I promise that later on, all the separate stories will make more sense. But right now, they are just snippets of life around Konoha.
Thank you much for the reviews. runs around all hyper
Day 3
Shikamaru returned from one of the more dangerous missions in his career as a ninja only four days after Sasuke's return. Having brought back the information needed to prevent more deaths in the land of the Water, he wasn't proud of himself or anything. Instead, he came into Konoha with his eyes up in the sky, watching clouds go by.
Temari was waiting for him at the gates, an apparently exasperated look on her face. "You're late!"
The dark-haired man with a sweet face looked at his girlfriend and winced a little, knowing that for all her love, she still had a temper well worth mentioning. Temari, with her blondish hair down for a change, reached out pulled Shikamaru's hair out of its usual ponytail. For a moment, they managed to even hug each other before pulling apart. Shikamaru had blood on his usually spotless uniform and his eyes looked tired and so much older.
Time, for him, had been one giant lesson about being leader and about being strong. He rarely failed at his missions and of all the teams, his usually took the least damage. But, nonetheless, Shikamaru was still human. And he had fallen in love, in his own way, with Temari. Apparently whatever arrangement they'd chosen worked out for both of them.
"It was a troublesome mission," the boy explained.
Temari nodded. "So I heard. Welcome back. For the bad news of the day, Sasuke's back."
Shikamaru paused for a moment, and then looked at Temari with obvious love in his eyes. "The hokage informed me. I suppose Naruto is happy."
"No, not really, from what Ino said when I spoke to her this morning," Temari replied, grabbing Shikamaru's hand. "Anyway, come with me. We're celebrating tonight. And, uh, I have some news for you after that. Better get drunk first."
As Temari dragged him away, Shikamaru couldn't help but whisper, "How troublesome…"
Shikamaru had no idea that scroll he had just delivered to the hokage was actually a powerful curse. No one but the person who made it would've known. What was worse, in many ways, was that the curse was devious and cunning. And more than that, it had been created to take one single person over the edge.
---
Meanwhile, Naruto was wandering about the hokage's office in search of a very specific file. He saw the scroll on her desk and looked at with interest. After a moment, he decided that it would be a wonderful idea to open it and see what's inside. Reaching down, he picked up the large scroll and found the seal.
"Old Granny won't mind," he said to himself.
Slowly, he pulled open the scroll and a bright light flashed through the room. Knocked back by a force he couldn't see, Naruto landed by the farther wall from the scroll and lay there, moaning a little in pain. Spots floated before his eyes and everything hurt, from head to toe. He groaned and lifted his head up.
"What the hell!" Naruto muttered and looked about.
The scroll lay on the floor innocently, as if nothing had happened. It was only partially open, and even then, Naruto could just about feel the nastiness coming from it. Inside him, the demon stirred long enough to mention that he shouldn't get any closer. Then it fell back into its slumber.
"Just like it to come and go," Naruto muttered as he pulled himself up into a standing position.
He was about to say more when he noticed the letters on the scroll. The first couple spelled out Sasuke's name, but after that, the rest seemed to be swirling on the paper. Something about death, Naruto thought as he jumped through an open window and towards the hospital.
"Not good at all!"
---
The Fifth Hokage was busy beyond words, but she still took time to visit the patients at the Konoha hospital and do her healing wherever she could. She was old and slowly growing older, no matter what her body looked like; she knew it, too. Soon now, she would choose another person to take over for her and go live a much more peaceful life somewhere quiet. Right now, though, life wasn't giving her that option.
That morning she was working with Sakura on patient with mild burns. Sakura was doing remarkably well for a student of only fours years. She was already as skilled and proficient in the art as many of the older medics, but she still had the youthful belief that she could help and so did that much more and struggled that much harder to succeed.
Tsunade was about to leave when one of the medics caught her at the doors. "Ma'am?"
"Yes?" Tsunade said quietly.
"It's him!" The nurse paled quite a bit. "He's had a seizure, and it nothing like we've ever seen, ma'am. It just happened ten minutes ago or so, but it hasn't stopped since, and it seems to be getting worse.
Tsunade nodded and went to look at the patient, having a sinking feeling that trouble with Orochimaru was not quite over yet. As she approached the room where Sasuke lay, she felt the presence of something very disturbing nearby. Looking are anxiously, the woman with long blond hair could barely hold herself in check.
She stepped into the room where Sasuke was sleeping and found him surrounded by creatures that looked like something out of a nightmare. Rotting flesh hung on pearly white bones, and crimson eyes stared down at Sasuke as if to devour him. Even blindfolded, the raven-haired boy still trying to get away. He could feel them coming closer.
"Stop right there!" Tsunade said loudly.
One of the monsters looked at her, and the hokage stepped back, terror written all over her face. Only moments later Naruto rushed into the room, saw the monsters, and within milliseconds found himself knocked out and slumped against the wall for the second time that day. Sasuke was crying out, but no one could get to him yet.
…. How Troublesome.
