"I have an important mission planned for us today," Kakashi's voice clearly rang out, despite his mouth being covered by his obnoxious black mask.
His three gēnin, who made up the rambunctious crew, known as Team Seven—more like hellions, though—immediately perked up at his words that promised something more besides babysitting bratty children and looking for lost animals. Was being a ninja really worth getting called mean names and earning ugly cat scratches?
"Woohoo! Finally, an important mission!" Naruto shouted, grinning, his blue eyes bright in anticipation. His shirt was tucked into his pants, and a few sheet of toilet paper were on the bottom of his shoe.
Sasuke's eyes also glimmered, though he kept his expression neutral. His hands were stuffed into his pockets, his famous nonchalant personality showing as usual.
And Sakura, oh Sakura, she just had a happy smile on her face. She clapped her hands together in pleasure and the corners of her eyes crinkled. She was also, obviously, looking forward to the new mission.
They weren't taking things seriously yet, but Kakashi needed for them to catch a glimpse of the real world. Yes, he knew Sasuke witnessed his clans death by the hand of his own brother, and that was definitely the real world, but he didn't mean about dark and heavy things like that. Just the sort of things that let you get out and see the great, unknown world.
"What's the mission?" Sakura asked, tilting her head. Hopefully it would be something awesome like protecting a fuedel lord, or even going to retrieve an important scroll. Her mind went wild with the possibilities of what they would be doing. Her heart did flips of excitement.
The silver haired jōnin gave them a closed eyed smile. "We will be helping transport important barrels between two mines," he replied, tilting his head and leaning forward in that knowing way he did.
Instantly, the three genin's moods plummeted, and they glowered. Kakashi had gotten their hopes up for nothing. Served them right. A ninja was there to help when needed, for whatever it may be.
"But Sensei.. That sounds boring! We've been doing simple jobs like that for awhile now," Naruto protested, frowning.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "All missions are important, despite how small and meaningless they may be. Now, I expect you three to meet me here in a half hour." With those words, he suddenly shunshined away, leaving the rest of team seven to disperse back to their homes and prepare for the upcoming mission.
When Sakura arrived at her empty home, (her parents were out again for work, the usual business), she took a quick five minute shower so she would be clean, and packed her bag full of shinobi equipment she might possibly need. A simple first aid kit, some kunai, a shuriken, and even a small fan that she did not know how to work yet.
After one last check in the mirror and making sure her hair was good and pretty for Sasuke-kun, she decided that she was ready to go. Hopefully this mission would somehow turn out better than the last ones.
Team Seven and their jōnin sensei made their way out of the village, and were walking towards the first mine.
"How far are we going?" Sakura asked, curious. She was walking in between Naruto and Sasuke, with Kakashi in front of her. Her green eyes were wide with the want to see everything that was around her. She has only traveled outside the village a few times in the past with her parents, but that was when she was far younger than she was now. This was almost new to her, too.
"Not far. We'll probably be walking for about an hour at most," the jōnin replied, glancing back at her.
"Oh, okay. And uh, what will be moving? Is it heavy?" she asked, clenching her fists. She was torn between not wanting to work much but somehow wanting to better herself. She threw a side-glance to he two teammates, who were already pushing and bickering with each other. She sighed.
Kakashi looked at her, eyebrow quirked. Amusement seemed to be the only emotion he was able to communicate with his masked face. "Who's to say? We'll see when we get there, right, my cute little genin's?"
There was gagging sounds in the background, and Kakashi ignored them. But for Sakura, she glowed under those words.
They finally managed to make it to the first mine in less than an hour, since the team had decided to pick up their pace a bit.
Directly in front of them was the looming structure of a large cave, and Sakura could sense several people inside. The small traces of chakra told her that they were not shinobi, but ordinary workers. At the mouth of the cave, there were several wooden containers about half the size of herself. They were most likely the liquids they had to transport.
"So you're the hired help, eh?"
A group of well muscled men were what team seven came across when they entered the cave. It was the leader that spoke, who had calloused hands from hard work and yellow, crooked teeth.
