Chapter 9 — Sakura's New Team
From Chapter 8:
Sakura flipped open the folder, eyes scanning for the injury. A genin with a kunai gash to the arm and a shuriken wound to the leg. Perfect. She snapped the folder shut. "Come on, I'll show you."
"I can't wait," Akira said, warmth in his voice, and she knew he meant it.
Smiling, Sakura turned into the doorway to greet her young patient…only to look straight into a pair of fierce blue eyes.
Standing behind the bed on the opposite side of the room, Naruto flicked a dark look past Sakura's shoulder at Akira before folding his arms and settling an icy glare on Sakura herself.
Sakura cleared her throat. "Uh…." She checked the folder again, hoping for one heart-breakingly brief moment she was wrong. But the patient had all the right wounds. She flipped the page. Team 8 had signed for him.
At the far end of the room, Hinata, Kiba and Shino stood waiting. The 12-year-old boy perched nervously on the edge of the bed. Naruto stood behind him, looking thunderous.
Nope. There was no hope of a mistake. This was her patient. Crap.
Sakura swallowed hard and plastered on a fake smile. "Hi."
"Sakura-san, he was training with us when he was injured." Hinata said politely. "If you're not too busy…."
"No, of course not," she said regrouping. Sakura squared her shoulders and slipped into doctor mode, drawing strength from the professional detachment. "Well, let's get started," she said to Akira.
The injury was on the boy's other side, unfortunately, the side closest to Naruto. Sakura held her breath and walked around the bed, keeping her eyes trained on her patient. Besides, she knew she didn't have to look at Naruto to know where he was. They'd been around each other long enough that she'd know his movements even in the dark.
In the old days, Naruto would have put out a hand to guide her, steady her or just let her know he was there beside her. Sakura used to think it was an extension of their teammate bond. But over time she had grown to wonder if maybe it wasn't just an excuse to touch her, furthering that unspoken connection they had with each other.
But then, maybe she'd been wrong about that too.
Naruto silently stepped back, giving her ample room in the tight space. There was no guiding hand at the small of her back, no warm fingertips grazing her exposed wrist. He leaned away now as if she had some illness that he was trying not to catch.
Well…at least she could be grateful that no one else seemed to notice the silent drama that was going on in front of them.
Sakura patted the propped up pillows and helped the boy lie back and make himself comfortable. Then she unfolded his arm to examine the kunai wound.
Akira moved around the bed to stand beside Sakura for a better look at her technique. "Excuse me buddy," he said genially as he inched past Naruto.
Eyes trained on Sakura, Akira never saw Naruto's dark look as he passed. But when Akira took his place next to Sakura, Naruto immediately stalked to the opposite side of the bed to stand, watching.
Shoulders nearly touching, Akira dipped his head next to hers and Sakura began.
"So, with a wound like this, you apply the chakra here," Sakura pressed green glowing fingers at the top of a jagged kunai tear at the top of the boy's forearm, "and then here." Sakura began methodically moving the green light so that it was pulsing along the wound.
"Ah, I see what you mean." Akira's voice was soft and low, speaking as if there was no one else in the room but her. "It reconnects the muscle below, while staunching the blood at the top. It nearly doubles the healing rate with no measurable side effects on the patient's healing time. And the patient will never realize. It doesn't take such a heavy toll because you are mixing chakras."
She flashed a little smile sideways at him. "He won't need sutures, because my chakra does the work. It's just a much more efficient mode of healing."
The boy watched his arm turn green and looked up at Naruto in concern. Naruto said nothing. He stepped forward, positioning himself directly across from Sakura, and wrapped his hand reassuringly around the boy's other arm. He had no idea what Sakura was talking about. But that other guy sure as hell did.
"Amazing," Akira exhaled. His eyes darted to Sakura's face for a moment. "You have developed quite the technique here. Are they implementing it in the hospital yet?"
Sakura bit her lip. "They've started to, but really I'm more interested in using it in the field. In battle situations it could save a lot of lives."
