Aiya! It took me too long to update the story! T.T I'm so sorry for making you have to wait for so long! But here's another chap far quicker than you expected, eh? ^_^
Storm Cloud – Chapter 04 – The Memory Of A Memory – Season 02
Kakashi stood, under the disguise of a simple bunshin no jutsu, in front of what was Riika's old house; it looked much as it had done when he'd first visited here to reconnect with his grandmother all that time ago. The fusuma was still drawn closed and no light shone from within despite the darkness of the night; he was still tentative of entering the property and equally uneasy – another tenant could well have moved in without his knowledge. He and Sakura had been in Iwa for an afternoon – they'd chosen two single civilians who seemed to have few or no family and placed them under heavy genjutsu and assumed their identities. They decided to 'make friends' on the second day so that they could confer with each other about what they'd found out – it was a very roundabout way of conducting their mission but it served their purpose. Kakashi crept up to the house and paused waiting for any signs of movement or life within the house but after a few minutes he heard none; he slipped around the side of the house and vaulted up to grab onto the window sil, directing a minute amount of chakra to his feet, he was balanced enough to pry open the window and then slipped inside.
The place was dark, dingy and by the smell alone could tell it had not been lived in or tended to in a long time; there was a thin layer of dust covering almost every surface, except the floor which suggested that a population of rats used it frequently as a highway. He crept about silently, wary of any traps Riika might have set before she left, though he found none - and Kakashi wasn't sure whether he was surprised or not. The house seemed to hold nothing other than a few sparse personal items, a few clothes, books and crockery; he scoured every inch of the house and found nothing. Absolutely nothing – certainly there were a couple of hidden compartments and some well hidden gaps from which traps could have been strung or set up, but it was all devoid. Either Riika had disabled all traps before she left or she had not been lying in her flippant comments previously about 'not having been a ninja in some years' – he'd taken this to mean that she had not been on active duty: to his mind a shinobi never lost their instincts or their intuition.
But considering the state of Iwa when he had last visited, perhaps the retention of shinobi habits by Riika would have drawn unwelcome attention to her; but still, he had found it truly odd that there weren't even any shinobi or ninjutsu scrolls – even from when she had still been an active ninja. Perhaps the sudden dissection of Iwa had forced the 'retired' shinobi to give up all of their knowledge and related accessories? Kakashi sighed deeply and as he stood in the centre of the room in which he had first spoke with his grandmother for the first time in decades he felt a cold remorse for all the long years she had been forced to remain in Iwa – with her career in taters and forced to do no more than serve tea for twisted men who would carve up their once proud village for little more than scraps.
He slipped just as silently from the house and reappeared on the street in seconds, where he stuffed his hands in his pockets and ambled away, as he neared the corner, his eye fell onto a sign that had been knocked to the ground – the same one Kakashi had passed when first visiting Riika, which had informed him of the divided state of Iwa. It appeared to now be ignored, but why the sudden change? Kakashi had been so intent on finding Riika's house that he hadn't paid as much attention as he should have to the fact he had passed through several districts on his way here. Had it all dissolved so quickly? With Peikou gone had the Lords lost their motivation? But a bigger question that was bothering him, was the complete absence of any shinobi – everyone he set eyes on had been obviously a civilian, or a ninja trying very hard to pass themselves off as an average Joe.
He kept ambling in the general direction of the small food district where he had agreed to meet Sakura earlier, passing by small pockets of villagers and various shops – none of which catered to shinobi needs. As he meandered down the narrow streets, he caught a few whispers,
"So what do you think about opening up some more trade links with Kusa no Kuni [Grass country]?" Asked one young man to his friend as they sat at a small streetside bar,
"Bad idea, it'll ruin us…its still has a shinobi village and they'll force us to start training fuckin' ninja again."
"Can't be so bad, let's face it we were richer then than we are now," His friend countered,
"Oh yea? Think about all the business a few months ago – when them foreign ninja were here when that building got destroyed and the Lords when mental and forced out all the shinobi? Who paid the price then? As if the taxes weren't high enough already,"
"Kami-sama I remember! Never in my whole life have I struggled so much to feed myself…let alone my family," Their conversation paused a moment as they each took long droughts of their beer, "Who were those ninja anyway, what village were they from?"
