Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters in it.

XIII.

When Jakushi and Itachi returned to the village, it had become more lively than it was earlier in the morning. Nevertheless, Jakushi felt a particularly unpleasant sting. Only after a few striking gazes from the passers-by and the people who just opened their shops and she couldn't stand it anymore.

It was humiliating to receive the attention of curious and not that amicable looks. When she silently changed the direction towards more hidden or smaller streets in order to decrease the feeling of growing uneasiness, she slowed down her tempo.

Itachi followed her just as silently, although he wasn't supposed to be silent. Or so she thought. He wasn't supposed to be reconciled with what she did. Hiding from people's judgment meant hiding from him. Hiding from what happened... between them two. Whatever it was called.

Perhaps she wasn't brave enough to admit it. The thought only made her feel worse. Itachi carried the hatred of so many people who didn't know his motive and she couldn't even face a few disapproving expressions.

"Jakushi?" She trembled as he wrested her out of her thoughts.

"What?"

Itachi took her hand hesitatingly and she tried to not react visibly although her heart started beating a bit faster with their every encounter.

"You should've thought about the consequences."

Jakushi blinked. Didn't she previously hear these words somewhere? Strange. She was almost sure she did, she just couldn't remember. Nevertheless, the thought was pushed aside quickly.

"Consequences." She exhaled sharply. "One can't even walk freely next to people these days."

"It's not like you walk next to a waiter from a cafe."

As much as it was layered inside her by the time, the bitterness turned into laughter after that honest remark.

"Stop emphasizing your superiority, will you?" Jakushi still laughed. "That's not attractive. As much as it is the truth."

Itachi's smile gradually faded to concern.

"You must've known that was going to happen. It's very much... inevitable." His voice was growing quieter and quieter. "You wouldn't have had problems if it was a waiter."

"I'm not interested. Good for you to know that and not try to admonish me I've made a wrong choice."

"Why?"

"Because I want to walk with you."

A long silence fell after her words. She usually messed up everything but that was no way a mistake. There was anger lingering beneath all her rational thoughts. And a weirdly-shaped compassion for the man next to her. She sensed that corroding regret and self-loathing gushing from him since their very first meeting. It was so dense yet unreachable. One could only sense it, though, never understand it fully.

"Even if you have to be arrested because of me?"

Jakushi didn't answer, looking straight ahead. It suddenly hit her, she wasn't ready to deal with all this.

"If you have to choose your family over me?"

"I know where this is going. Stop." Jakushi saddened vastly with the sight of another man, passing by them. He kept his eyes on her, then on Itachi. Scrutinizing, then judgmental, then doubtful, almost afraid. "Why are they doing this? They have no right."

"But they do. They are in their right to fear me. And to hate you for being near me." Itachi released her hand. "We'd rather split up. You go alone."

"No." Jakushi retorted, stopping sharply. "We won't split up just because someone has something against you or me. We are raised like soldiers. Let's act like it."

Itachi shook his head.

"You are not strong enough to endure a torment like this."

"Because I'm so much less than you, right? And you know me so well." Jakushi folded hands. "I'm sick of being underestimated."

He remained silent for a moment as if to give her time to calm down, staring into her eyes.

"Because you're so much more than me." He finally spoke, slowly. " Because your place is among the heroes and not next to people like me."

Jakushi escaped his penetrating Sharingan, diverting her gaze away. She never learned how to accept praise and this time was no different. It made her extremely uncomfortable, especially coming from the embodiment of heroism himself.

"People always tell who's hero enough and who deserves the glory of one. It's very easy to point at someone from aside." Jakushi murmured, her voice low. "If you place every single one of them, the ones who gazed upon us with such conviction since the moment we entered the village, before the same choice you had..."

"Jakushi-"

"You won't find anything else," Jakushi raised her eyes to him, determined to finish her sentence. "...except cowardice and an instinct of self-preservation over their miserable lives. They would've run away. Begging someone else to take the decision instead of them. Right?"

"There is a difference between you and the ordinary citizen. He believes you'll be there to protect him and take the right decisions instead of him."

