A/N: I would like to say a (smug) 'Nice try' to all of you who tried guessing what was missing! ;)

Chapter 11: Search

Eyes wild and flickering in distraught, Sakumo rustled through his belongings. He tried to delude himself that he'd only misplaced it, but he was never careless, and especially not so for something so important. "It's gone," Sakumo breathed, voice falling out from the depths of his stomach.

Jiraiya was thoroughly confused. "What is?"

The Hatake waved his hand dismissively, as if he never heard him in the first place. "It was here, I swear!"

"What was?" Jiraiya demanded hotly.

With a snap, the White Fang turned around, staring burningly at his friend. "My scroll," he hissed out, "My summoning scroll!"

For a second, the Toad Sage could do nothing but stare unbelievingly, before: "You lost your summoning scroll?" he repeated, disappointment stretching generously over every word.

Sakumo cringed at his tone. "I know, I know," he murmured.

"No you don't!" Jiraiya rebutted, just as quick, "A summoning scroll is a sacred thing. It's a sign of trust between us and our contracted, and you didn't even bother to make sure it was safe."

Most contracted ninjas didn't need to use a scroll in order to call out their summons. The contract itself was merely a written pact between the ninja and the summon; not the tool. Instead, only blood was needed, while the scroll itself was kept somewhere safe. For Jiraiya, that was on his person. For Sakumo, that was a heavily trapped vault inside his home.

"Didn't bother?" Sakumo repeated, suddenly enraged. "Do you know how secure I keep it? True, I don't keep the scroll on my body all the time like you do, but I keep it sealed so securely it would be impossible to obtain without raising an alarm," the father fumed out. Friend or not, it angered Sakumo Jiraiya could even suggest he cared so little about his allied summons. His dog summons were as much family as Kakashi was. There was even an intricate blood seal on the vault that had taken Sakumo years to weave in, responding to only those with the Hatake blood.

Jiraiya held his hands up. "Okay, okay," he placated, "I misspoke. Let's think logically about this, then," he said, face serious, "Why would someone break into your house to steal your summoning scroll?"

"Who wouldn't want to command a summon?" Sakumo asked dryly.

"If they manage to form a contract and get them to listen," Jiraiya corrected.

"True."

Jiraiya rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He knew Sakumo never required the use of the scroll anymore, but: "Did you, perhaps, take it out recently?" he mused.

There was a hesitant pause. "Well," Sakumo began, "… once," he confirmed softly.

"To whom?"

"Ah, well, I showed it to Kakashi," Sakumo replied, in an almost sheepish tone.

"Kakashi?"

The White Fang ran his hand through his long silver hair, letting out a soft sigh. "That was before I found out that he didn't want to become a shinobi anymore. I was going to let him sign it as a congratulatory gift for being accepted into the academy."

"Kakashi's five," Jiraiya stressed. Sakumo had a flashback of himself saying the same line to Jiraiya not too long ago. "Surely you think that's still too young for a kid begin summoning?" The white-haired man continued.

"I wasn't going to let him start summoning right away!" Sakumo denied frantically, eyes wide in horror at the thought of it. "Certified prodigy or not, Kakashi's still on basic chakra manipulation training. If he tries summoning anything, he might exhaust his chakra reserves in the process. And as mature as he may seem at times, Kakashi's still a kid, and I shudder to think what would happen if the dogs didn't accept him." Like to most summons, first appearances meant a lot. It was practically there and then the summon decided whether they wanted to be contracted to such a ninja or not. Honestly, not a lot of summons were willing to listen to kids not even a quarter of their age.

"I wasn't going to let him summon anything," Sakumo continued, "I just wanted him to have his name on the scroll so he would have it in case anything happened. I wasn't planning to teach him how to summon the dogs until he was much older."

"Or never now," Jiraiya muttered to himself. No ninja summon would want a civilian as their contractor.

"Well you never know; Kakashi is only five," Sakumo said lightly, a hopeful spark in his eyes. "He could always change his mind."

The Toad Sage shrugged. "Maybe," he replied, before seriousness drew back into his eyes. "Are you sure you put the scroll away afterwards?" he asked, because no matter what Kakashi chose in the end, it wouldn't matter if the scroll was never found.

"Of course," Sakumo exclaimed. "Kakashi may have shocked me with his decision, but I wouldn't let down my dogs' trust just because of that." Grey eyes closed, trying to recall that previous week. "Let's see…"

The man recalled how the little boy had left the room signalling the end of their conversation, without really explaining anything more to his 'I reject'. For hours after, Sakumo couldn't help but just sit there in their living room staring blankly after him, thinking useless thoughts, helpless against whatever was affecting his son.

He'd shook himself out of his stupor a little later, mindlessly crossing the room to pick up his forgotten scroll – Kakashi's acceptance present. It was only then that he had realised Kakashi was back in the room with him.

Sakumo remembered looking over at his son. "Problem?" he'd asked lightly, gut telling him not to bring up their previous conversation if he didn't want Kakashi walking out on him again.

