A/N: So... this one's completely in script-form, because dear Lord this thing got long. Like... 90 pages on Google Docs long. So enjoy several installments of Team Miki and Team Hibiki battling a disease in Suna! In script-form! 

Ari: *waiting impatiently at the village entrance, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, foot tapping against the compacted sand* *looks furtively between the two guards stationed on either side of her, feeling annoyed at their difference in height; mentally berates herself for something so trivial bothering her at this point* *mumbling to herself* Dammit, where the hell are they...?

Scar: *just arriving at the entrance, sidles up to Ari, tapping her shoulder to gain her attention* Still no sign of them, I see.

Ari: *snorts* I thought Gaara told 'em to rush...

Scar: *her mouth dipping into a stern frown* They'll arrive shortly, I'm sure of it. And when they do we'll escort them directly to the hospital. Don't fret so obviously; it's unbecoming, especially for you.

Ari: *shoots Scar an unamused scowl, but doesn't react beyond that, her attention once again fixated on the horizon, looking for any sign of the team they'd called in to help*

Momoe: *glancing back at the others just after she caught sight of the entrance in the distance* Looks like we're almost there.

Kazue: *nods seriously, her mind still flickering through all of the information and possible treatments she's been pondering over the entire trip, even more silent than she usually would be*

Jun: *cheerfully* Bet we'll get a warm welcome, huh?

Momoe: We'll get something. *increases her speed, her frame tense as they get closer seeing as all they know about the situation was what was in the request for assistance letter the village got*

Jun: *when he can make out the people at the entrance begins waving his hand* Hey! Scar-chan! Ari-chan!

Kazue: *slightly surprised, but doesn't say anything as she focuses on continuing her thoughts on the mission*

Ari: *not exactly in the mood to be her usual chipper self, instantly latches onto Kazue and Jun's wrists and begins hauling them into the village, nodding to the guards as she passes to show the newcomers are friendly* Yo, nice to see you. Now shut up and get moving, we need all the help we can get.

Scar: *normally apologetic, she too forgoes her usual reactions as she gestures for Noriaki and Momoe to follow her, turning on her heel and quickening her pace to catch up to Ari* *speaking over her shoulder in a quiet, somber tone* We're sorry to be so rude. I know you've only just arrived, but the situation is becoming more dire by the hour. And... *debates for a moment whether the information is worthy sharing at this juncture; eventually sighs, her eyes closing momentarily* We have a personal desire to see this disease - whatever it may be - eradicated.

Kazue: *makes the connection rather quickly, stiffening as she allows herself to be hauled along by Ari* ...Violet? *guesses*

Jun: *glances between them as they go, swallowing thickly as his cheerful expression drops away*

Momoe: *notes their reactions and makes a decision rather quickly* We'll start working right away. *decisively* Noriaki-kun, Kazue-chan, and I are all trained so just direct us to where we need to go. Jun-kun can report on our arrival if that's needed.

Noriaki: *nods his agreement with her words, having stayed silent this entire time*

Ari: *bitterly, her grip on Jun and Kazue tightening* Huh. That's nice and all *referring to the fact that the three of them are trained in medical ninjutsu* but we have pretty damn skilled people here, ya know? And they haven't been able to do shit. So I guess I'm sorry for being a little bitch, but my hopes aren't exactly soaring just 'cause you guys showed up.

Scar: *watches Ari with a tense, sympathetic expression, her charcoal eyes softening* *to Kazue* It's not Violet - she rarely ever succumbs to sickness, this time being no exception. It's...

Ari: *shortly* Hibiki-sensei.

Scar: *smiles sadly* He was one of the first shinobi to contract the disease; we haven't been able to see him for days, as only trained medical personnel are allowed within the hospital at the moment. That's why Ari was so anxious for you all to come; while with you, we'll have access to our sensei again. *turning to Momoe* Jun won't have any need to report your coming, the elders and Gaara are currently camped out near the hospital. They'll see you soon enough. And as for directing you, I'm afraid you'll have to ask the medical staff about that. Ari and I will be as blind as you going in.

Jun: *yeah, even his usual smile is missing at this point as he focuses on Momoe for a moment after Scar finishes speaking* Momoe-sensei, you can convince them to let you check on Hibiki-sensei first, right? *urgest* Right?

Momoe: *slightly surprised seeing as Jun doesn't really request things of her seeing as he's usually testing her boundaries with her temper instead* *considers this, then nods agreement* I can try.

