Cherry Blossoms and Chakra Strings: A Cage Carved in Ink

Just after sunset yet before the moon could display its dominance over the heavens, three of the four members of Team 3 moved swiftly through the forest in a close group, chasing after their wayward teammate.

Tsu stopped in front of a tree, brows furrowed as she leaned down and sniffed the ground at her feet with her chakra-enhanced senses. . The Inuzuka’s powerful nose was the only thing that allowed them to follow the trail that the missing nin had left throughout the forest but it seemed she was having trouble. Hikari and Iwabi landed beside her, with the former giving their friend a worried look, “Is there a problem, Tsu?”

The Inuzuka grunted, shaking her head as she rose, “It’s fine. I just lost the trail again for a second but I found it again. Let’s go.”

“This shinobi is very well trained.” Iwabi said grimly as they resumed their journey, “They’ve been covering their trail well, doubling back and taking branching paths even when they have no reason to assume they’re being followed. If Tsu wasn’t here, I’m not even sure I’d be able to keep track of them.”

Hikari’s brows slid together, worry creasing their expression, “Do you think they’re dangerous, sensei?”

Iwabi glanced at his student, “Maybe. But even if they aren’t, it’s always a good idea to assume that your next enemy will be the strongest foe you’ll ever face, even if that seems unlikely. No reason to go in half-cocked. Especially not in enemy territory.”

Was that what happened to Sakura, Hikari wondered. Sakura was a tricky opponent to face. Battles with her took time, especially if she was going all out. Was underestimating her opponent what cost her the battle? Hikari couldn’t see her losing so easily any other way.

The team continued at a steady pace, following Tsu and Tadao as the pair sniffed out the barely-there trail of antiseptic and flowers, before their journey was suddenly cut short as a series of booming explosions suddenly rocked the forest, shaking the ground underneath them and driving nearby animals into a panicked frenzy.

The team shared glances before dashing into a patch of forest with a clear view of the sky, watching as smoke billowed into the sky from an unknown location less than a mile away from them all. Soot and small debris sent flying by the explosion rained down upon them, sticking to their skin alongside the smell of woodsmoke and ash.

“Twenty ryo says that’s our girl.” Tsu was actually grinning as she watched the smoke trail rise higher and higher into the sky. There was no doubt in her expression, just confidence. She was utterly sure that Sakura had been the one responsible for the destruction.

Iwabi pulled his sickles from his belt with a serious expression, “Let’s check it out. Tight formation. Expect enemy contact. I’ll take point.”

The two genin immediately sobered at their sensei’s words, nodding seriously and falling into step behind him as he led the way through the forest, this time at a much faster pace than before since there was no longer a trail they had to follow.

“HIkari, scout ahead.” The Hyuga nodded, forming a seal and pushing chakra to their eyes, activating their bloodline and bathing the world a shadowless black and white. 

“Multiple civilians are in the vicinity. At least two or three dozen.” They said, gazing around at the wispy blue flames standing out in the darkness. Some were big and burning brightly, while others were small and weak. Two of them were larger than any others though, blazing wildly like bonfires… and one of them was coming right towards them!

Before Hikari could shout a warning, one of the signatures was upon them. A figure burst out of the treeline just in front of Team 3, landing on a branch directly in their path as the entire group tensed. Tsu’s sword emerged from its sheath with a rasp and Iwabi’s knuckles clenched around his sickles as they stared at the unfamiliar ninja, before said ninja suddenly raised their hands in surrender, “Hold on a second, guys! It’s me!”

At the sound of the voice, everyone froze. The pop world faded back to its original hues as Hikari released their technique, staring at the lithe figure wrapped in shabby and borderline disgusting clothes. Their face was covered in dirt and filth, but there was no mistaking those green eyes.

“Sakura?” Hikari asked, and a tired grin was thrown the Hyuga’s way.

“You guys were taking too long so I decided to go ahead and check out of that inn.” Her grin grew wider as she nodded in the direction she had come from, “I made sure to leave them with the bill though.”

Hikari jumped to their teammate’s side, intently checking her over for any injuries. As Sakura tried to fight them off, proclaiming that she was fine, Tsu chuckled, sheathing her sword and shaking her head wryly, “Guess you were right, Hikari. She didn’t need our help after all.”

