"Thank you all for coming to this meeting," Tsunade began in a serious voice as she sat down at the head of the table. "Before we begin, has everyone been accounted for?"

"Yes." Shizune nodded firmly. "All one-hundred-and-thirty-five persons from the mission have returned safely."

"Excellent." She sat back on her haunches, looking over at the brunette at Sumire's right. "Hinoki, status report, if you will."

"Right." The woman cleared her throat. "The mission was an overwhelming success. We went into Konohagakure with approximately one-hundred-twenty and came out of it with all fifteen recruits. In that number is included Temari, princess of Suna, and Hinata, ex-fiancee to the crown prince. Unfortunately, however, Lady Hinata took a dose that was unexpectedly a bit too large for her overall body type, so she won't wake up on time. Rather, we'll have to monitor her throughout the night to make sure she wakes up with no concerning side-effects before morning."

"And Karin?" Sumire asked.

"Karin has sustained nasty third-degree burns all down her back, but thanks to some preliminary treatments and salves, the burns have begun to heal. She may not need skin grafts, thankfully, but she will need some time to recover. The burns weren't as deep as we initially thought they would be, but you will have to supervise her treatment, Sumire, and of course, Ayame-sama will be leading you."

Sumire nodded at that, satisfied.

"Many thanks to the ex-soldier from the palace, who was the one to disguise a number of us as royal soldiers to get in and out unimpeded. Only injuries seem to be reported among the royal guard, and neither the prince, Naruto, nor the king and queen were harmed in any way, or so my contacts have reported." The faction leader announced, sending Sumire a glance.

She frowned at him. "What?"

He shook his head in reply. "We'll need to wait to act until we hear back from Troop Nine. Currently, they're stationed near Akatsuki on the outskirts of Hokukawa for recon."

"Indeed, it's too dangerous for us to act now. News from Konoha has come back that the royal family has decided to implement a month of mourning for Hinata. What they'll do next isn't clear. We'll need to lay low for a while until they do act."

A murmur of agreement spread around the table.

Temari slowly raised her hand, a contemplative expression on her face.

Tsunade noticed and nodded her way. "Yes, Temari?"

"Would it be possible for me to hop the border and go home any time soon?" She asked.

Tsunade's face scrunched up into a puzzled frown. "That's… a tough question to answer. Faction leader Hayato?"

"At this point, it would be too dangerous to attempt bringing you home," Hayato replied with a shake of his head. "Not without a professional escort, of course. Even then, you aren't guaranteed to make it back to Suna. For now, you'll have to wait. I'm sorry."

"No, no, it's fine, I was just wondering…" she consoled, raising her hands in surrender. "My brothers must be growing worried, and I don't want them to assume the worst of me."

Hayato paused for a second, and then gave her a grave look. "I would not put it past the royal family to report your death to your brothers, blaming it on us."

"For now, you'll have to be our trump card," Tsunade added with a firm nod. "We'll definitely have to work on getting an escort for you - hell, would Akatsuki be up for it?"

"Last I checked, Sasori wasn't exactly too keen on going back anytime soon." Shizune piped up. "If he won't do it, I don't believe any others will try to. He knows the land of Wind the best; even if we could snag Deidara to have him fly you there, you would risk being shot down anyway. There are no good options."

"Dammit." Tsunade sighed, massaging her forehead. "Next order of business: supplies. Sumire noted earlier that we're getting low on food and medical supplies. We'll have to do a run into town soon, before they put in stricter travel regulations for outsiders."

"If you are going, I volunteer," Sumire rose her hand. She blatantly ignored the light chuckling going on around the table.

Temari glanced around, confused, but Hayato shook his head with a smile.

"Well, all of us need someone to go back to," Tsunade teased, nudging her in the side.

"As you said before," Sumire began flatly, brushing off the comment, "The king will likely implement strict travel regulations for outsiders, considering that Lady Hinata was a very important person. We'll have to go quickly, lest we get caught."

A murmur of agreement rose up again.

"I vote we go to Morino," Hinoki chimed in. "It isn't far from here, probably only a day's travel for a small group. We'll have to make the trip in a week to make sure everyone is getting settled in as well as to heal the worst of Karin's wounds."

