Chunin Duties 7.1
Hisana smiled as she felt the warmth of the noon sun. It had been a long journey back home, but their ship had just docked back in the Fire Country's capital. The huge port city's architecture struck Hisana as bizarre, though it was the same mixture of feudal Japan and the 1970's that the rest of Hisana's world was. At first, she'd thought ninja villages were just a little backwards but here was a vibrant city, one of the largest in the known world, and it was exactly the same.
"Ready to go home, boss? Reckon they'll have burnt it down while you were gone?" Karin asked, grinning.
"They're not that bad. At least not anymore," Hisana said.
"I'm sure Naruto wouldn't do that, Hisana," Hinata said, blushing a little. The three of them continued to chat for a while, and when the ship was finally ready they departed with a few words of farewell to the director and the crew. Hisana was carrying some gifts for her brothers in her storage seal - a signed poster for the newest Princess Gale movie for Naruto, a new winter cloak for Sasuke.
"Hisana!" someone shouted, and she whirled around. Her hands went to her sword for a moment, before she recognised Iruka. What was here doing all the way out here waiting for them, Hisana thought with growing dread.
"Iruka-sensei? What are you doing here?"
"It's - well, a lot has happened. Sasuke and Kakashi were hurt, but both have recovered. The new Hokage sent me to escort you back as quickly as possible," Iruka said, and Hisana felt her dread release slightly. So she'd missed Itachi - Sasuke would need her help now more than ever, even if he was physically fine.
"What happened?" Hisana asked as she and her team began to follow Iruka over the rooftops.
"I don't know the full details, but Kakashi and your cousin were attacked by a missing-nin. As was Naruto, but he was with Jiraiya of the Sannin and - well, I get the impression that he's mostly just worried about having so many friends in the hospital," Iruka said.
"He better be fine. Who's the new Hokage?" Karin said.
"Naruto and Jiraiya managed to convince Tsunade to return and accept the position - she's already managed to heal Sakura," Iruka replied, smiling. At that, Hisana felt relief - Sakura had been so badly injured when she'd been fine in the original timeline. Iruka didn't have much information on what had happened, but hearing that everyone had made it through meeting Itachi and Kisame was enough. She could still help them if they alive and in the village.
At full ninja speed, Konoha was only a few hours away. They blurred between tree branches, carefully answering the long-range sentries requests for passphrases. ANBU units were apparently still being vectored to any incoming chakra signatures, though they'd let Hisana and the others through without trouble.
By the time they reached Konoha, the sun was starting to set. Hisana was surprised by how glad she was to be back - over the last few years, this place had become her home. They ran the familiar path over the rooftops towards the Hokage Tower, and Hisana could see the rubbish leftover from what had to have been Tsunade's coronation being slowly cleaned up by some long-suffering members of the genin corps.
"I'll leave you here - I have a shift at the mission desk soon. It's good to see you three back in one piece," Iruka said, smiling proudly. The three of them walked into the Hokage tower, up the spiral staircase, and were waved into the Hokage's office.
"You're back!" shouted Naruto, with considerable volume. He leapt up from where he'd been sitting and hugged all three of them - Hisana, Hinata, and Karin - at once. Hisana hugged him back a little gingerly, and looked over at Tsunade.
She looked somewhere between twenty-five and thirty-five, her features just ambiguous enough to cause confusion. She was dressed in the outfit Hisana remembered from the anime, and she could also just about feel the chakra from her unique transformation.
"Ah, get off them brat. They're fine, just like I said they would be, so scram," Tsunade said, though her words lacked any real bite.
"Yeah yeah, granny," Naruto said, waving his hand as he left.
"And what d you three have to say for yourselves? You were sent to bodyguard an actress so a film could be insured, and you ended up winning a civil war in the Land of Snow?" Tsunade said, glancing at an open folder on her desk.
"I made a judgement in the field that the best way to ensure filming could be safely completed was to eliminate the threat of Doto, Lady Hokage" Hisana said, with a straight face.
"Well, the new ruler there was very pleased with you. Sent me a very glowing telegram. As is our own Daimyo - he's been enthusing to me about how this will help the Land fo Fire. So good job, but if you ever pull an excuse that bad on me again, you'll regret it. Clear?" Tsunade said.
"Yes, Lady Hokage," Hisana said, trying not to smile.
