3. Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
"It is an occupational hazard that anyone who has spent her life learning how to lie eventually becomes bad at telling the truth."
― Ally Carter, Heist Society
March 25, 2188, about 14.00
Her mind was addled from the drugs, but Naoko had enough willpower to figure out where she was. The rhythmic beeping, scent of a disinfectant and the numb throbbing in her chest were hints enough to realise that she was in a hospital.
Several questions surged as soon as she was able to form coherent thoughts. She started with the basics like her name and age and the last memories before she lost consciousness.
Shimotsuki Naoko, age twenty, last known memory was…
That's when it all came back to her – the explosion, falling, the rookies escaping on a carrier.
What had happened? What day was it?
Sensation was returning to her limbs and Naoko tried to sit up, forcing her eyes to open.
The bright hospital light momentarily blinded her and she bit back a cry of pain that was crawling up her throat.
"I wouldn't move if I were you, especially after what your body went through."
She knew that voice, and suddenly Naoko wanted to pass out again. She wasn't quite prepared to face Tsunade just yet.
Out of a sense of duty she forced her eyes open, seeing the busty Hokage standing outside a thick glass wall with a clipboard in her hands. Well…at least there was some form of protecting a barrier between them.
A cough rattled her lungs, causing the woman to lurch forward, clutching her chest.
"Tsunade-sama," she finally managed, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, "is everyone alive?"
"From your team?" she asked with a smirk, "Don't worry. The rookies are fine, temporarily assigned under Guy's guidance. They've been pestering me about your condition daily. Kakashi is recovering right next door. He woke up just yesterday."
Naoko sighed, feeling much more at ease, "That's good."
"I believe you have several questions, but as your physician I will start with matters concerning your health. There was some contact with radiation, as your protective suit was torn. Had Izumo not thrown you both into the ship's decontamination chamber only minutes after the blast you probably would be dead by now."
Her brown eyes took a quick glance around, noticing the decontamination apparatus in every corner of the room. Anti-radiation machines - capable of combating small doses of radiation, developed by the Earth kingdom after arriving Eden. Their population had suffered the largest doses of radiation and the machines were developed to stabilise the population.
Naoko managed a smile, "I'll make sure to give him my regards."
Tsunade clicked her tongue, "Well, that is the only thing he was able to do. That's what you get for not having a medic on board. You suffered several minor cuts, mainly caused by shrapnel. We had to restore your lung tissue with laser treatment as you had several splinters lodged into your chest. Make sure you keep taking your rejection suppressants for a month at least."
Oh great, lung problems, and a handful of pills to keep that at bay.
"How bad is it?"
Tsunade smiled sympathetically, "No strenuous exercise for two weeks at the very least. Try to keep your heart rate down, no running or stairs. Move around as little as possible and focus on deep breaths. If we're lucky, there should be no permanent damage from this and your body will accept the artificial tissue."
She nodded, absorbing the information with equanimity.
"How long until I can leave decontamination and see Kakashi? There are several matters I need to discuss with him."
"I want to keep you two here for a few more days. After that you can continue recovery at home."
Naoko braced herself, asking the question that was looming over her head, "Can we skip this and move onto business. What exactly happened? Has Kirigakure reacted in any way?"
It was amazing to observe how quickly Tsunade managed to switch between her roles as a doctor and as the Hokage. The woman's entire demeanour changed.
"You've been out for five days. I haven't released an official statement yet. Thanks to you being out I've been able to stall under the pretext that I've been busy keeping you two alive."
Naoko offered an insightful smile, "I daresay that wasn't a lie."
The Hokage rolled her eyes, "Well now that both of you are getting out after two days, I'm finding it hard to keep Kirigakure's diplomat away from you. He's been extremely indefatigable in his attempts to meet you. How your meeting goes with him will probably determine Kirigakure's stance."
"Of course he is," sighed Naoko wearily, "What happened was a fiasco…Took place on the anniversary none the less."
Tsunade's eyebrow twitched, her anger apparent, "It was a complete and utter debacle! I saw the videos from your head cameras. You should've gunned them down the moment they were in range; instead you let them get to the bomb and from there on it was too precarious to take the shot. You're lucky Kirigakure hasn't declared open war on us!"
The historian's gaze dropped to her lap, accepting the critique in solemn silence. This was her failure and Tsunade had every right to be angry.
"By waiting you jeopardised years of peace and your own life, considering the fact that you're chained to a hospital bed in decontamination."
Naoko's eyes shot up, suddenly remembering something.
"Tsunade-sama, this wasn't a suicide bombing."
The woman halted, her eyes narrowing suspiciously, "What are you suggesting, Shimotsuki?"
