Archive of Our Own

Sakura would definitely ask Tsunade-shishou to check if Team 7 was cursed, because there really was no way their bad luck could surpass well thought out and logical statistics, even though it had just happened.

Of course, if it was truly bad luck, they should already be dead, but aside from chakra exhaustion and a broken arm, Kakashi-sensei was breathing and Sakura was only slightly worse off, with a bloody leg cut open to the bone, as well as the other various cuts scattered across her body. Fortunately for Kakashi-sensei, Sakura could carry his weight, on the other hand, fortunately for Sakura, Kakashi-sensei was thin and lanky, rather than pure muscle like Gai.

That she needed to get them both far enough away from the carnage left behind to avoid another confrontation, where they would certainly not come out alive this time, was all that kept her going in her constant mini-run. Oh, it was just a small mission to deliver a family recipe book to a village near the border of Grama, how the hell they had gotten surrounded by a pair of jounins was beyond her and her wisdom.

Oh, good lord, she could have easily died today if she hadn't been trained for five months by Tsunade-shishou. Who knew that training for just a short period with a Legendary Sannin could be so useful? Well, the mission, at least, was complete.

Of course, now the objective was a bit more complex, something like "make sure they don't die trying to get to Konoha that was a week away with other shinobi hunting them!" But maybe they would survive until then. Hopefully.

Sakura had to stop walking quickly, her brows furrowing as she realized that, well, there was no point in trying to escape if she was leaving a very visible trail on the ground, with her own blood clearly visible.

"Sorry, sensei." She muttered, leaving him propped up against the rough tree as she crouched down to check the extent of his injury. It's amazing what adrenaline can do to a person, she thought, the cut on her leg was ripped so deep that she could see muscle and tendons, but she barely felt it when the shinobi had injured her and it wasn't even hurting as much as it should have. She supposed that once they needed to rest, it would hurt like a bitch.

Lips pressed together, she simply pulled out a bandage and wrapped it around it, squeezing it as tightly as she could. She didn't have any time to waste having to stitch it up (and she didn't even want to think about the fact that she would need to do her own stitches) and properly sanitize it, this would have to do for now. She picked up the still very unconscious Kakashi-sensei again, and resumed her mini-run, though the bandage felt firmer to her, making her go a little faster.

Hours passed slowly, the vegetation getting only slightly denser, the sky darkening. Sakura glanced back, no sounds of pursuit drawing her in, no snapping branches or the sense of someone following. Kakashi-sensei now felt heavier than he had earlier, and his leg was throbbing unbearably. Looking up at the stars that were already beginning to shine, she assumed she was heading in the right direction, or something like that, since they hadn't brought any maps. She stopped, checking her surroundings and allowing herself to think of a plan that didn't just involve survival. She touched Kakashi-sensei's forehead, feeling a wave of relief that he didn't have a fever, but looking at his broken arm, she decided she needed to treat it. Since it was already dusk, and judging by the time and the amount she had been running, they were far enough away from the Grass's borders that there wouldn't be a justifiable attack, so any shinobi behind them would have to proceed with caution. Kakashi-sensei could wake up tomorrow or two days from now, so she couldn't count on him for now. Konoha, if she was on the most direct route there and in the time she had been running (significantly slow compared to when she didn't have any injuries or a grown man on her back) was a respectable distance of seven days. A week.

Okay. Her leg injury would delay this entire trip, and she couldn't risk spending more chakra without knowing if they would be attacked by Grass shinobi or even a group of mercenaries wanting Kakashi-sensei's head, since he was at every damn bingo in the other Nations. So no using chakra until she was sure she was in the Fire Nation.

She remembered the teacher saying that there was a river that crossed Grass, Iwa and other small civilian villages and ran straight to a village near Konoha. It would be a good idea if she could find this river because she would be completely aware of where it was and the water would cover any tracks they might make, would mask their noises and even smell, since there would be moss and other types of vegetation on the banks. But only if she findsbring the river, if not, it's going well enough the way she's going.

She sighed, suddenly feeling exhausted and very, very aware of this whole situation. She'd barely been under Shishou's tutelage for five months and now she was in the middle of nowhere running from shinobi who wanted them dead and with her sensei—her mission captain—unconscious and chakra-exhausted with no signs of waking up, while both of them were terribly injured. They might not make it back, she realized. They might die here and now, because Sakura barely had any combat experience and wouldn't be able to protect them.

Well, priorities, she could freak out later, but for now she had to find a hidden place for them to rest. She picked up Kakashi-sensei again, her legs shaking with effort, and walked along, checking for any possible hiding places. She was rewarded after twenty minutes, where there was a small cave hidden between some large trees and tall grass on a small slope. Luckily, there was also a stream nearby, so she adjusted Kakashi on her back and summoned her chakra in her feet to help her climb down without slipping. After climbing down, she left Kakashi on the ground again and took a kunai from her thigh bag, approaching the cave. It was probably home to some nasty creature, but it could be a good meal.

Her eyes narrowed at the lack of light in the cave, which was not deep, in fact, it was only three meters deep and oh, there was a wild boar sleeping. Again, this was between luck and bad luck, she wished there wasn't such a big boar there while she was injured, but on the other hand it was good because she wouldn't have to go out hunting. Letting out a slow sigh, Sakura approached.

Frowning, Sakura just calculated the right position to hit it from there. Her jugular was vulnerable, but she would have to use chakra to reinforce the kunai, although she had never learned that in the academy, although it should be no different than strengthening your muscles when you need to jump higher. Breathing softly, she adjusted the angle, let a thin stream of chakra to aid her muscles, and threw the knife.

