A/N: So it took me a little while longer than expected, but here's the next chapter =)

I've had a few new ideas for the last part of this and I didn't want to stuff a 12.000 word chapter in your faces, soooo... there will be a fourth part to this countdown. Sorry to those who want to finally know the outcome; I really promise that the next chapter will close the arc!

Last but not least: I really want to thank all of you who follow and favor! You guys are seriously awesome and I love you for all the support :)

I still have no new beta, so please overlook any typos, mistakes and funny wordings.

Music: "What Must Be Done" - Nick Cave & Warren Ellis

- Chapter 13 -

Countdown Part 3 / The Worry-Eater Stone

Dear Futaba,

Do you know the snake man? Kurenai said I talked about him and you, but I don't remember…

Maybe you can help?

He has purple paint in his face, it's around the eyes — do men paint their faces as well? His was white, the hair dark and long.

Sorry for asking but Kurenai was very sad.

Hope you fine,

Fuu

After staring at the message long enough to see past its contents, Futaba felt her face stretching to the first smile in days. Small, almost disbelievingly so, it sat upon her chapped lips while a part of her was still wondering what her cheeks had gotten up to.

Not sure if it was due to the fever or genuine happiness squeezing her heart, Futaba hugged her legs closer to her body before mumbling against her knees, "Since when have your writing skills improved so much, little one?"

To Futaba it had been years of running and hiding — however not so for her better, smaller half, as it seemed. No longer did Fuu's words wind from top to bottom in serpentine lines nor did she add any more unnecessary strokes… the girl had also picked up a bunch of new characters — every kanji now standing neat and proud on the white paper.

"Can't believe that you'd grow up so fast… The first message I ever received from you was only your name and now look at that! No more problems with the hiragana — even the 'nu' and 'me' are finally distinguishable" Futaba breathed as she took her time to appreciate her ward's achievements; with glistening eyes and a notion that was both bitter and very sweet.

To come face to face with those proofs of Fuu's innocence had become her greatest reward. For it was a sign that her efforts were at least partly successful.

"It would be lovely, if only you could have stayed a little longer in Konoha, Fuu. For that smile of yours I would have even put up with these confined rooms" peeking below through her arms that prevented her fragile frame from coming apart, the guardian spirit eyed the surrounding walls, as if they could collapse any second. Her smile now resembling a crack in her shrunken face, her pupils dilated as she remembered a different darkness — cold, damp and narrow.

"It's one of the cruelest things I've ever come across, you know? There was this picture. Snake man showed it to me. Surely he knew what it would do to me… He even asked me, 'Do you want to see your other half?' and I answered with, 'Yes, please show her to me, Orochimaru-sama.' …Back then I was still so confused. I probably felt contempt for you; you who lived in the daylight and sold me to the hours of night — maybe I even wanted you gone, little one… So that I could go after my brother without a second thought."

Futaba bit her lower lip as the trail of memories lost its direction, "I had no idea that I would be the one to give up everything for that smile of yours. That I would ever loose the one and only focus I had in my life…"

Flipping the note in her hands, the guardian spirit wondered what to tell her ward. From past experience Futaba had learned to never ignore questions of her little ray of sunshine. Otherwise Fuu would try to find answers on her own, thus gathering more unwanted attention.

"I am still not sure what amazes me more, Fuu-chan. You coming up with such a weird name for him… or how you've found a way to retrieve some of the memories I've meant to hide from you" Futaba whispered hoarsely before raising a hand to touch her forehead. "Ah, the fever is rising again…"

With time running out, Futaba had decided to ignore a few safety rules which normally would make her refrain from stealing. It would simply complicate things further if she couldn't bring down her temperature and like many other shinobi, Kurenai had a set of first aid medicine for the field.

So after flushing down another fever pill with some water from the tab, Futaba glanced one more time at Fuu's last words.

P.S. I think snake man's name is Oroshni Maru.

