Chapter 9

"What's the matter?" Sakura asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"It's the people from the hospital," her mother said in a serious tone, "They were given specific instructions to come and bring you to the hospital. Apparently an emergency case just arrived and Tsunade-sama requires your assistance."

In an instant Sakura was awake and running down the stairs, taking three at a time. Her mother was yelling something after her from the top of the stairs as Sakura pulled on a black jacket.

"They said they wouldn't have come if Tsunade-sama hadn't specifically requested—" her mother was abruptly cut off as Sakura slammed the door behind her. She did not stop moving as she exited, but signaled for the medical ninja to follow after her. As she ran hurriedly down the street, the head of the squad matched her pace.

"What's the situation?" Sakura asked, not wanting to waste any times on explanations. If it was emergency enough to call her awake at night like this, she could not afford to waste any time. She had only been called out twice before in the previous three years, and she knew she had to be ready the instant they called. She had understood this before she became the Fifth Hokage's pupil—she had to be able to sacrifice her own well being for the sake of someone else.

"We don't know," the medic replied uncertainly, "We were just dispatched to get you, and were not informed on current events. I do believe it has to do with the jounin team that came in a few minutes ago."

"Which jounin?" Sakura asked as they began to run up the hospital's front steps—each patient was different and she had to adjust her chakra flow accordingly.

"Sarutobi Asuma, Yuuhi Kurenai, and Hatake Kakashi," replied the medic, then added as Sakura ran for the stairs, who ignoring the slow elevator, "Second floor, room two hundred twenty one!"

Sakura practically flew up the stairs and down the hall, rushing noisily into the designated room as she flung the doors wide. The sight before her had her worried—not only was Tsunade bent over the patient in deep concentration, but Shizune and another advanced medical ninja were working on the patient too. As soon as Sakura entered, Shizune looked up sharply at her.

"Sakura, help me heal the wounds on his legs," she barked quickly—Tsunade was in deep concentration, and Sakura realized that she was not to be interrupted.

Quickly she dashed over to Shizune's side and began peeling away the makeshift bandages that had been applied, gasping at the sight. There were deep gashes and dangerous burns all along the left leg, and glancing over at the work that Shizune was doing, the other leg appeared in the same condition. Without a second thought, Sakura began to cause the chakra to form in her hands, guiding it and controlling it with a slight twist that she had added as her own technique. The cuts and burns were easy enough to heal, but the patient seemed near death.

She glanced up towards the head and torso of the figure for a brief moment, seeing how severe the rest of the wounds were. The other medical ninja was working on repairing a broken arm, while Tsunade held both hands extended over the patient's head. Her long sleeves dangled down, making it impossible for Sakura to see the face. Turning her attention back to her task, she focused on restoring the wounds. The quick glance she had taken also revealed a bag of blood hanging near the head of the bed, dripping the red fluid into the patient's veins. Sakura knew if she could heal the wounds, the patient would lose less blood.

Slowly she moved her hands up the leg, healing each wound with care, being sure that there was not a scar left on the patient's body. When she reached the knee, the other medical ninja, who had just finished mending the broken arm, took over. Sakura took a split second breather before taking the newly mended arm, getting rid of the cuts and burns there too.

Hours dragged by, but to the apprehensive Sakura, it seemed to take years. Sweat beaded her brow, but she remained committed to her task—she felt that if she were able to heal as many people as she could, get stronger as a medical ninja, then perhaps one day she would devise a method of extracting Orochimaru's soul from Sasuke's body. She had to save this young man, even if she did not know who he was, because each life saved strengthened her, and for each life lost, she strove harder the next time.

The group worked tirelessly over the young man, and eventually Shizune, the medical ninja, and herself finished healing his body. Only the Hokage remained, her chakra focused on the young man's head.

Sakura left the bedside, knowing there was nothing more she could do to help. Splashing cold water on her face, she knew that only Tsunade could fix whatever wounds remained. Shizune came and stood beside Sakura as they watched the Hokage work.

"What happened?" Sakura asked, rubbing her face dry with a paper towel.

"I'm not sure," Shizuna murmured quietly, "But Asuma's team came in with him in that terrible state—barely alive. Apparently they found him on the way back from their mission."

Sakura nodded dumbly and hoped that whoever the young man was, that he would be okay.

"Come," Shizune said, beckoning Sakura to follow, "We should not disturb Tsunade-sama. There's nothing more we can do to help, so we had best leave her in peace."

Sakura nodded dumbly as she followed the Hokage's young assistant from the small room, feeling utterly and completely exhausted.

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