Chapter 7: Can I have this dance?
Sasuke frowned and yanked. Sakura yelped as she stumbled over herself in an effort to keep step.
Kimiko, who'd been roped in somehow by their silver-tongued sensei, bit her tongue to keep from laughing at the awkward preteens as she played a basic tune on her koto.
Though joined at the shoulder and hands, their lower bodies strained to be as far apart as possible, more like two sumo wrestlers bracing against each other than dance partners.
When Sasuke began his two-step, Sakura got pulled along like an afterthought again, the poor girl. Things had not progressed well after they'd learned the basic steps.
"Maa, I didn't think you'd have this much trouble."
Their sensei tapped Icha Icha against his jaw. He was paying more attention to them now than he ever had during their taijutsu practices. He was amused, Sasuke thought with a flare of irritation.
"This doesn't seem necessary."
The glee coming off their sensei only intensified.
"I'd have to disagree, Sasuke-kun. This is an essential skill that will come in very handy during infiltration missions. Best to learn it young." Bullshit.
He let go of Sakura, wiping his hands on his shirt. Their grip had quickly become clammy from how hard they'd been gripping. An equally flustered Sakura did the same, her eyes wide with embarrassment.
"We can gather information the normal way."
"True, or we can gather it this way. And Sasuke-kun, I'm the taicho." The glare coming off the young Uchiha didn't dampen the jounin's spirit.
"The normal way isn't always the best way. We need information, and you're only going to get that if you don't look like a ninja tonight. Now, try again."
Sakura held her hands out. Sasuke grabbed them roughly and pulled her against him. Hand. Shoulder-blade. Clasped hands eye-level. Maintain frame. Done.
Sakura gritted her teeth as she was yanked along yet again. Kakashi-sensei put down his book.
"Alright, let's try this differently."
When Naruto arrived at the Hinogawa quarters, he didn't even try a Kai at the strange sight before him.
If this was a genjutsu, it was one worth marveling at for a while.
Sasuke sat on a tatami mat, directing a Sharingan-activated stare at the center of the room, where their sensei and Sakura danced around the floor in a tender embrace. The lady's servant? slave? secret ninja? played accompaniment.
Naruto gaped in the doorway until Kakashi-sensei released Sakura with one final twirl. Sakura spun out and away, more graceful than Naruto had ever seen her.
"Does that make sense now?"
Sakura, beet-red face clashing with her pink locks, nodded furiously. Kakashi-sensei nodded to Naruto.
"Come in, Naruto-kun. You'll have to watch carefully." Still confused, Naruto entered the space slowly.
"What...?"
Sakura explained through her blush. "It's for tonight, we're going to blend in with the nobles at the party so they're not as aware of our presence."
Kakashi-sensei was clearly grinning under his mask. "That's right, and it's Sasuke's turn to try."
Sasuke hmphed. "I've got this now." He held his hands out to Sakura, only to get them intercepted from behind. He got spun into his sensei's arms.
"Ah-ah, I'll be the judge of that. I'm leading."
Naruto burst out laughing at the horrified look on Sasuke's face.
"I'm not going to be the girl-" Sasuke's protest went unheard as he was swept away by his sensei.
Only a couple steps were necessary for him to realize what had been off before.
It was like taijutsu, but instead of his movements being around his own center, he had to interpret his movements as being about the center of the unit that was him and his partner.
He'd done it before, crucially, with Naruto against Zabuza when they'd worked to free their sensei from the water prison. Perfect tandem. Teamwork.
"Okay, now I get it." Sasuke muttered, trying to free himself.
Kakashi-sensei hung on.
"You've got the hang of moving together, but let me show you something."
He stepped a long leg back and pivoted, hard.
The sudden centripetal force took the breath from Sasuke's lungs. He only barely managed to keep his footing by using his newfound understanding of how his movements were supposed to fit with Kakashi-sensei's.
But before Sasuke fully regained his balance, he was yanked the other way.
