Wednesday, July 25th, 2012.
Hey! Thanks for the reviews!
New chap today, but it's a little short.
I was upset that no one reviewed my 3-shot, yet! (I've got 2 chaps so far) Are any of you reading it? I think it's pretty good!
Since I'm a little upset, I'll have...myself do the disclaimer. I really need a list of what reasons I used as to why I don't own Naruto, I don't want to repeat myself.
Me: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Road to Ninja would be coming out on the internet with subs the same day it comes out in THEATERS in Japan. Since it's not as far as I know, I don't own Naruto.
Now read, review, and read and review my 3-shot, damnit!
Chapter 9: Bad News and Blowing Up
Sakura POV
"The medics said that the healing he got before they arrived saved him from some of the worse effects of his injuries." Gai-sensei continued.
I sighed in relief, even though it wasn't over yet.
"However, he is still in critical condition." Gai-sensei continued. "The probability of him completely recovering is close to impossible; like 5-12% at most. Again, without that additional healing, it could have been worse: 2%. Anyway, even if he does recover like nothing ever happened in the first place, he still won't be able to channel chakra and stress his body as much as he used to. At least at first. After a while, he should be able to slowly work his body to how he used to be, but everything will take a bigger toll on his body than it would have before.
"For example; if he opened the 1st gate for whatever reason, his body would take more to almost twice as much damage this time as it would have done in the past. Continuing on, the medics around don't have enough skill to perform the surgery without at least an 70% morality rate." I figured as much.
Cue horrified gasps and looks from those who are hearing this.
"That was the survival rate for the surgery. The chance that he'll be able to continue being a ninja is even worse. Near impossible; unless he wants to stay a genin at a lower level than he used to be with even less chakra control for the rest of his life." Neji and Tenten were astonished at Gai's almost undetectable attempt of dry humor to lighten the mood. It failed most terribly too, which didn't help at all. And even worse was that Gai looked almost dead.
"Continuing on, if they somehow were able to perform a more successful attempt of the surgery, the mortality rate and odds that he'd continue being a ninja after it would be around 50%. But for that, they'd need a miracle, or someone like Tsunade. Which is the same thing as a miracle if we even get her to help. So really, Lee's doomed and it's all my fault." Gai-sensei looked down at the last sentence.
I'd had enough. So guess what I did.
If you guessed ran away, you were wrong.
I socked him in the face- with no chakra of course.
But it was enough to send him to the floor.
"Sakura!" shouted Kakashi, shocked at what I had done. He tried to pull me back but I shook it off.
"No," Tenten said. Most of us, including myself, just realized that she was shaking in anger. "If she hadn't done that, I would have myself!"
Gai stood back up. "What? It's true. It's possible that my student is going to die and nearly certain that he'll never be a ninja again. I crushed his dreams, his future, and his life."
Neji went back to being impassive, after letting his shock (and fear for his teammate?) through. "Hmph. I told you; once a failure, always a failure. I was right when I said he wasn't destined for anything big." Tenten slapped him without hesitation.
Behind the gasps, some could hear Shikamaru mutter, "Is it just me, or did it look like she's been waiting to do that?"
Apparently Tenten heard. "I have been waiting to do that. In fact, since the second I first heard him open his mouth when we were like 7. But this…this was completely uncalled for Neji and I refuse to stand for it! How dare you say that about Lee? Who do you think you are, God?" She was snarling in his face now, holding him up by his shirt collar since the slap had caused him to collapse.
"Well here's your rain check! You're NOT God, you fucking asshole! I am seriously sick of your damn attitude! What the fuck was wrong with me before?" Everyone gasped at her language and anger. Even me.
Note to self: don't piss off Tenten.
Got that right, Inner.
Our angry bunhead wasn't done. " Your attitude is one of the things I hate about you! And don't even start the whole 'the Main House is the cause of all my suffering' speech or the 'this is how fate deems it and it cannot be changed' or even the 'someone like you could not understand what I've been through' and 'caged bird' one! I feel for you Neji, I really do. But the only reason you're still suffering is because you can't allow yourself to move on! YOU are why you can't be happy! You won't let yourself! Even Hinata saw that and tried to help you! Instead, you try to kill her! You're angry at anyone who sees the truth because you refuse to accept it! And yet you play the 'I'm a Hyuuga' card a lot when you're angry with them and I'm sick of hearing it! 'Hyuuga' this and 'Hyuga' that! I'll throttle the next person who flaunts their name all the time! Having a great last name doesn't make you great! It just gives you a head start at being it! You need to prove yourself as you, not a Hyuga! Same for other families! I'm so glad I don't have a last name!
