Forgotten

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

Chapter 61: Battle Plan

She often forgot war was about to happen. When she was with him, she didn't have to think about anything else. Her worries simply vanished. Although she was preparing for war, she felt happy at the thought that this would allow them to eventually live a peaceful life with each other in this place she could truly call home. The day he gave her the necklace, she went to visit the Third's tomb and told him how happy she felt and that she now understood the value and meaning of a home. She believed he was watching her and was smiling at the sight of her happiness.

Neji was relieved he expressed everything he felt to her. He no longer felt like there would be regrets on his death bed if that was to happen. He didn't want to think about death as he wanted to have a long life with Yuki. They had already missed out on so much time during their youth. Once the war was going to be over, he wanted to do just everyday things with her, whether it was cooking a meal together and taking walks at sunset and admiring the beauty of the village under a pink sky. He wanted simple things that were unattainable for them at the moment.

Yuki also told Kakashi about it. Although they weren't family, he always felt like an uncle to her. She was actually much closer to him than to Asuma. Kakashi was sincerely happy for her as he knew how much she struggled with finding a place to call home. He was also very happy that she knew how to smile, not with just her lips, but with a heart. He, on the other hand, was dreading becoming the sixth Hokage. Everyday, he would pray that Tsunade would wake up from her coma. Yuki wished for the same. It wasn't that she didn't believe Kakashi would be a great Hokage. She knew he would be fit for the job. It was simply because she really wanted Tsunade to wake up. It had been too long already.

As the village was still undergoing a lot of changes and repairs, Yuki was told to represent the village at the next meeting between the Kages to decide on how they were going to organize the shinobis into battle squads. Shikaku had devised a very well thought out plan, but was busy with handling the current state in the village. He entrusted all the information to Yuki and Shikamaru who were in charge of sharing all of it with the Alliance. As she left the village that day with Shikamaru, she finally told him about her and Neji.

"It was about time!" He exclaimed, genuinely happy for the two of them. "No wonder you looked so happy the past few days."

"Is it that obvious?" She asked him, blushing slightly.

"I would be lying if I said no. Even Sai, who is usually so clueless about how people felt, could tell there was something going on."

"Oh god..." Yuki mumbled.

"How many hearts are you breaking by accepting Neji's heart?" Shikamaru teased her.

She pouted as she disliked it when he would tease her.

"It's nice to hear some good news during such times." He then said, serious once again. "I've never thought I would live to see a war happening."

"Neither did I." Yuki said as she sighed.

As they now entered an area close enough to Kumogakure, Yuki asked Shikamaru to hold on to her hand as she transported both of them into the village to meet with the other Kages. They appeared right in the middle of the Raikage's office.

"Damn it, Yuki! Of all the habits you could have gotten into in this village, you pick to not use the door just like me!" The Raikage scolded her the moment she appeared.

She smiled sweetly before saying, teasingly:

"At least I don't break anything in the process..."

He looked at her for second before breaking into a laughter. He truly did see her as a daughter. There was something about Yuki that made the usually stoic and inflexible Raikage into someone who knew how to compromise. Gaara also gave Yuki a nod as he acknowledged her appearance at the Kages' meeting. Temari quickly looked at Shikamaru, but then her eyes moved quickly in the opposite directions as he looked back at her. Yuki couldn't help but chuckle. It was something she could use to tease Shikamaru. After all he said about her and Neji, it was time he had a taste of his own medicine. Yuki always knew there was something going on between the two of them, but she didn't dare to rush to conclusion. Their awkwardness that day made everything clear to her.

As they all took place around the table, the Tsuchikage then started asking Yuki:

"Why isn't the Hokage here to discuss things with us? Why is it you again?"

"Tsuchikage-sama," Yuki began. "The current state of our village is such that the Hokage-to-be has to remain there to discuss his appointment as the Hokage while learning everything there is to becoming a Hokage. Furthermore, we are still hoping that our Godaime would wake up from her coma and actually be reinstated as it would make things much easier for everyone in the village. I promise you that we are in this 100%, if that is what you are worried about."

"I wasn't implying..." He then replied slowly before stopping himself.

