Bisuke ran as quickly as his legs would carry him. Training ground 28 was not too far away, maybe a three-minute sprint over the roofs for a jonin, and the dog did his best to not take a second longer.
When he crossed the first few grounds, Bisuke interrupted other shinobi's training and some people immediately started cursing the Inuzuka and their misbehaving dogs, but he could not care less.
Finally, training ground 28 came into view, and the youngest pack member saw his boss and the green man clashing in a taijutsu-only spar. Bisuke's chakra was anything but calm and the silver-haired shinobi pulled a punch, when he noticed the ninken approaching.
"What happened," Kakashi demanded from Bisuke while grabbing his weapons to not lose a single second.
"Pakkun send me. There is a Root agent across the street spying on Venna-san."
"Let's go," Gai said in a serious tone, also having grabbed the kunai he had used to deflect his rival's weapons earlier. Both men went off in a flash, Bisuke keeping up with them only because of his high stamina.
"Where does he hide," the copy-ninja asked for more information, while flying over the roofs of Konoha at break-neck speed, cursing Danzo into his long-overdue grave. His voice was controlled and cold like it always was on their missions. He had to stay in control, and the shinobi was not thinking about letting it slip through his fingers. He had to be in control.
"The left tree next to the apartment block for jonin. We only detected him when he had to change locations to have a better view on Venna-san. I am sorry," Bisuke answered quickly.
"You noticed him, that's more than most can claim." Kakashi tried to make his voice sound less harsh, knowing his pack members were doing their best to keep the young woman save. Pleasantries could be exchanged on a later date, though.
"But he still watched her get changed in her room," Bisuke mumbled to himself, not at all satisfied with his abilities. A cold shift in the air and the numbing force of the jonin's killing intent indicated that he had caught the ninken's words.
It did not take the trio three minutes to reach the apartment block.
Pushing himself of a higher building, the copy-ninja had already checked for a chakra source in the tree. While in free-fall, he pulled his forehead protector up to uncover his sharingan, not thinking about letting the spy escape.
If Kakashi had not been informed where the Root agent was hiding, he'd have overlooked the man at first. Whoever his opponent was, this person was scarily good.
Falling right into the tree, the jonin turned and, catching his opponent by surprise, kicked the dark-clothed person out of his hiding place, getting him airborne.
Gai was already there, always the trusty comrade, and the taijutsu master gave the Root member a taste of his reputation with a quick but devastating series of kicks and punches.
Their opponent flew over the apartment block, colliding with the tiles of the next roof.
Kakashi and Gai hunted after him and could see how the dark-clad agent released a justu, causing a strange substance to flow down his body. Whatever this was, it had dampened the impact of their attacks, leaving him without a single broken bone.
The sharingan was spinning fast, analysing the smallest movements, and the copy-ninja was interested in capturing the Root agent with all necessary means, lightning chakra gathering in his hand. The agent barely managed to dodge the attack and his liquid made it feel like Kakashi had just punched a tree. Jumping back to his green-clad friend's side, he decided to assess the damage of his hand after they got the spy.
Growling under his breath, the copy-ninja created a shadow clone who immediately replaced him, while the taijutsu master bombarded their opponent with hand-to-hand combat attacks. Clone-Kakashi double-teamed with Gai in a furious dance of kicks, punches, and weapons, which the masked man somehow managed to dodge.
Well, not all of them since both jonin managed to push and corner the man slowly towards the edge of the roof, but the strange liquid covering his arms was functioning like chakra-enhancement to strengthen one's limbs, relieving the spy of the need to dodge all times.
From the spot Kakashi hid in, he could nearly manage to see into Venna's bedroom. The trees had been an optimal spying location and the copy-cat ninja had not prevented it with a simple curtain or a seal to stop anyone from looking inside. A major security hole.
The root agent took another step back to avoid one of Gai's lethal kicks to the head, but he had already reached the edge, causing the masked man to stumble backwards in a moment when he lost his grip. The second he needed to stabilise himself, the real Kakashi appeared out of thin air, and a strong lightning jutsu to paralyse their opponent shot through the man's body.
The spy went limb and his body started falling, but then the copy-ninja noticed the minimal wince and the spy started doing hand signs behind his back not for Kakashi to copy.
Hell no, he was not allowing the bastard to escape. If the only way to catch the man was by murder, so be it. Hokage-sama would get a scroll with a body.
Not planning on letting the man get away, the elite shinobi shot after the Root agent, but just when his fingertips – and Chidori – brushed the back of his uniform, the agent disappeared without a trace where to.
.
Venna handed the chopped-up radish to Kurenai and checked the clock for the rice cooking on the stove. The young woman did not really like radish, but Kakashi's friend has made the effort to get them food. Not wanting to come over as ungrateful, the civilian might as well eat it.
"-can't believe you managed to befriend Kakashi and get him to talk with you. He was even more distant as a little brat."
The traveller had to chuckle at the kunoichi's comment.
"True, that's why it took me half a year and a broken wrist for him to tell me the smallest details about his life."
"He broke your wrist?!" Kurenai nearly chopped off a finger when the knife buried itself in the fish a bit more to the left with a strong swing. Shocked red eyes stared down at the other woman and the ninken slid a bit closer, too.
That the pack members did this more for protection than out of curiosity they did not have to know in Pakkun's opinion.
"Uh, yeah. I guess I surprised Kakashi when I just walked into him at our first meeting and he thought I was an enemy. You guys were at war back then, so it does not surprise me when I think back."
"We were at war. Ninja or civilian, we all were there, Venna-san," the chunin pointed out the way the traveller tended to exclude herself from certain events.
"Yes, sure," the younger one quickly said, "eh- but I did nothing in that time period if you don't count forcing my friendship onto Kakashi."
"Uh-huh," the red-eyed kunoichi replied and stirred the vegetables in the pan.
Leaning forward in Jolly to get plates and bowls from the cupboard under the kitchen counter, Venna suddenly felt a cold shiver run down her neck.
A loud crash in the living room area announced the arrival of Kakashi and Gai through the window, both looked ready to march into war. Even though the young woman had been told about killing intent, to feel it herself was a completely different cup of tea.
Fear - pure, unadulterated fear and terror - shot through Venna's veins, freezing her blood and making her wish to just die before the terrifying feeling would reach her heart. Had it been this scary when she had died?
No, she had just died. Kakashi had been with her. But now, he was the one radiating something that made Venna feel all the horrors of the world.
After the one second the killing intent had been in the room, it vanished. Breathing heavily with her body shaken by an assault of tremors, the young woman grabbed at the fabric of her shirt, her eyes fixing on Kakashi to hopefully ground herself.
Whatever had caused this to happen, had made her friend release killing intent, and have his sharingan spinning like it wanted to create its own orbit, it had to be bad. Looking directly into the red eye, the young woman managed to calm her breath a bit. Kakashi was here – whatever was going on, he would make it better.