Akira drew a breath, deeply impressed. "And I get to learn from the master." Sakura laughed quietly. "May I try?"
"Of course. I'd hoped you might want to." Sakura pulled her hands back, but they stayed close.
Akira flattened his hands over the wound and summoned his chakra. A deeper color than Sakura's grass-green healing light, his chakra wrapped around the boys arm before pulling back to cloak just his fingers. He pushed and pulled at the chakra, kneading it until he found the right pulsing rhythm.
"Wow, it's a lot harder than it looks," Akira said, but the distraction broke his focus. Sakura nodded slowly and repositioned his hands while he concentrated on catching the rhythm again.
"There…you're getting it now," she said, to which he responded with a breathy, "Yeah, I can feel it…."
Naruto watched them with a scowl on his face, not bothering to conceal it. Why bother, they weren't looking at him. Their faces, too close together, were even lit in the same green chakra. They were sharing things, things that Naruto had never known and had no way of knowing. Her work at the hospital was a mystery to him. It was just something she did. Something extra from her real work of being a shinobi. But now it sure seemed like this was all she'd ever cared about—
"Is it— Is everything okay, Naruto-kun?" The boy looked up at Naruto in concern, mistaking Naruto's dark look for disapproval of how they were treating him.
"Huh?" Naruto looked down at the wide-eyed kid, momentarily confused. "Oh. Yeah. Everything's fine. I'm just watching them."
Sakura's shoulders stiffened at the tone of his voice, but no one else seemed to notice.
Akira looked up suddenly, astonished. "You're Naruto?! The Naruto who saved our Kazekage?" The light at his hand stopped pulsing.
"Yeah," Naruto said darkly, "and if you don't watch what your doing, buddy, I'm going to have to save him too."
Akira looked back to his hands but Sakura had already slid her under his, anticipating the dip in attention.
"No it's fine, I've got it," she bit off. But there was a frost in her voice that had nothing to do with Akira.
Akira straightened and looked from Sakura to Naruto in awe. "You two are heros in the Sand, you know that right?" Akira said. "I'm honored to finally meet you." He dipped his head for a bow. Naruto nodded slightly.
"To partner up like that, it was really something. You Leaf nins really are extraordinary." Akira smiled around, bowing quickly to each of them, who in turn all warmed under his praise. All except Naruto.
"And Leaf medics too," Akira said, turning back to Sakura. "That goes without saying, of course."
Sakura never looked up, but she smiled, acknowledging him, actually grateful for the levity in what would otherwise have been a miserable situation. She inspected her healing, applied a salve to the shuriken scrape on his calf, which turned out to be more surface wound than gouge, and reached for a bandage.
"She's a shinobi," Naruto corrected in a gruff voice. Sakura's fingers stilled on the bandage. He was itching for a fight, she could hear it in his voice.
"Oh I know," Akira said, "I've heard all about her amazing work in the field, how she teamed with you and—"
"No. She's a shinobi first," Naruto declared sternly. "All that medic stuff came later."
Sakura leveled an icy glare at Naruto, anger eclipsing her heartbreak for once. He stared back, head cocked to the side as if daring her to deny it.
But it was Akira who broke the standoff. "You mean…you're a ninja too," he said to Sakura. "At the same time as being a medic?" Sakura's darted a glance back to Akira, caught off guard by the question. He smiled deeply. "I thought you just had some specialized training…but…but…. Wow!" He shook his head. "Both at the same time. Do you ever sleep?"
Sakura chuckled, but the muscle at Naruto's jaw jumped dangerously at the realization that his remark had backfired. Instead of backing this newcomer off, he'd just handed him one more thing to admire Sakura for.
"I do sleep," Sakura said, smiling at the thought. "Although it was harder when I was younger, you know, juggling both." She looked down, overly occupied with wrapping gauze around the boy's arm, and added quietly, "but I'm more focused on being a medic now."
She took a cleansing breath, ran her fingers down the bandages making sure they were tight and fast, then looked into the boy's face. "All better?"
