Chapter 4

In Pursuit of Answers

Distant stars winked down amidst the pitch black sky only to be overshadowed by the full moon illuminating the denizens of the night. It was the time of night where people were already safely tucked away in their beds, their minds adrift in the endless fantasies of dreams. The only movement coming from the nocturnal fauna darting to and fro in search of prey and perhaps adventure. But one such being wasn't concerned with the creatures around him, his approach silent and swift as he leapt from one perch to the next. His sharp two toned eyes zeroed in on a certain prey, one that was much more captivating and intriguing than the creatures of the night. A walking puzzle that he was determined to figure out at all costs, because this puzzle eluded even his genius mind, and that irked him to no end. He was always curious to a fault and to have such a mystery stare him right in the face and not know the answer, drove him insane. Something was off, way off and his world felt unbalanced. He was driven to fix what was wrong, even if he was still in the dark as to what exactly was going on. A compulsion, an obsession pushing, pressing hard against his psyche.

He knew he was acting way out of character, hell even his ninken seemed to notice and had said as much. During that boring as hell mission he'd had a lot of time to think...A LOT. And instead of delving deep within his own problems he'd decided to focus on someone elses, for the time being. At first, it was just out of boredom that he'd even thought about such a thing in the first place. But he could also feel his curiosity poking and prodding him in the back of his mind. Her peculiar actions had sparked a certain interest all those months ago, but at the time he hadn't really thought much of it. Dismissing it as unimportant, dismissing her again and spending all that time around the little girl on his mission opened old wounds. Forced him to rethink how he was acting towards other people, especially other people who were clearly in pain.

Most of the time during surveillance around the palace Kakashi would be sticking to the shadows, book in hand, ignoring everything but what he perceived as a threat. But the little girl had disrupted that routine really quick. Usually children tended to give him a wide berth seeing as how he isn't exactly friendly looking with 85 percent of his face obscured, but that didn't seem to phase her one bit. In fact she seemed intrigued with him and his ninken and he found that no matter where he was she seemed to be right beside him. Admittedly he was annoyed at first, having a shadow while trying to work was irritating at best and he tried his damnedest to just ignore her. Even going as far and growling at her when she got too close, but nothing seemed to bother her, at least about him. She was overly shy with everyone else, especially strangers her parents had told him, but like a barnacle she seemed intent to latch onto his side and stayed there, much to his chagrin.

One particularly hot day, when his grouchiness was at an all time high, with his inability to find the kidnapper and not really having much privacy to begin with, he had snapped at her, but he didn't get the reaction he expected. Instead she just smiled at him and clutched Pakkun to her chest as if nothing he said phased her one bit. Kakashi had stood there studying her, trying to work out her behavior and why she seemed so damned attached to him when he did nothing but push her away. She was a little enigma that confused him to no ends. As he was about to chalk it up to bizarre behavior small whimpering drew his attention back to the little one. He glanced behind him seeing her attached to his leg and effectively using him as a shield and as her whimpering increased he finally noted another male, most likely another relative of the Daimyo, in close proximity. The man's attention was focused solely upon a female servant, which begged the question, why was she scared when the man wasn't even looking at her?

His brow scrunched as his brain tried to work through this latest puzzle. He pondered the differences between himself and the man. Kakashi was a no nonsense sort of man, he was straightforward, honest, told it like it was and he could see the glaring opposites as he compared them. He scrutinized the man's actions, which practically screamed scum-ball, womanizer, liar and worst of all, deceiver. The woman he currently was trying to pursue seemed to want nothing to do with him, but being a servant she couldn't very well just tell him off and run the other way. And he could tell from her body language that this wasn't the first time he'd approached her this way or probably many others for that matter, and it brought up a wave of disgust within him. It was clear to him this man used his position to take advantage of people like her, but the fact remained, why was the little girl so distressed? Kakashi knew what the man was, but the child shouldn't have had any idea as to what was going on.

Not for the first time he had to reevaluate his thinking, yet again as he felt her small form trembling against him. Pakkun growled beside him, his protective instincts clamored to neutralize this threat to the small one since she was clinging to Kakashi in terror, but he would wait until he got the go ahead first. But as he saw the man put his hands on the woman, who seemed to recoil in disgust, an earlier conversation flashed through his mind.

It was late evening as the family was settling down for the night with the boy and his sister playing quietly in the corner of the room as the parents talked in low tones. Kakashi had been slouching against the wall, deeming nothing threatening at the moment and focused on his thoughts as to who was behind the kidnappings. Nothing seemed to make sense. The boy was just an ordinary child, nothing noteworthy about him, save for the fact that he was a relative of the Daimyo. But surely there were others they could kidnap and get away with it, namely one of the Daimyos own sons, so why this one? His thoughts continued as a servant came into the room taking only a second to identify them and dive back into the multitude of questions. But he was once again ripped away as the small girl whimpered clinging to her brother and used him as a shield, much like she was doing with him. Her parents had stopped and the father immediately shooed the servant out of the room as the mother pulled the little girl into her arms, cooing as she tried to soothe the poor thing. It was a good half an hour later when the girl had finally calmed down enough to fall asleep when Kakashi was approached by the parents.

