Rin sat in a chair across the desk from Tsunade. Next to her, looking equally uneasy was Sai. Tsunade sat across from them, amusement bright in her eyes. It was hard to say which case made her happy. The return of the one woman who made Kakashi happy or taking over one of Danzo's greatest pupils who just happened to now be emotional thanks to, who else, Naruto. It was a near toss up for the Hokage. Behind her she knew Shizune was smiling as well. Tsuande had seen both their files before and she had to say, she was very impressed with both of them. Rin's talents when she was thirteen were nothing short of amazing. Tsunade doubted she could implant a working Sharingan, much less one that was able to evolve. According to what she had seen her do on Sasuke she was obviously still very talented, just a little rusty. Sai was also nothing short of astounding, though he hid it well. He made half the Chunin and a few of the Jounin look like idiots. She wanted to go to Danzo and tell him exactly where he could put his plans for Konoha and for Sai. The young man with the cautious smile never should have had to grow up as he did. She was just thankful Naruto had been able to smack some sense into him.
Tsunade had known Minato. First as Jiraiya's wide eyed, overly-enthusastic student who reminded her so much of him. After his death, after she had fled Konoha and all the memories it had been nearly impossible to think about him. And then, as time went on, small memories of him and Kushina crept into her mind. Of Kakashi and Rin and Obito and how Jiraiya had come into her office and announced he was finally catching up to his hair now that his nephew was the student of his old student. Jiraiya had always been endlessly amused by Minato's nickname "Konoha's Yellow Flash" and had hurried to assure Kushina that Minato was not a flash in bed, turning the poor girl as red as her hair before she had time to recover. Tsunade smiled faintly at the memory. What would the two of them think of them all now? What would Minato think of his students reunion? She liked to think he would smile rather smugly and say he knew it would happen all along.
"So," she looked at Sai first, "you want a full transfer out of Root and ANBU?" he nodded, "you realize you'll have to take the Chunin Exams correct? Technically you are a Genin."
"So are Sasuke and Naruto," he said with a casual shrug, "we can take them together."
"Very well," Tsunade scrawled her signature on a few of the documents, "you've officially transfered."
"Danzo can't stop it?" he asked, a note of uncertainty creeping into his voice
"I am the Hokage," Tsunade said, "Danzo may be powerful but until he over throws me I have the final say."
"That will not happen," Sai said, sincerity in his every word as he stood and bowed to her.
"Dismissed," Tsunade said. He walked out and she turned to Rin, "you've changed."
"Thirteen years tends to do that to people," Rin said stubbornly.
"Are you planning to leave?" Tsunade asked.
"No," Rin said, her eyes serious, "thats why I'm asking to return to active duty. You said that I wasn't declared a Missing-Nin."
"That's correct. In fact, you were nominated for Jounin right before the Fourth's Death," Rin's eyes widened, "even now, according to this report, we aren't sure what you're capable of," she frowned, "which is odd since your progress prior to you Obito's death was ordinary. Graduated in the lower half of your class at age 9, took the Chunin Exams at age 11 and passed at your first attempt. You were unable to heal Kakashi's shoulder wound fully before being captured. And then you were able to implant a working Sharingan into Kakashi that has since evolved. Kakashi's mission report says that Obtio said your Chakra flow appeared strange because of your Captors. Even freed you should have been unconscious but except for some bruising on your wrist there was no indication of trauma, even though you were knocked unconscious," she looked at Rin critically, "Kakashi is in the hospital still and you look as though you're fine. Your Chakra system, even with healing, should have guaranteed you a life as a vegetable. That night when the Nine Tails attacked you should have been dead but within two hours you were fine."
"I don't know why that worked," Rin said crossing her arms, "just like I don't know how I did the Sharingan surgery. I didn't make any sort of hand seals beyond what I needed for the Mystic Palm."
"I want you to study Sasuke Uchiha's eyes. We need to know if his Sharingan is a threat or not."
"Is that an order?" Rin asked, her voice carefully neutral.
"Its a mission," Tsunade said, her hands scrawling signatures on the documents, "I'm instating you as a Chunin while we review your application to become a Jounin."