"This is not an excuse..." Jakushi felt too upset to speak as loudly as she had started to so her voice became contrastingly quiet. "What do they know about sacrifice? What do they know about you?"

"Enough," Itachi announced firmly, stepping to her. "You won't suffer because of me. We will split up."

"I don't care-" Jakushi tried to object.

"We won't meet in public anymore. You won't talk with me in public, nor will you pay any attention to me if we meet and there are people around us. Understood?"

Jakushi lost her ability to speak. His words hurt. And at the same time, she felt a deep admiration. She did not know anyone else who faced a problem in such quick and clear way and made a decision, no matter the cost for it. That was a rarity.

All characteristics of a good leader were incarnated in the figure in front of her, yet... it wasn't its essence. Just as she was sure that her essence wasn't of a soldier or... a hero. They both weren't as cold as they showed they are. The coldness was just necessary.

Jakushi was about to nod but changed her mind and leaned a bit lower, in a bow of respect. When she leaned back he had acquired a rather perplexed look.

Everything in him said I don't deserve it. But it didn't matter because at least for that one he wasn't right.

Itachi stepped back with an almost frightened expression. Then turned his back on her and walked away but Jakushi didn't haste to move from her place. Something about that prohibition he just declared got under her skin. Anger pounced on her, for everyone and everything.

It wasn't fair. He sacrificed with certainty and no hesitation everything he held dearly and did not question it and at the same time didn't accept even a minimal amount of regard, not even a gesture. All of this for the people, the same ones who doubted him and despised him. And for her, so that she wouldn't suffer.

With a slight joy, she came to the realization that he had no idea what suffering meant to her. Yes, it was hard to be pointed at and looked at that way. But it's easier when you're not alone. He probably didn't understand that as someone who has always been alone.

Jakushi sighed and took the way up the street slowly, to the Library. She needed some time to ask herself if she was completely sure. Was she ready to be pointed at? To take the punishments and everything else upon her shoulders. Was he worth it?

She soon entered a quiet place and nodded to the woman behind the reception. Jakushi headed to the older editions. Past the volumes with natural sciences, geography, history of Konoha. Behind them were the ones sectioned by every clan, techniques and- she almost clashed into someone. It was Kioshi. Not surprising to find him there in the least for he spent a lot of time over books of any kind.

"Jakushi." He nodded.

"Sorry, didn't see you."

"Yeah, I noticed you're not especially..."

"What?"

"Concentrated." He lowered his eyes to the books he carried. "Hope you're fine."

"I am." She frowned. Kioshi had the habit of speaking more with hints than with normal expressions and it slowly started to become annoying with the years.

Jakushi made an attempt to recognize the books and succeeded. He actually held two volumes of History of Konoha.

"Did you hear?" Tsunade has resigned from her position." Kioshi kept searching through the titles, adjusting his silver-framed glasses, previously dislocated from their light collision.

Jakushi was sincerely surprised. Was Tsunade overly mad at her about what she'd done? What did that mean?

"Really?"

"Let's celebrate for the Sixth," Kioshi announced with a tone that was supposed to sound festive but it wasn't even close to festive.

"Which is?"

"Kakashi Hatake."

"Kakashi-sensei." Jakushi smiled. "I'm almost sure Tsunade put the Hokage's clothes forcibly on him."

"Whatever happened, it's a fact now. Truth is, I was with him this morning and he is the one who asked me to fetch him these. Said he has too much work to do and absolutely no time to pass by and take them himself."

"What does he need them for?"

"I think he has an idea connected with... everything that's happening lately." Kioshi missed to mention a certain name but Jakushi knew what he was talking about. "He always gets quieter when there's something up in his head."

"I must find..." Jakushi said absently. "Here."

She was sure she'd seen a book in which were gathered all kinds of information about Tailed Beasts, their origin, and powers. Jakushi grabbed and opened it, stirring through the pages.

"Chakra... There are many different types but the double one... Double is a bit more special. Itachi said Sanaya's with a double one.

