A/N: FFN was being funky with chapter updates a few weeks back, so I don't know if you've all seen that I posted chapter 21! If you haven't read it, def read that before you start this one.
The moment the last of the chains fell Sasuke grabbed Naruto and pulled him close. Naruto was shivering against him, his skin warm and clammy with sweat. For a few seconds he stayed completely still, but then his hands came up to clutch at the front of Sasuke's shirt as Naruto buried his face against Sasuke's neck, his lips pressed up against the skin, soft and dry.
They stayed like this for a while, breathing in each others scent, but eventually they had to pull apart. The both of them knew this was just the first step towards the solution and that they couldn't relax just yet.
It had hurt seeing Naruto turn from his usual self into the beast, to see vibrant blue eyes turn into red ones burning with a rage that clearly wasn't Naruto. He still looked like himself, even with his features shifted into something else, but at the same time it was clear that it wasn't Naruto any more, with the pure fury as his body thrashed in its bonds, the way he snapped with a mouth filled with elongated fangs, looking like he would like nothing more than to tear out more of Sasuke's flesh.
It had been so hard sitting still and letting the beast thrash, Sasuke's body tense, hand on the handle of his katana as he desperately hoped the chains would hold so he wouldn't have to use the blade. He would never forgive himself he he had to, but he also knew that Naruto would never forgive him if Sasuke didn't stop him, so he just watched with careful eyes, eyes following the links of chain, glad to see that the steel seemed to hold.
Sasuke had no idea what had gone on between Naruto and the beast, his body stilling for a while. Sasuke had to fight the urge to intervene, and when the beast started fighting again he had found himself walking towards where Naruto was tied up, knowing he had to do something, had to help Naruto get back.
Yamato had tried to stop him, a clawed hand curling around Sasuke's biceps, but he shrugged him off, and kept going until he was close enough to talk to Naruto, to try to give him the strength to get control of himself again. The beast had seemed agitated at first, but then he'd bumped his nose against Sasuke's palm, and even as Sasuke was starting to wait for the moment when he lost a finger or two or five to those fangs Naruto's body shuddered, and he started changing back, and soon perfectly human eyes were blinking tiredly up at Sasuke.
Naruto seemed reluctant to let him go now, clinging to him even as Sasuke stood up, wanting to move them away from the chains to some place they could sit more comfortably, and Naruto was little more than dead weight around his neck, but Sasuke didn't mind one bit.
Naruto winced as he put weight on his feet, legs probably numb from the awkward position he had been in, so Sasuke pulled Naruto's arm around his neck and half-dragged him towards where Yamato was sitting near the wall.
Naruto collapsed to the ground when Sasuke kneeled down, and Sasuke let him lie, just pulled Naruto's head into his lap so he'd be more comfortable. Naruto whined, slapping feebly at his own thighs as he complained about how they hurt as they were waking up.
There wasn't much Sasuke could do about that, so he just threaded his fingers through Naruto's hair, gently stroking his scalp, wishing he could do more for his boyfriend.
Naruto pushed his head into the touch, seemingly calming down from it, and Sasuke just wished this moment could drag on forever, because this was really all he needed, to have Naruto with him. He hated how they'd been separated for so long, wanted nothing more than to bring Naruto home, but something told him that wasn't about to happen just yet. He still wasn't sure what Naruto had found out when he shifted, the only thing Naruto had said was that it wanted to be free. Obviously he was talking about the beast. Sasuke wasn't surprised that it wanted to be free, he just wasn't sure how that was a solution. Naruto couldn't just let the beast be in control and roam around in the forest, that would be losing himself, and Sasuke wasn't about to let that happen.
But if Naruto had figured out enough that he could work on controlling the beast, that meant that he would come home now, didn't it? They could keep working on control back home, Sasuke would remodel his office into some safe place to shift if that was what it took. He'd do anything to get Naruto home at this point.
Sasuke had completely forgotten that they weren't alone in the barn, only remembering Yamato when the other man got to his feet, walking towards the doors and unfastening the chain there.
