In which Yugito faces the Raikage, Gaara learns something new, and Mei Terumi makes an appearance.

Warning for descriptions of a panic attack.

O-O-O-O-O

As Tsuyoi-sensei gave their mission report to the Raikage, Yugito thought about Utakata.

He was the newest jinchuuriki in the Room. Yugito already liked him much more than the short-tempered Mizukage. Han and Roshi had told her that the man, Yagura, was repentant about his actions. However, Yugito was not the type to forgive and forget. Unlike the older shinobi, she hadn't gotten the chance to let her frustration out.

Utakata, meanwhile, she liked. They had started talking through his Door's link. He didn't enter the Room often but he responded whenever she talked to him. He provided friendly conversation during the day or whenever she was bored. Although he was a little awkward and apprehensive when talking to her or B, Yugito couldn't help but admire him.

Utakata had guts and determination. He was willing to say his real thoughts, as demonstrated by the telling off he had given the Mizukage.

Although he was younger by three years, they had similar experiences. They had both completed an almost equal number of missions. The other jinchuuriki were either far more advanced than her or babies in her eyes. Utakata was a professional equal.

The few times he had turned up in the Room, they had sparred with one another. While she was a close-ranged fighter, he fought from a distance and used bubbles in a variety of imaginative ways. She thought that if they were in a team, they would have complemented each other well.

Yugito was envious of him. Unlike her, he was already a chuunin. He had been promoted when he was eleven years old after only one year of active service. Yugito, meanwhile, had been a genin since she was eight. She had never even been given the chance to participate in the chuunin exams.

Thinking about the situation only served to make her resent the Raikage. She enjoyed her work, but she hated the total control A had over her life. Part of her wanted to scream in his face that he couldn't control her anymore.

Inside the Raikage's office, however, she forced herself to keep a passive face. He was her leader and she owed her allegiance to him, no matter what.

Yugito looked at the two other kunoichi that surrounded her.

Samui and Mabui sympathized with the burden that came with being the vessel to a bijuu. However, they had their own lives and reputations to improve as well. She knew they resented her for their lack of advancement. Despite their many completed missions, there had been no promotions or chuunin exams.

Yugito understood A's fears. If she were to participate in exams held in Kumo, clients would petition her for dangerous missions. Meanwhile, if she were to take the exam elsewhere, her safety would be compromised and there would be a risk of desertion. No matter what, her value as a vessel was more important than her value as a shinobi. It was clear that he didn't want to advance her because of her status as jinchuuriki.

B was the only one that truly understood her frustration. B hadn't been allowed to leave the village since the Third Shinobi War had ended. Like Yugito, he was locked up in the relative safety of the Land of Lighting.

She knew that her skills were those of a chuunin, if not a jounin. All she wanted was the recognition through a professional title. That Utakata already had that promotion only managed to get under her skin. Besides, B had promised to tell her how to tame her bijuu only if she became a chuunin.

A was passive as he listened to Tsuyoi-sensei's report. Her teacher finished speaking and A gave them all a sharp nod. Yugito could tell that they were dismissed. Next to her, Samui and Mabui turned around to leave the office. However, they stopped when they heard Yugito clear her throat.

"Permission to speak, Raikage-sama?" she asked.

"Permission granted. What do you want, Yugito?" A said as he glared from behind his desk. Samui and Mabui turned back to stand at her sides, a team united. They looked at her in confusion but turned their eyes back on A, waiting to see what Yugito would say.

"Raikage-sama," Yugito began. "I would like to formally ask for permission to take the chuunin exams with my genin team later in the year. I heard rumors that Iwagakure is holding the next series of exams in February."

"I don't know where you get your information from, Yugito," A complained.

A little monkey told me. He's wonderfully chatty.

A's glare hardened when he looked at her, contemplative and furious. A lesser ninja would have frozen under his fierce glare, but Yugito had confronted a creature made out of pure chakra in her mind. Even the Raikage paled in comparison to the Two-Tails. Her teammates remained calm and collected next to her, although Tsuyoi-sensei tensed. Yugito stared back impassively, refusing to be intimidated.

A gave her a final look and sighed, leaning back in his chair. Some of the tension left the room as the Raikage stretched his arms over his head.

