Chapter 21

The Art of Discovering Answers

Kakashi sat in the corner of his cell with his knees pulled up to his chest. The only light in the small space was whatever managed to slip passed the narrow bars set into the thick steel door, and it cast him in dappled shadows that never shifted, no matter what time of day it was. That, by itself, was enough to let him know he was being held in Konoha's most secure facility, deep underground. Which also meant that any chance of keeping an accurate track of the number of days he'd spent within this damp cell was nonexistent.

He'd been stripped of his Konoha uniform the moment he'd been brought to this place, and he now wore the standard issue gray striped outfit which not only marked his place as a prisoner, but also failed to provide warmth to push back the chill of the damp walls. Add to that the fact that his mask had been taken away, and his feet were bare, and Kakashi was truly miserable at the moment.

A shiver rocked his body, which in turn pulled a groan from his lips when his partially healed muscles protested the movement. This was definitely the worst part of this travesty...the fact that the carefully monitored doses of medications had been stopped altogether. And it hadn't taken long before any of the benefits he'd received from that regiment began to reverse themselves. His muscles were alternating between spasming and burning pain, and he was experiencing a constant source of agony as the pitiful amount of chakra that was remaining in his body continually ran into collapsed portions of his pathways with no way to circulate fully.

There was a thick metal patch affixed with Tsunade's chakra over Kakashi's sharingan eye. It pushed snugly against his eyelid in order to eliminate any chance of him using it against his keepers. Add to that the fact that every time he had finally managed to fall asleep, he was pulled back to consciousness by his ANBU guards, and forced into one of the numerous interrogation rooms that were dotted throughout the catacombs of the maximum security facility.

He'd lost track of just how many times he'd been grilled about things he had no recollection of, and so when he was once more dragged out of his cell, he was not surprised to find four members of the Yamanaka clan waiting for him in the hallway. After all, they were always there to provide assistance in the non-stop interrogations.

"This would go much easier if you would simply admit to what you've done, Copy-ninja."

Kakashi lifted his head up a bit farther and saw that the Elders were standing just behind the interrogation team. He glared in their general direction and pushed his words through his parched throat.

"Mah, you've caught me, Elder Utatane. I confess."

The old woman's eyes nearly sparkled in anticipation of his next words as she leaned forward. "Go on!"

Kakashi couldn't keep the disdain from his words. "Very well. I confess...that this is a colossal waste of time. I didn't do whatever the hell it is you think I've done."

He watched that sparkle in her eyes change to fierce anger, and while his ANBU keepers held him firmly within their grips, her bony fingers slapped against his unmasked face. The sound echoed dully throughout the hall, and Kakashi noted the hard glare from the woman was matched by her male counterpart and the group of Yamanaka men watching him.

Kakashi ran the tip of his tongue along his lips and tasted his own blood from where Elder Utatane's ring sliced into his skin. He let loose a weary sigh and closed his eye to his captors. "So what's it to be this time, hmm? A romp through my memories of my first steps?" He opened his eye and glared straight at the Elders. "Or perhaps my first kill? Is that more along the lines of what interests you all?"

He felt the grip on his arms tighten in warning, but in all honesty he was beyond caring if his comments were crossing some invisible line in the dirt. He sighed once more. "Just get it over with so that I can go back to pretending I'm somewhere other than Konoha."

One of the Yamanaka men stepped forward and grabbed Kakashi's chin, forcing his head back until he was forced to meet the man's dark eyes. "And where else would you choose to be, Hatake?"

Kakashi met the man's eyes steadily. "Perhaps somewhere that such treatment to a loyal citizen wouldn't be happening in the first place."

A frown settled across the man's face, and for a moment Kakashi thought that he saw doubt and regret showing in those dark eyes. But it all fell away the instant Elder Homura's words rang out. "That was quite the speech, boy. But you are forgetting one thing, aren't you?"

Kakashi turned his gaze toward where the older man was watching him. "And what might that be?"

"Your loyalties have yet to be proven to our satisfaction."

Before Kakashi could say anything more, the ANBU guards dragged him down the hall to yet another interrogation room. This time though, he had to admit that his heart sped up more than a bit in something just this side of fear. He knew that on the other side of this particular entrance stood Ibiki Morino. And even though he had spent plenty a night drinking saké with the man at The Rusty Kunai, when that mountain of a man was ensconced within these walls he left all traces of humanity behind.

"Bring him here." Ibiki's deep voice left no room for argument, and the ANBU swiftly dragged Kakashi across the stone floor until he was eye to eye with the undisputed best T&I expert in the Five Great Countries.

