GUESS WHO'S BACK?

Chapter Fourty One: Time to Heal

Shikamaru was outside of the emergency room, clenching his fists together worriedly. His eyes kept darting between his hands, the floor and the ominous bright line in front of the entrace of the room. His bad habit of bouncing his legs when he was nervous was back in full gear.

"You look like a wreck." Shikamaru's head shot up at the deep voice. Shikaku was watching his son with an unreadable expression. The boy got to his feet as his father stepped out of the shadows.

"How are they?" Shikaku asked, looking at the doors solemnly.

Shikamaru shook his head, "All of them got it bad, Chouji and Neji had the worst damage." He felt his eyes stung as he dropped his gaze. The guilt grew worse when he looked at his broken finger.

That was all he had gotten. A broken finger and his other comrades might not be able to live through this.

He squeezed his eyes shut, not allowing that thought to go any further. "It's all my fault." Shikamaru said shakily, "They got hurt because I didn't plan it through. They believed in me, and I let them down."

He clenched his fists at his side, tremors passing him, "Mononoke is still in critical condition when I checked on her, just like Neji. Naruto and Kiba are still unconscious." He shook his head and spat bitterly, "And I'm here, with just a stub finger. I'm not fit to be a Chunin."

"Suck it up, kid." Shikaku's stern voice snapped and Shikamaru winced, his head still hung down. "The life of a ninja isn't a walk in the park."

The Nara leader looked at his son, "Even if you quit being a shinobi, missions will still occur. Someone will have to carry them out. Your companions will just go out with a new leader. So then, maybe your companions will die," Shikamaru flinched at the thought as his father went on, "But if you're their leader that time, your companions may not reach that end." Shikamaru looked at his father, who was pointedly looking at him and he turned away shamefully.

"If you look at this time as an experience and you learn from it, maybe you can carry out your missions with less problems. If your companions are really important to you… Before you think about running away, consider that you may become greater for the sake of your friends!" His firm voice rang straight and true. The Nara leader breathed in slowly, sobering up. He was sure that his words went right into Shikamaru's head.

Shikaku watched silently as his son's shoulders shuddered, and tears fell to his feet.

"N-next time…" Shikamaru choked and clenched his fists so tightly, his fingernails made crescent dents into his skin, "Next time, I'll do better. I-I won't let them down again."

Once he got word that Mononoke was out of surgery, he almost ran to her room. Due to multiple injuries and a fragile condition, she was admitted.

When he got to the room, he was panting. Maybe it was his nerves or that his body was still weak from the battle, he didn't know why his heart was ramming violently against his rib cage even though he just climbed two floors up.

Shikamaru took a deep breath before knocking the door gently and letting himself in.

He was definitely not ready for the sight inside.

Gaara looked up to him, his expression strangely blank. Shikamaru didn't miss the way his hand pulled away from Mononoke's open palm but chose to ignore it. The redhead leaned back against his chair and folded his arms, looking outside of the window.

Speaking of which, the girl seemed asleep, her breathing even and steady. She was wrapped in a few bandages, a small tube connected from her arm to an IV stand beside her bed. The dim light from the cloudy day outside seemed to soften her features, making her look younger.

Shikamaru allowed a breath of relief to see her calmly sleeping. "Did she just fell asleep?" Shikamaru asked.

Gaara nodded, bringing his gaze to lie on Mononoke, "They brought her in ten minutes ago and she was already asleep when I came in."

The Nara did not expect a reply so sincere from the Sand ninja. Both boys turned back to the girl, unable to come up with a conversation and decided to be silent instead. Shikamaru stepped closer to her, with the thought to sit on her bed. But trails of sand slid against the bed sheets. He stiffened and glanced over at Gaara, who wasn't looking at him.

"She doesn't deserve this." Gaara said softly, exhaling through his nose, "If I hadn't come in time…"

Shikamaru's whole body ached heavily with guilt when he turned back to look at the sleeping girl. "I really shouldn't be a Chunin." Shika muttered under his breath, taking another step closer, "I'm so sorry. I'm not-"

"And I won't forgive you if you quit, Shika." Mononoke grumbled, half asleep. Both Shikamaru and Gaara jolted at her groggy protest. She blinked her eyes open, looking around.

Shikamaru almost forgot how bright her eyes were when she looked at him.

