Your intentions !

Day 4

Just as she had to learn to control her chakra, Sakura had to learn to control her emotions throughout her ninja training. And that was something most difficult. For by definition, a human being was driven by their emotions whether they were positive or negative. Very few people could completely disregard them and be mere tools. Sakura knew this all too well having seen and experienced it herself on many occasions : emotions were an integral part of being human. Hate could drive one to kill just as compassion could prevent one from doing so.

Her master had taught her that even if one could not completely suppress one's emotions, it was possible to manage them. To do so, one had to resort to meditation, which also allowed the Shinobi to discover their inner chakra. But very few people knew how to use meditation to be in tune with their chakra. And that was what Sakura had been doing for a month now.

Currently standing at the edge of her garden promontory, her hands were resting against her abdomen, palms up. Her senses were on alert, watching for any suspicious noise around her.

Her concentration was on her chakra, to feel it inside her, to feel it running through all her coils, through her Tenketsu. In a month, she had understood how to harmonize with her chakra, allowing her to save her own. However, this was not enough for the young woman, she wanted to understand the mystery that resided in the composition of chakra : the physical energy and the spiritual energy. She knew that this power was the assembly of the two, but she could not understand where they became one. Where did these two energies meet to form this famous chakra ?

That was what Sakura had been looking for for almost an hour, not knowing that she had been watched for a long time by Madara in his bed. Like every morning, he saw Sakura open the French windows wide, giving him a breathtaking view of the garden as well as the valley.

He wasn't sure what to make of this young woman who had her back to him. He owed her so much : he even owed her a life debt, which was no small matter. Very few people in the Shinobi world could say that Madara owed them. And that was why the man had kept silent for the past few days. It was a way to thank her, but at the same time, a way to observe and determine who she was.

He followed carefully and silently the routine that had been set up regarding his care. She would gently place her hands on his chest each time before her chakra entered him, it was gentle, pleasant and comforting. Then, after checking his vitals, she would check the status of his seals to see if everything was in order.

She always asked the same questions during her inspection : did he feel any discomfort ? A pain ? Or an itch ? Then, once her inspection routine was complete, she would go back into what appeared to be a kitchen and return with a tray of food. He was only allowed one bowl of soup and rice at the moment, which was far from satisfying his hunger. He felt like demanding more, but his mouth would remain shut every time, perhaps because he knew that this woman knew what she was doing. Once he had finished eating, she would force him to fall asleep, claiming that his body needed a lot of rest and as little stress as possible.

Was it a Genjutsu she was applying to him to sleep ? Or was it one of the effects of her Kekkei Genkai ? For to Madara, the green chakra she was using could only be a Kekkei Genkai and a very rare one at that. He had never seen this kind of thing in his life and she wielded it as effectively as he wielded Ninjutsu.

So it was once again deep in thought that Madara began to stare at his savior outside the house.

What did his life mean now ? He was paralyzed, half blind and dependent on a woman for survival. He was so ashamed of himself at the moment that anger overcame him. He felt miserable that he had failed in his goal of peace, that he had not been able to save his clan from its fate, that he was finally... nothing !

Madara was so deep in remorse that he gasped slightly at the sound of Sakura's voice near him.

— "Good morning Uchiha-san, did you sleep well ?" Sakura asked politely as she put down the large pillow she was sitting on.

— "Yes," Madara said knowing the routine was about to begin.

— "Do you feel any pain in your torso ?" she began as she gently placed her hands on the newly operated areas.

— "Only if I have to take a deep breath."

— "It'll be a while before you can breathe fully again," Sakura explained before taking a pair of scissors to cut the bandages around his body.

— "Where did you learn all this ?" Madara asked before Sakura lifted her gaze to look her patient in the eyes. She saw that there was no animosity in the dark-haired man's eyes, only curiosity.

