A/N: Happy (belated) Easter to all of you! I finished writing this chapter on the train back from my family, and there was this chibi Sherlock sitting opposite of me. I actually shared some of my chocolates with him. Then he addressed me formally with "Sie" (which roughly translates to the level of being addressed with sir or madam) and I ended up not kidnapping him.

Well, anyhow, here's chapter 17! I hope you enjoy it and hugs to those who are so kind to leave a review – every follow and favor is such a motivation, so thanks all of you who did! :)

Music: I listened to quite a number of different songs, but what fits the atmosphere best in my opinion is "Se relever" by Le MELODiST.

- Chapter 17 -

A Web of Half-Truths

One week later

Having finished the most recent reports, Sarutobi Hiruzen finally reached for the ink brush to attach his signature to the document before him — qualifying its contents to wander straight to the restricted area of the archives. Regarding the many notes, cross references and the fourteen pages of record numbers linked to this sole mission, the Third was decidedly unenthusiastic about the remaining four reports that still required his attention.

Hardly one to exaggerate, the Hokage swore that by now he could taste the ink through his fingers.

While the Sandaime definitely wasn't any fonder of this tedious paperwork than his predecessors, he had at least been curious enough to keep up with the incoming intel of the guardian spirit case. And now, finding himself presented with such neat results, he was no longer sure whether to be alarmed rather than allowing himself to feel pleased.

Since everything seemed to add together one by one, Hiruzen couldn't help but question the approach he had taken so far.

Dispatching several high-ranking shinobi in order to find evidence supporting Futaba's claims — or hints that, in all her apparent honesty, she had actually tried to fool them — was a move to be expected of Konoha. It was protocol. Hence, something which a former Leaf shinobi could easily factor into his own calculations of possible outcomes.

And Orochimaru surely wasn't above providing evidence as long as it played into his hands. On other occasions he had sacrificed his pawns without thinking twice. So why wouldn't he do the same with one of his secret labs? After all it had worked like a charm when he left Konoha with a similar parting gift.

Waiting for the ink of his signature to dry, the Sandaime conveyed his discontent by twirling the his beard between his fingers.

Despite the many unresolved issues, Hiruzen now knew that Futaba had indeed faced Orochimaru in the Taiyo no nai mori — the 'Sunless Forest' located just beneath the Land of Rice Fields. Coincidentally, it happened to be one of the places Jiraiya had kept a close eye on. Especially since the local shinobi clans had begun to stir.

'Staring down at her trembling knees, Futaba payed great attention to accommodate his demand by repeating Orochimaru's words, "He asked me: »Who informed Jiraiya? It was just too convenient that he appeared and helped you escape.« … Apparently he thought that there had been a third party involved. But since it seemed like this would be his last question, I tried to drag it out — change his mind. I couldn't just bow to the inevitable. It was the only chance I had."'

Hiruzen couldn't help but wonder, whether Futaba was even aware of how much she gave away with so little. It was like reading a book; her green eyes speaking of her feelings before she could even properly convey them with her words.

It wasn't unlike the tea bag that Hiruzen now absentmindedly dipped in his cup. Once you poured hot water on it, flavor would start to seep through. Though it wasn't because of her emotional state that he doubted the seal on her shoulder was the first alteration of her memory.

The Sandaime had been wrong about his student more times than he would like to recount. And he knew that it had been his own willful ignorance that had allowed Orochimaru to go as far as he had in the first place. It was because of this, however, that the Third found himself unable to turn a blind eye this time. He couldn't just ignore how careless his former pupil would have been by leaving Futaba with only a memory seal. One that was linked to her ability to relay certain knowledge.

Given Orochimaru's usual standards, it could almost be considered sloppy to leave it to chance just how much his former subordinate would be able to relay before having her black out.

