Sakura Blossoms in Sand 5
LostsoulofRegret/TearsofSadness17 – thanks a lot.
Shawn-chan
shadowhawk00
Ox King – I learned that in school but totally forgot. Thanks.
EnV
Statik
Monster Envy – thanks.
SweetAssassin
kakashisninjadogs
Kenya
ShadowDragonWings
Ali-Baba123
Denisen
Sabaku-No-Ardent
m2m231
Healing
Dr.Frun looked to Sakura with a deadly serious expression. "Are you ready?"
Nodding her head, Sakura prepared herself for what to come. With an affirmative nod to Sakura, Dr.Frun opened the hospital doors. Quickly stepping through, Frun turned, holding the door open for Sakura.
Sakura walked through, but was immediately hit by a horrendous odor. She raised her hand to her face, only to be stopped by the mask she wore. Absently noting how pungent the odor must have been to seep through the mask, Sakura continued forward into the hospital.
Following Dr.Frun, Sakura walked past a few doors, the moaning of the dying raising in volume the further she walked through. It was an experience Sakura had never encountered, in that hall. Diseases this bad had never been encountered in the Konaha hospital since she started working there.
It was the feeling of defeat that rung through the halls. It stung at her sides as she teetered on into the white walls of hell.
Turning right, Sakura started to feel it. The dwindling chakra, the moaning, the smell; it was as if she herself were spiraling down.
'NO', she mentally berated herself. This was not about her. This was about them, the people who needed her. There was no time for her to fall into the melodrama that her life had just climbed out of. It was time to take action and hope she can do an awesome job for Suna.
With the newfound spirit of a medic, Sakura continued her way until they reach emergency room number 5; Kankuro's room. Opening the door, Sakura filed in, scared for what sight she may behold.
As she opened her eyes, Sakura felt her stomach turn. There lied a man on the bed. His brown red hair was damp from sweat as he attempted to toss in the bed. His eyes were squeezed shut in pain. His skin held almost indents from the flat pox. Hooked up to an IV, Kankuro look very helpless. His face, cleared of makeup, was instead covered in the sickening sight of the darkening -almost charring- of his skin caused by the virus.
Sakura had only seen him once without his makeup, in a similar position. But last time was due to a poison she could easily decipher. Now it was a virus she knew little about, and the helplessness from past scars tried to force themselves upon her; but inner Sakura wouldn't let them. She needed to help the man before her no matter what.
She had saved his life before and she was going to do it again.
"The virus seems to be destroying him from the inside out", Dr. Frun said, pulling Sakura from her inner squabbles.
"So, instead of forming on the outside, all the postulates are forming under the skin, so you can not see them well" Sakura whispered back.
"Like I said before. No one has yet to survive this version of Small Pox. Kankuro-sama has lasted the longest. Two weeks. Hopefully, the scabbing stage will occur soon. That will be a pretty good sign that he will survive"
"So. How exactly does this disease kill its victims" Sakura asked.
"Well… we really don't know. There have been people who have just stopped breathing, infected by bacteria's like pneumonia, or a heart attack, shock; there really are a lot of ways victims have died. From what we can tell, its mostly because their immune system goes down so low that their bodies become very vulnerable"
"What happens to the chakra levels?" Sakura asked as she circled the bed, scanning Kankuro.
Looking into his chakra system, Sakura's eyes widened.
"Looks like you've found it out. This is also one of the reasons we believe so many people have died."
He paused.
"Their chakra levels become so low, that if the levels were to drop any more, they would die"
Sakura felt herself begin to shake. This was… was… terrible.
Calming herself, Sakura took up the role as top medic. "Every patient infected is hook up to antibiotics right"
"Well…"
"RIGHT!"
"We didn't think that everyone would need one-"
Sakura turned away from the doctor. She needed to find someone more competent that this.
"Not everyone is in such a critical condition as Kankuro-sama, Sakura" Frun ended.
Stopping in mid step, Sakura tried to take a deep breathe. "Dr. Frun. If everyone infected with smallpox has their chakra levels dropped to this low, do you know what could happen? On second thought, do you know what chakra is?!"
Dr. Frun frown at Sakura, a bit peeved at her assault at his intelligence. From what he heard, she was supposed to be a lot nicer than this.
"Well yes. Chakra is the energy that flows within every living being. There is body and spiritual forms of the chakra, and when put together medics like us, or ninja's can perform amazing tasks-"
Cutting Dr. Frun off, Sakura asked another question. "And what happens when you lose all of your chakra?"
"It can result in severe and sometime irreversible chakra damage"
"Yes. And what does that usually lead to?"
Dr. Frun gulped. "Death", he nearly whispered.
"Exactly. But you're wrong about you description of chakra. Chakra isn't just some energy that flows within your body to be called when using ninja skills. It's a life force that no human could survive without.
