Naruto burst into the hospital dragging a tired and irate Sakura with him. He immediately rushed towards the reception desk knocking an old lady and a man in a wheel chair over in the process. Sakura stopped to help them up bowing and apologising profusely, she then glared at her blond teammate.
He's rushing around so fast I can't punch him properly. How can he have this much energy after the second exams and the preliminaries, Sakura wondered with a mixture of annoyance and amusement.
"Lady where is Sasuke Uchiha's room?" Naruto asked one of the nurses hurriedly. Sakura joined him at the desk looking around nervously.
Of course Naruto had no idea who Lady Tsunade was he had never met her, which meant that he was also not familiar with her fiery anger which was aggravated by the goings on of the hospital. She was sure Naruto's loud voice and actions displeasing and Sakura was sure she was going to punch him all the way out of the Leaf Village if she saw or heard him.
"I'm sorry visitors are not allowed for Mr Uchiha" the nurse replied barely looking up from her paperwork.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE CAN'T VISIT HIM!? WE'RE HIS TEAMMATES!" Naruto bellowed, completely outraged.
Sakura's heart sank, she wanted nothing more to see Sasuke and to reassure herself that he was alive and in capable hands. Even if he was unconscious or asleep, just to see him would be enough for her. She would finally be able to get some sleep after almost five nights of frantic guarding, protecting and nightmares of Sasuke's curse mark and Orochimaru. If she couldn't get some reassurance she knew five sleepless nights would become six.
"Are you sure we can't see him?" Sakura asked quietly.
"Yeah lady what the hell you got a heart made of stone or something!?" Naruto snapped, annoyed beyond belief.
"I've been instructed not to let anyone visit Sasuke Uchiha and it's going to stay that way!" the nurse said bossily.
Sakura felt like lunging for her throat but before she could even think about jumping over the counter a crop of silver hair caught her eye.
"Kakashi-sensei" Naruto called out happily, he and Sakura approached the Jounin who had his nose in his orange perverted book.
"Sakura, Naruto. I didn't think the preliminaries would be over so soon" Kakashi said mildly, flicking a page.
"Yeah old man Hokage didn't talk too much for once. We have stuff to tell Sasuke like the fact that he's going up against that Gaara guy in the first round for the finals! But that stupid lady said no visitors!" Naruto babbled and then pointed an accusing finger at the bossy nurse.
"She was telling the truth Sasuke isn't allowed any visitors yet. Not even you two" Kakashi replied looking seriously at both of them.
Something's not right, has something happened to Sasuke in the hospital? Did it involve Orochimaru is that why we can't see him? Has there been an attempt on his life? Kakashi is lying he went to see Sasuke I know it!
The anxious thoughts tumbled into Sakura's brain and she began to feel physically sick. Swallowing cautiously she looked up at Kakashi.
"Is Sasuke alright?" she asked in a hard voice.
"He's fine Sakura, unconscious but fine. No visitors are allowed but as soon as they are you and Naruto will be the first to know I promise" Kakashi reassured her.
Sakura didn't buy a word of it but kept quiet nonetheless. Naruto nodded in acceptance and then turned his attention to more pressing matters.
"Sensei we have a lot to organise cause old man Hokage says we have a month to train for the Chunin exams and you could teach me all these jutsu and you're going to be busy because between me and the Teme and Sakura-chan that's a lot of people to train and the old man said something about learning new tricks and" Naruto paused to take in a deep breath before continuing when Kakashi cut him off.
"Naruto I won't be training you but I've found someone to oversee your progress for the final round of the Chunin Exams" Kakashi said calmly.
So Kakashi won't be training Naruto or me and he'll focus on Sasuke. I guess that makes sense with the seal and all but it's still a little disappointing. If I didn't have Tsunade-sama I don't know what I'd do, Sakura thought.
"AH HA! I knew it! You're going to train Sasuke aren't you! Why is it always him!?" Naruto demanded angrily.
"Don't complain I have other matters to attend to but I've found you someone even better than me to teach you" Kakashi replied cheerfully.
"Really? Who is it!?" Naruto asked suspiciously.
"It is I" A posh sounding voice spoke up from behind Naruto. The blond boy turned around to see Konohamaru's private tutor Ebisu.
"WHA! Not you, you pervert!" Naruto yelled and edged away from Ebisu.
"Such insolence!" Ebisu replied and adjusted his glasses.
"KAKASHI SENSEI! WHY WOULD YOU PICK HIM!? HE SAW MY SEXY JUTSU ONCE AND FELL TO PIECES!" Naruto yelled at Kakashi who regarded Ebisu with a look of annoyance.
GAH! THE HAUNTING SEXY JUTSU! BE QUIET ABOUT THAT YOU LITTLE BRAT! Ebisu thought as he grabbed Naruto and reassured him that he would buy him whatever he wanted to eat as long as he shut up.
"WHO THE HELL IS SHOUTING IN MY HOSPITAL!?"
Sakura stiffened immediately and recognised the furious voice of Tsunade. A door behind the reception desk opened and the angry blonde woman appeared. She stomped over and fixed them all with a look of violent rage.
Please Kami I'm begging you don't let Naruto say anything stupid to enrage Tsunade-sama, Sakura pleaded.
"Who the heck are you granny?" Naruto asked crossing his arms in front of his chest.
"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME!?" Tsunade yelled and punch Naruto into the wall.
There goes that idea, Sakura thought and lifted a hand to her forehead. Kakashi sighed as his loudmouth student detached himself from the wall which now sported a huge hole.
"What the heck was that for lady?" Naruto bellowed and was about to say more when Kakashi covered his mouth.
