"Hold your firer." I warn to those around me. "We can't risk hitting her."
"What are we going to do Kakashi-Sensei?" Naruto was next to keep, barely standing. His levels were too low, we needed to get him to a hospital.
"Sasuke isn't flying away with her, in fact it looks like he is coming our way. Kiba!" The young man on the cliff looks at me. "Have Akamaru locked onto Sakura's scent in case we need to pursue after them." He nods and I can see the dog begin to sniff around. "Don't worry Naruto we won't let him have her, not without a fight."
We all stood still on the beach watching them in the sky. What are they doing? Is Sasuke trying to make up his mind on what to do or is he just trying to buy time until his reinforcements come? Everyone was ready to fight so it didn't matter. We had the numbers and the skill needed. We were getting her back.
"Kakashi it seems he is coming to us." Neji's byakugan was watching him like a hawk and my sharingan had to agree.
Within minutes Sasuke was hovering above the beach and I could make out a light pink glow around him. So she put up a protective shield around him. He glanced at everyone before landing right on the water line, a couple of yards from our forces. Sasuke glanced at Sakura before looking up and locking eyes with Naruto.
"Naruto." Sasuke called him over. Everyone stayed back as Naruto made his way toward them. It didn't seem like a trap but our guards weren't lowered.
Naruto stood in front of Sasuke with his hands held out. Sasuke looked at Sakura one final time before slowly shifting her out of his hands and into Naruto's. A loud whimper escaped her lips, and I knew she had to be badly injured. Naruto softly shifted her weight trying to take pressure off whatever was hurting her. "Thank you for the help Sasuke." Naruto flashed him a smile. Something happened between the three of them up on that ship.
"Look after her dobe." Naruto nodded and Sasuke flew up into the sky and out of sight.
"Do we go after him?" Sai asked his breast scroll ready just in case.
"No let him go." I instructed as I carefully watched Naruto bring Sakura to us. Her eyes were closed and she was in bad shape. She was covered in dirt and blood. A faint blood trail ran down her face from her eyes, and a large blood trail ran down the side of her face from somewhere in her hair.
"Naruto set her down so I can have a look at her." Ino was quick to Naruto's side.
"Ahh!" Her eyes opened and she cried out in pain as Naruto gently laid her in the sand. Her eyes bounced all around but they didn't focus on anything. Her breathes came in fast and shallow.
"Sakura what's wrong?" Ino asked already beginning her examination. Sakura didn't respond as she shut her eyes and tried to calm her breathing. "Oh no."
"What's wrong?" I ask kneeling down next to Naruto.
"Ino I-need you-to snap it back into-place." Sakura's eyes open and lock on Ino.
"Sakura I can't. You need to be medicated before I can do either of those. We need to get you to the hospital."
"No!" Sakura sits up quickly grabbing Ino's hand. "I can't be-transported, not like this. It hurts to-bad and being carried will make it-wor-se."
"Sakura I can't I don't know-"
"Ino. Lady Tsuna-de tau-ght you. I know it won't be ple-asant but-I need you to con-tinue regardless if I scream-or pass out."
"What is going on?" Naruto snaps.
"Her right shoulder has been dislocated along with her left knee. Her right wrist is broken and her left ankle is fractured. A couple of her ribs are broken as well, one of which I am sure is puckering her lung."
"Don't foc-us on that now I-no. Pop it b-ack into place." Sakura looked at Ino and she nodded. "Okay grab my ar-m by my bicep and slo-wly pull back into yo-u hear it p-op. Wha-tever you do don't sto-p until you do." Ino moved to the right of her and grabbed her arm. Slowly Ino began pulling and Sakura shut her eyes, biting her lip.
Ino pulled a little harder and Sakura reached out and grab my hand. She held on tight, shaking as her pain increased. I felt so helpless. There was nothing I could do to make the pain stop. Pop! Ino slowly slide her arm back down. Sakura opened her eyes and took a deep breath. "Now-the kne-e In-o."
