A / N: I've re-written this to be solely in Tsunade, Kinuye (OC), and Shizune's POVs. Hence, I've taken down the old chapters and will re-upload them with the changes. If case anyone who has followed this previously and is now scratching their head going "Huh?".
As for those of you just coming in, know that this story (besides what's already in the little blurb) is going to focus on those two, along with Haku's clan, the Yuki, and the Akatsuki, as well as the civil war in the Land of Water that was only sparsely mentioned in the story of Naruto. That's the plan, anyway.
I. Assignment
Tsunade sighed, head in hands, annoyed at having to get up so early in the morning just for writing reports and looking at village statistics. Her eyes went from paper to paper scattered across her desk until they finally rested on the one she wanted. It was for a diplomatic mission to the Land of Water, and she sighed again, putting on her reading glasses even though she had no need to do so. Skimming it, she sighed for a third time and set it back down. Now looking at the two-man team assigned to the mission, she was going to miss not having to get up for tea.
Shizune, her personal assistant, waited patiently with her hands clasped in front of herself, ready as always. Right beside her was the ANBU Black Ops member that was to accompany her on the mission. Or, he was supposed to be. "Late..." she grumbled breathlessly, not upset over his tardiness since he was new, and for the fact that it gave her a chance to doze off…
Next to Shizune, literally coming out of her shadow, was a dark form that quickly materialized into a shrouded individual wearing a feline-style porcelain mask with blue stripes. He stood there for a moment before Shizune cleared her throat to get her attention. Tsunade jumped with a start and slammed her fist on the desk, then immediately calmed down upon realizing where she was and stood up, glaring at the ANBU member. A few extra winks would have been nice.
"Remove your shroud and mask, you won't be needing them for this mission. They'll draw too much attention."
The ANBU member obeyed and striped down to the ANBU's standard black outfit and overlaying gray flak. She shook her head and told him to switch out the ANBU attire for regular Konohagakure shinobi gear and after he melted back into the shadows, appearing mere moments later in the requested gear, she nodded her approval and leaned on one of many windowsills overlooking the village. A few more moments elapsed until she finally opened her mouth to speak again.
"The two of you will be the emissaries to Kirigakure to meet with its current Mizukage, the Fifth, Mei Terumī. This will be a mission of political importance, as the Fifth Mizukage has made strenuous attempts at reaching out to the other nations for support and mutual relations. I've decided it best to personally send two from the village to accept her offers in person. Obviously, that is why the two of you are here." She addressed her personal assistant first, "Shizune, you're in charge. I expect you to return with definitive results and a positive outcome," then shifted to the ANBU member, "and Iwao, you are her escort. You already know what is expected of you. Now," she sat back down and folded her arms over the desk, "the rest is up to the two of you."
"Yes, Fifth Hokage!" Both bowed deeply and left the room. Leading the way was Shizune.
Spinning in her chair, Tsunade stared up at the ceiling and tried her damndest to ignore the paperwork on her desk before she actually had to leave her stubbornness behind and start stamping.
— º¡Ø¡º —
Shizune chewed gently on her bottom lip, careful not to let her eyes wander to the dark haired man beside her. The ANBU reported directly to the Hokage, she was well aware of the fact, yet she'd never actually seen one who was actively on duty without their mask. It was a symbol in and of itself, and, before she knew it, she was studying his face. Dark blue eyes sunken underneath a strong brow, with a barely noticeable crooked nose, slight stubble, and a very faint scar that ran down his temple on the right side. Between the ages of twenty-one and twenty-seven, she guessed.
Slumping forward, she wished she were that young again. Yet, here she was, having hit thirty a few months prior, and already on her way to being considered middle-aged. A slight frowned formed on her lips and the expression made the ANBU member glance over.
"Something the matter?" he asked, his voice quiet yet clear as water.
The frown turned into a thin smile as she straightened, waving his potential worry away with a hand. "It's nothing, really, I'm just thinking about the mission." He nodded and she sighed to the side, her eyes on the village now. At least it was older than her.
As they came to the front entrance, the morning light catching the trees and casting soft shadows, the ANBU member looked at her again. His expression revealed nothing about what he was thinking about, but his eyes told a different story entirely. He was sizing her up the same as she'd done him. Not that there was much to look at.
His eyes travelled from her face to the standard-issue Konohagakure uniform she wore, lingering on her sleeves, which were extra-long to hide her ninja tool devices attached to her forearms and wrists, and then eventually went down to her lower body. Whereupon he proceeded to look down at his own person. To the forehead protector fastened around his neck, at its nicks, dents, and the engraving of Konohagakure's symbol etched into the metal. The Will of Fire.
She was the one to glance back over this time.
"Anything on your mind you'd like to share, Iwao...?" She couldn't recall his last name, though knew that Iwao probably wasn't even his real first name, and felt flustered, from unprofessional embarrassment.
His eyes were still on his forehead protector as he responded, "I'm fine, Lady Shizune." He tilted his head towards it, unfastening and refastening it onto his left shoulder and presenting it to her. "It's worn down..." Smiling now, he was about move his arm back to his side when she reached out.
Her fingers traced around the metal band. "Certainly, it's been through many things," she observed, suddenly jumping back upon noticing him tense up. A reflex in preparation for someone with a lethal hidden instrument. "Ah! I'm sorry, I just—!"
He relaxed immediately. "Don't worry over it, Lady Shizune." He rotated the shoulder and stretched his back muscles. "It's seen many things." He nodded at her. "And where, if I may ask, is yours? Do you not wear one?"
Shizune didn't meet his eyes, fiddling with her fingers. So that was why he sized her up before? "Ah, yes, I chose not to wear one, but if I'm required to then I always do. Is there a problem with that?" She saw him blink from the corner of her eye.
