Sakura didn't think it wise to leave Kabuto unattended at the hospital. She knew she still could not trust him yet, but it was important that they begin working on a cure right away. The best logical choice would be for the both of them to share living quarters and a working space in the hospital.

Kabuto didn't seem to have any problem with this arrangement, but he wasn't keen to help her out with it either.

He stood in the corner of the makeshift lab with arms crossed, watching as Sakura lugged boxes of medical equipment in and out of the room. Morning was swiftly approaching and the light from the sunrise was just starting to filter in through the windows.

"This would go much more smoothly if you would help," Sakura said tersely, unceremoniously dumping a microscope onto the metal table beside the door.

"Not part of our agreement," Kabuto said with that smug and neutered voice that Sakura just loathed.

She continued her solo shuffle between rooms, trying to gather everything Kabuto might need for his part of the research. It took the better part of the morning, but after a few grueling hours, she had finished. The manual labor had taken its physical toll on her. She had really needed that good night's sleep, and she had yet to heal herself so it was with great effort that she made her way to the cot which had once been occupied by Kabuto and fell ungracefully on top of it.

She groaned and squeezed her eyes shut, wishing that Kabuto wasn't there to witness this moment of weakness. He had just watched her move an entire house's worth of boxes into his wing while sick and running on next to no sleep. His lack of compassion was astounding. She wondered what his bedside manner was like.

Then she felt a familiar presence, a massive and chaotic whorl of chakra barreling down the hallway. "Fuck," she muttered, rolling over onto her back. She glanced over at Kabuto, who still stood in the corner, watching her with wry amusement.

The door burst open and Naruto charged in, rushing to the cot where Sakura remained slumped. "Sakura-chan!" he bellowed. "I was just in Kabuto's room and he's gone!"

Kabuto let out a menacing chuckle from the corner of the room. Even his laugh is smug and condescending, Sakura thought.

"Oh," Naruto said, taking a step in front of Sakura. "You're awake."

"You know, Naruto," Kabuto said, moving closer to the center of the room, "if you needed my help, all you had to do was ask. I must say that your negotiation skills are nowhere near Sakura-san's level."

As Kabuto continued to move forward, the harsh fluorescent light above cast dark shadows on his face. He looked ominous enough that Sakura suddenly had a really bad feeling about this whole situation. Naruto stared blankly at him, his head cocked to the side as if he were trying to figure something out.

"What's the matter?" Kabuto asked. "Cat got your tongue?"

Naruto wrinkled in his nose in disgust. "You look so weird without your glasses and with your hair all messed up like that," he said. "And why the hell are you wearing my shirt? How did you get that?"

"Ugh, Naruto," Sakura muttered, slowly pulling herself up into a sitting position. Naruto helped her up with steady hands, though his eyes never left Kabuto. "Have you spoken with Kakashi recently? He was asking about you. Maybe you should go talk to him."

"And leave Kabuto alone?" Naruto demanded. "What if he tries something?"

"Like what?" she asked. "I was just in here by myself with him."

"I don't trust him," Naruto said through clenched teeth.

"Then trust me," she implored. "Go."

Naruto stared at Kabuto with fury blazing in his eyes. Kabuto stared right back with that infuriating arrogance for a moment before he finally gave an apathetic shrug and then nodded his head toward the door. Sakura felt more than heard Naruto growl and she sent a surge of calming chakra into, hoping to prevent a looming disaster. But then Naruto sighed. "Fine," he said. "But I swear, Kabuto, if you try anything, if you hurt Sakura or anyone else I will kill you."

Kabuto's lips twitched and he ducked his head low, still somehow maintaining a sense of sheepish grace. "I look forward to working with you," he said politely. Sakura shot him a warning look. It was then that Sakura realized how much more work it was going to be for her to have Kabuto here. Not only was everything else still on her plate, but she was now going to have to act as a buffer between these two idiots.

Naruto disappeared out into the hallway again and Sakura allowed herself to slump down onto the cot again, relaxed and rigid all at once. Silence descended on the room and Sakura felt her eyelids drooping.

