Chapter 58: Ever changing
Nothing.
Six months of spending every single bit of free time he had on his hands trying to figure this out. And yet, Kakashi still had absolutely nothing to show for his research. Not answers, not advancements of any sort...and no team to care for.
There had been nothing else he could do after leaving Naruto at the hospital, except leaving for his newly assigned mission. By the time he came back, the hyperactive blond was already gone. His custody and training passed over to the renowned toad Sannin, who didn't wait a minute to take the boy out of the village. It was a good thing, truthfully. The prankster could clearly benefit from Jiraiya-sama's teachings and had already done so while Kakashi himself had been too busy with the other two-thirds of his team. It would help him grow stronger...but the Copy ninja couldn't help but sense a certain emptiness in the village every time he made it back from an assignment.
Once more, his team slipped through his fingers.
Right from in front of him, Sasuke and Kagome vanished from his sight and went straight into an abyss that the elite jounin wasn't sure he could even reach...no, it wasn't out of nowhere. And he had a sinking feeling that it had less to do with Itachi's reappearance than most people thought.
In fact, Kakashi was almost sure this had been festering for quite a while now...
Thinking about it over and over, the elite ninja went through all the little details he'd pushed away. Consciously chosen to ignore. The increased tension, the diminished patience...and the lie.
The one lie he'd noticed the morning he'd given the three of them the announcements of the chuunin exams. With no time to lose, the man purposefully decided not to tackle the issue. Later, after the exam, Kakashi could delve deeper into the situation and make sure he found out whatever it was those two were trying to hide. Except time was the one thing he never got. With the appearance of the Taishos, Orochimaru's attack, Itachi's arrival. It was one thing after another with no space to even breathe, and now, he'd lost those two.
Even now, missions kept swamping him, and he spent less than 4 hours a day sleeping during his off days. Honestly, at this point, there was no one in the village more familiar with the Uchiha library than him, but the only thing he got out of it all was that the lie was the parting line of it all. If Kakashi could figure out what triggered Kagome to go through the trouble of lying to him of all people, then he'd know what caused this disaster. Of course, all the Copy ninja had gotten so far was a good deal of frustration. And yet, he persisted they were all still alive. He hadn't completely lost them yet. He would leave tracking those two brats to Naruto; because regardless of what happened in the Valley of the End, the village's jinchuuriki was nothing if persistent. Fueled by anger or not, the blond would pursue them. Unless he found out what pushed them away in the first place, however, it would all be pointless. After all, those brats were stubborn as hell.
Falling down to the floor in exhaustion, the man let go of the entirely useless scroll he'd been reading clatter on the ground, resisting the urge to wipe his face at the sight of the...dust...in his fingers...
Fucking hell...
All tiredness forgotten, Hatake Kakashi barely managed to not curse out loud.
How had he been so blind?
The first time he'd been here, the jounin had barely paid any attention to the cleanliness (or lack thereof) of the place. The dust didn't matter; while the kids made frequent visits to the building, they rarely stayed to read. Instead, the young heirs would carry whatever reading material they'd gotten into the main house. Probably because of Kagome's reluctance if he had to guess. Finding the place dusty didn't surprise him; the man simply made his way to the back and focused on finding the shelves with empty slots that could potentially clue him in on what they'd been reading the day he announced their participation in the exams.
Now that he thought back to it, however, he clearly remembered both kids had been a far cry from their usual appearances. Wearing the same clothes from the previous day, trying to fix their dusty clothing. The dark circles under their eyes proved they weren't lying about staying up all night. But as he looked around the shelves, all of them had a layer of dust thick enough that there was no chance it had been disturbed in the last 4 years in the minimum. No marks of trails or unnaturally clean patches could be found either. No matter how hard he looked for them. Refusing to waste more time, Kakashi rushed back to his starting point.
This was not the place they spent that night in.
Oh...so that's where the lie started from, huh?
A wry laugh escaped him; he supposed Kagome deserved some praise. Young as she was, the girl was quite the accomplished liar. Make sure to hide a bit of truth between the lies; that was probably the advice she'd been given as a child. When added to the fact that the heiress was usually the honest one, her deceptions were almost impossible to see through. His own bias had blinded him. Those two did pass through here, but it was just for a moment. Whatever prompted them to lie, it wasn't here.
Was the only truth that they'd spent the night awake looking for something, then?