"I guess it's about time for you brats to be promoted," he grunted. He gave her one final contemplative look.

"Fine, I give you permission to take your genin team to Iwagakure," he said as he opened a drawer in his desk to take out some paperwork. "You will all need to sign and submit these documents before January 31. Iwagakure is a nominal ally. Nevertheless, I don't need to tell you that any information about your bijuu needs to be kept under wraps."

"Of course, Raikage-sama," Yugito kept her voice mild, but inside she was singing and dancing with joy. From the aura emanating from her teammates, she knew that they felt the same way.

"Thank you very much for the opportunity, Raikage-sama," her sensei said as he bowed down to A.

The Raikage nodded in acknowledgment. He handed each of them a document. She took the paper reverently in her hands.

Yugito looked down at the form and smiled. After she passed the chuunin exam, she would be at the same level as Utakata and B would take her to Genbu. If she gave a good enough showing, she might even be promoted directly to jounin. She would love to bypass the chuunin rank entirely.

The three genin bowed down to the Raikage before turning around to leave the office. The paper felt like hope inside Yugito's hands and she was sure Samui and Mabui felt the same way. She was excited to finally leave Kumogakure, too. If she was lucky, she might even see Roshi or Han in person.

One can only hope.

O-O-O-O-O

After what happened with Shukaku, Gaara's monitoring increased ten-fold. He couldn't close his eyes for more than five seconds before a masked ninja flickered next to him and shook him awake. They moved so quickly and appeared so suddenly that the sand fought back, perceiving a threat.

His mind was already exhausted enough as it was. The constant interruptions from his guards added to that. To make it even worse, he couldn' enjoy storytime the same way anymore.

Roshi was telling him, Naruto, and Fuu a story about how he had protected a beautiful princess from the monstrous Aburame clan using his lava release. According to Roshi, he had fought beetles that drank human blood with only his legs after his arms were broken. The story was immersive and Roshi was the perfect storyteller. Even Fuu was quiet, speaking out in surprise and wonder only at appropriate moments.

Gaara leaned back against his bedroom wall and closed his eyes. He wanted to imagine himself sitting next to Fuu and Naruto, listening to Roshi's story with them at their sides. Of course, as soon as he closed his eyes, his guard came and shook him violently.

The sand reacted instantaneously at the perceived threat. It threw the shinobi far away to the other side of his bedroom in the blink of an eye. The ANBU's scream sent Yashamaru running inside soon afterward.

"Gaara-sama! What happened?" he shouted. "Is everything okay?"

Yashamaru was greeted by the sight of Gaara, shivering and wide-eyed, leaning against the wall. An ANBU operative groaned on the floor, a small pool of blood underneath him. The sand was sprawled between them, inert and innocent. His uncle analyzed the situation, sighed, and ran to the ANBU's side.

"Yashamaru... I'm..." Gaara wanted to apologize but Yashamaru shook his head. Gaara never liked to hurt people but the sand always reacted too quickly for him to control.

Yashamaru hummed in concentration. He bent down to examine and treat the injured ANBU. He was talking calmly to the guard in a low voice.

Gaara couldn't watch. He ran out of his bedroom. No matter what happened, he kept hurting people. He hurt the villagers and because of him, his old ANBU guards and many of Sunagakure's villagers were dead.

Gaara ran into the bathroom. He felt nauseous and like he could throw up at any moment. He looked at himself in the mirror and saw eyes wide open in panic.

His head was pounding with the blood circulating through his body. His heart was thudding violently in his chest. When he looked down at his hands they were shaking. Vaguely, Gaara realized that he didn't remember the last time he took a breath.

He forced himself to take in air. When he exhaled, there were tears on his cheeks. Gaara collapsed next to the toilet onto the cold floor. His stomach felt like it was turning around over and over. A sob escaped his lips.

He heard a voice calling his name. It sounded like someone he should know, but he couldn't place it anymore. Who is calling me?

'Gaara! Gaara! You are having a panic attack. Please, count with me.' Gaara really felt like he should recognize the voice.

Count? He thought. The voice must have read his mind because it replied quickly.

'Yes, it will help you, I promise. Four and breathe in, four and breathe out, okay?'

