Questions over questions
Time seemed to stand still when Sakura discovered the two enemy ninjas. She knew there would be another fight. Kakashi-sensei had told them that Zabuza was alive, but now to see him again, surrounded by the dead workers and in the company of the false hunter-nin, brought down all of Sakura's inner preparations. Her head was blank and her body trembled with tension and fear. A glance sideways at Sasuke showed that he, too, wasn't prepared for the encounter, but unlike her, he covered up his fear with an utterance when Zabuza approached him, claiming that his trembling was coming from excitement. Had he gone crazy or was he really braver than her? How could he, considering what would follow, remain so calm and come up with such an answer? Sakura had no time to think about it when Zabuza spoke again, calling his company by a name she had often pronounced herself the past few days.
With wide-eyed eyes she stared at the boy with the mask next to Zabuza - Haku. It couldn't possibly be the same person she had met in the clearing. It could not be the same person! Her Haku was friendly, had helped and listened to her, had simply been there for her and seemed to her as if he didn't really want to harm anyone. The Haku now in front of them just had to be someone else and yet she couldn't help but notice certain similarities even if his face was covered. "Sakura, protect Tazuna. Sasuke I leave the Hunter-nin to you" she heard the voice of her sensei about her own thoughts and like on autopilot she pulled out a Kunai and stood in front of her client.
How she once again hated to stand impassive by the side while Sensei and Sasuke-kun fought. At the same time, she was overcome with some relief as she watched the fights. She wouldn't even begin to be a help to either of them, but rather an obstacle. And the longer she followed the fights, the clearer it became to her how strong the opponents really were and how weak she herself was in comparison. She had neither the experience of Kakashi, nor the speed of Sasuke, let alone Haku. However, when a kind of ice dome lay over her team member so that she could no longer see what was happening, she became restless. Not that she had been able to rush to Sasuke-kun's aid before, but to stand there so completely unaware, not knowing what was happening inside the dome, was almost much worse. Again and again her eyes flitted from Kakashi-sensei to the place where Sasuke was alone with the Hunter-nin and the more time passed, the more nervous she became, which Tazuna didn't seem to miss. "He will surely make it, won't he? I mean, he had managed to surprise Zabuza together with the blonde, too." Tazuna's voice quietly reached Sakura's ears and she could hear exactly the same uncertainty in his voice that she felt herself. "I... He's strong, stronger than the others of our year." But that didn't mean that his victory was certain. Oh God, what did she think?! A week ago she wouldn't have doubted Sasuke-kun for a second, what had this mission done to her? She had to believe that Sasuke-kun would make it.
A voice very familiar to her ripped her from her thoughts and with her eyes wide open, she looked at the person who had appeared. "Naruto" Even though his name came only breathed from her lips, she clearly felt an increase of optimism. With Naruto at his side, Sasuke-kun would certainly be able to deal with the Hunter-nin. The two simply had a bond she didn't understand and together they balanced each other out so well that Sakura couldn't help but believe that together they would make it. Several Kunai flew in her direction and Sakura pushed Tazuna to the ground before she unrolled and blocked a few more Kunais with her own. Just so she could see the shadows of Zabuza disappearing into the fog as Kakashi-sensei was already jumping behind him.
