AN: English isn't my native language, so I apologize for the mistakes!
...
Chapter 18
The hideout has been abandoned for a while, and it shows. The base must have access to a generator – but the remaining lights that hasn't died out in the years since the place was abandoned are uneven, dim and though it makes their job a little easier it also illuminates the growing and flourishing dust, grime and rot.
The first narrow corridor is tilted at an angle which brings them deeper into the ground. It's also a perfect place for traps because of the limited escape options.
There's a small chance of meeting anyone of Orochimaru's subordinates here at this point, however, like what happened with the doors – unexpected and volatile souvenirs left behind is an expected possibility.
...
Moving with care's a given, but the longer they went without incidents the more confident they became that there weren't any traps.
The lack of explosions or flying projectile coming at them is appreciated, but it seems almost too easy. "Shouldn't this corridor be trapped?"
"The only trap seems to be the one at the entrance," Kinoe answers.
Kakashi glance over his shoulder. "Orochimaru was pressed for time in his rush to escape."
"And no one came back in the years since he left." Hari muses, a finger briefly brushing against the wall and coming off with a thick layer of grainy dust.
"You're right" Kinoe replies. "Still... we must be careful."
...
"The Chamber Of Secrets has been opened.
Enemies of the heir... beware."
...
Their footsteps is silent, their camouflage techniques are active yet this place shows all the traces of having been left to decay for years.
"How do you know each other?" Hari asks after they've gotten a little further, "You are more familiar than I expected…"
"We met on a mission, and ended up cooperating." Kinoe follows Kakashi's answer without input of his own, and Hari can only assume that means he agrees. "He's a friend,"
The last statement caused Kinoe left hand to twitch, and she thinks Kakashi noticed too.
"How generous of you to tell me this…" Hari can't keep the slight resentment out of her voice, but mutters the last word sullenly anyway. "-now."
For years she had wanted to know more about Orochimaru, and since the Land of Swamps disaster she had searched for Kinoe – yet Kakashi had remained tight lipped.
"Mah, I couldn't help that."
And that is true too. Everything they were discussing had become mission relevant. Spilling the beans about what Kakashi knew about Kinoe – an unexpected inclusion – was no longer a breech of confidential details – it was informing a subordinate about relevant intel that would help her perform better.
Hari took a moment to appreciate it, because really; after all the "classified" stops, and "this is none of your business" barriers, it was a refreshing change.
"Right," Hari peeks at Kinoe, wondering what he would say about it if he was allowed, and they continue the investigation.
...
...
It's a big place, and the passages are designed to confuse intruders, which means dead ends and many forked splits to choose between. There's something surreal about walking down one of the traitor Sannin's hideouts with Kakashi and Kinoe, finding out more about Orochimaru and classified information. As if this is just any other mission, and they've done this a million time and not at all abnormal.
Eventually they find an office that has all the signs of being cleaned up in a hurry.
Hari walks along the equipments left behind in the form of glass cylinders and boxes with dark substances, and takes out her notebook and medical kit to assist her examinations. Field tests were more basic than the ones done in a lab, but she was qualified to decide what is noteworthy and what is worth bringing back as samples.
She's scribbling down findings as she moves from substance to substance. From the measurements and results she concludes most are ingredients or blended solutions for toxins and poisons – though one is the long dried remains of orange juice.
Putting down the mouldy glass with dried juice she looks up to find Kinoe staring, though caught he hurriedly turns his attention down on the scrolls he was sorting through by the wide shelves.
...
"What was Orochimaru experimenting on in here?" Kinoe fiddles with a scroll as he speaks. He hesitate for a moment before pocketing it and heads over to the centre worktable.
"From what I've gathered - how to poison someone as painfully as possible," Hari mutters. "curtsey of; One Thousand Venoms and Toxins."
Kakashi is on the other counter and turns to lean back against the edge as he skims through sheets of papers. "These indicate something a little more specific. Experimenting on live test subjects."
Hari's hand falters in her note taking, but manages to push away the resurfacing memories. She will never be able to work on cases with Orochimaru without being reminded of her past, but Hari could not allow that to get in the way either. It needs to be a motivation to do better, not a hinder that makes her lost in unpleasant memories.
Though Hari is effectively distracted when Kakashi pulls up his Dog mask while browsing through another pile of papers on the counter. "Your mask,"
He doesn't seem bothered by the reminder. "What about it?"
"You are breaking protocol." Hari say, feeling a little like she's channelling her inner Hermione. But then Kakashi wasn't in her situation when it came to anonymity. Unlike herself he was already connected with ANBU in general.
