4

Sakura rubbed her forehead tiredly and glanced up at the vitals monitor beside Haku's bed. The heart rate indicator beeped steadily, signifying REM cycle sleep. She sighed and dropped into the visitor's chair beside him, replaying the events of the last couple of hours.

Hinata had come in carrying Haku and shrieking for a medic. She explained that she tried closing the wound by herself at home, but the thing would just not close. So, instead of risking his life in a second attempt, she rushed him to the hospital. He was placed in intensive care and had four med nins working on him, but the wound still wouldn't close. At one point, he'd lost so much blood that the head doctor had pronounced him clinically dead. Sakura had refused to accept that, and so she went to work on the boy herself. She hiked his body's blood rejuvenation rate and fed him some of her own revitalizing chakra, keeping his blood flow steady and making his body strong enough to handle the strain of such prolonged blood loss. Even she had to admit, it had been very close. And finally, finally, the wound clotted. She went to work on closing it, but then every stitching jitsu she casted seemed to go right through him. So she had to stop the accelerated blood synthesis and reinforce the clot so the wound wouldn't open again, and then after a few more harsh attempts, the healing jitsu held and his wound closed for good. It had been very, very close.

There was a knock on the room door.

"Haruno-san?" one of the resident interns poked her head into the room. "Uchiha-san wants to see him."

"You can send them both in," she nodded vaguely, hoisting herself to her feet with a tired grunt. She disappeared. Sakura took the last of the quiet moment to think about what had happened and if it linked with the strange vibe she had gotten from the twins yesterday. Haku had seemed desperate to hide something from her. Was it this? How had this happened, anyway?

"HAKU!" his sister exploded into the room and almost threw herself onto him. Sakura's quick reflexes snatched the girl out of the air and held her up, away from him.

"You can't fall on him like that," she scolded softly. "You'll hurt him."

Hana's eyes instantly watered. "I'm...I'm sorry," she sniffled, whimpered, her bottom lip quivered. Sakura set her in the chair she had just risen from and scooted it to the very head of the bed.

"It's okay," Sakura told her. "You can hold his hand from here, is that fine?"

The little girl sniffed again, nodded, and clutched at her brother's unmoving hand, whimpering softly to him. Hinata was standing silently in the doorway, staring at her children with an unreadable expression.

"How did this happen?" she whispered, echoing Sakura's own thoughts from a moment ago. "I mean, it looks like a stab wound."

"It does," she nodded her agreement. "The wound is actually two stab wounds, identical in size and exactly parallel to one another, which gives us reason to think that it was a two-pronged weapon."

"But when?" her eyebrows furrowed. "When did it happen?"

"You said you were at the dinner table?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, we were eating," Hinata nodded, her face still blank and unreadable. "I asked them what they did after school, they told me they bumped into you," she glanced up quickly, "and then they came home."

"They did," she confirmed. "I accidentally ran into them."

"I just don't understand how this happened," she repeated, shaking her head. "I mean, how can you not notice a stab wound? Two, even?"

"There's something else," Sakura pulled the chart from the end of his bed and opened it, scanning over the written notes of the first doctor to tend to him. "The area around the wound was charred, as if by fire or electricity." She looked up at Hinata. "He has burn scars on his belly."

The other woman looked even more lost. "I have no idea," she said weakly. "It makes no sense! We were just eating--"

"Hinata, why don't you go lie down in the room next door?" Sakura offered calmly, the gears in the back of her head turning. "It's currently empty. You're emotionally exhausted."

"I couldn't..." her eyes lingered on her son's sleeping face.

"It's almost four in the morning," Sakura countered gently. "It's been a stressful night for you. Hana will be asleep soon, too. And you don't want to leave him here alone, do you?"

She shook her head. "No... Are you sure?"

"I'll be here all night," Sakura assured her. "And I'll take Hana into the other room when she falls asleep."

"Alright... Thank you, Sakura," Hinata nodded weakly and staggered out of the room, leaving her hand against the wall for support. Sakura waited until the sounds of settling from the other room stopped, then she crossed back to Haku's bed and knelt beside Hana, laying a hand gently on the girl's back.

"Hana, sweetie," she said quietly, watching the girl watch her brother. "Can you tell me what happened to him?" She didn't answer. "If it happens again, I need to know how to treat it--"

"It won't happen again," she stated quietly, almost angrily. "Next is my turn."

"Your turn?" Sakura frowned. "Why is it your turn next?"