"Wh- what did just happen," Venna hesitantly whispered into the tense silence. With the speed of a ninja Kakashi was suddenly in front of her, his hands and eyes searching for any sign of an injury.
"Venna, are you alright," the man asked with his heartbeat hammering in his chest. Everything about his friend seemed to be fine, there was no blood, no broken skin, no puncture wound from a weapon, nothing was wrong.
The Root agent had not stepped inside the apartment.
Pulling the confused woman into his arms, the copy-ninja allowed himself to take a deep breath. His nose picked up the stress in her scent, but she did not seem hurt. Everything was okay. Is was okay.
Venna slowly wrapped her arms around the shinobi, giving the other two people in the room a clueless look over Kakashi's shoulder.
"What happened?"
"Danzo," was Gai's one-word answer and the sober seriousness made her shiver again just before the young traveller realised what the shinobi just said.
"He sent one of his spies for you," Pakkun huffed out from next to his boss and the young woman.
"I- wha- wait! Danzo!? That cunning bastard? He- why?"
This seemed to be the exact same question Kurenai was asking herself, too.
She had noticed how Kakashi, Gai and Venna would spend more time together or exchange looks at certain moments.
For them to appear like they were on an assassination mission – in the copy-ninja's apartment nonetheless – and to just say the council member's name for the reason of someone spying on the civilian was big news, even for ninjas. But how it was Venna, who had something to do with the war veteran, was something the chunin failed to comprehend.
"I sent Bisuke to report to Hokage-sama," Kakashi lowly mumbled into the scarf on Venna's head, still busy holding her and taking deep breaths to ground himself. Even the thought of Danzo targeting her and the agent watching her get changed-. No, he needed to calm down, not get angrier.
Slowly, the man took a step back and cupped his friend's cheeks with cold hands.
"I shouldn't have left you today. Of course, he would use any moment he can get without me around you. It was my fault," the elite shinobi said more to himself than the people around him.
When Venna reached out and pinched his arm hard, she managed to pull him out of his thoughts.
"You stupid man, stop blaming yourself! Danzo uses every weakness he can find in others, so don't offer him one with your little blame game. We already had that discussion once. I need your sharp instincts, so pull your head out of your ass and work on a solution."
Kakashi was met with an encouraging smile that did not completely reach her eyes, but he knew enough to interpret it the right way.
"Yes, right. You are right. We need a solution."
The copy-cat ninja pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long and deep sigh before he straightened up. His thoughts were racing through his brain to get all the information and predict the outcome of the situation they were in. How great it would be to have some Nara blood in his veins.
"Pakkun, get everyone back here. From now on, I want at least five of you to always be around Venna. Gai, can you get the others? I think it would be saver to acquaint them with a few facts, don't you think?"
"I will do as you wish, my eternal rival! Let our youthfulness be stronger against the enemy and outshine them!" The taijutsu master immediately gave a thumbs up and ran off to find their group of friends.
"Kakashi, are you sure this it the right thing to do," Venna asked her friend with a worrying expression, grabbing onto his sleeve as if it would prevent bad things from happening.
Resting his hand over the smaller one and carefully loosening her fingers out of the iron grip, Kakashi wrapped his fingers around hers and pulled them against his chest.
"I am sorry, I should have asked you before telling Gai to get everyone. They will not need to know much, just enough to get the rough picture. Strength in numbers, right?"
The pleading look Venna received made her forget every protest laying on her tongue. For her friend to willingly let others into his life was one thing, but to know that he planned to do it for her safety was what broke her heart.
"I trust you," the young woman said in a weak voice, too many emotions binding her chest to be any louder.
Kakashi leaned down to her, still holding her hands to his chest, and his masked lips pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. Venna took in a shaking breath to fight the tears.
'Dear god, why do I have to be so sentimental all the time.'
The sound of someone clearing their throat pulled both Kakashi and Venna out of their thoughts and Kurenai gave them a pointed look.
"Not to sound insensitive, but what the hell is going on?"
"I'll explain as soon as Gai brought the others," was the short answer of the elite shinobi, while he walked into his room. Venna could hear him pull a drawer open and rummage through papers, before he came back with a scroll.
"Please tell me this is not another of your seals. Your ninken told me about all the weapons and traps they found and they said themselves that nobody gets inside without losing a limb."
The young woman was not completely sure whether she was nervous about another seal joining the other ones should she accidentally trigger them herself, or the implication that Kakashi was not sure if his precautions were enough against Danzo.
"This one will stop everyone from looking inside, just to prevent spying," the jonin reassured her immediately and disappeared into her bedroom.
"So, there is more to you than simple amnesia, huh," Kurenai addressed Venna with a reproachful tone in her voice.
The younger woman quickly lowered her eyes and stared at her legs. Biting on her lower lip, Venna tried to come up with an answer, but she did not know what to say or how much. Kakashi said he would share part of the truth. This meant he did not want to tell them everything, so the traveller would not, either.
"I am sorry, Kurenai-san, but there is a reason we keep it secret," was all she mumbled, wincing at her own reply. Wow, this sounded really shitty, to be honest. The kunoichi had given her clothes when all she had was the hospital gown, she helped her get ready for bed, and offered her time and company - just to get a half-assed excuse.
Whatever the older woman was seeing on Venna's face, it made her give a loud sigh and shake her head.
"I guess I will have to wait for the others for now. But one day I want to know everything, you hear me?" Venna quickly nodded her head in a silent reply.
"Don't pressure her, Kurenai. Venna is not to blame for any of this," Kakashi entered the kitchen area while he growled those words.
"Boss, you need to calm down. Kurenai-san did nothing wrong. You are agitated," Shiba interrupted the humans and Buru nudged their partner to the table.
"I am not agitated, I am furious."
"And it won't help any of us. See this like a mission, boss. First, we need a team, then we make a plan," the ninken with the Iroquois tried again. Venna rolled herself next to her friend and pulled him into a chair.
"Listen to your pack. Everything will be fine," she said and Kakashi could see that she was completely convince by her words. She trusted him, them, the pack. Feeling some of the tension fall off his back, the shinobi rolled his shoulders and took another deep breath.
His hand was hurting from the punch against the Root agent's strange liquid, but his bones weren't broken.
Without getting the attention of Kurenai and Venna, he performed a simple healing jutsu under his glove to let the skin on his knuckles heal. He did not want his friend to worry about him.
.
It did not take Gai long to find Asuma, Genma, Raido, and Anko. The latter had been at her favourite dango shop and the first three had just left the mission office to hand over their latest reports. The taijutsu master herded them to Kakashi's new apartment and they joined Kakashi and the two women at the table.
The pack of ninken was lazing around the whole apartment, but they all kept the front door and windows in the corner of their eyes.
"Alright, what is it this time? Gai refused to give us a reason and his youthfulness was lacking." Genma crossed his arms in front of his chest, leaned back in his chair and played around with the senbon in his mouth.