No...that was too unlikely, too small of a detail...what was it she'd said exactly?
"I found the records in the archives, but the library had too many things to look at."
The library had been a red herring...which meant...the archives.
If he was right, what pushed them to the extreme of leaving Konoha, injuring their one and only friend, walking into Orochimaru's den had to be inside the archives.
Decision made, Kakashi left one abandoned building for another. What could be accomplished even if he were to find whatever was the trigger for that change, the elite ninja wasn't sure, but this was the only thing he could do for them now. If it helped in any way, it would be worth it. Because no matter what, those three idiots were still a part of his team.
Only one step in, and the stark differences between the places could not be missed. Oh sure, most of the lamps were still waiting by the entrance of the actual archives. Here and there, papers and notebooks were left forgotten. The brats had done their best to replace everything, placing things back in their original place, but they couldn't replace the dust. At first, it all sounded so simple. With Itachi's resurface, most people immediately assumed the insane Uchiha's return triggered their leaving. No one could miss Sasuke's impatience during the last few months; without a reason for anyone to enter either building, the layers of dust would pile up again. Usually, Kakashi would praise their cleverness. He had, however, lost six months searching the wrong place.
Letting out a sigh, the man moved to scan the closest shelf, pulling out random notebooks, moving from common records to common records. One after another, nothing but exceedingly uninteresting notes...unnaturally unassuming, even.
This time, he cursed out loud.
Wryly, Kakashi supposed there was a part of him that had always wondered about one thing but kept purposefully ignoring. And this all but confirmed it; after all...there was probably no one in Konoha who understood the members of team 7 better than their own teacher.
Uzumaki Naruto was persistent. The kind of person who'd get up after being knocked down no matter how many times it was necessary. The boy fought his loneliness with an overabundance of cheer and foolish pranks but worked as hard as he could, all to keep up with his talented friends. Surprisingly naive, Naruto would never give up, even if it looked like the world itself was against him.
Uchiha Sasuke was quite impulsive despite his apparently grim facade. Conceited, but with the talent to back it up and not that difficult to anger once you knew which buttons to press. Proud and relentless, the boy was almost obsessive while pursuing his goals, temporary or permanent. The Uchiha didn't care to push himself to his limits...but once his female companion was involved, Sasuke would easily give up leadership to focus on protecting her. Despite all appearances, he was incredibly considerate of her.
As for Higurashi Kagome...there was pride in her too. Although not for her family or even the family that took her in. She was proud of her own abilities. Extremely considerate towards those she cared for. Not hesitating to put her life on the line if necessary. Calm and collected, the girl was a planner, dedicating more time than any of the others to figure out a strategy yet flexible enough to abandon them in order to follow her instincts. She'd been the first one to take another's life. Cold logic guided her hand, and the jounin doubted she'd mind what sins she fell into if it was for those she loved. If there was one thing Kakashi knew for sure, it was that Kagome would never concede and place either Sasuke or Naruto in any sort of danger if it could be avoided.
Going to Orochimaru couldn't be anything but a risk. Sasuke would never force her, and she would never agree to it...
...unless there was a bigger threat close to them...unless staying in Konoha became more dangerous than following a deranged rogue nin.
These records in his hands...they'd been cleaned. It wasn't a simple cover-up either; the level of care he was seeing wasn't the job of a genin or a chuunin. Notebooks were resown and replaced because he clearly remembered coming across disgruntled Uchihas (including Fugaku) storming out of the Hokage Tower before it all went to hell, and yet, not one complaint could be found inside these records. Guards had been placed around the compound once the kids were released from the hospital. No one should have been able to enter or leave after that.
It made no sense for the one responsible to be Itachi. It would be one thing to get rid of the scrolls that contained information about the sharingan to slow down Sasuke's progress, but nothing he could think of would justify so much time to alter the archives right after killing his family.
The timeframe the clean-up could be done left only one choice...the week the kids were stuck in the hospital. The week the corpses were taken away, the perimeter around the compound was secured. With the district so full of shinobis...there was no way an outsider could've made a move. It had to be someone from the village. No, more than that, this had to have been ordered from high-up. And Kagome and Sasuke found that out while looking for a single scroll.
He bit his thumb without hesitating.
"Huh?" Pakkun narrowed his eyes as he looked around the room. "And this?"