"I prefer using this without the constraints of the mask." He retorts and gestures to his red eye, and that's a valid reason… Though it speaks of a level of trust too, especially with Kinoe's presence.
...
...
When they leave the room the atmosphere is still stiff, and Hari doesn't think it's just what they are investigating behind it. Yet they work effectively together, and everything goes almost laughably smoothly for several hours.
At times they split up between rooms, and though Kakashi had seemed very open to Kinoe's inclusion, she doesn't fail to notice that when they split up – he makes sure Kinoe remains with him.
He's keeping an eye on him, and doesn't seem willing to let them be alone without his supervision.
They had just met up after another search of what was a bedroom and an adjacent toilet, heads down another stretch of corridors to an end door. Kakashi turns the handle and it rattles. "locked door,"
Kinoe steps forwards; "Leave it to me." and then he uses the Mokuton in his own unique way. He hold up a finger where a perfectly straight piece of wood elongates from the tip and then pushes it into the keyhole. After a slight pause he turns his hand and the lock clicks.
When he retrieve his hand she sees how the wooden splinter has turned into a key.
Somewhat redundant at this point, Kino say; "It's open."
Kakashi peers at her with an arched brow and drawls. "You can't do that, can you?"
"Oh, shut it."
Because no; that is a level of intricate detail work well beyond her. Made more noteworthy without the aid of sight and the speed in which he'd completed it.
"I'm sure you can if… " But Kinoe trails off and instead heads into the room.
Hari exchange a glance with Kakashi before they follow, though the Copy Ninja's voice breaks the silence. "That jutsu should have gone extinct in the Hidden Leaf Village long ago." As he speaks to Kinoe, she's wondering where he's going with this. "You learned it like Hari, right?"
A shot of frustration runs through her when Kakashi use her real name, but it's not like she minds that Kinoe hears it. He probably already knows - but it's the principle of things.
Yet Kakashi isn't the type to make careless mistakes. If he uses her name, not to mention the curious line of questioning, she has to believe it's a deliberate decision. Hari can't guess what he's trying to accomplish, but for once she believes Kakashi's working with her instead of standing in her way.
...
"It's not something I can discuss." Kinoe answers while opening one of the corner cabinets.
And though Kakashi is busy studying the notes for an intricate kinjutsu left on the table he has no problems continuing the conversation simultaneously. "Are you aware of how important the wood style is to the village, Kinoe?"
"I didn't know that."
Without her consent Hari's head snaps to Kinoe. How can he not know that?
"The jinchūriki of the nine tails belongs to Konoha and the wood style can control it." Kakashi goes on and makes Hari uncomfortable when he drags the Uzumakis into this. He better be careful with his words, and Hari stops the latest sample to shoot him a glare behind Kinoe's back.
He ignores it, and then Kinoe retorts; "Hari can use it." before turning the topic back on Kakashi. "And I know the Sharingan is the other power."
"Your wood style isn't just for Root. Like Hari it is a power meant to serve all of Konoha. Elder Danzō wants to keep you at his side, but you are more suited to work directly under Hokage-sama."
It falls into place – this is some unorthodox version of a sale's pitch. Kakashi was trying to recruit Kinoe and bring him out of Root.
But she isn't sure it's working, because the tension rises again even if Kakashi proves persistent and gestures towards Hari and adds; "Don't you want to leave the foundation? You once knew there were more than shadows above the roots too."
The resulting silence is an answer in itself.
Suddenly wishing for something to do Hari heads over to the cabinets, focusing on several stacked boxes at the top which could be of interest, and the movements makes the awkward moment pass.
Kakashi comes over and take stock of her progress. "Finish up here, we'll move to the next room."
Hari nods while carefully removing the lid of a box, peeks inside and finds crushed herbs, which is stupidly easy for a Mokuton user to test out even if she wasn't a medic too.
...
...
The door clicks softly when they leave the room, and Hari throws herself into her current task with vigour, quickly finds out the amount, type, consistency and notes it. There was a balancing act between what was necessary to bring back to the poor ANBU admin to shift through and what an operative could figure out on their own.
She's in the middle of looking over a couple of alcohols when the door creaks open, and a single person returns.
"Kinoe? Is something wrong?" Now that she's seen it's actually him Hari relaxes from her tense stance, and starts packing away her equipment to leave.
He shakes his head and shuffles into the room. "No, I just need to verify something, so I came back."
Hari nods as Kinoe heads over to the cabinets and adds; "I didn't mean to interrupt your work, please continue."
"I was nearly done anyway,"
There's a few papers on the shelf which she thinks Kakashi left behind, but it's those he picks up and begins to skim through. And since there's no rush Hari finish what she had started.
