Chapter Text
The wind blew gently through the window as Sakura stared at the training grounds below. She watched as groups of two sparred, violent arrays of taijutsu and ninjutsu alike, the boys not participating yelling their support at the matches below.
“—the third time he’s been in this week. I’ve told him to watch how much he carries but…” Ino stopped, looking up at her friend. “Yo, Forehead, are you even listening?”
Sakura looked up, heat rising to her cheeks. “Shut up, Pig, all you do is talk. Is it so surprising that I block you out sometimes?”
The blonde smiled at her friend. “And what has you so distracted? You’re not normally one to watch the Genin train. Any certain boy down there finally catch your attention?”
Sakura looked back out the window. “Ino, are you happy being a medic-nin?”
“What? What’s brought this on? Sakura, we’re two of the best in our year! We’re almost on par with Shizune, and we both know you’re Lady Tsunade’s favorite.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“Well, yeah. I like knowing that I’m helping people. We’re essential to Konoha, and we’ve learned so much since we were kids. I feel like working at the hospital’s really helped me figure out where I belong. Sakura, where is this coming from?”
Sakura shook her head. “Nevermind. You’re right. It’s just that sometimes, I feel like I could be doing more th—”
Her thought was cut off by an explosion from out the window, causing the pair to stand at the ready, looking out to see what happened. From below, they heard panicked shouting.
“Lee! Run to the hospital and grab the nearest med-nin! Neji, go over to Naruto and make sure he doesn’t try to move! I’ve got Sasuke,” the powerful voice of Gai-sensei shouted.
Smoke started to drift in through the windows, causing the two Kunoichi to start coughing. “Ino, come on! We can help!” said Sakura as she pushed the window further open, the smokes making her coughing worse. Despite this, she pushed through the pain it brought to her lungs—she had no doubt Ino was feeling the same. In the chaos below, she looked for a place to land that wasn’t currently on fire. Finding a spot, she took a leap, followed shortly by Ino. “I’ll head over go Gai-sensei, you head to the other Genin who was hurt!”
“Got it!” Ino replied before running off.
Sakura ran over to the man in the green jumpsuit. If she weren’t dealing with an emergency, she would’ve made a point to say something to Ino, but she had other matters to deal with. Seeing the Genin about her age on the ground, she got to her knees and began to use her Mystic Palm. “What happened?” she asked, the question directed at Gai-sensei.
Recognizing the med-nin outfit, Gai relaxed. “We were doing our normal sparring. Normally I wouldn’t let Naruto and Sasuke partner up because they always go a bit overboard, but I let them just this once. Just as Sasuke was about to use a fire jutsu, Naruto came up behind him and covered his mouth. I think Sasuke was too far gone to stop the jutsu at that point and it caused an explosion. Luckily, everyone else was too far away to get caught in the blast.”
“What was Sasuke aiming at if Naruto came up from behind him?” Sakura asked absent-mindedly, working on the worst of his burns.
“Ah, Naruto has a thing for using Shadow Clones, and so he must have used one to sneak up on Sasuke. I wasn’t really watching their fight all that closely until it got bad.”
“Sensei! I have brought help!” Another Genin in green jumpsuit came running up to the two of them. He stopped short. “But help is already here?” he continued, confusion in his voice.
Sakura looked up and saw the two med-nin behind the Genin. “Perfect! Hinata, go over to Ino and help her patient onto a stretcher. I think he’s less injured, but we still need to get him in. Tenten, help me with some of these burns and we’ll do the same. I’ve gotten the basics of the situation, but we won’t know more until these two are stabilized.”
Hinata nodded, turning towards where she had seen Ino earlier, and flushed red. Her eyes widened when she saw the orange heap laying on the ground. “N-Naruto?”
“You know him?”
“I-I’ve s-seen him around before. Y-you say he’s not as injured?”
