At laaaaast…this chapter ha-as…come along…
Sorry for the wait on this one. The good news: The next chapter is already completely written, perhaps minus a bit of editing. It used to be part of this one, but then the word count got over 15K and as I read through I was like, "This is a lot…"
So I split it up! I'll post the next chapter in a few weeks to give myself time to get the NEXT next one going. After that, I'm really trying to keep more of a schedule for posting, partly for my own sanity!
Quick recap from Chapter 22:
Kaiya was beyond shaken to find a photograph in her parents' album of her with a young Itachi. She went to Kakashi to confirm what she already sort of knew - she and Itachi had been friends BEFORE the Kyuubi attack, ergo Itachi had lied to her the whole time they were together. While trying to explain her connection with Itachi, another disturbing revelation came out: The night of the massacre, Kaiya had seen and even spoken to Itachi - but he had put a binding genjutsu on her so that she wouldn't tell anyone about it. At this point, Kaiya's not sure what this means, though between the overall betrayal and this particular violation of her free will, she's not inclined to think well of Itachi's reasoning.
We good? Okay. On with the show…
Chapter 23: Purposeful Proposals
Sleep came and went, despite Kaiya's exhaustion. She would settle in, start to drift off, and then suddenly be too aware of everything around and within her. The wind rattled against her window and she bolted up in bed, kunai in hand, half-expecting to see a familiar form through the curtain. She'd close her eyes, and just as her body and mind finally relaxed, she'd see Itachi's tear-streaked face or hear his desperate command to Say nothing, Tell no one. He invaded her dreams over and over again, sometimes as the child in the photos, sometimes as the young teen with blood on his clothes…sometimes as the man he was now, whispering in her ear, putting a weapon in her hand…walking her to a kneeling figure…directing her to raise the sword and slice the neck of her own teacher…
The last one had her scrambling out of bed, heart racing. Kaiya reached out, touching everything she could: her nightstand, her lamp, her table, her carpet…this was her room, her apartment, there was no one else here, it was just a nightmare.
"It wasn't real," she repeated like a mantra, shuffling to sit against her bed on the floor. "Just a dream…it didn't happen that way…it wasn't real…"
Clutching her pillow and the peach scarf tightly to her chest, she kept saying it until the visceral realism of the nightmare began to fade. She'd know if that had actually happened…right? Kakashi said there was only one coercive genjutsu at play; she'd only lost a minute of time, and she'd only moved a few feet, and there was no blood on her hands. It was just a nightmare, a fucked up product of her over-active imagination. She didn't kill Yuuma, Itachi did, and he didn't make her do it. He did it himself.
Kaiya squeezed her eyes shut, burying her face in her pillow as the tears inevitably came. When would this stop? When would she be beyond Itachi's reach?
Kamis…if this was anything like what Sasuke had been going through…she could absolutely understand why he was so obsessed with killing his brother.
But Itachi's death wouldn't answer her questions. The whys of what he did kept building up the more she learned, with no end in sight. If anything, those questions would plague her even more once the one person who could definitively answer them was gone. But even if by some miracle she found him again and got him to talk, who was to say anything out of his mouth wouldn't be a lie?
"I hate you." Kaiya buried her face in the pillow, muffling her voice. "I hate you, I hate you!"
She wanted to be numb again. She wanted to be normal, whatever that was, and kamis, she wanted to sleep. No dreams, no nightmares, no fear or jumping at small noises. For perhaps the first time in her life, she wished she could just forget.
Yet every time she closed her eyes, she saw him, tears sparkling in the moonlight, and she was caught between disgust - mostly at herself for expecting anything else - and a nagging, tugging sense of wrongness. Why was he crying that night? Why did he leave her alive and silence her? She wracked her memory of the encounter, trying to impart order on the one piece that wasn't razor-sharp in clarity: when she'd seen his Sharingan. The minute she met the scarlet orbs, things got muddled - but she could swear she felt his hands cupping her face, his warm breath brushing her nose and lips as he whispered that command: Say nothing, tell no one.
With a groan, she balled her fists into her pillow. Could she even trust that this was a real memory, not an implant or a bit of wishful thinking? Kaiya almost hoped it was fake - because if it wasn't, if it was true…then Itachi had taken her face in his hands like he'd done many times before. His touch had been gentle and intimate, his hushed voice and stuttering breath signs of…fear? Desperation?
It all added up to the wrongness of the whole event, a wrongness she'd been so certain of years ago. It meant that there was more to Itachi's actions that night.
Kaiya sighed and rubbed eyes that ached with fatigue. Where would she even begin? She and Sasuke were the only living witnesses to the massacre - a fact that reminded her painfully of the only non-Uchiha victim. No. She couldn't let her own emotions into this, at least as much as she could help it. Emotions caused clutter, and she needed clarity. But how?
Kakashi would know, she thought almost mournfully. She'd already dragged the man deeper into her sordid past than she had anyone else…would he actually want to delve further? He did say he wanted to help. Thinking about his calm, quiet, steady presence, how he'd taken everything in stride and without judgment, how he'd even been able to sympathize a bit…Kaiya found herself growing calmer. Her body unfurled itself from the tight coil she'd drawn it into; at long last, her mind began to still. She closed her eyes, remembering Kakashi's warm hands on her arms, his clean, pine-musk scent enveloping her like a shield…and at long last, she fell into a quiet, mercifully empty sleep.