She bent down, pulling something out of her desk and tossing it to Rin who caught it automatically. It was a forehead protector. To be specific, it was her forehead protector. Every Ninja's forehead protector told a story. From the day you took the vow to serve Konoha to the day you died, you marked your forehead protector. You made it as much a part of you as the weapons you used or the air you breathed. The bands changed but the metal plate was always the same. When Rin had last seen the object she had been leaving Konoha and the band had been black. Now it was a bright purple that she imagined she had Kakashi to thank for. Looking at the metal plate she ran her thumb over the insignia. There were scratches on the metal, testaments to the battles she had been in, records of her survival. Her hands were steady as she reached up and tied her hair back with the band before getting to her feet.
"That is all," Tsunade said.
"Yes, Hokage," Rin said bowing respectfully before vanishing.
Tsunade leaned back in her chair, her eyes on the spot where Rin had just been. Shizune gave her a small smile and left the room. This was the problem with co-ed teams in the Ninja World. The female member usually had the misfortune of falling in love with one--or both--of the men on her team. Despite her efforts to not fall to the stupid cliche it would be a lie if Tsunade said she hadn't. She had loved Jiraiya and Orochimaru in very different ways. Before he had become a traitor and snake, Orochimaru and her had something together. He had been a quiet boy with skin as pale as Jiraiya's hair. She had been fascinated by how he could always be so quiet and calm. His presence was almost soothing. She had no way to know of the evil that lurked under his facade. His was the first and the most painful betrayal. The death of Dan and her brother had been horrible but it had been Orochimaru's betrayal that broke her first. An as anyone could attest to, the first wound usually left the deepest scar.
She had hated Jiraiya when she had first met him. Orochimru had been nothing short of brilliant and she had been very good herself. Jiraiya had been a failure. She was the grand-daughter of the First Hokage, he was the illegitimate son of a nothing Ninja with a half brother who was nothing short of miraculous. He was total pervert, something that only got worse with age. Being a girl she was bound to get offended by him constantly. When the Teams had been announced she had been thrilled to be on Orochimaru's team, to be trained by the Third Hokage no less. Of course before they told her that they said she was on Jiraiya's team and though the white haired boy had been excited since she healed his minor injuries on a regular basis--more to shut him up than anything else--she had been horrified. Then she had learned that under his loud words and wild indifference there was a totally different person. One who longed to be like the Shinobi of legend. One who could look at her and see past everything down to her very soul. Someone whose told her that it was okay if she gave up the life of the Ninja, he knew she needed time. That day, when she had been accepted as the Fifth Hokage, everyone had looked surprised but him. He had just stood there with his arrogant smirk and twinkling eyes that seemed to say 'I knew you would'. But now he was gone and once again it was just her.
Sasuke was back now and she was happy about that. But the similarities between her old team and her students was undeniable. She saw herself in Sakura just as she knew Jiraiya had seen himself in Naruto. There were similarities between Orochimaru and Sasuke that were also very clear. She had no doubt that one day the three of them would be amazingly strong. She imagined they would be called the Sanin. She was going to have to teach Sakura how to summon slugs soon so the boys wouldn't get the better of her. The question was, would it be enough. Jiraiya had been a Sanin and he had been killed by Pein. Would the three of them be strong enough to win? She didn't think so and hated herself for it. The three of them weren't strong enough so how could their students? Getting to her feet she looked out the window at the horizon, her mind in turmoil. She didn't want to see the past repeat itself. She didn't want Sakura to know what it was like to watch your team-mates die, to know you couldn't save them.
Of course things were not quite as simple as all that. Shizune hid her talent her fear stemming more from the memory of her uncle and parents than anything else. She had seen what talent did to you. Even if Tsunade had tried to reason with her the fact was the young woman would never be as strong as she could because of her fear. But she was talented, frighteningly so. Jiraiya had a hand in training both Rin and Kakashi. He had trained Minato and, if the rumors were true, taught Rin, Kakashi and Obito some rather interesting 'training methods'. Orochimaru had trained Kabuto before he had trained Sasuke. She would have said that Kabuto was not that big of a threat. She acknowledged that he was very talented, even se wasn't that good at his age. Even so she would have said that she didn't consider him as much of a treat as Orochimaru. But now, now he had apparently resurrected Itachi Uchiha and managed to separate Kakashi from Madara. His power had grown considerably. His two companions needed no endorsement either. Obviously Itachi was, well, Itachi. He was nothing short of miraculous. What he could do, he made Neji look like a joke. It was no surprise that Madara had gone after him in the first place. Had Itachi changed or was he just betraying Madara as he had Konoha?