So there must have been a previous occasion where Orochimaru had deemed it necessary to risk interfering with the already existing fuinjutsu designs in Futaba's bloodstream. To make it appear as if this second time had been the first…

'Choosing to disregard most of the more curious questions about her relationship with his former student, Hiruzen chose to address the more pressing matters, "Was there… a third party involved?"

"It's possible. But at that point I was… I was already too far gone, I believe" Futaba admitted tiredly; shoulders hunched to guard the naked expression of terror and shame twisting her features. She still couldn't handle the helplessness that came along with being strapped down to a chair while spilling such personal details in front of strangers. It was evident that the seal had already tempered with that controlled confidence she had shown at the very beginning. "It would have been impossible for me to call for help."

"What about Jiraiya then?"

"I have not met him before that day." Glad to move on from the uncomfortable topic of the time she had spent locked away, Futaba chanced a glance at the Hokage's face, "It was probably because Orochimaru-sa– because he has always payed great attention not to lead that shinobi to his main bases, abandoning less important sites to distract the other Sannin as he saw fit… I didn't know who he was when I escaped back then, only his name was vaguely familiar. He's from the Leaf, right?"

Her gaze pleaded with the Sandaime to ask the man himself for confirmation since she was physically unable to delve any deeper into the many hows and whys.'

To say that Sarutobi Hiruzen was curious about Jiraiya's side of this story would have been a colossal understatement. Since he had already decided what he would make of this whole situation, all he needed was the missing piece to substantiate his own conclusion. There was, after all, little else that could provide him with the assurance he needed.

While in most cases the brilliance of a schemer lay with obscuring one's own involvement, Orochimaru had taken a different approach this time.

Too many unsolved questions, too many answers resembling ready-made solutions — evidently designed before the question marks were even put at the end of a sentence.

And then there was the physical proof: For one, the swath of destruction left behind by the snake summon Manda — later followed by the update of another team closing in on what seemed like an abandoned hideout. All thanks to the hints of a barely conscious guardian spirit.

It wouldn't even be that far-fetched to assume that Orochimaru had left Futaba with just enough of her memories to give her story the necessary foundation. Similar to what Kakashi had suggested during his debriefing.

"What risk have you decided to take, Orochimaru?" the Hokage questioned the papers in front of him, face resting on one hand as he picked up the physiological evaluation of Futaba's character. In his opinion it was hardly necessary to throw around with words as unwieldy as 'cognitive bias' or 'secondary consciousness'. But then again he had never been too fond of those diagnoses done by specialists who hardly spent any time outside of their offices.

"Was it your intention to plant a sleeper, knowing that your name would always be attached to her file? Why gamble? You knew that I would figure this out. You expected me to, didn't you? And while I do see that she is your game piece, it doesn't seem to me that you actually intend to use her. You betrayed her after all — even if in doing so you proved yourself lenient enough to allow her to move on, going to such length only to ensure that her father wouldn't be the one to catch her… If she really is so important, there has to be another side of the coin."

Interrupting his own monologue, the Sandaime turned his chair to stare out of the darkening window. "It would be too petty to send her just to prove that sympathy is a weakness, even for you."

Because this was the one thing Hiruzen couldn't deny. He pitied the young woman, even more so than Fuu.

With a sigh he swiveled around to pick up the latest report from Inoichi. There had been little progress with the girl, yet the Yamanaka had assigned two more sessions. While there was practically nothing for him to work with, Fuu would sometimes light up at certain topics, showing Inoichi glimpses of what they were looking for before she'd bury the information. Indicators, but nothing more.

It was all so very infuriating…

As if kami had finally taking pity upon Hiruzen, it was in that moment, right when his frustration was about to meet its peak for the day, that a flicker of chakra caught his attention.

A second later Eagle, one of the ANBU he had stationed at the hospital, appeared before him.

Strangely apprehensive, the Sandaime lifted one brow in question and when the masked shinobi only nodded, the older man rose from his seat, "So… our guardian spirit has finally awoken."

