Dai emptied the contents of his pouch into the bowl and watched with pride as the young nurse's eyes widened in surprise."That's more than everything the other three teams collected put together," she exclaimed, "how did you do that?"

He winked at her, knowing full well that he stood at the perfect angle to the window for his teeth to catch the golden sunlight streaming into the room. "Experience, young lady! No one knows these forests better than I do!"

Plus, he'd done this particular D-rank mission every month for the last fifteen years, but she was new and very pretty, so Dai decided that she didn't need this information quite yet. He smiled at her instead as her slender fingers sorted the medical herbs he'd collected.

"These are extremely rare," she told him, picking out a small white flower with a purple stem and holding it up for Dai to see. "I didn't even think they still grew around here anymore."

Dai just laughed. "You can find anything if you look hard enough!" Then he sobered and added, "But you have to believe that it's there first!"

The nurse nodded at him, her ponytail bobbing merrily along like a ball bouncing down a staircase.

"Thank you for your hard work. This might help us save someone's life."

"Thank you, young lady, for brightening my day with your grace and youthfulness!" Would another wink be too much? Dai decided to play it safe with a thumbs-up and an even broader smile. The girl blushed again, her cheeks now the color of cherry blossoms.

Behind them, someone giggled.

As he made his way to the exit, Dai heard soft footsteps followed by a woman's whisper, "Haru-chan, don't you know who that is?"

He pulled the door shut behind him before he could hear Haru-chan's reply.

Outside Dai was greeted by fresh summer air, sunshine and the delicious smell wafting over to him from the food stands across the street. It was enough to make his mouth water and his stomach growl, however, today wasn't takeout night and Gai wouldn't be back from his mission for another two hours, so Dai knew that he had to be a good father and go home to cook dinner.

You couldn't raise a strong, healthy boy on takeout and instant noodles, after all, no matter how good the smell coming from that new ramen place was.

Dai squared his shoulders and marched on.

Or he would have, if it hadn't been for the messenger nin appearing right in front of him. As it was, Dai took a big step and almost tripped over the man crouching on the ground. He flailed for a good half-second, the caught himself and tried very hard to pretend that he had not in fact been tripping and flailing. At all.

The messenger nin cleared his throat. "Maito Dai?" He looked up at Dai with eyes that barely held an expression. Flat professionalism. Somehow their cool gaze made Dai's stomach clench. He didn't normally get messages like this. Chuunin and jounin did, but genin?

"Yes?" He swallowed his anxiety as well as he could, but still it seemed as if even the ambient noise of the street had suddenly been muted.

"The Hokage wishes to see you. You are to report to his office immediately."

Dai stared at those cold eyes and it was like someone had slapped his face. He could feel the sting, heard the ringing in his ears.

Gai. This is what this is about. Something's happened to him!

But no, he'd only just been at the hospital. He hadn't seen anyone injured being brought in. It'd been completely quiet. Clean, empty halls, no nurses or medics rushing past, no doctors yelling orders. Then…

What if he's not injured? What if he's—

No… Dai's knees were about to give out under him, he could feel it. The earth seemed to have fallen off its trajectory, it was spinning out of control with him on top of it, helpless and—

No—

"Also, I was told to inform you that this matter does not concern your son or his mission in any way," the messenger nin droned on. "That is all."

And he was gone, leaving Dai so lightheaded with relief that he couldn't move for a few seconds, but as soon as he had recovered a little, the first thing he did was shake his fist at the cloud of smoke slowly dissolving around him.

"Next time, say that stuff first, you idiot," he shouted after the messenger, and if that made the people around him turn their heads to stare and point and giggle, Dai couldn't find it in himself to care.

The Hokage's office was flooded with sunlight, bright, warm and welcoming, and Dai strode in as confidently as he could manage. He trusted the Hokage, but this was more than unusual and it made him feel uncomfortable.

From behind his massive wooden desk, Sandaime-sama greeted him with a smile and a nod. "Dai," he said, "how are you?"

"I'm fine, Hokage-sama, thank you." Dai bowed, pausing mid-bow like he had been taught so long ago. It gave him a chance to study the polished floorboards and his own toenails. When he straightened, something about the Third's smile had changed. Dai couldn't have said exactly what it was, but it made the expression look less mild and more amused. Maybe the secret was the tiny twitch at the corner of Hiruzen-sama's mouth.

"You wanted to see me?" Dai prompted.

"Yes." The old man nodded gravely. "I think I have a mission for you. It would be a regular arrangement for the next month, at the very least. You'd have to stay in the village."