"I dunno…but it doesn't matter, if they're ninja, they're trouble," Kakashi wanted to listen in more, but the barman kept shifting his eyes over to him and he decided he couldn't linger any longer, he wandered off further and began to look for Sakura as his mind processed what he'd heard – if they had truly been inadvertently responsible for the implosion of Iwa, then how exactly had they not heard anything about it?
As worried as Kakashi was for the apparent lack of ninja in the village, the barfly's explanation barely filled in the gaps – and even as secretive as Iwa was naturally, ANBU and other intelligence ops would have gathered some data on increased numbers of wandering shinobi or emigrating shinobi. Surely they wouldn't all have simply disappeared into the depths of Earth Country to scratch a living off an unfamiliar lifestyle? Kakashi shook his head and stepped into the nearest restaurant, where his keen eye spotted a newly-familiar form – Sakura might have been under her disguise, but the Copy Nin had made a point of memorizing her so he he could find her later; she had a long skirt on and a simple, sand coloured top, her hair was a deep red but still straight – it seemed to suit her somehow. He walked up to her, careful to put on a demenour that better suited his alias than himself – though in this instance, the two seemed to cross over,
"Ohayo, sorry I'm late Misaki-san," He apologized whilst taking the seat opposite her, it was a good corner Sakura had chosen, where they should be able to talk fairly freely,
"It's alright, Yasa-san," She smiled lightly at him, "I was actually a bit early,"
"Well, since I did ask you out on a date, I should have made more of an effort to be here to greet you," Kakashi spoke whilst biting his tongue a little, in a sense he and Sakura had never actually been on a date. A waiter approached and they ordered warm saké for a start,
"So, how did your day go? Anything interesting happen?" 'Misaki' asked, her own eyes taking in the odd sight of her in-disguise boyfriend – his hair was now jet black and little more than a bird's nest on the top of his head, though his face was a little angular, as Kakashi's was; his attire was a pair of trousers, shirt and a waistcoat but it was still refreshing to see him in civilian clothing – her mind's eye easily and reflexively overlaying them to the Kakashi she knew.
"Ahh, not much, I just went to visit a family member's house – it was pretty quiet and I know she's getting old but she's starting to have real trouble keeping everything clean and dusted;"
"That's sad to hear, doesn't her husband help out?"
"Iee, he died several years ago and I think its all finally getting to be too much…I even had to shoo a rat out of the kitchen," The waiter returned and they each ordered a meal – Kakashi going for rice with umeboshi and yakitori and Sakura opting for inarizushi with egg rice and a small side of fried chicken gyuoza.
"So what did you get up to today?" Kakashi asked, taking another sip of his rice wine,
"I went to go and see my cousin in the hospital, he's been in there for a couple of weeks – it's nothing really serious he just being kept for observation but I thought I'd go and cheer him up anyway…"
"So da…I hope he can be released from hospital soon, it can be a bit of a miserable place; surprising he's been kept there for so long though, I was sure the patients were usually treated very quickly and they could leave without long periods of recovery," He was careful to phrase his question, hoping Sakura too had noticed the distinct lack of shinobi in the hidden village,
"Yes, it used to be – but I think since all of the ninja medics lost their jobs the civilian methods are a lot slower,"
"I'm surprised even the medics were lost – don't they always have regular patients to treat?"
"I would have thought so, but I guess they faced too many problems using using their ninja skills or whatever," Sakura shrugged as she took a ship of wine, appearing nonchalant to anyone who might be looking at them, but she shared a dark glance with Kakashi – Iwa was in a worrying state of affairs.
"So, Misaki-san, what do you normally like to do? What are your hobbies?"
"I…I guess I like calligraphy and to read, but I also like to be outside. What do you like to do, Yasu-san?"
"Ah, I like to cook! My mother insisted I learn how and I actually quite enjoy it now – I like inventing my own recipes," He offered a silly grin and Sakura couldn't help but laugh a little,
"What have you come up with so far?"
