The Wanderers
Chapter 42 – Shizune – Doctor's Patience
A/N: Whoops, my bad. Totally forgot about this bit. Turns out I do need to do a chapter focusing on Shizune. But we are getting closer to the mark. And while it is her 'chapter', it certainly has other characters in it.
A/N2: I never thought I'd get as many as 350 reviews for this story. It's truly a humbling experience.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, the summons would have better personalities.
***Previously-On***
After escaping the Hidden Village of Sound, the group was accosted by a warrior covered in white armour, bearing a frightening resemblance to the warrior from Kakashi's memories. After a short monologue, in which he confessed to compliance in the destruction of Konoha, the warrior dispersed the Konoha shinobi under orders from a mysterious leader, causing all of them to be sent to different parts of the world. Now, separated from their friends and comrades, each of the surviving Konoha shinobi are struggling to find each other again before they are found again by the group that had caused them so much grief.
With Nagato on his last legs, Kakashi reluctantly accepted a second-in-command under the new ruler of Amegakure, Konan. He continued to pursue a confusing relationship with the blue haired woman, which he didn't quite understand but had no issue with spending more time with her. His first duty was to investigate an apparent invader coming towards the city. After three teams failed to report back, Kakashi resolved to investigate it himself with thirty other shinobi. They found themselves confronted by a single woman in a black robe, who proceeded to massacre two thirds of his subordinates. Upon fleeing back to Amegakure, the entirety of village stood against the single intruder, and attacked her en mass. Displaying an apparent immortality to any attack and an ability to kill with the slightest touch, the woman slowly killed every living person in Amegakure beside Kakashi and the dying Nagato. Sacrificing his last bit of strength, Nagato was able to revive Konan. After nearly giving up her resolve, Kakashi offered to take her away from fighting and war, to a quiet place where they could live without strife. She was reluctant to leave her people unavenged, but the weight of her lost friends pushed over the edge, and she agreed to leave with him.
***End Summary***
***Eighteen Months after Separation***
Feeling the girl beside her wipe her forehead, Shizune concentrated harder on the task at hand. The bleeding had stopped outside the wound, but the damage to the veins was extensive.
"Tongs."
The nurse beside her handed her the instrument while she began to stitch up the wound. "Put him in the ICU, and tell Doctor Masaki to watch out for his blood pressure."
She wheeled out the patient as Shizune called out to the open door.
"Next!"
A blonde doctor wheeled in a Suna shinobi, who was screaming out in pain while holding at his chest.
"What have we got?" asked Shizune, putting on a new pair of plastic gloves.
"Stab wound to the chest. The wound has been healed properly but he still in significant pain."
The medical Jounin stared at the doctor, "Are you serious? Why did you bring something like this to me, Ino?"
The green haired doctor glared back at her, "I've already checked for poisons and other injuries, and found nothing."
Shizune didn't say anything back, placing her hand on the patient's head to knock him out before she pulled back the sheet to see the wound. Ino had healed it well enough, but there was a light red inflammation that told Shizune what it was immediately.
"This is a wound made by a special type of kunai used by Iwagakure shinobi." She pointed to the wound as it began to open back up from her glowing blue hand. "See the inflammation? This is made when tiny chunks of the kunai are splintered inside the body. You have to go in and remove every piece; otherwise he will bleed internally and die within days."
Ino nodded and handed her a scalpel.
The medical Jounin pushed her hand back, "This is your patient, Ino. You've been here long enough; you do this."
"But what if…"
Looking at the blonde girl, Shizune could see the fear and anxiety clearly in her green eyes. It had occurred to her the other night that she wasn't a very good teacher, at least not to Ino specifically. When Tsunade had taught her, it had been do or die and Shizune had excelled under such a regime.
Ino, on the other hand, didn't respond well to 'harsh' love, and so Shizune was at a loss for how to really teach her.
"Ino, you are a doctor. If you don't trust your instincts, and your abilities, then you have no place here."
Placing her gloved hands over Ino's, the head doctor took the scalpel from her hands and handed it back to her. "You can do this. Have faith in your abilities, Ino."
The blonde doctor nodded and went to mouth a thank you, but Shizune was already undoing her ponytails and walking out of the room, having thrown her plastic gloves in the waste bin.
Leaving Ino to do her work, Shizune walked through the halls of the hospital. When Tsunade and she had established the hospital it had been slow at first, but once people realised how high the quality of care was, and the fact that they weren't charging, they came in droves.
They had convinced the Daimyos of the lands that each of their hospitals was an untenable value to their land, but most of the time they ran them out of their own pockets. A difficult task for someone with a gambling problem, as Tsunade was known for.
Shizune smiled to herself as she reached her office, she often delved back into her memories with Tsunade to forget her own loneliness. Even with dozens of patients and her students, it was difficult to escape the reality of her existence.
On her desk were a stack of paperwork and a half dozen empty bottles of alcohol that Shizune silently threw into a bin near the door. When she'd discovered Ino at her hospital, she'd considered stopping drinking. But that had proven to be a difficult task, and since it didn't really affect her she saw no reason in enjoying the same vice that her old master had.
Picking up the first piece of paper, Shizune groaned when she saw the same requisition order she'd been seeing for the past month. Despite wielding the signal of the Kazekage, she had no problem tearing it up and throwing it away, as she had with all the others.
He'll give up eventually. He has to.
A knock on her door caused her to sigh and sit down behind her desk, calling out for the person to enter.
Excusing herself, a pink haired girl walked in and handed Shizune a stack of papers before moving to the nearby bookshelf and tracing a finger along the medical textbooks.
Flicking through the papers Sakura had brought her; Shizune sighed and reached into her desk, pulling out a sake bottle, pulling off the lid with a soft pop.
"Isn't it a bit early for that?" commented Sakura, still looking for a specific book on her bookshelf.
Shizune went to make a retort, but stopped herself when she saw the irony of her situation. Smiling to herself, she put the lid back on the bottle and placed it on her desk. "I guess it is. What are you looking for, Sakura?"
"There is a pregnant shinobi downstairs who is three weeks overdue, but all inducing techniques have failed. I'm looking for an herbal compound that could start the process."
