A/N: 'This is sign language' and "this is spoken speech". Happy angsty Monday guys :)

Kakashi and Snake have collected a good amount of information on Hanzou and Danzou's general movements but the specifics necessary for a thorough search and destroy mission remain distressingly lacking. Akatsuki's escalating attacks throughout Amegakure call Hanzou and ROOT away from the compound all hours of the day, and the remaining few ROOT agents are frustratingly tight-lipped. In fact, if not for their ability to acknowledge orders verbally, Sakumo might have suspected that they are a bunch of literal (and not just metaphorical) puppets.

By the end of the week, Kakashi is desperate enough to try spilling hot soup on one of the ROOT shinobi guarding Hanzou's conference room - it takes a surprising amount of skill to predict how they will dodge in order to aim effectively - in hopes that he would accept an offer to do his laundry and perhaps deliver it as well, sir?

At least the resulting beating from the head housekeeper gives Snake and Kakashi an excuse to shut themselves in the bathroom and have a proper, lengthy discussion using ANBU handsigns. Their hands flick through the sign language rapidly, but between the occasional mouthed word and change of expression, their trio of ghostly observers just manage to keep up with the silent conversation.

It becomes clear that the potential gains of approaching Murakami outweigh the risks. 'I'll go,' Kakashi signs, rolling his eyes when Snake gives the abused skin along the back of his calves a pointed look. Just looking at the angry red cane marks makes Sakumo wince, his own skin prickling in sympathy.

Snake digs out the small bottle of ointment from the cupboard above the sink and pours a little onto her fingers. When she dabs the ointment over the raised stripes, the skin around Kakashi's eyes tightens but not a sound escapes him. Rin sighs plaintively, leaning her elbows against her knees where she's perched on thin air. "Would it really be suspicious if I healed him?" Sakumo and Hyaku both automatically reach out to ruffle her hair and their hands bump above her head. They share sheepish grins as a very unimpressed Rin raises an eyebrow.

"Idiot," Snake says softly, when she finishes. Rin makes a sound of wholehearted agreement. "You shouldn't have done this."

Twitching his shoulders in exasperation, Kakashi twists around to examine his legs. "At least we know that hot soup isn't—" he breaks of and signs 'valid option' then 'assassination'. Snake snorts and slaps him lightly over the head, making Kakashi narrow his eyes in mock anger. "Anyway..." He forms the signs single-handedly as he reaches for his toothbrush. 'I have a better chance of getting her alone.'

She hesitates, conflicted, before her chin dips towards her chest in a slow nod. 'Careful.' Kakashi eye-smiles at her in the mirror before giving her a cheesy, Gai-esque thumbs up.

"Murakami-sama, I have a message for you from Hanzou-sama."

She looks up from the heavy scroll she had been considering, her brows instantly pulling together in a faint frown before the slip of emotion is smoothed away into placidity. "Come in." Besides her, Sugi waves at Sakumo with a smile while Meiko simply quirks an eyebrow. He nods back as he joins them in their corner beside the window.

Kakashi pads through the open doorway of her office, ducking out of the way of another servant with a large box in his arms. Other similar cardboard boxes are scattered around the room, packed with things from the half-empty shelves lining the walls. Seated behind her desk, she is a lonesome figure silhouetted against a backdrop of evergreens.

Bowing, Kakashi presents her a slip of paper. As she reads it, her confusion melts rapidly into alarm, her eyes widening and darting between Kakashi and the message he had crafted with Snake last night. Behind Murakami's shoulder, Sugi inhales sharply and Meiko levels a narrowed-eye look at Sakumo. He holds up his hands in a helpless gesture. "Sorry?"

Snapping out of her shock, Murakami puts on a displeased moue and dismisses all the other servants, claiming that all the noise is giving her a headache. Once they have hastily left and closed the door behind them, Kakashi relaxes and straightens, giving her a small smile and a tilt of his head. "If I could get Murakami-sama some paper to draft a reply...?"

