Surprise!
Who would've thought huh? I don't even know if anybody is still reading this fic, or interested in how it continues. Stuff happened, and I temporarily lost interest in it, I have to admit. Plus I got a bit lost in the plans for this fic. I will have to re-evaluate some stuff and apparently create a new plan since I lost the old one, but I thought I could at least try to slowly work myself closer to the finishing line.

As I said, I don't know if any of you still read, and if you do, you might have forgotten the most recent events, so here's a short summary:
The second Shinobi World War is underway. After an injury Sakumo was taken away from the battlefield for recovery. He took on a Genin team with Shikaku, Inoichi, and Choza. During a simple mission, they witnessed the destruction of Uzushiogakure but managed to save Kushina at least. Back in Konoha, Inoichi was made Chunin in the Chunin Exam.

Evaluation

"Can you move your fingers?"

As asked Sakumo wiggled with the fingers of the arm that had been injured so many months ago. He formed a fist, moved his wrist, his elbow, and shoulder, he applied pressure and released it. Whatever the medic-nin wanted.

"Looks good," she commented with another stern look at his elbow. "Does it hurt? Any pain with the movement?"

"No," answered Sakumo but maybe he hesitated a bit too much as her grey eyes immediately settled on his daring him to lie to her. "It doesn't hurt, but it feels a bit numb still," he specified.

Her hand glowed in pale green when she activated her chakra to probe his limb. "Maybe some latent nerve damage." Two fingers moved along his elbow to his wrist. "As far as I can tell you've healed up well enough…all things considered."

The medic had already told him that it was a miracle he hadn't completely undone the healing process in his arm with his fighting in Uzushiogakure. It couldn't have been helped, he needed to fight to save his team and Kushina, but back then he had still been in recovery, the broken bones in his right arm not completely healed.

"Keep an eye on it," the medic finally said, before she swiveled around on her chair to make some notes on his datasheet. "All in all, it looks fine. I'll declare you combat-ready and inform the Hokage about it." She glanced back at him. "Unless there's something else."

Sakumo shook his head. He'd been here in the hospital room for his final exam for about two hours already. Before she had looked at his arm, she had examined all the other smaller wounds and scars he had received in Uzushiogakure. Now, he was glad to put his shirt back on and push himself off the cot. "Thank you," he said with a slight bow.

"As far as I'm aware there's no big offensive planned for now," she said while still scribbling her notes down. "So, it would be best if you could slowly increase your training regimen again. I know you had to be careful during the last months."

"Is that your way of telling me, I'm out of shape, doctor?" he asked smiling as he put his shoes back on.

Her only response was a slight shrug. Of course, he was out of shape. He had barely done anything since Uzushiogakure and most of the time he had spent drilling his team for the Chunin Exams rather than training himself.

"Thanks for the advice," he said still smiling. "I'm good to go then?"

Her lips were moving with the words she scribbled down. "…24 years old, good physical constitution," he could hear before she looked up again smiling a bit distractedly. "Oh, yes. Have a good day."

He bowed again and left the room.

"How was it?" Jiraiya immediately jumped up from the chair in the sitting room, as Sakumo passed by to leave the hospital.

"What… What are you doing here?" asked Sakumo who hadn't expected his best friend here. Jiraiya had come back from the front lines just a few days ago and since then he had mostly slept or visited the public baths. Now he stood before Sakumo dressed in his usual green kimono and sandals. Something was different though, Sakumo thought before he realized that Jiraiya carried his hair open and didn't wear his headband. His spiky white hair was a mess. "What happened to you?"

"Huh? Nothing, nothing…" he laughed suspiciously. He was obviously hiding something. Then he scratched his head. "Akane said I could probably find you here."

Sakumo nodded slowly. "How long did you wait?"

"Not that long," Jiraiya hurried to say. "And I had the best company." He nodded toward a young Kunoichi waiting in the sitting room not even acknowledging him, "did you meet Masae?" For a moment Sakumo thought about greeting the young blonde but then again, she still acknowledged neither Jiraiya nor Sakumo so instead, he just grabbed Jiraiya at the sleeve and dragged him out of the hospital.

"So, why have you been looking for me?"

"I thought we could train!" Jiraiya grinned broadly. "I mean they declared you ready to go, right?" Sakumo nodded. "So, we can finally train again, go all out." He rammed his elbow in Sakumo's side in a somewhat unpleasant expression of friendship. "Like the good old times."

He seemed almost a bit too excited at the prospect of training, Sakumo thought. "Did you learn a new Jutsu?" he asked warily.

"Nah…But I think I got better with my Sage mode. And honestly…" he looked a bit downtrodden, "I hardly got a good fight during all of the time at the front. Six months of walking through mud and dirt and fighting only food soldiers that the enemy throws at you." He frowned angrily but there was a haunted look in Jiraiya's eyes. "You don't get to train for fear the enemy might find you, but when they do, it's mostly Chunin who don't manage to run away quick enough. I need to get a decent fight… I need," his voice trailed off until it was almost inaudible, "someone who can…"

Sakumo wasn't able to make out the last words. Maybe Jiraiya didn't even speak them out loud. He didn't have to. Sakumo knew what he meant. Jiraiya needed to vent off his energy against somebody who could actually defend himself. Sakumo knew that feeling well enough. How often had he cut through multiple enemies and not cared how many of them he had killed or badly maimed. In the spur of the moment with the adrenaline washing through his veins and his own heartbeat in his ears, it was easy to forget that those were just people too, strangers who fought for their village just like Sakumo or Jiraiya fought for Konoha. But once the moment was over, once the pulse stopped thundering in his chest, he would lie down and see their faces in his sleep.

