Author's Note: to Eldr-Fire, looks like you've got your wish for some angst. Not much but here's some of it coming at ya and if you wanna know more about the Mashos check out my website list under Ronin Warriors.
to Thomas, thanks for your idea and while I didn't use any for this chapter doesn't meet I won't be using some of it for the next one. Just keep reading
Disclaimer: The only thing I own from this entire story is Hidama. Everything else belongs to their own respected and © owner, Masashi Kishimoto. The character Shada belongs to one of my best pen pals, Thomas Drovin, and it's with his permission that I am using him in my story. Enjoy.
"Kakashi's WHAT?!"
By: Beloved Shadow of Light
Tsunade, Godaime of Konohagakure, closed her eyes and took a deep breathe, forcing the tension from her body as she sat back in her righted chair (thanks to Shizune). She counted to ten forward then backwards then forward and backwards once more before slowly opening her eyes. "Hidama came to see me about a personal matter that no one else needs to hear about unless she chooses to tell you herself," she said calmly. She was trying very hard not to smirk at the stunned looks on the two old bastards' faces. "Before you even say anything I know that as hokage my duty to the village comes first but her business is with me and not the village. Our business is done and she has the right to return back to her own home with her family."
"... Then it would seem that we have no choice," Homura said with no emotion. "We have already sent out warrants for the arrest of the young woman as well as the three men on the grounds for attacking our shinobi and an attempt at an invasion."
--
Shuten frowned as he looked up in the sky, pausing from where he was bandaging his comrade's arm. There was an ill wind coming and he did not like the feel of it but he wasn't sure what. Turning back he tied the bandage off of his current patient. "Next time don't goad Hidama like that, you know she's sensitive," he scolded him.
Anubisu was silent, frowning as he noticed the troubled look in the red-head's eyes. "What is it, Sh'ten?" he asked seriously.
"Something does not feel right. Like the warning before a storm strikes."
"You mean like the time you broke those figurines Kayura collects and she didn't know until you broke down and confessed?"
"Hai--shut up!" he hissed and pinched the injured area harshly, drawing out a yelp of pain.
"I'm injured here!"
Rajura sighed, trying to ignore their bickering while Naaza was watching a snake he had found slither up his arm. Both already had any injuried they received during training dealt with and were now relaxing as much as they could. "What do you think of this village?" the green haired man asked his brother-in-arms.
"They're all fools," he said honestly and laid back in the grass, one hand resting behind his head as the other rested over his stomach. "This village should be burned to the ground and the people along with it. Well, most of them anyway. The children could stand to learn about the real world wihtout these bigots' influence."
"So you noticed that as well," he stated calmly, letting the snake wrap around his neck as he stroked its head with a gentle touch.
"And people outside Ishi wonder why we don't have a hidden village to call if we're such powerful warriors."
"More honor as a samurai than a assasin."
"Better watch it, Shada has made a name for himself as said assassin. But then again he's the only real ninja is this entire place."
"Speaking of which…" he trailed off and gesutred to the sudden prescene in the air surrounding them. His hand stilled upon the snake, feeling it tighten around his neck due to the tension in his body. His white haired companion did nothing but even now his body was tensing for a fight, fingers tapping along his stomach soundlessly. The scarred man stopped whining and leaned back on his arms, digging his fingers into the ground in his shadow. The red head sat back, closing his eyes as he tried meditating but in fact he was using his own techniques to seek out what was watching them.
There, hidden among the branches and bushes were several individuals wearing different style of uniforms than they had seen, mostly black with off-white chest armor but each one sported a porcelian mask on their face of animals and each one seemingly carried a single katana sword. But they were very well trained and seemed to be bidding their time. He frowned and immedaitely the others knew they were being watched.
And they hated being watched.
