For all the things that separate the world of Kages from our own- from the arts of Jutsu to the tailed beasts to the strange creatures who partner with a summoner in battle- at the core the populace are fundamentally still very human. They are still very much subject to the same drives, fears, dreams, and temptations that any human experiences. Unfortunately, this can occasionally include PTSD. For all their power and mystic ability, a ninja is still just a soldier set to complete a mission. Sometimes the trauma of battle lingers well after the mission is complete. Fortunately, psychology is a mature science in the Hidden Village of Leaves. With so many jutsu capable of reading the mind and altering perception, those ninja who care to learn have a robust portfolio at their beck and call for healing the mind as well as the body. A ninja trained as both a medic and a genjutsu artist especially knows the ins and outs of mental health and would armed with a multitude of treatment and healing options both mundane and fantastic.
All the more infuriating, then, when none of the techniques proved effective on the ninja herself.
Sakura sighed herself as she blew the dust off yet another scroll from the shelf. She returned to the small wooden table, illuminated by a single candle in the otherwise darkened chamber. A bored Kankoro sat across the table from her.
"Sakura-san...."
"Hush. Still getting used to the Wind nation's language. This isn't easy to translate." Sakura said as she unfurled the scroll.
"Yeah, sure. Wouldn't want to distract you." Kankuro muttered. "Cause operating on three hours of sleep won't slow that part down at all..."
"You say something?" Sakura snapped.
"Errr...look, Haruno-san. Everybody is grateful to you and the fox runt for what you did for the village. Me more than most, since I'd be kind of dead right now without your efforts in particular. And I appreciate the interest in your opponent. But...the bastard had 300 puppets up his sleeve. And Sasori didn't exactly believe in simplistic design. Each of those blueprints is gonna take time to wrap your head around all the bells and whistles. Your not gonna get through this in one night, and your just gonna exhaust your-" Kankuro trailed off.
"No, I'll be fine. I have enough stamina and chakra pills to stay up for days." Sakura said, pouring over the scroll.
"You know he's dead, right?" Kankoro asked. "You saw him get stabbed yourself."
"Yeah. I did." Sakura paused. "It just..doesn't feel right. He only used his own body when I destroyed the third Kazekage. He clearly thought that 'he' was the only puppet powerful enough to defeat me and Chiyo at that point. And he had those 4 ninja scrolls on his back the whole time. One was an intense fire jutsu and one let him summon and control 100 puppets at once. So what did the other two do? Why not use them, especially when we're already distracted with the rest of his army? Why hold back?"
"Well, for one thing, he was controlling 100 puppets! He probably had to concentrate."
"If that's true, why not hit us with the other scrolls first? Keep us on the defensive, force us to expend chakra and resources, exhaust us a little more, and save that final attack for a trump card?" Sakura asked.
"Needed to up the ante against Chiyo's ten puppets." Kankoro said, with the air of one who had heard the argument many times.
"So he can work all the mechanisms on all those puppets, but not whatever surprises he has on his own? And think about that core he was using. It was big and obvious, covered in bright red runes and glowing with Chakra. Out of character for Sasori to mark his most vulnerable spot. Unless he wanted us to go for it."
Kankoro just sighed.
"A back up Core isn't that far fetched! And just a reminder....we never found those unused scrolls." Sakura snapped.
"Probably destroyed in the fight. Or misplaced with the rest of his 'collection' here. Fox boy was right. You're being paranoid." Kankoro said.
"I hope you are right..." Sakura said. "He was just...so smart. And dangerous. It just doesn't feel like Sasori not to have a plan B."
"He had like six plan B's. You two smashed your way through all of them. Had to run out at some point. If he was alive, we'd have heard something from him by now. Not even he was that subtle." Kankoro said.
"Mmmmm." Sakura said, glancing again at the scroll. "Look, you don't need to hang around for this, okay? If I have any questions I'll write them down and go over them with you later."
"....Look, your a guest in this village while your here. Fox kid will get upset if we don't look after you, and if fox kid is upset then Gaara is upset, and no one wants that. And, again, kind of owe you my life here, so..." Kankoro trailed off.
