The Game of the Gods'

Chapter 1: Best Laid Plans

23 May 46, The Border of the Land of Rivers and the Land of Fire, Dan Kato

The rain had not stopped for even a moment as though the heavens were weeping at the loss of such an honorable man. Dan Kato's spirit felt his eyes burn as he watched his lover scream in agony.

'I'm so sorry, Tsunade. I'm so sorry,' he thought over and over again. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a bush behind his soul shake gently with a softer cry. He tensed, unsure of why his body was still in this mortal plane yet unable to contact his former squad to warn them of the danger.

Dan walked behind the bush to find a small girl, no more than five years old sitting on the ground with her knees to her chest. She had long, straight, blonde hair secured in a disheveled bun. The child sniffled and wiped her nose on her sleeve and looked up at him. Her eyes were a startling forest green. He knew those eyes. They were his sister's eyes. His mother's eyes… his own.

"Hello. Are you okay?" he asked kindly, crouching to the child's level.

"No. I hurt…"

"Oh, where are you hurt, hime-chan?" he kept his voice soft and his movements gentle so that he didn't startle the lost girl. His heart told him that he knew her. Knew her and knew that she was so important to him. It did not make sense.

"Here." The small girl pointed to her heart and sniffled once more. Dan did not see any visible injury on the child before him.

"How about we find someplace drier? I don't think anyone else can see us. We may be stuck here for some time."

"I was looking for someone, mister… I need to wait for them…"

"Do you know who you were looking for? Where's your mother and father?"

"I don't know…" The girl started wailing. In response, Dan scooped her up in his arms and pressed her securely to his chest. He walked towards the ANBU shelter that was nearby. His platoon would be heading that way with his… body in tow. Even though they appeared to only be spirits on this mortal plane, the child still seemed to be getting wet from the rain.

"Okay. Here we are." When they reached the shelter, he lifted a blanket from the cabinet and wrapped it around her shaking figure. He was briefly amused with the thought of his squad walking into a hovering blanket but shook it off. This was no time to find amusement in such things.

"Thanks, mister." The girl sneezed and he pulled her closer.

Some dormant instinct pushed him to kiss her forehead near her hairline. When he did, he knew. This was the spirit of his child. He and Tsunade had been trying to have one for the past four months, since he turned thirty. He never imagined that he would have died before meeting the child, much less that he would meet that child's spirit before it was even born. Or that the spirit would be so confused. Something had certainly gone wrong.

"What's your name hime-chan?"
"Katya."

"Okay, Katya-chan. Thank you for telling me." He smiled at her while stroking her hair until she dozed off. '花庭安, peaceful flower garden, huh. That is an unusual name. It suits this little one, though.'

His platoon returned to the ANBU hideout with a shaking and distraught Tsunade. The blonde woman had her hands in front of her. Her mouth was open and her eyes wide as though she were screaming. One of his teammates tried to coax her to sit down, but she remained standing. Eventually, she collapsed onto the floor in exhaustion. The teammate who had tried to help earlier sighed forlornly before placing her on the same cot where Dan and his child's spirit were sitting unseen and unheard.

"Papa…" came a sleepy whisper from the child as she snuggled closer to his chest. 'Apparently her heart knows it too… oh Tsuna… I'm sorry for leaving you... and our child,' he thought. He attempted to caress a strand of Tsunade's hair, but his fingers slipped through each time. Dan gave up before he too closed his eyes and drifted off.

The sun rose the next morning, evaporating the drops of rain and dew still left on the tree leaves. Dan found himself cuddled between two females. The elder didn't even know he was there, and the younger was snoring away contentedly. He squeezed his green eyes shut to block out the 'what ifs' that ran through his mind. What if he hadn't died? Five years from now, this could have been his life. He tried to pull Tsunade closer but found that his arm kept slipping through her body. He moved himself and the sleeping child on his chest closer to her warmth.

