Be on high alert, he says. Hiashi shakes his head as he eats his dinner. Hiashi doesn't want to believe his Hokage that peace is slipping away faster than he can grasp the idea of war again, much less with the two Uchiha criminals and a whole slew of other criminals and Orochimaru's pets.
"Tou-sama, is something the matter?" Hinata asks, the only other person in the room. Hanabi had already been transferred to the Branch family after Hinata expressed a sudden burst in potential.
Hiashi trusts his daughter, but doesn't want to tell her what truly happened, especially with the bodies the ANBU found, "That woman Ko is harboring…it unsettles me."
Hinata tries to cover up her smile, "Kosari-sensei isn't married, from what I can tell. And, Hokage-sama's orders were for him to be the only one able to have contact with her, right? I'm somewhat concerned, if not only for Kosari-sensei's incapacitated state."
Hiashi nods, "I've been thinking the same thing as well. A half-Hyuuga child is blasphemous enough, a dilution of our pure blood, but out of wedlock? It's beyond obscene."
"But, Tou-sama, what exactly is wrong with her?" Hinata asks curiously.
"Ko won't say a word. But, with my byakugan, I could tell that Kosari's chakra system was badly burned. I'm not sure if she was in an altercation with another shinobi or if something truly terrible happened," Hiashi says as he finishes up his meal, "You're dismissed, Hinata."
"Thank you, Tou-sama," Hinata stands and leaves her father to his own thoughts. The girl quickly backtracks around the huge compound and goes to the second floor, where a few empty storage rooms were. She lifts a few floorboards and then slides over a ceiling panel ever so slightly. Eavesdropping, or as Hinata likes to put it, intelligence gathering is a necessary skill.
"…it's alright. It was just a nightmare," Hinata hears Ko's soothing voice.
"Y-yeah," Kosari mutters, tucking away her fear. Her fever had gone down somewhat, but it often spiked during the evenings, sweeping the woman off her feet often without warning. Her chakra was recovering, but not as quickly as she'd hoped.
Ko bites his lips before gathering up courage, "Do you want to talk about it?"
ANBU Kosari would've never agreed, but her fever distorts her thoughts and decisions, "It's stupid to be scared by something so long ago…" Kosari sighs.
Ko shakes his head, "We're teammates and fellow Jounin. And, you're here until you recover so you might as well get it off your chest."
Kosari purses her lips. 'Don't tell anyone…' Itachi's words echo in her head. She shakes her head uneasily, "Sorry, Ko. It was just about spiders. I hate them."
Ko smiles through the rejection, "It's fine. Just rest for now, ne? I'll come back with some medicine in a minute," and he leaves.
Kosari runs a hand through her hair. This seal…it's forbidden. It will tie me to Itachi until I die. But, this seal wouldn't have been able to reactivate if I had even a hint of hesitation or refusal in my heart. It's a seal for making the perfect servant or soldier. All those years ago, I don't know what I was thinking. Fugaku only wanted the money from all the missions I took as an ANBU. He didn't care about my life; I was his puppet. His orders were for me to take up as many S-Rank missions as I could and give him the money, all because his clan was aging too quickly and not enough young shinobi were taking up enough high-paying missions. But, I thought that it would help my family and because Minato was almost family, having helped me discreetly to keep Kakashi alive, he could tell Fugaku to let me have a break once in a while. Once he died, I was completely at Fugaku's disposal. I worked day after day, week after week, month after year for five straight years until…
Kosari finds herself in a corner in the darkness with her fever spiking again. She could barely move, much less sense Ko coming back through the hallway.
"Until that man…the man tried to kill me and," Kosari holds out a hand without a gold band, "Destroyed everything. The Third War was hell on earth, but that was nothing compared to what he did."
"Kosari?"
"Ko," Kosari replies as tears run down her face, "Why? Why did he destroy everything?"
"What?" Ko's eyes widen as he makes his way towards her, "Who?"
