Konoha's Chef (Gaara Love Story)

39: Leaving home

Author's POV

While Akimi lied on the earthy floor of the forest, she had a prickling sensation in her head, like a stabbing needle that wouldn't go away. Grandpa Kosuke was nearby, mixing handmade ointments. Afterwards, he smeared the soothing cream over her face in attempts to ease her headache.

Hours later, almost dawn, running feet came towards them. Akimi snapped awake, but seeing Grandpa Kosuke not turning his view from the rising sun, she relaxed. Sakura bursted into the clearing, her cheeks tear-stained.

"Akimi! Sasuke left!"

"Did you tell Lady Hokage?" Akimi asked urgently, getting to her feet.

"Not yet. You were closer." The girls ran to the Hokage's office and within the minutes, teams of Genin were deployed to retrieve Sasuke.

"Shikamaru Nara, you will be the captain of this mission. You are to use any means necessary to get him back," Lady Hokage snapped at them all. "If violence is the answer the so be it. If he crosses the border or scratches out his forehead protector, then retrieving him won't be necessary. He would be known as a rogue ninja." Sakura gasped in horror, realizing with Lady Hokage meant.

"Hai!" Akimi turned to follow the others, but was stopped immediately.

"Not you, Akimi. I have something else for you."

The Hokage led the girl to the hospital and tied a nurse bandana on her arm. "I need you to be a nurse to help the injured when they come back. I know you have a strong understanding of poisons and medicines, so you will responsible for that."

"Hai." Akimi watched disappointedly as Lady Tsunade left. She set to work, carefully sorting out the medicines.

Fifteen hours later, a messenger alerted everyone in the hospital the Genin were back. Akimi raced down the hall and spotted Choji, Neji, and Lee on stretchers. Akimi hurried to the doctors examining, wondering what the report was. Although she was capable of examining patients herself, Akimi knew it was better to let the doctors do their job.

"Send him to the ER!" Akimi's heart beat quickened when she heard those words. As Choji was taken away, Akimi couldn't help but think about Sora. Wasn't Sora sent to the ER as well? Would Choji die as well?

No, Lady Tsunade is with us now, Akimi thought firmly. "Hello Lee. Come over here and let me get you some actual medicine, not liquor."

"Right! Guy Sensei say medicine is what improves one's health and youthfulness!" Akimi chuckled as they entered the medicine lab.

"Here you are," Akimi said, taking out a variety of pills and a glass of water. " Take them all. If you need more water, I can get you more."

"Thank you, Akimi-san!" Lee swallowed every pull, guzzled down the water, then promptly fainted. Akimi grunted as she carefully slung him over one shoulder, careful not to injure her stomach stitches. She disposed of his body in one room, letting another nurse take over. As she grabbed the next pills for Tenten, she noticed exactly how many pills there actually were.

"Hi, Tenten! Here you go!" Akimi watched as the girl struggled to swallow them all. After twenty minutes, Akimi came back to see Tenten throwing up on a larger gel pill.

"Sorry, Akimi," she groaned.

"It's all good," Akimi assured her, cleaning up the mess. Pills aren't good for her.

"Akimi!" The girl turned around to see Shikamaru and Lady Tsunade coming up to her.

"Yes? Hokage-sama?"

"Fix him up. His pinky is broken. When you're done, stand by the Emergency Room to se what kind of medicine Neji or Choji needs."

"Hai!"

Shikamaru gritted his teeth as Akimi jerked the limb back into placed and quickly bandaged it back together. "Thanks."

"You're fine now," Akimi said, examining his hands. "Let me get some stuff for that nasty cut on your arm." She turned around to fetch some ointments and bandages. "How was the mission?"

"A failure. Sasuke got away with the help of several other strong ninjas," Shikamaru explained. So Sasuke is leaving us for good Akimi thought disappointedly. Akimi didn't question him any further and followed him with a medicine cart to the outside of the ER where Neji was.

When she reached the hallway bench, she spotted two people she recognized well. "Gaara! Temari!"

"Hello, Akimi," Temari greeted. Gaara gave her a slight nod. "Do you work here now?"

"I guess temporarily," Akimi said, gesturing to the medicine cart. "At least until everyone is up and out of the hospital. But how did you get here?"

"We came on a mission deployed by the Hokage," Temari reported. "She asked us to come, so we came just in time to save them."

"Thank you very much," Akimi said, relieved. "I'm glad."

"Right, but I hear Neji and Choji are in critical conditions. I'm not sure--" she was cut off by a glare from Gaara.

"Temari," he warned. Temari looked over at Akimi and noticed the girl blinking back tears. Although Temari didn't hear the full story, she knew it wasn't okay to talk about death in front of Akimi.

"My bad, I'm sorry."

"No, it's.....anyways, are any of you guys injured?" Akimi asked, trying to avoid talking about her team.

"We're good, thank you," Temari said gratefully.