The Return

Chapter 6

Some Other Time, Sasuke

As they walked, Sakura couldn't help but feel like she had been led astray. What was with that embrace and apology earlier if Sasuke's visit was strictly business-related? She couldn't figure him out. It was always like this; just when she thought they shared a connection, it turned out she didn't really know him at all.

"We're here," Sasuke said, approaching the Konoha hospital.

"Right," Sakura said forlornly, taking the lead and heading through the entryway. Where was she even going to take him now? She'd have to tell him the truth sooner or later. She sighed, "Sa-"

"Sakura! Thank goodness you're here!" Shizune interrupted, running towards her. "It's your patient from yesterday, the little boy. His chakra bottomed out again! We need your help right away!"

Sakura groaned, of all the times for this to happen. However, she knew that as a medical ninja she had no choice. "I'm sorry, Sasuke. Some other time?"

Sasuke stared at her, wide-eyed, as he remembered the days when his brother said those exact words. It was a bittersweet feeling. 

"Sasuke?" Shizune questioned, seeing him for the first time. "Even better, we'll take him with us too. With his Rinnegan, he may be able to help!"

"Huh?" Sakura cried. She didn't want to drag him into something like this.

"Hn." Sasuke nodded. Sakura was about to argue, but the two of them were already running down the hall towards the operating room. 

They stormed into the OR and Sakura took control immediately. "Sasuke, you stand back. I'll let you know if I need you". She tied her hair back and prepped for surgery while a few medical ninja prepared the room. She approached the boy carefully.

The child's chakra was almost completely drained. Why did this keep happening? It was fine yesterday. Could it be a residual poison? She bent down to listen to his heart and lungs. Not good, they were going to have to heal him fast. She placed her hands on the boy's chest, hoping to replenish some of his chakra before treating the internal damage. The poor boy and his family were attacked by rogue ninja; he alone was the survivor but barely. The enemy had some sort of poison that could rapidly deplete one's chakra. It wasn't looking good. She may have to perform the same technique she used on Kankuro years ago.

"I'll need some supplies and I'll need them quickly" she stated. "This is going to be pretty crude, but it's the only option we have if we want to save this boy". She listed everything in a hurry as the team gathered the solution at her request.

"Sakura" Sasuke whispered. He'd never seen her like this, not even in the war. She seemed so calm and cool. She was a totally different person from the little girl who followed his every move. She was a truly strong kunoichi.

Sakura continued with the procedure. She pushed the solution into the child's frail body and extracted the poison from each of his organs. It was horrible to see the boy struggle, but it was all she could do to keep him alive. She pressed onwards until eventually he relaxed and she knew the poison was gone. She sighed, that should do it.

"Sasuke, can you check and make sure all of the poison is out? Also, see if his chakra levels are rising" she asked, gesturing to him.

"Sure" He walked over and activated his Sharingan and Rinnegan. It was amazing, not a single trace of the poison remained. In fact, the child seemed perfectly healthy now, simply resting to replenish his chakra. "Incredible" he whispered.

"Did you say something?" Sakura asked.

"Oh...uh...no" he stammered. "Everything looks fine."

Sakura let out a sigh of relief.  "Shizune, can you take him to the trauma clinic? Ino should be able to take care of him from here on out. I'll check in later".

"Leave it to me," Shizune said, placing a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "You take some time to rest" she smirked, looking from Sakura to Sasuke.

"Yeah," Sakura said, undoing her hair tie.

It was amazing, all the work she was doing in the hospital. Even setting up a special clinic for children? He wished something like that had been around when he and Naruto were growing up. 

As they headed into the waiting area, Sasuke was just about to congratulate Sakura on a job well done. He noticed that she looked paler than normal though, and her eyes were glazing over.

"Sakura?" he asked, concerned.

"Sasuke" she breathed. Her knees buckled and she collapsed.