I want to say thank you to those who have decided to stick with me through this. I know this chapter has taken me a long time to post, but I'm highly grateful for your patience. So to make things a little clearer, at this point in the story things will be somewhat canon but not at the same time… Haha a few changes here and there to help fit the way I'm wanting the story to go… As for this chapter specifically, I originally planned on having Kakashi and Sakura interacting in some form, but as I thought more about it, I needed this to lay out the foundation :3 I really do love writing Tsunade xD
Past
Kakashi's mind raced endlessly through all the possibilities that would involve his former vengeful student. For what seemed like an eternity to him was really only a few seconds before a slight thump returned him to his current reality. Tsunade didn't even seem to notice the sound, but he knew who it was because of their scent. Nonetheless, he couldn't afford to waste any more time if the situation he thought most likely to involve Sasuke was in fact true.
"Tell me it's not what I'm thinking."
The blonde's head and shoulders jolted back slightly as she laughed, well snorted really.
"If what you're thinking is that there's a bounty to either take Sasuke into custody, or….."
For a moment her honey eyes glazed over with an empathy seldom shared with anyone before changing back to their usual unwavering sheet of steel.
The sight alone was enough to make Kakashi's hands tighten. The one he actually had out and not in his pocket, pressed itself into the arm of his chair.
This of course wasn't missed by the Slug princess, which caused her to rethink the way she wanted to approach the matter. Yet, as the man before her said "Or" his tone and eye portraying an unwavering steel far greater than her own….She knew better than to try sugar coating anything.
"Or his life Kakashi, and I would be lying if I said more people are hoping for us to take him in."
For a moment the two were silent. Leaving a set of red nailed fingers to draw towards the bottle hidden within her newly installed secret cabinet. Moments like this were never easy to deal with so a good drink would help put her nerves at ease, but as her fingers went to grasp the neck of the bottle, they swiped through hollow space instead. 'Shizune... you bitch!'
During the blonde's dilemma, Kakashi's mind once more went into overdrive. 'Is there a way to get around it? No…. Maybe we could convince him to come home? No, not only has he killed Orochimaru, but he's succeeded in killing Itachi, he would have already came home if he wasn't planning something else. What else is he planning…? There's nothing I know that would be keeping him from coming back….So what piece of the puzzle am I missing? What do we do about Naruto? No, the better question is how do we handle Naruto? I know he won't give up, so has his training been enough? Is he ready? And Sakura…she's going to take this the wor— fuck! I can't sense her anymore…Shit…Kakashi you idiot….shit shit sh—'
Once more a sound disrupted his thoughts, more specifically the clearing of Tsunade's throat, bringing his attention back to her.
"Before you go too deep into your thoughts, though I'm sure you have already…." She gave him a pointed look to which he could only smile half-heartedly to, "there is a lot more we have to discuss."
Considering the magnitude of having any news regarding Sasuke meant that whatever else Tsunade needed to tell him was very important, and most definitely something he wouldn't like. His eyes felt heavy as if he just overused his Sharingan, so he lifted his hitai-ate and began rubbing them with the heal of his palm and fingers. It did little to ease the pressure.
"Well…what is it?"
"Before I awoke from my coma, The Raikage called for a Five Kage summit. Part of what's going to be discussed is what to do about Sasuke exactly." She gave him a moment to respond but didn't see any signs of him giving her more of an reaction than he already did so she went on. "The Raikage specifically wants him dead since Killer B was captured by him for the Akatsuki. As for the other, as you know the Akatsuki has become a major threat, not that they weren't before, and with the amount of destruction caused by Pain…..Well I'm sure you know where I'm going with this..."
Seeing that rubbing his eyes wasn't really getting him anywhere he sighed while replacing his headband, returning his full attention back to Tsunade.
"Everyone now seems them as a threat."
"Exactly, now here is where I need your undivided attention. I'm not going to the summit, but letting Danzo go in my steed under the pretenses of me needing more time to recover. He thinks he's playing me for a fool and I'm betting on a losing hand, but he doesn't know what's coming."
"What do you mean, and what do we do about Sasuke? You know the moment Naruto catches wind of what's going on he'll set off looking for him."
"I have a plan, don't worry. Which is why none of what I'm about to tell you leaves this room Kakashi, and as soon as we finish here you are to immediately start your mission. Got it."
"Understood." 'Though I may have to make a short detour before leaving.'
"Firstly, I plan on using this moment to get my hands on anything I can in order to finally unmask Danzo. No more underground nonsense, no more working in the dark because it's the ninja way bull-shit. If there's one thing I've learned from this generation it's that working in the light can be just as successful as trying to do everything in the shadows. Sai is going to be helping me with most of it since, luckily for me, Danzo decided he didn't need to bring his "protégé" with him, and we have found a way to temporarily break his sea—"
"That's great and all but what abo—"
"Do not interrupt me Hatake, I was just getting to that part. But since you're being an impatient ass I'll skip the less important details."
"…." He wanted to say that he wasn't being impatient, rather focused on more pressing matters, but knew better than to act more like Naruto, at least more like him in Tsunade's eyes.
"So from what we have recently learned it's safe to say that Sasuke plans on destroying the council, Danzo, and….possibly Konoha itself. I'm certain that he'll go after Danzo first though, which is another reason I chose to let him go instead of me. Konoha has had enough harm done to it, and we've already learned the amount of damage one man can cause. I could tell you why I know what Sasuke is planning, but I think it would be better for you to read it yourself."
She turned slightly in her chair, and went through some hand signs. After finishing undoing the seal for the drawer, which held all of the Hokage's upmost secret scrolls, she fished out the one she wanted, redid the seal, and tossed the scroll to Kakashi. He immediately set on reading it, his eye widening more and more the further he read.