A thud, a splash of blood, and one last startled breath before the Boar died. She walked over to him and pulled him out of the cave. Priority: get Kakashi-sensei hidden and protected.

She threw dirt where the boar's blood had splashed, dug a little deeper so Kakashi could be more comfortable, and nodded to herself. She climbed out of the cave, her leg throbbing in pain and her nails broken and dirty after digging for minutes. Swallowing the strange urge to cry, Sakura pulled Kakashi inside and settled him into the hole she had made, sitting down heavily. She knew it would be cold soon, so she opened her backpack and grabbed her dirty clothes and threw them over Kakashi to warm him up.

Now, priority number two: injuries. Kakashi's arm was broken on the radio, the bone poking through the skin and making an unsightly sight. Sakura frowned, picking up a fallen branch from inside the cave and ripping a long piece of his clothing off, making a good enough tourniquet. She summoned chakra into her palm, healing it enough for the bones to stick together, though any heavier blows and they would be separated again. The last time Kakashi had chakra exhaustion, he had woken up in two days, and it had been almost a day since he had passed out, so he would probably wake up tomorrow night, then they could form a good plan and return home safely.

Well, looking at her leg, she felt like she might actually pass out. Blood had already seeped into the bandage she had wrapped around it and it was agonizing to remove it. The cut was long and deep, the edges yellowed and smelled bad. She wanted to cry, a damn infection, great! Just what she really needed. Frustrated and in pain, Sakura reached into her backpack for her medical kit, pulling out a bottle of alcohol, a suture needle, and sterile thread. Oh, fuck, this was going to hurt like a bitch. She stuffed a piece of gauze into her mouth, trying to steady her shaking fingers, she grabbed the alcohol and threw it at the cut without much thought. It burned to the bone, the pain sweeping through her nerve endings and leaving her gasping, tears wanting to escape, her body shaking absurdly. She couldn't pass out. Biting down hard on the gauze, she grabbed the needle and thread and began the suturing job, fingers shaking but doing the job. A hand on her shoulder startled her, but looking to the side, Kakashi looked weak, almost fainting again, although his eye was open and he looked worried.

"Saku…ra?" Her voice was hoarse and dry, weak. She shook her head, no distractions, she was almost done.

"One minute," she mumbled muffledly, trying to finish as quickly as possible.

By the end, there was a bit of blood and m her hands, a little on the floor, the stitches were not professional, a little crooked, but it was more than enough. She put away her kit, took the gauze from her mouth and tried to clean herself as best she could. She was shaking a little, she realized, maybe she would get a fever in the future, since the infection could spread quickly.

When she turned her attention to Kakashi, she was almost sure he would go back to sleep, but she was surprised when she saw that he was still conscious, a little groggy maybe, but conscious.

"Where?" He murmured. Sakura took a bottle of water from her backpack and approached, opening it and closing her eyes, while tilting the bottle towards him. She felt him taking off his mask, but she knew she had to respect his limit, her curiosity could cost her the trust he was placing in her at that moment. After he drank, she waited for him to cover himself again.

"I don't know the exact location, but we're heading towards Konoha, probably just taking a longer route. We can't take the same one we came from, since being followed is a risk." she replied, tired and with a huge desire to sleep.

However, no matter how hidden that mini cave was, they could still find them. She sat up straight, as uncomfortable as she could be so she wouldn't fall asleep without wanting to. Kakashi was pale and sweating, just as bad as she was.

"We need to..."

"You need to sleep and recover, I'll keep watch and make sure nothing comes near." she was firm, glaring at him. Kakashi looked like he was going to complain, his narrowed eyes indicating that he was about to speak, but she interrupted. "You're exhausted from chakra and your arm is broken, sensei, I need you to recover as best you can, it won't do any good if you try hard only to pass out in the middle of a fight. Please." The last word came out shakily, her voice cracking. He stared at her for a moment before turning away and closing his eyes. She sighed in relief. Now, she needed cover or a trap.

To secure a safe perimeter, something that would alert her if anyone approached. With new determination, she stood up and walked to the entrance, taking a close look around her, familiarizing herself with every tree positioned, every rock in its place. The stream below her ran slowly, but it provided a distraction from any noise they might make inadvertently. She walked around, setting up small traps that would provide noise in case anyone tripped over them, and she took the opportunity to fill her water bottles and plan an escape route. Kakashi managed to kill one of the jounins who were after them, but who knew if they had called for backup? They didn't stand a chance with more than two jounins, not with both of them injured and exhausted. Sakura bit her lip, trying to think. Her reserve of energy chakra was halfway, she could do some tricks that shishou taught her, but she would have to be careful, there were some genjutsus that she learned at the academy that would also be useful.

The best option, for now, would be to eat and rest for a few hours before they needed to resume their race to Konoha. But at the same time, every minute that passed here was a possibility that the enemy would find them. God, making decisions was hard.

She sighed, determined to at least face them with energy and satiety, instead of tired and hungry, knowing that if the fight happened anyway, she needed to be at her best.

She picked up the boar, removing its thick skin and making clean cuts that the academy taught her. She discarded the rest of the boar underground, so as not to attract any predators and went back into the cave. She made three layers of genjutsus, one to detect anything larger than a bear coming, another to muffle the smell and sound, and the last one to “hide” the small cave. They were subtle genjutsus, using little chakra, but they were efficient in their own way. She made a small fire with the fallen branches, enough to cook the pieces she cut. Exhaustion pulls her shoulders down and she huffs, wishing she had a strong cup of tea right now. When it's ready, she puts out the fire, throwing dirt on top. With the meat properly cooked, she gently nudges Kakashi, he wakes up somewhat alert anyway, like a seasoned shinobi, and she hands him the meat.