This time, Sasuke really did lose his footing and his legs swung out, Kakashi-sensei's hold on him the only thing keeping him from flying off.
Sakura cried out. "Sasuke-kun!"
Kakashi-sensei put him down. He doubled over, coughing. Kimiko stopped playing.
"Not pleasant, is it?"
Sasuke only hacked one final time in response.
Kakashi-sensei bent down to meet the eyes of the angry genin. He tapped Sasuke's forehead protector, right on the Konoha insignia. Sasuke froze.
"When you're leading, you decide what the two of you do. Even the best dancer can't work with a bad lead. Or worse, a thoughtless lead. Do you think Sakura enjoyed dancing with you?" Multiple expressions flitted over the Uchiha's face.
He adjusted his forehead protector as Kakashi-sensei turned away. It had almost been like...He shook the thought away.
"Your turn, Naruto!" A wave of Kakashi-sensei's hand started the koto again.
The blond was quick to learn. Sasuke wasn't surprised at this after his revelation in those first steps. Naruto was a natural at teamwork, knowing when to pull and when to push. The improvised steps Naruto was using to keep up at first quickly developed to look very close to the steps Kakashi-sensei had taught the other two before he had joined them.
Naruto bounced away when Kakashi-sensei released him.
"This is awesome, we're ready to dance at the ball with nobles!"
Their sensei chuckled. "Far from. You're all decent followers now. Let's learn to lead." He henged into a smaller version of himself. "Naruto, you still need some pointers, so join me. Sakura, try again with Sasuke."
The two got in position again, fitting together much more naturally now.
Kakashi-sensei shook his head.
"No, Sakura as the lead this time." He nudged Naruto's arms into proper position and swept away with no further direction.
The two regarded each other. Sakura adjusted her position with some clear trepidation. Her arm wrapped around Sasuke's waist "Is this...okay?"
Sasuke just nodded once.
They swayed once, twice, then took off. The playing of the koto filled the silence between them as they circled the room, Sakura's eyes resolutely fixed over Sasuke's right shoulder. Once again, Sasuke was struck by the magic of how the simple way in which their bodies were joined allowed them to move seamlessly as one. One team. The guilt struck.
"I'm sorry, by the way."
Sakura was startled, and it was a physical movement Sasuke felt through his own body as well. Was she always this on edge around him? She ducked her head.
"No, sensei shouldn't even have..."
"He was right to." He drew closer, trying to move with her the way the Sharingan had seen Kakashi-sensei move. Sakura turned her face away, hiding the smile on her reddening face.
She missed the dusting of pink on Sasuke's own face.
As they turned and spun as directed by Sakura's feather-light touches, he even almost enjoyed himself.
Five feet away, the other half of Team 7 was having a very different experience.
With the novelty of learning to dance worn off, Naruto had turned to the matter at hand, pulling Kakashi-sensei to the side, far from where Kimiko played.
"Sensei, I learned something," he whispered urgently.
"Well, that was the goal, so I'm glad."
"No! It's about Lady Hinogawa." Sensei's eyes flicked to Kimiko, who was seemingly engrossed in playing. She'd picked up the rhythm, urging Sasuke and Sakura into a more lively step. He patted Naruto on the head.
"Not now."
"It's important."
Kakashi-sensei paused at his tone. He sighed, raising a hand to stop Kimiko. Sasuke and Sakura broke off their dance in the sudden break in the music.
"I think they've got the hang of it, don't you?"
Kimiko nodded. "I would have thought they'd been dancing their whole lives." Sakura beamed.
"Thank you for your help. i think it's time we get on with other preparations for tonight."
Bowing, the servant girl (slave? ninja in disguise?) exited.
They stood in silence until the girl's chakra was undetectable, Naruto almost bursting with the words he wanted to say.
"There's a conspiracy going on!"
This didn't garner the reaction from Team 7 that he'd expected.
