Konohagakure Hospital

Well, apparently, Kiba's attempt at some kind of hospitality toward Ino failed abruptly. He couldn't help being the jackass he was, but maybe he should tone it down a bit. Once he heard Shikamaru's voice, and felt the heavy pressure against his throat, he knew he screwed up big time. Wide eyes filled his face, as he looked to the girl's teammate. Kiba couldn't breathe, hence he couldn't explain himself. "Ahh -"

That was the sound of him gasping.

Ino was taken away, where Kiba watched her attempt to not sway. He honestly felt bad for the girl, and that's why he picked her up. She had been swaying when she left the room, and Sakura said she shouldn't have been on her feet. Once the justu had been released, he nearly stumbled backward. He coughed, putting a hand over his throat, and shot a glare at Shikamaru. But the glare was gone in seconds. " ... " Kiba sighed, inhaling a deep breath.

"I'm sorry," He said, his voice raspy. He looked back to Sakura, and nodded his head. His hands were placed in his jacket pockets. Kiba walked past the group, and walked past Ino, apologizing again under his breath, even if it wasn't in his nature. He did feel like an ass. He walked through the hallways with his head down. Once he pushed open the door to outside, Akamaru got up and rushed over to him, standing at his side.

“Bad b-b-bad bad bad.”

Ace’s words seemed to fit the situation perfectly. The blue haired man sat atop the corner of Raphael’s desk, his legs swinging back and forth while his blue eyes were glued to the news report. His hands gripped the edge tightly and his panic and worry seemed to radiate the entire room. Raphael sat behind his desk writing a reply a project idea, though his fake eye and both ears were watching the news just as intently. Though his brother was over-reacting to the news, he had a right to be worried. All B.O.Ws had to be worried.

And now for continuing coverage of today’s tragedy. Linda Sheppard, a renowned Scientist for Umbrella Corporation has been killed today when her apartment building suddenly exploded. Police are still trying to discover just who, and what caused-

Ace gulped loudly. “Ya think it was….ya know….”
Raphael said nothing.

“This is the 3rd B.O.W that’s been killed. And they’re getting better though if they wanted her body for evidence of Umbrella’s dirty work, why blow the place up?”
Raphael said nothing

“And Linda… even you liked her.
Raphael said nothing.

Ace stared at his brother a moment longer when the television caught his attention again
…The remaining wall written “Blue Rose-
Raphael set the pen down and shifted almost nervously as the reporter said those words. Ace turned a shade paler and turned around. Raphael took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to calmly figure out the best course of action. But as he opened his eyes he knew there was only one thing left to do. The Blue Rose was Raphael’s answer to the Red Queen. A computer several hundred times more advanced than anything Umbrella had created. It also stored the most secret files of the company. S-class lists, project names, Virus’, and the metal alloy that coated Ace’s transformations, and his latest weapons. Raphael slowly stood up and looked at his brother.
“I’m going to download the Blue Rose into a more secure location.”
“Like….”
Raphael just stared at Ace then tapped his temple.
“You can do that?!”
Raphael rolled his eyes and began to move towards the door. He was about to finish the report on the television when the door opened quickly. Raphael
‘s fake eye quickly shut of the television when a small pink haired girl came into the room, smiling from ear to ear at the two of them. He looked at her and felt himself crack a small smile at his daughter, then felt a ping of guilt in his chest as he thought about her mother.

“I wanna play a game with daddy!” she said cheerfully running forward with her arms open wide. Raphael should have moved to pick her up, but still not use to having her around only watched as she bumped into her leg and fell back. “I…uh…”

“I’ll play with you Nami” Ace said cheerfully, picking the girl up and bringing her out of the room before she could complain. “Daddy will catch up after he finishes something. Ok?”

The proximity alarm began to ring from Raphael’s fake eye, quickly waking him up and moving for his new, and old, katana’s while dressing. His hand reached for the door when his fake eyes picked up movement within his mansion. How they had managed to enter without setting off his traps was beyond him. But now, only one thing mattered. Retrieve Nanami and escape. Raphael waited until the squad of commando’s reached his door when he threw it open and unleashed his old blade. The men were dead before they saw him coming. He wasted no time, and sprinted towards the room his daughter was sleeping in. Bullets rang throughout the halls, missing him by inches and sending painful rings echoing in his head. He reached the door and quickly ran inside as a bullet ran along his neck, singeing the skin. He found his daughter crying in bed, but when she saw him ran forward screaming “daddy daddy.” This time Raphael took her into his arms and held her tight. Just as the explosions began. Fire ripped through the wall and debris slammed into him. Through the fire and smoke he saw a dark figure in what seemed like robes. His fake eye was busy on Nanami preventing him from getting a good look. Instinctively he ran and leapt out the window and fell with nothing more than a loud thud before sprinting off into the night. His fake eye began a countdown. And after 5 seconds, the mansion exploded in a sea of fire, leaving him feeling sick.
He had to ask her for help.

