Tangled Web
AU-ish story set in Kakashi's youth. Hope you enjoy. Please review and let me know.
I own nothing. Nothing.
Chapter Eight
"Who did this to my boy?" Shiranui-san growled, "Who caused my only child to need a machine in order to breathe?"
"Sato Ogawa," Minato offered as the other shinobi breathed in angered pants, "He's in custody and the Hokage is dealing with the man now."
"Where?"
"Don't do this, Shiranui-san," Minato warned, sensing the other man's intentions, "The Hokage wants the man alive so he can suffer for what he has done to your son, Kakashi, and Obito. Genma needs his father here so he can sense you close and feel safe. That will help him wake as soon as possible so all of this will just be an old nightmare."
Shiranui snarled angrily for a moment before getting his emotions under control as he breathed in deeply.
"My name is Genta. Remember that name because I only allow those I respect the most to use it. I've been told you saved my boy. Thank you for getting my only child to the hospital before he bled out. Thank you for bringing Raidou here so that Gen could be saved with that remarkable child's matching blood type. We Shiranui have always had rare blood. I am in a great deal of debt to you."
"I am Minato to you and am honored to call you by your name, but you are wrong, Genta-san," Minato denied as Genta frowned in confusion, "It is I that am in debt to your child. Genma realized the dangers of what his teammate and my two students were attempting and worked to keep them safe. He saved them from Ogawa. Your son is amazing."
"Gen's my blessing," Genta whispered, "I…I must get back to him. Thank you again, Minato-san, for saving my boy and seeing his skills. He'll be a great shinobi when…when he wakes because he will. Gen-chan will wake and come back to me because my boy has a core of steel."
Genta bowed deeply and hurried to reach his son's side as Minato prayed that the father's words were true for his child. The blonde jonin nodded at Chouza and Shikaku as they walked up and observed Shiranui-san making Raidou rest on a cot before settling next to his son to hold Genma's hand in his while it appeared he was speaking to the still boy. The whole scene was heartbreaking.
"The ninken?" Minato asked as the two jonin chuckled for a moment.
"With Kakashi," Shikaku smirked out, "Happily sharing trophies of their finished hunt with the rest of the pack."
"Okay, gross," Minato snorted, "Thank you for helping me rescue my idiot student."
"You rescued my precious student," Chouza pointed out as he gestured to Genma, "Let's hope that wasn't in vain."
"I hope that very much, Chouza-san. I'm going to walk Rin and Gai home now," Minato groaned, cracking his neck, "I'll be back so I can hear about Obito's condition. His injuries were not too bad, but that bastard did cause him to have a mild concussion. Both Kakashi and Obito have head injuries. I still don't know what was driving that man to do what he did to those three boys."
The two jonin nodded as Minato left to collect the two children. Neither wished to go home, but didn't argue as they were escorted and told to get some rest. Minato flashed to Kakashi's side and nodded at the wagging tails he received when he settled another blanket over his student.
"He looked a bit cold," Minato whispered.
"The neck brace is causing our pup discomfort," Pakkun fussed, "When can it come off?"
"I don't know, but I'll find out for you."
Pakkun nodded, looking pleased as Minato quietly left his student's room and ran into an angry Fugaku Uchiha.
"Where the hell is my clansman and why was I not informed of his kidnapping?" Fugaku snapped as Minato frowned at the tone, "I'm supposed to be informed of anything that involves an Uchiha since I'm the clan head."
"I apologize, Uchiha-san. I've been in such a rush to tie up all the loose ends of this case that I neglected to send word to you. I'm not sure where Obito is, but I'm trying to find out," Minato answered, striding ahead while Fugaku followed, "Obito did well against an opponent that was much stronger than he. The child is clever in his own way."
"How did this happen?"
"Obito got himself captured by accident, but thought ahead and slowed down Sato Ogawa even after he had been injured," Minato explained as Fugaku stopped suddenly, "Uchiha-san?"
"Injured?" Fugaku questioned, "I was not made aware that Obito had been harmed. Is he alright?"
"Not sure again," Minato sighed, "Let's find him and then I'll tell you everything I know without leaving anything out. Acceptable?"
"Very," Fugaku agreed.
Lady Tsunade led them to where Obito was resting. The boy was a bit pale and his face bore bruises from being hit in the face, but seemed relatively fine as he slept. The lady ran through the list of injuries for Fugaku as he scowled in anger.
"I want to keep him here overnight," Tsunade insisted, "Obito is dealing with a mild concussion, but his other injuries are all healed. His arm needs to remain in a sling for a week while his muscles continue to repair from the stab wound. Brat was lucky that you made it in time, Minato."
"Thank God I did," Minato sighed as the relief of that flooded through him.
Fugaku thanked the medic nin and leveled a look on Minato as the two sat beside Obito's bedside once the blonde had handed over the boy's goggles. Minato told the Uchiha everything that occurred since the discovery of Kakashi's condition.