Sasuke grunted. "Yeah, clearly."
Naruto flailed his arms. "Lady Hinogawa's behind it! She has ninja!" Blank stares. "That aren't us!"
Sensei's eyebrow raised. "Are you saying Lady Hinogawa assassinated Kiyomasa?"
"Yes! No! I don't know?" He hesitated. A ninja had killed Kiyomasa. Toru was a ninja. But she'd talked about making a world without pain. Could someone really speak of valuing people the way she had in the same day they killed a man? "I know who the ninja is, though."
Kakashi-sensei nodded. "Toru-san?"
Naruto threw his hands up. "Does everyone already know everything I do?"
"Underneath the underneath," the other two chorused knowingly.
"So you guys already know the lady's trying to turn everyone in the world into ninja so that she can get rid of slaves forever too?"
All eyebrows in the room shot up.
"Ah...no." Even Kakashi-sensei was thrown for a loop.
"Well there you go. While you were dancing, I got intel!" Naruto plopped back, satisfied.
Sasuke frowned. "That's a ridiculous plan, the two have nothing to do with each other."
"I think she wants to use ninjutsu for things like farming so people don't need slaves anymore?"
"Needing slaves is different from having slaves. People won't just let their slaves free because they have more money."
Naruto shrugged. "I'm just telling you what Toru-san told me."
He looked around at them. "Besides, this is good news! She's not doing anything evil, so it's good for us to be protecting her!"
Sakura joined her dark-haired teammate in frowning. "Ninjutsu's secret for a reason, Naruto."
Kakashi-sensei clapped, derailing the conversation. "It's a good lead, Naruto. We'll look into it tonight. If we find that she killed Kiyomasa..." he shrugged. "Well, we'll deal with that when it comes. Keep your eyes out for any leads."
He rubbed his hands together. "Let's take a look at your henges."
Moments later, Kakashi studied the three people before him. The three were doing the same to each other.
"Dobe, we're supposed to look like nobility." The exasperation on the tall, dark-haired young man was out of place on his beautiful features.
"What? I look good!"
Sakura giggled as an incredibly buxom redheaded lady in a formal evening gown.
It was very distracting how buxom she'd chosen to be.
"You're just Iruka-sensei without the scar!"
Naruto looked down at himself defensively. "He's a good looking guy!"
At the unimpressed look from Sasuke, he henged again.
This time he appeared as a blond woman practically falling out of her yukata. She was almost competing with Sakura's henge in the chest department. Almost.
"Fine, this better?"
"You are not appearing like that in public." Sakura hissed.
"What? I use the Sexy Jutsu all the time in public!"
Kakashi turned around so he could have plausible deniability when Naruto died from the beating Sakura was giving him. Not to mention they hadn't released their henges, making for a scene worthy of Icha Icha.
Once the ruckus was over, he turned back around.
"Well, that was informative. There will come a day when you need to make original henges that are appropriate for the situation. Luckily, that day is not today."
Lady Hinogawa, upon being informed that the genin of Team 7 would be attending the ball to guard her in disguise, had obligingly provided the pictures and identities of petty nobility that would not be attending this occasion. He produced those pictures now.
Sakura frowned. "They're all men, sensei."
"I requested it that way. There will be dancing-and I suggest you do quite a lot of it-but you'll be spending most of your time talking. You'll have better access to important information between both men and women in the crowd tonight as men."
Sakura took her picture reluctantly. Kakashi repressed the urge to roll his eyes at her.
Henge!
After a few minor tweaks and adjustments to each henge, Team 7 left the Hinogawa townhouse.
It was showtime.
Sakura was realizing on a bone-deep level that life was unfair.
Because Sasuke was good at this. And good at this in an egregious, alarming way.
He swept past her, grinning down at the noblewoman on his arm with a rakish grin, one that had every noblewoman in the room following the pair with their eyes.
Sakura followed them too, with the hooded eyes of the noble she'd henged into.
