"You're not giving me the okay to massacre that town out of the kindness of your heart."
Hidan wasn't an idiot, okay? He was impulsive, easily irritated, and highly irrational at some points. But he wasn't dumb. And Kakuzu wasn't the kind of shinobi that actually agreed with his massacring ways. Hell, on more than one occasion, the cheap bastard had torn his arms off to make sure he would not be able to go through with some of his bloodier rituals.
If he wasn't aware of how truly terrified this bastard was because of the information he had just been relayed, Hidan would have thought that Kakuzu was trying to ignore him. But he had seen the way the man's whole body had stiffened when he had let him know about the attack on the brats in Konoha; a stiffness that had not yet gone away. And the coldness Kakuzu's tone had adopted was much too forced to be his usual indifferent tone.
These kids, for some reason, actually mattered to this walking rag doll. And Hidan, as the curious fool he knew he was, wanted to find out just how far Kakuzu's care for the children ran... Although, admittedly, he already knew it must have run deep. If he only saw these children as possible tools, he would not have turned around and immediately headed towards Konoha after being informed about their attack.
Even though the cheap bastard hadn't said a single thing after Hidan had spoken up, the Jashinist could tell that he was very much focused on everything he was doing. So he rolled his shoulders, cracked his neck towards the left to soothe the stiffness in it, and prodded further.
"You're planning something. And you only let me know about that town to distract me with those priceless souls."
Kakuzu grunted, but didn't try to deny Hidan's words.
Hidan frowned.
This was bad. Kakuzu wasn't even trying to convince him otherwise. Just what had gotten into the poor bastard?
And... since when had he started thinking about Kakuzu as the poor bastard, rather than the cheap bastard?
"Do you really want to know? Wouldn't you just be happy traipsing around offering all those souls to your god?"
He hadn't even bothered with the usual nonexistent god bullshit he always said whenever he was talking about Lord Jashin.
Hidan took a moment to glance over his surroundings to make sure that they were not being followed. Then he sent his chakra out to attempt and feel anything that felt out of place within the forest they were traveling down- even though he wasn't a sensor, he knew this much to try and wheedle out any possible spies or listening devices.
When he found nothing, he decided to come clean to the partner the Akatsuki had thrust upon him.
"I'm not idiot, okay?" he began with a huff, quickening his pace so he could cut Kakuzu off and stop him from taking any further steps away from him. "And whatever it is you were planning with those kids; you're betraying the Akatsuki."
Kakuzu's eyes burned with an emotion Hidan had never seen in his eyes before. It wasn't anger; and it certainly wasn't irritation. Soon enough the other turned away and breathed out, "If you want me to tell you, I'd need you to become a traitor as well. Help me, even."
Well... that certainly wasn't expected.
But Hidan admitted, his intrigue was piqued. Kakuzu? Asking him for help, essentially? That wasn't normal; nor was it particularly predictable. Kakuzu hated his guts! But... there the guy was... looking uncharacteristically worried.
And all because of some kids that were too young to be genin.
"You want to make Naruto your friend?"
Sakura blinked at Kiba's incredulity, although she was, admittedly, also taken aback by their friend's request. Fū's requests had tended to always be rather simple, even if unachievable within the orders they had been given by the Old Man. This would be the first time that she asked for something she knew wouldn't be easy to achieve.
Kiba had, after all, been incredibly specific about the kinds of kids they were now surrounded by in Iruka sensei's classroom. He had given her a full run down of everyone she would be dealing with on a day to day basis and he had made his points of view on every student more than clear. Naruto was one of those kids Kiba didn't want to deal with if he wasn't forced to by Iruka sensei.
Sakura was more than aware about the rocky relationship between her best friend and the orphaned blonde. They were both incredibly similar in personalities and temperaments, so they clashed more often than not. Over the years and with Sakura and Chouji's influence in his life, Kiba had managed to become less and less involved with problems concerned with Naruto. But just because they weren't always fighting anymore didn't mean Kiba's opinion of Naruto had changed.
"Yup!" the smile Fū (known to everyone around them as Fumiko) wore was as bright as the others she had ever given them; almost as if she hadn't heard the negative tone to Kiba's voice. "He seems interesting! And funny!"
Kiba's eyes narrowed now, but he took a few seconds to sniff at the air before he said anything else. Now he frowned softly, "If you're going to try and convince me to do something I don't want to do, you may as well be completely honest with me, Fumiko."