"Yeah, I only counted two 'youthfulness' and a lot of 'hurry up' for your eternal rival," Anko snorted out and ate another dango that she pulled out from who-knew-where.
"I think it is a bit more serious, Anko," Kurenai offered the little bit of insight she had with a tense smile.
"So? What's going on that Hatake Kakashi orders us into his home?" Asuma rested his arm over the back of Kurenai's chair, but his eyes were constantly watching Kakashi and Venna.
The nervousness of the young woman did not go unnoticed by any of the ninjas and the lack of boredom in the copy-cat ninja's posture was even more alarming.
Said shinobi stood up and activated the array of privacy seals, before he sat back down. Taking a moment, Kakashi cleared his throat and met everyone's eyes.
"What I am going to tell you is never to be shared with anyone else and I expect you not to talk about this if you aren't completely certain that nobody can eavesdrop, do you understand?"
At the sound of the cold ANBU captain's voice that lacked all emotions, the group automatically sat straighter and nodded. Seeing this, the elite shinobi quickly dropped the voice, knowing that this matter was taken with the appropriate seriousness. A smaller hand gave his a soft squeeze, offering support, and Kakashi allowed himself a short smile under his mask.
"Today I was out for a spar with Gai when my ninken noticed someone spying on Venna. It was one of Danzo's agents."
"Danzo?!" Anko called out in surprise and nearly choked on her last dango. Gai patted her back forcefully to prevent the woman from dying.
"Why would he be interested enough in our little friend here?" Genma's eyes zeroed on Venna in curiosity and he looked at her as if studying her gave him an answer.
"Because I made a mistake," was Kakashi's next answer and he gained five pairs of eyes looking at him in disbelief, while Gai and Venna frowned.
"I cannot tell you much, because… I can't, but I will share a few things about the time Venna and I spend together to make you understand enough."
"But why tell us now? I am sure if you just asked us to help, we'd all do so," Raido asked politely, but they all knew that sooner or later the group of shinobi and kunoichi would demand answers.
"What I need from you is protection. I won't always be at Venna's side, so I need your help to keep Danzo and any other danger away," Kakashi answered honestly and clenched his hands to fists under the table.
"Will you die soon?" Anko's question surprised the shinobi and he gave her a dumbfounded look.
"How did you get that idea?"
"You said, you wouldn't always be at your girlfriend's side and need us to keep her safe. Sounds to me like you plan for such a case." The snake summoner shrugged her shoulders.
"No, I do not plan to die anytime, I just want you to keep Venna safe when I am on missions," Kakashi said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Well, if you wouldn't beat around the bush or give us vague answers, we might get what you are saying," Anko shot back aggressively.
"Maybe we should just get to the point then," Venna spoke up for the first time and took her friend's hand into hers, drawing circles on his skin with her fingers to deal with her nervousness. The copy-cat ninja cupped both her hands with his and rested them on his leg.
The snake-summoner grumbled something under her breath but nodded, while Kakashi took another deep breath in an effort to calm himself down.
"In the time I spend with Venna, I told her things I shouldn't have, S-rank secrets and classified mission reports. Back then, I was not in the… healthiest mental state and I would believe to be asleep at our meetings. Under the assumption that I was dreaming, I shared crucial information with Venna, told her about the missions I went on and many sensitive secrets. At the council meeting, Danzo was doing his best to be a bastard, so she accidentally let an ambiguous comment slip. He suspects her to know about a certain event and I cannot allow him to come any closer."
There was a very uncomfortable silence in the room, pushing itself through Venna's skin, causing her to squirm on Jolly.
"You did what?" Surprisingly, Asuma was the first to explode. "You must have completely lost it or I am going deaf, because I think I just heard you say that you told a civilian about S-rank secrets."
"You heard correctly."
"Don't get cocky with me, Kakashi, not this time!" The Sarutobi man pointed a finger at his friend while he barked his words out.
"So, the great Hatake Kakashi makes stupid mistakes, too," Anko said, surprisingly less shocked, but the judgmental way she raised her eyebrow said it all.
"And now Danzo is on your asses," Genma commented unnecessarily to point out the obvious. The way his senbon was spinning and he tipped his fingets against his arm were telling enough, though.
"You endangered Venna-san, Kakashi. This is no simple mistake, it is-," Kurenai started concerned, but those words managed to hit a button in Venna and overflowed the barrel. She hit her fist on the table with as much force as she had.
"It is not Kakashi's mistake! He told me those things, but I was never supposed to be able and tell anyone. If I had kept my mouth shut at that damn council meeting, Danzo would not suspect anything. It was all one big, stupid accident and I won't allow any of you to blame Kakashi for it!"
When the young woman hissed those words out in pure rage, Kakashi could not help himself when he felt a strange heat spread in his chest. There was an unmoving force in her voice, a strength the man had only ever heard against himself or his village when Venna spoke about the failing childcare system or injustice of his society. To hear this rage to be spoken for him, to protect him, created a foreign sensation.
"The Hokage already knows about this fact and he did not blame Kakashi. I admit, he knows a bit more about the circumstances behind it, but he didn't speak ill of him. Gai knows, too, and he never expressed his disapproval. I don't expect you to just accept this, I know I can't, but those two do not search fault in Kakashi and none of you should either!"
Venna was breathing heavier again, and Kakashi was sure that, if her legs could carry her, the woman would be stomping around and kicking his peers out. With practised ease, he rested his hand on her trembling shoulder and fed her body chakra while he drew circles with his thumb.
"Woah, calm down, mama bear. I am sure nobody intended to be rude," Genma said and made appeasing gestures with his hands.
"My eternal rival and our youthful blossom of Spring never expected someone to learn from this. Their youthful bond had been a secret for so long and tragic events, Venna-chan's illness, and the meddling of dark minds forced them into this position. What an unyouthful and despicable twist of fate! I ask of you as a friend and comrade to not judge my rival and his blossom."
Gai gave a sharp, short bow, his eyes burning with determination.
"You did not tell us, but you told Gai?!" Asuma's expression was piqued.
"Well, he has always been the most persistent of us when it came to his youthful rival," Anko commented with a grin.
Kakashi let out a snort.
"You can thank Venna for that. She wouldn't shut up about how I have to be nice to my peers and appreciate Gai's efforts."
"And I was right, you stubborn man-child," the young woman gave a strong nod in satisfaction. "You have really great friends, be thankful."
"Yosh, my youthful blossom of Spring. Your gentle insight in my rival's heart strives me to achieve the same deep understanding and to strengthen our bond of manly rivalry!"
Gai's loud words interrupted the whole situation successfully, and it was like there was a fresh wind for the group to breath in. A few seconds they were silent again, while the ninjas took a moment to process all the things said.
"My dad obviously did not throw either of them to Ibiki's feet, so he has to see some benefit or advantage in this chaotic situation," Asuma mumbled into his beard in thought, while his hand unconsciously twitched for a cigarette.