The shattering of ice mirrors and a growl made Sakura look back at her teammates and the sight she saw left the world standing still for a moment. "Sasuke-kun... Naruto" The first of them lay motionless on the floor, Senbons all over his body, while an orange aura surrounded Naruto, which had an intense malignant aura. Something broke and the world around Sakura seemed to pick up speed again. With every second that passed, her eyes grew further and further, even Naruto seemed to fall into a kind of shock rigidity as the face of the hunter-nin was gradually visible. ~Impossible~, Sakura thought, didn't want to believe what she saw with her own eyes. In front of Naruto stood none other than Haku, the same Haku she had met in the clearing, who had taught her about medicinal plants and nursed her wounds. How on earth could someone like him stand on the other side and be an enemy? Unfortunately, she was too far away to understand what the two boys were talking about, but when it looked as if Naruto was about to move on to the next attack, her body automatically strained, ready to sprint to prevent whatever was planned. "Go help your team." She heard Tazuna behind her, who had stood up again, and with a desperate look she looked over her shoulder to the older man nodding at her. Sakura was in a predicament. On the one hand she wanted to stop Naruto and hurry to him, but on the other hand she couldn't leave Tazuna alone who knew what was coming and it was her job to protect him. With a nod she turned away from Tazuna, took the first steps towards Naruto and barely a few meters away from her client she raised her eyes just to look into Haku's for a fraction of a second. His gaze shouted 'Sorry' into her face and before she could say anything, he disappeared from her field of vision. Instinctively her head turned and she grasped the situation between her sensei and Zabuza before she saw a movement in the corner of her eye.
"Haku!" Her voice echoed loudly across the square and sounded so strange and loud in the ears of the Kunoichi that she didn't realize at first she had screamed. Without warning Sakura's neck hair suddenly stood up and she heard Inner's voice saying something in her head as her legs started to walk again by themselves before another exclamation came out of her throat. "Tazuna-san. Attention!" She couldn't be too late, she really had to do something right! If she hadn't given up her place by Tazuna... She just had to make it, she had to be faster! Without thinking any further, she ran faster than she had ever done before and when she came to a stop, she just felt a stabbing pain.
Behind her, she heard a frightened wheeze as she looked into the eyes of a gloatingly grinning man in front of her, who seemed a little surprised too at her intervention. Slowly something ran over the corners of her mouth, but Sakura hardly noticed this, in contrast to the stabbing pain in her stomach area and the feeling of ever weaker legs. "Stupid brat. Look what you've done. You should have just stayed where you were, then maybe you could survive the next day or the next hours. My mission is the old man and not a little brat." A shudder went through Sakura's body and she had to concentrate not to fall into unconsciousness and to listen to the man at all. Slowly her left hand reached for the weapon the man still held and which was stuck in her body. She knew that he would pull it out of her right away to attack Tazuna again, but she wouldn't allow that. She wouldn't almost ruin another order. Tazuna and all the villagers relied on her and her team to protect the bridge and its workers. "Even a mouse can bite when cornered." She spoke and felt inwardly the support of Inner with every word she said. "Tazuna-san is under the protection of Konohagakure and I will not allow scum like you to harm him even a hair. I won't let you take away the hope of the people in Wave, no matter what it takes." Even though her voice got rough and weaker, she didn't lose any of the seriousness with which she underpinned her words. ~Inner?!~ she called for Inner's support for the following and let the inner force flow through her while acting like on autopilot. For not a second she lost eye contact with the man in front of her, while she kept him close to her with her left hand, not allowing him to pull the weapon out of her body, and with her right hand she embraced her Kunai tighter, before she swung out with a flowing motion and pushed the blade through his larynx. As soon as she pulled her Kunai back, blood splashed towards her and the man's body collapsed. Disgust overcame Sakura as she realized what she had done and that she literaly stood and bathed in the enemy's blood, but the pain was stronger, especially after the knife, Sakura was not sure what kind of weapon it was, slipping out of her body to the ground.
"Tazuna-san" spoke she quietly and fought visibly with the effects of her blood loss "go over to Naruto. I... don't think I can take care of you any longer." She laboriously turned her head back and looked over her shoulder with a faint smile at her client. She ignored the frightened and worried look. "And it's far from over. Go now!" When initially no movement came, Sakura sighed silently and squinted her eyes together as she slowly turned around. "Go on, now" With all the strength she could muster, she turned Tazuna sideways in the direction of Naruto and pushed him forward to finally make him leave. 'We did the right thing, well done Saku.' She heard Inner's voice and closed her eyes for a moment with a slight smile. 'But you can't give up yet, the danger is not over yet. We must pull ourselves together!' Suddenly she opened her eyes again, tried to shake off the dull feeling in her head and body.
