Tangled Web
AU-ish story set in Kakashi's youth. Hope you enjoy. Please review and let me know.
I own nothing. Nothing.
Chapter Two
"Now, now," Tsunade chuckled, ushering the kids out with a blush, "Be off with you two and stay out of trouble. Tell your sensei to come and see me when he can so I can update him on your teammate if you see him."
Obito glanced to Rin once Lady Tsunade had left them in the hallway. Rin looked tense and angry.
"Don't worry, Rin," Obito soothed, "Minato-sensei is going to make the person pay for what's been done to Kakashi."
"No," Rin denied, "We are, Obito."
"What?"
"We are going to find the person who hurt our teammate," Rin snapped, stepping up into Obito's face, "And then we'll make them pay."
Obito blinked before giving Rin a sly smile.
"Yes!" Obito crowed, "Let's see what the investigators have found out. I heard Jiraiya-sama say that whoever did this, Kakashi must know because the person entered through the front door."
"Which means that Kakashi let them in," Rin hummed, "Let's go talk with Gai-san."
"Gai?" Obito snorted, imagining the freaky, green-wearing youth, "Why…um. Rin, do you feel that the floor is moving?"
The two genin turned at the shaking of the floor as the one they wanted to talk with came speeding around the corner.
"Where is he? Is my eternal rival alright?' Gai thundered as Obito found himself pressed against the wall with a grunt, "Have they caught the un-youthful, miserable, coward of a person who did this? I'll end them now! Who did this? Tell me!"
"Get off me," Obito huffed, pushing at Gai's arms.
"Gai-san, let him go," Rin ordered as the green-clad nin did as was asked, "I can answer some of your questions. Kakashi is in serious condition, but is responding to treatment. He can't be visited right now and his room is down this hall. Unfortunately, they haven't discovered Kakashi's attacker, but I wanted to ask you some questions."
"Questions?" Gai growled, "I don't have time for that. I need to see to my rival."
"The questions are to do just that," Obito insisted as Gai paused.
"For Kakashi?" Gai asked, nodding decisively, "Then ask. I'll do anything in my youthful endeavors to show my hot blooded need to help my rival. Ask me anything."
"Gai-san, do you know if there are others that Kakashi is close to?" Rin began, "Like other villagers or shinobi comrades?"
"Hm," Gai hummed, "There is a baa-san that checks into Kakashi's well-being every month that was close to my rival's mother long ago. You two and your sensei are his comrades and he has ties to other classmates to a point, but only your team has actually been allowed in his home. There is me…his eternal rival, but I've had to sneak in the few times I've been in Kakashi's house."
"Anyone older?" Obito pushed as Gai looked at him sharply, "Whoever did this to Kakashi had advanced skills and was pretty strong. Kakakshi doesn't go down easily and he didn't this time either. He fought hard, but this person was brutal in his fighting style enough to overpower him."
"If that be the case, then Kakashi's attacker should have injuries of his or her own," Gai pointed out as Rin brightened.
"Gai-san, I will see if anyone came in with injuries like that since yesterday," Rin gushed out, "I can get to the hospital records since I train here twice a week. Obito, why don't you go ask around Kakashi's neighborhood to see if anyone saw anything."
"Gotcha!" Obito answered as Rin hurried away before growling as Gai blocked his path, "Move, Gai."
"I'm going with you," Gai insisted, "Kakashi is my eternal rival and what happens to him affects me too. I wish to see this person held accountable for their disgraceful actions."
Obito scowled, but understood the other genin's wishes. Gai and Kakashi had an…interesting friendship.
"Fine," Obito agreed, "We've got to keep our investigating on the low down. Minato-sensei doesn't want our involvement. He'll stop us, but Rin wants to help find the attacker and so do I."
"With that, we are in total agreement," Gai declared, "Let us go forth with our hot-blooded passions and bring the un-youthful culprit out in the open so that he or she can know that to mess with our comrade means to mess with us!"
"Sure," Obito sighed, "Go team."
"Yosh!" Gai cheered and took off, dragging Obito by the arm behind him.
oOo
"Oh, no," Minato groaned, leaning over Kakashi's bed as Tsunade and Jiraiya watched, "Oh, God, Kakashi. Tell me everything, Lady Tsunade. Will he pull through?"
"His other wounds are not life endangering and will heal," Tsunade explained, "But the head wound is severe. As long as he wakes soon, Kakashi should heal fine, but there is the very real chance that there will be memory loss associated with the head trauma or even brain damage. We won't know until he regains consciousness. Tell me what you found."
"None of the neighbors report seeing anything," Jiraiya began as Minato smoothed Kakashi's hair away from the bandages wound around his forehead and sat to hold the child's good hand, "One saw Kakashi arriving home and said the kid didn't seem in a hurry or was with anybody at the time."
"Everything that I know of seems to be accountable within the house," Minato stated, stroking his student's hand in hopes that Kakashi knew he was safe now, "All, but one thing…Sakumo's tanto is gone."
"You didn't say anything," Jiraiya accused as Minato looked up at him.
"Because I believe that Kakashi is still in danger, Jiraiya, which is why I said nothing. The boy keeps his father's tanto in a locked case in the study I found him in when the weapon is not on his person," Minato continued, "I searched everywhere. The tanto is not there and the case was smashed to bits. I think possibly Kakashi was attacked at his table and his struggles upturned the soup as whoever dragged the boy away. Kakashi is a stickler for proper table manners and would have never dropped his chopsticks to the floor so the attack took the child by surprise. The tanto was what this person was after and Kakashi was forced into the study to open the case, but my student put up quite a struggle to fight back since I fear the attacker wanted my student dead. I'm worried there will be another attempt on Kakashi's life now that he is vulnerable and injured."