--
"Nani?!" two women shouted, one in shock and the other in anger. The blonde could only gap at these two--fools--who dare to claim to be the voice of reason for Konoha as the young woman was already reaching into the sleeves of her robes to remove her weapons. Before a fight could break out a loud tapping could be heard followed by the gingle of multiple rings gently chiming against one another. Everyone looked around for the noise then settled on the leader of Ishi no Kuni as he slowly and gracefully stood from his seat. Tapping his staff once more against the floor he gazed around the room quietly.
"I understand your concerns for the welfare of your village and its people, and I realize we were too hasty in our approach to come and bring my granddaughter home. I, hereby, hold the right to prove that she means no harm to the village."
The two elders were quiet but they nodded. "It is within your own right to call upon one." Kaosu gave him the briefest of nods in gratitude. Before he could sit down he looked to the side just as a men dressed in black and white appeared, his face hidden by a mask made to resemble a monkey. "What is it?"
"We have a situation," he said quickly, dropping to his knee. "The men have vanished and we cannot locate them anywhere. Koharu frowned even more, her withered face causing even more wrinkles to form.
"How could mere men evade our most powerful of ANBU?" she demanded angrily.
Tsunade looked over at Kayura who had a srange look in her eyes. Slowly blinking she smiled very lightly, a smile that showed that she knew something no one else knew. She already liked this young woman.
"We asked them to come with us quietly but they demanded to know the reasons and we were under orders not to tell them. When they refused we were prepared to sue force but--I cannot explain it but we were unable to catch them much less bring them back."
Before Koharu could protest the elder with the glasses silenced him with a simply wave of his hand. "What of the woman?" he asked.
"We are bringing her in now, however Hatake Kakashi refused to leave her," he explained.
"Hatake? Very well, summon Morino Ibiki and have him prepare the interrorgation room."
"Hai." The ANBU was glad in a flash and the elders stood from their seats. Waiting for the elders to move out first Kayura gently caught Tsunade's arm and looked up at him, eyes flashing.
"What will they do?" she asked in a low hiss.
"I don't know, but if they're bringing Ibiki into this then I hope Hidama has a strong will," she told her in concern. "He's the top specialist when dealing with interrorgations, but torture as well. He'll make even the strongest of men break down and tell him everything he or she knows."
"I see... then I have nothing to worry about," she said and moved past her, the soft rustle of her robes swishing around her legs as she walked. Kaosu waked silently, stepping past the blonde but inclinded his head towards her.
"The other four are fine but until this is over will remain in hiding."
"I undersand but why isn't anyone aware that Ishi is a hidden village with such powerful warriors?" she asked, the thought nagging at the back of her mind since she first laid eyes upon them.
"I never said we were ninjas, Godaime Tsunade." He continued walking out, leaving her to her thoughts.
--
Kakashi frowned as they were led down the hall, instantly regonizing where they were but didn't say anything. He glanced over at Hidama who didn't seem the least bit fazed. All around them their dogs followed wordlessly, refusing to be left behind or to dispatched into smoke. Pakkun seemed to be the most surprising as he allowed the pale woman to hold him.
In fact, as soon as the ninken were summoned there had been a brief stare down between his eight and his sister's three but together they began to act like puppies: chasing one another, mock fighting, having their ears scratched with their bellies rubbed, the typical dog activities. He never had fun but that changed when the dogs suddenly surrounded them while he was helping Hidama patch up a realy nasty slash that struck the back on her left side and continued over her upper arm.
Several ANBU black-opt agents appeared before them, waiting but when one made the slightest movement the dogs went on instant alert, growling out warnings to leave them alone. Hidama grew tense under his hands but he continued to ignore htem until he was done, removing his vest and shirt before giving her the shirt to wear. Of course it wasn't big enough to hide her chest but the breast bands were enough. Pullinghis vest on he looked over at them and demanded to know wht they were doing here.
"Hidama, you are to come with us immedaitely," the one in the cat mask told her.
"Why is that?" she asked, not moving from where she sat.
