So, have you ever been on vacation and totally lost track of the days? Yeah, up until about 2 today, I thought it was Monday. So, that's the reason for the lateness. Sorry!
This will be wrapping up soon--next couple of chapters and then we'll move on to Part 3. If I'd edited BotB properly, it would have been about the same length. There were a ton of unnecessary chapters in that.
Now, I really, really, really wish that people would read the AN. I said that I know about Kushina's hair color, but I still got reviews and PMs saying she was a redhead. Honestly.
Oh, and for those of you that haven't noticed, or don't have an account, I usually manage to update every monday. If I can't I'll up something up, and there will be glitches. Like today. So, please, don't ask when the next chapter will be out. Unless there's an AN, expect Monday.
Chapter 21
Naruto's eyes snapped open, but he didn't move.
No movement. No noise. No movement. No noise.
His heart pounded hard and loud in his chest. His hands were clammy and his skin stuck to the sweaty sheets. The cracks and dents in the ceiling above him were far too familiar, as was the scent of ramen stains.
This is my apartment. No movement. I'm safe here. No noise.
His mother stirred on his bed and rolled over. He remained frozen in his sleeping bag on the hard wood floor. Naruto swallowed silently. If he made a noise, he knew they'd be on him. He'd be punished for waking them, even though he'd had a bad dream about Akatsuki.
There is no one here except my mom. I can move. I can talk.
Still, he was unmoving and silent. It felt so wrong to be so, and a large part of him was screaming and howling and raging at his inaction. He wanted to move and get a glass of water, but he knew. If someone else would move, would tell him it was alright.
Hear me! Listen! Please, just say something! Please!
Kushina opened her eyes and blinked blearily. Her heart—no, not hers, someone else's heart was beating a million miles a minute. The stench of sweat and fear was thick in the room. She rolled over to face Naruto.
"Naruto?"
Something inside him released and he let out a deep, shuddering breath. Immediately, Naruto kicked the sheets off his legs and jumped to his feet. Kushina did the same, her brow knitting as he sprinted to the kitchen to get some water.
"Naruto, what's wrong?" she questioned, moving up behind him.
Naruto braced his hands on the sink and tried to calm himself. It was just a dream—he didn't know why it upset him so much. And he'd faced Akatsuki before—so why did the red clouds having him waking in a fright?
"Did you have that dream again?" Kushina asked, referring to the nightmare of Akatsuki. He'd had it the previous night as well. Her worry increased as he hobbled to the small table. His knee was obviously bothering him again. She'd looked at it herself, had multiple medic-nins come in, but no one could figure out what was wrong with Naruto's knee. Naruto kept saying that Kyuubi insisted that nothing physical was wrong, but Kushina couldn't quite figure out what else could be going on.
With a heavy sigh, she scrubbed her face and sat down. Maybe if I was getting more sleep . . .
"Sorry I woke you," Naruto muttered.
Kushina shook her head. "I wasn't sleeping all that well anyway."
"Worried about the trial tomorrow?" Naruto asked, taking another gulp of water.
She nodded. "Yeah. I still can't believe that Homura and Danzou did that. I know that Danzou never agreed with some of your father's policies, but Homura was generally an ally."
Naruto snorted in derision. "I can't believe a lot of things that happened yesterday." His eyes darkened. He knew he could fight better than that. Why hadn't he?
Kushina sighed again, glancing around the bare kitchen. "There's nothing to be ashamed of—you were up against an ANBU. They're stronger and faster and—"
"That doesn't matter!" Naruto interrupted. "Besides, Kakashi said that I'd surpassed him! I should have been able to fight off that bastard!"
Kushina's eyebrows shot up. "Naruto, even if you do have more sheer power and skill than Kakashi, you have less than half of his experience. Besides, you fight like I used to—fists first, then your brain kicks in."
Naruto fell silent, staring at the table between them. Kushina reached up and finger-combed her hair, pulling it into a braid. She was about to scrounge up some food in Naruto's apartment, where she was staying for the time being, when he spoke up.
