Total Confusion
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What Genma really wanted was to go home. He'd been miserable for the last twenty-four hours and Raidou was still pissed at him. He didn't want that at all. All he wanted was to be held and told that it was alright and that Iruka would be okay. He missed the Chunin and wished he could take back what he had said to him. Hell, he would even let the smaller man put itching powder in his clothes again!
Glancing at the clock, he groaned. Three more hours of reports to file and missions to hand out. Would he survive until then? For the moment his attention was being diverted to a heated argument between Anko and Kurenai. Curious now, he pretended to file reports as he got closer to the arguing women. What could those two be fighting about now? It was rare for them to fight and especially where others could see. The kuniochi of the village were highly protective of one another for some reason. He just thought them insane.
"I'm telling you there's something Ibiki isn't telling me!" Anko raged, stamping a foot in frustration.
Kurenai snorted and raised an eyebrow, humor glinting her red eyes. "Did you expect him to tell you everything you wanted to know? This is Morino Ibiki we're talking about."
Anko glared at her best friend. "That's not the point! I found that stuff in one of the storage rooms. Who put it down there and why is there no evidence of this Kinkou person on the main record scrolls? I swear there is something fishy going on around this village." Anko slammed her fist into the wall making dust sift down from the rafters.
Kurenai shrugged and shook her head. "If it was down there from eight years ago, who knows. Besides, what happens if you get caught with that stuff in your apartment? Don't you think Tsunade-sama or even Ibiki would have something to say about you nosing around in the basement of the Hokage's building?"
Anko growled at Kurenai. "No. Besides, I asked Ibiki as soon as he got back this morning. He didn't know what I was talking about. But he's lying. I know he is! There is no way that he's head of Intelligence and not know what the last head had stored in his files."
Both women had started to wander down the stairs and Genma couldn't hear the rest of thier interesting argument. He was intrigued himself now. This was something to get him out of the doldrums. He needed something to do to keep his mind off of Iruka's flight. Besides, it wouldn't make him feel any better if he kept lingering on his stupidity. The first thing he would need to do would be to corner Anko, not a pleasent thing in itself, and question her about her findings. Unlike her, he could access files that only one like him could. Anyway, he'd been working in the mission office for several years and knew where most of the secret files and scrolls had been stored. It was one of the main reasons he wasn't out on missions like the rest of the village.
In a brighter mood than earlier, Genma left the office and headed for home. There was no sense in tracking Anko down at this time. She would be having her supper and it wasn't a good practice to interrupt her food intake. He had a couple of scars for that mistake. He absently rubbed his ribs and entered his apartment. It felt empty without Raidou, but he wasn't going to see him for a few hours yet. Quickly making himself something to eat, Genma geared up for his search.
After pestering the residential district on the wherabouts of Anko, Genma hit the entertainment district. She could be in several of the many bars lining the streets. He could only hope that she was in her favorite one. Smiling, Genma poked his head into the loudest of the bars. Not spotting her, he exited and went to another across the street. She wasn't there either. Two hours later, he had nearly given up when he spotted her wobbling toward him. She was more inebriated than she had been in a while and he couldn't think of a reason for her behavior.
"Oi! Anko!" he called, catching up to her.
Anko glared at him blearily and smiled goofily at him. "Genma!" She looked to the left of him and frowned. "When'd you get a twin?" She giggled and hiccoughed.
Genma's nose burned at the acidic fumes issuing from Anko's mouth, but he grinned none the less. "Never had one, Anko. When'd you start drinking heavily?"
"S'not in a while. In fact, this evening," she slurred, throwing an arm around Genma's waist. She stumbled and was glad he was there. "Drowning my sorrows is all."
"And what could they be?" he asked, wrapping an arm around her to keep her straight.
"You work in the mission office." She blinked at him owlishly.
"Yes. What about it?" He probably knew what she was going to say, but wanted to hear it from her lips.