Gaara didn't know anything anymore, but he felt like he could trust that voice for some reason. His breathing was shallow and he wasn't sure if he could get any air anymore.

'When I count to four, you inhale, then I'll count to four again and you exhale, all right?'

'All right.'

'One, two, three, four, breathe in.' Gaara forced his lungs to inhale.

'Good job. I'm proud of you. Now, one, two, three, four, breathe out.' Gaara exhaled shakily. He still didn't recognize who was talking to him, but at least now he knew that the voice was friendly.

'Great, one more time, one, two, three, four, breathe in.' That time, the inhale was easier.

'Wonderful, you're a very strong boy, Gaara, one, two, three, four, breathe out.' Gaara exhaled.

The voice made him count and breathe a few more times. By the fifth exhale, he realized that the ground was very cold. By the tenth, he realized that the mysterious voice was Roshi. By the fifteenth, his breathing was finally back under his control. However, tears were still falling down his face.

'You did it, Gaara. I'm proud of you.'

'Thank you,' Gaara answered. He was thankful. No one ever told him those kinds of words. Yashamaru was kind, but he was distant and didn't talk to Gaara that often.

Roshi hesitated before talking again. 'Do you want to talk about it, Gaara?'

'I wanna see you. I don't like it here. I hurt people a lot. The sand doesn't do what I want it to do.' Gaara didn't hesitate to answer. He wanted to see and touch everyone in the Room. They talked to him all the time but, in the real world, he was always alone.

'I know you can't join us by sleeping, Gaara,' Roshi said. His voice sounded sad. 'But you might be able to gain better control of your power and your bijuu by meditating.'

'Meditating? What's that?'

'It's a way of making yourself calmer and training your mind. You focus and think. If your mind is strong, you might be able to gain better control over your power.'

'Really? It's possible?'

'Possible, but I can't guarantee anything, Gaara.'

'Okay, Mama, how do I do it?' Gaara thought it sounded too good to be true. How could thinking more make his control better? However, Gaara was ready to try anything. He was tired of hurting other people.

'First, find a comfortable place to sit or lie down. I don't know about you, but lying down next to the toilet is not my first choice.' Some of Roshi's humor was present in his voice and Gaara realized he was still on the floor next to the toilet.

He stood up and moved to the living room instead. Yashamaru was not there. Gaara guessed that he was still with the ANBU guard. He climbed onto the sofa and sat cross-legged on top of the cushions.

'Now what?' Gaara asked.

'Make sure to breathe normally. Focus on your breath as it goes in and out of your body. Don't think about anything else but your breath.'

Obediently, Gaara followed his instructions. There was only one problem now. As midnight drew nearer, Shukaku's whispers were becoming more insistent.

'I hear Shukaku,' he complained to Roshi.

'That happens,' Roshi replied. 'But there will always be something that can distract you. Noises from outside, the blowing of the wind, dogs barking... Think only about your breathing when you start getting distracted.'

Dutifully, Gaara thought about his breathing. He could feel his lungs expanding and his body breathing in and out. He forced himself to ignore Shukaku for the moment.

After a few minutes of breathing, Gaara felt a pull from somewhere inside his stomach. He blinked and when he opened his eyes, Gaara appeared inside the Room in front of three pairs of surprised eyes.

Gaara blinked again. He hadn't expected to be able to join the Room again. Fuu and Naruto looked a little older than he remembered them. The short red-headed man must have been Roshi because he was touching a Door that could only be Gaara's.

Gaara didn't get a chance to look, however, before green and blond hair blocked his vision.

Without hesitation, Fuu and Naruto ran toward him and gave him a huge hug. They were holding him. Even Yashamaru refused to touch him because of the sand. In the Room, however, there was only Gaara and the sand was in another world.

"Gaara-chan! You're here! I can't believe it. I'm so happy," Fuu whispered in his ear. Naruto's cheek was touching Gaara's and at Fuu's words, he nodded in agreement.

Gaara returned their hugs tentatively at first, afraid that they would disappear at his touch. However, when he felt a tear fall down from Fuu's face onto his own, he returned her hug desperately. Naruto also clung more tightly. His tears blended with Gaara's own. Gaara never thought that he would ever see them again

Roshi walked closer and put one hand on his shoulder and another on his head. "I'm very happy that you were able to meditate correctly, Gaara-chan. I suspected you might be able to join us through meditation but I didn't want to get your hopes up," he said.

