Wild-filly: Yes! At long last wild-filly has managed to relocate herself back to the computer chair and some semblance of a creative spurt after her long venture to the northern reaches. Now suffering from a cold as well as a bad attack of school (last year of high-school now… oh the horrors) and therefore, offers the standard flimsy excuses for slow updates. I kind of have to concentrate on homework this year, much to my disappointment. Trust me, I'd much rather be writing this fanfic, but unfortunately I don't get paid for it so… (sighs) education elbows its way to the head of the priority list.

Much thanks to all who left comments and also to those who wished me well on my holidays! Very kind of you all to do so. Gratitude goes to Tora Macaw, rose, Anime Lance, kimpster, Katzuki, JapanAnimeGirl, Grummur, xl-twisted-lx and cara. Your support makes it all worthwhile (uncharacteristically cheerful grin).

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, so quit rubbing it in…

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Okumen Gokurakuchou: Chapter 17

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"So… precisely how are we going to break into a fortified, highly-suspicious, highly-anti-Shinobi and awkwardly positioned town again?"

"If you wish to be sarcastic, then kindly step several miles off to one side and then proceed as much as you want".

Sheltered by a camouflage net created by the three Shinobis' joint Chakra supplies, Masurao rolled his eyes extravagantly and glared back at the scribbled diagrams currently etched into the sand. Planning for this part of the mission was currently under scrutiny, based on the fact that said planning had taken place without knowing exactly what it was going to come up against. Kakashi was staring pensively at the sand, peering over at the town and its dramatic, towering stone walls with a kind of distracted annoyance every so often as he traced aimless patterns in the dirt. Kurotaka looked on at them both with a bored and pained expression, unable to put in her share of offensive dialog due to the stiffness of her cheek and the extensive muffling that the bandages around her face created. The morning light was history, replaced by the obnoxiously bright glare of mid-afternoon and the suffocating heat that accompanied it. Thinking was hard enough, let alone executing the plans that sprang from it. All in all, things had become unreasonably difficult.

"Our best chance is definitely to use a disguise; one that doesn't require a lot of Chakra and doesn't attract too much attention". Kakashi gave up sketching his squiggly sand patterns and stared at Masurao bitterly. "You don't say? Any bright ideas considering that then?"

"What was that you said just then about sarcasm?"

"Since when do you listen to me any way?"

"Fair point" Masurao conceded, cupping his chin in one hand as he stared thoughtfully at the town. "Judging by the size of it they'd probably have a sizeable police force… one that may also have a large imprisonment area for bandits or thieves…" His musing was suddenly supported by a vigorous nodding from Kurotaka, who began to scrawl kanji onto the sand at a furious rate. She glared down intensely as she drew, murmuring unintelligible curses as the sand failed to retain the shapes of her lettering.

Kakashi leant over the smeared, sifting words, disappearing even as the sand shifted under their weight. It truly was useless stuff for any purpose as far as Kakashi was concerned. "It looks like a cat with wings… is that your idea?" A venomous glare from Kurotaka and muffled "baka" were sufficient answer. Masurao leaned over speculatively, a slow smile spreading over his face as he struggled to make sense of the distorted words.

"Hey Kakashi?"

He hated those words… he truly did. "What?"

"I think there's one disguise you could pull off with no effort whatsoever".

Kakashi shut his eyes, expression pained. This was going to be insulting. "Do enlighten me".

"A public nuisance, and a scruffy one at that".

Well, Kurotaka was the only one who had made a pledge of non-violence towards Kakashi. Kakashi certainly hadn't offered Masurao the same favour.

………

"These bindings are uncomfortable. They happen to be chafing parts of me which have already been thoroughly sanded". Plucking irritably at the rope that now loosely bound his wrists together, Kakashi glared mutinously at Masurao as he strode on easily ahead of them, leading both him and Kurotaka up to the massive double-doors that screened the bustle of the inner town from view. Appearing to be girt in identical garments to the hostile men that the three had encountered, Masurao was the only one to be under a genjutsu spell, with the efforts of all the Shinobi focused on him alone. This would ensure that the spell would not only last longer, but also appear more realistic. With any luck he would be able to pull off the role of a minor member of the local civilian military with ease. On the down side, it meant that Kakashi and Kurotaka had to trudge along behind him, carrying all of the bags between them and bound "tightly" by the wrists.

"Quit talking, vermin". Masurao winked back at him. "You should remember your place in decent society".