"Breathe in" the medic instructed from behind her, one hand pressed firmly onto the bony back. "Now out… "

Doing as she was told, Futaba pulled the uncomfortably shuddering breath out of her lungs and tried to ignore the hollow feeling it left her with.

"Do you feel pain?"

Oh, she felt like a stranger, wearing a stranger's too big clothes.

"No" Futaba replied with her voice sounding a bit muffled to her own ears. She swallowed to recover her hearing sense, but there was already a hand at her throat before she could even communicate her inability to string together more than one proper word.

'I must have screamed. Enough to make the soreness last for over a week.'

The foreign chakra quickly suppressed her own body's resistance. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but Futaba finally forced her chin up to give the medic better access. The woman's eyes flickered to her own green ones before peeking above her head to the ANBU guard hovering close behind her.

Futaba got the message.

Don't even think about pulling off anything funny. It would be a pain to have to stitch you up again.

"Are you tired?"

Futaba pushed the words around on her tongue until she trusted her throat to give voice to them, "I feel slightly drained, but not tired really."

The female medic nodded as if this was to be expected, but nothing to worry about. This probably should have been the point for Futaba to open her mouth and finally ask questions of her own.

'What will happen now? What did you tell Fuu? Can I leave her a note? Is she fine? Does the deal hold true? Did I slip? Is this an illusion to have me lower my guard? … Am I even still in Konoha? Did I ever make it to Konoha?'

The unanswered questions were like live coals; slowly but surely driving her mind to the point where Futaba felt like she didn't even want to know anymore. Beneath her skin her muscles twitched helplessly.

"Alright… Everything seems normal. Slow but steady chakra flow, good response time from the coils and apart from that, there is nothing to worry about. Except the malnutrition, but I already passed a note to the nurse and for the next couple of nights we will add some supplements to your infusion. Well, my assistant will clear everything up now and I see you tomorrow."

It would have been easy to miss the boy for he was as pale as the white walls behind him. Only when his sensei directly addressed him, he finally gave his presence away with a flinch.

His anxiety and panic had been weighing down on Futaba ever since he had neared the room.

While she wasn't yet able to properly avert the emotions of unguarded people like him, her body still refused to answer to them. That was why it wasn't as tiring as it could have been. Even the sympathy glimmering somewhere in her own chest was no more than an inkling.

Trying to appear as sluggish and helpless as Futaba deemed appropriate, she awaited the boy's approach. He picked up the cannula of her new infusion and regarded the needle for a moment, seemingly unsure what to do with it.

It should have given Futaba an idea of how many attempts it would take him to reattach it.

"Don't fret" she muttered softly, when he started trembling hard enough to actually drop the cannula after his third failed attempt.

The sudden sound of her voice apparently spooked him even more and he simply froze for a few seconds. When his curly head eventually snapped up and Futaba didn't move to immediately attack him, he shifted nervously.

Wetting his lips, he whispered a little helplessly, "This is my fourth day."

Futaba wasn't sure why, or how exactly, but the boy had succeeded in amusing her. Especially when he blushed at his own statement.

Even without prying, she could tell that he was thinking really hard about how he could possibly gloss over the fact that he had just admitted to being a complete novice. And this in front of a possibly dangerous patient.

"Relax, I'm not really that squeamish and this is something that gets easier every time, I promise. In a few weeks you'll be able to do this in your sleep. Just take a deep breath and then try again."

Without questioning it, he did as she suggested and suddenly it worked on the first try.

"I did it!" he announced a little louder than strictly necessary, before clearing his throat due to the immediate sense of awkwardness, "I mean. The cannula is reattached. If you need something else… Sorry, I think I should…"

Futaba almost felt sorry for him when she spotted the red tips of his ears. Even the ANBU, who had kept his own emotions in check so far, could barely hide his somewhat exasperated humor.

"Er… Miss?" It could have been almost comical how the boy suddenly did a 360 while exchanging the pained expression for a more distressed version. "Could you please not tell sensei? I mean, I still have a lot to learn, but she's strict — a great medic — but I… I don't want to disappoint her. Okay?"