'Close enough. Now it's only a question of time until they will try to extract the information they seek…' Futaba reasoned while cleaning the surfaces she had touched that night.

Although most people of the Hidden Leaf surely never found out why the famous Snake Sannin left, some would remember. Old wounds would be reopened and bleed again with a mix of fear, anger and disgust. Who would care about a four year old girl, if her knowledge could serve as a weapon against the one missing-nin they had never caught?

After all, justice could easily be reduced to a pair of scales in the hands of grieving humans.

Stopping in her motions, Futaba rose her chin to meet her own tired eyes, "If only you had remembered someone else, Fuu."

— 2 days to go —

Without haste the man moved down the street, accompanied by the soft tocs of his walking cane. Despite the bandages around his head and the old scar on his chin, unsuspecting minds might have dismissed him as an old man who went for his morning stroll.

It was one of Danzo's qualities to appear as a harmless civilian when moving around Konoha — in spite of an aura that some had described as sickening. This, paired with his ability to know when to expect ANBU to show up, allowed him to pursue his interests without any interferences.

For now it was enough to erase his presence once a shinobi approached. With their heads up and their destination in mind, Danzo merely stepped into the shadow of a tree or an alley to go unnoticed. While it was ridiculously easy to outmaneuver the Hokage's restrictions this way, it was at the same time demeaning for a former council member to have someone watch his every step.

From beneath the awning of a small pottery shop, Danzo finally identified the signature he had been waiting for. Slowly he opened his eyes, almost lazily so, before scanning the masked person's shadow.

There she was.

Individual: Fuu; 4

Status: Unconfirmed spy

Height: 98 cm / weight: 12 kg (gained weight, no changes in height); dark brown, curly hair; green eyes; heart shaped face; no chakra — for more specifications: seemedical file attached

Background: orphan (possible parent/attached report file); former servant of the Uchiha Clan (Uchiha Yashiro/file attached); survivor of the massacre, as well as possible witness of said event; currently assigned ward of Hatake Kakashi (file attached); unconfirmed connections outside Konoha (conflicts with one of her previous statements)

Checkup: Commonly known for good behavior, confirmed by local shopkeepers and hospital staff. Close to her caretakers and guardian; unexpectedly corresponding behavior of Hatake Kakashi — examples: efforts to adjust; less tension; no longer restless during the night; less frequent mission requests (one-day missions; took his first B-rank mission after accepting only A's and above); physical contact increased; took her to his retreat (memorial stone).

/Surveillance abandoned due to the involvement of Sato Jirou; affiliation to Sarutobi Hiruzen

/Last update: Visit of Mitarashi Anko at Yuhi Kurenai's apartment (occasion unknown); suspicious since there is no information of a closer relationship between said parties; Fuu was present at their meeting

Involved parties: Sarutobi Hiruzen (jurisdiction); Sato Jirou (Internal affairs; Intelligence Division — inactive); Hatake Kakashi (guardian); Yuhi Kurenai (caretaker); Sarutobi Asuma (caretaker); Maito Gai (caretaker?); Mitarashi Anko (visitor of Yuhi Kurenai)

Prognosis: Due to positive behavior Fuu will be downgraded; at some point assigned for adoption (civilian family); regular checkups at the hospital

Root Evaluation: Without further proof the new status of the individual named Fuu will be SLEEPER

Action: Kidnap the child at first given opportunity

…

In other words: The file of the one individual that had been commanding Danzo's attention for the last couple of weeks.

By distributing his weight on the walking cane, the Root leader however decided to finally acknowledge the presence beside him with lines of annoyance showing on his otherwise expressionless face. Not bothering to look at the man who had appeared right next to him without a sound nor a flare of his signature, Danzo found only one word to express his cordial dislike, "Sato."

"What an odd coincidence" the other male drawled with his deep voice; probably oblivious to the fact that Danzo had just been thinking about him while mentally flipping through the girl's file. "To think that I'd meet you so close to my destination, Shimura. I was just on my way over to visit the Hatake and his oh-so adorable ward."

