Words: 5900
Rating: T
Pairing: Kakashi/Rin
Summary/Warnings: Poor relationship skills, some fluff, some tension, plot building
Author's Note: I know, it's been ages. I haven't forgotten this story at all, nor do I have any intention of abandoning it. I just don't have the time that I used to. That said, I'm going to mostly be focusing on this story to get it finished rather than my other ones (unless the muse is fickle, which it often is). Sorry for the long wait, hope this chapter was worth it! Many thanks to Cinlat and Tabjoy for helping develop plot and make this story better
The chunin exams finally arrived, distracting Kakashi from his problems. He stood with Rin and his students outside the academy, doing last minute preparation. The first examination would challenge the hopeful genin's fundamental knowledge of shinobi tactics and their deduction skills. Though Kakashi didn't know the specifics of the written test, he knew his team. Sakura should excel at the informational portion, as would Sasuke, which would hopefully be enough to pull Naruto through.
"Try not to mess up your only chance to become chunin," Rin teased, raising her voice to be heard above the din of conversation. The area seethed with people; students, sensei, and curious onlookers from every village crowded together, trying to judge the competition.
"I'm going to pass, believe it!" Naruto shouted, flashing his signature grin. Sasuke rolled his eyes skyward, and Sakura looked between Kakashi and Rin, trying to determine if the older woman's words were a joke.
Kakashi ignored the banter between Rin and his students, leaving his wife to the task of putting them at ease. Several members of the intelligence corp pushed through the crowd, their grey uniforms standing out against the riot of colors around them. "It's almost time," Kakashi announced, stilling the nervous argument about which of his students would do the best.
As people filed into the building, Kakashi let his gaze wander over the gathered shinobi. Familiar green spandex and black hair drew his attention. The brief glimpse disappeared among the crowd, but Kakashi moved toward it instinctively. "Gai?"
Kakashi repeated the man's name, reaching for his arm. Half a second later, he realized his mistake: the frame was too small to belong to his friend and rival. Lee, his mind supplied the name, though he couldn't remember if he'd met the boy at this point in his own timeline. "Lee," he corrected. "Where's Gai?"
The boy had only a moment for his mouth to fall open, then a swirl of leaves appeared behind him. A hand dropped protectively on Lee's shoulder, pulling him away from Kakashi. "Go on," at the familiar voice, Kakashi's eyes flashed upward, meeting hazel instead of black. "Neji and Tenten are waiting."
Once Lee stumbled away, Genma turned back to Kakashi. "I thought I made myself clear, Hatake," the man growled, voice dripping like poisoned steel. "I don't want you anywhere near my students."
"Your students?" Kakashi questioned, looking at the genin a dozen strides away. Tenten had her arm around Lee's shoulder, whispering too softly for Kakashi to catch, while Neji glared daggers at him through pearlescent eyes. Why would Genma would refer to Gai's students as his? The tokujo had never shown any interest in becoming a genin sensei, nor did he meet the rank requirements. Minato wouldn't have made an exception when capable jonin were available.
Genma's chest swelled visibly at the question. "Someone had to take them on, didn't they?"
Kakashi's brow furrowed. Gai wouldn't take a mission this close to the chunin exams. The man had recommended his team personally. And even if he had, Genma was hardly the most responsible person to leave in charge of young shinobi. Gai would have to spend months undoing the damage of Genma's influence.
A shadow loomed closer, materializing into Asuma Sarutobi. The man placed a hand on Genma's shoulder, gripping until the fabric pulled tight. "Let it go," he suggested, casting a cool glare at Kakashi while still speaking to the tokujo. "You should check on Lee."
Genma turned back toward the young man who resembled Gai far too much to be coincidence, some of the fight bleeding out of his posture. Lee watched the exchange without speaking, absorbing every detail. Genma took a shuddering breath, and for a moment, Kakashi thought the tokujo had something to add. But, In the end Genma turned away, shrugging from under Asuma's hand with more force than necessary. Asuma watched Genma go, then shook his head at Kakashi. "Those kids have been through enough. You know that, right?"
"What are you talking about?" Kakashi growled, moderating his tone when someone touched his back firmly enough to be felt through his flak vest. He didn't have to turn to know who the hand belonged to.
Rin slid between Kakashi and Asuma, frowning up at her former classmate. "He doesn't remember," she interjected, as if that made perfect sense.
