Chapter 3. Skeletons

Shredded tarp snapped in the wind, trapped between the ruins of the village. It might have looked like a child's kite, lost in the storm, had it not been for the blood splattered over its surface.

The people of the Ashihara settlement were all gone. Aside from the occasional bloodstain, most of which belonged to the dogs, there was no indication of where they'd disappeared off to. It was hard to believe Kakashi and Gaara had visited this village only yesterday, and found children and adults smiling in the face of hardship.

There was no one left. Not even the old woman, Haruna-just to the memory of her eyes, dark and accusing.

"They came at us too quickly," Pakkun said, from his perch in the crook of Kakashi's arm. He was still shivering more than Kakashi liked, but Sakura had assured him the pug's injuries would heal with time. Nonetheless, seeing red-tinged bandages wrapped around his oldest friend made his stomach clench.

"Did you get a look at their uniforms?" Kakashi asked.

"Black and gray, sleek. I could be wrong about the colors, of course," Pakkun looked away. Colorblindness. One of the disadvantages of being a dog, next to incurable halitosis and the bad habit of greeting people crotch first. Anything on the red spectrum was just a washed out gray to them. The storm probably wouldn't have helped with identifying their attackers, either.

"But there was a uniform?"

"Yeah. 'sides, they were way too organized for normal bandits," Pakkun said, burying his face in his paws. "Uhei gonna be okay?"

Uhei had been hit first and worst. His left flank had been shredded by the time Kakashi had managed to summon him again. He'd been keening with pain. Sakura had had to work hard to knit him back together.

Kakashi stroked his dog's head. The pug rarely tolerated physical contact, but Kakashi had a feeling he would make an exception today. "He will be, with time."

The smell of cigarettes and Temari's lavender perfume announced Shikamaru's arrival. "Let me get this straight: they attacked the dogs first, and then went straight for the village?" Shikamaru said.

"It seems likely," Kakashi sighed. "Bull and Urushi followed them to try and protect the nomads, but by the time they got here, they were already too late," he said, pointing at a paw-print shaped bloodstain nearby.

The younger man came to stand beside him to overlook what was left of the tent camp. Most of the tents had been shredded, probably by knives and hands. They must've attacked during the storm itself.

"Could it be related to the first attack?" Shikamaru said, taking a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it. The way he flicked the lighter open with his thumb was eerily reminiscent of Asuma.

"It might well be. Clearing up evidence, perhaps."

Shikamaru nodded thoughtfully."So, how involved are we going to be in this?"

"As much as Gaara wants us to be, of course." Kakashi smiled faintly.

Shikamaru looked at him from the corners of his eyes. "And what if it piques your interest, but Gaara ask us not to help?"

There was entirely too much suspicion in his voice for someone who had only ever been on one mission with Kakashi. He tried not to look too caught out.

"Like I said: we'll do what we can," Kakashi said evasively. "And obviously we will need to ascertain whether there is a threat to Konoha."

Shikamaru didn't look particularly convinced, but sighed. "So long as you don't get yourself poisoned again. This isn't really your jurisdiction, you know."

"That was one time. And yes, I know. But he asked for my help."

Temari ambled towards them, Sakura by her side, cutting Kakashi off. He'd tell Shikamaru about Gaara's council later.

"It definitely wasn't ordinary bandits," Temari said. "The only thing missing are the people; even their possessions are still here."

Sakura looked particularly dejected. There was no one for her to you, aside from the dogs. Perhaps to feel better, she addressed Pakkun. "How are you holding up?"

The little dog sniffed and tried to take on a more dignified pose- which was a little hard, considering he was being held by hands bigger than his head. "I'm fine." He finished it up by nonchalantly licking his uninjured paw.

Kakashi sniffed in amusement. "I'll send you back to get some rest," he said, and dismissed Pakkun's contract. The little pug would go back home to the summoning world, where he could snuggle up with the rest of the pack. Beaten, yes, but still alive. Kakashi would have to summon dogs outside his usual pack if he needed any, for the foreseeable future. Summoning dogs didn't heal any quicker than normal dogs did, but he was grateful they had survived at all.

Black and gray uniforms… The closest bet was Kumogakure's outfit, but Pakkun would have recognized those. Besides, Kumo would never dare to attack such a close ally. Not after the war.

Some kind of organization, then? Or just particularly well organized rogues? They would've had to be jonin-level at least to take out the pack and all of the nomads at the same time. The last thing the world needed was another band like Akatsuki. Not this soon.

