The Rokudamie stood in his office staring out at the village that had grown so much in the past years. In his hand he held a file, knowing that it would cause one of his best men to most likely die, but also knowing that he had very little choice in the matter. He saw his secretary/advisor shift out of the corner of his eye before she spoke.
"Is there no other way?" she sounded defeated almost.
"If there was I would rather take that path, but there is not other course that I can follow at this time." His normal bright smile was absent and his voice held an undertone of someone three-times his age.
"I never knew that being Hokage….that a 'kage had to make such…horrible disc ions!" The sable woman had only been his secretary for a few short months; the bulge that was her stomach gave away why exactly she was currently in the position.
"Neither did I when I was first named Baa-san's successor, but it's something I've come to accept—there really isn't much more choice, I sometimes have to ace as a 'kage, not a friend." Unidentifiable emotions floated under the surface of his voice as he spoke.
"How? How can you accept sending your people...your friends!.. on suicide missions?!?" she still didn't understand, but then he didn't expect her to. It took him almost two years to finally understand.
"I…I think of it this way—my soldiers are my body, and Konoha is my soul. My body may become injured, the injuries may lay me up for some time, but as long as they aren't fatal than they will heal and I continue on—even if those injuries leave scars, I will still be able to stand strong and be able to fight another day. But without my soul, without that vital piece of me that my body protects, even if there are no physical injuries, I'm still dead. The soul is ALWAYS more important that the body." Turning to the woman, he gave a sad smile that showed the wisdom that one so young should never have.
Without speaking another word, the rosette moved over to them and they both watched the last few minutes of light, a silent understanding now between them—for while the should can function with a damaged body, the body can not function with a broke soul.
So, I thought of this in the shower…don't know why. Lolz
I'm not really pleased with the ending, but overall I think it was ok.
You can all feel free to guess who the woman is—I was originally going to make her Sakura, but I didn't want to give the impression that the baby was Naruto's, 'cuz personally I don't like that pairing. So I'm just going to leave it open now.