A/N: I'm still alive! Sorry for the terribly hiatus! This was SUCH a difficult chap to write! This is my first action/Naruto fic so it's bound for failure. It took me hours each day and even now I don't think this is great. Probably a C- product. Once again, beware of grammar and poor vocab. Critism is always welcomed!
8600plus words?! DA-YUM!! Sorry if the length intimidated you in any way. The next chpt will be shorter. If not, you have the right to drill my skull. But be sure to check out the sneak preview at the end!
The Perfect Soldier
Sasuke knew he's in trouble. He's on his last round of ammo. There are 5 Howlers left but one round of ammo isn't enough to take them out and it's uncertain when Kakashi's group will arrive…that is if they'll arrive.
Sasuke decided he should make his escape. He climbed to the treetop so he could reach a nearby tree and the leaves would conceal his escape. Once he landed on the treetop of the next tree, Sasuke will make an explosion to distract the Howlers while he made his getaway.
But Sasuke didn't get too far. Before landing on a new tree, one Howler knocked his old one right in his direction. The impact pushed Sasuke off balance, allowing gravity to pull him down to earth as he slipped off the tree.
After bumping into a limb or three, Sasuke made a desperate attempt before falling into the Howlers' den. With a kunai, he stabbed the tool into the tree, hoping that would stop his landing if it stays in.
At last luck was on his side. The kunai stuck deep enough. Sasuke held onto the handle, preventing him from falling into ravenous jaws. But how long can luck last? Sasuke knew better that he can't hold onto that kunai forever. He had to climb back up and get away from here. And unfortunately, that wasn't as simple as it sounds.
Sasuke felt pain coming from his right arm when he tried to move it. Sasuke took a brief glance at it; his arm was dislocated and so was his left leg. But that was not his main concern. With only his left arm and right leg usable, Sasuke had no way of climbing back up even with his kunai.
It was only a matter of time before Sasuke lost all his strength and grip in his left arm, sending him to the "feeding den." Sasuke knew he was only delaying the inevitable and he was pushing his arm's strength to the limit. Sasuke looked down and saw the Howlers kept jumping and trying to snatch him. He was in these ravenous beasts' mercy. But Sasuke knew Chimeras were anything but merciful.
It was all over for him.
But Sasuke never felt the impact…or the menacing jaws. Instead, he felt someone caught him. When the beasts were about to pounce at their prey, Sasuke's unexpected savior threw glass vials of strong antiseptic directly at the Howlers' eyes. The Howlers loudly screeched and roared in pain from the glass in their eyes and the stinging effects from the antiseptic. Sasuke hesitantly opened his eyes, wondering why he's still in one piece.
Sasuke felt relieved and at the same time shocked when he saw who his savior was.
"Sakura?"
Déjà vu
FLASHBACK
The "trip" was uncomfortably silent except for the sounds of footsteps on the trees. Still, Tazuna discretely watched the girl and noticed the spark of determination in her eyes as she carried him. But then Tazuna noticed something that got him really nervous.
"This isn't the way back home."
Sakura didn't answer and kept running until she found a river. To Tazuna's growing confusion and anxiety, Sakura followed the river upstream. As they approached the end of the river, they encountered a vertical waterfall up ahead. The waterfall was at least 50 feet high and 20 feet wide and in Sakura's calculation, there should be a sizeable rock shelter behind the fall. Once Sakura checked the inside of the waterfall, she carried Tazuna into the rock shelter.
Sakura took out her Sapper…
…and gave it to Tazuna.
"When I leave, pull the trigger and launch the mines around you. It will give you a solid defense while I'm gone."
Tazuna's heart stopped, "You're going to disobey the orders your superiors gave you?"
There was a pregnant pause, and then Sakura firmly spoke:
"There are times when your superiors' orders are not always the best to follow."
"And this is one of those 'exceptions'?" Tazuna asked with bitterness and anger.
"I have numerous reasons to save my comrades…just as I have numerous reasons to protect you, Tazuna-sama. I had to reach either a compromise or must choose one way over another. In order to appease both ends, I had to somehow have you protected while at the same time I could go and retrieve my comrades. Therefore I placed you here where you are concealed while I can go back and help my assigned team. It's a difficult choice, but it must be done and I'm gratefully sorry for putting you in this predicament."
Tazuna was still upset by this, "So basically you're trying to control the situation. In warfare, there is little you can do to change a situation to your favor. And you probably had more reasons to save your comrades than to protect me! You better give me a good reason to convince me to stay in this rock shelter by myself!"
Sakura's eyes softened but spoke in formal speech, "Thank-you, Tazuna-sama, for being my voice of reason; everything you just said was the truth. Yes, I have more reasons to save my comrades than protecting you. And yes, in times of war, there are many things we cannot control. However, I will still fight.
"As for another reason why I choose this path is because I cannot allow history to repeat itself. There was once a time when I would always listen and obey what my peers told me to do…and one night that and my incompetence caused a tragedy I will never heal from. And here I am in this same situation, listening to what they told me to do, letting them die as I run away. I won't let that happen again, even if I must waste my last breath to accomplish that."
Tazuna analyzed Sakura for a moment; she's not backing down. He also noticed the woman's tightly closed fists and her determination. As much as he hated this situation he was in, this woman's mind won't change no matter what he says.