What would that smile look like on his real face? The world would likely never find out.
Perhaps if she became the Hokage, she could give Sasuke a D-rank where the objective was to smile. The proud Uchiha wouldn't fail an official mission, would he?
Maybe she'd give Naruto some competition in his run to be the Hokage.
She was broken out of her thoughts by the man who'd been prattling away at her. The last sentence had ended with an upward inflection.
"Hm?"
"I asked if you had an eye on any of the ladies tonight." The nobleman hadn't missed where she was looking, and grinned. "Or the men."
Ah. Right. She was a man right now.
She smirked. Men smirked, right? Sasuke did plenty of it anyway. "Don't think any of the ladies are worth my time tonight, though I'm willing to let them prove me wrong."
"Not worth your time? You've got to be joking! All the major families are here tonight, even the Hinogawas!" He gestured to the head of the room, where Lady Hinogawa, with Kakashi-sensei looking bored at her shoulder, chatted with an auburn-haired noble that looked very much like the deceased Kiyomasa and a handsome man that could only be her brother. "Of course, she's off-limits, but man..."
Sakura perked up. She'd almost forgotten there was work to do. "Off-limits?"
"I mean, between Kawaru-sama and Hiroyuki-sama, how's a man supposed to get a word in edgewise?"
Sakura just tilted her head in question.
"You know Kawaru-sama's just been itching to put the pair together since forever." He leaned in closer, voice lower. "From what I hear, Hiroyuki-sama's not against it either. I hear they have some history. Looks like he's really making a push tonight."
The wine was flowing freely, and Hiroyuki was leaning in very close to Lady Hinogawa, emboldened by the alcohol. Sakura shook her head internally, knowing the nobleman had no chance. Sensei's already laid claim to her heart. Sucker!
"You can't tell at all that his brother was killed this morning, the cold-blooded bastard," her conversation partner grumbled.
"I've never been to court before." Sakura admitted. "Cold-blooded?"
The noble gestured vaguely. "It's not the right word." he mumbled. "Passive? Docile? He doesn't care about the stuff that matters! That's probably why he's still alive, while poor Kiyo..." he trailed off, clearly drunker than Sakura had initially thought.
"Poor Kiyo," she agreed absently. Her attention was elsewhere. The two potential lovebirds were alone at the table. Kawaru had just led Kakashi-sensei away.
Now was her chance.
"Please excuse me." She ducked into a corridor.
If Kakashi-sensei thought she was going to let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip away, he thought wrong.
Henge!
A beautiful raven-haired woman emerged, patting down her elegant clothing. She set off with purpose.
Time to be romanced.
She approached the corner where Sasuke was wrapping up his whispered conversation with his latest conquest. She coughed.
When he turned that playboy smile on her, she couldn't breathe. Was this really Sasuke?
"How have I not noticed you yet?" His voice was deeper, mellifluous. Sexy.
Affronted by the sudden deprivation of Sasuke's attention, the noblewoman he'd been talking to tugged at him. "I'm still here, you know."
Sasuke kept his eyes trained on Sakura. Giving up, the noblewoman left.
"Can I have this dance?"
Sakura grinned and let Sasuke whisk her away.
They moved together so naturally, it made her wonder how they'd managed to botch the first awkward time they'd waltzed so badly. It seemed impossible to fall out of step with him.
They moved about the dance floor, Sakura reveling in the feeling of being the envy of every woman in the room. Kakashi-sensei and ninja reflexes had done their job well; they were the best dancers in the room by far.
I'm going to rub this so hard in Ino-pig's face!
Sasuke whispered sweetly in her ear. "You're the most beautiful woman here tonight."
Lord, why was it so hard to breathe?
"What's your name?" His breath was warm, ghosting over her ear.
"Sa-Sarada..." She hadn't thought this through enough.
He chuckled, no doubt taking her near-misstep as a sign of her nervousness. "That's a pretty name...Do you live at court, Lady Sarada?"
