"Of Bones and Blossoms"
Chapter Five.
"The Broken Village."
"Fan out, everyone! Fan out! Gather as many alive as you can, quickly! and DON'T get killed, whatever you do!!" A small village, under the Land of Fire's protection, had been attacked. Shikamaru Nara was head of the search teams that had been dispatched to rescue any survivors. The village had no shinobi, only samurai warriors that, apparently, proved no match for the ones who'd attacked the village. Shikamaru didn't know who the attackers were, but he was sure that he was bound to find out sooner or later.
Not moments after he'd sent out three four-man teams to search(one being his own team along with Kotetsu and Genma) for survivors, he himself went out into the village to look around. He looked for both villagers and enemies. he needed to find out who these attackers were so he could report it to Tsunade when they got back to Konoha.
His brown eyes scanned burning buildings and wreckage as he ran, his sharp vision missing nothing.
"Shikamaru!"
The man slid to a stop, whirling around to acknowledge the speaker. It was Kiba, who held two passed-out men over his shoulders. Akamaru barked as he ran up behind his owner, holding two more on his back. "What do we do with them?" Kiba asked, panting.
"The Hokage is sending over carriage transports for the infured," Shikamaru replied. "Just wait near the gates until they arrive!"
Kiba groaned and nodded towards the man. "Kiba," Shikamaru said. "If you see any enemies, I want you to capture them and find a way to notify me immediately!"
"Hai!" Kiba replied with a nod, and Shikamaru dashed off. He looked around for survivors. He then caught the glint of metal in the corner of his eye. He moved towards it, and upon closer inspection of it, he found that it was in fact a body, sprawled among scattered wooden beams and rubble. He pulled the body from the wreckage, and his eyes widened. The metal he'd caught sight of was the plate on the hitai ate loosely wound around the man's forehead.
Upon the head band was a Sound village symbol.
'Orochimaru..?!' Shikamaru frowned. 'What purpose would he have in destroying a little village like this?'
Being a quick thinker, Shikamaru quickly came up with a possibility. 'It's possible that he plans to overrun us with all of this; he knows we're responsible for this place. He may have done this to switch out focus to all of this, causing us to be unsuspecting of an attack.. Thoughtful bastard.'
xXx
"Sakura, this is a bad situation," Tsunade pleaded. "We're going to need all available rooms for those people; I'm sorry, but you have to relocate Kimimaro. To your apartment, most likely, but if you find another suitable place, so be it."
Sakura's mouth hung open. "T-Tsunade-sama.. You can't be.."
"Serious? I'm afraid so. I'm sorry Sakura.. but you need to move him out of the room immediately. I've already sent out carriages to gather survivors from the village, and we're already preparing for them. I even sent both Hinata and Ino out with those carriages for emergency treatment for the dying."
"What about me..?" Sakura asked. She understood Tsunade's reasoning, but that didn't mean she liked it.
"You're going to be at the infirmary, of course," Tsunade frowned, brown eyes glancing her former student over. "I'm sorry, Sakura, but you're going to be very busy today. Now go! Quickly!"
Sakura frowned but nodded, rushing out the door.
xXx
He was awakened from his slumber by a hand shaking his shoulder. He opened his eyes to glare at Sakura, but at the urgent look on her face, he slowly sat up. "What's going.. going.. on?"
"You're being moved," Sakura replied, beginning to pack up small things she'd left in the room.
"To a diff... fffff.. different.. room?"
"No. To a different place completely."
"And where.. wh.. ayr... Where is that?"
"My home."
Kimimaro blinked. "Your.. hoooome.. Home.. Home.."
"Yes, my home. You're staying with me now, Kimimaro." Sakura replied absent-mindedly. She gathered the bag up and closed it, pulling the straps over her shoulder. "Now, I know you can't walk." Sakura said, approaching him. "And I'm sorry for this, but I have no other choice."
Kimimaro frowned. 'What is she talking abo-'
He grunted in surprise as his arm was thrown over her shoulder. A small but strong arm wound around his side to support him.
He glared daggers at Sakura the entire time he was carried out of the hospital.
xXx
Yamanaka Ino had never been more scared or nervous in her life. The lives of many would be in her hands in a matter of minutes, when the carriages arrived at the demolished village. She glanced at Hinata, who was as pale as chalk.
"W-We can do this, Hinata," Ino murmured, but she didn't sound so sure herself.
"I-Ino-san, w-we're only t-trainees," Hinata mumbled, gulping. "I-I'm not sure w-we can handle this..."
"I-I.. We have to try." Ino nodded, her words giving her some assurance, if only for the moment. As the carriages arrived at the village, Ino and Hinata jumped from the ledges. They immediately took off through the gates, looking around for any Konoha shinobi or injured villagers.
"Kiba!" Ino yelled when she saw him.
"K-Kiba!" Hinata repeated, the both of them running up to him.
"Heeeey," Kiba grinned, before looking down at the injured beside them. "I've got four."
Ino immediately knelt by Akamaru and began checking the vitals of the unconscious on the dog's back. Hinata kneeled down by Kiba.
"Check their vitals, then heal whatever you can!" Ino said, beginning to check over the two on Akamaru's back more deeply. The canine helped her to settle them on the ground, face-up. Ino did her best with her limited medical knowledge, her blonde brows furrowed in deep concentration. The first man's lungs had collapsed; there wasn't much she could do for him. Those kinds of things were more for medical shinobi of Sakura's caliber. The only thing she could do to prevent him from dying was to straighten and partially heal his ribcage so that less pressure was put on the damaged lungs. He wouldn't survive long, so she would have to act fast.
"Hinata! What's the status on your two?"
