Day 11

Exeunt

--

Heading for Suna, follow when you can. I've taken today's piece. - T

Shikamaru looked at the note for a long moment, trying not to think of how or why Temari would break into his house while he slept instead of just knocking. It was just like her to assume he'd follow when he'd told her that he couldn't, he didn't even know why'd she'd left, Okama Seiya must have been spotted on the move.

He tucked the note in his pocket, yawning loudly into his empty home. The sound echoed down the wooden corridor, undisturbed by any sounds from outside. Whether Temari liked it or not, he had bigger problems than their little bet. The screaming had started again during the night. He wasn't sure if anyone had heard it, but he could almost feel Hidan regaining awareness, realising that he was back in reality.

Today he would have to dig the bastard up and silence him once and for all.

But before he could do that it was a trip to the hospital to ask for Sakura's help, and he wasn't looking forward to his secret being out. He could trust Sakura to keep his confidence, but there was no way to carry a screaming disembodied head through the village without raising questions. She wasn't even guaranteed to agree to the autopsy.

The clatter of dishes as he made breakfast was hollow in his empty house. This was the kind of quiet he enjoyed most of the time, it gave him time and space to think without the interruptions of his parents or friends. Well, at least it used to. He wasn't really sure when that had changed. Sometime over the past five years he had just become so used to having people around that now the silence felt stifling. Now he seemed to think better when he was with friends.

He finished breakfast quickly and headed out into the village. Sakura would have been at the Hokage's building since before the sun was up, assuming that Naruto hadn't taken her for training. He doubted that the blond man was even out of bed yet.

The village was unusually silent. People walked down the streets with their heads bowed, unspeaking. Shikamaru started to feel uneasy. There had been an air of solemnity in the village ever since the attacks on Wind started, but this was different, something had happened. This must have been why Temari left.

He quickened his pace, he needed to find out what was going on.

Sakura's shock of bright pink hair was visible from a distance, she was sitting on the steps of the Hokage's office. Shikamaru could see even at that distance that she was slouched against the wall, staring at her feet. He moved quickly, approaching her.

"Sakura," he started, but said nothing, fully realising her state. Her eyes were red and puffy, her hands clasped between her knees and a look of disillusionment on her face. She turned her eyes to focus on him.

"Good morning, Shikamaru."

"What's happened?" he asked.

Sakura didn't answer for a moment, her eyes flicked back to the ground and then to him again.

"Kakashi-sensei..."

"You can't go after him," Tsunade said flatly.

Naruto was hunched over her desk, face red and fists clenched. She had ordered Sakura not to tell him until the morning, she had known this would happen.

"I have to, he's my sensei."

"ANBU has already been dispatched, Neji and Temari are on their trail."

"To kill them!" Naruto stormed. "Kakashi-sensei has to be brought back!"

Tsunade looked up at him through tired eyes. She'd had no sleep, hadn't stopped all night, trying to figure out how her most trusted shinobi could defect. Kakashi had shown no signs of betrayal in his entire history. His superior reports all backed him up, but it didn't matter what they said, she knew Kakashi. This wasn't him.

The Hokage stood up. It had been easier to intimidate Naruto when he was shorter than her. Jiraiya would have known how to deal with him, but now it was on her.

"You know the rules."

Naruto stormed out of the room without another word, slamming the door behind him. Tsunade sunk back into her chair. The kid was as good as gone, she hoped he could track Neji and Temari effectively. Maybe Sakura would talk him out of it, she didn't really care. How this played out wasn't in her hands anymore.

If Kakashi wanted to be gone, then he wasn't coming back, she wasn't stupid enough to think anything else. If Temari or Neji engaged him, then someone would die. Fuck Kakashi for putting them in this situation, no one needed it, especially now.

"Sakura!" she called. "Sakura!"

It took longer than usual for the young nin to enter her office, still devastated at her sensei's betrayal. She looked like she hadn't slept either.

"Yes, shishou?"

"Make sure Naruto doesn't leave the village. The idiot is going to try to go after Kakashi."

"Yes, shishou," Sakura repeated. "Also Nara Shikamaru would like to see you."

"Send him in."

Sakura bowed politely, rubbing her eyes as she walked out the door. Tsunade had no time to feel sorry for her, she had too much to do. She pulled a bottle of sake from her bottom drawer. Shikamaru wouldn't care if she drank during their meeting, it would take too much energy.