Across the village in his own bed, Kakashi lay awake for a long time, staring at the ceiling and trying to make sense of everything. The monumental weight of Kaiya's account settled heavily on his shoulders, dredging up memories from his Anbu days. Back then, he hadn't questioned the things Anbu did, not really. He'd only briefly doubted the decision to allow the eleven-year-old into their ranks; after all, he hadn't been much older when he joined, and Uchiha Itachi was said to be an unprecedented genius. He'd accepted the boy's eerie efficiency as part of the prodigy package, though he did remember being concerned for how much interest the Council showed in him. That sort of interest meant Itachi was involved in their politics, something Kakashi actively avoided to this day.
After the massacre, Kakashi had once again accepted what he was told: Itachi held a deep resentment of his clan and finally snapped. Not in an emotional, over-the-top way, but in the way that sociopaths do, concealing their intent until they were ready to make a calculated strike. Kakashi remembered having some questions, but he'd let them go in favor of his own work.
But Kaiya's account of that night…Itachi crying…that genjutsu…it all brought old doubts back to the surface, made him want to reconsider everything that had been happening at the time with a new perspective.
With sleep an increasingly unlikely scenario, Kakashi dragged himself out of bed and dressed. For once, he needed to talk to someone about what was going through his head, someone who'd also been around at the time, who'd witnessed the enigma that was Uchiha Itachi. Leaving a somewhat convincing dummy of himself in his bed, fashioned from a broom and some pillows, Kakashi sneaked out of his own apartment. Perhaps he was being paranoid, but with Danzo active in the village again, he couldn't shake the sense of being observed.
He was certain that he wasn't followed as he made his way across the village to where an old Anbu colleague of his lived. He wasn't as certain about whether he and Kaiya had been tailed earlier that evening, but he was reasonably assured that even if they had been, that tail would have had to stay far enough away that they couldn't hear anything being discussed. Kakashi couldn't explain why, but he felt the need to be extra covert about this whole situation. It was an old instinct, perhaps the same one that eventually led to his friendship with the person he was about to see.
Kakashi reached his destination and started working at a locked window when something curled around his wrists and ankles. He held perfectly still, unbothered by his sudden state of capture or by the cold flat of the kunai that found its way to his throat. He did, however, roll his eyes. "You greet all your house guests like this?"
"Only when they try to sneak in," answered a low voice behind him, a hint of humor warming its tone. "You should know better, senpai."
"Yes, yes, you've got me," Kakashi sighed. "Mind letting me in, Tenzou?"
The tendrils of wood that held his wrists and ankles receded and the kunai withdrew from his throat. Silent as a cat and with a grace that seemed counter to his large-ish frame, his captor moved toward a solid wall of his high-set cabin. Kakashi shook his head. Tenzou had a thing for curious and opulent architecture, and this 'treehouse' - as he could only describe it - was no different. It was designed after an old style of circular huts, but with an elegantly sloped roof that normally shouldn't be possible with wood as the only building material. The last time Kakashi had been here, it had been more square and angular, like a traditional house that got lifted off the ground by virtue of a fast-growing tree sprouting up in its center. Surrounding the trunk of a giant old fir, it was well-concealed by the needle-laden branches in all seasons, with several windows but no doors.
No doors were needed, though. If Tenzou wanted guests, he could easily allow them inside as he did now, stretching out his hand and silently commanding the seam between two panels to widen into a human-sized entrance.
"You changed the design again," Kakashi commented, stepping inside behind Tenzou. "Looks nice this way."
"Ah - thank you, senpai," Tenzou replied, a small, embarrassed smile crossing his face. "It's been a while. Can I get you some tea?"
"Sure, and you don't have to call me 'senpai' anymore, you know."
The reminder, he was sure, fell on deaf ears. Tenzou may be a high-ranking Anbu captain nowadays, equal to Kakashi's old rank, but he'd probably always be this referential toward him.
"So what brings you by at this hour?" Tenzou asked, placing a steaming mug in Kakashi's hand.
"Old memories," Kakashi answered vaguely, leaning against a table and glancing around the house. "Still not one for decoration, hm?"
The interior was indeed less interesting than the exterior, with sparse furniture and absolutely zero clutter. There weren't even any chairs, though that was only true for a few seconds more as Tenzou spontaneously created two from the wooden floor. Kakashi gratefully sat in one.
"Any memories in particular?" Tenzou inquired, ignoring Kakashi's attempt to stall.
Kakashi sighed deeply and set his mug down. "The massacre."
There was no shortage of massacres involved in Anbu life, but Tenzou didn't need him to elaborate to know which one he was talking about. That was one of the reasons Kakashi appreciated the slightly younger man; they'd known each other long enough that some things didn't need to be explicitly stated.
A grim frown pulled at Tenzou's mouth. "Is it because of Uchiha Sasuke? I was sorry to hear about that, by the way."
