A/N: Welcome back readers! This chapter should be lighter then the last one, and we are starting to get the ball rolling. Timeline wise, we are roughly approaching when Hanzo destroys the Akatsuki, but that's a few chapters off just yet. I can't remember if the Kyuubi attack is before or after the criminal Akatsuki is formed, so for story sake we are going to say it happens before. Kannabi bridge has already happened, and Obito is currently with Madara. I also have a small gift for everyone! I finally finished my artwork of Sazuko, when I can figure out to display it I will. I am cross posting this fic on Ao3, under my name NecromaticDancer. I apologize if characters are ooc in any way. On with the show!
"After careful consideration, we have agreed to allow you to join our ranks." Sazuko paused mid bite to look up at the orange haired man whose name she had learned was Yahiko. The glob of sticky rice balanced precariously on the edge of her chopsticks almost fell back into her bowl as she contemplated this new development. Yahiko continued, "We look forward to working with you, Inuzuka-san. I trust you'll inform your partner?"
"Just Sazuko."
"What?" he seemed taken aback for a moment.
"Just Sazuko, is fine. And yes, I'll let Kurogaine know when he wakes up." She spoke, before pushing the rice into her mouth and returning to her food, leaving Yahiko to blink rather owlishly at her in return. "I don't care much for formalities." She offered as way of an apology, digging her chopsticks into the grilled fish before taking a bite. "Too stuffy for my tastes."
The latter drew a chuckle from the man seated beside her. Konan, seated between Nagato and Yahiko, stayed silent. Sazuko pretended to ignore the hostile glares being sent her way, although it pestered her like an unscratchable itch. She had tried to be polite and start up a conversation with her new leader, but gave up when it became obvious the woman held some sort of a grudge against her. Well, it wasn't Sazuko's problem to fix. Finishing her sparse morning meal quickly, Sazuko downed her cup of tea before picking up her dishes and excusing herself with a lax wave, before preparing a tray for Kurogaine and going to wake her companion. After the woman had excused herself, the conversation picked up. "Why did you agree to let her join Yahiko? The man, I can see. But her?"
The quiet hostility in his friends voice seemed to shock Nagato. "Konan!" He wasn't used to seeing his normally calm friend exhibit such open dislike for someone. Yahiko paused with his tea cup partway to his lips, eyeing the woman beside him with some unknown emotion in his brown depths. "You're going to have to let that grudge go, Konan. She can be useful, if the earlier demonstration is anything to go by."
That did nothing to soothe the bluette's temper, If anything it seemed to stoak it. "She made Nagato cry Yahiko. I don't trust her, and I definitely don't like her." She hissed, gripping her chopsticks hard enough to nearly break them. Konan had hardly touched her food, and scoffed at Nagatos startled "What?! You saw that?"
Yahiko groaned as he brought his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose as he sat his tea back on the table. He guessed they were going to have this conversation now, then. "She also apologized to him and went so far as to make us all breakfast this morning. Konan, I don't think she meant to hurt anyone intentionally, and given what we saw earlier she has far too much self control to do it without intention." This only caused Konan to fume harder, she was about to open her mouth to retort before Nagato cut her off.
"Yahiko's correct, Konan. She didn't mean to. I took her by surprise." Said boy was looking at his food while he spoke, his chopsticks toying with the flower shaped sweet carrots sitting beside his rice. "Not you too Nagato! Clearly she's trying to deceive us!" Her fists clenched. Why couldn't her friends see that this woman was dangerous? Probably a spy for Hanzo. Konan refused to acknowledge that she was just grasping for straws, for a reason to throw the Inuzuka out simply because she had hurt one of her friends. She also really didn't like the way Yahiko was defending the woman, but she definitely wouldn't be admitting that outloud any time soon. She was about to go off on another tangent about how the woman couldn't be trusted before Nagato laid his hand over top of her clenched fist.
