Sakura's wounds healed within hours after I depleted my chakra on mystical art.
One of them went close to her sternocleidomastoid muscle, right by her jugular vein. At that time I thought the vein was punctured. Since there is so much .....blood.
For, this one I didn't use any mystical arts, as invasive chakra might cause amnesia or other critical scenarios if used incorrectly around the neck.
So, I used only stitches.
This one will leave a nasty scar.
I was busy with her. Didn't go to guard duty.
They didn't tell me either.
Kakashi comes in.
Looks around the room.
Heart rate monitor, oxygen cylinder, IV stands and smell of disinfection is so thick that he winches his nose.
Yes, I have a whole Konoha operation theatre, sealed in my scrolls.
"So, this what you bought with your extra D rank missions?", Kakashi asks.
"Oh...no. The D ranks don't pay nearly enough. It's from my publications. Illustrated "make-out technics ", I say.
Kakashi just huffs and sits on a stool.
"Where is Naruto?", I ask.
"Having a spar with Haku", Kakashi answers.
"How is Sakura", He asks.
I shake my head.
"That's a lot of blood. If she doesn't wake up I'm taking her back to Konoha. A few X-rays might be helpful", I state.
"Let's just hope she remembers her encounters after she wakes up", Kakashi huffs.
Yeah....there is that too. What enemies she fought might reveal a lot.
"I remember", Sakura says as she opens her eyes.
I Snap my head at her.
Sakura blinked her eyes.
I forgot to breathe for a second.
She was knocked out for 18 hours. It's 5 in the morning.
Sakura looks at me. It's written all over my face.
I run towards the window.
"Oii kora, theme, Sakura's up", I scream at the top of my lungs.
Naruto jumps out of the same window.
Launches himself at Sakura.
A bandaged Sakura skillfully catches Naruto despite her wounded body. I screamed internally fearing that she might open her wounds. But that, thankfully, didn't happen.
"Agh....Hik...Sakura....I thought you were dead.....there was so much blood.....", Naruto is crying out of his nose. Covering her clothes with snot.
OG Sakura would've smacked him away.
But not our Sakura.
She held Naruto's head and gently patted his hair.
"Shhh... it's okay. I'm not dead.... it's okay", Sakura whispers.
Sakura then looks at me.
I'm getting pangs of crying right now. I'm the reason she is in that state. If I could dig a hole and Bury myself in it, I would have.
She with a gentle smile extends a hand at me.
I silently walked in and joined in the group hug.
It's as if I was holding my breath for the past 18 hours.
Now I can breathe.
Oh my god.
"Please don't do this ever again", I request.
"No promises", Says Sakura.
"I was....sad, you know".
"I know"
"I was scared"
"I know"
"No you don't.....Sakura.....no you don't..."
Sakura doesn't say anything. She knows what I'm trying to say. And I don't wish for her to know.
I don't want anyone to know.
I usually address her with a San. To ....kind of put a wall between us. Like, I didn't want to get too close to her. But, I can very much tell that's not the case anymore. So, there is no point In doing that.
Sakura held my head.
"Your head smells like goat piss", Says Sakura.
Way to kill the mood.
"What does mine smell like", asks Naruto.
"Yours smells like dishwasher "
"Because he showers with a dishwasher soap", I answered.
"What do you shower with? Goat piss?", Naruto attacks.
"I didn't shower yesterday ", I answer.
Sakura chuckles. But winches at the pain.
I get up.
"Ehm!", Kakashi with his upturned-eye smile.
The term upturned eye smile is a mouthful.
Maybe I should give it a name. Since there are a lot of people that wear masks, but can definitely express their expressions if they want to.
"Report", he demands.
Sakura with a low voice starts her report.
" At 800 when I left training, I came across suspicious movements in the waterways. I followed them for a while and discovered that it was Gato's group. They unloaded a cargo that had.....unusual weapons.
From the smell of the materials, they have a similar smell to Sasuke kuns ...distraction weapons".
"You mean the pepper roll", I ask.
Kakashi looks at me.
"It's a roll of cloth, rolled in with gunpowder and metal shards. Whenever I'm in a pinch I just roll it out and hide away in the smoke. Saves on smoke grenades, but they are expensive. Best case scenario, the enemy loses an eye or two in the process".