The warmth actually spread a little further in Futaba's chest. It even allowed her to disarm the boy's worry with the beginnings of a gentle smile. "I am not quite sure to what you're referring. I have been treated well and your sensei should be proud that her apprentice does not only care about his patients but also tries to improve. That's something worthy of praise rather than blame, don't you agree?"

"Oh, I do" a third voice interrupted them. And while it did save the apprentice the trouble of shaping a proper response, he blanched yet again when he turned towards the new arrival.

If Futaba had been suspicious of the realness of this whole situation before, the sight of the Hokage disabused her from any doubt she might have secretly harbored. While the light sure was harsh in this glaring white room, it highlighted the shadows and deepened wrinkles around the Sandaime's eyes.

Whatever had happened since she had last seen him, Sarutobi Hiruzen had not been idle.

"Hokage-sama!"

The man in question apparently couldn't help the wry smirk as he watched the young apprentice bow to him hastily. Even more so when the boy added a mumbled excuse so that he could finally escape the room.

Futaba however took advantage of the moment in which the ANBU opened the door for the boy and once again reattached the cannula. Of course her movement didn't go unnoticed, but then again it was a sharp object in the hands of a suspect.

Briefly meeting the attentive gaze of the Hokage, Futaba offered a small shrug, "He really did try his best. I didn't want to dishearten him when he was already so afraid of me. Especially since he had been used in an attempt to bait me."

She might have been out of it for a while, but the intent to test her had been fairly obvious.

Distantly Futaba wondered if her own detached astonishment had been audible. She was still able to remember that some memories had been taken from her; there even was a vague feeling — an echo of some kind — that the emotions attached them had been complex and painful to a degree.

But to think that it would enable her to evoke such fear in others, made her question the hollow space inside her chest and what had been dwelling there not that long ago.

"How are you feeling, Futaba-san?"

Realizing that she'd been staring wide-eyed at the white floor tiles without moving so much as a finger, Futaba tightened her hold on the covers of her bed. Earlier, during the silent process of the physical tests, it had filled her with a new kind of dread — realizing just how easy it was for her to slip into this new emptiness inside of her.

Swallowing her first impulse, which was to pretend that she was fine, Futaba decided to steer a middle course. "I am not quite sure yet, Hokage-sama."

She was aware that he was watching her, studying her with perfectly guarded feelings. It made her wonder, if her inability to rekindle her own emotions was now reflecting on her sensitivity for the feelings of others, or if the Hokage and his men had been able to erect these walls around their minds in only one week. It had taken her brother years.

Unconsciously Futaba reached out only to be reminded that her otouto could no longer help her.

He certainly wouldn't be able to get her out of here.

"What did Orochimaru see in you?"

The question was blunt enough to catch Futaba off guard. Her eyes flew up to the face of the man whom she had promised to be honest with. A man with the power to decide her fate — as well as Fuu's.

'He wants to know the reason why I am still alive. Why I'm still alive and here of all places. But how should I know? I don't even want to know. I wish I could just…'

"He once said to me that being raised as a servant had taught me to be useful no matter to whom" the words stumbled out of her mouth before Futaba even knew it was happening. "I stayed because he was fascinated enough with my father's seal to study it. He never taught me and I never asked him to. But whatever service I could offer him, be it providing meals or organizing his laboratories and libraries, he'd accept them. And the more I learned, the more abilities I could offer to him. Whenever he would mention something, I picked up whatever skill I thought might come in handy… I… I must have simply given up at some point."

"On what?" the Sandaime perked up, seemingly as captured by her words as she had been.

"That Orochimaru would actually help me unravel the seal of my father. That I would able to achieve anything at all…"

As someone, who had only recently been promoted to Chunin, Umino Iruka took his job very seriously. So, if the regulations stated that mission reports from A-rank missions were supposed to be handed in one week after the debriefing had taken place, he would naturally start to inquire into their whereabouts if this wasn't the case.