"Konan. She means us no harm." He pleaded with his friend, his purple rinnegan eyes staring deeply into her orange ones, as if pleading with her to understand. "There was real pain in her eyes, Konan. What she told us yesterday? She meant it. She wants to help us bring an end to this war. She wants peace. Did we not vow to bring peace without violence? Did we not vow to protect the people of the elemental nations and bring an end to their suffering?" Konan stayed quiet as Nagato spoke, her head slightly bowing in shame as he reminded her of their mission, and the reminder of their Sensei's teachings.
"Yes." She muttered quietly, not resisting as Nagato used his thumb to raise her gaze once more to his eyes.
"She is one of those people suffering Konan. I can see it in her eyes, even though she's trying to hide it. I don't think Sazuko is someone who would intentionally inflict pain and suffering on others without a reason. And given the way she reacted when she hurt me, I don't sense any malice in her intentions. So I don't understand why you are so hostile towards her."
You are far too kind, Nagato. Konan mused, ashamed, before releasing a loud exhale and dropping her shoulders in defeat. "I admit...I may have been to quick to judge. I'm sorry, Yahiko, Nagato." The red haired boy beamed as he released her. Yahiko visibly relaxed at her apology, and closed his eyes in relife. Well, that was one less problem he had to worry about. He was about to pick his tea up again, when Konan brought up a very good point.
"That still doesn't explain where her Ninken is, though. Don't all Inuzuka have them?" A whole new slew of worries had Yahiko tensing all over again as the trio quickly looked at each other with dread in their stomachs.
"That's a very good question, Konan. But I don't think asking her outright would be a good idea." Chewing on his lower lip faintly, Yahiko snapped his fingers when an idea came to mind.
"Konan? Why don't you follow her around? Try and find out where she's hiding her ninken. See if you can find anything suspicious. I'll do the same for her partner." Konan didn't seem thrilled at the prospect, but decided it was the best course of action before turning to her food and beginning to eat. Plan decided, the trio finished their breakfast and decided to split up to seek out their targets. Nagato held back, his hand on his stomach. He couldn't help but feel that they were prying into something that they probably shouldn't be sticking their noses in.
Yahiko found Kurogaine in the training grounds later that afternoon. "Yahiko-san! A pleasant surprise!" Said man waved merrily as he spotted the Akatsuki leader, waving him over to join him. The other member he had been sparring against groaned his thanks as he shuffled his way out of the room and as far away from the exuberant man he could get. Kurogaine was just far too happy to be beating someone into the ground for his tastes.
"Try not to break my members, if you please, Kurogaine-san." Yahiko chuckled as he watched the other member hastily make his exit. Unclasping the Akatsuki robe and laying it over a stone bench as he approached.
"A-ah. Sorry, I got over excited. Sazuko's about the only one that can keep up with me." He exclaimed while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. Yahiko thought he didn't look sorry at all. He couldn't help the large grin that was spreading over his face at the prospect of a challenge.
"Oh? Mind if I step in, then?" Apparently this was the correct response, as Kurogaine shouted for joy and happily slid back into his taijutsu stance. "It would be my pleasure!" Yahiko laughed before breaking stance and being the first to lunge forward- he was going to enjoy this.
Konan was starting to have doubts- serious ones- that this plan was not going to work out. She was trying to figure out how to go about prodding Sazuko for the answers she sought, when she walked straight into the woman in question. A hiss of surprise was her only warning before they were both tripping over each other, Sazuko's arm snapping out to wrap around the other woman's waist to hold her up as the other womans arm snapped out to slap against the ground last second to keep them from slamming their heads into the ground. Sazuko's shoulders shook with the strain and she gritted her teeth in annoyance as she felt several of last nights stitches pop out of place in her arm. Lowering the other woman down so she rested against the floor, Sazuko winced as she moved herself off the knee that had smacked the stone flooring, and eased back into a sitting position, pushing the sleeve of her haiori up to prod the bandages of her left arm. Her eyes narrowed on the smaller red patches popping up from where her stitching gave way. "Are you alright?" Her gruff voice rasped out as she turned her attention to Konan.