"I suppose you would like to know what that was about?" The mother inquired.

At his nod she continued. "She wasn't born a mute Hatake-san." Noting as his brow seemed to climb into his hairline in surprise.

"Yes, she was born like any normal baby. Happy, carefree, always getting into mischief and her brother was right there with her." She paused to smile.

"But all of that changed on her 5th birthday. We had dozens and dozens of people in from everywhere to celebrate, and everything seemed to be going fine. That is, until the children all went off to play hide and seek, something they do every time we have family gatherings." She sighed looking tired and worn and he could see this weighed heavily upon the both of them.

"Because it was her birthday she got to pick who was it, and she picked her brother. The night went on as he managed to find just about everyone, but she was nowhere to be found. At first we thought she had just managed to find an excellent hiding spot and fell asleep, but after a couple of hours of the parents helping with the search, were were getting frantic." Her voice cracked as she recounted the events and her husband draped an arm around her for support.

"All night we searched and come dawn we feared we would never find her, but a small whimpering drew our attention to the surrounding woods and we went to investigate. There we found her, curled into a rotting tree trunk, dirty, her clothes ragged and her little body riddled with small cuts and bruises." Her eyes clouded over as tears began falling and buried her face into her husbands chest.

"We had no idea how she had gotten out of the palace walls, or for that matter why she was in such a state." Her husband continued on, pausing only to tighten his embrace on his distraught wife. "No matter how confused we were, it didn't matter as long as she was found, but it became clear something was very wrong. It didn't matter what anyone did or said, she just would not talk. Not a peep. But it quickly became apparent that something was wrong as she shied away from anyone of the male persuasion. Even going as far as to curl into a ball at the slightest look, touching would send her into hysterics and no one save her mother could seem to calm her down."

"Do you have any clue as to why?" Kakashi asked, the many pieces getting all jumbled in his brain, but something stood out glaringly obvious and he shuddered to think something like that could happen to such an innocent creature.

"She would not talk, no matter what we asked and we have sent her to the finest doctors to get their opinions on the matter." He closed his eyes and breathed deep, looking almost like the words were choking him. "The only thing they could come up with is that she had suffered something so traumatic that it literally locked her words up inside of her and she in turn withdrew into herself. The doctors could only speculate as to what that event was, but with her proclivity of being wary of men they had an idea as to what it was."

Kakashi nodded, taking in the haggard faces of the two parents in front of him, knowing that dealing with something like this couldn't be easy in the slightest.

"I think the worst part of it all, " The wife whispered out. "Is that the idea that someone in our family could do something to such an innocent little child. Someone who hadn't done any wrong, someone who didn't deserve anything so vile to happen to her." She finished vehemently, fire blazing in her eyes and he knew that when they found out just who had done it, they would pay, family or no.

"But why does she seem to like me just fine although I am a man, something she seems to fear?" Kakashi asked, very confused now.

"That's what we can't figure out as well, Hatake-san." The mother answered.

"We thought that having a man so close to the family, and especially one she doesn't know at all, would be a disaster. But as soon as she saw your summons and you, she seemed to gravitate towards you immediately. What we have figured out over the years is that she can tolerate certain men, her brother and father are ones she trusts without question, but men who are arrogant, or seem to have less than pure intentions she cannot stand to be around. Shy and gentle men she shies away from, but the ones to really look out for are the ones that draws noises from her."

"The whimpers." Kakashi stated.

"Yes. We know that you're not too fond of children Hatake-san, but we are eternally grateful that she seems to take some comfort from you and your dogs, no matter how small it is. You seem to be drawing her out of her shell more every day, and we can't express just how happy that makes us. Because you see, it shows she is healing, however slow it may be and that gives us hope for her future." Her mother finished, her eyes still shining with unshed tears.

Kakashi was brought out of the memory as the little girl keened in distress and plastered herself to him as close as she could get without crawling into into his clothes with him. Narrowing his eyes at the sorry excuse for a man in front of him, he knew he couldn't let this go. No one deserved what the little girl had gone through and he felt as a wave of anger envelope him, but stomped down on it so as to not cause the girl any more alarm.

He turned her away from the scene in front of them and spoke in low tones to Pakkun as he discreetly made a shadow clone and steered the girl away. As he walked away he could hear the echoing barks of numerous hounds and he felt himself echo his clone with an evil smirk as justice was meted out.

No one could figure out what happened that day, or just how the man had managed to hang himself by his feet from a tree. But there he was come daybreak, muttering about trees coming to life and such, but because the man was such a sleaze no one investigated too closely, thinking he'd gotten his just deserts. Coincidentally, a few servants came forward, after hearing just how off his rocker he seemed to be and told the Daimyo of the mans transgressions, earning him a long stay in the dungeon wrapped in a straight jacket, most likely to never see the light of day again. Kakashi suspected that his treatment came from strong suspicions that he had something to do with the little girl, not to mention the many allegations that seemed to spring up from many sources. So he didn't feel bad for him one bit. You reap what you sow, and he deserved everything he got and more in his opinion.