"He promised I'd be first," she continued, her little face contorted into so much pain and sorrow. Sakura's heart throbbed painfully; a seven year old girl should never look like that. "That should be me lying there. I should be the one who almost..."

She sobbed, choking on the last part of her sentence. Her head fell onto the cool white sheets and she cried hard, squeezing her brother's unresponsive hand until her knuckles were white. Sakura made soft and soothing sounds to her, rubbing her shaking back, patting her hair gently. "It's okay, it's okay," she kept repeating. "Shh, he's fine now. It's okay." After a couple of more moments, the girl quieted. Sakura kept smoothing her hand over her back, sending calming waves of healing chakra through her small, trembling body as she thought about what the girl had said. It was her turn next, meaning, something like this would happen again? Haku had tried to hide the fact that they had given a good luck charm to their father with something inside of it... A note, a pre-prepared note. No, she shook her head. I'm thinking in the wrong direction. She backtracked to the off-beat feeling she had gotten from the children the afternoon before the incident. They were chakra exhausted, a common condition when fighting for extended periods of time, or when all the chakra in the body was placed into a complicated jitsu, like Tsunade-sama's regenerative seal or Chiyo-sama's life-transferring jitsu. Complicated and banned techniques. Taboo. Illegal.

A little light was going off inside her head and she tried to ignore it. There was absolutely no way that these kids had gotten a hold of a secret sealed scroll. They were all in the Hokage's tower, guarded by the Hokage's assistants and ranks of Anbu. No way at all. But still...she couldn't help but think that they had gotten hold of something of that caliber and had done something with the necklace they had give Sasuke--

Sasuke. Her eyes widened. The wound that Haku had mysteriously received was one that she had feared would incapacitate her teammates. Stab wounds and burn marks--typical injuries one could received on dangerous infiltration missions. Why wouldn't Haku's wound stop bleeding? Because Sasuke's hadn't. Why, after such a long time, had it finally stopped bleeding? Because either he or Naruto had forcibly clotted it. Why hadn't her jitsus worked to close Haku's wound at first? Because...it was being transferred back the other way? ...to Sasuke? Her brain locked onto this thought and held on tight. It made sense of the random appearance of the wound and the irregularities in the healing process. But it absolutely did not give an explanation as to how it was working!

"Hana?" she said weakly. The little girl turned her head to the side, her bleary red-rimmed eyes focusing on the pink-haired woman. "Where did the two of you learn how to do this?"

Instant avoidance. "I don't know what you're saying," she mumbled.

"I think I've figured out everything except that," she said, slightly angry. "How could the two of you do--?"

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!The two of them looked up at the monitor. Haku's heart rate had jumped suddenly; Sakura noted that the pattern indicated nervousness. He could hear them. She struggled with her words, breathing in deeply to calm herself down.

"Hana, sweetie, listen to me," she said, keeping her voice even and calm. "You and your brother did something that linked the two of you physically with your father." She watched the startled reaction and it firmed her belief in her theory. "That means that Haku was hurt because your daddy was hurt, am I right?"

Slowly, hesitatnly, she nodded. "It was my idea," she whispered, fresh tears welling up in her eyes. "Please, don't get mad at Haku. Don't tell Mommy he had anything to do with it. It was all me, all my idea!"

"Shh," Sakura gripped the girl's shoulder tightly. "It's alright. I'm not going to tell your mother." Relief flashed across her face. "But this wound means that your father is in trouble," she continued, "and I need to understand how you've done this so I can undo it. If he gets hurt like this again, it will transfer to you, right?"

"I don't know how," she shook her head, "but Haku said he made it."

"He made it," Sakura echoed her words. "Meaning, he drew it, or he made it?"

"He made it," she repeated, managing to look slightly proud through her misery. "He got a bunch of books from the library and was studying how to create his own jitsu so we could help Daddy in some way." She rubbed her face with her hands wearily. "He told me that the jitsu would take all of Daddy's pain and give it to us, but I said that was okay, 'cause I don't mind getting hurt if that means Daddy's okay. He also said that we would get chakra 'sausted 'cause we'd be putting all of our chakra into the jitsu, but I said that was okay too. I didn't expect it to be like this, but..." she looked at her unconscious brother and frowned, "I'll do anything for Daddy to be okay." She raised her eyes defiantly to Sakura's. "Anything."

