DISCLAIMER: I own nothing from the Naruto universe but I do have an imagination of my own.
Thinking
Biju, etc. speaking
Biju, etc. thinking
Emphasis
She knew they warned her against this, but she trusted Kakashi's pack! Any one of them would help her; she just knew it. What she didn't expect following her jutsu was the enormous plume of smoke or whatever it was to fill the air. And the very last thing in the world she could imagine was now directly in front of her. Looking way up she realized she was facing an absolutely huge, incredibly pissed-off-looking smoking frog.
"NAR - UUUU - TOHHHH! YOU are in SOOOOO MUCH TROUBLE!" yelled the orange toad in a booming voice. "Get off your ass, BRAT! I'M TAKING YOU TO POPS RIGHT NOW!" The toad took a good look at her and scoffed. "I like the hair, brat!" He laughed uproariously, then noticed the villagers, both shinobi and civilian, heading towards them. "C'mon idiot, let's ditch!" He grabbed the small woman in his front flipper and poofed away.
Kakashi had just stepped outside the hospital's protective seal, ready to head into action to find his missing girlfriend. ANBU came sunshinning in front of him, their chakra flaring enough to attract attention. He really didn't have time for this: he just wanted to find Naru-chan.
Once again, he condemned Tsunade for leaving him in this situation in several different languages in his mind and reluctantly spoke. "Report."
"Hokage-sama! Reports state a battle toad was seen in the Central District!"
Kakashi felt his heart stop for a moment.
Jaguar added, "I saw the toad just before he dispelled, Hokage-sama! It was a large orange toad, and… Well…" After Kakashi growled and bared his teeth at the man behind his mask, he knew to continue. "He - uhh, was holding a… person. Forgive me, Hokage-sama, but I would have to say…"
Oh, Kakashi knew what was coming, and simply steadied himself for it.
The ANBU captain looked toward his squad. After giving their captain a nod, the man continued. "The individual taken appeared to have the coloring of Uzumaki-sama, or perhaps Yondaime-sama, but with much longer hair?" All of the ANBU were flinching, and Kakashi wondered if he was somehow scaring them even more than he, himself, felt or if it was just the situation at hand.
What the hell was he supposed to do now?
It had been over 24 hours since Naru had been scooped up by a damn toad and the Hokage was about to lose what remained of his mind. To think, he had been within moments of telling Naru the details that he'd omitted regarding her life immediately before this happened. When he walked towards the door to find Naru in that hospital room, he knew that after the woman was told the entire truth, he would soon have to do the same with much of the populace. Now that was impossible.
For now - only for now, he told himself. He just needed to get her back!
Witnesses to the reverse summoning - Kakashi briefly called it kidnapping when it first happened, but that wasn't correct - were keeping oddly quiet, and the village leader was quite happy about that. He learned from some close to the scene that they believed the village hero's contract scroll with the toads had gone missing after his death and had been stolen. Indeed it had been lost when Naruto had been killed, and of course, it still hadn't been found. Only six in the village were aware of the search back for the missing scroll then. Kakashi and very few others knew that Jiraiya-sama kept the large scroll on his person at all times, but no one had ever asked the lone remaining toad summoner where he kept it after Jiraiya's passing.
The citizens of the Leaf Village knew how much the toads had assisted, or just plain saved them, over the years. Most if not all of those in Konoha felt at least some loyalty to Mt. Moyobuku, secondarily to their dedication to Konohagakure.
The Rokudaime certainly did not give anyone, whether in the ranks or not, a reason to think that their toad summoner had returned from the dead. Rather, those who knew of the toad's appearance spoke among themselves after learning from one another that their Hokage was searching for an important scroll. Kakashi lent no credence to the other idea that had been passed around: that someone had tried the summoning jutsu without a contract, and they had been seen as fit to return to Mt. Myobuku as a new summoner.
Jiraiya had been the only one known to try such a thing in modern times, and most wouldn't believe that there was someone of his or Naruto's caliber or temperament present who could do the same.
Sakura and Kakashi had both asked their summons to see if they could help with the search for his blonde, but the dogs and slugs either could not or would not assist. Now Kakashi was searching through every file, every archive, safe, and secured closet in the Hokage Tower to find the location of the toad's home mountain. It has to be here somewhere!
And shouldn't a messenger toad have arrived by now in case I need to recall Naru?
- That's how it had worked immediately before the Pein invasion. Kami: I should've asked Naruto how to reach him there. He knew there was no use in looking for the mountain through search and operation missions: it was said that the toad's home was protected by the greatest of all illusions, seals, and genjutsus, even more so than other summoning realms.
The only recollection he had of someone finding a summoning world by themselves was when Shizune was young and literally found Lady Katsuya while walking in the woods after Tsunade dumped her somewhere to go get smashed. That was either impossible or nearly so when it came to the toads. He had remembered all those years back when Lord Fukasaku said that going to the mountain without reverse summoning would take a month. And THAT was when one was directed there by a Sage from Mt. Myoboku.
Kami-sama: I really need some rest or a drink, or both. He was chakra-depleted because of clones doing his normal work while he searched. There was no time for that, though, and Kakashi knew very well that alcohol wouldn't help him in the long run.
The Hokage pulled himself off the floor of the closet next to his office and looked it over once again.
Scroll of Sealing? Check.
