I felt that this story needed another chapter. Enjoy and please leave a review?
Sakura had noticed of course. The fact that the Nidaime Hokage had taken up residence in the old Senju compound, sung round in Konoha. She had seen the four Hokages during the War, fought side by side with them, revelling in the weight of their presence.
And she remembered the strangely intimate encounter with the NIdaime in her makeshift sickbay. His suspicion of the imposter had dipped the balance of the situation within seconds. But while that incident was forgotten quickly, she still blushed remembering the intensity of his stare.
And now the Nidamine was still with them, even though the other Kages had moved on, he did not. It was only later that Tsunade explained that her uncle had tampered with his body in such an unethical way, that his experimentation had made it possible to resurrect the cells in his body. The theory was well known and she had learned about it in medical school, but it was never tested due to the ethical dilemmas. Not even Orochimaru had dared experimenting with it.
"Apparently he foresaw the exploitation of the Edo Tensei, or that was what he told me." Tsunade leafed through a file with irritation.
Sakura blinked. "And what is it that you need me to do?"
Her sensei looked up at her. "Well. To monitor his body of course. Tampering with life on a cellular level is just… too dangerous."
"You expect him to undergo this quietly?" Sakura asked, suspicion seeping in her voice.
The older woman scoffed. "Of course not. That is why I asked you. You already healed him during the war. Hopefully there is some trustlevel." She slammed the file on the desk and cursed. "That old geezer. He is insufferably stubborn!"
Sakura cast a look at Genma who stood beside her desk. He raised his eyebrow in modest outrage, then winked at her. Yeah, stubborn. Just like you, Sakura thought, eyeing her sensei. Then with a sigh, she picked up the file.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
He refused.
He refused to accept any invitation or summon that she sent out to him. ANBU came back dishevelled and spooked. And after a week of frustration and waiting she swallowed her pride and took off towards the Senju compound.
She found him meditating on the engawa of an ancient looking wooden building. His sandals perched on a large boulder that functioned as a stepping stone from the beautiful garden into the house. He was dressed in dark blue, simple traditional garments, a lonely Senju symbol embroidered onto the back. She felt as if she stepped back in time, while he seemed very much at ease within the scene.
The quiet in the garden made her pause, her mind still reeling from frustration and anger. But the sounds of birds and the rustling of the wind in the leaves seemed to loosen the emotions, making them more flexible and she found her mood dissipating slowly.
With soft feet she stepped onto the garden path until within hearing range.
"Good evening, Nidaime-sama." Of course he knew she was approaching. He was a legendary sensor after all.
He answered her with his eyes closed, his deep voice warm. "Haruno-san. Welcome to the Senju compound."
"Thank you, Nidaime-sama"
He opened his eyes. With a gesture he invited her to sit beside him. She stepped onto the stone, taking off her sandals. With soft feet padding on the wooden floorboards towards him, she knelt to sit on his side, taking in the garden. His red eyes followed her movements, but his face remained neutral.
Silence enveloped them. Nerves slithered around her stomach. During her meltdown she had mentally reduced him to the level of her teammates. But now she was in the presence of the Nidaime Hokage. It did not help that he was in the ancient Senju compound where it seemed as if he never left in the first place. The grandeur of the buildings and garden only added up to the feel of him being her superior.
His chakra was contained within him, but the sheer weight of it made her cells hum and she shuddered. She had grown up with his face in the rocks, with history lessons about his genius inventions and his Will of Fire. How he sacrificed himself to pass that flame on to the next generation. And now the offspring of that generation sat next to him, slowly regaining her posture after a meltdown.
He was one of the founders of the village she called home. If the Nidaime decided not to come to a medical check, who was she to tell him off?
But, whispered Inner Sakura, he was a stubborn ass from the past and a so-called genius that meddled with unethical theories, experimenting on his own body, and probably too arrogant to acknowledge contemporary science and thus ignoring any help monitoring his experiment. And he was old fashioned, and would be a sexist, thinking she had no business being a kunoichi or doctor in the first place.
Her eyes hardened by her resolve. "You are ignoring my invitations."
"I am." He stared at her, then looked towards the garden, ignoring her.
"May I ask why?"
"Tsuna's concerns are not relevant. I can monitor my own body."
So he knew that Tsunade sent her then and still he chose to ignore her.
Fuck. He acted like a childish stubborn patient.
As polite as possible she urged: "Just let me check on you to be sure, Nidaime-sama. Just in case. I do not doubt your expertise on the matter. But sometimes an extra pair of eyes see through walls."
"No. I can handle my own."
"Your niece has your well being in mind. You should trust her expertise."
"As she should mine." He crossed his arms and stared to the other side of the garden like a stubborn child.
Sakura could not help it. He was ridiculous. She laughed. He looked at her disturbed, his face thunderous.
"Something funny?"
"Tell me, Nidaime-sama, is this how you got your way when you were little?" The harsh defiance in his eyes stopped her laughing. "I apologise. That was uncalled for, Nidaime-sama." she bowed.
His eyes softened while he stared at her and she wondered when he last faced somebody that did not do as he ordered and actually laughed at his antics. His sharp features honed onto her own and the weight of his gaze made her feel strange. The grey hair stood out brightly in the impending dusk.