"Ever heard of an ANBU called Kinkou?" She burped lightly and conitnued. "I've been wondering what all this crap has been about Iruka's mission logs. He's just a Chunin, but he has missions ranked above what he should have. I was searching for something about this when I came across this old box full of ANBU gear and old reports. Want to see?" She grinned at him drunkenly.
Genma wanted to see this box and the contents. He helped Anko to her apartment and opened the door for her. "By the way, Anko. Where did you find that box?" He watched as she stumbled around the livingroom and into her bedroom. Curses and several bangs later, she came out carrying the box.
"Remember that old storage room that the Sandaime had sealed a few years ago?" she asked as she placed the box on the small coffee table in front of her cream colored couch. "Well, the guys up there have been cleaning out the old storage rooms and had broken the seal on that one. Only a few things had been moved around, so they haven't done a thorough search in there. I just happened to pull duty and was there. I was looking for something to give me clues to Iruka's past with the Sandaime, when I came across this box." She giggled again and fell onto the couch with a thump.
Genma rubbed the bridge of his nose. This woman was really just asking for trouble. He just knew that he shouldn't encourage her, but he had to know what she had found out. Maybe it was something even better than Iruka's cloudy past. "And what did you find exactly?"
Anko opened the box and carefully, as carefully as she could when she was blind drunk, lifted the mask and the few reports she had been able to decipher out. "All that was left was this broken mask, these badly written reports, and some scarred guards. I've been working on the reports, but haven't gotten much out of them." She sighed loudly. Stretching out on the couch, she lifted her feet onto a couch arm. "I've only been able to find out that eight years ago, Kinkou was in play and was retired six years ago. He suffered from a major break and was deemed unfit for further duty."
Genma perched on the edge of the couch back and looked over the reports. They were badly written, as if by a child, and were heavily water stained. Whoever had stored these must have put them under a leak, but looking at the box, he concluded that the papers had been doused in water some other way.
"How do you know that Kinkou was a male?" he asked, taking the mask and studying it. He traced the kanji on it's forehead.
"It's in one of the medical reports. I can't remember which one though," Anko said through a yawn.
"Do you mind if I look through these, Anko?" Genma asked, standing. It was time to leave. "I could work on them tonight and see if I can find out anything for you."
Anko blinked and shrugged. "Suit yourself, Genma. I've about exhausted myself with them. Who knows? Maybe you can find something I couldn't." She yawned again and waved him away. "Shut the door on your way out, would you?"
Leaving a few minutes later with the box, Genma made his way home. The box had only raised more questions, making him that more anxious to solve the problem of the mysterious Kinkou. How come he had never heard of this ANBU person? True he wasn't allowed to view the names of the ANBU, but he was required to read over the reports as they came to him from Ibiki to be filed. Most of them were so badly written it was a miracle that they were even allowed to be ANBU. Well, he could reconstruct the reports and have a better idea of the person Kinkou was. It would help take his mind off the more pressing problems in his life anyway.
Reaching his and Raidou's apartment, he kicked open the door and closed it with his heel. The lights were still out and meant that Raidou wasn't home yet. Maybe in another hour or so, he thought. Setting the box on the kitchen table, he turned the lights on. Grabbing a glass from the cabinet, he poured himself some cold melon juice and set it beside the box. Taking the least of the damaged papers, Genma grabbed a pencil and paper and set about deciphering.
Hearing the front door open, Genma stopped working to greet his partner. A heated kiss or two later, Genma was explaining his newest hobby to Raidou. Raidou grinned and patted Genma on the head. Smiling like a fool, Genma followed the older man into the bedroom. They discussed the project at length as they stripped and headed for the bathroom. After bathing, they soaked in the tub. Genma laying happily against Raidou's broad and scarred chest as Raidou played his fingers up and down Genma's arms.
"So what do you and Anko plan on doing with that box once you've solved your little mystery?" Raidou asked, kissing the top of Genma's head.
Genma twisted around to smile up at his mate. "I don't know. I'll give it back to Anko as soon as I find out what those reports are hiding. She's been at Ibiki's throat trying to pry the information from him."
