Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.
I know. I know. I've been extremely late in my updates. I can't blame any of you if you want to kill me, cut me to little bits, get the kyuubi to trample me or run me over with a truck. I was distracted with real life and sidetracked by my other stories. So I hope you can forgive me.
There will be scenes of violence, revenge and blood. I also decided to include a few points of view from some of our 'villians' just to put both perspectives. The herbs and plants mentioned in the first paragraph are purely fictional. I made it up and if they really do exist, it was by coincidence.
Without further ado, here's the eighth chapter of I'll Be Your Daddy If You'll Be My Little Shinobi. Enjoy!
Chapter 8 - Clues To The Clueless
There were times that Kakashi wished he was a dog like one of his Ninken. If he was, he could probably track down the ones who kidnapped Naruto within minutes. Not that it would help much in this situation. The rain already washed away their trails and scents, leaving him as frustrated when he first started. And even if there was no rain, they managed to cleverly hid their scent with yellowmoss and crushed sunroots, a highly unbearable odor to dogs, which Pakkun disgruntlingly had confirmed through his sneezing.
Left with little to do, Kakashi began mentally ticking off each of the clues that they found. The drying puddle of blood near Naruto's crib. He had already validated that the blood belonged to Iruka when he first saw the Genin in his state. And judging from its colour, it was three, maybe four hours old. The same time when he had came back. So, he deduced that the kidnappers weren't expecting that he would be back so early. Then again, who did?
The second clue was the fleck of mud and grass of a footprint on the window still. Someone was probably careless, too anxious to get Naruto to care for the inattentive mark left behind.
The third clue was found near the puddle of blood, just treading between the carpet and the wooden panels. To the untrained eye, it was the same footprint as the one on the window still. But it wasn't. Asuma pointed out that the heel of the second print was slightly more aciculate than the first one.
With these three clues, Kakashi managed to deduce a few things. Firstly, there was a party of two or more involved in this. Secondly, from the position of the blood, Iruka had turned and saw them without meaning to. Before he could react, at least one of the attackers got him from behind. Thirdly, they were in a drizzling, grassy area before they came here. Lastly, his adversaries were good, very good. They were cunning enough to only miss three clues, two of which were barely distinguishable and very open-ended.
The opposers could be anywhere as long as there was mud and grass. Which was almost everywhere. The parks. The grasslands and forests surrounding Konoha. Someone's backyard. An accidental spill of dirt from a garden plant.
So what was he missing? Asuma had been scanning the perimeter of the apartment for a while now. He himself combed through every corner, down to the last speck of dust in his home, that was once warm and safe to him, seemed nothing but cold and threatening.
" Any luck?" Asuma came from the window, shaking water from his shaggy hair. Droplets flew like crystals in the air.
" Nothing." The very word made it seem like he had admit defeat and this whole search was fruitless and wasted. It was like he had given up on Naruto, leaving him to die alone in the middle of nowhere. He gritted his teeth, refusing to say that he had failed Yondaime, who entrusted him with so much.
" Maybe we're looking in the wrong places," Asuma suggested. " What about the training area that we found the ANBU at?"
" No, it would be too simple. A good ANBU would never leave obvious clues like that." But they did leave three. Kakashi glanced again at the footprints. They could belong anyone. Mud and grass ... where could it be? ... both were different sizes, two different shoes ... mud and grass ... someplace wet and lush ... somewhere where no one would know ... somewhere that wouldn't seem so evident ...
" If I was one of them," he said slowly. " I would go somewhere undetectable. Somewhere uncharted and where it would be hard for the other shinobi and Hokage-sama to find and locate."
" But it has to be near Konoha and not too far away," Asuma continued, following Kakashi's lead. " I don't want to have an alibi for murder. I also used yellowmoss and crushed sunroots to hide my scent, showing that I am feaful. I'm afraid of being discovered by Hokage-sama and paying the retribution for violating Hokage-sama's command."
Excitement grew in Kakashi's voice as he spoke. " I want to be hidden. And no one would suspect me if I did go to that "someplace". I would want to be in a place where my tracks would be covered and if they do find me, I want to make Naruto's death seem accidental so they can't pin the blame on me ..."
It hit the two of them. It was so simple, that they skipped over it, which was so plain obvious that they wouldn't even think of that place first. It would be covered in mud, due to all the rain and it would certainly have grass. No one would suspect a few ANBU going there. They would just think they were on the Hokage's orders. Their tracks would be easily covered and it would be undetectable there. Naruto's death couldn't seem any more accidental there. Kakashi felt like laughing at the irony of its name.
The Forest Of Death.