"Ah...yes?"
"How do you like it here, Lady Sarada of the pretty eyes?" Hands interlocked, Sasuke brushed a thumb over her palm lightly. Tenderly.
She blushed under the henge, but kept enough of her wits about her to deflect naturally.
"I like it much better with you here..." They came to a stop. Sasuke led her, not into a corner like his other conquests, but a secluded corridor, drawing her close.
She leaned in, but found herself in a whirl of movement that ended with her arm twisted behind her back and a kunai at her throat.
His demeanor turned dangerous, no longer the dashing playboy. He leaned in, holding her too tight.
"No court lady has calluses. Who sent you?"
She clutched frantically at the wrist that held the kunai, truly fearing for her life.
"Sasuke, sasuke, it's me!"
His eyes flashed red through the henge for a second to confirm this statement.
"Oh." He let her go.
A pause that with anyone else she'd have labeled as embarrassed.
"You wasted my time. And what's with the calluses?"
Sakura's face flamed, and she babbled. "I didn't think, I'm-I had to make calluses for the nobleman too, so I just carried it over without thinking. Noblewomen have got to be the only people in the world without calluses."
Sasuke shifted his feet almost nervously, then turned. She buried her face in her hands.
"The rest of the henge was decent though."
Surprised by the peace offering, she peeked up. She could see him running through all the things he'd said to her in his head. He was embarrassed too! Her own embarrassment forgotten, Sakura grinned and offered her own compliment.
"I think you're doing a good job?"
His back stayed turned. "Henge back. We should get back to work."
She sighed at Sasuke's return to his usual distant self. How'd he produce that smooth playboy from nowhere?
She shook her head as she henged back into the plain nobleman Kakashi-sensei had assigned her.
Men were dangerous.
Kakashi had been watching his genin proudly until he was inexplicably led away by Kawaru far away from where he could supervise his team, into increasingly labrynthine corridors. They looked secret.
Kawaru stopped and turned to Kakashi. He'd been drinking as much as the two they'd left behind, and he was swaying lightly. Kakashi waited for him to speak. The words that came out were not what he expected.
"I have a task for you."
"I don't believe you're my employer."
Kawaru laughed. "You're being paid by the family, not my little sister, fool."
Though there was no chance in hell he'd stick his neck out further on this thrice-cursed mission, he feigned curiosity-any indication of their motives was vital.
"The task?"
Kawaru motioned back to whence they came. "Hiro, Kawane. Make it happen."
Kakashi crossed his arms. "I'm pretty sure it's already happening."
Kawaru shook his head.
"No, it's not. Hiro's indulging himself tonight, but he'll do as he's told by the daimyo when it matters." He drew closer. "I need her married to him. I want him besotted. If he pushes the point, the daimyo can't refuse without insulting our family. Use genjutsu."
Had the entire world decided secret ninja techniques weren't secret anymore this week? If there were loose-lipped ninja going around, they'd need to be dealt with. Kakashi filed the note away in his head as he carefully formulated his refusal.
"That sounds outside the scope of a guard mission."
Kawaru laughed sarcastically. The harsh lines of his face made the smooth aristocracy he'd exuded back in the main hall seem like a half-remembered dream.
"Always comes down to that, doesn't it."
He tossed a full coin purse at Kakashi, who didn't move to catch it. The purse fell to the ground in front of him with a very heavy sounding jingle. Kakashi regarded it coolly.
"It's not a matter of payment."
"Lies. Shinobi always have their price." Kawaru drew closer, kicking the purse to the side. "That's the only straightforward thing about you ninja. Always after the money."
Kakashi stayed cool. Professional. There was no point in getting riled at the juvenile barbs of a drunk man. His lack of response seemed to goad the man.
"You know what we do sometimes? We order "spy" missions for each other." The quotation marks were obvious in his tone. "When we want some spice."