Though with his presence the previous work ethics flies out the window in the face of this opportunity. Kakashi isn't here, and it's… well, not easier – there's no version of this that is easy - but at least it seems more natural to try to speak with Kinoe without him hanging around.
However; somehow there is too much and too little between them at the same time – so where is she supposed to start? Neither are the same anymore, and Hari wonders if he is as off balanced by her changes as she is to his.
In the end she finishes her task still arguing with herself over what she wants to say, but then the time's up and-
Kinoe closes a folder, the movement deliberate and it makes the papers flap when it shuts. "You've collected everything?"
"Um, Yes."
They stare at each other, and she suspects Kinoe is as stuck on what to say as she is. Leaving feels wrong, but they are in the middle of a mission and this place isn't really where she wants to speak to him, yet; "this place is different than… than our lab, isn't it?"
Oh wow … out of everything she could have started with… Hari is nearly impressed with herself for managing to pick the worst ice breaker… ever.
"… It is."
Hari steps closer - unable to help herself. There's so much she wants to know, but isn't sure she has a right to ask. There are some things that is just too painful to remember, and though Kinoe was one of the only good thing in that place, that didn't make the rest any less of a nightmare.
...
"Are you happy?"
Because at the end of the day that's what matters, isn't it?
Hari doesn't mind if Kinoe remains in Root – even if it isn't for her, perhaps he is happy there. Perhaps it's not as bad as Kakashi made it seem. Perhaps Hari should consider it too, because she would be able to keep an eye on Kinoe there, right?
And Kinoe had been trusted with a solo mission to investigate Orochimaru's hideout, which meant Danzo was on the trail too. What would be the point of them working on the same things in different places?
"What?"
She can't blame him for the confusion, that question must have sounded random.
"I didn't know you survived until you helped me in Land of Swamps. I'm sorry, I was told I was the only survivor, I didn't know I should look for you. I've been worried about you since, because I didn't know where to find you, how to locate you – I don't even know what you look like under that mask." Hari stops herself forcibly from rambling on.
Because he's here, she doesn't need to rush, does she? Not anymore.
...
"Are you sure you don't want me to help you look for your stuff?" he said.
"Oh no," said Luna. "No, I think I'll just go down and have some pudding and wait for it all to turn up… It always does in the end."
...
After taking a moment to exhale carefully - regaining control of herself - Hari asks calmly; "So, are you... alright? Is your life a good one?"
"Is yours?" Kinoe wonders quietly.
With the question turned back on her Hari finds it's not as easy as a 'yes' or a 'no', but; standing where they are puts everything into perspective.
They are in Orochimaru's lab, deep underground, and if things had gone a little differently...
"It is." Hari admits, and is shocked to realize it's not a lie, even if it's not the whole truth either. There's room for more - there's room for more people. There's room for Kinoe too.
...
Hari takes a hold of her mask and slides it up, wanting to look at him properly. Wanting him to see her too. Perhaps like Hari – he has never really seen her either. "And you?" She repeats.
"I-" He stutters, looks away from her and at the wall, then back to her. "I have my missions, and sometimes… Sometimes I've seen you on them. And I've wondered… But Danzō-sama found us, you do know that?"
She isn't sure what he's trying to convey - from his tone he might not know that either - but Hari answers honestly. "I do, he told me, and he must have found you as well. You were in better condition, right? You were always stronger. I remember… You moved when everyone else stopped."
Through the holes of his mask Hari sees his eyes shift and a slither of light makes them glint. They were dark after all. She was right. "You survived... Even with the lost blood."
Hari's answering smile is wry. "Is your name Kinoe? Or is it Tenzō?" Since it's bugging her, and she thinks she's asked another unexpected question.
"In Root we don't have names." He say eventually. "But I am known as Kinoe."
"Wait, so Kinoe is like… Owl?" She gestures to the mask on her head. "What do you call yourself then? Is it Tenzō?"
"Does Kakashi call me Tenzō?" Kinoe counters, avoiding answering her and turning to the side.
Hari moves forwards, grabs his arm to make him look at her, and they both go still.
For a moment they both freeze - their full attention on where they are connected - a stretched out instance where everything gets turned on its head.
Since this… this isn't right…
The structure is much too hard for a human.
...
Hari is very aware of the air brushing against her bare face which contrasts the mask that covers Kinoe's. A hundred possible reasons comes to mind, though there's only a few that makes sense – and none of them are good. Hari's heart locks up. Her throat clogs, and it feels like something inside her rips.
She thinks it may have been hope.