"In part, and thanks for saying so." He didn't want to bring up Kaiya's part in this - not yet, not unless it was absolutely necessary. He trusted Tenzou more than most, but he also respected Kaiya's confidence in him. "I suppose it's just got me thinking about a few things."
"Such as?"
Kakashi weighed his words carefully before continuing. "Do you ever wonder about it? Not the massacre itself, I suppose, but other things?"
Tenzou's brow furrowed. "I'm not sure I follow."
"Why we were watching the Uchiha clan," Kakashi supplied. "Why there was never an Uchiha in Anbu before Itachi. The timing of it all."
Tenzou sat back in his chair, folding his arms and staring at the steam rising from his own mug. "What's really on your mind?"
The same trait Kakashi appreciated about his colleague could also be unsettling at times. How much could he say without bringing up what Kaiya had told him? "Why do you think Itachi did it? Not 'what were we told,' but his true reasons?"
"True reasons?" Tenzou looked puzzled by his choice of words. "You think we weren't told the full story?"
"I'm not sure," Kakashi admitted honestly.
Tenzou sipped his tea. "Excuse me for saying so, but it seems rather obvious why he did it. You saw the bodies we found…the missing eyes."
He had. Not all, but many of the Uchiha victims had their eyes gouged out postmortem. There were rumors going back to the Warring States Era that the Uchiha could augment their powers somehow by taking each others' eyes, but it was largely written off as superstition, something meant to make the clan seem more menacing in an age where reputation secured one's livelihood.
His own eyes narrowed in thought. The only people who knew about the missing eyes were Anbu and the High Council. But when Kaiya described what she'd seen that night, hadn't she mentioned something about a corpse with Sharingan? "Tenzou - do you remember if we found any corpses with Sharingan eyes attached?"
Tenzou made a face that suggested he'd prefer not to think that hard about it. "No…I don't think there were any."
It was a weak link at best, he tried to tell himself. Kaiya seeing a body with Sharingan still attached…it could have been an exception. An oddly coincidental exception. But if it wasn't a coincidence, it could mean that the eyes had been taken after the massacre took place, not during. For Itachi to do that, he'd have had to work incredibly fast, risking capture just to collect his kin's eyes.
"Now that doesn't make sense," he mused aloud before catching himself.
"What is it?"
Crap. Kaiya must be rubbing off on him. Thinking fast, Kakashi found another reason for his own comment that didn't involve Kaiya. "If Itachi's aim was to slaughter his entire clan in one night, it wouldn't have been practical to stop and take every Sharingan he found. That would have slowed him down. He'd risk discovery."
Tenzou's brows rose, his eyes widening slightly at the suggestion. "But…he could have just worked very quickly. He was incredibly fast, even back then…"
Arguing would mean telling Kaiya's account, and Kakashi wasn't ready to share that yet. His own conjecture was becoming more and more convincing to him as he kept thinking about it, though. Bodies with eyes gouged out would have been noteworthy. Kaiya recalled seeing dozens of dead bodies, some decapitated…but never did she mention any with their eyes missing.
As for risking discovery…Itachi had been discovered. By Kaiya. Yet he let her walk away. Granted, he'd put a binding genjutsu on her, but still; the only other non-Uchiha victim of the massacre had been killed on the spot. Why not her? Was it possible that Uchiha Itachi was capable of sentiment? Could that be why he spared his brother and the girl he'd grown up with, had a relationship with? Even if he'd been lying to her the whole time?
No wonder this drove Kaiya crazy.
Kakashi wasn't one to think that Missing-Nin were incapable of feelings; Zabuzu and Haku were prime, recent examples of this. Yet much of who Uchiha Itachi was - what they knew about him - was predicated on the idea that he was a true sociopath, incapable of empathy, driven by purely selfish goals and in constant need for new stimulation. Sentiment didn't figure into that equation.
Another curiosity came to his mind. When Itachi came back to Konoha a few months back, he hadn't killed anyone. He could have. He should have, in order to cover his and his partner's tracks. He killed one of the most powerful clans in Konoha in a single night on his own; what were four Jonin compared to a district that contained over a dozen?
"…pai? Senpai?"
"Hm?" Kakashi realized he never answered Tenzou's question. "Sorry, lost in my thoughts."
"Uh-huh," said Tenzou dryly. "If you don't actually want to talk about this…"
"I don't think I do right now," Kakashi announced lightly. "Thank you for the tea, though."
He headed for a random wall, knowing that Tenzou would create an opening for him - but the opening didn't form. He glanced back at his old colleague with a raised brow. Tenzou was well-practiced in concealing his emotions; the most he showed now was intense thoughtfulness. But that combined with the lack of door creation made it seem like he was debating whether to say something or not.
Or…perhaps it wasn't a matter of whether he wanted to say something. "Everything okay?"
Tenzou swallowed, making his throat bob. "Not sure - but it's nothing you need to worry about, Senpai."
