11 – The Spy

I'm baaaack~

"Fox!"

"Hai."

"Report to the Hokage's office immediately."

Kiruma adjusted her mask and whistled for Apollo. He was at her side immediately, and the two of them flashed from rooftop to rooftop before she gracefully ducked through the window and approached the third Hokage.

"Sir," she inclined her head.

Sarutobi acknowledged her presence with a nod.

"Fox, I have a mission for you. As you know, we are fighting a very difficult war right now. We are trying to cut off Iwagakure's line of supply to gain an advantage."

She didn't answer.

"For that to happen, I am sending a team to Kannabi bridge to destroy that route of passage. I need you to follow the Iwagakure nin and find out where they plan to make their new line of supply so that we can cut it off before they get the chance."

"Understood."

"No one is to know of your presence, as per usual. Here are your mission details."

Kiruma took the folder he offered, bowed, and vanished out of the office.

It had been less than a year since her evaluation had landed her in information gathering and Intel.

She was a spy, and she knew it suited her. She was good at keeping secrets, good at hiding her identity, and good at manipulating things and people to get what she wanted. Not to mention her memory was flawless.

She hadn't seen Salem in a while, but he still dropped by from time to time to check on her, despite her insisting that it was unnecessary. All her free time was spent training. Mostly because she knew Danzo was still watching her. She was nervous about being pulled back under his rule, and if that happened, she needed to be strong enough to handle it.

She read through the details as she returned to base, raising an eyebrow as the team caught her eye.

Namikaze Minato: Jounin

Nohara Rin: Chuunin

Uchiha Obito: Chuunin

Hatake Kakashi: Jounin

So Scarecrow had gotten himself a promotion. Well, good for him. She skimmed through the folder as she headed back to her base. She hadn't been allowed to return home since she became a part of information and intel, but she often sent Apollo to check on her mother, and so far, nothing seemed amiss when he returned. She hoped dearly that her mother was still improving and that she would be able to go home to her soon. Her mother was the whole reason she was in the military to begin with, after all.

Perhaps after this mission… spirits lifting slightly, she landed on the roof of her base, hanging over the edge to peer through the window. It was empty. She swung in silently and retrieved her things, packing light. No food, one canister of water, her katanas, a few shuriken, and Salem's bracelet were all she would need. According to her folder, Minato's team had already left earlier in the day, and she would have to catch up unnoticed.

"Stay with Ka-chan today," she told Apollo. He obediently left and she felt a small pang of loneliness as she watched him bound away.

Kiruma adjusted her mask so that it fit snugly against her face, and once again she was Fox. Quick, lithe, and quiet. With the faintest of sighs, she took off into the trees, speeding toward Kannabi Bridge.

A rustle to her left made Kiruma twitch slightly, a shiver trailing down her spine as she registered the existence of a new threat. She continued through the forest swiftly and silently, eyes sweeping the land. So this was the quiet side of war. Sneaky ambushes, deadly strategies, attacks meant to undermine and drive out the enemy… she closed her eyes, listening closely for the sounds of a sandal against tree bark. One… two… three… there. She whirled around, spinning on the back of her heel and flung a shuriken into her blind spot, flipping forward and sending three more after the first. The sound of metal against metal made her skid to a stop.

"Who's there?" a wary voice called. Shock jolted through Kiruma as she recognized the voice and she bolted away, taking cover in the foliage.

Hatake Kakashi emerged, pulling one of the shuriken from his vest, where it had lodged itself in the firm fabric.

Hide your chakra. Kiruma formed a seal, grimacing. Specific jutsus weren't her strong point. Her chakra just didn't want to be controlled.

"Come out," Kakashi commanded, eyeing his surroundings.

Kiruma almost facepalmed at her own stupidity.

Don't let them find out who you are. Basically the only rule she was given, and she was already in jeopardy of breaking it. She had to make a decision.

She stood slowly and walked towards Kakashi, hands raised in surrender, tensing as his eyes snapped toward her.

"You…" he paused, studying her more closely. "You're Fox, aren't you?"

She nodded.

This was her safest bet. He would have tried to kill her if she hadn't come out, and he still didn't know her identity. Technically she was still in the clear. Just barely.

He scowled.

"ANBU don't get lost. Are you on a mission?" Again, she remained silent. She didn't trust herself to be able to disguise her voice again with success. He had heard her as Kiruma too many times now. He gave a quiet sigh.

