So, I was listening to some music, and if you're interested in some random Ayame trivia, her aesthetic is Billie Eilish, particularly the song 'bellyache'
Next chapter will wrap up the Danzo business. Orochimaru may take a while longer… :)
Chapter 19
Hound. Root agents on the move.
Kakashi received the telepathic message from Inoichi.
Relay to the other teams. Send out the back-up teams. Don't kill them if it can be avoided.
Understood. Good luck.
It had been on Shikaku's urging that Inoichi was informed of the mission. Kakashi and Minato had to admit that he was right in saying that if Danzo was backed into a corner, he'd lash out to save himself. They needed to be warned if they had incoming hostiles, and only the Yamanaka could do that and keep watch at the same time.
Kakashi relayed the message to his team as they moved towards the rendezvous point. They moved silently, watchful of the forest around them. They still had several kilometers left to travel, but knowing Root, Kakashi knew they'd see them sooner rather than later.
"You forget who I am, Shimura," Ayame spat.
Ayame put her foot on the body of the dead Root agent below her and kicked him off the bridge, staring defiant and excited at Danzo. Blood dripped from her sword onto the wood, and severed limbs surrounded her.
"Not all Sarutobi's students follow his benefit-of-the-doubt teachings," she gave a wicked smile. "We might wear the same headband, but that won't stop me from killing anyone I see fit."
Danzo stood on the platform with four guards around him. She could see the chakra signatures of at least ten others just watching from around her. Danzo had held them back, obviously not wanting to risk any more of his little army.
Danzo's lips curled into a distasteful sneer.
"Both you and your brother are a disgrace to the village."
Ayame laughed lightly.
"I think my dear brother would be happy to hear you say that. But it begs the question: what does that make you?" She raising her sword, mimicking the stance Tobirama often used. Danzo recognised it, she saw it in his eyes. "A hero?"
Danzo stood tall.
"I serve my village, doing what is necessary and what others cannot."
Ayame lips twisted with disgust.
"I hope you feel as sickened as I do that we are cut from similar cloths," she grunted.
"Indeed," he said looking down his nose at her.
"But there is a difference between us that you will never bridge: you serve your own interests," Ayame growled. "I see you, Shimura. I see that Uchiha eye you stole."
She bared her teeth at him and clenched her sword.
"And I'm taking it back."
Quicker than the two front guards could react, Ayame moved, slicing her sword right to left and sending a wind jutsu at them, severing their necks while Danzo and the other two jumped high and back and avoided the attack. Their heads and bodies landed on the ground in four thumps, and blood spilled toward her feet. She didn't care. She caught Danzo's eye and saw the smug look cross his face and sensed the explosive tags below her feet.
Danzo's guards slammed their hands on the ground and created a barrier around her. Ayame had to work quickly or she would be toast. Lucky for her and unlucky for Danzo, the manipulation chakra was a skill she'd long since developed and the barrier was weak. Amateurs, she scoffed mentally. Her eyes spun into the second form of her Sharingan, mismatched though they were. Her right eye was her own, a regular Mangekyo, but her left was Ryuu's - the Eternal Mangekyo - with his ability to manipulate chakra.
She threw herself towards Danzo, her Sharingan distorting the barrier enough to allow her to slip through just as the explosion tags went off. The weakened barrier and force of the explosion propelled her forwards, straight towards the waiting enemy.
Ayame cursed and reached into her obi as she fell, pulling out her shuriken and launching them at the agents who were forced to avoid them as she prepared herself to land in a roll on the ground.
Danzo entered her field of vision, finally attacking her himself. She landed hard on her shoulder and immediately rolled to the right, narrowly avoiding the wind jutsu punch he thrust down at her, that shattered the wood. Ayame spun on her back, kicking out her legs and taking down the Root agent who came at her as soon as Danzo missed. She used her momentum to get to a handstand and push up to flip over onto her feet again.
