Hello everyone Shinonigga here with a new chapter for you. Sorry it took me so long to update but you know how it is. And a big thank you to all the readers for pushing this story to over three hundred reviews. Well anyway enough talk let's just get on with the chapter.
Chapter 15: Finding a Cure
"What do you mean our mission was canceled for today!?" Naruto shouted while pointing an excusing finger towards Haku.
"You really don't need to yell at me." Haku stated with a sigh as he made his way into the clearing where Naruto and Hinata had been waiting for him and Shizune to arrive. "It would seem Kaasan has requested Shizune-sensei's presence at the hospital." Haku explained to an irate Naruto and quiet Hinata.
Naruto quirked his eyebrow as he took a seat in the grass. "What could be going on at the hospital that's more important then our first mission?" Naruto grumbled.
"Actually what's going on at the hospital is far more important then our mission which I was informed was just retrieving a lost cat." Haku countered.
"Out with it all ready just what in the hell is going on?" Naruto demanded to know, while Hinata nodded her head in agreement.
"Promise you won't overreact?" Haku questioned carefully.
"Yeah yeah just let us know already." Naruto replied irritably.
"It's Kimimaro-san." Haku started and both Naruto and Hinata were on full alert. "Apparently he's been conflicted with an illness of sorts, and Kaasan needs Shizune-sensei's assistance with dealing with the matter." Haku explained.
"That's terrible." Hinata offered in a quiet tone.
"What Kimimaro's sick!? Why the hell wasn't I told about this!?" Naruto shouted while hopping to his feet.
"It's not like any of us were told prior to this either." Haku retorted. "In fact Kaasan herself only learned about it yesterday, that's why neither she nor Kimimaro-san returned home last night. For Kaasan had been running test on Kimimaro-san all last night." Haku concluded.
Naruto remained quiet for a moment as he aloud what he'd heard to sink in before he spoke back up. "It's nothing really bad is it?" Naruto questioned. "I mean it's not like he could die or something right?"
"I'm not sure" Haku answered quietly. "I only have the limited information that Shizune-sensei left for us." Haku finished.
"Then why are we just standing around here?" Naruto piped back in. "I say we head over to the hospital and find out the full details." Naruto suggested.
"Sorry that won't be possible." Haku stated. "Shizune-sensei left specific directions for our team for today."
"Directions?" Hinata questioned. "What is it were to do?"
"Well you and I are to help out with the new first year academy students." Haku stated to Hinata before turning to Naruto. "And you're to fill in for Kimimaro-san on team seven." Haku finished.
"Bull!" Naruto shouted in protest. "Why do I get stuck with the avenger!?"
"I don't know." Haku offered with a shrug. "Those just were the directions Shizune-sensei left for us." Haku finished as he handed Naruto a sheet with the directions to meet team seven.
Naruto snatched the paper from Haku obviously upset with the turn of events. "Who'd ever thought I'd be doing my first real mission as a ninja with a team that's not my team?"
"It's not all bad." Hinata offered. "We'll still have our first mission as team six together."
"I guess." Naruto replied with a sigh, as he looked at the directions on the sheet of paper he'd taken from Haku. "I just hope Kakashi-sensei doesn't have us waiting all day." Naruto added before waving Haku and Hinata off and walking away.
(Ten Minutes Later)
Naruto arrived at the designated spot he was instructed to go to, which was a bridge over a small stream on the outskirts of the village. When he arrived he noticed he wasn't the first one to arrive for Both Yukamo and Sasuke were already there. Yakumo was leaning over the railing of the bridge staring blankly at the stream below. Sasuke for his part was stationed under the shade of a tree a short distance away from the bridge.
Naruto sighed as he made his way over towards them. Yakumo didn't notice his approach considering she was staring down at the stream, and Sasuke simply looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Whatcha lookin at!?" Naruto questioned loudly, startling Yakumo in the process.
"N-Naruto!?" Yakumo chorused after she regained her composure. "Don't scare me like that again." She lightly scolded.