Asuma's mouth fell open, cigarette tumbling to the ground in a rain of ash. Dark eyes traveled from Rin to Kakashi, as if he couldn't comprehend the words. Kakashi felt a stab of annoyance. What had he forgotten now?
"What do you mean he doesn't remember?" Genma's voice shattered the silence. The tokujo rounded so quickly that Kakashi reflexively reached for a kunai. "How the hell do you forget something like that?"
'It's complicated," Kakashi snipped. Genma's face crimsoned with rage as he reared back for a punch. His fist connected with a meaty thunk.
Minato released Genma's hand, shoving the younger man back several steps. The flash of yellow as the Hokage moved between the two men had been barely discernible, but the anger in his blue eyes was unmistakable. "Enough," he said, looking at each man in turn. "At least try to remember that you're both jonin sensei."
Huffing, Genma rubbed his hand where it had connected with Minato's open palm rather than Kakashi's jaw. Even so, Minato rebuked Kakashi first. "You're making a bad habit of getting on the wrong side of your friends lately."
Though Kakashi knew that Minato had been attempting to ease the situation, frustration spiked through him. If anyone understood how difficult the loss of memory had been, it should have been the man who knew the most about it. "It's a special talent of mine," Kakashi answered, trying not to sound petulant.
With a low growl in the back of his throat, Genma turned and advanced until Asuma wrapped a restraining arm around his chest. "You killed him-"
Though Genma continued speaking, the words lost their meaning. Kakashi heard them as a faint buzz, indistinct over the roaring of blood in his ears and the pounding of his heart. He tried to question the accusation, but he couldn't remember how to speak. Frantic memories raced through his mind: foot races, mountain climbs, eating contests, missions that had gone sideways, chats about life, stupid boasts that neither could fulfill. The images kept coming until Kakashi had to choose between forcing them down, or risk losing himself again. Rin and Minato visibly tensed at Genma's words, but neither denied the statement.
Kakashi swallowed around the lump in his throat, meeting the eyes of his accuser. "What does you mean?"
A small crowd gathered around the spectacle that he and Genma had made, but Kakashi barely registered their presence. The implication that he'd killed Gai threatened to choke him; it was impossible. Had it been a competition gone wrong? The pair of them had done plenty of dangerous things over the years, but they were shinobi, they'd survived with a new scars and stories to tell. Gai and Kakashi rarely completed missions together since they were jonin sensei, but perhaps a special case required both of their unique skills. With his thoughts scurrying around like nervous children, Kakashi looked to Minato.
"Now isn't the time to discuss it," the Hokage put a end to the topic.
Kakashi had his answer when pity filled the blue eyes that were growing achingly familiar,. Though he'd never been prone to tears, he felt the need forming in his chest. How long had Gai been gone? How had he not realized it immediately? Kakashi had been in this world for weeks, and he'd never thought to check. Gai was an immovable force, a boulder that could never be broken. Secretly, Kakashi had always suspected that the man would outlive him twice over.
Except here. Here, he's gone.
The realization struck Kakashi as almost humorous. This world had returned the team that he'd lost, and stripped away the parts of his life that he'd taken for granted. Maybe the cosmic scales were tipping Kakashi back toward the misery that he remembered. Who else had been lost without him realizing it?
Kakashi ran through an inventory of relationships as his mind rushed to categorize everything. His students were still alive and well in this world. Tenzo also, though the fact that the man had acted so strangely when Kakashi called out to him the other day made far more sense now. There were others that he wondered about, such as Jiraiya and Tsunade, but Kakashi had no way of knowing if they were still alive. The list of people that Kakashi counted as close friends was alarmingly small.
"There's always a balance," Kakashi murmured to himself, gaze falling on Gai's students again, Lee in particular. Now, Kakashi noticed second headband looped around the boy's wrist. He tore his eyes away before apologies could spill from his lips.
Genma, who had never wanted the responsibility of genin, stepped up in the absence of his former teammate. Gratitude wormed its way through the sorrow threatening to overwhelm Kakashi. He had an inexplicable urge to go to Lee, to absorb some of the unbridled emotion that Gai had undoubtedly instilled, but he stood frozen. A single glance at the boy's burning eyes told him everything that he needed to know. His presence would not be welcomed.
