When the shoe drops

In the conference room of the Hinogawan chambers, the only remaining Lord Hinogawa burst in to find Kimuhara and Hayao awaiting him. Though the two rose to greet him, the new head of house did not hesitate to shoot to the heart of the matter.

"Tell me this wasn't you."

Kimuhara tsked disapprovingly. "Your tongue will be the end of us all, my lord." The new title rang strange, though Kimuhara's dismissive tone remained the same as the new lord had always known it.

"Tell me you didn't kill my brother."

Hayao pulled out the seat at the head of the table for the distraught lord, one that he did not take. "Lord Hinogawa, you must compose yourself. By what power could we have done this awful act?"

Kawaru still glared at the two of them, mistrust still clear in his eyes.

Kimuhara dropped the new epithet. "Listen to Hayao, child. It was not us, though you of all people should be thankful for it."

"How dare you insinuate that, he was my brother."

"He did not see you as one, my lord."

At Hayao's rebuttal, Kawaru stood very still, trembling. "But he did... he saw both of us as family. He said so, just the day before..."

Hayao conceded the point carefully, noting the new raggedness in the young man's breath. "Be that as it may, my lord. Your brother knew you could not lay a legitimate claim to the estates. With his death, your secret is preserved, and you will lead the Hinogawas in continuing prosperity unthreatened by your brother's daydreams of war."

"Indeed, this is most fortunate news, and you'd be blind not to see that, child. Whoever did this has strengthened the Hinogawa house for generations to come. Think of your son, Kawamaru."

"I-"

"I agree." Kawaru's astonished protest was strangled in his throat, as Kawane entered the room. She sank naturally into the seat Hayao had pulled for Lord Hinogawa before. "Brother, you are audible from the inner chambers." Her eyes were cool as she delivered her admonishment. "You know better than to act like this. My Lord."

"Kawane-"

She indicated with her head to a seat. "Sit. I'm coming directly from an audience with the daimyo now. We must speak of the future."

Kawaru watched understanding dawn in first Kimuhara's, then Hayao's face, which could only mean...

He weakly took the seat, not least because he no longer suspected he could support his own weight. "Sister, tell me you did not do this."

"Brother, I will not tell you a lie." She reached across the table to hold his slackened hand. "I could not stand idly by and allow Kawagu to make mistakes that would cost us our lives. You are the new Lord Hinogawa now. Accept it."

He gripped her hand desperately. "Kawane, I never intended-"

"No, brother. I intended this. And I'm now here to inform you all of my intention for the future course of the Hinogawas." Lady Hinogawa turned her attention to Hinogawan attendants as well.

"Though Kawaru shall be the head of Hinogawa in name, all orders and actions must go through me. Kimuhara, Hayao, this will mean we will continue to run the estates as we have these past many years. I trust you will have no objections to this."

The two retainers inclined their heads in assent.

"Kawaru, this whole affair is not complete yet, we must settle all accounts with the war party, and reckon for the death of Kawagu..."

As she continued outlining the next steps, Lady Hinogawa reveled in the look in their eyes, the visible way in which they were reassessing their understanding of her.

This had been for the best. With a stronger grip over not only the estate's economic, but also their political affairs, she could almost see the finish line...

Pressed tight to the shadows in the hallway outside, the three genin continued to listen. Sakura had almost bitten through her lip at this point. The distance Lady Hinogawa had prescribed from the inner chambers had not been nearly enough to prevent ninja trained ears from hearing the details of their conversation.

"We need to tell sensei, now."

Sasuke shook his head. "There's no telling where he's at. If he's investigating, there's no way we can detect him."

Naruto was uncharacteristically serious as well. "He said he'll be back soon anyway. Don't talk, we need to make sure you remember everything, Sakura."

Sasuke's eyes were already spinning. "I'm on it too, dobe."

Naruto's nose began to scrunch indignantly, before a terse slap from Sakura put an end to it. "This is not the time to pick a fight, idiot!"

Feeling unfairly put upon, a subdued Naruto clung tighter to the wall. Up against two genin with the most legendary memorization skills in the Academy's history, he knew he'd have little to add to a report.

He instead turned his attention outward, just in time to catch a faint clashing of blades from far away. Then, the unmistakable sense of his sensei's chakra, activated.

"Guys..." The other two didn't respond, engrossed in the conversation happening across that wall.

Naruto jumped down from the ceiling, pulling kunai. "Guys!"

Sasuke flashed an irritated red stare at him, ear still glued to the wall. The irritation disappeared almost instantly as he read the tension in his teammate's body.

Sakura was the second to sense the battle happening somewhere far below. "Oh no." She leapt down too. "We need to go help him."

"We can't, we need to warn Lady Hinogawa," Naruto said.

