A/N: Tsunade learns about Morino.
Tsunade,
I'm sorry that I can't bring you much good news from Morino. The only good word I have is that not everyone is dead.
The entire village was burnt to the ground two days ago. About 90% of the population is dead. Only a small group of civilians are left; the elderly are all dead, and only the children and a handful of adults are left of them.
Your ninja worked quickly to preserve the lives that were saved initially, and the final death toll was only confirmed after the last of the wounded passed from their injuries. The sick are all dead. Most of the initially-wounded are dead. The medical team, what was left of them anyway, weren't able to save everyone.
Some of the more notable cases concern those you were worried about. Shizune, Hyuuga-san, Karin, Abe-san, Igurashi-san, and Akiyama-san are confirmed to be alive. The boy, Sato Hideki, is barely hanging on. Shizune and Akiyama-san have been monitoring him around the clock just to make sure he'll pull through.
Shizune has been working around the clock just so that she doesn't break down herself. I know she erroneously blames herself for those lost. The others have been trying to get her to take a break but she adamantly refuses to. She still fears that she won't be able to get to anyone else in time.
In the absence of the few dead medical officers, those still alive have been receiving basic medical training to bolster them. Several of the children are adept at it already, and will likely be brought up in the medical corps. The abled have helped pack everything. Morino was officially vacated this morning, and is officially no more.
Tsunade continued to stare at the first letter with hollow eyes. Everything she'd feared was coming true - save for everyone being dead, but even that didn't sound too far off from the tone of Jiraiya's words.
Slowly, she shifted her gaze to the second letter. She picked up the paper, her frown softening at two wet spots near the bottom and the shaky handwriting.
Tsunade-sama,
I will forever be in your debt for lending us your aid. While I'm sorrowful to inform you that many of your men and women are dead, thanks to them we were able to make it out hurt yet alive. I fear to think of our fate had you not reached out to us when you did.
Thanks to the healthy helping to pack up our possessions, we were able to vacate the ruins and have made it to a sister city. The Akatsuki met us here and have allowed us use of a summon to speak with you.
I would like to (here the writing was scribbled out, making it impossible to read) ask for your company to pray to the gods for Hideki to recover. He's been badly wounded and is barely pulling through. I don't want to lose him. (Here something else was scribbled out. If she squinted, Tsunade could barely make out the words 'I' and 'him'.)
Please let me know if you have enough room for us to join with you. I know everyone is tired of hiding and we would like to see you again.
Respectfully, Akiyama Daitan
She felt something trickle down her chin, and when she wiped at it, she was surprised to find herself tearing up.
The ginger boy's bright blue-gray gaze and hopeful smile flashed in her mind, and she sorrowfully shook her head as she sat the letter back down.
"The kid's only sixteen," she mourned with a shaky sigh as she sagged against her sleeping bag. "I can't believe I left him there. I never should have let him stay. Not while he was still so inexperienced."
"If I hadn't failed him…"
"But then again, I'd have had one worried kid," she mused aloud with a rueful laugh. "Seems they got along well. Gods, what was I thinking? Poor kid's suffered enough without this being the cherry on top. This is gonna kill her."
She sighed once again, miserably reaching for a half-full sake bottle.
"What was I thinking?" She thought, taking a shaky sip. "Now that boy's fighting for his life, and I've just traumatized another sixteen-year-old for letting her watch him try!"
Her younger brother's face came to mind then, smiling gently. He clasped their grandfather's necklace in his hand, his other over his forehead, where she had kissed.
"I'll make you proud, Nee-san," he'd promised. "I'll bring an end to this war and bring peace to Fire! Just like Grandfather wanted!"
Another tear made its way down her cheek as she took another bitter gulp.
"Thank you for accepting me! I promise I'll do my very best! I don't know how good of a healer that I'll be, but I'll give it my all!"
