Title: Facility ten

Rating: G, action, adventure

Pairing / Characters: Tsunade, Shizune, Mrs. Komura, Umino Iruka, Nara Shikamaru

Word Count: 2, 692 words

Warnings: STOP RIGHT HERE AND READ MY A/N BEFORE YOU GO ANY FURTHER!!

Summary: Tsunade and Shizune discuss the cases of several missing children, Iruka is attacked, Shikamaru comes to his rescue

A/N: Right, several points to start off with:

This is post time skip, so yes, there are severe spoilers from chapter 245 onwards. I won't be saying this for each chapter so consider yourself warned!

For the purpose of this tale, I've left Hyuuga Neji a chuunin. (but don't worry, I have a plan!)

I've mentioned several countries here – Sunagakure, Kirigakure, Taki no kuni (land of the waterfall), Tsume no kuni (land of the claw), Nami no kuni (land of waves), and Ame no kuni (land of rain) which I got from Wikipedia.

No, the six nameless figures are not Akatsuki.

Will I be following the canon? Er… no.

Kazoku Ichiro is mine, and mine alone and his story is kind of a sideline to the main one …(oh, and Kazoku, apparently, translates to family. I'm not entirely sure of that, but since I like Home made kazoku, I used it as a family name, excuse the unintended pun…)

Ok, that should just about do it for the time being… (o)

It was a bitterly cold, rainy morning.

Thick, dark rain clouds scudded across the sky, whipped into a frenzy by a chill wind.

Rain fell softly onto the earth below, as though the heavens were in mourning, the icy drops mingling with the tears that streaked the boy's face. He stood alone, hands clenched into fists, his reflection distorted in the water beneath the slippery bridge.

As if the pain he felt was physical, he crumpled to his knees, hands firmly pressed against his chest as he screamed his anguish to the misty skies.

Yawning, the Fifth Hokage propped her feet up on her table, hand idly twisting in her hair as she studied a report, the tiny, cramped writing on the blotchy, ink smeared papers dancing before her eyes.

Rubbing her eyes wearily, Tsunade dropped the pile of papers on the table and got up, turning towards the window.

The sun had already been up for at least three hours, and Tsunade was reminded of the fact that she hadn't actually eaten anything since lunch the day before.

It had been a long night, and promised to be an even longer day.

A knock at the door signaled the arrival of Shizune.

The slender, dark haired woman pushed open the door, a stack of precariously balanced books in one arm, Tonton in the other, the dark circles under her eyes a sign of her own late night.

'Well?'

'The Council reconvenes in two hours, Tsunade-sama. It seems they're still trying to decide whether or not this merits Konoha's involvement. Mrs. Komura is in favor of sending a team to investigate but –' Shizune shrugged – 'several of the elders disagree, as the situation doesn't affect Konoha directly.'

'Have they lost their minds?' Tsunade wondered aloud. 'Of course this affects us – it's only a matter of time before someone here is taken and we end up getting involved anyway. Mah, if they can't see that, I pity them.'

'Perhaps its not that they can't see it, but they don't want to,' Shizune said slowly. 'Something like this has never occurred before.'

Tsunade pushed the window open, taking a deep breath of the chill, wintry air. Winter had come early to the Fire country this year, and already an unseasonable snow blanketed the grounds of the village of the leaf.

'I suppose not. Have you got the figures of those who are missing?'

'Yes, Tsunade-sama… in total, thirty children are missing. Three of them are from Taki no kuni, six are from Sunagakure, five from Tsume no kuni, ten from Nami no kuni, two from Kirigakure, and four from Ame no kuni. We don't know if any other children are missing, no one else has come forward yet.'

Tsunade frowned.

'The numbers seem unusually high, particularly for Nami no kuni – I understand they are a particularly poor village?'

'That's correct. Team 7 had one of their first major missions there, guarding a bridge builder.'

Shizune's eyes widened as a sudden thought occurred to her. 'Tsunade-sama – '

'Hmm?'

'Have – have you heard from Jiraiya-sama lately?'

'Yes – I received word from him last night. The training is proceeding well; apparently, he doesn't expect to be back in Konoha for another six months at least. Why?'

'Well, I was just wondering – they might have tried to take Naruto-kun, as a jinchuuriki, his potential is far greater than many other boys his age – '

Tsunade laughed. 'Tried' is the operative word there, Shizune. Jiraiya is a stubborn old pervert, but he won't let anything happen to Naruto.'

Again, her expression turned thoughtful.

'What are they looking for? Several of the children have high potential – possible shinobi potential, despite the fact that they come from non shinobi villages. I may end up doing a little snooping of my own…'

Shizune's eyebrows shot up.

'You would go behind the Council's back?'

'Are you telling me you wouldn't? I won't have my people's lives at risk, Shizune, not for the sake of some doddery old fools who can't make up their minds as to what they want to do about a situation that's rapidly spiraling out of control.'

'Some of those doddery old fools are requesting your presence at the Council, Tsunade.'

Tsunade didn't even budge. 'Are you planning on following my advice, old woman?'