Sighing, she pressed back with her elbow and tried to get up. She managed to lean against her arm but as she tried to sit up, she winced in pain. Gaara got off his chair and moved closer to her. He gently took her arm, the other hand supporting her back. Shikamaru didn't knew why he felt a little prickly at the sight.

"Honestly, i'm not that fragile." She looked back at Shikamaru, smiling painfully, "It's fine. We learn from our mistakes? Isn't that what you said?"

Shikamaru felt his eyes stung a little and he swallowed dryly, feeling a rather large lump in his throay. He offered a half-smile and shrugged, "Yeah… I did."

Mononoke grinned at him, "So there. You remain a Chunin. Just be careful next time, kay?" He couldn't help but smile wider. Then, a worried lines creased Mononoke's forehead as she furrowed her brows, "How're the others?"

Shikamaru shook his head, "Chouji is out of emergency but we can't see him yet. Neji is in critical. Naruto's knocked out. Kiba's sister is with him while he's resting. He didn't get it too bad because the Sand came in time." Shikamaru glanced over at Gaara as he finished his sentence.

He didn't look up, instead his dark green eyes were looking at Mononoke, twisting the bedsheets anxiously. "Well. At least Hana is with Kiba. Naruto will be fine, obviously. And I'm more worried about Neji…"

But Shikamaru wasn't listening to her nervous babbling. He was watching how Gaara reached over to hold Mononoke's hand comfortingly while she continued running her mouth.

Once visiting hours were over, a nurse came in to ask the boys to leave. She was a large woman, and her no nonsense demeanor managed to unnerve the two boys.

"Off with you two prince charmings! You can see her tomorrow." She grumbled, glowering at them as she waved her hands at them in a shooing motion, "The patient needs her rest."

Mononoke had to bite her lip to keep from laughing when the nurse uncouthly shooed Gaara away with a firm look. He looked so put off and surprised at her gruffness, as if he wasn't used to being manhandled. Mononoke suspects he didn't lash out at the woman because he was too busy being uncomfortable. And maybe it was because she was there and Gaara wanted to be on his best behavior. 'Depends on how you'd want to look at it,' Mononoke mused to herself.

When the nurse looked at him, Shikamaru just snorted, no doubt inwardly complaining how women are such a pain in the arse, before turning to Mononoke. "I'll bring some peaches along tomorrow." He said, deliberately ignoring the woman with a shrug. The girl pricked up gleefully and gave him the brightest grin, "You'd better, Shika!" Her cheerful response made him smirk.

Gaara managed to gave her the smallest of smiles as he stood beside Shikamaru, edging away from the nurse as best as he could. Mononoke tilted her head, smiling back curiously, "Bring Temari and Kitty along tomorrow?" He nodded a promise with an amused glint in his eyes, and the boys left.

And she was left alone with the scary nurse's mercy.

Mononoke watched curiously as the nurse shuffled around, checking her pulse and temperature and whatnot. She busied herself by checking her IV bag and clearing some clutter left by the previous nurses, grumbling under her breath. The nurses before were all rattled by Gaara's quiet stare and left everything in a mess on the cabinet on her bedside.

Mononoke was a bit surprised when the nurse gently nudged a thermometer against her lips. "Open wide and rest this under your tongue." The girl listened obediently, clamping her mouth shut after the bulb was placed at the bottom of her mouth.

"So, you've got your hands full, huh?" The nurse mused aloud as she took the thermometer from Mononoke's mouth, inspect it and gave an appreciative grunt.

Mononoke blinked, watching her clear away the equipment into a tray on her bedside. "What do you mean?" She asked, confused at the question.

The nurse gave her a short glance before busying herself, "You got two strappin boys who stayed with you the moment you came in. Hard to choose one without breaking the heart of another, I'm sure."

Mononoke realized what she meant and shifted uncomfortably, bright pink dusting her cheeks. She tug at her comforter and mumbled, "I'm not choosing anyone.."

The nurse snorted in disbelief, "Could've fooled me." She gave a once over of the room and her honey brown eyes fell on Mononoke.

The kunoichi caught sight of a little tenderness in those hard eyes as the nurse scrutinised her. She bends over and help Mononoke to lie down, and pulled the sheets to her chest. "Rest." She said, her voice soft and commanding.

The nurse picked up the tray and was ready to shuffle out of the room when Mononoke piped up, "Wait." The nurse turned around and the Genin swallowed, "Um.. What's your name, miss?"

