Chapter 2
The moonlight shone in through the window, filling the one room cottage with a strong yet dim light. Everything around her was devoid of color in the moonlight, appearing almost surreal in it's simplicity. Outside she could see the grey leaves rustling in the light breeze and a couple dark animals scurried to her doorway, passing the small crack in search of unsuspecting and sleeping food. It was peaceful, dull and calm, just the way Shizune liked it.
But she couldn't sleep.
Her in ability to sleep, was oddly enough, sleeping right next to her. The rather noticeable and certainly not dull woman was resting, sleeping on her side so that certain assets were more noticeable then usual. But otherwise, she looked quite calm and peaceful. Hardly a hint toward the one who'd woken her up with the short but heated argument.
Shizune rolled over so her back was no long to Tsunade and just looked at her quietly. What kind of person was she? Shizune couldn't even begin to image life in her body, or whatever type of life she might have had. Shizune could see, as she slept, that there were lines of sadness on her face, the type that only appeared when one was sleeping and not able to hide behind any type of walls. It was the kind of look you saw on a sleeping child and it made you want to pick them up and cradle them in your arms.
Shizune blinked at that though and realized that she was actually reaching her hand forward, perhaps to push back a lock of hair. She quickly pulled her hand back and turned away again. What was she thinking? She frowned at the wall, looking out the window again.
The woman next to her was bad tempered, horribly mannered and exactly the type of stuck up perfect girl that Shizune had always hated. She was the type of woman who was able to push people around with a look. She was the type of woman who was excluded on special privilege from every day life because she was 'beautiful'. As if having large breasts which were more of a hindrance then anything else was a good thing. Or the fact that she had golden blond hair that could easily be stained by mud, or soft pale skin that didn't show a single sign of hard work. Everything about her was the exact thing that Shizune had learned to not like in people.
And yet, to her own surprise, she'd offered to let the woman stay. A long day of working out in the garden, pulling and hanging plants until the sun set and both of them were well worn out. They'd taken an uneventful dip in a lake not far away, then settled down to sleep. Shizune's hair was still wet and a couple droplets of water still clung to her body under her simple clothes.
Taking a dip in the lake had only served to reinforce every thing she noticed and disliked about this woman. If anything of her perfection have been missed from the day's work – including the fact that she was able to weed and dig for hours without cutting or hardening her perfect hands – then it was immediately noticeable when she was wearing less. Perhaps the extreme dislike would have once resembled jealousy from Shizune's younger years of being ignored for being normal, but now it had become a full blown dislike and immediate distrust.
Tsunade intimidated her and out shown her, even in something as simple as weeding a garden. She hated it. It only reminded her why she had always lived alone on the edge of town.
And yet, no matter how much she loathed even associating with such a perfectly noticeable person, she couldn't deny that having someone to talk to was actually something she'd missed, If nothing else, simply the companionship of having someone beside you, who wasn't asking for help or for favors was enough to grit her teeth and say nothing. Even if her own shallowness kept her awake at night.
Shizune sighed and sat up in the bed, running a hand through her hair. She was being ridiculous. There was no reason for her to dislike the woman next to her. It was pure jealousy, and she knew it. Childish at best, low and unfounded at least. She wasn't the type to get this upset, but apparently this woman got to her.
Standing up from the bed she wandered over to the small sink and took a drink, splashing some extra water on her face. After a moment of standing there and just relaxing from the cold water, she silently stepped outside, trying not to wake Tsunade up. Maybe if she had some fresh air and Tsunade was out of sight, then she could make herself tired enough to sleep.
Outside was peaceful enough, the town around her quite dead. There were no people this late, they were all sane enough to be sleeping at home, or tucked in at a hotel next to a warm body and a bottle of sake. The town seemed to literally die at night and that's when she found everything peaceful and quiet, just the way she liked it.
