SALVATION

Chapter 7: Sacrifice

Sakura heard voices, but she couldn’t distinguish whose they were. Her arms felt heavy, and her whole body was sore.

She tried to open her eyes, but she was too tired. She focused in on the two voices in the room.

“It’s quite a shame, she had so much potential,” a voice said.

“Yeah, she was sure to pass the Hokage in a short time,” another voice said.

“Can Tsunade-sama do anything?”

“She’s looking into it. She’s been up for the past three nights going over as much as she could trying to find anything that could help,”

What are they talking about? I wonder what happened and how long I’ve been out.

Sakura knew she was in a hospital by the way the two people were acting. She could hear charts being flipped through. She was drawn from her thoughts when she heard the door shut.

Trying again, she forced her eyelids up. Her vision was blurry and she blinked her eyes a few times to help focus them.

She forced herself to sit up and immediately grabbed her stomach in pain. She could feel bandages wrapped around her waist. She didn’t feel any broken bones, which she knew had been healed, but there was some lasting pain from her sore muscles. I’ll just heal myself a little more to help the pain. She laid her hand over her waist and began to form chakra into her hand.

Nothing happened. Hmm, that’s odd. Again, Sakura tried to form chakra into her hand and waited for the bright glow of the chakra that would usually emit as she healed wounds, but again, nothing. What’s going on? Maybe they stopped my chakra flow, sometimes they do that when a person is really critical. Happy with her conclusion, she looked up at the room.

Recognizing everything, she knew she was in Konoha. I’m glad to be home. I wonder what happened to Sasuke and Naruto.

Sakura thought back to the last thing she remembered. She, Sasuke, and Naruto were all joined together, and she was feeding all of herself into Sasuke. She remembered the feeling of electricity run through her body, and after that, her mind was blank.

How did I get back here? And what about Sai and Kakashi? So many questions were running through Sakura’s mind and she was getting frustrated. There was no one around to answer her questions, and she hated it. She wanted to get up and go find Tsunade, but she knew that she shouldn’t get up in her condition.

Slumping back on the bed, she huffed in annoyance. As she closed her eyes, she started to flashback to the events that had just taken place.

Did I really fight with Sasuke? Did all this really happen? It seemed so surreal to her at the moment. Everything was so confusing, and the more she thought about it, the more her head started to hurt.

Relax yourself, Sakura. You’ll just make things worse. Taking a deep breath, she decided it might be best to try and go back to sleep. Just as she was about to take a nap, the door opened.

Sakura opened her eyes and watched as Tsunade made her way over to her.

“Ah, Sakura, I see you’re awake. That’s good, you’ve been out for a week now,” Tsunade said.

“A week?” Sakura exclaimed. Has it really been that long?

“Yes, you had several severe injuries and if you had been treated any later, you probably wouldn’t have made it,” Tsunade admitted as she checked over Sakura’s vitals and medication.

“Yeah, how did I get here anyway?” Sakura asked, looking down at her hands in shame.

“That Uchiha brat actually brought you back, along with Naruto,” Tsunade said, and Sakura jerked her head up to Tsunade.

“What? How? Why?” she blurted out, not really knowing what to say.

“I don’t really know why he did it, but he arrived here in the middle of the night, banging on my door. I was shocked to see him, but then I saw you two were in horrible conditions, so I got to work right away,” Tsunade said and Sakura could see the gleam of anger shining in her eyes.

“Did he tell you what happened?” Sakura asked shyly.

“Yes, and I won’t even say how disappointed I am in you for doing such a thing,” Tsunade said, but with a little less anger than before.

“Where are Naruto and Sasuke now?” Sakura asked, surprised to find herself scared to know the answer.

“Naruto is in the room down the hall from you. He woke up yesterday, and he’s fine now. He’ll probably go home today. And Sasuke, well right now he’s down in a prison cell, waiting for me to decide what to do with him,” Tsunade said.

“Do you know what you’re going to do with him?” Sakura asked, finding the threads in the bed sheet more appealing then looking into her sensei’s eyes.

“Not yet. I’d like to talk to you and Naruto and we’ll go from there. I was all for sentencing him right away, but he did bring you and Naruto here when he could have left you. I guess I felt like that counted for something,” Tsunade admitted.

“Kakashi and Sai?” Sakura asked.

