Warning for: fluff, cheese, and Mist Village History.

Chapter 26

The days after their return were strange for the couple. Civilians and ninja alike marveled openly about the change in their relationship. Mei would have thought that she'd be embarrassed by the attention but the hurried whispers and stolen looks didn't faze her.

Kakashi, on the other hand, drew more glares than he had previously. Apparently, it was perfectly alright for the couple to be arranged into marriage but for them to have an emotional connection was cause for worry. The villagers were now asking themselves, what had happened on that honeymoon of theirs, as they watched the Mizukage laugh at something her husband said.

Their interactions were not only different but increasingly frequent. Kakashi showed up in the middle of Mei's work day just to tell her he missed her. Mei would take Kakashi out to the finest restaurants the Mist had to offer, not that anyone knew why.

Slowly the populace grew accustomed to the couple's antics. The light but veiled playfulness was too innocent to be written off as acting. It was as if the Mizukage and her husband were starting their courtship over at the beginning, reconvincing the people that they were a couple. This never ceased to amaze Kakashi, since they had been married for over a year. The time had only brought more changes to their lives.

The couple's nightly dinners and reading sessions continued as they had before the trip. However, the routine seemed more intimate now, more precious. Mei had looked forward to their evenings together before but now it was the best part of her day. She anticipated each night after her work was finished with a sense of glee and euphoria that she couldn't explain.

Still, there was something missing. It was like their romance, if Mei could dare call it that, was trapped in a box. They were both happy where they were in it, but if they strayed a little too far, tried to share a little more of themselves, they'd hit a barrier and be brought up short. It pained Mei that everything fit right inside of that safe range of feeling. Her sentimental statements, the few she did make, seemed large inside of the box but rang empty and hollow in that vast world beyond.

Mei still hadn't told Kakashi that she loved him. The Mizukage thought it was obvious but, Kakashi hadn't shared his feelings either, not exactly. And since he hadn't declared them, Mei was left uncertain. They were husband and wife but were they lovers? Logically, it wasn't that important, but to Mei's heart and she hoped, to her husband's as well, it was everything.

Mei wanted to share everything with him, this man she was married to. She'd worked herself up to it and now that the Mizukage had a day off ahead of her, the time couldn't be better. She broached the subject, that she'd been thinking about for days, at dinner. "Kakashi, I would like to show you my favorite place. It's on the coast, not more than a few hour's journey. I could pack a picnic."

"Isn't it a little cool to be going to the ocean?" Kakashi asked. He wasn't rejecting the idea, simply pointing out a possible problem. It was still technically summer but fall appeared to be coming in early that year. The nights had been getting cooler sooner than the previous year.

"Not there," Mei said with a smile. Kakashi was intrigued and the spark in his wife's eyes only increased his interest. He wanted to see this place.

"When would you like to go?" Kakashi asked. He took a bite of his noodles.

"Tomorrow? Or the next day?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, the ghost of a smile on his lips as he wiped his mouth. He teased his wife, "you're asking me? Do you think I have previous obligations? I'm retired you know."

Mei frowned, the implication of his words hurt her a little. She knew the "retired" line was Kakashi's way around saying that he was at her disposal indefinitely. It wasn't exactly his choice. Even though the weeks after their honeymoon had brought them closer together, there were still wounds in their relationship that refused to close. "You can refuse me if you want to."

This statement caught Kakashi's attention. He looked up, focusing in on his wife. "I don't want to and believe me, if I really wanted to refuse, I would." He returned to the vegetables beneath his noodles, assuming the conversation was closed.

"Kakashi," Mei said, wanting him to look at her. "What is our marriage to you?"

The Copy Ninja's chopsticks stilled. He glanced up, sharp eyes on her. "How do you mean?"

"We're married but by contract only. You said you would stay unless we were at total war. I-" Mei wasn't sure what to say next and stopped. Her brain was aswirl with emotions. "I care about you," she finished.

Kakashi watched her carefully, his eyes softening. When he was sure she'd finished, he spoke, "Mei, I am here because I want to be here."

"But why?" Kakashi started to respond to her question but Mei cut him off, supposing what he was going to say. "Why do you want to be here? Is it for the Leaf? Is that all?"

Kakashi didn't respond. He stared at his plate.

"Is that the only reason?" Mei pressed.

"No."

Mei felt like a pendulum, swinging back and forth between joy and sorrow. The moment she swung toward joy her doubts swung her back.

