Oak

.

Author's Note: Final installment to a cont of short stories, Water Violet and Dear Chicory. Had to wait a while for this one to conclude. I was really hoping to see Kishi close out the war before I began posting, but I ain't waiting forever. Expect Parts (chapters) 2 and 3 to come possibly as soon as September and October respectively. Thanks. And as with the other two stories, I hope this could stand on it's own, but if not, please go read the other two stories if you should so like.

I'm really happy coming full circle in a lot of ways, with three parts. Thanks so much for reading—hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto…

Genre: General—tried to keep this one a little light, considering. And thanks, my sister's favorite band of the 90s…you know who you are. (Because she had you on her license plate.)

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Part 1

.

She seemed very resolute.

Her spine was straight, her cat-like eyes stayed upon him; her figure was quite still given what she had asked. But during the silence, she seemed to flinch once—at which point she reposed her hand upon her hilt protectively like he had seen so many others do in times of stress and anxiety. For the longest time, Gai didn't even know what to say. But it was his decision. He was in command for the moment while most of their unit was sleeping—including Kakashi. And while information was on a need to know basis, and Kakashi definitely needed to know…there was no waking him now. They needed him asleep to be at his best, in the morning.

Gai scowled soundlessly. He had no choice but to agree.

Yuugao nodded swiftly, a small action of relief. But really, the decision did not bring her pleasure. Far from it. Nevertheless, she smiled a little as she reached into her pocket and produced a small, sealed note. "Please…give him this, when he awakes," she said lightly. "It's nothing official. Only…personal."

"O—Of course," nodded Gai.

"…Well," she decided. Her voice finally betrayed the tingling fear spread out in her slim little body. "I will gather whom I need and we'll go."

"Say—" Gai hesitated her leave, "Say…you deal in those…those remedies, right?" She nodded once. Gai struggled for a smile, "Got any for situations like these?"

"I'm sorry," Yuugao returned the faint smile sadly. "But I used the last of mine three weeks ago. A friend of mine might have some left, but she's, well, she's a trip out of our reach I'm afraid."

"Ah…That's too bad." Gai sounded disappointed.

"Yes…well…I thank you, Gai-sensei."

He nodded, and nearly said goodbye to her until he thought of something a little less final; "Good luck."

She nodded. "Thank you. And you."

Gai watched her leave, with her small party and the few men he could spare. He looked down at her note quite guiltily. He wondered what it contained. The relationship between those two lately had mystified him. She had been sending the copy nin notes regularly. Most of the time they were under different aliases. Stupid ones like from, "Shinobi stuck under rock", or "Shinobi dangling in mid air precariously," or Gai's favorite, from: "Shinobi who kicks ass valiantly". She was an unusual woman. And Gai seemed to catch something new about her every time he met her.

Gai looked back at Kakashi. He was sleeping soundly in the distance. Not a muscle moved. It was one of those rare moments of innocence only sleep could unveil. Then Gai looked back at the little note. From: Yuugao, simply, it read. Marking it different from all the others. The night, Gai noticed, was still quite dark.

Hell. It's what Kakashi would have done.

.

Shiranui Genma couldn't tell you exactly which circle of Hell surrendered Uchiha Madara, one of the most genius and powerful shinobi in history…now undead from it. The senbon chewing leaf ninja looked at the man from behind the five kage freshly assembled and Genma just had to smile. It was a hell of a smile. Before the first attack landed, Genma took out the needle calmly, fingering it like one of Sarutobi Asuma's cigarettes and Genma murmured to Raidou, "Hirsute, angry looking son-of-a-bitch if you ask me…"

Raidou responded in a slightly raspy tone of voice (the dust), "Well if he's undead, who the hell is the masked man?"

The raikage and mizukage kicked more dust as they charged ahead. Genma thought. Except…he didn't want to say it. Asuma would have said it. He was always unabashed in that regard. Even Hayate would have hazarded the guess. Not out of boldness or even humor; he would have done so in honor of the truth.

"…Genma?" Raidou pursued.

Genma chewed on the senbon, stuffing his hands in his pockets, watching the attack.

He just couldn't say.

Madara disappeared. The susanoo's form vanished under the clouds and the mizukage's attack. And Raidou said it, "There isn't any way for us to join the fray."

Then the cloud ninja near them spoke. "We'll go after the other one," he decided. "Help me out."

"Him…?" Raidou clearly regretted speaking.

"Now, let's go!"

Oh well, Genma mused ironically. They weren't exactly qualified to handle Madara…but another edo-tensei body? Genma stared at the second tsuchikage with three of his comrades and the kumo nin. He wondered then how Yuugao was doing.

.

The Zetsu army stood like white…angry clay. Yuugao withdrew her short assassin's blade silently as she and her small team watched from green cover and grey shadows. There were way too many of them and only five in her team. But really, as the copy nin informed her, ambushes, like bushes, come in all shapes and sizes. Yuugao restrained her apprehension and explained the plan carefully. Her old senpai would have been proud.

She hesitated giving the signal when she noticed an old oak tree in the distance. The heavy boughs were waving high above the others, touching the blue skyline and whispering distant conversations. The last vile she had with her was oak. But Yuugao was a chicory. Slightly jealous, and unable to let go of certain things. She didn't stand quite that tall when she fought. Not like Hayate.

Hayate…

One of the men cleared his throat and looked at her. She finally took notice. Yuugao nodded shortly. She gave the signal and headed out first into the clearing, imagining each and every one Hayate's killer.

She was quickly over-taken. The beings were surprisingly quick, as ugly and anamorphous as they were. But she had fought them before. Using her blade and her element, she pounded the ghost-like monsters plaguing her conscience and the road Kakashi and Gai were destined to take. Then as she saw each of them closing in, in one giant circle, she gave the signal and used the simple old trick to get out of the way.

