Chapter 9
Punishment and Resolve
Omoikiru stepped back from where Kakashi was gasping for air. He stared down at the beaten and broken body strapped into the stone chair with something close to disappointment. The boy was infuriating at the best of times, and this punishment was most definitely not the best of times. A good portion of the young man's body was now riddled with wounds...but no matter what he did to Kakashi, the foolish child refused to see anything wrong with the fact he'd killed one of the Family.
The rage the Family expressed when Kakashi dispatched their newest member was not easily quelled, and Omoikiru had been hard-pressed to contain his own anger when it was time to hand out the boy's punishment. But he managed to control the strong emotions...otherwise he doubted Kakashi would still be breathing at all.
Omoikiru ran his fingers through his sweat-soaked hair and frowned in contemplation. Part of him was furious at the young man's actions...but another part was filled with amazement at the fact that Kakashi had been able to hide his true intentions from the Family...from him...until it was too late. No one had ever been able to do that before. This ability of Kakashi's...to mask his actions at such a level...would definitely come in handy amidst the more devious members of the Conclave, but it was also something that would make it impossible to know just where the man's loyalties lay.
A pained groan from the direction of the chair drew Omoikiru's attention back to the silver-haired man. After several tries, Kakashi managed to pry his visible eye open to stare back at him with a look of utter hatred. Omoikiru sighed before moving forward and taking Kakashi's chin in his hand.
"Why are you finding this so difficult to understand, hmm?"
There was no reply. Omoikiru leaned in and whispered in Kakashi's ear. "There is nothing you can do to keep yourself from your fate. All you are doing is delaying the inevitable."
A low growl came from Kakashi as his only response. Omoikiru felt his anger grow once more, and he leaned back from the young man before backhanding Kakashi...the sound of skin on skin echoing throughout the Initiation Room. Omoikiru released another large sigh before he squatted in front of his reluctant heir...leaning his hands on top of Kakashi's thighs as he spoke.
"Tell me Kakashi...do you feel any remorse for killing the man at all?"
He felt the boy's muscles tense at his words. "The only remorse I feel...is over the fact...that I couldn't kill him...before you twisted his mind."
Omoikiru's fingers dug into Kakashi's legs, pulling a pained groan from the young man's lips. "Twisted his mind? How dare you! I opened the poor bastard's mind to the infinite possibilities of the Family! I laid the groundwork for the man to throw off the chains of servitude, and become part of something so much greater!"
He reigned in his anger and pushed himself up to stand once more. Omoikiru stared at the hand Kakashi had used to end Raido's life...his fingers still covered with the dried blood. "Answer me this, Kakashi Hatake...if you were given the opportunity, would you use your fist of lightning against even me?"
A harsh laugh left Kakashi's lips, and the young man glared at him steadily. "Without hesitation."
Omoikiru shook his head at the stubbornness being displayed. "Then I will need to remove that temptation...at least temporarily...so that you can more fully concentrate on learning your role as Heir."
That said, Omoikiru narrowed his eyes and drew in a deep breath before locking a stern gaze on the silver-haired man. "Remember, boy...you brought this on yourself."
He watched Kakashi's eye widen in something just shy of fear as Omoikiru swiftly slammed the heel of his hand against Kakashi's secured right arm. He honestly wasn't sure which was louder...the crisp snap of the lower arm's bones, or the surprised cry of agony that was pulled from Kakashi's mouth.
Omoikiru took a moment to measure the man's reaction to his punishment and frowned at the continued look of pure hatred staring back at him. Kakashi was straining against the thick straps that held him in place as though he thought he could actually escape. But it was when Omoikiru noticed the first tell-tale sparks of electricity across the fingertips of the boy's left hand that he knew the lesson wasn't quite learned yet.
Without another thought, Omoikiru repeated the process...this time on the left arm...effectively disrupting the anemic build up of power in that hand. When it was over, Kakashi's breath was coming hard and fast, and Omoikiru stood shaking his head at the fool.
"I can see you are not one to learn quickly...even though I know you have been touted as a genius since before you could walk."
Omoikiru could feel the intense pain mixed with rage as it rolled off of the silver-haired man. But the intense stare on Kakashi's face showed only a fraction of it...rather, his eye held a cold, calculating edge that made Omoikiru curious as to what was running through his mind. But, for whatever reason, he wasn't able to glean so much as a hint of what lay beneath those surface emotions.
Kakashi spat out his reply. "I'll kill you, you bastard!"
