"Sakura!" Naruto shouted seeing his teammate from a far.
"Ino-chan" Sai arrived first. His voice held its normal tone but his eyes expressed worry.
" Shikamaru, Temari." Naruto was grinning ear to ear. He glad to see his friends safe. But he and Sai could not take a step closer. The group of seven had been transported into a quarantined area protected by a strong seal. They were not to leave it until all testing was complete and there were no signs of illness.
"Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru. How were you able to overcome it?" The Hokage's voice held concern. She had started to wonder if sending them to Suna was going to be their death sentence as the sickness had proven more difficult than anyone could have imagined.
"A foreigner transferred it to herself, curing us but in exchange for her life..." Sakura answered as Ino looked away.
"Hokage-sama. We have all the notes from every medical nin, all results and tests. Would you and the others here be able to use them to find a cure. Those in Suna are still fighting for their lives." Temari looked clearly into the Hokage's eyes. Her brothers were still sick.
"We will help in anyway." Yoshi added.
"Us too." Ino stated determined.
"We will do everything in our power to cure this. Your information is desperately needed as we only have had second hand accounts." The Hokage was determined. She was a medical ninja first and foremost, to lose to a poison, illness, or plague was beneath her. She would not give up until this thing was eradicated. Not only to assist their ally, Suna, but also to ensure the safety of Konoha.
"We will give you everything we can." Yoshi spoke up.
"Yes. But first, all of you must be checked out. One by one, go into the tent by the food supplies. We can't enter the quarantine so we will be using jutsus and chakra to do our examinations. We want to make sure all of you are ok."
"Will I get to see my parents?" A small child asked, the one nominated as the seventh person by the others back in Suna. (Truly it was none of the others could allow each other to be saved so out of spite and reluctance they picked the kid whose family were all on the outside.)
"Yes, but for now you must stay with us. We need your help taking care of everything while we are here." Sakura crouched down and patted the kid on the head. While her words were soft, her eyes were sad.
Temari looked the boy over carefully. Children, elders, and infants were more susceptible to whatever it was destroying Suna. The child was lucky to be alive.
"Why am I here? My time had finally come, my wife has already passed, my children are all already dead..." The eldest of them, Nishimura, finally spoke. His eyes looked hollow and confused. Among medical ninjas, youth, and allies, he was the only one present that was old, not with any knowledge or insight on the subject, and nearing the end of his life anyway.
"You don't know?" Ino looked at the man questioningly. This man was asked for specifically according to the Kazekage, making him the person Yumi was hired to save - or so they were all assuming.
"A woman was hired to save you by someone in our village. She never said who it was but that she was paid by their entire life savings. She even exchanged her own life to save all of ours, including yours, to finish the task." Sakura explained.
"What? Who would do such a thing? I have no family left. My sons and daughters all died in the 4th great ninja war, my wife dead long before that. I only have a single daughter-in-law left and her two children and they would not have the means to do such a thing. I don't have any ties to suna council and most days I spent with only a few other elders like myself and my daughter in law and grandchildren..." He could not think of a single person who would hire someone to save him specifically or have the funds to do so.
Temari said nothing wondering similar things. She also did not fully know the young woman's reason for doing what she did - she could have stood more of a chance surviving if she had just taken the elder's sickness, not others as well. Gaara had told her that Yumi had also called her out specifically. But what had been the point? Her pregnancy was probably no longer, given the fact how long she was sick and how she had avoided the medics who were so desperately trying to save the dying. She had not called attention to herself and yet it had been found out, but she had to face the facts - it was probably too late now.
The small area they were in held six small sleeping tents, two bathrooms, various necessities, and a large supply of food and water.
Temari stood back, subsequently allowing all the others to go through the examination first, something not unnoticed by Sakura and even Shikamaru. The elder was next. Sakura helped him into the examination tent. They were using chakra based examination techniques to avoid contamination if there was any, so far there was no sign of the illness meaning the girl had taken it all into her own self. Shikamaru also waited back. When finally, it was him or Temari, he eyed her waiting for he to move forward. She did not. The expression on her face was grim and her eyes showed a dread, like she was in line waiting to hear the news of the death of a family member.
Shikamaru closed his eyes. She was in line waiting to hear the news of the death of a family member, their family member, their unborn child. He had forgiven her for not telling him right away, understanding the hopelessness she was carrying with her as there was no cure for her and infants born with it all had died. Many women miscarried, not even knowing till their doctors told them. The disease took every strength they had away. He did not move to enter the tent next, instead he turned towards her.
"Come." He moved his hand out to the troublesome woman. They would go together, hear the news together, grieve together, and live on (if they were not contaminated).