"No, not at all. Just curious..." His eyes wandered to the village gate's exit as they were approaching. "The mission, I will guard you with my life, you can count on that. This forehead protector, think of it as a symbol of my promise, my duty."
Shizune responded with a silent nod.
Lady Tsunade was counting on the two of them to complete this mission with the most desirable outcome possible, and, even if it cost her own life, she would carry it out to the letter. No slip-ups, no mistakes. As they passed through the gate, though, she couldn't help but again glance at her escort. His smile had held a certain sadness.
That had been the reason for her nearly inappropriate grasping on his arm, the inspecting of his forehead protector; she had wanted to reach out and encourage him, take that sadness away. Involuntarily, of course. Again, she realized she was staring and quickly turned to the side. Her rudeness was unacceptable and she didn't know what to say as they were now surrounded by nothing but trees and the chirping of birds. Their journey together was going to be a tedious one, she could feel it.
Thoughts wandering back to the Lady Tsunade then, she wondered how long it would take for her to start on her work and hoped it was before they made it to their next destination.
— º¡Ø¡º —
Leafing through old records because she felt like it, Tsunade navigated to Iwao's page and skimmed through it, groping for a cup of tea that wasn't there and frowning because of it. Sending him on this mission was the right decision, she knew that, but at the back of her mind she couldn't expel the creeping doubt that he would end up worse because of it, thinking of sending a team to shadow them, then closed his record and decided to wait it out and see. The boy was smart. She had faith in him to make the right decision, in the end.
Now, rapping her fingers on her desk, hand on cheek, she wondered what to do next and pulled out some old photos of Shizune back when they travelled together, chuckling to herself at the memories. She was such a dedicated, high spirited brat back then. And, now, that brat was all grown up. How time flew.
— º¡Ø¡º —
After a time of walking in silence together they came to a fork in the road. The sign had three places of destination: two small villages to the west, one larger town to the east. The way to Kirigakure was east.
"There's an inn a couple of miles past the town and we'll reach it before sundown if we keep this pace."
Receiving a nod of agreement, Shizune started down their chosen path, listening the sounds of their footsteps on the paved dirt path and keeping that expression of his far from her current state of mind. Looking at the trees all around, she couldn't rule out the possibility of an ambush once they arrived. From what she remembered, there was still strong opposition as to the Fifth Mizukage's methods. Remnants of the Fourth and other shady organizations. With a shake of her head, she slapped her cheeks and huffed. Now wasn't the time to be wondering about what was yet to come.
Her thoughts went back through the past two years. Most of all—Orochimaru and... the new one yet to fully reveal itself. All the information they had was the name. Akatsuki. Two of its members: Itachi Uchiha, formerly of Konohagakure, from where they'd just come, and Kisame Hoshigaki, formerly of Kirigakure, their destination. Hopefully, she'd be able to uncover more information, and, if not of the Akatsuki, then perhaps of Kisame Hoshigaki. Though, right now, her main duty was negotiating a beneficial agreement with the Fifth Mizukage, and solidifying an alliance between the two nations. Anything else was secondary. Her eyes wandered to Iwao.
His attention was on the path they were taking. Anything and everything. Alert and cautious, moving with fluidity and purpose. Why Lady Tsunade had chosen only him to accompany her, she must've had a definitive reason. "The town is up ahead," she stated, the entrance visible from a longer distance than she'd first thought. Too caught up in her musings to notice, she summarized. "Our best course of action is to go straight through. We can grab something hot once at the inn."
"And if something goes wrong while we're in the town?"
"If we can help it, ignore it."
"As you say."
Two guards greeted them as they came to the entrance, but didn't take any further action as they didn't need to. Once inside, the two travelling companions looked at the various shops and kiosks as they walked past people going about their daily business. Looking down one of the alleyways, Shizune caught sight of a female dog defending its young from a group of children. They were taunting and trying to coax the mother away, throwing small stones and waving sticks.
"A stray," Iwao said. His fist was clenched at his side, eyes glued on the scene.
Shizune could sense his urge to intervene, "Remember what—" There was a yelp as one of the children hit the mother on the side of the head and she furrowed her brow, "We aren't here to—!" The same child kicked the dazed animal. She stopped in her tracks. "Actually, nevermind." Stomping her way to the alleyway entrance, shouted, "Hey! You brats! Stop what you're doing and leave those dogs alone!" The children turned and ran, sticking out their tongues and shouting insults—the worst of all being old hag—and brow twitching, she slowly approached the female dog and her young. The mother growled, saliva dripping from her mouth, teeth bared, eyes hostile. Iwao stepped in front of her. "Stay back! I mean... please move aside, they're harmless."
Iwao obliged and she held out her hand once she got close enough. The mother was still weary, but after a moment conceded and bowed her head, coming forward to lick her saviour's palm. Crouching down, Shizune scratched her ears and eased her hands over her head injury. The dog whimpered in pain, but didn't recoil. Her young gathered around her as Shizune closed the wound with her medical ninjutsu and rubbed under her chin.
"Good girl..." Placing a hand on the dog's side, she healed the second injury as well. As a thank you, she received a few more licks on the hand. "All better." Standing up, she turned to Iwao and smiled warmly. The mother and her young scurried off, glancing back before disappearing deeper into the alley. "Ready to continue?"
As they made their way out of the town, Shizune watched him as he now walked in front of her. The way he'd reacted to the children's harassment, or no, the way he'd reacted to the female dog and her young. She looked at the hands. He must have them too, and, she felt that if only she could find what and where her companion's wounds were, and, if possible, heal them, as well, then he would be at his best for the mission. For, right now, even though he may not notice it himself, his pain was clouding his senses more that it should—especially for a member of ANBU—and she glanced back up, determined to set his broken heart straight.