Tsunade marched down the sterile halls of her hospital, an orderly scurrying along in her wake, jabbering about several patients and juggling their charts. She was barely listening; she already knew the charts by heart, and anything that needed urgent attention could be handled by Shizune until she was free.
It was the middle of the night, the only time she'd had in the last few days to pry herself away from her desk and the ever growing paper work that occupied it. This personal visit was too important to put off.
Moonlight streamed through the windows; the shadows of wind swept trees thrashed wildly along the pale walls. The nights were often cold and clear now; winter would soon be upon them.
Tsunade's heels clicked on the white marble floor, the noise bouncing off the walls and echoing down the corridor.
"You got Sumiko's file on you?" She snapped. She sensed the orderly jump in fright, and fumble around frantically to conjure the folder.
Tsunade stifled an irritated sigh, before snatching the papers from the young woman. She peered into many windows that lined the corridor; simultaneously checking that the patients were resting and looking for Sumiko Mai.
She glanced down at the file, checking her patient's progress over the last few days. Mai had put up a fight when Tsunade's nurses tried to commit her (she tried to bite a nurse and then kicked a hole in the corridor wall), but they had managed to restrain and sedate her before she did too much damage.
The lack of sleep over the time of her return caused Sumiko's mental state to deteriorate and finally trigger the PTSD.
But now, after three days of isolation and rest, Tsunade was eager to speak with the girl, and get her back out into the village. She wouldn't be her usual self; that would take time, but she would be functioning better.
Tsunade glanced at the graph summarising Mai's health stats; it was not as improved as the Hokage would have preferred, but it would suffice. The girl would manage with routine check-ups.
"It's just the second room on the right here, Milady." The orderly piped up from behind Tsunade.
"Thank you Rei. You may go." Tsunade said listlessly, not bothering to raise her eyes from the chart.
"Yes, Milady." The orderly murmured before hurrying past.
Tsunade pushed open the door the woman had indicated and stepped into the darkened room. Her eyes took a moment to adjust from the dully lit hall, but when they did, she found that her patient was not resting.
Mai sat upright and cross-legged in the middle of her bed, her pale eyes shining out from the darkness. Her chakras were calm and muted; her very presence was still and silent.
Tsunade raised her eyebrows; the girl was far more together than the last time she saw her.
"Sumiko Mai, you've been here for three days now; how are you feeling?" Tsunade said quietly. The girl didn't move, Tsunade couldn't even hear her breathing. She wondered momentarily whether Mai was actually awake, when she finally answered:
"Sane."
"Hn." Tsunade smiled thinly into the darkness. "I'm pleased with you're progress. You're not quite where I want you health-wise…Do you think you are ready to go home?" She continued conversationally.
"That's not my call," came the hoarse reply.
Tsunade's smile faded into a sigh as she closed the folder. She was sure that the best way for Mai to heal was to resume her place amongst the public. Her friends throughout the ninja ranks were waiting to help. Normal life would help her more than being locked up in a hospital would.
Tsunade chose to ignore Mai's last comment.
"I'd prefer for you to return home. I will send people round regularly to check on you; but I don't think staying here is best for you."
Mai stared at her for a moment before she uncrossed her legs and stood up off the bed.
"I can go?"
"We still need to discuss the details of your time with the mercenaries, but that can wait until tomorrow. I will send Shizune in the afternoon."
"Fine."
The girl was aching to leave this room; Tsunade understood her eagerness. It was a good sign that she no longer wanted to be isolated and hidden away. The Hokage pulled a piece of paper out from Maia's file, signed it and handed it over.
"Here are your discharge papers. You are free to leave."
Mai eyed her warily, as though she expected the Hokage to take back the offer. She reached out cautiously and took the slip from the woman's out-stretched hand.
"'K."
She side-stepped the Hokage swiftly, paused in the doorway momentarily before hurrying away through the corridors.
"Mai turns at the sound of her name; the voice thick with sorrowful yearning. The moonlight makes her features glow; the tracks of her tears glisten. The wind blows around her, she sways slightly – will she fall over the edge?'
