AN: Soooo... I know I said probably no updates till Christmas... but this just happened. That does NOT mean I will be updating frequently anytime soon. School just started so it's not so crazy, but the workload is about to intensify. So, you've been warned. ALSO, on another note, if anyone posts any unnecessarily mean/rude comments, know that I screenshot those and send them to my Naruto discord chat where we laugh about it before bitching about it. It happened yesterday where someone went through every chapter and left slightly rude/offensive comments. It was pretty disheartening, and considering how much time and effort I put into this I'd really appreciate it if no one did that. And this is ffn so unfortunately it's pretty common. On a better note, you guys are so amazing with all your reviews and favorites and everything! When I started this fic I had NO IDEA it would get as big as it did, so thank you all SO MUCH for making that happen. Without further ado, enjoy!
It was well into the night by the time Kakashi ended up leaving the hospital. The streets were practically deserted, only the occasional pedestrian meandering between buildings, most likely drunk. The village was otherwise peaceful, going about its night as if nothing had even happened. Even though so many things had.
Inside, Kakashi was tearing himself up over his current predicament. On one hand, he didn't want to leave his students (and the Uzumaki girl) alone, knowing just how vulnerable they were. But on the other, he knew that if they had to call him in, it was serious.
But then again, he thought. An S-rank rogue ninja broke into the village and attacked a team of genin. It was an all hands on deck situation, regardless of rank or skill. He knew the T&I department would have their hands full right now, as well as the black ops. Really, everyone tokujo and above would be scurrying around like crazy. Maybe Hiruzen had just let him have more down time because it had been his students that had been in the line of fire.
Or maybe not. You could never quite tell with the Third.
Eventually he made his way up into the Hokage's office, pushing the doors open silently. He was met with a room full of jonin and Anbu. At the moment he entered it looked like Shikaku Nara and the Hokage were discussing something. It stopped when he entered.
"Ah, Kakashi, there you are," Genma greeted off to the side, staple senbon hanging out of his mouth.
"Maa, why am I here?" Kakashi asked, getting straight to the point. Genma frowned in response. Kakashi didn't mean to be rude, but he had been dragged away from his injured students. So sue him if he was a bit short with others.
It was the Hokage who answered. "We found a piece of evidence on Orochimaru that we wanted you to analyze," Hiruzen reported. "It's a scroll detailing Orochimaru's plans. Our T&I department has already looked it over and copied all of the data and are looking into it, but we were hoping you with your sharingan might be able to find anything we haven't. It's doubtful there is anything but we can't leave anything to doubt. Not with Orochimaru."
Kakashi nodded in understanding. He wouldn't put it past Orochimaru to do something sneaky like that. And since he was the only able bodied shinobi with a sharingan in the village, the task automatically fell to him.
"Understood, Lord Hokage," he nodded.
"I want you to report back to me on your findings, if any, as soon as possible," Hiruzen continued. "And as Shikaku and I were just discussing, we also will require a report from your genin."
Kakashi's fingers curled into a tight ball of their own accord. Couldn't the man give his students a break?
"Understood," he said instead, voice strained.
"Good," Hiruzen hummed. "Shikaku, the scroll."
The jōnin commander nodded and pulled out an unassuming scroll from a pocket, handing it over to Kakashi.
"The contents of the scroll are being investigated as we speak to check the validity of them," he said. "All we need from you is to check for hidden info." Kakashi nodded, staring at the scroll in his hand. "Take as long as you need."
"Understood," Kakashi nodded. And with that, he was dismissed.
So, Orochimaru wanted to attack Konoha? And he wanted to use Oto and Suna to do it. Well, that was something. And to use Suna's jinchuuriki to do it… what a mess. Sighing heavily, he ran a tired hand down his face, eyes looking off into his empty apartment.
Kakashi had spent the last hour going over the scroll, dissecting it for every bit of info he could. So far, he hadn't found anything with his Sharingan. Realistically, he should have turned in his findings, or lack there of, hours ago. But something about the scroll was bugging him. Something about it just didn't sit right, and for the life of him he couldn't figure out what.
Sighing in frustration, he set the scroll down and focused back on his now cold cup of tea. He couldn't remember how long ago he'd made it, probably hours by now. The only thing that would make it redeemable would be heaping spoonfuls of sugar. A shiver ran down Kakashi's spine at the thought.
Ew.
