Chapter 2:
Renewal
Since the age of sixteen, Anbu had been a major part of Shizune's life. A constant, really, because the last eight years had all been for the organization. And when she really thought about it, Anbu had been with her and influenced her for much longer. As a child, she had been aware of them, the shadowy presences in the back of rooms and in the dark parts of the streets, though she had never known who or what they were. It wasn't until she was nine and a newly made genin that she learned what they did.
Her sensei was the first person to tell her about them, calling them by their full name and explaining that they handled some of the most delicate and dangerous jobs that were offered. He was also the first person to suggest it to her, as something to do in the future. Shizune remembered how she had initially felt about Anbu; it had intrigued her and disgusted her at the same time. Her team's teacher had always been a blunt man, and when he told them about the sort of things that happened in Anbu...Shizune had shaken her head, saying that she never wanted to join. She had been disappointed in Aoba and Genma, having seen the way that their eyes lit up at the idea of the entire thing. It was strange how, in the end, Aoba never made his way into the organization, and she ended up sinking so far into it that she doubted she would every be able to fully remove herself from it. Anbu was one of those things that was hard to shake, hard to get out of. Her sensei had warned her, as had so many of the older shinobi.
It's probably too late to get out, she thought as she slipped into the Anbu headquarters. They'll most likely hand me several new missions the second I hand in the report for this one. She didn't exactly feel like heading out and participating in a mission, but she knew that, one way or another, she would most likely end up doing just that in the next few days. She was a jounin, after all, and with the apparent turmoil that the village was in she knew that there would be a shortage of ninja to complete all of the tasks that needed to be done. The feeling that she received from the village was similar to how it had been after the numerous attacks during the war, though it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been then.
Headquarters was still very similar to how it had been; the halls and passageways were more or less the same, bright lights lining the walls, the same twists and turns, the same doorways. A few places looked as though they had been added more recently, but for the most part it was the same. She was able to find her way to the locker rooms easily, slipping a black coat over her shoulders and a white mask over her head. Both cloaked her identity, allowing her to walk through the building without anyone knowing who she was.
It was one of the unwritten rules that all the operatives followed; one was to hide their identity while at headquarters. It was near impossible to keep one's face hidden during an extended mission. Something as simple as eating made it so that a mask had to be removed, if only for a short period of time, and there were often times missions in which is was not in the best interest of the operative or team to remain in Anbu gear. With the exception of the locker rooms and the medical facility, however, no one ever saw another's face while in headquarters. Even names were kept secret, everyone called by what mask they wore. Hound, cat, bird, or, in Shizune's case, simply medic. Hers was the mask of a medical ninja, smooth wood shaped into the head of some long snouted predatory creature, painted bone white. In contrast with every other mask, a medic's lacked any color but white. No blues, no reds, nothing to draw the eye, only carved wood and white paint. It was what distinguished the Konoha medical Anbu from the rest.
Leaving the locker room, Shizune wound her way through the building until she came to a rather undistinguished door, marked only with a few characters along one side of the frame. It was a precaution, to keep the head of Anbu's office from being as noticeable, to keep an intruder from finding it within an instant of stepping into the building. Unless things had changed drastically since Shizune's first days in Anbu, this was where she needed to go to report in, to fully complete her mission.
Opening the door softly and closing it gently behind her, Shizune stepped into a room that was just as drab as the door that guarded it. There were few lights; an old buzzing one that flickered overhead, and a smaller one sitting on a well worn desk. A few bookcases lined the walls, stuffed full of scrolls and battered tomes, slanted this way and that, pages poking out of them. There was also a piece of electronic equipment; a radio used to pick up the signals of the smaller counterparts worn by ninja in the village. It crackled at the moment, static pouring from the side. Behind the desk sat a man, his face covered in a mask, staring down at a pile of papers before him.
As she stopped in the center of the room, the flickering light from the hanging lamp dancing over her mask, the man before her did nothing more than push one paper to the side and pick up another. For all appearances, it was as though he hadn't noticed her entrance at all. Shizune knew it to be quite the opposite. Were she to shift her weight, he would notice.
He was a wiry man, the lack of armor showing his lean frame. The only skin showing was at his shoulders and at the tips of his ears where they poked out from behind the mask. The former showed his swirling red tattoo and a collection of puckering scars that pulled taut over muscle as his arm moved. His hair was longer than her own, black streaked with grey, caught back at the nape of his neck. His mask was perhaps the most animated, interesting thing about him. It was elongated, flaring nostrils carved over a wicked, curved mouth, the eyes dark and slanted, ears forward and alert. Red paint was slashed across both eyes, from the top of the mask to where the man's chin was. There was a rugged, unfinished look to the mask, the paint splattered in places, the outer most portions of wood looking as though they had never been sanded after they had been cut. The full effect was striking; where it might have looked as though a child had made it, it came off looking wild and animalistic.
"Medic." His voice was sharp and commanding, inadvertently causing Shizune's body to straighten further. Though she couldn't see them and though there had been no change in how his head was angled, she could feel his eyes on her.
When she first joined, a look from the head of Anbu had sent shivers down her spine. Now, she simply stood in place, waiting for the rest of his words.
"Report."