Jun: *somewhat mollified by that, but his pace still picking up somewhat*

Kazue: *chews on her lip for a moment before placing her other hand atop of where Ari's is gripping other one* If it helps at all, Ari-chan, Momoe-sensei is Tsunade-sama's daughter. She's learned from the best. *in a tone that says she doesn't figure this will help much, but that it's the only helpful thought she can think of to say* *eyes trained on where she can see the hospital, her mind still rolling over the symptoms*

Scar: *nods gratefully to Momoe, though her hands clench of their own volition, and she tucks them against her chest in the hopes of dulling the severity of the gesture* That's too kind of you, Momoe-sensei... But Hibiki-sensei is somewhat stable, from what we've gathered; they'll more than likely press you to see to the patients who are faring worse. *a small, flickering smile appears on her lips when she catches Jun's eye, telling him she's happy he tried to help, regardless of how futile the attempt's proved to be*

Ari: *starts, realizing she's forgotten something rather important, and abruptly spins around, halting Jun and Kazue with a hand positioned at their chests* Right, right, can't let you guys near the hospital without these... *satisfied everyone's stopped moving, slips a bag from her shoulder, flipping it upside down and scattering its contents over the sand* *crouches down, snatching a few of the plain, cotton masks and tossing them out to the Konoha nin* Wear these, 'else you're gonna get your asses kicked out before you even take a step inside the hospital. *grumbling, hopefully too low for the others to hear* Damn medic nin, how the hell is their left hook that good...?

Scar: *tugs her own mask up over her mouth and nose, careful to ensure the straps around her ears are secure, then drops down next to Ari to adjust her mask for her*

Kazue: *grabs the mask, slipping it over her face although she's not all that concerned about it, one of the main reasons she's a good shinobi for this mission being that with her bloodline limit it's basically impossible for her to get sick*

Momoe: *slips it on, making sure it's secure before carefully watching to make sure Jun and Noriaki do the same, not about to allow her team to go down seeing as she'd never hear the end of it, plus she's a bit fond of them at this point* *when she's satisfied, turns her attention back to the Suna-nin* We're ready to head in.

Jun: *fidgeting with the mask, but not enough to knock it out of place* *internally wondering how Kakashi deals with having something over his face all the time because just this little thing is bothering him* *would make a smart comment seeing as he'd barely picked up on Ari's grumbling, but is rather certain that now is not the time to make jokes* Let's get going. *agrees*

Scar: Ari will show you in, and Violet should be here any moment. *stands, dusting the sand from her clothes, front and back* I told Gaara I'd visit when we had confirmation of your arrival, so if you'll excuse me... *slips away, disappearing around the corner of an aging apartment complex*

Ari: *sighs tiredly, her abundance of energy having been reduced to pathetic tatters with all the stress piling on her shoulders* *scratching the back of her head, waves her free hand at the others, telling them to hurry as she pushes open the doors to the hospital, extending an arm to keep it from closing again to allow the others entrance* Like Scar said, Vi'll be here soon. She... *falters slightly, then decides she might as well soldier on* She was buying flowers for Sensei.

Jun: *watches after the direction that Scar went, hesitating, but continuing forward when the others do* *figures that he'd better stay with them for now and that Scar will be back eventually*

Kazue: That sounds like something she'd do... rooms are always brighter with flowers, it's a good idea. *quietly, seeing as she's already focusing on everything going on around them, taking note of every detail*

Noriaki: *staring around them as well, not quite sure what to add to the conversation seeing as this sort of thing isn't his speciality, even if by this point he's gotten slightly better with social matters with Kourin (I believe that was her name)'s encouragement*

Momoe: *spots official looking medical people and studies them* Are those who we should speak to? *anxious to get started, her usual attitude foregone in the seriousness of the situation*

Ari: Eh? *follows Momoe's line of sight, then shakes her head, taking the older woman's hand and leading her over to a youngish looking man geared up in white medic clothes* Akihiko!

Aki: *starts, hearing his name, and spins to face the oncoming ninja, effectively ending his conversation with the staff member at his side* Ari? *looks past her, his eyes widening when he spots Momoe and the others* Ah, you must be the Konoha team that was sent to help. *offers his hand, a polite, professional smile on his lips, though it's not really noticeable behind the mask* My name is Akihiko, I'm the head of the team doing research on the outbreak.

