Though this was an unplanned mission – with a rather large team assembled at that - everyone was falling into a sort of routine in the few days they had been gathered together. The ANBU, after undergoing a rather intense physical and screening by Sakura, patrolled the surrounding area for a few miles daily. There were always two of them on constant watch and they rotated in shifts. The six members who'd been on separate mission were staying apart from the other shinobi and reported to Kakashi daily.

Kakashi had unwittingly slipped into the role as captain. Everyone naturally looked to him for orders and reported any findings they had to the experienced jonin. He and Yamato had gathered all the information each member of the large group acquired and began sifting through the massive amounts of data. At any given time of the day, he could be found with various members of the party surrounding him discussing the findings and their theories on the matter.

Yamato set up an area on the first floor for Sakura to inspect all the samples brought by the shinobi. While everyone else had been either securing the supplies, setting up barriers, or trying to decipher what exactly Kabuto was doing, Sakura had been in front of that table going through all their medical information. They knew she might not be able to tell them much, but at this stage in the game, any information was vital.

Kakashi stood watching her even now. The landing of the second floor overlooked her position so he made himself comfortable against the railing and observed his student – well, former student – as she diligently went about her work. Sakura had always been an intelligent girl, but under Tsunade's tutelage, she had matured into a rather brilliant medic and a kunoichi that could be counted on in battle. As he watched her run her fingers through her hair in frustration, he felt a touch of pity for the young woman. They were asking a lot of her this time around and no one within their current ranks could provide her any assistance.

Though he didn't turn his head to acknowledge him, Kakashi was very much aware of the moment Sasuke began walking towards him. The Uchiha joined him against the railing, leaning over slightly to watch the slim figure below them. As per his usual, he was silent beside his former sensei. Kakashi didn't mind the peaceful silence stretching between them and chose to wait until Sasuke decided to speak. Naruto and Sai soon appeared in their vision. The artist held a steaming cup of tea in his hands that he provided to Sakura while they stopped to momentarily chat with her. The party below might not have noticed them, but their conversation was easy to overhear.

Sakura's smile was filled with gratitude as she looked up to her team mates. "Thank you so much Sai. I was just thinking about taking a break."

"You should take one Sakura-chan; you've been sitting there all day again."

"I know Naruto, but I've still got a lot of work to do." She was really more thankful for their appearance then she could say. She felt as if her eyes were crossing from staring at the material for hours on end.

"That is understandable Sakura, but you should take more care of your body. You have missed lunch yet again and you did not eat very much last night at dinner."

Sakura stared at Sai for a moment before turning her rather shy, smiling face away. Just the very knowledge that Sai was taking an interest in her health, like a good friend would, was a cheerful balm to her weary mind. "Thank you Sai, for worrying about me.

"Hey! I worry about you too Sakura-chan! I saw you didn't eat a lot, but I just didn't wanna say anything." Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the pale man next to him. His childish actions still pulled a chuckle from Sakura.

"I know you do Naruto." She clapped her hands and stood from the table. "Tell you what, because you two are being so sweet to me, how about I make dinner tonight and take that responsibility off your hands?"

"NO!"

She was a bit taken aback at the forcefulness of their simultaneous reply. Above them, Kakashi did his best to stifle his laughter.

"No?"

"Ahhh...what we mean Sakura-chan is...that...ahhh..." Naruto floundered, turning to Sai for any help with this rather sensitive matter.

Sai caught his gaze and swiftly turned back to Sakura. His eyes never wavered from her own even when he stepped closer to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "What we mean is we understand how busy you are and we shouldn't burden you with yet another task to fulfill. We rotate out the duties for meals as it is, so there is no problem. Please just concentrate on the task you have."

She watched him carefully for a moment, almost disbelieving of his words. Naruto crossed his fingers behind his back and took a couple of steps away in preparation for a speedy escape if needs be.

She finally graced them with yet another smile. "Alright, I'll leave it to you then."

They said hasty goodbyes and left as quickly as possible – just in case she decided they weren't being entirely truthful with her.

Sasuke watched the scene play out beneath him and raised questioning eyebrows to the chuckling man beside him. "I take it her cooking is bad?"