He sighed in resignation, "Go. Save your comrades. I'll be ok. If your opportunity to change is here in your grasp, then take it. I understand what you're going through. I've been on that path before."
Sakura got up and left the shelter. But before that she took a last look at Tazuna, who gave a sad but reassuring expression to the young woman. Sakura gave a low and respective bow to the elder.
"I shall return."
Tazuna nodded at her, "Don't come back empty-handed."
As Tazuna watched Sakura leave, his distant eyes looked up towards the stone ceiling, a few tears rolling down his eyelids.
"What were your last thoughts when Konoha's White Fang left you for his comrades, Kaiza?"
Sakura draped Sasuke's left arm over her shoulders as they fled. Sakura's other arm opened another vile of strong antiseptic and left a trail of it in the grass. Knowing some Howlers already half recovered from her previous attack and were now pursuing them, Sakura lit a few matches. When she knew they were close enough, Sakura threw a kunai with an ancient ninja explosive tag and immediately fled the scene before a powerful explosion could happen. When the tag exploded, it ignited anything in contact with the flammable substance on the grass. The Howlers, with traces of alcohol still on them, were caught in the torching blaze.
Sakura didn't dare look back and kept on running while trying to find a place where she could treat Sasuke's condition. After minutes of running, Sakura looked back and saw the intense blaze was not spreading towards her direction. Sakura landed on the grassy plain and placed Sasuke down to treat his injury.
Sasuke put on a stern face despite the pain. "I told you to take Tazuna as far away as possible."
"I did, Uchiha-san. I took him somewhere secluded, safe, and far away from here…just as you ordered. I followed your order word by word."
Sasuke was put off to say the least. Though it may not sound like it, but Sakura had defied him!
"Why did you abandoned Tazuna and came back for me? I'm quite capable-"
"Where do you feel pain, Uchiha-san?"
Sakura outright avoided his question! There wasn't even a bit of concern in her voice; this was like a standard procedure to her. This was only work for her; nothing special. Sasuke was fuming on the inside but slowly resigned. They both inwardly agreed that treating his injuries was their first priority in a situation like this.
"My right arm and left leg are broken."
Sakura took off Sasuke's jacket and began to press firmly on different parts of his body to pinpoint which bones were dislocated. Once in awhile she earned a few painful hisses from the man but Sakura did not pause. After finishing her exam, Sakura spoke.
"Thankfully, you have no broken bones; just dislocated. The damage is not serious but still needs to be treated immediately. I'm going to literally pull them back in their proper location. There will be moments of discomfort even after I administer the anesthetic. Can you handle that, Uchiha-san?"
"Hn."
With that said Sakura took out a can of anesthetic and released the aerosol near Sasuke's face. In a matter of seconds, Sasuke's vision began to blur as disorientation sets in. As the gas was slowly taking effect, Sakura took out Sasuke's communicator and turned it on to check if Kakashi would respond.
To Sakura's grave disappointment, there was no response.
"I'll just keep it on in case Captain Hatake-sama's eye could pick up the communicator's signal. In the meantime, I have to start Uchiha-san's operation."
In a swift and decisive moment, Sakura strategically pressed the dislocated bone back to its original place. Of course, with such method, brute strength was required and that was no problem to Sakura. But what troubled the woman was Sasuke's face twisted in agony from the painful pressure as he dug his fingers deep into the soil to prevent himself from writhing in pain. Even when anesthetized, Sasuke could clearly feel the sharp pain and gritted his teeth hard to stifle an excruciating cry.
After a seemingly long 25 minutes of relocating each bone that was dislocated in his body, Sakura finally finished the torturing procedure. Sakura took out some bandages and began to tightly wrap them around the now properly-aligned joints. Sakura wiped the sweat off her large forehead. Since Sasuke was still a bit numb from the anesthesia, Sakura once again draped his left arm over her shoulder and put back on his jacket.
As they continued their dangerous tread, Sasuke slowly regained consciousness. Though he wasn't fully conscious, his mind and body were slowly coordinating once more. The first thing that came into his thoughts came out of his mouth.
"Sakura…why did you come back?"
Sakura wasn't sure exactly what the man was asking about: her leaving him years ago, or her disobeying him. Decided to settle with the latter conclusion, Sakura answered even though Sasuke was too disoriented to register her reply. It was like Sakura wanted to say that to remind herself of something of great importance.
"The purpose of my job…of my existence is to take care of you and protect you if you are in peril, Uchiha-san. I came for you not because I had to, but because I need to. I cannot allow you to die, Uchiha-san. That is absolute. If you die, sir, I have no purpose of existence."
Sakura received nothing but steady breathing on her shoulder blade. Sasuke must've passed out again while Sakura was talking. For some reason, Sakura was hurt by his lack of coherency, especially when she gave him her most deepest and earnest answer. As corny as it may sound, her words came from the deepest wells of her soul where her feelings lie.
Decided that Sasuke needs to snap out of his hazy stupor, Sakura splashed some canteen water on his face. As Sasuke slowly regained coherency, Sakura carried him on her back once again as she ran back to the hidden waterfall. As Sakura draped his arm around her shoulders, she felt his pulse; he was regaining consciousness.
