Squad 17

Summary: In which Sakura meets her ANBU team, a captain whom she can easily fall into routine with, an asshole and a reserved man that she gets along with quite nicely.

Chapter Seven: Medics and clothing

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The rising sun served as the alarm clock for Suna's people. The first light breaking over the horizon was the signal for village life to begin. The stalls in the streets opened for the day and the people who were not working rose to meet with their brethren. The day started earlier in Suna, and among the four Konoha Shinobi, two were up with the natives.

Having been adopted by the village, Sakura was awake with coffee in hand to watch the sunrise. The brew's scent woke Sakuzo up and brought him out into the common area of the apartment. Kakashi drifted in the realms of slumber on the couch, but would be up in a split second if danger arose. Naosuke's soft snores could be heard by the others, reminding Sakura of the too thin wall.

"Coffee's in the pot and Suna Jonin clothing are on the counter." Sakura spoke lightly as she started to stock up the pockets of her vest.

As a registered Suna medic, Sakura already owned multiple Suna hospital uniforms. Her closet was littered with the standard suits and the preferred ware of the employees - scrubs. Yet the old wardrobe she had grown accustomed to was no longer an option. By order of the Kazekage, a medic-nin uniform had arrived along with the basic male jonin outfit.

Not once during her time working under the Suna sun did she crave the medic-nin uniform she was currently wearing. The tough fabric was impractical when she had been teaching and working at the hospital. The material also made it harder to wash out blood. However, in battle, it provided an extra layer of protection and worth the compromise. Secretly, she still missed the civilian garb.

One of the two differences between the jonin uniforms and the medic ones were the vests. The placements of the pockets were different and the symbol of medic was displayed on the back of the camel colored vest. The other difference was the foot wear. For the jonin, they had issued sandals. On the other hand, medics received knee high boots that nearly blended into the pants. The boots were created with the idea of medics kneeling next to their patients in mind.

To Sakura, the uniform transition between civilian teacher and active Shinobi was more of a confirmation that her duckies were in danger.

Growing impatient, she threw a Senbon at her captain. As assumed, Kakashi caught the weapon and rose for the day. Sakuzo had left his half-finished coffee behind to deliver Naosuke his uniform in the guestroom.

"Assassination attempts on your captain? That could get you booted right out of ANBU, Sakura-chan," Kakashi commented cheerfully. Like Sakura, he had only gotten a few hours of sleep the night before, but like any true ninja, he took no time to jump into the day. The ANBU garb he had slept in the night before suffered no wrinkles; Sakura allowed herself a few moments of confusion.

"I want to get over to the hospital as soon as we can. I spoke with Gaara a little while ago and he agrees that it would be best to split into two teams. One serving as protection over the medic core's training academy and the other team stationed at the hospital."

"And you had already decided to lead the team going to the hospital." Kakashi concluded aloud. It wasn't an issue of overriding command, as was previously the topic of humor the night before. The decision was a matter of common sense. Sakura would be the most useful in the hospital environment because she would be able make herself useful until the need for her others skills arose. When she would be limited to tasks that wouldn't drain her chakra, like dictation of procedures and administrative tasks, she would still be doing something productive. Furthermore, she knew the employees and the lay of the land.

Kakashi was also the logical choice for sending to the academy, fondly known as the MCTA. With the smaller perimeter and large rooms, he would be able to protect the students and keep a solid base as his dogs scouted the area. Also, without having to contribute too much of his attention on stopping infiltration attempts, he would be able to question the occupants for information and keep an eye out for suspicious behavior.

Sakura nodded, "Fumio took over their training when I left. He's a good guy and a qualified instructor, but he might give you a bit of a hard time. Unfortunately, taking over the lead spot of the MCTA went straight to his head. But Gaara already spoke with him already, so hopefully he'll be cooperative. I'll tell the hospital staff to allow Pakkun access into the building so he can come get me if that proves to be a problem. Or, if there are any other problems."

Sakura spoke loudly so that Kakashi would be able to hear her where he was changing in the bathroom. Likewise, this meant that the boys also heard what was being mapped out for their mission.

"Sakuzo, we're leaving when you're ready!" Her partner came out only seconds after her call and followed her as she jumped off the balcony and onto the roof tops.

"You were stationed here to train the medics?" He asked her in a strong baritone voice. Sakura was a mystery to his new partner and much of what he knew about her didn't make sense. This newly revealed tidbit of information did help to clarify some of the other pieces he knew.

"Correct."