Kakashi turned away from the balcony, his break from the work before him unfortunately over. "If she wouldn't try to keep us all so healthy with her roots and herbs, perhaps her cooking wouldn't kill us."

Sasuke cast one more glance to the medic below before turning away to accompany Kakashi. A tiny smile turned up one corner of his mouth as he filed away yet another new piece of information he had collected on Sakura.

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Sakura leaned back onto her heels, rolling her tight shoulders and rubbing the base of her neck just inside the collar of her red top. She closed her eyes, trying to ease the strain burning through them. Doing this kind of work was a love/hate relationship for her. While it was true she enjoyed being able to pick apart the puzzle that was unidentified poisons, the long hours and various experiments she would have to pull in order to find the right combination was a tedious process. As she stretched, she heard the distinct pop in her back and immediate relief washed through her body. Spending hours at a time hunched over the small table serving as her workspace had her body in knots. She would give anything right now to be immersed in a hot spring.

Out of the 21 samples given to her by the ANBU unit, she'd managed to identify 12 of them. There were still 3 more for her to examine and 6 of them she simply had to put aside. Without her microscope, reference materials, and various instruments, there was little she could do other than study the materials obvious physical properties and try to match it with the symptoms each shinobi documented the villagers as having. The photographs she had to work with had made biggest difference in identifying each substance. Even if they had not taken pictures, the shinobi had written down all information they'd received about each illness. From what she could gather from their documentation, there was a very high likely-hood that Kabuto had not only used natural toxins and diseases, but he had begun to alter them as well - mutating the viruses into something different and much more virulent.

She gave up on the soil sample in front of her, tossing the accompanying parchment with its detail of the village's outbreak aside. It seemed to be a mutated bacterial infection causing large, weeping sores on people's bodies. There had only been two deaths in that particular village, and both of those were complications from infections into the bloodstream. She plotted the affected village on the map Sai was kind enough to draw for her. Yet again, there seemed to be no reason why this particular village was attacked. She was unable to discern any pattern to these attacks as well. They were scattered about the five countries in a seemingly haphazard manner, though only Suna and Konoha out of the hidden villages had been attacked. Each incident had been different as well. No two poisons had been repeated. There was even no consistency with the method of delivery. Ingestion, inhalation, topical administration...no one more stood out than the other.

The smaller stack of papers - along with their corresponding boxes - sat on the corner of the table, the placement making it hard for her not to notice their presence. Her shoulders slumped in defeat and she reached for the next case to study. A glass vial sat within the box she unsealed. The thick, cloudy, colorless liquid inside was probably saliva, but she wouldn't open it to find out. Instead, she picked up the report that accompanied the sample and began to read.

The first paragraph outlined the six miscarriages the village had experienced. Already her stomach was in knots. The next several minutes were spent digging her fingers into the smooth wood of the table Yamato created and fighting back the tears that threatened to spill down her ivory cheeks. Oh she could very well identify this virus. The ANBU who'd created the report did a very through job in his documentation. The physical symptoms were so specific to this disease, so it was nearly impossible for her to misdiagnose. The adults could barely get around as their joints were stiff and swollen with fluid, but the children...

She ground her teeth as the chocked sob she held back burned in her throat. Bright red cheeks, a lacy rash that covered their torso and worked its way down their upper legs, now painful sores erupting in their mouths making it impossible for them to eat...

He'd unleashed a virus that targeted children.

5 had already died.

She now understood the reason for the miscarriages, but to have so many and for the children to be so very ill? The only feasible hypothesis was that Kabuto had altered this disease in some way as well - made it more virulent somehow. The only thing that stopped her from leaping up and rushing to this village in the Land of Earth was the final notation made by the shinobi. A larger village nearby heard of their crisis and sent some of their healers to help with the outbreak. She was quite sure they recognized the signature look of the apple sicknessand began treating it. According to the ANBU's notes, many had already started to recover.

Knowing that didn't stop the intense rush of anger from flooding her body, making her muscles shake. It didn't stop the pain that village had been through for some sick game that Kabuto was playing. Nothing, not even killing that bastard, would bring those parent's children back.