"Naruto?" Sasuke asked, voice low because he didn't really want to disturb Naruto but he also needed to talk to him.
"Yeah?" Naruto murmured and blinked up at him, a soft smile spreading on his face as he met his gaze.
"What did you find out?"
Naruto proceeded to tell him about what he had experienced when he was shifted, the way he had been able to see the beast's thoughts, what it wanted, how it just longed to be free.
"How will that help you control it, you can't just give in to it?" Sasuke asked after Naruto stopped talking. Sasuke still wasn't sure he understood just what Naruto had felt, didn't think he ever could, not really, but at least Naruto seemed to have learned something from the shift, so he guessed it was worth it.
"I think I just have to give in to it sometimes. Like how you gotta walk a dog you know? So if I let it be in control now and again, then it won't fight me as much. I think maybe that's how it's supposed to be. I've always just held it back, but maybe we're supposed to, I dunno, cooperate?"
"So, you think you can learn how to shift on will?" Sasuke asked, not quite believing it could be as easy as Naruto was trying to make it out to be. Naruto would be incredibly powerful if he could change into his other form when he wanted. He was strong and agile and a formidable fighter when he was in his regular human form, but the other side was stronger, faster, and came equipped with weapons. Sasuke should know, had felt what those claws could do.
"I think maybe so, eventually? I think it will take time, but like, I feel this is it, you know? I think this was how my birth father could control it."
"So, you can come home now? We can do this at home, together?"
Sasuke didn't like the way Naruto bit down on his bottom lip and looked away, and Sasuke's hand stilled where it had been stroking through Naruto's hair.
"Naruto?" he prodded.
"I can't just walk away from this situation. Not when I know who Danzo is. He killed my parents, Sasuke."
Sasuke's eyes widened in shock. He hadn't known that, had clearly missed out on what had happened with Naruto, and he hated it, hated not having been able to be around him, and support him and protect him.
He wanted to know everything, but Naruto was pushing up to sit next to Sasuke instead. "What time is it?"
Sasuke pulled out his cellphone, noting that they had been here for several hours already. He should have realised when he could no longer seen daylight through the cracks of the barn, but he had been too preoccupied with watching Naruto.
"It's almost six," he said, and Naruto looked away from him for a moment, trading glances with Yamato. Sasuke didn't like it one bit, didn't like that Yamato could be there with Naruto, helping where Sasuke hadn't been able to.
"We need to get back," Naruto said and Sasuke found his hand shooting out, grabbing onto Naruto's shoulder.
"You are not leaving me again," he said. Naruto looked at him, and his eyes looked sad, but there was a determined set to his jaw, and Sasuke knew Naruto well enough that unless he knocked him out and stuck him in the trunk of his car Naruto was going through with whatever he was planning.
"You don't need to go back there, you don't need the drugs any more," Sasuke said. "If the councilman killed your parents then we tell Kakashi, we send in a team and apprehend him, there's no reason for you go back there."
Naruto looked at him, a small frown on his forehead as he seemed to think about it.
Sasuke was sure Naruto was going to agree until Yamato piped up, ruining everything.
"It won't be that easy," he said, and Sasuke wanted to sneer at him, because who cared if it wasn't going to be that easy. Naruto would be back home, and everything else they could deal with then.
"Danzo knows a lot of people. He's been working in politics for years, he has a lot of influence. If the DPA gets sent here someone will warn him, and any evidence will be long gone. You won't get a conviction, but you will get targets painted on your back," Yamato said, and it felt as if he'd dumped a bucket of ice water over Sasuke's head.
"He has contacts in the DPA?"
"He has contacts everywhere. There's a reason no one has ever looked into him before. Naruto isn't the first one that wanted to leave when they saw Danzo for who he was. There were other shifters who ran away, Naruto's father among them. They never got the chance to talk, or if they did someone made sure to quiet them again."
It was dark in the barn, but Yamato had turned on the flash light of his cellphone and put it on the floor, and the way the light lit up his face from the underside made him look chilling, the light creating long shadows on his face. It didn't help how his voice was steady as he told of others' fate. There was no doubt in Sasuke that Yamato was telling the truth.
