Who are you?

Part 12

Shiori woke up to knocking on her door. She listened to the pattern. It was the code they had set up with Tsunade-sensei, so she got up and opened the door. She was immediately grabbed into a bone-crushing hug.

Tsunade grabbed her tightly, spinning her around. "My favorite gaki." She screamed with joy. Shiori couldn't breathe. Her vision was going dark when she was finally dropped to the ground.

She gulped for air trying to orient herself. Her head was spinning. Shizune put a hand on her shoulder, checking to see if she was ok. Shiori gave her a small smile.

"Hi Tsunade-sensei. Hi Shizune-ne." Shiori said as she finally got up.

"Hi, Shiori-chan," Shizune said. Tonton oinked from behind her, and Shiori bent down to pat her head.

She then invited them in and grabbed a sealing scroll with a travel stove and pot to make some tea. It was very early in the morning. The sun hasn't risen yet. So she decided to make mint and cinnamon tea.

She loved the feeling of freshness from mint and the slightly warm and sweet tone of cinnamon. She also had a special box of cookies she got from her travel to the land of tea. She was saving it for a special occasion.

Tsunade and Shizune made themselves comfortable. Tonton lay with her head on Shizune's lap.

"Yeah. We just unpacked our thing in our room. We got a free upgrade when I signed my name for the room. So you can come to our room." Tsunade said. Stretching herself. Probably stiff from the journey.

"Sure. It can be fun." Shiori said as they waited for the tea.

"So wanna tell me all that happened since our last meeting?" Tsunade said. She was like a mother figure to Shiori. Their bond was beyond master and student. Shiori was dropped off with her when she was six.

She still clearly remembered the day. She always had great chakra control and a knack for medicine so her sensei just dropped her off with Tsunade. Paying her a hefty amount to teach her healing.

She cried and begged for her sensei not to leave her. But the man said he was too busy to take care of a brat. He left too quickly for anyone to protest. She was crying, sobbing, and screaming.

Tsunade later told her that she had no intention of accepting a student but when she saw the state Shiori was in she couldn't bring herself to leave her. She passed out from all the crying.

When she woke up the next day, she was withdrawn from everything. She felt like an empty shell. Tsunade tried to get her to talk. To understand the situation. when she learned that she was an amnesiac and the only person she knew just dumped her, she couldn't bring herself to abounden her.

Tsunade really did not want to deal with the situation. She could clearly see that the child was a Uzumaki, so she could not drop her off anywhere and hope for the best. She knew better than that. One look from anyone who knew of Uzumaki's and she could be recognized. She would definitely get kidnapped for the powers she possessed or, worse, for breeding.

Tsunade was a medic at heart, a healer. She might have killed many in wars, but she was not about to condemn an innocent child to such a fate. She planned to head to somewhere near Konoha.

She could then contact her old sensei and have someone take Shiori to Konoha. She knew Konoha was not perfect. She knew of what lurked in the shadows. But she trusted her sensei enough to protect her from the worst of it.

However, this plan never came to pass. On the fourth day of their journey toward Konoha, Shiori collapsed. She had a high fever, and her body was severely weakened.