Chapter 27 - Tsunade

Hinata crawled out of the shower after about an hour. She spent most of the time curled up in a ball on the floor, crying. She had vomited everything out of her stomach and was feeling empty, still trying to come to terms with what had happened. What she had done.

She dried herself off and noticed that at some point in time her shishou had put a pile of clean clothes on the counter of the bathroom for her. She thanked him in her mind, and got changed. She looked at her red eyes in the mirror of the bathroom for a moment thinking to herself.

'I really embarrassed myself this time… Reacting like that… I was prepared wasn't I? I knew what the mission entailed. We had the upper hand and were in and out before the enemy knew what happened. None of us got injured… So why am I crying? They were bad people. They would have done the same to us, or worse. So why do I care? Being able to eliminate a target without them knowing is the mark of a good kunoichi… I should be proud of my first real mission being successful…'

Hinata just sighed and opened the door to the bathroom, walking back out into the room. She saw her shishou sitting on the bed, and watched as he stood up and walked over to her, wrapping her up in his arms. She felt safe there.

"I'm sorry.." She croaked out. She had run out of tears a while ago, and now she just felt a mixture of nausea and embarrassment. She just buried her face into his chest as he pat her on the back, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"It's alright kid. The first time is different for everybody. Most people end up vomiting or crying, and this mission was particularly rough on you guys…" Hayate comforted her.

When he had accepted the mission he hadn't really thought about the fact that there wouldn't really be a fight. No… this had been a slaughter, and those were the hardest to stomach. The adrenaline wasn't there to dull the pain, and it was harder to justify to yourself than self defense was.

The difference between shinobi and normal people was massive. Most C-Rank missions that involved taking out thieves or bandits ended this way. It was quick, nasty work that didn't pose any real threat to the shinobi's life. That's why they were considered C-Rank.

Shino had stopped by earlier and told Hayate that they were ready to leave whenever Hinata was. Hayate had asked how they were and Shino told him that he was fine, but Kiba was having a difficult time as well. Akamaru was with him though which helped. Hayate knew though, that none of them would be the same after this mission. How could they be?

"At least the mission was successful right?" Hinata said, in a muffled voice.

"That's right. You guys did good." Hayate said, talking softly. "Are you ready to go, or do you need more time?"

Hinata shook her head, stepping away. "I'm ready. Let me just grab my bag." She walked over to her bed and noticed that everything had already been packed. She was grateful that Hayate had already put away her bloodied clothes so that she wouldn't have to see them again so soon. 'Laundry is going to be a bitch later.' She thought to herself, smiling wryly at the sick humor she was finding in this fucked up situation. 'I'll have to make sure Hanabi doesn't see the blood..'

Hinata turned around, her bag on her back, and walked over towards the door, ready to leave. Hayate noted that the skin on her face and hands was bright pink. 'She must have scrubbed herself raw in the shower.'

They walked out of the room and stopped to pick up Shino and Kiba. The latter of which looked about as well as Hinata felt. Kiba shared a glance with Hinata, both of them understanding what the other had gone through. They didn't say anything, but Hinata could tell he felt the same as her.

"Alright, let's head off." Hayate said after turning in the room keys to the proprietor.

The group walked to the edge of the village and Hinata turned around to give one last look at Inaho. Hayate had already reported the successful elimination of the bandits to the village head, and they were going to be sending a clean up crew to take care of the bodies and the stolen supplies. Hinata was glad that she didn't have to worry about the clean up herself.

The sunrise had already finished by the time they left the village. Kiba took the point again, choosing a pace that was faster than they had run on the way here. He was eager to return home; they all were.

Hayate hadn't ordered any stops this time, and no one complained. They ran throughout the day, pushing the pace to get home as soon as possible. Shino was a bit winded by the time they arrived at Konohagakure, late in the evening. The sun had already gone down and they stopped at the gate to have their ID's checked and be processed by the guards on duty.

The shinobi on guard duty didn't talk to anyone besides Hayate. He could see the fresh genin and the looks on their faces. He could guess that it was their first real mission out of the village and what it had probably entailed.