"Sakura," Sasuke groaned, "Why did you come back for me? Am I more important than the mission?"
"I can't continue with Tazuna-sama on my own, Uchiha-san. I'm short on ammo and I'm not built for heavy-duty fighting. Tazuna-sama and I are defenseless. In the situation we've landed in, we need everything we can get. As of the moment, yes you are more important than Tazuna-sama. I need you, sir."
Sasuke could've sworn Sakura's voice had a surge of urgency and especially desperation on the last part. It then dawned on him that even though he thought the Sakura he knew was gone, traces of her still remained in that vessel. Like back in the old days, they depended on each other. Sakura was never meant for fighting; Sasuke did the fighting. Sasuke was never the comforter/healer type; Sakura did the healing.
Together, they were an unstoppable force. But if separated, they were weak. Kakashi had taught him, Naruto, and Sai this similar concept of teamwork.
But Sasuke's thoughts were cut short when Sakura suddenly stopped running.
"Sakura, what are you-"
Sakura shushed the Uchiha and her eyes defensively alert. Sasuke was confused by Sakura's sudden paranoia until he saw right before his eyes: trees demolished and brutishly bulldozed, turning this section of forest into a flat wasteland. It was like No Man's Land in France; a completely different world. Sasuke felt his left hand that was draped over Sakura shoulder being squeezed with apprehension. And Sakura had right to be.
Sweat trickled down the Uchiha's temple, fearing what sort of thing with such monstrosity could change the lush landscape into a barren wasteland with such a fashion. But both fearfully knew this was not man-made but exactly what did this?
They're going to get their answer sooner than they'd liked. They felt light tremors from the powerful footfalls. It was like those moments in a giant-monster film where the monster makes its first frightening grand appearance. The force disturbance became stronger and stronger as it approached the pair. Finally snapping out of her anxiety and fear, Sakura led them into a large brush of bushes and hid.
The giant footfalls became louder. The ground shook and bounced more forcefully. The "thing" was approaching as trees up ahead were falling down like dominoes towards No-Man's Land and the violent rustling of trees up ahead.
Sasuke and Sakura were lying face down on the grass, bracing for what's to come while giving each other a vice-like grip. Both didn't really feel the harsh grip, because when they finally saw the beast with their own eyes, their bodies were soaking with cold sweat and the blood in their bodies all went to their heart, pumping it at a frantic pace.
Both need no words of communication to know what the other was thinking, although they haven't paid each other much attention since they were both frozen and grounded with shock and fear. The fear of the impossibility coming to reality was quickly sinking in for them.
"I-Impossible! How can that be here?"
Naruto and Kakashi dashed towards Sai, who was currently lying face down on the ground motionless. Naruto gently flipped Sai's body face up and shook him by the shoulders.
"Sai!! This isn't funny! SAI!"
Sai responded by giving out raspy coughing fits and heavy breathing. Kakashi's brows knitted when his red eye scanned Sai's body.
"This isn't good. His lungs are shutting down. The gas had entered his respiratory system."
"But I thought," Naruto began to cough, "that covering our faces with wet cloth could prevent that stuff from getting into our lungs!"
"That was only to lessen the exposure, not prevent it. The only way we could've fully prevented the ingestion was some highly advanced gas masks, which we don't have," Kakashi paused as he looked at Naruto's slightly-pale face, "You got some of it too."
Naruto managed to give his cheerful grin, "I'll make it, sensei. I said I'm going to be the next leader of Konoha and the Kamikaze one day and I'll make sure I make it there! Believe it!"
Kakashi smiled grimly, "Yeah…I know that."
Kakashi picked Sai up into his arms bridal style so Sai's breathing wouldn't be so tedious while being carried. As they continued to advance, Naruto gave out a few coughing fits of his own, though his was not as wheezy as Sai's.
"What are we going to do now, Kakashi-sensei? You seemed to be the only one out of us who are in good shape. I envy your mask and red eye; that thing solves everything for you!"
Kakashi winced a little at Naruto's comment. As much as he agreed with Naruto, that eye had too many painful memories.
"We have to go on a much slower pace so you won't strain your lungs further. Our priority right now is to find Sakura. She has the medical equipment to treat the chlorine poisoning. But if she and Sasuke had split up, then that could be a huge problem since we don't know which direction the two of them went off to."
"Maybe the flames over there could be a start?"
Kakashi's eyes followed Naruto's finger pointed towards where there were sparks, an ominous orange glow, and grey smoke emitting into the air. Indeed it was a forest fire, but it couldn't be a natural one. It's now mid-autumn and such climate cannot ignite a forest fire. The only other possibility was that it was man-made. Either it was done by Sasuke or Sakura, or Chimeras set the fire off for something. But then Kakashi remembered that direction was Sasuke's last given coordinates before their line dropped.
Kakashi gently placed Sai back on the grassy surface, "I'll go over there and check it out. Naruto you stay here with Sai. The fumes from the flames would dramatically worsen your lungs if you go any closer to it. I'll be back in a few minutes."