Suddenly she felt something around her body and abruptly all the air left her lungs and she felt her being pulled through the air. "Sakura" "Sakura-chan!" she heard the loud and worried cries of her team as she came up on the ground rudely and noticed that someone had thrown a rope around her and pulled her from her spot with it. When she first looked around, she didn't identify anybody until her view fell on the water and could find several small boats. "Shit" she cursed and tried to free herself from the rope and stand up. "We get company -" she was bringing up just before she lost her balance and fell into the water. The last thing she noticed before she plunged into the water and lost consciousness were the frightened faces of her team and a strange look in Hakus and Zabuza's eyes that she couldn't interpret. After that everything was cold and dark until total darkness had enveloped her.
Coldness. Loneliness. Darkness. Numbness. Somewhere deep in her subconscious she heard someone calling, but what exactly she couldn't understand. Whoever called also remained a mystery to her. All she felt, knew, perceived was the infinite darkness around her and a heavy numbness in her body which made it impossible for her to move. Was that death? How long had she been here? She had no idea, but she was so infinitely exhausted. Tired she closed her eyes. When had she opened them at all? And listened once more into the total darkness. This time she heard nothing. She was alone.
"Sa-chan" A voice. "Sa-chan wake up. Enough sleep, sleepyhead." Again and she sounded so familiar, why? "Now come on Flower-chan or I'll have to leave without you." What? Who? And why did her inner self pull together so painfully at these words? With the next words she ripped open her eyes abruptly. "No, do not go Niisan! Sakura blinked and blinked again. No, that in front of her couldn't be true, could it? In front of her, next to her actually all around her a kind of film or memory took place. She saw herself, maybe just three years old, jumping out of bed and embracing the legs of a young man, as if to cling. His hand wandered to her head and patted her younger self a little. "Well, well, Sa-chan. Don't worry I won't disappear, but it's time to get up. Your parents want to move on. The young man looked down at her with a warm smile and Sakura's younger self carefully let go of the leg and nodded. "Ok Niisan." Once again her head was patted and the young man disappeared, as did the film around her. Who was that? Why couldn't she remember such an encounter or even the person when they seemed so familiar with each other?
An icy cold crept into her limbs and Sakura embraced herself to keep at least some warmth, unsuccessfully. Somewhere she heard the sound of drops coming down on the floor, but she didn't see anything. "Promise me Sa-chan. Promise me that you won't forget me and remember what I taught you, even if I won't be there anymore". A lump had formed in Sakura's throat when she heard the ever weaker words in the darkness that lay on her like lead. Even though she saw nothing, she felt an oppressive atmosphere around her that took her breath away. Wetness. Her cheeks were wet, why? Carefully she palpated her face and found that she was crying. Why? Where was she and why did all this happen? Why did she feel like she was missing something important, something essential in her life? Why did she feel like she had forgotten something important? "Remember Sa-chan. I will always be with you, no matter what happens." Again this voice and her heart contracted painfully. "NIISAN!" A heartbreaking scream and Sakura startled up.
The first thing she noticed was an unpleasant pain that made her wheeze and her hand wandered as if by itself to her belly. She felt a slightly rough cloth under her fingers and a look down at herself showed her that her entire lower abdomen was bandaged. Suddenly the events on the bridge came back and she wanted to jump up in shock as two hands gently but firmly pressed her down. "Calm down, the fight is over. It's all right." Slowly and with widened eyes, Sakura turned her head to the side. "Haku? What?" Her voice was no more than a whisper, but the young Hunter-nin had understood her perfectly and gave her a faint but tired smile. "The fight is over. Gato is no longer a danger to the people of Wave, any less than Zabuza or me." Did she understand him correctly? Wave was safe from Gato? What had happened? Where was her team? Immediately her eyes wandered around, but she couldn't really see much except a fire and... was that Zabuza sleeping leaning against a tree? Panic spread inside her. Where was her team? "Sakura?" Haku's voice ripped her out of her inner panic attack, but didn't take away the feeling. "What happened? I fell into the water, then everything is black. How long was I away and where is my team?" Fear and panic was visible on her and the look she got from Haku didn't make it any better. For a moment neither of them spoke. "Now tell her what happened." she heard Zabuza's voice and automatically startled. For her not so long ago he was her enemy and now to be in his immediate vicinity without him attacking her was almost too much for her to process. Sighing, Haku sat next to her and the young Kunoichi from Konoha waited tense for him to tell her exactly what had happened.