It was a good thing the new identity their newest pack member had been given was one that was easy to remember. Because even with all of the warnings Ibiki Morino had given them about the importance of keeping up a cover, learning a completely new identity took time.
Luckily, though, none of them had messed up. And from the way things were going, Sakura would bet that none of them would mess up.
Fake silver locks hung suspended to the side as Fū cocked her head towards the right, all the while her face pinched in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Kiba tapped his nose, but didn't explain himself any further. Fū's face was now one of complete confusion, but Sakura didn't expand on Kiba's actions any further. Instead she continued to eat her lunch, turning away from her two friends to look over the school yard.
This was their second day back at school. Yesterday had been a half-day and they had enjoyed a simple day of talking about each other and answering simple questions from their teachers. Instead of learning anything, they had just talked about themselves. And it seemed that what little they had heard from each had been enough for Fū to decide that Naruto was an interesting individual.
"I'm confused."
Scanning over her fellow students, Sakura's eyes eventually fell on the small group composed of Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino. They were on the other side of the yard, huddled together while they shared food from their bento boxes. Chouji's smile was soft on his lips, all the while Shikamaru frowned softly. Ino, of course, had taken charge of whatever conversation they were having and was still talking, keeping the boy's attention on her.
It wasn't fair that Chouji had to split his time between two different group of friends. Even though they had been able to sometimes come together in the past, recently, Kiba's temper hadn't really permitted him to spend more than a few minutes near either of the clan kids.
"Doesn't matter how I know you're lying. Just tell me the real reason why you want Naruto to be your friend and we'll start discussing the possibility."
Possibility.
Beside herself, Sakura smiled softly.
Even though he loathed the loud blonde, Kiba hadn't flat out shut down the idea of allowing a friendship between the pack and the orphan.
Kiba was trying to be less harsh with all of them. He wasn't perfect at it and he still moments of exasperation when his frazzled nerves got the better of him; but he was actively trying to keep a lid on his emotions and be mindful of other's emotions.
Weeks had passed since the attack that had threatened to rip them apart... and Sakura was finally beginning to hope that they might be able to return to the way it had been between them.
Now all they were missing was the Old Man's return.
When they returned to Ibiki's apartment after their second day at school, Sakura sat the four of them down to go over the material they had been taught that day. It was mostly to offer Fū a safe space where she didn't have to worry about making any wrong questions. Among them, she only had to focus on learning, rather than worrying about being right or wrong like she may have felt within the school.
But it also served as a good grounding exercise for the Konoha natives; studying up on school subjects was something they used to do before their pack had been attacked.
Sakura had been correct: doing this had really helped him feel much more relaxed than he had in a very long time. And from the way Kiba splayed out on the tiles of Ibiki's kitchen with Akamaru curled up on his stomach while they both chewed on pieces of jerky the shinobi had stashed somewhere within the cabinets, the Akimichi could tell it had helped the Inuzuka duo as well.
The last time those two had been this relaxed... Chouji smiled softly, then tuned into Fū's newest question.
"So, wait, the First Hokage just... disappeared? Why did his brother get place of Hokage, then? Is the post of Hokage blood related?"
Sakura shook her head softly, "Chouji, do you think you could get started on dinner?"
Fū frowned, "Aren't you gonna answer?"
"Of course I am." Sakura smiled as she slammed her math book shut and slid it out of the way, only to grab onto the history book. "But those questions have very complex answers and I'm getting hungry. So I need to be sure food will be ready by the time we, hopefully, finish understanding this mess."
Chouji stood up from his seat on the ground and padded over to the kitchen, where Kiba silently raised his arm off the ground to offer him a piece of the beef jerky. With a small smile he accepted the dried food and began to munch on it; all the while he began to move around the kitchen to grab all of the utensils he would need to prepare a simple meal for the six of them.
Even though Ibiki had found hard to believe in the beginning, he had eventually allowed them the freedom to utilize his kitchen to prepare meals for themselves.
To be such a big and scary man, Chouji had a rather odd suspicion biting at him: Ibiki Morino wasn't very accustomed to dealing with independent children. He was a good guy and he seemed much more laid back than other adults they had met in their time; in the way he treated them, actually, Ibiki reminded Chouji a bit of Kuzu. But unlike Kuzu, Ibiki was clearly taken aback by how self-functioning they all were.