"And then she sees him, racing up the cliff side towards her to stop her fatal leap into the dark ravine. Finally she sees him, and her face is awash with happiness. They run to each other, arms outstretched –,"
"That…is just the stupidest thing…" Raidou yawned. The other Shinobi snickered; their comrade had only voiced what everyone had been thinking.
Gai glared at Raidou, furious at having his happy ending interrupted.
"Hey - why does Mai have to be suicidal in this scenario?" Asuma asked, drawing on his cigarette.
"For drama! For atmosphere! For Romance!" Gai spluttered, gesticulating as though this were obvious.
Gai quickly saw that his comrades had missed his point completely, and settled instead for glaring sulkily at the table.
It was raining today, all but hardcore and the slightly insane were forced indoors to train. The small group happened to be training in the same dojo, and had converged in the staffrooms above the area. Naturally, conversation quickly turned to towards Konoha's most current and scandalous of events.
Kotetsu, Radiou's usual counterpart, rubbed his eyes tiredly, before finally joining the discussion.
"Hey, so that Hana chick is single now right? You guys reckon I have a shot?"
Asuma exhaled slowly.
"Nope."
Gai jumped, as though Kotetsu had reminded him of some important fact.
"Yeah, I thought once they split, he'd be back with Mai. I don't get the hold up."
"You serious? You do understand the whole situation don't you?" Asuma asked; his eyebrows raised in genuine surprise.
"Of course. She loves him. He loves her. Where is the problem in that?"
The other Nin exchanged exasperated glances, unsure as to whether Gai being especially dense, or angling to make a point.
Asuma seemed determined not to entertain Gai's thought patterns at this time, and so Raidou made a hesitant attempt at an explanation.
"Right so, picture this : That Lee kid and the other two you train decide one day that they want a new teacher and so they leave you-,"
"-Irrelevant. That would never happen." Gai said flatly.
"Not only that,' Raidou continued over Gai's interruption, 'but they tell you that you are a terrible sensei, and they would much rather be trained by your rival; Hatake Kakashi. So off they all go, leaving you without so much as a backwards glance to train with Kakashi. You don't understand what caused the sudden change of heart, and they refuse to talk to you.
"Then out the blue, over two years later, they show up on your door step saying that they were just joking about you being a terrible teacher, and ask that you resume training them. Would you take them back?"
The attention turned swiftly back to guy, Asuma and Kotetsu appearing to approve of Raidou's hasty summation.
"Yes." Gai nodded firmly.
Asuma groaned slightly.
"E-even after all they put you through? The needless pain they caused?" Raidou spluttered.
"Yep."
Gai's face was serious and set. Asuma considered his friend for a long moment, before putting him cigarette out and turned towards him.
"Why's that, Gai?"
"Because we are soon to be at war. There isn't time for second guessing or anger towards your allies. I believe in making the most of the present; and this is the second time Kakashi had almost lost her.
"If I were him,' Gai summerised impressively, crossing his arms over his chest, 'I wouldn't be wasting any time."
The others exchanged glances before Kotetsu heaved a sigh.
"Why must he always be right during the worst of times?"
Kakashi gingerly shrugged out of his vest; the muscles in his back groaning tiredly as he did so. The gates into Konoha were just a few yards ahead, and he wanted nothing more than to go home and crawl into bed. It wasn't too late in the afternoon, but the sky was already darkening. The temperature had dropped the closer he came to the village, though he was still warm from the trek.
The mission the Hokage had sent him on had been tedious, and lasted two days longer than expected.
He had been instructed to move the Western boundary to oversee and help with the new security measures undertaken by border control. It was a mission that could have been easily taken care of by a high level Chunin, and initially Kakashi had been confused.
Then Tsunade told him that she had discharged Maia from the hospital the night before, and that she didn't need him putting her "back into a tail spin" the moment she was out. Kakashi had replied that Tsunade gave him too much credit for Mai's mental state, but the woman would not be swayed.
