#Kakashi gets a subtle erection

[mbq-butwithart]

Sakura had a slight feeling- no, she was pretty sure everyone else knew something that she didn’t.

At first she ignored the obvious signs, chalking it up to her imagination. But soon, she was certain everyone was acting weird.

Ino kept elbowing her and giving her saucy winks and giggling behind her hand. Kiba kept shooting her devious grins and wished her an ‘interesting night’. Tenten avoided her eyes and questions, smiling secretively. Naruto and Sasuke were nowhere to be found.

Honestly, she’s had it up to here with their cryptic nonsense. She got enough of that from Sasuke, Kakashi and Neji and that was already too much.

Speaking of a cryptic Kakashi, earlier while she was being annoyed by Tenten’s refusal on explaining her downright confusing behaviour he appeared suddenly. He pressed a copy of his favourite series into her hands, saying that it might be useful later on.

What?

She considered burning it, but on a probably stupid whim, she kept it and tucked it into her basket. She had rose this morning with the idea of bullying her teammates in enjoying the day with her on a picnic, but Kakashi rattled off a nonsensical excuse and disappeared, which left Naruto and Sasuke, who were MIA.

The basket was heavy with food. She had been extra careful in preparing this food, so it was neither burnt or tasteless. The least her teammates could do was appreciate her efforts and eat it. But they were missing. And no one would tell her anything.

In hindsight, she probably should’ve stayed in bed, or at least downed another cup of coffee.

She was passing through the streets when she spotted Neji.

“Hey, Neji-san!” She yelled, waving her free hand.

At the sound of her voice, he turned and waited until she stumbled up to him.

“Ah, Sakura-san. I was looking for you.”

“Really?” She smiled. Here was a person without any silliness in him, he would surely tell her if he had seen her bonehead teammates.

“Yes, I was given something to deliver to you.”

While he searched in the pouch by his side, Sakura posed her question. “You haven’t by chance seen Naruto or Sasuke today, have you?” She inquired hopefully.

Neji was silent as he pulled out a small slip of paper and handed it to her. She took it, albeit confusedly.

“This will help you.” And he turned and strode down the street, quickly and gracefully. The pinkette glared at the brunette’s back. He had given her an answer, but not the one she wanted. At least he didn’t giggle.

Curiosity won over and she carefully placed her picnic basket down and opened the small piece of paper.

In neat handwriting that looks suspiciously like Shikamaru’s, the note said:

‘I take life, I give life, I house life.’

Pink eyebrows rose in disbelief. A riddle. A riddle! A riddle?

She should’ve definitely stayed in bed. Today was getting ridiculous. A picnic while watching the sun set was becoming to look like an impossibility. She rolled her eyes. Oh what the hell. She apparently didn’t have anything better to do anyway.

Time to put her big brain to work. Three possibilities sprung to mind immediately. The perks of being smart.

One, was a god. But do gods house life? Plus there weren’t any statues or temples in Konoha. Nothing to represent a god. Strike.

The second possibility a hospital, where babies were born and people died. Some people had to stay there too. But hospitals didn’t ‘give’ or ‘take’ lives. Just saved them or failed to save them. Strike. Which striked out medics as well. The terms didn’t apply. They helped life into the world, and yes sometimes they had to take people off life support machines, but they didn’t house life.

The last option looked at it a little less obviously. What was life? What gave life? Could be chakra, but chakra was too broad a subject, and she would never figure out where the next clue was. Every living thing had chakra. What was she gonna do? Check every person and tree?

The answer hit her then. Of course, a tree. A tree took in water, which was important for life, and it gave off oxygen, which also was important for life, and it was a habitat for wildlife.

It took life to sustain itself, then gave off life as a bi-product, and it housed many creatures.

But which tree? Konoha was quite literally in a forest. It must be their favourite tree. The big cherry blossom at the top of the small hill behind their training grounds. Where they relaxed after sparring. Where she had planned to have her picnic.

When she was there, Sakura walked the distance around the trunk, then looked up in its branches. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Shino there, watching her. They had obviously chosen the ones who could keep secrets to dole out the riddles.

He hopped down and handed the paper he held, before leaving with a quiet ‘good luck’. She thanked him. It wasn’t his fault the rest of team seven were infuriating. She could still be polite.

She was gonna break their little necks when she got to them.

She opened the riddle with more haste.

Choji’s writing. It smelt like potato chips.

‘What makes stressed turn back?’

Sakura’s clear green eyes narrowed. The sentence was confusing, but the bad grammar must’ve been intentional.

What got rid of stress?

Sakura’s answer was work until her mind comes off the problem, but that was most likely not the answer. Ino was sort of typical. What did she do?

Rant, eat sweets, complain, then go solve the problem by force.

Sweets. Stressed turn back. Oh, stressed backwards was desserts.

Sakura giggled. This was easy.

Many places sold sweets, but only one shop held the word ‘desserts’ in their name. Sakura skipped all the way there, glad to be making some progress. Shikamaru was there, looking bored out of his mind. She patted him on the back while he slunk off. This process repeated. She solved the riddle, she met someone and received the next.

Naruto’s handwriting was on the paper the lazy genius handed her. It wasn’t even a riddle. ‘This place sells the r- food EVER!’Answer, Ichiraku. The riddles kept getting easier and easier from there.

Hinata. Ino’s handwriting. ‘My pollen brings all the bees to the yard.’ Answer,Flowers: Yamanaka shop. Hinata ran off giggling with a smirking Kiba before she had a chance to interrogate her.

Ino. Hinata’s handwriting. ‘Toughest material on earth, but pretty enough to melt hearts. Outshines the stars, reflects love.’ Answer: Diamonds: Jewelry shops. Ino handed her a bouquet with a small smile.

Sakura clutched the red tipped yellow roses, orange roses, honeysuckle, daises and daffodils to her chest.

Friendship turned to love, passionate enthusiasm, bonds of love, hope, new beginning.

Her heart sped up along with her pace.

Tsunade of all people, stood at the entrance of the jewelry shop. She handed her student a brown paper bag with instructions not to open until she was at home. Sakura placed the bouquet and the bag carefully in her picnic basket. All Tsunade said was ‘I approve’ before handing Sakura her riddle.

Sasuke’s handwriting. ‘Here, gratitude I gave, mistakes were made.’ Answer: The bench he left her unconscious on. Her heart skipped. She could tell this little hunt was drawing to a close.

On that cold unforgiving bench, sat her masked former (but forever, in her heart) sensei. His smile was visible underneath his mask even as the day came to a close and the sun retreated, giving way to a midnight blue sky.

He clasped her free hand with his larger ones and neatly slipped the paper he held into it.

“I’m happy for you.” He said, and then he was gone. Leaving her with her heart hesitant but hoping against hope. She glanced at the flowers once more, reminded herself of their symbolism and smoothed out the paper Kakashi gave her..

‘Come home, Sakura.’ was written. Her hands shook as she dropped the paper in her basket and followed the route she knew so well she could follow it blindfolded. The streets that were full of her friends were only occupied by civilians who paid her no mind except to greet her or glance curiously at the flowers in the basket.

What was only under two minutes felt like hours until she arrived at her apartment.