Kakashi kept watching the other man as just behind him, the wall gave way and let in the night air. He knew there were things Tenzou wouldn't - couldn't - say, particularly about his past, but it had never been relevant to the present. The Mokuton user had on several occasions insisted that he didn't mind not being able to say certain things, that it was sometimes a relief. Having an idea of the sort of work Root did back in the day, Kakashi couldn't blame him.
Still…he wondered what Tenzou would've said now if his tongue wasn't bound.
His cup was still full of warm liquid when he left. He didn't regret going to Tenzou - quite the opposite - but he did feel he'd shared enough for the time being. Until he had something more solid, no one else had to be involved in this little inquiry. He trusted Tenzou to respect that without having to spell it out and knew that his old colleague would never speak of this conversation to anyone.
Because now Kakashi was certain about one thing: Kaiya was right. There was something 'off' about Uchiha Itachi.
The hospital was in its usual state of mid-morning bustle when Kaiya arrived. As soon as Sakura had told her the news, she'd dressed haphazardly and rushed over while still tying her sleep-mussed hair back. Yet once she was at the front desk, she hesitated.
This was the moment she'd been waiting for ever since returning from the Uzumaki Temple. Naruto was awake, healed, and probably in need of all the support and comfort she could give. But suddenly, she was afraid to go in. Would he blame her for not being there? She wasn't about to tell him about the temple; it had to do with Danzo and Root, and she wanted to keep Naruto as far away from all that as possible. And what was she supposed to tell him about that photo album? He'd want to see it once he knew it existed; he had every right to it. But trying to explain why Uchiha Itachi was in those photos…Should she just take the offending photos out? Would he even realize who the Uchiha boy was? Maybe she was overestimating how much it would matter to him.
Maybe she didn't have to say anything at all.
No, she was thinking about this all wrong, focusing too much on her own problems. None of this would matter to Naruto right now; he needed her, not her past. She squared her shoulders and headed for his room.
Naruto was sitting up in bed when she arrived, staring out the window with what she could only describe as a look of pure defeat. The sight broke her heart, chasing away all other intruding thoughts. She wanted to rush over, embrace him and tell him over and over again that it wasn't his fault until he believed her. Experience, however, told her that it wouldn't matter how many times he heard her say it; he'd still blame himself. Perhaps it was a family trait.
"Hey," she called softly, sitting at the edge of the bed and taking his hand. "How are you feeling?"
Naruto started and for a second, it looked like he would put on a show of cheer. Then he saw her and his shoulders sagged. "Nee-chan…"
Kaiya didn't take it as an insult. If anything, she was glad he didn't feel the need to pretend around her. For a few minutes, neither of them said anything, the weight of all that had happened settling around them in a dense, invisible fog.
Naruto swallowed, his voice cracking when he finally spoke. "I failed…I tried, Nee-chan…I promised Sakura that I won't give up…but…so many people got hurt…Choji and Neji almost died…and I couldn't…"
Kaiya shattered at how broken he sounded. Guilt gnawed at her insides as the thought of I should have been there once again passed through her head. She wished she could fix all of this somehow, even turn back the clock so that none of it happened in the first place.
Not that she'd have any idea of where to begin.
"I wasn't strong enough," Naruto said, clenching his fingers into the sheets. "I couldn't stop him…I…"
"Look at me." When he tried to turn further away, Kaiya took Naruto's chin and made him face her. "This. Isn't. Your. Fault. We will get him back, no matter what, you hear?"
Her own eyes prickled in sympathy as his welled up. Naruto sniffed hard and quickly rubbed his eyes. "Sorry…I shouldn't be crying, you know…it's not gonna do anything…"
"Hey, if you need to cry, then cry," Kaiya told him, rubbing his back. "This is me - you don't have to put on a brave face with me, right? And who says crying doesn't do anything? I cry. Sometimes it actually helps, like it clears out my head."
Naruto hiccuped and smiled. "Guess it's good I don't have much in mine then, huh? Less to clear out."
Kaiya snorted even as she gave his shoulder a playful shrug. "Don't say that. It's not true."
"Oh, I dunno about that," boomed a jovial voice from the window. The siblings turned to see Jiraiya just outside, sitting atop a massive toad and tossing them a grin. "Hey."
Naruto lit up right away, sending a tiny twinge of annoyance through Kaiya. "Pervy Sage! What're you doing here?"
"Checking up on my godkids, of course!" Jiraiya jumped to the window and let himself inside. Kaiya watched him warily but held her tongue, reminding herself that whatever his faults and past mistakes, he was trying now. He'd even taken the time to find their parents' affects for them. He was changing.
Then Jiraiya's grin melted away. "I heard a bit of what you two were talking about just now. Listen…for your own good, you should forget about Sasuke. Both of you."
Clearly, she'd give him too much credit.
"Excuse me?" Kaiya exclaimed, standing and crossing her arms. "What do you even know about it?"
"I know his type," Jiraiya stated, looking her squarely in the eyes. "I've seen it before. He's made up his mind to pursue power over anything else, no matter where it leads him. That's why he's with Orochimaru now - not because of a Curse Mark, but because of his own choice."
