Chapter 59

A Small Breakthrough: Onwards with the Power of Hope!

As the morning sun hovered above Konoha, angled between the horizon and high noon, beams of light descended from the heavens, cutting through the windows of Mimi Inuzuka's bedroom, painting the floor and walls in natural sunlight. The areas blessed by the light were warm at the touch, a contrast to the light chill Mimi felt.

The bed within sat empty; the comforter and sheets beneath were pristine and untouched since it was last made, still eagerly awaiting the eventual return of its occupant.

Her bed would be disappointed, if beds could feel emotion.

Adjacent to the bed was a desk, at which the sleeping form of Mimi Inuzuka could be found. Her head lay on her balled up sweater, arms looping protectively around and squishing the clothing turned pillow as she nuzzled her face into the soft and warm cushion. Aoko slept curled up in her lap. Every so often she quietly barked at a dream, hind legs twitching enough to hint at the chase she was taking part in.

Had she the energy, she wouldn't be sleeping here. Neither would Aoko. Sleeping in chairs wasn't anywhere on any doctors list of recommendations, especially when a nice, warm bed was within cannon-balling distance.

The cramps awaiting her would not be pleasant.

Mimi did have reason for her sleeping arrangement—if one could call her current situation a sleeping arrangement without rolling their eyes or scoffing, which even she found hard not to do. This was a sleeping arrangement like a katana was a kitchen knife.

Anyway, her studies of Medical Ninjutsu the night before went well into the morning, and when she decided to lay her head down to rest for a moment, well, she conked out.

Long study hours consumed her nights after days of physical training or missions—sometimes both. Every cell in her brain was dedicated to learning how to heal Amari, Kakashi and Lee; in her mind, all three were her patients, which meant learning how to treat the injuries they were afflicted with.

There was more to this than being challenged as a medic-nin who wanted to surpass Lady Tsunade; Mimi felt a desperate need to help the people she cared about.

One week passed since the Akatsuki incident. One entire week since she knelt helplessly on Kakashi's bed and then in front of Amari in some random hotel hallway, unable to do anything for them except curse, growl and fight against tears for the girl she considered a little sister being all but dead in front of her.

Some medic-nin she was. First she couldn't help Hinata, then Lee, now Kakashi and Amari. It pissed her off. The darkness lingered in her mind. It called to her, demanding to find some way to extract righteous vengeance on those who harmed Amari. But, while the darkness sought to lead her astray, Hana's words hugged their arms around heart and kept her from following its siren calls.

"Use it as motivation to get better. That's what she'd want. It's what I want from you too."

Right. Anger was just a distraction right now. Being pissed off wouldn't fix anything or anyone. She had to buckle it down, for Lee, Amari and Kakashi. She had to become better. To keep advancing so she could be ready the next time.

Moping around the house, being an angst filled teenager complaining about their inability to succeed would be as useful as a moody cat paired with an Inuzuka. Besides, she did enough moping recently to fulfill the angsty teenager yearly quota.

In the end, Amari acted with honor, and with no short supply of stubbornness. She made the sacrifice to protect her precious people. She chose her path. And had Mimi been in her position, she would have made the same choice to protect the people precious to her.

"I…I think they both knew this was how it would end."

It hurt to hear Kurenai say the truth out loud. It hurt to hear the waver in her voice as she fought valiantly against the insurmountable grief and rivers of tears she had every right to shed, but built a dam around to keep them at bay. It hurt to know Amari went in knowing she'd be taken out, and that she wasn't able to stand side by side with her so she wouldn't go down alone.

She should have been there, if for nothing else than to fall alongside her sister. But that was a selfish wish, completely and utterly inconsiderate to the turmoil such a fate would cause her family and team.

The best thing she could do now was stay focused on advancing her skills, that's what Amari would want from her.

Although Master Jiraiya and Naruto were on the hunt for Lady Tsunade—the legendary kunoichi who revolutionized Medical Ninjutsu before Mimi was born—the Inuzuka was still plagued by the concern of Tsunade not returning. It kept her motivated to find answers herself.

What if Tsunade died long before today? What if she never existed in the first place?

