'Congratulations on your last mission.' Tsunade said, 'When are you available for another mission?'
'Whenever.' Kaiya answered. 'Isn't there any A-ranks or B-ranks left available?'
Tsunade shook her head. 'No, they're all done, thanks to you. There are only some S-rank, but I have some ANBU and Tokubetsu Jonins to take care of them.'
It's been a few weeks, maybe a month and a half since Kaiya became a jonin and her proficiency showed in no time- she completed mission after mission and whenever she was at home, she trained. It was like she forgot how to rest, and it showed. Well, in multiple ways; Bags started to grow under her eyes (although she did make a point in hiding them with some concealer), and her skills grew sharper by all means. Her ninjutsu was great, her taijutsu was excellent and so was her weaponry. With the help of Aunt Tsume, her senses became sharper than a dog's.
Kaiya nodded. 'I see.'
'Is there anything else I can do for you?'
'Actually... yes. I have a request.'
'Hm, a request?' Tsunade frowned. 'What is it?'
'I want to join the ANBU.'
'The... The ANBU? ' Tsunade repeated, incredulously. 'Don't you think it's a bit early to-'
'Ma'am, I know my capabilities. I can learn fast. Please consider my request.'
For a few moments, silence filled the office.
'I'll think about it.'
'Thank you.'
And with that, Kaiya turned around and left a confused Hokage, their assistant and a small pig alone. Tsunade sighed.
'I'm worried, Shizune. Ever since she arrived, she skipped along with the ranks faster than anyone I saw. I mean, she has the capabilities, I don't say, but still. The ANBU might be too much for now.'
'I see your point, Tsunade-sama. But she became really ambitious after her first assassination. Something happened there that we don't know of.'
Tsunade played with a pen for a while, absently. 'Who was her first assassination? Bring me their file.'
Shizune obeyed and brought a file immediately. 'She killed Hinata Hamura.'
Tsunade opened the file and looked across the information. Nothing special until... Something caught her eyes.
Background information:
Often worked with Sakumo Hatake. Was his subordinate on Sakumo's last mission.
Tsunade cursed under her breath as she smacked her forehead. It all made sense now.
'He told her everything, then?' Tsunade asked.
'You mean she didn't know?' Shizune frowned.
'I doubt anyone bothered to tell her anything on the matter. Kakashi's Kakashi and other people... well.' Tsunade sighed as she closed the file. 'I just hope she won't get any funny ideas. The last thing we need now is another enemy.'
Shizune nodded. 'We already have enough trouble with the Akatsuki. What will you do about her request, though?'
'I don't know.'
If the girl remained just as ambitious, Tsunade would have no choice but, to be fair, she didn't see her fitting in the ANBU. Kaiya needed bonds, she knew that for sure, but the ANBU requested the exact opposite. To be devoted to your job and have minimalistic ties. To put it simply, an ANBU had to depend on no one but themselves and their job. Well, no one expected the way things ended- maybe it was for the better that they ended that way.
Kaiya walked down the Konoha streets to the Training Grounds, her hands in her pockets, in the search for someone, until she eventually found them. Surprisingly, they were accompanied by someone who Kaiya didn't expect to see. Funnily, her nose didn't pick their smell immediately. Neither his nor his dog's smell.
'Hey Lee, you up for a match?' Kaiya called out.
The boy turned around, only for a smile to grow on his face. Next to him, Kiba frowned as an Akamaru let out a bark.
'Sure thing!' Lee answered, as Kaiya arrived in front of him.
'Since when do you guys train together?' Kiba asked.
'Don't be stupid, we're on the same team.' Kaiya snorted. 'What do you think?'
Kiba puffed in annoyance as he muttered something under his breath. Unluckily for him, even if her smell wasn't working well at that moment, her ears still picked up well.
'What was that, you little shit?'
'You're pale. Don't push it.' Kiba said, in a now normal voice.
Kaiya pursed her lips, before assuring the boy that she won't- it was unusual for him to express stuff like that. Before walking away, he stopped right next to her.
'I think Lee likes you. He smells funny.' He muttered.
'What do you mean?' Kaiya asked, keeping her voice low.
'When he saw you, he started to smell a little... hormonal, if you know what I mean.'
'Don't be sill- oh shit you're right. He stinks.'
'Take care.' Kiba patted her back, before walking away along Akamaru.
'What was that all about?' Lee asked, with a frown.
'Nothing.' Kaiya shook her head. 'Shall we?'