This was good news! Better news than Dai could have hoped for!

He was grinning before he even really knew it, good mood firmly restored. An important mission directly from the Hokage! It wasn't every day that this kind of thing happened to him.

"That wouldn't be a problem," Dai said quickly before Sandaime-sama could change his mind.

"It's a C-rank…" A pause. Hiruzen-sama's sharp eyes fixed on Dai's. When he continued, his voice was lower, more serious, "I take it you know about Hatake Sakumo's situation?"

Somehow, that name was the last thing Dai had expected to hear. His shoulders stiffening, he frowned at his Hokage. A genin like him wasn't likely to be involved in matters such as this.

"Sakumo-san?" he asked, as if there was a chance he'd misheard.

"He's been suspended from active duty for the foreseeable future." Sandaime-sama paused once more. He took a deep breath. Dai tried to read the look on his face, but failed miserably. "However, I don't want him… ostracized. He can still serve his village, and he's willing to. I have spoken with him on the matter, but…Dai?"

During the short explanation, Dai'd been staring fixedly at his Hokage's headgear. He didn't get it. The aftermath of what the people whispering on the street referred to as The White Fang's Last Mission… Dai had to admit that he didn't understand what all the fuss was about. Still, even he knew that he could never say something like that aloud.

Hearing his name, he snapped back to attention. Hopefully, the Hokage hadn't noticed that he'd spaced out. "Yes, Sandaime-sama?"

"What is your opinion on Sakumo's actions during his last mission?" This time the Third's stare could only be described as piercing. "I take it you know the details. There's been enough talk in the village."

"Yes… I…" Feeling the palms of his hands grow moist with sweat, Dai flexed his fingers and squared his shoulders. He was not the kind of man to back down from a difficult question! But even he could tell that that this situation had suddenly turned into some kind of test. His reply would affect more than just this assignment. However, Dai knew himself to be quite incapable of rational calculations. He couldn't weigh his options and make a smart decision based on what he thought the Hokage wanted to hear and which reply would benefit him the most. That wasn't who he was. All Maito Dai could do was say the first thing that came to mind.

"I think Sakumo-san did what his heart told him to do."

"Ah, I see." Hiruzen-sama nodded. Silence stretched between them. Only birdsong drifted in through the window, almost muted by the glass pane, it sounded very far away.

Dai swallowed, waiting for the inevitable next question. When the Third asked him whether he thought Sakumo had made the right decision, what would he say? What could he say? Could he lie to his Hokage?

The question never came, instead there was a low creak as Sandaime leaned back in his chair.

"As I said, it's a C-rank mission. You would have to come here in the morning, get the documents and deliver them to Sakumo's home. Then in the evening you'd go and pick them up from his house and bring them back here."

Dai blinked in confusion. That… was it? His answer had been satisfactory and he got the mission? Unable to contain his joy, Dai's face split into a wide grin.

"So I'll be transporting highly classified information? You can count on me, Hokage-sama!" He nodded his head viciously, already planning out the fastest route between the Hokage tower and the Hatake residence at the edge of the village. "If anyone wants these super-secret documents, they'll have to pry them from my cold, dead fingers first!" Dai balled his hand into a fist and raised it to eyelevel. In his mind's eye he could practically see the precious documents he would be clutching in this unrelenting grip.

"It's not—" Sandaime-sama gave him a funny look. Maybe he needed more convincing? "Dai, your dedication is truly commendable, as always," the Hokage said, frowning. "But those documents aren't… They're just low level paperwork."

"Oh…" Somewhat disappointed, Dai let his fist drop to his side. Did the importance of the documents really matter, though, he wondered. Probably not! A mission was a mission, and whatever task the Hokage gave him, Dai would fulfill it at any cost. He brightened again, spurred on by his own conviction. "Well, if anyone wants that low level paperwork, they'll have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers!"

The Third smiled. "I really hope it won't come to that, Dai."

"If it does, you can count on me, Hokage-sama," Dai shouted, hoping to convey the sincerity of his statement through sheer volume. Then he struck a pose for good measure. One hand on his hip, the other fist raised to the sky – or the roof as it were.

"I doubt that it will…" Sandaime-sama said.

"It might, and if it does-!"

"Dai," the Third interrupted gently. "You'll start tomorrow morning. Dismissed."

tbc.

A.N.: I don't know what will happen with this. Might continue, might not. If I do, it will be shippy Sakumo/Dai, no holds barred. I don't really care if anyone but me ships it. If you want to see more of this, you can leave a review, those usually help motivating me. Since this is a WIP it won't go to the AO3 btw.