She moved away from her parents’ house to here, where everything was purely her. Her green bedspread, white furniture, bright red rug, secondhand couch that used to be white, her mahogany desk, her bookshelf and her endless pile of scrolls and books.

Until it wasn’t just her. Their invading was subtle, Naruto left a bloodied shirt that she washed and he never retrieved it, Sasuke brought lunch over and left his plate there. Then they started to crash on her couch, or on her bed when she was away on missions. And then suddenly she found herself picking up cup ramen at the store and polishing Sasuke’s kunai in her spare time.

It wasn’t just green, white and red anymore. Suddenly there was black, orange, navy blue, crimson and a myriad of colours that made up them. And she knew that if any attempts to separate these colours were made scars would be left behind.

Her hand hovered over her doorknob. She could turn around and stay at Ino’s, she’d understand. They’d all understand. But that would erect a wall she would lament over all her life there would be what ifs that would eat her from the inside out until she was as hollow as a dead tree.

The cold metal sent shocks down her arm when her palm closed around it. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

Inside was dark, but she didn’t flick on the lights. She knew this small space inside out. She headed straight to her bedroom without even putting down the basket. Just as her fingers were about to touch the brass metal of the doorknob, she caught her reflection in a full length mirror. Her eyes trailed from her open toed sandals up to her almost knee length blue-green sundress to her simple silver necklace up to her face.

Her face which was only graced by lipgloss but held so much hope and fear and hesitance and anticipation and love.

She turned away before she started wasting time staring at someone she saw everyday but looked so different with that emotion reflected on her face from her heart.

She could sense them and they could sense her, hesitating. She had better go in before they start worrying and doubting themselves.

She closed her eyes, and opened the door.

Their scent accompanied their chakra signatures. She breathed the air in deeply and adrenaline replaced her blood.

Her eyes fluttered before she opened them fully and she drank in the sight before her.

Sasuke, pale and cool and perfect like the moon.

Naruto, sunkissed and warm and vibrant like the summer’s sun.

Sat on her green bedspread with their fingers intertwined.

And their other hands reached out towards her.

She exhaled.

She didn’t move backward, and she didn’t move forward.

She froze, unsure, as the moon and the sun looked at her as if she was their world.

Sasuke looked indifferent, except his eyes followed her every move, took in every detail. Naruto’s smile held confidence but he unconsciously bit his lip and his hand tightened around Sasuke’s for comfort.

They were just as nervous as she was. She let out a breathy laugh that sounded more like a puff of breath.

Tears slipped down her face and before the first drop dripped off her chin, they were there by her side. Sasuke took the basket and set it down. He took up the bouquet and passed the paper bag to Naruto. Sakura watched them without a word.

Naruto almost tore open the bag and took out a small velvet box. Her heart stopped.

Sasuke plucked a cherry blossom flower that she didn’t notice from the assortment of flowers and tucked it behind her ear. His fingers lingered as they combed through her hair.

Naruto carefully opened the box, and in it was a delicate silver ring with three gemstones; emerald, sapphire, onyx. To remind her of their eyes.

The necklace around her neck was removed, and the ring was slipped down the chain.

A question was in their eyes as Naruto held it around her neck, hesitating to clasp it.

Sakura laughed again, this time hearty and loud. She wrapped her arms around their torsos and crushed them to her in an almost rib cracking hug. She was dimly aware of the necklace being clasped and being carried to her bed.

They laid there laughing, fingers intertwined, stealing kisses and hugging. Them three. As it was meant to be.

[ladyiceflame-blog]

An Inconvenient Wedding:

Chapter Fourteen: Hazardous Wagers

A celebratory roar of victory came to her moral rescue.  Her father had just won an arm-wrestling match against Matsuko, who was widely believed to be the strongest man ever born in Shimogakure, and kept returning home stronger with every mission. “You came close, lad,” the Shimokhan congratulated his soundly defeated opponent, who lay slumped atop his enormous folded arms on the small table’s edge.  “Your chakra reserve has expanded quite a bit from the last time, but its still not enough to get the best of my resources.” “I figured as much,” Matsuko admitted, sitting up, “But, I had to at least try.” Reveling in this latest victory, and perhaps the steady flow of ‘liquid courage’ that he’d been imbibing since arriving, the Shimokhan stood up, and regarded the room. “I believe I’ve beaten everyone at this point...” “Not everyone!” Miriyume corrected, taking the opportunity to remove herself from Kakashi’s scrutiny.  She placed Pakkun on her vacated seat, and went to her father’s side as cheers erupted around her. “Oh, kami,” Renara swore under her breath, setting aside her sewing and grabbing Wakame’s arm, “Get the water-jutsu users ready, I don’t want them burning down the tent this time!” “This....time..?” Kakashi asked, concern clearly showing. Gekido draped a slightly inebriated arm around his shoulders, and explained a bit: “Fire and lightning jutsus have some intense consequences, when pitted against one another....” he smiled drunkenly.  “They burned Shimogakure’s best inn down, a couple of years ago.  Are you any good at water techniques....?” “When the situation calls for it, yes,” Kakashi replied. “It probably will,” the Inuzuka intoned.  “Miriyume’s been looking forward to finally beating her Old Man at this game, once and for all.” They all watched as Wakame paused the match to switch out the basic wooden table for one of the iron chests, covered by some special cloth, and the audience was instructed to keep their distance. “I thought this was supposed to be a game about chakra and strength...” Kurenai openly wondered, as she and Kakashi both observed the scene in puzzlement. “Normally, yes,” Matsuko vouched, “But when two Yaseiarashi’s face off, the chakra-ante challenge doesn’t really matter much, being as how they have unlimited resources.” “...Like a couple of millionaires playing an endless penny-ante poker game,” Hiruzen supplied.  “Rather boring to watch.” “So,” Matsuko resumed, “They added another level of challenge...” “...Much to my annoyance,” Renara capped, as the opponents sat down at the makeshift table. “Ready, Old Man?” Miriyume smirked wickedly at her father. “Always ready, Little Girl!” Ryuumaru taunted, grinning just as evilly back. So that’s where she got that crooked smile from, Kakashi realized, as the two locked hands and waited for the signal to start. “Are you shaking?” Miriyume continued to try and psyche-out her foe, as Nobu took position to judge. “Just idling,” her father riposted, making her laugh just before the elite shinobi guard yelled, “GO!” Ryuumaru silently marveled at his daughter’s improved arm strength.  She had inherited his shorter, stocky frame, which included a broad set of shoulders that housed better-than-average upper body might.  Her time spent gallivanting about the world at large had developed this slight edge even further.  But it was still no match for his own muscles, which had spent decades pulling monstrous catches from the icy Northern Waters. The Shimokhan managed to push her arm to 45 degrees before she resorted to her favored Storm Gauntlet jutsu. Kakashi and Kurenai both jumped, as the dark, iridescent sparks engulfed her pale arm without any requisite hand jutsu.  Her lightning affinity had such an unusual color spectrum...   The Shimokhan growled through the slight pain, before countering with his own technique: “Fire style: Flame Gauntlet!” he announced, as amber-hued fire encased his arm.  The mustered water-style users went to work, shielding the crowd with a transparent, heavy water barrier. Where the two energies met, the air was warped with a frightening amount of heat.  It was clearly making Miriyume uncomfortable. “Ugh, you’re so predictable!” the kunoichi-priestess scolded, as she struggled to maintain leverage.  “Can’t you use anything else other than fire jutsu?!?” Ryuumaru laughed, as he willed the fire even stronger, “I could.  But I never had a need to against you, Miri-chan!” “You do now!” Miriyume matched her father’s stubborn refusal to submit, as the gold stars flashed in her eyes.  With her off hand, she made the elemental signs for first wind, then water, then slapped the table to enact the fusion of the two natures: “Ice Release: Winter’s Breath!” Miriyume announced, as a stream of compressed frost erupted from the palm of her other hand, putting her father’s fire jutsu back in check. Ryuumaru responded with laughter born of paternal pride, as he began to show signs of losing ground. “She can use Ice Release?!” Kakashi openly gawked. “She can use anything she wants,” Matsuko smiled smugly, “So long as she knows how to blend the chakra correctly.” “Any chakra?” Kurenai pressed, as the crowd cheered Miriyume as she slowly gained the advantage with her combined technique. “Well....she’s not too savvy on Yin or Yang release.  That was more her brother’s thing.  And she’s kinda forbidden from using any Dark chakra...” Gekido admitted.  Matsuko gave him an undisguised frown of disapproval. “What?” the Inuzuka defended.  “We’re amongst friends, aren’t we?  And its not like it’s a big secret...” “Neither is it a subject that I care to broadcast,” Renara concluded somberly. “Then I apologize, Priestess-sama,” Gekido atoned abruptly with a deep, sober bow.  “I will never speak of such things again.” Renara nodded her gratitude, and returned her green and gold eyes to the arm-wrestling.  The subtle power of this woman intrigued Kakashi.  Her voice never carried much above a quiet conversational volume, but when she spoke, EVERYONE listened....and obeyed.  The Elders of Konoha could only hope to achieve the influence of this Heron Sage Priestess. “Anyway,” Matsuko continued, after giving Gekido a slap to the back of his bowed head, “If it concerns Nature, or priestess chakra, Miri-chan has it covered.  Her Renkingen allows her to blend endless possibilities.” “Which can make life rather exciting at times...” Gekido added, as the crowd’s cheering surged in response to Miriyume bringing the back of the Shimokhan’s hand a mere inch away from the tabletop. “Get him, Miriyume-sama!” bellowed a cooking-nin from Kumogakure. The fire and frost jutsus were creating sauna-like conditions in the yurt. “Much more of this, and I’ll send out for some cedar branches!” Nobu warned, waving steam from in front of his eyes. “Purification rituals are what they do in that Koryomizu place,” Gekido snapped.  “Let’s steam some dumplings! “Make....mine....strawberry...” Miriyume grunted past the effort of keeping her father’s hand inches away from her victory. “Scupper your strawberry, Stormfly!” Ryuumaru growled, as he began to channel more chakra.  “This isn’t a steam table....it’s a Shimogakuran camp grill!  Fire Release: Emerald Furnace!” The golden amber of his fire became a brilliant jade green, burning so hot as to leech all the ambient moisture from the air, including the water barriers, making it as arid as the deserts of the Land of Air. Miriyume screamed in rage and intensified effort as she began to lose ground quickly to her father’s most powerful jutsu. “I’m impressed, Miri-chan,” Ryuumaru condescended, “You’ve never been able to push me to this jutsu before...” “Don’t....patronize me...” Miriyume grunted, as she furiously poured more chakra into her Winter’s Breath jutsu, earning her back a couple of agonizing inches.  Ryuumaru wasn’t even struggling anymore. “You were always so damned adorable when you’re overwhelmed...” her father continued, shaking his head as he began to ease her arm backward in gentle mockery. “And you....must not have paid much attention....in your science classes...” Miriyume countered, as her roiling, opalescent Sage energy voided the iris and pupils of her eyes, making them orbs of shimmering liquid iridescence. Renara immediately sensed the energies that her daughter was summoning and shouted out:  “Matsuko!  Now!  Sage Art: Thousand Crane Barrier!” and slammed both her hands on the ground, just before a loud crack, and a flash of lightning forced everyone’s eyes away from the competitors.  A sound like massive wings, and a gentle draft of cool air buffeted the audience, as they had their gaze averted.  When they turned back, a wall made of massive, silvery flight feathers had been erected around the combatants, and Matsuko was missing. “I’d forgotten how elegant your Sage art was, Renara-sama,” Hiruzen complimented, as he studied the platinum, nine-foot quills that sprouted from the ground, neatly hemming in her family’s reckless use of powerful ninjutsu. “Herons are elegant creatures,” Renara admitted.  “Their disciples could hardly be otherwise.” She took a moment to place a hand against the barrier, and sense what was happening on the other side. “Have they calmed down now, Matsuko-kun?” she called out. “They have, Priestess-sama,” the absent shinobi reported from the other side. “Did you have to use your heritage technique?” “Maybe a little....” Matsuko sheepishly returned. “Any injuries?” the sage-priestess continued. “No, Mother!” Miriyume reported irritably. In a quieter voice, she added: “We might need a new iron chest, though...” Renara dismissed her barrier, and revealed the hidden trio.  Matsuko was standing beside the other two, who were regarding the smoldering end of the iron chest.  