The scent of chakra and dust met his nose. Gaara, making his way back to the camp. He'd explored the area around the camp along with several of his men, trying to find survivors. Now, he returned empty-handed, with an angry glower on his face. His chakra simmered, tired but fierce.

"Nothing," he said, shaking his head. "Not even blood, aside from what we found in the camp. At least we know they weren't killed here, if they were killed."

"You think someone might have kidnapped them?" Shikamaru asked.

"Perhaps. We need to keep looking." Gaara said.

"The storm will have wiped away all tracks," she said. "How on earth would we find them?"

Gaara mulled it over. After a moment, he said, "I'm going to place extra guards near the other village that was attacked. If the first attack is related to this one, they might try again. There will be more storms."

"Anything we can do?" Kakashi asked, putting his hands in his pockets. Uhei's blood still clung to the rims of his nails.

Gaara eyed him, and then his hands, as though he was remembering the injured dogs as well. "I wouldn't want to inconvenience you. Our first priority must be our diplomatic discussions."

"Of course, of course," Kakashi hand-waved it, and tried not to sound too cynical when he said, "Priorities."

Shikamaru was eyeing him again, as though he could sense the curiosity and interest Kakashi felt despite himself. Whatever had happened to the villagers was horrific, and it was hard not to feel involved. Still, there was also a part of him that felt excited just to have something to do that wasn't politics for once. Damn. He really needed to get his priorities straight.

That, or he could stop going by the book and get properly involved.

Before he could do or plan anything, though, the earthquake otherwise known as Haruno Sakura dragged him off as soon as they got back to the village, intent on distracting them both from the mystery.

"Oh, come on! Elder Ebizou-sama's house is right around the corner, Temari told me so herself!" Sakura's fingers were closed like a vice around Kakashi's upper arm, and had been for the last couple of minutes. He couldn't feel his fingers. Not much longer, and he'd require amputation. The nice thing about Sakura was that she could do both the injuring and the amputating herself, like a particularly gruesome two-for-one package deal.

"Don't you feel bad about dragging your poor old sensei around like a rag?" Kakashi complained. It was a little hard to look dignified when someone half your size was dragging you through the village. They were definitely drawing attention.

Sakura didn't take pity on him. "You are neither poor or old. I've seen your checkbook, remember?" She said, giving him a particularly scathing look. "If anything, you're just a penny pincher. "

"And now you're insulting me too? Mahh..." Not that she was wrong, per se. Hoarding S-rank missions like other people might stamps had given him a certain degree of financial security. I.e., he was rich.

The grip on his arm tightened. "Please, sensei. He invited us both. Besides, you'd make it a lot easier on me if you did go along... And I could really use the distraction. Thinking of all those people…" She gave him a pleading look that reminded him of the time where he'd had three little twelve-year olds looking up to him. Ah, those were the days. Where had all the hero worship disappeared off to?

Probably down the same way as their respect for Jiraiya, after discovering what sort of books the man wrote.

He pulled a face. It was hard to resist Sakura's innocent look, even when he did have the distinct feeling she was playing him. "I don't know. I'm pretty sure he mostly invited you," he said slowly. "He only addressed me out of politeness."

"Nonsense. He gave you a meaningful look. Besides, we're already there."

Before he could ask why she wanted him along, they turned the corner. Much to his horror, she was right. The elder lived in a rather beautiful home, all things considered; a rather elegant building with a rounded roof, a patio and a tall, thin tree curving up against the wall. It had to be of hardy stock, to survive out here-just like the people who had planted it.

Ebizou was roused from a nap by his aide, but he didn't seem particularly bothered. If anything, he seemed more pleased than Kakashi had ever seen him look.

"Please, do come in," Ebizou said, beckoning them into a rather cozy home tinted in warm earth tones. They toed off their boots, and took in the room. Lacquered furniture covered in soft pillows further added to the luxurious atmosphere. It smelled of spices and freshly cooked rice, with just a hint of lung medicine underneath (a smell Kakashi had become intimately familiar with over the past few months). The ground felt soft and warm underneath their bare feet, covered as it was with beautiful intricately patterned carpets. They looked hand-woven.

"I didn't expect you so soon," the old man said, "but you are more than welcome. I'm afraid you won't be able to stay for dinner, though; I already have some guests for the evening."

Well, that was a relief. Kakashi smiled pleasantly as Sakura thanked Ebizou, and hope he didn't look too pleased.

