The Hanabi Retreival Team
Sakura
Sakura rolls her shoulders forward in fatigue as she gathers up her things. She debates what she’ll do first once she gets home. Maybe a bath. But then again, dinner would probably be a good idea.
She is about to throw on her coat when she hears a commotion in the hallway. Part of her wants to slink away and pretend she didn’t hear the ruckus. But instead, she walks into the blinding lights of the white hallway.
Sakura practically feels her soul leave her body at the sight before her. This can’t be real.
Sasuke Uchiha carries Neji as if he were a bride, and his pale eyes are lidded open, but vacant. His body is covered in cuts and his usual flawless hands are dirty. She can tell by the awful angle his armrests in that it’s broken.
Sakura wants to leave the hospital and find whoever did this immediately. His body is tattered and she knows the culprit is still out there.
Her heart sinks in fear. Whoever is responsible for this kind of damage must be strong. How else would they have hurt him like this? She curses herself for not being by his side. If she had been with him, Sakura would have never allowed this to happen.
“He needs help!” Sasuke declares. She steals her own heart back and walks over to the two. Neji is not dead. Nor will he be.
Another nurse brings over a rolling bed and Sasuke lays him on it. Sakura begins to pester him with questions. Where did he find him? Was he ever awake? Was there anything near him?
Sasuke answers what he knows, but Sakura keeps him from entering the room with her.
“Hinata.” She says sternly. His eyes widen and he disappears before Sakura’s very eyes.
Sakura runs her Mystical Palm over Neji in search of any pressing issues. His eyebrows knit as her hand crosses his chest and she stops.
“He’s in pain.” She tells the nurse, her voice breaking in guilt and fear. Sakura has always excelled at turning her emotions off when dealing with patients. But this isn’t just any shinobi. This is her Neji.
The sight of him pale and unconscious below her triggers all of her worst nightmares from the war. Her breathing grows shaky and her eyes begin to blur.
Neji lets out a slight exhale and the fear building within Sakura subsides. He is not dead. Nor will he be.
She gets to work setting his arm, taking his vitals, and pumping him full of painkillers. Her hands shake as she works. He’s extremely dehydrated and her sensory skills show her his ribs have been cracked.
Sweat begins to pool on his forehead and lip and Sakura runs a hand down his cheek.
“I wish it were me instead of you. I wish I could take it all away.” She whispers as she works. His eyebrows furrowed, almost as if he understood her.
She knows once he gets more liquids in him, he should begin to slowly return to her. He managed to protect his head well enough to prevent concussions or anything of the sort.
Finally, she finishes her treatment. Now that the grueling tasks have been completed, the nurse dismisses herself. But despite her exhausting day and grumbling stomach, Sakura refuses to leave his side.
Instead, she uses a sterile cloth to wipe away the dirt that has gathered on his head and hands. She massages the stiffness from his fingers and uses her Mystical Palm to tend to every single cut on his body, no matter how minor.
She hates him for getting hurt. She hates herself for not being with him. She hates the whole world for needing shinobi and violence.
After Sakura finishes tending to every single bruise and scrape on him, she sits back and watches him with tired eyes.
The amount of times she has had to sit by a bed and watch him recover weighs on her. His fight with Kidomaru. Healing him from the gaping wounds of the Ten-Tails right on the battlefield. Breaking his seal. And now.
When he left a few days ago, he wasn’t even preparing for a dangerous mission. He dressed for a diplomatic one, wearing blue haori with Hyuga flame stamped on his back. She looks over at the very jacket with a frown. It lays in a crumbled ball on the floor of his hospital room, burnt and dirty.
“Wake up and tell me who did this.” She demands. “Or wake up and tell me they’re dead already.” Tears begin to leak from the corners of her eyes, despite her attempts to send them away. “Or don’t tell me anything. Just wake up.” She pleads.
Neji’s good hand twitches against the sterile sheet of the bed and she jumps from her seat. Her tears magically dry and she leans over him, scanning his face.
He remains asleep, but she takes his movement as a good sign.
A noise in the doorway breaks her concentration, and she looks up from Neji’s pale face.
Hinata stands in the hallway with her shaky hands clasped underneath her neck. Her pajamas are torn in certain places, and her hair is a mess. Sakura immediately stands, prepared to assess Hinata for wounds too.
“Neji!” Hinata cries.
“He’s okay. Just still asleep. But what about you? What happened?”
