J A D E

Chapter Nineteen

"Where is Sakura-chan?!" Crying blonde emerges in the hospital, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Scary Guy, what happened with Sakura-chan?" Naruto sobs into Ibiki's coat, his tears staining the material.

But Ibiki does not speak. He just pats the boy's head gently before hugging him tightly. As for him, Naruto is a link t Sakura. Anko is sitting next to Ibiki, she too, not speaking, her eyes frozen on one place with tears cascading down her face.

No one would have believed to see two legends of T&I cry. Especially Anko, a devil, everyone was scared of. Yet, here she was, her eyes puffy from crying, sniffing and sobbing her heart out, after hearing that her precious brat might never manage to wake up.

The hospital doors open once again, this time to reveal seven other children with tear stained faces. Sasuke rushes to his brother, hugging Itachi tightly, while crying in his collar. Ino runs to her father, tears streaming down her face. She is soon closely followed by others and they all circle Inoichi Yamanaka with teary eyes.

Shisui is sitting at the furthest corner. His eyes trained on his hands, caked in Sakura's blood. He remembers his angry tone, when small girl appeared in front of him. He remembers and regrets. He remembers the promise, Sakura made him make. And he regrets not making her make the same promise to him. He regrets not taking in seriously Sakura's promise of keeping them safe, forever.

"Stop beating yourself up, kid." Fugaku sits down next to Shisui. He just looks up, shrugs and looks back down at his hands. "It was not your fault." He adds.

"She came there to save me." Shisui laughs humorlessly and shakes his head. "She was afraid that something bad might happen to me." He adds in monotone, cold voice.

"She did defend you." Fugaku chuckles and looks at Shisui. "She will wake up." With these words, he stands up, slowly making his way towards his sons. He takes Sasuke away from Itachi's grip and hugs him. Sasuke, at first surprised, stops crying and hesitates to hug his father back, but a second later the hesitation disappears and he is crying once again, loudly.

"When do you think she will awake, Itachi-chan?" Shisui looks at his cousin with dull, emotionless orbs. Itachi winces, understanding what older Uchiha might be feeling. After all, Shisui and Sakura managed to have the same relationship as he and Sasuke had.

"She will wake up soon." Itachi tries his best to reassure his cousin, but he only ends up being awkward.

"I won't be surprised if she came out right now, awake." Anko appears in front of them, chuckling dully at her own comment. Her eyes are puffy, her face tear-stained. Her hair is a mess and she looks lost. "I... I taught her that genjutsu." She whispers and looks away at the horizon. "If she has not used it... She... Her condition would not be..." She trails off, not being able to finish her sentence. But Shisui nods, understanding what she means.

But more than Anko, he is blaming himself.

***

"Sakura-chan!" I look around, smiling at Ino. Her once flowing blonde hair is now dirty, harsh and covered in mud. She hugs me tightly and grins at me. "Are you okay?" She asks me concerned as soon as her eyes land on my stomach.

"Yeah." I whisper and look down. My hands trembling.

"What happened?" She asks me and looks directly in my eyes.

"I... I won't be able to have children." I whisper and gulp the raising bile in my throat. "I... I have long given up on the idea of having a family." I admit through tears. "I have given up hopes of him falling in love with me and settling down with me." I admit with cracked voice. "But... Now, I do realize that some...part of me still wished it to happen." I admit and let myself sob loudly. Ino hugs me tightly, letting me cry on her shoulder. "The injury... It wounded my ovaries." I whisper and sigh. "And now... I truly know that he will never return the feelings... And I will never have a family to go home to." I whisper and close my eyes, letting my tears slide down my face.