Kosari sobs harder, "Shirusu's father. Shisui burned Hiashi-sama's wife to death and murdered his clan and…"
Ko wraps his arms around the Hatake, "The night of the Uchiha massacre…tell me." "I was kinda glad when Fugaku-sama died, when his house was set ablaze by Itachi, but only minutes later, I see Hiashi-sama's wife burned to death by him and then he turns to me and smiles. He said…he said he wasn't sorry. I tried to get away. I ran as fast as I could because I was free. I had Shirusu and his little sister in my arms and I sense kunai and shuriken and flames coming so I dodge most of them but one kunai was thrown so hard that it was able to fracture a rib. But, I was glad, because Shirusu was safe and alive. Suddenly, I'm tackled and I lose my grip on the two kids and I'm pinned to the ground with Shirusu watching in complete horror. I was stabbed sixty-eight times with a kunai dipped in poison. It hurt…I can't tell you how much it hurt, Ko. I couldn't move from all the poison and I watch as he runs a sword through Shirusu's stomach. His little sister, just a few months old, is crying and crying and cries harder when Shirusu's blood drips down onto her. Shirusu is screaming for help, for me, because the ground around me was doused in oil and I was surrounded by fire. He screams bloody murder because he can't believe I was murdered—he thinks I died, and I should've at that point—by Shisui and screams and screams for help and tears run down his face…but how could a five-year-old understand? He can't grasp that he was going to die right then and there. To me, that's what gives me nightmares. I saw and felt his fear and betrayal. All of a sudden, he goes still and his sister stops crying. Because he's dead. He isn't alive anymore, Ko. He's dead! I start screaming because I couldn't believe what was happening and because I was dying, but I was forced to stare into those eyes…they weren't Uchiha Shisui's. It was a stranger, a murderer. I wake up and see Kakashi sitting on a chair beside me. A month, he said. Because of the genjutsu, he said. Oh, Ko, I saw that death over and over and over again for a month. I didn't know how much Kakashi had worried. And, he's gone. He's as good as dead," Kosari sobs in Ko's arms.
"I…I had no idea," Ko admits, "I never knew how much Shisui had hurt you."
Kosari shakes her head, "He didn't hurt me. He hurt Shirusu. Shirusu didn't deserve to die. He was so young, younger than Uchiha Sasuke-san, and much younger than I was. If I could go back, I would've made sure he lived at the cost of my own life. But…Ko," Kosari's black eyes look into his white eyes, "Why? Why was Shisui so mean? Why did he kill him? Why…why did he try to kill me? And, why am I still alive? I shouldn't be."
Ko hugs her tightly as anger and hatred for the Uchiha man bubbles up in his heart. Kosari shakes with chills and pain from the memory and his arms pressing on her tender back and sobs. Ko grits his teeth, "I promise he won't ever hurt you. Never again. If I see him, I'll rip him apart. You don't need to shed any more tears," he wipes away her tears with a thumb, "Don't worry, Kosari. I'll destroy him."
Kosari nods minutely and sees Ko start to close the gap between them. She can't refuse; she'd pressed herself up against the wall. Ko pulls her even closer and kisses her. A tear runs down her face. Kosari wanted to push him away, but a voice in her head tells her she shouldn't. Ko is her only teammate left, and someone she can trust. Can I? Ko is someone who cares about her, if healing her and bringing her medicine and being so kind are any indications. Can I?
Kosari hesitantly closes her eyes and relaxes in his grip. No harm will come to her while Ko is around. The seal on her back starts to burn and she breaks the kiss, shutting her eyes harder in pain, "W-water…please…"
"Y-yeah," Ko says as he tries to hide the butterflies in his chest that light up his face a deep crimson. An indescribable happiness blossoms in him and he can barely keep a grin from his face. He just kissed the girl he's had a crush on forever! He hands her a glass of water and she takes it. It shatters in her hands and she stares at it, shocked.
"Sorry," she mumbles.
"It's fine," Ko says dreamily as he flicks on the light and picks up the shards of glass. Kosari winces at the light and in a feverish haze feels Ko gently set her down on a futon and places a cool and damp cloth on her head, covering her forehead and eyes, "Rest, Kosari. I'll wake you up in a few hours to take your medicine."