"Hokage?"
Tsunade turned around to see Shizune standing there with a man she did not recognize. He was obviously from Kirikagure. He wore long, formal robes that seemed to fairly float around him. The blues and greens made his skin seem even more golden against the fabric. From what she understood of Kiragure, the climates were usually cool. His cloths obviously reflected the need for warmth and the ability to move. There was also a certain drama to them, she imagined that if the wind blew he would look fairly God like. His hair was short and untamed, as unruly as Kakashi's own. He wore a forehead protector, the band long like Naruto's. The silver fabric almost blended with the metal plate that bore the symbol of Kirikagure. But what drew her in was the sword at his hip. It was smaller than either Zabuza's or Kisame's but she had a feeling it was no less deadly. He regarded her almost arrogantly, the look in his eyes revealing that he was obviously aware of how skilled he was.
"This is Mangetsu Hoozuki," Shizune said, "he wants to talk to you."
Break
Ino Yamanaka stood at the counter of the Yamanaka Flower Shop, her eyes focused on the same spot on the counter as they had been since she had come in to take her shift. She knew she was being a complete idiot but it was not as if she could help it at the moment. Ino had thought she had been in love twice in her life. Once with Sasuke Uchiha. But that had been more a passing fancy. Frankly she didn't see how Sakura could put up with him, anyone that depressed needed a good smack in the face, not the promise of everlasting love. The second time she had thought she loved Shikamaru Nara but that was quickly killed as well. Temari was the only one who could put up with him and manage to keep herself from killing him. Hell most days Ino wanted to put him in a bodycast and only the sheer terror of what his mother would do to her kept her from going through with it. But neither of those boys had been anything like Sai.
This was insane. She didn't even know his name, how could he have this kind of effect on her? She had watched her friends fall in love, one by one, with boys who seemed to compliment them perfectly. Bold, bright Tenten with quiet, genius Neji. Loud, brash Kiba with reserved, elegant Hanabi. She knew it was a matter of time before Naruto pulled his head out of his ass and saw how wonderful Hinata was. And if anyone didn't see Sasuke and Sakura coming from a mile off they were totally blind. She had been more than content to let them have their own dramatics and aide the boys when they came in to buy flowers for their girls with only minimal teasing. She had her hands full anyway, between mastering the Clan's special Jutsu, fulfilling her promise to Asuma to take care of the boys and not loose to Sakura, being 'Auntie Ino' to Asuma's son and helping in the flower shop. Her father was helping her learn enough to qualify to be nominated for Jounin soon, even if her Medical techniques would never really be as good as Sakura's. And then he had come into her life.
Where did he get off calling her beautiful anyway? It wasn't as if he knew what the word meant when he first used it anyway. He was so, well, odd. It was obvious he was from Root. She had blushed when he called her beautiful and figured it would be the last time she saw him. But he stayed with his odd words and false smiles. And then he changed. Odd words started to make sense, false smiles slowly became genuine ones. Even his ghost-like skin was slowly darkening thanks to frequent exposure to the sun. He'd never be as tan as the rest of them but now one could distinguish between the shade of the paper he drew on and his skin. He still had his moments of wide-eyed innocence where he would say what everyone had been thinking but no-one had the courage to say. At least he had an excuse. She usually said it too but she didn't have the excuse of having no emotions. He was the oddest boy she had ever met.
Of course she had to fall in love with him. She couldn't fall in love with someone normal, she had to be crazy about a boy who didn't even have a name! She wanted to hit her head against something hard until the feelings went away. She could get everyone else to shut up with a few well placed kicks but her traitorous mind couldn't shut up. Just her luck. It was just her luck that she had to fall for him! Irrationally she was furious at the boy who made her feel so out of control. Control was something Ino always had, over her abilities, over herself, over everything and the boy with eyes like ink had taken it away. He had no right to do that, none at all. She had seen Sakura struggle and Tenten deny and had vowed not to be like them when it came to love. Now she was grudgingly forced to admit that the two of them had a point. Being in love was hard, especially when all signs pointed to the boy you loved returning the emotion. Even if he she had her lingering doubts he knew what love was those doubts were quickly fading--much to her displeasure. Just another thing to be angry at Sai about.