Lee nodded as he prepared for an attack. The whole situation gave off a weird feeling now, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. For all she could see, maybe he was just happy to see her. Dammit, that sounded wrong now.
Before he even realised, Kaiya dissapeared. He tensed as he searched for a kunai, but he didn't get a chance. A hand covered the back of his head, pushing him to the ground. He stretched his hands out and got a grip on the enemy with his legs, blocking them from the ability of escaping. For the moment, that is.
They both hit the ground with their backs, only for Kaiya to dissapear in a cloud of smoke. Lee frowned. A Kage Bunshin...? Just like Naruto-kun's!
'Wind release: Blade of Wind!'
A sudden, strong sharp wave of wind came to Lee in all directions, before something grabbing his wrists as the wind stopped. When he came to his senses, Lee realised what was happening: His hands were stuck, held by Kaiya, as he looked straight into the girl's eyes. He was at loss of words and actions for a few more moments, before eventually regaining composure.
As for Kaiya, she held him down with no problem, but only if he knew. Her hands started feeling numb, the gravity seemed to lighten terribly as her head felt like a boulder into space.
Lee jumped in the air and hit her chin, sending her a few meters away flying. If it wasn't for her current physical condition, she would've won. But seeing her condition now, the chakra loss and the hit were enough to make her zone out to the point of nearly fainting.
'Low on calcium, low on magnesium and lived on three hours of sleep on over a month, after doing about twenty missions one after the other? Just incredible, miss Kobayashi! Just... Incredible.' The nurse, Kenta, said baffled as she read the report.
Kaiya laughed dryly. After two shots of calcium and currently on her second bag of perfusion, she was still laying on the hospital bed, feeling how all the exhaustion she gathered catched up to her. Next to her, Lee sat baffled. He knew the girl went on lots of missions, but he didn't expect the situation to be this bad.
He brought her to the hospital earlier that day and he stuck next to her ever since. It brought some memories, yes, but he wasn't there for the memories- Kaiya's health was much more important.
'You seriously need to rest and take care of yourself, miss Kobayashi. I'll inform Lady Hokage about this immediately. A weakened shinobi is of no use, after all.'
'How can she get better?' Lee butted in, worryingly. 'What do you prescribe, miss?'
Kaiya frowned. He remembered her a bit of her mother, and for goodness' sake; she was nearly eighteen. She could- no, should be able to handle things like that on her own. Nurse Kenta sighed.
'I'll prescribe some magnesium and vitamin C pills, eat lots of cheese and other lactose foods, fruits and, most importantly, rest. Rest as much as you can.'
Kaiya nodded with a frown. She guessed she had no choice. If she wanted to be in the ANBU, she needed top condition.
'When may I leave?'
'Not now, definitely. I talked with other doctors and here's the thing- you're still not fully stable. We'll keep you until you finish that perfusion. We'll see what we do from there.'
Finishing that perfusion lasted longer than anyone expected. It was already evening when Kaiya got the new perfusion, so by the time it was finished, it was 2 am and Kaiya was long since asleep.
'You should go home, y'know,' Kenta told Lee, who was still there, his eyelids fighting the heaviness layed on them. 'I'll take her perfusion off, but I'll make sure I won't wake her up now, so she can sleep well. Until morning, at least.'
'C... Can't I stay?' Lee mumbled. 'I want... I want to... make sure... she's alright. To make sure she's alright.'
'Don't worry,' Kenta sighed, 'she's on good hands. It's my and my colleagues' job to make sure she's fine.'
Lee turned his head to Kaiya and reached for her hand. After a few moments, he let go and got on his feet. Slowly, he made his way towards the door. As he passed by Kenta, he stopped.
'Please take care of her. She's an important person to me. I... I don't know what I would do without her.'
Kenta cracked a smile. 'Don't worry. She'll be in a much better state tomorrow, just you see.'
'Low on calcium, low on magnesium and lived on three hours of sleep on over a month, after doing about twenty missions one after the other? Just incredible, miss Kobayashi! Just... Incredible.' The nurse, Kenta, said baffled as she read the report.
Kaiya laughed dryly. After two shots of calcium and currently on her second bag of perfusion, she was still laying on the hospital bed, feeling how all the exhaustion she gathered catched up to her. Next to her, Lee sat baffled. He knew the girl went on lots of missions, but he didn't expect the situation to be this bad.
