Shizune leapt from branch to branch, pumping her legs faster to keep up with her companions. They left Konoha hours ago and dark was quickly enveloping the land. Since they're racing against time, they decided that it would be the best course of action to head straight to their destination and rely on Kiba's enhanced senses once night fell.

Ever since she finished her check up on the injured Genin, Shizune had a nagging thought at the back of her head. She recognized that the poison used was a rare one, a poison that can easily incapacitate it's opponent. If the aggressors were closing in on the village, then why spare the Genin? Why use a slow working poison instead of going in for a kill? Something is definitely wrong.

"Shizune-san!" Kiba called for her from the front, snapping her out of her daze, "We should continue this below! It's getting too dark for you guys to see the stray branches!"

She nodded her affirmation and jumped down from a branch, landing heavily on her feet. Lee, Kiba, Akamaru and TenTen followed soon after.

"How far are we, Shizune-san?" Lee asked.

"The plants were looking for are by our border in Kusagakure. I'm guessing we're still about 14 hours away," Shizune explained and rummaged through her pack for the food pills, "Here, everyone. Might as well eat some of these. We'll be running for the rest of the night and back to Konoha without rest. Please stay with me. We need to have the plants for the antidote. It won't do if any of us faints."

"Yes, ma'am!" they answered and took a pill. Even Kiba took one for Akamaru, who happily munched the little pill. Shizune took one for herself as well and continued their journey. Lee and Kiba took the lead while TenTen ran beside her, the numerous scrolls on her pack rattling.

"Shizune-san," TenTen began, "Do you know who attacked those kids? Hokage-sama forgot to tell us, I guess."

"The Genin that I talked to earlier mentioned that they were attacked by men wearing white cloaks and blank masks but they didn't see a forehead protector. If I had to guess, they could be rogue shinobi," she explained.

"I see," TenTen answered, "What do you think they want? Why did they attack some kids?"

Shizune sighed, "Honestly, TenTen, I don't know. Even the conscious Genin and their sensei that I talked to couldn't figure out why they were attacked. The kid said that they came out of nowhere and just started attacking them."

"The poor kids," TenTen mumbled.

Shizune couldn't agree more. Those kids just graduated from Academy, just promoted to Genin and they were already ambushed and one of them already on the precipice of death. Even their sensei was nearly defeated.

But, Shizune realized sadly, this is the reality that they live in. Genins get hurt and die as easily as a Jounin. But Shizune is determined that, as long as she can do something about it, she'd do anything to prevent death.

As they continued their journey in silence, Shizune was occupied by her thoughts. If what those kids described were accurate, then they could be facing the group of rogue shinobi that attacked Kakashi. If that's the case, they could be facing an opponent adept with ninja tools and, apparently, even poison. Though Shizune's confident about her team's abilities, she couldn't afford to let her guard down. One of those rogue shinobi, even though killed, managed to incapacitate a Hokage.

She can't help the worry that creeps into her mind at the thought of those shinobi. One of them almost killed Kakashi and, apparently, more of them are on their way to the village. If they have the same objective as the first one did, then Kakashi is in dire danger again. The thought scared her to death and made her want to pump her legs faster to get this mission over with. She's not going to let anything happen to him again.

They've been travelling for hours now, their veins charged with the food pill they consumed that they were not feeling fatigued yet. When Shizune glanced up at the sky, she guessed that it would be around four in the morning. They've been travelling for more than 10 hours now without stopping and yet they were nowhere near the border. Shizune brought her gaze back down and a saw flash of purple on her peripheral vision. She abruptly stopped, her legs throbbing as she walked back to the plant that she saw.

"Shizune-san? What is it?" Lee inquired as they stepped closer to where she was standing. She plucked the purple flower off its stem and sniffed its scent. Her eyes widened.

"This is it," she whispered and turned to her companions, "We've found it!" she exclaimed with a grin.

"Really?" TenTen asked as Lee and Kiba high-fived.

She nodded, happy that they didn't have to go all the way the border, "Yes this is it. Kiba, can you smell this and find out where we can find more of this?"

Kiba took the flower from her hand and sniffed. He held the flower out to Akamaru, who took a sniff too.

"Shizune-san, the scent is strong about fifty meters north-west from here. Should we go there?" Kiba asked.

Shizune nodded, "Yes, that would be good. Take TenTen with you, if there's trouble, just launch an explosive into the sky so we can come over and we'll do the same. Take a seedling if you can so we can cultivate this plant in Konoha. Lee and I will get flowers that we can find around here. Let's meet here after half an hour."

The two nodded and went off. Shizune showed Lee the flower.

"Look here, Lee," she motioned and traced the edges of the flower, "This flower is purple that had gold edges. And, look closely, the stalk coming out of the flower is darker shade of purple but the tips were yellow. This is the flower that we need but examine them carefully before plucking them. So many flowers are purple but these are the only ones with gold edges."