Konan could only gap like a fish for a moment as she pushed herself up on her elbows and stared at the other woman. Her mouth shut with an audible click before she nodded.
"Thank you..."
The silence between them was somewhat uncomfortable as Sazuko checked Konan over for any injuries before pushing herself up and offering her hand to the other woman. With a grunt, Sazuko pulled her up to her feet as she dusted herself off. "Sorry, my fault. I should have been watching where I was going." She offered somewhat weakly, her hand moving to grasp onto her bandaged arm. "I..uhm...Can you show me to...the infirmary?" Sazuko seemed to struggle for words for a moment under Konans scrutinizing gaze. The question snapped the woman from her thoughts as she gave a slight nod of her head, moving to walk back the way Sazuko had been coming from. "This way, please." As the two fell in step, Sazuko chanced a curious glance at the woman walking beside her. Whatever her earlier problem had been, Konan had seemed to have gotten over it. Meanwhile, Konan was still trying to puzzle out how to ask the woman the question burning on her mind.
Where was Sazuko's ninken?
"So, how long have you and Sazuko been together?"
The question was meant to throw Kurogaine off guard, but it had no such effect Yahiko soon found out as he brought his arms up to block another harsh kick to his head. Pushing himself backwards off the impact, Yahiko redirected his momentum to carry him closer to Kurogaine, closing his palms he delivered a sharp jab towards the mans unprotected lower side. Kurogaine twisted sideways to bring his own closed fist down towards Yahiko's exposed back, and swore when he missed, his fist crashing into the stone floor and leaving a small indent as Yahiko quickly disengaged and jumped forward to dodge the strike, abandoning his own in the process. The pair turned to face each other once more, breathing heavily as sweat dripped from their hair and coated their bodies from the rigorous training session. They weren't evenly matched, Kurogaine had devastating power behind his punches and kicks, where as Yahiko, being rather well rounded in his abilities had far more speed than the other man. That didn't mean they weren't enjoying themselves and both had managed to land quite a few hits on each other. But Yahiko was trying to keep his distance from Kurogaines brutal taijutsu. He had several bruises Konan was going to scold him for later.
"Oh no, we aren't Together! At least not like that." Kurogaine laughed, but Yahiko saw him repress a shudder of revulsion. "Too wild for my tastes. I pity the man that beds her." Yahiko was far too used to his Sensei's lewd jokes to sputter at the admission. Instead Yahiko laughed at the humour and didn't hide his rather lecherous grin. "That bad, ey?"
"You have no idea." Kurogaines dry reply and wincing face at the thought had Yahiko wheezing in amusement as they squared off again, this time the other man making the first strike as he darted in before lowering his body, spinning on his heel and delivering a punishing swing with his leg. Yahiko moved his hands to intercept, crossing his ankles as he slid with the force of the blow, but firmly grasping the mans leg as he twisted his weight into his hips to throw the man off balance. Kurogaine caught himself with his hands as he flipped back to land in a crouch. "I'll admit she's got a nice pair on her, but that way lies madness, my friend." Kurogaine barked out a laugh at the admission, the large grin mirrored with Yahiko's as they took a moment to study each other. "You're deflecting the question, though."
Kurogaine gave a dip of his head in admission, taking a moment to think, "About...a year and a half now? Give or take? Found her near Grass on my way from Tea. Why the interest?" Yahiko inwardly cursed, before he came up with a satisfying answer. "We usually run in three man cells. I was wondering how well you two worked together, and If it would be better to split you up amongst your own teams, or keep you together."
While it wasn't an outright lie- it was true to a point-, it also wasn't the full truth. If Kurogaine suspected anything, he gave no indication, simply shrugging the answer off. "I'd like to stay on a team with her, if you don't mind. We work well enough together." And if she gets out of hand, I'm probably the only one that could stop her.
