Shi took his time following Sakura's trail, after all there was only so much trouble the pinkette could get in to. The trail was easy to follow; she hadn't bothered hiding her tracks and probably wouldn't have until she had gotten outside. Expecting at least a bit of a work out Shi began to roll his shoulders loosening his muscles as he approached the E.R., preparing to slip out of the white doctor's coat. That is until he saw said pinkette bent over a patient, her gown splattered with blood as she issued out orders.

And for a moment Shi stood in shock as he watched the woman stich up a patient, talking gently to the patient while the woman quietly gave an order to the orderly assisting her. Then her face contorted in frustration, something was wrong, something she couldn't fix without chakra. He moved forward without thinking, kneeling down across from her Shi sat to work, stabilizing the man as Sakura finished closing his wound.

When the job was done, they moved on to the next one; Shi fixing the internal injuries while Sakura did what she could with what little she had. She would never admit it, but she was grateful for the kumo nin as they worked seamlessly together. By the time they were done Shi's chakra was almost gone and Sakura could barely stand. With no more wounded to tend to, for the moment, Shi guided the pink haired woman out of the room and into the hallway. With no energy left Sakura leaned against the wall and slid into a sitting position. Shi hobbled over to the wall across from her and did the same, taking a moment to study the woman. The nightgown Mabui had given him to give to the Hokage's student was covered in blood, and something told him he was going to have to dish out the money for a new one. Her forehead was beaded with sweat and she looked to be on the brink of unconsciousness, this was why he had told her to rest.

Forcing himself to his feet Shi walked over to her and knelt next to the woman. Her head was tilted to the side, resting on her shoulder, her eyes fluttering every so often. Sliding his arms under her, he picked her up and began walking back to her hospital room.

The room was pitch black, it was already well in to the night, and a new exhaustion took hold of his body. Allowing his eyes to adjust he walked to the bed and laid her down, making sure to cover her with a blanket he left the room.

A deja vu feeling washed over Sakura as she woke up. Sitting up in the bed she turned to look at the Tsuchikage who was once again playing Shogi. For a moment she wondered if it had been a dream; the fight with Shi, the E.R . . . . working with Shi. A quick glance at her clothes told her it hadn't been.

"They brought you new clothes and put them in the bathroom along with towels and washcloths." Oonoki said, not looking up from his game. Sakura didn't even hesitate, stepping out of the bed and walking straight towards the bathroom. Locking the door, Sakura stripped and turned on the water and waited for it to warm. As soon as steam started to fill the room Sakura stepped into the shower. The water smelled different almost like well water, a possibility with the entire village being so deep within the mountains. Sakura took her time scrubbing the blood off of her skin and rinsed her hair, making sure every inch of her was clean before turning off the water and stepping out on to the cold tile. She dried off and dressed, finding that she had been given a pair of shorts and an oversized men's shirt this time. Secretly she was relieved. While the villages had come to a truce of sorts that didn't mean the peace would last, and this outfit was much more conducive to fighting than the night gown had been. Allowing her hair to hang loose and wet Sakura left the bathroom and reentered the shared room, to find some company waiting for her.

"Haruno Sakura?" Sakura stared at the woman who had posed her name as a question, before nodding. "My name is Mabui."

"The Raikage's assistant?"

The woman nodded "Correct. You've been summoned to the war room, if you would please follow me." Sakura raised an eyebrow at the woman in question. "Is something wrong?" Mabui asked.

"I need my uniform." Mabui looked confused at this. "I'm a representation of my village mam, and appearing in front of other leaders in nothing more than a tee-shirt and shorts would be irresponsible. Not to mention if Tsunade-sama found out I would be crushed into dust."

"Haruno-san, I understand, but we're running short on time and . . ."

"I'm an old man who doesn't move as fast as I used to and Pinkie was kind enough to escort me." Oonoki interrupted his meaning clear.

Mabui bowed, "I'll be back shortly." and left the room.

Sakura turned to face the old Tsuchikage. "I've been deemed well enough to go to a meeting and now you owe me one."

Sakura bristled at that idea. She didn't like the idea of owing anyone anything; she had learned that lesson with Kakashi. One bad bet with Kakashi hand ended with her owing Kakashi a favor which had led to her having to bathe his dogs, and Bull did NOT like baths. "I didn't ask for your help." She said, as respectfully as she could manage.

"Well you got it anyways girly." The Tsuchikage said sliding from his bed to the floor, to look her in the eyes. Sakura's fists clenched and she had to fight to keep her eye from twitching. Mabui came back, before she could retort, with a standard Konoha uniform, though she noted the weapons pouches were empty. She took a moment to remind herself to be grateful that she wouldn't have to show up in night clothes and went to change. When she was done, she and Oonoki followed behind Mabui out of the hospital, down several streets to the Kage tower. Mabui held the door for them, before leading them up the stairs, down several twisting hallways and to a plain looking door. Taking a moment to place her hand on the door, Mabui let out a burst of chakra before turning the knob. Being the lower ranking kunoichi Sakura was the last to enter, and immediately locked eyes with Kakashi.

He was in the Kage seat she noted and walked over to take her place behind him, but Kakashi had other ideas. Meeting her half way he gave her a hug, one she returned. The hug served several purposes; one, that he was okay and that he was she was okay and two, to deliver a message. In a series of taps on her spine he communicated that she was taking the place as his assistant and that they would talk more after. She gave him an extra squeeze to tell him she understood before they both walked back to the Hokage's seat. Taking her place behind Kakashi she allowed her eyes to wander the room. All of the Kage were present none too worse for wear. Behind them stood their guards; The Mizukage had Ao and a younger looking man with sharpened teeth, Garaa had Temari and Kankuro, behind the Tsuchikage were two people she didn't know, the Raikage had Darui, captain of the first company and . . .Shi. Standing with her was Shikaku Nara who gave a polite nod before turning his attention to the meeting. The tension in the room made the hair on Sakura's neck stand on end and butterflies fluttered in her stomach, and then the meeting began.