Sakura threw her pen down in frustration, shoving the heels of her hands into her eyes and blocking out the scrap papers with her frantic writing scrawled across them. After she had learned the truth from Hana she had gone to her office, locked herself inside, and had attempted to find the source of Haku's jitsu so that she could counter it and eliminate it from the twins' bodies. But she couldn't. She was not a genius, not a jitsu expert, and she couldn't turn to anyone else for help without raising suspicion and getting the children in very deep trouble. She was stuck and the only person that could possibly help her was still unconscious.

She turned her head to look out the window at the early dawn that was breaking outside. The sounds of the villagers beginning to wake rose from the cobblestone streets and mingled with the one or two early birds that were twittering distantly from the training grounds. The hopelessness that she had felt yesterday returned in a sudden crushing wave and frustrated, weary tears stung the corners of her eyes. Sakura shook her head fiercely and slammed her hands abruptly on the table, shooting to her feet. She headed for her office door, pulled it open. Where am I going? A part of her knew the answer but hid it from her. If she thought about it now, she wouldn't go through with it. Go through with what? She reached the locker rooms and went to her locker--third from the left end--opened it, grabbed her off-duty clothing, and began to change.

What do you think you're doing? her inner self, long dormant, surfaced in her mind and spoke condescendingly to her. You're still on the clock. She ignored it, rolling up her scrubs and tossing them in the locker. She shut the door and left the room, heading for the rear staircase. She passed the room Hinata was sleeping in, looked into the next one briefly to see Hana lying asleep on her arms beside Haku, and continued onward, passing half-asleep interns that didn't really notice her as they stared blearily at their clipboards and yawned the sleep from their systems. She almost got there, stopped--Well it's about time, Inner Sakura rolled her eyes. I don't know where you thought you were going... She silenced it by opening the door to the medical supply closet and ducking inside, searching around quickly with half-seeing eyes. She knew what she wanted to take and so she began grabbing them off the shelves, also glancing around for some sort of container or something. She found an empty crate under the sign-out desk and began filling it, not even reading labels but taking inventory from memory. This...This is illegal! Inner Sakura stammered. You could get arrested for theft--you could get fired!

She didn't care this point. Hefting the crate under one arm, she exited the room and shut the door behind her, beelining for the stairs. She got there uninterrupted and started down the spiraling steps, taking them two or three at a time. She was on her way. She was going. Nothing was going to stop her from...from... From finding Naruto and Sasuke, her inner voice finished calmly, sounding accepting. Finding them and helping them. So Hana and Haku don't suffer anymore.

"Hana..."

She didn't want to wake up. Her head was pounding and her eyes burned and her chest felt so heavy and tight. Haku, she thought to herself. Oh, Haku, I'm so sorry... I know you didn't want to, but...

"Hana..." the voice came again to her distantly. Someone was squeezing her hand. Well, squeezing was an inappropriate word. They were tugging at her hand weakly, trying to rouse her. "Hana, please..."

Her eyes fluttered open. She saw cool grey walls and white sheets. Something near her beeped methodically. Hospital. "Haku!" she snapped her head around. He was smiling at her--it looked more like a pained grimace--he was awake, alive. "HAKU!"

"Shh," he tugged on her hand again. "I'm...okay."

"How can you say that!" she argued, lowering her voice obediently. "You almost died! I told you to do me first--!"

He shook his head. "No time," he croaked, tapping the top of her hand for her attention. She pressed her lips together instantly. "Aunt Sakura... She's going to leave the village."

"Huh? Aunt Sakura?" Hana gave him a confused look. "Why?"

He shook his head to indicate he didn't know. "She already left the hospital, but..." he winced as his throat rasped a little. She glanced around for anything to drink but there was nothing. He tapped her hand again, calling for her attention. She looked back to him; he was frowning. "She won't make it out of the village."

"Where's she going?" she frowned too. "She should be here, taking care of--"

"Daddy," was all he said. Hana blinked, understanding. "She's going to help them," he nodded at her. "But someone is trying to keep her in the village..."

"I'll help her," Hana slid out of the chair, grimacing as her heavy legs hit the floor. The uncomfortable tingling of blood rushing back into place signifyed the coming of the 'pins and needles' feeling that she hated, but she had to ignore it for now. "There's no one else who will, is there?"

He shook his head. What can I do, Hana thought briefly, that could help Aunt Sakura escape the village? Me. A little girl! She pushed it aside though. She had doubted Haku once before, and the result of her doubt lay right before her very eyes. She would never, ever doubt him again.

"I'll follow you..." he grunted, trying to sit up. Her hands shot to his shoulders and held him back down, staring directly into his eyes.