"For making noise in my hospital, for calling me a granny when I am not a day older than thirty and for being a general annoyance" Tsunade said ticking the points of on her hand.
"Naruto show some respect. This is Lady Tsunade; she is a renowned medical ninja one of the best and one of the legendary Sanin so you would be wise to watch your tongue" Kakashi said calmly.
One of the Sanin? Sakura thought, confused at Kakashi's words.
"Whatever I don't get what's so great about this lady with big boobs anyway" Naruto whined like a toddler and Tsunade looked ready to punch him again but Sakura stepped in.
"Uh don't mind Naruto he's like that with everyone and you're sorry right Naruto for being so disrespectful?" Sakura urged digging her elbow into Naruto's side.
Naruto grunted but nodded in response, Tsunade narrowed her eyes but seemed satisfied and turned her attention to Sakura.
"You're that girl with pink hair who healed Hinata Hyuga right? Those medical nurses tell me you did a great job. Hinata is in a stabilised condition but she's still out of it" Tsunade remarked.
Sakura shifted uncomfortably it was odd to have to pretend she didn't know Tsunade but she smiled and bowed her head in thanks nonetheless. Naruto seemed pleased about Hinata's condition as well and grinned happily.
"You know with skills like yours I'd be willing to offer you a volunteer position at this hospital, it would be a good chance to learn from some of the most esteemed medical ninja in the country. That is if you're up for it" Tsunade offered, her eyes scanning the hospital for signs of disarray.
"As it happens Sakura here as a month of time to train for the final rounds of the Chunin Exams and I'm sure she could really benefit from some time spent learning more about medical ninjutsu" Kakashi encouraged and Naruto looked expectantly at his teammate.
"Sure it sounds like a wonderful opportunity to learn some new skills" Sakura agreed happily but wondered exactly what Tsunade had planned for her.
"Alright then I'll just ask you to step into my office and fill out the necessary paperwork. As for your teammate I want him out of him hospital within the next ten seconds or I'll throw him out myself" Tsunade declared and looked angrily at Naruto.
"R-right of course you're Saninship I-I mean Lady Tsunade I-I mean oh come on Naruto let's go!" Ebisu said nervously and tugged at Naruto's arm.
"I'm not going anywhere with you pervert! Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto whined at the silver haired man.
"Naruto, Ebisu is a better instructor than I am. Work on your fundamentals and you'll be a lot stronger for the finals. Later" Kakashi said before disappearing.
"L-Let's go Naruto" Ebisu said still watching Tsunade apprehensively.
"Fine but you're still buying me ramen. Good luck with your training Sakura-chan!" Naruto waved before Ebisu dragged him out fearing Tsunade's actions.
Sakura watched them leave and turned to her sensei apprehensively but Tsunade had already begun walking back into her office and motioned for Sakura to follow. To say her sensei's office was a mess would be an understatement. Papers were scattered around covering the foor and desk, filing cabinets were stuffed to the brim with more papers and large folders. In between the mass amounts of paperwork Tsunade had clearly not bothered to sort, there were stethoscopes and bandages.
"Take a seat Sakura" Tsunade said and gestured to a seat in front of her desk piled high with more papers.
Moving them aside Sakura sat down and Tsunade reached within her desk to draw out a bottle of sake. Uncorking the bottle she moved some papers around before finding a glass and pouring herself some.
"So I hear you passed the preliminaries and you're in the finals congratulations. You look awful though and you might as well tell me all that happened. Including how the Uchiha kid got that mark on his neck" Tsunade said bluntly.
Sakura nodded there was really no point in hiding anything from Tsunade considering her sensei had a way of finding out information before she did. The pink haired teen regarded Tsunade for a minute; she wanted to ask her about this Sanin title that Kakashi and Ebisu had mentioned as well. Deciding she had to give information to get information Sakura proceeded to tell her all that had occurred during the second exam and the preliminaries. She once again left out Orochimaru's interest in her.
Once she had finished speaking Tsunade remained silent occasionally sipping on her sake. Finally she sighed and turned to her apprentice.
"Orochimaru huh? So he's back and wants the Uchiha boy. No doubt he's planning to attack the Leaf Village if he already hasn't begun getting the forces together to do so. My former teammate seems to be up to his old tricks once again" Tsunade muttered.
"Teammate!? Orochimaru was your teammate!? And what do you mean attack the Leaf Village!?" Sakura sputtered completely shocked.
"You're probably wondering what your sensei meant by Sanin. Sanin are the three legendary ninja one of which is me. The other two are my teammates Jiraiya and Orochimaru all three of us were trained under the Third Hokage. We all went our separate ways, Jiraiya and I remain loyal to the village but Orochimaru chose a different path" Tsunade explained her voice nostalgic.
"And the attack on the village?" Sakura ventured trying to regain her composure.
"My own speculation but I fear it will happen soon enough which is why you need to be ready for it. I'll be training you hard over this next month to prepare for the Chunin finals and for what may come after it. I'm serious about you volunteering at the hospital as well, although some of them can be completely useless there are skilled doctors and nurses here that you can learn from" Tsunade replied.
"Training? What kind of training? Lord Hokage said we needed to bring out our best for the finals. I'm facing that Temari girl and there is no way I want to lose" Sakura said.
"You'll bring your best alright this month will be the hardest you've ever trained in your life. Your taijutsu style chakra infusion fighting will be at a much greater capacity than it is now. Your stamina is going to be at the level that I'm happy with thus increasing your chakra reserves. I have some tricks up my sleeve don't you worry. Satisfied?" Tsunade asked.
"Plenty satisfied" Sakura replied and smiled.
