How Things Change:
Chapter II~ The Plan
A little under a week had passed since Hinata was admitted to the hospital, and it was on that day that she was to be awoken from her drug induced sleep.
Dai Takeshi, the one who had attacked her, had been discovered nearly dead in his cell a few days previous and there was no evidence to prove who left him for dead. Whoever attacked him was extremely careful to not leave a trail.
After being discovered, Takeshi was rushed to the ER and it was there he was pronounced dead. The medics tried to save him, but their attempt had been futile.
Or, at least, that's what most believed. The truth was that, after he was taken into the hospital for emergency treatment, a powerful Genjutsu was placed over the doctors who treated him to make them believe he was dead. After that, Takeshi was removed from the hospital to have his body cremated (as that was what was done to all deceased ninja)…only the body put in the fire was a fake. Takeshi was actually hidden away, on life support so that Minato and Kushina could try and reverse the effects of the seal Takeshi had placed on him.
Minato and Kushina knew this would be the best thing to do with him as, if the elders knew he was alive, they were likely to have him killed off to hide any involvement they had in the attack of Hinata.
They knew this was the case because Nobuo Kuro had barely escaped death. He was lucky that Maito Gai was the one guarding him on the night he was attacked.
No one figured out who attacked him, but Gai was able to chase him away. After that, Kuro was taken into protective custody and he was always under strict surveillance; no one would touch him. He was one of the pieces to the puzzle that needed solving and Minato wasn't going to allow anyone to kill him.
He possessed no training of a ninja and it was unlikely he could have survived against an attack by a ninja like Takeshi had. Plus, they planned to use him as one of the witnesses whenever they had enough evidence to go against the two elders of the village. They didn't believe it would be too hard to convince him to. For the last week, Nobuo Kuro had been a complete wreck as he genuinely felt guilty for what he had done. He told them he didn't know what went over him, and begged forgiveness for his crimes.
Because of Inoichi evaluation, Minato believed that Kuro was not at fault for Hinata's abduction; however that didn't mean he was going to go unpunished. While it was true that he was not at fault for Hinata's attack, the fact of the matter remained that, for years, he neglected Hinata. Until the trial, he was to remain unharmed, but that didn't mean he was not going to be punished; his imprisonment was going to be far from being cozy. He was also going to finally get the psychiatric help he needed whether he liked it or not.
And if he proved helpful in Hinata's case against Koharu and Homura, Minato had every intention of letting him go (once Inoichi declared him fit for society, that is).
Nothing too horrible was done to him as he was only a civilian, but Genjutsu was to be used against him. Nothing too horrible was shown to him, as they didn't want him to go crazy from the illusions. All they wanted him to be was uncomfortable.
They also wanted him to fully regret ever hurting Hinata.
The Genjutsu placed on him, Minato hoped, would help him see the error in his ways and allow him to repent for what he had done to Hinata for all those years she was in his care.
They could have done something similar to keep Dai Takeshi safe, but after he had attacked Hinata like he had, he was lucky to even be breathing still. Had they not needed him alive, he would have been dead as soon as they found out what he had done. He did not deserve life at all after torturing Hinata as he had even if he wasn't in his right mind when he had done it, and they weren't going to tell Hinata that her tormentor was still alive, either.
To everyone but a very select few, he was dead to the world. And Hinata was going to be among the number who thought him dead. No one wanted her to be worried that he had any possibility of escaping and finding her, again.
Before Hinata was to be woken up, however, Minato and Kushina wanted to check her mental state of mind. They were worried about her, and wanted to know just what it would take to help Hinata get through what she had suffered from. They hoped she wasn't put through so much that she lost all trust in people; not everyone in the world was like the man who attacked her and they hoped she could still see that there were good people in the world.
In order to help figure out just what she was feeling, Minato decided he would call in Yamanaka Inoichi once more. He believed the easiest way to figure it out was to have someone enter her mind, and he would be the perfect candidate. Not only was he the best of his clan, but he was also the only one Minato and Kushina would trust fully to complete the task.
Minato sighed as he sent the messenger bird out to Inoichi.
