His Gift to Her (Mary Sue Series)

Chapter 28

"Sasuke, what are you doing--"

"Itachi's here!" 

"Wait, what?" Qui looked at him in disbelief. 

"No time to explain, just go home! It's not safe here!" In a flurry of anger, adrenaline, and excitement, Sasuke ran off, presumably to kill his brother. 

Qui stared at the spot where Sasuke had been standing just seconds ago. "Yes, because an equal-standing Genin is strong enough to defeat a former ANBU rank ninja." She shook her head slowly. 

"Really, Sasuke? I knew you were revenge-crazy but crazy enough for your IQ to be lowered?" 

Qui was annoyed with her teammate, mostly because he was losing his common sense to his ego and anger. Grow up, Sasuke. Look at the strength, study your past, review all your battles and fights. Compare yourself to your brother. He's better than you in terms in every way possible and was better than you at your age. This is why studying the past is important. Learn from your mistakes and don't make them again!

Yet she cared enough to follow him and make sure he wasn't alone with his stupidity. Qui hoisted the small wheeling cart handle over one shoulder and took off after him. 

However, Qui wasn't fast enough and watched in surprise as the side of a faraway building erupted in black flames, two figures dressed identically in black and red clothing leaped out and away from the burning building. Fortunately, the flames were taken out quickly as they had arrived. 

"Qui? Is that you?" Naruto called out, poking his head from the cavity in the building. 

"Yeah! Have you seen--"

"Great! Sasuke's hurt! We need to take him to the hospital!" 

Qui exasperatedly replied, "Need some help getting him to the hospital?"

"Yeah! Pervy Sage is going to deal with the hotel!" 

Qui quickly headed inside the building, taking the stairs two at a time. "Well, I found him. It would be redundant to say, 'I told you so.'" She reached the upper floor where Naruto was waiting and helped create a makeshift splint to hold his wrist. Afterward, Naruto absolutely refused to carry him, so Qui slung him on her back and handed her groceries to Naruto. 

Qui and Naruto carried Sasuke to the hospital, and while Sasuke was given first aid, Naruto went over the details of the story. 

"I see. We should inform Sakura the situation," Qui mused. "Kakashi Sensei is out for the count. Naruto, Sasuke isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Let's look for Sakura for now and check in later on Sasuke's status." 

"Okay!" 

The two remaining members of Team Seven immediately set out to find their third teammate. Luckily for them, Sakura was visiting Rock Lee on a different floor of the hospital. 

"Sakura, Sasuke's injured! Like, really badly!" Naruto yelled, completely forgetting the "No yelling in the hospital" rule.  

"Mhm. Kakashi Sensei is also out for the count. Naruto's leaving soon too. So it'll just be us three," Qui added, joining the duo. 

"What!? What's going to happen to us?!"

While Team Seven were sorting things out, Kabuto was appearing back on the scene. Now marked as a trespasser, he no longer could see Qui personally. Originally, he was to take care and look out for her while he was in Konoha. When Lord Orochimaru came onto to the scene, he had to prioritize and put the Sanin first. Besides, Qui still had her Uncle Igo who was far more caring and wrote thoughtful, heartfelt letters to her frequently (he absolutely didn't read the binder of all the letters Uncle Igo sent to Qui).  

Now then, Kabuto didn't actually look for Qui out of family concern. Of course not. According to the Akatsuki, she was their vessel of importance. It worked out great: Sasuke was Lord Orochimaru's victim, and nobody would cross paths.  

Kabuto guessed that Qui fulfilled the requirements of becoming a vessel for the Akatsuki. Or perhaps she was another Hidden Leaf Village secret with amazing powers. If that were the case, then Qui may be on Lord Orochimaru's radar for more human experiments. 

Kabuto frowned, deep in thought. He had watched over her and even analyzed her skills during their weeks of training. Nothing she did made him believe she was a true vessel capable of containing power, like Gaara. She was an innocent child and an average Genin. She had normal past, unlike Sasuke, and had never experienced the pain of losing someone. She didn't come from an impressive clan with a Kekkai Genkai. She had no motivation to become a stronger ninja and wished to stay off the battlefield. 

Kabuto pushed his glasses higher up on the bridge of his nose. The more he thought why would the Akatsuki want her, the more questions came up. He went through his studies of her and didn't find a clear connection between why they would want her. She was no one special. 

It didn't make sense.