All's Fair in Love and War
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

II


To Sakura's relief, she and the three Jounin medical ninja somehow managed to save most of the critical patients. One had been a Yamanaka who looked so much like Ino that Sakura nearly lost her professional demeanor as she worked double time to seal the gaping hole in his chest. He would live, but it would be quite a while before he saw the front lines again.

"Sakura, the reinforcements are here. Come out and greet them properly," Kana said gruffly, poking her head into the tent.

Sakura turned to regard the grey-haired kunoichi. She was a tough cookie, very severe looking with her permanent scowl and tightly wound bun. Sakura had never seen the woman smile, but she supposed that there wasn't much to smile about around here. Kana was the opposite of her husband in many ways. Kentarou had crows' feet from smiling too much, and his hair still had more black than grey despite being older than his wife. They were both highly skilled medics and easy to work with, so Sakura did not mind them in the least. Not wanting to keep the others waiting, Sakura ordered the Yamanaka clansman to sleep and got up to follow Kana to the administration tent.

When the pair made it to the entrance, Sakura observed that Kentarou, Shizune, Tobiko, and various other guards were already there to greet the newcomers. Miho, the Chuunin dispatched to the medical site as the designated sensor, was conversing with one of the three visitors. Sakura could not make them out well from her position.

After a moment, Miho turned to Tobiko. "They look okay to me."

Tobiko grunted. "No offense little lady, but I'll have to ask them the most recent passcode."

"Horse, eagle, ram, snake, dragon, dragon, horse, ox, tiger," said the blonde male of the group.

The lumbering Akimichi peered down at the youth, who was a good foot shorter than him. "That's correct," he grumbled, clearly still suspicious.

Sakura stepped forward to get a better look at them. There were two women. One was perhaps around Shizune's age with cropped navy blue hair and matching eyes, tanned skin, and a bold nose piercing. The other was older, her red hair tied back in a thick bun. Her green eyes reminded Sakura of the Zetsu clone's blood, but she forced the thought out of her mind and instead shifted her gaze to the lone male of the group.

He was tall, maybe a good six or seven inches taller than her. His blonde hair fell in a messy mop, but it wasn't exactly unkempt. He looked very young, she thought with some surprise. Medics were usually on the older side due to the delicate and meticulous nature of the training required to reach the top ranks. Shizune herself had not reached her current skill level without years and years of rigorous one-on-one training under Tsunade. Sakura was a bit of an anomaly in that sense. She had a raw talent for healing and perfect chakra control to cut the training time virtually in half. Idly, she wondered if this young man might be similarly gifted or if the times were desperate enough to call for anyone with medical training to report for duty.

As though hearing her thoughts, his dark eyes suddenly locked with Sakura's. Against her better judgment, an image of Sasuke flashed across her mind as she stared into those depthless charcoal eyes. They looked so much like Sasuke's eyes that the sight of him gave her unpleasant chills.

"Welcome, and thank you for getting here so quickly," Shizune said, stepping forward to greet the trio. "I'm Shizune, the head of this Logistical Support and Medical Division. Akimichi Tobiko is the captain of our guard."

Tobiko just grunted.

"We're happy to be of service, Shizune," the redheaded woman said, bowing politely. "I am Hayashi Hina of the Hidden Mist."

Shizune nodded at the woman.

"I would say let's kick some ass and take names, but I guess we're here to do the opposite," the blue-haired woman said, grinning.

"That's true," Shizune said, smiling politely.

"The name's Akari," she appended, pointing to her chest with a thumb. "I'm actually one of the Waterfall recruits. There aren't too many of us, but we can pack it as well as the next guys."

"Oh, I had heard that there were some Falls shinobi scattered throughout the ranks, but I didn't think I'd get the opportunity to meet one of you in person," Shizune said.

Sakura quirked a brow. She had a feeling she might get along with this woman.

"And you?" Shizune addressed the final guest.

"Call me Shī," the young man said.

"Shī," Shizune repeated. After a moment, her eyes widened. "Oh! You're the Raikage's personal guard and second in command of the Sensor Division."

"Former second in command. The three of us are now a part of the Medical Division," he said, his tone somewhat clipped.

Wow, the Raikage's personal guard? This guy must be something else, Sakura thought to herself. She didn't really think much of his stuffy formal tone.

"Right, well," Shizune said. "Here's how this is going to play out. Each of you will receive some basic training in how we run things around here. You'll each be paired with one of my head medics. I understand that you're all field medics. Even though the concepts are essentially the same, things are a bit different in a lab setting where you'll be expected to perform lengthy invasive surgery. Please try to learn all that you can from my team so that we can save some more lives."

Hina nodded and Akari grinned confidently. Shī remained stony-faced and silent, and suddenly Sakura got the impression that he was bothered by something. What that might be, she could not begin to guess.

"Hina, you'll be paired with Kana."

Kana stepped forward, her scowl ever present. "Alright, let's get this over with. And don't blame me if you can't keep up."

Hina bowed. "I appreciate your guidance."