Lee, Amari and Kakashi would be screwed. Out of luck and out of reach.

Sure, she believed the Goofball and Master Jiraiya would be successful in their mission, but that was no reason to stop seeking a higher level of skill.

Mimi was, as Hana said, a bit of a fangirl when it came to the legendary kunoichi. But as big of a fan as she was, solely relying on Tsunade's medical prowess wasn't enough for her, and it never would be.

Lady Tsunade was legendary, yes, and her talents in Medical Ninjutsu could not be understated; no one outmatched her prowess in Medical Ninjutsu—no one.

Well, no one yet. Mimi was planning to change that.

Still, it'd be shortsighted to think Lady Tsunade could always walk in and save the day for them.

The difficulty of healing these specific injuries was the book equivalent of Amari's struggle against Itachi, Aimi and Kisame. These injuries weren't meant for ordinary medic-nins to fix, and those who afflicted them with these injuries didn't intend for them to be fixed; Mimi knew this, she had the damn books scattered across her desk, the margins of the pages within marked by scribbled notes and calculations that proved the difficulty.

Lady Tsunade wasn't immortal or infallible. One day they wouldn't be able to lean on her, and when that day came Mimi planned to be prepared to stand in her place, as well as pass on her knowledge so the Leaf Medical Corps could one day be the best damn Medical Corps to exist in the shinobi world.

The more people in possession of greater Medical Ninjutsu knowledge, the better the world could be.

Less orphans. Less avoidable deaths. Less helpless situations like this.

This wasn't the last time they'd see Itachi Uchiha or shinobi of his level. No way. She learned enough to know the infiltration and the attempted kidnapping of Naruto and Amari was only the beginning of a substantial threat to all of their lives.

Those shinobi—the Akatsuki—they weren't disappearing anytime soon. As long as they were targeting Naruto, as long as Amari had this new Mangekyō Sharingan power, they'd be targeted by members of the organization, meaning Mimi had no choice but to get better.

No, not just her, but everyone. Her peers, their teachers, their forces, even the other Nations had to step up their game if they were to be prepared for the Akatsuki.

Mimi's starting point was learning to heal these injuries. To be a great medic meant learning to treat all varying types of wounds, from poison and broken bones, to psychological damage and organ transplants. You couldn't just apply Medical Ninjutsu to poison within the body and expect it to do anything, nor could you mend a broken bone with a simple wave of the hand or snap of the fingers.

Knowing the kind of poison afflicting a patient was required to give them the proper antidote; otherwise the attempts to treat would do nothing at best or quicken their patient's demise at worst.

For broken bones it depended on the severity of the fracture. Sasuke's case was a bit mild, but his arm and hand weren't bent in the wrong direction, nor were his bones shattered from his elbow to his fingers. Those situations required surgery, for starters, and a hell of a lot of time off from shinobi work to heal properly.

There was also the possibility of the bones rupturing the tissues surrounding them, which meant learning the different types of tissues and sub-tissues within those tissues. Without that knowledge you couldn't fully treat the patient.

For instance, muscle tissues were broken into three different types: cardiac, skeletal and smooth. If you didn't know that cardiac muscle tissue was only found in the walls of the heart while smooth was in your internal organs and blood vessels then you weren't fit to be a medic.

Knowledge was power in the field of Medical Ninjutsu. The more you knew, the more you could do, whether it be healing a wound or severing tendons to incapacitate an opponent.

All she had to do now was—

"You're still asleep?" Her body was shaken gently. "Come on, Mimi, wake up."

Mimi groaned quietly and kept her eyes shut. "Five more minutes," she pleaded.

Hadn't she at least earned some rest with how hard she was training and studying?

"Mimi, it's time to get up. You have to meet up with your team soon."

To her inaction, two furry heads started sniffing around her head and attempting to lick her face.

"Hana. Call them off," the Inuzuka whimpered tiredly.

Her older cousin chuckled at her expense. "I'll call them off as soon as you get up."

With another tired groan, Mimi reluctantly opened her eyes and moved her face out of the reaching range of the two Haimaru brothers to bother her.

"All right, all right. I'm up." She winced, immediately lifting a hand to her cramped neck. "And really sore."