For some reason, Sakura felt as if something wasn't right. It was suspicious, the way these strong men had hired a team of shinobi to do their dirty work for them when they were obviously capable of doing it themselves. Why did they need ninjas? To protect them maybe? If they needed protection then, they should have said from what. Then maybe a more experienced team would have been chosen for this. But if Kakashi felt that something was off, he didn't say anything about it. She was probably just turning into her mom and become paranoid over things. (That was a scary thought.)
"Yes, we are. Is there a certain way that you would like these transported?" Kakashi asked as the leader and genin walked over to the plastic containers.
Another man came up to them with four masks, one for each person.
"Not much to say 'cept to wear these masks so you don't hurt ya'selves," the leader replied as Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke inspected the pieces of body gear that would prevent them from getting hurt.
The one that was handed to Sakura had a smudged spot in the corner, but that was the only unusual thing that stood out. She crinkled her nose, wondering why she had to wear it. Was whatever was inside the barrels toxic. She eyed the wood warily, discreetly sniffing the air.
They didn't smell dangerous at least. Only the damp cave air lingered.
After everyone had their masks on, they set to work on transporting what was now obviously liquids to another mine that was a few kilometers away.
The pinkette struggled with her load, though she worked hard to hide it since the boys picked up theirs with ease.
Useless, is what I am, she thought bitterly. Though, it was her fault since she didn't work nearly as hard as she should. She has tried to do things like set up a system or schedule so she could train more, but it never worked out. She was bad at things like that, she was afraid to admit. Sticking to certain things required having a strong motivation. Her only motivation at the moment was stealing Sasuke from Ino-pig and making sure her plants didn't die.
She suddenly paused in her step, sensing something off.
Kakashi, who was walking to the left of her, glanced at her and motioned for her to keep walking with a small movementof his head. She did as he wanted, knowing that he had sensed it as well.
They were being followed. And judging by the chakra's, they weren't just curious civilians watching shinobi do their work. Sakura could practically taste the killing intent coming off of them. Sakura glanced at Sasuke, who noticed them too, and slowed down slightly.
It was when team seven was making their third and last round that the threatening ninja decided to officially make themselves known.
A kunai came flying from the trees and cut Naruto in the arm, causing him to let out an muffled, undignified yelp and drop the container. Fortunately though, nothing spilled when it hit the ground.
Kakashi immediately put down his load and pulled out a kunai; Naruto did the same. Sakura and Sasuke quickly copied them and everyone went back to back, keeping the containers behind them to keep them safe, since it was unknown if the hidden shinobi wanted the hazardous liquids.
"Quite hiding like cowards," Kakashi called out calmly, his uncovered eye flickering across the trees. And then in a lower voice he said to his students, "Don't take off your masks."
Another kunai came from a different tree, and the jōnin sensei easily blocked it.
"Leave now and we won't hurt you," a voice said from a nearby bush.
Naruto tensed his arms, the blood dripping from his cut already slowing down. "Like hell we'll leave!"
Pursing her lips, (though nobody could see that), Sakura quickly reached over and smacked his arm. "Be quiet, you idiot," she hissed. "Don't antagonize them!"
Sakura redirected her attention though when somebody suddenly appeared before them, casually rocking on their heels. It was a man, who looked to be in his early thirties. A large scar ran up his neck to his peircing green eyes.
Two other rogue ninja appeared beside him, also sporting nasty scars on their faces. They were missing ninja from the Hidden Village in the Mist, judging by their crossed off headbands.
"We aren't looking for trouble now," the one in the middle said, giving them an easy smile.
Sakura felt Kakashi tense as well at his pleasant tone. She thought the rogue Nina was acting too friendly for her taste. It gave her a funny feeling.
"Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. I want you three to guard the liquids. But if those three put you in a life threatening situation, you save yourselves and each other," their sensei said quietly, before suddenly shunshining away, causing the rogue nin to quickly put up their guard and look around.
The nin on the right chuckled after a few moments. "It looks like your sensei left you for dead. What a great shinobi," he sneered, baring gnarled teeth.
Sasuke merely scoffed. "Then what does that make you?"
The leader quickly put his hand out, stopping the suddenly angry man from lunging towards them.