"O.....Good to know", Kakashi states. There is genuine ....interest in his eyes.
"So, I followed them. They had at least 6 people armed and one of them held an exceptionally large weapon. I didn't engage them as it is unknown as to how those weapons work. But the primary assumption was that those were some kind of projectile weapons. And my assumption was proved when I had to subdue 2 of them since they were approaching Tazuna san's House", Sakura continues.
"I .....was under suppressive fire. the one with the large weapon could fire continuously and the projectile could almost penetrate anything. I had to retreat. He took Inari with him as a Hostage. While I chased him, I was under suppressive fire again. Gato assigned the heavy unit to kill me and went for the bridge".
"I used the smoke signal as a way to distract him and was somehow able to subdue him. But he strangely died from a stroke, instead of .....my blows. I made haste for the bridge to warn you guys. The enemy had some kind of ....chakra pulse ability that nullified my jutsu. So it was a bit sticky situation. "
So, that's that.
Inari enters the room.
"Onee san! You are alive".
Sakura pats him. Well.....I guess we are all getting pats today.
I look at Kakashi. Why should he be excluded?
"Onee san can't tell a story. That huge guy carried me on his back while riddling the whole forest with holes. Nee-san, "shoop!!", fell from the sky and took me away from him. Then...we turned invisible. I could see through my hands. It was weird. But that guy just took out some kind of ball and he pulled a pin . A sudden "whom", and I was visible again. We jumped behind a tree. But she was hit. Nee san, was covered in blood.
The big guy then....ran out of...I don't what was that. But he stopped shooting those tinny balls, Sakura nee then attacked him".
Inari takes a deep breath. So not a jutsu , but a
chakra emp granade. Like Naruto's pulse.
That's....like magic stones.
I sit down to think.
This is too much to take in.
Not only modern weapons but also making new weapons based on chakra.
Kakashi is nodding. Probably thinking of some secret clan affiliation or something.
But this is worse than anyone can imagine.
From Inari's description, that large one was an LMG.
Who is this guy? What are his plans? Who is he working with? I don't know. Worst-case scenario, Orochimaru or Akatsuki is involved in this. If they can make LMG, they can make snipers. A sniper with a baykugan. What else do you need?
"Sasuke!", Kakashi snapes me put of it.
"You okay?", he asks me while shaking me by my shoulder.
"Yeah....yeah....sensei. I'm fine", I try to hide away.
Sakura looks at me with worry.
"I.....I thought I was too late. When I reached the bridge ...my body moved on its own. I was rendered unable to even talk from the pain. But, Sasuke Kun, the genius he is ....figured it out in an instant. Sasukyuunnn!", Sakura winked at me.
I with a flushed face somehow try to come up with a plausible explanation. I don't know. Sakura might be on to me. Or maybe she is just fangirling right now.
"Eh he he ....it just looked like a thing that can fire rapidly. Like, Sakura was filled with holes , huh....."
The room went silent for a second.
That came out wrong.
"Looked like ...huh?!", Kakashi isn't convinced. Thank god they ignored it.
"Compared to what?", Naruto asks.
You fucking shit, why are you butting in. Your brain decides to overwork now of all times.
I sigh.
"It's one of my weapons, although somewhat similar", I say with a sigh.
Unseal an axe. There is a hidden trigger. Pointing at the window, I press it. With a loud bang a burst of metal shards shoot out.
Then I give it to Kakashi.
He.....spins it around, and balances it on his fingers.
Fiddles with the trigger.
"Be careful, it still has another shot", I warn.
"Did you patent it?", he asks.
"What?", I ask confused.
"Did you patent this design? We have scholarship funds in Konoha for weapon developers. I myself have 3 designs. They fund you for research", Kakashi says.
Whaaa!!!! I didn't know that..... what?
I .....I have so many ...And I just gave away some to Hokage. He ..... scammed my designs from me.
"Ma ma.....it is not an open program. There is very little chance you might know of it. Hokage Sama was in contact with you and Naruto. He never mentioned it?", Kakashi says while reading my face.
"No.....sensei. But, This is kinda like my .....last trick thing. So, I will be glad if you don't talk about it", I say with a grimace.