"You heard her boys. You can leave her be now," Hana called her ninken off with a grin in her voice. The duo wagged their tails happily and returned to their companion's side where the third of their trio sat patiently.

The sapphire eyed Inuzuka raised her arms into the air, releasing a yawn as she did, and stretched out her back in an attempt to alleviate the aches attacking her body. It didn't quite work. She did hear a nice crack roll up her spine, though, so that was something.

Lowering her arms, Mimi used one hand to apply rudimentary Medical Ninjutsu to her sore neck and back while using the other to cox her ninken from sleep.

"Time to wake up, Aoko," she cooed.

"Five more minutes," she whined.

Mimi smiled tiredly and scratched Aoko behind her ears. "Hey, if I have to get up then so do you."

She's worked just as hard as I have. Having her here with me, motivating me to not give up has really helped a lot.

She was a true companion.

Her ninken let out a yawn and got onto all four paws to stretch her body out. "I hope Guy-sensei isn't being too eccentric today." Aoko yawned again. "I don't know if I have the energy for his hot-blooded attitude."

"You and me both," Mimi yawned into her hand before turning to examine her cousin.

She was already in her beige Konoha medical uniform, her long brown hair tied back in a ponytail save for two long locks that framed her face over her black eyes.

Unlike Mimi, Hana was ready for the day.

In her tired mind, Mimi thought back to the days and nights they used to spend studying together, learning all they could about their chosen fields of Medical Ninjutsu, Hana always motivating her to keep at it. The memories brought a soft, nostalgic smile to her face.

Things hadn't been simple back then, not with the death of her parents being so fresh. But she missed the seemingly endless hours they spent together, so absorbed in their studying that time didn't seem to exist, granting her escape from the cruel world she despised.

Hana was, and always would be, one of her greatest positive influences. While her aunt helped toughen her up, Hana stopped her from turning completely cold, sustaining her freezing heart with warm affection.

Pride and stubbornness never stood between Hana showing her love. Never. Even when she knew Mimi would find it embarrassing, or perhaps especially because she knew Mimi would find it embarrassing, she kept her arms and heart open to her little cousin.

Mimi learned early on that a smile and hug from her cousin could melt almost all of her negative emotions away. She breathed love into a world Mimi began to believe was only capable of creating pain.

I'm fortunate to have her. Mimi covered her mouth as she yawned again. But I really wish she would have let me sleep.

"What time is it?" she asked through her yawn.

"Nine o'clock." The younger Inuzuka groaned and laid her head back to stare up at the ceiling. "How long did you sleep for?"

"Barely six hours. I was up with all of this." She motioned to her table full of notes and opened medical books revolving around psychological trauma and cellular structures.

Mimi shut her eyes and released a sigh. I hope I'll be able to sneak in a nap today…but I doubt it. She let out a steady breath and turned her gaze down at her desk. No use complaining about it. I chose to stay up. Now I just have to deal with the consequences.

Hana peered over her shoulder to examine everything on the table with interest. "Any luck with all of your studying?"

"Yes and no."

Mimi picked up Aoko and set her on the floor then stood up, immediately reaching up towards the ceiling and moving onto her tiptoes to stretch out her back. A muffled groan escaped her as another satisfying pop sounded off.

Any more pops and her spine would become a musical instrument.

"I haven't figured out how to heal Amari and Kakashi-sensei, but I had a small breakthrough last night with Lee's condition."

"Oh? What was it?" Hana's curiosity couldn't be contained.

Mimi grabbed a fresh black V-neck and shin length black shorts from her closet then set them on her bed. When she returned to the table to grab her sweater she found her cousin already skimming through all of her notes without touching them.

"The surgery he needs would only have a fifty-fifty shot at being successful even with an expert medic. It would be unlikely anyone would do it with that much risk. He'd have to give up his shinobi career."

Her cousin looked up from the notes with an eyebrow quirked up. "But?"

"There could be a way to increase his chances." Mimi grabbed her sweater off the table, revealing another piece of paper. Notes were scrawled over it in every margin and space available. One circled group stood out the most.

"Cell Activation Jutsu?" her cousin read out loud.