Hari understands the strategy now. It was one of the most basic tactics in the books. Kinoe was stalling her and this was a trap. She had fallen for it hook, line and sinker.
Hari should have trusted that Kakashi hadn't wanted them to be alone for a reason.
Her chakra flares, but the Wood Clone she's been talking to throws itself backwards, and her plan to suck out the chakra from the clone – absorb it into herself - fails.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Hari demands, her voice steely and frigid to cover up the hurt.
"You need to stay in this room." His voice is strained. "– I can not allow you to interfere with the mission."
"That's rich; you're the one interfering with my mission. Now MOVE!"
"No!" Kinoe shakes his head, "You have to remain here… Just stay and it'll be fine. You'll be fine." He's placed himself in front of the only exit, "I'll keep you here if I have to."
"Against my will? Why don't you lock me up in a tank while you're at it?" Hari spits, and he flinches, but she is well beyond reason. "You just try to stop me. Where is Kakashi? Why are you here? What is your mission?!"
...
His hands moves, and Hari doesn't think – she reacts.
Mokuton crashes against Mokuton, and though Hari's sturdier, more unyielding - Kinoe's is noticeably speedier and pin point accurate. The result is to neither of their intentions, and the structural timber planks of Kinoe meets Hari's organicly twisting branches, expands like too much mud dropped in a too small bucket and next it's out of control. The left wall crumbles as too much weight pushes into the side.
Yet Kinoe was partly successful; her exit was now blocked.
Hari will just have to dig under it then. But the idea doesn't just occur to her, and Kinoe is quicker with his doton. He's closing the soil, and though Hari push against it and manages to make a difference in the iron hard ground – she recalls her own capture of that Kumo ninja attempting to dig into the Uzumaki house too clearly to find it worth the risk.
Hari snaps.
Suiton erupts around the room as it answers Hari's rising fury.
And the pouring water feels like her own blood draining from a gaping wound she hadn't known could be reopened before this betrayal.
This is so much worse than Haafu.
Her water dragon jutsu charges, its jaw snapping ferociously, but is thrown towards the ceiling against Hari's directions - since of course Kinoe has a suiton affinity too.
For the first time someone is able to compete with Hari over the domain of water.
She stops.
The clone does too, and she knows why – it doesn't have the same amount of chakra to waste.
...
Hari begins another technique as she pictures Itsuki and Shisui standing opposite each other on the practise field, their grins wide and for all their competitiveness, it had never come to this between them.
Her hands ends on the tiger seal and sets fire spewing from her lips.
The 'Great Flame technique' is strong and scorching, and while Hari's white wood is blackened by the heat – it doesn't actually catch aflame. Her Mokuton is too compact for the fire to penetrate much further than the outer bark. It's why it has such a strong defensive capacity.
And though Kinoe's variation is faster and much more precise; it is light weight, and it catches fire under the intense ferocity as Hari makes a pyre to make any Sarutobi proud - especially Itsuki, who taught her that one.
However there's enough wood here to take hours for the fire to burn through, and Hari has neither the time or patience for such - it was more to weaken the clone's control of his own Mokuton.
Previous experience with her own clumsy constructs has left her well aware it's all in the joints.
If you knock down the load bearing wall it'll bring down the rest of the house with it. If one pillar is off the entire structure will be destabilized.
...
Next Hari's mokuton barrages over Kinoe's techniques. Like the trees of a wild garden overgrowing the timber framed house it surrounded – returning it to nature.
In the fire, mokuton, dust, smoke and flying debris Hari had long since lost sight of the clone, but she notice when the remaining resistance fades, and takes the opening without hesitation.
Hari covers herself in water like a suiton-suit, sprints right ahead and dives through the fire. The liquid covers her body to shield against the licking flames as she throws herself through the blaze.
The wood clone is on the other side but utterly still; returned to timber and burning. Hari doesn't spare it more than a passing glance - It was never him to begin with – before she's out the door.
...
...
Hari sprints down the hallway – the need for stealth barely a whisper at the far back of her new list of urgent priorities. They aren't in the next room, or the one after that - yet her sensory technique is blaring up, indicating there's a nearby fight - but where the bloody hell is the correct door?
Franticly she tries any door within sight, and at the very dead end of a passage she comes across one which is locked. Hari yanks it again and realize – if Kinoe could open a lock, he could just as easily close it too.
But who needs finesse and elegant solutions anyway? She bypasses the metal door entirely by using doton to punch a hole in the wall instead.
Hari is panicking and doesn't even know what she'll do once she finds the others.