The attacks were more relentless, led by Danzo himself and backed-up by his agents, ones far superior to the ones that she'd defeated earlier. She was pushed more than she had been in a long time, and Ayame found herself in a manic, gleeful state of mind as she fought. Elated and enjoying every moment of it, and in the back of her mind knowing that the come down was going to be the worst yet.
Her eyes perceived every movement, every action. She avoided attack after attack, her speed allowing her to strike back with fatal accuracy until Danzo was coming to a point where his precious agents would all be slaughtered, or flee.
Or, have the Fourth Hokage show up just at that moment in all his blond glory.
The pressure of Minato's chakra impressed Ayame. He was commanding with his hard stare and strong shoulders and that very nice white robe he wore. He glanced between Ayame and Danzo, who straightened from his aggressive stance and wiped at his face,
"Lord Hokage," Danzo huffed. "It has been some time since I summoned you to stop this vicious and unprovoked attack."
Ayame hissed at him, but Jiraiya gripped her arm tightly and leaned forward to speak quietly in her ear.
"Don't make this worse, Aya," he murmured.
Ayame turned a glare at him.
"He's a traitor," she growled. "He deserves to die."
Jiraiya gave her a hard look and she let out an irate huff.
Minato looked around at the carnage around them; burned wood, broken beams and shattered concrete. Blood pooling from bodies and arms, legs and heads detached from their owners. She saw his jaw clench and had a feeling she wasn't going to like what came next. Minato shouldn't have been so surprised. He knew what she would do, that's why they gave her this mission.
"Jiraiya."
Minato's voice held a command in it, and before she knew what was happening, she felt Jiraiya's free hand slam into her back. Ayame cried out with surprise and anger as the seal worked her way across her skin, paralysing her and cutting off her chakra. Her Sharingan faded away and she before she could fall forwards onto her face, Jiraiya caught her.
"I'll kill you for this," she hissed at him.
He gave her an apologetic look and threw her over his shoulder. She gave a grunting scream of frustration. Faced with only Jiraiya's back, she missed whatever happened next, but she felt the rise of Minato's chakra, heard the surprised gasps and the sudden appearance of a large group of shinobi.
"What is this?" Danzo sounded outraged.
"By order of the Fourth Hokage, you are being placed under arrest pending interrogation for committing treason against the Leaf, the illegal theft of a clan dojutsu, and anything else we discover along the way."
Ayame recognised the Head of Torture and Interrogation speak.
"What farce is this?" Danzo demanded.
"It is no farce, Lord Shimura. If these accusations made against you and the evidence that has been brought forth are false, you have nothing to fear," Minato said calmly. "Enough damage has been done today. You can either follow me peacefully, or be restrained and escorted by ANBU."
There was a heavy silence and then Ayame chuckled as she saw Danzo's feet pass her as he was marched out of the room.
"You sure made a mess, Aya," Jiraiya said to her quietly. "Some of these… they were kids."
There was a tightness in his voice, but Ayame had long retreated into the Ghost and she was keeping her own conscious out for as long as she could.
"They were warriors and they weren't strong enough."
"That's not what your father would have said."
Ayame felt her blood freeze.
"If he had survived, this never would have happened," she said in a low voice. "Sarutobi-sensei tried to live by the example of Tobi and Hashi, but he failed to understand that both of them would have ended Danzo before this point. Sensei was weak and foolish."
Jiraiya had nothing to say and carried her out in the sunlight to Torture & Interrogation, taking off her seals when she was secured in a cell.
She gripped his throat before he could leave.
"I told you I would kill you for those seals," she said, her eyes cold.
Jiraiya looked at her, his eyes tightening with pain as she squeezed his throat, but he made no attempt to speak and simply stared at her with boredom.
"Stand down."
Minato walked into the room and the ANBU who had kunai and swords at her throat sheathed their weapons.
"Let him go, Ayame," Minato said, folding his arms over his chest and leaning back against the wall by the door.
She did.
"Lucky I'm kind of fond of you," she said to Jiraiya.