"Taichou, I am sorry to bother you but I was just checking the list with deadlines and there was this A-rank– I know you said that it's fine if it's only a day or two, but this one is supposed to be directly delivered to T&I, so…" Iruka trailed off as the old shinobi behind the desk slowly raised to stare at him unimpressed.

He always made the young chunin feel as if he was the actual nuisance for pointing out the many leniencies of the system. The old man usually allowed the shinobi to get away with their tardiness. It wasn't because he was very kind, or even an understanding man. He just found it to be too tedious a task to actually track down all the lazy bums, especially when they'd just pull their 'I am busy because I am a very important asset to the village'-card on him.

Grunting an unintelligible response he hoped that it would make the boy leave. But he remained while looking slightly pained.

"Who's it from then?"

Shoulders sagging with relief because he actually had been graced with an actual answer, Iruka replied readily, "009720 – Hatake Kakashi."

The older shinobi, who had already returned his attention to the overview of odds for the forthcoming rooster fight for that evening, froze. When he finally looked up again, his face was stretched to a gloating grin.

"Well, if it's the Sharingan brat then it should be pretty important. Why don't you look into it?" His superior suggested with a quality of faux innocence that Iruka was already familiar with. It entailed the most troublesome tasks. "It should be good training for you. Especially if you really think about staying with Konoha administration, Umino. Off to the merry chase ya go!"

After having shrewdly avoided the debriefing for his mission (by simply stuffing the mission scroll into the pocket of the responsible chunin) Kakashi decided that he could no longer avoid the inevitable. And while sidestepping the inquiries after his missing report had only started, returning home was something he had put off long enough.

The skies opened up just as Kakashi arrived at his doorstep, but instead of hurrying inside, he stood and stared at the set of keys in his hand. As if on cue, the wind pushed the heavy rain beneath the roof and slapped it right in his face. It was a sensation that, despite the mask, was uncomfortable enough to make him shake off those lingering thoughts.

But not thinking about it, proved to be a little harder than that.

Upon entering the house, he was greeted by a waft of the familiar flowery scent — only overpowered by the smell of spoilt food. Closing his eyes for a moment, the struggling shinobi finally shut the door with his back. He should have emptied the fridge. It was still full to bursting with all of the dishes that… had been prepared for him.

With a burning sigh rising in his throat, Kakashi turned his gaze down.

There were two letters who innocently awaited him on the doormat. Both addressed him with characters put on the paper by a hand that wasn't capable of the quick and fluent movements necessary to prevent the ink from soaking through yet.

For a moment Kakashi contemplated just leaving. Maybe to the memorial stone. But instead he spent the next few seconds debating why he shouldn't simply leave them lying on the floor. Only after a ridiculous amount of time, which Kakashi spent mostly staring at the envelopes, he decided that postponing the inevitable wouldn't work.

So he threw them unopened in the trash.

The Hokage watched the young woman in the bright light of the room; the sharpness of her young face now highlighted by the short curls dancing around it. Her skin had been cleaned from blood and dirt and it glowed just as pale as the walls surrounding her. But while Futaba no longer appeared to him like the inhuman being that had been dragged out of the woods, he wouldn't say that this was that much of an improvement.

To his eyes the once fierce guardian spirit now looked as if words alone could make her snap like twig. And if someone would have told him that the person in front of him could actually soften enough to offer a stranger words of support, as she had done with the medical assistant just mere seconds ago, he might have called the bluff.

Thinking back to her last words, the Sandaime chose to inquire, "Did you ever ask Orochimaru to remove the seal?"

Suddenly the cold atmosphere of the room seemed to ripple; almost as if a soft breeze had found it's way inside the windowless room. Soon it became evident, however, that the source was actually Futaba's barely concealed amusement.

With a lot more light in her green eyes she scrutinized the Sandaime before her. Almost as if he had somehow managed to offend her; forcing her to counter with a crooked smile.

