Pompeii
Chapter 12
jaylene

Sakura glanced out her window, frowning at the torrents of rain coming down along the streets. It'd gotten so bad that the Founder's Day preparations had been put on hiatus until the weather cleared up.

She couldn't help but wonder if Pein was causing this storm.

Sakura rolled her eyes, because of course it was Pein.

He had a flair for dramatics.

She wasn't sure what made him angry this time but at least he wasn't fighting with someone else.

Sakura glanced back down at the book she'd been reading and closed it firmly. She hopped to her feet, grabbing her phone and shooting off a text to Ino.

Her phone buzzed and Sakura grinned as she answered the call.

"Hi Ino!" she sang.

"Just call me your savior because I've got a plan to change this drab day upside down."

Sakura snorted but found herself smiling. It was still surreal to be able to speak with her penpal and hear a voice put to her words. "Oh yeah? And what does this plan entail?"

"You getting your ass over here and bringing those divine brownies that you made a couple days ago. That is, unless you ate them all."

"I'm not like you, pig," Sakura teased lightly. "I have some brownies leftover."

"Whatever, forehead!" Ino replied. "Choji left an umbrella for you the last time we were over so just bring that. I'll see you in fifteen minutes!"

Sakura chuckled, placing her phone in her pocket as she headed into her bedroom to collect her stuff. She glanced in the mirror, taking in her loose tank top, visible sports bra, and baggy sweatpants. She shrugged, pulling her hair up into a messy bun as she grabbed her keys, the brownie pan, and the faded pink umbrella with dancing cats as she headed out the door.

She blinked at the wall of water that greeted her as she opened the door.

Sakura braced herself, unfurling the umbrella and stepping outside.

She started walking, marvelling at the rivulets of water that streamed down the street around her. The air crackled with electricity and the scent of ozone hung heavy and thick. The sky was dark and grey with clouds.

It was all rather normal for a storm.

Sakura scowled as she tried to figure what exactly was bothering her so much about the rain. There was something off about it; something eerie.

She figured it out as Ino's little townhouse came into view.

Sakura's hairs stood up on end as she realized that no rain fell upon her umbrella. There was no weight from the water, no pitter-patter from the little droplets, no sound at all.

Sakura stopped, fumbling with the umbrella as she moved it away from her body.

In a small, perfect circle around her, no rain fell at all.

Sakura swallowed, looking up to the sky.

It offered no explanations.

She scurried up to Ino's house, closing the still dry umbrella as she unlatched the gate.

Ino owned a small brick house that she shared with Choji. According to the both of them, Shikamaru was a frequent couch surfer even though he didn't technically live there. Both Ino and Choji's parents did have sprawling homes in Pompeii of their own, but they understood their children's need for independence. Ino did confess to Sakura that she stayed in her childhood home every other weekend.

Sakura walked up to the door, tucking the umbrella up against the wall as she knocked.

The door swung inward and Sakura found herself staring up into smiling brown eyes.

"Hi Choji," she greeted, giving the man a hug.

Choji returned the hug easily, taking the tray from her hands. "Brownies huh? Ino's told me stories of these legendary brownies."

Sakura flapped a hand, embarrassed. "Can't compare to yours, I'm sure."

"Nonsense," Choji tutted, guiding her further into the house. "This will pair well with dulce de leche I made earlier. We're having balsamic chicken for lunch, hope you don't mind."

"Not at all. Just wondering if I'm a little underdressed here," Sakura replied.

Choji looked at her and away quickly, color rising high in his cheeks. "You look wonderful, Sakura."

Sakura's brows rose as she heard voices from the kitchen. "Is this some sort of party?"

"Ino didn't tell you?" he asked, pity in his eyes.

They pushed into the kitchen and Sakura immediately began cursing Ino out in her head.

There were over a dozen people around their age in the large, open kitchen, milling around and carving...gourds?

"Sakura!" Ino exclaimed, shoving her way past the others in the room as she threw her arms around her friend. "Am I your savior or am I your savior?"

"You could've at least given me a heads up," Sakura whispered, flushing as she saw how nicely everyone else was dressed. Certainly, she'd met some of the people in the room but many she had not.

Ino kissed her on the nose and ruffled her hair. "You are adorable."

Sakura wrinkled her nose, pushing her taller friend away. "Alright, alright, introduce me, savior ."

With a swagger in her step, Ino slung an arm around Sakura and shouted out, "Alright everyone, this is Sakura!"

"Penpal Sakura from elementary school?" a man wearing sunglasses asked.

"Hell yeah!" Kiba said, bounding over to her. He was bouncing with energy as he stared down at her, fangs obvious. "How've you been settling in?"

"Taking it day by day," Sakura replied with a smile. "I'm a bit surprised I haven't had you in the clinic again."

