2. Patient X

Waking up the next morning my eyes were blurrier than normal and as the image of the Kazekage's sleeping face faded into view, I wasn't sure whether or not I was still sleeping. His hair fell softly over his forehead, exposing fully the red Kanji in the upper right hand corner. I knew it meant love and for an inexplicable reason felt a pang of sadness. I was reaching up to move aside some of his hair in order to see the tattoo better when his hand caught my wrist and me off guard. With his eyes still closed he said "That's not a good idea." His grip wasn't hurtful and as he loosened it, he opened his eyes. The bluish pupils appeared slowly, like a turquoise sunrise on a dark planet.

"Love?" I questioned. He didn't respond, simply dropped my hand and rose from beneath the bedsheets. I didn't want to be a bother but my curiosity burned too brightly.

"When did you get it, if you don't mind me asking. It's just that it's red and I haven't come across a tattoo artist who uses that color." I tried.

He sighed, understanding that I wasn't going to let up. "It was a long time ago."

I pursed my lips. "She must have meant a lot to you. Believe it or not, I understand commemorating loved ones, even those that leave you." I lifted my hair to reveal the crescent moon hanging from my hairline. "It's for my parents. On the night they met, there was a terrible sandstorm. The only thing they could see through it was the moon, so they watched it all night." I let my hair fall back to my shoulders.

"What happened to them?" he asked.

"They were killed on a mission to the village hidden in the sound five years ago." I had to stop myself from delving too much deeper for fear I might cry. Before I realized what was happening, the Kazekage had stood, placed his hands at his sides, and bowed his head.

"I apologize for your loss. At that time I had not yet found my light. I lead the Sand's involvement with those destructive ninja at the time. I hold myself responsible for your parents' death. I hope you can forgive me for the pain I've caused you." He didn't move for a moment and there was silence between us. I smiled. I knew it, he was kind.

I stretched myself out to him and reached for his chin, leading his gaze to mine. "I know what happened, it wasn't your fault. The leaders of both the Sand and the Sound used you for military advancement. When they informed me of my mother and father's death, they told me everything."

His eyes were wide, staring at me as if he couldn't believe what I'd said. He was visually uncomfortable, his muscles tensing before averting his eyes. "Yashamaru. My uncle. That's who I loss when I got the tattoo." And then he was gone, disappeared into the bathroom to prepare for the day. I rose from the bed regardless and made my way to the closet. I grabbed the closest robe and covered myself, looking in the mirror as I did so. I noticed a purplish mark on the side of my neck, and touched it gingerly. I saw the blush spread across my cheeks as I remembered the previous night. The Kazekage walked into the closet and paused, noticing the bruise. I quickly tried to hide the spot but I was too late. A guilty look crossed his face before he walked towards me.

"It seems as though I'll be doing nothing but apologizing to you this morning." he said as he moved to cover my hand. He moved it aside and examined the skin.

"It's not that bad, just a little love bite." I attempted to reassure him though he seemed doubtful. The hairs on my neck raised as he dropped his face to my neck.

"How could I mark your skin out of love?" He leaned down and softly covered the bruise with his lips. The pressure was slightly painful but mostly tender. He brought his face back to mine, determination set in his jaw. "I'd like to take you out for dinner tonight. Is that something you'd be interested in?"

I was shocked, only able to nod my head once. He seemed content. "Then I'll leave you to finish getting ready."

And he was gone, leaving me to ghost sensations of his presence and an impending shift at the hospital. I stood there for a few moments before realizing that if I was going in to work then I'd have to find a way of covering up the mark on my neck. I clicked my tongue in irritation before searching for my uniform through the laundry.

I was making my way out of the door when my phone rang. "Hey Ichina, what's up?"

"You didn't answer the phone when I called you last night. Are you okay?" she seemed worried.

I thought back to what I was doing the previous night around the time that she called. Oh right, the Kazekage. I bit my lip timidly. "I was… busy. But I'm fine, no need to fret."

She hesitated. "Okay. Are you coming in to work today?"

"Yeah I'm on my way right now. What's wrong?"

"I'm not entirely sure. They just brought a patient in to our unit and we don't know what to do with him. He's in pretty bad shape and we haven't seen anything like this before. No one knows what to do and since you're the head doctor, we're waiting on you for orders."