"Mission completed successfully," she began, her own words crisp and clean. "The Sannin Tsunade has been returned to Konoha safely." She reached into one of the pockets of her black coat, retrieving a thick stack of papers. She took one step forward, placing the mission report—eight years worth of it!--on the desk before him, then moving back to her previous position.
"Complications?" the man asked, not touching the report. Shizune jerked her head down once in response.
"Several. All have been detailed thoroughly in the mission report." Eight years worth, she was tempted to say, but didn't. There was no sympathy for her here, and in all honesty she didn't and wouldn't want it. "The most notable was a confrontation with the Sannin and missing-nin, Orochimaru." At the name, the Anbu straightened, the only indication of emotion that he had shown, and even then it didn't reveal much of anything at all. "I regret to inform you that he was not captured or killed. However, he appears to be suffering from a jutsu that has cut all chakra off from his arms; he is now, apparently, unable to manipulate chakra at all. He was helped by a medical ninja using the name of Kabuto who is incredibly talented in that area of chakra manipulation. The entire meeting resulted in the retreat of Orochimaru and his subordinate; it is uncertain about their current conditions." She paused for a moment, waiting for the Anbu to as any other questions.
The man pulled her mission report to him, opening it. "All that's in here?"
"Yes." She waited as he turned a few of the pages. "It was the biggest conflict that occurred, though there are several others that..." She paused, trying to figure out how to word things. "There were several occurrences that should be taken note of as well."
The man nodded slowly, then closed the notebook and pushed it away. "Well, you've brought some very useful information. Up to this point, there was no reliable sources to tell us of Orochimaru's condition. Now, before you are dismissed, there are a few other things that we need to discuss."
"Such as..."
"Such as your continuing service in Anbu." The man picked up a thick folder that lay before him on the desk, flipping it open. "Not counting the last eight years, you've served us for four years. Altogether, twelve years." The smallest movement of his head told her that he was looking at her again. "At this moment, your skills are crucial to Konoha. There is an overall shortage of skilled medics, and Anbu is no exception. I'm afraid that I cannot allow you to leave Anbu."
She hadn't expected them to let her go. But--
"However," he continued, still watching her through his mask, "keeping you on active duty is not an option either. I am well aware of your connection with Tsunade, and it would be beneficial to all, I believe, if you were to remain in the position of her assistant. You will be off duty for now, but we will send for you when a mission suiting your abilities comes up. For now, it would be best for you to serve as a regular jounin."
"Understood."
The man closed the files and stacked them neatly on the corner of his desk. As he did so, the static increased over the radio, popping and cracking, and then a voice became audible over the rest of the sounds.
"Returning to headquarters...two wounded...requesting medical assistance immediately!"
The man's eyes snapped to hers, even through the masks she knew that. "What do you say to a job right now?"
Shizune felt a small smile curve her lips, and she nodded. "I'll head down right now."
"Good. Dismissed."
It felt good, she decided as she washed blood off of her arms, to be needed again. That wasn't to say that she hadn't been needed at all over the past eight years, but she had been needed in a different way; as a friend, as support, as the voice of reason. But she had missed being needed to keep lives from drifting away. Of course, there had been several points where she had utilized her medical skills, but with the exception of the fight with Orochimaru, none of them had been incredibly severe, none of them had been as life threatening as...
It just felt good to be back in a uniform of sorts, hidden behind a pale mask, up to her elbows in blood. As morbid as it sounded, Shizune had enjoyed healing the two Anbu, had enjoyed watching the blood stop.
Upon arriving on the Anbu training grounds, she had found three men. One, though covered almost entirely in blood, was not injured, though he supported a companion whose leg was mangled and whose mask sported several deep gouges across it. He had been breathing heavily, had been leaning against the other man, no longer able to use his leg. The third man's left arm was broken; the lower portion dangling at at odd angle, the arm guard missing entirely.
Dealing with the wounded had been...exhilarating. Removing the bandages on the man's leg, cleaning the wound, reknitting the flesh and muscle with threads of chakra, her hands steady as she completed all of it. Stabilizing the man's head, removing his mask and cleaning away blood, checking for internal damage, it was all something that she had missed.
In the end, she only dealt with the first few minutes of the healing. As soon as most of bleeding had stopped, he had been moved to the medical bay for further treatment. She didn't even help with the other man's arm, though she could have. Still, she noticed how few medics there were. Enough to help both men, and several more waiting for them in the medical facility. Enough for now, but not enough if they were inundated with patients. Nowhere near enough.
Back in the locker rooms, she washed the blood from her arms and rinsed if from the sleeves of her black coat, staining the water red. She waited at the sink for a moment, her elbows resting on the counter, wet hands pushed loosely into her hair, staring at her reflection in the mirror. The white mask stared back at her, though now there was color to it. Small splashes of blood, drying and turning a rusty brown. She breathed in once, then pulled the mask off of her face, dunking it below the stream of water. Her fingers moved, rubbing at the stains until they were washed away with the last remnants of blood.
Both items, the coat and the mask, were stored away in her locker, dripping water onto the rusted metal that lined the bottom. She returned to the mirror, checking her reflection, looking for any blood that could possibly be clinging to her. There was none to be found, only pale skin and black hair and wide eyes that looked back at her from the glass.
With one final glance, she turned and walked out of the room, then out of the building.
