Previously: Suzu has a brush with death, reflects upon her survival, and inadvertently clutches mission success.
"What happened to Kanta, anyway?" I wanted to know. Jiraiya swatted my prodding finger from his cheek and withdrew a scroll from his belt before passing it to me. As the group moved along beneath the trees, making far better time with me riding piggyback than it would have otherwise, I was careful not to obstruct Jiraiya's vision as I opened the scroll and began looking at it over his shoulder.
"Kai… no, Aiba?" I questioned as I read the kanji in the report title.
"Kagemori Aiba," Jiraiya agreed. "Also known as Kanta Kai. Cheeky bastard just took the first character from his surname as his alias. Can you believe that shit?"
"To Jiraiya-sama," I mumbled as I scanned it. "Taken into Intel Div custody… will update the nuke-nin register with the latest information… apologies for our failure to properly report… hopes for your subordinate's recovery." I paused. "When did you find the time to remand him back to the village?"
"I'd like to know that, too," Kushina interjected darkly beside us.
"I sent him back with a toad for his own safety before Kushina could kill him," Jiraiya informed, ignoring this bloodlust quite neatly. "Set up a meeting with Imasaki, too."
"Naoto-buchou," I sighed at the mention of him. We had promised to return to him when the war ended. I wondered how many of us had actually kept our word. How many of us were even still alive to keep it? I missed my people in I&E.
"He's not the only Intel head I'm meeting with. We need to start moving the internal intelligence network back towards full capacity," Jiraiya said. "We're going to have to step on some toes to get it done, though… I can already see the old bastards on the Council all getting up in arms about sending the transfers back. The general platoons' roster was already at an all-time low before the war ended… they'll whine about mission income loss nonstop."
"How short-sighted of them," I commented dispassionately.
"Is that common sense I spy there?" Jiraiya remarked dryly. "Kid, you know, I was joking when I said it the first time but now I think I kind of mean it. Maybe I'll rec you for promotion when we get back."
"An Intel tokujou?" Feeling a sudden twinge in my temples, I put my head down and began massaging my forehead with my free hand. "Ugh…"
"All right, you two, that's enough. Stop scheming and shut up a while," Tsunade ordered. "Suzu, take a nap."
"Here, medicinal tea," Shizune offered as she held out a canteen. "For headaches."
We'd been traveling the better part of four days with everyone taking turns carrying me on their backs. At this point in time I could only walk a couple hundred meters at once before falling over on my face. But Tsunade had determined that I was stable enough to be moved about, so we'd decided we might as well get on the road rather than wait around at an inn for me to get my coordination back. With our current speed we'd be back in Konoha before mid-afternoon was over.
It was easy enough to listen to Tsunade's order and go to sleep for a while. As it turned out, nearly dying of exsanguination was a sure-fire way to exhaust yourself for the rest of the work week. I conked out on Jiraiya's shoulder and then woke up several hours later drooling into Kushina's hair.
"Oh, ew, I'm so sorry, neechan," I muttered as I wiped my mouth on my sleeve and then began attempting to clean the beautiful red locks with a handkerchief. Kushina just laughed and patted my bottom affectionately.
"Never mind that, Suzu, it's all right. But look! You woke up at just the right time. It's the gates!"
I looked up and saw the gates. Huge and tall in Konoha's outer wall, manned by guards, bustling with traffic… it was the sight of home. Tears sprung to my eyes and I buried my face into Kushina's neck hurriedly. I had started crying at so many ordinary things this past week already and Jiraiya wouldn't stop teasing me about it, so I resolutely pretended to go back to sleep. Kushina laughed knowingly but was kind enough not to give the game away, and we continued on to meet the gate guards.
The guards promptly freaked out when they realized just who comprised this returning party. Even though Jiraiya had sent word ahead that we'd succeeded in our mission to locate and recruit Tsunade to our cause, it seems they hadn't taken that to mean "we will be returning with her in less than five days' time." Unprepared to process Tsunade and Shizune's arrival, there was a scramble to acquire paperwork—and a welcoming squad to see Tsunade and Shizune to temporary housing—that, despite its harried impetus, still took long enough for me to actually fall asleep again for real. When I woke next it was to Kushina's squealing.