Shizune thought about it for a few seconds before getting up and standing beside her student, looking at the bookshelf. She'd tried to get as many of Tsunade's textbooks as possible, but out of the three the last one had only been in Konoha, which was of course destroyed, so Shizune was attempting to rewrite it by memory. It was a slow process, and one she rarely had time for.
"Ah, here it is," she exclaiming, pulling out an old book and handing it to her student. "This should have what you are looking for."
Sakura took the book and nodded her thanks, "I'll take my leave then."
"Hold on a second, Sakura. Let's talk for a second." Shizune indicated to the chair near her desk, while she sat behind it. "Have you heard anything from Lee?"
Sakura didn't sit down, choosing to lean on its back with the medical book in her free hand, "Not for two weeks now. He is still hoping that there are others out there that just haven't showed themselves yet."
"And how are you?"
The pink haired medic stared at her for a second, unsure as to what she was referring to. "I'm…fine, such as it is."
Shizune stared back before dismissing her and waiting until the girl had left the room before pulling out a small notebook from her desk drawer. Flipping through the pages she came to the appropriate section and pulled out a pen.
Subject seems to have made full psychological recovery, though long term observation is recommended.
Dotting the final character, Shizune flipped back through the book to the first passage she had written on Sakura. It was dated six months ago, when she had first arrived with Lee.
Shaking her head, Shizune read the passage written in her own hand. Considering the state she had arrived in, six months wasn't nearly enough time to recover from such issues, but Shizune was certain she hadn't been told the whole story.
"I guess Ino's presence made things easier for her," she muttered quietly, shutting the notebook and putting it back into her drawer.
For all the flak she gave Ino, she was very impressed with her progress, and the fact that she worked so hard despite being the surrogate mother of a small child was amazing.
oOoOoOo
Shizune stood on the hospital's room and stared out at the wilderness around the building. They'd built a small river to feed into one of the larger ones that ran through the Land of Rivers, and she could see a small group of shinobi refilling their canisters before their patrol.
Feeling a slight breeze through her long hair, Shizune smiled when she saw two figures walking around in the small park they had made behind the hospital.
Ino pushed her daughter on the swing, the young girl squealed in happiness and yelled for higher, while the blonde mother smiled happily and complied. It was a strange sight, and even after nearly a year it was strange to see someone so young with such a child.
Everything about this is out of place, I suppose.
There were days when Shizune had wished she had fallen in her battle against Kabuto at Tsunade's side, but whenever she looked at Ino and Airi there was almost a compulsion to live that was difficult to strive against.
I spent so much time helping Tsunade through Dan and Nawaki's deaths, that when I was in a similar position I had no idea what to do. Wherever she is, I'm sure Tsunade is watching over me somehow.
She stared up at the sky as she felt a drop of water fall onto her face. The weather didn't change much in the Land of Rivers, but when it did it had a tendency to do so without much warning.
Looks like a shower is coming.
Running through a short set of handseals, Shizune used her medical technique to draw a small amount of blood from her arm, placing it on her hand before healing the wound and placing her hand down towards the ground.
A small white tiger appeared underneath her hand, scratching at its face like a common housecat. It stared up at her with its feline pupils, cocking its head to compensate for its inability to talk.
Leaning down Shizune rubbed the tiger's head affectionately for a few seconds. "Hey there. I need you to take a message to your father."
She whispered her request and watched as the tiger nodded and disappeared in a small puff of smoke. It had been on her mind for a while now, and Shizune decided that there were things beyond medical techniques that she wanted to pass down to her students.
The fact that she hadn't heard anything about Hinata had disturbed her greatly. She liked the quiet girl, she provided a good balance between Ino's fiery personality and Sakura's tenacity, and it felt strange without her there.
Knowing her, she's probably somewhere with Naruto, fighting for her life.
Remembering how much work she still had on her desk, Shizune began making her way towards the roof entrance, feeling the rain slowly fall onto her head.
It was difficult to see, but something in the air told her that something was about to happen. It was a strange sensation, one that couldn't truly be relied on, but Shizune made it a habit of following her instincts wherever possible.
I guess I'll do an inventory first. It wouldn't do to be understocked.
The terrain in the Land of Rivers was comprised of mainly grasslands that fed into long rivers that ran the length of the country. It was mainly a farming country with few people and no truly dedicated shinobi presence.
Leaping over a small river, Akamaru skidded to a halt and turned around, feeling the heavy rain fall onto his white head.
"What is it, boy?" asked Kiba on top of Akamaru's back.
Akamaru barked and nuzzled upwards as they watched their companions leap over the same river and walk up to them.
The last female Inuzuka frowned when she saw her two male companions waiting for them, "What is it, what's wrong?"
Kiba shrugged and patted Akamaru's back, "No idea, he just stopped after we cleared the river."
Underneath Nagisa, her large wolf companion yawned and glared at Akamaru. For a few seconds neither of them made a sound, before they nodded together and began running away from their position.
"What the hell is wrong?" asked Nagisa, holding onto Yuki's fur as tight as possible.
Kiba sniffed at the air, wary of the fact that the rain was dampening his sense of smell. "I can't smell anything. But something's got them riled up."
The female Inuzuka nodded, watching the terrain fly by as their two companions carried them across the Land of Rivers.
Beside her, Kiba's canine-like ears perked up, though it was difficult to tell since they hadn't healed fully since their escape from the Land of Snow.
His eyes widened and he grabbed at Akamaru's fur, yelling out for his companion to duck. Having worked with Kiba for over a year, Nagisa flattened herself over Nagisa's fur without hesitation. A hail of daggers shot past her back and missed her completely.
Yuki skidded around and roared, while Nagisa pulled herself back up to see who had attacked her. "Kiba, they've caught up with us."
"Shit…" The Inuzuka heir spun his head around, looking over where Nagisa was staring.
It was difficult to make out in the heavy rain, but both of them could clearly make out a large force coming their way.
Kiba barked at Akamaru and held on as the white dog shot off in the opposite direction, Nagisa and Yuki only hesitated for a brief second before speeding after him.
"I can't believe they followed us this far…" yelled Kiba as they fled across the water-drenched grass.