A light chuckle left Omoikiru's lips. "I've known that since the very first time I saw you, Kakashi. After all, it's how I knew you were destined to take my place. But that is still quite far away, and you have much to learn before you will even be able to try."
Kakashi's eye narrowed. "Don't count on it."
Omoikiru sighed at the boy's stubbornness. "No matter what you think, Kakashi, your path is already laid out for you. But regardless, we will need to accelerate your reeducation if there is to be any chance of you surviving your first session with the Conclave."
Omoikiru turned away from Kakashi and walked over to where Jaken had wordlessly laid out the items he needed to allow them to move forward. He picked up a bulky metal disk which encased the workings of one of the bulkier versions of a chakra siphon and flipped it over until the activation switch came into view. With the flip of a switch, the device let off a low hum and was primed for use. All he needed to do was set it in place to trigger the final stage of its activation.
Normally, he wouldn't even consider this older version of the device for the silver-haired shinobi, but with the man's superior dexterity removed from the equation, this bulkier version would serve its purpose rather well. Besides...the man would no longer be allowed the luxury of privacy. Omoikiru had no more time to waste dealing with Kakashi's urges to escape. From here on out, one of his four Sash-bearers would be required to stay near Kakashi...there would be no more leniency shown to the boy...only immediate punishment when he failed to perform to Omoikiru's expectations.
He turned back toward Kakashi and was pleased to see Jaken waiting to remove the defective suppressor that still circled the younger man's pale neck. He glanced down toward Kakashi's arms and noted the telltale bruising and swelling that marked where the shinobi's bones were no longer whole. Anyone else who had their arms broken would have been hard-pressed to stay conscious...but yet again Kakashi was showing his potential as he struggled to form hand signs the moment Jaken removed the suppression collar.
Omoikiru sighed and thrust the bulky metal suppressor against Kakashi's abdomen. "That's enough of that, child."
... ...
Kakashi had a newfound respect for Naruto's resilience. After all, the knucklehead had been forced to wear one of these contraptions the last time they were here in the Land of Snow, and he now knew from firsthand experience just how painful it was.
He'd been expecting the device to suppress his chakra...much as the collar had done. So he was taken by complete surprise when a surge of something so much more than electricity coursed through his body at the same time that four metal armatures snaked out of the device to firmly plant themselves into his abdomen. The pain alone had been excruciating, but that paled in comparison to the feeling of his chakra being pulled away from his body to be deposited into the device now firmly attached to his stomach.
To add insult to injury...when his entire body tensed from the immense energy of the device, Kakashi's broken bones shifted within his arms sending wave after wave of agony through him. Now he was unable to do more than twitch as the straps confining him to the stone chair were finally released. He barely registered the fact he was being pulled up and into the waiting arms of Jaken, or that he was being carried out of the Initiation Room.
His body was drenched in sweat by the time he was finally laid on the bed in his cell, and he groaned in pain when his broken arms were covered by one of the thick fur blankets. Omoikiru's voice pierced through the veil of pain, even as the man gently repositioned Kakashi's arms to rest on top of the fur.
"Tomorrow we will start again, child. And this time...you will give me your full attention. Anything less will be punished swiftly and without question." This was emphasized by Omoikiru squeezing one of Kakashi's arms until a cry of pain escaped from his lips. "I trust I'm clear this time around?"
With that, Omoikiru left Kakashi alone. Well, not quite alone...as Jaken moved closer to the bed and stood watching over him, one hand resting on his tanto as though daring Kakashi to try something. Of course, at the moment there really wasn't much he could do. His chakra was completely unaccessible, but even if it was...his arms were nearly useless. To top it all off, his sharingan eye had yet to stop throbbing and he feared the combination of all of this would soon drive him quite mad.
So the only thing he could do at the moment was try to push his pain far from his mind and do his best to rest and recover from his day of punishment. With any luck at all, something would present itself over the course of the next few days that he might be able to use to his advantage. Until then, he would need to play the role of the obedient student. That should give his body time to heal...at least a bit...and he might just manage to learn something he could use against Omoikiru and his twisted family in the meantime.
... ...
Jiraiya was beginning to worry. It had been far too long since he'd entered Sage-mode and he still had yet to pick up so much as a hint of the kid's essence. His brows furrowed and his lips pulled into a frown. It was starting to look like perhaps Kakashi's luck had finally run out. After all...if Jiraiya wasn't able to find a single trace by now...it was very likely it was because the foolish kid managed to get himself killed.
