Hello my lovelies! I hope you liked seeing Iruka and Anko alive and well last chapter. Tenzou is glad too, he just didn't get a chance to tell you. Since he was, you know, three days away. Yeah. I'll let you chew on that if you will. It's going to be important. Promise.
As for this chapter, I have less of the fun-loving Jiraiya and the scary-spymaster Jiraiya. I don't ask for forgiveness because of below reasons.
Thank you all for the reviews on last chapter, too. I'm glad you liked it, and you'll have to worry for a little longer I'm sorry.
Funfact: Horses go about 8mph at a trot, which seems—to my cursory research—the ideal "let's go somewhere," speed for traveling by horse. With rest breaks, they can cover 20-30 miles in a day. So I mashed that together here with having fresh horses + lunch + breaks and got 40 miles in one day. If that bothers you, please remember that this story isn't meant to be a handbook about traveling by horse. I actually hate horses, so be grateful I am enough of a perfectionist to sit through a dozen websites about the darn creatures.
Funfact: If you know about Anjin-sama (or you can check the blog) and his life, then I hope you aren't too worried for Naruto.
Funfact: (that is not actually very fun at all :( ) Before modern antibiotics, hospitalized patients with pneumonia had a 30% mortality rate. I shudder to think of what it might have been in the 17th century. I tried to look it up but haven't really found much. I'll put a link up on the blog to a study I found relating to it.
Funotherstuff: Remember me harping on earlier in the story about letters and how long they took to get places? It mattered! I promise!
Funotherstuff: My headcanon for Jiraiya is that he is serious more often than fun and laughing. There was a lot of his life in the series which wasn't spotlighted. The man was basically the spymaster-afield for Konoha, and the man practiced a fair bit of realpolitik in his training. Yes, a healthy dose of Good Ol' Good Guy in there, but he throws his student off a cliff to force him to learn summoning. Let me repeat that, he threw his student off a cliff to teach him a technique faster than the boy was already learning it. He also stole Naruto as a student because he felt 1) he could teach him better and 2) Kakashi would perhaps be soft on the kid because of Minato. He told Kakashi to teach Sasuke instead.
Notsofunrant: So really Sakura getting "shut out" before the last round of the Chuunin exams is really Jiraiya's fault rather than Kakashi's. Also something so many people leave out of that equation: Sakura didn't make it to the last round, Sasuke did. Sasuke also sort of stalked Kakashi to what seemed to be a private training ground so there's that too. Creepy little Uchiha jerk.
Without further ado,
Enjoy!
This letter was the exact bargaining chip that he needed. A perfect reason to retrieve the boy, a perfect reason to travel away from Edo during this hectic time, and it came exactly when he would have wanted it to. The white-haired samurai and the daimyo's son would be obliged to travel with him. He had sent his son north for this mission because he'd known the boy would complete it beautifully. The fire in Edo had at first been a rupture in his plans, but now—now he could get everything he wanted within a fortnight.
Jiraiya smiled an honest smile for the first time in what felt like months, despite the grins which he put on for the benefit of others. It was perfect, absolutely perfect. He flicked his fingers towards where he knew a man was stashed in the shadows, handing the letter off to them to be resealed and delivered in the morning. Actually…he would deliver it himself, he decided.
"Tenzou?" Sakura tried to make her voice heard above the rasp. She had been coughing so much, and getting just nothing for her efforts, she'd torn her voice to pieces. She was afraid to sleep, the infection pressing close to each breath she took—threatening to steal the next. She hated being awake, her lungs popping and crackling with every wheezing breath. Her fever had mostly broken which she was thankful for, but she could barely eat—nothing would stay down for very long, not even the thinnest of soup. Sakura's chest ached, her whole body ached, and it seemed like it would never end.
"Yes, Sakura?"
"Get…my mother…please." Sakura closed her eyes and tried to breathe properly, as futile as that seemed, until her mother's cool hands smoothed over her brow and cheeks. She cleared her throat a little, taking her mother's hand. It was dim in her room, with just her own lamp and Ume's—while outside in the hallway, Tenzou's lamplight glowed merrily on the rice paper of the shoji. Sakura knew it was paranoid, but she hadn't slept or really eaten in what felt like days and she knew that couldn't be healthy. And on top of it all she was just so tired.
"Will you cut….a lock of my…" the hardest part to accept was to matter how deeply she breathed or prepared to speak, Sakura ran out of air before even a few words made it out. Her voice didn't even trail off so much as cut off abruptly as she tried to suck in another lungful of oxygen, "hair for Kakashi? Put one end in wax so that it stays together, please?" Ume's thumb stroked across her cheek once, her other hand tightening around Sakura's.
"Tenzou? Get us a knife, and melt some letter-wax as well," she said, not moving her hands from her daughter. Sakura hoped she would start to get better soon—that she got no worse, that she didn't die. But if she did, she had resolved earlier, she was going to leave Kakashi with something he could keep, because there was no way he would be home in the next two or three days. Just no way.