Kinoe betrayed them, and worse; he's alone with Kakashi. She doesn't know what terrifies her more - If Kinoe hurts Kakashi, or if ANBU Dog decides to deal with traitors the way his duties demands he does.
The shortcut leads to a vast hall with tall glass tanks filled with gas or a liquid so thick it was impossible to see through. It's disquietly familiar – apparently Orochimaru reuses his decoration preferences for all his labs. The air is thick with condensation but Hari's more focused on the sound of shouting, crashes, cracks and redirected shuriken.
Taking off Hari jumps over wires, past rows of dark cylindrical tanks and a few broken ones steaming gases into the air, and has just left behind a rumbling monster machine she thinks is the generator when there's a horrid tearing noise followed by harsh clatters.
Hari comes out from between two dark, empty tanks and is momentarily blinded by the white bright glare after so long in the darkness.
...
"Don't speak about Rin!"
Kakashi is incensed with fury and he stands right ahead of her - his back to Hari while he faces Kinoe. Strewn about there's piles of torn Mokuton – a result of the lightning from his hand that's extended far beyond what she's seen it do before. It screeches and the echo of the hall intensify it. Her ears hurts, and she barely catch the next words.
"As part of ANBU missions I've had to deal with rouge ninja and traitors of Konoha. I can't help it if I'm called friend-killer Kakashi." He snarls, and then charges.
Hari can only make out his outline in the sharp whiteness of his chidori. But Kinoe – she can see him easily. He is illuminated across the hall trying to counter the furious ANBU captain coming for him.
Hari thinks there's more words spoken, but the scream of the assassination technique distorts everything, and her focus is on how the defences Kinoe puts up fails, that Kakashi's lightning rips through the wood for each closing leap as he gains speed.
And for all her fury, for all her confusion and feelings of betrayal – what Hari wants is answers, she wants an explanation from Kinoe – not his blood. Not his life.
"NO!"
...
Both goes down in the impact, and Hari remains rooted where she stands; her body has seized up.
No-
no, no.
She can't be the last alive… Not again. It wasn't supposed to be like this.
Hari isn't breathing, she feels as if she's in free fall while she waits and waits and wait for the vacuum, waits to feel the moment his life ebbs out and she'll be alone in the dark again. This lab... They were always going to die here.
...
But…
Kakashi's on top of Kinoe, his crackling chidori is still blazing within her retinas and yet… Kakashi's arm is angled wrong, it's too high while the bend of his elbow doesn't make sense with a jab, and –
Hari dash across the hall until she can catch the last few words Kakashi speaks.
But he wouldn't be speaking unless there was someone to listen, and Hari's able to overhear the tail end of a tense conversation held at the knife edge of a crackling chidori.
He didn't do it. Kakashi's using the chidori like it's a kunai to the throat.
"-then Kinoe, renounce your duty to the foundation."
"I cannot."
"Then I'll take you into custody and turn you over to Hokage-sama."
"Do whatever you please." Kinoe sounds utterly defeated in that moment, but he's alive and Hari can't pretend she isn't relieved about that. Even after…
...
Kakashi ties Kinoe's hands behind his back in the seal preventing knot, though the younger agent doesn't make much of an effort to get away. All fight has left him – though that could be staged. He'd effectively fooled Hari already.
Certain Kinoe is properly secured, Kakashi dares take his eye off him. "Hari, are you alright? Where were you? Did he hurt you?"
"I'm fine." She confirms. "He had a clone distract me, and when I discovered he was stalling me I destroyed the clone and came here."
"A clone?"
"It fooled me." Hari grumbles. "His camouflage techniques warps the chakra signal, and I didn't notice the difference as quickly as I should have. He tried to stall me – I got rid of it and came here. Did he… What happened?"
"He divided us, and when I realized he tried to kill me." Kakashi answers tersely, but it doesn't last long before he sighs. "I messed up too – I never should have let him tag along. But because of Root's jurisdiction…" Which brings their focus back on the captive. "Stand up. We're leaving,"
Kinoe gets to his feet with his head downcast and shoulders low. Looking more tired than scared. "What about your mission to search this location?"
"After what you just pulled?" Kakashi retorts harshly. "It's suspended."
"Don't let me stop you."
His eyes narrow. "You attacked us, you tried to kill me - stop joking around."
"I'm not joking around," Kinoe insists.
He sounds genuine, but Kakashi isn't very trustingly declined anymore, so instead he pushes the Root agent towards the exit "Move!"
...
...
Hari falls in line behind Kakashi, not sure what she wants to do; demand answers from Kinoe or yell at him. Either is tempting and both may still happen – perhaps simultaneously. Though before she can decide Kakashi's musing interrupts her trail of thoughts.
