Chapter 35
Genma didn't recognize the chakra, the voice inner or otherwise, or the method being used to inject the communication in his head. His hands swept clumsily for the short blade, but the unknown presence intercepted him easily, keeping the tanto from his reach and morphing his worst fear into reality. In this helpless, hideous state of infirmity, unarmed, unable to fight, cry out loudly or even identify his assailant, an enemy had appeared.
"Now, now, let's not panic. Fear of the unknown is natural, but it is a bit childish here, isn't it? What are you afraid of? That I'll kill you?"
His voice was still lost, but his mind's question, who can this be? seemed to have been transmitted anyway.
"I'm not an enemy of Konoha. Not exactly an ally, either, but...let's say a mildly friendly neutral party."
What do you want? he tested, to see if his impression that his thoughts were being understood was correct.
"You. Your services. I need an assistant. And granted, I could find one that's in a lot better shape, but...I like the idea of this being mutually beneficial. And it's not like I'd be taking away a valuable resource from your village. No offense, but I don't think your gutted corpse is good for much more than curiosity value."
How am I of any benefit to you, like this?
"I have been watching your struggle, Shiranui-san, and I think I have the ability to help you to regain your health. You can serve me as you rebuild your strength. I envision some security work and some basic assistance with everyday things. Nothing that you should find objectionable."
You're wrong. There isn't any cure for my illness. I don't believe you.
"Try this. Close your eyes." He released the rigid arms, shifting to place his hands on both sides of Genma's head in order to force energy through his fingers, feeling for the inflammation and the obstructed nerves, easing open a channel and taking hold of the blockage to his normal function. He pinched it and found a satisfactory change. Positioned behind and out of visual range, without letting go he instructed his captive to open his left eye.
Genma gasped as the world before him swam into hazy view. Was it some genjutsu, or was this real? The splattered scroll he'd just smeared with what he could see now were nearly meaningless swaths of ink lay in from of him, next to the carefully lettered length that Raidou had transcribed.
His voice was back, but at a bare whisper volume.
"How..?"
"As I said, I am a neutral party, from outside this village, and I have a very different skill set than what is common here. It does appear that I can help you, but it will take time, and as I said, I do expect something in return. What I just did here is a bit of an experiment, and it proves I was right – you're seeing something, to some extent, aren't you?"
Genma was shaking all over. The pain in his back was growing; while the stranger had done something to help him see and speak, his physical control was still declining, fatigue robbing him of the ability to act while he could see what he might do to defend himself.
"Yes."
"Here, I'm sorry, I can do a little for that, too..."
A warmth flowed down his face, coming from the stranger's hands still pressing against his skull. It blossomed and grew, loosening the grip of pain, easing the locked, hunched posture, until Gen discovered he was actually breathing easier, getting more relief than he was ever slated to experience again in his natural lifetime. It was shocking and surreal, and it seemed to bring time to a halt.
"I don't understand, I don't understand any of this."
"Still in a rush to gut yourself, my friend? Hear me out now, won't you?"
"Please. Explain this to me."
"It's simple. There is an excellent chance that I have the ability to help you regain your health. I need an assistant. If you will trade me one year of your life, just one year, I'll do the best I can to restore you. You know, after one year, if you find our time together harmonious enough, you may even wish to stay longer, and I would probably agree to that. Or you may wish to return home. That, too is fine, but I must insist on a full year. There will be no early release. There must be no contact whatsoever between you and your former associates during that time. This I do warn you – go back on that word, and I will revoke all the healing at once. You will be left as helpless and hopeless as you were moments ago."
"When? If I agree, what..."
"Seems too good to be true? Sadly, I can't give you time to mull it over. If you agree we must go now. Unseen. You will simply disappear, as far as they know. I would suggest leaving an explanation, though. I can produce one for you. So they don't try to find you and spoil your only chance at redemption, and perhaps they won't worry quite so much."
"Why leave like this? Why can't they know?"
"I have my reasons. There's no time to go into in."
Genma swooned when the hands left his head, the pain rising back up in their momentary loss of contact. But then he was held again, this time at the ribcage, with more power flowing in this time, pushing the body pain and paralysis even further back than before. The relief was amazing. He didn't trust the unseen stranger but he knew full well this was nothing his village had in their medical arsenal, whatever it was.
Can I justify this? Can I up and desert them on a moment's notice, without telling anyone? he struggled in a plea to the open sky above him, then let his chin drop. The plan this person interrupted wasn't exactly about staying, either. It was a desertion of sorts as well, albeit a carefully applied for, approved, planned - and with luck neatly executed - form of abandonment.