"Are we sure?" Kioshi asked evenly.

"If you're asking if we can trust Itachi, I don't know. I trust him partly. Despite that, why would he lie about something like that?"

"Why wouldn't he?"

Kioshi didn't move his eyes away from his book, quite calm.

"How are you completely sure he's on our side?"

Jakushi raised her head for a moment but lowered it again, without commenting.

"Dark chakra, star chakra... here it is. Six Paths Chakra. Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki's chakra. "It can be given only to create (or perfect) a Rinnegan or... to be acquired by a junchūriki of the Ten-Tails. There's not much information in particular about how the chakra works or how it works but it dramatically improves the strength of the user's Jutsu." In both cases, it seems, the one who uses this kind of chakra is incredibly powerful."

"Sasuke and Naruto."

"Yeah. Glad to have them on our side." Jakushi grew pensive. "Then which one is in Sanaya's possession? Her appearance didn't suggest any link with Uchiha. Didn't wear any glasses. Which leaves us with the assumption that she has a Tailed Beast. But... these are only notes from everything that our shinobi society knows."

"What do you mean?"

"The technique I used to restore Itachi's chakra was something new. Something I've never seen before. Imagine what she may do, of which we have no knowledge."

"Could be anything."

"Is it normal for such a thing to trouble me so much?" Jakushi furrowed.

"More than the normal level of worrying for you?"

"Much more."

She met Kioshi's eyes.

"Why do I have such a bad feeling that never leaves me. It's not exactly a feeling, it's more than that. I'm almost sure we miss something important."

"I don't think so." Kioshi shook his head. "Wasn't she supposed to make a move by now? I mean, why would she cook and live in a house in the forest if she plans on doing something terrible? It has been two weeks since we saw her. It's fine."

"Double chakra, Kioshi. You don't keep something like this to yourself, hidden in the wood. Which reminds me..." Jakushi closed the book. "Give it to me for a moment. Where is Naruto when you need him..."

She stole the second tome History of Konoha, previously in Kioshi's possession and traded it for her Chakra one without giving him time to object.

"We all know there are ten titanic forms of chakra, created by Hagoromo in order to split the chakra of the Ten-Tails he's locked in his body. Great idea." Jakushi spoke matter-of-factly, opening the current book in her hands.

"It is. He splits the chakra in ten tailed beasts so that the gathering of it back into one whole can be prevented. So that the return of the Ten-Tails can be stopped."

"But." Jakushi chose a page and raised her eyes for a second. "Madara Uchiha succeeds in uniting them again. After that Sasuke and Naruto fix it as it was before, of course, leaving the beasts to live on their own."

"What are you looking for exactly?"

"Sanaya said..." Jakushi stopped. "Hm... I don't think we'll find it here."

Kioshi was watching her inquiringly.

"She said they've been banished from Konoha. It was a mistake to think I'll find something written in the official History. I'm almost sure I'll find such information in personal documents or notes that belong to the current Hokage. During the time they left the village."

"But she looked like... twenty?" Kioshi left the Chakra book back on the shelf slowly. "Which time? She's our age."

Jakushi smirked.

"Does that mean you're not aware of every technique in the Ninjutsu?"

"You think she's using Regeneration?"

"I'm convinced. It's quite possible." Jakushi barely held her laughter with Kioshi's face becoming paler. "She's possibly the age of your mother. If she's as strong as we think she is, the years may be more. And you were so captivated by her appearance."

Kioshi cast her an angered glance.

"Right, you can reproach us for it through our whole lives. Anyway, it won't be bad if we visit the Sixth then. I have to give him the books anyway."

"Agreed."

When they entered the office everything was so messed up that both of them stopped by the door and made no move further after closing it. Every single spot on the ground, the shelves, and a desk was filled with boxes of documents and pages, completely piled up.

"Kakashi-sama?" Jakushi asked out loud and stepped ahead.

"I'm here. Please, don't use the title." A murmuring voice was heard and a second after Kakashi appeared behind the desk with a tormented expression, holding the Hokage hat from falling off his head. "I'm very busy. Is there a problem?"