Ari: Aki's the one who was actually nice enough to tell us what the hell was going on with Hibiki-sensei. *bitter over the fact, as she and her sisters were turned away numerous times while trying to get information on their sensei before they ran into Aki*

Momoe: *takes his hand, shaking it as she eyes him curiously* Nice to meet you. I'm Momoe, these are Jun, Kazue, and Noriaki. Just direct the three of us *gestures at her and the other two medical nin of them* where we need to go. We'd like to start helping as soon as possible.

Jun: *shifts uncomfortably where he stands, not liking the idea that he can't do anything to help, but aware that it's true*

Kazue: *speaks up* I'd be able to help wherever you need me no matter how contagious the area might be, I'm not able to get sick so there's no worry about that side of it. *referring to the fact that she can help with the research or whatever treatment they're dealing with seeing as being directly exposed to anything they might have uncovered wouldn't hurt her*

Ari: *grabbing Aki by the shoulder, tugs him down so that her mouth is level with his ear, her voice hushed* Something to do with her bloodline limit, I think. Don't worry, she's not lying just so you'll give her more work.

Aki: *straightening up, nods decisively to Ari, then directs his words at Kazue* Alright, that's an immense help to us. *points towards a door that branches off into another wing of the hospital* If you wouldn't mind, please go through there, then head into the second door on your right. My research team is in there at the moment with a patient who's showing some of the worst symptoms. If you're able to get close to them without fear of being infected, we might be able to gleam something useful from her case. *to Momoe and Noriaki* If you take the same door, but head to the end of the hall there are several critical-risk patients who need attending to. As right now we're not sure how to treat them effectively, please just try and ease their suffering. *pauses, then turns to Jun* Jun, right? Would you please go and gather herbs from our greenhouse? It's not far from here, only a few houses down, actually. I'll send Scarlette over when she returns. *knowing wherever she is, she won't be gone for long, as the sisters don't tend to split it for more than a bit nowadays*

Ari: I'm gonna go with Noriaki and Momoe-sensei, tell Violet where we are when she gets here! *without waiting for a response, darts into the aforementioned hallway, expecting Momoe and Noriaki to hurry after her*

Kazue: *nods agreement to her orders, ignoring Noriaki's frown at the realization he wouldn't be able to keep an eye on her* I'll do what I can. *takes off before he's even finished speaking*

Momoe: *gestures for Noriaki to follow her as she follows after Ari after Ari's announcement, not bothering to say anything else seeing as her mind is switching into medical mode, focusing on everything she's heard about this from the letter they got*

Noriaki: *more tense than before, but not about to argue instructions and follows Momoe and Ari*

Jun: *brightens, nodding eagerly* Yes, sir~ *an atypical salute later has already darted out the door to go find the greenhouse*

Kazue: *upon locating the door he mentioned, steps inside, her eyes sweeping over the room and taking note of everyone as well as the patient in an instinctive action* *as soon as she's taken note of everything, speaks up* I'm Kazue, Akihiko sent me to help.

Medic Nin 1: Akihiko-san did? *exchanges a tense look with his companion, then flicks his gaze to the patient laid out on the bed in the middle of the room, who is a deadly white, sweating profusely, and occasionally twitches violently in her disturbed sleep* ...Alright. If Akihiko-san approved of you, we'll have you work. How versed are you in medical ninjutsu?

Ari: *ducks into the first room she sees is occupied, a nervous sheen of sweat having broken out on her pallid forehead, as she's valiantly resisting the urge to just break away and search for Hibiki* *spots a tub of ice water on the floor next to the bed, as well as a rag slung over the tub's edge, and sets about wetting it and placing it neatly on the patient's forehead, knowing that's about all she can do to help with the fever she knows he's battling*

Scar: *finished with her task of meeting Gaara, returns to the hospital, only to be told to head out to the greenhouse instead* *after hearing Jun's already gone off, decides there's no point in protesting and follows in his footsteps* 

Kazue: *instantly starts towards the patient upon being told she'll be allowed to help* Very, I'm an Asari. *as if that should explain everything, then reconsiders and adds on* I've learned medical ninjutsu from a young age. *pauses, then adds on* I'm taking this off. *points at her mask* I don't need it. *proceeds to do so without waiting for a reaction and pauses near the patient, figuring she shouldn't start examining without waiting for their response to her words*

Momoe: *watches her go into the room, considering joining her to examine the person, but instead gestures for Noriaki to join Ari and starts into the next room to help cool the patient down while examining them for any sign of what could be going on*