"Sorry" Naruto stated while rubbing the back of his head bashfully. "I didn't know you were so into whatever you were looking at." Naruto explained.
"No I'm just bored really." Yakumo confirmed. "Kimimaro-kun and Kakashi-sensei haven't arrived yet so it's just been me and Sasuke." Yakumo explained before she whispered in a hush tone. "Plus Sasuke has been really moody this morning, because of the bet he lost with Kimimaro-kun."
"Bet?" Naruto questioned as he turned to Sasuke.
Sasuke caught Naruto staring at him and he snorted as he turned his head away considering he knew what was about to happen.
"Yeah during our Genin test Kimimaro-kun made a bet with Sasuke that our objective was teamwork." Yakumo explained to Naruto. "If Sasuke lost he had to take Sakura out on a date."
"Say what!?" Naruto shouted, before turning his attention to Sasuke. "Kimimaro made you go on a date with Sakura, your number one fan-girl!?" Naruto stated as he burst into laughter. "I never knew he had it in him." Naruto proclaimed.
"Ch would you just shut up?" Sasuke muttered through gritted teeth.
"Not before I get all the details." Naruto reasoned.
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "There's nothing to tell."
"Oh come on there has to be something to report." Yakumo interjected considering she wished to know the details as well.
"We went out for dinner nothing more nothing less." Sasuke answered bluntly.
"You mean to tell me Sakura didn't try to get fresh with you?" Yakumo challenged.
Sasuke cheeks tinted slightly pink, but he didn't say anything further on the matter. Yakumo and Naruto were debating trying to pin down the Uchiha until he spilt all the details but Kakashi had chosen that moment to arrive.
"Yo" he announced as the cloud of smoke he appeared in began to dissipate.
"Wow it's weird to see you on time for anything." Naruto noted to Kakashi. "Kaasan must have really been busting your ass about it huh?"
Kakashi rolled his one visible eye at the statement, but other wise ignored it. "Well let's get going team we got a busy day after all." Kakashi confirmed to the trio.
"Wait a minute Kakashi-sensei." Yakumo cut in. "What about Kimimaro-kun, he still hasn't arrived."
Kakashi raised his eyebrow. "That's because he won't be joining us today." Kakashi confirmed. "Didn't you wonder why Naruto was here?" he added in.
"I guess I hadn't really." Yakumo answered with a shrug.
"Why isn't he here?" Sasuke cut in.
"Health issues." Kakashi stated bluntly. "But he has two of the best medics working on him as we speak, so he'll probably be back with us in no time."
"Probably?" Yakumo retorted. "If he has two of the best medics working on him shouldn't it be a sure thing then?" Yakumo challenged.
Kakashi sighed, he figured Yakumo would take the news heavier then anyone else.
"Something serious must be going on if that's the case." Yakumo summarized as she turned her attention to Naruto, whom shrunk under her piercing gaze. "Alright Naruto start talking."
Naruto waved his hands out in front of him in a defensive manner. "Hey I know just as much about it as everyone else here, honest." Naruto explained.
"I find that hard to believe." Yakumo snapped with her hands placed on her hips. "You two might as well be brothers, there's no way you don't know what's going on."
"Yakumo" Kakashi piped in turning a lazy eye towards the girl. "Naruto is being completely truthful in his proclamation, so trying to get information out of him that he doesn't' have would just be a waste of time." Kakashi summarized. "Now as I've said before we have a busy day so let's get to it."
Yakumo's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Very well Kakashi-sensei." Yakumo stated as she turned to follow Kakashi and Sasuke who'd both already began to walk in the direction of the Hokage tower.
(Hospital)
Tsunade looked over the charts in her hand with a perplexed expression on her face. So far all her attempts to neutralize Kimimaro's illness had failed. She was thankful that his sickness was still in its earlier stages and she had plenty of time to figure something out.
Meanwhile Shizune had an equally frustrated expression plastered on her face as she stared down at Kimimaro who was lying down on a bed with an unreadable expression. She knew time was on their side, but that didn't make the seriousness of Kimimaro's situation any less grim. He was her little brother after all and she couldn't stand the thought of losing someone so precious to her.