Kakashi calmed his heart rate down and steadied his breathing before he allowed a small smile to tug at his lips. "Yo."

Ibiki had no reaction to the familiar greeting. Instead he stood there with his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his trench coat, and his eyes seemed to peer straight into the core of Kakashi's being. If the man saw anything there, he certainly didn't give anything away to Kakashi, or to those around him. Instead, Ibiki turned on his heel and walked over to where a single metal chair was bolted to the floor. There were dark stains marring the stone floor all around it, and in the back of his mind Kakashi knew the man had deliberately left those marks on the floor to put the fear of what might come into anyone unfortunate enough to be brought here. Yet, somehow, the knowledge that they were all part of Ibiki's mental game didn't seem to make them any less effective as he was forced into that very chair under that man's watchful eyes.

Kakashi knew that, whatever happened next, Ibiki wouldn't find any trace of disloyalty in him, even after everything they'd already put him through. But Kakashi also knew that Ibiki would be unbelievably thorough with him before coming to that judgment. So he would let this happen without fighting back. To do otherwise would simply make it more painful than it was sure to be.

His arms were pulled taut behind his back and placed into cuffs that were attached to the chair back. They were deliberately angled to keep the hands in an unnatural position, and were spaced far enough away from each other to keep any thoughts of forming hand signs far from a prisoner's mind. Next, his ankles were secured in a similarly uncomfortable fashion, and when he felt Ibiki's thick fingers bury themselves into his hair and yank his head backward, Kakashi tried his best to remind himself that there was nothing personal in what was happening within this room. Ibiki was simply doing his job.

Obito watched as Iruka stood in front of the kitchen sink with a sponge in one hand, absently scrubbing at the inside of the rice bowl held in his other hand. The sensei's gaze was unfocused as he stared out the window, and Obito was fairly certain that he knew why. After all, it had been over a week since Kakashi had gone missing, and just as long since they had both been confined to the apartment.

Every morning he and Iruka woke to a sharp knock on the front door, hoping that this time would be the time it all proved to be nothing more than a dream...a very bad dream. But every morning they were met at that door by one of the handful of ANBU who had been assigned to guard them, and prevent them from leaving the residence. Those masked shinobi would hand him or Iruka a bag of fresh groceries before stepping back and pulling the door firmly shut once more.

Iruka would sigh and put the groceries away, planning out the day's meals based on just what was in the paper sack. It was never the same food twice, and at first Iruka had made a challenge of it to find the perfect meals to use up every bit of the food before the next morning came. But this morning's bag had left him in a foul mood. And it wasn't until lunchtime that Obito had figured out why. The bag had contained the makings for the perfect eggplant and miso soup, and that in turn reminded them both of the silver-haired jonin who had been gone for so long.

Obito frowned and moved across the kitchen to place one hand on the man's shoulder. "Are you okay, Iruka?"

He watched the chunin's reflection in the window, and saw his dark eyes blink several times before what he'd come to recognize as a fake smile crossed Iruka's lips. "Sorry about that. I must have just zoned out a bit."

Obito frowned at the man. "You're a chunin, Iruka. You don't zone out."

The rice bowl and sponge were placed on the counter before Iruka leaned his now empty hands against the edge of the counter. "What do you want me to say, Obito? That I'm okay with whatever the hell it is that's going on here? That I'm sure that wherever Kakashi was taken, that he's sure to be fine?"

Obito took a step back as he felt a wave of anger flow off the man. "I didn't say that. I was just..."

Iruka spun on him, and he cringed at the sight of the wild-eyed, red-faced man. "You're just what? Just figuring I was starting to lose it?"

Obito put his hands up between them, trying to think of the words that might calm the obviously pissed-off man. "I never said that! I was just worried, that's all." His next words were barely above a whisper. "I...I just don't want them to think they need to take you away, too."

That seemed to be enough to drain all the anger away from Iruka, and the man stood there for a few heart beats just staring at him, making Obito feel a bit embarrassed. "Obito, is that really what you think happened? You think that they took Kakashi away because of you?"

He chewed on his bottom lip before daring to answer the man. "Well, yeah. Are you telling me that you haven't thought that too?"

Iruka let loose a sigh and stepped over to sit at the table. He motioned for Obito to take one of the other chairs, and once they were both sitting, Iruka met his eyes. "I admit that the timing of it all did make me think that."

Obito lowered his head at the chunin's declaration. He should have known better than to think that he wouldn't be blamed. So when Iruka kept speaking, it took a bit for the words to sink in to Obito's guilt-ridden brain.