She dropped her head loudly on the desk, relishing in the bit of pain that shot through her forehead as it made contact with the hard wood. This was just too much. All she had seen lately, in massive amounts, was sickness, pain, suffering, and death. It was as if the war had never ended. The fighting may have stopped for over half a year now, but when did the medic's job end?

Never. That was when.

Her nails dug into the tender skin of her thighs, her teeth biting into her lower lip. Anger and sadness were doing battle in her muddled mind. Why would he do this? What purpose did Kabuto have? What could possibly be served by intentionally targeting children for fuck's sake?

She shoved the table far away from her, not looking up as it crashed into the wall. Sakura rose to her feet and turned towards the door, stopping only long enough to pull on her boots. She swept passed a stunned looking Neji trying to come in the door. The men were bounding down the stairs, chasing down the source of the loud noise that rattled the very walls of the house. Sakura never paused in her stride, but tossed her words over her shoulder on the way out.

"I need to be alone for a while."

None of them replied to the pinkette's words; they didn't know what to say. Her voice was practically dripping with anger and pain. Kakashi suggested to the men that they return to their discussion as he was sure they would get an explanation from her later. He didn't say anything as one man in particular continued down the stairs and followed the young woman out into the dense forest surrounding them, but he was glad his mask would cover the smirk on his face.

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He did nothing but watch her at first, his obsidian eyes tracking the fluid movement of her arms as she pounded through trees thicker than her waist. Her pale legs flew out behind her, landing on the large boulders and crushing them into tiny fragments. The anger coursing through her was palpable and this was the only outlet available to her at the moment. Sasuke wasn't sure how long this went on, but it was noticeable when the one-sided fight was no longer enough for her. Sakura's breath came out in angry grunts, her fists now plunging into the hard earth. Her fists tightened in her leather gloves and emerald eyes swept the large clearing she'd just created in the patch of dense forest.

With her temperament being what it was, the decision to engage her in a spar was probably not high on the list of intelligent decisions he'd made in his lifetime. Though, depending on who was asked, that list could be said to be very short anyway. He flashed up behind her, staying silent as he did so. The line of her shoulders tensed alerting him that she was aware of his presence.

"I thought I made myself clear when I said I wanted to be alone." There was no need to see her face when she spoke; he knew that sentence came from behind clenched teeth.

Apparently he would need to drag her into this battle kicking and screaming. "So?"

Her head turned slowly, exposing only one narrowed eye for his gaze. "What the fuck are you doing here Sasuke?" He said nothing, merely activated his sharingan as he stared back at her. She turned to face him fully, her brows drawing down even further as she gazed fearlessly back up to his taller form. A dry, humorless chuckle past her lips. "I don't think you wanna do that. Now leave." Once more, he remained silent, almost looking down his nose at her. The air seemed to crackle as she built chakra and gathered it into her arms. "I said leave!"

She sent a fast, well aimed punch for his face that he barely avoided. He could feel the heat of her burning chakra narrowly bypass his cheek. He turned swiftly, pivoting on his left leg and angling his body behind hers. When she stumbled forward with the force of her missed punch, he kicked her sharply in the lower back. Sakura managed to catch herself on her hand and using her strength and flexibility, flipped forward and landed on her feet. She looked back at him, but he kept his face free of expression. That was all it took for her.

"Fine, but don't cry to me later when you're busted up in the corner of the house."

With that said, she cracked the knuckles on both hands and rushed him. He'd only seen her spar with her master once before, but he was glad to have gotten that opportunity. Watching that battle had given him some insight into how she fought. As such, he was glad to have already activated his sharingan. Her taijutsu was fluid, fast, and unrelenting. He was able to keep up with her, but that was not the main problem with fighting Sakura. Normally, he would deflect the punches aimed for his vitals. Fighting against her didn't give him that opportunity. Her chakra glowed around her gloved hands and he knew one well aimed strike from those fists would have him down.

