Rewritten on 9/7/2019
A/N – For those asking, the self-deemed 'Sakura-incident' will not be heavily changed as it is a key plot point and creates an unchangeable character development moment for the team. However, I will tell you that I will be rewriting that part extensively as there was a large portion of you readers that did not fully understand why I wrote it that way – my reasoning for the incident being written in the first play – and simply wished to hate on her. And for those who have no idea what I'm talking about, it's okay, you'll know soon enough – and I hope you'll like it either way. So, yeah. I hope these rewrites have been better than the original or else I guess it'd all be in vain. Without further ado, onwards to this extremely long chapter.
The mission was easy. Walking towards the Land of the Waves at a civilians' pace was painstakingly easy. Although it was slow-going, they found it to simply be… easy.
The children held an optimistic outlook on the future that holds them, visibly excited for their very first C-ranked mission despite nothing happening. They adamantly talked with one another, talking in awe at the world outside of the village – this had probably been the first time they'd been outside of Konoha's walls, Kakashi mused to himself. Birds flew high in the sky, cawing at each other in some musical performance that left the teenagers in awe of their beauty. The adults, while they did not share anything in conversation, they did pleasantly bathe in the soothing sunlight pouring onto the path in front of them.
Kakashi especially.
It was days like this that the silver-haired man simply couldn't fathom how such horrid things could cross his students' paths, where he could simply forget that bad things lie and wait in the dark like war and death. "It's only a C-ranked mission." His conscious tried reminding him, desperate to settle the ache and queasiness deep within him and fill him with something more… comforting. Kakashi eyed his student, watching the medic talk on a tangent about citrus foods and how eating too many of them could cause abdominal pain. "C-ranked mission." He was reminded again just as Sasuke admitted to not liking citrus foods.
"They'll be fine." His eyes lingered on the blond-haired teenager, "He'll be okay."
But would he?
Naruto turned around, excited and young – so young, he's too young for something like that – as he adamantly went on about this wild bird he and his teammates had seen not too long after their citrus conversation. The blond grinned, a bubbly laugh stuck in his throat as his hands went in the air, motioning with them as he continued about just how bright the bird's feathers were and how it had a weird call. Kakashi nodded, indicating that he was semi-listening, but his mind would not quiet down, a strong force squeezing around his chest.
The silver-haired Jonnin dug his nose back in his perverse book just as his students got into a sudden argument on whether instant coffee was better than the brewed alternative. He shook his head – they shouldn't be drinking coffee at their age, it'll stunt their growth, his mind mused without any probing. Kakashi hummed, eyes peeking over the dirty book. Naruto would know that. Naruto knows everything. Naruto would know that the village needs him during wartimes.
Kakashi sighed, eyeing the same paragraph for the next couple of minutes, ears zoning out the gennins' outbursts about this or that. He can't read like this, but he doesn't want to put the book away either – he had a look to uphold. He glanced back up as his students who had suddenly started to quiet down, the initial excitement they'd had before and the adrenaline coursing through them finally starting to finally slow down. The silver-haired Jonnin knew that the winding road ahead was sure to be rocky and he only hopes that things will be alright for his gennins.
Whatever was to come – whatever attack that is on its way – he'd do his very best to shield his students from the worst of it.
Even if it kills him.
They shouldn't have to go through what he went through all those years ago, battling for your country, for your life, in a war you didn't believe in but was forced to. They shouldn't have to be battle-hardened by age fifteen nor be in the presence of war. It was a fickle thing, really, Kakashi mused. He knows that Naruto's presence as a leading medic in this upcoming attack could be vital in saving the lives of thousands, but…
But Kakashi grew to be a selfish man.
He simply cannot let his student do something that suicidal – this goes for the three of them, not just Naruto, not anymore. Kakashi refused to let them throw their lives away like this. Still, though, with a potential war around the corner, they had to be prepared for anything, prepared to give up anything. Until then, though, Kakashi just wanted to live in this moment with his students surrounding him with small grins and excited eyes.
Until the inevitable, he would live.
Naruto's loud, bubbly laugh pulled the older man out of his thoughts, watching as his student light shoved Sasuke, obviously amused at something the other boy had said but too stubborn to admit that it was really funny. The Uchiha gave his teammate an annoyed look, dark eyes rolling at the medic's antics. Instead of saying something back, the blond-haired gennin turned towards their client. "Say, Tazuna-san?" Vibrant blue eyes fluttered up at the older man, sickly-sweet politeness in his voice. Kakashi also turned towards their client, curious by the upcoming question.
Tazuna groaned slightly, trying not to let his frustration show on his face, "What do you want?" The tanned man's words were clipped, the unspoken 'brat' staying in the confinements of his mind. After the medic's words in the Hokage's office, he's tried to keep some of his… ruder comments to himself.
It wasn't easy but, if he didn't want to get chewed out again, he'd keep it that way.
"Your country is the Land of the Waves, right?" He inquired, the question gathering the Sasuke's and Sakura's attention.
"What of it?" He narrowed his dark eyes at the boy, fingers itching to grab the sake bottle in his travel bag; children irritated him, especially children with knives and an arsenal of weapons at hand.
Naruto lifted a hand in the air in some surrendering motion though, the playful grin on his face remained, "Oh, no reason, just curious. That's all."
"Uh-huh, sure you were." Tazuna didn't believe him. He's already witnessed the boy's continuous mumblings about this, that and whatnot. There is absolutely no way for that to be the end of this conversation.
As if the world had answered him, Sakura turned towards the Jonnin of their team, a curious gleam in her eyes, "Kakashi-sensei?"
The man looked up from his perverted book, eye on his student, "Hm?"
"Do you know if there are ninjas in the Land of Waves?" The pink-haired kunoichi questioned thoughtfully, hands clasped behind her back.