"You have weaknesses that Temari girl will see. You'll need to tell me everything about her fight and all the others you saw fight as well. That way we can best prepare you especially if you run out of chakra and still need to fight without it. Also I want you to become a fully fledge nurse by the end of the month. That means full shifts at the hospitals healing patients in and out of surgery, people will be relying on you. I won't promote you to this until your medical ninjutsu is at the level required" Tsunade said swallowing some more sake.
"Alright I've got it. If this is what you want from me then I'm going to give it everything I have" Sakura replied even more determined.
"There is just one more thing I have to tell you and it explains why Sasuke Uchiha is not permitted visitors at the moment. There was an attempt on his life while you were still at the preliminaries by Kabuto Yakushi" Tsunade said gravely.
"Is he alright!?" Sakura asked horrified.
"He is stable and isn't any worse off than he was when he was brought in. As a matter of fact your teacher Kakashi Hatake stopped the attack. Kabuto escaped using the Dead Soul Jutsu which involves temporary control and animation over a dead body. He eliminated all traces of his scent and escaped by impersonating one of the dead ANBU Black Ops men he killed" Tsunade explained.
"Kabuto Yakushi. He helped us during the second exam and if he tried to kill Sasuke he must be working for that creep Orochimaru which means he was using us to get information! We should have killed him when we had the chance!" Sakura cried angrily recalling her and Sasuke's mutual suspicions of the man.
"Sakura you have great potential and I have faith you will become a strong medical ninja one day but you would have died trying to fight Kabuto. He is the adopted son of the Leaf Medical Core Chief and his medical ninjutsu is a force to be reckoned with. He is a threat to the Leaf Village, your teammate and he is your greatest rival. I'd like to see you beat him" Tsunade said in a calm voice.
Sakura watched her sensei for signs of deception or amusement but Tsunade's mouth was pressed into a tight line.
"I promise to work my hardest over this next month to win in the finals. If I need to defeat Kabuto Yakushi to become a stronger medical ninja then that is a goal I will work towards. I won't let him harm anyone close to me" Sakura said.
Sakura has the determination to do this now all she needs is the training and knowledge. Kabuto won't know what hit him; Tsunade thought and smirked in satisfaction.
"Nice attitude. Now all I have to do is find the papers you need to sign to start the volunteer program. Uh they're in here somewhere. Well as a volunteer for the Konoha Hospital your first task is to sort through all this paperwork and find your volunteer papers" Tsunade continued happily.
"Seriously!? All these papers!?" Sakura cried in outrage, there was no way one person could sort through all this.
"Yes its part of your training. Sort them as well would you while I go and oversee the hospital" Tsunade said and walked out of the office before Sakura could even respond.
"Oversee the hospital yeah freaking right! She's probably gone to the bar or something!" Inner Sakura was outraged.
Sakura simply sighed and began sorting through the piles of paperwork.
Three hours later and Tsunade's office had been arranged and clean. Sakura felt as though she were going to fall over from exhaustion and decided it was best to head home. As she had predicted Tsunade was nowhere to be found within the hospital and Sakura overheard a few of the nurses giggling about the blonde woman's drinking habits.
"They are so lucky she isn't around to hear them" Sakura muttered as she walked slowly down the streets.
She was looking forward to a nice hot shower, a warm meal and a chance to speak with her mother about her father. Why Keiko Haruno had concealed the seriousness of her husband's situation Sakura didn't know but she was determined to find out. She would get stronger with Tsunade, much stronger and with the permission of the Third Hokage perhaps after she became a Chunin she could got out and search for her father.
Maybe Team 7 would accompany her. She knew Naruto would be up for a mission like that and Kakashi if she bribed him with the latest novel of his perverted orange book. Sakura didn't know if Sasuke would come or not. Honestly she didn't care who came and who didn't; she would go it alone if she had to.
Even if he doesn't come back within the required time frame and people start to accept he's dead I will go and search for him. My father was one of the best elite ninja this village has ever seen and I know he is alive, Sakura thought and clenched her fists angrily.
She would also ask her mother to sign the volunteer papers. Sakura needed parent/guardian consent before she could begin and according to one of the nurses at the reception desk her first shift was tomorrow. Finally reaching her house Sakura unlocked the door and sighed happily, being in the forest for five consecutive days made her miss luxuries like her bed and a hot shower.
"Mother I'm home! You will not believe the time we had in those exams I finally understand what you and father were talking about toughing it out away from the village as a ninja and I was still in the village technically!" Sakura called out cheerfully determined not to mention or remember Orochimaru for one night.
No response came to Sakura's call but the pink haired teen didn't think anything suspicious of it. Her mother loved to late afternoon grocery shop. She was a friendly and vibrant person by nature and she loved to approach the vendors after the busy rush during the day to speak with them. Sakura smiled at the thought, her mother was compassionate, friendly and loved by many in the village.
Walking into the kitchen Sakura felt her stomach rumble and headed towards the fridge hoping there would be something edible. Opening the door and rifling through it she found a single green apple and bit into it hungrily. It didn't escape Sakura's notice that the fridge seemed quite sparsely stocked but it wasn't unlike her mother to practically clean out the contents of the kitchen before going out to restock it.
It wasn't until she noticed the white envelope sitting in the middle of the dining room table with her name on it that she knew something could be wrong. Sakura remained completely motionless and did a check for any foreign chakra signals or genjutsu. Her eyes scanned the room looking for ninja wire or anything out of place that would indicate a trap of any kind. Cautiously she moved forward and picked up the envelope with a shaking hand.
Her name was written on the front in small but elegant script. Sakura recognised the writing as her mothers and immediately ripped the envelope open. A piece of paper fell onto the table and Sakura picked it up and began to read.
