Waiting Game

Chapter 18

"So, girls, how did your first big-bad C-ranked mission go?" Mother asked Sakura and I. I stayed silent, forcing Sakura to answer.

But she just threw me under the bus, just I had done to her when I stayed silent.

"Tsubaki died. Twice."

"WHAT?!" Mother balked. Father spat out his tea, then looked up to give me a look that demanded elaboration.

I sighed.

"I only have forty-three minutes of peace left before I'm interrogated. I'd rather not talk about it yet," I dismissed the impatient/horrified looks from my parents, favoring taking a sip of tea.

Ugh, bitter.

As Sakura continued giving the story, with details omitted when she had no idea what happened, I discreetly crept my hand over to the blocks of sugar on the table. Good, father didn't notice. I grabbed a whole handful of them, about five, and dumped them quietly into my tea. When I took a second sip, I sighed in delight.

Ah, much better.

Contrasting with my rather bland personality, I had many odd interests. These interests include sweets especially. However, I dislike bitter foods or drink.

"Tsubaki-chan, still no words about your C-ranked mission?" Mother asked. I looked up from my tea.

"I consulted Kakashi-Sensei one time while the others were training. He agreed with me that it was no longer a 'C-rank,' but an A, possibly even S," I said. My parents gasped again, but I stood up before they could speak. "It's nearly time for me to talk to the Hokage. I must take my leave."

Before they could even wish me well, I did a one-handed sign and teleported.

With a small poof of smoke, I was back in the hospital room that I woke up in. However this time, instead of wearing that scratchy hospital gown, I was in my normal ninja garb. Sitting down in a meditative position, I closed my eyes and waited for the monster.

Within moments of my arrival, the man that I despised most calmly strolled into the room, wafts of tobacco coming off of him. I held in my anger, leaving an expressionless look on my face and an empty one in my eyes.

"Tsubaki, care for some tea?" the Hokage asked, holding up a teapot. I shook my head.
.........
Sarutobi Hiruzen

Age: 68

Trustworthiness: -100%. I refuse to talk to him any more than I deem necessary.
.........
"Let's get straight to the point. Is what I've heard true; that your eyes can shift between their normal form and one that gives you power?" he asked, voice calm and cold. I blinked, letting chakra up to my eyes for a demonstration. My vision was darkened, and I held this for a moment to allow the Hokage to see my eye's condition. "Thank you for telling the truth, Tsubaki," he sighed, "but I guess that's not completely your fault, right? I did not foresee that Ibiki's punishment on your lies would be so... morbid."

"What is done is done," I spat out, giving the Hokage a cold look. "It's too late to apologize, if that's what you're here to do." The old man gave me a pitiful look before averting his eyes and clearing his throat.

"That is understandable, child. But you must know that everything I do is in the best intent for the village," he said. I refused to give any reaction to this, thinking of the Uchiha massacre. Thinking of ROOT. Thinking of everything bad that has come out of The Third's reign over Konoha. "-ki...? -baki, Tsubaki," I heard the man try to get my attention. After a moment of reveling in the moments that I didn't have to talk to him, I eventually let go of my unconsciousness.

"Yes?" I asked, waiting.

"All I ask for you, my final request to you heart-to-heart... please, take care of the village. I have a feeling that I will not be alive for much longer, so I do not wish for us to be on bad terms even in my death," he requested. My gaze didn't change, but I waited for him to elaborate. "Look, what I'm saying is that I'm sorry. I know it's too late for you to accept it, but I just wanted to put it on the table for you to take whenever you're willing. If-ever you're willing," he corrected.  I continued staying silent. "Just- understand that I need to to watch over the village. Be the protector that I know you are-"

"You know nothing, old man," I finally spoke, ice in my voice but fire in my tongue. I stood up. "Am I dismissed?" I asked, anger coursing through my veins. This anger, this rage, hurt even more than the fulfilling of the deal with the Shinigami, but my willpower and determination let me deal with this hate.

The man looked to his feet, shadows covering his shamed eyes.

"You are dismissed."

I didn't return home after the encounter with the Hokage. In fact, I didn't even go in the direction of home. Instead, I took to climbing the Hokage mountain, no chakra involved.

It started off easy, a simple exercise that forced me to use my arms just as much as my legs for brute strength rather than nimble dodging. My hands reached up each time to grab a rock and I'd pull myself up with it. The burn started in my arms, and then my legs. My ribs hurt from breathing too heavily after a while, but I continued upwards.

My hands would occasionally find a loose rock, and I'd have to quickly find a more sturdy one so that I didn't risk falling. There was also the problem where I'd find a sharp and jagged rock.

At this point, I didn't even want to see how bloody my hands were.

It has been almost a complete hour since I began climbing. I was barely a third of my way up.

My muscles were shaking, pain in each and every one of them. But I refused to stop; enemies don't rest, so neither should I. I will train, and I will become a better protector for Sakura. And, hopefully, not die in the process again. I clutched at a rock, and it crumbled in my palm, giving me little to latch on. I quickly shot my arm up a few inches to reach a rock right above the one I just ruined. I lifted my foot, then placed it on a sturdy ledge.

This was getting both easier and harder as I continued.

Easier in the fact that I now could tell quicker which rocks were sturdy and not and in the respect that I could find patterns in the rock structure to help with my ascent.

However, it was harder since I was under the shadow of Hashirama's face, which made it harder to see where I was reaching. Also, I was dead tired.

Now more than halfway up the mountain, and at two and a half hours, I was dripping with sweat. My clothes stuck to my body like a skintight layer of wet material. It was a horrible sensation, with the lactic acid burning me from the insides, but I knew that it would be worth it later when I regrew muscles necessary for strength.

Climbing around and over Hashirama's face, the face of the first Hokage, I was practically dead. It hurt so much, but my brain wouldn't allow me to rest yet.

And nor would Haku.

"Go Tsu-chan," his words of encouragement were so soft that I missed them at first. "You can do it." He would say, with a smile. I swiveled my head, staring at the boy who had decided to join me, standing on the vertical rock surface with chakra in his feet. His mask was off, and he was wearing a plain, emerald green and beige kimono.

I gave my thanks in a simple nod before continuing my trek upwards.

I was more than 90% of the way up when the cramps in my arms, hands, and legs were becoming close to unbearable.

I gritted my teeth as I clenched one of my fists around thin air, misjudging the distance between me and my next handle.

I moved my hand slightly to the left, and found a proper hold. Haku continued to wait patiently for me, parallel to where I was on the mountain and only moving upwards when I did.

Once my hand went down on the flat top of Hokage Mountain, and I heaved myself up and onto the ground, I finally rested. As I caught my breath, Haku smiled at me.

"Good job, Tsu-chan," he congratulated. "You made it!" When I gave no response, his smile fell. "That was your objective, right? To reach the top?"

"That was the objective for today, but my goal is to reach the top of this mountain one day without breaking a sweat," I panted. I was completely out of energy, extremely hot and sweaty, and was insanely hungry. "Ugh," I groaned as I forced myself to stand. "I'm going to Ichiraku's..."