"I like my plan a lot better than yours. You can walk away from mine in a year. Walk. By yourself. Through the woods, in the sunshine, kicking piles of leaves. Hug that very large and sad shinobi until his scars fade away when you return here. You owe it to him, don't you think? After all that he just did for you while his big heart was breaking? He'll get his first taste of hope when he reads your note instead of finding you in a pool of blood, and it will give him buoyancy until you return. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to decide right now. I have no intention of being discovered and they'll be coming to check on you any second. Choose. In the next few moments I can support your arms and help you execute the seppuku properly. Or I can suppress the pain to make the trip more bearable, lift you up, and we'll be on our way. By tomorrow you'll be starting to heal, and you'll have your future back again. Pick, Shiranui Genma. Your hand can commit a final act of surrender to end it all – or reach out for the dawn of a new chapter in your life."
"Let me see your face."
"I'm sorry. Your vision will take time to restore permanently, and that temporary shot has already faded, hasn't it? But here. Use your hands. Smooth face, strong jaw, long straight hair - feel? My hair and eyes are dark. I'm not a demon or a puppet or a clone. I'm a normal looking man, strong and healthy, with significant powers. You have never laid eyes upon be before, and I am indeed a stranger to you. I'm not sure that you need more of a description than that."
Firm, youthful skin, strong features and a protruding Adam's apple revealed that this was indeed a young human male adult; Genma went further than invited and his trembling palms fell on wide shoulders that revealed this stranger to be well-muscled, taller and larger in frame, squared and solid. The cloth was not like that of any uniform he was familiar with, so this might be someone disguised as a civilian, or a rogue. Someone this big and strong would be no pushover in a fair fight if he had any skills, but fair fighting was not Genma's usual approach, and that was a consideration for much further down the road if and when escape became an option. This decision was troubling to his core, too huge to be making on such short notice, with so little information. But those were the cards he'd been dealt, and he met the challenge head-on, with the same level of split-second commitment to action he'd made a thousand times over in order to survive while taking the lives of others.
"All right. I'll go with you."
Jeninki flipped out the scroll, the one he had prepared already, and after looking over Raidou's characters, adjusted the handwriting so that his looked similar to the other. No use leaving too many clues.
The note advised the clean-up crew of his decision to leave, alluded to a mysterious treatment he wanted to pursue, and that he had trusted help to guide him, so they were not to worry, search, or try to follow.
Surely they would prefer finding a little mystery...to finding their friend's dead body. And if they scraped a little harder, they'd find the traces of the spent body destruction tag he was planting nearby for good measure. It would add the secondary possibility that the message was false and merely contrived to spare them sorrow, because Genma had cleverly destroyed his own body 'without a trace' and never left here at all – adding a misdirection to the mystery. Jeninki smiled to himself, imagining the arguments over theory, driven by the egos of men who always assumed that they were right. Strategically, denying them a clear course of action should provide good lead time ahead of the inevitable attempt at a sweeping pursuit.
He was kind of sorry that he wouldn't be able to hang around and listen in on the ensuing debate.
He slipped his hands around his prize, satisfied with his victory, proud of the embattled soul's brave efforts with his stoic nod and wobbly attempt to cooperate.
"Just a year, Shiranui-san. You've probably been gone on missions nearly that length, I'll wager. Think of this as another mission just like that. One that you were finally able to commission, for your own benefit. Why, that sort of makes you an independent contractor for a year, doesn't it? Almost like a free man."
xxxxx
Kakashi slouched next to Tsunade, watching her watch Raidou, as they both gauged his risk of breakdown. All in attendance stood silently at a respectful distance, waiting for the white messenger bird to fly up as he was trained, signaling that the deed was complete.
It seemed to be taking a long time, yet, they pretty much expected that. For a blind man to go through the ritual alone, it had to be quite a challenge.
The copy-nin worried about the possibility of error. He didn't understand how Tsunade had agreed to allow Gen to do this alone without a second. She could have had the executioner perform the task, it wasn't like she had to make a friend of his take on that responsibility. Now they had to stand here, wondering if he started but couldn't finish, half-gutted, half-struggling for life...he cringed and ducked his head, deeply pained by his own imaginings, chasing away hovering old demons.
He would not start thinking about that here. This was nothing like his situation as a child, where he found himself torn between his horror at envisioning his father's pain while literally spilling his guts, and anger that it may have been too swift and not hurt enough to be proper payment for leaving his only child to live in this cold world all alone.
He jerked at the touch of Tsunade's hand on his arm and cursed himself. Of course everyone knew his father's shame, and they'd be watching closely, trying to imagine what it would be like to experience this after seeing this very act in such a way as a child. They misunderstood. He was no sweet young babe even then and he bore it like a man. It hardened him, in a good way, like fire tempers metal. He would tell them so if they asked, but he was equally aware that they would not speak of such a sensitive taboo as the unsanctioned suicide of a disgraced shinobi parent.
Genma was going out in honor and grace, and he was as far from shame as any man could be. He gave his entire soul to village service and no one thought otherwise. This was nothing like his father's situation.
"Kakashi, I appreciate your attending."
He nodded, and met her eye, letting his look stop her from going any further.
She let it go. Hatake was writhing inside with his own demons, but his determination to show none of it was admirable. Despite his black mask and the silk covering his weeping Sharingan, one could still see enough to recognize the strain.
