A/N: Chronicles of the White Fang is an AU story. However, I tied it as accurately as I could to the canon story of Kakashi's.
Chronicles of the White Fang
Chapter Five
-Resolution-
"I've made a decision the day I was brought to Konoha. One that surely had affected me in a way I did not foresee."
-Hatake, Sakumo
Age, 30
When his eyes opened, he felt more worse than when he originally had woken up.
The pain on his side was almost unbearable. He shifted his head from the linen of white fur that he had turned into some makeshift pillow, and he glanced at the closest person near him.
It was the teenager that he vaguely remembered Kagami call Danzo. He had a double-crossed scar on his chin. His eyes were a hazel brown, like the hue of the lightest shade of bark, but they were narrowed, almost as calculative looking as the Nidaime's. However, where the Nidaime's gaze looked pragmatic and reserved, calculative from an objective standpoint, Danzo's gaze looked emotional. He was looking at Sakumo with something akin to mistrust.
It was as if he was questioning him and his worth. Will you be a hindrance to the Nidaime, our sensei? Or will you be productive to our cause?
Sakumo quickly looked away.
Danzo looked as intimidating as the Iwa-nin.
His shift was probably sensed because the Nidaime slowed to a walk before he halted and knelt. Sakumo slid off the Nidaime's back and looked around the forest. He still held onto the man's pant leg while the other hand gripped his toy wolf tightly against the wound on his stomach. It felt more painful now. As if something tight was pulling at his skin and tearing at it. He ignored the pain. He didn't want to voice it for fear of being ignored by them.
The trees seemed different here. They looked bigger, with grass and leaves thicker than it was possibly normal. The roots of the trees looked ancient as they protruded from the earth, appearing as tall as the Nidaime and as thick as Sakumo's waist. This must be the renown Hashirama Forest that surrounded Konohagakure.
It was described in one of the books he had sealed into his arms called, 'The Founding of Konohagakure no Sato' by Senju Hashirama. The Shodaime Hokage had been known as an infamous shinobi, whose only equal was Uchiha Madara, but apparently, he was a scholar too because Sakumo had about ten to fifteen books that were written by him.
When the Nidaime stood to his full 6-foot height, Sakumo reached subconsciously for his hand, but he quickly backtracked. This man wasn't someone he could just trust blindly. Just because he saved Sakumo didn't mean he was apathetic to his situation. The Nidaime even said so himself that Sakumo didn't have a choice in coming back with him to Konoha. After all, he was the son of a missing-nin.
The only other person he held hands with was his mother. She was safe to him. Someone he could trust with his life. Now there was no one.
Sakumo let out a shuddered breath and pressed his toy wolf closely to the tight pain coming from his wound. It was a reminder that he was alone among foreign-nin, who were bringing him back not because he needed a home but because he couldn't be trusted in other hands.
He was a prisoner.
Sakumo held back, watching as the Nidaime had already started walking, leaving Sakumo to trail after him slowly. He fell behind easily from the Konoha-nin, who appeared to be the Nidaime's students: all six of them. They didn't look back to see if he was following. It made him feel even more helpless.
Did they not care?
Or were they so confident in their abilities that if he ran, they would catch him?
Sakumo gazed down to his feet. Since when did he have sandals? One of them must have bought him a pair in some shop. He was sure they passed by many to get to Konohagakure.
Sakumo pushed through a shrub they merely walked over and began to run his hand through his hair to shake off the leaves as he burst through and stumbled into someone. He was steadied by Hiruzen. The teenager smiled at him, but Sakumo leaned away, feeling too aware of his surroundings.
It was as if the days had finally caught up to him now that he was fully awake. What the Nidaime said about his mother, about how he only had one choice; that choice was to stay in Konoha and be loyal to the village, and about the situations that lead up to his current stress.
What were they going to do to him?
He hugged the toy closer for solace, trying to ignore the festering pain that had him walking slower and slower. . .
"Hurry up, boy." Sakumo stiffened at the sound of Danzo's voice. The teenager was scowling at him. His gaze was narrowed. Scary, Sakumo thought as he jogged forward to keep up, biting his tongue when the pain only grew.
Sakumo glanced around the dirt road before he took in the huge dark, olive green gates. The Konohagakure sigil loomed above in red paint bringing out the seals that were painted over the gates and walls of the village.