"No, there aren't any." A disappointed look crossed his students' faces – they were all probably hoping to meet other gennin like themselves. "But-" Three pairs of wide eyes looked up to him making Kakashi chuckle lowly, "the Land of the Waves has been known to house mercenaries and traveling caravans with a hired arsenal."
Sasuke nodded at this, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "Cool."
Tazuna rolled his eyes at their conversation, not saying anything to contribute. "I guess I'll just have to deal with this until my bridge is complete, I guess." He wanted something to drink, not listen to excited banter between students and a teacher.
"So, that means that the land isn't controlled by a shinobi village?" Sakura questioned, unsure.
"No, it isn't. A small island like the Land of the Waves where it is difficult to be influenced by other nations, there is no need for a shinobi village." The former ANBU member stated, getting nods from his students.
Naruto tilted his head for a moment, "There's no worry of getting into a fight with foreign ninjas then."
"Of course not." Their teacher heeded calmly. His words caused a chain reaction. While Naruto and Sakura looked relieved and relaxed from the information, Tazuna seemed to stiffen up a little, walking just a little faster ahead. His face obscured from the distance, making sure to pass both the group of gennin and their one-eyed teacher. Sasuke seemed to be the only one who had seen the brief movement just as his other two teammates delved into a conversation about the different villages.
Sasuke slowed down a bit, glancing back at his teacher for reassurance that he hadn't been the only one to see that. At the recognition, they found their eyes scanning each other in secrecy as if telling each other 'something-fishy-is-going-on-here', eyebrows lifting in question, heads tilting towards their client in suspicion. The Uchiha was now standing beside his teacher, "Think there's any possibility that Tazuna-san could be lying about the mission?" His words were calm, but his stance was a little more than a taunt.
Kakashi leaned just a bit closer to his student, voice low and unassuming, "There is a very high probability of that as the Land of the Waves is one of the poorest out there. Plus, Tazuna-san is just a bridge builder."
The Uchiha gave him a quizzical look before controlling his features again as to be meek, "What does that have to do with this?" He waved a hand discreetly towards their client.
"It relates because I'm pretty sure that someone with Tazuna-san's pay would not have the funds high enough to purchase anything higher than a C-ranked mission from Konoha," Kakashi stated quietly, suspicion in his voice.
"Couldn't he have saved up for it?"
He shook his head slowly, "If you're poor, your money goes to food, basic utilities, rent may be; it would not go to a mission."
"I see."
Their conversation had been very hush-hush and, normally, no one would have been able to hear it as they'd fallen behind quite a bit. However, just as Kakashi straightened up to his full height, he could see the smallest of movements from Naruto, ears twitching as if listening in but not commenting on it. His and Sakura's voices quieted down, exaggerated hand movements from their previous conversation ceasing completely. They were drawn towards each other, making head gestures now and then. There was a seriousness surrounding them, head bowed close together in a silent conversation. Tazuna was as oblivious as ever
Kakashi would have smirked then had his pink-haired student not looked over her shoulder, sending him a short, curt nod in understanding. He glanced at Sasuke, noting how he had also seen it. "Despite them having been caught up in a conversation, they still had enough notion to pay attention to not only me but Tazuna-san as well." The Jonnin found himself thinking, pride burning within in, "I have such great gennins." Though, from what he'd just witnessed, Naruto has a pretty good sense of hearing – that just might be useful.
"So," Tazuna started, finally slowing down but only just enough to make eye-contact with the group over his shoulder, "how long have you kids been gennin? You look too young to be given a C-ranked mission."
"We've been gennin for about…" Sakura tapped her chin, eyebrows furrowing together in concentration, "two months, maybe?"
"That doesn't sound right." Sasuke stated, equally in thought, "It's got to be almost four months by now."
"I thought it was closer to six months?" Naruto stepped in, looking just as confused as the both of them.
Kakashi chuckled at them, "It's going to be five and a half months in a few days."
"Woah." The three of them looked at one another, eyes filled with wonderment and awe. Sometimes, it was just so easy to forget how much time has passed while they've trained, done missions, and genuinely enjoyed each other's company.
From day one, they had started to get close by questioning Naruto's reasoning as to why he could become a gennin after failing as well as his medical prowess. And, even when they were waiting for Kakashi to arrive to give their official gennin test, the three of them still conversed among themselves.
Of course, it was Naruto who helped to band the rag-tag group together when he had brought his teammates something to eat before their exam so they wouldn't pass out or be distracted by the inevitable hunger. Despite them refusing at first, Sasuke and Sakura had complied afterward, leading into a whole other conversation between the three of them. But how could you forget the bell test in which Naruto helped to rally them together to attempt – and utterly fail, Kakashi mused – at getting the bells from their teacher? The valuable lesson in teamwork stuck with the three of them after that.
Sakura and Sasuke exchanged a look before their eyes lingered on their resident medic, smiles on their face. It seems that they'd both been thinking about the same thing, of their team origin story. Naruto blinked at them a few times, missing the memo. He titled his head inquiringly, "What? Do I have something on my face?" An abrupt, bubbly laugh left the pink-haired kunoichi, doubling over a bit at the absurd question before moving to sling an arm around the boy's shoulders. Naruto sighed but his eyes held curious amusement, "Man, I'm so confused right now."
"Good." Sasuke smirked, crossing his arms and purposely ignoring the look his teammate sent him, "You're supposed to."
Their client stepped back towards Kakashi as the three gennin proceeded to talk with one another, laughing at Naruto's sputtering appearance as he still struggled to figure out what the two were on about. "How'd you get these," He waved his hand at the teenagers poking fun at their medic, "kids to band together as they have? They have personalities that would never work in a normal setting."
"Well, that's because they're not in a normal setting which has helped them to become such good friends." Kakashi gave the older man an eye-smile, "I hadn't even met them face-to-face when they are already starting to become close. Though, I'd say that it wasn't until one of my tests that they really put aside all their differences and worked together."
