Rabbit Princess [Gaara] [3]

☾ 22 ☽

It was the last day of January, or more traditionally known as the Month of Affection. Tsukiko had last visited Gaara on his birthday twelve days ago, and although she was missing him very much, the workload waiting for her to go through was a good distraction. It might as well be one of the last few efforts of her while she was still unmarried as her wedding was just a month away now.

By now, it was exactly two years since Tsukiko and Sakura had discussed and then proposed to the upper ranks the creation of a department at Konoha Hospital specialising in the care of children's hearts and minds. That had been about three months after the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War.

In the face of such a powerful enemy the Shinobi had been pushed to the brink of despair any number of times, but the Ninja Alliance, centred on Tsukiko and Naruto, had still fought – never once breaking or yielding – to shatter Kaguya's ambitions.

When peace came, the people rejoiced. The world was saved. Reconstruction eventually began, with repairs starting in regions and on structures damaged in the massive conflict.

As Medical Ninjas, Tsukiko and Sakura had been busy treating the many injured Shinobi. There were few with grave injuries, and the people who came for treatment all looked peaceful and content, thanks to a sense of security that came from the war finally being over.

What about the children?

That thought had struck Sakura as she had sat listening to Tsukiko talk about her childhood one lunch in her office. Tsukiko had always downplayed her feelings for the sake of others but that day, Sakura thought that Tsukiko looked truly sad as the white-haired girl mentioned how she felt lonely to having lost her parents to the war, and how she was ready to do so herself.

While Tsukiko had led this all to the idea of re-establishing a loving orphanage in Konohagakure, Sakura had asked her if they could do something about the other children as well. The children, who hadn't taken part directly in the war, might have been uninjured physically.

But what about their minds, surely, the fighting and its unforeseeable end have placed a huge stress on their young minds. They saw their country in ruins around them, they learned of the deaths of people close to them – wouldn't this have scarred their souls?

This seemed to be something that Tsukiko liked as well, and prompted by her more decisive friend, Sakura began to collect data on the people coming to the hospital and found that a large number of children who came in after the war complained of poor health.

Nothing could be found physically wrong with them. When Sakura informed Tsukiko of her compiled findings, that brought the two of them putting their heads together to work on it.

Children were the village's treasures, as the third Hokage Hiruzen often used to say. Older ninja carved these words into their hearts as a kind of collective understanding.

The pair of them had first discussed the idea of setting up a specialised organization within the hospital and creating a structure to provide care for children's mental health with Tsunade.

"I think it's a good idea," Tsunade had remarked, nodding approvingly at them. "Take the lead on this, Tsukiko, Sakura, and move forward with it,"

For Sakura, there was something about this pair of cousins – whenever Tsukiko and Tsunade both liked something, Sakura no longer had any problem going through with it. They were the best kind of cheerleaders, although neither of them would admit it.

So, with Tsunade having their back and Tsukiko actively there to help out, Sakura started making the preparations: securing and training personnel for this new organisation, cooperating with Konoha Hospital and laying the groundwork, and then developing a budget.