He brought her to the hospital earlier that day and he stuck next to her ever since. It brought some memories, yes, but he wasn't there for the memories- Kaiya's health was much more important.
'You seriously need to rest and take care of yourself, miss Kobayashi. I'll inform Lady Hokage about this immediately. A weakened shinobi is of no use, after all.'
'How can she get better?' Lee butted in, worryingly. 'What do you prescribe, miss?'
Kaiya frowned. He remembered her a bit of her mother, and for goodness' sake; she was nearly eighteen. She could- no, should be able to handle things like that on her own. Nurse Kenta sighed.
'I'll prescribe some magnesium and vitamin C pills, eat lots of cheese and other lactose foods, fruits and, most importantly, rest. Rest as much as you can.'
Kaiya nodded with a frown. She guessed she had no choice. If she wanted to be in the ANBU, she needed top condition.
'When may I leave?'
'Not now, definitely. I talked with other doctors and here's the thing- you're still not fully stable. We'll keep you until you finish that perfusion. We'll see what we do from there.'
Finishing that perfusion lasted longer than anyone expected. It was already evening when Kaiya got the new perfusion, so by the time it was finished, it was 2 am and Kaiya was long since asleep.
'You should go home, y'know,' Kenta told Lee, who was still there, his eyelids fighting the heaviness layed on them. 'I'll take her perfusion off, but I'll make sure I won't wake her up now, so she can sleep well. Until morning, at least.'
'C... Can't I stay?' Lee mumbled. 'I want... I want to... make sure... she's alright. To make sure she's alright.'
'Don't worry,' Kenta sighed, 'she's on good hands. It's my and my colleagues' job to make sure she's fine.'
Lee turned his head to Kaiya and reached for her hand. After a few moments, he let go and got on his feet. Slowly, he made his way towards the door. As he passed by Kenta, he stopped.
'Please take care of her. She's an important person to me. I... I don't know what I would do without her.'
Kenta cracked a smile. 'Don't worry. She'll be in a much better state tomorrow, just you see.'
'Enter.' Tsunade said.
It was still eight in the morning, and, although she came to her office two hours ago, the coffee effects had yet to kick in. Through the doors, a nurse, Kenta, made her way to her office and bowed.
'Lady Hokage, I have a report.'
'Did anybody die, again?' Tsunade asked, insensitively.
Kenta shook her head as she rised from her bow.
'No, ma'am it's something else. We have a Jounin patient, Kaiya Kobayashi, that was low on calcium and Magnesium, and had a between conscious and unconcious state due to exhaustion.'
Tsunade pursed her lips as she exchanged looks with Shizune.
'How is she doing now?' Tsunade asked.
'She's better, but she'll need some rest. This is why I came. Cases like this aren't unusual and they usually happen from focusing on something for too long, overworking and exhaustion, or being overweight. I think that for her, it was overworking and exhaustion. She'll need to rest for at least two weeks, until she fully recovers. Even after, she shouldn't push it.'
Tsunade nodded. 'I'll take care of it, don't worry.'
When Kenta said that Kaiya would be in a better state the next day, she wasn't lying, but Kaiya's body did make a point in sleeping until noon. Slowly but surely, she eventually came to her senses, only to be greeted by the smell of flowers. Kaiya turned around to see a rather large boquet of flowers resting on her night stand. A creaking announced the door opening.
'I see that you finally woke up. It was about time, but I don't blame you.' Kenta commented as she leaned on the doorway. 'I would've not been surprised if you'd slept more.'
Seeing how Kaiya wasn't interested, Kenta decided to change the subject.
'That's a nice bouquet you got there. Your boyfriend brought them to you this morning, at the first hour. Boy sat with you even after you fell asleep. Took a bit, but I finally convinced him to go and get some rest, at two in the morning.'
'My... ah.' Kaiya stopped, in realisation. 'He's not my-'
'Speaking of which,' Kenta interrupted, as she looked down the hallway, 'he's on his way here.'
Just a few moments later, Lee entered the room with a basket of fruit. Seeing that Kaiya woke up, a grin creaked on his face. At his sight, Kaiya put a hand over her mouth as she looked away. God dammit, nurse Kenta.
'Good morning, Kaiya-san.' He greeted, with a light bow. 'I brought you something.'
He layed the basket on the night stand, before sitting down on the chair next to her bed. Kenta chuckled lightly, realising her mistake through Kaiya's embarrassment.
