are still watching the clan," Tsunade reminded her, although it offered no real comfort. "If they spot any suspicious activity, I will alert you immediately."
What good would that do other than give the elders more reason to suspect him? Outside intervention from the organisation Itachi was highly regarded within just as they were about to make a move was suspicious as hell and if it didn't backfire on him, then it certainly was going to backfire on Tsunade and ANBU. Although Sakura wanted that extra layer of protection for Itachi, it came at too high a price should it be discovered. It wasn't worth the danger it put him in.
However, telling Tsunade to not act on suspicious activity that could very well result in her husband's death was…
That couldn't happen either.
What was she supposed to do?
"Anything else?"
She sighed deeply once more and forgetting about wanting to appear tough in front of her shishou, Sakura's body slumped in a show that she was being weighed down by everything.
"Before my mission with Itachi, Sasuke-kun said something else that's bothering me. It ties in with the potential honour killings."
Huffing once in dry amusement, Tsunade muttered, "I'm starting to regret having you marry Itachi at the rate that brat is going. He'll have the entire clan's secrets spilled in no time."
But that was precisely why she shouldn't have married Sasuke – besides the obvious, of course. Sasuke was too predictable and the first person the clan would turn on if Tsunade suddenly caught wind of their movement against the village, should they have been married. More importantly, considering just how riled up he could get at the best of times, it made Sasuke easy to sway and those closest to him knew that. One solid push, one offhanded taunt, and he snapped. It was proven time and time again and was exactly how she got said information. Soon enough, the clan was going to catch onto that, if they hadn't already.
"Go on, Sakura."
"The elders don't like Itachi. According to Sasuke-kun, his power is too great and they think he's too unpredictable. He's worried Itachi's being ostracised – or will be."
"Ostracising their own heir because he's too… powerful?" repeated Tsunade like the words wouldn't sink in. Dropping all formalities, her hands fell to the desk in exasperation and she pulled an expression that simply screamed 'idiots'. "Honestly, that clan. It's a surprise they haven't died out due to their own stubbornness or stupidity."
"Itachi even said it himself," Sakura continued, stomach unsettled by the bits and pieces from the past couple of months that wouldn't stop flashing through her mind. "The elders – or the clan as a whole, I'm not sure – believe that he works too hard for Konoha and not enough for the clan."
Sighing heavily, Tsunade muttered, "Hence why they demanded he stepped down from ANBU, despite it taking away a valuable insider."
Exactly. They didn't want to risk losing him.
Over the years, they pushed Itachi harder than anyone else within the clan, forcing him to join ANBU at just eleven years old, becoming a captain by thirteen. With Itachi climbing through the ranks much faster than anyone before him, he became the ultimate insider. For them to suddenly yank him out of that, demanding that he devoted himself wholly to the clan, could mean one of two things. Either they truly believed that he was straying towards Konoha and would turn against the clan, or they had given up on their plans of a coup d'état and no longer needed him spying for them.
She highly doubted it was the latter, given the circumstances.
The more time that went by, the more corrupt the clan elders appeared.
However, the same was shockingly starting to correspond with Konoha's elders also.
They all possessed a disheartening amount of influence over the younger generations and were more than capable of falsifying documents or whatever else they could get their dirtied hands on. As terrifying as it was to consider, there was every chance the council even had people on the inside within the hospital, which would perfectly explain how and why medics were turning their backs on Uchiha (although at the same time, made her wonder just why the hell they would even do that, because by that point, surely it became a personal vendetta against the clan?).
"You're worried about him," Tsunade pointed out with surprising gentleness.
It wasn't the harsh scolding she had expected when envisioning her shishou finding out about her feelings for Itachi, but it didn't feel any better either. "He's seems like a really good person so far, Tsunade-shishou," Sakura replied earnestly. "Itachi's intelligence is off the charts – there's no way he wouldn't know about the target on his back, yet he's still gone toe-to-toe with his clan on my behalf several times now."
