I do not own any rights to Naruto (story or characters). Just the characters I make up along the way! I have full love and respect for Masashi Kishimoto!
While this isn't my first story it is under my pen name, Aubrei Seraph. I hope you enjoy it and feel free to ask me any questions or offer any suggestions!
Have fun!
UPDATE: It's been awhile. I've had a lot of stuff happen since I originally published this but my heart has never left this story. I am working on editing chapters 2-4 and I've got through chapter 8 written. Please let me know what you think! :)
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Friends are a funny thing. Sometimes they hit you like lightning. Other times they smolder like a campfire until they burn themselves into a flame. I had only two friends in my life and one of them I watched die of old age. I swore a long ago that I would never allow another person that close to me. And then here I was allowing this crazy woman and her village to worm themselves into my heart. It's why I found myself in the village that morning.
I awoke that morning to a sickening feeling deep in my gut. When I first entered the village everything seemed fine. The sun was just cresting the mountains and many of the houses still seemed to be sleeping. I didn't pass anyone which wasn't odd this time of day. And yet, the air still felt wrong and there was a chill to it despite the heat from the sun. I felt myself move faster. By the time I made it to the center of town I was all but running.
What met my eyes still haunts me to this day. No matter where I turned there was sickness everywhere. I could see it than floating in the air, a dark cloud blotting out the sun. "Yuu-chan!" At the familiar voice, I turned meeting the tired and worried eyes of Kaiyo as she approached. She knelt over one of the sick her hands glowing green as she tried to ease their pain. "What's going on?" I asked running to her side kneeling next to her in the sand. "I don't know! People just started coming into the hospital last night complaining of stomach pains. Now it's all over the village!" She was frantic.
Looking at the person she was trying to help I let my eyes focus on their chest. No one knew I had Shinobi training. It was something Shiba and I had agreed on the moment I started this friendship with Kaiyo. The man's chakra felt wrong to me. It was sluggish and centered around his stomach. Whatever was ailing them was there, but whatever it was it wasn't a Jutsu.
As I watched Shinobi moved around the village in a panic gathering the sick and moving them out of the streets. One of the older citizens fell against his own cart sending the items flying in every direction. Kankuro, who had just passed by, dashed to his side easing him onto the ground so he wouldn't hurt himself. Kaiyo raced for him, her hands glowing a soft green as she went for his chest. "Chakra isn't helping." Her voice shook with every word.
Kneeling down next to her I placed my hand on the man. My fingers danced across his body pushing here and there and listening to the sound his body made as I moved. The man whimpered when I pressed on his stomach just above his navel. I could feel the inflammation even through his clothing. This was not good. "Thirsty..." Thirsty? Confused at his cry I watched as he coughed making a gagging noise in the back of his throat. His heart was sluggish like it was straining to beat. The whites of his eyes were yellow.
"It's a toxin, something organic I think. Have you checked the water supply?" I asked rolling the man onto his side so he wouldn't choke on his own vomit. "That was the first thing we checked but it came back clean." Crap then where did they all get infected from? "This isn't something naturally occurring. I know all the indigenous plants around here and none of them cause these symptoms. Someone has poisoned these people." Kaiyo looked at me in resignation and I knew she was thinking the same thing. When the stretcher came to take the man away I moved to the next person hoping that I was wrong. It took only a few more people to prove that I wasn't. "This is slow acting so there may be people that aren't experiencing symptoms yet."
It was an overwhelming number of people ill around me. Their faces looking up at me pleaded for help. A young girl was crying in her mother's arms a few feet away. Her hands wrapped around her stomach in pain as her parents tried to comfort her. It hurt to just to watch. "Yuumei?" Gaara's deep voice startled me.
We hadn't had a chance to talk since I turned down his offer months ago. Seeing him now made that weird ache appear behind my breast again. There were too many lives at stake at the moment and I pushed it aside. "Kazekage you shouldn't be walking around." It was at his aids words that I noticed the pallor of his skin and I cursed under my breath. He had to have the worse luck in the world if this kept happening to him. I caught him by the arm reaching up to feel his forehead. His eyes were glassy as he looked down at me confused. "How long have you been feeling sick?"
"I'm fine. Worry about everyone else." He tried to stand but without the support, he just toppled over again. God, I wanted to smack him. Maybe it was the guilt I felt for being so cold before or maybe it was my anger for whoever caused these people pain. I didn't care. I had to stop this, whatever it was.