At that moment Tsunade slouched down in a nearby chair and rubbed her temples to help elevate her current headache. "Damn it Shizune, I just don't know what to do. This illness is so foreign to me; I don't even know where to start."
Shizune nodded her head in agreement. "It's definitely like nothing we've ever seen in fire country, this sickness must originate from the land of water." Shizune summarized.
"Yeah, I came to that same conclusion last night." Tsunade confirmed. "The only problem is, since it originates from water country the means to cure it may just as well be there."
"So what do you suggest?" Shizune questioned.
Tsunade was quiet for a moment before finally answering. "I need you to go down to the medical archives." Tsunade explained. "Find and bring back any book pertaining to illness originating from water country, do that now."
"Of course, I'll see that it's done immediately." Shizune confirmed with a bow and excusing herself from the room.
"I'm sorry to have caused you and Shizune-neesan so much trouble." Kimimaro piped in while staring blankly up at the ceiling.
Tsunade sighed. "What did I tell you before Kimi-chan? I won't have much more of you belittling your own worth, is that understood?"
Kimimaro simply nodded his head.
"But on a further note." Tsunade stated as she stood up from her chair and walked over towards a plant that was situated in the corner of the room and stopping in front of it. "I'm sure Shizune gave you specific orders for today, am I right Naruto-chan!?"
The plant shuddered before popping into a cloud of smoke revealing a crouched down Naruto in its place.
"How'd you know it was me?" Naruto questioned while standing to his feet.
Tsunade folded her arms over her chest. "You don't think I'm perceptible enough to not notice a plant that wasn't there a moment ago?"
"Well who actually pays that much attention to their surrounding anyway?" Naruto fired back.
"Skilled ninja are always on guard." Tsunade returned. "But enough of that, just what in the hell are you doing here?"
"What's it look like?" Naruto shot back. "I came to see what's up with Kimimaro obviously."
"I'm aware of that." Tsunade rebuked. "But you were given orders by your Sensei to fill in for Kimi-chan on squad seven. You just can't abandon your duties whenever you're in the mood."
"I'm not that irresponsible." Naruto proclaimed while folding his arms over his chest. "When Haku gave me the directions to where to meet squad seven I sent a shadow clone in my place." Naruto explained. "They'll never know the difference."
Tsunade glared down at Naruto for a moment before sighing in defeat. "Fine you're just lucky I have use for you other wise I'd be sending you back to where you should be."
Naruto quirked his eyebrow. "What do you mean you have use for me?"
Tsunade went back over to her seat and sat back down. "I suspect Shizune will bring in a great deal of books, I'll need you and your shadow clones to help us read through them. The more we can get covered the better." Tsunade explained.
Naruto's face faulted at that information. "Hey I didn't come here to read!"
"Well you shouldn't have come at all then, just think of this as your punishment for disobeying orders." Tsunade offered casually.
Naruto grumbled something under his breath before walking up to Kimimaro's bed side and taking the empty seat next to it.
"Alright so how long did you think you were going to keep this a secret from us huh?" Naruto demanded to know. "This isn't a damn cold, you just can't go around ignoring things like this."
Kimimaro tried to offer another weak excuse, but Naruto kept going not giving him the chance to speak.
"I mean what were you thinking? You could have been assigned to an important mission, before falling ill and putting your entire team in danger." Naruto scolded as his gaze found Tsunade. "You always say that Kimimaro's the smartest next to Haku, but I'd never do anything as dumb as what he had."
Tsunade rolled her eyes. "I recall saying Kimi-chan's fighting abilities are more strategic then yours. That's not comparing overall intelligence." Tsunade countered.
"Thin line if you ask me." Naruto countered with a snort.
"Would you just give it a rest?" Tsunade advised. "Kimi-chan knows he made a mistake so shut up all ready and quite reminding him!"
Naruto looked like he wanted to say more on the matter, but the stern gaze Tsunade gave him quickly made him rethink that action.
