7. She worked tirelessly during the night…

She worked tirelessly during the night in a makeshift hospital tent on the battlefield. It was merely a loose piece of fabric, stretched in between trees with ropes, without any sides. The wind caused an unwelcome draft that hindered a good healing process. But it was necessary that both clans could see how their leaders were treated.

Hashirama and Madara were lying on makeshift beds, unconscious, their chakra reserves depleted and on top of that severely wounded. Sakura was healing the most critical injuries first. She was low on chakra, and she was forcing herself to be as efficient as possible with her chakra. The only one that could assist her with healing injuries like these, was lying unconscious before her. The situation was grave. She was not only fighting for their lives, but for the future of all present.

Madara was her first priority. The proud clan-head was severely injured, lying vulnerable before her, subject to her healing hands. The delicate trust that she received from his terrified clan member could not be breached. It was imperative to make it clear that the Senju were serious about this peace.

But it was not easy. This was Uchiha Madara. She could see that he was young still. But the thoughts of Neji's death, Sasuke's impaling with his own katana, the destruction of Obito's mind, made her recoil instinctively, her chakra aggressive. So much grief, pain and suffering he caused. She gritted her teeth, she was a shinobi first and foremost. The future was hers to save. So she healed him, repressing her memories of that other version of him. So very different from the one lying helpless underneath her hands.

Still, it felt useful that she shared the same traumatic experiences as the Senju clan with the Uchiha. Feeling some of their trauma, it was easier for her to understand the importance but also the intense difficulty and most likely feelings of impossibility of this peace and how precarious the coming time would be for everyone. Everybody lost loved ones in the battles, everybody hurt. It was imperative that acting on those emotions was a thing of the past. So she tried as hard as the Senju around her to put her emotions aside and healed one of her bitterest enemies until colour hit his cheeks and his breathing became strong and even.

She felt exhausted but elated. But there was no time to rest. She started working on Hashirama, with the little chakra that was left in her. His injuries were far less, but the chakra depletion was severe. She could not remedy that with her healing techniques. But she could heal his injuries so that his body could more efficiently refuel the chakra reserves. She worked until the sun started to rise and the birds started singing. Only then, some colour was visible on his cheeks as well. She sighed deeply and looked at the both of them. They looked peaceful, sleeping next to each other. The shadow of the boys that befriended each other a lifetime ago, still visible.

She stood with shaking legs and walked unsteadily towards the four guards that stood close, watching her, two Uchiha and two Senju. "Senju-san, Uchiha-san, please watch them for me. Call for me immediately, when one of them wakes, make sure they drink water first thing."

The battlefield was a dramatic sight. Tobirama and Izuna apparently made their peace during the night and were leading a team that was collecting the bodies. Uchiha and Senju shinobi were lying next to each other in death. The living were standing and watching with empty eyes, exhaustion plain.

She sighed, she needed to heal the wounded. There were other healers at work, from both clans, but she was more advanced in healing techniques. She searched for wounded that were not yet attended to, feeling dizzy. She was suffering from chakra depletion as well. She heard a voice behind her "Haruno-san?" She looked around and saw Uchiha Izuna. He too looked exhausted.

She noticed now, how young he looked. He could easily pass as Tobirama's junior, were it not for his eyes. His eyes held a world of hars life experiences; grief, pain, trauma. It reminded her once again of Sasuke.

"Haruno-san… please forgive me. I was out of line targeting your patient." He was fidgeting with his hands.

She assessed him and wondered how much it took for him to utter that apology. "Yes you were. And you shouldn't apologize to me, but to my patient. He survived your brute attack."

He nodded carefully, eyes haunted and then bowed to her. "I will do so. But I wish to pay my respects to my former enemy as well. You fought tactically smart and defeated me with your bravery and medical ninjutsu. Please accept my respect for you."

She sighed. "Thank you Uchiha-san. You are a worthy and impressive opponent. I am sorry I did not fight you honestly and straightforwardly."

He nodded at her reply, his face serious. He was so serious! She felt like walking on eggs. She noticed that despite his life experiences, he was indeed very young. He reminded her of Sasuke and Naruto. And suddenly she felt her resentment slide off of her. He could have been her teammate!

