Welcome back my fellow cherryblossom lovers!
I hope the seasons are treating you better than this author-who has a case of the sniffles. Don't worry I'm still cognitive enough to bring out your new chapters.
Don't forget to stay safe and healthy!
Here's a quote that made me think "You may not be able to alter reality but you can alter your attitude towards it, and this paradoxically alters reality."
I remember thinking about where my obsession writing about Sakura came from, and it may have started when I began to ponder her reality and attitude within the confines of a story that maybe didn't have the capacity to articulate all of her. And maybe there were other's out there who wondered the same.
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Or type KATSURA369 (Find my socials)
Let's enjoy this journey together!
CHAPTER 104: Return to your Work studies
The group chat Sakura reluctantly became a part of had been going off at the end of each day, nearly the same time. Probably when most of her classmates were cleared from hero work at the agencies. Giving brief updates on their events, Eijirou was back out with Fatgum , and they had stopped a robbery together. Ochaco and Tsuyu were at Ryukyu's; they had stopped a drug smuggling operation. Izuku had written nearly an entire report back to everyone in response.
And while she scrolled through those messages, feeling as if they were talking her ear off themselves.
Although she didn't contribute a report back, since nothing she had experienced that day felt like it was worth reporting.
Although to her, what happened was nothing out of the ordinary.
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Sakura assumed that work studies with Chiyo meant a repeat of the internships where she had to do basic interactions with patients and clean, and so on, and honestly, she was fine with accepting the protocols at this stage. But the first day out, they came to Tokyo General Hospital, and she was brought into a lecture hall instead.
Sitting among a group of medical residents who ranged in age from mid-twenties to early thirties. That alone told Sakura how long it actually took for people to study medicine; she was even shocked to discover that they had only passed the general stage of their training. With no specializations yet.
She didn't know if she should be impressed by their dedication or mortified that it would take this long.
Of course, sitting amongst that crowd, Sakura stood out as a high school student still strapped in her hero costume because Chiyou insisted it was mandatory. While this wasn't the most active duty, Sakura still participated full-heartedly, her interest and passion for healing shining. Especially towards different medical techniques that hadn't been possible with her world's technology, and only through medical nin training.
She got a few sideways glances when she first entered, but Recovery Girl's presence beside her seemed to grant automatic legitimacy. If the healing hero said this kid could be here, then apparently she could be here.
The lecture covered new suture techniques, methods for dealing with quirk-related injuries that didn't follow standard anatomical examinations, protocols for handling patients with quirks that complicated traditional healing. Sakura realized this world had to take their healthcare a step further if they intended to cater to these difference cast of humans, as their species had become as diverse as insects.
Even though that had been most of her day, Sakura was not unsatisfied leaving that lecture hall. Comparing what she was hearing to what Tsunade had taught her, finding the similarities and differences between this world's medical science and her own. Mostly the technology, but also a few techniques that hadn't been used or were necessary in her world but mandatory here. It was different approaches to the same goal.
As the residents filed out discussing the material, Sakura turned to Recovery Girl with a question that had been nagging at her.
"How long does it take to become a fully licensed doctor here?" she asked. This world proved to be prickly about following a certain conduct and holding certain papers that proved experience and the legitimacy of claims.
"Well," Recovery Girl said, settling back in her chair, "you need four years of undergraduate study, then four years of medical school, then at least three years of residency, depending on your specialization. So, a minimum of eleven years of education and training before you can practice independently."
Sakura's jaw visibly dropped. "Eleven years?"
"At minimum," Recovery Girl confirmed. "Some specializations require even longer. Neurosurgery, for example, can take up to fifteen years total."
Tsunade had made her a field medic in less than two years, and it was considered extremly time consuming to train someone in the art of medical ninjutsu, let along medicine. "Eleven years, I'd be over thirty…"
"This is not a job for the meek-minded, Though," Chiyo added, watching Sakura's stunned expression with amusement, "when it comes to medical knowledge, there's always going to be something more to learn. A doctor who thinks they know everything is a dangerous doctor. The field evolves constantly, new techniques, new research, and new understanding of how bodies work."
"That's true," she said, leaning forward slightly. Even after she had mastered the basics, actually working in the field had shown her how unique situations can occur that didn't even seem possible until it was laid out on a hospital bed for you to examine, determine, and cure.
Her hands moved as she talked, animated in a way they rarely were. "And different bodies respond differently to the same treatments, so you have to constantly adapt your approach based on individual factors-"
She caught herself, realizing she'd started rambling, almost imitating Izuku.
"There it is," Chiyo said, smiling softly.
"There, what is?"
Recovery Girl stood, picking up her cane. "Come with me. I want to show you something."
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She led Sakura through the hospital corridors to a training wing where groups of residents rotated through different learning stations. They stopped outside a room where a small group was gathering around a light board displaying various X-ray images.
