"Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find perfect composure. But unfortunately, although it is true, it is difficult for us to accept it. Because we cannot accept the truth of transience, we suffer." ~ Shunryu Suzuki
Chapter 7: Relocated
"So, am I in trouble or are you in trouble?" Kabuto asked Kakashi, glancing up at the jounin as he wheeled Kabuto towards the Hokage's office.
"You do realize that we visit the Hokage for reasons other than trouble, don't you?"
Kabuto raised an eyebrow. "We do? Maybe you do, I usually don't."
Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Well, you aren't in trouble. So relax. You're stiffer than a two-by-four."
Kabuto relaxed slightly, unclenching his hands from the armrests of the wheelchair. "Maybe you don't realize that for me, this is a visit to the head of an enemy village."
"You grew up here," Kakashi said.
"Technically… no. I grew up with the Akatsuki. Kind of different from growing up in Konoha, as I'm beginning to realize," Kabuto scowled. "No, actually, growing up in Konoha is vastly different."
"How so?" Kakashi inquired.
"Well, for one thing, people actually apologize here," Kabuto said.
"Interesting," Kakashi said, opening the door to the Hokage's office.
"What is?" Tsunade demanded.
"Nothing of import," Kakashi said dismissively. "You rang?"
"Kakashi, I have a new mission for you," Tsunade said, without ceremony. "It's vital."
Kabuto stiffened. Here we go… he thought. "So I guess this means I'm going to prison now?"
Tsunade scowled. "You'd be dead in two days. You still aren't walking, correct?"
"I can walk an eighth of a mile now, thank you very much," Kabuto replied.
"Spectacular. Kakashi, here are the papers you'll need. Take him out of here for a moment- wait-" Tsunade glanced at Kabuto momentarily. "Is there anyone you would prefer to stay with while you continue to recover?"
Kabuto blinked in surprise. "I can choose someone?"
"As long as they have a rank of Chunin or higher," Tsunade said dismissively. "We can't have you escaping."
"Especially since you can walk a whole eighth of a mile now," Kakashi interjected.
The other two shot him irritated looks. Tsunade sighed. "So, any requests?"
"Nara Shikamaru," Kabuto said decidedly. Kakashi appeared relatively unsurprised.
"Good. Now, Kakashi, get him out of here and take off," Tsunade ordered, pointing at the door.
"Yes, your majesty," Kakashi smirked.
"And get me something for this abominable hangover while you're at it!" Tsunade shouted after him.
"Of course," Kakashi gave a little bow, shutting the door.
Kabuto glanced at Kakashi in surprise. "That's how Konoha Jounin act towards the Hokage?"
"No," Kakashi said dismissively, wheeling the boy down the hall. "That's how I act towards the Hokage. You should see Gai…"
Kabuto shook his head. "I don't want to know."
"I need to go now, so stay out of trouble," Kakashi said, then poofed away.
"Wai-" Kabuto sighed. The Konoha jounin was already gone. Great. Now I have to leave here without being taken out by ANBU, Kabuto thought irritably. Speak of the devil… Even as he thought about the special ops division, he could sense the chakra of three in the general vicinity. He glanced around anxiously, but no one seemed to be in sight. Just my luck, he thought irritably.
Sighing again, Kabuto forced his body to relax in the wheelchair. Not too far down the hall and through a door, he could hear the Hokage bellowing about one thing or another. He wasn't sure how long it would be before she left the office, and he hoped that someone friendly would stumble upon him before then.
Nearly an hour passed before Kabuto heard footsteps approaching. He opened his eyes and focused on the doorway from the adjoining hallway. Several seconds later, Iruka and Hinata rounded the corner. Both stopped dead upon sighting Kabuto.
Iruka frowned slightly. "Is it… Kabuto?" he inquired, appearing slightly pleased.
"Hello, Kabuto-senpai," Hinata said.
"Iruka-senpai, Hinata," Kabuto replied, nodding slightly in their direction. "Would one of you mind taking me out of here? Kakashi just left me sitting here… with at least three ANBU just waiting for me to make a remotely threatening move. I think they'd trust you to move me, though."
Iruka scowled. "That absent-minded… here, Kabuto, I'll take you outside, you go on ahead, Hinata-chan."