Kiba laughed, scratching one of the triangle marks on his cheek. "Well Tsume's been patching me up at the veterinary. She says I shouldn't overwhelm you as I could probably sustain your business on my own."

"Good to know," Sakura said, crossing her arms as he spoke about his reckless escapades. She warred between professional urges and the boundaries of acquaintanceship. Eventually she settled on saying, "Try to be careful, will you?"

"No promises," he said.

"Yeah, yeah, Kiba," Ino said, pushing past him. "We all know you're more bark than bite."

Sakura smiled at him apologetically as Ino guided her away.

"So you've met the Uzumaki twins and the Uchiha brat," Ino whispered in Sakura's ear. "Who haven't you met here?"

"Me," a voice said.

Sakura turned, curious about the way she could feel Ino stiffen a bit beside her. The woman who stood before them was curvy and tall, with sharp tortoiseshell glasses. Her hair was shaped in a chic manner and the burning red trademark of most members of the Uzumaki clan.

"Hey Karin," Ino greeted. "Didn't realize you were back from your training journey already."

"Mito-sama let me go early because of Founder's Day," Karin replied. "We have to get the clan grounds prepared for visitors."

"So this is a really big event," Sakura said, knowing visitors were a rare commodity.

"Yeah, bigger than any of the more commercial holidays," Karin said, smile wry. "It's been around for centuries now so we've perfected our techniques."

"So the gourds?"

"We carve them, dry them out, and let the witch covens light `em up as a spectacle for the town," Karin said.

"Yeah, the apprentice witches aren't that advanced, but some of the master witches can animate the scenes carved in the gourds," Ino said.

"They can enlarge `em too so as to entertain the children." Karin grinned. "Don't expect much from apprentice witches though."

"Don't let Tayuya hear you say that," Naruto warned, stepping up into the conversation with a bubbly smile. "Even though she isn't a master, she'll whip your ass."

"As if she could catch me," Karin said with a haughty raise of her chin. "While you have never been the best at illusions, Mito-sama says I'm the best of our litter."

"Whatever," Naruto replied. He caught Sakura's confusion and explained, "This brat is my younger cousin."

" Older cousin, dumbass," Karin said.

"Yeah by about three hours," Naruto muttered.

"Still older!"

Sakura watched them interact with something of a wistful smile. She was an only child and didn't have any close relatives. It was nice to see the closeness of the Uzumaki family.

"They're going to be arguing for a while," Ino informed Sakura, tucking her hand around her elbow and dragging her off to another section of the room. "Longest clocked time for an argument was a little under four hours."

Sakura whistled lowly, a bit impressed in spite of herself. She'd never spoken that long in her life.

Ino took her on a whirlwind meet-and-greet of the party guests that strangely reminded Sakura of speed dating. She could remember only a smattering of names and she only hoped that she'd get to know them better during the preparations for Founder's Day.

"Take one of these," Ino said, passing Sakura a cold bottle.

Sakura took it, taking in the homemade label on the bottle. It was obviously Fall themed, with bright leaves and lots of reds and oranges.

"Pumpkin beer?" Sakura asked, looking at Ino quizzically.

"Yeah, we've got a brewer here with all sorts of speciality drinks. Trust me, it's absolutely delicious. Choji's contemplating bringing him in as a partner at the restaurant," Ino replied.

"That's pretty neat," Sakura said.

Ino sat Sakura down at the long table covered in gourds and carving tools. And she quickly abandoned her, cursing loudly about "dumbass Uzumaki always getting out of hand."

One woman sat beside a large tub full of water, cleaning out the innards of some gourds. She wore a mask over her mouth and nose.

Sakura furrowed her brow.

"I-it's the mold spores," someone said quietly.

Sakura looked up at the speaker, smiling as she took a seat. The woman was extremely pale, with milky eyes and long dark hair that fell in sheets around her face. She was beautiful in a soft, feminine sort of way.

"Mold spores?" Sakura asked.

"That's why Hanabi is wearing the m-mask," the woman explained with a shy, timid smile. "So the mold spores don't get into her lungs."

Sakura narrowed her eyes on the woman's face, trying to place her. "Hinata, right?"

"Yes," she replied, expression pleasantly surprised and pleased. "You remember me?"

"Well, Ino gave us about a thirty second introduction but yes, I remember you," Sakura said.

Hinata nodded. "Ino is a bit...exuberant at times."

Sakura snorted at her delicate choice of words. "She certainly is that. She's a wonderful friend regardless."

"What are you going to carve into your gourd?" Hinata asked.

"Unfortunately I'm not the most artistically inclined," Sakura replied. "What do people usually do?"