"I'll be there soon." I said and picked up the pace.

I arrived at the hospital in record time, rushing to the ICU, grabbing gloves and a mask along the way. Ichina met me in the hallway with a clipboard of his stats and a summary of how he was found. She looked extremely stressed. Apparently the man had been found at the entrance of the village not even an hour ago, his only belongings a piece of paper he'd been clutching and a headband. When stopped by the guards he collapsed. He'd been rushed to the hospital, strange markings along his body drawing concern. He was covered in black spots that looked like smudges but couldn't be rubbed away. Looking at his stats I saw that his vitals were fine, excluding his blood pressure, and that someone had decided to call him Patient X.

"Maybe he collapsed from exhaustion." I mused. "Do you know where he's from? It says you found a headband."

Ichina paused. "It was tucked in the waistband of his pants."

"I need to see it whenever you get a moment." I flipped through the papers on the clipboard. "Tell me about his internal damage."

"When he arrived he was seizing and blood was rising to the surface of his skin. We were able to stop the seizure but he abnormal bleeding is still continuing, even now. We don't know what to do." she said, reaching for the door. I followed her into the room and began to look the man over. His body was indeed covered in black spots. Everywhere else, dark red highlighted his skin.

"Ichina get me some anesthetic, I need to see what's happening beneath his skin." I ordered. We gave the medicine a moment and then I grabbed a scalpel. I made a small incision in his shoulder. Immediately I knew something wasn't right. Instead of flowing, blood spurted from the cut as if I'd punctured an artery. I grabbed a bandage and wrapped the wound, watching the force of the blood lessening until it was indeed flowing. There was some sort of pressure building beneath his skin.

"Ichina get Railin and Don, we need to go into surgery now. There's something wrong with his circulatory system."

She nodded and left the room, heading to prep for surgery. I didn't know much medical ninjutsu having abandoned the path of the shinobi long ago. But I knew enough to be able to take a look at his chakra network. Looking at his arm I noticed that his chakra flow was blocked, all of the points holding the same amount instead of sending it along the pathway. There was no flow and the buildup was creating a pressure that was bruising his skin from the inside out. His blood was flowing, however slowly. But if I couldn't find the cause of the block soon, his lungs would fail from lack of oxygen and all the other organs would follow.

It didn't take us long to begin surgery. I administered a liquid form of pentoxifylline via IV before taking a look at his heart. It wasn't contracting properly- the muscles were too weak to propel the necessary amounts of blood through the pulmonary artery. But even more troubling than that was the chakra building beneath his heart. I had to open his chest to get to it better which took time and precision. I'd only performed a heart surgery once before but I didn't have much of a choice. Every doctor had a first, and a second. This was I had better access to the problem which I was sure was the chakra. The buildup was causing a strain on the organ, resulting in its inability to function.

"Ichina, I need you to keep your hands above his heart and describe to me what you see. I'm going to need to release the chakra from behind his heart." I watched as the familiar green hue surrounded her hands. She looked nervous but we didn't have time to waste. Don handed me a syringe and I angled myself so that I could move behind his heart which was extremely difficult.

"Move to your left." Ichina's directions guided me to the pocket. It took more time than I expected. His heart was pumping and blood was staining my glasses which Raillin had to keep wiping away.

"Okay you've reached it."

At Ichina's word I pushed the needle into the chakra pocket and felt the pressure release. I didn't know if chakra could be contained by the syringe, but I pulled on the handle regardless, thinking that perhaps there would be residue or something inside of the tube. I handed it to Railin and told her to take it to the lab and have someone well verse in ninjutsu take a look at it. Then we proceeded to close surgery. With the last stitch, I breathed a sigh of relief, content that we hadn't lost the man.

"Don, move him into one of the rooms and monitor his blood circulation. Administer one dose of pentoxifylline every six hours and oxygen through a nasal cannula." I turned to Ichina. "Show me his belongings."