"I heard Root agents are all trained to discard their emotions, does that include you?"
"Not just our emotions. We only have our missions." Kinoe say slowly, "We have no past-" But Kinoe's cut off mid sentence as the overhead lights flicker and a loud, eerily familiar crash rings through the room.
(The cage breaks.
There are sounds, loud ones, echoing and foreign, the liquid drains away - all she had known goes away - and suddenly it is too light, too little substance pressing against her skin.)
...
There's a shift in the thick air which brings unpleasant ideas to the front of her mind.
What exactly had this place been used for? So far she hadn't found anything that would indicate another Mokuton research facility, yet all these tanks... What had they contained and more urgently; where were they now? She'd barely looked around before she had dashed ahead.
They whirl back towards the huge tanks at the other end of the hall, and Merlin no! she thinks the one on the right had not been broken before.
But whatever inside is fast, the light in the ceiling flickers as if something moves over it and then it… splatters down from above.
Like chunks of slime that had been stuck in the ceiling. Except it's writhing, reforming, and Hari, Kakashi and Kinoe watch in fascinated, nauseating horror as a snake made of thousands of what might be a cross breed between serpents and worms come together to form one huge slimy reptile.
Of course it has to be snakes…
An abhorrent, twisted, bastardized variation only Orochimaru would try to concoct.
When it rears back it's upper body is twice as tall as them – not adding the rest of its slithering body – and how had that even fitted inside a tank?
Kakashi's kunai goes directly for its neck but passes through without damage - because it's not one entity; it's many small ones – and so it sheds the injured pieces like scattered hair straws, and then it attacks.
"Stay back!" Kakashi runs ahead and meets it head on with a katana strike assisted by raiton – and in the resulting clash the slithering snakes goes everywhere.
...
"Gyah!" Hari isn't the only one shouting in disgust as she throws herself to the side - all of them forced to scatter while trying to get away from the hundreds of snakes snapping at their ankles while the main body begins to reform again.
Kinoe is struggling – he's bound and can only jump around without the aid of his upper body. Kakashi had been in the centre of the splash and got showered with snakes and they're biting wherever they can reach, while Hari has taken refuge up the wall. But these serpents has no problems using the tree walking exercise either. She uses a combination of her suiton and tanto to keep them at bay, because like hell is any of those getting to snack off her.
They are white as paper, viscous, blind with only a gaping mouth filled with small sharp teeth that is obviously venomous.
And Hari had thought normal snakes were bad. How could she have ever assumed Orochimaru would be less likely to disfigure his animal experiment even worse than his human test subjects?
...
They keep her distracted though, and in the confusion they'd separated too far, but now the main body had reformed again. And of course it goes for the weakest link.
"Kinoe!" Hari and Kakashi shouts it at the same time as the snake charge for him.
"No!" Hari pushes hard away from the wall, arms clapping together in the snake seal – and even as panicked as she is that still register as a little ironic – and her Mokuton rumbles to life.
She lands next to Kinoe in the neck of time. They're lifted up by a tree formed under their feet – causing the snake to crash head first into the trunk instead. The branches of her tree whacks the giant construct, and it's like trying to hit a jelly monster. They are out of the immediate danger for a short breather, but worm like reptiles sheds off and lands in the tree – climbing up for them like an insistent colony of ants on a hill.
So Hari's tantō slash through Kinoe's restraints, freeing his hands, and then leaps off the tree to the nearest wall for a better angle. The slash and dice approach is ineffective, as it's almost like battling a hydra, cut off one head and two more will appear.
Kakashi's arm illuminates the hall with another chidori – and Hari thinks; that's too limited. There's thousands of snakes and that technique won't reach them all. However;
"Kakashi!" She calls while summoning water, the moisture splashing onto the ground and spreading between snakes, trees, machines and walls. "Target the suiton!"
The water covers the entire floor – more importantly around the coiling collection of pale serpents in the middle of regaining its previous shape, which happens way too fast. Hari builds up more chakra for a clear shot, and Kakashi understands what she intends to do.
Getting out of the moisture he runs up the walls, and with Kakashi in position she makes a beam of water rush through the air for the reptile just as he directs his lightning at the same spot. The result is effective; the water conduct the electricity throughout the hall, it goes off violently - because the tanks shatters, glass goes flying and all the machines bursts at the same time.
When everything finally quiets all that remains are fried snakes.
Cooked, steaming serpents everywhere.
...
Not to mention the crackling water running with shocks of electricity. Not a result of any jutsu this time, but the destroyed generator and machines expels volts into the wet layer covering the floor.
