The battle outside was quieting down. Then again, Sakura had a habit of tuning out the world around her when she was in her serious medic mode.

She'd been running on nothing other than soldier pills and determination for the past few hours. Her head hurt like a bitch. She'd almost fainted several times (from chakra exhaustion or starvation she couldn't tell), but she'd be damned if she left one sick person untreated.

There had already been several waves of injured people sent through the hospital and Sakura didn't know how they'd all managed to keep going with all the severely mutilated and wounded patients. Children as young as six months were coming in with everything from crushed limbs to third degree burns. Sakura had to stop her hand from rattling several times as her soothing green chakra-laden hand worked over the bruised arms of caterwauling infants.

Goodness. She never expected war to be like this. She'd never expected to be in breadth's width of a war at all. In the back of her mind, she could hear the cruel taunts of her parents. 'You are NOT ready for this!' But that only angered her enough to want to do more.

Sakura didn't believe there was one patient she hadn't administered aid to in some form or fashion. She'd assessed vitals before shouting them out to groups of other medics several years her senior, had provided a jumping off point for her other colleagues to finish major operations, prepped vials, anesthetics, and proper hazard ware for operators, along with performing her own operations right in the middle of the emergency room.

A smile crept its way onto her face every time her medical prowess abated the aches and pains of her patients. It provided the kind of rush only drugs could give you. That was probably why it had been thirty minutes since she'd seen her last patient. Sakura stood waiting for something - anything - to happen so she could chase that feeling. Being useful felt good! She so desperately needed that after these past few months of fuck up after fuck up.

So she took a little walk around the premises in search of that certain something. ANBU had led most of the non critically injured people to a safe haven, so the majority of the patients remaining were on the higher risk side. Sakura kept her ear out for any cough, moan, or grunt for a sign to swoop in and save the day. Unfortunately, everyone's conditions had already been stabilized thanks to her and her colleagues' efforts. Damn it, she cursed. Why was she so thorough?

Wandering led her to a high security operating room that she was able to access as a result of her mentorship under the hokage. There were windows that gave clear views into the room. Sakura - curious and awestruck as a toddler - pressed her face and hands against the glass for a closer look. Tsunade and Shizune - along with other highly qualified personnel - were elbow deep into a body that stained their pristine, white coats an angry, blood red.

The surgical masks they sported bubbled in and out as they spoke to each other. Shizune nodded in agreement at something Tsunade said and took the reins of the group. Tsunade backed away, slipping the bloodied nylon gloves from her hands. She lowered her mask for a fresh breath of air when she noticed her little apprentice at the window fogging up the glass. Sakura gave a nervous wave. Tsunade rolled her eyes and slipped her sullied coat into a trash receptacle.

Sakura watched with cautious eyes as her mentor made her way to the door. The door opened with a prompt sigh from the older woman. "What are you doing here brat?"

"I was just checking to see if anyone needed any help," the young girl replied without a hitch. She had long grown accustomed to Tsunade;s various moods and insults.

The older woman held onto the small of her back, stretched a little, and groaned as her back made a cracking noise. "No," her master replied. "Everything's under control."

Tsunade ran a keen eye over her appearance. "Have you eaten anything yet?"

Sakura's face fell. She fumbled finding the appropriate facial expression before landing on a lopsided smile. "Yes."

"Really?"

"Mhm."

Tsunade didn't look convinced, but she didn't press the issue any further. Sakura held her hand against her heart as her master started to walk off ahead of her.

"Who were you operating on in there?" the young girl queried, hopping like a bunny alongside her master's long, heeled strides.

"Some old bastard I really don't feel like talking about."

"That doesn't really narrow down who you're talking about."

Tsunade's heels came to a screeching halt. She turned to Sakura, brow tilted high and hand placed on hip. Sakura took a few steps back and gulped.

"You're in one of those moods, huh?" Tsunade mumbled. "If you're really in a 'helping mood', go check out the civilian district. A new wave of patients should be coming from there shortly."

…..

Nothing could've prepared her for this. War had only ever been an abstract concept in Sakura's mind. To see it up close for herself was a life altering experience. Buildings were upended, roads lost among the debris, and people - civilian and ninja alike - lay lifeless in every corner.

She took a deep breath to calm herself. She couldn't let people die. The carnage stretched on for miles. Nary a place had been left untouched. Besides the shouts of pain and terror, you wouldn't have known there was ever any life inside the village.

Sakura bided her time wading through piles of rubble. Just like she'd done in Kumo weeks before, she sifted through rubble ready to provide aid to any struggling civilians. The fatalities on the outside were much worse than anything she'd seen in the hospital. No wonder the flow of patients had ebbed out. There was barely anyone left to save.

The task was daunting. Watching people she'd pass by in the market earlier that morning or had picked up a delivery from take their final breaths was surreal. Even worse were the ones who sat up at weird angles - death already crept into their bodies - with eyes wide open.

