Summary: [Only a thin line tells love and hate apart, truth and lies, happiness and sadness. Sacrifices are made to save the ones you love. Sometimes you have to hurt yourself to gain the happiness you long for. It is your job to make the line thicker between these so alike yet so different feelings. In the end, it was only a true lie that started all of this.]
Rating: [M16+/18, Pregnancy, not a kids story!]
Warnings: [Character death! Rape possible, sexual content. OOCnes. Characters are adults at some point.]
Characters/Pairings: To many, be surprised. Main Naruto & Sakura.
Please: Read & Review.
Chapter 03
The only way to have a friend is to be one.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
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The heart monitor showing the heartbeat was a feeble sound of what it had once been, sometimes it even forgot to beat for a second. Another sound from another machine, it was pumping oxygen into him. He was in need of it, after his breathing was that ragged and shallow that he was not able to survive another minute without support.
Sai's eyelids fluttered ever so slightly as he lay unconscious in the hospital bed. Sakura stood after she checked on him another minute by his side. Asking herself when her feelings of utter hate in disgust for him turned into friendship, trust and believe. She had clearly forgotten and her fingertips brushing the hair of his forehead away and frowned. The well known ghostly white tan of him was gone and replaced by hollowness and ashen taint.
Slowly she hung his medical clipboard on the end of his bed, checking the IV again and then vanished.
He had crashed three times already and there was no telling, when will be the next. Every time it was worse. The seals still glow even after they had saved him after the crash.
"Don´t worry, I will help you" she said to his sleeping comatose form, it was known comatose patients hear somehow when talked to. That is why she never dared showing worry or fear in her voice, also reassuring him and herself.
Time was running out. She knew it. And Sais body knows it too.
She was fighting a war she did not know how to win, with a seal nobody knows of. She even used some connections but there was no sign. It seemed with Danzo's death, tons of files were just "gone". The only option was finding it herself, quickly and so another sleepless night will start for her.
ooooo
The tiny lamp on the desk made warm yellow light around her blackness from the windowless room or better library. All the ceiling high shelved stuffed with ton of files, documentations, scroll and reports. Due to her promotion and her gained clearance with it, she was able to be here. 'Normal' Shinobi weren't allowed to enter here. A wing of the secret library of Konoha filled with many mysteries, secrets and history of Konoha. For her it was like she was a small kid with 100 bucks in a candy job. However she had no time to gawk at it, she was here with a goal in mind.
The desk was filled with open books, towered and some enrolled scrolls. Above of all her own sheets of paper, filled with her thoughts and hints she had found. Around her scattered more books and scrolls, like she was the gravity centre for them.
Sakura sighed, rubbed her forehead and scribbled something down on her paper only to sigh again. She muttered something unintelligent, grabbed her water bottle and gulped the lurk warm liquid down. When she tapped her feet every now and then, the sound of crushed paper was heard; under her feet, there was a ton of wrapping papers from her beloved cherry lollipops.
It was the fifth night she worked to solve the puzzle. 'The mystery of Sais seal'. At the moment the young man was somehow safe, but she really had no idea how long she was able to have Sai in the 'safe' state after he had crashed yesterday the third time. After she examined him three times through fully, she had a faint idea about the seal and what maybe was sealed with it. However her idea, and if she it was true, would cause a ruckus in no time. 'Hell will freeze over' she thought. Her hands were in her messy hair again, undone the ponytail. Where the hair band gad gone, she had no idea. Her face was pale, she wished for some hours of sleep.
'Sleepy' she thought while yawning and wished for her bed once more, but she was not able to satisfy her own need now. Sai was more important than some hours of sleep, but afterwards... she will sleep, and when somebody will disturb her, will face death for sure.
Like the nights before, an Anbu sneaked in, kneeling to her side. The voice pulled her out of her train of thought, letting her freak out a bit.
"Try to make a sound when you open the door, one day I will have an heart attack" she scolded the unfazed Anbu.
"How can I help you anyway?" she asked like the other nights.
"Everything fine here?" the unknown and faceless voice asked.
"Yes, no problems" the Anbu nodded and vanished into thin air.
She frowned, sometimes these guys freak her out and she have to handle them from now on. This was because she would be dragged into their headquarter to heal the members if necessary; it was her job now. It was Yamato who visited her the first night, telling her it is the normal night round of them to check everything out. It will not be reported what she was doing her, only that she was working in here. She had only nodded then. With her rising in her rank and being the top of the hospital gave her some opportunities she never thought would ever gain. She would use it, study and learn all she could to be a better asset to the village.
