Gentle Caress

Toad Manor

"Are we there yet?" Sai asked from where he was perched on Haku's back. He had twisted his ankle pretty bad the previous afternoon and when he woke up that morning it had swollen. Luckily, they weren't too far from Jirayia's abode. Wherever that was.

"Just a bit farther. Then we can do a thorough health check. On all of you." They had been traveling for a week with the slug princess, and she was in turmoil about their health. Yes, they looked fine on the outside, but they had been living on the streets for the better part of a year. Who knows what kind of diseases they could have. But to do a thorough health check she needed space and time. At least twenty minutes with each kid. And there were nine of them. So a lot of time. She needed a lot of time.

Pushing back a few leaves, Tsunade sighed in relief at the worn path. They were close. So close. Shizune must have understood her expression because she urged the children forward even faster. In ten minutes, a tall building had come into view. The children cheered, making a run for it. Haku went as fast as someone with a person on their back could. Which was pretty fast for a nine-year-old.

"Wow!" Naruto's voice carried pretty far as he took in the house. For a hermit's house, it looked more like a palace than anything else. It was five stories tall and painted in bright green, red, and oranges. Which looked surprisingly good together. At the front of the house, as if guarding the entrance, were a set of giant stone toads. They had large orange opals for eyes and dressed like people. It brought a giggle out of the blonde, turned redhead. He had heard that summoning animals were very different from normal animals. That they lived in villages, had laws, and dressed like people. It was funny to see an artistic representation of it. Who knows how accurate it was. "This is it?"

"Yep. Before we go in, I must warn you. I would steer clear of his library, and as I've heard plenty of stories about curious little guppies and koalas," she glared at Sakura and Naruto as the two giggled. "Who loves to raid libraries. I'm saying this out of your best interest. You're too young to be exposed to that level of filth. Do you hear me?"

"Hai."

"Good. Now, come on." She opened the door, which seemed unlocked. What kind of person leaves their door unlocked? "Inside." Haku was the first inside, who had found a chair to set Sai down in. With Sai in his chair, Shizune rushed forwards to attend to his ankle. Most small wounds could be healed with a quick healing section, but this is not a small wound. It wasn't life-threatening either. It would just take time to fully heal. "Okay. Listen up, mudpuppies. I want you to head upstairs, take a bath and meet me in one of the many rooms there. Once Shizune and I finish with Sai here, we'll be doing a health check for each of you. And don't even think you can get out of this. I'm looking at you two." She glared at Sasuke and Naruto who stiffened.

So the assorted mudpuppies headed upstairs. Naruto noted that the wallpaper was weird. It was a redundant design of a man chasing a woman. What was that about?

Tsunade turned to Sai who winced as Shizune wrapped bandages around his ankle. "Poor mouse." She crouched down to his level and ran her fingers through his hair. "Just a bit longer, then you can rest. Okay?"

"Okay, kaa-chan." She chuckled, running her finger through once more.

Shizune carried Sai up to one of the many bedrooms, as Tsunade opened the door to the first room. Neji was waiting inside. "Okay. I'm going to need you to strip to your underwear. I'll make this quick, but it'll go faster if you cooperate."

The brunette frowned but followed her orders nonetheless. And it went on like this, eight more times. As she had suspected, the kids had worms and a bunch of other delightful creatures overtaking their bodies. Most definitely from eating rotten and old food. Neji had a slight cold, which would explain the faint blush on his cheeks and complaints about being too hot. Kimimaro was showing early signs of bloodborne disease, she was relieved to have found it when she did. If any more time had gone by, he would have ended up dying young from it. Despite everything, Gaara and Naruto were relatively healthy, which raised some red flags. She shook the thought aside as she prepared a series of remedies.