"Please. Don't let me keep you."

With the tiniest of movements around the sides of his mouth, Sato blew the smoke of his pipe through his nose — effectively masking the sickly sweet scent which Danzo's bandages emitted. With the calm of a man who could hardly be intimated by Danzo's Ki, the white haired iryo searched the display of ceramics.

"Now look at that, Shimura! If you'll purchase three pieces of tableware you'll get the cheapest one for free… if that's not a deal" Sato exclaimed, lifting a fruit bowl to inspect the enamel for flaws. Making a face as if he had to peel the next words off his tongue, the medic expressed his sympathy with a sigh, "If only you had free access to the little servant girl. However I support your new approach… stealing glances at something you desire is quite romantic."

Frowning upon the mocking touch of the iryo's last words, Danzo finally rewarded the other male with a piercing gaze, "Don't lump me with yourself."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Shimura" Sato scoffed. "I like it that people question my personality instead of my beliefs."

"A man without beliefs is a lost cause" Danzo expressed with contemptuousness tainting both his voice and the empty look on his face. "There is only so much you can achieve without an actual purpose and that's why you should stick to your old life, Sato. Getting involved doesn't suit you nor does it impress anyone. It instead reminds people of a wasted existence that is not needed."

Giving his words enough to hit a raw nerve, Danzo calmly continued after a moment of silence, "Don't try to ever belittle me again. If not for your own sake, you should think of the beast living beneath your own roof before you cross me again."

Seeing as his words slowly sunk in, Danzo turned to leave — content to leave a frown upon the other man's face. In his opinion things were settled. For now.

"It was necessary for you to withdraw your subordinates, Shimura. If not for me, the Hokage himself would have intervened sooner or later. He fears that you might take the law into your own hands. Not completely ungrounded, one might say." It were however Sato's next words that actually slowed Danzo's steps. "I for one am merely apprehensive of you acting without due consideration."

It was obvious that the Root leader considered this as a pitiful attempt to get the message across — one that wasn't even Sato's own. Regardless, there was something strange about his choice of words.

"I believe that I've collected all the facts that I need" Danzo sneered, no longer affected by this man's interference. If this was a bluff to find out more about his mindset and plans, it was a rather poor attempt. "There's absolutely nothing one of Sarutobi's loyal watchdogs could possibly offer me."

To this Sato answered with a hearty chuckle, "For someone who has been doing the dirty work for as long as you have, you sure have some difficulties not to paint everything black and white. I am quite fond of the grey area in between."

Despite himself, Danzo could not help but make a point by giving Sato's colorful ensemble a once-over.

"It's true that I rarely get involved. So I am independent. Surprisingly, it's so much easier to move around and actually take action — if you're not branded as the black sheep of the Hokage's flock, that is…" Sato noted as he found the gall to grin at the sour Root leader.

With that being said, Sato disappeared inside the shop to purchase the fruit bowl. Danzo was forced to wait, although he felt a muscle tightening beneath his right eye.

Upon his return, Sato offered his explanation with the calm of an old man talking about the change of weather, "I have no use for a child who suddenly starts to remember uncomfortable truths — neither do you, I assume?"

"Well, here's someone looking young and refreshed!" Sato exclaimed with a mocking grunt as Kakashi appeared in the living room.

The young and refreshed shinobi actually sported rather impressive shadows under his eyes, as well as traces of blood and dirt that contrasted quite visibly with his unhealthy complexion and the silver of his hair. Not to mention the state his clothes were in.

On the other hand there was the gloating smile of a pensioner who had forgone the straw hat in favor of choosing a neon orange shirt, printed with so many purple patterns that it was giving people a headache.

So the copy ninja quickly turned towards his ward who awaited him with a steaming cup of coffee.

"Good morning to you too, Sato-san. As you can tell, I just returned from a mission and would like to take a quick shower before we start" Kakashi announced, before addressing the frown of his ward without giving the old man enough time to complain. "Fuu, would you mind to keep our guest some company?"