Moving her head to the other side of her wolf companion, Nagisa held on for dear life. Yuki wasn't a riding animal like Akamaru had grown up to be, but the wolf had proven to be far faster than Nagisa was on foot.
"Considering the damage you did, I don't blame them."
"You did more than I did! I only…set things in motion." Kiba squinted his eyes towards the direction they were running, hoping to see anything they could use as a staging point for a defence.
They had been running for three days and had run out of soldier pills months ago. Akamaru and Yuki had done an astounding job keeping them away from their enemies while the Inuzuka's recovered from their injuries.
"How's your chakra?" yelled Kiba.
Nagisa closed her eyes as she took an account of her energy, "Not good. Since we passed that holdout I've been circling the drain."
Kiba swore under his breath and felt at his weapons pouch, "That was five days ago. I have some…but not for a prolonged battle."
Beneath Nagisa, Yuki faltered slightly as one of her paws slipped on a small puddle.
"Yuki!" She turned to Kiba, "We aren't going to get much further!"
He nodded and patted Akamaru, telling the white dog to turn slightly so they could run closer to their female companions.
Despite their immense speed, the Inuzuka's knew that they were slowing down considerably, and that their pursing enemy was closing in on them. After half a minute he got as close as possible and signalled to the east, directing Akamaru to run towards a location he had barely glanced.
Their animal companions took them up a hill to a small alcove with two trees side by side. Both Inuzukas leapt off their friends and glared back at their retreat path, their claws extended.
Akamaru and Yuki quickly moved by their side and growled loudly, the four of them deciding that the high ground was the only option left to them.
Rapidly approaching them was an army of nearly a hundred warriors, each armed to the teeth.
Yuki snarled as she began to smell the different kinds of blood and death that their enemies carried on them, while she communicated to Nagisa that there were none attempting to flank them.
"They are underestimating us," she said quietly, feeling like the rain weighed a hundred tons on her shoulders.
Her Inuzuka jacket had been torn to shreds over the past year and a half, but she still wore it proudly along with her Konoha forehead protector, while Kiba had managed to track down his own forehead protector from a Konoha stash house during their 'eventful' escape through the Land of Fire.
"What do you think, Akamaru? Twenty-odd a piece?"
The white dog stared up at him before turning back to stare at the enemy force that had taken up position a few hundred metres from their position.
"Fair point. I guess if there was a place to do a last stand…"
Nagisa frowned as she glanced at her clansman, "I've never known you to be a pessimist, Kiba."
The Inuzuka heir grinned, baring his long fangs. "Six months on the run, Nagisa. Six months. Enough is enough."
She grinned in return, nodding to herself as the enemy force began to charge towards them.
"That's a good enough sentiment, I guess."
Looking through the ranks of the enemy force, it wasn't difficult for Kiba to find the most vulnerable part of the attacking force. While it appeared as an unstoppable force, and they were certainly tenacious, Kiba could smell the fear on a few of the soldiers.
Clapping his hands together to activate his Shikyaku no Jutsu, he sped towards the army while the other three followed close behind him.
Akamaru transformed into a massive wolf-like creature and bounded over Kiba's head to crash into the enemy ranks, while Yuki and Nagisa worked their way around to the side to avoid the projectiles being thrown at them.
While the enemy had superiority of numbers, nearly all of them didn't have the chakra-cancelling abilities that the Inuzuka family had faced during their exodus through the Land of Fire, so when they hit the army, they hit it hard.
Kiba leapt onto the first warrior he could get his hands onto and tore out his throat, snarling to the warriors around him in an attempt to get them to back off.
Just beyond him, Akamaru roared loudly as he swung giant claws into the army, sweeping away several warriors at a time, while ignoring the tiny projectiles thrown at him. Several warriors attempted to circle around him and stab him with long pikes, but were intercepted and cut down by Kiba.
At the side away from the other two, Nagisa swore as she felt a pinch in her shoulder. She reached up and wrenched out the dagger before hurling it back at its throwing, hitting him square in the eye as her wolf companion attempted to defend her.
They were severely handicapped in the fight, and while they might have stood a chance at full strength, none of the four were anywhere close to fighting condition.
As he kicked out at a few warriors that got too close, Akamaru could feel his transformation failing as he began to waver on his feet. In a last ditch effort he summoned all his strength and aimed himself straight into the middle of the army.
Spinning in a giant whirlwind of claws, Akamaru drove himself as far as possible before his strength gave out, tearing dozens of warriors to shreds before reverting back to his canine state.
Kiba's eyes widened when he saw the path Akamaru had laid waste to in the battle, but it closed quickly due to sheer numbers, and he lost sight of his life-long companion.
"AKAMARU!"
With a roar he dived straight into the pack of warriors, slicing and slashing as much as he could in an attempt to reach his fallen friend.
He grimaced as he felt a sword slash across his back, but since his legs were still working he ignored the agonising pain and leapt on top of a warrior's head, using him to propel himself as far forward as possible.
For the few seconds he was in the air, and avoiding thrown projectiles, he could see a large number of warriors converged on where Akamaru had ended up, which was were the line in the ground had finished.
Pumping as much chakra as he had left, Kiba landed on the ground and shot forward faster than any of the warriors could see. In his path he knocked down enemies left and right, but several stabbed out with swords and axes blindly, hitting him in the arms and shoulders, taking chunks out of him at a time.
He ducked under a wide axe strike and spun in a small whirlwind straight at the enemies in front of him, taking out several before he smelt his target and he cancelled the technique.
At his feet, surrounded by enemies, was a very bloody Akamaru. The white dog had several long weapons sticking out of him and he wasn't moving, but that didn't stop Kiba from dropping to his head to check to see whether he was still alive.
On instinct Kiba suddenly spun around with a claw, slashing across the face of a warrior that had come to stab him in the back. All around him the warriors closed in on him, their weapons raised and complimenting the hateful looks on their faces.
Summoning the last bit of his strength Kiba breathing in and let out a fierce roar, one that would have turned a beast's blood cold.
He maintained the roar for as long as he could, until he saw a rush of steel and everything turned black.
Ino walked into the hospital room, closing the door behind her as she saw Shizune writing on a clipboard at the edge of the bed.
