The basement of the library in the Uchiha compound was dark, stagnant, and wet. A shiver ran down her spine as she stepped over a dried pool of blood on the threshold. How many had lost their lives here to Uchiha Itachi...? In that one night, a bustling compound had been brought to crimson ruin...
The thought not only killed her inside due to the thought of so many lost souls in a political tide, but also because of the pain Itachi must have felt...
The floor boards creaked under her weight as she made her way over to the first series of shelves. There were hallways of shelves with thousands of books occupying each shelf...it was like a maze in there. It would take forever to read through all of these, she thought to herself.
"Sakura-chan!"
"AH!" she screamed, drawing a kunai.
"...Damn you don't need to be so jumpy about it."
"Naruto, what the hell?! What are you doing here? You scared the living daylights out of me!"
"Ah, Sakura-chan, you're finally back on the village! It's been forever! I wanted to catch up - where have you been?"
Sakura paused, a pink blush dusting her cheeks. She swallowed nervously, offering no response.
"...Have you been with teme?" His tone was not curious, but teasing. She hated that sneaky look he had on his face.
"W-what?! I don't know what you're talking about!" Damn it...I gave it away!
"You HAVE been with teme! Otherwise you wouldn't be denying it so hard!" Naruto keeled over, clutching his stomach from laughter.
"N-Naruto!" Sakura stammered, but couldn't offer any comeback or resolution to the predicament. I'm never going to live this one down...
"...Ah, well, how is teme then?" Naruto calmed down, his blue eyes sparkling at the mention of his rival, his best friend - his first friend. The friend he had sacrificed everything to save.
"...He's not so well...he's ill," Sakura informed him solemnly.
"Ill? With what?"
"I don't know...something likely hereditary."
Naruto paused, processing what she had just said. His eyes lost their sparkle, and the concern for his friend was visible on his face.
"And that's why you're in the compound. Looking for information." He thought aloud.
"Hai."
"...Well then teme has nothing to worry about!" Naruto smiled his characteristic grin, and Sakura felt hopeful again, too.
Naruto and Sakura suddenly froze when a voice interrupted their conversation. "What's all this ruckus in our compound?" an elderly voice called from the hallway. A familiar elderly voice...
A shaky, wrinkled and shriveled woman stepped into the room. She had wiry grey hair and black soot dusted her nose in the shape of a cat's nose. She held a twisted cane to balance herself, but was also guided by two furry, brown cats.
"Neko-baachan!" Naruto called, "Is that you?"
"Ohhh! Naruto! Sakura! It's been a long time," her voice still resembled a cat's, "How have you been...? And where is Sasuke?"
"Sasuke-teme is traveling," Naruto filled her in happily, "And we've been good!"
"I see. What brought you back here after all these years?" Baa-chan asked. Before Sakura could respond, there was a squeaky voice that emanated from the guide cat beside her leg.
"...Looking for records, I presume nya~?"
"Hina?" Sakura asked in surprise. The cat's fur had grown so long since she last saw her.
"And Denka, nya~!" another meow responded from the other side of the elderly woman's leg.
"Damn, you guys, it's been forever!" Naruto stood with a smile, "How have you been?!"
"Ah, not so bad, purrvert," Denka remarked, as Naruto ducked at the nickname that had apparently stuck on that paw-print mission that seemed like eons ago...
"...Actually, yes, I am here looking for records," Sakura responded to Hina's earlier question, returning to the subject at hand, "...Any idea where I could find any medical records?"
"...Ah, yes, nya...there was an old, make-shift clinic, a small one, near the eastern edge of the compound," the elderly woman's voice cracked, "...You might try there."
"Oh wonderful! Arigato, baa-chan!" Naruto piped up, then grabbed Sakura's arm, "Let's go!"
As the two ran from the basement, Sakura called a thank you as well.
...
Sure enough, a small crumbled building stood on the eastern perimeter of the compound. It stood crooked on its foundation, with white walls and a red-colored roof.
"Damn...it looks like it's gonna collapse any minute," Naruto observed.
"...Yeah...we'll just have to be careful," Sakura ducked under the roof, entering the small structure. Naruto followed closely behind, obviously concerned.
The records cabinet was strewn open, but most of the records and books seemed intact. That afternoon, the two shinobi searched and scowered for every detail concerning Sasuke's condition, all the while catching up on their lives and the happenings of Konoha.
"Yeah! And he was asking about you and Kakashi, wondering how you both were doing - "
"...Hey, Sakura-chan," Naruto suddenly interrupted her.
"Yeah?"
"...There's something eerie about this one," he informed her, holding up a scroll with an interesting glowing seal still intact.
Sakura reached for it and as soon as her hands made contact with the parchment, the room was blinded with an eerie glow and the scroll unbound itself. Naruto screeched in surprise, and Sakura fell backwards onto her haunches.
The flash of light disappeared as quickly as it had come, curling the scroll back up and bouncing twice on the ground. Sakura shivered, reaching for it.
"Wait!" Naruto cried.
"What?!"
"It's just that...what if that was a ghost? And we just released it?"
"Oh Naruto, don't be ridiculous," she scolded him. This man's fear of ghosts knows no bounds... Once again, she reached for the scroll, slowly unfurling it. The inscription was made in blood...
"...Whoever finds this letter...the seal would only break if you had good will in your heart toward the Uchiha clan, so read carefully...
My time is ending. I hear the screams of my neighbors, friends, and family. He is coming for me now, the sounds are growing nearer.
I am the primary physician of this compound. There are important notes you must take heed if you wish to help any future Uchiha, if there are any of us left...please find my documents with my summon...use the blood on this paper.
Then, in heavier inked blood, as if the author had been slain, written:
Kami have mercy on us...
Sakura curled the scroll back up, fighting the tears that beckoned at the corner of her eyes. Naruto was still staring curiously at her as she sat, processing what she had found. Silently, she stood, forming the summoning seal while holding in her hand the bloodied parchment. Kuchiyose no jutsu...
The smoke subsided, revealing a small, brown and ruffled bat that hung warily to her arm. He gazed up at her with small beady eyes that made her shiver. Bats could often be signs of good fortune and it made sense for the physician to behold such a summon, but this bat had an eerie air about him, he had seen too much...
"...Finally," the bat murmured in a screechy voice, "...This means that at least some of this clan survived?"
"Hai," Naruto replied, kneeling to stand eye to eye with the upside down animal, "...He's doing alright, but we need your help. We need - "
"The medical notes. I will only give them to the individual who summoned me." He moved to pull his head up where he could see the arm that his small, needle-like feet attached to. "...That must be you."
"Hai."
"Find them attached to my wing," the small creature extended the thin wing that itself looked so similar to the parchment it held. A clever disguise...
"Thank you," Sakura solemnly bowed her head to the animal, "I'll do my best to cure him."
"I know. You summoned me, that was tell-tale enough," the bat replied, then shivered, "...Now if you'll excuse me." He disappeared with a puff of smoke once again. Naruto and Sakura gazed at each other for a moment, dumbfounded, speechless. The implications of what she had just discovered, meant she was now the single hope for curing Sasuke.
"...Well...," Sakura finally broke the silence, placing the notes securely in her bag, "...I'm on my way. I need to be back as soon as possible..."
"Have Sai's bird take you."
"...I will."
"And Sakura?"
"Hai?"
"Good luck. I know you can do it."