If his appearance wasn't as tragic, Jakushi was surely going to burst into laughter but she dared not do it. He was obviously suffocated by all of these towering piles of paper that waited for him and no one else, and he couldn't keep up. As far as she knew him, the obligations of a Hokage were about to tire him quickly. Apparently, with the first day on the post, he had a problem of managing everything, judging from the fact that he still hadn't had the time to take off his official Hokage uniform.

"Ah, the books. Thank you." He sighed with relief, noticing Kioshi and went to take them from him.

"Kakashi-sensei. Congratulations-"

"Thank you very much!" Kakashi cut her off in the middle of the sentence. "Please, do tell me what's wrong. I can't possibly accept any more of these wishes, knowing we have much to worry about."

"I assume," Jakushi smiled. "As you're Hokage now, we'll take the main issues directly to you."

"Unfortunately, yes," Kakashi replied with another sigh, taking off his hat. " Did you find something new?"

"Not exactly." Kioshi folded hands and exchanged looks with Jakushi. "We'll need the personal notes of everyone who has ever been Hokage in Konoha from the very beginning."

"The only one allowed to banish from the village is the Hokage, right?"

"Yes. Why?"

"The girl we met. The one with the double chakra. She claimed to have been banished from Konoha along with her brother. We thought this must be written somewhere, if true. Moreover, we might understand why."

"And if she has a motive to harm anyone linked with Konoha," Kioshi added.

"I'll try to find..." Kakashi started searching through the shelves. "The banishment is a very serious thing. They must've done something awful... I think I found it."

Kakashi pulled out a something that resembled an old notebook and observed it carefully.

"Here are the personal notes of every Hokage. Tsunade, Minato, Sarutobi... Senju." He made a pause, apparently fascinated by the rare find. Jakushi wasn't aware what exactly was the feeling of being a Hokage but it was surely a serious responsibility. And the title placed you next to legends. She felt that Kakashi realized the importance of his position in the pause, in which he made no move, eyes fixed on the notebook. It was a symbol of strength and wisdom.

He slowly turned over the pages.

"They all have written things connected with councils, meetings, contracts. Hashirama hasn't got almost anything down but his brother..." Kakashi stopped, then started reading out loud.

" 13th of February, Hitomi S. and Uchiha H. are banished from Konoha due to recent evidence of made by them experiments, threatening the peace between the citizens and furthermore, their safety."

"Her brother, another time." Jakushi looked at Kioshi, who had become thoughtful. "Uchiha? That's during the time of the Second. They've left long before the clan was slaughtered. Itachi's been very little and had nothing to do with it."

"Experiments that threaten the peace and safety?" Kioshi shook his head. "I wish Tobirama wrote in more details."

"Does that mean that there's another living Uchiha out there?" Jakushi asked with worry.

Kakashi listened to them without interfering. He closed the notebook and placed it on a pile of documents nearby.

"Tobirama was known to be strict concerning keeping the peace and the safety. It's possible that he's exaggerated and these two had not done something far more harmless. Being merciless upon everyone who even slightly diverts from the rules, that's very much his style. Dangerous or not, he banished them forever from their home and that must've hurt them."

Before Kioshi and Jakushi could comment on Kakashi's words, in the office dashed in a boy and a girl, obviously shinobi. Their faces were pale and their breathing - heavy.

"Lord Sixth." They nodded respectfully and the boy continued talking. "We are Team 5."

Jakushi and Kioshi exchanged glances filled with astonishment. The ones they looked for. The same team even Kakashi couldn't find. They saw how he took on a slightly worried appearance.

"What is it? Speak out."

"We were attacked. During the first night of our mission nearly three weeks ago. It was something big. A muscular beast that moved terribly fast. We tried to escape and succeeded with a lot of effort. We hid deep in the wood and for days we lived in a hideaway unsure if we'll make it out alive if we try to return back to Konoha." The boy took a breath for a second. "If we stayed, the beast could've traced and found us."

