Even though I wanted to get up a few times, I couldn't bring myself to do it, and I stayed in bed all day yesterday. I'm feeling better today, though I'm still in a sour mood. The hardest part of cleaning up Raiko's loose ends is done, but it's not the last. The ninja here in Konoha are aware of her "death", but not the people of Tanzaku Quarters and the royal city. Lady Sorano or Taizo may personally hire an assassin instead of coming to Konoha...
As I think of going to the kitchen to see if there's something left over from breakfast, there's a knock on my door. "Hinata?" That's mom! I get up and pull my hair over the cut on my neck, and open my door. Mom is smiling, and is holding a small package in her hands. "Are you feeling better today?"
"Yes…"
"This came for you a little while ago," Mom says as she hands me the package with a knowing smile. "Come down for lunch today, okay?" I nod, and my mom smile and walks away. Curious, I shut my door and sit down on the edge of my bed. It's… a box of chocolates! There's a note…
"I hope this finds you more rested. The news
didn't go over very well with them, to put it lightly,
but at least for the moment you were able to
draw their attention elsewhere. Make sure to drink
plenty of fluids, and scale back any training you're
doing. Get well soon…"
There's no signature, but I can tell from the very neat handwriting that the note and chocolates are from Ibiki. I'm not quite sure how to feel about getting a gift from him, but... it is chocolate. I take one and pop it into my mouth, and decide to get up and out. I'm definitely ready to go, and now I just need to get the date set before leaving.
I still have a bit of time left on my week off, and this is the first time I've been to the mission room in a while. The morning crush is almost over: there aren't too many people on the way there or coming back, and the air in the hallways is relaxed. I thought I was prepared to meet Lady Tsunade, until I walked in. Sasuke is the only other ninja in the room, and he's at the desk, talking with Lady Tsunade. Shizune briefly glances my way, and gives me a short smile before looking back to the conversation. From farther back, I catch the words investigation and mistake, and my hopeful mood disappears like mist before a bonfire. I hear Lady Tsunade say something like "We'll look into it," and then Sasuke nods and turns to go. I quietly smile at him before looking back down at the floor, and he gives this odd motion that's a mixture of an indifferent shrug and a nod.
"You can come up," Lady Tsunade says. I walk up, and she looks up at me expectantly. I get a sudden urge to tell her everything, about Taizo and Raiko and all that happened on my missions to Tanzaku Quarters. "Well?"
"...I've been doing some thinking, and I realized I need to sharpen my skills and get stronger. I know I've asked for some time off recently, but, I was wondering if you would grant me more time, to take a training trip."
"Where did you have in mind?" Tsunade asks, leaning forwards and resting her chin in her hand.
"I- I was thinking of going with Naruto to Mount Myoboku."
"Mount Myoboku?" Shizune asks, eyebrows raised.
"I learned to summon toads recently…"
Lady Tsunade smiles, and chuckles softly. "Well, I've been getting real bogged down with paperwork recently, so I need to care of some of that first. There might be a quick mission lost in there I need you to go on, but after that, you should probably be able to get some time off. Were you thinking of taking the long way there?"
"No, we were going to have the toads summon us there."
"Alright. It'll probably be a day or two before I can get back to you on this. Have a good day, Hinata." I bow, and turn to leave. I'm worried about what Sasuke and Obito will be working at, and if anything I said during the interrogation will come back to haunt me...