As he arrived a few yards away from the blaze, Kakashi took one small sniff of the area. Once his red eye is activated, Kakashi's senses of hear, see, and smell could go beyond what the normal human could do. After taking that one sniff, Kakashi knew this blaze was ignited by an accelerant, more specifically a strong antiseptic. Kakashi concluded this was done by Sakura since medics carried chemicals like this and Chimeras have no use for it. Kakashi's red eye scanned the area for any signs of life.
There was none.
But Kakashi continued to hope and concentrated with his eye harder while cautiously treading through the fire. Kakashi only found the burning carcasses of Howlers, not humans. It could be good or bad. Kakashi deduced that either the two escaped and then set the blaze or that Sasuke was eaten by the Chimeras and Sakura set the blaze to prevent them from attacking her.
"No…they are strong. They survived the blast. They must've."
And right when he said those words, Kakashi spotted a kunai with a burnt tag in the center of destroyed earth and raging flames, probably the accelerator of the blaze. Kakashi carefully picked the kunai up and sniffed it. Hope filled the white-haired captain. There was Sasuke's and Sakura's scent in it. So there's still a chance Sasuke and Sakura are both alive somewhere!
Once Kakashi rushed back to Naruto and Sai, he noticed Sai was getting increasingly pale (he's naturally pale so he looked sicker than he was) and Naruto looked slightly dazed.
Naruto coughed "Did you find teme and Sakuraaa-chaaaan?"
Kakashi frowned. Naruto's speech was a bit slurred. Naruto wasn't drunk, but the gas must be making Naruto dizzy and somewhat disoriented. "No but I'm sure they're alive. I've picked up their scent and we're going to follow it. Can you keep up with me?-"
Naruto was startled out of his hazy stupor when he heard a loud monstrous roar echoing in the deep forest. Only Sai remained unaffected by the sound as he continued to cough. It was a whole different story with Naruto and Kakashi. Naruto and Kakashi looked at each other's bulged eyes for a moment and they knew both were thinking the same thing.
"Was that what I think it was?! But it can't be! There's just no way!"
Kakashi was so frozen up with shock and inconceivability that he failed to realize Sasuke's and Sakura's scent are also in that direction….
Sakura had a feeble hope that all will go smoothly; retrieve Sasuke, head back to the waterfall and take Tazuna back to Konoha. But once she saw THIS beast, Sakura knew her luck ran out and was going to be the obstacle of her life.
It was true Sakura had a series of mental training for moments like these, but Sakura wasn't prepared to see such a beast so soon and in such a situation. In all honesty, Sakura was deeply terrified. If she was to relate to someone, Sakura would've immediately picked Kurenai, who had also frozen in terror when she's on her first mission. Now Sakura could experience the same feelings her mentor went through.
Right before them was a Titan. Just by its name you don't really need an elaborate explanation to know what this Chimera look like.
Titans are simply the juggernauts of all Chimeras and should be dealt with extreme force and as far away as possible. One direct hit from monsters like this, you're a goner. Sakura got a reassuring squeeze from Sasuke. Sakura took a deep breath, relaxed, and tried to think things through.
Both knew they cannot outrun the Titan since its legs were a lot longer than theirs. Sakura looked at Sasuke for a moment; he was in no shape to walk on his own yet. Sakura estimated Sasuke had to wait for another hour or so before he could freely move. Sakura knew carrying him while running away from a goliath like that would be foolish. The only option was to stealthily escape this situation and fight the Titan another time, fully charged. And so far, that option was in their favor; the Titan hasn't spotted them behind the bushes yet. All they had to do was to wait for the Titan to leave the area so they could make a run for it.
But then things got complicated. Dangerously complicated.
Titans are quite predictable in behavior, unlike Slipskulls. And at the moment it was walking away from the field…when suddenly it turned into a completely different direction. Sakura bit her lower lip to stop her frantic breathing.
"Oh no…"
"What's wrong, Sakura," Sasuke calmly whispered although he was a bit nervous himself. He'd never seen the combat medic Sakura lose her self-control before. "It'll walk away soon. We just need to be calm and patient."
"It's not that, Uchiha-san." Sakura bit her lip, trying to retain her steady breathing. "It's walking towards the waterfall where Tazuna-sama is hiding."
Sasuke inhaled and then exhaled an "Oh shit."
Once the Titan was at a range, the pair got up and followed it, hoping that it would turn away from Tazuna's direction along the way. But as it approached closer and closer to the waterfall, that possibility was becoming less and less likely. Sasuke and Sakura were at a loss. They're now stuck in a situation where they had to confront the Titan or else the whole mission fails. But the problem was their ammo was no match against this bulldozer of a Chimera. Titans are so powerful, bullets would bounce off their skin.
"Where's Naruto when you need him?! His rocket launcher could come in handy right now-"
"Uchiha-san, what should we do? We don't have the best position and resources to fight it, much less immobilize it."
Sasuke swore under his breath; he still felt a bit numb and unable to fight. All he could do was analyze the situation and formulate a way to escape.
"We could go around the Titan to reach Tazuna, and then make our escape before the Titan even makes it to the waterfall."
"My train of thought already went that direction, Uchiha-san. It's no good. In order to circumnavigate the Titan without it noticing us, and its current speed, the Titan would reach the waterfall before us."
"By how much?" he frowned.