The sunlight was beginning to turn the orange color that preceded the sun's setting, though it had not yet sunk near the western horizon. There was no less activity in the streets than there had been earlier in the day, but Shizune noted less children and more shinobi. She didn't recognize any of them; most of them looked much younger than she was by several years, and while she had known several who were younger before, Anbu had cut her off from many of them.
The day had more or less slipped by her, and Shizune decided that her return to Tsunade was in order. She had said that she would be back at some point during the day, and the day was slowing running out. There were several other things that she needed to get done, such as finding accommodations for a prolonged stay in Konoha—meaning an apartment—as well as tracking down where all of her old belongings had ended up. Hopefully, seeing as she had boxed up most of them in the days before she left, they had ended up being stored away...somewhere. If she was lucky, one of her old teammates would have picked it up and stashed it somewhere. If she was lucky, and if one of them had had the nerve to break into her apartment. Which probably meant that either Raidou or Genma had gotten a hold of her stuff.
She did wonder, though, if she would find a place to live. It wasn't as though there were a lack of homes; it looked as though there were rooms over shops, and there were building complexes that rose for several stories that looked to be renting out rooms. She made a mental note of where she was whenever she saw a sign in a window advertising rooms for rent. But finding a place and moving in meant that she would have to have time, something that she could guess she wouldn't have much of in the next weeks and months.
There was always the chance that lodgings had been set away for them since Jiraiya had come to find them. Maybe Anbu—no, probably not. And anything that they put together would only be temporary. She would have to find someplace to rent, preferably something close to both the Hokage's office and Anbu's headquarters.
She wound her way through the crowds, finally finding a more open street, where only a few people lingered. It looked as though it cut through to the building that she needed to return to, and so she quickened her pace, trying to hurry back.
"You know, a letter isn't a very nice way to say goodbye."
Shizune's heart jumped and began to beat faster as the voice sounded from behind her, the blood rushing through her body, leaving her with a very sick, very nervous feeling. This was it; there were only two people she had left letters to, and now--
She turned around, taking a deep breath to do so, her eyes moving upwards to meet those of the taller man. "An accusation isn't a very good way to say hello, Genma."
The long haired man stood there, a sort of half smile on his face as he look at her. She was afraid that she wasn't really smiling either, just watching him through calm eyes, though she could guess that either her cheeks had gone very red or they had gone very pale. She wasn't entirely sure, but the sick feeling in her skin indicated the latter. But there he was, and there she was, standing in the middle of a street, meeting for the first time in so many, many years. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. Not a happy, joyous meeting. There were no tears, no surprised expressions, just a calm acceptance from both. She hadn't really expected anything different. Not from Genma.
"It sounded better in my head." He took the senbon from between his lips, holding it in his fingers like someone would a cigarette. "Welcome home, Shizune."
She let herself smile at that, tight lipped and a little strained, but still a smile. "Thank you. It's good to see you again. And sorry about the letter," she added, letting amusement trickle into her voice. "I forgot that you didn't know how to read."
Genma's eyes narrowed slightly, but she saw his mouth quirk into a smile as he replaced his senbon. "Haven't lost your sense of humor yet?"
Shizune paused for a moment before answering, tilting her head to the side, frowning slightly. "To tell you the honest truth, I think it just came back. I'm thinking that Konoha might be a bad influence on me. Maybe I should leave again." She turned as though to just that, then heard Genma's sigh and stopped. "I see that you've lost your sense of humor."
"Things have happened," he said simply, and she turned around to see that he just standing there, watching her with his hands shoved in his pockets. "A number of particularly nasty things."
Her amusement gone, Shizune cast her eyes to the ground. "I ran into Kakashi. He told me about the Uchiha clan..."
Genma nodded slowly, his eyes trained on his former teammate. "That was one of the...more...one of the worse things. I guess." He chewed on the end of his senbon and Shizune could just hear the soft clicking of bone on metal. "And you know about Sandaime, seeing as you came back with the Godaime."
She nodded, her face nearly emotionless. "Yes, I heard. It's a bit hard to believe, but--" She bit down on the side of her tongue, the look on her face momentarily melting into one of self disgust. "But it isn't really all that--" Letting out a short, angry breath, she looked up at Genma. "We ran into Orochimaru."
Genma's eyebrows rose a fraction of a centimeter. "I take it things didn't go too well?"
Shizune shook her head, sighing heavily. "No, it didn't go well at all. We—I ended up in not the best shape. Not that the entire thing was about me or anything, but at four against only two—and where one of the two was unable to channel chakra—things should have turned out a bit better for us."
"So he's still alive then?"
"Yes." Shizune pushed a strand of hair out of her face, the movement allowing herself something else to concentrate on, if only for a moment. "I wish that we'd been able to do something..." The breath she drew in was deeper as she tried to calm herself; the tone of her voice was becoming a little too bitter for her liking. It was still a very sore spot; how badly she had been beaten. And by someone so much younger than herself! Truth be told, however, had Kabuto not been a medical ninja Shizune would have stood a far better chance, and might have actually won. And if Shizune hadn't spent eight years more or less off duty, then there was a chance that Kabuto wouldn't have been able to touch her at all. Her speed had been one of her best attributes, and it disappointed her how slow she had become.
"Hmm." The clicking of metal again, stirring Shizune from her thoughts. "Well, it's not like you did nothing."
"Really?" Crossing her arms over her chest, she glanced up at him. "All I did was spit needles. And shoot needles."