"I need you to deliver this to Tsunade-sama and only Tsunade-sama." The one benefit from being a former ANBU was the knowledge of extremely short, urgent coded messages. "Make sure no one notices you. Wait as long as you need to."
"This is...the Uchiha compound?"
"There's something I need an explanation for," he said, leaving no room for discussion.
"Just make sure you know what you are doing."
Pakkun's warning lingered even after the pug rushed out.
Kakashi knew he was poking into something the village tried to hide meant he could be about to break orders. There was a good chance doing this could lead to treasonous actions, but the copy ninja had promised himself he'd protect those children. He would rather die than fail his team once more. Looking around, Kakashi prepared himself for another sleepless night.
Did those kids find the reason behind the clean-up?
Was it some sort of oversight from whoever had been in charge? Or was this a testament to the Uchihas' skill that they managed to hide something from even the ANBUs?
Regardless of what it was, he was now walking a tightrope above a dangerous abyss.
Pain erupted in her chest. Her breathing immediately came short, and Kagome couldn't help the loud gasp that escaped her throat. Her knees failed her, sending her crashing to the ground. Breathing hurt, and blood spilled from her lips.
"Shit...too deep."
No panic, just orders.
Reiki flowed within her, obeying her will as she sent it to the damaged lung. Blasting the injury with an energy that only moved for her. She stayed still. Even when she felt her sparring partner getting close in rushed movements. Instead, the heiress remained kneeling down, one hand on the ground, the other slightly moving to place a senbon between her fingers. He was almost close enough for her to touch him.
"That's enough." The words were strained and angered; Kagome paid them no attention.
Deranged or not, this was training.
She could see his shoes now while he leaned over to treat the damage he'd just caused.
Now, she moved.
Her arm created an arc, the blade of the long needle barely scrapping her opponent's neck as he hastily moved backward. Push forth. Land the hit. Slender fingers closed around the hilt of her kodachi as she pushed chakra into her legs, giving chase. The odd position made it impossible for her target to regain his balance. Blood sprayed out as the blade dug into his shoulder at the same time her weight pushed him down. A spark of satisfaction was pushed back at the pained grunt that left Kabuto as the girl made sure to twist her weapon.
"I give."
"Amazing." Slow claps rang through the training room along with Orochimaru's voice. "Did that attack reach her lungs?"
"It should have," the older teen groaned beneath her.
"It did." With a smile, Kagome stood up, fingers carelessly wiping the crimson that had left her lips. "It would seem I managed to heal myself fast enough, however."
"Pure, unadulterated, reiki...truly a marvel." Greed dripped from those words.
Behind the Sannin that now acted as their teacher, onyx eyes were filled with raging hatred. Locked on a spot behind her. The Higurashi's smile grew just a little. If there was someone capable of evoking a loathing that came anywhere close to what Sasuke felt towards Konoha's council, then it would be Kabuto. Oh, he despised Orochimaru with unquestionable passion. But at the end of the day, the Sannin was more interested in the Uchiha than her. For the time being, at least. Since that meant most of his attention was focused on the boy, leaving a good amount of her own training to fall into the man's most trusted follower. It made sense, despite how much she didn't like the white-haired shinobi, Kabuto was more than an effective medic which mixed nicely with her bloodline's abilities. Heavily relying on her reiki to deal with any and all injuries was risky. Running out of reiki tired her more than running out of chakra did, and her kekkei genkai attacks were by far the strongest in her arsenal. She couldn't depend on her bloodline to bail them out every time...learning regular medical ninjutsu was essential. Reasonable or not, Sasuke still hated that the treasonous spy spent so much time around her.
Of course, both of them still shared a decent amount of training sessions.
It didn't take a genius to figure out the man's plan. Orochimaru needed them both to remain dependent on each other. It was his failsafe, the one thing that assured him both heirs would remain compliant. Most of all, it was what would keep him from running away on her own even if she wasn't bound to the Sannin by a cursed seal. Carefully made schedules looked to extend the amount of time they could spend separated before the anxiety became too bad for them to function without breaking their codependency.
It was annoying to admit, but this little exercise could actually work in their favor.
"Can you heal it all yourself, Kabuto-san?" Her tone let slip a bit of condescension as she looked down at the man. "Or should we use reiki for it?"
"No need to worry, I can handle it...in fact, I should probably ask the same, Kagome-chan?" His smile was just as poisonous as hers.
