No More Dead Heroes
Chapter 9: Tribulation
It's war now, and yes, it's hell. Oh how the times have changed; there aren't many smiles in this hidden village anymore. People are being separated from their loved ones left and right, either by death or duty, and some are starting to lose what hope they had left. But some are still holding out for that better day, whether it's ever going to come or not.
"Hinata-sensei, what are we doing out here again?" Kohaku asked, her voice rising to a whine. It was only seven in the morning, the time they would have normally been eating breakfast, but they had already been out in the forest by the Jounin camp for an hour. The Genins weren't used to having to be quiet for so long and it showed.
"I told you Kohaku-chan, one of the other Chuunins thought he heard a disturbance out here this morning, but as the other three are already out on their respective missions for today and he couldn't leave the camp unguarded, he asked me to come and see for him. And as there was no way I was going to leave you five there without me, I had to bring you along. Now, please, keep it down. If there is anyone out here they will be long gone if you keep talking." Hinata said, wishing even as she explained why she hadn't that she had left them back at the camp. With the noise the five Genins were making she would be lucky to run across a squirrel, let alone an enemy camp.
Hinata, hearing a twig snap, turned on the spot just in time to see Rin squatting down to draw something in the dirt with a stick. She narrowed her eyes at the boy, considering yelling at him for startling her, but that wouldn't exactly help her cause. About to tell him off quietly, something about a hundred yards off moved, catching her keen eye.
Focusing her chakra to her eyes, she ignored the stares of her students as the Byakugan, the bloodline limit of the Hyuuga clan, activated. Turning away from where she had seen the blur of movement just moments before, Hinata waited. She bristled with annoyance when she heard the whispered voices of Rin and Kaburo, but didn't bother to scold them.
There it was again. There was definitely something out there, and it was not an animal. This wasn't good. "Come here, all of you!" She hissed, eyes still fixed on the bushes not far from where she stood. A flicker of movement behind her had her repeating herself. "Come here! Now!" The Genins scrambled to obey, sensing that this was serious; they had been here for a little over a week now, and knew that Hinata didn't get angry without sufficient reason.
As soon as they were within arms reach, Hinata stopped tracking the movements for a moment to address them. "Kaburo, get out some of your shuriken, get ready to use them if you have to. If anyone comes near here, throw as many as you can. Rin, with Takumi covering you, I want you to set some explosive notes up on the clump of trees to our left, far enough away that the blast wont hurt us here. Kohaku, you and Michi are going to cover Kaburo's back so that he can focus on throwing; I want you two to have kunai in your hands at all time. And all of you, don't hesitate to ask me for help, I won't let any of you get hurt. You will have to be prepared to fight back though, because I have to try and fight anyone who might attack us off."
"Hinata-sensei? How do you know there are people out there? I don't hear or see anything." Michi asked, glancing around the clearing nervously as though there were enemies crouching in every bush and behind every tree, waiting for a chance to jump the Genins and Hinata. Which, she supposed, was entirely possible from the Genin's point of view, it was thanks largely to Hinata's Byakugan and experience in the field that she knew where the enemy was.
Considering something, it took Hinata a moment to reply. "Practice, five years of it, but the Byakugan helps a lot too." At their blank stares, she smiled slightly. "As a member of the Hyuuga clan I inherited an advanced bloodline, the Byakugan. But I'm not the best with it by a long shot. That would be my cousin, Hyuuga Neji, and then my father, the current head of the Hyuuga main family. It allows me to see in all three hundred and sixty degrees, and the flow of chakra in the human body, among other things."
"Hyuuga Neji? My father says he's a tra-"
"No." Hinata cut Kohaku off sharply. "Whatever your father said about Neji-san is wrong. Please don't repeat that. Now, Rin, Takumi, go and set those traps." The two Genins jumped slightly before running off to do as they were told. Hinata turned away from the rest of her students to watch out for the two boys. It also helped her to ignore the whispered voices of Michi and Kaburo asking Kohaku what her father had said.
This was just her luck wasn't it? Getting stuck in a forest with five Genins, only one of which was actually going to be any good to her in this situation, and then only to distract the enemy so that she could fight them off. If they were any closer to the Jounin camp she would have taken her students and run, but as it was it was better to be in an area where she would be able to watch them all and fight at the same time. Hopefully her opponents wouldn't be too strong; she hadn't been lying when she said she wasn't great with the Byakugan. And close combat was the last thing she wanted in this situation, with five children to protect.