"I may have allowed him to take advantage of my naiveté but I wasn't foolish enough to surrender myself to his experiments." As much as her humor had surprised him, her returning sadness now succeeded in suffocating the lighter atmosphere. "I've seen what he does to those who give him everything. Those he breaks."

"And yet you've stayed."

"Yes" she agreed with a small frown, her eyes deep and dark. "And I might have never been able to leave if it weren't for Jiraiya-san."

Clasping his hands behind his back, Hiruzen moved a little closer.

Since he trusted Ibiki to focus on the more relevant questions later on, it was his own curiosity that now directed this conversation. Given his busy schedule, as well as his other numerous responsibilities, Hiruzen didn't doubt that he wouldn't see Futaba before the end of her term at T&I. So this was his chance to try and understand the reason for Orochimaru's leniency towards this woman.

"Others have tried to run from Orochimaru with less success than you have."

"And now you wonder how somebody like me, alone and handicapped, should manage the impossible?" the woman in front of him hummed intelligently with just the right amount of dry humor in her voice.

The Sandaime silently thought that her returning composure was just as astonishing as her whole story. And yet he couldn't deny that the fragile state of her mind worried him. One moment she'd use her sharp wit and then her eyes would widen suddenly as she struggled, failed to remember something.

This time however she succeeded. "Apparently my efforts to hide from him were just as futile as attempting to evade my father. Orochimaru actually told me as much. It's one of the few memories he was gracious enough to leave me with."

Hiruzen regarded her sharply, openly — after all there was no reason to hide his suspicion. It was one thing to have an incarnate guardian spirit stumble into his office, but a completely different business if the same would try to exchange faulty intel for favors. Being associated with Orochimaru could be a blessing or curse depending on the situation.

As if sensing his gnawing suspicions, Futaba turned towards him with a hesitant frown.

To the Third's surprise, however, this first question of hers wasn't related to Fuu. Maybe because she feared the answer he might give her.

"When I went to the Uchiha district that night — the night where I returned to Konoha — I was surprised to find it deserted" while she spoke, her fingers played nervously with the white fabric of her bedsheets. "They explained to Fuu that something awful had happened. And while I do appreciate that their tales didn't go into detail, it left me wondering what actually could have happened. I… I met Itachi on my travels. The son of the clan head and Mikoto-sama… — was he involved in what happened?"

Reaching the conclusion that Fuu's guardian spirit seemed to possess an exceptional talent when it came to running into the shinobi who carried classified information, Hiruzen struggled against the sigh rising in his throat. For a second he wondered if she was even aware just how lucky she was to be even alive.

"Yes." He watched how she tried to keep most of her sadness to herself but they all could sense it anyway. His next question he posed both due to his concern for the Itachi as well as for appearances' sake. "When and where did you meet him?"

"It was an inn by the wayside, down a trade route in the Land of Lightening. I sensed familiarity and he too recognized me… He trailed me for the rest of the night but lost me when Fuu took over."

"Hm" the Hokage acknowledged, pulling lightly at the tip of his beard.

Before he could however bring this new piece of information into a line with the rest, there was a knock on the door.

"Please excuse my interruption, Lord Hokage" the nurse who had been ushered inside by Eagle mumbled. "But there was one last test we forgot during the examination earlier and the lab needs it to analyze her other results. Do I have your permission to run the test now?"

Agreeing with a nod, Hiruzen watched how the nurse approached the woman on the bed without any hesitation, taking a piece of paper from her clipboard before handing it to Futaba.

"This is paper for chakra induction. Do you know how it works?" the nurse asked with a surprisingly cheerful chirp.

While Futaba frowned a little at the thin paper between her fingers, the Sarutobi couldn't help but wonder if the hospital staff was always this friendly towards suspects contained in this facility, or if the guardian spirit just was an exception.