"If we – or shall I say myself since I'm carrying you and doing all the running – exert ourselves at our maximum capacity, we will be 5 minutes too late, approximately. Even if we're late for only 5 minutes at least, a Titan could still create much damage within that short period of time. It's too risky, Uchiha-san."
The duo was silent for a moment, but inside they were on the edge. Time and distance were not on their side at the moment. In such desperate situations, desperate measures must be taken.
"Then we have to distract it, lure it back to that barren wasteland where we have better chances."
"And how do we accomplish that, Uchiha-san?"
"By attacking it with everything we have," the man answered bluntly.
Sakura's brows creased into a frown, "But what will you do, Uchiha-san? You're still unable to move freely on your own."
Sasuke didn't dare answer but Sakura knew the answer to that solution…and she knew he knew. Sakura had to face this beast, which was at least 10 times her size, on her own. Sakura didn't have to calculate the statistics to know how disadvantaged she was in this situation. If she remained immobile, standing by, then Tazuna might die. But if she makes a move, both she and Sasuke could get killed…and then Tazuna. Once again, there was no compromise and Sakura couldn't risk the Titan going nearer to the waterfall.
With no other options, Sakura took Sasuke back to their hiding spot. Once they reached the bushes Sakura took off her pack full of medical supplies. Then she reached for Sasuke's pack and took out all his weapons and ammo.
"Sakura! What the hell are you doing?!" Sasuke whispered angrily.
Sakura looked at Sasuke with apologetic eyes but spoke deadpanned, "The obvious, Uchiha-san."
Sasuke cared less about being quiet now, "I know what the obvious is! You can't do this! You're crazy going against that thing by yourself!"
Sasuke tried to get up and stop her but to no avail. Only his left leg and right arm were moveable. Never in his life had he felt so useless, lying face down on the grass and watch Sakura walking away from him like this.
"Fuck! I feel like an invalid!" Sasuke didn't give up; he kept trying to get up and help Sakura. "You can't do this on your own, Sakura! There has to be another way to solve this!"
Sasuke was grateful that Titan was far away or else it could've heard his outbursts and charge straight towards him like a Spanish bull. But Sakura's back didn't turn. Instead, she kept marching ahead towards the Titan's direction.
"You're in no condition to do that right now. You had risked your own life and a limb to make sure the mission was completed. But most of all, you did that to protect Tazuna-sama and I. And for that, I'm forever grateful, Uchiha-san. To return the favor, I will fight for you…with every breath and muscle I have left."
"Sakura you don't have to do this. All you need is to distract it a bit. By then I should be in good shape so I'll take over the distraction while you run back to get Tazuna."
"Negative, Uchiha-san. I left Tazuna-sama there in the first place was because I had to rescue you. Leaving you behind again is against my principle. My sole mission is to make sure your mission of escorting Tazuna-sama is carried through successively, not the other way around. Therefore as I distract the Titan, you should go to the waterfall and continue with your mission. That's all I can do for you now, Uchiha-san."
"Sakura-"
"-Please move as little as possible and be as quiet as you can, Uchiha-san. That way, the enemy will not spot you, sir."
Sasuke couldn't believe his eyes and ears! Not only was she talking with her back facing him, but she had that distant and emotionless tone again. One moment ago she was conversing with him with resolve, concern, and unshakable determination. But now Sakura retreated back to old combat-medic self again? It was as cold as the tone Sakura gave him back when they first met at the hospital.
Now that Sasuke was left speechless and distracted, Sakura made her getaway. Sasuke was in such disbelief, he couldn't even yell at her to come back. It was only when he no longer heard the rustling of leaves and trees did he realized Sakura was gone.
Sasuke realized his life was full of ironies. He had ordered Sakura to leave him and she listened to him willingly (albeit temporarily). Just now he ordered her to stay but she left him! It's like Sakura was programmed to stay away from him, better yet, not listen to him!
"And they all said combat medics obey your every command…now I know that's total bullshit."
With his back lying on the grass, Sasuke looked up towards the unrelenting sky. How he loathed that grey autumn sky. It had reminded him of "that day" when the sky was just as bleak and dreary. Here was Sakura, leaving him again under that same somber sky…but this time it was face-to-face and he still couldn't make her come back to him.
And what's worse was this will be the last time Sakura will walk away from him…because this will be the last time they'll see each other. Sakura's fate is sealed…she's now in the same situation Sasuke had landed himself upon (quite literally) moments ago when he faced the deadly Howlers single-handedly.
But this time, there is no miracle, no seize-the-moment savior. No one is going to save Sakura. Other squads from Konoha don't have missions here and Kakashi's and the others' fate was probably already sealed as well.
It was then that Sasuke didn't think of Sakura saving him earlier was stupid. Because right now he wanted to do the same thing: defy all natural laws and risk everything to save her. But Sasuke was simply immobile, powerless to do so. Sakura will die after this and there's nothing he could do about it.
Sakura watched the behemoth at a safe distance. So far the goliath hadn't spotted the medic yet, which could work on the latter's advantage. The only obstacle was getting the Titan's full attention towards her. It's a dangerous move, getting a giant Chimera such as a Titan its full attention. With a Titan's full attention locked onto the victim, much worse lingering the encounter, could spell a lot of trouble for the prey.