"Spitting needles isn't a bad thing." The senbon moved from his lips to his fingers again, twirling around. "Quite useful, actually. Any of them hit him?"
"No. And it wasn't really at him. It was at his subordinate. He blocked and dodged most of them." Easily, she wanted to add, but didn't. No need to tell him that.
"Hmm," Genma said again, though it was more of a sound than a word. "If it's any consolation, the rest of us didn't even get close enough to try to deal with Orochimaru. I ended up in a fight with someone from Sand for awhile...and, well, Raidou didn't even get to fight. Took four kunai to the chest."
Shizune's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open slightly. "And that's suppose to make me feel better?"
Genma shrugged, entirely to calm for her liking. "He's fine now. Couple of bandages, a couple of scars, but he's not dead. So you can stop worrying."
"I'm not worrying." Idiot. He was still a complete idiot, just like she remembered. Maybe things hadn't changed all that much. "You're just being...being impossible!"
He shrugged again, the corner of his mouth pulled into a smile. "Well, it got your mind off of other things, didn't it?"
She gaped at him for a moment, and then her expression settled into a sort of glare. "You haven't changed much," she finally said.
"You don't seem like you've changed either, but I'm sure you have."
"All right, you're more insightful now." Shizune glanced up at the sky, noting how the sun was beginning to level itself with the tops of the buildings. "Anyway, it's been wonderful to see you again, Genma, but I have--"
"Things to do?" he finished for her, giving her an almost lazy smile. "Yeah, so do I. But—I'll tell you what. A couple of us are getting together at Raidou's place later on tonight. Here—do you have any paper? I'll give you the address. Wait, I've got some." He pulled a scrape of parchment out of a pocket, holding it up. "I guess the question is, do you have a pen?" She happened to have one and handed it to him, then watched as he scrawled out several characters in a messy hand. "Show up if you can. It won't be anything big, but some of your old friends might be there."
"Like Raidou?" She took the paper from him, glancing at it once to make sure that it was legible, then tucked it away into her clothes.
"Seeing as it's his house, I'd say so." Genma handed her back her pen as well, the looked around at the emptying street. "I'd better get going. See you later--"
"Good-bye, Genma," she managed to get out before the man was gone from her sight, probably heading off to do one thing or another. Most likely alerting people to the arrival of the Godaime, as that was what she heard the advisers tell him earlier.
That had been...well, rather pleasant, overall. Not the exact Genma that she remembered from her childhood, but not someone so incredibly different either. He'd had his same sort of humor, though much more toned down than she remembered. He seemed much calmer than she remembered, though that wasn't to say that he had been some loud showoff when he was younger. He'd always been pretty calm about everything, but now he seemed just...entirely too laid back. It was as though nothing phased him at all. Then again, she had most likely appeared outwardly calm as well, even as she could still feel her blood pounding in her ears louder than normal. She took a few deep breaths, willing her heart to slow its beating. So, she could deal with blood pouring out of a mangled leg, but not with meeting an old friend. Wonderful.
She found her way back to the building that housed the Hokage's office and climbed the stairs until she reached the upper floor. Then just a short way till she slipped though the door--
"Ugh." Tsunade sat behind a desk heavily laden with papers. Papers, scrolls, mission reports. The blond looked up as Shizune closed the door behind her. "Shizune! You're late! Come over here and—ugh!" One of her hands was jammed in her hair in irritation. "One day here, and they're already drowning me in paperwork! And look at this—just, look." She thrust several scrolls into Shizune's arms. "Missions. Hundreds and thousands of missions--"
"I'm afraid to tell you that there aren't thousands, Tsunade-sama." Shizune opened one of the scrolls, her eyes running over the contents. "And they're already organized. It's just a matter of assigning people to them."
"Then here. Take a look at these, and help me figure this out!" Tsunade shoved several stacks of files at her so violently that one of them fell from the desk, scattering papers all over the floor. "Shit."
Shizune was already on her hands and knees, gathering the papers, glancing at them and returning them to the correct folders. "Tsunade-sama, please calm down. Take a few deep breaths. I can—what are these?"
"Personnel files," Tsunade said unhappily, leaning heavily on the desk, her head in her hands. "Thousands and thousands of files. Honestly, Shizune--"
"But I don't have the clearance to see these!" Shizune's voice rose a few pitches, and she deposited the pile back onto the desktop.
"I'm the Hokage," Tsunade said firmly, though at the moment she was looking anything but confident. "I'm giving you the clearance. I need your help, if I'm going to sort through this—this mess." She picked up a piece of paper, glanced at it, then slammed it down on the desk. "It seems like there are too many missions for the number of active shinobi to handle, and to make everything so much better, some group of unmarked foreign ninja have been conduction periodic raids along the outermost borders. It sounds like some other village is trying to see if we're weak enough to invade." Tsunade's face twisted in disgust and she raked her hands through her hair again, leaving it mussed and tangled. "And to top it all off, the medical facilities here have gone to hell."
"Tsunade-sama, please. They aren't all that terrible--"
"There aren't enough medics in this village to deal with all the injured." Shizune could still see the disgust on the older woman's face; it was growing by the moment. "And almost none of them are field medics, which is something that we need as well. They're all fine as medics, in a hospital. But half of them have never seen an actual battle. And the other half are just--" Tsunade looked about ready to start swearing violently, and Shizune found herself needing to calm the woman down.