Even this man would stand in silent approval of the controversial ritual. Beneath his beneath of sorrow and regret, he felt as they all did, holding this right dear.
Strange creatures, shinobi. Strange, beautiful, tragic, amazing creatures, with a tendency to leave this world far too young.
Hide noted that as the tension grew, Iruka's very respectful, formal stance became increasingly rigid and still. He knew that the man was still easily fatigued and experienced dizziness and disorientation, though he tried to conceal it. He would not have been a bit surprised to see him get woozy, or even faint, if this went on much longer. Was this overcompensation? If he was fighting those symptoms, the risk of passing out would be much greater standing so stiff and still.
"Hey, maybe we should step back," he tried in a near-whisper, touching Iruka's elbow. "You look a little pale."
Iruka's trance seemed to break; he loosened and looked Hide right in the eye, shaking his head slightly.
"Okay, buddy. Just let me know if you start feeling bad," Hide said quietly, letting a kindly tone soak through his whisper, angling to ingrain that little touch of familiarity. I'm your pal, you can trust me when you're helpless or in need; I'm here for you to lean on.
Iruka nodded with the corner of his mouth turned up and returned his attention to watchful waiting, reluctantly grateful that the man had shaken him out of the grip of his inner tension. Maybe he had been starting to feel strange. Must have been, if it was so obvious to someone just looking at him. He'd have to pay more attention, watch himself. It would be mortifying to make a scene at such a deadly serious occasion.
Raidou broke his silence, losing the fight with his growing unease. He spoke low to keep his worried voice from carrying.
"Has it been too long?"
The waiting, as unbearable as it was, had to be observed in the prescribed manner. They had given Genma a promise about the exact length of the waiting period. No one had to guess whether they had given him a respectable amount of time.
"Just a couple of minutes more. Are you still all right to go in first?"
Raidou nodded vigorously to his Hokage before turning away, praying that he wouldn't walk in on his worst fear, a bleeding, writhing partner, trying fruitlessly to end his own suffering before anyone had to see. It was bad enough to think of witnessing the aftermath of success as planned.
Tsunade finally made the slight gesture, the one he'd been waiting for. Time was up, and still no sign of the bird. Raidou rushed to the gate, alone, while the others hung back, another aspect of the agreement. If Genma had changed his mind, been unable to go through with it, they would all leave without a sound, to allow him as much dignity as one can have while reneging on a self-declared path of honor.
The silence was remarkable. They heard the tread of Raidou's footfalls until he came to a halt; his gasp; the further movement about the tiny courtyard before the rustling of a scroll. They were, after all, trained, every man jack of them, to see with their ears in daily life in the field.
Kakashi thought of it first; he turned to his Hokage and said it out loud.
"I couldn't hear anything in the courtyard until now. Was there a jutsu to block the sound?" It was possible, he figured, to give Gen the privacy to make the less than gallant sounds of death.
"No. At least, I was not asked to provide one. Maybe Raidou?"
"Complete muting with an undetectable chakra signature. That's a huge expenditure of energy to throw a jutsu that way. Makes no sense, why would you do all that to mask one individual's sound, and why would you hide the chakra?"
"Kakashi..."
"I think something's wrong." The copy-nin was starting forward and broke into an undignified sprint. She considered catching his arm and stopping him. The signal had not been given. Raidou hadn't called for them.
But she trusted his instincts implicitly.
Iruka stiffened when Kotetsu gudged Izumo and whispered, calling his friend's attention to Kakashi breaking formal rank ahead of Tsunade. He knew the conclusion they would jump to, that the stress of attending such a gathering had been too provoking for him to hold to the ritual's propriety.
"Are you all right?" Kakashi asked, spinning on his heel to take a 360 degree assessment of the area before leaping to crouch down next to Raidou, who was already rising.
The scarred nin made no reply as he let the scroll unravel from his hand and dropped it, darting though the sliding door into Genma's home, ransacking every area that might conceal something as large as a huddled or fallen human. His senses told him no one was there but he couldn't trust that entirely. Someone highly capable of masking presences had been here and they might yet be lurking; otherwise, they would have detected Genma's departure. No way in hell had he gone anywhere alone.
Kakashi yanked the scroll from the ground as he slipped the scarf off of his head, letting the mirror wheel eye take in the messages in a split second. Gen's thumbprint had been applied at the bottom of the obviously assisted second message in three ways, in the exact correct placement to authenticate his authorship. It implied, but did not resolve beyond any doubt, that he swore to the words thereabove written.
Tsunade hustled her approach when Kakashi called out, Moreno and Shizune hot on her heels.
Confusion and concern spread through the crowd like wildfire. Iruka found himself pushing forward, threading through to the front, no longer worried about keeping his distance and decorum.