“Are you alright, Sakura?” Asked Iwabi.

Sakura smiled again but time Hikari could see the relief in her eyes, “Mostly fine, sensei.”

“Good. Mind telling us what happened?”

Nodding, Sakura dove into her recount of what happened, treating it like just another mission report. She covered everything from the confrontation with that ninja up to waking up in the basement of the compound and her subsequent escape from the dingy cell and planting the traps around the building.

“...It wasn’t easy to write all those seals, but I had more than enough blood thanks to this.”

Sakura raised her left arm, pulling down the sleeve of her clearly-stolen coat to reveal a blood-soaked forearm and a gaping wound that was swollen and clearly just hours away from showing signs of infection. Her fellow genin recoiled at the sight, seeming shocked and disgusted at the appearance of such an injury on their teammate, but Iwabi saw something that the rest of them didn’t and his face turned grave.

“How bad?” He asked simply, and Sakura just shook her head, seeming unable to meet his eyes. Iwabi’s lips thinned and he chewed on his cheek, turning to glare at the smoke rising in the distance.

“Here’s what we’ll do.” He began, causing all of his students to give him their undivided attention, “Hikari, you take Sakura back to Tazuna’s house and see what you can do about that wound. Tsu and I are going to go check out what's left of the base. With any luck, you manage to get Gato in that blast and our mission is complete. If not, then we can take care of him.”

“Wait sensei, there's one more thing.” Sakura stopped the man, “Before I escaped, I came across another Kiri shinobi but it wasn't Zabuza or that masked nin. He used a weird sword that looked like a needle and trapped the entire room with wires. He seemed pretty dangerous.”

Iwabi got a strange look on his face at the mention of the ninja, and a spark of worry entered his eyes, “Describe him to me.”

As Sakura described the ninja and his odd behavior near the end of her adventure, Hikari was busy checking out the girl’s wound and what they saw was not good. Whatever weapon had struck her – a senbon if Hikari had to guess  had gone clear through her wrist and out the other side, but the damage was much more severe than it should have been. A senbon wound should not be bleeding like this.

The Hyuga’s brow furrowed, and their eyes turned to look at their teammate, “Sakura, have you been making hand-seals with this hand?”

Sakura nodded without looking at them, still talking to Iwabi, and Hikari’s heart sank. A wound like this would no doubt have completely destroyed some very key ligaments and tendons. By all means, Sakura shouldn't have been able to manipulate her fingers with the control necessary to create even a tiger seal. The only way she could possibly weave handseals was by forcing her hand to make those shapes. It would have been an agonizing experience, and infinitely more damaging than just leaving it alone. Hikari would need to clean the wound before they could say for certain, but they weren’t sure their medical ninjutsu was strong enough to actually fix something like this.

Sakura was completely oblivious to her teammate’s thoughts as she finished telling her sensei about her encounter with the needle-wielding shinobi, including the way he had seemingly just let her go when she escaped. By the time she was finished, Iwabi’s worried expression had lightened somewhat, and he was once again looking past her in the direction of the base.

After a moment, he seemed to reach his decision. Glancing at Tsu, he nodded and said, "Alright, change of plans. Hikari, Sakura, you two are still going back to Tazuna’s. You need to get that wound looked at. Tsu and I will stay behind and head off anyone who might have caught your trail and followed you. We’ll meet you back at the house within the hour.”

“Yes, sensei.”

“Yeah, go rest up, Sakura.” Tsu gave her a toothy grin as she once again unsheathed her sword, resting it on the back at her feet, “We’ll take it from here.”

Sakura wanted to protest but fighting was the last thing on her mind right now so instead she just smiled, “Thanks. You shouldn’t have too many to deal with. Things were pretty chaotic when I left and I doubt any of those mercenaries know how to track a ninja.”

Tsu clicked her tongue, dropping visibly in disappointment, “Aww, don’t say that. I was looking forward to having some fun.”

Sakura giggled as she turned and jumped away. Hikari gave Iwabi a nod and followed after their teammate, quickly catching up to and jumping alongside them as they journeyed back to Tazuna's home.

“I'm glad you’re alright, Sakura.” Hikari spoke over the rushing wind, “When I heard you had been captured, I was worried. We all were.”

