There were seldom few places like Konoha. Unlike the colorless Sand Village and the muggy gray of Mist, Konoha was a village of colors. It was loud with life, children laughter during the day and drunken ninja songs at night. It was his home, and one he was always happy to return.
After the travesty of Umino Iruka's rescue, which had mobilized nearly every leaf ninja and started a small-scale war with Rock, the village had more a less returned to normalcy. A non-aggression pact had been signed between the two villages and compensation was being issued for the loss of life and resources on both sides. On the surface the world had returned to order, but beneath there were still issues to be dealt with in the shadows hunted by the ninja.
The early spring sun had begun to melt the snow turning some of the dirt paths slushy. The evening air still carried the winter's chill and chased children back into their homes before the sun disappeared behind the Hokage Monument. Kakashi limped his way out from the BBQ shop. His last mission had been rough, chasing stray ninja back over the boarder and escorting a young woman to her home village at the same time might have been pushing it. Dealing with the squabbling team 7 definitely didn't make the mission go any faster.
Thinking of his team he realized that the arguments taking place were more for Naruto's benefit, a distraction by his friends to keep his depression away. Ever since the announcement that Umino had lost nearly all his memories, the teen had become subdued, his childish cheerfulness missing. Another factor that didn't help the kid was the reveal of his demon mode. Having lost control during the battle and the people that had been sacrificed to stop him, it brought back a lot of memories for the older shinobi. For Naruto, it was a reminder of the danger he carried within him and the reason why so many in the village feared him.
Kakashi wish he could do more for his young charge, but even he couldn't break whatever seal Iruka had used. The sharingan would just spin wildly until he became dizzy trying to track all the little strings that were coiling around in Umino's head. From what he last heard, the group trying to break the seal had been at a standstill for three months. Not even their allies' best seals masters could help. What a time for Jryiah to be dead, Kakashi thought.
The smell of his favorite BBQ invaded his musing and caused his stomach to rumble painfully. He stepped up his pace as much as his injured leg would allow and ignored the protest of his chakra-exhausted limbs. So focused in getting home, he found himself instantly confused as to why he was suddenly on the ground, face planted firmly in the muddy street. He should get up, but he didn't want to see the tragedy that had befallen his meal. Besides the ground felt wonderful, exhaustion made everything feel wonderful after awhile, and he contemplated just sleeping there. Not like ninjas haven't sleep in the middle of the street before. Missions were hard. Some brave villagers might even take pity on him and move him to the side of the road instead. He's done that once or twice himself. He'd even given one nin he found in an ally a blanket. Yeah, sleeping here would do just fine.
"Does the mud taste better than this food?" asked a voice. The unmistakable sound of foam rubbing against foam drifted to Kakashi's ears. He's head instantly shoot up to find a man with short brown hair and a scar across his nose sniffing at the meat, "Doesn't smell like it would." He reached into the plastic bag and pulled out the chopstick. Kakashi gaped at the man who sat cross-legged before him in a hospital gown and a doctor's jacket. Unimo took a bite and hummed.
"That's mine," Kakashi said. No wait, that shouldn't be his first words. He should ask him why he's not in the—
"Yep," Umino smiled and took another bite, "and it's good. I should stop by there sometime." He looked at the napkin with the BBQ restaurant's emblem.
Kakashi struggled to sit up. Umino made no move to help him, choosing to sit and watch him closely with that all to familiar analyzing look, munching away on Kakashi's dinner. Once Kakashi had more or less gotten into a seated position, Umino held out a piece of meat. Kakashi glared with his uncovered eye and pointedly looked at the container. Umino shrugged and continued to eat. "That's mine," he said.
Umino popped a sautéed zucchini into his mouth, "thanks for the meal," he replied.