"I hope he can find something useful…"
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Yamanaka Inoichi had arrived to Hinata's room as soon as he was summoned and could not help but feel a bit depressed. When he had entered Takeshi's mind he was able to see exactly what was done to the girl, and this time he was likely to see it from Hinata's viewpoint. It was horrible seeing it in Takeshi's head, but it would be unbearable seeing it from Hinata's. He, however, knew that it was something that needed to be done, and it would be best if it was done as soon as possible.
Kushina sat next to Hinata's bed holding her hand, and Minato was behind his wife with his hand on her shoulder when Inoichi arrived.
Minato turned and greeted the ninja.
"Hello, Inoichi. How are you feeling?"
Inoichi sighed and shook his head.
"Not very well, Hokage-sama. I've been having nightmares about what I saw in Takeshi's head…I can't help but think 'what if it was Ino that went through it?' I don't know what I'd do if my little girl experienced what Hinata had."
Minato nodded his head and said, "I had a feeling something like this would happen to you. And, seeing it in Hinata's point of view isn't likely to do anything but make those feelings worse. I'm sorry I am having you do this for me, Inoichi."
"I understand why it is you want me to do it, Hokage-sama, so you don't have any reason to apologize. I too want to help this girl as much as I can. She never deserved any of what happened to her." Inoichi replied.
Minato turned to Hinata and frowned sadly.
"I wish I had protected her better. I should have fought harder to see her more, but I didn't, and it's what I regret the most now in life. I was only able to see her once a month and I believed she had been being taken care of. I knew the caretaker distanced himself a bit from her, but whenever I was there she looked fine, albeit a bit shy and withdrawn. Neither she nor any of the other children spoke about what she really went through there, and I mistakenly assumed it meant everything was fine. I would have never let her stay there had I known she was being neglected." He sighed. "I guess this is what I get for thinking the best in people…"
Inoichi shook his head. "Don't think that way, Hokage-sama. It's not healthy to always see the bad in people. That's all you'll ever see if you do."
Minato nodded and replied, "Yeah, I guess…but I should have noticed something was up. There were small signs—like the caretaker distancing himself—but I guess I overlooked them at the time. I wanted to believe everything was fine with her; I didn't want to believe she wasn't being cared for properly. It's only now that I realized I was wrong for overlooking those signs. I should have watched her more, perhaps even assigned someone to guard and watch out for her safety in secret…but I didn't. I should have, but I didn't. I failed her."
Kushina looked up, finally deciding to speak up. "We failed her Minato; I'm just as much to blame."
Inoichi sighed.
He understood the feeling of failure. He was one of the head interrogators in the village, and, while he was great at his job, he wasn't perfect. Nobody could hope to be perfect. He had made mistakes, caused people to die who shouldn't have because he had gotten information wrong. There had also been times when he had not been able to get the information he needed soon enough and had to look into the eyes of someone, who had put their trust into him, and tell them that he was too slow to help…
Mentioning that would be of little help, however.
"So many ninja had died for the village on that night, would you have even been able to assign someone the task of protecting her?" Inoichi responded.
Inoichi was right. It was chaos after the attack and all ninja were expected to help, whether it was with repairs or missions. Genin, who never should have been assigned anything higher than a C-rank, were sent out on missions that Chūnin or Jōnin would have been assigned because many of the higher ranked ninja lost their lives during the attack.
At the time, Minato would not have been able to assign someone to watch over Hinata, as the village needed all the help it could get. As leader, he needed to put the village first. He needed to protect everyone in the village and that meant he couldn't just focus all of his energy on one girl. As leader he needed to make hard decisions—decisions he sometimes would forget—for the sake of the village. It was a harsh reality, but it was true.
"I don't know, maybe not." Minato said, even though he knew the answer. "But it doesn't matter; I could have still done more to help keep her safe."
Inoichi lowered his head and kept quiet, not sure what else he could say. His last attempt hadn't done much in helping the Hokage.
Kushina listened to her husband speak and tears started to leak from her eyes. She felt just as he did, she had failed Hinata. She had failed her sister's daughter. Hinata was going to always have the memory of what happened to her in her head; she would never be able to out run it. She could try burying it deep within her subconscious and ignore it, but, sooner or later, she would have to deal with it. Kushina hoped Hinata would forgive her, but she also felt like she shouldn't…did she really deserve such forgiveness?