Landing on top of a particularly big apartment complex he crouched down seeing his prey entering the domicile. The red spinning pin-wheel of his Sharingan blaring into the darkness; the otherwise dark shadows being brought out into absolute clarity. The dizzying sensation of trying to take in everything in such mind blowing detail throwing him off balance for a minute. The Copy Nin took a deep breath and centered his thoughts zeroing in on the intended target of this excursion. Spotting a good sized tree on the other side of the complex he silently took a chakra filled leap and landed amidst its foliage. The only sign of his presence was the gentle swaying of the leaves on the branches around him. Making sure to crouch down to avoid detection, his gaze snapped to a series of sliding glass doors being lit up within. Slowly he pushed a stray branch out of his way and spotted the two targets.

Narrowing his eyes he saw the young man carrying the young woman through the living room and passing into another room, presumably a bedroom. His two toned gaze riveted on the pair as the young man laid the woman oh so carefully across a bed and sat down next to her form. He strained his ears to catch their conversation, but even with the sliding glass door being open and his exceptional hearing, he couldn't make anything out. They were speaking way too soft to pick anything up but whispers and soft murmurs. And though the Sharingan could read lips, they were both turned just so, making interpretation impossible. So instead he focused on their body language, each subtle movement speaking volumes. Every touch saying a thousand things in the utter stillness around him, raising even more questions he wanted answers to.

He watched as she clearly struggled with herself, trying get out the words that stuck in her throat. He felt the utter defeat in her small form as she held onto herself, almost seeming like all she wanted was to curl up into a ball. The despair coming off her in waves, reaching him even on his perch a few yards away. Such emotions, all rolled together and clogged within his throat. He closed his eyes trying to feel past the familiar pain, willing the nothingness to replace the overwhelming sensations. The uncomfortable emotions digging up memories long since buried; ones he tried so hard to forget everyday. He wasn't blind nor ignorant of the situation in front of him. Something had shaken the pinkette to such a degree that she was desperately calling out to anyone for help. Whether she meant to or not. But judging by the behavior she exhibited so far it seemed she was doing so subconsciously.

Violently, he shoved the disturbing memories assaulting his senses away; this was no time for reminiscing. Getting a tight hold on his thoughts, Kakashi opened his eyes again only to freeze and stare at the sight before him. His grip on the branch under him tightened exponentially, the strain splitting the wood, the cracking echoed in the air and made him still, wondering if they heard the noise. Somehow in the short time he'd been struggling within himself, they'd maneuvered themselves to lay down on the bed. She now had her back to the Copy Nin and Shikamaru laid on his side facing her, his hand high up on her right side. Irritation bloomed within his gut confusing him further. He knew he was most likely overreacting, but something about Sakura's behavior seemed to echo the little girl and the thought that something had happened like that to someone who was relatively close to him, sickened him. Why had he never seen a sign of it? Was he that wrapped up inside of himself not to notice? Was he that much of a selfish bastard that he disregarded everyone elses pain and only focused on his own? The only answer he could come up with was yes, and that saddened him to no end. He had inadvertently let Sakura down, again. Within his confused brain he knew he shouldn't think of Shikamaru as someone to take advantage of anyone let alone a friend, but his instincts warred with his common sense

He was just about to jump over there and possibly do something very stupid when something caught his eye stopping him short. His Sharingan zeroed in on the hand resting on her side seeing the chakra being moved there. It seemed almost like he was manipulating the chakra flow inside of her...

Something was needling his addled brain, he tried desperately to shove down the protective instinct that seemed to be newly awakened flooding through him in order to think clearly. He sifted through memories of medical knowledge, trying to put his finger on what was adamantly eluding him. He jolted suddenly, seeing the image he needed to explain what was happening before him. Somewhere, somehow Shikamaru had picked up the ability to encourage the liver to break down alcohol faster in the body. He sighed, frustrated with himself, shaking his head at his own brashness. He was only helping her out, encouraging her system to cleanse itself and get rid of the alcohol, thus ensuring no hangover the next day.

Kakashi slumped back against the trunk behind him, feeling the adrenalin easing from his tense muscles leaving behind a tiredness that only comes with age. He was getting too old for this, and he couldn't believe that he had almost busted in there half cocked, not even knowing the whole picture. That certainly would've been an awkward confrontation; one he was glad to have avoided. Though, he turned his tired gaze back to the pair on the bed, he still felt the need to dig deeper. He needed to look underneath the underneath if he was to figure this puzzle out. And make no mistake, he would figure it out. Because Sakura's well being depended on it, and he was determined not to let her down again, not if he could help it.

He was again brought out of his inner musings as Shikamaru moved silently to the sliding doors, peering out into the darkness. Kakashi's sharingan zeroed in on a flare of chakra and spotted a shadow stretching across the balcony. 'Guess I wasn't as discreet as I thought I was.' He crouched lower getting a few seals ready of his own in order to leave unseen.

AN: Hopefully I've cleared up a few questions with this chapter regarding Kakashi's behavior, but there's still things I wont reveal until much later.

(¯`¥´¯`·.¸.:¨NIchiki ¨:.¸.·´¯`¥´¯)