She was just glad she had worked to develop other jutsus besides those involving the Byakugan, as opposed to what Neji had done. If he was ever put into a situation where his Byakugan was useless, he would be in a lot of trouble, at least she had something to fall back on. Forming a few simple hand seals, Hinata concentrated her chakra. "Bunshin no jutsu!"
Five perfect clones of the Chuunin, one to cover each of her students, materialized, and closed into a circle around the three Genins still in the clearing. Hinata herself was still keeping as close eye on Rin and Takumi, as well as the blurry shapes in the bushes around them. So far she counted three, but it was possible there was fourth, lying directly in her blind spot. Hopefully she would be able to hold them off, but she still had no idea as to what their skill level was, or which hidden village they were from.
When Rin and Takumi came crashing back into the clearing, they did a double take before joining the other three Genins inside the circle of clones. Hopefully the explosive notes would let her know if someone was sneaking up in her blind spot, as the trees they had been placed on were directly opposite to where the three shinobi she could sense were. She would just have to pray that that would be enough, or that her clones would be able to hold an enemy off of her students long enough for her to get in between them and the threat.
"Kaburo, get ready, the rest of you too. Rin, I don't want you wasting any of our shuriken or kunai, so don't try to throw any, your skills in that area are too weak. Do any of you know any offensive ninjutsu at all, anything will help?" Hinata asked, her voice just above a whisper so that she would be able to hear anyone sneaking up just in case she couldn't see them.
The girls, Kaburo, and Rin shook their heads no, but Takumi turned to face her. "I do Hinata-sensei. Mizu sharin no jutsu, my mother taught it to me while I was in the Academy." Hinata blinked, to say she hadn't been expecting that was an understatement; of all her students, quiet little Katsuo Takumi had been the last one she would have suspected to know any jutsus. Of course, now that she thought about it, his mother had been an ANBU once, so it made sense that she would try and pass some of her own jutsus onto her son.
"Alright, then Takumi-kun, I want you use that if the opportunity arises, but don't overdo it, understand?" Hinata had already turned away from the Genins, attention caught by movement to her right, but thanks to the Byakugan she saw the brunette's nod. The enemy shinobi were getting closer, apparently finally in the positions they wanted. It was times like these she wished that the Byakugan had the ability of the Sharingan to see through bunshin, even kage bunshin, because it would be a waste of energy to fight of clones when she could let her own clones do that.
A heavy mist settling around her shoulders told her everything that she needed to know about her opponents; they were Mist shinobi, and they were strong. And if they were using water attacks, she didn't know how well Takumi's mizu sharin would work. This mist would also limit Kaburo's ability to throw shuriken, the only other thing she had going for her. She could only hope that they were close combat fighters, otherwise she was in a lot of trouble. Her Jyuuken was quite useful, but only if she could actually touch the enemy.
Hearing a faint whirring noise, Hinata looked up. Thankfully she was still able to see in the mist, but things were still blurry. There was a dark shape above them; that much she could make out, but not much more. She narrowed her eyes, hang on, she had seen this before, a long time ago. Recognizing it, Hinata swore. "Jouro senban no jutsu, when did Orochimaru recruit the Hidden Rain?" She muttered. Damnit, this was bad. She couldn't deflect them with Kaiten because of the five Genins, besides; she wasn't very good at it.
As soon as she saw the first needles break loose of the umbrella, Hinata quickly formed a series of hand seals, taking a deep breath as she did so. "Doton yoroi no jutsu!" Thank god she had forced herself to learn other jutsus; the Byakugan was not going to help her here, except maybe to see through the mist. The steady stream of carbon dioxide she blew out turned to mud when it hit the outside air, solidifying once it took the shape of a curved shield, arching a few feet over Hinata's head. Maybe one or two of the needles would break through, but no where near enough to do any serious damage.
She winced as needle after needle thudded into her makeshift shield, but when none came through she let out a relieved sigh. Hopefully it would stand up to another round because she could already hear a second umbrella being released into the air. The Genins had huddled together when the shield had appeared, glancing up as one when the needles hit. This was their first taste of real combat, but that didn't make them any less frightened.