Mononoke swore she saw a hint of a smile when the nurse replied, "Chihiro."

"Will you be coming often?" Mononoke couldn't help but ask.

Chihiro looked at her incredulously, "Yes. I'm in charge of your ward." She paused before continuing, "Any more questions?"

Mononoke shook her head and smiled, "Nope. Goodnight, Chihiro-san."

The bulky woman nodded, "Goodnight." And she walked out of the room.

Shikamaru stared at the ceiling, deep in thought. The house was quiet when he got home, so he assumed that his parents went out. Most probably his dad managed to convince his mom to leave him alone for awhile. At times like these, he's glad his dad has some sense when he wanted to be left alone. Thank the heavens for Nara Shikaku.

He thought back when he left the hospital with Gaara. They managed to walk side by side in civil silence, unsure where the other stands in terms of acquaintanceship. Once they stepped out of the hospital entrance, the other two Sand siblings were outside, waiting for their youngest brother.

Kankuro moved away from the tree he was leaning against when he saw them walked closer.

"So, how's the pup?" he asked Gaara hastily. Gaara just grunted in reply, unwilling to say more. Temari smirked at her second sibling, waggling her eyebrows, "Are you actually worried for Mononoke?" Kankuro shot her a glare, his cheeks slightly pink, "No! Just concerned. Since her comrade was beaten up real bad." She snickered at his lame attempt to disguise his concern, earning herself an angry growl.

She turned to Shikamaru, "What about you? You okay?"

He shrugged, "Just got a broken finger. Other than that, I'm fine." Temari grinned at him teasingly, "Guess you're not so bad at holding up against girls."

"I live with Mononoke. You learn a thing or two." Shikamaru replied, his mouth twitching.

"Would love to stay and flirt more, but we got to get going." Kankuro interrupted, glaring at every thing else. He was obviously still miffed.

Shikamaru saw Gaara hiding a small smile, before he collected himself and agreed, "It's late." He turned to Shikamaru and nodded, "We'll take our leave now."

"Yeah. See you." Shikamaru replied calmly, surprising himself. Temari gave him one last smirk before the Sand ninjas walked away.

It was a strange conversation, to say the least. They seemed more confident in each other now.

A hoot from an owl nearby pulled him back into the present and Shikamaru sighed. The window was left open, bringing in quiet noises from the village on a trail of a soft breeze. The coolness of the night hugged him gently, like a soft thin blanket. He had tried playing Shogi on his own, but he was too wound up to concentrate the way he wanted to. He threw a Shogi piece in the air and caught it. Shikamaru rubbed his fingers against the familiar edges, feeling it's name that was etched into the wood.

He moved his thumb away and looked at it.

The silver general.

Moonlight streamed into his room at just the right angle, hitting the piece and illuminating it. Shikamaru thought it sparkled silver for a moment, but maybe it was the trick of the light. He exhaled and pressed the piece to his lips, gazing out of the window. The black sky sparkled with tiny whispers of light.

Drip. Dark water rippled across the still surface.

Drip.

I see you. Child of Canines. I see you crystal clear.

Drip.

Ghostly eyes leaped out from the darkness and a shrill cackling filled the air.

Mononoke shot up from the bed, gasping. Her heartbeat was erratic and she clutched her chest, as if it was about to jump out of her rib cage. She heaved large gulps of air, gasping as if her life depends on those heavy breaths. Cold sweat beaded her skin, her hospital scrubs clinging to her like she was placed under a running tap. She shivered, trying to stop her eyes from stinging. The moonlight shone in gently but it did nothing to comfort her.

She gripped the sheets tightly, still breathing hard.

It was for only so long that she managed to avoid the nightmares, and now they're back to torment her.

Clammy hands covered her face and hid the soft whimpers as Mononoke slumped forwards sobs went unheard in the dead of the night.

Six peaches sat on the wooden table, and they were pissing him off slightly. Shikamaru was contemplating how many peaches he could take for Mononoke. And so far he was unable to decide. How does one know how many peaches a recovering girl can eat anyway? And if Mononoke knows he brought all six, she won't hesitate to finish all of them, no matter what he says.

He groaned and scratched his neck, grumbling, "Man, this is such a bother." Taking one final glance at the fruits, he mumbled under his breath as he packed three inside a napkin and firmly tied a knot with the edges of the cloth. Lucky number three it is. Without wasting any more time, he walked out.