It was one thing to kill people who offered serious resistance when it was kill or be killed. It was something else if the opponent was hardly strong enough to keep up when they were so weak that they died from Sakumo's attacks like fragile little flowers.

It was those days that Sakumo himself would feel most like a killer.

For Jiraiya, it had to be the same.

"We can go right now." He hadn't planned for his first real training session to be against Jiraiya of all people. The medic-nin had told him to take it slow after all. But if Jiraiya needed him, Sakumo had to relent, turning his steps towards the training fields. He had wanted to ask Jiraiya how his time at the front had been. He wanted to know details, not because he was curious, but because he needed to know before he could join the front himself. Now, he didn't ask, though. As much as they concerned him, he would get the details from the Hokage sooner or later.

"Thanks," Jiraiya almost whispered as he hurried after Sakumo but Sakumo could still see the haunted look on his face, and all of a sudden, Jiraiya's messed up hair struck Sakumo.

"You're not wearing your headband."

Jiraiya only grunted in response not giving any further information.

"How long will you be staying in Konoha?" asked Sakumo then.

"At least four weeks," Jiraiya answered a bit reluctantly. "Maybe longer. Sensei suggested I could take a Genin team in March."

Sakumo turned to Jiraiya to examine his physical state. He seemed healthy enough. "There's another final exam already?" Sakumo's own team had only graduated last summer and while the Chunin exams were normally twice every year, the final exams of the Academy were not. Sakumo didn't remember that there had ever been a Winter exam.

"The Hokage thinks it might be necessary. Apparently, there are quite a few young talents coming through," Jiraiya answered but even he didn't seem convinced with the reasoning.

To both of them, it was quite obvious that the war was the reason for these premature exams, just like it had been for the Chunin Exams.

"Sensei said you might even know one of them. That girl you saved from Uzushiogakure, she's expected to graduate."

"Already?" Sakumo mumbled but in his mind, he was still assessing Jiraiya's state, his haunted look, his disheveled hair. Jiraiya was a mess. "Jiraiya?" he asked carefully. But when Jiraiya looked at him expectantly and a bit worried, Sakumo couldn't really bring himself to ask. He already knew. "You should take a team," he suggested instead of what he originally wanted to say. "It's quite exciting. Seeing them grow." Sakumo smiled at his best friend.

The worry immediately left Jiraiya's face as he grinned back if maybe a bit shakily. "I'll ask sensei about it. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea."

Jiraiya, Sakumo was sure, had failed his post-mission psyche evaluation. Sakumo had never met anybody who had failed that. The requirements to pass weren't particularly high especially in times when shinobi were needed. Depending on how stressful a mission was the shinobi of Konoha were either obligated or given the option to undergo a psychological exam. After the Battle of Uzushiogakure, the Hokage had only asked him to undergo an examination, which Sakumo had politely declined. When his sister came back home after months at the front it had been obligatory for her. For Jiraiya after six months on the battlefield… Sakumo didn't know if he had undergone the exams of his own free will or if he had been ordered too; one way or the other he'd obviously failed.

That was the reason why he was without his headband. He was on a forced vacation. It was also the only reason he was even considered to take a team after his vacation. To Sakumo it was evident that the village was unwilling to put any strong shinobi on 'sensei-duty' when they could send them to war instead. And Jiraiya wasn't physically unable to go back to the front, so his issue had to be psychological.

Normally, Sakumo guessed, Jiraiya would be sent back to the front after his forced vacation, because on the battlefield his strength would be vital, no matter how traumatized he was. Maybe the Hokage still cared enough about his former students to give Jiraiya some special treatment. If that was the case, Sakumo couldn't quite bring himself to be angry with the Hokage.

"No, it's a good idea," Sakumo said. Truth be told, he didn't know if it would be the best for Jiraiya's students if he wasn't quite all there yet, mentally, but it would be good for Jiraiya. He had no doubt about that. "You should ask for that Namikaze-brat. I heard he's quite the genius," he added jokingly.

"Huh? Well… speaking of which…" Jiraiya changed the topic. "How are your brats doing?"

"Oh, Inoichi just made Chunin. The other two at least learned a lot during the Exams."

"Yeah, I heard. Dan told me about it." There was a sudden pause as Jiraiya mentioned Dan and Sakumo was about to ask how Dan was doing a few weeks after his sister's death, but he didn't. He hadn't met Dan in a while. He and his brothers had retreated to take care of their young Niece Shizune during this time. Eventually, Jiraiya started talking again. "Already Chunin, huh? Not bad. How old is he?"

"It's his twelfth birthday at the end of the week," Sakumo answered only now remembering that he still needed a present.