It was probably due to the circumstance that she didn't want to be left alone with Sato, but Fuu did not immediately give her consent. Instead she sent him a long and somewhat probing stare, before opting to lean her head against his leg. Finding both shyness and stubbornness mixed upon her face, Kakashi could only wonder what might be going on inside that curly head of hers.

"My, how heartwarming" Sato grumbled with an annoyed huff as the copy ninja turned away to down his coffee. "Get going, Hatake and save the cuddling for later. I've got plans for today and we need to test a few things before that — in case you have forgotten what all of this is about."

"I'll be right back, Fuu" Kakashi mumbled softly, ruffling her hair as he slightly pushed her away. "Just make sure not to bite him. Even though he's quite rude, he's still a guest."

Placing the now empty mug on one of the kitchen counters, Kakashi headed for the stairs. "Oh, and remember that if he asks you for tea, it would be quite troublesome to poison him. Too many question as to why the body happened to be found in our house and so on…"

Left-behind in the middle of the room, Fuu curled her toes before turning to Sato with an unhappy expression.

"Ha! So you can show different faces now! If only that guardian of yours knew" Sato smirked as he placed a papered object next to the empty coffee mug before walking over to the living room area. "Come over here and help me, brat!"

Although she was still angry at Sato for making fun of her guardian, Fuu knew that the old medic would only leave if she put up with him for now. Furthermore, Hatake-sama was very exhausted so she didn't want to trouble him with being difficult.

However just this once, she wanted to try something. So with a blush rising to her cheeks, Fuu dared to stick out her tongue at the colorful back of the man.

"Suck it up, lassie. If I were you I wouldn't provoke the man whose going to take you apart today."

So much for her first try on being rude…

Dragging himself out of the shower, Kakashi cleaned the fog off the mirror to find his own tired face.

Besides the discomforting presence of Sato, there still was the strange behavior of Kurenai, he had to worry about.

Since the very beginning it had been an unspoken agreement that he would fulfill his duties as Fuu's guardian and the kunoichi would provide the physical affection a child her age needed. This was their compromise to make the transitional solution as comfortable as possible for Fuu. Because that's what it always has been and would be until the day they introduced Fuu to a new family.

So, the fact that Kurenai had actually given the girl a kiss on the forehead earlier was bordering dangerous territories — especially since it had surprised Fuu just as much as Kakashi. Obviously the child had been sensing the deep affection behind the seemingly small gesture.

'I'll have to talk to Kurenai. One way or another, Fuu will move on. Any more than this would only complicate things further…' Kakashi decided before making his way downstairs.

Not much to his surprise, he found that the tension between his ward and their guest had intensified, if that was even possible. They were now standing on the opposite sides of the coffee table on which Sato had spread his scrolls. Fuu watched him with watery eyes, not blinking once as the iryo teased her mercilessly about her foolish stubbornness.

"If you keep that up, you'll get a subconjunctival hemorrhage, kid. Do you know what that is? It's not very pretty. Your big, green eyes will become a nice bloody red… just a little more-"

Interrupting Sato's little lesson about medicine and verbal sadism with a cough, Kakashi reprimanded the Iryo with a long but well measured stare, "Since you don't have that much time, how about we start, Sato-san?"

"Well, I've only been waiting for the famous Hatake-sama" the old man spoke as soon as the younger shinobi decided to step next to him. "Now look, I have an idea. It's a bit risky but we might obtain better results this way."

Taking in all the elements Sato planned on using, Kakashi urged, "Tell me about it."

"Since the seal is part of her bloodstream we neither know its components nor its source. It's unreadable to us, so to speak. That's why we can only guess how it functions and we need to at least extract one of these components to estimate its size and functions" Sato explained and pointed to a little sketch of Fuu with notes scribbled all around. "I guess that there are at least three anchor points and one center to this seal. If it were only within the blood, it would fade as soon as it naturally replaces itself. So we've got to find its true source."

