Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in it.

III.

- Oppositions -

"Come in," Mebuki stepped back, inviting her in. The door closed with a click behind her.

"Hello, mom," Sakura hugged her warmly and in her turn, Mebuki slightly pushed her to the inner part of the house.

The Haruno Household was a cozy place. Average-sized rooms, filled only with the most important things one needed. It wasn't anything special, with its faded wall paint, old floral hangings, and round carpets but it was where she spent all of the years of her childhood and the place carried a sentimental air. There would always be a place in her heart for these ordinary, simple rooms.

"Come here, sweetie!" Kizashi almost jumped from the couch. It seems he hadn't heard the front door opening and her appearance in the dining room surprised him.

"Dad, please," Sakura tried to calm him down but she was already squeezing her tightly between his arms. A warm feeling ensconced within her as she smiled, wrapping her hands around the taller man slowly. He never failed to make her feel good. As she began to think about it, perhaps he was the one who brought the sentimental air in that house. It was him that she would call her real home. Not that she didn't love her mother as much. Kizashi was the one who never judged her for anything and supported her wholeheartedly. She was positive that there would be no man on the planet that could make her feel as safe.

"You're even thinner than the last time I saw you. I bet you're not eating properly."

"I am eating plenty of food. Don't worry."

"You seem pale. Is there something wrong?"

"Oh, well, I've been... overthinking things last night. Couldn't sleep much."

"Come and eat lunch with us first," Mebuki offered. "Then you'll tell us everything."

Soon after they sat at the table and ate quietly from Mebuki's rice with vegetables. Sakura was surprised to realize how much she had missed her mother's cooking. Everything was somehow magically enhanced in taste and incredibly delicious when your mother has cooked it. Whenever she cooked for herself, it was just vapid.

"So, how is it in the Hospital?" Mebuki asked once they finished with the cleaning and the dishes.

"Not so good. You two follow the news, don't you?"

"We do. And still, we have no idea what's going on." Mebuki looked at her husband.

"You know how it goes," Kizashi explained. "Half an hour of reporters saying practically nothing about the actual problem and interviews with people who ignore the direct answer to the question."

"Not very informative."

Sakura chuckled. "Yeah, you described it very well, that's exactly what happens."

"Well? What's happening? Is the Hospital in trouble?" Kizashi incited her to share.

"We're not involved in anything, father. We just take care of the soldiers' health. Whatever happened, it's between the Special Forces and the Government. Seems to me like these people came back from a failed mission."

"And?"

"And their doctors have died," Sakura said, looking up to her parents.

"What do you mean?" Kizashi asked, brows furrowing.

"Never before we had Elite Forces requiring the medical attention of our Hospital's physicians. As far as I know, there are always two or three military doctors in such groups. They are the ones who take care of the troops, there's no way they don't bring medics along. And I didn't see anyone with a medical degree among the profiles in there. Only one of them had a medical certificate but that doesn't exactly make you a doctor. That means basic medical knowledge, more like a paramedic."

"So, you think that's the reason they seek your help," Mebuki concluded.

Sakura leaned on her hand. "I am almost hundred percent sure."

"I see."

"Elite Soldiers, huh? I didn't even know we have such a thing in Konoha." Kizashi pondered.

"Well, I've only heard about them. Didn't think I'll get face to face with them."

"What do you think... of the soldiers?"

Sakura shrugged. "They were all so secretive and... somehow hostile." She started slowly, making circles on the table. "It's hard to create an image for them. Overall, they looked like people who have suffered heavy losses."

"How is Ino doing?" Mebuki asked.

Sakura let out a laugh at the change of subject.

"Still annoys me. But we get along."

"I'm concerned about whoever entrusts their life to her," Kizashi uttered.

"Hey, she may play dumb but she's reliable," Sakura furrowed.

"If you say so," Kizashi raised his hands in defeat, and a brief pause spread between them. Mebuki suddenly stood up, her face lighting up.

"I almost forgot. I made tea," she announced, stepping away from them. "Will be back in a minute."

Kizashi waited for his wife to leave the room and took Sakura's hand in his. "Sakura, you sounded upset when we talked on the phone. What is it that you don't tell us?"

Sakura fixed her eyes on him, holding his for one long moment. "This hair color," she spoke quietly. "Do they not laugh at you, father?"

Kizashi withered at her daughter's pained expression and his hand caressed hers thoughtfully. "Why does it have to matter?" he shrugged. "It's not something I can change. You know what? Your mom likes me," Kizashi paused, a warm smile on his lips. "That's all I need."

"Yeah, but it's different with me," Sakura explained bitterly. "I am a doctor. People need to trust me."

"They will when they have no choice. I think a truly desperate person wouldn't judge by appearance. The knowledge, the devotion, and compassion will be the ones that matter."