Kakashi realized that Asuma and Genma were staring at him with mouths open. The latter had removed the trademark senbon from his lips before it could join Asuma's still smoldering cigarette on the ground, but his expression was no less incredulous. Kakashi was saved from having to explain when the academy's doors opened, allowing genin to file inside for the first exam. Even so, Kakashi turned away before the men's gazes could pierce any deeper.
A flash of silver hair and sunlight glinting off glasses caught Kakashi's attention, another shinobi shuffling into the building. Though the glimpse had been brief, it tickled something in the back of Kakashi's mind. He took two steps in that direction without thinking, trying to recapture the memory. A hand slid into his, tugging Kakashi out his thoughts.
"Are you okay?" Rin asked softly. It took Kakashi several seconds to remember why she was asking. Gai. He's dead. I killed him.
"Yes," Kakashi lied, automatically throwing his defenses in place. He couldn't surrender to the pain lapping at the edges of his heart. At least, not yet. Later, when he had the luxury of privacy, he would examine the hurt and lose himself in the sorrow. He would delve into the mission archives and find out exactly what had happened, and if it could have been avoided. He would ask the questions about his responsibility in his friend's death, then deal with the consequences. But, he couldn't do any of those things now.
Minato had pulled Genma and Asuma aside, and the men must have been satisfied with the Hokage's explanation because after an awkward glance in Kakashi's direction, they turned away. Only a few people remained in the yard, most had moved elsewhere to wait for news of the exam. Kakashi should have been worried about his team, but he knew that their performance was out of his hands. Sakura's intelligence, Sasuke's natural talent, and Naruto's innate stubbornness should be enough to guide them through the challenges ahead.
"I've spoken with Inoichi," Minato interrupted the silence, approaching Kakashi and Rin. The man pitched his voice low enough that it wouldn't carry beyond their small group. "He has selected several discrete members of the interrogation division to assist him. If you feel up to it, we can try to get some answers tonight."
Kakashi tensed, then forced himself to relax. He wasn't physically exhausted or emotionally spent this time; he wouldn't have the same type of reaction that had ended their session the other night. Konoha needed the memories that he'd forgotten. Rin squeezed Kakashi's hand without speaking, a reassuring presence he'd never known that he needed.
"It will be a couple of hours before we know the results of the first exam." Minato glanced at the Academy, worry creasing his brow. Then, he shook his head. "Once that is finished, we can go to Inoichi together."
Kakashi exhaled. The prospect of knowing why the chunin exams made him uneasy both terrified and excited him.
Sensing Kakashi's nervousness, Rin tugged at his arm. "Why don't we get lunch while we wait?" They had left the apartment early when Rin insisted that Kakashi needed to encourage his pupils before the exam. While he hadn't known what to say, Kakashi recognized that his students were strong. That would have to be enough.
Shoving his worries away, Kakashi followed his wife from the academy. Konoha's restaurants were filled by the influx of spectators from the chunin exams, but Rin led him through the warren of streets to a shop that he'd never visited before. Half a dozen empty tables filled the small space, and even fewer options littered the menu. Kakashi didn't mind; the chance to clear his head was exactly what he needed.
Rin gushed about a particular rice and vegetable concoction, then ordered it for both of them. She swore that they needed, more than wanted, the dish. Kakashi nodded, wisely holding his tongue about pregnancy cravings. The conversation drifted easily between topics for several minutes before Rin asked the question that Kakashi knew had been lingering in the back of her mind since the altercation with Genma. He'd been incapable of ignoring it himself.
"You don't remember Gai's death?" Rin spoke softly, hardly more than a whisper, asd the world tipped around Kakashi and forced him to deal with things that he'd rather ignore.
Shaking his head, Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck. "In my memories, he's alive and well, a jonin sensei with a strong team training beneath him. Gai is full of energy, of life." Kakashi's mind stuck on the image of his self proclaimed rival, easy smile flashing as it so often did. He couldn't imagine a world where that didn't exist. "Do you know what happened?"
"You were on a mission that went badly," Rin hedged, looking away from Kakashi's eyes like she didn't want to say more. His chest twisted uncomfortably. "You never wanted to talk about it afterwards. You didn't kill him though, no matter what Genma believes. I know you'd do everything in your power to save his life."
Rin meant to ease the ache that the knowledge of Gai's death had caused, and Kakashi inclined his head gratefully. The shock was too fresh to be soothed so easily, but he could ignore it temporarily, for her sake. Kakashi watched his wife play with a napkin, twisting the paper between her fingers as if they couldn't stand to be still. He reached across the table and placed his hand over Rin's. Brown eyes flashed up, and he forced himself to smile. "I'm okay, really. Stop worrying."