Tenten was moving her hands throughout the monologue, expressing her point. Others around her just trying not to get hit. "And you aren't the only one in this world suffering Neji! Everyone is! That's the way the world works! There's always someone above you, always someone below you! Whether they're suffering more, or having it better off for a period of time! Whether it's in status, power, happiness, etcetera, there is always someone above and below you! The question is, what are you going to do about it? So what, you can still be the best you can be! Don't you start smirking Uchiha; you'll get your turn soon and it won't be by me! That's not my job!" She effectively stopped Sasuke's smirk. Good job!
"Someday soon, someone will show you that you can change your destiny! Lee has been trying to prove that to you and that hard work can overcome natural talent! It can and you just beat him down constantly for it! Believe it or not, we became a team, a family! You're my best friend Neji and Lee's like my little brother, and he was always there for us! Now you ridicule him when he did his best and nearly killed himself! He was still trying to fight while he was unconscious! That is what strength is. Never giving up and giving your all! He just wanted to prove he can be one of the best even with handicaps!"
She looked down, letting go of Neji. I could sense her speech ending. "I regret all those times I doubted Lee. He has truly proven himself; to me at least." She looked Neji in the eye. "Until you get a hold of yourself, you guys will be finding yourselves another member. I temporarily remove myself from Team Gai."
At this, Gai-sensei seemed to get his wits back. "T-tenten!"
Now, she turned on him, her anger back. "And you! How dare YOU of all people give up on him! You are his idol, the person he looked up to! His hero! His father figure! And you give up on him! How dare you call yourself his sensei! If there was one person I thought that would never give up on him, I thought it was you! I'm more pissed and disappointed in you than I am in Neji!"
Gai looked down, ashamed. Then looked up with anger in his eyes. "What am I supposed to do, then? My student is on the verge of death and may never become a ninja again! Am I supposed to give us false hope! Huh?"
I joined in, not being able to hold back. Or, should I say, Inner Sakura joined in. "CHA! This Inner Sakura and I'm sick of hearing this! What are you supposed to do, you wimp? Believe in him! As cheesy as this sounds, believing in him could give him the boost he needs! If Lee-kun's friends and idol gave up on him, why should he think he'll get through this? I know more about psychology and healing than most may think! The mentality that he can do it can make his body survive it. It's also known as a placebo."
Shikamaru added his own 2 cents: "Placebo's are often used in medicine. They can give Group A a medication to help their liver recover from alcohol abuse, for instance. They give Group B a pill that does nothing but tell them that it will help their liver recover anyway. Their brain believes the pill works so the body is fooled into thinking it is being helped when it really isn't. Both groups are told the same thing but only one gets the actual medication. They both recover, though.
"But she's not saying to lie, or give him false hope. Inner Sakura is right; or Sakura, whatever. If Lee doesn't believe he can recover, he possibly never will. Ever. If he does believe he can and has others believe he can, he will likely at least live through this. Just saying."
(a/n: random example, but placebo's are actually used.)
I started again, as Sakura. Not Inner Sakura. "I'm Sakura this time. Shikamaru and my Inner are right. I will even place a bet that he will recover."
This caught Gai's attention, along with the others. "What are you willing to wager?"
I took off my headband. "I will give up being a ninja if Lee does not recover with the ability to be a ninja in 3 and half months' time."
Hey! Review this and review my 3-shot!
For those who were wondering why Sakura didn't punch the ground in her fight with Ino and win is because she didn't think of it and she couldn't win if she tried anyway. The time travel jutsu tries to keep the future from changing too much by keeping outcomes of most fights, especially just after the travel, exactly the same. It won't always be like that, though.
Now if you excuse me, I'm going to read the new Naruto, One Piece, and Katekyo Hitman Reborn chapter, if you don't mind.
FYI, Bleach updated today, too, but I haven't started it yet. Just letting you know for those who were waiting for the next chap.