They remain prepared for more signs of danger, but it looks like for now they defeated the monster. In the middle of the floor the majority of the serpents lay stacked like a pile of dead fish. The air is thick with condensation, gas from the tanks and it's getting hard to find oxygen despite the gill exercise Hari hadn't even realized she had began performing.
"Hari- the air!" Kakashi's voice is alarmed, and her head whips to where he's perched on the wall.
Wait -! the snakes – they are steaming, releasing toxins into the air – which means this place is acting like a huge jar slowly being filled with poison.
And while Hari can stop breathing entirely if needed, even if her body has an impressive poison immunity; Kakashi doesn't.
He shudders alarmingly, and next he shuts down. The wall climbing technique fails, and Kakashi goes plummeting towards the electric water.
They're on opposite walls, and though Hari leaps for the closest tank she knows she won't make it – but Kinoe does.
He snaps Kakashi up mid-air before he can suffer the same fate as the snakes, and then heads directly for the exit. "We need to get out!" He shouts, and he's got a point; the floor is electric and the air is toxic.
Hari - even Kinoe - will not hold out long here. The airborne poison has grown so potent and thick it's suicidal to remain.
He was closer, so Kinoe makes it out first, Hari struggling to catch up because it's not as simple as taking a direct route – she forced to jump from item to item, some of which are a machines just as harmful as the sizzling pond on the ground. Turning the escape from the hall into a lethal game version of the floor is lava.
...
...
The instance Hari makes it into the corridor she closes the hole she'd created to enter – blocking more gas from seeping into the rest of the base - before setting off again. A couple of corridors down she turns a corner and finds Kakashi resting with his back against the wall. He's delirious, his eyes incapable of focusing and trembling.
Kinoe stands over him, and when their eyes meet he hurriedly takes a step back, as if to demonstrate he was not trying to harm Kakashi.
She… should probably have expected him to… However-
Rushing forwards Hari drops to her knees and gets to work, but mindful to keep Kinoe within her range. The diagnostic jutsu say Kakashi lungs isn't doing well, and the snake bites on his thigh, shoulders and arms makes his condition urgent.
"Stay over there!" Hari snaps at Kinoe and then takes a leap of faith when she decides to ignore the Root agent in favour of saving Kakashi. He's been given the perfect opportunity to flee, in fact he can attack too – but honestly… her gut feeling say he won't.
Kakashi loses consciousness as she works, but Kinoe remains across the hall observing quietly.
"Is he… alright?" Kinoe asks.
"Yes." Hari reply, eyes shooting up. "Kinoe… what…" She's pulling venom out of Kakashi's shoulder as she asks; "Why?"
Why did you try to stall me? Why did you try to kill Kakashi? Why did you then save Kakashi? Why are you still here?
Because after everything she very much doubt Tenzō was there to investigate an abandoned hideout – it had only ever been an excuse to follow them.
"Kakashi… is my mission." Kinoe reply, and his voice sounds uncertain.
Hari can't help but growl. "He's a loyal Konoha ninja – he thought you were friends!"
"I… Yes… " Kinoe fumbles with his words. "But even if he… he's Tenzō's friend more than… than Kinoe's, but it shouldn't matter, I have orders.. but this mission has made me question things… I have never failed my orders before. I am Kinoe of the Foundation, and as Kinoe – failure is not accepted. Even if… if I don't want to."
Hari breathes harshly. "If you know it's not right, then you shouldn't do it! Orders be damned!"
"But I have to - Root is the foundation which supports the tree and I am not Kinoe if I can't follow orders! My abilities are wasted if they aren't used as the tool that I've been shaped to be!"
"Kinoe, Tenzō – a name doesn't make a person, doesn't make you anything. Nor a title or a moniker." She snaps.
...
'TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE'
Then he waved the wand once, and the letters of his name rearranged themselves:
'I AM LORD VOLDEMORT'
"You see?" he whispered. "It was a name I was already using at Hogwarts, to my most intimate friends only, of course. You think I was going to use my filthy Muggle father's name forever? I, in whose veins runs the blood of Salazar Slytherin himself, through my mother's side?"
...
"It's your actions which dictates who you are. More than any ability… any Mokuton... the name you use or the mask you hide behind."
Kinoe falters, and she tries to meet his eyes across the hall and mask. "You are so much more than a list of uses - they don't define you; it's what you decide to do with them that does."
He takes a step back, head tilting towards the cold, hard floor. "I- I am confused. I do not wish to complete my mission, but I don't… I don't think this mission was right."