Hinata turned her own large gourd around, displaying a beautiful scene of two women kissing upon a boat under large pine trees.

"Well damn," Sakura muttered, slouching into her chair. "I have no chance." Hinata fluttered anxiously, trying to assuage her worries. Sakura brushed them off, laughing. "Honestly it's fine. I'll figure something out."

Hinata nodded hesitantly, getting back to her own gourd.

Sakura stood, heading over to the woman cleaning the gourds. "Any chance I could get one of those, Hanabi?"

Hanabi looked up, pale eyes curving up into a smile beneath her mask. "Sure thing!"

"Are you by chance related to Hinata?" Sakura asked.

"Guilty as charged!" Hanabi said cheerfully, standing and removing her mask before passing a gourd to Sakura. Her face was round and eyes mischievous. "I'm a bit surprised that Hinata approached you herself. She's becoming something of a social butterfly these days."

"H-hey," Hinata protested as they took a seat again at the table.

"Just speaking the truth," Hanabi said with a shrug.

"Be kind," Sakura said, picking up a paring knife.

Hanabi stuck out her tongue at Hinata before pulling her mask back on. "Back to the toxic fumes!" she said in a muffled voice.

"Do we really need this many gourds?" Sakura asked, slightly overwhelmed by the sheer quantity around her.

Hinata nodded. "Definitely. There are shows and theatrics and contests centered around the gourds."

"Hm," Sakura said, working at carving a traditional jack-o'-lantern face. While it wasn't a scene like the other gourds were, it was something Sakura liked. There was a sense of nostalgia that fell heavy against her chest as she reminisced celebrating her favorite holiday surrounded by friends and family and the sickeningly sweet scent of candy corn.

"I-I should probably go," Hinata said, biting her lip. Sakura followed her gaze to a man with long hair whose argument with Sasuke was getting louder and louder.

"Do what you need to do," Sakura said, catching the family resemblance. She felt a bit bad that Hinata obviously had to deal with some headstrong personalities within her close family.

"T-thanks," Hinata replied, scurrying off toward the brewing fight. "Maybe we can catch up later?"

"Definitely," Sakura promised. "Feel free to drop by the clinic any time."

"And you are welcome to the Hyuga bank," Hinata replied with a dazzling smile.

Sakura waved her off, returning her attention to her gourd. The eyes were unsymmetrical and different sizes, but it was obvious that they were eyes.

Now onto the nose.

"That is the ugliest gourd I've ever seen," a monotone voice said. "And I've been around for a few millenia."

Sakura looked up into the dark sloe eyes of a man she hadn't been introduced to by Ino. His hair was fine and straight. She blinked in concern as she caught the fact that his skin was paper white.

"Ugliest gourd, huh?" Sakura asked. "I suppose you aren't a fan of the abstract or Halloween."

The man just stared down at her blankly.

She shook her head, smiling to herself as she got back to work on her jack-o'-lantern. He could be a jackass if he wanted, Sakura was going to do her own thing.

She didn't look up as he took the seat next to her, grabbing a gourd of his own. They sat in silence, working in tandem. Honestly, it felt peaceful, just immersing herself in the art.

"This is what art looks like," the man said.

Sakura glanced over, taking in the yellow gourd. She recognized the scene. It was Pompeii itself, delicate and intricate. Sakura could almost swear she could touch the spiky pine needles on the trees and smell the heady earthy scent that defined the town.

"That's absolutely lovely," Sakura said, leaning in to see it even better. She pointed at one building. "You even got the clinic in there!"

"Of course," he huffed.

"I hope this is one of the ones the witches use for demonstration," Sakura said, gently tracing one of the edges.

"Well they certainly won't use Deidara's ," Ino said, taking a seat by Sakura. "Not after he blew up that gourd in an apprentice witch's face 47 years ago."

Sai's face darkened at the mention of Deidara. "I am the official artist for Founder's Day," he said, "much better than that dullard."

Sakura opened her mouth, prepared to ask about the elusive Deidara. She paused as something tugged at her behind her bellybutton. Sakura frowned, glancing down.

Then it hit her.

She paled, glancing at Ino. "I have to go," she said apologetically. "I'm being summoned. This has been lovely, we need to do it again soon."

Ino furrowed her brows and began to respond.

Sakura was already gone, warping back to the clinic. She stumbled slightly, disoriented and nauseated for a moment.

Then her vision cleared.

"Gaara?" she asked, snapping into professional mode.

He stood at the door, soaking wet as his sand covered something else. His eyes were desperate as he stared up at Sakura.

"Help him," he said, a thready plea in his voice. He didn't comment on or even seem to notice that the rain didn't touch Sakura as she ushered him in, mindful of the sand.