Mrs. Komura sighed. 'Tsunade, you're as flippant as usual, I see.'

'You didn't answer my question,' Tsunade said calmly.

'You'll have to find out the will of the Council,' the old woman replied. 'Come along, we've wasted enough time already.'

Tsunade rolled her eyes at Shizune and stomped out of her office.

Stifling a yawn, Tsunade sat back and glared at the entire Council in general.

None of them could make up their minds, being equally divided – half in favour of Konoha sending a team to the villages to investigate, and the other half opposing.

Deciding to end the arguments before things got out of hand, Tsunade interrupted the Council without hesitation.

'Can the lot of you decide what you want to do before we spend the entire week here?' she demanded acidly. 'Personally, I've got more than enough to be getting on with and I would rather be stamping documents than listening to the same arguments I've heard repeated over the last hour. Do we get involved or don't we? It's as simple as that.'

'I'm afraid its not, Hokage-sama,' Miyamori replied, stroking his beard thoughtfully. 'Whether we get involved or not will have a grave impact on the way we are seen through the eyes of other villages.'

Tsunade leaned forward. 'I fail to see how, Miyamori. The only possibility I can imagine is if we don't get involved – our failure to do something about the situation could put our entire reputation at stake, and people will be reluctant to trust us in the future. I've told you over and over again, it costs nothing to send an ANBU platoon or a team of jounin to the villages to determine who took the children and why.'

The Fifth contemplated throwing herself from the window when her words sparked another round of arguing.

'Tsunade-sama, did the Council reach a decision?'

Tsunade dropped into her chair wearily, and poured a cup of sake, drinking half the cup in a single swallow, ignoring Shizune's expression of horror.

When she spoke, her voice was thick with tiredness. 'Of course not, Shizune. The issue is still unresolved, and now Mrs. Komura flatly refuses to get involved, which means that I'll have to do this myself.'

Getting up, Tsunade walked over to the long, low cabinet against the wall and rifled through the contents until she found what she was looking for – a large map.

Sweeping the contents of her table to the floor save for the jug of sake, she spread the map out and began marking off villages, mumbling under her breath.

'… to Gaara… death rates of shinobi in Sunagakure in the last ten years… population census' from Nami no kuni… genin success levels from Kirigakure… Amegakure is primarily a village composed of missing nin…'

Shizune stared at Tsunade for a moment, before reaching for a stack of papers she had previously been using as a pillow. Propping herself up on a large pile of books, she began to sort through her notes, and soon enough, her mumbling joined Tsunade's.

Six shadows stood silently atop the walls surrounding Konohagakure.

They seemed oddly shaped in the faint lights from the village below them, the shapeless cloaks around their bodies making them appear formless.

'How many are we to take tonight?'

'Three. One is parentless, the other two nameless children no one pays any mind to.'

'I wouldn't say that. There is someone, someone we might have to eliminate should the need arise.'

'We were not briefed about that. Who is he?'

'He is a schoolteacher, a mere chuunin.'

'His name?'

'Umino Iruka.'

'He is no match for us. A simple chuunin cannot match our level of skills.'

'Perhaps not, but we will still proceed with caution. Even a fly can draw attention to itself if it buzzes against the window long enough.'

'True.'

Surprisingly, the six were undetected by the wall guards as they vanished into the village below.

Iruka drew the curtains against the frostiness of the evening before turning and smiling at the figure seated on the carpet, almost dwarfed by the books Iruka had brought home from the library earlier that day.

'Iruka-sensei, why do you always do this?'

'What are you talking about, Ichiro?' he asked in amusement.

'This!' Ichiro gestured at the books, the bowls on the table, and the hot, steaming soup that Iruka was carefully lifting.

The chuunin laughed softly. 'Are you telling me you aren't hungry?'

Ichiro looked away. 'Well, I am, kind of.'

'Then what on earth are you worrying about? Come and eat!'

As Ichiro scrambled to his feet eagerly, Iruka's sharp eyes noted the bandages poking out of his sleeves, the bones protruding from too thin wrists. He had already seen the bruises in Ichiro's hairline, and not for the first time, wondered how any parent could be so cruel to their own child, when some children had no parents to speak of…

'Itadakimasu!' Ichiro beamed up at his teacher and began eating at top speed. Iruka sat down opposite him, smiling back. Ichiro was such a sweet child, a real pleasure to be around. Unlike most boys his age, he preferred to spend his time with his nose in a book, or in the library, reading old scrolls. He never gave his teachers grief, and truly didn't deserve the atrocities his parents subjected him to.

Their meal was eaten in a companionable silence, and as Iruka carried the bowls over to the sink, his eyes narrowed suddenly.

Someone was outside his house.

The sun hadn't completely set yet, and Iruka could just make out the faint shadow behind the curtains. Calmly, he set the bowls down, every single sense tuned in to the figure outside. Closing his eyes, he listened carefully to each rustle, each footstep beyond the walls, and knew that whoever it was, he was making his way towards the house – and he didn't bother hiding his presence, clearly expecting no resistance from the occupants of the house.

