61: Anticipation

Though she was still curious, Kana found she could hardly concentrate on the surrounding scenery of Konoha until the over-stimulation started to fade from her senses. It all seemed like a whirlwind of nonsense and disorientation, but the sensation brought with it a strange feeling of insight to Kana's perspective.

When her thoughts filled with this new and odd state of mind, she again felt a sort of resonance about it within her chakra. That was intriguing enough by itself, but the reassuring presence of Tsunade offered yet further distraction.

Such disjointed thoughts and feelings were what occupied Kana completely until Tsunade's guiding hand brought her to a place both quiet and calm. As such, the girl missed out on observing much of her surroundings until the pair slowed to a walking pace.

They had come to a place with hardly any foot traffic. It looked to be the outskirts of a walled-off district.

More specifically, the gateway entering into one.

To either side of this wooden archway, white banners hung displaying the same familiar symbol that Kana had come to know as the Senju Clan's emblem. Apparently, this was Tsunade's home?

Extending further on each side was a wood-and-clay palisade of sorts. It was only a few meters tall, and hardly much more than a mere discouragement for anyone looking to climb or leap over it. Rather than a wall or fortification designed to protect, it was more like a marker to distinguish a boundary. Nothing at all like the Yamakuni's fortress. Quite peculiar, in Kana's estimation.

But that was all the time Kana spared to think of it, for Tsunade held her hand and guided her through the archway into the compound proper.

From there, their journey took the pair through quiet tree-lined footpaths and pleasant natural spaces that appeared quite extensive. Along this section of their route, Kana was finally able to regain her full concentration. Her mind re-oriented from the prior over-stimulation. And with that newfound steadiness, she came to more closely observe and appreciate her surroundings.

Her change in mental state was evidently noticed.

"Feeling a bit better now? I'm sorry I didn't realize before." Tsunade tendered with a hint of shame, "I always found the parks and gardens of the Senju estate to be calming, so I hope you'll be able to relax here." The hand gripping Kana's squeezed gently, a gesture Kana wasn't sure how to interpret. "Despite what we might have said, words can't really compare to your first experience of Konoha, can it?

Averting her eyes from Tsunade, Kana nodded slightly and whispered, "I'm sorry. Not used to... so many people. So much noise. I didn't expect..."  Kana struggled to find the words to correctly express her discomfort, find some accurate reference to compare it to. She shuddered a little from the lingering jittery feelings, pressing her free hand to her forehead as she sought the right words, "The last time I heard noise like that... was shinobi killing each other... was fleeing the battles?"

Satisfied enough with that description, Kana looked up at the Sannin to see if the woman understood her meaning.

Tsunade merely faced forward, but Kana could tell that the woman's light expression had fallen and that her complexion had turned somewhat pale too. Err, did that mean Tsunade understood how loud it was or not? Surely as a shinobi she had seen battle enough to compare the chaotic sounds, right? Or did the Sannin not like all that noise either? Ahh, perhaps that was it, something like that. Kana agreed, it was enough to make anyone feel unpleasant.

While Kana attempted to interpret the woman's reaction, Tsunade nodded to her and spoke a few grave and quiet words,

"I... I won't make the same mistake again."

That only added to the confusion of the moment, so Kana only nodded in response, a reaction she hoped would be appropriate enough to conclude the conversation.

Conversation was still as difficult as ever, people were difficult. But now, Kana was willing to exert herself if it meant getting along with her newfound relatives. It... it certainly was an exertion though. Understanding was difficult.

Still, that mentality of willingness sprang from the warm feelings Kana remembered enough to treasure. And with those memories, her thoughts wandered towards the future.

However, before long, glimmers of wind and sunshine recaptured Kana's attention as the pair walked amidst pleasant natural ambience.

Gardens and fields. The occasional building in the distance. Grand sections of woodlands - some obviously well-tended and others seemingly left to grow wild. Some trees bloomed proudly despite the cold, others lay barren with the change in season. But what caught Kana's eye most was a wide lake stretching out into a central field area.

