Tenten very carefully traced the Kanji Koharu had laid out on the floor. As much as Tenten hated to admit it, Koharu was very good at what she was doing. It rankled.
Neither of them had brought up Koharu almost executing her, but be assured, it was at the forefront of both of their minds.
She saw Koharu sneer when Tenten had talked to Lee and Neji about going to work in the forge. Koharu had snapped at her and said that being a blacksmith was not suitable for a Kunochi, and that fuinjutsu required delicacy and a fine hand to hold a brush.
She resented the almost surprised look on Koharu's face when Tenten had written them almost perfectly, and really resented the fact that Koharu came down on her hard for the droplets of ink spilling over the side onto the stones.
"You cannot claim to be a student of this ancient art and spill ink!" Koharu had snapped.
That was it. Tenten had kept demure, knowing Koharu's status in the village. But she wouldn't let this high class woman
Tenten snapped back.
"I've never used this sort of brush before!"
It was an incredible fancy brush, probably worth several sets of clothing, food, and the rent money where she used to live before moving in with Emi. It was made of Chakra infused Hashirama wood from one of the few trees still with the First's chakra, and hand carved to perfection. It had bands of precious metal for a finer grip and to better channel chakra through, and genuine hair at the end of the brush collected from an animal that was either endangered from the wars, or already extinct.
Tenten was lucky if she could afford watercolor brushes. The difference between the two was incredible. Tenten kept over saturating the brush with ink because she was so used to the shitty quality of the ones at home, and having to dip multiple times to get one stroke done. But the droplets going everywhere now were preventing her from moving forward.
"You couldn't afford it?" Her voice was judgemental. "Surely a, ah, dedicated student such as yourself, and one adept in all sorts of weaponry and, Tools-" She sneered at the word, most likely thinking of the sweat and dirt of the forge "-would think a good fit would be important."
Tenten almost snapped the brush in her tight grip. Koharu saw this, and scoffed, thinking it was a lack of control because of her background instead of justified outrage from how out of touch Koharu was.
"If you cannot control your motor skills, perhaps you should-"
Tenten tossed the fancy brush aside, and it clattered to Koharu's feet. The woman was so surprised she shut up.
Tenten stood up, her back crackling and her wrists sore, and moved towards her fuinjutsu scroll that stored her things in it. She activated the storage seal and in a cloud of smoke, pulled out an unopened set of watercolor brushes for kids.
She had thought of getting the brushes already out of the packaging, but she wanted Koharu to know what she was using to get these results. That she was all skill, and no fancy, high class, prissy brush would stand in her way.
Koharu seemed to balk at the brushes, her face alight with offense, but before she could say anything, Tenten ripped them out of the packaging, pausing to show the horrible quality to Koharu, before getting down by the ink and parchment, sitting seiza, dipping the lesser brush into the Ink, and scribing.
She fell into a trance of curves, lines, and patterns, entering a state that most shinobi can only enter with extensive meditation as she copied the complicated and rare fuinjutsu seal. She didn't even notice Koharu's surprised gasp as she followed along to perfection, not spilling a single drop as she filled her brush and smoothly painted the parchment.
She sat back.
To her left, was the original. In front of her, the still drying perfect copy.
Koharu seemed to inspect it, she circled Tenten and her copy like a cat circles a mouse. Koharu pulled out her eyeglasses, peering down at the drying symbol.
She reached down with one wrinkled hand, and charged chakra through the seal in a way that Tenten faintly recognized. She was checking for errors, as even a line a centimeter out of place could cause it to blow up in your face.
Lucky for Tenten, her aim was always 100%. She never missed.
Finding nothing wrong with the seal, Koharu went from inspecting to charging it. Tenten stepped back as the seal activated, filling the otherwise quiet dark corner of Konoha's gardens behind the lazy river full of beautiful, ethereal, light.
A lumience seal. One that takes chakra from the surrounding environment and converts it to light indefinitely, as long as it doesn't run out of nature chakra. Incredibly tricky, incredibly rare, and incredibly expensive.
Wait a minute…
Was Koharu purposefully setting her up by giving her such a tricky seal?
Said woman steps back. Tenten couldn't tell what she was thinking as light danced across her wizened face. She turned to look at Tenten.
"That is adequate, Tenten."
She blinked. That was the first time Koharu had used her name.