"Sakura that one is going to hurt more than-"
"I know. B-ut it nee-ds to be done befo-re I am tra-nspo-rted." I repositioned myself behind Sakura and allowed her to slowly lean back, her head resting on my lap, closing her eyes. Her body laid flat, her left leg fully extended out. I could see when the knee was slightly sticking out. Ino placed her hands on either side of the knee. "Qui-ckly mov-e it to the ri-ght un-til you fe-el it sli-de into place. I kno-w you ca-n do this I-no."
In a quick movement her knee was back into place. "MMMMMMHHHHH!" Sakura whimpered loudly and then all of a sudden stopped squeezing my hand.
"Is it done Ino?" I ask hoping the torture was done.
"Yes. Sakura how are you feeling?" Ino asked her hands glowing green trying to fix some of the damage done. "Sakura?"
No response.
"Sakura?" Naruto reached down to shake her but I grabbed his hand.
"Naruto she just passed out from the pain. We need to be very careful with how we touch her, we don't want to cause any more damage."
"Right sorry…"
"Sai created one of your birds, we need to get to Lady Tsunade right away." I very carefully picked up her head and allowed it to lay flat in the sand. Her beautiful hair was laid out around her, and she looked as if she could have been an angle of war or death. While her uniform was still intact there were cuts throughout it and that perfect skin of hers was starting to turn ugly shades of yellow and blue. "Ino is she stable enough to transport?"
"Yes, but her chest needs to be as flat as possible."
I nodded and very carefully scooped her up into my arms. "Is this flat enough Ino?" She nodded yes. "Guy make sure the area is swept for any more enemy and that the villagers are taken care of."
"You can count on me." Guy gave me a thumbs up, but it was less enthusiastic than what he was known for. He was worried, I could tell everyone on the beach was.
"Naruto, Sai, let's go." We climbed onto Sai's bird and I gripped her as tight as I could as we took off toward Konoha.
"What are you going to do with her Master?" Fui stood in front of Danzo's desk, finally recovered from his last mission with the pink haired kunoichi. A file was in Danzo's grasp as his one visible eye examined the documents.
"Nothing for the time being." The file contained pictures and reports of the attack on the village. "What time did we first start getting reports of seeing Sakura back inside the village?"
"About five minutes after the first bomb was released."
"She followed protocol. I do not wish to discourage her form doing it a second time."
"What about her new powers?"
"Nothing. You are to stay at a distance and continue to monitor her. Her new found powers are of interest but for now the matter will drop. All this proves is that the experiment was successful and soon her true abilities will be able to be unleased. She will become the Leaf's ultimate weapon."
"Yes my Lord." Fui quickly bowed and existed the office to track down their cherry blossom. To say he was surprised at her new found powers was an understatement. No one in the foundation would have thought the experiment would have been successful. So many died trying the infusion that everyone thought it was by dumb luck when Sakura had survived. But now she wasn't just surviving, she was making these powers her own.
Danzo flipped through the photos over and over again. Only in his wildness dreams did he think she would be able to unlock these powers. When she didn't react right away he thought it hadn't fused. It wasn't until three months later when she reported that her eyes could know glow green and almost act like a sharingan that she showed signs it had bonded with her. It didn't matter that she wasn't an Uchiha, she now had their abilities, without the risk.
Beep…Beep…Beep…Beep…
The small hospital room was dark and quite. The only sounds that could be heard was the machine next to her bed beeping, signaling her heart was still beating and the soft inhale and exhale of breath from those in the room. It had been six hours since we brought Sakura to the hospital and she hadn't woken up since Ino snapped her knee back into place. I was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room. I was tired and struggling to stay awake. I had already dozed off twice, only waking when the door would tap my chair, signaling a new person coming into the room.
When we made it to the hospital Sakura was taken into surgery right away. Granny had explained that one of her ribs had been broken and was being pushed into her lung, making it hard to breath. Granny said the surgery was a simple one and that it was completed with no complications. Sakura was expected to be okay, however a pit was developing in my stomach as the hours grew on, telling me she would be anything but.
She took hit after hit after hit, and kept standing back up. I should have made her return to the Leaf Village after we first fought the Zero-Tails. I should have fought her harder and made her leave. I should have been stronger. I should have been able to take the Zero-Tails down the first time. I should have been able to protect her!
