Chapter 44
Bad Medicine
Sasuke sat on a tree branch and silently counted down from one hundred. At the end of the countdown he had the exciting task of running through the training ground, avoiding whatever traps had been set, and catching Kakashi before a timer went off. And this was actually a break from the main part of his training.
Each week, Kakashi had doubled the intensity of the exercises that he assigned Sasuke, and doubled the weights he had to wear on his limbs. Sasuke had made the mistake of complaining about it exactly once. Kakashi had responded by describing the average training session that Maito Gai set his treasured pupil, Rock Lee, to and offered to talk to the taijutsu nut about letting Sasuke join them.
The ex-Uchiha never complained a second time.
As intense as the training was, it would soon be over. In just a few days, the training period would be over and it would be time for the final trial. And then, depending on his performance in the stadium, he would either become a chuunin or remain a genin.
But whatever the result, life would never go "back to normal" after the Trials concluded.
His father had disgraced himself and the clan, and his mother had moved out of the house to live in Naruto's mother's hotel room. Sasuke was now outcast and sleeping on his sensei's couch (the Hokage's wife had offered to let him move in with them, but he wasn't keen on living in the same house as the bratty Konohamaru). Naruto had gone from being an annoying clown to a victim and a potentially dangerous creature under the Hokage's protection. And Team 7's future was in limbo.
3… 2… 1… 0.
Sasuke slipped from his tree perch and spiraled outwards from his starting point in search of his hidden sensei. If he wanted any chance of catching the jounin before the alarm went off he couldn't proceed with much caution. All he could do was hope that his search pattern wasn't too tight or too loose. He didn't worry much about the traps as his Sharingan could pick them out with plenty of time to—
Three sharp stings blossomed in his left shoulder. Sasuke stumbled and reached for the unexpected sensation…or, at least he tried to; his hand couldn't seem to raise high enough. He slowed to a stop, but not by choice; his feet weren't working right. The intense clarity of his Sharingan sight faded, even though he hadn't consciously deactivated his kekkei genkai.
I…I don't feel right…
This wasn't part of one of Kakashi-sensei's traps. Those consisted of things like wire tangles, flash grenades, and a few weak exploding tags. His jounin-sensei never used drugged needles.
Sasuke tried to run, but his toes caught on the dirt and he collapsed to the ground. He tried to call out, but he could barely make a groan and his tongue flopped uselessly inside his mouth. He went from perfectly alert and functional, to barely conscious and completely helpless in the space of less than three minutes.
Help…
A dark shadow fell over him. Someone crouched beside him but Sasuke couldn't think of who it was. He squinted against the darkness chewing at the edges of his vision, but all that he could make out was silver hair and light reflecting off glass.
"Relax," the mysterious figure said as the drugged senbon needles were plucked from Sasuke's shoulder. "My potion won't kill you, and when you wake up you won't remember a thing."
The stranger pulled down Sasuke's shirt collar and ran his fingers around the base of the boy's neck. He wanted to protest but he couldn't think of what to say even if he could've said it. When the person's examination was complete, Sasuke found a pill being shoved into his mouth.
"Take your medicine now, Sasuke-kun…"
As soon as he was certain that the pill had been swallowed, Kabuto made his exit.
Stalking Sasuke had not been easy. To escape Kakashi's detection he'd had to alter his scent, employ his best stealth, and arrange for a distraction. And then he had had to worry about avoiding the genin's Sharingan and preserving the vital element of surprise.
But he had done it, and Orochimaru's pill had reached its target.
The silver-haired spy did his best to follow the exact same route out of the training field as he'd taken in. When he reached the edge of the village he made a beeline for the nearest stream. Ducking under a bridge, he swapped the black ninja suit he'd been wearing for a recently purchased civilian outfit, and then headed for a busy market place, walking on top of the surface of the water for as long as he could to further obscure his false scent. After a little mingling in the heavy afternoon crowd, he relaxed the jutsu that was masking his scent and he went about running a few errands as if nothing had happened, even as a handful of demon dogs arrived in the area, sniffing around furiously.
