Suna's Ninja (Gaara Love Story)

12: Status: Poisoned

Author's POV

"Hey, Yamu. Why exactly are we called Khoatic Party?" Akimi asked. The boy refused to answer. "Uh, are you mute?" Yamu didn't reply with gestures either. "Can you hear me?"

For the most part, Yamu ignored her. She followed him routinely around the village, meeting other patrol ninjas along the way, but she never got a single word out of Yamu. They discovered several dead bodies near the entrance, which was strange, since there had been only reports of a single intruder. However, after someone had gone missing and hadn't reported in, it was safe to assume traitors had given information regarding the Kazekage.

Fifteen hours crawled by, and finally, the KP pair returned to the towers, where they were ordered to meet the KP team at the hospital.

"Is someone injured?" Akimi asked the messenger.

"Lord Kankuro is. He is poisoned. 'Go to the hospital, immediately' Jini orders," the girl answered.

"Right!" Yamu and Akimi raced down the streets and straight to the hospital. Jini stood up when he spotted his two subordinates.

"Yamu, go get the others. Akimi, stay," he ordered. The boy silently left without so much a word.

"What's wrong with Lord Kankuro?" Akimi asked breathlessly.

"Poison. According to our findings, we had a few traitors who wished to get rid of Lord Kazekage then proceeded to turn to Akatsuki for help and deserted our village. Hours after Lord Kazekage's kidnapping, we learned that the intruder had an compliance who was waiting right outside and killed several of our men while he was waiting for his partner. According to Lord Kankuro, he was a puppeteer like himself," Jini said swiftly. "There's been traces of foreign poison in his body. As someone who has been educated in the art of poison, they asked you to examine him."

"Hai! I'll do my best!"

"Hop to it then."

Akimi rolled up her sleeves, removed her cap, and washed her hands. She entered the ER and hurried to Kankuro's side. He was lying on an examining table, his entire face contorted in pain. His body spasmed at irregular intervals. Akimi began her started the procedure to examine the victim.

I can definitely tell there some kind of poison inside him that's breaking down his internal organs slowly, but what medicine do I make to rid of it? Akimi thought frantically. It's ironic that as a doctor, I specialize in creating poison and not a strong antidote to fight against it. It will be my downfall someday.

"Do you know anything, Akimi-san?" A doctor asked. "We have never seen this kind of poison or a victim's reaction to such a foreign substance....."

"I don't possess the skill to extract instantly, but within fifteen minutes, he will die," Akimi said. "The only thing I can do right now to whip up some medicine that can destroy the poison, but I won't have much time."

"We called Konoha to help as well," another doctor pipped up. "Maybe then?"

"If only Sakura was here. Maybe she would know," Akimi muttered. Like Captain Levi says, I have to make a choice that I will least regret. If I make an antidote now, I might be able to save him just in time! Besides, it's better than nothing, and at least I know that later on, I had done something rather than nothing at all. She looked determinedly at Kankuro. I'll take the risk!

"Alright. I'm going to go make an antidote. I have a basic idea and have encountered situations like this before, so please don't worry. For now, please keep him comfortable as possible and try to buy me an extra three minutes," Akimi yelled, running out of the room. She nearly tripped while trying to reach the herb gardens in the hospital's greenhouse.

Akimi set to work, using her memory to recreate her antidote. Her hands flew, every move remembering what ingredient was needed to add to the bowl. Akimi worked quickly as possible, her mind constantly repeating the same phrase over and over. Please make it in time!