Mimi nodded and tied her sweater around her waist. Her cousin's eyes scanned the page taking in all the diagrams drawn on it, the questions and answers written into the margins and the steps to use the jutsu; everything was detailed and researched down to the tiniest of details, checked and double checked to ensure it was a real possibility instead of a false hope.

Hana hummed and pursed her lips in consideration to what she had written down. "How long have you been working on this?"

"Ever since the prelims. Figuring out a way to fix his injury has been a huge challenge."

Hana broke her gaze from the papers to give her an admonishing glare. "Why didn't you ask for help?"

She was upset, hurt even. Mimi would have known that without seeing it in her eyes; her voice was enough to convey it. A hint of guilt ate at her heart.

Why didn't she come to her and ask for help when she knew her cousin would have gladly aided her? They were family. They didn't have to hide anything from each other. They could always depend on each other to help. So why, why didn't she trust in that bond enough to ask for help?

The younger Inuzuka shifted her weight on her feet uncomfortably as she let her eyes fall to the floor. "…Pride."

"Mimi," Hana scolded.

"I'm sorry," she apologized

It was a stupid reason, she knew, but it was the reason. Her pride wouldn't allow her to ask for help. She saw it as her responsibility to fix the trio because she wasn't able to stop it from happening.

"I know you would have helped, but I felt like I needed to figure this out on my own. You had enough on your plate without me begging for you to help me with something, especially after the village was attacked."

She was a veterinarian, new Jōnin and one of the best trackers in the whole of the Leaf. Asking for her aid after working all day didn't feel right.

But that's also an excuse for my pride getting in the way. I had to learn this alone, to prove it to myself that I was capable of doing it…at least it sort of worked out.

Hana held her under her gaze for a few more seconds then sighed, turning back to the page. "So you would have to activate every cell in his body at once to increase his chances," she said.

Hana wasn't happy, but she understood. That was something.

"Yeah. Activating every cell will force the body to repair itself as a medical-ninja is performing the surgery…only there's a slight problem."

And by slight she meant a problem that completely ruined everything.

"You haven't figured out how to activate every cell at once. Another problem is the amount of chakra, chakra control and skill needed once you do figure that out. To force the body to create new cells and revitalize the cellular structure in each type of cell is beyond most medical-ninjas," Hana stated.

Mimi released a sigh of disappointment in acknowledgement to the flaw she couldn't get around. Being able to activate one type of cell in isolation was easy for a skilled medical-ninja, but to activate every type of cell from internal organ and muscular to skin cells? She might as well demand to be gifted cosmic power. Or try to use the First Hokage's kekkei genkai.

"I know. A strong enough food pill could possibly grant the person the chakra needed, but everything else is still up in the air." The Inuzuka ran her hand through her untamed hair. "I have a lot more work to do."

She had yet to talk to any of Team Guy or Lee about her findings for this exact reason. Sure it could give them small hope by showing the possible path forward, but what if she hit a brick wall or there was zero possibility of the jutsu working?

I can't get Lee's or anyone else's hopes up only to smash them into pieces. It would crush them, and seeing them crushed because of my incapability would hurt. She stared down at her books with tired eyes. I have to complete it before I tell them about it.

A hand rested on her head and ruffled her untamed hair, bringing her attention from the books to her smiling cousin. "You'll figure it out. I'm proud of how much you've managed to get done on your own, but don't be afraid to ask me if you need any help. I'm here for you, always."

Mimi gave her a smile in return, grateful for the warm wave of confidence and love her cousin provided. "Thank you, Hana."

"You're welcome." She let her hand fall off her cousin's head. "I'll let you start getting ready. Don't forget to clean up the table and have some breakfast before you head out."

"I know, I know. I'm not a complete lost cause despite sleeping in so late."

"I don't know about that. Kiba never begged me for five more minutes," her cousin jested.

"That's because Akamaru wakes him up since his damn snoring could wake up an entire village from miles away," Mimi shot back with a grin.

Hana tried to hide her laughter behind her hand but was less than successful in the endeavor. Aoko made no such attempt, nor did the Haimaru brothers with all four ninken chortling in amusement.

"So true!" She laughed then gave a small wave, taking her leave with the Haimaru trio following after her.

