Hiruzen, Yamori - Failure

Hiruzen stood abruptly, knocking his chair over in his haste. Across from him, the Anbu giving his report stiffened. They both turned to face the sudden surge of violent chakra. A chakra signature most ninja in Konoha recognized.

The Kyuubi's chakra.

"Tori, go! Ascertain the safety of the Uzumaki twins!"

The Anbu captain gave only a nod of acknowledgement before he was gone, a cloud of smoke left in his wake. Hiruzen hurried over to the window and stared out at where the chakra originated, cursing the fact he could not leave his office to check on the twins. The Kyuubi's chakra would only surface in dire situations. Either the Kyuubi had somehow escaped... or Naruto and Renge were in danger.

Hiruzen paced his office, waiting impatiently for someone to appear and inform him of the situation. Eventually, he righted his chair and sat down. There was no need to alarm others with his agitated state. But he could not focus on anything. Eventually he caved in and pulled out his crystal ball.

.

When Yamori felt the volatile chakra spike, he almost dropped his katana in alarm. Cursing, he sheathed his blade and body flickered to where the twins lived. The twins were in danger! Either that, or his fears were realized and the Kyuubi was escaping its seal. He should have informed the Hokage about Naruto accessing the Kyuubi's chakra. He should have kept a better eye on him.

But it was too late to regret.

When he neared the apartment, he felt his heart drop. He could hear screaming. Naruto was screaming. So was Kinoshita-san.

He paused on a nearby roof. None of his fellow Anbu were visible nearby. Was he the first to arrive? Where were the police? He could not wait for any others, though. If the twins were in danger...

Yamori burst through the window, shattering the glass pane, heedless of the danger, landing lightly on his feet. He glanced at the scene—and felt insurmountable rage. Kinoshita—that woman—with a bloody kunai by her feet, wrestled Naruto. The little boy was valiantly trying to escape her. Near them was Renge, her figure prone, laying with her eyes closed, a puddle of blood by her head. Yamori tracked the blood to its origin: Renge's face. Her face, where there was a bloody gash under her right eye.

It only took Yamori a moment to assess the situation. Then he launched himself at the woman, resisting the urge to unsheathe his katana, and pushed her off Naruto. Her body flew into the wall. He wanted to slaughter the woman, but instead he pulled out a kunai and stood protectively over Naruto.

"Ya-Yamori?" he heard Naruto whimper.

But Yamori did not tear his eyes away from the woman, her form limp against the wall. He could not look away to ascertain Naruto's safety or to see the damage done to him and Renge. He would have to wait for backup.

"Check on Renge," he said instead.

Yamori listened closely as Naruto sobbed and shuffled his way toward his twin. He listened as the boy shook his sister and pleaded for her to wake up, watched as the woman stirred and struggled to rise from her slumped position, and waited. Her breathing was ragged, her eyes wide, swinging wildly about, glaring at the children behind him.

He did not wait long. Soon, two more Anbu joined him. Tori, one of the captains, and Hyou.

"Situation?" Tori asked.

"Woman, late sixties, assaulted two minors in her care. Male boy, relatively unharmed. Female girl, bleeding profusely from the face. Condition unknown." Yamori was careful to leave out identities, not wanting who Naruto was to affect how his colleagues handled the situation, though he had no illusions about their ability to identify Naruto and Renge.

Tori switched places with Yamori, allowing him to rush to the twins' side. Hyou was next to Renge, checking her pulse. Next to them, Naruto sat stiffly, holding his sister's hand in a tight grip, tears falling rapidly from his eyes. There was blood on his hands—Renge's blood—and bruises on his body. Bruises like the ones he had once willfully hoped came from children being careless, that he had written about in his reports because he knew he hoped futilely.

"They deserve it! Those demons! Unnatural—" the woman shouted, but Yamori was not listening.

He watched Hyou closely, waiting for a verdict. He could not dare look at Renge, at her bloodied body. "Is she…?"

"Alive. Barely," said Hyou. He opened her eyelids and sniffed her shallow breaths. "Poisoned, I think."

Poisoned. Yamori felt his heart drop. That woman had poisoned her? What about Naruto? But when he glanced at the boy, he could see no obvious signs of poisoning.

"Take them to the hospital," Tori commanded. "I'll deal with her."

Yamori made a sound of acknowledgement before hastily scooping up Renge before Hyou could. Hyou nodded and motioned Naruto to hold onto him, but Naruto would not let go of Renge's hand.

"It will be fine," Yamori tried to reassure Naruto. Tried to reassure himself. "We're taking her to the hospital. Okay?"

Naruto looked up at him, dazed, but nodded. Slowly, he released his grip on Renge's hand and allowed Hyou to pick him up. Yamori quickly left toward the hospital, cursing the fact one could not body flicker with children as young as them. He felt as if too much time passed before they reached the hospital and passed the twins to the startled hospital staff. Renge was immediately taken for surgery.

"I'll alert the Hokage," Hyou murmured before he departed.

Yamori barely gave a nod of acknowledgement as he followed after the twins. Please let them be alright, he prayed. Please let Renge live. He did not know what he would do if she died. If either of them died. The sight of Renge's blood on his hands sickened him.

This was a child who he watched grow up, whose diapers he had changed. Please, Shinigami-sama. Please do not take her like you took her father.

Yamori had failed their father and their mother. He had failed them. If they survived—and they had to; she had to, for Naruto—he vowed he would not fail them again.

.

Hiruzen stood at the door, watching Naruto sleep fitfully next to his sister. His sister, who was on life support, just barely having escaped death. If the poison had been extracted any later... And the wound on her face!

Hiruzen felt old, and heavy. How could he have failed his successor's children so badly? Naruto should have been hailed a hero. He and Renge should be able to live relatively happy lives. This was supposed to be a time of peace.

Instead, Hiruzen had failed them three times. Once, when he was unable to prevent their parents' death. Twice, when he left them with Hayashi-san, whom he trusted to love them and raise them as her own, as she had been so fond of Kushina. And now...

But he had been assured the Kinoshita-san was different. Danzou had told him—and maybe that was the problem. More and more, he and Danzou disagreed on much. Danzou had disagreed when he wanted to have an active role in the twins' lives. It was what he owed them. But Danzou's argument had been sound. By associating with the twins, he would be painting targets on them. He would have made it easier for people to guess their heritage and that Naruto was the jinchuuriki. He would have made them political targets. Targets for assassination, even.

So he had distanced himself from the twins. He assigned Anbu to guard them and religiously read their reports. Reports that he now knew were falsified.

He knew, now. Either his Anbu were lying in their reports... or someone was tampering with them.

A/N:

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