To say that Kakashi was surprised to see Boone outside his window in the middle of the night was an understatement. For one, the animal was practically welded to Mari's side. For two, he didn't think a civilian dog had the skill to reach his windowsill.
Boone's claws clicked on the floor while he paced, warbling and howling in discontent. His slick brown fur prickled straight out, down the ridge of his spine and around his neck. Kakashi inhaled through his nose. Pakkun wasn't around. Maybe he'd stayed with Mari, wherever she was.
"All right, just calm down." He slipped a black shirt and flak jacket on. Then headband and gloves. Stifling a yawn, he followed the frantic dog back out the window.
Boone surprised him, leaping from the sill to the roof. Looks like someone has been taking lessons, he thought. The dog led the way, through rooftop gardens, straight toward the hokage residence. Kakashi's stomach sank.
Don't tell me. . .
The dog's speed grew faster the closer they got. Ears pricked, his lips pulled back to bare long white teeth. Kakashi's brow furrowed. Why would they bring Mari in for questioning in the middle of the night?
He and Boone passed through the doors. Two ANBU stood watch inside.
The dog launched straight at them, jaws gaping wide.
Kakashi pivoted and snagged his collar, dragging the furious animal back before the stupid thing got himself killed.
"Kakashi-san, what are you doing here?" ox-mask asked.
"Well, this dog came and woke me up because he's convinced something horrible is happening to his owner."
The masked ANBU shared a glance. "You may come inside and wait until Ibiki-san is finished," tiger-mask offered. Boone gave an extra loud snarl at his words.
He tucked the flailing dog under his arm. "Mah, thank you," he murmured, and wandered down the hall.
Pakkun appeared at the end of the hall. "Kakashi, what are you doing here? And you," he said to Boone. "I told you to stay with Hana."
The dog snarled something back.
"Hey, you should take him out of here. He's not going to calm down as long as he can hear what's happening in the interrogation room."
Kakashi eyed the snarling beast in his grasp. Pakkun was right, he was getting worse. But taking him away wouldn't make it better because he'd just come back, or hurt himself trying. He flipped open a pocket on his vest and pulled out a vial of clear liquid, dripping a bit into Boone's gaping mouth.
"Give him a minute and he'll settle."
Pakkun nodded in understanding. Moments later Boone's movements slowed until there was only the gentle rise and fall of his ribs. Kakashi laid the dog out of the way on the floor.
"He's never going to forgive them." Pakkun looked at the unconscious dog uneasily. "What are you going to do now?"
Kakashi sagged against the wall and pulled out his book to pass the time. "Wait until he's finished I guess. Why did they bring her in the middle of the night?" He'd mentioned his suspicions to Tsunade during his report. She didn't seem overly concerned, but said something about the interrogation corps checking into it. He assumed Inoichi would just take a quick a peek into her mind to verify her story and it would be done with.
"Ibiki claims that her memories may be altered. He insists the only way to be sure Inoichi accesses the real ones is to break down any fabricated barriers in her mind first. And that it's easier to do when the subject is exhausted."
"I see." He opened the book and flipped through the pages and shook his head. Sadistic bastard.
Pakkun watched him steadily. Kakashi took a deep breath, the salt tang of fresh blood tweaking his nose. If he could smell it, no wonder Boone had reacted the way he did.
Hoping for her sake that it wouldn't be too much longer, he began to read. Pakkun shifted closer to him, worriedly staring down the hall. Minutes dragged by. His eye focused and unfocused on the dimly lighted page, rereading the same sentence a dozen or so times. A female voice, muffled by the wall, reached his ears.
It was Mari's voice. She spoke faster and said more than he'd ever heard from her. It was all in her language, voice rising in little bursts and cut with small silences.
Her words shifted, becoming more singsong, more musical. The cadence lilted a bit here and there, spoiled by abrupt silences. It almost sounded like a second, different language he hadn't heard before. There was a long silence where he thought the interrogation was finished. Ibiki said something to her, followed by a wet snap and a hiccuping sound. She began to speak again. This time her voice wavered, clumsily grasping for unfamiliar sounds in his language. She spoke haphazardly, listing an assortment of kitchen implements.
Another crack.
Her voice faltered, and she choked back what was clearly a sob. His chest constricted. He stared at the page, not even seeing it anymore. If he interfered, it might make things much worse for her. Ibiki might almost be finished at this point.
But then, Ibiki might not be ready to stop anytime soon.
Mari's heaving voice dropped down to a strangled whisper. He strained his ears for her words, desperate to hear and not wanting to know anything about it at at the same time.