"I did not think his snoring was so bad until we were forced to listen to him snore in unison with Naruto after the second phase of the exam. I should be applauded for restraining myself from using Fang over Fang on them," Aoko rumbled with amusement.

"You and me both." Mimi chuckled then took a breath. "I hope the Goofball is doing well out there."

"Naruto will be fine. He showed great strength and Will in defeating Gaara, and now he has Master Jiraiya watching over him. Have faith in him."

Aoko hopped up onto the bed and bit down on Mimi's clean shirt, lifting it towards the Inuzuka. "Let's focus on getting ready and meeting up with our team. I believe we had a mission today, did we not?"

"Right." The Inuzuka nodded.

She grabbed her clothes and headed for the shower. Once she was finished going through her morning routine, she sat down at the door to put the finishing touches of her gear on.

The kunoichi slipped her black gloves on then strapped her ninja tool box to her right thigh and put her pouch on her left hip. After she tied her forehead protector around her forehead and got her sandals on, Aoko jumped up into her lap, panting happily at her companion.

Mimi laughed lightly before picking her up and placing her on her head.

"Ready, Aoko?"

"Ready!" she barked.

Mimi grinned and pulled her pack on. "All right! Later Hana!"

"Be safe out there Mimi!" her cousin called back.

"I will!"

"And good luck!"

"Thanks!"

The Inuzuka took off out the door at a run and began making her way through the village to the front gate where her team would meet up.

As soon as they all arrived, which her team probably already had, Guy would dish out the details on their mission. He told them to pack for a short-term mission, which usually meant to be prepared for a C-rank mission taking them away from home for one to two weeks.

Anything more than that meant packing long-term, but thankfully that was not the case this time. Our mission will probably only take a week depending on how fast we move and the exact details of the mission.

If they were escorting someone from point A to point B then it wouldn't take too long. Especially if Guy-sensei decides we should sprint back.

Mimi shuddered not at the thought, but the memory of a previous experience.

The sheer energy and speed he showed was insane…though I suppose that's because he is a bit crazy.

If it was escorting a person from Konoha to somewhere else and then back it likely would take them almost two full weeks depending on where exactly they were traveling.

Guy-sensei said to pack short-term so it can't be too far away if we are escorting someone. For all she knew it wouldn't be an escort mission at all; in fact they could end up hunting down a dangerous wild animal creating problems for a small town or fighting a bunch of bandits preying on innocent travelers.

She pushed the thoughts away and focused on the path ahead.

Construction was on-going, although that was to be anticipated. Many long days lay ahead of them before the Leaf would show a full recovery. Despite the damage, the people of her village were moving forward each day, taking the challenge head-on with strength and hope in their beings.

They had lost their Hokage along with other ally shinobi and civilians. Businesses and buildings had been destroyed and the future of their home seemed a bit uncertain. It would be easy to drown in despair if they really wanted…yet no one did.

Everyone pitched in to help one another. People joined together to keep the fire burning in their hearts as they rebuilt what was destroyed.

Just the way Lord Third would have wanted it to be, Mimi thought with a mournful smile.

She missed the man and everything he stood for, yet she could see the latter in the actions and eyes of her fellow shinobi and villagers.

The Will of Fire still burned here.

"You'll figure it out. I'm proud of how much you've managed to get done on your own, but don't be afraid to ask me if you need any help. I'm here for you, always."

The certainty, pride and love in Hana's voice were as clear as a cloudless night sky. It crushed the doubt lingering within the Inuzuka and renewed her confidence into a bright star.

I won't let any of you down. And I won't let your faith be misplaced Hana. I may not be the one to perform the procedures, but I'll get better and figure out how to perform the jutsus, that way I'm ready the next time any of you need me. That's a promise.

Her team was already waiting for her at the gates. Tenten noticed her approaching form first. "There she is." She waved. "Mimi, what took you so long?"

Neji and Guy turned to face her, the latter of the pair grinning at her arrival and the former offering a passive nod.

"Hey guys. Sorry if I kept you waiting," the Inuzuka apologized as she came to a stop. "Stayed up too late and woke up even later. I suppose it wasn't all bad, though. I was able to get a good morning run in."

