Chapter Twenty: Beg for Help
Gaara faced Tsunade, now angry, as she gave him the look of she couldn't care less at this moment. Gaara's dark rimmed eyes narrowed as he stared at the Hokage across the room. He didn't care who she was now, and was determined to get Tsunade to see Sphinx. He walked across the room and right up to Tsunade's desk.
"Even if you refuse to see her. I don't care who you are, I'll drag you to see her. I'll do anything to get you there." There was a moment of silence and Tsunade sighed in frustration.
"You are Sabaku no Gaara, correct? Why do you care if I see this woman or not? I haven't ever heard of you valuing life before." Gaara's fists tightened, and gave a look saying he refused to answer that.
"...Nevermind Then. What is her name?"
"She goes by Sphinx."
"Wait a minute!" Tsunade answered quickly as she pulled out a small notebook and began flipping through it, soon stopping.
"Amaya 'Sphinx' Ai? Third, and youngest daughter of Nariko Ai, maiden name Nariko Tohno, and Kita Ai. Also from the ancient Ai clan from Ame no Kuni." Tsunade recited from the notebook. Gaara nodded, not answering with words at this point, wondering why Tsunade had information on Sphinx and her family.
"I'm sorry..." Tsunade said as she stood up, and looked with her brown eyes now full of sympathy and pity.
"...but I don't think I can help you with this one."
"Nani? Nande?!"
"Well... Her case is a lot bigger than anything. As far as I know it is beyond my abilities."
"Please! I won't leave without something from you! I beg you to help her. For her sake as well as for my own." There was another long moment of silence. Tsunade let out an empty sigh.
"Ok. Where is she then?" Gaara's eyes shifted to Tsunade and most people could tell that his spirits had brightened slightly.
Back in the hospital Sphinx seemed to force herself awake. Her eyes shifted around, seeing the hospital room, and not seeing Gaara, or anyone she recognized, she freaked. Well the best she could.
The door began to open to the room, and suddenly a vase flew across the room and hit the door. Almost as soon as the crash subsided Naruto stuck his head into the room, only to see Sphinx alone and laying in bed.
As for Gaara, he practically pushed himself passed Naruto and over to Sphinx, not really paying much attention to the vase that somehow crashed against the door. He looked down at her to see her eyes open. His eyes shifted to Tsunade as she walked up and looked at Sphinx as well.
Tsunade looked down at Sphinx in pity, who shifted her dull yellow eyes to look at Tsunade.
"H-... Hokage-dono..." Sphinx forced from herself, only to be silenced by Gaara as usual.
"Go back to sleep." He told her softly while gently caressing her burning cheek. Sphinx shook her head slightly, also seeming to wince in pain as Gaara touched her.
"Bring me some of my sedative." Tsunade said to a nurse outside of the room.
"Yes Hokage-dono." The nurse said as she took off down the hallway.
"Sedative?" Gaara asked as Tsunade walked back over from the door. She held up her middle and index finger, where chakra formed then hovered her fingers right above Sphinx's forehead and focused.
A few minutes passed and the nurse came in with a tray in her hands.
"Hokage-dono. I brought the sedative you wanted."
"Arigatou." Tsunade said as she crossed over to the nurse and took the tray. A needle and bottle on the tray. Tsunade motioned the nurse away, then walked back over the Sphinx and Gaara, placing the tray on the small table.
"So who is she exactly?" Naruto asked, who had sat down in one of the chairs a while back. Gaara sighed slightly and collected his thoughts.
"She goes by the name Sphinx. She comes from Ame no Kuni and is of the Ai clan, the largest clan in Ame no Kuni. I met her about seven or nine months ago. I was sent on a mission to track her down and bring her back to Sunagakure by the Kazekage when he was still alive. I was supposed to be her protector. I'm not sure why, when I first saw her, I didn't kill her. The way she treated and acted towards me, made me despise her and want to kill her. But I never did. She really wasn't like the others, and was never afraid of me, even though from the beginning she knew who I was. In fact she treated me more like a rival or enemy than a monster. But not too long after I brought her back to Suna the Chuunin exams arose and the Kazekage was found dead afterwards. With the death of the Kazekage my continuing mission to keep Sphinx alive was terminated. But even after that, even after she continued to hate me, and even after she left me, I still couldn't seem to kill her." There was silence, and the entire time Gaara spoke, Tsunade took the needle from the tray, put it into the bottle through the cork and drew most of the liquid from the bottle, then put the needle into Sphinx's neck and injected the clear liquid into her. Sphinx almost immediately fell asleep. Her heart rate lowered to a more normal speed, as well as her breathing, and even her fever went down dramatically.