Right now Sakura couldn't launch any attacks yet, but she had to act and fast. The Titan was only half a mile away from Tazuna's location and it's starting to wreck destruction around it, smashing trees down like toy bricks and demolishing the earth with its fists. If it goes any closer to the waterfall, Sakura grimly predicted, it could destroy the entire rock formation, caving Tazuna in if he doesn't escape in time.
Sakura used the remaining ammo in Sasuke's Bullseye and fired directly at the back of the Titan's head. She knew it was useless to kill a Titan with such a weapon, but she had to get its attention. Because most Chimeras have a high metabolic rate, their wounds heal very rapidly making them extremely difficult to kill. That makes killing a Titan even more daunting and dangerous despite how its weak spot – at least that's what the Kamikaze has taught its soldiers for decades – was its face.
"No matter what, I must remain calm. I must stay focused…."
She was interrupted by the creature's loud and enraged roar. The Titan angrily roared at the tiny nuisance, extremely enraged by the disturbance. The Titan charged toward its prey in a heartbeat, only to be caught off-guard with 2 grenades exploding near its face. With the Titan momentarily distracted and off-guard by the explosion, Sakura made her getaway. Sakura knew she had to be at a safe distance from the Chimera but at the same time make sure the Titan could still see where she was in order to chase her.
Flared with fury like the Hulk himself, the Titan became increasingly erratic and violent. Road rage was simply an understatement. The Titan chased the little pink human with great aggression, with the ground shook from every loud 'thump' its angry running soles made, leaving long and heavy cracks with its gigantic footprints. The giant's powerful fists slammed and punched anything obstructing its path, destroying everything in its wake.
All it knew was that it must kill this tiny nuisance of a cockroach permanently. Otherwise, it was unsatisfied to say the least. For the second time in one day, Sakura had to gamble her odds and fight for survival.
In such emergency situations, feelings of panic and level-headed thinking could be useful. In combat medic training (or any kind of military training for that matter), medics must have concentration. Without it the medic would become useless, for the medic's primary strength is his/her intelligence and vast medical knowledge to save lives. But too much thinking could also be counterproductive. If a medic thinks too much, especially fearful thoughts, the fear could sink in too deep; the medic would froze in fear as the danger edges closer. In such cases, panic could be a lifesaver; it jolts you back into reality and the will to survive pushes you to outrun the danger in order to survive and live another day.
So far, Sakura had maintained the balance between the two. Sakura kept her mind away from the wider perspective. Sakura thought of one and only one thing: run and don't look back. Sakura knew if she look back and saw that monster chasing her with red rage, she would've been too scared to run and that could be the end of her. Sakura could feel the adrenaline pumping in her blood, fueling her drive to survive.
"No. I must keep running. Run in an irregular pattern to keep that thing guessing."
Sakura kept that mantra in her head as she ran for her dear life, avoiding any falling debris the giant was throwing. Sakura's path of flight was purposefully inconsistent, randomly going into different directions. With such an irregular pattern, the Titan would be confused except to keep endlessly chasing her. All the while, Sakura mentally kept track of where she's going and where she should be heading: back to No-Man's Land where the Titan could cause little damage and Sakura could dodge its blows easier. At the same time, Sakura made sure she and the Titan would be nowhere near where Sasuke was hiding. With the Chimera this erratic and unstable, staying far (and I mean FAR) away might still not be safe enough.
Meanwhile, the Titan was getting increasingly impatient, frustrated, aggravated and now lashing out with more brute and unstable aggression. It pulled trees out of their roots like a child pulling grass out from the soil and tossing them all over the place, anywhere and anything that could eradicate this annoying pest. Sakura knew the longer she prolonged this wild-goose chase, the more dangerous this Titan would be. Sakura hoped that once she reached No Man's Land, things would get a little easier for her.
Because once it reaches No Man's Land the Titan has no trees to pull and throw at her. There's nothing but earth and rubble. The Titan has no weapons but its mighty fists which make both it and Sakura "evenly" matched. And that is exactly what Sakura had expected as they finally reached the clearing.
Dodging should be an easy task for the pink-haired medic. Emphasis of her training was placed on evading enemy attacks, as the death of the CM could mean the death of the team. And so Sakura was proficient at dodging attacks and made sure she stays at least 3 meters away from the Titan and its attacks. This was the only option Sakura had for the moment, hoping that by then Sasuke could move on his own and escape.
"Right now I should just keep dodging its punches and let it tires itself before I could counterattack."
Sakura tried her best to keep dodging the Titan's blows while trying to pinpoint Sasuke's location. Once she spotted him, Sakura tried – though with much difficulty since she's looking from such a long distance – to decipher whether Sasuke had recovered.
But something wasn't right. Sakura was momentarily preoccupied with her thoughts, trying to comprehend what had happened to the raven-haired soldier.
"Uchiha-san should be able to move now. Why is he still lying there?"
That would be Sakura's undoing as the powerful Titan threw a crushing fist directly towards her face.
Sasuke had tried to move his right arm and left leg. The numbness and the pain were gone. He could freely move but what now? Sasuke knew there's always a limit for everything. Sooner or later, the adrenaline fueling her will run out, draining her strength further. When that happens, the Titan will put an end to her. It's true the Titan, too, has its limits, but will probably take a bit longer than Sakura to actually tire itself out.