"I understand the need for secrecy now and how letting me know sooner could have slipped your mind, Namikaze-san," the elder Uchiha spoke once the tale was done, "This boy has always been a…handful."
"That he is, but with only the best intentions," Minato agreed as the other man flashed a brief grin, "Obito was trying to protect his baa-san and didn't realize that he was jumping in over his head, but I told you that he thought quickly on his feet once kidnapped. It was your clansman that helped us finally capture Sato Ogawa.
"That is all well and fine, but Obito should have come to me or you and not tried to do this on his own. He and I will be having a long discussion when he is healed and able to handle a lecture. You should know that I will be insisting on the death penalty when Ogawa is tried," Fugaku bit out as Minato understood the man's anger, "No one attacks an Uchiha and gets away with it."
"Don't blame you there," Minato hummed as the man blinked at him, "I'll leave you to look after Obito. I'm sure you being here will mean a lot to my student. He admires you very much, Uchiha-san."
Fugaku grunted softly before rising and bowing as deeply as an Uchiha allowed themselves.
"Thank you for rescuing my clansman," Fugaku said as Minato hid a look of surprise, "You can leave now."
"Hai," Minato agreed as he left before he could begin snickering at being dismissed twice today, "What a day."
oOo
"You are all idiots," Kakashi fussed as Gai, Obito, and Rin blushed while the silver-haired boy rolled his eyes.
It had been a week since Ogawa's capture. Minato grinned at seeing Kakashi fillet his teammates and "rival" with his mask back in place and eye no longer swollen shut. The head of the boy's bed was slightly raised so Kakashi could see the room better with the brace keeping his neck and head so still. Lady Tsunade had refused to remove the neck brace yet which had his student irritable and snappish.
"We were doing this for you, Bakakashi," Obito whined, "Don't fuss at Rin. She was really scared and angry for what was done to you."
"That's right, Rival," Gai insisted, "We allowed our youthful exuberance to get away from us. We…we learned that lesson in a hard way."
Kakashi sighed softly as he petted Pakkun who was enjoying being in the boy's lap while the rest of the pack lounged around the room. The injured boy knew about Genma and he hadn't been happy to hear the news despite how he hid his feelings. Minato still saw the flash of regret in the boy's eyes when he explained to his student what had occurred.
"Sensei, has there been any changes in Genma's condition?" Kakashi asked as Minato shook his head, "That is why orders and rules are important to follow. Genma might not be in the hospital now if you three had listened to Minato-sensei."
"Hai, Kakashi-kun. We should have listened to Sensei," Rin agreed, looking beyond contrite, "We visit Genma every day and bring him white orchids to show him that he is missed."
"Such a beautiful offering," Gai sniffled, crying his "manly" tears as Kakashi sighed again, "Raidou-kun and Shiranui-san never leave Team Leader's side. How it torments me to see Gen so still! I have been forbidden to run my one thousand laps around the globe by Hokage-sama in hopes that Genma will feel my thoughts and dreams at seeing him awake and calling me an 'Idiot' again. How fair that would sound to my ears."
Obito hid a snort of laughter behind a cough as even Kakashi looked a little amused. Rin was patting Gai's back as the boy continued crying. Minato stood to give the kids some privacy and had to flash away to hide his snickers so Gai wouldn't hear him. The jonin walked down the hallway and slipped into Genma's room as Genta glanced up from tucking a blanket over a snoozing Raidou's shoulders.
"There is no closure," Minato voiced as the other shinobi listened, "Obito is fine and Kakashi will heal with time, but there can't be full closure to this until Genma is okay too, Genta-san."
"That is all that I want," Genta whispered, going to sit in the chair next to his son who was still relying on a ventilator to help him breathe, "Genma hasn't been this still from birth, Minato-san. He was a typical boy—full of mischief and vigor. He and Raidou would run around the house playing 'ninja' as babes and would nap wrapped around one another. Poor Raidou got kicked and punched while he slept a lot since Genma has always been active."
"It is good that they have one another," Minato murmured before flushing as he glanced sharply to a sad-eyed Genta.
"We will lose Raidou if…if we lose Genma," Genta stuttered, "The two are impossibly close like brothers. I don't exactly understand how the two seem to be two halves of one whole, but my son's condition is tearing Raidou apart. Lady Tsunade told me that there is very little brainwaves that she can sense from Genma. I…I might have to make the decision soon to turn off life support and allow my only child to die."
"Oh, God, Genta, I'm so sorry," Minato tried before shaking his head, "I hope that is not something that you have to do for all three of your sakes."
"I hope so too," Genta agreed, reaching to stroke his son's face, "I just can't…I can't imagine a world without my boy in it, Minato-san. That Ogawa is getting a death sentence. Will you do something for me?"