"Has there been any change?" she asked, approaching the bed to do her rounds.
Shizune turned to her blonde student, "None that I can see. Check the bag before you do the rest."
Ino nodded and looked at the machines attached to the unconscious body. Despite her station as a doctor, Ino placed a hand on the body's head, feeling the warmth up her arm.
Look at the state they brought you in as.
Lying on the bed in a baring alive state was the Inuzuka heir, with a variety of stitches and bandages covering his many injuries.
From her position in the hallway, Shizune watched Ino work on Kiba's unconscious body with a sad smile. When he'd been brought in, Kiba had been so close to death that she'd almost been ready to write him off.
Nineteen stab wounds, four cases of internal bleeding, torn lungs, spinal fractures…I would expect even Naruto to succumb to such injuries.
Shizune, Ino and Sakura had fought as hard as they could to save his life, but there were some things that could only be left up to the patient themselves.
Quietly closing the door since she figured Ino would be a while, Shizune turned back to the hallway. Running towards her was Sakura, panting heavily as she skidded to a halt just in front of her, with Shizune giving her a second to catch her breath.
"What is it, Sakura?"
"Is it true? Are we really just packing up and leaving?"
Shizune looked back at the closed door to Kiba's room, "We have no choice. Whether it was intentional or not, this threat has come to us. We knew it would eventually."
Sakura straightened out her doctor's shirt that had been crumpled when she ran, "But we have nearly a hundred patients here! Surely you don't expect everyone to be moved in a week's time?"
"And what would you have me do?" snapped Shizune back. "The Suna shinobi that brought Kiba in reported a large gathering at the border to the Land of Fire. They will be here within a week."
Backing down under Shizune's angry gaze, Sakura still tried to reason with her teacher. "I don't mean to question you, sensei. It's just we have ten patients in the ICU that can't be moved, particularly not as far as Suna."
"Go about your duties, Sakura. We have a thousand things to do, and not enough time to do them in."
Her pink haired student seemed apprehensive, but still ran off to prepare the first group to be moved to Suna.
The moment they had brought Kiba in, and told Shizune what had happened, she had been forced to begin the evacuation. She hadn't wanted to, but the safety of her patients was paramount. Their patients were mostly shinobi, since Suna had been using her facility as a staging point. She wasn't sure what the enemy they had been fighting wanted, but she knew that the Kazekage had been pestering her to set up a similar facility in Suna for a reason.
Shaking her head to herself, Shizune walked down the stairs towards the ICU. It wasn't something she particularly wanted to do, but part of being a doctor was understanding the balance between saving a life and letting one go.
When she reached the bottom floor the doctor in charge greeted her with a concerned look, "Lady Shizune, we lost two cancer patients this morning."
"I know, I was there. Huo, you should see to your wife."
The doctor grinned and bowed his thanks, "Thank you, Lady. Are we really moving to Suna?"
"You don't have to, you know that, Huo. I know you have a history with Suna." Shizune walked with the doctor through the ICU with the other doctor beside her.
"Lady, I said I would stay with you, and I meant it. My wife will come around."
"I will sort out these patients, Huo. I want you with the first group to keep that group stable and alive." Shizune let him leave the ICU as she went to the first patient.
She knew all of their conditions already, but Shizune wanted to check their charts anyway. The girl lying in front of her had a severe spinal injury, and she was in a coma that Shizune knew she wasn't going to wake up from.
Poor girl, only just became a Genin, and already near death.
She put down the chart and sighed, running a hand through her dark hair. "I'm sorry, young one. Normally I would be against such a thing, but I don't see anything else to be done."
Looking over at the other patients, Shizune frowned as she thought she heard an odd sound near one of the patients. After a few seconds it was clear that was just her imagination, so Shizune shook herself out of it.
I should send a message out to Lee, to tell him of our evacuation. Sakura will know how to contact him.
The next day Shizune was checking the list of medications to be transferred when Ino burst into her office.
Giving her a chance to catch her breath, Shizune put down the list onto her desk, "What is it, Ino?"
"Something's wrong with Kiba! His vitals are dropping rapidly!"
Having been in this situation a thousand times, Shizune calmly walked out of her office with Ino to Kiba's room, reassuring the blonde doctor that it happened frequently.
Walking into the room, Shizune immediately tapped at the bag of fluids beside him, ignoring the beeping of the monitor as Ino's glowing hands hovered over his chest.
After a minute his body stabilised, causing Ino to sigh in relief and fall back into the chair next to his bed.
"When was the last time you slept, Ino?" asked Shizune, leaning on the nearby wall.
She shook her head before running a hand through her hair, flicking it over her doctor fatigues, "I'm fine. I'm just tired from looking after him."
She's not honest with herself thought Shizune.
They'd brought Kiba in two days ago, and Shizune wanted to be fully evacuated in five days' time, which meant if he was to join them, she would need to wake him up now.
Reaching into a pocket on her coat, Shizune pulled out a small stick covered in an orange substance that Ino recognised immediately.
"Go find Sakura," she said. "It won't be pleasant, and it would be good if he can see all friendly faces."
oOoOoOo
Most of the time patients would wake up upon smelling the chemical when it was under their nose directly. The moment Shizune placed it near his body, Kiba's eyes shot open and he roared out in pain, struggling underneath Sakura and Ino's grip.
"Kiba! It's okay! You're safe!" Shizune immediately placed her hands on his head and dulled the pain receptors to his brain, quietening him down quickly.
The Inuzuka heir's eyes darted around the room for a few seconds before he finally saw their faces. "Ino…Sakura…Shizune? What…where am I?"
Seeing that he wasn't going to struggle again, the two girls released him. Sakura stood back slightly while Ino reassured him. "It's okay, Kiba. You're in a hospital. You're going to be okay."
With considerable effort he pulled up one of his hands, staring at the bandages with surprise. "I'm alive…but how? I was swarmed…ah my head hurts…"
Shizune gave him a quick injection that he didn't feel due to the numbness in his arms. "A patrol of Suna shinobi scared off the soldiers you were fighting. They dragged you here…you owe them your life."