"Oh! I think my best is the baked cod with lemon and oil, but I bake it with turnip and a light pastry casing so it all tastes of fish but the smell isn't overpowering…I know it doesn't sound like much, but it does taste delicious; I think its best with roasted vegetables," Kakashi had a mild blush on his face as he spoke, as if nervous of feeling proud about his cooking – although he had every right to be, he'd cooked for her before and he, like a lot of things he turned his mind to, excelled at it.
The silence pervaded for a few moments as they looked at each other, she'd been alone with Kakashi numerous times, but this setting was vastly different and he might have looked differently, but he still had the ability to make her heart skip a beat. The waiter suddenly reappeared with a small candle which he placed in the centre of the table and lit it smiling at the couple,
"You meals with be served in a few minutes,"
"Thank you," Kakashi said reflexively, the waiter left them and he laid an arm on the table, reaching half way to Sakura, who responded by stroking her own fingertips over the back of his hand, "Do you remember that date Gai tricked me into ages ago?" He spoke with a low whisper,
"Yea," Sakura answered, grinning at the memory,
"I'd never have guessed at that time that my next date would have been with you," Sakura couldn't help the next smile that spilled over, "Although maybe I had an inkling after you told me you'd read Icha Icha,"
"Haha, was that really so important?" Kakashi shrugged, though clearly amused,
"Well, it is one of my interests – we could hardly expect to have a good relationship if it was just something you merely tolerated, right?"
"True,"
"We have to support each other – we're not going to like all the same things, but the more we have in common, the easier it should be to over come the differences, right?" Sakura could sort of see the logic to his words, but she couldn't help but crinkle an eyebrow,
"How many long term relationships have you had?" She asked the question more in jest, but Kakashi seemed to hesitate a little,
"Ah…well…none I guess – I mean, I have a few short term things, but having a serious partner never seemed appropriate or even possible for a long time," He looked a little anxious, but Sakura only gently shook her head,
"It's okay, it's not like we have much time for involved relationships, do we?" He relax a little,
"I guess not," His hand moved to grasp hers more firmly, his large hand easily swallowing hers up in a deeply comforting gesture, they stared at each other for what seemed like a long while, the flickering candle light between them illuminating his face gently, "I love you, Sakura," He spoke in what was little more than a throaty whisper but she tensed her hand reflexively,
"I love you Kakashi."
He felt as if he were floating atop a large cloud – high above the world and impervious to any of its proceedings – yet he could look down and see exactly what was happening anywhere on the vast earth. He could see the business in the former Uzushio, the young men and women working hard to rebuild their village and their lives, the same diligence he saw in the generations of Konohagakure citizens, even as they went about their daily lives. He couldn't feel himself move, but his eyes seemed to shift over to the far West, where the impoverished nations were suffering after the climax of war, they had struggled to defend themselves and the ever decreasing demand for missions meant they had less and less to make a living off. His mind seemed drawn to a young kuniochi in Kusa territory, she was guarding another young woman as she took her children from one village to another; they talked stiffly with one another only when necessary: to him it seemed they were each jealous of the other – one had employment and excitement and the other a family, a freedom from the ad hoc and disorganized structure of her necessary employment.
The Abbot remained far above the troubles of the world for a good long while, so long it seemed as if he could not remember how his own physical body felt, or what the taste of bread dipped in soup tasted like. But the world was a vast and fascinating place at every moment there was something new to witness: a young fox making its first kill without the aid of its mother and finally achieving its independence, a young shinobi mastering his first jutsu and a young couple of their first date. The waters of life flow on and on without ever stopping, sometimes the river flows fast and sweeps along all those on their journeys quickly whilst at other times, change happens slowly; but never does it not happen at all.
His eye focused for a moment on the young couple, their conversation happy but loaded, both of whom seemed eager to share with each other – the Abbot smiled to himself as the mannerisms of both seemed strangely familiar to him; he couldn't place it immediately but the young man's countenance and warmth definitely reminded him strongly of another, although who wasn't entirely sure who or how. The woman he was with, also, held an air of delicate familiarity and confidence, they seemed both, to share a closeness and ease unusual for it to be their first intimate meeting. He did his best to connect the scene together in his mind, but his focus suddenly shifted and his eye was on another young man as he looked out over a small sea of young children running out from a building – the dark haired teacher watched in particular a young boy dash off to find his elder brother, smiling and chattering as fast as he could about the things he'd learned to his sibling.