But tonight wasn't as peaceful as it first seemed, especially when she noticed that the air hinted a soft smell of smoke and ashes. Frowning softly she turned and looked in the direction of the smell, only to be greeted by normal houses. Still, in the distance beyond the roofs, she could see uneven light.
Flames.
Her mind jumped into panic mode and she quickly spun around, running into her cottage. Ignoring the wish to be quiet and not awaken her companion she grabbed a blanket and doused it in water, before grabbing a small bag of needles from the corner of the house, then she rushed down the beaten dirt road, not even bothering to put on her shoes.
Pounding feet and a quicker heart brought her to the fire in moments. From the look of everything a house in the center of town, next to the local inn had caught on fire and the fire had taken over without any warning. Flames danced high on the roof, visible through all the windows and doors, including parts where the walls were beginning to crumble.
Shizune stopped and looked around, surveying the people in the street. A moment later, when she was sure she didn't see the people who she knew lived in that house, she tossed the wet blanket over her head and dove into the flames.
Tsunade was awoken by the quick movement in the room and the sound of the door hitting back against the frame from a hurried exit. Something had caused Shizune to rush out of the house, and seeing such a calm girl react like that was never a good sign. So Tsunade of course sat up, took a moment to grumble about being up this late without the ability to drink and then took off out of the house and down the street after the girl.
She noticed the fire right away, and it only served to quicken her step. She wasn't in the habit of jumping into bad situations, especially considering her past 'luck' with accidents and life and death situations. Seeing two people close to you die in front of you would have that effect on someone. But still, she was the best at medicine that she knew and standing back in a fight and letting someone die was nearly the same as killing them yourself.
That was her stand on things. Still, no matter how strongly she felt about helping people, she never would have been able to bring herself to do the same thing as Shizune. Tsunade stumbled to a stop as she watched Shizune toss a wet blanket over her head, and plunge into the burning house.
Was she nuts?!
"You idiot! Get back out here!"
But Shizune obviously didn't hear the yell. Instead she disappeared into the flames and Tsunade was left to stand there and watch in shock. What kind of a person ran into a burning building? Especially when it wasn't her own home that was burning! She'd stayed with the girl long enough to realize she favored helping people, but to this extent? This was insane.
Time elapsed and Tsunade watched as the people around her huddled together, just watching and whispering. A large group of men returned to the house, complete with water to douse the fire and set about to that task, but still Shizune hadn't come back out. Was she coming back out? Tsunade found herself pacing slightly as she watched the blazes slowly reign under the control of the water, slowly being pushed back and destroyed. How long was one supposed to wait until they rushed in after the foolish girl who'd plunged in headfirst. How fool hearty would that be? Was it worth it, really?
Finally the front door was kicked open and Shizune appeared, coughing loudly as she carried a kid on each shoulder, the wet blanket draped over their heads so no one could see their faces. She moved quickly out away from the house and dropped them to the ground, pulling away the blanket. Ignoring her own wounds she started trying to wake them up.
Tsunade could see they weren't breathing.
Shizune didn't seem bothered and in spite of the rising panic around her she was able to keep calm as she checked both of the children for any injuries in the chest areas. Then she begin to perform CPR, alternating between both of them, not wanting to waste any precious time.
Watching her take care of the kids, Tsunade found her hands trembling a bit. A memory in the back of her mind threatened to push forward, making her body tremble more and shivers slide down her spine. Granted there was no blood this time, but just the image of a young boy lying there, not breathing as someone desperately tried to save them…
Tsunade snapped out of her haze and quickly rushed over to the boy. Placing her hands over his chest she closed her eyes and concentrated her charka, letting it flow from her hands and into his body. As it moved she could feel the damage inside. Inhalation of smoke in large degrees had clogged up his lungs and the smoke stayed there like a thick haze, blocking out any air that could have possibly transferred to his body. She stretched out the flow of charka a bit more, praying hopefully inside that she wasn't too late. The charka flow spread out and she found the child's brain and that it was still operating, so it wasn't too late to save him.
