It took some time.

Taking a life is never easy for anyone. Ibuki, as well as every ninja and kunoichi in the Glade, knew in the back of their minds that there was always the possibility of having to defend themselves to the end. Even the most basic of missions came with a high risk when they were issued in an era where anyone could carry a weapon of some kind. Granted, Japan's rigid stance on firearms meant it was less likely that trainees would run into someone carrying a gun, but even then the simplest of tasks could still be met with deadly force.

Higher risks were, of course, reserved for the more experienced shinobi, so it came as a shock to the elder ninja that Ibuki, of all people, was pushed into killing. As was customary in these situations, an investigation was launched to determine the exact circumstances that led to the result in question. Ibuki had been informed that one such investigation would be held in her case. The news of this caused her to panic at first.

What are they going to look for? Am I going to get in trouble? What was I supposed to do? That guard could've killed me!

It took Ibuki several days to calm down. No matter how many times they did so, neither her immediate superior, Enjou, nor Master Sanjou could settle her nerves. The fear of being punished for acting the way she did sat too strongly in her mind. For the first two days alone, Ibuki stayed at home, dividing her time between crying in bed and kneeling at her toilet. Sarai would visit her after school, bringing in class assignments to work on as well as spending time with her best friend.

Two weeks after the incident occurred, a judgment was handed down. Ibuki sat on her knees in the traditional room used to assign missions when she was given the scroll. Sarai sat with beside her, an arm wrapped around her friend's waist in support.

Ibuki didn't even look at the scroll at first. A mix of fear and panic forced her to look at anything other than the object in her hand. Instead, she thought she'd try to read the face of Sanjou. Maybe if she could see his expression, she could figure out what the scroll was going to say before she even opened it.

Unfortunately for her, though, her master's expression remained stone-like. She would later say that she'd only ever see him keep that straight of a face whenever he wasn't yelling at her for one thing or another.

Trying to read Master Enjou's face was just as useful. The village's Master kept himself hidden in shadows as much as he could, so trying to read his expressions was like trying to see what a wall was thinking.

She felt the arm around her tighten slightly. She turned to her side, looking over at the smiling face of her best friend. A small part of her regretted Sarai being in the same village as her, let alone the same room. If it weren't for that stupid mission several months ago where she had to hunt down that old man, Sarai wouldn't have been dragged into the ambush that nearly destroyed the village. If it weren't for that ambush, she wouldn't have been there to help fight the fires set by the village's rival ninja clan. If it weren't for that, she wouldn't have been recruited into ninja training.

And if it weren't for all that, Sarai would never have to risk being in Ibuki's position some day.

As it was, though, Sarai's smiling was actually working wonders for her. She could feel a bit of warmth flowing through her. She looked back to the scroll in hand. She drew in a deep breath and held it as she undid the tie holding the scroll together. She slowly unfurled the paper, her eyes dancing across the writing it held.

A few seconds of silence passed. Nobody in the room moved or said a word. Before long, a tear rolled down Ibuki's cheek. She released the breath she'd been holding in the whole time. The air didn't leave her as a steady stream of warm breath, however. Instead, it came out as a soft sob.

The circumstances reported by the Genin Ibuki were substantiated by facts found in the investigation. It has been determined that Ibuki had been forced into a position where her only means of self-defense and survival were to meet force with force. She was left with no choice but to take the life of her attacker, or have her own taken. Upon conclusion of this investigation, it has been determined that Ibuki is to be cleared of any and all accusations.

Ibuki's hands shook as she read the results. More tears fell from her eyes, with some dropping onto the paper. Sarai looked over her friend's shoulder, reading the scroll herself. As she did, she tightened her hug.

"It's okay. It's okay. You're okay," she whispered into Ibuki's ear. She whispered to Ibuki over and over again. Neither girl noticed as Sanjou walked over to the pair. He set a firm, yet gentle hand on Ibuki's shoulder. The pair of girls looked up at him.

"These things happen, Ibuki," he said. None of the usual assertiveness could be heard in his voice. "Sometimes, we are left with no choice but to do what must be done to complete our mission. I will not lie to you; what you did will never get easier. Believe me when I say that this experience will, and has, changed your life, and it will do so for the positive. If you ever want to talk about this, or anything else, my door is always open to you."

