The Kekkei Genkai Curse

By Shiroihato

(Chapter 1: Crimson Petals)

Sakura ran her fingers gently over the soft cloth of Hinata’s window seat, and pressed her fore head to the cold pane, watching the snow that was falling just outside the window. Unconsciously, she hummed a bit of a sad tune, and shivered, even in her thick red sweater.  A strange sound escaped her throat. It sounded like a cross between a sigh and a suppressed cough.

“Sakura-chan?” her best friend, the Hyuga heiress asked softly, “are you okay?”

“Hmm, Hina-chan? I’m sorry, did you say something?” Emerald eyes met pearly white ones.

“Sakura-chan,” Hinata suggested gently, “if you’re cold, maybe you should come away from the window.”  

Sakura just pressed her skin against the glass again.

“I’m fine, Hina-chan… well maybe I’m a little tired, but that’s all,” the Haruno girl smiled, and the Hyuga heiress felt a bit of relief start to spread through her body. She had thought for a moment there…

“So…” Hinata put the borrowed medical scroll down on the desk, “D-do y-you think Tsunade-sama would mind if you stayed here for the night? I mean, it’s really cold out, at its snowing pretty hard out…”

Sakura’s smiled brightened a bit.

“I don’t think she’d mind. That is, if I’ve really got an invitation to stay.”

“Sure!”

Hinata slipped out of the room quietly to go inform her father.

As soon as the door had closed, Sakura let out a small, raspy cough.  Without thinking she wiped her mouth with the inside of her sleeve. Small petals dotted the soft fabric, their color only slightly darker than the wool.

--------

Hinata spread out two futons (the Japanese ones, you know those things that look like over-sized sleeping bags with built in mattresses *cough* well, they do to me, at least) on the tatami floor. There was her own- a pale baby blue with the Hyuuga symbol subtlety woven in a soft silver. Next to it, she put down Sakura’s- pure white with silver branches and pale pink cherry blossoms.

“It’s so cold out,” Hinata said, “Do you think I should get some extra blankets? Sakura –chan?”

Still sitting on the window seat, Sakura held two movies in her hand. She stared at them, but in an out of focus sort of way. She was humming that strange tune again.

“Watashi soko hana desu…”

Her singing stopped abruptly, changing into another harsh cough. Small red streams trickled past her lips, even as she tried to blot them.

“Sakura-chan!”  Hinata dropped the pillow she was holding and raced over to her best friend. She helped the Haruno girl brace herself as another attack came, shaking her whole body.

Finally, it passed, and Hinata handed her guest a Kleenex. Sakura wiped at her mouth weakly.

“It’s getting worse again, isn’t it?  Why didn’t you tell me?”

The bluish-black haired kunoichi felt tears well up in her eyes, as she watched the other gasp softly, trying to catch her breath. Hurriedly, she took a key around her neck and unlocked the bottom desk drawer, handing Sakura a pill bottle.

Sakura swallowed three of the small green capsules, and instantly, she started breathing easier.

“Saku-chan, when are you going to tell some one?! There has to be something Tsunade-sama can do!”

Softly, the Godaime’s apprentice shook her head, though she admired her friend’s new found boldness.

“I can’t tell any one yet; it’s too soon. There’s nothing anyone can do, so why make them worry. Hina, I told you what the Haruno kekkei genkai does to our bodies. I’m lucky to be alive at all…and you now, all the things that happened on that last mission didn’t help much.”

Tears broke over both girls eyes.

“A-at least-t tell Tenten-n and I-Ino. They need to k-know. Temari, too, if-f w-we can find some way to d-do it other than a letter.” 

“…Alright.”  Seeing Hinata sob made Sakura feel terribly guilty, but there wasn’t anything anyone could do. It was for that reason that Sakura had been reluctant to tell the other girl anything. But, as it became clear she would have to rely on some one else o help her with this new…handicap, she had known who the best medic Nin to trust was.

  *Flashback*

Sakura grimaced again, remembering why this technique was supposed to be used only if she was already going to die. ‘Suicidal’ had been her mother’s word for it, and the pink haired kunoichi had to agree. Her energy drained steadily at an alarming rate, and her body screamed in pain, her muscles aching to somehow release the intensity of the elements and let it depart from her. Sakura pushed all this away, and continued to attack, the blades of her weapons freezing and burning like ice and fire at the same time.       