Ah, he was going to pay for this later…

Staggering up to the main gates and waiting expectantly, four guards stepped forward from their own, smaller entrance to meet the one disguised and two bedraggled ninja with questioning expressions and suspicious eyes. An older man stared pointedly at Masurao's face, scowling faintly as he surveyed the miserable party. "I don't recognise you, even though you bear the insignia of the People… which division of the militia are you from?" Pale blue eyes pinned Masurao's gaze, forcing the Shinobi to meet his stare as he replied. "I'm afraid I'm not of any true importance sir, I was sent back from my group with some prisoners while they're bringing the more valuable, troublesome thieves". The height of wounded dignity, Kakashi couldn't help smile behind his mask; Masurao may not have the best life-preservation skills in the world, but he certainly was a brilliant actor when it came to winning sympathy for himself. "I haven't been given a ranking, just chores. So I'm afraid I didn't pay much attention when I was sent out with this other division a while ago".

A couple of the younger guards were nodding, sympathetic. It was a common complaint and an easy one to appeal towards. But the older man didn't look convinced. "What's your name, young man? I've lived in this town all my life and I have never seen anyone that even vaguely resembles you. Also…" He ran a hawk's stare over Kakashi and Kurotaka, predator-like in his surveillance. Kakashi felt the pit of his stomach lower. He knew… he knew a foreign Shinobi when he saw one.

"Thieves don't carry such expensive concealed weaponry. Nor do they walk with practised grace when they forget what role they're supposed to be acting. Nor do they travel with their bonds half-tied".

"Time to move" hissed Kakashi as three of the four guards drew their curved swords, advancing on him and Kurotaka with murder in their eyes as Masurao frantically tried to provide a new explanation for the older man. There wasn't a chance Kakashi was leaving his life in the hands of Masurao's hair-brained stories. He let the ropes slide uselessly to the ground, swiftly drawing a kunai in each hand. His katana had been wrapped up and stored out of sight in one of the bags; he hadn't realised that he would need it; he hadn't realised that not all guards were exceptionally dense and unsuited to any kind of intellectual task. Also, he was ever-aware of Kurotaka's partial blindness on one side. The wound had cut deeper than any of them had originally thought, curving up and slicing the flesh under her lower eyelid beneath the skin. A nasty wound, certainly, and potentially life-threatening when it came to this situation. As two of the guards surged towards him, he had no choice but to push Kurotaka's troubles from his mind and take care those that had suddenly entered his.

A ringing, shrieking of metal on metal, sparks flaring off the met blades as Kakashi countered both swords with a kunai each. His arms were splayed wide, vulnerable. One of his opponents sought to quickly strike to his exposed belly, but Kakashi kicked up, knocking the blade to one side and breaking away, leading the two out of Kurotaka's range. She was currently engaged in hand-to-hand combat, having successfully caught the sword's blade in her hands and yanked it away, tossed out of reach. With any luck she could hold her own while he took care of these two.

The swords slashed towards him, forcing him to duck and arch around the curving, lethal arcs of the deadly blades. Reading the paths of such weapons was easy, but countering them when they are held in two entirely different hands was another thing, especially if you weren't also carrying a weapon of similar calibre to match them.

Well. That's where ninjutsu comes into it. The Art of Dirty Tricks.

Kakashi met the two blades again with a resounding clatter, this time forcing all of his weight against one, letting the other man step in. There was a shredding, slicing as the curved sword cleaved its way through Kakashi's chest, separating it from the rest of his body. With a surprised intake of breath, the two men stopped, swords lax in their hands as they stared in confusion at the pile of sand now dumped at their feet. Uncertain, one of them kicked at the soft pile gingerly, retreating his foot hastily as the sand collapsed limply. From where he was now perched mid-way up the wall, suctioned there by Chakra and staring critically down at his would-be assassins, Kakashi decided against killing them by simply throwing a brief volley of shuriken. Obviously neither of these two had come against a ninja before; it wasn't bad to have incompetent enemies around. Now that their opponent seemed to have dissolved into a pile of sand, they were completely confused and seemed to have quite forgotten that they were supposed to be looking for him.

Turning his attentions over to where Kurotaka was still sparring furiously, he felt a dull surge of anger roar to the surface. Her opponent was considerably taller and heavier than she, not that this would normally make a difference; if anything it would give Kurotaka the advantage for being more nimble and harder to target. In this case though, he was using his weight to his advantage, knocking her off balance on her blinded side and then cutting in again when she was still winded. Blood was oozing from her mouth, the cut on her cheek had split open again and was adding to the crimson flow, trickling down her stained kimono. He couldn't see her eyes, but he knew by her laboured movements that she was fading. She would never forgive him for stepping in to take her fight from her, but at this particular moment, he felt that he could live with that lack of forgiveness.