"But why? You did something most people would get sentenced with treason for and both of you are walking around freely. Well, rolling for your little girlfriend," Anko shared her mind as blunt as ever.
The unapproving look from Gai and the scolding one from Kurenai for the rude words went ignored.
"Have you ever thought about the things you said before they left your mouth?" Anko shrugged.
"We did not get punished, because you only know a small part of it. This whole thing is complicated and secretive enough that Hokage-sama keeps no written record about it," Kakashi answered truthfully.
"And you decide to tell us?! Kakashi, are you hearing your own words? If this is serious enough for our leader not to write it down anywhere…," Raido left the sentence open but they all understood.
"You only know the vaguest reason why Danzo is interested and I told you because you are the only people I trust to look after Venna except for me and my pack."
"I appreciate your trust in us, but why did you wait to tell us," Asuma mentioned a valid point. "Maybe we could have helped before the council meeting."
"Asuma-san, please understand. Kakashi is a very private person and those… the situation is not only highly sensitive because of the things I know but also something I would never have expected him to share with anyone, really. The more people know about it- I don't know what would happen, but I also don't want to imagine. We did not expect this turn of events, it never should have happened," Venna said with a fixed look to her kneading hands in her lap.
"Well, since it already did happen, we have to work with the things we have and to make the best of it," Kurenai told the younger woman with a soft smile.
"You are serious?"
"We are shinobi. Being serious and working in unfavourable situations is part of the job description," Anko grunted out with a wry smirk. "Gosh, aren't you an adorable, impressionable thing. Where can I find people like you?"
"Anko, be nice," Asuma scolded the kunoichi but they knew she would never listen.
"Back to business, guys. I just want to summarise what we all know," Raido started talking when the conversation drifted too far off topic, "Kakashi believed to be dreaming when you two met, leading to him sharing an unknown number of military secrets and mission information. Venna-san let something slip that caught Danzo's attention to send a spy. Hokage-sama and Gai know the whole story and the Third obviously favours your side. Is this correct?"
Kakashi let out a confirming grunt.
"You literally are the woman of his dreams, huh?" Anko gave the traveller an ugly wink and Kakashi offered the kunoichi a flat look.
"Anko, shut up."
.
The conversation was cut short after this with a few promises to not tell anyone - and the group wouldn't. Not only because Kakashi was trusting them, but also because none of them were stupid enough to dare it and endanger their friends.
They decided to wait for the Hokage's reaction for now but would jump in for Kakashi when he had to go on missions or leave his friend's side.
On their way out of the apartment, Venna gave them all a small bow.
"I am very sorry for snapping at you. I did not want to insult you or question your loyalty. It was just… I did not like the implications," the young woman's eyes were wandering lower and lower with every word and she scratched her head in embarrassment, causing her scarf to slip. Kakashi quickly caught it before it could fall down, and he corrected the soft fabric on her head.
Before Anko or Genma could say anything, Asuma and Kurenai held their mouths shut with hands firmly pressed over their lips.
"Don't be. You acted with good intentions," the red-eyes kunoichi said with a grin towards the copy-cat ninja. She had not gotten anywhere near as much information as she wanted to, but Kurenai was a ninja and knew when not to dig deeper.
Raido got hold of Genma's ear and pulled the other man with him to prevent any more stupid comments. Kurenai for her part only let go of her female friend when they were back on the street and walked away from their friend's apartment.
"I take it back, she can be feisty," Anko whispered to Genma with a big grin on her face.
"Yeah. I always expected my man to have a little challenge in his private life," the senbon user replied with a lopsided grin.
"And just as you said, it is Kakashi's private life, so keep your nose out of it," Raido said with a hit from his elbow to his partner's side.
"Don't be jealous, Raido. I'll make sure we have some fun toni-," Genma did not come any further, because the other jonin rammed his knee into his abdomen.
"Private, Genma."
.
After everyone was out, Kakashi and Venna both let out a long sigh, the latter leaned back in Jolly and let her head fall back, causing the scarf to finally give up its fight and fall to the ground. The shinobi crossed the living room without a sound, walked up behind his friend, and picked the blue fabric from the floor.
"Are you alright?"
At his question, green eyes snapped open and the young woman looked up from the odd angle her head was hanging down.
"I think I'm getting a headache from all of this."
Stuffing the scarf into his pant pocket, the copy-cat ninja lifted his hands, took off his gloves, and started massaging Venna's head, while he allowed himself to drown in the different shades of her eyes.
The traveller hummed in appreciation of the relaxing treatment and with every touch her eyelids became heavier. Trying to keep them open, Venna blinked a few times, but the way Kakashi's hands carefully put controlled pressure on her head and temples, the fight seemed to be useless.
Kakashi continued for some time until he notices that the young woman was drifting off the sleep. He took a step closer and gently rested her head against his abdomen. Then he massaged her neck to work out any kinks she had from the strange way Venna had let her head hang down. The shinobi didn't dare to use chakra so close to her brain, but the massage was easing the tension in her whole body.
"Do you want to get ready for bed," he asked with a low voice not to disturb his friend's relaxed state. Venna answered with a long but meaningless hum.
Not sure how to interpret the answer, Kakashi checked on the time. It was only six pm. Hesitating for a moment, the man stopped his massage and stroked a hand over the short, brown hair.
"Was that a yes?"
Another hum, just as telling as the first one, followed. Venna still leaned against his middle and her breathing became even slower.
"I guess, we should get you ready then," the shinobi decided by himself and picked her out of her wheelchair. Cradling the young woman to his chest, Kakashi watched her lean against him, wrap her arms around his neck, and rest her head on his shoulder. With slow steps he crossed the living room towards her bedroom. She had become a bit heavier, Kakashi noticed with satisfaction.
When the sleeping woman suddenly nuzzled his neck and let out another hum, the man would deny having nearly stumbled over his own foot or that he stopped breathing for a long moment. Bisuke was already sitting on her bed and Pakkun was near, too. The pug gave his partner a shit-eating grin.
"Your mate likes your scent, boss."
"Shut up," Kakashi grumbled as quietly as possible, not to wake his friend up. Slowly, very slowly, he leaned over her bed and made sure that Venna was resting properly before he pulled his arms from under her.
When he tried to free himself from her arms though, Venna automatically tightened her grip and kept her face buried in the crock of his neck. Tensing up exactly in the position he was in, Kakashi tried to think of a way to not wake the young woman up and get out of the situation.
The way he was leaning over her bed, the shinobi had to use his core muscles not to topple over, but he forced himself to keep his breathing calm. A gentle tug on Venna's arms did not help Kakashi, because the woman did not seem willing to let go yet.
Reaching one arm over her, the man supported himself while he leaned further down to let Venna's head rest on her pillow. Maybe she would snatch onto the soft object then. She didn't. The snickering from the smallest ninken in the background did not help, either.