"Evidentially, you hold more promise than I originally thought. We will meet again here tomorrow, and so I will give you homework for tonight."
Homework?
"Koharu stooped down to pick up the brush. She handed it to Tenten.
"Here. This is yours now. Take it home and practice with it. Get used to the feel of it. These poor brushes are fine in a peaceful setting, but if you ever want to use your fuinjutsu in battle you will need this better brush. The watercolor brush takes more time, as you need to re-ink it frequently. And in battle, those seconds matter."
Tenten hadn't thought of that.
"Thank you, Koharu-sensei."
The woman paused. Looked back, and dipped her head at Tenten, before walking off.
Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.
Koharu had seen what being a sensei had done to her Hiruzen. She had wanted no part of it, and had never had a student before. She had seen the horrors of war, and genin teams killed in front of their teachers. She couldn't bear the idea, and so had never taken a student. Not until now.
She had been supremely unhappy when Tsunade had assigned her a student, even more so when she learned it was one of the girls from the trial, with known association to that Hetertic woman, Haruhi.
But now, she couldn't stop thinking of what Haruhi had said during the trial.
"-Konoha gained its strength from it's care...do you really think executing three genin, one the best weapons mistress in generations...will make you appear strong!?"
Kohaur grit her teeth as those words echoed in her head. As much as she despised Haruhi, she had a point. Tenten had amazing potential.
It would have been to Konoha's own detriment if this girl had been sentenced to death. If any of them had died.
"Thank you, Koharu-sensei."
Koharu blinked.
That was the first time Tenten had called her sensei. The first time anyone had.
She looked back and inclined her head at the girl, before walking off, a funny feeling about her.
It almost felt like hope.
Sakura grunted, brow sweaty as she concentrated on reviving the fish. As it flopped to life, Sakura was granted to the warm proud smile of Tsunade.
"Good job, kid. I think we can move onto more soon."
Sakura smiled, before coming up with a great idea.
"Um, Tsunade-sensei?"
"What?"
"Can we help Pregnant women? Cause my mom, she's-"
"Oh, I heard! Congratulations! Sure we can. I'll start by telling you some basic facts. Most pregnant women need to increase their food intake, mainly of crops grown in chakra rich environments if they have small chakra pools and the father is a ninja."
"Do the babies drain it much?" Sakura was now recalling the massive amounts of chakra infused fruits her mother was eating daily.
"Oh yes they do."
"What happens if the kids' chakra pool is too big?"
"We give them modified chakra boost pills, like the ones that come standard for ninja except modified for civilian women."
"How would a baby's chakra get too big for a woman?"
"If the father is a ninja. If the mother is a civilian, or in rare cases, if the baby is carrying a latent bloodline."
Sakura's blood ran cold, and it was only years of practice suppressing Inner, as she was doing right now to keep her from interrupting, that she kept her face neutral.
"Oh! I didn't know that."
"Most people don't." Tsunade said, shaking her head. She then smiled at Sakura. "Keep this work up and you'll be great in no time! Great medic nin always ask questions."
Sakura beamed, before a knock at the door had Tsunade standing up.
"I'll be right back. Wrap up here."
Sakura was left alone. Her father was a ninja, abit a retired one, and her mother a civilian. They might be able to pass it off as just the baby having a ninja father, but her dad didn't even have that much of a chakra pool.
Her brow beaded with sweat, just as her brooding was interrupted by quiet talking. She pumped chakra into her ears to listen.
"I don't know what kind of genjutsu that you are describing to me could be. It's not unheard of for genjutsu masters to hold an illusion for days or weeks, but for years is unheard of. Either the body's natural chakra cycle wears it down, or someone else notices and breaks it by that point. There is no one I know of, or any jutsu I know of that could have done that. Except for-"
Tsunade cut her off.
"Thank you, Kurenai. I trust that no one will know of our chat?"
"Of course. I know you cannot tell me who was afflicted with this, but if you reconsider, If I got a better look at the victim, I might be of more help."
"I'll keep that in mind. You are dismissed."
Sakura got busy looking like she wasn't listening, while her mind swirled with thoughts. Inner tried to pipe up, but Sakura pushed her back down. She couldn't afford to be distracted right now.
Tsunade reappeared in the doorway and smiled when she saw Sakura slipping the revived fish back into the tank.