I gripped the arm rests on the chair as the anger quickly replaced my tiredness. She was in that hospital bed because of me. I need her to be awake! I needed her to be okay! We needed to talk. So many questions had arisen during that fight that I just had to ask her. What were those markings that appeared all over her? When did she become a master swordsmen? Why did she keep getting up if she was hurt that bad? How was she able to continue to fight in that condition?
Hearing her cry out in pain made me want to cry. When she reached out and grabbed Kakashi's hand I knew it had to be pretty bad. Our talk in her apartment made it clear that their relationship was complicated. Before she left for Suna she made it pretty clear she was pissed off at both Yamato and Kakashi. Yet when she was in pain she reached for Kakashi, not me. Maybe there was more going on than she wanted to share. The anger was slowly fading as the sadness crept back in.
There Kakashi sat, in the same uncomfortable hospital chair as me, holding her hand. He had only let go of her once since picking her up from the beach and that was when she was taken into surgery. He had sat next to her, holding her hand the entire time. Maybe he was afraid if he left go something would happen. It was hard to tell what was going through Kakashi's head. He sat so still and calm like, but his headband was pushed up and his eyes stayed glued on her. His sharingan was activated and it glowed a little in the dimly light room.
Yamato and Sai leaned against the window seal. We were all here. We would all be here when she woke up. She would have her team here to lean on if she needed it, she wouldn't have to run away to the Sand to get support, not anymore.
The door was pushed open slightly and light escaped in from the hallway. Tsunade pushed the door the rest of the way open and walked in flicking on the lights, a medical file in her hand. I hissed at the sudden increase of light and sat up straighter once my eyes adjusted. Tsunade looked tired. Her pony tails were lose and there dark circles forming beneath her eyes. Between the attack yesterday and all the situations today she had to be running out of steam. I got up from my chair, offering it to her, which she gladly took. She basically collapsed into the seat and let out a long sigh.
"What's going on with her Granny?" Tsunade's face twisted for a moment and it felt like a sucker punch to the gut.
"She's okay Naruto." Tsunade flipped open her file and began skimming it, "but she took on a lot of damage. It's going to take time for her to heal. Probably a month or two."
"How much damage Tsunade?" Kakashi finally looked up from Sakura, switching his attention to our worn out Hokage.
"She broke 3 ribs, one of which was puckering her left lung. Another 4 ribs were severally bruised. Her left ankle was fractured, her right wrist broken. Ino already popped her right shoulder and left knee back into place, but both areas will be sore and bruised. She needed four stiches on the right side of her head right above the start of her hairline. She has chakra burns on both arms and her chakra levels are still low, but no longer dangerous." Tsunade looked up from her files, shaking her head slightly. "She is going to be in pain for a while, but none of her injuries are life threatening."
"Thank goodness." Yamato breathed standing up from the window seal.
"Hokage-sama how was she able to fight with all those injuries?" Sai looked at me. "You said she took hit after hit, surely she didn't get all the injuries at once. Why didn't she just stay down?"
"Because that's not who she is." Kakashi said, his eyes already refocused on Sakura. I wanted to cry all over again looking at her lying in the hospital bed. All the blood and dirt had been cleaned off of her but now the bruising was visible. A nasal cannulas was placed on her, hoping to get her oxygen levels back up. Her blanket was tucked loosely around her body, her arms on top. White wrapping covered both arms up to her elbows, her right wrist had a black cast. I could only imagine how the rest of her body looked.
"I've kept her heavily sedated but I am going to start easing her out of it. But there is no way to tell when she will wake up. Why don't you boys go get something to eat, I'll sit with her until you get back." I looked over at Sai and Yamato and they seemed to like the idea. "Don't worry, she won't be waking up anytime soon. You'll have time to eat, shower and come back before the chance of her waking up even starts."
"Go, I'll wait with her." Kakashi ordered, still not looking up at us.
"Come on Naruto, my treat." Yamato placed a hand on my shoulder and we all walked out, shutting the door behind us.
"How are you feeling Naruto?" Sai flashed a smile my way as we walked pass the waiting room. I didn't get a chance to answer because I am caught off guard with the number of people in the waiting room.