"Eat." she murmurs. He looks a little disoriented, but accepts and Sakura, again, gives him her privacy to take off her mask.

She eats her piece, it's a little chewy and crunchy around the edges, an unpleasant taste, but she swallows it all because she needs to. They need to get to Konoha, preferably alive and without any body parts missing. Sighing, she throws the branch away and crawls to the entrance, supporting herself on the rough stones. She would remain vigilant for a few hours before trying to get some sleep. Just in case.

(...)

She wakes up with the feeling of her genjutsu breaking, the small thread that connected them disappearing as quickly as smoke. Her muscles tense, she observes the darkness around her, the moon high in the sky, nocturnal animals and insects making small noises. Adrenaline makes the blood rush in her ears, the sound of her own heart thundering in her brain. A twig breaks somewhere.

Crouching down, she feels her leg hurt terribly and no- she feels cold, bone-chilling cold that makes her skin shiver and crawl. She knows it shouldn't be cold, they are in the height of summer, so it is possible that she has a fever and there is only one reason for it. Infection.

Wanting to curse, cry or scream, a mix of all three, she goes to Kakashi, checking on him. He wakes slowly, his eyes clouded with tiredness and exhaustion. She knows, knows immediately, that he is still too weak, too exhausted to fight or run alone.

The second genjutsu breaks and she curses, before grabbing some kunai and checking their explosive tags. They would have to fight.

"They're here." She doesn't speak, just moves her lips slowly and sees Kakashi getting up with effort, muscles tense and trembling slightly. He tries to hide it, but she notices it anyway.

They're going to die. It's a cruel and raw realization, so true that Sakura's nervousness disappears, her mind seems to clear under all the terror that keeps her.

They're going to die, but not without a fight. She's not, and never was, like Naruto or Sasuke, all that stupid courage that makes them seem incredible and heroic, all those impulsive decisions that, somehow, led them to overcome any challenge they got themselves into. No, Sakura is the analytical type, she doesn't throw herself into the fight, she stays on the defensive until she's sure of what she's facing, she thinks about the best way to act before actually acting, she guarantees her actions after observing.

Another broken branch. Leaves rustling softly. She uses signs to communicate with Kakashi.

“Coming. I don’t know how many there are. Stay out until we know.” Kakashi blinks furiously, before moving his hands as well.

“You stay out. Jounins possibly.” She wants to laugh, whether it’s because she suddenly feels a sting of betrayal (would he let the boys fight if they were here? She feels like he would.) or if it’s because she’s becoming hysterical, she’ll never know.

She ignores what he’s said, then moves before he can signal anything else. Her leg should hurt, but her adrenaline is high enough that she doesn’t feel it. She’s grateful for it. The darkness provides a bit more safety, though it doesn’t help her see whoever is hunting them.

The gently blowing wind adds more chill to her shivering, frozen body. She feels Kakashi sneaking weakly behind her. Sakura cautiously leaves the cave, her eyes alert everywhere, ears ready to pick up any noise. The unnatural silence that occupies the forest leaves her almost on edge. Shadows move and suddenly two jounins appear in front of her. She can make out that they are tall men, one of them apparently carrying some instrument on his back. She then remembers the chuunin exams, the Grass shinobis who had some ability involving sound. She remembers that they came from a Village created by Orochimaru.

"Finally, you are quite sticky rats, aren't you?" The voice of one of them echoes, harsh and mocking. Sakura remains quiet and desperately thinks of some plan. Anything. For now, she knows that she will just need to stay away and play it safe.

"Where is Hatake?" the other asked, his tone more serious. If possible, Sakura becomes even more tense. Pressing the kunai with the explosive seal into her nervously sweaty palm, she speaks.

"What do you want?" her question comes out slowly but firmly.

"A lot of things, child. Information, political blackmail, a sharingan, or just to torture a pretty little girl like you." She shivers, but doesn't fall into the trap. Breathing hard, Sakura throws the kunai at them, which they dodge and she can hear the wood cracking with the force she exerted.

She barely had the same mastery of strength as her shishou, it was barely the same, Sakura had only recently started learning, her bones still ached and cracked if she applied too much force. However, she had never been so grateful for having at least this little extra trick. It certainly wasn't unwanted, considering Sakura only had the three Academy jutsus and a few minor genjutsus in her repertoire.

The shinobi with the instrument picked up the object on his back, she realized it was a drum, and hit the surface. There was nothing for a moment, until a gigantic vibration was thrown towards her, pushing her back and making her slam into the side of the small cave. Sakura was quick to roll out of the path of the kunai that was thrown by the second shinobi. Her brain felt like it was rattling for the first time. Another attack. Great, one of them was long-range, which was all she needed. Wanting to curse everything, Sakura threw three kunai at them, but again, they dodged. Another hit on the drum's surface, but Sakura jumped to the side, running to get away. There was a sunken trail of dirt from where the attack had happened. She looked for Kakashi, until she found him positioned further away, near a tree. He was clearly pale and sweating, but he seemed steady enough. She cast a "notice me" genjutsu on him, praying that the dark shadows would help more. A wind jutsu was thrown at her, but she replaced herself with a log in time. Changing her trajectory at the last minute, she launched herself into the path of the one using the instrument, using chakra in her feet to keep her quick. If they were long-range shinobi, they had a chance of being bad at taijutsu, and Sakura had been training her taijutsu diligently. A small opening could change the course of this fight, she just needed a chance.