"But, how'd they do it?" Tazuna questioned, honestly curious, "They all have pretty dominant personalities. I don't think they'd work together very well."
The Jonnin thought for a second before shrugging, "Not sure but, I'd put my money on Naruto." The two adults stared at the blond-haired medic for a few seconds, watching as the boy playfully glared at his other teammates who only continued to keep him out of the dark. Kakashi smiled at this.
"Why's that?"
"Well, he has this… personality that just makes you want to be around him, so to speak. Plus, he's a medic so you know he can be reliable and trustworthy if something had happened to you." The smile returned, looking to his cute little gennins as pride welled up in his chest. He looked down at his client, "Though, I do think that Sakura and Sasuke had to have had the initiative to work with someone like Naruto since he can be, well, all over the place."
The tanned man barked out a laugh, getting an odd look from the Uchiha. "That seems like him, from what I've seen at least."
"Encyclopedia." Kakashi turned to look at his book, not bothering to read anything from it.
"Huh?"
The man snickered, "Naruto's like an encyclopedia."
"I heard that, Kakashi-sensei!" The medic whipped his head around, amusement in his eyes.
"What? It should be considered a compliment!" His teacher winked at the boy – or would it be blinked as you could only see one of his eyes?
Sakura chuckled beside the blond-haired teenager, "Yeah! You know all these cool facts about medic stuff – helps us in the long run, I guess."
The Uchiha – who had stayed quiet for the last few minutes – piped up at the new conversation, turning towards the only kunoichi on their team, "I bet he's got some weird fact about like… inhaling a pea or something."
Naruto gave the two of them a sheepish look, "Well…"
Sakura's face fell, eyes wide, "Please tell me you don't actually have a fact about someone inhaling a pea."
"It may or may not have happened in the past." He shrugged before a devilish grin fell on his lips, "Though since you refused to tell me what you and Sasuke were going on about, I don't know if I should tell you."
Silence overtook them for only a few seconds.
"That shouldn't even be possible." They heard Sasuke whisper, disbelief in his voice.
"How do you even inhale a pea?!" Sakura spoke, baffled by the mere thought of breathing in food.
Naruto grinned – he's got them now, "Do you really want to know?"
His teammates glanced at each other, trying to balance out whether they really wanted to hear about the possibility of inhaling a pea. They ended up shrugging before looking at their resident medic in the eye, "Yes!"
And so, an explanation was given to a reluctant but extremely curious crowd.
Time got away from them, a few hours passing by at the blink of an eye. The gennins were starting to grow bored after walking at a civilian's pace for so long, antsy to do something adventurous. The sun was ever-present in their walk, beating down on the back of their necks relentlessly. However, they found the sunshine not at all unpleasant as the soothing breeze covering them from the west made the heat just a bit more bearable.
A few found themselves commenting on this when the conversation started to run thin, speaking to each other with relaxed voices and cheery eyes. Even Tazuna joined in on this, comparing Konohagakure's mild and nice weather to that of the muggy, fogged world that was the Land of the Waves. And Yiruma was right! It does snow there sometimes, Tazuna told them.
Despite being tuned in with the conversation, trained eyes barely made any movements as its attentions drifted towards a single puddle in the middle of the dirt road up ahead of them. Warning signs flared up then, an understanding filtering between Team 7 – it hadn't rained in almost a week; why would there be a puddle if there was no rain? It was a little more than suspicious, made the team believe it to be an ambush possibly. Tazuna kept talking about the climate of his land, completely unaware of the dangers hidden amongst them. They were going to pass the puddle soon; something needed to be done, quick.
Sakura glanced at the medic who was a few paces ahead of him beside Tazuna. He only gave her the tiniest of nods, considerate of her train of thought. She needed to get close to their client before any possible enemies could. Her feet shuffled loudly, moving to trip herself forward. The pink-haired kunoichi gave a startled shriek, playing the part as a clumsy little girl. Kakashi and Sasuke looked to her, surprised by her actions as she quickly picked herself back upright beside Tazuna.
He looked down at her, stuffing his hands in his pockets grumpily, "Hmph, and I thought that ninjas were supposed to have better reflexes than this."
Sakura gave the older man a sheepish look, "Apologies!"
The tanned man shook his head in exasperation, an eye-roll to go with it, "Clumsy girl."
The group continued to talk about Sakura's apparent clumsy behavior and Tazuna's bad attitude towards them, sometimes poking fun at each other. Surprisingly, Sasuke joined in, really trying to sell this dumb act they were playing out in case they were to encounter someone up here. As for their elusive teacher, Kakashi mostly stayed to himself, simply engrossing himself in his perverse book. They tried to take calculated steps, but it was only when they'd finally passed the lone puddle in the middle of the dirt road.
The sound of chains filled the group's ears, the gennin and their client tensing up at the noise. They turned their head towards Kakashi who had lagged behind a bit, only to see him wrapped tightly with thick chains coming from the puddle. His body bent oddly, a single eye looking to his students. Naruto's eyes widened in shock, hands outstretched in front of him, already glowing a faint green color.
It all happened so fast.
Blood spewed out from all directions, chunks of flesh and bones crumbling to the ground, the world locked in slow motion as it happened. Silver locks of hair floated down like feathers in the wind, drawing eyes to it. Sakura's initial reaction was to scream, but the poor thing was stuck deep in her throat. Instead, she gaped like a fish out of water, eyes filled with horror and tears in her eyes. There was a panic in her heart and, for a few seconds, the pink-haired teenager had honestly believed that Kakashi was dead, that these no-named enemies had just killed her teacher in front of her very eyes.