Kakashi wanted to fiddle with it a bit.
But he abruptly gives me back.
"Seal it", he orders.
I see Sakura looking at the thing.....with a bit of .....aura of.....fear. Did she .....develop PTSD?
Oh fuck....
I quickly seal it away.
Sakura, it's as if wasn't breathing.
"Why don't you rest for a while Sakura? We will elaborate on this later", Kakashi says.
The conversation comes to an end.
#########
2 days went by.
Me and Naruto are on guard duty. Haku is nowhere to be seen and Jabuja is loitering around the tavern.
Drinking, I presume.
Well, when a famous swordsman who killed thousands, gets his ass handed to him 2 times by same the same gang, it sure leaves a lasting a lasting impression about himself.
"Did you sleep last night?", Naruto asks me.
"Not a fan of sleeping", I reply.
"Those therapies didn't work?", Naruto huffs.
"They do....just.....drop it, bro. I'm fine", I say with a frown.
I lay myself on the railing. No traps, no nothing.
Kakashi went ahead and raided Gato's base.
There was quite the amount of cash in there. The thugs were eradicated.
The land of waves is now more peaceful than ever.
Some of the money was given to Jabuja.
Took the money, but he has yet to leave.
Right now, wave County might actually be a nice spot for a vacation.
I almost fell asleep. Naruto decided to throw a Kunai at me. It was so off-mark that I didn't bother dodging it.
But, that kunai felt real sus.
"Bhuush!", the kunai exploded into smoke.
A fist came hurling at me.
"Heh!", I smirk. Just diverting its direction with my index finger was enough.
Saw it coming from a mile away.
He fell into the water while screaming.
"Goddamn it. Nothing works on ya....", Naruto rants while he stands on water.
" if you wanna get me, know that I know what you know and I also know what you don't know. Come at me while knowing that ", I say with a chuckle.
"That doesn't make any sense", while he wall walks back on the bridge.
He squeezes his clothes to dry them.
With a sigh help him with my drying jutsu.
"That's one handy jutsu", Naruto exclaims.
I wonder if I should patent this one.
"Say Naruto? What .....talk jutsu did you pull on Haku?", I ask.
It feels weird to see Naruto pause like that.
"I said what I had to. That bastard thinks Haku is some tool he can just toss away. Guess what, I told Haku to be his own man. And it's not a jutsu", Says Naruto.
Okay....I guess that's the summary of it.
"Look Naruto. Do you know how we beat Jabuja in the end?", I ask.
"We worked together. Sensei kicked.....",
"No...when we attacked Jabuja, he thought we killed Haku and went for him. That threw him off his mark. There is no way 2 genin can beat him like that, even with someone like Jounin", I explain.
Naruto folds his arm.
"That....does make sense. Does that mean, he cares about Haku? That doesn't make sense", Naruto has spinning eyes.
"Remember those babysitting jobs? Taro's mom once screamed " This kid ruined my life" and I'm guessing she says that all the time", I say.
"Yeah....but everyone knows she doesn't mean it....oh....so it's like that?", Naruto catches on at least.
"So the things that the villagers..."
" no...those scumbags mean every last one of their words, I don't know why you wanna be Hokage. Well, that aside. If Haku goes to Konoha, he is cooked. The first thing they will do is put him in a clan and breed him like cows. Or, put him in an anbu squad, and his brain will melt further than now. Worst case scenario, he is put in a lab for testing like a pig", I while waving my hands.
Naruto winches at my words. Rubs his chin and ponders for a bit.
"So.....", naruto huffs.
"So.....", I repeat.
"What do we do now?", he asks.
"You gotta do talk no jutsu on Jabuja", I state as a matter of fact.
"What? No, that guy is nuts", Naruto blurts.
"Come on bro. You wanna do this right, help me out. All you gotta do is get in there and talk his head off", I cut my throat with my finger.
Naruto winches again. Then shakes his head.
"Look. I talked to Haku, he is the type that comes around. I know one when I see one", Naruto says.
His tone kinda sounds like Iruka sensei right now.
"But that half-naked wanna-be Kakashi is on another level. He will cut me down before I can string words".
Then he ponders for a bit.