“Yeah, but I’ve been over here, so if you could check, that'd be really helpful, Hinata!” Sakura replied, getting short with her friend. Her eyes softened. “Sorry, Hinata. This is serious. We really need to focus.”
“Right,” the Hyuuga replied, before heading to her patient.
“Gai-sensei, could you get the rest of the Genin back to the Academy? The audience isn’t helping the situation,” Tenten said, kneeling down to assist Sakura.
“I can do that!” He looked towards the Genin gathered around. “Those who don’t make it back to the Academy within 3 minutes will have the pleasure of training with Lee and me this weekend!” he shouted cheerfully. The faces around paled as the group of boys stumbled to their feet and ran in the direction of the Academy.
“Alright. I think he’s stable enough to get him to a room. Because their injuries are similar, let’s see where Ino and Hinata brought the other Genin and see if we can’t get them a room together.”
“Sounds good to me.”
The pair each grabbed an end of the stretcher and walked back towards the hospital. One of her colleagues (who, for the life of her, Sakura could not remember the name of) must have realized that her patient was with the patient Ino had just brought in. “Third floor, room 317.”
“Thanks!” the pair called as they ran towards the stairs.
“Sakura, these injuries look serious. Are you sure we don’t need to call Lady Tsunade?” Tenten asked nervously.
“She has enough on her plate. The council is already fighting the decision of her being Hokage; we can’t just pull her out of the office whenever we think we can’t handle something. If it turns out bad, we’ll figure it out from there, but we shouldn’t bother her.”
The two arrived at room 317 just as Ino and Hinata were leaving.
“What’s his status?” Sakura asked.
“His burns were mostly superficial. I think he hit his head in the explosion somehow because he’s knocked out hard , but other than that, he’s resting. We’ll check on him in an hour to see if there are any changes. We were going to go to the Academy to get more information on both of the patients. Hinata said that the Genin looking after Naruto here is her cousin, so it won’t look as weird for two kunoichi to be over there.”
Sakura nodded. “Sounds good. Let me know if you find out anything new, alright?”
“Got it, Forehead,” said Ino with a smile.
Hinata smiled with a blush before walking away with the blonde.
“Once we have him on the bed, I should be able to take it from here, Tenten. I know you were working in Labor and Delivery today.”
Tenten grimaced. “Yeah, color me thrilled. You sure you don’t need any help?”
“Nah,” she replied, “I’ve got this.”
Once the brunet was placed on the bed, Sakura got to work on the rest of his injuries. The burns covered most of the upper-half of his body. When she was satisfied with her work, she began a diagnostic. Hands hovering over his body, they paused when they got to his throat. 'Not shocking considering the source of the explosion. Talking’s going to be a bitch for a while,' she thought to herself. Readying her Mystic Palm once again, she was shocked to see red eyes staring at her. With a yelp, she stepped back as her patient grabbed her right forearm tightly.
Without thinking, Sakura focused her chakra into her left hand and forced the boy to let go, using her now-free right hand to push him back to the bed despite his struggles to get up. This wasn’t the first time a patient didn’t know where they were when they woke up, but it was the first the blatantly attacked her, and so soon after their injury.
He opened his mouth to speak, but grimaced before any words could make it out of his mouth. Sakura smirked.
“Yeah, thought so. You were injured during training. Something about you trying a Fireball Jutsu and your friend basically making you swallow it? You know, with better chakra control, you probably could’ve prevented this whole debacle.”
He glared.
“Yeah, I’m not intimidated. I’ve had all sorts of patients. What surprises me is that you’re awake. You had a lot of burns, and even though I healed them, you should still be out.”
His glare continued.
“Man, you’re a great conversationalist, much better than Ino. As far as your throat goes, because it was the source of the explosion, it took the brunt of the damage. I’m surprised your head didn’t come off! However, because the throat is so sensitive to injuries, it’s also sensitive to healing, so I can’t use my jutsu on it. We do have specialized drinks that can help heal it. If you follow the instructions, you should be fine in two, two and a half weeks.”