"As magnificent as could be expected from such a legendary bloodline," Orochimaru walked up to them. "And your reserves..."
"I said..." She could feel Sasuke's burst of chakra before she could see him appear between them. "This is enough training for today. We'll take our leave now."
There was no deference or permission asked.
Instead, the Uchiha simply turned to her, closing the distance with a single step. Rough fingers tilted her head to allow his lips to take hers. No softness, no tenderness, only a possessive urge led his actions.
They had talked about this before.
A change in dynamics could be dangerous for most teams. But for them, trying to hide it would be useless. Everyone knew already they were each other's biggest weakness and motivators. Showing it to the eyesores that were their teachers, on the other hand, could become useful. It helped them think they were easier to manipulate...and most of all, it would help Sasuke keep his temper under control whenever his jealousy flared up. If she also got the satisfaction of receiving his affection anywhere other than closed doors, well, that was just a bonus.
Taking a hold of her wrist, the Uchiha pulled her away from the training grounds. He was giving her a silent out without having to admit to any weakness...Kagome supposed, after living together all of their lives, there was just no way he couldn't see through her masks. Healing herself was becoming easier and less taxing the more time they remained; by the end of the day, so much of her energy had been spent.
And that was without considering that Kabuto's last attack could've very easily been fatal for others without immediate attention.
Sasuke's thumb moved in soothing circles on the inside of her wrist, Kagome leaned against him. Neither the Sannin nor his follower spoke while they left. Not even to chastise the Uchiha's rude behavior or her silent acceptance. No, they were too precious to risk damaging; it gave them quite the amount of leniency in that regard. Truthfully, the girl wouldn't have minded exchanging some of that unique treatment in exchange for a bit more physical freedom.
Theoretically, they were completely free to move wherever they wanted, inside or outside the compound that was Orochimaru's current base. Reality, however, saw them confined inside the dark underground building. Cramped hallways barely lit by torches were all she saw other than the wide, open rooms where their sparring sessions occurred and the medical spaces she was being taught medical ninjutsu in. Kagome was sure that even without Itachi's genjutsu, she would've loathed this place. They were living in a cage with an open door that was nonetheless covered in the same thorns that blanketed every spot. Moving carelessly would only leave gaping wounds and pools of blood.
"You should rest." Sasuke's words were soft as they entered their shared room.
"It wasn't anything I couldn't heal." Her smile was tired, but here she had no need to hide. "Besides, if I rest every time I'm tired, we risk being unprepared by the time we need to leave."
Ignoring Sasuke's expected frown, the young heiress moved towards the large desk that had been given to them. It was one more of the privileges that came with being valued specimens. In fact, the whole room was one such privilege too. At first, they were assigned a room each. Of course, neither of them was willing to accept such an idea. It didn't matter that they were next to each other. Honestly, it didn't have to do with her anxieties either, there was no time one was more vulnerable than when sleeping, and she didn't trust anyone in this compound. After all, the only people free to roam the hideout were those unmistakenly loyal to the Sannin; the rest of the specimens were usually only left out of their specific cells whenever the man had a use for them.
Like hell she'd agree to them being separated during the night.
And so, much to Kabuto's frustration, he'd been forced to arrange the merging of two nearby rooms for them. Not like there was much of an improvement, of course, only a bigger bed accompanied with a desk, a couple of cushions, and a shared bathroom. Like she needed more reasons to hate closed spaces.
If she hadn't been decided to leave as soon as possible, then she was by the time her feet finished crossing the entrance line. So any time they could get away from prying eyes was time they had to use for the sake of preparations.
The timing of their exit would affect a lot in their plans, but the one thing that wouldn't change was just how essential information gathering would become. They would hopefully count with the Taishos' help in that department, but Kagome had long since learned not to trust anything she couldn't confirm. A proper information network would take a long time to establish, and chained as they currently were, they wouldn't even be able to begin for the next couple of years. Luckily, the Higurashi blood that flowed through her veins allowed her one exclusive alternative.
Shikigamis took a long time to prepare but could be deployed in a second with minimal reiki requirement.
Had she been alone, there was a chance she'd end up overtaxing herself. Sasuke knew all her signs better than herself, though, and he could stop her hand whenever he noticed exhaustion creeping over. It brought him a great deal of frustration, watching her work on her own without being able to share the burden like they'd become so accustomed to doing.
"You can at least be more comfortable." Sighing, he shook his head.