Lee nodded, "I understand, Shizune-san," he replied and went off, looking over the purple flowers that he passed. Shizune looked over to her right side, glancing at Rock Lee's back every now and then. They can't afford to be separated now.

They collected flowers, with Shizune checking her watch every now and then. Lee presented her with the flowers that he collected, which she put inside her pack. Just before their assigned meeting time, Kiba and TenTen arrived, both carrying a plastic bag full of flowers.

"Sure hope this is enough, Shizune-san," Kiba commented as he held out the plastic bag.

Shizune chuckled as she set her pack down and carefully put the bags inside, "This is actually more than enough, Kiba. Did you get seedlings?"

TenTen held out the plastic she was carrying, "Here you go."

"Thank you. We can go back to the village now," Shizune said as she hefted her pack over her back. If they can keep up the speed that they did when they were going here, they'd be back at Konoha by afternoon.

"All right. Let's go!"

Halfway through their journey, Kiba, who was in the lead, stopped abruptly and sniffed around. Akamaru's teeth were bared and he was growling lowly.

TenTen and Shizune hurried to where they were standing, "What's wrong?" Shizune asked, keeping her ears and eyes open for threats.

"We're smelling somebody else. At least five people. I think it would be a good idea to be up in the trees," Kiba said between clenched teeth. They nodded and simultaneously leapt towards the tree line. They formed a defensive circle around her, with Kiba and Akamaru in front of her, TenTen beside her and Lee taking up the rear. Shizune stopped herself from scolding the three. She can protect herself just fine but she realized that, in every mission, the medic nin is the one to be protected.

They continued their journey, jumping from branch to branch and remaining alert for any enemies nearby. Shizune pulled out a kunai, ready to defend herself.

Kiba sniffed and stiffened, landing on a branch heavily. They stopped.

"Kiba?" Shizune asked tersely, voice tight with tension.

"They're closing in!" Kiba announced as he and Akamaru crouched in a defensive position. TenTen took out some of her scrolls, stuffing some on her pockets and one held ready in her hand. Lee stepped in front of her, his hands poised to attack. Shizune brought the kunai up, looking around her.

A branch snapped behind her.

Lee spun around and Shizune ducked as his leg kicked at something behind her, who grunted when he was hit. She glanced back and saw a cracked, blank mask and a white cloak billowing in the wind as the person fell to the ground. One by one, his companions emerged from the trees, all wearing blank masks and white cloaks.

Shizune tightened her hand around the kunai. She can see four of them, though she can't be sure if anyone was hiding for a surprise attack.

"Hn, Konoha shinobi again," one masked man grumbled, katana held in one hand.

"Oi, I think that lady's the one they're talking about," another replied, pointing at Shizune's direction. She narrowed her eyes. She can't see their forehead protector but she already had a hunch as to who they were.

The first one to speak, apparently the leader, turned his head to look at her and stepped forward. TenTen readied her scroll and Lee crouched in front of her.

"We only want the lady," he spoke lowly, his voice being muffled slightly by the mask, "I'll let you have your life if you leave the lady to us, brats."

"Hah! Like that will happen!" Kiba snarled, body coiled tightly as he prepared for attack. They drew the hoods of their cloaks down and Shizune's fears were confirmed when she saw the forehead protector of Yukigakure tied around their necks, with a single scratch in the middle.

These men… they're so close to the village now! She thought and her blood ran cold. She tightened her grip on the kunai, wanting to launch her Poison Mist but she can't do that just yet. They're too high up and she can't risk her companions inhaling any poisonous gas.

"Just leave her here and we'll give her back when the Hokage comes for her," he said and they laughed, as if that was the funniest thing they heard.

Kiba, hot-headed as ever, growled and launched his attack. Transforming into a dog in the likeness of Akamaru, they attacked with Gatsūga. The rogue shinobi managed to avoid the attack and Kiba hit the trunk of the tree. Kiba went down and chased after them on the ground.

"Kiba!" she yelled after him. Knowing that they can't avoid the fight now, they went after him. They landed on a circle, their backs to each other as their enemies converged on them.

Shizune can feel the throbbing of a headache behind her eyebrows. She remembered the pinched, frightened looks on the faces of the injured kid's teammate, recalled the writhing kid on his hospital bed, obviously in agony because of the poison given by these scum excuse of a human and she wants to finish them right now.

Kiba growled and stepped closer to her, "Shizune-san, you go ahead with Lee. TenTen and I will handle this."

Shizune's eyes widened, astounded by the suggestion, "No thank you, Kiba!" she hissed, not taking her eyes off the enemy in front of her.

"But – ."

"I'm not leaving any of you here, you understand? I'm the leader of this mission and I say that we leave this place together!" she snarled. She's a medic and her calling is to save people, not abandon them.

Kiba looked like he wanted to argue but kept his mouth shut. Instead, he said, "Fine. Then TenTen and I will handle offense. Lee, you're in charge of keeping Shizune-san safe."

Lee nodded, his hands raised and ready, "Understood."