Jiraiya's heart clenched painfully at that thought. He recalled the many times others had given up on the kid...figuring he'd been done in by one mission or another...and how, time after time, Kakashi had proven them wrong. Jiraiya had lost count of the number of times Kakashi had staggered back through the gates of Konoha...bloodied and broken and so close to Death's door that even Tsunade had mentioned she was surprised the kid survived.
Kakashi was just like Sakumo Hatake in that regard. The elder Hatake had also been blessed with the ability to survive the worst of the worst...and when it came down to it, Sakumo's death was only successful because it had been a result of his own hand. Jiraiya felt his eyes watering at the thought of Sakumo's death. He hadn't been in Konoha when it had happened...and Jiraiya always wondered if Sakumo would still be alive if only he hadn't been off researching.
Jiraiya remembered coming home from that particular trip. He'd been so happy with the quality of the research that he'd rushed straight over to the Hatake Compound to share his stories of good fortune with Sakumo over a bottle or two of premium saké. What he'd found there left him confused.
The main house was boarded up, and the gardens where the family shrine sat was overgrown with weeds. Jiraiya had forced his way into the main house determined to find answers, and when he came across the blood-stained flooring in the family dojo he knew something horrible must have happened. The stains weren't fresh...and it was with a heavy heart that he realized the sheer volume of blood needed to soak the wood such a dark shade of red.
Jiraiya's thoughts had turned toward Kakashi in that moment. Was the boy safe? Did any of his nephew's blood contribute to the stains coloring the floor? Just what the hell had happened while he was away?
A noise just behind him had Jiraiya spinning around with a kunai gripped firmly in his hand, ready to dispatch whoever was about to attack him. He pulled up short at the sight of his one-time student.
"Jiraiya-sensei. You're back."
Jiraiya put his kunai away and found himself staring back at the young man, taking in how tired he looked. "Minato...what happened here? Where are Sakumo and Kakashi?"
The blond-haired jonin sighed and lowered his head. "About that, Sensei..."
Jiraiya had frowned at Minato. In all the time he'd known the boy, he had never seen him at a loss for words. "Minato Namikaze...report!"
He saw Minato's shoulders tense at his command, but the young jonin stood at attention and then proceeded to detail precisely what had occurred in the ten months since he'd left Konoha. At the end of it all, Jiraiya felt as though his heart had been ripped in two. His brother was gone...without so much as a carving on the Memorial Stone to remember him by.
"What about the kid, Minato? Is he handling it okay?"
Another deep sigh...and now Jiraiya saw an exasperated expression settle on the younger man's face. "Come and see for yourself, Sensei. Maybe you can help me keep him from killing himself."
Jiraiya's heart nearly stopped. "He's tried to kill himself?"
Minato's eyes widened. "No! Oh, Sensei...I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that! It's just that Kakashi refuses to do anything but work and train since he was released from the Hospital after the incident."
Jiraiya let out a burst of air along with the horrible thoughts that had crowded his mind. "Don't do that to an old man, Minato!"
Minato had blushed and scratched at the back of his head. "Sorry about that."
Later that night Jiraiya had paid Kakashi a visit only to find the boy in the middle of his small apartment studying one of a hundred scrolls scattered about. What made him remember it...even today...was the fact the kid had been sitting cross-legged...on the ceiling!
"Wouldn't it be easier to just clean a spot down here to do your reading, Kakashi?"
The young silver-haired boy looked away from his scroll and blinked his large dark eyes as though trying to clear his vision from seeing a ghost. It was then that Jiraiya saw a flash of pained sadness cover the boy's face before it vanished to be replaced with a half-lidded look of indifference.
"Why bother?"
With that said, the kid went back to his reading...leaving Jiraiya to stand in the doorway with his arms crossed. After fifteen minutes went by Jiraiya had finally had enough. "Get down here, Brat!"
Kakashi glared at him from eyes that showed he probably hadn't had a good night's sleep in months. "Why?"
"Because I said so! Now get down here..."
Kakashi turned his attention back to his scroll. "No. This is my apartment and you don't have the right to boss me around in here."
Jiraiya had stared back at the insolent brat for a handful of heartbeats before letting out a sharp laugh. "You're just like your father, Brat."
Kakashi's hands tightened on the scroll...crumpling its edges before the boy released his chakra and fell from the ceiling...flipping to land gracefully on his feet as though it was a completely natural movement for him. "Take it back!"
