The next morning came with a fog from the rain that had poured the previous night. Sakura was awakened by the sound of knocking on her door. She sat up and groggily rubbed her eyes, standing slowly to make her way to the door. When she opened it she was greeted with Naruto's bright blue eyes.
"Morning, Sakura. How are ya feeling?" The blonde questioned, entering Sakura's apartment as she stepped aside, closing the door behind him.
"Tired, tired and even more tired." She said with a yawn, stretching her arms up above her head. She hadn't been expecting to see Naruto first thing in the morning, but it was a pleasant surprise nonetheless.
"Want something to eat?"
"Sure, why not. Got any ramen?" Naruto asked, grinning. Sakura smiled in return, appreciating the way he never seemed to change in that particular way.
As Sakura waited for the water to boil, the thought of Kabuto invaded her mind once again. The only way to know why the man in room one-fifteen had become a product of his work would be to track him down... And then what?
Nobody knew exactly where the hideout was located, but they knew of the general area it might be in.
Then, a darker thought crossed her mind - what if she set him up, if he would even fall for that, anyway. What if she were to go to Sound and tell them she had defected from Konoha, make them believe it, too. They could always use another medic, right? Two are always better than one.
The sound of water hissing against the open flame of the stove tore her thoughts back to reality. She shut the stove off and poured the water into two instant ramen cups, handing one to Naruto. He hadn't seemed to notice that Sakura was completely zoned out for five minutes or so as he rolled up a scroll he had been reading, tucking it away in his tool pouch.
They finished up their ramen and Naruto cut straight to the point.
"Granny Tsunade wanted me to tell you that she needs to talk to you about something important,"
"I have a feeling I know what that is." Sakura said flatly.
"Huh? What's that? She didn't really go into much detail," Naruto asked with a suspicious look.
"There was this... Man. He was admitted to the hospital yesterday. He has some really strange markings and even stranger symptoms. We think that he was an experiment. And we have a good idea as to who did this to him, and I want to find out why. So I've asked Lady Tsunade to allow me to travel to the border of Sound." Sakura explained carefully, watching Naruto's face for his reaction.
His brow furrowed slightly, a hardened look appearing in his eyes as he replied.
"Are you sure that's a good idea, Sakura? I want to go with you. What if that creep, Orochimaru is involved?"
"I can do this myself, Naruto. Don't worry, I'm not planning on fighting anyone unless I absolutely have to, I'm only going to negotiate,"
"It's just... Not safe. I trust you though, and it's not that I'm underestimating you. I just think that maybe going completely alone isn't the best idea, and you're smarter than me, so,"
Sakura stood and planted her hands on her hips.
"Don't make me regret letting you in on this, I'm going alone. There's no more to say,"
Naruto sighed deeply, not normally being one to give up on anything so easily, it bothered him that Sakura was pushing so hard to do this alone. What if she got killed? Or worse, what if she became an experiment?
Sakura glanced up at the clock above her sink.
"I guess I'd better get going then." She moved to fetch her medic skirt, buckling it on at the side. She pulled her boots on and went to the door with Naruto in tow.
"Just be careful, and I'm going to ask Granny to at least send ANBU," Naruto said quietly with a worried look.
They walked through the bustling street towards the tower when Hinata Hyuga caught Naruto's eye.
"Hey, Hinata!" He nearly shouted, waving at the girl who was now blushing, she waved back to him shyly.
"Sakura, mind if we catch up later?" He asked her excitedly.
Sakura nodded and smiled as Naruto ran over to Hinata, immediately taking her hand and walking with her. It was nice to see him finally find someone he really liked. Not like when they were younger and he had a huge, annoying crush on her. A pang of sadness struck her suddenly as she thought about how she didn't have somebody like that for herself. Sasuke was gone and assumed to never return. Her feelings for him had faded over time, after spending so long apart their lives just took different directions, and she had accepted it. Pain can really change someone and sometimes not in a productive way.
She was at the door to Tsunade's office now, and lifted her hand to knock.
"Come in," She heard from the other side. She opened the door and shut it behind her, looking at her teacher expectantly.
"You wished to see me?" She asked with slight concern.
"I need you to examine one-fifteen again, thoroughly. His condition is stabilizing so we may be able to question him if he wakes up." Tsunade said briskly.
"I understand,"
"There is something I wanted to mention to you though. He has a rare toxin built up in his heart and joints, I noticed it when I ran a short diagnostic last night. Those markings all over his arm - I believe those were where this toxin was administered." Sakura explained, shifting her weight onto one leg, her arms crossing over her chest.
"There were also these small masses under his skin. What I don't understand is why there are so many of them. And why he is still alive! Why would someone do this?" She looked at the sky from the window behind Tsunade.
"If I know Orochimaru, and I do… It's probably safe to assume that this man was a Guinea pig of some sort. We need to find out what for," The blonde woman said with an air of disgust.
Orochimaru was the one ordering Kabuto to do this, she believed, so it would make sense to go after him.
Sakura took a deep breath through her nose before steeling herself to ask the question that wouldn't quit nagging at the back of her mind.
"Lady Tsunade, I would like your permission to travel to Sound. I have enough means to believe I know who is responsible for this,"
Tsunade looked at her thoughtfully, considering her words before she answered.
"And who do you suppose that would be?" She disregarded the first part of Sakura's question, already knowing where this conversation was headed.
"Kabuto Yakushi. I strongly feel he did this, and I think I may be able to lure him out and speak to him. If I can convince him I'm at least somewhat trustworthy, maybe I can learn more about why they're up to."
"Do you take me for some crackpot old fool, Sakura? You are my best medic and my pupil. I couldn't bear to lose you if things went south," Tsunade began sternly, shooting Sakura a look that told her she couldn't believe she had even suggested that.
"Not to mention the fact that he has been a spy almost his whole life, you think he won't catch on?" She continued, exasperatedly.
Sakura didn't expect her teacher to agree right away, but she would wait it out. There would be more of these cases to come and she knew it, she was only hopeful Tsunade would agree before then, to possibly reduce the numbers.
"Kabuto is dangerous," Tsunade shook her head slightly.
"I'm well aware of that. But what if I were to make it highly believable. Another medic on their side would make the deal more enticing, don't you think —"
"And then you'd just mosey on into Orochimaru's lair? Really, do you think it will be that easy?" Tsunade was beginning to lose her grip as her voice rose a few octaves.
Sakura looked at the floor, about to speak again when she was cut off by the door bursting open.
"Lady Tsunade, I apologize for the intrusion, but one-fifteen is awake," The same short nurse from the day prior said quickly, her gaze flickering to Sakura.