"Don't kill them just yet. They'd be worth a good amount of money, especially that little girl with the pretty hair," he said, a certain something in his tone, gesturing to Sakura who paled drastically under her mask. If only her hair wasn't so long; then it would have been hidden.
Naruto let out an animalistic snarl. "As if we'd let you bastards have us!"
The leader suddenly dropped his smile and lowered his arm, allowing the other nin to finally lunge at the genin.
He dodged several kunai, easily making his way to stand directly in front of Naruto, who in turn used his Shadow Clone Jutsu. The clones pushed the nin back, but were all destroyed within a minute.
The other nin then lunged forward at well, and used hand signs to also make a clone. The clone appeared in front of Sasuke, and he easily cut through it, though his hands were slightly shaking. Sakura had a feeling that the bloodlust he was sending must have been similar to when his own brother had massacred the Uchiha Clan. (She, of course, was wrong. Sasuke was nowhere near Itachi.)
That was when the pinkette realized something, hunched back in a corner and just watching them. These rogue nin were merely playing with them, testing out their jutsus. They were using their full power, but using them as toys. Which made sense. They were only genin, practically fresh out of the Academy.
But in all honesty, that pissed Sakura off. Sure, she knew she was weak. But it was a different thing when people just assumed that, and didn't take her seriously.
All rational thought left her as she took a step forward, barely abandoning her position, and therefore catching the others attention. That was her first mistake.
"I think someone's upset that we've been ignoring her," the leader said, cackling with amusement. "I guess we can give her some entertainment~"
After those words, he quickly preformed a couple of hand signs, and the barrel that Naruto had dropped exploded, sending toxic rain down on the genin's exposed skin.
Fortunately, since it only came down in small amounts, the pain wasn't too bad. But, that was when the genin realized that they needed to get away from the containers. It was simply too dangerous.
So they split up, and each went after a different person, which probably wasn't the smartest thing to do. Kakashi had said help each other. But they were running away from their teammates. Was that cowardly? Did that count?
Were they scum?
The pinkette inwardly fretted as she realized she was left with the leader who had been admiring her hair. Taking a deep breath and try to calm her mind, she pulled a kunai and held it in front of her defensively, before rushing towards him.
But she never got the change to engage him in a fight. Because Kakashi suddenly appeared in front of her. She noticed that his forehead protector was no longer covering his eye, which was open for all to see. Sakura instantly recognized the sharingan, which made absolutely no sense, since she knew her sensei was definitely not an Uchiha.
A familiar sense of annoyance forced into way into her core, pushing away fear, as Kakashi stood in a protective manner in front of her.
"Sorry for not coming sooner," he told the Sakura not taking his eyes off the the ninja. He then proceeded to go after him, leaving the genin to do absolutely nothing. He had unintentionally made her feel as if she couldn't handle herself. (Even though it was true, she couldn't really.)
Things suddenly turned for the worst when two more rogue nin came from the trees, somehow managing to capture the boys, and distracted Kakashi from making sure Sakura was safe.
The punch came quickly and unexpected.
Crack!
The sound caused a wave of panic and fear to pulse through her. Glancing up at the corner of her maka to where the smudge was, was also where the sound had came from.
Her heart fell and she struggled to breath as she realized that a small spiderweb of a crack revealed itself. She didn't want her face to come into any contact with the poison-like liquid that already burned her skin in several areas. She felt itchy—squirmy in a way that was wrong. She blinked rapidly and teeth leered at her at the blank spaces in her vision.
But before she had time to react, someone yanked hard on the mask, and it slipped over her head. A hand quickly attached itself to her long hair, and then she was being lifted into the air.
"Ah, a pretty face too. Such a shame that we have to ruin it," the leader said, grinning maniacally, as he threw the pinkette hard to the ground. "But of course, money is money."
"Sakura!" she heard Naruto's voice from somewhere to her left. She couldn't tell exactly where he was. Her head had hit the ground hard, sending waves of dizziness through her.
Naruto and Sasuke were still tied up, while Kakashi was trapped in some type of water jutsu. They could not help her now.