The Genin lifted his hands and mimed for a pen.
“Oh! Yeah, let me find a pen and paper.” She looked around and found what she needed on Naruto’s bedside. “Can you write your name down for me, also? We didn’t actually get your personal information before admitting you. You and your friend over there.” She pointed her head towards Naruto’s bed. Sasuke’s eyes followed the movement, and his frown turned into a smirk. He took the pen and paper in hand and started writing.
"You’re annoying."
She read the words with a frown. “Hey, at least I didn’t leave you with Ino. It could’ve been a lot worse.” She said the words light-heartedly, but it didn’t stop the sting. She had heard worse over the years, but from a stranger? “Now, your names?
"I’m Sasuke Uchiha. The dobe over there is Naruto Uzumaki."
She had gathered that he was an Uchiha from his Sharingan—the clan was very prominent in Konoha—and she knew Sasuke was the younger son of the clan head. Though she had seen the Genin in passing, she had never made the connection before today.
“Well, Sasuke Uchiha, you’re still pretty badly hurt. You’ll have to stay overnight for observation. Since you’re a Genin, I don’t need to let your clan know you’re here, but did you want me to send someone to contact them?”
Sasuke stared at her for a moment before moving the pen again.
"My brother, Itachi. He should be at the Hokage’s office around this time. He can let our parents know."
“Itachi? Yeah, I think I’ve seen him with Lady Tsunade. I’ll have someone head over there once I’m done in here. And your friend? Anyone I should notify?”
"Is he seriously hurt?"
“Nothing that will prevent him from being discharged once he wakes up.”
"Only Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei, but since we’ll be going back to the Academy, they’ll already know."
Sakura smiled. “Y’know, despite being a bit difficult at first, you’re pretty helpful.” She noticed his eyes starting to drift. “Sasuke, why don’t you rest a bit more? You need to build up some strength before we can give you the mixture for your throat. Someone will check on you in a few hours.”
Sasuke woke to crashes around the room. Forgetting where he was, he sat up in a hurry. Across the room, he saw Naruto surrounded by clones going against a familiar looking girl. 'A medic-nin? What does the idiot think he’s doing?!' He moved to get up, ready to protect the pink-haired girl.
Before his legs could swing off the bed, however, he saw a fist punch into his rival, pushing him back into one of his clones, both of them disappearing into smoke. This left only 3 Narutos left. Curious to see what would happen, Sasuke activated his Sharingan, still a bit out of it.
“Sir, I need you to calm down! I don’t care if you’re a Shinobi or not, I’ll knock you right back out if I have to!” She aimed a kick at another of the clones, causing another cloud of dust. The two remaining Narutos stopped where they stood.
“Wh-what happened?” he asked, confusion evident in his voice.
“Get rid of your clone and maybe I’ll tell you,” the pink-haired Kunoichi answered.
“Huh? Oh, yeah! Sorry,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. He dispelled the last clone and sat on the bed.
“A few hours ago, you and the rest of the upper-level Genin were sparring. You and your partner got into an accident. He was about to use a jutsu and you decided to stop him by essentially making him eat a ball of fire. You had a few burns, but you got knocked out pretty good. Your friend’s fine. Looks like he’s listening to us, anyways, while he should be resting." The end of the sentence was pointed in his direction. He layed back down on the bed, ignoring the rest of the conversation. It was all coming back to him.
'Damn idiot made me make a stupid mistake! And that Kunoichi was trying to school me on chakra control? What does she know?!'
Sasuke looked at the foot of his bed and saw the soft smile of his older brother.
“Ah, finally noticed I was here, did you? Who distracted you more? The blond friend of yours or the fearsome Kunoichi who tells it as it is?” Itachi softly asked his brother.
He responded with a glare.