By now several people were noticing the bizarre scene. Kakashi clenched his jaw. His mood plummeted. He had thought he'd been done with Umino when he delivered him back to Konoha and attempted to undo the sealing. Why now, or more like what great being had he ticked off to have the man tossed back into his life? "Shouldn't you be in the hospital?" Kakashi growled, clambering to his feet. His meal was gone, and it looked like instant ramen would be filling his empty stomach tonight.
Umino stood with him finishing off the last of the veggies. "I was getting bored."
"The fifth will lose her head if she finds out you got passed her guards," Kakashi wiped some of the mud from his face and flicked it back to the ground.
"She should train them better on charka detection. It doesn't take a whole lot to misdirect someone's attention with a ginjutsu," Umino walked to a nearby trashcan and tossed the empty container.
"I don't think they thought you would try to escape, after you've been so cooperative."
Umino returned to Kakashi with that same analyzing look he had come to hate. It always made him feel bare and that wasn't a feeling Kakashi liked at all. "I've been cooped up for 6 months. I'm starting to go crazy."
"There's a reason they're keeping you—"
"Yeah. Yeah," Umino waved a dismissive hand. He suddenly grabbed Kakashi and tugged him down the street. Kakashi tried to shrug him off, but Umino's grasp was surprisingly strong, or he was weaker than he excepted. "Let me pay you back for that meal."
"Where are we going?"
"Home," Unimo said, "or at least I hope it's still home."
A few more streets later and much struggling between Umino and him, Kakashi found himself standing in front of 5 story building with a little green house connected to it. The building had different colored bricks and wood that made up its structure. Flowers and shrubs were beginning to bloom with vines snaking up the front. A vegetable garden stretched the length of the green house, and a large bare tree spanned the width of the roof.
Umino made his way through the brown rickety-looking fence and knocked on the red door. An elderly man with a stooped back, wiry gray hair, and large glasses answered. He smiled and reached up to Umino.
"Iruka, my boy," the elder smiled. Then he pinched Umino's cheeks and pulled, "you're late on your rent and that damn Hokage won't pay me."
"I know, I know," Umino struggled, "I'll find away to pay you back. I promise."
"Oh you think you still have a place here, do ya?" the man released him.
"You wouldn't throw a poor kid like me out on the streets, would ya?" Umino asked rubbing his cheeks.
"I sure would!"
"Jiji," Umino whined dropping to his knees and hugging the short man around the waist, "don't be like that. Think of all the good times we had." The old man crossed his arms and looked away. "I'll make you some tea and cookies. You're favorite, with nuts and chocolate."
"And eggplant miso," the old man asked looking at him with one eye.
"All the eggplant," Umino said, "and you'll have a conversation guest." Both of them turned to look at Kakashi, who suddenly realized he missed his chance to escape. Damn sleep deprivation, always screwing with his head.
"Let me get the stuff," the old man said, "you ain't got nothing in your fridge." The man handed him a key.
"Sure thing," Umino stood up and turned to Kakashi, "hey great ninja, help the old man out. I'll meet you upstairs."
Now was a good chance to escape, Kakashi thought.
"You like eggplant miso, right?" Umino called from the entrance of the apartment building.
His stomach growled. Damn it.
The old man stepped out of the house with two baskets and handed one to him. He followed the man into the building. Its main hallway was made of plaster and had pictures of the different Hokage hanging around. Jiji led him up a winding staircase and stopped on the third floor, thankfully before Kakashi's leg gave out.
Iruka stood in front of an open door with a confused look.
"Something the matter, kid?" Jiji asked.
"I don't remember my place being so…big," Umino answered stepping into the apartment.
"I gave you most of the third floor and one room on the fourth," jiji said hobbling through the door and down the hall.
It opened into a spacious living room with an open kitchen dived by a single island. Pots and pans hung from a rack over the island, different shaped knives stuck to the wall, and most of the kitchen utilities were made out of stainless steel and granite. Umino stood in the middle of the room gaping at it. Kakashi followed the old man also surprised at the chunin's home.