"We're just in time. This is one of the diagnostic training programs," the hero said quietly. "They're given X-rays and have to identify abnormalities, injuries, and potential complications. It's standard practice for developing assessment skills."
Through the observation window, Sakura could see the instructor, a stern-looking woman in her fifties, pinning up a new set of X-rays on the light board.
"Alright, everyone," the instructor said, "you have five minutes to examine these images and provide your analysis. I want identification of all injuries, assessment of severity, and recommended treatment protocols."
The residents gathered closer, pulling out notebooks and tablets, beginning their examination.
Sakura approached the light board, studying the collection of X-rays pinned there. To an untrained eye, these would be nothing more than poorly taken images without color and no imagination, but to Sakura, it was like reading an entire novel depicting the story of someone's life.
"Done," Sakura said quietly.
The entire room went silent. Several residents looked up from their notes in disbelief at what they had heard, convinced their overtired minds must have been playing tricks.
The instructor came over. "I'm sorry?"
"I've identified the abnormalities," Sakura said, pointing to the first X-ray. "Should I explain?"
"Please do."
Sakura gestured to the collection of images. "These bones belong to three different individuals. The first set…" she pointed to several X-rays of a femur, tibia, and pelvis, "is a male, approximately forty-five to fifty years old, based on bone density and joint degeneration patterns. He has a healed fracture in the left femur, approximately three years old, based on the callus formation. The current injury is a spiral fracture of the right tibia, consistent with a twisting motion under load. Likely from a fall or sports injury."
She moved to the next set without pausing.
"The second individual is female, late twenties to early thirties. The bone structure shows signs of repetitive stress. See these micro-fractures in the radius? That's from repeated impact. She's either a martial artist or works in a profession that requires constant hand-striking. Current injury is a displaced fracture of the ulna with associated soft tissue damage."
Sakura pointed to the final set, now having the attention of the room. "The third individual is a child, approximately eight to ten years old. Growing bones, you can see the growth plates are still open here and here. A green stick fracture of the humerus is common in children because their bones are more flexible. The pattern suggests a fall with an outstretched arm trying to break the impact."
She stepped back from the light board.
"The first patient needs surgical intervention; the displacement is too severe for casting alone. The second needs reduction and casting, possibly surgical if there's significant soft tissue damage. The third can probably be treated with a simple cast since green stick fractures in children tend to heal well with minimal intervention."
Murmurs came with the sounds of pens scratching against paper hastily.
"That...is all correct."
The instructor turned to address her residents. "Alright, class. Let's see if our actual students training to become medical professionals can top the first-year high schooler's analysis."
The exposure that they were actually bested by a teenager brought them back to alert.
She pulled a new set of X-rays.
The residents scrambled, suddenly very motivated.
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"Order whatever you'd like," Chiyo said, taking a menu from the rack.
"Thank you, Chiyo-san."
Hospital visits and rounds seemed to be the set routine for Sakura's work studies, and she was okay with that. Recover Girl took Sakura out so they could take a break for lunch while they were between hospitals. They settled at a cafe and ordered.
Sakura was seated at the window, looking out onto the busy streets.
"There's that far-off look again," Chiyou's comment dragged her back.
"Sorry."
"You've been doing that a lot. Are my work studies not thrilling enough? I suppose compared to regular hero work, healing might not-
"It's not like that," Chiyo gave a cheeky look to show she hadn't been sincere in her statement, but Sakura still felt like she had to wipe off any dust on her intentions. "I do enjoy these lessons, I'm…."
Sakura paused, considering whether she wants to admit this or not, "I've been through these drills before."
"Oh?"
What she was admitting would likely be considered unethical and out of legal standing if she were implying that she was allowed to use her quirk to heal.
"Honestly, Haruno, I do think you would've been better off choosing a different mentor for these work studies to advance. While you are versatile, it's important to be open to new experiences in preparation for becoming a hero, or are you still uninterested?"
Sakura didn't answer as swiftly as she once did; time perhaps had given cause for this, or it was just her fault for not letting things be as simple as they once were.
A few months ago, for Sakura, holding her resolve was like hanging from a rope. She either had to let go or keep hanging on until the solution appeared above and pulled her up.
Now? The rope was still there. But her grip was looser. And she wasn't entirely sure anymore if she wanted to be pulled up, or if maybe she was okay staying where she was.
Returning to her window, staring, her sharp eyes caught something odd. At first, she thought perhaps the windows had become misty, but that fog started moving, spreading out, and with each person it touched, they collapsed without prejudice. Without any sign of panic, just falling.
"Something's happening," Sakura said, already standing and heading for the exit.
Chiyo looked out the window and saw the collapsed people and the slight fumes in the air, then rushed to stop her. "Hold on, Haruno, that gas could be toxic! You shouldn't rush in!"
