Chapter 2

Of Betrayal and Investigations

Paper crinkled underneath Shizune as she shifted nervously atop the examination table. At any moment the oak door would open up and usher in the source of all her current anxieties. Her mind was rife with scenarios depicting the reaction her longtime mentor and confidant would have upon discovering her pregnancy, each more frightening than the last. The one thought that kept her somewhat calm was the fact that Lady Tsunade had not as of yet killed someone during one of her outbursts. Although Master Jiraiya came close a few times.

Finally the door swung open and in walked the Godaime Hokage, hot tea in one hand, a chart in the other. The blonde sat on the stool next to the examination table and began reading the chart, occasionally taking a sip of her tea, all the while ignoring Shizune. Years of experience had taught Shizune to let the awkward silence go on, knowing full well that her teacher was not a morning person, doubly so when she was in the middle of analyzing medical charts.

After a few minutes had passed without a word or any form of acknowledgement Tsunade placed the chart and her tea on a nearby counter, offering a quick nod to the raven haired kunoichi. "Well then, according to your chart everything appears to be fine. Let me just do a quick check and make sure you're in good health."

Tsunade's hands hovered over Shizune's head as a green aura formed around them, a warm, tingling sensation followed them. Eventually the blonde's hands moved lower, stopping at her chest/torso area. Once more her hands hovered in place for a few moments and then made their way towards Shizune's abdominal area. This time her hands stayed there for only a few seconds, and then she quickly tore them away, as if she had burned herself.

The Hokage kept her expression blank; in fact she didn't even utter a single word. Reaching for the chart she had previously left atop the counter she began rereading the notes, obviously looking for what she apparently missed the first time she reviewed Shizune's chart. Once she confirmed that she had in fact not skipped over anything Tsunade turned to look at her loyal assistant and student straight in the eyes.

"Shizune, what exactly did you say your symptoms were again?" Her expression remained passive; in fact the only emotion the Sanin had really shown was that brief moment of surprise and disbelief during her examination.

Shizune could feel butterflies in her stomach as her master had seemingly figured it out, but in typical Tsunade fashion she wanted her to say it herself. "Nausea, fatigue-"

"And how long has it been since your last period?" The blonde interrupted, a victorious smirk replacing her previously deadpan expression.

"A-about two months." At this Tsunade only nodded while Shizune felt a strange sense of both relief and worry. Relief that the Godaime had taken the news with absolute calm; at the same time it was a cause for worry knowing Lady Tsunade the way she did. "A-are you alright with this, Tsunade-sama?"

"Of course I am. Shizune, in case you haven't noticed you aren't a little girl anymore that needs to be looked after. You're a grown woman now, and besides, even when you were younger it was always you that was looking after me. I'm just glad you have someone else to share your life with, kami knows living with me has meant having to sacrifice any chance of living a normal life."

Suddenly it hit her; the hokage was worried about losing her, as if becoming a mother would change their own relationship. But the sanin was far too proud to admit her fears to anyone, including Shizune.

The raven haired kunoichi rose from the examination table and embraced her mentor in a way she hadn't done since the death of her uncle. Silent tears flowed from both kunoichis as their embrace continued. "Tsunade-sama, no one forced me to go with you, I chose to do so. And if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing. You're the only family I have left, and that's not going to change now or seven months from now.

The sanin wiped her tears away as a small smile broke across her face. "That's so good to hear. I've always looked at you like the daughter I never had, I always feared you felt forced into staying by my side all these years." The slug princess' smile grew even larger, to the point that it looked more threatening than reassuring. "Now for the big question, who's the father hmm? Shinobi, civilian, I hope he's at least from the village?"

Shizune flinched at the barrage of questions as she unconsciously broke the hug between herself and the Godaime. Her answer came in the form of a whisper, fear evident in her voice. "I-I can't tell you."

The smile disappeared from Tsunade's face, replaced by a scowl more typical of the ornery hokage. "I'm sorry, could you speak up. I thought you just said you won't tell me."

"I d-did."

Like Mount Vesuvius the blonde's anger burst out all at once, "What the hell do you mean you won't tell me? We just had a mother daughter moment not even two minutes ago and now you won't even tell me the name of the father. If you won't tell me, your only family, then who are you goi-"

"It was a one night stand." Shizune retorted, her own voice matching Tsunade's own intensity for a moment before it quickly fell. "He doesn't even know I'm pregnant. I'm not even sure if he remembers being with me; he was so drunk. I'd rather not reveal his name until I tell him about it myself, and I can't do that since you sent him off on a very important diplomatic missi-" The words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself, giving away a very crucial clue towards the identity of the father.

"So he's a Konoha shinobi. Hmm, who could it be?"

