The fighting had begun sooner than Karumi had anticipated - such is the nature of war. No sooner had she reunited with her children than she was forced to part with them again, leaving Sayuri and the boys back in Konoha to be cared for by the villagers who stayed behind. Tsunade had assured her they would be looked after, and the young woman felt inclined to trust her.
Karumi clenched and unclenched her fists, forcing herself to take several deep breaths. The anxiety in the air was palpable. Even though she and her fellow medics weren't in the midst of battle, there was a sense of foreboding for what was to come. The battle had long since started; and soon, and so would the real work.
The Medical Support Division was a separate compound designed to keep both medical ninja and their patients safe away from the action. Despite Tsunade's promises, Karumi didn't actually have any battle experience, so it was decided she should use her knowledge where it mattered most.
As the first wounded shinobi began to arrive, all members of the division sprang into action, triaging the patients and moving them through the compound for treatment. The wounded were coming from every division with all sorts of injuries: burns, lacerations, head trauma; the list went on. With the number of patients arriving, there wasn't much any of the medics could do except bandage and move on to the next, conserving their chakra to be used for true emergencies.
Karumi's current patient had been tagged with her chakra, her blind eye watching carefully as his vitals finally began to stabilise. She wrapped his bandages firmly, careful to apply the right amount of pressure over his bleeding wounds.
The image in her mind began to flicker before completely fading, and Karumi quickly grabbed the man's wrist, checking for a pulse. His vitals were steady, and Karumi heaved a sigh of relief.
"We have to move this man!" Karumi declared to the others. "He's stable, but unconscious."
Two more medics grabbed each side of the man's stretcher, taking the patient into one of the large tents where many of the wounded were being held together, and Karumi scanned the area for her next target.
"I need two jounin medics to lend me a hand!" Shizune called from one of the tents. "We need to resuscitate!"
Karumi darted inside, immediately rushing forward to begin chest compressions. She didn't bother to turn as the tent's entrance rustled again, until a familiar voice called her name.
"Lady Hanakawa?"
Still maintaining her rhythm, Karumi looked over her shoulder, her eyes widening at the sight of the young man behind her. "Tetsuya!" she beamed. "I didn't know you were here!"
Shizune cleared her throat. "I asked for jounin," she murmured, her hands glowing with chakra as she tended to their patient.
"Oh, Tetsuya can manage," Karumi assured her, gesturing with her head for the boy to join them. "We've done this before. I taught him everything he knows."
The dark-haired woman eyed her suspiciously, but nodded. "Tetsuya, was it? You're on drug administration and monitoring."
"Y-Yes, ma'am!"
The three medics worked, pouring their efforts into reviving their patient, switching roles to maintain their stamina, until finally they finally elicited a gasp of life from the unconscious shinobi.
Karumi sat back, her muscles trembling with exhaustion as she watched the man be carried off to the compound's monitoring tent.
"You should take a break," Shizune muttered, looking just as tired. "We can't have you out of action too early on in the game."
Nodding, Karumi exited the tent, glancing up at the dark purple sky. It was already the early hours of the morning, but there was no way she would actually be able to get any sleep. The most she could hope for was an hour or so of quiet time before the madness would start again. Karumi began to walk through the compound, listening as Tetsuya followed behind her.
"You left," he mumbled quietly. "I didn't think I'd see you ever again."
Karumi felt her gut twist guiltily. "I know," she said softly, pausing to look at him. "I'm sorry."
Tetsuya seemed to have grown in the couple of months she'd been away — or perhaps he simply looked more mature. His grey eyes weren't as soft as they once were, and his jaw seemed to be perpetually clenched.
"The Rain Village lost its best medical ninja," the boy continued. "Everyone was looking to me after you were gone."
"They were already doing that," Karumi pointed out, smiling.
Tetsuya only frowned.
"Still," Karumi murmured, reaching her hand out to poke his shinobi forehead protector. "You seem to be managing well on your own. You need to have more faith in yourself."
With that, Karumi began to head towards another more secluded tent, leaving Tetsuya behind.
"If we survive this," the young man called after her. "Promise you'll visit the Rain Village!"
Karumi only waved, not looking back. Instead she ducked into the nearby tent, pausing awkwardly as she realised it was occupied.
Two shinobi, one boy and one girl, neither of whom could have been much older than Sasuke, sat perched on the small makeshift chairs, chatting to each other as the young woman bandaged the boy's torso.
"Sorry," Karumi murmured. "Shizune told me to rest — I didn't think there was anyone in here."
"Don't worry!" the girl piped, tucking a lock of cropped pink hair behind her ear. "We don't mind, right, Neji?"
The young man only stared at Karumi, his milky white eyes narrowing slightly in concentration. His name struck a chord with Karumi, and several nostalgic memories of her childhood suddenly came flowing back to her.
"Neji...Hyuuga?" she asked, her eyes widening.
The young man nodded.
"Do you...remember me?" Karumi whispered hopefully as she slowly sat down on one of the chairs. "Probably not — it was a long time ago."
The brunette offered a small smile. "You're Karumi, right?"
Grinning, Karumi quickly nodded. She hadn't expected him to recognise her — after all, it had been several years since her time at the Hyuuga residence, and her appearance had changed dramatically in the time since leaving the Leaf Village.
"Do you know her?" the young woman with him asked curiously.
Neji hesitated.
"One of the Hyuuga clan members taught me Taijutsu when I was a kid," Karumi explained.
"You're from the Leaf Village too?" the girl asked, even more surprised.
"I lived there for a few years when I was young," Karumi replied, careful not to give too much information away. "You guys were probably still in the Academy when I left."
The girl leaned forward eagerly. "You don't seem that much older than us," she smiled. "What made you leave?"
Karumi glanced at Neji, who watched her intensely. She could feel her heart pounding nervously in her chest as she quickly searched for an excuse. "The boy I liked," she said slowly, opting for a half-truth. "Was sent on a mission to another village. I followed him because I wanted to be with him."
"That's so romantic!" the pink-haired girl gushed. "Who is he? Would I know him?"
He was your village's most wanted rogue ninja. "Probably not," Karumi muttered.
The younger woman sighed wistfully, her smile slowly dropping. "The guy I liked also left our village," she mumbled. "If I was braver I might have been able to stop him — or go with him."
Karumi smiled softly. Whoever this girl was, she reminded Karumi a little of herself. Maybe they'd be even more similar if Karumi had stayed behind instead of following Itachi to the Akatsuki.
"I don't think I caught your name," the young woman said suddenly, her sea green eyes meeting with Karumi's. "I'm Sakura Haruno."
"It's Karumi," the older replied. "Karumi Hanakawa."
Sakura's eyes widened in astonishment. "Hanakawa — the clan famous for producing medical ninja?" A broad smile lifted her features. "Every single medical textbook in the Leaf Village lists at least one of its members as a co-author!"
Karumi felt a sense of pride well in her chest.
"But," Sakura murmured, her smile wavering. "I thought they were wiped out?"
"Most of them were," Karumi admitted with a sigh. "It's not something I'm really up to chatting about."
"Of course!" Sakura said quickly, her face flushing almost as pink as her hair. "I'm sorry — I shouldn't have brought it up."
Karumi smiled softly, waving her hand dismissively. It wasn't Sakura's fault she got too excited. If anything, Karumi was glad to be able to meet another person who knew about her clan; to know that her family's legacy wasn't lost.