Noriaki: *frowns, but does as asked and joins Ari in the room she went into* *calmly sets about pulling up procedure in his mind as he steps around to the other side of the bed so he doesn't get in Ari's way* Is Hibiki-sensei's room far from here? *in a calm, even tone*

Jun: *manages to locate it and heads in to do as he was asked, mumbling under his breath occasionally seeing as he cares very little for what others might think of the strange mumbling as long as no one else that he knows is about*

Medic Nin 1: *shocked she so easily removed her mask, then considers her words, the name clicking after a moment* An Asari? That's... *shakes his head, dismissing the matter for later, as it's not nearly as important as what they're attempting to do* *signals to his partner to continue with his task, then joins Kazue by the patient* Please, do as you like. We've examined her, as well as the others, countless times, but we've yet to discover the source of the illness. *takes the woman's wrist in his hand, sliding his fingers down to locate her pulse as he speaks* She's patient zero, as far as we know, so she's our best shot at finding a cure.

Ari: *irritably swats at the strands of hair clinging to her forehead, annoyed she can't just huff it away as she normally would* Wouldn't know. We haven't been all that welcome here, which I told ya before. He's not critical, though, so he's probably in the opposite wing. *shrugs* We'll get to him eventually, so don't get distracted by me, alright? You need to do some magic voodoo healing right about now!

Scar: *spots Jun easily, as he stands out among the white-clothed medic ninjas, and veers towards him* *the corners of her mouth twitch as she realizes just what he's gathering* Jun, can I assume you have little experience with herbs? Or are you simply distracted? Because I think it would be much more helpful if you were to pick that *gestures towards another grouping of herbs beside the one Jun's stationed himself at* as it helps reduce fever.

Kazue: *nods her agreement and proceeds to begin checking the basic things, eyes fever, etc., talking as she does* We've heard that there's suspicion that it might be man-caused. *bluntly, seeing as she sees no reason to skirt around the matter* Have you checked if perhaps it's affecting their chakra network? *in a curious manner, to knock off things from the list she built in her mind* *had been thinking over this matter the entire time they were traveling, running through whatever she could think of that could cause these symptoms, natural or from known lab-constructed or jutsu sparked contagions*

Noriaki: *shrugs as he works, eventually moving from examining to checking on any IV fluids they have hung to make sure everything is filled and there aren't any kinks or bubbles in the lines* I won't get distracted. *pauses, then corrects his words as he can imagine the pursed lips look Kourin would give him for such an inconsiderate comment that makes it sound as if he doesn't care* I'm aware of how essential concentration is. *satisfied with his words, even if they still aren't the warmest*

Jun: *blinks, staring at what he had in his hand before sheepishly rubbing the back of his head with one hand and shifting over to where she indicated* Right, right, sorry. I don't mess with plants often. *was more distracted by his conversation with Kurai, but is content to just leave it with the idea that he's not familiar with different types of plants although he's one of the most book read people he knows* Your business is taken care of, then?

Medic Nin 1: *winces, his face contorting in a look of overwhelming unease* We have. It's not as noticeable with the civilian patients, as their chakra networks are underdeveloped, but with the shinobi we have in our care... It looks as though certain chakra openings are being sealed, and it's not only affecting blood flow, but the virus seems to have materialized in the damaged openings, so it has direct access to any intertwined veins, and so it spreads through the body that much quicker.

Ari: *unable to help herself, chuckles under her breath, honestly pleased that Noriaki hasn't been treating her any differently despite the situation* *is the type of person to really hate pity* Glad to hear it. Now, you gonna examine the guy or what? Chop, chop, Emo-kun!

Scar: Mm, Gaara was only interested in who had been chosen to help. He seemed rather interested in Momoe-sensei; I suppose Baki's told him about her connection to the Hokage, and with her reputation, it's obvious that he'd see her as a great asset to the village. *pauses, setting down the basket she'd brought with her for the purpose of bringing back herbs* *is aware that Jun's withholding something again, but can't bring herself to question him, as she's honestly far more worried about her sensei than she is Jun, despite how close she's become with him* *eventually shakes her head and returns to the task, instructing Jun not to just rip the herbs out, but to dig them out carefully so as to preserve the roots*