"Hey Ino!"
Ino looked up with a grin as Kiba walked in. Akamaru barked from outside. Ino smiled in greeting and slipped out from under the counter, happy for the distraction.
"Hey Kiba. Do you need some help?"
"Yeah," Kiba said, "what do you get to apologize to one of your best friends because your future father in law put him in the hospital for broadcasting naughty things about you and your fiance?"
"Well tha--" Ino began.
"Oh and should I get flowers for Neji?" she raised her eyebrows, "he might have been standing a bit too close to Akamaru and, well, Akamaru might have kind of used him as a dog bone."
"Lets stick with Shino shall we?" Ino said with a grin, "I think that Neji might not appreciate the flowers quite as much."
Twenty minuets later Kiba and Akamaru left to go see their injured friend. Ino winced in sympathy, not wanting to know the number the Hyuuga did on Shino. But, she reasoned, it was his own damn fault for broadcasting such naughty things in the sky. Cushioning her head on her hand she looked out at Konoha. Frowning she walked over to the window and squinted at the sky, a frown tugging at her lips. The bright and happy sun was quickly being swallowed up by clouds. It had been raining a few days before as well and it seemed as if the sun's time had run out. The clouds rolled in with increasing speed. Soon the sun was nothing but a distant memory. Ino wrapped her arms around herself, feeling rather odd. Slowly the rain began to drip down, soon it was an all out downpour. Shaking her head Ino turned to go back into the shop.
Sai didn't so much walk into the shop as fall face first. Ino gasped and raced over to the doorway where he had fallen, pulling him fully in. He looked horrible, as if the person who had did this to him was well practiced in the art of torture. Precise, ugly gashes ripped through his pale skin, turning it a horrible and brutal red. It was as if the person had tried to disguise their knowledge and make it look as if this was nothing more than a casual attack. Ino quickly summoned her healing Chakra, though she knew it was hopeless. The best she could do was make him stable enough to move. Sai turned his eyes over to her. There was sadness in his sometimes blank eyes, sadness, regret and some other emotions she couldn't define. The internal damage was even worse than the external one. The door chimed open as someone walked in.
"Okay I feel bad, I really should get Ne--" Kiba gasped at the sight of Sai and Ino, his heart leaping into his throat. The flowers he was holding fell from his hand, "Sai!" he raced over, "what can I do?"
"I'm trying to stabilize him but there's so much damage," Ino shook her head, "we have to get him to the hospital but he might not make it--"
"Akamaru!" Kiba shouted. The dog's head flew up, "go get Rin!" the dog barked and bounded off, "oh my G--" Kiba shoved down the urge to be sick at the sheer brutality of the wounds, "fucking Root--hold on Sai!" he shouted as the young man's eyes slid closed.
The wounds had stopped hurting which Sai knew was a bad sign but he was so relieved to not be in the throws of his gun wrenching agony that he found it rather hard to care. Apparently Tsuande hadn't been right. Apparently leaving Root was much harder than he thought. How had Danzo known? He thought he had kept his desire secret enough so that by the time he found out it would be too late. But he had known. Sai had left the Hokage office and then the next instant he had been grabbed. When he opened his eyes he was hanging from the ceiling, surrounded by members of Root. When they were finished he knew he was as good as dead. The only thing he wanted was to see Ino, if only for one last moment. Ino and his friends. He was glad he had them, even if it were only for a short while, even if he never got to see his brother once again. Even if he never actually finished the picture book. With any luck his brother would be able to. Sometimes it was alright to have faith in other people, to have hope in them. The world was getting dark, like ink that bled if he didn't let the pictures dry properly.
"Sai!" he heard Ino scream desperately after him but the pull of the darkness was irresistible and he finally surrendered to it.