Shizune pursed her lips and shook her head, not trusting herself to say another word. Rather than allow Tsunade to continue bombarding her with questions the younger of the kunoichi opted for a shunshin as a means for her escape, leaving a very unsatisfied Tsunade alone with her thoughts.

At least now Tsunade understood the reason Shizune had been keeping her pregnancy secret for so long. Still, knowing her former student's penchant for modesty and insecurity there was no doubt she would end up taking care of the child herself while the bastard went on his way without a care in the world. So naturally Konoha's slug princess had no choice but to intervene on the matter personally, because that's what any mother would do for her daughter. And this definitely had nothing to do with her own mistrust of the male sex.

The sanin flared her chakra and in a matter of moments a shinobi appeared in the room, his porcelain mask and cloaked torso designating him as a member of the anbu. The masked shinobi kneeled infront of the Hokage without a word, ready to receive his orders. "Find Izumo and Kotetsu and have them meet me in my office. And tell them to make it quick, I don't have the luxury of wasting time."

With a quick nod the anbu left in a puff of smoke, as the blonde couldn't help but smile. Her thoughts filled with ways to tortur… convince whomever got Shizune pregnant that he was to make an honest woman out of her.

The rest of the trip to Amegakure was… awkward to say the least. In the end both men had been very supportive of Iruka, even going as far as apologizing for their behavior the night before. But despite their good intentions the atmosphere around them had changed significantly, a hesitance that seemed so foreign to the normally rowdy duo had surfaced.

Their arrival at the entrance of the hidden rain village was a most welcomed sight to the academy teacher, at least now they could forget about yesterday's events, if only for a moment. The trio of Konoha ninjas quickly showed the guards their credentials and were ushered through the industrialized village.

For a few minutes the leaf ninja followed their guide throughout the city, giving them an impromptu tour of the village which had historically been off limits to outsiders. The tall steel buildings and cloudy atmosphere of Amegakure provided a stark contrast to the quaint and scenic environment the leaf ninja were accustomed to back in Konoha. Eventually the group made it towards a clearing at the center of the village, its many trees and lush vegetation making the area an oasis in an otherwise mechanized village.

The Ame ninja escorting them led them towards a large canopy hidden amongst the trees and had explained to the leaf ninja that this is where all negotiations were to take place. It was meant as a symbolic gesture to the civilians and shinobi of Amegakure, from this point forward all political dealings would be dealt with out in the open as opposed to in secret.

Seated at a large conference table was none other than Kakashi Hatake, who looked to be having a very animated discussion with the representatives of the hidden rain village. As they neared the table parts of their talks could be heard, the tone left no doubt how unwavering the copy nin could be when it came to his diplomatic negotiations.

"As I said before, the Hidden Rain village is willing to comply with all of the Leaf's demands so long as-"

Kakashi quickly cut him off, his typical cool and aloof attitude replaced with indignation as he made it clear he wouldn't budge on the issue. "The fact of the matter is that Amegakure is asking for far too much from the hidden leaf, and I for one would rather cut these talks off altogether than consider meeting your demands."

Genma was quick to intervene, not wanting the talks to turn hostile as they have done in the past. "Whoa, sorry to interrupt but I think it'd be best if both sides took a quick break. How about some lunch, I could go for some lunch, how about you guys," here he turned towards Yamato and Iruka. "You guys up for lunch?"

Yamato and Iruka quickly nodded their heads in agreement, and with that the representatives of the hidden rain departed, leaving the Konoha ninjas alone beneath the canopy. "Genma, Iruka, Tenzou, any of you care to share in the agonizing torture that is diplomacy."

The senbon chewing shinobi chuckled, taking a seat next to Kakashi. "You'd better get used to it, that's about half of a hokage's duties, the other half being paperwork. Anyways, Tsunade-sama thought you might need some back up, and by the sounds of things you just might."

"Ugh, don't remind me. I still don't see what people see in me, I'm sure Tenzou here could do as good a job as I would. In fact, that's not a half bad id-"

"There you go again senpai, trying to dump all your problems on me." Yamato smiled as he seated himself on the other side of the copy ninja. "But this is one thing you won't be able to talk your way out of, and yes, I'm enjoying that fact very much."

The silver haired shinobi clutched his hands together over his heart. "Tenzou, your words wound me. Do you really think so little of your treasured Kaka-senpai."

Yamato scowled at the man, but before he could retort Iruka, the pacifist of the group given his experience with bickering students was quick to change the subject. "Kakashi-san, on a more serious note what exactly is it that the Ame representatives are demanding?"