She nods jerkily, indicating one of the shelves. Her whole body tenses upon the realisation that Kakashi's entire demeanour has changed. Despite his respectful word, the deferential, docile servant is present no longer; in his place is a predator whose presence fills the room. There is a distinct feeling of awareness – from the light-footed balance of his walk to the self-assured posture of his body, everything whispers shinobi.

Murakami may be threatened but to Sakumo, it just feels like Kakashi has come back home. The older Hatake must have accidentally smiled too much because Meiko is scowling harder than ever.

Setting down the papers before Murakami, Kakashi waits expectantly for her reply. The walls have ears — discussing matters of espionage aloud would be the height of imprudence. She snatches up her brush from its stand and dips it in well of the inkstone, her words flowing quickly over blank white.

'You have been here to spy for a long time.'

Shrugging, Kakashi takes the brush from her hand. 'No matter. I am not here to kill you or Hanzou, only ROOT.' The letter Kakashi had given her contains their offer: all her information on ROOT, especially the location of their outposts, in exchange for their disposal.

Her initial fear has subsided, leaving a calculating glint in her eye. Recognising whatever information leak they've suffered cannot be undone, she wastes no time with accusations. Instead, she drives a hard bargain for what their faction needs to survive. 'You can't find ROOT. You need my help. If you are here, you must have someone in Akatsuki as well. I'll exchange information on ROOT for the same regarding Akatsuki."

Kakashi's expression doesn't change as he immediately scrawls his reply. Hesitation is a concession that she has the upper hand; it is a fatal weakness that he cannot expose. 'If we cannot find ROOT, it'll be your loss.'

'A loss I can bear.'

They stare at each other, silently measuring the strength of their positions in this impasse. Kakashi lets his face fall blank. 'Our negotiation doesn't have to be friendly.'

'Kidnappings are more difficult than assassinations.'

'I can fit three days of torture in five minutes.' Kakashi braces his hands against the table and grins with bared teeth, an incongruently harsh expression on the face of a child. He lets the Henge in his left eye fade and the Sharingan swirls into sight.

Murakami reels back with a strangled gasp, looking away instinctively before realising that that she shouldn't have taken her eyes off a shinobi in such close proximity. She returns her gaze to Kakashi's hands instead, her face drained of all colour. Meiko's hand is on the hilt of her katana, her face thunderous, but Sugi is preventing her from drawing with a hand clasped over hers.

"You don't believe I can take on the White Fang?" Meiko snarls, eyes flashing.

"Please, Meiko-san," Sugi murmurs, looking pained. "They're still negotiating." Her eyes meet Sakumo's briefly, a hundred words passing between them in a single glance. Neither of them want a confrontation but if that is what the circumstances demand... neither of them will hold back.

'Hatake Kakashi.' Murakami forms the characters slowly and deliberately, hesitating many times before she bites her lip and continues in a steadier hand. 'You won't be able to maintain your cover if anything happens to me.'

It's true but Kakashi brushes it aside with a roll of his eyes, affecting a callous dismissiveness. 'My cover doesn't matter anymore.' When she hesitates again before reaching for the brush, he chooses the moment to dangle the carrot. 'I'll do you a favour out of goodwill. I have information that will save you and your son's lives. It's yours if you do your best to obtain all the information on ROOT you can.'

The look of horror flooding Murakami's face and the mirroring flinch from Sugi makes Sakumo's heart clench sharply. It's a relief when Murakami concedes. But how he wishes that they had the opportunity to see the kind and gentle sides of Kakashi instead of the cruel masks he puts on for the sake of the mission.

A/N: I only realised recently that Murakami is actually the surname of a famous writer. No wonder that name stuck in my brain like glue! Sorry about this, it must have been weird for you guys if you'd recognised the name. Usually I google names before using them to avoid this kind of situation but I forgot this time :( Apologies to real life Murakami-san. (Not that he'll ever see this story...? Hahaha) At least fanfic-Murakami is a relatively nice person? :P

And sorry again for the many OCs, I'm kinda missing the Naruto characters myself haha. My plans are to wrap up this Ame mission around chapter 61 or 62 (hopefully my estimation skills are better this time round) and then we'll be back in Konoha. I know you guys can't wait to see Danzou again ;) as always, thank you all for reading! :)