Hatake Kakashi looked at herself in the mirror. She didn't like infiltration missions, but this was a favor she was doing to Jiraya-Sama, so she couldn't exactly complain about it.
Officially, she was just taking a vacation at a local onsen. Officiously, she will probably be meeting with a contact from the Sannin's network and convey information back to Konoha. Why he asked her to come was a bit odd, considering the old man had numerous informants.
Underneath this, there was probably another story.
She departed from Konoha with a light pack and a disguise, as always. Before leaving, she had to take some new clothes, as she had nothing else to wear apart from standard-issue uniforms from her ANBU days or her Jounin flak jacket. She felt strange, looking at clothes that would fit her. After years in secret services where your identity and gender were giveaways, she was not comfortable with her mix of curves and muscles. It didn't feel like her.
Kakashi knew herself to be pretty, but nothing that came from her features were ever good. Her father had died from not completing a mission properly, and most of her friends have been killed in action for doing theirs. The most she could hope for was to die on this job when the time was right. Until then, she just had to excel at her job.
She was not a great fan of this "vacation setting". Jiraya knew about her gender, and that was probably why he asked. Nobody would think copy-ninja Kakashi was this woman travelling alone with a merchant's caravan, a dog for sole company.
"Where are you headed Ma'am?" the innkeeper asked when she arrived two days later in the middle of Fire Country.
"I heard there was a great onsen nearby?" she asked innocently. "I'm supposed to find a friend of mine there. He told me the location was a bit… peculiar? But that there was a local village that made great sweets nearby."
The innkeeper raised a brow. She managed to blush prettily. Jiraya had mentioned it was a mixed onsen, and that they made one of the best daifukumochi he ever ate. It was a place with enough public, but not very known, perfect for a secure exchange of information.
"There's a village about five miles east." He said vaguely. He was probably needing some convincing.
"How about I stay the night and breakfast, and you show me the way?"
She didn't know if it was her appearance or the perspective of profit that interest him (the place was quite empty), but it worked. If she was right, she might need the room a few days, depending on when this informant came in contact with her.
She knew her cover like the back of her hand. She had used it a long time ago, back before she was about to be promoted Jounin. There had been this cover mission she was assigned to, where she had to pose as a princess. All she had done was wearing a rich embroidered kimono and leave her mask behind. Even though her guards had been comprised of Genins of her promotion, none of them recognized her. Not even Obito! She remembered this mission quite fondly: she had messed with the Uchiha boy a bit, wondering if she could shift his interest in their medic teammate, and stop his constant simpering. Well, it's not as if it was important now.
As she undressed herself, her reflection in the mirror made her still a fraction of a second. Even though the colors were wrong, the rest of her body was completely hers. At 27, she looked younger than her age, even though her naked silhouette and scars betrayed her years of service.
"Something of the matter, Boss?" Pakkun asked. "You look out of it."
"It's this vacation thing… I know it's not, but the Hokage seemed up to something." She ruffled her hair in frustration.
"You're working too hard. You should eat and sleep more; I can smell your anxiety from here."
"What would be the point?" She flopped on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "We have been in piece for many years. There's nothing happening in the world right now, and I just feel… useless…"
Pakkun put his cold nose against her unclothed neck. She scratched him distractedly behind his ears.
"Maybe you'll have some fun on this vacation. Something else to focus on."
Kakashi already had something to focus on. She wanted to die for her country, the way all her friends had gone…
She was utterly bored.
Half lying on a rock, half immerged in hot water, she was letting her sake jar and cup drift on the floating plate. She might need a refill soon, and the buzz of the alcohol in her veins was lulling her gently.
Apart from her, there had only been an old lady earlier today, and the woman had given her directions for a nice walk she could enjoy later. She had not been her informant. Jiraya had said he was male, and that she would recognize him immediately as a missing nin.
Well… maybe she should just enjoy the calm moments while there were here.
Her nose twitched. There was someone coming. Her eyes widened. Wasn't that… Uchiha Itachi!? She almost jumped on her stone, glancing at her reflection to see if her eyes were still brown and not grey, if the paint over her eye masked her infamous scar, and if her hair was still dyed brown.
In the entrance of the onsen, there he was, looking at her with various degrees of wariness. It was unmistakably Uchiha Itachi. The world suddenly shifted on its axis.
The responsible of the Uchiha Massacre had grown well. Gone was the scrawny boy they shoved in her ANBU team of misfits. Admittedly, he was still a teenager, since he must have been something like 18 or 19 now, but he had matured a lot. Kakashi wasn't confident she could get the upper hand if the situation got more out of hand. As Itachi adjusted his towel around his hips, his fingers briefly signed for "Jiraya".
Uchiha Itachi was a contact of Jiraya-Sama? What was going on?
"May I?" he asked, ever so polite. She nodded. In that brief exchange, the grip oh his towel changed slightly, signing for "Jiraya". She just raised the book she had come with. He sat, not too close, but not too far either. She felt his relaxed form was only a lie, but it reassured her, nonetheless. His body language was nearly flawless, but she could sense his unease.
"So?" she asked, filling the second cup with sake and sending the beverage his way.
"I am underage." He chastised her and she repressed a snort.
"Enough to kill…" she said.
He took the cup and sent the floating plate back. She blinked. There was a picture on it.
"I was asked to confirm the identity of this man," He said, taking a sip.
She glanced at the man on the picture. The angle was not good, as if the picture had been rushed. It was a man between 25 and 35 years old, with chiseled features she immediately identified as Uchiha. The face was half covered by an orange mask with a swirl. She could not quite make his face, but something was suddenly banging at the back of her mind. But the simple fact that he looked like an Uchiha… She focused on the other details on the picture: the shine of a Sharingan in one of his eyes, the tousled black hair, the coat under his arms that looked like a uniform…
"Ahem… The face looks familiar but…" She sent back the plate after another helping of alcohol. "Could be that I am influenced by your face."