"You don't look so good."

Through bleary eyes, she shot him as a withering a look as she could muster.

"You really should take better care of yourself, you know," he said, approaching her cot. "How do you expect to take care of an entire village when you can't even stand up?"

"I was up all night with you, dipshit," she mumbled, too exhausted to properly filter her words before they left her mouth.

"And you're sick," he added. She felt his hand come to rest on her stomach and the instinct to push it away was largely overshadowed by the soothing quality of the chakra he sent coursing into her body. It felt strange to be on the receiving end, to not be in control of the chakra spreading its way through her body. But she was feeling much to sick to care. "Tell me, Sakura-san, how have you been managing for this long while you're sick?"

She sighed, so relieved by his help that she let her eyes fall shut and her head weigh heavy against the cot. "I heal myself every morning when I wake up," she explained. "I have a routine, specific patients that I see in a specific order. Naruto helps when he can. Tsunade and Ino have been working on some research for me, as I'm too exhausted most days to do so. But they're sick, too. There's only so much they can do."

Kabuto said nothing to acknowledge what she had said, but she felt him probing her with his chakra – more than just a healing mystical palm, but also diagnostic. She allowed it, though she would have preferred that he asked her first. He must have been curious about this mysterious illness that had an entire village bedridden.

"You've got bacteria accumulating near your chakra points," he pointed out. "Is it affecting how well you're able to use your chakra?"

"I noticed that as well," she replied, "but it hasn't affected anyone in any obvious way so far. My guess is that the bacteria is drawn to chakra specifically as a means to spread between shinobi."

"I see," Kabuto said. "And do you know who patient zero is?"

Sakura shook her head. "The first person infected that we know of is Ino," she explained. "She was on a routine, non-combative mission. She reports that no one around her appeared to be sick, but there would be no way of knowing for certain. Because she was the first person we know to have been infected, she is the first person I heal in my routine."

Kabuto removed his hand from her stomach and took a step back away from her cot. "Perhaps, then, it would be best that I shadowed you today," he suggested, "to learn your routine."

"Yes," Sakura said, pulling herself up to her feet. She felt immensely better now, and in her gratefulness, she remembered Kabuto still lacked proper eyewear. "But first, let's get you some new glasses."

It was fortunate that Kabuto's prescription was weak enough to allow him to see enough to successfully navigate through Konoha's hospital without too much assistance from Sakura. Even though she had just allowed a substantial amount of physical contact between them, she didn't want to touch him any more than necessary. It was also fortunate that Kabuto's prescription was relatively common. There was already a pair of glasses ready for him to use in the optometry wing, though he was not shy in expressing his displeasure that instead of his usual, circular frames, these were thick rimmed and square.

Though she would never say it to his face, Sakura thought the glasses made him look older and a bit more, well, manly for lack of a better word. They took away some of the boyishness in his features.

She immediately brushed that thought away as she led him to Ino's room. She was a bit hesitant to unleash Ino on him as his first patient – she could be volatile and rude, even to Sakura sometimes, so she mentally prepared herself for the backlash she'd receive when she walked through the door with Kabuto.

But Ino was tucked snuggly in her bed when they entered her room, drooling down the side of her face as she snored. Sakura grabbed her shoulder and gave her a gentle shake to rouse her. Ino shoved Sakura's hand away and groaned, squeezing her eyes shut against the blinding light now streaming through the window.

"Forehead," she said through a yawn, "I'm glad you're here. My pillows need fluffing." Ino sat up, wiping the drool from her mouth when she spotted Kabuto lurking in the doorway. "What the fuck is he doing here?"

"Relax, Ino," Sakura said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "He's here to help us. Is it okay if he takes a look at you?"

"Hell no," Ino said, shoving Sakura's hand away again.

"Believe me, Ino-san, I don't want to touch you any more than you want me to," Kabuto said, taking a step out of the doorway and into the room.

"You should be so lucky," Ino snapped.