The second round of needles came flying at Hinata's earth shield, at a different angle this time. Most were again deflected by the shield, but at least ten got past it, one slicing into Hinata's shoulder, the others striking the ground harmlessly. The Hyuuga pulled it out carefully, flinching as her flesh tore. Michi watched with fascination as the blood stained needle bounced off the dirt at her feet, the others didn't appear to notice.
Hinata thought hard about what to do next, it was doubtful any of her clones had survived the jouro senban, so she couldn't leave her students behind to fight the enemy, they would be practically defenseless. The sound of leaves rustling had her head snapping up, eyes focusing on the center of the earth shield. There… A moderately strong chakra, twelve feet away from her shield and closing, probably the Rain-nin coming to see if he'd gotten them with the jouro senban, and to finish them off if he hadn't. What to do, what to do…
"Kage bunshin no jutsu!" Hinata whispered, this time going for clones that could fight back, and three appeared in a small cloud of smoke. They put themselves between the real Hinata and her students, each drawing a handful of shuriken. Hinata smiled grimly, hopefully that would be enough to give her a chance to thin the enemies numbers. "Kaburo, Takumi, stay alert, be ready to fight them off if my kage bunshin fails. And if the shield starts to crumble, get out from under it immediately or you'll be crushed." The two Genins she had addressed nodded, and pushed their way to the front of the circle, keeping Rin, Kohaku, and Michi behind them. About to turn away from the twelve year-olds and walk out from behind the shield, Hinata remembered something. "Oh, and Michi? There are plenty of things out here that you can use for kawarimi, you too Kohaku if you've figured it out yet. And Rin? Just try to stay out of trouble, alright?"
Rin looked mildly affronted, but nodded along with the two girls. It the excited look on Kohaku's face was anything to go by, she'd say the girl had mastered the jutsu. "Be careful." Hinata cautioned, and with one last look at her students, she stepped past the shield's easternmost edge, her Byakugan already tracking the movements of the Rain-nin. The other two were still a ways a way, hiding in the trees. Apparently they didn't think she would be able to put up much of a fight. She was going to have some fun proving to them that they had thought wrong.
"Hyuuga-san." Alright, it was safe to say she hadn't been expecting that. Hinata flinched before whirling around to face the shinobi who had snuck up on her. She had been right about one thing at least; his forehead protector bore the symbol of the village of the Hidden Rain.
Hinata stared at the other shinobi, appraising him silently. He didn't look like much, but that didn't mean anything on a battlefield. Take Choji for example, one look at him and any respectable shinobi would start wondering just how desperate Konoha had gotten. Of course, you would stop wondering as soon as the Akimichi started fighting, which was exactly her point. "How did you?"
"Trick the Byakugan?" At Hinata's nod, the Rain-nin shrugged. "It's not that hard. Kage bunshin replicates the user's chakra streams no? And it wasn't hard to repress my own chakra so that you wouldn't notice it until the last second, and by then? Too late." He moved his hands into a seal. "Now if you'll excu?"
Hinata didn't let him finish. "Doton senban no jutsu!" A quick seal here and a deep breathe there… The Rain-nin staggered, then hit the ground heavily, twenty razor sharp needles made of hardened earth clustered around his heart and lungs, only the very ends visible above his jacket. And now the real fight was going to start.
A scream from behind her shield redirected her attention back to her students, but the masses of chakra concentrated in her shield made it impossible for her to see them. Quickly, she released the hardened dirt, pulling it away from the Genins before it could crush them. She started to form the seals for doton senban just in case she would be able to get a clear shot, but what she saw stopped her.
The two girls were gone, short logs stuffed full of shuriken in their places. All three of her clones were gone, and the other two enemy shinobi were closing on the boys. Kaburo and Takumi had placed themselves between the Mist-nin and Rin, and Kaburo already had a handful of shuriken ready. Hinata swore, she wouldn't be able to get the Mist-nin with her doton senban with the boys in between them.
Hinata ran for the taller shinobi, the one heading for Takumi, but the Genin attacked first. "M-mizu Sharin no Jutsu!" It was a technique similar to the doton senban, but instead of needles made of dirt, what the boy threw at the enemy was a series of high-speed discs of water, infused with chakra to hold it all together. It was quite impressive for a Genin, and the Mist-nin hadn't been expecting it. The first one hit him on the shoulder, but he dodged the other three easily enough.
