Scarlet Kunai
By Ginta and Hakakku Fangirl
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters
A/N: Original Character's name is Kyoko, female, only a few months older than Uchiha Sasuke, no Kekki Genkai, ANBU-ranked kinoichi, more info in story.
Rated M for violence, language, and lime.
*I may have to "rearrange" some events, in order for this fic to make sense.
Okay, so I was going over the last chapter and Kyoko's surgery and I realized that I forgot to mention this, but she did break the ropes, sorry. And as I was going over it, I was all "Wow…Shika-kun really has a point. How many of these people saw Kyo-chan naked during the procedure?"
And of course, Shikamaru-kun had the great idea that, instead of trying to figure out how many people have seen her naked, why not just make a list? Smart, huh? So here it is. These people have seen Kyoko without her clothes, starting from the beginning:
-Sai-kun
-Kiba-kun
-Itachi-sama
-Dei-Dei
-Sasori no Danna
-Gaara-kun
-Temari-chan
-Tsunade-hime
-Sakura-chan
-Hinata-chan
-Ino-chan
-Shika-kun
-Kakashi-sempai
-Gai-san
-Asuma-san
-Yamato-teichou
-All the nurses during the procedure
I know that we can all justify the girls seeing her, cuz their all med nin, and the nurses except for Temari. Sai and Kiba, they're a given…Wow…Kankuro is the only one of the Sand Siblings who hasn't seen…huh…I've got to pay more attention to my writing…But it's all been for medical purposes, missions, and Temari-chan and Gaara-kun stopping her nightmares…I've just confused meself again…On with the fic, before we all lose our minds!!!!
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Chapter Thirty-Six: Stern Love and Worry: Enemy in Konoha!
"Kyoko?"
"Iie."
"Please?"
"Iie."
"Please, please?"
"Iie!"
Naruto pouted. He was in Kyoko's hospital room, begging her to come to Ichihara Ramen with him. But, as Kyoko had told him several times already, she had only been in the hospital four days and still couldn't so much as shift in her bed without pain.
"But Sakura-chan is busy working and Kakashi-sensei is on a mission. I can't even find Sai!"
"That's because Sai-kun is here in the hospital," Sakura said, coming into the room with a syringe and vial. She swiped the crook of Kyoko's arm with alcohol before drawing the blood sample; Naruto made a face. Kyoko giggled, petting Koi-koi, who lay asleep on her lap.
"Why is Sai here, anyway?" he asked, looking away.
"He's here for Kyoko-chan," Sakura said, smiling.
"What?" Naruto looked stunned.
"Mm-hm." Sakura seemed pleased. "You should be happy Naruto. He's showing more and more emotion al the time, thanks to you."
Naruto scowled.
"I know, that's great. But it's annoying!"
"You're annoying!" Sakura snapped, but smiled at Kyoko. "I'll bring back the results of your blood sample as soon as they come in. So far they've all been clean!"
Kyoko smiled as well. No poisons had shown up at all since the procedure. As an extra precaution, Tsunade had even had Neji, Hinata, and Hinata's father all come in to use their Byakuugan to be sure that the x-rays and blood tests weren't missing something. Nothing was in Kyoko's system that shouldn't be.
"How's your stomach?" Sakura asked, picking up Kyoko's chart again and making notes. "You started vomiting after you stopped taking your medication. Any more of that?"
"Not since the poison was removed."
"Any pain besides the blistering?"
"Iie."
"Has the pain increased? Decreased? The same?"
"Same."
"Okay, just let me take a look at your shoulder," Sakura said, sliding Kyoko's collar over and gently probing with her chakra. "It's healing well…"
"Hai. And the sprain in my wrist is fine now," Kyoko smiled.
Sakura smiled apologetically.
"Sorry we had to be so rough," she said, heading for the door with the blood sample.
"I understand, it was necessary."
"Sai was getting you something to eat when I saw him last!" Sakura called over her shoulder to Kyoko. "And the Kazekage sent you a message, the Hokage will give it to you later when she comes in to check up on you!"
"Hai. Arigato!" Kyoko settled back into the pillows and smiled at Naruto, who was fidgeting. "Naruto-kun, if you don't want to eat alone, then why don't you just order your ramen to go?"
