Hell of the Unexpected
Chapter 14: Poison cures
Koomahana
Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine, if you want the real stuff get off this site
Thoughts
Paragraphs are memories
Inner Sakura
(Will come out at some point)
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Mei sneezed repeatedly, her blue eyes watering and her red hair flying with the action.
"Mizukage-sama are you well?" Chōjūrō asked, his wide blue eyes filled with worry as he stared up at her.
"I'm fine," Mei replied glancing around herself curiously, was it allergies? Did someone try to sprinkle poison in the air? Why didn't her escorts react to the poison in the same way? "Someone was just talking about me is all..."
"Hay there!" Mei and her two escorts snapped their attentions up, their eyes locking in on the group high above them at the top of the hill. "We were beginning to worry!" A girl with brown hair pulled back into two buns shouted with a friendly smile.
"Are you our escorts to the village hidden in the leafs?" Mei asked, eyeing the three teens and their Jonin instructor curiously, they all wore their leaf insignia headbands more or less the same. The two in green were nearly identical... in everything. The younger was arguing passionately with the other young man while the older man in the spandex green suit was ignoring them, standing off to the side of the road with a large bird at his feet and a scroll in his hands.
"Did I just die and go to hell?" the old man beside her, Ao, ask bluntly as he stared at the two in neon green, looking like he was staring at a disgusting three headed dog.
"Oh no are you not feeling well?" the girl asked worriedly, not having heard what Ao said but had simply seen his expression. "I'm afraid we don't have any medicines for any of the poisons you might have picked on your travels. When was the last time you ate?"
"I'm not poisoned you brat!" Mei sighed, as her guard held up a threatening fist at the young teen, things couldn't possibly get worse...
"Excuse Mizukage-sama, My name is Maito Guy and these are my students Tenten, Hyūga Neji and Rock Lee." Mei looked up at the Leaf Jonin, she really didn't want to, but knew that she had to.
"Hello Guy-san," Mei smiled at him calmly, trying not to show that his outfit was slowly making her go blind. "This is Chojiro and Ao, my guards for this meeting I'll be having with Tsunade Senju, the Hokage."
"I don't suppose you know where the nearest hot spring is do you?" Guy asked, a small pale flower in his hand held out towards her, "I have to find this flower and bring it back with me to the village."
"Do you even know what flower you're holding?" Ao on her left asked with a straight face and a raised eyebrow. Mei didn't say anything as she stared at the ice sculptor, her mind working through the various jutsu's that could have kept it in shape in the famous heat of the fire nation.
"Uh... no," Guy answered honestly, his head bowing lightly
"That's the Yukido flower," Mei said turning her full attention on the Jonin, her blue eyes sharp on his own black ones. "It's highly poisonous, with no medical value, why do you need it?"
"I'm sorry I was told that this flower was the cure to the Yukido flower's poison," Guy answered with a frown, turning to look down at his scroll in confusion. "One of our young genin was poisoned by the Yukido flower; my team is the only one that's close enough to our shared border. Hokage-sama wants us to bring back the cure as fast as possible..."
"I see..." Mei mumbled, her brows tilting in confusion, her eyes returning to stare at the little blue flower. The Yukido flower was as red as her own hair with little blue dots on its petals, amusingly enough the Kikyono flower, the Yukido flower's only cure, was a near replica of the Yukido flower but with the colors reversed. The Kikyono flower could be toxic if not administered correctly but regardless of what you did to the flower; it always nullified the Yukido flower. Like looking into your own reflection in the river, both flowers were identical in everything for the exception of their coloring it was the only thing that separated them.
"Come," Mei ordered, turning on her heal and started to walk back down the hill. "I will take you to the nearest hot spring but the children should stay here, they aren't fast enough yet—they'll only slow us down."
"M-my la-adey..." Chojiro stuttered out, they weren't just going to leave three genin by themselves out here alone where they?
"Relax Chojiro, your staying too." Mei smiled over her shoulder at the young blue haired boy behind her. "You're a Jonin of the hidden mist, I'm sure you can protect those three until we come back."
"You do understand that I can't agree to that, right?" Guy asked with a serious expression, Mei stopped and turned to glare up at him.