"I care about you too," Kakashi said into the silent room.

Relief surged through Mei but a twinge of disappointment assailed her. She repressed it as she locked eyes with the man across the table.

"So, are we going to the ocean tomorrow?" Kakashi asked, veering away from the conversation Mei wanted to have. The Leaf ninja pressed into the new topic and did not look up at his wife again. They did not read together that night. Kakashi excused himself, saying that he had some things to wrap up before the trip the next day.

Mei applied a smile and said that she understood. They parted ways for the evening, retiring early.

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Mei packed their lunch herself, making simple rice balls the way her mother had taught her. She'd had to shoo the cooks away as they kept bustling around her, attempting to help. She wanted to do this task alone, had to do it alone. As she pressed the rice, vegetables, and bits of meat into shape, Mei wondered what this trip would bring. It was as if she walked along in a field and suddenly came upon darkness in her path. It wasn't eerie or disturbing like a precipice, but instead a great expanse of unknown before her.

Mei met Kakashi out in front of Mizukage Tower. He wore his usual Leaf jonin blues and vest, as if he were walking to the library instead of the coast. Mei had a small bag on her back to carry the food, of which Kakashi quickly relieved her. "You made it, you shouldn't have to carry it too."

The pair headed out, taking backstreets and rooftops to avoid people. They simply wanted to go and get away from it all. Neither had traveled since they returned from their honeymoon and it seemed too long since they'd been alone together on the road. Granted Riku and Orino had been with them before but still, there had been times when it seemed like the other had been the only person in the world.

As the village walls faded into the distance and mist, Kakashi glanced over at his wife. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes bright. When she felt his gaze on her she turned and said, "do you want to walk all day?" She took off with a bound and Kakashi was quick to follow.

The road, or rather track, that Mei took wasn't one well-traveled but they leapt over most obstacles with no problems. An hour or so later, gulls made themselves known with their familiar calls. The ocean wasn't far. As they crested a bluff, Kakashi was treated to one of Mei's favorite views.

The road snaked down to the shore through high, gold grass. There was a dark stretch of beach flanked by soaring cliffs on one side and rocky slopes that appeared to be steaming on the other. The slopes rose into obscurity; Kakashi couldn't see the top due to the haze in the air. Is that a volcano? Kakashi thoughtfully squinted at the vapor before Mei grasped his hand and pulled him after her. She took the steep, winding path at a run, her heart grew wings as Kakashi chased after her, eyes watching her every step. When they reached the black sanded beach, Mei kicked her heeled sandals off and dug her toes in with a sigh.

"It's just as I remember," she exclaimed. She looked out of the tiny bay to the ocean beyond. "I mean, it never seems to change, even from when I was a child."

Kakashi looked at the smoking bluffs again but her words drew him back. "Did your parents bring you here?"

Mei's smile did not waver. "No, Riku did. It was our vacation spot when things got to be too…chaotic in the village. It wasn't a sanctuary but it was close."

Kakashi looked at the igneous rock formations, benches he realized, that spread beyond the line of the shore and into the ocean. He looked back up at the steaming rocks. "You used to practice lava-style here," he guessed. "No one would find it unusual to see fresh lava at a volcano."

Mei turned and smiled. "It was our little secret. When my bloodlines developed, Riku helped me hide them. He hid me. I had to work twice as hard so I could be strong without using my family gifts." Kakashi's eyes widened. Mei saw the look and confirmed his suspicions. "I survived my graduation exam without revealing my lava or boil styles."

"But your caste," Kakashi protested. He had read Mist Village History, what there was of it. Under the previous Mizukages' rules, and during the civil wars period, the village had been divided into a strict caste system. Only those of the lower castes had to fight to the death to graduate the Mist's ninja academy. Mei was from two of the original family lines of the Mist Village. That alone should have kept her from the bloody exam, although it would not protect her from the more savage, potential genin who would kill their classmates for small insults.

Mei shook her head. "My family heritage could never be known, on that Riku was firm. Since Riku was my caregiver, I was also adopted into his lower caste. I had to be an orphan in a sea of orphans, invisible as long as I didn't reveal my heritage or my bloodline traits. There was a lot of chaos back then, it wasn't difficult."

She looked away, back out to the ocean. "I argued with Riku that it was unnecessary, that I might die anyway if I didn't use every power at my disposal." She smiled. "That always made him say, 'work harder then'." The smile slipped off of her face. "Riku was right. The class after mine yielded a strong ice-style user. Just months after the boy graduated, he was seized and then killed in front of the whole village as an example. I'd never been so frightened in my life, not even when my parents were taken."

