Syncope
Chapter 6
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With a long sigh, Karin straightened up in her seat, rubbing at her neck. She developed a crick in it because of the sleepless night she'd spent bent over the microscope and analyzing numerous samples of Sakura's tissue and chakra from different days in hope of finding what the best qualified staff of medics in Konoha had missed. Basically, a fool's errand. The woman took off her glasses and rubbed at her dry eyes. No doubt her sclera were now red from the burst blood vessels, and with her usual red iris the overall effect must have looked nightmarish.
Not only her eyes couldn't find the cause of Sakura's illness, Karin's best sense—her chakra sense—detected nothing unusual from the samples. They were inert and lifeless and only gave confirmation that outside Sakura's body her chakra became passive again.
Karin blindly reached for her mug and took a swig, which she spat out right away. The coffee had gone cold long ago. She stood up and went for a refill to the break room outside the lab. As she walked like a zombie, her groggy mind thought idly about everything and nothing.
While the water boiled, Karin splashed her face with cold water, brushed her teeth and combed her mussed hair. The minimum of personal grooming made her feel more like a human being. The fresh coffee helped sober her up too. She should've probably headed back to the lab and tried to solve the enigma of Sakura's illness, but she felt like it was a pointless endeavour. Nothing would come out of it. She'd just waste her efforts and Sakura would die in the meantime. Orochimaru was right in his predictions, just as expected.
What am I even doing here? Why should I bust my ass for nothing? Karin thought bitterly as she sipped on her coffee. She liked it dark and strong, no sugar or cream.
She came to Konoha mostly for Sasuke's sake. Even without her extraordinary chakra sense she could tell how much he was suffering. His dark and turbulent chakra reminded her too much of how he'd felt like when he'd been consumed by revenge against Konoha. Sasuke was at the end of his rope and it was all because of one person—Sakura. His wife. It was still hard to believe that he'd married and settled down.
Karin decided she'd rather be there by his side in those last agonizing moments instead of cloistering herself in the laboratory. She didn't need to concentrate to track him, his powerful, yet subdued chakra was placed right next to the flickering candle of Sakura's and that's where Karin's feet took her.
A gut feeling made her hesitate by the door to the hospital room. Sakura's weak chakra felt off for some reason, unlike in the samples. Even from the short distance, Karin still wasn't able to pinpoint what was so strange about it. Intrigued, she knocked and entered.
The sight of Sasuke holding Sakura's hand caused a painful twinge in Karin's withered heart. She never got over him. Even if she did, he'd always remain her first love and she supposed he'd be the last too. There was just no one who would ever measure up to him.
"Karin." She'd never get tired of hearing her name in Sasuke's deep voice. Even though she was aware that he didn't mean anything special by it, the way he said it never failed to thrill her. "Why are you here?" he asked bluntly.
"I'm here to... study Sakura's chakra. The samples are dead," Karin came up with a believable excuse.
She didn't think it through well enough, because now they both expected her to actually do her study. Sasuke even got up from his chair to let her sit. Karin took the seat and focused on Sakura's chakra. It was so weak and sluggish, while at the same time highly acidic.
Karin frowned.
"Well? Did you find something?" Sasuke asked impatiently.
"I'm... trying..." she gritted out through her teeth. A bead of sweat rolled down her temple from sheer effort. Karin searched and... nothing. She let go and sat back with a sigh, releasing the breath she didn't know she'd been holding.
"It didn't work. Sorry," she informed them with a head shake.
"Try again," Sasuke demanded.
"I can't. There's nothing there!"
Sasuke started to look murderous, when Sakura spoke up softly. "Give her a rest... It was a long shot anyway." Their gazes met in an intense stare as something indescribable passed between them and Sasuke's angry chakra quietened in an instant. Karin's lip unconsciously twisted in a bittersweet grimace and she averted her gaze from the silent exchange she wasn't privy to. It still killed her that no matter how hard she'd tried to get close to him, she had no sway over Sasuke's heart, while Sakura could affect him so effortlessly.
To distract herself from the throb in her old wound, Karin looked at the IV. She read the label on the attached bag that listed the medicines. Her eyes widened with an epiphany and she turned to look at Sasuke speculatively.
"Darling, I want anmitsu. Could you bring me some?" Sakura suddenly requested.
"Sakura, you're not allowed to eat anything," he reminded her in puzzlement.
"I know, but still... I'd like some," she admitted with an air of embarrassment. "It's my favourite dessert, you know. I just want to try it one last time, before it's too late..." she explained, then bit her lip. "Oh, forget it, I'm just being silly. You're right, I shouldn't eat anything."