Kosari drifts off into a dreamless sleep again.
Up on the second floor, Hinata is shocked. Having the byakugan gave her an edge in darkess; even without it being activated she could see a little in the dark. The fading sun's glimmer illuminated even the dark Hyuuga hair and it lit up Kosari's silver hair. I never knew Kosari-sensei saw Kaa-sama's death. If I could just get her to tell me about Kaa-sama's death and about Shisui and how to kill him…
Hinata's blood boils at the thought of the man that killed her mother. And, who is this 'Shirusu' person? Well, at any rate, I should tell Sasuke. Sasuke might have more information on Shisui and can confirm my hunch that Shirusu or Kosari-sensei could be Shisui's weak point.
Hinata silently leaves her compound and rushes to the Uchiha compound. Only one house has the lights on and she knocks, "Sasuke-san! There's something I need to talk to you about."
A few moments later, Sasuke opens the door cautiously with narrowed eyes, "What do you want?"
"Can I come in?" Hinata answers his question with her own.
"First Naruto and then you…tch," Sasuke mutters and lets her in, where Naruto is sitting at a low table with an older man.
Hinata enters and slips off her shoes. Sasuke crosses his arms, "Well?"
"In private," Hinata glances at Naruto. Sasuke rolls his eyes dramatically before leading her to an empty bedroom and closes the sliding door, "What?" he asks angrily.
"Kosari-sensei is staying in my clan's compound, with Ko, the medic I brought. She kept babbling about nonsense, until she mentioned not only my mother's death, but also Uchiha Shisui. She said that she was the one who tried to save some little kid named Shirusu. I have a hunch…that this Shirusu might just be the key to taking down Shisui," Hinata says.
Sasuke's face darkens, "Get out."
"What?" Hinata's eyes widen. Then she scowls, "I'm the only one doing anything productive! Shisui took away my mother from me and took away your clan from you!"
Sasuke raises a fist to punch her, but Naruto catches it, "Hinata, Shirusu was Sasuke's best friend…and Shisui's son. It's not the kind of thing Sasuke likes to talk about. But, since Sasuke won't talk about it, I will."
"Naruto," Sasuke snarls and jerks back his hand, "Don't you dare…"
"Hinata was clearly eavesdropping on Kosari-sensei's conversation with that Hyuuga guy. She might have some useful information. I don't like this Shisui either. I'll hear her out; you can just listen through the door."
Naruto pushes Sasuke out of the empty room and slides the door closed. He sits, looking at the Hyuuga girl, "What exactly did she say?"
"During one of her feverish episodes, Kosari-sensei recalled the night of the Uchiha massacre. She said that she was the one who carried Shirusu and his little sister away from what I suppose must've been the compound while Shisui was hot on her heels and throwing anything and everything in his arsenal to stop her. A kunai fractured a rib and she was tackled, letting go of the children. Shisui stabbed her over and over with poison-laden kunai and set the ground around her on fire. She watched as Shisui stabbed Shirusu, who was screaming for help. But, both of the children died and Shisui put Kosari-sensei in a month-long genjutsu," Hinata says, "That's it," Hinata pushes down a blush, remembering what had happened after that. Then she furrows her brows, "How come you knew about Shirusu?"
"Sasuke and I have been friends for a long time. On the few occasions I went to his house before the massacre, I saw this Shirusu kid. He was always picked on by the older kids for being some half-Uchiha and disgrace to the clan for living or something. Shisui was always in the compound, though, as a Second-in-Command Police Chief, so he always rescued his kid. I don't know about this little sister he had, but Shisui really seemed to adore Shirusu. When I asked Shirusu about his mom, the kid just exploded, saying how I had no right to ask that kind of thing and demanded to know what it was like to have a mom who was never home and probably dead," Naruto smiles grimly, "I never told him how wrong he was, though. I would've asked him what it was like to not have anyone, but I didn't. It wasn't all that important. At least he had a dad, I thought. So much for that," Naruto laughs emptily.
"Sasuke-san must tell you a lot," Hinata notes.