"A week, then another. But it didn't show up." The girl continued. "We decided to go back and report, after all. It seems the beast never stopped looking for us because a few hours later we were ambushed again."

The two of them looked at each other and Jakushi's stomach shrunk. The pain in their eyes had extinguished any other emotion they might've had. It resided in their gazes and one could clearly see that.

"She didn't make it..." The boy spoke after the pause but didn't finish.

Kakashi looked down.

"I understand. Is that all you remember?"

"Its eyes. They were a vivid green." The girl snapped.

"Are you completely sure?" Jakushi asked quietly and the girl nodded.

"Thank you. I won't require anything else from you for now. You're free to go to your homes and... rest." Kakashi slowed down by the end of the sentence, aware that the death of someone close never involved rest. It was everything but rest. The shinobi turned around and left the office silently.

Kakashi leaned on the desk.

"A victim." He exhaled sharply. "I thought it would be a small problem that we'll get quickly over with. We have a dead shinobi and two mysterious figures that were banished more than twenty years ago. And a criminal who came back from the dead."

"If it is her beast, she definitely left it on the loose. There must be some kind of a motive behind this. And what about her brother? What if he is as powerful as her?

"Or... there isn't a motive. As Tsunade loves to say, psychopaths don't need one to kill." Kakashi met her eyes. "As for the mysterious Uchiha, I'm even more concerned about him."

"Kakashi-sensei. The same beast was stalking us too that morning. I saw it with my own eyes. But it didn't attack us."

"Perhaps Itachi is special after all."

"I won't be surprised if he's a part of her plan. He's literally rooted in the village without us even knowing how he came back to life, who revived him and why. And now this. Why didn't the beast attack us while it could?"

"Kioshi, we can't be sure."

"I'll have to double the guard and send people to her house as fast as I can. I'll write to Team 7 because if we plan on finding and stopping her, we need them." Kakashi shared his thoughts out loud.

"She won't be there. We already know where to find her. Shinobi of Konoha?" Jakushi turned to Kioshi for a moment. "Don't you remember how she scrutinized us?"

"You're right. She won't be there. But we may find something Another look is not a waste of time." Kioshi shrugged. " But it will be better having Team 7. If she strikes, after all, we might not able to strike back. We still have no idea what kind of a beast is that. She's on the mad scientist club. God knows what she's done with the beast."

Jakushi caught her head with hand. Everything was so complicated.

"Itachi, what the hell is going on..." She murmured.

"He doesn't remember a thing. Which makes him useless." Kakashi folded hands. "If we accept he truly doesn't know anything."

Jakushi met his eyes. What if she refused to doubt him? Was it going to be because she was partial to him or because she didn't believe he was capable of betraying Konoha? Could someone lie so perfectly? To look straight into people's eyes and plan death upon innocent people. Question was, she had the feeling that the problem's core was in Itachi. She couldn't explain it, it was just a presentiment.

"I can't accuse anyone of anything if I don't have a proof." She announced, nodding at Kakashi and walked out of the office, leaving the others watching at the point in the door.

"She's in love," Kioshi said, without making a single move. "With a mass murderer. Many fear him and his presence troubles everyone. I know Jakushi, she's not like that. She's never been. This is not her."

"I know," Kakashi replied. "That's the other problem."

A/N: Thanks for reading! Thanks to the new ones who followed and favorited too, I appreciate it!

Sorry for the delay, I've been doing some work of historical importance and I'm not even joking about it. I'll warn you when my exams start, though, so you'd know why I'm (eventually) absent. Don't worry, I won't leave you, I finished writing chapter 19 yesterday so yeah, I got this. ^^ (Plus, that one's pretty solid so it should be a nice compensation.)

Ok, so, I shifted the canon events a bit because I'm weird like that. Actually, Kakashi is titled Hokage a lot earlier and even sends out Sasuke from the village, as you all know but I decided to make him Hokage now with Sasuke's wandering left in the past. Hope that doesn't trouble anyone lol

Ok, sorry for the long note. Until next time!