Withered Black Flower:
By:Terrified of Logic
Beta-ed by the ama-zing Kisa Kisa Yum Yum
With help from the awesome KinkyK and JazzyJ
Sakura's eyes flew open. She was lying on a hospital bed with multiple bandages wrapped around her body, but she sensed that none of the wounds were serious. She turned her head to the window, the cause of her early arousal. Lifting a hand to block the sunlight, she squinted, then let her hand fall back to the bed with a soft thump. She closed her eyes and frowned.
Sasuke. He was back, and she let him escape for the second time. Damnit. It wouldn't happen again.
Sakura sat up in bed hunched over as a nurse came in. "Ah, Haruno san, you're awake. You're free to go anytime you want," she said kindly.
"Thank you, Shizuka chan," Sakura replied on autopilot, not really hearing the kind nurse's words.
Although Sakura was younger than Shizuka by several years, Sakura was the most capable kunoichi in the hospital and by far the cleverest. This was not an overnight transformation. Sakura earned her status as the strongest most capable kunoichi with time and effort. She was treated with respect; if she requested something, no questions would be asked.
Sakura decided to get up and kicked off the covers, leaving the room. Making her way upstairs she visited the intensive care unit for long term patients. The furthest bed nearest to the window was what she aimed for. From that window you could see the Hokage's heads carved into the mountain.
"Tsunade sama," Sakura greeted her teacher, whose eyes remained shut. She picked up a pen and notebook from inside a drawer in the bedside table, which she unlocked with a key combining chakra.
"How are we feeling today?" Sakura asked, false cheeriness in her voice.
"The poison has completely dissolved into my blood stream and it is affecting my lungs. The poison itself, I believe, penetrated my immune system and is starting to rise to the surface of my skin," Tsunade rattled off professionally.
Sakura wrote it all down; she was glad Tsunade sama was her patient. She knew how to make a medic nin's life so much easier. She added more details to the notebook, noting with dissatisfaction all the changes were not positive and were not moving in the direction to recovery.
"Tsunade sama, Sasuke has returned to Fire country." She bit her lip.
"Really."
"Yes. I...nothing."
"Sakura. Round up Kusagakure shinobi. They are the only ones who can help us now," Tsunade said. The intravenous tube was feeding nutrition and supplement to her bloodstream, but both knew there was really no point when the poison had completely saturated the cells. But it was a comforting illusion of help and both turned a blind eye to the medical instrument.
"Yes, Shishou." Sakura bowed her head once. "It's as good as done."
"Good Sakura. I know you will do well."
"Tsunade sama..."
"What Sakura?"
"...It's nothing."
Sakura paused as she looked over the track record of Tsunade's body health and condition. She sat cross legged in her modest apartment, travel equipment strewn all around her. Special senbon laced with deadly poison, kunai sharpened to perfection and shuriken littered the floor like coins. She had to be careful where exactly she placed her foot or she would be in trouble. There was a medical kit which she hoped she would never use and dried food for the one week journey.
She reread the journal from page one, hoping that as much as she analyzed it she would find a hint to the cure that would bring Tsunade sama back from the path of Death she was currently traveling on.
Day One:
Tsunade's body is having difficulty moving. Her body is in shock trying to counteract the poison. It would seem that it is affecting the walls of her stomach. She is constantly cringing in pain, trying to curl into fetal position. Pupils have dilated and mouth is often dry.
Day Two:
Her body cannot move without help. Legs have been thinned due to know circulation of blood. Toes have completely lost sense and are very quickly turning purple. It is as I have suspected, the poison is slowly melting the stomach and spreading. I have tried every antidote in the hospital and I am now trying herbs and chakra-infused antibiotics.
Day Three:
The body has completely stopped moving, but she is still capable of speech. The herbs have not worked, but I am still working on it. Chakra signs are growing weaker and weaker. The inner coil is becoming smaller and smaller. The coil burns brightest at the core, holding the most amount of chakra but it is still not enough. Legs are completely motionless and half the stomach has melted. I have stopped the melting by chakra, sealing off intact skin from the melted acids, but it is not permanent. Skin colour is pallid.
Day Four:
Tsunade is still capable of speech; however her eyes have closed permanently. There is no way to open them. It is as if the muscle holding the eyelid has completely deteriorated. Most of her lower body muscle is weak or deteriorated. I have noticed from the pressure points, most commonly known as chakra holes, chakra has been leaking through them, leaving the body temperature cold and weak. It is now necessary to use intravenous.
Day Five:
The poison has completely dissolved into the blood stream and it is affecting the lungs. The poison itself penetrated the immune system and is starting to rise to the surface of the skin leaving it purple and blotchy. Hair is limp and she is losing a lot of it in clumps. Hot water bottles and necessary precautions have been taken to recreate the official body temperature. Separate chakra sources have been given as shots every three hours or so, but the body is losing more chakra than it is receiving.
And this was in one whole week. Sakura shuddered; how long would Shishou last? At this rate less than...
"A month," she whispered to herself. It was most crucial that she find the antidote. Every moment was precious and could not afford to be wasted. Being a Sannin had its advantages. She was stronger than most shinobi, she had a lot more chakra but even then, the ratio was still considered low.