Tenzou for his part was as relieved as he was worried. Sai and Masaki sat near the fire, keeping quiet as he unfolded the cloth wrapped around one of the knives, and then setting a little saucer of unmelted wax over the coals. He was relieved because Sakura seemed to be getting better, if only marginally, and yesterday he'd managed to get Sai to carry his letter to Fujimi, to be sent from there on to Edo. It would hopefully reach Kakashi tomorrow, and within the week the white-haired man would be back in Fujimi, because nothing would keep Kakashi from going to Sakura's side.
If Sakura could only hold out a few more days, all would be well, he thought to himself as he kept an eye on the wax.
Masaki continued brooding beside the cooking fire, while Sai kept his thoughts to himself. They couldn't convince the doctor in the town to see Sakura, the man claimed that the woman was a demon—and that he had no business treating the ailments of demons. Not even Asuma was able to sway the man short of actually physically dragging him. Weirdly enough, Sai had been the most upset at this turn of events—he had been silent and moody since they'd gotten the news, for no reason that Tenzou could quite discern.
Once the wax was well melted, Tenzou carefully picked it up with a wadded cloth and then went to Sakura's room, kneeling outside of her door. Ume slid it open, allowing him a glance at Sakura and her condition. She lay under her blankets, pale and weak. Her hair was a thatched mess, tied loosely at the base of her neck, while her eyes were feverish—despite her assurances to everyone that she no longer burned with the fevers of the last week.
Kakashi got up a little later that morning, stretching contentedly under his blanket. Naruto was already up, furiously copying letters while chanting their meanings under his breath. He was doing quite well so far, he could now read his own name as well as the names of those they were staying with. He still half-heartedly attempted to get everyone to call him Lo-id Leven-san. That name had many horrible sounds in it that all sounded completely made up—in fact, none of them could accurately even mimic what Naruto said with ease— and Kakashi hoped to never encounter such nonsense again. Luckily the young man—not much older than Sakura—was becoming used to "Uzumaki Naruto." Kakashi didn't know what they would do with him eventually, but for now it was enough to teach him how to read and write, as well as speak.
He was getting used to Kanna's recipes, finally, and was almost enthusiastic to eat the grilled fish she made for them—she routinely bullied one of her sons into getting her fresh fish every morning, even after the disastrous fire. Kakashi, quite partial to fish of all kinds, was getting a taste for her broiled saury. Naruto came down to breakfast just a minute or so late, and after sitting he started to wolf his rice down.
Looking back, only hours after the fact, Kakashi wondered what kind of bastard he had been in his last life.
They hadn't even heard the shoji open, let alone anyone announce their presence, before Lord Gama's voice crawled over their heads. He was amused, but in a dark kind of way that Kakashi remembered in his own life from interrogating captured peasants during the rebellion in Fujimi.
"It would seem that my decision to deliver this to you personally has been rewarding already, Hatake-san." Kakashi froze, just barely reaching for his side—his sword wasn't there, it was breakfast after all, and it wouldn't do any good to be aggressive with this man. The tall man handed Kakashi a letter while the rest of the table stared at them both. Kanna's head was bowed deeply, her eyes shut and her lips pressed together. Inoue's head was bowed a little but his eyes were fixed on the two white haired men, while his children sat in perfect stillness. Naruto was staring up at Lord Gama with unabashed terror—they'd explained to him the necessity that his presence remain utterly secret, and this unexpected guest certainly didn't fit with that in the least.
Kakashi couldn't remember how he had remembered the scene so perfectly, because the letter was addressed to him in Tenzou's writing. He didn't know why, but he was suddenly glad he had only been able to take a few bites. Sakura was supposed to be the one writing to him about what went on—Sakura. The letter was dated four days ago, with the courier's ticks marking a three day journey. His hands shook as he opened it and scanned over the words—heedless of everyone around him.
Kakashi,
Sakura is ill, very ill. Something has settled in her lungs, she can't breathe and coughs nearly constantly. She barely eats, and sleeps less—but when she does she asks for you. Please, please come home as soon as you get this. If she gets any worse, I think she may die.
Tenzou
A hand settled on his shoulder, while a body leaned over his—and Lord Gama's voice spoke softly into his ear. Kakashi shuddered, his heart pounding—he was going to faint at this rate.
"Now I will give you fastest passage out of the city, to your home, to your in-laws, and to your darling, dying wife—your father-in-law is of the nervous sort, I wager, and your mother-in-law a woman with a temper, while your wife is strong and sure of herself. But I will need something in return, and you'll give it to me because you have no choice. This foreigner is someone I've been looking forward to meeting for many months, and I had feared him dead in the fire—seeing him alive and well is gratifying." He paused, and Kakashi could see, in his peripheral vision, Naruto gaping at them. His eyes, however, remained fixed down towards the damning paper in his hands.
"You'll take him with you to Fujimi, and will care for him until I come for him—that is my fee. Your choice is to accept my offer and make it to…Sakura's side while she still lives. If you decline it, you will probably spend the rest of today just getting beyond the city walls—and the foreigner will be executed."