Raidou chuckled at the picture that presented. "Good luck to her for that. Why she even went to him is beyond me." Gently pushing Genma away, Raidou stepped out of the bath. "I'm tired and I have to get up early tomorrow. Tsunade-sama is in one of her moods and wants us all there early." He stopped long enough to towel his hair dry before wrapping the green material around his hips. "You coming to bed?"
Genma emptied the tub and dried off. "Not yet. I have to finish that report. I've only got a few more paragraphs to go and then I'll be joining you."
"As long as you don't pull an all nighter on me again," Raidou smiled. "I can't sleep well if you aren't there beside me."
"I promise. No all nighter." Genma slipped into a pair of boxers and headed for the kitchen again after a brief kiss.
Taking up his pencil, Genma got back to work. After what seemed an eternity, he yawned and made a final notation on the paper. Locating the clock, he squeeked in surprise at the time and quickly went to bed. He'd have to be up in a few hours to make Raidou something to eat and get him ready for work. Snuggling into the larger man, he fell asleep almost instantly.
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Having gotten Raidou off to work on time, Genma poured himself some more coffee and sat back down at the table. He had enough time to work on one more page before he needed to get to work himself. Sipping his coffee, he was halfway through the report when he noticed a side notation that was almost obliterated from the water stains. Straining his eyes, he noticed the handwriting was somewhat familiar. He tried to remember where he had seen it before but he just couldn't put his finger on it. Taking a last gulp of lukewarm coffee, Genma gathered up two pages of the report. He could work on them when the office went on standby later that morning. Dressed, he was off to work.
He didn't have to wait for very long before the office was empty. Taking out the reports, he worked on them a few minutes before he stopped in surprise.
What the hell was this? A joke?
He looked at the report again and then at his notes. There was no mistaking it. It was just to weird though. How could the entire village miss this Kinkou and not known of his existence? Well, it was pretty easy, but not that easy. Most of the village knew the Konoha ANBU on sight because of thier masks, but since he could remember there was no mention of this Kinkou in the ANBU. Ibiki would have to know what this was all about, but there was no talking to him. He wasn't the head of the intelligence sector for nothing. Genma could only stare at the information he had uncovered in these long forgotten reports.
Until recently, Kinkou has been sucessful in all his missions. The boy's intelligence and instincts have kept him from breaking like so many of our other operatives. This latest and nearly deadly mission has raised some concerns that I had not wished to ever be brought to my attention, but this latest mishap has troubled me to no end. The confirmation team was only a few hours behind Kinkou, but what they reported to me of the theat he was to render harmless made them heartsick.
Kinkou's rage has overcome his common sense and left the target an unrecognizable pile of flesh. The ferocity of this latest mission has caused me to call him back and to retire him. I must somehow deal with this before he becomes completely unhinged. It is in this village's best interest to erase the most horrid of these missions from his mind and to work on his memories enough to seal this damning evidence away from the known reports. If not, God help anyone that awakens the rage the boy has inside him. He is not forgiving in his punishments. As much as it would pain me to lose this brilliant operative, I must, for the sake of my own conscience, destroy what he cannot ever regain.
God forgive me for what I have made this boy out of misguided love. I must make him into something he would never have wanted, but it must be done to protect those that he has come to love and the village he loves above all else. I will entrust to him a new life that will help him come to terms with his past. And may God protect the poor souls that he will guide to the glory of this village.
S.
Genma wasn't very sure about this, but he needed to talk to Anko as soon as possible. If his suspicions were correct, then there was going to be hell to pay. He didn't want to be around when this blew up in thier faces.
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A/N: Sorry for the long wait, but I was trying to tie in Anko's search with this whole plot...thingy. I did throw in some fluffy G/R, so you can't hurt me. Well, not to much.
I'm currently working on the next installment for this fic and it could possibly have a little Asuma/Kurenai fluff before I get back to the main focus of Kakashi and Iruka. So just a little longer and we'll be back on track with our favorite love birds.