She looked to her teammates just as two men started crawling out from the puddle. Sasuke and Naruto were in a similar boat as her. Sasuke's eyebrows were pulled taut, already in a fighting stance. He was tense and his fists shook. He silently freaked out for a few seconds because a world without Kakashi in it was something unimaginable for the Uchiha. He'd grown close to the older man over the last few months – he couldn't be dead, there was no way. Naruto was sharing a similar thought. He knew that Kakashi was strong, but he wasn't invincible; he's still human and humans make mistakes, like lagging behind their group.
The three gennin took a moment to gather themselves, think logically about the situation. They'd been expecting the enemy arriving, so there was no way that Kakashi would have been taken surprised by the attack – he wouldn't die to something like that. Their teacher was smart, he was prepared for anything, they told themselves. So, they took a deep breath, looked to each other and equally searched out his chakra. He was somewhere around, but he was alive.
It was relieving, to say nonetheless. But their enemies were already starting to stand before them now, they needed to worry about themselves now.
Naruto held out a hand, glancing back at their client, "Stay here." He watched as Sasuke pounced at the cloaked guy who was still reeling back from his attack against Kakashi. He didn't see the Uchiha coming. The medic summoned two shadow clones as to better protect Tazuna with. He stayed in the backlines, watching the battlefield with a hawk's eye.
"Sakura!" Sasuke's voice rang out.
She gave a curt nod, "On it!" The kunoichi pulled out nearly a dozen kunai, some wrapped in explosive tags. She lowered her body to the ground, readying her weapons for battle. The two cornered the caped man, the Uchiha more in the man's personal space while Sakura provided needed support from a distance. She called for Sasuke to back up a bit as she threw the tagged kunai, watching the place where his body used to be exploded. She cursed at missing her shot but covered it up by following her teammate back into the frenzy of the fight.
Sasuke reached out for the man's chain, pulling on it to get his enemy closer. The chain, having been connected to a contraption on the caped guy's wrist, made it each to pull him forward. The momentum carrying him towards the Uchiha's raised fist, punching the older man backward. He stumbled, disoriented a bit before ultimately being pulled back in for another hit.
There was a sound of a shadow clone poofing away. Sasuke glanced towards where Tazuna and Naruto were at, seeing the medic battling off the other man. A long cut sliced into his right hand, pulling the Uchiha back into his fight. He hissed in pain, fingers tingling with an unknown sensation before hopping back towards where the only kunoichi stood.
Sakura stared worriedly at him, eyes hardening in her resolve, "I've got it!" Her light footsteps carried her easily, taking up a position directly behind the Uchiha. Their backs brushed against one another briefly before the two bounced off towards their enemies once more – Sasuke at one, Sakura taking the other.
She watched as the second enemy pushed Naruto down onto the ground, getting on top of him and about to send out a barrage of punches his way. The kunoichi threw one of her tagged kunai, the lethal object exploding just above the shaggy-haired man's back. His eyes were blown wide as he scrambled off her medic. In a spar, Sakura would have snickered at the success of landing a tagged kunai. However, she had a purpose for gaining this distraction. The pink-haired kunoichi turned towards Naruto, "Get Tazuna-san out of here! He'll only be in the way."
"I'll do my best." The medic bowed his head slightly, hastily getting up. He wrapped a secure arm around the man's waist and jumped to the trees, taking Tazuna with him into the forest's depths. However, his last remaining shadow clone stayed, hands glowing a soft, albeit menacing, blue. They sharpened ever so slightly as the clone stepped up to the rugged-looking man who tried to end their client's life and endangered his boss's own.
Their enemies glanced at each other, frustration and anger evident in their eyes as the three gennin closed in on them. Sakura and Naruto's clone headed for Sasuke's position, laying down cover and protection for him as he readied a fireball jutsu. Despite the very obvious one-shot disappearing act the shadow clone possessed, the chakra scalpel (1) provided very good defense, especially against those chains their advisories primarily used. They could easily cut through the metal, the gennins watching it fall to the ground, useless, with a victorious grin.
Sakura's above-average aim also seemed to be greatly helping the team keep their opponents back, providing just enough of a distraction too. Sasuke held out his arms quickly, pushing back his teammates as he flashed through the recognizable signs, "Fire Release: Great Fireball!" The Uchiha shouted out, a large fall of flames spewing out of his mouth. One of them cried out in pain as the road was engulfed in orange. That one fell to the ground, body a bit charred but now unconscious.
Even though the last remaining one was out of the fire's range, he was not out of a certain irritated Jonnin's range. Kakashi appeared silently behind him, a hand coming to chop down against the caped man's neck. His body became heavy, eyes rolling to the back of his head as he fell lifelessly to the ground. The Jonnin clapped his hands together as if he'd just sullied his hands with something awful – well, it wasn't very far from the truth.
"Well, now that that's been taken care of." The man mumbled, stepping over the two enemies before walking over to his students. He placed a hand on both Sasuke's and Sakura's shoulders, squeezing it slightly, "You did very well."
"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei." The kunoichi beamed bashfully.
Kakashi turned towards the clone, "You can go now. Make sure to tell Naruto that Sasuke's been injured." The clone's eyes widened a fraction of a second, glancing at his dark-haired teammate. His resolved hardened, they bobbed their head and poofed away.
Sasuke huffed quietly, "You saw that?"
"Of course, I did." He stated, heading back over to the unconscious men, one of which was still smoking from his student's jutsu, "I'm your teacher, I'm supposed to notice everything."
He rolled his eyes, a slight smirk on his face, "Kakashi-sensei, it was only a scratch. I think I can handle it."
The Jonnin peeked over his shoulder as he hauled their comatose enemies towards a tree, "Could you handle the poison too?"
"What?"
"These are the Demon Brothers. They're known for lacing their weapons in a heavy poison, a very toxic and lethal poison." His words, although calm, were mixed with a tone of worry.
Sasuke could feel sweat start to trail down the back of his neck, "I've been poisoned?"
