Sown

twenty-five

Hanae was called into the Hokage's tent the next day. She had been making herself busy among the lumberers, hewing the felled trees so that they may be smoothed and shaped with their hand planes. Tazuno, a man from the Land of Waves, worked beside her and instructed her on the dimensions needed as well as which way to cut the wood as she had already ruined a few timbers by cutting against the grain.

Deep in conversation with the brusque yet good natured man, she was surprised when a man wearing an ornately marked mask request she follow him. He led her to a small tent behind all of the others. Instructed to wait outside the woman rung her hands wondering just what the Hokage wanted with her.

Hanae had met Tsunade twice, first after her permanent visa had been approved and again to register Gishi as a business asset. The elder was quite an attractive woman and after hearing about her inhuman strength the Land of Iron native was not afraid to say that she had formed a respect fueled crush on the politician. Brute strength had always been a turn on for her ; she had been raised in a place where the body was valued over the metaphysical, so learning that someone could shatter the earth with a single touch of the finger was quite astounding and alluring. Tsunade's pronounced bust also contributed to the infatuation, her H cup heavily contrasting the farmer's C cup. The latter did reign superior when comparing their bottom halves though, pear shaped figure affording her the win.

The obscured man held the front of the tent open and beckoned her inside. Expected the object of her fancy to be awaiting her inside, Hanae was surprised to meet with an elder gentleman surrounded by more masked men. Regardless, she bowed to the group and introduced herself.

"You're the woman from the Land of Iron, correct?" He didn't bother introducing himself but judging from the security surrounding him, she could only guess that this man had somehow become the Hokage and that something had happened to Tsunade.

"Ah, yes sir."

"Are you familiar with the samurai and Mifune?"

"Yes, sir," she affirmed somewhat confused by the questions. "I am a trained samurai with seven years experience."

"Tell me what you know of the land, samurai, and your leader."

While suspicious, she felt inclined to comply. Something about the tone of his voice compelled Hanae to divulge all of what she knew. Or maybe it was the bandages covering a good portion of his face reminding her of someone dear that led to her cooperation. Her explanation was lengthy and delved into deep details including the weaknesses of the samurai fighting styles. Why? Not even she knew the reason. It was as if her mouth had a mind of its own, like she was no longer in control of her own actions.

A wave of the man's withered hand stopped her immediately. It felt as though she had awakened from hypnosis, synesthesia broken by the simple action. "That'll be enough," he droned, dismissing her with another wave of the hand and without so much as a goodbye.

One of the masked entourage escorted her out, leaving back inside as soon as she regained her bearings. Hanae placed a hand against her forehead. She still felt a bit off about the encounter and whilst making her way back to the temporary lumber yard she realized that her memory from inside the tent was all but gone. Missing. By the time she arrived at her destination the entire event was wiped clean. As far as she knew the missing time was her taking a quick nap during a break period.

-

"Kakashi-senpai, I still think this is a bad idea. Naruto shouldn't be leaving the village after what happened."

"What village?" Kakashi glanced lazily to the agitated man at his side. His arms were raised, gloved hands resting against his silver hair.

Yamato clenched a fist at the snide remark. "Exactly. That's why it's an even worse idea to follow the Raikage. We have to stay and help rebuild."

"You're right, we should stay and rebuild as quickly as possible. Then we can be finished quicker so Madara Uchiha actually has something to destroy when he comes to finally have his way with Konoha." The jounin smiled innocently at his friend's clear frustration. "Have a little faith in Naruto. His ideas might not be the best, but they always seem to work out one way or another."

He placed his hand on the brunette's shoulder, keeping the other one behind his head. "I get that you're worried. Maybe it was all of those years I bossed you around with no rhyme or reason. I was just as reckless but you always followed what I said no matter how you felt about it. That's probably why I value you so much. I don't know anyone else I could trust one of my precious students to."

Though not expressing it, Yamato melted at Kakashi's words, giving into the inconspicuous sweet talk like he unknowingly had hundreds of times before. His superior had him wrapped around his little finger.

" . . . Where are we going, Kakashi-senpai?"

The elder had been leading them through the provisional settlement since leaving the tent Naruto prepared himself in. Their wandering had seemed random before but after fifteen minutes it seemed as though the jounin finally had a destination in mind. "Oh, I just have a couple of people to talk to before we leave," Kakashi answered with a shrug. "Besides, the supply tent is this way, so we might as well go together for now, don't you think?"

The two men made their way further, passing through tents before the ground cleared. Soon they began weaving through tree stumps littering the ground. "The lumber team?" The younger man questioned when the group came into view.

Kakashi raised his hand and cupped the other around his concealed mouth. "Hanae!"

The woman stood atop a tree laying on its side, meticulously slicing its branches off with a chakra shrouded blade. She turned to the pair and straightened from her stoop. "Kakashi!" She called back excitedly and sheathed her blade behind her back. Tazuno helped her off the tree with an outstretched hand. She offered him a quick thanks before jogging up to the pair.

"Hello," she beamed to Yamato. He was a bit flustered at her energy but managed to smile back.

"This is Yamato," Kakashi motioned to the man, a bid to get him to introduce himself which the other soon did. "We're going to be heading out of the camp for a while with Naruto. I thought I should come and tell you."

"So there won't be a repeat of last time?" Hanae remarked. Her other half scratched the back of his neck as a form of apology. "Where are you going? Or is that top secret shinobi info?"

"We're going to the Land of Iron," Yamato said. The excited expression that flashed across her face made him jump slightly. Is this how Naruto felt when seeing his blank expression?

"I'm from the Land of Iron!" She announced, not loud enough for the lumber team to hear but loud enough for the two men to sense her enthusiasm. "I'd offer to take you, but I'm too busy here." The woman leaned in slightly as if to tell them a secret, "someone has to watch over Kurenai no matter how much she tells us to stop worrying."

Kakashi waved his hand in front of his face, "don't worry about it. And don't tell anyone we're going, it's top secret shinobi info. Hopefully we'll be back before anyone notices."

She nodded to his request, smile still stretched across her features, "make sure to bundle up, the average temperature is about forty degrees." Hanae took a step closer to Kakashi. He looked down at her and began reaching his hands up, sensing her intentions but stopping quickly.

Both of them turned sharply to Yamato. He had been watching the interaction until all eyes suddenly became focused on him. "Oh, uh, sorry," he stuttered and turned his back to the pair.

Without an audience the two embraced. It was short but sweet, the most the jounin was willing to offer out in the public eye. He released her after a short moment and watched as she made her way in front of the other man..

"It was really great to meet you." she hummed, bowing and taking her leave back to the task at hand.

The two men watched her unsheathe her wakizashi and hop back onto the tree, resuming the carving with a renewed vigor. Yamato turned to Kakashi slowly, the latter still watching Hanae with an expression that was nothing short of content.

"She is way too good for you, Senpai."

"I know. And that means you'll never have a chance either, Tenzou."