The group was let in without any fuss and Hayate spoke up after they entered in through the gates. "The mission isn't truly complete until?" He asked them.

"Until we report the mission as a success or failure." Hinata answered mechanically. It was annoying. She just wanted to go home and sleep for a few days.

"That's right." Hayate confirmed. "I already wrote up the report, we just have to go turn it in. Come on, I'm sure you're all ready for bed, so let's hurry."

Hayate led the way and the group arrived at the academy a little over an hour later. They went as a group up to the mission assignment desk and handed the report over, turning it in as a mission success. Hinata looked up her record when she was there.

Hyūga Hinata: Genin

D-Rank: 34 Complete, 34 Successful, 0 Failed

C-Rank: 1 Complete, 1 Successful, 0 Failed

B-Rank: 0 Complete

A-Rank: 0 Complete

S-Rank: 0 Complete

She looked at the smiling face of her genin photograph they took of her only 3 weeks or so ago. 'That's me?' She thought. It didn't feel like she was the same girl in that picture.

She backed away from the desk and turned to face the others. "Can we go home now?" She asked in a tired voice.

"Yeah. Go get some rest. We're taking tomorrow off, so make sure you relax and sort yourselves out. We'll meet up at training ground eight the next day at 5 am." Hayate told them.

The trio just nodded and said their goodbyes, splitting up to return to their respective home.

Hinata didn't really remember the trip home, she was so tired. Mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted, Hinata snuck in through her window and collapsed on her bed, falling into a deep sleep.

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Hinata woke up the next morning sticky with sweat and feeling disgusting. Considering everything that happened, she was surprised that she didn't have any nightmares. 'Come to think of it, I didn't have any when Neji was kidnapped, or after the events of the Uchiha massacre and Danzō. I guess I should be grateful. Small victories.' Hinata has a strained smile, as she walked towards the bath.

"Oneesan?" Hanabi opened her door, still groggy from sleep.

"Oh? Did I wake you? Sorry I must have been making more noise than I thought." Hinata smiled wearily at her kid sister.

"No, I just woke up…" Hanabi said with a yawn. "You just get back?"

"I got back late last night. I'm heading to get a bath, I didn't take one before I went to bed. Although, I'm kind of regretting it now." Hinata made a disgusted face, pulling at her sweaty clothes.

"I'll start on breakfast.." Hanabi smiled. "Then you can tell me how your mission went."

Hanabi noted her sister's strange expression at her comment. "Or not? Is everything ok?"

"Everything's fine kiddo." Hinata patted her on the head. "I just don't really feel like talking about it. It was successful though."

"Alright." Hanabi nodded.

Hinata took her bath and enjoyed breakfast with her father and Hanabi. She thought that not having a mission or training that day would be relaxing, but it only took a few hours before she started feeling bored and restless.

She decided to go for a run to get her mind off things and burn off some energy. She wasn't really planning to, but she eventually arrived at training ground eight. She wasn't that surprised to see both Kiba and Shino there either. She just ran up to them and tacitly agreed to an impromptu training session.

The three of them worked out together for a few hours before Kiba eventually broke the silence.

"Do you think the others have had to do it yet?" He asked, not looking at anyone as he spoke.

"I don't know." Hinata answered. She really didn't want to talk about it.

"Maybe Naruto's team." Shino said, still practicing his tōton jutsu.

"No, they didn't." Hinata said. "As far as I know, Kakashi was the only one who killed anyone."

"Hmm." Kiba appeared to be in thought, and silence fell over the group again.

The training helped her take her mind off things. It seemed like as long as she kept her body moving, the anxiety of having to wait around would go away. She wasn't really sure when the last 'free day' she had was. Her team seemed to always be either in the training ground or doing missions now. Even on Sundays, which she used to spend in the village, were now spent with the team. She didn't know when exactly it happened, but Hinata started to hate the idea of free days.