“Oh, yes. Sakura mentioned you won’t be able to speak for a few days. I’ll fill in the blanks as I please. I just wanted to make sure you were alright. Mother and Father have been made aware, and they send their best wishes. I figured you wouldn’t want them overcrowding you—I know what you’re like. Please, little brother, let me know if there is anything I can do for you. I have some matters I must attend to.” Itachi stood and began to walk away. Sasuke watched, the glare lifting from his eyes. Instead of heading out the door, his older brother turned around and walked back towards Sasuke. He reached out his hands and gently jabbed him in the forehead. “Anytime, little brother.”
Itachi made his exit.
He caught up to her just as she was discharging Naruto.
“—in if you feel any lingering signs of a concussion, alright?” Sakura asked the excited blond.
“Got it!” he shouted, his thumb up in affirmation. Behind him, Iruka Umino rolled his eyes, ready to walk his student back to the Academy for the evening.
“And Iruka-sensei?”
“Yes?"
“It’s my professional opinion that Naruto doesn’t attend any classes or training tomorrow just to make sure he gets healed up properly.”
Naruto turned back to her. “What?! No! I’m fine! I’ll take it easy, but I can’t let up on my training, otherwise teme’s gonna get better than me!”
She eyed the two. “Should I assume ‘teme’ is Sasuke Uchiha, who is still upstairs under observation and won’t be training either?”
Naruto flushed. “Well, yeah, but that won’t stop him!”
“Don’t worry, Naruto,” Itachi interjected. “If being in the hospital won’t stop him from training, I’ll do it myself. Now head on back to the Academy. It’ll be nice to have your room to yourself for a few nights, won’t it? I want to have a few words with Sakura here.”
Sakura looked at him in confusion. “You got it! Let’s go, Iruka-sensei. Can we get some Ichiraku before heading back? I’m starving!”
“You always are, Naruto…”
The two left the hospital. Sakura turned to Itachi. “What can I do for you, Uchiha-san?” she asked politely. “Is there anything I can do to help with Sasuke? Did he ask for anything?”
“No,” he replied. “Nothing of the sort. I was wondering, would you mind coming with me? I have something I’d like to discuss with you and a few others. We’d have to leave the hospital, but if your shift is almost over, I would greatly appreciate it.”
Sakura was nervous. What could the heir to one of Konoha’s most significant clans want with her? “Do you mind me asking where we would be heading?”
“Oh, of course not. It’s some business I have with the Hokage and Kakashi-sensei over at the Academy.”
“And this business has to do with...me?”
“I very well think it could. It is, however, entirely up to you.”
“And what is this business?”
“You’ll just have to find out when we get to the Hokage Tower.
“Ah, Itachi! You’re back sooner than I was expecting. Is your brother alright? I hear one of my finest students was attending to him.”
“Of course, my Lady. And one of the finest she is.”
Sakura furrowed her brow. She knew Lady Tsunade well, had looked up to the woman her whole life. Does she regularly talk about her with village jonin?
“And what exactly do you mean by that, Itachi?” Tsunade asked, a threatening tone hidden in her voice.
“Nothing that you’re thinking of, Hokage-sama,” Itachi assured. “It’s actually about that conversation we were having earlier with Hatake. While waiting for my brother to awaken, there was an...incident with the other patient, Naruto.” Tsunade sighed when she heard the name. “I think it was more from the confusion than anything, but his response when he woke up was to go on the offensive. Unfortunately, that left the med-nin taking care of him as his victim. To my surprise, she was able to handle the situation without any assistance, and you know how Naruto can get with his Shadow Clones.”
'Those were Shadow Clones? I just assumed they were normal clones! They dispelled so easily!' Sakura thought to herself, still hiding behind the Uchiha.
Itachi continued, “I don’t believe she even put a thought into what she was doing, it was almost as if it were second nature to her. If we were to go through with this idea of ours, I think she would make an excellent candidate.”