"It's not." Hari's voice is frustrated at best. "Isn't this world shitty enough already? Haven't we lost enough friends?" Her voice breaks, but she pushes through. "Isn't our jobs dangerous enough to not have to doubt the intentions of our comrades too? How are we to cooperate with the person behind the mask next to us if we have to fear that they'll suddenly try to harm us? Why would you follow out on an order like that?"
Because if being reborn has taught Hari anything; than it's that the hardest and easiest thing in the world is trust. It's natural and instinctive, until it abruptly isn't - and then it becomes so fucking difficult to hold on to.
Hari has to fight tooth and nail to not bury herself in a hole and never come up; as that's the only place she'll be free of doubts. But then… if she isolated herself completely she may as well have remained in that forsaken, miserable tank to drown.
Hari has long since learned that even if people has alternative reasons for approaching her, even if they want something - most often her Mokuton – if she gives them the benefit of the doubt and takes the chance to trust them – the sentiment is usually returned.
Like how Minato-sama at first only focused on her bloodline – that's why she had met him at all - but when Hari began showing him who she was he ended up seeing her as a person too. For Kushina who took a chance and reached out, and in return Hari will lay down her life before anyone touches them.
It goes both way – and it has to start somewhere.
It's not an answer to everything – clearly Kinoe has fallen on the wrong side of this, but she can't believe that means it's hopeless. People can be as horrible as they can be amazing, as kind as another can be cruel. But -
...
"It was important, Dumbledore said, to fight, and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then could evil be kept at bay, though never quite eradicated. . . ."
...
"I don't understand everything going on - your history with Kakashi or Root - but whatever you were ordered to do here; don't."
There is no immediate reaction, though she feels like Kinoe is wavering. That he's balancing on an edge about to crumble and he'll need to decide between leaning forwards or backwards, but no matter which way he falls there will be a drop and a loss.
"Kinoe-"
"Tenzō." He blurts the correction out with more emotion than she's heard from him so far. "I'm… My name is Tenzō, and… I'm a ninja of Konoha, and that's more than just… just Root."
Hari repeats the name. "Tenzō."
...
She hears him swallow nervously and then activates his Mokuton and creates a wooden… ball? It's difficult to see the details in the dark hallway before Tenzō brings out a jar from his pouch and drops the construct into the liquid inside. He's holding it at an angle which allows her to get a better view, and it appears like a Sharingan floating inside the glass.
Her eyes flickers to Kakashi, since this confuses the situation further, but she won't question the sudden compliance.
The poison extraction takes 98% of her focus. The short timeframe from when Kakashi was poisoned to Hari being able to treat him helps, it's not gotten too far through his blood and she's able to unclog the blood vessels where the toxins had begun taking effect - but it's still detail work.
"I will abandon this mission." Tenzō say, and then he falters. "I… I am sorry Hari. I didn't want… I'm so sorry. I will not be in your way anymore."
As she's in the middle of healing Kakashi, Hari can't do much but watch as he pockets the jar, turns around and heads for the exit.
But even if Hari doesn't know what to feel about Tenzō anymore, is so bloody confused, watching him flee from her hurts.
...
...
AN:
You know, when I finished this chapter I realized it ended up a weird version of chamber of secrets, which is probably why I kept adding parts from that book. Of course you have a secret lair with a snake which is the obvious comparison, but when it comes to their roles it turns out Kakashi took on the role of the boy who lived, Kinoe is Tom Riddle while his "alter ego" Tenzo is Ginny – and somehow Hari ended up Fawks….
I just… Couldn't help but be amused by this.
...
On another note, I've mentioned this before but I've written a lot of this story (37 chapters) which are available on the website 'Archives of Our Own' under my account there; QuillQ.
You need to have an account to access it, but if you wish to read ahead the chapters are available there. I highly recommend it, because this story was NOT written for FanFiction net, and while I've been uploading this story here I've experiencing a lot of formatting issues. Several which I haven't been able to get around, leaving structural issues in this version of the story which I believe has been annoying for you readers - even confusing and jumbled at times.
A big part of the jumbled style is the result of converting the story from Ao3 to FF, but despite my efforts it isn't working. Several comments have mentioned they're confused or annoyed while reading the story here on FF - some for the plot, but others because the writing style seems confusing etc.
This isn't an issue on the other website, so though the content of the text is identical both here and on Ao3, it seems the compressed format FF forces on anyone who wish to post a story, doesn't work with the style I've used while writing Falling Leaves of Evergreen Trees. Because of this I've decided to make the story come to a "complete" here on FF after this current story arch is over - that will mark the end of Part One - and those who wish to read the rest will have to jump over to Ao3.
Thank you so much for reading the chapter!