"But Kakashi was getting into trouble on his own long before you showed up. Besides, if it was truly your presence that was the cause of all this, don't you think that by now you and I would have been taken away too?"

Obito raised his head and saw a genuine smile stretched across Iruka's face. But he was still confused about one thing. "So then why did they take Kakashi?"

Iruka shrugged. "I really don't have a clue on that. But, I definitely think it's time that we found out, don't you?"

Obito pushed back from the table until he was teetering on the back legs of his chair. He ignored the look of disapproval from his roommate and tried to think things through. Without Madara's thoughts echoing in his mind, he was surprised to find himself still able to puzzle things out. But he could, and he owed it to Kakashi to at least attempt to figure out just what the hell was going on.

"Okay. We know that, like you said, if it had to do with me then we both would have been taken away too, right?" Iruka nodded at him. "And we still don't even know where they took Kakashi, so it is entirely possible that he was needed for a mission, right?"

Iruka frowned at him. "Well, only if the mission didn't require Kakashi to have any chakra at all, or the ability to walk for more than ten minutes."

Obito scratched at one of the scars stretching across the right side of his face, and he felt his skin flush a bit. "Oh yeah. Sorry about that. So a mission is ruled out then. What about additional therapy?"

"If that's the case, why didn't they take the rest of Kakashi's meds? It's almost like they want him to suffer."

Obito frowned at that thought. "I don't get it, Iruka. Why go to all the trouble of trying to fix him in the first place if they wanted him to suffer at all?"

He watched Iruka tip his own chair backward and held back the urge to chuckle at the move. The two fell into a comfortable silence as they each tried to come up with some reasoning for all of this. Eventually, Obito let his chair back down to the floor and leaned his elbows on the tabletop.

"Why don't we just ask the Hokage?"

Iruka seemed to be seriously thinking about his question before he responded. "Maybe because we're both idiots?"

Obito grinned at the man. "That sounded far too much like something Kakashi would say."

His grin was returned. "Yeah, it did, didn't it?"

"So, how do we go about it?"

Iruka pushed himself up and walked over to the front door. Obito followed a step behind him. The chunin pulled that door open and was greeted by the sight of one of their keepers blocking the way. He watched the two stare at each other for quite some time before the ANBU spoke.

"You know you cannot leave, Iruka-sensei."

Obito expected Iruka to blow up at the man, but instead the chunin crossed his arms in front of himself and shrugged. "Fine. Then one of you will need to bring my message to the Hokage."

Again silence reigned, and after another handful of minutes, the ANBU lowered his head a fraction of an inch. "What is your message?"

Obito held his breath, hoping that Iruka knew what he was doing. After all, if the man didn't phrase this just right, he doubted they'd manage to do more than annoy the masked shinobi at the door.

"Tell her that Obito's dreams have come back."

What the hell? Did Iruka really just say that? How, in Kami's name was that supposed to get the ANBU to send for the Hokage? Dammit all, he should have made the man tell him what he was going to say before the door was opened!

Surprisingly, the ANBU lifted one hand in front of him and disappeared into the air. Another ANBU took his place in front of them, and Iruka closed the door before turning to face Obito. There was a smug look across the chunin's face that caused Obito to just stare at him for a bit before finally finding his voice.

"Are you insane? What the hell was that?"

Iruka smiled wider at him and moved back into the kitchen. Obito turned and followed the man as he tried to figure out just what was going on. He watched in stunned silence as Iruka went over to the sink and starting filling the water kettle as though it was just another day. The man set the kettle to boil and opened a cabinet over the stove top before he turned his head back toward Obito.

"Do you think I should make green tea...or something fruity?"

That finally snapped Obito out of his shock, and he clenched his fists in frustration. "Why the hell are you even making tea?"

Iruka shrugged and grabbed one of the tins out of the cabinet. "I thought it might be nice to have some ready for when the Hokage shows up."

Obito let his face show the confusion he was feeling as he sank back onto his chair. "You can't honestly think that what you said will work, can you?

Iruka smiled at him. "Of course I can. I just wish that I'd thought of it sooner!"

Obito was about comment on the fact his roommate had officially lost his mind, when the front door was pushed open, and the Hokage stepped into the apartment. The woman slammed the door shut before walking with purpose into the kitchen. She looked more than a bit tense as she set her golden eyes on Obito. For his part, Obito ran a hand across the back of his neck and averted his gaze toward the top of the table, suddenly feeling more than a bit uncomfortable from her piercing gaze.