"I'll be fine." The bell on the entrance rang as Sakura ran out across the street and began examining the collapsed individuals, checking for pulses and so on, looking in their mouths and examining their eyes. Chiyo watched her. She put a hand over their chest and trailed it across their throat, with their mouth open, and every time she seemed to be pulling from their chest, causing them to hack violently before she'd move onto the next person.
"Haruno!" Chiyo called, stepping out of the cafe to yell at her from the other side of the street, but the kunoichi paid no heed.
She then gathered them up, rather inelegantly, but it wasn't her fault; there was only so much space on her shoulders, and placed them on the opposite side of the road where Chiyo was. People were already starting to panic, seeing the collapsed pedestrians, and Chiyo decided to attempt crowd control.
Sakura had already stepped away and was following that trail straight between buildings.
'That girl!' She had forgotten that Sakura was the type of person to freely rush into a burning building on her own, without instruction and care for protocol.
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It didn't take long for Sakura to find someone skulking through the alleyways. They were avoiding crowded areas and attempting to sift through the city without interacting with anyone.
Finally, Sakura spotted someone running through an alleyway. Covered in the black fog, trailing it like a cloak, the mist emanates from their body in thick clouds. They were heading toward a crowded shopping district.
Sakura leapt down from the rooftop and landed in front of them, cutting off their path.
The person stumbled, covered in a hoodie, face obscured by a mask that looked like the kind used for filtering air. The person had eyes that were feral with panic.
But she didn't sense any hostility, and he took no aggressive stance when she appeared. Rather, all she could sense was fear.
"Stay back!" The voice was young, male. "Please don't get in my way!"
Sakura didn't step toward him, but she didn't move aside either. "If you go in that direction, you'll get caught up in a crowd. I know that's not what you want."
He was shaking now. Sakura studied his body language and realized that he was tense. "The mist, it's your doing."
That's when realization dawned, and he looked at her like you might look at a ghost, "How are you, fine?"
"So it's poison?"
He didn't respond, afraid. "I get it now. You can't hold back your quirk anymore, can you?"
Tears filled his eyes, "My quirk makes this stupid poison gas. When I don't use it, it builds up inside my body, but using quirks in our society isn't allowed, right? So I haven't got much choice but to store the poison inside me."
Sakura clicked her tongue. That was an annoying sentiment she had about this world. While society had created a foundation to rein in multiple power holders and maintain control of civility by creating heroes and villains, it didn't account for those who had no choice in their use and who didn't want to fall into either category. Eri was exempted due to her age, but that didn't mean others wouldn't fall through the cracks.
"Before my quirk destroys me, I've got to let it out!" he begged, clutching his chest like his heart was hurting to say it. "Does that make me a villain?!"
"No," Sakura said, approaching him, she put a hand on his shoulder, "If you're having trouble, then you've got to let it out." Even through a mask, he looked completely stunned. "Release it all."
"I've been stopping the poison for years; it's too dangerous."
"Then, we'll have to turn it into something harmless."
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"Where is that girl?" Chiyo rushed after Sakura as soon as she could, but it was easy to lose track of the girl. She tapped her cane against the pavement, just about ready to call in for backup to help when Sakura appeared from an alleyway.
"Chiyo-san!"
Before she could get the scolding she had so richly deserved, Recovery Girl noticed that Sakura was carrying someone on her back, a young man who looked to be in a struggle of his own.
"I need your help."
"What happened?" she asked.
Sakura gave an explanation that was clear and concise, and then made a request that was going to have her buried in admin work before she even got back to school.
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She thought there would have been more push-back on her request, but Chiyo had moved quickly to get what she needed to help this person. Chiyo had called in special permission to access a pharmaceutical lab. At first, the biggest reluctance was allowing them to take the man, with them instead of handing him over to the police, but considering the circumstances of his quirk, there wasn't a safe cell to hold him in any case. He would just end up releasing the poison gas.
"He's the same as Eri. I'm not going to let him suffer in prison for something he can't control."
"It isn't always that simple, Haruno."
"Of course not, but that doesn't mean aiding in his struggle. Not when there's an actual solution." Sakura was looking at the blood sample taken, displayed on a monitor in chemical formulas and molecular structures. She was taking notes rigorously.
She'd barely used any of the advanced equipment, mainly because she didn't know how to operate half of it. The technology here was decades beyond anything that existed in her world, and the learning curve was steep. And it wasn't like she needed it for this. They weren't the only ones working in that lab; a few microbiologists were also brought onto this assignment, mostly in fear of what would happen if they allowed a minor to operate anything without supervision.
But once she got the composition of the gas, she didn't need the fancy machines. She only requested the charts and a notebook to write out the formulas, dosage calculations, and molecular bonds that needed to be formed or broken.