Almost every wall had pictures of kids and drawings, books and scrolls littered every table and filled up all the bookshelves. Two halls branched off from the main living room, and a staircase led from the far end of the living room up. Umino made his way down the hall opposite the kitchen. Kakashi followed closely behind, leaving jiji to fiddle around with the stove.
The hall had several doors, each door with a different symbol that Kakashi realized was every ninja village emblem. Umino was opening each door. Each room was cluttered with scrolls and books. A single writing desk sat in the middle. When they reach the last room, a symbol of a village that Kakashi was unfamiliar with, Umino doubled back to the living room. The second hall was much like the last and was next to the kitchen. At the last door was Konoha's symbol. Umino pushed it open and stared. It was much bigger then all the other rooms, with more scrolls than books. He stepped into the room and pulled out one of the scrolls and discovered it was a containment scroll. He walked to the table at the center and rolled it open to reveal several seals.
"Hey jiji," Umino called, "has anyone been here?" Umino pressed his hand to one of the seals. Papers burst out filling the table up.
"No one," jiji answered pushing passed the flabbergasted copy nin.
"Really?" Umino asked in disbelief. "Not even Lady Hokage?"
"Yep. I've brought her several books when she asked for them, but no one has been here to look around," jiji rubbed his chin and looked at a piece of paper.
Umino frown, "Why?"
"My guess is that they didn't think you were keeping anything important here. They kept calling you a chunin at the tower," Jiji grumbled, "well if Satoshi was still here, he'd give them a good talking too."
"Satoshi?"
"You're senesi. He taught you all kinds of things and even encouraged this habit of yours." Jiji waved at the room.
Kakashi looked at the different scrolls on the shelf nearest him carefully listening to the conversation. He paused when he found a shelf labeled dangerous leaf nin. Many of the scrolls were yellowed with age. He assumed that all the scrolls in the room where containment. And then there was a book. It was leather bound with a symbol he knew very well. It was on the backs of all his nin dogs. Kakashi nicked it off the shelf and opened it. The first thing that greeted him was a picture of his father. His breath caught in his chest.
Suddenly Umino was there slamming the book close. "Don't put your dirty hands all over my stuff."
"What is this?" Kakashi demanded gesturing to the entire room.
"I don't know," Umino answered, he looked just as confused as Kakashi felt.
"What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean." Umino glared. "Jiji can you show him the bathroom while I get dinner going?"
"We're not done here," Kakashi growled.
"You look like death, Hatake," Umino pointed at his mud-covered chest. "And I'm not kicking you out. I owe you meal after all. We can talk about it then."
Jiji, or Suzu, as the old man introduced himself, led Kakashi to the small second floor. There were two doors; one had a sign that read, 'Satoshi.' Suzu ushered him into the second room. Much like down stairs, nearly every bit of wall space had been filled with pictures and drawings. There was a twin size bed pushed into one corner of the room and a small side table that boxed it in. There were more papers in here, a glance showed them to be half graded students work. Suzu pushed him into the bathroom and gave quick instructions on how to use the shower before disappearing. He return only once with another set of clothes and a mask.
By the time Kakashi had finished showering, his stomach was threatening to eat itself and the heat from the water nearly knocked him out twice. He had used his time to formulate several questions and counter strategies for when Umino tried to get dodgy with answers. He pulled on the new mask, and slipped into the shirt. He knew he was a tall and lanky person, but whoever had own this was massive. The shirt fit him like a dress and the pants would have slipped completely off him had it not had drawstrings. He had to roll the hem of his pants up just to keep his feet from snagging as he walked. When he chanced a glance in the mirror it took him a moment to realize that it was him and not a child.
Kakashi carefully made his way downstairs, and froze on the last few steps. He turned around, but before he could rush back up a very angry voice stopped him. "Kakashi," Tsunade said, turning to face him, "are you feeling better?" Her eyes scanned over him. For a moment her angry expression broke into amusement. He was a sight.