"More or less," Naruto says. Then he grins, "You know what I've been thinking?"
"What?" Hinata asks, eager.
"What if it was Shisui who attacked Kosari-sensei? It wouldn't be much of a stretch either; if Shisui was able to stab her over and over, then maybe he was able to hurt her badly enough for her entire back to be hurt. Maybe he burned her. And all the memories flooding back are what might be triggering her fever, in addition to her burned back," Naruto says.
Hinata cups her chin, "Maybe."
The door slides open softly and both Genin jump. An old man looks at both of them with cold eyes glistening with unshed tears. He strides over, takes their arms roughly and drags them out. He thrusts them out and places their shoes outside the door and slams it.
"Who…who was that?" Hinata stares disbelievingly at the door.
"Uchiha Kagami," Naruto sighs as he takes his shoes and slips them on, "Shisui's father. I don't think he liked us talking about his dead grandchildren, or any theories of what happened to Kosari-sensei. Sasuke told me once that Kosari-sensei is friends, to some extent, with Kagami."
"Oh," Hinata says softly, "We should apologize."
Naruto shakes his head, "We should leave him alone. We shouldn't sadden him more," he starts walking out of the compound, "Come on, Hinata. I'll walk you home."
"Spies have greatly infiltrated our shinobi ranks," Hiruzen laces his fingers together and looks at the group of shinobi around the table. Tea sits in everyone's cups, but no one drinks. It's too tense and serious to relax. "Just when peace seemed to finally be settling in, several Jounin were attacked and killed."
Hiashi harrumphs, "Is that why you've ordered Ko to be some ill Jounin's caretaker?" "Yes," Hiruzen says, "She is the only one to have survived an attack from, what I presume, are attacks from spies."
"Where are these spies from, exactly?" Shikaku asks, more annoyed than usual. Why wasn't I briefed on this? I'm the damn overseer of the Jounin corps.
"Orochimaru's personal spies sent to steal information on the village's past and present kekkei genkai," Hiruzen is tempted to take a sip, but doesn't, "And, an organization called 'Akatsuki', comprised solely of S-Ranked criminals. They have sent spies to gather information on bijuu, including our own Kyuubi."
"We need to shore up our borders immediately," Choza says.
"And have all ANBU purge the village of spies," Inoichi says, "My clan can search hundreds of minds per day to ensure we have the spy in custody or not."
"While that may be true, we cannot have the other nations know that we are vulnerable," Hiruzen replies. "And, we cannot have every single civilian and shinobi have their minds scanned; we'd eventually have a civil war on our hands."
Outside the Hokage tower, a blue yukata-clad figure dashed up the stairs and ran down the hall to the meeting room. Several voices, some outraged, could be heard. The figure sighs before knocking once. The entire room goes silent.
"Enter," Hiruzen orders.
A woman with bandages covering all of her exposed skin except her head enters and bows deeply, "Forgive my lateness, Hokage-sama."
"Who're you?" Chouza demands, his face red from anger.
"This is the Jounin that survived being attacked by spies," Hiruzen raises a brow, "Correct?"
"Yes, sir," she says as she swallows double the dose of medicine.
A wave of almost tangible anger, disbelief, and curiosity comes crashing down on her. She takes the last seat at the table, next to Shikaku. The man eyes her bandages warily.
"Just who were these spies?" Danzo queries and his eye glints.
"Impostors of Mitarashi Anko and Shiranui Genma. They had come to my apartment brashly and asked if I knew anything or had any leads regarding the spies. I presume Hokage-sama has already explained the reason and existence of the spies within Konoha," she looks around the table calmly.
"I did," Hiruzen says gruffly, looking at Danzo out of the corner of his eye. "Continue."
"I was foolish to let my guard down, but Mitarashi Anko was one of three Jounin entrusted with what to do after a spy was caught. In addition, to this reasoning, the two mentioned the disappearance of the other Jounin entrusted with what to do after a spy was caught, Yamashiro Aoba, a close friend of Shiranui Genma's. I admitted I didn't have any solid leads due to being preoccupied with Team 7's training. Shortly after that, I was tackled and lost consciousness. I awoke in my own apartment some time later," she finishes. "I believe they may have been Orochimaru's spies, but I can't confirm this."