Possibly, that might be explained by the fact that Ibiki was younger than even his own father and didn't have any kids of his own. People without children tended to underestimate how smart they could be, after all. It wasn't their fault they were ignorant. They just hadn't been exposed long enough to people their age.
Opening up the refrigerator, Chouji took stock of the meats and vegetables that were available.
One of the reasons why they now chose to hang out at Ibiki's apartment when they needed to be indoors was that the man had given them free reign over the kitchen; food included. As long as they didn't burn anything, Ibiki supplied them with a space, proper utensils, and a large amount of ingredients to create nutritional meals.
It was cute, actually, to remember how the man had awkwardly handed Chouji a recipe book filled with nutritionally dense meals and tips on how to best meet the needs of growing bodies. The Akimichi had accepted it with a smile and much gratitude of course, even though it hadn't been necessary. As an Akimichi, he had learned a lot about nutrition well before his head had cleared the top of the stove at his house.
"Okay, guys, today will be miso salmon because we ate tofu yesterday," from the ground, he heard Kiba shudder at the mention of the non-meat product and Chouji smiled; who ever would have thought the Inuzuka would price meat this much? "you've got the choice between ginger or mixed rice. We've still got some miso soup left over, too."
"Mixed!" Sakura immediately answered and Fū huffed softly.
Fū preferred ginger rice. But Kiba had explained to them that he wasn't a big fan of that kind of rice because the ginger overpowered most of the other tastes to him. He could eat it, but he didn't really like it.
They had eaten vegan yesterday on Fū's insistence. It would only be fair to eat something more to Kiba's tastes today.
"Either works, Pork Chop." Kiba commented, accompanied by a relaxed bark from Akamaru.
They had a lot to be grateful for recently, Chouji noted as he began to pull out the ingredients he would need to begin preparing their quick meal. They were safe, their pack had not been torn apart, and they now had a new headquarters to hole up in most day. It wasn't really the same as the treehouse; but Chouji doubted that any place would feel even reminiscent to there unless it was within the Forest of Death they had so come to love.
"Not gonna lie, you guys, Konoha history is kind of messed up. And incredibly confusing." Fū remarked as Chouji began to season the salmon, earning a hushed chuckle from Kiba.
Chouji felt a weight he hadn't known to have settled on his shoulders lift ever so slightly. He couldn't see his Inuzuka friend at the moment; he had crawled underneath the dining room table to give Chouji a free area to work in. But from the sound of his chuckle, he could tell that his friend was completely amused by their friend's observation. At this moment in time, he wasn't allowing himself to be over burdened by his thoughts.
Today was a good day.
"Can Kiba stay the night?"
The grip on his chopsticks faltered ever so slightly when he heard the sudden question from the dark skinned girl. But he managed to compose himself quickly and bring a bit of salmon to his lips so he could cover up his surprise by chewing on his food.
Ibiki stopped his movements, though, and turned to look at the girl he had adopted.
It was weird to be so comfortable around Ibiki after a lifetime of being wary around adults. But this guy was very similar to the Old Man in quite a few respects; but he was so much less critical of him. It was lame, Kiba knew, but he didn't mind being around the interrogator because the guy didn't seem to always be scrutinizing his every decision.
Then again, he had been doing his best to keep his decisions as tame as he could humanly make them...
"It's a school night, Fū." the large man grunted, "And I don't think Kiba's family would appreciate such a last minute sleepover."
"His family doesn't care."
Ibiki frowned at the girl's seemingly careless statement; his scent began to fill ever so slightly with disbelief and annoyance. So Kiba cleared his throat because he knew that normal, non-Inuzuka people found it difficult to understand some of their more unique tendencies. "She's not wrong. When she used to live in the treehouse, I would sleep more nights with her than with my family. As long as I show my face within forty eight hours of having left, ma doesn't care where I go or what I do."
Kuromaru did always scold him when disappeared for longer than a day, though, so he tried his best to not spend too long away from home. Getting an earful from his mother's partner was never fun.
Incredulity appeared in Ibiki's scent. As he schooled his features into an emotionless mask, the large man's scent began to fill with quite a few negative emotions. Kiba guessed they must have been directed at his family and what he suspected to be neglect.
If this had happened a few weeks ago, Kiba wouldn't have known how to react. He wasn't accustomed to having adults care for him. And he knew how to fend for himself better than most genin. He didn't need anyone's pity.
But now he just accepted it with little more than a shrug. Ibiki was a weird one, he had come to learn.
"It's been forever! I miss him."
