Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Breakaway ❯ Unusual Changes ( Chapter 5 )

Breakaway

 

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Disclaimer: Look at the first chapter.

 

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Chapter 4: Unusual Changes

 

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“Changes” by 3 Doors Down

I'm not supposed to be scared of anything,
But I don't know where I am
I wish that I could move but I'm exhausted
And nobody understands (how I feel)

I'm tryin' hard to breathe now,
But there's no air in my lungs.
There's no one here to talk to
And the pain inside is making me numb.

I try to hold this under control,
They can't help me, cause no one knows.

Now I'm goin' through changes, changes.
God, I feel so frustrated lately.
When I get suffocated, save me.
Now I'm goin' through changes, changes

Feelin' weak and weary
Walkin' through this world alone
Everything they say every word of it
Cuts me to the bone, (and I bleed)

I've got something to say
But now I've got nowhere to turn
It feels like I've been buried
Underneath all the weight of the world.

I try to hold this under control,
They can't help me, cause no one knows.
Now I'm goin through changes, changes
God, I feel so frustrated lately

When I get suffocated, save me.
Now I'm goin' through changes, changes

I'm blind and shakin', bound and breakin'
I hope I'll make it, through all these changes.

Now I'm going through changes, changes
God I feel so frustrated, lately
When I get suffocated, save me.
Now I'm falling apart, now I feel it.

But I'm going through changes, changes.
God I feel so frustrated, lately.
And I get suffocated, I hate this.
But I'm going through changes, changes.

 

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Gaara knew he was acting most abnormal. Temari didn't need to keep harassing him about it. At least he was still doing all of his damn paperwork. He didn't understand why the blonde insisting of bugging him if he was doing what she normally pestered him about.

 

Gaara didn't think it was that abnormal that he hadn't left Sakura's side since he brought her to their hospital. But by the odd looks he was receiving from the staff, he was starting to change his mind. Of course, he could give them his patented `glare of death' and they would leave him be.

 

Could he be a good Kazekage by using fear to keep his people in line? He thought so but Temari, one of the few people that could make Gaara uneasy, didn't think so. So he just treated the populace with indifference.

 

Terrorizing the idiots would be so much more satisfying than enduring their looks. He'd been stared and glared at enough in his lifetime. He didn't particularly want it continue.

 

People were cruel. It wasn't his choice that he was born this way, but everyone still seemed to blame him. People were cruel. They broke the spirit and will of the female laying before him, and from what he could see, there was absolutely nothing wrong with her for them to have done so.

 

The Kazekage sighed and ran a hand through his unruly red hair. A cut was in order soon.

 

His musings were broke as the pink haired girl before him began to scream in what looked to be the most complete pain. Every muscle in her body contracted at once, arching her back off of the sterile white sheets, stiffening her limbs.

 

To his well hidden surprise and now horror, he saw those very same muscles beginning to shift around. Especially the muscles around her shoulders, going around to her back.

 

He could only sit there and feign not caring as nurses rushed in shouting for one of the medic nins to come and take care of the crisis. Was this some sort of new and sick ninjutsu or genjutsu?

 

The girl had stopped her screaming, but her teeth were clenched together so tight, he was almost sure they would shatter from the pressure. Her small, delicate hands were clenching the sheet beneath her with desperation.

 

Kukuku…pain…it suits her…suits our happiness…kill her. Put her out of her misery.

 

Gaara snarled in his mind as the Shukaku made his presence known. And it had been behaving itself lately too.

 

He could feel it watching Sakura with glee as the girl writhed in bone deep pain. The muscles were shifting ever so slowly, as if the pain were deliberate.

 

The chief medic nin had arrived a few seconds ago and started his assessment on the Haruno. He just looked baffled now, shaking his head to show that he didn't know what was going on with the girl.

 

The medic turned and looked at Gaara.

 

“Kazekage-sama. Might you know what is wrong?”

 

Gaara didn't respond at first. He just sat and stared with disturbing intensity at the body that was twisting and warping in ways that bodies were not supposed to. He was beating the Shukaku back into submission, quenching the bloodlust that was quickly rising.

 

He finally turned his eerie jade eyes to the doctor.

 

“If I knew, would you think that I would have told you before now? I've never seen anything like this before, so you know as much as I do. And would you at least give the girl a pain killer?! Are you sadistic or something you good for nothing medic?!”

 

The medic leapt away in surprise and fear, quickly leaving the room to go and retrieve some medicine.

 

The remaining nurses continued to stare at Sakura in poorly disguised fear, curiosity, and fear. Gaara's hackles rose at their blatant looks.

 

He audibly snarled at the women, baring his teeth. “Quit gawking and do your damn jobs before something happens that you might regret.”