Solemnly the two walked into the tent. They were the last to enter. Temari wanted him to go first, not ready to fully accept that which she already knew. Hearing it out loud officially, would make it no longer avoidable. She had lost her first child, already unable to perform her duties as a mother and the most basic instinct of protecting ones young. Temari watched as they checked out Shikamaru. When in the inspection would they know? When their chakra entered her as it did him, when they checked her mind as they were doing him, or when they finally moved to her torso as they were now doing him? Two times over they checked him, careful and thorough, so of course they would not miss her on her. The miscarriage she did not realize she had or the dead fetus still in her womb. She did not know which would be worse, but the result was the same, her unborn child was dead.
"You are clean. Next." They stated. Shikamaru did not move to leave the tent, but stayed. She was next.
Tears were falling down her face, at least she figured they were. Her body was turning cold. Yumi no longer had recognition of those outside of herself. She didn't even know her own body. Everything felt cold, and turning colder. Was she really going to die crying? He always told her she had too kind of a heart, a bleeding broken heart. She couldn't save them all. She had gotten her job done, but she could not save them all. Cold, unable, immobile, unrecognizable, nothing...
Temari would not cry. She was a shinobi. Death was a part of life, even death of children. Inhaling slowly she walked forward. Her face was somber, her eyes hard. Standing in front of them, she closed her eyes letting them work. The chakra entered in her shoulder, she felt it move to her heart to check her vitals. Then it moved up into her head and mind checking her brain activity. No one said anything. The chakra spread out, checking her torso, her limbs, her fingers. Then it repeated, the same as it had with Shikamaru. Temari found herself holding her breath. Exhaling, she opened her eyes and continued breathing.
"You are finished and you are ok, but your pregnancy..." They spoke excruciatingly slow. This was only the second time she had seen a doctor, first was when she found out. What was the point of checkups when the village and herself were sick without a cure? She had not wanted to risk her brothers finding out, another grave piece of news in place of what normally would be celebration. Choices she had made created this outcome. Temari closed her eyes and grimaced, she knew what was to come.
"means you must commit yourself to more examinations so we can check frequently on the unborn's status as your pregnancy continues." The words were stern and unbending.
Temari's eyes popped open in surprise. That meant the child still lived, that she had not caused its death. Instantly her hand went to her stomach.
"Ah - yes." She managed to state; Shikamaru nodding as well. The examiners nodded making the arrangement official. Shikamaru gently grasped Temari's free hand. He pulled her towards him and held her out the other side of the tent, a more private area.
Instantly his arms went around her, embracing her. He knew what she had thought. He had thought the same. He knew what she felt, he had felt the same. She knew what she was feeling. He hugged her tightly. Tears quietly being pressed into his shoulder. Tears of joy and relief. Their child would come to be. Their child still lived.
"Troublesome." He too closed his eyes as they both held each other.
"Sakura read that to me again." The Hokage demanded. Sakura's lip twitched but again for the 10th time, she reread the passage of notes. It had been two days that they were in the confinement but all working together, both sides, to find a cure.
"Ugh! Why can't we just infect one of us?" Naruto groaned
"No! Not until we know more - we can't do that again, or I'll volunteer first cause I'm not doing that again!" Ino shouted instantly upset. The girl had died for nothing. Even as they re-read all the notes again and again there was nothing there.
"We can't give up yet. Even if we find nothing, we must keep trying." Yoshi stated.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Nishimura offered.
"Take these and read them to those medics over there. Maybe there's something they can use." Sakura picked up a pile of notes and handed them to the elder. He nodded his head and slowly walked towards another group of medical ninjas on the other side of their barrier.
"There must be something..." Temari glanced towards Suna. Her two brothers were in there.
"We will find something." Shikamaru stated. Medical arts were not his specialty but he too could read. Picking up another set of notes, he went to join another group. Everyone working together must be able to find a cure.
The day was long gone and they all slowly retired to sleep and rest. No one could work continuously. Ino had picked a tent next to Sakura. Shikamaru's tent was also next to hers, but she knew it was going to be empty that he would sneak off to Temari. The Suna woman's only family was left back in their village, both sick and still no cure in sight. Ino closed her eyes for a moment.
"Ino..." Came a timid voice from another tent.
"Sakura" Her own voice was not much bolder.
"I'm starting to think there is no cure..." She admitted to her once and still best friend.
"Don't say that. You saved Kankuro before, you'll do it again. I know you - you never give up even when you should!" Ino reminded her
"Yeah."
"You're just tired. We're all tired. You'll see, we'll figure it out in the morning." Ino's voice lacked the confidence it needed, but still she meant those words. They were all just tired.
In the morning and throughout all of the next day - no one found a cure or even the start of a cure. The Hokage, Sakura, Ino, Yoshi, and other medics all worked together, trying to solve the pieces of the puzzle. Shikamaru, Naruto, Sai, Temari, and Nishimura all assisted in any way they could. Everyone was just tired.