Substitution.

It was her old senpai's favorite jutsu. Because hell, half of the time she was talking to him he was never really listening. Kakashi used the jutsu often and stayed in the treetops, watching, waiting for the kill.

And attack her team did. They did well. And she joined the fray again and still, there were too many left. Still just too many... Yuugao roared with all her might, swinging her blade and her jutsu again and again.

The oak in the distance was unmoved as beads of sweat began dripping off her chin. Her limbs heaved and her fingers gripped the hilt numbly, reaching for the next misshapen form. One of her men was in trouble—she paved the way but another Zetsu sprang up to meet her. She whacked the thing back down into clay and blocked an attack just in time. But the enemy retaliated in some clay combo and knocked her backward.

She raised her head and saw the oak again. The glossy leaves shone like tiny mirrors, watching her movements from a distance. Yuugao stood up wearily; her knees and thighs ached like rocks. But she smiled a little as she remembered. "…I am the shinobi who kicks ass valiantly. I am…Yuugao." she said to herself quietly. "And senpai…knows it."

She charged ahead.

.

Gai thought for a split-second that his rival eternal Hatake Kakashi was going to hit him.

Of course that didn't happen, but the thought, passing in a cosmic thread, hovered for a moment over Gai's head like a streak of lightning that just missed his handsome face. Gai then shifted in his shoes, pretending to find that blue sky the most interesting thing in the entire universe.

No, after Kakashi learned what happened, he raised his hand…and he started to read the note.

He moved away to do so because Kakashi was what Yuugao called a 'water violet'. Aloof and reserved. And perhaps if he had taken the diluted flower (a few drops in some water or juice), Gai hoped Kakashi would have at least used a good curse word Asuma would applaud. But no, Kakashi simply moved away after a short, inconsequential nod and read underneath the tree as the rest of the troupe was waking up.

Gai watched his eternal rival even now. (More fascinating than sky. More dangerous than lightning.) Kakashi swayed, reading the kunoichi's letter. Gai stood there staring awkwardly until rumor spoke behind him. Gai moved his head slightly. "Watch your mouth, chuunin. You're talking about the leaf village's own copy nin."

"What?" the chuunin scoffed, and looked around at his village buddies beside of him. "I'll bet you a thousand tsuchi yen it's a love letter."

"Well pay up, sucker," Gai retorted over their laughter. "It's not a love letter."

"How the hell do you know?"

"I read the thing."

The chuunin's eyes widened, "So…what the hell is it?"

"…A goodbye letter."

And Kakashi looked about through with it as Gai left his spot and advanced slowly.

The water violet kept his ebony eyes on the ground, and did not move his head as Gai came forward. One could never sneak up upon Hatake Kakashi, Konoha's greatest jounin, who nearly became hokage against his will. The water violet stayed silent. The white note, folded, was hidden again under his fingers. Gai finally knew what to say. "I'm sorry," he said calmly.

"Yeah…" Kakashi said lazily after a while, and added, "So am I."

Something hard was in his rival's voice Gai could not quite identify. There was always more to Kakashi, but his answer added something else. Something grander and darker than anything Maito Gai could guess at. And he had spent over twenty years guessing. It was something smelling like Asuma's last cigarette, and Genma and Raidou's alcohol in the bar. It was something Kakashi kept hidden underneath the underneath. And it was something he'd never consciously reveal. Unless…

Kakashi looked up at Gai. "Let's move on ahead…To Naruto's position," Suddenly the note in Kakashi's left hand was gone. Like some queer reverse-summoning for paper, he opened his fingers empty and then balled his hand back into a tight fist. The man breathed in. "Let's end this damn war."

Gai heard, "Let's go to the store and get some bananas." So Gai readily agreed, smiling.

They informed the unit and left.

.

Genma was not having a good day. Neither was Raidou. Especially Raidou. Why he always got the short end of the stick was a mystery, as well as a stigma attached to him since early childhood. The run of luck was continuing now. "I DON'T FIGHT INVISIBLE PEOPLE." Raidou mentioned passionately under an assault of weapons.

Genma yelled back, "HE COULD BE TALKING YOU TO DEATH LIKE IBIKI WOULD."

"TRUE." Raidou returned, dodging sand while dripping sweat.

Genma was faring no better. Meanwhile the cloud ninja continued setting them up for joint attacks and faith like a true oak, unyielding and relentless, fighting even as there was not much fight left in him.

And Genma could not deviate under orders like those.

Gekkou Hayate would have kicked his good friend's ass.

But somewhere along the line as they finally gained the upper hand on the resurrected tsuchikage, and sealing jutsu was signed with speed that would even make the copy nin blush, the tsuchikage up and left.

Naturally, Raidou was in an explosive state as they all chased after him, but to no avail. The edo-body vanished completely and all that was left were the rumbles of someone else's battle. But the thing about war was that another new battle got their attention with a bang, refueling Raidou's passion as he crossed paths with an ugly Zetsu…thing. "TAKE THAT!" he shouted angrily, and took off it's head in one swoop.

Genma laughed. And in war, his turn came at one point…And Genma fell.

The sand caught him and cradled him on the dry ground, sinking in his wounds, turning the blood brown and the brown red and Genma looked up and noticed the bright blue marble sky.

You see in Konoha, the great blue thing is often difficult to see. Too many tree leaves get in the way. Genma looked up at it, so clear and so blue and so big. Then he heard another couple thumps hit the ground. And the sound of them came running over to him rapidly. Genma closed his eyes. He hoped it wasn't the Zetsus. Or any edo-bodies. Or Ibiki. Or even Raidou. Genma was too sleepy from all the weary dancing.

.

.

.