The teacher still watched as his heart was both happy and heavy – as if recalling memories that mirrored the actions being played out in front of him. A name sprang into the Abbot's mind, Uchiha Sasuke he was the younger sibling, his own elder brother had been Itachi; the care free meditation the monk had been enjoying was, like the clear sky, suddenly overcast, as if a great black cloud had appeared over head - the light dimmed ever deeper until he could see nothing. He looked around all over but no light came from anywhere…except two small pinpricks; the closer they got, the more the monk could discern: the light was red, the redness revealed that they were eyes and they eyes belonged to a face.
The face belonged to a young man, the light suddenly seemed extrinsic to them and revealed enough for the man to see his impromptu companion fully, he had long black hair and an iron resolution beneath the lines of fatigue on his face; yes, the monk remembered this young man.
Uchiha Itachi.
Abbot, the former missing nin spoke in polite reply; despite the fearsome reputation this nin had acquired, Yuoi had found him to be nothing but respectful when he had approached the temple some years previously – the monks had been wary of his presence and asked him to leave, but Itachi had been adamant about speaking to the Abbot. Do you remember my visit to the Fire Temple?
I do, Uchiha-san, and I recall you using your sharingan on me, the Abbot had come back to himself seemingly immediately after the complex sharingan had appeared in the young man's eyes – and although he felt no worse for wear, his instincts told him something had indeed happened without his knowledge.
Yes and I apologise Yuoi-sama, but I had to entrust some information to you and I could not risk your forgetting it. Since you can hear me now, you must still remember the knowledge I gave you. Do you recall our conversation? The Abbot thought back, Itachi had kneeled in front of him, still with his Akatsuki cloak about his shoulders, though he had gladly surrendered his physical weapons before entering the room; Itachi had spoken of his younger brother, Sasuke and how the boy had been taken in by the same organisation he himself was a member of, something Itachi regretted deeply.
Uchiha-san, what exactly was so important for me to keep that no one else could?
Before I left my clan for good, I had some dealings with an elderly man by the name of Uchiha Teruo; he had been shunned by the clan but he knew a great deal about the sharingan and another eye technique called the rinnegan. He was a solemn man who spoke only out of need but neglected by the younger generation. The things he hold me I must pass on to Sasuke when the time is right, but I am certain Sasuke will not allow me to explain them to him.
So you want me to take on that role?
This is a heavy burden, Abbot, Sasuke is still a risky young man who could still turn his strength for either evil or good. There is hope for him but I cannot see his future clearly, only that he will face another sharingan user in battle, a powerful one, and without this knowledge Sasuke has a high chance of losing.
Uchiha-san, the wars are long over – Sasuke is back in Konoha now; the Fourth war was finished a long time ago.
Please pass this information on. Itachi replied passively, as if he had not heard Yuoi's last remark – the Abbot saw his mistake, he was, after all, essentially talking to himself during this conversation.
I do not know what I am to tell him,
My sharingan will reveal all of the information to you,
But…why are you only revealing yourself to me now?
I had set this memory to trigger upon seeing Sasuke – all you need to do is have him look into your eyes with his mangekyou sharingan and he will see it all for himself.
Uchiha-san, I… The Abbot couldn't finish his sentence as Itachi appeared to be moving close to him, the eyes suddenly began to swirl and change, the previously concentric round lines of the sharingan moved and stretched outwards into a three pronged windmill shape and the Abbot could concentrate no longer on anything else.
Yuoi came back to himself with a jolt, finding himself flat on his back inside the small meditation room, it took a moment for his mental fog to clear before the adrenaline kicked in and called out, shouting for one of his apprentice monks,
"A-Abbot, what is it?" One of whom peeked around the edge of the fusuma, alarmed at the distressed state of the head o their order,
"Fetch me a pen and scroll immediately!"