Hide briefly considered his options and decided to follow, staying in reach. When Umino stopped just shy of breaking away past the group, Hide rested a hand on his shoulder casually, highlighting the fact that they had moved as a pair, as if it were natural and normal that they would stay together once they met up. Finding no resistance, he took it a little further, letting his upper body come into contact a few times, communicating his comfort by relaxing rather than recoiling as they 'accidentally' pressed against one another due to the crowd. He increased the intensity of his presence by leaning in to peer around Iruka. It was clear that his touch and presence were noticed; but his actions were accepted and disregarded as unremarkable in the distraction of the public setting. From this amount of contact he was able to use his close-range skills to extract deeper impressions of Iruka's psychological state. His confidence in his abilities surged. It was one thing to manipulate a relationship in the controlled environment of the T & I lab; quite another when it came to doing the same thing in the wild. There were so many variables; but now he saw how each new development provided more opportunities. An assignment like this demanded a fluid approach; he would need to be creative.
Making the choice to risk physical contact had more payoffs than he expected. Being able to sense the shinobi's inner turmoil with more clarity made it easier to figure out how best to manipulate him despite all the additional distractions and challenges. As outwardly calm as he appeared, his subject barely had his nose above the whirlpool of his instabilities.
Ibiki appeared at the gate and held up his hands, for silence and attention.
"I need you all to listen carefully. Shiranui Genma has disappeared from this courtyard. I want teams to form up right now to prepare to start a search throughout the village. You," he pointed to Ebisu with a stabbing motion, "get to security and see if anyone has left the village boundaries. Alert them to increase the strength and sensitivity of the barrier. All active personnel, stand ready. Everyone else remain in place until you are specifically instructed to leave."
ANBU began sweeping the witnesses who did not fall in the active personnel category, checking identities and searching their persons for anything unusual.
Iruka did not see the look Hide gave the man in the mask when the ANBU came to check him, missing their silent communication.
A gloved hand took Iruka's arm roughly, jerking him aside for inspection without warning, deliberately apply an unsettling amount of force and removing him from the support of his clinging 'friend'.
"Hey," Hide started to object with flawless sincerity.
"You're supposed to be on restriction," the ANBU growled in Iruka's face, almost lifting him off the ground. He watched the complexion pale; almost surprised at how little it took to crack his composure, he stopped short. When Iruka was tossed back, he'd welcome Hide's assistance – although he couldn't really see that there was any resistance to it before. "Get back to your quarters. Now!"
Released with a slight shove to throw him off-balance, Iruka's overloaded senses failed him and he started to stumble back to keep from falling. Hide stepped in right on cue, completing the hand-off with a solid catch.
"Easy, hey! He's not feeling well!" Hide's baritone rumbled; but he was careful to keep the volume down. Iruka needed to hear it; but they didn't need to draw any outside attention.
"Since you don't seem to know when to butt out, you just volunteered your services. Get him home and make sure he stays in confinement," the ANBU growled back in equally quiet, but highly threatening tones.
The elite in the mask stalked off to his next target.
Iruka tried to get his bearings, shaking his head, still stunned more by the events than the harsh dismissal.
"It's all right. I've got you."
"I'll be...just give me a minute..."
"We better get moving. Come on, lean on me and hold on. You can walk this way, right?"
Iruka struggle clumsily, his body uncooperative and his mind swimming, now piling the risk of more public mortification on top of it if he couldn't manage to move on his own even with this much help. The pressure in his head was soaring.
"What's with that guy, anyway?" Hide went on. "It's a bad situation but it sure isn't your fault. He didn't have to be such a dick about it. But we'd better do as he says. You still live in the same apartment, right?"
Iruka nodded, concentrating on getting it together, struggling to scrape up enough composure to restore somewhat of a normal front so his friend wouldn't think less of him for being thrown off-balance so easily.
"It's crazy," Hide sympathized, starting them in the right direction, bringing Iruka along a step at a time. He tried shifting the focus away from Iruka's obvious inner struggle for self-control. "I can't imagine how something like this can even happen in the middle of a public ritual...I can't make sense of it. Does it make sense to you?"
"No," Iruka agreed, trying to calm his pounding heart and steady himself. "It doesn't."
"Well...everybody's on top of it...I imagine we'll find out what happened and why soon enough."
Iruka shook his head, an arrow of pain in his chest at the thought of Genma's deterioration. There wasn't any way he could imagine that the senbon nin could have removed himself from his own living room, much less disappear outside of the immediate area. And it seemed impossible that he would do something, no matter how far outside the rules, that he would not share with Raidou.
Hide wondered if Iruka's silence was more from his multiple emotional struggles, or the physical challenge of trying to appear somewhat composed and keep moving. If the diagnosis regarding his loss of consciousness at the memorial was correct, something this shocking could be bringing him close to having the same sort of event.
He snugged up his support and ignored the half-assed attempt his companion was now starting to make to pull away and walk on his own.