Hinata, barely seven years old, had suffered from one of the worse things imaginable. Kushina felt that if she had arrived sooner to the orphanage, then maybe she wouldn't have suffered. Kushina hoped with all of her heart that Hinata could overcome the memory…she was likely to never fully recover from it, but she hoped that the memory wouldn't overcome her. If she shut herself off completely from others, then she might never be able to form the bonds she should with people.
She could quite possibly hate them all, and that would not be healthy for her. The memory of what happened could cause her to go insane, and Kushina was afraid for, not only Hinata's safety, but others as well. She knew the fox within Hinata was probably whispering to her, Seiko had told Kushina that it did her. The fox would do anything to escape and, with Hinata at such a fragile state of mind, it might actually get its chance at freedom. And, if that happened, Hinata would become the very thing that the villagers were afraid of. The very thing they all expected her to become.
The very thing they all helped create.
Kushina took a deep breath and brushed her tears away. She would not let that happen to Hinata. Somehow, someway she was going to help save her from going down that dark bath. Kushina looked to her husband with unwavering courage in her eyes as she gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.
"We're not going to make that mistake again. We're going to be here for Hinata from this point onward, and no one will get in our way!" She looked to the sleeping girl. "Come hell or high water, we'll be there for her—dattebane!"
Minato grew strength from the look in his wife's eyes, and he couldn't help but smile a bit at her verbal tic.
"You're right, Kushina. This time it will be different." He then laughed. "And if you keep doing that, you know Naruto will pick up on it. I think he already has."
Kushina blushed in embarrassment and slapped her husband on the chest lightly. "Oh, be quiet you."
She couldn't help but smile, also, however. She felt as if things were going to be alright now.
Inoichi was happy to see that he wasn't needed to cheer up the Hokage, after all; his wife had done it just fine on her own.
He too had seen the look in her eyes; the reason Kushina was such a feared Kunoichi was because of the fact that she held such powerful determination. If she put her mind to something, like she just had, then it was more than likely going to happen. She never gave up as it went against her Nindō, her ninja way.
Inoichi, growing strength from her, knew he would try his best when entering Hinata's mind. He would help the girl, no matter how horrible it would be to see everything from her point of view.
Inoichi clenched his fist tightly and said, "I'm ready to begin Kushina-sama, Hokage-sama."
Kushina frowned at that honorific added to her name but didn't comment on it, instead she said, "Would you prefer to do this alone, or would you like us here?"
"I think it'd be best if I did this alone. I usually work better that way when it comes to entering a person's consciousness."
Kushina nodded and turned to her husband. "We did have a few things to take care of…now would be the perfect time to do so."
Minato nodded at his wife and grew serious once more. "You're right, it would be."
Together Minato and Kushina left the hospital room so Inoichi could do his job.
The atmosphere had lightened a bit at the end of the meeting, but as soon as the door closed behind the two ninja, and Inoichi looked to Hinata, he couldn't help but feel a cloud of despair wrap around him. He was going to try his best to help the girl, he swore he would, but it was still going to be horrible witnessing what she had done to her for a second time.
Inoichi sighed as he made his way over to the sleeping girl; it was going to be a very long couple of hours.
'I hope I succeed…'
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While the Hokage and Kushina were meeting with Yamanaka Inoichi, an elderly woman paced back and forth within the small confines of her office. This woman was very angry, but also a bit fearful, as she had a lot to think about, and didn't know just how much time she'd have to do so.
She was in deep shit, to put it bluntly. Very deep shit.
'That worthless man…!' Was the current thought that ran through the head of Utatane Koharu, elder of the Hidden Leaf Village.
"If I ever get the chance to get my hands on him, he'll wish he were dead…" She threatened under her breath while she paced.
Normally Koharu was a woman with nothing to be worried about—being one of the most powerful people in the village (second only to the Hokage and his wife) tended to do that to that to a person—but that had all changed when she made the worse mistake of her life. No matter how many guards she had protecting her, if she wasn't able to figure a way out of it, it was likely to turn deadly for her.