Sasuke shook his head, almost absentminded as he reached with his senses for what the other two were keying into. "I'm not sure we're in her employ anymore."

"We're on guard detail!"

"Not for something like this. Not when she killed her own brother."

Sakura's eyes wavered, frantically calculating. "We can't wait here like this, I don't sense sensei anymore!"

"Hello, kids."

The three whirled in unison, blades at the ready. Tall figures were melting out of the shadows down the hall, smoother than even Iruka-sensei's textbook perfect examples in the classroom.

Sakura's knees went weak. She'd known the only other ninjas in the Capital were the Guardians. It was a whole other matter entirely to see a four-member squadron clad in Guardian gear appear before them, knowing Kakashi-sensei had just fallen to them. Her grip on the kunai trembled.

"What did you do to Kakashi-sensei?!" yelled Naruto, completely unbowed by the approach of four of the greatest ninja Konoha village had to offer.

Asana, the pretty blonde kunoichi that had complimented Sakura so freely during the banquet, came to a stop some distance away, and smiled the coldest smile Sakura had ever seen.

"What we do to all traitors, Uzumaki." She drew a katana. The incoming evening light seemed lick the long slim blade, glinting hungrily for a taste of action. "Hurting genin isn't my style, but I'll do it if I have to, kids. Want to come quietly?"

"That's not my style either!" Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!

A horde of Narutos attempted to swarm the four Guardians, but Asana flashed through, reaching a long arm into a group of angry Narutos to lift a single one off the ground. In a swift, brutal movement, she dealt a blow to Naruto's temple with the handle of the katana that had the mob disappearing in a huge puff of smoke. When it all cleared, only the original Naruto, hanging limply from the guardian's grasp, was left.

Sakura gasped, drawing back involuntarily. Sasuke stepped forward, sending out as much killer intent as he could.

"Okay, little lion, your little claws don't scare me. I'd sheathe them soon before I decide to clip them."

Sasuke gripped his kunai and glared harder, masking confusion with anger. She gestured towards her eyes. "Back in the day, Uchiha's were taught respect. And that, kitten, is not respect. Turn it off."

Sakura adjusted her footing, mind and heart racing. They weren't ready to handle a single jounin, let alone four Guardians. But she had just threatened to take Sasuke's eyes out. Should they fight? Should they surrender?

Sasuke maintained the Sharingan despite the Guardian's admonishment, gripping his kunai tighter. But a small hand gripped his wrist, and pointed the blade down.

"Sasuke, turn it off." Sakura held her voice as steady as she could. "This must be a misunderstanding, and the Hokage will sort this out for us." Why couldn't she sense sensei anymore?

"I knew you were a smart girl." Asana grinned. "Follow us. You know there's no use in running, right?"

Sakura nodded mutely, and dragged a wooden-faced Sasuke forward to stand next to a brown haired Guardian whose expression seemed at least a little sympathetic. Asana dumped the unconscious Naruto beside them, nodding to the brunet Guardian. "You take them back, we'll get the Hinogawas now."

Sakura cradled the smallest member of Team 7 in her arms. The bloody welt from the katana blow was already healing. She could only hope that Naruto would wake up in time. The Guardian moved to take him from her arms, but she pulled him back.

The Guardian shrugged. "It's only tougher on you that way then, kid. Come on."

Sasuke wordlessly took half of the burden, deactivated eyes dark with suppressed rage.

The Guardian herded them towards a previously unexplored area of the palace, confident enough in his own abilities that he did not bother binding the genin.

It was true, with Naruto out for the count, there was no way for the three of them to escape. And abandoning Naruto was unthinkable.

Behind them, the splintering sounds of a sliding door being bashed in filled the hallway.

When the sound of the kage bunshin echoed through the Hinogawa chambers, Lady Hinogawa's heart sank.

Her eyes swept the room, meeting the startled eyes of the others. The Guardians were here for her, no doubt. Possibly Kawaru.

"Kimuhara. Get to Takihishi. Don't go to the city compound. We'll need you in the home estates. Await my order." The older woman paled, but did not protest the order, scurrying off to the slave entrance that led to the stables. Hayao reached for his sword, a motion she stayed with the wave of a hand.

"Don't fight them, Hayao." She met the wavering eyes of her bewildered brother. "Say nothing. The daimyo cannot strike the Hinogawas without cause. They know nothing if we say nothing."

When the Guardians broke in to the chamber some moments later, all three followed Asana's lead quietly.

The brown haired Guardian led Team 7 into labyrinthine passageways that led further and further away from the center of the palace. Around five minutes into the heavy walk carrying her teammate, Sakura felt the light blip that was characteristic of a Kawarimi if you were watching for it. Looking over at Sasuke, she knew he felt it too. Naruto was awake.