Refocusing the charka flow, this time she concentrated on his lungs and pushing the smoke out of his lungs. At first it didn't move, but she concentrated more, careful not to hurt the boy's lungs. Tsunade gathered a ball of her own charka, spinning it to create a small vacuum effect, then she shot the ball of charka out, through his throat.
The boy jerked a bit and opened his mouth, effectively spitting out the ball of charka, followed by a small cloud of smoke, then the vacuum worked and the boy involuntarily took a gasping breath, his body shaking as he immediately dropped into coughing as he started breathing again. Tsunade caught the boy and helped him sit back up so he could breathe, patting his back lightly. As she waited for him to recover she looked over at the little girl. She was breathing shallowly but she was alive, obviously Shizine had managed to bring her back.
The town's people around them moved closer, surround Tsunade with a wide range of emotions from tears of joy to happy words. Tsunade was a bit overwhelmed but she took it in stride. Such reactions were normal in small villages who didn't have a ready supply of medical-nin nearby. There was only one person who didn't react with happiness.
Shizune turned and the expression on her face was one Tsunade would never have expected to see. A twist of hatred, tempered just slightly with resentment and disgust. Tsunade watched in confusion as the girl stood up and silently walked back to her house, none of the town's people seeming to care or even notice. They were too busy thanking Tsunade and nearly tackling the boy. Tsunade was left to sit there with all of their thank-you's, not understanding at all what she'd done wrong.
Shizune stepped into you house and slammed the door behind her out of pure anger, the poor latches crying out in protest. She leaned back against the door and closed her eyes, doing her best to relax and make the anger fade. She listened to the silence around her, letting it surround her in a thick blanket, and slowly her anger began to slip away, fading with the adrenaline rush she'd experienced. Fatigue spread over her body and her limbs began throbbing, showing the extent to which she had been burned in spite of the wet blanket. Opening her eyes she made her way over to the sink and soaked a cloth. Then she sat down on the bed and laid it against her wounds, trying to relieve some of the pain.
It always happened this way. Shizune supposed she should have expected it, really, considering her preference to staying normal and nearly unnoticeable. But at the same time, it also infuriated her to see it happen like that. One moment she was helping and the next moment she was forgotten without even a glance, much less a thank you. The people were too busy complementing the hero who'd stepped into their mist and 'saved the day'. People like Shizune, who did good deeds all the time and never seemed to care about themselves, were always forgotten because they didn't move in on the scene with the required dramatic flair, or seemingly unexplainable powers.
They were just normal.
Normal was unimportant.
Shizune winced as she touched a spot and looked down, only to find a small piece of glass sitting in her arm. Sighing softly she made her way back over to the sink and worked to pull it out, hissing softly in pain, before she bound the wound. Sleeping tonight would be hard from the burns, and she certainly wouldn't be able to finish her work outside in the sunlight. But then again, maybe it was all a blessing, because at least she'd have her whole bed.
Tsunade could rot in a burning pit for all she cared.
Not like that would happen. Shizune knew the routine. The people would thank her for saving both children, completely forgetting that Tsunade had done nothing until the children had been brought out of the house, and they would give her a free room at the inn along with a large meal for the night, complete with all the sake she could drink. Tsunade would drink herself into a stupor and then wake up the next morning and wander out of town. But she'd still be talked about for months. Then things would slowly drop back to normal, everyone remembering the hero who just appeared, but still expecting Shizune to be the good little helper that she always was.
Shizune dropped the piece of glass in a basket for garbage and just shook her head. It couldn't be helped, it was just the way people were.
A knock sounded on her door and Shizune's eyes narrowed again, her anger flaring.
"Go away."
The knocking stopped, pausing and for a moment Shizune was able to entertain the possibility that Tsunade might have listened to her. But then the door opened and Tsunade stood there, a look of question on her face. Shizune turned a glare in her direction and didn't even let her ask.