Shikamaru walked in only seconds later, his usual look of boredom painted on his face.

"You better have some good news for me."

"Is it true?" he asked. "About Kakashi?"

"Yes, it's true," she growled. "Is that all?"

He sat down in the chair opposite her and started fidgeting. He had something to say that she wasn't going to like, she was used to that look by now. "I need an autopsy."

Tsunade stared at him for a long moment. "An autopsy."

"Yeah, a... diagnostic autopsy."

"A diagnostic autopsy." Tsunade couldn't believe her ears. "What in hell are you talking about, Nara?"

"The scroll was stolen from my property, and now the seal is broken." He wouldn't meet her eyes as he spoke. "You never asked me what it was sealing, and now I have a problem. I either need that scroll back or I need an autopsy."

Tsunade closed her eyes. Hidan. He had actually kept the immortal alive on his property. She took a long swig of sake and pretended for a moment that this wasn't happening.

"How secure is he?"

"He's not going anywhere, but Temari suggested that we have a brief window before he regains mental capacity where he can be made more secure or eliminated."

"We have no time for this! Right now Sakura and Naruto are headed out of the village, I don't have time for the autopsy and we'll get the scroll back as soon as we can. I'm sorry, Shikamaru, but that's how it is." Tsunade picked up her pen and started looking at some of her paperwork, signalling the conversation over.

"Then I'll have to follow them."

She turned a murderous eye on him. "No. No more of my shinobi are going after him. You have letters to decode."

"Shiho is better than me at ancient language, and that's what these letters look like. I need to deal with Hidan, I owe it to Asuma-sensei." He looked into her eyes, deadly serious. "I'll either find Sakura and get her to do the autopsy, or find the scroll and reclaim it."

She leaned back in her chair, the energy sapped from her body. Four of her Hokage candidates wanted to leave the village and the fifth was in training, there was no way she could keep the village under control without them. Temari and Hinata were the hunter-nin assigned to this case, none of the others should have left, it was only Gai who convinced her to send someone in Hinata's place while he trained her.

She couldn't argue anymore. She was too tired.

"Go."

--

Naruto headed for the gates of the hidden village, determined to track down his sensei. Usually he would have found other people to help him, but this was different. Kakashi was going to answer to him on this and no one else. His whole life seemed to revolve around the things the older man had taught him, and he wasn't going to let that be undermined.

People watched him as he passed, keeping their distance. It only deepened his frown, it had been years since people avoided him so openly, he wasn't Hokage yet but he was still a hero in the village. Now his open anger had them at arm's length again. Kakashi couldn't reverse his years of work, he wouldn't let him

The village gates came into view and he prepared to spring into the trees, the fastest way to catch up with Neji.

"Naruto!"

Sakura's cracked voice stopped him, he turned around. She had told him about Kakashi that morning, and he'd been so angry that he hadn't really paid attention to her. Now he took in her appearance and his resolve faultered. She wore no makeup and her hair wasn't brushed, her eyes were red with deep hollows under them.

"Sakura-chan, go home and get some sleep," he said. He hadn't stopped to think that she'd take this as hard as he had.

She ignored him. "You can't go after Kakashi-sensei."

"I have to, I have to bring him back."

"He doesn't want to be brought back, if he did he would have stayed. Haven't you learned anything the past ten years? People who want to be here don't leave."

"This is different," Naruto argued.

"No, it's not, it's exactly the same and it will end the same." She reached out a hand and laid it on his chest, over his heart. "We've lost Sasuke, and now Kakashi-sensei. If you leave you might not come back either."

Naruto was struck speechless for a moment. Was Sakura saying that she didn't want to lose him? He would have killed to hear those words at any other time. Not now. "I have to go, even if I don't come back."

He turned to leave, but didn't make it more than a step. Sakura grabbed one of his hands.

"You're breaking your promise to me."

"What promise?"

She composed herself and looked up at him primly. "You promised to teach me how to use wind chakra."

"Sakura-chan, that can wait, I have to-"

"I thought you kept your promises, Naruto."

"I do, but-"

"If you really keep your promises, then you have to take me with you." She looked earnestly into his eyes and he knew she was pleading. He couldn't leave her behind this time.

They stared at each other for a moment in time and then he broke out in a broad grin. "Let's go! We'll find Kakashi-sensei together and show him your new wind jutsus."