The inside of the Senju Fortress was vibrating. The old wooden walls, veterans of wars and decades of history, looked ready to give up against the destructive force of three stressed kunoichis and a Hokage with sake withdrawal.
"You can't put explosive tags next to the emergency rations, Karin!"
Tenten's scream echoed from the main hall. There was an unmistakable sound: a wooden box being dragged violently across the floor.
"I didn't put them there! It was your defective storage scroll that spit them out!" Karin yelled back. "And stop moving the boxes, you're mixing up my medical chakra classification system!"
"Your system makes no sense! Why are bandages classified by 'pain level'?"
"It's intuitive!"
From her office down the hall, Tsunade's voice cut through the argument like thunder.
"If I hear one more box move, I'm going down there and sealing both your mouths shut! Shizune! Where is my report on the desert water supply route? Shizune!"
Naruto Uzumaki, self-proclaimed Secret Advisor and currently a fugitive from his paperwork responsibilities, slid down the back hallway. He carried his sandals in his hand to keep quiet on the polished floor, his back pressed against the wall.
Escape mission in progress, he thought, peeking his head around the corner facing the inner garden. The logistics team has gone crazy. I need fresh air before Tenten tries to seal me in a scroll for messing up the hallway.
The inner garden was a world apart. The house noise was muffled by the sliding doors, turned into a background hum. The afternoon sun bathed the decorative rocks and hydrangea bushes.
Naruto went down the porch steps. The gravel was hot under his bare feet. He walked to the farthest area, where a large maple tree shaded a corner covered in tall grass that the gardener had neglected after quitting three days ago.
There she was.
A lump of dark clothing and the shine of a Konoha forehead protector half-hidden among blue flowers.
Shizune was lying on the ground, sprawled on her back, arms open and a sheet of paper full of numbers covering her face. Her chest rose and fell with a slow rhythm. The rhythm of the forbidden nap.
Naruto smiled and approached on tiptoe. The gravel crunched under his weight.
Shizune tensed. Her right hand moved an inch toward the pouch of senbon tied to her leg, but she didn't get up or take the paper off her face.
"If you're Tonton," she said with a thick voice, muffled by the paper, "leave. I don't have food. And if you're Lady Tsunade... I was checking the structural integrity of the grass. It is vital for the fortress defense."
"The integrity looks good," Naruto said, stopping three feet away. "Though I think you're crushing some flowers my grandma would say cost more than my life."
Shizune let out a long sigh, emptying her lungs of the week's stress. She took the inventory list off her face, crumpling it a bit, and blinked at the light.
"Naruto," she said without scolding, just with resignation. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be helping Hinata review the terrain maps."
"Hinata went into 'Combat Byakugan' mode and started seeing things I didn't even know existed on the maps."
Naruto dropped onto the grass next to Shizune, keeping a safe distance, and crossed his legs.
Shizune let out a dry chuckle and closed her eyes again.
"Hinata is under a lot of pressure. We all are."
"Yeah, well, Tenten and Karin are about to kill each other over some boxes," Naruto commented, plucking a blade of grass. "And Grandma is yelling your name. I think she wants to know something about water in the desert."
Shizune winced without moving.
"I know. I heard her. But if I don't move, maybe she'll forget. Or maybe she'll find the report herself. It's under the empty sake bottle, the green one, to the left of the desk."
"That is a risky strategy, Shizune-neechan," Naruto said, watching the clouds over the wall. "If she finds you here, she's going to use you as a target to test her new desk-throwing jutsu."
"I'll take the risk. Five minutes. I just need five minutes where no one asks me how many rolls of sterile bandages we need for a ten-day trip."
There was a comfortable silence. The wind moved the maple leaves. Naruto leaned back, resting on his elbows.
"That cloud over there looks like Choji rolling down a hill," Naruto said, pointing with his chin.
Shizune opened one eye and looked.
"It's missing the bag of potato chips," she murmured. "But yes, I see the resemblance. It's round."
"And that other one," Naruto continued enthusiastically. "That one looks like... a flying pig? Look, it has floppy ears and a flat snout."
Shizune smiled for real this time, softening the tension in her eyes.
"It's Tonton, Naruto. It is definitely Tonton watching us from the sky to make sure we aren't eating anything without her."
"Tonton is a spy," Naruto nodded. "The other day I saw her sniffing my backpack. I think she's looking for my ramen coupons."
"Tonton has an excellent nose for treasure."
They stayed quiet for another moment.
"That is explosive material, idiot!" Tenten shouted from the house, followed by a thud.
"Are you hiding from Grandma?" Naruto asked.
Shizune sighed and closed her eyes again.
"I am not hiding. I am... taking a tactical pause. Regrouping my mental forces."
"That sounds like hiding."
"Tsunade-sama is intense today," she admitted. "The mission to Suna has her nervous. She wants everything to go perfectly. She knows if something goes wrong, the Council will jump on her. And she is worried about you, and the others. When she worries, she yells. And when she yells, she asks for reports she already read three times."
"And you are the one who has to look for the reports."
"I am her assistant. It's my job."
"Sounds exhausting."
"It is." Her voice sounded fragile. "Sometimes I feel like my head is going to explode with so many numbers. Medicine, food, weapons, routes... I have to keep it all in here. If I forget something, someone could get hurt."
Naruto watched her. He noticed the dark circles, the paleness even the sun couldn't hide, and the slight tremor in her hands.
"It smells good here," Naruto said, changing the subject. He inhaled deeply. "Smells like dirt. And green things."