There stood the Konoha 11: Kiba, Shino, Hinata, TennTenn, Neji, Rock Lee, Ino, Shikamaru and Choji. I was so shocked all I could do was stand there, staring at my friends, I didn't even notice Ino had gotten up from her seat until she was right in front of me, wrapping her arms around my waist. My arms automatically wrapped around her and I could feel her shake against me. "Naruto…is she ok-ay?" Ino's voice broke on her words and I knew she was crying.
I tightened my hands around her. "Yeah." It was all I could get out as I felt the familiar sting in my eyes as the tears ran down my checks. "Yeah she is okay. But she isn't awake yet." Ino wiggled out of our hug and started whipping her eyes.
"Naruto-kun are you alright?" Hinata asked walking up to us and placing an arm around Ino.
"Yeah….I'm so happy you all came…" I wiped my tears on my sleeve and sent them a smile. The pit was slowly starting to fade away. Granny said she was going to be okay. Our friends were all here to support Sakura. Somehow I knew everything was going to be okay.
Tsunade adjusted her medication the minute the boys left. It had been thirty minutes since they left and Sakura hadn't even moved. I was starting to get worried. Tsunade said she was going to be okay, but I knew her recovery was going to be difficult. When Sakura was in surgery Naruto had explained what had happened in detailed. I was at a loss for words. As I held her hand I couldn't help but feel as if she was a whole different person from that little girl I first meet all those years ago.
I gripped her hand tighter and could feel just how low her charka was. My sharingan stayed locked on her, not trusting the machines to detect if something was wrong with her. Her wounds where no longer life threatening but that doesn't mean she is in the clear. Tsunade had left about five minutes ago in search of coffee, leaving us alone in the room.
Using my free hand I reached up and brushed some of the strains of hair that had somehow manage to fall in her face. "Sakura I'm sorry. It seems I'm always two steps behind and are never there in time to protect you." My voice was in a soft whisper and I felt small and weak. Sakura was a precious person to me...but it seems I am never strong enough to protect the ones that are close to me. Maybe it's my fate to be alone, maybe I just need to keep my distance from her. I lifted our jointed hands slightly and pressed my forehead to her hand, wanting to feel her warmth. I leaned into to the back of her hand and absorbed her warmth.
"Mmmmmm..." she soft moaning suddenly filled the room and my head shot up to see her eyes slightly open.
"Sa-kura?" I questioned never once letting go of her hand.
"Owe...why does everything hu-rt?" She eyes locked with mine, but confusion was written on her face. The room was very dark, but her emerald eyes always showed her emotion.
"You were in a fight Sakura. Do you not remember?"
She lightly shock her head and then smiled, gripping my hand. "Ni-san I'm so glad you are here...I was worried about you." Her smiled fade and I straightened in my chair. Ni-san? It didn't make any sense. "Your eyes...why is only one activated are you hurt?" She slowly moved her hand out of mine and placed in on the side of my check.
I could feel her charka slowly being pushed inside of me and I quickly pulled her hand from me. "I'm alright Sakura-chan, but you're hurt, I need you to save your charka."
"I'm sleepy ni-san." She yawned, her smile slightly returning.
"Go to sleep Sakura, its alright."
"No...you won't be here when I wake up." She gave me a childish pout and if I had known what the hell was going on I would have chuckled at it.
"I promise I'll be here when you wake up." I smiled trying to reassure her.
"Promise?" I nodded my head yes. "Please be here, I've missed you so much. It hurts that you aren't with me anymore." She gripped my hand harder.
"I will always be here for you, I promise."
"I know and you didn't want to leave me, but I'm lost and I need you here with me."
"What are you talking about Sakura?"
"I...I made a mistake and now he has control...I'm sorry ni-san there wasn't much choice. I was just trying to protect them, like you were."
"What mistake did you make Sakura?" I tried smiling again, trying to keep her talking but her eyelids where struggling to stay open. "Who is in control?"
"Ni-san I'm sorry...I promise to make it right...all of it..." Her hand went limp in mine and I knew she was asleep. What was she talking about? Mistake? Was she talking about the foundation or was there something else she had been keeping a secret? It was obvious she thought I was someone else, the question was who? Sakura was an only child so who did she consider to be a brother?