- o - o - O - o - o -
Morino Ibiki was a man not to cross. He was ruthless to the point he was sadistic to those that oppose him. It was an urban Konoha legend that there wasn't one man or woman who didn't go insane or screaming maniacally after one of his interrogations, which was what Fujiwara Katsuro was going to find out.
" What were you doing at the training grounds?" Ibiki's voice was soft, not at all menacing but he could feel the underlying impendence humming from underneath its serene folds. Katsuro shrugged carelessly, though his heart beated faster. " You were given orders to guard Hatake Kakashi's apartment. What could be so urgent that an ANBU such as yourself, would disobey Hokage-sama? You know the rules. Disloyalty and disobedience to Hokage-sama is an intolerable thing in Konoha. Especially for the shinobi. And yet, you risk it. For what?"
Katsuro decided the safest answer was playing dumb. " I don't know what you're talking about," he evenly said.
" Don't play dumb with me," Ibiki hissed like a snake. The only thing missing was his forked tongue. " The two of us both know you were there. And we're going to have a little chat until you tell me why you were there. It could take a few minutes, maybe an hour. Maybe even days. But I will weasel it out of you even if I have to - oh, let's say, break more than just bones."
He would have retaliated with the little bravery he had left when a Jounin entered and intruded into the room. Though Katsuro could only see the back of Ibiki's head, he figured by the timidity and apprehension on the Jounin's face that the commanding officer of the Torture and Interrogation Force had a very murderous glower indeed, that his examination was interrupted. Hurriedly, the Jounin handed a sheet of paper to Ibiki, whispering urgently and casting an apathetic glare at Katsuro before leaving.
" So ..." Could there be anything more tormenting than that one word? " So, it seems that we found something rather ... interesting at the training grounds you were at." There was no emotion, no mercy, no persecution in those unwavering eyes. Katsuro hated it even more than his sadism. " Exactly what was the body of the ANBU who was with you, doing in the bottom of the river?"
His stony silence was the answer. Ibiki began walking around the table and Katsuro. Like how a cat might cruelly play with a mouse before swallowing it whole. " Why did you kill him?" When he didn't reply, he continued on, his voice growing more ruthless each passing second. " There is nothing more worse than taking the life of your own comrade. Scum like you don't deserve to live. But for every effect, there must be a cause. What could the kyuubi have done to prompt you into doing such a thing?" Ibiki smirked in satisfication at the slight flicker in Katsuro's eyes. " Maybe you lost a parent. Nothing new. Others have lost both and more. Perhaps a girlfriend? A wife? A lover? Or possibly a son or daughter?"
" It was my best friend," he snapped, finally goaded to speak. Anger spat out uncontrollably from each shaking word. " He didn't deserve to die."
" But the rest of his family is still here, aren't they?" Ibiki said carelessly, tossing out the tibit of a fact as if it was nothing. " If anything, it would be them who would have the right to blame the kyuubi and yet, they did not and you did."
" My friend wasn't the only person killed," Katsuro retorted, attempting to win the desperately losing battle. " That monster killed hundreds, maybe even thousands of others, not even from our village."
" And the people you killed?"
He swallowed with difficulty before spluttering out. " It killed innocents!"
Pitless black eyes bore into his. " The ANBU you killed tonight ... wouldn't he be considered an innocent?"
" It - it was a mistake," Katsuro choked out feebly. " An accident."
" Say that to the Genin who your little group put into a coma. Tell him that it was a 'mistake'. He's an innocent too, I believe."
There was no other defence that he was able to conjour up. No other argument to defend himself. The harsh, painful truth jabbed at him, biting his skin until he wanted to run hard and fast away from here, away from himself. It was true. He never considered his friend's family nor did he even bother to visit them except at his friend's funeral. He was too consumed with his own selfish desires, fighting and plotting to get to them. He thought back to the times he has neglected his own family in pursual of his revenge.
Ibiki was carefully inspecting the non-existing dirt in his fingernails. " I begin to grow weary waiting for you. I want answers now. Or do you need further persuasion?"
" I don't think that would be needed, Ibiki," a calm voice said upon his arrival. Katsuro turned ashen pale at the mere sound of the voice. The Sandaime coldly glanced at him, his very gaze ramming icicles down the Jounin's throat. If it was possible, Katsuro felt a hundred times more worse than he did when this interrogation began.
- o - o - O - o - o -
Nakagawa Ryou could be described as your average Jounin. He had a mother and a father and a younger brother. There were times he was caught getting in trouble during his Academy years and he had his fair share of crushes with the girls in his classes. He became a Genin at age twelve and after three years, he became a Chuunin. Before his twenty-first birthday, he had fully and successfully became a Jounin. He was married to the girl of his dreams and they were about to have a child soon when the kyuubi attacked.
