Disclaimer: Okay...I don't own Naruto, or any of Masashi Kishimoto's characters. I do, however, own Nakano Ashe, Sha Shigure, Shinsei Hitochi, Shindo Misheru, Momochi Sukima, Sha Kai, Nakano Hatori, and Flynn Wellington. They are my characters.
Chapter One
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The Fog descended quickly on the forest. In the clearing where Nakano Ashe was sleeping soundly, the sunlight streamed steadily through the low-lying clouds. Water from the stream flowed quietly over smooth stones, and birds chirped loudly, ultimately waking the kunoichi.
Eyes still tired from lack of sleep, Ashe stepped out into the warm, sun-filled clearing. She rubbed her eyes and looked around.
"Morning, Ashe." Shigure said merrily.
Ashe groaned and sat down beside him. "Why are you so damn cheerful?" She asked, a little irritated.
"I'm excited." Shigure confessed. "I've never been away from home."
"Oh, Shi-kun." Ashe sighed and glanced up at the sky. It was going to be a very long day. "What's for breakfast?"
"Rice, just like always. It's all we have left." Shigure told her. He stirred the rice around in a pot, and upon seeing Ashe's look of disgust, threw her a glance. "Don't think you're better than this, Ashe."
"I know. I'm just sick of eating rice." She said, feet propped up on Shigure's knees. She wiggled her toes at him, and watched happily as he smiled and finished cooking the rice.
"I wonder what they'll think of you." Shigure said as he doled out some of the sticky rice in a bowl. He handed it to Ashe, and then got his own.
"They'll probably think I'm the most amazing jounin they've ever met." Ashe said with a grin.
"You are amazing." Shigure said, shaking his head slowly. It was meant to be an insult, but of course, the cheerful kunoichi took it the wrong way.
"I know!" Ashe exclaimed, grinning wildly. She got up from the ground, leaving her bowl behind for Shigure to clean and climbed back into her tent. Silently, she dug through her pile of clothes, and pulled out her most spectacular looking outfit.
"Not the skirt again..." Shigure groaned. Ashe was wearing the yard of white fabric that she liked to call a skirt, again. It had to be only seven inches long, and barely covered her.
"What's wrong with it?" Ashe asked, gazing stupidly down at her skirt.
"No offense, senpai, but you look cheap." Shigure told her.
"Cheap? Like a whore?" Ashe questioned. Her small mouth formed an "O" as realization dawned on her. "You're right."
Shigure watched, amused, as Ashe scurried back into the tent to change. She came back out wearing very tight black pants, and her favorite white and black boots.
"Better?" Ashe asked, twirling around for him. Her soft black hair flowed freely in the wind, and covered her delicate face.
"Perfect." Shigure replied. She was perfect, in more than just one way. She was beautiful, strong, smart, and funny. Everything Shigure wanted in a woman, but he just wasn't attracted to her in that way. Besides, he was her best friend. Best friends just didn't do that. "We should leave soon if you want to be on time."
Ashe nodded, and grabbed her bag. As always, ready on time. She led the way through the forest, stealing glances at Shigure every once in a while. He knew she was worried about him. This was his first time away from Kirigakure, and she was responsible for watching over him. She couldn't screw this up.
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"Nakano Ashe, correct?" Tsunade asked the black-haired kunoichi.
"Correct." Ashe answered. She had assumed an air of importance and seriousness since they arrived in Konoha.
"It's good to have you here with us." Tsunade said, her lips white from being stretched so thin.
"If you don't mind me asking, Tsunade-sama, why are you angry?" Ashe asked.
"I'm under a lot of stress. I'm not angry. I'm pregnant, and it's hell." Tsunade replied. She grinned widely, showing Ashe that she wasn't hostile.
Ashe smiled back, and glanced at the silver-haired jounin at Tsunade's side. He was quite handsome, even with that mask.
"Tomorrow, you will administer your exam to the jounin. I trust that you are able to train these jounin to be hunter-nin as well as ANBU and Black Ops." Tsunade said.
"Of course I can. But I can also guarantee you that those jounin will have their minds set on being ANBU." Ashe told her.
"You're probably right." Tsunade sighed. "Kakashi here will meet you at jounin headquarters tomorrow morning. He will be your partner in all of this."
"Goodnight, Tsunade-sama." Ashe said quietly as she departed.
"Kakashi, could you do me a favor, and find Jiraiya? I'm going to kick his sorry ass for this." Tsunade asked as she rubbed her pregnant belly.
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"Who would've thought, the Hokage pregnant..." Shigure mused as he and Ashe ate their dinner.
"I'm nervous, Shii-chan." Ashe confessed.
Shigure didn't know what to say. He had never known Ashe to be the nervous type. She was always straightforward, and said what she meant. Why all of a sudden, was she getting nervous? "You, Nakano Ashe, greatest jounin I've ever known, nervous?" Shigure asked.
"Yes. I don't want all of those jounin to hate me if I don't accept any of them. I mean...what if all of them turn out to be useless? The days of great jounin like you and I are almost over. We're becoming extinct, Shii-chan." Ashe replied.
Shigure took a deep breath. Ashe's words had sunk in quickly. What if the days of great jounin truly were almost over? What would happen when all of the jounin disappeared, and all that was left were family men and housewives? The Hokage was turning into this image of a housewife. Shigure shook his head. He had to stop worrying about this. It was Ashe's job to make jounin great. She just had to stop caring so much. "Don't worry about how they feel yet, Ashe." He said.
"What do you mean?" She asked, a little confused.
"I mean, don't worry about their feelings until you have to. Right now, you're expected to assemble a team of jounin to train. Until you have that team, don't worry. That's too many people to care about at once." Shigure told her.
Ashe nodded, letting his words sink in. She finished the rest of her dinner in silence, before departing for bed.
Upstairs in her room, Ashe lay in the small bed, thinking. She was thinking about Zabuza, and how proud he would be that she was succeeding. She missed him terribly. After he left that day, she never heard about him again. Zabuza-san and Haku-sama disappeared from her life without a trace, and no one even attempted to tie up the loose ends. She was left worrying for years, and now she was thirty, an old jounin. She remembered the day she first met Zabuza-san, but it brought back memories that were too painful to stand.
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The following morning, Ashe woke up in a terrible mood. She dressed in silence, hurriedly pulling on a black shirt, and loose fitting white pants. The pants hung loose on her narrow hips, exposing a strip of her flat, white, belly. She slipped her small feet into a pair of black boots, and ran a hand through her smooth, straight, black hair. Maybe she would make an attempt to retain her identity, and not try to be someone else.
"Morning." Shigure said with cheer.
"Not in the mood." Ashe said in a singsong voice as she grabbed her katana and strapped it to her back.
"What's wrong today?" Shigure asked innocently.
Ashe shot him a look as she strapped her holster around her waist, and went looking for her gun.
"Zabuza-san?" Shigure inquired.
"What do you think?" Ashe asked angrily as she came into the kitchen, all weapons in place.
Shigure shook his head slowly. About once a month, Ashe dreamt about Zabuza. He understood that she missed him, but the moods he put her in were unbearable. If only he would come back from wherever he was. He never made a big deal about Haku. It was true, when they were still around, and the four of them would have dinner together, Shigure would blatantly stare at Haku, reveling in his beauty. He loved Haku, but he didn't dream about him.
"I'm sorry Shii-chan." Ashe apologized.
"It's okay, Ashe-chan." Shigure grinned. "We should get moving."
Ashe and Shigure made the trek to jounin headquarters in silence. Ashe was shocked when she threw open the doors to the exam hall, and saw hundreds of jounin staring back at her.