After a good twenty minutes of relative silence between the three, Shizune had finally returned. She along with three clones of herself came in, each holding a good seven to ten books in their arms.
"These are all the books I could find, with relative information and documented diseases native to water country." Shizune explained before her eyes found Naruto. "Naruto-kun? I thought I left…"
"Don't even bother." Tsunade says cutting Shizune off mid sentence. "You know he's stubborn as a mule, besides I was right an assuming we'd need his help." Tsunade added while observing the numerous books Shizune had brought in.
Shizune nodded her agreement as she sat the books down on a nearby table. "Well Naruto-kun, have at it." Shizune offered while her clones each took a book and began skimming through them.
Naruto counted the books and quickly made a corresponding amount of clones to read them.
"What exactly are we looking for in these books?" Naruto questioned as he watched the frustrated looks on his clones faces as they read.
"Look for anything involving internal fluid build up." Shizune answered while flipping to the next page in the book she was currently reading through.
Three hours later Tsunade found herself growing steadily more frustrated. They just couldn't seem to find what they were looking for no matter how hard they searched. Tsunade debated in calling for a break, but at that moment she had finally read a passage that pertained to what she was searching for.
As she read she noticed all of Kimimaro's symptoms were there. She found the discovery a bitter sweet find, considering the illness was documented but unfortunately the cure for it was marked as incomplete.
"That's enough searching." Tsunade piped in, causing Shizune, Naruto and their clones to look up from what they were reading.
"Then have you found something on what were looking for?" Shizune asked while dispelling her clones, and Naruto did the same.
"I have." Tsunade answered with a yawn. "But we still have a problem." Tsunade added.
"What's the problem now then?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Well the cure that's documented is still incomplete." Tsunade began. "It seems that someone was close to creating one, but fell just short of it." Tsunade explained while handing the book over to Shizune.
Shizune skimmed over the passage for a moment before speaking. "Well judging by the components they were using for the cure, what they have written would work temporarily for Kimimaro-kun's illness." Shizune confirmed.
"I know, but it's still missing something that could stabilize it permanently." Tsunade acknowledged while holding her chin in a thinking pose. "We need something with a powerful immunosuppressive make up."
"Immunosuppressive?" Naruto questioned allowed.
"Kimimaro-kun's antibodies are blocking his acetylcholine receptors in his lungs, which control how the lungs function. We've discovered it's an autoimmune disorder, which means Kimimaro-kun's body is essentially attacking itself." Shizune explained. "A immunosuppressive will counter act these antibodies that are doing harm to Kimimaro-kun." Shizune concluded.
Naruto looked completely dumbfounded at Shizune's explanation, so he decided to just go with it. "Well if you know what we need, why not just get it then?"
"Well it's not really that simple Naruto-kun" Shizune explained. "To be honest I really don't know of anything that contains a high enough concentration of immunosuppressive we'll need." Shizune confirmed.
"No I think I may know of something." Tsunade cut back in. "During our time in water country I recall hearing about a plant that contained an incredible amount of immunosuppressive components." Tsunade stated. "But I can't remember exactly what it was called." She added.
"Can you even remember what it looks like?" Naruto questioned considering he felt he could probably confirm the plant through description alone.
"I remember the flower portion of it resembled a bird or parrot." Tsunade answered.
Naruto's eyes widened. "You don't mean impatiens psittacina do you?"
"Yeah that sounds familiar, but why do you sound so shocked?" Tsunade asked carefully.
"Well that plant is indigenous to water country." Naruto confirmed. "Not only is it extremely rare it's insanely difficult to grow, even for me." Naruto concluded.
Tsunade quirked her eyebrow. "I thought you said that plant was indigenous to water country, so how'd you get your hands on one?"
"I got a special order of seeds from the Yamanaka shop." Naruto explained. "I had to considering even the Yamanaka's don't keep the plant it self on hand, do to its rarity and difficultly to grow."
"But why did you have need for this specific plant Naruto-kun?" Shizune questioned.