He snorted and rubbed his neck.
"I'm not sure that's lucky," he muttered.
Ayame gaze slid from Jiraiya to Minato.
"Is he secure?"
He nodded.
She let out a small breath of relief, and the weight on the corners of her mind lifted slightly. The Ghost began to retreat, just a little. Ayame could see that Minato was displeased with her, and she knew that it wasn't just because he didn't like what she'd done, but because he was a good man with a conscious pointed into a direction of morality that she no longer used to direct her own actions.
"Never forget, Minato Namikaze, you asked for my assistance knowing what would happen, and I delivered."
She hoped he understood that his job was more than the happy face, the protector, the vision of strength.
She hoped he was prepared for what might happen, for what would happen.
When he didn't respond to her, Ayame looked away and stared at the wall.
"With every new generation, the stories about my parents and the founders become more and more embellished, and dipped in the loveliest of sunshine," she said with a sigh. "They were great men, and my mother was a great woman. They were strong and powerful and unifying and everything the history books would have you believe."
She looked at Minato, who was staring at her intently but she couldn't decipher what he was thinking.
"Do you want to know what people forget the most about Hashirama Senju?" She asked.
Jiraiya moved to the door and she sat back on the metal cot by the wall. Her new home for however long Minato decided. Or until she got bored, after all, she might have had a hand in the designs for the building.
"Why don't you tell me," Minato said eventually.
She gave a wry smile.
"What would you do, if someone tried to destroy the village?" She asked him.
He frowned, obviously wondering where her question was going and how it related to Hashirama.
"I would protect the village," he responded.
"Why not just say it, Minato? Just say it plainly what you would do to the perpetrators."
"I would put an end to the threat in whatever means was necessary."
She shook her head.
"I don't understand why it's so hard to say the words: you would kill them."
He gazed at her levelly.
"Yes. If there was no other option, I would."
She nodded.
"Of course you would. It's your job. So, ask yourself this: would you kill Kushina to protect the village?"
He blanched.
"What are you asking?"
"If you had to choose between the destruction of the village or killing Kushina, what would you chose?" She asked.
"I - "
He couldn't answer and Ayame gave him a sad smile.
"That's what people forget about Hashirama," she told. "He would kill his wife, children, brother, and best friends to protect the village if they were threatening it. Because there was nothing and no one more important that the future of the village."
Minato stared at her and she could see his struggles in his eyes, and she could see that he was a man who would, when the moment came, put the village first and kill part of himself to do it.
"That is what Sarutobi-sensei forgot. He put friendship and hope above the survival and protection of the village and people he was supposed to care for, and that is a sacrifice I hope you never have to make."
She turned away from both of them and stared at the wall, the conversation was over. She had imparted her wisdom, and now she was tired. She was just so tired.
The Ghost was receding, and she could feel the blood on her hands dripping down her arms and pooling around her mind as she closed her eyes and felt the sick satisfaction of the power over life she wielded.
"Get up, Nohara."
Rin looked up to see Sakiko looking down at her with a disapproving stare. Rin normally would do what the woman said. Sakiko was an excellent medic, and terrifying when she wanted to be as well. But now, when Obito was in pain, she couldn't obey.
"I won't leave Obito. If I can't go inside, I'll stay here," she replied stubbornly.
Sakiko narrowed her eyes.
"You know the protocol of the hospital in regards to ANBU agents brought in, so hush and go back to your room."
"I refuse."
Her stubbornness seemed to surprise Sakiko, whose eyes turned cold. She stepped forwards, and Rin flinched, thinking that she was going to forcefully move her, but instead, Sakiko prodded the unsuspecting ANBU guard in the chest and he gasped and fell to his knees.
"Oh my," she said flatly. "It seems you need a medic."
"That…is… going to… cost you," the guard wheezed.
"Yes, yes, your delusions are quite fascinating," she said, reaching down and helping him to his feet. "Come along then, I'll fix you up."