"Minato!" she said. I blinked awake dazedly and was treated to a close-up view of Kushina leaning in to share a very sweet but also very long—and public—kiss with her husband. Hurriedly shutting my eyes yet again, I tried to gather my bearings. I'd fallen asleep again—but for how long? And when had he gotten here? Had he teleported over the actual instant someone had told him we'd arrived?
My stomach did an awful flip and I was grateful for the fact that I hadn't shifted any limbs to give away the fact that I'd awoken. I had no idea how it would feel to open my eyes and meet gazes with this man. It had all nearly ended a few days ago…. had things gone a little differently Jiraiya would be delivering my corpse to him right about now. What a thought that was.
Kushina rocked back on her heels and I carefully kept my breath even. It was a challenge because a second later a familiar hand, callused but long-fingered and nimble, carded its way through my bangs. I nearly stopped breathing right then and there.
"She's out cold..." Minato murmured. There was a hint of concern in his voice. "Did something happen?"
"Ah… yeah, a lot went down earlier this week. Tsunade-sama says she'll probably be out of it for another few days. She'll need more time before she's fully recovered."
"Recovered?" he asked sharply. "...Let's get Tsunade-sama and Shizune-san settled before we go back to my office to talk. You and Jiraiya-sensei, you're not too tired to do the debriefing today, are you?"
My head actually began to spin a bit at the thought of reporting "Hey, haha, I almost died on the first mission you assigned me in six months" directly to Minato Namikaze's face. I promptly decided right then and there that now was the time to put my sleep-acting skills to the test. Recalling my training, I began counting breaths meditatively while carefully slowing my chakra circulation to simulate unconsciousness. I had gotten away without it with Kushina, who was not a passive sensor, but if either Minato or Jiraiya got it into their heads to look too carefully at me…
I felt bad for making Kushina haul my bum all across the village, but true to her heritage she was built like an ox and she had the stamina to match. She carried me on her back, unflagging, through all of the bowing and scraping and hullabaloo involved in the lost Tsunade's homecoming before, finally, our group made its way to the Hokage's office.
"Shouldn't the kid have woken up by now?" Jiraiya wondered. I felt a large palm clap my back and, once again, had to do my absolute utmost not to seize up fantastically.
"I mean, she did sleep for two days straight before getting up the first time," Kushina pointed out.
"She was pretty energetic this morning, though."
"Well, we have been on the road all day again at this point… it's not exactly the easiest convalescence, ya know? And Tsunade-sama did say that it was a poison that metabolized oddly."
"I'm sorry," Minato interrupted, "did you just say poison?"
What followed was a very long report. The first half, covering the search and the eventual discovery of Tsunade, was narrated mostly by Jiraiya, while the second half, covering negotiations, was Kushina's. They both, however, faltered when it came time to speak of Kanta's attack on Tsunade. They hadn't been there to see it, after all; had I been "conscious," this was most likely the part that I would have been called upon to recount. As it was, though, all Jiraiya could do was clear his throat and speak about what he'd seen.
"When I got there," he said, "Tsunade-hime had been incapacitated. The kid had been in a huge fight with the missing-nin—the clearing was shredded and there were wires and shuriken everywhere. I found Aiba keeled over on a bunch of his own needles, paralyzed and missing a foot. Suzu must have taken it off before she went down."
"And Suzu?" Minato questioned.
"Suzu was unconscious at first. Aiba had stabbed her with some sort of compound poison containing an anticoagulant… she was bleeding out from a stab wound by the time I arrived. It was pretty touch-and-go—kiddo ended up giving me her final messages and everything—and I didn't think she was gonna make it, but somehow Tsunade managed to pull her back from the brink. She's been in and out of it ever since."
When I risked cracking an eyelid open and peered out from beneath the cover of my hair, I saw Minato wearing quite an ashen look. Kushina shifted guiltily.