Kiba thought about it with a chuckle, "Wish they had come sooner. Then I wouldn't have…wait…"
His head spun from side to side as he looked around the hospital room. With dismay he stared up at the medical Jounin's face, "Where is Akamaru?"
Shizune hesitated before looking at Ino and Sakura, who both weren't sure what to say either.
"Don't you tell me he's gone, don't you dare!" roared their patient.
Ino put her hands on top of one of his, "He's not dead, Kiba. It's just…"
"What is it? Tell me…please Ino…he's…"
It was extremely unsettling to see Kiba begging, but it was heartbreaking to see the fear in his eyes. On the other side of the bed, Shizune sighed, "You have to understand, when you were brought in you were hurt bad, but Akamaru was worse. We simply didn't have the knowledge of canine physiology here to treat him, so I had the shinobi take him to Suna."
"SUNA?! What the hell?" It seemed Kiba had forgotten they were the ones that had saved him, but when he tried to get up out of the bed he found his legs unresponsive.
"What…where…I don't understand…"
Sakura whispered something into Shizune's ear before taking her leave of the room, while Ino reminded Kiba that he was in a safe place.
"He'll be fine, Kiba," said Shizune. "Suna has been good to us here, and the shinobi said they would do their best for Akamaru."
The Inuzuka glared at her for a few seconds before slowly calming down and taking several long breaths. "Okay…okay then. What…what about Nagisa? Is she here?"
Ino and Shizune both stared at him with blank expressions.
"There was no one with you two, Kiba," said Ino. "The Suna shinobi said the only other people there were dead bodies of the enemy soldiers."
"What? That can't be right." Kiba winced as he moulded a tiny bit of chakra and sent it to his nose, smelling the room with his enhanced nose. As a hospital room it had very few scents, but each of them were distinct.
Shizune smelt of sake, though it was more on her clothes rather than on her breath. Kiba kept that observation to himself.
Ino had a strange perfume scent that he didn't recognise, but it smelt quite nice all things considered.
It was difficult at first, since it had been so long since he'd have to pick it out, but Kiba recognised Nagisa's scent in the room, though it was very faint.
Kiba tried to lean forward on his bed, but Ino pushed him back down, reminding him that he wasn't healed properly.
"Nagisa, I know you are there."
His two doctors stared at each in confusion before jumping when they heard a chuckle behind them. They turned quickly to see a young woman slowly appear on a chair at the edge of the room, with her legs crossed and a sly grin on her face.
"Took you long enough, Kiba."
The doctors stared at her in amazement, neither of them had sensed her whatsoever, but it was the pair of fang marks on her cheeks and her forehead protector that were most surprising.
"Who the hell are you?" said Shizune, wary of the similarities between her and Kiba.
The girl stood up slowly and uncrossed her arms, "Inuzuka Nagisa. I'm a Chuunin from Konoha."
"Nagisa, thank god you are okay," said Kiba with a smile.
His clansman walked over to his bed and patted him on the leg, "It's good to see you up, Kiba. I don't think I could handle being the last Inuzuka."
"How's Yuki?"
"She's okay, bit sore but she'll live."
Ino and Shizune both watched the exchange without saying a word, there was clearly many things that had happened to him in the past year and a half.
Nagisa turned and bowed respectfully to both Shizune and Ino respectively. "Thank you for looking after him. He's an idiot, but he's family."
"It's…no problem, but why were you hiding?" said Shizune slowly.
The Inuzuka female cracked her hands habitually, "Last time I was around, we were at a tentative peace with Sunagakure. You'll excuse me if I don't trust them out of hand."
From the bed, Kiba struggled to look over at her, "Nagisa, I'm sure you're exhausted…"
She turned to him with a grim smile, "I know. I'll go to Suna to check up on him."
Kiba nodded his head in thanks and leaned back, as Nagisa went to leave the room.
"Wait…Nagisa." Shizune pulled out a scroll and handed it to her, "If you are going to Suna, give this to the Kazekage. It'll tell him that you aren't an enemy, and it has some other details too."
The Inuzuka female nodded and walked out of the room, disappearing into thin air as she passed the room threshold.
The two women turned to Kiba with raised eyebrows.
"Just who…was she?" asked Ino.
Shizune walked over to the door and turned back to the two of them, "Ino, I still have a lot of things to prepare. Can you bring Kiba up to date before I come back?"
"Of course," said Ino, turning back to Kiba as Shizune walked out of the room and shut the door behind her.
After closing the door, Shizune stood with her back to the wall and pulled out a small flask.
Within the room Ino stared at Kiba, asking him again who Nagisa was.
"She's…I guess she's like my cousin," he said as she pulled back the blanket to check his bandages.
"So she's your relative then?" she said, tearing off one of the bandages on his side a little bit harder than necessary.
Kiba grimaced and bit at his lip to ignore the pain, "It's a weird story, believe me."
As she replaced his bandage, she carefully pulled out his tail, making sure that it didn't tug. "I might have you beat there. Hey, wasn't your tail larger before?"
Feeling subconscious, Kiba turned his head away slightly and tried to flick his tail away, "I don't want to talk about it…"
"Fair enough." Ino pulled back the blanket and put her hand on his forehead to check his temperature.
After thirty seconds she took off her hand and pulled out a chart to write down his temperature, unaware of the odd look he was giving her.
She turned to him with a smile, "It's probably related to those scars, huh?"
For several minutes she scrawled on the chart, while Kiba lay there awkwardly. Despite being unable to move his legs, Kiba was uncomfortable with the fact that they hadn't put his pants back on.
After finishing her report, Ino looked up at him, "So, what's new with you?"
"Really? A year and a half without seeing each other, and that's what you have to say?"
"What do you expect?" Ino got up from her chair and put the chart at the edge of his bed. "We were barely speaking to each other last night we met."
"Is this about the biting thing?"
"Can we not talk about that?" Ino went to leave the room, but she felt a tug on her coat. Turning around she saw Kiba's hand falling back to his bed. "Is something wrong?" she asked confused.
Kiba turned his head, "I don't know what you are talking about."