Sakumo stayed still, studying the seals before someone put their hand on his head and directed him forward. "You'll get a headache trying to understand that, Saku-chan," Kagami cheerfully stated. Sakumo scrunched his nose. Saku-chan? However, Sakumo quickly stayed close to Kagami, who hadn't been with the crowd before. When did he get back and join them? "Only the
Uzumaki and Konoha's Intelligence Division know how it works."
Sakumo blinked up at Kagami before he tentatively offered his hand. If it was anyone within the group that Sakumo felt an illusion of safety with, then it was Kagami. He was the nicest one out of all of them, and he at least tried to make his imprisonment comfortable.
Kagami tilted his head before he grabbed the offered hand. "Who would have thought?" He wondered aloud with a smile that for once didn't seem so unstable. "My very own pup."
"Make sure to register him in the Inuzuka hound station," Danzo sneered, jokingly.
"Saku-chan will be better than those Inuzuka pups, right?" Kagami looked to Sakumo.
"I'm not a dog," Sakumo mumbled.
Torifu, the largest teenger among them merely patted his head with a smile before he offered him dango. Where did Torifu get that? And why did everyone else except the Nidaime have dango sticks too? Again, they probably passed by a dango shop along the way.
Sakumo contemplated on denying it out of irritation, but his stomach growled at the thought in protestation. He took the dango stick with a smile. "Thank you."
"It's a treat for being a good boy during the trip," Torifu added warmly.
There were snickers around him.
Sakumo blinked up at Torifu before he chewed on the offered snack with a slight frown. They were teasing him. It hurt.
Sakumo didn't know anymore.
Were they putting up a friendly facade on purpose to put him in a false sense of security or were they really trying to make his journey more comfortable? His wonder behind their actions only stressed him out more.
Koharu patted his head when she passed by. "You should feel grateful." She flicked her blonde hair. "Torifu only shares his food as a show of friendship."
Friendship?
The only relationship he ever had was with his mother, and that was gone. He didn't have anyone. He shouldn't trust anyone.
When they reached the gate, two shinobi in those familiar grey flak jackets quickly sat straight. "Nidaime Hokage-sama!" They said in unison, scrambling to stand at attention.
"Stand down." The Nidaime strode past without even looking their way. "All six of you are dismissed, I expect you to get a good night's rest today before I send you on your next team mission tomorrow." The Nidaime turned slightly. "Boy, you will follow me."
Sakumo was reluctant to let go of Kagami's hand, but he did so anyway and began to fall in line next to the Nidaime. "Where are we going?" He asked tentatively.
The Nidaime merely gazed down at him with that same calculative look. He didn't say anything, and it unnerved Sakumo. He only knelt and pulled Sakumo up from the armpits. It startled a yelp from him.
"Don't fuss," the Nidaime scolded. "Hold on tight to that toy if you don't want to lose it." Sakumo did as he was told, and not a moment passed when that strange pull took hold. Sakumo closed his eyes, aware of the disorienting feeling of switching from one surrounding to the next.
When he opened his eyes, he was in a hallway lined with chairs and a desk settled across a door.
"Welcome back, Hokage-sama." The kunoichi behind the desk greeted, looking unperturbed by his sudden entrance. There was only a moment's pause before she went back to writing in a file.
The man gave a curt nod, but he said nothing. Instead, he pushed the door open, leading to an office room. There were books and a vault to the side of the wall. As well as an office desk made of wood and windows behind that oversaw the village.
However, what caught his attention the most was a woman with long, crimson hair scribbling across papers before shuffling them to the side. She didn't glance up at the Nidaime's presence, but she was aware all the same when she greeted him.
"Tobi, the next time you decide to leave the village, you will notify me in advance." Her calm tone wasn't formed as a question. She glanced up, and her lilac irises glowered. "Do you understand?"
The Nidaime Hokage settled Sakumo on his feet before he strode forward to loom in front of her with crossed arms. "I made sure to notify you before I left," he spoke.
"A note stuck on my front door notifying me that I will take the temporary role as hokage for a month." She raised a finger to stop him from interrupting her. "Not even an hour before dawn when you left is not notifying me in advance," she stated clearly. Perhaps that would have been his retort if she hadn't paused him.
"I will make sure to not make the same mistake again, Mito," he said slowly and warily, as if picking his next words with care so as not to offend her further.
"Good." She smiled. Her expression from cold and punishing did a flip to sweet and loving as she stood up, moved around the desk, and embraced him. "I've missed you, Tobi."