"H-Hana, Kiba."
Kakashi squeezed his eye shut and closed the book.
"Please. Kakashi. Please."
The plea, soft as it was, hit him like a fist in the gut. He slid the book back into his weapon pouch and walked toward the door to the interrogation room. The cold steel of the doorknob turned in his grasp. He pushed it open.
Mari lay mostly still, curled up on her left side with her arms clasped tight against her chest. A dark smear stained the floor near her head. The only light a candle. Ibiki glared at him, the writhing candlelight strapping his marred face with bands of shadow.
"Why are you here?" he said.
"Someone called my name."
The two jounin faced each other in silence. Kakashi flexed his hand, wondering how much more defiance he could get away with on Ibiki's turf. The torture specialist was the first to speak.
"She broke down. I am finished. Once Inoichi examines her and presents his report to the hokage, her fate will be determined."
"So he is coming now?"
Ibiki shrugged. "I hadn't expected my part to be so brief. She can wait until morning."
"Do you object to her receiving medical treatment before then?"
He regarded Mari with the hooded gaze of a cat that longed to continue wounding some unfortunate bird. "If you must." The trenchcoat flapped as he turned. "I'll inform my men. She doesn't leave this room though."
"Pakkun will remain with her until Inoichi arrives."
Kakashi's words hung in the air. At the silence, he wished he'd worded it differently. More like a suggestion than an order. Ibiki didn't like others giving orders in his domain. The corner of the head interrogator's mouth twitched downward, but he kept walking. The door closed behind him, leaving Kakashi alone with Mari.
"Hey," he crouched by the girl. "He's gone now. It's safe."
She didn't respond. Even though her eyes were open, they weren't seeing anything of her surroundings. He'd seen that look before. They were the eyes of someone who'd escaped torture in the only they knew how.
"Mari," he put a hand on her shoulder and jostled her. "Mari wake up. It's over."
Her eyes went a little wider. She flinched away from his touch. He drew his hand away and spoke again.
This time recognition lit up her eyes. Good. "Kakashi?"
"Yo." He waved two fingers at her and smiled reassuringly, knowing she understood little of his words but very much of his manner. It seemed to put her at ease. Pakkun found his way into the room beside them. She brightened considerably at the dogs presence.
"Hey, what's wrong with her hand?" The little dog sniffed around her. "You should probably do something about it."
Perturbed, Kakashi pushed down the worry so it wouldn't show. "Mari, let me see your hand." He held his out. She didn't uncross her arms. He frowned. There was definitely an injury there.
"Pakkun, try to get her to uncross her arms so I can see."
"Sure." Pakkun walked up to Mari's face. "Hey, if you sit up and let Kakashi see your hand, I'll sit on your lap and you can touch my pads. They're really soft." He rested a little paw on her nose. "See?" He nudged her nose with his foot. She took a deep breath, rolled onto her back, then into a sitting position.
Her left shoulder was sunken and out of shape, dislocated. She hugged the injured arm tight against her. He reached out again, pointing to the hand hidden in the crook of her other arm.
"Please, Mari."
Frowning, she peeled her right arm away from it but wouldn't pull it away from her body. He leaned in closer, and swore under his breath. It didn't look much like a hand anymore. The skin was flayed open. Waxy white shards of bone protruded from wet patches of tissue. The front of her black tank top was soaked in blood.
"Ibiki, you went too far," he growled.
The injury was beyond him. Sakura was the best one to handle it. As Tsunade's apprentice she was the least likely to get in trouble. If Tsunade did have a problem, then as her sensei, he could step in and take the blame instead. Besides, Ibiki was less likely to interfere with any medical decisions Sakura made.
"Pakkun, go get Sakura. Tell her it's an emergency."
The little dog vanished in the blink of an eye.
He turned his eye back to Mari's hand, a wave of anger washing through him. On the surface it was all for Ibiki, but when he looked closer it was mostly for himself. He'd brought her to Konoha. Then he'd gotten suspicious. She trusted him. She trusted all of them and look what happened to her.
And Boone. The dog was smart, and Pakkun was right. He'd never forgive them. Once Sakura arrived he'd have to take him somewhere before he woke, and keep him away until things were sorted out. After seeing the lengths Mari went to for Sholpan, he had a feeling that nothing would destroy her faster than if something happened to the old dog.
Mari watched him, her pale eyes wide. She trembled, and he noticed with alarm that her skin had taken on a greyish pallor.
Sakura, he thought. Hurry.