The old man puttered about for a while, as all old people seemed to do, stuffing the little table in the living room full of spicy, sweet tea and small red cookies. "These were my sister's favorites, you know," he said, winking at Sakura.

The girl smiled politely and picked up one of the cookies. Her eye twitched violently after the first bite. Fortunately, Ebizou was rummaging around in a cupboard when she tossed the remnants of the cookie over her shoulder and out of the window, with pinpoint precision.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at her. She mouthed the word bitter.

"Ah! Here it is-her favorite dagger," Ebizou turned around to meet them, holding a short, finely carved sheath between two hands. It was a dusky red, engraved with thorny vines and what looked to be roses. In all likelihood, it was custom-made.

"She was a redhead, when she was younger," Ebizou said. "She liked things that matched her hair. This one was a gift from her husband, long ago. It wasn't quite the right shade, so she wanted to build it into her favorite puppet, until I rescued it. Such a shame, to hide away such a beautiful blade. Besides, it's not really meant for long battles."

He handed the sheathed blade over to Sakura with careful moves. She took it almost reverently and slowly unsheathed the blade. It looked wickedly sharp, the tip slightly curved upwards. Simpler etchings decorated the hilt.

"It's beautiful," Sakura breathed. She tried it out with a few quick sweeps; it looked perfectly balanced. "I couldn't possibly-"

Ebizou shook a hand. "No, no. It's yours. Mind you, it's mostly ceremonial; the metal is pretty but it won't survive a surge of chakra. That said, it meant a lot to her. She meant to give it to her son one day. Of course, she never got that chance…"

Kakashi was suddenly uncomfortably aware of the picture near the windowsill; Chiyo, aged forty at best, her arm wrapped around the waist of a young man with red curls. Sasori's father. There were other pictures too, of that same man with a brunette woman. Only Sasori was missing, cut out of his grandmother's life. Just as the White Fang of Konoha had cut away the puppet master's parents.

It was one thing to speak to the uncle of two of his father's victims. It was another thing entirely to be in a house where one of them had probably grown up.

Sakura was chattering excitedly with Ebizou, so very grateful. Ebizou glanced at Kakashi from the corner of his eyes. When he and Sakura finished their conversation about Chiyo, he turned to Kakashi altogether.

Kakashi's stomach made an uncomfortable flip; he couldn't help but feel like he'd walked into a trap of some sorts.

"I met your father once, in a manner of speaking," Ebizou said, which didn't help with Kakashi's nerves. His tone was somewhere in between disdain and begrudging respect. "We held him in captivity for a while, during the second war. We were so proud of ourselves for having captured Konoha's White Fang! Or so we thought, anyway. Your father was a shrewd man."

Held him as a captive. During a war. Kakashi felt cold all of a sudden. At his side, Sakura's eyes had gone wide.

Ebizou pulled a simple black and white scroll from his sleeve. "We took this off him," he said. "For months, we tried to decode it. Your father wouldn't tell us what it was, during the time we had him as a captive. Which wasn't very long, by the way, before you ask."

"Did you manage?" Kakashi asked slowly. He wanted to ask more, like what had happened, or how his father had gotten away, or how on earth they had managed to capture him in the first place, but he didn't want to disrupt whatever whimsy was causing Ebizou to speak so openly.

"Oh no, but we tried. I regret to say he ended up in interrogation, but that's how it went in those days. Anyway, we didn't get to hold onto him for a very long, as I said. I suppose we underestimated him," Ebizou said.

The old man nodded to himself and ran the scroll through his hands one more time before extending it to Kakashi. "It's yours, if you want it. It's not as though we have any use for it anymore. The war happened so long ago…"

Kakashi hesitated. Interrogation. He was sitting right across from a man who may well have tortured his father. He felt all the more relieved that he hadn't taken any of the tea or the food.

After a moment, he took the scroll and ran his fingers over it, very aware of the eyes trained on him. Suddenly self-conscious, he gripped the scroll a little bit more tightly. It bore the Hatake sigil on its side. Perhaps it would recognize his chakra, or his blood... A sudden rush of excitement rolled over him; something that had belonged to his father had somehow found its way back to him, all the way out in the desert.

"Thank you," he said, genuinely grateful. There was a time and place for getting angry for his father's sake, but expressing it to a man who had lost half his family to the White Fang was not it. Wartime changed everything, including how much you were willing to hurt people to protect your own. He would have to explore his anger some other time, when he was alone and could think about the consequences torture might've had on someone who'd always been a little unstable. "When was he-"

The old man held up a hand as he began to cough, with loud, painful sounding wheezes. Sakura scooted forward to help out, but the old man's aide got there first.

