"It's turning out to be the coldest winter we've had in years," the tiny voice on the radio crackled through the warm room. Sandan was wrapped up looking remarkably like a cocoon. "Entire villages are already snowed in. Blizzards are reported in Snow Country."

"What's new about that?" Sandan grunted.

"It's not that cold Sandan," Eiji grunted in return sipping some tea.

"It is," Sandan whined flopping on his bed and rolling to glare at his partner. "This place is Fire Country for crying out loud. It should be hot."

"It's warmer than most countries. And the leaves have changed color," Eiji replied shuffling some papers spread across the table.

"But they haven't fallen," Sandan pressed, "There's something wrong with these trees I tell you. It's like the leaves are too stubborn to bow even to snow and wind."

Eiji paused in his work and turned to look at Sandan. "Much like the ninja's that are named after them," he chuckled. He turned back to his work looking over the reports from the other groups ignoring Sandan's unhappy grumbling. He sighed, still no sign of Iruka and his rescue crew. They could be sitting in some shed in some backwater country waiting for Iruka to get better. No, he thought, thinking through the type of ninja Iruka was.

He was one of duty. He got his job done no matter what, without regard to his body or health. A ninja that did his duty to serve and protect his village with everything he had. Iruka would try and force his rescue team forward. Would they? No, Kakashi Hatake was known for worrying about his teammates, he'd be sure to keep the man alive. Add on the fact that they had a med-nin Eiji was sure they'd do everything to make sure Iruka was well. Eiji took another look down at some of the reports and plucked out Saxan's.

The man's cruddy hand writing greeted his eyes making him frown. Why did all doctors have such horrible hand writing? The report was mostly about Iruka's physical condition before he was rescued. By the time he reached the end of the report he had a rather nasty smile on his face. Despite the fact they hadn't broken the man's spirit, both he and Sandan had done a great deal of damage. The man would be lucky to continue his ninja career after this mission. He placed the pages back on the table and tapped his fingers on its surface thoughtfully. "They are no doubt taking the more populated route," Eiji said to himself as he was prone to do when deep in thought. "We would have already seen them in Grass and heading toward Wind." He glanced down and moved more papers out of the way to revel the map buried underneath. "They might try to circle around and get to another gate. However," again he picked up Saxan's report, "His body, do to all the damage; will not be able to handle all this cold. So they won't take too long a route." He returned to tapping his fingers on the map. Suddenly he stood causing the chair to squeal against the wooden floor. He strode across the room to the door throwing it up in a flourish. "Kai, Saxan, get in here."

Sandan sat up curious, "What's up?" he asked watching the man as he picked up the papers he had been looking at moments before. Saxan and Kai stumbled into the room both looking startled and like they'd rolled out of bed. Saxan's hair was sticking up in every direction when it was usually combed and flat against his skull. Kai was still struggling to get his pants on properly.

"What happen?" Kai gasped finally getting his leg through his left pants leg.

"Send word out to the others," Eiji began, handing Kai Saxan's report.

"Why?" Saxan asked looking over his friend's shoulder, "My report?"

"I believe we need to change the size of our net. The news said it's been the coldest winter in years. From your report Saxan, Iruka will not be able to handle the extreme weather, which has lead us to the theory of populated route travel," Eiji began walking toward the quietly crackling radio and turned it off. "We cast to wide a net, we need to shorten it. Bring in the teams from Wind through Grass and strengthen up the teams through these borders." He walked back over to the maps and pointed at a few 'X's.

"Having large groups in the area will alert the patrols of Konoha," Kai argued.

"Yes, I'll think of something, for now send word out to all teams," Eiji commanded. When Kai and Saxan left Eiji turned to look at Sandan.

"When you want to catch smaller fish, you use a smaller net," Sandan chuckled.

"My thoughts exactly," Eiji grinned, "We'll have our little Dolphin back soon Sandan." Eiji felt a shiver run down his spin at the hungry look that entered Sandan's eyes.

BANG!

Startled out of his pleasant nap Suzu yawned and looked over to the source of the loud noise. He chuckled as a low grunt and whine came from the owner. Suzu had lived through much, from the end of the First Hokage rule to the beginning of this new Hokage. He'd survived the Shinobi wars, the demon attack and the invasion of Sound and Sand. He watched the village grow and change. He watched men and women rise and fall, and he'd seen his fair share of friends come and go through his long years of life.

Suzu yawned and stretched. He let out a happy sigh as several joints creaked and popped into their correct places. "How was the meeting?" he's aged voice hissed across the room. He had become quite fond of this New Hokage. The woman was the embodiment of strength and power. He remembered her as a youngling, craving her way in the world right alongside her teammates. He was glad it was her, a student of the Third, that had become Hokage instead of that warmonger Danzo.