Kazue: That might be the root of the fever... *mumbling under her breath to herself as she checks off and switches around her list in her mind* Blocking off the flow would cause pressure on the system in the body... *pausing in her examination to spread her hands out over the girl and lightly use her chakra to get her own view of what he'd described with the chakra network, her hands taking up the light medical ninjutsu glow* *pursing her lips slightly as she once again shifts around possibilities in her mind as she glances at the medic nin* And she's no sign of any entrance point for a needle anywhere on her body? *well aware that such an examination would take a lot of time and not all that sure that they would have had enough time to search her body for such a small mark, but figures she can eliminate some sort of injection origin if he says there's no sign, leaving only a natural virus or jutsu as an origin, and not about to ask their opinion till she's finished because she figures if her unbiased opinion gets the same result, then most likely there's nothing missed between them since there's tons of margin for error in the medical field, no matter how good someone is*

Noriaki: *satisfied with the IVs, goes back to checking the man over* I was making sure he was as comfortable as I could make him. *simply* I thought that would be the most appreciated approach.

Jun: *adjusts his method to her suggestion, dropping what he's gathered into her basket* *lightly, seeing as he figures light conversation is what is best right now, hoping to keep her from focusing on Hibiki as he figures she probably is, seeing as from what he understand she's the sort to be really worried about other people in this situation* That makes sense. They have a bet going on at home at who her dad is, I heard she was pretty amused about it cause they caught her in a good mood when trying to figure out who was right. My money's on the pervert.

Medic Nin 1: We - Akihiko-san and our team - have been with patient zero from the beginning, so we've had ample opportunity to examine her, and we've found no trace of an injection site anywhere on her body. *slips into a quiet study of Kazue at work, as he doesn't want to hinder her by bombarding her with unnecessary questions*

Ari: *waves a dismissive hand, glad for once of the mask over her face, as it keeps her growing grin from view* You're not usually that considerate, but whatever, I can dig it. So, how're his vitals? *genuinely curious, as she doesn't know a thing about reading medical equipment or judging things based on the body's condition; the only thing she's ever managed to treat herself was a low fever Scar had when they were younger and their parents were out of the house* *also considers this to be an opportune time to learn as much as she can about helping the other patients, knowing she'll want to do anything she can for Hibiki the moment they find him*

Scar: *an amused smile flickers over her lips* I see. I suppose 'the pervert' refers to Jiraiya-sama, the legendary Sannin? I know a little of their relationship because of Ari's love of gossip, so I'd say you're most likely not far off.

Kazue: *nods her understanding and sets about finishing her examination, her brow furrowed when she eventually does* *adjusting her assessment in her mind of what she's discovered, tapping her fingers on the bed for a moment before starting towards where she can see the patient charts and starts flicking through them, assuming that she'll be fine in doing so* What do you personally think is happening? What is causing it? *figures that if he agrees, then they've got a direction to go in*

Noriaki: *unconcerned with the fact that she recognizes that the consideration is uncharacteristic for him- it's something that Kourin has been trying to teach him when she isn't fumbling over her words and such- and focuses on comparing what he's noting with the chart hanging on the end of the bed* They're not good. *simply* The fever, from what I see here, has flickered between the temperature *pauses, deciding to go with simple terms since he doesn't know how much knowledge she has in the field* that would cook his brain, basically, and a high but non-lethal level. That would be the only reason he isn't in a coma right now- although I wouldn't doubt that it'd be difficult for him to grasp what's going on around him. This level of fever would cause someone to be delirious. *pauses, then moves on* His pulse is erratic.. *rattles off a number of other things he's taken note of* Everything lines up with the symptoms of the virus without pinpointing anything of value.

Jun: *grins at the amusement he catches, rather pleased his words had the desired effect* Yup! I heard Naruto-kun call him something similar and decided I liked it. *shrugs* Formal titles aren't any fun. And I'll hold you to that, when we find out I'll be sure to let you know if we got it right.

Medic Nin 1: Based on what we've learned from studying her condition, and the lack of any visible entry wound that would indicate something was injected, we've come to believe it is more than likely a man-made virus, which is spread through the use of some sort of jutsu that is currently unknown to us. *pauses, a tinge of regret seeping into his voice* To be perfectly honest, we've never encountered a case like this. Our village specializes in treating poisons more than anything else; whatever diseases we've faced up until have paled in comparison to the effects of our concoctions. I'm afraid Konoha is far more suited to handle this type of outbreak than we are.