"How did they die?" Kakashi prompted quietly. The ocean waves broke on the beach rhythmically, filling the silence.

"I don't know exactly," Mei replied. "It was when I was young but I do remember them." She smiled as her mind flipped through the few memories she possessed. "They were the only people in my world. They had kept me a secret. I never left the house unless my parents could conceal me somehow. If someone came over besides Riku or family, I hid in the closet with my bed and toys. Riku was their dearest friend and a great help to them.

"There were several purges in the Mist, mostly skirmishes, and they only worsened after the Kaguya Clan's rebellion. Everyone was so afraid of their bloodline, the way they could manipulate their bones, and that fear spread until everyone was afraid of any special bloodline. My parents were killed during one of those skirmishes. They were both known to have bloodline traits but they'd refused to abandon the village the way some had. Riku never forgave the swordsmen for leaving." She paused, licking her lips. "Riku got to me as soon as he could and when things were calmer, he brought me back to his home, in the open, and introduced me as an orphan he'd adopted. His last mission had been to secure a city that had been overrun by refugees. He fabricated some sort of back story, said I might make a good housemaid." She laughed but it trailed off, mixing and then disappearing into the roar of the waves. Mei gracefully sank to the ground into a sitting position, as if the air had been let out of her.

Not wanting to push her, Kakashi silently lowered himself down next to her. She ran her hand through the coarse grains again and again. Oblivious to the wind in her hair or the cries of gulls above, her gaze swept out to the ocean.

After what felt like an hour, Mei brightened considerably. She began to slip her sandals back on. "Do you want to see the volcano? There might be skylights!" Mei got up suddenly, glee filling her face.

Kakashi accepted this change in stride and turned his attention to the volcano. There was almost no seismic activity in the Land of Fire. The explosive mountains were a new danger to him. "Is it safe?"

Mei rolled her eyes. "We're ninja, is anything safe?" She skipped away and Kakashi was forced to follow her.

They trekked up the steep slope, careful of their footing. Kakashi knew enough from his reading that the benches he'd seen by the ocean earlier were unstable and could collapse at any time. He also knew that certain parts of volcanoes were relatively safe if you knew what you were doing. He followed Mei without fear.

The lava style user ascended the mountain carefully, keeping an eye on the wind direction and the heat she could feel. Suddenly Mei gasped in delight and came to a sudden stop. Kakashi drew up next to her but a little behind. There was a lava skylight alright. The roof of a lava tube had collapsed to reveal the flow beneath their feet. Kakashi and Mei could look down and see a river of lava below. It was breathtaking but every so often Mei would shift to get closer and a bit of rock would break away and fall into the molten pit beneath them, prompting a flash of flame.

"Mei, please be careful," Kakashi warned. "The crust isn't that firm." His mind flashed back to the lava dimension he'd once been forced to visit. Most recollections of that final battle of the war were unpleasant. He suppressed a shudder.

Mei smiled back at him. "It's fine Kakashi. The lava would hurt me very little and I'll protect you."

The Leaf ninja was slightly exasperated but he did not reply. Then the wind shifted and Kakashi's senses went on high alert. Something was wrong but he had no idea what. Then he felt it, the air temperature rose exponentially. Kakashi couldn't believe the heat and gases that were venting out of the skylight. They were overpowering. "Mei," he began but when he went to take a breath it caught in his throat. His eyes watered as he struggled for air. It was, astonishingly, too hot to breathe. "Mei," he gasped, taking several steps back from the vent. It didn't help, he was still downwind. The fumes and heat flowed over him, choking him. Kakashi thought he could teleport away but he wouldn't leave Mei there. Based on her relaxed position over the skylight, however, Kakashi realized with a mixture of horror and relief that the heat didn't seem to bother his wife. In fact, considering her bloodline, she had to be unconsciously compensating for both the gas and heat. That was Kakashi's last thought before he blacked out.

Mei heard her husband speak but rolled her eyes without looking back. If he was so worried about the ground collapsing then he could go wait on the beach. Then she heard a thud followed by a cascade of small stones as they clattered down the mountain. Mei turned, confused, to see Kakashi unconscious on the ground.