"Get out. I don't want to talk with you." Shizune stomped past her across the room and grabbed another cloth to help with her burns.
"Why the sudden blow up?" Tsunade, for her credit, looked completely confused. Shizune didn't care.
"Go on, go back to everyone else. I'm sure they'd love to give their hero a place to sleep. You can probably go and get drunk again too." Her anger flared more and she turned, actually tossing the wet cloth at Tsunade.
Tsunade stood there in shock, just letting the cloth hit her. Then her own eyes narrowed, signaling the start of another yelling match between them. "Your moods change faster then those damn kids at home! What in the world is wrong with you, all I did was run in and help. Does it bother you that someone helped you save them or was I not allowed?"
"You don't get it!" Shizune spat out, her voice raising into a yell. "I hate people like you! You and your perfect powers, your perfect looks! Your perfect control over charka. You come into town get drunk off your ass and only decide to help when it suits you. Did it ever occur to you to help put out the fire?! Did it ever occur to you to run inside and help me find the children? No! You just stood back until the timing was the most convenient. All for your own benefit. You act the hero when they will notice and then they run forward and thank you and don't give a single care about anyone else. And tomorrow you'll be at another bar drinking until you fall over. I hate people like you!"
Tsunade's face twisted from confusion, to anger, to confusion again. Then she blinked. "You're… jealous."
Shizune took that as the final straw and turned around. Without warning she threw a punch right at Tsunade's face, focusing all her anger into that punch and what little she knew about charka. Tsunade caught the punch rather easily, but that didn't stop her from being pushed back into the wall and a crack traveling up to the ceiling. A bit of dust sprinkled down on top of them.
The two stood in silence for a long moment, then Shizune's anger just faded away, as it often did. Then Shizune's knees gave out and she crumbled to the floor, the night's events all catching up with her at once. Shizune's body trembled a bit in protest and she finally dropped her arm, just sitting there and looking at the floor.
She didn't care anymore, she didn't want to hear it. She was just plain sick of all of this and just didn't want to deal with it. But beyond that the nice little explosion she'd just had she was out of energy. She didn't have any left and there was really nothing she wanted to do at the moment other then just sit by herself and be left in peace.
Tsunade seemed to have other plans though, because the woman knelt down next to her and the next thing Shizune knew she was in her arms, being carried over to the bed. Shizune opened her mouth to protest, but she didn't even have the strength for that, nor really the desire to yell any more. She just let herself be carried to the bed and set down on the edge. Shizune didn't even protest as she numbly watched Shizune undo the belt which held on her simple robe like clothing. The dull brown fabric loosened and slipped down off her shoulders while Tsunade moved around her and took a seat behind her on the bed.
"You burned yourself pretty badly, but that should be easy enough to fix."
Hands slid over Shizune's back lightly touching the burns which had made holes in her clothing. Somewhere in the back of Shizune's mind she felt the urge to wince and pull away, but she ignored it. Instead she just sat there, enjoying the feeling of the numbness that was sliding over her body. It might have been shock, might have been pain or it might just be the exhaustion from lack of energy, whatever it was it felt good to have all the feelings just dissolving away.
Shizune closed her eyes and welcomed the blankness, hoping for something like sleep to soon follow it. Instead she began to feel something else move over her back, following the lazy movements of the hands. It was a warm, almost jelly like feeling, searching and finding each burn, then covering it and slowly melting away the pain. Shizune sighed softly in pleasure now that the pain was gone. It was the strangest feeling in the world and she almost felt like she was in a warm mud bath.
It was warm.
It was pleasant.
She didn't want it to go away.
Finally she moved of her own accord and laid down in the bed, her eyes and limbs growing heavy as soon as her head touched the pillow. Sleep covered her, only adding to the calm and cool feeling. Shizune slipped off to sleep, a light and content look on her face.