“Few of us inherit the kekkei genkai. For those of us who do, it’s a curse, not a blessing. The only people, who have lived through a battle after using that jutsu, were the first three clan founders, Haruhiyuu, her sister, Hanako, and Haruhiyuu’s son Komori. Komori barely made it out of the fight; he died only a few hours later. Hanako lasted longer. She suffered internal bleeding and horrible pain and sickness that I’m not even going into. She made it a year, exactly. Haruhiyuu, obviously, lived to remarry, and have other children. But, she was in great suffering her entire life. Even on her good days, the hurting never really left. Some might say they were the lucky ones; I’m not sure if I agree or disagree. But ever since then, every Haruno to ever activate our bloodline has died in the process, within a matter of minutes.”

    Even as she remembered her mother’s words she felt the effects catching up with her. Still, she continued fighting until she was almost out of chakra and was forced to collapse to the ground, panting and bleeding. Still, more and more enemies came.

Clutching her side, Sakura gasped, struggling to remain in control, as another team worked together to try to destroy her. Frantically, she tried to keep her grasp on the jutsu, but she could feel it sliding from her grip. “NO!” she thought, sinking farther in her desperation. Despite how she clung to her last bit of chakra, it was running like water through her hands…and…she lost it.

Her perplexed but overjoyed opponents watched grinning as Sakura screamed in pain, as if pierced by a thousand blades

.

Sakura for her part felt as if she was being consumed by an inferno of flame, the brutal force of the gale, the crushing weight of a rockslide and the bitter cold of a blizzard. She screamed louder as the feeling grew stronger. Tears broke forth as she shielded her face and her opponent’s kunai pierced her arms. Her strength gave out and she fell to the ground, lying there listlessly, eyes glazed over, as the mist, ninja mocked and kicked her

*end flash back*

“S-Saku-chan…” Hinata looked away.

“Could I have a pain killer? It hurts just a little.”

 Hinata looked away as she handed Sakura another bottle. The mere fact Sakura had admitted any pain scared her, because that meant she was in a lot of it.

It frightened her even more to face the cold hard truth: Her best friend as dying a slow and agonizing death.

----------

“Could I talk to you two, Ino-chan, Tenten-chan?”

The two girls looked up from giggling, and scooted over to let their friend sit down on the park bench. She looked tired and worn, and not at all happy about whatever it was she was going to say.

“Sure, bill board brow, shoot.” Ino looked over the girl worriedly, “You seem really pale…and thin…is every thing all right?”

Tenten examined Sakura worriedly.

“What did we miss while we were on that mission? Hina-chan’s been making sure you eat, like she told she would, right?”

“Hey, guys!” yelled Temari running up the path, and brushing snow away from her face. She slowed down, trudged up to them, and sat down next to Ino, pulling her thick winter coat closer.

“I just got done with my mission about three days early! How great is that? Gaara’s not expecting me back in Suna for another five days at least!”

“…WOW, that’s great. That means you can hang out with us for three days right?” Tenten asked excitedly.

“Yeah” Temari smiled, “So, what were you guys talking about before I got here?”

 “We were just making sure Sakura wasn’t feeling too depressed”

Instantly regretting the sound of her words, Ino quickly added, “…Not that she doesn’t have any reason to be, I mean after… well, yeah…”

Temari took in the medic Nin’s thinness, pale skin, and tired-looking eyes. 

“…Hey, are you sick, Sakura-chan?  Or is it something minor and you’re feeling too lazy too heal it?”

A small choked sound escaped Sakura’s lips.

“I-I’m…If I could heal myself, I would…”

All the kunoichi instantly went into high alert mode.

“Whats-wrong-should-we-bring-you-to-Tsunade?-You’re-not-contagious-are-you? Should-you-be-resting-or-something?” Ino asked all in one breath.

 Sakura slowly shook her head ‘no’ to each question.

“I…” her voice broke of in a raspy cough.

Within seconds, she was having another attack.

Bracing herself the best she could, she swallowed down another one of her pills, while the other girls pressed in close, trying to help her.

Temari pried Sakura’s hand away from her mouth. Shocked at what she saw, she stared for a minute, and then whispered, “Oh my -“

Tenten’s gasp cut her off.

“Whatever you two are gasping at cut it out! Our friend is having some kind of attack he- “

the blonde stopped as she saw the quickly growing blood spots splattered all up and down Sakura’s delicate, gloved wrist and fingers.

Immediately putting her arm behind her friend’s back to support her, Ino started to take control,

“Tenten, go get help, ASAP!!! Temari, get me some type of cloth, and pull out any medicine you’ve got!!!”