She wasn't wrong. The Tsuchikage didn't trust the fact that the Head of Konohagakure wasn't present at the meeting yet again. He was left under the impression that they were keeping things from the other Kages. However, the Raikage and Kazekage both fully trusted Yuki as they knew her well. The Head of Iwagakure had no other choice really but to blindly put his faith in them. The Mizukage didn't seem to mind Yuki. In fact, she often complimented her on how smart she was or how mature she was for her age.

As they went through their plans for the war, Shikamaru was a standout character as he explained the role of each platoon in the clearest and most concise way possible while detailing the strengths and weaknesses of each and the types of shinobis that should be in each of those platoons.

"We need to decide who would be the leader of each of these divisions." Shikamaru then told them. "This will allow each division to work among themselves to ensure efficacy and efficiency as each division will be a mixture of all the villages' shinobis."

"I'm guessing you have a few people in mind already to lead certain divisions." Gaara told him.

"Going through all the data that were provided to us, we do have a few suggestions as to who should become commander of certain divisions. Because most people are here, if you don't mind, I would like to tell you who we think should lead what."

"Go ahead." The Raikage told Shikamaru. "So far, your village has done a great job at planning this all out. Your father, you said, right?"

"Yes, Raikage-sama. Speaking of him, this is a personal choice of ours, but we would like to nominate Nara, Shikaku as the chief strategist who will be staying at the headquarters with you and the rest of the Kages to devise plans of attacks and defense." Shikamaru said as he exchanged looks with Yuki who nodded in agreement.

"I think that's only fair since he came up with this plan." The Mizukage said as she looked at the Tsuchikage who seemingly was still doubting Konohagakure.

However, the rest of them agreed to it without hesitation as they all were impressed with how well the divisions were planned out in such short time and took into account all the shinobis from each other the villages.

"At the headquarters, the intelligence and sensory division will also be present in order to relay the messages between the battlefield and the headquarter itself. Based on the skill set of each these individuals, we decided that for the intelligence division Yamanaka Inoichi from Konohagakure should be in captain and Ao from Kirigakure should be in charge of the sensory division." Yuki continued.

"Another captain from Konohagakure?" The Tsuchikage asked, raising his eyebrow.

"He can transmit information telepathically within seconds." Yuki answered dryly as she was now annoyed by the Tsuchikage constant poke at Konohagakure. "We tried to pick out the best people for the job."

"Tsuchikage." The Raikage then intervened. "Why don't you listen until the end before making any further comments."

"I... Fine."

"As for the surprise attack division, it is a smaller team, but it is still in need of a captain. Kankuro, here, would be perfect for that role." Yuki then said as she looked at Kankuro.

"Isn't he a little young to be a captain?" The Raikage asked.

"I believe he has enough experience to be the captain of the surprise attack division. I've known him long enough to vouch for his skills."

"Thanks, Yuki." Kankuro said to her as it was also his way of agreeing to the job that was assigned to him.

"There's also the logistical support and medical division that should be established. We believed that Shizune from Konohagakure, having learned from Tsunade-sama all her life about medical ninjutsu, should be the captain of that division." Yuki continued.

"She is indeed the best person for that role." The Raikage quickly said as he wanted to stop the Tsuchikage from interrupting their conversation once again.

"Finally, we now have to talk about the main battle regiment where most of the shinobis will be assigned." Shikamaru then continued. "The First Division, as we explained, will be consisting of mid-range fighters. We thought that Darui from Kumogakure would be the best man for the job. Yuki told us a lot about your abilities and how much trust you have from the Raikage, who is, after all, our commander in chief."

"Darui, don't disappoint us." The Raikage told him as he gave his a strong pat on the shoulder.

Darui sighed before nodding nonchalantly. Yuki smiled at him, knowing that he often felt like he was lacking in terms of leadership. However, she truly believed he was the best man for the job. She knew he had the calm and composure a captain needed to have during a war such as this one.

"As for the Second Division, the short-range fighters, will be lead by Kitsuchi of Iwagakure." Shikamaru continued. "I think nobody would disagree to that."

He was slightly poking at the Tsuchikage with that comment as nobody, so far, has disagreed with the decisions that were made. Putting someone from his village as a captain should ease the Tsuchikage a little bit, especially it being one of the larger divisions they had.

"The Third Division is the short to mid-range fighters. Kakashi will be leading that division."

"Isn't he one of the Kages though?" The Mizukage asked.

