Shikamaru Nara took a deep breath, reaching his finger out to the doorbell. He knew bothering Naruto at this time was going to be a drag, but he had run out of options when it came to finding leads to crack the code Master Jiraiya had left behind. Lady Tsunade had put him in charge of the case, personally, with decrypting the code being his highest priority. He had been hoping that Kakashi-Sensei would be able to decipher the message, but unfortunately he needed to move on to his next course of action when Kakashi came up empty. He rang the bell, waiting patiently. The door opened, and Yuiko regarded him cheerfully. "Oh, Shikamaru! It's been a while."

"Uh, yeah …" he said. Shikamaru didn't know Yuiko well; he found her a little unsettling, to be honest. The few times he would cross paths with her going to or from the Hokage's office, she tended to ask him about personal matters that she must have gathered from eavesdropping on him in public. Lady Tsunade seemed unconcerned about it, and when he tried to bring it up to Chōji and Ino over barbecue, Chōji ignored him over the food and Ino told him not to bother Yuiko since she regularly came in to buy herself flowers at the shop.

"Can I speak to Naruto for a minute?" he asked.

"Sure! You can join us for lunch, if you want," she said, opening the door fully for him.

"Thanks for the offer," he said as he entered the apartment, "but this isn't a social call."

"You don't have to make up an excuse, Shikamaru," Naruto said brightly from the table. "Yuiko's food looks weird, but it doesn't taste as terrible as it looks."

Shikamaru studied Naruto curiously.

I was expecting him to be a mess, he thought. It's good to see him up and about.

He sat down at the table, pulling out a photograph of the code etched on Fukasaku's back. "This is actually why I'm here. I was hoping you could take a look at it." He handed the picture to Naruto, who studied it for a moment. "Well? Can you think of anything?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto frowned, holding the picture up. "All of these are numbers, except for the katakana letter. Do you guys know what that's about?"

"Huh?" Shikamaru said, circling around the table to stand behind Naruto. "Where do you see that?"

"There," Naruto said, pointing to the first character in the sequence, "I thought it was a 9, but I think it might be the katakana letter 'ta'."

Shikamaru furrowed his brow in thought. "I guess you could look at it like that," he said, "but it could be a stretch. Master Jiraiya was under distress when he wrote this, so it could be unintentional."

"Maybe," Naruto replied. "He used to have me read his hand-written drafts when we traveled. It just looks like how he would write 'ta,' is all. It always used to get me confused, 'cus it looked like the number 9."

"A handwriting quirk, huh?" Shikamaru said, resting his hand on his chin.

"Maybe this will help," Yuiko said. She moved away some of the plates and placed a stack of books on the table. Shikamaru studied the titles; it appeared that they were all of Master Jiraiya's publications.

"There's always a paragraph or two in the back of his books telling the reader about him," she said, picking up a book with a green cover. "In the latest one they decided to print it using his handwriting, see?" She flipped the book open to the last page, turning it about for him to see.

Shikamaru took the book from her outstretched hand, scanning the page. His eyes narrowed when he spotted the 'ta' symbol, looking very much like a 9. He closed the book, looking at its cover, which read 'Make-Out Tactics'.

"This book also has that symbol on the cover," he mused. Yuiko and Naruto leaned in to study the cover.

"Yeah! It has the 'ta' symbol!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly.

"The only one of his books that begins with that symbol, too," a voice said from behind them. The group turned to see Kakashi coming in through the window, his own copy of 'Make-Out Tactics' in hand.

"I've been mulling over the code, so I decided to stop by when I heard that you hadn't returned to the cypher division, Shikamaru," Kakashi said. "I think I caught most of what you were talking about."

By creeping outside my window, Yuiko thought with mild annoyance.

"So, not counting the 'ta' character," Shikamaru said, "that leaves six numbers. I'll flip to the page in this book aligning with the first number, 31. I have a hunch that we're on the right track, since the 'ta' symbol is a clue that Master Jiraiya would know that Naruto would specifically recognize."

"Hmm, that might not work," Yuiko interrupted, concerned. "That's a special edition that Jiraiya had printed for the first 25 readers at his book signing in Iwagakure. He put in a special introduction, plus some additional content."

Kakashi's eye flashed as his gaze locked on the book in Shikamaru's hands. A chill ran up Shikamaru's spine at its intensity.

"When were you planning on telling me about this?" Kakashi asked. He spoke with the same level of concern as if he had just received crucial information regarding an S-Ranked mission.

Yuiko sighed, her shoulders slumping. "I got you a copy for your birthday," she said reluctantly. "Although I guess now I need to find something else, since it's no longer a surprise."