"But, you must eat, Abbot, you have been in meditation for several months, you–"
"Now!" Yuoi almost shouted, he could feel the memories that weren't his own beginning to fade and if he couldn't write them down the knowledge would be lost for good. He did his best to hold on to them as strongly as possible until the monk returned with several sheets, a pen and ink well, the Abbot almost snatched them out of his hands and, despite his shaking body, he wrote as swiftly and neatly as he could. Four hours he sat huddled over, scribing away speaking only to ask for more paper or more ink and the monks, worried at the abnormally manic state the Abbot was in, hurried to obey in the hopes he would soon calm back to his usual temperament. It was almost dawn when the monk finally leaned backwards and drew a deep breath, satisfied he had written all that he was able to; it was several more minutes before one of the other monks around him ventured to speak, but the elder beat them to it,
"I must travel to Konoha. Get everything ready to leave as soon as possible,"
"Wh…what? Abbot, you have been in meditation for many months and you have eaten nothing over the last few weeks – you had been in so deep…I must respectfully insist that you eat something first," Yuoi sighed,
"Yes, I am hungry, I will take a meal of whatever there is before I depart,"
"But, Abbot, Konoha is a long journey away…is there no way we could send a courier pigeon?"
"Absolutely not! The message is too important to be sent without my personal accompaniment, besides there is a young man I must speak to personally," The other monks all shared uneasy glances, never before had the Abbot awoken from meditation in such a flurry of activity – let alone with such a ridiculous idea as to set straight out on a difficult journey: he was old as it was and weak from meditation.
"Abbot, who do you need to speak to? I will send a bird ahead to inform the Hokage,"
"Uchiha Sasuke," Yuoi replied as he cast his eyes over the numerous sheets he had written waiting for them to dry, ignoring the awkward glances between the other monks.
Sakura was starting to get the hang of sneaking around the hospital and examining patients whilst the civilian nurses were busy tending to other, noisier patients; she had found no traces of the virus at all and Sakura was't sure what it meant – either they had never been infected or that a cure had been created and administered. Sakura really needed to see some records but if all things shinobi had been shunned in Iwa, then would the records have been kept? Surely they wouldn't have been stupid enough to destroy records on something so virulent and destructive as the virus…would they?
Sakura wasn't sure but she nonetheless quickly washed her hands and slipped from the room and back down the corridor, she thought for a moment as she walked confidently passed several nurses, taking careful note of their uniforms as the plan formed in her mind. She had walked enough of the corridors to know where the central nurses' station was and seen a handful of the doctors, all of whom seemed to be men; she was confident she could pass off for being a new nurse and her innocent-visitor game was getting her nowhere slowly.
Deciding she needed to obtain a uniform from somewhere or someone, she quickly executed what felt like a rather elaborate plan involving a spare monitoring machine, a few careful tweaks to its system before waiting for the resulting chaos to allow her to abscond with a uniform. It was horribly uncomfortable and to Sakura's eyes a little demeaning, still she swiftly put it on and altered her appearance slightly, though the only form that for some reason popped into her head at that moment, was Ayame; Saskura just hoped that no one had ever had dealings with Ichikaru Ramen.
She waited until the other nurses were starting to trickle noisily back down the corridor as she opened the door and peeked around it,
"Who are you?" One of the more boisterous ones called out, jabbing a finger in her general direction as she spoke – this one immediately reminded Sakura strongly of Ino when they were younger,
"Ah…I'm Nakahisa Rio, I just transferred here – can you tell me where the supervisor is?" The suspicious looks she got in return wasn't terribly helpful,
"Transferred from where? We don't accept foreign workers here,"
"Oh no, I came from a small village in the north west of Earth, my doctor let me come here for a few days to learn some new skills,"
"Where did you get the uniform?" The bossy one asked again, stepping forwards slightly, though still keeping well within the group, apparently less confident than she was pretending to be,
"I met with the supervisor yesterday briefly, but he didn't give any more information that to be here today at this time and to wear this uniform," Sakura looked over the whole group carefully, "You know, I'd heard that there were ninja nurses working here…I'd always wanted to see some of their skills!" The undercover kuniochi's voice was purposefully light and innocent – though the reaction she got could not have been more polar opposite,
"Ugh! Have you been living in a hay-barn, Rio-chan? The ninja's aren't here anymore, they were kicked out ages ago…and a good thing too, with all their snooty techniques we only got to make tea and scrub bedpans! Damn ninjas, they're no good to anybody except themselves…"
"O-oh," She did her best to come across as truly disappointed, the other nurse huffed irritably,
"Well, whatever, come on, I'll take you to Hijikawa-hakase [doctor] – he'll know what to do with you," She turned abruptly on her heel and strode down the corridor, Sakura followed a little sheepishly, half glad to be out from under the derisive stares of the group.