— "Most of my skills were learned by myself," Sakura revealed before removing the entire bloodstained bandages. The superficial scars had disappeared entirely through her Iryo Ninjutsu. However, the three operations she had performed would be visible forever. The three scars were still a pinkish red, but it seemed to have closed up nicely.

— "You learned that... by yourself ?" Madara repeated slightly skeptically.

He could see no trace of lies in her eyes, but he still had great doubts about the veracity of her words.

— "I'm going to sit you up slowly, if you feel any pain in your stomach, tell me immediately," Sakura demanded before carrying out her task. She brought her left arm up to the Uchiha's back as her eyes darted back and forth between the stomach and Madara's facial expressions.

— "Stop !" Madara said with difficulty as he practically sat up. Sakura pulled him back slightly before placing her hand on his abs once more.

— "Is this an overall pain ? Or is it a sharp pain in the scar ?"

— "It was a sharp pain, like having a blade shoved into my stomach," the dark-haired man answered, as a Shinobi he knew what a weapon penetrating flesh felt like, especially since his fight with Hashirama Senju.

— "Good ! The healing is going better than expected."

Sakura continued to apply her Iryo Ninjutsu regardless of their proximity and as their faces came within twenty centimeters of each other, Madara turned his face towards the green-eyed woman.

— "Answer my question Haruno-san," Madara asked softly in a deep voice.

Sakura was caught off guard, this was the first time Madara had called her Haruno-san. If he deigned to call a woman by her name and add the suffix -san it was because he had a modicum of respect for her.

— "I didn't learn on my own at first... like everyone else, I had a master," Sakura revealed before looking away. Her mind was at odds, part of her wanted him to be mean like the Madara she knew and then she would know how to react. But another part of her was glad to see that he could be at least civilized.

— "Who is your master ?"

— "Was...," Sakura replied as she tilted the man forward again before asking : "still in pain ?"

— "Better... still painful, but bearable."

— "Try taking a deep breath and tell me if the pain is the same in your lung."

Madara complied and he had to admit that it was easier to breathe.

— "Better."

— "Well, it looks like your lung has recovered slightly and your ribs are under less pressure," Sakura remarked before tipping Madara completely onto the bed. "Continue to take only shallow breaths though, until your organ heals."

Madara fell back into thought as Sakura left the room. The Kekkei Genkai theory was still possible, but it was also reduced since he had been taught some of her skills. Was it possible to learn from her ?

Meanwhile, Sakura was outside her house filling a wooden tub with water. A small stool and a large table were set up near it. Towels were laid out here and there with various bottles on the table.

For several days her patient had been confined to bed without being able to move. Until now she had not been able to move him because of the recent operations, but the organs were now stable. And it was time to bathe the convalescent, as he was still covered in dirt and blood, just like the bed he was lying in. The risk of infection had to be ruled out at all costs.

Sakura also poured a bath bead she had brought with her from the future. As she poured more water, the pearl released a foam that would camouflage the inside of the water. She hoped that this would make Madara less self-conscious when he was in the bath.

Positioning her hands in the water, she worked her chakra to heat it to a comfortable temperature before returning to the house.

Once at her patient's level she placed her hands at the seals on his stomach. His bladder was currently empty as were his bowels, signs that the seals were working properly. She emitted a spike of chakra in order to deactivate them, as the water could alter the ink, which could do irreversible damage. She then pulled the blankets off of Madara's body before taking him in her arms like a bride.

— "What are you doing ?" he complained, he hated being carried like that.

— "Stop being such a brat," Sakura retorted, ignoring his protests. He wasn't the first man who had been ashamed to be held like that.

— "Put me down woman !"

— "No... It's time to take a bath Uchiha-san. You've been wading in your filth for four days now and now that your condition has stabilized, it's time to do something about it."

After his body was fully immersed in the warm water, a sigh of well-being escaped his mouth. Only his shoulders, his left arm and his head were not under water. Her left arm especially shouldn't be wet because of all the seals on it, so Sakura wrapped it in a towel just to be safe.