The leaf was in a state that was almost unbelievable. A barely breathing mess of poverty and disorder, a sight that left Raphael discouraged after the long travel to reach this ‘safe haven’. Raphael left Nanami at of Sakura’s friend’s houses before walking along the streets to find her. He was stunned at everything he was seeing. Raphael had ripped his left sleeve and tied it around his head to cover his fake eye, but even so he could see virus’ and bacteria from wounded and sick. It was an hour before he reached the hospital, and a small note formed in his gut. Raphael pushed his way through, staring down anyone who dared challenge his entrance. He went floor by floor, each step sent a flashback of his son, his heir, his Vincent. Even after all this time, he couldn’t find the will to push that aside. And he passed by exam room 2, he saw his son’s murder, before he saw his wife. He felt mixed feelings about her, love and hate mixed into a terrible feeling inside him that made him wonder if this was the right thing to do. Raphael forced his way threw the few remaining people to reach her, his only second look beign a scowel or scoff. He slowly opened the door and closed it behind him. Anything to remove the annoyances of the hall. He looked at her and froze for a minute before.

“You look awful.”

She just wanted to go home. It had been 47 hours on her shift but there was no end in sight obviously. Shedding off one pair of white gloves, she snapped on the next pair picking up her clip board and flipping though the paperwork as she heard the door open and close all over again. "Take a seat on the--"

"You look awful...

The pink haired kunoichi swallowed hard as her eyes widened. She had to steady herself before slowly turning on her heel to face the object of not only her thoughts but her affections as well. The one man she had been avoiding for months. Ever since she made the mistake of pulling Vincent's machine out of the wall. Her two sons had died. Yukito, from over active chakra tunnels to the eyes, causing a sensory overload-- his small body collapsed.

Still she knew he blamed her for killing his blood.

"Raphael-sama..." She whispered softly trying to decipher if this was real or not. Was she dreaming again? Her hands were shaking lightly, enough to make the clip board fall to the floor as she blinked up at him. Her first instinct was to run and jump just to wrap her legs around his waist, but she refrained.

Instead she reached up and tucked a loch of her pink hair behind her ear before tilting her head to the side lightly. "What... What are you doing here?" She managed to say quietly as she took in his rough appearance. Obviously something had happened-- but what? Then another thought dawned on the medic, her daughter; where was her daughter?


"Where's Nanami?"

His mind instantly went back to the massive explosion of his life’s work, his home, and his sense of self. Though he wasn’t certain the truth was the right way to handle this situation. He placed his swords on a nearby counter and crossed his arms again, his eye locking onto her. “Those curtains you picked….” He began. “I changed my mind about them…so the entire mansion is being renovated. From the ground up.” Lieing was a good way to forget about their past, at least for a split moment. When it was over he couldn’t stop seeing the death of his son replay over and over again. His body began to lock up in defense of his emotions, and he had to look away and close his eyes, forcing himself to remain calm.

“I left Nam…” he paused, almost using Ace’s nickname for the girl. “Nanami at the flower shop with the old man. She’s fine and in perfect health, though she may be the only one in the village who can say that.” His eye fell to the clip board. He stepped forward and picked it up, now just inches from her body. “You’ve been busy.” He said going through the papers on the board before setting it down on the table besides them.
He held her gaze for the longest time. He had nothing to say that wouldn’t cause a fight, nothing to preoccupy himself with to stop those damn feelings he spent months trying to crush.

He eyed her over several times. She had been working more than training, and it showed in more ways than one. It was strange to have his impulse be to fix her, a shot or an herb. He use to always have the answer or the cure. But with his home gone, he felt more powerless than ever. And that made him both defensive and self-conscious. He let out a small sigh before feeling the need to change the subject again. “I’ve missed a lot.” He turned around and locked the door to prevent interruptions. “I want to know what is going on.” Just as she opened her mouth he interrupted. “With you. I care very little for the well being of this village.”

Sakura's eyes narrowed at his comment about the luscious curtains she had picked out in his mansion. They were beautiful to her although she had a suspicion there was more to it than just curtains that had lead to his appearance in the village hidden in the leaves. Although hearing news of her daughter's safety made her a little more at ease with the B.O.W. At least Sakura had one of her children left. Maybe now she'd have something to come home to everyday. No more seventy-two hours of non-stop medical shifts with fifteen minute power naps. Sakura looked up at Raphael, would she look forward to coming home to him again?

"I dont think its any of your concern of how I'm doing. You're the one covered in scratches, my god don't tell me the mansion was-- destroyed. Don't think I believe you're reconstructing it over my curtains."