"Look...this has been bothering me for awhile. But its gotten worse lately. I'd...rather do this than sleep. If I sleep, I just repeat the fight in my head. Except we're not as lucky in my dreams as we were back then. So, thank you for the concern. Really. But I'm better off occupying myself with this. Once I've gone over everything...again...maybe my head will stop picking at it." Sakura said.
"....Yeah. Yeah, okay. I'll play along for now. Just do not make this a problem for the long term. Your a medic. Don't do anything you wouldn't let a patient do."
"Yeah. Yeah. Good night, Kankoro-san."
.....................................................
It was several hours later in the night when Sakura suddenly jerked her head up from the latest scroll she had been pouring over. The absolute silence of the storage area (a combination of a library, workshop and warehouse serving the puppet ninja) had been broken ever so softly by the tell-tale rattle of wood on wood the eerie puppets of the Sand made when in use.
"Hello?" Sakura whispered nervously. "Is someone there?"
Part of her wanted to dismiss the noise as an overactive imagination, and part wanted to take Kankoro's advice and leave everything for the morning when whatever ghost was haunting the place was less active.Instead she gathered up her candle and began moving in the general direction of the sound.
Wanderng through the stacks at night was an eerie experience, not least because of the innumerable rows of sinister looking puppets watching her progress at every stage. Rounding a corner Sakura nearly screamed as the rattling sound came again. She sighed with relief as a small cat emerged from beneath the angry looking puppet.
It took a moment to relieve the 'cat' was emitting an odd ticking sound. That hesitation was all the was required. Suddenly the puppet cat 'face' had popped off the body, and the wooden collar had been fired off like a cannon ball. In shock Sakura stumbled back, too late to prevent the strange collar from wrapping itself around her neck and clamping into place.
"Wha-wha-what on Earth???" Sakura stammered. A strange smoke was jetting out of the cat now, quickly filling her field of vision. She felt woozy.
"Easy. We wouldn't want you to hurt yourself. Not before the agent enters your system." Said an familiar voice.
"Sasori! W-Where...How..." Sakura stammered. "What have you done?"
"In order, then. A bit of my essence is housed inside the collar around your neck. You were half right. I did survive. But there isn't enough chakra in this piece to sustain myself indefinitely. Fortunately there's a fresh supply in my new puppet I can use with impunity." Sasori spoke within Sakura's mind.
"As if I...would..let..." Sakura stammered.
"Don't worry. No poison this time. Just a little agent to interfere with your focus. Until you are appropriately attired, I'll need you muddled to exercise proper control." Sasori said in a neutral tone.
"What does...what are you...!" Sakura muttered as chakra strings emerged from the collar around her neck. Zombie-like, she began walking through the warehouse. At last she paused before another shelf. To her dismay and confusion, she began removing her gloves, elbow pads, boots,forehead protector and pouches. Picking up a series of strange instruments off the shelf, Sakura clamped two manacle like straps of wood to her upper arms and lower thighs. She replaced her gloves with a soft pair of latex vaguely similarly, but sporting yet another manacle around the wrist. A pair of new boots encased her feet, similar to her usual attire but except that it enclosed her whole foot, sported a high heel in back, and was bound up with a series of straps. All the additions, including the collar, sported metal loops that implied a chain was meant to be connected. Instead, a series of chakra strings looped around the whole affair.
"What is all of this??" Sakura demanded.
"Nothing elaborate. In the early stages of perfecting human puppets, I toyed with the idea of keeping my acquisitions alive. I created these pieces to allow me to manipulate a live human while bypassing the clash of wills and chakra that normally make such a thing impossible. The idea lost its appeal, though. But after my encounter with you, I conceived a different use. Really, it was so humiliating. The great puppetmaster, brought down by a child and an old woman. I don't value my existence highly enough to end your life, mind you. But...history should at least have a proper understanding of how much luck and fortune played in your favor. Not that you aren't talented. I'll acknowledge that. But a brat is a brat, and the gulf between us needs to be made clear. And of course, I must repay you for my embarrassment a thousand fold."
"What...what are you planning???" Sakura wailed.
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