"The thing is," he said, focusing intently on a knot in the table. "Before everything—like the other world and the Shinigami—I would have fought back more."
Kushina ran a hand through his hair. "You were in a coma for six weeks, honey. Even with Kyuubi you can't bounce back in a matter of days, and even then there's the matter of muscle memory—"
"No. NO!" Naruto said. He pushed away from the table and paced back and forth. His fingers pulled at his hair and his face screwed up in confusion and thought. "I mean—I . . . for as long as I can remember, I've always been, always needed to be, moving and loud. Active. Before this, it didn't matter how injured, how tired I was or how strong my opponent was. I would have fought back more."
Kushina said nothing, just watched him. Naruto's hands clenched and his brain searched for the words he needed to find. "I—It's like now, there's two mes, another part of me. It's quiet—no, it's silent and still and scared. All the time now, I can feel that other me waiting underneath."
Naruto moved back and sat down in front of her. "There are times, like this morning, where I feel that if I'm loud, if I move, if I do something, anything wrong, I'll be terribly hurt, punished. That's the other me, the one that's been hiding for years. And there are times when the two mes are fighting and I can't decide.
"That's what happened in the courtroom," he admitted, his hands twisting together. Blue eyes snapped up to meet hers. "Part of me wanted to fight, to throw that jerk off and beat the crap out of him. Two months ago, I would have, no doubt about it. But now, that other me says I shouldn't fight. And the two sides can't agree, and I end up . . ."
The young blond trailed off. Kushina reached out and linked her fingers with his, sensing he was done. "Did this start right after you woke up from your coma?"
Naruto shook his head. "No, just in the past couple of days. Just since the first day of the trial."
"It could be because you feel helpless to help your father," she suggested. "You're used to taking care of things by fighting them, and there's nothing here that you can fight."
"No . . . I don't think that's it," he murmured. "It feels . . ."
Naruto squeezed his eyes shut. "It feels deeper than that. I don't know, older, maybe."
"Have you tried talking to Kyuubi about it?" Kushina asked.
Naruto nodded. "Yeah. He just goes really deep into his cage when I do. He won't say."
"What was the first moment you felt it? Do you remember it exactly?" Kushina asked.
"When that priest, Bushman or something, when he walked in," Naruto said, eyes lighting up with a mixture of fear, anger, and understanding. "I bet it has something to do with him! I bet he knows! Let's find him and beat it out of him!"
Kushina chuckled, glad to see he was once more confident and energetic. "I'll talk to Tsunade, see if he's still in town, and we can go see him after your father's trial is over, okay?"
"Oh, yeah! I forgot about that for a minute," Naruto marveled. He dug through the pile of shopping bags on the floor and found what had to be his favorite new outfit. It was a lot like his old outfit, except with more black and the swirly symbol of the leaf stitched onto each of the arms. He grabbed a new orange undershirt and ran off to change in the bathroom. Kushina chuckled and hunted for a pen and paper. She might as well write to Tama while he changed.
The courtroom was just as packed as the day before, if not more so. Naruto glanced around and leaned in to his mother. "So, this is to determine if Dad is sane or not?"
Kushina shook her head. "I don't know. The council will have met earlier to decide the nature of the trial. They'll announce it as they start."
The members filed in, and Homura kept his impassive mask on. Things hadn't worked out quite as planned. Minato was fairly easy to manipulate-that had gone perfectly. He had been careful not to directly threaten Naruto—that would get him killed for sure. Instead, he had insinuated that others would hurt Naruto and it would be Minato's fault because he hadn't protected him.
Too simple.
He hadn't wanted to test Minato's sanity, just to get him to a point where he would be boxed in—or believe he was. He'd lied to Minato last night. He didn't have the power to push anything through the council. He, Koharu and Danzou had, and did often in the past. They'd circumvented Sarutobi on the Uchiha issue, and placed Sai on Naruto's team despite Tsunade.
But Koharu was dead, and with her went one third of their power. It would have been easy to bully most of the other council members—the majority of them were new to the council, having just been given the reins by their fathers. Middle-aged, battle-scarred, but rookies in the field of politics. They were of Minato's generation. Most of them had fought alongside him, shared drinks after good missions, and tears after bad ones.