She opened her mouth to speak before another knock at the door had her stomping back into her office, this time with Sakura following.
There stood Anko, and the girl Sakura recognized from being underwatch, Kin. Sakura waved at Anko, having missed her while she was gone, and she nodded briefly, before focusing on Tsunade.
"Tsunade-sama. This is Kin. The girl I talked to you about."
Tsunade's eyes narrowed.
"Kin. Right. The girl working under Orochimaru."
The girl grit her teeth, before nodding yes.
"I don't think you had much of a choice then?"
Kin nodded again.
"Well, you have one now. Anko has told me if I pardoned you, that she would take you under her wing as your sensei? Do you swear to train hard? Do you promise your loyalty to the village?"
"Yes, yes ma'am!" Kin exclaimed, unable to believe her own good fortune.
Tsunade smirked.
"Then you are dismissed. Have fun training ladies."
"We plan on it alright!" Anko said. "Kin's genjutsu is great, but we were planning to meet up with Kurenai to help her genjutsu along."
"Good idea."
They left, and Tsunade turned back to Sakura.
"I wanted to try one more thing with your chakra control before I let you out. What do you know of Chakra scalpels?"
"They are used by medic-nin with exceptional chakra control, as scalpels made of pure chakra. They can cut tissue under the skin without opening the skin itself, helping to prevent infection. Their cuts are also much cleaner and sharper."
"Excellent. Make chakra scalpels now for me."
Sakura blanched. She was about to protest before she saw the look on Tsunade's face. This was a test, not of her abilities, but whether she would give up without trying or not.
Sakura focused, and remembered all the training, all the textbooks she read, and focused.
Slowly, the blades emerged, one by one down her knuckles, until both of her fists gleamed with them.
Tsunade's surprised face broke into a smile.
"That's all I have for you today. Do the studying I assigned for you at home, and Sakura?"
"Yes?"
"You're doing great, but you got a long way to go, don't get too cocky now."
Sakura bowed, and left.
Naruto dashed forward through the crowd, leaving Jiriaya in the dust. He knew they were supposed to be training, but he wanted to say hello and goodbye to Haruhi-sensei before they went to the training grounds for the day.
He ran through the Uchiha district, now bustling with people of all backgrounds, and to The Commons, where he ran to her office and jumped into her arms.
"Hello Naruto." She laughed, and kissed his forehead. She was wearing that funny swimming getup, she was gonna do something with that today.
"Naruto! You can't keep running off like that-"
Jiriaya's voice broke off as he caught sight of Haruhi. Her kind smile became fixed.
"Jiraiya."
"Haruhi."
Naruto suddenly regretted coming here. He figured he could come back later when he had his reading lessons and say hello then.
"Okay, dattebayo, lets go train-"
"What's this? Sex education?" Jiriaya's voice was judgmental.
Haruhi flushed, and grabbed the class plans away from Jiraiya.
"Sex education in Konoha is sorely lacking, so a friend and I decided to do something about it. Our class will teach about STD's, puberty, how to prevent pregnancy, contraceptives, and consent. Something you could stand to learn about, Jiraiya."
Haruhi said that last line as a sort of jab, but if Jiraiya's confused face was anything to go buy, it didn't land.
"Consent?"
"Don't tell me you don't know-"
"-I never heard of it?" He cried defensively.
"What do you mean! Seriously? Oh my god..."
Haruhi-sensei did the thing that she did when she was really flustered and adjusted her glasses.
"I don't see how a womens class could help-"
"It's not just a woman's class! Sex education concerns everyone! And what do you mean 'woman's class'!?"
"Uh, well…"
"Look. I'll keep this short. You preach about the cycle of hatred, and how you need to break it before bloodshed is over. A lot of that hatred, a lot of that bloodshed and violence and discrimination, is aimed towards women. You cannot break the cycle without acknowledging and fixing the violence women face because of it. You cannot ignore how women are uniquely impacted, vulnerable, and targeted by it."
Jiriaya was silent.
