A/N: So, here we are, second chapter. Enjoy
Shizune prepared for the mission time and time again. She packed and unpacked, folded and unfolded, and examined each weapon at least twice. She was armed to the teeth as inconspicuously as she could be with a pack of shuriken strapped to each thigh, two kunai on each ankle, her needles strapped securely to her forearm… with a sigh Shizune disarmed and packed the weapons away. She left her apartment to take a walk.
Her apartment was a stone's throw away from the hospital, so she walked in the other direction. Not many people were out at this hour, let alone in this time of war. The park was quiet and empty, so Shizune sat down on a stone bench and buried her head in her hands.
"What's going on here? Who's the patient? Stop gawking!" Shizune pushed her way through the crowd of nurses. All she knew was that one of the Rookie Nine was injured.
"Stay away…" a broken, soft voice. Shizune finally shoved a genin out of her way and stumbled upon the stretched holding Yamanaka Ino. There was blood on the stretcher, not a fatal amount, but blood still. The girl's purple clothing was ripped and torn, her long blonde hair hung in greasy lanks in front of her battered face. Shizune had watched Tsunade send the girl on a scouting mission one week prior.
"Ino… can you hear me?" Shizune tried to place a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"Get away from me! Don't- Don't-" the kunoichi tried to whirl about like a wild animal, her eyes wide and vacant. Tears led dirty tracks down her bruised, pretty face and her mouth hung open in a silent scream. Shizune withdrew her hand and had to turn away.
"Sedate her."
"We have Sasuke." Shizune had blinked and hurried downstairs to the high security treatment room. They had been trying to capture that boy. If only to prevent Orochimaru from gaining the Uchiha clan kekkei genkai. Tsunade had already tended to Sasuke, his only wounds being a scratch on his cheek and an injection wound from Sakura's paralyzing agent. Sakura herself sported a badly broken arm, Naruto a sword stab through the left hip, already healing. Sasuke was staring straight ahead, limp. But Shizune though she saw him smile.
Two months later word reached Konoha that Orochimaru had been forced to switch bodies once again. Thirty Konoha nin died defending Konoha those two months. Shiranui Genma, Akimichi Chouza, Inuzuka Tsume, and so many others. Orochimaru, it seemed, had been forced to take the body of Naritani Arashi, the niece of the Rokudaime Raikage, and bearer of a kekkei genkai of unknown properties.
The next day, Sasuke escaped.
Shizune was the first to get to the secure room after the explosion. The first two bodies she found were Black Ops members, killed instantly by shrapnel. Morino Ibiki lay just inside the door, his chest torn open by a chidori. A chuunin named Moegi lay prone by the cot, three kunai lodged into her left breast. She looked up at Shizune with dulled shock on her face.
"He had me bring him a… a…" blood poured form her mouth, "a… a blanket…" Shizune could still feel the aftereffects of a strong genjutsu in the room as she poured chakra into the girl's wounds.
"I… I don't want to die…" Moegi sobbed, choking on blood and bile. Shizune took her eyes off the wound to reassure her, but stopped her healing when she saw death take her.
The scenes from the war, and the sorrow that accompanied them, flashed through her mind's eye in a rapid blur. So many people, people she had known from childhood, people she had come to know… dead. So many injured. Hyuuga Hiashi would never walk again. TenTen had lost her right eye to a fire jutsu. Aoba had lost his left arm. If she could do something, do anything, to stop all that she would. Even if she had to die, she needed to do something.
Restless, Shizune was drawn back to the hospital. She walked past the night detail with a casual wave, picking up her access keys from her desk and climbing a few flights to the psych ward. She cleared herself and made her way over to the medic on duty.
"How is she?" The medic gave a wane smile.
"Slightly lucid. She asked me about my children when I administered her medication." Shizune nodded and knocked on the door marked 'Yamanaka Ino'.
"Ino? I'm coming in." Shizune unlocked the door, Ino was able to lock it from the inside, and stepped in.
"Shizune…" the girl's eyes were just as blank as the day she had come in, but she had periods where she was coherent. You could usually tell these days because Ino would dress in her ninja clothing as if she was about to go out on a mission.
"Moegi came to visit me. Such a bright girl." Shizune sat, her spirits dampening. "Ibiki escorted her. What a gentleman."
"Ino… I came to talk to you because I'm going somewhere tomorrow." The young woman smiled.
"I know. You're going to have a lovely time dancing." Shizune nodded. Ino would say things, random things, since the jutsu had claimed her sanity. It would be cruel to contradict her.