Shinobi have no emotions. Kakashi reminded himself. Which is why he was not suppressing a tremble of rage. It was just cold in the corridor.
"I'm not even going to pretend we're fooling Konoha with our weak excuses. "Seduce my brother to find out where he keeps his keys?" " Kawaru spat on the floor. "But Konoha sends its ninja anyway. Selling your bodies for a few coins."
He stepped even closer, nose almost colliding with Kakashi's chin. "Isn't that right, Hatake? You've let a few nobles enjoy you back in the day? Haven't those kids? All together? Or do you only use your women like that?"
The temperature in the room dropped 5 degrees at that statement. Unfortunately, Kawaru didn't seem to notice. He picked up the purse now, pressing it against Kakashi's flak vest.
"Don't pretend you wouldn't do something as simple as messing with a noble's mind when you and I both know you've torn families apart for half this price."
"That's enough." He snatched the purse out of Kawaru's hands to put it back into the pocket of the noble's robe, a little rougher than he strictly needed to be. "I suggest you find a matchmaker if you're looking to find someone for your sister." And therapy.
Kawaru allowed him to put the purse away on his body, narrowed eyes searching his face.
"You've had her, haven't you?"
"No." was the curt reply. And Naruto thinks I'm the pervert. This noble clearly had some hang up about ninjas. and sex. And to the creepiest extent, his sister.
Kawaru sneered and the smile distorted his handsome face such that Kakashi could have mistaken him for Hayao. The similarity was too strong.
"Surprising, what, is she saving you for something?"
Kakashi turned to go. It was clear staying would give him nothing but the darker details of this noble's psychological hang-ups. The drunk noble grabbed at him.
"I'm not done with you yet. Kimuhara-san-"
"I am." He kept walking. Kawaru let go. It was either that or be dragged with the ninja.
"Come back right now!"
Kakashi ignored the command with a fierce delight, lengthening his stride.
Besides, he didn't want to leave his genin unsupervised with these lecherous nobles too long.
Naruto'd been hard at work.
The group he'd been absorbed into at the party had been an absolute goldmine of information. So much so that he'd even had to flag Sakura over after the first hour. There was no way he'd remember everything. He was barely understanding what was being said as it was, lacking the context that had Sakura's eyes shifting, making connections he couldn't fathom. Perhaps he should have listened during history. Still, it was clear what they were saying was dangerous.
"So what I'm saying," the most vocal one pulled his voice back down, knowing he'd spoken too loud. "So what I'm saying, is there's no way for Kawagu-sama to move forward."
Protests broke out. "But we've only just built up our strength!"
"But what else can we do? Hiroyuki would never support us."
A man next to Naruto ran a distressed hand over his head. "And he's being dragged back to Takahishi. What's the point of fighting? They've won."
"I'm not getting dragged anywhere, Yuri." They turned. Kawagu had come up behind the group. He pushed into the inner circle easily.
"I know you shouldn't say it out loud, but I shall. The council is trying to get rid of us, but I won't let them. They made the mistake of bowing to Earth, and we're going to fix it. I stay at court. I go home when our work is done or in a casket."
The anxious taste the air had held only moments before was turned to fire. He turned in the circle, scanning their eager faces. The energy he brought was palpable.
"They brought the war. They invaded Fire. Who won the war?"
"We did." The chorus was low, but no less intense. The crowd of noblemen had breathed it as one, as if long-practiced.
"And we only have the graves of fathers and uncles and brothers to show for it. The Land of Earth should not exist."
Naruto looked to Sakura, keeping his face as composed as possible. Even he realized what that entailed.
Kawagu was gone almost as fast as he'd come, moving on to join his sister where she sat with Hiro. Shortly after Kakashi-sensei appeared alone from a backroom door Naruto hadn't registered before. His sensei's eye scanned the room coldly until they met Naruto's. He snapped and pointed at the floor next to him authoritatively. Come.
He extricated himself from the gathering, unobtrusively fading into a hallway. Sakura followed soon after.
