Three days after Kohaku told Kakashi of what he had gone through, he finally went to meet with Minato to tell him the truth, Nozomu padding along after him in a cheerful sort of way, opposite of Kohaku's heavy-hearted plodding. Kakashi was following along just behind the puppy, book in hand.
Sensing that Minato was alone in his office, Kohaku knocked once before stepping inside. It was impossible to hide the frown on his face when he stepped inside, his gaze shifting in every direction except Minato's.
"Ah, Kohaku, Kakashi. What's the matter?" Minato asked kindly, immediately noticing Kohaku's strange behavior. "Sit down and tell me what's on your mind."
Kohaku hesitated for a moment before sitting down in one of the chairs. He patted his lap, waiting until Nozomu hopped up before looking up at Minato.
And then he told his story, this time laying out every detail that he had left out when he'd spoken to Hisahito and Kakashi. All the details he had been given about Madara's plan, and about Obito and everything that he could remember, relevant or not. It was not easy for him to lay his soul bare in this way, but this was something he could no longer keep to himself.
"I don't know why Madara took me in. I don't have any particularly useful talents that he could use for his plan. It...would have been better for him if he had just killed me, but he didn't." Kohaku finished with a sigh.
It was definitely a lot for Minato to take in, and even Kakashi was struggling to come to terms with the fact that Obito was not, in fact, dead.
But the moment that Minato opened his mouth to speak, the door opened and someone else stepped inside. All three heads swiveled around to see who was interrupting.
Startlingly enough, it was Niizuma Tamayo, the doctor that had checked his injuries and seemed to have some strange belief that he was a member of the Kanemaru clan.
"I know why he wanted you." Tamayo said with a smile, shutting the door and going to sit between Kohaku and Kakashi. "Rather, needed you."
"Why are you here?" Kohaku's voice came out sharper than he had intended, and he frowned a little. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Tamayo had unsettled him with her belief that he was a Kanemaru.
Tamayo ignored his question, instead asking one of her own. "You're all familiar with the Kanemaru clan, I assume?" When they nodded, she kicked her feet up on Minato's desk and turned her gaze to Kohaku. "That one is a Kanemaru, though he denies it."
Kakashi glanced at Kohaku, noticing his uncharacteristic scowl. "How do you know this?" He asked, turning his attention back to her, while Minato watched with mild curiosity.
"My clan, the Niizuma, have always been very close with the Kanemaru clan. We are a clan of healers, and the only ones that the Kanemaru have ever trusted with their medical care." Tamayo began, pushing her glasses up with one finger. "When I was a child, my mother took me to their compound every time that she visited. I grew very familiar with the Kanemaru clan before they entered their period of isolation, and my mother passed down every bit of history to me so that I could take her place once I was ready."
"And what does this have to do with why Madara would want Kohaku's assistance?" Minato asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Because the Kanemaru clan is a very unique clan. You are familiar with the origin of the tailed beasts, right?" Tamayo asked, tilting her head.
All three nodded, waiting for her to continue.
"Well, their originator needed a fail-safe in the off chance that the tailed beasts ended up losing themselves. The stories I've been told are a little vague about what that means, but we can only assume that it's to stop them in the middle of a rampage." Tamayo began to explain, a frown growing on her face. "And so, the Kanemaru clan, called the Tenko clan then, was born, along with eight other clans that would watch over their respective beasts. With the calmness that you could bring the Kyuubi, Madara could easily take advantage of the distraction to take control of it."
"This sounds like a fairytale." Kohaku said quietly, hoping that it was just that. He could not help but be afraid at what this was beginning to imply.
"Well, it's not." Tamayo snapped at him. "Anyway, the Kanemaru clan was originally a clan of golden foxes, that were given human form so that they could blend in more easily. What they possessed was a unique type of chakra. Every time in history that the Kyuubi has rampaged, the mere presence of a Kanemaru has calmed it enough for it to be sealed back into its jinchuuriki with little trouble."