Kiruma wondered where Rin and Obito were. Kakashi was headed directly toward the bridge, as was she, but the other two were nowhere in sight. Same for Minato. She wondered if they had died. She felt a small pang in her heart and was surprised at herself.

Would I actually miss them? She questioned silently. She shook her head, unsatisfied with herself. You're not supposed to care about anyone, Kiruma.

She would need to work on that.

"Are you going this direction?" Kakashi questioned warily, nodding towards the bridge. She paused before finally giving a reluctant nod.

"Well, two fighters are better than one, I suppose," he sighed. "Just stay out of my way."

She bit back a retort and wordlessly took off into the trees, silently challenging him to just try and keep up with her.

He was skilled, she had to admit. He moved smoothly, he didn't hesitate, and each decision was calm and calculated. But he didn't have ANBU training. Not like she did. He was taught to aim for a human's heart, she was taught to aim for a fly and pin it to a tree without killing it. Of course, now that she wasn't in the running for ROOT, the typical training the Hokage put them through was dull at best. It was no wonder Danzo held the advantage. He wasn't easy on his soldiers.

She saw the bridge and paused, tilting her head slightly to the side. A terrified yell cut through the air, coming from far behind them.

"Obito," Kakashi hissed under his breath. He whirled around in the direction the yell came from, teeth grinding together. "That idiot."

Why would you separate from your team?

Her silent question hung in the air as she glared through her mask. His head whipped around to the bridge and he ran towards it, doubling his speed.

Leave it to Kakashi to put his mission before his friends. She understood his history and logic, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

He started slapping exploding tags all over the bridge, seemingly at random. He was rushing. She appeared behind him and grabbed him by the back of the collar, abruptly stopping him.

"What are you doing?" he snarled, whirling around.

Idiot.

She grabbed his tags and vanished under the bridge, placing one at the beam supporting one side, one at the beam opposite, and one at the beam center.

"Oi!" he protested.

"Kai!"

The resulting explosion shook through the ground, making Kiruma stumble slightly as the bridge folded inwards on itself, crumbling to the ground. She regained her footing and turned to Kakashi, gesturing for him to leave. He just gave her a quick nod of thanks before flying through the trees. She sighed quietly. Now her task was to wait and hide for the other Iwa nin to discover their loss. She masked herself in the foliage, becoming silent.

"My eye!" Kakashi's yell of pain made her flinch slightly.

Her gaze moved slowly to the east, the direction the yell had come from.

Her heart wanted to go after him. She closed that urge off.

Don't get attached. They aren't your friends. Complete the mission.

She needed to wait. Wait for the Iwagakure nin to discover Kannabi bridge.

Another cry of pain sliced through the air and Kiruma flinched, gritting her teeth together. She stood, hands curling at her sides.

The Iwa nin I'm looking for may be the same ones attacking Kakashi and Obito. That's the only reason I'm going over to them. Not to save their sorry asses. I could care less that they're being attacked.

The lie was painfully obvious, but she ignored it, making a clone and stationing it at the bridge before running full speed towards the forest. First Kurenai and now this. She sucked at not caring and she knew it.

The shouts and sound of metal clashing drew nearer as she darted through the forest. Kiruma was flying through the trees so quickly she almost passed over them. As it was, she froze on a branch, her momentum swinging her around it once before she landed in a crouch to gaze upon the battle below. Or rather, what had been a battle. She blinked in surprise. Obito was heaving, bloodred eyes glinting in the light, whereas Kakashi… couldn't even open one of his. The entire left side of his face was bathed in blood.

"Let's get Rin," Kakashi spat, hastily wrapping his eye. Obito nodded, and the two took off.

Curious in spite of herself, Kiruma followed.

She didn't follow them into the cave. She had more common sense than that. Instead she began to walk the perimeter, pausing when she saw a second entrance on the other side.

She peered down the dark tunnel warily, seeing nothing but darkness. She raised a hand and shot a column of fire down the passage. It went several meters deep before sputtering out. She cautiously entered, setting her hand aflame to light the way. She reached a split and picked a tunnel at random, knowing she could remember her way back. Her memory was her forte.

She reached a door just as her hand began to blister with the heat of her fire. With a dark curse, she put it out and quickly rewrapped it. If she had some sort of stick, she'd be able to make a torch. She eyed the wooden door, an idea forming quickly in her head.

A minute later, she continued walking, the door a pile of smoldering wood behind her save for a single thin plank she was using as a torch. She made it to a round sort of clearing just as shouts reached her ears. She listened carefully. It sounded like Obito. There was a rumble above her head and she grimaced as little pebbles began to fall from the ceiling of the cave.