How unfortunate that the curse mark is sealed, he thought as he checked the ripeness of some oranges. That will make things much more complicated. I might have to sacrifice my anonymity to make it work…
Kabuto adjusted his round glasses and sighed before moving on to examine the shop's selection of apples.
If it does come to that, he mused, seeking a silver lining to the situation, it might be nice to not have to hide my competency anymore.
Kakashi had started to pull out his beloved book after setting up the traps and selecting his hiding place when he had a bad feeling. Leaving his book safely inside his weapon pouch, the jounin put his senses on full alert. Paying attention to "bad feelings" had saved his life just as often as his skills and knowledge had.
Sasuke should be getting on the move any second now—
"My apologies, but is this field currently in use?"
The jounin narrowed his eye and turned to find Dosu, the lone progressing Oto-genin, and his sickly sensei approaching him. The senior Oto-nin, Kimimaro, was really looking awful. The young adult was horribly pale with shadows forming under his eyes and his breathing sounded uneven.
"Yes," Kakashi nodded. "This field is currently in use. If you wish to train, I advise that you find a different one."
"Perhaps I read the schedules for the fields incorrectly," Kimimaro replied.
"This is field 14, isn't it?" the heavily bandaged Dosu grunted. "The board said that it wasn't reserved."
"This is indeed field 14; however, if the board says that it is open, there must be some mistake," Kakashi informed the Oto-genin.
"But—"
"Enough, Dosu," Kimimaro said. "This field is taken. We will find another." The pale young man's dull eyes drifted back to Kakashi's masked face. "Our apologies for disturbing you."
The Oto-nin bowed and turned to depart, only to fall to one knee as a violent coughing fit struck him. Dosu watched him, concerned but trying not to show it. Kakashi frowned behind his mask as the foreign ninja continued to cough for several minutes.
"…Have you seen a doctor about that cough?" he asked when Kimimaro finally started to quiet down. "It sounds unpleasant."
"Yes," Kimimaro wheezed, slowly staggering to his feet. "I have sought treatment. Thank you for your concern. Come, Dosu, let us be on our way."
Kakashi watched the pair walk off until they were out of sight. Alone again, the jounin stretched out his senses to locate his student—
RIIIING!
"Time's up," Kakashi muttered to the empty air as he went to collect his timer clock.
Something was wrong. Sasuke should've at least been close by when the alarm had gone off, and yet he was nowhere to be seen. Kakashi couldn't hear or smell him, either.
Something was very wrong.
The silver-haired jounin immediately went into search mode. With every step that he took and failed to find any sign of his student, the tension rose. He jogged straight for the tree where he'd left Sasuke to start the exercise, mindful of the few traps he'd set…
Sasuke hadn't even made it ten feet from the starting point.
The ex-Uchiha lay crumpled on his side, eyes closed, and thoroughly unconscious. The boy was still breathing, but it was ragged and shallow. When Kakashi touched the boy's skin, it was on fire with fever.
This isn't right, Kakashi knew. He was perfectly healthy ten minutes ago. No virus hits this hard this fast.
Slicing open a finger with a kunai, Kakashi used the blood to summon his entire pack of lesser demon tracking dogs.
"Yo," Pakkun the deep-voiced pug glumly greeted with an upraised paw. "What's up, Kakashi?"
"Search the area and follow any suspicious scents," the jounin commanded, gathering his student up in his arms. "Let me know what you find. I'll be at the hospital."
"Got it," Pakkun nodded.
The dog pack sniffed at the spot where Sasuke had fallen and then split off in different directions to examine the entire training field.
Kakashi didn't wait around to observe his Summons work. He had full confidence in their abilities. Sasuke needed medical attention immediately.