Once more sighing, the blonde shut her eyes, expression vaguely pained. "I won't reprimand you for falling for him – it is understandable when this mission requires so much of you and will only demand that you give more as time goes on. But keep your mission in mind, Sakura." Looking back to her with great heartache, she said quietly, almost brokenly, "The odds are not looking good."
She couldn't sleep.
Slouching over the table in the tearoom with her head propped up on an upturned hand, Sakura closed her eyes tiredly, a faint smile crossing her lips at the tingling sensation in her chakra at Kyo's sluggish approach. Considering he was feeling well sated, she knew he'd either hunted his prey successfully, or caught up with a few of the females that loitered around the district.
"Dirty stop out," she teased with a lazy smile. "It's almost four in the morning."
"Then why aren't you in bed?"
Damn, she hadn't even sensed Itachi moving through their home.
Rather than being concerned, Sakura glanced over her shoulder at him, telling him truthfully, "I'm troubled."
It warmed her heart when Kyo attempted to curl up on her crossed legs. He was much too big to fit in the space, but somehow, he found it comfortable and dropped his head to one of her knees, head lolling for a moment until she began petting him.
"Oftentimes, if a cat is purring to itself, it is trying to comfort itself," Itachi informed her quietly and came to sit beside her. Turning his body in her direction, he assessed her features, then looked to Kyo with a small smile. "Chances are, he is trying to comfort you right now."
"You think?" she asked, smiling hopefully and when she sensed the warmth filtering through their bond, it widened. She looked down at him lovingly, telling Kyo, "Thank you."
She took his turning awkwardly and reaching for her hand as a "you're welcome".
Itachi smiled.
They really had come together under unfortunate circumstances, Sakura thought sadly to herself while watching Itachi brewing chamomile tea to try and help her sleep. It was highly unlikely they ever would have gotten together without it being arranged, but still… She couldn't help but wonder how that would have gone about.
Without a doubt, they would have met through Sasuke – that was a given. However, with Itachi being so busy with missions and who knows what else, Sakura believed that the only realistic way they would have gotten to know one another, was through going on a mission of some kind together, which ironically, wasn't all that different from what actually happened for them.
Would it have taken them long to get to where they were already? Sakura doubted it. Although forced to marry and live together and it requiring that they got along for an easier life, their connection flourished all by itself. A slower pace definitely would have been preferred, but then thinking about it, Sakura knew that the clan never would have agreed to their being together. She would be an outsider.
"Thanks," Sakura murmured in response to the tea being set down before her. Out of the corner of her eye, as she had taken to more out of habit than anything, she watched Itachi setting his cup down at that peculiar angle, a smile curling her lips once he'd found it. He was so strange but in an endearing way, Sakura realised warmly. "And sorry."
"For what?" he questioned curiously. His eyes softened after reaching out and stroking Kyo's head, the increasing of the cat's purring bringing a gentle smile to his lips.
"We're setting out to Suna at noon and you only got in from work a few hours ago," she reminded him. "You're going to be exhausted."
"I will manage," Itachi assured her. Then, he looked to Sakura, brows furrowing ever so slightly in what she knew by now to be concern. "You should worry about yourself. You used too much chakra today–"
"Not too much," she corrected and turned her gaze to her cup, hands coming around it to warm herself up. The doors to their garden were open to allow the cool night's breeze in as Sakura had been hoping it would help soothe her tightly wound nerves. "It's never too much if it saves a patient's life."
"A patient's…"
At the thoughtful murmur, she looked back to him, frowning when Sakura found he was already watching her. "What is it?"
"Other than to inform me who it was, you haven't once referred to the man by his name," Itachi informed her quietly.
"Well, no. I haven't. Truth be told, I shouldn't have even told you who he was," she told him with a shrug. "Is that a problem?"
Much to her annoyance, because she really wanted that answer, Itachi took his time to compose it by taking a sip of his tea and setting the cup back down. He used a napkin to wipe the rim of it before neatly placing it close to where his right hand rested on the table, amusingly keeping it within reach like he wasn't capable of snatching it up in an instant, no matter where it was placed, at the smallest of spills.
"I stopped by the hospital today under the guise of clan duties," Itachi shocked her by saying.