From the back, Itachi spoke up, his deep voice commanding attention. "We're still waiting for a report from Akatsuki. Currently, the order is to be ready to pack and leave at any time."

Nodding heads and hums of approval rose from the table.

"It's settled, then," Tsunade spoke again. "Once we get the report from Pain, we'll reconvene for another meeting. In the meantime, for the fifteen new recruits, make sure they know that they have two weeks of probation before they can integrate into their respective areas and help them get comfortable."

She smacked the table, and one by one the people seated began to get up.

"Dinner should be ready, so eat your fill and get ready for bed," Tsunade called above the clamor that increased in volume as people filed out. "We have a big day tomorrow!"


Meanwhile, in the darkening grove, a squad of Konoha nin were closing in on their target.

One of them, a senior officer by the name of Kakashi Hatake, peered intently into the small camp, his headband up to reveal his scarred left Sharingan eye. He made a gesture with his hand and one of the shinobi reared their hand back.

A kunai whistled through the air almost silently until it hit its mark, stabbing one of the enemy nin in the back of the neck. The shinobi let out a choked cry as the blade pierced through his throat.

Before the camp could realize what was happening, the Konoha shinobi pounced. Kakashi created a wall of water around the camp so that no one could escape before grabbing the nin by the neck and ripping out the knife, using it to slit the man's throat. As the man fell to the ground, writhing in pain, Kakashi gazed down at him coldly.

"You're lucky I'm showing you mercy by killing you," he intoned as he kicked the man in the chest, making him gasp for air. "Actually, you should be lucky you're getting mercy at all for what you've done."

"Oi, they're a part of that rebel group!" Someone shouted, and Kakashi's head snapped up, alert. "They're a part of Mimei!"

He raced to join the rest of his comrades near the burning tents, watching as they found a familiar flag. His gut wrenched in nausea as he recognized the insignia on the cloth: an omega with a red dot inside. The symbol of the group that had sworn war on Konoha, the group that killed them in cold blood. He knew he was a hypocrite for snuffing out the lives of the rebels he came across, but at the end of the day, the shinobi world wasn't a fair one. A life for a life, no matter whose it was.

He watched as they began to burn it where it stood, a grim warning for anyone who dared oppose them. They'd already slaughtered most of the troop, taking a select group for interrogation.

The faces of his friends flashed through his mind and his gut twisted again, this time in grief.

"Rin… Obito…" he clenched his eyes shut and shifted his hitai-ate so that it covered Obito's eye again, "I swear that I'll avenge you. I'll do whatever it takes to avenge your deaths, even if it means eradicating Mimei once and for all."

Turning away from the burning flag, he decided to get out some nervous energy by training. It would be a while before their group headed back to Konoha, and he wanted to make sure he worked most of the frustration out so that he could better focus.


The door slammed shut behind him, and at the noise, a young woman with long brown hair whirled around, matching brown eyes wide with worry.

"You're back!" She exclaimed, rushing to his side. "Is he…?"

Pain blossomed in his chest, and he gave her a sad stare with his good eye, slowly shaking his head. "I'm… I'm so sorry, but… he didn't make it."

She froze in her spot, her wide eyes searching his. It took a few seconds of silence for the news to sink in, and when it did, she took a shaky step back, shaking her head. "No. No, you're- you're lying, he's-"

"I'm so sorry," he repeated, his eyes filling with tears. He hung his head in shame, turning away from her to conceal his emotions. "He died in the rubble… there was nothing we could have done."

"No!" Her broken wail made his heart break, and he clenched his fists to keep in his own sobs. "No, I- I could've done something! I could've saved him, I'm a medic-nin! I…" Her voice trailed off into a sob as she fell to her knees, covering her face with her hands. "He can't be gone… he just can't…"

He could say nothing, only gather her into his arms so that she could weep into his chest. His best friend's last words rang in his mind, and he closed his eyes tightly. "Protect her, please… make sure she's alright."

"I'm so sorry, old friend…" he thought to himself, his own tears dribbling down his face at the sound of the woman's broken wails. "I swear to you, I'll protect her with my life."


A/N: Please tell me what you thought!