"I want you to think of all the widows in Konoha who are barely making ends meet. I want to you think of all the women forced into sex missions, and sex work for a lack of other opportunities. I want you to think of Kunochi who are denied higher paying positions. I want you to think of civilian women who are raped by shinobi but who can't report it because of fear of retaliation. I want you to think of the fear those victims of sexual assault live in every day. I want you to think of Konoha's over crowded orphanages because women are denied access to contraceptives and sex education. I want you to think of the pain and fear those women went through when they had those babies. I want you to think of all the women suffering from STDS because of the above reasons, and how they cannot get medical attention because they are shamed for it. I want you to think of all Konoha's little girls who get their first periods and panic because they had no idea what's going on-because it's apparently a taboo topic. These classes will be working to remove that stigma, and provide sex education for those women, and everyone else who joins-Men, or Women."
Haruhi-sensei was incensed. She was filled with that passionate anger that made her shine like a star.
"You, Jiriaya, are contributing to much of that harm against women. Through your actions, through your words, and through the harm you let happen that you could have prevented, you thrice damned hypocrite."
He didn't look her in the eye.
"If you are actually serious about making the shinobi world a better place, then I have something for you. Tonight, 6:30, here in the commons, second floor room 212, the sex education class starts. It'll be held by Fumi. Go there. Maybe you'll finally fucking learn how to write an accurate sex scene."
Jiriaya blushed.
"I need to head to the pool, and you two need to head to the training grounds. Bye Naruto. Get out of my office."
They headed out, a pensive look on Jiraiya's face as they walked all the way to the private training grounds. It was strange how far away they were from the rest of Konoha, until something he said next put it all into perspective.
"Naruto, I assume you already know about the nine-tails, don't you?"
Naruto gulped, feeling Kurama stir slightly behind the seal.
"Yeah. I do."
"Good. Because today I'll be training you on how to access more of it."
Naruto and Kurama had a fraught relationship. First they went 12 years without talking to each other. Then Naruto was terrified about him. And over these past few months, something had happened. They had reached a truce, of sorts. But to straight up ask for more chakra…
"I'll be attacking you. You need to defend, and to do that, you will need to channel chakra from the nine-tails. I heard from your sensei that you can, to an extent."
Jiriaya smirked.
"That is, unless, you're too scared?"
Naruto growled, and so did The Nine-tails.
He lunged, and felt the biju feed him energy.
The next few minutes were a blur of motion and action, Naruto using his small size compared to Jiriaya to duck, dodge, and weave around the larger man with ease. He felt like he was floating, with how effortlessly he moved.
It finally ended when Jiriaya got the upper hand and kicked him back.
"Not bad, Naruto, not bad. But you have ways to go before you're at your full potential."
Naruto grinned.
He knew.
He couldn't wait to see what was next.
Haruhi signed as she stepped into the pool area. With the funding provided by Madam Shijimi, she had enough funds to fill the pool, get supplies, and hire lifeguards.
The problem with that was Konoha didn't have Lifeguards.
Haruhi had become a lifeguard at 15, and did it up until college. She knew it like the back of her hand, and quickly put together a training manual on the basics, and put together a test that each one would take at the end of training, including how to recognize someone was drowning, how to do CPR, and proper methods for swimming while supporting someone else.
She had out together a training routine that would be around three weeks. It included weighted vests she got from Tsubaki so her lifeguards could get used to carrying extra weight. She got life like ninja training dummies so they could practice carrying a person, and she got a CPR dummy from the hospital by asking Tsunade.
Some things she just couldn't include, though. Like AED's, so she cut that out entirely. There was also the rule that you needed to be at least 15 years of age. Ami was 14. However, Ami was also a ninja whose strength made up for it, and beggars can't be choosers, so Haruhi moved the minimum age down to 14.
Haruhi stared down the 12 people that showed up to training.
It was an interesting group.
When she had put out advertisements on the bulletin board, the Konoha gazette, and over the radio, she had mentioned the LifeGuards needed prior experience with swimming, which was hard to come by in Konoha. Only two groups really had it. Immigrants from Kiri, like Inari and Ami, or rich Konoha citizens who either owned private pools or had enough money to buy their way into them.
She had a mix of Konoha's upper class and immigrants.
There had been others who had wanted to join, but a prerequisite to this class was the ability to read in order to take the test and read the material Haruhi got printed through Kasumi's sister. Haruhi directed them to Tsubaki's and Iruka's literacy classes instead.
She smirked, a plan forming in her mind. If she could pair up the upper class with the immigrants, she could forge inter class friendships and connections, making the upper class more receptive to the immigrants and giving the immigrants a leg up.
Inari said hello to her. She was the least nervous out of all of them.