Sitting up straight, she demanded, "What did you see?"
"The medics that I saw personally referred to each patient by name, even when talking amongst themselves."
Sakura frowned deeply. "Discussing the care of the patient?"
"More so gossiping about what potentially happened to put him in such a state."
People below her own rank in the hospital didn't have clearance to read into the patients' mission details, and Sakura was beginning to suspect Tsunade had made it that way for that specific reason – not so that the medics would have something to gossip about, more to protect the patients' privacy if the mission or accident was humiliating in one way or another. Although it would have been nice to have full trust in the system and the people she worked with, it was becoming blaringly obvious that people couldn't keep their mouths shut or be trusted.
Once more reaching to Kyo, Itachi seemed pleasantly surprised when the large cat slinked off Sakura's lap and onto his own, apparently preferring the extra room. Despite the subject, her husband smiled again and resumed petting Kyo.
"It appears they found comfort in having an isolated and relatively empty unit," he continued in a low murmur.
Yeah, though they all tended to talk more when on a slow unit – granted, she personally never spoke of patients or gossiped about their lives or what had them admitted. But she did gossip. It was how she found out about that jutsu that acted as a sexual enhancement.
The memory of the day before had her fighting back a blush.
"I've been tasked with disciplining them," Sakura admitted with a weighted sigh.
When she first returned home after the meeting, it appeared her husband hadn't wanted to push her too hard to find out what happened, instead choosing to give Sakura the chance to open up to him in her own time. It was a kind act that she was massively grateful for, as she was still trying to get her head around the whole mess.
She leaned back on her hands, eyes drawn to the tea before her. "Tsunade-sama said two thirds of them will be joining us tomorrow."
"That makes up almost your entire list," he pointed out.
Nodding reluctantly, she said with a smile, "And tomorrow, they're all going to hate me, with the exception of two."
"Why the exception?"
"Two of them – Ayaka-san and Isao-san – put their all into stabilising the patient, even when they lost him twice and were on the brink of exhaustion." Finally feeling as though she had something to really smile about when speaking about the unit, Sakura told him, "Anyone else in their position would have given up long before I arrived, but they never did. They didn't even waver."
Surprise laced through her when a gentle hand cupped her cheek, but that was soon shoved out of her system when Itachi brought her to meet him halfway (making her mentally roll her eyes at his not wanting to disturb Kyo) so that he could kiss her softly.
"Thank you," he told Sakura earnestly, thumb stroking beneath her eye. "For giving your all."
Her smile was small and shy, and Sakura was quick to duck her head to hide it.
The little sleep Sakura managed to get wasn't adequate enough to put her in a good mood and as she stood alongside the other captains at the gate, awaiting the arrival of their chosen groups, she knew from others' reactions that her cold expression was giving Ibiki a run for his money.
Shockingly, since it was pretty ironic considering just who he was, Kakashi's group was the first to arrive, although there was the excuse that there weren't half as many as them. He'd chosen a select few of Konoha's most elite, followed by several genin who Sakura knew for a fact were on Tsunade's radar for their impressive potential. It certainly wasn't what she'd expected – no one else had genin in their groups – but she trusted Kakashi's gut instinct above all else. He knew what he was doing.
Following his group's arrival, hers traipsed towards the gates in small bursts and it wasn't until Itachi's, Anko's and Ibiki's groups were all present that hers finally stood before her.
She undoubtedly had the largest group by far, but Sakura had factored in how many medics they could spare at the hospital and how little they had in Suna. Going along with her plan, if all went well, then she hoped to have at least one medic for every student who wished to study medical ninjutsu. That was a minimum of thirty-six potential new medics for Suna – optimistic of her, sure. But not impossible.
Besides, if all else failed, they had Ino that year to lure them all in. Her best friend's skills of manipulation and coercion were unparalleled – one of the main reasons for enlisting her.
Glancing down at Kyo as he sat impatiently at her feet, Sakura huffed, knowing that he was experiencing exactly what she was in that moment as the medics continued to chatter to one another. They weren't the only group to do so, but after yesterday, just about everything was rubbing her the wrong way and it showed in the shifting of her footing and quirking of her brow, leading Kakashi to look down at her with a dejected sigh.