“They’re fine. They arrived the next morning. They were caught in a battle with Orochimaru and Kabuto. Orochimaru escaped, but they were able to catch Kabuto. He’s also down in a prison cell.” Tsunade grabbed the charts by Sakura’s bed and made a few notes before replacing it in its holder.

“Tsunade-sama, I tried to heal myself earlier, and I wasn’t able to form any chakra. Did you have to stop my chakra flow?” Sakura asked, looking up to her sensei.

Tsunade closed her eyes for a moment, before turning around and heading for the door. “You should get some rest Sakura, we’ll talk later.”

Sakura was surprised. Something was up and she was nervous to ask, but she knew she had to. “Tsunade-sama? What is it? What’s going on?”

Tsunade stopped with her hand on the doorknob. She seemed tense, and that only served to make Sakura more nervous. Tsunade took a breath before turning around to Sakura.

“Sakura, I’m sorry to tell you this but…,” Tsunade began, and Sakura could see the sadness dwelling in her eyes. Sakura’s heart began to beat faster in her chest and she could feel pressure building in her head. This was not going to be good, she knew that deep down. She stared at Tsunade, waiting for her to continue. After a moment, Tsunade began to speak again. “Sakura, you’re no longer a kunoichi.”

Sasuke didn’t move much as he sat in the cold, damp cell. His mind kept replaying the events of the last week. He couldn’t stop thinking about Naruto and even more so, about Sakura. What they had done for him, he still couldn’t believe it.

Over the past week in the cell, it left him a lot of time to think about all the thoughts, well all of their thoughts, that had filled his head. He still couldn’t sort through them, or even really understand them, but he could respect them. He respected both Naruto and Sakura more than anyone else; for what they were willing to sacrifice for him.

He thought back to the night he had brought Sakura and Naruto back here. He was able to easily slip back inside. There wasn’t much patrolling at night, and he was a genius ninja, so the task had been rather simple.

He could feel that Naruto and Sakura were both getting weaker by the minute, so he sped to the Hokage tower as fast as he could.

No one was around, and he laid both of them down in front of the tower. He was about to turn and leave when thoughts of what they had done began to resurface in his mind. He couldn’t shake them.

He couldn’t leave them like this. They could be out there all night before someone found them, and he knew they needed medical attention now. Grabbing both of them again, he made his way up the tower and to the Hokage’s office.

He knocked on the door, but there was no answer. He continued to knock louder, until his knocks became bangs. He was getting desperate. He needed the hokage now, they needed the hokage now.

Suddenly the door flew open, and Tsunade stood on the other side. She was angry, beyond angry. Sasuke also noted the fact that she was definitely drunk. Can she even care for them in this condition?

“Uchiha?” Tsunade said, and Sasuke could tell she was about to lash out at him.

“Naruto and Sakura, they need your help,” Sasuke admitted.

Tsunade looked down, and Sasuke could tell she obviously didn’t notice Naruto and Sakura before. He was surprised when she suddenly sobered up and became very professional. “Hospital, now,” was all she said as she ran in front of him, heading directly for the hospital.

Sasuke didn’t get to stay long. As soon as Sakura and Naruto were hauled away, so was he. Thrown into this cell, and I’ve been here ever since.

The next morning he was awoken by a few guards dragging someone down the steps. Sasuke watched as an unconscious Kabuto was being pulled down the hallway. He was a bit shocked that Kabuto had gotten himself captured.

He was grateful that the cell was at the opposite end. He couldn’t stand the thought of being right near Kabuto and having to listen to him talk.

No one had come to see him except Kakashi, who didn’t say much of anything. He only seemed to hint at how disappointed in him he was, but also about how he was glad he was back.

Tsunade had also been down on the first day to make him recount the events that had occurred. He didn’t lie, he didn’t need to. There was no need anymore, so he told Tsunade everything. He told her about fighting Sakura, then Naruto, about how the two of them had started forcing their chakra into him. He also admitted that he didn’t know anything about Orochimaru. He explained how he never cared, so Orochimaru never told him anything. He had only heard of experiments being performed, but what kind, he had no clue. He also had no clue as to where Orochimaru would be hiding at the moment or what his next move would be. He could only imagine that Orochimaru would be looking for someone else to transfer his body into.