"Possible." Kakashi said, wrapping a rope around his lifeless opponents, "There's a good chance of it but I'll have to let Naruto look you over before we go assuming anything, alright?"
Sakura looked her teammate over, worry clouding her eyes, "How serious do you think it is?"
The silver-haired Jonnin glanced at his two gennin before making his way back over to them, "There's no way to tell as of right now. It's a fresh cut and I'm not exactly a doctor. I don't know many signs of poisoning."
Sasuke looked down at the cut on his hand. While it wasn't deep, there was a chance of poisoning and that honestly terrified him to the bone. He had to keep living, had to do so to avenge his clan. He can't be taken down by something toxic, that would be a sucky way to go if you'd ask him. The Uchiha took a deep breath, flexing the muscles in his hand, "So, we just wait?"
"We won't have to wait for long, Sasuke." His teacher assured, Kakashi giving him his best eye-smile, "Naruto and Tazuna didn't go too far. They should be here any minute now."
Sakura tapped her foot impatiently. "What if we just go to him?" She suggested, crossing her arms.
"I may not know much about poison, but I do know that if you exert your body too much, the poison will work faster and you could become comatose." Kakashi stated, "Plus, we can't risk leaving since these two will undoubtedly wake up soon." Three pairs of eyes stared at the two unconscious men before looking at each other once more.
A shiver ran up Sasuke's spine which was confusing since it was late spring and was a warm, sunny day. He didn't mention his train of thought to his team and, instead, just took to sighing, "Think I'll survive?"
"Gah! Sasuke! What kind of question is that?!" Sakura growled out, fury and anxiety curling in her eyes, "Of course, you're going to survive! We don't even know if you're poisoned or not, have a little hope, would you? And, if you were poisoned, we have a super awesome medic that'll help you out!"
He could have rolled his eyes but simply shrugged, looking away, "Whatever."
The brush to their right started to move. Heads turned just in time to see blond hair poke out from the tree line, a tanned man trailing behind him. Naruto blinked at them, leaving their client's side and speed-walked over to his teammate. He glanced at Kakashi, "Poison, right?"
"I'm pretty sure, but there could be a chance that I'm wrong." The silver-haired Jonnin stated seriously, arms crossed over his chest, "I hope I'm wrong. Please, please say I'm wrong."
Their medic nodded his eyes, a stern look in his eyes as Tazuna made his way to their side. "Sasuke," He started, "take off your right arm warmer." The Uchiha slid it off without a word, glancing up at his teammate as a swirl of anxiety pooled in his stomach. The top part of his hand where the cut was located looked to be in good shape as the cut wasn't deep in the slightest. Though, it did extend pretty far down his forearm.
There was no sign of poisoning from what they could see.
The thought must have been pretty universal. Sakura gave a wobbly smile, glancing over Naruto's shoulder, "This means that he's good to go, right?" The blond merely shook his head, turning over Sasuke's arm to reveal dark and angry purple veins stretching down a good portion of the underside of his forearm. "Oh, Kami." The kunoichi clapped a hand over her mouth, tears springing in her eyes.
"Like I suspected," Naruto mumbled to himself.
"What does this mean?" Sasuke's hushed voice was barely heard but the hidden fear still lurked in those words and his quivering hands.
"Our opponents most likely used a type of venom or some toxic plant to make an effective poison like this. I've only ever seen something to this extent twice in the hospital since poisoning isn't as common as you'd think." Naruto rambled a bit, running a hand through his hair, "I need a secure location to remove the poison completely and, from what we've just witnessed, this is not secure enough to perform any type of poison extraction."
Kakashi placed a reassuring hand on the Uchiha's shoulder, "Is there anything you can give him to… cure it or something?"
"No," Hope seemed to die in Sasuke's eyes, "but, I can give him something to slow it down!"
"Like what?" Sakura questioned quietly, having filled pulled herself together.
"I need to prevent it from ever reaching his heart. Since the poison was introduced to his right hand, it is on the fastest path to a person's heart and, it's a fast-acting poison so time is really against us on this." Their resident medic explained, dropping his travel bag and reaching for his medic one instead. He rummaged in it, looking at different labels. Naruto found was he was looking for, shaking the strange liquid inside a bit.
Sasuke glanced nervously at it as his teammate pulled out a very long syringe. "What's that going to do?" He asked quietly.
"This," He waved the syringe and bottle in the air, "is what is going to help you in the long run." He moved to grab a pair of gloves as to not contaminate his teammate with any unwanted bacteria. "It is an antibiotic that is given to medics in case of poisoning on the battlefield." The blond pulled the latex gloves on effortlessly, grabbing an antiseptic wipe, "It can help to slow down most toxins long enough to extract it or, make a cure."
Naruto tore the packaging off the antiseptic wipe, wiping the cool tissue against the antecubital space (2) of Sasuke's arm. Without missing a beat, Naruto poked the syringe into the bottle, slowly drawing out the liquid to the desired line. "I'm going to give you an extra dosage as this poison is traveling fast." He flicked the syringe with his fingers a few times until it was deemed usable. A firm hand gripped Sasuke's elbow, straightening it out for easier access. Naruto glanced up at his teammate, "It will sting for only a second or two, nothing to worry about."
Before the needle had even touched the Uchiha's skin, Sasuke jerked backward, hands trembling slightly. "Sorry." He mumbled out, "I'll try to be still." Four pairs of watchful eyes stared at him.
The medic stopped, "Sasuke."
"Yeah?"
"You're afraid of needles?" He asked politely.
There was a defeated look in his eyes, "Only a little bit. I promise I'll stay still this time."
"It's fine." Naruto gave him a warm smile, "I'll just talk to you while I'm doing it, try to distract you."
"Um, alright?"