The moonlight shone in through the window, filling the one room cottage with a strong yet dim light. Everything around her was devoid of color in the moonlight, appearing almost surreal in it's simplicity. Outside she could see the grey leaves rustling in the light breeze and a couple dark animals scurried to her doorway, passing the small crack in search of unsuspecting and sleeping food. It was peaceful, dull and calm, just the way Shizune liked it.
But she couldn't sleep.
Her in ability to sleep, was oddly enough, sleeping right next to her. The rather noticeable and certainly not dull woman was resting, sleeping on her side so that certain assets were more noticeable then usual. But otherwise, she looked quite calm and peaceful. Hardly a hint toward the one who'd woken her up with the short but heated argument.
Shizune rolled over so her back was no long to Tsunade and just looked at her quietly. What kind of person was she? Shizune couldn't even begin to image life in her body, or whatever type of life she might have had. Shizune could see, as she slept, that there were lines of sadness on her face, the type that only appeared when one was sleeping and not able to hide behind any type of walls. It was the kind of look you saw on a sleeping child and it made you want to pick them up and cradle them in your arms.
Shizune blinked at that though and realized that she was actually reaching her hand forward, perhaps to push back a lock of hair. She quickly pulled her hand back and turned away again. What was she thinking? She frowned at the wall, looking out the window again.
The woman next to her was bad tempered, horribly mannered and exactly the type of stuck up perfect girl that Shizune had always hated. She was the type of woman who was able to push people around with a look. She was the type of woman who was excluded on special privilege from every day life because she was 'beautiful'. As if having large breasts which were more of a hindrance then anything else was a good thing. Or the fact that she had golden blond hair that could easily be stained by mud, or soft pale skin that didn't show a single sign of hard work. Everything about her was the exact thing that Shizune had learned to not like in people.
And yet, to her own surprise, she'd offered to let the woman stay. A long day of working out in the garden, pulling and hanging plants until the sun set and both of them were well worn out. They'd taken an uneventful dip in a lake not far away, then settled down to sleep. Shizune's hair was still wet and a couple droplets of water still clung to her body under her simple clothes.
Taking a dip in the lake had only served to reinforce every thing she noticed and disliked about this woman. If anything of her perfection have been missed from the day's work – including the fact that she was able to weed and dig for hours without cutting or hardening her perfect hands – then it was immediately noticeable when she was wearing less. Perhaps the extreme dislike would have once resembled jealousy from Shizune's younger years of being ignored for being normal, but now it had become a full blown dislike and immediate distrust.
Tsunade intimidated her and out shown her, even in something as simple as weeding a garden. She hated it. It only reminded her why she had always lived alone on the edge of town.
And yet, no matter how much she loathed even associating with such a perfectly noticeable person, she couldn't deny that having someone to talk to was actually something she'd missed, If nothing else, simply the companionship of having someone beside you, who wasn't asking for help or for favors was enough to grit her teeth and say nothing. Even if her own shallowness kept her awake at night.
Shizune sighed and sat up in the bed, running a hand through her hair. She was being ridiculous. There was no reason for her to dislike the woman next to her. It was pure jealousy, and she knew it. Childish at best, low and unfounded at least. She wasn't the type to get this upset, but apparently this woman got to her.
Standing up from the bed she wandered over to the small sink and took a drink, splashing some extra water on her face. After a moment of standing there and just relaxing from the cold water, she silently stepped outside, trying not to wake Tsunade up. Maybe if she had some fresh air and Tsunade was out of sight, then she could make herself tired enough to sleep.
Outside was peaceful enough, the town around her quite dead. There were no people this late, they were all sane enough to be sleeping at home, or tucked in at a hotel next to a warm body and a bottle of sake. The town seemed to literally die at night and that's when she found everything peaceful and quiet, just the way she liked it.