The day passed, followed by the next day, and the next... Soon, already, it was five days later.
"Ino... didn't you say you thought you heard a murmur in the heart?" Sakura asked with more hope than she had spoken with before.
"Yeah. Why?" Ino responded perking up.
"We've already asked ourselves if it's pneumonia and the septicaemic plague, but what if it is similar to the pneumonic plague except it started near the heart? The black death."
"Sakura, if it is a form we can look for sources and signs of Yersinia pestis. If it is similar... the "Black death" is already difficult to treat but we should have seen the bacterium..." The Hokage quickly flipped through the books. This was the first hope of a cure they had stumbled upon.
"Could the bacterium only be in the heart, using the blood stream to provide itself with nutrients from the rest of the body?" Yoshi asked.
"If that's true, we'll have to be careful applying antibiotics and we'll have to use Chakura to flush out their blood stream..." The Hokage searched book after book looking for something.
"Can it be done similar like when you saved Kankuro the last time?" Temari asked.
"Yeah but we already tried that..." Sakura started to feel defeated and frustrated.
"Maybe not with the right thing..." Started Ino.
"This, with this, and this... But we'll have to do this... Ugh and that too. And where's my last book!?" The Hokage had five books open now and again began searching through her stacks.
"Naruto help me find that book!" She shouted.
"I don't know what you are looking for - Shouldn't you know where it is, it's your book. your old age is making you forgetful lately..." A large table was instantly thrown on the poor blonde who did not stand a chance of dodging.
"Found it!" She declared. "Now to combine them all into something that actually works - without killing the patient..."
They had a cure - finally... well the start of a cure. Instead of racking their brains looking for clues, they were now racking the trying to piece together 5 different procedures and remedies into something that was actually utilizable and without a side-effect of death. The group was revived and working harder than before...
"Kazekage-sama!" The shout had an excitement he had not heard in long over a month. It had been seven days since the seven had been sent to the contained area outside of Suna, hopefully cured.
"Kazekage-sama." The ninja was quieter now actually within speaking distance. "They said they may have found a cure - they found a cure! They are coming to cure us!" He repeated himself twice exhilaration pouring out of his voice and hope filling his eyes.
"Who?" He asked, not wishing to give into another false hope.
Ino, Sakura, and Yoshi entered Suna again. The Hokage had been restricted of coming until the cure was proven to work. Yoshi had stated that he himself would go alone, but Sakura would not allow it. Ino too could not let them go in alone, she had unfinished work that she was now determined to finally see through.
Gaara's eyes hollowed as he saw them. They had been cured and now they were back, the girl's efforts for naught. Solemnly he moved forward. If they could cure it, maybe there was hope - but there was no proof yet.
"We have a cure." Sakura stated noticing the Kazekage's demeanor. He was not hopeful.
"We'll prove it to you." Ino informed the young Kage.
"Hn" Gaara's sand moved them to where the patients were.
"Sakura, Ino." Fujimoto stated, seeing the two leaf ninjas. Her voice crackled and she coughed, her body weak, she had to hold herself upright to keep from falling over.
"We think we have the cure - we are certain. Who should we apply it to first?" Sakura asked the elder medic to pick the first patient.
Sakura, Ino, and Yoshi stood around the bed. It was a healthier patient, since the cure was still unproven, but still sick. Sakura asked for 3 basins of a normal saline solution. Quickly they added medicine and herbs to each of the basins. Then they boiled the first basin of water for 30 minutes, after which she used her chakra to create a bubble of solid water similar to what she had used for Kankuro. The solution was nothing more than the medium to move the antibiotics through the body. The cure consisted of six steps, a basic treatment, flush, an intense treatment, flush, then rehydrate the body, and finally repair damages. As she did each stage, the prep for the next stage would be preformed making it ready to be used at the same time she would require it. The danger was that the assumption was the bacteria were congregated in the heart as well as the respiratory system, damage to which would be fatal thus the reason previous cures were causing quicker deaths.
Carefully she began her work. It took 3 and a half hours to finish all six steps. No one spoke during the trial, not to even ask questions. No one spoke as the patient was rechecked and examined. No one said a single word, all waiting to hear the outcome.
"It worked." Saruwatari quietly stated under his breath, his eyes showing disbelief and liberation. "She doesn't have it anymore." He announced louder.
"YES!" Sakura cheered and Ino clapped.
"Alright we have to treat everyone. We'll go over the practice for all who can do it. Tell those outside to come in. We'll need everyone's help. We must wash and boil everything. Everything must be cleaned and treated and every patient and person must go through the treatment!" Sakura's voice boomed out showing that she was her teacher's student.
