Her vitals were fairly stable. Sakura glanced at Kiyomi on the bench and lowered her voice a little. But Amado's drug really was draining her life force. It wasn't treating her so much as "freezing" her. It had frozen the Kāma's evolution, and it had frozen her body's ability to heal itself.
"Is there a solution?" Sasuke asked.
"Not yet." Sakura shook her head. "We need more detailed experimental data from Amado. But the information he gave us was missing a huge section on the inhibitor's ingredients."
"That old bastard really did hold something back." Shikamaru frowned and lit a cigarette, then remembered they were in a hallway and crushed it out in his palm.
Kiyomi watched their backs. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she could guess the result from their expressions.
"Hey." Kawaki walked up to her and looked down at her.
Kiyomi raised her head.
"Don't look like you're about to keel over." Kawaki said. "You won't die before that old bastard does."
Kiyomi froze for a moment.
Boruto came over, too. "That's right, Kiyomi. My dad's already sent the Anbu to investigate where that puppet came from. Once we find the Kara Organization's hideout, we'll definitely find a way to cure you."
"Thank you," Kiyomi said softly.
"Come on, let's go home for dinner." Boruto stretched. "Himawari said she's making red bean soup today."
By the time the three of them left the hospital, the sun had completely sunk below the horizon.
The lights along the streets of the Leaf had come on. Kiyomi walked between Boruto and Kawaki, watching the children playing by the roadside and the vendors bustling about.
The peace made her feel a little as if it weren't real.
In the Laboratory in Amegakure, night meant endless tests and darkness.