With horror Mei suddenly realized, we're downwind. She'd been keeping an eye on the direction of the wind during their ascent in case it got too warm next to the flow. But she hadn't noticed when the wind's direction changed. She rushed to Kakashi's side and hurriedly picked him up. At a speed that would no doubt give Riku a heart attack, Mei sprinted down the mountain.

Kakashi awoke on the beach with Mei's face hovering over his. She was combing his hair with her fingers. He took a deep breath of the sweet, cool air and closed his eyes. "I'm alright, there's no need to trouble yourself." He did not move to get up however, secretly enjoying the attention.

Mei apologized. "I should have gotten you out of there the second the wind shifted. I just didn't notice." She bit her lip. Her green eyes expressed her worry.

"No harm done," Kakashi insisted, still not rising from his sandy couch. "And this way I can pretend to be a shipwrecked sailor saved by a beautiful maiden."

Mei rolled her eyes and laughed. "You are ridiculous. And you need to cut back on those romance novels. What exactly have they been putting into that library?"

"I don't know, Febe has some good recommendations," Kakashi teased.

Mei laughed harder. "Maybe I'll have to have her reassigned." They both knew she was joking.

"Thank you," Kakashi said, suddenly serious. "For saving me." Mei smiled in response but then Kakashi continued, "for I would have surely fainted away and perished had you not come to my aid."

Mei felt his forehead, barely containing her laughter. "I think the oxygen deprivation has rattled your brain. Remind me to have you checked out when we get back."

Kakashi almost made a comment about how Mei was the only one he wanted checking him out but he stopped himself. His wife could only take so much corny behavior in one day. Instead he took her hand in his and kissed it. Mei flushed but didn't speak, couldn't speak. Finally she managed to say, "let's get some food in you. You must be starving!" She reached for the bag which Kakashi handed to her.

They were soon munching on the slightly crushed rice balls. The surf was in their ears, the sand was their cushion. As the sun rose higher they retreated to shade, hiding in the shadows of the rocks.

"This place is beautiful," Kakashi commented. "But you haven't said why it's your favorite place."

Mei leaned back into the harsh black rock formations behind her. "Because I'm free here," she replied at length. "Ever since I was a little girl, this place was somewhere that I could express myself without fear.

"When I was with my parents it was laughing and screaming that wasn't allowed. I'd draw attention from the neighbors. When I lived with Riku, I was training to be a ninja. I couldn't control what I couldn't understand so I was drilled in anything Riku could think to teach me. He always tried to get me into swordsmanship but I just wasn't suited for it." She smiled. "He said I had the finesse of a hammer." After a pause she said, "I apologize, I'm rambling about the past again."

Kakashi raised his eyebrows. "Ramble away. If this place always makes you so open to share then we should come here more often."

Mei grinned, an evil glint in her eye. "And where can I take you, dear husband, to get you to share more?"

The tables had turned but Kakashi wouldn't be shaken easily. "There isn't much about me that you don't know." He tried to shrug her interest off but Mei was stubborn.

"I seriously doubt that," Mei countered. "Your medical record alone is enough to write a very interesting book."

"You've seen my record?" Kakashi shifted uneasily.

"I know it's long, that's enough. You don't need to keep secrets you know." Mei had started off teasing but at the end the statement came out gentler, reassuring.

Kakashi's eyes softened. "I know."

"But you like to," she guessed.

"Occasionally," Kakashi agreed. "It's more a force of habit now. I'm sure you can relate."

Mei leaned back into his shoulder, humming in agreement. Kakashi wanted to hold her but he wasn't quite sure where to put his hands. Finally, he settled on slipping his arm around her shoulders. This seemed to please her, as Mei leaned back into him, using his shoulder and chest as a back rest. Kakashi relaxed even though his heart continued to hammer.

"Tell me something I don't know about you," Mei entreated softly. She stared out at the ocean as she listened for his reply.

After a moment of silence, Kakashi took a deep breath and said, "I love you."

Mei sat bolt upright, spinning around and throwing sand everywhere. Neither noticed the scattered specks of black as their eyes met. Her reaction surprised Kakashi but she didn't seem upset so neither was he.

Mei was shocked but excitement was struggling to the surface. She must have imagined his response, she reasoned, since her own confession had been weighing on her mind. That spark of hope made her speak. "What did you say?"

"I love you," he repeated, his voice as steady as he could make it. Kakashi held her gaze and Mei knew it was true, knew it like she knew the pull of the moon on the waves. He stretched his hand out toward her but then his fingers curled back, unsure. His raised hand was frozen in the space between them.