"If he didn't get that mark in the first place-"
"Then maybe he'd have stuck around for another year or two, at most. It doesn't matter; his priorities were set the day he lost everything. Even if you did manage to track down Orochimaru, which trust me, is a nearly impossible task on a good day, and even if you found wherever he's keeping the kid, I doubt you'd be able to make Sasuke come back to Konoha of his own free will."
Kaiya kept her stubborn glare, but for once, couldn't find a rebuttal. She hated this, hated that she was inclined to agree with him on anything, let alone on Sasuke. But hadn't she thought some of the same things even before Sasuke left? That maybe the Juin wasn't as influential as she'd originally assumed?
"Then we'll drag him back," Naruto growled. "I don't care what he wants, if it means saving him from being the puppet of that Snake, I'll do anything! He's my friend!"
"Look at yourself!" Jiraiya barked. "Look at what he did to you! Is that what a friend does?!"
Naruto flinched and looked away. He was still covered in bandages; he probably wouldn't be released from the hospital right away.
Kaiya's jaw clenched, her teeth catching the inside of her lip. He was right about one thing: friends didn't hurt each other like that. If it was anyone else, she'd have been the first to say it. But it wasn't just anyone who did this. "Sasuke is family. We're not cutting him out because of some bad decisions he made out of grief and anger."
"Exactly," Naruto agreed, his hands fisting in his lap. He glared up at the Sannin. "So either you're gonna help us find him and teach me what I need to get him back, or we'll do it ourselves!"
Jiraiya sighed and closed his eyes. "Then let me make you a counter-offer: Either you give up this hopeless search for Sasuke, or I make sure Tsunade confines you to Konoha with a round-the-clock Anbu guard, and I won't teach you a damn thing."
Kaiya's eyes went wide as her blood began to boil. She instinctively stepped between the shocked Naruto and his hulking mentor. "You wouldn't-"
"You of all people should understand why he can't just go gallivanting off around the world," Jiraiya chided. "You know what kind of people are after him."
"You were planning to go gallivanting with him," Kaiya reminded him in a venomous tone. "Or did you change your mind in the last week?"
"Huh?" Naruto perked up. "What're you talkin' about?"
"I was planning to take you on a long-term training trip," Jiraiya admitted to Naruto, though he held Kaiya's glare with a steady, stern gaze. "So that you could learn to protect yourself from the likes of Akatsuki and any of the other dozens of people who'll come after you because of the Kyuubi. But if you insist on wasting your life like a fool on a lost cause, then I don't see the point."
Kaiya took a step closer and asked coldly, "And what would our mother and father have done if it was one of us who lost our way?"
"Your father was a Hokage," Jiraiya responded evenly. "He would have prioritized the good of the many, which is what you-" He looked to Naruto. "-will have to do if you ever plan to be like him."
For a moment, Jiraiya's words seemed to hit a chord in Naruto. He stared down at his fists, shoulders shaking with how tightly his hands were balled. Even Kaiya was forced - again - to admit that the Sannin had a point. As much as she wanted to find Sasuke, Konoha's priority was getting back on its feet, which could take years. Tracking Sasuke and Orochimaru would take resources that Konoha couldn't spare now, and by the time they did have the capability again…she shuddered to think of what could happen to the kid in the meantime.
Her brow creased. They didn't have the resources…or did they?
"Then I'll just have to be a better Hokage than he was," Naruto growled behind her. "Even if you won't help me. I'll find a way - I'll get stronger on my own, and I'll figure out how to save Sasuke and-"
"No."
Naruto's jaw dropped when he realized it was Kaiya who'd interrupted him. "Huh? But Nee-chan, you said-"
"You're wrong," she continued - but she wasn't speaking to Naruto. She was talking to Jiraiya. "About Sasuke. Not about how hard it would be to get him back," she added, holding up a hand to cut him off when he opened his mouth. "But about this not being for the greater good of the village. Tell me, why exactly does Orochimaru want Sasuke? I'm sure you, of all people, would know better than most of us."
Jiraiya gave her a grave look. "He plans to use a soul transference jutsu he's been developing for years to take over Sasuke's body. From what I've gathered, the 'host's' soul is ejected in the process. They cease to exist."
Finally hearing it in such explicit terms almost threw her off, making her stomach churn in dread and disgust. So that was the purpose of the Juin…it was meant to groom the victim into a willing host while unlocking their full potential. Behind her, Naruto sputtered that this was all the more reason they should act now, and she was inclined to agree - but that argument wouldn't work here. "Then this is about the many. Orochimaru devastated this village last time he invaded, and at that time, he wasn't packing one of the most powerful dojutsu known to man. What would he do if he had the body and power of a young, healthy Uchiha at his disposal? Would he just give up on taking over or destroying Konoha?"
Jiraiya's eyes narrowed, but he didn't respond right away. She could see that this had occurred to him already - he'd be a fool if it hadn't. His concern in this moment was Naruto, which she could certainly relate to.
"My point still stands," he stated, confirming what she already knew. "Naruto can't be a part of that. Not while he has his own target on his back."
"Agreed," Kaiya replied, ignoring Naruto's cry of protest behind her. "Nor should he be caged like some beast that can't be controlled. He needs your help. So here's what will happen: You will take Naruto on that training trip, teach him to protect himself and get that demon under control. I will stay here and work on finding Sasuke."