Hinata ignores her words and pushes herself forward, Byakugan activated. Sakura can tell she’s searching for any internal damages.
“His ribs,” Hinata whispers.
“I know,” Sakura says softly. “Usually, I can mend bone. But his ribs are so close to his heart and…I don’t trust myself. Not with my emotions and not with him.”
Hinata’s eyes finally meet Sakura, almost as if she’s truly seeing she’s there.
“Sakura, he got Hanabi.”
“What?” Sakura’s voice raises and her brewing anger grows. “Who?”
“He called himself Toneri. He broke into the Hyuga compound.” Hinata’s voice grows wobbly. “I-I tried to save her. But they took her anyway. I think he wanted to take me too. But Sasuke was there.”
“We’ll get her back,” Sakura says determinedly. Hanabi is practically her sister too. She looks down at Neji with a frown. “His attack and your own must be connected.”
“He was doing everything to avoid hurting her. Whatever his reason is for wanting her, she needs to be alive. At first, I thought it was for her eyes. But he could’ve taken Neji’s eyes too. Now that the seal is broken.”
Sakura ponders Hinata’s observation. “When we broke Neji’s seal, we permanently altered his eyes. Not in a bad way. But now, his Byakugan has pieces of your chakra in it. And his network in general has pieces of me. Along with all the other Hyuga. You and Hanabi are the only ones who still have the eyes you were born with.”
“So someone’s after the purity of the Byakugan, not the secrets,” Hinata adds.
Sakura nods in agreement. “And whoever it is, they must know about the history of the Hyuga.”
“I need to go after him. I can’t let him get too far with Hanabi.” Hinata says as she begins to turn and leave. Sasuke, who seems to have been right outside the door the entire time, blocks her retreat.
“It’s the middle of the night, Hinata. You haven’t slept yet. Rest now. And then we’ll find her.” Sasuke suggests. Sakura gives him a grateful smile, but he doesn’t return it.
The Uchiha has changed in his lone travels. He still dons the dark, angsty colors that make Sakura roll her eyes, but his hair has grown shaggier. It’s held in place by a plain back headband and his usual cold, black eyes hold some warmth in them when they look at Hinata.
“But the longer I rest, the farther he gets.” She argues as she tries to move past him again.
“Just until morning. You can’t take anyone on in this state anyway.” Sakura adds.
Hinata looks between the two of them and lets out a sigh. “Fine. Then I’ll stay right here with Neji.” She moves past Sakura, grabs a chair, and plops down next to her cousin.
Sakura squeezes her shoulder as she moves to Sasuke.
“Is there any chance you could catch Kakashi up with everything that has happened?” Sakura whispers to him.
He scoffs. “I’m not your messenger. And even if I wanted to, I’m not leaving her.” He gestures to Hinata who clutches Neji’s hand.
“I forgot that you’re a Hinata lover first and an asshole second.” Sakura retorts. She swears she sees him blush.
“I’ll just wait in the hallway.” He grumbles.
Sakura gives Neji and Hinata one last glance before sneaking into the hallway. She finds a nurse and instructs her to get a message to both Kakashi and Naruto. The nurse blushes at the mention of the Hokage but hurries away.
By the time gets back to the room, Sasuke still remains in the hallway with his arms crossed and his head bent over. Sakura gives his foot a tap and he scowls.
“You should get some rest too. I’m perfectly capable of protecting Hinata.” She reminds him.
“I barely even have a place to stay here in the village.” He responds quietly.
Sakura digs into her jacket pocket and pulls out her keys. She grabs the small silver one and holds it up.
“This is the key to my office. It’s right down the hall. There’s a couch and bathroom in there. You’ll be close to Hinata and out of the way of all the nurses.” She doesn’t add that they look at him in a mix of fear and desire.
He takes the key reluctantly, gives Hinata one last glance, and heads down the hall.
Sakura takes a deep breath and walks back into the room. Her friend is still clutching Neji’s hand desperately, and her eyes twitch with either fatigue or fear.
“Hinata, you need to get some rest, I’ll watch over him, okay? I promise I won’t let anything happen to him.” She says gently as she places a hand on Hinata’s back.
“No,” Hinata says with such finality. And just with that one word, Sakura knows her friend is back in the war. She believes the second she leaves Neji, enemies will descend upon them.
“I promise I’m capable of keeping him safe. But you need to get at least a couple of hours of sleep. Don’t you want to be well-rested before going to retrieve Hanabi-chan?” Sakura pleads.
