Chapter Two: A Failure in the Best Way

I apologize again for the shortness of the last chapter, I will try my best to make this one longer, witch shouldn't be too hard considering this is where the first bit of action and stuff will be.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto (if I did then it would be full of Yuri goodness)

Tsunade bolted through the streets of Konoha in search of the vigilante. She hoped she was wrong, she did not wish to harm somebody who was once her greatest admirer. Even more than that, she did not with to harm Shizune's childhood friend.

As she sprinted down a dark road she could hear shouting in the distance, she quickened her pace to its fastest to arrive at the scene just in time. She saw two men facing each other in the center of the street, and a dark cloaked figure with a mask standing between them, deciding their fate.

The cloaked woman threw a kunai at one man, that is when Tsunade stepped in, she caught the kunai and dropped it to the ground. The cloaked figure gasped in surprise, and a hint of anger.

"What have these men done to secure such a fate?" Tsunade demanded, her voice equally as muffled and unidentifiable as the other's.

"They were going to kill each other, I thought that I would do it for them. If one killed the other than one would be dead and the other a murderer. It is a suitable punishment." Both kunoichi failed to notice the men flee as they glared at each other through their masks.

"And that is not your decision." Tsunade charged at the cloaked woman, fist ready to plant itself hard. The other dodged instantly, circling around to Tsunade's back. She drew her short sword and lunged foreword; Tsunade easily grabbed the blade and broke it in half and connected her fist with the other's mask. The other kunoichi lie on the ground in pain. The mask cracked, but did not break, under the force of the blow. "That mask is made of demon bone." The blonde Hokage deduced.

-That chakra, and that strength.- The cloaked girl steadied herself on her feet, "Tsunade-dono." She couldn't help but speak aloud.

" '-dono'?" Tsunade's eyes grew wide in terror. She was right about her opponents identity, she was the only one to ever use such a high-ranking term.

"I see…" Yuki laughed as she made a hand sign 'rat'. "I won't hold back then." She tossed her cloak to the side.

"That sign makes me certain, she is using her kekki genkai…" Tsunade sifted through her mind, she had seen this before. During a sparring match on the road with Shizune when the old friends had crossed paths. It was like the byakugan, or the sharingan, but it did something different.

"I can see you." The previously cloaked woman said tauntingly. One part down, she could see in the darkness. She ran at incredible speed in circles around Tsunade, using her eyes to see inside of the woman's body, following her flow of chakra and memorizing the hand signs she was quickly creating. This was why she was a genius. She watched Tsunade's movement and predicted her final steps, as she dodged a quick punch she grabbed the broken sword blade and pierced Tsunade's leg, tearing a muscle.

-She missed her mark, she wanted my tendon.- Tsunade smirked.

-She's fast, I should expect nothing less from a sannin…- Yuki chuckled at her amusement. She watched the flow of chakra in Tsunade's body as she began to repair her leg, she used strings of chakra to feign muscle to temporarily be able to move her leg. She studied carefully the flow of the chakra making numerous mental notes. In her distraction Tsunade took her chance to force a deep wound into Yuki's left shoulder. As the wound began to close, Tsunade could see strings of chakra glowing inside.

-That's the other thing, she can trace my chakra flow inside of my body. But she cant see the buttons like Neji or Hinata, and unlike the sharingan she cant copy my movements.- The fight continued on with strong punches missing their marks on the other kunoichi's body until both Tsunade and Yuki leaned on one knee. "Just give up already!" Tsunade demanded.

"And give up a chance to fight a legendary sannin? No way Tsunade-dono." Yuki spoke out of breath, sweat spilling down her face beneath the scolding mask.

"I see, if you wont give yourself in, then I will have to use all of my ability." Tsunade smirked and stood strong. She laughed sternly at her opponent, imagining the face behind the mask in fear and confusion, much as Yuki actually was.

-How did she recover so fast? She was just toying with me? Shit, I was paying so much attention to her chakra that I didn't even notice the exterior…careless.- She struggled to her feet in fatigue, no sooner than she found herself in the air as the result of one of Tsunade's furious kicks. Her mask shattered under the heavy blow as her body dragged across the ground in defeat. She slowly sat up covering her face with her hand, her hood had fallen and exposed short white hair that gradually faded to black at the tips. In one slick motion she stood and ran at top speed from a pursuing sannin. She prided herself on her speed and Tsunade quickly lost the trail.

-Damn.- Tsunade cursed under her breath.

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Tsunade stormed back into the office with heave feet and a frown across her face. Shizune woke up as the door slammed open and asked in sleepy alert, "What happened, Tsunade-sama?" She yawned.

"I was right, it's her." Tsunade sighed, "I saw her hair too, and she used those eyes." She slumped onto her seat and yawned.

