The morning sun shined through window of Kakashi's apartment. He squirmed deeper under the soft duvet, trying to immerse himself back into blissful darkness. It was useless. Even the morning rays in Suna were harsh enough to penetrate the thick covers. He slowly opened his sleep heavy eyelids to let his sight adjust to light. His head was pounding as if Snow White's seven dwarves were mining inside his skull.
'I don't remember the dwarves upgrading from hammers to drills in the fairytale.' Kakashi thought rubbing his temples with the tips of his fingers, still under the covers. 'I have never had one drink effect me like that. Thank goodness for Sakura.' He paused remembering the night before and who had nursed him.
Bolting up right and tossing the duvet aside, he looked at the armchair next to the bed. Sakura lay on her side with her hands under her cheek, one leg under her and the other outstretched. She looked so peaceful. Her fair skin seemed to glow from within. He got out of bed quietly as not to wake her. As he got closer, his sense of reason left him and before he could stop himself, his hand was less than an inch from her cheek, his fingers twitched with desire to touch her.
Knock KnockKakashi was snapped back to reality by the sudden knock at his front door. He felt sudden gratefulness towards whoever was at the door from saving him from making a huge mistake. He had no right to have the feelings he did for Sakura much less touching her. These urges unnerved him. Trouble was where he would be if he couldn't get himself in control.
'What was I thinking?' He chastised himself. 'That's the problem. I wasn't thinking. It has to been the hangover preventing from thinking straight,' he thought as he went to open the door.
One look at the person standing in his doorway, all gratitude Kakashi had been feeling just moments before vanished instantly.
"Oh. It's you." Kakashi said grumpily. "What do you want?"
"Good morning to you too, Mr. Sunshine." Kankuro greeted him with friendly sarcasm. Taking a better look at the copy ninja, he added, "You aren't much of a morning person, I take it."
"Long night." Kakashi replied curtly.
"Well anyways," Kankuro continued not noticing Kakashi's rudeness, as he was preoccupied glancing over his shoulder across the living room at the front door of Sakura's quarters. "I'm here to escort you to your meeting with Gaara."
"Of course. My meeting with the Kazekage to discuss improvements to the Suna's ninja training." Kakashi cursed himself inwardly for forgetting. He grabbed his jounin vest from the back of the chair, where he had thrown it the night before in his mad dash to the bathroom. "Let's go."
~xxxxx
Sakura's head rolled off the armrest, jolting her awake. Her neck and back were cramped from the awkward sleeping position of sleeping on armchair. She stood placing her hands on the small of her back and leaned backwards. She sighed as it cracked realigning her spine. She turned towards the bed to check on her patient only to find it empty. Afraid Kakashi might have had started vomiting again, she ran to the bathroom. It was also empty.
"Kakashi?" She called out as she walked to the living room. Again she found no sign of him. "Where did he go?" She noticed his jounin vest was gone too. Anger coursed through her veins as realization dawned. "He left without a word! I spent all night taking care of him. I slept in the most uncomfortable chair because he asked me to stay and the moment he is feeling better, he walks up and leaves." She threw up her arms and left grumbling to herself. "Ungrateful…still treating me like a genin…"
After taking a cold shower, which didn't do anything to calm her fury, she got dressed and pulled her hair into a high ponytail. She placed a white lab coat, one of many that had been left for her in the closet, in a leather messenger bag, which already contained some of the medicines she had bought with her from Konoha. It was her first day of working in the Suna Medical Research Institute, SMRI for short. Though she had been hesitant to come on this mission at first, she was now looking forward to starting her mission of inter-village corporations. Suna was unrivaled in their poisons and Konoha was the leader in the development of new medical jutsus. The two villages could learn a great deal from each other.
The SMRI building was located on the street behind the Suna Hospital. It looked like rest of the buildings in the village. It was beige in color and domed shaped. Inside the walls were painted a soothing shade of light blue, the white floor tiles shined from being polished daily, and the furniture was a modern mix of glass and chrome. It gave the impression of cleanliness and professionalism without being sterile or cold.
Sakura walked up to the front desk where a receptionist was reviewing a paper on a clipboard.
"Hello. How can I help you?" The receptionist asked looking up from her work.
"I am Haruno Sakura from the Leaf Village. I…"
"Oh, of course. I was told to expect you." The receptionist reached into a drawer and pulled out a file. "This contains everything you need to get started. On the first sheet you will find the room number to your lab. The next thing is a map of the building to help locate them. Also there is a list of people you may find useful and their contact information. You will need to go to room 101 to obtain you identification card. You will need to carry with you at all times since it shows your security clearance and it serves as the key to lab and office doors."
Sakura accepted the file and thanked the receptionist for her help. She pulled out the map, located room 101, and began making her way there.
Half an hour later she exited the ID room. She held up the three inch long laminated ID card. She grimaced at the grainy digital photo. Beneath the far from flattering picture was her name printed in bold kanji and under that were written the words 'all access'. Those two words meant that the magnetic strip on the back of the card would open all doors in the SMRI building. She attached the card onto her belt loop with a metal clip that was given to her along with the ID.
Opening the file the receptionist at the front desk gave her, she took out the paper with the room number to her lab, room 1483. She checked the map and located the nearest elevator.
The lab that would be hers for the duration of her exchange program wasn't large but had a floor to ceiling window which Sakura could tell was consider a luxury in Suna. There was a substantial work area that took up most of the room. She set her things down and began settling in.
The rest of the day went by quickly. The moment she had organized the things she had brought from Konoha, there was a knock on her door. A young woman with glasses and unruly hair who had been appointed Sakura's liaison gave her a tour of the facility and introduced her to the other employees. She was bombard with questions of the Leaf Village and their medical techniques. She was also given an extensive look at the greenhouse that provided many of the ingredients to Suna infamous poisons. She realized that what she had seen the first time she had come to the Sand Village was a very small potion of greenhouse.
Finally alone in her lab, Sakura pulled out a small of vile that contained a sample of Kakashi's blood. Her medical instincts told her that his illness the night before was more than just a result of drinking or eating Suna's unusual cuisine. Since she didn't really know what she was looking for she ran a variety of tests on the blood. The first tests only showed that Kakashi was in good health. His cholesterol, blood sugar, and chakra levels where all within the normal. When a test for toxins not usually found or produced by the human body came back with a high peak of an unfamiliar compound. She entered the chemical signature into the state of the art computer. The screen lit up with a photo of a small white flower labeled the desert lily. The description read
"This is a rare plant, indigenous to the deserts of the Wind Country. The inhabitants of the surrounding areas have used the flowers to brew a very potent beverage. Known to induce a state of euphoria. If not brewed correctly effects can range from the inability to lie to proving fatal."