"I like your confidence, any reason for it?" Haruhi asked.
Inari smiled, her face becoming soft and warm with love.
"Yes. My family is full of swimmers, Haruhi-sensei. I remember swimming with my father tossing us into the water, and diving with my mother. I also met my husband through swimming. A couple years ago, my family was a few miles down stream the Naka river from Konoha, in a small village where some of our other relatives live. I saw a badly injured man in the water, and I swam and rescued him."
Inari paused, then leaned closer.
"We got married a few months ago, Haruhi-sensei. He calls me his mermaid angel."
Haruhi giggled. Kakashi used to call her hamster Haruhi.
Inari's smile became bittersweet.
"His injuries hurt him sometimes, and he hit his head badly and lost his memories, so I hope I can bring him to Konoha one day, to see what can be done for him. But that doesn't matter. I love him, and so does the rest of my family down stream. They say he's really good with the kids."
Haruhi nodded, almost tearing up. The last time she had visited Sakura, she and Tsunade had been talking about an outreach program for medical help to the poorer villages surrounding Konoha. Maybe they could help him that way?
The other LifeGuard candidates were now looking so Haruhi shook her head and cleared her throat.
"Alright! You all are here today with one purpose in mind. To become a lifeguard. That will take hard work. Effort. Commitment. You will be training in this pool from the times of 12 noon to 2, you will be dedicated, and then you will help me observe other classes and be paid in return. Does that sound right to you?"
"Yes Haruhi-sensei!"
Haruhi blinked. She was only used to the kids calling her sensei, but she supposed she was teaching them.
She sighs dramatically.
"As you all know, many people drown in Konoha each year. The number is in the hundreds. All those deaths are Tragic, and preventable. You can help prevent them. This isn't just a way to pick up a fun new, but also a solemn responsibility. You will be helping me prevent these deaths, and help arm the citizens of Konoha with the skills to save their lives."
Silence.
"I understand this is a lot of pressure and may not be what you signed up for. Over these next few days, you can see whether this is right for you, and after you pass the test at the end of class and become an official lifeguard registered with The Commons pool, your salary will begin."
They nodded, murmurs of agreement rising.
"LifeGuard. Take a moment to go over that. You will be guarding life. It will not only be your duty, but an honor. Take it seriously, train hard these next few weeks, and you will be a credit to your village. Is that clear?"
"Yes Sensei!" They cried.
"Good! Today I will be gauging your ability to swim and how you tread water. Everyone, into the pool!"
They cheered, and Haruhi smiled, her mind alight with possibilities.
She already had the mens and womens showers installed by the pools so you could use them before and after. When she got them trained up, they could help her teach civilians how to swim and help teach other lifeguards. She could then start to open the pool for recreation, and have them pay a small fee in order to swim here, and pay a small fee to learn how to swim. Poorer people would be allowed other options of payment.
If Haruhi earned enough money, she could buy out the two other Private, rarely used swimming complexes in Konoha, and open more pools.
This was going swimmingly!
Fumi straightened her back, her painted nails wiping against the fabric of her skirt as the class of people stared back at her. She had her name written on the board, and a basic syllabus written that they would be going over today.
A sea of faces greeted her, more than she was expecting. There was a hearty mix of men, women, and other genders, and people of all ages, to girls wanting to learn about periods, to the elderly who were just curious.
Haruhi had gotten a few basic medical textbooks from one of her genin, Sakura for Fumi that she had read furiously this past week in preparation, and they had printed a basic packet of information with the newly installed printer in one of the commons rooms. Haruhi had gotten it from Rikka, somehow. They would print seperate packets of information for puberty, periods, sex education, sexuality, and consent.
Today, they would go over the syllabus, and she would answer questions. If they had time, she would go into the first topic, consent.
She took a deep breath.
"Sex."
The class jumped back. Some clutched at their chests, others gaspes.
"Sex is not a dirty word. Sex is not a alien thing. Sex isn't some divine event. Sex is just another thing that humans can choose to partake in, another activity they can choose to do, or not choose to do. It will not save you, it will not destroy you, it just is. "
She smiled at them.
"Hello class. It's great to see you all here tonight, with the spirit of education strong in all of you. My Name, as you can see, is Fumi Haruko, but you can call me Fumi-sensei. Today we are discussing what this class is about, and what you will learn."