Gaara struggled to move his head from the tight hold to look up at Roshi's face. The man was smiling down at him and combing through his hair. Gaara smiled back. For once, he felt wanted.

But now that he was in the Room, he worried. Last time, Shukaku had gotten loose. Will it be the same this time?

With reluctance, Gaara stepped back from their arms. As much as he wanted to stay with them forever, he didn't want to release his bijuu again.

"Can Shukaku get out when I'm meditating, Mama?" Gaara asked.

"Usually not because your mind and body are awake." Roshi pulled on his beard while thinking. "However, whenever you meditate, there is always a risk of falling asleep. I would not stay here for long. You will gain better control over your mind and body as you grow up. For now, I would not recommend trying to stay here for more than ten minutes without checking back on your body."

Gaara nodded and looked at the other two children.

"Wanna play?" he asked them and extended his hand. Fuu and Naruto smiled and took it. They nodded as they squeezed his hand.

"What do you think of playing tag?" Fuu asked. Gaara nodded in agreement. He didn't know what the game was, but he was ready to try anything.

If he only got ten minutes in the Room, he wasn't going to waste it.

O-O-O-O-O

For the past few weeks, Utakata's words had been bouncing around Yagura's head.

You're supposed to protect the village. If you can't do that, get someone who can!

For a long time, he had been thinking about how he could improve the situation as the Mizukage. However, he was no longer the best person to take charge. He needed to find someone to take his place.

Yagura thought about the qualities that made a good Mizukage. That person would need to be the strongest ninja in the village. They also needed to have the heart and compassion necessary to protect everyone. The new Mizukage would also need to have an ideology opposite from his if he wanted things to get better.

There were many people that embodied those precious traits in one way or another. Ao the Byakugan Killer was strong but inflexible and traditional to a fault. The members of the seven swordsmen were among the strongest shinobi in the world. However, all of them cared more about titles than people.

Mei Terumi was the only one who met all his criteria. She was still very young, but she had complete control over two kekkei genkai. She was kind to others and had a strong mind and heart.

However, Yagura couldn't abdicate and put her in place. If he did, Mei would be torn down by his supporters. Her own supporters would abandon her if he was the one that gave her the position. There was only one solution. If he wanted the village to accept her, the Fourth Mizukage needed to die.

Yagura had come to terms with death many times before, of course. It was an occupational hazard. During the graduation exams, he had almost been speared through the stomach. He had been saved only with the help of Isobu. On a mission as a chuunin, a Kumo ninja had thrown a kunai through his face. It had torn out his left eye and created the large scar that ran down his cheek. Once, he had forgotten his wife's birthday.

Yagura was more than ready to die at Mei's hands. But he knew Mei. Her heart was still too soft. She had Ao the Byakugan killer on her side and the loyalty of two of the swordsmen. She knew his techniques almost as well as Anzu did. She could have tried to depose him at any time using all her resources but she hadn't.

She wouldn't try to kill him, not until it was too late and Kirigakure had fallen even deeper into ruin. If he wanted to improve the village, however, he had to harden her heart and make sure that her attack was genuine. But to do that, he needed to talk to her first.

Creating a water clone was easy and any Kiri genin could make one before graduation. Creating a clone with enough conscience to act independently was much more difficult. It required a huge amount of chakra to impose his will on another entity. Thankfully, Yagura had chakra to spare.

He formed a Tiger hand seal. His copy stared back at him, face impassive.

'Are you sure about this, Karatachi?' Isobu asked.

'As sure as I've ever been. There's not much I can do anymore. Mei is strong. She will be an amazing Mizukage.'

Yagura's clone made his own hand seals and transformed into mist.

He allowed the clone to escape using a small gap in the window of his bedroom. The cloud of mist departed to find Mei. Yagura had intel on her rumored location and the clone knew the place.

Yagura lied down on his bed. He wouldn't know if his mission succeeded until the clone dispersed. For the moment, all he could do was wait.