"You see him every day," Sakura murmured in a sing-song from Kiba's right, then Akamaru barked in agreement from her right. "Akamaru agrees. You're being dramatic."
"But you don't get it! The nights Kiba stayed over were the best in the treehouse!" the orange eyed girl groaned, putting down her chopsticks for emphasis as her voice took on a passionate edge. "We'd plan pranks, he'd tell me stories about the pack's adventures before I got here, and there were always great snacks." her voice became much more sedate, though, when she finished with, "Being with you guys during the day just isn't the same."
Kiba could understand. He felt the same. But he wasn't going to say such a thing. His pack needed a strong leader; not a sentimental one. He couldn't allow himself to be preoccupied with what he wanted.
It wasn't easy, but he was working on himself. And from the way his pack had mostly fallen back into old routines, he liked to believe he was being rather successful.
Oh, he didn't like the way the dining room had filled up with guilt. No one here deserved to feel that way, after all. The people guilty for the recent hardships were the Yamanaka and Aburame that had attacked them. Not anyone currently within Ibiki's apartment.
"The most I can offer is Friday." Ibiki managed through a thickened voice, "You can't make a habit of slacking off during the week."
It wasn't easy to explain to the Takigakure native some of the 'oddities' in life imposed on them by attending the Academy. But she was slowly coming to understand that school was supposed to be taken very seriously and she couldn't slack off on it simply because she wanted to have fun and make friends.
"Awesome! And can Chouji and Sakura stay over on Saturday?"
Ibiki's emotions smelled of wanting to reject the proposition. But like the big pushover the guy was, he actually agreed to such a thing.
Kiba chuckled softly as he continued to eat the delicious food Chouji had made for them all.
Ibiki certainly was quite the individual.
The missing nin best known by the name Kakuzu had broken into his office. In the middle of the day; lunchtime, to be specific. And Hiruzen did not know if he should have felt impressed or worried; so he instead settled for a much more neutral bothered by the fact that no traps had been sprung. This proved that this particular shinobi was of a caliber that far surpassed most of the ninja within the Village.
"Lord Third, I believe there are some questions you would like to ask me. I would be more than happy to supply answers; for a price, of course."
The man's voice was deep and his words were spoken slowly, carefully. It did not surprise Hiruzen to find that this man was contemplating the true weight of the words he said before he spoke them.
Kakuzu was quite an old man. Hiruzen wasn't sure just how old he truly was, but he knew that the name of Kakuzu, the bounty hunter, had been around since he had become Hokage. That meant that this man could very well be his age. In a shinobi with his skill, age proved to be the most dangerous weapon he possessed in his arsenal. With age came wisdom.
With a soft frown, the Third Hokage brought his lit pipe up to his lips and breathed in ever so slightly. Then he closed his eyes, answering with, "You propose an exchange of information?"
The missing nin was an imposing figure. Very few people in the world reached heights as tall as he, and it was unnatural for someone his probable age to still stand so tall. Just by assuming they were both the same age, Kakuzu's frame should have already been wracked by the amoral destruction caused by the passage of time.
This was not a regular ninja. And he had been taught by one of the Inuzuka clan's most prodigious child how to avoid detection by even the Inuzuka nose.
If he had truly wanted to, Hiruzen was sure that this man would have already completed whatever dastardly goal he may have had because of his unique education. If he was here, standing in front of him, it was because he truly wanted to speak.
"Much more than an exchange of information," he crossed his arms over his chest as he made his way towards the window to his left, looking out of it with his back completely turned to Hiruzen. Either he didn't consider the aged Kage a threat or he wanted to make a point of being here for wholly peaceful reasons. Or both. "But I want everything in writing. Before we even agree to terms, I want the terms to be explicitly stated in a scroll that is then signed by a notary; that way we'll both be legally bound to keep our word."
The implication was clear, you'll be bound to keep your word.
Hiruzen had complete reason to believe that this man was being completely honest with what he was saying.
But he still needed to make sure and that particular field was not one he knew much of. "First, I would like to bring in a specialist. A lie detector, if you will. Just to make sure that you have come here under the most honest of circumstances."
Kakuzu grunted softly and Hiruzen sat up straighter in his chair. "An Inuzuka. One that is capable of maintaining any and all biases out of this negotiation."
"An Inuzuka?" he questioned in curiosity. "May I ask why one of them specifically?"