Caught off guard by the sudden change in trajectory, the shinobi goes into a defensive position. Sakura tries a high kick, blocked by his arms. She ducks and jumps back, a safe distance away again. The second shinobi is quick to attack her and Sakura barely manages to block his punch, stumbling under the force of the attack. She replaces herself again before the kunai latches onto her neck. She is panting, her vision blurry at the edges, her body shaking like a ramrod in tension, and yet, the shinobis in front of her are barely sweating, not even their breathing loud.

She swallows the despair that tightens her heart and stomach, forcing her body to obey her. She wets her lips with her tongue, trying to think.

There is not enough time. Another beat on the drum, she dodges only to feel two kunai cut her thigh and arm. She looks at the small branch behind one of them, knows it's a slim chance, so she runs. One of them sneers, but it sounds low over the noise of her heart beating in her ears. Before the shinobi can attack her, Sakura replaces herself with the branch behind them, the sudden change in position is sickening and completely disorienting, making her world spin, but she sees the back of his head and an explosive seal on the back of his neck and a quick kai is enough.

But Sakura is too close when the seal explodes, her world is summed up in a bright light and a deafening noise. There is a loud ringing in her ears and she screams as the other enraged shinobi breaks her arm, he is furious and Sakura sees why.

His partner is in shreds, pieces and pieces of him scattered all over the area where they are.

"You bitch!" the shinobi screams, pressing down on his broken arm. Sakura screams in pain, desperately holding her arm, but then his weight is gone and she watches as another fight occurs. Kakashi is an unbearably strong shinobi, she thinks, as she watches her former teacher dodge several of the enemy's attacks.

But it's so obvious how defensive Kakashi was, putting his distance, clearly trying to see through some haze of exhaustion and delirium. He's sloppy enough not to dodge the Grass shinobi's attacks well enough.

Sakura groans silently, everything hurts, her leg has definitely opened up the stitches, she can feel the bone of her arm poking through her skin, but she doesn't take her eyes off the fight. Kakashi tries so hard, so clearly through how sick he must be, his chakra low to the point where he's struggling only to use small flashes of chakra.

She notes that they're near many trees that have suffered the impact of the explosive tag, and when Kakashi manages to stun the enemy shinobi for a short moment, manages to make him unstable for a second, that's when Sakura makes another substitution.

It was foolish, she realizes when she sees the man's arrogant smile, when she sees that he expected it, turning toward her with a tantō in her direction. But then Kakashi takes her place and it's like watching in slow motion as her former teacher is stabbed in the stomach. She feels her breath hitch, leaving her choked, eyes filling with tears. Kakashi, however, doesn't make a single sound and grabs his arm. Their gazes meet for less than a second and she barely thinks before running to the shinobi and plunging the kunai into his head.

The crunching sound it makes is disgusting, especially when blood explodes on her hands. The shinobi falls over dead, leaving the tantō stuck in Kakashi's stomach. Sakura thinks hysterically that it's a good thing the tantō wasn't pulled out with it, or there could have been a veritable river of blood and maybe some guts spilling out.

She runs to Kakashi, looking in horror at his mortal wound. Kakashi coughs, blood spraying from his mask, droplets wetting her cheeks.

"It's okay." If his voice comes out so calm that it scares her, well, Kakashi is too busy toIt's worth noting. Five months of medical training is barely enough to heal a cut or broken bone, regenerating internal organs and stopping internal bleeding is impossible. She's never done that, all she's done is read.

Reading explanatory words and guides isn't enough for her to try in the field, it's not even close, Tsunade could rip her head off and offer it to the hospital as an example on a silver platter, spit on it and withdraw the offer of apprenticeship, the only chance Sakura would have to be someone in the shinobi world.

She had no choice, though.

Kakashi was bleeding in front of her, dying in front of her and they were surrounded by the exploded pieces of a dead man, they were a week away from home, there was no help on the way. There was no way to wait, there was no way he could survive a week with a damn sword stuck in his stomach with his chakra exhaustion to make the faster healing process naturally worse.

Sakura wanted to laugh, to really laugh, to scream at the universe, to strangle the chunins at the mission desk, maybe even to fight with the shishou. She looked at her broken arm, dark purple all over her skin, and leaned it on the ground. She needed to put it back together, damn shinobi, he'd snapped in two. Without thinking, because if she hesitated for a single second, she'd chicken out, Sakura punched the bone back into place, fat tears falling down her face and a choked scream dying in her throat. The green chakra in her palm was shaking, wavering, and it hurt, damn it, it hurt so much to glue the bones together enough so that it wouldn't get in the way, even though she could feel that a single effort on it would crack everything again. Lucky for Kakashi that when she did this to him, he was unconscious. Lucky damn him. She dragged herself to the cave, gathering everything she needed in a single backpack, fuck if she was leaving clothes and a few scrolls behind, she couldn't carry any more weight than necessary. Sakura walked back to Kakashi, and damn, how the hell was she supposed to stop the damn bleeding and not cut the tantō? And how was she supposed to carry him with that tantō stuck in there? Bridal style wasn't even an option.

Rubbing the tears from her face, she stood almost on top of him, chakra in her hands. Naruto was strong and Sasuke was talented, but Sakura was smart, she had basic knowledge, but she could do something with this, she knew that. Closing her eyes and concentrating, she worked slowly.

She felt where she was bleeding, which organs had been caught, and bit her lip. It was bad. Delicately, without much real idea of ​​what she was doing, but using what she had learned about closing cuts, Sakura sewed the organs around the tantō and just closed the damn vessels and veins that had been torn. Honestly, she had no idea if she could do what she was doing, but she knew that at least Kakashi wouldn't bleed inside himself to death. Now about the tantō, she concentrated on her two fingers and made a thin layer of scalpel chakra, thin and sharp enough to cut through stone.