Ari: *though she listens intently to everything Noriaki prattles on about, when he's finished she pulls a blank face, unable to really grasp everything he's said* *still, she understands the gist of the problem and nods dutifully* Gotcha. Sorta, anyway. *notices that the rag she placed on the patient's head has already dried substantially and quickly wets it again in the ice water before replacing it* If we managed to bring the fever down any... *mulling the idea over in her mind, for once trying to think before she just blurts out her thoughts* d'ya think that would do anything besides making him more comfortable? I mean, that'd be great and all, if he wasn't in so much pain, but I... I dunno... I wanna do more than just... make it tolerable, ya know? I wanna help.

Scar: *pleasantly* Please do. If there's money involved in this bet of yours, I'd be more than happy to collect my share of it. *looks over the herbs they've gathered, her mind working double time as she considers what else they might require, then suddenly darts into another section of the greenhouse without a word to Jun*

Kazue: *nods in agreement, not going to argue something that very well might be true* *sits down the files and focuses on him, sorting through what she's gathered so far* Have you tried attacking the blocks in the chakra network? What of the virus, have you managed to extract any samples? *figures they must have, but figures asking is better than not* If so, has it reacted to anything, even if just slightly? *well aware that jutsu-sparked virus tends to be harder to fight than anything else, but also sees it as far from impossible, just requiring the right balance of chemicals, herbs, and medical jutsu, but is also aware this is harder than it sounds*

Noriaki: *simply* Attacking the fever doesn't just make him more comfortable, it keeps him alive. If his brain gets cooked, there's no recovering from the disease even if it's cured. It may seem simple and ineffective, but it helps. From what I understand, it's the fever, the inability to keep fluids down that's pushing the patients to the edge. *points at one of the IVs* That deals with the fluids, the fever is our job. *all in a very blunt, simple manner*

Jun: *blinks a few times, glancing over his shoulder and mumbling something, then taking off in the direction she'd gone* Scar-chan?

Medic Nin 1: Actually, I'm due to try another attempt at unsealing the affected chakra points right now. *makes a gesture over his shoulder, telling her to head that way where his companion headed off to* We've several samples of the virus. You can view them in the back room under one of our microscopes (if they have those? I think they do...). *believing Kazue will be more than fine on her own, strips off his white gloves and places his hands over the woman's body, ethereal green chakra encasing his hands as he sets to work unblocking her chakra network*

Ari: *blinks, having been under the assumption that the fever was the least of their worries* Right... Awesome, then, I can actually do something! *bites her lip, looking frantically around the room in search of something else that might help* Ugh, I had ibuprofen the last time Scar was real sick, what the hell's the ninja equivalent? *unconcerned if Noriaki thinks her foreign terms are suspicious, considering he's the least likely of their group to care if she sounds a little strange*

Scar: *reappears just as suddenly, nearly bumping into Jun, but manages to step backwards at the last moment* *dips her chin, indicating the armful of herbs she's brought with her* I've spent some time here over the past few days, and the medics who tend to these herbs have taught me a fair amount. These herbs are supposedly good for improving the flow of one's chakra network, and going off what Akihiko-san's told us, that's one of the main issues involving the virus. *steps around Jun so that she can drop the herbs alongside the others they've obtained* I thought it might be prudent to bring them with us, though I will apologize for running off like that. I forgot my manners in my excitement.

Kazue: *takes off in the indicated direction, her mind swirling in a dozen different directions as she muses over the information she's gained through the encounter with patient zero* *heads into the back room, looking around and studying the area* *speaks up as she heads to where she sees the microscopes set up* I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to use one of these. *pauses, glancing at it and checking to make sure she has a slide to examine* This is the virus, yes? *looks to whomever might be around to double check*

Noriaki: *blinks a few times, then shrugs* If you're talking about herbs to lower fever... *rattles off the names of a few that have that effect, seeing as medical knowledge is one of the few things that sticks in his head* Although I'm not sure which Suna has available. Jun went to gather herbs, so most likely they'll have something when they return.

Jun: It's fine. *grins* It was a good idea. *glances around them, tapping one finger on his leg as he considers it all* Fever... chakra...*to himself, then raises his voice, looking to Scar since she's had more experience with this virus thus far* Is there anything else we should gather?

Medic Nin 2: *peeks around his workstation, eyes flicking to the slide currently residing in the microscope Kazue's standing at* Do as you like. But switch that one out with the slide in the microscope next to you once you've had a look at it. The one you have right now is from the first day we encountered the virus; the other is from today. We've been trying to see if the virus has mutated at all while we've been studying it, and a fresh set of eyes might be useful. *returns to his work, leaving Kazue to her own devices))

Ari: *deflates a bit, knowing she'll have to wait for Scar and Jun to return before she can do anything useful, but a moment later is grinning fiercely again, her eyes brimming with determination* Soon as they get back, I'm hand delivering those herbs to every last damn person in this hospital, *unable to resist the perfect timing* believe it!