He moved his arm gingerly, testing it out. "Y-Yeah, it really is" he nodded enthusiastically, looking at his arm in amazement like it was a new toy he couldn't wait to try out.
The mop-headed kid reminded her forcefully of Naruto at that age, and it brought a smile to her face, in spite of the regrets attached to those memories now.
"Good" she said, tousling his hair as she had always done to Naruto growing up.
The kid swung his legs of the bed and Sakura straightened just in time to catch a pained expression flicker over Naruto's face. He'd been watching her. Perhaps he thought the same thing. But in the next instant, he shuttered away whatever emotion he felt and helped the boy off the bed.
Akira turned to Sakura. "You Leaf nins really do blow me away." But it was clear there was only one Leaf nin he was talking about.
Sakura laughed off the compliment. "You say that now, but wait till the end of our shift! We have a lot more to do today—"
If Naruto heard then he didn't let on. He was busy nodding as the boy showed him his arm. Naruto guided him out the door and never looked back.
Sakura watched him disappear around the doorway and felt a familiar emptiness rush in. It always accompanied the bitter reality that she didn't know when she would see him again now that they were no longer…friends. Team 8 stepped forward to say their thankyous while they filed out, and Sakura was glad for the chance to smother those stray feelings behind professionalism
Kiba lingered at the door behind Hinata and Shino. "Thanks, Sakura," he said, his brown eyes soft and sympathetic.
It surprised her until she realized it was because he had been there the day of her terrible confession in the snow. When Naruto rejected her. Only Kiba knew, even in part, the bitter chain of events that had driven Team 7 apart. But the truth was things had gone wrong between her and Naruto long before Sasuke returned.
Kiba patted her on the arm bracingly and waved once to Akira. Sakura gulped past the sudden knot in her throat and forced her lips into a smile, and told herself to be grateful for the small things: Caring friends, a busy workload, and — she turned back to Akira — a smiling face to share it with.
Sakura repeated Tsunade's words in her head, about trying to go a different direction. Well, she was, dammit. At least, she was trying to.
She picked up her clipboard, and with a perky attitude she didn't feel, said, "Let's go see who else in on the docket, shall we?"
Akira nodded firmly. His enthusiasm was a steadier, less boisterous version than Naruto's but it was no less intense. "Yep, I really want to get the hang of your technique. I think it's…." He searched for the right word. "Revolutionary. It's applications are endless."
Sakura's mouth hitched up into an honest smile. "I'm glad you think so." Medics didn't have teammates, but if they did, she figured Akira would be the closest thing to one she'd ever known.
"Come on, let's go." Sakura flipped off the light and closed the door.
If the hospital visit was uncomfortable, then it only got worse for Naruto. Because he saw her and her new team, he grit his teeth at the thought, a lot after that. She was out all over Konoha, leading the group of Sand medics to training areas, going over the types of wounds they might handle and the types of situations they should be ready for. It seemed like he was running into her everywhere.
Sakura did not wear her hospital scrubs for those outings, either. Standing amongst the white-clad medics, she was always in the center wearing full battle gear. With gloves on, kunais strapped to her thigh, shurikens hooked at her waist, her med-pack bulging and her clipboard in her hand, she looked ridiculously formidable.
One afternoon Naruto caught sight of her down the lane as he went to train with Team 8, and it stopped him in his tracks. He'd forgotten what she looked like in her fatigues, and something shifted in his chest. He missed her. She was laughing and talking. The sun was shining directly down making a halo on her pink hair and glinting off her weapons. It was the way she had looked for most of their lives together. Except now she was without him.
"Looks like she's in her element," Kiba said, cutting his eyes at Naruto. Kiba knocked him with his elbow as he passed, but Naruto didn't move. He stood in the road and watched the group for a moment.
Naruto saw the taller one, the one she was with at the hospital, standing opposite her. He gave her his full attention. And Naruto couldn't ignore the way he watched her. Sakura probably didn't realize how beautiful she was.
Naruto bit his lip, realizing just how effortlessly that thought had bubbled up. But he couldn't bring himself to take it back. It was the truth. She was beautiful. He'd always thought so. But somewhere along the way, he'd forgotten. Strange….