Kana hmphed, but Sakura knew that was about as close to approval as anyone could probably get with the woman. They disappeared into the main tent.

"Kentarou, please assist Akari," Shizune said, gesturing with a sweep of her hand.

"It would be my pleasure," Kentarou said, smiling warmly.

"Sweet. Let's get this bitch on the road," Akari said, her language making Kentarou's smile falter just slightly. She patted Shī on the shoulder before leaving the room with Kentarou, but the blonde ignored the gesture.

"And that leaves Shī with Sakura."

Sakura blinked. "Me? But don't you want to train him yourself?"

Shizune turned to her younger counterpart. "One of us will have to continue making rounds. Besides, I'd like you to include Shī in your autopsy examination."

"Haruno Sakura?" Shī said, fixing his heavy stare on her once more.

Sakura met it and the chill crept up her spine again. It seemed he recognized her by name and appearance. "Yes?"

"You're the Godaime Hokage's apprentice, but if I remember correctly you're just a Chuunin."

Sakura immediately bristled at that. It wasn't an insult per se, but she had a feeling it would turn into one soon. "Yeah, what about it?"

Shī returned his focus to Shizune. "I don't mean to question your authority here, but you should at least respect the hierarchy of rank and station. The privileges of former mentorships mean little in wartime."

It was Shizune's turn to bristle, although she hid it well. "I assure you that Sakura is more than capable of working closely with the rest of the Jounin medics and showing you the ropes. She may be young, but she's the most promising medical ninja I've ever met, regardless of rank and station."

Sakura had to resist the urge to cross her arms at the risk of appearing childish, but she was not at all happy about Shī's blatant dismissal of her skills simply from confirming the fact that she was a Chuunin. Hell, Naruto was still a Genin technically, and he was one of the strongest shinobi on the continent. What was this guy's deal? Was he just another one of those elitist male shinobi with an ego the size of the Fire Country?

"Fine, as the captain of this division, I'll trust your judgment," Shī said. There was no emotion in his voice at all, but Sakura knew he was not happy about this arrangement.

Jerk.

"If that's all, I'll be getting back to the patients now. I trust there'll be no problems," Shizune said. Then, turning to Sakura she added, "Let me know if you find anything out about that corpse, no matter how small."

"Sure," Sakura said, her resolve to solve this mystery renewed.

Shizune left them and Sakura turned to Shī, who merely watched her with those intensely dark eyes. It seemed he had some of Sasuke's arrogance in him to further emphasize the eerie similarities, she thought grimly.

Stop thinking about Sasuke.

"This way," Sakura said, turning on her heel and not waiting for him to follow.

Passing by sickbeds and the OR tent, Sakura steadfastly made her way to the small lab section where Zetsu's clone was still resting under constant surveillance. After a moment, footsteps could be heard catching up to her. She didn't turn around to acknowledge him or point out anything they passed. That could wait until later when he got an attitude check.

Something tells me that's wishful thinking.

Once at the lab, Sakura wasted no time in rolling up the sleeves of her Jounin shirt and beginning the arduous task of sterilization.

"This is the clone that made it past the guards," Shī stated more than asked, drawing up next to the table and staring down at the mutilated cadaver.

"Yes. He was disguised as an allied shinobi when he slaughtered five Jounin medics," Sakura said, scrubbing her hands up to the elbow.

"And yet, no one seemed to notice that someone was running around murdering medics right in front of them."

Sakura's lips twisted in distaste. The way he said it made it sound like they were to blame for not having caught the imposter sooner, like they hadn't done enough. She finished rinsing and dried herself off on one of the disposable sterile towels from a nearby bin. "That's right. Not even the sensor your division sent us could tell the difference."

The two medics stared each other down, neither wanting to back off. She'd known the guy for all of five minutes and already she didn't like him. What was his problem, anyway? Was he trying to antagonize her?

Just then, Shī broke the staring contest and brushed past her to get to the sink where he removed his arm guards and began washing his hands just as she'd done. In the narrow tent dominated by the stainless steel examination table in the middle, Sakura felt his bare upper arm brush her shoulder with his passing. She wanted to rub the spot where it tingled in the wake of the fleeting contact, but stopped herself to avoid having to wash again. When they were both ready, they stood on opposite sides of the table and peered over the cleaved corpse.

"What have you learned?" Shī asked, his eyes roaming over the body.

"Not much," Sakura said, the disappointment evident in her tone. "First of all, his composition is more similar to a plant's than a human's. What's truly baffling is that he was able to become Neji down to the cellular level almost completely."

"Neji?"

"Oh, the shinobi he impersonated," Sakura clarified.

Shī was silent for a moment as he resumed his scrutiny of her. "You know him personally."

"I don't see how that's relevant, but yes, if you must know."

"Did you really not notice that this thing wasn't your friend?"

Sakura's indignation returned with renewed vigor. "For your information, it's because I know Neji personally that I figured out this thing wasn't him. He said something to me that the real Neji never would have said, and that's when I took him out."

At this, Shī blinked as though surprised. "It was you?"

