medicalpunch | 4th Punch

[After Luceti Valley fades away, Sakura spends a couple days hunting down her patients, healing anyone who asks for it, trying to wrap her head around the changes she went through, trying to reestablish herself as Haruno Sakura, medic-nin of Konoha.

But when the morning dawns, two days after Luceti returned to normal, Sakura is gone.

A week or so passes, with no Sakura in evidence. And then...]

[Action - By the river]

[That sure is a yelp, a flash of white, and a very loud splash as Sakura lands squarely in the river. For a second she sinks, too startled at the abrupt change of scenery to react, and then she starts kicking toward the surface, the skirt of her dress clinging around her legs and interfering with the movement. It'd be tempting to take a kunai to it... if she had one on her. As it is, she doesn't . Whoops.

She breaks the surface, gasping and shaking water out of her eyes, then pauses to stare at the village, a scowl on her face.]

Really? Really? I get sent home for all of an hour at best, and then this again?

[There are a couple visible changes to her -- her hair has lost all the black and red dye again, back to its normal pink from root to tip, and there's a blue diamond mark in the center of her forehead now, one that will look awfully familiar to any Konoha-nin who know her teacher.]

I guess I should be grateful. [She snorts] At least it isn't the dead of winter this time.

[Video - A little later]

[Sakura's dry and dressed again, and she takes to the journals, flipping through it for a long moment to figure out just how long she was gone. Not long -- a matter of days, she guesses, maybe a week or two -- but sure as heck longer than she was home!]

Hey everyone. I'm back. Guess they just couldn't do without me after all.

Hinata - I hope you haven't given my room away in a week! [She's trying to make a joke, okay. Even if coming back from the battlefield again makes joking the last thing she wants to do.]

Sasuke... I'd like to talk to you at some point.

[A flash of something unreadable crosses her face, and then she shakes her head.]

Everyone else... well, I hope you didn't miss me too much!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Since reaching Saori's castle, Hinata has had the opportunity to just relax for a moment. Something she's never had the luxury of doing.]

Yuuna-san has been looking after my arm for me. I will be fine. Thank you for the offer.

[She's not leaving just yet. Not until she's ready.]

I'm glad she has been. [Although Sakura's not sure if she knows Yuuna.] The offer's always open, if you change your mind; I'm willing to do house calls.

[Although it might not be a bad thing to get a little time to herself.]

[Actually, Sakura-san is the best medical nin that Hinata's ever met, aside from Tsunade-sama herself. Even Shizune-san, who taught Hinata, is not as skilled as the pink-haired girl.

And her arm does still hurt all of the time, despite the treatment that she and Yuuna-san have been working on.]

A-actually...I believe that I might take you up on that offer. [It's time to leave Saori's castle, at least for a bit.] Would you be willing to meet me at the apartment tomorrow afternoon to do so?

[Oh, good. Sakura doesn't want to claim a spotlight, medic-wise, but she trusts in her own skills and wants to be sure her friends are well cared-for.]

Of course! Any time you like, I'll be there.

[A pause, and then she adds,]

Thanks, Hinata. It makes me feel better to make sure my friends are all right.

[As much as Hinata wants to say that she's not doing this for Sakura, perhaps she is...just a little.]

Thank you, Sakura-san. I will see you there after lunch tomorrow then, yes?

[Whether or not she is, it's still a comfort for Sakura.]

After lunch! I'll be there.

[The next day, Hinata is back at the apartment that she shared with Sakura before this all began, looking around at the living room before peeking into her sparse bedroom. Really, anyone could live here. Aside from the hanging, framed pressed flowers, this room looks like no one really resides there.

It's a depressing thought that has her sitting demurely in the living room for Sakura-san to show up.]

[Sakura isn't far behind Hinata; the Hyuuga will only have a few minutes to wait before Sakura shows up.]

There you are. It's good to see you again, Hinata.

[At the arrival of her friend, Hinata stands and gives her a polite bow of her head.]

It is good to see you again as well, Sakura-san. I...I apologize for being away from our friends for so long.

You don't need to apologize! After... after that mess, I think we all needed time to get our heads together. [Time she hasn't really gotten, herself; going home and being pulled back dimmed some of the impact, but she knows she's going to need to take some serious time to pick through it all.]

And have you taken time to adjust to what happened to us during that time? [Hinata's sharp eyes miss nothing and the fact that her friend is now sporting a very familiar dot on her forehead is noticeable.

And it makes her realize what happened.]

Y-you returned home? How was it? [And despite the pain it causes, Hinata balls up both of her fists, even though she hisses through her teeth because of the broken arm being pulled on.]

Careful! [She hears that hiss, and she can just tell seeing Hinata that the gesture was painful.]

... I did. Just... just briefly. [And how much does she say... how much can she admit, with so little knowledge of how it's all going to go?] Things are... well. they're still not good. But we've got some new help, powerful help. There's at least some hope.

[The news outweighs the pain and Hinata just shakes it off. Hope. That word is enough to make her smile before she realizes...] Did you...have you seen my father and sister?

[She hasn't heard anything about them since before she ran off to assist Naruto-kun. It's been a knot in her stomach that she hadn't recognized until now.]

[She wants to give good news. Dearly, truly wishes she could. But in this case, at least, no news is better than bad news.]

I haven't seen them in a while, no. [Though she hastens to add,] But I'm sure they're fine. Your father's a very canny shinobi, isn't he? [And Hanabi's too young for this kind of war, really -- hopefully she's staying close to Hiashi, protected by him.]

[She can't help but deflate at Sakura's lack of news. While it was true that her father was talented and strong and...larger than life, she also knew that that didn't mean that he was still alive.

And Hanabi was only thirteen!

But, Hinata was not home to watch over her family and she would have to trust in Ko-san to make sure that her father and sister survived until she got home to do it herself.]

Yes, he is. Thank you.

[If she continues to think about this, it will just make her more upset, so...]

Congratulations, Sakura-san.

Congratulations? [It's not exactly the answer she'd expected to hear, certainly not out of Hinata; things going on at home aren't exactly suitable for that. Even Sasuke's return (both to them and to his senses), joyful as it is, pales beside what they're facing. And for Hinata, with Neji's loss and the risk to the rest of her family freshly reminded to her...] For what?

[Yes, those things are still fresh in Hinata's mind, but that doesn't negate the fact that she can feel... pride in her friend for her accomplishment.]

For obtaining your yin seal. I know that you have worked hard to obtain it, studying under Tsunade-sama. I can think of no one else who deserves it more.

[That Hinata would comment on it, in the midst of such serious talk... it's a real pleasure, although not unmixed with wistful sadness. If she'd only been a little quicker with it, a little sooner to start the long, arduous process of storing up her chakra...]

Thank you, Hinata. I just hope I'll be worthy of it.

If there is anyone who would be worthy of what the Yin Seal means, it is you, Sakura-san.

[Really, stop beating yourself up, girl.]

[Shh, it's part of being a medic. Just roll with it.]

I'll certainly do my best.

[And if she can, not let anyone else important to them die.]

4th Punch

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