Ino rolled her eyes; he was always as stubborn as a mule when she didn't need him to be. "If you've got something to say, then just say it. I swear sometimes you drive me…"
Before she could finish, he pulled her down and kissed her. Ino wasn't sure what to make of it, but she didn't care as she enjoyed the kiss.
After a minute they broke apart, both unable to look each other in the face.
"What…was that for?" asked Ino, trying to hide her blush.
"I dunno…it just…felt right." Kiba pulled up his blanket further over his chest, "Sorry if I frightened you…"
"No, it's fine; I just…wasn't expecting it."
Behind the door, Shizune chuckled and put her empty sake bottle back into her pocket.
It's a bloody pandemic.
Back in the room, Ino sighed and patted him on the arm. "I'll be back in a few hours to check up on you, alright?"
"I'm not going anywhere," Kiba said dryly.
"Pain in my ass. I've got to pick up my daughter anyway, her teachers are leaving with the third group today."
Kiba turned back to her with his mouth hanging open, "Wait…you have a daughter? What the hell have I missed?"
With a soft laugh, Ino opened the door and turned around to look back at him. "Quite a bit."
oOoOoOo
With particular care, and making sure not to tear any of her stitches, Kiba gingerly put his feet on the ground, and using Ino's hand for support, pushed himself up.
When they'd offered to heal the scars he had accumulated during his capture in Yukigakure and their subsequent escape and travel through the Land of Fire, Kiba had refused. He claimed that they built character, but the three doctors all knew that he took a sort of personal pride in the injuries, though he refused to say what had happened to him during his absence.
For a few seconds it looked like he wasn't going to hold, but when Ino let go of his hand he held his own, though it was clearly difficult for him.
In the room were Sakura and Shizune, since Kiba was part of the last group to leave. "Is everything packed?" asked Shizune as Kiba steadied himself.
Shouldered her pack from the ground, Ino nodded, smiling as Airi took her hand beside her. "Are you sure about this? It probably won't be safe for you to travel on your own to Suna."
"We can't let the enemy force use this as a staging ground. You guys go on ahead, I'll catch up."
Both Ino and Sakura gave her suspicious looks, but understood that Shizune had a greater connection to the hospital than either of them did. Beside them, Airi flicked at Kiba's tail, letting out cute little sounds as he flicked it away from her.
"We should get moving," he said, picking up the walking stick he'd been using since he'd regained the strength in his legs. "The others will be ready to go."
Sakura turned to the two of them, "You guys go on ahead. I want to talk to Shizune-sensei for a second, and I'll be right behind you."
Ino and Kiba looked at each other for a second before shrugging and leaving the room to join the others at the hospital entrance.
Once she was sure the others were out of earshot, Sakura turned to her teacher with a concerned gaze, "I know what you are trying to do."
"Then you should let me do it. You won't be able to convince me otherwise."
The pink haired medic shook her head, "I won't. I just wanted to thank you for teaching us…and helping me when I really needed it."
Shizune sighed and looked at her student. Sakura had come a long way since she'd arrived at the hospital, but she could see the cracks that Lee had spoken to her about. She wavered between stability and despair, and it concerned Shizune greatly to see someone like that.
"It was mostly Lee, and you know that, Sakura." She motioned to the door, "You should go to the others. They are you and Ino's responsibility now."
Sakura stared at her for a few seconds before bowing deeply, "Thank you for everything, master. I won't forget you."
Shizune smiled and rubbed Sakura's hair affectionately, just like Tsunade used to do with her. "Keep them safe, Sakura. I doubt this is goodbye, but if it is, know that you were always a promising student. I know you don't want to fight anymore, but you don't have to fight to save people. Remember that."
"I will." Sakura shut the door behind her as she left the room, staring at it for a few seconds before sighing and jogging down the hallway to join the others.
Shizune-sensei…please don't die.
Shizune stared up at the sky, shielding her eyes from the blaring sun and the perfect clear sky.
The weather is mocking me. Fantastic…
She stood in front of the hospital, wearing the kimono she had been wearing when she'd travelled with Tsunade, something she hadn't worn for a long time. She had never taken off her old master's necklace, but it felt oddly heavier than normal around her neck.
Walking towards her from a long distance away was a large army of warriors, the same group that had taken down Kiba had come back with reinforcements as she had predicted. Shizune wasn't happy that she was right, but it at least gave her satisfaction that everyone else had gotten away.
The medical Jounin patted her wrists, making sure that her old needle shooters were still secure. She'd upgraded them to fire multiple needles for each section after she'd been separated from the others, but she'd never fired it.
Since discovering that the approaching enemy army was related to the same people that had separated her, and likely been partially responsible for Konoha's destruction, Shizune had no trouble lacing all her weapons with the deadliest poisons she could concoct. They were indirectly responsible for Tsunade's death, and she was going to make them pay for that.
As the enemy army came closer into view, Shizune could see a woman wearing blood red armour at the head of the force, clearing leading with fear and respect. She had a bad feeling about her in particular, but Shizune was determined to keep them at bay for as long as possible.
With Ino's group having left the previous night, Shizune knew that the army would catch up with them before they could get to Suna unless she held them back, since Kiba was still barely able to walk and it was a long journey there.
Taking a long breath in, Shizune began to mould her chakra, sensing the large amount of water they had collected during the last storm in the small river nearby. She'd worked out a short term plan for the battle, but Shizune knew this was going to be her last fight. Against these odds, she knew she would fall eventually.
And a large part of her was okay with that.
A soft popping sound came from behind her, causing her to jump in surprise and turn around with a set of needles immediately in her hands.
Sitting on a flat stone was a tall man with pure white hair and crystal blue eyes, wearing a business suit that he looked very uncomfortable in.
Looking at her with a sly grin, the man's eyes shone for a split second, "This isn't like you, Shizune. I would hardly think you would resort to something like this. It hardly becomes you."
Shizune's eyes widened, she recognised the man immediately, though she hadn't seen him like that in a long time. "Byakko?! What are you doing here? I never summoned you."
The boss of the tiger summons stood up slowly from his seat, standing nearly two feet taller than the medical Jounin. "No, you didn't. An end-game fight like this and you didn't invite me? You've changed, Shizune."
"This is my fight, not yours. This is Tsunade's legacy, and I will defend it to my last breath."
