Innocent: Wow. I am so happy!! I really didnt think I'd get this many reviews so fast..eight..yippie! I'm glad everyone likes my story and yes -gasp- Gaara is a little evil right now with his lying but..heehee I'm not saying what he is up to untill well..the plot unfolds Which it sorta has..just no one knows whats happening exept for me!! Yay! I love this little seat of power. -cheesy grin-
Disclaimer:I do not own Naruto. Azumi is MINE. The plot is MINE. I have this in WRITING.
Chapter Four: Getting to the Core of the Problem
"This isnt making any bit of sense!" Azumi sighed blowing her messy hair from her face and beating her fists onto the water's surface. The nurse was up to her neck is boiling hot water and had been since the moment her and Hinata had entered the bathhouse, poor Hinata was still trying to get use to the heat.
"How can you concentrate in hot water..I feel like a lobster!" Hinata muttered. She was waist high in the water and still hadn't sat down yet, but prefered moving around shifting her weight from foot to foot and trying to get used to the heat.
Azumi paused in her rant and grinned "Well..you look like a lobster if that helps!" Hinata rolled her eyes the heat was making her skin red.
"Ha ha very funny." She plopped down into the water with a tiny yelp. "Hey! What was that for?" She sputtered as soon as her head broke the surface. Somthing cold and hard unwrapped itself from her leg and returned to Azumi curling into a tiny ball then disapearing completely. It was ice.
"It got you used to it. Just breath..in and out..in and out. Relax. Let the water sooth you into calmness." Azumi sighed happily ignoring Hinata's pitifull excuse for a death glare.
"Okay so back to the facts." Azumi sat up straighter and began again..from the beginning. Hinata mentally groaned. Azumi had a suspicion..a kind of wild suspicion about the whole bug-poison situation.
"Obviously someone planted them there..randomly since the victims range from rich to poor..important to non-important.."
"Azumi!" Hinata cut-in "Everyone is important."
"I mean politically and status wise..jeeze." She flicked water at her friend.
"The bugs..okay okay poison..I'll humor you...The poison sucks energy and chakra at once..while cutting down the body's defences..so the question is where does the chakra go..It just..disapears and I've gotten some strange readings of energy from the little buggers. I think it's actually a Jutsu. I mean this is to advanced for just poison and Kumogakure seems to have been quiet lately..I've been scounting around for Info about it..the locals seem a bit..sketchy when it comes to sharing info..I dont think they trust me." Azumi pouted lightly 'Do I look that bad?"
Hinata giggled "No." She turned serious again "But a Jutsu...there is too much of it going on for it to be a Jutsu unless.."
"Exactly. You thinking what I'm thinking my friend?" Hinata just frowned.
"But that would mean..they'd have to be..really smart to figure up all this math..."
Azumi grinned "Watch this...I've been working on it all day..." using hand movements..not motions Hinata noticed, water rose at Azumi's will creating numbers..large math problems in the air then freezing still holding upright in place. Azumi was chewing her lower lip as she concentrated and suddenly her movements stopped. Hinata blinked..the water kept moving...
"Uhmm Azu-chan?"
"Mmm..?" Azumi didnt move. Again Hinata noted neither did her hands yet the water kept moving..kept arranging themselfs.
"How are you..with out..motions and.."
Azumi blinked and her hands suddenly moved again she stopped her math-problem and looked horrified for a moment then quickly regained composer.
"I ermmm...somthing I've been practicicing..instead of signals with the hands and fingers, its with the feet..erm..and toes..see watch.." she stuttered lifting a foot from the water her toes wiggled and the water moved..her hands completely still, sligthly submerged in water. "See? Pretty neat huh? It's weird..but I had a lot of time on my hands.."
Hinata raised her eyebrow, not buying it but decided to let it slide, they had other things to worry about. She looked at the numbers still floating above her head.
"Sixty patients..it's an even number so...wait..why twelve ninjas?" Hinata frowned she didnt like math much.
"They switch out. Two people per ten victims. One person can easily keep hold on his jutsu expecially when his jutsu re-stocks his chakra levels..so even if he wastes tons of chakra he is still getting it back ten times over..they break..I think every five hours..see?" she pointed at a small equation, one that didnt make Hinata's head spin. "They switch out..and the next person takes control..if we can get the exact times they switch out..thats not only their weakest moment but also the best way to get the buggers out without them knowing untill.." she grinned "They either pass out because lack of energy or if they are as good as I think they are start to relize they aren't getting chakra back. It's ..well I admire all the work they put into this..it's..perfect..hardly any flaws what so ever!"
"So..we are dealing with..scientists..docters what?"
"Both..a mixture of both plus I'd say the right ninjas that actually mastered these Techniques..if they learned how to quicken the rate at which chakra is being lost..they would be nearly unbeatable as soon as they got the bugs into the person's system..which is what I still dont get...since Jutsus aren't transfered between food or drink..maybe a mixture of shadowing..or somthing..I arg..."
Hinata just stared. She had known her friend was smart..but..not this smart.
"I just need to get this all in writing..which I've done half-way already and I set us up with a meeting with Gaara-san and Temaris-San tommorow night..for dinner " Azumi grinned brightly. "Temari was so stubborn at first..but I convinced the bloody idiot!"