With a swipe of his hand, the Uchiha grabbed the bottles of ink and slips of papers, taking them with him to the single bed they shared. There was no way to soothe the feeling of impotence that drowned him whenever he was forced to acknowledge it. Instead, the girl did the only thing he could and settled herself against him. Constant contact was the only thing that allowed either of them to remain calm anymore.
"So, did you master them already? Yesterday's jutsus?" At first, creating shikigamis had taken a lot of concentration on her part, the lack of understanding over her own skill becoming an obstacle. After repeating the process over and over, however, speaking while storing reiki barely slowed her down.
"Enough for me to start learning new ones." His arms wrapped around her middle, careful not to disturb her brush strokes. "Did he try any more experiments?"
Kagome shook her head, "I suppose he didn't want to affect today's sparring session."
"He shouldn't even..."
"I really need to know how much I can take." It could've become the difference between life and death during battle. "And no record will be left behind."
The last fight with Naruto made something painfully evident.
She did not know the limits of her own healing factor. Back then, the girl hadn't been sure she could heal the injury before she noticed the Kyuubi's chakra was infecting the wound itself. Other than the stories of her clan being capable of performing medical miracles, she had no way to gauge what kind of hits she could take before not even her bloodline could save her. When Kabuto proposed to look for those limits in a controlled environment, the Higurashi heiress grimly agreed. Was it not for her kekkei genkai, her body would have quite a collection of scars,
When Sasuke opened the door to the lab to retrieve her only to see a pair of forceps keeping open quite a large hole in her arm as blood kept flowing down to glass jars underneath it...well, enraged didn't really cover his reaction.
Convincing Sasuke to let go of the medic ninja took more effort than she'd thought, especially when the blood loss made her dizzy. But their new targets were members of the Council, old yes, but one didn't reach their age without a lot of experience and sharp minds.
"We focused more on the effects of reiki on a non-Higurashi body." It took some effort to push away the sights she'd seen to concentrate on the transference of energy. "It has quite a unique effect in large amounts."
With a silent nod, Sasuke moved closer, resting his forehead against her shoulder. The girl sighed. Crimson-stained fingers refused to stop their movements while Kagome weaved the seals that allowed the slips of paper to become tools.
"We've been obedient for long enough," he whispered, voice tight as he tried to not tighten his grasp on her and disturb her movements.
"Yes...now would be a good time to remind him the price for our compliance." Training alone would not be enough. "We need to get everything we can while still here."
Memories of widened, fearful eyes, of sore, agonized screams were forcefully pushed away. Kagome didn't know any of the people the two deranged shinobis kept cutting up as disposable specimens. But part of her couldn't help but wonder how their lives had been like before being captured. A part that Higurashi Kagome pushed back because she needed to learn this. Needed to be able to protect Sasuke, to keep him safe...if her morals got in the way, then she would throw them away. If her compassion tried to stop her actions, she would bury it.
A shinobi was a weapon made for killing in the first place.
Innocent casualties or not, if an order was given, they were expected to follow it. Kagome and Sasuke, they had decided to ignore those orders now, to do just what would get them closer to their goal. And these people...these sacrifices were needed if they wanted to have an actual chance at completing their revenge.
It was not what Itachi would've wanted, she knew, but they just couldn't keep living that lie anymore.
This better be good.
Tsunade frowned; the last thing she expected to happen three days ago was to find Kakashi's little dog in front of her right when she was a minute away from falling asleep. With no one but the woman and her handpicked ANBU in the building. And there was a hastily scribbled note on the summon's mouth with a request for a meeting on team 7's usual training grounds at an ungodly hour right before the man was supposed to go on a mission.
"So?"
"Only one guard?" The Copy ninja nodded in the direction of the hidden shinobi.
"Do I need more?"
"No..."His voice was oddly serious. "It's better this way, actually."
"So?" she repeated, failing to keep the irritation out of her tone.
"Can I ask if you've ever reviewed the Uchiha massacre files?"
"Why should I?" This was not what the Godaime Hokage had been expecting. "It's an open and shut case. Pressure finally got to Itachi, and he snapped. Killed all of them except for Sasuke and Kagome; went and joined Akatsuki. Bastard's probably still trying to gain more power, and he's the one hunting Naruto."'
"I see...then, would you happen to know if there was any reason for there to be a cleaning in the entirety of the Uchiha archives?"