A few days had passed since the incident that had happened regarding Nobuo Kuro, and it was because of what had happened that caused Koharu to become the way she was at that moment.
She had been worried after what had happened with Hinata, but she thought she could fix it once the death of Dai Takeshi had become public. She had thought that she could easily kill off the final man who had put her at risk.
But that wasn't going to happen now, not with how heavily guarded he was.
The reason Nobuo Kuro had been guarded so heavily as of late was because of the fact that he had been attacked, and his attacker had escaped, if only just barely. He was attacked because Koharu thought it'd be best to take him out. She, having no other alternative, went to Shimura Danzō and requested his best man to complete the job.
She had hinted that if he did not, she would tell the Hokage all about his secret dealings in Root.
He knew it was a lie, however. He knew she would not rat him out, which is why he agreed to help her.
Koharu knew Danzō had not, and would likely never, forgive her for what she had done, but he had agreed to help her nonetheless. He had given Koharu the man who he said was his prized pupil to take care of the old man, but Danzō had turned out to be deceitful. Koharu thought it was strange that he'd help her out so easily, but had no other choice but to accept it.
However, it didn't take Koharu long before she realized why she felt suspicious of Danzō.
The man Danzō had given her had failed, and would have been captured if it weren't for the fact that Maito Gai didn't think it a good idea to go after him and leave Kuro completely unguarded. And she believed this is exactly what Danzō had wanted. She believed he wanted his man to fail, but to still escape to be properly disposed of.
Shimura Danzō was also an advisor of the village, but he had not agreed with the attempted assassination of the village's Jinchūriki. He wanted to recruit the girl into his secret project Root, but Koharu and her old teammate Mitokado Homura had dismissed the idea. She was too much of a risk to the village, they believed. They knew she wasn't the Kyūbi incarnate, and they felt it pretty stupid of others in the village to believe she was, but they still thought she would be more of a liability to the village than anything. So, without Danzō's knowledge or approval, they had attempted an assassination of the girl.
Koharu and Homura always put the village's safety first, and they believe Hinata was a risk. She was a safety hazard and she needed to be taken care of before the village was hurt.
Koharu and Homura suspected that the Uchiha clan had something to do with the fox's attack and they did not trust them. If they killed Hinata, they believed, it would kill the fox and destroy the only weapon the Uchiha could use against them. It would keep them safe, for a while anyway.
Hinata was disposable and her death was necessary to save the village.
But it hadn't gone as planned much to Koharu's and Homura's dismay.
The man that they had hired for the job had been someone they knew would feel no empathy toward the girl who he was sent to kill, but he had not followed their orders.
They told him he was to kill her immediately, making it look like a terrible accident. But he had not. He had wasted time when he attacked her, and had tortured her needlessly.
Koharu knew she should never have trusted him to get the job done…
They had wanted her dead, but that was unlikely to happen now after the attack; she, just like Nobuo Kuro, would be protected heavily. If Dai Takeshi hadn't been killed already, probably by someone the Hokage had hired, Koharu would have killed him herself. She hated it when people didn't follow their orders, and she especially hated Takeshi for not fulfilling his and putting her and her only friend in danger.
And now, because of Danzō, she and Homura were truly at risk—Nobuo Kuro needed to die just as Takeshi had. He had been the last piece that connected them to the attempted murder (other than Takeshi, who was already dead, and Danzō, who wouldn't openly rat them out). Even though Kuro had been sealed, they were unsure if the Hokage or Kushina, who excelled at sealing techniques, could remove and possibly reverse the effects of the seal. Homura and Koharu didn't excel at sealing techniques like the Hokage and his wife did, but they were decent at them; they had based the seal they placed on Kuro and Takeshi off of the one Danzō placed on his Root subjects, with a few modifications, but they were unsure of how long it would keep the two best seal masters in the village at bay.