She had never been so happy to be stubborn and beg Tsunade-shishou to let her learn it, even though Tsunade argued that it would be a waste of time because she wouldn't use the scalpel until she could perform surgeries. In fact, Sakura didn't use it for surgery, but she managed to cut the tantō as short as possible. Less concerned about Kakashi's imminent death, she fitted her backpack to the front, made a small clone to help her put it on her back and ran. It wasn't really a run. Suddenly she remembered that she had an infection in her leg and that the cold she could still feel was actually a fever. Disgusted, she also realized that she had only managed to sleep three hours before the shinobi attacked them. Wonderful.

(...)

They were getting worse. Sakura could feel her skin burning, she didn't even dare look at her leg, knowing that if she did, she might just give up and cry like a baby until they were both dead. She didn't stop walking, she couldn't. Kakashi was burning with fever, his sweaty skin touching and burning even more the back of her neck, his slow, hot breathing making her skin crawl. She had been walking for two days and a few hours, the sun was setting and she was exhausted. Kakashi barely woke up to drink water and eat the fruit she found and, God, she had to help him pee, shamefully. The embarrassment, however, was barely compared to how bad they both felt. Kakashi hadn't even had the heart to put on his mask after throwing up a little a few hours ago. And in any other situation, she might have been ecstatic to be able to see his face, but as it was, all she could think about was how pale he was.

"Kakashi, water," she murmured, her voice hoarse and broken. She lifted him off her back and propped him against the tree. He grunted, eyes half closed. She took the bottle with shaking hands, opening it and leaning toward him.

"How long have you been in Konoha?" he asked slowly, his breathing heavy.

"Not long," she lied again. They were in bad shape, almost four days away from home and they might never make it there, but how the hell was she going to tell him that? How could she look at her almost dead former teacher and confess that because of her, because she was so weak, they might never see their homes again? "You need to recover, try to eat again, please?"

Kakashi groans, rubbing his face in sheer exhaustion. He bites and swallows one of the few protein bars Sakura found lost in her backpack.

"Sakura, you need to go without me." She huffs out a laugh, shaking her head in exasperation.

"We've already discussed this, I think," she says in what could be anger if she had enough energy in her tone. "I'm not leaving you, it's not an option, Kakashi."

Oh, she has no idea when she started calling him by name only, but she feels like she can't undo it. Maybe the near-death experience they're having has made her more comfortable with him.

"I can't walk and I'm not blind, you didn't even touch your leg and I can see the blood from here. At this rate, we're both going to die." He sounds resigned and a little desperate and Sakura would scream at him if she could just concentrate.

"Then we'll die." She's firm, without hesitation.

The silence stretches until she carries him again, snail's pace through the dark, pitch-black forest. They're feverish, malnourished, and damn, maybe walking to death.

Sakura doesn't stop.

(...)

Kakashi wakes up less and less and Sakura has to fight back tears every time she tries. She thinks it's been four days, but honestly, she's lost track of time.

She doesn't sleep well, any little noise makes her jump and her arm cracked again after falling and putting her weight on it. Every now and then she looks at Kakashi's wound only to wrinkle her nose at the smell, not that her leg is any better.

And it's now, where the sun is rising and with Kakashi taking a small sip of water with both of them under a deep tree root, that she takes off the bandage covering her cut.

At least she did a general cleaning on Kakashi, applying the scarce alcohol that was left and using a small amount of chakra to prevent the infection to death, but she had so little chakra these days, already having to use it all the time to stay standing, that her own wound was forgotten.

She knew it was bad, just the smell and the appearance made her sick. She had to wet the cloth so it would come off the damn cut and what she saw made her vomit on the small plant next to her. It was ugly, yellowish in appearance and strange secretions, the smell of rot infesting her nose.

Gritting her teeth, she looked up, blinking furiously to disperse the tears. There wasn't much to do in the middle of the forest, with little chakra and no rest. She grabbed another gauze and tied it again.

A squirrel ran by, in the distance. Some birds flew by, frightened by something. Sakura's heart races so fast that she can hear the beat in her ears, her breathing becomes rapid and she reaches for Kakashi, desperate. She feels, so faint, so light, a small chakra signature, something hidden among so many animals present that could confuse her.

She runs, adrenaline in her blood, leaving her dizzy and painless, the world around her just a blur that she passes through, Kakashi firmly on her back. She needs to protect him, needs to make sure they live.

She doesn't stop, doesn't stop even when the signature is no longer felt, doesn't stop even when her breathing becomes labored and the fever seems to crush her body, even when Kakashi no longer answers her call, his head fainted on her shoulder, his skin boiling and sweat sticking to it.

She barely feels her leg, no longer feels the branches that tear her arms and shin or scratch her face, no longer feels the sun burning her like an ember, or the thirst that clogs her throat. She doesn't even know where she's going anymore, if she's following the right path, the edges of her vision dark and blurry, all she knows is that she can't stop.

And then she's approached, two men, she can make out through the haze that clouds her thoughts, their grip on Kakashi firm. She grabs a kunai from her holster, growling and growling like a wild animal, just waiting to pounce and bite.

"I'm going to kill them, don't come any closer!" she screams as one of them steps forward. She leaves a wide space between them and tries not to think about why they're not attacking already, why were they standing still? To build up the anxiety of an attack? To make her feel cornered? Damn them, damn them! Sakura won't go down without a fight, won't let them rip her away. She has the will to live.