Sasuke looked like someone just brutally punched him in the gut. He swallowed. "No, I'll get it for you," he said in a strangled voice. "But I don't want to leave you. Not now."
"Maybe Karin can sit with me? Just until you come back," Sakura suggested, startling her.
"Ah, sure. No problem, I can do it," Karin found herself agreeing.
With nothing else to keep him from going, Sasuke headed out after shooting Karin a warning glance. She understood the message—he counted on her to keep watch over Sakura in his stead.
"You have some idea," Sakura commented.
"What?" Karin blurted out. How did Sakura notice?
"I saw the look you got, like you came up with something... but you didn't want to say it around Sasuke-kun."
Karin realized she underestimated Sakura. Despite the illness, she stayed on top of her game like the elite kunoichi she was. The redhead adjusted her glasses the same way she adjusted her evaluation of Sakura.
"Do you trust me?" she asked at length.
Sakura smiled warmly. "Of course. You're my friend."
Wordlessly, Karin got up and ripped the IV bag off the stand, cutting off the medicine that flowed into Sakura's body and kept her alive.
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Fourteen years ago...
Karin had sensed Sasuke coming from miles away. How could she not when she was so attuned to his powerful chakra? Even from a distance, it sent an excited shiver down her spine. In the years after the war she saw him very infrequently. He never sought her out without a purpose, but Karin didn't lose hope that one day he'd finally return her feelings.
This time something was different. Karin concentrated on his location. There was another strong chakra accompanying him. Its warmth was familiar and made her think of the colour pink... With a pang, Karin identified that person as Sakura, Sasuke's old teammate. He brought her along, even though he always made a point to travel alone, so as not to endanger anyone by associating with him (Karin had once asked him if she could come and he'd flat out refused).
But, Sakura was a new generation Sannin just like him, so that had to be the only reason he'd allowed her to come, right? And then there was some other chakra with them Karin wasn't able to quite make out because it was so small and dwarfed by their overpowering energies...
When Sasuke appeared on her doorstep, Karin was prepared. She changed her clothes, brushed her hair and put on a subtle make up. She needed to look her best in front of the guests, right?
After the knock, she counted twenty seconds, then opened the door.
"Sasuke!" she exclaimed. "You should have sent a hawk! I didn't expect... you..." she trailed off when her eyes landed first on Sakura's bulging stomach, then on Sasuke's sole arm wrapped around her in support.
"Hi, Karin," Sakura greeted. "Sorry to come unannounced, but it's sort of an emergency," she said apologetically, then winced and rubbed her stomach.
"I-I see..." Karin said faintly, staring at her in shock and incomprehension.
"Karin." Sasuke brought her out of her daze. "My wife's going to give birth soon and you're the only medic in the area. Will you help us?" he asked.
Wife? Wife!? That one word crushed and burned whatever remained of hope in Karin's heart. As the numbness spread, she stepped back and allowed them to come inside.
She took Sakura to the unused room, which had belonged to Kabuto in the past. Despite her medical training, Karin had no prior experience as a midwife. She knew about it only in theory which she forgot in her panicked state. Ironically, it was Sakura who calmed her down and gave her instructions to follow, guiding her through the process while at the same time enduring the extreme pain of contractions and childbirth. Sasuke didn't leave her side, holding her hand, wiping the sweat from her brow and quietly encouraging her.
After the child was born without any complications, Karin was the first person to hold the baby girl in her arms. Sasuke's daughter. Her chakra was so tiny and bright, like a little sun. It carried traces of her parents' energies mixed in while being so different and unique. The beautiful sensation filled Karin with amazement.
She passed the baby to the exhausted mother. Sasuke leaned in close to Sakura to look at their child, completing the family portrait. Karin's breath caught. His lips were curved in a gentle smile shining with pure love, the smile she had been longing to see since she'd glimpsed it once in the Forest of Death, so many years ago. Sasuke's smile now belonged to his wife and daughter. And Karin realized that she'd never really stood a chance.
With a lump in her throat, Karin turned her back to them. Her glasses were getting foggy, so she took them off and wiped them vigorously.
"I'll give you some privacy," she muttered an excuse to leave.
"Karin, wait." Sasuke said and against her own will, she looked over her shoulder. He still had that soft smile on. "Thank you for your help. I owe you."
She stared at him in surprise, coming to a decision.
"No," she finally replied with a head shake. " I don't want you to... owe me. Besides, I heard that in Konoha friends do each other favours all the time, no repayment needed and... I'd like to think that after everything we've been through we can be... friends." She finished with a hopeful look, while on the inside her heart was bleeding. But this was the only way to preserve their bond. It was too precious to her to give up on.