She was also unsure if they'd be able to catch the Genjutsu she had used on Kuro to get him to agree with the plan…
After the assassination plot had been completed, they had planned to have both Takeshi and Kuro killed, just to make sure nothing of the truth would get out, but Takeshi had ruined it when he had failed to dispose of Hinata like he was ordered to. And it was because of that that they had to go to Danzō for help. They needed someone to take care of Kuro, someone who could disappear without suspicion, and what would be better than someone who wasn't supposed to exist?
So, after talking it over Danzō agreed to help them, although, a bit too easily. The ninja he sent to them, they were told, was the best of the best and that he could easily get the job done. Koharu and Homura, who had little choice, had to take his word for it and sent the shinobi to kill Kuro after they found out about Takeshi's expected demise.
However, the man he had given them had failed, and had barely escaped the encounter. And Koharu believed it had been intentional. She believed Danzō was trying to get back at her and Homura for the assassination attempt for Hinata. It was his own way of punishing them for going against his will. It was not, they soon realized, a good idea to double cross the third elder of the village, and they were likely to pay for doing so.
"That Bastard," Koharu muttered to herself as she paced her own office. "How dare he do that to us!"
Koharu couldn't even get revenge on him without risking herself even further. If she so much as whispered his secret dealings in Root, he would confess everything to the Hokage.
The only reason he kept quiet now was because he'd rather not let the Hokage know about Root, but if it came out because of Homura and Koharu, he would not hesitate to confess their involvement in Hinata's attempted murder. And, if the Hokage ever had enough evidence to prove who the culprits were, Danzō would have more than enough time to cover up his involvement in Root.
Danzō was safe, and he knew it.
He had refused to help in the assassination.
Danzō hadn't even known that Homura and Koharu had already had everything planned out for it when they went to him. They lied to him after they found out he wanted no role in it, telling him they weren't going to do anything just yet. They even lied to him about trying to find a way to get Hinata into Root for him. And it was only now, after the fact that they realized they had obviously made a huge mistake when they went behind the back of the third elder of the village. The only involvement he had was likely to have already been killed. Root, to almost everyone, didn't exist, so neither did the man that had attacked Nobuo Kuro. And, if he had already been disposed of, there wouldn't be any hope in tracking that man back to Danzō.
Koharu and Homura's lives, unlike Danzō's, were at risk.
And, that is exactly why Utatane Koharu wished the painful death of Shimura Danzō.
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Minato and Kushina made their way toward the Hokage Tower after leaving the hospital room that belonged to Hinata. They wanted to hurry up with the next phase of their plan, and, in order to do so, needed to get some paperwork signed. Normally what they were trying to do took a few weeks to complete, but, because they were stressed for time, they had the forms written up within the week. It just needed a few signatures, Minato's included. They would also need Kakashi's and Hiashi's help with their plan, and had sent messenger birds to the Jōnin and Clan Head to meet them in Minato's office as soon as possible.
Kushina looked to her husband and sighed. "So, do you think he will do it? It's quite a bit to ask from him, you know."
"I know." Minato then smiled to his wife. "But you've seen how protective he's gotten of Hinata. I'm sure he'll agree to do it, even if he is a bit reserved to do so."
Kushina nodded then asked, "But, do you think he can handle it? It's not the sort of task we usually ask for him to complete. He doesn't really have much knowledge in this field and you know it."
Minato let out a small chuckle.
"You're right, Kushina, it's not what he is used to doing. It'll be a whole new experience for him. And his current training hasn't really gotten him ready for what we're asking of him." Minato paused a moment and then continued. "But, he was my student and I know how hard of a worker he is. I also consider him a friend, and I'd trust him with my life without a second thought. I think he'll be able to handle it…it will just take a bit of getting use to at first."
Kushina smiled feeling reassured. "Don't let him hear you say that, it will go straight to his head."
Minato smiled.
"I don't need to tell him, he already knows," After a moment, he continued. "Anyways, I wasn't really ready for it, either, but I've done an okay job…and he was trained by the best, so I doubt it will be too hard to get the hang of, right?"
Kushina lowered her head into her own palms as she said, "Oh, God…we're screwed."
Minato pouted at his wife in the most dramatic way possible and whined, "You don't really mean that, do you?"
Kushina looked up from her palm and winked, "You'll never know, now will you?"