"I see," Jiraiya growled, "I think you might be right, Minato. The culprit probably thought he or she smashed the boy under that couch and…Hokage-sama?"
"Tell me everything," an angry looking Sarutobi demanded as he entered with two Anbu guard, "I'm upset that I had to hear this through Anbu who observed the beginnings of the investigation. Why was I not informed?"
"My apologies, Hokage-sama," Minato insisted as he stood to bow deeply, "My thoughts were only for my student at that point. I wasn't thinking clearly."
"From what I know, I can understand this slip in judgement since I can imagine the state you found this child in judging from what I can see of the boy's injuries," Sarutobi said as he walked over to gaze down at Kakashi, "It is more Jiraiya I was fussing at. Report."
The Hokage listened without interruption as Minato explained what he knew thus far.
"A boy attacked so viciously in his own home is unforgivable and will not be tolerated within Konoha," Sarutobi muttered, "Eagle?"
"Hai, Hokage-sama?"
"I want you and your team assigned to guarding this child," the Hokage ordered, "Kakashi Hatake is under the personal protection of myself and I wish for his safety to be your number one priority."
"Hai!" Eagle answered, "I'll need to get my team."
"Do so and I will remain here until you are back," Sarutobi instructed as the Anbu disappeared, "I want all new intel that is discovered this time, Jir-ai-ya!"
"Hai, Sensei," the Sannin chuckled, "Tsunade and I were going to come to you after Minato was filled in on his students condition. We were coming straight to you, I promise."
"Good," Sarutobi snorted, "Tsunade, tell me Kakashi's diagnosis while your dense teammate and Minato continues their investigation."
"I'm not dense!" Jiraiya grumbled as Minato sighed and turned back to pull the covers over Kakashi more, "Minato, what is it?"
Minato hunched for a moment as he gazed at the still boy in the bed before turning to the Hokage.
"Hokage-sama, I can't promise that I'll being the culprit back alive," Minato snarled as a blue rage burned in his eyes, "I'll try."
"Trying is good enough for me," Sarutobi declared, "I've done some research for you. Only one shinobi of this village is left from Sakumo's original genin team. Plus, there is one nin left from the comrades that Sakumo saved during that fateful mission. I'd start with those two first since maybe Kakashi knows and is being looked after by friends of his father and that is why the individual was allowed entrance into Kakashi's home. Here are their names and last known addresses. Go. No one will harm this child while I breathe."
"Or I," Tsunade agreed.
Minato nodded and accepted the paper with the names. Jiraiya walked closer to glance at the list and shrugged his shoulders.
"Neither ring a bell, but let's go pay them a visit, huh?"
"Let's," Minato voiced.
Both Jiraiya and Minato left quickly. Aiba-san was the remaining shinobi left from Sakumo's Hatake's genin team. The man was quickly ruled out since Aiba-san had a crippled leg that wouldn't support his weight any longer and that the ex-shinobi had just arrived home an hour ago from a visit to Sand where his daughter had settled. Then they tried the old comrade of Sakumo's, but it looked like the man's home had been long since abandoned.
"Excuse me," Minato called to a neighbor who had just stepped from her home, "Do you happen to know where Jun Kamichi moved?"
"Kamichi-san?" the lady asked as Minato nodded at the baa-san, "I think quite possibly he moved to the old jonin apartments after his wife left him."
Jiraiya and Minato thanked the woman and left to investigate.
"What is that expression?" Minato asked his former teacher.
"Just thinking," Jiraiya hummed, "Kamichi-san's wife left him and he moved to a pretty interesting side of town."
"Doesn't mean much," Minato denied, "Not all plays out like a plot from your books, Jiraiya. Whoever did this covered their tracks well so I'm not sure if this will be as easy as you think it might be."
"True," Jiraiya agreed, "But allow me to hope. I don't want a potential child killer within this village roaming free. I hope we find the culprit soon."
Minato could understand his former teacher's words. He wished the same. The two found Kamichi-san and quickly realized that this was not the man they were seeking. Jun Kamichi was a slobbering drunk who felt great remorse for what had occurred to Sakumo Hatake. The leads had been dead ends. Minato sighed at seeing the setting sun.
"You need to visit Kakashi and go home to Kushina," Jiraiya insisted, "Enough for today. We will go first thing in the morning to the Uchiha police to see what their forensic team dug up and I'll go report to Hokage-sama what we discovered today."
Minato sighed again and nodded. Kakashi was no different when he checked up on him that evening as he was early the next morning when Minato decided on visiting his student prior to going to the police station. He was surprised to see Jiraiya, Tsunade, and the Hokage already there.
"Unsettling," Sarutobi breathed, looking to the still boy in the bed, "I had hoped that this could be solved quickly. Who did this and why? For a tanto? Sakumo's tanto was his trademark, but it was his skills and manipulation of his chakra with the blade that made it special and not the weapon itself."
"I know," Minato agreed before looking to Tsunade as she checked over his student, "Any changes, Lady Tsunade?"
"Not really," Tsunade denied, "The swelling will get worse before it gets better, but I have Kakashi on a regular healing regimen that should help and hopefully get him to wake soon. Maybe then he can identify his attacker."
"We need to get going, Minato," Jiraiya voiced.
"Coming," Minato replied before pausing as something drew his attentions, "Wait. What is this?"
"What?" Jiraiya asked as the blonde leaned over Kakashi and seemed to be trying to open the boy's hand on his broken arm, "Minato?"
"Kakashi's got a death grip on something he's hidden in his fist," Minato explained, "I can't get his fingers to relax."
"Allow me," Tsunade instructed as she used her medical jutsu to relax the boy's muscles, allowing Minato to open the fist, "What is that?"
To be continued…