Scorched, slumped ore made it look like the used end of a stick of sealing wax. “Well?!?” the Inuzuka prompted, as the three kept the rest of the tent on the edge of their seats. “She got me,” Ryuumaru huffed, crossing his arms and smiling. A human tsunami rushed in on Miriyume, and bore her aloft in a celebratory roar, as the Shimokhan moved to take a seat beside his wife at the bar. “Our little kunoichi’s all grown up now,” Ryuumaru declared somberly to Renara.  “Her power easily eclipses mine.”   The Heron Priestess gave his strong shoulder a gentle squeeze, as she watched him wipe away a small tear from his eye.  As proud as he was of Miriyume’s fierce autonomy, he had always been a little saddened it by it as well.  He couldn’t bear the thought of his little girl never needing him to fight her battles. Ryuumaru’s eyes remained glassy as he watched the dauntless musicians catch her and nearly everyone else up in a frenzy of triumphant dancing and singing. This was the Yaseiarashi trait that had been fused into the soul of their homeland: Unity through comradery.  As close to Ninshu as she’d ever found outside of Temples.   Renara laced her fingers into her husband’s, and offered verbal comfort: “You raised her to be strong, anata.  Just like you,” then kissed his stubbled cheek. “And you raised her well, Shimokhan,” Tosho rumbled from behind them, as he lay sprawled atop the counter.  “Never have I encountered a more tenacious spirit than Miriyume’s.  Her resolve can put some of the gods to shame.  Raijin being among them...” “Are you two fighting again?” Ryuumaru asked, giving the tiger a concerned look. “Raijin-sama and I never fight.  We merely...differ in practice,” his tail thumping against the bar. “You’re fighting...” the Shimokhan deducted with a laugh, scratching the great cat’s ear. Pakkun’s austere eyes were thoughtfully regarding Kakashi as he in turn watched Miriyume caper about the room with her countrymen.  There was something very different in his aspect.  A lightness of being that had eluded him for far too long. When Pakkun had first learned of this Miriyume, it had been en route to the distant and rarely acknowledged Land of Frost.  Kakashi was an Anbu captain back then, and had for some reason demanded a week-long vacation to ‘get away from it all.’  Sarutobi had to have been all too happy to comply, he’d wagered. Halfway into the trek north, he’d been summoned to provide company, conversation, and the scant advise that a ninken could offer on finding a rapport with a foreign kunoichi! Pakkun had been stunned, to put it bluntly.  Kakashi had never shown any interest in any girls before, although plenty had shown interest in him.  Why did this Frost maiden have such an immediate pull on him? Regarding her now, he could easily understand at least some of the attraction.  She was pretty.  She was vivacious. And there was a strange, magnetic quality that she unconsciously exuded.  Could it have something to do with her overflowing chakra....? What had happened all those years ago in Shimogakure? The entire way there, Kakashi had gushed about her hair, her smile, her eyes, her spirit...  He’d even agonized and rehearsed what he would say when he found her again.  And he’d brought her a gift: a small box of chocolates.  The kind his mother used to love, and frequently receive from Sakumo.  Kakashi had once loved those chocolates, too, before his father had committed seppuku.  He’d sworn off sweets, and many other things on that day.   Finally, Pakkun had thought happily, He’d found his way out of the darkness! With spirits high, and a bit of nervousness, they emerged through the border forest that Kakashi had lead Team Ro through a mere week before.  He’d been told of this aurora borealis, but the sickly green glow in the skies above in no way resembled the ‘shining curtains of ethereal light’ that his master had described. There was no activity on the lake.  No music in the air.  The people they saw in town were quiet, somber, and avoiding all contact with them.  Nothing remotely resembling the much lampooned Shimogakure of popular report.  Pakkun’s keen nose could scent the pervasive sorrow.  Something horrible had happened here. He had tried to voice this dread to the boy before he’d caught the eye of a haggard-looking local, who had given a slight double-take at the half-masked stranger in his midst. “Um, excuse me....” Kakashi had called out, as he motioned grandly for the man’s attention.  “Where is the Yaseiarashi house?” The man’s eyes turned instantly glassy, and he shook his head and pressed his finger to his lips before turning away and continuing down the street. That wasn’t good enough for Kakashi.  He bolted through the melting snow drifts to stand in front of the man: “What has happened here?  Where is Miriyume?” His persistence earned him a sharp glare, and an angry pointing toward the north end of the village, far beyond the residential sectors.  The direction of the Memorial Gate.  The Shimogakuran cemetery. Pakkun clung desperately to the young ninja’s shoulder, as he launched himself through the eerily lit snow, down the path indicated. He heard the choke in Kakashi’s throat when he found the ash-charred plinth standing in mute testimony of the recent rites performed here.  He heard the small sob as he read the wind-tattered funeral banner, snapping in the frigid, hilltop breeze: Yaseiarashi. “No.”  Sinking to his knees in the frozen slush.  “Not her!  Not again...” Kakashi’s lament sent a painful tingling into Pakkun’s nasal cavities, causing a flood of warm tears through his thin fur.  Was this poor boy born under a cruel star? They spent a painful, numbingly cold night in a lonely vigil over a stranger’s grave.  When morning came, Kakashi set the box of chocolates, along with the metaphysical remnants of his heart, upon the soot-stained stone, and turned back for Konoha. That rare ember of true joy had been smothered, once again, killing the fledgling hope that had survived his many tragedies.  Kakashi never spoke her name to him again, in keeping with her strange country’s custom. But, here she was, so many years later, easily reigniting that elusive spark.  It was spring in Kakashi’s heart again, reclaimed from the long, cruel winter. Pakkun was deeply grateful, before an unnerving rumble made him jump. “Allow me to apologize for my prior behavior, admirable ninken,” Prince Tosho began, peering at him over the edge of the bartender’s side of the counter.  “Do you like dried yak?” “I’ve....never had dried yak...” “Then you must try this....” the tiger disappeared for a moment, then leapt atop the bar with a large sack of heavy burlap in his mouth.  He laid down, and used his enormous paw to pin it down, and tore it open with his fearsome teeth.  A carnivore’s fortune of seasoned, dried meat came tumbling out between the tiger’s paws.  Pakkun’s nose was enchanted. “This is an unofficial currency of Shimogakure,” Tosho explained, as he took a mouthful and began to eat.  “They use it as their main shinobi protein ration.” Pakkun was transfixed, and moving closer, desperate for a bite.  “It smells amazing....” licking drool as he watched more of the savory staple disappear in the tiger’s mouth. “Then why don’t you join me,” shoving a generous amount the pug’s way, “...and tell me more about your master?” Humans had their whiskey, but Tosho had always found the exotic taste of yak to be a better form of bribery among his bestial peers. As Gekido finished the final chorus of one of her favorite songs, Miriyume took a moment to survey the room: her homeland.  Her allies.  This was what this whole thing was ultimately for.  Securities for the future.  A step closer to realizing the dreams handed down by the Sage of the Six Paths.  This treaty would happen, dammit, she vowed silently, as she quashed her insecurities deeper into the pit of her stomach.  Shimogakure needed to light another candle against the encroaching darkness.  Then a clumsy, strong hand took hold of her shoulder. Gekido, who was undeniably drunk. “You’ve been sampling from too many hip flasks again,” Miriyume chided, knowing her team-mate’s stubborn habit of mixing his alcohol.  It never went well for him. “I’m blaming the wine that your Lord Creep-master brought to dinner,” Gekido reeled unsteadily.  “Too damn sweet...threw me off my game!  And speaking of games....” pointing in the direction of the freshly set arm-wrestling table, “I challenge you, Sparkler, to a match!” Miriyume allowed him to drag her to a seat, humoring her cherished companion.   The Inuzuka did have a slight chance of success here.  He had more upper body strength, and much faster reflexes that her, honed in tune with his bestial instincts.  And being drunk had the interesting effect of speeding his already insane reaction time up.  If he could manage to slam her hand against the table faster that she could properly phase her chakra, he’d win. “Are you sure about this, Gek-kun?” she asked, as she watched Aoseishin clamber up onto the chair behind him, and place his large front paws on his human’s shoulders. “Sure I’m sure!” Gekido replied breezily.  “You just arm-wrestled the hardest match of your life, and I’m fresh out of the gate!  And also, Ao and I have been working on a new technique, so prepare yourself, you...obnoxious oppai!” “Then let’s make this interesting....and play for the Stone,” Miriyume returned.  “I want to wear it tomorrow, and its mine turn to have already, since the Iron Chest Grappling.” “...and the game of Kraken....” Matsuko added, looking on. Gekido reached into the small pouch located under his ninkin’s neck bandana, and produced the amber chrysanthemum trinket.  He reverently laid it on the table between them. “I’ll let you hold onto it for luck, even though I’m about to HUMILIATE you!” Gekido offered, in his sweet-and-sour fashion. “We’ll see....drunkard!” she taunted back, as they waited for the referee.