She could feel herself all but shiver at those words.
No, no, no.
Clean-ups weren't just ordered on a whim. To begin with, only ANBUs were meant to deal with such issues, and there were only two entities capable of issuing such an order to the special corps: the Hokage themselves or the Council. And for them to do that, it needed to pass through careful consideration.
"Are you sure about that?"
"I've been there for the last three days," the man said, a careless tone forced to his words. "At first sight, it would be hard to notice. But there's always friction between the clans and the Councils at some point or another. There was nothing there...and trust me, those two would notice it as well."
"And let me guess, there are signs that those records had been checked before they left."
"Every single one." It felt like each of his sentences wanted to make Tsunade curse out loud. "And to be entirely honest...I wouldn't be surprised if Fugaku managed to outsmart the clean-up crew...or that those two managed to find it.
"Fuck..."
After finding something like that, it wouldn't take much to become paranoid, wouldn't it? And that was without taking into account the trauma both teens went through with the whole Itachi's betrayal thing. Would that be enough to push them both to bite Orochimaru's lure?
"The information Sarutobi-sensei gave you when you took over the team?"
"Had nothing on it."
"I'll look into it." Because fucking hell, she should've known this already. "Don't let this information slip, not to anyone." Glaring to her shadow, she added. "Same goes for you; not a word of this can reach anyone else, am I clear?"
Both men nodded in silence. These two were experienced enough to understand the significance of what was going on.
"And you," Tsunade pointed at the copy ninja. "I'm adding two days to your off time, effective immediately. Get some damn rest before you pass out in the middle of a mission."
"Maah, I'm honored you're worried about me, Godaime-sama, but..."
"But nothing. You go and get some rest." If there was something she'd learned during her years as a medic, it was that stubborn shinobi often got themselves killed when given the chance to remain obstinate. "I will be able to tell if you've just taken a soldier pill, so don't even try it."
A tiny bit of satisfaction rose within her at the slight shiver the prodigy Kakashi couldn't entirely suppress. Probably the only silver lining she'd get out of this whole mess.
Frowning again, she began making her way back to
the Hokage tower. Until she could get her hands on the actual information, there was little she could do or try to guess. Bitterness took over her because there was a very real possibility those two brats could have a good reason to be wary of the village. Although even if that was the case, it may not change the circumstances they were living in. However corrupt those old people were, they still wouldn't do something that went against Konoha's direct interest. Finding this out was critical, yes, and damn them, she should've been informed of something that important since her very first day. At this point, Tsunade wasn't sure there was anything she could even do.
Naruto was clearly still determined to go after both brats.
Her legendary team's history resembled team 7's in a way. A promising start that shattered into pieces leaving behind only the more knuckle-headed member in Konoha. And yet, her own mess felt more black and white than this was promising to be.
Now would be the right time for Jiraiya to appear out of nowhere and come up with some sort of odd but probably decent plan as to what to do. Sending out a letter would be too risky, even an encoded one. No, there was a reason why the old pervert took Naruto away from Konoha in the first place. Asking them to return with a flimsy explanation could backfire. The blond could be stupidly dense and yet surprisingly intuitive at the same time...she didn't want to try to imagine what would happen if he got it into his head that someone in Konoha had been out for his friends.
Loyalty was an admirable treat to have...when it was directed to a single person to an absurd degree, however, it could become a danger on its own.
No, she'd have to handle this on her own.
She'd need to be extremely careful or risk the Council or gods' forbid Danzo, try and clean their trail. Hell, it already took so much effort to get those idiots to hand her the draft the Yondaime had been working on that she'd spend almost all of her allotted time to make a decision fighting her own advisors.
So why not add another mess to try and untangle?
A groan almost left her when it dawned on her...
The Taishos had been way too interested in the Higurashi girl. With her odds, Tsunade would rather not leave the stability of their alliance up to chance. A deep investigation into this was essential; who to trust could become a problem...
Kakashi could be relied on, of course, but she still needed him in high-ranking missions at least until their current chuunins managed to reach jounin levels. Plus, as the brat's handlers, people would notice him peeking into Uchiha's business, and if people noticed, pressure would be placed on her to get him away from anything related to them. Because he cared about that team. Disbanded and crumbled as they were, it was undeniable that the man still cared too much for all of them. Hell, at this point, Tsunade was probably sleeping more than him, and she'd been sleeping at her desk in the Hokage towers more than Sandaime did. There was a high chance someone could be shameless enough to accuse Kakashi of being a potential threat.