"Bisuke, lean against her or something," Kakashi whispered lowly at the young pack member sitting next to them.
"But she seems content with you, boss," the ninken answered with the tilt of his head. "Don't you want that?"
The copy-cat ninja decided not to acknowledge the question with an answer.
With painfully slow movements, Kakashi sat down on the mattress and leaned on his arm to relief his back muscles.
In his new position, Kakashi could easily feel Venna's body against his leg, her warmth against his chest, and the soft huffs of breath wander over the skin of his neck.
'Great, just great,' Kakashi thought, but the sarcasm quickly turned into excitement, when the young woman rubbed her check against his jaw to find a more comfortable position to snuggle with her human pillow.
"She is a cuddler when she is asleep," Bisuke commented unnecessarily with glee in his voice.
'That little shit,' Kakashi cursed his ninken silently.
Simply holding someone should not make him feel this good. The shinobi was overthinking everything again. He was interpreting more into this, that was it. He probably had a simple hormonal overload. Kakashi was busy convincing himself, but like an evil thought slipping through a filter did the memory Obito's sharingan recorded come to his mind.
Venna had been looking up at him in happiness. Her eyes had such a beautiful shine to them that the centre of her green irises looked golden in the light.
No, not golden. It was just the odd shade of yellow mixing with a deep green. He had noticed it before. Yes, that was it, just a trick of the light.
Looking down when Kakashi noticed that Venna had slightly loosened her hold on him, his dark eye met the sight of her face. Her cheeks were slowly starting to fill up again, making her look healthier. The shakes and constant feeding of his chakra showed results. The shinobi would prefer it if recovery was faster, but Venna was a civilian, she had less chakra and had already come a long way from nearly two weeks ago.
In her sleep, the woman's features were smooth, completely relaxed, and her lips were parted the tiniest bit. One week ago, they were a bit chapped, but now they were looking as soft and rosy as they were before. That was, had they looked this way before? Kakashi had never really noticed. Would Venna's lips be as soft to a touch as they looked?
Suddenly Kakashi noticed how much closer her had come, his face was barely hovering over hers, and he could easily feel the soft breaths caress the visible skin around his eye. When had he lowered himself so much? It would only take one tug on his mask, a few more centimetres, and-
Forbidding himself to think any further, the man pressed his face into the pillow next to Venna's head. Taking a few deep breaths, the copy-cat ninja tried to collect himself.
"They are still scenting, I think," Kakashi could hear Urushi say to someone else. Probably the rest of his pack who was still in the living room.
This pulled him out of the emotional chaos he had tangled himself up in. The shinobi finally managed to free himself from Venna's arms and he immediately stood up straight and walked out of the room.
Ignoring his pack, he directly headed for the bathroom, where he stripped and stood in the shower, not caring how warm or cold the water was. Glaring at the tiles with the sharingan as if they had offended him, Kakashi let out a low growl and he hit the wall with a fist.
He could not explain where the frustration was coming from, but something inside or him felt so restless and in need for something that he did not know how to deal with it. Like a wild beast in a cage, his emotions were circling in a small space.
Never before had the copy-cat ninja felt this way.
There was a need, so basic that he did not know how to breath. A longing, causing his chest to hurt and pull on an invisible string. Powerful yet gentle. A want. A desperate desire. Something that slowly took control over Kakashi.
He did not want that foreign feeling. It felt too complicated to study it and Kakashi did not feel confident that he could be objective about it. The shinobi was in control, he had to be. As long as he was in control, he could keep Venna save, so he would not lose or give in to it.
As if mocking, Obito's sharingan showed him his friend again, laying under him, laughing, smiling, the unidentified emotion sparkling in the sea of green.
Closing his eyes and pressing the palms of his hands over his face, Kakashi look a shaking breath.
No, he was in control. He had to be if he wanted to be sure that Venna would be fine. Obito, Rin, Minato, Kushina, and his father all died because he was not capable enough. Because he had failed them. He had to be ready for Danzo, not get confused by a little emotional rollercoaster.
Forcing all those overwhelming feeling away, stuffing them into a box and throwing them far, far way for the moment, the shinobi slowly started to notice how cold the water was on his skin.
He shut the shower off and with a towel wrapped around his hips, Kakashi went into his bedroom, where he put on soft pants and a short-sleeved, black shirt. The mask integrated to the shirt pooled around his neck.
In the kitchen, the copy-cat ninja noticed the food on the stove. Oh, yeah, Kurenai and Venna had been cooking when he and Gai had waltzed in. None of them had eaten anything since breakfast.
Thankfully, the kunoichi had been mindful to turn the heat off.
Kakashi put everything into the fridge and cleaned the counter to busy his hands. He was about to throw the packaging of the different ingredients away, when a small note fell to the ground. The shinobi picked it up and turned it around to read the words.
'Appointment:
Dr. Takahashi Kenji
10 am
Room 249'
Great, just what Kakashi needed.
Knowing that alcohol did not solve anything, he still reached to the high shelf in the kitchen and poured himself a generous cup of sake.
.
The next morning, Bisuke sneaked out of the woman's bedroom and into Kakashi's before Venna would wake up. The shinobi was already wide awake and waited for his ninken to sit down next to him.
"She did not cry tonight, but there were tears, boss. An hour ago she woke up for a few minutes, but as before she does not remember it. Doesn't make it less sad to see, though."
The jonin gave his youngest pack member a soft pat on the head.
"You stay with her and it helps. Venna mentioned therapy animals once when she talked about traumatic events," he cringed at the unpleasant memory, "You are helping her, so please keep it up."
"Of course, boss!" Bisuke immediately answered in determination and his tail wagged softly.
"Good. You can go back then. Venna enjoys waking up with you to cuddle with."
"I- I-," the ninken stuttered in surprise and Kakashi grinned.
"I appreciate it, too. Go now," he said and softly pushed the dog off his bed.
When Bisuke left the room, Pakkun huffed once and jumped off the bed, too.
"Maybe you should talk to her. Your mate said it herself, right? That talking about things helped people to deal with their problems. You could use that yourself."
"I am not good talking about personal stuff," the shinobi said defensively.
"You can listen. And don't tell me, in all the years you two were together, you neither listened nor talked to her."
"We argued, Pakkun. Every time my problems came up it ended in an argument."
"But you still discussed it?"
"Well… yes."
"Then maybe this is just the way you two communicate. Don't worry so much about it, boss. Human females like men who can talk about their feelings, right?" Pakkun scratched his ear with his hindleg.
"Where do you hear those things?" Kakashi was not sure if he really wanted an answer to his question or just to end the conversation.
The pug huffed through his nose and left the room.
"Humans."
The copy-cat ninja shook his head and got ready for the day. They had to go to the hospital, Kakashi planned to talk with Sarutobi-sama to hopefully get his Danzo-problem sorted out, and he wanted to talk with his peers about their schedules to know who of them could watch over Venna while he had to start doing D-rank missions starting two days from now. Urgh.
