A green-haired young woman let out a short sigh as she walked along a path on the way to Konoha village. Her dark green eyes were closed and her arms behind her head in a relaxed position much like Shikamaru's favorite pose, and she was feeling quite calm, if not happy. The smile on her face was a testament to that. She was going over plans in her mind that after she filled out paperwork for her mission, she was going to visit Kakashi, and possibly go somewhere with him. Maybe to a movie? Maybe to lunch? She would have to see. She only hoped that he wasn't busy or out on a mission of his own, though his students being elsewhere tutored lowered that.

She felt really bad for him though. I mean, his favorite student, Uchiha Sasuke, had gone and run off with Orochimaru of all people! Him! He seemed to blame himself for that… It was so sad, really. The woman's happy smile slipped a little as she recalled hearing about Sasuke betraying the village and running away to join Orochimaru from Kakashi himself… The look in his eye…. It had been so sad….

Stopping herself, she breathed deeply. She wasn't going to get all sad! Instead, she took another couple of deep breaths and resumed her daydreams.

Happily sidetracked in her thoughts, she barely noticed the scent at first, but when it made itself known it was blatantly obvious. Blood.

Sprinting in the direction it came from, she was barely able to repress the ominous feeling that was starting to overcome her, and stopped dead in her tracks as she fully came upon the scene.

She stood in the middle of an empty, out-of-the way field. The dying, dry, tan grass was coated in blood splashes, which were everywhere. The metallic stench of blood hung heavy in the air, and stung her nose. What froze her in her tracks, however, was the sight of Hatake Kakashi laying on his back, bloodied, and seemingly unconscious. 'Oh, please let him be alive…!' she prayed as she unsteadily approached his limp form, unable to sense any chakra coming from him. Kneeling down next to him, she checked his neck for a pulse, and let out a heavy sigh of relief when she found one. "Kakashi-san…?" she asked him urgently, doubting she was going to get an answer as she checked over his wounds. They didn't look so good. Blood was everywhere… And it seemed that although not all of it was his, a decent amount was.

She was startled to hear a quiet response, a whispered, "Midori… san…?"

Frantically, the woman named Midori replied, "Yes? I'm here. Are you okay?" She knew the question was stupid, but didn't know what else to say. Shaking her head shortly, she put a finger to his lips through his mask and shushed him. "Nevermind. You can tell me what happened later." Nodding seriously, she smiled gently to him as he nodded weakly back and let his head fall to the side as he slipped back into unconsciousness. Scooping him up, she leaned him against her shoulder in a cross between bridal-style and over her shoulder, then formed a handseal around his body and disappeared in a flurry of leaves, reappearing at a gate of Konoha.

"Someone, get him a medic-nin, now!" she ordered a sentinel briskly, and he nodded and disappeared in a poof. 'Hurry….' She thought worriedly.

The sentinel reappeared shortly after disappearing, medic-nins in tow. They immediately set to work on his wounds, checking them and healing some of the easier ones. "We're going to have to take him back to the hospital," one said, and Midori nodded.

"Can I come along…?" she asked with concern.

"Sure, just… try not to get in the way," he replied briskly, but not harshly, and Midori responded with another nod as they scooped the gray-haired man onto a stretcher, then carried it back to the hospital urgently, Midori tagging along behind them.

As they set him down on the bed in the hospital room, the nins turned to Midori. "Uh, ma'am, you're gonna have to leave…" they told her, needing to undress the patient. The green-haired woman blinked for a moment, then blushed furiously and bustled out of the room as she realized what they meant, flattening herself against the wall in the hallway, comically flustered.