Ino tried to remember what she was supposed to do in a situation like this, but she could barely hear herself think over her patient’s coughs. It didn’t help that the patient was one of her best friends.

Sakura passed out.

---------

Tsunade anxiously poured her chakra into her student’s limp form with growing hopelessness as she realized what her student was suffering from.

“It can’t be…the Harunos don’t have a kekkei genkai…its not anywhere in the records…” she thought “but the symptoms all add up: her weight loss that I cornered her about yesterday, the signs of prolonged fatigue, severe chakra depletion at certain moments, but not others, her cells all multiplying too early and frequently, the chakra stress around the heart, and high white cell count…” 

After several fretful minutes (all of which seemed like hours) Sakura lay peacefully on the bed, blinking up at Tsunade.

Although the blonde wanted to scream at her almost-daughter, and demand what was going on, she didn’t.

“T-Tsunade-se-sensei?”

“Shhh, Sakura-chan” the sannin’s eyes were sad, “why didn’t you tell me? A kekkei genkai? Sakura…the state your in…you should have already been in the hospital, and you know it. Why didn’t you come to me?” 

“I-I didn’t want you to worry,” Sakura said meekly, not having the strength to argue.

“Sakura!” Tsunade’s eyes grew hard, though on the inside she was trembling like a newborn kitten, “the fact that you’re…”

“Dying?” offered the younger kunoichi, a sad, wry smile on her face.

“…In this condition,” the blonde woman continued as if nothing had happened, “is something to worry about!!!”

Sakura just blinked at her again, and then asked, “How much do you know?”

“Not much, only what I’ve deduced from your symptoms.”

“Hina-chan knows everything…” Sakura leaned back weakly into her pillow, her breath now coming in short pants “but please… don’t be angry at her…I asked her not to say anything… she was just keeping her promise to me…”

“No,” Tsunade thought, panic stricken, “I can’t…no, not like Nawaki and Dan…”

“Alright,” she agreed, trying to keep her voice soft and soothing without trembling. She sat there for a minute, just watching the medic turned patient. She didn’t move until Sakura was soundly asleep. Then, she tucked the girl in gently, the way a mother would, and walked out.

Shizune looked up at the sound of her footsteps.

“So…” she began, but the hokage cut her off.

“Shizune,” the Godaime ordered, “keep Sakura here, in my personal apartment until she’s strong enough to be moved, and then get her to the hospital right away. I want her on a heart monitor, morphine drip, or some other pain killer, and a ventilator, pronto. If she has another attack, give her one of the pills in her pocket, and contact me immediately! I’ll fill out the details on her condition myself after I talk to the other girls. But if you notice anything abnormal, anything at all, you write it down. It could save her life. Am I making myself clear?”

Y-yes” said Shizune, a little overwhelmed. What could possibly be so wrong with her “little sister” that it caused Tsunade to act so maternal and angry and frightened and demanding all at the same time?

Tsunade ignored her older apprentice’s looks, marching down the hall, and slamming open the door to the spare council room where the other kunoichi were waiting.

Ino managed to stutter, “I-is she-e…?”

“She’s resting in my room until it’s safe to move her to the hospital. I’m having her put on life support, at once. She’s drained and barely talking, but that’s beyond what I was expecting, so count your blessings,” she turned her livid amber eyes to Hinata, who had met the others outside the hokage guard tower as they tried to find Tsunade.

“She said you’d explain, Hinata, and quite frankly, she’s in no shape for an interrogation, so I hope you can.”

All eyes were on the Hyuuga girl.

Shaking, Hinata explained the situation: that Sakura had used the clan kekkei genkai, and was now dying from it.

Ino started stammering senselessly, while Tenten sat there frozen like an ice statue. Temari did something almost unheard of for her: she burst into tears.

Tsunade looked away, struggling to maintain composure. When she finally did speak, her voice came out rough, and choked.

“I-I see. You all should leave now, so I can treat her. I don’t want to see you within five yards of the tower or the hospital until tomorrow morning, got it? And if this gets out, I know who to hang.”

“B-but, G-Godaime-sama…” protested Tenten.   

“I said go!” the older woman screamed, and the teenagers turned heel and ran.

As soon as she was unable to sense their chakra, the sannin let her defenses slip.

“Sakura…” she murmured, “please, not Sakura, too…”

Soft sobs echoed through the otherwise empty air. Jaraiya, still partially stunned at all he had witnessed, slipped away from the window he had been peeping through and hurried off unnoticed.

_________________________________________________________

Reviews/comments are really appreciated at Fanwork Feedback  It only takes a minute ^_^!