'Well,' Kenta said, 'seeing that you woke up, I'll inform the other doctors and I'll bring you some food. You could serve yourself from those fruits, they could help.'
And with that, the woman spinned around on her heels and walked away, closing the door behind.
'So how do you feel? Were you able to rest?' Lee asked, fixing Kaiya with his eyes.
'I'm fine and yes, I did rest. I feel a bit better now, but I'm still tired.'
'You're still in need of a break, Kaiya-san. You didn't listen to me when I told you to do so, and now look where we are.'
'Are you going to drop that -san thing already? You sound like my mother scolding me.'
Lee sighed. 'I'm worried, y'know... I just... Nevermind.'
'You just what? It's too late now.'
'It's not important... Kaiya.'
Kaiya shrugged. 'So be it.'
After a few moments of silence, Lee couldn't hold it in anymore.
'I just want to make sure you're fine. I... eh, I don't know what I would do if you wouldn't be alright.'
Kaiya smiled warmly, with a light sigh.
'Thank you for worrying, Lee. It's nice to know someone here cares for me like that.'
The boy's heart skipped a beat as his cheeks warmed up. If it wasn't Kenta who'd enter with a gray tray on with a plate with some meat and potato puree, a glass of water, a napkin, cutlery and two pills, things might've not ended with that. To be fair, he was glad it ended like that.
'Eat up the meal, after that, you should take those pills.' Kenta informed, pointing to two white pills in a corner.
Kaiya nodded, understandingly. She didn't waste any more time and digged into the food. It didn't take long to realise that the food tasted good. To be fair, the food the hospital offered was quite decent and Kaiya was quite hungry. After all, hunger always plays a role when eating. The hungrier you are, the better food tastes. Kenta looked at the girl before sighing as she leaned on to the doorway.
'I think you're good to go. I'll finish a few things on your report, and then you're free. Remember, rest well, eat lots of calcium and magnesium, take some calcium and magnesium pills for two or three weeks... Or we'll know.'
Just a short half hour later, Kaiya was free to go. To be fair, she still felt a little dizzy at times and the warmth of October didn't help, so she didn't oppose when Lee offered to walk her home. Before she knew it, she was laying herself in bed, Lee laying next to her, with a distance between.
'You don't have to sit here, y'know... I'll be fine.'
'You're anything but fine, Kaiya.' Lee commented, bluntly. 'I want to make sure you'll get better. Now, I'm going to sit here and make sure you fall asleep. After, I'll think and prepare something for you to eat for dinner.'
This boy was unbelievable.
'Since when did you become a gentleman?'
Lee shrugged.
'I simply care about you, Kaiya. I want to make sure you're alright.'
'Thank you, Lee.'
She closed her eyes and relaxed and waited for things like that to come and happen the way they did, eventually- naturally. Lee layed next to her quietly, careful not to make any move that might wake her up. Soon enough, her breathing regulated to slow, deep breaths as her body lost any tensity that might've still held. She was asleep.
Even if Lee got his normal amount of five hours of sleep at night and just the right meals that day, the peaceful dizziness of the room, the chirping of the birds through the quietness and the first golden rays of afternoon running through the small, rectangular windows aboven Kaiya's bed send a wave of sleepiness upon Lee. Everything felt peaceful, Kaiya was safe right next to him, and he was sitting comfortably with no actual worries on his mind. He guessed he could close his eyes for a bit...
He layed himself on a side, facing Kaiya and, before he could think much of it, his hand curled around Kaiya's body, resting on her stomach. As he pulled himself closer to the girl, Kaiya woke up for a moment. It's Lee, she thought as sleep still frizzled through her mind, he's a good guy. I... I can trust him.
It wasn't a lie; he cared about her. He cared her in a way he never thought he'd care for someone. He felt like... he felt like she was a precious being that he needed to protect. He couldn't name it for sure, but it was, perhaps, what many named love. He sighed as he creaked a smile, his warm breath landing on Kaiya's neck. If it was love, then...
He loved her.
He loved her only so, so much.
A/N
Yeetus Deletus, here we are with another chapteritus! Does it have fluff? I guess you can say that. Is it the first time I ever wrote something of the sort? Yes. On a lighter note, what did y'all think of this chapter?
Avery, how do you know about what's it like to be low on calcium and magnesium?
I have my knowledge, but I don't feel like sharing. Deal with it, dingus. Anyhow, I'll leave this author's note here, and we'll see eachother again in the next chapter! See y'all!
-Avery