At the same time, Kaburo had thrown his shuriken at the other shinobi, but to no avail. When the smoke cleared all that was left was a third log peppered with shuriken. Hinata, concentrating on Takumi's attacker, didn't see the shinobi appear again behind Kaburo and kick him out of the way before advancing on Rin, who had fallen to the ground in his haste to get away. Throwing a handful of shuriken at the Mist-nin, Hinata used the time she had gained while the shinobi dodged the stars to quickly form the hand seals required for the doton senban.
Beside her, the other Mist-nin had pulled out a handful of his own shuriken. Kaburo, a few feet away, could only watch in horror as Rin shakily drew a kunai and threw it at the advancing shinobi. As expected, it flew wide by about three feet, the Mist-nin pausing only to watch it bury itself in a tree ten feet behind him and too his left. Rin was frozen on the spot with fear as the shinobi drew back his arm, preparing to throw.
Hinata turned just in time to see Kaburo throw himself in front of Rin. She could only watch, horrified, as the Mist-nin's shuriken hit him full on, two in the chest, one in the upper leg, the other hitting his neck.
Tsunade steepled her fingers on her desk, giving Sakura an appraising look. Ever since the kunoichi had woken up all of two days ago, she had done nothing but pester her about when she could go on her next mission. Apparently she had poured a little too much chakra into the girl. There really wasn't any reason for her not to allow the girl out, quite the opposite in fact, as Sakura was clearly feeling good. But there had to be some sort of mental repercussion when you were purposely poisoned by someone you considered your friend.
"Tsunade-sama?" Sakura said, stepping forward so that she was even closer to the desk. "Are you feeling alright? You haven't answered my question yet." The pink haired girl apparently hadn't considered the possibility that the Godaime didn't have an answer yet. Tsunade sighed, she still needed someone to check that area for its suitability as a Jounin camp, but she didn't want to send one of her best medics now that there wasn't even any fighting in that area.
"Alright, alright, borrow an ANBU from one of the squads in Konoha and go out to meet Gai's team, I received word from a messenger that they have a prisoner with them, who you will heal and then turn over to the ANBU to take to Ibiki, happy now?" Tsunade asked, finally giving in. It was a job she needed doing, and if the prisoner could be fixed up before even returning to the village, it would make things a lot easier on them all. Besides, Ibiki was getting impatient, on account of none of the Sound-nins saying a word. Maybe, just maybe, this one would be different.
"Thank you Tsunade-sama! I won't let you down!" Sakura exclaimed, bowing before she rushed out of the room, presumably to hunt down an ANBU to take along with her. Tsunade watched her go, glad that at least one of them was happy. Sighing again, the Godaime shifted through a pile of papers on her desk, looking for one in particular. Finding it, she separated it from the stack, reading it for what must have been the sixth time today.
It was from Anko, and had arrived by messenger early this morning. Apparently Naruto, Kakashi, Genma, and Shizune hadn't joined the Jounin and her ANBU yet, despite having agreed to meet them three days ago now. It was possible that they had been delayed by enemy shinobi, but by then they should have been only a few miles away from the camp where Anko and the ANBU were staying.
She hated to admit it, but she was worried. Despite Kakashi's regrettable habit of being late, it was unusual for the Jounin team to be three days behind schedule. There were all sorts of problems out there they could have gotten themselves involved in, and they had done so before on many occasions, but they always managed to at least get word to who ever was expecting them, if not just beat their way out of whatever was holding them back. Up to and including a cave that had partially collapsed, trapping the four inside.
So it was understandable that she was worried, wasn't it? Now she just had to decide if she was worried enough to call off the ambush on the village of the Sound and send Anko and the ANBU out looking for the four. It was a difficult decision to make, even for her. On one hand, they had been preparing for this assault for months, and to abort it now would mean they had wasted a lot of time training for it when they could have been clearing other areas. On the other hand though, she wasn't sure if Anko and a few squads of ANBU were enough to take on the entire village.
Of course, she could always give Gai's team a day or two to recuperate and a shot of chakra and send them off again with Sakura to join up with Anko, but again, she didn't know how much good that would do, especially as Gai's team had already been out for a month and a half, if not more. While the chakra infusion would have them up and running for a little while, it would wear off sooner rather than later and they would be even more worn out that before. It felt too much like just throwing the shinobi away for her liking.