The young girl couldn't stand to see it. For every fourth body she came across, she'd made sure to gently close their eyes and lay their bodies down in a way that looked like they had merely fallen asleep. A shudder coarsed through Sakura's body. She really did hope that this was the worst of it.

She continued her trek through the civilian district. Suffering ran amok. Ninja nor civilian were spared. She popped another soldier pill in her mouth, already shaking from all the chakra expelled. There wasn't much she could do with death lingering in every corner. Easing their pain as they slipped into the throes of death was her only consolation.

An hour or so had passed of this before Sakura happened upon the familiar building of her home. Well - former home at least. It, along with a few other buildings in the surrounding area, didn't look too bad. Windows were busted, roofs mangled, and those strange crawling creatures she'd battled earlier slinked around the perimeter, but it was okay. That was promising.

Sakura felt her heart climb up her throat. Her mother usually attended a basket weaving class on the other side of the village at this time. Her father was due for a trip to the nearby forest on the outskirts of town. Neither of them should've been home at this time. So why couldn't Sakura stop her hands from trembling?

The young girl finally gathered some courage and stepped up to the front door. She ignored everything around her just as she would during an operation. Everything's fine. Don't get yourself worked up over nothing.

The door creaked open. Sakura couldn't remember if it had always been that way or if she had just opened the door strangely. She didn't mull it over. The lights in the house were still on. A good sign. The devastation wasn't so severe that the villagers would be without power.

Light provided a clear look into the living room. Sakura calmed her hands and took cautionary steps. Aside from the dust blanket draping the room as a result of the collapsed roof, everything looked to be in perfect order. Sakura took a shaky breath. Good. Everything's good.

Still tuning out the world around her, Sakura didn't take heed to the puddle beneath her feet as she entered the adjacent kitchen. Nothing looked too out of the ordinary until she stumbled onto something solid. It was only a chair, but bile rose to her throat as her eyes flicked downwards. A rather large - how could she not have noticed it earlier?! - pool of darkening blood dried at her feet.

She jumped back, panting hard like a dog. Drops of blood dripped from her shoes like raindrops as she tried to maneuver around the puddle. Sakura's heart pounded in her eardrums. It's ok. Maybe it's just one of those bugs outside that got killed. That must be why they're all outside like that.

Sakura shook the remaining loose drops from her feet and sidestepped the puddle. They aren't supposed to be here, she repeated in her head like a mantra. So why the hell couldn't she shake this feeling?

She recognized the familiar bright yellow color of her mother's smock on the other side of the dining table. She'd only be wearing that if she'd be cooking a really big meal.

Suddenly, Sakura's senses hit her all at once. She could hear the pot on the stove boiling. Bubbling water seeped through the pot's lid that threatened to be blown off at any time. She rushed to turn off the stove. Even went the extra mile of cleaning up the mess. Since when was kaa-san careless enough to leave the stove on when she's out of the house?

The young girl shook her head. Her mother was becoming more scatterbrained in her old age. Sakura took a whiff of the air. Besides the stench of blood, there were faint hints of some of her favorite food aromas. A quick look around showed a table full of freshly prepared food covered in debris.

Damn. She's gonna be so mad when she gets back.

Sakura stepped over to the table, mindful of the sticky, bloody floor. Her mother would be furious when she came back to clean all this up. Sakura dusted off some of the dishes trying to make out what they were. Debris was so caked into them that she couldn't recognize a thing.

In the midst of her intense dusting, a plate clattered to the floor. Sakura rushed to pick it up and was met with a sight that made her want to vomit. Her mother lay sprawled out on the floor, her midsection crushed by a piece of the fallen roof, and her mouth propped open in what was most likely one of her shrill voiced screams.

Ok, she thought, her mind blanking as she took it all in. Ok, ok, ok. Glowing green lit up her hands as she squatted down to heal her mother.

She's dead. You know that, a nagging little voice taunted.

No, no, no. I can still do something. I'm not totally inept.

Pumping chakra into her mother proved futile, but nothing could stop her. Truthfully, she wasn't fixing anything. Only searching for a semblance of a pulse - something to prove that she wasn't too late.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" she yelled as she recklessly pumped more healing chakra into her mother's lifeless body. It was only when a vital organ burst that she stopped her madness. Looking over her mother with blood smeared up her elbows and calves, she could only imagine the cruel remark her mother would make.

Sakura dragged a finger across Mebuki's cheek, willing her mouth to move for any kind of comment to be made. Sakura's heart plummeted to her stomach.

There's nothing. Nothing at all.

Sakura shut her eyes and rested her forehead in her mother's bosom. Everything around her had gone deathly quietly. Her ears felt like they were clogged with water. "Kaa-san," she whimpered, burying her head further into her mother's chest.

Sakura's body felt so heavy all of a sudden. She could barely will herself to move. Even turning her head required extreme effort. She'd finally managed to look away from her mother's corpse only to find her father's in about the same position. He was propped against the wall, his hand clutching the house phone as blood pooled around him.