"You're hiding something." He stated.
She cocked her head to the side. For the time being, she felt like she missed some pieces of the puzzle. But she did not want him to know she was half bluffing.
"I might need more than a badly taken picture," she replied. "Got some family left after all?"
If there was a twitch at this, he concealed it. He took another sip. She wished she had kept a weapon at hand. She was quite sure Itachi was better at water Jutsu than she was: she taught him everything she knew.
"I will not answer this question. If you cannot give me the information I am looking for, I suggest you leave."
"So, you have more to give me."
"I trust only Jiraya, not the messenger and their personal motivations."
"I'm here because he asked me. So are you. You're the one with the information."
Since this was going to be a waiting game, she stood out of the water and took her things. If he wanted to give her information, she would be waiting in town. He nodded when she told him that. Never leaving the exists, she put on her change of clothes. It was a simple design, with a white and pink design with big flowers. Her matching umbrella hid a gas sprinkler, and a sword was hidden in the handle. She had various blades and senbons carefully secreted in the seams of her clothes. She walked in direction of the town with a sedated pace.
She smelled the raven behind her, even though he produced no sound. She knew the boy wouldn't let her go that easily. There was no use. It was clear that he didn't intend to attack her (yet), and they both trusted Jiraya to arrange a meeting with a trustworthy person.
The fact that a mass murderer was one of his spies bothered her. She told the same to Pakkun when he came to meet her in town.
"But aren't all ninjas murderers?" the pup asked her.
She made a stop at a local tea house. Their green tea was quite good. The sweets were too. Jiraya had been right: this was a good place. Quite soon after settling down on her seat and munching on sweets, she became engrossed with the master's latest book. Erotica had always been her way to forget about the stress. Other ninjas had hobbies to forget about all the fighting, like Tenzo who tended to his plants. She liked to read smut. It allowed her to forget how people tried to sell her charms in missions, or pretended they wanted the survival of the Hatake house.
Itachi-San sat across her. He was wearing civilian clothes as well, but he was probably hiding weapon just like she did. She didn't look at him much, since he seemed more preoccupied with looking at her, deep in thoughts. She felt a hint of arousal coming from him and her lips twitched. She didn't know what to think of a mass-murderer / ex-student ogling her and liking what he saw.
Then suddenly he straightened, brows furrowed and ready to attack. She tensed in return and looked right inside his eyes. His Sharingan was spinning. Shit!
And then, as if he didn't believe it himself, he asked:
"Kakashi-Senpai? Is that you?"
"Yeah, sorry. The stupid bird saw me." Pakkun mumbled from under her chair.
She blinked at the teenager before her. There was a hint of mortification on his face. It was either caused by the realization that he stared at his former senpai, or if he still believed (like most) she had been a man. Not the most spectacular reaction she had received (that had been Gai), but a fun one nonetheless.
"Is there something you want to tell me or are you here to waste my time in my pseudo vacations?" she asked.
"Either you are the copy nin in disguise, or you are mimicking him very well. In both case your acting and disguise skills are commendable." She nods in thanks but does not divulge anything. "I can give you more details, but not in a conventional way. And even then, I am not quite sure these details will matter if you cannot confirm the identity of that man."
"Given that he looks like an Uchiha, I suppose there are not many people who could identify him."
If he was just a lookalike, she had no idea who he could be. If he was a legit Uchiha who survived the massacre… She frowned. She didn't know the faces of the male Uchiha who would have been between 20 and 30 during the massacre. There had been a lot of policemen, and she wasn't familiar with them at all.
"You would be correct, …?" His voice trailed, waiting for a name.
"Call me Mina." This was the alias she had used the most since that escort mission.
"Mina-San, if I am correct, the man you saw is supposed to have died a long time ago. I want to be certain of his identity before I try anything regarding him."
"And why would I help you. I may trust Jiraya-Sama, but I don't trust you."
He straightened in his chair. Kakashi had seen such a serious expression on Itachi-San's face just once: back when he was about to… She was ready to strike.
"That man is possessed by an ancient evil, Mina-San. I do not know of his plans, but I do know he latched upon the body of my kinsman. But I think the man could be saved. And if I am right, only Kakashi-Senpai will be able to save him, because they used to be friends."
Kakashi chuckled darkly. Saving a man from being possessed? What was he talking about? This story was ridiculous.
"Stop pulling my leg, Uchiha." She spat. "You don't know what you're talking about. Kakashi is called the friend-killer for a reason: he has nobody left."
"If that is the case, then there is nothing to lose and everything to win."
And then, Itachi gave her the most beautiful broken smile that ever was… And pulled her in a Genjutsu.
She saw a succession of images and sounds through Itachi-San's eyes, and probably through the eyes of one of his crows. It was training, harsh training. There was a man giving orders, and he was… changing voices? There seemed to be several personas inhabiting this guy. A cold one teaching Itachi. As for the other one…
She gasped, blinking her eyes. The illusion had only lasted a fistful of seconds, but it had been so vivid. As if some mist had been lifted, she thought back of the features of the man on the picture and in Itachi's memories. It was a man with deep scars on the entire right side of his body. But that side had a Sharingan... With an afterthought, she felt the tomoe on her left eye spinning furiously.
"The fuck was that…" She gripped the table, heavily panting.
"Senpai focus! You have to stop pouring chakra in your Sharingan. You're gonna lose consciousness…"
She couldn't help the bitter laugh… Obito was alive!? And he needed her help…