The hospital was overflowing with people when we arrived. Nurses and doctors ran around while people filled in every available space. It was chaos. "Why are there bloody towels with clean ones? And why are the more severe cases still out in the waiting room?" I all but screamed at what I assumed was the man in charge. I would be damned if I let this continue.
A man who looked at least sixty stepped forward to answer my question. He glared down at me over his nose. "Who are you? This is a hospital and I don't need civilians running around mucking stuff up!" Turning towards him enraged I backed him into a wall my hand around the front of his shirt lifting him off the ground. "This isn't a normal! This is triage!" He almost peed his pants before I felt my message got across. Tossing him back on his feet I turned. The people standing around us looked a mixture of awe and fear.
This is what they got for allowing a civilian doctor to run a shinobi hospital. I wasn't anybody to them, but if they wanted to save everyone we needed to cooperate. "You want to save these people's lives, right?" They all nodded looking up in desperation. "Then don't argue with me and do everything that I say. You three go gather every patient that is not terminal and discharge them; we need the beds. Move all the patients that haven't shown major symptoms into the waiting room. We need the room for patients that are past the first eight hour incubation period." They moved so fast that they almost knocked over a medical cart in there hurry to obey. "You," I said turning to the woman in the light blue outfit and hat. "I want you to gather all the nurses and anybody that isn't sick and clean up this mess. I don't want to see one bloody towel or dirty sheet anywhere." She nodded grabbing all the nurses and starting with the pile of bloody towels by the door. "The rest of you start with the patients that came in first. I need blood samples and a list of anything they ingested in the last twelve hours. Now move!"
It was still chaos after that but controlled chaos. Everyone seemed too afraid to argue with my orders. Even the smug ass doctor shut up and helped where he could. They managed to get Gaara into a room and guards stood at the door preventing anyone from getting in. I had to knock them out to get by.
His heart was beating way too fast. When I pressed down his body flinched and his sand reacted to the threat wrapping around me on instinct. Most of the people in the room jumped out of the way but I stood my ground. Like years before I let my chakra bleed into the sand showing that I wasn't a threat. For a moment I didn't think it would work. The sand seemed to tighten around me to the point of breaking. Eventually, the sand calmed and melted back into his skin. "Keep him on his side so he doesn't choke. I want you to check his temperature every hour. Write down any changes no matter how minor!"
They looked ready to argue but I ignored them. Taking out a needle I placed it on the small table by his head. The sand parted as I pressed the needle into his skin startling everyone. I ignored them as I capped the needle. "Kaiyo I need to analyze the blood samples. Please tell me you have a lab?" I turned to her the needle in my hand and a grim expression on my face. She looked terrified but nodded.
Three hours in the first person died. It didn't stop there either. I lost a small child and a father of three along the way. Three medics joined me having just arrived. Between the four of us, we were able to identify those that were infected and those that were just sick.
Kankuro was the one that found the connection. His team had spent all morning interviewing witnesses trying to find a connection. He was able to draw up a map of their routes and mark where each person's crossed. "Ok, everyone ate at this restaurant sometime in the past twelve hours. It has to be there." He said slamming down the map on the counter next to me. It was a long shot but maybe the poison would still be there.
The restaurant was partly outside with a canopy covering most of the seats. The inside seating was smaller with only a few tables and chairs. It was during the lunchtime rush when we entered and yet the place was deserted. The chef came out to meet us waving his ladle about like a weapon. "What is the meaning of this?!" He screamed blocking the way into the back as I approached. Kankuro didn't waste any time arguing. He grabbed the man by his shirt hauling him into the air and against the nearest wall. I heard his yells and protests but ignored him as I made my way into the kitchen.
It was too clean. Like it had never been used. The crates of ingredients were stacked along the back wall bursting with produce. "There are too many ingredients here and not enough time to test them all." Even as she spoke she rummaged through the crates hoping to find anything to help them. "What does the Kazekage normally eat here?" I asked joining her in the search. ."I didn't know he ate here. This place just opened up a few days ago."
Walking out into the dining area I faced the chef my voice allowing no room for argument. "What did the Kazekage order last night?" I gritted out between clenched teeth. He shuttered at the sound of my voice but still remained defiant. "Why should I tell you anything? You come into my shop and manhandle me!" My fist connected with the wall by his head causing him to squeal in fear and the plaster to fracture. Ignoring the blood trickling from between my fingers I leaned in close so he heard every word. "Because one of your dishes has killed three people already today. Do you want to be responsible for the death of the Kazekage as well?" He swallowed back his retort his mouth snapping shut. His eyes seemed to lose focus for a moment before they cleared. "Kinoko Gohan! That's what he ordered."