"What good will it do you to go back there?" Sasuke answered. "What are you going to do, kill him?" Truth be told he wasn't sure that was a completely bad idea. Danzo had taken Naruto away from him, had drugged him up, had been the one to kill his parents apparently. Sasuke wouldn't have minded finding Danzo with the sharp end of his katana himself, but he also knew that wasn't how they did things.
He couldn't help the way his mind instantly flashed to his brother and how he had looked as Sasuke's blade killed him. Maybe this is exactly how Sasuke did things. He'd killed plenty of times. Sure, they had all been demons, but couldn't humans be just as evil? He only had fragments of the picture to who the councilman really was, but from what he had gathered from Naruto he wasn't a good man. He'd had people killed, he'd basically kidnapped Naruto, and apparently he was shady enough to have corrupted DPA leaders into being on his side. He wished he knew more, but Naruto had only told him bits and pieces while he was trying to shift earlier. He wanted to know everything, but they never seemed to have the time, not if Naruto was going to leave him again so soon.
"I have to find evidence. I won't let him get away with this. He killed my birth parents, Sasuke. He buys teeth from dead shifters to use for who-knows-what. I have a feeling I only know half of it too." Naruto looked agitated, like he wanted to do nothing more than run back there and confront Danzo right away.
"I don't think having a man like Danzo in any position of political power is going to be a good thing," Yamato shot in.
"Then why haven't you done anything before?" Sasuke spat out. This Yamato clearly knew who Danzo was, why was he just letting him keep on doing what he did?
Yamato looked away, and Sasuke didn't know how to interpret the look on his face. Embarrassment? Regret?
For a few long moment no one said anything, the quiet of the barn unsettling. Sasuke wasn't stupid, he knew there were no easy outcomes from this situation. Naruto could leave with him, but then Danzo might want him back and would find a way to do so, or he'd just kill him for knowing too much. Or he wouldn't do anything, and they'd have to see him get more political power, and who knew what would happen then. If Naruto stayed he was putting himself at risk, and they had no idea if he would even be able to find any evidence good enough to take Danzo down. Sasuke almost wished Danzo was a vampire, because then he would have no qualms about walking in there and beheading the bastard, but that wasn't how the law worked. As far as they knew Danzo was human, and he would need to be treated as one, and that meant they took him down within the confines of the law.
This would have been a lot easier if not for corrupt leaders. Sasuke wasn't even surprised. Years of working in the DPA had made it blatantly clear that there was a lot of things wrong with the department, and it was no surprise that corruption was a part of it all. He had chosen not to think about it before, because before he had met Naruto he hadn't cared much about anything other than revenge. He trusted his unit though, trusted Kakashi, and knew that no matter how many corrupt leaders were crawling around in the department Kakashi was not one of them, and that they did do good, saving lives every single night.
Right now it mattered little. Sasuke would never go back to his job unless Naruto was by his side, and judging by the determined look on Naruto's face that wasn't happening any time soon. Naruto had made his decision, and there would be no changing it.
Sasuke let out a sigh and moved his hand to curl around Naruto's neck, pulling him closer until their foreheads rested together, their breaths as one.
"I hate this," he said, voice sounding rough in his throat.
"I know," Naruto said back.
"Leave it to you to get mixed up with people like this. You are too damned trusting." There were no real accusation in his voice.
"Yeah, I trusted you too, didn't I?"
Sasuke huffed, but couldn't help the small smile tugging at his lips.
"I know I can't come with you to the cabin, but we do this together. I brought the phone charger, so you contact me every day. The moment you think someone suspect anything you run and I'll come get you. I'll kill Danzo the moment he threatens you."
Naruto didn't say anything, but Sasuke could see the sheen of tears in his eyes even in the dim light of from the flash light app.
Sasuke brushed his thumbs over Naruto's cheekbones, drying off the few tears that had escaped.
"I love you so much, Sasuke," Naruto said, voice thick.