Amber eyes flickered to the ANBU shadowing her as the woman opened the door to her office. It took quite some time for her to finally pick someone she could trust. Honestly, she had no wish to find someone else to guard her back...but finding another ANBU that would remain loyal to her would be a nightmare...unless...
Maybe it didn't need to be an ANBU.
Most clans had a strict 'look only after ourselves' policy, but there were exceptions here and there. The Akimichi clan, for example, had always been a good team player. In comparison to the other families, she barely got any complaints from them. Their specific talents didn't fit what she needed right now, but they often worked side by side with another family that did.
One with enough analytical skills to put together the story behind the cover-up on the Uchiha archives but could keep their mouths shut. Someone talented but not to Kakashi's degree so that their absences wouldn't be noticed quickly. And well, no one could deny that the Naras could often be overlooked despite the fact that more often than not, their heads ended up as the Hokage's lead strategist when the occasion called for it.
A branch family member was not good enough; it would need to be either the father or the son.
Shikaku had far more experience and was acquainted with how the clan system and the Council usually worked. He was also far more unbiased, considering the man barely ever dealt with the brats in question. Although if the real reason those two left was the cover-up, then that meant they'd managed to fool them all once already. Without having personal insight into their characters, he could end up being blinded once more. The man also lacked the motivation to exhaust any possibilities, even the ridiculous ones.
Shikamaru, on the other hand, had known those two since childhood. The new information could be used for him to determine just how much of what happened could've been an act. Due to his first failure, motivation wouldn't be an issue. If possible, she wanted Naruto's teammates back alive and uninjured, so his slight bias might be helpful in this situation. From what she'd heard from both the boy's family and Asuma, Shikamaru was also quick on the uptake. Even if this didn't work out, the boy was slated to take on his father's role, so getting some advanced knowledge on how the system worked wouldn't be a wasted effort.
As far as Tsunade could remember, the Nara's team mission load was relatively light, it wouldn't be too weird to give them some time off, and while the three had a good relationship, they weren't inseparable.
Aa knock got her out of her ruminations, amber eyes lifting from the bunch of papers she'd mindlessly grabbed to give the illusion of working.
"Come in."
"Tsunade-sama, there is someone who wants to see you," Shizune said before going back out of the office.
There was a bit of hesitation as a pink-haired girl stepped inside. The look on those emerald eyes, thou, those were definitely determined. Another genin, unless she was misremembering the latest generation files correctly. The one the Higurashi girl fought against during the preliminaries, in fact. Tsunade was fairly sure she was also the only one who managed to outrank the heiress in the theory part of the Academy exams.
"So, what do you want?" Not her kindest tone, not her worst either.
"I..." Haruno, the Godaime finally remembered the name, Haruno Sakura. "I want to become your apprentice."
OMAKE
Spying was not the kind of work that was lauded when talking about shinobi skills. It wasn't flashy; most of the time, it was more about acting and lying than it was about mastering jutsus and fighting skills.
There was a certain mental flexibility required to not break from character while still obtaining important information instead of just useless data. It wasn't something just anyone could do. But Kabuto was always good when it came to observing the little details that hinted at far more essential secrets; otherwise, there would be no use for him in Orochimaru's plans. This was why the Oto spy was quick to throw away the idea of Higurashi Kagome being the embodiment of the merciful and pacifistic Higurashi clan of old.
Kind people, after all, did not tend to use slow-acting poisons.
Let alone create their own composites.
"I presume you haven't used these sorts of tools before?"
Behind him, the young heiress failed to give a strong reaction. His hypothesis definitely had some value. Carefully, the girl allowed her gaze to travel around the room before focusing on the more surgical-looking tools in front of them. Her azure eyes only lingered for a second on the gagged person tied to the medical table. There was some tension behind her nonchalant facade, but nothing to suggest a visceral reaction was hiding beneath it.
"Not really; there was never any need for me to do more than sew a couple of cuts." The Uchiha's teachings were to be respected if only a handful of years managed to teach someone from such a peaceful clan to be so in control of her voice. "I admit I abuse my reiki for healing quite a bit, though I've tried to keep up with the theoretical aspect of medical jutsus."