Precisely at 7:30 am, there was a knock on his front door, and the man answered to none other than Yui-something. Venna had just finished her breakfast, when she saw the nurse come inside.
"Oh, good morning. I did not expect to see you here," she said truthfully, making the other woman chuckle.
"Believe me, I did not expect it either. There I am telling you not to come back to the hospital too soon and instead I am send to come to you," Yui-something said with a sigh.
"Hatake-san, I hope you don't intent to be difficult or make the same problems as you did at my actual working place."
"If your colleague hadn't been an insensitive, old witch, this would not be your problem," Kakashi pressed out between his teeth and the traveller could see his jaw clench even through his mask.
"Yes, I heard about that," the nurse nodded and pulled a face, "I have to admit, I don't like that harpy, either, and I am sorry for her rude behaviour, Venna-san. You do not bother us at all. Keeping Hatake-san out of our hair is even a big help."
The white-clad woman smirked at the shinobi before she took hold of Jolly and pushed Venna into the bathroom, where they had already placed her clothes for the day.
Yui-something helped Venna to bath and get ready for the day, while she praised all the little improvements she noticed in her patient's recovery.
Feeling a bit bad, Venna decided that she seriously had to remember the nurse's name correctly.
When said woman handed over the grey shirt with the two paw-prints stitched on the back, Yui-something suddenly giggled under her breath.
"Huh? What is it?"
"Oh, excuse me, I do not want to be rude, but did you pick this shirt out yourself?"
"Eh, no. Kakashi did it for me today, so that I could finish breakfast before you came over. Why?"
Yui-something's smile only grew into a knowing smirk.
"Oh, I just think it is adorable."
After only half an hour Venna was bathed and clothed, and watched the nurse through the mirror using her glowing hands on her head.
"I think we could give your hair a boost with a controlled dosage of ninja pills. Not the ones for soldiers, but a weaker one specially made for a better recovery. I will talk about it with Takahashi-sensei before your appointment at ten."
The young woman's eyes lit up at the thought.
"You think it could work?"
"Well, your body should be strong enough by now to handle a small dosage, and with Hatake-san's chakra in your system you probably only get a bit more tired for a few days. Those pills aren't meant for civilians, but with one of our elite watching you like a hawk, a few pills should not do any harm. Takahashi-sensei will notify you if this is possible."
When the bathroom door opened to Venna smiling brightly at Kakashi, the shinobi felt himself relax and he quickly hid the kunai he was toying around with in his pouch.
"Please be on time for Venna-san's appointment, Hatake-san," the nurse said with a short bow and left the apartment.
"Did you know that we can try recovery pills to make my hair grow faster and help my recovery? I didn't even know you had those! All I knew about were soldier pills, but Yui… something-san said she will ask Tshakahi-san if it is possible for me to take a few. Something about your chakra should help with the effects, but I bet we will understand it after the appointment!"
Venna was rambling in excitement, while Kakashi listened patiently. He did not want to admit that he might have eavesdropped today – just to make sure that the traveller was treated properly. The fact that Venna was saying the doctor's name wrong once again was just a little bonus.
Grabbing behind himself to the table, the copy-cat ninja grabbed another of Venna's shakes and shook it for her. The young woman saw this and immediately pulled a disgusted face.
"You should know that neither soldier nor recovery pills are known to taste good. There are repulsive, so enjoy your shake," Kakashi said with a mocking eye-smile and handed the bottle over.
.
At the hospital, Kakashi let Venna push herself in her trusty steed as soon as they entered the building. The woman had made sure they were not late by nagging and urging her friend to get ready.
They only had to cross three long corridors, but they were long enough for the woman to be a small training session.
"Damn, I am so happy when I can replace Jolly with the crutches," she mumbled under her slightly elevated breath.
Arriving at room 249, Venna noticed that the door was open and she could hear voices. Who or what was said she could not hear, but it did not matter to her.
Kakashi gave one short knock for a warning before he waltzed in like he owned the place.
"Ah, Venna-san, Hatake-san, good to see you," the doctor from Suna greeted them with an open, charming smile and offered Kakashi a seat, but the man ignored his polite gesture. Venna elbowed her friend and nodded at the chair, which the shinobi let himself sink down in with a barely audible huff.
The doctor had his hair is a loose man-bun and his 5 o'clock beard was as handsome as ever.
"Hello, sir. Please excuse Kakashi's behaviour, he is not a morning person," the traveller said plainly and nodded at Yui-something, who was present as well. The doctor let out a pleasant laugh and shook his head in amusement.
"I don't take it personally, miss. Let us begin then. Would you please lift your shirt that I can check your breathing?"
The medical personal ignored Kakashi's straighter position with professionalism, while Venna was too busy reaching around herself to uncover her back.
Takahashi's stethoscope once again caused shivers to run down her back at the cold touch of the material, but she obediently took deep breaths. The doctor listened attentively, but a small frown became visible on his eyebrows.
"Now your front, please."
The same spiel started again, and this time Venna gave Kakashi a pointed look to stop being ridiculous, when the shinobi's glare bored itself into the medic's head.
"Did you exhaust yourself in the last couple of days? Or were under stress?" Takahashi's question and serious expression made the traveller swallow heavily.
"I- is it back? Am I sick again," Venna's voice was meek and just a whisper, different scenarios already playing in her head.
"No! No, Venna-san, whatever had made you sick is not back. You are healthy," Takahashi quickly reassured his patient and he softly patted her hand in an apology. "I just noticed that your lungs sound a bit… strained."
"Oh. Uhm, I- I was under a bit of stress, I guess. And I pushed myself to your office," Venna answered hesitantly and the doctor's eyes wandered over her body in worry.
"I can sooth the slight irritation in your lungs, but I have to insist that you avoid additional stress until your body is stronger. Maybe the recovery pills are a good opportunity. Hatake-san, can you please help Venna-san onto the stretcher? I'd like to check on her muscle build."
Said shinobi just gave a nod, but with careful movements he did as he was asked to. When Takahashi sat down on a stool next to the young woman to run a diagnosis, Kakashi's eye shot to the other man's glowing hands for a moment, which offered him something he had not planned to.
Venna's grey shirt was still pulled up enough for the shinobi to catch a short glimpse at thin red lines on the left side of her torso. Averting his eye as soon as he realised what he was seeing, Kakashi already knew that the mark on the traveller's skin was burned into his memory, even without the sharingan.
Her skin did not look burned, it was more like filigree roots spreading just under the surface. Venna had never made a deal about the lightning scar, but the copy-cat ninja knew he wanted to inspect it closer. This was the reason they had met in the first place, right?
Without this scar Kakashi would not know Venna, and the man did not like the thought at all. The markings on her skin were something he was thankful for, and the shinobi was sure he never saw a more fascinating and beautiful scar in his life.