He'd been counting on that bond.
He had never expected so many of them to see the logic. Minato was insane, no doubt about it, but Homura had fully expected that his old brothers-in-arms would rise to his defense and prevent an inquiry into his sanity.
And they hadn't. And his lack of power meant that despite what he wanted—a 'free' Yondaime on his puppet strings—he'd likely get the Fourth locked up.
Plus this meant that their deal was broken, and his weakness was revealed to the one man who had always thwarted him.
Homura leaned back in his seat as Tsunade brought the room to order. Perhaps, all things considered, it would be best if he really did send the man away. A time spent at the temple could do him a world of good. Prayer, solitude, gardening, and regular sedatives to make sure he didn't escape.
A smirk tried to fight its way onto his face, but Homura knocked it down.
Tsunade seethed as she sat back down from yelling at the loud courtroom. Damn Homura! Damn Danzou! She slammed the paper down on the bench and damned herself for failing them—Naruto and Minato. Sure, the Hokage was the strongest ninja in the village, and sure, it was her that sent ninjas on missions, but when it came to the day-to-day domestic running, well. Hokage wasn't the title you wanted for that.
She was just glad Minato wasn't here. He was unstable, but it wouldn't do him any good to hear a bunch of people doubting his sanity.
She just barely bit back the urge to slam her fist into Homura's smirking face when he rose. "Members of the council, this hearing has been convened to determine if Namikaze Minato still retains the mental capacities to be a fully functioning ninja and citizen of Konoha."
"The evidence against him includes two separate, but similar incidents. The first occurred six days ago, during which Namikaze Minato injured over twenty ANBU and killed one council member."
Tsume slammed her palm on the table. "Don't even bring that up! Witnesses have stated that Koharu ordered ANBU to kill him! He had every right to defend himself."
"And no reason," Chouza continued. "To trust that Koharu wouldn't hurt Naruto when she held a blade to his throat. That's hardly the point."
Homura inclined his head. "Very well. The first incident won't be an issue here."
Kushina narrowed her eyes. She knew that ploy. By agreeing to one illogical concession, Homura made it seem that he was reasonable, and furthermore, that he listened to reason. Of course, that made him appear vulnerable, but he had Danzou to back him up on any later logic disputes.
"But the second most surely is," Homura continued. "He agreed that for certain issues, he was under the council. A senior member of the council ordered him not to attack ANBU. Yet he did!"
"That ANBU was threatening his son!" Tsunade snapped. "He had every right—"
"To what? Defy a direct order?" Homura interrupted. "What would happen if every ninja did that? Despite orders from a superior, did whatever they wanted? Surely you understand the problems in that, Hokage-sama."
Tsunade folded her hands in front of her and fought to keep calm. "He defied a direct order. That calls for a court-martial, not an investigation of his sanity."
"His actions are not in questions," Homura agreed. "But his motives are."
"It is not our job to determine motives," Ibiki interjected. "No one can see into another's mind."
"No, it is a matter of trust," Homura shot back. Ibiki remained expressionless. "The ANBU that 'attacked' Uzumaki Naruto is a member and ninja of Konoha and Minato was ordered not to attack ANBU. Should he not have trusted a council member; should he not have trusted a fellow Leaf ninja?"
Homura felt victory coming. He knew that this trial would be short. "He should have—any good ninja would have, but he didn't. Couldn't rather."
"He was protecting his son!" Tsume shouted angrily. "Anybody would have done the same thing!"
"Yes, any person has the right to protect their child, but when a person puts on the hitae-ate, he becomes a ninja! A ninja must follow orders despite danger to his family, a ninja must trust in his superiors who have a plan. A ninja is not a person," Homura finished.
Naruto clenched his hands until blood welled up beneath his fingernails. Here was the old speech: ninjas are tools. He wasn't a tool, and neither was his dad! He moved to stand, but Kushina clapped a hand on his arm and pulled him back down. Wait, trust me, she mouthed. Naruto blew his breath out heavily, but did as she asked.