"Hijikawa-hakase," The nurse knocked on the door whilst she drawled out in name but barged straight in, the doctor looked up from his pile of notes, his eyes squinting over his glaces from the need to refocus his vision so quickly,
"Yes, nurse, what is it?"
"This is some new nurse from up North who was apparently sent here for training," She flopped her hand out irritatedly towards Sakura,
"I'm sorry, I can't say I remember you, ah...?" He began, turning more in his chair to face her,
"Nakahisa Rio…and I do get told I don't have a very memorable face," She began shyly, scratching at the back of her neck in embarrassment despite the condescending snort issued by the other nurse,
"Yes, thank you Misa," The doctor dismissed her and he focused properly on the newcomer, rising to his feet, "I apologise, no matter how much they complained about not having enough work whilst the shinobi medics ran the hospital, they seem now to think they are the only medical expertise that exist…despite doing as little work as possible,"
"Oh! I had really hoped to see some medical ninja in action, but I've been told they don't work here any more,"
"Yes, regretfully, they were told they were no longer allowed to practice their ninjutsu in the hospital," He began to shuffle some papers on his desk and Sakura took the opportunity to to push for a little more information,
"What about the other shinobi in the village? Why would they just ban ninjutsu in the hospital? I thought they were superior techniques,"
"Indeed they were, but after the last war the Lords decided that they could not sustain the village by continuing to fund the ninja after we lost so badly…so the ninja were allowed to find civilian jobs if they chose," Sakura nodded carefully,
"But…I thought the ninja brought in more funds when they completed missions?" Hijikawa looked sharply over his shoulder,
"You seem to know a lot about shinobi, Nakahisa-san,"
"Oh, a shinobi came to our village one time…I took the opportunity to find out as much as he would tell me," She could help her eyes averting in embarrassment, though it seemed to aid her innocent pretense as he seemed to buy it well enough,
"Well, it's a shame you won't be able to observe their techniques, but the situation is what it is. What skills did you need to brush up on?"
"Ah…well, I struggle occasionally with identification of viral infections and I was hoping to do some research here and maybe get some advice," Thank Kami-sama for Tsunade's teachings which made her so good at thinking on her feet,
"Yes, yes I can help you with that definitely, but what areas do you specialise in? How might you be able to help us around the hospital?"
"Well, I suppose I have the most experience in treating emergencies – breaks, bleeding and so on; though I am quite used to handling the personalities of those suffering with chronic conditions," She offered a small smile which was easily returned by Hijikawa, though he seemed to take a long moment considering her.
Sakura's career as a medic had meant she'd met a lot of different types of people – and she knew the look of a lecherous old man as soon as she saw it and this was not one of those times. He was clearly a perceptive man and the kuniochi had the distinct feeling he knew more about her than he was letting on.
…
Kakashi wasn't feeling so well – his body felt hot and his limbs a little shaky, he tried to focus on the text in front of him, but wasn't having so much luck; he'd managed to sneak a peek at the small room which held records and as suspiciously easy as he'd found the whole thing he had to admit that there weren't so many times he'd spent breaking into civilian buildings. He hadn't got far – at least, not far enough to find anything that suggested a thing about the virus – when his became aware of just how awful he felt; as it seemed to get worse by each passing moment Kakashi felt less and less sure what to do. He needed to find Sakura, his first fear being that the virus had finally begun to raise its ugly head and he would be completely out of action in a very short space of time. Whilst he still had some strength in him, he took an obvious gamle and summoned Pakkun,
"Kakashi! Twice in the same week, I'm starting to think about retirement," The small dog spoke blandly as the swirls of smoke dissipated, but he quickly noticed all was not well with his master, "You don't smell right, Kakashi, what's wrong?"
