Author's Note: Enjoy and Review or Favorite or Follow :)

Chapter 25: Men

Kakashi had been gone for much longer than a week. Kohana was starting to worry; what if something happened? It was on the 17th day of his absence that Kohana gave in to her worries and marched to the Hokage's office, an anxious expression etched onto her face.

Tsunade looked up in surprise when the door opened. "Kohana? What are you doing here?"

"I…I was wondering if Kakashi came back?"

Tsunade frowned and shuffled through her paperwork, "I haven't heard from him, yet. Why do you ask? Is it about your training?"

"No, he said he would be back in a week, and it's been 17 days."

"You counted?" Tsunade smirked.

Kohana blushed and kept silent. Tsunade glanced at her briefly before turning her attention to TonTon who leapt onto her lap. Kohana stared at the Hokage unsure of what to say or what to ask. Tsunade didn't know where Kakashi was and she had more important things to do than entertaining Kohana's worries.

Tsunade sighed, "I'm sure he is fine, Kohana. He's the most talented on-duty shinobi we have. I assure you he's been on more dangerous missions than this one."

"Why is it taking him so long then?" Kohana blurted. She bit her tongue; that came out more assertively than she meant.

Tsunade, however, smiled, "It maybe the weather, Kohana. You've noticed the rain, haven't you?"

"Yeah", Kohana mumbled, fingering the hem of her shirt. As she turned to leave, she said defeatedly, "Will you tell him to visit me when he gets back?"

Kohana heard a brief hai as she stepped out into the dusty hallway and closed the door behind her with a soft click.

She roamed the streets aimlessly keeping her eyes on the ground. The crowd of people around her cast her annoyed looks as she weaved through them forcing them to walk around her. She passed several stalls and her ears picked up short snippets of conversations that she would have normally found interesting. But, her mind was presently too occupied with foreboding thoughts to pay any attention to the surrounding discussions. She gasped lightly as her shoulder collided with someone's chest. She uttered a quick apology and cast them a cursory glance. She was about to walk away when her eyes registered the unmistakably spiky white hair. Her head snapped up to see Jiraya grinning widely.

"Outou-san!" Kohana exclaimed.

Jiraya chuckled and brought Kohana into a warm hug. "How are you doing, Kohana?"

"I'm fine. How about yourself? What are you doing here?"

They set up off the road together. Jiraya answered, "I am back in Konoha for a short while. I've just gone to see Tsunade. She told me you stopped by and asked about Kakashi."

Kohana nodded, and then said dryly, "She wouldn't tell me anything about his mission."

Jiraya chuckled, "You're not supposed to know. It's strictly classified."

"Well, that's stupid", she said angrily. "What do families do when their loved ones don't return? Are they supposed to sit quietly without any information because it's classified?"

Jiraya regarded her seriously, "I understand your point, but what if leaking information to even trusted family members resulted in placing an entire village at risk."

"But, why would Kakashi's mission…", she began, and then looked at her father with horrified eyes, "I knew it. I knew something was up. He lied to me. Konoha is in danger, isn't it?"

"Now, Kohana, don't jump to conclusions."

Kohana snapped, "I am not jumping to conclusions! Outo-san, I live next to Kakashi. I see how often he's gone, how tired he is. And when I've asked him, he's dodged all my questions."

"What did he tell you?"

"That it was nothing for me to worry about. That Hokage-sama needed him because we're short of Jonin, right now. That's bullshit. I checked the register the other day and we have over 300 Jonin."

Jiraya sighed, "You are much more perceptive than I thought."

"Does that mean I'm right?"

"How about we discuss this in a more private place? I know a good tea shop about half a mile from here."

Five minutes later, the both of them were sitting at a secluded table away from the prying eyes and ears of customers. Kohana leaned eagerly towards her father, and asked, "What's going on?"

Jiraya heaved and murmured, "Tsunade will kill me. But, I don't see the point hiding it any longer. I'd rather you hear it from me than from your own…investigations."

Kohana clicked her tongue impatiently.

"Kakashi has been sent out on missions ordered by me. I have need of his tracking skills. In other words, he's more or less a spy."

"A spy for what?" Kohana whispered, her eyes dilated.

"We have reason to believe that the Jinchuriki are under attack by an unknown entity. He's gathering Intel."

"Jinchuriki…like Naruto? People that house tailed beasts?"

"Yes. The beasts have power beyond our imagination. Acquiring that power would be an asset to any nation. I suspected at first that it maybe the Sound or Mist, but it doesn't appear as if they're behind it."

"Then, who is?"

"An organization, going by the name of the Akatsuki. It's composed entirely of extremely powerful rogue shinobi."

"But, why would they risk getting caught by Anbu or the police force?"

Jiraya shrugged and sipped his tea; "It doesn't make sense to me either. Whatever their goal is, it involves Tailed Beast chakra, which together could possibly destroy this entire world."

Kohana sat in silence, pondering. She then asked, "Don't we need to keep Naruto safe? Shouldn't he be taken away to a place where no one can find him?"

Jiraya nodded, "That's the eventual plan. Hopefully, it won't be necessary. But, first, I will need to train him so that he can defend himself if need be." He smiled warmly, "This will be our second trip together."

Kohana returned his smile reluctantly, "That's nice."

"Are you still worried about Kakashi?"

Kohana sighed, and rubbed her arm, "No, I'm relieved that you know where he is and I assume you're in contact with him. I just wish he would come home soon."

Jiraya folded his hands and leaned back, a mischievous glint appearing in his eyes. He remarked, "I have something to keep you occupied in the mean time." He reached into his large backpack, pulled out a small orange book, and handed it to Kohana. She turned the book over and examined its covers.

"Hang on", she said slowly, "I've seen this somewhere. This is the book Kakashi always reads! He never lets me see it!"

Jiraya snickered, "I can guess why. But, don't open it here. This book…should be read in private."

Kohana raised her eyebrow, and read the title out loud, "Icha Icha Paradise. It sounds like a fluffy romance novel. I wonder who the author is…it doesn't say."

Jiraya hastily picked up his belongings, and said quickly, "It's a great book, selling fast nationwide. The author prefers to remain anonymous. Anyway, I have to go now, but I'll see you for dinner tonight. I'm taking Kakashi's team out for barbecue."

Kohana nodded absentmindedly, and nimbly tore through the plastic wrapping that covered the book. Jiraya shot her an amused look and dashed out of the teashop, his hair swaying behind him.

Kohana looked up from her present and watched his figure retreat into the crowd. She sighed and plopped the orange book open. 'Finally', she thought, 'I can see what's so fascinating about this."

She began reading the first page, and as soon as she finished the first paragraph, she snapped the book shut. Her cheeks flushed with heat. She shoved the book inside her coat, and muttered, "Men."