The closer he had gotten to the border, the more the rumours about Akasuki intensified. Stories that the organisation had gone further into hiding since the 'Sumiko Desertion', but were on the move towards Konoha for vengeance.
There had been more that one stress induced breakdown from the younger Shinobi, for whom this was the first war they would see. Older ninja were silent, grim-faced and entirely focused on the job at hand.
He stifled a yawn and shoved his hands in his pockets; the vest laying over one of his arms. He passed beneath through the gates, and gave a tired wave to the guards. Raidou and Kotetsu were on again today; they nodded quickly, exchanged nervous glances with each other before setting about looking too busy to talk.
He shrugged off the odd behaviour, and instead considered the best way to get back to his apartment. It would be busy on the main street today, but it was the most direct route from here. He could take one of the back streets, though it took twice and long…And he was too tired to bother with the roof-tops.
His shoulders gave another painful twinge. There was nothing for it; he turned into the bustling shopping district and navigated quickly through the throng of civilians lining the street. He ignored the street vendors trying to grab his attention and chose instead to grab his book and pretend to read.
Kakashi didn't know what it was that made him turn around, but despite the bustle of the people in the busy Konoha street, his eyes immediately fell on her small frame. Mai shuffled between the civilians; her arms weighed down with shopping bags.
She walked through the street with her head down and shoulders up.
Her half hearted efforts at going unnoticed were unsuccessful. A few people looked up at her passing, and the recognition was evident on their faces.
Kakashi saw a man detach himself from the group he was with; his friends stopped their conversation to watch his journey. Kakashi recognised him as a low level Jonin, though did not recall his name. The man's eyes were narrowed on Mai's back.
She hadn't felt him coming at her – or if she had, she made no effort to avoid him.
The man suddenly reached out and grabbed her arm, yanking her back and causing one of her shopping bags to tear open.
Kakashi started making his was quickly towards them. The man was hissing something in her ear.
Mai stared vacantly at the strewn items on the ground. She made no move to shake off her aggressor or to pick up her shopping.
Then something he said must have struck a nerve, as finally, for the first time she raised her head and looked him straight in the eye.
Kakashi's heart sunk when he saw the expression on her face; it drew even him to a stand still. It was the cold, calculating glare of a ninja considering a kill. The man let go of her arm as though he had been burned, and took several steps back. His face had turned white when he felt the barely contained fury behind those light eyes.
And then her face cleared back to neutrality, and she turned her back on the Ninja.
Mai finally seemed to realise that her shopping was spilled on the ground, and began collecting it up.
One of the aggressors less observant friends saw this as a defenceless stance and decided to intervene. He was at her side in an instant; reaching for her shoulder -,
"I think that's enough, don't you?" Kakashi's tone was light, but his grip on the new antagonist's wrist was of iron.
There was a crowd of civilians looking on now, though Mai hadn't looked up from her task.
There was the faintest gleam of defiance in the Ninja's eyes as he looked from Kakashi to the girl kneeling in the middle of the street.
Kakashi's grip tightened, causing the young man's jaw to clench.
"Don't" Kakashi muttered, before pushing the Ninja backwards, just hard enough to cause him to stumble.
Maia had straightened by now, glanced quickly at Kakashi before she resumed walking down the street. The onlookers parted silently as she neared, and Kakashi fell into step beside her.
She didn't acknowledge him for the first block; until there was some distance between them and the scene they had unwittingly caused.
"I don't need you to help me." She finally muttered, eyes fixed straight ahead.
Kakashi raised his eyebrows.
"Apparently I do."
Mai's face was impassive, and she showed no signs of replying.
Kakashi remained silent, considering the best way to talk to her without causing any more damage. She seemed content in ignoring him, and a part of him knew he should leave her alone. The Hokage would certainly prefer it.
"You know,' Kakashi attempted again, 'you don't need to let people treat you that way. You were doing what you thought was in the village's best interests-,"
"What I thought? You disagree?" She interrupted. Her tone was calm; she wasn't challenging him or angered by him.
