Chapter 24: Memories

Jisuke stood at the window of his apartment, staring out at the large moon, and turning over a small, folded square of silk, passing it through his calloused swordsman's hands. A small, dull fire in one corner of te dishevelled room threw contorted shadows across the walls, colouring the room with bloody light.

Himeko...

Jisuke turned back from the window, unfolding the silk square as he approached the fire. It held a single loc of sleek black hair. It was the only part of Himeko's remains that had remained untainted by the blood that had splattered from her mutilated body, the only part of her that he'd been able to return to Konoha, to give a proper funeral to. The rest of her lay rotting, unrecognisable, in a nameless strech of forest. A single drop of water fell on the silky hair, sitting, like a tiny diamond on the fine strands. Jisuke brushed it away impatiently, feeling pain rise up again as he felt it, it looked the same, it felt the same, as when she was alive, but now, instead of the faint warmth and the sweet fragrance of flowers, it was cold, and smelt of frozen earth...

Jisuke drew in a stranle gasp, wrapping the hair up in it's packet again.

I'm sorry, Himeko, I never even got the chance to tell you...I always loved you...

Another tear, trickled down Jisukke's cheek, it looked like blood in the firelight, as the Shinobi threw the silk, and Himeko's precious remains onto the fire, where they flared slightly before burning away to ash.

Goodbye Himeko....

Jisuke closed his eyes for a moment, before standing up to leave, his shoulders straight and his face impassive. The blood-hued tear dried, unnoticed, upon his cheek; A Shinobi never cries.

*

Tobirama Senju walked into his big brother's office just before midnight travelstained and limping, a dirty bandage just visible under a blood-stained tear on the right thigh of his pants.

"Did it go well?" Hashirama, Shodaime Hokage looked the white-haired Jonin up and down, his eyebrows tightening in concern as he saw the blood.

"Yes, Kumorigakure is in a state of turmoil, they're electing a new Raikage, since their First was recently killed by Sunagakure ninja, Suna's Kazekage has begun training a successor. Kirigakure is continuing barbarous, and Iwagakure's Tsuchikage desperately wants to find out what happened to his niece, Shisume."

"Captured, she's currently under observation by Inoko Yamanaka." Hashirama shared a wry look with his brother. Inokoko, a mistress of the shadow possession Jutus, was well known for her unorthodox, experimental and very effective ways of gathering information - ways that were nearly outlawed when basic rules of Shinobi war were drawn up, as cruel and unusual treatment. THe only reason she was still practising was because the Kages had scrapped the whole idea of rules when they couldn't think up any others that everyone would agree to, let alone abide by.

"Poor girl."

"I would have just thrown her in jail, except she called me names." Tobirama chuckled at his brother's words, but the Shodaime became serious. "Is there any news of MAdara?"

"No, brother. Forget about him, he's well and truly dead." Tobirama sighed, as HAshirama shrugged the comment off.

"I don't think that he is. Something felt off when I fought him. He's not the kind that would die so easily."

"I hardly think there was anything easy about smashing one of the most powerful shinobi ever into little pieces. But, I'll keep looking."

"Thankyou." Tobirama smiled wanly at his Hokage, exhaustion catching up with him, before leaving the Hokage's tower to find an awake doctor to fix his leg.

*

Jiraiya watched Gamabunta and Fukasaku, Ma Shima's husband, intently. Fukasaku was training Gamabunta in something called Sage techniques, and the little frog was horrendous at it. The little human sympathised.

"Your never going to make anything other than a warrior. I might be able to teach you some jutsus, but Sage mode is beyond you, you pesky child." Fukasaku gave Gama an exasperated, but light, knock with his special stick. "I bet I could teach the boy here better. Come here, Jiriaiya-chan."

"Will I get hit with the stick?" Jiriaya asked, tentatively, as Gamabunta whooped with delight and darted away, relieved to be free of his lessons.

"Yes, but I'll teach you some killer techniques."

"okay...."

*

Tsunade glared at Any hapless person who happened to come within six feet of her perch in the hotspirng closest to the dividing wall between the two sections. She was sitting, with her legs hanging out the edge of the warm water, steadfastly facing the dividing wall. And yet, no ghost. Where was that jerk!! He'd been missing for two weeks! Tsunade had come to the hotsprings to flaunt her self to the air every day, since he had vanished, just so that she could be the first to get ehr hands on him. She'd already been in this stinking bath for two hours straight, and was bright red from the heat. With a snarl, she stood up, wrapping the small towel around her waist and stalking out. SHe'd go find Orochimaru, and get him to send a snake to track that stupid pervert.

*

Jiriaiya rubbed his sore head as he finished Ma's famous newt stew. He'd been training with Fukasaku, or Pa as he preferred to be called, for two days now, and was nearly as bad as Gamabunta.

"Jiraiya! Let's go play hide-and-seek!" Gama said, pushing back his plate, scoured clean of his third serving.

"Okay." Jiriaya followed the toad out the door and down the hillside, towards where the lily-leaf forest grew more thickly.

"Okay, you count first and I'll go-" THe toad broke off with a teriffied croak as a large purple snake raised it's head from the grass. "Holy-" Jiraiya jumped in front of the frog as the snake lunged, scooping up a stick from the ground, and wishing he hadn't gotten so lax as to forget every one of his weapons at Ma and Pa's house. He thrust the stick desparately at the snake, and was immensely surprised when he managed to trap the snake just under it's head with a fork in the end. Jiriaya pushed the stick into the ground, pinning the hissing snake down, and looked at it, feeling avague sense of reacognition. The snake thrashed, slithering onto it's stomach and revealign the angry kanji painted on it's back.

I am going to KILL you, Jiraiya, Tsunade. Gama looked up at Jiraiya as the young chuunin went white.

"oh shi....vers. I need to get home!!"

*