"Why don't you try?", he points at me.
What? Wha?
"Come on man. You know I can't talk to people about touchy things unless I can make money of off it. How am I gonna do this!"
Naruto pats me on my shoulder.
"It's like Tazuna. I can't deal with that guy. But you make him dance on your fingers".
I nod my head thoughtfully.
"Okay....I will try . Bury me with my parents if I die".
Okay...let's get going. I pump myself up.
I turn around.
"So, I'm officially a talk no jutsu apprentice ".
Naruto looked as if he had given up.
#######
As I get closer to the bar, I start having second thoughts.
Like, for some reason, I can tell that someone like Jabuja doesn't need a guy yapping his head off right now.
Or maybe it's just my survival instincts kicking in.
Okay, let's just sit down and think this through one more time.
"Slurp", the sound of licking. Whoever it is must be enjoying that candy.
"Slurp",
Again, that's a one loud Slurp.
I turn my head and see Sakura, enjoying a nice shaved ice cream sitting on a bench at Traveller's Port.
Yesterday, she was full of holes. I worked my ass off to fix her bandages, not to mention that stitch on the neck. She shouldn't even be going to the toilet by herself right now. And here she is enjoying a nice ice cream. I see a stretcher under the bench.
She walked all the way here.
Oh....my god I feel my veins popping on my forehead.
She has no idea I'm here.
I've never been angry at a girl. Not knowing what to do, I just stand there shell-shocked.
Sakura sees me at last. And with bright eyes, she waves at me and pats the space beside her to sit.
"Haahhh!", well there goes my anger.
To be honest, Sakura didn't seem like the type to be stuck in the same place for long. If it was me, I would've lazed my ass off. Since I'm the medic , the mission will cancel. Naruto will have to carry me all the way to Konoha . Put me in hospital. Sakura would occasionally bring home cooked meal. Ahh....I wish...huh!
I wish it was me who got shot.
I just sit there with my angsty Sasuke pose.
"Something on your mind?", She asks.
Of course, she can tell.
"I .....just don't like what's happening between Haku and Jabuja", I state bluntly.
Sakura hummed as she got back to dipping that shaved ice.
"So?", she urges me to continue.
"So....I had a crash course on "Talk no Jutsu" with Naruto, hoping .....I could do something. At the end of the day, Haku saved your life. I don't want .....him to be alone.....like me.....", I'm looking at my feet right now. Gotta buy a new pair once I get back.
"But.....?", Sakura is chewing on the straw right now. Damn, she likes shaved icecreams huh!
"But I'm scared that I will make it worse ", I finish.
I look at Sakura. She has food colour over half of her face. Those ice dippings really should cut on food colours. Once we get back gotta make some shaved ice with good drippings. I know just the thing that will take her to heaven.
"Okay", she gets up.
"I will help you ", says with a hand on her hip.
"Teach me that talk no jutsu too", she adds.
I take out my handkerchief and offer it to Sakura.
She looks confused as to why am I giving it to her.
Of course, she wouldn't know about stains on her face.
"Hold still", I command. Grabe her by the head and wipe her mouth as gently as I could.
Don't wanna mess up that suture on her neck. If she pulls on it while wiping, might start bleeding again.
Surprisingly, Sakura doesn't move. But has red cheeks. I touch her forehead. no fever. That's a very good sign. I got scared that it might be a transfusion reaction. That's a lot of touching I know. But, a patient well well-being comes above everything else.
She did need 2 bags of blood for god's sake.
With a sig,h I put it away.
Bring out the stretcher under the bench. And give it to her.
She doesn't take it. Hmm? Is she okay?
".....you okay? Want me to carry you ?", I ask.
She might feel dizzy or nauseous. It will be best if she doesn't walk around like this.
"Will you? If I ask?", Sakura says.
"Why not? You are not that heavy? But gotta promise me, you won't walk around with that raw wound ", I say with a chuckle.
I turn around and offer my back.
"Then you will have to take responsibility and carry me everywhere I want", she says, I can't see her face.
"Okay....as you command my lady. I am your loyal vessel", I role-play. Sakura laughs.
She gets on my back.
And set off in the direction of the Tavern.
Let's just hope he is still there.