"Where did, how….?"
"It would seem that the Third also liked to hide his secret stash from people. I…I think he knew he wasn't going to survive his fight with Orochimaru and hid it there somehow knowing I would end up being the next Hokage. I think he was hoping we could set things right, but we found it too late. Hell the only reason it was even found was because Shizune was looking for my new liquor stash and came across the Third's instead. She had just found it only a few hours before Pain's attack. I've only recently had the time to read through it myself."
"So it's true, you know for a fact that this is true?"
"I had Shizune remove the Third's signature and emblem as soon as I finished reading it. I didn't want to chance anything in case Danzo found out. Without there being substantial evidence of it being something other than a crazy person's writings…..well he won't see it as a threat."
He nodded his head in understanding before asking his next question. "What's the plan then?"
"I want you to take Naruto, along with Yamato, to the summit. Try your best to reach the Raikage before the meeting, if anyone can change a person's mind about something it would be Naruto. Secondly do not tell Naruto that Sasuke might be there. I know he has been training a lot, but I can't chance him not coming back."
"What about Sakura?" 'I'm sure she's overheard enough to get an idea of what this is about already... I'll have to find her afterwards. I know she'll want to go, but even though she has a good head on her shoulders…I have a gut feeling she'll do something reckless.'
"You can't tell her anything…..she's too smart to fall for it just being a mission to persuade someone. She'll figure it out and when that happens….well I'm afraid of what she'll do."
'You and me both, I should have said something the moment I noticed her eavesdropping….I only hope I can convince her that everything will be ok. Naruto may be rash but he's not a...well a girl...no woman would be better considering her developm— dammit Kakashi now's not the time to be thinking about that! The point is she's heartbroken and in love and…. just fuck I'm screwed because it never goes well for me when it comes to these things.'
"On another note, I want you to tell Naruto the truth about what happened that night. He needs to understand what's about to come if things aren't dealt with soon."
'I wonder what's going to be harder, talking Sakura down from whatever crazy thoughts are running through her head or trying to get Naruto to understand what exactly happened the night Itachi became a rogue-nin..? Naruto… definitely. Sometimes it's super easy to teach him and other times it feels like I'm trying to shove a rock through his skull. Fun times Kakashi fun times….'
"Believe it or not I agree, I'll do my best to talk to him while it's just me and him…..and I have enough time to probably explain. Is that everything?"
"I think so, now go and get out of my sight. I need to go buy some more booze." 'Fucking whore took it all.'
"Hai-hai. One quick question though."
"Get out with it then Hatake, I don't have all day."
"What makes you think Danzo isn't going to try and turn everything in his direction?"
The smile that made its way across her face was rather cunning, Tsunade could be quite crafty when she felt the need to be. Kakashi knew this especially since he was often on the receiving end of her clever ideas. Of course he never failed to get her back in some form. After all he did have a knack for tomfoolery.
"Oh its exactly what I'm hoping for, he may be able to fool this council into going against almost everything I do, but I'm damn well sure that his tricks won't fool the rest of the four Kage's. One is bound to catch him in some sort of scheme. Meaning I'll have even more of a testimony against him when the time comes. Now get that gravity defying mop of an ass's head out that door before I do it myself, and I promise you it won't be pretty."
Kakashi swiftly stood up from his chair his hands automatically raising to the side of his head into a gesture which suggested he meant no harm, and had no other plans to delay her request. Tsunade found this rather odd for the man and narrowed her eyes at him, searching for any signs of his usual shenanigans.
"Alright, alright. Just wanted to see if I was right."
At the exact moment she witnessed the flicker of mischief in his eye she abruptly stood from her chair, her palms slamming the surface of her desk, and glared at him accusingly. "Don't you fuc—"
"Ja-ne."
Due to the size of her temporary office. Tsunade's lungs filled quickly with smoke, leaving her coughing and cursing spitefully at Kakashi for his choice of an exit.
The moment he was a safe distance away from the office, which definitely held a very angry snarling Lady Hokage, he summoned Pakkun to his side.
"Yo, what do ya need boss?"
Kakashi motioned towards his pug companion to follow him with the tilt of his head, setting forth towards his current destination once more. "I need you to find Sakura for me and keep an eye on her until I call you, I have to go and find Tenzo. Oh and if you feel like you need to… keep her company." He turned to face his long time friend, his eye crinkling as he smiled. "Think you can do that?"
The pug grunted, which really sounded more like an insulted scoff. "You know it won't be a problem, and shouldn't you be saying Yamato?"
Kakashi chuckled fully knowing what his friend preferred being called. It was just too much fun not to. Besides if he kept calling him sempai then it only seemed fair to call him Tenzo. "I think you're right but it's not really all that important. Besides I never seem to remember it. I shouldn't be too long though so you should probably get going yourself. Thanks Pakkun."
His furry friend shook his head knowingly before spinning around and trotting off with a smile. Turning his head to the side, he yelled back to his owner.
"No problem boss, see ya later." 'Never seem to remember my ass! Hey…maybe I could use that as blackmail to coax him into getting the pack some steaks…? Nah it needs to be something bigger than purposely screwing with Yamato's head… Oh well, something good enough will fall into my lap eventually. If not then I can just make a bet with him like I usually do.'
As always I would love to hear what you all think! Things you love or stuff you find annoying, or just random thoughts about the story thus far. Any questions you might have are more than welcomed as well :) I know its rather late, but I hope you all had a great time during the holidays!
Have I mentioned how much I love KakaSaku?
If I'm honest I think I may be a bit obsessed ^.^ but that's ok right? ;D