"The Yukido flower works fast Guy-san," Mei replied her eyes sharp like blades. "It'll take three days to reach the spring where the Kikyono flower grows. It takes a week for the Yukido flower to kill a full-grown man of your stature that time is cut in half when given to a child. If we don't hurry, your genin will dye before we return to the village."
"Guy-sensei," Tenten piped up, worry twisting her features. "It took us two from here it'll take another three days just to reach that flower. By the time you reach that flower, it'll be too late."
"Tenten is right," Lee said, stepping forward. "Sakura-san was poisoned early yesterday morning, it'll take three days to reach the flower and three days return to this point again, where it'll take another two days to reach the village."
"In total that'll take eight days to get the flower and return home from this point," Tenten continued, one hand clutching at her other arm to keep it from trembling. "If you don't hurry with Lady Mizukage-sama then Sakura-chan won't get the medicine in time..."
"You have to run as fast as you can," Neji continued, setting his traveling bag on the ground. "We'll remain here with the boy, in another hour the sun will be down so we'll start our track back to the village in the morning."
"Alright, if you three insist..." Guy turned and hurried off down the hill, swiping Mei off her feet and flinging her over his shoulder as he ran, making Mei's other bodyguard hurry after them with a startled shout.
"Alright!" Lee shouted turning on his heal and running back down the hill. "Let's see who returns to the village first!"
"You know something Neji," Tenten asked as she turned on her heal and started down the hill in the other direction. "Some times I don't wonder if Sensei and Lee weren't dropped on their heads as children..."
"Or survived one to many bombs at close range?" Neji asked with a smirk as he fallowed Tenten down the hill.
"That happened once!" Tenten snapped at her teammate, a blush staining her cheeks
"Y-You're n-not worr-ried?" Chojiro asked as he hurried after the slower genin, fingers twisting together nervously.
"About Sensei?" Tenten asked with a raised eyebrow at him before continuing after Lee. "Lee slow down or I won't buy you lunch when we return!" Tenten threatened before she answered Chojiro with a straight face "Nope."
"B-but he-he's ou-out num-mbered!" Chojiro Said worriedly his hands twisting together nervously.
"Nothing can kill that beast," Neji dead panned to him before he flinched at the loud sound of an explosion nearby. "Damn it Lee!"
"What the hell did I say Lee?!" Tenten shouted as she tore down the hill with blinding speed, Neji close behind her, both leaving Chojiro to catch up to them with the depressing thought on weather or not they were real genin.
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She flinched as she finished the sweep, there were warm chakras but they were fading fast and none of them were female; they were old men and children—the experiments that Kabuto was in charge of. She slowly opened her eyes and sighed out, her shoulders slumping.
"Karin," he whispered, his voice soft with wiry hope and a hint of something else, as if he was afraid of the question.
"I'm sorry," She whispered, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, "I'll keep looking; I won't stop until she's fou—"
Slam
Karin flinched at the sound of her door slamming close
Please don't give up, Karin thought, tears prickling her eyes as she laid down on her bed, staring up at her stone ceiling with a trembling jaw. I won't give up, belief in me... please don't give up... I won't stop; I promise you Sasuke-kun, I won't stop until she's found
Karin took a deep breathe and let her senses spread out again, sweeping through the land that surrounded her, reaching out farther and farther until her world turned black.
I won't stop, Karin thought just before everything went black and the bright dots of life disappeared from her sight. I can't stop... I have to find her... spring... I have to find the one... li-like spring...
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Haku rose from where he kneeled beside Sakura, the wet cloth in his hand forgotten on the tub's side, as Shizune dashed down the hall and burst into the room that Haku, Sakura and Tsunade were still in; Shizune's slightly panicked face didn't reassure him about the news she came to deliver.
"The team th-that... was to greet... Mi-Mizukage...Sama w-won't re-return... for... at least a-a week's-s t-time," Shizune panted, hands on her knees. "The closest hot spring... was... three days tr-travel... from the bor-border..."
"They won't make it back in time..." Tsunade sighed; looking down at Sakura's fevered face. "The Ice will slow down the poison but it won't delay it forever..."
