Karumi sat, stone-faced, watching her own shadow flicker against the stone walls. It had been hours since they'd arrived at the new hide-out; hours since her boys had fallen back to sleep from all the excitement; and hours since Itachi and Sasuke had supposedly begun their battle.
Of course, Karumi only had one way of knowing what was going on: the large creature known to the group as Zetsu, who supposedly had eyes on the scene would occasionally describe what he was seeing, though as soon as the two had actually started coming to physical blows, Karumi had quickly asked him to stop.
Now, with the twins safely in another room, she could be alone with her thoughts, but the adrenaline was making it hard to think. Karumi could feel the hairs standing up on the back of her neck.
Something was coming.
As if on cue, Zetsu's grotesque form began to phase through the wall, carrying two bloodied bodies; one, a young man Karumi could only recognise by the similarities from Itachi's visions, the other, the limp corpse of her lover.
The moment Itachi's body hit the floor, Karumi began checking for pulses. None. Immediately, she started chest compressions, desperate to bring him back to her.
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Perhaps a minor jolt of chakra could do the trick. It worked for her first exam as a child. Fish aren't so different from people.
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"Karumi," Madara's heavy voice sounded from behind her, no longer keeping up the 'Tobi' pretence.
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"Instead of focusing on the lost cause, perhaps you could tend to the patient who's actually still alive?"
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Tears burned in her eyes as Karumi's shoulders slumped forward. He was right. Even if she somehow miraculously brought him back, there was no telling how much time they actually had together, and Sasuke was just as critical.
She glanced once more at Itachi's face; so peaceful during death. A soft smile rested on his face. Maybe he had wanted this after all.
Shuffling toward the younger, Karumi gently touched his hand, scanning through his extensive injuries before getting started. It would take a lot of energy to stop his internal bleeding, but it wasn't impossible. There were also several broken bones and muscle tears, but those could be fixed in due time.
Karumi had something else she wanted to focus on.
"Itachi asked me to perform the eye transplant," she muttered, glancing up at Madara, who loomed over her, watching her work.
"Don't worry about that now," he murmured back. "I'll do it. Just make sure this one doesn't die."
Karumi began to object - she'd promised Itachi, after all - but she couldn't leave her patient. All she could do was watch as Zetsu picked the body back up, and carried him out of the room, with Madara following after him.
Turning back to the man in front of her, Karumi took the time to examine his face. There was certainly a resemblance, but she couldn't picture this battered teenager as the same sweet Sasuke from her memories.
Then again, trauma changes people. There was no way he'd be the same - not after what happened between them. He'd seen his family die. He'd probably assumed Karumi had been finished off like the others.
The thought of her own family drifted through Karumi's mind; something she hadn't thought about in years. Karumi had been in her home when her clan was attacked, helping her parents to treat a patient. It wasn't unusual to hear sounds of distress outside. They were on the edge of a warzone, after all, and the agonised groans and cries of their patients had become a common occurrence.
When the screaming had started, however, both her parents had stopped, glancing at each other.
"Stay here," her father had murmured, placing his equipment down on a table to cautiously step outside and see .
Minutes had passed with no word, and the screaming from outside had only grown louder, along with the rumbling and crashing of houses and makeshift hospitals being destroyed. The smell of smoke drifted through the air and the banging sounds grew closer
Her mother glanced down at her worriedly, before fixing her eyes on the door. "Sousuke," she called softly. "Take Karumi out through the back. Get as far away as you can."
"But..." the young boy trailed off, clearly wanting to help his parents; but with one glance at Karumi, he knew what he had to do.
Quickly grabbing her hand, Sousuke dragged Karumi through the house, weaving through the connected rooms until they were outside. Her little legs could barely keep up, clumsily tripping over themselves as the pair ran through their garden.
Sousuke scooped Karumi into his arms, jumping onto then over the tall stone wall that surrounded their complex. He paused momentarily, readjusting his grip to keep his sister comfortable, before bolting as fast as he could away from the village.
Karumi could smell burning. Her eyes stung from the smoky haze in the air. All she could do was watch her village burn until the structure disappeared into the distance, though it was soon obvious that they were being followed.
She hadn't seen what had happened to her brother after he had urged her to run. A kunai to the back was a painful injury, and his body had been one of the ones found by the Leaf's recovery team. If she had turned to look back, what expression would he have had? Worry? Hurt? Or perhaps he, like Itachi, had found relief in knowing Karumi had gotten away. Would he be proud of what she had become?
The thoughts weren't as much of a comfort as Karumi had hoped.
Her chakra glowed green over Sasuke's body, slowing his bleeding and healing his internal injuries as best as she could with what energy she had. He would need multiple sessions of intensive care before he would be able to regain consciousness, and even more after that before he would be able to move comfortably.
This, of course, did not include the inevitable emotional trauma of killing a family member, and finding that another one was still alive. There was also the fact that she herself was still alive after all this time - something only the Akatsuki knew; and now Sasuke would know too.
Karumi knew he would have questions, and she dreaded the confrontation that was to come.