"They were," Hiruzen says. "But you have some sort of lead, correct?"
"Yes," she says, "For the Akatsuki, the spy would be a shinobi with a clearance level 13, or for mere observation, it could be nearly anyone. However, it's doubtful that the Akatsuki would send anyone superficial; they'd want more important information gathered by someone with skill in espionage, reconnaissance, and evasion. For Orochimaru, his spy would also fit these shinobi parameters, but his keen interest in kekkei genkai can further narrow down the search. His spy is embedded within areas that have access to confidential records of shinobi that carry or carried kekkei genkai. These areas include the hospital, Torture and Investigation, First and Second-in-Command ANBU Black Ops, and the warden of the Prison. In other words, the head of the hospital, leader of the medic corps, any Jounin or Chuunin in T&I, two ANBU Black Ops, and the warden."
Kosari takes a sip of tea, feeling sick from taking too much of the medicine.
"Nohara Rin's apartment doesn't contain anything regarding anything except medical textbooks, scrolls, and a few scattered papers about the hospital and training new staff. Her chakra system wasn't disrupted in the slightest, so no genjutsu. She's an unlikely candidate with many friends, even the Genjutsu Mistress Yūhi Kurenai that would sense even the slightest change in her. Yamagata Ochiru, the leader of the medic corps, doesn't have high enough clearance—"
Kosari coughs into her sleeve and her head spins painfully, "—and, recently, within T&I, a wave of new prospective underlings has joined. All of them are new Chuunin and lack any sort of information or clearance. Moreno Ibiki, four of his Jounin and two of his Chuunin assistants could potentially be the spies because their clearance is high enough, and especially because their high esteem among the Hokage, his Elders, and Council could wave off any slip-up the spy has. Monkey and Hawk, the two ANBU Black Ops I mentioned, are under Danzo-sama's close supervision, so it's incredibly doubtful. Lastly, the warden of the Prison hasn't returned to Konoha due to a vacation for over a month. That time period makes him an unlikely candidate."
Kosari pours herself another cup of tea and downs it greedily, "Despite this, there's evidence that an unauthorized person infiltrated confidential files of around two hundred patients in the hospital and used both Nohara Rin and Yamagata Ochiru's passwords to get access to the files. Moreno Ibiki, his four Jounin assistants, and two Chuunin assistants may also be the spy. To some extent, Nohara Rin could be an unwitting accomplice, but that's beside the issue," Kosari says. "The warden could be the spy as well. He's been gone for over a month, meaning that he could've gathered information quickly within the first month and then gone back to the Akatsuki or Orochimaru during the second month to help plan their next move."
The room goes silent for a few moments before Kosari clenches her fists in her lap, "Hokage-sama, may I ask you something?"
"You may," Hiruzen says, a little surprised she didn't refer to Danzo to ask.
"Because of this huge breach in security, has Elite Jounin Hatake Kakashi been called back?" Kosari asks, her voice unwavering but her eyes don't meet his.
Shikaku grunts next to her. Thought so.
"Yes," Hiruzen says after a pause.
"Thank you," Kosari says, her voice full of gratefulness.
Shikaku coughs merely to bring the room to attention, "Hokage-sama, I believe I have a countermeasure."
"Go on," Hiruzen says, leaning forward in his chair, eager to hear what the Nara man has to say.
Shikaku looks at the woman, "Without this Jounin here."
Kosari's eyes widen, staring at her hands, not daring to look at her superior. What…? "Very well," Hiruzen knows that whatever Shikaku has to say, it's going to be damn useful. Even if the Jounin that should have a large role in the discussion of what to do about the spies isn't present, "You're still unwell, obviously. Don't push yourself; you'll be let known of your role in this later."
"Yes, sir," she says in monotone.
