Chapter 24

"Do I really have to bring up the incident reports on Anko for this?"

Sarutobi rolled his eyes. "Alright look. He's always had trouble with people and he might not be the warmest of instructors but the fact of the matter is that outside of using my executive powers as village leader to revoke his application, something that would be a very grossmisuse of my authority given his results – Yes I know your reservations on Anko Tsunade –" He interrupted before she could start. "– The fact remains though that she is still one of our very best operatives for high ranking Assassinations. Her record outside the village can't be disputed; spotty as her record within the village walls might be. So yes I am going to allow him his chance."

"His chance?" She scoffed "You make it sound as if there's something other than personal ambition as the motivation here."

The old monkey rubbed his temples. "Did you two fight? Did he kill your pet? Or call you a dirty name and I miraculously missed the ensuing blowout or something?"

"No I just know him well enough to call out his BS. I'd trust him with my life but that's my prerogative after fighting next to him for twenty-some-odd years. And where I trust him I can still very easily admit he's a complete dick half the time and not the best choice to be looking after pre-teens!"

"I'm not going to take the team away from him." He stated flatly leaning back in his seat. "If you're really so interested in this take your own private steps to assuage your worries as long as it doesn't blow up half the village – and yes, that is as close to a green light as you're gonna get to stick your nose in his business to a reasonable degree, but his request for a gennin team is going to be upheld. As much as you or I might hold reservations about the pseudo-parenting skills he'll need to help these students the fact is he'll never get the opportunity to prove either of us wrong or right if we don't give him the chance every once in a blue moon. "

"Can I come back here and kick you when this whole thing blows up?" She asked with a look that could have scratched his face off.

"You're allowed to come back here and tell me I told you so. That much I'll grant."

-0-

It was a little past noon when it was her turn.

Hachiba looked ready to keel over breathing like a winded dog, coughing up half his lungs between breaths.

She trudged over, feet slogging through the light mud of the forest floor. They'd long since abandoned the tree tops when it was clear their legs didn't have the strength to carry them in the jumps anymore.

When she lifted Naruto, her arms nearly failed her, and it was obvious after a moment that she wouldn't be able to carry him like the child he was. She opted instead to lift him to lay across her shoulders, every muscle in her legs feeling as though it was being slowly carved open by flaying knives.

She looked up at Hachiba. "Come on." She said, "Lets just keep moving." He nodded and soon enough they were both walking again. They didn't have the strength to run anymore.

She had to focus to even do that. Concentrate on just putting one foot infront of the other, struggling with waning strength.

Her insides burned, her throat bed, black fluid leaked from her tearducts as blue veins became visible under pasty white skin.

Worse and worse the symptoms grew as she focused on just putting one foot infront of the other.

Then she tripped.

She hadn't noticed the root, she could barely see the ground so clouded her vision was; it snagged on the top of her foot and she fell forward, not even having the presence of mind to break her fall. The breath left her lungs and Naruto's weight on her shoulders didn't help at all.

She hissed, cursing as she struggled to draw in a proper breath amidst her coughs.

She glanced up, watching as Hachiba kept walking.

She would have called for him if she had the strength.

She watching him keep walking as she struggled to get to her hands and knees.

Come on...' She thought with a strangled hiss. You still have a whole day left before you roll over and die in a ditch damnit! Move!

She got to her feet.

When she looked down at the half dead Naruto, she reached down to lift him. She only succeeded in nearly tripping again in the slick mud.

When lifting him failed, she tried dragging.

A sound not entirely unlike a giggle escaped her when she realized she was losing the strength in her fingers to make a firm enough grip, to go with the lack of strength.

She walked over to his side.

She didn't know if she'd have the strength to stand back up. So she didn't kneel.

She kicked him.

"Come on...You've been sleeping enough! Get up I can't carry you anymore and Hachiba left."

I'm talking to a corpse.' She noted somewhere, ignoring it as she dug her foot into his ribs again. "Come on! Get up you damn bastard!"

But he lay there, pale an unmoving, she wasn't even sure if he was breathing anymore.

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