They stayed late until the evening, finally parting ways after they were too worn out to continue. Hinata walked back towards the compound, enjoying the cool evening air. The village seemed so peaceful at this time. Most people were indoors, and the sounds of the market were gone. She jumped up to a roof and just looked out over the maze of buildings below. 'I wonder when the last was that I just admired this view?' She sat down on the roof and spent a while just enjoying the night, before returning home and turning in.

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Asuma stood in front of the construction work that was currently going on near the edge of Konohagakure. The council had only given him one rule for when designing the second round of the chūnin exam. It must take place inside the walls of the village, but away from any buildings or people.

A large, faux, village was being created before his eyes. They were using earth style jutsu to raise the buildings, and were using seals to add traps to some of them. He just chuckled to himself as he thought about how the genins were going to handle the rules of his round of the exam.

He had recently been busy with the construction of his battleground, but had time to spend the other night with Kurenai. She spent the whole time at dinner talking about how one of her kids wouldn't shut, one wouldn't stop eating, and the other was the laziest kid she had ever met. She had been running her brats ragged to try to get them ready in time for the exams.

They had nearly rebelled against her when she told them their new training regimen. It took her both bribery and threats to finally get them to buckle down and listen to her. Asuma honestly wondered whether or not they'd be able to get past Ibiki's round, let alone his.

"Hmm.." Asuma rubbed his chin with one hand, playing with the shogi pieces in his pocket with the other. "Apparently one of her brats is a genius though.. I wonder how his leadership is?" He pulled out a shogi piece marked with the symbol for the king, and looked at it for a moment. Putting it back into his pocket, he walked away from the battlefield smirking to himself.

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The next day, Hinata met the rest of the team for their usual training with her shishou. They did their usual physical training before settling down to practice their ninjutsu. Hinata was slowly but steadily getting the hand of the tōton jutsu, taking slow steps as she maintained transparency on herself.

She was shocked out of it and dropped the jutsu however when Hayate started speaking to them.

"Alright team, listen up." Hayate clapped his hands and got their attention. "I know that last mission was rough on everyone, but sometimes the best way to get over something like that is to stay busy. Speaking from experience, getting back to work can help get rid of the shock, and it doesn't give you time to dwell on things."

"Meaning..?" Hinata got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"I got us another mission. It's also a C-rank one, but this time it's an escort mission. I actually poached it from Kakashi's team seven after explaining to him what happened." Hayate smiled wryly.

"Poached it from team seven? What mission..?" Hinata quickly tried to recall all of the different missions team seven went on.

"We have to escort the village head of Takigakure back to his village. Apparently he was here to talk about an alliance between Takigakure and Konoha, and also to talk about details of the chūnin exams." Hayate explained to them. "It should take about a week to get there, assuming we travel at a relaxed pace."

"What's the name of the client?" Shino asked.

"Shibuki. He's a bit of a coward from what I heard." Hayate said, shrugging.

"How is a coward the village head?" Kiba asked in distaste.

"He must have other attributes that won him the respect of his people." Hinata said. 'I knew it. This is that mission where team seven got attacked by those missing-nin from Takigakure right? Damn it shishou.'

"Mostly likely." Hayate agreed with Hinata. "Also, being the son of the previous village head probably helped."

"Tch. When are we leaving?" Kiba still had an expression on his face that showed he already didn't like the guy they were going to be escorting.

"The day after tomorrow." Hayate told him.

"So a week there… I'm assuming the pace is relaxed for the benefit of the client? So how long should it take us to get back, assuming we push hard and make good time?" Hinata looked over at her shishou in interest.

Hayate thought about it for a moment before replying. "Probably.. three days or so? It depends on if anything happens."

Shino nodded before going back to his training. He was right behind Hinata in his mastery of the jutsu. He'd obviously been practicing quite a bit in his free time. Kiba, however, was still having a miserable time; barely being able to turn himself fuzzy, as if he was out of focus.

"You said he was here to also talk about the chūnin exams? What about them?" Hinata asked in interest.

"I don't know the details. Something about thinking about sending his apprentice or something. He wants to make sure it's safe." Hayate shrugged again.