Scar: *thoughtfully* I don't believe so. Not at the moment, in any case. If it seems we'll need something else later, we can always come back. The greenhouse is fully stocked and we're free to come and go as we please. Well, I am, at least. *taps pointedly at her Suna headband dangling around her neck* You were admitted because you had Akihiko-san's permission, yes? You'll have to stick with a Suna shinobi from now, though; the greenhouse is a treasure to our desert village, and they won't let just anyone come here. *grabs her basket as she heads towards the entrance* Shall we be off, then?

Kazue: *nods and begins examining them, switching slides periodically to compare them, carefully noting anything that might resemble a difference* *pursing her lips as she does, applying what she's seeing to what she knows so far and then steps back to flip through any papers she sees, looking for wherever they might have recorded what they've tested on it, pausing when she finds something and scanning it over and taking note of each and every minor reaction, creating a list of chemicals and herbs in her head that if she's going to test it like she wishes she is going to need*

Noriaki: *lips twitch with what could almost be amusement as he returns the patient's chart to the end of the bed* You sounded like Naruto-san for a moment. *starting for the door, figuring that if she wants to stay and continue caring for this patient she can, but that he should visit more people and check on them*

Jun: *grins* Then I'll just stick with you! And yeah, let's get going. *follows after her, happy to have been of some use even if he isn't a medical nin*

Aki: *finishing a conversation he's been having with another of his staff, stops short when he enters the back room and sees Kazue working furiously at her station* Kazue-san? Have you made any progress?

Ari: *rolls her eyes, snatching up the chart Noriaki kept referencing and flipping through the pages bound to it, wanting to see if she understands even a bit of it* I meant to, Emo-kun. Duh..

Scar: *as they return to the hospital, nearly turns right back around, her initial reaction telling her to once again pretend she's an only child* *sweat drops* Violet, you idiot...

Violet: *currently furiously fighting against two medical ninjas who have their arms around her, struggling to free herself so that she can continue onto where she'd been intending to go* Let go, you big, dumb, meanies! I wanna see Sensei! I even brought him pretty flowers, see?! *practically smacks the bouquet of flowers into one man's face, nearly blinding him with the white petals, before she redoubles her efforts to break free* Let me see Hibiki-sensei!

Scar: *eye twitches threateningly, unsure how to handle the situation without getting the three of them banned from the hospital altogether*

Kazue: *pauses, having been jotting down her mental list on the first clean piece of paper she found* I might... here, look at this. *seizes the paper she had been looking at previously and holds it up for him to see as she moves to where he is* See how this here, they reported the cells multiplied... but here, they slightly retracted before growing worse. See the common element in the chemicals...? *grabs the paper she'd been writing the compounded elements on* Say you left that one out... but added in... *scrambles for another paper* This one that also showed slight signs of slowing it... *moves back towards the microscope* The virus mutated just slightly, barely anything, but look at it... *looks to him, the anxious energy brimming beneath her movements obvious seeing as she wants to see what will happen if she does this, she's aware that the first shot won't' work, especially without added things, but is excited anyways*

Noriaki: I see. *pauses and glances back at her* ... I'm going to the next room. *then continues out into the hall, figuring that if she needs him she'll get him*

Jun: *blinks a few times, then darts forward putting his hands up in what he considers a rather calming gesture* Hey, hey, guys, she's... *pauses, remembering what Ari said about earlier about them being able to get past if they were with medical ninja* *adds a confident edge to his reassuring smile* She's with me, I'm with the group from Konoha. *not adding that he's not one of the medical nin that were sent, figuring that a lie of omission isn't horrible* 

Akihiko: *slides her notes closer, studying them with a careful eye* ...I think you're on to something, Kazue-san... Keep up with this train of thought, would you? I'd love to help, but unfortunately... *sighs, seeing no reason to keep this from her* We've just lost our first patient to the disease, and I've been called down to do the autopsy. I only came here to gather my notes. *shuffling his papers together, tucks them under his arm, about to turn away when he stops and looks down at Kazue seriously* If you see Ari or the other girls... You may want to keep them from seeing Kudo Hibiki for the time being. His condition is worsening, and he's expressed that he'd rather they not see him in his current state. If his health continues deteriorating at this rate, we'll have him moved into this wing, but for right now... *sighs again, feeling rather miserable for having to explain this* Please just keep that in mind if you come across them before I do. *with that said, exits the room*