As soon as Sasuke is in the doctor's hands, he thought as he sprinted towards the hospital with the boy slung over his shoulder, I'll be back to find out who did this…
Kushina strolled through a clothing shop that catered to kunoichi and browsed the racks. She'd only brought the bare essentials with her to Konoha to leave room for the keepsakes she'd brought along for Naruto, and to keep her pack light to make the journey easier and faster. And her wardrobe had been gloomy ever since she'd had to give Naruto up, full of grays, dark blues, and blacks. Now that she was in a much better general mood, she felt it was time to bring brighter, happier colors back into the mix.
She found a violet top in the style that she favored. Basically it was a very short kimono. In her younger days she similar clothing as a dress with black bike shorts to protect her modesty, but her more mature self wore pants and more sensible sandals than the knee-length open-toed boots of her early teens. Rubbing her fingers over the durable fabric, she studied the shade of purple and internally debated on whether she should go try it on or not.
It's a sleepy color… But it might make my eyes look less gray and more blue. Hmm, decisions, decisions…
Shopping—especially clothes shopping—was not her favorite thing to do. But it was a necessary evil. And when she shopped for someone else it was almost fun (her most precious memories were of Minato's face when he'd open his birthday present from her and find a couple pairs of lightning bolt-print shorts…yet again).
Between her weekend visits to Naruto's remote training spot, she'd hunted down new outfits for him. At first it had just been because she'd wanted to get him things besides weapons and fast food, she missed dressing him up, and she'd seen a few things in shop windows that she'd been sure he'd look nice in. But after she'd gotten a good look at his current clothing after her first visit to the mountains, she was determined to replace every worn-to-death shirt and patched pair of pants so that he didn't look homeless and ridiculous anymore.
It's too bad he was so against the idea of burning that ugly bright orange thing he called his 'uniform', she thought as she plucked the violet top from the rack and moved on to another. I have nothing against the color orange, but that thing… Urgh, it was so ugly! At least he agreed that his last orange suit didn't fit right anymore and was too beat up to use.
The obnoxiously orange outfit was glaring proof of how terrible a guardian the chuunin Mizuki had been. As an experienced chuunin, he should've nixed the clothing before Naruto had a chance to get attached to it as it provided no camouflage and actually attracted attention, a very bad thing in their line of work. Yet Mizuki had said nothing and had probably not even noticed, and his total neglect had done nothing to help Naruto catch up to his peers in school. And then the creep had turned around and tried to use Naruto for his own criminal ends, playing on her son's desperation to graduate with kids his own age and get access to more advanced training.
At least Iruka was a better fosterer. It's a pity he only had Naruto for around six months. If Naruto had gone straight to him instead of landing in Mizuki's hands…well, his grades would be a tiny bit better.
He also probably would've been found out sooner. Perhaps things would've turned out better for him, or worse. And Naruto might never have met Minato out in the woods as a wolf, or maybe Minato could've been found sooner and healed…or killed.
Bah! She shook her head and scrutinized a pale yellow top. Enough "what if's"! I'll drive myself crazy worrying about all those scenarios…
For better or for worse, the past was all set in stone and all that changed was how it was looked at.
Snagging a yellow top and a similar one in mint green she headed back to the changing rooms at the back of the store. Modeling each one in front of a mirror with a pair of black capri pants she picked up earlier in her perusal, she rejected the green one and decided to keep the violet and the pale yellow. Putting back on the civilian clothing she'd been wearing, she left the changing rooms to return the discarded top and make sure she hadn't overlooked anything else she might want in the store before making her purchase.
It's too bad I can't have Minato here, she pouted as she examined a selection of obi belts. I'd love to get his feedback… And it's fun to tease him.
Her mouth curled into a mischievous little smirk as she imagined exactly how she would "tease him" if he was present. She would saunter as she showed off potential outfits to him, and wink at him, and maybe she would pull him into the changing stall with her—
"Good afternoon."