All at once the lackadaisical front the copy nin had been putting on was gone, his shoulders tensed and his fist tightened as his eyes narrowed ominously. "They're demanding far too much, I take it as an insult that they would even believe that it's up for negotiation." The three shinobi huddled closer to the Hatake, curiosity piqued as each shinobi wondered what could have the normally aloof jonin so riled up. "It's one of a kind; priceless object whose value lies is in its ability to influence and teach both shinobi and civilian alike on all matters of life." At this point the trio was only inches away from Kakashi, hanging on his every word as he continued his rhetoric. "They're demanding my precious… Icha Icha Tactics, the only signed copy mind you, in exchange they would agree to all the terms Konoha has set."

Surprise lined Iruka's face, although when he really thought about it there wasn't much to be surprised about. Seeing the surprise and irritation on the faces of his comrades only served to heighten his own frustrations, and to think that this man was to become the Rokudaime Hokage, honestly what did people see in him.

Still, it wouldn't do Iruka any good if he went ballistic at the man who would soon be in charge of the village. Taking a calming breath the chunin tried to reason with the man. "Kakashi-san, with all due respect this is an unprecedented opportunity, to have all of our stipulations met in exchange for your porn is-"

"That's right, my romance novel, as in my own private property. And it's not porn. The leaf village has no say in what I do with my own property, and as such I am well within my rights to refuse their request."

The academy instructor's face had darkened noticeably, as a vein on his forehead throbbed menacingly. "You're the next Hokage, it's going to be your job to sacrifice yourself for the wellbeing of the village, that includes your love of Icha Icha." With each word his voice rose in volume, it got to the point that the chunin was nearly yelling at the copy ninja. "The way I see it you can either give up the book by your own will or have it taken from you through force, either way you're losing that book."

Kakashi's eyes had darkened as he slowly backed away from Iruka, body tensing up for a fight. "Is that a threat, because last time I checked I'm still one of the best shinobi in the village, sharigan or no sharigan."

"He's right Kakashi, there's no need to make a big deal out of this." Genma added, slowly inching his way toward the copy ninja as the two shinobi slowly cornered him from either side.

"You try anything Shiranui and that senbon is going to end up in a place far dirtier than your mouth."

"The book in his kunai pouch is a decoy; the real one is under his flak jacket, just above his heart." A third voice rang from behind the copy ninja, traces of amusement evident as he spoke.

"Et tu, Tenzou." Kakashi shoulders slumped upon hearing Yamato's statement, any chance he had of keeping his Icha Icha was lost now that Tenzo had joined the fray.

Upon his arrival back from lunch the hidden rain ambassador came face to face with a most peculiar sight. The four shinobi sent by the hidden leaf sat before him, each one looking more ragged than the last. It was almost as if they had been in some kind of altercation, with whom the ambassador did not know. And perhaps he would have shown more concern had his attention not shifted towards the book placed before him. The only signed copy of Icha Icha Tactics in the entire world, the pinnacle of literature in the elemental nations, and the final piece to his near immaculate collection.

In truth the ambassador was only half serious in his attempt to acquire the precious novel, and given the silver haired shinobi's reluctance to part with it he had already given up any notion of acquiring it. So while a part of him was curious as to what caused the shinobi's change of heart he knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth.

As was agreed on beforehand all of Konoha's demands had been agreed to, and with any luck the accord would mark the beginning of more amicable relations between the leaf and rain villages. And it was all at the expense of a single shinobi, who left the negotiations with one prevailing thought in mind.

Revenge.

Someday, somehow, he would get his revenge and then they would learn the consequences of messing with a man and his por… romance novels.

Within a few minutes of giving the order Izumo and Kotetsu had appeared before Lady Tsunade in her office. From what the anbu had told them it was urgent, and given the irritated look the blonde was sporting the chunin could tell the hokage was not pleased. Hundreds of papers sprawled across her desk, personnel files from the looks of it as the blonde's eyes roamed over the pages. After standing there awkwardly for a few minutes the Godaime finally turned her attention to the frightened pair.

"I've called on the two of you to assist me in an investigation I'm currently conducting. I want the both of you to compile a list of male ninja who are currently away on mission assignments. They should be between the ages of twenty to… forty years old… I hope. Once you have the list I want the profiles of every man listed on my desk by the end of the day. Any questions?"

"With respect Hokage-sama, the list could run into the thousands. Perhaps there's another piece of information that could help cut down on the number of suspects." Kotetsu asked halfheartedly, already accustomed to performing the most menial jobs for the Godaime hokage.

"I don't care how many names you bring back so long as the list includes every man that fits the description." The blonde barked back harshly. "Let me worry about narrowing down the suspects." The last part sounded so ominous, that it gave the chunin chills. The sadistic smile on the blonde's face didn't help lessen their worries as they left the office and began their search.

As they searched through the mission reports in the lower levels of the hokage tower Izumo stopped and turned towards Kotetsu. "Just to be clear, she's going to kill whoever we're supposed to be helping her find right?"

Kotetsu nodded grimly, "Pretty much, just be glad we're not on her list of suspects."