With that, the two senior ninja excused themselves from the room. The two teenagers were given all the time and space they needed.

Several weeks later, Ibuki felt a shiver shake its way from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. Winter had rolled in quickly, bringing in a wave of snow with it, and even the layers upon layers of fabric covering her did little to keep her warm. She walked gingerly through the graveyard, eyes scrolling over the various names of those who had taken up residence there. She felt a wave of sorrow pass through her with each stone, though she continued to scan for one in particular.

Eventually, she found it.

Her eyes ran over the kanji that denoted the one who was buried there. She stared at it for a few minutes, letting the sorrow settle over her again. It took some time for her to find out who he was, and she understood why. It would be a huge risk to both Ibuki and the Glade if she were caught anyone investigating the incident. The only reason she'd even been able to get a name in the first place was because Master Enjou felt that she needed and deserved the closure.

She knelt at the grave, tracing over the name with a finger. She took a deep breath, letting it out in a shuddering exhale. Even after all the weeks that had passed, she had a difficult time coming to terms with what she'd done. Even between the counseling sessions with Sanjou, talks with Sarai and even a couple of days off from training, the pain of that night still lingered.

"Hey there," she said quietly, a hand still on the marker, "It's been a while since we've seen each other. I know you probably don't remember who I am. I didn't really give you a chance to see me. I was the one in that office that night.

"I just wanted to come by and apologize. You probably figured it out when you saw me, but I'm a ninja. That night, I was just doing my job. I was looking for something, and, well, you know what happened. I want to be clear, I'm not blaming you for anything. Just like I was there to do my job, you were doing yours, and I don't blame you for it.

"I'll be honest, though, I wasn't expecting things to turn out the way they did. I thought I knew they way it was supposed to go. I thought that floor was supposed to be completely empty, and I'd have all the time in the world I needed. I wasn't expecting a security guard to come around. I'm sure you weren't exactly expecting a ninja to be snooping around, either.

"It's like I said, we were both doing our jobs, so when you saw me, I knew you did what your training taught you to do. You tried to stop, and probably hold me for the police. The gun wasn't something I was expecting either. I did what my training taught me to do when we're in trouble, so I ran. The shot scared me, and my training kicked in again.

"I'm-" she choked back a sob, "I'm so sorry about this whole thing. I don't know if there's anything either of us could've done differently. I just wish that it hadn't happened at all. You didn't deserve what happened to you, and your family didn't deserve to lose you. I'm so sorry."

"Excuse me?"

The muffled voice caught Ibuki by surprise. She had to fight down the urge to jump, instead turning to see who it was that called out to her. A teenage girl, probably no less than a year or two younger than Ibuki, had approached her while the girl was unaware.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you, but I have to ask: did you know my father?"

Oh God…

Ibuki picked herself up from the ground, patting away some snow that had stuck itself to her legs. She took another second to compose herself and wipe away that the tears on her face before answering.

"Yeah, kinda."

A scarf may have covered the bottom half of her face, but the short dark hair did nothing to disguise the look of confusion in her eyes.

"What do you mean, you 'kinda' know him?"

Oh crap! What was that cover again?

"Uh, yeah! He came to my school a couple of years ago."

"Oh really? What for?"

"Uh, it was just for a motivational assembly. He talked about the stuff you usually do in one of those things. Y'know, doing the best you can, never giving up on your dreams. The usual."

The girl relaxed a little. "Oh yeah, I remember him talking about that. He visited a couple of schools to talk about his career as a police officer and security guard. He loved doing that kind of thing, you know. He always talked about wanting to be able to protect the people around him. It was a dream of his since he was a little kid." The girl sniffled. "He died doing what he wanted."

"I'm sorry," Ibuki said. She fought hard to try and not break down in front of the man's daughter. "I'd heard about it on the news, but I didn't have a chance to come over and see him until now."

"Oh, it's okay. He'd talked to and helped a lot of people while he was working. I'm Satsuki, by the way." She held a hand out to Ibuki, who took it in hers.

"Ibuki."

"So, how did my dad help you?"

"Well, I was in a really bad place not too long ago, but I think talking to him about it really helped me get through it."

"Oh, that's good. I was just about to clean dad's grave. Maybe afterward, you and I could head back into town and talk?"

Ibuki smiled. "Sure, that'd be nice."

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