Opening her eyes when most of the dizziness passed, she saw the cruel leader slowly stalking towards her, and a barely contained whimper left her throat.
The last thing Sakura saw was blue skies, wet-dewed grass, and bright green eyes that were filled with the worst type of mirth.
The pain quickly came. Blinding, excruciating pain. She had closed her eyes too late, and now they burned like hell. No, worse than hell. Even more so than the time she got chili pepper in her eyes after accidentally rubbing at them. Her hands reached up to claw at her face, trying to wipe away the toxic liquid.
But nothing was working.
She vaguely noticed a hand on her hair again, lifting her up. After a few moments she then she fell back to the ground, feeling lighter than before.
It soon became all too much.
Sakura passed out, the liquid still eating away at her pale skin. Locks of pink hair floated around her and horrid green eyes flashed in accomplishment.
And the thing was, the damage would be permanent, and she would never be the same, both physically and mentally.
She should have listened to that little warning voice. But now, it was far too late. They had chosen her, unwilling but hopeful.
The first thing that Sakura was aware of when she woke up was a thick bandage wrapped around her head, covering her eyes. She was also aware of a slight pain above her cheek bones and a few other places on her arms and legs, but, for the most part, she felt fine. Maybe even better than fine.
Her hands twitched, and she immediately tensed when she felt something warm in her hand. It took a few moments for her to realize it was just someone's else's hand that had her own in a tight grip. Hesitantly, she gave the person a gentle squeeze, and a gasp immediately followed.
"Are you awake, Sakura?" a worried voice asked in a gentle whisper. It was her mom. She must have gotten back from her trip.
The pinkette responded by attempting to clear her throat. Her lips clamped together. She needed something.
"Water?" she rasped, her dry lips smacking together. The hand quickly left here and a few moments later a cool glass was pressed against her lips. Sakura greedily downed the glass of water in a few seconds.
After wiping her mouth, she spoke again, her voice clearer this time. "What happened?" Her head started hurt now. A headache was coming on.
There was a sigh, and she didn't see how her mothers eyes watered with unshed tears. Instead of answering her daughters question, she said, "I'll be right back, don't worry. I'm just going to get a nurse."
Sakura was then left alone, after she heard the door close.
Her hand automatically went to the bandages wrapped around her head, and grimaced when she found that it was rubbing against her skin the wrong way. Wincing when she accidentally prodded the area around her eyes too hard, her fingers finally managed to find the end of the bandage, and she carefully unwrapped it.
The thought that the nurses would rather them take it off than her, didn't occur to her.
Instead of her eyes having to adjust to a sudden brightness caused by the sun shining through the window, she was met with darkness. She soon came to the conclusion that it was night outside, but, that didn't make any sense. Her mom had gave her a cup of water, which meant that there had to be some sort of light source. And there was a light source; she could feel it on her face. The sun was definitely up and shining on her, warmth drying away the faint hint of sweat on her cheeks and forehead.
But that didn't solve her confusion. Why couldn't she see anything? Carefully bringing her fingers up to her face, she made sure that her eyes were actually open, which they were. Her fingers brushed against eyelashes, grazing her skin.
A door suddenly clicked open, and she swiveled her face towards the noise, brining her hands down. Still, no lights turned on, and she was left in the dark.
She was starting to panic now, but tried to hide it. It was dark, so very dark. Her headache was getting worse due to her straining her eyes open. She could feel it.
There was a muffled gasp, and a sniffle followed.
"Oh, Sakura, you took your bandage off," an unfamiliar male voice said lightly.
The pinkette tensed at the voice, and followed the sound of his sharp footsteps as they lead towards her. "I-I'm sorry. It was bothering me so I- I took it off. I hope that wasn't the wrong thing to do," she said nervously, wringing her hands. "Is my mom here too?"
There was a light cough from a few feet away from the girl and Mebuki's familiar footsteps came closer. "Yes, sorry dear. I- I'm here," she said, her voice cracking in certain places.
Sakura suddenly flinched when she felt a hand on her forehead. The hand quickly retracted.
"I'm sorry, I should have warned you about what I was going to do," the male apologized, sounding guilty. Then he continued, "Do you remember anything before waking up?"