— "Try to relax, your muscles need it," Sakura advised as she rolled up her sleeves to her biceps before dipping her hands into the hot water.

— "What are you doing now ?" Madara snarled as she felt the woman take off her underwear.

— "I'm taking off your underwear, you need to be washed all over Uchiha-san."

— "This is humiliating," Madara growled now annoyed.

— "Listen," Sakura began, pinching the bridge of her nose at the approach of a potential headache from this argument. "You're not the first patient I've had on my hands and you're also not the first man I've seen naked. You need to be washed, so swallow your misplaced pride and let me do it !"

— "Don't order me around, woman !"

— "I'll give you orders if I want Uchiha-san, you're currently under my care and if I order you to do something for your health, you'll comply," Sakura warned before taking a glove and soap in her hands.

— "Who do you think you're talking to ?" Madara asked increasingly annoyed.

— "To me you're nothing, so stop whining. I'm not amused by this any more than you are, and don't even think about activating your Sharingan to try to change my mind ! Haven't you ever had a woman wash you in the past ?"

— "Hn !" Madara said before turning his head away in annoyance.

That famous onomatopoeia, today Sakura had confirmation that this trait Sasuke had was a family trait. For a moment she felt a twinge of sadness as she remembered the love of her life.

— "If you're that embarrassed, close your eyes and enjoy the hot water."

In all his anger and shame, Madara slowly began to relax and enjoy the moment, but of course that was something he would never admit to.

He couldn't remember when the last time was that he had taken time to relax and rest properly. His life had been full of battles, plots, betrayals and wars. So it seemed strange to take a bath and be washed.

Nevertheless, he had to admit that she was delicate in her gestures and did her best not to embarrass him or hint. This only put more questions in his mind. After a while, he felt something wet on his face. His first reflex was to open his eyes before noticing that she was washing his face.

Why was she doing this ? Why was she doing all this after what his clan had done to her ? She didn't want to tell him, but her previous answers made him think that members of his family had potentially destroyed her village. Was she trying to make him pay by making him feel ashamed ? By making him live like a cripple ?

— "Why are you doing this ?" he asked after a moment of silence.

— "What do you mean Uchiha-san ?"

— "Why did you save me that night ? I'm a shadow of my former self," he answered in disgust. Yes, that was what he felt ; disgust at what he had become, a wreck.

— "Because I had the power," Sakura said, gently tapping her face flannel on Madara's right eyelid.

— "And hope for what in the end ? To end my life on a bed waiting to die ?" Madara retorted sarcastically.

— "Life is a gift we've been given and that's why it's called the present," Sakura said wisely.

— "How is being paralyzed a gift ?" the dark-haired man was indignant, not inclined to philosophize about life.

— "Who said you were going to stay paralyzed ?" Sakura questioned with a raised eyebrow.

— "I'm sorry, what ?"

— "Do you really think you're going to stay paralyzed ?" Sakura questioned with an amused smile.

It didn't escape the Uchiha's notice that she was smiling, it was the first time he'd seen that expression on her face. Still smiling, she left her question hanging for a few seconds before continuing :

— "I have every intention of making you walk again Uchiha-san... sure, it will take time, but I can guarantee that one day you will be able to be a Shinobi again."

— "We shall see," Madara said with a spark of hope in his heart. Without a doubt, this woman was convinced and determined to make it happen. The dark-haired man sensed that her eyes spoke the truth as she told him to get back on his feet and restore his dignity as a ninja.

— "Close your left eye," Sakura asked to clean his eyelid.

— "How come I've never heard of you ?"

— "I'm a pretty private person," Sakura said but Madara wasn't having it, he was sick of all the secrets she refused to divulge.

— "Stop taking me for a fool, Haruno-san. You know things I didn't even know existed until I met you. You have skills that would make many ninjas swoon and your knowledge of the human body could revolutionize the Shinobi world. How many human beings could be saved if you taught what you know ? So answer me honestly."