"Do you have a regular copy?" Shikamaru asked, warily looking away from Kakashi.

"Oh! Um …" Yuiko said, looking down at the stack of books before a thought hit her. "The copy you have should work!" she said, pointing to Kakashi.

"It should", Kakashi agreed, flipping his copy open. "Page 31 right? What now?"

"We'll start by writing down all of the characters on each page number matching the numbers in the code," Shikamaru replied as Naruto handed him a pen and sheets of paper from a nearby shelf. "What's the first sentence on page 31, Kakashi-Sensei?"

Kakashi froze, sweat dripping from his brow. "Uh, well, I mean … couldn't you just read it, Shikamaru?"

"This will be faster," Shikamaru answered. "Just read the page aloud and I'll give you the next page number when I'm done."

Kakashi stared at the book in his hand, his cheeks turning red.

"Come on, Kakashi-Sensei!" Naruto said, his eyes narrowing in impatience. "You read that stuff all the time!"

Kakashi cleared his throat, lowering the book from his face. "This … is a bit different."

Yuiko hummed, looking over at Naruto. "Maybe you should go to your room; this might be inappropriate for children."

"No way!" Naruto yelled, balling his hands into fists. "If Shikamaru gets to hear the dirty stuff, than I do too!"

Shikamaru lowered his head, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose as he muttered something to himself in annoyance.

"Shikamaru is in a hurry, Kakashi," Yuiko quipped, using every ounce of her willpower to keep a straight face. She honestly thought she'd never live to see the day that Kakashi was actually embarrassed over something. She couldn't help but feel a little guilty over how much she was enjoying the shift from his usual demeanor.

Kakashi glanced at her, then back down to the page, his entire face, along with his ears, now turning a bright shade of pink. He cleared his throat again, the corner of his eye twitching. "I-I re-really … love … you," he choked out. His face mask had visibly become wet from the sheer amount of sweat dripping from his brow.

This can't be good for his health, Yuiko thought, her eyes narrowing as she watched Kakashi. Maybe I should get him a glass of water before he passes out. But then I would have to turn my back to him, and I don't want to miss out on any of this. Guess he'll just have to power through.

—

"You know, I still owe you a request," Yuiko said.

"And?"

"And, you could have asked me to read the pages aloud for you."

Kakashi rolled over on the couch, looking up at the ceiling. "I'm … an idiot."

"Your words," Yuiko said, placing a glass of water down on the short table before him. She walked over and sat at the dining room table, putting her elbow on the table as she leaned her head into her hand. Shikamaru had long gone — retreating the second he had all the information he needed. Naruto had gone to his room to lie down, but unlike Kakashi — who seemed to be in some state of shock — his exhaustion was due to laughing so hard it gave him a headache.

"Sorry if Naruto made that a little difficult," Yuiko said. "I didn't think he'd get so riled up."

"He probably wouldn't have reacted that way at all if it wasn't for you," Kakashi said, an edge of bitterness to his voice as he sat upright. "He seemed fine until you started up."

"It was funny," Yuiko shrugged. Kakashi sighed, turning away slightly as he pulled off his mask to down the glass of water. Yuiko felt a pang of guilt from the aloof gesture.

"If it makes you feel any better," Yuiko said, trying to change the subject, "a representative from the cypher division dropped by while you were … incapacitated. It didn't take Shikamaru long to crack the code, and the message turned out to say, 'the real one isn't among them.' I had no idea what that meant, but I promised to ask you and Naruto when you two woke up."

Kakashi pulled his mask up, turning toward her. He stared at the empty glass for a moment before displaying a weak shrug. "No idea," he said. "Hopefully the intel division will be able to figure it out."

Yuiko nodded in concurrence, an awkward silence falling between them. She squirmed in her chair, her eyebrows rising when something caught her attention on the table. Yuiko snatched up the book, crossing the room and shoving it in Kakashi's face. "Here," she said sternly. "It's the special edition. You've … earned it."

"And all it cost was my dignity," Kakashi said dryly, taking the copy of 'Make-Out Tactics' from her hands.

"You read those things in public," Yuiko smirked. "You didn't have a lot to begin with."

As much as he wanted to be offended by the remark, Kakashi's excitement over the latest edition to his collection rose above all else as he studied the book's cover.

"Just make sure to finish the 'Sword-Crossed Lovers' first, OK?" Yuiko said, leaning down to his level. "I want to talk to you about the ending when I get back from my mission."

Kakashi hummed in acknowledgment, taking pleasure in the crinkling sound the book made as he opened it up for the first time.