With every word, she felt her own determination grow. It had been a long time since she saw her purpose so clearly, since so many elements of her life seemed to fall into place. She wasn't meant to go with Jiraiya and Naruto on this trip. She had to stay behind, trust her little brother to someone else for a while so that she could focus on solving other problems.
Jiraiya still didn't look ready to back down. "You," he growled at her. "Outside. Now."
Kaiya followed him out the window with a raised brow and a bit of dread in her stomach. Was he planning on another lecture? Going to try and dissuade her? Her reasoning was sound; there was no way he could refute it, she was certain.
Outside, Jiraiya landed on the giant toad's tongue and beckoned her to follow suit. "Hop in."
Kaiya grimaced. What, did he want her to just…walk into the thing's mouth?
As it turned out, that was exactly his plan. When Kaiya reluctantly hopped onto the slimy, sticky tongue, Jiraiya led her further back toward the throat. The toad closed its mouth around them, shrouding them in hot, humid darkness. A few more steps, and suddenly she was falling, landing less than gracefully on some sort of soft padding.
"Ah, sorry," Jiraiya laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Shoulda warned ya about that…"
Kaiya glared at him and got back to her feet, trying to get her bearings. She expected squishy, pinkish tissue, but instead, she found what appeared to be a cozy little bar, complete with stools, a counter, even shelves of bottles and glassware. "What the…this isn't a stomach…"
"Well, it kinda is," Jiraiya said. "This species of toad doesn't talk, but it can make little pocket-dimensions within its own body. Great for covert meetings and stuff, especially 'cuz the dimension exists in its own time-loop. Doesn't matter how long we're in here; when we emerge, it'll only be a few minutes later, at most. This is one of my favorite settings, actually," he declared with a proud grin. "Lure a coupla marks in thinking they'll just grab a quick drink, get 'em talking…no one minds the bartender, after all!"
Kaiya took in the fake bar with wide eyes and no small touch of envy. She could only dream about pulling off this sort of Space-Time jutsu…but there was an entire species of animal that could do it naturally?
"Is that actual alcohol, or some sort of illusion?" she asked, unable to hold herself back.
"It's real enough."
"So we could actually drink it?"
"Yep."
"Got any ginjo-shu?"
"Heh, nice try. We're not here to drink."
"Wait, how does the toad eat? I mean, does the food come to the pocket dimension, or is there an actual working stomach, or…" Kaiya shook her head sharply. "Nevermind. Why are we here?"
"Coupla things." Jiraiya crossed his arms and stared her down sternly. The goofy old man was gone; this was the legendary Sannin talking to her now, and he meant business. "How exactly are you planning to track down someone like Orochimaru? 'Cause it's not going to happen on your own."
"No, it isn't," Kaiya agreed, slipping into 'negotiation' mode and crossing her own arms. "But I won't be alone in this. Kakashi feels the same way, and once I present the issue to Tsunade, I'm sure she'd agree that this should be a priority."
"Even the Hokage can't conjure manpower out of thin air," Jiraiya contested. "Or do you have some secret well of resources up your alley?"
"I have a few."
If Jiraiya thought he could make her back down with a stern look, he was severely out of his depth. It would take more than a probing glare to make her admit that no, she really didn't have a 'well of resources' - at least, not yet. She did know of one, though - one that she was sure he wouldn't approve of her tapping into.
At last, Jiraiya blinked and sighed. "Fine. I guess I can't tell you not to - not my place and all - so here." He reached into his haori and pulled out a thick, well-worn notebook. "This is everything I've gathered on Orochimaru since he left Konoha: sightings, patterns, known associates, former hideouts and the like. I may not like you doing this, but like hell will I let you go in blind."
Kaiya's mouth fell open. She'd prepared for another argument, had a half-dozen rebuttals ready on her tongue, all of which were predicated on the assumption that he'd be against this. The idea that he might actually try to help her hadn't even crossed her mind; that he was doing so now rendered her speechless.
Eying the notebook hungrily, she reached out to take it, only to have Jiraiya pull it just out of her reach. Kaiya glared. She should have known this would come with strings attached. "What's the catch?"
"I want you word," Jiraiya said, "that you'll be careful. Orochimaru's not someone to take lightly. Always have an escape plan, and always have backup available. Don't try to deal with Orochimaru or anyone else on your own, hear?"
'Or anyone else'…she was pretty sure who he meant by that. "Got it. No more jumping out of flaming holes to chase down S-class Missing Nin on my own."
"Good, 'cause you almost gave me a heart attack the first time," Jiraiya mumbled, holding the notebook out to her.
Kaiya watched him as she accepted the notebook, unsure of whether he was exaggerating or being sincere. Had he really been that worried about her that day? Did he expect her to feel bad for that? And wait…was this all he was asking her to do in exchange?
"There's something else."
Of course there was.