The casualities were nothing to say but appalling. His mother and father were killed in an attempt to delay the beast until the Yondaime arrived, while his brother were unable to escape the devastating crevasses created from one swipe of the kyuubi's tails. More than half his friends were gone, their bodies lying lifelessly on the forest. However, there was one death that hit him harder than the rest.
His wife was injured from her escape to safety. She died at the hospital after delivering an early birth. And yet, the child was stillborn, causing his would-be father even more grief.
Ryou lost everything he had known and loved. His family. His friends. His home. His hatred for the kyuubi and then to the child who carried the kyuubi, bubbled up venomously, causing him to have no other thought except for vengeance. He began to discover others who were fueled by the same grudge. They lost their loved ones and were as restless as him. Their thoughts of bitterness brought them together and their plans for revenge were initiated.
There were talks of how the kyuubi's death should be done. Some wanted to torture the child mercilessly until it was dead. There were others who wanted to too, but didn't want to risk the wrath of the Sandaime and Kakashi. In the end, they came to a decision to kill the child quickly and swiftly so that its death would seem accidental. It angered many for it to die such a simple death but if they did more, the Hokage would know for sure.
They received information that Kakashi would be leaving with Asuma and Genma to a mission and Gai was off on his own. The Hokage, too busy to look after the child, sent two ANBU to keep an eye for any trouble and a Genin, Umino Iruka, was babysitting the child. However, Ryou wasn't concerned. One of the two ANBU were one of them and the Genin can be taken care of easily.
When the day finally came, Ryou was teeming with excitement and a sense of relieved peace. After today, he would be free from this revenge. Kakashi left early in the evening and with Fujiwara Katsuro to handle the other ANBU, the plan went smoothly. Almost everyone in the faction showed up to partake on the event, to witness the death of the kyuubi. One of them crept towards the unsuspecting Genin, who was too busy tucking the child to bed to hear the faint footsteps behind him. But before he could hypnotise the boy to sleep, Iruka turned around unexpectedly and saw them.
He was about to yell when Ryou immediately appeared behind the boy and stabbed him in the back. The boy's eyes widened in surprise and crumpled to the floor, his blood staining the carpet already.
" You fool. You were too careless," Ryou hissed. The man hung his head in shame but Ryou had other things to attend to. They can deal with the Genin later. For now, all their thoughts were occupied of the child who took everything from them.
It looked at them curiously, wondering if this was some new game. It giggled and stood up in its crib, babbling happily. Ryou and the others looked back in disgust. How dare that thing deserved to be content and adequate while the rest of them suffered. Ryou raised his hand, ready to snuff out the life in its eyes and their hatred and pain along with it.
Just then, there was a rattle of keys outside the door. Ryou cursed violently. Kakashi, that bastard, came back early. There was no time to finish the Genin or kill the child before being discovered. In a split second, he made his decision.
Kakashi opened the door, his eyes widened at the sight of Iruka lying on the ground in a pool of blood. He ran quickly to him, checking to see if he was still alive. Releasing his breath after feeling a feeble thump thump of a heart, Kakashi rushed over to the nearest window and peered into the night.
By then, they were all a safe distance away with the child struggling silently against Ryou's grip. The men were in a foul mood. Kakashi ruined their plans, everything. Ryou felt like the saying "Now what?" described their scenerio well. Kakashi remained standing by the window. For the briefest of seconds, his eye made contact with Ryou's.
It wasn't possible. There was no way that Kakashi could see them through all the rain and from this distance. After a while, Kakashi left to tend to the Genin. But Ryou couldn't shake off that piercing gaze.
When they returned back to their base, they discovered another part of their plan had failed. Katsuro had been spotted and seized near the training grounds, which will eventually lead to the Forest of Death. Many began to cower after hearing of his capture. He would spill all their secrets and now none of them would be safe. Some even dispersed, saying that they had nothing to do with this matter and that they didn't even know that they were really going kill the child. Cowards and traitors. Ryou hated nothing more than those kinds of people. They abandoned the memory of their loved ones in order to save themselves.
Now, there was just him and a scattered few who remained. They sat at the edge of the Forest of Death, deciding their next course of action. Should they continue with the plan? Or should they give up and hand themselves in, begging for the Hokage's mercy? Both choices only led to disaster for them.
Ryou frowned at the sudden, mystifying shiver running down his spine. His mother once told him that it was a sign that something bad was about to happen. He brushed it off indifferently; he wasn't one to be superstitious anyways.
But when Ryou felt cold steel tickling against his neck and an emotionless voice telling him not to move, he knew he should have listened to his mother.