It was Kakashi's turn to be silent.
They rounded another corner, and he realised that they had reached her street all too soon. Her pace quickened as they approached her building, though to his surprise, she paused at the doors.
She didn't look at him when she finally spoke again; she hadn't looked at him for the entire journey.
"I killed that mans uncle. I was sent on a mission in the Land of Waves, and his uncle was one of my targets. He is allowed to be angry. But what's done is done, there is no going back. I accept that anger." She paused, and shrugged.
"Have to."
She gave him a barest of glances, before she disappeared through the doors and into the gloom.
"I missed this place! It hasn't changed a bit!"
The youthful shout shook Kakashi from his day dream on the roof. He looked around lazily for the source of the commotion; it didn't take him long to find it.
A blonde boy stood on the roof top opposite, jabbering away excitedly to himself.
He had certainly grown up in the last two years…Kakashi hoped that the boy's skills as a ninja had improved just as much.
"Ha-ha, they even added Granny Hokage's ugly old face to the mountain!" The boy laughed, continuing his conversation with himself.
So, the real game begins, Kakashi couldn't help but think. Naruto's return signalled the beginning of the war they'd all spent the last two years preparing for.
"You've grown up a lot, Naruto." Kakashi called from his seat. Naruto looked about frantically, before he spotted his old teacher.
"Yo." Kakashi waved lazily.
The kids face lit up as he jumped the short distance between them.
"Kakashi-sensei! You haven't changed at all!"
Kakashi was thankful for the mask disguising his expression. Naruto looked different, but he was as unperceptive as ever. But then, of course he had no idea what had been going on back home, or of the sacrifices that had been made.
He wondered if he even remembered who Mai was.
Naruto was still talking, and now he held something out to Kakashi – a book…
He looked down at the gift blankly.
"It's the latest in the Icha-Icha series in three years! It's really boring, but you'll probably like it."
Naruto was staring at him expectedly. Kakashi snapped out of his reverie, and quickly started making the right noises. He hadn't read the series in a long time – there had been too many other things going on…
"Well – you can read it later. I'm starved, c'mon, the pervy-sage is waiting."
"I'll leave Naruto back into your care, as promised."
"Hn."
Kakashi and the Sanin walked side by side through the dining district, following Naruto towards some ramen store. They were certainly turning a few heads as they went. Jiraiya was making the most of the attention, winking and smiling a lucky few.
"…Akatsuki are becoming impatient. It's been two years, and I think they may make an attempt on Naruto soon. I'm going to head around and gather as much information as I can..." Jiraiya let his sentence hang in the air.
"I don't know anything Jiraiya. I'm not even sure Tsunade has begun interviewing her yet." Kakashi replied.
"Oh?" The older ninja raised an eyebrow. "I'd have thought that Tsunade would have been onto her immediately."
"There have been…complications." He replied shortly.
Jiraiya had a knowing look on his face, though he was wise enough not to delve into that particular subject further.
"Anyway. I'm sure that you're eager to see how Naruto's improved since you last saw him. I imagine that Tsunade will expect you to test Haruno Sakura too. I don't need to remind you of the state of our world at the moment."
"I'd say I have a fair idea." Kakashi replied dryly.
Jiraiya's face hatched into a grin.
"Then get that team up and running. You sound like you need a distraction. I leave them with you."
Tsunade surveyed the team over her crossed fingers. Naruto and Sakura had passed Kakashi's bell test to his satisfaction, and now it was time to send the three of them to work. Sakura stood to attention as she listened to Iruka explain the assigned mission. Kakashi had his usual air of detached boredom, and Naruto's expression had changed from excitement to annoyance the more Iruka explained.
"Naruto; we wouldn't usually send a Genin on a B class mission, but considering the ranks of your teammates and your training with the Sanin, Jiraiya, we think you can handle it."
Iruka brandished the form at the team.