Sensing that the Iryo was only getting started, Kakashi kept quiet. "Possible sources are… the bone marrow, if you consider the origin of blood cells. That one would be quite impossible to undo… but there are also heart and lungs. … But she could live on with only one lung."

Both guardian and ward slowly turned to look at the old man; clearly unamused.

"Alright, alright… We won't remove one of her lungs. I was just saying…" Sato averted the dark look of the silver haired man at his side. "But we should not rule out anything. Just think about it… Our lungs supply us with oxygen which is also an important essential of our blood since it fuels our movements as well as our brain. It would be quiet convenient to grab the root of her energy supply — to manipulate her vital functions and hence her Yang, the amount of her physical energy that's connected to the Chakra Pathway System. Only with both Yin and Yang we are able to mold and use chakra…"

"And Fuu doesn't have any chakra we can detect…"

"Ex-actly! So it's quite possible that this seal was designed to block her Yang. With only spiritual energy you won't come far. That's why I was suggesting that maybe with one lung— Still no?… Let's say we won't go to any extremes before we haven't tried everything else! It's also quite impossible to create a sterile room inside this house for surgery… Anyway, we should start by taking some blood. Maybe we're even lucky enough to find one of the main components of the seal. Though that would mean the designer was quite careless…"

Kakashi tried his best to focus, although he could feel a major headache approaching. Even a small part of his rational mind feared that Sato wasn't just making fun about harvesting a lung…

Clearing his throat, the copy ninja tried to keep up with Sato, "So you want to extract blood… and how do you plan to make the seal visible?"

"I've infused those pieces of paper with my chakra so that once her blood comes into contact with it, it's color should turn black and outline parts of the seal. You remember how those black lines appeared? That's what I am aiming for. Just that this time we shall have it on paper."

"I like blue and green" Fuu thoughtfully interjected while making faces at one of the scrolls. It was a small seal that Sato had prepared in advance and was meant to stabilize greater ones.

"Then go eat a box of crayons, brat."

Frowning with honest confusion, Fuu eyed the old man, "Why would I do that, Sato-sama?"

"Maybe then your seal will look as if a rainbow threw up on the chakra paper" Sato contemplated after a moment of thought, sounding frighteningly serious.

"Really?"

"Sadly no" Kakashi finally butted in after he studied all the scrolls, completely ignoring Fuu's misguided disappointment. "Your fake crayon theory aside, Sato, the rest sounds reasonable. And since the blood replenishes itself anyway, there's no way that this would corrupt the seal, right?"

"Every time you take her to the hospital, they take a blood sample" Sato shrugged unimpressed and scratched his chin. "Since nothing's happened so far, why should that suddenly change? Now come over here, brat!"

Both shinobi shifted their attention to Fuu who was staring right back at them without moving an inch. With a voice that quivered a bit in its accusatory intention, she whispered, "He - he said that he wants take me apart, Hatake-sama! I don't want him to take my lung!"

Pointing mockingly with a finger at the sulking child, Sato returned with a dark smirk, "I dare say that sticking out your tongue at elders is quite impolite, brat!"

"Like pointing with fwingers at people?" Fuu quickly returned, her face brightly red as she straightened her arms on both sides of small body.

Kakashi who had been watching the little exchange with one hand supporting his masked chin, now eye-smiled at both of them.

"Great. You're the first person she really dislikes, Sato-san" he announced cheerfully before signaling for Fuu to come over. "Though it's true that you shouldn't stick your tongue at people, Fuu."

"But he pointed-"

"I know, but he's a poor old man with only a few joys left in his life. Let him point fingers as much as he likes."

Now even Sato snorted, before opening his bag, "Shall we get started then, brats? Because this definitely is not one of the joys in my life…"

With a sigh Sato leaned above the coffee table where he had aligned the chakra papers — in his hands a small vial with Fuu's blood.

Both ward and guardian watched as Sato let the first drop fall.

