Zhen (Naruto Fanfiction) -Watty Awards 2012-

Chapter One

“What on earth happened?” A worried nurse asks, as three other white-clad women come around the corner to help carry the unconscious girl. 

The Hokage shakes’ her head as she follows closely.  “Izumo and Kotetsu claim she just fell out of nowhere, battered and damaged.”

The nurses seem to fret even more at this, as they place the unconscious girl on an operation table, as they close the blinds.  The Hokage went out of the room, rubbing her temples.

“I need to find out what happened, and immediately,” Tsunade mutters to herself, as she lifts her amber eyes to look at the two Jounin who accompanied Kotetsu and Izumo to the hospital with the foreign girl.  Kakashi looks over and Shikamaru glances up.

“Is she going to be alright?” Kakashi asks, closing his book and placing it in a pouch.

Tsunade shakes her head with uncertainty, “I’m not entirely sure, it’s too soon to tell.”

Shikamaru sighs slightly, as he directs his gaze to the ceiling.  “She looks foreign; she’s definitely not from around this area.  She didn’t even have a ninja headband.”

Kakashi nods in agreement.  “There are no tell-tale signs either, so we need to wait until she’s out of critical condition.”

Tsunade sighs.  “I’m going back to the office; I’ll try to find some information.”

Kakashi and Shikamaru both nod.  After Tsunade left, Shikamaru excused himself and left Kakashi standing in the waiting area.  Not even five minutes later, three people enter the room and walk right over to Kakashi.

“Kakashi-sensei, what happened,” A girl with vibrant pink hair asks, her eyes concerned.

“Ah, Sakura, Naruto, Sai.  I assume you’ve heard about this already then,” Kakashi says, glancing towards his students.  All three nod.  “Well, I don’t have much information yet, she’s unconscious.”

“I’ll go and see if the nurses need any help,” Sakura decides, as she slips past Kakashi.  He nods in approval before looking over at the two remaining boys.

“Was she attacked or something?” Naruto asks, tilting his head to the side.  Sai looks at Naruto, before returning his gaze towards Kakashi.

“We assume so, she was bruised and cut up pretty bad,” Kakashi confirms.

Naruto sighs and looks in the direction of the hospital rooms.

“How old is this girl?” Sai asks, blinking with slight confusion.

“She looks like she’s still in her teenage years; I would say around eighteen to twenty.”

Sai nods and Naruto sits down on the floor, thinking.  Kakashi just watches the two males, before pulling his book out.

Three hours later Sakura returns from the room, looking tired.  Naruto was sleeping, leaning against the wall, Kakashi was still reading, and Sai was drawing on a small notepad.

“She’s stabilized now, and I was able to close up the large gashes with the help of the nurses.  She’s sleeping now,” Sakura says, rubbing the back of her wrist, looking towards the room with worry.  Kakashi must have picked up on this.

“What’s wrong?” Kakashi asks nonchalantly, his visible eye gazing over Sakura.  She blinks and looks at him.

“There were internal injuries; broken ribs, punctured lung and signs of,” Sakura trails off, looking at Kakashi in hopes he would pick up on this.  He nods, acknowledging her faint hint.