"O-One is sporting a b-broken ribcage," she replied. "Th-The other.. is beyond saving..."
"Then put him out of his misery!" Ino barked. She was finally stepping up to plate; she was in charge of this medical team, and it was about time she acted like it. "This one won't last long! Kiba, take this man to the nurses in the carriages so they can work on his lungs, now!"
Kiba nodded, doing as he was told and gently lifting the dying man into his arms. As he dashed off, Ino checked on the other one. He wasn't as bad, donning only several deep cuts. His leg looked broken as well. Ino began to heal and close up the cuts, and put the man back on Akamaru's back. After Hinata had lifted her survivor onto the dog's back as well, Ino said, "Akamaru! I need you to take these two to the nurses, then come back to us."
Akamaru barked and bounded off, being careful not to toss the men off his back. Ino stood to her feet and glanced at Hinata, who was close to tears.
"Hinata.. you have to man-up!" Ino grabbed her shoulders and looked her dead in the eye. "You're talented, and you've worked your butt off in medic core.. You're ready for this! Don't let death phase you!"
Hinata nodded, eyes wide. The next expression that cross the Hyuga female's face made Ino grin. "That's it.. Now come on. We have lives to save!"
"H-Hai!" Hinata nodded again, following after her blonde superior.
xXx
"So small.." Kimimaro commented rather quietly, seated on the couch. It was difficult for him to move; his body was so stiff from disuse that he felt like the Tin Man without oil. And even though his lungs were finally clean, he was still short-of-breath, which made it all worse.
He let out a small cough as Sakura replied from the kitchen, "I live alone, so it suits me fine."
Kimimaro remained quiet, settling on looking around, inspecting every nook and cranny of the small apartment. The walls were a nice peach/cream color, which seemed to suit her gentle and calm demeanor. The setting of her home was simple yet suitable, in a way. There was a small TV and a couch. A decliner was beside the couch, a small lamp in between them. He sat on the crimson colored couch at the moment.
"Are you hungry? Thirsty?"
"Yes," the man replied absent-mindedly. He remained perfectly still, partially because he was quite comfortable, partially because he really couldn't move.
"I think we should give you something easy," Sakura said from the kitchen. "Something easy on your stomach.."
"Mhmm," Kimimaro mumbled, not interested. As she began preparing food (What food, he did not know), Sakura said, "May I ask you something, Kimimaro?"
"Sure," Kimimaro murmured, focusing on the wall on the other side of the room.
"Well.." A machine turned on, and Kimimaro's eyes shifted in its direction. Apparently, Sakura had turned it on for some reason.
"Well.. I.." He saw her enter the living room. She approached the couch, before sitting beside him. "I.. want to know how and why you joined Orochimaru."
Kimimaro's dull eyes shifted to look at her. "Oro.. oo.. Orochimaaa.. roo.. he found me, when I was al.. oooo.. alone.. With no purpoo-.. purpose. He gave me a purpose.. purpose.. in life."
"Why were you alone?" Sakura frowned. "Did you not have any family?"
Kimimaro stiffened. His eyes turned from dull to hateful. "Don't.. ask me that." What right did she have to even ask about his family? Why did his family, or lack of family, matter? They didn't to him, and they shouldn't to her.
His hateful eyes did not deter the curious kunoichi. "Well, what purpose did he give you?"
"I followed his every co.. oo.. coooo.. command.. command. . Without quee... question."
"That was your purpose in life?" Sakura looked incredulous.
Kimimaro's eyes narrowed. "It's better than wandering around aimlessly."
"Hey.. You finished a sentence!" Sakura grinned.
Kimimaro blinked. What?
"You finished a sentence without any problems." Sakura's grin widened.
Kimimaro's eyes narrowed. "So?"
"That's improvement! That's great!" She giggled, patting his knee gently. He stiffened warily.
The machine beeped, making Sakura hop up to prance into the kitchen. A good smell filled the air. Once Kimimaro's nose picked up the scent, his head lifted. It smelled very appetizing. What was it? Sakura carefully entered the living room, carring a plate, on top of which sat a bowl full of something steaming, in her hands. Cautiously, she set the plate in his lap. "Rice and Wonton soup," she murmured. "I made some of that last night. I hope you like it."
Kimimaro stared down at it. It smelled so wonderful, but what about the odd metal contraption sitting in the bowl? His hands couldn't grip much of anything. Nevertheless, he tried. His hand slowly moved towards the metal object and his fingers flexed in preparation. He became frustrated as his fingers mindlessly fumbled with the object, causing it to clang repeatedly against the bowl.
"Here."
Kimimaro's hand was stopped by Sakura's. Her fingers were small, soft. "I'll do it." Her fingers gently grasped the metal object and dipped it in the soup. He saw that the contraption contained the soup. And slowly, she lifted the soup-holder to his mouth.
His reaction was the opening of his mouth, and he closed on the object. The warm soup filled the wet cavity; it tasted so good. He swallowed it, rice and all, as she dipped it in the soup again.
"Is it good..?" She asked rather timidly as he ate object-full after object-full. Kimimaro only grunted. She didn't deserve praise, even though the soup was good; she asked him an overly personal question about a sensitive subject. 'But she didn't know,' a voice inside his head whispered.
His eyes switched from the bowl to her face. He found that she was watching him intently. He didn't like that she was feeding him; it made him feel helpless. Through a mouthfull of rice, he mumbled, "I don't like this."
"What, the soup? I'm sorry, I.."
"No, not the sooo.. soup.. soup," Kimimaro shook his head slightly. "This. You having to.. feeeed me.."
"Why?" Sakura blinked. "Aren't you hungry?"
He wanted to smack her.