“I was too.” Sakura swallowed, glancing at the Hyuga, “You should have been there, Hikari. That ninja… he was so fast. I couldn't keep up with him at all, even with Teashi.”

“I wish I was there. Maybe I could have helped you.”

Sakura bit her lip, “I'm just glad he didn't seem to want anything to do with Ami. Is she… alright?”

“She's recovering.” assured Hikari, “The senbon didn't hit anything vital.”

Sakura sighed in relief, “That's good. I was worried. Now let's hurry up and get back to the house. My arm feels like it's on fire.”

~~~

Since they didn't have someone else's path to follow, it took only minutes for them to actually reach the house this time. Tsunami was waiting for them when they walked inside. The woman peeked out of the kitchen as she heard them come in and as she caught sight of Sakura, her face twisted in worry.

“Oh no, are you alright, Sakura?” She fretted as she took in the genin and the filthy rags she was wearing. Sakura had to make sure that she blended in with the rest of the bandits and mercenaries in Gato’s compound and she was sure that to the civilian woman, she looked absolutely awful.

Hoping to alleviate some of Tsunami’s worry, Sakura gave her a grin that was only slightly undercut by the throbbing pain in her arm, “Don’t worry, Miss Tsunami; I’m fine. I probably look a lot worse than I feel right now.”

Some of the pain must have leaked into her voice because her words did nothing to actually reassure the woman. In fact, Tsunami’s expression only became even more worried as she watched Hikari lead Sakura deeper into the house, heading towards the staircase. She wrung her hands, calling from the bottom of the stairs as they ascended, “Is there anything I can help with?”

Hikari gave the kind woman a smile, “If you could get me a bowl of warm water and a rag, that would help greatly.”

Seeming relieved that there was something he could do to help, Tsunami nodded and hurried off to the kitchen to prepare what they had asked for. Sakura watched her go curiously and Hikari smiled.

“She's worried about you.” Hikari said as they led the way up the stairs.

“She’s very kind.” Sakura responded quietly, “I feel bad for making her worry.”

Ami was asleep as they entered the upstairs bedroom. The purple-haired girl was resting in a cot against the far wall, wrapped snugly in blankets and snoozing peacefully. There was a ring of bandages wrapped around her neck, stained a light pink by blood, but other than that, she seemed no worse for wear, just as Hikari had said. Sakura was glad.

Not wanting to disturb her, the two awake genin set up on the far side of the room. Hikari helped Sakura remove her disgusted, vomit-covered clothes, and the Hyuga’s nose wrinkled as they folded them up and sat them off to the side, leaving Sakura wearing only her pants and sandals. The girl’s skin was covered in a thin layer of grime from the clothes.

“I’ll ask Tsunami if we can use her bath.” Hikari said.

Sakura gave her friend a tired smirk, “Are you saying that I stink?” She joked.

“The clothes have certainly left an odor on you.” Hikari hummed, “But it hasn’t completely erased your natural scent.”

“Natural scent, huh?” Sakura laughed softly as she slid down against the wall, crossing her legs, “I didn’t know I had one of those. What does it smell like?"

“Wood-shavings and ink.” Hikari knelt down in front of Sakura, giving her a grin and a wink, “It’s rather pleasant.”

The gesture left Sakura a bit confused and for some reason she suddenly had trouble looking her friend in the face. She coughed, turning her gaze away from those pale eyes and onto the floor. Her cheeks felt warm and she suddenly became extremely aware of the fact that she was sitting in front of Hikari in nothing but a bra. Normally it wouldn’t bother her, but something about this specific instance struck her as a bit strange, as did the weird feeling stirring in the pit of her stomach.

As she tried to examine this feeling, a sharp sensation suddenly tore through Sakura’s thoughts in a painful fashion. She hissed, clenching her other fist as Hikari pressed a warm, wet rag into the oozing wound on her wrist. Apparently Tsunami had shown up while Sakura was stuck in her head and Hikari had taken Sakura’s silence as permission to begin. They were only gently prodding at the area around the wound, but even that was enough to produce a sickening pain that shot through Sakura’s entire body.

“Sorry.” Hikari apologized, looking regretful as they dipped the rag in the water, dying it pink, “I have to clean you before I can heal you.”

Sakura watched as they pressed the rag to her wrist again, sucking in a breath as the pain returned, “So that means you can actually heal my hand?” She asked hopefully.

