Chapter 16
It was almost dark outside, despite being summer, the days were getting shorter as fall approached. He had been there so long he hadn't even realized how late it was, too wrapped up in his work. It had become a habit lately.
Kakashi sighed as he switched position on the uncomfortable chair, as he tried to read through some documents. He had been searching for information regarding Akatsuki for a while now, and he could hardly come up with anything. How could they be so known and so mysterious at the same time? It frustrated him to no end, and despite Tenzo collecting information from the special forces, the criminal organization was still clouded in anonymity. The constant beeping of the machines was a little reminder that he had been sitting there for a while, but at the same time, they were comforting as he hated silence, and they reminded him that he wasn't alone. . He looked up from his papers to look at Shisui's delicate frame, he had thinned out even more lately, slowly fading out of existence. No one wanted to admit it or even dared to say anything, but at that rate, they all knew he wasn't going to last long. Doctors had already started to speak to Hanna, telling her that the chances of him waking up at that point were minimal. If it wasn't that he was a member of the powerful Uchiha family they would have probably pushed for them to pull the plug long ago.
It hurt to even think about it, it was a comfort to be able to still see the soft features, despite Shisui not looking like himself anymore, but Kakashi knew that it was selfish of him. He came here to seek peace more for himself than for his friend who wouldn't know if he came to visit or not. It wasn't fair for him to wish the day never came when he wouldn't have that. The day that he would come and find an empty room. Shisui wasn't in pain, that was the only comforting detail of all that situation, but he wasn't really living, but barely existing. His body was there, but that was it.
Kakashi had been wondering for a while if it wasn't time to face the truth. Shisui was never going to wake up again. Hanna had been trying to avoid the conversation with everyone, even the doctors, but he knew she was aware that time was running out. It was like a dark cloud hovering over all of them.
"I know I haven't been here in a while," he spoke softly as if Shisui could hear him and wake up. If he could answer him he knew what he would say too. He would probably reprimand him for working too much and for being so serious all the time, telling him that he shouldn't forget that he had a life outside of work and that if he didn't nurture his relationship with Tenzo he would risk losing him, and that would be such a shame, after all the trouble he had gone through to woo the man in the first place. He laughed humorlessly, thinking about all the conversations they could have if he could only hear him.
"It's just been crazy, with the attack at the precinct and all the other things going on...I didn't think Itachi could be so bold. I wonder what you would say if you could see him...you always had a soft spot for him."
"And for you"
He hadn't heard her approach, but apparently, Hanna had been standing there long enough to hear his words.
Slightly embarrassed he turned around to look at the woman, getting up immediately as he took in her disheveled appearance. Her eyes and cheeks were red and her jacket was slipping off her shoulders because she kept pulling down the sleeves with her hands in a sort of nervous motion.
"Hanna, what happened?" he put his hands around her shoulders trying to make eye contact with the distraught woman, who was trying to avoid his gaze.
"I...spoke with the doctors this morning" her voice trailed off as she tried to regain a little composure. She was aware of how pathetic she looked, but she couldn't pull herself together, not when she was so close to losing everything.
Kakashi's eyes widened and he understood why she was in such a state. She didn't have good news.
"What...what did they say?" His voice broke, the weight on his chest suddenly felt heavier then ever.
Hanna pulled up with her nose, as she searched her pockets for a tissue, she didn't even know if she had more or if she had used them all up, she wanted to cry again when Kakashi pulled one out of his pocket.
"You have always been so kind to us Kakashi, you have been a really good friend for Shisui, he would...he would be very proud of you if he could see you…" tears flowed again from her eyes, as she tried to wipe them with her sleeves, Kakashi noticed they were soaked and just sighed as he wrapped his arms around his own eyes watering at her words.
They stayed like that for a long time, only Hanna's soft sobs filled the silence of the room, except for the soft beeps of the machines, reminding them that Shisui was still there with them, and the reality that soon he might not be there anymore suddenly hit Kakashi, and he tightened his grip around Hanna's waist, as he felt his eyes water.
"How much longer?" he asked, his voice breaking slightly as he spoke. He tried to ignore it, how could he comfort the woman in his arms if he broke down into tears? He had to be stronger than that.
"They said they are going to start running some tests tomorrow, but if there's no cerebral activity...a week at the most, and even that is pushing it longer than it should be, only cause I begged them for more time..."
The man's eyes widened as he turned his head towards the bed, staring at Shisui's still form. One week, was that all they had left?
He closed his eyes as he tried to fight the urge to cry and maybe destroy everything that was in that room, he had to pull it together, if not for himself for Hanna, who was suffering more than anyone else for that situation and had been handling it all on her own up to that moment.
"How am I going to do this Kakashi?" she cried as she clung closer to the man, who didn't know how to answer. All he could do was hug her tighter. The silence was so overwhelming, even the machines seemed to still for that moment, and Kakashi, for a second, wondered if he would ever get used to it.
Hiruzen was sitting at his desk with a furrowed brow as he read some reports of that day. He wasn't happy with how the research was going, it seemed that they weren't even close to finding the documents, and the fact that the enemy seemed to not be having success either didn't make him feel relieved at all. It made him nervous, wondering when and how they would attack next. Because of that, he was sure they would attack soon. He knew Akatsuki had to have an inside lead, someone that worked for the city that had the same interest they did in finding the document, someone who wanted to make sure they got destroyed. He had lost sleep for many nights trying to figure out who this person was. It had to be someone powerful, someone that had offered their protection to the criminals in exchange for their favors because he knew that people like the Akatsuki didn't just work for anybody and certainly not for free. He had his suspects of course, but his hands were tied without any proof. He sighed again, it was such a headache, he wished he had retired when he had the chance.