She took me back to the original room the man had been in and retrieved the headband and piece of paper. The former had the insignia of the Village Hidden in the Sound and the later, the kanji for 'self'. I didn't know what any of it meant but if we were to assume the man was a ninja, especially one from the Sound, then it seemed like something the Kazekage should know. I placed the stranger's belongings in a plastic bag and, after telling Ichina to call me if anything were to happen, I headed for the Kazakage's office.

Once I'd made it to the building, I was lead inside by Baki, the Kazekage's sensei and body guard. He took me to his office where I found the Kazekage, pen in hand, gazing through one of the windows. He turned his eyes silently on us, having picked up that something was the matter.

"Lord Kazekage, a man was brought into the hospital earlier. We think he's a ninja from the Village Hidden in the Sound."

…

"I see." The Kazekage folded his hands beneath his chin and closed his eyes, taking a moment to process the information that'd I'd relayed to him. He was silent for a few seconds before he opened his eyes. "Baki,"

He stood at attention. "Yes my Lord?"

"Please leave the room. I'd like to speak to my wife in private."

The shock of him referring to me in that way was apparent on both of our faces. Baki was able to compose himself sooner than I was and nodded before disappearing. I felt awkward standing in the room alone with him and I busied my eyes with every corner of the room, just to avoid his. But when he rose from his desk, I found myself watching his movements intently as he produced a white cloth and poured some water on it. As he neared me, I could feel my heart begin to race. He raised the damp cloth to my face and began to rub away at certain spots.

"Are you aware that your face is covered in blood?" he asked.

My eyes widened. "No. I mean yes, but... I forgot." I was getting annoyed at how lame I sounded. The truth was, during surgery I knew my garments must have been stained but it wasn't a big concern at the time.

"How long were you in surgery?" He spoke with his eyes on the spots he was trying to clean. Although some effort was needed in order to wipe away dried blood, he was considerably gentle.

"Four hours, I think."

"You must be tired."

"When you're dealing with a person's life, you'd be surprised at how quickly time passes." I gave a little smile when he met my eyes.

He withdrew his hand and looked away. "So I suppose you'll be too tired later to have our meal?"

I felt a pang of guilt pass through my stomach. "Forgive me Lord Kazekage but I have to attend to the patient. I want to watch him overnight incase the problem reoccurs. I'm concerned for his wellbeing."

He nodded, heading back to his desk. When he sat down, he resumed the pose I'd first found him in, looking through the window, pensive and silently. I felt an air of dismissal arise and took it as my cue to leave.

Walking through the hallway I was lost in thought. So much so that I didn't realize there was a person in front of me until we collided. I fell into the wall, apology on my tongue until I looked up.

"Oh hey little sis, haven't seen you in a while."

It was Kankuro. I rubbed my arm, annoyed. "You know I really wish you'd stop calling me that, we are the same age you know."

He laughed and before I knew it, I was being pulled into a giant hug. "Well since you married my little brother, that automatically decreased your age. I didn't know you were into the whole cougar thing."

"Shut up!" I pushed him away. "Idiot. You know I didn't choose this."

"Aw come on," he said, draping his arm about my shoulders. "It can't be that bad. You're probably just starved for conversation, among other things."

I looked at him, shocked. I couldn't believe- well, no. Actually I could believe he'd imply something like that, I did believe it. So I ignored him, pretending I didn't catch on to his allusion. Kankuro and I graduated the same year at the academy and were placed on a squad together. We trained for two years and took on missions together until the Kazekage graduated as well and I was replaced. Kankuro was removed from the regular forces and put on a team with his siblings and I had trouble adjusting to a new team. That same year was the altercation with the Leaf and once my parents died I extinguished the flame lighting my way along the shinobi path and turned to medicine instead. I studied under the top medical ninja in the village and became a doctor at the hospital when I was eighteen, around the same time the current Kazekage was chosen. But Kankuro and I were good friends. Come to think of it, we were really good friends. In the past four years I'd seen him less and less but we had been very close before. Him calling me sis was nothing new, he'd said that even before I'd married his brother and nearly laughed himself to death considering how accurate the description had become.

Suddenly Kankuro yanked me in one direction, through a door. It took me by surprise and I didn't have time to react. I hadn't notice myself moving into a fighting position and had done so before I knew it. Old habits die hard, I guess. Kankuro blinked at me.