Shit.

She dodged and weaved as larger boulders came crashing around her, sealing several of the exits. She dove for one just in time, a huge chunk of rock sealing it shut behind her. Now in a cramped tunnel barely large enough for her to squeeze through, she inched forward, wincing as a falling rock crushed her ankle. She squeezed through, pushing with her good leg until she came face to face with none other than Uchiha Obito. She gasped, falling out of the tunnel onto the hard earth. He was trapped under a boulder, smile on his face, and where his eye should have been there was only an empty socket.

"Goggles!" she shouted, dragging herself towards him when her ankle gave out. She cradled his face in her hands.

"Goggles," she repeated, softer this time.

"K-K-Koi…zumi," Obito managed to spit out, trying to move his head. She shoved against the boulder, hard, unable to lift it off of him, but shifting it enough that he could turn his face towards her. Though the other side of his face was scratched and marred, his eye was still whole, sharingan activated as he focused on her.

"Don't talk," she ordered, removing her mask. He smiled, but it was weak.

"Called… it," he gasped. "Knew… it was… you."

"Shh," she stroked his face. "You'll be okay, Goggles. Don't give up yet."

"W-wanted… to tell… Rin… ch-chan…"

"I will," Kiruma promised slowly, dread curling in her gut. "I'll tell her you love her." She felt a heaviness in her chest.

He suddenly clutched her shirt, dragging her to him until they were eye to eye. Sharingan to stormy grey.

"Watch… Ka…kashi… Protect… him."

"Hatake? From what?" she asked with confusion.

"H-him… self…" Obito trailed off and he started coughing, spitting up blood.

"We have to get you to a hospital," she stated abruptly, taking his hand and beginning to stand before a stab of pain shot through her ankle.

Obito smiled, closing his eye.

"Knew…. You were… g-good. F-found… Ice… in my pocket…" He trailed off and was suddenly very, very still.

"Goggles? Goggles, stay with me. Obito!" she snarled, squeezing his hand, but to no avail. There was a rumble and more boulders began to fall, forcing her to leap out of the way with a frustrated growl. She grabbed her mask and put it on reluctantly.

I will come back for you, Obito.

She turned and fled the cave, limping on her ankle but bursting out just before the entire thing collapsed.

Kiruma just lied on the grass for a moment, breathing heavily.

Knew…. You were… g-good. F-found… Ice… in my pocket…

Obito's last words were carved into her mind like the symbol branded into her leg. Except this time it was much, much more painful.

He knew. That's all she could think for a while. She sighed deeply, feeling her heart weighed down as if it were made of lead. He didn't deserve to die.

She sat up slowly and tended to her ankle. Thankfully it wasn't broken, just bleeding badly, so she cleaned and bandaged it before standing precariously.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" An Iwa nin was standing over her, arms crossed with a smug expression on his face.

"Looks like one of the babies is still alive and-agh!"

In an instant, Kiruma had imbedded senbon in his neck, arms, and chest, immediately paralyzing him.

"I'm not in the mood," she snarled, grabbing him by the collar. "For your stupid taunts." She shoved him to the ground and walked away, fingers smoking slightly.

Time to finish the mission.

"Spot on, as usual," Sarutobi praised her as she turned in her report. "I have yet to see you fail a mission, Fox. Keep up the good work."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

She turned to leave, before pausing as he called her.

"Fox."

"Hai." She turned to face him.

"As I understand it, you have been doing consecutive missions for the past few weeks back to back, have you not?"

"Hai."

"I think it's about time you took a short break. Take tomorrow off from your duties."

She bowed.

"Of course, Hokage-sama." She turned and closed the door behind her, leaving the building. Normally having a day off would delight her, but Obito's death had put a damper on everyone's mood. She would get to finally see her mother though, something she was looking forward to. She stopped by Kakashi's apartment, glancing through the window as she had since Obito had made her promise to look out for him. Kakashi was lying face up in bed, eyes staring emptily at the ceiling.

Knowing nothing she said would help him at this point, she disappeared as silently as she had come, heading towards Obito's grave, where she knew Rin would be.

She hid her mask and approached the brown haired girl, unsure of how to pass on her message. Rin didn't like her, ever since she'd badmouthed Kakashi in the Academy all those years ago.

"Nohara-san." Rin looked up, whirling around.