Yoshino spotted him going towards the front gate and called out for him. The boy turned, half-expecting her to nag at him for some reason. But instead he was given an encouraging smile, his mother's eyes shining, "Send my love to Mononoke. And tell her we'll come visit later once your father gets up." Shikamaru nodded and waved, "Okay. I'll be leaving."

He shut the large wooden doors behind him, and almost stumbled back when he almost walked into someone standing at his doorstep.

"Gaara?" He exclaimed, still choked up in shock. The redhead just watched him blandly, his arms folded as he stood there stoically. Shikamaru shook himself out of his reverie, "What're you doing here? How did you find my house?"

Gaara shrugged before turning, waiting for Shikamaru to get the hint. The Nara started walking and both of them started towards the hospital. "Temari told me. They're waiting for us." Shikamaru nodded, still confused to why the Sand ninja would want to walk him to the hospital. But Gaara did not provide him with any more conversation. Instead, he brought him to a small miscellaneous shop.

Just as they neared the store, Temari and Kankuro walked out of the door, a small bag in Kankuro's hand. Shikamaru looked at them quizzically, but Kankuro shrugged and tilted his head to his sister, "Her idea."

Temari snorted at him, "Well, you paid for it."

"Let's go." Gaara's words made them stop squabbling and the four started to walk. Temari fell in step beside Shikamaru and gave a small grin, "We figured we got Mononoke some candy and stuff. She looks like she has a sweet tooth. Gaara told us to get something for your knucklehead friend as well." Shikamaru couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly, "But what for?"

Temari shrugged and looked forwards, where Kankuro and Gaara were walking a bit further from them and out of earshot. "It seems that both Mononoke and the blond kid did something to Gaara. He's changed." She glanced to Shikamaru meaningfully, "For the better, of course. But he's been opening to me and Kankuro a bit more now, and his temper has lessen bit by bit."

Shikamaru nodded in understanding, "That's... Good." Temari made a hum of agreement, as she looked at the other two wistfully, "Yeah. It finally feels like I have brothers instead of colleagues."

Just as they arrived to Mononoke's room, the burly nurse from the day before walked out, her face slightly pale. When she saw them walking towards the room, she shook her head, "I'm afraid that she might not be seeing anyone today. Her condition is a bit fragile." They tensed simultaneously.

"What do you mean 'fragile'?" Temari blurted, worry creasing her brows. She took a glance at the group and the woman sighed, "She wouldn't speak, and wouldn't let me touch her. She looked almost like a frighten animal." She looked at Shikamaru, who was standing right in the center of her line of sight, "She's got frost all over her skin too. Might check with the doctor to examine her later when she's calmed down."

Shikamaru immediately stiffened and exclaimed, "I need to see her." The nurse scowled at him, "No can do, kid. She's not-"

He glared at her, his heart in his throat, "I know what's happening to her. At least just let me in." The nurse looked at him from head to toe, her eyes speculating every inch of him. Shikamaru didn't move, firmly standing in place and staring her down. Then her large shoulders sagged slightly and nodded, stepping aside, "Just you, boy. I hope you know what you're doing."

Without a moment's hesitation, he knocked on the door and let himself in slowly.

The room's temperature was definitely a turn. It was probably a few degrees lower than the corridor outside. Shikamaru thought he could almost see a whisper of his breath as he exhaled slowly. He walked in as slowly as he could, edging close to the wall.

When he was finally in her sights, Shikamaru could see her relax minutely when she saw him.

The covers was pulled close to her chest, and like the nurse described, frost was covering every inch of her skin. Some of the blue crystals even hung from her eyelashes, making her look almost frozen. Her turquoise eyes were as wide as saucers as she whispered, "Shika?"

He nodded and stepped closer. He stopped when she flinch as he placed the bag of peaches at the foot of her bed, "How're you feeling?" She didn't answer him but as moments passed, she relaxed. Shikamaru tried again, his eyes never leaving her, "Can I come closer?" It took a few more heartbeats before she dipped her head.

Slow and steady, Shikamaru edged closer to her and sat down beside her. And he waited.

It was painstakingly slow but the frost began to seep into her skin and the room started to turn back into a normal temperature. Mononoke pulled the comforter closer to her as she pulled her legs up, "Nightmares."

Shikamaru nodded, placing his hand closer to her. She didn't flinch so he took it as a good sign. "And you've been up since then?" He got himself a nod and he said gently, "I brought you peaches." He gestured to the end of the bed.