But Kurogaine didn't dare voice his thoughts on that, instead he asked a question of his own. "Currently, shes limited to Taijutsu, but she'd like to expand her ninjutsu. Would you happen to have any Chakra Paper on hand?" Yahiko seemed surprised, but stored the information for later. His brow furrowed as he thought. "We might have some in storage. I'll ask someone to check and get back to you on that."
Well, now or never, Yahiko thought as he launched right into his next question, pushing off the ground to take a swing at the mans head, and following up with a series of strikes ending with a backwards kick that caught Kurogaine in the chest and sent him sliding across the ground. "Why is she only limited to Taijutsu? I thought the Inuzuka clan excelled in Combination Ninjutsu?"
Kurogaine pushed himself off the ground, flipping back up to his feet. He had been about to dart forward and move into a series of his clan Kata's, but he paused, and suddenly dropped his stance. Gone was the playful banter and easygoing nature as his eyes narrowed in suspicion at Yahiko. Yahiko stilled, waiting with baited breath for an answer he so desperately wanted. Kurogaine could lie, but that would cause more problems in the long run, and he ultimately didn't feel like this was information he should expose without Sazuko's direct say so. He was inwardly cursing himself over his slipup. No doubt she would take it out of his hide later.
"Thank you for the spar, Yahiko-san. But I think I should go check on my companion and see how she's settling in." With a stiff, formal bow, Kurogaine was gone from the training ground just as quickly. Yahiko stared after the man with a heavily suspicious gaze and an open pit in his stomach. Wherever the woman's Ninken was, the man wasn't going to give him an answer, that much was obvious by how quickly he had dismissed himself. Maybe Konan was right. Maybe the girl was a spy? But that would make Kurogaine one as well, and that wasn't a risk Yahiko was willing to take.
Running his hand through his hair to dislodge the slick bands of sweat dripping from his orange hair, Yahiko sighed resignedly as he moved to get his cloak and go hunt down his friends. Yahiko couldn't put all they had worked for at risk, they were going to have to do something about the missing nin they had allowed in to the organization.
The silence between the two women continued as they stopped inside of the infirmary. Konan stayed silent as she watched the woman grab a new roll of bandages and a needle and thread. Her eyebrow arched as she watched Sazuko unwrap her arm and looked closely at the neatly stitched jagged rivulets in her arm. It looked like an animal had raked its claws into the flesh, and tore three long wounds into the arm. Konans brow furrowed at the popped stitches, and watched as the girl removed them, Sazuko was growling in frustration as she cleaned the weeping wound, and was about to try and stich herself back up before she stepped forward and took the sewing kit from her hands. Sazuko fell silent as she watched the blue haired woman work. Her hands were soft, unlike her own calloused hands. She was better at it then Kurogaine, and even the man had a light touch with a needle. But with Konan she didn't even flinch.
"What happened?" Sazuko was so focused on the movement of the stiching, she almost missed the question the girl seemed to whisper. Sazuko's lips pulled into a frown as she looked away, her eyes lingering on several other scars she bore from similar incidents. "That...uh...Training accident." She finally supplied. It was a weak excuse but she couldn't exactly tell the woman she'd ripped her own arms open amidst the panic or reliving a memory. Sazuko was fairly certain that wouldn't go over well. The womans bemused snort said she didn't buy it, but Sazuko's pursed lips said she would speak no more of it.
Konan narrowed her eyes at the womans continued silence. "Looks more like an animal got ahold of you to me." She pressed calmly. She wasn't going to let the issue rest so easily. Konan was nothing, if not persistent. She suspected the womans missing Ninken, and if that was the case clearly, the animal was rabid to attack it's own partner. And such a thing so close to their hideout? Konan would rather put the thing out of its misery rather then let hurt someone else. Sazuko's head snapped back to the woman, her pupils narrowing into slits as her whole body tensed up.