"K-Koizumi-san, I didn't expect to see you here," Rin answered with a small polite smile, though Kiruma could feel tension in the air. She appreciated Rin at least trying to be civil. That was more than most attempted.

"I don't like being a messenger," Kiruma stated, her voice slightly dark as she faced Obito's headstone. She was repeating the words from years ago, in the Academy, when she had told Obito to talk to Rin so that she could put some ice in his pocket.

"Messenger?" Rin repeated, confusion etched in her dainty features.

"Obito loved you," Kiruma said bluntly. "And I promised him I would tell you, if he wasn't able to."

There was a silence. Rin's mouth dropped open, a light tinge of pink on her cheeks.

Finally she snapped it shut angrily.

"Is this some kind of- of joke to you?" she demanded, hands curling into fists. "Do you just revel in making things worse for people?" Kiruma scowled slightly.

"Nohara-san-"

"Is this fun for you? Making up things about the… the dead?" Kiruma flinched at the last word. Rin narrowed her eyes.

"You have no shame," she hissed, disgusted.

Kiruma looked down, trying to suppress her own anger at the accusation.

"I know you don't like me," Kiruma spat through gritted teeth. Rin stiffened.

"But if you think I'm so low as to bother coming all the way out here just to make things worse for you, then you need to wake up, Princess. I have better things to do than make your life miserable."

Rin's eyes widened, before slanting in anger.

"You spent every moment making fun of us, and teasing us!" Rin cried. "You're a delinquent. You got into fights, slacked off in class, bullied students so that they wouldn't go near you… give me one good reason I should believe you!"

"Because you should be able to tell how Obito felt without me telling you," Kiruma snapped.

Rin froze.

"He smiled every time you walked in the room. He brought you flowers when you became a Chuunin. He walked you to class every. Single. Day. He came to school sick just so that he could see you. He skipped school when you weren't there to make sure you were okay. He punched me in the face every time I snapped at you." Kiruma glared at the brown-haired girl.

"So why is it that I can see it for myself and his best friend is too dense to believe it just because I'm the one that delivered the message?"

Rin's mouth parted in disbelief.

"That's what I thought, Princess," Kiruma stated icily. She ran a hand through her hair with a sigh.

"He- he really did, d-didn't he?" Kiruma's gaze snapped up as Rin's eyes welled up with tears.

Oh, Kami, I'm not prepared for this, Kiruma thought frantically. She didn't know how to handle tears.

Rin began crying and stumbled forward, tightly wrapping her arms around Kiruma's waist as she quietly sobbed.

Shock didn't begin to cover how surprised Kiruma was, but she awkwardly patted Rin's shoulder, not sure what to do. She was way out of her comfort zone. Rin sniffed, pulling away finally and wiping her tears from her face.

"I'm sorry, I just… I never realized… and now he's gone…" she rubbed her eyes, taking a deep shuddering breath. She paused suddenly, her breath catching in her throat.
"Is this…" she stared at Kiruma's uniform, confused. "…An ANBU uniform?"

Kiruma tensed slightly.

"What of it?" she asked testily.

"Oh, Kami, no," Rin breathed, still sniffing. "I had no idea you were in Black Ops."

"No one does," Kiruma replied coolly, though her nerves were getting the better of her.

Rin looked at the ground, pondering.

"But- but that changes everything! You have to be really, really good to get into Covert Ops, and I thought that since you slacked off in school that your parents were paying your way through training. But no parent would want their child to be in ANBU, so you…" Rin trailed off, looking up quizzically.

"So who exactly are you?"

But by the time she finished, Kiruma was gone, and she was alone.

Kiruma was running. She had grabbed her mask and was running as fast as she could without making a sound, just in case Rin tried to follow.

Too close. Much too close.

She grimaced and kept running. She wasn't looking where she was going, and slammed into someone, hard.

"Watch it," she snarled, regaining her footing.

"Such energy in your step!" the voice crowed enthusiastically. Kiruma looked up to see none other than Might Gai standing before her, with a bored looking Kakashi standing next to him.

So that's why the collision had hurt so badly. Hitting Gai was like hitting a brick wall at a high speed. He was nothing but rock hard muscle.

"You seem to be in a hurry, my beautiful lotus blossom!" Gai gushed, taking her by the hands.

She tilted her head to the side, confusion evident on her face.

"Excuse me?"

"Perhaps I can assist you!"

Beautiful lotus blossom? Kiruma wrinkled her nose. That had to be a joke.

