A/N: Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto. Not me. I only own Shirayuki. I forgot to mention this in the first chapter. This is my latest story. If you read what I have posted already and are waiting for me to update it. I will as soon as I get the inspiration to write the chapter that needs to written. Have some faith in me please? And as always read and review please. Also, Sasuke is going to seem OOC at times. Italics are thoughts. "Italics" is Inner Sakura. Bold is Sound effects.
Chapter Six: Kakashi Learns the Truth.
"YEAH!" Naruto shouted a few minutes after the group walked out of the village. Shira smiled at Naruto and his excitement while Sasuke and Sakura looked at him like he was crazy.
"What are you shouting about?" Sakura demanded from Naruto while Sasuke looked at Shira and wondered if he was going to have to carry his friend at some point because of her coughing.
"This is the first time I have ever been outside of the village." Naruto explained simply while he smiled wide. Shira couldn't help but smile at the blonde's enthusiasm while Tazuna frowned.
"Hey! Am I really going to be safe with this brat? And with the brunette and her coughing?" Tazuna demanded while Shira growled and Sasuke just grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to him.
"Well I'm a Jonin so you don't have to worry. As for Shira and her coughing, well she's one of the best strategists in the village so she'll be okay." Kakashi said while Sasuke snorted.
"She has medicine for the coughing. If it gets too bad then we will have to stop to give her some." Sasuke stated as Naruto frowned as well. Soon after Sasuke stopped talking Naruto started shouting at the bridge builder causing Shira to shake her head.
"Naruto calm down some." She said softly as she yawned lazily. "Man, what a drag… Shika's worrying and so are my parents about me since I've been coughing bad lately." She told Sasuke as he looked at her with a smirk.
"I'm worried about you. No comas on this trip either Shira. One is enough." He said as the brunette looked at him and smiled. She made a quick hand sign, causing him to snort.
"Hey, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked catching everyone's attention. "Do they have shinobi's in the Land of Waves as well?"
"No not in the Wave Country. But in most other countries there are." Kakashi stated before he started to explain the countries and the many different villages. As he started to go into the Kages, Sakura and Naruto started to doubt the Hokage. "You guys just doubted Lord Hokage didn't you?" Kakashi called them out while Naruto and Sakura both shook their heads furiously while Shira just giggled. Kakashi then told Sakura not to worry about shinobi attacking them. Shira noticed how Tazuna got a dark look on his face, causing her to step right into a puddle of water.
"Dang it." Shira sighed while she frowned and looked at the water. Why is there a puddle of water? It hasn't rained for days here. Shira thought to herself as she caught up to the others and looked at Kakashi. Kakashi nodded his head showing that he understood what she was telling him. Not even five minutes later a chain wrapped around Kakashi.
"What?!" Kakashi said in surprise before the two shinobi from a different village smirked. Shira and the others all looked surprised as the one of the shinobi said one down. The two pulled on the chain, cutting Kakashi in to pieces. Shira felt her eyes widen in fright but she quickly moved to Sakura's side to protect Tazuna while she fought the urge to cough.
I can't have an attack now… Not when I have to protect the client…. Shira thought as Sakura freaked beside her while Sasuke went to help Naruto when the poor blonde froze up.
"Naruto!" Shira saw the boy was frozen with shock and worried as the shinobi now came towards her and Sakura. She could no longer hold back the coughing and started to cough hard, causing blood to leak from the corner of her mouth as she coughed in one hand.
"Shira!" Sasuke called the brunette's name out as he got in front of her, Sakura, and Tazuna. He was ready to take the shinobi that were coming towards them out when Kakashi suddenly appeared and took the two out. Sasuke frowned, but stayed in position as Shira coughed even harder than normal in her hand.
"Naruto, I'm sorry I didn't save you right away. I got you injured. I didn't think you would freeze up like that." Kakashi apologized to the boy as he noticed the cut on the blonde's hand. Kakashi didn't like how hard Shira was coughing as well, it unnerved him to no end since she appeared to be coughing hard enough to bring up blood. "Anyway, nice job Sasuke. Sakura and Shira too." Kakashi praised the other three while Sasuke looked over at Naruto.
"You alright? Scaredy cat." Sasuke taunted as he smirked at the blonde.
"Shira!" Sakura exclaimed her female teammate's name causing Sasuke to look at the brunette just as the girl went down to both her knees.
"Damn it. Shira…" Sasuke said as he went to her and got onto his knees in front of her. "Hey… Spit out the blood. I know you're keeping not to keep us from worrying too much." Sasuke told her as the brunette looked up. Shira turned her head to the side and spit out a large amount of blood, causing Sasuke to frown. Kakashi was warning Naruto not to move the whole time, turning his attention briefly to the Nara and Uchiha before looking back at Tazuna.