Sakura rubbed her sore neck a bit while scanning and turning the pages of her newest book she found in the shelve in the darkest and most dusty corner in this wing. Her pen fell out of her hand, her mouth wide open and her sleepiness forgotten. She had found the seal. Her fingers traced the picture in the book.
Yes she did found it. It was the same pattern.
Sakura had found the answer she had searched for. She sat there disbelieving. It was true; so true, that she may start to not believe.
"It´s true" she said to herself. Her tired eyes looked at the solution again. "I don´t believe it" she said about the 10th time within two minutes. That was it; it was the key to Sais illness.
"God…" she breathed out snatching her papers rushing out into the morning dawn to her patient.
The sound of her loose boots smacking against her skin was heard while she ran like a maniac through Konoha. The dry surface let the sand whirl up with her hasty steps towards the Konoha "tent" hospital. She cursed about 10times in the hygiene tunnel, nearly run over a tiny nurse. She never thought there would be woman even smaller like herself. The pink haired medic only muttered a small apologize stumbling into her small so called office. Quickly her doctor coat was in place, some papers from her desk in her hand and the office without her presence again.
On her way to her destination she grabbed the nurse named Makoto who stumbled dumbly after her. With words, which never reached Makotos ears, Sakura explained what to do. The poor nurse felt like she was looking at a freaky maniac out of the zombie hellhole somewhere in Konohas deepest corner she never wished to visit. Her boss looked like... she did not even have words for it.
The pink hair was tousled in 10 different directions; somewhere in the mess was a hair band. On the left cheek darkish ink, thick black bag under the very tired green eyes. Sakura's posture slump, like she would fall apart any second.
"Did you get it?"
"Sakura-sama?" the nurse asked her "Sorry I did not..." Makoto gulped. Sakura sighed and explained from the start in hasty manner. This time Makoto got it.
"Not yet" she breathed out rushing to the other side of the bed, pushing the blanket down. Sakura concentrated, writing signs on the naked torso of Sai with the heart monitor peeped at her side and the oxygen pump working steady. Reminding her how urgent it was to get him out of that state he was in.
"Sai that will hurt" she said to him, his body will react. Violently she assumed and both of her hand glowed green above her written signs. Under it was the glowing blue from the seal she was about to break. Slowly she pumped the chakra inside of him. His heart rate went up within a beat. His fingers moved; his legs started to shake and were soon followed by his arms. Makoto had a hard time holding his arms where they belong.
"Got it" and pushed a big amount chakra through him.
The bright green glow of her healing chakra lit up the room for a moment, followed by a blinding light fading into nothing.
His moving stopped and his eyes snapped open not blinking at all. He tried to take a breath, but the machine didn´t let him, since it had it own rhythm. Quickly she ripped of the tape of his mouth, grabbing the tube.
"You won´t like it" she said loud enough and pulls out the tube in an instant. He coughed loud.
"….hhaaa…" she heard afterwards.
"Welcome back" she greeted him, his dark eyes looking up to her.
Sai tried to slow down his breathing so he wouldn't hyperventilate and pass out. He reached a trembling hand toward Sakura. The young man in the bed gasped quietly when Sakura's hand touched his. Like he never experienced touching another hand in his whole life. The gasp such a soft sound that it wouldn't have reached anyone ears if she and the nurse weren't as close to him as they were. Sakura held Sais hand tightly, telling him with her gesture to take his time to adjust.
He needed a minute or two, which were actually about 15 minutes to be back with calm breathing and no nervous sweat on his forehead. He had sipped some water; feeling like he was able to talk again with the painkillers flooded his veins, through the IV. His body hurt all over.
"How long?" Sai asked her, his voice a broken one his throat hurting from the tube.
"It is the sixth day" she started. "I had to put you in a fake coma" she explained clicking the heart monitor to silent mode. "You will feel the effect of it in a bit…" his head started to hurt even more. He clutched it and groaned.
"Tell me what is hurting you at the moment and how you feel, I need to know"
"I feel very weak, and my head hurts a lot. I feel like I will pass out any moment. Other than that, I feel sore." Sai groaned out.