Sakura and Kakashi seemed compliant; but Naruto's face turned thunderous at the word 'Genin'.
"No" Naruto pouted.
Sakura looked set to have a fit; Kakashi sighed and shut his eyes. Tsunade returned the blonde's glare. She had a headache, and she wasn't in the mood to argue. She'd only just managed to rid her self of Jiraiya's pestering before this meeting started – her old team mate wanted her to work Sumiko harder for more details if her mission.
He was not the Chief of the Konoha Hospital. He didn't have to assign watchers to the troubled patient. He hadn't seen what toll the ordeal with the Akatsuki had taken on the young woman he so flippantly demanded retell the horror she'd seen.
"What do you mean 'no'," Iruka hissed at his former pupil, drawing Tsunade back to the situation at hand. The other mission admin around the table shifted slightly in their seats. They knew the mood Tsunade had arrived in; something like this would surely make her explode.
"Not THAT mission! No way!" Naruto huffed.
"What's wrong with it?" Tsunade practically growled.
The colour drained from Sakura's face and she leapt at Naruto, forcing him in a headlock and covering his mouth simultaneously.
"S-Sorry Milady! I'll sort him out!"
Kakashi ignored his new teammates and came forward to retrieve the mission details. Iruka cast a side-long look at Tsunade and muttered: "Apparently nothing but his appearance has matured."
Tsunade nodded abruptly. She was going to strangle that idiot Toad-Sage next time he crossed her path; at the moment it seemed that in two and a half years, Jiraiya had only produced a younger clone.
"The third – was more – sensible…" Naruto managed to wheeze. Sakura punched him in the ribs, still apologising profusely for his insolence.
"What'd you say?"
Tsunade's head throbbed again; this kid was already getting on her last nerve.
"Fifth!"
The doors flew open and slammed against the walls. One of Tsunade's assistants hurried over the threshold gripping a piece of paper.
"It's – It's bad!-,"
"-why are you being so loud-," Tsunade scowled.
"It's the Sand! Their Kazekage has been taken hostage by an organisation called Akatsuki! We just got a message!"
Tsunade's stomach clenched. She swallowed the panic she felt at the girls words, and settled her face into an expression of grave concentration. Sakura and Naruto were staring at the messenger, stricken.
Kakashi turned slowly to look at Tsunade, his dark eye was cold and calculating. Without a word being exchanged, Tsunade knew he wanted this mission. Her mind whirred – sending Kakashi to face the Akatsuki, the chances of his personal feelings getting in the way of completing the mission…And sending Naruto – she'd be as good as handing the boy to the enemy.
But then, those two had something to prove. Kakashi facing the Akatsuki could give the man the closure he wanted. And Naruto had been friends with the Kazekage years ago. Sending those with a personal stake in a mission had made successful returns in the past. But sending Naruto to the Akatsuki…
There was no harm in having them collect information at the Sand Village first. It would give her time to think, and she could send another team to back them up if the situation required it.
These three were some of the best Konoha could offer, and she had to make a decision.
Tsunade took the old mission's details back from Kakashi.
Sakura stopped strangling her teammate and watched Tsunade apprehensively. Naruto moved away quickly and stood up straight, his face serious. Kakashi was unreadable.
"New Mission,' she barked, 'You three are to travel to the Sand, find out the situation and rely the information immediately back to Konoha. After that, follow the orders of the Sand and back them up. Do not go leave the village unless I give the order, or the Sand require it of you. Now go."
Hello All,
It has been a while. It's been a real struggle trying to get this story to go in the right direction, which is why this chapter is lacking in action. I just need to set things up so I can go forward have the things I plan to happen to work. To do this, I need to go back to the storyline in the manga, though I don't want to re-write everything that has already been done by Kishimoto, so I'm sort of assuming you guys are up to date with that (I couldn't bear to write about the second bell test –chapter 245 onwards of Shippuden if you were curious), which is why this –and the next- chapter may jump around a bit.
Anyway, that's my excuse, you have all been wonderful : )
Thanks for reading.