They stood in tense silence and then TenTen opened her scroll, unleashing a barrage of kunai with explosive tags attached in the direction of their opponents. They jumped back and instinctively slashed the kunai with their katana. It landed on their feet and exploded. The others managed to jump away but one was caught by the blast, killing him instantly. They managed to widen their circle as the remaining ones stepped back. TenTen took another scroll and wielded her own katana, one on each hand.

"Now, now," the leader said calmly, "Why would you go such lengths for this lady? I am offering you your life in exchange of her. I mean, you've seen what we did to those kids and their sensei, right?"

Shizune glared at him, "Why did you poison that kid? What do you want with me?"

The leader sighed, as if disappointed, "I would've thought you understood that by now. It's to draw you out, of course! You are the Poison Specialist of Konoha, right? We know the Hokage's reputation of saving his comrades. Then poisoning a kid with a rare toxin should do the trick! Besides, we know that by taking you, we can use you as leverage against that Hokage!"

Shizune's blood ran cold. It was all part of their elaborate plan, then. They used a rare poison that can incapacitate but not immediately kill a person, knowing that the antidote is not readily available. They knew she's an expert in poison and used that knowledge to draw her out of the village, hoping to take her and use her to draw Kakashi out.

But, she can't understand how they knew of the fact that she's a Poison Specialist.

"How did you know all that?" she asked, stalling.

He waved his hand in a nonchalant manner, "Just from a chatty bird. It's not important anymore. Just come with us and your companions are free to leave."

"Like I'll allow that!" Kiba yelled and transformed into a dog. Together with Akamaru, they attacked the leader with Goroga. He managed to dodge and they hit the rogue shinobi beside him instead, who fell. TenTen advanced on the one closest to them, slashing and blocking the attacks with her katana. She easily blocked his parries and, when she saw an opening, quickly stab him on his right side. Lee was fighting off one of them who dared to stepped close to them, kicking the katana off his hand and delivering punches and kicks to his body.

Shizune scanned wildly around her. The leader had disappeared when Kiba tried to attack him. Where had he gone to?

A branch snapped behind her and she turned, kunai raised and slashing in a wide arc. He blocked her kunai with his sword and sparks flew from their blades when they met. She pushed her kunai against his katana, grunting in effort as she tried to take a step forward.

The man chuckled behind his mask, "I must say I'm pretty impressed, iryo nin. I don't know many medics who can fight."

She glared at him, "Stop underestimating medics like me. We know where to stab you to easily kill you."

"Shizune-san!" one of them, maybe Kiba, yelled. Shizune tilted her head slightly in the direction in a moment of distraction. That's what all the man needed to shove his sword forward, making her step back and almost lose her balance. In a flash, the man grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and yanked her forward. Turning her around, he wrapped his arm around her neck, keeping her in a chokehold and her back on his chest. He rested the tip of his katana on her cheek.

"Drop the kunai," he ordered. Having no other choice, she dropped them.

He waved his sword at her companions, who were frozen with shock, "One wrong move and I'll cut off the lady's breaths," he threatened. To make his point known, he tightened his arm around her neck, making her gasp for air and claw at his arm helplessly. He started to walk backwards slowly, taking her with him and her teammates followed, matching their steps with his.

Shizune had to act fast before they got too far. She let her hands fall limp on her side, hiding her hand inside her sleeve. Using her long sleeves as a blind spot, she reached into her arm, where numerous Senbons were hidden, tied with a cord around her arm. With little difficulty, she stabbed the Senbon into his thigh and the other to the arm around her neck.

He yelled in surprise, letting her go and falling on his knees. She got out of his reach but not before he raised his katana in a last effort attempt to stab her and the blade grazed her arm. Shizune grunted when she felt it sink into her skin and into her muscles when she jumped away from him. Lee kicked his katana from his grasp.

TenTen rushed to her side, bandage ready at her hands, "Shizune-san! Are you alright?"

She nodded, examining the wound with critical eyes, "Yeah, I'm alright. Don't worry TenTen, I can heal this," she reassured as she started healing herself.

"You're companions are dead, old man," she heard Kiba taunt as he stepped closer to the man. Suddenly, there was a poof of smoke. Once it cleared, the man who was previously immobile and cornered was now replaced with a tree trunk.

Kiba growled and kicked the trunk, "Substitution Jutsu."

Shizune's blood ran cold once again, "That would mean he's still here or he's calling for back-up. We need to continue before he comes back."

Once she finished healing herself, they rushed back to Konoha, knowing that they may arrive at the village by nighttime. Their strength was renewed once their gazes caught the high walls of the village.

"Kiba, Lee, TenTen!" she called out to them while running, "You go straight to the Tower and report to the Hokage what happened. He needs to know immediately. I need to go to the hospital and prepare the antidote for the kid!" she explained to which they nodded. They parted ways once they entered the gate.

A/N: so sorry if the fight part seems unrealistic, idk how to write it properly xD