Mononoke glanced at the small makeshift bag before shaking her head.

"You want some water?" She glanced at the water pitcher, thought for a moment and nodded. Shikamaru got up and walked over to pour her a glass. After drinking, she seemed to have calmed down a bit more.

"Mom and Dad wanted to come see you later. Will you be able to?" He asked gently as he took the glass from her and placed it on the bedside table. She looked outside, watching the morning sunlight stream in before she shook her head. Shikamaru nodded, "Do you need anything else?"

Mononoke didn't look at him but her hand reached over and held his, "Stay. Just stay."

He didn't asked any more questions as her eyes were hooded from fatigue. He helped her lie down, still holding her hand. Her eyes still darted, although a bit unfocused. Shikamaru squeezed her hand and placed his other hand on her head, smoothing out her hair. "I won't let anything happen to you." He affirmed and with that, Mononoke drifted off to sleep.

Kakashi visited a little while later.

Shikamaru had startled slightly when he turned and suddenly the Jonin was standing beside him, his eyes glazed over as he looked at Mononoke.

Shikamaru relaxed when he saw the man. Kakashi seemed to finally noticed the boy and his eye curved as he smiled. "I believe I haven't officially said this to you yet, but.. Thank you for caring her this whole time, Shikamaru. I'm very grateful."

There was a stunned silence before the Nara blinked. He didn't have the time to to reply before Kakashi looked over at Mononoke, who was still sleeping soundly. "Is it okay if I take over?" He asked thoughtfully, looking back at Shikamaru. From this angle, Shikamaru could see the dark circles that were beginning to form under the Copycat Ninja's eyes, making him look older and more weary. This man has definitely seen better days.

Shikamaru nodded. He turned back to the girl, slowly and gently extracting his hand from Mononoke's loose grip. She whimpered slightly at the loss of contact, but remained asleep.

Kakashi took his place beside Mononoke, slowly interlacing his fingers with her. Her body relaxed again. Shikamaru thought her nose flared slightly as she took in another breath, and her head turns toward Kakashi, as if he was a magnet and pulling her in. It was such a natural transition that her body angled towards the man without being conscious. Shikamaru watched as Kakashi's shoulder sagged with relief and he arranged himself in a way that his elbows were resting against the soft hospital bed and his forehead was pressed gently against the girl's side.

With a murmur, Shikamaru excused himself and left the room.

Mononoke gritted her teeth as she retie her bandage on her left hand. "Are you sure you're okay, Mononoke-san?" Rokumaru asked her, watching her with concern. Zirou clicked his tongue as he agreed. "Nope. But I won't die." She admitted cheerfully before standing up. The fish on her left ear tingled and she nodded, "Time to go."

Even though it's been two months since the Sasuke Recovery Mission, there are some of her injuries that were still tender. But Chihiro had did a good job of healing her, in her opinion. It took Mononoke a great deal of effort to convince The Fifth to give her missions again once she was released from the hospital. She wanted to be as useful as she could the moment it was possible. Losing Sasuke made her feel driven to start doing missions again, to allow her to emerge herself into finishing a job instead of letting herself mope and mourn.

Obviously, she was met with objections, separately from Kakashi, the Nara family, and even Kiba told her off once he heard the news. Naruto, on the other hand, was deliriously envious when she was allowed to do missions again while he needed to rest. He was determined to follow her as well, but both Jiraiya and Tsunade managed to stop him from being stupid again. His body was more damaged than hers, so he still needed more time.

So for now, Sakura was training under Tsunade, so Mononoke had to go on missions with other ninjas.

Her current teammates were Rokumaru, a Genin her age and Zirou Hyuga, an older Chunin. All three ninjas were adept in recon and swift-footed. With Mononoke and Zirou offensive skills and Rokumaru's strong defenses, their temporary team well balanced for retrieving scrolls and items of import as well as infiltrating small bases. So far, she had gone on three missions with them and they worked well together.

But not well enough. Mononoke knew as much. But she knows she can't compare to her old team anymore.

Zirou stopped suddenly, stepping deftly on a thin branch. Mononoke and Rokumaru followed, crouched low. Zirou looking around intently for a moment before activating his Byakugan. Once he was satisfied, he flicked his fingers and beckoned them.