"What are you doing Shinja?"

"I should be asking you the same question."

He waved at me dismissively. "I pulled you in here because we need to talk to you."

"We?" I asked, relaxing.

He nodded. "Temari will be here soon."

Just as he said her name she entered the room. I nodded a hello to her and she smiled politely. "Okay, down to business. I don't know if you're aware of this Koshinja, but Gaara's birthday is the day after tomorrow."

I had the resist the urge to curse. "I had no idea, he didn't say anything to me. If I had known-"

She raised a hand to stop me. "Gaara's not the type of person to parade around with news of his birthday. Aside from Baki, we three are the only ones who know. Kankuro and I have tried to organize a surprise party for him a couple of times but to no avail. He always finds out. We'd like to try again this year, and with your help maybe we'd be successful this time."

"I don't really understand what it is you want me to do." I confessed.

Kankuro poked me in the forehead. "We're gonna try and do this tomorrow, a day earlier to up the surprise, probably around four or so. All you need to do is distract him while we set everything up. Think you can handle that?"

Taking the phone number he offered me I nodded and told them I would try before rushing out of the room. I trusted Kankuro obviously but being locked in a room with his sister scared me more than being in one with his brother. Now I was tasked with the impossible, distracting the Kazekage. I put it out of my mind to deal with tomorrow before heading back to the hospital to check on patient X.

…

I awoke to the smell of rice. Looking across the room I saw a bag from Samahara's rice shack. It was tied with a blue bow and chopsticks were laid next to it. Scanning the room further I was met with the peculiar sight of the Kazekage sitting in one of the chairs adjacent to me. He was leaning on his hand, legs crossed, totally asleep. I smiled. I liked seeing him asleep, he seemed peaceful in this unconscious state, cute even. He was still in his kage robes and I had to wonder if he'd ever made it home. He stirred slightly before opening his eyes and setting them on me. He heaved a heavy sigh before closing his eyes once more.

"You fell asleep." he said.

"So did you."

He didn't respond, or open his eyes, simply pointed towards the bag I'd noticed earlier. "I brought you some food."

"Thank you." I went to retrieve the meal and opened the bag. It was a packed lunch. "Did you- I mean, what time is it?"

"Fairly early."

I moved back to my chair. Staring intently at his face I asked "Did you ever make it back home?"

He opened his eyes then, looking at me with interest. "No, not yet. When I left my office I decided to go eat and bought something for you as well. I brought it here but you were asleep."

"And you waited for me. That's very kind of you, I appreciate it." When I flashed him a smile he looked away and I swear I could see a blush rising to his cheeks. I couldn't help but think that it was the most adorable thing I'd ever seen. I set the lunch aside and checked the time. It was nearly five in the morning and the other doctor would have started his shift by now. So with one last look at patient X's vitals, I turned back to the Kazekage.

"Let's go home."

I was exhausted. Kicking off my shoes at the front door felt like a luxury I hadn't experienced in a long time. I had my sights set on bed as I moved through the house, not bothering to turn on alight. It was so completely dark that I forgot the Kazekage was even with me. Suddenly I remembered what Kankuro had asked of me earlier. As I climbed into bed, not caring about my beyond-dirty clothes, I thought it best to be honest with the Kazekage. Well, as honest as I could be given the circumstances.

"Lord Kazekage?" I started, turning my face towards the bathroom. The ruler of the Suna stood, bare-chested and nearly naked as he washed his face. Some of the water had dripped onto his chest and was sliding down his torso towards his abs. Despite how tired I was, my stomach lurched in desire.

"What is it?"

"Are you busy tomorrow? I'd like to spend some time with you, if that's alright."

He eyed me suspiciously, probably questioning the randomness of the question. "Is there something in particular that you have in mind?" he asked, switching off the light, an action I was immensely grateful for. In the darkness it was much more difficult for him to see the red spread across my cheeks, which would have certainly giver me away.

"Not really. I just want to make up for the dinner we missed tonight because of me." I said before yawning sleepily.

He joined me in the bed and instinctively I knew he wasn't facing me when he said "As you wish."

With his consent I closed my eyes, trying my best to combat the nervousness and excitement I felt about the next day and all the plans surrounding it.