The tall one said something directly to her and she laughed. He smiled with her, eyes on her, clearly taking pleasure from what pleased her.
Naruto hated him.
Grinding his heel hard in the dirt, Naruto turned away and left the lane, even as the pleasant ripple of Sakura's laughter still rang in his ears.
Sakura spent every waking hour with the Sand team, spending just about as much time out of the hospital as she did in it. They developed a rapport Sakura had never had with the other nurses, doctors and staff.
With the focus on learning field medicine, Sakura put them through a sort of shinobi academy crash course. Lessons were tailored specifically to what the medics would need to know in order to effectively heal on the battlefield. They were talented and bright, quick learners who valued everything Sakura taught them. It was pleasure to be with them, and Sakura really felt like they were a team.
And when they weren't working, Sakura took them around to popular eateries and hang-out spots for more off-hours team-building.
She never worried about running into Naruto and his new "team" — she had such a long streak of not seeing him, it simply didn't occur to her that she might. But one night, that streak ended.
Sakura's group was seated at one of long yakiniku booths when Team 8 strolled in. Sakura held her breath but, sure enough, Naruto walked in behind them.
Team 8 waved and Naruto, caught in a moment of surprise, nodded sharply before turning away. But through some unfortunate twist of fate, they were seated only a few tables over in direct eyeline of Sakura's group.
Sakura realized with some dissatisfaction that it felt like the mood of the evening had radically changed. She knew it was only for her. But for the first time, she thought it might have been better if Naruto stayed away. Or if she stayed away from him. It was a depressing thought, but she would definitely be having a better time right now.
Under hooded lashes, she peeked over to see him frowning thunderously at a menu. A crease formed between her eyebrows. What's he looking for? He's been here a hundred times and always gets the same thing.
He's changed, she reminded herself. She didn't know what he liked anymore.
Sakura dared another glance. The pendant lights over the tables of this restaurant had always made his hair look particularly golden. Like he was more angel than demon. Instead of a little bit of both. She smiled inwardly. She had forgotten.
Sakura looked back to her own plate and sighed in exasperation at herself. She had to move on.
When she raised her face, she did her best to rally. She spoke about all kinds of medical topics to the Sand team, and they were very interested in stories of her adventures.
After a particularly humorous story of some first-time field healing gone wrong (she'd misunderstood her patient's pain and "healed" a limb that didn't need healing, requiring both legs to be worked on instead of just the one), everyone chuckled to themselves and tucked into another plate of food. All except Akira, sitting beside to her, who turned and bent his head next to hers.
"Isn't that your teammate over there," he asked. Sakura noticed that his voice just low enough to not to draw the attention of anyone else at the table.
She swept an involuntary glance at Naruto, then flashed a brittle smile back to Akira. "Oh. Yes, I think I did see him come in earlier."
Akira nodded slowly, but when Sakura didn't say anything else, instead becoming overly interested in chasing a carrot around the plate with her chopsticks, he nudged her arm.
"Did you two…uh…have a falling out?" There was more than polite interest in his grey eyes, but it wasn't unkind.
Sakura shrugged, which she supposed spoke volumes just by itself. She put the chopsticks down and wiped her mouth on the napkin.
"Um, no…not really," she fibbed. Akira raised an eyebrow, then, knowing she was caught, clarified. "It's more like we're just, uh…going in different directions right now."
Akira laughed quietly. "I'm not sure he knows that."
"W-What do you mean?"
"Well, he's kept his eye on you all night." His mouth curved into a boyish, crooked smile. "And he looks like he'd like to throttle me."
Sakura snorted at the thought and took a sip of her drink. But she cut her eyes surreptitiously over the edge of her glass. When she did, she locked eyes with Naruto.
The instant of shock at being caught quickly froze into an icy glare on his part. He turned away quickly and faced his table. Sakura looked openly at the line of his back and sighed.
"I'm sorry," Akira said earnestly. "I know what that's like. I dated my med-corps partner when I was in med school. We had a good time, but when it ended, things were uncomfortable for a while."