Kakashi couldn't tell if Rin believed him or not, but their talk soon returned to the safer topics of the chunin exams and the future. Ironic that such a frightening concept could be ordinary now. Thankfully, the arrival of their food rescued Kakashi from having to comment further. Rin inhaled audibly and tore open her chopsticks, almost before thanking the man that brought the bowls over. Kakashi followed more slowly, breathing in the steamy scent before pushing some of the rice around. He didn't have much of an appetite despite the delicious meal in front of him.
Voices raised in frustration caught Kakashi's attention before he could take the first bite. "I'm Anbu, you can't make me-" noises of a scuffle further shattered the quiet. "-Ow! I'm not going to apologize-ah! Let go before you break my fingers."
"You are going to apologize," Kushina answered, forced calm radiating through her voice, "or you won't need your fingers for making hand signs. I'll have you relegated to D-rank missions. Do you want to go back to chasing cats?"
Obito harrumphed. "You're not the Hokage. You don't have the power to make that decision."
Kushina's laughter rang almost as sharp as her words. "I sleep with him, do you really think that counts for nothing?"
"That's an abuse of power." Another pained grunt cut off the rest of Obito's complaint. Kakashi raised one eyebrow toward the commotion, and Rin burst into laughter.
Moments later, Obito appeared in the doorway of the restaurant, rubbing one ear. Though Kakashi had gotten used to the idea of his former teammate being alive, seeing him cutting through the crowd still made his chest ache.
"Rin." Obito approached their table, offering a forced smile that tugged at his scars. "Could I speak to Kakashi for a moment, alone?"
When Rin started to move, Kakashi placed his fingers along the inside of her wrist. "Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of my wife." The muscles around Obito's eye twitched.
"Kushina wants me to apologize," Obito began. The woman in question huffed from her place on the opposite side of the restaurant, loudly enough that Obito winced and tried again. "What I mean to say is, I'm sorry."
Kakashi didn't speak, and Rin frowned between the two men. "Sorry for what, exactly?"
For a moment, Kakashi considered letting Obito fumble through an explanation of the damage he'd inflicted. While he knew that he shouldn't savor the panic in the man's eye, he couldn't help himself. Obito must have assumed that someone had given Rin the details of their fight, but the suspicious curiosity on her face left the Uchiha backtracking and stammering.
"Obito distracted me during the spar with Sasuke," Kakashi interjected before the man could put his foot in his mouth. "That's how he landed the lucky hit."
If Obito found Kakashi's confession surprising, the Uchiha didn't let on. He latched onto the lie desperately. "I didn't think you would drop your defenses that easily."
Truth, Kakashi decided.
Obito couldn't have known that Kakashi wouldn't fight back when he threw that first punch. His coerced apology was real enough, Kakashi supposed. If Obito had any question about whether or not he'd been in the wrong, undoubtedly, Kushina and Minato had made it abundantly clear.
Even so, Kakashi felt a stab of annoyance. In his memory, it had always been Obito and Rin. The pair had been friends before being placed on a team with Kakashi. And, if Rin had been a little awed by Kakashi at the time, so were half of the girls in their class. He had never bothered with their fickle emotions. Kakashi had noticed Rin only as someone that he had to work with, until Obito's death. Then, he had taken on the role of her protector, whether she wanted it or not. Until he killed her.
In those dark days after that failed rescue, Kakashi had realized that he cared for Rin as more than a friend. Or, at least, he wanted to know if there could have been a future between them. He'd recalled those rare moments of joy, so few and far between during the war, when she'd burst into laughter and wrap him in a hug no matter how much he tried to pull away. Or, those quiet nights when he stood watch, uncomfortably aware of her sleeping form only a few feet away. It had taken years for Kakashi to admit what those feelings were. Now that he had a second chance, he didn't intend to let it slip through his fingers, even for Obito.
"A genin had an attack powerful enough to put a jonin in the hospital?" Rin asked, looking between Kakashi and Obito with narrowed eyes.
"He's an Uchiha," Obito offered, as if that was explanation enough. "You know how Kakashi tells them to go all out in training."