Naruto wondered vaguely if they should point out to his sensei that he was training the genin with the same commands he used with his ninken. He decided against it, knowing it would be worse when the jounin just looked at them blankly, not realizing the issue.
Releasing their henge, they appeared behind their sensei, their bright clothing earning them frowns if not outright expressions of disgust from the nobles around them. Sasuke was already there.
"You encountered no problems?"
They nodded. Uncharacteristically, Kakashi-sensei's lone eye scanned over them as if to confirm for himself that this was actually the case. Nodding in satisfaction, he turned to where Lady Hinogawa sat with Hiroyuki. They were tripping over themselves giggling as they poured two different drinks into the glass Hiro held.
Kakashi-sensei had noticed the interest with which Naruto eyed the now bright purple drink the two nobles had concocted. Naruto's head was met with a gruff tap of a gloved fist.
"Not for you for a while, Naruto. Make it to chunin at least before breaking the three Shinobi Prohibitions."
The boy rubbed his head resentfully.
"We've all been drinking tonight, we had to!"
Something unreadable flickered through sensei's eye.
"Ah, right. Sensei forgot." He turned away, suddenly exuding his usual languid demeanor. "Carry on then."
Naruto shook his head, turning his attention back to the nobles.
Sakura sidled up to him, starting the genjutsu that would allow her to report what they'd uncovered during the night.
Kakashi looked to the ceiling, wondering which god had decided his life should be so richly populated with avengers.
It wasn't unexpected. Conflict between hidden villages had always shadowed those between the nations. The cause and cure for the Third Shinobi War had been intimately tied to those of the last war between Fire and Earth. Even as ninja ambushed and reambushed each other in the cover of darkness, regiments had crashed together in open-field battle, every man available pressed into service by the country's nobility.
The Hokage had tenuously brokered peace with Iwa using the fact that the destruction of Kannabi bridge had turned the war in Konoha's favor and promising no retributions if they surrendered early and caused no more casualties. Likewise, Earth had only handed the war to Fire on terms that had released them from all culpability for the havoc the war had wreaked.
Even his own cohort had been rankled by how the Hokage had allowed the killers of their teammates to return home free of consequence. He'd gotten to kill Obito's murderers with his own hands, but many others hadn't been so lucky.
It seemed the youth of this court agreed. He eyed them now. All of them unblooded youths that would have been at most sixteen at the most at the close of the war. Of course, he'd been thirteen. But that was different. He'd been a thirteen that slit throats in the night. They'd been sixteens whose closest brush with death had been reading tales of wars and glory.
No doubt the Hokage knew of the war party already. A coil of tension that had sat in Kakashi's core since he'd read the Hokage's note eased slightly. Lady Hinogawa was likely not an immediate target. The Hokage had likely commanded them back out of a desire to keep genin out of such a delicate political web.
He assessed the situation. Kiyo's death had left the new Hinogawa family head as the defacto lead of the war party. Hiroyuki, by all accounts, would do as the daimyo commanded and maintain the peace, making Kawaru's insistence on marrying the future daimyo to his sister significant with regard to the Hokage's wishes. The Hinogawas no doubt believed Kawane could twist Hiroyuki to his will.
From the way she had him wrapped around her finger tonight, they were likely right.
Hiro was flying.
The Hinogawa siblings had been in his life as long as he could remember. Though Kawagu and Kiyo had made their own older brother clique, Kawagu, Kawane and he had spent many afternoons together frolicking in the well manicured back gardens. Even now, in the shining eyed woman knocking back the wine cocktailthey'd mixed up, he could see a trace of the girl that had gleefully mashed leaves and mud together in a "healing poultice" to soothe their imagined wounds.
Feeling a bit guilty over how good he was feeling despite the death of Kiyo, he nevertheless smiled down at her, pulling a little closer. This way it was almost possible to believe there weren't hard decisions to make in life, no silences to keep, no brothers to sacrifice. He felt like he could lose himself in her perfume. He leaned in to breathe in the air by her neck.