“What is the significance of that stone?” Kakashi inquired, standing beside Matsuko among the small audience that was gathering. “It’s kind of our lucky charm,” the serene giant answered.  “It was a gift from our first team sensei.   Our best sensei.” “I heard that you had more than is customary,” Kakashi, before Matsuko cut him off with the information he was fishing for: “We had six.  Not counting the independent tutors that Miri-chan had to suffer through.” “Six?!?”  The Leaf jonin was truly astounded. “Can you imagine?” Matsuko continued, “Four grown adults, scared off by a passive brute, a feral smartass, and a hot-blooded ginger who had made friends with a storm kami?  We weren’t the easiest genin trio to sponsor.  We left our last sensei before he could abandon us, right after our chunin exams, to protect him, and chose to wander the world.  But our original sensei...Hato-sensei,” he paused a little, out of obvious respect.  “She left this world to protect us.  I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to forgive her for that.” His stark admission took Kakashi slightly aback, as the random fragments of Miriyume’s past were connected, bringing their strange story into sharper focus. They wandered the world because they wanted to avoid the pain of harming those they loved, and/or being hurt by those same people!   He had adopted a similar mind set, long ago, before realizing the perpetual torment such a practice bestowed.  But where he had adopted a cold, callous front as a barrier against others, these three zealously embraced the all the world had to offer, then slipped off into the distance before any harm was done. He wondered at who’s was the crueler method. “Such is the burden of teaching; the constant fear of disappointing your students,” Kakashi offered.  “But you are hardly alone in that tragedy.  I lost my team sensei as well.” Matsuko turned his full attention on the Leaf jonin, silently prompting him to continue. “And I never had another.  But, my circumstances were very different...” “Are you ready, Ao?” Gekido asked. Aoseishin answered with an eager bark, and the referee called the start. As expected, Gekido’s arm worked like an ice-bear trap, moving so fast that Miriyume’s knuckles would have surly been bloodied were it not for her opening with a calculated burst of chakra when the ref first began to speak. “Heh, not so easy this time, eh, Sparkler....?” Gekido teased, using his greater strength to muscle her arm backward, as she internally wagered her next chakra surge. “So what’s this....new technique you’re bragging on....?” Miriyume grunted, as she regarded the snowy furred dog’s friendly face, as it rested atop Gekido’s Shimogakuran standard shepherd’s hat.  “Distracting Hat Jutsu?” “Is it working?” the Inuzuka asked. “No!” she proved her claim with another surge of chakra that returned their clasped hands to the starting position. “Then I’d better try this then: Ao!  Bellows on Drum Technique!” Miriyume watched as Aoseishin dismounted his owner’s shoulders, and padded over to stand beside her.  He then stuck his cold, wet nose in her ear, and started snuffling.  It was Gekido’s favorite way to wake her out of a dead sleep, because it always worked, and she could never vent her indignant rage upon the ninken. With a squeal, Miriyume slammed Gekido’s surprised hand to the table in a large burst of crackling energy that sent the dog leaping away. “I can’t believe that you call that a ‘technique’!” Miriyume half raged, half mocked, as she stood up and shoved her opponent out of his chair.  “Was that even legal?” “Any collaborative method between an Inuzuka and their ninken is recognized as a legal technique,” Nobu cited. “All the good it did you!” Miriyume scolded, as she pounced upon Gekido and began to throttle him. “Hey!  It was his idea!” the Inuzuka tried to shift the blame to his ninken, as he desperately tired to protect his painfully ticklish ribs. Aoseishin sat stoically watching the tussle, and grumbled audibly at the accusation.   “Shame on you, blaming Aoseishin!” a Frost kunoichi decried from the sidelines. “Punish the transgressor of canine honor!” a grizzled old Inuzuka man bellowed as he scratched his equally grizzled wolf-hound ninken under his chin. “Hear that, Gek-kun?” Miriyume smiled, as she held her team-mate pinned firmly against the ground, straddling his abdomen in a rather unladylike way.  “I am simply enforcing a clan dictate...” as she held her hands before her and arced a mild current between them menacingly. “No!” Gekido squirmed with renewed vigor, “Not the ‘ear-zaps’!” “Yes, the ‘ear-zaps’!” someone else in the laughing crowd countered. Miriyume’s face was pure sadistic glee, as she focused the iridescent sparks to her fingertips. “You know too well what breathing in my ear does to me, you shameless cur!” she hissed. “So...I accidently found one of your little kinks...” he whined, “There’s no need to abuse mine!” “....And that’s enough of tonight’s drunken confessions, guys,” Matsuko announced, as he lifted Miriyume off of her victim, and placed her back in the arm wrestling champion’s chair.  “And it appears that you have another challenger, Miri-chan,” directing her attention to the man who sat opposite her. “Yo,” Kakashi acknowledged with a small wave. Like a charm, all of Miriyume’s indignant ire melted away as she focused on the man’s lone smiling eye. Matsuko filed that information away for future reference. After the initial, annoyingly recursive thrill his presence seemed to give her, Miriyume narrowed her eyes and made a rough quantification of his chakra.  Not good.  In gambling terms, he couldn’t even meet her usual opening ante. “You do know how to play this game, right?” she asked, smoothing her distressed kimono. “My ‘Eternal Rival’ at home is a big fan, and challenges me often,” Kakashi replied, as he flexed the artful fingers of his right hand.  “So, yes....all too well.” “‘Eternal rival....?” she echoed curiously, offering her hand. “It’s a long story...” placing his leather-clad palm across her smaller, pale one, and curling the fingers against its nearly translucent skin.  Her nails had been manicured and lacquered since the Kraken game, in a rather beguiling shade of red, “...for another time.” “I’ll hold you to that,” she winked, as the audience began to amass around them.  “Now, prepare to lose!” she taunted, tightening her grip a second before Nobu said: “Begin!” The feel of her sinewy hand clutching his, combined with the playful, impish gleam in her eyes nearly had him defeated before they’d started.  And she effortlessly countered his chakra bids, forcing him to rely his muscles.  Her own surprised him with their unexpected strength. “Limitless chakra and brawn? Kakashi acknowledged, as she bested his frugal chakra expenditure yet again.  He put more power into his arm, and briefly toyed with the idea of opening the First Gate. “Frail women don’t last long up in the North,” Miriyume riposted in a strained voice.  Kakashi was easily as strong as Gekido, and nearly as fast-reflexed.  Only her chakra would win her this battle, but it seemed so....unsporting. And thus engaged, she got to hold his hand.... He could smell the amber resin that she’d dusted across her collar, and down her sternum, brought into sharper scent by her warmer body temperature.  His steadfast, constant pressure against her hand was causing her to bite her lower lip, and make the most distractingly seductive noises of strain as she held out. He could feel the building energy of her chakra reserves being channeled into another wave that would easily eclipse his own.  Her priming growl of focus sent coppery tasting wetness leaking down behind his mask.  Time to get serious... “Have you ever arm-wrestled an Uchiha?” Kakashi asked. “No, why–“ she managed to answer before her opponent raised his forehead protector, revealing the Sharingan. She watched spellbound and the three tomoe spun into mesmerizing rotation, as he casually stepped over the threshold of her mind. She could see him, like a visitor in her metaphysical library, casually perusing the haphazard scrolls of her mind. ***”So, this is him, huh...?*** —“Raijin-sama!”—Miriyume jumped in reaction to her kami’s sudden presence.  His plasma-suffused eyes studied the latest trespasser into her mental palace with grudging curiosity.   ***”The famous, or perhaps, infamous, Kakashi Hatake, sifting through your formative year memories... like a sushi chef at a bake sale....”*** —“What?!?”— Miriyume, taking insult at the strange metaphor. ***”Well, LOOK at him!  He’s so...understandably confused and overwhelmed.  I almost feel sorry for him.”*** The image of Kakashi jumped back as a shelf of manga-styled books fell in response to his browsing.  He then moved to examine one of the many pillars of free-stacked hardbound tomes. —“How is he in here?”— Miriyume asked, watching him with a mixture of wonder and alarm. Yeah, Raijin rolled his stormy, pupil-less eyes in resignation.  