Sighing, the jōnin leaned back on his couch, head bumping into the wall behind him. Sunlight was just starting to peek in through his window, lighting up his room with a golden glow. Hm. It was the middle of the night when he'd last looked up, or sometime in there. Absently, he realized he hadn't visited his students at all since being called in, and wondered if Naruto was awake yet. If he was then he felt guilt for not stopping by. It wasn't that he had to be at their side 24/7, but he hated seeing his students in that state, and perhaps seeing the blonde idiot's stupid grin would remind him they were, in fact, okay.
But they weren't. They were almost killed by Orochimaru, a Sannin, and had somehow survived. Somehow, his genin had gone up against an S-class ninja and had only come out with chakra exhaustion and a broken arm.
And also a cousin, but that wasn't related to the fact.
Sighing again, Kakashi dropped his head back forward towards the scroll in his hand, eye flicking over it for what felt like the thousandth time. And for all he know, it could have been.
This was useless. He was getting nowhere.
On a hunch, he packed up the scroll in his weapons pouch and got dressed before hopping out of his window. The morning was still cool despite it being July, clear sky promising hot temperatures later. Ignoring that, Kakashi leapt across the rooftops, headed towards the archival building. He needed to check something out…
The archival building was rather empty when he arrived. The halls were barren of any shinobi coming or going, offering him a straight shot towards the records department. When he arrived, he was met with the sight of a lowly paper ninja bent over his desk, seemingly focused on his work.
Kakashi slapped a hand down on the desk to make his presence known.
"I need to see all the mission reports submitted by Orochimaru before his desertion," he said briskly, not giving the desk clerk a chance to breathe.
"Uh, I'm afraid I can't just let you see-" the man started. Kakashi raised a hand and cut him off.
"I don't need to see the classified ones. Just a few." He was getting impatient. The desk clerk gave him an odd look, but ultimately nodded.
He was led back into a large warehouse-esque room filled with filing was where all the reports and documents regarding shinobi were stored, ranging from academy student grades to A-rank mission reports. The S-rank mission reports and S-class documents were kept in another building though. Things like Tenzō's info and anything regarding Naruto's parents. It was all tucked away elsewhere where no one would accidentally go poking their noses in it. Kakashi may have broken into it once or twice, but no one needed to know that.
"Here we are," the chunin grumbled, stopping in front of one of the cabinets. "All of Orochimaru's reports." He said. Then added, "The non-redacted ones, anyway." Kakashi hummed in acknowledgment before setting to work, pulling open one of the cabinets and pulling out random reports.
"Can I uh, can I ask what you're looking for?" The paper ninja asked.
Kakashi paused in his motions.
"No," he said. And that was that. With a grumbled sigh, the chunin turned away and told him he could have all the time he needed. Not that Kakashi needed permission. He waited until the shinobi was out sight before setting to work.
After accumulating what felt like enough papers, Kakashi settled down and began to read them. He wasn't looking at the content per se, but at the handwriting. His hunch was far-fetched, but plausible. For some reason he had a feeling the scroll that had been found on Orochimaru was a forged one. He couldn't put his finger on why he felt that, but it was a strong enough itch that he couldn't ignore it. And after being a shinobi for twenty one years, he had learned to trust his gut instinct, even if it didn't make sense.
Sitting down against the filing cabinets, Kakashi settled in for a long research session. He had a feeling this wouldn't be easy to prove. And he was rarely proven wrong.
It must have been nearing the afternoon when Kakashi finally looked up from the papers. He had gone through every single report the Sannin had written (that wasn't classified) and had compared it to the scroll. So far, nothing seemed out of place. And it was pissing him off.
What is it, the jōnin agonized. He had been so scrutinizing. Analyzing every kanji, ever hiragana. He was tempted to start ripping out his hair, it was annoying him so bad. He felt like the answer was right in front of his face, so obvious he shouldn't even have to think. And yet…
"Any luck, senpai?" A familiar voice spoke up behind him. Kakashi turned around from his seat on the floor and found himself looking up at his old subordinate, Tenzō.
"Same ol', same ol'," he sighed wearily, turning back to the scroll and papers in his hands. He hadn't even heard the Anbu enter, he had been so focused. "How'd you know I was here?" He asked.
"Overheard some paper ninja whining about 'a rude old man'. Figured it had to be you."
A sharp laugh escaped Kakashi. "Old, huh?" He sighed. Well, he supposed silver hair and deep set eyes would do that.
"Just what exactly are you looking for, senpai?" Tenzō finally asked, crouching down next to him. Kakashi just sighed again.