"Let's kill this thing." Ino shouted raising rally and hope, again finally.
"Alright Kazekage, you're next." Sakura turned to the kage.
"No, not till everyone else is done. But there is someone I want done next." He informed her, his eyes adamant.
The Hokage stood in the village. With the cure working, there was no longer a fear that she too would contract the desease and die. Quickly she made her way to where Sakura and Ino were. All the medics on the outside of suna were allowed in. It was a mass treatment and cleaning operation. Nothing would be left overlooked.
"Hokage-sama!" Sakura gestured for her to come. The two leaf ninjas and the Kazekage were standing in a small room.
"She's still alive." Stated Ino first. Confusion showed across the Hokage's face; she not know who she was. "Yumi, the one who transferred the disease to herself, is still alive."
"Kami." Cursed the Hokage. The desease was bad enough by itself but to hold one with eight times the amount in one's body was impressive.
"I do not know if I could treat it without killing her..." Sakura explained. The girl's vitals were low, she was in a coma with her heart beat extremely slow. The Hokage walked forward and put a hand on the girl's arm checking. It was cold. The girl was still alive, but barely holding on by a thread.
"I'll do my best." She informed them. They were waiting for her to come to perform the treatment regimen. She tied a headband around her forehead to hold back her bangs and any sweat that might form. This was going to take longer than 3 and a half hours and she probably would need more steps than six.
"Sakura, Ino. Go tend to the others. Make sure this thing gets eradicated. If this girl survives, she won't be able to go another round with this thing. We'll have to have them wipe down this room and fully disinfect it." Her voice was serious. There would be no second chances.
"Yes, Hokage-sama" Sakura jumped to attention followed just as quickly by Ino.
"Yes Hokage-sama." The two left. There were many people to treat and huge areas to clean.
"Kazekage, have you been treated?" The okage eyed the red haired younger kage who slowly gestured no. "Then I'll treat you first, otherwise you can't be in this room." She eyed him. Gaara gave a nod to his head allowing the Hokage to treat him.
"If you do leave this room again, you won't be able to re-enter, not till everything is clean." She informed him as she worked. He could not have his sand armor on during the 'treatment' that was rather uncomfortable. Gaara grimaced as her water ball moved through him.
"I have sand clones monitoring everything. I'll make sure even the sand will be disinfected." He stated with a nod, holding in a grunt. The Hokage's touch was not gentle.
"Is she that special to you?" The Hokage eyed the young man. She had saw the look in his eyes when Sakura mentioned 'killing her'.
"I owe her my sisters life and my sister's child's..." He let it trail off. Sakura had informed him Temari and her pregnancy were both doing well.
"I see..." Stated the Hokage. She knew there was something more, maybe a familiarity or a small crush on the girl, but she knew better than to push it. The girl may not live and the kage himself did not seem to realize his own feelings.
"You're done, make sure your clones are keeping up with everything out there. I want you to keep me informed too; we are going to be here awhile." The Hokage rubbed her hands together and stretched her neck.
The work outside the small room was being done efficiently. Those who could treat people, treated people, those who could not, assisted or cleaned, and even those who were recently treated began to help. With each area cleared and each patient treated a new found hope was solidified. The death toll was stopped at 557, 4% of Suna's total population. The crisis was over, now was the time of recovery... something that would be slow and difficult given that nearly every section of Suna had been affected.
Seventeen hours the Hokage worked without a break of pause. Seventeen hours and 28 steps in the treatment process, some of which the Kazekage knew Sakura had not preformed on the other patient. 'Awhile' was an understatement for the time that had passed.
The girl's heart beat could still be heard on the monitor. There were a number of times both he and the Hokage thought she was taking a turn for the worse, but every time she managed to hold on. Her skin was pale, her frame thin. Her breath was weak, heartbeat slow, and body still cold.
"Well... I don't know if she'll wake up - but it's out of her." The Hokage looked over the girl and then the Kazekage. "I tried to bring her back to consciousness but it didn't work. Her body is as repaired as I can do, most of the damage was from the disease but there was also a lot from the experimental cures she took... Kazekage... I don't know if she'll wake up or completely fade out." Her eyes fixed on his. She didn't want to say that she was not going to wake up, but she had tried to bring her back and had failed.
"Yes. Thank you." He found himself saying. Mentally, he added one to the death toll - 558. He would need to write her bodyguard association, the Jieti Society, and inform them that one of their members was nearing death. His mind flashed to the times when they had talked on the roof. She probably had known she was going to die, that was her justification for using that Jutsu for his sister, Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, Yoshi, and the others. She knew volunteering that it was a long shot, she had mentioned that to him. And yet, when they talked all those times on the roof, she still smiled and seemed hopeful.
He would bury her near Chiyo's grave. That's what he told himself.
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