"Please, Ebizou-sama needs some rest. He is still recovering from pneumonia. It would be best if you came back some other time," the aide said.

"Of course," Sakura said, standing up. "Let me know if I can help in any way. You've been very kind."

Kakashi resisted the urge to grimace, caught somewhere in between curiosity and discomfort. He'd never heard of his father getting captured at any point in the war; from what he'd understood, his father hadn't usually left enough of his opponents intact for that. Clearly, Ebizou knew something he didn't, and he wanted to get to the bottom of it.

It wasn't the first time he was confronted with his father's history, but it was the first time he was actually in the living room of someone who'd met the steely end of his father's ire. Despite his curiosity, he didn't relish the idea of going back here. No, the scroll would have to provide him with answers.

At least Sakura was there to take charge. She thanked Ebizou once more, and then he and Sakura left.

Once outside, Sakura held up her own gift with a giddy smile. "Any chance you can teach me how to use a dagger as well?" She said.

He gave her a distracted look. Away from the accusing photographs, it was a little hard not to try to open the scroll right away. "Yeah, sure. We'll fit something in."

Her smile slowly turned into a frown. "Are you okay? I know it was a little unexpected…"

He shivered. "I'm fine. Just surprised. Usually, they don't come bearing gifts…" He said the last part more to himself than to her, but she caught on anyway.

"Chiyo-baa-sama was not the first person who attacked you like that, was she..?" She asked.

"Hardly. And she was nice enough to stop when she figured out who I really was," he smiled, eager to change the subject. "It's not so different from how she treated you for being Tsunade's apprentice," he added, and immediately regretted it.

"Of course it's different," she argued. "Chiyo was annoyed with Tsunade, but she hated your dad-oh, sorry. I didn't mean to…"

He shook his head and stuffed his hands-and the scroll-into his pockets. "It's fine. He killed her son. My father would've done the same if our roles had been reversed. That was just the way people thought in those days. Many people still think that way."

She grimaced. "I suppose so. But it was war, right? I mean… If he hadn't killed them, maybe he would've died. Kill or be killed."

"Yeah, maybe." Sakumo had been one of the strongest people in the world, in his prime. It wasn't likely a couple of normal jounin or chunin could have been any kind of threat to him. Which meant he'd killed them… Why, exactly? Just because?

They spent the next few minutes in a slightly awkward silence. Fortunately, once they reached the shopping district, there was plenty to be distracted by: with the storm passed, people were setting up shop again, entering the streets with infectious joy.

A large shadow fell over them as a couple of Genin ran by overhead, trailing the huge and colorful banners they were hanging over the alleyways again. The boys stopped briefly to bow to them, both red-cheeked and grinning.

Sakura laughed lightly. "I never thought it could be so lively in a desert."

They returned to their assigned apartment shortly afterwards. Much to Kakashi's annoyance (the scroll was practically burning its way through his pockets; he really wanted to know its contents), Shikamaru chose that moment to reappear and go over a list of political technicalities. Useful stuff, but hardly what he wanted to focus on.

After that, it was dinner time, and after that, he could finally retire to his rooms. Rooms, plural, which was rather ridiculous if you asked him, but at least it made it easy for him to avoid other people. He went straight for his bedroom, slumped down onto the edge of the bed, and pulled out the scroll.

He turned it around in his hands and wished he still had the Sharingan. It would have made it much easier to see what sealing system his father had used. As it was, he could barely even feel the chakra that was still holding it together. But it was there, even years after its owner's death. The corner of his mouth quirked up.

He closed his eyes, breathed in deep, and focused on that chakra...

Stress, hot un-breathable air. Rough hands on his back, pushing him forward. His voice barking, and another laughing loudly in return. All around him, erratic, ecstatic chakra. Above all else, the stench of fear.

Kakashi breathed in sharply and pulled back out. "Damn…"

Memory imprints. His father had actually found a way to weave memories into a damn scroll. "Still smarter than me," he breathed, half annoyed and half admiring. Or maybe memory wasn't the right word-it was more like experience, the smell and feeling of moment encapsulated in his chakra, the sensation of being captured. There were no images involved, just feelings. Sakumo might not even have done it on purpose; just having paper somewhere on his body that responded to chakra might have done the trick.

"I bet you were in a hurry…" And in obvious distress, which left Kakashi feeling slightly nauseous.

