Between Life and Living
Chapter Four: Rebirth: Part II
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Shortly after leaving the hospital and having some lunch at Ichiraku Ramen, Kakashi Hatake was called to the Hokage's tower, via request of the woman herself. With the hope of possibly learning more about Sakura's condition, he set off down the street, waving nonchalantly to the occasional shinobi that greeted him on his short travel.
Once he had reached said tower, Kakashi strolled passed the guard ninja who gave him the okay to go inside. In through the door and up the stairs, he stood at the end of the winding hall, only to be greeted by an unusually jittery Shizune.
"K-Kakashi!" the dark-haired woman sputtered, fumbling with a book in her hand. Kakashi politely regarded her, giving her his usual eye crease.
"Hello, Shizune. I'm here to see Lady Tsunade—"
Shizune's eyes nearly popped out of her head at the mention of her best friend's name, "R-right! Well, she's right inside. I have an errand to run, so I'll see you around. Oh, and Kakashi…" she firmly caught his arm before he could open the door standing before them. Kakashi tilted his head curiously, sensing the worry in the poisons mistress' demeanor.
"Yes…?"
Shizune surveyed the hall with shifty eyes before turning her attention back to Kakashi. "Please…try not to say anything that will upset her. Things are…difficult for her right now."
The copy nin nodded, but frowned inwardly at the woman. What, as if they weren't just as difficult for him? He, besides one other, had been the only person that had witnessed the pin-haired kunoichi in all of her insanity, slaughtering her own appendage with crazy eyes as if she were a child ripping open a package on Christmas morning; gruesome picture that would undoubtedly stay with him for a very long time.
"I understand," Kakashi replied, despite his thoughts. Shizune gave a meek, appreciative smile before releasing the man's arm and disappearing down the hall. He watched her until she had rounded the corner, before turning back to the door. Without having entered inside the room, Kakashi could already feel the Hokage's chakra emanating fiercely through the other side. Try as he might, he could not suppress a slight gulp as he laid a hand on the metal knob and pushed open the door.
Aside from the soft light of dawn's slow approach filtering through the rectangular blinds from the windows, the Hokage's office was completely dark. The copy nin sauntered in to the center of the room, until he stood in front of the desk. The woman sitting behind it with her elbows propped, fingers threaded beneath her chin surveyed her requested visitor with glinting, amber eyes. Kakashi gazed back at her evenly, hoping that any apprehension within him did not reflect on him outwardly.
"Kakashi," she spoke finally. The nin remained still, waiting for her to continue. "About…Sakura. As I'm sure you've noticed, she's undergone some changes…"
Changes the shinobi mentally emphasized the word. Well, that was
one way of putting it. "So I have," Kakashi replied, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. His hand itched for the hold of his coveted Icha Icha novel, as it was his crutch of sorts for rather uncomforting situations. However, he refused to allow himself the escape. This was an important matter, and every detail, large or small, needed to be heard.
Tsunade closed her eyes for a moment as if she needed to do so in order to properly construct her next sentence. "Sakura's wound was near-fatal. Shizune and I worked four hours straight without rest, pouring every ounce of chakra we had into the injury in order to heal her back to a physically stable condition. Our work was not fruitless, and she has successfully survived the surgery. However…"
The silver-haired man quirked an eyebrow at the woman's words.
"...You're saying that the seal you've placed on Sakura isn't what saved her life, then?"
Tsunade opened her eyes and nodded once. "That is part of what I'm saying. The reason I have casted such a jutsu is both complicated and simple…" her fingers became unthreaded and her hands dropped onto her desk. "I cannot afford to lose Sakura, as neither a highly skilled medical kunoichi, nor my own surrogate daughter of sorts. For the past six years, I have taught that girl nearly every jutsu I know, and she has mastered them all without flaw. The Yin seal is the very last thing I have left to give her, as a reward for all of her accomplishments through my tutelage," she paused and pointed to the diamond adorning her own forehead. "You should understand how capable Sakura is of controlling chakra. That is one of the reasons why I accepted her as my own student in the first place,"
Kakashi nodded. Out of the three shinobi in team seven, Sakura had earlier proved that her chakra control was superior to her team mates. Despite his regretful failure in having been able to teach the kunoichi much of anything useful himself, the man had been almost relieved when the Godaime had taken her under her wing. The way Kakashi saw things, it'd been the best thing ever to happen to Sakura, as both a kunoichi and a young girl. Tsunade had been through her own tough times, and he was positive that this was the other reason the blonde was talking about.
"The Yin seal is a vessel for chakra. If an amount of chakra is stored inside for a long period of time, it will stay there until the user releases it. Inside of Sakura's own seal, I've placed an amount of my own. It's very pure and highly concentrated. The fact alone that its foreign chakra and its flowing through her Gate of Healing should be reason enough in regards to the changes in Sakura's body. These changes will subside gradually and reshape her differently as they are probably at their peak right now, but once they reach their destined form, she will permenantly remain as so. When Sakura releases the seal, she will be able to use the chakra in the way that she desires…which brings me to my reasoning, Kakashi…"
A long silence passed between them, until Kakashi looked away. He recalled to his mind all of the ways Sakura was
able to use her chakra; enhanced strength…and medical ninjutsu.
"You mean…"
Tsunade sighed and dropped her head into her hands. "Kakashi…you know just as well as I, how Sakura has been dealing with the loss of her team mates these past few years. Using medical jutsu to save a life is not always dependable, but I feel that by giving Sakura my last resort then it will also provide her with a new hope,"
The copy nin shook his head in disbelief. "Do you honestly believe that it's not too late to salvage any faith she has left in herself with a jutsu like that? What has it done for you in the past?"
The room once again fell silent as the Hokage's mouth fell open without sound with Kakashi immediately realizing he had said something very out of line. A shadow shifted with interest in the dark corner of the room, but no one seemed to notice.
"I'm…I'm sorry," the last Sharingan wielder apologized solemnly. To his surprise, the blonde gave a soft chuckle and leaned forward at her desk.
"But you're right, Hatake…" she said in a quiet voice. Her amber orbs seemed to become unfocused as if an unknown memory of her past was playing behind them. "That's why I can only hope. Maybe I am doing a cruel thing for Sakura, and this will only result in another disappointment," Kakashi tensed at her words. A sort of sparkle coming to her eye simmered his discomfort. "But we don't know if it's a win or lose until we take a gamble, huh?"
"A gamble…" the nin mused. "But don't you always lose?"
A smile curled up on the Sannin's lips as she rose from her chair and strolled over to the window. The light of dawn broke through the cracks in the blinds as she pulled them back to look upon the village. "When it's a gamble of a lifetime…I never lose".
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