Rin stared in disbelief and Sakiko clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"Don't just sit there, foolish girl," she snapped. "You owe me for this, Rin Nohara, and I expect full payment in the form of your complete and total recovery."
Rin scrambled to her feet and gave her part-time sensei a wide and grateful smile before rushing into Obito's room.
She could hear his heavy breathing when she closed the door and the quiet beeping of the monitor. With hands shaking slightly from nerves and a little fear, she crept closer to the bed, afraid of what state she'd see him in.
Her lower lip trembled when she saw how bad he looked. She forced herself to take a deep, deep and steadying breath, straightened her back and shoulders and walk to stand beside his bed. She took his hand in hers. It was clammy, and she swallowed hard.
His uniform had been stripped and folded into a bag on the table beside the bed with his mask. He was topless and his arm was wrapped in a bandage with some blood seeping through. His hair was stuck to his forehead with sweat, his entire body coated in a sheen of it, and his eyes and lips were darkened blue and purple.
Rin held his hand tightly.
"You're going to be okay, Obito," she whispered.
Looking behind her, she pulled up the seat beside his bed and sat, never letting go of his hand.
"Lady Tsunade is going to fix you, and you're so strong, Obito," she whispered to him. "So please don't leave me, okay? I can't watch you die again." Her hands shook. "Don't leave me."
Rin pressed her lips to his hand and rested her head on his bed, fighting back worried tears.
She didn't know how long had passed when Tsunade burst into the room.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised," she grunted. "Well, if you're here you should help me out. This poison is a nasty piece of work and the antidote is going to take a while longer before it's ready for administration."
"You've already made it?" Rin asked, eyes wide.
"Who do you think I am?" Tsunade said, eyes hard. "Now make yourself useful or get out. This is going to be painful for him."
Rin bit her lip and reluctantly let go of his hands, restraining him in the leather straps as Lady Tsunade instructed. When she clipped the final one that would keep his head down and then placed the strap between his teeth, she looked at Lady Tsunade expectantly.
"This is a crude method, but considering the danger his lungs are in, it's necessary. You replace the water as I draw out the poison," Lady Tsunade instructed.
Rin nodded and Lady Tsunade gave her a sidelong look.
"This isn't going to be easy," she warned.
"I'm not leaving him," Rin responded.
Lady Tsunade gave her a satisfied smile and then with a jutsu lifted the water from the bowl and moved it into Obito, who screamed in his unconscious state.
Rin worked and cried but she never left and when it was done, Lady Tsunade gave her a pat on the head.
"He's lucky to have you, Rin," she said quietly, as Rin sat exhausted beside him, clutching his hand again. "I hope he knows that."
"He does," Rin replied. "They both do, and I'm lucky to have them."
Danzo and Ayame have both been detained in T&I, they're waiting for your evidence, Kakashi.
Inoichi's message came through loud and clear.
Have you heard anything about Obito?
Silence.
Kakashi frowned.
He was successful. It appears the Root agents are falling back, our sensors have determined they're heading away from you. Other ANBU teams are in pursuit. Bring your teams home and report to the Hokage immediately.
The connection severed and Kakashi relayed the orders to his team and they continued on to the village as a pit in Kakashi's stomach formed as he realised that something had happened to Obito, successful or not.
Minato stared at Danzo through the glass as he sat calmly in the center of the interrogation room, his eyes closed as if he had no cares in the world. It made Minato nervous. Danzo either thought they had nothing, or he wasn't concerned about his detainment for other reasons that were sure to be troubling.
He's face was marred by a frown as he recalled the words that Ayame had spoken to him a little earlier, informing him of the weight of the title he held and the toll it would take on him. Minato had not lied to the Third when he said he was ready, that he was prepared. He had known that there would be times when he would be forced to make choices he'd rather not, but her question about Kushina had shaken him.
Part of him rebelled against the question, knowing it was ridiculous to think Kushina would ever turn against the village. But he forced that part of himself away, knowing that factual basis wasn't the point of her query. She wanted him to understand his own resolve, to question if he could make those hard choices.