But tonight wasn't as peaceful as it first seemed, especially when she noticed that the air hinted a soft smell of smoke and ashes. Frowning softly she turned and looked in the direction of the smell, only to be greeted by normal houses. Still, in the distance beyond the roofs, she could see uneven light.
Flames.
Her mind jumped into panic mode and she quickly spun around, running into her cottage. Ignoring the wish to be quiet and not awaken her companion she grabbed a blanket and doused it in water, before grabbing a small bag of needles from the corner of the house, then she rushed down the beaten dirt road, not even bothering to put on her shoes.
Pounding feet and a quicker heart brought her to the fire in moments. From the look of everything a house in the center of town, next to the local inn had caught on fire and the fire had taken over without any warning. Flames danced high on the roof, visible through all the windows and doors, including parts where the walls were beginning to crumble.
Shizune stopped and looked around, surveying the people in the street. A moment later, when she was sure she didn't see the people who she knew lived in that house, she tossed the wet blanket over her head and dove into the flames.
Tsunade was awoken by the quick movement in the room and the sound of the door hitting back against the frame from a hurried exit. Something had caused Shizune to rush out of the house, and seeing such a calm girl react like that was never a good sign. So Tsunade of course sat up, took a moment to grumble about being up this late without the ability to drink and then took off out of the house and down the street after the girl.
She noticed the fire right away, and it only served to quicken her step. She wasn't in the habit of jumping into bad situations, especially considering her past 'luck' with accidents and life and death situations. Seeing two people close to you die in front of you would have that effect on someone. But still, she was the best at medicine that she knew and standing back in a fight and letting someone die was nearly the same as killing them yourself.
That was her stand on things. Still, no matter how strongly she felt about helping people, she never would have been able to bring herself to do the same thing as Shizune. Tsunade stumbled to a stop as she watched Shizune toss a wet blanket over her head, and plunge into the burning house.
Was she nuts?!
"You idiot! Get back out here!"
But Shizune obviously didn't hear the yell. Instead she disappeared into the flames and Tsunade was left to stand there and watch in shock. What kind of a person ran into a burning building? Especially when it wasn't her own home that was burning! She'd stayed with the girl long enough to realize she favored helping people, but to this extent? This was insane.
Time elapsed and Tsunade watched as the people around her huddled together, just watching and whispering. A large group of men returned to the house, complete with water to douse the fire and set about to that task, but still Shizune hadn't come back out. Was she coming back out? Tsunade found herself pacing slightly as she watched the blazes slowly reign under the control of the water, slowly being pushed back and destroyed. How long was one supposed to wait until they rushed in after the foolish girl who'd plunged in headfirst. How fool hearty would that be? Was it worth it, really?
Finally the front door was kicked open and Shizune appeared, coughing loudly as she carried a kid on each shoulder, the wet blanket draped over their heads so no one could see their faces. She moved quickly out away from the house and dropped them to the ground, pulling away the blanket. Ignoring her own wounds she started trying to wake them up.
Tsunade could see they weren't breathing.
Shizune didn't seem bothered and in spite of the rising panic around her she was able to keep calm as she checked both of the children for any injuries in the chest areas. Then she begin to perform CPR, alternating between both of them, not wanting to waste any precious time.
Watching her take care of the kids, Tsunade found her hands trembling a bit. A memory in the back of her mind threatened to push forward, making her body tremble more and shivers slide down her spine. Granted there was no blood this time, but just the image of a young boy lying there, not breathing as someone desperately tried to save them…
Tsunade snapped out of her haze and quickly rushed over to the boy. Placing her hands over his chest she closed her eyes and concentrated her charka, letting it flow from her hands and into his body. As it moved she could feel the damage inside. Inhalation of smoke in large degrees had clogged up his lungs and the smoke stayed there like a thick haze, blocking out any air that could have possibly transferred to his body. She stretched out the flow of charka a bit more, praying hopefully inside that she wasn't too late. The charka flow spread out and she found the child's brain and that it was still operating, so it wasn't too late to save him.