"We cannot give you the answer but we will use force if we must."
She just looked at them with her ice blue eyes, peering through his mask as if she knew what he looked like, feeling the urge to snarl and attack them, to make them tell her why she was being summoned and by whom but slowly, she stood and nodded.
"Fine then. Let's get this done and over with," she said oolly. She made to follow them, her three dogs making sure to keep her surrounded but when one made to take them away Hades growled and snapped at him, his fangs scratched at the wrist protecter on his arm.
"Where Hidama goes, we will follow," he growled, ears laid back and fur standing on end. "Try and make us leave without her consent, and we not hesitate to kill you."
Kakashi could see the dogs meant business and slowly walked up to his sister, reached up and gently squeezed her shoulder as his own ninken surrounded the two of them. "You won't mind if I join you then," he said calmly.
"But, we are only to bring the woman, Hatake-san."
His voice and eye harden, fingers tightening over her shoulder as he gently pulled her into his side. "I'm going."
They were led into a dark room with no windows, a single able in the middle diretly under a naked lightbulb, and two chairs. The door was the only way in or out. The room screamed of terror on so many levels even the dogs could feel it but Hidama shrugged it off effortlessly. Gently rubbing at Pakkun's paws she looked up at Kakashi.
"I really like your dogs, just wish we had more time," she told him with her voice but her eyes were showing that she actually had a good time today and she didn't want it to end.
"It felt good to just relax and spend more time with them," he said but his eyes spoke of wanting to spend more time with her, to try and be a friend and brother. She nodded but for a split moment, he saw himself as the older brother that did everything in his power to protect his little sister from the world. Silently she knelt down, setting Pakkun down and taking turns at telling the dogs how much she enjoyed their company, she hugged her three tightly, ruffling their fur.
"Behave yourselves." Nodding they watched as she entered the room and the steel door was closed behind her then bolted shut. Kakashi stared there, staring at the door quietly. One by one his ninken dispatched, leaving Hidama's three who stared intently at the door. Cerebus growled and looked down the hall when he ehard footsteps. Heavy, slow, determinted footfalls that seemed to echo along the almost empty halls loudly.
'This man is damn good at intimitation and I haven't seen him yet,' he growled, ears folding back.
Morino Ibiki was a big man, his large frame easy to terrorize people smaller than him but the way he moved, the tone of his voice, the look in his eyes, put it all together and he could break the strongest of wills. He was an adept at his job--and he enjoyed every moment of it.
"Hatake-san, what are you doing here?" he asked. If he was the least bit surprsied he wasn't showing the tiniest sliver.
"Because I wanted to. What's going on, Morino?" he asked coldly, feeling the three dogs tense.
"Doing my job." Nodding to the ANBU he walked into the room as the door was opened and looked at the pale woman sitting at the table, her back to the door while she sat at the table. He had his orders and as he walked over to the otherside of the table he took the moment to look her over.
This woman seemed perfectly at ease and calm, sitting back in her chair, slightly slouched to show she was comfortable whereas people before her have been literally on the edge of said seat. Her eyes calmly watched him move about, looking him over as if studying him. Both hands lay on the table, fingertips gently tapping along one another in a simple beat that spoke of a bored habit rather than nerves. Moving his chair back he silently sat down and watched her. Usually he would sit in his chair backwards and fold his arms over the back of it but he had a feeling no matter what he did she wouldn't break so easily.
'This one will be a challenge,' he thought to himself with a smirk. "Your name is Hidama and you're from Ishi no Kuni. Correct?" he asked.
"Hai," she said simply.
"You came here to discuss business with the Godaime, Tsunade. What kind of business?"
"Personal." Her tone alone warned him not to stray too far into the subject so he backed off--for now.
"After your meeting with her you caused property damage and severely injured a shinobi of Konoha. Explain your actions."