"Put him on the bed," Sakura ordered, pulling on her gloves quickly. She was still in her lazy clothes but she didn't have time to change. She compromised by slipping her lab coat on. "What happened?"

"We...we were out on the trail," Gaara said, sounding distant and remote. Sakura had the feeling that he was beginning to dissociate. "Chiyo needs certain plants for her medicines and Kankuro has been slacking off recently. He decided to go out today. That's when the rain started."

As Sakura listened she checked Kankuro's pulse, concerned with the purplish-black quality clearly visible in his veins. His pulse fluttered weakly and he released a long, low groan.

"He fell headfirst over the edge of a cliff. I...I'm not quite sure what he fell into!" Gaara said, sand vibrating around him with agitation.

A quick glare from Sakura made the sand settle. "I've never seen anything like this," she said.

"C-Chiyo…" Kankuro groaned.

Sakura's eyes widened. "Gaara, go get Chiyo. Tell her to bring her poison-treatment supplies."

Gaara disappeared in a whirl of sand.

Sakura brushed the hair back from Kankuro's face, grimacing in sympathy as she saw how sweaty it was. "I'm here, Kankuro," she said. "You aren't alone."

She went over his different injuries, assessing each and every one of them. He'd lost some blood, but his injuries didn't appear too serious. All except his arm.

Sakura could tell he'd caught his weight on that arm and a bone protruded beneath the skin. Long gashes scratched up the arms and Sakura could tell they weren't just from scraping up against the rocks. If her hunch was correct, this was the source of the dark colors spreading rapidly through his veins.

She grabbed thick bandage, wrapping it tight around Kankuro's left bicep. He squeaked, flailing weakly against her. Sakura gritted her teeth, fastening straps around his wrists and ankles to restrain his limbs.

Then she returned to his arm, tightening the bandage to limit blood circulation. She was working on a tense timeline and she couldn't afford to make any mistakes.

"What's the big idea, summoning me here like that? I won't stand for it!" Chiyo squawked as she and Gaara appeared in the room.

"What did you send him to find?" Sakura demanded, cutting her tirade short.

"I…" Chiyo's breath rattled past her teeth as she caught sight of Kankuro's prone body.

"What did you send him to find?" Sakura asked again.

"A few things," Chiyo replied. "Hemlock, wolfsbane, dragonsbane…"

"Dragonsbane?" Sakura asked. "Is this a typical reaction to dragonsbane in the bloodstream?"

Chiyo nodded shakily. "Yes, it affects most monsters this way."

"And how do you counteract it?" she asked.

"It's a mix of the dragonsbane, baby's breath, and holy water," Chiyo said.

"Holy water?" Gaara asked. "Are you trying to kill him?"

"The dragonsbane negates the holy water, boy," Chiyo snapped.

"Focus!" Sakura said, breaking their argument. "Do you have the ingredients here?"

"Yes," Chiyo said.

"Then let's get to work," Sakura said grimly.

She watched as Chiyo assembled a flask, a piece of baby's breath, and a plant with bright orange thorns. Sakura shook her head, grabbing an empty shot and prepping it to inject directly into Kankuro's bloodstream. When she turned back to Chiyo, Sakura saw that her hands were shaking and that she nearly spilled the holy water.

Chiyo cursed under her breath.

"Here," Sakura said, "let me. Just tell me what to do."

Chiyo looked up at her with keen dark eyes. "Careful girl."

Sakura took over, listening intently to Chiyo's instructions. Finally, it was complete and Sakura poured the concoction into the beaker. She squeezed out the air bubbles, tapped the side of the glass, and injected the needle into the underside of Kankuro's left arm.

The three people stood intently, watching Kankuro. His breath became less raspy and he settled into an exhausted sleep. Sakura monitored the way the color in his veins receded, making notes in his medical file as she waited for him to wake.

The slithering of sand signaled Gaara's return.

"Chiyo is back home," he reported.

Sakura glanced up, closing the file and smiling kindly at him. She could see the way fear tightened his eyes and fists and she wanted to assuage him.

"He's past the worst of it," Sakura said softly. "His body is on the mend and he just needs to rest."

Gaara nodded but his gaze didn't move away from Kankuro.

"How about you give Temari a call?" Sakura tried, wanting to distract him from his anxieties.

"I did," Gaara replied. "Got her voicemail. She's out of town."

Sakura accepted his explanation, gesturing for him to take a seat. Gaara poured himself into the seat, exhaustion ringing his entire form.

"He's going to be alright," Sakura said, grabbing one of his hands and squeezing as she tried to push comfort into him. "I'm going to keep him overnight for observation. I doubt you want to leave his side. You're welcome to one of the beds."

Gaara shook his head. "I'll stay up."

Sakura glanced between him and his brother, finally nodding her acquiescence.

He never let go of her hand.