Sakura was fighting a losing battle.
"But why should I care?! Why am I standing here? She only thought of all this as an assignment, nothing more. It's not like she or I valued her life-"
Sasuke was trapped in a myriad of emotions. But all thoughts flew out the window when Sakura's confused and intense eyes pointing at him. Though Sasuke was perfectly concealed behind the bushes, he felt her eyes were pointing straight at him. Looking into her eyes, Sasuke knew Sakura was pleading him…but for what?
Their little "connection" was soon broken off when she was knocked out. Sakura was mere millimeters and milliseconds of her life when she barely dodged the Titan's attack that could've punched her head off her neck. Although its fist barely grazed her cheek, the force was enough to knock the wind out of her. Sasuke felt this foreign sensation in his chest when he saw Sakura landing from an awkward fall. Sasuke felt an indescribable chill as he watched Sakura struggling to push herself up. Alas Sakura's tired arms failed her as she collapsed back down on the field.
"She'll be ok…she can make it."
But when he saw the raging monster charging towards the struggling blossom and ready to give the final blow, Sasuke finally reached his breaking point. All restraints were loosened as Sasuke dashed and tackled the woman out of the Titan's path. With Sasuke's swift rescue, he momentarily escaped the Titan's execution, taking a flabbergasted Sakura with him.
"Uchiha-san, what are you doing?"
"The obvious." Sasuke smirked darkly. He knew he'd just signed his death warrant by revealing himself to save Sakura. "You can argue my judgment once we come out alive from this."
Sasuke shielded Sakura from the Titan's view, which infuriated the Chimera more. Sasuke couldn't detect any signs of exhaustion in the Chimera; its anger adding gas to the raging engine. As for Sakura, Sasuke knew she was trying to conceal her ragged breathing. Before either side could make a move….
BANG!!
Sasuke shielded Sakura from the unexpected blast before them. Sasuke continued to embrace the woman as the former Titan's dismembered limbs and tissues scattered everywhere, its dark-green blood splattering.
"Sasuke!"
Sasuke and Sakura released each other and saw Kakashi, with Naruto's LAARK in hand. By the captain's side were Naruto and Sai. The duo ran towards their captain, relieved to be reunited with their team and saved at the right moment. As the pair approached the others, Sakura noticed Sai was in and out of consciousness and Naruto was paler than usual. Without a word to neither of her superiors, Sakura ran back to the hiding place to get her medical supplies.
Meanwhile, Naruto was mumbling incoherent words, "Treat Sai first! He's dying…."
After Sakura placed Naruto to the side and began operating Sai, Sasuke and Kakashi discussed a few matters with each other.
"How did you find us, Kakashi."
"I followed your's and Sakura's scent…" then Kakashi's brows lowered as he saw the splattered Chimera. "Of course, hearing an angry Titan isn't hard."
Sasuke nodded in understanding, "Yeah…It just didn't make any sense. We're in the Triangle so it's heavily patrolled. How could Chimeras of such caliber pass through?"
"And it looked like they'd lingered here for awhile now. They'd executed the attack against us with precision," Kakashi then turned towards Sakura, who was now operating on Naruto. "Sakura, did you left Tazuna to go back and save Sasuke?"
Sakura was reluctant to confess to her superior she'd committed insubordination but she was "programmed" to be truthful. "Hai, Captain Hatake-sama. I left him in a shelter behind a waterfall not far from here."
"Sasuke, take Sai with you; I'll take Naruto. Sakura, take us to the waterfall."
"But sir! I'm not finished-"
"NOW!"
Scared witless by Kakashi's uncharacteristic outburst, Sasuke and Sakura silently obeyed the order.
Tazuna hugged his knees tighter against his chest as he felt the earth shook below him. Though the tremor was small and weak, it was still a disturbance nevertheless. Tazuna knew better than to think this was an earthquake. No…this felt like a Titan walking. Sometimes knowing too much is somewhat of a bad thing as Tazuna felt the footfalls becoming more apparent, coming closer towards his hiding spot. The scientist gripped Sakura's Sapper like it was his lifeline.
After long and excruciating 20 minutes, the rumbling grew weaker. The Titan was moving away. Tazuna finally breathed and his body became lax after that enormous mental stress.
After a few heavy pants, he breathed, "I'm out of danger."
Tazuna couldn't imagine what could've happened had the Titan not change its direction and continued its course. One thing he knew: he would've died, crushed to death by the behemoth. Even though he's out of danger, his life was still dangerously hanging by a thin thread.
"Maybe finding something to distract my worries could do me some good."
He took out a pocket-sized photo of his family from his coat pocket. It was a family full of joy and laughter. In the middle of the photo was his 11-month old grandson, in the loving arms of Tazuna's daughter. The mother's eyes had the beautiful motherly glow all women gained when they reached the stage of motherhood. It was a soft and beautiful glow that could never be fully described except beauty, warmth, and love. A muscular young man stood behind his wife and child, with his large strong hand holding his wife's shoulder supportively and lovingly. His huge silly grin showed all his pearly white teeth, a face that swelled with pride and contentment of having a loving family of his own.