"So you're where all the politeness on Team Seven went. Alright, get your formal reports in soon and be at the mission desk at oh-nine-hundred. You, Uchiha, stay behind," Tsunade said. Karin and Hinata left, leaving Hisana alone in the office with the new Hokage. Tsunade gestured for Hisana to take a seat.
"What did you want to talk to me about, Lady Hokage?" Hisana said.
"A couple of things. First off, Itachi Uchiha infiltrated Konoha. He managed to injure your sensei, and then your cousin later. We've received intelligence that he and his partner, one Kisame Hoshigaki, are part of an organisation targeting jinchuuriki. He was here for Naruto,"
"Not Sasuke?" Hisana asked, hopping Tsunade bought it.
"No. Your team can fill you in on the rest of that. The other thing, is what the fuck are you doing with those seals?" Tsunade asked, gesturing towards Hisana's final hurricane seal.
"Ah, well I tested them on shadow clones-" Hisana began.
"And I suppose that ignorant brat Kakashi didn't do much to restain you. Come over here and let me look at them," Tsunade order, and Hisana complied. Technically she was protected by regulations as she hadn't performed any untested seals on anyone else, but that was a fine line. Medical ninja could be notoriously touchy about such things. "Parallel chakra storage seal? Pseudo-coils in the expanded form? It's an interesting design. I can't see any serious flaws... which means you're a lucky idiot, at least"
Hisana didn't speak up as Tsunade turned to inspect her lightning blood seal. Getting away with 'no serious flaws' was probably the finest compliment she'd ever had on her sealing.
"Are you insane, girl? A jutsu formula to perform genjutsu on your own brain - how have you not died from using this?" Tsunade asked.
"I added an automatic cut-off, Lady Hokage,"
"Well, at least you have some sense. I can see Naruto and Jiraiya weren't exaggerating when they said you were good. If I could spare you from mission duties, I'd send you to a three-month stint in R&D to see if you could crack Orochimaru's Cursed Seal. Your sealing style is divergent enough from Konoha standard that you might find something,"
"Thank you, Lady Hokage. On that topic, I recovered some prototype-chakra armour from the Land of Snow," Hisana said.
"Oh did you now? Drop it off at R&D... but yes, you can keep a set to work on in your own time. And from now on, I want you to show me any more seals you decide to put on yourself before you inscribe them," Tsunade said, and then dismissed Hisana with a wave of her hand.
Naruto was waiting for her outside the Hokage tower.
"Eh, how'd it go with Granny Tsunade?" Naruto asked.
"Only you could get away with calling her that. But it went fine, though I have to show her any new seals I want to inscribe on myself before I do it," Hisana replied.
"She can probably be really helpful - she's super strong, sis, and she healed Sakura!" Naruto said.
"Iruka told me about that. How is she?"
"Well, you know, she's still recovering but the old lady said she could be a ninja again. Anyway, we're having a team meeting!" Naruto said, leading Hisana down a familiar path.
"At Ichiraku's?" Hisana said.
"Hehe, Sensei made me organise it," Naruto said, and they were there. Kakashi and Sasuke were sitting at the bar already, though they hadn't yet ordered.
"Ah, my favourite student returns!" Kakashi said, smiling. Naruto laughed, while Sasuke just sighed. "I know I did promise that everything would be fine while you were gone, but while some light combat might have happened, your house has not burnt down..." Kakshi continued.
"Did any of you eat anything but takeout and rations while I was gone?" Hisana asked.
"I made a tomato sandwich one time," Sasuke said, speaking up for the first time. He looked tired, but the smile he had at seeing her back warmed Hisana's heart.
"Without you and me, sometimes I think Naruto would starve!" said Teuchi, as he approached the bar. He was carrying bowls of ramen - Team Seven's usual orders. She could see the tension in Sasuke not vanish entirely, but he seemed to relax at least a little as she sat down next to him.
"It's good to be back," Hisana said, smiling.
Hisana has some downtime before her next major mission. What three projects will she begin to work on during that time?
[x] Analyze the Chakra Armour recovered from the Land of Snow.
[x] Work out the last problems with her Beast Slaying Vacuum Talon.
[x] Try and improve on her Sealing by working on her Final Hurricane Seal.
[x] Try and improve on her Sealing by working on her Lightning Blood Seal.
[x] Try and improve her taijutsu by training with Gai and Lee.