Plop, plop … plop-plop…

At first nothing happened and Kakashi already dreaded what would happen if this should fail. Sato too seemed to be rather impatient today since he simply enhanced the chakra-level of the paper.

Just as hints of frustration deepened the wrinkles around the Iryo's mouth, the paper started to emit a little bit of heat.

Almost unnoticeable at first, the outline of the drops slowly pooled before they started crawling across the paper; darkening on their way until two black characters stood against the white.

陰陽

If Kakashi had been as fascinated as Fuu, he might have easily missed the expression shadowing Sato's face for a moment.

Resignation and maybe… regret? Be that as it may, it was obvious that the old man had expected this outcome — those two characters. By making them visible for Kakashi, he was only sharing bits of his knowledge. Tiny pieces he decided to offer… to see what he would do with them…

Noticing how the copy ninja payed no attention to the whispering ink, the shinobi for internal affairs looked him straight back in the eye. "Those would be Yin and Yang."

The warmth of Fuu's body against his legs, calmed Kakashi's irritation although her small hands also reminded him of his responsibilities. He still had no clue about this man's intentions. So despite the Hokage's assurance, Kakashi felt uncomfortable and tense around Sato — a great number of people wanted to use Fuu; maybe even eliminate her as long as she posed a threat to Konoha…

"Hm…" Sato grumbled, realizing that the seal had stopped its growth. "Maybe we can finish this by adding more blood while setting up a constant flow with my chakra… ah, now look at that."

This time the fresh blood from the dropper reacted faster, almost as if it knew what to do. Carefully observing the new elements, Sato added some here and there, while sending chakra through the fingertips.

With a small hiss a dark crack appeared between the two characters and separated them effectively before shooting upwards as well as downwards; creating curved chakra lines which served at the same time as barriers. As they slowly rounded Yin and Yang it became apparent that they meant to illustrate the very symbol.

Unbridled in their speed, the invisible hand of the creator continued to fill out the blanks of the seal. The character for the sun appeared in the white circle of the dark Yin half whereas the moon was outlined white against the black spot blossoming on the side of Yang.

"This is huge" Kakashi now commented as he stood next to Fuu who seemed to be mesmerized. He wasn't sure if she even understood that this was a part of her; hidden beneath her thin layers of skin. Scanning the different parts, he quickly found something that caught his attention.

On the outline of the circle some chakra lines twisted to form the sluggish zigzag of a final barrier. However once drawn, there should have been no new kanji — especially not that one in particular…

爆

Before the copy ninja could charge one of the stabilization scrolls with his chakra, the character already sparked to life.

'Strange… There's another signature' Kurenai wondered just as she was about to ring the doorbell.

Armed with a box of freshly made onigiri and newfound determination, the kunoichi had finally decided to have a talk with Kakashi. Even if that meant the end of his guardianship and ultimately Fuu's interrogation.

Ever since Anko's words had shattered Kurenai's hope, the kunoichi had been trying to find possible excuses. There were however none and holding back the information wasn't going to make things easier.

'Thinking back, it now seems like we've just made things worse…'

As if on cue, another safeguard mechanism of Fuu's seal sparked off an explosion that literally shook the Hatake residence to its very foundations.

Kurenai's instincts kicked in immediately and so she cowered on the ground, hugging the food box while waiting for the windows to stop rattling.

As soon as she was sure that everything had calmed down and there wasn't going to be a second explosion, Kurenai ran around the house — to where dark smoke rose above the roof.

"Kakashi? Fuu?! Are you alright" she called, slowly approaching the patio that had been buried by shattered glass.

Now that the smoke was clearing, the kunoichi was able to see that the living room was a mess. The once white walls were now pitch black and small pieces of glowing paper fluttered around as if somebody had blown off a confetti bomb.

With a small flame at the ends of his now dark grey hair, Kakashi rose from behind the couch and blinked towards Kurenai with both his eyes.

"What in Kami's name happened here?" Kurenai exclaimed while still searching the scene with her eyes. "And where's Fuu?"