"From the information I got from my clone, you and Sakura were slaying it out there." He chuckled, repositioning his teammate's arm again, "All that training you two have been doing makes me a little envious."
Sasuke shook his head, "No, that was all Sakura. I've never seen her do that." He glanced away, not trusting himself if he was staring at the needle.
Seeing her chance to join in and help her anxious friend, Sakura grinned, clapping her hands together excitedly, "No way! You're the one who taught me how to throw multiple weapons at one time."
"See, all her." The Uchiha fought back, the conversation working for him. The needle pressed into his skin, an odd warmth spreading through his veins at an excruciatingly slow pace. Sasuke could feel his heart rate suddenly skyrocket as his head whipped back around to look at Naruto. A small hiss left his mouth.
"Sorry about that." The medic gave him a sympathetic smile, "I told you it was going to sting a bit." He withdrew the needle almost as fast as he'd inserted. The teenager pulled out another antiseptic wipe, swiping away the bit of blood coming back up. He reached for a band-aid, placing it over the spot his syringe just left.
"Thanks," Sasuke mumbled, rubbing the area a bit as it still stung.
"That should help you for now, but you don't need to be on your feet for a while, not until I can figure out what to do with the poison still in your body." He stood up, "Until we start moving again, just sit still for a while. Let me know if you feel different at all – feverish, nauseous, anything. I'm serious, Sasuke." There was a look in his eye while saying that.
Sasuke took a second to absorb the information before nodding, "I understand." He leaned against a tree, staring at the winding pathways the poison took towards his heart. His stomach was still churning with anxiety, but he knew that he was in good, capable hands. Naruto wouldn't let anything happen to him.
The blond peeled off his gloves before grabbing everything he used to treat his teammate and placing them in a medical waste pocket of his medic bag. Afterward, he stepped off to the side, ushering for the other members of his team to follow him. He turned towards Kakashi, "How long will it take to get to the Land of the Waves?"
"It won't be for another four or five hours." The silver-haired Jonnin replied instantly.
"That's cutting it really close." Naruto grumbled out, a concerned look gracing his features, "I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but… I don't like his chances."
"Is there anything we can do?" Sakura whispered out, green eyes clouded with worry.
He shook his head, arms crossed over his chest, "Maybe not you, but I've got to make sure that he's not going to be exerting himself which is, of course, going to be difficult as we've already established that someone is out for blood."
The kunoichi shuffled, "So, what now?" She glanced at her teacher and medic.
"I… I think we should start moving again. I'm going to have a clone carry Sasuke so that there's no way he could put himself in harm's way or exert himself." Naruto stated, waving a hand as he continued, "Should we come across any other enemies on our way, I don't want Sasuke in the fray. He should stay back with Tazuna-san at least until I can get that toxin out of his system."
"Alright." Kakashi's eyes caught movement from beside him, straightening his shoulders a bit, "Before we leave, I have a thing or two to discuss with the Demon Brothers." He left Sakura and Naruto, moving towards one of the men who was now waking up.
"I'm going to keep Sasuke company." The pink-haired teen stated, giving the medic a grim smile before leaving him as well.
Naruto watched her off before moving to lean against a tree, lost in thought. There was a creeping sensation of frustration, a familiar feeling, really. He used to get it all the time when he'd been working on formulas for his medicinal soldier pills or when he'd tried to make something to help Lee and Guy. Despite it being familiar and all, it didn't mean that he liked it.
He sighed heavily. He couldn't pinpoint what exactly Sasuke had been poisoned with. There wasn't a specific indicator in the physical symptoms to help him figure out what it was. The purple veins and the inflammation of the skin were pretty common symptoms of venom or plant-based poison. But which one could it be? Both have to be treated differently.
If it was a venom-based toxin, there would be a very high chance of something very lethal running through Sasuke's veins. Anyone who uses poisons as a weapon would use something like-threatening, Naruto concluded. One of the only ways to combat the poison from poisonous creatures – whether it be from reptilian origins or a bug of some sorts – he would need to find that creature and extract a sample of venom. Only then could an antivenin be made to help rid this poison from Sasuke's body. However, making an antivenin could take hours or days and he'd most definitely positive that his teammate doesn't have that much time.
Though it if was a plant-based poison, Naruto would have more time to operate but, depending on the species of plant, it could still be deadly when in contact with human tissues. Most toxic plants have to be ingested for it to do any real damage so that rules out quite a few. However, there are hundreds of thousands of different plant species out in the world – Sasuke could have been poisoned from any of them.
Naruto's a medic encyclopedia, not a nature one – he'd have no idea where to start. There is no way to truly know what to do with a plant-based poison. Plus, he'd only ever seen a poisoning twice, only ever allowed to assist in one of the less severe poisonings. This was so out of his element.
The medic took a deep breath, trying to steel his nerves. He glanced at his two teammates sitting beside each other, conversing quietly. Sasuke was starting to look a bit red in the face – possibly feverish, he concluded after a second. His eyes were a bit glazed over, the boy's energy slowly being drained from him. It was worrying for everyone, especially their resident medic who continued to rack his almost genius brain as to what his teammate had been poisoned with. He was running through all the possibilities, anything that could help his teammate out.
"This isn't looking good." His mind cooed out restlessly, "I have no idea what to do." The medic ran a hand through his hair, huffing out a breath as he continued to think. "This has to be something more like a snake poison rather than a plant one like I'd originally suspected." Naruto tapped a finger to his chin, "People are almost always immune to the first contact with toxic plant substances through skin contact; it's usually the time after that that people can start to see symptoms of poisoning."
Naruto searched for his team, making eye contact with his teacher who was still looming dangerously over the Demon Brothers. Something in the man's lone eye made the medic strive for a solution to his teammate's problem. "Most plant species cause intense stinging pain in the area of contact almost immediately; Sasuke hasn't experienced that… yet." His mind begrudgingly spewed out, digging through the archives of his medical encyclopedia, "His symptoms have been slow but progressive."