"Oh yeah!" Naruto's face lit up like one of Kyoko's bombs exploding. "I forgot all about that! You want me to bring you some?"
"No, Sai-kun is bringing me lunch, remember?" Kyoko smiled; Naruto grinned sheepishly.
"Heh, guess I forgot. Oh! I almost forgot this, too!" he said. "Bushy Brow is here in the hospital, too! He broke his collar bone on a mission, so he'll only be here a day, but he says that he and Gai-sensei are going to come visit you. Neji and Tenten too."
Kyoko grinned.
"I guess it won't be very quiet, then, ne?"
Naruto grinned as well.
"Guess not. Well," he said, opening the window, "I'll be back in a few!"
"Naruto, use the door!" Tsunade yelled, coming into the room just as Naruto jumped; they could hear his loud laughter ringing as he ran towards the ramen shop.
Tsunade sighed, holding open the door for Sai, who came in with a large tray bearing Kyoko's favorite tea and dango.
"The Kazekage has a message for you," the Hokage said, sitting on the chair beside Kyoko's bed as Sai set the tray on the bed, pulling a second chair up to the bed and pouring the tea.
"Nani?"
"Gaara-sama came in a few hours ago, but you were still sleeping, so he asked me to bid you farewell, from both him and his sister, along with the good wishes of Suna. Apparently when he sent messages to the Suna council and Matsuri, the students you helped to teach heard and all sent you flowers," Tsunade said, pulling back the curtain separating the two beds in the room; the one previously occupied by Sai after the surgery was now covered in vases filled with the most colorful and diverse bouquets Kyoko had ever seen. Sai raised an eyebrow.
"You're a lot like Naruto," he observed.
"How so?" Kyoko asked curiously.
"You seem to touch the hearts of everyone you meet," Sai said with a smile--a real smile, not the fake he used with most people.
Kyoko blushed.
"I think the students just liked my Fire Techniques," she said finally, but Sai and Tsunade both shook their heads.
"Kyoko, you befriended Gaara-sama long before he became Kazekage," Tsunade said, "and never once judged either him or Naruto for being demon vessels."
"Kakashi-sensei always talks of you highly," Sai added. "And you were friends with me before I even knew what the word really meant."
Kyoko blushed pinker.
"Alright, alright. But I still don't see why I have so many gifts and flowers. I haven't talked to Iruka since I left the academy! And I've never spoken to Anko-san in my life! I don't even know who she is."
Tsunade bit her lip. Of course Kyoko wouldn't remember being cared for by the eight-year-old Anko. But when Anko had escaped from Orochimaru and the med nin had healed her enough that she was able to speak again, the first words out of Anko's mouth were the hysterical cries that Orochimaru had a baby with him. It had been Anko who had given the Third Hokage the confirmation he needed to arrest Kyoko's parents, although they hadn't been confined for long.
"Well, everyone in Konoha and Suna cares about you," the Hokage said with an air of finality. "And like I said, Gaara-sama and Temari-san send you their farewells, Kankuro stayed in the Sand this time."
"Hai."
Tsunade stood up.
"Eat," she said, as Naruto climbed back through the window with his beloved ramen. "And start using the doors!"
Kyoko laughed as the door closed behind Tsunade. Sai smiled at her, helping himself to some of her dango; Kyoko didn't mind, there was no way she would be able to eat it all by herself. Sai kept going overboard, bringing her all her food. And Kiba had yet to come and see her, at least as far as she knew. He must have been taking it harder than she had first thought…
"Sai-kun? Naruto-kun?"
"Mm?" Sai's mouth was full of dango, Naruto's with ramen.
"Have either of you seen Kiba-kun?"
"Yeah, he's sulking," Naruto said, swallowing.
"Sulking?" Kyoko asked as Sai poured her more tea.
"Yeah. Apparently Hana-san heard the argument he had with you and Sai, and she won't let him come to see you until she does."
"Really?" Kyoko was surprised. "But I've only met Hana-san a few times, why would she be coming to see me?"
"Something about your puppy," Naruto said, shrugging. "And she knows that Team Kakashi is coming to see you every chance they get, I heard her telling her and Kiba's mom that she doesn't want Kiba to start yelling at Sai and upsetting you while you're still recovering."