Upon hearing this Sakura understood that there was hope in this man. Sure, he understood that she was a ninja and that her abilities were not common, but he had analyzed her skills for the good of man and not to wage war. Few men thought that way and it warmed her heart.

— "I apologize, Uchiha-san, but this is something I would like to keep to myself for now. We all have our secrets, lean your head back," Sakura said before standing up and taking a bucket to fill it with water.

She poured the water from the bucket over Madara's hair, being careful not to drip the liquid on his face. Then she grabbed a container of shampoo and applied it to his hair. Madara could feel fingers energetically scrubbing his hair as well as his skull.

— "You were trained in the ninja arts, weren't you ?" Madara questioned, though it was more of a statement than a question.

— "You seem surprised that this is possible ? Why shouldn't a woman be ?" the cherry blossom questioned earnestly, trying to make up his own mind about how the dark-haired man viewed women.

— "It's not a woman's job. Usually they are too weak or too sensitive to do what is necessary," he stated unscrupulously and eloquently.

Sakura wasn't at all surprised by the answer, since it echoed what the Rikudo had told her before she came here. And even though she was offended by his disregard for women, she kept it to herself. She continued with her current mission ; she rinsed all the lather from the dark-haired man's hair before grabbing a large comb to begin the long task of detangling.

— "Don't be fooled Uchiha-san, just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I'm weak. I am quite capable of taking someone's life. My knowledge makes me a lethally dangerous person. I have as much blood on my hands as you have on yours, despite myself," she said calmly, still tending to the dark-haired man's hair.

— "If you regret the death of your enemies then that makes you weak," the man retorted scornfully.

Sakura didn't answer right away in order to keep her nerves under control. This man was truly one of a kind. One minute he was giving her hope that maybe he could change and be open-minded, and the next minute he was a complete fool again.

— "On the contrary, it's what makes me human," she contradicted wisely as she finished untangling the man's black mane. She grabbed a dry towel and rubbed it in, removing as much moisture as possible. "Is it weak to reach out ? Is it weak to help others ? Does that make me weak for saving you from death, Uchiha Madara ?"

No answer came from the Uchiha, and besides, Sakura didn't expect an answer from him, for in her heart she knew she was right. She then reached into the bath to grab Madara's body and pull him out of the water. She quickly laid him on the table before covering his private parts first so that he wouldn't be too embarrassed. Once he was dry, she put on his underwear, followed by black silk trousers, and then took him in her arms again.

— "How do you do that ?" asked Madara, who still couldn't believe the strength of this woman. Her arms were thin, muscular but thin. Logically a person of her physique could never have lifted him with such ease. Not that he felt fat, but he was quite aware of the weight he was carrying.

— "What do you mean ?"

— "How come you're lifting me like I don't weigh anything ?" Madara demanded.

— "I don't know," Sakura answered boldly, flashing that small, enigmatic smile she suspected must have infuriated the Uchiha. She laid him gently on the cushions around the coffee table before moving to the bed and removing the bloody sheets and blankets.

— "You want me to believe you don't know where your strength comes from ?"

— "No, I'm just saying that I don't intend to reveal my skills to the first person I meet. Do I ask you about your Sharingan ? About its characteristics ? Or what you could do with it ?" she objected as she grabbed new sheets from one of the wardrobes.

— "No... although I think you know more than you should," Madara conceded. This woman intrigued him because he knew she was hiding things from him, far too many things, and the Uchiha wasn't used to not getting straight answers. She was quite different from all the women he had met, and the way she avoided answering while pushing him to think even more, proved to him that she was indeed a ninja. He even had confirmation of this when she added :

— "Maybe, but it's our job to go out and gather information."

He remained silent as he watched her make the bed until she came to pick him up and put him comfortably in it in a semi-sitting position.

— "No discomfort or pain ?" she asked solicitously.

— "Other than my pride ? Nothing," Madara pouted.