"You're speaking of the old man known as Jiraiya, correct?" she asked him. He nodded and she sighed, her breasts straining agisnt the bands around her chest and her fingers stilled. "I had gotten drunk and let down my guard. He saw in me a way to get an easy lay and took me to a hotel room. When it finally registered what he was after I attacked him. He's lucky I didn't kill him on the spot."
"You've been approached before." It was more of a statement than a question but she nodded.
"A few times as I was growing up. I refuse to become a one-night stand for pathetic and weak-willed men who let their lives be ruled by their dicks," she said coldly.
"… You said he was lucky you didn't kill him on the spot. Why? Was it because of the amount of alcohol you drank or that you would get in trouble for attacking one of our own?"
"Little of both but mostly due to the fact that I made a promise to never kill unless it was absolutely necessary. Life, is precious and must be enjoyed each moment we live."
Ibiki nodded and even know he knew more than she let on she was still a closed book to him. She was purposely telling him only what she wanted him to know and nothing more. Even her actions were well guarded. He closed his eyes, resisting the urge to glance at the genjutsu hidden in the wall wall where he knew the elders and hokage were watching.
Tsunade was worriedly chewing on her lower lip, nails creating crescent shaped marks in her palms as she watched and listened. Ibiki was good but Hidama was better. She was worried though and part of her wondered if she just told the damn elders what they wanted to know, would they let her go?
Hidama noticed the briefest of movement from his eyelids, her eyes twitching but held it back. So they were being watched. Clever but not clever enough. She would just have to watch her step around this one. "Ishi is a lot like Konoha," she stated out of the blue.
He opened his eyes to look up at her, a hint of confusion behind the dark depths. "Excuse me?"
"Our villages. We're both warriors and we would do anything to ensure the safety of its people. But that's where the similarities end. Out of everyone I've meet in the entire village… I can only think of two people worthy of saving while the rest should be destroyed."
"Nani?" Now this was a shocked and Ibiki wasn't quick enough to hide it. In the hidden room everyone was shocked save for the represenatives from Land of Stone. "How can you say something for a village you know nothing about?" the torture expert demanded, pride swallowing his reasoning.
"I said of the people I've meet and so far I'm only meet seven people of Konoha blood. But I'm being shallow and callous." Bowing her head slightly she reached up and rubbed her thumb over the front of the locket, looking at him with calm blue eyes. "I want your council to know I don't like being made a fool of, and if they wanted to ask me something they could have very well asked me to my face instead of sneaking around like rats."
He tried to remain calm but he felt like he was vainly trying to hold water in a broken bowl. "What are you implying?" The look she gave him was bad enough to curdle milk. Slowly she stood, walking towards the wall she placed her hand flat against it.
"May Kaosu-sama forgive me for this but I've always hated when people have resorted to tricks just to ask for something." Closing her eyes briefly she brought her hand back but then slammed it into the wall. While it looked like nothing the interrorgator could feel power--almost like chakra--flowing from her and into the wall. The genjutsu shattered to reveal a large mirror but cracks began to appear, large pieces falling to the ground. Behind the glass was a window leading into a room just next door and the astonished faces of the two elders, the hokage and her assistant, as well as the two represenatives from Ishi.
"Ask your question and I'll give you my answer."
"Very well then." Standing up he slowly approached her and stopped a few feet away, refusing to back down from this highly determined woman. "What is your business to Tsunade-sama?" For a brief moment, he saw something in her eyes that made him want to push her for the answer. "Answer me."
"You don't deserve the right to know something so personal a level," she growled out to him, her hands tightening into tight fists. "This matter is between the two of us and us alone."
"Why did those men openly attack us the day after your attack on Jiraiya-sama?"
"Wouldn't you do the same if your sibling was kept against their will?"
"That gave them just cause to invade and attack us?"
"If you call six people an invasion and two of them are priests!"
"Why did you demand to see Tsunade-sama?"
"I said it was a persoanl matter!"
"Why did she forbid you from leaving?"
