4th Punch

[medicalpunch]

[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!

Comments

[medicalpunch]

And putting your health at risk will bring Shishou down on your head like a ton of bricks. [She laughs again when she says it, but there is that dark cloud hanging over them, the thought of what's going on back home.

She can't totally hold him in suspense, so after savoring the levity for a moment, she lets herself slide more serious.]

There's... there's some home. We've gotten some reinforcements. Good ones. But...

[But it still might not be enough.]

[niceguypose]

[He becomes more serious as she changes the subject.]

But...? Sakura-san... Have we lost anyone else? [He asks quietly. He figures that this time, it's best to get the bad news out of the way first.]

[medicalpunch]

[The important question.]

... No one else of... of our group, at least. [She feels terrible putting it that way, as plenty of people have died and continue to die around them, but she knows that's what Lee is ultimately asking. Anyone they care about. Anyone whose absence will be felt as keenly from their circle of friends as Neji.]

[niceguypose]

[There's a slight relief at that. No more bad news for now. Of course, people are dying. Just not those he's met personally, who are near and dear to his heart. He feels guilty thinking of it that way. But there's relief none the less.]

I see. Thank you, Sakura-san. [He trusts her - after what happened last time, and with him asking directly from the get-go, he doesn't think she is hiding anything from him this time.]

Do you believe that the situation is improving?

[medicalpunch]

[Now that one, at least, she can answer with confidence.]

Yes. It's improving. We've... we've gotten some new help. We've got a real chance.

[Both the help of the four Hokage, and the morale boost of Sasuke's return -- okay, it isn't a morale boost for everyone necessarily, but... for Naruto, it definitely is. And Naruto's the one who's really going to win this for them, isn't he?]

[niceguypose]

I am certainly glad to hear that. With all of our power of youth combined, I truly believe that we can push on towards victory!

[But Sakura's words also give him pause - he remembers the story given out by Sasuke, after all. Is this a chance to confirm it as truth?]

This new help you mention...

[medicalpunch]

I certainly hope so.

[The new help -- yes. She's willing to let this bit of news out.]

Sasuke came back. And he brought some Edo Tensei resurrected with him. They're on our side, though. The previous Hokage, all four of them.

We've got a chance. A real chance, no matter how powerful the Juubi is...

[niceguypose]

Sasuke...? So what he said was true. And... You mean to say the Hokages have returned? [It's weird to think about. The edo tensei was such a disturbing move that it was hard to imagine it actually being used in their favor.] Sandaime-sama... and Naruto-kun's father even?

[medicalpunch]

That's right. What he said was true, and he brought us real help -- I don't know if it'll make a difference to everyone, once the war is over, but...

[But at least in her book, it's a pretty good way to make up for what he did in leaving.]

Yes, Naruto's father is with us now, at least for a little while. And the Nidaime and Shodaime, too.

[niceguypose]

That is... incredible! And unbelievable. Unbelievably incredible! To have such gods on our side... [And Sasuke, truly reformed?

It's still not an ideal situation, of course. It doesn't bring Neji back.]

[medicalpunch]

[That's right; it's not perfect. It won't replace all the people who've been lost. It won't repair the shattered hearts of those who are left. But it's still hope, it's still a fighting chance -- something they didn't have before.]

It's a godsend. They're... I can't even describe it fully. They're incredible.

[niceguypose]

I see. Victory may truly be within reach!

[medicalpunch]

That's right. We've got a fighting chance.

[But the fact that it's still a chance, even with these heavyweights on their side, is pretty frightening all on its own.]

[niceguypose]

[He lightly smiles at that. It may be enough to ease his worries about the war for now. But there still is another question.]

I am glad to hear that Sakura-san. However... What of your marking? [He glances towards her forehead.] That was not there the last time I recall seeing you... here or on the battlefield.

[medicalpunch]

This... [She touches the seal, and a brief smile crosses her face -- but it fades quickly. If only she'd been a little faster with it. She can't be proud of it in front of Lee, not when a few minutes earlier might have saved Neji.] It wasn't ready to be activated before.

[Technically, she could have activated it while she was in Luceti, but... it wouldn't have felt right to do that. An achievement like this needs to come at the right moment.]

[niceguypose]

[Perhaps even the power cap had an effect on it. Regardless, Lee doesn't make the potential connection. He's been working at distancing himself from associating Sakura with Neji's death, after all. Rather, he looks impressed.]

I see. I never guessed that you could have activated such a power... I apologize for underestimating you, Sakura-san. You truly are impressive!

[medicalpunch]

[She's actually rather looking forward to testing it against the power cap sometime. It'll be nice not to be reduced to a fraction of a fraction of her not-impressive chakra.]

That's really sweet of you, Lee. Thank you. [Every girl likes a little ego stroking now and then, and it's definitely a better reaction than Naruto's fear face.]

[niceguypose]

[He's glad to serve... and hoping that overwrites his initial reaction of checking to see if she was Tsunade.]

You are most welcome. I must say... It is like a beautiful diamond that fits perfectly on your forehead! [He says with a thumbs up and a shining smile.]

[medicalpunch]

[Flattery gets him everywhere, that's for sure. And she's willing to suppose that that checking bit was mostly miscalculation.]

Well, I'm glad you like it! It's definitely not going anywhere...

[niceguypose]

I see! I am sure that it will come in handy here, as well. [Maybe one day she'll truly be a little Tsunade calling shots around the village.]

[medicalpunch]

Here's hoping! It'll be nice to not be quite so limited here.

[That's pretty much the plan, yes. And she'll be Hokage while she's at it! Or something. Better than Sasuke getting it.]

[niceguypose]

This is true! Limits are made to be overcome, after all.

[medicalpunch]

And you've definitely been helping me overcome mine! Speaking of which, I'd love to pick up training together again. [Even with the seal, the strength training is a good thing for her, and by going home, she's lost what she previously built up.]

[niceguypose]

Of course! [He smiles at that.] Sakura-san, it would be my honor to continue to train alongside you! I hope that I can still be an adequate teacher.

[medicalpunch]

Oh, I think 'adequate' isn't nearly a good enough description! Lee, you're good at what you do! [And he's a good teacher, too; of all their peers, he's probably one of the best.]