"Ah, noble sacrifice. What about your legacy?"
"My legacy?" Shizune had to think about for a few seconds. Unlike Tsunade, who had set up the hospitals around the world, Shizune hadn't contributed anything truly substantial to the world. She'd always lived in her master's shadow, and she was perfectly okay with that.
Byakko pointed to her chest with a clawed finger, showing his tiger-like aspects despite his human appearance. "Your students, Shizune. They are your legacy. Are you just going to abandon them?"
At first Shizune was shocked at the implication, but as she thought about it she realised that she was still protecting them by staying. "I have to hold them off, otherwise my students will die. Don't make this harder than it already is, Byakko."
He put up his hands in defeat, "As you wish."
Moving to stand beside him, Shizune noticed that the enemy force had stopped just out of long range, clearly cautious about the fact that there were only two people standing against them.
"Why are you in human form? I thought you couldn't take that form outside of the White Palace."
He turned to her with his usual grin, "You always said you liked this form better. Besides, I told you the last time we talked. The offer is still there, Shizune."
"So you are just pushing your own selfish interests? You never change, Byakko."
"I never said I would. Besides, I know the others would love to see you again." He sniffed at the air, noticing that the enemy seemed hesitant but hateful. "The Palace is a much more peaceful place than this."
She stared at him as he stood stoically, the sun bouncing off his tanned skin. "Why do you keep asking? I'm just a human, what am I to you?"
Byakko clapped his hands together, transforming his suit into a large steel set of armour, with white fur pauldrons that made him look like a temple statue. He turned to her as his white hair slowly grew out to a mane behind him, "Because you are someone precious to me. And I protect those I care about."
I still have the weirdest summons in the world. Though I guess he's more than that…
A large white katana appeared in his hand, which he pointed to the enemy force numbering in the hundreds. "You wouldn't last five minutes against that, Shizune. If you die, than so will your students."
She sighed and looked over at the army, which seemed to be ready to charge the two of them. He was, of course, correct on every account. She'd been thinking about it for a while now, but since she was confronted with such a choice, the answer was clear to her, though she knew she'd probably regret it at some point in the future.
Placing her hands together in a handseal to activate a water technique, Shizune came to a decision.
"If you can help push this lot back…I'll come with you." She turned to his surprised face, "I'll go to the White Palace."
He smiled as wide as he could, showing his long fangs before he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "About time you came around. The wives will be thrilled."
Turning back to the army and ignoring the slight blush on Shizune's face, he clicked both his hands.
In a line to each side of them appeared ten tall tiger-like soldiers, which all wore similar armour and weaponry to Byakko. They all turned and saluted the two of them.
"The Ten…" said Shizune in amazement. She'd only ever met the first couple of the group, but to see them all in one place was unheard of.
Byakko snarled, he'd been unable to maintain a proper human form for long and was gradually adopting more and more tiger-like traits. "Yes, yes, it's all very magical. They all offered to help, without me having to ask, which is unheard of. Usually they want something in return."
The closest tiger-warrior to him bowed to his father, "We are at your disposal, Father…Lady Shizune."
The medical Jounin responded with her own bow, "Thank you, Ichi. It's an honour to meet you."
The warrior to her side groaned and pointed to the advancing army with his halberd, "Are we going to sit around, or are we going to fight? Because if we are going to talk, at least put some tea on."
Byakko glared at his second eldest son, but was forced to agree with his sentiment. "Ni is right. Form up my sons. Remember, none of you are allowed to die. If you did, your mothers would kill me."
"I'd get tickets to that," said a warrior with five stripes on his shoulder plate dryly.
The third son she remembered from her previous summoning indicated to Shizune respectfully, "Are you to accompany us to battle, Lady Shizune? In your state you may not keep up with us."
Beside her, Byakko snapped his fingers again, causing a large orange and white tiger to appear in front of her. "Runt will take her. We can't let a lady of the Palace walk to the battlefield."
Shizune shook her head and walked around to rub the head of the tiger in front of her. Considered the smallest of his children, Runt was still massive but he couldn't talk like his elder brothers or take those kinds of forms.
"Are you sure?" she whispered quietly.
He rubbed his nose into her hand before nodding slowly. She smiled back at him and leapt onto his back, landing on the saddle with a thud.
Byakko tried to hand her a long sword, "Would you like to wield this sword?"
"I'm no good with swords, you know that," she replied quickly.
He nodded and put it back in its sheath, "I had to ask. Tradition. Let's do this, shall we?"
Turning to the army they saw that was under a hundred metres away, charging at them with roars of fury with the red armoured woman leading the fray with a pair of swords in hand.
"Juu, if you would be so kind."
The tenth son nodded to his father and pulled back the giant bow in his hands, aiming it at the leader of the enemy army. The arrow shot straight through the battlefield, but before it struck her she transposed herself with a soldier that took the blow for her, nearly slicing him in half.
The tiger with seven stripes cracked his neck and unsheathed his pair of long daggers, "Let's get this over with. I was in the middle of a hunt."
With Shizune at their side, the ten tiger warriors along with their father Byakko counter-charged the enemy force.
On top of her orange and white tiger mount, Shizune began to collect the water from the river around her as the ninth son defended her with a large metal shield and Runt kept her mostly out of the fray.
The right flank of the enemy force ran straight into the spinning blades of Roku and Hachi. The two tiger brothers worked in perfect synchronisation to cut the soldiers to shreds, with Roku's bladed staff slicing apart limbs and Hachi's bladed gauntlets were faster than any of them could react to.
Shizune clapped her hands together as she completed her technique, "Suiton: Mizubousou!" (Water Element: Rampaging Water)
Two tendrils of water slammed into a section of soldiers before coming alive and flailed around, slamming them down into the ground and disarming them.
Protecting her from the front were the three eldest sons of the Tiger Lord, blocking, counter-attacking and generally causing destruction wherever they struck. Ni's halberd took a terrible toll on the inexperienced soldiers that tried to push through, while San's staff weapon smashed apart swords and axes as he spun in a blur of motion.
Unlike his brothers, Ichi didn't use a weapon to fight. Whenever an enemy came near him or Shizune, he used his fists to smash apart armour, bone and weapon alike.