"Naruto. Go get Shikaku Nara. You know, Shikamaru's father. I need something from him. No questions just go."
"Fine old lady Tsunade." Naruto huffed and left the room, as one of the nurses entered, the same one as before.
"Fetch me the oldest medical scrolls you have, and bring back at least one other nurse. And send someone to get the black scrolls from my office."
"Hai Tsunade-dono." The nurse went off again to complete what Tsunade ordered.
"So are you going to help her?" Gaara asked hoping she would give an answer he wanted to hear.
"Hai. I'll try hard to save her. After hearing some of your story with her, something told me I should help you. So... I would like to hear more about you two. Start from the beginning." Tsunade said with a slight smile as she sat in a chair to wait for what she needed. Gaara smiled slightly and nodded, then began telling her everything Sphinx and himself had done, and everything that had happened. During his story telling the nurses walked in and Tsunade motioned for them to place the scrolls on the table and told them to clear the room and get a large table. Then told Gaara to continue.
By the time Gaara finished Shikaku and Naruto finally showed up.
"Finally. Shikaku I have to ask something of you." Tsunade began immediately when Shikaku and Naruto entered the room.
"I will need to use the Nara Clan's secret medicine preparation manual... Again." Shikaku chuckled slightly at how Tsunade said it. He gave Tsunade a questioning look, and she looked back and moved aside to show Shikaku Sphinx in the bed. With that he nodded.
"Hai, Tsunade-sama. I will be back as soon as I can" He answered and disappeared, leaving them all in the room. Tsunade sighed and then laid all the scrolls out onto the large tale that had just been brought in. She opened each one and made a mess of the table as she looked through all the scrolls. Jotting down notes into a notebook as she read and skimmed.
It wasn't long before Shikaku showed up with a large book in his hands. Her set it down on the table and most people could've sworn they felt the ground shake for a few seconds.
"Arigatou, Shikaku." Tsunade said with a smile across her lips as she opened the large book, and immediately began looking through it's large pages and small print. Continuing to jot down notes quickly, as well as occasionally calling out for certain herbs and items.
Gaara, from the corner of the room watched closely. His gourd resting against the wall. The almost completely unnoticed Temari and Kankurou were sitting in the unused chairs in the room, their back packs sitting around Gaara's gourd, where they were out of the way.
"Does BJ-chan or Koto-chan know about any of this?" Kankurou asked Temari, since he knew Gaara was in his own little world at the moment.
"I'm not sure. They have been on a mission, but I did send a messenger to Hikage, and I'm sure she informed them." Suddenly the door to the room flew open, almost hitting one of the nurses. Black Jade practically flew into the room, with Koto following on her heels.
"Oh my god! I had no idea any of this happened!" Black Jade yelled out hysterically, as she ran in and fell to her knees next to Sphinx's bed. Koto quickly caught her breath.
"I'm so sorry Sphinx-chan! I had no idea! If I would've known-" Her words were cut off by Tsunade, who continued working.
"She's asleep from a sedative I mixed myself a while back. She shouldn't wake back up for at least fifteen more minutes. But you." Tsunade looked up from her herbs and other items and books and scrolls, over to Black Jade.
"You are from the Kusa no Kuni correct?"
"Hai."
"So you have been taught well with plants and herbs?"
"Hai. I am from the Hidohana clan. It was our specialty, being able to even breed our own plants."
"Oh! So you're the soul survivor from the Hidohana clan... Well I'll need your help."
"Hai." Black Jade immediately knew what she needed her help for and was on her feet ready to be ordered. Gaara's eyes shifted around, then back at Sphinx, while Tsunade said to everyone.
"We have to finish this quickly. Because almost as soon as that sedative wears off and she wakes up, she'll die within a few short minutes." Gaara's eyes shifted from Tsunade to Sphinx again, to the heart rate monitor. The beeps at an even pace and pattern.
Suddenly the monitor began showing her heart pattern to grow uneven once more, and breathing grow hard for Sphinx again as well.
"Chikushou! The sedative's already starting to wear off!" Tsunade yelled out while standing up quickly and slamming her hands on the table in front of her. Gaara, without really noticing, had jumped over to Sphinx and grabbed her hand into his. Her skin was very cold now and her skin was even paler.