The only thing he could do when faced with those powerful hands was to avoid them at all costs. He weaved around her arms and legs, landing small hits to her body whenever possible. Though he could easily have the advantage if he used his kusunagi, ninjutsu, or his body flicker technique, that wasn't the purpose of this spar. Sakura had been tasked with analyzing all the data collected by the ANBU members and, unfortunately, only she could do it. For days he had watched her tolling over their notes and specimens, cursing and crying to herself when she discovered the truth behind yet another of the viruses. Right now, she needed to release all that pent up sadness and aggression. He was probably not the best person to help anyone in that state, but if she could do it by fighting, then he could help.

She feinted to the right, catching him off guard and landing a hit on his left shoulder. He was thrown backwards, tumbling on the ground several times before catching himself and leaping up into the trees. Pain flashed through his body, but he forced himself to ignore it. He was able to rotate the joint so at least he knew it wasn't broken. Sakura didn't give him time to readjust. She ran towards the tree, fists bared and a loud yell passing through her lips as she splintered the trunk. He leapt from the falling branch, landing several yards away. He had barely gathered his bearings when he noticed the large branch hurdling his way. On instinct he activated his chidori, forming it into a clean blade and slicing through the wood.

He caught her gaze from across the decimated field and smirked at the irritated expression on her face. Perhaps he had been taking things a bit to easy with her. With practiced movements, he slid his katana from its sheath, watching her every reaction to see how she would respond to this change in the spar. Without a single flicker of surprise or fear in her emerald eyes, she pulled a kunai from the weapons pouch at her side, holding it tightly in her grasp and awaiting his next move.

Sasuke took the battle to her this time. His sword sliced through the air quickly, creating the familiar sound of the wind splitting that hit his ears. She met him strike for strike, the strength behind her thrusts more than making up for the difference in size of their weapons. Unfortunately, he was more skilled in sword play than she. A miscalculation on her part while attempting to block a downward thrust from the former missing nin afforded her a clean slice of his kusunagi through her arm. She hissed as it slid through skin and muscle but didn't wince away from the fight. Sakura landed a hit to the back of his knee and thrust her shoulder into his back. Sasuke once more stumbled away from the pink haired girl.

She was panting at this point and nearing the limits of her endurance. He watched as she ran a gloved hand over her arm, keeping her eyes on him as she repaired the damage to her skin. She would probably not last much longer, but Sasuke was impressed with her skill thus far. He would not walk away from this battle without some injuries. Sakura studied her kunai, frowning when she noticed the nicks and rough edges of the blade from their battle. She discarded the weapon and walked towards him once more. Her eyes were trained on his figure, never wavering as she stomped his way.

He held his blade at the ready. No matter what, he knew that intelligent brain of hers had not stopped working during this brief pause of theirs. When she was but a couple of yards from him, she brought her foot down hard on the grassy forest floor. Immediately, he felt the rumble of the ground caused from her precise release of chakra. A split in the earth started from her point of impact and forked outwards, heading directly towards him. However, she had counted on this and lunged for him while his attention was distracted for the barest of moments. Her hand wrapped around his wrist while her thumb dug into the sensitive bundle of nerves beneath his palm. Sasuke had no time to call forth his chidori as he felt his grip on his sword's hilt go limp. Kusunagi fell from his grasp and she propelled them both backwards.

From her movements, he knew she was trying to force him into a corner and pin him – ending their match. That was simply unacceptable. He sent several small bursts of his chidori through her; not enough to harm her, but enough to disrupt the flow of the chakra she was using in her hands. Sasuke felt the grip around his wrists ease and he spun her, slamming her into the thick tree behind them. He forced her arms above her head, digging the skin of her wrists into the rough bark and pinning her there with his body. She struggled against him for a moment, but he had the advantage in leverage and weight against her.

She stared at him, eyes narrowed at the anger of defeat, though her body was no longer poised to attack. The look she gave him – like a hellcat that knew it was defeated – had him breathing out a laugh and smirking at her. That only served to anger her more. She struggled against his hands, but to no avail. He held her there, both of them panting from exertion but keeping eye contact with one another. She never dropped her gaze and he found that pleased him. Sakura didn't cower under him and though that should have irritated him, he could sense none of it building.