"I love you too," Sasuke said, the words coming easy now, and he had no idea why he had ever found them hard to say. He leaned in and kissed Naruto, trying to convince himself that letting Naruto go back to that cabin to investigate was a good idea.
The air was warm and smelled strongly of chemicals as he opened the door to his small laboratory, walking inside and making sure to lock after himself. He could feel his nose twitch as the smell burned in his nostrils, but he knew he'd get used to it soon enough. He spent most of his days down here in the lab that was his domain in the cabin. Occasionally he'd have to treat the shifters when they'd come back from a mission, bleeding from deep gouges in their skin, or nursing broken wrists, but mostly he was free to work on his experiments.
He'd always had an interest in medicine, had applied for medical schools, dreaming of once walking down the halls of a hospital, helping people, saving people, but his application had been denied. Not because of any missing credentials, but because he was a shifter, and no one wanted a shifter to work in a hospital unless it was as a janitor. It probably didn't help that he was a rat shifter. There was a lot of prejudice against his kind, liking them to the rats that scurried around in subways, eating trash. Dirty, disgusting—he'd grown up with these words thrown after him, but one never really got used to it.
The rejection had been hard, and he had seen all his dreams fall apart in front of him, until that moment Danzo Shimura appeared at his door with a deal. He'd get him into classes, as long as he worked for Danzo after he had graduated.
He had never been allowed to intern like the others, but he had learned about the body, had learned lab work, and eventually he found himself in a cabin in the woods, resident doctor and scientist.
He knew what they were doing here wasn't technically legal, but he didn't feel like he owed humans anything. They had tossed him away, deemed him unwanted, so the idea of a world no longer ruled by them appealed to him. He threw himself into the work here, finally feeling like he was doing what he had always wanted.
He tried not to focus on where the teeth he had ground up earlier came from, or how the fey locked up in another room in the basement was looking paler by the day. He wasn't stupid, he knew he was replaceable, and he knew life out there amongst the humans was no better. It was safer to ignore everything else and focus on his work.
He had placed a glass beaker over a low flame earlier, and when he walked over to it now he saw that the content had simmered down to a thick syrup, turning from the electric blue it had been to a deep purple.
He turned off the flame and stirred the syrup, lifting it up to test its viscosity. Deeming it good he moved it over to where he had prepared the rest of the ingredients earlier. Some conventional in the world of medicine, some… less so. Modern medicine didn't see much use for ghoul saliva, or teeth of shifters or hair of witches, but he had long since learned that mixing modern medicine with the potent properties of magic had some powerful results.
The previous doctor who worked here had done it to some extent when he created the suppressants for subduing the Protos, and now he had almost perfected it himself, alongside with the other drug he had been working on, the sister drug of the suppressants. One to calm the beast, and one to bring it forth. He had not been able to test the latter, but he had the confidence it would work as Danzo had requested.
Now he was working on something else, something new, something Danzo seemed very eager about.
He gently measured the right amount of ingredients into the beaker, seeing how the purple turned muddy at first, and then darkening into a pure black as he poured in more liquid.
He let the mixture settle as he moved towards the glass fronted fridge, removing a vial of blood from the rack inside. Using a pipette he let five drops of blood fall into the mixture, each of them disturbing the pure black of the surface for a moment before it was absorbed.
He stirred it again, before bringing it towards the Bunsen burner to heat it back up, turning the flame up high and slowly stirring as he waited for the first bubble to break the surface.
He loved this, loved making something that had the potential to change the world, loved testing out different versions until he found something that worked. He had been hounded his entire life, but now he held something that was potentially stronger than anything any top-notch hospital could brew up, and he had done it all by himself.
A bubble broke the surface, and he quickly grabbed his tongs, moving the beaker away from the flame. He stirred it once before setting it away to cool off. In the meanwhile he put away the ingredients he had been using, knowing he would need to make more batches later to perfect it. He was getting closer, but there was still a long way to go to get the effect they were looking for.
He spent the next hour preparing more ingredients for later use, chopping up dried plants, grinding teeth and burning wood to make ashes. The medical supplies came neatly boxed up and ready for use, but the magical ingredients needed a lot more hands on preparation before they were ready.
