experience sends terrific bills [Naruto Fanfic]

running on empty

Uzushiogakure is hidden in flames, stark orange against the blue of the ocean straits. The soft wind from the coast brings with it the soot and ash of the burning city, and the salty air burns. There aren't many people left to scream in the now destroyed shinobi village, but in the heat of the flames, the buildings and streets have started moaning instead, as if for an unnerving admonishment for its enemies.

Outside of the heat radius stands the army of Kirigakure - the burning smell of a city, the chemical smell of blazing varnished buildings, of wood, of trapped, unfortunate human flesh, is slowly but surely surrounding its invaders.

"Why are the ruins still standing? Why will Uzushio not fall into the ocean were it belongs?" the Mizukage is asking his aide. "The goal was to eradicate Uzushio from the map." Both of them are looking at the former village hidden in waves, now gutted— in ruins —sitting in the middle of the straits.

"I apologise, sir," the aide says stiffly, "but we cannot get to the sealstones— they have been blocked with some sort of blood sealing? We cannot keep up by using jutsu, not if we want to set out for Konoha today— either way this took up too much time, and Konoha will be forewarned."

The buildings keep on smouldering and the sun is encroaching on the horizon. The sea is set an obnoxiously bright orange.

The Mizukage frowns, and turns to look at the dead body of the Uzukage, lying near enough to recognise his features. "I don't suppose— Are our sealmasters able to take the Uzukage's blood to try and unravel the sealstones? There should be some way to level this damned village to the bottom of the sea."

The aide shrugs helplessly. Kiri doesn't have many seal-masters, aside from the ones specialising in explosive tags or storage scrolls, which are the kind of rudimentary basics they teach in school, and the few they had brought along with the military contingent had stared at the sealstones in dumbstruck awe.

They had needed the traitor that let them pass the barrier, and even he hadn't known how to change the sealstones. Now he laid dead beside the Uzukage he betrayed.

Not even the jinchūriki of the Isobu could put a dent in the sealstones hewn into the naturally occurring granite of the sandstone. Obviously, some kind of magic had been applied.

"This is going to bite us in the ass," the Kirigakure army general says. "I don't like this at all. It smells like a trap. We need to march on Konoha as soon as possible, if we want to catch the runaways by surprise."

The Kage looks one last time at the conquered hidden village, an orange beacon wide up into the sky. It is bloody, and broken, and stands there mocking, like an omen of death. He promised himself the total annihilation of the tiny, yet incredibly powerful village, and yet it stands.

The blackened ruins settle into the heart he claims he doesn't have, and he fears that those who have run away will pass on the knowledge of Uzushiogakure.

"With the destruction of Uzushio we won't catch Konoha by surprise," he says finally. "We will catch them angry. They will grieve for their friends and allies. And grieving men make mistakes. Even if we should not win the war, we have won this battle. And they will not forget the wrath of Kiri. Let Iwa deal with sinking this village to the bottom of the ocean, eradicate the might of the Uzumaki in all its glory — that might even be a fitting present for the Tsuchikage. But Konoha will never forget it was Kiri which dealt the finishing blow."

When the army of Kiri leaves the Land of Water, the refugees have already crossed the Land of Fire and scattered in a desperate attempt to evade the war.

Konoha is caught by surprise by the sudden influx of refugees.

It is not, however, surprised by the war — which is why the people from Uzushio are met with distrust and put through rigorous testing. They form long lines in front of the Interrogation center, and acquire the ire of any citizen on the way to the market, which entrances they are blocking. So, too, is Hatake Eri. Her husband is presumptively lost in the Battle with Kiri, though calling it a battle is a misnomer — slaughter or massacre would be the more accurate word — but the Konoha nin are calling the shots, and they are the ones behind the longer lever.

Hatake Eri is pregnant in her thirty-seventh week, standing in line waiting for approval to enter the city proper, escaping the total destruction of her village, her husband presumed dead, and feels the contracting muscles in her belly.

She is a kunoichi, and her first instinct is to suppress the movement of her bowels, clam tight, and pretend nothing is wrong at all. She panics, but it's the controlled panic of a professional assassin.

"Excuse me," she says to the person standing in front of her, "I think I am giving birth. Do you think-"

She vaguely recognises him as an Uzushio native, an academy teacher if she's correct, and is very grateful when he touches her elbow and asks, "Do you have family travelling with you?"

When she shakes her head, he immediately turns around and calls, "Medic!"

There is something wet between her legs, and it isn't sweat. It feels like pee, kind of, but she's been treated to scary pregnancy stories for the past 7 months. From the stories, she didn't expect it to go this fast, and she's early, too. The baby probably reacted to the stress of losing their home, losing their life. Not to mention the week-long travel under rough conditions to Konoha.

They had been hunted all the way to here.

There is now a discussion with the ANBU guard if a birth is sufficient grounds for opening the village to a pregnant woman, as if a woman could assassinate the Kage and his entire protection detail while giving birth.

The call for a medic has been taken over by other voices, but Eri cannot concentrate on keeping her muscles relaxed and her mind from panicking.

A blonde woman dressed in green, shoulders aside the guard with surprising strength, "What seems to be the problem? There's been calls for a medic?" She assesses the situation with a glance, and then tells the AnBu guard loudly and with emphasis, "You! I am taking full responsibility for the actions of this refugee. There is no doubt she is giving birth, and I need her moved to the hospital immediately."

"Yes, hime," the AnBu replies.

"And they should really do something about these people. Last I heard Uzushio and Konoha were allies," she adds, and then takes Eri by the hands. "I am going to take us to the hospital. It won't do any harm to the baby, but we have to do it quickly. I would rather not have you give birth on the streets of Konoha - the risk of infection is much higher in a non-sterile environment."

Eri nods her agreement, and they are gone.

She survives the birth, and so does her premature little boy.

It's only afterwards, when she is lying in a hospital room exhausted, the tiny baby stable enough to lay with her, that she's introduced to her saviour - Senju Tsunade. The Senju have long standing as Uzushio's allies, and apparently they haven't died out with the Second Hokage.

When Eri tentatively asks Tsunade if she might be willing to take on the duties of a godparent to the new heir of the Hatake clan, at least what was left of it, she asks after the father.

Eri, who is exhausted and feels terrible, looks at her little newborn child and does not cry. "His name is Hatake Sakumo, and we lost communication with his squad during the first day fleeing."

Tsunade is silent, then says, "I will put up a notice for arriving shinobi of that name." There are no words of comfort, before she leaves the room, and Eri is glad for it. When she closes her eyes, the burning ruins of Uzushio are in front of her. She cannot cry.

Hatake Sakumo arrives at the hospital three days later, a new scar along his side. They name their child Hatake Kakashi. The birth of a Hatake clan heir is overshadowed by the destruction of Uzushio, and the rest of the Hatake clan, but despite the war, despite losing their home, life moved on.