"Currently, nothing solid, but those men were wearing protective suits. A suicide bomb squad wouldn't have bothered as the suits limit your mobility. I want access to my laptop and the videos from our head cameras, but you and I both know that there is only one group in the galaxy who would carry out an attack like this."
The Hokage seemed to weigh her words, "Shimotsuki, you know how this is going to sound in public."
"Of course," she deadpanned, "the public will cringe, but if it's the truth then it is our job to make them see!"
"Proof," responded Tsunade tersely, "prove it and I'll allow you to go public with that story. Otherwise you'll just be brushed off as a conspiracy theorist."
Naoko leaned back, her lungs were aching from all this talking and she tried to follow Tsunade's advice, taking deep breaths.
"Well what is your official story, then?" she demanded, arms crossed on her chest.
The Hokage's brow was furrowed, "The truth, that we do not know who attacked. All we caught on video were five men in the dark, detonating a bomb."
"You…You think this was group from the five kingdoms?"
Tsunade seemed to grow irritated, "We don't know, but I'm sure as hell going to find out."
The soldier shared the Hokage's determination, "Can you get my computer delivered here? I need to start working. The three of us can discuss the matter and form a public statement."
The woman laughed, "I think your rookies will be more than glad to do this little errand for you. I'll forward your contact information to the diplomat later; he'll want to meet you personally."
Naoko paused, "Anything I should know about him?"
Tsunade was twirling her pen before stuffing it into the pocket of her lab coat, smirking, "Only that he is an excellent example of the effects of radiation, try not to stare at him too blatantly."
"How is Kakashi?" she asked attentively.
Tsunade sighed, "Physically he's fine, but as always he is blaming himself for what went amiss, not that he'd actually admit it."
Naoko held back the urge to sigh. There was nothing she could do to help him until Tsunade would discharge her.
"Tell him I said hi, alright?"
The Hokage smiled, "Will do…Get some rest, you'll heal faster this way. I'll have your laptop delivered by the time you wake up."
"Tsunade," called out the girl before her physician disappeared, "Please make sure Kakashi's is delivered as well."
"Will do," she replied brusquely, sauntering out of the room.
Naoko got only a moment's peace before another series of coughs caused her body to lurch forward. She spotted a carafe of water by the bedside and gladly poured herself a cup, devouring the liquid with much gusto.
On second thought Tsunade had a point…
They had no basis to pin this on the Akatsuki, nothing substantial, but Naoko refused to believe that it was an inside job. Not after more than fifty years of peace.
True enough, Kirigakure was still laconic when it came to public relations and incredibly private about their affairs, but other than that the nations had been getting along just fine.
She groaned, hiding her face in her hands at the prospect of meeting with this diplomat. What was she going to tell him? To chill out because this all took place on Konoha territory and technically Kirigakure had no right to be sour about it?
The woman rolled to her side, staring at the white wall. The decontamination apparatus was humming quietly, accompanied by the heart monitor beeping away. She couldn't wait for those two days to pass so she could get out of the hospital.
Outpatient recovery was better than this.
Before she knew it, Naoko was snoring away peacefully, the fresh dose of pain medication kicking in and making her drowsy enough to drift off to a peaceful sleep.
Hoshigaki Kisame was an intimidating man. His blue skin and shark-like features intimidated people, not to mention that he towered over most people, were all caused by the dose of radiation his parents were exposed to.
His appearance and forcefulness were exactly why Kirigakure had appointed him to work at Konoha's branch. Truthfully, even the appointment had been thanks to his own initiative.
The Hokage had been avoiding him for days, claiming to be busy treating two of her soldiers, the same ones who had been at the core of the blast. A lie with some truth to stain it here and there.
Kisame had read through both of their service records, since the Hokage remained tight-lipped with him, probably stalling just to talk a story straight with the pair. She couldn't let them speak to him until it wasn't certain that they wouldn't contradict one another.
Now Hatake has been in active duty for nearly five years longer than the girl, Shimotsuki, and gone through a great number of atrocities. One teammate crushed in rubble, the other one killed in active duty by his own hands…quite enough to mess a man up for life.
It was the obvious choice to go to the girl instead – innocent, gullible, not as guarded and much more eager to please. Hatake would be careful, but the girl might make a mistake or two and give something away.
Situations like that were the precise reason the Mizukage had appointed him. If he was barred out, he found a way.
That's how Kisame came to spend his afternoon at a hospital, stalking the hallways with startling precision with a small bouquet of flowers in his grip. His identification allowed him access to almost every place.