"I agree, it is no crime to protect your son," Homura said generously, spreading his hands. "But his actions yesterday prove that he cannot determine between real and supposed threats, and that he will attack anyone who provokes him. It isn't his fault—he cannot help himself. What happens when one of Naruto's peers is sparring with him? Can a fellow Chuunin really hold off our most powerful Hokage?
"I said before the issue is trust," Homura finished. The courtroom was silent, contemplating his words. One glance showed that he had almost all of them in the palm of his hand. "Can we trust a man with Minato's power and mental instability on the streets of Konoha?"
A door opened in the back and just as Homura was about to put the issue to a vote, someone else spoke up.
"Here's an idea: shut the hell up and give the guy a break!"
All eyes turned to the back, where two men had entered. Kakashi had finally decided to show up at the trial, and he had brought a friend. Homura's mouth turned down as he spotted the long mane of white hair. To think they had actually considered this porn-writing rogue for the position of Hokage!
Jiraiya stepped inside the courtroom, leaning heavily on Kakashi. He had insisted on real clothes, and having only one arm, it had taken a while to get dressed. It was also slow going as they had to walk from the hospital to the courtroom, as he was still technically in critical condition and shouldn't be moving at all.
Looks like I arrived just in time, though.
"Have you no shame, Homura?" Jiraiya demanded. "This man was the Yellow Flash, your Hokage! He led you through the last great ninja war, and defeated Kyuubi. In doing so, I might add, he willingly sentenced himself to eternity in the Shinigami's stomach, an eternity of combat. I didn't see you jumping up to stop him or take his place, and I somehow doubt you'd come through sixteen years of torture still able to walk and talk.
"Now, Minato's trying to do what he's always done: protect that which he loves. He did it for Konoha for almost twenty years, and now, you're condemning him for it! He's always listened to his gut, and yesterday, I'm betting that his gut was telling him not to trust any ANBU that would listen to Danzou instead of the Hokage!"
That sent a murmur through the courtroom and Homura hissed in anger. Danzou rose and tried to speak, but, weak as he was, Jiraiya barreled on.
"I was never in ANBU, but I'm pretty sure that one flick of the wrist isn't code for 'hold the Hokage's son hostage long enough to make his father attack you then fall back.' Seems kinds odd that an ANBU would be able to deduce that from one hand gesture, and that the exact ANBU that knew that random, secret code would be placed as a guard in the courtroom."
He shrugged. "I'm just sayin'."
Jiraiya grinned and leaned on Kakashi. He hated to admit it, but even walking and talking had tired him out. He knew he had to wrap it up and get out. He had to finish on a really strong note, so that Tsunade could put the issue to a vote and get Minato acquitted immediately.
"The Minato I know always does whatever it takes to protect the people he loves. The way I see it, it's a Hokage's, a ninja's, hell, a citizen's job to do what's best for Konoha. That makes him or her fully functional, right?
"Minato loves Konoha. He loves this village! God knows why, but that means he's gonna do whatever it takes to protect it, to keep it and all the people in it safe! Now, you tell me, Homura-sama, how exactly does that make him insane?"
The silence was thick enough to cut with a knife. Jiraiya sombered up his face and kept the glint of triumph from his eyes. He knew, he knew, Homura was pissed. The old man thought he'd had it in the bag, but now it was all blown to pieces. Time to finish.
"In my book, that makes him a damn better man than most."
With that, Jiraiya nodded to Kakashi, and the two slowly turned and made their way out of the courtroom. As soon as the doors closed, Homura opened his mouth, but Tsunade was half a beat ahead of him.
"I put forth a motion to acquit Namikaze Minato of all questions to his sanity, with the provision that he see a counselor for post-traumatic stress syndrome. For the death of Ukatane Koharu, he shall be until further notice, prohibited from exercising any duties of Hokage, and be given the working title of elite Jounin."
"Seconded," Ibiki added.
