Soooooo my exams are over and I now have more time to write again, you will just have to be patient with me until I have reemerged myself into the story! ;)

Chapter 48

Hospital

"So you will have to relearn your chakra control? Damn that sucks!" Asuma said while he looked at his roommate.

Inwardly the smoker winced; relearning ones chakra control wasn't what he would call a fun activity. Especially for someone who relied on it for her strongest attacks. Anko was going to be in hell for the next few weeks and months.

"Ugh, don't I know it? I will be off of the fun missions until I can use my chakra properly again. I can't even walk on walls Asuma! I feel like a damn Genin, no… I'm not even a Genin; I feel like a freaking Academy student, I have problems with the Leaf technique! The LEAF technique" Anko groaned before she pouted and then stuffed her face with Dango, life could be so unfair!

Inwardly she blessed Shimon-chan for bringing her, her favorite dessert. The long haired T&I shinobi was sweet like that, even more so because she liked to tease him about his social awkwardness and shyness. The Dango let her mind wander off to other sweets she loved and she promised herself that the moment she was out of the hospital she would stuff herself silly with Shiori's treats and the most expensive teas Kakashi's wife mixed as a treat.
Well,… after checking in on the progress of Ibiki and Inoichi. The bastard had fucked her over and if it hadn't been for Kakashi and the blonde fox brat she wouldn't have survived it. The least that she could do was to make sure that the old warmonger was appropriately broken. Her thoughts wandered back to the Hatake and his student,… damn now she would have to find something as a thank you for both of them. Contemplating what could be appropriate the kunoichi leaned back into her pillow and stared at the wall across from her.

Asuma watched amused Anko's antics and carefully adjusted his position; he was still very tired and his chest ached when he moved too fast. The ash user had a lot to think over; he hadn't reckoned that they would be so hilariously outclassed against the old shinobi.
Their target was the same age as his father for god's sake and from what he had seen Danzo had lost next to nothing of his speed and reflexes, additionally to that the old war hawk's experience had only increased throughout the years. Asuma wryly stared at the ceiling while he thought about his father's old rival and old ninja generally, it was really true what all those rumors said, a ninja that had reached such an age was many times harder to kill than an army of twenty year olds. Talk about overkill, he would never underestimate those wrinkled bastards again!
thinking back at the take down Asuma shuddered once more it really had only worked out of sheer dumb luck and a lot of rage on Anko's und Kakashi's side as far as the ash user could tell from the accounts of his comrades.
Anko and himself could count themselves more than lucky that they had gotten away with such minor injuries, they could have been crippled for life or even dead, though he honestly had no idea what he considered the worse fate.

Dead,… damn,… talk about having your own mortality shoved into your face.

The thought of his death didn't bother him so much because of his own demise, he had long since made his peace we the thought that when it was time to go, it was time to go. Still since waking up he had pondered what his death would really do to the people around him.

He had seen the expression of his father when he had visited an hour ago. His larger than life father; the God of Shinobi had looked tired and so relieved to find him awake that it had tugged on the chain smoker's heart.
Asuma really didn't see eye to eye with his old man most of the time, though their relationship had drastically improved since his return to Konoha. Still, this was the first time the ash user had really thought about what his death would mean to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
The man that had already lost a son, his wife, a successor and most of his friends, colleagues and hundreds if not thousands of subordinates that he had to send to their deaths. Being Hokage really was a thankless job. The title and the adjunctive responsibilities and decisions had cost his father everything; his family, his friends, his students, his health and the title would probably also cost him his life.
Thinking about his father's comrades made Asuma shudder, he really was glad that they weren't his. The chain smoking shinobi really had no idea what he would do if his comrades, his brothers and sisters would hinder his decisions and betray him every time he had his back turned to them.
And then there was that mess with his old man's Genin Team, they were once hailed as the strongest ninja of the Leaf, today they were little more than broken shells of themselves. One was a drunken gambler with hemophobia, the next a perverted spymaster who liked to act like an idiot and the last and his father's former favorite, was a megalomaniac with an unhealthy fascination with immortality.

Asuma sighed deeply when looking like this at his father's life his death would have probably been the final blow for Sarutobi Hiruzen and as much as the bearded shinobi disagreed with his old man, burying his second son was nothing that he wished on him, on anybody really. The chain smoker smiled sardonically, this revelation didn't mean that he would forgive the man everything he had done, for that there was too much that had gone wrong but at least he would cut him some slack.
Even Sarutobi Hiruzen was only a man after all.

Asuma's thoughts then wandered to the other person that had driven the point home that his death would hurt people.

Kurenai. Yuuhi Kurenai. His former classmate, his friend and long time colleague but most important his lover.

The younger Sarutobi couldn't tell when the red eyed woman had become more to him than just a casual fling. Maybe between the obligatory coffee in the morning that had turned into full on breakfast or the lunches and dinners that weren't quite dates but … something.
Anyway he had seen the worry and fear in Kurenai's eyes the moment he had woken up and found her beside his bed. He had felt vaguely guilty and helpless for putting the woman through this. Intellectually he knew that this was bogus, after all they were all ninja and knew the risks concerning missions but somehow he still felt guilty, not guilty for the near death experience but more because he hadn't told Kurenai how much she meant to him before going off on such a mission. He suddenly felt unbelievable selfish for denying her this knowledge.