A complex of large and spread-out buildings occupied the lakeside near where Kana and Tsunade approached. Like the outer gate, many banners bearing the Senju emblem hung from rafters and ceramic roofs. From the banks near the Senju manor buildings, a small boardwalk protruded a fair way out into the lake - at the end of which stood a sizable and solitary gazebo.

All together, the place formed a very beautiful scene, in a peaceful sort of way. Out of the bustle of the surrounding village, surrounded instead by nature.

But soon they arrived at the estate manors, and the peaceful atmosphere abruptly vanished.

Another walled archway lay before them, this time constructed of sturdier stone and wood, seemingly the main entrance into the wide and sprawling Senju residences.

However, unlike before, two masked shinobi appeared from behind the arch pillars and stood guard in front of the entrance. They wore hooded cloaks and grey flak jackets. Both were well-armed. One wore a porcelain mask with sparrow-like features, the other a mask depicting a frowning demon with drooping eyes.

"Tsunade-sama, you've returned earlier than expected." Kana's eyes narrowed at the voice - a feminine one, albeit gravely serious in tone. The one wearing the demon mask was probably a woman then?

Tsunade disrupted Kana's wary assessment of these new figures by pulling the girl a bit closer. Kana glanced at her with some confusion but held her silence, for Tsunade spoke first,

"That's right, but for you two to be here... has something happened?" Her tone was tense, which made Kana tense too.

Kana felt the Sannin's grip tighten and her arms clench up. What was...? Kana calmly assessed the two strangers again.

The two masked figures... they must be ANBU of Konoha, right? That could mean... possibly unpleasant implications.

At Tsunade's question, the two ANBU glanced at each other, and the one with the sparrow mask voice spoke up,

"Indeed, but it was not... unaccounted for."

"If it's her... it would be best to just show her directly..." the demon-masked ANBU muttered aside to their partner.

"True enough, thanks for volunteering." The sparrow-mask chirped back.

"..."

The feminine voice of the demon-masked ANBU sounded out a long and resigned sigh as her shoulders slowly slumped. The miserable sound and her aggrieved posture somehow matched perfectly with the droopy-eyed expression on her mask.

"I walked into that. Somehow I knew this would fall to me. Why... woe is me." her mournful tone resounded, punctuated by hands clasping at the sides of her head.

Kana was honestly shocked by how well the ANBU's behavior complemented their disguise. Was... was that how they chose them? ANBU gear was based on personality?1You might even say that these ANBU are Based

"Don't be so melodramatic. Look, she's getting angry." the sparrow-mask snickered nervously, with a hint of urgency.

Kana noticed it was true. Tsunade did not look pleased, her eyebrows twitching and veins protruding from her clenched fists. Kana could feel the pressure squishing her own hand within Tsunade's grip, but it was still bearable... for now... probably?

Though obviously holding back her anger, Tsunade all but yelled through gritted teeth, gesticulating wildly with her free hand,

"Would you fools either get to the point or get out of my way?! Did Grandmother just send you two to fuc-" - her speech faltered suddenly - "mess with me?! Are you so bored as to waylay me when we all hauled ass-", again she faltered, shooting a perturbed and frustrated glance at Kana.

The girl herself startled from her reticence and merely tilted her head up inquisitively at Tsunade. All things considered, Kana was learning some effective new gestures to convey anger, so she wasn't expecting attention to so suddenly be directed to her.

Tsunade met the girl's gaze, then flinched and let a noise similar to 'Guh', pressing her fingers to her still-twitching forehead all the while.

The two ANBU had also flinched slightly and raised their hands in a placatory gesture,

"Ah, ahem. No, Tsunade-sama. Clan Head of the most illustrious and honored Senju Clan. Mistress of the outer palace and Legendary Sannin-ack-" the sparrow-masked ANBU had affected a very solemn tone as they gave a lengthy and formal-sounding address, but before they could finish, they were sharply elbowed in the side by the droopy-eyed ANBU.