"So, what will we do?" Shizune asked as tears welled in her eyes.

"I don't know, I'll think about it in the morning." Tsunade said as she drifted off in a sitting position. Shizune pulled a thick blanket over her sleeping mistress before dozing off in her previous manner.

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Tsunade awoke the next morning to the ANBU holding a letter in their hands. "What is it, this better be important." She stretched. Her eyes grew wide as she read the letter aloud. Shizune gasped at is contents.

The letter summed up the demands of Yuki Machiko, the vigilante. She was giving herself in to the superior sannin under one condition: Shizune was to meet her by herself and accompany her to the Hokage's office.

"So, are we going to do it?" Shizune asked in fear and anticipation.

"Absolutely not!" Tsunade snapped, "You know how strong she is, she stood up to me!"

"She wouldn't hurt me, Tsunade-sama. She couldn't." Shizune begged, it was their only chance for them to catch her without Tsunade getting any more injuries.

"You're right, Shizune, but the ANBU will be close behind."

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Shizune walked slowly to the village gate, the meeting place. This place would make it easy for Yuki to escape if something went wrong. Yuki was leaning on the cold wooden pillar just inside the gate, she flashed a smile at her childhood friend before continuing to mouth the words to a song silently to herself.

Shizune's memories surfaced, before she left the village when her friend would stay over they would walk down the street hand-in-hand, and Yuki would always sing a lullaby before bed to help Shizune sleep. She had always loved her voice. She was ripped from her memories by Yuki calling out to her, acknowledging the not-so-stealthy approach of the ANBU.

"I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama wouldn't let me come without them." Shizune sighed. Yuki coolly stepped from the coulomb toward the apprentice ninja, her hands shoved tightly in her pockets. "Why did you hurt Tsunade-sama?" She demanded.

"I wanted to see how I could fare against a sannin, and I wanted to learn from her." Yuki said bluntly, looking into Shizune's dark eyes. Shizune slapped her in the face, hard enough to leave behind a pink glow. She went silent as tears welled in her eyes. The mental pain outweighed the physical.

"You should've just asked if you wanted to learn from her! Do you realize that you can die for your crime?!" Shizune shouted, "How could you do that to yourself, how could you do that to me?" She had tears in her eyes as averted them from her hurt friend, who still stared at her with her mouth ajar.

"I wanted to protect people from danger, the people that I care about, and the people that those people care about." She moved her hand up to wipe the tears from Shizune's eyes, the dark-haired kunoichi swatted the hand away. Yuki held her swatted hand and stared at it. "Lets just go then…" Yuki started her way down the road. Shizune followed closely behind, staring at the ground.

Yuki stopped when she heard Shizune start to sob and stop in her tracks. She hurried to her friend and embraced her. Shizune struggled to get free from the hold, but her struggles failed under Yuki's strength. Yuki began to sing the same lullaby she used to put Shizune to sleep so many years ago. She gently rocked side-to-side calming her friend, "Tell me what's wrong." Yuki demanded in a soft voice. Shizune had calmed to the point of holding around her friend's waist and leaning her head on her chest.

"I don't want them to put you to death; but, with all of the trouble you caused I can't see why that won't be their decision." She grabbed Yuki's shirt hard in her fingers to hold back more tears.

"You know Tsunade and me better than that…" Yuki urged looking into the dark eyes of the other, running her fingers through her hair.

"If you do that, Yuki-sama, people will get the wrong idea about us." Shizune explained, though showing no signs of resistance or discomfort.

"I'm sorry, lets get walking then." Yuki started, releasing Shizune from her embrace.

Lighthearted conversation took over the rest of the walk to the Hokage's office. Yuki did not want to upset Shizune but she was uncertain of the intensity of her punishment as she stood now, she knew that if she kept up her vigilante antics she would get the death penalty for sure.

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Yuki stood in front of the ANBU, Tsunade, and Shizune in the Hokage's office. Her wrists were bound with thick rope and an ANBU held each elongated end.

"Do you realize your crimes?" Tsunade started.

"Yes, Tsunade-dono." Yuki shook her head. "I apologize for my crimes and I am ready to serve my sentence, whatever your choice may be."

"Put her down stairs until we decide." Tsunade ordered. The ANBU members led her to a dark holding cell on the bottom floor of the Konoha tower. Two ANBU stayed as guards as the rest met with Tsunade to seal the young kunoichi's fate.

Okay, so this chapter is still short, but it is a bit longer than the last one. Shizune's relationship with Yuki is evident in this chapter; it shows how they already stand as close friends and that Shizune is very comfortable with this person and being close to them. The next chapter will be in and out of the small prison as Shizune splits her time between being with her friend and meeting with her mentor to decide what will be done with the crimson eyed kunoichi. I hope you keep reading, please review but don't flame.