Sakura Haruno was having a bad day. The actual fighting had been over with for hours but, the injuries had taken considerably longer to treat. Ordinarily she didn't work at the hospital but, they needed all of the medics today. Her first patient had been a teen around her age. He had a plain face that was pale from either blood loss or he had simply worn his ANBU mask for too long. She would remember that face although she couldn't place a name to it. The first patient you lost was supposed to be the hardest.

Still, she didn't feel as if she had failed him, it was more like she felt empty. Perhaps she was too tired to feel anything right now. The back of her mind provided the answer but, she was unable to face it right now. There had been nothing she could do for him and she had known it at the first glance.

Turning her mind to a more immediate matter she wondered if Ranmaru could keep his secret. His team, along with Konohamaru's had managed to kill the second-in-command of Otogakure and rumors about the battle were already flying. It was an impressive feat and was drawing a lot of attention to the two Genin teams. As unfair as it was she hoped that Konohamaru and Kado continued to get most of the credit.

That reminded her Ranmaru had done something surprising again. After their battle they had started treating their wounded as best as they could. Out of every one Moegi had been the one worst off. She had been unconscious and Ranmaru had knelt down next to her and promptly passed out.

This in itself would be weird but, when Moegi had arrived at the hospital the swelling around her brain had already started to go down and a small fracture in her skull had quickly healed. It would've been more surprising and if something similar hadn't happened with Raiga when they had first met Ranmaru. She would have to question him about it but, first she had to grab his file and that meant cutting through the waiting room.

"Sakura," the familiar voice of Naruto called as she crossed the room but it lacked its normal enthusiasm. Stepping in front of her he asked, "Where are they?"

Under the circumstances she could easily identify the "they" he was referring to. Naruto circle of friends was small and she could tell he wasn't going to be deterred from seeing them. "Follow me; they're all in the same room."

"All? I heard"

"They're being praised and yelled at depending on who's in the room at the time. One of their sensei even managed to do both simultaneously." She had tried for a joke but, Naruto didn't even glance over at her.

Stepping onto the elevator he asked as the door closed, "How bad are they hurt?"

Sakura had to remind herself that he didn't know their condition while she did. Starting with the least hurt she began, "Ranmaru is suffering from chakra exhaustion. Hoshiko took a kunai to the shoulder but, there's no serious damage. Konohamaru has a broken arm. We can speed up the healing but, not right now. Moegi had a concussion and was unconscious for a while but, she's fine now." She forced a smile and realized she had to look up to meet his eyes.

Naruto relaxed visibly apparently some of the stories going around were a lot worse than the truth. The elevator doors opened on the third floor and they stepped out. She pointed to one of the doors and told him to be quiet. "You're not coming in," Naruto asked.

"I've got to grab a file. I'll drop by in a few minutes." Stepping back onto the elevator she had to hide her giggle at Naruto's mother hen impression. It didn't really suit the goofball image she had of him but, Naruto had proven her wrong about so many things. He may not be the brightest but, he cared about his friends. Exiting the elevator she passed through the waiting room again.

"Do you work here?" A feminine voice demanded.

Sakura sighed not believing her luck or lack thereof. Turning to face the woman she forced a smile. The woman was a little taller than her but, was much older. A quick inspection revealed no Hitai-ate but, the man behind her had one prominently displayed on his forehead. "I'm helping out here today I might be able to help you."

"My daughter was brought to the hospital. I want to see her."

Sakura glanced over to the information desk which was currently unmanned. "If you give me her name I can tell you her status." Sakura said going around the desk hoping she wouldn't be delivering bad news.

"Moegi"

She felt a sense of relief that she wouldn't be the bearer of bad news. "Third floor room number 305 it's on your right when you step out of the elevator." The woman left before she had even finished talking leaving the man behind.

"I'm sorry she's very upset," the man supplied. "Thank you for your help," he finished with a weak smile.

Continuing on her way she went down the hallway and paused at a door with a sign that said, Records Authorized Personnel Only. Unlocking the door with a key she swung the door opened to reveal a staircase. Descending the staircase she found herself in a long hallway with a single door at the end. The old man who was a guard of sorts looked up from his book as a security camera focused on her.