"All in favor," Tsunade continued, rolling right over Homura's attempts at objections. She did a quick count of the hands in the air. "Passed, by a vote of nine to two. This court is dismissed."
Tsunade was the first one off the bench and over to the two thrilled Uzumakis. Naruto was grinning from ear to ear. "Yeah! That was the best, Obaa-san! You and Ero-sennin knocked that old bastard on his ass! That was awesome!"
Kushina wrapped Tsunade in a hug. "Can we go get him out of jail, now?"
Yamanaka Ino sobbed as she scratched at the stone walls. She didn't know how long she'd been in the cell, but it felt like forever.
Time meant nothing, so she had no idea how long ago it was that she noticed the crack in one of the stone walls. At first it was so thin, she was sure she had imagined it, but it continued to grow, until she could fit a finger, then a hand inside.
She'd also discovered that the edges were softer, and had a tendency to crumble.
She was so close! Almost her entire torso could fit through now, and though she had no idea what was on the other side, it had to be better than this! One of her nails ripped off as she scraped at the stone, but it was a small price to pay for the huge chunk that fell to the ground.
Crying with relief, Ino pushed herself into the hole, wiggling forward until her legs were all the way in. She reached up and felt one more layer, but this was thin, like cloth, easily torn. She pulled at it and a huge hole opened. Light poured in—
--and Ino winced as the bright hospital lights seared her eyes. She raised a hand up to block the light and with it came all kinds of tubes and wires.
"The hospital," she whispered. "Oh, finally, I'm out."
It certainly was useful, having two sets of genetic codes. Especially when one of those codes opened the scrolls to all kinds of sealed jutsus and experiment information. The snake summoning was also useful, he thought, watching the python eat Orochimaru's loyal guards. No wonder the Sannin loved snakes—they were rather cute, all bloated and full like that.
The man once known as Kabuto poured over scrolls and scrolls of Orochimaru's hidden library. Here was listed how he'd created his immortality jutsu, and how to raise the dead. He chuckled, thinking of how Sasuke loved looking at the picture of his poor, dead parents. The boy would love to get his hands on these, now, wouldn't he?
Oh, such information on the Sharingan, as well! How to control it, how to activate it. A good deal on how to transfer it—Kakashi and his dead martyr being the only known example. Still, what a treasure trove.
There was full documentation of the curse seal, and the search for the First' power. A lot of information on the tailed beasts, and how the Shodai controlled them. At first, Kabuto thought it was just for Akatsuki, but some voice—Orochimaru's ghost, his remains? Kabuto giggled at the thought—whispered that it was more. It was bigger.
So he searched some more, and found the gold mine. What the old snake had been working on for years. Since before he had left Konoha, in fact. Since a mission to destroy an experimental facility in Lightning, it looked like.
Kabuto threw his head back and laughed delightedly as he put the pieces together. Everything had been so well thought out!
The priests, cooperation with Akatsuki, the resurrection jutsu.
The end result was amazing, Kabuto agreed, or would have been, had everything gone according to plan.
But it hadn't. Such a shame. And Orochimaru would have lost so much in the transfer!
Kabuto left the library and took a walk outside to think. He could improve on the plan. Yes, improve on it. But how?
--
Oh mai goodness! What will Kabuto come up with?
All of it is tying together now. Some of you are exceptionally clever, and I wouldn't be surprised if you've figured it all out. For those of you that haven't don't feel bad. I'm making it as obscure as possible.
Heh, yeah, Mina's got PTSS (syndrome or disorder, I don't think it matters) and he's gonna be a Jounin again! I got that idea from Star Trek. Brownie points to any fellow nerds who can identify where it's from.
Oh, as for the council/Hokage thing: I see it as a division of power. Hokage handles matters of security, and the council handles domestic matters like trade, food shortages, etc. There is obviously some overlap and the council can overrule the Hokage on issues with a large enough majority. All the rest of the crap, like putting Sai on Naruto's team, was backroom politics, not straight-up. That's how it's going to work in my universe unless somebody can provide me with proof otherwise.
And I have to wonder how many people will review saying something I just addressed.