"No, just an accident with a kunai. Thats all." Her tone was calm, but laced with warning. Konan hid the smirk that wanted to spread over her lips. So she'd hit the nail on the head, was it? She didn't miss the way Sazuko had tensed up at the mention of an animal. She would have to warn Yahiko so they could go hunt the beast down before it hurt someone else then.
"Clearly, these aren't Kunai marks. I've healed enough of those to know better." Konan retorted easily, finishing the stitching before stepping back and glaring up at the Inuzuka, but pausing at seeing the malevolent glare she was receiving in return. "Drop. It." Was hissed out between clenched teeth. This only served to spark more outrage at the womans refusal to admit what was clearly the truth!
"I will not. Clearly, there's a dangerous animal running loose somewhere near our base and it needs to be dealt with before someone else gets hurt." Suddenly, the womans face contorted into a stone cold mask as she slipped off the countertop she had been sitting on while Konan had stitched her up. She moved quickly, standing until she was nose to nose with the blue haired girl, they were the same height, so this wasn't much of an issue. Golden eyes glared balfully into orange orbs, and Sazuko had to physically restrain herself from lashing out in sheer disgust at the stubborn woman. Hands clenching and unclenching, Sazuko managed to somewhat reign in her temper enough to grit out between clenched teeth.
"You. Are. Mistaken. Drop. It." Before pushing past the woman and escaping the room. She needed to hit something, badly. It was painfully obvious the girl was trying to find out where her Ninken was. And that was a line of conversation Sazuko was not willing to discuss. Even thinking about it brought back memories that were still too new, too fresh to dissect completely. Sazuko feared they always would be.
Konan stumbled back slightly at the forceful push, and grit her teeth in rage. She had been about to stalk after the woman and demand an explanation, but Yahiko's sudden form in the doorway gave her pause.
"We need to talk." He stated simply, his narrowed gaze following after the fuming Sazuko as he crossed his arms over his chest. Konan relaxed her clenched fists, exhaling a long breath as she slipped back into the calm, peaceful demeanor she was so known for. It was a struggle to do so, though. "Yes, we do." Following after him, Konan briefly glanced down the hallway Sazuko had stormed down, before restraining an irritated growl in her throat. If the woman thought she would get away with endangering her friends, Konan would be damned. With her head held high, the pair went to gather Nagato before they confronted the missing nin. Her kind hearted friend needed to see the snakes for what they really were, before he got hurt any worse.
"They got to you too, huh?" Came Kurogaines soft question as Sazuko slammed the door to their shared room behind them. Part of her felt that she was blowing things all out of proportion and throwing a temper tantrum, while the outraged part of her simply didn't give a fuck. Greif was funny like that, sometimes. When it wasn't manifesting itself through her torturous PTSD induced nightmares, it manifested itself in her unreasonable rage. Kurogaine made a mental note to have her go apologize to whoever had set her off later, as he slid into a sitting position on his cot, watching her warily. Sazuko's temper had two known extremes: Deathly calm- which was the far more deadly one- Or imponet blinding rage that would leave a path of destruction in its wake before the woman finally broke down into a sniveling heap of self destruction. He had yet to see an inbetween of the two, often it was one or the other. Currently she seemed content to stand there, body fully tensed and ready for a knock-down drag out brawl that would no doubt destroy the small room, and probably several walls. Instead, he watched as her fists clenched and unclenched in rapid succession, her body shaking with repressed anger before her shoulders began to slowly lower, her hands starting to fall limp. Her face was a blank mask as she simply stared a hole into the floor.
"I'll take tha-" Kurogaine had been about to say 'as a yes' before their shared door slammed open again, and Sazuko was back to being wound tighter then a biwa string. Her fists were clenched so hard, her claws were digging into her palms again. Kurogaine groaned inwardly, another wound that would have to be cleaned before the night was up. With a bored air of indifference, he slid his gaze over to the doorway to stare at the trio about to walk into their room. Sazuko stayed put for the moment, once again quaking in silent fury. The two males seemed to notice this, choosing to stay back rather then enter the room- but their female companion was having none of it, boldly stepping forward with the calm and dignified air of a queen.