Refocusing the charka flow, this time she concentrated on his lungs and pushing the smoke out of his lungs. At first it didn't move, but she concentrated more, careful not to hurt the boy's lungs. Tsunade gathered a ball of her own charka, spinning it to create a small vacuum effect, then she shot the ball of charka out, through his throat.
The boy jerked a bit and opened his mouth, effectively spitting out the ball of charka, followed by a small cloud of smoke, then the vacuum worked and the boy involuntarily took a gasping breath, his body shaking as he immediately dropped into coughing as he started breathing again. Tsunade caught the boy and helped him sit back up so he could breathe, patting his back lightly. As she waited for him to recover she looked over at the little girl. She was breathing shallowly but she was alive, obviously Shizine had managed to bring her back.
The town's people around them moved closer, surround Tsunade with a wide range of emotions from tears of joy to happy words. Tsunade was a bit overwhelmed but she took it in stride. Such reactions were normal in small villages who didn't have a ready supply of medical-nin nearby. There was only one person who didn't react with happiness.
Shizune turned and the expression on her face was one Tsunade would never have expected to see. A twist of hatred, tempered just slightly with resentment and disgust. Tsunade watched in confusion as the girl stood up and silently walked back to her house, none of the town's people seeming to care or even notice. They were too busy thanking Tsunade and nearly tackling the boy. Tsunade was left to sit there with all of their thank-you's, not understanding at all what she'd done wrong.
Shizune stepped into you house and slammed the door behind her out of pure anger, the poor latches crying out in protest. She leaned back against the door and closed her eyes, doing her best to relax and make the anger fade. She listened to the silence around her, letting it surround her in a thick blanket, and slowly her anger began to slip away, fading with the adrenaline rush she'd experienced. Fatigue spread over her body and her limbs began throbbing, showing the extent to which she had been burned in spite of the wet blanket. Opening her eyes she made her way over to the sink and soaked a cloth. Then she sat down on the bed and laid it against her wounds, trying to relieve some of the pain.
It always happened this way. Shizune supposed she should have expected it, really, considering her preference to staying normal and nearly unnoticeable. But at the same time, it also infuriated her to see it happen like that. One moment she was helping and the next moment she was forgotten without even a glance, much less a thank you. The people were too busy complementing the hero who'd stepped into their mist and 'saved the day'. People like Shizune, who did good deeds all the time and never seemed to care about themselves, were always forgotten because they didn't move in on the scene with the required dramatic flair, or seemingly unexplainable powers.
They were just normal.
Normal was unimportant.
Shizune winced as she touched a spot and looked down, only to find a small piece of glass sitting in her arm. Sighing softly she made her way back over to the sink and worked to pull it out, hissing softly in pain, before she bound the wound. Sleeping tonight would be hard from the burns, and she certainly wouldn't be able to finish her work outside in the sunlight. But then again, maybe it was all a blessing, because at least she'd have her whole bed.
Tsunade could rot in a burning pit for all she cared.
Not like that would happen. Shizune knew the routine. The people would thank her for saving both children, completely forgetting that Tsunade had done nothing until the children had been brought out of the house, and they would give her a free room at the inn along with a large meal for the night, complete with all the sake she could drink. Tsunade would drink herself into a stupor and then wake up the next morning and wander out of town. But she'd still be talked about for months. Then things would slowly drop back to normal, everyone remembering the hero who just appeared, but still expecting Shizune to be the good little helper that she always was.
Shizune dropped the piece of glass in a basket for garbage and just shook her head. It couldn't be helped, it was just the way people were.
A knock sounded on her door and Shizune's eyes narrowed again, her anger flaring.
"Go away."
The knocking stopped, pausing and for a moment Shizune was able to entertain the possibility that Tsunade might have listened to her. But then the door opened and Tsunade stood there, a look of question on her face. Shizune turned a glare in her direction and didn't even let her ask.