Tazuna's eyes flickered between the image of his son-in-law and his slightly younger self, standing beside the young man. The image was of the younger Tazuna with a hearty laugh and a wistful hand on his son-in-law's head, like a father being proud of his son for achieving something great.
"I really missed those moments like this with you, Kaiza. You were like the son I've never had…and a father Inari could never replace in his heart even though he'd only knew you for 1 ½ years. Those were the happiest times of my life and I'm sure Tsunami felt the same thing. Even today I still had no regrets of having you into my family's life."
Tazuna forlorn smile quickly faded into a distant bereavement as the memories came.
"After you were suddenly gone, your family changed. We're no longer those joyful people in this picture you've taken. Tsunami worked hard to take care of the family never found another man; you're an irreplaceable man in her heart. Inari never had the fatherly encouragement all the other boys had; something I couldn't provide for him. Because of this your son was castigated from the rest of the children. If only…you didn't ended up like how I am right now."
The painful emotions had been clogged inside him this whole time that at last he could no longer contained them. The dam broke. Tazuna covered his face from the deluge of tears bursting from his eyelid as he choked into loud breathless sobs. Deep down, he knew what his fate will be; the same as his son-in-law.
"That foolish girl. No matter how hard she tries, history will always repeat itself. That's destiny."
Tazuna's emotional outpour stopped when he heard a deep moan further within the shelter. Tazuna held his breath once again, waiting for confirmation of his doubts. But there's only silence.
"Just my imagination"
But then he heard that sound again. This time, he could hear irregular footfalls. The footfalls were light and slow like a madman taking its time to stalk and kill its prey. The moaning grew in volume and so were the footsteps. Tazuna felt his heart was racing so fast, his chest hurt. Sweat mixed with tears as it drenched his body from head to toe.
As much as he wished to deny it, Tazuna knew there's someone or something sharing this rock shelter with him and it didn't feel pleasant…and slowly approaching towards him.
Tazuna's feet were heavy as concrete and glued to the ground. His mind just shut down, unable to think except to hold Sakura's Sapper, waiting for this grizzly apparition to appear. When the "apparition" finally revealed itself, the man finally exhaled forming a whimper in his throat.
Despite being the weakest of all the Chimeras, Tazuna was spellbound by fear before this frail Menial. Cold sweat drizzled down his body as his body shook like he had bathed in a tub full of ice. With feeble attempts, Tazuna stumbled backwards and the Sapper pointed at the Chimera.
"D-Don't come any closer!"
The trigger went off and the Sapper released several organic sphere mines before the "pursuing" Menial. Menials are not only the weakest of the Chimeras, but also the dumbest; this one didn't even try to avoid the mines and walked straight into them. Tazuna sighed in relief as the detonated on the Chimera.
"It's over."
But his celebration was cut short when Tazuna noticed something in the Menial's arms. It was a large glass spherical object with fluorescent matter inside. Immediately, the old man's face paled as the unusual object was about to land on the ground along with its owner. Tazuna knew what that object was and quickly turn to escape the shelter.
"Bomb!"
"Just how far are we?"
Kakashi asked impatiently as Sakura led him and Sasuke along the river. Even Sasuke winced from Kakashi's unusually harsh tone. Sasuke knew Kakashi as someone who could keep his cool under the most dangerous circumstances. But now it's like seeing a wholly different individual.
Kakashi noticed the uncomfortable atmosphere he created and sighed, "I'm sorry for worrying you. But Tazuna has no combat experience and we've had ourselves in unexpected circumstances neither of us would've predicted. So having him on his own for such a period of time could be risky."
"I can't have history repeating itself again. Not like this," he mentally added.
But Sasuke wouldn't leave it at that. Ever since the team met Tazuna, Sasuke had his suspicions about Tazuna's connections with Kakashi. This all stemmed from Tazuna's and Kakashi's cryptic conversation with each other when they'd met.
"-Sakura, how long have you left Tazuna at the waterfall?"
"Well over 2 ½ hours, Captain Hatake-sama. We'll arrive in 5 minutes. I'm sure things will go smoothly-"
Everything stopped when they heard a distant explosion. It came from the waterfall.
Sakura paled, with hundreds of possibilities racing through her mind. She pumped more energy in her legs to reach the destination quicker. All the while, her heart raced even faster, fearing the worst.
Once she got to the waterfall, Sakura saw some smoke behind the cascading water.
"Tazuna-sama! I've returned!"
Her fear intensified; no answer.
Sakura rushed behind the shelter and covered her mouth at the sight before her, as it will be for Sasuke and Kakashi once they arrived.
Right before her very eyes was the body of the elderly man, burnt beyond recognition. The only thing that identified the corpse was the partially burnt photo of the deceased and its family, hidden in its protective fist.
End of Chapter Six
!!SNEAK PEEK!!
NEXT CHAPTER: The Combat Medic's Burden
"You are a filthy damned manslayer, you worthless good-for-nothing!!"
Sakura's mind was so spaced out from her words, Sakura didn't even feel the angry hand that had just slapped her face. Sakura wouldn't mind the woman's actions...but her distinct words worsen the wounds that only Sakura understood. Sakura tried with all her power not to crack her mask, not cry, not show anything in front of her superiors, who were in actuality, adding tons of salt to her bleeding heart.