"While I'm away with Naruto," Jiraiya continued, "I'll be on radio silence and keeping our movements secret. If you ever need to reach me, though…"
There was a 'poof,' and on the surface of the counter appeared a large scroll. Jiraiya beckoned for her to open it. "It's-"
"A summoning scroll," Kaiya finished, staring in awe as she unfurled it. Small painted toads decorated the margins, along with the familiar spiral patterns of Uzumaki seals; columns of names signed in blood showed every previous summoner. There was Naruto's name, followed by the small span of his fingerprints; Jiraiya's, two columns over, the fingerprints large and widely spread; and between them, Namikaze Minato. Kaiya touched her fingertips to the prints under her father's name, having to stretch out her hand a bit to reach them all. For a brief moment, she had an image in her head of pressing her palm against another person's, only she was a child and the other hand was much bigger. It only lasted a second, but she swore she could feel the smooth, hard callouses on that palm and the warmth radiating from its skin.
The image vanished almost as quickly as it came, but the sensation of that other hand lingered - as did the sudden tightness in her chest. Blinking rapidly, Kaiya withdrew her hand, closing her fingers into a loose fist, trying to hold in a bit of the warmth she'd felt.
"Minato should've been the one to give this to you and Naruto," Jiraiya said behind her. "Summons and all are supposed to be passed down mentor to student, or parent to child. I know I'm not either of those things to you, but…well, I figured it might help you with some of your endeavors, and it'll let us keep in touch if you need to…and, I hope, it means you won't have to turn to someone like Shimura Danzo for help."
Kaiya's heart sank, her neck heating with shame at her own behavior. Of course he'd already figured out her plan. Yes, she had meant to tap into Root, leveraging her access to the Uzumaki Temple to convince Danzo to help her find Sasuke. Such a task would require covert legwork, manpower, and time, all of which the village was short on.
But Jiraiya had spent years tracking his fellow Sannin, and now she held a summary of his work in her hands. The toads could help with legwork, able to infiltrate places humans would have difficulty with. She wouldn't have to deal with Konoha's resident devil, at least not for this.
Finding their parents' affects…trusting her with what must be years' worth of gathered intel…and now, he was passing along a summons to her. These weren't the acts of a man who didn't care - quite the opposite. Why was it so hard for her to accept that he might actually want to help her?
"Um-" Kaiya cleared her throat, inwardly cursing at how her voice cracked. "This…this helps. Thanks."
She signed her name in blood, glad for an excuse to not have to speak. For a moment, they stood there in awkward silence, standing at an honest-to-goodness bar inside of a toad's stomach, each staring at the Summoning contract rather than meeting each other's eyes. There was a bit of comfort to think that Jiraiya was as at a loss for words or actions as she was.
Kaiya was the first to break the silence. "So…I got the box of my parents' stuff."
"Ah - good, I wasn't sure you would."
"Yeah, no, I did…" She trailed off, wondering if she should broach the subject of the photo album. "Did you…know what was inside?"
"Well…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I just took a cursory glance, really…I recognized those scarves, and your dad's coat, and that was enough for me…"
So he hadn't seen the photo album. Just thinking about it again made Kaiya tired to her bones; she wasn't sure she wanted to get into the whole Itachi thing again. "Well…thanks for finding it. I'll share it with Naruto - when are you planning to leave?"
"'Bout two weeks - give him plenty of time to recover." He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "And I wouldn't want to tear you two apart so soon."
Kaiya nodded in appreciation even as melancholy settled like a heavy cloak around her shoulders. Two weeks…then it would be almost three years before they were together again. "Be good to him, okay? Make sure he eats something besides ramen. And gets enough sleep. He tries to pull crazy hours like me, but it just doesn't work for him the same way…"
A small, sad, affectionate smile stretched across Jiraiya's mouth and warmed his eyes. "Shall do."
"And just…spend some time with him. Not just training. He's still a kid, you know? He still needs connection. Take him to a festival now and then, let him play games and all that. He'll take his training seriously, you won't have to worry about that, but he needs to have some fun, too."
"Got it."
There was more she wanted to say, to lecture him on the finer points of looking after her baby brother, but Kaiya forced herself to swallow it all. She had to trust Jiraiya to do this right; it was the only way she'd get through the next few years…good god, years…
Jiraiya's large, heavy hand fell on her shoulder. "Are you gonna be okay?"
She nodded, suddenly afraid to speak lest the lump in her throat burst.
Withdrawing his hand, it was Jiraiya's turn to clear his throat. "So, uh…I was thinking…and I totally understand if you'd rather not, but-"
"Are you asking me out on a date?" Kaiya quipped, glad to break out the snark again.
"No! Jeez…" He passed his hand over his forehead. "But…well, since it's gonna be a while, I thought maybe we could…talk sometimes. You know, about your parents and all. And maybe your projects. You were working on Hiraishin before, right?"
"Yeah," she said slowly. "Still am."
"Maybe I can help with it. And sometimes it's better to have an experienced summoner around when you first call on the toads; they can be a bit tetchy."
Kaiya nodded, unsure of how to respond. It felt strange to have something resembling a teacher to turn to after years without one, even if it would only be for a couple weeks. Heck, even with Yuuma, it took her time to accept his help, so accustomed was she to doing things alone.