 

The nurses quickly dispersed out of the room, wanting nothing to do with their homicidal leader and his unpredictable behavior. That did not however, prevent then from wondering and whispering about possible reasons that kept the bijuu next to the pink haired stranger and how he knew her.

 

The Kazekage had no friends, just siblings. Was she related to him?

 

There was no way in hell she was a lover. Who besides family could love a monster?

 

Gaara watched as the doctor returned to the room with a filled needle. He looked worriedly at his Kazekage, then at his silently screaming charge.

 

“Kazekage-sama, I must warn you about what I am about to give the girl. You seem to have taken the role of her guardian due to her incapacity to give answer.”

 

Gaara shot the medic a look telling him to quit wasting time and to get to the point.

 

“This drug will relax her muscles a little bit as they shift around and it will relieve her pain completely. It would be possible to set her aflame and she wouldn't be able to tell. The problem is that there is a chance that the drug can kill her nervous system, leaving her paralyzed. A very high chance. It also causes the user to become addicted after the first use. We can lower the chances of her paralysis, but we would require your help and patience. You have the largest chakra store in Suna, and exquisite control-“

 

Gaara fumed. The man was practically groveling at his feet, showering his Kazekage with compliments to get into favor.

 

“Dammit! Just get to your point before I stab you with that needle!”

 

The doctor paled considerably and looked terrified, but nodded his head.

 

“We need you to learn a special jutsu that was made especially for this medicine. It will regularly pull the drug from the pain receptors before they become stuck permanently. The user needs perfect control so as to manipulate the extremely small compounds. The chakra store is needed for how long she will be using this drug and large amount we will be placing in her. We only typically use this on one limb, but this is for her entire body. Please Kazekage, we need you to this. You are ideal to help her right now.”

 

Gaara just nodded, having calmed himself down, but not before splintering the arm of the raggedy chair he was sitting in.

 

“What are the seals and how do I manipulate the chakra?”

 

The doctor nodded gravely and proceeded to teach his Kazekage medical jutsu.

 

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The white place…it hurt so much…and her body. What was happening to her body?!

 

She could feel her muscles twisting and reforming in the area of her back, concentrating around her shoulder blades.

 

Then there was Inner Sakura. She wasn't helping her case at all.

 

`Hurts a bitch don't it? That's what you get for ignoring me all these years! Pushing me back, trying to extinguish me. What were you thinking? You need me as much as I need you, which is more that I care to admit.'

 

Sakura growled at her second personality.

 

“I ignored you because if I didn't I would have killed you more wore quickly. I do want you around as much as I hate your guts. You represent everything that I am not.”

 

Inner Sakura fumed at her host, reaching out and slapping Sakura across her face.

 

`I am you! You just refuse to accept me as a part of you, so I am forced to be an alternate personality. I hold secrets and powers that would astound everyone around you! You just need to assimilate me! Accept me, quit pushing me away. It kills me to watch you do this to yourself. Please! Just for once, embrace me!'

 

Inner Sakura was now crying softly, her arms held out in front of her, actually wanting the hug.

 

Sakura turned away from the proffered embrace, coldness and numbness suddenly surrounding her, entering her.

 

“No. I cannot embrace you. You are not me. You are just a figment of my imagination and the product of crushed dreams. You are a reminder of why I am the way I am. I'm going now.”

 

Inner Sakura dropped to the ground of the dreamscape, tears pouring down her cheeks in anguish. Her body slumped and shook with sobs, her hands clenched against the ground.

 

`Please…don't do this to us…don't do this to yourself…you are so much more than you realize, than you care to admit. Just accept me.'

 

As Sakura began to drift from her mind to reality, a flash of light caused her to look back at her inner companion, and shock filled her.

 

It couldn't be…

 

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When she opened her eyes, she was greeted with white again, only this white was not as complete. It was a ceiling.

 

She blinked her eyes a couple of times trying to remember what had happened that had landed her in a white room.

 

The last thing she remembered was a pair of jade eyes.

 

Ah, she must have passed out. The owner of those eyes must have brought her here. She turned her head to the side to get a better look at her surrounding.

 

The first thing she saw was the owner of those jade eyes, sitting cross legged in a chair, his eyes closed and hands held in front of his face in a seal.

 

She opened her mouth to say something when a voice spoke out from behind the young man.

 

“I wouldn't interrupt him. He's the reason you're mobile right now.”

 

A tall young man stepped in from the doorway, smiling happily down at her.

 

Sakura just stared blankly at him.

 

“What is wrong with me that would require Gaara-san to take care of me?”

 

The medic nin immediately became uncomfortable. No one said the Kazekage's name, especially without a -sama attached. The only people who didn't were his family Temari and Kankuro. And here was this strange pink-haired girl who was referring to him as such.

