An Imperfect Spectrum

War

Alrighty here, so today we have some Shisui, more of Sakura's parents, and a bit more war, but like, with less action and more of just somethings happening, ya know.

The Harunos were awake and sitting at the table in the main room when Shisui knocked on the door. It opened immediately, revealing Mebuki's worried face. Rustling footsteps filled the silence and Sakura's dad appeared into view. He looked between Shisui and his wife in confusion, narrowing his eyes when Mebuki shook her head.

"Come in!" Mebuki said, false cheer dripping from her voice. His mind screamed trap, but they were civilian, what could they do? As soon as their backs turned to lean him to the dining hall, he activated his sharingan, casting a genjutsu over them to prevent them from noticing.

"So." Kizashi crossed his arms as he sat on the couch across from Shisui. "To what can we owe this... visit." Shisui winced at the cold tone of Sakura's father. He knew he didn't like shinobi, Sakura told him so the first time he was here, but the level of coldness was still shocking. After all, he did allow his daughter to attend the academy, and he would've learned that as soon as she entered, she was required to graduate, and become a ninja.

"Sakura will be staying the night at my cousin's. My mother insists. She was rather tired when she came back from training." Mebuki relaxed just a bit more, while Kizashi tensed slightly, a motion noticed by his active sharingan.

"I'm glad! I was worried when she didn't come home after she had dinner there, it is late, after all, who knows what could've happened to her, even with the constant patrols of the police and shinobi." Shisui winced at the implications; they weren't doing their job.

"Auntie would never let anyone hurt Sakura, don't worry. She's in good hands!" He smiled, ignoring the muffled 'The hands of a murderer.' from Kizashi. "Anyway, I'm not just here about that." They straightened up, a vague wariness filled their eyes and they watched Shisui shift into the couch more before continuing, dropping the genjutsu on his sharingan and staring the Harunos in the eyes. "I'd like to speak with you about your daughter."

They did not lie to him, not after the genjutsu was dropped, too scared of those glowing red eyes to dare attempt to. They understood the rumors of what they could do, no matter their civilian heritage. Everyone in the village knew of what they could do. The Harunos however, understood the deep roots of what the Uchiha stood for. They were open in their ambitions and triumphs, setting them on a target away from the other clans, who worked quietly, and did not discuss their inner workings. To the village, the Uchiha clan was a library book. Open to all, and damaged by most who use its resources.

When Shisui had deactivated his sharingan, Mebuki eased tension from her shoulders. Beside her, Kizashi stayed ridged, eyes trained on the worn hands of the shinobi as he got up. She placed a hand on her husband's, an act that if anything would seem comforting, not a safehold for her to keep him pinned to the table and prevent him from attacking the Uchiha boy. She did not mind if he noticed. If anything, she hoped it to be a reminder for him.

He pulled his hand from hers, and jumped up from the table, stumbling to his room and leaving his wife and the Uchiha boy in silence.

"He does get more charming by the second. The kid was right."

Mebuki cracked a small grin as Shisui broke the silence. "So does Sakura need anything? Clothes? Toothbrush?"

"Nope! I think Auntie has it all covered!" He stood up and bowed to her. "Thank you Mrs. Haruno."

Mebuki swatted her hand, as if dismissing the title. "Call me Mebuki. Sakura is practically your family, ya know?" She shooed him out the door. "Now go home and tell your 'Auntie' to take care of that girl, alright?"

"Yes Ma'am."

As soon as the door shut fully, Shisui was gone, Shunshining back to Mikoto's to let her know that Sakura's parents were fine with the idea. The Uchiha house was quiet when Shisui reached the doorstep, the only light coming from the porchlights on either side of the door. He didn't knock, instead opting to open the door and walk in. The shadows bounced off the walls as he moved towards the kitchen, looking for paper to leave a note. He pulled open a door, and the shadows seemed to stretch and grab at him. Because that's not creepy at all, he thought, locating the paper they used for shopping lists.

Then, as soon as reached out his hand to grab it, a muffled thud came from somewhere upstairs. He was there in seconds, swinging open the door to the guest room, expecting someone to be there, but instead, there was a lump of blankets on the floor, and heavy breathing. He made his way towards the lump, only to freeze when it moved, throwing blankets back and revealing pink hair.

She didn't seem to notice him -or anything for that matter- her eyes gazing unfocused at the wall as she drew her legs in tight, clenching her arms around them in a death grip. He moved directly into her line of sight, though he was not acknowledged by her.

"It was like she had become a different person." Mebuki's words echoed through his skull as he reached towards the girl.

She finished writing the names on the paper. All date stamped three days ago. There were scrolls stacked around her, towering over her small form. She placed the brush down, sighing as she rolled the scroll up and tied it, placing it next to the pile of similar scrolls. This is war, she thought, rubbing her temples, you don't have time to mourn right now. As she put the brush down, the flaps of the tent flew open, revealing a tired Kiba Inuzuka.

"Can I help you?"

He limped over towards her, pulling a dirtied scroll from his coat. She grabbed it, frowning at him before pulling it open and leaning back into her chair, dismissing him to the medical tent. She hummed as she skimmed the scroll, then froze at the bottom. 'Mission Failed. 3 injured. 1 casualty' it read. She frantically skimmed her memories, trying to remember who had gone on the mission with him when it hit her.

She all but tossed the scroll into a nearby box as she jumped from her chair, throwing open the tent flaps and racing to the medical tent. She caught Kiba's gaze from the far side of the tent, where his leg was being tended to by Shizune. He tilted his head towards a group of beds to his left, surrounded by curtains and medics, and Sakura felt her heart soar with hope. Maybe, it called, maybe he's okay. She walked up to the curtains, throwing herself into the medic's mindset and nodding at the medics as they moved from her way and allowed her room. She drew back the curtain, revealing the remaining three members of Kiba's team.

Some part of her cracked as she looked at the group. The chakra responded to her call immediately, and she reached for the nearest shinobi, directing the other medics to work on the others. She grimaced at the state of the Hyuuga girl, who's left eye was bandaged and hair soaked with blood. She pulled back the bandage, wincing at the mess that was made of her face.

A long gash, bleeding sluggishly, ran diagonally from her eyebrow, cutting across her eye and ending just before her ear. With only hope that her chakra could soothe the pain, Sakura ran her palm above Hinata's eye and peeled back the eyelid, preparing for the worst.

The Hyuuga had stopped by her tent moments after she had finished organizing the week's mission reports to send to Tsunade. Hiashi had sent Hanabi with a few branch members directly to Sakura's camp with a scroll to thank her for saving his daughter's life. She entertained them for a bit before showing them to the medical tent so they could be with Hinata.

When she was finally alone, and there was no responsibilities to catch up to her, she sealed her tent, and finally allowed the crack to widen. Tears rolled down her face as she remembered her sensei's words. 'This is war, Sakura. We do not have time to grieve the fallen. We must fight onward to save the living.' She sobbed into her bedroll, clutching her pillow tight as she shook. 'How can I fight on, sensei, when almost everyone I fight for is gone'

"It's fine, Sakura. You're fine."

She shook her head. "No. It's not fine. You can't leave me too."

Wow, who hurt you Sakura? Wait, that was me. Ehh, it's whatever, ya know. Next chapter will be a continuation of this, I have vague amount of things planned for the future so be ready.