"That's right. He came at me and I bashed his head in. End of story."

Another staring contest ensued, but this one was less hostile and more curious, like he had just learned something important about her and was currently questioning it. Sakura sighed, glad that her hair was tied back in a short ponytail to keep it off her neck lest she start pulling on it.

"Anyway, if the interrogation is over let's get to work," she said, staring determinedly at the corpse.

"Fine."


Two hours into the autopsy and Sakura had all but forgotten exactly who she was standing across from. As soon as they dived into the work, Shī turned into the perfect partner—professional, level-headed, and efficient. They were so seamless that he was able to keep up with her train of thought before she could finish fully articulating it. If she ignored the personal animosity between them, Sakura found that he was very easy, if not enjoyable, to work with.

"The DNA analysis will take some time," Sakura explained as she scraped a tissue sample from the cadaver and prepared a petri dish. "I want to stimulate cell division to see how exactly the clones function when not under the influence of outside chakra."

Shī nodded absently but he was busy sweeping the corpse with his chakra. "This kind of transformation is like nothing I've ever seen. Even the best technique executed with flawless control is imperfect. No one can truly become someone else."

Sakura turned away from where she'd left the sample to cultivate and sighed. "Miho couldn't figure it out either. It's obviously not something that even a sensor type can distinguish, or we wouldn't be in this situation."

Shī held a hand in front of his face and rubbed the dark green substance dyeing his fingers. "That's ridiculous. There must be a way for me to detect the difference somehow..."

They'd scoured the specimen with a fine-toothed comb. Shī scanned it with his sensitive chakra, trying to feel the structure while they broke it down with their corrosive medical chakra. They were tired and frustrated with the lack of progress, and so they finally decided to examine the Zetsu clone's DNA in action. Shī wanted to see a living specimen, and Sakura was ready to try any avenue at this point.

"The sample will take some time to grow, so why don't we make some rounds in the meantime?" Sakura offered, already moving to the sink to disinfect again.

Shī's expression hardened as he turned to look at her, and suddenly Sakura was reminded that they didn't actually get along. She frowned, but he said nothing as he took her place at the sink. They exited the lab in silence with Sakura in the lead.

"This is the administration tent where we receive new patients and communicate with headquarters," Sakura said mechanically. "The room we were just in is the lab, obviously."

Sakura got that chilling feeling people get when being watched, and she chanced a look over her shoulder. Shī was watching her back with guarded emptiness. She clenched a fist and turned back around just as they came to the entrance.

"The entire campsite is surrounded by a blockade maintained by Douton users. No one's allowed to go beyond it. That tent over there," she said, gesturing to the left, "is the mess hall. You can go any time of the day or night, but you only get two meals a day. They keep track."

Shī just made a noncommittal grunting sound to confirm that he'd heard her. Sakura's eye twitched.

"And this tent," she said, leading him to a large structure filled with people in various states of life and death, "is the OR. We group them by severity. The worst are in the back."

"I think that's all the tour I'll need," Shī cut in suddenly, gaze focused intently on the OR tent. "I'll see to the wounded now. Call me when the sample's ready for testing."

He made to enter the OR tent without her, and it took Sakura a second to realize that he'd just dismissed her rather abruptly. Without really thinking, she reached out for his shoulder and forced him to face her. In her anger, she'd used a little chakra to make sure he didn't overpower her and slip away. A moment of unbridled shock passed between them, but it quickly turned hostile.

"What is your problem?" Sakura hissed.

Shī narrowed his eyes at her. "I don't have a problem. I'm just here to do a job, and right now you're directly preventing me from doing it."

Sakura gaped at him. "Excuse me? You're the one running off without giving me a chance to finish showing you around. If you're going to be here, you need to know these basics."

"There are shinobi dying in there. So let me do my job and you do yours."

Does he really think...?

"I'm just as responsible for those patients as you are," Sakura said, grabbing his wrist to pull him to the side in order to divert attention from their heated argument. The last thing sick people needed was more stress. "Or did you not get the memo that I'm one of the head medics here?"

He took a moment to peer down at her, an action that made Sakura feel uncomfortably small. "You may be the Hokage's favorite, but this is a war and people are suffering. You're only as good as your skills out here. Instead of arguing with me, you should think about making yourself useful to the people who need you."

Sakura was speechless. How dare he accuse her of shirking her duties? She was an important player in this division as one of the most skilled medical ninja around, and here he was telling her that she wasn't doing her job properly.

"Excuse me," Shī said, turning away from her and marching into the OR tent.

Sakura blinked, momentarily rooted to her spot.

What the hell was that?

Somehow, they had both lost their tempers over nothing at all and now... Sakura swallowed the lump in her throat. Quarreling with another medic at a time like this was the last thing she should be doing. They had to work together to save lives and win this war, so whatever enmity existed between them would have to be stopped before it got any worse. She didn't know what she'd done to merit Shī's dislike, but they would both have to get over it.

Sakura took a steadying breath and dutifully trudged into the tent, ready to work herself to the bone once more.


Author's note: Remember, reviews are so much love!