'Apprentice? He must be talking about Fū. Would he really send his jinchūriki to the exams?' Hinata thought about it for a bit before returning to her training. It didn't really matter she supposed. 'This will be our first time fighting against shinobi though… assuming everything happens like I expect it will. Are we ready?' Hinata glanced at her teammates before redoubling her efforts.

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Tsunade had been in the village for two days already, taking the time to walk around the city and trying her best to avoid anyone that would recognize her. Word still hadn't spread about her arrival so she rightfully assumed that the genin and her team had kept her presence a secret, which she was grateful for. She still didn't know if she was going to be staying, so she didn't want to cause a stir if she could help it.

Tsunade sighed before looking over at Shizune. "I guess it's about time to go meet with Shikaku."

"You don't want to visit Jiraiya-sama first?" Shizune looked over. "Or Hiruzen-sama for that matter?"

"Tch. I'll chew that old man out later. As for Jiraiya, I'll go see him after Shikaku tells me what the hell this is all about." Tsunade narrowed her eyes and set off at a brisk pace with Shizune hurrying after her.

Tsunade marched up the door of Shikaku's office, not even bothering to knock, she kicked it open with a bang.

"Alright Shikaku, tell me why the hell I'm here. What do you mean you 'have reason to believe Orochimaru is going to attack Konoha'!?" She shouted as she marched in and sat down in a chair across from the startled man.

"Tsunade-sama?" Shikaku was shocked. He didn't actually expect her to come. "Please take a seat." He said chuckling at the already seated woman.

"Shut up and explain yourself." Tsunade barked out, crossing her arms and putting her feet up on his desk.

'Does she want me to shut up or speak?' Shikaku sighed, sitting up a bit straighter and resting his arms on his desk.

"Alright, Shizune-san can you close my door?" Shikaku looked over at the woman that was smiling slightly in apology for Tsunade's demeanor.

"Mm." Shizune nodded and shut the door to his office.

"Well then… Where do I begin?" Shikaku thought for a moment. "I'll just stick to what we know. Orochimaru was last seen in Ta no Kuni, the same country that the mysterious Otogakure was recently founded. We aren't positive, but I believe Orochimaru has something to do with this village."

"Ta no Kuni?" Tsunade thought about it. "Why the hell would Orochimaru be in Ta no Kuni?"

"I have no proof, but I suspect he's using the survivors of the various broken clans there as research subjects." Shikaku said, studying Tsunade's reaction to his words.

Tsunade made a face like she had just smelled something disgusting. "That sounds like something he would do. What does this have to do with the chūnin exams though?"

"Otogakure is signed up to send a team to participate in the exams. Not only that, but with the help of a trusted source of mine, I've already discovered one team that has been signed up using forged credentials, pretending to be genin of Konoha." Shikaku took out a folder and slid it over the table to Tsunade.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes reading the file. "You think this.. Yakushi Kabuto? Is in league with Orochimaru?"

"I personally believe it's very likely." Shikaku said truthfully. Honestly when he discovered the documents being forged, and proved Hinata's warning about Kabuto was accurate, he was grateful that his gut instinct to trust the girl had paid off. At the very least, even if nothing else happened, they discovered the imposters before they could do anything.

Shikaku went on with his explanation. "The documents they provided were very through and someone with intimate knowledge of our system had to be responsible for setting it up."

"Fuck." Tsunade growled out, tossing the folder back onto the desk. "So what do you want me to do? Announce my presence to dissuade any would-be attackers or something?"

"No, the exact opposite, actually." Shikaku said with a sly smile. "I want you to lay low in the village. Just to be on standby in case something happens."

"You want to lure Orochimaru into a trap?" Tsunade asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, I do. And I personally like my chances." Shikaku said, still smiling.

Tsunade sighed. "Fine, have it your way. Make arrangements for me to stay somewhere, and don't be cheap with it. If I have to lay low, I'm going to do it in comfort."

"Very well. I thank you for your cooperation." Shikaku told her, taking the folder and putting it away.

Tsunade stood up. "If we're done here, I have to go get my stuff from the inn. I'll drop by in a little and get the location of where I'm staying."