Sakura gave him a half-smile, tucking her hair behind the ear. "It's just… I hate it. I didn't want it and it feels like a punishment. I'm afraid you've cursed me with that name. I'm slowly becoming a cherry tree."

"I know how you feel, dear," Kizashi said, barely holding a laugh. "And, no. I gave you that name because the sakura is a powerful symbol. It matched everything I thought about you when I first laid eyes on you, as tiny as you were. Life, beauty, and most of all… hope."

Sakura didn't notice when her eyes had started to blur but her father's words soothed the bitterness she had built up inside of her for quite some time. "You never change, dad."

"And I'm proud of it."

"Weird thing is, I haven't stumbled across someone else with such genetic aberration yet," Sakura pondered, chuckling faintly. "But then again, I see the same people every day and I don't go out much so it's to be expected."

"I am sure I'm not the only one to see how well the pink looks on you. You're cute." Kizashi concluded.

"Cute doesn't get me much respect, though," Sakura sighed.

"Tea's ready." Mebuki returned with a tray.

She poured it into three cups and sat to enjoy it. The three of them sipped from it in silence when Sakura's phone rang and she looked at her parents apologetically.

"Excuse me for a second. I have to take this."

She stood up and quickly paced to the kitchen, picking up. Would it be a mistake if she turns and closes the door behind? Her parents were going to interrogate her until they get the truth if they ever suspected she hides something from them. Not that she ever did. Kizashi never let her feel like anything she's hidden would bring her a punishment or a scolding of any kind. Willing confessions were common for her, with a dad like hers. However, Sakura knew that whatever that conversation was going to be, it needn't reach her parents' ears for now. Perhaps she could lower the pitch, too.

"Ino?"

"Did you put him in your closet or something?"

A brief pause followed, in which Sakura didn't dare move or breathe. Oh no. "Am I fired?"

"Aha! Busted."

"Wait, so you don't know what happened?"

"How the hell should I know? There are two people who are missing in this hospital right now. You and the sexy officer you apparently know something about."

"I... I let him go?" Sakura twisted it into a question, at a loss, rubbing at her forehead nervously.

"So you saw him leave and you didn't do anything about it. Interesting."

"Ino, I'm begging you," Sakura went to the countertop and leaned on it. "Don't tell Tsunade."

"Hmm, what would I want in return? Let me think of something..."

"Ino, it's not funny," Sakura turned to the opened door, lowering her voice. "What could I do? He threatened to kill me."

"You're joking!"

Laughter rang out from the other side of the phone, making Sakura even more nervous.

"Damn, I wish I had seen that."

"Ino..."

"Calm down, forehead. I'm not telling her. She's got enough on her shoulders anyway."

"You think it's gonna be a problem? That he left without a doctor discharging him officially?"

"Not sure about that. If we keep it a secret from the public, we'll be fine. I'm more worried that he was assigned to you. What do you plan to write in your report?"

Sakura let out a heavy sigh.

"I don't know. I'll think of something... What the hell is wrong with him, leaving like that? With that much posion inhaled, he'll only suffer away from any kind of medical treatment."

"Didn't heavy poisons lead to confusion, bizarre behavior, stuff like that too?"

"But he looked absolutely sane when I last saw him."

"Ah, well, then he's just one crazy son of a bitch. It'd be such a terrible waste of genetic material, though."

Sakura sighed with exasperation, tired of Ino's remarks. "I don't know what he's thinking but it cannot be good. You don't simply decide to die. Why would he do that?"

"Tough childhood? Who hasn't got one? By the way, it's not like we know what happened on that mission."

"That's it. I have to know what happened there. Perhaps I might understand why he's acting like that."

"Well, I know his life's gonna hang on your shoulders later but once a patient is discharged the doctor doesn't intervene anymore."

"I can't just let a person die!" Sakura replied to her in a loud whisper. "Government's property at that. We're screwed up big time!"

"Admit it, you just have a crush."

"I'm hanging up."

"I saw it from miles. You are terrible at hiding emotions, you know."

"Bye," Sakura said and was about to hang up when Ino shouted at the speaker.

"Sakura, wait. I have a plan!"

Sakura slowly returned the phone to her ear. "It better be good."

"I may or may not have someone who we can interrogate."

Sakura raised a brow.

"Doesn't sound good at all. Who is that person, if it's not a secret?"

"Remember the dork that somehow managed to charm me and offend you within two sentences?"

Sakura closed her eyes for a few seconds. "What have you done this time?"

"We... were in the storage unit today. And then we started kissing. And there was this table he put me on—"

"Stop it! I don't wanna know." Sakura couldn't help but laugh. "Jeez, Ino. Thought you said he was another one of these assholes. You only said that to make me feel better, didn't you?"