Kosari pushes down her chakra as she reenters the Hyuuga compound, hopefully without Ko knowing she was gone. He'd be so pissed… With a bead of sweat dropping down her face she tried not to smile at that. Ko was always so easy to rile up and Kushina-sensei did a fabulous job at fully exploiting that. The Hatake smiled at the memory of her sensei. Kind, but terrifying. So unlike Minato. But, she supposes, opposites attract. Minato was mild and calculating, but not in a cold Fugaku way. Just…smart.
Naruto is like that, to an extent, Kosari supposes.
She grasps the door she'd managed to unlock, but hesitates. Voices in her room resonate and after a few moments of listening, she realizes that it's Hinata and Ko.
"…-sama, please don't," Ko says, cautioning.
"Why not? I should be able to know more about my own mother's death," Hinata is incredulous, "Kosari-sensei had no right keeping the fact that she knew about her death from me. I bet she knows more than she knew. And, both of you seemed to know about this Shirusu kid. I found out that he's Shisui's son. I get a bad feeling that both of you have some sort of connection to Shisu, more—"
Kosari slams open the door, her eyes burning with anger and boring holes into Hinata's shocked face, "K-Kosari-sensei, how are you today?"
"Eavesdropping," Kosari grinds out, "Why do you feel the need to investigate things in the past? You can't revive your mother and I can't revive Shirusu. Just let go of your petty revenge, girl. I can't have two kids on the same team with this much hate in their hearts; Uchiha-san is quite enough. Be grateful Shisui didn't try to kill you," bitterness rings out clearly in Kosari's voice. Her hands, balled at her sides, shake with anger. "Your clan is the richest in Konoha, you have a caring father, you have personal trainers and guards, and your family is still alive. You have everything you could want. Would your mother want you to be filled with disgusting rage and anger?"
"I…" Hinata looks at the ground before gritting her teeth, "What would a pathetic, disgraceful Jounin like you understand about me? Clan-less, family-less, lonely, and promiscuous! How could you understand what it's like to live in a clan with such high expectations and lethal punishments?!"
Kosari would've laughed if her chest didn't hurt so much from coughing and wheezing and simply breathing. She studies the girl for a moment before looking at Ko, "Ko-san, thank you for treating me. I won't need your help anymore," Kosari turns and begins to walk out of the compound. Hinata races towards her and tries to tackle her, only for Kosari to sidestep.
"Hey!" Hinata screams. A few Hyuuga look out of their windows and slide open doors to find out what all the commotion was.
"Forgive me, Hyuuga-san. I can't train you right now. Meet up on the training grounds tomorrow, ne?" Kosari puts on a smile, purely for effect. The Hyuuga frown at their heiress, shocked at her tone of voice and open anger at her teacher. Hinata knows what her clan members must be thinking and she shakes with fury.
"Sorry for my outburst, Kosari-sensei," Hinata bows deeply, "It won't happen again. See you tomorrow."
"Yeah," Kosari says and vanishes. Hinata stalks back to the Hyuuga training grounds and pummels the earth. Tears of anger and punches of bitterness distort her vision and the ground until night falls and she kneels, panting. Damn you, Kosari-sensei.
Kosari picks up the food 'Anko' had eaten and pulls off the bandages around her hands and puts them in the trash. She ties up the bag and carries it down the hall to the receptacles.
"She didn't mean it."
Kosari flinches, letting go of the trash a moment too late and the metal swinging door of the receptacle catches her fingers, drawing blood. She ignores the pain and Ko steps towards her and holds her hand in both of his. A green light glows and lights up the dark hallway: medical ninjutsu. Before Kosari can respond, Ko closes the gap between them once more and his lips crash down on hers. She pushes him away and takes her hand back. "T-thanks for healing my hand."
Ko nods, watching her flinch under his gaze, "Do you want me to help clean up your apartment?"
"No," Kosari says with a tone of finality, "I've got other things to do. You don't have to apologize for Hyuuga-san; she's right. I wouldn't know what it's like to be her," Kosari shakes her head. She turns and heads back for her apartment. After a few paces, she stops and turns around and winces, "I'm sorry, Ko. I can't."
