Tsunade tapped the surface of her desk impatiently. "Late again for duty! It doesn't bother me if you're late in training your teams, but you two—oh!" She covered her mouth with her hands as a sudden realization hit her. She winked knowingly at them. "Well, well, I suppose we need to get out of our shells for a while. Just don't let it happen again."
She shooed them out of her office and propped her feet up on the desk. "Well, well… I never thought…" A smile formed on her lips. This was rather surprising, but to be expected nonetheless. Yuuhi and Hatake… What an interesting combination!
She looked outside her window. The preparations for the festival were well under way, and the Anbu were hard at work. Scaffoldings of all shapes and sizes were erected in various places, and quite a crowd had gathered outside the barrier they set up, watching the construction.
A knock came on her door. "Come in," she automatically said.
Iruka came in with a bunch of papers in his hands. "These are for you to sign, Hokage-sama."
She nodded deeply, not even looking at him. "Yes, thank you." When he was gone, she looked at the village square again. In about two weeks and a half, the festival would commence. She hoped the event would be the setting of the climax she had anticipated.
Author's Note: Sorry to keep everyone waiting! I knew I should've posted a new chapter earlier—and something longer than this, but I was having second thoughts about this fic. But fear not! I've found new inspiration, and I'll continue to make new chapters. At least I'll try to anyway—what with leadership training and Kingdom Hearts. ;) Thanks for the reviews! It helped me keep going.