Sakura,
I hope you are alive to read this. I know how hard the Chunin exams can be and I hope you and your team made it through. I have never been one to avoid the truth so I will tell you all that has occurred since you left five days ago for the second exams.
Your father has been officially classified as a missing ninja by the village. Some of the ninja from the A ranked mission he went on have returned to the village but he was not among them. His separation from them was mysterious as they claimed that one minute he was with the squad and the next he had disappeared without a trace. No chakra signal or scent or anything they could track him with. Even more strange there was no sign of any kind of struggle.
He is still technically a missing ninja but anyone with sense would come to the conclusion that he is dead. But I refuse to accept it as I'm sure you do as well, your father is a great ninja and he would not simply just wander off or disappear. Your father would have fought for his life if he were under attack to come back to me and you. It is suspicious which is why I have no choice but to leave the Leaf Village and go in search of him. By the time you return from the Chunin exams I will have left.
I love you father with all my heart and soul and I know deep within my heart that he is not dead. You are growing into a strong young woman Sakura, your father and I are very proud of you. I have noticed you are training much harder and more determined than ever to become a successful ninja. I believe in you and so does your father and we love you so much. Should we not return I want you to know that and keep that with you for the rest of your life.
Because you are my daughter I know you will want to come and find me and help to search for your father. It is here that I forbid you to do so. You are our only daughter and we do not want to put you in danger. Please do not follow me Sakura, I swear to you until the last breath flows out of my body that I will search for your father and bring him back home.
Please conceal my leaving for as long as you can. I have left money for you in a box under the bed in my room, it will be enough to see you through the rest of this year. Hopefully you will be skilled enough to earn a wage through you missions. I wish that you continue with your work as a ninja and follow your dreams, your father wishes this as well. I love you and I'm sorry. We'll be back before you know it.
Because I know how stubborn you are: Don't follow me!
Kekio Haruno
For a while all Sakura could hear was her own heavy breathing as she read and re-read the letter her mother had left. Suddenly the silent room was filled with loud sobbing and Sakura put a hand over her mouth when she realised the sobs were hers. A mixture of complete exhaustion and devastation caused her to end up on the floor crying continuously.
After a while her tears stopped and Sakura was able to read the letter without feeling as though her heart was being ripped in two. What her mother did made sense, of course she would go after her father and the circumstances surrounding his disappearance were not at all like her father. Sakura agreed with her mother, her father would have fought back against whoever it was and there should have been signs of a struggle.
Keiko Haruno was stubborn and determined and strong, if there was anyone who could find Sakura's father it would be her mother of course. But to make Sakura promise not to follow her made the pink haired teen angrier than she'd ever been in her life. After all this time she still wasn't strong enough to be of any use, not even when her own family was in trouble.
"Why would you leave me here alone like this!?" Sakura screamed and threw the letter across the room in a fit of anger.
Calming herself down Sakura quickly went and retrieved it. She hugged the note to her chest and tried to think about the situation calmly. She would honour her mother's request and conceal her leaving the village for as long as possible. Sakura knew she couldn't let herself think of the possibility that her parents wouldn't return. They would return and she would be strong enough to heal both of them when they did and they would be proud of her like they promised.
"After the Chunin exams I will be a stronger person, after this month of training with Tsunade I will be stronger and I will find you both and bring you home. I'll be strong enough to do it and I won't stop until I find you both, dead or alive" Sakura vowed.
Her voice echoed throughout the empty house and Sakura felt the tears threatening to fall again as she realised she was now all alone. They fell and just as quickly Sakura wiped them away, standing up shakily she reached for the paper work for the volunteer position at the hospital. Sakura took a pen and forged her mother's signature where it was needed.
Swallowing hard Sakura made the necessary journey to her parent's room to collect the money her mother had left. She made a point of turning away from all the family photos that on every other occasion would have brought a smile to her face. Sakura knew if she looked at them she wouldn't be able to stop crying. Biting down hard on her lip she entered her parent's room and hurriedly looked under the bed. Finding the box her mother had written about Sakura secured it under her arm and made her way to her own room.
Emotionally drained and physically exhausted Sakura wanted nothing more than to lay on her bed and fall asleep pretending she hadn't come home from the preliminaries to the mess that was her family life now.
"We can't sleep now, remember there is no food in the house. Take the money and buy groceries, drop off the volunteer forms at the hospital now that they're complete. It's okay, we'll be okay I promise" Inner said in a soothing voice much like she had when Sakura was being bullied at the academy.
Finding the strength in Inner's urging, the female ninja of Team 7 hid the box full of money in her room taking some money with her to buy groceries. Heading downstairs she grabbed the volunteer paperwork and the letter her mother had written her. She hid the latter in her training uniform and made for the door. It was going to be tough, all the vendors would be inquiring after her mother and Sakura wasn't sure she could do it.
No I have to. If I want to get strong enough to find them I have to be emotionally strong enough to face the fact that they're both gone now and it's just me left in this village, Sakura thought and plastered a smile on her face and left her family home which now housed just one.
Sakura's first day of volunteer work at the hospital was hard with very little reward. The nurses didn't know what to make of her for the most part. Some were cautiously nice, other avoided her all together and some made it known outright that they didn't like her because of her closeness with Tsunade.
Sakura had barely the night before due to the horrific dreams involving Orochimaru and the moment Sasuke received the curse mark. The coupled with the thought of her parents dead resulted in a grand total of two hours of sleep at most. Her shift was an early start and Tsunade was nowhere to be found.
She was put to work immediately cleaning rooms of patients, disposing of used or unwanted medical items and general hospital maintenance. One of the nurses had explained to her that as it was her first shift she wouldn't be healing anyone but rather just getting to know her way around the place. Sakura was secretly grateful; as much as she wanted to improve her medical ninjutsu she was much too exhausted.