A larger man in the back shifted, his white hair catching the lighting as his toad patterned shirt wrinkled.
Fumi launched into her explanation of the class, and what they were learning. She occasionally stopped for questions. Some of the more reserved people blushed and left, but it was heartening to see even more stayed.
Then she got a question from toad guy.
"Uh, yeah, hi. What's consent?"
Fumi smiled, partly happy a student was taking the initiative to ask such an important question, partly alarmed that he didn't know what it was.
"Great question! As we know, and as we will learn, sex is considered to be a private topic for many people. This means that they will want to control who they have sexual relations with, and who they talk about it with. Consent it when both or all parties agree to perform sexual acts with each other."
"Is that it?"
"That is it. Consent is an agreement. Consent is necessary. And Consent is non-negotiable. You must have consent before performing ANY sex acts or it is rape and sexual assult. If you force someone to say yes when they had originally said no, that is not consent. If you constantly ask someone who said maybe into saying yes, that is not consent. If you slip drugs into someones drink, until they pass out, that is not consent, that is rape. If you get them drunk before asking, that is not consent, because they aren't in the state of find to properly decide if they want to or not. Are you getting the bigger picture?"
"I think so."
She sighed. Deeply.
"For some people, sex is the height of intimacy and vulnerability. With partners you trust and feel safe with, it can be great. For others, sex is casual. Sex is just something humans do, like reading a book, like eating, dancing, or singing. What both of those things have in common is the idea that sex should be fun. And in order for something to be fun, there needs to be an agreement between all participating parties. If you start to do something your partner doesn't agree to, you need to stop immediately, and if you feel uncomfortable at any moment, you need to tell your partner right away. It isn't only okay to say no, it's encouraged. You can say no at any time, even during the middle of it. Even if that person is your spouse, or even if you have had sex with that person before."
The toad man sat back on his haunches, but something told Fumi she wasn't done yet.
"Consent doesn't just apply to rape. It can apply to other acts. Such as rubbing or touching shoulders without permission, kissing without permission, groping the genitals or the breasts of women without permission. Spying on people when they are in a private setting and in a state of undress. Making comments of the sexual nature to people who did not ask for is sexual harassment and assault, and it is not okay. If you are doing that, stop. If you see someone doing that, intervene. We can make this world a better place, but only if we try."
Fumi was finally satisfied, and turned towards the syllabus. This class was going well.
At the end of class, she handed out her edit of Icha Icha Paradise. Haruhi had paid for the copies as a treat. Toad man did a double take when he saw them, and he was the only one upset when she handed them out.
"What's this!?" He seemed shocked and angry.
"Oh, it's the Icha Icha first edition. Konoha law allows parody under the fair use act, so I rewrote it with the help of my friend, and made it better. More realistic, rewrote dubious scenes, and made better character arcs."
"It really is better!" One of the men in her class said, thumbing through the pages.
Toad man grit his teeth.
"And who is this friend of yours?" He asked, gritting his teeth.
"Oh, you may have heard of her. Her name is Haruhi!"
With a shout, Toad man threw up his hand and stomped out.
Fumi giggled.
She would have to tell Haruhi about this character.
Haku carefully synthesized the poison from the vegetation they had picked from the fringes of the Forest of Death earlier. Much was on her mind. Everything had happened these past few months so fast that Haku could scarcely believe it.
First Wave. Then Zabuza's death. Getting her face burned. Living. Moving to Konoha, becoming a medic in training after all the discrimination, then the now halted chunin exams, rescuing Haruhi-sensei, and now she had a new Sensei.
Shizune had proved herself to Haku when she helped Tsunade-sama begin to heal her face. She had also proven herself when she saw Haku's bag full of makeup, and the estrogen medicine that Haku struggled to supply herself with, Shizune had wordlessly signed off for her to get the supply free under an apprentice healthcare plan.
Haku could stand to look in the mirror again without a mask now. The tissue would always bear the marks of Sasuke's formidable fireball, but with a few more healing sessions her face would almost be back to normal.
The same applied for Ino. Her face had begun to heal now that the biju chakra wasn't interfering with her body's natural healing process. Tsunade's incredible skill had re-shaper her face to what it had been, by going off of Ino's genin picture. It would take time, and she would have permanent nerve damage, but her face too would be mostly normal.