I raced into the kitchen going through every box and basket I could find. Everything made sense! The symptoms the incubation period everything. I found the box of mushrooms in the back hidden behind a crate of lettuce. There at the bottom of the basket was a bunch of red capped mushrooms with white spots. "What are those?" Kaiyo asked looking over my shoulder. "Amanita," I growled as I walked by her. I held it up to the man still pinned against the wall. "Where did you get these?" I yelled causing even Kankuro to flinch. He looked nervous as I held them up to his face, his eyes twitching as he spoke. "They're just mushrooms."
"They are poisonous! How did you prepare them?" Still refusing to answer despite my shouting I felt my control slipping. Some of the plants in the room sprouted despite the time of year. "I don't know what you are talking about. "
I was enraged, pissed beyond belief, and I had to clench my fist to keep from punching him. "Yuu-chan?" Turning from the bastard I took a deep breath trying to calm my emotions once more. "If you don't boil the mushroom before you cook them, they are toxic. Amanita causes degeneration in the kidneys and heart muscles. Symptoms range from stomach pains to intense thirst before the person slips into a coma and dies." Kaiyo gasped covering her mouth in horror. I pulled my fist ready to hit the man. Kankuro beat me to the punch, literally. "We need to get this back to the hospital right away. "
To say I was impressed by the medics under Kaiyo's command was an understatement. While they were few they were skilled and knew how to follow directions. I wouldn't have been able to synthesize this much antidote without them. Kankuro took the chef in for interrogation before heading to the council with an update. He grabbed me by the arm before he left. "That isn't the Kazekage lying sick in there, it's my baby brother. Please save him." I nodded squeezing his hand for luck. We may not get along most times but there was one thing we had in common. We would do anything to protect Gaara.
Three more people had died in the hours it took us to make an antidote. Three more innocent lives lost because of one person's stupidity. When the cure was finally done we spread it around the hospital to the severe cases first. Gaara refused to take the cure until it was distributed among his people. It was admirable but I was done listening to him. He tried to protest by the needle was in his vein before he could finish his sentence.
In the first thirty minutes, people started improving. Their hearts were beating getting stronger with each passing second. Some needed healing for the damage done to their organs but everyone seemed on the way to recovery. The waiting room finally cleared at midnight. It was a relief as I walked down the hallway seeing them empty of patients.
I missed this, this rush. The battle between life and death. It was strenuous and stressful and lives were lost but it was the ones that survived that made it all worth it. I just had one last patient to check on and they were the most stubborn of all.
"Yuumei-sensei!" Cringing at the name I stopped meeting the frantic eyes of a nurse. "It's the Kazekage!"
The moment I saw him lying there pale and completely unresponsive my stomach gave out. "The antidote isn't working!" The same nurse wailed. Pushing her aside I made my way to Gaara's side. I checked his pulse, his eyes, everything I could think of but it all proved one thing. The antidote wasn't working.
"Bring me another shot," I yelled over my shoulder grabbing Gaara's chest as he started to seize. I jabbed the needle into his arm with no resistance this time. I pushed the plunger checking his pulse as it spread through his system. One, two, three minutes passed and still no change. "Damn!"
"Yuu-chan almost everyone has been cleared and..." Kaiyo's voice trailed off as she saw my face. "Not everyone," I whispered looking at the man lying in front of me.
I... I didn't know what to do. The medics poured chakra into him three at a time and all I could think about was the last conversation we had. I didn't get a chance to apologize. It was fear that made me react so harshly not anger. "I'm sorry," I whispered squeezing his hand in mine.
Kankuro begged me to do something but what could I do? I was helpless as I watched him cough up blood. The red color covering the sheets and the floor in the crimson liquid. Blood? Blood! Could it work? Was it even a possibility? Turning from his side I grabbed the nearest cabinet throwing open the door. Tube, needles, a bag, tape it was all there. Throwing what I needed on the cart beside me I yelled for the nurses to step back. "Yuu-chan what are you doing?" Something beyond stupid. But I was desperate and running out of time.