"Dr. Frun. Chakra is a vital part of every living being. Not only that, but it is the driving force of immunity. It keeps all those little cells that stop bacteria from multiplying in your body. It is a major protector against all terrible diseases that could infect your body, a fighting force that naturally protects it from all invading microorganisms that could cause harm.
"If the Chakra level of every patient has gotten even close to as low as Kankuro-san over there, and not every one of them is being fed some antibiotics, then you negligence might just have kill half of your patients. Pneumonia, bronchitis, hell, even the common cold could kill them off. If you don't hurry and hook up those patients that need antibiotics right now, I WILL have you removed from this hospital"
Dr. Frun stared in wide-eyed shock at the pinked haired woman in front of her. She had certainly gained the Godaime's temper when dealing with others irresponsibility, and Dr, Frun found himself fleeing down the hall, frantically searching for a nurse to help him fix the problem.
Back in emergency room five, Sakura leaned against the wall as she evened her breathing. It had been a while since she had given someone such a heated, tongue lashing for his or her incompetence.
If she remembered correctly, it was when Sasuke had returned two years ago, carried into the city on the back of Naruto himself. Bloody and mangled after the intense final battle with his brother, the Uchiha needed to be treated immediately if he were to survive.
Unfortunately, one of the medics wouldn't have it. The woman at the desk told Naruto that she couldn't even let Sasuke into the building because of his status of missing Nin, and instead told him to wait outside for a team of ANBU to come and pick Sasuke up; but if Naruto wished, he could go right ahead and get himself healed after his long mission.
To say that Naruto was furious was an understatement. Sakura could not recall a time he had used such language when describing any woman, but he surly wouldn't stand for this "desk girl" and her stubbornness.
Sakura personally had not been on the scene. It had been her day off and she was training in a more remote portion of the forest so not to be disturbed. From what she heard, Naruto had torn up quite a bit of the hospital, flipping tables and throwing chair's as he stormed from the building.
For good measure, and with the kyubi so close beneath the surface in his emotive state, Naruto had even torn a lamp post from in front of the hospital, letting it fall where it may while he ran off to find Sakura.
With one chakra tail sprouting from him in rage, Naruto ran to the forest, hoping to find his pink haired friend. It didn't take him very long to find her, using his enhanced senses gained from the kyubi's power. With her direction set in his mind, Naruto had burned a trail in the forest his whole way there.
Sakura only had a seconds warning from the massive burst of chakra before Naruto was upon her, four tails swinging violently behind him as he attempted to catch his breath.
Sakura's first thought was of Naruto, who, having sprouted his fourth tail, was not able to properly hold all of the fox demons power. His skin was lacerating on its own as the chakra boiling beneath the surface, was coming out like bursting lava bubbles from a volcano.
As she ran towards the raging blonde, Sakura could already see a pool of blood forming at his feet.
"NARUTO!" was the word that brought the blonde back into the realm of the civilized. Realizing that he had found his best friend and medic, the orange glow of demon chakra fell from Naruto as he gave Sakura a smile.
Stumbling forward, Naruto made sure to keep his "package" safe.
"Sakura" Naruto had weakly cried out before collapsing on the ground. When Sakura ran up to Naruto, kneeling before him as she tried to heal him, it only took a few sweeps of his body to find out that Naruto wasn't the only one in need of help.
Still lying on the blondes back was a man Sakura had just about given up for dead. His raven hair blew softly in the dying heat of the forest fire extinguishing around them.
Sakura's felt her heart clench. "Sasuke"
When she heard him groan in pain, Sakura realized what she had to do. She was a medic and a medic must protect and heal their team.
On her own, Sakura mended their cuts the damage done to their chakra systems, thanks to overuse of chakra based attacks.
Then, with strength gained from the teachings of the Godaime herself, Sakura carried her former teammates back to Konoha.
When she arrived at the hospital, it looked as if war had broken out once again in Fire country. Only one of the two front doors of the hospital could be found, and it was barely hanging onto its hinges.
The lawn in the front had been completely torn up and a lamppost was mysteriously missing, only a hole in the ground where it once was.
Inside, Sakura found a mess of people. The Konoha police, witnesses, medics, and two squads of ANBU all were milling around desk of the hospital.
When Sakura tried pressed through the group of people so to get her friends to an emergency room, she was assaulted by the shrill scream of the desk girl, Yaminto. "Oh MY GOD! It's them. Uchiha Sasuke and the monster who destroyed this hospital!"
All eyes turned to Sakura, who immediately felt like sinking into some far off corner. That was until she saw the ANBU walking her way, handcuffs in hand.
"Wait a second. What do you think your doing" Sakura asked as the captain started to reach for Sasuke.
"I'm sorry Sakura… but we must take these two into custody-"
"No way! These two are severely injured and must be brought to a room in this hospital before they die"
"But-"
"No 'buts'. I am the head medic of this facility and I have all the authority to heal these two before you take them away. If you wish to have them, you will have to wait until they at least regain consciousness. But if you cant wait, go have a meeting with the Hokage to get a warrant to take them!"