O-O-O-O-O

Mei Terumi had always been a night owl. She had always preferred the quiet and calm that night brought. She especially liked to use the nighttime for training.

Ao had forbidden her from training alone, but she had never liked listening to him either. If she became Mizukage, he would have to obey whatever she said. The thought of stoic Ao forced to obey her every whim brought a smile to her face.

She stood on the ice that covered the lake and moved to her next kata. As fast as she could, she made the necessary seals for her Lava Monster Jutsu.

As soon as she finished with the bird hand seal, she spat out a wave of lava that melted through the frozen lake. She smiled victoriously.

I'm getting faster but I still need to keep shaving off seconds from my time.

Mei prepared to try her technique again. She would only become the Mizukage when she was the strongest in Kirigakure. To her dismay, Yagura was still much more experienced and had better reaction times.

She felt a familiar pain in her chest when she thought of her old teacher.

Yagura had been such a good teacher. He was hot-headed and a little impatient, but he had always taken care of her. He had taught her almost everything about being a ninja and he had mentored her when few others would have. He was the first shinobi to ever praise her for her kekkei genkai.

Which was why, when she heard the news that the Mizukage had declared genocide on holders of bloodline techniques, she couldn't believe it. Where had her sensei gone? Who had taken his place?

She had been sure that an impostor had taken Yagura's position. She had snuck into the Mizukage's office one night, intending to assassinate the person impersonating her teacher.

However, instead of a fake, she had sensed the unmistakable chakra signature of Yagura Karatachi. Not only of her sensei, but of his bijuu. Confronted with the truth, she had run away with Zabuza Momochi and Ao the Byakugan Killer a few hours later.

Her supporters and fellow rebels came later. Soon enough, the Land of Water was divided in two by yet another civil war. On one side were the supporters of the kekkei genkai genocide while on the other stood Mei and her allies. The war had continued for over three years. In those three years, hundreds if not thousands had died, most of them civilians.

Thinking about Yagura brought an old and familiar ache to her heart. She tried to ignore that feeling, but it was impossible. Yagura was and would always be a precious person in her eyes, no matter what he did as Mizukage.

Under her feet, the ice had melted completely and she used chakra to stand on the water. She stared down at her reflection on the lake, illuminated by the full moon. Thinking about Yagura brought his face to mind. She could almost imagine him standing next to her.

She stared at her reflection some more and frowned. Her mind must have been more tired than normal because the face of Yagura turned to stare at her. That's unusual.

She squinted at the reflection some more. The Yagura in the reflection raised his eyebrows and stared back. She sighed. It was time to finish training before she started to hallucinate more.

"Have your abilities gotten so weak you can't even sense me anymore?" a familiar voice asked.

Mei immediately flinched and leaped away from that voice. Once in a defensive position, she turned back to stare at the one who spoke.

"Yagura-sensei! What are you doing here?" She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood but the person standing in front of her didn't disappear. She pulsed her chakra, but the other person didn't disappear either. It's not a genjutsu then.

"Nothing, nothing," Yagura said while ignoring her panic. "I just wanted to talk to my favorite student. You're leading a rebel group to depose me from power. I think a discussion is more than warranted."

"How do I know you're really Yagura-sensei?" Mei narrowed her eyes and glared at the man who simply couldn't be the real Yagura.

The man... no, the impostor, sighed and gave her a tired glare. He let his body fall on the water and he used chakra to lounge back lazily on the surface of the lake.

"Really? Are we doing this now?" The fake rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands and stared at her. Mei nodded. The impostor sighed again.

"Fine, I'll tell you things only the real Yagura would know." At this, he sat up to look at her in the eyes. "When you were in the Academy, you were the one who put thumbtacks on Kaito-sensei's chair. You were never found out. You can't eat sashimi anymore because the last time you did, you got food poisoning and you couldn't leave the toilet for three days. When you were fourteen, you picked a bouquet of flowers for a boy you liked and gave them to him. However, you didn't know he was allergic to the pollen and he almost died. Once, on a mission as a genin, you-"

"Okay, okay! I believe you! Just stop!" Mei yelled angrily at the man, her face burning. She only knew one person that knew all those stories but her mind still refused to accept the truth.