Looked like the attack was off then. Tsunade tore off a fresh sheet of paper and grabbed a pen. Wasn't this going to be fun to explain to the fighters that had spent a long time preparing for this? Though, it wasn't like she had much choice, hopefully they would see that rather than be insulted. Where to send them instead though? She supposed she could always have Anko and one team of ANBU track down the errant Jounins and split the rest ANBU back into their four man teams to attack the enemy at different points.
Glancing at the map on her wall, Tsunade found the areas nearest to the camp they were at that had the most pins stuck into them, and jotted down the co-ordinates. Unfortunately, there were plenty to choose from, as the inactivity of Konoha shinobi in that area had brought the Sound-nin out in droves as they worked their way closer to the hidden village they sought to destroy. The ANBU leaders could decide for themselves where to go from there. Ringing for a messenger to be sent, Tsunade rolled up the paper and sealed it. Hopefully Anko would be able to find the missing four soon, she, and Konoha, really couldn't afford to loose any more fighters.
Shikamaru rolled over, cracking one eye open as he did. It was Neji's turn at watch, so he really should have been trying to get all the sleep he could, but he kept waking up every few hours. Every time he woke up the ANBU had been sitting at the edge of their fire directly across from him, his mask in place. Shikamaru sighed quietly, trying to shift into a more comfortable position. They had chosen a spot in the field that brushed up against the woods so that they could have a fire without out having to worry about the grass catching fire, but so that they didn't have to sit or sleep on the dirt. That didn't mean it was comfortable though, not by a long shot.
Flinching as a rock dug into his back through this shirt, Shikamaru bent an arm behind his back, trying to work it loose. He kept one eye on Neji as he did so, but the Hyuuga had turned his back on the fire, which had long since died, leaving only glowing embers behind, facing away from Shikamaru. Relaxing back onto the grass, Shikamaru stared at the ANBU's back, trying not to shiver in the cold.
Neji was shivering, he noticed, which was strange as he was wearing a thick sweater below his ANBU cloak. At least, he thought the Hyuuga was shivering. Pushing himself up into a sitting position, Shikamaru tilted his head to the side, trying to see Neji from another angle. He had his white ANBU mask in his lap, the straps dangling over his knees, and he was hunched over it slightly. "Damn." Shikamaru whispered softly, drawing his own knees up to his chest in a vain attempt to fight away the cold chill that had settled over his body. Neji wasn't shivering, he was crying.
Well didn't he just feel like an idiot now? Shikamaru hugged his knees tighter, considering something. He could either lie down and try to go back to sleep, and just let Neji keep crying, or he could get off his lazy ass and try and comfort his friend. It was a harder decision to make than it had any right to be, the answer to that question should be painfully obvious. Neji, his friend, was hurting, and he was actually considering going back to sleep; he disgusted even himself at times like these.
Shikamaru sighed, his mind made up. He crawled over to the ANBU, wincing as his stiff muscles were stretched and twisted. It was a miracle Neji hadn't noticed he was awake yet; then again, he was pretty absorbed in what he was doing. Once he was beside the Hyuuga, Shikamaru sat back down. "Hey." He said softly, putting a hand on Neji's shoulder; he tried to pretend he hadn't felt Neji flinch. "Are you alright?"
The Hyuuga shrugged his shoulders slightly in a weak attempt to get Shikamaru's hand off. "Fine." He said stiffly, one hand moving to his ANBU mask, presumably to put it back on. Shikamaru hesitated for a second, but took his other hand and put it on top of Neji's, effectively stopping its movement towards the mask.
He smiled faintly, closing his hand around Neji's. The butterflies in his stomach were going double time, and he was feeling more and more lightheaded with every passing second. Really, you would think something like this would be no big deal for a ninja; they stared death in the face everyday, but no, that was unfortunately not that case, as Shikamaru was learning. The hard way. "Liar." He managed to force the word out of his numb lips, but much more than that and he was done for.
Neji had stopped trying to get away from the Jounin's light touch, instead staring at Shikamaru's hand, lying atop his own. He didn't seem to be able to look away, but was at the same time intensely aware of Shikamaru's eyes on his face. He blinked slowly, his white eyes as blank as ever. His voice was flat and strained as he spoke. "What are you doing?"
"We're tired of you being a ghost Neji. You- you need to talk to us, your friends, that's what we're here for." Shikamaru's voice cracked with emotion, trying to make the Hyuuga understand what he was saying. He squeezed the ANBU's hand reassuringly, even though it felt like he was the one that needed reassurance, it was as though he was talking to a brick wall. "We can't help you unless you give us the chance."