Not that the beautiful ladies at reception had the guts to say no to him – a diplomat's badge along with his looks were enough to give him the girl's room number.
If Tsunade was going to bar him from the necessary people, then he just had to approach the source.
His eyes caught the right number and he knocked, manners first after all, before entering the room.
The girl was wide awake and furiously typing away on a computer, her eyes glued to the screen. Even the sound of the door wasn't enough to break her gaze. He took in her appearance first of all – red hair, symmetrical face, no visible scarring. All in all – one of the lucky ones.
"I already told you, no more painkillers, please. I need to stay focused not nap my time away."
Kisame added dutiful to his list of adjectives that already applied to the girl. To the naked eye she looked fine, but if she was stuck in the ICU and in decontamination then perhaps the Hokage wasn't entirely deceptive about her moves during last week. At least he was correct about that.
"I believe that you may be mistaking me for a nurse, terribly sorry for disturbing you," said Kisame, his voice sweet like honey.
Naoko's fingers halted and she lifted her gaze, eyes widening as she recognised the diplomat, or perhaps she was scared of his appearance.
"Hoshigaki, sir, I…Well I wasn't expecting a visit."
It took her only a second to regain her composure and slap on a politician's empathic smile. She closed her laptop and pushed the table away, leaving the glass to be the only barrier between the two.
"I am certain of it," said Kisame, flashing his pointed teeth, "but I was extremely concerned, especially after the Hokage herself felt the need to personally see to your treatments. Any permanent damage?"
"Bits of my lung were reconstructed and some radiation, but I believe you figured out the latter yourself."
Kisame noticed that she had become very reserved, carefully monitoring her body language. Was it due to strictness of the military or was there something to hide?
The smile never faded from his face, "You're quite lucky to be alive…I see Tsunade had her work cut out for her. I brought some flowers; take them as an act of good will."
In a sense they were like statues, frozen in time with the same faces for the duration of the conversation. What amazed him was her ability to seemingly ignore his appearance. She had managed to keep eye contact between the two, without openly staring at his teeth or outright gawking.
Naoko even managed a genuine smile when her eyes caught sight of the flowers. Man, this girl had chosen the wrong profession.
"They're beautiful, thank you."
Young and inexperienced she may be, but the girl had tact. Kisame placed them on a nearby table, not finding a vase nearby, "I'd give them to you personally, but I believe the glass wall is an excuse enough."
"I appreciate that you took the time to personally come see me, but surely you didn't come here personally just to bring me flowers?"
Ah, cutting the chase. Straightforward was added to the list of adjectives.
"What a clever mind you have...Tsunade has been doing her best to keep me away from you, but I am in fact here to invite you to a gathering of mine. I felt it would be fair to deliver this invitation personally before you leave the hospital as it takes place only three days after your discharge."
This was the first time during the conversation when her mask seemed to slip, "A gathering?"
Oh he was going to love the following moments, "Yes, Kirigakure is celebrating their 453rd anniversary, and in my kingdom's honour a ball is being held at the embassy. I'd like you to accompany me there."
Naoko was cornered. How could she refuse his request? Not with the political tension up in the air, outright refusing him would cause a scandal Konoha could not afford.
Personally, he didn't give a damn about the explosion. When Kisame first got the news his first question was 'So what? It wasn't even on our territory!'.
But orders were orders…and it was just damn fun to push Konoha around and solidify Kirigakure's foothold on Eden.
Her smile was polite, but seemed forced, "I would be delighted, if it's not considered too unorthodox."
Kisame straightened up, "Oh it will, absolutely, but I'd love to converse somewhere with a more lax atmosphere. I'll have suitable attire delivered to your apartment on the morning of the ball."
"That's very kind of you," she replied tersely.
Stiff, most likely too guarded to imbibe into a state of intoxication in which she'd confine in him. He'd have to find some other way to approach her…Looking up her personal history should be easy enough, but she can't know that he knows. That would only make her more guarded around him and Kisame couldn't have that. Women are no fun like that…
"I hope you'll find it to your liking. Now, I'll excuse myself before your dearest Tsunade comes here and kicks me out. Have a pleasant recovery."
He offered her a polite bow before exiting her room. This should be enough to annoy Tsunade to a healthy extent and now Kisame didn't have to worry about finding a date for the ball.
All in all – a successful day.
"Calm down, you've done nothing wrong. Also, get back to bed, you'll hurt yourself."
Naoko's head whipped to the computer screen, "Are you joking? Walking around will be nothing compared to Tsunade's rage when she hears. What the hell did I get myself into?"
Kakashi sighed, leaning back in his bed. It was tough to calm the girl down over a computer screen.