"Well I was trying to create a Jutsu that reanimated the bird like petals of the flower; needless to say I've had no luck so far." Naruto acknowledged with a bashful grin displayed across his face.
"Well that's a moot point; the important thing here is that you have exactly what were looking for." Tsunade stated. "I need you to bring that flower here right away." Tsunade ordered more so then requested.
Naruto nodded his head vigorously before he shunshend out of the room.
"Do you believe this can really work?" Kimimaro questioned feeling a spark of hope. He still had his goals in life and not seeing his goals completed scared him more so then actually dying.
"Of course Kimi-chan." Tsunade assured him. "I'm not a renowned healer for nothing." Tsunade added.
Elsewhere Naruto appeared in his room. Quickly locating the flower in question, that was positioned in a darker corner of his room he knelt down next to it. "You owe me one for this Kimimaro." Naruto muttered as he picked up the plant. "It took me damn near three months to grow just one of these things." Naruto confirmed before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.
Tsunade and Shizune both perked up when they felt Naruto's chakra swiftly approaching. In the next moment Naruto appeared back in the room holding the desired plant in his arms.
"It's beautiful." Shizune muttered while observing the plant in Naruto's arms. "How come I've never noticed it in your room before?" Shizune questioned.
Naruto walked over and sat the plant down on a counter and stepped back to admire his work on growing such a fine specimen. "You probably never noticed it, because I keep it in a dark corner of my room during the day." Naruto explained. "This particular plant is one of the few species that grow better under moonlight as opposed to sunlight."
"So you hid it away during the day, and bring it out during the night to absorb moonlight." Tsunade summarized gaining a nod from Naruto.
"That's right it was tedious work, but you see the results." Naruto stated, while grinning at the plant.
"Why didn't you just you use your Jutsu to grow it instantly?" Kimimaro piped in.
"Because I wanted to genuinely see if I was up for the task of growing one the proper way. They say only the best florist can produce one of these plants." Naruto explained "Well at least that's what Ino told me." Naruto concluded.
After Naruto's brief explanation Tsuande walked over to the plant and observed it. True to what its name implied the plant had a strikingly close appearance to that of a parrot. 'I know you Naruto-chan I'd say you weren't able to grow it with your Ninjutsu, so you did it the old fashioned way.' Tsunade thought while staring at the plant. It almost made her feel guilty that she would soon have to butcher the poor thing.
"Shizune." Tsunade broke in. "You already know what we'll need to prepare an antidote, bring those ingredients' and all the necessary equipment here immediately." Tsunade commanded.
"Right away." Shizune added swiftly, before excusing herself from the room.
Tsunade then reached into a nearby cabinet and pulled out a small bowl. "You're probably going to hat me for this Naruto-chan." Tsunade stated before pulling off the flower from its stem and placing it into the bowl.
At seeing the plant pretty much decapitated, Naruto felt like a small piece of him actually died with the plant.
"Sorry Hana." Naruto whispered under his breath.
Kimimaro quirked his eyebrow considering he had heard Naruto. "You actually named that plant?"
Naruto's face slightly tinted pink. "Hehe well I couldn't help it." Naruto tried to defend his actions. "After all the nurturing of that plant, I almost felt like a real parent to it you know what I mean?"
"I'm afraid I don't." Kimimaro answered truthfully.
Naruto merely sighed. He was never truly a fan of how blunt and straight to the point Kimimaro could be. Sometimes he wished Kimimaro would adopt the human races number one tendency to lie sometimes. At least that would make holding a conversation with him that much easier.
Meanwhile Tsunade listened in on the two boys as she got to work on grinding and kneading the flower to dust. She would never openly admit it, but she thought the way Naruto felt for the plant was somewhat adorable. It showed her that Naruto would definitely be the family man out of her three boys, and she could surely expect grandchildren in the future from him.
'Grandchildren' she thought bitter sweetly. 'Am I really getting that old, that the thought of having grandchildren actually excites me!?'