The silence returned, awkward and unnatural for both of them. "So…we're still in a toad's stomach…"
"That we are!" Jiraiya said over-brightly, rubbing the back of his head. "Truth is, I've got one other thing for you-"
Kaiya snorted. "What's with all the gifts all of a sudden? Is it my birthday or something?"
Jiraiya opened his mouth, then closed it, a thoughtful look coming over his face. "Actually…isn't it?"
Blinking, Kaiya tried to remember what the date was. When it came to her, she mouthed a silent 'oh.' "Huh…I guess it is…"
Jiraiya smirked. "Just like your dad, jeez…well, maybe a drink's in order then, eh? You said ginjo-shu?"
Kaiya eyed him as he puttered behind the bar, setting out cups and pouring from two different bottles - one chilled for her, one warmed for him. "You trying to get me drunk? 'Cause it won't matter how much alcohol you put in me, you are not my type."
Jiraiya blanched violently at the suggestion. "What? Hell no! I'm not - no!" He calmed a bit when he saw her teasing grin, sinking into a sour glare. "Funny. But gross. I saw you being born - I'll admit I've got varied tastes, but I draw the line at girls I saw in diapers!"
Kaiya tried and failed to bite back a laugh, managing only to make it a silent one. "Pretty sure there's a kink for that, too."
"Oh, there is, and it ain't mine." He shoved a glass of chilled sake her way. "And you call me a pervert…"
"'Cause you are one," she retorted, picking up the glass. "Kampai."
"Kampai, and Happy Birthday."
He clinked his cup to hers and threw back its whole contents. Kaiya opted to sip hers, not even sure she'd like the stuff. Eighteen was the age of majority in the Land of Fire, though it sometimes struck her as absurd to have such a thing apply to ninja. She'd been trained in how to efficiently kill an opponent before she hit puberty; why bother putting a minimum age on things like drinking, smoking, gambling, and marrying? Not that she really cared about those things before; it just seemed weird, sometimes.
The ginjo-shu was pleasantly clean and chill, lightly sweet without being cloying. Kaiya gave a soft hum of approval.
"You know," Jiraiya said, pouring himself a second cup, "I remember doing this with your father - usually at an actual bar, but this one came in handy when he needed to chat about more private stuff. Heh…only ever saw him get drunk once, though, and that was after he found out Kushina - your mom - was pregnant with you. Freaked him the hell out, though he tried not to show it to her at first."
"Hard to imagine the Yellow Flash being 'freaked out' by anything," Kaiya comment, taking another small sip.
"Yeah, that's something a lot of people don't know about Minato," Jiraiya confirmed. "He dealt with a lot of insecurity throughout his life. As a kid he was actually pretty timid. Smart, of course; they didn't call him a 'prodigy' for nothing. Sometimes I wondered which of us was the teacher, ha! But it was Kushina's influence that made him come out of his shell. Her brazenness inspired him to be more bold, to take more risks. I think a lot of people looked at them as a couple and assumed that Minato tempered Kushina, but Kushina did just as much to make Minato the hero and leader that history remembers."
Kaiya thought of the photos of her parents, how happy they seemed together. "They really loved each other…"
"That they did. Could give a person cavities, they were so sweet." Jiraiya's jovial expression softened into one of nostalgia and grief. "I'm sorry you and Naruto couldn't know them, and that you can't remember them. I really am. If I knew how to fix that for you, I would."
"Um…I appreciate that," Kaiya murmured, heat rising to her cheeks which she tried to hide by raising her glass. She wasn't sure what else to say.
Jiraiya set down his cup, once again empty. "To be honest…I'm not good at this. Maybe I was once, but nowadays…seems like I need to drink in order to even talk about them."
Kaiya's eyes lowered in something near understanding. Perhaps the sake was already loosening her up a bit, but she couldn't help but feel sympathy for Jiraiya. She remembered how distraught Yuuma had been over Shisui's death, as though he'd lost his own son; from the sound of it, Jiraiya had at least as close a relationship with her father. Losing him, losing Kushina, wondering if he could have prevented it somehow…she knew a little something about that sort of grief.
"And I do need to talk to you about them," Jiraiya continued, pouring himself another. "There's some stuff you should know - about your mother, your birth, and about what happened the night she and Minato were killed."
I love writing Kaiya and Jiraiya together, and not just because their names rhyme. They're more fun when they're not at each other's throats, instead just a mix of snarky and awkward :P
But yeah. It seems they're FINALLY finding some common ground between them again, and this time it's on more solid foundations.
So how about Kakashi and Tenzou's conversation? I have to admit, once I had this image of Tenzou just like…living in a literal tree house that he regularly redesigns, I just HAD to write it. I mean, in canon, the guy regularly created mansions for the team to "camp" in, and later redid Konoha's infrastructure basically all on his own. You KNOW he's gonna use that ability for his own place.
NEXT TIME: Jiraiya reveals some interesting things about both Naruto's and Kaiya's own births, some of which have to do (yet again) with Itachi…Kaiya has a breakthrough on an old project…and one major arc of her life ends while another begins.
Looking forward to your thoughts, predictions, and reflections! And as always…
Stay Tuned!