She coils her chakra around her body, strengthening the bones in her arms, the knuckles between her fingers, coiling like a snake, a shock absorber. She punches the ground, dust rises, the bone in her arm makes a strange noise, but the pain is barely felt. She throws the kunai at one of them, jumps to a tree and performs a small genjutsu, just a subtle change between the distances of the ground and the small rocks that were in the way. She feels Kakashi tremble and shake at her back, but her concern is muffled when the two ninjas rise from the cracks.

“Sakura! It’s us!” one of them shouts and she narrows her eyes in irritation. Did they think they could fool her? The Leaf insignia on their headbands could be forged, could just be there to make her comfortable and get caught in the way.

“You need a hospital. Kakashi needs a hospital now, Sakura.” One of them says, voice calm, solemn. She growls. No one is going to take Kakashi away from her.

She feels more chakra approaching, something itches inside her. She recognizes this chakra, but who? Where was she? Was Konoha close?

“Sakura.” A woman’s voice. Sakura looks at her, long blonde hair, large breasts and brown eyes. Her mind itches again in recognition, but who was she? Who is this woman? “You’re delusional, brat. Calm down.” Her voice is firm, stern even. Sakura frowns, but doesn’t give in.

She moves the genjutsu to Kakashi on her back, making a clone with another “Don’t notice me” genjutsu that replaces itself with him as she leaves him on the tree. She prays that he remains still or his fragile genjutsu will shatter.

A chance when the closest ninja, one with wild hair and a bandage across his face, appears just as he trips over a rock that in her vision should be further away. Sakura replaces herself smoothly, no hand seals, no spike in chakra. She just appears behind him, kunai in hand and ready to take him to his death.

Then someone shunshins and grabs her wrist, where her arm is broken, and she twists her body, kicking her hand and jumping back, the clone on her back dissolving.

“Sakura, you are at the gates of Konoha. Do you recognize the gate? Look around.” The woman says again, softly. Sakura refuses to look away from her, focused.

There are sighs, murmurs that she doesn’t understand between these shinobi.

“I am Tsunade Senju, Fifth Hokage and your mentor for five months. Before you left on your mission, I asked you to gather some herbs that only grow on the border where you were going.” Sakura breathes, her mind itching again and again. The image of the woman then begins to make sense, she recognizes her upturned nose, the small bracelet on her wrist. Sakura gasps, looking at the shinobi behind Tsunade and recognizing Izumo and Kotetsu.

“Oh, my. I…” she murmurs, awakened. Suddenly, fatigue takes over her body, her vision darkens, her knees weaken and Sakura falls, her body shaking so much it seems like a seizure.

“Sakura, where’s Kakashi?” Tsunade asks, approaching cautiously. At the question, Sakura groans, getting up and replacing herself on the branch next to her former teacher, undoing the genjutsu and holding him close. “Let him go, you need to be taken to the hospital too. Both of you go.” Tsunade says seriously, but Sakura is sure there is pure relief in her voice and face. "You guys look horrible. Let's take them, just let him go." However, even though she recognizes these faces, even though it is Konoha in front of her, Sakura does not let go of Kakashi. She bares her teeth at her Hokage in threat.

"I will not let him go. I will carry him to the hospital." She says, her voice dry as the desert. Tsunade sighs deeply. But Sakura does not see or feel when someone approaches from behind, all she feels is a sting on the back of her neck and darkness taking over her vision. Before she can fall into deep despair, she faints.

(...)

Her body feels heavy when she wakes up, her limbs turning into soft jelly that does not obey her. When she opens her eyes, there is something beeping and growing as she wakes up. She has been drugged, anesthetized. Groaning, she feels the familiar adrenaline rush take over her body, she rolls out of bed and rips off everything that is stuck to her. She looks around her, desperately searching for Kakashi. Were they torturing him? Getting information out of him? He wouldn't survive, not with the wound in his stomach.

She realizes that she seems to be in a hospital room, but she doesn't understand their stupidity. Priorities, priorities, her mind whispers. It was just her luck that they were stupid and trapped her here with no one to watch.

There are no weapons here, all there is is a glass window that reveals that she is several feet off the ground. She rips the sheet off the bed and breaks the window, grabbing a particularly large shard. That would do.

There are rushing noises outside before the door is opened.

the door is open. A nurse opens the door, but it's almost natural to substitute herself with the small vase in the corner near the entrance. Sakura quickly knocks out the nurse, a civilian for sure, and pulls her into the small bathroom, locking it in.

It hurts to move, her leg is bad, her arm still hurts, but Sakura needs to find Kakashi. She runs outside, peering into the hallway only to sigh in relief at how empty it is. She creeps carefully, limping until she turns left and feels Kakashi's subtle chakra. It's weak, but agitated. He's awake.

Well, if he's well enough, he can help her escape and find a safe place. She stays quiet as she approaches, dragging the door open and sneaking in. Her heart stops when she sees Kakashi, he's so sick.

Still pale, there's a large bandage on his belly, his arm is in a sling and although his eye is half-open, it's easy to see that Kakashi doesn't seem very present. She touches his forehead, no fever, thank goodness. She could carry him on her back again, but Sakura honestly feels exhausted. What should she do? She needs to keep Kakashi safe.

Clamping the glass in her hand, she stands in attack position when someone enters the room. He's a shinobi, she knows, looking at the strange green jumpsuit he's wearing, a smile too big on his face, but muscles so strong she's sure she'd be crushed to a pulp without much effort from this man.

"Stand back!" She yells, ready to attack. Kakashi moves, mumbles something she ignores, and promptly vomits next to her. Sakura feels her heart explode in her chest with worry, the feeling of having been through this before piercing her skin. Kakashi needs to survive.