Small, pale hands had gestured towards the scroll in his hands. "May I see?" Kakashi had asked curiously.

Sakumo had frozen on spot, brain frantically trying to come up with a way to withdraw his present without seeming like he was. It was just too dangerous for someone who was not planning to undergo ninja training. "Next time?" Sakumo remembered asking hopefully.

And then, Sakumo recalled, Kakashi started to play dirty by pouting. His large grey-blue eyes widened into what could only be called puppy-dog eyes. "Please?"

Sakumo almost gave in to him there. He was just too cute! But no, it wasn't safe, and no matter how cute, or disappointed Kakashi looked, Sakumo's protectiveness was stronger. "No," he'd said firmly.

But he'd allowed Kakashi to follow him to the room he usually kept the scroll in, stopping the boy at the door. And then, he'd locked the scroll away letting Kakashi see just how many traps he placed over it, just to make sure Kakahi knew not to be stupid enough to try and break it out without Sakumo's permission.

Back in the present world, Jiraiya frown, listening as his friend slowly recalled the past events. "And then?" he prompted.

Sakumo shook his head. "That's all. I mean, sure I let Kakashi watch, but it's not like he could keep up with all the hand seals and know all the counters."

And yet the scroll was missing, was left unsaid.

"Do you really think Kakashi has it?" Sakumo suddenly asked, dreading the answer.

"Hey, I never said that." The Sage paused, "But it seems most likely." Jiraiya could see the frantic panic in his friend's grey eyes. He ran a hand through his own hair in frustration. "Okay, why don't you summon Kane? She could probably track him down."

"No!" Sakumo cried. He thought of his large wolf-like dog summon, Kane. Sure she could probably do it, but… "As last resort," the White Fang promised. "But I can't tell her that I lost the scroll!" Or even the fact that Kakashi might have stolen it. Dog or not, the protective wrath of a female for her pups was something to fear.

"It's okay," Sakumo said, taking in a deep breath, trying to push his panic aside. "I can find him," he assured himself, as calmly as he could. "Kakashi's just a kid."

"Who apparently broke into the most securely trapped vault in your house," Jiraiya reminded him.

"Shut it."

"Seriously, my friend, if he really did take it, I can safely say Kakashi's more than just another genius."

"You're not helping," Sakumo snapped. He took another deep breath. "Okay, he told us he was going to train in the forest right?"

"He could've been lying."

"Or maybe he wasn't. It's a start, right?"

The two ninjas raced out of the house, rushing towards the little forest behind the Hatake Compound. Sakumo slowly walked around it, trying not to miss a thing. His grey eyes sparked. "He's been here," the man said, in relief, eyes tracking the muddy ground. He raised his head and sniffed the air cautiously, before turning to the sennin beside him, eyes slanted into a worried gaze.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Kakashi's fine," Jiraiya consoled.

"And if he's not?" Sakumo all but whispered in a horrified tone. There were so many things that could go wrong, and with Sakumo's luck, he could lose his son altogher.

Onyx eyes soften as the man tried to comfort his friend. "This is Kakashi we're talking about, Sakumo." He tugged at the father's arm, ushering the man forwards. "Come on, I'm sure we're getting close. Can follow his scent?"

The two shinobi leaped forward, rushing onwards determinately. Sakumo lifted his head and sniffed again. Grey eyes narrowed, as they scanned the area. His son's scent was stronger now, and -

"-AAaaaiiii!"

Sakumo froze eyes wide and turning towards Jiraiya. "Please tell me that was my imagination," he begged.

"That sounded like a kid shrieking to me," the older man said lowly, eyes already trying to pinpoint the echoing cry.

Horrifying thoughts were already rebounding through Sakumo's mind.

What if Kakashi tried to use the scroll, and used up all his chakra? What if Kakashi didn't sign the scroll before attempting to use it? What if that was a summon attacking Kakashi because they thought he stole it? What if they didn't think Kakashi was worthy to be the master of whoever he summoned and they killed him for that? What if the summon scared Kakashi and they started fighting? What if Kakashi was on the ground right now writhing in pain from fatal dog bites and scratches, all just because he, Sakumo, couldn't keep the damn scroll secure?

The musty smell of fur washed over Sakumo, as the man tried not to panic, hand shaking in fear. He shot off, with Jiraiya crying his name after him, but he couldn't hear a thing.

Kakashi, Kakashi, Kakashi, Kakashi… His son's name repeated over and over in his mind. Beside him, he vaguely realized Jiraiya following.

Kakashi, Kakashi, Kakashi, Kakashi, Kaka- He bursted out into a clearing of the forest, and then Sakumo froze, skidding along the branch of the tree. His legs felt suddenly weak. "Jiraiya…" the White Fang murmured unconsciously, eyes wide. Sakumo knew that if the Sennin were to tell him the scene in front of him was nothing more than a dream, he would readily accept the idea in an instant.

But the other man only slowly shook his head, eyes fixed on the sight in front of them, "Damn…"