Darkest Before Dawn

The List and the Medic

   Juugo had been in that lab for twelve years. He hadn't experienced much of the outside world, and if he did, he didn't remember it. The only human interaction he had were those other prisoners and the people who conducted experiments on him. He really was a really nice, gentle person, albeit a bit awkward. A good kind of awkward. Juugo also had a list of things he had to do and see for him to be truly content.

1) Make a friend. 

   His first friend outside the lab was obviously Sakura. She was always nice to him and was able to calm his anger whenever it surfaced. He had a friend once named Kimimaro, but he died years ago due to one of the serums injected into him. Juugo used to have nightmares that Sakura would die like Kimimaro did, but eventually, she assured him that she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Juugo believed every word she said.

2) Go cloud-watching. 

3) Go star-gazing.

   They stayed at small inn in Otogakure for about two weeks. They planned the places they would go and gathered supplies for their trip. The skies were beautiful in this village and it was the perfect place to spend the day light watching fluffy, white clouds pass across the pale blue background. Sakura and Juugo spent the last day in Otogakure pointing out shapes in the sky, and once the sky turned into a smooth, violet hue, they gazed at the stars. Both of them fell asleep on the inn's roof.

   The next day, they headed out of the village. Sakura was still teaching Juugo how to use chakra effectively and how to apply it to using jutsus. Since he couldn't power chakra to his feet consistently and efficiently, it was settled that they would walk to their destinations until he could. Juugo was a quick learner, so Sakura estimated that he would be able to leap through the trees at her speed in about a week.

   When the sun had set, they took refuge in a small village about seven hours away from Otogakure. At the inn, Juugo sneezed.

   "Are you getting cold?"

   "Probably." he sniffed, "I got sick a lot when I was a kid."

   "I'll go out and get some medicine then. Stay here and try to get some sleep, okay? I'll be back soon."

   Sakura made sure that he was warm and groggy before grabbing her kunai pouch and walking out of the room, shutting the door silently behind her. The sun was nearly gone from the horizon when she stepped out of the building and most of the stores had closed. Fortunately enough for her, there was a small pharmacy open. She stepped inside.

   "Ah, hello there, young lady!" the woman behind the counter greeted, "I haven't seen you around here before. Are you a traveler?"

   Sakura's eyes swept over the woman's appearance before she smiled in return.

   "Yes ma'am. But my friend is coming down with a cold, do you have anything for that?"

   The woman nodded, her shoulder-length brown hair bobbing as she did so.

   "Of course! I have some herbs in the back that will get your friend in tip-top shape in no time! Just give me a minute to get what you need." she smiled. Sakura nodded and watched as the woman disappeared in the back of the shop. The shopkeeper certainly looked young, maybe in her mid-twenties. Though there was something about her...

   The woman came back with a packet of herbs.

   "Put a teaspoon of this in a cup of hot water and have your friend drink it twice a day. These herbs will last for five days. Even if he seems fine by, let's say, the third day, still have him take the tea the next two days. The cost is 55 ryo (550 yen)."

   Sakura paid for the herbs and placed it in her kunai pouch.

   "Thank you, Miss..."

   "Rin." the woman smiled, "Rin Nohara."