Of course, she'd already warned the other captains of what was going to transpire once they were away from the village and after explaining why it was happening, they'd agreed wholeheartedly in putting the ICU medics in their place (Anko almost seemed too for it, Sakura recalled with morbid glee). She would have rather laid into them there and then, with the anger from the day before boiling over, but to do so in the village where anyone could hear them wasn't the way to go about it.
It was going to seem extreme to some, perhaps even most, but Sakura knew that no matter what she did, it was going to be nothing compared to what Tsunade would have done with them given half the chance.
"Ready?" called out Kakashi once all captains were finished ensuring they had everyone.
She could tell he was itching to get moving after merely glancing towards his group and seeing Naruto and Obito standing close to one another, their smirks undeniably mischievous. What made it worse was Kiba's snickering from behind them.
That was until Kyo sauntered through the crowds and began rubbing his head against Akamaru's legs, tail catching him in the face and startling the huge dog. She knew exactly what he was doing – anyone who knew cats knew what he was doing – and Sakura felt absolutely no desire to stop him when Kyo suddenly sat back slightly and began shaking his behind, making Kiba's jaw drop comically when he suddenly lunged upwards. The distance between Akamaru and the ground was cleared within a fraction of a second, though it took him a few seconds longer to stretch himself out on top of Akamaru's back, ignoring the dog whining and trying to shake him off. She could tell through their bond that Kyo had no intentions of moving and physically proved as much by nestling into the masses of white hair.
Kiba whirled on her, fist shaking angrily. "Oi, Sakura! Akamaru isn't a cat carrier, y'know! Get him off!"
"But look how adorable they are together," she argued with a pout over in their direction, gesturing to Kyo snuggling deeper into the back of Akamaru's neck. It was like he didn't feel the dog's attempts to get him off and she wondered how long it would take for Akamaru to give up. "See?"
They were winning the hearts of many who were there and it had a gradual effect on Akamaru, she noticed. Eventually, it even had his tail wagging. The battle truly was lost on his behalf when Akamaru then refused to sit down, for the intelligent dog certainly knew that it would disturb Kyo's positioning.
"I don't care," came Kiba's annoyed snarl. "Akamaru, get him off!"
Rolling her eyes and knowing exactly how to win the boisterous Inuzuka over, she added slyly while making Ino smirk, "Imagine if they become friends and tag teamed people, though. Nobody'll predict a cat and a dog teaming up, will they? It'll give him an even bigger edge in battle."
The grumbling under his breath was all she needed to know she'd won too.
Sighing, Shikamaru drawled, "This is going to be the longest journey yet."
Kakashi merely nodded and muttered, "Let's go."
They were travelling in three large groups to try and lessen the unease of passer-by's, although why they even bothered, Sakura was unsure. Either way their numbers were high and would be a cause for concern for anyone. They genuinely appeared like a small army being sent out to conquer.
Much to her gratefulness, she managed to pressure both Itachi and Kakashi into sticking with her group – they needed more shinobi travelling alongside them for the main reason that half her medics weren't trained in combat. Some never even left the hospital. Combining those two other groups and herself, then there was exactly one shinobi assigned to each medic.
Her warning the other captains of the medics requiring a break soon was her way of sending them the message: go on ahead. Since the others were all capable of travelling at much higher speeds and their knowing that they wanted their journeys over as quickly as possible, nobody thought of it as suspicious and instead they waved them off.
Sasuke seemed to read her easily, however, and his response was to sigh and walk over to a tree that was furthest from the group, settling himself down without a backwards glance.
It was at Kakashi's minute nod to alert her of their being alone that she finally let loose by the tiniest amount.
"I want to start this off by asking that those who were working alongside me in the ICU yesterday, please step forward. The rest of you can sit down, if you wish," Sakura started pleasantly enough, but she could tell by Naruto's uneasy gulp that he knew it was a false sense of security. He looked to the medics with great pity and backed away, choosing to stand closer to Akamaru and Kyo (the latter hadn't stirred once so far and was purring away, much to the amusement of others). "How do you all feel yesterday went?"