"If I remember correctly…" Futaba finally whispered, her whole aura suddenly shifting before assuming a colorful touch of curiosity. "It should be…"

Well, what happened next, caught all of them a little off guard.

There was the sound of something cracking, the intense scent of sunflowers and then something smacked against the Sandaime's forehead. This of course prompted Boar to restrict the woman on the hospital bed, while Eagle swiftly materialized before him.

"Let her go" Hiruzen grumbled somewhat gruffly while he peeled the wet paper off his forehead and handed it to the thunderstruck nurse. She stared at it wide eyed before her concerned gaze searched the village leader's face for any signs of injuries.

Meanwhile boar followed his order and slowly inched away from the guardian spirit whose arm he had bent on her back. Futaba herself was stiff with surprise while the remaining piece of the paper still stuck to her hand; her eyes shut tightly enough to scrunch up her whole face.

Finally allowing himself the long overdue sigh, Hiruzen added dryly, "I'd say that's one rather strong wind affinity with a tendency for water."

Believing that this had been enough excitement for now, he send all three shinobi out of the room — ensuring his tense ANBU that the woman hardly posed any threat to him. After all wanted only her to hear his opinion for now.

The eyes still comically wide as she stared at the wet slip trembling between her fingers, Futaba was apparently too shocked to even notice that the others had left.

Almost feeling a bit sorry for her, the Third finally suggested, "A bit less chakra next time, maybe?"

"I can't believe I just… I am so very sorry, Lord Hokage. I didn't-"

But Hiruzen simply stopped her with a wave of his hand. "Does your arm hurt?"

Another moment passed where the guardian spirit blinked at his question a little owlishly.

'Well, how come I didn't suspect this?' the Sandaime asked himself, once Futaba sobered enough to quickly shake her head; curls moving in a strangely cheerfully dance around her tightlipped smile. 'She does share a lot more with Fuu than just this body…'

When he stared at her unimpressed long enough, though, it drained the forced expression from her face quicker than expected.

"One of the stitches might have popped just now. Apparently the medics had trouble closing the wound on my stomach due to the poison in my system."

Hiruzen appreciated her confession with a nod, "I will see to it that someone comes to patch you back up."

He noticed how her hand moved to cover the spot where a small red spot had already soaked through. She still smiled for him. It even was a more honest attempt this time. "I would appreciate that very much. Thank you, Hokage-sama."

It was just before the Sandaime reached the door that he raised his voice once more.

"I believe you."

Whatever bit of control Futaba had been exercising up until now, it all melted away with his words.

Confusion, deeply rooted fear, panic and so many layers of insecurity…

It was assuring to know that he hadn't been wrong and the nature-like force of her inner turmoil spoke of her honesty. But Hiruzen still gave a soft push with his own chakra to remind her that there was a limit to how open she could and should be around here. While he was able to use her momentary instability to his advantage, other would consider her emotional powers a threat.

To be given another label was something Futaba didn't need right now.

For now the position of Orochimaru's ex-assistant should suffice.

"Just so you know. I will also keep my word. Fuu has been taken care of during the days and I think I have found someone suitable who will take a closer look at her end of the seal — while taking the necessary precautions of course." Hiruzen turned to look back at the young woman one last time and the sheer gratitude in her eyes almost made him swallow the following words. Almost. "But be sure not to ever try and lie to me again — you have surprisingly little talent in that department, Futuba-san."

I: "We will first estimate the damage of the seal before we move onto other relevant topics. I have to ask you if you feel well enough to proceed, given that you woke from a medical induced coma only a few hours ago."

F: "I am fine, Morino-san."

Clack

I: "Start of the recording, five minutes past one on the morning of the twenty-third of September. My name is Morino Ibiki and I will conduct this first interview on the case of the night incidents from a week ago."

Y: "I am Yamanaka Inoichi and I will monitor to which extent the suspect is able to access her own memory after it has been altered by multiple seals."

I: "First of all, please state your name and age for the record."

F: "My name is Futaba. I turned twenty-two this February."