Flashing today's hand sign she waited for the old man to unseal the door. She nodded her thanks as she passed him. She now stood in the room that Ranmaru had looked into only a few days ago. His medical file along with just about any unique non-clan ninja was kept in this room. For additional privacy and security the files were only numbered on the outside and she knew Ranmaru's by heart.

Opening one of the filing cabinets drawers she paused. The file wasn't there. Quickly checking the rest of the drawers she had to fight down growing panic. It simply wasn't here. Calming herself she left the room to talk to the old man. She vaguely hoped that somebody else had been in the room today.

The man looked up from his book as she closed the door behind her. "That was fast."

"Has anyone else been in here today?"

The man frowned at her response but, checked the record book. "No you're our first guest today. Is something wrong?"

Yes, something was very wrong Sakura thought.

Naruto paused before entering the room. He had only heard that Konohamaru's team was in the hospital after a fight. He hadn't stuck around to learn more. For some reason the image of Hinata had come to his mind and he hadn't been able to shake it. The idea that he might lose another precious person had shaken him. He couldn't even remember if he had paid for his meal at Ichiraku or not. Learning that their injuries were mild was simultaneously relieving and a little embarrassing.

Deciding he wanted to know how they finished off Kabuto he pushed open the door. The room had four beds two on each side and all were occupied. Kado and Udon both stood at the far end of the room eyes downcast. Naruto remembered that look from back in his Academy days when the good kids would get in trouble. "Hey, I hear you guys saw some action."

"Did you hear who we fought?" Konohamaru sat up in the bed his arm in a cast but, eyes bright looking forward to telling a story instead of listening to Naruto's.

Naruto moved towards Konohamaru's bed but, he saw Moegi and she looked so down that he had to say hi to her first. There was gauze wrapped around her head but, her hair was down hiding most of it. With her hair down she looked more mature and even kind of cute. He quickly banished that rather disturbing thought by picturing her as she looked at eight when they had first met. "How are you feeling?"

She gave him a weak smile and said, "I'm fine."

"So, how did this happen?"

"I was a distraction for Konohamaru. It worked just fine but, when he kicked me I hit my head against something and I don't remember anything after that."

At that moment the door flung open and a woman stepped in and looked frantically around. She spotted Moegi and headed straight for her wrapping her in an enthusiastic hug.

"Mom," Moegi said trying to push her away.

A man followed the woman in saying, "Ai get a hold of yourself you're embarrassing her,"

"I knew something like this was going to happen. I should have never let her go to that damn Academy." She turned to face the man but, when she caught sight of Naruto for the first time she hissed, "You."

Naruto had stepped back and watched the little family drama unfold. He was trying not to laugh as Moegi's face turned several progressively darker shades of crimson. When the woman turned her attention to him he saw something he hadn't seen in years. He didn't remember when people had stopped looking at him with hatred but, it had been years. The words were the same though he hadn't heard them in years, "stay away from my daughter." He left the room without saying a word feeling like he was seven again.

The elevator was too slow so he used the stairs jumping from landing to landing. He wasn't sure where he was going but, he didn't want to stay here. Leaving the hospital he took to the roofs deciding to go to the training fields so that he could reduce something to very small pieces. Halfway to his destination the persistent calling of his name stopped him and he turned to face the unfamiliar voice.

It was the man from the hospital room presumably Moegi's father. "Please allow me to apologize for my wife's behavior earlier. She isn't a ninja and has been very worried about our daughter ever since she's graduated. Today her worst fears came true but, she had no right to say that."

The man bowed and Naruto found himself in a unique position. He was sure that it had happen before but, he couldn't remember when somebody had apologized to him. "Um, it's okay?"

"Thank you." Straightening he smiled. "Ai isn't normally like that but, these last few months have been rough on her."

"I guess it's hard on civilians." Naruto actually had no idea what he was saying but, it seemed like the right thing to say.