"Sakura I have your itinerary for tomorrow" Tsunade called out just as Sakura was about to leave.
The blonde woman had turned up towards the end of the day barking orders at doctors and nurses alike. Taking the piece of paper Tsunade held out for her Sakura was surprised and relieved to see she was off cleaning duty.
"You'll begin your medical ninjutsu training tomorrow, there are several surgeries scheduled and I want you to attend each. Be fully involved and observe all that you can, the doctors performing those surgeries are some of the best. If they need help you give it to them. Since I won't always be here my assistant Shizune will oversee your development and report back to me. You'll meet her tomorrow. You will spend the majority of your day at the hospital and then the late afternoons and into the night training with me" Tsunade explained looking as tired as Sakura felt.
Sakura read through the itinerary carefully but stopped suddenly. Written at the bottom of the page was a list of names and one of them was Sasuke's.
"Uh Shishou why is Sasuke's name on here? And Lee's as well?" Sakura asked in confusion as she read through the names again.
Sasuke Uchiha, Rock Lee, Hinata Hyuga and some other names I don't recognise at all. What is this? Sakura thought and looked at her sensei in confusion.
"Ah, those are your patients in a matter of speaking. They've finished treatment and are just resting until they are fully recovered. They've been allocated to you and your job is to check their charts and vitals. Heal any wounds that may have reopened, make sure they're taking their medication those sorts of things" Tsunade said grabbing a folder from the reception desk and rifling through it.
"But Sasuke's not conscious yet is he?" Sakura asked.
"No but you're still required to perform all those things I mentioned on each patient conscious or not. Besides I needed someone to take the Uchiha kid's rounds. Some of the female nurses were a little too keen" Tsunade replied.
"Too keen?" Sakura asked feigning ignorance.
Her hands clenched into fists at the thought of those girls taking advantage of Sasuke while he was unconscious. The gesture didn't go unnoticed by Tsunade who supressed a smirk.
"You could say they were getting a little too personally involved in their jobs. All their squealing and fawning was aggravating the doctors and other nurses and most importantly me. Shizune decided that it would be better to take him off their rounds than to chakra punch all of them but I disagree" Tsunade replied.
Sakura bit her lip and looked at the ground angrily. It wasn't fair of them to be using her teammate for their fangirling pleasure. Sasuke had been through a lot and was only just starting to recover, there'd even been an attempt on his life and all they could do was squeal over him.
"CHA! Tsunade-sama was totally right! She should have kicked their butts! Inner Sakura screamed.
"Well in any case you have a long day tomorrow and you should probably go home and get some rest. It hasn't escaped my attention that you look like you're about to fall over and die from exhaustion. It does you know good for your training to be this tired so I'm giving you these" Tsunade instructed.
Reaching into her pocked the elite ninja pulled out a container of pills and handed them to her student. "They're sleeping pills, take two an hour before you got to sleep and you'll be out like a light I promise"
Sakura nodded and pocketed the pills. "I'd better be going then, thank you for all your help Shishou. I'll make sure to work hard tomorrow"
Tsunade smirked as she watched her pink haired student leave, Sakura seemed completely oblivious to the affection she harbored for her teammate and preferred to throw herself into her training. That suited Tsunade just fine after all the Uchiha brat was perhaps even more oblivious and stubborn.
Sighing to herself Tsunade picked up the contents of the folder once more and walked into her office. Sakura had done an exceptional job, the office was clean and organised but to Tsunade it felt odd and foreign. Putting the folder away in the cabinet she sat down at her desk which held a fresh stack of paperwork courtesy of Shizune. Tsunade picked up the nearest one which happened to contain the days report on Sasuke Uchiha.
Uchiha Sasuke is conscious but is sleeping each time a nurse visits the room to check on him. He has not consumed any of the medication set aside for him.
Tsunade chuckled it was easy enough to see what he was doing, the Uchiha kid didn't like the gaggle of teenage nurses fawning over him when they came to do a check-up so he faked unconsciousness. A plan of sorts and it did seem to fool the teenagers but not her senior nursing staff. They were getting frustrated at the boy and Tsunade didn't blame them. That was where Sakura came in, Tsunade was sure at the appearance of his female teammate Sasuke Uchiha would miraculously awake from his coma. Hell Sakura might even convince him to take the damn medication.
Either way it's going to work in my favour, Tsunade thought happily as she decided to ditch the paperwork and head out.
Sasuke was annoyed to say the least it was his third day in the hospital and he knew the preliminaries were over. All the other candidates who had made it through were his rivals for the finals and he knew they would all be training. Meanwhile Sasuke remained in the hospital, knowing nothing of the final rounds or the fate of his teammates and spent his time pretending to be unconscious when the familiar pack of giggling nurses arrived in his room.
The Uchiha prodigy looked sullenly at the clock and lay down in his bed ready to pull the unconscious act again. It was almost twelve and he knew they would be on time, squealing and fawning over him. Sasuke wanted to leave the stupid hospital he didn't need the medication or the help. He was fine and he needed to start training for the final exams as soon as possible. Hearing footsteps Sasuke dragged the blankets up over his body and shut his eyes preparing for the onslaught.
I'm an Uchiha I shouldn't be cowering like a frightened animal because of a pack of stupid ignorant girls. Hn, it's annoying but I'll tell them to get lost and if they don't listen then the fireball jutsu will be required, Sasuke thought and angrily pulled the covers back down.