The two set down on the hospital roof before she turned to him again. "The building has nine levels. Basement: Archives. Floor one: Emergency care. Floor two: Administration. Floor three: Pediatrics. Floor four: Civilian. Floor five: Poison treatment Floor six: Intensive care. Floor seven: Surgery. Floor eight: Recovery." The departments were listed off in a quick succession, but Sakura didn't offend Sakuzo's abilities by assuming he would not have the list perfectly memorized. "I won't insult your professionalism in thinking that you will break orders. I do however want to address the matter of my command of this team. You have seniority on the squad, but I know the area and people which qualifies me for the position." The bland address of the matter was an unnecessary olive branch.

Unlike Naosuke, Sakuzo was a skilled Shinobi who was comfortable with his station. He was powerful in his own right and highly intelligent. However, his lack of social skills and average analytical skills made positions of command unfavorable to him. What he did appreciate of his new comrade was the respect she had for his person. He gave her a shallow nod which reminded her a bit of Ibiki's.

"I'm going to send you down to Yuu on level two. He's in charge of the entire hospital staff. He'll walk you through the floors and introduce to you the team. Find me when you feel you know the layout and staff sufficiently enough to offer your highest level of security. I'll either be in the ER or securing the perimeter. I shouldn't be hard to find."

The pair entered through the roof entrance before nodding to each other and going their separate ways. Sakuzo entered the elevator to the right and Sakura went through the doorway to enter into the recovery ward.

"Amaya!" She called out in a strong voice. Amaya, the recovery nurse located further down the hallway, was a graduate of Sakura's. Having received most of her training before Sakura's arrival, Amaya had only needed her skills brushed up before entering the field. Sakura, the junior of the pair, would have loved to train Amaya to the level of medicnin, and had tried in vain to convince Amaya to further her training. Their friendship had stayed strong as the newly graduated nurse took a very active role in the wards dynamics. Within a year, Amaya had reached the position of lead nurse in the department.

"Sakura-sensei, I had a feeling I would be seeing you this morning." She replied with a nurse's smile, walking to meet her superior. The woman had distinct purple hair which drifted before her eyes as she handed Sakura a clipboard. Five more stayed in her arms.

"Kin moved to room 832. She has made considerable progress since your departure, but there is a minor infection that seems to be very resilient to our medic's chakra. Akane took over the case when you left and seems to think that you will have an easy time taking care of it because your chakra is in her system from the initial treatment."

Sakura nodded reading over the file. "I spoke with Niichi before I left. We believed this was a possibility. The poison from Rock was very innovative. Will you fetch Akane and tell her that she will be treating the patient with me overseeing the procedure? I'll meet her in 832 in twenty minutes."

"Of course, Sakura-sensei." Amaya took the chipboard back and Sakura knew that it would be waiting for her on the door later.

The path to Niichi's office was a direct one. Being the head of the department, it carefully placed for easy accessibility. The door had been left open and she entered with a familiar ease.

Niichi is a friendly man whose persona was honed by years of practiced bedside manner. Both Gaara and Sakura shared the opinion that the man could be more valuable in the emergency department as one of the best medics in the village. However, the thirty seven year old had seen his share of gore and death during his time as a Medic-nin. To honor of the service he had provided his village in his youth, he was allowed to stay in the recovery department on his request. Only in dire situations or a surplus of patients in the ER, would Niichi be called upon for his abilities.

"Hey there boss." Niichi greeted, standing as she approached his desk.

The first week of Sakura's employment in the hospital was not fondly remembered. She had managed to gain the staff's respect and fear within hours, but they were not receptive to her takeover. Niichi was one of the first to stand behind her and the nickname boss had been fondly created.

"Hey, I'm going to lead that procedure with Akane in a few. Then I'm out of here; I just wanted to check on the Kin case." She explained as she sat casually on his beige couch. With one hand she played with the leaves of the potted plant to her right.

"I figured; it's an unique case. Amaya has been carrying around the chart her entire shift." He replied, following her lead and sitting as well. Amaya normally took the nightshift, leaving around seven each morning. Amazingly, she had never been spotted tired. "So-" he dragged.

"So-" She prompted.

"Am I allowed to ask about your ANBU appointment?" Niichi's deduction skills were still sharp as always. It shouldn't have surprised Sakura that he had but the pieces together. She grinned but didn't answer.

"I'm going to go find Akane." Sakura was still grinning as she left the office and took a left to find room 832.

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A/N: Hope you enjoyed.

A million thanks to Broken Handed for being an awesome beta.

Please review!