"Tsunade-sama," she began, trying to keep her voice even and calm, "I'm perfectly capable of preforming field medic work. If I have any spare time, I can work on training a few of the medics here. I will also make time to help you here. There also have to be some other people around who can help with paperwork and devision of the missions; after all, there was no Hokage for several months. There must have been someone who managed everything, and I am certain that you will be able to recruit some other source of help." She took a deep breath, because her voice had steadily been speeding up. "I'm sure you will be able to figure everything out, but these first few weeks might be a little hard. We—we are all going to have to get used to being back here."
"Hm." Tsunade sat up straighter, looking at her assistant. "You're probably right. And just when I was in the mood to start complaining." She started picking through the papers before her again. One scroll she held in front of her eye for almost a minute before she let out an annoyed laugh. "Can you believe this? Some of these mission requests actually specify what rank of ninja they want, and how many. Doesn't matter how easy the mission is, some of these idiots aren't going to be satisfied unless they've got four or five jounin running around doing their bidding. I'm thinking that we'll have to dress a couple of genin up."
"Tsunade-sama!" The thought of dressing the younger ninja up was...it was just completely unacceptable, but it was something that was also incredibly amusing. She doubted many people would be fooled, because genin tended to act like what they were—genin.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding." The look of disgust was gone from her face, replaced by a mildly amused expression. "As tempting as it is..." She picked at the papers again, selecting several and handing them over to Shizune. "If your not going to do anything else, at least take a look at these. Tell me which ones are the most important. I'm sure that some of them are."
They worked in uninterrupted silence for a time, only a few words passing between them. Shizune took it upon herself to sort the papers; somehow, they had become completely disorganized. There were mission reports that needed to be looked at, recorded, and filed away. There were personnel files, many of them which needed to be updated. She stumbled upon the reports from Anbu. They had been tucked away between other papers, and these she kept separated. She found mission requests, checking the scrolls and writing them down if they weren't already recorded. By the time that she finally looked up, Tsunade's eyelids were drooping and the sky outside had changed to black. As she replaced all of the papers in neat piles on the desk, Tsunade's head had slipped from her hands, the woman's eyes closing completely.
Shizune decided to leave her where she was. From experience, she knew that Tsunade did not like to be woken from sleep, and Shizune didn't feel the need to be snapped at. She pulled the Godaime's coat over the sleeping woman's shoulders, then turned and left the room, leaving the lights on in case Tsunade woke and decided to continue working.
It took her awhile to find Raidou's house; the street names had changed over the years, and the entire setup of the village was different from what she remembered. There were more shops, taller buildings, more people. Of course, her memories came from a time when the village had been close to being destroyed completely, and now, even after an invasion, things were still standing and life was still continuing. But she found where he lived, even though she had to stop and ask directions several times. As it turned out, Raidou was living in an apartment complex a little ways past the medical building, showing that she had been walking in the wrong direction for at least ten minutes. It looked to be one of the older buildings, with the uppermost portions looking as though they were more recent additions. She looked at the piece of paper that Genma had given her, using it to help her find Raidou's room. It was on the bottom floor, but she couldn't see any lights through the window. She wondered if there were anyone inside.
Shizune paused outside of the door, checking the slip of paper one last time to make sure that it was the right address. She was nervous once more, her heart pounding within her ribcage. There was a doubt in her mind about several things. The first was as to whether the address that Genma had scrawled out was actually the correct one. The second was as to what sort of greeting she would receive from Raidou.
Though, it didn't really matter in the end. She would have to see him at some point. She'd have to see everyone at some point. And there really was no reason not to see them now.
The number on the door was correct. She raised her hand, knocking lightly and hesitantly on the door.
For a moment, she was afraid that no one was there. Then, her sensitive hearing detected the sound of footsteps on floorboards and her pulse sped up again. Taking a deep breath, she straightened, smoothed her hands over her clothing, and waited.
The door was pulled open, a little too quickly, a little to jerkily, and as it opened red tinted light from within spilled out over the dark street, lighting her face. A man stood in the doorway, one hand bracing himself against the door, the other jambed into his pocket. There was a moment in which neither spoke, where he simply looked at her, where she simply took in the sight of him.
It was...Raidou. At least, she thought it was Raidou. She wasn't entirely sure, because if it was him than he had changed far more than she could have thought. The man that stood before her was similar in build to the Raidou she remembered; very similar, in fact, being taller than herself with long limbs and enough muscle that she could see its definition beneath his shirt. And while this man's hair was the same color, a red-brown that she remembered so well, it was much shorter, though the front still fell almost into his eyes like it always had before. His face was more defined, however, and there were shadows under his eyes and a weary look upon him that she didn't remember. But what was the most different about him, what she had never seen on him before, was the scar that ran from the bridge of his nose, splaying out across his left cheek, down his neck, disappearing under the collar of his shirt. The skin looked as though it had been melted at some point, and in the dim light the white ridges of the scar seemed to stand out all the more. She didn't want to think about what had put it there.
And then he smiled, and it was the same smile that she'd seen on Raidou's face many times before, though it was more twisted as the scars that disfigured his face pulled at the corner of his mouth.
"Hello," he said, leaning against the door frame, one hand holding onto the weathered wood. "Can I help you?"