She then turned from her husband and concentrated chakra to her feet and ran toward the Hokage Tower at full speed.
Minato followed close behind. He was going to get her to tell him the truth.
Minato was the first to arrive at the Hokage Tower as he wasn't called the Yellow Flash for no reason; Kushina was quick, but not even she could beat him when it came to speed. Kushina could beat Minato when it came to raw power because of her special chakra, but when it came to speed Minato won hands down.
Kushina arrived a few seconds later with a pout on her face. "You always win."
Minato smiled. "I know…now tell me, am I really that bad?"
Kushina sighed as she smiled. "No, I guess not."
Minato's smile widened. "Haha, that's what I thought!"
"Liar, you should have seen your face…it was kind of ridiculous, actually." Kushina stated as she walked into the tower toward her Husband's office.
Minato followed behind, but not before sticking his tongue out at her in a very childish, un-Hokage like fashion.
Kushina pretended not to notice, and just rolled her eyes in amusement.
When Minato and Kushina made it to the office, their carefree attitudes disappeared almost instantly. Hyūga Hiashi and Hatake Kakashi were standing in front of the door, waiting for them to arrive. It was time to get down to business.
"I see you both beat us here, sorry about being late to our own meeting." Minato stated.
"No need to worry, Hokage-sama." Hiashi said; and by the way he said it, Minato knew he was still not forgiven for keeping him in the dark for so long. "What is it I can do for you?"
Minato opened his office and told them to get comfortable, and then he closed the doors. "We have the paper work drawn up, and we just need you to sign it."
Hiashi nodded then looked to Kakashi for a moment. "So I take it this was the man you were referring to before?"
Minato nodded. "It is, and I take it you will have no problems with it?"
Hiashi thought for a moment. "I have no complaints. I've heard a great deal about Hatake-san, I know he could more than handle what will be required of him. He is one of the best Jōnin of the village, after all."
"Then all we need from you is your signature."
Hiashi nodded his head and grabbed the pen and pack of papers he was offered and began to go through and sign and initial all of the places he had to.
As this was happening, Kakashi turned to his mentor. "What's going on, Minato-sensei?"
"You haven't told him?" Hiashi raised his eyebrows in surprise as he handed the papers back to Kushina.
Minato shook his head. "I wanted to know what you would say first." He then looked to his former student. "I guess I should explain now, huh?"
Hiashi stood, his eyes narrowed at Minato. "Yes, Hokage-sama, it would be wise to do that. I have to get back to my clan, now, however; they'll ask questions if I am gone too long as I told them I was merely going out for a short stroll around the village like I do on occasion. I hope everything goes as planned."
He would be extremely angry if it didn't as he believed the Hokage should have explained it to the man who was going to have the biggest role in what had been decided. Hiashi turned from the Hokage and left the room without another word.
It would be a while before he forgave them.
"He is so cold…" Kushina whispered.
Minato turned to his wife. "Can you really blame him?"
Kushina shook her head and as she did, Kakashi asked, "What is it you have to explain to me?"
He was very curious as to what kind of mission he was being assigned to. If it involved the Hyūga clan head, he assumed it was important. His wife had recently given birth to an heiress, so he wondered if it was going to involve guard duty. He hoped that wasn't it as there was only so much babysitting he could handle.
Minato sat behind his desk and sighed. "I have an extended mission that I wish to assign to you. It's A-ranked, but it probably won't be anything you're used to doing. And it's unlikely you'll run into enemy ninja while completing it."
Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow in confusion. "Why is it such a high ranked mission, then?"
"Because it involves Hinata." Minato replied calmly.
Kakashi nodded; he was relieved he didn't have to watch over a baby not yet one year old. But what did Hiashi have to do with it?
"Do you want me to guard her from the shadows?"
"Not quite…but before I explain what I would like for you to do, I have few questions I would like to ask." Minato said to his former pupil.
"What would you like to know, Minato-sensei?"
"How do you feel about Hinata?" Minato replied.
Kakashi answered almost instantly. "I don't hate her, and I do not wish any harm to come of her, if that's what you're getting at."
He felt as if that was what he was being accused of and he felt a bit betrayed by his former teacher for asking him such a question.
