(A/N) Preparation for the Invasion. And the Chuunin exams, of course.
"So, did anyone catch him? Or get anything out of him?" Akiko asked again, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing but a threat about not stopping the exams. Which we kind of have to comply with," a fox masked ANBU sighed, rubbing a hand over their masked face.
Kakashi sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I wish we didn't, he almost killed my students! And for what, a chance at a body that has no chance of being his?"
"Sasuke wouldn't leave Naruto and Sakura, not voluntarily, anyway," Akiko agreed.
"None of us like him here, or wherever he went after he marked Sasuke," Kurenai agreed. "But there's nothing we can do but prepare."
"ANBU is already on alert, and the hospital is calling on their retired members to fill out their ranks in preparation. As far as anyone else knows, we're simply preparing for the mess that will be the Chuunin Exams stage three," a bear masked ANBU said, shrugging. "Right now, it's what we can do without looking suspicious. Right now, we can't afford to show weakness."
"Are your genin prepared?" The Hokage asked, already looking tired of this mess.
"Mine are on high alert, but know nothing concrete. I think Team 7's nerves have rubbed off on them, and they're training harder then ever," Akiko said, smiling slightly. "They're expanding what they know, and working on furthering in their specific fields."
"Mine are training to the best of their ability, I'm working on teaching a few more jutsu to them, including teaching Sasuke Chidori. Although I think Sakura's picking up the technique just from watching us."
"It will only be an advantage," the Hokage said, looking grim.
"Mine are working, I've set them on finding something different then their parents to bring to the team. Ino's looking into poisons, so she's been set up with Genma, Shikamaru's expressed interest in some genjutsu, so Kurenai's been helping him with that, and Choji's been getting a few earth and fire jutsu out of me."
"I have, as Asuma noted, been assisting Shikamaru with some genjutsu, and he has been improving at a prodigious rate. I think he's figured out that something's going on," Kurenai sighed. "The child is too curious for his own good. Shino has also expressed interest in genjutsu, so he has also been learning from me as well. I am doing my best to assist Hinata in adding her water nature to jyuuken, but it's going somewhat slowly. Kiba has been working with Asuma to incorporate trench knives into his fighting style, as an extra edge."
The Hokage nodded approvingly. It was good to see genin branching out so early.
"Yosh! My youthful genin have also been expanding their interests. My female genin, Tenten, has taken a fancy to sealing, and has been learning on her own best she can. I am currently still looking for a teacher to assist her in her youthful quest! Lee has requested his female teammate teach him the bo staff, and that is progressing well. Neji is working on using his fire chakra nature in his jyuuken, much like young Hinata!"
The Hyuuga head was frowning deeply like he had lost that particular fight. Akiko found that highly amusing. Almost as amusing as the image of the enemy when they encountered a Hyuuga spitting fire from his fingertips. Oo, were there any Hyuuga with lightning release?
She noticed Kakashi glancing at her slightly worriedly when she cackled under her breath, but ignored him. He wouldn't get the amazingness of that idea anyway.
The rest of the jounin sensei gave their reports, some more boring than others. Seriously, did they have the most entertaining group in the entire genin corps or what. And the year with the most bad luck it seemed. Last year like this had been Kakashi's! Dear kami that was an… interesting decade.
"Dismissed," the Hokage said, and Kakashi immediately made a beeline for the windows while the others mostly filed out of the room like normal people. Except the ANBU, who mostly vanished onto the ceiling. Y'know, like normal ANBU.
Akiko frowned as everyone deserted the room as shinobily as possible. "Where was Hayate? He should've been here."
A cat masked ANBU paused. "I didn't see him either, didn't see him last night either."
Wasn't she dating Hayate? If she hadn't seen him, what had happened?
Akiko took the window out, the cat ANBU following closely behind. "You get the right I got the left?"
The ANBU nodded, and they split off, leaping over the rooftops, searching for Hayate. Akiko didn't spend enough time with the special jounin to recognize his chakra signature, so she couldn't search for him that way.
She found the body, immediately kneeling next to him and checking his pulse. Gone. Akiko ran a diagnostic jutsu, searching for what had killed him.
A gasp from behind her told her the ANBU had found her. "What happened!?"
"It looks like a weapon of somesort, but it's too clean to be anything but wind or maybe lightning enhanced. Maybe even medical chakra. But I can't find any trace of medical chakra, so that's out, and nothing in his nervous system points to lightning."
"You think he was murdered by a sand ninja," the ANBU interpreted.
"I do. Baki, probably. The girl causes widespread damage, the boy would've poisoned Hayate, and the other one, the Tanuki boy, would've just crushed him."
"And there aren't any other sand jounin here. Do you think Hayate found something he shouldn't?"
Akiko patted him down quickly, finding a piece of paper in his kunai pouch. "Looks like it, check this out."
The letter noted down the names of Baki and Kabuto, underneath that, was written 'spies' and it was underlined twice. Under that was the note 'collaborating', then 'Orochimaru', and finally, the most condemning of them all, 'invasion'.
"Is Suna trying to invade?" the ANBU guessed, having read over Akiko's shoulder.
"We knew something was going on, but we couldn't have guessed that," Akiko said, frowning deeply. "If they're planning on invading, Gaara is right where they want him, smack dab in the middle of our village. We have to tell Hokage-sama."
The ANBU nodded. "I will get Hayate to the hospital to be burned and buried. Take the note to the Hokage."
Akiko nodded, allowing the ANBU to pick up Hayate's cold corpse. The ANBU left, and Akiko used a quick water jutsu to wash away the blood, and left as well.
(A/N) So, Hayate was just a bit more sensible here, and wrote this stuff down! People are prepared!