There was a strong attraction brewing here.  Normally, such invasions of her privacy were met with....painful consequences.  Usually a stinging mental blast of her plentiful chakra.  Her subconscious-self seemed to have rolled out the red carpet for this one. ***“You are aware of what a Sharingan can do, aren’t you?  Even if it is only a half-assed one...”*** Raijin returned petulantly. —“Can he...see us?”--- ***”No.  He’s only focusing on your past at the moment,”*** as they watched him move closer to an old, hand-hewn wooden desk, covered in locked journals and years of emotive carvings onto its surface.  A manifestation of an entire life’s worth of the most secret feelings of a highly emotional girl. ***”Do you really want him looking through all that?”*** he warned. —“It’s not like he can open any of them,”--- Miriyume scoffed, then shrieked in horror as the elaborate locking mechanism on her most recent journal sprang open in a small cloud of dust at his touch.  Raijin laughed at her plight. ***“You were saying...?”*** ---“He....he can’t....”—stumbling weakly towards Kakashi. ***”I think he just proved otherwise...”*** —“He mustn’t!”— sinking to her trembling knees. —“He’ll find out!”--- Raijin arched an emerald eyebrow. ***”He has reduced you to a complete invertebrate!”*** he scolded in sadistic amusement, crouching beside her trembling, teary-eyed form.  There was much more than just the Sharingan at work here.  She was transfixed by some kind of emotional current; completely paralyzed from taking any action against the man. He stopped laughing. ***”In the Name of Me...”*** he swore, standing up over his lone, cherished priestess.  He knew this day would happen.  But why did it have to happen now? Raijin snapped her journal shut with a thought, and sent a ripple of static through the desk for good measure.  To his surprise, Kakashi simply shook it off, reached for another of the journals. ***”Aren’t we the curious one!”*** he mocked, sending another jolt into the book, forcing him to drop it.  Again, he persisted in his browsing. ***”Can I show this upstart the door already?”*** Raijin asked, cracking his knuckles menacingly as he looked back at his soul-stricken priestess, who nodded emphatically. The brief glimpse Kakashi caught of Miriyume’s mind only confirmed what he’d suspected all along: she was a bafflingly complex, emotionally driven creature. Usually, the Sharingan could skim a person’s thoughts, and gain a general understanding of intent or mind set, like the time he synced up with Zabuza’s violent thoughts.  But this.... This was like trying to find his bearings in a raging hurricane of random events, punctuated by blinding bolts of psychological overload.  And just when he thought he’d found some shelter from her mental tempest, it was lost in an explosion of chakra that sent him hurtling clear out of her mind. A second after Kakashi had used his Sharingan, Miriyume gasped and yanked her hand away, recoiling so far as to stand up and back into Matsuko’s surprised arms. “Miriyume-sama forfeits!” Nobu announced, drawing varied reactions from the crowd. “How DARE you sneak into my head!” Miriyume censured the winner angrily. “Yeah, Hata-ka-ta-ka-ke!” Gekido seconded drunkenly.  “Have the courtesy to take her out for a nice dinner, first!” “I...meant no offense, Miriyume-sama,” Kakashi apologized, attempting to stand.  He fell back into the chair with a groan.  His sight began to warp the world around him like a fun-house mirror.  Using the eye had been reckless.  “It’s merely a tactic I employ in pressing circumstances...albeit an expensive one.” “Kakashi-kun?” Kurenai rushed over to assess her compatriot’s general health.  “You look like you’re about to pass out!” “Lightweight!” Gekido mocked from the floor, as Aoseishin obliged him as a makeshift pillow. Hiruzen sighed.  “Why do you always push yourself to this ridiculous extent of chakra exhaustion, Hatake-san?  Even as a small child, before acquiring the Sharingan, you were constantly doing this!” Renara smiled wistfully, reminded of how she used to lecture another child prodigy with a very different dojutsu.  Eyes that even confounded the owners most of the time.  Ryuuyuki had been just as stubbornly driven, but he had a distinct advantage that everyone else lacked. The Heron Priestess gave her remaining child a pointed nudge toward the weakened victor. “Extend your hand,” Miriyume instructed Kakashi, as she reclaimed her seat across from his slumped form. Weakly, he slid a hand toward her. “Remove your glove,” she commanded testily, annoyed by the staggering amount of clothing layers this man had.  Honestly, there were permanent residents of Shimogakure who bared more skin in the deepest part of winter! “Bedside manners, Stormfly-chan,” Renara reprimanded softly, as Kurenai assisted with removing Kakashi’s glove.  “And don’t flood the poor man.  Raise the tide gently....like a spring thaw...” Miriyume placed her palm flat against his bare one, aligning their most commonly used tenketsu, and began to gently transfer chakra. Kakashi’s blurred vision began to regain its sharp resolution, as a heady drought of Ninshu-distilled chakra was poured back into his being.  The was different from the chakra infusions of the medical-nin, as it was laced with the spiritual training of a mystic.  The peace it conferred upon his heart made the Sharingan begin to water up. “That replacement eye steals more than it should,” Miriyume remarked icily, as he used it to watch the opalescent stream of priestess chakra course its way up his arm, enveloping him in its aurora-like radiance.  “Cover it.” Kakashi obliged her with a smile.  “I was only enjoying the lights that time, I promise.” Miriyume bit her lip and turned away, cheeks blushing slightly at her paranoia being called out. “The Sharingan is the most useful give I’ve ever received, but the chakra tax is obscene,” Kakashi continued, finding the strength to sit up straighter. Gekido giggled like a small child from his spot on the floor.  “Obscene things!” “Speaking thusly,” Prince Tosho grumbled, as he padded onto the scene with flattened ears, and a sour glance toward the bar.  A great basso voice was singing a strange, choppy, tuneless song of nonsensical words, with the accompaniment of drunken drumming. “Oh, kami,” Renara sighed mightily with a face-palm, realizing at once who it was. “What on earth is that?” Kurenai openly asked, as she and Kakashi caught sight of a short, rotund man with his pants pulled up to his neck, rollicking about in rough time to the odd song, as the Shimokhan sang above the nearly breathless laughter of everyone in the tent. “The Yak Lullaby,” Matsuko proudly provided. “A song said to charm even the stampeding herds of musk ox,” the Hokage elaborated. “....and drive away any possessing a refined ear,” the tiger lord rumbled contemptuously, before turning to Miriyume.  “I’ll be taking my leave now, Miriyume-san,” giving her shoulder an affectionate nudge with his nose before disappearing in a puff of icy vapor. “And I believe that this concludes this evening’s offering of epic revelry....” Renara declared, casting a weary eye on her husband and his capering jonin captain.  Oetsu Tsuyoiude always encouraged Ryuumaru’s most idiotic stunts... “Is it that late already?” Miriyume asked, sounding a bit mournful, as she continued to channel chakra into Kakashi’s appreciative hand.  He had the most elegant fingers.  So long and dexterous... “Its past three in the morning, Miri-chan!” Matsuko chuckled. “Come on, little Stormfly,” the Heron Sage directed, patting her shoulder.  “The bride needs to get her sleep.  But first, help me reel-in your Father...” Miriyume gave Kakashi’s hand a brief squeeze, as she topped off his chakra reserve in a sudden rush, causing his senses to spin for a moment.  As her hand slipped from his weak grasp, a profound fatigue fell in on him.  Chakra replenishment couldn’t alleviate the utter torpor he’d achieved. “Can you make it back to your camp?” Matsuko asked Kakashi, recognizing the man’s lethargy.  “If not, you can crash with Gek-kun and I....” “Only if I can cuddle with his dog!” Gekido demanded. “I believe we can manage to get him where he needs to go,” Hiruzen answered, as he and Kurenai assisted Kakashi’s stand.  “And he’ll be fully recovered by morning.  I know how to make an excellent restorative miso for the body.” “Add some eggplant, and I’ll take it,” Kakashi smiled, and he settled into the duel support of his fellow villager’s shoulders.  “Where’s Pakkun?” “Right here, Boss,” the pug announced from the counter, still chewing a piece of dried yak. Kakashi’s eye flicked from him to the Lady Ice Flame, in silent reminder of his previous orders. “Got it, Boss,” acknowledged, and moved down the bar to keep vigilant watch over Miriyume, as she and her mother worked to corral the inebriated Shimokhan.