Kakashi smiled and rubbed the back of his head, "I'm a bit starved." He tried not to look at the Anbu in the room, but could feel their mirth.
"Miso is done," Umino chimed cheerfully, tapping the bowl at the island.
Tsunade waved a hand, "your meal awaits."
"Nah, Hokage-sama," he stepped off the last step, "something tells me you're a bit angry."
"Not at all Hatake-san," she grinned a very unpleasant grin, "I was just talking with Iruka about ginjutsus and their applications used with escapes from hospitals. Maybe you'd like to chime in?"
The Anbu shifted, shame wafting off them.
"Well," he begun giving Tsunade a wide birth as he made his way to the bowl, "if used correctly even a small ginjustsu can trick the most skillful of ninjas."
"And how would one be able to do that?"
"I don't know," Umino said, "I just had an idea and it worked."
Silence. Kakashi looked from Umino to Tsunade then at his bowl and wondered if it would taste good enough as a last meal.
"Iruka," Tsunade sighed. All the anger slipped away with the exhale. She sagged onto the couch next to Suzu who was happily munching away on his cookies. He offered one to her, which she took.
"I apologize," Umino said.
"That's not good enough."
"I know, but we've gotten nowhere. So I thought maybe Jiji might know something, but you made it so I could have no visitors. And no one was listening to me anymore."
"I see. And do you know something Suzu-san?"
"About the memory thing?" The old man sipped thoughtfully, "of course. I told you before."
"You said he does it all the time," Tsunade rubbed her temple as she nibbled on the cookie. "You didn't state whether you knew how to undo it or not."
"Yes, because I don't. The only one who does is Iruka and Satoshi, may he rest in peace."
"Dead men tell no tells, and neither do you." She looked at Umino.
"Maybe I do," Umino said, staring at one of the halls. "You saw the rooms, Hokage. It's got to be here."
"Here, in all these papers? How long do you think it'll take to find? Do you think we have all the time in the world?" Her anger returned.
"Why do we need it anyways?" Suzu asked, "if it's lost then nobody can get it, right?"
"That information was gathered by an enemy. Just because it's lost, doesn't mean the enemy has forgotten it too."
"The way to unseal my memories has got to be somewhere in here. I'll find it. I promise you I will," Umino said.
Tsunade looked at him, then at Kakashi who was sipping on the Miso. "Okay," she nodded, "Okay. We'll change our efforts then. Kakashi, you will be Iruka's back up."
"Wait, what?"
"Iruka, you are under house arrest until further notice."
"Hold on!"
"I want round the clock watch on this location. And let the rest of the memory recovery team know where Iruka is."
The Anbu bounded off one after the other.
"Tsunade!"
She turned to Kakashi.
"I don't think this type of mission suites my skill sets," Kakashi tried to find a convincing argument. He did not want to get stuck protecting Umino again. First time was bad enough.
Tsunade stood up and approached him. She waved a glowing green hand over his head and chest. "You're under house arrest," she smiled.
"What!"
"For failure to report after duty, failure to report to the hospital to care for your injuries, and not reporting on Umino Iruka's whereabouts."
"I…I."
"If you don't want this to go on your record, or be branded a traitor for not following your Hokage's orders, you'll stay here and assist Iruka on locating the information to break the jutsu." She stared at him.
He stared back.
The old man coughed in the background.
Iruka spooned some more soup into a bowl.
"As you command," Kakashi sighed.
Tsunade smiled and puffed out of the room.
Sorry for any grammar errors and the like. I'm trying to get this finish, but I've got so many other projects I'm working on I've placed this at the bottom of this list. Moving forward I'll try to get better at posting more regularly.
Please believe me, I really do enjoy writing this and Ravings of a Mad Man. They're some of my favorite pieces of work. And I love when people review, it helps me through the hard times and encourages me to keep working.
Until next time my lovelies!
-Petague Killaboo