"Ah, now, I don't mean to get in your business, but I heard a few things when you landed in the infirmary, Iruka. I'm not letting you take another fall. I mean, I got the order to escort you directly from an ANBU, so I better make sure to get you home safe."
But Iruka balked and stopped walking. Hide sensed his embarrassment, his confusion, his frustration, centered around his inability to move independently – so he stepped up his game, turning slightly, giving his poor friend what at first appeared to be a startlingly demonstrative hug.
"I'm sorry," he said, tightening up his upper arms to contain the unsteady man while making handsigns behind his back. He took a look back to make sure they were not being observed; they'd managed to make some headway in getting away from the crowd, and the ANBU activity was drawing the attention of most everyone in the line of sight. "I'm just not doing this right. Let me fix this."
In a flash, they were on Iruka's front step, not quite on the porch, because it wouldn't do to highlight the fact that he knew the exact coordinates of every square inch of the apartment and its surrounding area by heart.
He knew this mode of travel would be further disorientating, a minor stressor normally but on top of the earlier shock, after all the standing and waiting in such emotional turmoil, the effect would be greatly amplified.
Half-carried to his own door and shaking like a newborn lamb, Iruka managed all the signs to allow them to enter safely.
Having observed this same ritual while on watch, Hide followed the hand motions closely, satisfied that there were no mistakes that might cause an unhappy surprise when they got inside.
"I-it's all right, thank you, I...I'll be fine now. I don't want to keep you."
Hide gave a slight smile as he lowered Iruka into a chair before straightening to touch his hand to his heart in a wounded gesture.
"I'm all too aware."
Iruka look up, shaking his head, not understanding.
"What I meant was, I know that you don't want to keep me. Ah, I was just kidding - my lame attempt at being clever. Never mind. But you're not keeping me. I'm supposed to make sure that you stay in confinement, remember? Don't tell me you're going to make me sit out on the steps to do it!"
"Oh...sorry..."
"Do you feel light-headed? You're not going to pass out on me, are you?"
Iruka shook his head, frowning.
"O-of course not. Sit down...uh...oh, shit. I don't...I'm sorry..."
Hide smiled sympathetically. The attempt at levity did make a little break in the tension. But that break allowed just enough thought to produce a new source of stress. Iruka had just, finally, realized that he had no idea what Hide's name was.
"Hideki, Iruka. You know this; please tell me you know this. I understand that your memory has been damaged. But I'm still in there somewhere...right?" This was another risky move. Hide needed to have a name that would add up should it later come to light that he was indeed one of the multiple "Hides" that just happened to have worked at T&I. And it needed to pass unnoticed when it was used around people who were non-ANBU acquaintances. But if Iruka made that connection now, this early in the game, it could ruin everything.
Iruka did not meet his eyes; but that was all right. It meant that he was blaming himself for his lack of memory; and he did not sense any hint of suspicion that his subject might be listening to lies.
There was a slight letdown in the anxiety level and respiration was slowing, getting closer to normal; it seemed that Iruka was starting to gain some composure now that he was safely inside his own home.
"I draw a lot of blanks these days. But I'm told that it's possible that a lot of my memory problems are temporary. So I just have to keep trying."
"You can rely on me. I'll help you with anything that I can. Let me get us something to drink."
Hide sauntered into the kitchen and moved about fluidly, going to the right cabinet for the cups on the first try, making a show of his ease and familiarity. Iruka would absorb the inference that he had been a visitor here many times, that he was used to helping himself as opposed to being treated like a guest.
Only a slice of the kitchen could be seen from Iruka's vantage point; but he watched with uncertainty as the unfamiliar man hummed and passed in and out of sight several times, going about his business as if he lived here.
But of course, he hadn't – right? No one else ever stayed under this roof, except for that period of insanity with Kakashi, and the rare Naruto crash.
Hide gave off a solid, unwavering vibe that he belonged here, somehow. Iruka was unable to contemplate it fully, even as he suppressed his gnawing doubts about this person in return for the strong hands that began cheerfully massaging the knots out of his clenched shoulders. Everything felt so overwhelming, and that didn't seem right; considering how much he'd weathered it should be within his ability to cope with these circumstances. It was not possible to be patient with such a lame path of recovery.
Hide paused once he fully sensed the level of Iruka's latent discomfort, encouraging Iruka to have some more tea, heavily laced with one of the milder potions from his vast array. It was fast-acting yet came on in the manner of a shift in mood, subtle and unlikely to stir suspicion. If he resumed the legitimate shoulder massage until he felt the tension sap away, his subject would attribute any unusually rapid relaxation to these efforts. His massage technique was aggressive initially, just short of painful, but not entirely unpleasant.
The net effect was to relax and reassure, while chemically numbing those doubting thoughts and emotional distress. The relief from distress would become both consciously and unconsciously associated with good friend Hideki's comforting presence. In the midst of lengthy torture-filled interrogations, his appearance on the scene applying such a method had broken the resistance of many.