Previous Hokage's files and sealed items? Check.
Weird relics? Check.
He made sure he'd been over each and every item in the room before returning tiredly to his office.
Waiting for someone - anyone - to return to the Hokage's main office were Lady Shima and Lord Fukasaku, both sitting on some type of open cushioned palanquin, along with two other toads. The Hokage tried to break a genjutsu, thinking that this was too good to be true! "Lord Fukasaku, Lady Shima: I can't tell you how glad I am to see you!"
"Kakashi-chan," Lord Fukasaku greeted. "Wait! Are you Hokage now?!"
"We were looking for Tsunade-chan," Lady Shima explained.
The Rokudaime took a deep breath and told them that Tsunade had deserted and he was left in the damnable position. They were astounded if not in outright disbelief.
"We came to see Tsunade - or you now - about Naruto-chan," Lord Fukasaku began. Shima bobbed her head in agreement. "First, Naruto-chan hasn't been home in months! MONTHS, Kakashi-chan! Our summoner has work to do on the mountain!"
Shima quickly interrupted, "But that's not the most urgent question we have! The gaki isn't making sense!" She pulled out a handkerchief larger than herself, wiped her tears, and blew her nose loudly.
"Hai," Kakashi began. "Maa, I must say that I'm surprised the two of you didn't go straight for the elephant in the room." They looked at him blankly, which was somewhat confusing, but he continued. "You know: the fox... turning him into a female after Naruto died," he said quietly.
The toads' shrieks made him wince behind his mask.
"What do you mean by 'when he died,' Kakashi-chan?" Lord Fugaksu asked, looking angry while Lady Shima looked more horrified, as she dabbed more tears away.
"We had no way of getting information to you, Lord, Milady," Kakashi began respectfully. "It was after a mission when things went horribly wrong, and that traitor, Sasuke… attacked again. We had the funeral but had no way of contacting you. Tsunade left immediately after, and ano, I wasn't at my best. Gomennasai." He bowed as deeply to the Toad Sages as his position allowed; they were frozen in place, both their little toad mouths hanging open.
"Just how far did you get into this farce of a funeral?" Shima finally asked angrily. "TELL ME you didn't BURY our Naruto-chan?" Lord Fukaksu patted the woman's arm as he held his other around her shoulder in comfort, although at this point, he was glaring at Kakashi. After several moments, Kakashi nodded his head. Shima broke out in sobs.
Lord Fukasaku pointed a fierce glare at the Hokage. Kakashi waited to see if the Sage would say anything, or even attack, but he only shook his head in the end. "If Tsunade-chan was still in the village at that time, she was the one who was responsible." Hearing his wife beginning to argue, the other sage continued, "AND she should've known BETTER!" He held his head in his flippers then looked up at the Leaf's leader. "Tell me, Kakashi-chan: would your ninken summons attend your funeral?"
Kakashi immediately answered. "Hai, they would, my Lord, but only if they knew of my death." The toads regarded him blankly. "Like Naruto, or Naru now, I am the only summoner of my pack…"
"DO YOU THINK THEY WOULD NOT KNOW? THAT WE WOULDN'T KNOW OF NARUTO-CHAN'S DEATH?!" He paused, his expression heartbroken, and shook his head again. "Do you really think that we didn't know of Minato-chan's death even though we were not present when it happened?"
Lady Shima spoke to her husband without allowing Kakashi to answer. "Naruto-chan will need rehabilitation, and even more assistance, my dear. Perhaps we should not have left her drinking with Bunta-chan and the others."
"Hai, we need to return," Lord Fukasaku agreed.
"Wait!" Kakashi stood up again. "I - I didn't know. And, please: is there some way to contact you, so that nothing like this happens again?! I - I need Naru-chan here with me - please. I cannot tell you how relieved I am to know that she's alright... I would also like to commend you for not breaking the contract of your summoner officially in my role as Kage. Particularly after her… Rebirth: I really don't know what else to call it - as… a woman, thanks to the fox - er, Kurama-sama."
The Toad Sages stared at him as if he'd grown another head.
Getting back up, Kakashi felt somewhat flustered by the wicked smile he received after several silent moments from Lady Shima. Lord Fukasaku was frowning at the Hokage and began to speak, but Lady Shima covered his mouth, then patted his arm. "Of course, Kakashi-chan." She smiled knowingly at her husband, then waved her arm toward the up-until-then silent toad beside her on the floor. "This is Gamatama. He has recently been promoted and will be happy to assist you with messenger duties. For now, we must return to the party. Ja!" Three of the four toads disappeared in a large puff of smoke. Kakashi flopped down in his chair, feeling horrible. Part of his mind registered that the toads were smirking before disappearing to their home, but that wasn't on his mind now.
"Weeeeeelp: here we are then," Gamatama said as he laid down on Kakashi's desk. "The latest Prophecy of the Great Lord Elder makes a lot more sense now. Oi!"
Kakashi's silver eyebrow raised, wondering what else this laid-back little amphibian would say.
"So what exactly is your relationship with Uzumaki Naruto?!"
Kakashi grunted but was more concerned with the dirt accumulating in his office. He reached down to brush it aside as he walked toward the open window, then realized the issue at hand. When it rains, it pours.
"It's sand," he muttered to himself in realization, just as the small amount covering his office surfaces abruptly turned into a huge wave.
