Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Firebird ❯ Chapter 1

The noon sun stood high over Konohagakure. People, ninja and civilian alike, went on their way. It may have been over two years since Orochimaru's initial attack, but there were still many areas in the village that still needed repair. So, while most of the ninja were busy with various missions, the town's people worked diligently to return their home to its former glory. Everyone was busy, save for the one person in all of Konoha who had the most work to do.

Tsunade lounged at her desk, full sake cup in hand, and watched the world go by. Shizune had just left to get lunch for them, so the Godaime was finally able to sit back and give her mind a rest. Taking a sip she lazily looked out of her office window towards the village gates. It wasn't until her eyes ventured towards the horizon past the gates that she noticed anything out of order. Sitting up a little and squinting in hopes of getting a better view, Tsunade realized that her eyes had been correct. A large shadow was moving towards the gate. As it grew closer, she began to be able to make out three separate shadows, and then distinctive human forms. 'Looks like we'll be having guests.' She idly thought to herself.

Tsunade wasn't too worried about the three she had seen approaching the gate. She wasn't expecting any of the Konoha shinobi away on missions back for a couple of days and any enemy ninja would have been smart enough not to approach in plain sight. They were probably just coming to commission a mission. When she saw several of the guards run out to greet them she became curious. It wasn't until Tsunade saw more people rushing to the gate that she made to call for one of her assistants. Just then, a very enthused, more so than usual, Mato Gai burst into her office.

Tsunade could have sworn she'd heard a "Dynamic entry!" before her door flew off the hinges, but she couldn't be sure. All she knew was that Gai was on some kind of sugar high and she needed a new door. "What the hell is this all about?!" Tsunade screamed as she gestured the splintered remains of her office door. Gai however, was completely lost in his own little word. "The spring time of youth has prevailed! Her prodigy have returned in health and fullness!" Tsunade quirked a brow and sat down. She was going to get no where... and fast. That's usually how things went with Gai. "What are you talking about Gai?" She asked, hoping for a simple answer.

She wasn't quite that lucky. "The children of Konoha have once again graced her bounds!" Gai proclaimed, posing as he did so. "What he means is, three of our ninja who we thought dead have just returned." Looking up Tsunade spotted Genma lounging on what was left of her door frame. "Continue," she urged. Smirking around the ever present senbon, Genma did just that. "Three ninja were sent on a mission to grass country a little over five years ago, two jounins and a chuunin. They were one of the only academy assigned teams to still be together and functioned extremely well as a team, perfect for the mission. It was a routine reconnaissance mission that was only supposed to last three years at most. Near the end of the third year we lost a contact with them. We didn't want to risk blowing their cover by sending a search team. After six months they were presumed dead. Apparently, however, we were wrong." Tsunade thought about what she had just learned, and then called for Kotetsu. "Kotetsu, bring me the file on the grass country reconnaissance mission launched five years ago." She told him once he arrived.

She then looked to Genma. "Tell me what you can about these three." Tsunade ordered. Genma lounged a little more against the door frame then spoke. "First we have Shingo Akio, a jounin. He's quiet, reserved, but has a glare that I swear could kill a guy. Kinda like that Sand guy... real creepy like. Yeah... any how, Shingo's really good at taijitsu and ninjitsu. Okay when it comes to genjitsu but it's really not his style of fighting." Genma paused for a moment to let the Godaime digest the new information then continued. "Next you have Gekkou Kaida. She's... um, Hayate's imouto." A still silence fell about the room, almost as if out of respect for the fallen shinobi. Tsunade had never actually met Hayate, but from what she had heard he was an excellent ninja - Despite his health problems.


Wanting to hear more about his sister, Tsunade softly urged Genma to go on. "Yeah... She's a jounin. Gekkou is loud and rambunctious. Ever the flirt, she's been know to have numerous boyfriends in a month. Hayate... Hayate... he wasn't too fond of that trait. Yeah... well, any guy she set's her sights for better watch out because she's notorious for always getting 'her man', as she puts it. She's a bit of a ditz but very good a genjitsu. "

Tsunade nodded, taking all of it to heart. "And finally, there's little Miaka. Shakaku Miaka, the team's chuunin, is one little girl who doesn't know the word quit. She'll just keep trying until she either succeeds or can't try any more. She's painfully quiet and shy, and has this habit of looking down when she's around people, especially when being talked to. Really sweet girl though if you can get her to open up. Not really good at anything save for jitsus. Has quite a knack for them. And her aim with weapons is horrendous. None of us are quite sure exactly how she passed, let alone survived the third Chuunin exam. Must have been 'cause Kakashi trained her." At this Tsunade interjected. "Hatake trained her?" Genma nodded. "Yeah, for the exam. Really brought out a lot of potential in the girl too. None of us ever thought she'd survive her first match and everybody urged her to drop out. Stubborn little thing refused. Guess Kakashi saw something in that and decided to train her. She not only survived her first match, she won. Won the all three of them! Let's just say Sandaime-sama was more than impressed. Of course, she was bed ridden for about a week afterwards but that's a mere technicality." Genma finished with a shrug. Tsunade looked up and saw that Kotetsu had returned with the file she wanted. Taking it she thanked him, and then asked him to escort the three returned ninja to her office.

Opening the file, Tsunade noticed out of the corner of her eye that Gai was still off in his own little world ranting about something. 'Better to let him be' She thought to herself. Flipping through the pages in the file, she found herself even more curious about what had happened. It seemed as if no one had even bothered to try and reinstate contact with the team. Almost like they had been abandoned on the field. But that couldn't be right. Also, another thing was bothering her. It wasn't uncommon to loose contact with shinobi on long term reconnaissance missions for short periods of time. But two years! That was ridiculous. And finally, why had the Sandaime sent a newly instated chuunin on an S-class mission. Good team dynamics just didn't cut it here. There was more than met the eye and she was going to find out what.

Tsunade didn't have long to consider this though due to Kotetsu's arrival with the three in question. Tsunade placed the file in her drawer for later then looked up at the three newcomers. The one male in the group was the first to catch her eye. Shingo Akio if she remembered correctly. He was tall with broad shoulders and a muscled physique. He was somewhat thin however, despite the muscles. His blonde hair, ends tipped in black, fell into grey eyes fixed in an intense gaze. He was any lady's dream man. If it only wasn't for that "I will kill you if need arises" look in his eyes.

The next to catch her eyes was the brunette hanging of Kotetsu's arm. Obviously Gekkou Kaida by the description Genma had given her. She had long legs and a fairly full figure. Layered auburn hair seemed to just fall into place, the bangs partially obscuring one eye. 'Could she show any more skin?' Tsunade thought to herself as she eyed the younger woman. 'Probably...'

It was then that she noticed the small young woman in the background, standing with her hands folded in front of her waist and her eyes downcast. Genma was leaning slightly over her, saying something that was making the poor girl blush. By his description, Tsunade had been expecting a young girl, not a very full bodied adult woman. Though she was all together short, her legs were on the long side. She had wide hips that matched a more than ample chest. Her pale skin offset large magenta eyes. Tsunade had a feeling they had been larger when she was younger. To top it all off, her bright red hair was held up in two buns with pony tails attached to each that fell to her hips in gentle waving curls. This was definitely not a child.

Looking over a Gai, she noted that he was in a state of complete and utter shock as he stared at the red headed kunoichi. Tsunade took a mental note and filed it away in her "How to shut one Mato Gai the hell up" section of her mental files. Smiling, Tsunade rose from seat. The entire room fell silent. "Welcome home." Was all she said.