When he rinsed off his mortar and checked on the mixture he had made a while later he found that it had cooled down enough for its intended purpose. He grabbed a syringe, drawing some of the black liquid into it, tapping out any air bubbles as he walked across his lab to the row of small cages lining one wall.
They were always making noise, sharp little squeaks, but he had long since learned to tune it out as he worked.
His predecessor had several cages with rats for his experiments, but the rats had been liberated and replaced with mice. He had taken great joy in seeing the rats vanish into the forest, even though he knew they likely wouldn't survive long. At least they would feel some freedom before they met their untimely demise.
He cared little for the mice, so he had no qualms about opening one of the cages and pulling out a white one. It wriggled in his grip, but he just tightened his fingers a little, and then injected the black liquid before placing it back in its cage, closing it and standing back to observe.
The mouse ran around the cage for a bit, but then he could see how it twitched, and seconds later its entire body started shaking as it fell on its side.
He watched as it thrashed, then stilled. With a sigh he wrote down the results on a notepad, noting how long from injection to death. Later he would dissect the mouse, see if he could find something that would help him on the path to improve the potion. The last few had shown promise, so he hoped he was getting closer.
He knew the moment he no longer showed progress he would start to become a liability, and he wasn't about to let Danzo have any reason to terminate him.
Kakashi looked away from the TV and the show he had only sort of been paying attention to. On the couch next to him Iruka was sitting, head tilted back against the headrest, eyes closed as he slept. Due to his job Kakashi was used to staying up all night, but Iruka was still on teacher time, and as soon as the clock passed one a.m. he usually got tired, lids heavier and he fell asleep on the couch next to Kakashi more often than not.
It made Kakashi's heart beat a little harder, seeing Iruka trust him enough to fall asleep next to him, so vulnerable, having no fear that Kakashi would ever harm him. Not that he had any reason to, Kakashi would never hurt the other man, but he was afraid Iruka wouldn't have been quite as trusting if he knew just who and what Kakashi really was, and he was starting to despise having to keep it from him.
A part of him just wanted to tell Iruka everything, to lay it all on the table and hope for the best, but he didn't have the guts. Eventually Iruka would tire of him, so it wasn't like they had a future anyway. He had long since deigned himself to just relish what time he had in the other's company and bow out when Naruto came back and Iruka no longer needed someone around to distract him from the loneliness of a missing son.
Hearing the soft snore from Iruka he took the chance to pull down his face mask, scratching at the skin underneath. It had been bugging him all night, and he relished in letting his finger nails go to town. When his scratch was sated he left the mask hanging underneath his chin as he got off the couch to fetch another glass of water. The mask was practical to hide behind in his daily life, and he had gotten used to wearing it after years of never going without, so it didn't bother him much most of the time, but it did make eating and drinking a little more difficult, and he had long since learned to stay away from dinner invitations. Back during his day training to be a DPA agent there had been plenty of people betting on what was beneath the mask, going to great lengths to try and rip it from his face.
They had never made it; Kakashi wasn't the top of his class for nothing.
His phone started ringing before he got all the way to the kitchen, making an angry hissing noise against the wood of the side table standing in front of the couch, too tall and tiny to be a proper coffee table, but all Iruka seemed to have bothered with.
He had long since learned to always take the phone when it called. He didn't really have friends or family, so it was almost always work, and seldom good news, so he turned around the moment he heard the sound going off, heading back to it to pick it up.
He heard a small choked off sound, and looked up to see Iruka's eyes on him. The sound had probably woken him, and now he was staring at him with eyes heavy with sleep, lips slightly parted in a look of surprise, and it instantly made Kakashi aware of the fact that he had not pulled the mask back over his face.
He clamped his mouth shut and quickly pulled the fabric in place just as Iruka's sleep-addled brain seemed to catch up to the fact that he was staring and quickly had him look away. Iruka had always been polite enough to keep his eyes diverted when Kakashi pulled down the mask to eat, but this was different, Kakashi had been careless.
