The Red String of Fate

Sickness - Sakura

"You stayed with Lady Z? Isn't she great?"

Ino and Sakura were walking to the Hatake Residence; Mizuka had asked them to come over. She was taking Sakura to the hospital to train and needed Ino to watch Kakashi Sensei, who had developed a fever. Ino was gushing with excitement at the news that she had spent the night there a few days ago.

"She's really nice. I can't wait to get to know her better. And I finally got to see Kakashi Sensei without his mask."

Ino squealed.

"Isn't he adorable? You should've been around him in Tenchi. He's even more laid back there. And all of the healers tease him mercilessly."

They opened the front door.

"Hey, Sis! I'm here with Ino!"

They headed to the bedroom. Kakashi was laying there in the bed, burning up with fever. Mizuka sat on the edge of the bed, holding his hand.

"I've just administered the medicine, so we won't know for a couple of hours. Are you sure you're okay watching over him, Ino?"

"Leave it to me. I'll keep him hydrated and comfortable."

***

"Hey, Anko. I brought Sakura along with me. I hope that's okay."

Sakura followed the Big Sister into a room at the hospital that she hadn't seen before. There was some type of dialysis machine in the corner, and a bed next to it, where Anko was laying.

"You know I don't care, Z. It's good to see you, Sakura."

Sakura bowed to her. Mizuka made her way to the machine, unpackaging some clean tubing and fiddling with it.

"How have you been feeling?"

"Much better since I don't have to travel to Tenchi for treatment anymore. You're moving here has been a lifesaver."

Sakura went to watch her sister work, getting Anko settled into the bed properly and cleaning her arm with an iodine wash. She spoke as she tied the tourniquet and found a suitable vein in the crease of her arm.

"Anko picked up a nasty blood disorder from Lord Orochimaru when he bit her and left his mark. Probably something already embedded into that host."

Sakura's eyes grew wide.

"Sasuke has that mark!"

"That bastard Sensei of mine bit me and now I have some weird organism mutating my blood cells."

MIzuka took the needle and stuck it into Anko's vein; she didn't flinch.

"For the past ten years, Anko has been my pet project on the side, if you will. I've isolated the organism, studied it, and I'm currently looking for a cure. But, for now, the best I can do is clean her blood once a month with this machine I created. It centrifuges the organisms to the top of the chamber, because they're less dense than the red blood cells. From there, I can filter them from the plasma, return the plasma to the cells to form clean, whole blood again, and return that to her body."

"That's incredible."

"It takes about five cycles to filter the organisms, and I keep the organisms to see how they've mutated. I study and I document and see what is effective against them."

Anko grinned.

"Your sister is the most dedicated healer I've ever met. Who would take ten years to assess a rare blood disorder on one kunoichi?"

Mizuka clicked on the machine and ruffled Anko's purple hair.

"I'm not going to let you die without a fight. Besides, this is groundbreaking work."

Anko smirked.

"This is also the best time to get the juicy bits of Z's relationship out of her. But, maybe not so much today. Sakura probably doesn't want to hear that."

Sakura blushed a little.

"Are things getting better for you two finally?"

"Yeah, we've kissed and made up, for sure."

"Did you play the sexy wife?"

"Met him at the door with just a pink apron on and the cake I made him. I had him asking for dinner first-"

Both women were laughing.

"You two looked cozy at the Rinne Festival-"

Sakura tried to tune the two kunoichi out, instead watching the cylinder attached to the machine fill with blood. When it was almost full, it began to spin aggressively, separating the red cells from the yellow plasma, and then a purple film began to grow on top. Mizuka snapped her blue medical gloves on and removed the top of the cylinder, straining the purple from the top and and placing it in a biohazard jar. She snapped the top back on and let the cylinder empty back through the needle. Mizuka took the sample and headed back over to the desk, pipetting some of the purple onto a glass slide and putting it under the microscope.

"Is Kakashi feeling better, Z?"

"Oh, he's still as sick as can be. Whatever's going around is no joke. But, I'm pretty sure I've pinpointed the culprit and found the correct medicinal cocktail. I'll know when I get back; Ino's sitting with him for now."

Anko sighed.

"He's always been lucky, having ladies around him that truly care about him. I bet he's getting bossed around by Ino right now. He's always been lucky like that."

Mizuka was making notes.

"Well, he's good looking, and he's kind. And he knows how to treat women well. And he's had plenty of face time with the healers in Tenchi; they give him a lot of shit."

"As I recall, Ino was pretty good at this. Yohe was the one who was not very good."

Both Anko and Z laughed. Mizuka turned to Sakura.

"Yohe took this process over while I was travelling with Lady Tsunade on our two year healing trip. I'm trying to train more people so Yohe won't have to do this again. Of course, I'd prefer to do it, and I'd prefer to find a cure. I hoping that the new greenhouse in Tenchi will be a game changer. We'll have more access to different plants in the microclimates we'll be able to produce. I'm hoping the answer lies there."

Anko smiled.

"Me too."

"How do you know Mizuka, Anko Sensei?"

Sakura was intrigued by the strange closeness of the relationship the two had.

"We went to the ninja academy together. She, Kurenai, and I were very close. Of course, she up and left at 14 to train in Tenchi. I reconnected with her when I ended up in Tenchi deathly ill and looking for answers. She was assigned as my doctor and she's been working on my case ever since."

"I really do think I'm close to finding a cure for this thing. I have the feeling the plant I need is in the Tenchi greenhouse. I'll make a trip up there soon and see what they have."

***

The sisters arrived home to Kakashi sitting on the couch, wrapped in a blanket and sipping on a cup of hot tea. Ino was sitting next to him.

"Hey you two. Feeling better, Kakashi?"

"Yep, between the medicine you gave me and Ino's care, I'm finally beginning to feel better.  How's Anko?"

Mizuka sighed.

"The same, but her spirits are high.  I really am hopeful that we are close to curing her.  Everyone in this village sure could use a break."