"You would see running to barely make it on time as a good thing." Tenten sighed. "Sometimes I don't know what to do with you, Mimi."

Mimi grinned at her fellow kunoichi. "Aw, you're getting all mother hen-like already. Another bonus of running a bit late, right Aoko?" She looked up at her partner for support.

"Agreed. It's entertaining to see her fuss over us."

"True enough."

Tenten placed her hands on her hips. "It's so not fair when you two do that." She then jabbed her finger right below her left collar bone. "And I have to be a mother hen because if I don't you're bound to get yourself in trouble."

The sapphire eyed kunoichi's grin remained firm on her face. "Aw, I got a run in, I got to hear you be a mother hen and now I get to hear how much you care for my well-being? It's official, my morning is complete." She bounced on the balls of her feet. "I woke up a bit tired, but now I feel energized. I can't wait to see what this mission holds for us."

"You and me both," her ninken agreed.

A glimmer of light sparkled off Guy's teeth. "That's the spirit, Mimi! Embrace the fires of youth and let them burn brightly for all to see! Let us run to the ends of the earth with those flames burning in our hearts and fulfill our mission!"

Their sensei went to take off but was quickly stopped by the Hyūga of their team speaking up. "Sensei, you haven't even told us what our mission is or where we are going," Neji spoke calmly yet to the point.

The bushy browed Jōnin squeaked in shock then turned back to face all three of his Genin with a bashful smile and laugh. "Hehehe, right. I almost forgot about that." He brought his hand to his mouth and cleared his throat. "We have been ordered to track down and capture a group of bandits terrorizing various towns in the Land of Fire. They were last seen heading to a town not too far to the southwest of here."

"Sounds like we need to teach these bandits some manners." Aoko gave a bark of agreement to her companion's comment. "If we find any sign of their trail, it shouldn't be hard to track them down."

"Do we know how many there are?" Tenten questioned.

"Reports show they are a group of four," their sensei answered.

"Hmm." Neji's features were pulled into stoic thoughtfulness.

"What's wrong, Neji?" Tenten asked in confusion.

He turned his gaze to his two kunoichi teammates. "I find it odd that four bandits could attack various towns without anyone stopping them. It is not as if towns outside of Konoha have no police forces."

He had a valid point.

There was a high possibility the 'bandits' were not actually bandits at all. Whoever hired them could have lied because they lacked the money to pay for the price of a higher ranked mission—much like Team Seven's adventure to the Land of Waves—or they were taking advantage of Konoha because they were recovering from an attack.

We could be dealing with ninjas who are Chūnin or higher if they've gone to a lot of towns without being stopped.

"It is not impossible that they are merely bandits who are skilled, yet it is also very possible one, if not all, were once shinobi. We should be cautious," the Hyūga stated.

"Neji is right," their sensei agreed. All three students looked over to him. "It is very possible these bandits may have been ninjas in the past. We won't know until we track them down." He smiled confidently. "But even if they are I know you three will be more than a match for them." Guy turned around and pointed his finger down the road ahead of them. "Let us go!"

"Right!" the trio echoed with an extra bark from their resident ninken.

The power of hope would keep them moving forward as it always had, and soon enough Lee would be back among them embracing the power of youth with their crazy sensei.

It was a day Mimi would ensure became reality, no matter what.

Review Response to ChillinInKonoha: Well, here's a glimpse at what Mimi and Team Guy are up to. Some more of the Leaf crew coming up, as well as more on Mist Village later.

We'll have to wait and see how her relationships with the kunoichis in her life develop, though I will say there are tiny glimpses so far of who she has affectionate feelings for.

Those are two songs I did listen to at the time of writing Mimi and Amari's fight in the Exams, helped with the intensity of the fight. I also listened to You Say Run and United States of Smash from the My Hero Academia ost heavily during it too. First one for the high-intensity parts, second one for the end of the battle. If you haven't heard the songs before, check them out. They're awesome.

Anko will have a presence, but I can't really say for what without spoiling anything. I personally enjoyed her character a lot, and was sad when she and pretty much every other badass kunoichi got sidelined.

Thank you for the review!