"Yes. Hey, stop judging. I think I really like this one."

"You said the same for the last three men you were with. People are not toys, for your information."

"That one's cute and he keeps looking at me like I'm made of chocolate. Think I'm gonna keep him for now."

Sakura shook her head. "I'm starting to feel sorry for him."

"Shush. I'm making you a double service here and you're still being pretentious."

"And what... you think he'll just share with us classified information?"

"He will. Trust me."

Sakura remained silent, feeling like Ino had something to add.

"I assume they don't allow intimate relationships on the battlefield. Can't find another reason for that, uh..." Ino paused a bit, searching for the right words. "...ravenous behavior."

A smile appeared on Sakura's lips. Ino was just incorrigible.

"Anyway, he'll, uh... wholeheartedly comply with whatever I want."

"I get it, Ino. No need for you to explain further."

"Right. Sorry about that. Just seems to me these people are seriously damaged."

"Yeah. I noticed." Sakura slightly tilted her head, starting to play with the edge of her blouse.

"When will you be back?"

"Monday? I can come tomorrow if you want."

"No, you can stay with your parents for the weekend. I might have to hang up, someone's knocking on the door. Okay, see you on Monday."

Sakura slowly hung up and remained in her spot. First letting a dying patient leave the hospital, then performing illegal interrogation. What did she get herself into? She didn't want to end up in jail, for sure. But there was a real chance she could lose her job. The job she loved so much.

"Was that your boyfriend?" Mebuki asked, surprising her from behind with the empty tray in her hands.

"It was Ino." Sakura furrowed at her. "Don't start on that, mom. Please."

"Just asking. Time's ticking, you know. You won't be in your twenties forever," Mebuki went to the sink and left the tray in it.

Sakura sighed. "I can live on my own. It's not that bad to be alone. Why are people always making it out like it's impossible? Like you have to be with someone at all costs. This is just wrong."

Her mother looked at her silently.

"Isn't it best for me to learn to live with myself first?" Sakura folded hands, in the mood for a dispute.

"You're right, Sakura," Mebuki agreed after a pause. "However, it's not that bad to have someone like Kizashi around, waking you up at 4 am just to tell you a joke."

Sakura tried to keep a straight face but burst into laughter and her mother joined her.

These two days were like an oasis in the desert of her monotonous days of work and sleep. Both her parents were glad she had the time to visit them, although briefly. She parted with them on Sunday, in the afternoon, and received a package of useful things she could take with herself in her apartment (she was especially happy with the small box filled with black tea her mother gave her) along with two warm hugs.

Returning to the Hospital on Monday was the real challenge. Fortunately, Tsunade didn't suspect her of anything, busy with worries around a certain missing patient. Even if she did suspect something, her silence suggested she wasn't about to accuse any of her inferiors of the sudden disappearance. He was not any patient, though. If something happened to him, in the meantime, something like death, sure the Government would seek an explanation from the Hospital that was supposed to take care of him.

Although aware that she couldn't do much, she still felt guilty about it. If he died, the Hospital would be ruined. It was going to pay a lot of money and her conscience was probably going to destroy her with guilt over a person's death. A death that she could've prevented while there was still time. Did he even know what he did, leaving like that?

Sakura was already walking through the corridors, uneasiness rising within her. Time was of the essence and she didn't have a clue, what to do or how to do it. She only hoped Ino will help her. Not long after she decided to search for them, they showed up hand in hand, walking down the corridor. Sakura was taken aback by the closeness and gradually stopped in front of them.

"What's going on?" Sakura raised a brow, her gaze shifting from Ino to Sai and back. "Are we going to do something or not?"

Ino giggled at her secretive tone.

"I understand you need to know what happened on our last mission." Sai finally spoke. "I think I can transfer you to a more reliable source."

Sakura's expression twisted into a grimace of horror. "Why does it have to be so complicated?"

"Nothing to worry about," Ino rested her hand on Sakura's shoulder. "The Second Lieutenant's awake. Sai thinks he'll gladly help with anything concerning Lieutenant Uchiha."

"Really?" Sakura lit up.

"You might want to wait a bit," Ino warned. "He's got visitors at the moment."

"Thank you," Sakura hurried to move past them and turned only for a second. "To both of you."

"You owe me one," Ino shouted after her.

The room was dead quiet when she entered and first thought there was nobody in but then realized there was a whisper. Sakura clicked shut the door as subtly as she could and fortunately didn't draw the attention. Her eyes fixed on the bed, on the other side of the room and she remained by the door, leaning back in contemplation. The very sight could warm anyone's heart and it would've been a crime to ruin it. Hinata lay beside Naruto on the hospital bed, both were covered in the fawn blanket. She spoke quietly about something Sakura couldn't hear but it seems Naruto was happy to hear it because a faint chuckle came out of him.