"Anything," Minato offered as the other shinobi breathed in shakily.
"Be there and tell that creature that he is lucky it is not me that gets to torture him to death," Genta growled, "You tell him that as a father of one of his innocent victims that I'd have made him suffer over weeks before I'd finally let him die."
"I can do that," Minato nodded out as Genta smiled softly.
"I knew you'd understand. I'm going to read Gen his favorite book now so unless you wish to hear about the great shinobi wars and the heroic Yun-sama that 'saved' us all, you might want to bow out gracefully. The book is awful and filled with lies," Genta smirked before sighing as he looked to his still child while opening a worn book, "So where did we leave off, Gen-chan? Ah. 'Then Yun-sama held his sword aloft to demand the Thunder Gods to descend from the heavens. Grown men weakened at hearing the warrior's cry.'"
Minato quietly slipped out and nodded at Chouza who stood guard by his student's door. A week later Minato got to deliver Genta Shiranui's message to an unrepentant, near fingerless Sato Ogawa. Thirty-six hours after that Sato was no more after blubbering like a baby through the punishment he brought on himself. Six weeks after that Kakashi Hatake was released from the hospital and Minato had his hands full with trying to keep the boy from overdoing things to "catch up" in his training and keep him from killing a seriously annoying Obito who was obviously glad to have his teammate back again.
Everyday Minato and his students visited Genma in hopes that today would be the day that the boy woke. Genma remained lost to the world as heavy hearts grew heavier in guilt or desperation to see the youth wake. Another month slipped by and officially Genma Shiranui had been in a coma for a little over three months. Tsunade didn't hold out hopes for the boy and Minato prayed again that she might be wrong. He didn't want Sato Ogawa down in hell to have the satisfaction of having actually made a kill.
One day, Minato arrived with his team and found Chouza sobbing openly as he gazed into the window of Genma's room. Minato's heart stopped for a moment as Rin gasped fearfully and the four hurried to gaze into the room…only to see a tearful Genta Shiranui cradling his son as Genma was blinking up at him in confusion over the mask that still covered his lower face while Raidou wailed holding to his friend's hand. The boy was obviously thinner, but had proven his stubborn will to live.
"Genma's awake? He's awake!" Obito whooped, "This is great! Bakakashi, he's awake!"
"So is the rest of the hospital," Kakashi groaned while watching the father and son with warmer-looking eyes, before turning away, "Shiranui-san looks very pleased to see Genma awake. I am glad to see that, but this is private and shouldn't be watched."
"Hai!" Obito and Rin echoed and skipped after their teammate before all three grunted as Gai grabbed them in a bear hug while Ebisu chuckled from nearby.
Minato smiled at remembering Kakashi's words. There had been no jealous light in the boy's eyes. He'd been clearly relieved to see Genma awake.
"Closure," Chouza choked, turning to Minato as the two jonin nodded at one another.
"Never been so happy to be so wrong," Tsunade chuckled as the two men smiled at her while she walked over, "That child will need some rehab to remind a few of his muscles how to function again, but Genma Shiranui will be just fine very soon."
Minato returned the smile of relief Genta flashed at him through the window and nodded as the other man's eyes voiced what Chouza Akimich had already stated. Closure. All of the pain and fear over the Ogawa situation was finally over.
"Welcome back, Kid," Minato thought watching Genta snuggling his son like an infant as Genma was grizzling his eyes and nose in distaste while Raidou was beginning to laugh through his tears, "Already fussing after having just woken up again. Feisty, isn't he?"
"Always has been," Chouza chuckled, "Genta-san and Genma are close, but fuss all the time. Hilarious to observe. The two butt heads because they are exactly the same in most ways, but Genta-san gets much more demonstrative when he gets emotional which drives his calmer son crazy."
"I'll take your word for it," Minato snickered, watching Genma trying to reach and soothe both his father and Raidou before the jonin went to rescue his team since they looked green from Gai spinning them all in circles, "Gai-kun, I think you need to let them go now. My team is going to throw up if you don't stop."
"Oh, no! I've spoilt this youthful and emotional moment," Gai whimpered as Kakashi stumbled and had to grab to Minato while Rin and Obito sank to sit on the floor, "I will have to run 300 laps, backwards around the village to make up for my idiocy."
"No, you don't," Minato soothed.
"Yes, he does," Kakashi moaned, clutching his stomach, "Go, Gai."
"Hai, Rival!" Gai exclaimed and tore off in a flash of green and orange as Ebisu fell over cackling in glee.
"Kakashi!"
"I'm not saying I'm sorry, Sensei. I told Gai to let us go several times. Technically, I'm his superior and he should have listened to me."
"Good one for once, Bakakashi," Obito remarked before the two started squabbling with one another over the name as Rin tried to intervene and calm them down.
Chouza chuckled as Minato sighed. It was good to see things getting a little back to normal.
To be continued…