That was when they knew something was up, Sakura noted happily and discreetly, she watched as Itachi sneakily ushered the two medics who'd worked on his clansman aside, silently gesturing for them to join the others without singling them out.
That had been another cause for concern – she didn't want them ostracised by the other medics for simply doing their jobs or being praised when the rest were scolded. Did that mean they wouldn't receive equal recognition? Not in the slightest. Prior to leaving, she'd once more pointed out to Tsunade which two medics had given their all trying to save their patient. They would receive their recognition.
Their responding grumbles were uncertain and uncomfortable and Sakura smiled for all of two seconds.
Naruto grimaced.
Ino ducked her head.
"I'll tell you how it went down in the ICU yesterday," she snapped suddenly, shocking those unaware of what was happening by the sudden switch in moods. "It was a shitshow."
A collective chatter filled the clearing and she waited expectantly for them to shut up, but much to her utter annoyance, it wasn't until Kakashi calmly warned them not to push her further that they did so.
Barely holding back from growling out the words as the lack of respect added a heap of salt to the already festering wound, Sakura added, "When I was asked to choose who I wanted working with me in Suna, I spent months deciding. I wanted those I thought I could trust, who'd once proven themselves and I stupidly believed were perfect for guiding potential future medics."
They looked amongst one another, and frustrating the hell out of her, they were all clumped together in a way that reminded Sakura of the academy. If they foolishly believed that banding together would throw her off or intimidate her in the slightest, then they were about to receive a brutal awakening. She could handle all twenty-five of them with her eyes closed.
"So, I'm going to say this now and if you can't accept it, then turn around and go home, because I sure as hell don't want any of you with me if this continues." Many shared anxious glances at the building ire in her tone, including the groups who had nothing to do with her, but she paid them no mind as she snapped, "Your response yesterday to a code blue was unforgivable and both Hokage-sama and I expect full written reports explaining why the hell you thought it was okay to ignore a patient in critical condition."
The sudden hush would have been comical, had the circumstances not been so dire and she noticed both Rin and Ino staring in wide eyed shock. What concerned her the most were that a few in the other half of her group briefly showed signs of guilt and Sakura spared her husband a discreet glance, his minute nod informing her that he was committing all movements and faces to memory.
"That's hardly fair!" one tried to defend.
"Some of us were busy."
"The unit was–"
She shut all of the lame ass excuses down before they even started, yelling, "Don't try that bullshit with me." Advancing on the older group of women who'd dared to talk back and uncaring of the middle one's height advantage, Sakura looked up and settled them all with a dark glare, saying, "We had three patients, not including the chūnin who was brought in. There were twenty-seven medics on shift, not including me. So tell me, why was I the only one who responded to the code blue?"
More uneasy silence and she knew it was entirely down to the severity of the situation, because even Sasuke finally gave them his full attention, the shock written all over his features.
"Holy shit," she heard Naruto mutter from somewhere behind her. "Oi, have you ever seen Sakura-chan this mad before?"
"Shut up before she lays into you too, idiot," Kiba snapped in return. "You're her go-to punching bag, remember?"
"Sakura-senpai, should you really be berating them in front of everyone?"
"Don't get involved," she warned coolly, setting her harsh glare on the medic who'd interjected and silencing him from saying anything more with the stare alone. "Despite what you may believe, both Hokage-sama and I thought this was the best way to get through to you all."
While it was incredibly risky opening up to outsiders about the prejudice and neglect within the hospital, Sakura was carefully keeping the identity of the patient a secret, although she could tell from the setting of Sasuke's jaw, the dropping of Kakashi and Obito's shoulders and the full blown shock on both Ino and Rin's faces, that they knew the patient was an Uchiha. It was too obvious to those who were aware of the situation (or, in Ino's case, didn't understand just how bad yesterday was until the rant).