Hikari didn’t respond, remaining quiet as they continued cleaning the area around Sakura’s wound. The silence stretched and Sakura’s anxiety grew larger with every passing second as the strange feeling in her cut was slowly but surely replaced with the curling tendrils of dread. She swallowed dryly, “Hikari?”

“I can heal the wound… but the actual damage to your nerves and ligaments is beyond what I am capable of fixing at the moment.” Hikari said softly, making Sakura suck in a breath, “If I got to it when it first happened, then maybe I’d be able to do something but too much time has passed and I don’t have a lot of experience healing nerve damage. I’m liable to damage more than I fix if I send my chakra to the wrong places.”

Sakura felt the world drop out from underneath her, “So that means…”

“Your nerves will heal on their own eventually.” Hikari’s words came out a tad hasty, as if they were trying to stop Sakura from panicking, “But it will take months or… possibly years. I can heal some of them, but the damage is too extensive to repair completely. At least for me.”

Sakura leaned her head back against the wall, soaking in the diagnosis. Knowing that their teammate needs time, Hikari worked in silence, cleaning the wound and mending the damage done to Sakura's arm as much as they were able. The room was bathed in a soft green glow as Hikari's chakra pulsed over Sakura's skin like moonlight on a lake, mending flesh and driving away the infection that was already setting in.

It took around fifteen minutes to accomplish and Hikari’s forehead was soaked in sweat by the time they were done as chakra exhaustion began to creep up on them. Once they were done, they gently placed something in Sakura's hand, causing the girl to twitch and look down at what she had been given. It was a scroll.

It was a scroll. One of hers, with a green body capped with gold.

“We found your puppet.” Hikari said softly as Sakura eyed the scroll, “It's mostly intact, at least as far as I could tell. You know it best so you'd probably have to look to see if anything is wrong with it.”

Sakura clutched the scroll, or at least she tried to. The fingers of her left hand weren't responding properly. They twitched and curled but the motion was slow, sluggish compared to the usual snappy response she was used to, and Sakura felt tears welling up in her eyes the longer her body refused to comply with her demands.

She grabbed the scroll with her working hand, placing it on the ground beside her, and ran her fingers over her swollen palm, just staring at it. She could hear Hikari moving the bowl of water to the side, before the Hyuga sat down beside her, placing an arm on her shoulder and looking at her with worried eyes, “Are you alright?"

Alright? No, Sakura wanted to say. She wasn’t alright. She was a puppeteer; her hands were everything to her. Her art relied on fine control and dexterity in the fingers themselves, both of which she had completely lost. Sure, she could still weave chakra strings, but controlling the finer mechanics of Teashi with only one working hand would be practically impossible at her current level. It would take months, years even, just to get back to the level she had been at in the Academy!

But she couldn’t say that though. Putting those thoughts into words would be as good as manifesting them into reality, so instead she put on a brave face, trying to smile in the face of the utter devastation she was feeling at the moment.

“I’ll be fine.” She said, her voice the ghost of a whisper. She pushed down the urge to cry, shoving her sorry deep into a box and locking it away before it could unravel her. She smiled instead, a small, hopeless thing that did nothing to hide what she was feeling inside, “I-I’ll figure out a way to work around this or cope with the loss. There’s not really anything else I can do anyway. Hopefully sensei will let me stay on the team until I figure something out.”

Hikari’s eyes were full of sorry but their voice was strong as they gently clasped Sakura on the shoulder, “Neither Tsu nor I will let him bench you, Sakura. I know it won’t take you long to spring back from this, no matter how hard it might be.”

Sakura chucked helplessly, “You have a lot of faith in me. But if I’m being honest, I don’t even know where to start.”

“You’ll figure it out; I know you will.” The words did little to cheer Sakura up and Hikari sighed, “Let me show you something.”

“Huh?” Sakura looked up as Hikari shuffled forward, reaching up to push their hair out of the way, revealing the headband that they always kept wrapped around their forehead. With nimble fingers, they untied the knot keeping it secured, letting it fall into their lap and revealing what laid underneath. Sakura’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open and what she saw there, emblazoned on her friend’s forehead like a brand.