"No, Haku," she told him firmly. "You're healing. I'll handle it on my own," she straightened, giving him a slight smile. "You believe I can help, right?" He nodded. "Then that's all I need."

She ran out, feeling her brother's eyes on her back, his ache to go with her, his anxiety over her being alone. But she kept running, unknowingly following the same route Sakura herself had taken to the rear staircase, through the door, down the stairwell, flying now. I'll protect him, she kept repeating in her mind. It's my turn to do something, and I can fight--I can do this. I can help too; I'm not worthless!

Uchiha Sasuke found that he couldn't lie still. His partner, Uzumaki Naruto, was unusually silent (he was also unusually powerful...Sasuke tried not to think about that) and his wound had been itching like crazy. When he had first tried to scratch it, the other man had moved with a scary speed and snatched the hand away from the gauze bandage without a word, but the look in his eye had told Sasuke not to try again. But with so much energy coursing through him, he found it increasingly difficult to lie still. Finally, he sat up. Naruto's head snapped up attentively, tracking Sasuke's movement with his blood red eyes. The raven-haired man tried to ignore the drilling stare, pushing his hands against the floor and stretching the stiffness out of his arms. His brow furrowed in confusion. He started moving his right leg. Naruto growled in displeasure.

"Oh shut up," Sasuke countered instantly, without thinking. He glanced up. Naruto had indeed quieted but he was still watching intensely. He saw the other man's nose working, sniffing in his direction. Sasuke moved both legs this time, bending them at the knees, laying them flat and rolling his ankles--his joints all popped several times. He cracked his fingers and toes, he rolled his head on his neck, he arched his back (that evicted another growl from Naruto, which he ignored), and then, he tried to stand.

With a heavy thud he was lying again on his back, Naruto looming over him, his clawed hands on Sasuke's shoulders. His lips pulled back from his teeth, growling his displeasure at Sasuke's random bout of movement. "Naruto--!" Sasuke struggled under the other man. "Get off me!"

"Stop moving," the blond hissed. "You're injured."

"No, I'm not!" Sasuke shot back crossly. And although it was an absurd statement, he actually believed it was true. Naruto's eyes narrowed and he sniffed again, wrinkling his nose.

"Too much blood to tell," he spat and began working the white vest off of Sasuke's shoulders.

"Whoa! Hey!" Sasuke felt an unfamiliar flush of heat slam into his cheeks. "What are you--?"

"Shut up, Sasuke," Naruto snapped and almost tore the white vest off the other man. He moved his clawed hands down to Sasuke's waist and pushed the black thermal shirt up away from his abdomen, lowering his face down to the flat muscles there and inspecting the area of the wound.

After a few seconds, Sasuke couldn't take it anymore. "Naruto, could you stop that?" he mumbled, embarrassed.

"Stop being such a girl, Sasuke," he glanced up (those red eyes were so damn unsettling). "There's no more wound," he continued, releasing the black shirt and sitting back on his haunches. "How did you do that?"

"I...don't know," ha answered truthfully, placing his hands self-consciously atop his stomach. "I just... I suddenly had so much energy, so that's why I tried sitting up."

"Hn," Naruto wrinkled his nose thoughtfully. His eyes trailed from Sasuke's stomach up to his neck and they lingered there for a moment, a slightly thoughtful look crossing his animalistic features. He leaned forward again, sniffing.

"Wh-what?" Sasuke angled his head away from the face drawing closer to him. Naruto being this close to him usually gave him urges to pounce on the other man, but with those red eyes and whisker marks--and fangs?-- and controlling aura about him, Sasuke felt nothing but unease.

"I know you find this side of me repulsive," the blond spoke to him but kept his eyes on his neck. "As soon as we reach the hideout, I should change back--"

"I don't find you repulsive," Sasuke interrupted, frowning. "I'm just not used to..." He shook his head. "This is not you. It's something that's happened due to circumstances beyond control."

Naruto laughed, the sound ringing hard and cold in the stillness of the abandoned cave. "Nice try," he smirked humorlessly. "I can see it in your eyes; I can smell it on you: you're uncomfortable."

"That's not the same as 'repulsed'," Sasuke stood his ground.

Another icy laugh. "Whatever you say, then." Naruto drew away, rising to his full height. He gave Sasuke another empty grin. "I'll keep my distance from you until I return to normal. How's that?"

Sasuke shook his head but Naruto had turned away and moved closer to the frozen entrance of the cave. He sat against one of the dark walls, drew his knees up, wrapped his arms around them, and turned his head away to stare at the curtain of snow falling outside.