She handed the notebook to the microbiologist. "Use this exact formula and create the mixture now."
The microbiologist looked at the composition and ingredients, her frown deepening. "Will this really-
"Just do it," Sakura snapped. As part of the compromise for using the facility, she was forbidden from working with any medicine or chemicals herself, as that was too big a risk, not to mention an HR nightmare. But that's what the certified individuals were brought in for. If they could just stop gawking at her for actually knowing anything.
The man moved away, suddenly afraid to argue with the teenager.
"I'd like to know how you came up with this so quickly," Chiyo said as if she already dreaded the answer. "After we deal with this,"
Somehow, even with so little said, Sakura could tell she was already being chastised.
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Sakura and Chiyo were accompanied by a police officer into the quarantine area of the hospital. They had moved the man here and were able to set up quickly a type of cell, with ventilation and air filtration that would help control the gas release. The airflow was visible in the slight distortion it caused, constantly cycling to prevent any gas buildup.
In the corner of the cell, he sat. Hunched against the wall, with his knees drawn to his chest.
Sakura smiled at him through the glass. "I've got it."
She held up the vial containing the serum. "But—but how are you going to…"
"I'm coming in," Sakura said. Chiyo reluctantly gave the signal to the office to open the cell, but he was even more hesitant.
"Wait! You can't go in there. If he-
"He won't," Sakura said firmly. "And even if he does, I'm resistant to poisons."
The antibodies in her own blood had been what helped to pull up a solution as fast as they did, and thanks to the equipment, they were able to run a series of tests faster to confirm it would work.
Sakura took the man's arm gently, sticking the needle once to hit the vein she needed, and pushed in the liquid. He didn't flinch at the cold steel entering his body, and he didn't feel anything as the syringe emptied out and withdrew. He could only feel the knot in his stomach, twisted and trying to ping pong around his innards.
"Give it a minute to circulate," she said, checking the time. "Your quirk creates a toxic compound. This serum changes the conversion pathway. Same proteins, different result. Instead of poison, your body will produce harmless amino acid chains."
"How do you know it'll work?"
Because she had done this before, with a poison on a harder scale to decipher, with limited resources and even less time. "Trust me."
After two minutes, Sakura nodded. "Okay. It should be fully integrated now." She reached out and took Takeshi's hands in hers, looking directly into his eyes. "Release your quirk."
"But-
"Trust me," Sakura repeated.
That felt about as easy as someone asking you to jump off a cliff and trust that they would catch you at the bottom when they were standing right beside you on top. However, after seeing her smile, a sense of reassurance took over, and he released his quirk, finally undoing that tension that had been holding onto him like a fist. The gas came out, but it wasn't dark; it had a rather clear mist appearance. And there was no scent to it either.
He looked around at the officer and Recovery Girl, both of whom were still exposed at a distance, and yet, none were falling into unconsciousness.
"What's happening?"
"This was the serum I made. It turns your poison into harmless proteins within your body. By the time you release it, all of its harmful qualities are gone. You're producing the same amount of gas, but it's not toxic anymore. From now on, you'll be able to do that without harming anyone."
He stared at his hands, at the clear gas, and sank into a fit of sobs, heavy with relief.
"Thank you," he choked out between sobs. "Thank you so much, hero."
Hey, love
So, you just read that chapter.
And now you're sitting there. Staring at the screen. And thinking about bookmarking till the next update?
Well you don't have to wait.
Right now, over on my Ko-fi, there are 3-7 chapters ahead of what's publicly posted. That means that moment you're dreading or hoping for Sakura? It's already written. Sakura has already walked through what comes next and I promise you, she does not disappoint.
What's waiting for you over there:
The chapter directly after this one
The plot reveal I've been building toward since chapter one
3–7 full chapters to binge (And more incoming)
And coming soon: My author notes-the unhinged behind-the-scenes commentary only Ko-fi readers get.
I write this story because I love Sakura the way you love Sakura.
If this story has lived in your head rent-free, made you feel things you weren't ready for, or made you want to throw your phone across the room in the best possible way the early access chapters are for you.
Thank you for reading.
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EARLY CHAPTERS FOR MEMBERS NOW: BUYMEACOFFEE
-Kunoichi amongst Heroes chapter (105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110)
-Kunoichi amongst Pirates chapter (49, 50, 51)
-Crossroads of Fate chapter (39, 40, 41, 42)
-Through the Looking Glass chapter (55, 56, 57, 58, 59)
- (Bleach crossover) Kunoichi amongst Reapers: (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-Commission: Demon slayer x My hero academia (PART 1 & 2)
- Kunoichi amongst Benders (Avatar x Naruto crossover) (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
-Kunoichi amongst Heroes WHAT IF SPIN OFF: Dorms and Exams
-SPECIAL HALLOWEEN CHAPTER: Shinigami amongst Shinobi