Her mistake, that. Kurogaine mused to himself as he settled back into his cot to watch the inevitable shitstorm that was soon to follow as the blue haired woman opened her mouth.
"It has come to our attention, that you have been hiding things from us, Inuzuka. The Akatsuki is an organization that was built on the foundation of bringing peace to the elemental nations. However, instead of respecting that- You have brought with you a threat to our organization and our very ideals. As it's leaders, we will not stand for such disrespect, and we do not tolerate threats such as yourself in our midst. Where is your Ninken, Inuzuka?" Konan finished with an air of finality that demanded a response, and her posture spoke volumes in that she would not leave this room without answers or a fight. Whichever came first.
Kurogaine groaned, cutting the sound off when those blazing orange orbs cut over to him in a demand of silence. In response he only arched a singular dark brown eyebrow in challenge, before he flicked his eyes over to the two boys standing in the doorway, gesturing with his hands as if to say 'you might want to contain your friend.'
Nagato, at least, looked properly horrified at his friends actions, and more then a little ashamed. Yahiko gave off an air of hesitation, and his posture screamed that the whole thing made him uncomfortable. Taking in Sazuko's suddenly deathly still form, Yahiko repressed a shudder as the atmosphere dropped to downright chilling. He was starting to suspect they had grossly misplaced their suspicions, but they also couldn't back down from their stance now until they had an answer.
"Yahiko...I think theres been a misunder-" Nagato began, as the feeling in his gut grew immensely. But Konan cut him off with a sharp, "Quiet, Nagato." Before returning her attention back to the shaking woman in front of her. She couldn't help the self satisfied smirk growing on her lips as she called the Kunoichi out. She knew the woman was hiding something, and that she couldn't be trusted! The truth would come out, Konan would make sure of it. Konan couldn't hide the contempt in her voice as she continued.
"Well? I'm waiting Inuzuka. Where have you hidden that rabid mutt? If you don't have the guts to do it, I'll-" "Konan." She ignored Yahiko.
"Happily put it out of its misery for you. We can't have a rabid animal running around and hurting people. It's the Akatsuki's responsibility to protect its members, as wel-" "Konan." Yahiko spoke a bit more firmly, causing Konan to growl but she pressed on, still ignoring him,
"As well as the innocent civilians in the nearby town. By bringing such a dangerous creature here and letting it run rampant-" "Konan!" That time it was Nagato, but she would not be deterred.
"You endanger not only our members but them as well. Did you even stop to think about the consequences of your selfish actions before yo-"
Yahiko's hand clamped firmly over her mouth, cutting her off mid rant as he held her body stock still. Konan shrieked in irritation before it was roughly cut off. It was then that Konan's eyes widened and she stilled in her rambling. The sheer amount of killing intent radiating from the woman standing with her back to them was suffocating. It nearly rivaled their Sensei's. Kurogaine seemed unaffected, but he was still tense nonetheless, his body angled in a crouch, as if ready to jump in front of them to protect the pair. The room was absolutely frigid, and Sazuko herself stood deathly still. Her head bowed, shoulders tensed and fists clenched as her Chakra began visibly coiling in the air around her. The normally pale gold chakra was heavily discoloured to a burnt orange from her rage. The hairs on the back of Kurogaines neck stood on end, gooseflesh erupting across his arms as he could practically taste the deadly rage emanating off of his companion.
Then like a puppet with it's strings cut, it vanished, plunging the room into a dead silence save for the ragged breaths Sazuko was exhaling. Her fists unclenched to limp palms, her shoulders slumped, her posture defeated. She felt like she was drowning. Suffocating in her own misery, really. As she turned around to face them, her gaze slowly came up to seemingly meet them. Sazuko stared into shocked orange eyes with the most blank, empty expression on her face Konan had ever seen. Bright gold eyes were dull, the pupils so small they were almost non-existent. Sazuko was so done with the whole ordeal. She felt empty, like all the oxygen in her lungs had been burned away, leaving nothing but ash behind.