"I…think I've been infected by that same virus that got you…I going to head to the hospital where Sakura is, but I need you to find her and prepare a room for me to meet her," Kakashi was leaning more heavily on the small table as Pakkun nodded hastily, "I there's pretty much no shinobi presence left in this village, but please be careful Pakkun, the civilians are very anti-ninja by the looks of it," the Copy Nin reached uneasily down to pull the haitai-ate off the dog's head before gesturing that the ninken was free to leave. The small dog was genuinely starting to worry as he yipped shortly before dashing away – that virus was bad news and Kakashi could be in real trouble. The dog, at the moment, was only grateful for the fact it was dark and perhaps his master would be more easily able to slip through the town without being seen.
Kakashi snuck from the room as quietly as he was able, his disguise was starting to need every ounce of his concentration to keep in place and his normally sure-footed nature had to take back seat as he nearly stumbled over an uneven cobblestone. Eventually he made it to the hospital and he shuffled around to the back of the building, he waited for a painfully long five minutes for the civilian nurse by the door to finish his cigarette before he dared approach any further, where the hell is Sakura? He thought forcefully as he side-stepped into a nearby corridor to avoid the same nurse who was still signing a clipboard, another nurse appeared from around a corner, smiling at the male as she made her way towards Kakashi – he mentally cursed and looked for a way to hide but she was upon him before he could move more than a couple of steps.
"Kakashi," She whispered, stepping up to him and placing a hand on his forehead, "Shit, you really have a fever, Pakkun distract that nurse would you please?" He didn't hesitate for a second and quickly ran up to the the man's feet, yipping up at him and leading him out the door by nearly letting him pet his head before leaping away a few paces and wagging his tail in the way he'd seen other, normal dogs do when trying to play with their owners. Sakura gripped nearly all of Kakashi's weight as she took him by the arm and he slumped onto her, she ferried him quickly down a few corridors until they arrived at the vacant room she'd found, she slipped them inside and closed the door as quietly as she dared and set Kakashi on the bed – just in time for his henge no jutsu suddenly dispelled and all that was left was an unconscious Copy Ninja laid flat out on the hospital bed.
Sakura took a moment to calm herself before she gathered her chakra, lifted up his shirt and laid a hand on his bare chest, half praying that he'd just eaten something funny at breakfast; unfortunately, they had no such luck and Sakura could clearly feel the markers for the virus cavorting about in his cells and bloodstream. She hurried over to the nearby table where she'd managed to prep a quick bowl for the daikoudan no jutsu, but just as she'd laced it with chakra and lifted her hand up, the ball of liquid clinging to her, the door opened and snapped shut again very quickly; she turned to face the same elderly man she'd met a couple of hours earlier,
"Hi-Hijikawa-hakase…" She spoke tensing,
"I had thought you seemed a little sharp for a just being a simple village girl," His expression was hard, though he didn't move for a moment, "And here I find you about to perform a daikoudan no jutsu on none other than Kakashi of the Sharingan."
"Alright, so today we've already run over the seals for the bunshin no jutsu – is everyone happy on what seals to make and in what order?" Sasuke asked, glancing over his room full of students,
"Yes, Sasuke-sensei," A majority chorused back,
"If anyone isn't happy, please say so now," There was a pervading silence and no one that Sasuke saw seemed to look uneasy so he nodded and proceeded to gather his chakra, but before he could so much as raise his hands to form the first seal, the fusuma door slid open, revealing an ANBU;
"Uchiha-san, the Godaime requests your presence immediately," He spoke in a clear and authoritative tone, despite his hidden face, the class of pre-Genin gasped and whispered in apparent awe and fear,
"Hai," Sasuke responded sharply, before casting a stern glance over the class to silence them, "I will need to find a substitute teacher to mind the class–"
"I am to accompany you back, I will wait here whislt you find one," The ANBU cut across, whatever Tsunade wanted, it apparently could not wait; Sasuke nodded and marched swiftly from the classroom as all remaining eyes locked onto the young member of Konoha's secret service. The young masked man had faced many dangers in his career and held his resolve, but something about having twenty pairs of childish eyes starting at him unblinkingly made him want to turn and leap very swiftly from the room. Thankfully Sasuke returned with another teacher after a few minutes and he was glad of the opportunity to leave the academy and return to his temporary post on guard duty at the Hokage's tower.