 

“It's Kazekage-sama. And he's repeatedly pulling an anesthetic from your pain receptors before they become permanently blocked and you lose the ability to move. It takes intense concentration, so interrupting him would not be in your best interest at this time until the medication is completely removed from your system.”

 

Sakura noticed that he had completely avoided answering her question. Her sea-green eyes pinned him.

 

“Answer my question. What is wrong with me?”

 

The doctor looked down at her, a look of being lost crossing his face.

 

“The problem is that I don't know. Not even two hours ago your body started to tense up, every muscle stiffening. Then certain muscles started to shift about in your back, rearranging your musculature. It oddly resembles that of a bird's. We can't tell why though. No such thing has happened before.”

 

Sakura looked disbelieving.

 

“A bird's? How would you know this?”

 

The medic sighed to himself, a light blush covering his cheeks.

 

“I dabble in veterinary medicine also, and I am fascinated with the way avians are built. They are unique to most animals here on the planet, with hollow bones and specially designed muscles. In fact, to be honest, your new musculature mimics that of a swan's.”

 

Sakura's eyebrow arched in response to his answer, indifferent disbelief still apparent on her features.

 

“So have my bones hollowed too? Am I going to be eating bird seed anytime soon, or have I not mutated enough for that?”

 

The medic nin was now flushed with anger. How dare she mock him! He was telling the truth! He snorted, but turned to answer her ridiculous question.

 

“Your bones did become less dense, but I don't believe that they will hollow out. However, with your sarcastic and cynical questions, you will not be on a diet of avian food. Your body still requires the nourishment that a normal human's does. Now, is there anything that you require such as food or water? The medicine should be gone from your system in an hour or so.”

 

Sakura just looked at him without saying a world. He was irritating and she had no desire to exchange words with the ridiculous man. A changing musculature. Feh.

 

After a seconds of no response, the doctor snarled quietly to himself and stalked out of the room, muttering about pig-headed patients.

 

Smirking to herself, Sakura brought up a hand to tuck some of her pink hair behind an ear. She finally took notice that her entire body was swathed in bandages from head to toe. She then remembered all of the sunburns that she had had, plus all of the scrapes and cuts.

 

She marveled at the fact that she could not feel the pain from them, not even a throbbing sensation. She started to poke her arms, fully expecting blazing pain but none ever came.

 

She started when a smooth voice came from her side.

 

“I wouldn't do that. You're actually hurt very badly and moving about will only make it worse for you in the end.”

 

She looked over to the red head at her side. He had not moved at all except to speak.

 

“So why don't I feel it? Why don't feel much of anything?”

 

She didn't receive an answer at first, but he eventually responded.

 

“You are drugged up to not feel anything. The only reason you have enough motor control to move right now is because I am periodically unblocking your pain receptors and basically all of your nerves. When the medication wears off, you will be a very unhappy person, I assure you.”

 

Sakura scowled.

 

“I'm already unhappy. I'm unanything. Why didn't you leave me?”

 

Again, she had to wait a few minutes for a response. She was patient though. She knew he was concentrating very hard.

 

“As Kazekage, I am obligated to shelter civilians in trouble, especially if they are passed out into the desert. Believe me, I wanted to leave you there. But Temari wouldn't have shut up if she had ever found out. It is much less troublesome to save you than how troublesome it would have been to deal with my sister's consistent howling and nagging. Now shut up and stop talking or I might accidentally `lose my concentration.'”

 

Sakura felt that she should have been angry at that moment, but once again she simply let it slide. She laid back down quietly and closed her eyes, but never fell asleep.

 

Soon enough, she began to feel it. The prickle of nerves coming back to life, then the raging fire that consumed her body from overtaxed and new muscles, and from her sun-blistered body.

 

It took everything she had to keep herself from screaming bloody murder.

 

She wanted that damn pain killer back. She didn't want the reminder that she was weak and could feel the pain still.

 

Naruto wouldn't have flinched at what she was feeling, and here she was whimpering like some fool, a baby with colic.

 

She snarled to cover her pain and glowered at her companion for the past few hours. Her fists were twisted up in the sheets and her knuckles were whites. Her body quivered from the pain that was engulfing her small form.

 

“Get. Me. That. Painkiller.”

 

The jade eyes finally opened and gave her an unreadable look that only added fuel to her irritation.

 

“No. You're addicted to it. Now you must be broken of it. You'll survive the pain. If you made it this far from Konoha with what you had on you plus your injuries, you'll be fine. Where is your forehead protector anyways kunoichi?”

 

Sakura didn't say anything, but tensed up almost unconsciously.

 

She shouldn't have been surprised. After all, it's not like the Kazekage of Suna would keep tabs on a nobody like her. How should he know that she was no longer a ninja? That she had fled her old village clinging to a desperate hope that he could still identify with her, that he would be able to see her.