He sat up against the bed frame preparing to silence the stupid nurses one way or another. His ninja outfit remained in the cupboard in his room. Sasuke would put it on and then leave the hospital to find Kakashi and start training. The Uchiha boy could hear the footsteps getting closer but it seemed as though there was just one set and the giggling that would normally follow was absent. The door to his room pulled back to reveal Sakura Haruno and Sasuke swore he'd never been more grateful in his life.
"Sasuke you're awake, they told me you were still unconscious! Do you need food or water or any sort of medical attention? Does anything hurt?" Sakura babbled away completely unsure of what to do now that Sasuke was conscious.
"Hn. Sakura I'm fine" Sasuke replied and smirked a little at the arrival of his teammate.
"Well I guess I should just continue on with what they've instructed me to do" Sakura said and picked up the chart at the end of his bed.
"They?" Sasuke asked he had assumed Sakura had come to visit him. Taking in his female teammate's attire he saw the same outfit the group of giggling nurses had been wearing.
"Yeah I'm working here now sort of. It's a volunteer position at the moment to improve my medical ninjutsu. So you seem to be alright and the head nurse who visited you this morning hasn't written anything on your chart to say otherwise. But I'm told you're not taking your medication" Sakura said and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Hn. It's stupid I'm fine, besides I need to be training for the final rounds. I have to get stronger and I can't do that lying in this bed" Sasuke huffed and Sakura smiled an idea forming in her head.
"I'll make you a deal, you take the medication and I'll tell you everything that happened after you left the preliminaries including who you're fighting first in the final round" Sakura offered raising her eyebrows comically.
Sasuke regarded her for a moment before reaching for the pills next to his bed and popped two in his mouth. Swallowing he smirked up at his teammate. "Talk Sakura" he instructed.
For the next hour Sakura sat on Sasuke's hospital bed and told him everything about the preliminaries. She gave him a brief overview of her fight with Ino and Naruto's fight with Kiba, Sasuke nodded and seemed pleased that the whole of Team 7 had made it through to the finals. Sakura also mentioned Naruto's training with Ebisu and Kakashi's intention to train Sasuke. The Uchiha boy seemed to perk up a little upon hearing that. Sasuke spoke a little as well, he thanked Sakura for her assistance with sealing away the cursed mark. He swore to her and himself that he had it under control now.
Sakura explained the way the finals were going to work and that Team 7 could all end up fighting each other. Sasuke's eyes hardened but he motioned for her to continue and Sakura explained Gaara's fight in great detail and told her teammate that he would be up against the Sand Ninja. Sasuke smirked in response and his eyes were full of determination, he had wanted to fight Gaara from the moment he first saw him and now was his chance. Sakura had stopped talking and Sasuke noticed she had dark circles under her eyes.
"Sakura why haven't you been sleeping" Sasuke asked annoyed at the thought of his female teammate not sleeping well.
"Oh um it's all the training I've been doing for the finals plus shifts at the hospital" Sakura lied not wanting to burden Sasuke with her personal problems.
"Hn. Training is what I need to be doing" Sasuke commented bitterly.
"Well you're not due to be discharged for another three days at most. Is that the time!? I have an hour off for lunch but I need to attend two more surgeries and then I need to prepare for training tomorrow!" Sakura panicked and hopped off the bed when she saw the time.
Acting on pure impulse Sasuke grabbed her wrist before she could leave and Sakura spun around to face him.
"Hn. I'm hungry enough now to eat the hospital food. Have lunch with me" Sasuke said looking slightly embarrassed.
Sakura smiled remembering the day at the academy where she wanted nothing more to have lunch with Sasuke. But this time he had not so much asked but instructed her to eat with him. Sakura looked over the rudeness of the request after all there were things about Sasuke she knew that wouldn't change. She wanted to eat lunch with him but not for a romantic gain this time but to be his teammate and his friend.
Accepting the request Sakura pressed the intercom above Sasuke's bed requesting that a meal be sent up for the patient and asked to have her own lunch brought up along with it. Tsunade who happened to be leaving her office heard the request come through at reception and smirked knowingly.
The next four weeks continued the same. Sakura attended surgeries and followed the tutelage of Tsunade's assistant Shizune who was a level headed and practical medical ninja who was extremely loyal to Tsunade. Sakura admired and respected her knowing that Tsunade had full confidence and trust in her medical abilities. Shizune also began tutoring Sakura in the art of poison related medical ninjutsu. Shizune explained that the tips of senbon could also be poisoned making them an effective tool in battle. With Tsunade's approval in their free time together at the hospital, Shizune began teaching Sakura the poison senbon technique for the finals.
In her training with Tsunade Sakura was beaten, broken and pushed to the limit. Then Tsunade would heal her and they would continue again. They worked on taijutsu and building Sakura's speed up for avoidance. Tsunade would find anything and everything she could and would hurl the objects at Sakura. Then chakra infused taijutsu training and the trees that littered the training grounds became Sakura's practice objects.
Tsunade would instruct her to hit them until they splintered and punch the ground until it broke. It was initially frustrating, the trees refused to splinter and the ground would sustain minimal damage. But as her stamina increased and her chakra control became more precise thanks to the practical hands on experience she received from healing her patients at the hospital the trees began to splinter and the ground began to break apart into sizeable chunks. Tsunade would run her down until Sakura was completely out of chakra and then charge at her student with everything she had. Sakura learnt to fight competently relying on taijutsu techniques.
Tsunade noticed the progress and was pleased; it began to take her longer than normal to get Sakura's chakra reserve down to nothing. In situations where Sakura would have been unable to continue before she was now able to keep fighting, chakra or no chakra. In her own private time at home Sakura poured over her medical book practicing the techniques she had seen and learnt at the hospital on small animals in her garden at home. She also made sure to keep her ninjutsu skills affective by practicing them continuously. Tsunade had begun to teach her the basics of a jutsu that Sakura could use in the finals depending on her opponent. Sakura practiced this in secret. All in all she was happy with how her training was progressing.