He hoped Iruka hadn't seen what Kakashi was hiding underneath his mask, but there was no time to ask, so he just grabbed his phone, seeing Sasuke's name on the screen. He answered, turning away from Iruka to distract himself from the way Iruka was looking, hair a little mussed from sleep, a blush on his cheeks. He hadn't looked scared or shocked, so hopefully that meant he hadn't seen it, had only seen Kakashi's face, and that wasn't too bad.
He wasn't sure he hoped Iruka would ask about the mask later or not. He wanted to tell him everything, but he also didn't want to lose what they had.
"Kakashi, I need to talk to you, are you at the office?" Sasuke said.
"I'm at Iruka's apartment," he answered. "I can leave for the office now?"
"Don't bother, I'll go there." Sasuke hung up, and Kakashi was left with the quiet of the phone. He shrugged and pocketed it. He had a feeling whatever was happening was regarding Naruto, but there hadn't been any panic in Sasuke's voice, so hopefully it wasn't bad news.
He walked back towards the couch, knowing he would just have to wait for Sasuke to come over to know.
Iruka had pulled his feet up in the couch, arms wrapped around his legs, and Kakashi caught him glancing at him. Iruka's blush deepened as he quickly looked away.
"I'm really sorry," he muttered. "I didn't mean to look, I just didn't reali—"
"No, it's not your fault." Kakashi was quick to wave away his apologies.
He could practically feel Iruka vibrating with the urge to ask questions. Kakashi wanted to tell him everything, was trying to think of ways to formulate it in his mind, but he'd never really talked about this with anyone apart from Tsunade, and then it was mostly out of necessity and a healthy fear of what she'd do to him if she found out in any other way than him telling her. He liked to push her buttons, but even Kakashi had an instinct for self preservation.
"I'm not sure how much you actually saw, but you seem taken back," Kakashi started, but Iruka suddenly lunged towards him, waving his hands dismissively.
"No, no, you don't have to talk about anything, it's okay, really, just caught me off guard, not a problem at all, just wasn't expecting how handso—"
His lips snapped shut as he seemed to realise what he was saying, and then he suddenly shot off the couch, heading towards the kitchen. "Do you want coffee? I'm gonna make coffee."
He couldn't see Iruka's cheeks when his back was turned towards him, but he could still make out the tips of his ears, bright red. Kakashi guessed that cleared the issue with how much Iruka had seen. His secret was still safe.
He leaned back on the couch, eyes trailing over Iruka's back, seeing how he seemed tense, as if he was trying to stop himself from turning around and looking in Kakashi's direction. Now that he knew Iruka's flustered state was due to him finding Kakashi attractive and not terrifying it was rather entertaining.
He pushed himself off of the couch, approaching Iruka with on silent sock-clad feet, and Iruka startled when he heard Kakashi's voice right behind him. "Do you need any help?"
Iruka spun around, empty coffee cup clutched to his chest as he blinked up at Kakashi. His hair had been gathered into a messy bun and tied off with an elastic, but at some point it had started slipping, a few strands of hair escaping to hang by his face, and Kakashi found that he couldn't resist lifting a hand and pushing the hair behind Iruka's ear, just like how the heroes always did to the damsels in all of the romance books he read. He wasn't above resorting to cheap clichés, particularly not when they had the result of Iruka staring at him, flushed cheeks and lips just slightly parted. Kakashi wished he could just pull down his mask and kiss Iruka, but he also knew he couldn't. He wasn't going to do anything when this secret hung between them, but one thing was getting increasingly clear for Kakashi. The more time he spent around Iruka the more he liked him, and he couldn't keep lying to himself any more, couldn't keep pulling away forever.
The moment Naruto was safe back with Iruka Kakashi was going to tell him everything about who he was. There was a chance Iruka was going to reject him, but there was also a chance he might accept him, and that chance would make it worth it. He wasn't going to let fear stop him from pursuing Iruka.