"...Doesn't like the cold..." Haku grumbled, glancing down at Sakura as if a light bulb had gone off in his head. "I survived... because of my bloodline... it's cold..."
"You're planning something," Tsunade said wirily, watching how Haku turned to face Sakura's icy tub fully. Without answering, Haku stooped and lifted Sakura out of the tub, holding her close.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Tsunade asked loudly, taking a threatening step forward. "She needs that ice water!" Haku glanced at her and gave a sad smile, the icy water lifted from the tubs, surrounding Haku protectively.
"I can delay it until they arrive," Haku murmured, letting his chakra wrap around Sakura protectively. "I'm not sure how long, please tell them to hurry—I can only stall for so long and I can't be distracted."
"Alright you win this time," Tsunade grumbled stepping forward to brush her hand over the ice, smiling gently when the Crystal Ice Mirror moved with her touch. "Focus on keeping her from getting frost bite; we'll take care of the rest." Haku smiled and adjusted his hold on Sakura, letting her feet rest beside his as he wrapped one arm around her waist and one around her shoulders, letting her head rest on his shoulder.
"Lady Tsunade?" Shizune questioned walking forward to examine the large chunk of ice curiously. "What are we going to do? We can't have this ice kept here until they arrive... can it be moved?"
"Yeah," Tsunade smiled at the picture like image in the ice, her hand gently pushing the ice towards Shizune lazily. "Let's move it to one of the underground rooms with Anbu access only... we'll close it off so that only the team selected to protect them and the two of us can visit."
"Do you think he can truly hold on to her for a week?" Shizune asked turning the ice from where it floated in the air. "Without eating or resting?"
"I guess we'll find out," Tsunade mumbled thoughtfully, pulling on a pair of gloves and encasing her hands in warm glowing chakra. "We'll properly have to schedule chakra transfer appointments..."
"Let me guess, no one is aloud entrance other then us?" Shizune asked with a smirk at Tsunade, earning a proud gleam in her Hokage's eye.
"Correct," Tsunade smiled at Shizune, "As expected of my first daughter..."
"Daughter?" Shizune questioned, pulling at the ice mirror through the door of the room. "But you don't have... oh!" Shizune's face brightened as she realized what Tsunade had met; she smiled brightly and took extra effort into pulling the Ice pane to the lower levels.
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"She's been what?" Shikamaru asked, both Teams eight and ten were gathered in the Hyūga compound.
"Poisoned," Kakashi sighed, "Zabuza is still in the hospital and Asuma and Kurenai are still working on the explosion."
"Which leaves you to investigate Forehead's poisoning, right?" Ino asked, shifting her hold on Tenka, Hikaru was asleep on her lap.
"Sorry no," Kakashi sighed, "I've been tasked with finding the little intruder we had entering the house. There's a better and more experienced team working on that little problem."
"Who?" Shikamaru asked curiously, "Who's investigating this?"
"Some people that I know," Kakashi answered, "They're completely trust worthy and are the best at what they do."
"Do they have a cure for Sakura-san?" Hinata asked softly, her hand brushing Hikaru's hair aside from her face.
"Not right now," Kakashi answered
"How long until they can get a cure for the poison?" Shikamaru asked with narrowed eyes, a bad feeling settling in his stomach
"About a week"
"How long dose it take for the poison to kill someone?" Ino asked rubbing her wrist against her eye
"An adult takes a week," Kakashi answered
"Adult?" Shikamaru questioned his face paling. "What about a teen? How long dose Sakura have?"
"...about three days...," Kakashi answered, not liking the answer. Ino gasped, tears springing to her eyes and a hand slapping to her face. the others gasped murmuring to each other, Hinata and Ino leaning against each other, holding the two girls close as they fought back their tears.
"Don't cry girls," Kakashi sighed having had enough of crying teens. "We've got out fastest team out getting the cure... it'll be close but she'll get her medicine."
"How long do you think it'll take for them to get the medicine and come back?" Shikamaru asked
"From his current location at the border?" Kakashi asked thoughtfully, "Oh I'd say that Guy could return in about three days time."