His face was intercepted by a shoulder. A manly shoulder, which smelled nowhere near as good. He brought his head up quickly, staring at the intruder, hairs rising on his neck.
"You smell like death."
An almost completely masked face smiled back at him.
"That's not very nice. You were the one sniffing me."
Leaving him sputtering, the face turned to Kawane.
"Lady Hinogawa, I would suggest we retire for the night." The phrasing made Hiro almost pop a vein. That, and the way Kawane drew close to this man who smelled faintly of battle. Of leather and steel and blood.
"Mmm, Kakashi-san. I agree."
She was almost purring, eyes hooding in a way that Hiro fervently believed should be made illegal outside a bedroom. Outside his bedroom, if he could help it.
She stumbled sideways. The Copy-Nin supported her deftly, holding her up against his side. He nodded to Hiro and vanished. The three children behind him also disappeared, one of them the ninja that had shown up Kazuki-kun so thoroughly.
"No wait, Kawane! I need to ask you..."
Hiro sat abandoned at the table, abruptly brought down from the heights of before. He fingered the empty vial he'd only barely managed to sneak into the glass.
He whispered the question he'd lost the opportunity to say. The words were lost in the susurrus of the crowd.
Kimiko met them at the entrance to her quarters, the fifteen-year old clucking like a mother hen.
"These nobles, really.You're no better than children."
Kawane waved an imperious hand, still clinging to Kakashi's chest. "Wah!"
Naruto ducked his head, hiding a grin.
Shaking her head. Kimiko ushered them in, keeping Naruto and Sasuke out "to preserve the modesty of a lady's quarters". Kakashi was allowed on the basis of being the one carrying the lady, Sakura on the basis of being a girl.
"Kimiko, leave us." the lady said, trying to straighten up. "Kakashi-san and I have business to discuss."
"My lady!" Kakashi had never seen anyone's eyes bug out quite so much. "You can't be serious!"
"Out, Kimiko, out right now." The scandalized looking girl withdrew, reluctantly following the finger the lady pointed to the door. Kakashi sent a glare at Sakura, warning her not to leave as well. It was a sad day when he had to rely on a twelve year old genin to champion his modesty, but needs must.
The lady grabbed at the lapels of his flak jacket, tugging him towards the inner bedroom.
"Come Kakashi-san, we need to debrief."
He let himself get pulled in. The bedroom door slammed shut.
Sakura stood awkwardly, trying hard not to look at the door through which no doubt the lady and sensei were doing...Icha Icha things. She thought she could hear giggling.
She focused on the desk that was prominently featured in the room. It was strewn with papers in a way very reminiscent of the missions desk back home. Figuring the lady was in no state to catch her peeping, she took a look, then paled. There was a very familiar orange cover sitting among them. She looked closer, fascinated by this glimpse into the lady's private life. There was a bookmark in there! She looked back at the door, reaching out her chakra.
Their chakras seemed to be intermingled...with sensei's over the lady's.
Squeaking with embarrassment, she turned off all her senses in that direction. They wouldn't be interrupting her any time soon. Still holding her breath, she approached the book. The genin had actually never been able to catch a peek at the contents, though it seemed from Naruto's grossed out and weirdly specific jibes at their sensei that Naruto had gone off sometime to read it on his own. She reached a hand out to flip the cover, but stopped.
There was a well-worked sheet underneath it, paper worn thin in areas where lines had been drawn, erased, then drawn again.
A network map. A complicated network map, using colors to overlay multiple networks over each other on one sheet. Sakura's eyes flicked from bubble to bubble, name to name. One network she'd traced was clear from the information they'd gathered that night, the avengers, but there were three on here, each network overlaid differently over the same names.
She pulled an explosive tag. The back of it would have to work as for her copy.
A/N: I should probably switch the rating to M, shouldn't I?