When they managed to huddle together, he said softly, "There are at least five people outside the safe house. Only three are friendlies. Mononoke and I will take the other two out. Rokumaru, you need to get the friendlies inside the safe house as soon as you can. They're together and don't know about the intruders. Wait until we return before removing the scrolls." The Genins nodded. It had already been clear cut who was wisest in their team, so Rokumaru and Mononoke followed Zirou's orders. He hadn't been wrong so far.

Mononoke left her teammates, moving towards the location of the intruder Zirou pointed to.

The wind moved into her favor and she got the intruder's scent. Her nose twitched at the smell, reminding her of bamboo and something familiar that she can't quite put her finger on. Nevertheless, she would remember it later. Once she killed whoever they are.

Moving higher into the trees, she slowed once she detected their chakra.

A hooded figure stood in the clearing, seemingly doing nothing as they stared into empty space. Mononoke scowled as she thought things over. Right, so she only has two choices: one, close in and deal a killing blow without knowing whoever they are or what they were capable of doing, with a risk they might know she was here; or two, lie in wait and watch their next move.

Static buzzed in her ear and Rokumaru's voice murmured into her ear, "The friendlies are in, over." Another voice followed after, "I'm done here, over."

Right then, option one it is. Mononoke raised a hand towards the figure, and streams of frost flowed out of her left sleeve before coalescing into an arrow. It hovered slightly in the air before releasing. It plunged into the figure's chest, the bloodied tip reemerging from the other side of the figure. Whoever it was fell to the ground, blood pooling around them. Mononoke pressed a finger to her earpiece, "Yeah, I'm done too, over."

When she regrouped with the other two inside the disguised building, she saw Zirou calmly speaking to three frantic men, Rokumaru watching them gloomily. She came up beside him and whispered, "So, what's the deal?"

"They're trying to tell us how important and precious their lives are." Rokumaru whispered back. The brunet snorted and crossed his arms, grumbling, "Just hand over the scrolls already, stupid geezers." Mononoke sighed slightly in relief because the men didn't hear him over their clamoring protests.

Zirou obviously heard it, since he gave Rokumaru a sharp glare, before turning to the officials, "Yes, I'm sure you were deathly afraid, good sirs. But we need the scrolls as soon as possible. The Fifth won't take it kindly if we were to return later than promised."

That shut them up and one of them scurried to the backroom. He returned with four scrolls, three small and one large. The man dumped the contents into Rokumaru's waiting arms sullenly, "Here. Tell the Fifth to send more backup for us, y'hear?"

Zirou nodded before bowing slightly, and the men seemed appeased.

It was decided that all three of them would take one of the small scroll and Zirou took the large one in addition. "Right, let us leave." He nodded at them.

Mononoke smiled to herself as Zirou scanned the forest outside before moving on swiftly. Another job well done then.

They cautiously continued through the forest, jumping from one tree to another and picking up pace. It was nice, not having the need to slow down, Mononoke thought. Usually she had to hold back her speed so her comrades could catch up but Zirou and Rokumaru helped her pressed hard against speed limit.

Just as Mononoke crossed a large branch, she heard something snapped behind her.

She whirled around, whipping out a large shield of ice just in time to block the large sword swinging down at her. The clash of weapons made a sharp clinking sound, loud enough to shake the thin branches around them. Her masked attacker growled and leaped away as she tried to swipe at him. Zirou and Rokumaru immediately drew their weapons as their latest intruder stared them down.

"Below you!" Zirou warned her and she flipped backwards, barely evading a kunai that came from below. As she was in the air, she felt her cheek slice open into a thin cut, blood seeping out. Mononoke clicked her tongue at her carelessness.

That's when a new presence appeared behind her. She turned her head back, but she felt something sharp pierce her neck. Then, the world turned black.

Tsunade was in her office, suffering yet hundreds more papers with Shizune at her side. She bit back a sigh, as she pressed her seal of approval on another letter. A few more of the older advisors were scribbling in their papers and muttering amongst themselves as they discussed mission offers. After the attack from Orochimaru, they were getting lesser and lesser mission offers. It was rather worrisome.

The door slammed open and four men stumbled into the room. Two of them were the guards that stood outside of the room, and they were holding two other ninjas who were terribly wounded. Tsunade jolted in surprise at the sudden intrusion before rushing to them.