The scroll sat in his lap where he had dropped it, still closed. He stared at it, willing it to open.

"But why did you get caught?" He muttered, readying himself to dive in once more.

"Hokage-sama? Who are you talking to?" Shikamaru rounded the corner to his bedroom, startling Kakashi badly enough that he dropped the scroll again. Judging the threat, he kicked the scroll under the bed with his heel before Shikamaru could see it.

Sloppy! He'd gotten so absorbed by the scroll that he hadn't paid any attention to his surroundings.

Judging by Shikamaru's expression, he didn't like it much either. "Are you okay?"

That was the second time today someone had asked him. He'd wanted to leave all of that behind when Fox died. "I'm fine," he said, "just a little distracted."

"You're never this distracted," Shikamaru said.

Kakashi sighed. "It's fine," he said, lacing some authority through his voice. "Why did you come here?"

Shikamaru scowled, clearly unconvinced. "I just wanted to ask you again: how involved are we going to get here? We still have things to take care of at home."

"Yeah, yeah…" Rounding up the last of Fox's henchmen-if there were any-, overseeing the appointment of new council members, dealing with the fallout from the spilled secrets… There was plenty left to do back home, but none of it put Kakashi's instincts on edge the way the missing people from Ashihara did.

Something was very wrong here, even if it wasn't his jurisdiction.

Still… "We leave at the end of the week, as we said we would. Gaara has competent shinobi of his own to do the legwork," he said reluctantly. "As much as we might want to help, there's no reason to think Gaara can't take care of things himself."

Shikamaru's stance shifted slightly. Kakashi couldn't tell whether he was happy with the news or not.

"And if he can't?" Shikamaru finally said.

"Then we go back. Or I send Naruto," Kakashi smiled. "He hasn't been out to see Gaara in a while; he keeps complaining about it in his letters."

Shikamaru smiled faintly, his first smile of the day. "He does, doesn't he? Is he still in Kumogakure?"

Kakashi shrugged. "As far as I know."

And just like that, the tension seeped out of the room. It seemed that Naruto had a way of affecting people even from halfway across the world.

"If you don't know, no one does. He's surprisingly good about checking in. More responsible than I ever thought he would be," Shikamaru said.

As Konoha's resident not-so-secret weapon, Naruto always had to keep Kakashi up-to-date of his location. To his credit, he never once complained.

"He takes his job rather seriously, you know," Kakashi smiled, "he wants that promotion." He nodded at the Hokage hat; he'd thrown the ridiculous thing on a chair when he'd first entered his room, and not looked at it since.

"Are you going to give it to him?" Shikamaru asked, his eyebrows lightly raised.

"As if I could give it to anyone else. We'd have a rebellion on our hands."

"Not for a few years yet though, right? I don't want him to think rapping is an appropriate part of a kage's repertoire."

Kakashi hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe it will be once he's Hokage."

"I've changed my mind-never retire. Please."

"Well, I could always give it to Sasuke…" Kakashi gave him his best innocent look.

Needless to say, Shikamaru was not amused. There was a lot of sighing and eye rolling involved. Before he could leave, though, Kakashi held up a hand. "Before you go… I have an assignment for you. Try to figure out what Gaara's council is like. Ask Temari perhaps, but try to be a little bit subtle."

Shikamaru raised his eyebrows lightly, but nodded. "I don't much like the idea of spying on her, but all right. Can I ask why, though?"

"Hmm. Something Gaara said. It might be nothing, but it's worth checking out. Call it a hunch."

Eventually, Shikamaru left, though not before he made a parting shot about what would happen to Konoha if Sasuke was actually Hokage.

Which reminded Kakashi that he had to send out a bird and figure out where Sasuke had gone. Just as soon as this trip was over, and he'd opened that damn scroll...

And so, despite himself, he too slowly drifted back into a routine, the mystery of the disappeared villagers retreating to a distant part of his mind...

Author's note

Next chapter we get some proper action, I promise. As well as a surprise appearance… Please do let me know what you think! Or even just that you're still reading; it's nice to know you guys are out there.

What is it about my stories that I must always have at least one visit to some old man in it? Maybe I just like writing old people...

Also, in regards to what Kakashi is thinking… He doesn't particularly like Ebizou, particularly after what he's just learned, but he also knows people do extreme things in times of war- that, and his father was hardly a saint. No one deserves to be tortured, but then no one deserves to lose their child/nephew and daughter/niece-in-law either, orphaning their child in the process. War is awful, and there can be no true heroes on either side.