Lost Memories, Regained -Chapter 4-
~Tsunade's Office~
"Mmm, I wonder if she's awake yet. Well, there isn't much we can do about the situation as of right now, Tsunade. I suggest we go see her. Maybe explain some things... Tell her name and that sort of thing." Jiraiya concluded after a few more hours of discussion between them.
Tsunade sighed, got out of her chair, and walked over to the window. As she stared out at the busy city below her, she thought of the young girl's mother. How they used to talk for hours. Oh, how she missed those days... Migoto and Tsunade had been great friends for many years before little Mimi was born.
Their friendship grew even stronger when, at the tender age of two just after her father had left on an important mission, Miharu came down with a terrible cough. She was a relatively fragile baby, and, as a result, any medicines the hospital had to offer were deemed too strong for her. Tsunade searched for days trying to find a cure gentle enough for her tiny, frail body.
When she had at last found a solution, it was a considerably risky one. Gentle, so the little girl wouldn't require much recuperation, but also dangerous because it required surgery on her throat. Migoto was sure that Miharu could, and would, survive the operation. "She... She was so sure about the outcome of that operation, that Miharu would survive." Tsunade said through tear-filled eyes.
"I trusted her instincts completely! And she... Although she survived, just those few months later..." Tsunade choked out, holding back her tears. Jiraiya simply stood there, silently watching her. Yes, he had heard the story many times, the story of how Migoto Kurokawa had been murdered by her own nephew along with almost every ninja in her family.
"In a sense, it's like Itachi Uchiha copied what he did, though on a much grander, insane scale." he thought to himself. "Jealousy... It can be such a terrible thing. It makes people do the unthinkable. But...! It's on his head now, Tsunade. She is still alive and healthy... For the most part." Jiraiya said after a few more seconds of silence, in which Tsunade wiped her eyes on her sleeve.
Tsunade looked out the window again with squared shoulders and shook her head, signaling she understood what Jiraiya was saying. "Well! I guess we should go see Miharu. I need to give Shizune a break, anyway." she said as she motioned Jiraiya to follow her out of the room. As she walked through the doorway, her mind shifter, again, to Migoto and her daughter.
~Hospital~
"Mmm... Where am I? Oh, that's right. I'm in a hospital. Why am I here again? I don't seem to..." the young girl thought to herself as she opened her eyes and slowly sat up. She glanced to her left and saw Shizune sleeping in a chair by the wall. "Hmm, what..." she thought to herself and scratched her head. "What was her name again?" she now said out loud, still scratching her head.
As she was still pondering this self-put question, the door, unnoticed by her, opened, and Tsunade walked in with her head turned back towards Jiraiya. "I'm telling you Jiraiya we have to tell her more than just... What is it now?" Tsunade asked him irritably when he looked at her oddly. "Oh, nothing! I just didn't think you were planning on her being awake so soon is all." Jiraiya answered sarcastically.
Tsunade's head snapped back to its natural position and stared at Miharu with disbelief apparent in her eyes. The girl just sat in her bed blinking slowly with her hand still in the position of scratching her head. The two stared at the girl for a moment longer when her face suddenly lit up with realization. "I got it!" she declared with a snap of her fingers as Jiraiya and Tsunade looked at her like she was a bomb about to explode.
"It's Shizune!" the girl exclaimed happily. At that, huge sweat-drops appeared over both Tsunade's and Jiraiya's heads. Meanwhile, Shizune's head had shot up to look around the room frantically. "What...? What happened? Is something wrong?". Tsunade still sweat-dropped as the girl turned back towards her and Jiraiya.
"Hey! Your that Tuna lady and Jirya guy, right?" the girl asked obliviously. Tsunade, now back to normal, turned to Jiraiya who, in turn, turned to Shizune to try and figure out what the girl was talking about. Shizune, meanwhile, had turned to the girl with a mortified look on her face in response to what the girl had just called the two Sanin.
"Hey, Shizune!" the girl said turning back to said person. "You said they could tell me about myself. Are they going to?" the girl asked eagerly. Tsunade looked at Jiraiya, then at the girl, and then went to sit down in a chair close to the bed, motioning Jiraiya to do the same. "All right. You want to know about yourself? Well, there is only one thing I am going to tell you today." Tsunade said seriously.
"Mm-hmm? And?" the girl said anxiously. "Your name... That's all I'll tell you... Your name is Miharu. Miharu Ha..." Tsunade said, pausing for a moment at the hopeful girl and seeing Migoto's face. As she caught Jiraiya's eye, he slowly shook his head. "Kurokawa... Your name is Miharu Kurokawa." The girl, now revealed as Miharu, looked down at her lap and, smiling, repeated the name a few times. "I like it! But, for some reason... I dunno. The last name just... doesn't seem right to me." she said.