"Shut up, shut up! Why are you making my life so difficult?! Do want me dead or something, what did I ever do to you!?"

"Gloomy bastard, lighten up a little. I didn't go through all of those qualifications just to get depressed working with you!"

Kana watched this byplay, glancing back and forth between the two shinobi. W-were these the 'strange people' Kaoru had warned about? Should she be worried?

Both ANBU suddenly froze as a hand landed on the shoulders. Tsunade had flickered behind them in an instant and clenched a firm hand on each. A shadow hung over her face and her face bore a terrifying grin. Her eyes glimmered with a palpable wrath. If anything, Tsunade's face looked more demonic than the female ANBU's mask.

"You idiots can knock it off now or I can knock the idiocy out of you."

" "Yes, Tsunade-sama" "

Both ANBU knelt and spoke in unison with complete seriousness. It was as if their insouciance from before had instantly evaporated. Kana felt some sort of internal turmoil at the suddenness of it all, but her face remained neutrally impassive.

" "We Apologize." "

"We had hoped some lightheartedness would ease the tense circumstances. For the girl, too. There will be much difficulty in coming days. I dared not speak of it lightly." the female ANBU murmured sombrely.

Tsunade's expression softened from wrathful to merely irked. Then as she looked up towards Kana, softened further from irked to decidedly weary.

"Bah, fine." The Sannin let out a huff, "Whatever, I'll let it go. Now, if I have surmised correctly, I need to see Grandmother right away."

Kana's attention briefly focused on the noticeable heaving of Tsunade's chest caused by her words and temper. Why she focused on such, Kana could not say, save that the motion was distinctly eye-catching and was made even more so by the profound distinctiveness of Tsunade's figure. The energy and intensity of the exchange probably had something to do with it as well.

However Kana was eventually able to wrest her attention back to the present.

The ANBU had bowed their heads again and the female one rose to lead the way. She was stopped though as Tsunade raised a hand and shook her head, pointing to Kana,

"I know the way, but something like this... I should have an audience alone first. Instead, take Kana to a convenient sitting room in Grandmother's residence."

Kana was still lagging behind after witnessing all of that, too surprised by it all to even protest. Never in her life had she ever encountered a conversation like the one she had just witnessed. Almost none of it made sense. Was... was this some kind of code, or, or trick? Her mind spun at all of the possibilities. Konoha shinobi were something else, to be sure.

But towards Tsunade she managed to shoot one last worried and questioning gaze. Tsunade nodded firmly and gestured to follow the droopy-eyed ANBU, whose bearing now held no indication of her prior lax behavior.

"It's alright, these two are subordinates of my grandmother. Follow Geki here and wait until I come back. Apparently I need to sort out some issues before we're ready for you, okay?"

Kana barely had a chance to ponder and give a reluctant nod before Tsunade made as if to depart. However, at the last second, Tsunade turned and whispered to the ANBU she had addressed as Geki. Kana was too distracted with her thoughts at that second to catch the whispers, but the ANBU brought a hand in front of her mask in a gesture that mimicked someone gasping, and then nodded to the Sannin.

After that, Tsunade flickered away, leaving Kana alone with the two guards, almost completely at a loss for words. For a moment, Kana felt another empty feeling around her heart in the instants after Tsunade's departure. It was subtly different from the similar emotions she had felt before, but saddening all the same.

"Kana-sama, as was mentioned, I am one of our lady's guards." The demon-masked ANBU interrupted Kana's scattered thoughts with gentle words as she knelt at eye-level with Kana,

"As I am on mission, my codename is Geki. Feel free to address me as such. Now, please follow me. Tsunade-sama tells me that you... enjoy pastries. We can have some brought for refreshments after your long journey." Her tone sounded vaguely kind, but not exactly.

But Kana acquiesced. The idea of eating new pastries was good enough to warrant investigation, especially in the sudden wake of sadness caused by Tsunade's absence.