Though Kakashi couldn't say why he did it, he inclined his head in agreement. He did push his students to give everything, even in practice spars. Otherwise, they wouldn't be used to it during a real battle. Lifting his shoulders in a shrug, Kakashi met Obito's gaze to signal that he was willing to put things behind them. "It wasn't anything that I couldn't handle."
A sharp snort from the other side of the room revealed Kushina's continued presence, but the woman didn't interrupt them. If she knew all the details, and Kakashi had no doubt that she did, Kushina must have seen the sense in hiding it from Rin. He held no illusions that his wife would be furious at Obito if she learned the true nature of their argument, or the extent of the damage that he'd inflicted. Forcing Rin to choose between her best friend and her husband would only make things more difficult. It was better for everyone if they moved on.
"Do you want something to eat?" Kakashi asked, determined to put the incident behind them.
Obito's mouth fell open in surprise at the invitation, but Rin answered first. "Has he ever refused a free meal?"
Chuckling, Obito slid into the chair that Rin pushed out for him. He glanced at Kakashi, expression unreadable, as she ordered another bowl of food. Kakashi knew that things weren't finished between himself and Obito, but he understood the man's protectiveness over Rin, and his jealousy.
"So, when you aren't trying to kill my husband, what have you been up to?" Rin teased, settling back in her seat.
Obito blushed, a reaction not lost on Kakashi, and mumbled about Anbu missions and confidentiality. Eventually, their strained conversation gave way to banter and smiles, even if not all were completely authentic. It was a start.
After an extended lunch, Obito begged off spending time with Kakashi and Rin under the guise of needing to train. While it might have been more than ten years since they were on a team together, Kakashi could still read Obito like a book. Their fight, and the resulting apology, had made the man uncomfortable, leaving him to try and sort out his place in their lives. Kakashi didn't blame him; he was doing the same.
With an afternoon of freedom ahead of him, Kakashi traded one set of complex emotions for another. He and Rin walked through the village arm in arm without a specific destination in mind. They carried on as any other couple did, talking about the weather or a dozen other small things as they came up. She told him about other restaurants and shops that were less frequented, and he smiled and nodded at all the appropriate places. Rin stopped at one such vendor to buy flowers, pale yellow and white, that the shopkeeper meticulously wrapped in brown paper. When Kakashi raised a questioning eyebrow at them, Rin smiled and continued walking.
The flow of people eventually led them toward the cemetery, or perhaps it was the familiar path for Kakashi's feet. At least here, the noise of the crowd had disappeared, replaced by the soft rustle of wind in the trees. Rin pulled free of Kakashi to approach the solemn markers. Then, to his astonishment, she turned away from the main rows toward the smaller plot on the side.
Rin knelt awkwardly by Sakumo's grave and cleared away the weeds as carefully as Kakashi had ever done before placing the flowers over it. When Kakashi couldn't speak around the lump in his throat, she'd whispered quiet words for both of them.
Before Kakashi realized it, the sun had melted below the horizon. He could tell that Rin had grown tired, so he led her back to their apartment. Once there, they received the news that Team Seven had passed the first exam. There was hardly time for celebration. The genin who had succeeded were being sent into the Forest of Death where their numbers would be winnowed down over the next few days.
Kakashi tried not to worry about his students. He remembered them surviving until the third exam in his time line, and he had no reason to assume they would do any differently here. In fact, the influence of Naruto's parents had made him stronger, much as Itachi and Shisui had done for Sasuke. Additionally, Rin had nurtured Sakura as a medic. His team had as much chance of survival as anyone.
While there was nothing else that Kakashi could do for his students, he had another duty to take care of, the one to his village. "Why don't you take a bath then get some sleep? I'll probably be late getting home," Kakashi encouraged as he checked the lengthening shadows outside.
Rin's lips quirked upward. "Why don't you hurry, then you can join me in the bath?"
Kakashi flustered through some excuse, he couldn't even remember what, then took his leave. His face heated as he walked. Even though the exchange had taken place fifteen minutes ago, thinking of the playful lilt in Rin's voice stirred a still foreign desire. Kakashi had to remind himself that he was a married man, more or less.
Shaking his head to clear the thoughts that he most certainly didn't need Inoichi reading, Kakashi made his way toward the interrogation headquarters. They had waited until dark because it was easier to avoid unfortunate questions if no one raised them in the first place. Fewer witnesses on the streets naturally led to a more covert meeting.