His own previous attackers were now shuffling over to watch the ensuing fight between Kurotaka and her opponent, even as Masurao continued to argue with the older man. There seemed to be a slim chance that Masurao's story would work, based on the fact that he hadn't had to draw his own weapons yet. Keeping that in mind, Kakashi couldn't kill anybody, but he certainly wasn't going to let that stand in his way should his own life be threatened. Leaping down from the wall, he sprinted over to where Kurotaka and her opponent were now locked, braced against one another. Her arms were rigid in a block against his arm strike, while his legs were frozen back against her kick. They were in a competition of balance and muscle strength – which one of them could hold the stance the longest and still be able to land the attack. Kakashi hung back, not wanting to reveal his presence to the remarkably inobservant guards just a couple of metres in front of him. He wouldn't interrupt her, but he would make sure that these two wouldn't either.

Sweat and blood were beaded in watery red droplets on her face, black and white hair mussed, sweat-streaked and bloody, but Kuro's eyes didn't seem to be as wearied as the rest of her. She was currently glaring at the guard and this seemed to be sufficiently unnerving him from making any additional attack. Her limbs were shaking, exhausted and bloody, but they still stood firm, not giving any ground, but not offering to take any. It appeared to be a stalemate of sorts; even though Kurotaka was fighting the guard, she was signalling her preference not to fight. Satisfied that she wasn't going to die from blood loss, Kakashi let his attentions wander over to catch the tail end of Masurao's conversation.

"…not my intention. Never my intention to start a fight. We haven't any ill feelings towards your nation, but our journey on the way here convinced us that such as not the case towards us. It is for this reason that my sister and I adopted this disguise and also hired this ex-ninja to defend us against bandits". Masurao's face was rapt with honest insistence, beseeching to the guard as he shifted his glance from Masurao to Kurotaka, still locked in a standstill.

"Your sister, is she? Then why would you place her in chains, even to make it into the town to enquire about trading?"

Masurao let his eyes rise upwards theatrically, hands gesturing extravagantly towards where Kuro was still glaring daggers at the somewhat uncertain guard still trying to out-muscle her. "She spent most of her life learning martial arts and has a fiery temper into the bargain… do you really blame me? With bonds on her wrists, there would be a slight chance of her controlling her temper".

The guard looked perplexed, stroking his scrubby beard as he contemplated the scene. "You should not have tried to enter our town, not during these times and certainly not in disguise. No other reception would have been waiting for you".

Masurao sighed, shaking his head dismally. "I know, it was foolish… but it seemed such a simple, perfect plan to start with and we've travelled so long and far". He gave the other man a piteous look, despite the fact that Kurotaka could have pulled off a much more effective job. Once the blood and sand and grime had been scraped off, that is, as well as that ugly glare she was continuing to inflict on the one hapless guard still opposing her.

At last the elder man sighed, waving one hand at his three subordinates. The man fighting Kurotaka instantly relaxed, stepping gratefully out of her line of sight and breathing heavily. Kuro's limbs sagged and her hands flew to her face, pulling free the blood-drenched bandages and wringing them out, eyes expressionless as she watched her own blood drip to the ground. Kakashi strode softly up behind her, resting one hand on her shoulder and offering her a waterlogged cloth. It wasn't very clean, but it was better than what she was currently holding. She took it with a tight smile of gratitude and plastered it against her cheek, eyes widening in shock at the pain. There was little else he could do, so Kakashi squeezed her shoulder tighter, offering what little support that small action could.

Masurao gestured for them to come over, face taut with anxiety. "Sister? Are you wounded?"

To give Kurotaka her due, she managed to cover most of that disgusted look which emerged at those words with the cloth before she blew their cover story. "Not gravely… brother… It hurts to speak".

The guard she had just been sparring now looked exceptionally troubled. Kakashi had a feeling that he might have loosened some of Kuro's teeth and wasn't sure whether or not he was going to pay for it later. As they shuffled up to join Masurao, two of the young guards who still didn't appear to have noticed Kakashi disappeared into the mechanisms of the gate, resulting in the slow opening of the huge doors. The old guard shook his head again. "Your story is a strange one, trader, but I shall let it go for now. However, if I hear of any troubles within these walls during your stay, then you shall be killed on sight. Is that simple enough terms for you?"