Hinata sighs. Sakura knows she must be returning to her senses. She’s not at war. Neji is safe in the hospital.
“Can’t I just stay here? I-I don’t want to go home.” Hinata requests. She practically destroyed her home. She doubts there’s a solid room for her to sleep in. Sakura nods and leaves to wheel in a bed.
Once she returns, Hinata curls up in a ball next to her cousin, falling into an uneasy sleep.
The second Sakura confirms Hinata is knocked out, she sprawls out in the chair. Part of her wants to crawl onto Neji’s bed with him and wrap her arms around his neck. But that wouldn’t be good for his ribs. Or his arm. So instead, she just stares at him with a frown.
Time moves slowly. But minutes drag into hours and finally, after being pumped with fluids a majority of the night, Neji lets out a groan.
Sakura is immediately on her feet. Her hand rests against his cheek and she traces small circles into his skin with her thumb.
Finally, his eyes slowly open. Sakura lets out a light laugh. He gives her a warm smile.
“You’re okay.” She says mainly to herself.
“I love you.” He responds. Sakura laughs again, leans forward, and gives him a whisper of a kiss.
“Sakura,” he says as she leans her face against his neck, “there’s so much that has happened.”
“I know.” She responds into his skin. “Sleep now. We’ll talk in the morning.”
But by the time Sakura pulls away, fatigue has already dragged him back under. She strokes his cheek once more, leans back against her chair, and continues her watch.
Hinata
Hinata dreams of the pale man with closed eyes. She sees her sister standing next to him, her own eyes absent and her mouth open in a scream.
She jolts awake, immediately remembering where she is and why she’s here. After rubbing her eyes, she notices Neji is awake and being spoon-fed something by Sakura.
Hinata springs up from her bed and bounds to his side. She grabs his good hand and clutches it desperately.
“I’m okay, Hinata. I’ll be okay.” He tells her reassuringly.
“They have Hanabi,” Hinata tells him against his shoulder.
“You’ll get her back.” He says as if he’s never been more sure of anything. “Nobody in this village will let anything happen to Hanabi.” She pulls away from him and sees that his eyes hold confidence. Hinata attempts to steal some of it from him, but she can’t. “My only regret is that I think I’ll be too weak to assist you on the mission.” He says bitterly.
“But I won’t be,” Sakura says. Her mouth is drawn in a hard line and her hand rests against Neji’s shoulder. Sakura would do anything to get Hanabi back. For both Hinata's and Neji’s sake.
“Thank you.” Hinata says gratefully. She can’t imagine doing this without Sakura by her side.
“Okay. I’m awake and fine. You two have a mission to get ready for.” Neji insists as he brushes away both of their touches.
“Where’s Sasuke?” Hinata asks as she searches the room.
“He’s fine. I sent him away earlier this morning. I’m sure he’ll meet up with us soon.” Sakura says with a smile.
The two girls turn to leave, both knowing what they need to do.
“Hinata? Give the Uchiha my thanks. For saving me and protecting you.” Neji says. Hinata smiles at him. Sasuke’s the reason they’re both alive and okay. And she’ll never forget that.
—--------------------------------------------
Sakura and Hinata stand in the middle of the village as they wait for the rest of their team to arrive. Almost all of their friends volunteered to go. But in the end, Kakashi assigned Team Seven with Sakura leading them. Shikamaru will be in close contact with Sakura, thanks to Ino, and she’s supposed to update him on the status of the moon.
Hinata sighs as she thinks about the mission at hand. Apparently, it’s not only Hanabi’s life that’s at stake but the entire world. But of course, this wouldn’t be a real mission without the fate of everyone she loves on her team’s shoulders.
Naruto and Sai arrive at the same time, both chattering excitedly about the mission despite the clear consequences of their failure.
“It’s a good thing you’re back from the Outreach Center, huh Sai?” Naruto says with a good-natured smile.
“Of course. I’d hate to miss out on a reunion of the old team.” Sai responds with his same empty smile.
Naruto is about to respond, but the sight of the approach of Sasuke stops him. “What are you doing here?” Naruto exclaims as he runs over to his teammate and gives him a clap on the back. Despite the circumstances, he’s happy to see his old friend.
Even Hinata is surprised by his presence. She hoped he’d remain in the village until she returned, but the idea of him accompanying her? It made her dizzy with nerves.