It was a good start. The drug was very effective; Hide would use less next time, since it worked so well in such difficult circumstances. Iruka even seemed to be letting go of the distress over Genma's disappearance. Trust established, Hide let his thumbs come up and begin a different sort of technique.
He worked briefly higher up on the back of the neck, using lighter pressure and a brushing, almost tender touch. In the framework of the massage, he eased into it naturally, testing. This was a valuable secondary erogenous zone for many. And by the blushing that spread under his fingertips, he was in luck with this one, too.
People never seemed to make the connection, so long as he was subtle, that the warmth he evoked in this manner was his doing. They looked to the inside, to see why they were getting a little...ehrm...just because they were getting a completely above-board massage. As a gentle lead into a closer relationship, it was looking like another very promising tool.
He kept at it until he sensed that it was starting to be a concern, then returned to the shoulders in earnest. This was doable. He would be locked in on a personal level, as tight as any lifelong friend, in no time, so long as any of his true lifelong friends did not interfere.
He'd never before conceived of this job as being fun, much less enjoyable.
Finally, here was a chance to feel good about being totally into his work.
xxxxx
Danzou removed his black robe and shook his head, chuckling. He almost enjoyed the near-interrogation in the street. Of course he knew nothing. Of course he was just there like everyone else, in respect.
But in truth he'd been there to see how and if Jeninki was going to be able take that man, as little sense as it made. Jen had never really admitted that he was thinking of taking Shiranui; but it became rather obvious from some of the offhand comments, and Danzou wanted to witness this questionable, extremely risky feat, and the aftermath, for himself.
He certainly got his wish.
"I would not have taken that useless body if I had the ability to harvest just his soul and that was my only goal. So what are you up to now, Hidata? What are you thinking you'll be doing with him in that dying bag of flesh?" he said, thinking aloud.
Funny that the object of the Uzingan user's previous obsession was standing in the crowd as well. Danzou wondered what his reaction would be if found out who caused all the commotion today. It would probably be an emotional one. Perhaps very emotional, to the point of being amusing.
With everyone on alert, Sai would likely miss their little meeting this evening, but it was worth it. He was all for anything that caused this must disruption and unhappiness for that tramp Tsunade.
Iruka hadn't even noticed him. He didn't dare direct a flare of chakra to check for reaction, but he should have been easily detectable even in a crowd, and the lost nin failed to pick it up. It shouldn't bother him that he wasn't noticed, the damaged man was lucky to ambulatory. But it did bother him, at least to the extent that it failed to satisfy his curiosity as to how Iruka would react to his presence.
Iruka was under observation and control of the ANBU; that much was clear from the interactions he'd witnessed today. He picked up on the man working undercover, as any former director of ANBU easily would. That tactic implied that there was some issue with loyalty. The only loyalty issue the Hokage's minions could have with a man like Umino, having turned him inside out on more than one occasion, would have to center around his Root alliances. And those alliances belonged to Even.
He would have to make a point of testing that theory in his own way, in his own time.
He shook his head and laughed again.
What a sideshow. Life is never boring when Jeninki is around.
xxxxx
"It's covered. The village is clean. If he's alive, he's not here," Ibiki snarled, the pall of his tightly leashed anger and frustration filling the Hokage's chamber.
"And the spent tag was confirmed?" she asked, fingers steepled at her chin.
"It's genuine. But how could it have been triggered without detection? Either the scroll or the tag may or may not be the real explanation; which is a flawlessly executed red herring and which is the real answer? There's no way to tell so far. There was no egress detected anywhere. But that's not conclusive. Nothing is conclusive at this point."
"And the witnesses?"
"No one showed any sign of knowing anything. Namiashi was his most likely co-conspirator among the other nin. I brought him in for interrogation and had Yamanaka hit him with a scan. He's as much in the dark as anyone. The only issue I still have with him is that until he gets a better grip on his emotions, he's at an elevated risk of straying beyond his orders."
"Well, that's understandable. What I don't get is why that's the case. Those two have been close for years. This is an unexpectedly cruel trick for Genma to pull on him."
"Not to harp on a point, but you insisted that he was in full command of his sanity, enough to make an informed decision to logically elect to die. I found that hard to believe and I still do. His condition was...or maybe still is, if he's unfortunate enough to have let somebody take him who didn't finish him off...an all-pervasive, deeply unsettling degenerative process. Anyone could have used his vulnerability to influence or trick him. Why? Maybe to create general havoc, to test our security...there are a million possibilities. This never would have happened if the ritual had been denied. Not to this degree of disruption. The manpower, the dischord, the damage to moral..."
"You can stop right there. Blaming me isn't going to address the problem. You're wasting valuable time."
"As you wish." Ibiki gave a curt nod and glared back; it was just like her to turn her mistake into a reprimand for him. He really had no more to report; she was aware that his men were combing and seeking and keeping close tabs for signs of any unusual behavior among the nin.