Ever so slightly, Hiruzen was able to see Kakuzu's shoulders lift in the barest of shrugs. "You already know of my relationship with three of your villagers; from this you would understand that I've witnessed the accuracy of their noses firsthand. And I certainly will not allow a Yamanaka to start traipsing through my mind."
Hiruzen could respect that. And it certainly helped to cement this man's unique relationship with Kiba's pack in his mind.
With this in mind, the aged Kage decided that it wouldn't hurt to acquiesce to this specific demand. And he had just the Inuzuka in mind for such a task.
"I'll call in the Head of the Hunting and Tracking Corps. She has the most experience with interrogations and has proven to be one of the most impartial Inuzuka in the village."
Tomoe Inuzuka certainly was one of the more unique characters to come out of the Inuzuka Clan. But she met the criteria set by the missing nin and she would most probably be arriving at her headquarters when word of the Hokage needing her arrived. Hopefully, she would be too bothered by being pulled away from her work for such tedious office work.
As he moved to write up the message, Hiruzen took a moment to smile softly, "Would you like some tea while we wait?"
~/~
"Alright. Naginata and I are prepared. Tell us a truth."
Hiruzen sipped at his green tea with mild interest as he watched Tomoe and her canine partner scowl at Kakuzu.
"I am not going to insult you by presuming you know nothing about the organization I worked for, the Akatsuki. We both know you are aware of their existence and some of the danger they pose to the world. I have intimate knowledge that will prove to be wholly beneficial to stopping them." Kakuzu spoke up, directed wholly at the Hokage as he did so. "Because of this, I can assure you that there is currently a member of the organization named Hidan heading towards the town of Midori no Mori to commit a massacre."
All calm that had managed to fall within the office was immediately replaced by alarm. Hiruzen set his tea down when he looked at Tomoe, only to find the woman frowning gravelly.
"Now tell us a lie."
Kakuzu was not playing around. That much was clear from the sheer determination within his oddly colored eyes.
"I currently have plans to harm Konoha and return to the Akatsuki once I have gotten what I wanted out of this Village."
Hiruzen didn't have to look at Tomoe to know that it had been a lie. Naginata's lack of a sound was more than enough to let him know the man was not lying.
"And, finally, one more truth."
Kakuzu sighed before stating, "Hidan is an idiot and if you send the Hatake and a few Nara, you'll be able to catch him. Don't try to kill him- he's immortal. It would be more worthwhile if you capture him and bring him back so you can interrogate him."
Silence fell over them after he had finished speaking.
Kakuzu was a man with a goal clear in his mind; he was not here to play around and that much was clear from the very way he stood.
Hiruzen cleared his throat after a few seconds passed without anyone speaking a word. "Tomoe?"
"He passed." the woman grunted, sounding more dazed than angered.
If memory served correctly, this would be the first time Tomoe ever dealt with a shinobi that had not failed. She was the best out of her clan for one simple reason; she was able to get an immediate understanding of a person's scent as soon as she met them. There was no need to ask more than one question when she was the lie detector; she always caught them.
The fact that Kakuzu had not failed meant one of two things: either he was an expert liar with sage-like knowledge of scents... or he truly was here to negotiate a truce.
The Hokage was a smart man. Tobirama Senju had taught him well.
They had been discussing their partnership for more than three hours at this point and were only just nearing the end of drawing up the requests from both parties. They had not even begun to discuss the intricacies of the plan proposed by Kakuzu.
"Finally, my two final requests pertain to the pack. The first is a simple one you can grant without too much hassle; I want to see them before the day ends."
"The second?"
The aged Hokage needed to step down from the post. He was still very much in control of his office and the Village; but he wasn't as sharp as Konohagakure needed him to be.
It was fortunate that he was the man in charge now that Kakuzu needed Konoha's aid. Taking advantage of him was much easier than it would have been to any other leader.
"Well, that one depends on if you will accept the proposition of me becoming an agent of Konohagakure." he shrugged, ignoring the soft gasp that came from the lawyer that had been brought into the office.
"An... agent of Konoha?" the Kage parroted, then cleared his throat. "You betrayed your past Village." he deadpanned.
"Extenuating circumstances."
The view from the Hokage's office was something else. He could see the better half of Konoha from just this one spot. And he could see an incredibly busy Village that was much too ignorant to the dangers looming over it.
"Those are my final requests."