"Exceptionally simple". Masurao frowned. "My only concerns are that someone from my village may have already beaten me here. I don't suppose you've seen a man and a woman about my age and complexion? The man is a fairly flamboyant person with distinctive eyebrows and the woman is strawberry blonde and usually carries a camera everywhere".

His query was met with a raised eyebrow. "You knew them?"

"Knew them?" Kakashi pressed forward. "Why do you use the past tense?"

The old guard glared at him. "Because they were here a while ago, but one of them was arrested for disturbing the peace. I don't know what happened to the other one, but the arrested one is still being held as far as I know. He may even be dead already. We aren't very fond of foreigners as a rule".

Masurao grinned, "perfect! I should be so lucky to lose my main opponent so early on". Despite the cheeriness in his voice, Kakashi heard the strained edge to it, saw the twitch in that rigidly happy expression. A true Shinobi must hide their feelings at all times, even when they hear the news that one of their comrades is in prison, facing torture and possibly even death. Nodding to Kakashi and Kurotaka, Masurao reached back and grabbed Kurotaka's hand, drawing her close to him. "I don't suppose you can recommend a good physician? My sister has not travelled well… her and her short-tempered ways".

Masurao didn't seem to notice the fact that it was Kakashi who was becoming increasingly short-tempered at the sight of him clutching Kurotaka in such a familiar way.

"There's a medical specialist by the name of Kartan down the furthest street to your left. Big sign. You can't miss it". Taking that as a dismissal, Masurao bowed shortly and lead Kurotaka gently through the gates as Kakashi followed behind irritably.

………..

"I'm afraid this isn't going to heal very well at all miss… You shouldn't have left it unattended for so long".

Kurotaka's one exposed eye twitched, rolling to stare back at the doctor as he tutted at her, pulling tight the last stitch on her face. Due to the fact that anaesthetics and painkillers were relatively primitive here, once again Kurotaka's surgery was performed with some restraint. In fact, "some" wasn't the right word to use. Half of her face was buried in Kakashi's chest, both of his arms pinning her against him and also trapping her arms at her sides. Whilst not only looking very suggestive, it also effectively prevented her from attempting to squirm or attack the person currently taking a sewing kit to her face. Again. Kakashi raised his eyes to the ceiling. While this wasn't an altogether bad situation for him to be in, the fact that Kuro fought the pain by digging her chin into the groove of his collarbone was proving exceptionally painful for him. He was quite glad that Masurao had gone scouting off to find out more information on Gai's imprisonment rather than staying to witness this.

Peeling off his leather gloves and stepping back, the doctor shot Kakashi a pointed look. "You can let go now".

Kakashi hastily released his grip, letting Kurotaka regain her feet and stand, swaying slightly and probing her face. Her fingers were swiftly smacked with a leather glove. "Don't touch it! You're going to have a bad enough scar as it is, without you picking at it to make it worse". She sighed and her hands fell to her sides. "I'm lucky that it's just a scar, I suppose".

"Yes, indeed" agreed the doctor, exchanging his gloves for new ones. "Blood poisoning could have set in if you'd left that too much longer. And now…" He turned to Kakashi, brandishing a bottle of unidentified liquid and a roll of bandaging. "Mask off please".

"What the hell?"

"Don't make it harder for yourself, young man. I can tell you've been through the wars as well. At least let me patch you up a little, or do I have to ask the young lady to hold you still?"

As tempting as it was to have Kurotaka pin him to her in a similar fashion to the one he just employed, Kakashi decided to decline for dignity's sake. He sat down heavily on the wooden chair again and shook his head stubbornly. "The abrasions on my arms and legs I don't mind, but the face stays covered. There's no other way around it". The doctor's face said otherwise. "I can see the edges of some deeper wounds on your face, wounds that I would lose my reputation for allowing to leave my clinic untreated. Young lady, can you not dissuade him?"

Oh please. Anything but that. Kakashi shot a pleading look at Kurotaka. "I'd rather you didn't see me like this…"

She blinked at him. "So? You've seen me screaming and cursing and bleeding everywhere on not one, but two separate occasions. And you held me still on both of these, I might add".

"I know, but…" He glanced away desperately. "It's a little… embarrassing for me to have people see my face. I've fought for the right to that privacy several times". Oh the horrors of attending school in a mask; it made him a walking target not only for teasing, but also sneak attacks in trying to pry it off.