The pinkette furrowed her brows, thinking hard. She was on a mission, with her team. They went to a mine and were moving containers of liquid. And then-
She gasped.
"There were rogue nin! Is Sasuke-kun okay!? And Naruto-kun and Kakashi-sensei!?" she asked, dread filling her. She remembered that they were being followed, and they wanted to take the dangerous liquids, and even sell the genin for money. And then her mask had broken, and she was thrown to the ground, just like a doll. The leader of the rogue nin had come after her, and had hurt her so much. She was pretty sure that he had manipulated the liquid to splash into her face.
Splashed into her face. Toxic liquid. Toxic liquid splashed into her face. Into her eyes.
A whimper suddenly left her throat as she realized what had happened, and she wanted curled up into a ball, not wanting to face anyone one even though she couldn't even see them anyways. She had a good idea why her eyes wouldn't work.
She just hoped it wasn't true.
"Your team is perfectly fine. Naruto is perfectly fine," the male was a little tense here, "while Sasuke had a sprained wrist. Your sensei only has a shallow cut on his cheek. You're the one with the worst of the injuries," he said, his voice sounding sympathetic at the last part.
Sakura took a ragged breath and sat back up. "What are my injuries?" she asked in a low whisper, not really wanting to know. But she did and she had to hear someone say it. She was going to throw up, she was sure of it.
There was another sniffle, (her mom), and a sigh, (the nurse).
"You have several small burns, a slight concussion, some tearing in your scalp, and-" he paused, almost sounding as if he didn't want to continue.
Sakura knew what he was going to say. He just took too long to say it. She mustered up her non-existent will and spoke.
"I'm blind."
Neither person in the room denied it. They merely kept quite.
Sakura let out a sob, covering her tender face with her hands.
"Yes, I'm sorry. There was severe burns around your eyes, and your nerves have been damaged. I was able to heal most of the burns, however, there will be some scar tissue and the nerves are unfixable," the male finally said.
The pinkette tried to choke back her ugly sobs.
She was blind. She would never be able to see the faces of her parents and friends again, she would never be able to see the sunrises that she always got up extremely early in the morning to watch, she would never be able to see the beauties of the world.
She had always held a child-like wonder for the sights around her, ever since she was smile. It was what inspired her to do things. Like chase after Sasuke, learn how to dance, fill her room with plants.
Sakura didn't hear the door open, and she obviously didn't see the way her teammates and sensei watched her sadly from the doorway. Even Naruto, who so wanted to go wrap her up in a comforting hug, watched her with sorrow-filled eyes.
Mebuki knew her daughter didn't want anyone to see her like this without her knowing, so she quickly crossed the room and pulled her into a hug, blocking her blotchy cheeks and her eyes.. Oh Kami, her eyes..
They were different than before she became blind. Her eyes were pupil-less, and their color had dulled to a haze-filled green. They were also swirled with white, giving them an effect of winter giving away to spring. But, Sakura would never be able to see them.
Mebuki almost started crying again, but she knew she had to stay strong for her only daughter. So, she cleared her throat and whispered in her ear, "Your team is waiting to see you."
The faint crying came to a surprisingly quick halt , surprising the boys. They had thought that it would have taken at least a few minutes for her to calm down enough.
But she obviously didn't want them too see her like this. She felt absolutely pathetic. She would bottle up her negative emotions for later, or try too at least. She should ask for a trash can so she had something to throw up into. And maybe something to wipe her snotty nose.
Wiping her face, the pinkette gently pushed her mom away and looked in the direction of the door, where apparently her teammates were waiting.
"Please don't stand there quietly," she whispered, covering her eyes with her hand. Maybe she could pretend that everything was fine for a little bit, and that this was just a training session to see if she could survive without her sight.
The blond genin grinned, and rushed towards the Sakura, trying to be careful as he put his arms around her, only for her to flinch at the sudden noise and contact.
She didn't know what was happening, and pushed whoever was on her back. "S-Sorry," she stuttered out when she finally realized it was only Naruto.