The voice of the man from Suna pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Your body should be strong enough to digest the recovery pills and not only support your hair growth, but also your rehabilitation. I will prescribe you twenty pills, take half each morning and evening before breakfast and dinner. At this rate, you should be able to walk in only a few week's time."
Yui-something immediately went to a vitrine with different medications and put said amount of pills on the table for Venna to take home.
Takahashi took hold of the young woman's hand and helped her sit up on the stretcher.
"Make sure that Hatake-san supports your system with chakra. It does not have to be every hour, but a few times per day should keep the drowsiness in check. This will be all, but please come back in a week for another check-up."
"You don't have to tell me how to help her," Kakashi pressed out in an annoyed tone while he forced himself back into his lazy posture. Who did this man think he was? Of course, he would support Venna's system with his chakra and do everything to improve her health. Kakashi would get himself admitted into the hospital for chakra exhausting if he had to give it to her. The doctor's comment had rubbed him the wrong way.
Still, the copy-cat ninja tried not to say any of those things. Venna did not need stress, so he would keep himself in check even though the shinobi did not like the hand on his friend's shoulder.
The man was touching his friend again. Was he doing it on purpose? Was he trying to anger Kakashi? Why did this man have to touch Venna? An angry voice sounding suspiciously like that of his pack asked those questions and the imaginary voice of Pakkun reminded Kakashi that females liked protective mates who made them feel safe.
Reacting on his instinct, the shinobi crossed the short distance and with a rude wave of his hand he brushed the doctor's hand off of Venna's shoulder. Picking the woman up before she could protest, he sat her back into her wheelchair, grabbed the pills and pushed her out with a short "Good day".
"Kakashi, you-"
"Yes, yes, I am being difficult. Just let me get you out of this damn building," the man grumbled and did not lose a second to leave the hospital behind them. Venna let out a sigh, but she did not protest any further.
"Silly man."
Kakashi let out a simple grunt when he noticed the fond tone in her vouce, and marched them down the street, when he noticed a familiar brown-haired man who came closer with a smile as soon as he noticed them.
"Iruka-sensei," he nodded and slowed his steps.
"Hello, Hatake-san, Venna-san. I hope you are well and recovering?" The ever-polite man greeted the pair, while he shifted a heavy bag from one hand to the other.
"Hello, Iruk-, Umino-san. We are just fine, thank you. How are you?" Venna smiled up at the chunin and her good mood was back instantly.
"Perfectly fine, thank you as well. You certainly do look better than a few days back. I hope I am not interrupting something, but I was on my way back from the academy, because I had to pick up a few things to plan the following lessons," the teacher said and pulled out two books from his bag.
"In the teacher's lounge I found these books on our village's history and I was about to search for either you or Maito-san to maybe borrow those books to you. When you start searching for a job, knowledge is valuable. The thinner one is for the first and second years and gives a survey over everything, and the second one goes in depth of the major events. It was just a thought, so, please, don't feel pressured into taking them."
The smile on the traveller's face said it all and with a joyful expression, she took both books.
"This is so kind of you, Umino-san. Thank you so much!" She hugged the books to her chest and beamed up at the brown-haired chunin.
"You are such a darling!"
Iruka gained a slight shade of pink on his face at the excited praise of the young woman and he scratched his scar out of habit. When his eyes met one dark grey one from a certain elite shinobi, the colour immediately disappeared. It was not that Kakashi was glaring at him, but the blank look had something unsettling.
"Kakashi, Kakashi! Look," Venna's words bubbled out of her and she tugged on the man's sleeve.
The blank look immediately disappeared. Instead, a soft, adoring one met the woman's green eyes and he nodded with a hum.
"I can see them."
"Oh, don't try to be funny. This is so great! Can we go back and spend the day on the couch?"
Kakashi raised an eyebrow.
"We need groceries, and I have to meet with Hokage-sama. But I am sure Gai and Asuma will let you read while they come over."
"Oh, right. The Hokage… I thought I would come with you," the woman said in surprise with the tilt of her head.
"No, not today. It will be better if you stay home for now. And we don't have too much time before those two come over because they will be on time."
"And we will be fashionably late?" Venna grinned up at the copy-cat ninja with humour in her eyes.
"Yes. That is why Gai is always early."
"Well, I don't want to delay you any longer then," Iruka said politely and kindly smiled at the pair.
"Thank you very much for the books, Umino-san. I will treat them well and give them back to you as soon as I am finished reading them!"
"Take your time. And have a good day." The chunin gave a light bow and continued on his way home.
"You, too," Venna called after him while waving goodbye. "Kakashi, let's hurry up. I don't want to make Gai and Asuma-san wait."
"Oh, we are already late," Kakashi said with indifference and he pushed the traveller past a few stores.
"What?!" Venna turned around in her seat and gave him a suspicious look. "You are kidding, right?"
"Maa, I might have told them to meet us at 10:30, because I had planned on cutting our appointment as short as possible, but that doctor had to talk so much."
"Tashahika did not talk much. I think it was an appropriate amount of words in our conversation."
"Sure," the shinobi only replied, and they quickly did their grocery shopping.
After a very short argument, Kakashi put two grocery bags on Venna's lap, but carried the third and heaviest one himself.
They finally reached their street, when both of them could make out the green jumping frame of Gai, who was doing… something to train his body. It consisted of walking a few 'steps' on his hands, then he jumped to his feet where he made a few squats on one leg, got back into a handstand and repeated the same thing with the other leg.
"How late are we?"
"Mmh, just 40 to 50 minutes."
"Can I make up the excuse?"
Since Kakashi hadn't let Venna make one last time when they had to meet the council, he nodded this time.
"Yes," she cheered and fist bumped the air.
They only had another hundred metres to go, when Asuma turned around.
"Finally," the Sarutobi man groaned out and Gai started walking towards Venna and Kakashi in his handstand.
"My eternal rival! I see you and our lovely blossom of Youth have finally arrived!"
"What Gai is trying to say is that you are late. But I should have expected as much already," Asuma grumbled with a cigarette in his mouth.
"Oh, sorry. You see, we were on our way back, but then I saw a really cute dog and begged Kakashi to follow him. Then we saw a few kids in the park and Kakashi played ninja-tag with them when they noticed him," Venna said with a bright grin on her face.
"The park is on the other side of the district, young blossom."
"And Hatake would never play something as childish as tag," Asuma gave them a flat look.
"Huh? But he played it with me, at least, five times."
"Because you were an annoying little brat and I needed you to let your energy out. You were shit at the game."
"Well, you used your ninja speed or a jutsu or whatever. It was not fair." Venna crossed her arms in front of her chest and gave Kakashi a playful glare.
"We never made any rule saying I couldn't."
"Yeah, but it is not normal that you walk up a tree to stay out of the person's reach who is 'it'. Or use a stupid body flicker."
"You still tried to get me. It couldn't have been that bad."
"I fell of the tree and nearly landed on my head."