"Get out. I don't want to talk with you." Shizune stomped past her across the room and grabbed another cloth to help with her burns.
"Why the sudden blow up?" Tsunade, for her credit, looked completely confused. Shizune didn't care.
"Go on, go back to everyone else. I'm sure they'd love to give their hero a place to sleep. You can probably go and get drunk again too." Her anger flared more and she turned, actually tossing the wet cloth at Tsunade.
Tsunade stood there in shock, just letting the cloth hit her. Then her own eyes narrowed, signaling the start of another yelling match between them. "Your moods change faster then those damn kids at home! What in the world is wrong with you, all I did was run in and help. Does it bother you that someone helped you save them or was I not allowed?"
"You don't get it!" Shizune spat out, her voice raising into a yell. "I hate people like you! You and your perfect powers, your perfect looks! Your perfect control over charka. You come into town get drunk off your ass and only decide to help when it suits you. Did it ever occur to you to help put out the fire?! Did it ever occur to you to run inside and help me find the children? No! You just stood back until the timing was the most convenient. All for your own benefit. You act the hero when they will notice and then they run forward and thank you and don't give a single care about anyone else. And tomorrow you'll be at another bar drinking until you fall over. I hate people like you!"
Tsunade's face twisted from confusion, to anger, to confusion again. Then she blinked. "You're… jealous."
Shizune took that as the final straw and turned around. Without warning she threw a punch right at Tsunade's face, focusing all her anger into that punch and what little she knew about charka. Tsunade caught the punch rather easily, but that didn't stop her from being pushed back into the wall and a crack traveling up to the ceiling. A bit of dust sprinkled down on top of them.
The two stood in silence for a long moment, then Shizune's anger just faded away, as it often did. Then Shizune's knees gave out and she crumbled to the floor, the night's events all catching up with her at once. Shizune's body trembled a bit in protest and she finally dropped her arm, just sitting there and looking at the floor.
She didn't care anymore, she didn't want to hear it. She was just plain sick of all of this and just didn't want to deal with it. But beyond that the nice little explosion she'd just had she was out of energy. She didn't have any left and there was really nothing she wanted to do at the moment other then just sit by herself and be left in peace.
Tsunade seemed to have other plans though, because the woman knelt down next to her and the next thing Shizune knew she was in her arms, being carried over to the bed. Shizune opened her mouth to protest, but she didn't even have the strength for that, nor really the desire to yell any more. She just let herself be carried to the bed and set down on the edge. Shizune didn't even protest as she numbly watched Shizune undo the belt which held on her simple robe like clothing. The dull brown fabric loosened and slipped down off her shoulders while Tsunade moved around her and took a seat behind her on the bed.
"You burned yourself pretty badly, but that should be easy enough to fix."
Hands slid over Shizune's back lightly touching the burns which had made holes in her clothing. Somewhere in the back of Shizune's mind she felt the urge to wince and pull away, but she ignored it. Instead she just sat there, enjoying the feeling of the numbness that was sliding over her body. It might have been shock, might have been pain or it might just be the exhaustion from lack of energy, whatever it was it felt good to have all the feelings just dissolving away.
Shizune closed her eyes and welcomed the blankness, hoping for something like sleep to soon follow it. Instead she began to feel something else move over her back, following the lazy movements of the hands. It was a warm, almost jelly like feeling, searching and finding each burn, then covering it and slowly melting away the pain. Shizune sighed softly in pleasure now that the pain was gone. It was the strangest feeling in the world and she almost felt like she was in a warm mud bath.
It was warm.
It was pleasant.
She didn't want it to go away.
Finally she moved of her own accord and laid down in the bed, her eyes and limbs growing heavy as soon as her head touched the pillow. Sleep covered her, only adding to the calm and cool feeling. Shizune slipped off to sleep, a light and content look on her face.