Sakura had enough. She stepped out from behind the older man and looked at her mentor. “M’Lady, what is he talking about? A candidate for what? And those were Shadow Clones? Uchiha-san, why did you want to talk to me here?” The nerves were strong in her voice.
“Sakura! I guess it only makes sense that Itachi would escort you here given his intentions. Before we can answer your questions, however, we do need Hatake here. Itachi, can you get him?”
“Mah, there’s no need,” called a voice from the window. A tall man leaned against the frame, his left eye covered by his forehead protector. He had silver hair that seemed to defy gravity. Sakura recognized him instantly—Kakashi Hatake was a famous jonin in Konoha and one of the toughest teachers at the Academy. “I saw Itachi leaving as I was checking in on my two cute students who were stupid enough to get hurt today, and to my shock, what do I see next to him except the pink-haired Kunoichi who took charge of the stressful situation and got it under control?”
“Well then,” Tsunade said, rolling her eyes, "Sakura, if you’d like to take a seat, we’d be happy to explain.”
“Yes, M’Lady,” Sakura replied before doing so.
“Before I explain, however, can I just say how impressed I am with your choice in candidate, Itachi? She’s exactly the kind of student I had in mind. Although, if we do follow through, I will miss her presence at the hospital.”
“W-why wouldn’t I be at the hospital any longer, M’Lady?” Sakura asked nervously.
“Well, Haruno, here’s the deal,” Kakashi began. “Ever since Lady Tsunade was chosen as Hokage, there has been a lot of backlash, a lot of people saying a woman doesn’t have the strength to lead one of the Five Great Nations, to be one of the Kage. However, if we look at the other villages, such as Suna, they don’t have such practices. In fact, Kunoichi all around actively become Shinobi, not just med-nin. They learn to fight, they practice taijutsu and ninjutsu. They become Jonin-sensei and help teach the next generation, they fight in wars. Konoha is the only Hidden Village that limits our forces based on gender. What we’re proposing is integrating the two fields—give Kunoichi the chance to become Genin and beyond and allow the practice of medical ninjutsu to all ninja.”
Sakura was silent. It was a lot to take in at once. “And you want me to...do what exactly?”
Tsunade offered her a smile. “Sakura, this is going to be asking a lot of you. Before I make the offer, I want you to know you are more than welcome to decline it. If you think the hospital is where you belong, I will not doubt that you’re correct. However, please hear us out. I think this is something you’ll be very interested in, given the description of the interaction with Naruto that Itachi gave me.”
Sakura blinked up at the blonde.
“Come next Academy season, we’d like to enroll you as a new student. It will be unorthodox considering you’ll be turning 16 next year, and the rest of the year will be preparing for the Chunin exams. If you accept, you’ll have to train hard with Kakashi, Itachi, and whoever else they may find suitable for you.”
“But how would that work? I’m a Kunoichi, I can’t enroll in the Academy!”
Itachi stepped forward. “That’s where it gets interesting. We wouldn’t be enrolling you as a Kunoichi. You’d be enrolled under an alias. Only us and those training you over the summer would be aware of your true identity. Everyone else at the Academy will be under the impression that you’re male, just like them.”
Sakura stared at the three adults around her. Slowly, she met each of their eyes, waiting for the joke. After a minute, she finally blinked. “You’re...serious.”
Tsunade looked her dead in the eye. “We are. Sakura, Konoha is at a disadvantage as it stands now, and the only reason is the elders are afraid of losing tradition. If we can show that a Kunoichi has as much strength and determination as a standard Shinobi, we can break down those barriers, we can offer a future to young Kunoichi throughout the Hidden Leaf that they didn’t have before.” Her eyes softened. “Like I said, you’re under no obligation to do this, Sakura, but I believe, with your strength? Our plan will work.”
Sakura thought back to earlier that afternoon, her conversation with Ino. She had been watching the Genin train with envy. They were allowed a freedom she never was, and now she was finally offered the chance. How could she pass this up?
Sakura stood.
“I’m in. What do I need to do?”