She flared her chakra and concentrated as she tried to get a sense for the man. She startled in surprise. Sure enough, the signature could only belong to Yagura Karatachi. The chakra quantity was lower, however, telling her that the person standing in front of her was only a clone.

"So you sent a clone to find me, huh?" she asked with an angry smile as she readied her body for a fight. "That's very smart of you sensei. But if you hoped to get rid of me, a clone is not nearly enough."

Instead of being intimidated, the clone of her teacher yawned in apparent boredom.

"I didn't come here to fight," he said. "Just to talk."

"What is there to talk about?" she yelled. "We could have talked three years ago, but you made an execution order for anyone with a kekkei genkai. The time for discussion has passed!"

"See, Mei-chan, that's the thing." Mei tensed at the use of her old nickname. "That execution order... was not mine."

Yagura looked at her with a sad look in his eyes and began to explain. "You see... three years ago I went to meet with a potential informant from another nation. I met a masked man. I don't remember what happened after that. He, or someone working for him, put my mind under a genjutsu. I only woke up three months ago and have been trying to stop his plans ever since."

"What? How is that possible?! You're the strongest shinobi in the Land of Water! How could you have been brainwashed so easily?" she yelled at her old teacher.

Mei was furious and she wasn't sure at whom. At herself for thinking her sensei could have truly made a declaration of genocide? At Yagura for falling to the genjutsu so easily and for so long? At his advisors for not noticing and only enabling him? At the villagers for going along with the plans and gleefully executing anyone with a kekkei genkai?

At her outburst, the clone stood up on the water and walked to stand in front of her. He looked up at her and Mei was reminded of when she was only a child and she had been the one to look up to him. He looked sad and contemplative. He placed a hand on her wrist, making her flinch at the touch.

"In this civil war," he said while he looked into her eyes. "You could have killed me at any time you wanted. I know you could have, even if it would have been a long and difficult fight. You have most of the swordsmen with you and the legendary Ao."

Mei nodded. She had tried to harden her heart and attack Yagura in a direct fight. Zabuza and Ao had urged her to take action. The swordsman, in particular, was only a few months away from trying to assassinate Yagura himself. She was the only one that has even a small chance of defeating him in a one on one fight. But she couldn't. Not Yagura.

"I couldn't attack you, sensei," she admitted as she relaxed from her fighting position. "No matter what Ao and Zabuza told me, I just couldn't do it."

Yagura looked at her in understanding and his eyes softened. He smiled gently. With a pang in her chest, she remembered the first time she learned how to use the Water Bullet Jutsu.

Wow, Mei-chan. That's impressive. And only five days? If you keep at it, you might even make Mizukage one day.

She had smiled in happiness at his compliment and puffed up her chest. So many years had passed since then but she still remembered his praise at her newest jutsu. Remembering brought tears to her eyes but she forced herself to keep them in.

"What do you want me to do, sensei?" she asked as she bit her lip.

At her question, the clone mulled over how to respond. She clenched her fists.

"You have to kill me, Mei-chan," Yagura said nonchalantly. "And declare yourself the Fifth Mizukage of Kirigakure. Only you can do it."

Mei flinched. She studied her older teacher, sure that she had misheard, but Yagura's face only looked at her seriously.

"The Fourth Mizukage can't live when you reign. When the time comes, you are the only one I trust to make a difficult decision," Yagura said.

"No! Sensei! You can't! Please, don't make me!" Mei was not sure if she wanted to cry or beg. Possibly both. "If I haven't been able to even fight you for the past three years, what makes you think that I will be able to deal a killing blow?"

"I know it's hard for you, Mei," he said, "but that's the only way that everyone in the village will trust in your power. If I live, your office won't be secure. You know this. The Land of Water is suffering. You are the only one I trust to make it better. You have the kekkei genkai and the power to end the civil wars. And Ao can watch and make sure you don't come under the effect of a genjutsu like I did."

"I can't, Yagura-sensei, please, don't ask me to do something impossible." She didn't try to fight the tears anymore. In the back of her mind, she realized that her cheeks were wet.

"You will be forced to do this sooner or later, Mei," Yagura replied. "Do it now and fewer people will have to suffer. You have the power and ability to make the Land of Water great in a way that it never has before. I beg of you, this is a plea from a friend."