Sakura didn't react to the remark, though it might have made her smile inside. As great a Shinobi as he was, Madara Uchiha was still a man who acted like a real kid who was upset that people didn't obey him. She walked over to her desk and picked up her inkwell and brush again. She settled herself comfortably on the bed, giving her a good position to draw the bladder and bowel seals with care, these had been erased during the bath.

— "Are you affiliated with the Uzumaki clan ?" the dark-haired man continued, looking for clues about the young woman.

— "No," Sakura answered without hesitation, though inwardly she hoped one day to meet with them to discuss the art of Fûinjutsu.

— "Then how come you have the same seal as Mito Uzumaki ?" he asked suspiciously. After all, as far as he knew, only the daughter of the Uzumaki leader had such a frontal seal.

— "The Uzumaki are not the only ones skilled in the art of Fûinjutsu. Certainly, they are the most competent in the world, but nothing says that this seal is exclusive to their clan or even that it was invented by them. And I don't know who this Mito Uzumaki is, but I highly doubt that her seal is on par with mine," she said without humility.

Pretentiousness, that was what Madara sensed in that last sentence as the young woman drew seals on her skin. She knew, or rather was certain that her seal was more powerful than Mito Uzumaki's, who had the reputation of being a virtuoso of Fûinjutsu. But she declared that she did not know her.

— "But who are you at the end ? You come out of nowhere with skills no one has ever seen and you claim to be better than Mito Uzumaki in Fûinjutsu," the dark-haired man exasperated.

— "Aren't I ?" Sakura added naturally as she continued to make the intricate tracings on her patient's body.

— "So you know Mito to be so certain," he concluded by deduction.

— "Only by reputation," Sakura replied before putting down her tools and activating the two seals.

— "Who are you ?" repeated Madara once more, emphasizing each word.

— "Does it really matter who I am ? Can't you just settle for Sakura Haruno, the person who saved you from death and takes care of you ?" she had no intention of revealing anything more concrete about herself to him, now or later for that matter.

The Uchiha understood that for the moment he would have nothing more. He was content with this argument and did not insist, although he had to admit that the little he had seen of this woman confirmed that she was potentially better than Mito.

— "I'll go and prepare some food, would you prefer to stay like this or would you like some reading ?"

— "Do you have a book on what you did to my heart ?"

— "Are you sure ? You might not understand anything," the young woman said, not expecting him to want to learn about such a subject.

— "Yes."

Sakura walked over to one of her bookcases before grabbing one particular book, it had a brown cover and looked quite thick. It was a book that had been written by her former master. But this information only Sakura knew since before she left for the past, she had had the names of some of her books changed to avoid suspicion... in case anyone came across them. The Kunoichi was now glad she had thought of this since her patient was asking for this type of reading.

— "The Human Heart by Tsunade Haruno," Madara read as he grabbed the book with his one able-bodied arm. "Was that your mother ?"

— "Yes... Happy reading," Sakura replied quickly.

She didn't want to be interrogated again, even if in a way it was a half-truth. She had always considered Tsunade Senju a second mother. She then went to the kitchen to prepare the meal. Madara stared blankly for a few minutes at where Sakura had gone before coming to.

The theory of the Kekkei Genkai seemed to take over when he saw Tsunade Haruno's name on the cover of this book. He opened it at a random place and came across a very detailed diagram that made his eyes widen. There were so many details, too many details and too much information.

Thanks to his Sharingan, Madara had become accustomed to reading very quickly and did not waste a moment to immerse himself in his reading. Everything was explained about how the human heart worked, there were many diagrams to represent its physiology. Each part of the organ had its own name to describe it, and it was even explained how to perform an operation for a particular injury. As Sakura had warned her just before, many of the words had no meaning to him, surely medical terms. After twenty minutes of reading, Madara realized what the young woman cooking in the next room had done. Without a doubt, it was something he would be absolutely incapable of reproducing.