Break
Rin walked towards the hospital, having no desire to risk her still weakened Chakra and teleport. Apparently the whole incredible-healing didn't apply to restoring her Chakra reserve considering she was still not at full power. This was seriously frustrating. Her body was useful but she knew she was not especially strong. If it came down to a fist fight she knew she was going to get her butt kicked. Crossing her arms she frowned and tried to think. She was going to need some serious help in the hand to hand combat department. Maybe she should go back and tell Tsunade to make her a Genin. It would be a hell of a lot easier than this. She had gotten along fine on dumb luck and raw talent but she knew that would not be enough. Not if she was going to manage to stay and not get herself captured or killed during the upcoming war. She ran a hand through her hair, trying to think of what she could possibly do. Who could she ask for help. The only one who knew she was back was Kakashi and Tsunade. Did the others know she was alive? Were they as forgiving as the ones she had encountered already? She looked up as the clouds rolled in and sighed, looking around for somewhere to get out of the rain. The Dango shop looked as good a place as any.
She pushed open the curtain and froze. The people at the table froze. Of course it was just her luck to encounter the group of them. They all looked horrible, as if they had been drunk and had the barest of their hangovers cured. Might Guy looked exactly the same. Same spandex, same leg warmers, same everything. Genma looked a bit older but not any wiser. At least his toothpick didn't look quite as ridiculous as it had when he was little. Iruka, well, she hardly recognized him. If he didn't have the scar she probably wouldn't have. Anko even looked the same, or she would have if she wasn't staring at her slack-jawed. Kurenai was holding a baby but even she seemed rather shocked to see Rin. Rin stared, they stared back and for a few heartless seconds no-one dared to move. In typical dramatic fashion Might Guy got to his feet with a dramatic flourish and pointed at her.
"I always said she would return!" he announced, "and now I will have another thing to be a rival for!"
"Come off it, as if Rin would ever date you," Anko said rolling her eyes and getting to her feet before walking over to Rin who smiled weakly. Anko narrowed her eyes and looked at the her, crossing her arms confidently, "I'm taller now," she said with a satisfied smile, "even without the hair."
"You are not! We're the same size," Rin shot back.
"Nope," Anko said leveling her hand.
"Yes."
"Would you two stop?" Kurenai said rolling her eyes, "you're going to wake Asuma up," she said looking pointedly at the baby in her arms who shifted slightly.
"Oh God no," Genma hissed, "be quiet. He seems to think Guy singing is comforting," he he looked at Kurenai, "you sure he's not deaf?"
"I have a beautiful voice," Guy said, "it sparkles--"
"With the beauty of youth," Anko and Rin said at the same time. They looked at each other before bursting out laughing.
Akamaru chose that moment to hurry over to Rin and nuzzle her hand. She frowned and looked at him, confused. She may have been an adopted Inuzuka but she couldn't understand dogs. Still it was pretty clear that he wanted something. He barked and trotted off before coming back. Rin opened her mouth when Akamarku slid right under her legs and hoisted her onto his back. Rin shrieked in shock as the other Jounin all but collapsed laughing. She was able to give them a half-hearted glare before the dog bounded off. Rin had no choice but to hold on tightly as the dog raced forward towards the flower shop, getting them both soaked by the rain. Rin squinted, barely able to make out the shape of two figures crouched over a third. Realizing there was only one real reason Akamaru would have kidnapped her she jumped off him, rolling with the momentum. The dog skidded and wheeled around, obviously intent on completing his mission. Rin was already on her feet, fishing a long-forgotten piece of paper and a pen out of her pack. She scribbled a note on the paper and slipped it into Akamaru's collar.
"Go to the hospital, give them that note!" she said. Akamaru barked his understanding and raced off.
She was so close she should have known that something was going to go horribly wrong. She just didn't expect it to come in the form of a man who was about as tall and wide as a wall. One minuet he was not there and the next he was. She gasped as she collided with his chest before she skidded backwards. He grabbed her wrist, making sure she didn't trip. Her eyes widened, was he wearing a curtain? She doubted they were able to make cloths for a man his size. Slung over his shoulder was the body of a young man with silvery blue hair. He was bloodied and obviously not in good shape. Strapped to his back was a massive sword, easily as tall as he was. The man looked at her with concern in his eyes, the earnest innocence in them reminding her of Sai. He lowered his head so that he could look her in the eye. Rin swallowed thickly and fought the urge to whip out a kunai.
"Can you tell me how to get to the hospital? My friend's hurt quite badly."