Mei reached up and grasped his hand but wasn't entirely sure what to do with it. She held it, never wanting to let it go and too afraid to do anything else. She wanted to kiss it and coddle it and use it to pull him toward her so that they could be closer. However, she was frozen in her shock. Joyous emotions flooded her, overloading her senses.

Mei's green eyes stared at him, wide and honest. Finally, she replied, "I love you too."

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After the initial shock was over, giddy joy replaced it. Everything was overly comfortable, exceptionally colorful, too wonderful for words. It was like the meeting of two friends who had been separated but were now reunited. The barriers between them faded away into the distance and they could breathe. They laughed for no reason. The questions and answers began.

"How long have you known?"

"When did you realize? Was there a specific moment?"

Mei shook her head. There was no time she could nail down in particular. Her feelings had creeped up on her, like the tide. Then one morning she'd woken up and realized she'd fallen in love, but what was she to do then? Their relationship was complicated at best.

"I knew in the Sand I think," Kakashi answered.

"Really? When?" She was leaning into him again but Mei turned fully around so that she could see her husband's face.

"I wasn't sure until now," Kakashi squeezed her hand. "But if I had to trace it back to a moment," he stopped and smiled. His eyes danced with mirth.

"When?" Mei asked, anxious now.

"Do you remember when we went sand boarding? And you landed face-first in the-" Kakashi stopped, he could tell from Mei's expression that she knew the time he meant.

"I remember," Mei confirmed. I looked hideous! My nose was running, I was probably drooling out the sand that I hadn't swallowed. My face was burned. Mei agonized until she looked up and saw Kakashi's fond expression. She just couldn't believe that that was the moment he'd realized. "That moment? Really?"

Kakashi only smiled, a full smile since his mask was down. Yet he looked completely serious. "Really."

Mei hid her face in embarrassment but she was too happy to be bashful for long. She kept looking back at Kakashi, afraid that he might disappear. Kakashi pulled her close and she wanted to get lost in that embrace, settle down and live in that land of warmth and love.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Mei asked softly.

Kakashi was quiet for a long moment. Mei waited, unsure if she should have saved that question for another time. Then, Kakashi leaned up and over to the side. Mei moved away from him so that she wouldn't impede his progress. He reached into the ever-present pouch on his belt and withdrew an orange volume.

Paradise? Mei guessed to herself. She'd read them all at once so she often got the titles confused.

Kakashi tapped the cover twice with his finger. "Do you know why I like these books Mei?"

A hundred explanations came to Mei's mind, not all of them appropriate for the serious look that Kakashi was giving her. She knew that Kakashi had many reasons for enjoying the series. And she knew the reasons but, the way he'd asked was like a setup for an explanation. It was meant to be rhetorical, so Mei shook her head, theorizing that this explanation would be new to her.

Kakashi glanced at the cover and looked to her again. "These people have very powerful and dramatic relationships. The peaks and valleys of their romance could remake continents but," he tapped the book again, "they're only in here. They do not exist outside of these pages. None of them are going to stab me in the back or use my feelings against me or manipulate my emotions for information on my village or…or die." Kakashi paused here to regain his breath. He tapped the book again. "This is safe." He looked Mei square in the eye. "You, Lady Mizukage, are not."

Mei opened her mouth to say something but then closed it. Kakashi said so much both in those lines and between them. He'd fallen in love with her, and was therefore terrified. It was one thing to experience love vicariously through others, even if they were fictional, it was an entirely different thing to allow such emotions in oneself. The Mizukage had been feeling the same, unable to express her doubts, or her love, even to herself, for fear of what it would do to her life and Kakashi's.

"But you told me anyway," Mei whispered, repressing her joy.

"I couldn't not tell you," Kakashi replied. "Despite my fear."

Mei couldn't handle the way her heart ached with every beat. She forced out a laugh, trying to relieve the buoyant emotions within her. "Well, I didn't bring an object for show and tell. But," Mei laughed again, unable to contain herself. She shouted out, both angry and happy, "how do you know me so well?!" She directed this question at Kakashi but shouted toward the ocean, as if the waves would give her an answer, rather than the man sitting with her.

A small smile appeared on Kakashi's face. He leaned back onto the rocks, as if lacking the energy to sit up.

"I couldn't bring myself to tell you either," Mei confessed. "And I've known at least since the Leaf, if not before."