"Sakura-chan, I don't think you're in any condition to stand. I've already asked for Tsunade-sama, so I suggest you sit down." The man's voice is soft and Sakura has the same feeling of recognizing the name mentioned, but not remembering it exactly. Tsunade-sama… Her head is confused, they injected some damn drug into her, she's sure of it.

"Where am I?" She spits out the words, keeping herself perfectly in front of Kakashi like a protective shield. He's already stopped vomiting, but his chakra is still dangerously low.

The man frowns his thick eyebrows, but he's quick to answer. He leaves his hands exposed and seems so relaxed that it makes her less tense. "Don't you remember? We're in the Konoha hospital, you and Kakashi arrived in the Village yesterday, almost dead. Tsunade-sama needed to perform delicate surgery on both of you."

Sakura is confused. Konoha… were they in Konoha? She looks out the window, the view is something she recognizes, looking straight at houses and shopping streets, where in the background, the Hokage Tower stands helplessly. What was she doing? This is her home.

Kakashi was being treated, not tortured. She feels a headache pounding in her brain, a sudden nausea turning her almost green. Her eyes flicker to the blond figure that appears in front of the man from one moment to the next. It's Tsunade.

"Brat, I swear to everything that is sacred, I will beat you if you don't sit down right now! You shouldn't even be awake!" She screams, visibly furious and it takes Sakura a moment to stop shaking. She still has that annoying thing in her brain saying "danger, run, run, run." It's so hard to turn off the mindset that everyone is an enemy and that there is only her and Kakashi, where the only goal was to make sure they both survive.

Something in her face made Tsunade soften quickly, still with her back firm and confident. Sakura feels shaky, her body aches, she's stressed and she still has this need to be close to Kakashi.

"I guess the nurse put you in separate rooms, huh? Someone is really going to get demoted today. Sakura, sit down, you really shouldn't be standing.” Sakura nodded slowly, taking steps back until she climbed onto Kakashi's bed. Technically, it was his personal space, but they had been sleeping together for weeks to ward off the cold, and Sakura didn't mind doing this.

Tsunade turned and mumbled something to the man, Sakura finally realized it was Gai, and he just nodded before disappearing. The silence was eerie as Tsunade turned back to face her, her painted nails looking slightly bitten.

“What happened? You were a week late and badly beaten. Wounds that were so infected I considered ripping your leg off and taking Kakashi's organ.”

Sakura's eyelashes fluttered as she closed her eyes, remembering the pain, then the numbness. She knew it was a miracle that they were alive, Sakura had seen shinobi die for less.

“The mission went as planned, we delivered the scroll on time and started our way home. Then we were attacked by two Jounins, Hidden Sound Village. I… Kakashi was injured, the fight lasted a long time, I tried to help as best I could, but I ended up getting injured too.” Sakura thinks she made a good report, she tells of the endless days, in the fight against the other two jounins where they really received the worst damage.

She says that she didn't remember much after the fever took over her body. She also didn't think it was necessary to tell her that she had to help Kakashi go to the bathroom, or drink water, or how he whispered the names of dead comrades. She thinks he would appreciate this little privacy of information.

●○

Tsunade bites her inner cheek, noticing how tired her student is as she tells her about the mission. It's a bit odd that she's awake, Tsunade was quite strict when giving her anesthesia, knowing that both she and Kakashi were in a sorry state.

“I'll ask for a more formal report later, but for now just sleep, okay? I'll ask someone to bring you another bed to sleep in.” Tsunade is slow as she raises her hand and ruffles Sakura's disheveled hair. The girl only flinches slightly before grumbling.

She leaves the room, muscles tense. She heads to the office that is barely occupied by her anymore thanks to her Hokage hat. She bites her lip, rereading the report she made about Kakashi's injuries.

Then there is a knock on the door and Shizune enters, TonTon in her arms. Her face is serious, lips pressed together.

"Tsunade-sama..." she murmurs. Tsunade laughs, almost hysterically, before opening the drawer and taking out a bottle of sake. The situation is tense enough for Shizune to ignore it.

"I've never seen this, not since Rin and the girl was much more advanced in medicine than Sakura. Shizune, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it." She confesses, rubbing her eyes before taking a long sip of the drink. Her throat burns, but it's a welcome one.

"Sakura-san started not even six months ago. She barely finished basic training, what… how did she manage to sew an organ around a damn tantō! In the middle of a forest!” Shizune looked incredulous and it was no wonder.

No one should have such precise chakra control, no one should do that without having studied for years and years, not just based on reading!

Kakashi should be dead, that's the truth. Sakura shouldn't be able to perform that surgery in the field.

Medical ninjas were underrated, but the truth is that there were so few of them for a reason, there's also a reason it took so long to discover chakra medicine! It was extremely difficult, even the best shinobi in the world could never be able to perform a simple surgery. Not even an Uchiha with a sharingan, because there's no way to imitate something if you don't have the necessary control.

And it's no wonder that when Tsunade involved medicine in the battlefield, the war that Konoha was participating in was quickly won and overcome. Medicine could save thousands of lives, sure, but it was incredibly easy to take them away too when you had the knowledge of a doctor and the control to perform jutsus that could stop your heart with a touch. That's why she created rules and the promise to never use medicine to kill.

Kabuto is living proof of this, that when a good doctor doesn't have the necessary morals, he could become a monster.

"I knew she had great control, but at this level?" Tsunade laughed, shaking her head. "I don't know whether to be relieved or terrified."

"Tsunade-sama?"