"And I you, Mito." He pulled back before he turned to Sakumo. "I know you have questions as to why I had to leave so suddenly to the borders of Suna, but they can wait. Right now, may you do a quick diagnosis on this child?" At her curious look, the Nidaime elaborated, "Kagami put him in a genjutsu."
The woman, Mito, turned to him, giving him her full attention. "Ah." She looked to the Nidaime with a questioning gaze before she glanced to Sakumo with a warmer expression. "What is your name, child?"
She gestured for Sakumo to follow her. Sakumo did so, and with her direction, he settled on the hokage's chair behind the desk. She knelt in front of him.
"Hatake Sakumo." He settled his toy wolf on his lap to hide the dried bloodstain on his shirt. "What is your name?" Sakumo asked. He gazed at her vibrant, crimson hair that complimented her creamy skin and lilac irises. His eyes settled on the diamond shaped tattoo on her forehead.
She smiled. "Uzumaki Mito."
His gaze widened.
She laughed as she placed her hand over his forehead. The soothing green chakra that flowed from her hand had him closing his eyes with a light smile. She felt warm. "Do you recognize me, Sakumo-chan?"
He blinked. "Yes." It seemed she was waiting for an explanation, however, so he elaborated, "The books written by Senju Hashirama are always dedicated to you. You're his wife," he pointed out.
"Yes." She nodded before she frowned. "Ah, may you relax please?" Sakumo shifted, but he didn't know how. Not with the pain emanating from his wound. "Hm. . ." Her hand traveled lower and lower until it settled over his stomach. "What happened here Sakumo?" She removed his toy wolf to reveal the dried blood stain.
Sakumo glanced down. "Um, kunai," he offered, intelligently. He felt a presence behind him shift, and he gazed up to the Nidaime, who was standing behind Mito. The man's vermillion eyes settled on the dried blood stain.
"Why haven't you told anyone?" Her gaze narrowed as she reached for the hem of his shirt. He bit his lip worriedly. He wasn't sure if it was allowed.
"What do you mean?" The Nidaime frowned. "A medic-nin healed him."
The Nidaime stopped speaking when she lifted Sakumo's shirt. The wound had been healed, but the stitches were irritated, and the reddened skin around was leaking puss and blood. It looked as bad as it felt.
"Sakumo-chan," Mito spoke softly. "When a wound hurts it's okay to tell someone," her voice was low, genuine. He flinched. "You are no prisoner here."
His shoulders were kept tense for a second as her glowing hand settled over his stomach, and Sakumo felt the skin around his cheeks redden. Then his shoulders sagged because really, all he needed was some sort of reassurance.
His mother was dead. He was going to die next. He was saved by the Nidaime Hokage. He was taken to some foreign place. He didn't know what his status was. He didn't know who to fall back to.
His mom was gone, and there was no one he could trust to look after him.
It was as if the weight of his situation was crashing down on him in that moment.
"Oh," his voice echoed tonelessly.
Sakumo's gaze switched to the window, taking in the buildings and shinobi jumping from roof to roof. It all seemed so foreign. The buildings were of a different design. The people here wore different styles of clothes. It wasn't raining 24/7 as it would in Amegakure.
"Okay," was all Sakumo said because throughout the entire journey to Konohagakure by shinobi he didn't know, he really thought he was a prisoner.
Sure, they had been warm and kind when they introduced themselves, but when the Nidaime had told him he had only one choice: to be loyal to Konoha, some sort of barrier inside of him took place. It was his first time having someone take away his freedom to choose.
It made him feel caged even though there were no chains to tie him to them.
They were strong, they could easily kill him with a squeeze of their hands, and they could hide that strength behind a facade of kindness. He didn't know what their motives were. He didn't know what they wanted from him. For all Sakumo knew, they were going to torture and brainwash him into being loyal to Konoha. Some loyal soldier. It was either that or be branded with the mistakes that his mother had done and be killed for treason.
Mito frowned. Something about her expression didn't seem happy by his silence. She watched Sakumo for a moment before her gaze switched to the Nidaime with a coldness that had first been displayed when they entered the office.
"Sakumo, may you please step outside the office, please? I need to have a word with the hokage." She didn't look away from the Nidaime as she spoke.
Sakumo scrambled off the high chair, holding onto the armrest until his feet touched the floor. Once he was settled on his feet, Sakumo picked up his wolf. He glanced to the both of them and began to walk towards the door. Again, he had to stand on his tippy toes in order to open the door, and as he began to shut it, he overheard a few words being exchanged.