She jerked her hands from Gai's, not sure how to react to his… bounciness.

"Yeah, assist me by… uh, not letting Rin follow me."

"I will make it my personal mission!" Gai answered enthusiastically, shooting her a thumbs up and a sparkling smile.

"…thanks," she answered, raising an eyebrow. He took off, leaving a trail of smoke in his wake, and she openly stared after him.

Kakashi shifted and her gaze returned to him. She watched him silently for a moment, gauging his well being. He had circles under his eyes, but he didn't look cold and angry like he had when his mother died. She took that as a good sign.

He noticed her staring and shifted uncomfortably.

"What?"

She just nodded to herself, grimaced, and cupped his face with her hand, feeling his surprise as he stiffened beneath her touch.

"Sorry about Goggles, Hatake," she said seriously, stroking his cheek with her thumb gently. "Really."

Without waiting to see his reaction, she turned and vanished, leaping from rooftop to rooftop.

"KIIIRUUUU-CHAAAAAAAN!"

Kiruma stumbled at the sound of her name and missed the next rooftop, smashing face first into the window of the building. She landed on her back in the street, her hands clutching her face.

"Ow, ow, ow," she spat, pushing herself to her feet. She turned around to see where the voice had come from and stiffened in fear when Kushina stormed towards her, her hair writhing in all directions like an angry beast. She was still wearing her apron, and still had her wooden spoon in hand, which now looked more ominous than a dagger in the woman's grip.

"K-Kushina-san," Kiruma stammered, surprised.

"I have been calling you for ages!" The woman growled, her glare boring into Kiruma. "Goodness Kiru-chan, you'll have to give me your address after this, because I can not be looking for you like this all the time! You haven't visited us in weeks –ttebane!"

"Did you need something, Kushina-san?" Kiruma questioned, a slight frown on her face.

"I think it's high time you had dinner with us again, so why don't you march yourself back to the house and get cleaned up!"

"R-right," the red haired girl stammered. They didn't call this woman the Red Hot Habanero for nothing. Kushina immediately transformed back into her sweet self.

"Wonderful! It'll be great to have you back, -ttebane!"

Kiruma entered the now familiar household and washed her hands, grimacing as layers of blood and dirt came off with the bandages that adorned her fingers. First rate shinobi problems.

She returned to the table and sat down. Minato came down and Kiruma blinked. The compassionate and happy man she had seen before now had dark rings beneath his eyes, a forced smile already put in place.

"Kushina, I'm not really-" he paused as he noticed Kiruma and his expression brightened.

"Kiruma-chan! We haven't seen you in a while!"

She blushed, wondering why her presence would brighten his or anyone's day.

"How was your last mission?" he sat down at the table, smiling genuinely at her.

She looked down at her plate.

"It was recon. To Kannabi Bridge."

Minato and Kushina both froze, and Kushina's fork slipped from her fingers. Kiruma winced when it clattered against her plate.

"Did you… see…?" Minato choked on the sentence, unable to say Obito's name.

"I held his hand," she answered softly, feeling miserable internally. "Until he stopped breathing."

A tear danced down Minato's cheek and he wiped it away with a forced laugh.

"Thank you, Kiruma-chan," the Jounin said, expression brightening just slightly. "I'm glad he wasn't alone."

Kushina touched her head soothingly, patting her hair.

"Is that the first time you've seen someone…?"

"No," Kiruma answered. She didn't elaborate. She sighed quietly.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Kushina asked softly.

"We're all going to die before our time, aren't we?" Kiruma predicted, sounding defeated.

Kushina cast Minato a worried look. How do you answer a question like that?

"Not always," Minato reassured her. "You've got to persevere, with those that have passed watching over you and living on in your heart."

"If you believe that kind of thing," Kiruma returned tiredly. She remembered her father and couldn't help but hope he wasn't watching over her, still hating her with murderous intent.

The couple was silent.

"Thank you for dinner, Kushina-san, Minato-san," Kiruma said politely, standing. "I'll see you two at the funeral tomorrow."

She exited slowly and paused on the patio as Kushina's voice permeated the thin door.

"What a strong girl. I've never seen her cry, not once."

"Children grow up too fast during the wars," came Minato's reply, thick with sadness. "They aren't allowed to be weak."

She snorted. They could thank Danzo for that.

She walked home steadily, ready to finally see her mother and her dog.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Author's Note: Did ya miss me? ;) Things start getting fun next chapter, I promise. Please Review!