I: "Since this is the first questioning under my jurisdiction, I'd like to go over some of the points you covered with our Lord Hokage after your surrender. Inoichi?"

Y: "I'm ready."

I: "Futaba-san, you were raised as an orphan inside the Uchiha compound. No records, nothing on your parentage. You were sorted into the servant ranks and soon fulfilled the function of a caretaker for Uchiha Yashiro's household. Is that correct?"

F: "Yes."

I: "Did you know that I was assigned to support some of the more complicated cases of the Konoha Military Police Force back then? I made Uchiha Yashiro's acquaintance there and to me he didn't seem like the person who would allow a child to run his household."

F: "No, of course not. The first years of my time at Yashiro-sama's residence a senior of mine acted the official part. When my master finally addressed the issue, it was solved to the satisfaction of everybody."

I: "So everything worked out for you?"

F: "I was a servant who spent most of the time inside the compound. But I had a roof above my head and people I cared about. That's plenty for times of war."

I: "But you still left. You left the safety of your village, giving up on a secure job to go and search for a friend who disappeared during the chaos of wartime. A mere civilian like you with no defense skills whatsoever. How old were you? Sixteen?"

F: "Almost fourteen. And it was a very dear friend, one I considered family."

I: "Very dear indeed, it seems. What do we know about this friend, Inoichi?"

Y: "He is of similar age, I'd say. It's rather blurry. Dark hair, fair skin. Have you found him, Futaba-san?"

F: "No… No, I haven't found him."

I: "Instead you ran across an individual who claims to be your father and with whom you have a rather difficult relationship, I understand?"

F: "I don't… know whether Hiroko really is my father. It seems likely, especially considering how much we look alike. Fuu as well. I only know that he… he needs me and Fuu for some scheme or game. But I can't tell you more. He no longer resembles something… that is to be understood."

Y: "Very well, actually we would like to move onto the point where you managed to get away from this man."

I: "Yes, tell us how you managed to come across the next questionable individual. Orochimaru."

F: "It wasn't me who met him. Fuu had been bitten by a snake and he took her with him on a whim. I guess it must have been due her lack of chakra… otherwise he thought her quite boring."

Y: "And what use did you have to him?"

F: "He seemed to expect something from me. So I tried to be useful enough so that he wouldn't send me back to Hiroko. But in the end he was merely disappointed so he let me escape. How else could I have gotten away?"

In the end Kakashi just couldn't bring himself to throw the letters away with the spoilt food from the fridge.

A voice in his head advised him that it would be the wiser choice to just get over with it now; that he would eventually forget about his guilt, if only he kept moving forward, distancing himself until the point where it no longer affected him.

He didn't doubt for a second that he could be stronger than this uncomfortable feeling in his stomach.

But then he remembered the small person who had probably poured her soul into these letters. Without even wanting to, Kakashi pictured her; how she would concentrate on each character, tip of her tongue sticking out while she would rub at her eyes since she so easily forgot to blink when focused.

It probably had never occurred to Fuu that she could give up on him. Even after he had pushed her away.

'Why is this so much harder than dealing with Kurenai and the others?' Kakashi thought with defeat finally easing the tension between his shoulder blades. He threw the kitchen waste into the bin in front of his house and returned with the letters inside.

He did not open them, but they ended up on top of the small drawer in his entrance — right next to his keys.

/ ... / So much for this chapter. I had half the mind to write out that first questioning but that would have surely gone beyond the scope of what I intended. I just hope you're not disappointed and that I haven't bored you to death. But after creating so many plot question I would feel bad to just jump to the fun parts. Like the first official meeting between Kakashi and Futaba. God do I look forward to that - especially since I already know who's going to mess it up :D

The plot drafting for the second part is nearly finished and I can promise you guys a lot of surprises, bonding and more of Futaba and Fuu! If you should have any wishes, questions or suggestions, please let me know!

Hope to hear from you and until the next chapter!