"Ino," Sakura nearly yelled. "Kabuto is here specifically to help me, so you are going to let him take a look at you or you will not get healed today. Is that understood?"

Even in her sick, sleepy haze, Ino's eyes blazed, fire nascent underneath that glowering look she shot at Sakura. "So you're not even going to explain what he's doing here? How he got here?" Ino demanded. "What the hell, Sakura? I should just let the psychopath touch me because you said so?"

Sakura sighed. "I'll explain it all to you later," she promised. "Just, please don't make a big deal about this now."

Ino crossed her arms, looking very much like she wanted to say no. Sakura couldn't see Kabuto from where she stood, but he was silent and she hoped he would remain that way. Then Ino sighed too. "Fine," she muttered. "I expect answers ASAP, though."

"Of course," Sakura agreed. "Oh, and don't tell Tsunade-sama just yet."

"You told me she knew I was here," Kabuto said. Sakura glanced at him over her shoulder, gauging the look on his face. He didn't look concerned, merely curious.

"She wanted to speak to you as soon as you woke up," Sakura admitted, hoping that this honesty with him would help her out in the long run. "I didn't think that was such a good idea because you know she has quite a temper and I really needed you to agree to help. I didn't want her to dissuade you by…"

"Being a bitch?" he supplied.

Both Ino and Sakura shot him heated looks, but neither of them were inclined to speak up on their Hokage's behalf.

"So you want me to lie to Tsunade-sama?" Ino asked Sakura. "You're asking for a bit much, don't you think?"

"Well if you don't want to do that, then perhaps you couldn't soften her up a bit," Sakura suggested. "You know, convince her to be respectful. I'll bring him to her tonight when I go to see her."

"That won't be necessary," Kabuto said.

"Which part? The going to see her part or the softening her up part?" Sakura asked.

"The softening part," he said. "I can handle Tsunade's temper. She's not the only sannin I'm accustomed to dealing with."

Ino raised a brow and Sakura gave him a disbelieving look before turning to Ino and imploring her silently to soften Tsunade up anyway. Ino understood the look and gave her a somber nod.

"Alright," Ino said. "Let's just get this over with."

Ino's healing session had gone about as smoothly as Sakura could have hoped for. Neither Kabuto nor Ino spoke throughout the session, and though the silence was terse and uncomfortable, everyone managed to get through with no incident. Sakura hoped that was a good sign for the future. She had no idea how long it would take to solve this mystery now that she had Kabuto's help, but she supposed everyone would eventually get used to Kabuto's presence.

Kakashi was the next person on the list and Sakura was a little more confident about presenting him with this turn of events. He was already aware that Kabuto was here and willing to help, so he wouldn't be demanding answers. However, she was also aware that Kakashi was not exactly Kabuto's biggest fan (as if anyone in Konoha was). But Kakashi was smart and Sakura believed he wouldn't do or say anything to jeopardize the good thing Sakura had going here.

Predictably, Kakashi was asleep when they entered. Sakura flipped on the lights and woke him up by jostling him lightly. "Wake up, Kakashi-sensei," she murmured to him.

He blinked his eyes open slowly and sat up. His eyes were immediately drawn to Kabuto, who hung back in the doorway, watching with his hackles raised. Both shinobi were now on alert. Kakashi sat upright and glanced toward the window, possibly looking for an escape route should things go south. But he remained still, his visible eye wavering back and forth between Sakura and Kabuto.

"Good morning," Sakura said, giving him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "Guess who I brought with me today."

The look Kakashi gave her was dry and not amused. "You could have warned me," he said. "I would have dressed up."

Sakura chuckled and shook her head. "It's okay," she said. "He's agreed to help us. Is it okay if he takes a look at you?"

It was clear by the look on his face that he had not expected this. Perhaps he had supposed that Kabuto would be doing the research while Sakura did the healing. Much like Ino, it looked like Kakashi wanted to say no, and Sakura couldn't really blame him. It was a difficult thing to let his guard down enough to allow an enemy shinobi to funnel chakra into his body. It required a certain amount of trust that he easily shared with Sakura, but Kabuto not so much.