With a determined glint in his eyes Asuma promised himself that he would rectify this as soon as possible, Kurenai deserved to know after all and he had an inkling that he wasn't the only one that felt that way.

"Are you daydreaming about your beloved red eyed nymph?" Anko's voice interrupted his musings.

Asuma spluttered and stared open mouth at his roommate, the snake user had caught him completely off.

"You are, you sly dog. Are you finally going to make it official or do you want to continue to dance around each other? Because let me tell you the whole of Konoha knows what the two of you have been up to, hell there is a betting pot!" the purple haired kunoichi cackled.

"I have no idea what you are,… are we really that obvious?... And what the hell do you mean about betting pot?" Asuma asked defeated after he reflexively tried to deny the relationship with Kurenai.

The cackling paused for a moment while Anko answered, "Well,… yes you kind of are, hell even your Genin brats are aware. Oh and please the bets have been going on since you returned from your stunt at the Daimyo's palace."

",… why das Team Ten and Team Eight know about us?" Asuma grumbled.

"Inoichi's little girl saw you guys walking in the streets. She took one look at your body language and then gave both Teams heads up." the purple haired kunoichi said satisfied.

The girl's instincts were good, one day after she had grown out of her teenager phase she would make a fantastic Intelligence ninja, Anko was sure of that.

"Ino." Asuma just sighed while he thought of his blonde kunoichi.

Why oh why did she have to be so horrible perspective at times? He bemoaned while his thoughts returned to Kurenai and her gorgeous smile.

Any further teasing was interrupted when a healer knocked and then entered the room.

"Doc! When can I get out of here?" Anko asked slightly impatient.

"Actually, now if you want." said medic answered amused before he continued to speak to the gaping snake summoner, "You will have to return every three days for a checkup but there is nothing else that we could do for you at the moment."

"I… I can go?" Anko asked incredulous.

"Yes, just remember no strenuous training concerning your chakra system, it is still somewhat raw and you would only make it worse if you overdid it so soon after the initial shock to the system." the medic continued to caution.

Dumbly Anko nodded before she got out of bed, quickly grabbed the spare clothes Yugao had brought her and then vanished in the bathroom.

"Me too?" Asuma asked hopefully, although he knew that it was probably wishful thinking.

"I'm afraid not. We want to keep an eye on you for at least another three days, a week preferably." The brown haired medical specialist explained with a small smile.

"Damn," the ash user grumbled before his gaze landed on a just dressed Anko.

Said kunoichi grinned manically at the still bed ridden shinobi and waved at him before running out of the hospital room.

"Damn." Asuma repeated, this time with a pout.

The medic chuckled lightly while he checked Asuma's injury and overall health and then left the room again to visit other patients.

With a deep sigh Asuma leaned back and then closed his eyes, three days, three days and he would be out of here too! Damn he needed a cigarette!

T&I Headquarters

Ibiki was just about to walk into the conference room where Inoichi was working on Danzo's information concerning Konoha when he heard a bellow echoing through the halls.

"Hello bitches! I AM BACK!" crowed an awake and healthy Anko.

There was silence for a second before the head interrogator could hear doors opening and the dozen or so answers to Anko's exclaim, thankfully those were at least toned down a bit and so he could only hear a vaguely mumble that carried through the halls.

Inoichi had walked out of the conference room after Anko had shouted and looked teasingly at his younger colleague and once apprentice.

"You are smiling." The Yamanaka clan head said amused.

The Morino immediately returned to his normal scowl and looked annoyed at his mentor who just continued to grin.

"Looks like she up and about." The blonde shinobi said while he suppressed a relieved laughter.

"Hm,… right on time for the paperwork." Ibiki commented wryly.

"Mean." Inoichi snorted while he thumbed through the folder in his arms.

"That's life, she didn't have to get injured after all." gave the interrogation specialist back.

"WHAT THE HELL!" was yelled through the corridors once more.

"Well, she found the paperwork." Hummed the shinobi with the mind reader bloodline, his ears than picked up the hasty steps in their direction, so with a well practiced move Inoichi deposited his latest completed file into Ibiki's arms before he turned to the stair case and called over his shoulder, "And that's my cue to go, I'm sure Hokage-sama needs my expertise somehow."

"I'm sure." replied the Morino sarcastically before he sighed and turned to deal with his short-tempered subordinate.

Hokage emergency room

Bear-sousui entered the sealed room with a satisfied grin on his face and said, "I just got word, the rush assassination missions have been completed, we can begin with the next phase."

Sarutobi-sama and Shikaku sent the ANBU commander a quick glance before they turned to the commander of the Hunter nins that had just slipped in from the opposite entrance.

The Inuzuka smiled viciously before she said, "I have twenty squads consisting of a mix of ANBU and Hunter nins positioned around Konoha with another ten on standby inside the village, the moment something bigger than a squirrel moves out of our village we will know."

"Good." Hiruzen said with grim satisfaction, "Then let's deal with Danzo, the sooner this is over the better."