heritage

Chapter Eleven: Fear

 Dear Naruto,

Don't ever believe you're alone. You're an Uzumaki. My cousin. My brother in all but blood. Sasuke too. His mom was best friends with Kushina, you know that? I love you.

—Sakura

—

"Don't you know? Fear is the greatest killer of them all."

          Waking up in the hospital again really wasn't on Sakura's bucket list. Yet here she is. At least this time, she isn't waking up in any pain. She is, however, alone. It's a small comfort to know that for sure this time.

The initial shattering of her sensory net had happened on that fateful day, months ago. A loss Sakura had not been able to fully recognise until she had woken up at the first time. One loss of many, really. Luckily, Sakura had been unconscious for most of the lingering pain that followed. Being in a coma for two months did that to a person.

Her sensory net, which had been greatly damaged, has finally healed around the edges. Thanks to the help of her mokuton. The ability soothed the torn and frayed ropes, intertwining with them like second nature; something like an instinctual compulsion. In doing so, it has changed how her sensing works.

Poking her chakra at different points, Sakura blinks at what she can only call vibrations pinging down the 'ropes.' Like a spider's web, the twinge continues down, her mokuton pinging the wave off of the different plants around the hospital. Sakura can practically see different chakra signatures light up; illuminated by this odd version of echo location her mokuton had developed.

Her eyes widen at the implication. There is no telling how large her net could get. With her mokuton acting as a bridge, Sakura could sense more than just all of Konoha. And that scares her a little.

The drawback seems to appear as soon as she thinks that, the sensory overload reverberating back under her skin and through her bones, shocking Sakura so hard her teeth hurt. She winces, immediately leaving her chakra alone so that it flows normally. Her mokuton seems to settle at that, returning her awareness to the edges of the room.

The room, now that she is actually looking at it, is nice. The walls are a pale blue, different to the usual sterile white Sakura is used to when being in the hospital. It's smaller than her last one. It looks to have enough space for maybe one or two of her team, as well as any attending nurses or doctors should they come in. There's a window on the wall to her right, sunlight barely peaking in.

"Haruno-san?" A voice calls from the door, breaking the silence. "Are you alright?" Sakura turns her head away from the window, her eyes flickering to the nurse who had appeared. They were young, perhaps some four or five years older than Sakura herself, with generic brown hair and black eyes. They wore nondescript scrubs, the colour a common blue and any nametag they may have had obscured by the clipboard held close to their chest.

Sakura's eyes narrow, her canine teeth sharp and a growl in her throat.

"You better step back from that doorway before you find a kunai in your throat," Sakura warns, chakra sparking at the ends of her hair. She can feel it lift away from her face and neck, the strands puffing up. The nurse appears to be afraid, their frame now shaking where they stand. They do not, however, move, Not to take a step back nor to intrude further. Admirable. Foolish.

"Haruno-san, I was merely sent to check on you—" They insist, trying to convince her to let them in.

"I do not care," Sakura interrupts them, voice cool like the blade of a knife. "I do not care why you are here. Nor do I care who sent you," Sakura adds when it looks like they are about to say something before she finishes. "I am a shinobi first, patient second. And you clearly are not meant to be here, as recovering shinobi are not safe—" She cuts herself off, sitting up as the realisation hits her.