"Really," Sakura said, turning back to him in surprise. "But it got better?"
"Yeah," Akira said warmly. "We went our separate ways. 'Different directions' like you said, and eventually it got better. We're not best friends, but it isn't weird any more. We both wish each other the best."
Sakura looked back at Naruto. He had turned just enough so she could see his profile. He didn't look happy. His hair still looked golden and angelic under the light, and her fingers still ached to ruffle it and bring out more of the fox in him, like she had always done when they came here…together.
She stamped out the traitorous thought and turned back to Akira. "Hmm. That's good to hear." She looked up with a small smile. "Really good, actually."
"Just give it some time." He bumped his shoulder to hers. "It will work itself out."
Sakura sipped her drink and blinked suddenly, replaying the words in her head. This was exactly the advice Tsunade had given her. Maybe it was time she trusted in it.
She set her drink down. Akira smiled at her encouragingly. It was crooked and honest and…well, handsome. He was easy to be around. He wasn't the same as Naruto, or Sasuke or Sai for that matter, but he made her feel better. She felt like he understood the person she was now.
And maybe she should trust in that too.
She curled her hair back behind her ears, thinking. It had been a bit of an excuse before, but this time she really would try to go in a different direction. She'd focus on being the best med-nin she could be and developing her theories as far as she could. And she wouldn't worry about anything else.
Sakura turned back to the table and gave the team her full attention.
The remainder of the Sand team's time in Konoha flew by. And Sakura found that as the days wound down, she was reluctant to let them go. She had spent six weeks with them. And they had come to be quite formidable.
They even went out with a few teams to experience what it was like to be on a mission. But she never let them go out with Naruto and Team 8. She took Akira's advice to heart and wanted to move on.
Whether Naruto noticed or not she did not know. After that night at the restaurant, she didn't see him again. Although, to be honest, she tried her hardest not to look for him. Occasionally she saw a flash of yellow hair, but that was it.
It was Akira who first made the suggestion, and that the rest of the team heartily agreed with him, that she should come back with them to the Sand. Just for a little while. Travel back with them and stay to help establish a field medic corp in their village. Maybe this time she could even stay a few months. They still had so much to learn from her. And the Sand village was beautiful in the winter, after all.
Flattered at the idea, Sakura smiled and dismissed it. But the more they asked, hinted and cajoled, the more she warmed up to it. And before the last week was up, she approached Tsunade to ask for permission to go.
Tsunade, however, was much less enthusiastic.
She drilled her red fingernails on the top of the desk. "I don't want to loose my best medic to the Sand!"
"It would only be for a little while, Tsunade-sama! A few weeks or months or—"
Tsunade leaned forward and arched an eyebrow. "And that good-looking medic has nothing to do with it?"
Sakura turned bright red. Tsunade made it worse by laughing at her.
"He's nice," Sakura stammered, "but he's not— I mean, that's not why I'm—"
Tsunade waved her off, clearly ribbing her. Then she got down to what could be expected in visiting another village, even in an ambassadorial position, for an extended period of time.
"Of course, the most important thing is that I don't want you going in response to you someone you're interested in…." Tsunade looked hard at her apprentice. "Or running from."
Sakura shooked her head emphatically. "No Tsunade-sama, none of that plays a factor in my decision to request a leave. I just have really tried to do what you advised." Tsunade pinched her eyebrows in confusion. "About finding a new direction, another purpose and all that," Sakura said.
"Oh, that. Well good." Tsunade dug around in her desk drawer for a spare scroll. "And how is all that working out?"
"Good," Sakura said brightly. "I feel better than ever about my work as a medic, and I feel like I'm really growing. The Sand have an interesting way of doing things and different tactics than I would think to use. But it's amazing how we all have a common interest in healing and learning the best techniques available, no matter where we are."
Tsunade smiled, unrolling a satisfactory scroll. "Spoken like a true medic…. But it's a little different for shinobis…."
Sakura shrugged. "I don't think I'm going in that direction anymore."