"Lord Fourth."
He was drawn from his thoughts by Inoichi Yamanaka, who had come to stand beside him.
"Inoichi, any updates on the raid squads?"
"They're returning. Root agents had been closing in on them for a time, but something must have happened because they suddenly turned away and fled. Retrieval squads were dispatched, and the teams are on the way back."
Minato nodded, his frown deepening.
"Are there any updates on Obito?"
"I don't know," Inoichi replied. "Kakashi asked about him…" He trailed off. "I didn't tell him, but I could feel that he was distressed in any case."
"I imagine so," Minato murmured.
"Is there anything you want me to do with him?" Inoichi asked, gesturing to Danzo.
Minato took a deep breath.
"Not yet," he said. "I want the Hyuga and the Uchiha clan leaders here first to determine if Ayame is correct that he has an Uchiha eye under those bandages."
Inoichi's face turned hard.
"I can hardly believe it," he muttered. "To stoop to such depths. His dislike of the Uchiha is not a secret, but this?" Inoichi shook his head. "It's disgusting."
Minato said nothing, but he agreed that it was reprehensible.
"I'll be in my office. No visitors to Ayame or Danzo. Don't take your eyes off him," Minato ordered Inoichi.
"You can count on me, Minato," he responded with a grave nod.
Minato turned and left, ascending from the depths of T&I and into the corridors leading back to the surface.
He blinked a moment as he exited the building, blinded momentarily by the light before he was suddenly gone and once again inside his office where Nawaki and Shikaku were waiting for him.
Shikaku gave him a blearily tired look when he saw him.
"I don't envy your position," he muttered, shaking his head over the papers he had been looking over. "Such inane work."
Minato gave the hint of a smile.
"And that's only half of it. Nawaki handles the rest."
"You Hokage would be drowning without me," Nawaki attempted to joke, but the mood wasn't right for it. He gave a sigh. "So, Danzo is detained."
Minato nodded.
"And so is Ayame."
Nawaki looked surprised.
"Aya? I don't understand. That wasn't part of the plan."
Minato let out a heavy sigh and moved to sit at his desk.
"If you had been there, you'd have done the same thing."
Nawaki looked troubled and was about to say something when there was a commotion outside and a very loud, very female voice was heard through the walls. The three men in the room shared looks of pain and resignation when the doors of Minato's office burst open and Tsunade Senju stormed into the room, dragging Jiraiya with her.
"This looks troublesome," was all Shikaku managed to mumble before the shouting about Orochimaru started.
Inside ANBU Headquarters, Kakashi collected the sealed scrolls filled with intelligence from Orochimaru's labs and gave them over to the ANBU Commander.
"Mission successful," he reported.
The Commander gave a short nod.
"This will be reported to the Hokage immediately and sent to the Cypher division. Change and report to Lord Fourth, he has summoned you, Hatake."
Kakashi nodded and walked out, heading into the locker rooms. He sat on one of the benches in the middle of the room and pulled off his mask with a sigh, he was tired after the long and tense day. He shook out his hair and roughly ran a hand through it, his mind heavy with thoughts about Obito and what might have happened.
He barely listened to the chatter around him until he heard something of interest.
"…Danzo and the Ghost!"
Kakashi turned to listen.
"Yeah, they're in T&I right now. I just came from down there."
Kakashi locked away his uniform and changed into his jonin jacket.
"…Tsunade is on a rampage…"
"Oh, yeah, did you hear that Obito's in the hospital? Poison or something."
Kakashi froze and he felt the attention in the room move to him. He turned.
"I heard he's fine. Tsunade fixed him up."
Kakashi gave a tight nod.
"I have to report to the Hokage," he said through gritted teeth.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and saw one of the older jonin looking at him with the kind of compassion that only comes from those experienced enough to understand the deep bonds that form between teammates.
"He's fine, Hatake. Nohara is there and he's a tough kid."
