Tangled Web

AU-ish story set in Kakashi's youth. Hope you enjoy. Please review and let me know.

I own nothing. Nothing.

Chapter Six

"Interesting," Sarutobi hummed, "Ogawa was released from active duty due to unbecoming behaviors many years ago. He's always claimed himself as a war hero, but that man was unnecessarily brutal at times. I could see him doing something like this if he has lost touch with reality and is obsessed with the idea that Ame Hatake was stolen from him by Sakumo."

"Also makes since why Kakashi was so brutalized," Jiraiya pointed out, "Kakashi is not seen as Ame-san's son by this man, but as Sakumo's and possibly blames the child for another factor in Ame Hatake-san's death."

"But to do that to an innocent child?" Chouza snapped, "Kakashi is just a boy. He'd done nothing to this man just like my student."

"True, but Kakashi is living proof that Ame Hatake-san loved her husband," the Hokage hummed looking deep in thought, "This man cannot be in his right mind to attack a boy for a mere weapon."

"That tanto has become the symbol for Ogawa of Sakumo's power," Minato spat as his eyes returned to that cold, blue rage of yesterday, "He wanted the tanto and Kakashi's death as the ultimate revenge against Sakumo for taking what Ogawa wanted. He wanted Ame-san and the fact that he lost her has driven the man insane enough to follow through with hurting two children."

"Sato Ogawa will be desperate now," the Hokage insisted, "I will send out the name and description to all the police, guards, and Anbu. Sato must be found. Find him while Tsunade and I continue to watch over the children."

"Hai, Hokage-sama," the group agreed and left quickly.

oOo

This had never been Obito's intention. He'd only come to retrieve his property, but when he heard his sensei exclaim that talking to Pakkun might reveal who hurt Kakashi and Genma, well…

"No harm to listen in," the Uchiha decided as he used a technique his clan head had been teaching the police to hide his chakra signature.

That is when he first heard the name. A name that sounded awfully familiar, but why? Where had he heard that name before? Sato Ogawa. Ogawa? Obito blinked as he saw the three jonin and ninken flash away to begin another hunt as he continued to hide his presence from Lady Tsunade and the Hokage while he snuck back towards Genma's room. He had been lucky that they had been distracted enough to not notice him since he hadn't completely nailed the technique Fugaku-sama had been teaching.

"Obito Uchiha," one of the Anbu warned that was guarding Genma's door when the child turned the corner, "You are supposed to be with Shikaku-san in the cafeteria. What are you doing here all by yourself? Are you up to something, again?"

"I left my goggles in there," Obito described as the Anbu glanced in the window to see the orange-lensed frames sitting on a chair, "Shikaku let me come and retrieve them and then I'm supposed to report back to him immediately. I'm not up to something."

"Hn."

Obito blinked as the goggles were shoved into his hands a second later and he was walked with a firm hand on his shoulder back to the cafeteria. Shikaku nodded at the Anbu as Obito slid back into his chair.

"Took you long enough," the jonin fussed.

"Hospitals are like mazes," Obito pouted, "I got lost."

"You always get lost, Obito-kun," Rin giggled as her teammate flashed her a grin, "But it is easy to get lost in a hospital, Shikaku-san."

"True, but now I need you all to eat," Shikaku fussed as the kids looked down and picked at their nearly untouched food, "Genma and Kakashi need all of you strong to protect them while they are healing. Eat up for your comrades."

"Oh," Raidou breathed as he nodded quickly while the other children looked equally as stunned, "Hai, Shikaku-san."

Chopsticks were grabbed up and Shikaku rolled his eyes as Gai gobbled his in seconds and demanded more to have "plenty of youthful energy to passionately support Kakashi to heal and Team Leader to wake." All this occurred right when a certain boy realized where he'd heard the name Sato Ogawa before.

"Fine, fine," Shikaka scowled as he rose to get Gai's requested food and then frowned when he returned, "Where is Obito?"

The children looked over at the empty chair in surprise before glancing to Shikaku in confusion.

"He was right here a second ago," Gai insisted, "I didn't even hear him move."

"Anbu?" Shikaku called as the nin materialized.

"The Uchiha was eating silently as you walked to the table. I glanced to you for one moment and in the next glance the boy was gone. I don't know how he slipped past us. There is another Anbu at the door there."