"I see you still hang around your office after hours"
The unexpected voice made the man look up and chuckle when he noticed the figure that was leaning on his door with his arms folded.
"Well well, look who decided to show up in time of need"
Jiraya smirked, and walked towards the desk, plopping down on the chair situated in front of it.
"Don't play pretend Hiruzen, I know you were the one to give Hatake my contact"
"Indeed. I am merely surprised he managed to actually get you here"
Jiraya leaned back in his chair massaging his chin with a big amused smile on his face.
"You know Hiruzen, I was waiting for you to contact me a lot sooner"
The old man laid his back on the chair, resting his arms on the armrests.
"I know. I was trying to push this investigation as back as possible, but unfortunately some events have forced me to do it now"
The white haired man's face turned serious as he listened to the words.
"You don't mean…"
"The existence of Minato's secret documents has been revealed. We have received information that a few criminal groups have been on the move trying to retrieve them and there's already been an attack on the precinct."
"Why haven't you contacted me sooner if the situation is as dire as you say"
Sarutobi leaned his body forward, resting his elbows on the desk as he closed his eyes, feeling the weight of all the events on his shoulder.
"I needed some time to make some research on my own, especially after what Kakashi found out"
Jiraiya's expression shifted from serious to confused and he moved his body to sit in a more dignified position as the tension from the conversation was starting to affect him.
"And that is…"
"I would have never thought to look at Kushina's autopsy and I don't know why it has remained a secret up to now, but Kakashi, he is always one step ahead of the game"
"I know where you're trying to go with this, Hiruzen"
The old man raised a grey brow and rested his face on his hands.
"Good, this will avoid a lot of explanation. Although we don't know who we are going against, I'm sure that they have someone on the inside. This is a source of concern because they might already be in possession of some information that might be crucial to this investigation. But this is not the biggest concern right now, and you know it"
Jiraiya's hands gripped the edge of the armrests of his chair as he felt rage rise within him.
"You fear they have discovered the existence of an heir"
Hiruzen nodded, his expression not letting any feelings show as he tried to act as detached and cautious as possible. The thought had wrecked his brain for days.
"Why didn't you ever tell me? I could have done something to put them under protection and make sure they were safe!"
"Minato told me to keep it a secret. He didn't want anyone to know he had a child, as he feared that the same people that came after him would go after it as well"
The old man's expression changed, finally revealing all the worry he had bottled up in all the past days. He had a bad feeling about all this conversation, and the white haired man's reactions didn't help him shake the bad sensation he felt at the pit of his stomach. This might be harder than he thought.
"Don't tell me...you don't know where that child is, do you?"
Jiraiya closed his eyes and he folded his arms as painful memories flooded his mind. He hadn't thought about those events for a long time.
"All this time I have been searching for the child as well, Hiruzen. You see, Kushina died of childbirth, she didn't die due to trauma or from gunshots, despite it being ruled as the cause of death. Tsunade was merely trying to fulfill Minato's wishes when she did the autopsy. He was heartbroken and fully aware that whoever tried to kill Kushina, was coming for him as well, and he knew that his child wouldn't have a way to survive if they got to them. You see I was far away at the time of the facts, travelling for one of my books, and when I got the call...Minato had already abandoned the child in an orphanage, and by the time I got there...it was too late. Minato was dead, and there were just too many things to take care of...I told myself I would go back for it, but...I never did. I guess I was a coward...but I just couldn't pull my life together for a while,I couldn't take care of a child…"
His eyes were shiny as he thought back at those awful days. He had always reproached himself for not doing anything to retrieve Minato's child.
"I don't even know if it was a boy or a girl"
Hiruzen sighed, it was just what he feared. They had to start from scratch, and they didn't have much time. It was the worst case scenario possible.
"Minato's obsession with secrecy was always a problem. I guess now we have another problem to take care of"
Jiraiya hummed softly, he was aware that this day would come. He slumped a little bit in his chair and let out a breath.
"You can't give this case to just anybody, Hiruzen."
"I am aware of that, and I have discussed it with my most trusted subordinates. Only a few trusted agents will be assigned to this mission, and you will help them, giving them all the information you have."
"I assume Hatake will be one of them"
"You assume correctly, I was thinking of calling back Yamato as well. He worked for the special services and has always performed excellently in top secret missions."
"And do you trust them?"
"Of course. Kakashi was close to Minato. He is the best person for the job."
Jiraiya nodded, but he still wasn't convinced, it sounded like a very dangerous mission, for he was sure, there was someone who was working to figure out the mystery, and when they did, who could tell at what extent they would go to make sure they could erase all ties to Minato.
"I'm assuming you don't want to involve Fugaku in all of this.
"Fugaku is aware of situation, but as you said, he doesn't need to be involved"
"You know how well that went last time."
The old man sighed, trying to ignore the guilt he always felt every time he thought about Shisui.
"I learnt from my mistakes, Jiraiya. That is why I am not going to go into this unprepared this time."
Jiraiya sat up intrigued by the revelation.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't worry about it. Everything will become clear in due time. All our energies now have to be concentrated in bringing the child home safely."
"I just hope we aren't too late for that."
Author's note:
Hello my lovelies!
Here I am with a new chapter, I promise I will try to update as often as possible now that I have a little bit more time on hand. I might go back and revise some chapters to fix some horrible grammatical errors and fix some details, but nothing major.
For now I decided that I'm going to put all my energies in this story and once completed I will concentrate on "Quarantine in love?" I might post a chapter or two some time but don't expect that to happen any time soon.
Anyway, as usual let me know what you think of this chapter and the story by leaving a review!
Thank you everyone! And stay safe!