Sakura woke up on Sunday to the sound of hushed male voices and the smells of breakfast getting cooked. She wasn't surprised by the smells because Chouji was one of her best friends in the world. But the whispering certainly was odd, both voices were rather deep and grown up. Chouji's voice was still very much high pitched.
When she opened her eyes and rolled onto her side, though, she was able to see that Chouji was not, in fact, the one making the breakfast. He was fast asleep with his head on Kiba's stomach. Fū's foot was dangerously close to his face, just like the other was too close for comfort to Kiba's privates. Akamaru's soft body was covering up Kiba's snoring, seeing how he was curled up directly on top of his nose and mouth. Those four had stayed awake much longer than her- it really wasn't a surprise to find that they had crashed like this.
Seeing this, though, made Sakura curious about the whispers she was hearing from the main area of Ibiki's apartment.
If she woke Kiba up, he would be able to eavesdrop without leaving the room. That meant that Sakura could quell her curiosity without even having to expose herself to possibly getting caught... Hmm...
But just as she thought that, the whispering cut off suddenly. She heard heavy footsteps echoing across the hallway that led to the different rooms in the rather spacious apartment. Her breath caught in her lungs when she saw the doorknob turning slowly; she closed her eyes to fake being asleep when she heard the door squeaking ever so slightly as it was opened.
"See, Ibiki? There's no need to worry. No one's stirring."
Sakura knew that tired voice... she hadn't heard it in a good year, but there was no denying that to be Shikaku Nara's perpetually drained deep tone.
When the door closed behind him, signaling his return to the kitchen, Sakura allowed herself to frown. She remained still as she lay in her futon, now aware of Ibiki's wariness about them. And she wondered.
What was the Jounin Commander doing in the home of the Head of T&I? What were they talking about that Ibiki was worried about them listening in? Could it be something that was really sensitive? Could Shikaku need information 'extracted' from an unwilling participant?
No... Ibiki didn't talk torture in his house. He had made it very clear when they had first invaded his home all those weeks ago; he got his fill of darkness on the job and he didn't want to bring it into his home.
But, then again, the Jounin Commander was just one step below the Hokage when it came to Village safety... Shikaku Nara certainly had the power to get Ibiki to listen to him about his work wherever he wanted... but, no. That didn't make sense. That didn't coincide with who Shikaku Nara was. Sakura highly doubted he visited shinobi's homes to give them express orders. It wasn't the style of him or the rest of his clan.
Her eyebrows furrowed at the thought.
But soon the door was opening yet again, this time with a heavy exhale that sounded very much like Ibiki rather than his Nara visitor.
"One of them is awake, Lord Nara."
There was a scoff from the hallway just as Sakura groaned at being caught. "Let them sleep in. We all know these kids don't sleep enough."
She got enough sleep to function, thank you very much. A full eight hours were not necessary as long as she ate three square meals a day and took a nap after lunch.
When she opened her eyes, she found Ibiki looking at the pile of her friends with clear softness within his own eyes; but she wasn't able to identify the emotions that came over the man. Even if his eyes were soft, his face was cold.
"Why am I not surprised?" he murmured softly, sighed once more, and finally stepped in so he could make his way to her other friends. "You've all got to wake up now. Today's going to be," he paused then, as if searching for the correct word to describe the day.
Sakura felt herself begin to dread the day when it took him much too long to find a descriptor.
"Interesting." he finally settled on as he crouched beside the pile of kids, grabbing onto Fū's shoulders to pull her a bit away from the boys so her foot did not cause any damage to either of them. Because the girl slept like the dead, she didn't even stir at the movement.
"Haruno, start getting ready. Breakfast is almost finished cooking and the day promises to be busy." Ibiki turned to look at her with a stern look clear in his eyes, but that soon melted into the slightest bit of amusement when he asked, "Do you have any idea what time these three fell asleep?"
She had finally succumbed to exhaustion at around one in the morning. But by that time Chouji and Kiba had been in the middle of a rather energetic conversation about the possibility of returning to the Forest of Death to begin reconstruction on their destroyed treehouse; Fū and Akamaru had seemed to be gossiping about their classmates. Although Sakura wasn't sure just how well Fū could understand the pup.
After she had shook her head, Ibiki sighed softly.
"It's not going to be easy to wake them up."
Sakura smiled at him to try and offer him some silent comfort. No. It would not be easy.
"You kids certainly are something else."