As Kakashi approached, Minato pushed away from the shadows near the door. The blond studied Kakashi's face for a moment before clapping his shoulder. "Are you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," Kakashi answered with a shrug.
Rather than going to the interrogation rooms that they'd used last time, Minato led Kakashi toward the largest, the one in the back of the building. Kakashi had only visited this room once, but he remembered the skin crawling feeling the experience had produced. The memory of watching an enemy nin strapped into a machine while multiple shinobi pried information from his mind made him shudder. Kakashi swallowed the bile in the back of his throat and reminded himself that he was among friends.
Before they entered, Minato caught Kakashi's arm and held out a scroll. "I debated whether or not to give you this, but I think you deserve to know. My only condition is that you wait to read it until after we've met with Inoichi so your thoughts aren't muddled."
Nodding, Kakashi tucked the mission scroll into the pouch on his hip. His hand itched to open the report that held the answers to what happened to Gai, but as usual, Minato was right. Anything that he read now would only agitate his thoughts, and he needed them to be as clear as possible. Taking a deep breath, Kakashi stepped into the room.
Inoichi stood with four members of the interrogation unit, whispering in tones too soft to be heard. Kakashi didn't recognize any of the other shinobi, but he noted that the medic who had been present on the first night stood unobtrusively in the corner. Hopefully, only caution necessitated his presence.
Kakashi turned his gaze on the machine that would encase him from toes to chin. It stood open, a single chair waiting between its jaws. Inoichi had tread carefully through Kakashi's memories, but would the men that he'd chosen to help do the same tonight? It's too late to turn back now, Kakashi chided his weakness and bowed his head in greeting.
Inoichi nodded in return. "Hatake-san, if you could sit there," he pointed toward the chair. "We'll try to get this over with as quickly as possible. Like last time, I'll do my best to avoid anything that isn't pertinent to the chunin exams."
Kakashi glanced at Minato for a moment before sitting in the chair. He resisted flinching when the edges of the apparatus closed around him. At Inoichi's nod, the interrogation unit moved to specified locations around the machine that would amplify the speed of extraction. Though it was almost impossible to feel chakra humming through the air, chillbumps rose on Kakashi's arms anyway.
Inoichi stood in front of Kakashi, lips drawn into a thin line of concentration. "Are you ready?" While the words weren't unkind, Kakashi could sense the professional distance that the man had put between them.
At Kakashi's nod, Inoichi placed a hand on his head. The room disappeared, images flashing through Kakashi's mind too quickly to grasp ahold of. Sparks of color belonged to specific people, he knew that somehow, but he couldn't differentiate which belonged to whom. Shinobi disappeared into a shadow that spread over them like a tidal wave. Red sprayed across Kakashi's vision, but he couldn't tell if the blood belonged to him or someone else. Golden eyes glinted in the darkness.
Sudden panic stole Kakashi's breath, driving him to his knees as the chittering of birds filled the air. A rasengan spun inches from his chest. A girl screamed, and Kakashi almost recognized the voice. Water poured from a tank while Jiraiya looked on disapprovingly. Ninja wire wrapped Sasuke, Kakashi holding it tight. Sakura cried in front of the gates of Konoha. Ozone and chakra filled the air, thick enough to taste as it spilled through the rain.
The images blurred into a swirl of colorful emotion, pressing down on Kakashi's lungs. He drowned under its weight as they dragged him deeper into the whirlpool below. His chest burned, begging for release. It was too much; he couldn't stand another moment. Then, as suddenly as it began, the pressure eased, and air flowed back in.
Kakashi gasped and opened his eyes. "You're done?" They couldn't have possibly gleaned enough information. He looked from Inoichi to the shinobi scattered around him in confusion. Sweat dappled the foreheads that he could see, and two of the men were stretching and shaking out their arms as if exhausted.
"For tonight, yes," Inoichi answered, indicating that the latches on the machine should be undone. "You probably didn't feel it, but nearly an hour has passed."
The members of the interrogation unit and the medic filed out without needing to be asked. Minato stood by the door with arms crossed over his chest, expression unreadable. Kakashi moved to relieve some of the nervous tension in his body, trying to reconcile the idea that what had felt like minutes had actually been an hour.
Once they were alone, Kakashi turned toward Inoichi. "Well?" The man glanced at Minato for permission before speaking.