"Guy-sensei is getting the medicine?" Ino asked, looking at Kakashi as if he was an idiot. "Dose he even know what to look for?"
"He had ahead start and had abandoned his original mission to get the medicine," Kakashi answered. "And there's someone with him to identify the plant we need."
"Who?"
"The Mizukage"
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He had been sent out to find one of their undercover agents, a boy the same age as him and close to the Hokage; which made him the perfect mole. However, that agent he should have returned to the village two days ago but he was last seen three days ago, the day he received his last mission. He was ordered to get a location on the boy, they had made contact with him the day he was to leave but he never left the village. So that meant he was in the village... they just didn't know where. He wasn't in torture and interrogation, he wasn't in one of the cells that people were sometimes forgotten in and he was taken off the mission roster.
So that led his search here, to the last location his target was seen at. There had been some rumors about the Hokage hiding something in the lower levels of the hospital, that the Anbu guards could only stand on the outside of the door and never aloud entrance to the room they were guarding, that only the Hokage and her aid, Shizune, were aloud entrance.
His mission was to enter this room, check it out for his target and draw everything that he saw within the room—just for safety sakes. The two guards outside of the room were a little more different then most guards he had to pass. One was an Aburame sensor and the other an Inuzuka—they were a little more difficult to trick then most Anbu's. Luckily, the Inuzuka's partner was a new one, just a pup and still easily distracted. He drew a black cat, taking his time to make it appear life like, and then brought it to life. He suppressed his chakra and hid in the roof above the hall, just as he tucked his feet in under him he heard the dog give out a low growl, which startled the 'cat' urging it to hiss and run in the opposite direction. There was a soft whine as the Inuzuka warned his pup in a soft murmur but the pup was still in experienced and bored, it took off after the cat regardless of what his partner had murmured to him.
"Stay here," Inuzuka ordered as he took off down the hall, after the pup that was chasing the 'cat'. "Protect 'em!"
So they do know what's inside, he thought, crawling around the roof with chakra laden limbs, trying to keep himself from stirring up too much dust. At least he could try to use the air ducts to his advantage, the problem was that the sensor staid behind... he'd have to stay up there for an hour or too to keep the sensor from getting suspicious, he didn't know the sensor's range, for all he knew they already knew he was coming before he figured out who they were. With luck he wouldn't meet any bugs while up there but he didn't hold much stock with luck, it rarely did him any good. He crawled forward until he was pressed to the edge, a scroll and paint brush coming to hand; he quickly drew out mice and snakes. Quickly letting the mice search out ahead of him while the snakes helped clear out a path for him and helped drag him across the more fragile places of the ceiling.
It took three and a half hours for the Aburame to relax, for a moment he swore that the adult was going to send his bugs up through the vents, fish him out and make him fail his mission. But the Aburame simply pressed a hand to the devise in his ear and, with a sigh, he walked away grumbling under hi breath about the need to train puppies for relatives and taking them on high class missions.
Turning in the darkness of the vent he struggled to angle himself into the vent that went into the room the guards were protecting. After another ten minutes of struggling and double checking the room with his mice and snakes, before he swung into the room through the vent. He landed on the floor easily, his dark eyes examining the smaller-and-colder-then-he-expected room... his eyes immanently locking in on the large figure in the center of the small room; at least he understood why the room was so small.
Interesting, he thought approaching the strange large mirror, I found the missing agent... as he settled on the floor before the mirror, a larger then normal scroll and ink in hand, he looked up at the strange mirror and found a pair of sleepy, tiered green eyes looking down on him curiously. Blinking dumbly at the two figures intertwined in the mirror, he saw that both figures had closed eyes and appeared to be clutching to each other desperately, the girl almost appeared to be weeping in the older girl's arms.
I wonder what makes her so special he thought as he began to draw, committing the image before him to memory. He's never chosen a girl before, why has he now?
As curious as he was, he knew better then to question his 'master'—all those who did 'disappeared'
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Ino and Hinata stood at the front gates, Ino had Tenka sleeping on her back and was holding Hikaru in her arms, their teammates were standing behind them; all of six teens were talking softly to each other until one of the gate guards saw a large cloud of dust headed towards them quickly. the children each fell into line beside the guards, Ino placed the sleepy toddler on the ground between her and Hinata.
