V W R I T T E N I N A D V A N C E V
Kohana pressed her arm over her firmly shut eyes, pouting slightly as a groan erupted from the back of her throat, between half-parted lips.
“Shut up.”
It didn’t help either that she was such a light sleeper.
Yoshiaki sighed, and placed his hand on the girl’s stomach. From where he sat next to her laid-back body on the bed, he was tempted to just slide in next to her and keep her from going to the Hokage’s office. However, he had a responsibility… that was the least he could do for having the pleasure to be able to stay with her for the entire night. Luckily, no such nightmares were involved.
“Hurry up already. Who knows what that woman will do if you’re late? Not to mention this is your first mission with your old team in such a long time.” The words that came out of his mouth were a little close to unintentional but again, he had to be responsible. Otherwise, he could receive a beating from Osamu. How surprising that sounded to him… even until now.
Grinning victoriously as Kohana sat up and muttered an averse statement of: “I’ll take a shower,” Yoshiaki swiftly took her place in the bed, leisurely lying down on her spot, arms behind his head in an annoyingly laid-back manner.
The dark-haired Kusagakure Jōnin sighed with ease. He would never tell it to Kohana’s face, but the girl’s couch was dreadfully stiff. It did nothing to alleviate the pain in his muscles from the arduous, yet time-lacking training he had yesterday. Peacefully closing his eyes, Yoshiaki let a content smile grace his face.
It was not long before Kohana hopped onto the bed, surprising Yoshiaki as she laid her head on his chest, head facing the white ceiling.
Though Yoshiaki didn’t have complaints at all (seeing as how they didn’t have enough time spent together), Kohana really had to leave.
“Hey…”
“I know,” Kohana groaned, glaring up at Yoshiaki, “just a few more minutes.”
Chuckling, Yoshiaki closed his eyes and ran his right hand through Kohana’s still-wet hair, combing through the slightly tangled locks. “Fine… but at least dry your hair first.”
Pouting her lips, Kohana sat up and grabbed a towel which sat on the table nearby.
“Can you do it?”
Yoshiaki snatched the soft blue towel with a small glare. “Sometimes… I think you forget that I’m a guy.” He wasn’t surprised at all when Kohana shrugged with a content smile.
“You love me anyway, right?” Kohana asked with a grin as she hummed to herself, all the while letting Yoshiaki work on drying up her hair.
Yoshiaki stopped short with a blink, before smiling.
“Yeah.”
“I’m sorry I’m late! I got distracted and—“
“It’s alright, Kohana.”
However, Kohana noticed something strange. Other than the Godaime Hokage and herself, no one else was around. No Naruto, Sakura or Kakashi.
“Huh?” Was what she could manage.
Tsunade almost sighed as she wound her fingers together, bringing them to her lips. “Let me tell you about your mission.”
Kohana considered asking Tsunade about the absence of her former team, but decided against it. She was about to be briefed after all, she needed to focus.
‘That’s right, get the job done as soon as possible. No delays,’ she strictly thought to herself. That was how it was outside the village; that was what Osamu would always remind her before a mission.
“Two men wearing strange cloaks seem to have entered Sunagakure, all the shinobi that guarded the village were murdered… no, actually, to be specific, vital parts of their bodies were set off with bombs. It was not long after that that one of the men went after the Kazekage.”
“Gaara-sama?” Kohana gasped, her eyes widening in horror and concern for the redheaded young man.
Tsunade nodded solemnly. “Not only that… he protected the village, he succeeded of course. However—“
“He was taken, wasn’t he?”
The Godaime Hokage was not at all surprised by the anger in Kohana’s voice. Despite the many people Kohana had remorselessly killed over the years, it was because of that strong sense of justice in her that developed itself over the years. It was surprising how a youth like her, not yet fully knowledgeable about the pains of the world had more of a sense of justice than the majority of the people her age. It was almost as if she, as a child, had witnessed the last Great Shinobi War.
“That’s correct.”
“Who are these… strange men in cloaks?”