"You let the hospital down yesterday and in turn, let Hokage-sama and the entire village down," she muttered coldly, looking down at them all and finally, Kyo raised his head and gave Akamaru a spark of hope that he would jump down. Just as the dog tried to dislodge him, however, Kyo stretched out a single paw around his wide neck and even from Sakura's place across the clearing, she could sense the threat of violence should he be disturbed again, for there was no way to miss the size of Kyo's claws when the sunlight bounced off them so menacingly. Was that her anger rubbing off on him via the bond, she wondered? "People come to us in their times of need and rely on us to act like the professionals we're supposed to be. We don't judge. We don't gossip. We don't turn our backs on someone."
Damn it, she was about to lose her shit altogether. Sakura could feel the lack of sleep catching up on her, making her temper far worse than on any ordinary day.
"Two medics worked themselves to complete exhaustion. A patient could have died, had I not turned up when I did and performed the resuscitation regeneration jutsu alone and worked myself to the point of complete exhaustion, too." Expression darkening and hands balling into trembling fists, she made it obvious that she was growing angrier still and it had many averting their gazes and gulping nervously. "The next time I hear of this happening, you will all have your licenses to work in the hospital revoked and I will personally ensure you never work in the medical field again."
Nobody dared to interrupt her. Other than those who were being yelled at, nobody looked affronted or angry with her. They were being forced to listen, which was exactly what Sakura was aiming for by so callously calling them out in front of everyone (taking a note out of Itachi's book by enlisting unknowing witnesses). They had to know that their actions would never go unpunished and as long as she was around, she would always call them out on their bullshit attitudes and prejudices.
"So, I'm going to say this one last time, because at this point, I'll happily use my reserves to create clones to make up the numbers," she yelled, causing a few to flinch at the sudden raising of her voice. "If you don't like what I have to say or you don't agree with me, then go back to Konoha. I don't want people I can't trust working with me."
Not a single medic moved, although she did notice a few looking between one another with indecision.
She took that as a cue to continue.
"Good choice. Now, alongside training Suna's medics, it looks as though I'll need to whip all your asses back into line. Or–" Sakura said with a sharp smile at their voices of dejection. "–or you can stay in Konoha and suffer the wrath of Hokage-sama and Shizune-senpai – I assure you, this isn't half as bad as what they had in store for you."
If their minds hadn't been made up before, then they certainly were now.
Turning on her heel to look to the rest of the groups, she assured them, "None of you need to worry about this in the future – Hokage-sama is taking this personally. Do I really need to say more?"
"Nope," Naruto answered for everyone.
"What was said here today can never be repeated," warned Kakashi coolly, hand finding its way into his pocket. "The hospital and our medics are one of Konoha's strongest pillars. Should others find out about such callous neglect–"
"Don't they have a right to know?" Sasuke questioned. He stood up and left the tree he'd been using to rest against, gaze fixated on the scolded medics disdainfully, letting them know that he knew exactly why the patient was ignored. "It could have been any one of us on that operating table, relying on medics who couldn't care less about who lives or dies."
Hands coming to the flare of her hips, Ino admonished him bravely, muttering, "Oi, don't go lumping us all together like that, Sasuke-kun. I saw Sakura myself after that healing session yesterday. When she says she gave her all, she isn't exaggerating."
"Sakura-senpai was sent home after taking over for us," Ayaka shocked her by speaking up. Anxiety was written all over her body from the brief clenching of her jaw right down to the restless footing, telling Sakura without words that she was worried standing against the other medics would cause them to turn on her. But she continued to earn her respect by standing her ground and calling them out. "She performed a technique that usually requires four medics to complete without a single complaint."
The act of bravery was infectious it seemed, for Isao was next to talk, saying proudly, "Sakura-senpai didn't falter for a moment and fought to remain conscious until the patient woke up."
Her foul mood cracked at the admiration and praise in their tones, then began chipping away when the pair continued to talk about the healing session that had left them shaking for hours after, broken up about being unable to save the man themselves and even questioning their chosen career path (shocking Sakura as she belatedly realised that they were relatively newbie medics). They'd felt hopeless until she arrived, Isao recounted, but it was her perseverance and determination that strengthened their resolve once more.