Kakashi tried to relax, logically knowing it was true. He thanked the shinobi and left, heading straight to Minato's office, where he was stopped by an ANBU he knew was Genma.
"You don't wanna go in there," he said, shaking his head slightly.
Kakashi frowned.
"Why?"
"Lady Tsunade's in there. She's terrifying."
At any other time, Kakashi would have smiled. But he wasn't in the mood.
"Thanks for the warning."
"Hey, it's your funeral."
Genma gave a shrug and retreated to his guard position and Kakashi continued to the office, opting to take to the rooftops instead of the tradition route of corridors and doorways. He crouched on the roof below the window, listening to Tsunade's rant a moment before jumping inside the room.
"Is Obito okay?" He demanded immediately, interrupting.
Tsunade turned a harsh glare on him and Minato gave him a looking pleading to be careful.
"What is it with you kids? No damn respect," Tsunade muttered. "Of course he's okay, I treated him."
Kakashi stared at her.
"But he's not recovered is he?"
A vein on Tsunade's forehead popped and Kakashi took a few steps backward while Nawaki sighed and Minato looked defeated.
"Uh… Lord Hokage, the mission was a success," Kakashi said. "We have the evidence."
That stopped Tsunade in her tracks and she dropped Jiraiya.
"I think it's time you explain what the hell is going on, Minato Namikaze, before I call your wife in here and tell her all about those pesky injuries you never got seen to during the war."
Minato paled.
"Please don't do that."
Tsunade folded her arms over her chest and glared at everyone gathered in the room.
"Stop being such a baby, Jiraiya. Get up off the floor," she snapped.
Jiraiya groaned.
"But there's such a nice view from down here."
Tsunade stomped her heel into his stomach.
"On second thoughts, stay there."
He moaned in pain and Kakashi fought back a sorrowful and nostalgic smile as he remembered those days and moments between Tsunade and Jiraiya before Pein.
"Lady Tsunade." Minato drew back the rooms attention. "I apologise for keeping you in the dark. If you would close the window, Kakashi."
Kakashi complied and waited patiently as Minato explained the complex three-part mission to Tsunade, who remained quiet until the end. A moment passed before she slammed her hand down on the desk, shattering it.
ANBU appeared in the room, poised and ready, but Minato simply stayed seated on his chair before the now ruined desk and dismissed them.
"Tsuna! That desk was made by our grandfather!" Nawaki exclaimed.
"He made extra, they're in storage," she said to her brother. "You shouldn't have kept this from me. And where is Ayame? I'm going to strangle her."
"Locked in T&I for the time being."
Tsunade stared at Shikaku for a moment before laughing.
"Oh, you fools. That place won't keep her locked in, she practically built it, didn't you know?"
Minato looked pained.
"Of course she did," he sighed. He stood. "Tsunade, thank you for your reports on Obito. Please try to have him able to use a substantial amount of chakra as soon as possible, we must retrieve Orochimaru as quickly as we can."
"You men are really testing my patience." She whirled and pointed at Kakashi. "And you, Hatake. You better go and make sure Rin's getting proper rest. She's probably still clinging to the Uchiha brat now."
Kakashi glanced at Minato, who gave him a look that he knew meant to stay.
"I think you should send out Jiraiya to follow the Root Agents who fled. They might be going after some place else that we don't know about, somewhere with more substantial evidence," Shikaku said.
"That was bothering me too," Minato agreed. "You should get going as soon as possible, Jiraiya-sensei."
"I'll get right on that," Jiraiya wheezed from the floor.
"I'm going to see Ayame." She turned to Nawaki. "You come with me."
Kakashi slipped out the window, ready to go see Obito until he saw Minato staring at him. He paused on the rooftop and waited until Minato came to the window.
"Cypher has the evidence," Kakashi said to him.
Minato nodded.
"Are you all right? You look pale."
Kakashi clenched his jaw.
"I had forgotten…" he trailed off, remembering the stench of that pit of death. He shook his head. "I'm fine."