"He's already looked at me and Ino," Sakura said. "I'm just trying to let him see as much as he can so he has all possible information before he starts researching a cure."

"I suppose my hands are tied then," he said with resignation, though the look he gave Sakura indicated that he had quite a few questions for her. Lucky for her, it seemed he wouldn't ask them in front of Kabuto.

"Don't worry, Kakashi-san," Kabuto said from the doorway. Sakura watched Kakashi's eye widen at the formality. "I have no intention of hurting you. Sakura and I have come to an agreement. I am simply here to do a job."

Sakura shot him a look over her shoulder and then turned back to Kakashi to give him another reassuring smile. "Really," she said, "don't worry. Your favorite student has everything under control."

"Of course she does," Kakashi replied, returning her smile a bit tersely. "I'd expect nothing less."

Sakura was surprised by how smoothly the rest of the day went. Her own friends and fellow shinobi had been her biggest concern, and though Kabuto had been confrontational with Ino, he seemed to have toned it down for everyone else, remaining silent through the healing sessions. Of course, the Hyuugas were not too fond of his presence, but even Hiashi, whose ability to be a curmudgeon during even the most joyous of occasions, managed to get through his session with no issues.

The civilian population had no idea who Kabuto was and were more than willing to allow someone new to help out Sakura. In fact, many of them expressed happiness that Sakura would finally get a little bit of break. Her heart was warmed by their well wishes, and by the end of the day she felt pretty good about the way things had gone for Kabuto's first day.

However, the worst part of the day had yet to come. The last thing on Sakura's list was to check in with Tsunade. She was dreading their meeting so much that instead of making her way to Tsunade's room immediately, she meandered through the civilian district, gazing through the windows of the mostly abandoned buildings. Kabuto followed behind her. He didn't make a sound as they walked through the darkened streets.

She stopped on front of Ichiraku, her eyes lingering on the empty barstools.

"Are you hungry?" she asked. She realized they had not eaten all day, and Kabuto's chakra was getting fairly low now. They both could use some proper sustenance, and after weeks of eating food pills and protein bars, a nice bowl of hot ramen sounded really nice.

"Avoiding someone?" he asked. She could hear the smirk in his voice without having to turn around to look at him.

Ignoring the comment, Sakura entered the booth and hopped over the counter into the kitchen. She began rummaging around through the cabinets, looking for cookware and noodles. From the corner of her eye she saw Kabuto sit down at one of the stools and sigh.

"You know I'm not here for a social visit, Sakura-san," he said. "I'd rather just rip this band-aid off and talk to her."

"First of all," Sakura said, slamming down a large pot onto the stove behind her, "this isn't a social visit. We have to eat and I haven't had hot food in weeks. I deserve this. And so do you." Kabuto blinked, but remained quiet. "Second," she continued, "Tsunade-sama really does not like you. I'm afraid that even at your most polite, you will not be able to win her over."

"You don't like me either, but you've managed to be mature," Kabuto argued. "I have a hard time believing that you are more mature than your Hokage."

Sakura didn't believe herself to be more mature than Tsunade, but she was flattered by Kabuto's words nonetheless. Still, she couldn't deny that Tsunade would be very displeased, not just by Kabuto's presence, but by the fact that Sakura had disobeyed her by not bringing him to her as soon as he had woken up.

"We'll see about that," she replied as she gathered vegetables to chop. It felt nice to be doing something so mundane and normal. By this point in the day she usually didn't have enough stamina to cook a decent meal. "Perhaps we'll bring her a bowl, too, and she won't be as hot-tempered."

Kabuto gave her a look like he didn't believe that would work, but he remained quiet as he watched her chop vegetables. They had managed to get through an entire day together with no incident, and she would very much like to keep it that way. Though she didn't want to admit it to herself, she was comforted by Kabuto's presence, by a helping and knowledgeable hand. Though they had hardly spoken to one another throughout the day, she felt a sort of silent understanding between them. This could actually work, she thought.