Sakura was looking at him now, as if keenly aware of his panicked mindset. He met her gleam, eyes trailing down towards their sweaty teammate, "Other symptoms of plant-based toxins are rashes, itchy skin around the contact area, constant sniffles or sneezing, and runny eyes – nothing there, either." Naruto turned away. "The culprit has to be snake venom."
Sure, he might have narrowed it down between the two, but that still left the pressing issue of creating an antivenin. Naruto moved to bite at his fingernails absentmindedly. Even if Kakashi got the specific snake the Demon Brothers used for their poison, who knows if that species of snake would even be in the general area? It could take hours or even days to make an antivenin, anyway.
Naruto paused as a sudden thought jumped to the surface. What if, instead of worrying about an antivenin, he used the delicate illness extraction technique (4) to get the poison out of Sasuke? However, as the thought passed, the medic stiffened. He can't use that on Sasuke, Naruto concluded. That particular extraction technique doesn't exactly have the best track record when it came to minors. The technique should only be used on adults as their bodies have finished growing which makes it easier to force to toxins out.
He sighed heavily. Did he have any other choice, though? Sasuke will die without some form of a cure – antivenin or delicate illness extraction. If the poison continued to linger in the Uchiha's body, it could be catastrophic.
"Tazuna." Four heads turned towards the silver-haired Jonnin who had turned back towards the group after speaking with the Demon Brothers. However, with the honorifics dropped, the gennins could tell that he was serious about something.
"W-What is it…?!" The tanned man stammered out, glancing at the ninja that was to protect him.
"I believe that we need to talk," Kakashi started with a calm, monotone voice
Tazuna nodded his head dumbly, "Hm?"
"These two men we've captured today are chunin from the Village Hidden in the Mist." The shinobi said, poking one of the men with his shoe for emphasis, "These guys are ninjas known for continuing to fight no matter what the sacrifice, known in the bingo book only as the Demon Brothers."
"If they were so dangerous," The older man found himself speaking, "why'd you leave it to a bunch of kids to fight?"
"If I felt like it, I could have killed these two instantaneously but," He gave a hard glare towards his client, "I had to know who their real target was."
"W-What?"
"They were lying in wait for our group to cross their paths today. The Demon Brothers were easily detectable as there wouldn't be any puddles of water on a clear day like today when it hadn't rained for days." Kakashi stated, taking a few steps to lean over Tazuna threateningly.
"What do you mean?"
Kakashi narrowed his lone eye, "In other words, what I mean is I had to know if their target was you, or one of us shinobi."
"Oh."
"We haven't heard anything about you being prey for ninjas. The content of this request was supposed to just be protection from gangs, thieves, and the likes of." There as a keen sharpness to his words, making Tazuna's knees feel quaky, "This isn't a C-ranked mission anymore. The demand was supposed to be for backup until you finished your bridge. If our enemies were to be ninjas, the mission would've been estimated without question as an expensive B-ranked mission."
There was a hand on his forearm that stopped him from continuing his assault on the civilian man. He glanced down to see Sakura who simply smiled up at him, "Kakashi-sensei."
"Hm?"
"I understand that relaying false information to get his request approved is bad and all, but," Her eyes drifted away, "there also might be a really good reason for doing it."
"Sakura," He started, shaking his head slightly as his voice lost its edge as he spoke to his student, "this is beyond the scope of our mission."
"Kakashi-sensei, with all due respect, our team is one of the more advanced of our graduating year." Sasuke crossed his arms in defense from the tree he was sitting against.
The pink-haired kunoichi nodded her head once, glancing at the Uchiha who looked a bit redder in the face than before. "Look, I'm sure that we can handle a mission higher than C-ranked." She motioned to her teacher, "You're a seasoned Jonnin with a lot of experience in these kinds of missions. We have a medic, too, with abilities that can help in wide-spread attacks as well as healing people when their down. We'd be fine."
"What, so I don't even get praise?" Sasuke scoffed playfully.
"Oh, hush, I didn't even praise myself." She snorted before turning back to their teacher, "We can do this, Kakashi-sensei!"
"I don't think that it's wise for new gennins to get something closer to a B-ranked or A-ranked mission as their first out-of-Konoha experience." Kakashi stated, shaking his head slightly, "I know I can protect you from anything, but your lives could be in severe danger."
"We have Naruto." The dark-haired teen pointed out, nodding his head his way, "He can heal any of us if we're hurt."
All heads turned towards the blond. Kakashi furrowed his eyebrows. "You've been oddly quiet," He started, "what's on your mind, Naruto?"
He lifted his head, a somber experience marring his features, "I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei, but Sasuke and I cannot continue this mission until the poison is completely removed from his system."
"What?!" Sasuke's look incredulously at the medic, "What do you mean by that?!"
"Sasuke's been poisoned with a venom-based toxin." His words sounded monotone, uncaring but his teammates knew that to be his 'medic voice' coming through loud and clear, "There is no way I could capture the snake they used for their poison and create an antivenin in time to save your life. I have a… different method but I can't do it on the road, and I can't wait to do it. It needs to be done now or Sasuke will die."
Silence rushed through the team, a deep churning sense of dread filling each other them. "Naruto," The Jonnin stated, looking a little perplexed, "we've already established that this is not a safe area to be healing."
"Then I will make it a safe area." He took a step forward, arms out in front of him for emphasis, "Kakashi-sensei, he shouldn't travel in his position and you know that." The medic was getting slightly worked up, heart pounding in his chest a bit.
"Yes, but I also can't leave two of my students by themselves when we are already so far from Konoha." Kakashi sighed out, pinching the bridge of his nose. He didn't necessarily want to play the 'bad guy' in this situation, but he knew that he needed to keep his team together. Naruto heart was in the right place, but this is a dangerous time.
