- S -
The team gathered on the bridge and departed the village by 9 am, swiftly moving through the trees with the scroll on the vaccine techniques stored safely in Sakura's pack.
In private, once her male teammates had left the office, Sakura and Tsunade had discussed the details of the scroll's contents
"You seemed to be holding back on the full details of this medical exchange," Sakura asserted as soon as the doors had swung shut. Kakashi's expression hardened in a sad downturn watching the exchange between the women.
"I'm aware of your current research on poisons. Suna offers access to poisons and plants we do not. While the information on the vaccines is important, you could easily deliver it and then teach the practices within a few days. I have spoken with the herb and poison specialists via hawk. I am granting you permission to use the excess time in Suna to continue your research." Sakura's face softened at the information and her rigid stance slackened to leave her leaning back into her left leg while her right was lazily jutting forward.
"Whatever information, herbs, or poison you choose to bring back will require greater security than a one person can provide. I am sending your team with you. I'm sure Naruto will have fun harassing Gaara and building sand castles." Tsunade carefully watched Sakura's response.
"Thank you, Shishou,." Sakura said softly, allowing her crossed arms to drop to her sides. Sakura turned to exit the room and was stopped by her mentor's voice.
"And Sakura, get some damn sleep. I can't have you showing up on a diplomatic mission with bags under your eyes like that. They'll think I abuse my ninja." Sakura's mouth lifted into a small grin, knowing from hands on experience that her master could give her ninja quite a beating. She also knew this was Tsunade's way of expressing concern.
"If they get any worse, I'll look like you." An empty sake bottle sailed across the room at that comment.
The day passed with minimal event and at dusk the ninja prepared camp, unrolling their sleeping mats and creating a fire. Sai and Naruto were squabbling over who got the "best" sleeping spot that was out of reach of the moonlight filtering through the treetops while still being within reach of the fire's warmth.
A 'winner' was finally decided, and Naruto settled into the spot happily after having threatened to tell Ino that Sai found her chest "impractically large and useless as she didn't have any children". The team members lulled into silence aside from the sound of eating their nutrition bars. Before Naruto could begin a ghost story he'd heard from Iruka, Sakura had settled into her mat and appeared to be asleep leaving Naruto to pout. He lightened up realizing he had more than a week's time ahead to tell said story.
Sasuke kicked dirt into the fire and they all curled into their own heat as the winter winds whipped through the trees. It created a low howling sound that would make the perfect background sound for Naruto's planned story telling.
Despite the mission being rather pointless, Sasuke sat up and took in the pleasant feeling of being out in the open. After months of meticulous surveillance, being able to look into a sky framed by forest provided a sense of relief he didn't realize he could still get. Sasuke settled into his mat with more peace in his head than he'd had for years, listening to the whistling wind.
That wind remained the only sound amongst the ninja for several hours.
A shrill yell and smashing sound awoke Sai and Sasuke while Naruto leapt down from his watch position on a nearby tree, all of them seeking Sakura out. She was sitting up on her mat, her torso hunched over bent legs and her head swiveling around wildly. Her right fist was imbedded in the ground explaining the crushing sound while and her left hand tightly gripped her throat as she panted.
Naruto was immediately circling the campsite in search of an enemy, kunai raised and ready to strike. Sai was slightly delayed, but he quickly joined his teammate in checking the surrounding brush for an enemy. Sasuke surveyed the area with his sharingan while staying close, but quickly realized there were no chakra signals to be detected. Turning back to his female teammate, Sasuke noticed the distant look in Sakura's eyes. The enemy she was facing did not exist in reality, only in her dream.
Sasuke approached her as her gaze faded back to reality, flexing both her hands as she drew them into her chest while slowing her breaths to a calmer rate. She looked ashen as she processed her teammates attempting to protect the camp site against an enemy only she had seen. Sasuke crouched by her silently and didn't miss the way she shied away from his approach, waiting for her to speak first while staring at her expectantly. She spoke between stuttering breaths.
"I—I was dreaming of – I was just dreaming…" She told him hurriedly. After a moment Sasuke felt a surprising rush of guilt. He could vividly picture his hand around her throat and almost feel the air leaving her from that day he had… I tried to kill her. Is she dreaming of that day? As he studied her, he considered that it wouldn't be illogical for her to be grasping for her throat and panting for air after such a dream. The interaction had not been as long ago as it seemed with the rapid pace life had been moving.
Sasuke rose to stand and called back Naruto and Sai. "There's no enemy in the area, it seems everyone is already wide awake so we can continue traveling now." Sai and Naruto appeared confused, but a glare from the dark haired ex-missing nin silenced them both and the whole team went through the motions of erasing their presence in the small clearing.
They began traveling at a rapid pace, albeit slightly slower than that of the day before. The team settled into a rhythm with Naruto taking lead, Sakura and Sai moving behind him to the left and right respectively, and Sasuke taking the rear of the formation. It was a simple formation, but it spoke volumes to how much his teammates trusted him to allow him to quite literally watch their backs and be out of sight.
He watched Sakura's movements closely. She can't trust me if she's still dreaming of times like that. Not that he could blame her, their past battles couldn't be undone and he'd accepted he couldn't change his life path – nor would he change all of his decisions if he could. Her shoulder were pulled forward and her entire back, from what was visible around her pack, appeared to be coiled tightly as if ready to absorb a hit.
It was going to be a long mission.
- S -
The next days and nights passed quietly, and Sakura seemed to engage in conversation more, even re-joining mocking Kakashi's time management skills. The heat Suna brought them led to switching towards lighter clothing. Cloaks were stored away, and sun warmed their cheeks as they met their arrival party Wednesday afternoon. Gaara headed the party only to be tackled by a blur of blonde and an excited "GAARA!" followed by laughter.
For his off-putting attitude, the Kage always softened around Naruto and the two began to discuss their recent work. While Naruto did the majority of the talking, Gaara was very engaged in the conversation and gave answers of length that surpassed the number of words he sometimes spoke in a day. They broke off from the group and headed into the city. Sai departed from the group finding no interest in the formalities of the welcoming party. They had all known previously to stay in the Kage's home as honorary guests and would re-unite there.
Two young medics, chatting excitedly among themselves, rushed to approach Sakura. "Miss Haruno, we are here to escort you to our medical facility! It is an honor to meet you and we are excited to learn from you." Both girls bowed deeply, and Sakura gave a soft smile at their actions. Sakura had become well known for her and also represented a female ninja that young students could look up to. The medic aspect of being a ninja had become desireable to many, male and female alike, and this surge of shinobi focused on the healing aspect of ninja life was beneficial to all.
Both girls straightened and began to lead Sakura towards the hospital. Sakura walked with an aura of strength. Her hands were gently clasped behind her back as she followed the young girls, speaking with excitement about a new strategy for healing bone fractures. The method enhanced osteoblast activity after the initial healing so medics could move to the next patient and the patient's body would finish the healing on its own. The girls looked at her with wonder and each took a side of her firing rapid questions.
Sasuke watched his teammates disperse from the gates into the village and found himself staring into the faces of an uncomfortable and tense welcoming party. It seems they were uneasy with his presence, especially him being apart from his teammates.
What fun this will be….