Sakura packed all her things into a backpack. She felt safe going to Kusagakure because she knew some shinobi and were good friends with them. But as a precaution, and out of habit, she knew someone else who she wanted to come with her.
"Naruto!" Sakura knocked fiercely on his door the next morning. A bleary-eyed Naruto opened it. He still wore that night cap that looked like it had grabbed hold of his head while he slept. Sakura gave a quick smile. "Are you ready to go?" she asked.
"What are you-" Naruto asked, face pulling into a look of severe confusion.
"Naruto!" Sakura yelled. Stomping her foot, she rolled up her arm protectors and dropped her backpack. "I told you yesterday we would be leaving on a mission today!"
"Oh yeah…," he replied sheepishly, scratching his head. " Sorry, Sakura chan..."
"You've got five minutes, I'll be waiting at the Gate, or what's left of it. If you don't come then, I can safely assume you're not coming."
She turned on her heel, jumped onto the nearest roof, and was gone. Naruto pulled a face and retreated back into the house mumbling about how Sakura was always too high-strung.
Sakura knelt down to the rubble and picked up a piece of wood. One side was a bright red and the other a dark brown with several splintered points. She rubbed the red paint on the wood and sighed. She placed the piece of wood near another piece of wood in the pile. Destroyed, utterly ruined.
She heard the sound of running and looked up to see Naruto fully dressed with a backpack identical to hers.
"Lets go."
"Where are we going?" Naruto asked, darting through the trees next to Sakura, who looked like a red and pink blur.
"Kusagakure, I told you that," came the short reply.
"Hey isn't that where-"
"Sasuke attacked several days ago? Yes, we're going to have to be careful, they might not take too kindly to us, but I've got some connections that might help us." Sakura said, interrupting him. Naruto had been going to say, 'Where you, me, Kakashi, and Sasuke went on a mission, and then had a picnic in the field, when he was looking up at the clouds as if almost sad...' It was one of their last missions. Had Sasuke known that he was going to betray Konoha? Had he known that he was going hurt Sakura beyond recognition? Perhaps. Maybe Sakura didn't want to remember that day, or maybe she simply forgot. That was unlikely. Naruto focused on the branches and the thickets that whizzed past him, losing his thoughts in the green and brown.
"Ne, Naruto," Sakura said after a moment of silence. Naruto risked a side glance at her. She didn't look at him, avoiding his glance and staring dead ahead, but not looking at anything in particular.
"Yeah?"
"Last night...when I was..." She couldn't say 'unconscious', it was a painful reminder, and Sasuke had plainly told her 'weak', and she was. It wouldn't happen again, she promised herself.
"Sakura chan, you're strong. Remember that." He knew her well. "Sasuke will regret ever touching you," he said menacingly.
After an hour, they stopped near a stream to recharge some chakra. The day was hot and scorching, but the river felt cool on Sakura's smooth unblemished legs. She watched, amused, as Naruto stripped down to his underwear, and yelled as he dove into the blue river, spraying water everywhere. Her laugh was weak and fake as she was forced to remembered the last time she was here. There had been one more person but she was more than happy to erase him from her memory. Or was she?
The sun hid itself behind a cloud, taking all its precious unwanted heat with it. In thirty minutes they would arrive at Kusagakure. Perhaps they would take kindly to her, maybe they would forget the brooding ninja that had attacked their village days ago. Hopefully they would not remember that he was a part of their...team. So long ago, maybe it was an illusion. She wasn't sure of anything anymore these days, and it was scaring her.
"Sakura!?" The two Shinobi turned around at the sound of two bodies dropping gracefully from the forest to the turf.
"Yes-"
"It's been a long time! How are you?" she asked, embracing the kunoichi.
"We are well, but Konohagakure... We need your help."
The two kunoichi nodded seriously and took her by her arm, leading her into the village. Naruto walked beside them, listening carefully to what they had to say. But he wasn't really listening. He was thinking of Konoha, destroyed and ruined by that bastard who hurt Sakura. If they met again, he would show him, just how much he had hurt her.
Deep in the forest, a dark redheaded kunoichi stripped off her top and sat cross legged next to her teammate who struggled to sit up.
"So much chakra… drained in one go," he muttered in awe and anger. Respect for the Nine Tails? Never in a thousand years. He cursed himself once more, feeling sick with self-criticism.
"Hurry," The red headed kunoichi said, half naked. Her upper torso was covered in bite marks, especially around her neck. "You're losing too much chakra." She leaned forward, presenting her neck to him.
She wrapped a hand around the back of his neck and he leaned in, placing his mouth on her neck and sinking his teeth into her flesh easily, like a hot knife through butter. She moaned throatily, truly enjoying herself though the same couldn't be said of Sasuke. He drew in chakra, feeling it rush through this chakra channels. If his normal chakra felt blue, this felt green and foreign, different and not what he was used to.
"This injury has cost me," Sasuke said indifferently, not really talking to Karin. She buttoned up her shirt and stood up. A small plink sounded, followed by more. Rain started pouring down but they didn't get wet for they were under the canopy of trees.
"Go to Oto, we'll camp there tonight."
Back on his two feet and able, both shinobi blended into the night without another sound.