She motivated them to keep going.
She was a motivator.
Sakura couldn't help but smile.
"We always try our hardest," Rin said next, expression hurt and disappointed. Then, causing Obito to pout sadly like her next move physically pained him, the brunette bowed her head to everyone, pleading, "Please, forgive their carelessness."
"C'mon, Sasuke," Naruto muttered quietly with a light elbow to his side. "We know a bunch of good medics."
But it seemed the younger Uchiha couldn't be swayed from the betrayal he was experiencing and Sakura felt her stomach twist sharply the moment he turned his back on the group, returning to his tree until they set out again. Even without looking to Itachi for guidance, she knew there was no way to get through to Sasuke in that moment – it was all too raw for him and he needed time to process and think it all through. Still, Sakura couldn't help but look to her husband, frowning at his sigh and shake of the head.
She didn't regret calling the negligent medics out – Sakura could tell by their uneasiness that they were shaken, for they knew she wasn't one to throw out weightless threats. But she also wasn't naïve and knew only time would tell if it really made a difference.
Don't second guess yourself, Sakura thought resolutely and tipped her chin upwards, forcing the scolded medics to disperse for the remainder of the break with her glower alone. Tsunade-shishou taught you better than that!
"Good job," Kakashi praised her.
He'd waited until the moment she was separated from the other medics, approaching leisurely with Itachi alongside him. It was so odd seeing them together and so at peace being in one another's presence – they were both loners, was that why?
"I made the mistake of not anticipating Sasuke-kun's response," Sakura muttered disapprovingly, visibly upset with herself.
Sparing a glance in her teammate's direction, she found that he was still alone and from the rigid set of his shoulders, she knew he was pissed. The part of Sakura that longed to soothe the worries and pains of her loved ones begged of her to go over to Sasuke and try and talk it out, however, it was easily overpowered by the rational side of herself that knew doing so would only piss him off further. In Sasuke's mind, he'd undoubtedly read it as nothing more than damage control.
"He'll be more open to talking later, though," she continued and sighed, looking to the two men. "There's no use in pushing him into a conversation he's not ready for."
Pushing now would only push him away.
"True," murmured Kakashi. Quirking a brow, he looked out at the gathered groups, calmly assessing their body language and overall display. "It seems they're not used to being called out for their wrongdoings."
"They were scared," Itachi agreed.
"So they should be," she said without a shred of sympathy for them.
Once more looking to the medics, Sakura took a deep, calming breath and reminded herself that they weren't all the same. The sooner the exchange program was over, the sooner she could get stuck into investigating the hospital to find out how deep the outside influence ran.
She refused to believe that the medics were simply corrupt. After all, there was a reason why she specifically chose them and that was because over the years of working together, they'd all put their all into saving people, into bettering lives. They cried together over losses, had one another's back and supported each other without hesitation. They'd been her friends.
Quickly turning to face the two men at the stinging of her eyes so that no subordinates could see them, she offered a harsh smile at their concern, letting them know, "I don't take kindly to betrayal."
A/N - Do you guys like these longer chapters? I know I personally sometimes struggling sitting through 10k+ chapters, but I'm hoping this makes up for the long gap between updates.
Speaking of, I've been leaving this on each of my updates just to let everyone know (since I understand not everyone reads every one of my stories):
I've dropped to just one weekly update due to my mental health being shitty right now and not wanting to burn myself out with having twelve stories on-going (I know it says different below, but that's because Discoveries is a bit of a pain right now). The schedule:
Week 1: Ghost Inside My Chest (COMMISSION)
Week 2: Could Roses Bloom? (COMMISSION)
Week 3: The Shadows of Your Heart
Week 4: Dying Embers
Week 5: Then Our Hearts Combined
Week 6: So This is Love
Week 7: Unravelling Since I Found You (COMMISSION)
Week 8: But Still, I Rise (COMMISSION)
Week 9: Red String of Fate
Week 10: Mercy, Love & Other Useless Things (COMMISSION)
Week 11: Come Undone (COMMISSION)
Thank you all for supporting me and this story so far!