Tsunade seemed pleased with the fact that Sasuke had divulged all that he knew to her without a fight, but she was still deciding what his punishment would be. She also informed him that she would not go easy on him; he would receive the punishment he deserved. And he knew she was serious about every word. He couldn’t blame her though. He deserved it, and he was going to face his consequences like a respectable ninja. He would take what they threw at him with a straight face and deal with it. He only hoped it wasn’t death, which he would probably fight with everything he had to escape if it came to that. He had to kill Itachi, and he couldn’t do that if he was dead.

He wondered how Naruto and Sakura were doing. They were both in such bad shape the last time he saw them. Kakashi had mentioned earlier that week that the two of them had yet to awaken, but they were both stable. He didn’t say much more and he hadn’t been back since. That was three days ago. They both could be awake right now and I wouldn’t know. Or they both could be dead and I wouldn’t know. That last thought he actually knew wasn’t true. For some reason, he knew Kakashi would come tell him if something like that had happened.

He leaned his head against the wall, trying to find a way to clear his mind. All these new thoughts and emotions were giving him a headache.

“What?” Sakura asked, trying to hold back her terror.

Tsunade made her way over to Sakura. “When you transferred your chakra into Sasuke, you transferred it all. There’s nothing left in you Sakura, no chakra at all.”

“Oh my god. This can’t be happening. Oh god, how is Naruto taking this?” Sakura said, tears threatening to fall.

Tsunade closed her eyes, before she grabbed Sakura’s hand. “Naruto wasn’t affected like you. He has the Kyuubi inside, so he didn’t give up all of his chakra like you.”

Sakura closed her eyes and tried to breath. This couldn’t be happening; no way could this be happening to her.

“But Lee, he doesn’t have any chakra, and he’s able to be a ninja,” Sakura said, trying to grasp at anything she could.

“You are right about that, but Taijutsu was never your specialty. You had perfect chakra control. You were meant to be a medic-nin. Your hands were built for helping, not hurting,” Tsunade said as she squeezed Sakura’s hand.

Sakura knew, even if she started to train now, that Tsunade was right. She needed her chakra to be a kunoichi. If she didn’t have it, there would be no reason for her to try and be a kunoichi.

“Sakura, I’m so sorry. What you did, it was beyond brave. You and Naruto were trying to save Sasuke, and you did. He’s back now, and if it helps, he’s being very cooperative. What you two did, it’s affected him. I could see it in his eyes. Kakashi said the same thing to me. This time, you actually got through to him,” Tsunade said. She rubbed Sakura’s hand, trying to find any way to comfort her.

Sakura stared at the bed covers, but not really seeing them. She was trying hard not to cry, trying hard to be brave. She nodded her head. “You’re right. It was for a good reason. I always said that I would save Sasuke at any price, and now I just have to live up to that statement.”

She looked up into Tsunade’s face and smiled. “I’m ok, Tsunade-sama. I’m ok.”

Tsunade looked at her with sad eyes. “Sakura, I’m here for you, no matter what. And I want you to know that I’m going through everything I can to try and reverse what’s happened to you. I know there has to be a way, you just have to believe. Remember how we didn’t think Lee would be able to be a ninja again, and look at him. He’s stronger than ever before.” Tsunade slowly rose from the bed.

Sakura nodded her head. “Yes, I will keep up the hope. But if not, I really think I’m going to be ok, Tsunade-sama. I promise,” Sakura said, and she gave another smile. “I think I want to rest a little bit now.”

Tsunade nodded her head, before getting up and walking to the door. “Remember Sakura, you have so many people who love you and are here for you. Don’t forget that,” Tsunade said before she left the room.

Sakura stared straight ahead. She had made a huge sacrifice, and although she knew it was the right choice and that if she had it to do over again, she would do the exact same thing, it still didn’t change the fact that it hurt just as much.

Gripping the blanket in a death-hold, Sakura squeezed with all her might. She closed her eyes, and she cried. She cried harder than she had in a long time. She didn’t care how weak she looked at the moment, she didn’t care how annoying she may seem- she continued to cry. As the tears hit the bed, soaking the blanket, she thought about the fact that she had just been pushed back to stage one again.

Back to the useless person she used to be…

PLEASE REVIEW!

Sorry about nothing really happening in this chapter, but I had to get in some important information and it was necessary. I want everyone to know there is much, much more action coming up soon. I’m sorry if most people are hoping this is just now going to be Sasuke becoming a member of the village again, people learning to accept him, and he and Sakura getting together. While my story is going to incorporate that, there’s also going to be much more with Akatsuki, Itachi, etc. Also, Orochimaru is going to make an appearance very soon!