"This is just great. Minato is going to kill me," Shikaku sighed before turning to the Anbu, "Watch the kids while I go retrieve that blasted Uchiha. Raidou-kun, eat up so you have enough energy to donate more blood for your friend and I'll be back."

"Hai, Nara-san," Raidou agreed.

Shikaku shot away with the other Anbu who had been guarding the door that led out of the cafeteria as the first Anbu settled and spoke quietly with the students to calm their nerves. No one noticed as Obito slipped away using a large man as a cover after the jonin had left. Few knew that Obito could be just as clever as the most trained shinobi. It was just rarer to see with the exuberant child.

"I've got to get to Baa-chan," Obito frantically thought as he raced through alley ways to hide his escape, "Baa-chan is having tea with Baa-san Ogawa and her son today. What if Sato hurts my baa-chan? I've got to hurry!"

Obito never considered telling Shikaku Naru the truth since he was afraid his grandmother would be used like bait to smoke Sato Ogawa out in the open. He hadn't considered that adult shinobi would have many options to choose from to capture the man. Obito was thinking with his heart and not his head. The boy raced on quick feet to his home and called out for his grandmother, but there was no answer. He found a note taped on the fridge door explaining that the two women were going to a tea shop while Ogawa-san's son was repairing the window that always got stuck.

"What?" Obito gasped before grunting as his hair was grabbed and he was yanked backwards.

Obviously, Sato Ogawa was ten times better at hiding his chakra signature than Obito. The boy hadn't even felt the man approach, but he knew who had grabbed him.

"Ow! Let me go!"

"Shut it, Brat!" Sato snapped, "You should know by now that I'm not one to mess with, Boy. Stop moving."

Obito stilled as Kakashi's blade was held to his neck so he dropped the kunai he'd automatically pulled from a pouch. The child hissed as he was spun around to finally look up at Kakashi's and Genma's attacker. Ogawa was huge and his eyes radiated anger and madness.

"That's a good, little nin to understand when he's lost before fighting. I've been following you for a while now," Sato snorted as Obito set his face in a blank mask, "You will tell me what the Hokage and the others know."

Obito said nothing and grunted as he was backhanded, but remained silent even after the nose bleed started.

"You will tell me or I will get into the hospital and slit the necks of the Hatake brat and the other kid I didn't have time to finish gutting," Sato bit out as Obito gaped at him in horror, "Do they know my identify, Boy?"

"Hai," Obito admitted, "And they not only know your name, but have your true scent now. I know you already realize now that every shinobi in this village is looking for you because of what you started with Kakashi."

"Fuck! Why does this village always protecting that vile strain of shinobi?! Sakumo and his spawn should never have been allowed to live. It is their fault I had to do what I did. Now I have to end you too so people can see me for the hero I am and Ame-chan will notice me like she did when we were kids."

Obito gaped again. Sato thought that Kakashi's mother was still alive? Not good! That meant the nin holding him was totally insane. What to do? What to do? What…ah! Obito knew what to do. He knew just what to do.

"I know a way out of Fire Country by the water," Obito lied as Sato froze, "Let me live and I'll get you to safety and then you can sneak back for your Ame-san when no one in the village realizes that you are back."

"An Uchiha," Sato whispered as the mad gleam in his eyes flashed, "Of course an Uchiha would know secret paths to escape. You will lead me and then I'll let you live, but if you lie then you will know what pain really feels like."

"Hai," Obito agreed as his hands were lashed behind his back and he was forced to lead the older man to "safety."

Obito continued to try and work out this last ditch plan in his head. Hopefully, Kakashi's pack were hot on the heels of Ogawa so he just had to keep bluffing.

"I'll get you, Bastard," Obito plotted as he internally grinned, "You'll be sorry for touching two of my classmates. Itch leaf, here we come."

Sato snarled at the field of itch leaf a little later and growled at his prisoner.

"What is this, Boy?"

"My clan had to hide this path well or it would have been discovered," Obito offered with the biggest doe eyes he could muster while internally being grateful that he had been wearing his goggles before his hands were tied behind him, "Just follow me and you should be fine, but you have to step only where I step, okay?"