Chouji yawned just as Shikaku Nara spoke. Ibiki served their breakfast all the while Fū snored against the kitchen table. Kiba and Akamaru were struggling to keep their eyes open, but they refused to succumb to how tired they were. Out of all of them, Sakura was the only one that seemed awake and alert. But that wasn't a surprise, she had slept for more than three hours, after all.
"The Old Man character; the one you call Kuzu; he's struck a deal with the Hokage." the Nara continued to speak to them but Chouji's brain was more focused on the deliciously seared salmon set out on his plate than on what he was saying. "Most of the details they came to an agreement on are classified so you will not be allowed to know much. But what you will be allowed to know is that he's waiting for you."
Rice was spooned onto a bowl that was pushed into his face and Chouji grabbed it without a second's hesitation. He began to eat the food Ibiki had given him and once he had chewed and swallowed his first bite, his brain began to allow smarter functions than just blinking and yawning.
"Wait, Kuzu's here?"
Kuzu... their Old Man?
Why were Sakura and Shikaku talking about that?
"Mm-hmm. So you four have to finish eating up and getting ready so we can take you to him. He was very adamant about meeting with you before the day ended. And it's already past lunchtime." Shikaku's words sounded slow and somewhat tired, but that wouldn't really be surprising. If it was a Sunday and he was in Ibiki's apartment, then he must have been dragged out of his bed early.
Now that he noticed it... what was Shikaku doing in Ibiki's apartment?
"Miso soup?" he heard from his right and when he turned to the side, he found Kiba looking at Ibiki in questioning.
"Yeah, kid. Do you want some soup with the food?"
"I want soup!"
Ibiki poured some for him in a bowl and he heard Shikaku sigh heavily.
"From the lack of proper response, I'm guessing your friends are too tired to have understood a single word I said."
"Probably. But I can explain everything to them later. When are we going to see Kuzu?"
Chouji blinked as he blew on a spoonful of miso soup to cool it a little. "We're going to see the Old Man today?" he asked, voice somewhat slurred because his tongue felt kind of heavy, as he turned to look at Sakura, only to receive a quick nod from her.
"In one ear out the other..." Shikaku murmured softly. "Were you just going to let them sleep the whole day?"
"That was the plan. I didn't expect them to need to be semi-coherent before dinnertime." Ibiki answered with a shrug and tapped on Fū's head to wake her up in an attempt to start her up. "If they're asleep they can't cause havoc during the regular day."
There was a clatter to Chouji's right and when he turned away from Sakura and towards Kiba's seat, it was to find that he had lost his battled against his exhaustion. His face was planted firm in the plate of rice Ibiki had served him; Akamaru was laid across the salmon with an ear inside of the bowl of miso soup.
Chouji winced but empathized with both the tired boy and sullied food.
"Would coffee hurt?"
"You're useless on a Sunday, Nara."
Chouji finished his soup before going back to the salmon and rice.
Shikaku Nara was their escort. Ibiki had been tasked with another mission and had only been allowed to stay with them to make sure they got food into their system.
Kiba didn't feel like he was prepared to face the Old Man again.
His pack, though, was more than prepared to see him; they were ecstatic.
"He'll be so happy when I show him that I can make a wall taller than my knees!" Sakura cheered as she threw a gleefully barking Akamaru into the air.
Akamaru wanted to show off the clan style jutsu he and Kiba had begun to learn and were a few practices away from perfecting. Chouji nodded energetically along with both of them, even though he had not understood a single word Akamaru had said.
"I can't wait to show him what medical ninjutsu I've learned! And then we can show him the kata we've perfected!"
Fū jumped onto Chouji's shoulders, causing him to flail around a bit before he was able to grab onto her and, essentially, begin to give her a piggyback ride. "It'll be so great to see granduncle again! I can't wait to tell him about the friends I've made! And my new identity! And how much useless history I'm understanding!"
They were all so happy about getting to see the Old Man again... but Kiba couldn't blame them... they weren't the ones that had messed up, after all.
As they were led deeper and deeper into the Hokage's office, Kiba couldn't help the feeling of anxiety that began to take over him. But he couldn't tell any of the members of his pack about it. He needed to become the leader they deserved; unaffected by his own emotions and only caring about theirs.
"You kids really are something else." Shikaku Nara murmured, "It is good to see you with that energy you're so renown for."
Kiba frowned as he padded behind his pack.
He wished some more time had passed for the Old Man to come back. If only he had been given more time... maybe then he would have been able to make up for his greatest mistake with more training and learning.
~..~..~
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