Same voice, low, with a harsh edge to it. Shizune managed a smile herself, though her hand clenched a little bit tighter around the paper in her hand. "Hello," she responded in kind, still watching him in the light that spilled out from the doorway. There were a few bandages on one arm, stained lightly with rusty splashes of blood, and one that she could see just peeking out at his neck from under his shirt. "Would this be the residence of Namiashi Raidou?"
"It would be, and I would be Raidou." He didn't say anything more, waiting for her response.
She swallowed once, then continued to speak. "Genma told me about a little...get together here tonight--"
"You're Genma's girl?" Raidou asked, turning his head to the side and gazing at her from a new angle. "He's not here yet, but you're welcome to come it. Didn't know he was seeing anyone, though. Haven't seen you around here, either."
Genma's girl? That was something she'd never been called before, but she could see how Raidou might be confused. "I just got back into town," she said simply. "And I'm a little sad that you don't recognize me, Raidou."
Raidou's eyes narrowed and his brow furrowing as he stared at her. His mouth moved as though he were trying to say something, but a few more moments passed before he spoke any words.
"...Shizune?"
Her face broke into a smile. "Yeah," she said softly. "Yeah, I'm back."
It contrasted almost entirely with her meeting with Genma earlier in the day. With a short laugh, Raidou moved forward and pulled her to his chest with one arm. She returned the hug warmly, wrapping her arms around his back. He smelled like blood and sweat.
"Your hair used to be longer," he said as he stepped back, holding her at arms length.
"So did yours. I'd say that it was a good choice to cut it." She allowed a smile to grow on her face, and watched as he let his head drop slightly as he continued to laugh. "And I'm very glad you got that black dye out of it."
Raidou ran a hand over his face and through his hair. "You still owe me for that. You and Genma both." He looked up at her again, smiling, the scars tugging at the edge of his mouth. "You're back."
"I'm back."
Raidou kicked the door completely open with his foot. "Well, come in. Like I said, Genma's not here yet. I heard that they've got him running around the village like crazy. Something to do with the new Hokage?"
"He didn't mention anything--" She caught his eye and smiled. "Yes, the advisers have him out heralding the Godaime's arrival."
"Lucky him." Raidou moved out of the way as she walked past him into his apartment. "The rest of us are trying to compete with one another to see who can fit the most missions into one day." He laughed at the look on Shizune's face. "I'm joking. Relax. No, we've just got all the missions piling up on us. Not enough shinobi to go around, you know?"
"I've heard about that." She stepped into a dark hallway, though from where she was now she could see the dim glow of a light from deeper inside. "I've also heard about people requesting certain people or amounts of people to complete a task."
"Things are pretty rocky right now. Come on, Namida's the only other person here. Everyone else is out on missions." They walked down the hallway and Shizune saw several photographs hanging along it. The light was too dim for her to see the details, but she could identify herself in one or two, smiling along with her friends. It was back when her hair had been long, back when she had first joined Anbu. Most of the pictures were dusty, though, and most of them contained people that she didn't know.
Raidou led her into a small room lined with a few chairs, a couch, and a low table that currently held a deck of cards and two glasses. "Hey, Namida. We've got more company."
The woman who sat before the table with her back pressed up against the couch looked up at his words and offered Shizune a warm smile. "Hello. I'm Suzume Namida. Always good to have more people around here." She was someone who Shizune had worked with before, years before, though not for long. A rather unassuming woman at the moment, with her long dark hair knotted behind her head and glasses perched on her nose, Shizune knew her to be incredibly intelligent and a nearly perfect kunoichi in how she acted.
"It really is," Raidou said, turning so that he was looking at Namida. "Namida, you remember Shizune, don't you?"
The other woman gave a start at the name, her head jerking back slightly and her eyes widening behind her glasses. "Shizune? I—but—we all thought you were dead!"
Shizune winced a little at that, but she supposed that was what many of her friends and companions had assumed after she was gone for so long. It didn't anger her; after all, eight years was a long time to be gone, especially when one hasn't left to become a missing nin.
"So I guess you're still alive, too."
"No, I'm still alive."
"And we're all glad about that." Raidou sat down on the other side, gesturing to Shizune. "Come on, sit down. Poker's more fun when you've got more people."
"More people to make sure that someone isn't cheating," Namida said while looking to Raidou. The man shrugged, picking up the cards and shuffling them. Namida turned her attention back to Shizune. "It's—good to see you again."
"You too." Shizune sat down on the floor at the end of the table, kneeling and smoothing her clothes around her knees as she did so. There was an awkward silence as Raidou dealt the cards. There was so much to say, but actually saying any of it would be difficult.
"Who else is coming?" Namida asked as Raidou passed her a few cards.
"Genma, if he ever gets off work. I doubt anyone else. Everyone's just so busy that it's not worth it." Raidou held his cards up before him, glancing at them and then at Shizune. "Do you have anything to bet with?" She shook her head. "Well, that's fine. We'll just--"
"Do you want anything to drink?" Namida asked, cutting of Raidou, and Shizune once more shook her head. "All right, then. You know, Shizune, we all pretty much thought that you were dead. It's a shock to see you again. It's kind of like if Rin were to show up on someone's doorstep."
There was another moment of silence in which Shizune stared at her.
"...what does that mean?" she asked, keeping her eyes locked with Namida's. The other woman bit down on her lower lip, looking worried.