Jiraiya stared down at the much shorter boy. "Take what back?"
Kakashi's face...well what could be seen of it...turned almost scarlet with anger. "I'm nothing like that man! Take...it...back!"
It had been the first time Jiraiya could ever remember seeing Kakashi show anything close to emotion...and it had thrown him for a moment. But an instant later, the boy had moved across the room and started to use his tiny little fists to pound on Jiraiya's thighs...being unable to reach any higher. The litany from the child's masked lips clutched at Jiraiya's heart.
"Take it back! Take it back!"
Jiraiya had lowered himself to a squat and pulled the boy into his arms in a tight hug. At first...Kakashi had struggled against it...trying to squirm free or even to use hand signs to escape...but Jiraiya kept the boy pinned securely to his chest, refusing to let him loose no matter how much he tried to break free. He lowered his chin onto the boy's head and whispered to the distraught child.
"I won't take it back, Kakashi...but I won't say it again tonight...okay?"
Kakashi continued to struggle for a few more minutes before a large shudder racked the boy's body and he sagged into Jiraiya's grip. Although Kakashi had never shed a tear...the two of them spent the rest of the evening sitting silently on the floor of the kid's apartment, with Jiraiya just holding him until he finally fell asleep. Jiraiya gently lifted the boy into his arms and carefully placed him into the bed that took up the majority of the small room. He let a small chuckle out when he noticed the shuriken comforter he'd given Kakashi for his last birthday was covering his tiny body. He tucked his nephew in and quietly left the apartment, hoping the boy would be strong enough to survive this travesty.
Jiraiya shook himself from his memories with a renewed belief that there was no way the kid had given up on life yet...not after he had managed to survive the glares and whispers of the Village idiots who kept trying to compare him to his father...or the many missions where he'd succeeded when no one else would have been able to. No! Jiraiya refused to believe Kakashi Hatake wasn't still alive...somewhere. And there was no way in hell that Jiraiya would give up on the boy now!
His mind refocused...Jiraiya readied himself to set out once more, studying the piles of snow for any sign of his nephew's passing. Minutes stretched into hours, and soon Jiraiya was beginning to doubt himself again...until he caught a flash of crimson amidst the blinding white. At first, he feared it was blood...but he pushed that thought aside as ridiculous when he started to notice a pattern to the streaks of red. Jiraiya pushed himself a bit faster until he was kneeling next to where he'd spied the color. He pushed aside a bit of snow until he saw the crisp edges of a porcelain mask and the unforgettable visage of the ANBU Wolf staring back at him...Kakashi's mask!
Jiraiya frowned when the obvious occurred to him...whoever had Kakashi had deliberately placed the mask here. The question was whether his unknown benefactor was friend or foe. But he knew one thing for certain...whoever it was definitely knew something about Kakashi's whereabouts...or they never would have gotten a hold of the ANBU's mask. And that meant Jiraiya really didn't have a choice...he had to step into the unknown...for Kakashi's sake.
Jiraiya carefully lifted the mask off the cold ground and moved to place it in his pouch when he noticed a piece of parchment stuck to its inside. He flipped the mask over and pulled the parchment loose, taking a moment to glance around him to try and sense if anyone was watching him. Once he was sure he was indeed alone, he unfolded the parchment to reveal what appeared to be a crudely drawn map.
The starting point on the map was depicted by a small drawing of Kakashi's mask and it showed a a definite path leading quite a distance before ending at what he thought might be one of the cliff walls in the far distance. What was a bit confusing to him was the fact the symbol that he assumed represented Kakashi was located on the other side of that cliff. He frowned and wondered if this was perhaps just an elaborate trap. He was one of the Legendary Sannin, after all...and he knew he had quite the price on his head.
Jiraiya held Kakashi's mask up until the vacant eye holes were even with his own. "What do you think, Kid? Is it a trap? Or have you just worn your welcome out and they're anxious to have your Uncle drag your sorry ass out of there, hmm?"
The cold porcelain failed to provide him any answers. Still...Jiraiya somehow felt closer to Kakashi than he had in quite some time. He placed the mask in his pouch and readied himself for whatever was to come. If everything worked smoothly, he hoped to have Kakashi back in Konoha long before Naruto even realized he was gone. Of course, when Kakashi was involved...things seldom ran smoothly.
Jiraiya smiled and clapped his hands together. "Right! Let's get this show in the road. Hang in there, Brat...I'm on my way!"