"It's my fault," she said. "I was responsible for Shizune, but I was too slow—"
"No, Kushina, you weren't at fault," Jiraiya interrupted. "If anything, it was my responsibility… even blaming what we can on the lack of intel, I was still the one who made her go alone. But either way, Minato, you can't get mad at the kid. She was just following orders. And she really showed her guts—went all the way to the edge to protect Tsunade. The whole mission would've all gone up in smoke without her. You should consider promoting her once she's recovered. Not right away, obviously, maybe give her another few missions first… but she's well beyond the caliber of a normal chuunin at this point. Probably has been for a while if this is the performance she gives after half a year on break."
Minato responded by lifting his hands and burying his face in them. I got the feeling that it was a gesture he would never make outside of this particular company—his teacher and his wife, after all, were probably the two closest people to him in his whole life. I wondered if he would've shown his weakness if he had known I was awake.
"Minato," Kushina said softly, "I know what you must be thinking, but… you really can't put her back on suspension. Even if by the end of it you were keeping her off missions because you were worried about her bounty increase, there's no getting past the fact that the whole thing started because you couldn't own up to the whole Obito mess. And just look at what she's done—she's far too good a ninja. That's not how you reward this kind of work. You can't punish her again after a mission like this."
"Kushina, you don't understand. She nearly died during that hospital invasion—Obito almost slit her throat—and now you're telling me she nearly died again—"
"Minato, I get what you're saying, but the fact of the matter is that you can't protect her like that," Jiraiya interrupted. "Maybe you think that if you can just fire her from the Forces and that'll be the end of it, but the truth is that she has things she knows she needs to do and she's chosen this life to do them. And when it comes to choices, well—nobody can protect you from your own choices. She will find a different way and the only thing you will have accomplished is making yourself her enemy. This is not the path forward, Minato."
There was a long silence. Minato sat without speaking at his desk for several moments. Then he sighed and began massaging his temples.
"You both must be tired. We can talk about this again later—for now you ought to go home and get some rest, you've worked hard on this mission. Thank you. Kushina, I'm sorry, you must be exhausted, but before you go home would you—"
"I'll bring her back to the House for ojisan to take care of," Kushina promised. "Don't worry. Are you working late tonight?"
"Mmm… not as far as I know, but then again I never really do know, do I. Don't wait up for me if I'm not back before evening. And take it easy for tonight—I've got Biwako-sama watching Naruto until tomorrow morning…"
Jiraiya and Kushina both let out identical sighs when they exited the office. I waited until we were far down the hallway, well out of earshot, before I finally opened my eyes and let out a long, loud sigh of my own. My companions started.
"What the…" Jiraiya said. "…brat, you've been awake this whole time?!"
"Not the whole whole time," I mumbled into Kushina's collar. "Just most of it."
"You little shit, and here I was worrying that something was wrong—" he spluttered. "I was gonna go ask Tsunade again—"
"You totally dodged the verbal debriefing," Kushina exclaimed at me, surprised, before beginning to cackle in delight. "What! Oh, Suzu, that's terrible!"
"Has my bounty gone up lately?" I just asked in reply, hugging her neck tiredly. Feigning unconsciousness was surprisingly draining. "I hadn't heard."
"Not everywhere," Jiraiya sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just in Iwa and Kumo—you know, the old enemy alliance. It's nothing unusual, though. The same happens to everyone every time a war ends."
"I never realized. That's slightly worrisome."
"Well, for what it's worth, you've been laying low the past few months, and this past mission didn't even leave Fire Country. With luck your plan to fall off the radar will succeed," he offered after an exasperated moment. He came over and ruffled my hair with a bit too much force to be entirely playful—he really had been worried, it seemed. I gave him a bit of a guilty look.
"Sorry to make you carry me around, neechan," I sighed and pushed my chest away from her back. "You can put me down."
"Can you walk?" she asked concernedly as she squatted to let me off. I set my feet down gingerly, assessing.