"I see." Kyoko accepted the dango Sai passed to her; the black-eyed boy was silent.
The three continued to eat in silence, each occupied by private thoughts, occasionally laughing softly whenever Koi-koi let out little puppy noises in her sleep.
xxx
Hours later, as Kyoko lay back in the pillows, throwing a ball for Koi-koi to chase, wagging her tail and barking happily, though growing tired.
Finally the pup jumped up onto the bed and settled down beside Kyoko and fell asleep again.
Kyoko smiled, petting her before switching off the lamp beside her bed and pulling the blankets up to her chin; the sun had set, leaving her hospital room in comfortable darkness, and Kyoko felt herself being slowly drawn into the relief from pain called sleep…
xxx
Just inside the gates of Konoha, the two guards at the gates began to nod off into a hazy semi-sleep of both confusion and apathy. The light running sound of footsteps could barely be heard, but the brush of heavy material against skin and wind rustled loudly compared to the sleeping silence as a Shunshin no Jutsu was performed, leaves swirling.
The light scraping of window opening cut through the night as a pale hands with a silver and crimson ring on the right ring finger slipped the glass open further, sliding gracefully into the room…
xxx
"Don't scream," were the words Kyoko awoke to in the blackness, a cold hand across her mouth, gentle but firm.
"Itachi-sama?" Kyoko whispered as the hand was removed and instead joined its twin on her stomach, searching, probing her body with chakra.
Itachi sighed, seemingly relieved.
"Itachi-sama, what is it?"
"Are you alright?"
"Nani?"
"Why are you in the hospital?"
"I--Tsunade-hime had all the poisons removed…" Kyoko looked confused as Itachi turned on her lamp. "Itachi-sama?"
"I told you to call me 'kun,'" Itachi whispered, kissing Kyoko's temple, careful not to hurt her. "What are all these injuries?"
"I…didn't react well…to the procedure…" Kyoko murmured. "I started to attack the Hokage and my friends…then my chakra turned on my own body."
"I see…"
"I'm alright," Kyoko said hastily. "Sai-kun stopped my chakra flow and used his own chakra to keep my organs working--"
"Who is Sai?" Itachi asked slowly and Kyoko swallowed nervously.
"Sai-kun…is my friend. We're both ANBU. We work well together."
"And how does he treat you?"
"Very well. He's practically lived here at the hospital since the poison was removed from my system. He takes care of me."
Itachi was silent.
"Itachi-sama, besides Deidara-kun, Sai is my best friend."
"And what are you to him?"
"Only his friend."
"I see." Itachi stood. "What happened to the poisons?"
"Tsunade-hime kept all of it. She said that she didn't know a
way yet to be rid of it."
"Where is it?"
"In her office. She keeps it there when it's not being tested."
"Hn…"
Itachi stooped down and gave Kyoko a deep kiss, curling his tongue around hers briefly before Kyoko pulled away; Itachi's eyebrows raised.
"Why are you here?"
"I should think that that would be obvious," Itachi said, amused; Kyoko blushed.
"I meant, how did you get here?" she said. "How did you get past the guards?"
"Konoha's security is lacking," Itachi said simply, but his Sharingan flashed and Kyoko understood. He had used a genjutsu. It seemed that no place was safe from being infiltrated by the Akatsuki, if Itachi were to be the one in charge of getting them there. Surely Tsunade had realized this?!
"You should go," Kyoko whispered, but held tightly to Itachi's hand. "Sai-kun left a few hours ago, but one of the nurses could come in at any moment; Tsunade-hime gave them orders to check on me every half-hour."
Itachi nodded. It wouldn't help Kyoko's condition at all if he were to fight in the middle of her hospital room. Besides, he had the answers he had been searching for. He placed another kiss to Kyoko's pretty lips, stroking her cheek before pulling away and leaving through the window, though not before casting a genjutsu to make Kyoko sleep soundly until morning.
Now to steal into the Hokage's office. He needed to get that poison. Zetsu's words came back to him as he began to climb the wall to the high room:
"She's been vomiting for several days now. Think maybe there's something wrong?Could be…Could be there's something in there that's not poison…"
No, Itachi had checked. There was nothing in Kyoko's body that shouldn't be there. It hadn't been Zetsu's suspicions. There was no child…
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Short, sorry, review!!!