"Tsunade-sama won't be mad; in fact she will probably be pleased."
Naoko doubled over, coughing, while her hand gripped the edge of the bed to keep herself from stumbling over. No need to add falling to her early demise in a hospital to her list of embarrassments.
"Get back in bed, right now," ordered Kakashi, concern woven into his voice.
Naoko straightened up and made her way to the bed, leaning heavily on the bed. The pain in her chest was enough of a reminder to keep her pinned to the bed. She turned the laptop back to her and downed another glass of water.
"Happy now, oh leader almighty?"
"Overjoyed," he retorted, jestingly.
She sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose, her weariness showing for the first time. Though the same could've been said about Kakashi.
"I don't even understand why I'm so nervous…I mean, we have nothing to hide, right?"
The soldier nodded, "Indeed, though Hoshigaki can be…forceful. He is an absolute master when it comes to coaxing and he is an excellent diplomat."
"You think that he might interrogate me?" asked Naoko, completely horrified. Her expression drew a chuckled from Kakashi, "Nothing that dramatic, but he might pry and knows how to do it well. Why else would he invite you as his guest and date?"
"…True enough," she deadpanned, leaning heavily against the pillows. Truthfully, she wanted to curl up in a blanket and sleep until all of this blew over.
But Kisame promised her a dress and bought her flowers. How sinister indeed.
"Not to mention that this was all just a display of power," continued Kakashi.
"To undermine Tsunade, yeah, I figured that much out. Waltzing into here without her consent, dragging me to a ball celebrating Kirigakure's existence…"
The pair of tutors fell silent, staring at each other through the computer screens. Kakashi was in the next room, going through the same dosage of decontamination yet they could not talk face to face. A screen was going to suffice for the time being.
"How are you?" she asked, finally confident enough to breach the issue that was hanging over their heads.
"I'm fine."
Naoko rolled her eyes, "You expect me to believe that? Not after what happened on Earth."
The tutor smirked, "I know you better than that…But I'd ask the same of you."
Kakashi always had a habit of steering the conversation away from him. Usually, Naoko let it slide but right now she was vehement about it.
"We let the team reach the bomb. Even then I hesitated - I should've just shot the bomb, considering that it blew up anyway and taken out the hostiles."
Her anger at herself was seeping through as well. Naoko was too much of a perfectionist to tolerate a failure that could've easily been prevented.
Kakashi's eyes were sympathetic, and it drove Naoko insane because she knew that he didn't regret his decision. But he should've, right?
"You didn't worry about yourself? Or the rookies?"
Naoko sighed, "I did worry, about both, but the rookies had more than enough time to get away and the mission comes first."
His eyes narrowed, "The mission? Our mission was to defuse it, not to blow it into bits along with ourselves."
Was that annoyance she detected in his voice? He was usually so level-headed it was hard to understand what triggered it.
"Well the goal obviously changed when we were faced with a group of foreign origins. What if they had made it away with the bomb?"
"You expect me to sacrifice your life when the mission demands it?" he demanded, obviously angry at that point.
Naoko threw up her hands in frustration, "God, yes, of course I expect you to do so. We both knew the risks when we enlisted."
"So you're that eager to throw away your own life?" he demanded.
She groaned, "I'm not eager to do so, just willing to understand that I might have to do it."
"I will never sacrifice my teammates," he stated curtly, and that was final.
A tense silence stretched between the pair. Had they just…fought? Usually the closest thing they had to a conflict was Naoko nagging him about carrying around adult novels around rookies.
She had to clear up this situation…
"I've got work to do," she said stiffly. Without waiting for a reply from Kakashi, she cut off their call, suddenly remembering that she had forgotten to ask about everything that happened on Earth.
Well…that went over well. So much for making up.
For the first time in months she got the urge to draw up Kakashi's personal file. There was so little that she actually knew about the man…Whenever it came down to his past or anything remotely personal then Kakashi found a way to steer the conversation elsewhere and the only people who practiced something like that were harbouring secrets.
He had forwarded Sasuke's file, like promised, but that remained unopened on her desktop as well.
Naoko had plenty of material to go through, but found it hard to focus. She wanted to make up with Kakashi, it left a bad taste in her mouth to just leave their friendship hanging like that, but that would have to wait. She didn't want to patch their friendship over a video call.
Instead, she rolled over and looked at the white roses that Kisame had brought with him.
Well, I'm quite sure you didn't expect to see Kisame working for the government. No worries, there's more to come and hopefully, you'll like it.
My winter break just started so hopefully I'll have sufficient time over the holidays to get another few chapters up and available for you. Do enjoy the holidays!