"Ne, Tsunade, Katya-chan here is a sweet girl. I wish… that I could have stayed around for both of you. I hope that you won't be too sad. It may be selfish of me, but I'm happy I was able to leave you with a piece of myself. Even if it's just a small piece. I wish our world was different. And I wish I could stay with you. But I can't… The Shinigami will come for me soon. You both have so much to live for… so much. Please, Tsuna, if any part of your soul can hear me, live."

The small spirit curled up on his chest began to stir. She stretched her arms and yawned widely. She drowsily rubbed at the sleep still in her eyes while he put his finger to his lips and made a shushing noise.

"I don't think no one can hear us, mister."

"I'm your father, Katya-chan. You can call me papa or tou-chan if you want to." The young spirit nodded and easily accepted this request.

"Oh. Ne, papa? Why can't no one see us?"

"Why can't anyone see us," he corrected. His child...these precious few moments were all he had with her. This was the only time he'd be able to pass on his own knowledge, even if he did so unconsciously. It would be the last time he would see Tsunade before she too eventually joined him on the other side. "We're spirits. I believe that something is amiss with yours. This woman that we're next to is your mother. Technically, your spirit should reside in the spirit realm until your birth. I don't know why it is already in the mortal plane, or why you have the appearance or cognizance of a five-year-old. It could be a by-product of my own jutsu, possibly. It could be a Senju trait. I'm not sure."

The little blonde blinked owlishly at him before cocking her head in confusion, "Huh?"

Dan chuckled lightly before patting her on the head, "I'm not sure why no one can see us." The girl humphed and crossed her arms in front of her chest and pouted. It reminded him of how her mother reacted to not getting her way. His former platoon began to stir. The kenjutsu master he had worked with closely over the last five years attempted to rouse Tsunade to no avail. Dan's former lover stared listlessly at the wall in front of her. The man sighed before walking to the other end of the hideout.

"Oh, Orochimaru-sama! Thank the gods. Tsunade-hime refuses to move."

Dan tried to place a comforting hand on the medic's shoulder before whispering to her. "Love, I know you hurt. I know I hurt you, but for the sake of our child you have to move. The mist-nin may soon be back with reinforcements. You and our squad are in no condition to fight."

"Dan?" she whispered shakily. Orochimaru looked sharply towards the cot that held his friend and the spirits of her lover and child. He narrowed his eyes.

"Tsunade-hime, you must move. If you do not, you will die." The snake summoner knelt beside his life-long teammate. She did not respond or even acknowledge his existence.

"Orochimaru-san, you must help her!" Dan cried out in frustration.

"If you will not move, then I will carry you. You will be humiliated and shamed in front of the entire village if that happens, hime."

"Orochimaru-sama, we must hurry! The reinforcements could be here any moment," the kenjutsu user said.

"Up you go, Tsunade-hime," Orochimaru grunted while lifting his unresponsive friend into his arms. "Spirits should not linger where they do not belong," he said cryptically to the now empty hideout.

"Come on, hime-chan. We're going to follow them to the village," Dan said to his fellow spirit.

"What village, papa?" she questioned as he settled the child on his hip before bounding into the treeline.

"Konoha, sweetheart. Our home. No matter where this life takes you, remember this: Konoha will always be home to those with the Will of Fire."

"What's a will of fire?"

"That we should always love, cherish and protect our village as others have before us."

"Why?"

Dan chuckled again. Of course his child would be so precocious and curious. "Don't worry about it so much for now, musume."

"Okay. But why fire? Shouldn't it be the will of shinobi? 'Cause that's what we are, right? We're not fire. That makes no senses." The adult spirit stopped on a tree branch, doubled over with laughter. The small blonde on his hip scrunched her nose and began to pout. "Oi, it's true. People can't be fire! They'd burn up!" Katya began waving her arms widely to emphasize her point.

"You're very right," he agreed good-naturedly when he was able to breathe again. He patted the young girl on the head before continuing their travels.

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Beta'ed by: Cherryberry12 who is an incredible writer herself. She specializes in writing Karin fics. And her characterization of Karin are just *chef's kiss* especially with how she fleshes out Karins' background and personality.