Chapter 36

"So loud…" I muttered. "So bright." I groaned and sat up, covering my eyes with my hand. 

"You're awake!" shouted Naruto, "I thought you were gonna die! But, neh, Big Sis! That was so cool! I wanna be ANBU too!" 

"No," I groaned and patted him on the head, "Don't be ANBU -cough- too bloody." I inhaled. It felt like half my lungs were clotted. 

"Water?" asked a lady. She handed me a glass of water. 

"Thanks…" I took the glass and drank it in one gulp. "You must be Tsunami-san. Inari's mother right?" 

She nodded, "Yeah, I'm Tazuna's daughter. Nice to meet you. Thank you so much for getting my father safely here." 

"No problem," I smiled, "But you should thank Naruto and Sasuke too. They did a good job." 

Naruto scratched his head and grinned, "No biggy." 

"Thank you," smiled Tsunami, "Rin-san, you should rest up. You probably shouldn't move around a lot. Well, I'll leave you four to talk. If you need anything just ask." She left. 

I turned to my three Genin, "So, you've got a lot of training to do! -Cough- where's my bag? Oh! Does anyone have my scalpel?" 

Sakura passed me my bag. "You're scalpel is also inside. Are you sure you're alright? Sensei?" 

"I'm good," I shrugged, "Just a bit under the weather. Now then…" I pulled out a detailed scroll. "I made you a custom train cycle! I want all three of you to try walking on water. The three of you need to take turns guarding Tazuna-san, at least today. When you're by the water, I want you to try walking." They nodded. 

"When the two of you have time, I want Sasuke and Naruto to practice sparring. Both of your taijutsu are pretty good so you can do 1v1 with that only. Then, Sasuke I want you to practice your Sharingan with Naruto and his clones. Good?" The two boys grinned… rivals indeed… 

I pulled out another scroll and handed it to Sakura, "Sakura, remember what I taught you? This scroll is on basic healing ninjutsu. You can practice on humans if they injure themselves during bridge building. But, only on small cuts. If they have anything major, bring them to me. Okay?" she nodded. "Great! Off you go. I'm taking a nap…" 

… 

"Naruto! Sasuke!" I scolded, "Can't you two have more manners? As the heads of your clans, I expected both of you to be more polite!" 

Naruto and Sasuke glared at each other. "Hohohoho!" laughed Tazuna, "It's alright, they're still young after all. We haven't had so many people over in a while." 

Naruto and Sasuke continued to stuff themselves. "Seconds please!" they shouted at the same time, standing up and almost knocking over their chairs. 

I sighed in embarrassment as they both vomited. "Stop eating if you're gonna vomit!" shouted Sakura. 

"No," said Sasuke, "I have to eat." 

"Yep," agreed Naruto, "I have to get super strong as fast as possible." 

I sighed, "Yes, yes, but vomiting is different. You're just wasting food." 

"Excuse me?" asked Sakura, "I was wondering if I could ask about this torn picture. It looks like that part was deliberately torn off." 

Tazuna, Tsunami, and Inari all tensed. "That was…" started Tsunami, "My husband…" 

"He was a hero," said Tazuna. Inari walked away sadly. 

Tsunami chased after him, "Dad! I told you not to talk about that person in front of Inari!" 

"Sorry," said Sakura after Tsunami left. 

"He wasn't related to Inari by blood, but he was still like a father to him," said Tazuna sadly. "Back then, Inari laughed all the time… until that incident… Gato and his men publicly killed him and Inari watched the whole thing… after that, the word bravery was eternally taken from Inari and the people of this island." 

"I'll prove that," said Naruto, "Heros exist!" 

… 

"Rin-sensei," I turned to see Sakua, rubbing her eyes. "Where are you going in the middle of the night? You need to rest." 

I smiled, "You'll make an excellent medic… I'm just going out for a walk. I'll be back before lunch…" 

"Okay…" she yawned, "Have fun." 

I nodded, "Go back to sleep child." 

I walked out of the house towards the trees. If I timed it right, in the morning, Haku would go into the forest, looking for herbs for Zabuza. Then would be a good time to meet him. I walked to the clearing, recognizing it as the one where Naruto met Haku. There were herbs all over the floor. I was at the right place. 

I sat down and yawned. "Sleeping?" asked Isobu. 

I shook my head, "This place has a lot of natural energy. Might as well meditate…"

I placed my hands on my cross-crossed legs and took a deep breath. The energy entered my body and flowed through my chakra pathways. I gently guided it to the diamond on my forehead. "Um…" said Isobu, disturbing me. The energy gathered in my pathways dissipated. "Just wonder, how are you going to hide the fact that you are a Leaf ninja from this person you're meeting… aren't they an enemy?" 

"I'm not," I said, "To hide their identity, they'll pretend they don't recognize me." I yawned, "You know what, wake me up when they get here…"

… 

"Up!" I sat up from Isbou screaming in my mind. 

"You'll catch a cold if you sleep here," said a voice. 

I turned and saw Haku. "Oh… Hi, what are you doing out here?" 

"I'm gathering herbs," said Haku, "For illnesses and healing wounds." 

"Oh," I said, "I'm a healer, if you need my help, I don't mind helping." 

I stood up and picked up an herb. "Do you like?" I asked, "Morning? It's much quieter and calm." 

Haku nodded, "I usually come in the mornings but I didn't think I'd find anyone sleeping out here today." 

"Well," I said, "I was just meditating, but I fell asleep." 

"Oh," said Haku, "I noticed you're wearing a headband… are you a ninja." 

"Yeah," I said. 

"Why?" asked Haku, "Are you doing it for a certain person." 

"Me… I'm not doing it for one person. I'm doing it for my village. I owe it to them. What about you?" I asked, "You must be gathering herbs for someone. Are they precious to you? If they're wounded, I can help you heal them… after all, I'm a medic-nin." 

"Yes," said Haku, "They are very precious to me and I will do anything to help them." 

"Anything huh?" I said, "So you'll do everything you can if I told you your Zabuza-sama was going to die… right Yuki, Haku?"

Haku tensed, dropping his basket of herbs and jumping back to put distance between us. He pulled out a Senbon. "Who are you?" he demanded. 

"Sit down," I motioned, "I'm not going to hurt you. I just wanted to give you some advice."

Haku sighed and sat down. "How do you know Zabuza-sama will die?" 

"Easy," I said, "Your employer Gato is greedy. Before Zabuza finishes the job, he will cancel it so all your fighting will be for nothing. Then, while he's weak, Gato will send his mercenary to kill Zabuza. You'll be dead already." 

"How do you know this?" whispered Haku. 

I shrugged, "It's up to you to believe me but I don't want t okill the last member of the Yuki clan, or a great swordsman. Tell you what, you should just raid Gato's place. You'll make more money from that than from killing a single bridge builder. Plus, have you seen the kids in the town. They're starving and suffering. All Gato is doing is killing children. So please… don't finish this mission." 

"Then what?" asked Haku, "If we stop taking assassinations…" 

"Go back to the Land of Waves," I said, "Find Mei Terumi. She's planning a rebellion against the Yondaime Mizukage. She'll be happy to accept one of the Seven Swordsmans and the last member of the Yuki Clan. Plus, they're in desperate need of money so you could bring Gato's funds with you." 

Haku nodded, "I… I will take your advice. Thank you Rin-sama, I am forever in your debt." 

I waved it away, "Just remember to tell Mei who sent you when they win~ I look forward to seeing Konoha in alliance with Kiri…"

Haku nodded, "I will see it done. We will not kill Tazuna the bridge builder"

"Thank you."