"Hmm, it sounds not that bad for the after match of the ugly seal. Still I will have to monitor you for the next two to four days, as well as making sure you won´t get a high fever, which would be normal in your state but I believe you wish not to get it. After this I don't see any reason why you can't leave. I just want to keep you hear until we are sure you won´t get the fever and the soreness subsided down. Be happy that your body is well trained; you will get back to your feet in no time. Nevertheless you look like you could use some sleep."
"I think you need it more..." he rasped out.
"Do not worry; I will get my beauty sleep later"
"Ugly, that won´t help you anymore" Sakura smiled, the beauty of the conversations with Sai. He would be ok.
"Tell me about the seal?" Sakura sighed, while she made sure the needle of the IV was still where it belongs.
"Later Sai; later. You will be ok, nothing to worry about. The freaky seal is gone and you will have no more problems… damn that old dirt bag" she breathed out.
"Sleep" she ordered. "We will talk, when you are back on your feet"
"I'm not going to sleep until you tell me?" Sai argued, trying to start a battle he lost before it even starts.
"There's no way I'm falling asleep right now," Sai muttered like a pouting child. It was not like him, being exhausted and on pain killers do odd thing to him. Despite this, he wanted to know, badly about the seal. She was hiding something he could tell. Sakura straightening her shoulders, rubbing with one hand her stiff neck and sighed again. The long nights had gotten to her.
"You need to sleep, Sai." she said again looking in his dark eyes, which resembled Sasuke's awfully a lot that let her frown in the inside so very often. However she refused to push him into the same category. Sasuke was Sasuke and Sai was Sai.
It took only two minutes and Sai was already loosing his staring battle, his eyelids dropping lower every second and closed at minute three completely. He had fallen asleep, leaving Sakura to her exhausted self.
With a soft thud her bum made contact with the floor and a single tear snaked its way down her face, stinging her tired skin. Another followed. She was tired, exhausted and so damn happy she was able to save him; her tears of happiness didn´t want to stop...
ooooo
Two weeks later most of the once wounded Shinobi and villagers were nursed back to health. Some were lost in the battle of surviving; some were rescued from their deathbed. It will never outshine the loss but with the first newborn baby was a blessing and a sign for the hope...
The husband was holding the hand of his dear wife. Showing her again how to breathe, like they learned in child birth course. The inhales and exhales were heard from him and the soothing words, that she did not need to panic. After minutes of irritating babbling the woman, her name was Naria told her husband named Takeo
"SHUT the hell up" Sakura and the assisting nurse tried hard not to laugh out loud, when
Takeo started an argument with his labouring wife.
"It is important"
"Takeo really shut up!"
"You need to breathe huu huu huuuuuu huu huu huuuuuuu..."
"DAMNIT" and clutched harder onto her husbands hand who yelped loudly due to his now fractured hand.
"Now you can start pressing" Sakura said happily and the circle of pain filled screams and the silence while pressing started.
When Takeo took a peek he fainted right after he saw the first blood of childbirth and bumped his shoulder while fainting.
"Idiot" Naria huffed out and the nurse checked on the helpless man on the floor.
"He is fine"
"Let him beeeeeeeeeahhhh!" Sakura nodded at the nurse and 2 minutes later the baby gave his greeting to the world.
The miracle of life; that was why she loved being a medic.
The small event, helping a woman giving birth to a small brand new being was precious to her. Those moments mended every wound she suffered in the inside from the loos of the patients. The ones she or others were not able to save. It literally made her day in more than one way.
Also the progress of the rebuilding pumped the people up. Showing they had survived and they will survive again and even more. Some days had gone by already when the rebuilding plan was announced and now the noise of working was all over the village. Everybody helped out. The nights were filled with music and alcoholic beverages very often. The new restaurants, food stands and bars flooded with people. Relaxing after a long hard day.
With Sakura's day off coming around and the nagging from Ino, she may try to do the same like anybody else. Her blonde friend getting on her nerves for hours that she should join the dinner get together and the afterwards drink.
"Ah come on forehead" Ino poked the side of the pink haired one.
"I´m busy and tired in the evenings Ino-pig... no way..." Sakura muttered.
"Spoilsport... you really need to relax sometimes. It´s Saturday! Weekend - you know?"
"I do relax... in the bathtub with a nice novel and afterwards in my cosy, very fluffy bed."
"Yeah yeah..." the blonde rolled her eyes." Really now... when was the last time we were all together like that? It feels like it was years ago" now Sakura rolled her eyes. It was Ino who was meeting every evening with her team or others.