The doctor stared at him in surprise, raised his eyes to the ceiling and set down the bottle and bandages on the bench. "I certainly don't intend to engage in a struggle over this. How about I leave you to sort his face out, since he obviously isn't going to make it easy for me. I doubt he'll talk back to you". Kurotaka stared after the doctor in shock as he got up and shuffled out of the room, muttering under his breath.

"If you don't want to take the mask off, I won't force you". She sank down onto the doctor's vacated chair and affixed Kakashi with a look. It was a look that spoke great volumes of hurt while at the same time, affirmed that regardless of what she had said, the opposite was exactly true. Kakashi sighed, sinking deeper into a slouch.

"Why do you always wear that stupid mask any way? And a decent answer would be much appreciated". She was now watching him closely, dark blue eyes filled with curiosity and a chunk of newly-cleaned white tip obscuring her vision. The intensity of that stare caught in Kakashi's throat, the honest interest and something else, something more in depth.

He drew a shuddering breath. "When I… when I first started wearing this mask it was purely with the intention of mimicking my father. Later it was simply a trademark. A force of habit even. But since then, it has come to serve the purpose of disguising my face entirely from view. I can fit into any crowd with my mask off, since only a handful of people actually know what I truly look like".

"So it's to aid your skills in the ANBU?"

"Yes, but that's not the only use it has".

Kurotaka blinked. "What's the other use?"

How embarrassing. "I…ah… used to receive a lot of unwanted attentions because of my face. That's why I wear the mask and occasionally use the excuse that I'm hideously deformed. The truth is… well…" Damn it. He was so arrogant in every other area of his life, why did he have to feel modest now?

Despite his fumblings, Kuro seemed to have caught the message and was regarding him with a calculating stare. "So that's the truth is it? You wear the mask to protect yourself from desperate females?"

"Putting it that way… yes".

She snorted and then burst out laughing, rocking back and forth on her chair. "You're kidding aren't you?"

Embarrassment was now replaced with offence. "No, I'm not kidding!"

"I don't believe you. I bet it's a bluff". She was mocking him, voice high-pitched and teasing. He felt the annoyance building up in his chest. How dare she doubt him so? A little voice in the back of his head was telling him in amused tones that she was winding him up, but he was so taken up in the bruising of his ego that he ignored it.

"You don't believe me? Fine! I'll show you!" He raised his fingers to the rim of his mask and then froze as she leant forward eagerly. "You're just trying to get at my pride aren't you?"

"Well if it works, I'll use it". She grinned widely at him, the pain from her new stitches apparently forgotten. "Come on Kakashi-kun… let me see your face?" Her expression was now almost cherubic, eyes wide and pleading. In her mockery though, Kakashi could read an undertone of truth to her pleading. She really did want to see who he truly was.

There was still a chance that she wouldn't like it. A chance that the person behind the mask wasn't the person she truly liked. He hesitated, and then pushed that thought aside. Never mind that possibility. If he never offered her anything, then she'd never have anything to go by.

Just as his fingers began to ease the fabric down, a white-robed whirlwind with an ever-impractical sense of timing came bursting into the room. Kakashi and Kurotaka jumped as though electrocuted, blushing as though they'd been caught doing something incriminating. In a sense they had been, but in all honesty, it had been and now was nothing. Kakashi's fingers itched to wrap themselves around his dearest friend's throat, even as the other ninja stared at them both in disbelief.

"Why are you two still hanging around here? Kakashi, just pay the guy and get ready to leave. I've found Gai and Akiraka, but if we don't help them RIGHT NOW they're going to be executed at sunrise".

The anger was shaken from his mind by those words. Kakashi stared in utter disbelief. "On what grounds?"

"On the grounds that they're foreigners. Oh yeah, we're also being hunted down now. It would appear that the people at the gates weren't aware that the fighting on the frontlines intensified while we were having that pleasant discussion with them. Technically they should have shot us on sight, so they're now quite eager to remedy that little mistake".

A series of crashes and shouts were issuing from the next room. By the sounds of things, tables and chairs were going flying as a large number of bodies came crashing into the small clinic. The three Shinobi stared at the door in shock.

Kurotaka glared at Masurao, "you were followed?"

"I told you we had to move right now, didn't I!"

………

wild-filly: Apologies for cliff hanger… will update at earliest opportunity. Please review! Thanks!