"Tsunade-sama, you requested to see me?" Sasuke asked politely as he stepped into the room, his eyes falling over the elderly man with two aides at his side sat on a seat beside the Godaime's desk, he couldn't be much less than about eighty or ninety, Sasuke thought and was at a loss as to why he'd be here.
"Yes, Sasuke. This man is the Abbot Naidime Yuoi – he is the head of the Fire Temple and has requested to speak with you," Tsunade spoke gently, whilst the Abbot remained seated, his eyes fixed on Sasuke, the only thing about him that didn't seem tired,
"Uchiha Sasuke-san," The Abbot began slowly, "I do not know if you are aware, but I once met with your brother, Itachi-san; back before the outbreak of the Fourth War. I must admit, against better judgement I formed a high opinion of him – he had asked for an audience and behaved himself respectfully." Yuoi paused for a moment, though for dramatic effect or to regain his breath or both, Sasuke wasn't sure, "He asked for me to pass on a message to you when I saw you, I imagine he had meant it to be within a few months though it didn't happen. Recently, I have been deep in meditation and you came under my mind's eye's gaze during that time. Apparently Itachi had implanted knowledge within my mind using his sharingan which was previously unknown to me and the message came into my consciousness as a result. Since you were not near me at the time, I could not pass on the information directly as Itachi had wished, but I wrote it all down as swiftly and accurately as I could as soon as I awoke from meditation.
"The message was deeply important to Itachi that you know this, Sasuke-san, I have here all of the memories that I had from him – I could not send this through courier bird it was too risky, but I wish for you to read it now. Perhaps, if I still remember enough you can find out more through your sharingan that lingers in my mind," Sasuke felt suddenly frozen to the spot, as if some alien chakra had bound his feet to the wooden floors,
"Wh…I don't understand, Abbot…"
"Please, Sasuke-san, read the documents," The Abbot held out a large bundle of papers to his aide who took them and offered them to Sasuke, the Uchiha took a hold of them tentatively, still uncertain as to whether to believe the whole situation; thankfully Tsunade stepped in,
"I appreciate this is a lot to take in, Sasuke, but the Abbot is a very well respected man throughout the Fire nation – and has always remained a neutral party in conflicts, it makes sense that if Itachi truly had something to tell you that he couldn't himself, then the Abbot would have been a logical choice," Despite the words from the Hokage, Sasuke still hesitated;
"Sasuke-san, there is a lot to read there, take them home with you – though please keep them safe – I am tired from my journey and I need to rest; I am certain you will have questions for me in the morning, we can speak again then," The Abbot spoke in a voice that now betrayed more of his fatigue,
"Hai…thank you Abbot, for taking the trouble to pass this on to me," Sasuke remembered his new-found manners at last,
"I was glad to;" He seemed to take a look over the Uchiha, "Itachi-san would be very pleased to see the man you've become, I think," At that remark, however, Sasuke could not help his eyebrows twitching in reflecting rejection of the Abbot's words. Thankfully, however, the monk ignored the potentially disrespectful gesture and turned back to Tsunade,
"If I might retire now, Hokage-sama,"
"Of course, Abbot, I will show you to the rooms where you and your aides can rest for as long as you wish," Tsunade rose to her feet, before addressing Sasuke again, "Take the rest of the day off and tomorrow too; read it all carefully and be back here for nine o'clock tomorrow morning,"
"Hai, Tsunade–sama,"
"Dismissed."
..
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A/n - just in case the name Uchiha Teruo is one you can't remember (wouldn't blame you lol) - think back to Eiko's ~cough~ thieving childhood and her Uchiha accomplice! ~Evil grin~
Plus, I actually do have a certain respect for Itachi - I'll admit he was a man of great wisdom, despite being rather young! ^_^