He blond genin understood though, and forced himself to make his way beside her in a slow and controlled manner. "It's okay, Sakura-chan."
Kakashi and Sasuke followed him, though in a slower pace their other teammate had done.
The Uchiha didn't know what to do, so he opted for sitting beside her on the hospital bed. He grimaced when he realized how scratchy the sheets were.
Kakashi looked at his student sadly, not yet wanting to think about what this would mean for her future.
"How do feel? Are you alright? Do you need some water? Are you hungry? And how can you stand sleeping on this bed?" Naruto blurted out questions left and right, and Sakura managed to find his mouth and cover it with her free hand.
"I'm fine. I'm not thirsty or hungry, and I wasn't sleeping on the bed. I wasn't conscious; there's a difference," she replied, hiccuping in a hard tone. She was scared again, for some reason. The same fear she felt when that ninja stared at her. The same fear she felt when the bullies would chase after her, making fun of her forehead.
While Naruto wasn't put off by her words, Sasuke's's and Kakashi's eyes narrowed. They had never heard her talk like this, and figured that she would be a little more dramatical and frantic.
Kakashi looked to Mebuki worriedly.
She sighed, and gave a helpless shrug. She didn't know what to do now. Her only daughter, blind. She should feel angry at the Jounin for letting this happen, but she isn't. She was just tired.
And so was Sakura. She sat back in her bed and gently pressed her eyes shut, not that it made any difference to what she saw. "Um, is it okay I take a little nap? I'm feeling kind of drained."
Naruto immediately jumped up and dragged Sasuke to his feet, obviously against the Uchiha's will. Mebuki gave Kakashi a look, and he quickly ushered the team out of the room. There was some place he needed to be, after all.
Before he closed the door, he paused and turned back around. "I'm sorry," he whispered aloud to himself. Then he left for the Hokage's Tower.
Mebuki was also gently persuaded outside the room by Shin. He told her that it was best if she came back later when his patient was ready for interaction. Then he himself left after a few more checkups, making sure nothing bad would happen in her sleep.
The blind little girl crumpled the bed sheet into her fists as tears leaked down her face after the door shut. At least that was something about her eyes that worked. But within minutes, she let sleep gracefully take her away from her problems.
Sakura was sitting against a tree, her face hidden in her legs that were pulled up to her chest. She sniffed, trying not to cry. She's done to much of that lately, and her own sadness was making her sick.
The sudden faint sound of bells made her lift her head, and her eyes widened when she saw a beautiful woman standing directly in front of her. The woman couldn't be any older than twenty, and had long purple hair that cascaded to her waist, and faded silver eyes that seemed to look through her soul.
She crouched down, somehow not even wrinkling the sky blue kimono she was wearing.
"Why are you crying?" Her voice was sweet, and carried through the air.
Sakura hiccuped, and wiped away the wetness on her cheeks. "I'm not," she denied, hiding her face again, even though she really wanted to gaze upon the woman's face again. She was even prettier than Ino.
A warm hand sipped under her chin, and the woman lifted her face up, making her look her in the warm eyes.
"Your are crying. But I'm guessing you don't want to," the woman stated, making the pinkette nod.
"I- I don't know how to s-stop feeling sorry for myself," she admitted, her eyes starting to tear up again.
The woman have her a sad smile. "You're strong for wanting that. Would you like some advice?"
Another shy nod, making the woman hum in approval.
"Why don't you make your tears into something useful?"
Sakura frowned, trying to wrap her little head around that question. "But tears are only salty water.. You can't make anything with them, can you?" she asked, puzzled.
A strong gust of air pushed past them, making their rare colored hair stream outwards.
"Oh, you sweet little girl," the woman said with a light laugh. "Turn your tears into power, into motivation. The things that taunt you, bring you down and call you useless, use them to your advantage," she explained.
The little child with the outrageous pink hair and wide forehead sniffed and wiped at her face. "I-I think I understand.."
"Sometimes the things that make you cry, will be your greatest weapon. Don't fight the part of you that makes you, you."
And with those words, the mysterious woman stood up and turned the other way, a smile lingering on her lips. Sakura blinked once, and then she was gone, leaving behind the sound of sweet bells.