[liketolaugh-writes]

Instant Replay

Author: liketolaugh Summary: In a last-ditch attempt to keep Sasuke in Konoha, Kakashi goes looking for an Uchiha who went outside the Hidden Countries thirty years ago - Uchiha Yuu.

“Sorry I’m late, I had to help a little girl get a cat down from a tree, and then-”

Kakashi dodged as Tsunade threw a thick medical tome at his head. Really, the last Hokage had been far more forgiving of his habits. Tsunade was just violent.

“Two hours late!” Tsunade snapped at him, sitting back with her arms crossed. “And don’t tell me it’s because you’re still on medical leave, I know you could cross the city faster than that with your leg broken.”

Well, she wasn’t wrong. Still, the drag of exhaustion hadn’t left him yet, and he still ached a little. He could manage a mission, but it wouldn’t be pleasant.

He slouched in place and ticked an eyebrow up. “Aa, but where’s the joy in that?”

A vein pulsed briefly in Tsunade’s forehead, but she took a breath and visibly centered herself. When she looked back at Kakashi, her expression was serious.

“How likely is it that Sasuke will attempt to go for Orochimaru?”

Kakashi had to give her credit; she hadn’t missed a beat as her old teammate’s name passed her lips. Of course, she was a ninja.

Even so, it was more than Kakashi could manage.

After a moment, he shrugged.

“More than is good for him,” he allowed. “Nothing has made him any less determined to kill Itachi. We both know Naruto will do anything to keep him from leaving, but that might not be enough.”

Tsunade nodded, looking tired but unsurprised.

“There might be Uchiha outside the Elemental Countries,” she said.

Kakashi only kept from startling through years of determined laziness. The seriousness never left Tsunade’s face, a furrow of concentration in her brow as she leaned forward slightly.

“Thirty or so years ago,” she continued, frowning slightly, “before the Second Shinobi War, there was a man, Uchiha Yuu. I didn’t know him well, but he left… suddenly, under mysterious circumstances.” Her eyes returned to Kakashi’s, intent. “It was all over the village, because he said he was going outside the boundaries of the Hidden Countries.”

“He could have been lying,” Kakashi argued, not quite hiding the sharpness in his visible eye.

“He was a jonin,” Tsunade snorted. “He could have come up with a better lie than that. It was unbelievable.”

Kakashi was allow her that. Still- “And he was just let go?” That seemed, if anything, even more suspect.

Tsunade’s lips thinned.

“Yes,” she confirmed. “That was the odd part.”

Kakashi let that sit for a moment, and then tilted his head and nodded.

“If we found another Uchiha,” he said at last, “it may be enough to stall Sasuke.”

Tsunade nodded again.

“Much of Konoha’s strength comes from its bloodline limits, particularly its doujutsu,” she reminded him, as if he wasn’t well aware. “As things stand, we can’t afford to lose the last of the Uchiha right now. We cannot look weak.”

Kakashi let the corners of his mouth tilt up, unseen. “I do have some abilities as a tracker.”

Tsunade smiled, too, grim and dry. She reached into a pile and pulled out a folder, probably placed carefully in sight well in advance.

“With my clearance as Hokage – only with my clearance as Hokage – I was able to get the name of his destination.” He handed him the folder, which he tucked under his arm to look over later. “Search for the Black Order first, and pick up the trail from there.”

“Your will be done, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi said with an ironic little grin.

She threw another book at him. Ungrateful.

Sasuke’s disasterous clash with Naruto only further convinced Kakashi of the importance of his mission, and when he finally passed the border of the Elemental Countries, it was with his cute students in mind.

And then when he left, no one had heard of the Black Order. Not in inns, not in bars, not out on the street – No one knew what he was talking about.

He did get an awful lot of chances to brush up on his Chinese, though. No one seemed to speak Japanese out here.

Finally, he resorted to one of Jiraiya’s favorite methods. He went to a brothel.

He considered sneaking in, but eventually decided to walk up and do it the civilian way. Less conspicuous that way.

The door was answered by a woman, tall and broad and masculine, with a fearsome glare that would definitely have made any civilian wet their pants. As it was, Kakashi was rather impressed, even if he wasn’t frightened.

“No first-timers allowed,” she informed him, terse and irate, with a glare to match and then some.

Kakashi held up his hands in a sign of surrender, taking half a step back. “Now, now,” he protested, and grimaced when she scowled harder. “I’m not interested in patronage. Could you tell me about the Black Order?”

That made her visibly hesitate, looking him up and down, and that was more of a response than he’d gotten out of anyone else so far.

Finally, she huffed, stepped out, and closed the door behind her.

“I’m keeping an eye on you,” she warned, gesturing for him to move. “But I’ll take you to Lady Anita. She’ll decide what to tell you.”

That sounded promising.

The looming woman took him around back, to a different entrance, and inside, there was Lady Anita – elaborately dressed, unsuited for fighting in, but though the bouncer was the more intimidating, it was undoubtedly this one that called the shots. She was watching Kakashi with a gaze like steel, and she held herself with clear pride.