"And made it!" the girls cringed at the obnoxiously loud voice. "Record time—"
THW—ACK!
"You idiot!" Squinting as the dust cleared to show Guy panting on the ground with a tall red haired woman standing beside him, the woman didn't look very pleased. "Give a girl some warning before you haul her off to your village! I nearly threw up because of you!"
"Lady Mizukage!" the six rookies turned to see a tall dark haired man with one eye run towards the gates panting heavily. "Are you alright my lady? Did he hurt you?!"
"Of course not," the woman answered turning to Ao who stumbled to a stop at the gates.
"Um Mi-Mizukage-sama?" Ino called stepping forward slowly, not sure if she was to be addressing the woman or not. Ino was dressed in her normal violet colored out fit but her long pale yellow hair wasn't up in it's customary ponytail, it was braided and pulled over her right shoulder.
"Yes?" Mei asked turning to see the six teens approach her hesitantly, her eyes locked onto the black haired child clinging to the blonde's violet skirt and looking up at her curiously.
"Do you have the medicine?" Shikamaru asked tilting his head to the side curiously
"Y-yeah," Guy groaned, digging in his back pouch to pull out a small black box. "He-here i-it is-s—"
"Got it!" Kiba shouted, jumping forward and snatching up the box from Guy. "I'll get to Lady Hokage!"
"Right" Mei watched in amusement as the brown haired boy took off down the street with another boy close behind. She quickly returned her eyes to the tall blonde when the younger girl stepped forward with a determined look on her face.
"Thank Mizukage-sama," Ino murmured, bowing deeply to Mei, back straight in her near perfect ninety degree bow. Mei's eyes instantly locked onto the tiny baby strapped to the blonde's back, short faintly pink hair spread out in a mess of knots and curls. Big green eyes blinked sleepily at her before the toddler sighed and curled up on the blonde's back and started sucking on her thumb.
Mei could never forget those strange markings of the Kaguya clan, not when they attached her home and did a fair number on her.
"Thank you," Hinata said softly, fallowing Ino's example, Shikamaru and Chōji glanced at each other before they mimicked the girls, their bows not as deep but the meaning clear.
"Thank you for saving her," Ino said her hand tightening on Hikaru's. "Thank you for saving Sakura..."
"Aunty!" Hikaru whined pulling on Ino's hand and surprising Mei "Aunty! I want mommy! Where's mommy?"
"Hikaru," Ino murmured crouching beside the little girl, pulling her blond hair further over her shoulder to keep out of Tenka's reach. "You're mommy is with Grandma Tsunade, she's a little sick but she'll get better now."
"Willy?" Hikaru asked blinking her big green eyes at Ino, "Mommy can come home now?"
"That's right," Ino chuckled. "But not right away, she has to feel better before she can come home."
"Okay!" Hikaru smiled brightly at Ino, "Hows sissy?"
"Sleeping," Ino giggled, turning to show the toddler on her back.
"She is the Yuki child?" Mei asked curiously her eyes relocking onto Hikaru.
"Yuki?" Ino questioned with a frown, "Hikaru and Tenka are Momochi's."
"A Momochi?" Mei questioned in confusion, "She is Zabuza's daughter?"
"She's Zabuza's granddaughter," Shikamaru corrected with a frown. "She is Haku's daughter... Haku is Zabuza's son..." Mei stared dully at the four teens for a moment before her right brow suddenly started twitching wildly.
"Really?" Mei asked with a fridge tone of voice, a smile that was so stretch and false that all though Hikaru giggled at Mei Ino dragged her back while Shikamaru and Hinata both took protective steps in front of her.
"Interesting," Mei mumbled turning on her heal and walking further into the village, ignoring Ao who fallowed her and the two guards who quickly jumped to their feet and led her to a nearby hotel.
"I think she's about to get violent with someone," Ino murmured watching the older woman stalk away from them.
"I think that 'someone' is Zabuza-san" Chōji agreed.
"He's so screwed when they meet up..."
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Thoughts are helpful
Opinions are wonderful
Helpful criticismis lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?
Please no cursing!
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