Instead of answering, Kakashi bend down behind the couch and came up with a dazed Fuu who stared off somewhere into the distance while her hands still covered her ears. However she seemed to be unscathed as far as Kurenai could tell.

Someone else approached the living room from behind the kunoichi and she turned around to find the old medic admiring the outcome, "Well, that's backfiring for you! Thanks to your quick acting, Hatake, I was able to save a small part of the results."

For a short moment Kurenai only squinted at the medic in disbelieve, then she turned back to the copy ninja and his ward.

"I know I am repeating myself, but what happened? Kakashi? This is…" Kurenai tried to find the right words to describe just how a whole side of the house could possibly be missing. "Is this your concept of training Fuu?"

"You're making a scene again, woman" Sato suggested and gently freed the box of onigiri out of her weak grasp. "Let's see if you can at least cook."

With Fuu in his arms, Kakashi cautiously advanced towards the speechless kunoichi who stared at her now empty hands whilst there was the sound of content munching coming from behind her. Fearing that the red eyed woman might explode as well if she wasn't pacified, Kakashi used Fuu as a shield.

Focusing on the black traces on the girls face, Kurenai asked worriedly, "You alright, Fuu? You're not hurt, right?"

With a nod Fuu directed her huge eyes to her guardian. Raising herself with the support of his shoulder, she put out the little flame on top of his hair before sinking back down with a huff.

After a moment of thought, the girl spoke in a whisper, "But I am not going to explode, right?"

Awkwardly scratching his neck, Kakashi searched his numb brain for an answer that was acceptable for both the ears of his ward as well as the kunoichi's. He could tell that with the effects of surprise and shock fading, Kurenai's anger was quickly rising.

"No, definitely not, Fuu."

The girl frowned and the soot on her face made her doubt even more apparent, "But it was my blood that did this, right?"

'Thanks a lot for that, Fuu' Kakashi thought, before he quickly decided to hand the girl over to the deadly silent kunoichi.

"Kakashi" Kurenai said with a dangerously calm face and voice, holding Fuu close enough to make her scrunch her face. "I think we should talk."

Instead of the anger and disappointment he had expected, the silver head found himself confronted with sadness and deep compassion. After searching Kurenai's face long enough, Kakashi had excluded enough possibilities to finally understand that this talk would put an end to things.

And suddenly he acquired a liking to the idea of dealing with another explosion instead.

"Are they still arguing, Pakkun?"

"Yes. Apparently the female just found out about you having a seal inside of you. Do you really?"

"I guess."

"That sucks."

"…"

"What's wrong, pup? Is it because they send you outside? You should be glad. She's awfully loud, even at this distance my ears hurt."

"…"

"Well, it seems that the seal has got something to do with your lack of chakra. That's what the boss said just now."

"Oh, I thought Futaba was using it."

"Yes… Your spirit female is a topic too… and Orochimaru. Boss didn't know about that. Aaaand he's not very happy about it… No, now that old man adds in his two cents."

"What does he say?"

"He tells them that this is not the time to fight and that it's more important to decide which informations they should provide for your transfer to the interrogation department."

"… my transfer?"

"That…"

"So I will have to leave after all?"

"I… I am sure that they will figure something out, pup!"

"…"

"No tears! Please…"

"…"

"… How about I let you touch my paw? It's really soft!"

Careful not to make any noise Fuu climbed down the stairs and walked towards the living room. She curled her toes once she reached the part of the living room where the cold from outside reached her feet. After all the broken windows had only been fixed provisorily.

Her guardian still sat on the spot she had last seen him; upon a blanket that now covered the funny smelling couch. Glancing at his profile Fuu contemplated whether he would even talk to her. There was something about the way he now looked at her that scared her more than she wanted to admit.

Sighing Kakashi turned to meet the troubled face of his ward.

Why was it that everything they tried to solve her mystery only brought up more questions? Not to mention, that it was quite destructive. Both he and Sato had been brooding all evening over the remnants of the seal while Kurenai had tried to clear away the mess in the living room.