"She was worried."
"Why?"
"I drank too much and I was sick. Alright?!"
"Why come to Konoha if your family resides in Ishi?"
"Because!"
"Because why?"
"Because I want to know why I was abandoned!!" The words were out of her mouth before she knew it and it was too late to take them back. She didn't have to look to know that everyone heard and for that moment, she felt a heavy stone of guilt settle right over her heart, making it hard to beat. Is this what people called a panic attack? Whatever it was it hurt, making her grab at her chest as she slid down the wall, eyes shut tightly agains the increasing pain. Her breathe was coming in short, breathless pants, tiny beads of sweat rolling down her skin, body trembling. Kaosu and Kayura were already in the room, trying to get her to calm down but nothing was working.
"What's going on?!" Tsunade demanded as she climb in through the window, trying to pry Hidama's hand off her chest. When those icy blue eyes opened up all she could see was typhoon of anxiety, fear, guilt, anger, and sorrow. She felt blood fill her mouth and was aware of Ibiki catching her as she stumbled backwards from the sudden palm strike hitting directly under her chin.
"Restrain her!!" one of the elders commanded by as the door opened and the ANBU black opt began to fill the room they were held back by a extremly irrate Kayura who now weilded two incredibly long sais with gold and red tassles.
"Touch her and she will not hesitate to kill you all," she warned.
"There will be no more questions today," Kaosu said simply as he stood, holding the shaking woman's arm around his shoulders as he helped her to stand. "Kayura, gather the others once you are done here."
She nodded birefly, holding her guard up against the men before them. "Of course, ojiisan." Lifting his staff overhead he slammed it into the ground, the rings chimming loudly a bright light filled the room but when it was gone, both the old man and young woman were gone. Satisfied Kayura whirled as the two elders and snarled angrily like a wet cat.
"Satisfied?! If this is how Konoha treats potential alias I would hate to see how you would treat your enemies! You are all a bunch of fools!" Spinning on her heel she marched out of the room, her aura scaring even the strongest of men to get out of her path but Kakashi was either braver, or more foolish as he grabbed a hold of her arm.
"What happened? Where's Hidama?"
"She's having a panic attack and unless we can get her to calm down she'll go into cardiac arrest."
"Nani??" Rage filled his heart, wanting nothing more than to beat the living hell out of the two idiots who called htemselves elders but held himself back by sheer will. "What can I do to help?"
"Find Shada." Pulling away she left in a fast sprint, hoping to locate the others before the situation got worse. The Copy Nin wasted no time and vanished along with the three dogs. Tsunade had heard it all and glared angrily at the two elders with such defiance she had the smallest bit of satisfaction of seeing htem actually flinch from her stare.
"I'll deal with you two later," she said so coldly the two elders wondered is death would be an easy way out. Turning to Ibiki she frowned but he was just doing his job. "Don't you dare make a report about it or I'll make the rest of your existance a living nightmare," she threaten and leveled the same glare upon everyone else. "All of you! Not a single word is to be mentioned outside of this room or you will answer to me. Is that clear?"
"Hai, godaime-sama!"
"Good. Shizune, let's go."
"H-Hai!" She quickly followed after her, already putting all the information she had heard into sense but even she knew better than to say or ask anything.
Author's Notes: Hidama isn't as strong as people may have thought but who wants to read about someone who's perfect inside and out? I think this story has 2 more chapters to go and then it's done. And believe me, I came so close to ending it at Ibiki's question but I just pushed ahead. Several people will find out Tsunade's connection with Hidama and someone will face the hokage's wrath next chapter. For more information about cardiac arrest and panic attacks go to Wikipedia online. Its one of the best encyclopedias online.
breast band – in anime/manga you typically see females with wrapping around their chests. Similar to bandages it's made of a stiffer material and when tied securely around the torso helps support the breasts. Think of them as the first bra before those dreaded corsets came to be.