Tsunade was brought out of her musings at the sound of Shizune walking back into the room and carting all the necessary supplies behind her. "As you ordered Lady Tsunade, these are the necessary items to produce the cure." Shizune confirmed while taking out the contents from the cart and setting them up.
"Good, I'll finish grinding up this psittacina while you get to work on combining and deluding all the required anti-inflammatory agents." Tsunade instructed.
Shizune instantly began to work on what she was ordered to.
As this was going on Naruto and Kimimaro watched the two women work with mild interest. To be honest with themselves they found just watching two people grind, and combine nameless ingredients together proved more then boring. Thankfully for Naruto and Kimimaro the whole ordeal only took about an hour.
Tsunade wiped the bit of sweat from her brow as she observed the small glass bottle in her hand, filled with a light purple liquid. "That should just about do it." Tsunade confirmed.
Shizune nodded her head in agreement. "Shall we put it to the test then Lady Tsunade?" Shizune questioned.
"I think we should." Tsunade confirmed while reaching into her coat pocket and pulling out a syringe. Filling the syringe with the necessary amount of antidote, Tsunade made her way over towards Kimimaro. "Alright Kimi-chan hold still, this might sting a bit." Tsunade warned as she stuck Kimimaro with the needle.
Kimimaro showed no reaction to being injected with the antidote what so ever.
Once Tsunade had finished with her task she took a step back and simply stared at Kimimaro for a moment. "How are you feeling?" Tsunade asked carefully.
"More or less the same." Kimimaro answered. "Are the effects supposed to be immediate?"
"I'd suspect so." Tsunade answered as she crouched down next to Kimimaro. "Let's have a look on the inside." Tsunade suggested as her palm began to glow green and she placed it on Kimimaro's chest.
After a moment of complete silence Tsunade pulled her hand away from Kimimaro's chest and stared at him. "Even after all this time, I still haven't lost my touch." Tsunade confirmed, with a wide grin on her face.
Shizune eyes widened. "Then his condition…"
Tsunade nodded her head. "Is completely stabilized." Tsunade confirmed while ruffling Kimimaro's hair. "I suggest you count your blessing Kimi-chan, for I doubt any other medic would have been able to cure you of this."
Kimimaro allowed a small smile to grace his lips. "Thank you Kaasan." Kimimaro stated while wrapping Tsunade in a bone crushing hug.
"Easy, are you trying to squeeze the life out of me?" Tsunade playfully scolded before returning the hug.
Meanwhile Naruto snorted. "You should be thanking me; after all I had to sacrifice Hana for you." Naruto pouted.
"It was just a plant, grow another one." Tsunade stated.
"What was that!?" Naruto shouted obviously angry that his baby was being compared to your everyday garden variety plant. "Hana was special." Naruto acknowledged with slumped shoulders.
Tsunade merely rolled her eyes while Shizune had a sympathetic look on her face, as she placed her hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I don't know if it's any consolation but Hana was surely going to die once we went on an extended mission. At least this way her death wasn't in vein." Shizune offered.
'Who'd ever thought he'd get so attached to a damn plant.' Tsunade thought while observing Naruto.
Kimimaro for his part stared at Naruto with the most sympathetic face he could muster. Which was hardly a step up from neutral. "I'm sorry that you lost something dear to you, for my sake." Kimimaro offered. "I'll do what I can to pay you back." Kimimaro concluded.
Naruto just stared at Kimimaro for a moment before he burst out laughing. "Oh come on Kimimaro you really think that you owe me an apology, for a plant!? Your life is obviously more important to me then some flower." Naruto assured Kimimaro. Even though he was silently weeping inside for his lost of Hana.
Well there you have it, I know it was on the short side but trying to write a full chapter on Kimimaro's sickness was quite difficult. There's really no information on what disease Kimimaro was actually conflicted with so I had to make it up on my own. And I didn't just want to have a few lines where Tsunade makes a cure without showing how she did it. Well anyway now that that's out of the way the fun can finally begin. Next chapter the missions start, so I hope you're looking forward to it. As for now please review and I'll see you with the next chapter.