Chapter Text
Her body went numb when she heard the news.
It’s one of those moments when biology fails you. When your body cannot respond well to shock so it goes numb, the brain sends signals throughout the rest of your body and very soon your eardrums start to ring, you lose all feeling in your limbs and your vocal chords are unable to produce a sound despite your efforts.
It’s one those responses that Sakura didn’t think she would ever go through. She had often seen and treated patients who had gone through severe shock and were coming to terms with their predicament. She thought that maybe they just needed the time to process, that eventually they would be ready to rejoin the world in their full capacity.
However, in that moment, when she was in a similar situation, Sakura realized that there is no cure for shock. That all she had ever done was give out false comfort and sugar coated words that would later have no effect on the patient whatsoever. If anything it only highlights her own insensitivity to their situation.
If she had to diagnose herself she’d say that she was going through severe shock, her brain had gone blank, her limbs were in a state of paralysis, she couldn’t even breathe, and her heart was beating too fast against her rib cage. She could barely make out Shikamaru saying something to her.
She knew it was important, he was frowning at her, wondering if she’s even listening. Truthfully she had heard him, but the second he started talking, Sakura knew what he was going to say.
He was telling her about the Hokage’s decision, or rather the new Interim Hokage she thought bitterly.
She wasn’t surprised, in all honesty it was going to happen soon, she just wasn’t ready to come to terms with it. Clearly knowing about it and actually facing it are two very different things.
‘Sakura are you even listening?’ Shikamaru asked irritably
‘Yes, yes I am, I heard you Shikamaru’ replied Sakura blinking rapidly to center herself.
She inhaled sharply. ‘Go on’
‘Right, well you know the basics, The interim Hokage-sama has issued a capture on sight order for Sasuke, he’ll be brought back, interrogated and executed eventually’
She nodded slowly, trying to gather her bearings.
‘Why will they interrogate him?’
‘His affiliation with the Akatsuki was confirmed yesterday. Witnesses near Lightening Country saw him fighting in a black cloak covered in red clouds.’ He looked at Sakura sympathetically and sighed.
‘It’s him, Sakura, there’s no mistaking it. Look, officially I can’t do anything to help you out. I know what this means to you, and I know that Naruto isn’t here. When he returns from training, we’ll keep him in the village till the retrieval mission is successful’
‘Good luck keeping him here’ Sakura scoffed.
Shikaramu smiled wryly, ‘I know it’s a bit of a stretch, but we’ll keep him under house arrest if we have to’
Sakura nodded and he left the medic camps.
She didn’t know how to feel about it, more importantly, she knew exactly how Naruto would feel and what he would do if he found out.
Still, a part of her was relieved. Sasuke would be captured and brought back for interrogation. Probably to find out how he killed Orochimaru and Itachi. Somehow she doubted Konoha would claim Itachi’s remains and give him a proper burial.
She scoffed at the thought. Danzo would rather watch half the village burn with its inhabitants in it.
Sakura knew they were planning for something that could never happen. Sasuke would never come quietly not to mention he would give the ANBU sent to apprehend him quite the fight. He would know about the attack, he would suspect it and slip around them.