Hinata nodded and moved on down the hall with a wave to Kabuto. Kabuto glanced up at Iruka as the Chunin made his way over to propel the wheelchair. "Wow. This takes me back," Kabuto said, glancing up at Iruka. "I feel like I'm ten all over again."
Iruka nodded absently. "You did graduate at a rather young age, didn't you? Too bad you really didn't seem to go anywhere after that." he frowned. "But you did improve, just not…"
"Well, I'm not too broken up about it," Kabuto interrupted briskly, "You shouldn't be either."
Iruka nodded absently and wheeled Kabuto outside. "Where to?"
"Nara Shikamaru's," Kabuto said.
Iruka glanced at Kabuto in surprise. "Why?"
"I'll be staying with him until I recover enough for the Hokage to have me interrogated without killing me," Kabuto replied. "What with most of my chakra being suppressed, my body is taking its' jolly good time in healing."
Iruka nodded in understanding, wheeling Kabuto in the direction of the Konoha chunin's house.
"It doesn't look like anyone's home," Iruka told Kabuto as he came around the corner of the building. "I do, however, know where he keeps the spare key."
Kabuto raised an eyebrow. "Is the location of everyone's spare key common knowledge in Konoha?"
Iruka grinned. "No, just schoolteachers who have issues with truancy in a ninja village… sometimes, for a student, the safest place to hide is behind a locked door," he said as he lifted up the doormat and peeked under it furtively.
Kabuto shrugged. "I see-"
"Hey, Iruka-sensei!" A little kid from the street called. "Shikamaru moved his key! It's in the mailbox now!"
Iruka coughed in slight embarrassment, waved at the kid and called "Thank you!" before opening the mailbox and retrieving the key.
Kabuto smirked. "Well, it seems schoolteacher certification requirements have changed significantly since I was a child…"
Iruka sighed. "What happened to the sweet little kid I used to know? He's been replaced by a sarcastic little…"
Kabuto waited.
"…little…" Iruka struggled to find a noun, but his kindheartedness wouldn't let him finish the sentence. "…never mind. I'm sure you're still a good kid."
"If you say so," Kabuto scoffed.
Iruka glanced at Kabuto in slight consternation, then opened Shikamaru's front door. "Now…" he glanced at the steps, at Kabuto's wheelchair, then back at the steps. "How about if I-"
"How about if you help me walk in?" Kabuto snapped before Iruka could suggest something as degrading as carrying him in. He wasn't totally helpless.
Iruka looked dubious. "We can try," he agreed.
Kabuto scooted to the edge of the wheelchair and planted his feet on the ground, standing. "Just because I'm in a wheelchair doesn't mean I'm incapable of walking." He decided to refrain from mentioning his eighth-of-a-mile landmark; it didn't seem to be gaining him much credibility anyway.
Iruka grinned, offering Kabuto his arm. "I'm glad to hear that."
Kabuto stared at the steps in concentration. Leaning heavily on Iruka for balance, he managed to get up the steps unharmed, though his pride was smarting somewhat. Iruka walked him into what seemed to be Shikamaru's living room, giving him a moment to settle on the couch, then retrieved the wheelchair.
"Do you want to sit in this or stay on the couch?" Iruka asked.
"Couch," Kabuto replied.
"Do you want something to eat?"
Kabuto frowned slightly. "What is it with people in Konoha and wanting to stuff food down my throat?"
Iruka grinned. "You must have been hanging out with Chouji."
Kabuto blinked. "Why, does that mean something?"
"Oh, Chouji always liked eating, and making other people eat. Sometimes I think he should have been a chef… It's just how he shows his friendship." Iruka shrugged. "Sounds like you're already off to a good start here."
"I was a missing-nin and I worked in tandem with Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto replied. "How good of a start could I be off to after so few days?"
Iruka just smiled. "I'll see you around, Kabuto. And you should try smiling sometime. You had such a cute grin when you were a kid…"
"That sounds almost pedophilic," Kabuto informed Iruka.
"Get your mind out of the gutter," Iruka responded. "You were a cute kid. Deal with it."
"Man, if you'd said that when you TA'd my class, they never would have promoted you," Kabuto told him.
"Hence the reason I only mention it now," Iruka replied.
Kabuto smirked. "Good point."