"I had no prior knowledge that he was in pain," came the soft, timbre voice of the man, who Sakumo still couldn't wrap his mind around.
"When a child hides his pain, it is only because the child does not feel safe enough to voice it-"
He shut the door and turned back to the office kunoichi in the waiting room. It seemed that she overheard it too because the moment Sakumo looked to her, she glanced down. Her expression carefully neutral.
Sakumo glanced around, feeling incredibly small in the large room. He stepped across the room and scrambled up a waiting chair to observe the village and all her people. Then, rather impatiently, Sakumo jumped down and went towards the kunoichi at the desk.
"Yes?" She asked mildly. She was still scribbling away at files and laying them out in three separate categories: Genin, Chunin, and Jonin.
"Water?"
"Hm." She eyed Sakumo warily. "There's a small cafeteria four floors down from here."
Sakumo cocked his head. "But the building is only made up of three."
He looked behind the kunoichi to look at the map of the building he was in: the Hokage Building. Figures. But if he was reading it right, then he was sure that it was only made up of three floors.
Then suddenly, the kunoichi grinned, looking almost sly. Sakumo stepped back. This time, he felt wary.
"Yes, well, the fourth floor is where the special ninja go to." She glanced back down to her work.
"Special?"
"Yes, I have no time to look after you. Plus, I'm sure the special ninja will love to have a look at you." She stood up, gathering all three piles of the files in her arms. "Follow me. I have to take this to the mission roster anyway."
Sakumo nodded, unsure if this was a good plan, but Lady Mito said he was no prisoner. Nothing should go wrong. He followed the kunoichi down to the first floor, and he waited back as she handed out all the files to the chunin at the front desk. They talked for a little bit, and she looked back, as if barely noticing he was there.
"Oh, you're still here, kid?" She pointed to a door on the side of the building. "What are you waiting for? The staircase leading to the cafeteria is over there."
"Um," a chunin shinobi began. "I don't think some little kid has clearance to go into the Jonin Wing-"
"Well, he said he wanted water, and get this," she whispered conspiratorially. "He was brought in by the Nidaime Hokage."
"Wait! You don't think. . . But Hokage-sama's only been gone for a month."
"I have my doubts too, but the kid must be someone important if the Nidaime himself brought in a foreigner."
Sakumo pulled away from the gossip and let the door close behind him. He stepped down the set of staircases with the help of the railing, pondering over their words. If only they knew. They wouldn't be so quick as to gossip over them being related. The Nidaime may have silver hair like him, but that didn't necessarily mean they were father and son. His father was out there somewhere. Probably believing Sakumo to be dead.
He scratched at the storage seals on his arms. They were the only proof that he had a father who cared. When Sakumo made it to the fourth floor, he pushed the door to escape the staircases and ended up in a stretched out corridor with closed doorways along either side of the hallway.
He walked forward. All the closed doors that he tried to open didn't budge. The light above him flickered, and Sakumo paused, feeling out of his element.
Maybe he should go back? He swallowed dryly. No, he really was thirsty.
He continued his way until he finally made it to a 'T' formed hallway. It was as if the corridor went from haunted to full of life. Shinobi and kunoichi in grey flak jackets, that looked like a more modern uniform than that of the Nidaime's, which was popular in the Warring States Period, were swarming around, laughing and talking among each other.
The corridor was arched with pillars revealing what the desk kunoichi in the upper floor had described as a cafeteria. There were tables lined across the room with food being distributed neatly. The atmosphere seemed light and cheerful.
However, the moment Sakumo stepped through the open corridor and into the cafeteria, the atmosphere tensed. He could feel it settle heavily on his shoulders as he hugged his toy wolf and looked around the room.
The water didn't seem so tempting anymore.
"Yo, little man!"
Sakumo knew that voice. He turned to the right to see Kagami. He was still in his uniform. His black, wavy hair still looked windblown from the run they had to endure to Konohagakure. The black strands curled around his face, framing around him in a boyish style. The Konohagakure hitai-ate was still settled over his forehead, looking worn and old, and his eyes. They were no longer that crimson color, but an obsidian hue.
Sakumo hesitated only a little, but seeing the older boy was a relief. He was the only familiar face within the sea of strangers.
"What are you doing here?" Kagami asked, but then gave Sakumo one good look before shrugging and becking him to follow him to a table. At the table, there sat the rest of those few familiar faces that have traveled with him from the frontier of Sunagakure.
