Twiceborn: Second Bloom | Alternate

Chapter Twenty-One: genius

Blood spotted on the horribly pale skin of her hand as she coughed inside the bathroom. Sakura partially blamed her Uchiha genes there. She was also sick, and paleness could present itself thanks to that fact. Scowling, she washed her hands off with soap, watching as the reddish tinged water vanished down the sink. No one would know. No one could know.

Besides, she could always soothe her lungs using her chakra if it became too bad. It took the edge off, though it was nowhere near the kind of medical jutsu she had used before, and it was ten times harder thanks to the change in her chakra nature.

How she missed her soothing water-earth nature...But she would hold out until she became a genin. Until she earnt money and had shinobi-grade healthcare. Everything would be fine until then. There was no other option. She knew her own limits better than anyone else.

Medics make the worst patients, a voice vaguely reminiscent of Tsunade-shishou sounded.

Sakura shook her head. She knew best – she was a medic, and she knew her limits. The wastelands and Obito were the proof of that. She'd survived there for years until her jump to her new reality. There had been no one around for her to rely on there, aside from a grumpy Uchiha – and he was anything but reliable. Her arrival in the wrong timeline was case in point.

She was only grateful what she had wasn't contagious. Her siblings would have all been sick by that point if it was. They weren't – which meant it was something to do with her unique situation... or maybe some faulty genes. She blamed Obito, as per usual, and silently plotted on how best to prank him.

"You nearly done in there, Sakura-chan?" Tomoe called, knocking softly on the door.

Sakura hurried out, yawning all the while. "Mhm," she mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes even as her stomach grumbled. "Breakfast?"

"On the table, sweetie," Tomoe said, ruffling her hair for a few moments before she hurried into the bathroom. Vaguely, Sakura heard the sounds of her throwing up, and her eyes narrowed. She hoped Tomoe wasn't coming down with anything too serious. But Tomoe was an adult... who hopefully had health insurance if anything went south. She was luckier than Sakura in that respect.

"Saku-nee!" Mio called from across the table. "I saved you a seat."

Akira snorted. "You tried to steal her pancakes," she declared.

"Liar!" Mio hissed, hair bristling like a cat.

Sakura plonked herself down between them, claiming her portion of the pancakes Tomoe had so helpfully made. Their family loved their pancakes. She lathed the golden syrup on, figuring she deserved the extra sugar. Maybe it would help her feel more awake? she mused, chewing slowly on her breakfast as she prepared herself to face the day.

"Nee-chan?" A tug at her sleeve had her turning to face her youngest sibling. "Can you play with us today?"

She pulled at her messy mop of hair with another yawn. "Sorry, 'zomi," she mumbled through her yawn. "Gotta go to the academy... but maybe after?" she said, sleep clawing at her eyelids, her muscles aching far too hard from her morning training. Maybe she had pushed herself a bit too hard. She'd used a fairly decent chunk of chakra as well – but she still had enough to make a clone to watch over her little sisters.

::

Sakura yawned, resting her head against the desk as she waited for the day to begin. Really, all she wanted to do was curl up and sleep, but there was no time for that. Her schedule was full, and classes were about to begin—