A few days later, before Michiko could run off to train by herself, Kakashi caught her, saying, "You need to escort Tazuna to the bridge with Sakura today." Michiko grumpily nodded, and went to wake Sakura up. She shook the girl by the shoulder, saying, "Sakura-chan, wake up! We need to escort Tazuna to the bridge!" Sakura finally woke up, and changed before heading downstairs with Michiko. "Tazuna-san, are you ready to go?" Michiko questioned as she pulled her mother's gloves on, and Tazuna nodded. They headed out to the bridge, and as Sakura sat on the railing, already bored, Michiko offered to help. She lifted some heavy beams, positioned them properly, and even hammered them in. After a few hours of hard work, Tazuna gave her a break, and she sat down next to Sakura. 'I see she doesn't think of much else except Sasuke…' 'Don't think like that, Chiaki! Sakura is a good person! A bit self centered…but still a good person!' 'Soon, looking for only the good in people is going to get you in trouble…'
As Michiko was contemplating what Chiaki said, Tazuna said it was time to leave. They were going to buy something for dinner, and Michiko looked around at all of the poverty. She saw a young child sitting in the streets, and it pained her heart to see the pain in her eyes. She stopped, and Sakura looked at her questioningly as she walked over to the young child. "Are you hungry, little one?" The girl nodded shyly, and Kumiko reached into a pocket on her Jounin vest, pulling out a small box full of rice balls. "Here…eat this. I'm not hungry." She handed it to the young girl, smiling softly, and patted the girl on the head before standing up and going over to Tazuna and Sakura. They kept on walking, and soon entered a grocery store.
Michiko was leaning against the wall, looking around as Tazuna bought something, and saw someone reaching for Sakura's purse. In a moment, she grabbed the mans wrist, crushing it. "I'd rethink that if I were you." She said in a dangerous tone, her eyes hard. He fell to the ground in pain, and Michiko turned to Sakura, saying, "We should watch our backs, ne?" Sakura nodded, feeling ashamed, and followed Michiko out of the grocery store with Tazuna. They were soon back with the others, and Michiko sat at the table, a book on the Tailed Beasts in her hands.
Everyone soon came in for dinner, minus Sasuke and Naruto. Michiko was getting worried about those guys, but ate nonetheless. When the boys finally came back, they seemed exhausted, and Naruto said, the broadest smile on his face. "We made it to the top…we did it…" Michiko smiled, saying, "Congratulations! Eat something before you collapse!" She caught both boys, and helped them to the table. As they ate, Naruto gained enough strength to start talking. Michiko learned to tune him out, and noticed Inari seemed upset about something. "Inari-san…is something wrong?" After a moment, he said, "You're all kidding yourselves! You can't beat Gato! He'll kill all of you!" Michiko searched his eyes for a reason, and found pain and suffering hidden just underneath. "Inari-san…"
"You're nice…why can't you just leave and let us handle this ourselves?" Michiko stood up, saying, "Sometimes, you have to risk everything to do what's right. You have to face what you're afraid of…or you'll never be truly brave." She turned to Tsunami. "Excuse me, but I need to go study…" with that, she grabbed her book and left. When she was alone in the room, she felt a pain in her chest. She took out a picture of her family right before Chiaki had been sealed within her and her mother passed on. They seemed so happy, and the joy and optimism in her mother's eyes reminded her of Naruto. A tear rolled down her cheek, but when she heard the doorknob turn, she hid the picture under her pillow, brushing the tear away.
Sakura came in, and Michiko relaxed. "Are you okay, Michiko-chan? You don't seem like yourself…" "I'm fine…really…" She stood up, taking her pajamas before going to the shower. As the hot water pounded on her forehead, she was deep in thought. 'What would I do…if I couldn't protect my friends…without sacrificing my own life…?' 'You'd do what was necessary…I can tell…' Michiko felt slightly comforted, but it didn't wash away the unease within herself as she got out, drying off and changing into her pajamas. When she got back to the room, Sakura was already asleep, and she smiled softly.
'I wish I had a clear conscience like that…but it's not possible when you're a shinobi…' 'You can't blame yourself for every death that happens. It's a natural thing…it happens…' 'I wish I could believe that…' she lay in the bed, trying to sleep, but her worrying thoughts kept her up late into the night before allowing her to sleep.