"24 hours feels like years to you?"
"You know what I mean..."
"Yeah yeah..." Sakura smiled and Ino pouted a bit.
"Please Sakura, everyone will be there" It would be nice to see her friends and Naruto again. Everybody was busy; meeting each other was not easy to do. Or at least for her with her duties, since Ino was attending other duties than the hospital work the blonde had more free time at her hand unlike her. Still... seeing everyone...
"Ok..." Sakura gave in. She really wanted to meet everyone. It really does felt like it was year's back, when she last saw all of them.
"Ok?" Ino asked.
"Yeah, ok"
"YEEESSS!" Ino cheered and Sakura laughed.
In the end even the Hokage herself had tagged along with a scolding Shizune. However Tsunade caught the words 'Zero's Sake' and she was done in a blink of an eye with her paperwork and ready to party. Zeros Sake was something special and there was no way the honey blond haired woman would leave the opportunity go by.
On the next day Sakura smiled brightly despite her hangover, it was one of the best choices she ever did. It was one of the best nights of her life. Only the feeling from the hangover was disturbing a bit and her body feels a bit out of place. Nevertheless she attended her shift only five minutes late.
She thanked heavens that she was the boss around here; still if Tsunade had seen her being late... she would have to run very, very, fast to avoid her wrath. She assumed the Hokage would be cranky today, with the amount of Sake she had drunk last night. Sakura stretched, feeling hungry. She looked at the watch; lunchtime was still far away and sighed. She would meet with Kakashi, Sai and Naruto for lunch.
"Until then you have to wait" she scolded her rambling belly.
ooooo
A loud groan was heard through the shrinking tent city. A face was pushed deeper in the cushions. But the sound of chirping birds and the hammer slamming onto metal did not stopped.
Naruto had a headache. Not just any headache, a hang over, a really strong one. He never had a hangover before and normally he would laugh at the victims of it, though, this time, he himself had one. Then again it was his own fault having one; drinking with Tsunade; or drinking at all; was never a good idea and he will never do it again. 'The damn noises outside', he thought. Even the footsteps outside sounded like gunshots. He never wished anyone death, but this moment he would not care at all. Every noisemaker should drop dead, right now. Again a groan and slowly the displeased person sat up, rubbing very sleepy and very annoyed his tired eyes.
His world was spinning slowly; his head was pounding and placed a hand on his forehead.
"So much to sleep in" he muttered, yawning and stretched a bit his somehow sore body. From wherever the soreness was from.
Naruto scratched his belly, looking with his half open eyes at nothing important.
"Damn Sake..." he muttered. The sake got him, it really got him this time and cursed. Slowly he crawled out his bed and frowned why the hell were his clothes scattered all around his tent? He didn´t even remember coming back and tried to remember. However he couldn´t get a single thought together. He assumed he was for sure in a sorry state that he was not even to undress properly. He may be not the tidiest but at least his clothes are only one pile instead of scattered everywhere. The blond man shrugged and stood up. Dragging half of his bed with him. He looked down, around his ankle his bed sheet refused to let go of him. It was neatly tangled with his ankle. For a moment he glared at it but the sheet did not moved, he sighed and tried to shake it off. Still the sheet was not moving.
"Let go" he groaned while entangling the sheet from him. Anyone who would see him like this would have at least chuckled at him or even laughed. After he won the battle against his bed sheet which let him smile in triumph Naruto grabbed his stuff. Again wondering why everything was everywhere and not in one, for his standards, 'neat' pile. After he wrinkled his pants a bit out, he pushed his legs into it and turned to his boxes in his tent.
At least he had a small tent to himself and don´t had to share and nobody saw him last night in here wobbling undressing and falling ungracefully into his bed. Some other may not had the luxury like him, having one tent for itself. The small humble home for now with a big sleeping mat in it.
Two boxes were in his possession. A big one and a smaller one. In the big one was his Ninja stuff, weapons and so on. In the smaller one something to eat likes cookies, apples. In the corner were some water battles and above him, on hangers the only change clothing left. Nothing much but better than nothing. Everything else was destroyed in the battle. But he was grateful for that little left.
Naruto grabbed his towel and wash basin, put his sandals on and left for the Shower Area. Not knowing he left this tent for the last time and all reminders of his forgotten night would be gone only hours later without him ever noticing.
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Junablossom