A few hours later and Shin had made Sakura stand up, trying to coax her to walk. She was using his arm for balance since was scared of falling down because she couldn't see anything.
"Your wounds are healing up nicely. And around your eyes are a little inflamed, but that will go down in a few days," the nurse told the pinkette.
She nodded. "Is- Is there a chance that I could possibly regain my sight?" she asked in a low voice, finally voicing her fear. She felt him tense.
"I'm sorry. I doubt you will ever be able to see again." His words were blunt, but not unkind.
Her shoulders slumped, and she nodded again, this time in defeat.
"And um, will I be able to continue being a kunoichi?" There was the next question, the bigger question.
This was the question she truly feared getting an answer to. At first, being a kunoichi meant nothing to her. In the Academy, it was just a pastime while she focused on impressing Sasuke. But somewhere along the way, she had just realized this now, that she had come to enjoy the toils of being a shinobi. She had liked taking in the information she read in books, and she liked the satisfaction of doing something for others instead of herself.
Such a shame that she had to finally find this out after she became blind and most likely ruined her future.
"I'm going to have to be honest and not give you false hope," Shin started, and took a deep breath.
"No. I don't think it will be possible for you to continue to be a kunoichi."
Sakura's face didn't change a muscle, but inwardly, her mind was in turmoil.
"Could you open a window. I'm feeling a bit stuffy," she choked out.
Shin immediately guided her to a window and quickly opened it.
"What floor are we on?"
"Er, the first. Why do you want to know th- Hold on a second!" he suddenly yelled when the pinkette suddenly put her hand on the window seal and forced herself to jump out the window.
Sakura didn't know what she was thinking when she attempted to escape the suddenly confining hospital. What much could she do with eyes that don't work? Her body had just moved with its own accord, taking a risk.
She landed awkwardly on her ankle, but still scrambled to her feet and began running. She had studied every location of Konoha, and she told herself many times that she would be able to navigate the village with her eyes closed.
Well, she would figure out if that was true or not.
Several bodies ran into her, and she hurriedly apologized before running off again.
If she was correct, the the place that she wanted to go should be just ahead of her. A sense of distance was one thing that she did not have, and it took a few tries before she was confident in where she was.
Fortunately, or unfortunately depending how you looked at it, she ran into another person, and this time, she kept a hold of them.
"Excuse me, is this the Hokage's Tower?" she asked, hating how raspy her voice sounded.
"I- Um, yes? Are you okay, miss?" a female's voice asked.
Sakura didn't answer, but continued her sudden and spontaneous journey. She knew it was only a matter of time before someone caught her and sent her back to that horrible hospital. Her plans of possibly becoming a medical nin was ruined now. She felt sick at the thought of telling others that they were broken, like she was.
Slowing down now, she used her hand to guide herself up a long set of steps that she recognized. There was a turn, a small struggle of a walk, and another turn. She let out a breath of relief when she finally made it to the Hokage's door.
That's when she heard frantic footsteps from behind her.
"I found Sakura!" Naruto yelled, causing the girl to panic. How did he even know she was gone so soon?
So without even bothering to knock like any respectful person would do, she quickly found the doorknob and flung the door open, before quickly closing it behind her.
She made it.
"Sakura Haruno? What on earth are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in the hospital," a familiar voice asked, that definitely wasn't the Hokage.
A different voice spoke, their voice in a hushed whisper. "What happened to your eyes?"
Oh no. Asuma and Kurenai were in there as well. And she wasn't sure if they had brought their respective teams.
"Billboard-brow!?"
She definitely should have knocked before coming in.
The door that Sakura had been leaning on suddenly was forced open, causing the pinkette to stumble forward.
"Aha! We caught you, Sakura-chan!" Naruto crowed in triumph.
Said genin gulped and felt panicked again. She couldn't see, she was now trapped, and she could practically feel the burning eyes on her. So she did what any muddled, blind person would.
She headed towards the nearest open window, and hoped she could make another great escape.
Obviously it was a stupid idea, because she suddenly forgot how many steps it took to get up here, meaning that she would be going down the same distance but without those very steps.