Standard Disclaimers: I own nothing of Naruto or the characters. I make no money from this.
Authors Note: Forgive me if the quality of this is off. I've been re-reading it and it /feels/ okay, but just okay to me. Then again, RL is so set askew at the moment nothing feels right :) Anyway - it's a needed bit to keep the plot moving. Please review and let me know what you think - good or bad.
There were several Shinobi rules about the danger of underestimation. There was one about threats from unexpected angles, another about the power of a coordinated team and even one about the usefulness of masonry trowels.
But as far as Kakashi knew there wasn't a single one about the risks involved in getting between a determined woman and her goal. And following Tsunade down the hallway as she strode to the next unchecked door, he was more certain than ever that there really should be.
It'd only been his considerable reflexes that had allowed him to open the closet door before Tsunade shoved him straight through it. The hallway was, as they'd both suspected, entirely empty. He'd braced himself for a follow up punch, expecting the Hokage's temper to need that additional outlet given the perceived humiliation and his previous train of less-than-pure thoughts.
However, the hit never came. Instead, Tsunade had just straightened her shoulders and started for that last door, kami help anyone who got in her way. The surprise of this, though initially pleasant, soured almost immediately on Kakashi's tongue. He prided himself on his ability to read situations and people, on knowing who was about to strike when. This deviation from what he'd anticipated was disturbing and he refused to think too long on why.
Instead, the elite jonin studied the woman as she stormed down the hall and methodically cataloged every detail. His eye missed nothing, from the tilt of her head (speaking to a hard jawline) to the roll of her step (indicating she would be plowing through obstacles rather than dodging them).
Admittedly, there weren't many conclusions he could draw from the oscillation of her braids, swinging hypnotically over the curves of her backside but he noticed that too…
… in fact, his gaze lingered there for just a fraction of a second too long...
...
Damn it yet again.
"Ready?" Tsunade murmured, taking up position at the door. Of course he was. Any realizations, sinking as they might be, were neatly tucked away for the time being as he came up beside her.
She didn't reach for the doorknob right away, though. Instead, her head tilted forward as she listened and then cast a quick look to Kakashi.
He nodded briefly. He heard it too. Someone was in there, though not moving around. Perhaps asleep? He gestured for Tsunade to move. It was better to have a genjutsu specialist lead off with a potential witness, especially when discretion was required. He'd take point on this.
He flipped up his hitai-ate and Obito's eye whirled, sucking down chakra to feed him back information in return. Then he opened the door.
The room, even in shadow, was a pink and white concoction. Lace curtains draped frothily around the windows, white furniture boasted doilies and nearly every horizontal surface was covered with a toy of some sort. A western style bed, canopied and heavy, obscured but did not hide the slight form of a child sleeping within.
A girl, probably between nine and ten.
Kakashi stepped back and, seeing absolutely no need for his sharingan, slipped his hitai-ate down again. There were still four more rooms on this level, and then the offices to search if nothing here panned out.
However, before he could finish shutting the door, Tsunade raised her hand to stop him. Her eyes narrowed and she slipped past him into the room. Skillfully she maneuvered around the scattered blocks, dolls and marbles that littered the floor and moved quite purposefully for the tall dresser in the corner. Once there, she scanned it, but only for a moment. Then she stretched, using a low stool to gain some height, and pulled down the plush bear that had been set rather jauntily on its high top.
Tucking it under her arm she rejoined Kakashi in the hallway. He raised a brow and she gestured for him to shut the door as she led them a few judicious feet away, studying the toy.
"I thought you preferred pigs, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked. She had found something. He could tell by the way she looked up at him, smiling smugly.
"What? It's rather sweet don't you think?" she said.
Kakashi took her word for it. He only got brief glimpse of the bear's black thread nose before Tsunade turned it over in her hands and found the concealed zipper in its back. She opened up the toy and her finger probed around inside. There she found a glass vial, the blood red liquid inside looking particular ominous against the white fluff.
"There's not much left," Kakashi noted. "How much do you want to bet that means it's the poison, and not the antidote?"
"There are some bets even I know not to take," Tsunade sniffed and then scowled. "What kind of man puts poison in his child's teddy bear?"
"Well," Kakashi shrugged, "A bad man, I imagine?" He wasn't thrilled about the placement either, but he wasn't entirely surprised.
Tsunade gave him a wry look.
By some silent signal, they both turned and started towards the broad windows of their escape. There was no reason to linger now. Tsunade's mind was already jumping towards the steps she'd need to deconstruct the poison, Kakashi's to the best way to threaten the lord now that he had additional reason to dislike him.
They'd made it about halfway there before the shouts of alarm and pounding of running feet reached them.