"Well, I caught you in time and you made me 'it'. That was not playing by the rules either."
"Look who's talking now."
Asuma loudly cleared his throat to interrupt their bickering and he pointed his thumb at the door.
"Can you let us in? I think you have a meeting with my dad."
The copy-cat shinobi shrugged his shoulders in faked boredom and heard Venna snort out in laughter.
"Does your father expect him to be on time?"
"Probably not," the jonin said and disposed of his cigarette.
.
After Kakashi left for his meeting, Gai started making tea while Asuma watched Venna push herself to the couch. There she turned her wheelchair sideways and looked up at the jonin.
"Could you please help me get on the couch?"
"Oh, uhm- sure," Asuma reached out but hesitated, not knowing how to take hold of the small woman in front of him.
"You can just pick me up. I am not made of glass," the woman chuckled and took his hesitation with humour. The jonin did as she said and was surprised how light Venna was. Sure, they all could see that whatever illness it was that has worn her body down it had made a good job to just do that, but to feel the result was something else.
"You know, I already gained over 10 pound since Gai carried me to Konoha," the young woman commented proudly as if she could hear Asuma's thoughts.
"Never in my life would I have guessed that gaining weight made me happy."
The shinobi sat her down and let Venna rest against the soft pillow.
"Most women don't start where you did," he gave a cautious reply to which the civilian grinned again.
"True, true. Kakashi told me that shinobi would have a faster recovery than civilians. Is it because of the chakra?"
"Ehm, I guess? My medical knowledge is amateurish at best. But it could explain why Kakashi always pumps his chakra into your system."
"My eternal rival shows formidable proof of his hip and caring attitude! Any other civilian would only have reached half of Venna-chan's improvements by now. Ah, what a beautiful and truly youthful time to be a witness of," Gai's voice boomed through the room when he sat down next to them with the tea set, and the ninken immediately created more distance between the loud, green-clad man and them.
.
Kakashi entered the Hokage's office through the window and politely nodded at the man sitting at the wooden desk.
"Hokage-sama."
Across the desk sat Nara Shikaku and Yamanaka Inoichi, both nodding at the jonin.
"Nara-sama, Yamanaka-sama."
"Kakashi, we already tried to imagine what excuse I would get today for your tardiness," the old man said with a wry smile, while he took a drag of his ever-present pipe.
"And what did you come up with, sir?"
"Hm, since you already used the one with the black cat six times this month, getting lost on the road of life is second with five times, we were hoping for a new one."
The elite shinobi took a side-glance at the crystal ball resting on a small side-table.
"Do you want me to recite Venna's excuse or should we get to the topic at hand?"
Sarutobi hummed under his breath and stroked his beard.
"Very well. I asked Shikaku-san and Inoichi-san to sit with us. Four heads work better than two." Kakashi automatically tenses up.
"They don't know anything yet and I intent to keep most facts confidential."
The blonde clan head met the copy-cat ninja's eye with a serious expression.
"Hokage-sama asked us for our intel and support under the condition of the utmost level of security, Hatake-san. Whatever will be said in this room does not leave it."
The Third gave a silent command and the ANBU guards left the room so that the old man could activate his privacy seals.
"I understand if you do not like my decision, Kakashi, but your approval does not help Venna nor is it needed."
"Before we begin, I will explain a few things.
The young woman you met at the council meeting is an old friend of Kakashi. What you need to know is that Venna does possess knowledge about S-rank secrets of Konoha and intel about very important missions. How she gained the knowledge is not relevant, as won't her background be of any importance. Her appearance caught us by surprise, because it had never been planned that she arrives in Konoha. We had reason to be convinced of her death, but she is here now.
"At the meeting you have become acquainted with her foreign view to one of Konoha's children and how he is treated. Venna knows about Naruto and his position in the village, but her knowledge allows her to understand that the Kyuubi is sealed away and not Naruto himself."
While Inoichi's eyes widened the slightest bit in surprise at the information, Shikaku's eyes narrowed and a sharp expression met Kakashi.
"And how is it that you need our service, Hokage-sama?"
"At the council meeting, Venna challenged Danzo verbally and she accidentally let an ambiguous statement slip."
"Hn. She certainly had not made her dislike for him a secret," Shikaku said with indifference and Hiruzen gave another agreeing hum.
"Now, Danzo is suspicious and Kakashi's ninken reported to me that one of Danzo's spies had observed Venna while Kakashi was out training. He and Maito Gai had attacked the Root agent, but he could escape.
It was no surprise to me that Danzo sent someone to observe her, but now he will be more careful. For one of his men to get noticed this quickly is a rarity."
"I do not want to be rude, sir, but what I am interested in is how to get him away from Venna, not just on a greater distance," the copy-cat ninja said as politely as he could. He did not like that the old leader told more people about Venna.
"Indeed, indeed. We need a solid argument for Danzo to stop his surveillance and not dig any further."
"Sir, I think you are asking for the impossible," Shikaku commented in a serious, matter-of-factly tone. Sarutobi hummed thoughtfully and took another drag from his pipe.
"Not quite, Shikaku-san. Venna is not only by accident a keeper of secrets, but she also has a value for Konoha that nobody else possesses. Should something happen to her, I do not feel confident to calculate the resulting loss for our people."
Hiruzen stroked his beard in thought. In the short time the young woman had come to their world, she had not only given Kakashi his pillar and mental stability back, but managed to heal a new scar and make him live up. The Third was not sure if Minato ever managed to get Kakashi this much out of his shell.
As long as she was around, the copy-cat ninja would do his best to come home in one piece.
She also won Naruto over.
Yesterday the Hokage had visited the blonde boy for lunch and the Fourth's son had animatedly spoken about his time with Venna and how nice she was. After she had defended him in front of the crowd, Naruto was ready to believe she was the greatest woman walking the earth, but when she invited him for lunch and only met him with kindness and affection, the boy had decided Venna was god-send.
The possibilities for her to integrate her knowledge on the education of children was also new and interesting to Sarutobi. He might carry the title of "The Professor", but he checked the public and his personal library and nobody came up with teaching concepts like those she talked about yet.
Her insight into children's development was intriguing to the man. They might not be able to adopt many of her ideas or will be greeted with acceptance, but this was a possibility for Konoha's improvements for their next generations Hiruzen would certainly give a try.
"The possible importance of Venna forces me to take a step I had yet to consider. Inoichi-san, I will give you a list of names and expect you to question them to one specific event. Only you are allowed to interrogate them, nobody else. I know you distanced yourself from T&I, but I need your person in this."
Sarutobi waited a moment until the Yamanaka clan head nodded.
"Shikaku-san, I need you to create a file out of the confessions and recreate the whole plan as accurately as possible. I also want you to check our law regarding the case. Try and find proof if some still exists today."
The Nara head gave a short nod.
"You want to force Danzo into silence. What event are you talking about, sir?"
"His plot for my assassination to take over as Hokage."
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