Shizune relaxed at the change.
"I like this place," she murmured, turning her head toward the hydrangeas. "I've always liked gardening. You plant a seed, give it water and sun, and it grows. It doesn't yell at you, it doesn't ask for budgets, it doesn't try to invade your village. It just grows."
Naruto sat up and looked at the neglected garden with new interest.
"You like plants? Like those poisonous ones Grandma uses for her weird antidotes?"
Shizune shook her head, blushing slightly.
"No... well, those are necessary for work. But actually, I've always thought I'd like to have a vegetable garden. A real one. Not for making poisons, but for eating."
She raised a hand and traced shapes in the air.
"I'd like to plant tomatoes. Big red tomatoes, the kind that weigh heavy in your hand. And kind medicinal herbs. Mint for tea. Lemon balm. Maybe some flowers that are just there to look pretty. Something calm."
She lowered her hand, embarrassed.
"Sounds silly, right? An elite medical ninja wanting to plant tomatoes while the world falls apart."
Naruto's eyes lit up. He leaned forward, shooing away a butterfly.
"It's not silly! That sounds great, Shizune-neechan!" he exclaimed, lowering his voice at the end. "Think about it! We could grow ingredients for ramen! Fresh green onions! Nothing beats freshly cut green onions in a miso ramen! And bamboo shoots... although I think those grow in the forest, but we could try. And naruto..." He stopped, scratching his cheek. "Oh no, that's fish. I don't think that grows in the dirt. But the rest does."
Shizune looked at him, amused.
"Yes, Naruto. We could grow green onions. They are easy to take care of."
Naruto stood up and examined the terrain like a general on the battlefield.
"Do you know what? When we get back from Suna, we should do it," he said, nodding firmly. He pointed to a patch of dirt full of weeds. "Right here. There is plenty of room if we remove those ugly rocks Grandma likes."
"Naruto... that would take a long time. And Lady Tsunade probably wants to keep the garden 'traditional'."
"To hell with traditional! We want tomatoes!" Naruto turned to her with his fists on his hips. "I'm serious. I can dig the holes. With my clones, I can plow this whole piece of land in ten minutes. You choose what to plant. You're the expert on green things. I'll make sure it looks nice. It will be the best garden in the village, believe it!"
Shizune felt a warmth in her chest. The image of Naruto covered in mud arguing with a clone about where to put the cucumbers was strangely comforting.
The slam of a sliding door broke the calm.
"SHIZUNEEEE! WHERE IS THE LOGISTICS REPORT?! IF IT DOESN'T APPEAR IN THREE SECONDS I AM COMING OUT TO FIND YOU AND YOU ARE NOT GOING TO LIKE IT!"
The reality of the mission fell on her all at once.
Her smile vanished. She sat up straight, the tension returning to her shoulders. She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed the paper list against her chest.
"This is dangerous, Naruto," she said with a tense voice. "If Lady Tsunade finds out I'm here slacking off and dreaming of tomatoes while she is in there carrying the weight of the village..."
Naruto stopped looking at the future garden. He went back to where she was and crouched in front of her, forcing her to look at him.
"She won't do anything," he said in a whisper. "She yells a lot, but she knows you try too hard. You're always taking care of everyone, Shizune-neechan. Her, Tonton, the village... me. Even when you're tired, you make sure I eat."
Shizune opened her eyes. The honesty in Naruto's gaze disarmed her.
"It's my job," she replied with a shaky voice. "It's my duty as her assistant. Someone has to keep order."
Naruto shook his head.
"No. It's your choice," he corrected with certainty. "You could have left years ago. You could have looked for an easy life in a gambling town when she was lost. But you stayed. You stayed when she was bad, and you stay now that she has all the work in the world. And that's why you're incredible."
He reached out and lightly touched her shoulder.
"But even the best doctors need to be healed sometimes. You can't take care of anyone if you break yourself."
Shizune shivered. The contact was warm, firm. She felt the heat rise to her cheeks, a sensation foreign to the stress of inventories. For the first time in days, her shoulders actually dropped. That energy of Naruto, so vital and honest, was contagious.
She felt seen. She felt valued.
She sat up, clearing the fog from her mind.
"Okay..." she let out, jumping to her feet and shaking the grass off her clothes. She smoothed her kimono. "Let's do it. You're right. When we get back from Suna, we'll plant that garden. Tomatoes, green onions, and mint."
"Yes!" Naruto raised his fist. "It will be legendary!"
"But you dig the holes," she added, pointing at him with the inventory list as if it were a baton. "And you carry the fertilizer."
"Deal! My clones are experts at digging!"
"SHIZUNEEEE! I SWEAR I AM SENDING AN ANBU TO FIND YOU!"
Tsunade's scream was louder this time. Shizune took a deep breath. It didn't sound scary anymore. It sounded like work. And she could handle the work.
"Right. Break is over," she said, taking Naruto's hand to pull him. "And now, let's go inside before Tenten explodes something out of frustration or Karin decides the best way to organize is to burn it all."
"Wait, don't drag me!" Naruto complained comically, tripping. "I'm the Secret Advisor! I have rights! I have dignity!"
"Your only right now is helping me count bandages and explaining to Lady Tsunade why I took so long," Shizune laughed, dragging him toward the chaos.
Upon entering the house, the noise of the arguments hit them immediately, but Shizune no longer felt overwhelmed. She had a promise of tomatoes and green onions waiting for her upon return. And she knew she wasn't carrying everything alone. She had a team. And she had Naruto.
*******
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