If such a book existed, why was this the first he'd heard of it ? Why weren't people like Sakura or her mother referred to in any of his reports ? Why had no one mentioned these people ? Was he a clan ? All these questions were driving him crazy.

His reading was interrupted by the arrival of the person at the centre of all his thoughts. She placed a steaming bowl of rice and vegetables on her desk before coming towards him with a tray. It was like any other day, just two bowls and a glass of water.

— "Why didn't your mother ever publish this book ?" Madara asked as she slowly sipped the soup Sakura was serving him.

Sakura didn't answer right away. She was thinking about what would have happened if Tsunade had actually tried to publish this book in the Sengoku era. Because of the men of the time it probably would have been impossible. That was one of the things that really irritated Sakura : the supremacy of men over women in the Sengoku era.

— "She tried to do it... however, because she was a woman she wasn't taken seriously, on the grounds that a common woman didn't know anything about medicine and should leave it to those who did," Sakura explained with undisguised resentment.

— "You don't hold men in your heart," Madara remarked.

— "That's not the point, Uchiha-san. What I hate are men who think they're above women just because they have a pair of balls between their legs," Sakura said, looking Madara straight in the eye so the message would be understood.

— "Is that a threat ?"

— "Interpret it any way you like, it's a big deal to me. Recognition isn't one of my priorities in life," Sakura replied sharply before holding a mouthful of rice to Madara's lips.

— "What do you aspire to in life then ?" the dark-haired man asked curiously.

Madara didn't get an answer, but rather a look of intensity from the woman who seemed to be sizing him up, as if to see if he was ready to get a real answer from her.

— "I long for many things in life, Uchiha-san, and none of them are easy to obtain," Sakura half admitted sadly. She longed to see her friends, her teachers, her family, her world. But most of all she longed to bring peace to this world, yet she couldn't reveal her true motives to him yet. She turned her attention back to the bowl of rice in her hands, perhaps looking for the solution to what was troubling her after the dark-haired man's question.

— "Is that why you saved me ?"

— "Maybe," Sakura said in a small voice.

— "You didn't save me without a reason then," Madara insisted before receiving a hard, closed look from the young woman.

— "I admit at first I wanted to crush your brains in the same way I destroyed Black Zetsu the other night," Sakura said coldly. The warrior's face was back in place, one of the facets Madara loved the most. "But... I couldn't judge you until I got to know you, so I saved you... to see if you were like every other Uchiha I've ever met... And..."

Sakura paused for a moment before looking away. Madara didn't say anything, he'd learned a lot in a short time and didn't want to spoil it. Some of the sentences seemed to make her come out of her shell. She was a woman of character, one who didn't let herself be pushed around, but once you knew how to deal with her, she was less scary.

— "And ?" Madara encouraged gently.

— "And I thought if you were different, maybe you could help me," Sakura finished as she set down the second bowl. This gave the brunette food for thought before a detail came to mind.

— "Who was this Black Zetsu ?"

No sooner had he finished his question than a sound of breaking glass was heard. Looking down he saw that the young woman had just crushed the glass in her hands. Her face was filled with hatred and anger at the mere mention of that name.

— "He was one of the people responsible for the disappearance of the people I loved," Sakura replied before sighing and picking up the pieces of glass from the floor. "You need to sleep Uchiha-san," she said sharply to end the subject.

— "Is that really necessary ?"

— "Yes, your body still needs rest."

— "One last question, what are you helping with ?" the Uchiha persisted.

Sakura looked at him then with what seemed to be hope, but also fear. She no longer struggled with what she should or shouldn't say to him, and said distinctly :

— "Bringing peace to this rotten world," before quickly placing her fingers on Madara's temple. This conversation had exhausted her, and she couldn't bear to debate the subject with him.

- Sleep," she said in a whisper as he was already drifting off to sleep.

Sakura grabbed the book he held in his hand and placed it on the bedside table as tears rolled down her cheeks.