Iruka's cheerful voice seemed strangely out of place amidst the tense atmosphere. "You're just in time, Lady Tsunade. The tea is almost ready."

Ibiki looked down at the man sagging in the chair and wished for the thousandth time that day that he'd followed a different path in his life. The silver hair hung in a curtain in front of Kakashi's face, hiding the many bruises that he knew were there. After all, they'd been caused by his own fists.

It was very rare for Ibiki to need to resort to physical force when interrogating a prisoner, and when it did come to that, he never felt that the recipient didn't deserve it. Until now, that is.

This entire interrogation had set his stomach off from the very start. From the way the Elders had positioned themselves against the wall to watch every moment, to the way they'd insisted he continue the process long after he'd determined there was nothing false in any one of the answers to the dozens of questions he'd placed to the Copy-ninja. Add to that the fact that they'd filled the room with numerous Yamanaka, and it was clear to him that this was never meant to be a normal interrogation. Now, hours after he'd started this process, he was left with only one conclusion...Kakashi Hatake was suffering for absolutely no good reason.

Of course, Ibiki kept those thoughts deep within his own mind. It wouldn't do anyone good if these manipulative men and women started to think that he was a threat to whatever sick plan they were trying to pull off. Instead he wiped his bloodied hands off on a towel and walked over to where the Elders were quietly talking to each other. He waited until they acknowledged his presence before speaking, making sure to choose words that could not be twisted beyond their intrinsic meaning.

"This man is completely loyal to Konoha."

By the sour expressions on the Elders' faces it was instantly clear to Ibiki that his words were not what they'd hoped to hear. And when they turned and walked out of the room without a single word, he wondered just what the hell was going on. A moment later, and the gaggle of Yamanaka left as well, leaving him and the ever present ANBU guards alone with the subject of the Elders' wrath.

At the sound of Kakashi coughing up what was likely more than just phlegm, Ibiki sighed and moved over to kneel in front of the man. He gently tipped the man's head up until his mouth was in sight. The slight froth of blood along the lips was enough to confirm his earlier thought, and he used the towel that was still in his hands to wipe away as much of the red liquid as he could.

All through it, Kakashi's half-lidded eye watched him. There was no anger or accusation in that steady gaze. Instead, all Ibiki saw was a silent acceptance for what was done to him. It was enough to make Ibiki want to hunt down the Elders and place them into his interrogation chair. But it wasn't his place to second-guess his orders, and although it was tempting, he wasn't about to start now.

He glanced up at the ANBU stationed behind Kakashi and nodded once. At that silent command, the ANBU bent down and released Kakashi's arms and legs from their restraints. A quiet sigh left the Copy-ninja's lips as he sagged forward in the chair. Ibiki caught the man easily enough, and at the feel of just how thin Kakashi had grown during his time within this place, once more he was tempted to hunt down the Elders. The body within his arms started shaking slightly, and it took a moment for Ibiki to realize that Kakashi was actually chuckling.

He pushed the man back into the chair until the haggard face came into view. Before he could say a word himself, Kakashi pushed himself to speak. "I never...took you for the hugging type...Ibiki."

Part of him wanted to shout in joy over the fact that Kakashi was still mentally intact enough to make a joke, but another part of him wanted to slap him for making light of what he was going through. Didn't the kid get the fact he was being targeted by some of the most powerful people in the Village?

"This isn't the time for jokes, Kakashi."

The dark eye closed and a slight frown settled on the Copy-ninja's lips. "You might be right...but it beats feeling sorry for myself." The eye opened and there was a hint of mischief in its depths. "Besides...it pisses the Elders off every time."

It was at that very moment that the ANBU stepped forward to reclaim their assigned prisoner. Ibiki knew better than to get in the way of their duty, but it still left a bad taste in his mouth when they lifted Kakashi's beaten body off the chair and silently dragged him out of the room.

Ibiki shook his head as he spoke into the empty room. "Sometimes I forget what an idiot you can be, Hatake. Let's just hope it doesn't get you killed this time."

He stood up and shoved his hands deep into his pockets before glancing down at the newest additions to his blood-stained floor. His eyes narrowed, and he silently promised himself to get to the bottom of just what the hell was going on. And as that thought crossed his mind, a smirk tugged at his lips. He glanced back in the direction they'd taken Kakashi and chuckled deep in his chest. Maybe the kid wasn't as much of an idiot as he'd thought. After all, everyone knew that once Ibiki got something into his head that he wouldn't let it go until it was resolved.