Minato didn't look like he believed him.
"Go check on Obito, and then meet me in T&I, I want you there when we talk to Danzo," he said.
Kakashi nodded and left, running across the rooftops to the hospital, feeling a deepening sense of desperation to see that Obito was alive. Whatever the state, he just needed to see Obito breathing.
He was stopped in the hall on the way to his room by Sakiko Uchiha. He hadn't seen much of her, only sometimes when he'd dropped by to see Rin at the hospital, or sometimes in the Uchiha District.
"Slow down, boy. You'll wear yourself out," she said, her brow furrowed with disapproval. "Obito's not going anywhere, and by the looks of her, neither is Rin." Sakiko clicked her tongue in disapproval. "He doesn't look good, but he's on the mend, so don't be so frantic and disturb him. Go on, Kakashi, before I decide to throw you out for being a disruption."
Kakashi took a few deep breaths and made his way in a less frantic manner to Obito's room. He quietly opened the door and entered, feeling his shoulder sag with relief when he saw Rin sleeping with her head on Obito's bed.
The door clicked shut and he padded into the room, gently patting Rin to wake her. She startled awake and then relaxed when she saw it was him.
"Hey, you're back," she murmured. "Are you okay?"
"Fine," Kakashi replied, sitting on the arm of her chair. "How is he?"
Rin sniffed and wiped her face, waking herself up.
"Lady Tsunade extracted the poison a while ago, and he was administered some antidote about half an hour ago, so he's going to be okay but it'll be a few days, maybe a week until he'll be recovered enough to leave the hospital."
Kakashi pursed his lips.
Rin frowned.
"What?"
"The Hokage needs Orochimaru," he said. "They'll try and speed up his recovery as much as possible… only Obito can retrieve him." Kakashi's fists curled in frustration.
Rin looked back at Obito.
"Is it really impossible to leave the kamui's dimension?" She asked.
"There's no way for him to escape, Rin," Kakashi said.
They sat in silence for a few moments.
"I have to go," Kakashi said reluctantly. "Minato-sensei wants me to be there when they question Danzo."
"Where's Ayame?" Rin asked. "If she heard about Obito, she'd be here, wouldn't she? She loves Obito."
"She's in T&I," Kakashi said. "I'll tell her, okay?"
Rin nodded.
"He'd like it if she came. I don't know why, but they've got a really strong bond," she murmured.
"They understand each other," Kakashi replied. "Get some rest, Rin."
She gave him a tired smile.
"Don't be late for Minato-sensei," she said, half-teasing.
"Me, late? Never."
"I've never known anyone as completely and utterly infuriating as you, Ayame Uchiha," Tsunade thundered.
Ayame winced at the decibels.
"Well, at least I'm good for something," she replied, serving only to anger Tsuna further.
She stormed into the room and stood intimidatingly over Ayame, who looked up at her friend with slight wonderment at how on earth she'd managed to befriend someone as incredible - in so many ways - as Tsunade. Suddenly, Tsuna's expression softened and she sat on the cot beside her.
"Are you all right? Nawaki told me… what you did."
Ayame looked at the doorway and saw Nawaki there. He rolled into the room and the door closed behind him.
She hummed.
"I'm perfectly content," she replied easily. "Allies and traitors are all alike to the Ghost."
"You are not the Ghost, Aya!" Tsunade said with frustration.
Ayame looked away.
"It doesn't matter though, does it. In the end, I am Ayame and I am the Ghost. I do what I have to do for the sake of the village, for the future. What I feel doesn't matter."
"You matter, Ayame," Nawaki said firmly.
"Don't be such a damn martyr," Tsunade snapped. "Just be honest for once. You can't hide from us."
Ayame leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes.
"I wonder if this is how my father felt every time he spoke to Hashirama," she murmured. "Damn you Senju, so aggressively prying."
She couldn't help the little upwards curl of her lips.