"It's fine," Ko says and watches her disappear into the darkness of the hallway. She opens her door and light illuminates her and makes her silver hair glow. She reenters without a second glance and closes the door with a soft click. He grits his teeth and can't push down a wave of nausea. He pushes the receptacle door open and empties his stomach contents. Damn it…
"Hokage-sama, please keep Sasuke safe," Itachi says.
"Yeah," Hiruzen grunts as the young ANBU flickers away. Only Shisui is left.
Shisui tries to keep his sobs in, "H-Hokage-sama…"
Hiruzen turns around and sweeps the young man in an embrace. Shisui shakes violently as tears run down his face, "Please keep Shirusu and Yuuko and Kosari safe. Make sure Naruto and Sasuke are her students and make sure Kakashi stays alive for as long as possible. After all this…Shirusu and Yuuko and Kakashi are all Kosari has left. I know what I've done is unforgivable, but make sure nothing happens to her. Make sure that Danzo-sama doesn't make her into a mindless machine and make sure that my father is well and that the seal on her back is kept a secret that will die with us. Make sure that no one comes after her or Shirusu or Yuuko for their kekkei genkai and that no one tries to kidnap her or hurt her or torture her or kill her or—"
"Shisui," Hiruzen says sharply, yet gently, "I understand."
Tears of gratefulness run down his cheeks, "And, make sure that Orochimaru doesn't hurt her and make sure that the group she was forced to join during the War doesn't come after her…"
"You have my word," Hiruzen says as the ANBU vanishes.
Hiruzen blows out a few rings of smoke as the bad memory resurfaces. Shisui had hopefully not realized that both of his children were dead. He hopes so much that the spies don't report something like that. If they did, Konoha is about to be wiped out. Shisui, though, had to know that Orochimaru was looking through Konoha's kekkei genkai. Hiruzen smiles grimly. If that were so, Orochimaru was either dead and Konoha didn't know about it yet or he was about to be.
Hiruzen had more reason for concern, however. The hawk that Kakashi was supposed to send a message back with, stating his current condition, hadn't come back. It had been fine weather the past few days and the hawk still had not returned. Either the hawk had encountered some sort of predator (although special seals prevented the hawk from being downed so easily) or, as Hiruzen hopes isn't the case, Kakashi is unable to respond. As if the Akatsuki had captured him.
Hiruzen chose to keep that thought from Kosari, knowing she'd gladly become a rogue shinobi if it meant saving Kakashi. Kakashi was, after all, truly the last thing Kosari had. Her mother and siblings were dead and her father had abandoned Kosari and Kakashi long ago.
The other thing that worried Hiruzen was the group that Kosari had been a part of during the war. Very, very few knew about her involvement in the most violent and brutal groups of supposed KIA and MIA shinobi. Only she, Shisui, Hiruzen, Danzo, Ko, and Rin knew about it. It was beyond Hiruzen of about how Kosari had kept it from Kakashi, but he didn't try to read the report when they'd gotten back with Kosari being dragged back half-alive.
Hiruzen sighs. He'd seen the way Kosari carried herself, her posture; when she'd entered the meeting room and how she took double the dose of medicine, specifically pain medication. Her bow looked somewhat unnatural, as if she were moving side to side, meandering, as she bowed instead of straight down. Her back must've been the problem, and he had a terrible feeling that something had gone wrong with the seal that was supposed to have disappeared after Fugaku died.
If the Akatsuki do enter the village, Hiruzen just hopes that Kosari isn't the one to see Shisui. The entire village might just blow up if she did and Shisui's death would be certain. Hiruzen had to admit that Kushina's team breaking up the way they did, with Ko as a lone medic, Kosari joining that organization before being dragged back by Ko and Shisui, and then Shisui's defection, was worse than his own team's.
Well, maybe not.
But, on the same par, he thinks.
Itachi pours Shisui a cup of tea and slides it over to him. Shisui reaches for the porcelain cup, but it shatters into several pieces. The Uchiha man flinches, shocked.
"Don't be so superstitious," Itachi chides.
"Y-yeah," Shisui says, "You're right."
Itachi knows Shisui doesn't believe him, "Let it go, Shisui. We've got more important things to do."