"Ah…. I see." Tsunade had begun to open the scroll, but she let it furl back on itself then clasped her fingers in her lap. "And what do your other teammates have to say about that?"
"Well, nothing, really. Sasuke, when he was here, said he didn't realize how hard I'd worked at being a medic."
"And Naruto?"
Sakura shrugged, trying valiantly to act casual. But the awfulness of the situation couldn't be hidden. No matter how careless she acted.
"He doesn't care," she said, voice sounding strained.
Tsunade sighed. "I had hoped he'd come around. I know it was hard on him after Sasuke returned. But he, of all people, would certainly miss you—"
Sakura flattened her lips into a grim line and shook her head.
"What did he say when you told him?"
Sakura looked at Tsunade like she was crazy. "When would I ever have the chance to tell him? I've seen him twice in the last six months. He works so hard to avoid me, so…. I took the hint."
Tsunade frowned, perplexed. She moved a few scrolls to find the shinobi assignment list, ran her finger down the lines, then nodded in agreement. "Yes, he had been out of the village a great deal. Still, that doesn't sound like Naruto at all."
Sakura shrugged again, but tears were beginning to sting her eyes.
"Yeah, well it is." She swallowed thickly. "And I'm ok. I'm ok with all of it now. It's like what you said. I should just put all of it behind me and move on."
Tsunade shook her head like clearing a fog, unsure now if they were even having the same conversation. "Do you mean being a shinobi or your team? Or Naruto?"
"Naruto, of course. Akira said the same thing. That it's uncomfortable for a while, but eventually it gets better. It'll work itself out."
"And Akira is the Sand medic?" Tsunade said slowly.
Sakura nodded then continued, gaining a second wind. "I've felt better than I have in a long time. And I feel like I have a purpose again. Not just hiding out in the hospital. This has helped me get over him, and when Akira suggested I go back, to help with their shinobi, I thought it would be great. I could go, help out, learn more, and come back feeling like my old self again."
Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose in confusion. "So Akira wants you to come to the Sand. And you want to go for you, but also because it will help you get over…Sasuke?"
"No," Sakura said quietly. "Naruto."
"Sakura," Tsunade said warmly, a knowing smile wreathing her face, happy she could clear all of this up. "Naruto adores you. I'm sure he's acted strangely lately, but it's only because he cares so much about you. Since I first met you three, I could tell that he—"
Tears spilled down Sakura's cheeks. She pressed a hand to her mouth, trying to hold in a small sob, and shook her head.
"Sakura, what on earth is this about? Of course he does—"
"No," she said emphatically. "He doesn't. I thought so too, but it's not like that at all. I was wrong."
Tsunade couldn't believe what she was hearing. "And has he said that? Have you actually spoken to him about this?"
Sakura nodded pitifully.
"Well," Tsunade thundered, "what did he say?"
Sakura rubbed her eyes with the back of her wrist. It was hard enough to live through it once, but having to repeat it was proving just as bad.
"Well," she sniffled, "I told him that I thought of him differently, that I cared for him differently…as more than a teammate."
Tsunade's eyes were riveted to her. When she took too long to answer, Tsunade urged "And…."
"And he said—" Sakura scrubbed her hand down her face, recovering from the tears. "He told me I was lying to myself," she said somberly.
Tsunade blinked, shocked. "T-That was it?!"
"No. Then he told me he hated people who lied to themselves."
Tsunade rolled her eyes. "That idiot. So he said all this when you told him you liked him?!"
Sakura laughed sadly. "I told him I loved him."
"Oh Sakura," Tsunade breathed, her voice full of sympathy. "And you've been carrying all this around since then? Have you talked to anyone else about it?"
Sakura dashed fresh tears away and shook her head. "There was nothing to say. He didn't feel the same, so things just went on like they had before. I thought maybe once Sasuke came back it might change but…I guess not."
Tsunade sighed. "I had no idea. I wish you'd told me sooner. I'm so sorry. "
Sakura wiped her cheeks dry. "But I feel better now. Like I'm finally moving on from it. And I don't want to let it slip away."