He felt her heartbeat pounding under his grip and her mouth still hung open slightly as she tried to catch her breath from their spar. Sasuke found himself unable to let go of the thin wrists in his grasp. While he had her this close, he studied her once more. It seemed no matter what he learned about this woman, she remained somewhat of an enigma to him. Whether it was irritation or curiosity, she maintained a spot in the forefront of his mind. Now, on top of everything else, she was able to stand with him in battle. The painful pounding in his shoulder and back attested to that.

She pushed at his hold once more and he nearly snarled at her in annoyance. He was trying to figure something out and she needed to stay where she was. He pressed a little harder against her wrist to make his point and he heard the breath hiss past her teeth. He lessened the pressure, not wanting to make her bleed anymore than he already had. Her eyes searched his own, probably trying to figure out what his intentions where. Through it all, that intense gaze of hers never lessened. The pride in her emerald eyes boring into his own, daring him to say or ask anything.

Sasuke honestly didn't even recall the thought passing through his mind, wasn't even sure if the inclination had made itself known. He also wasn't entirely sure who moved first. All he knew was the heat of her lips which were now pressed up against his own. There was nothing gentle about this kiss they shared. The fierceness they both showed in battle crossed over into this activity as well. Sasuke slanted his lips over hers, as if to devour her very essence in this way, and she gave back every bit of what she received. There was a fight for dominance taking place between them and just as with their spar, he refused to surrender that place to her.

He released her wrists and threaded one hand into her hair, digging his fingers into the cotton candy locks and holding her where he wanted her. He curled the other hand around her waist, pressing her body closer to his own. When he delved his tongue into her warm mouth, he captured the moan that escaped her. Fingers dug into his shoulders and she raised herself onto her toes – anything to be closer to his body. Their teeth hit as the insatiable hunger in the kiss became more pronounced.

Sasuke had never felt a rush such as this one. Even in battle, on the odd occasion when he was pressed into a corner and his heart was beating madly, he couldn't recall having his every nerve be set on fire. His senses were sending signals back to his brain at an alarming rate, trying to take note of every little detail. The way her body felt under his lips and hands, the fresh scent coming from her that invaded his nose, the sweet taste of her mouth...his every sense was captured by her. His teeth caught her bottom lip, tugging on it before running his tongue over the offended flesh. The whimper that she let out triggered something previously unknown to him. He took her lips fully once more, breathing her in as if it were the last he would ever take.

"Sakura-chan!"

Naruto's voice echoing throughout the clearing broke the two apart. They stood gazing at each other once more, sharing looks of barely subdued passion and a touch of bewilderment. Their warm breath caressed each others face as they panted for breath, though for an entirely different reason than before. The full force of what just happened slammed into Sasuke, finally giving him the presence of mind to remove his hands from her body.

"Sakura-chan! Are you out here?"

Her eyes shot past his shoulder, searching for the owner of that loud call. Naruto had not made it to the clearing, but they could feel his chakra closing in on their position. Her eyes darted back to his own, but she couldn't hold his gaze this time. She slid out from between Sasuke and the tree she was pressed against.

"I...I should go see what he wants." Her breathy voice quivered as she swept past him.

He didn't turn around to watch her walk away, couldn't even force himself to move after realizing what he just did. Sasuke reached out to grasp onto the rough trunk of the tree, leaning his weight into it while his head dropped in confusion.

What in the seven hells had come over him? There was no rationale for his actions, merely a lingering desire to have her back in the same position and finish what had began.

Finish? Finish what exactly?

He didn't have a clue as to how to answer his own question. This was an unprecedented event and he had no idea how to handle this - wasn't even sure how the damn thing began. An irritated hand raked down his face and he resisted the urge to violently bang his head against the very tree he leaned upon.

Just what in the hell had he done?

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A/N:

FYI – what I was describing earlier is called fifth disease. Remember, I did say I was taking liberties with these diseases/virus to fit the plot line of the story, but I didn't alter it very much this time. Also, in Japan, they actually do refer to this illness as apple sickness hence the reference in the story.

Early again?

What can I say? My muse was flowing this time around.

I wonder why?

I'd love to hear your comments on this chapter. I do so hoped you enjoyed it!

Til next time!