"He's dead." It came as no surprise to Kurogaine that the simple sentence was delivered with such a cold tone that it made him shiver. Sazuko's tone felt like death itself, cold, unfeeling, and devoid of any semblance of life. It was spoken with such finality that Konan couldn't even question if it was the truth. A muffled sob broke out somewhere behind her, but Konan couldn't break her gaze from those broken golden depths to see who it was. Sazuko couldn't really even bring herself to care as she pulled in a raspy breath to steady herself. She needed to leave, to go somewhere before she became overwhelmed again.
Sazuko didn't even pause to look at Nagato as she brushed past him. She didn't really know where she was going, but she also couldn't bring herself to care much either. She wasn't paying attention to the world around her, but when her feet stopped, she wanted to laugh. It was no surprise her feet had brought her to the only place where she could still feel like she was alive. Closing her eyes for a moment, Sazuko sighed, before she forced her body into movement with only one goal in mind: Train herself until exhaustion.
"Well. You got your answer to your earlier question, Yahiko." Kurogaine supplied with a groan as he unclenched his muscles and fell back into his cot with a heavy sigh. All those months of work, broken in one singular moment. It was some comfort to him that Sazuko now had the tools to pull herself out of the rut she had been forced in to- But he'd likely have to go wrangle her shortly to keep her from killing herself from chakra exhaustion.
It was as if a spell had been broken when he spoke. The Trio relaxing, although Yahiko hadn't released Konan, instead turning her around and holding her tighter then before. He'd felt the girls tears dripping onto his palm that had been held firmly over her mouth- no doubt regretting her actions in that moment. But Yahiko would deal with that later. Yahiko had seen that look before, he'd stared at it in the many puddles across Ame growing up until he'd found his friends. He felt Nagato, more then saw the boy, and moved his arm to pull him into the hug as well, muffling the boys frightened sobs in his chest. Yahiko inwardly winced, he'd expected a lot of things, but he definitely hadn't expected that. It took a moment, and he had to clear his throat a few times before he managed to speak.
"W-what happened...to...?" Kurogaine brought his hands up to scrub at his face, groaning into them as he exhaled. "Shes going to kill me." Was his muffled reply before he dropped his hands and stared up at the ceiling, mulling over what he could tell them.
"Konoha, is what happened." He started with, "More specifically, Konohas torture and interrogation division. I won't say more then that- It's not my place." At this he leveled a half-hearted glare at the trio that had Yahiko flinching, before he lowered his head in shame. More softly, Kurogaine continued.
"She was feral when I found her, Y'know. Shes gotten better over time, and I'm sure she'll pull herself back together from this as well, but-" At this, Kurogaine leveled a full glare at the group, "Some wounds aren't meant to be re-opened. This war has hurt a lot of people. In a lot of different ways. You lot are Young still yet, so its better you learn this now, instead of later: Make sure you really want to know the answers to your questions before you ask them- because you might not like what you learn."
Yahiko thought Kurogaine was probably right, and couldn't hide the grimace from his face. He couldn't just say 'I'm sorry' after that debacle. Yahiko's head turned sharply as he watched Kurogaine push himself off his cot with another irritated sigh as he began to leave the room. It shocked Yahiko slightly as the man paused to rest his hand on Yahiko's head and lightly ruffle his hair. "
You meant well, and I'm sure she will understand that in time. If there's anything Sazuko can respect, its Loyalty. So don't take it too hard, you were just trying to protect your pack. Just give it some time." dropping his hand, Kurogaine stretched his stiff arms as he began walking out of the room, leaving the trio to their conflicting thoughts. He had an Inuzuka to beat into submission, he was sure they'd sort themselves out in time. Kurogaine sighed again, an amused grin starting to form on his lips.
"I'm getting way too old for this."