She grinned: "I know a solution Uchiha-san, let's have a rematch!"

He looked confused. "Rematch?"

"Yes! Let's spar with each other in the future. We can teach each other our special tricks… "

He looked confused, but then he started to grin, his black eyes glinting. "What an odd notion. This peace feels strange. But I accept your invitation Haruno-san. It will be my pleasure." And with that he bowed and walked away chuckling.

While smiling she noticed Tobirama watching her from far away, arms crossed over his chest. Then he appeared next to her, hand on her shoulder where his mark still was visible. Her hair moved by the replacement of air that it caused.

"And you were grinning together because….." His voice rumbled, causing goosebumps on her skin.

"I am grinning, Senju, because I invited him to have a rematch where I can fight him honestly. In a sparring session. And he accepted!"

He fell silent and then grunted: "I can tell you grew up in a peaceful era. I am so not ready for this … truce…. How are Madara and my brother?"

"They are fine. A bit dented, but after a good 48 hours sleep they will feel better. I made sure to heal Madara first as we agreed."

He nodded and looked around. She noticed the blackness underneath his eyes. Just like her he didn't sleep all night and he looked exhausted. He sported several large gashes on his legs and arms.

"Tobi….let me heal you…."

He did not look at her. "No. First the men. First the Uchiha. We must keep the peace. Hashirama would kill me if the Uchiha would feel slighted by healing our own first."

She nodded. He was right of course.

Halfway the afternoon the battlefield was cleared of the dead. Each clan had transported the bodies back to their compounds. The transport of the injured proved to be more tricky and slow.

Sakura found Hashirama and Madara awoke in the morning, talking softly to each other in the tent. She tried to attend to them business-like. But Hashirama, of course Hashirama had greeted her cheerfully, making her laugh. And they fell into an easy banter, while she scolded him for getting so badly injured.

All the while, Madara was silent and she felt his eyes following her, burning holes in her back.

When she was ready to leave, he suddenly spoke, voice raspy: "Haruno-san…. I thank you for healing me and for capturing my brother instead of killing him."

She swallowed and forced herself to look at him. His face was pale, with dark circles around his eyes. His wild mane of hair seemed outrageously extravagant for a respected clan head. His eyes held the same depth as his brother, but he was older and more experienced still. And cunning wisdom shimmered in them, she recognized it and knew of his potential.

Shuddering for a moment, trying to suppress memories, she said tersely, "It is my job Uchiha-sama, to tend to people instead of killing them." She tried a small smile and found it hard.

Madara stared at her and noticed her reluctance to be friendly. He sighed. "Ah…. you are also scarred by the wars. I wish to make them undone Haruno-san if I knew how. I will do my utmost best to make peace between the clans and forge a village where shinobi can live and fight together."

He stood up carefully and bowed to her. She felt suddenly emotional. This man. This man! He was responsible for so much death and sorrow. So much blood. She felt chakra gathering in her fists. She knew he noticed too. He hesitated, his eyes involuntarily jumping to sharingan. The tension was rising, Hashirama started to stand, startled.

"Sakura-san…" Madara reached out to her.. "I am truly sorry…."

His apology broke something inside of her and she felt tears falling from her eyes. "I know." she cried, softly remarking: "Peace might be just as hard as war."

He held her shoulder and caught a tear from her cheek and he smiled. "Now the healer needs healing. Sakura-san, the war is over. Peace is here now. Please, you are just as necessary in forging this peace as any of us. You need to be strong and we need our grief to pass and look at the future."

His words startled her. The tears stopped. He was right. This was not the sadistic Madara that she fought. This was their second chance. She wiped the tears from her cheeks with her sleeve. Nodded and stood straight. "Uchiha-sama, let me offer you my allegiance as a shinobi to the Uchiha as well as the Senju and to this peace. I will guard it with my life." She bowed.

Her offering touched Madara. He was visibly emotional for a moment. Hoarsely he replied, "I accept your allegiance Sakura. And I thank you."