Turning her back on the ANBU Sakura stalked down the hall, the boys of team seven on her shoulders as she carried them to the emergency room.
As she walked, Yaminto ran in front of her.
"Haruno-sama! What do you think you are doing? Uchiha is a missing Nin. We can't heal him here!"
And Sakura blew up.
"Uchiha Sasuke is a former Konoha shinobi WHO has had man search parties over the year, sent out to retrieve him from the clutches of Orochimaru. That missions, to bring him back, NOT kill him, has been held up since the day he left. There has been no change so obviously; he is not supposed to die because he holds some importance to Konohagakure.
"Now if you do not wish to get removed from your hospital position, then I hope you do step aside"
And Yaminto left. She never was a hard worker, now that Sakura thought about it. She was always loitering around or flirting with patients. She didn't even file correctly for gods sake. It was probable for the better that she left the hospital.
Thinking back, Sakura found herself smiling at the memory of when Sasuke and Naruto came to. Naruto had told her the whole story of how he found Sasuke dying on an open field when Naruto had been coming back from a mission from mist. When Yaminto came into the story, he couldn't help but curse at how she wouldn't let them in. Sasuke stayed quiet as he listened.
Later, Tsunade had come in, yelling at Sakura for verbally assaulting both the ANBU and a fellow medic, but the smile on the old woman's lips let Sakura know that Tsunade wasn't truly as mad as she let on.
Coming back from her stroll down memory lane, Sakura turned to look at Kankuro once again. She sat on the seat next to his bed for the next twenty minutes; mentally noting on the way his chakra system flowed under the virus.
Finally, a nurse came in to get Sakura. Sakura could see the girl's blonde hair from beneath a protective cap.
"Haruno-san. Can you step outside?"
Sakura nodded, taking one last glance at Kankuro before walking out.
In the hall, the nurse instantly began to talk.
"Haruno-san. Did you get anything from your observations of Kankuro-sama?"
"Yes. But I think I am going to need a lot more information before I can help anyone"
The nurse nodded. "Well. While you're here, do you think you can look up on our other patients that have not been infected? We haven't had much time other than to set bones and wrap up wounds for those hurt during the battle"
"Ok. But, could you get all the information gather so far on smallpox sent to my room at the Kazekage's tower"
The Nurse did another nod before taking off down the hall. Sakura followed her, stopping at a 'disinfecting' station.
Once outside the double doors to the 'other' half of the hospital, Sakura felt her spirits raise a little. With a bittersweet smile, Sakura walked to the front desk.
"Hello Yukimura-san. I was wondering if you could get me some patients to heal, not from the virus infected portion," Sakura corrected herself.
"Um. Sure. But first, I think you should take a shower, just to be safe"
"Of course"
Sterilizing herself for work was a lot harder then anticipated, for the clothes she had been wearing were to be dipped into boiling water to kill the virus. They gave her some clean, non-infected clothes when she finished her, "full body scrub". Coming out, Sakura had to admit to herself that her skin now melded in with her hair, glowing neon pink after that sterilizing process.
Walking back to the desk, Yukimura-san gave Sakura the files to one of the battle wards. Climbing the stairs, Sakura felt the tension of the hospital start to smooth out.
Walking into ward 3, Sakura found the room lit up by five round windows. About ten men were lying in beds, smiles on their faces as they joked around.
Walking up to the first bed, the one with the worst injuries of them all, she found a ninja who had broken his right arm in two places and his right femur is three. He had short brown hair that held an unkempt look to it and two glowing blue eyes. His filed said his name was Wantanabe Akira. Sakura smiled as the man's face lit up.
"Why hello there miss. How do we gain the privilege to have such a beauty walk into our room?"
'Woots' could be heard from the other roommates. 'Is this a hospital or a prison?' inner sakura commented.
"Well. I happen to be your medic for today. I am planning on healing you fellas' up" Sakura replied with a smile on her face.
"You're a medic. Who would of thought? Beauty, brain and skill"
Sakura smiled as she started to heal his leg, listening to the man's rambling.
For the rest of the day, Sakura healed all the ninja's in that ward. It may have started out a bit weird but Sakura had found out a lot about them in that short amount of time. It seemed that this was an older group of ninjas with one 25 year old –Akira- and the rest were in there forties.
They had a lot of stories to tell her, seemingly friendly with a "perty young thing" in their mists.
Sakura actually found herself enjoying their company as she worked, something that actually didn't happen as often as you would think.
As Sakura finished, getting ready to walk out, She heard Akira yell, "Hey! When I get out, we should have lunch together Sakura-san"
Sakura just shook her head as she walked out.
"Was that a yes or a no?"
"Neither" she answer, smiling as she heard his sour shouting from behind.
'Well. That was actually pretty enjoyable' Sakura thought with a smile as she walked out of the hospital doors, into the night.