A/N: This next chapter is dedicated to my first reviewer: XRulerofChaosX. Thank you for your kind review!
Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own any of the Naruto characters or the series.
Chapter Two: Kurosuzu and Kyuubi
The next morning came quickly, bringing a mist of chill into the village of Hidden Leaf. The leaf ninja were already awake, preparing to start a new day of missions, whether they were house chores or espionage.
The Hokage tower loomed out of the fog and stood guard over the village, a reminder to the villagers who lived there that their ninja protected them. Tsunade was sitting at her desk, drowsily filling out papers and scrolls piled up all around her. Her pale golden-blonde head was resting on one arm as the other scribbled lazily at the scrolls, her eyes barely open. Finally, her arms slipped and her head fell forward onto the desk with a loud 'thud.' Papers fluttered as she snored loudly. (Anyone within a three-mile radius would have heard it).
Suddenly, the doors burst open, bringing the snoozing Godaime out of her brief slumber. It was Shizune, carrying Ton-Ton the pig, and Izumo and Kotetsu with mountains of more paperwork in their arms. The papers dropped to the floor as Izumo and Kotetsu pointed an angry finger at their Hokage.
"Godaime-sama! You were sleeping just now, weren't you!" they cried, frustrated that their Hokage would rather sleep than help her fellow ninja conquer the current war against paperwork.
Tsunade just waved and smiled strangely, a trail of spittle running down her chin. A giant bead of sweat rolled down their faces at her 'response.' Tsunade wiped the drool off on her green sleeve and retained an authoritative posture.
"Do you have news for me, Shizune?" asked Tsunade in a commanding voice that brought everybody back into seriousness.
"Tsunade-sama, Hatake Kakashi is here requesting an appointment with you," said Shizune, "Should I allow him in?"
"Bring him in, Shizune," responded Tsunade, "The rest of you leave those papers here and go outside."
Kotetsu and Izumo looked at each other before dropping the files onto the floor and walking out. Shizune stood by Tsunade's side as Kakashi strolled in, pocketing an orange book.
"You wished to see me about something, Kakashi?" asked Tsunade, picking up a pen and continuing her work.
"My teammates and I had finished our chores yesterday evening and were heading towards Ichiraku—the ramen stand that Naruto likes so much—and as usual, Naruto and Sakura began to argue about Sasuke—"
"Is there a point to this, Kakashi?" Tsunade asked through bared teeth, veins pulsing visibly on the temple of her forehead.
"Maa, of course," Kakashi scratched at his chin, "We bumped into a suspicious character on the way; he seemed to know Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi."
Tsunade snorted, "Who doesn't?"
"He even asked about Itachi and did not seem to know what happened to him or the Uchiha clan, as if he had been gone from this village for a long time."
Ton-Ton squealed in Shizune's arms as the two women blinked in interest.
"And who was this man?" asked Tsunade, releasing her pen and folding her arms on her desk.
"He was a bit shorter than me with long white hair—"
"Jiraiya?" Shizune cut into the description, eyebrow raised.
"No—let me finish, Shizune-san—He was much too young to be Jiraiya, about my age, I think, but younger—"
"What was his name, Kakashi?" sighed Tsunade, hand slapped to her forehead.
"Kurosuzu Oboro."
Tsunade looked up, thunderstruck, as her mouth dropped open.
"Tsunade-sama, are you all right?" asked Shizune as Ton-Ton made worried sounds.
The fifth Hokage shot up from her seat, knocking her chair over.
"Kurosuzu Oboro! Are you sure?" cried Tsunade, her hands curled into fists.
"Yes, that is what he said," said Kakashi, just as confused as Shizune and Ton-Ton.
Tsunade frowned with a pained expression and looked down at her fists pressed on top of her desk, shaking as she tried not to break the wood in half.
"I thought you knew the man was here, Tsunade," Kakashi droned, hands buried in his pockets, "He had a pass signed by you."
"WHAT!" Tsunade shouted, her burning eyes glancing up at Kakashi, "I signed no such pass to anyone in the past six months!"
Team seven stood rooted to the spot in shock, staring at Kakashi with wide eyes.
"WHAT!" screeched Naruto, looking horrified. Kakashi had not seen such an expression on Naruto since he found out he had run out of cup ramen.
"That's right, Naruto," Kakashi droned, "Tsunade just ordered every Konoha ninja, Anbu Squad member, and Hunter-nin to hunt and take down Kurosuzu Oboro for suspected connections with the summoning of the Kyuubi no Youko thirteen years ago."