"Fine," the man scowled out and then cursed as Obito took off running.

Obito avoided brushing against the itch leaf because he was smaller, but Sato had no such luck and cursed angrily as he ripped off his flak jacket to try to escape the sap of the plant once the two passed through the valley. Already, angry splotches were appearing on the man's face and hands.

"See," Obito offered, pointing with his chin to the water, "This way."

Obito hid a smile at the grumbled "damn brat" and led the way to another area Sato would love…Leech Creek.

oOo

"What the hell?" Pakkun snorted as he sniffed around the Uchiha compound, "Minato-san, you are not going to like this one."

Minato glanced up sharply as Jiraiya and Chouza drew up to listen.

"I think Sato's got Obito," Pakkun started and then stepped back as Minato erupted into a vile string of angry cursing, "Didn't know you had that in you, Sensei. I'm impressed."

Minato growled like an angry wolf as he rounded back on his hunting companions.

"How the hell does Sato have Obito?" Minato snarled as Chouza's eyes widened at the usual unflappable man.

"Because Obito escaped from me," Shikaku admitted as he leapt down from a tree, "Kid's trail led to his Baa-san's house and I found this note. Kids nowhere to be found, but the note explains a lot. Why he didn't just tell me is beyond my comprehension."

"Let me see," Minato growled as he snatched the piece of paper, "Dammit, Obito! My student's grandmother is having tea with Sato's mother at a tea shop. If I've worked this out right in my head, Obito somehow overheard that Sato Ogawa is the man responsible for the attacks and came to warn his grandmother, but Sato was in the house already. What am I going to do with that child?!"

"Kid was probably panicked and didn't think it all through," Jiraiya pointed out as Minato sighed, "You said it to Shikaku yourself, Minato, Obito takes off in a flash when he gets a notion. You really need to work on that with your student if he's going to be a shinobi."

"I've been trying to," Minato snapped, "Obito is not learning the lesson well at the moment."

"Obito seems to be leading Sato this way," Pakkun called as the group turned, "Don't know why because that area leads to itch leaf, leech waters, and other nasties."

Minato groaned and hung his head as Jiraiya laughed.

"That is exactly what Obito wants," the Sannin snorted, "The boy is trying to slow Sato down so we can catch up. Let's go. There is a third child's life on the line."

"Anbu are watching the children," Shikaku said, "I'm coming too. I shouldn't have allowed a child to outmaneuver me so well and it would be nice to see Ogawa caught."

The jonin flashed away and followed the ninken. None of the dogs howled to alert their prey that he was being tailed. Earlier they'd been mad, but now their master was awake and their minds were clear: Protect their pup by finding the one who hurt him, protect the stupid pup who got himself caught, find the prey, tear out the prey's throat, job well done.

oOo

"Ah!" Obito cried as the tanto tore into the flesh of his upper arm, "I'm telling the truth!"

"You are lying!" Sato howled, "Itch leaf! Leeches! Flesh-eating voles! I'm going to skin you alive, Brat!"

"The path is still by water to hide your scent like my clan planned it," Obito panted as his blood trickled from the wound on his bicep, "I'm too young to have my sharingan yet so it is harder to avoid the traps. I'm not lying."

Sato swore and pushed himself off of the boy that he'd tackled against a tree. Obito breathed deeply as he tried to rein in his fears and deal with the pain from where his skull had connected with the tree. This was for Bakakashi and for innocent Genma that had been dragged into this mess because of the Uchiha's stupidity. He'd see this to the end because that was his shinobi way.

"Get up," Sato huffed as he dragged the child up by his hair while Obito held back a whimper, "One more trap and I slit your throat, Boy."

Obito sighed as he tried to keep his balance with his arms twisted behind him. Not for once today did Obito wish that he had Kakashi's sense of smell to know if help was near. The shove into the tree had also left the boy with ringing ears. All in all…today was a sucky day.

"Get on with it," Sato ordered as Obito shook his head to try and right himself.

"Hai," Obito agreed and stepped forward as his blood dropped to the ground from his wound.

He had hopes that the trail of blood drops would bring help faster.

"I need you, Sensei," Obito moaned to himself as he stumbled when his head throbbed harder for a moment, "Please hurry."

To be continued…