Kushina's smirk twisted and vanished at the stiff greeting and she turned to regard Iruka with a raised eyebrow.
"This is a store for kunoichi," she told the chuunin. "What, do you cross-dress on the weekends or something?"
"No," Iruka snapped. "I caught sight of you from the street through the window. Your hair is very noticeable."
"Yes, it is," Kushina sighed. "Aren't you supposed to be in school teaching tots how to be ninjas?"
"I'm on my way back from lunch," he answered tersely.
"…And you want to hear about Naruto," she added for him.
It was Monday and she'd returned from the wilds just that morning. Iruka knew that she'd been with Naruto. As a favor to him she made the effort to keep him updated on Naruto's status and pass along his greetings to her son. If only he could make himself friendlier it wouldn't be such a chore for her, but he seemed bound and determined to believe that she was some shallow bitch who cast aside her son when he became inconvenient for her and returned under suspicious circumstances.
"Yes," he said.
At his confirmation, she took her things to the register to buy them. Dealing with him always left a sour taste in her mouth and she wanted to do something other than shop to clean her palette once he was gone. While she was paying, he hovered off the side, and then he followed her out of the store.
"Everything's going well," she told him. "Naruto's perfectly healthy and progressing very well in his training. He'll be returned to Konoha the day before the finals so that he can rest and be ready to head to the stadium first thing the next morning."
"Will I get to see him?" Iruka asked.
"Sure," she muttered. "If he wants to see you, there's no reason why he can't."
"Well—"
A scruffy dog with a blue vest and shades on trotted past them, sniffing very intently at the pavement and thoroughly distracting Kushina.
"Hey, you're one of Kakashi's dogs, right? What's up?"
"Yep," the dog said, pausing briefly. "Someone attacked Sasuke and we're trying to track the creep down while Kakashi gets him to the hospital."
A chill washed over her skin and down her spine.
"Can I help?"
"No, this guy is good," the dog snorted. "He knows all the best ways to obscure his scent. We're all out looking but I don't think we'll find 'im."
"Darn," Kushina hissed, grateful that the dog hadn't thought much of her offer to help (only Inuzuka were any real talent at scent tracking). "I'll let his mother know. Good luck."
The Summon nodded to her and went back to sniffing.
Kushina turned away with shopping bag in hand, heading for her hotel room and completely forgetting about little chuunin Iruka. Mikoto had moved in with her the day after Fugaku had returned home. Without a household to manage anymore, the Uchiha found herself at loose ends and spent most of her time reading library books, watching television, and training when Kushina invited her to.
Poor Mikoto…she just can't catch a break.
Mikoto sat hunched over in a plastic chair by her son's hospital bedside. He'd been unconscious since yesterday, wracked by fevers, and at one point in the middle of the night his heart had raced so hard the doctors had almost shocked him to restore a normal rhythm. Now he looked much more peaceful and the fevers were gone…but he was still asleep.
Kushina not only let her know about Sasuke being in the hospital, her old friend brought her dinner, breakfast, and most recently lunch so that she didn't have to leave her son's side to get food. Kakashi had visited twice to check on Sasuke's condition and keep her apprised of his investigation, which regrettably was going nowhere fast. Itachi had managed one visit after hearing about it from Kakashi. And Sasuke's teammate, Sakura, along with Inoichi's daughter, had visited several times together and separately.
Fugaku hadn't come. She would've been surprised if he had, even if he wasn't informally restricted to the Uchiha District. But his very clear absence still hurt her keenly. Sasuke looked up to his father so much—
Her sharp eyes caught sight of a twitch of Sasuke's fingers. She watched his hand with bated breath, tense for any further movement. When his hand curled into a fist, she grabbed it tightly, hoping that it wasn't another false alarm.
"Sasuke? Sasuke, are you awake? Can you hear me?"
He didn't react at first, but then his fist relaxed and one of his eyes squinted open.
"Wh…where…?"
