Disclaimer: Fine, you got me...I don't own Naruto or X-Men.
Chapter Nine: Theories and Thoughts
Sakura took a moment to sit and breathe before disembarking from the jet. She had pushed her healing factor to the limit and without chakra to fall back on, she calculated that she would be out of commission for at least two days.
She saw her hands were still withered from their contact with Famine...Sighing, Sakura walked from the hanger.
She would have loved nothing more than to go back to sleep and wait for her A) Hangover to subside and B) for her body and chakra reserves to recover. But she had work to do: Reasoning that she could draw a parallel between the kekkei genkai of her world and the mutations of theirs, she set about formulating a way to interpret the differences.
Logan wandered around at about one-thirty that morning-They had been stuck at sea for just over thirteen hours dealing with numerous small aid calls and by the time they had returned to the mansion nearly twenty-four hours had elapsed with the time inconsistencies that time zones created. But nonetheless he had rounds to make: Between two and three every night to check on the students. He had found nothing unusual so far...Even Kitty-notorious for her procrastination and then frantic rush to complete her homework-was asleep. He only had Rogue and Sakura left; both of whom slept at the far end of the mansion.
Knocking lightly on her door, Logan entered and found Rogue had fallen asleep at her computer, probably after a night of research on how to control her abilities through the principles of various martial arts. He himself had been the first to suggest that her studies begin there and what they had found, in theory, was quite promising.
Gently carrying her to her bed, he pulled the blanket over her, saved her page, and turned off her computer and lamp before closing the door behind him as he slid into the hall.
'One to go.' He thought, tapping Sakura's door.
"Come in."
Surprised to find someone awake, he walked in.
"You should get some rest. It's close to two in the morning." He said, folding his arms over his chest.
"That late?" Sakura wondered aloud, glancing at the clock on her computer screen. With a sigh of exhaustion, she began to clear the papers littering her desktop, but her hand slipped and the folder slid off the desk...into Logan's hand.
"You aren't helping your case." He said, setting the manila folder on the corner of her desk.
"I know..."
Sakura woke up feeling worse than she had the night before-not uncommon after strenuous battles...the same thing had happened many times; the most notable being her battle with Sasori of the Red Sand.
She tried not to tense as she rose because that made the pain worse and then she would tense up even further. As she was limping to the shower, she caught a glimpse of herself in a nearby mirror and realized just how badly she had injured herself: The entire right side of her ribcage was a black asymmetrical bruise, her left leg had been torn from her thigh to her ankle by Omega Red, her back had been lacerated by glass shards, and there was a blue ring around her neck from the force Sabretooth had put into suffocating her.
She had been told she had a healing factor, but that it was slower and less efficient than most...
Sighing, she sat back at her desk and began to type. She had lain awake for sometime the night before thinking her hypothesizes over. And she felt she was close to formulating actual theories. All she needed to do was mathematically prove that the mutations in there genetics were single bit errors, like the mutations in her world that resulted in kekkei genkai. A thought suddenly struck her: She had a sample of the toxin Omega Red gave off...and that along with his physiology suggested that a single bit error was impossible.
Cursing aloud for her oversight, she grabbed the vial and researched it using her chakra.
It was pheromone...but not one used for sexual purposes. This one worked by breaking down other's pheromones: The ones used to prime them to release adrenaline, trail pheromones, and the ones that helped the body identify microbes.
Sakura could have kicked herself for not making the connection sooner: Jumping up, she opened the door...slamming right into Logan. With a cry, she tumbled backwards, landing poorly on her injured ribcage.
"You alright?" He asked, helping her up-well, dragging her up, at least.
"Yeah. Sorry." Sakura said, pulling away and sprinting down the hall.
'What the...' He thought before shrugging it off.
Sakura ran to the library, grabbing ten books from the shelves, and running to a table. Laying all of the open, she scanned each one, like a long run-on sentence. The information completely redefined all of her equations. But she needed more information.
Grabbing a jacket to cover the contusions on her neck, she scribbled out a note, and raced through the door of the mansion toward the public library down the street.
She found the notes she needed; old government research papers on mutants and leaked stories: Quickly reading over the list of known mutants, she returned them and walked back through the sliding doors.
"You really should be more careful." A low, deep voice came from behind.
"Oh...Logan. What are you doing here?"
"Looking out for you." He replied bluntly. "You disappear a lot."
Sakura laughed nervously, "Sorry about earlier."
"You didn't hurt me." He said.
"Still...it's only polite to apologize for tackling someone."
He grunted, motioning for her to step forward first.
Sakura retired immediately to her room and continued working. It was a Saturday night and she had no where to be and nothing to do. But sometime later, there was a knock on her door.
"Come in."
Logan opened the door, sighed, grabbed the back of her chair, and flipped her around.
"Kid, you should get some rest."
"I'm fine...really."
"Kid." He growled pointedly, "What is so important that you've missed five meals in a row?"
Sakura moved aside, letting him glance at the computer screen.
"Impressive." He admitted, "But you need to get some rest."
Sakura opened her mouth to protest...and yawned. Nodding in resignation, she climbed wearily into her bed.
Logan stood and watched her until he was sure she was asleep, and then he disappeared down the hall.
TBC
