As Team 7 was led through the small collection of shacks and huts, they would do their best not to show emotion. But how do you do that when you're watching a little girl's life ebbing away?
Falcon and his comrades had lost all the color in their faces. Each boy stood next to beds of the sick without a sign of fear for their well-being. Naruto couldn't help but admire them. They seemed so calm. It was almost creepy. Shivering, he looked out the door to see a black area near one of the huts.
"Hey," he called to Falcon, "What's with that black spot?" He pointed to the place of question and Falcon grew even grimmer.
"That," he whispered, "was one of the huts we would use to keep our dead. When it was filled, we burned it down along with the corpses."
Horror flooded Naruto's senses as a feeling of nausea rose up his throat. Forcing himself to swallow, the blond ninja strode over to Sakura, who seemed to be inspecting one of the ill.
It was a young man, somewhere in his late teens, with short brown hair and a thick, muscular build. He had a dark tan all over, evidence to his hard toil in the fields.
"Tell me something Kuro-Tori…" she said, turning to the red-head, "When did this all begin?"
Kuro-Tori looked to her and gently replied, "About a year ago. A man who worked in the fields felt ill and nothing we did could make him feel better. He died after two months."
"Hmmm," she whispered. Suddenly everyone heard loud gasping.
A young girl was fighting for air. She clutched her throat and her deep blue eyes bulged.blonde bangs were plastered to her forehead and her entire body writhed in agony.
"What the hell? What's going on?!" Naruto yelled.
"I don't know!!" Sakura cried hysterically. She quickly ran to the girl's bunk and placed one hand on her forehead and the other over her heart. A soft green glow emitted from the pink haired ninja's palms and slowly engulfed the girl's body. Falcon stood opposite of Sakura and looked at the young girl.
"F-Falcon…" she gasped. The silver haired boy smiled handsomely and said just above a whisper, "You're going to be fine, Kaede, she'll heal you." Kaede smiled back.
'Are they lovers?' Naruto wondered. Suddenly the blonde felt a hand on his shoulder. Naruto looked up and recognized Haru's face in the eerie green glow. He seemed to be just as worried as Falcon was. 'Now I'm seriously confused! Does Haru love her too?'
Three Hours Later
Sakura fell backward (and was caught by Kakashi), breathing heavily. "She's stable for now, but I don't know for how long. She needs someone with a lot more experience than me." She explained to a worried looking Falcon and Haru, who sighed in relief.
Kaede lay in her bunk, shaking and weak. Falcon covered her with a warm blanket and ran his fingers through her long tresses. Haru's face slipped from relief to sadness as he walked out of the tiny hut.
Naruto, curious as usual, followed silently. 'Alright, let's find out what's going on…'