At his words, Mei bit the inside of her cheek so hard that she tasted blood again. She hated how much sense Yagura's plan made. Reluctantly, she nodded her head in agreement.

At her nod, Yagura smiled sadly and let go of her wrist.

"Thank you, Mei," he said, "for making this difficult decision."

Before she could think about it, Mei bent down and hugged Yagura tightly.

"I'm sorry, sensei," she murmured.

Under her, the clone tensed at the sudden contact before relaxing and returning her hug.

"Once you become the Mizukage, I have one favor to ask of you," he whispered in her ear.

"Anything for you, sensei," she whispered back.

"Take care of Anzu and my kids. Keep them safe once they return to Kirigakure. They are the only family I have left."

Mei smiled for the first time since she saw Yagura. She remembered Anzu. She had been the only shinobi to go toe to toe with Yagura. No wonder he fell in love with her.

"Of course, Yagura-sensei," she said. On her shoulder, she felt Yagura smile.

"Thank you, Mei. Please, when the time comes, make it quick. I don't want to spend hours bleeding out. See you soon, Mei-chan."

"See you soon, sensei," she whispered in his ear.

At her words, the clone dispersed and she was thrown off balance as the water faded into the lake. She looked at her reflection again, hoping for one more glimpse of Yagura. She only saw herself, eyes wide and afraid.

She stared at her reflection some more. When the face of her sensei refused to appear, she gritted her teeth and forced herself to look away.

If she wanted to make the fight look real and fulfill her sensei's last wish, she needed to train more.

She took in the view of the lake and moved her hands into a bird hand sign. If she wanted to defeat Yagura, she needed to be stronger. She ignored the tears on her face as she forced the lava to form.

O-O-O-O-O

She was crying for me.

As Yagura rested in bed, he received all of the knowledge and memories from his dispersed clone at once. Everything was going according to plan but he still frowned.

Mei had always been too kind for her own good but that was also the reason why she would make a great replacement for him. She had to do what was necessary for the good of the village.

Yagura sighed before sitting up to stare at the wall. He knew what he had to do. Dying was not going to be fun. He had asked for a fast death but nothing was ever guaranteed in war. He just needed enough time to prepare.

Yagura moved toward the small desk in his bedroom. Most of his work was done in the office, but he often had to send or read letters from the confines of his quarters, too.

Carefully, he took out two scrolls, an ink well, and a brush. He began to compose his letters. When he finished, he scrawled a bloodline seal on the outside of the scroll. No one without the appropriate chakra signature would be able to open them.

On the outside, he wrote "Kasumi" and "Asahi." If Mei kept her promise, one day his children would know his last words. He stared at the scrolls in his hands before placing them inside the top drawer of his desk.

He took a new scroll and wrote a message for Mei. That time, he didn't bother with a bloodline seal. She would read it when she started living in the Mizukage's quarters.

Imagining her reaction when she got around to reading his final letter made him chuckle. She'll be furious once she reads what I wrote.

From his seat at the desk, he looked out towards Kirigakure. The sun was already beginning to rise. With a sigh, he made it back to bed. He might be able to get an hour or two of sleep before he was forced back into the mockery that was his life.

He closed his eyes. When he opened them, he was alone inside the Room. All the other jinchuuriki were asleep. He walked towards Utakata's Door and placed his hand on it.

'Utakata-kun?' The boy didn't reply. He was most likely asleep or possibly ignoring him. In any case, Utakata was unlikely to listen anyway. However, Yagura felt like he should thank him before Mei became the Fifth Mizukage.

'Thank you for the inspiration,' he said. 'Kirigakure will be a great village soon.'

Yagura forced his mind to leave the Room and enter deep sleep. He would need as much rest as he could get to make sure everything went according to plan.

O-O-O-O-O

A/N: We don't know that much about Kirigakure until we get to Shippuden. Even then, there is a lot of unknown and contradictory information. I tried not to break away from canon, but almost everything about Kiri comes from my imagination. Though this is an AU fic, so does it really matter that much?

If you want to talk to me, I'm active on Tumblr. My username is waffledogwrites.

Next chapter: Yugito goes to Iwagakure and Fuu talks to the village head.