 

She was wrong. She knew that as she slowly crept her dead eyes to lock with his now lively ones. One's that didn't suffer anymore. It wasn't fair…

 

“Answer woman. If you are missing nin, I am obligated to return you so that judgment can be passed on your betrayal.”

 

Sakura sneered at him visibly. She didn't need his crap. She didn't need anymore crap period. She needed to leave.

 

But her pain kept her from moving. Everything was on fire, she wouldn't get more than a couple of steps before she passed out.

 

“I am a civilian now. So you needn't worry about wasting your precious time on me. Go away asshole, and stop pitying me.”

 

And she did the worst thing possible to do to a homicidal bijuu. She insulted him and was ungrateful.

 

Gaara was barely restraining his fury at her impudence and wanted nothing more than to kill her. And he could now. She had no village ties and was a wanderer. She was free game.

 

But those eyes…he knew what those eyes meant…

 

It meant that if he moved to strike her down, she would lift a finger to stop him, and wouldn't flinch in fear.

 

And those eyes did something that no person besides the ugly Kage's daughter did, and that was scare him.

 

He'd felt before what he was seeing now in her eyes. No one should have those eyes…

 

But that fear did not override his anger, just phased out some of it. He stood up and grabbed Sakura around the throat, guttural snarls leaving his mouth.

 

“How dare you say such things to me! I should kill you!”

 

Sakura leered back up, trying to ignore the pain flaring up around her form as he grabbed her.

 

“Then do it! You're a man of your word right? Follow through with your threats like you always do!” she bit out between gasps.

 

That little part of her was screaming again, demanding that she take back her words.

 

She bit back on it. She wanted out. She couldn't do it herself though, and because her last hope in finding someone like her had been crushed upon seeing that Gaara had changed added to the fact that he was still easy to anger, she deemed him the best candidate to carry out her want.

 

And was left disappointed again. Surely she must have some sort of horrid karma. This was too much.

 

Gaara quickly withdrew his hand from the female's neck in openly displayed surprise. Who asked for such a thing? Everyone begs for life while faced with death, not the opposite. What broke this female so completely?

 

He quickly composed himself though and proceeded to lash out verbally.

 

“Hush woman! You aren't worth the effort nor the trouble. I already invested too much time and energy into saving you, to kill you off. Now be grateful and get better. Once you're done healing, you will live here until you've paid off your debt for my help.”

 

Sakura had passed out again from the pain, and hadn't heard a word he said. He grouched irritably, but turned to leave now that she was no longer in mortal danger.

 

As he was leaving, something flashed in the corner of his eye. What surprised him was that he wasn't the one who was shocked about this flash.

 

It was Shukaku, who had stilled instantaneously and didn't speak to him for the rest of the day.

 

`What was that all about?'

 

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A/N: And end this chappy! -does happy dance- And here is to my reviewers:

 

Silent Kunoichi aka. Fiona Mckinnon- Thank you.

 

blacksyryn- Thank you.

 

ReadsInSilence- Thank you.

 

Marsgoddess1- Meh. I can only write so fast. I do try to update as quickly as possible though, don't get me wrong. Thank you!

 

blackXheart- With the way everyone except Naruto and Lee treat her, this how I think she feels. But thank you!

 

SweetAssassin- Here ya go. Thank you.

 

EnV- -smiles- Thank you!

 

Rhonda21- Thank you!

 

The Squabbit- Saku-chan is not super woman. At least, not her her. You've prolly already gotten a taste on what's to come. Thank you!

 

DarkAngelB- Meh…superior no…a little better, maybe…messed up? Hell ya! Thank you!

 

Yokaigurl- She won't just pop into it, but it definitely makes some appearances. Thank you!

 

The warmth of the Afterglow- Sasuke is emo. Itachi is just crazy insane and doesn't have an excuse for it, like how Gaara does. Meh…good…I don't wanna be raped… -gulps and eyeballs reviewers nervously- Thank you!

 

Seishi Sairensuno- Thank you! Hopefully I've turned another… -does victory dance-

 

Super Lucky Tiki Charm- A little. Sasuke/Sakura makes me wanna go puke. After being treated like that, I definitely wouldn't go running back to him. Especially after everything he did. Bleh… But thank you!

 

green24- It's okay. Computers do strange things all the time. Thank you!

 

x.emri.x- Here ya go.

 

xXxAllMySinsxXx- -laughs- True true. But I won't do everyone bashing. Everyone definitely gets a slap upside the head though. Thank you!

 

Hao'sAnjul- Yup.

 

Gina01- Thank you!

 

DudettRin101- Thank you!

 

QuicksilverWitch- Mehbeh…mehbeh not…we shall see…