They looked so casually perfect that she suddenly felt the urge to leave the room and she almost did, her hand reaching for the handle to the door.

"Doctor Haruno?" Hinata's timid voice echoed in the silence and Sakura turned around.

"I am sorry for the interruption..." Sakura furrowed.

Hinata slowly got out of the bed. "It's not a problem."

"Can I ask him a few questions?"

"Of course."

"Ask whatever you like, doctor," Naruto intervened and smiled at Hinata, their hands parting as she stepped back.

"I'll leave you to Doctor Haruno for a couple of minutes," she tilted her head and smiled back at him before walking away.

Sakura's eyes fell on the device that provided secondly a dose of morphine and imagined he wasn't feeling as good as he appeared to be, judging from the milligrams.

"I don't usually ruin personal visits like that, lieutenant," Sakura glanced at him apologetically. "Neither am I the type of person to force people to answer questions while they're still recovering from a trauma. But it seems I did both of these things for which I'm terribly sorry."

"Call me Naruto, please." He smiled again, a wide smile. "I'll help if I can. What is this about?"

Sakura relaxed a bit. He seemed the most friendly out of the whole group. His baby blue eyes were clear and warm. There was this same sadness she saw in the first lieutenant. The incurable sadness, only with this one it was concealed in an overdosed joy. Funny, as she thought about it the other one seemed to be the exact opposite of this one. This one had transformed his pain into love and the other one into hate. She expected something close to hostility when she entered the room but was pleasantly surprised.

"I wouldn't bother you if it wasn't important. The life of your comrade is in danger."

"My comrade?"

"Your first lieutenant has a serious poisoning that must be treated as soon as possible," Sakura decided to start from the beginning. "However, he refused to be treated with medication and left on his own."

Naruto made a hissing sound. "That bastard. Whenever he finds himself out of a problem, and that's close to never, he makes up one just to be in it."

Sakura paused a bit, hands folding. Then took a breath again, continuing. "I thought you might... know why he's acting like that. Is there a way to change his mind?"

"Change his mind?" Naruto repeated and started laughing.

"I see," Sakura withered.

"Listen, doctor," Naruto coughed, trying to calm himself down. "A surprise attack came down on a platoon close to us. In fact, we were the ones closest to them."

Sakura's eyes fixed on him once again.

"We received a call for backup and responded immediately, of course," Naruto made a brief pause, furrowing. "This platoon..."

"What?" Sakura incited.

"Uh, his brother was there," Naruto said, inconveniently. "He didn't wait for an order and dashed into a search for his brother while the enemy was still firing at us. Almost every building I saw was burning and we barely saw anything from the smoke. Our captain ordered retreat because he couldn't get in touch with the platoon's commandant. No one answered and the captain knew there were no survivors."

Sakura took a breath sharply. "What happened then?"

"Well, the base was still under fire so everyone hurried to retreat but there was no trace from Sasuke. I couldn't just leave him to die and I went to search for him. I found him sitting on the ground, still and quiet, also shot in the shoulder. We were in the middle of a poison cloud so I yelled at him. He didn't respond so I went and grabbed his arm and pulled him away from that bloody place, trying to not inhale from the smoke. I don't remember much then, I think a grenade exploded somewhere close to us."

"Probably," Sakura shook her head. "Your wounds suggest so."

"Tch," Naruto clicked his tongue. "I'm good."

"So his brother died there?" Sakura inquired quietly.

"Yeah..." he sighed. "Shame. He was a nice fella. Met him once or twice."

"Were they close? With Sasuke?"

"As close as it could get." Naruto shrugged and then winced because of it. "After their parents died, they became even more inseparable."

Sakura slowly put her hands in the pockets of her overall, her eyes sinking down to the floor.

"Itachi was everything he had."

"I understand."

Naruto remained silent for a while, relaxing back in the pillow.

"What do you plan to do, doctor?"

Sakura sighed. "I don't know. But thank you, nevertheless. You were incredibly helpful."

"Anytime," he winked at her and she couldn't help but smile.

"I'll leave you to rest." Sakura moved away from his bed, heading to the door.

"Doctor Haruno?" He called and she faced him again.

"What is it?"

"Please do everything you can. He's a friend."

Sakura nodded and left the room at a slow pace.

A/N: Thanks for reading, thanks to everyone that followed, favorited, and reviewed, too. You guys are awesome and you're making me very happy!

I think I slightly trespass the OOC lands. I made Ino a bit of a playgirl here but I think it's realistic to have her that way. She's a tad more light-headed than Sakura and aware of the power her beauty has. I think everyone else is good for now. Also, I twisted the Itachi/Sasuke relationship a bit. There was no hate between them in my universe.