2 days, 48 hours, 2,800 minutes, 172,800 seconds
Either way I chose to break down the time it felt like an eternity since those beautiful eyes of hers opened. Our last conversation had been running through my head all day and a headache was starting to develop from the overthinking and lack of sleep. Who was she talking about? What mistake? Who was in control? A gut feeling told me Danzo was probably the one in control and it didn't sit well with me. Was the mistake joining the foundation, or was there more at stake than we realized?
I left out a long breathe and rub my eyes. It had been a long couple of days and I was tired both mentally and physically. I had only left the hospital twice, in order to go home, shower and change. I would only leave her side for thirty minutes, afraid something would happen if I was gone too long. My back was beginning to ache from the uncomfortable chair so I stood up and leaned against the window, closing my eyes. Right now only Yamato and I were in her room. Tsunade had come in once an hour since this morning and every two hours Ino would come in and tend to her wounds. We sent Naruto and Sai out an hour ago to stretch their legs and get something to eat. Naruto didn't need to be locked up in this room 24/7. He was still injured and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he blamed himself for her getting hurt.
Naruto staring at her for hours on end, waiting to see if and when she will wake up was torture. It was only by some miracle that Lady Tsunade was able to convince him that he needed to go home to sleep at night. She reassured him that if anything was to change with Sakura's condition that someone would come to fetch him right away. However, due to the attack Naruto's apartment building was closed for reconstruction. But it seemed Naruto found some comfort sleeping at Sakura's, maybe he felt safe and protect there.
"You alright?" Yamato's questions brings me out of my thoughts. I open my eyes giving him a slight node of the head, as I cross my arms across my chest. Ino had pulled the blinds up when she left and now the afternoon sunlight poured into the room. Sakura was looking better, the bruises slowly disappearing and her skin was returning a healthier shade of pink. Balloons, flowers and stuff animals now littered the hospital room. Tsunade had now deemed Sakura in a well enough state to get visitors, even if she wasn't awake. Lady Tsunade seemed to think having her friends around her would be beneficial.
I'm not so sure I agree, but I wasn't going to challenge her on it. When Naruto had gotten back from dinner the first night he explained that everyone was waiting and eager to see if she was alright. A small smile tucked on the corner of my lips, she meant so much too so many people. I wonder if she knows how special she is. Everyone seemed to agree that if Sakura hadn't come home when she did, things would have been a lot worse.
When Asuma and his team first came in to see Sakura I expected Ino to cry but was taken back when Choji was the one balling the hardest between the two. He explained that Sakura had saved his life at the last possible moment. Even Shikamaru commented that the shields that she put up on the rooftops saved his assed once or twice form being hurt. When Guy's team came in Rock Lee had to leave after five minutes because he couldn't clam down enough to stop crying. Everyone that came in to see her were upset by the condition she was in. Luckily it seemed that after seeing her yesterday, and learning that she was going to be okay, had kept most of them from stopping by today. Hinata had come by in the morning to check on her and was sweet enough to bring us coffee and muffins. Rock Lee had come in around ten to drop off more flowers before quickly leaving for training with Guy.
So now it was just me and Yamato. I turn my attention to him and see he too is starting to feel the side effects of being at the hospital. Yamato stayed with me at night and would go home in the morning to catch some sleep and shower when Naruto and Sai would come in. We made sure she was never left alone, someone would be here with her when she woke up. She would never have to be alone again, her team was here for her…I was here for her….
"Have you given any more thought as to who she was talking about?" Yamato was sitting by the door, his hands behind his head supporting his neck as he leaned back.
"It has to be an Uchiha. She asked why one of my eyes had the sharingan. But Sakura is an only child with no blood connection to the Uchiha clan."
"You don't have to be blood to consider someone family Senpai."
"I know. But there is only two Uchiha's left. And I doubt Sakura considered Sasuke a brother after chasing him around when they were younger. And Sakura was just a child when the clan was killed and Itachi left the village." I took a deep breath and my eyes fell back on Sakura. Why is it always one step forward, five steps back with you?