Sakura couldn't muster the strength to bring forth the familiar glow of her healing chakra. The soldier pills only helped so much and she'd been healing all day. Not to mention she couldn't recall the last time she consumed anything other than water. She was running on borrowed time.

With the last of her strength, Sakura dragged her father's corpse near her mother's, uncaring of the smeared trail of blood left in its wake. She maneuvered their bodies into one big embrace with her lying belly down in the middle. Chakra exhaustion settled in soon after. Her heavy eyelids drooped closed without much of a fight on her end. She heard nothing but her own beating heart as she drifted into a dreamless sleep.

…..

Kabuto's demise was inevitable. The pompous bastard was in constant pursuit of the upper hand, never too loyal to anyone nor any place. Orochimaru couldn't in earnest say that he never predicted such an ending. His apprentice had died by his master's hands. The snake sannin wasn't the type for sentimentality but damn! He could kind of understand why the Third kept his sorry ass around. Seeing the blood of the one you'd poured so much thought and time into was a twisted, gut wrenching feeling that never quite left you.

Kabuto had been ranting to him about something as death lingered. Orochimaru had chalked up the nonsense dribbles to delirium, but now, with an eerie quiet blanketing the area, he had the time to mull over what was spat at him.

"It's the end," Orochimaru recalled himself saying.

Kabuto coughed up a bit of blood. He wiped his throbbing mouth that only ached from the pressure. Too bad it did nothing to wipe the smug smile off the bastard's face. "It's not," the bespectacled man managed to choke out.

Orochimaru's brow raised. Kabuto leaned into his master's curiosity. "I planned for this. I knew there was a possibility I'd die fighting you-"

"A certainty."

Kabuto's lips curved downwards. Orochimaru was sure he heard him curse under his breath. "I've no time for semantics. But plans were set into place long ago to keep you from getting what you really want."

"And what would that be?"

"Sasuke," Kabuto hissed. "Or rather his body."

"Aren't you cute?"

"I'm serious! I've been working with Danzo behind your back."

"A rather axiomatic confession on your part, but I understand the soon departed's wish to confess their sins to enjoy a comfortable after life."

"Fuck you!"

Kabuto's anger did nothing to faze the snake sannin. It only worked him up enough to start another round of coughing fits. More blood splattered on the ground.

"And how will your little plan stop me from getting what I want?"

"When I started working with Danzo, I managed to get my hands onto files that detailed his involvement with the Akatsuki, Root, and other illicit affairs."

"So?"

"I'm implicated in them. That means you are too, by proxy."

"How so?"

Kabuto's mouth ticked up into a sadistic grin. "I am nothing if not your humble servant."

Orochimaru rolled his eyes. "I hardly think implicating me in the affairs of the Akatsuki would do anything to squander my reputation. I am the snake sannin after all."

"You'll be taken to a prison of the highest security. You won't be allowed access to Sasuke anymore."

"I don't have access to him now and look at how that's working."

Kabuto's teeth clenched. He grimaced as his wounds festered from the wind of debris that picked up and swirled over him. His eyes traced his master's outline as he kneeled next to him.

"You didn't think this through, did you?"

"I did."

"You're such a child." Orochimaru stroked Kabuto's head. The young man refused to admit the comfort it gave him in his final moments. "You're a more than capable man. No reason to hold such grudges against a teenager."

"You make it sound simple."

"Isn't it?"

Kabuto laughed dryly. There was never much he could say that would faze the man. But maybe, just maybe, this time he'd finally see him crack. "I was able to get vital intel from ANBU before our scuffle. Sasuke was assigned to the civilian district."

That made Orochimaru stiffen. He remembered the way everything in his body just seemed to stop. His breaths hadn't even felt real. Kabuto smiled, blood still dripping from the corner of his mouth.

"If my calculations were accurate, he should've been in the area at the time of our attack," Kabuto tittered. "You won't be able to use his body. But maybe you'll find it in time before it gets too mangled for an open casket funeral."

…..

In a span of just a few hours, Konoha's entire landscape had changed. Only those remaining on the outskirts had faced little to no damage. The devastation was astronomical. An entire village had been uprooted as a result of an attack that very few knew the details of.

Everywhere, there lay an upturned building, a fractured road, training grounds so thoroughly decimated in a manner that not even Tsunade's fist wielded the power to do so. Worse were the bodies that lay crumpled underneath the fallen infrastructures. Piles of bodies were rounded up by shinobi. A solemn silence rang out over them all.

More maddening was the sudden disappearance of all the enemy nin that had stormed the border. One minute they were all there giving Konoha nin hell, the next, they flashed without a trace into thin air.

It had all been a sickening game to measure their strength. And for what? Proof they were formidable opponents? Compared to defenseless civilians? Many of whom wouldn't ever know the truth of all that had transpired? A numbing ache would linger through the village for years to come.