"I'm going on a mission."
"Remember to try the tango. He'll like that one."
"I'm not sure I can do this."
"If you can hold your drink I'm sure you can."
"I'm nervous."
"Just don't talk to the blue man."
"I want this war to end."
"Listen to Cards and maybe it can."
Shizune sighed and closed her eyes. This wasn't getting anywhere. She should never have expected it to.
"Shizune…" Ino was smiling, but she had begun to tremble slightly, one warning sign that she was going into a mild seizure. "… You'd make a great mother, you know…"
Shizune called the night nurse, who hurried in with the sedative. Ino's face was beginning to contort, spasms running through her body.
"Tell them I don't want to play, Shizune… Tell them to stop coming here…" Ino moaned as the nurse injected her. "Chouji will protect me… I want Chouji…"
As Ino drifted into a sedated state, Shizune stood and left the hospital. On her way out she was almost bowled over by Akimichi Chouji.
"Is Ino alright?" The young man shuffled awkwardly. "I wanted to come and visit."
"She's sedated…" Chouji nodded.
"I just wanted to go hold her hand for a little while, you know…" Shizune watched as Chouji hurried up the stairs. With one last look around Konoha, she slowly made her way back to her apartment.
She was surprised to find Tsunade waiting outside her door, a bottle of sake and a package in her hands. It was almost strange to see her looking middle aged after getting used to her twenty something appearance. But… it suited her.
"Tsunade-sama…" Shizune spoke at the same time as Tsunade uttered her name in greeting. They both paused before Shizune motioned at the older woman to speak.
"I came to see if you needed any help packing." It was unusual to see Tsunade awkward in any way. She had already finished packing.
"Sure… I could use some help."
After they had finished packing for a second time, Tsunade was, thankfully, only slightly drunk. She was lounging against Shizune's sofa, idly sipping and playing with the strings on the package. Not much had been said, but it was a comfortable silence. Shizune took a few drinks of tea, (she never touched alcohol), and waited for Tsunade to get to her reason for coming. In all the time she had known Tsunade she had never been able to be perfectly frank with people she knew well. The more she cared the harder it became for her to express her true feelings. Shizune had to be patient. She was good at that.
"I brought you some things I thought you might need." Tsunade finally spoke, handing over the package. Shizune accepted it, placing it in her lap and silently unwrapping it.
"What… is it?" Shizune drew folds of fabric from the colored paper, holding them up in front of her.
"It's a dress." Tsunade snorted in a rather un-lady-like manner, taking another drink. "I bought it because I knew you wouldn't pack one."
"And how did you know that?" Shizune marveled at the feel of the fabric, which seemed to her to be silk. It was a deep blue, fashioned after a kimono, only it was more… sensual. The fabric dipped down only to slightly below the knee, and it was sleeveless, but for a decorative mesh under-shirt. It was completed by a colorful green sash about the middle that matched with the trim on the bottom and neckline.
"Because for one, I know you hate shopping for clothes. And two, I know you hate fancy clothes." Tsunade smirked, swirling her sake about in her cup. "Plus, I can't have my emissary to Ame no Kuni be at a gala in her yukata or her flak jacket. Reflects badly on Konoha, you understand."
Shizune smiled softly, smoothing the fabric across her knee. She struggled for a few moments for words.
"… Thank you, Tsunade-sama…" The Hokage ducked her head for a moment, nodding. "I wish I could do something for you in return."
Tsunade looked up, an uncharacteristic expression on her face. Shizune had seen it most recently when Tsunade had looked upon the unconscious body of Uzumaki Naruto when she slipped her necklace around his neck.
"Shizune… you know… you're probably the closest person I've known since… since Dan and Nawaki." Tsunade averted her eyes, staring intently into her cup. "Ever since I saw you, I recognized your uncle in you. That's why I originally took you as my apprentice." Shizune listened silently. "So that… a part of him could always be with me… but… you're like… a daughter to me. You're not just my apprentice, my assistant, or…" Tsunade paused, looking for words. The Hokage paused awkwardly before abruptly crushing Shizune into an embrace.
"Just… come back safely, alright…?" Shizune was lost for words. She had never heard anything like that come from Tsunade's mouth. And she had certainly never seen her in such physical contact before. She slowly relaxed, feeling comforted in the strength and warmth. Tsunade was her role model, her teacher, her… practically her mother. She'd been following Tsunade since she was twelve. She was the only older woman she had to look up to.
Shizune felt a bit of wetness in her eyes as she nodded.
"Ah… I'll be fine…"