"Your exclamation towards me and then towards Tazuna has led both Master Zabuza and Kakashi to pause in their battles, which is why both I and Zabuza are still alive. Hardly had you protected the old bridge builder and announced the new arrivals and fallen into the water, Gato and his men showed up. Grinning gloatingly, he dismissed your act as if it had been good for nothing. He amused himself about your death and revealed that he never intended to pay Zabuza for his services." At this point she heard an displeased snort from said Missing-nin before Haku continued. "As a result, Master Zabuza saw no point in continuing the fight against your Sensei and your team. Instead, he took care of Gato himself and killed him." "Nobody betrays me with impunity. He has to blame his death on himself." Zabuza grumbled in between and didn't seem to regret his deed. Not that Sakura didn't understand it somewhere and even she wouldn't cry a tear at Gato. "Gato's followers were quite angry after his death because nobody would pay them anymore. Your team member Sasuke woke up and joined your team and the little boy from the bridge builder showed up with the villagers. Together they scared away the rest of Gato's followers. After that our paths separated. Since we were no longer a danger to Tazuna, Kakashi took care of your two team members and led them back to the house. Master Zabuza decided that we would move on and while we were on our way we found you at the edge of the river. You had already lost a lot of blood at that time and were unconscious but still alive. I asked Master Zabuza to take care of you and then took care of your injury. When you got a fever, I almost believed you wouldn't make it. You were unconscious for almost a week and a half." With these words Haku ended and Sakura stared silently at her hands for a while as she tried to process the information.
Sasuke was alive, as were Naruto and Kakashi-sensei. Tazuna was safe and so was the bridge. With Gato's death, the villagers had nothing to fear and were finally freed from the influence of the power-hungry man. That was good news, but what about her? "A week and a half you say? And my team? What about them? Did... didn't they look for me?" They didn't possibly just leave her behind, did they? Even if they assumed she was dead, they would surely have looked for her body, wouldn't they? A look into Haku's eyes pulled everything inside her together. "They left the village a few days after the fight and went back to Konoha as far as I know. Sorry". Unbelieving she stared at the older one. That couldn't possibly be true. Her team would never leave her like that. That... that just couldn't be true! 'But what reason would Haku have to lie to us? I mean he took care of us when we were closer to death than to life without him being sure we would survive. We owe him more than just our thanks. So why would he lie to us about our team?' Once again she had to admit Inner was right. What reason should Haku have to lie to her? If anything, he was hiding something like he had hid from her in the clearing that he was working with Zabuza. And then there was this strange dream she had to worry about. Her head started to hurt from all the things she had to process and think about. The mission had turned her whole life upside down and it was supposed to be just a simple C-rank mission! And where had it taken her? To the brink of death, in a forest somewhere in nowhere, in the company of two nuke-nins and abandoned by her team. God, she didn't want anything else but to roll up howling and die.
"Go to sleep, brat. We'll talk again tomorrow, when you've caught some sleep and are much better together. Haku give her something to drink and something to eat and then let her sleep. The same goes for you then." Surprised by Zabuza's words she looked over to the Missing-nin, who continued to sit leaning against his tree with his eyes closed. "Thank you" she murmured and accepted the food and drink she was offered from Haku and ate and drank without thinking about it. If the two ninjas wanted her dead, they certainly wouldn't have bothered to save her, so why wouldn't she accept it? Sleep wasn't long in coming, her body still weakened by her near-death.