Summary/Disclaimer: Time for another chapter of the Merc and the Medic. Enjoy the 1400-word chapter. I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto and a few others do.

(Konoha, Forest of Death)

Sakura had left Marmora in the hospital where he would heal and she had taken whatever ninja supplies she still and went to prepare in the forest.

She didn't care for war; she had been with Chiyo and remembered that. She was a warrior and a Ninja; Kuma and his group of mercenaries had beaten Marmora for something his teacher had done.

She planted an explosive tag and patted it to make sure it wasn't damaged.

"Hmm." Sakura said before she backflipped onto a branch just to look around.

she saw one of the mercenaries' leap to a lower branch. She knew they wouldn't stop using the forest for a base, it was rarely used and it was out of the way mostly.

Sakura leapt down to the branch only for the man to turn and flip into the air for a kick.

"You come back here for your little boyfriend, girlie?" The man asked as Sakura easily dodged it and drove her knee into his head.

The man grunted before Sakura flipped over his back before she grabbed his arm with her left and wrapped her right arm around his throat.

"Talk or I snap your arm." Sakura stated for the man to laugh.

"You think I'm going to talk? Your just like your boy toy, pathetic and…" Sakura heard before she twisted his arm and the man yelled in pain.

"I'm a medical ninja and a doctor. I know how to break people and you've hurt my friend… A little more pressure, your humerus will snap and then I'll go after your nerves like the musculocutaneous cluster… Talk, I'm not in the mood to be nice with a group of criminals willing to bring war to my home." Sakura said before she twisted his arm.

"Kuma sent us to rough up Marmora, he said the guy owed him for stealing from Danuja…" The mercenary said before Sakura relaxed her grip.

"And where is Kuma? Why did he want Marmora dead besides his eye? I know this isn't just about revenge for him." Sakura asked, the man was silent again before Sakura started to twist his arm again.

"He's at the Great Naruto Bridge, he left us to guard the forest while he went to celebrate roughing up that brat. He wanted us to send a message, that's all I know, I swear." The mercenary said before Sakura sighed and squeezed his throat.

The man gasped and started to frail until he lost breath and passed out as she slammed the man into the tree and pinned him to the tree with Kunai.

She would tell the ANBI about the mercenary, she looked in the direction of the bridge only to hear a slight noise.

Her eyes widened as she leapt backwards just before a hellfire raced towards her as she fell.

One of the mercenaries had been trying to sneak up on her and triggered one of her traps…. And had been rewarded with death.

She landed in a crouch and sighed, Kuma would know she was here and retreat… Even if it cost his a few, or all of his men, he would still win.

She would return to the hospital; she knew Kuma would stay on the bridge. He wanted Marmora to recover and come after him, and he would fight him to the death.

She rubbed at her eyes and slowly walked away from the smell of burning wood and dead mercenaries.

(Konoha Children Mental Health Clinic)

Marmora grunted while Aimi continued to look over his wounds.

"So, you're a new friend of Ms. Haruno?" Aimi asked while Marmora nodded.

"You've known her a long time?" He asked before the door opened.

"Thank you for watching him today, Aimi, I'll make sure you get that pay raise you asked for… Your dismissed." Sakura stated before the secretary smiled and bowed before leaving the room.

"How long has she been here? She reminds me of a sister from my group…" He stated before Sakura took a seat next to him.

"She's been here for 1… 2 years? She's not much more senior then the rest of my staff… She's sweet, I'm training her to be my second in command… Just like the last Hokage taught me." Sakura said before she cleared her throat.

"If there was just 2 mercenaries and I'm sure there aren't? they are dead, I interrogated one of them and the other set off an explosive tag I laid… Kuma is at the Great Naruto bridge… Just like Zabuza and Haku." Sakura stated while she sighed.

"Zabuza? The Demon of the Mist? Oh, Dagger used to tell us nothing but stories about him… He said you guys fought him then he murdered a crime boss similar to well… Danuja and his family… Then he died, he was a similar mercenary, I'm guessing?" Marmora said, Sakura hummed.

"Was your entire life a world of working for a mercenary?" Sakura asked while she began to work on healing his wounds.

"No, like I said, part of my life was spent working as a Chunin, I turned Jonin near the end… Dagger took me in after an ambush left a Kunai in my back and my commander dead. I ended up being taken under his wing." Marmora said while Sakura ran her hands over his wounded chest and he blushed.

"You're a lot kinder than I thought. I heard you got mad at your teammates a lot because they were stupid and reckless… Or at least, I heard the Hokage was." Marmora said and Sakura sighed and smiled.

"Naruto was and is stupid, but I was a lot angrier at myself back then. I always thought I was the useless one, I hated it." Sakura stated while Marmora's eyes widened.

"Why would you act that way?" Marmora asked while Sakura blinked.

"I'm sorry?" Sakura asked while Marmora turned and looked her in the eye with eyes like dinnerplates.

"Why would you ever think that? Your ten trillion times wrong! You have super strong powers from Tsunade, you mastered her moves from what I've heard and that dot on your head. You get called the best Medical Ninja in the galaxy from what I've heard and you're a Jonin… Sakura, if the damn Hokage took you under her wing and all those stories I've heard about you and your team? Your one of the most legendary people alive… I thought my ears were broken when Aimi told me how you used to feel." Marmora said and Sakura blushed.

"Thank you, but…." Sakura went to say as Marmora clasped her hand.

"Sakura, you might not be a super soldier like Sasuke, or the son of the Hokage and a super weapon, master hero like Naruto… But I swear to the tailed beasts if what Aimi said is true? Then no offence, your being stupid if you think you were useless, you've set yourself in history just like your team. Me? I'm just some hired blade that gets hired when someone needed muscle or a guy killed." Marmora said and sighed.

Sakura frowned at this and felt his head, the swelling had gone down a good amount, but not entirely.

Then she brought her lips to his forehead and smiled.

"Thank you… Rest, I'll make sure your wounds are healed properly… I need to think on how we can bring down Kuma before he hurts anyone else." Sakura said and then she walked out of the room.

Marmora blinked and looked at his forehead before bringing a hand to it and blushing while he tried to close his eyes to rest.

It didn't help that he felt more restless then ever now and Sakura didn't help with her actions.

They needed to stop Kuma, or he would hurt a lot more people to kill them.

Author Notes

Phew, another chapter done! I want to point out Marmora and Sakura are slowly falling in love. I also want to point out Marmora doesn't know everything, but he does know some Jitsu that he will show soon. Next chapter will be on Tuesday or so and will end up showing Marmora and Sakura out of the hospital and discussing how to deal with Kuma. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!