She murmured reaching forward and snatching her clipboard up from where he had set it down at. Her eyes scanned over the pages as she reached for the pen in her white medical coat. "However if you must know, Konoha needs me here. I'm one of the few medics on staff." She sighed heavily scribbling her signature at the end of one of her papers with her overly girly handwriting, still signing her name Haruno.

"Now, what are you doing here in Konoha? I know you didn't come just to catch up with me Raphael-sama." She whispered over her papers as she glanced up at the locked door. She tried not to picture an escape route in her head. It was proving to be too difficult. This wasn't how she wanted face him after several months apart. She at least wanted to have a shower before facing the BOW.

"And don't lie to me. I know when you are." Sakura teased softly as she flicked to the next page writing off Ino's green Mission free pass for the week.

His lack of sleep the last few days made his temper flare at her comments. Since when had she become so rude to him? It was her fault he made her return to the leaf to begin with. And when had she ever questioned his words before? The Sakura he knew would have….But this wasn’t the Sakura he knew, nor was he the same Raphael from before. “If you understood just how ugly they made my home, you would see that total renovation was my only civil option left.” His hair stood on end and his human eye twitched, the common signs that Raphael was losing whatever he was doing. He eyed her, then eyed the door, and back at her. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

“3 weeks ago there was an assassination on a high ranking Umbrella Scientist. This man was also a Bio-Organic Weapon. They attempted to steal the body and proof to the world of our…of my…research. It was luck that may brother intercepted them, and even more lucky that the next 2 victims couldn’t be properly extracted. We have reason to believe that a radical religious order with extreme financial support is attempting to eliminate all B.O.Ws. One week ago they attacked me and Nanami at my own home. I don’t know where Unborn is."

He left out several major details; Blue Rose, Wesker, where his brother was hiding now, and why he picked here to stay hidden. While he wanted to admit it was to be with his wife, that was only half the truth. Maybe when he could trust her more, she would get the rest of the truth. He opened his eyes and glared over at her. “Don’t get me wrong, I am not in trouble and I have failed nothing.” He was becoming defensive again. “The Leaf is the safest place for our…your daughter.”

He understood why she looked the way she did. They must be working her till she drops; few people were medical nins and for reasons understandable. But even though it was her job, and her duty; and even though he didn’t want to get involved, he still felt the bloody attachment he felt long ago. “You’ve done a remarkable job at keeping this place running. But I have several more years of medical training, and I’m inserting my place into your life.” Raphael grabbed the clip board from her and signed the final page Dr. Valois

“End of discussion.”

Her mouth fell open as he signed his name away along her dotted line. How dare he? She sucked in a quick breath and silently counted to ten before un-clenching her fists. Obviously he was intent on staying a while. Why else would he come to see her? It was clear as day he was still upset over Vincent. Then again, so was she. It was devastating and yet he made her leave. He sent her home. Not to their home. Her home, back within Konohagakure. The shorter kunoichi decided not to press the subject anymore. If he was going to stay, she'd make sure he wouldn't leave again. Not for science, not for Ace, not for anyone but her.

Tilting her head up she shook her head as she crooked a finger up at him, letting him lean down a enough for her to reach his face. Reaching her white gloved hands up she pressed her thumb against the scratch on his cheek and pushed her chakra in to him.

"You, Raphael Valois; are not invincible." She repeated her infamous saying to him quietly as she resisted the urge to lean in to him anymore and break her Hippocratic oath of being too close to her 'patient.' However she did anyway, pressing her forehead to his as she closed her eyes for a moment. There were too many thoughts pressuring her to do different things. Not to mention her shift would end soon and Shizune would be making her rounds so Sakura could have a break. "You don't have to help out here. This village will be indebted to you if you do. I don't know if you've noticed but we're not exactly at the top of our game."

She sighed against him and pulled back slightly gaining a grip on reality.

"My shift ends in an hour. We'll stop my the Yamanka's to get our daughter back, and we will once again squeeze in to my tiny apartment." She murmured opening her eyes softly. "Seeing as you blew up the mansion. Are you sure my Angel is okay?"

“You’re right Sakura, you’re miserable village needs work on more fronts than I can count. But even so I refuse to sit at home and babysit.” He chose his reason for helping very carefully. It was much easier to admit he would be easily bored, than to admit he didn’t want her to look like this ever again. He was still trying to recover from her close proximity. It had been sometime since he had physical contact and when she pulled away it was difficult to pay more attention to her words than her body. He still blocked the door, and she still had to be punished for the constant smart mouthed responses he had received. No matter, they knew each others strengths, and weaknesses.

Raphael moved forward and took her arm, pressing her hard against him and smirk arrogantly ignorning the comment about his brother. He held her, enjoying her shaking and bite her lip under him as he held her in anticipation. His gloved hand moved over and grabbed the scalpel, moving the tip to his lips. “I think that it’s time you remembered who the master was…”

And the blade ran over his tongue