"Of course we're friends," Sakura spoke up from the bed, the motherly glow surrounding her. "And I have something for you, Karin." She gestured for her to come closer, then held out the umbilical cord. "This is for you, to remind you of today."
"I can't, this should be yours," Karin protested, getting flustered. She knew how important the umbilical cord was as the symbol of connection between a mother and a child. However, Sakura took her hand, put the cord in it and closed Karin's palm around it.
"Keep it. I want you to have it. It's just a token of gratitude for what you've done for me, for us, today. Thank you," she said with a gentle smile. Sasuke nodded in full agreement.
Karin was rendered speechless, tears stinging her eyes. Why they were so kind, too kind to someone like her? She didn't even do anything special, any other medic or midwife could've done the same or better! Sakura stole the man of her dreams, Sasuke unknowingly broke her heart, but now Karin couldn't even hate them. She was completely... defeated.
"Th-Thank you... I'll take good care of it," she said hoarsely, accepting the gift.
She kept her word for the next fourteen years. The umbilical cord became a precious symbol of her bond with Sasuke and his family. But it also had another significant meaning known only to Karin—it reminded her of her private vow to protect Sasuke's happiness.
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Karin was inspecting the fresh sample when Sasuke found her. He came in deathly quiet, but she sensed his presence easily.
"Karin," he said her name. He kept his outside cool, but on the inside he was infuriated.
She sighed, sat up and looked at him. "I can explain."
"You should." He pierced her with a look. Thankfully, he didn't activate the Sharingan yet, so he was willing to listen. "Why did you leave Sakura's side? She's gotten worse. For no reason," he said, his tone suggesting that he thought that reason had something to do with Karin. He wasn't wrong, though the kunoichi made sure to reattach the IV bag to the stand after she'd collected the sample of Sakura's chakra.
"How much time does she have?" Karin asked.
"Hours," Sasuke bit out.
Karin made an estimate, then nodded. "That should be enough time."
"Time for what?" he asked, getting increasingly frustrated.
"For me to save her life," Karin replied with a smirk which only became more pronounced at Sasuke's stunned expression. "I couldn't get a read on her chakra, because it was too weak, so I had to take her off the chakra blockers for a while. But it paid off!" she assured him with a finger raised up to make her point when he looked about to go off on her for recklessly putting Sakura's life in jeopardy. "I found the chakra virus that causes her illness. I am sure it was made from Kabuto's old bio-weapon design, which he based on Kimimaro's disease."
Her explanation made Sasuke even more confused. "But Kabuto is now working in the orphanage..."
"Someone must have finished his old work. But it's a good thing I recognized it," Karin told him. "Kabuto included a failsafe in the virus—you can turn it off with a seal."
"And you know this seal?" Sasuke asked.
"No, but I'm going to find it," Karin replied, gesturing to the paper seals strewn on the table before her. "I'm trying them on the sample one by one. When I find the right one, we'll use it on Sakura."
He grunted, skeptical but desperate enough to cling to the small amount of hope she gave him. "Karin, if it doesn't work..." he began, his mind turning to the worst turn of events.
"Then you can do whatever you want with me. Punish me, kill me, burn me, I don't care," she replied seriously. "But it is going to work. I'm sure."
Karin returned to her seals with determination.
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Three hours later, Sakura's family and closest friends gathered in her room to say their goodbyes when she was still conscious. Sasuke and Sarada took the place at her bedside, Ino, Naruto, Kakashi and Sai right behind them. Only Tsunade was missing as she was still out of the country, but Shizune was watching Sakura like a hawk in case her vitals plummeted again.
Sakura was smiling wearily. "Everyone... you didn't have to come..." she uttered. She didn't have energy to speak above a whisper.
"What are you saying, Forehead?" Ino asked. "We absolutely had to come... because we all love you, you dummy..." she said through tears. Sai put his arm around her back comfortingly.
"Ino-Pig... save the tears for the funeral... I'm still alive..." Sakura griped.
That startled a few feeble smiles. Even on the verge of death, Sakura still retained her spunk.
Naruto kneeled next to the bed. "Sakura-chan, is there anything I can do for you... anything you want, just please don't die," he begged. His damp eyes appeared even bluer than usual.
Sakura squeezed his hand lightly. "Thanks, Naruto... I have one request, just in case... Take care of Sasuke and Sarada for me, will you? You know how stubborn they can get... Don't let them sink into darkness because of me..."
"I won't let that happen. You have my word," Naruto swore passionately.
"Hokage's word, huh? Is it better than... the promise of a lifetime?" Sakura said with a teasing glint in her eyes.
"You bet it is, Sakura-chan," Naruto told her in a thick voice. "You bet it is..."
Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but instead she coughed harshly, blood splattering on her front. Black chunks of flesh that had been part of her lungs were mixed in with the blood. The illness was literally tearing her internal organs apart, piece by piece.
Shizune made a move to get up and clean the mess, but Sasuke was faster. "I'll take care of this," he said, already wielding a wet cloth. He wiped around Sakura's mouth, then cleaned her shirt as much as he could with a practiced ease.
"Water..." Sakura rasped.
Sarada quickly grabbed the filled glass and put the straw to her mother's lips. After Sakura took a few small sips, she was ready to talk again.
"Thanks..." she said softly. She tried to lift her hand to touch Sarada's cheek, but she couldn't, so the girl grabbed it and put it there herself. "You've grown so much... One day you will become a great Hokage..."
"But I need you to be there, Mama," Sarada pleaded, all choked up.
"I'll be watching over you, always..." Sakura said with an angelic smile, then her eyelids dropped shut. "So... tired..." Her lips barely moved to form the words.
"N-No... please don't go..." Sarada was openly weeping. Sasuke put a hand on her shoulder silently, a frown marring his face. Sakura was fading faster than expected.
The door opened so abruptly that it banged on the wall and Karin rushed in. "Let me through!" she snapped out and shouldered roughly past Ino, who naturally took offense.
"Who do you think you are?! No one invited you here! Let us say our goodbyes to Sakura in peace!" she shouted indignantly, while Karin already set herself up at Sakura's side.
"You're wrong, I was invited, and with this," Karin held up a paper seal, "there won't be any need for goodbyes."
Before anyone could interfere, Karin put the seal on Sakura's chest and pumped chakra into it. The seal glowed blue and the light from it enveloped Sakura's body for a second.
"Did it work? Why isn't she waking up?" Sasuke asked anxiously after a moment passed and Sakura still didn't stir.
"I-I don't know, the seal should work!" Karin cried out. "The virus should be deactivated now! It worked on the sample, I swear! It worked!"
That's when Sasuke realized that the soft wheezy sound of Sakura's breathing had ceased. The heart monitor flatlined, releasing a long alarming wail. "Shut up and do something!" he ordered in the rising panic.
Karin clumsily made handseals for a medical jutsu, hands trembling from nerves.
"Let me," Shizune immediately pushed her aside and took over with a poise of a veteran medic. She put a respirator over Sakura's mouth, then she started the resuscitation, pumping the patient's chest. One... Two... Three...
"Sakura! Don't you dare die! You have to live!" she screamed.
Shizune desperately kept at it, but Sakura's heart just wouldn't start beating. Kakashi had to pull her away from the bed. "You need to stop. It's over," he said quietly, shushing her even as she fought to get out of his grip and go back to Sakura.
With a loud sob, Ino hid herself in Sai's arms. He remained stoic, only the sad downturn of his lips revealing that he shared his wife's pain. Naruto's shoulders were shaking and he bowed his head, fat tears rolling down his cheeks as he mourned one of his oldest friends. Even Karin looked stricken.
Sarada and Sasuke were staring numbly at the bed, where their most precious person just died, their Sharingan eyes welling up with tears. Sasuke slid down onto his knees and took a hold of his wife's cold hand, then pressed his lips to it in a brief kiss.
"Sakura... no..." he uttered in despair. Not again... Didn't he lose enough? His parents, his entire clan, his brother and now even his wife had to be taken away from him? Was he truly meant to be alone in this world?
"Mama... why... why her..." Sarada was crying her eyes out next to him, equally shattered by their loss.
Shizune got a grip on herself at last. She wiped her tears and looked at the clock. "T-time of death..." she began, but she didn't get to finish.
A surge of chakra blasted from Sakura's body, making everyone gasp. The Byakugou seal lit up and the purple markings unfurled over her skin. The powerful healing chakra set to work, repairing all the damage in an instant as the steam drifted from her body.
Sasuke leaned in closer, watching her face for a sign of life, his heart racing in the burst of hope.
Suddenly, Sakura inhaled sharply and her eyes fluttered open. Sasuke was stunned by how gorgeous they were, now that he had thought he'd never see them again. Sakura's gaze locked onto him, the first person she saw upon waking, and she smiled with tenderness.
"Darling, I'm back." Her soft voice was like music to his ears.
"Aa," he replied hoarsely and kissed her, pouring all his love and relief into the kiss.
Sasuke didn't give a damn if people saw them. The only thing that mattered was that his wife returned to him, alive and well. Sakura was healed.
Behind him, the room erupted into cheers.
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AN: Thanks for all the reviews! The reader response to the story really floored me :) From the start, my intention was to save Sakura and I hope I wrote it in a satisfying way.
Please let me know your thoughts about the chapter!
Next time: Epilogue.