Yuiko sighed, knowing that she was fighting a losing battle for Kakashi's attention. "I'll be leaving tomorrow," she said. "Try not to do anything foolish while I'm gone."

"I'm starting to doubt my ability to make that promise," Kakashi answered, turning the page.

.

.

"Permission to speak freely, Lady Hokage?"

Tsunade sighed, her chair protesting slightly as she leaned back. The Hokage's office was dimly lit, its only light source the scarce sunlight peeking through the clouds outside her window. Tsunade was using the low light, plus an ample amount of chakra, to keep her hangover at bay. She was starting to get the feeling, though, that this conversation would push that over the edge. "I'm probably going to regret this," Tsunade said, bringing her eyes up to meet her visitor's. "But go ahead."

"I feel that bringing her on this mission is irresponsible," Anko Mitarashi said, tossing the file she held onto the desk between them. "Why the hell do you want me to bring a jinchūriki to the heart of the Akatsuki? This recovery mission is difficult enough in its own right, but now I have to take special care of one of my own teammates?"

"Don't you always keep the wellbeing of your subordinates in mind when you're on a mission?" Tsunade said, matching Anko's tone.

"Not like this!" Anko exclaimed, both hands on the desk as she leaned toward Tsunade. "I work on teams where I can trust each and every member to look out for themselves. None of them need any sort of babysitting!"

"And you think Yuiko does?" Tsunade asked, her voice growing dangerously soft. Anko frowned, backing away slightly as she lifted her hands from the desk. She had let herself fly a little too far off the handle, and knew she had to reel things back in if she wanted to get her way.

"I think that she would be a liability," Anko said, crossing her arms over her chest. "That was why Yuiko wasn't assigned to accompany Master Jiraiya to Ame in the first place, right?"

Damn it.

The second those words left her mouth, Anko knew she had made a mistake. Tsunade's gaze immediately hardened, the fifth Hokage leaning forward threateningly in her chair. "You are correct," Tsunade said, her voice uncharacteristically calm. "Jiraiya made a very good argument as to why he didn't want Yuiko to accompany him on that mission. It was very logical, and although I didn't like the idea of sending him alone, I relented."

Tsunade fell silent, keeping her eyes locked on Anko, who squirmed uncomfortably under her gaze. "However," Tsunade continued, "considering the intel we have concerning where Jiraiya …"

Tsunade stopped again, this time briefly looking down at the floor. She quickly composed herself, returning her attention to Anko. "Considering the intel we have concerning where Jiraiya ended up, I believe Yuiko's abilities are the most suitable for the recovery."

Anko took a deep breath, mustering her courage to poke the lion again. "Lady Hokage," she said slowly, "It's possible that the Ame shinobi have already moved it. We also have quite a few shinobi who are talented in water-style jutsu, and I have made a list of possible replacements —"

"Yuiko …" Tsunade said, cutting Anko off, "is capable of staying underwater for nearly twice as long as our best water-style users. If we were in Kiri, maybe that would be a different story, but we're not. It's not a skill that comes up particularly often for us. Considering the risks involved, I'm only willing to allow one chance at this. For that reason, I have assigned you the shinobi who I feel will best be able to make this mission successful. Yes, things will be bad if you're caught, but that's how it is for every mission in enemy territory." Tsunade rose from her seat, placing both hands on the desk as she leaned closer to Anko. "So the bottom line is this: Don't get caught."

Damn, she's good, Anko admitted, both despising and admiring the look of contempt on the Hokage's face.

"As you wish, Lady Hokage," Anko said, giving a short bow before exiting the office.

Tsunade watched her go, scowling at the door as it gently shut behind Anko. Her scowl vanished the second the door closed, and she sat down heavily in her chair, turning it to face the window. She brought a finger to her mouth, gnawing slightly on the nail's edge as she gazed out over the village. Knowing that in a few short seconds the door would open again to herald Shizune's return, Tsunade allowed herself one rattling sob before she heard the familiar click of the handle.

A/N: It always kind of bothered me that Konoha just sort of ... left Jiraiya in Ame after he died. I mean, back in the wave ark Kakashi sort of made a big deal about how a shinobi's corpse could hold a lot of secrets, so why just leave him? You could argue that Tsunade wouldn't want to risk it, but you could also argue that Tsunade would be emotionally compromised enough to try to bring her friend home (which is what I'm going off of if you haven't noticed haha).

Anyway, I was thinking of revamping the summary for this story since the plot is getting further and further away from the initial arc. So you all will probably see that ... at some point, when I eventually think of something I don't hate haha. If anyone has any ideas, feel free to share!