"You damn Uchiha, you'll never escape us," Tsunade said, her voice lighter than before, a little jovial.
"We're your family, Aya," Nawaki said softly.
Ayame slowly, slowly, lowered her head to Tsunade's shoulder, keeping her eyes closed, and just for a moment allowing herself to show how she was really feeling.
"I'm so tired," she whispered. "I miss mama and papa and Izara."
Tears formed behind her eyelids, escaping to roll down her face.
"You miss Ryuu," Nawaki murmured.
Ayame's throat caught in a small sob.
"Isn't that ridiculous?" She asked, sitting up and staring at her hands, a strange smile on her face. "That I can miss someone who has hurt me so much?"
"No," Tsunade answered quietly.
Ayame felt the floodwaters beginning to threaten and she pulled herself back. It was enough. There was no point in wallowing in things that she couldn't change. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and lightly slapped her cheeks, giving a falsely bright smile.
"Well. The good news is, Danzo Shimura is finished," she said.
She could see the concern and annoyance in the eyes of her friends, but they said nothing.
"Fugaku and Hizashi are on their way to examine the allegedly stolen eye," Nawaki said.
Ayame blinked in surprise.
"Allegedly? Allegedly? Do they think I lied?" She asked, outraged.
Nawaki sighed.
"It's confirmation from unconnected sources," he said tiredly. "My word, Aya, Tsuna was right: you are infuriating."
"Thank you."
There was a knock at the door, and they all looked to see a mass of white hair as Kakashi poked his head in.
"I hope I'm not interrupting," he drawled. "But I'd like a word with Ayame."
"If it isn't my favourite little Hatake," Ayame teased.
"Well. I'm the only Hatake, so your sentiments are doubly appreciated," Kakashi responded dryly.
Ayame gave a light laugh and Kakashi stepped fully into the room as Tsuna and Nawaki left, giving her long glances before they turned away and the door closed again.
Kakashi peered at her.
"Have you been crying?"
Ayame raised an eyebrow.
"Me? Crying? Whatever for?"
Kakashi gave her a knowing and slightly amused look.
"You have the same tell as your mother," he replied simply. She felt herself frown. "But that's not what I'm here for. It's Obito."
Ayame stilled at the tone of his voice. Something was wrong.
"You're relatively calm right now, so I assume he's alive," she said with forced calmness.
Kakashi suddenly looked weary.
"Yes, but…" He let out a long breath. "He was poisoned. Badly."
Ayame absorbed the information.
"Tsunade treated him."
Kakashi nodded and Ayame bit the inside of her cheek.
"Rin is with him now, and Sakiko is the medic overseeing his recovery with Tsunade."
Ayame smirked.
"How delightful for those who try to interfere with his recovery."
Kakashi managed a rueful smile.
"He captured Orochimaru, but he's the only one who can retrieve him, and he won't be able to do much for days at least. It's not very good timing for this whole thing," he said.
"But Obito's going to be all right."
She sat back against the wall, feeling relieved. Obito was… she would never say it aloud, never in a million years, but Ayame knew that if she had ever wanted a family, she'd have wanted her children to be like Obito - the Obito she saw when he wasn't weighed down with guilt and regret, and when he was free and himself. That kid managed to worm his way into her heart and honestly, she'd never want it any other way.
Kakashi moved his hands to his pockets and slouched.
"So what are you going to do?" He asked her.
She quirked an eyebrow.
"You're not going to stay here, are you?" He questioned.
Ayame gave a grin.
"I am at the mercy of our oh so noble and fair, great summoner of Toads and occasional Sage, the dear handsome and generous Fourth Hokage. Of course, I'm going to obey my orders."
Kakashi rolled his eyes.
"Yeah. That was convincing."
Ayame waved him away.
"Move along, little Hatake. I've things to do and you're far too busy to spend time with little old me."
He gave her one last look as he left the room.
"He'd be happy to know you visited."
Ayame stared at the closed door of her cell for a moment, wondering just how much of her that kid was able to see through.