"Kaiyo I need you to trust me more than you have ever before." I met her eyes over his bed. "I can save him, I promise." Tears pooled in Kaiyo's eyes as she nodded. Motioning for the nurses to leave Kaiyo joined me at Gaara's side once more. Determination and hope filled her eyes as she helped my keep him still. "What do you mean trust you?" Kankuro asked taking a step towards me as if to stop me. "His liver is shutting down. Next is as his heart. If he slips into a coma he will die." Both of them went white at my words looking at the man on the bed who had finally opened his eyes.
They were blurry and unfocused and the sand was pooling on the floor beneath him. "Since we can't get him new organs we have to repair the ones he has." Taking Gaara's arm I pushed up his sleeve revealing pale skin beneath. "How? We can't repair damage like this?" Kaiyo whispered in confusion as I worked. "You can't, but I can."
Reaching up I ripped the bandages from my arm. They fell around my ankles soaking into the blood on the floor. The markings on my arm were designed by a shaman over two hundred years ago. They were more than inked into my skin, they were a part of me. The looping calligraphy was beautiful but I paid it no attention. Grabbing a fresh needle and one of the tubes I steadied my arm.
"I'm sorry Kaiyo. I haven't been completely honest with you, but right now you have to trust that I want to save Gaara as much as you." Using the needle I punctured my skin taping it in place. attaching the bag to the other end I slowly turned the plug until blood started to fill it. Kankuro watched his eyes confused. "I trust you Yuu-chan. Please save him." Looking up I smiled, thankful for her trust more than ever before.
"My body is immune to any toxins or poisons," I spoke while tieing off the bag. Kankuro looked ready to kill me and I needed his help as much as Kaiyo's. "There is an enzyme in my blood that can neutralize the poison in his. I don't have time to synthesize it so we are going to have to do this the old fashion way."
"You can't!" Kaiyo yelled grabbing my arm. "We don't know if your blood types are a match." Smiling I took her hand in mine squeezing it gently. "I'm a universal donor," I reassure her attaching the bag to the other tube hanging from a hook at the end of the bed. "Kankuro you will have to hold him down. This is going to be painful." Kankuro looked like he was going to object for a moment. And understanding was forming between us and with a quick nod he did what I asked. My thank you was too quiet for him to hear.
"Kaiyo hold his legs. The blood will neutralize the poison while I repair the damage."
"How?" Smiling at her question I placed my hands on his chest. "Like I said I haven't been completely honest with you."
Unlike most people, my chakra didn't glow green when healing but white. Maio-yin, an old woman I once met, said it was because I was born with the power over life. I scoffed at her back then but now... I would gladly bear this ability if it meant saving Gaara's life.
As my blood entered his system I could feel his own pushing starting to fight it. The poison may have weakened him but this man was too stubborn to give up without a fight. Pushing the blood along his body I activated the enzyme in my blood urging it to work faster. I could feel his heart starting to shut down. "What is going on here?!"
I didn't even look up at the shout, all my focus on my task. Kankuro had to struggle to keep Gaara still while he tried to yell at everyone to leave. When the first hand touched my arm I was just starting to work on Gaara's heart and my control snapped. "Shokubutsu sōsa."
Without control the vines spring to life around the room. The floor cracked and the walls shook. The shinobi at the door had no choice but to leave and the vines closed in blocking them from returning. I could feel Kaiyo gasp in shock but at the moment my focus was on Gaara.
I counted the time as my hand moved along his body pushing the blood along and forcing his own to blend with it. Kaiyo and Kankuro watched as my chakra glowed as I moved spreading along his body in the path that my blood took. It lasted twenty minutes maybe more. The feel of his strong heart beat under my palm was the best feeling ever. My blood was now completely absorbed by his body. It was all up to him now to heal.
Kaiyo rushed to check his vitals but I couldn't seem to focus on what she was doing. Suddenly the blood loss hit me and with my chakra reserves low I couldn't replenish it fast enough. The room around me began to swim. "Yuumei?" Kankuro spoke from my side. "I..." His face was swimming in and out of focus. "I'm sorry..." I murmured as I pitched forward.
I didn't even notice as people flooded the room. They came towards me just as Kankuro lowered me to the floor. It took all my energy to wipe some of the blood off the tile and onto my arm. "Kuchiyose-no-Jutsu." And with the last of my strength, the room filled with smoke. When it cleared a pissed and snarling Shiba stood over us. Kankuro's worried face was the last thing I saw as my body finally gave out. I caught what he said as I faded away. "Thank you."