"Carry on, then. Get out there and solve this. There won't be any peace until we get answers. And if you don't find any new evidence or leads within two weeks' time, I'd like you to make an official announcement regarding the tag scenario. It's to be the final determination as far as the general populus is concerned."
"But we'd keep the covert investigation open."
"Of course."
Ibiki was fine with that. If the issue seemed to be officially shelved, anyone involved would be more likely to let their guard down and make a mistake.
It wasn't like the public had a need to know. And as far as his investigation went, they had no right to know, either.
xxxx
Jeninki shouldered the unconscious man through the doorway and up the short stairwell in the turret-shaped foyer. A fine new home for his citizens lay beneath their feet; a huge underground bastille-turned-basement gave them all the space and protection they needed to congregate in formless bliss. The castle above, with its three dozen rooms and elegant furnishings, was a big step up from his old subterranean digs in the toxic forest.
He'd dealt with the squatters appropriately, after observing them for a while and passing his own judgment, claiming the place for his own. The rogue nin had taken the place from the rightful owners with methods most vile; he did not deem them suitable citizens for his village. They reveled in their wanton ways, experts in the field murder, rape and human trafficking. Jeninki lured them, pretending to be easy prey, and erased them in a swirl of angry justice. The last few of the living original residents, mutilated and abused to the degree that they were too terrified to return to normal life, joined the village instead and found lasting peace and joy with their new formless, and painless, existence.
He'd barely finished inducting the last of them in time to make it back to Konoha to collect his new assistant; but the stress and effort were well worth it. Now this was the perfect haven for only the most blessed and deserving of souls.
Jeninki was not one hundred percent sure about the seasoned assassin's potential to become trustworthy; he certainly was not to be trusted early on. The promise to be obedient for a year was surely made with little intent to honor it; it was made just to fool his abductor, to get in a position to do only what he saw as right in the eyes of a Konoha loyal. That was consistent with any good shinobi's behavior.
But beyond that, this compact, cagy nin had something so genuinely likeable about him, it was worth the risk of having to find yet another home if this didn't work out.
It didn't feel like much of a risk, really. If he refused to cooperate and absolutely could not be trusted, he would be allowed to find immediate peace as a permanent citizen. One thing Jeninki was slightly less than genuine about; he was still a little undecided as to whether he would really let him go, if after a year of cooperation, he still wanted to leave.
That was too lonely of a thought to dwell on at this stage. He was a good man and likely to be a very suitable companion; Jeninki had already seen enough to confirm that, even before his courageous, unselfish conduct in giving up his life in manner that would let his comrades off the hook of his tragic circumstance.
It was sad to see him awaken to confusion and pain, unable to understand where he was or why. Jeninki moved to him, pressing down the inflammation, clearing a path to allow him to communicate with less suffering.
"This is the first day of what might be the most unusual year in your life. But please, just know that I'm sincere and that I will do everything in my power to heal you."
Genma embraced the aid fearlessly.
Jeninki smiled, shaking his head. Clever; clever and insanely brave boy. Accepting without truly trusting, he was using the slight relief from pain to try and take stock of his situation; it seemed that he was already examining the first flaw in the Uzingan user's story. Whatever healing he could effect, why would it take a year specifically?
Jeninki declined to respond mind-to-mind; it appeared that Genma did not recall his ability communicate his own thoughts when they were connected. Truly, it would take a few weeks, at most, if he decided to do this expeditiously. But then, where would there be the opportunity to get to know one another? To develop a relationship, a comradeship, perhaps a total change of a loyal heart?
No, by carefully giving him back his life, in tiny, precious increments, it would make him far more grateful. It would give them a million chances to come to understand one another before the man regained the ability to return to Konoha on his own. To build trust. To share those little amazing victories, like brothers – what a wonderful year this would be. 'Lonely' would be stricken from the vocabulary in this precious place for the duration.
Then Genma, standing on his own two sturdy legs, would make his own decision as to whether he could stand to live without ever looking into his benefactor's eyes again.
And by then, Jeninki was sure that he would know how to respond.
xxxx
Kakashi looked down his nose at the man seated behind the expanse of well-worn wood. So this was going to be Iruka's lead at the mission desk. His trainer. The copy-nin was quite certain that was backwards. No one knew the desk like Umino. He owned this place, past friction with the other nin or not. Iruka would remember this, once he sat down to it. He'd logged far too many hours over too many years not to.
He slapped the edge of his papers down on the desk a few times, demanding attention, staging a stare-down. There was no flinching, no avoidance. Not that he expected any. Anyone from Ibiki's shop had bigger balls than that.
Before the charade of civility could begin, he shut it down. No one else was in the mission office at the moment. There was no need to pull any punches.
"Hideki, is it?" he drawled in a slightly unfriendly tone. "Or should I say, Hide?"
Hide nodded silently, watchful, waiting. He had been expecting a challenge eventually. But he held his tongue.
"He doesn't have any clue who you are, does he? No fucking clue."
Still the room was quiet.
"Should I tell him, then?" Kakashi pressed on.