"I understand. And Akira…."
Sakura shrugged. "He's nice and all that. But it's nicer talking to someone I have things in common with, who gets what I'm doing. Instead of hiding out at the hospital and dreading I might run into Naruto and Hinata's team somewhere."
"Are they—"
"No. I mean…I don't know," she scrunched up her face in frustration. "They just seem awfully…close."
Tsunade nodded sagely. "So what was that Naruto said…." She tapped a finger trying to remember. "Something about people changing? I remember thinking it was a strange thing to say at the time."
Now it was Sakura's turn to roll her eyes. "A while back, after Sasuke returned and Naruto first started acting weird, I told Naruto that sometimes people change. Sasuke was still trying to figure it all out. But even though someone acts one way in the past, it doesn't mean they'll always be like that."
"Oh," Tsunade said politely even though she didn't completely follow.
"I was talking about me!" Sakura thumped her finger on her chest in exasperation. "I was trying to tell him that whatever he thought I felt for Sasuke, I didn't. That I had changed. And so had Sasuke."
"Ah. And what did he say to that?"
Sakura flung her hands in the air, laughing when she felt like crying. "He said that I was wrong. That if you loved someone, then that didn't change. And if you're a team, that shouldn't change either." She stopped suddenly and rubbed her hand across her forehead. "But now that I think about it, maybe we were talking about two entirely different things." She sighed. "What a mess."
Tsunade sighed as well.
"I just want a break from it all," Sakura said, dropping her hands to her side. "I can't figure any of it out. So I thought about what you said. About going my own direction. And I think this is it. Doing this, helping out the Sand medics, I feel like I'm making a difference. And I'm closer than ever to working out my healing techniques." She added quietly, "And Akira's been a great help in that as well."
Tsunade rolled out the scroll, dashed off several lines, the stamped it at the bottom. She handed it to Sakura, but didn't let go. "Don't run off with a Sand nin!" She smiled but there was steel in her voice. "I'm not giving my best medic to them." Then she released it.
Sakura looked over the scroll. A slow grin spread across her face.
"Consider it a loan," Tsunade said, pleased to see Sakura's characteristic brightness returning. "Is six-months enough?"
Sakura nodded heartily. "Thank you so much, Tsunade-sama!"
And before she knew it, Sakura was packing her things and preparing for her journey. She said goodbye to Ino, Kakashi and a few others, wrote a note to Sasuke, but generally did not make a big deal of it.
She didn't leave word for Naruto. She wanted to, but she couldn't seem to find the right words. And he certainly didn't have trouble leaving her behind whenever her missions came up. So she let that make the decision for her.
And without any fanfare except the smiling faces of the other medics, Akira's the brightest among them, Sakura quietly slipped out of the gates of Konoha and left for the Sand.
Author's Notes
Thanks for the reviews and faves guys! Sorry I've fallen off my posting sched a bit. Life has gotten busy! :) Hope you enjoyed this chapter. A jealous Naruto is so much fun to write! (Although he can't admit to himself yet why he is jealous...and what he has to do about it!) So this chapter explores a little of what might have happened if, after Sakura's confession, they returned to the village and she had to go on like it never happened. Only a few people would know (Kiba, for one), and Sakura would have to go around pretending everything was fine. So I've said this is a little like a highschool romance in where there's drama, hurt feelings, immaturity and really, everything would be cleared up with some level-headed communication — and Sakura's discussion with Tsunade falls into the same category. Lots of fics show Tsunade, Jiraiya, Kakashi, etc., as having inside knowledge of Naruto and Sakura's feelings. But really, most times, the "grown-ups" have no idea who likes whom. And they're more incline to step back than get involved. Tsunade is of this camp, functioning like a teacher or hs principle who's just trying to give some good life advice to the kids she likes. She's not hanging them out to dry, but she's definitely no matchmaker. Anyway, this chapter was Sakura-centric, but next one switches to Naruto. Please read and review!
Oh, and next Voice in the Wind chapter is coming... Get ready for it... :)