This, he gathered, was the mistress of the brothel.

“This man said he was looking for the Black Order,” the bouncer informed Anita, voice heavy with meaning, and if possible, Anita’s gaze sharpened further.

“Why are you looking for the Order?” she asked him, sparing no time for misdirection or power play.

He slouched in place and shrugged.

“I’m looking for someone,” he answered after a moment, keeping his eyes on hers. “He went to them thirty years ago, haven’t seen him since.”

Pity appeared in Anita’s eyes, and Kakashi tensed even before she spoke.

“He’s probably dead,” she said plainly. “Most members of the Order last far less than even ten years.”

Well. That would certainly throw a wrench into their plans, wouldn’t it?

“Let’s pretend he didn’t,” Kakashi said, because for the sake of the mission he needed to at least confirm Uchiha Yuu’s death. “How would I go about tracking him down?”

The pity didn’t leave, but the woman gestured to the ground in front of her, and after a moment, Kakashi sat down.

“I am Anita,” she informed him redundantly, “and this is Mahoja.” She paused for a beat, considering him, and then huffed lightly. “The Black Order is a highly secretive organization, so most aren’t ever informed of its existence. The fact that you know its name but nothing else is highly unusual.”

Kakashi shrugged. “Just following a paper trail.”

Anita hummed doubtfully. “Well, we’ll start from the beginning. Do you know what the Black Order does?”

Things got weird.

It wasn’t that Kakashi hadn’t noticed anything off about the outside world, or even that he had never heard of akuma before. But he’d long dismissed them as myths and legends. And anyway, even if they had ever existed, none had been seen since-

Since the chakra barriers were erected around the Hidden Countries, preventing anyone not descended from the Sage of Six Paths from entering.

Dammit, it would make sense if it weren’t so insane.

He mulled that over, swallowed it reluctantly, and pushed, “And where would I find it?”

Anita smiled, as if he’d passed a test, and rose to her feet.

“There’s a location on each continent,” she said. “I’ll give you a map. The Asian headquarters isn’t terribly far from here.”

Kakashi lifted an eyebrow despite himself. “You’d give me the location that easily?”

She cast a smile over her shoulder just before she passed through the door.

“The headquarters has a guardian deity,” she said, clearly enjoying the oddness of what she was saying. “If you mean them harm, she won’t let you in.”

Of course they did.

As it turned out, they were a stone’s throw from the Asian headquarters. In other circumstances, Kakashi may have waited a day to infiltrate, but time was unfortunately of the essence. Night was the best time for sneaking anyway.

Anita wished him luck as he left, and as soon as he was out of her sight, he moved into flash step; for some reason, he was feeling impatient.

He reached his destination only an hour later, just as night was falling. For a while, he contemplated what he could see of it.

He didn’t see any form of sentry or guard, but he knew better than to assume that meant there were none. Further, he didn’t see anyone going in or out, but there did appear to be activity inside.

Finally, he donned a genjutsu – one that kept him from seeming significant, cast strong because he didn’t like the sound of a ‘guardian deity’ – and entered.

It was almost disappointingly easy.

Inside, most of the people moving about wore long white lab coats. Kakashi, in his mask, headband, and flak jacket, would have stood out a mile without the genjutsu. As it was, he could stride down the hallway without anyone giving him a second look; there were no ninja here.

Still, it took a long time to find the record room, and he had to pick the lock to get in. Not subtle. From there, he rummaged until he found the personnel files.

There was no Uchiha Yuu in the personnel files, which was unfortunate but not a huge surprise. He kept looking, ignoring the worry and disappointment pressing down on him.

Eventually, in the middle of a bunch of very secret-looking research files, he found it. It was part of a group of twenty or thirty, all falling under the banner of ‘The Second Exorcist Project’.

All of them were dead, which was ominous. And there Kakashi had found his confirmation. Uchiha Yuu was dead.

He kept working. Naruto would haunt him if Sasuke left and Kakashi hadn’t done his best to prevent it.

The file describing the Second Exorcist Project was frankly disturbing, just as bad as most of Orochimaru’s. To attempt to bring back the dead, to reverse the natural order – in Konoha, even if such a thing was managed, it would still be forbidden.

Absently, Kakashi took a caffeine pill. Clearly, he wasn’t anywhere near done here.

Most of the exorcists listed as subjects had never woken up, but two had. Kanda Yuu and Karma Alma.

One of the subjects listed had been Uzumaki Alma, which was… too much of a coincidence. Kakashi wondered if chakra augmented the process somehow.

In the way of things, the file ended even more gruesomely than it had begun. A snowball of catastrophic failure led to the death of nearly every researcher involved, and one of the subjects plunged into a most likely permanent coma.

Kakashi thanked his lucky stars that it was the Uchiha who survived, and vowed never to mention this to Naruto.

One last thing. Kanda Yuu had his own file.

And it was a mess.

Disagreeable, withdrawn, known to frequently wake screaming from nightmares and lash out at those around him – damned to fight whether he wanted to or not, having lost everyone he’d ever known, still reeling from ‘killing’ his best friend – God, he was like Neji, Sasuke, and Kakashi himself combined. What a nightmare.

Seeing that, Kakashi wavered, not even sure that bringing Yuu back with him would help at all. It might make things worse, as messed up as the kid was.

However. Sasuke was protective of his teammates. And he had an obsession with family. There was a possibility – remote but vital – that even the most messed-up family member could make Sasuke stay, at least for a little while longer.

Nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

Kakashi stood up and stretched. Yuu had been reassigned to the European headquarters. There was sure to be a map somewhere.

It took a boat trip and a train ride to reach European Branch; Kakashi used the time to put together a plan, accommodating his new knowledge of his quarry.

Sasuke, after all, hated not knowing things. And Kanda Yuu had a rather intricate and disturbing history.

They just needed time.

Kakashi dearly hoped that Sasuke hadn’t run away in the time it was taking him to complete this mission. It would be such a waste.

There was far more activity around the ominous-looking European headquarters. It wasn’t constant, but there was a trickle both in and out.

After some contemplation, he kidnapped one of the people in the tan cloaks, knocked him out with a genjutsu, and stole the cloak. When the next group came along, he joined them, ignoring the quiet conversation around him. (His English was far worse than his Chinese.)

They took a lift up, and Kakashi just kept himself from staring, shifting in place as he waited, and then stepping out and splitting from the group smoothly, with none of them any the wiser.

The European Branch wasn’t quite as intricate as the Asian Branch, but it had far more levels. Kakashi wandered for quite some time, becoming increasingly tense, until he finally found a neat room stacked with files and, with a sigh, let himself in.

This time, he had a better idea of what to look for, though not where to find it. But he knew that Kanda Yuu had been assigned to General Froi Tiedoll. He just needed to know where General Tiedoll could be found.

Half an hour later, he could have banged his head against the wall. Of course, General Tiedoll didn’t regularly stay at Headquarters; he wandered the (massive) European continent.

He did, thankfully, check in; Kakashi assessed the location, made a mental note, and, just as the door opened, flash-stepped past the new entrant and away.

He needed to hurry, damn it. He was running out of time.

This one time, Kakashi refused to be late.