"I forgot, you wouldn't know," she began, her voice quiet. "Rin's—Rin's gone."
Shizune's eyes widened. "But—what happened?"
Raidou shrugged, not looking at her but picking up where Namida had left off. "None of us really know. Well, Kakashi knows, he was there, but no one wants to ask him. We don't even know for sure if she's dead, but her name's not on the stone." He glanced up at her, the cards more or less forgotten on the table. "It's been a while now, five years or something like that. No one talks about her much anymore."
"Oh." Shizune just sat there, her hands in her lap, staring at the table. She'd been expecting something to have happened, from how Kakashi had acted when her name was mention. But five years didn't mean that the woman was dead. For all she or anyone knew, it could have been a mission. It could have been something else. She wouldn't ask anything more about her, though. She almost didn't want to know anymore.
Once more, there was silence, this time lasting for several minutes, in which everyone just sat there. Shizune felt very separate from the other two, having missed so much. When the silence had dragged on for too long, she took it upon herself to start up a new conversation. "So what have you two been doing lately?" she asked, setting her elbows on the edge of the table and leaning on them, her head in her hands. She was beginning to grow tired, and the day had been very, very long.
Raidou shrugged. "This and that. Missions, mostly. I've still been trying to work towards gaining full jounin status, but I've been too busy to put my name in for the promotion." He began to shuffle the cards again, just as something for his hands to do. "I was also the Sandaime's personnal bodyguard during the Chuunin exams...though that isn't something that I should be proud of, seeing as how well things went."
"It's not your fault," Namida said vehemently. "They took you out with four kunai--"
"Which sounds pathetic enough--"
"--and you had Orochimaru right next to you. There's not much you could have done!" She glared at the man who sat across from her, as though daring him to contradict her.
Raidou sighed heavily. "She wasn't even there," he said to Shizune. "Heard it all from Genma."
"Genma can be a very reliable source of information," Namida shot back.
"When he wants to be."
"Oh, just be quiet!" Namida shook her head, then turned to Shizune. "He's been sulking about the whole thing for several months now--"
"I have not been sulking."
"Yes, you have." Namida shook her head again, rolling her eyes this time. "Anyway, I've been been teaching, which is why I wasn't there to see everything that happened. I was helping to get the kids up into the cliffs."
"Teaching?" That interested Shizune. Namida had never struck her as the sort of person to teach.
The woman nodded enthusiastically. "Yes. I've been teaching the girls at the academy about all of the wonderful tricks that we employ as kunoichi. They aren't all so thrilled about it, but a few of them really seem to enjoy it. It also gives the girls a chance to practice all of their techniques without the competitiveness of the boys. They still have combined classes, of course," she added quickly. "But I think that the class is a very good experience for them."
"You'd think so," Raidou muttered under his breath and Namida glared at him.
"Be quiet. You couldn't teach to save your life."
"I probably could." There was the sound of knocking from down the hall and Raidou rose. "I'll get that; it's probably Genma." He left the room quickly, as though he wanted to keep another argument from starting.
Namida laughed. "He's too easy to tease sometimes."
"If I remember correctly, he always was." Shizune smiled happily; it was nice, because even though she wasn't the one doing all of the talking, it was nice to see the Raidou that she remembered. "You two still working together?"
Namida sighed, picking up one of the glasses on the table and taking a sip from it. "Not really. We did some Anbu work together, a couple years back, but then they took me out of the field and put me in intelligence. I got a little office and a bunch of papers and maps. Still, it was good work. Challenging work. I liked it." She took another sip from her drink.
"Are you still in Anbu?" Shizune asked, curious about that. She'd only done a few missions with the woman, but remembered that Namida had been a highly valued operative.
Namida swallowed her mouthful of drink, then let out a short laugh. "Still in it? Who can get out? Well...Kakashi did, but that's because he's got a genin team now. No, I'm still in it, though I'm no longer on active duty. Raidou and Genma are in similar positions. Pretty much, we all just take whatever missions are given to us without complaint, whether they're Anbu or regular." She looked up as two men entered the room. "Hey Genma."
"Hey." Genma dropped down on the couch, looking worn out. "Hello again, Shizune. Raidou, do you have anything to drink?"
"Water," Raidou said with a straight face and Genma glared at him before letting his head fall back against the cushions. "I take it you mean something alcoholic?"
"Yes."
"Not a very smart choice, seeing as you'll probably end up running around again tomorrow, but I think I've got some sake stashed somewhere. Shizune, are you sure you don't want anything?"
She shook her head. "No thank you, Raidou. I'll be helping Tsunade with paperwork tomorrow, and I don't want to risk having a hangover."
"Suit yourself." Raidou left again, this time into the adjoining kitchen.
"So, you're working with the Godaime, then?" Namida asked, interest sparked in her eyes. "I'd heard that Tsunade was back—you were with her, weren't you?"
Shizune inclined her head. "Yes, I was. And I'm helping her to get adjusted to things, though I'll have missions to do soon, if I'm not mistaken."
"You'll get sucked back in," Namida agreed, then turned her head with an annoyed look and pushed Genma's legs away from her. "Are you just going to lie there all night?"
"Yes," came his answer from the couch. "Don't bother me."
Namida rolled her eyes, grinning at Shizune. "He's been oh-so-wonderful to be around as well. Not entirely sure why he's sulking, though."