Sasuke catches sight of her and she quickly looks to her feet in embarrassment. He had saved her from falling yesterday, and if she focuses hard enough, she can still feel the warm press of his fingers against her back.
“I’m here to help.” He says simply.
“Did Kakashi approve of this?” Sai asks with a raised eyebrow.
“He’s not going to be able to stop me. And neither are you.” Sasuke says with a glare. Sakura rolls her eyes and climbs onto one of Sai’s painted birds. She gives Hinata a wink before her bird takes off.
“Are you okay with him coming, Hinata?” Sai asks her. She nods her head in response. She has much to discuss with him. And the more people willing to help get Hanabi back, the better. “Okay.”
“Hinata, let’s go! You can ride with me! Someone’s gotta protect you from that creep, Toneri!” Naruto gives Hinata’s hand a warm squeeze as he pulls her towards him.
“Yeah right. I’m not trusting any jutsu that guy is responsible for.” Sasuke says as he gives Sai a cold look. “She can ride with me. On my summon.”
Naruto looks between them, gives Sasuke a sly smile, shrugs, and takes off into the air.
“Sai’s birds are safe, Sasuke-kun. I trust him and so should you.” Hinata insists.
Sasuke doesn’t answer. He’s only coming on this mission to look after Hinata. No way is he going to let someone else do it for him.
He summons his own hawk, Garuda, and Hinata slowly climbs on. She’s very familiar with the bird at this point. But after everything, it’s strange to be back on it. Sasuke gets on behind her and the giant hawk takes off.
Hinata knows she has much to thank him for. So, she starts with the most obvious. “Thank you for taking care of Neji. Words can’t even describe how grateful I am.” She tells him.
“He means a lot to you, therefore he means something to me too. Even if he is annoying.” Sasuke responds.
“Well, he wanted me to thank you. For watching over me too.”
“Finding him was shocking, to say the least. I knew if he was absent and hurt, something could’ve happened to you too. I came as fast as I could.” He says.
He doesn’t want to think about what might’ve happened if he came a moment later. Hinata was falling from the sky. What if he hadn’t caught her?
“You were on your way back to the village?” She asks quietly. Is it true? Was he finally intent on returning?
“Yes. I made you a promise, didn’t I?” He responds. Hinata’s glad he can’t see her smile and she leans against Garuda’s neck.
Eventually, the bird takes them over a snowy landscape and they meet up with the other three.
“Okay, we’ll all split up and look for any signs of Hanabi! Sasuke, you better take care of Hinata. Or you’ll be dealing with all of us!” Sakura threatens. She raises two fingers to her eyes and points them back at Sasuke as a warning. Sai also gives the Uchiha a hard look. Naruto just stares at them both happily. They’re all working together again!
The birds all split up once again and Hinata begins to scan the snowy landscape for any signs of her sister. She points at a disruption in the snow, and Sasuke directs their bird closer. Hinata hops off Garuda and rushes towards what originally caught her attention. She picks up Hanabi’s kunai with shaky hands and holds it for Sasuke to see.
“It’s hers?” He asks. She nods and opens up her bag to put it in. She would see her sister again. And when she does, Hinata knows she’ll want her knife back.
Sasuke notices the scarf that Hinata wore the previous night in her bag and he lifts an eyebrow. “You brought that with you?”
Hinata’s eyes fall to the scarf and she frowns. She figured if she had time, she’d be able to work on it. It’d be a good distraction from everything happening around her. Plus, even with the troubling circumstances, she’s now set on altering it as a gift for her sister.
“Y-yes.” She says nervously. “I was hoping it’d help me think of anything else besides what might be happening to Hanabi.”
Sasuke is no stranger to the bonds of siblings. He thinks of Itachi every single day. He thinks of his brotherly relationship with Naruto frequently too. He knows Hinata must be going through a lot right now. But still, it’s strange to him. His eyes catch another detail of his teammate and he tentatively reaches his hand forward and grabs Hinata’s wrist as gently as he can. Her bare arms are riddled with scars from the war, including the acid burns that he blames himself for. But there’s something else on her wrist; a braided blue thread and a single bead. He clears his throat to stop himself from smiling.
“I’ve been wearing it since I first received it.” She tells him honestly. He just nods in response. He’s scared that his words will be too much for her at this time. “Come on,” she says, pulling him back to Garuda. “We should keep moving and tell the others about the kunai.”
For the first time in his life, Sasuke happily listens.