"Yeah, she's not even originally from the village so it's kind of like a different world to her. Before we married I made a promise that none of our children would become ninjas. With our first daughter that was an easy promise to keep but, Moegi has always been different."

Naruto tried to remember if Moegi ever mentioned her sister before but, he came up blank. "Moegi has a sister?"

"She never mentioned her? That's not really surprising they don't exactly get along. She's about your age and the two of them are actually a lot alike in some way but, total opposites in others."

"What do you mean?"

"They're both kind of shy and quiet but, I don't think she ever thought about choosing a career as a ninja. I think Moegi was four when she asked me how to throw a Kunai and she was five when she told me she was going to be a ninja. Her mother wasn't happy but, Moegi can be stubborn. I will admit though, when she first told me she'd make friends with you I wasn't happy."

"Why?" Naruto asked a tinge of his anger coming back as he remembered why so many of the villagers had hated him.

"Well you did do all those pranks and then there was that scroll you stole. I wasn't sure you'd be the best influence on her but, I was wrong."

"You're sure that it wasn't the demon that's inside me." Naruto's eyes widened almost as much as the other man's did. He hadn't intended to say that it just sort of had come out.

Moegi's father shifted uncomfortably. "I guess it's no surprise you know but, the Third's Law is still technically in effect."

"I won't tell anyone."

"Yeah, okay it was a factor at first but," he trailed off.

"But," Naruto prompted.

"But a demon wouldn't play with a kid. After that I reconsidered my opinion of you." Silence descended over the two of them until it was broken a minute later. "I should head back to the hospital. When I left Moegi she was yelling at her mother for talking to you like that and that probably won't end well." He went to leave but, turned back. "Maybe we'll work together sometime I've heard a lot of good things about you and not all from Moegi."

Naruto gave a weak wave not knowing how to feel. He had worked hard to gain respect and he guessed he had succeeded in some ways. The fact that there were still people like Moegi's mother who could look at him and think of that thing hurt. It hurt a lot.

A half remembered comment from years ago came back to him. There were always people who didn't respect the village's leader but, he refused to accept that. He would prove to everyone that he should be respected. Then he laughed remembering what Moegi's father said changed his opinion.

Tsunade was not happy. Someone had broken into a secure facility and stolen a single file during the attack. In order to do so they had to bypass three different security measures. At first she had hoped that it might have been the two missing infiltrators but, that seemed increasingly unlikely. Whoever did it needed inside help. The men and women who normally guarded the door were generally close to retiring ninjas of little note. Someone and she intended to find out who had ordered the guard pulled during the attack leaving only the cameras and a seal as protection.

The cameras themselves hadn't been tampered with but, the VHS tapes had been. The normal procedure had the tapes destroyed every two weeks to prevent a useless pile of tapes from being stored. This procedure was a pretty low priority and apparently somebody had stolen old tapes. When they had checked today's tapes they found that they had been recording over a previous day. More frustrating they had known about both cameras. The one in the hallway was easy to spot but, the hidden camera in the room was only known to a few people.

That left the seal itself as the only remaining security measure and she had no idea how they got past that. Supposedly the door could only be opened from the outside by one of the guard's specific chakra. So, unless there was a traitor in their ranks, it shouldn't be possible for anyone else to open the door from the outside. She found herself wishing Jiriaya would hurry back his expertise could come in handy right about now.

Deciding she couldn't figure how they had stolen it she concentrated on the why. The reason she had ordered Ranmaru's Kekkei Genkai classified was actually multi-layered. There were the Hyuga of course. A new Dojutsu would be something they would covet and Ranmaru was simply unprepared to handle that right now.

A little more lethal problem was the simple fact that he had spent a good portion of his life with a Missing-nin from Kirigakure and that could be enough for them to send a Hunter-nin after him. It was becoming increasingly harder to predict what the Mizukage would do in any particular event. The faith his people had in him had taken a hit when their village had been attacked. A civil war could break out because of the smallest incident or at least that's what some reports were saying.

There was a sharp knock at the door and she shouted, "Enter." The door opened and in walked two people she could have really done without seeing. "Homura, Koharu to what do I owe this pleasure?"