"She was damn lucky that the Academy was so blind to its brilliant students. If they discovered this level of control, I think they would have advanced her. You can improve someone's physique, you can increase their chakra with training and make them better, but you can't teach chakra control at this level, that's for those who were born with it." She looks at her sake with disgust, wondering how long it will take for Danzou to turn her into a monster worse than Kabuto, maybe even worse than Orochimaru. “She’s smart, very smart, even a Nara could feel jealous. She’s too rational, even if she can’t control her feelings, she’s very good at ignoring them. There are qualities of hers that could become powerful weapons.”

“What are we going to do?” Shizune asked uncertainly, squeezing TonTon to the point where the little pig complained.

“Well, lucky I got to her first, huh? I’ll just change the whole training schedule. I was going slow for fear she wouldn’t keep up, but I see I was wrong.” She drinks the last sip, throwing the empty bottle in the trash. Letting out a heavy sigh, Tsunade picks up some folders on the chair, biting the tip of her fingernail. “Konoha will soon have a medical-nin who can surpass me, Shizune. I’ll need to give her all the protection she needs, in name or money.”

Shizune's eyes widen in surprise. Tsunade believes that the girl can be better than her? A Sannin?

"Does that mean…?"

"Someone would need to share in my Clan's wealth too, right? Or you would have too much to handle."

The Hokage smiled, something sharp and dangerous, the kind of look that could make any shinobi feel cornered. "I'll make you a Senju."

(...)

It would be an understatement to say that Sakura had managed to leave Kakashi's room for more than a few minutes, she really didn't want to take him out of her line of sight. She had moved her bed closer to Kakashi's, snuggling them together every few minutes, checking for fevers, more out of habit than anything.

He had been asleep for two days until he woke up. Sakura had been taking a spoonful of the miso soup the hospital had provided, flipping through a medical scroll, when a dry, raspy voice murmured.

"Sakura?" She jumped out of bed, nearly knocking over her bowl, her eyes wide. She turned to him, grinning wildly. He was clearly a little confused, his hair a mess, but his mask in place. Sakura had made sure the nurses brought it to him and that no snoopers would try to sneak a peek.

“Kakashi! You’re awake!” she said loudly, her voice tinged with such pure relief that she wanted to cry for real. She leaned into him, ready to hug him until her ribs cracked, but hesitated. Would he like a hug? Probably not. “I’m so happy, so much.” She said it more softly, lowering her tone, though her heart thundered in her chest.

“Hospital?” he asked quietly, coughing from the scratchiness in his throat from the dryness. Sakura was quick to jump out of bed and grab the pitcher of water on the side table, offering him a glass. Kakashi tried to move his hand, but he was clearly shaking badly.

“It’s okay, here.” She did exactly as she had done when they were half dead in the middle of the forest, tilting the glass towards him, closing her eyes to remove the mask, her other hand holding his chin to ensure a firm grip and not waste it. This made Kakashi's eyes widen and he almost choked in surprise, maybe because he didn't remember that? "Sorry." She fumbled, removing her hand, although she still used the other to make him drink. The glass was emptied in seconds and the mask was back in place. "We're in the Konoha hospital. We made it." She whispered the last part, smiling brightly.

"I guess... I don't remember that?" He mumbled, although he was smiling, its outline visible through the mask. She laughed, a little embarrassed, her excitement fading.

"You were in bad shape... we almost died, apparently. Tsunade-shishou had to perform a miracle on us, one to not take my leg off and the other to not take your kidney." She explained slowly. Kakashi blinked slowly.

“I still remember when the tantō was stuck in my stomach. I guess I shouldn’t have made it? There’s no way I could stay alive with a tantō in my stomach for so many days.” He looked even more confused and Sakura bit her lip tightly.

“Um, I-I did something. It could have killed you, but I didn’t have much of a choice and I was desperate.” Her voice shook and she cleared her throat, trying to control herself. “I knew I couldn’t pull the blade out, that would basically be your death, so I managed to stop the bleeding and rudimentarily, per Shishou’s words, regenerate the organ wrapped around the blade. I cut the rest of the tantō so I could carry you better.”

Silence stretched for what felt like minutes.

“Sakura.”

“Yes?”

“You did field surgery?” His voice was incredulous and Sakura groaned in exasperation.

“Maybe.”

“You only have five months with Tsunade-sama.” It was a statement, not a question, but Sakura nodded anyway.

“I-I had read some things… my reading was more advanced than my training and—” She licked her suddenly dry lips, her body shuddering. “I would never let you die, Kakashi.”

Kakashi stared at her for a moment, as if he needed a few minutes to digest what he was hearing. Kakashi wondered if there was some omnipresent being who was in charge of everything, because what were the odds of him getting field surgery twice? When there were barely any doctors who could go on missions? And God, how the hell had he never seen his student’s capabilities?

He knew Team 7 would never be normal, but this was already sounding beyond ridiculous. The last Uchiha, a rebellious prodigy, a jinchuuriki, an Uzumaki and the son of a Hokage and a girl who by all rights should have been the normal one, had such absurd chakra control that he could have all the doctors wrapped around his little finger.

He huffed, tired and exasperated.

"I'm too old for this." He muttered. Sakura laughed awkwardly.

"Well, at least we came back alive? Oh, and one more thing." Kakashi looked at her carefully, wondering when the next shoe would drop. Sakura scratched her head, looking like a cute child and not a shinobi who crossed half the country half-dead. "Now I'm a Senju..."

"What."

Oh yeah, sure, why not, right?

"I need to drink.”

“Kakashi, you’re not getting out of this hospital any time soon! Tsunade-shishou told me to keep an eye on you, and you know how good I am at following orders.” She crossed her arms. Kakashi let out a pitiful sigh.

“You’re cruel, Sakura-chan.” She smiled, all teeth, green eyes shining with something that could be described as “poisonous.”

“I can be, Kakashi.”