"Do you think the medical file and book are related?"
I node, they have to be. Somehow everything she is hiding is connected. "But I doubt we will know anything until she wakes up, and even then she won't tell us willingly." Yamato sighed in agreement and silence filled the room as we both fought sleep.
The sunlight was warming my back and slowly relaxing me. I shut my eyes and was breathing almost in step with the machine that was beeping. I felt my head become heavy and was slowly drifting to sleep.
"Any updates Ino?"
"She is healing Naruto. But nothing has changed from the last time I was in here." I lean back in my chair, running my hands through my hair. It had been a long couple of days and I was going a little stir crazy after being in this room for hours on end. Every two hours it was the same thing. Ino would come into the room and work on healing Sakura and I'd ask how things were going, only to be given the same response every two hours for days.
I glanced over at Sai so was sitting in a chair opposite from me, staring at Sakura. He hadn't said much, but Sai never really was a talker. When we had come back from lunch we walked in on Yamato and Kakashi-sensei sleeping and somehow convinced them to go home for a couple hours to sleep. Kakashi didn't want to leave her, but it was doing neither one of them any good. Sakura was unconscious and he couldn't keep his eyes open.
"Is she in any pain?" Sai asked finally taking his eyes off Sakura and looking at Ino.
"She shouldn't be, Lady Tsunade has her on some serious pain killers." Ino flashed him a small smile. If I hadn't been so emotionally and physically exhausted I might have sworn she wore a slight blush, but I was too tired to care. "She could wake up any minute. Her injuries are healing nicely, but her charka is taking time to build back up. Lady Tsunade seems to think she suffered from charka exhaustion, which is while she hasn't woken up yet." Ino stopped healing Sakura and scribbled something on her charts, before reattaching them on the foot of the bed. "She is going to be fine, she just needs rest." Ino flashed us another smile before walking out of the room.
We sat in silence for a little while long, our eyes bouncing from Sakura to each other and then back to Sakura. Sai had explained to me what Sakura did when we were attacked. Sakura had appeared out of nowhere and was able to release her chakra all throughout the village, while still fighting. I couldn't even begin to wrap my mind around how much charka control that took. If she hadn't shown up….I didn't even want to think what would have happen. If Sasuke hadn't shown up, would we have been able to make the Zero Tails down? If Sasuke hadn't shown up, what would have happened to Sakura?
"Naruto?" Sai's voice brings me out of my inner pity party and back to reality. I node my head showing him he now had my attention. "When you and Sakura were fighting, did you omit anything form your report to Lady Tsunade?" The look on Sai's face was blank, but his words had so much meaning behind them. His eyes weren't glaring, but they were focused on mine.
"Was there something you didn't tell me Sai?" I question straightening up. Sai remained quiet, his face his blank. This was the first time Sai and I were left alone since this whole mess started. When we would go grab food, we always ran into someone who insisted they join, and when in the hospital Ino, Tsunade, Yamato or Kakashi were always with us. "You know something about Sakura, don't you?"
"I think I know the same thing you do, but I don't want to expose her secret if you don't."
I let his words sink in for a moment. I didn't want to revel her secret either, but it seemed like Sai and I were on the same page. "I saw something on her skin."
"Black marking." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Sai had seen it too. I node my head yes. "When I catch her falling, black symbols were all over her skin."
"When we fought the Zero Tails, the marking would appear and disappear throughout the fight." So we had both seen the same thing. "So what caused the markings?"
"A cruse mark" the soft voice answers. Both of our eyes widened as we turn to look at her. Sakura's eyes were barely open, but her chest was rising and falling faster.
"Sa-Sakura?!" I almost yell as I reach out and grab her hand, squeezing it tight. "How are you feeling? Sai go get Granny and tell her Sakura's awake." A million thoughts and questions ran through my mind and I could feel myself getting worked up.
"Wait." Sakura called out, stopping Sai in his tracks. His hand dropped from the door handle and he turned back to her. "I need to talk to you both first…before anyone else comes in here I need to ask you both a favor."
"Whatever you need Sakura." Sai walked back to his chair and Sakura took a deep breath…