"Seems all right," I concluded after taking a few steps. "I feel pretty balanced. All that sleep must've helped," I joked restrainedly. Jiraiya rolled his eyes irately and Kushina laughed again, but they didn't seem inclined to tattle on me, so that was a relief.
I fell into pensive thought as we made our way out into the village proper. Had my suspension only been so extended because Minato had been trying to keep me out of the eye of bounty hunters? It made sense that there would be an uptick in bounty hunting now that the war was over, but… if that had been his intention, he would have done just as well by assigning me domestic missions. What an incredibly thoughtless gambit. Removing me from my livelihood because he was scared of bounty hunters and not explaining himself for any of it… where was the common sense in that…?
"I thought he hated me," I found myself mumbling aloud as I touched my bangs. Jiraiya let out a loud groan while Kushina put a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
"That idiot," Jiraiya began grumbling. "I told him. I told him, didn't I, Kushina?"
"You told him, Jiraiya-sensei," Kushina confirmed with a small chuckle. Then she leaned over and pressed her head to mine. "But now you know, Suzu. He doesn't hate you at all. He loves you as much as he ever did."
All this time I thought he had been resenting me over the foreknowledge. I thought I'd been on a never-ending suspension because he hadn't forgiven me. I thought…
When the tackle came I was so distracted that I rather just fell with it. Tsubasa let out a yelp, not finding the resistance he had been expecting, and crashed into a heap atop me on the ground. He blinked confusedly at me once before beaming.
"Suzu! Welcome back, I finally found you! Why didn't you—whoa. What's wrong with your face?" he asked as he sat up, seized both my hands, and hauled me up with him.
"Tsubasa," I sniffled at him just once before pulling my emotions under control. "I… I'll tell you later. How'd you… how'd you know—"
"Hideaki saw you at the wall!" Tsubasa replied before I could finish. Kushina, meanwhile, gasped and excitedly exclaimed "Tsubasa!" under her breath at Jiraiya. Jiraiya just stared at this sudden newcomer with eyebrows aloft.
"Oh! Good afternoon, Jiraiya-sama, Kushina-sama!" Tsubasa greeted belatedly as he hopped into a standing position, bowed, and then tugged at me to stand. I stumbled to my feet clumsily and he gave me a concerned look. "No way I managed to break your legs or anything just now, right?"
"No… it's kind of a long story, sorry. I got hurt and I'm just kind of uncoordinated right now. I've mostly gotten better, though, so don't worry about it."
"Huh," he said, and then looked at me for a moment with sharp eyes. Ah, there it was—the boy behind the facade. It was hard to say that I'd missed a face I'd only known for about a week in total, but something in me stirred happily to see him lower his mask, if just for a moment, for me to see.
"You wanna go see Souhei?" he asked. He grabbed my hand.
"We were actually going back to the compound just now—"
"Oh, but he's not there, he's at the treehouse," he interrupted. "Come on, I'll go take you to see him!"
"Uh, neechan, I think—" I blinked as I found myself already being dragged bodily in the direction of the Tsukimori Estate. "Sorry, Kushina-nee, I know you said you'd take me back to the House, but—"
"I'll catch her in my arms and carry her like a princess if she faints!" Tsubasa vowed jovially. "Don't worry, Kushina-sama! Souhei's an iryou-nin!"
Kushina, who had been raring to jump onto this ship since the first moment she heard me utter Tsubasa's honorific-less name, immediately put up a hand and began waving farewell at us. She didn't even question it.
"Take care of her!" she called instead. Jiraiya gaped at her incredulously, and wasn't that fair? She didn't even ask how Tsubasa knew Souhei Namikaze to begin with. "Suzu, I'll drop by to visit you after dinner!"
Tsubasa laughed delightedly while I contemplated how much trust my sister-in-law had in strange boys. If he had been some sort of kidnapper serial killer's assistant, I'd be done for right now.
"You'd definitely be dead right now if I was a kidnapper serial killer," Tsubasa informed me matter-of-factly once we were gone and making our way through the market. "That was stupidly easy."
I blinked at him. Then the tension began to drain from my shoulders, and I threw my head back and began to laugh.