It was a seal. A masterwork written in dark green ink, tattooed on the skin of someone that Sakura held very dear. The young puppeteer’s eyes rolled over its surface, before her hand slowly came up to gently touch the outer right edge of the imposing x in the middle of the seal, and Hikari didn’t move to resist as she traced her finger along its surface.

“What is this?” Sakura asked, disgust leaking into her voice as she examined the seal. She could feel the presence of someone else’s chakra inside of it,  lurking within the inky scrawl like a predator waiting for their moment. This seal, whatever it may be, was keyed to someone specific. And that someone was not Hikari.

“The Caged Bird Seal.” Hikari spoke as Sakura examined it, “It is a brand applied to all members of the Branch Family on the day of our birth. In the event that we die, it renders our bloodline completely inert so nobody can take our kekkei genkai.”

“That’s not all it does.” Sakura said, frowning. A seal like that wouldn’t need the constant presence of someone else’s chakra added into its matrix. Though Sakura wasn’t a master in fuinjutsu, she had enough knowledge to know that a seal like this wasn’t designed to be a benevolent protector in the case of the recipient's death. The way it was written and applied spoke of sinister ulterior motives.

Hikari’s next words, spoken with a chilling anger, unfortunately proved her theories correct.

“You’re correct.” The Hyuga said, “The Caged Bird Seal was originally designed to protect our bloodline, but it has been twisted far past its original purpose. Now it acts more like a shock collar than a cage. If a member of the Branch Family does something that displeases the Main Family, they can use their chakra to activate the seal and cause a pain so excruciating that it feels as if our minds are being melted in our skulls.”

Sakura pulled her hand back as if she had been burned, staring at the seal in horror and disgust, “You're family branded you with a torture seal?”

“Not just me. Every single child born outside of the main house is given this deal shortly after they are born.” Hikari said, making Sakura swallow.

The idea of putting something like this on a child made Sakura feel physically ill. From what she had been able to glean from the seal itself, its entire purpose was to send hostile chakra directly into the brain to fry neurons and cook the recipient’s mind. It was a good way to make sure that whatever eyes were held within the skull were completely worthless by the time it was done, but that was only because the synapses were completely fried and they had been literally melted out of their head! To use it on someone who was still alive… Sakura couldn’t imagine the amount of pain that could be inflicted with the tiniest pulse of chakra.

“Why hasn’t the Hokage done something about this?” She asked as Hikari put their headband back on.

“Interclan politics are under the jurisdiction of the clans themselves. If the Hokage had the power to come in and interfere with things as they are, then I doubt many would choose to stay in Konoha. The Caged Bird Seal is a tradition, just as the Inuzuka’s ninkin or the Aburame’s kikaichu. The Hokage is not permitted to interfere.”

Sakura wanted to say that that was stupid. Giving a child a puppy that they’d fight with for the rest of their life wasn’t the same as branding that same child with something that would let a specific sect of the family torture them to death for stepping out of line! Someone needed to step in and deal with this blatant act of cruelty!

But deep in her heart, Sakura knew that was impossible and she could see the logic behind what Hikari had said. Politics in Konoha were sensitive, with none being worse than those within the clans themselves. One of the big reasons that so many prominent families allied themselves with the village all those years ago was because they were promised autonomy in how things were taken care of within their own compounds. Nobody except the head of the respective clans could change a tradition so set in stone.

She took a deep breath, holding her tongue, “Why did you show me this?”

“Because I wanted you to see that you aren’t alone.” Hikari said, “I know what it's like to be in a hopeless situation, but unlike me, there’s a chance that you might find your way out. You’re strong Sakura, and that mind of yours is honestly frightening sometimes. If any ninja could find a way to achieve their goals with an injury like that, then it’s you.

I know you’ll get through this, Sakura. And we’ll all be here to help you however you need.” Hikari stood, gathering the bowl of bloody water and Sakura’s dirty clothes and giving her a small smile, “For now though, I think you need a bath. Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

Hikari then disappeared, leaving Sakura alone with only Ami’s soft breathing, and the dull throbbing in her ruined wrist to keep her company.