Ari: *though Noriaki's already gone, sticks out her tongue in childish defiance, before going back to caring for the man*

Medic Nin 3: *one eye half closed in pain, rather worried she may have scratched his cornea with one of those chaotic petals, eyes Jun skeptically* *looking past him, sees Scar and her abundance of herbs and comes to the same conclusion as his companion* *swiftly lowers Violet, dropping his arms from her and stepping back* My apologies, miss. *bows to Jun* Thank you for your assistance. *motioning for the other medic to follow him, heads through the doors that lead to the critical-patient wing*

Violet: *beams, throwing herself at Jun* Jun-kun! You saved me! Thanks bunches!

Scar: *honestly just baffled that actually worked*

Kazue: *falters in her excitement for a moment, the news rather hard* *shakes her head, discarding this as a reason to work harder and begins scouring the room for the chemicals she needs and proceeding with her tests, editing the compound as she feels need and sketching out a sealing sign on a paper before dropping some of the virus there and periodically testing it, much like the method used for poison in the actual manga* *pauses when one of her testing drops causes the sample to fizz and scraps off a sample to examine, then continues along as she sees a slight difference*

Jun: *grins, hugging her back as he's rather pleased with himself* No problem! Us non-authorized people got to stick together, right?

Violet: *cheerfully, squeezing Jun once more before dropping back, shaking out her flowers to see if she'd accidentally crushed them* Yuppy! *satisfied they're still presentable, and knowing Hibiki will be happy just to know she'd wanted to get him flowers in the first place, hugs the bouquet to her chest* So we can see Hibiki-sensei now, right? Right?!

Scar: *despite herself, is growing rather excited at the prospect of being able to see her sensei* We might as well, now that we've gone to all this trouble. *debating with herself for a moment, just sighs and accepts her own feelings for once, which leads her to pull Jun into another - albeit softer - hug* *lowly, so that it's just him that hears* Thank you, Jun, really. *pulls away just as quickly, urging Violet to hurry into the other wing before someone realizes they've been duped*

Jun: *uncharacteristically flushes slightly, seeing as a thanks like that coming from Scarlette means even more than the excited one from Violet* *grins, rubbing the back of his head with one hand as he bounds after them* No problem, really! I wanna visit him, too!

Scar: *as they traverse the long hallway, frequently checks the nameplates beside the doors as they pass, looking for her sensei's name, though a small part of her is already beginning to worry something has happened*

Violet: *picking up on her sister's subtle discomfort, wraps her in a crushing hug that somehow doesn't hinder her walking, chirping loudly* Don't worry, Scar! Sensei's a toughie! And he loves us too much to leave, ya know? He's definitely waiting for us!

Scar: *mumbles her sullen agreement, unable to deny the realistic part of her that says it's unlikely just being healthy and strong will keep someone from falling prey to the virus' claws*

Jun: *helpfully, in his cheerful tone* Plus, you've got Kazue-chan, Noriaki-chan, and Momoe-sensei, here! They'll help figure this thing out soon and then he'll be right as rain. *some part of him wishing that he could get to the room before then to know what they're going into, that same part of him being the part that would cast a genjutsu to keep them from seeing it if it was too horrible* *sort of wishes he'd thought this through more, but at the same time glad he helped them because of how happy they were*

Kazue: *excitedly calling out to the other person in the room* Hey, hey, come look at this! *staring at a slide where the virus, while not having disappeared, the cells have shrunk somewhat and aren't acting as aggressive*

Scar: *casting Jun a glance that should tell him exactly how much she actually believes him* While I appreciate your optimism, I'd be hard-pressed to fully agree with you. Jun, you haven't been here very long, and you've yet to see just how terribly this virus attacks the body. *unconsciously wrapping her hand around Violet's wrist* We've seen people suddenly drop in the streets because of it, and... *cuts herself off, seeing as there's a commotion at the end of the hall, with several medic nin swarming in and out of a particular room* ...Something's wrong...

Violet: *sensing the same off feeling that Scar has, instantly takes off for the end of the hall, with Scar hot on her heels*

Jun: *runs after them, holding back the urge to make the comment that maybe they should stay back*

Kazue: *scrambling to pull together more of the chemicals she used for that exact test, manipulating the levels of each of them and testing them again, taking note of which adjustments work better and so on*