"There is a distinct difference between theory and practice, of course," Kabuto smiled. "Since your chakra levels still seem to be on the lower end, we shall begin with the medical area of your training. Of course, we will go through the actual jutsus for most of this, but it's important for you to learn the feel of it all first."
Taking a step, Kagome leaned over to watch him pick up one of the simpler scalpels. Dark eyes watched her reactions closely. It was more than to see if she had the stomach to handle medical procedures. Orochimaru wanted both heirs to become tainted, corrupt, thirsting for power; empathy could become a hindrance for that ideal. With Sasuke, there wouldn't be too much trouble; the boy was already halfway down that path on his own. Even before he'd been granted the cursed seal. Cruelty was already a given due to the blood running through his veins, the Uchiha clan had never been particularly stable, but after all the trauma he'd been through, the kid barely needed a push for him to fall down the abyss. And while Kabuto was confident the girl was more cold-hearted than she let on, he needed to know just how far down she already was, how strong of a push she would need.
According to the records from the disposable pawns they'd sent to the exams, Sasuke-kun already enjoyed causing others pain, but was the girl's amenity for poisons more to cold logic or hidden sadism?
"Now," his fingers brushed hers as he passed her the scalpel. "We will start with the kind of procedures more likely to be necessary in the field."
This, he supposed, was the obedient girl the Academy teachers got. The one who calmly listened to instructions and carefully followed them to the letter. The girl who played nice with others...such an intriguing image she created; such a peaceful posture and tranquil expression while crimson flowed after every movement of the blade in her grip. Entirely ignoring the slight spams of the body beneath her fingers or the muffled screams of the replaceable specimen in the dissecting table.
"Your healing with reiki..." he asked between instructions. "Do you have to command it?"
"...well, the bigger and more severe the injury, the more energy it requires." Neither her voice nor her hand trembled. "Miraculous or not, even the Higurashi bloodline can completely disregard that rule. There's a limit on what pure instinct can do too."
Neither a refusal nor a confirmation.
Clearly, the young heiress was trying her best to keep some of her cards unturned, pity Naruto-kun had been too fond of praising his teammate's abilities. The boy was dense, but he wasn't the kind to make things up, and the implications of his words were too important to let them pass.
"For us to be able to understand how it works, there is a need to observe how it works on others, of course." The girl's theoretical knowledge seemed to be translating into practice as she carefully severed the requested tendon. "But there is also a value to figuring out if it works differently when it acts on an outsider compared to someone who holds the blood of the original family."
"There is a value in me taking a turn on this table, you mean?" Bright azure glanced his way, a dark smile thrown with it.
"I would, of course, be carefully monitoring everything so you'd be in no danger whatsoever." His kind tone more than likely wouldn't fool her anymore (if it ever did) still, he smiled. "If you are to be hunting someone like Itachi, then it would be dangerous to fight without being sure just where the limits of your healing reiki compare to regular jutsus."
"And curiosity about how much the biology of my body differs from others...that has nothing to do with it at all." There was a sharp edge in her words even as her hand continued moving. "I'll be in your care then...Kabuto-san."
So not quite the same role she'd been playing with the rest of Konoha. Her venom was far closer to the surface now, the warning that he wasn't fooling anybody clear to hear. And yet, he couldn't help but feel satisfaction at her easy acceptance. If they could begin properly studying her kekkei genkai before Orochimaru took over her body, they could make a good deal of progress by the time it was time to discard her as well.
Not like there was likely to be much resistance on her part, considering the smooth and graceful movements the girl had begun with had slowly become more rigid as time went by. It was almost imperceptible right now, probably because young or not, Kagome-chan was still an impressive actress, but a trained medic could notice the increased tension on her grip.
Just about an hour.
With just about an hour of separation from the Uchiha boy, her composure started to suffer.
It was a bit too small of a window of time, but they could work on extending that timeframe little by little. No longer than a full day, he decided. There was too much of a risk in allowing either heir to be able to be on their own for the full 24 hours. Like this, they could still be used for missions if required while keeping their leash short enough to effectively chain them.
A/N: So sorry about the delay but when finals get mixed with paperwork and your uni's human resource department it all just becomes pure, unrestrained and stressful chaos, and when that joins with x-mas preparations time suddenly becomes a very scarce resource. But anyway, hope you all had nice holidays and stay safe.
As always thank you guys so much for reading and each and every review/criticism/comment is greatly, greatly appreciated.