For a moment he almost thought Iruka was going to lean in and kiss him, regardless of whether he was masked or not, but before he could there was a knock on the door, and the tension snapped like a rubber band, Iruka stuttering as he turned around to pour coffee into mugs and Kakashi sauntering towards the door just as it pushed open, Sasuke walking inside as if he owned the place.
His feet were wet from trudging through rotten snow, and the shift had left Naruto completely exhausted, but Yamato and him kept walking until they saw the car where they had left it in a ditch. This plan had been pretty reckless all the way through, but somehow they had gotten through the whole shift, and he had been able to finally get some control of the beast, and he felt that maybe there actually was a way to deal with that other side of him. Not a constant struggle, but a give or take. He wished he was anywhere but here so he could experiment further, but for now this was all he could do.
He was still in trouble, but at least now he saw a future if he got away from Danzo, one where he didn't need the cold numb feeling of suppressants.
The car was still there, front dented around a tree stump. He wasn't sure if it was still driveable or not, but they let it be as they walked back towards the cabin, Naruto dragging his feet as he went over the cover story.
If anyone asked he would say that they had been on their way into town to pick up groceries when they hit a patch of ice and went off the road. They would claim to have been knocked out, which would explain why they had been gone for so long. Naruto had kicked out the wind shield so he could say that he had been thrown out of the car completely and knocked his head open. He could use his rapid healing as explanation for the lack of wounds, and with a Yamato dazed from the crash and dragging Naruto's body it would explain why the walk back had taken so long. A head injury would have demanded a lot from both their body to heal, so it would have left them weak.
He just hoped no one cared enough to dig deeper, because as far as cover stories went it was hardly the best, littered with holes.
Soon the tall walls of the cabin rose in front of them, and Yamato unlocked it, pushing the gate open and then locking it behind them. Naruto pressed a hand to his head as if to feign a headache, and together they made their way towards the cabin. Naruto was hours late for his drugs, the doctor and Sai was sure to wonder where he had been.
Two almost identical looking shifters sat in the living room when they walked in, and one of them glanced towards them before turning his attention away again, clearly caring little. Naruto wasn't too surprised. Apart from Sai none of the others paid him much attention.
They made their way to the kitchen, and Naruto sat down there while Yamato found him a glass of water. Naruto was contemplating whether he should head down to find the doctor or just pretend he had forgotten all about it, when a door swung open, Sai walking inside. Naruto had to bite back a groan of annoyance at seeing him.
Sai looked at him, head cocked to the side. Naruto was waiting for him to ask questions, already formulating the answers in his head.
"The doctor is waiting for you downstairs to give you today's dose," Sai merely said, walking past them towards a kitchen cabinet, pulling out a cup and then seemingly setting about brewing coffee.
Naruto cast a glance at Yamato behind Sai's back. He had tried to play out how it was going to go in his head, but this level of not giving a fuck he had not expected from Sai.
Yamato looked equally confused, shrugging.
Knowing he might as well go downstairs, see if the doctor had been designated the one to question him, Naruto stood up and headed towards the basement, Sai not even turning around to watch him go. Naruto didn't want to take the drugs, but he knew he wouldn't be able to sneak away from them.
Ten minutes later Naruto was back in his room, utterly confused. He had vanished for hours for no apparent reason, but first Sai hadn't even batted an eye, and now the doctor just went through the motions, shooting him up as if he wasn't hours late for his appointment. Naruto wanted to ask what the hell was going on, but he wisely didn't. Better not look a gift horse in the mouth. Right now he just praised himself lucky that apparently he had gotten away with it.
He closed his eyes, feeling the coldness seeping through his veins, and for the first time in his life he found that he truly missed the warmth of the beast from inside. He didn't think it was going to be easy, but now he felt hope that there was a way out of this situation, and the one thing that stood in his way was Danzo. One problem was solved, but a behemoth of a problem was left to deal with. He had to find a way to get Danzo locked away for good, and he had no idea how to go about that. Yamato was the closest thing he had to an ally, and he was sure that Yamato would testify against Danzo, but it was nowhere near enough. They needed proof, and it was all up to Naruto. He was officially a double agent.