They hurled the body they held between them as hard as their combined strengths could into the face of the astonished Guardian, who reflexively reached to catch what he thought was an unconscious boy. The clone scrabbled valiantly at the older ninja's face, before dissipating in a plume of smoke.

Sasuke and Sakura took the opportunity to flip out the nearest window, where the true Naruto was waiting.

"You good?" Sasuke let himself ask.

"Yupyup, one sec!" Naruto tossed an exploding tag-laden kunai back in the window they came from for good measure. A muffled swear echoed back. "Alright, let's go!"

The irrepressible ninja leapt away with the same speed he'd once run from Anbu agents with in his youth. The two very relieved genin managed to catch up to him back out in the main body of the city, just outside the palace's outer wall.

"He's-"-gasp-"-he's not following-"-gasp- Sakura panted for breath, hands on her knees. "-us", she finally squeaked out.

Sasuke clung to the weathervane of the roof they'd settled on, equally exhausted.

"I don't..." Sasuke muffled an unseemly wheeze "...sense him anywhere either."

"We need to keep going, guys, we need a plan!" Naruto stamped his feet impatiently. "They can probably still see us from the palace, we've got to move!"

Sasuke groaned, pulling himself back up. "He's right, we need to keep moving. Is Pakkun still in the Hinogawa city compound?"

Sakura was still fighting her breathing. "I- I- If sensei fought... the dogs may be gone..."

"We need to find sensei, or go back to Konoha." Sasuke crossed his arms, thinking. Naruto bristled. "We can't abandon sensei!" He looked around as if just remembering. "We can't abandon the lady either! What about the lady? Is she okay?"

Sakura seemed to catch her breath out of pure exasperation. "Naruto, the guard mission is over! Forget about her, she's probably the reason the Guardians were fighting sensei!"

"Naruto's right though, we can't leave sensei. We need to go back." Sasuke turned back to survey the palace. "I think I can figure out where that Guardian was taking us."

Sakura protested. "This isn't enemy territory, this is Fire! The daimyo won't do anything to sensei without consulting the Hokage!"

"He might if he thinks Kakashi killed his son." Sasuke shot back.

Sakura's hands flew to her mouth. "Do...do you think he might have?"

"What?" Naruto looked thoroughly lost.

"Lord Hinogawa died the same way the Crown Prince died... and that probably means Lady Hinogawa ordered both..." She worried her poor torn lip again. "If sensei really is in love with her, she might have been able to convince him to-"

"That's ridiculous. Sensei would never do such a thing."

Naruto scratched his head. "Haha, yeah, Sakura-chan. Sensei's perverted, but he would never do anything the Hokage didn't order."

Sakura flushed. "But it's not about being a pervert! It's about love!"

The two boys contemplated this statement a moment.

Naruto's eyes squinted. "So... are you saying we shouldn't go back for sensei?"

Sakura threw her hands up. "Nevermind, blockhead. Let's go save sensei." She faced the palace with no little trepidation. "I'm just saying he better have a real good explanation."

The three went about retracing the path from whence they came, bickering petering off as they drew closer.

The trek to the dungeons was longer than Lady Hinogawa could ever have imagined.

The high court liked to pretend in their day to day that there weren't such things as political prisoners, or enemy spies. Nonetheless, the business of a country revolved around such things, and so a modest dungeon was kept on the palace premises, far from any delicate noble's eye.

On the final leg of this trek, as the Guardian Asana escorted the three Hinogawan prisoners past some cells, Lady Hinogawa stopped, seeing what she'd expected to see.

"My apologies, Captain."

A thoroughly trussed up Kakashi Hatake only lifted his head lightly in reply from where he sat leaning languidly in a corner of a cell. There was little else he could do, blindfolded, gagged, and bound as he was.

Lady Hinogawa turned to Asana. "Is all of that really necessary?"

Asana shrugged. "It's the Copy Nin. We wouldn't need all that if we had chakra restraints, but those haven't been needed in the Capital for the last decade."

"Why's the gag put on over his mask?"

Asana looked at a guard. He stood at attention. "Couldn't get it under, milady."

"Why's it there at all? That's not protocol."

"For his own safety, milady."

Asana quirked a brow in question. The guard elaborated.

"He wouldn't stop talking at us, milady. He's only been here for a bit and three different guys had to go in there to kick the shit out of him. And trust me, milady, he deserved it."

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders, still blindly lounging in the corner. Enough of his sleeves had ridden up with the ropes binding him to show that indeed, shit had been kicked.

Asana chuckled. "It's for the best then. Good luck with that, senpai."

The kunoichi continued on, and Lady Hinogawa followed, taking a couple of glimpses back at the subdued ninja.