The staff at the hospital began to see her potential and rely on her more. Sakura would often be called to participate in surgery as another set of hands, not just an observer. The doctors and nurses relied on her level headiness during an operation and sometimes even asked her opinion on what should be done. They found the girl as young as she was full of very insightful advice and tips from the medical book she carried around with her constantly.
Sasuke had left the hospital before he was due to be discharged; Sakura expected it but couldn't help feeling disappointed that he wasn't on her patient roster anymore. In the following two days after their initial encounter Sasuke became the model patient, he took his medicine and didn't complain.
Both members of Team 7 spent Sakura's lunch break together talking, well it was mostly Sakura doing the talking but Sasuke seemed content enough to listen and spoke a little when he wanted to. It seemed as though their friendship was beginning to find sturdier ground.
When Sakura walked into his room on the third day she wasn't at all surprised to see he had left, Sasuke had told her the day before that he was going to go and find Kakashi to begin his training for the exams. He promised he would see her on the first day of the finals. Sakura nodded it made no sense for Sasuke to remain in the hospital when he could be out preparing for the finals. Sasuke didn't miss the flash of hurt in her eyes when he told her he would be leaving but just as quickly it was gone. Although he would never admit it to her, Sasuke would miss their lunch break talks just as much as Sakura would.
But soon enough Naruto was admitted to the hospital and Sakura had another member of Team 7 added to her patient list. Apparently his training had been so rigorous that Naruto had completely passed out and had been in a coma for about three days. Sakura had clocked off from her shift, it was the night before the third round of the Chunin exams and Tsunade decided that Sakura should go home early and get a good night's rest. Before she left Sakura decided she should pay a visit to Naruto to see if he had awoken. Sakura knew how important the exams were to him and she hoped he wouldn't have to miss them.
Opening the door to his room Sakura found Shikamaru Nara engaged in a one person game of shougi. The lazy boy looked up and nodded at Sakura before resuming his game. Sakura sat opposite him and Shikamaru cleared the board before setting up a new game so she could play as well. Sakura spied the basket of fruit at Shikamaru's feet and looked at him questioningly.
"They were for Choji but the nurse said he couldn't have any of it. Serves him right I guess for stuffing his face at the all you can eat barbeque Asuma took him to. Now he's in here with a stomach ache" Shikamaru explained and Sakura repressed a laugh.
"I decided to give them to the kid but he's still unconscious" Shikamaru continued and began the game with Sakura.
Reaching for the sand timer Shikamaru stopped when he noticed the sand wasn't running like it should have been.
"Maybe it's blocked by something?" Sakura wondered as she noticed the timer as well.
Naruto began to stir and opened his eyes seeing a room and a bed completely unfamiliar to him. Looking to his left he saw Sakura and Shikamaru talking with each other.
"So you're finally awake Naruto" Sakura said happily as she noticed her blond teammate opening his eyes.
"About time too, the nurses said you've been out for three days straight" Shikamaru added.
"THREE DAYS STRAIGHT! WHEN DOES THE FINAL COMPETITION BEGIN!?" Naruto bellowed and stood up on his bed.
"Uh tomorrow" Shikamaru replied looking completely freaked out. Sakura simply sighed; of course when Naruto awoke things couldn't be simple.
"WHY DIDN'T ANYONE WAKE ME UP SOONER? I CAN'T BE LYING AROUND AT A TIME LIKE THIS! PERVY SAGE, WHERE THE HECK IS PERVY SAGE!?" Naruto screamed and seized a hold of Shikamaru.
Pervy Sage? Sakura thought as she watched Naruto rip apart the hospital room searching for his clothes.
"Naruto would you knock it off! Resting the night before a big competition can be good" Sakura said in an annoyed tone.
Naruto immediately stopped moving and sat down. Looking at Sakura he gripped his stomach in pain. "I'm starving is there anything to eat?" he whined.
Shikamaru reached down and pulled out the basket of fruit he had brought. "Here dig in, it was meant for Choji but he's had one short rib too many and the doctors won't let him have any"
Naruto grinned and reached for a big apple but began giggling to himself. "Let's all go and eat this in front of Choji! It'll drive him crazy!"
Sakura laughed and Shikamaru smiled. Helping Naruto up they were making their way to Choji's room when Sakura saw light streaming through the door of Lee's room which had been left open a crack. Lee had been sleeping a lot and Sakura barely had any time to talk to him.
"Uh guys why don't you go on ahead. I think Lee might finally be awake and I want to visit him" Sakura said.
"Bushy brow! No I want to see him too!" Naruto said happily and followed Sakura. Shikamaru set the basket of fruit down in front of Choji's room before following Sakura and Naruto.
Something wasn't right. There were noises coming from inside Lee's room like the sound of running water. Pulling the door back Sakura, Naruto and Shikamaru were horrified by what they saw. Gaara was using his sand jutsu to constrict Lee, the sand had enveloped his bed and Gaara held a hand out controlling it with a demonic look in his eye. Just as he was about to close his hand to perform the Sand Coffin technique, Gaara was suddenly unable to move.
Shikamaru had trapped him with his shadow possession jutsu and Naruto ran forward and punched Gaara across the face. Shikamaru recoiled and glared and the blond boy.
"Hey take it easy, I'm using my Shadow Possession jutsu so if you hit him I get hit too" Shikamaru said rubbing at his cheek.
"Oh sorry Shikamaru. What the heck do you think you're doing in here you rat!?" Naruto asked angrily.