The older one coughed, his dark hair falling around his face, "Tsu..Nade-sama... They got her..." He coughed again, blood dripping from his mouth. "We've completed the mission.. But... We lost one of our own.. Please.." Shizune went to the younger boy, his eyes unfocused as he looked up at her when she tried asking him questions. Tsunade looked over at them before sucking in a breath. They were the squad that was sent to retrieve information on recorded invasions from other countries. She was hoping that she could strengthen their village's security, given the last invasion. The Third had loosen his guard, Tsunade suspected.

She barked orders to the guards to take the wounded to heal, after Shizune and another advisor took the scrolls from the ninjas. As they scattered to follow orders, she dug through her mind for the other comrade.

The Sannin sucked in a breath once she realized, barely able to keep her legs from buckling under her. "Shizune." she called, her voice only wavering slightly and Shizune turned to her, a worried expression on her face.

Tsunade gave her look as she spoke, "Get Kakashi here."

Kakashi could barely hold his composure as he stared down at the bandaged ninjas. Zirou Hyuga and Rokumaru. Kakashi knew of them. Mononoke had told him about them once.

They were averting their eyes from him, too afraid to look at the legendary ninja in the eye. In other circumstances, they would've felt honored if Hatake Kakashi the Copycat Ninja even look in their direction, but at this moment, both boys wanted their respective beds to just suck them into the sheets.

"Is it alright for you to tell me what had transpired?" He asked, his voice soft but no one could mistake it as gentle. The boys shuddered, and one of them opened his mouth, ready to repeat the story again.

"After getting the scrolls, we were attacked by five other ninjas. One of them had pierce Mononoke with a dark liquid from a syringe, and she immediately was unconscious. Before Rokumaru or I could act, he carried her away, telling the other four to get rid of us. We managed to disarm two, and Rokumaru was about to take them both while I followed them. That's when we were struck in a genjutsu. When we woke up, at least three hours had passed and our bodies were bruised and broken. I didn't know how but even though each of us took one of the smaller scrolls, Rokumaru had Mononoke's when we regained consciousness." He faltered before continuing softly, "If it weren't for Mononoke's charm, we wouldn't have made it back."

Kakashi leaned in slightly, as he asked, "What charm?"

Zirou lifted a black string from his neck, a broken piece of stone in the middle. "Before the mission, Mononoke gave one to each of us. She said she had a feeling we might need it this mission. If we were in danger or badly wounded, she told us to destroy it and it would send us back home." He clutched it tightly, "When I destroyed it, a large wolf appeared and carried us back to the village."

The man dipped his head, before nodding and he turned to the Fifth Hokage, who was deep in thought.

"We need to find her. Those people took her for a reason, and I'm sure it's not out of good will." She nodded at his statement before exhaling. She turned to the boys, "Are you able to remember their faces?"

Rokumaru shook his head, his freckled nose twitching, "No, they all wore masks. But I think I saw one of their armbands." He bit his lip as Tsunade and Kakashi stared down at him. "They're from the Hidden Sound Village."

Sakura pressed a hand to her mouth in shock when she heard the name. She never meant to eavesdrop but when she heard Mononoke's name as she passed a patient's ward, she couldn't help but stop beside the door.

When she heard Kakashi-sensei and her mentor inside, she knew something was wrong. Sakura clutched her chest, almost in tears. She shook her head, clearing her mind before setting out to find a certain blond.

She found him in his own ward. He's about to be discharged overmorrow, but Sakura had hoped he wasn't going to do anything stupid just yet. She almost cried out in relief when she saw him sitting on the bed, eating an apple. Then she froze when she saw Shikamaru, who was sitting beside him.

Both boys looked at her curiously. "Oh, Sakura-chan! You came to see me?!" Naruto grinned widely, his eyes sparkling. But she couldn't be bothered to reprimand him. She didn't know who to look at when she delivered the news so she looked at the white hospital sheets on Naruto's lap.

"Monononoke... She'd been kidnapped." She blurted, and squeezing her eyes shut as worried tears stung. Shikamaru could only gape silently as Naruto leaped from the bed, everything became a noiseless blur.

For the next few weeks, ANBU teams had been deployed to track her down, in addition to the old Nine Rookies and the Sand Trios' efforts, but no one could recover the Genin.

Yorukami Mononoke was placed on highest priority on the list of missing people.

Heh.

Heheheheh.

Heheheheheheheheheh.

Well, this is a new turn of events. Wouldn't you like to know what happens next? :)))