Kakashi put his arm around her again, wanting her close. Mei scooted closer and then hid her face in his chest, beaming into the flak vest. She closed her eyes and dared to believe that this was possible.

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Their conversation meandered through other topics but then one of them would interject with a question about their relationship. The other would answer and they'd continue their leisurely discussion. Then suddenly, Kakashi realized that it wasn't just dark because they were in a shady spot. The sun had begun its descent below the horizon, reflecting off of the ocean waves. It took about a minute of viewing the gorgeous riot of colors spreading across the sky for either of them to grasp what the setting sun meant. They were terribly late for getting back home. Mei had requested that no guards follow them but she'd said they'd be back by dinner. Dinner had obviously come and gone long ago.

Their sandals were hastily gathered and stuffed into the empty picnic bag while they were on the move. "They're going to panic," Mei cried, scrambling up the slope. Her flying feet would have accidently kicked sand into Kakashi's face if he were a lesser man, or even a lesser ninja, such was her speed. As it was, Kakashi kept pace while remaining sand free. They sprinted across the open country, not even bothering to put their sandals back on. Their bare feet pounded on the cool earth.

Despite the distance and their hurry, there was something that made laughter bubble in Mei's throat. Kakashi grinned in response. Neither were tired as they sprinted through marsh and field alike. It was like being children again, knowing no limits to their endurance. The early stars observed the lovers' progress as they flew home together.

When the couple arrived at the village gates, they were greeted by the sight of Chojuro organizing a search party. The faces of the men and women in the group were illuminated by several lanterns on poles. The moment Chojuro spotted the pair, he stopped speaking mid-sentence. Everyone else followed his wide-eyed gaze.

The Mizukage and Lord Hatake looked like a couple of teenagers caught sneaking out. Mei's hair was in disarray and her feet and legs were bare and spattered with mud. Her cheeks were flushed both from embarrassment and the run but her eyes sparkled as well, as if she had a secret to tell.

Kakashi looked disheveled with his hair having been blown every which way. His vest was undone and the wraps around his ankles, usually held in place by his sandals, were ripped to shreds. The frayed ends peeked out from under his pant leg cuffs.

"Sorry we're late," Kakashi said automatically. Then his eyes filled with laughter although his voice was completely serious as he continued, "we got lost on the road of life."

Author's Notes:
1. I hope you liked it. Thank you to my betas DimiGex and MGB. Note: I realize now, re-reading my author's note from last time, that it seemed as if mygraciousbenefactor would no longer be helping with this story. That was not what I meant at all. MGB is a relation of mine. When I said, I had to say bye to him, I meant that he was here to visit and when the visit was over, I dropped him off at the airport and bid him farewell. I miss his company, that's all.

2. A note on Mist Village History: it's all messed up. Canon (no matter what you believe canon to be: manga only, manga and manga based episodes only, episodes including filler, episodes and movies, whatever) can't even agree on the timeline of the events in the Mist Village (despite what the databook says, canon still clashes with itself). If you want to have a conversation on the finer points of Mist Village History, PM me and we can chat about it. I should probably be embarrassed by how much I've looked into the Mist timeline to try to make sense of it but I'm not.

The long and short of Mist Village History within this story is as follows: the Mist Village had a series of civil wars between the Fourth and Fifth Mizukage. During that period, multiple Mist ninja claimed the title of Mizukage (think what Danzo did when he became "Hokage") although none of them were officially acknowledged. Then there was a bunch of in-fighting and it was bad. So when Mei took over, it was more like putting her village in order rather than a military takeover (even though it still kind of was). Anyway, Mei put the fires out and said, I'm the Fifth and that's final. And everyone else said, okay scary lady. The false Mizukages and that period will be mentioned in later chapters but mostly in passing.

3. Lava tubes are dangerous and if you get downwind of them, bad things happen.

4. Thank you to all you lovely people who have read this far (in the story, not in the author's notes, although I guess those too)! In all honesty, I could have easily ended this story here, with this chapter. You, as readers, still could end your journey here if that was what you wanted. However, with the plans I have, this is more like a halfway point in the story. If you want to jump ship now, you totally can and this would be the time to do it. I know stories get long and sometimes you aren't as into them as you were 50,000 words ago. But I'm not done yet. So if you want to keep reading and find out what else I have in store for this lovely couple, then I'm glad to have you along. If this is where we part ways then thanks for being here! I wish you the best.