“We will…”

Finding Tsuande wasn't a major problem, she was actually inside the 'Snake Grass Pub', she was talking with Nomi; Yumi's mother, as Shirohi entered Yumi peaked through the door leading to the back room, she stared at him… he felt familiar but she couldn't place her finger on why, Yumi decided to wait and see where he sat, maybe it was Ginkamen, she hurriedly shook her head before returning to the back room… "Tsunade, are you ready to return home?"

Yumi peeked her head out again, staring at Shirohi… it had to be Ginka, it had to be… Tsunade turned to Nomi but saw Yumi from the corner of her eye, with a scheming smile she said "It was nice meeting you and your daughter, Nomi"

Nomi waved "It was nice meeting you, maybe next time you're in the village bring your friend to enjoy a meal."

Tsunade replied as Shirohi opened the door "We will…"

Tsuande wanted to walk through the village so Shirohi was able to bathe in relief, he could enjoy a leisurely walk with his- with Tsunade… Well that's what he thought anyways… Shirohi heavily scrutinized the young man approaching Tsunade, his gait signifying that he had little to no training in combat however his posture showed a sense of nobility and his clothes were made from expensive materials, narrowing his eyes Shirohi looked at the man's hands seeing them soft and supple caused him to groan, the rich and pampered ones were the worst…

Deciding to avoid all forms of interaction with the young man as much as possible, Shirohi grabbed Tsunade's hand, flickering down a few houses. Tsuande looked at Shirohi curiously. Looking back Shirohi saw the man looking around in confusion, then a figure wearing light armor walked out from an alley "F*ck…" Tsunade followed Shirohi's gaze and chided "Language.'' Shirohi muttered "Sorry…" before flickering away with Tsunade in tow. Entering through the door 'like a normal person' as Shizune would say, Shirohi spoke with some urgency in his voice "Tsunade, please start packing your things. We will be leaving for the next village in the morning, but remember to get everything you need because we will be camping tonight to get a head start on tomorrow."

Tsunade looked at him for a moment before giving him a small smile and a ruffle of the hair "Alright, just give me a minute…" before making her way to the room, Shirohi's gaze drifted towards Shizune and he quietly spoke "Make sure she has everything for me, alright? All of my stuff is already packed so I'll work on yours while you help Tsuande," Shizune stopped cooking, sending Shirohi a nod as she went after Tsuande. Shirohi quickly packed all Shizune's things while placing paper tags throughout the house, as he finished up he added a pinch of salt to the soup Shizune was making before pouring it into jars and storing them away in a scroll. After checking through the house once more, when Tsuande and Shizune came out, Shizune asked "Everything done?"

Shirohi nodded "Let's go," as they began flickering away with Tonton in town, the paper tags inside the house lit up causing a multitude of small explosions all of which were drowned out by the sound of the building collapsing.

=========================================

About a third of their way to their destination they stopped to set up camp, Rannai Village was about a day and a half to the south from Kurokami Village at the speed of a carriage, however Shirohi took them north then to the east before he began heading south using 'Doton' to cover their tracks, it wasn't perfect but it was the best he had for the moment and even this was strenuous on his already low reserves. They would stop occasionally so he could recover, every once and a while Shizune would send him a worried look, but true to his word Shirohi took it easy and didn't do anything excessively, speeding up their travel more than he'd like to admit…

While Shizune got a fire started, Shirohi started setting up tents, one was obviously larger and more expensive than the other two and was being set up first. The larger tent was used as a decoy, Shizune and Tsunade would stay in a tent while Shirohi stayed up keeping watch. They used to take turns but after time Shirohi would let them sleep, out of habit he would bring his own tent.

Unsealing the 3 jars of soup and some hard bread Shirohi passed them out, it was much better than the rations they used to eat and lasted inside a scroll for a while, Tsunade was more quiet than usual as she listened to Shizune and Shirohi plan out the rest of their route by the fire, a small smile appearing in her face as she watched Shirohi change their route once again. She liked how much effort he put into keeping them safe, she was so happy to have a son so good to her, no matter how much trouble she could put him through he would always make sure Shizune and herself were safe before worrying about himself… she shed a tear at her own uselessness, she had to rely on them for everything while she wasted her her time and money gambling… no it isn't even her money, the floodgates had opened and tears were streaming down her face. Her soft sobs instantly pulled Shirohi's attention, flickering next to her he began rubbing her back "Tsunade, it's okay… just let it out" her soft sobs turned loud as any resistance she had crumpled, she leaned on Shirohi and let it all out not even putting the energy into hiding her face anymore.

"Shizune," Shizune cupped Tsunade's hands, "I'm here…" Tsunade pulled them both into a hug "I'm grateful for you both, I'm sorry for being so useless," She watched as Shirohi frowned about to speak, she gave a soft unconvincing giggle as she continued "Let me finish, okay?" Shirohi nodded, his frown fading… "I love you guys…" planting a kiss on Shirohi's head she muttered "Especially you my son, I'm so proud of you…" Shirohi went rigid…

(A/N: Yup, a short chap… what'cha gon' do 'bout it?!)

(A/N: Heh… it wasn't really a short chap :))