"I'll arrange something immediately. It's good to see you again Tsunade." Shikaku said, leaning back in his seat.

Tsunade just snorted, leaving the room just as quickly as she entered.

Shizune bowed politely to Shikaku before leaving as well, following Tsunade out of the building, vanishing into the streets.

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Tsunade's next visit was to Jiraiya, only this time she moved more stealthily. She arrived at the window to his office and waited for when he was alone to enter.

"Tsunade!?" Jiraiya stood up with ecstatic surprise. "What are you doing back!?"

"Do I need a reason to return?" Tsunade asked him, sitting down in a chair.

"Yes, most likely you did need a reason to return." Jiraiya said bluntly. "It's about time too. It's good to see you again." He grinned at her.

Tsunade snorted. "You look well. A little bored perhaps, but the position suits you."

"It would have suited you better." He said, rubbing the back of his head. "Honestly if you want to take it, the position is al-"

"Not a chance." Tsunade cut him off before he could finish. "I'd rather never drink or gamble again. Something that Shizune would probably prohibit me from doing anyways if I took the position."

"Well it was worth a shot.." Jiraiya's grin faded a bit as he asked his next question. "Have you visited sensei yet..?"

"Sensei? You're still willing to call him that? After what he did!?" Tsunade got angrier as she spoke.

"He'll always be our sensei, whether you like it or not." Jiraiya told her. 'You can be angry with him, you can hate him, but don't forget who it was that raised you to be who you are today."

"Jiraiya, he allowed a genocide to happen under his watch! A genocide of his own people, no less!" Tsunade practically shouted at him. "If I was in your position, I'd try him as a traitor to the village!"

"Enough!" Jiraiya raised his voice as well. "You think I wasn't angry!? I chewed him out for hours, Tsunade! The man knows his mistakes, and it's haunted him ever since. He regrets what happened."

"Oh he regrets it? Does he regret it more than the Uchihas!?" Tsunade snarled out.

Jiraiya sighed. There was no getting through to her when she was like this. "Let's just drop it. You can go see him yourself."

"I will. As soon as I've figured out what I'm going to yell at him." Tsunade said, sitting back down. At some point in time she had stood up in anger.

"Shizune-chan, it's nice to see you as well. I hope taking care of Tsunade hasn't been too much of a hassle for you." Jiraiya turned towards the other woman, his grin easily slipping back on his face as he looked at her.

"Jiraiya-sama, it's a pleasure to see you again as well. And it's been a big hassle of course." Shizune smiled at him.

"Hah!?" Tsunade said looking at her.

"Heh, well some things are slated to never change. Especially your beauty, Shizune-chan. You know, I've been meaning to get a model for my next book, If you'd be willi-" Jiraiya's grin started to turn a bit sleazy.

Tsunade interrupted him however, before he could continue. "Shut up, pervert. She's young enough to be your daughter. I should have known becoming Hokage wouldn't change that aspect of you."

"Of course not! Like I would ever let a job change me!" He said, laughing. "Anyways, I'm glad you're back. It's been too long since we last had a drink together. Why don't we take the night off and catch up?"

The two of them continued to banter back and forth a bit, before making plans to celebrate their reunion that night. They had a lot to discuss, and Jiraiya wanted to make the most of it.

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Orochimaru turned his back on the village he was just visiting, walking away from Sunagakure. He had just been in talks with the Kazekage, and they hadn't gone well.

"Coward.. To think he'd be that afraid of one of the sannin." Orochimaru smirked to himself, thinking of the meeting.

He had tried talking Rasa into helping him attack Konohagakure, but the coward had refused, stating it was foolish to think about doing something like that with Jiraiya as the new Hokage.

"It matters not… Suna has a role to play whether he's willing or not…" Orochimaru laughed to himself in a grating voice that would send shivers down somebody's spine.

"And that son of his.." Orochimaru licked his lips. "Oh Rasa.. You really shouldn't have let me see him.." His eyes narrowed, already thinking of modifications to his plans.