"Kakashi-senpai requested to be at the battlefront." Yuki explained. "Not only would it be beneficial to the Allied Shinobis to have him on field, but he personally asked to be there. He said that he isn't suited to be sitting in a headquarter awaiting for news to come back to him. He isn't used to that life just yet."

No one added anything to it. They knew of Kakashi's reputation as a shinobi. There was no doubt that having him fight would better their chances at winning the war. He was able to fight like 100 men. Even though his new status should prevent him from risking his life, his personal decision ensured an increase in numbers for success rate.

"As for the Fourth Division, the long-range division..." Shikamaru started.

"I want to take charge of that division." Gaara told them. "I'm also not able to sit still when others are fighting. Furthermore, we are fighting this battle to protect one of my friends."

"I knew you were going to say that so I recommended to Shikaku to make you the captain of that division." Yuki told him with a smile. "I was sure you wouldn't be able to sit still."

"Thanks." Gaara replied with a smile on his face as well.

He was happy to know that she still understood him so well after so many years of being apart from each other. Despite all the changes that they had underwent the mutual understanding and respect they had for each other remained. Although he knew that she didn't necessarily feel the exact same thing about him, at least, she could understand him, see through his eyes and walk in his shoes.

"For the Fifth Division, which is the special battle division, we thought it would be best to hand that division to Mifune." Yuki said now looking at the older samurai whose experience was written all over his face through the wrinkles that were now permanent.

"It would be my honor to help fight this war." He said politely.

"Finally, the Daimyos also have to be protected during this war."

"They wouldn't take anything less than a Kage to protect them." The Mizukage said. "Why don't I take the role of the captain of that platoon that will protect them? Although I must say that I'm not too pleased with the idea of protecting them rather than focusing all our energy into fighting the Akatsukis..."

"I cannot say that I disagree." Yuki said. "However, we cannot allow them to fall into the Akatsukis' hands either as they aren't exactly the courageous type who wouldn't reveal anything. Furthermore, this Alliance was granted by them. The least we can do is to ensure that they lived, right?"

"As cold as ever." Shikamaru said with a smirk.

They, then, handed them a list of all the shinobis that were going to fight in the war and their respective assigned division. The captains, therefore, would be allowed to contact their team members to set up a plan or discuss how they would be performing their tasks.

"I don't see your name on any of the lists." The Raikage told Yuki.

"I forgot to tell everyone about my role." Yuki said as she scratched the back of her head. "I've worked hard to mastered my teleportation technique and therefore I will be assisting every division as needed and also providing backup to each division as needed. You can consider me as a first aid kit."

"Wouldn't that waste a lot of chakra though?" Darui asked her. "I remember that you had certain limitations when it came to using that technique."

"I said I pretty much mastered it, didn't I?" Yuki said. "Once I've entered the Sage Mode, I am granted much more chakra and can therefore teleport greater distances and much more often. Obviously, nobody has unlimited energy, not even the nature, but it should be enough for emergency cases."

"Just don't overdo it." The Raikage told her. "Know your limits. Ask for help. You always forget to do so and take everything into your own hands when there are hands reaching out to you."

"I will try to remember those words, Raikage-sama." Yuki told him as she stood up, noticing a hawk flying towards them.

It was one of the hawks from Konohagakure that could fly miles at the speed of light. It had to be an emergency from the village. She walked over to the window and held her arm out as the hawk gently landed on it. She took the message out from its basket and read it. A smile drew itself on her face as she started tearing up out of joy.

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked as he made his way over to her.

"Tsunade-sama... She's awake. We have our Godaime back!" Yuki said as she hugged Shikamaru out of joy.

"Don't let Neji know about this..." He whispered into her ear, jokingly.

She pushed him away quickly, pouting. How could he think of such a thing at such a time? She never understood how Shikamaru's mind worked sometimes. Yet, she felt like they each other better than any other two people she had ever met. She simply shook her head as she walked over to the other Kages telling them the good new and that Tsunade would be heading over soon to finish all the discussions as they were to return to the village and prepare themselves for the fight that was about to come.

End of Chapter 61

Thank you for reading this chapter!

It was a little bit more of a filler chapter as it prepares us to enter the final arc of the story.

I hope you are enjoying it so far.

Let me know in the comments section!

xox

Krystal