Warped

Practicing

      The sun had barely reached over the horizon, but atop the building that young Izuku was sleeping in was Sakura, working up a sweat. There she practiced with her fans from throwing them at targets to practicing against a shadow clone with a dagger.

     A bead of sweat trickled down her forward as she roundhouse kicked, flipping in the air to dodge the thrust of the dagger whilst also attacking with the sharp edges of her fans. Still not used to her weapons, her body's weight dragged with her attack, causing her to stumble. 

     Sighing, she dismissed her clone, staring harshly at her own hands that were rubbed raw and bleeding. The pinkette felt so weak, so defenseless with the inability to move the way she wanted to. All that knowledge that she accumulated in her own lifetime, every bit of the future that made known to her was wasted. 

     Taking a sip of water, she ignored the stinging in her hands and itch to heal them. They would serve their purpose as a dull reminder of how much she needed to train... How much she wasn't invincible.

      The door leading up to the rooftop creaked open, and Sakura turned her head to see who it was.  "... Good morning."

     The clack of the cane grew closer as Gran Torino walked from the rooftop door frame. From his mind she probably seemed irresponsible meddling in trouble, so he maybe didn't expect to see her training on the roof.

      Placing her water bottle down, she asked him with a small smile, "What has gotten you so up so early?"

      The old man's eyes drifted to the bottle that she had just put down, gaze lingering on the smudges of blood from her hand. Realizing what he was looking at, she sheepishly grabbed the rag she had for sweat and rubbed most of it off.

      Sakura had actually borrowed it from one of the cabinets in his own home, not bothering to ask. Surprisingly, she had packed everything she needed except for a bottle for drinking water. "Sorry, I'll clean it off later."

      "I'm not worried about that, " he stated a bit incredulously, "Aren't you going to wrap your hands?"

      "It's not that painful, " she reasoned defensively, "This is the bare minimum of what I've dealt with."

      He frowned, disappearing for a couple seconds due to his high-speed quirk and reappearing with medical supplies in his hand. Without hesitation he grabbed her wrists, applying rubbing alcohol on her injured hands. 

      She didn't flinch at the sudden contact or pain blossoming in her hands. Putting on the healing salve, Gran Torino wrapped bandages around both of her hands snugly. "You need to take better care of yourself... No wonder he warned me about you."

     "Warned?" she asked, curious.

     "The Principal of U.A. had mentioned your lack of self-preservation."

     Laughing to herself, she replied, "I am only risking for a means to an end... It's so I don't die."

      He didn't understand what she was saying, nor did she expect him to.  "Thank you for bandaging this up."

     "Humph, just take better care of yourself from now on."

     "I try."

     Placing her fans back on her belt, she took one more gulp from the water. "I'm going to be taking this with me."

     "Do what you need to do."

     Winking, Sakura leaped from the rooftop, flipping in the air and landing on the nearby rooftop. 

     "Mmn, will do."

     Without much a wave, Sakura sped off, creating a safe amount of distance before applying a seal on to maintain the transformation jutsu as her alias, Tsunade Senju.

     While doing so, she honed her chakra to the the signal that she was receiving from the hospital she had placed it at. It was weak, but she could sense it, thankfully. She would've had to trouble the bartender with directions if she couldn't.

      Checking another signal, her lips curled upwards in amusement as it pointed to a much closer skyrise. The building towered over the rest of the skyscrapers.

      That other signal was indeed from the seal that she had given Sterling. In fact, the seals that she had given and left were the same exact thing. They gave off a pulse and would give a distress signal if suddenly destroyed. 

     Sakura hadn't exactly lied to him, but she would rather not be tricked by a pretty face. Sasuke was a prime example why she should keep her guard up.

      Finally arriving at the hospital, she tracked it from the outside and scaled the building. The window had been left open just a crack, probably because they would more than likely turn her away. A random woman trying to visit someone in the V.I.P. room seemed suspicious for anyone.

     Opening it wider, she somersaulted over the window ledge, landing crouched on the ground. Looking around and dusting herself off, she made sure that she was the only one in there. Relief crossed as she confirmed that no one else was in the room.

      She made way to the bed, glancing at his more colored complexion. Still, she couldn't just go off of his outside appearance. Insides were a much more delicate topic, after all.

      Hovering her hands over him, she checked how well the cells were adapting to his body, making sure that there weren't any sign of rejection. She couldn't check things such as his urine output since she was an intruder, but the simple things like checking his temperature could still be done. 

      Affirming that the temperature was normal and other vital signs, she concluded so far that the cells weren't reacting in a negative way. 

      Taking out a nearby notepad, she pulled off a sheet. Finding a pen in one of their cups, she quickly wrote down what she had concluded from today's check-up. Of course, there was no problem signing it off with her fake name since they wouldn't be able to track her down with just that anyways. 

      She wasn't going to see Sterling that day. Although the information was important, she still didn't need it at the time, meaning that it could wait. 

      Sakura also decided that she needed something nice to wear if she was going to enter an expensive building just to find him. 

      "I got to practice, " she muttered to herself before jumping out the window.

     "... Then I'll go shopping."