Koharu scowled managed to deepen as she took a seat. "We have remained silent as you forced us out of the decision-making process because, you have managed to make the right decision most of the time. However, your latest decision cannot stand without our input."

That made her raise an eyebrow. Overall she thought the counterattack had been handled perfectly. Casualties were low and they had managed to take out all of the lieutenants. "With respect," she said without meaning it. "The bulk of the attacking force was destroyed and"

"That is not the subject at hand," Homura interrupted. "We are referring to your decision not to accept Kumogakure's offered to attack Otogakure in a joint offensive."

Tsunade jaw clenched, they weren't supposed to know about that yet. "The decision is not up for debate."

"We are the Advisory Council you will allow us to advise you on this matter." The elderly woman snapped.

Trying not to show her frustration she said, "Continue."

"Sound has been dealt a devastating blow. Most of their leadership is dead and a portion of their force has been destroyed. If we do not strike soon Sound will have time to rebuild their strength and become a threat again. Another hidden village has offered us a temporary alliance of mutual benefit. It is foolish to pass it up. Especially, after they gave us vital information that contributed to today's victory."

Tsunade waited expecting more but, nothing was forthcoming. "You've overlooked two critical things. Kumogakure has never been a good ally, to anyone. I know Orochimaru better than anyone and he would sacrifice every person in Otogakure, if he thought it would help him achieve his goals. It is possible that these two villages have entered in an alliance of their own. Today's battle may have just been a setup so that we would trust Kumogakure. However, when we would attack Otogakure itself they would turn on us." The plan wasn't that farfetched and she was slightly surprised that these two wise elders hadn't thought of it.

"And what of the Kumogakure's ambassador? Did he not help us capture one of Orochimaru's lieutenants today? If he intended to betray us that would seem, dangerous don't you think? Would it not be better to make sure we didn't have prisoners to interrogate" Homura commented.

That was a good point she thought but, the man had died a few hours ago. Apparently he had a parasitical relationship with his brother and without another host he had simply exhausted himself. "I believe," Tsunade paused it was hard to refer to that boy as an ambassador, "Kumogakure representative believes everything he has said. That doesn't mean that it's true."

"It is possible to guarantee their offer is legitimate." Homura paused but, when she didn't rise to the bait he continued, "Hostages."

That was an interesting idea she thought but, there was a problem with it. "Kumogakure would never agree to it even if we could get enough important people to agree to be hostages. They would fear that we would betray them and try to control their village."

"That is why we should ask a third smaller village to host the hostages," Koharu answered.

Tsunade leaned back in her chair and thought about that. As much as she hated to admit it, the idea did seem valid. "It might work but, there are a lot of problems that could pop up. I'll have to talk to the ambassador about it."

"That is all we ask," Koharu said as both of them rose to leave.

Even before they had left the room she was compiling a mental list of possible hostages. It was a lot harder than it would seem but, one person jumped out immediately although she didn't know their name. Lightning had no Kekkei Genkai to speak of so, they had compensated. Being the Jinchuriki for the two-tailed demon cat was not the worst thing that could happen to somebody in that village.

Unfortunately, the last Jinchuriki had been one of those killed during the samurai trouble. The new Jinchuriki couldn't even be a toddler yet. They would have to confirm that a demon was in the child but, since it was going to be their future trump card they wouldn't risk the child. A knock at the door pulled her out of her thoughts, "What?"

Shizune poked her head around the door a bottle of sake in her hand. "You look like you could use a drink."

"What's wrong?" Shizune didn't like her to drink when she was in the office so something had to be wrong.

"Why don't you take a drink first?"

"Shizune tell me."

"We found out who gave the order to pull the guard. It came from you."

"So, they forged my signature. That's just one more law they broke."

"Well there is something else," she paused and Tsunade had to prompt her with a glare. "Nobody can find Danzou. He's been missing since the attack." Shizune winced as glass shattered. Turning she opened the door behind her and said, "Kotetsu, Izumo can you go get the Hokage's chair again."