Leaving her defence to his three older brothers, Kyuu leapt high into the air and slammed down with his barbed shield on one hand and a large mace that he swept around wildly. A soldier moved to strike at his weak point on his rear, but before she could strike him an arrow slammed into the back of her head, killing her instantly.
Kyuu knew that his younger brother Juu was covering them from the roof of the hospital, so he didn't bother to thank him as he continued to try and destroy the enemy's moral.
On the left flank, working individually in a competition to see who could take out the most was Yon, Go and Nana, who were going after the converted shinobi part of the army, since they would be the most difficult opponents.
Using spiritual energy to fuel their techniques instead of chakra, the enemy shinobi attempted to use a variety of ninjutsu, but the tiger warriors had centuries of experience under their belts, and they were easily able to dodge their projectiles and destroy them by their swords and daggers.
Unlike his sons, Byakko didn't bother with the rabble that threatened the hospital and the Land of Rivers. As the battle raged on around him, he slowly walked towards the army commander, who stuck out like a sore thumb among her troops.
Seeing as he wore full battle plate and was frighteningly tall, Byakko also stood out, but when they were close enough to see each other's faces, he towered over the confident woman.
She grinned and put her hands up to her chest, letting the swords melt into a metal liquid before reforming them into a pair of katanas that were similar to his long katana. "The shinobi sent her little pet to play with me? How adorable."
Byakko snarled and indicated to her with his white katana, "You shouldn't have threatened my Lady. Just because you have power, doesn't mean you will survive."
She growled back at him and jumped towards him, twirling her swords masterfully. The Quiraji leader was incredibly fast, and her swords had a mind of her own as she tried to slice through his armour and fur-covered skin.
Keeping a calm visage that was rare for him, Byakko easily blocked every strike she delivered, waiting for an opening before reaching out and clutching her by her long red hair, holding her high from the ground. Her katanas fell to the ground as she cried out in pain and struggled against his grip.
"How…you're a summon! A chakra-creature like you shouldn't be able to stand in my presence!"
The Tiger Lord pulled her face towards his own, staring into her hateful eyes with his own crystal blue eyes.
"And who said I was a summon?" he growled slowly.
Sensou's swords on the ground melted quickly, forming into a rapidly spinning scythe that threatened to cut his arm off at his wrist.
Byakko threw her to the ground before slamming the scythe with his sword, sending the metal spinning off into the distance while he stepped towards the fallen leader. "You consider yourself a metal-crafter? Don't flatter yourself."
Holding his white katana in one hand, he presented the other to her. In the air above his hand a small metal disc began to form from nothingness, spinning so fast that it sounded like the air was being cut apart before he angled the disc towards her. "Don't tread on areas you have no power in, human."
Feeling fear for the first time in a long time, Sensou leapt to her feet and jumped backwards in a rip in the air, disappearing from the battlefield.
Byakko barked out a laugh and let the disc disappear from his hand. He felt a vibration to his side, which he saw was an enemy who had bounced off his side armour with a massive axe in his hands.
Quaking in fear under Byakko's gaze, the Quiraji foot soldier could do nothing as the Tiger Lord reached out and crushed his skull in a single grip.
He looked over the battlefield, seeing that his sons were easily cleaning up the enemy army. It was embarrassing he felt. The first battle all ten of his first sons had participated in together in centuries, and they were barely fighting children.
He saw that Shizune, not one to shy from combat despite being a medic, was in a group with his eldest son to cut off the army's escape route, effectively ending the battle.
That's my girl.
oOoOoOo
Once the last Quiraji soldier had been taken out, Shizune hopped off her mount and let him return to his homeland as Byakko dismissed his sons and let them return home before he greeted Shizune with a smile.
"Are they all okay?" asked Shizune, hoping that her quest hadn't caused any of them harm.
Byakko cracked his neck as he always did after a battle, "Juu is currently intolerable because he won, but that isn't unusual. No injuries, though Yon has some explaining to do for his score."
"Do you ever take anything seriously?" asked Shizune with a sigh.
"Not when I can help it. Are you ready to go?" Byakko's armour was covered in blood, but he didn't care. The joys of being able to manipulate metal as easily as was able to.
Looking back at the intact hospital, Shizune felt an odd smile come over her face. It was something she'd realised something she had only just noticed.
She truly was ready to leave.
Turning back to him, Shizune removed her wrist launchers and sealed them back into a scroll before pocketing it. "You will look after the others, right?"
Byakko nodded, making a large scroll appear in his hand before it disappeared. "My pack has taken a liking already. They'll give her the scroll at some point, when it's appropriate. But for now, we should leave."
He offered her a fur-covered hand, "Your chariot awaits."
"I think I preferred you when you were just a perverted old tiger." She took his hand with a tired expression, one that she usually carried.
"I'm still that tiger, don't you worry about that."
The two of them disappeared in a large cloud of smoke, leaving the hundreds of Quiraji bodies to rot on the battlefield in front of the abandoned hospital.
Author's Note:
If anyone has read the Dark Heavens series by Kylie Chan, they will know exactly who Byakko is, in relation to this story. If you haven't, then I definitely recommend the novel series. It's a fascinating story about the Chinese Mythology, and has a nice Australian main character, which is always a good thing.
Unlike most of the other characters, I know that Shizune's chapter only really had her in it, rather than it being ALL about her. But considering the story, I think she works better as a secondary character than making her a proper main character like the others. And no, she won't be coming back for the majority of the story, though I won't say she's gone for good. She might pop back up every now and again, nothing is set in stone.
And I haven't forgotten about Kiba and Nagisa's journey through the underground city and travels through the Land of Fire. It's sort of background for now, though I'll definitely go into some detail at some point. Just not now. Maybe a bonus chapter or something.
Two more to go before the end of this section. The only person left is Itachi, and then I'm ending it with a final NaruHina chapter. The next chapter is pretty cool, since it involves some pretty sweet characters.
Please review and tell me what you think. I try to reply to each review, and believe me I read them all. Tell me what can be improved, what you liked, what you didn't, everything. I'm a writer so I'm always open to criticism.