Jo! Sorry that this update again took some time, but this time it was my beta-reader because she was too busy.

Hope you like it.

Chapter 12

-I like him-

Imperiously the fifth whooshed through her hospital. She went straight past a group of medic-nins and said in a loud voice: "Shizune! To my office! Here and now!"

Irritated, Shizue excused herself and followed Tsunade´s vapor trail.

---

Totally clueless she took the seat opposite the hokage and waited till she would say something. Purposely the legendary sannin let her wait for a while before she looked up from her work, which she hadn´t done really but used as a pseudo excuse to think over her strategy.

She tapped her fingertips against each other and eyed Shizune with such seriousness that the younger medic nin was getting really nervous because she had not the slightest idea of what Tsunade in a serious mood might want from her. This was seldom enough... Than the hokages look became soft.

"Shizune. I want to talk to you now not just as a hokage but as a friend, too. To become precise, I want to ask you a question. Since months I watch you and Genma and I´m happy to see that you get along well. But now you´re ignoring each other and act as if you don´t know the other? Although I don´t know what happened between the two of you, it would be a shame if your friendship is lost that way."

First Shizune was surprised, than affected. She avoided Tsunade´s gaze and remained silent. The hokage wasn´t willing to say something more Shizune notived so she began talking.

"Well... what happened... I don´t even know it myself exactly.", she admitted. "We are close friends, but the next moment... everything seems to be broken apart. It just wasn´t my perception. We...er,... we nearly kissed."

"Wouldn´t have been the first you shared." Tsunade reminded her.

A faint blush appeared on Shizune´s cheeks when she remembered that night and the next morning, when Tsunade easily found out about it. "I like him. But I appreaciate his friendship too much and don´t want to risk that something comes in between, or that it woun´t work and we suddenly dont´get along anymore."

"And what now? I think its already too late for this theory."

"But I cannot just pretend nothing did happen."

"Why not? Actually, there really happened nothing. There was nothing that could have happened."

Stunned, Shizune thought about these views. Looked at in that light, there was nothing actually... Hm. "So what do you propose I should do now?"

"Well, because as a matter of fact nothing happened, just behave as if nothing has happened and behave normal again. So simple."

"Do you think that´s going to work that easily?"

"Darling, nothing´s easier than that. Just act normal and you will see he will come back to normal in the twinkling of an eye." That´s if Raidou did everything right. "Just give him a smile- its said that the shortest distance between two people is a smile- and then everything will be back to normal and you´ll be happy again. I could barely take your sight lately because you had this miserable look on your face and this dark clowd following you everywhere. First act decent once more, what follows is left to you two."

Shizune knew that with the following she was treading on thin ice, but she wantetd to clear her standpoint and was expecting that out of all people Tsunade would be the one to understand it best. "I don´t know if I should do that. When I think about you and Dan..."

"Dan is dead!" The hokage said with a constrained voice, her mood had changed completely.

"Yes, b..."

"Dan is dead!" She cut in. In a softer tone she continued. "But Genma lives. He´s alive, Shizune. Even though he was injured several times, he survived it without chronical damages. He is alive, Shizune. And you too. Don´t forget that after all you´re just a woman."

Shizune gave her an uncertain look.

"Don´t waste your life because you fear it could be hurt at any time or could end but live it because it could be hurt or end at any time. Got that?"

Shizune´s eyes dropped silently to her lap, where she was wringing her hands.

Tsunade chuckled softly. "If you still don´t know what you should do, I´ll pose you a question: How can you let a man like Genma pass?"

Shizune looked up and her with big brown eyes. Than a smile crossed her face and mirrored determination. She rose from her chair.

"And hurry, or I´ll take him myself!"

Shizune laughed at these words and left Tsunade´s office in a good mood. Now it was too late in the evening and the next morning she would leave for her mission where she needed to be fit, but bevore she had still something to do.

Pleased Tsunade leaned back in her chair. Yes definitely, she was a great hokage.

---

"Genma?"

"Yes?"

"When I´m back from my mission, I would like to talk with you."

He smiled. "I´d be glad to."

Jo, thats it for today. Thanks a lot for your reviews! Tell me what you think.