"Too many missions."
"Ah, that could be it." She drained the glass that she was still holding. "At least most of them can be accomplished in less than a day. Most of them just have a lot of travel time. I get to stay in the village, though."
"Then you don't have anything to complain about, Namida." Shizune glanced over Genma, who was simply making comments from his place on the couch. He was sprawled out now, he legs stretched out across the length of couch, one arm sprawled over the back. From what she could see, his eyes were closed and he was chewing methodically on the senbon that was stuck in his mouth.
"Long day?" she asked him, watching the jerking motion of the senbon. She heard him sigh.
"Yeah. I'd give a lot to get out of the village for awhile. The advisers have got me running errands for them all day long."
"And we all know how terrible it is for you." Raidou's voice was dripping with sarcasm as he came up behind the couch. "Here." He handed Genma a small cup of sake. "I'm not letting you have that much, because, with your luck, you'll end up with a hangover and some mission tomorrow." Raidou walked around the couch and table, sitting down where he had been seated before. "I guess the game of cards is done."
"Guess so." Namida pushed a couple of cards towards him. "Or you could start a new game."
Raidou added the cards to the deck. "Doesn't look like anyone's really interested. Genma?"
"Nope. I'm just going to lie here, thanks."
"Shizune?" he asked, and she shook her head once again. "Oh, and just because I'm wondering, where are you staying?"
"At the moment? I've got a room at an inn, but I'm going to need more a permanent arrangement soon." Shizune played with the edge of her robe, looking thoughtful. "You wouldn't happen to know of any places that are renting out rooms for a good price, would you?"
"Well, actually...I think some of the rooms on the top floor here are open..."
"They've got a really weird layout to them," Namida put in. "This whole building seems like it was just stuck together at one point. I mean, they didn't really need to put that hallway in over there," she pointed to the hall that led to the door, "but they did. I think the upper floors are a bit nicer, though."
"I'll look into it for you in the morning, all right?" Raidou looked over at Shizune, who nodded.
"That would be nice. Thank you, Raidou."
"No problem." The cards were shuffled again and he dropped them down in the middle of the table. "Anything for a friend. Even an old one."
"Are you implying that Shizune's old?" It was Namida again, and her voice was teasing.
Raidou's eyes narrowed. "Now you're just spinning my words out of context!"
"If they can be taken out of context, then you said them wrong in the first place."
"Can you two be quiet?" Genma grumbled from the couch, one arm now flung over his eyes. The cup that had once contained sake was now empty and sitting on the table next to Shizune.
"You going to sleep here tonight, Genma?"
"I hope you don't mind. You're couch is very comfortable, Raidou."
"He does this all the time," Raidou said to Shizune. "It's like he doesn't have his own place or something."
"Are you sure that he actually does? He might just be faking." Shizune grinned as she heard Genma give a low growl of protest. "What? I thought you were trying to sleep."
"Never said that."
Things continued like that for the rest of the night, though Genma's comments died off after a several minutes. Shizune herself was quiet, for the most part, and mostly just listened to Namida and Raidou banter and insult one another. It wasn't because she didn't want to talk—she did, quite a bit—but more because she was beginning to feel incredibly tired, as well as because she felt so out of place. She may have been a friend, a companion, and a teammate to them, but that was eight years ago. She felt like an outsider looking in, not fully understanding all of the jokes and jabs that Raidou and Namida threw at one another. It bothered her, that she was left out, but not because they were leaving her out. They weren't; they spoke to her, they asked her questions and she answered, but she couldn't join in with their interaction.
But she had fun, all the same. It was nice to sit with them all again and just watch them. It truly was, and when she left she found herself not wanting to leave. However, it was growing to late, and though she didn't look to see what time it was when she returned to her hotel room, she was sure that it was near midnight. She fell onto the bed and into a deep sleep, filled with the normal jumbled dreams that she had always had, which made no sense in the end and seemed to carry no deeper meaning.
Morning found her back in the Hokage's office, before a grim faced Tsunade.
A/N: Well, there it is. I meant it when I said there would be several weeks in between chapters, but that you would get massive chapters for that wait. Almost 10,000 words here.
I didn't have computer access for two weeks, and I had trouble starting the chapter. I also made the mistake of writing the sections out of order, so I had to work on piecing them together. I also had to entirely rewrite the last scene, because in the original version it took place at Aoba's home. But I like how it turned out; that scene was a lot of fun to write.
I suppose I could have split this into two chapters, but I wanted to contrast Genma and Raidou's reactions to seeing Shizune again. I'm still working on their characterizations. I enjoyed writing the Raidou-Namida interaction, though.
Speaking of Namida, she's the woman who taught Ino and Sakura in one of their flashbacks. I think she has about two panels in the manga, but I wanted to include her. According to leafninja . com, Suzume is her family name and Namida is her given name. I've only ever seen her called Suzume in the few fan fictions she's shown up in, so I wanted to be different with that. However, I may at sometime come back and change this, depending on what I decide in the future.
Thank you all for the feedback on the first chapter, especially to Erithil for the critique. Comments and critisim are welcome, of course, and if you see any contradictions between this chapter and the first one, please tell me.
I won't have computer access for another week, but I'll try to get the next chapter out sooner. You'll probably be able to guess as to what is coming next.
Raven