There was no doubt that, from the suspicion so blatantly obvious in those darkened eyes, she already knew. Or at least, had a hunch as to which organization they belonged to.
“The Akatsuki.”
It was amazing that not another hint of emotion surfaced, also that the anger and determination she displayed remained at a constant and controlled amount.
“However… I’m not sending you out on the mission just yet.”
“What?” Her voice was practically begging Tsunade to stipulate the reason why.
‘So eager,’ Tsunade thought with a mental sigh. “For now, you will serve as backup, which means that you will only be sent out on my orders. If you so much as leave then village for the mission without my say, I will be forced to remove you from this mission… and I will not hesitate to keep you from taking any other missions other than B-rank and below.”
Kohana clenched her fists, suddenly finding how unjust it was that Tsunade was being too stern about such a matter. It would be better if she just went ahead with Naruto and the others. They needed all the help they can get… no matter how powerful Kohana knew her friends were.
“If you think that it will be better with more people, you’re wrong. This is a dangerous mission that may involve everything you have experienced over your two years of absence. With your condition, you’ll undoubtedly slow them down. Please, Kohana, think about yourself… I’m giving you this chance to rest and then do what you want when needed. Understand this: we’re only looking after you.”
‘We…?’ Kohana thought with a frown.
“You are dismissed. And if it makes you feel better, I sent Team Gai along with your team.”
Kohana bowed, but said nothing as she left the room.
Osamu frowned as Kohana screamed in frustration, falling to the grassy surface on her back.
“I take it you’re not allowed to leave the village?” He asked, sitting beside his pupil on the ground.
Kohana closed her eyes and rolled over, her back turned to her teacher. “Don’t act all innocent. You told her to make me the back-up plan… didn’t you?”
She grew increasingly irritated when Osamu chuckled.
“You know me too well.”
“This is serious, sensei…”
Sighing, Osamu reached out and patted his pupil’s head. “I know… but are you sure you’re willin—“
“Don’t even finish that sentence!” Kohana whined, sitting up and fixing her sensei with a glare. “You already know that I’ll be willing to do anything for missions… more so if my friends are involved,” she said more quietly this time. Osamu was, until now, bewildered at how Kohana had quickly gone from afraid of Gaara, to protective over him. Then again, there was a part in him that knew this would happen eventually. Kohana most probably saw Naruto in Gaara and also felt as much compelled to help him as she would be if Naruto would ever be in trouble.
Osamu never had any siblings… just one friend who turned out to be his lover… and he lost her. Looking at Kohana now, he realized that losing Sasuke already took its toll on her. If Sasuke had stayed… she would be the perfectly happy young girl Osamu always hoped for her to become.
Now, he realized, he didn’t want to ruin that by keeping her in Konoha… not when her friends may be in need of her assistance and not when she had no intentions of losing anyone else.
If it was possible, Osamu wanted to take part in Kohana’s slow path to true happiness. He didn’t know when that would happen, but he wanted to give her that push she needed. As her sensei, he knew what was best for her… and that was to let her live without any regrets.
“Alright, I’ll speak with Tsunade-sama. You’re free to go.”
Blinking, Kohana looked at her sensei.
“…What?”
Smirking, Osamu stood up and held his hand out for his pupil to take. She did so and stood after him, still shocked at his sudden change of heart.
“You heard me.”
Osamu would never admit it, but the second Kohana’s face broke out into a large grin, pride and happiness bubbled in his heart. He was glad to have her as his student…
That was the only thing he never regretted.
“Thank you so much, Osamu-sensei!” Kohana cried, throwing her arms around the young man. Osamu didn’t exactly like hugs that much but he couldn’t quite tell that to Kohana after all the times she’d insisted on hugging him.
Laughing to himself, he patted Kohana’s back and before he knew it, she was gone.
‘I’m going to get yelled at for this…’ he suddenly realized with a sigh, finally making his way to the Godaime Hokage’s office.
A/N: It took me a long time to post this because I was trying to decide whether or not to add something... but the time in the original plot wouldn't let me. SHE HAS TO MEET ITACHI. O__O