And then she remembered exactly why this was working so well. Kabuto was expecting her to give him a matching seal with Sasuke. There was no way in hell she could put a seal like this between Kabuto and Sasuke. It disgusted her to think about it. But Kabuto had been absolutely right – Konoha shinobi did not go back on their word. At this point she had to rely on Sasuke to keep himself away from her. He'd been doing a decent job of that so far.

None of those facts stopped her from imagining him, though. She still wondered what it would be like to see Sasuke now, to be close enough to touch him. Did he look older now? Did he have the same wrinkles that she had now that they had lived these separate lives? Did he ever think about what his life could have been like if he had stayed here with her?

"Are you alright?"

Sakura snapped to attention, giving the ingredients in the pot a slow stir. She realized that her pulse was racing and she glanced down at the seal on her wrist.

"Fine," she said, not turning to face him. "I'm fine. About this seal though… Now that you're awake there really isn't a need for it. I can remove it now if you'd like."

"Actually," he said, "I'm curious. I'd like to see it in action for a while, just to study how practical it will be when you implement it for me and Sasuke."

Sakura pressed her lips together, trying to think of a tactful way to explain to him that she wasn't his fucking guinea pig. She didn't need Kabuto to know every time her heart beat. He didn't need to know when her pulse was racing or her breathing was erratic. It gave away too much of her emotion, the parts of having them that she couldn't control. She could contain bursts of anger and outward displays of nervousness, but how could she avoid a racing heart?

"Surely you understand why I don't want to share this seal with you," she said.

"And surely you understand why I'd like to see this seal in action if it is the prize I get at the end of this nightmare," he retorted.

"Nightmare?" she asked, spinning around to face him. "We've been more than agreeable so far. Other than Ino, no one has treated you poorly. What more do you want?"

"I'm still an enemy here, Sakura-san, and everyone knows it," he countered. "I'm surrounded by sick patients with no guarantee that I will not get sick myself. This is far from a pleasant experience. I agreed to help you because I can see that you are desperate, but I'm not selfless enough to offer help without a decent measure of compensation. The seal stays."

Slowly, Sakura dragged her eyes away from him and back to the simmering pot of noodles. She already felt like she was on thin ice. If he backed out of the deal now, where would that leave her? "Fine," she relented, "but we absolutely cannot tell Tsunade-sama about it."

"That suits me just fine."

A comfortable, but eerie silence settled between them as Sakura dished both of them bowls of ramen. She placed one in front of Kabuto and then moved to sit on the stool beside him. Kabuto didn't vocally express his gratitude, and Sakura didn't think he would. But she could see by the way he devoured the food that he was, indeed, grateful for it. Or at least enjoying it.

"So," Sakura said, swallowing a mouthful of noodles, "what do you think so far? Any ideas on what could have caused this disease?"

"Instinctively, I thought that perhaps the disease could be mitigated by a chakra based cure," he said. "The bacteria accumulating at chakra points is concerning because it's unnatural. A bacterium is organic whereas chakra is not. Part of me believes this may have been a weaponized disease, but I'm having trouble coming up with who could have done it, and why."

Sakura nodded in agreement. "I've considered that as well," she said. "Tsunade and Ino have been working on a viscous or liquid form of chakra that could be injected directly into chakra points to eviscerate the bacteria, but I think that's the wrong approach. It doesn't take into account immunization. If this was a purposeful attack, then we'd need more than just something to get rid of the bacteria. We need something to keep it away."

"What do you think is the right approach?"

"I think an herbal or synthetic vaccine is the right direction," she answered, "but of course I'll defer to your judgment on that."

"I agree with you," he said. "Tomorrow I'll let you make your rounds alone and I'll begin analyzing the bacteria."

Sakura still don't not trust Kabuto at all. Leaving him alone for the day terrified her, but all she could do now was let go and hope.

"Okay," she acquiesced, "provided Tsunade-sama doesn't kill you before you get the chance."

Kabuto only laughed.