Aside from Yin and Yang there were only few elements which they could identify. This time even Sato had been clueless, though Kakashi could not shake of the feeling that the old man kept some informations from him. Again they still knew close to nothing.

Except that Fuu would now definitely end up with the interrogation squad.

When they had called Fuu back inside, she already knew. Thanks to Pakkun, apparently. Now she stood over there with all her fears and insecurities that he could no longer take from her.

"You should go to sleep, Fuu. Surely you must be exhausted" Kakashi said with a calm voice. He wasn't in the mood for pretending that everything was fine. He was actually sick of pretending.

The message struck the girl though she tried to hide it behind a smile. It made Kakashi wonder briefly just how long she had been smiling to keep their minds at peace.

"I will. I… just wanted to give this to you, Hatake-sama. I promise that I will leave you alone after that."

"Go upstairs."

Along with the visible flinch, tears welled up in her eyes so that they shone almost eerily green in the dim room.

Quickly walking up to him before she lost her confidence, his ward pressed something against the fingers of his loosely folded hands. With a deep breath to calm the mild irritation to her insistence, Kakashi allowed for the object to glide to the center of his palm.

It was a small stone with a smooth surface.

"That's my worry-eater stone" Fuu quickly explained, as he raised his eyes again to her face.

"Worry-eater stone?" Kakashi entertained her without showing any sign of interest.

"Yes. You have to close your fingers around it-" seeing as her guardian didn't follow her instructions, she hesitated for only a moment before she grabbed his fingers and pushed them to close around the stone. "-then you… you'll feel better!"

The scornful comment that rose with a surge of his anger thankfully never made it past his teeth. Instead Kakashi took another deep breath and decided to actually focus.

It indeed felt soft and warm to the touch and the numbness of his mind allowed for his curiosity to surface. There was something tickling him, the smell of sun and fresh green… and somehow it almost felt as if he could breath freely again. Whatever had been constricting his chest, loosened up a bit; finally allowing him to look up and meet Fuu's gentle smile.

"See? It's better now, right?"

"How is it that you…?" Kakashi started only to be cut off by the flash of panic in her eyes. Realizing she was expecting another rejection, he gathered every last bit of energy and patience to pull her closer.

Brushing with his covered nose the crown of her head, he whispered, "Sleep well, Fuu-chan … and thank you."

The last part was really emotional for me and more than once I thought to soften it here and there. However there's not much to sugarcoat, I believe.

So... Fuu will face interrogation – if Danzo doesn't get his hands on her, if Sato doesn't reveal his actual intentions and if Futaba doesn't manage to escape before... quite a couple of ifs :) So stay tuned!

lizy2000: First of all, thank you so much for the review! And indeed, Fuu is related to snake man. At first I wasn't sure if she should really call him that but with her childlike simplicity, why not? I always find it somehow amusing to imagine the two of them in one picture :D

So thanks again and I hope that you enjoyed the update!

Lady Syndra: Despite not reaching a conclusion, I really hope that this chapter did not disappoint! I just feel like there's so many questions and I don't want to miss out on them in favor of faster development... though having four chapters with almost the same title somewhat sucks :D

Thanks so much for the review!

BabySealLover: I am somewhat relieved that the last chapter wasn't as boring as I feared it would be. I will however definitely make sure to include Anko in the future - there's just so much potential! But for now there's so much else to cover - hence my decision to once again split...

Futaba is slowly getting on her feet and Kakashi now has to face the Hokage. Although nothings proven yet, the council won't allow for a possible test subject of Orochimaru to wander around freely - especially if she could provide the key to bring down the Snake Sannin. With Hiroko on the borders and enemies inside Konoha as well, it will be a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea.

And with Sato's interests finally showing, the situation's quite risky.

So thank you for the great review and I hope it's not stretching it too much with another one after this...

/ ... / Thank you for reading this chapter and I wish all of you a good start into the festive season :)