Iruka glanced at the door. "I should get going now. Stay out of trouble, you hear?"
Kabuto nodded. "Yes, Iruka."
"Watch yourself, kohai."
"According to Konoha, I'm at a jounin level. That makes you my kohai," Kabuto replied.
"You never passed the Chunin exams," Iruka reminded him.
"That was intentional," Kabuto protested.
"Your problem, not mine," Iruka shrugged. "Stay out of trouble, maybe I'll see you around."
"Maybe," Kabuto replied noncommittally, watching Iruka as he left the house, locked the door, and presumably replaced the key in the mailbox. Or maybe he would put it under the door mat to mess with Shikamaru… but no, only Kabuto would try something like that. Or perhaps Kakashi.
Glancing around the room, Kabuto took in his surroundings. Relatively neat.
Relative to the front door, there was a window on the left wall, two doors in the back right corner, and the couch was stationed directly across from the front door. There was a ragged carpet on the floor, and a lamp in the far left corner of the room, perched on a round side table where a bowl of half-eaten rice had been discarded, presumably that morning. At least, Kabuto hoped it had only been discarded that morning…
Almost fifteen minutes of sheer boredom passed before someone knocked on the front door. Kabuto glared at the door. The knocking continued insistently. Finally, Kabuto heaved forward, staggering towards the door, grasping the handle to keep his balance as he drew it open. "Yes?"
"Nara Shikamaru?" A young man gasped, appearing flustered.
"No. I'm… a friend," Kabuto said, feeling it probably would require too much explanation if he'd said something like "I'm the guy he's guarding for the next few weeks until I'm well enough to torture to the point of near-death so I'll tell Konoha everything I know". He didn't think he'd be able to remain standing long enough to finish the dialogue that would most likely ensue following that particular announcement.
"Oh, well, when he gets here, can you give him this package? My sensei told me to get it to him, he got it from some courier and was supposed to deliver it, but he had to stay late at the training arena and I have a date I need to get to and really don't want to stick around until he gets here, but I have to give it to him in person but you're close enough, aren't you? So maybe I should-"
"I'll take it," Kabuto interrupted the kid as he started to sway on his feet. "Give it here."
"Thank you so much, this is a really big-"
Kabuto shut the door, glancing at the package in interest. Leaning against the door for a moment, he gathered his strength, staggered back across the room and fell onto the couch with a sigh. He glanced at the package in his hand. It was sealed. He scowled. In that case, he couldn't open it without Shikamaru knowing that he'd read the contents. He had a small window of opportunity between the time Shikamaru would open the package and read it and the time when Shikamaru would most likely dispose of the contents of the package.
Kabuto shut his eyes slowly. What could be inside the package? Considering that a Jounin had been ordered to deliver the package, it was likely at least marginally important. And like any good spy, Kabuto was curious. What would the shougi kid be receiving that was so important? Most likely files regarding Kabuto himself.
And there was nothing Kabuto disliked more than when people talked about him behind his back…
Sighing, the former missing-nin stood again and moved across the room, glancing at two doors equidistant from the back right corner of the room. He moved for the door on the right and opened it- success! Kabuto carefully wandered across the floor, tossing the package on the kitchen table before returning to the couch in the front room to wait for the return of Nara Shikamaru.
A/N: Shuwa-chan! (My Japanese teacher made me laugh hysterically when she told the class this was Arnold Schwarzenegger's cute nickname in Japan.) And yes, I know that that little piece of information has nothing to do with the story, but I just thought it was funny.
I find Iruka and Kabuto funny together. They're just so different, what with Kabuto being so cynical and Iruka so... Iruka. I had a lot of fun with these two. Maybe they'll bump into each other again later.
It's kind of sad how busy I am this quarter. I've actually had several chapters pre-written, but I've been so busy I haven't even found time to UPLOAD them, which is practically the easiest part of the whole fanfic-writing gig. It's pathetic. And now that I have uploaded this chapter, I need to go finish my take-home chemistry midterm, finish that dumb density lab, finish my MUN homework and position paper, finish my kanji worksheet, study up on Buddha and Shiva's iconography, and... oh yes, sleep. Can't forget that...
Another A/N:
Okay, I admit it, I couldn't find a good quote for this chapter. If you can think of a better one, feel free to review and tell me what quote you would have used!