Sakura looked at Lee and did quick vitals check, no harm had come to him but Gaara's sand sat on his bed unmoving. Gaara remained silent staring at the three ninja who had interrupted him.
"You're not allowed to be in here. You don't have clearance. What were you planning to do if we hadn't come in and stopped you?" Sakura asked in a calm voice.
Gaara watched her carefully. "I was going to kill him" he said darkly.
"You already beat him once in the competition so what's your problem? Wasn't that enough or do you have some kind of personal grudge against him?" Shikamaru demanded.
"I have nothing against him. It's nothing that complicated I simply want to kill him that's all" Gaara replied as cool as ice.
"YOU'RE SICK IN THE HEAD!" Naruto accused and pointed his finger at Gaara in horror.
"You must be kidding yourself if you think we're just going to stand by and let you do whatever you want" Sakura added angrily.
There's always been something off about this guy even though there's three of us I'm not sure we can stop him if he makes a move, Shikamaru thought a little anxious.
"If you three don't stay out of my way I'll have to kill you as well" Gaara said his voice void of any emotion.
"YEAH WE'LL I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY!" Naruto challenged.
"Hey take it easy kid" Shikamaru said and he and Sakura exchanged glances, the best way out of the situation given what Gaara was capable of was to bluff their way through it.
"Yeah we saw your match against Lee and we know you're tough. But us three, you haven't seen half of what we're capable of" Shikamaru said confidently.
"Not to mention it's three against one and I like those odds don't you Naruto?" Sakura said and turned to her teammate.
"HELL YEAH THAT'S RIGHT!" Naruto affirmed loudly.
"I'll say it once more, if you get in my way I'll kill all three of you" Gaara repeated in the same dead voice.
Well that went fantastically. I can't believe this is the guy Sasuke has to fight first, Sakura thought as she clenched her fists. It seemed as though they needed a different approach.
"AND I'LL SAY IT AGAIN I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY IT!" Naruto declared again.
"Don't say that! We want to steer clear of him, you saw him fight it's like he's a demon or something" Shikamaru said.
"He can act like he's a demon but I've got a real one inside of me so let's see him try" Naruto replied confidently.
"A demon huh? My demon is as real as yours is, from my birth my upbringing was not what most people would consider a happy childhood. To make sure I became the strongest of shinobi my father cast his ninjutsu on me fusing my unborn self with the sand spirit. I destroyed the life of the woman who gave birth to me. Its name is Shukaku" Gaara explained.
Naruto froze and stared at Gaara taking in the information. Sakura watched her teammate cautiously the blond boy appeared to be making parallels from his own experiences with Gaara's.
"What a guy your father was, he must have really loved you" Shikamaru said sarcastically.
"Don't hold or measure me to your standards of love. Love and family, the only emotional ties I have to my family are the ones I'd like to wrap around their necks. They are ties of hate I was brought into the world as the salvation of my village. Nurtured and pampered as the Kazekage child. I was taught the inner most secrets of the shinobi, my father pampered and protected me. I thought that was love but that was when it started" Gaara responded an edge to his voice.
"When what started?" Sakura asked. She, Naruto and Shikamaru were completely drawn in and horrified by what the red headed boy was saying. But it kept his killer sand away from Lee so Sakura was determined to keep it up.
"In the six years after my sixth birthday my father has tried to destroy me more times than I can count" Gaara said, the look in his eyes changing to one of sheer madness as his pupils became smaller.
"You just said your father pampered and protected you and now you claim he tried to destroy you? Which is it?" Shikamaru asked.
"Those who have power are apt to be feared, soon even those in the village began to realise I had emotional problems. I was created for salvation but by the time I was six I became a figure of terror. So you see how my purpose in life had failed and what was the point in me continuing to live? You need a purpose to live" Gaara said.
I know just what he means every word exactly. He's the same as me, Naruto thought as he watched Gaara move to speak again.
"But I found it and to put it simply my purpose lies in the killing of others. For years I lived in fear of those who would try to murder me but now I am at peace. I've killed many would be assassins and this made the truth even clearer. I love only myself and I live solely for myself, it is the killing of others that sustains me and so long is there are people to kill I will never disappear" Gaara finished.
Sakura and Shikamaru exchanged horrified glances but Naruto stared at Gaara. The blond boy had Iruka, he had seen the demon within Naruto but gave him a purpose something to live for. But Gaara had none of it and the conclusion he reached for his purpose was disastrous.
Could I have ended up like that if I hadn't had Iruka-sensei? Naruto thought and a trickle of sweat fell down his forehead. He quickly made a move for the door.
"Hey where are you going Naruto!?" Sakura called out to her teammate.
Before any of the three Leaf Ninja could do anything Gaara had reactivated his sand jutsu somehow despite being in Shikamaru's shadow possession jutsu. Naruto remained frozen in place, his eyes fixated on Gaara. Sakura jumped in front of her teammate.
"NARUTO! Ah come on this is such a drag!" Shikamaru declared as all three looked at the sand in terror. It was faster than them and there wasn't anywhere they could go that it wouldn't follow.
"Alright that's enough" A voice resounded through the room and everyone turned to see Gai standing in the doorway.
"Save it for tomorrow, that's when the real competition begins" Gai said as he eyed Gaara unhappily.
It was as though a spasm of pain had gone through him and Sakura watched as Gaara seized tuffs of hair trying to calm himself. His breathing became rapid and uneven as the sand retracted from around Lee and the rest of the room travelling back into Gaara's gourd. Straightening up the Sand ninja walked out of the room slowly as though nothing had happened.
"All the same I will kill you three. I can promise that" Gaara vowed and left the room. Sakura watched him go and immediately feared for the safety of her own life, Sasuke's and Naruto's.