Inside the hospital I am immediately assaulted on all sides by noises and smells, people yelling at nurses, crying, people shouting instructions – basically it's chaos.

I approach the front desk cautiously. Behind the desk one man is frantically answering phones, writing down information, all the while telling people to wait on the benches. When I step up he points to those benches, thinking I have an emergency, but I shake my head.

"I'll wait until your call is done." I say. He looks irritated for just a moment, then his face returns to its mask-like expression as he answers the questions of whoever is on the other line of the phone.

"Can I help you?" he asks as he puts the phone down.

"I was sent by Temari." I tell him, and show him the paper she gave me. "I'm here to help."

"Ah! The new arrivals from Konoha!" He looks behind me, as if expecting to see the others. "...Arrival. Well, I guess you'll have to do – If you go down that way," he points down a hallway to my right, "And go into the third office on your left you'll be given instructions from the boss."

The phone rings again and he picks it up before I can ask him who 'the boss' is. I sigh to myself and walk down the hall to the third door on my left. I knock on the door. Moments later a tall man walks out, but does not invite me in. Instead he walks right past me and down the way I came. I peer in the still open door to see what's in there, and find myself staring right at a woman's forehead.

I look down a little to her face. Her face is perfectly ordinary – really there is nothing about it to set this woman apart from anyone else in the world. I wonder if this is the boss, as there isn't anyone else in the room.

I realize I've been staring at the same time as I realize she's doing the same. Only she looks quite bored. I open my mouth to apologize when she speaks.

"Come in." She says, and I'm shocked into silence. I take back any thoughts I had of this being a normal woman. One can see, when she opens her mouth, that it's full of pointed teeth, and it's purple. But that's not the most shocking part; the most shocking part is her voice. It may sound insulting and exaggerating, but she truly does have the voice of a demon. A great big, chain smoking demon that has something stuck in its throat, but quieter I guess, since her voice isn't especially loud, only terrifying.

"Take a seat," she tells me, and I realize I've been standing staring at her still and do as she tells me. "Tell me what you need."

I somehow manage to gather my wits and answer. "I'm here with the group from Konoha. Uh, Temari sent me." I say, remembering the paper she gave me and holding it out to the woman sitting across from me.

"Oh wonderful!" She exclaims, clapping her hands together like a small child. "I'm so happy you're here!" She ignores the paper I'm holding out and goes on. "We've been so busy lately, any one person's help is greatly appreciated. But you, you're not just any person are you?" She pauses and looks at me expectantly. I stare back, unsure of just what she's expecting me to say. "You're Sakura Haruno!" She says for me at last, and smiles so widely her face seems like it will crack apart. It's a rather disturbing sight, actually, with her pointed teeth, but at the same time she looks so young and childish and… well, cute.

"That's me." I agree quietly, a little intimidated still.

She covers her face with her hands. "And to think – you're supposed to work under me! I never ever dreamed that this day would come. If anything, I used to dream of one day learning from you."

I'm rather flabbergasted, and I'm afraid I stare at her quite a bit. I had no idea I was so well known, especially here in Sunakagure, and I tell her so. "I didn't realize I was famous."

"Among our circle you certainly are." she says. For a long moment she just looks at me and smiles, then she shakes herself and remembers where we are, and what we have to do. "Right! I guess I should tell you what we're going to do!" She stands and goes behind her desk to shuffle through her drawers for something.

"Um… Actually, I never caught your name." I say, a little embarrassed.

"Oh! How scatterbrained I am today! My name is Seri Darmali, but you can call me Seri if you like. Please don't call me boss like the other's do. It would be too much for me." All through her introduction she doesn't stop looking through her desk. She frowns and scratches her head, and I smile to myself. I find myself already taking a liking to this woman. She sees me smiling and laughs. "You know what? Forget it. I'll find it weeks from now anyway, so let's talk." She sits back down beside me. "What would you like to know?"

"What do you want me to do?" I ask.

"Oh everything!" She answers happily. A little too happily. "Within reason of course. But I hope you understand that I can't treat you too specially, or the others will think it unfair, and they'll think I'm favoring the foreigner or something silly like that. In fact, it will probably be the opposite. I'm quite the slave driver, as I'm sure you'll discover." She grows more serious for a moment and frowns at the ceiling. "Well, I'd like you to help us treat the wounded of course, but also, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like you to teach some of our newbies.

"Of course I don't want you to reveal your secret chakra controlling techniques!" She says, showing a kind of political sense I didn't realize she had; one she certainly doesn't give the impression of having. "You're not here for anything like that. I know that. It's just that they need a good teacher, and I'm a bit short on those. I'm a bit short on students too – we're in a big mess here."

I laugh a little. I could tell that the moment I walked in.

We both look up at a knock on the door. "Come in." Seri calls. A dark skinned man peeks around the corner.

"You're needed in the clinic boss." he says timidly.

"Ok thanks!" She stands, and I stand with her. She waves the man away and then turns to me. As I look down at her, I realize just how short she is. Much shorter than I had thought somehow.

"Well, I'll let you go tonight," she says, "Not that I have a choice; you have an appearance to make. Meet me tomorrow morning and I'll introduce you to your new students. For now, you get some rest. It's been such a pleasure meeting you." She shakes my hand and ushers me out of the office, closing the door behind us. She walks me to the front entrance and then leaves me there, on her way to the clinic.

Once outside I shake my head in wonder. She saddled me with students and medical responsibilities so smoothly – I had no chance to even protest. I should have really, it's not exactly proper for someone in my place to be teaching medical students in this foreign country, but it's too late now, isn't it?

I look around, and all of the sudden I realize I have no place to stay. Temari never told me where I'd be staying, nor did Seri, or anyone I've met today. I assume they will be giving me a place to stay here. It would be only proper. I study the paper in my hands; no information there.

Dammit, what now?