"I'm not sure," he admitted, staring at the papers in front of him. "But for some reason I think the scroll they found on Orochimaru was a forgery." A pause. "I just can't explain why."
Tenzō's eyebrows shot up, eyes going wide. "A forgery?" He asked, taken aback. "But who would have known all that? And better yet, why would they have put so much sensitive info on one document?" The implication was clear. Orochimaru wasn't stupid. He wouldn't go around carrying detailed plans of a mission for anyone to read, and he wouldn't have any of his underlings doing the same. The man was as meticulous as he was insane. He didn't make such foolish mistakes. So to think that someone that knew the plans well enough had done so on purpose baffled them.
"I don't know," Kakashi ground out. "And that's what's frustrating me."
Tenzō's frown deepened, and he looked down at the papers. "So you're looking for proof of a forgery?" He clarified. The jōnin next to him just hummed in confirmation. "Have you compared handwriting?" he asked.
"Yes," Kakashi hummed. "It matches."
"Prose?"
"Yes."
"Style?"
"Also yes."
The Anbu sighed, deflating. "I don't really know what else there is then…"
Kakashi hummed, letting his eye slip close as he leaned back against the wall. He'd hoped for a moment that fresh eyes would have been of some help, yet that had proven to be a false hope.
"Maybe you're thinking too hard about it, senpai," Tenzō finally offered. "Maybe it's not 'underneath the underneath'," he teased. The smile was evident in his voice.
"Don't use my own words against me," Kakashi shot back halfheartedly, no real heat behind them. Tenzō just smiled softly, finding the whole thing amusing.
"Perhaps it's nothing," he offered with a shrug. "Maybe your age is just finally getting to you."
Instead of laughing, Kakashi just turned his lone eye to Tenzō and gave him the most deadpan stare he could muster. Tenzō at least has the decency to look embarrassed.
"What are you really here for, Tenzō?" Kakashi suddenly asked, demeanor hardening. Tenzō, noticing the shift, dropped his guilty face, expression mirroring the ex-Anbu's.
"Anbu was able to verify the information detailed in that scroll," he said, expression stony. "Suna and Oto really are planning an attack on Konoha."
Kakashi let out a weary sigh, letting his head fall back against the filing cabinet he was leaning against. He was doing that a lot lately now that he thought about it…
"And the Kazekage's children?"
"Still taking the exam," the mokuton user reported. "We will apprehend them for questioning after the second test is over, as well as all other Suna and Oto genin."
Kakashi hummed, nodding. It sounded fair. "And my students?" He asked.
"Still under watch at the hospital. They have yet to give their reports though. The Haruno girl claims she doesn't want to until Uzumaki is awake."
So he's still out, huh? Kakashi thought to himself. At least they were still okay. He hadn't seen them since last night, but this was a shinobi village. Life moved quickly and things could change in an instant.
"Thank you, Tenzō," the jōnin nodded. The Anbu nodded before standing back up, clearly intent on getting back to his duties.
"Anytime, senpai."
He was gone in a shunshin before Kakashi could even respond.
"Stop calling me senpai," he muttered anyway. He received only the cool draft of the filing room as his response.
Sighing to himself, Kakashi turned back to the scroll, this time not focusing too hard on it, letting his eye skim over the text instead. A few minutes later, he realized what was wrong with it, and cursed himself for not catching it sooner.
The kanji for "leaf". It was wrong. It wasn't anything major, but on closer inspection, he noticed how the brush strokes in the scroll differed from the ones in all of Orochimaru's reports. It was obvious that there was an attempt to replicate the original, but perhaps the person copying it had no reference for how the Sannin wrote "leaf". And it showed. Because Kakashi recognized that kanji.
He'd seen this iteration enough to know exactly who's handwriting it was. What with how many mission reports he'd had to look over the past few months. Something inside Kakashi's chest clenched at the realization, turning his stomach to ice. He should have seen it sooner.
The handwriting was Sasuke's.
AN: Dun, dun, duuuuuuh.
The science behind this is that Kakashi's brain was picking up on Sasuke's handwriting without realizing it because he had read through so many of his reports in the past three months. It's like where you make a spelling mistake but your brain skips over it because it automatically knows what you're trying to say. Sasuke also couldn't copy that specific kanji because he'd never seen Orochimaru write it. I assume it'd be a very common one to use as an active duty Leaf shinobi, but since Sasuke knew him when he was a rogue ninja, he wouldn't have any reason to write it. Which is also why I chose that word specifically. Anyways, until next time you lovely peeps! Please review or favorite if you liked it!