"You're in the hospital, Sasuke," Mikoto informed him, stroking his hand and fighting back the sting of relieved tears.
"Th' hospital?" he mumbled hoarsely, slowly turning his head to look at her face.
"Yes, the hospital," she nodded. "Someone attacked you during your training session yesterday."
"What?" he blinked. "Really?"
"Yes… You don't remember?"
Her son mutely shook his head.
"Well…how are you feeling?"
"…Sore," he answered after a moment's thought. "And hungry."
"You've been unconscious for over twenty-four hours," she said with a weak smile. "Of course you're hungry."
"Twenty-four hours?" Sasuke frowned worriedly.
"Relax, I'll go get the doctor to check on you and something for you to eat," she told him, gently stroking his cheek.
Mikoto hurried out into the hall in search of a nurse or a doctor, torn between deep relief and prickly worry. She was relieved that her son was awake and seemingly no worse for the wear. But she was concerned that he had no memory of being assaulted.
Kakashi wasn't able to track down the culprit, so if Sasuke can't remember who hurt him, he'll get off scot free…
The doctor—a middle-aged, brown-haired, and rather unremarkable-looking man—studied his patient's file one last time before regarding that patient's loved ones. The boy's mother looked tired and her fingers were fidgeting, although she tried to hide it. The patient's older brother stood solemnly at his mother's side, his face blank but there were hints of tension in the tightness around his dark eyes. And the group was rounded out with the boy's silver-haired jounin teacher and a red-haired kunoichi who supported the boy's mother and was probably an old friend.
After looking at each person present, the doctor smiled warmly.
"Young Sasuke is a lucky boy, Mrs. Uchiha," he said. "It seems that he's pulled through with no ill effects. He'll be discharged from the hospital within the hour."
"That's wonderful, but what was wrong with him?" the dark-haired woman asked.
"From what we can tell, he was suffering from an overdose of an unknown drug." The doctor snapped the file shut and tucked it under his arm. "Thankfully Sasuke is a young and healthy boy. If he had been suffering from an infection or had been recovering from an injury he might not have made it."
"An overdose of a drug?" the jounin sensei inquired. "What drug?"
"A cocktail we haven't seen before. It had already broken down a great deal before we were able to get samples and properly analyze them. As for why he was drugged…" The doctor shrugged helplessly. "A failed abduction attempt, perhaps? I'm no ninja, I'm just a doctor."
"Will he be able to participate in the Finals or will he have to withdraw?" Sasuke's elder brother asked.
"All his tests are coming back normal. If he suffers any sort of symptoms like fainting spells or pain, bring him back immediately. But if he feels up to it I don't see why he should have to withdraw from the competition." The doctor smiled at the group again. "I wish him the best this coming Friday."
"Thank you, Doctor," Mrs. Uchiha said with misty eyes and she gripped his hand in gratitude.
"You're very welcome," he beamed. "Now are there any other questions? I have a few other patients I need to see to."
When there were no more questions, he bade them farewell and strolled down the hallway to see to his other patients. Once he had made his rounds, he started complaining to a few nurses that he was starting feel a bit under the weather. Within the hour, he excused himself from duty early with many apologies, leaving his remaining patients for the other doctors to manage. On his way home to nurse what he feared to colleagues would be a nasty flu, he allowed himself a small smirk.
It was very fortunate for him that people trusted doctors so implicitly. With the right white lab coat, the friendly mannerisms, and the proper face, no one had doubted that he was who he claimed to be. He had all the proper knowledge of medicine, hospital procedures, and he was good with names.
Not a soul had suspected that he wasn't who he appeared to be. The Uchiha had never thought to use their Sharingan to make sure that he wasn't using a henge. None of the hospital staff challenged his identity.
And if his luck held, no one would come to call on the flu-stricken doctor until after the Trials and discover that he had been dead since Monday night.
Sasuke will be in the Trials, just were Orochimaru-sama needs him…