"Help me?" Neji's voice was cold, but it trembled. Shikamaru was glad he couldn't see all of the Hyuuga's face; he could only imagine how blank it had gotten. Sometimes he really had to wonder why he even bothered with the ANBU mask; even that was more expressive than his own face when he was like this. Which, unfortunately, was more often than not recently. "Just how do you propose to help me?"
Shikamaru almost pulled away at the icy tone of Neji's voice, but managed to stop himself in time. It was more painful than he cared to admit to see and hear his friend like this, so obviously hurting. He wouldn't let the Hyuuga scare him away so easily, no way no how. It had been five months since that situation, and Neji had just drifted further and further away from them, from him, since then. It was time for that to stop, one way or another. "I-I just want to do what I can to make it not hurt so much. That's all."
Neji didn't answer right away, his face drawn and shadowed by the setting moon. His shoulders had relaxed though, and he had allowed his head to slump forward slightly. The ANBU finally drew in a shaky breath and Shikamaru marveled at how clearly he could feel it through his hand. Neji's lips parted slightly, as though he was about to say something but hadn't chosen the words yet. Shikamaru leant forward ever so subtly, waiting. "I don't think you can." The Hyuuga whispered, drawing his knees up to his chest so that Shikamaru's arm was resting just below his left knee, still touching his hand.
a/n: Okay, so I got a little out of control there. 5566 words including the author's note… What can I say? Writing Hinata is just so much fun, I didn't want to stop! At least I managed to resist the urge to write another five pages for Neji and Shikamaru, but it was close. You'll just have to wait for Chapter Eleven to see what happens next with them wont you? Hopefully things wont get too messed up before then, causing me to push them back again. Unfortunately, I have managed to get them on the same rotation as Hinata, and after this, I dunno how capable I will be of keeping her next one short, and I want to do a long one for them too… -sigh- Sooner or later I am going to have to move one of them though, because some interesting things are coming, for all three of them. Not to mention the whole rest of the gang. This will be fun. Oh, and in case anyone was wondering about the timeline it goes a little something like this:
September 6th: The war officially starts.
December 29th: Gaara is killed.
April 27th: Hinata and 5 Genins leave Konoha; Kiba, Iruka, and Daiki leave Konoha.
May 1st: Neji becomes an ANBU; Shino arrives in Konoha; Genma, Kakashi, Shizune, and Naruto are trapped in a forest; Shino poisons Sakura; Iruka realizes that Daiki has been killed; Kakashi falls unconscious; Gai and Tenten recruit a pair of ANBU; Shikamaru realizes he's falling for Neji; Shino leaves Konoha. Chapter 1: Focus, Chapter 2: Inquiry, Chapter 3: Desperation, Chapter 4: Perseverance
May 2nd: Shino is declared a missing-nin; Neji and Shikamaru leave Konoha; Iruka attacks Daiki's murderer, his ribs are broken; Tenten and Lee are left behind to sulk; Naruto has some shuriken practice; Kiba fights Isamu, his arm is broken when he doesn't see a trap; Gai and the ANBU return with Suzu Moriko. Chapter 5: Turmoil, Chapter 6: Resilience
May 3rd: Sakura wakes up; Naruto and Genma are ambushed; Sasuke appears; Gai, Lee, and Tenten are on their way back to Konoha; Iruka and Kiba are on their way back to Konoha; Shino finds Daiki's body; Naruto fights Sasuke. Chapter 7: Obscurity, Chapter 8: Calamity
May 5th: Hinata fights the Mist and Rain-nin, finds out the Hidden Rain has joined the war; Kaburo saves Rin from shuriken; Sakura is given a mission; Shikamaru finds Neji crying. Chapter 9: Tribulation
Hujin: Good to see you know that . And yeah, he is. Can't say I blame him . And you'll just have to wait and see for Shino…
E. Vanity: Oh don't worry I will. And it may. Or may not. I'm not telling. You'll find out in Chapter Ten what happens/ed there, don't worry.
AvaStar: And here it is! The timeline… Well, let's just say it's been rewritten. Nothing major changed, just when things happen. Aww, thank you!
SNA: They are wherever Tsunade has decided to send them… No, I know where they are, and you shall find out soon enough. Thanks!
Esther: Yay! It's always good to get happy feedback. And is this soon enough?