They were eating somberly, still covered in blood and grime.
Danzo was the first to scowl. "Why is that here?"
Torifu inhaled his mouthful of noodles before he spoke up, "That is a kid. The kid's probably hungry." Torifu patted the small space beside him and Hiruzen. Sakumo climbed on, slipping off slightly before he was literally grabbed from the back of his shirt, lifted up, and sat down unceremoniously by Kagami.
Sakumo got on his knees to look above the table and not a moment later was a tray filled with food pushed his way. Hiruzen handed him chopsticks.
Sakumo broke the sticks apart and bowed his head slightly. "Itadakimasu." Sakumo gazed at his plate before he started with the rice. Strategically, he avoided the vegetables.
He was silent as he ate. Hearing the whispered words among the six of them. They spoke softly among themselves among the loudness of the room. Mostly about planning shopping together to resupply and telling each other their schedules for the week so that they could buddy together in their free time for training.
Sakumo perked up. "Training?"
All eyes at the table fell on him.
"Quite the observer, aren't you child?" Mitokado said, pushing up his glasses at the base of his nose as he said so.
"I train," Sakumo spoke up.
"We know." Hiruzen took a sip from his tea.
Sakumo frowned. "How?"
Hiruzen gave him a silly grin. "Because of our super cool, super awesome, super abilities-"
"The scars and callous on your hands," Danzo interrupted. Then his solemn gaze traveled to his covered arm. "The seals on your arm."
Sakumo tensed and so did the rest of them.
The entire room went quiet.
Everyone. Everything. Not even a breath was heard.
Never had it been so clear in that moment that he was in a room filled with ninja. Yes. These weren't just ordinary people. These people made up some of the shinobi force of Konohagakure. They were ninja.
Their job description was assassination, espionage, and warfare.
No matter how casual those around them were in their conversations with each other, they were still eavesdropping. No matter how friendly these six students of the Nidaime were, they didn't trust him, and they calculatingly made it known to the rest of the shinobi force. No. The way Hiruzen, Torifu, and Kagami were glaring at Danzo didn't seem like that was the case.
He was a boy, but in Danzo's eyes, he was a foreigner; an enemy.
Then suddenly, Hiruzen shrugged and patted Sakumo in the back. "Kagami has his sharingan, and sensei is the best sensor in the entire land. If sensei hadn't taken you straight to the T&I force as soon as we arrived to Konoha, then I trust that whatever you have sealed in you isn't a threat."
Kagami smiled. "Plus, sensei is your warden now."
Koharu flicked her blonde hair and rolled her blue eyes. "Better watch out, you'll be seeing a lot of this creep around."
Kagami narrowed his eyes. "Go suck a fat iwa-" He dodged to the side only slightly as a senbon passed by.
"Finish that sentence and die," Koharu warned.
Hiruzen sighed. "I can already tell that you will be a bad influence on this child, Kagami."
Kagami gave a shrug of indifference. "I'm the greatest thing that ever happened to him."
"I say we vote on whether or not Kagami's allowed to be near him. I mean seriously, he cast a genjutsu that knocked him out for a week. That could do serious damage to a kid this size and age." Koharu raised a hand. "All who say aye?"
Kagami sat straight, not looking so playful anymore. "What are you talking about?" His eyes narrowed at Danzo and Hiruzen who raised their hands. "Hey," he spoke, no longer amused. "I met him first." Hiruzen stifled a giggle whereas Danzo merely smirked.
Sakumo stayed silent. He stared at his half-eaten meal before he placed his chopsticks down. He could feel the gazes on him. The distrust oozing from the shinobi force of Konohagakure. Him, a mere child, was a threat to their eyes. However, how was that so surprising? He knew of the stories. They trained ninja from a young age.
These shinobi and kunoichi among him were warriors. Assassins. Killers.
And he. . . He was just a child.
A child who couldn't do anything when his mother died.
A child who couldn't do anything now under the gazes of those that were already seeing him as one who didn't belong.
He glanced up and met the gaze of Kagami.
The older boy was staring at him, as if he too already had the knowledge that he was beginning to comprehend.
Then Kagami smiled as Sakumo narrowed his eyes in determination.
He didn't want to stay stuck like this. Doing nothing. Being nothing. Achieving nothing.
He didn't want to be nothing.
He'll show them. All of them.
REVISED: 10/28/2017