Hinata blinked "Wait..us? We...as in you and me? And what did you say to Temari?"
"I just told her that unless she wanted the whole village destroyed by pissed of lightening nin she'd give me a fucking appointment. We settled on dinner."
"Watch your language! And why me?"
"Because..you are the only one that will back me up on this..plus you were the one that got me to thinking." Azumi shrugged "Besides don't you wanna see Gaara?" Azumi stood up and walked out of the bath grabbing a towle and tossing it at Hinata.
"No..no..I dont..I mean..uhm.he's just..what do you mean?" Hinata was blood red as she dried herself off, when she finally turned around Azumi was completely dried, hair too.
"I hate when you do that" Hinata muttered.
"Anyways I'm an expert when it comes to stuff like this..Gaara was giving you the eye!"
"You mean the death glare..oh yeah..I saw that look too." Hinata muttered wrapping her robe around herself and gathering her shampoo and soap into a small bucket before wrapping her hair into the towel.
"Donr worry I'll keep the moody idiot away from you. I dont trust him."
"Why not?"
"I dont know..but there is somthing..strange about all this..I mean think about it..why me? Why us..I think he knew you'd be coming...you were a volunteer...you were not supposed to be here but he didnt seem suprised."
"He did too!"
"Did not"
Hinata scowled "Did too!"
"Dont argue with me..you always loose!" Azumi warned as she tied her bathrob around herself. "Lets go get some sleep, tommorow is going to be a loooong day!"
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"WHAT?" Gaara nearly screeched jumping up from his desk-chair and glaring daggers at his sister.
"We have a dinner appointment with that Azumi girl and..the Hyuuga."
"Who set this up?"
"Azumi comfronted me with..a very seriouse threat Gaara, I think Azumi has..well got somthing...she looked troubled..distracted."
Gaara tapped is fingers on th desk. Temari got the message.
"She quite nicely told me that unless I wanted the whole village destroyed by pissed of lightening nin I'd give her a fucking appointment" Temari's eyebrow raised. "She told me dinner tommorow night, be there or she'd.erm.."
Gaara tried to hide his amusment..whatever that hot-headed girl had said obviously upset Temari..or scared her atleast.
"She'd personally shover her..her..sword up my ass."
"And you think she 'd do it?" Temair stared at him with her mouth open..it took her a moment to relize he was being humorous...she smiled slightly.
"Actually..I think she would atleast try." she laughed lightly "it's a really big sword..."
She watched her baby brother grin "Yeah..it's big...it's hard to imagine her carrying the damn thing around. Okay..dinner. The Hyuuga will be there?"
"Thats what she said.." Temari bowed, hiding her smile "I'll be heading to my room now..good night, bro."
"Hey Temari?" she paused at the door. "loveyasis" He said in one breath then busied himself with cleaning his desk.
Temari smiled brightly.."I love you too Gaara-kun."
Out in the hall Temari couldnt help but do a tiny victory dance 'Gaara is getting better!'
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"I'm going to go home..throw off these smelly clothes and go to sleep." Hinata moaned dragging herself down the sidewalk to keep up with Azumi.
Azumi grinned, she was sprawled out inside a bubble floating a bit ahead of her friend and above everyone's heads.
The day had been long and hard...they had almost been late to work that morning. Most of the docters hadnt even showed up which meant more work..all of the patients not infected were sent to the other make-shift clinic and the hospitol was empty. Hinata had gotten lost seven times, nearly fell down a flight of stairs and had been thrown up on. The patients were getting worse..they would die within the next week if somthing wasnt done and dine fast.
"Hey watch it!" Someone shouted angrily at Hinata as they bumped into her. Azumi flicked the man off, jumping into protective mode.
"Oh fuck off you jackass..mind were you are going..if you injure a Konoha docter your damn village is screwed! Dont make me freeze your balls off!"
The man seemed to deflat slightly and scrambled off quickly at Azumi's threats.
"Anyways..Hinata remeber..tonight we have dinner with the Kazekage and his sister!" Azumi cheered sarcastically and Hinata groaned.
"I want to sleeeeeep..." She groaned as they reached their apartment. Azumi's bubble popped and she landed lightly outside their door fumbling through her pockets untill she came up with a key. "Quick showers, throw on that black dress I layed out for you on my chair and I'll do your hair mmkay? We have to look good..but proffesional. We are eating at his manor so we have to make a good impression!"
Unlocking the door she let Hinata in then closed it.
'I'm sorry Hinata I know you are tired..but..we have to help save Suna..even if they got themselvs into this mess.'
Azumi followed Hinata into her room.
"I am not wearing that!" Hinata screeched.
Innocent: Hahahahahah! Cliff hanger! Dont you just LOVE me? Hmm...this chapter came out short..but much better..I am swamped with Christmas shopping right now..and my advisor told me my accent wasnt American enough and that mis-used words sometimes..arg...it made me very angry! So I've been sorta sulking around the house...accidently cursed my tacher out in french..of course I told her all I said was "holy crap"..but she bought it so..oh well! But I'm back up and running..all this Christmas cheer is affecting me and I had a spurt of energy today!! Thanks to all my reviewrs..I'm glad the last chapter was suprising! Hee hee...bad, bad Gaara! Well next chapter is going to be..funny...the Dinner...dun dun dun!! Squee!