"The images were much the same. The stronger memories, such as deaths, make it more difficult to reach the ones we're looking for, and your remembrance of the chunin exam is incomplete," Inoichi paused, searching for a better word. "Shadowed, one might say. While they are there, it's like wading through ink to get to them. The images are too murky."
To Kakashi's surprise, Inoichi chuckled. "Your mind is fascinating, Hatake-san. My clan would love to study how you veil so many of your emotions and memories, even from yourself. I've never experienced such a challenge in extracting information."
Kakashi frowned, unsure whether Inoichi meant the statement for praise or rebuke. Minato coughed softly into his hand and Kakashi ignored it. Another hour of his life wasted, memories rifled through like the scraps of a scroll, and they were exactly where they started.
"That's not to say that it was completely pointless," Inoichi interjected, brushing over his pants to remove imaginary dirt. "One memory did stand out from the chunin exams, fear colored it enough to make it noticeable. Fear that bordered on terror."
Kakashi shifted uncomfortably at the mention of those emotions in himself. A shinobi should be above such things, especially a jonin level shinobi. He opened his mouth to say as much, but Minato spoke first. "What was the memory?"
"More of a whom, than a what," Inoichi hedged, turning toward the Minato raised an eyebrow curiously, he continued. "Kakashi remembers Orochimaru being inside Konoha during the chunin exams."
Kakashi frowned. He didn't remember seeing Orochimaru at the chunin exams, but he knew the name well enough. The sannin was a rogue ninja, one of the most dangerous in the bingo book. Kakashi had a vague memory of meeting the man as Anbu-something skittered through the back of his mind.
"What about Jiraiya-sama? Isn't he tracking Orochimaru?" The disconnected fragment surfaced through the murk. Kakashi couldn't quite fit the images together, but he could almost remember a whispered conversation, something about the Akatsuki.
Inoichi's brow furrowed as he turned toward the jonin, but Minato didn't mask his surprise quite as smoothly. The Hokage's blue eyes widened as he rounded on Kakashi. "How do you know about that?"
The answer was simple enough to be laughable. While Kakashi had realized that his life had changed drastically, he hadn't considered the amount of inside information he held. Kakashi could reveal dozens of Anbu secrets, details from missions that he'd been on, and information that he should have had no way of knowing. But, those paled in comparison to the conversation he could almost recall. "Jiraiya had intelligence that Orochimaru was planning an attack on Konoha during the exams."
"You're just remembering that now?" Inoichi burst out, pale face blanching further. It took Kakashi a moment to understand: Inoichi's daughter was competing in the exams as well. The idea that a shinobi of such prowess could pose an additional danger to her must have been terrifying.
If Minato felt the same, he didn't reveal it. He looked between the two of them without any discernible emotion, which Kakashi knew was a bad sign. "Can you remember anything else?"
Kakashi wracked his mind, grasping at the memory. "Jiraiya had searched for him, but information was sketchy beyond the fact that he'd joined the Akatsuki. He believed that Orochimaru posed a significant threat to Konoha during the exam."
While those few details fell into place, Kakashi couldn't remember anything beyond them. He knew that there was something else, but he couldn't dredge it to surface. Minato clapped a hand on Inoichi's shoulder. "You know that we have security in place for the exams. Everything will be fine." When the man nodded, Minato continued. "Let's call it a night. In a day or two, maybe something will break loose for Kakashi, or we can try again."
"As you command, Hokage-sama." Inoichi's tone revealed his worry, but if Minato noticed, he chose not to comment on it. Kakashi wished that he could remember something that might prevent putting the genin into any more danger. Inoichi shook himself. "You two go ahead, I'll get everything closed up down here."
With a final nod, Minato led Kakashi through the building in silence. The eerie hallways echoed with their footsteps until the street swallowed the sound. Minato paused outside the door and met Kakashi's eyes. "I know about Orochimaru. Jiraiya has been tracking him for months, but there is no credible evidence to suggest that he's coming to Konoha, quite the contrary actually."
Kakashi bit his lip, worry worming between his shoulder blades like an itch he couldn't quite reach. "And if your intelligence is wrong?"
"It isn't." Minato raised a hand to halt the objections on Kakashi's lips. "And even if it were, I've tightened security around the village and increased the Anbu presence. It will be fine."
Kakashi noted the worry in the blue eyes that glanced away from his. Minato's job was to be strong for his people, but things felt a long way away from fine.