Kawaru and Hayao were close behind her, stripped of their weaponry. Kawaru's eyes were practically rolling back in his head with fear at this point.

Soon thereafter, they found themselves in cells of their own, separated such that the three could not communicate without shouting.

Lady Hinogawa sank to the ground of her cell, arranging her skirts about her in preparation for the visit from the daimyo that was no doubt to take place.

But the face that appeared at her cell door an hour later was not the daimyo's.

"Hiro?" she breathed.

"Kawane." He sank to the ground, reaching a hand through the bars. She extended her own to meet it, and his fingers entwined in hers desperately. "Kawane, I know you had no fault in this, I cannot even think to imagine how you or Kawaru could be blamed for your own brother's passing, but Father will not listen to reason."

"Hiro, why does your father suspect us? And why is he reacting so?"

The new crown prince hung his head briefly. "Kawane, I cannot say."

"You must, Hiro, my love." She brought his hand to her lips. "My family's life depends on it."

"I cannot, but Kawane, my sweet Kawane, I can save you. Have no fear, you will come out of this unharmed."

"How, Hiro? How can you save us two from this if your father will not listen to reason?"

Hiroyuki hesitated. "Kawane, we will not be able to save the both of you. The Copy Nin killed Kawagu, and the Copy Nin was in House Hinogawa's employ. Kawaru will have to take responsibility."

She eyed him. "You only say the Copy Nin killed Kawagu." The prince's eyes averted. "You don't accuse the Copy Nin of killing your brother."

"Kawane, I misspoke."

She ignored his halfhearted denial and pulled her hand out of his. "The daimyo has us here to blame us for killing Kiyo, when both you and I and he know that we did no such thing." She looked deeply into his eyes.

"You know who ordered the death of your brother, don't you, Hiro?"

Hiro shook his head, his face agonized. Her own face was pleading.

"Hiro, please, you must tell me, I can't take more loss. I've lost a father and a brother this week already."

"I'm sorry, Kawane, but trust me when I say this. My power may be meager, but I can save at least you from this whole sorry affair."

He reached for her hand again. She slapped it away.

"My life is worthless if I gain it at the cost of my family, Hiro. Find a way to save my family, or I die with them."

The prince withdrew. hanging his head in silence a moment. "I'll see what I can do."

She watched him go, his shoulders slumped.

It was not a confidence-inspiring sight.

Kakashi was not having a fun time. The beating and imprisonment, honestly, in the scheme of things was fine. He could be out of these restraints given just an hour without a Guardian around. He could maybe even deal with the fact that Hitoru had managed to get the best of him in that fight somehow.

But the fact that he was imprisoned in the first place meant that at least the assassination of Kawagu had not been assigned by the Hokage and that he was under suspicion. And that could very much not be okay. Toru had gotten away in the fight due to the focus on Kakashi, and she could be moving to silence them before Inoichi could arrive to confirm their innocence.

Team 7 had not been dragged in to the dungeon, so he could only hope they had gotten away and brought the news to the Hokage.

But even so..

On the not so slim chance that Naruto had promised to Toru or the Lady Hinogawa to aid them on any part of their plotting, a mind read of the full team could leave the Jinchuuriki bound to the village permanently.

Naruto restricted to the village would either take him out of the ninja program, or bind all of Team 7 to D-Rank missions until the Jinchuuriki was fully trained. If the Jinchuuriki ever got fully trained. The thought of dealing with either a broken Team 7 or a bored Team 7 made the jounin feel sick to the stomach.

Kakashi was pulled from his reverie by the distant approach of three all-too familiar chakra signatures.

Kakashi groaned at his precious students' idiocy, though the sound was muffled by the rough gag.

The guard, the ugly one, slammed the bars with his baton. "Shut up, asshole."

The jounin obliged, and silently awaited the arrival of his teammates with a frown, a deeply unwilling damsel in distress.

When the daimyo arrived, she was ready. She rose, but the daimyo swept past her before her greeting ever left her lips.

He went straight for Kawaru.

"My liege, I know not what is accused of me, but all I have ever sought to do is serve your will honorably." Though Kawaru's voice quavered, it was clear. Kawane breathed a sigh of relief at the sound. He'd clearly been thinking of what to say to the daimyo. She let herself hope that Kawaru, for once in his life, would do the job assigned him well.

"You are accused of ordering an assassination in my court, against your brother and my dear vassal, the Lord Hinogawa."

"My lord, I am innocent."

Yes, Kawaru, yes. Kawane thought.

"There is clear evidence to suggest that the Copy Nin, under your employ, carried out the order."

"My lord, my sister commanded the Copy Nin, not I."

No, Kawaru, no.

I'm going to finish this fic even if it kills me. It's a pride thing now, I'm so sick of leaving things half done.