She had so much to thank Shizune-shishou for, but then she thought of Zabuza and the words caught in her throat.
That man had been emotionally stunted. He had been a cruel, mass murderer, and striked fear into shinobi and civilians alike.
But not her. Never her.
Zabuza had seen a cold, starving child on the street, and had taken her in, and even if it was because she could have been useful due to her bloodline, he was taking a huge risk by sheltering her due to the bloodline purges. He saved her. Fed her. And had cared for and accepted her.
Haku really wasn't sure if she was ready for a new sensei yet.
She thought of the earlier days and meeting up with Mei-sama, planning attacks, trying to overthrow the corrupt kage. How Mei would give her some of her makeup to use, and dresses to wear.
Haku often wondered how Mei-sama was doing. She felt bad, and missed her homeland, no matter how cruel it was to her, it was where her family had lived for generations. She would always be grateful to Konoha and team seven, but she missed Kiri.
Tears dripped down her new face, and she desperately wiped at them.
"Careful, tears will compromise the salinity of the solution."
Haku jumped. Her inner turmoil had been so profound Shizune had caught her by surprise. There was also the fact that Shizune was supposed to be really busy today. Apparently something happened with one of the other major hidden ninja villages, and an embassy came here today to talk.
The woman gently leaned over next to Haku and dipped her pinkie finger into the solution, and licked it.
Shizune could do that, because she had built an immunity to almost every known poison to ninja-kind. She made sure that Haku and Ino knew they couldn't.
Not yet, at least.
"There. It seems alright. So, what's troubling you, then?"
Haku looked away. She respected the woman, and was glad to be under her care. How could she tell her that she still considered Zabuza her sensei? That she missed Kiri?
"You can talk to me, Haku. I won't judge you."
Haku looked down, rubbing the frost that had crept up her hands onto the floor.
"I...like it here. But, do you ever feel out of place?"
Right away, Haku cringed. Would Shizune think she didn't like Konoha? She opened her mouth to backtrack, but-
Shizune laughed softly.
"Oh, all the time! Really Haku, don't look so surprised. I spent most of my life traveling, on the roads, all over the world. Konoha is strange to me, even though I was born here, I only vaguely remember it. I know exactly where you're coming from."
Haku sniffled.
"I miss home. I miss Zabuza sensei, and I feel horrible for dropping our goals, and for leaving so many behind in Kiri. I just-"
Haku's throat closed, and her eyes burned.
Shizune hugged her, and Haku leaned into it. It reminded her of her mother, before she was hunted down and killed by a foaming at the mouth mob.
It's not like Haku was sitting around on her ass here. She was training, studying, and helping Neji and the rest of the branch family work on a solution to the caged-bird seal. But she still could not shake what she left behind.
But she couldn't ignore what she had gained since then either.
Team-seven had become something of a family to her. Naruto and Karin were like little siblings in their shared apartment. Haruhi and Kakashi sensei were amazing parental, almost aunt and uncle figures.
And Ino…
Haku felt her heart beat faster at the thought of the other girl. The one Haku thought was beautiful even when others had jumped back with a shout.
She felt stuck in between, and perhaps Shizune knew that. Her eyes were warm with understanding, and her chakra was soft and kind to Haku's senses.
"Haku. I did come down here to tell you something. Do you know where the embassy from the other hidden village was from?"
Haku shook her head, and Shizune smiled.
"They were from Kiri."
She was still. Then she jolted forward.
"Really! How? I thought they were still embroiled in civil war! Sending an embassy would mean that it is over!"
Information coming out of Kiri was kept tight, ever since the Daimyo was killed, and the nobility hunted down and killed. Fire's Daimyo didn't like the threat it represented to his power.
Who won? Was Mei okay?
"The Rebels won. A woman named Mei Terumi became their Mizukage. She sent over a delegation to Konoha to open negotiations. I knew you were once Kiri, and asked Tsunade-sama if you could be a part of them. It's possible we may, in the future, even visit Kiri in a few months and provide medical aid if the situation over there is stable enough. Does this sound alright with you?"
Unable to speak, Haku just nodded.
"Thank you Shizune-sensei."
The future was bright.
WOW! Long chapter!
That's something for you to read in quarantine right there!
Question of the chapter-what was your favorite moment? Which P.O.V was most interesting to you and why? Stay safe!