Minato shook his head. "I already can see you don't hate her, Kakashi. I just would like to know what you think of her."
Kakashi thought a moment before he answered. "Hmm, I don't really know her all that well. I've only ever seen her a couple of times, and that was when she was with either you or Kushina. I don't really understand why she is treated the way she is even if she is a Jinchūriki. If anyone were to look at her for who she was as a person, and not as if she were the demon she kept prisoner, they'd realize she was never one to be afraid of. From what I've seen, she is actually a polite young lady, and she seemed pretty shy, too."
Minato nodded in understanding. "Well, that answers my first question. Now for my second question…why were you so quick in volunteering to watch over Hinata while she was in the hospital?"
"I promised not to let anything happen to her, Minato-sensei." Kakashi answered simply.
Minato was a bit surprised by that. "When did you promise her that?"
Kakashi sighed. "I promised her that when I found her. I couldn't stand seeing her, just a little girl, in so much pain. I couldn't stand the fact that anyone would be so heartless to do that to her…especially someone who was sworn to protect the village and its people. So, after I knocked her attacker unconscious, I promised her I wouldn't let anything else happen to her."
Kakashi closed his visible eye as he thought about what he had seen. It was a horrible sight; even for him…it reminded him of all the children he had seen suffer from horrible wounds during the fox's attack of the village seven year ago. It being on the anniversary of the attack hadn't helped any. The man that had attacked Hinata was more of a demon than Hinata would ever be.
Minato rested his chin in his hand as he spoke. "Even after she is released from the hospital, would that promise still hold true, Kakashi?"
Kakashi opened his eye and shrugged slightly. "I guess it depends, Minato-sensei. I am a member of ANBU, so it is likely for my services to be needed outside of the village. If I was in the village, and I wasn't too busy with my own assignments, then yes the promise would still hold true."
"That's good to hear." Minato stated with a smile.
"Why is it good to hear, Minato-sensei?" Kakashi asked, unsure of where the conversation was going.
"It's good to hear because I know you were indeed the right person for this assignment." Minato replied.
"And just what is the assignment?" Kakashi asked in anticipation.
"I do want you to watch over Hinata, Kakashi, but it will be in a different way than you would expect. Also, in order to complete this task, I am removing you from active duty." Minato said, wondering just how Kakashi would take that bit of news.
If it weren't for Kakashi's mask, Minato and Kushina would have seen his mouth fall open.
"You can't be serious…"
"I am completely serious, Kakashi." Minato stated with authority, his tone telling Kakashi he would follow this order whether he liked it or not. "Kushina and I believe this mission to be very important and we hope you agree to participate in it without me having to force you to."
"You know I would take any mission you assigned to me." Kakashi said as he clenched his teeth; the thought of being taken off of active duty kind of irked him.
The only thing he had ever known really was being an active shinobi. If that got taken away, what else would he do?
Minato noticed how tense Kakashi was getting and sighed. "I am sorry for forcing this upon you, Kakashi. I really am. But I cannot let something like this happen again to Hinata, I hope you understand."
Kakashi took a deep breath and released it slowly to calm himself. "I understand, Minato-sensei. I don't wish for Hinata to go through something like that again, either." Kakashi thought for a moment. "You mentioned that I would be watching over Hinata, but not in the way I would expect…just what did you mean by that?"
"What I mean…" Minato started. "Actually, I think you'll get it as soon as I give you these forms to sign."
Minato nodded to Kushina who in turn stepped forward to Kakashi and handed him a pack of papers and a pen.
"Just sign in all the spaces provided for you, Kakashi. Anything that is marked 'Hokage Authorization Signature' you can and should leave blank." Kushina stated softly.
She felt a bit guilty for forcing the man into doing this.
Kakashi grabbed the papers and looked at them already guessing what they were.
"These aren't what I think they are, are they?" He asked, already knowing the answer.
Minato rubbed the back of his head with a guilty grin plastered on his face. "Um, if you think they're adoption papers, then you would be correct."
"I was afraid of that." Kakashi muttered as he started to sign the forms.
'Just what am I getting myself into?'
End.