"If you make Sasuke and I leave this position and make him wait until he is at the Land of Waves for any kind of treatment, his body will fail, and he will die. His body cannot handle the poison in his system for five-plus hours." Naruto hissed out, frustration starting to leak into his tone, "Even if he's only showing mild symptoms now, I don't want to wait for it to get worse and become untreatable."
"Naruto-"
"Let me put this in medical terms." He held up a hand before crossing his arms tightly against his chest, "Toxins change the speed of different body functions, increasing or decreasing them depending on what type it is. It can increase the heart rate, cause sweating or fevers – it can even stop someone's breathing or cause organ failure which inevitably leads to death without treatment."
Sasuke's eyes were blown wide, a barely contained fear evident on his face. "What…?" His voice was hoarse, too quiet.
"I can also potentially slow a person's immune system so that their body cannot fight off the poison to the best of its ability." Naruto grounded out firmly, his 'medic voice' coming out as clear as day with a hint of aggravation, "If this venom-based poison even touches his heart, it's going to be fatal."
"What does that mean exactly?" Sakura spoke up after a while, wringing her hands together anxiously.
"The poison is lingering in his bloodstream. The poison is being centralized in his forearm and is moving slowly… for now. The temporary cure (3) is working somewhat but it's pretty sluggish if Sasuke's already got a fever." He pointed to the Uchiha who lightly pressed a hand to his forehead as if checking for himself, "If the poison continued to spread, it will lead back to his heart. The poison will follow his bloodstream to every major organ until it results in complete organ failure. If it comes to that, there would be nothing I could do to stop the poison from killing Sasuke."
She nodded numbly, "A…Alright."
"Kakashi-sensei, please, let me and Sasuke stay." Naruto begged his teacher, "I can't do anything on the road but, if I find a place and secure the area, I can rid Sasuke of the poison completely – I'm sure of it!"
Kakashi looked away, a tightness to his face. "Fine…" He begrudgingly said, glancing at his student, "You can stay but you meet back up with us as soon as you can, okay?"
"Yes, sir."
"Wait, he doesn't know the way to the Land of the Waves," Tazuna suddenly called out frantically, having stayed quiet for the majority of the conversation.
"That's okay, I'll just give you a shadow clone." Naruto smiled, summoning a clone who waved politely at them, "If they get hit even once, they'll poof away so be careful with them."
"Think I could seal them away?" Kakashi questioned, giving the new clone a strange look.
"Oh definitely, they're just chakra." He grinned, watching as his teacher pulled out a scroll and rolled in underneath the clone. The Jonnin flashed through a few hand signs, successfully sealing away the clone for later.
Sakura stepped forward, a frown of determination on her face, "Maybe I should stay with you two, just in case?"
"No." Naruto's eyes hardened, rivaling the fire in his teammate's eyes, "You need to go with Kakashi-sensei because, if anything happens to him, you'd be the only one to protect Tazuna."
She crossed her arms defiantly, "I hate when you're right."
"Hey!" Sasuke suddenly called out, "Don't I get any say in this?"
"No." His three teammates called out in unison.
Sakura moved towards the blond, pulling the medic into a quick hug, squeezing him tightly, "You be careful out there okay, be safe?"
Naruto smiled, hugging her back, "I'll try my best."
"No, you will be safe." She rolled her eyes, pulling away.
He snickered, "Yeah, yeah. And you stay out of trouble when you get to the Land of the Waves."
"Will do." She grinned weakly.
"You two sound like you're never going to see each other again." Kakashi snorted, but his words didn't have the same sarcastic bit to it. He placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder as Sakura went over to Sasuke, "I trust that you know what you're doing, and I pray that you'll be okay."
He nodded his head, "Thank, Kakashi-sensei." They turned around to see Sakura kissing the top of Sasuke's head. His eyes were wide in surprise, but he didn't say anything against it.
"You two have to come back to us, okay? I don't know what I'd do if you didn't." Kakashi heaved a sigh, "Be careful."
"Yes, sir." The boys stated, Sasuke moving to stand from the ground to watch them off.
"We should be going. Sakura, you ready?" Kakashi sounded out, already starting to walk away. The kunoichi nodded, giving Sasuke one final worried look before catching up to her teacher. Her eyes still lingered on Naruto, though, as the smaller group departed, watching as he and Sasuke disappeared into the forest. There was a flash of a hand sign as clones came to life underneath the trees.
"He'll be okay." She whispered out, head tilting up to her teacher, "Right?"
"Of course." Kakashi bobbed his head, "Naruto can take care of himself."
1. "…the chakra scalpel…" This is what Naruto's 'glowing-blue-hands' technique is called for those who might be confused. I didn't use the exact term much in the beginning – after introducing it, of course – but I realize now that it could have caused undesired confusion and, therefore, have decided to solely use this term rather than what I had used in the previous chapters (especially the ones which aren't revised)
2. "…the antecubital space…" If you've ever had blood drawn, you know exactly where this spot on the body is located. However, for those who have no idea what I'm talking about, this is the inside of your elbow. I'd like to thank my mother who is a medical assistance - or M.A. – for giving me this word, very helpful, indeed.
3. "The temporary cure…" This is just a name given for that antibiotic that Naruto injected into Sasuke in the previous chapter that helped to slow the poisoning. I don't have any idea what I should call it, so, if you have suggestions, go ahead and comment.
4. "…the delicate illness extraction technique…" I'm going to clear this up now, I'm making up a lot of the information on this medical procedure. The only instance that this technique is used is when Sakura uses it on Kankuro after Sasori poisoned him during Shippuden. There isn't much information on it which makes it hard to write for it, but I decided to go with the flow for it, use my research on the technique as well as my current knowledge of poisons and medical procedures to create what you read in this chapter as well as how it'll be used in the future.