Time stretched until his voice slithered through the air. "Did I not say, no formalities, Haruno-san?"
She frowned at him. But then remembered their encounter in the sickbay during the war.
"Does that mean we do the medical examination here?"
He stared at her motionless. She could not tell if her smart reply had any effect on him.
"Call me Tobirama please."
A blush crept up on her cheeks at his suggestion. Their difference in status was so enormous that his wish almost seemed impossible. How could she call this god of shinobi by his first name? The founder of the village?
She found her voice with difficulty: "Alright Tobirama-san. If you would be so kind as to call me Sakura?"
He stood with grace. His bare feet firm on the wooden floorboards, while he bowed. "I would be honoured Sakura-san. Welcome to my home."
He led her through several shoji doors and a few separate rooms further into the building and Sakura felt as if she stepped back through time. The tatami mats seemed fresh and she suspected that his recent return had instigated a refurbishment.
But then they entered a more modern part of the compound and walked straight into what looked like a study. A large desk, walls with files, microscopes and other test equipment. She felt right at ease in this environment and less out of place or time.
He sat down facing her, taking off his haori and the simple shirt underneath. "Will this do?"
She fell into her professional persona, taking out a file from her bag to take notes and quickly put her hands onto his chest, letting her chakra seep into his body, searching and probing.
He seemed to relax under the treatment.
Her eyes roamed his chest, the scars, his breath. And then she dived deeper, feeling tissue, muscles, bone and then further and further until she could feel every cell, follow each breath, hear the flow of blood, the electricity of the nerve system. She closed her eyes under the sensation.
She found what she was looking for. Regenerated cells and they seemed healthy, although some were still mending themselves. She frowned. He must be so tired, with a body that was still healing! She could feel his energy levels focus on this process, his chakra flow continuously feeding into the cells. How long has it been? Three months? How much longer to be fully regenerated?
Then she found more. A badly healed bone. A bruised set of ribs, maybe from a recent training. A wrist that seemed to have been plagued by inflamed joints. She used her healing chakra to set things right and she felt him sigh deeply for a moment. Should she warn him? About what she was doing? Or did he know? He was a legendary sensor after all. He could feel whatever she was doing, right?
Suddenly, his warm hand covered hers, squeezing softly. She opened her eyes, her chakra stilled. He was staring at her, mesmerised. "Sakura-san, I never thanked you."
"Thank me?"
"For healing me and protecting me, in that sickbay."
"You remembered that? I was just doing my job."
"More than your job, as I recall. You caught that imposter. Very impressive."
"Only because your suspicion of him tipped me off."
She suddenly was very aware of his calloused hand on hers and the close proximity of his half naked body in the semi darkness. His body heat was warming her and her heart started beating faster.
"Don't be so stubborn Sakura. You made me feel safe enough to lower my guard so I could rest, not many can do that for me."
She blushed in earnest now, taking her hands back, mourning the lack of warmth momentarily.
She grabbed her file, scribbling notes to distract herself from the conversation and she noticed from the corner of her eye that he still watched her intensely.
"What did you find? You healed old injuries, did you not?" He was rotating his wrists, and feeling his chest for the, what she suspected were, his bruised ribs.
"Yes, some old injuries. And I found your cells to be still regenerating."
He frowned at that, surprise in his eyes. "Still?"
Inwardly she snorted. Arrogant ass. Did he truly think she would not find something? "Yes, I would estimate that 75% of your cells have completed the regeneration, but 25% is still in progress. Are you feeling tired?"
He nodded, the frown still there.
"I think this is the cause of that. Your body and your chakra is still healing the cells, resurrecting them from death towards a state of life."
He stood abruptly. Walking towards a desk pulling out big files of his own, leafing through them until he found what he was looking for. "Here, have a look. These were my calculations. What do you make of it?"
Walking up to him, she realised that he was dwarfing her. And he was still shirtless. She looked at the files he laid out on the table. Her eyes followed his theories, calculations and experimental statistical diagrams. Her brain was kickstarting. And then started to work in overdrive.
Was this…. yes it was! This was amazing. She stood eye to eye with the original manuscripts of the Nidaime. The very first version of a theory that each med student was obliged to learn. A manuscript handwritten by the Nidaime himself! Her hands were shaking.
"This is…."
"Yes?"
"This is just… amazing. You do realise that for me this feels like an archeological discovery of a treasure? I had to learn this in medical I must admit. I cursed you for it."
He looked at her strangely. "They teach this in school? Even if it is thought of as unethical?"
"To train one's mind and imagination in science can be done also by experiments that will never see the light of day. This is one of those conceptual theories. Just as important as others."
"I see." He sounded far away somehow and she looked up with difficulty.
He stared in the distance. A vague expression on his face.
"My apologies, Tobirama-san. This must seem strange to you. But let's focus on the parts of your calculations that differ from the ones that I learned. Because this is so… interesting!"
And she turned back towards the documents, trying to follow the train of thought hidden in the paper and slowly she sat down behind the desk.
Tobirama watched her silently. He realised that she was happy doing maths and studying, just like him. A small smile, despite the awkwardness of being in the future, curled his mouth. And he waited patiently for her to catch up.