"But when a tailed beast is removed from its host, the host dies." Minato pointed out, voice guarded, though Kohaku wondered if he could hear a bit of anxiety in it.
"And that's where the Niizuma clan comes in." Tamayo said, smiling again. "Well, sort of. My job keeps both the host and the Kanemaru alive after an ordeal such as this. If there were ever the case that the beast was removed from its host, there is a technique in which the Kanemaru can seal it back into the host that also ensures the host's survival. This technique, however, is lethal to the Kanemaru. My clan, however, has come up with a technique that can save the Kanemaru, to cut down on the loss of life if a situation like that were to ever occur."
"Even if that is all true, you still have not proven that I am a Kanemaru. I'm not." Kohaku protested again, refusing to believe it without solid evidence.
"Tenko-san, you were dropped off on the doorstep of an orphanage at approximately six months old, correct?" Tamayo didn't wait for an answer. "Around the same time, someone matching the description of a Kanemaru, and resembling you, was found dead halfway across the village. I read the file. It was suspected that he was a Kanemaru, but when a letter asking for confirmation was sent, we never received an answer."
All of a sudden, something clicked in Kohaku's mind, and his eyes widened briefly as a distant memory surfaced, blurred at the edges from all the time that had passed.
He remembered a tired, young face, narrow like his own, and beautiful golden hair. Blue eyes, soft and sad, stared down at him. He said something, but Kohaku could not make out what it was.
Nozomu licked at his face, startling Kohaku. A frown crossed his face and he glanced up at the other three, who hadn't seemed to notice that he had lost himself for a moment. He cleared his throat and shook his head.
"Assuming that I am a Kanemaru, then why does Obito suddenly want me dead? It would be easier to have me on his side, because it would make using the Kyuubi all the easier for him." Kohaku asked quietly.
"I imagine that after you left, Madara deemed you a threat that couldn't be left around to meddle. He probably told Obito that you were a threat to their plan." Minato said slowly as everything clicked into place. He glanced at Tamayo and sighed. "Thank you for bringing this to our attention."
Tamayo, realizing that she was being dismissed, stood up and smiled. She gave them a nod and left without another word.
"Then what do we do now?" Kohaku asked once he was sure that she was gone, a frown on his face.
For a while, Minato didn't answer him, seeming to weigh the options. It went without saying that Obito had to be stopped, but they needed to come up with a viable plan of action.
"Until further notice, Kohaku, you're off active duty." Minato finally spoke up. "If what Niizuma-san said is true, then you need to be here in case Obito comes after Kushina." When he saw Kohaku's dismayed expression, he sighed. "I know how you feel, but that's how it has to be for now."
"Fine." Kohaku looked away, trusting Minato's judgement, despite his dislike of the situation.
"As for what we'll do about Obito…" Minato paused briefly. "Since there's a way to get into his base of operations through the tunnels, we'll send a team down and have him brought into custody." He glanced at Kakashi. "Are you willing to go?"
Before Kakashi could answer Minato, Kohaku was on his feet. "No! You can't send him or anyone else." He said firmly. "It's a suicide mission. No one you send will come back alive."
"You did." Kakashi pointed out, frowning. He glanced at Minato, his one visible eye narrowed, something dark lurking in the depths of it.
"Kakashi, I'm asking you not to go. Please." Kohaku said quietly, already knowing that there was nothing he could do to keep him from going to confront Obito.
"I'll go." Kakashi spoke directly to Minato, his gaze flickering towards Kohaku for a moment before returning to Minato.
Kohaku picked Nozomu up and turned to leave, holding the puppy close. There was nothing he could say to Kakashi to dissuade him, and so he stayed silent as he left. He knew this was a mistake, but there was nothing he could do.
Three days later, Kakashi, Hisayo, and three other shinobi left to enter the tunnels, and Kohaku felt in his heart that this would be the last time he saw some of the most important people in his life.