"By the way Tazuna." Kakashi stated causing everyone to look at him. Shira seemed to have finally stopped coughing and was wiping her mouth on a bandage she had wrapped around her right wrist. When Tazuna asked what he wanted, Kakashi narrowed his eye slightly. "I need to talk to you." He then went and tied the two shinobi up to a tree. Kakashi watched from the corner of his eye as Sasuke picked Shira up and carried her away from the shinobi. He knows what's wrong with her or he really doesn't like the idea of her being near those shinobi. Kakashi mused while Shira frowned at the two tied to the tree.
"Their from Kirigakure no Sato." Shira stated simply as Sasuke set her down on the ground before pulling out the package that Shira tossed him before they left Konoha. Kakashi looked over at Shira and nodded his head.
"That's right. They are most likely Kirigakure chuunins." Kakashi said as he looked back at the shinobi tied up to the tree. "These shinobi are known to continue fighting no matter what."
"How did you read our movements?" One asked while Kakashi and Shira just gave him an 'are-you-serious' look.
"On a sunny day like this when it hasn't rained in days, there's not going to be a puddle." Kakashi explained before tilting his head in Shira's direction. "Not to mention that one of my students stepped into the puddle and realized something was off." Shira rolled her eyes.
"I knew something was off because of the chakra. The puddle could have been someone emptying a water canteen since they would have been about two hours from Konoha." Shira said before she started coughing again.
"Stop talking. You need to get the coughing under control so you can take some of this." Sasuke told Shira as she looked up at him. She gave him a weak smile and nodded her head. All the while Tazuna was yelling at Kakashi for making the four genin fight. Kakashi explained how he had to figure out if it was shinobi attacking shinobi or if Tazuna was the target. Kakashi then made Tazuna feel bad for lying to them.
"We aren't ready for this mission. Let's quit! We still need medicine for Naruto's wound and Shira is obviously too sick to even be traveling outside of the village. We should go back to the village and get them to a doctor." Sakura said as Sasuke got something from the package that he had in his hand.
"Shira…" Sasuke held his hand out to the Nara as she looked at him. Shira took whatever was in the hand and placed it in her mouth before swallowing it. Kakashi watched them with interest before turning his attention back to Tazuna and the others. Suddenly Naruto took a kunai and cut into the wound that he received from the Kirigakure shinobi.
"Naruto…" Shira trailed off as the others looked at him in surprise. Shira had a pretty good idea why he did what he did.
"Why is there so much of a difference? Hell, Shira is obvious so sick that she's coughing hard enough to cough up blood and she was still able to do something…" Naruto said to himself while Sakura demanded what he was doing. "I'm not going to be afraid and try to run… I will become stronger. I swear it on this pain in my left hand. With this kunai, I'll protect the old man. We're continuing the mission!" He said to them while he looked directly at Shira. In his own way, Naruto was also vowing to be strong enough to be able to help her should she start to have a coughing fit. Shira smiled at Naruto as she shifted so she was now sitting completely on the ground. Sasuke stayed kneeling next to her as he took the bandage from Shira's wrist and wiped more blood away from her mouth.
"Naruto, as cool as that was the way you removed the poison and all, if you don't stop the bleeding… you'll die." Kakashi sated with a mock smile on his face. Naruto started to freak out and demand that Kakashi saved him while Kakashi told him to stop flailing around as he grabbed the blonde's injured and a bandage to wrap it with. Noticing that the wound was already starting to heal, Kakashi wondered if it had to do with Kyuubi. Naruto asked if he was going to be okay before Kakashi looked at him with a not concerned look and assured Naruto that he was fine.
"I… have to talk to you…." Tazuna stated as Sasuke helped Shira stand up and slung her on his back.
"Right… Tell us once we reach the water." Kakashi stated as he looked back at Sasuke and Shira. Once the group started walking towards the shore line did Kakashi drop back to where Sasuke was walking slowly with Shira, both of them talking.
"How long have you…?" Sasuke asked Shira just as Kakashi fell in step with him.
"Shira… Tell me what is exactly wrong with you." Kakashi said, more like ordered, the youngest Nara. Shira sighed and rested her cheek on Sasuke's shoulder.
"When I was in a coma… The doctors had discovered that I have a mass on one of my lungs that is causing me to have coughing fits because it makes it hard to breathe. I had these fits before and my family and I just thought that it was allergies and started to try and figure out what I could be allergic too." Shira explained as Sasuke looked down, he knew of the mass and coughing fits and how dangerous they could be for her.
"The package that she gave me contains a medicine… a mixture of plants that grows on the Nara's land. The mixture helps her breath somewhat easier." Sasuke explained as he kept his eyes on the dirt path.
"And the coughing up blood?" Kakashi asked, his eye now showing complete worry for the brunette of the team.
"Its from the mass as well. We don't know if its cause of me coughing so much or so hard that I hurt my throat or if blood is slowly leaking into my lungs that comes up when I cough…" Shira softly explained as she closed her eyes. Kakashi frowned even more as he learned of this.
"Shira… Why haven't they removed it?" He asked what seemed to be the million dollar question.
"Because… they don't know how to remove it without me dying during the surgery or after…" Shirayuki whispered as she felt a tear fall down her face while Sasuke gripped onto her legs tightly.