Iruka's stomach clenched. He'd seen this before, shinobi who were so confident in their skills that they didn't bother with little details like concealing themselves from shinobi senses…

Opening his eyes, Iruka turned from the sink, seeing Ichiro's anxious eyes.

'Is something wrong, Iruka-sensei?'

Iruka laughed, wincing inwardly at how strained it sounded. 'Of course not… I was just wondering if you wanted to see the jounin offices, since you mentioned them earlier.'

Ichiro's face lit up. 'Ne, ne, ne, Iruka-sensei, do you really mean that? Really?'

This time, Iruka's laughter was more natural. 'Of course I do. But… if you'd rather stay here and read…'

Ichiro leapt to his feet. 'I'm ready, I'm ready!'

'Well, come on then, an hour or two and I can tuck you into bed.'

'Am I sleeping here tonight?'

Iruka hustled him into a cloak that was miles too big for his thin frame, and proceeded to hustle him out the front door. 'Absolutely. Now, you know where the jounin offices are, right?'

Ichiro bounced up and down. 'You know I do, Iruka-sensei, I pass them every day on my way to the Academy!'

Iruka stepped out into the little garden, pushing Ichiro out in front of him. As he did so, a shapeless figure came at him out of the shadows, his shape concealed by the cloak he wore, and the shadows that surrounded him.

Ichiro screamed as Iruka was knocked backward, a thin, needle-like blade protruding from the arm he had thrown up to protect his face. The terrified boy stood frozen as Iruka twisted his arm behind his back, reaching into his weapons pouch and pulling out a kunai.

'Run, Ichiro!' he shouted. 'Run to the jounin offices and whatever you do, don't look back!'

Ichiro obeyed immediately, and fled like the wind.

'Who are you?' Iruka demanded, kunai pressed against the blade his opponent was holding. 'What purpose do you have here in Konoha?'

His attacker twisted free of Iruka's grasp. 'I have no name, only my purpose – and you will not stand in my way!'

'You haven't answered my question – I asked who you are!'

'I am a Seeker and you are merely one against our multitudes… we will not be defeated by the likes of a mere chuunin, a mere boy!' he snarled, and brought up his other hand, wrapping thick, stubby fingers around Iruka's throat.

Iruka gasped for breath, dropping his kunai as his assailant's hand squeezed slowly but steadily, choking the life from him. He fought desperately, his body craving air, but his assailant was stronger, and his vision blurred before he lost consciousness completely.

The Seeker studied the limp figure of the school teacher almost consideringly, before embedding his blade into Iruka's chest and dropping him on the ground.

Sobs tearing at his throat, Ichiro wove his way between the crowds of people, desperately trying to get to the jounin offices like he'd been told.

During the course of his young life, he'd developed a sixth sense when it came to the adults in his small world, and every bone in his body was screaming at him to get as far away from Iruka-sensei's house as fast as possible. Ichiro kept to the lit areas of Konoha's streets as best as he could, but even so, he wasn't watching where he was going and consequently, bumped into the figure at the end of the street before he could stop himself.

Ichiro fell hard, the breath knocked out of him. His wide, horrified green eyes stared up at the figure, whose very presence seemed to ooze malice. Ichiro scrambled backward, fingers scrabbling in the dirt, and managed to pull himself to his feet. He turned to run, but his opponent was faster, lunging forward and grabbing his shoulder before slamming the side of his hand against Ichiro's neck.

The boy's slight form sagged, and the figure picked him up, throwing him over his shoulder casually and walking off into the darkness.

A perpetually bored expression on his face, Nara Shikamaru shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked towards Iruka's home. His quick mind considered and discarded various reasons for Iruka's unusual tardiness, wondering what could possibly have made him late for the exams when he was supposed to be giving the exam himself.

The chuunin crossed the road, stepping aside with a smile as several old women waked past him, and glanced up at Iruka's house. Only then did his smile fade as several details caught his eye at once – the wide open door, the dark interior and curtained windows.

He moved swiftly toward the gate, hand outstretched to push it open, and froze in shock when he saw the crumpled figure of his fellow chuunin.

Shikamaru pushed the gate open hard enough to unhinge it, and dropped to his knees beside Iruka, sharp eyes taking in his condition.

He lay in a pool of blood, a blade bearing some similarities to a senbon protruding from his chest. Shikamaru felt for a pulse with hands that shook slightly, and it took him several precious seconds before he could locate it. When he did, he was horrified to feel how faint, how thready it was. Swearing, Shikamaru reached for the emergency medical kit he always carried, while his mind continued to take in the details.

The faint, shallow breaths.

His clammy skin, already cool to the touch.

Several finger shaped bruises on his throat.

Shikamaru yanked out a bandage, wadding it up and laying it on Iruka's chest before carefully pulling the blade out of the wound. Before more blood could well to the surface, he tucked the bandage beneath Iruka's flak jacket and just as carefully lifted the unconscious chuunin.

Staggering slightly under Iruka's weight, Shikamaru made his hasty way to the hospital.