Hide swallowed; it would have been nice to just sit back and quietly wait for Kakashi to get to the point; but this forced his hand.
"This is ANBU business, Kakashi-san," he said carefully, measuring out the words, striving for neutrality. "So, no, you may not tell him."
"Invoking the oath; so you've slithered out of T&I into ANBU? Are you perm or is it just for this mission specifically?"
Hide gave a wide, slow shake of his head. Not a refusal; more of a reminder to Kakashi that his questions were inappropriate and would not be graced with answers.
"He'll be back soon," Hide said quietly, not intimidated, unhurried. "He's doing well, nothing about this assignment is detrimental to his recovery. It would be best for him if you don't start rocking the boat, whatever your agenda may be."
"I see. Now we're worried about my agenda?"
"I wouldn't say that anyone is worried. You've done an excellent job of staying at arm's length from him. And so long as you continue to follow those orders, there are no worries at all. The sooner we can determine his true recovery potential, the sooner you'll both be free to associate with one another whenever and however the two of you see fit."
Almost too fast to witness, Kakashi had a chair turned and planted in front of the wary man, seating himself straddled with his arms across the back for a chin rest, the perfect position for a stare-down of any duration.
With the heavy clump of the wooden legs, Hide shook his head, preparing for grandstanding. Absent easy intimidation, the copy-nin's history suggested that some sort of harassing, lightly threatening behavior would come next. That analysis appeared to be spot-on.
"I'm not one to ignore the obvious, Hideki-san. Your assignment had better stay strictly professional."
Hide simply stared back, not rising to the bait. He had already established that he was on an ANBU assignment and they could not discuss it.
"I'll take your silence to mean that you get my drift. Should I also assume that you're the 'someone' who'll keep tabs on him when the new treatment starts?" Kakashi persisted.
Bingo. A little ruffling of feathers was detectable.
"Where did you hear about that?"
"I stay at arms length but you know, men in the field report in to the Tower day and night. Sometimes you run into people. Sometimes they have things they need to talk about, things that worry them. And if they aren't aware of who they should and shouldn't be talking to..."
"So he told you."
"Yeah. A little flaw in your methodology. Maybe it wasn't worth the satisfaction of making me look like I'm being an asshole and staying away from him on a whim. If you'd told him we're supposed to steer clear of each other, I'm sure he would have complied."
"What exactly did he say?"
"He didn't mention you. He's not even sure what the treatment is, and he didn't seem to know who would be monitoring, but since he has to report to T&I and not the infirmary I just assumed you'd be the mole on the inside, too. It's not like you'd be going on any real missions, and we're too short-handed to let able men sit out when someone like you can cover it."
"You said he's worried."
"Of course he is. He's not an idiot."
Hide stared but had to concede that last answer was valid. After all that he'd been through, another round of experimentation was the last thing Iruka would – or should - feel comfortable with. He was just a little surprised that he hadn't detected it. Nor had he picked up any disturbance over the last week that indicated there'd been contact with Kakashi. Something in his sensing technique had a serious glitch if Kakashi was telling the truth.
"I know he's not."
Silence blanketed the room. Hide's abilities were not quite enough to unveil Kakashi's intent beyond the obvious.
"I'd be better suited. I know more about him. For the most part, I'd know if what he thinks he remembers is the truth. I know what's normal for him and what isn't."
"Kakashi-san, that may be true, but you won't be here to lend your expertise." The useful nature of this exchange was clearly spent. Hide reached back and secured the appropriate scroll, taking it in both hands before holding it out like an offering.
Kakashi took it and stood up at once, still straddling the chair. In a single heartbeat his experienced hands removed the seal and released the scroll. He took a second to bring his brewing anger into control; fucking Hide had been ready for him and their entire conversation was unnecessary as hell. Once his paperwork from his last mission was stamped, this new mission sent off again, this time for months instead of days or weeks. That damned asshole Ibiki. Months. They didn't miss a trick.
"He'll be in good hands. Whatever you think of me, I have no intention of harming him or his recovery."
Kakashi had nothing to say to that. Hide was under no obligation to tell him the truth about a covert assignment. It was a waste of breath to respond to any claim he might make about his intent at this point.
The hard truth was rolling back up in his hands. No matter how feared and powerful he might be, they had him by the balls. It was a legitimate mission. The kind of trouble he'd be in for refusing it would be a big enough shit-storm to get him some sort of punishment; Ibiki would simply make sure that he did his penance in some manner that conveniently prevented him from seeing Iruka.
Checkmate.
He kicked the chair back to its original position and shook his head with disgust, making sure that his non-verbal communication came through loud and clear. Three handsigns and he was gone, safely removing the temptation to do something that would get him in even deeper shit than refusing a mission ever would.
Hide's breath of relief didn't get to make it all the way out of his lungs before the door opened and Iruka swept in with a wide smile that faded almost comically.
"Where..? That's odd...I could swear I saw him come in here..."