"It was one big tongue lashing," the woman replied, her voice muffled against the papers her face was currently buried in. "I'm sure I have read marks everywhere."

"I assure you that you are unblemished," he replied with a chuckle. Having lived so long and seen so much, he excepted the unexpected. However the last few months have been anything but excepted, and to top off the string of unexpected things was the village wide snowball fight. That had been the most fun he had had in years. Slugging a few of them brats that had egged his apartment complex earlier in the year had been the greatest winter present he received in a long time. Unfortunately the backlash had been excepted. The counsel, the snooty old crinkled raisins, hadn't seen the joy it had brought to their overwhelmingly depressed shinobi. They had turned a completely blind eye to the fact the villagers seemed to be less frighten of the deadly shadows that walked their streets.

"I couldn't even get one word in," came the muffled moan, "I felt like I was a little kid getting scolded for stealing a cookie from the cookie jar." She suddenly sat up and smiled a wicked smile as she turned to look at him. "But if that wasn't the best damn cookie I ever had," she laughed. Suzu joined her in her merriment, reliving the moments again as they swapped their snowy war stories.

Over the last few weeks she had warmed up to his presence. Once it was clear to her that he was not leaving until he got what he wanted she had more or less resigned to just let him take up couch space. Being in the office and seeing the inner working of his great village was something else. He remembered complaining to Iruka about the working of his village and Iruka replying that he just didn't understand how difficult it was to run. Iruka had of course been right, the village was more than what it seemed from the eyes of a civi. The balance their leader struggled to keep and the amount of paper work she went through on a daily bases was amazing to an old man like him. He gained a new respect from shinobi as well. Before they were thrones in his sides that skipped out of paying the rent, now they were thrones that protected the figurant rose that was their village. Seeing them trudge in fresh off the battle ground covered in blood and wounds with dimming eyes had startled him into realization. Like Iruka had always said to him, "We're humans that bled red too, Jiji." Years of living and learning and there was still more to learn.

Three sharp knocks broke through their happy babble. "Come in," Tsunade commanded shifting back into her 'leader pose' as he had dubbed it. She looked as if she had always been reading the paper set before her, pen in hand as she marked a few sheets randomly. A dirty looking ANBU stumbled into her office. Though the man tried to keep his grace, it was clear that he was beyond tired and on his last legs. "Report," she said without looking up as again she marked a few more pages. Suzu wasn't even sure she was reading them.

"Hokage-sama," the ANBU bowed he tipped dangerously forward before catching himself, "There has been a large movement of people near the border of Rice and Bear." Tsunade showed no interest to the news. Suzu could only guest that it was common news.

"Go on," she probed dully around another swish of her pen.

"Normally this would not draw our attention Hokage-sama. But this large movement of civilians is not normal. They do not have the patterns of merchants or bandits for that matter." Finally Tsunade looked up her face carefully schooled blank.

"And what do you believe them to be?" she asked as she crossed her fingers and rested her chin on them.

"Based on their movements and habits we believe them to be shinobi in disguised Hokage-sama. However we cannot say from which village," The ANBU answered. Silence took over the suddenly to small space.

"An invasion," it was not stated as a question.

"We are not sure," the ANBU replied.

Suzu knew he should leave, this was one of those times where not even he should press his stay. As he stood the ANBU's head snapped in his direction hand zipping to his kunai pouch. "Ignore him," Tsunade said calmly. At least one of them was calm, Suzu felt his heart almost give out. ANBU were most definitely a different breed of Shinobi. "There is a possibility that this movement could be from Sound, however I do not believe this to be the case," She said more to herself then to them. Her face was masked in thought before she stood drawing to her full height.

"Watch them. If it is an invasion, I want us to be prepared and not caught off guard as before. We don't want a repeat of the chunin exams," she strode across the room and past the sagging ANBU. "Get some rest after you let the rest of the patrols know," she added almost as an afterthought. She swept out the door leaving Suzu and the ANBU alone in the room.

The ANBU stood for a few moments longer before taking a deep breath and letting it hiss through his mask. "Thank you," Suzu called startling the man again. Was he really that invisible? Maybe because he was a civilian he didn't register as a threat. The white mask turned to look at him, he could just make out the startled green eyes. "For protecting our village. I know it is because of you putting your life on the line, that I can sleep safe at night and age another day," He clarified. The nin bowed to him which he return wholeheartedly. Suzu watched the nin make his way out of the office standing just a little taller than when he entered. Suzu smiled, yep a smile and a thanks can go a long way.