"You…you've read this letter then?"
"Of course I have, I've been having your mail opened since you arrived here—you're from Fujimi, which caused me a great hassle last fall, I've had all mail from there opened since then. I can't be seen making mistakes in wiping out that fanatical religion, least of all with you—the man with the demon wife." Kakashi's heart contracted in on itself as he tried to cope with everything. Sakura was ill to the point of death, perhaps already gone. His hosts were likely guilty of harboring a fugitive—and said fugitive was likely going to die under Lord Gama's 'care,' while Kakashi himself was probably being viewed in the same light as the Uchiwa. His head sank, and the muscles in his face were taut with stress. Lord Gama shook his shoulder a little in an effort to cheer him.
"I won't take your wife from you, Hatake-san. Having had a woman taken from me once—a woman who is dead now—I wouldn't wish the same on any man. You simply owe me the yellow-haired boy and all is forgiven—no one will bother you ever again."
"And Inoue-san and his family?"
"They meant no harm, they did no harm, and will face no harm. I brought a second horse for the foreigner in case you chose to save his life rather than end it."
The house was silent as Kakashi packed for himself and Naruto. The loft-room he had spent the last three weeks in was just now growing familiar to him—the small table they'd given him to do his paperwork on, the cleared space for laying out the futon, the cool draft which brought with it spring air which was fresher by the day. He had meant to help Inoue and his sons re-thatch the roof, but there just wasn't the time.
Naruto tried to help as he could, but was eventually sat down in the corner where Kakashi stacked things in his arms. Kakashi's chest felt full and tight, and his hands shook if he didn't occupy them. Outside of the house one of Gama's men waited to escort them out of the city. Naruto would have to wear a hooded cloak—and somehow manage to keep his mouth shut for longer than a minute—and that would cause unnecessary questions at various gates unless someone was there to smooth things over.
Kakashi barely remembered saying goodbye to the people who had hosted him, recalling mostly that Kanna had tried to protest the amount of money he gave her—the smile that had tried to touch his face when he explained that the money had been forced on him as well, she would have to force it on someone else herself. Inoue and his sons were grave, quiet, and so it was Kanna who stood out to him the most. Naruto for his part was effusive and tearful, turning many times on his horse to wave goodbye to the family.
The city was more of a gigantic shanty-town as they rode out. Tents, sheds, lean-to's, and more dotted the ruins which had once been homes and businesses. Looking at the destruction now, however, wasn't as awful to Kakashi now—he had no real personal investment here, he was just a samurai from the north, and that was where all of his concerns resided. But that wasn't exactly true, either. Asuma and Kurenai—and their new baby girl—were his neighbors, he was not responsible for them. Sai was his guest, indefinitely yes but still a guest. Tenzou was his brother in arms, a man who he hoped to someday raise to the level of a samurai—but that was someday.
Sakura was his only concern. He might not get a someday with her, to have a life with her at all.
Because they couldn't ride full-speed through the city, he spent that time quietly—nearly unaware of it—teaching Naruto words pertaining to horses. Commands, notices, changes in speed, names of the saddle equipment. Their guide, on his own horse, picked a quick route to the Northwest Gate. His silence went unnoticed by both men who followed him.
Once they were beyond the city, however, Kakashi pushed them hard. He knew he'd be sore, he knew Naruto would complain of the same. He didn't care. The land adjacent to the road was blooming with greenery and flowers, but that only made him angry with the gods. He couldn't reconcile himself to the riot of life surrounding him with the awful thought of Sakura's illness. Tenzou had said she couldn't breathe—some sort of lasting infectious filling of the lungs probably. His stomach roiled at the thought of that sickness. Tenzou had caught something like that once, eight or more years ago now—he'd been struck with fever, coughing, and hadn't been able to eat and feared sleeping.
Lord Gama had written them a document of passage which demanded fresh horses at larger ryokan, so Kakashi pushed them towards those. He chose a fast trot. With a few breaks they would make good time—as much as he hated the thought of stopping for even one moment, having a horse drop dead under him was the last thing he needed at the moment.
"What is Sakura-san like?" Naruto's question was halting over the steady clodding of horse hooves. Kakashi glanced over at him, the poor tall man bouncing along next to him. He didn't want to answer, so he stayed silent. Naruto didn't look over at him, looking ahead the whole time.
"I think she is louder than Kanna-san, and that she laughs more," Naruto said eventually.
"…what makes you think that?"
"Men don't chase after women who don't laugh."
They got fresh horses just after midday. Naruto whined that he was hungry, so Kakashi bought him a bowl of plain rice. He watched in silence as Naruto happily ate, but had no appetite of his own. For the first time, Kakashi wondered how much of what Lord Gama had said was a bluff and how much of it was true—if he had waited so very long to meet Naruto, why would he kill him if Kakashi chose not to take the boy to Fujimi? What did that terrifying old man gain by giving Kakashi a fast passage home? It bothered him, but on another level he didn't care.
His young friend's life was spared at least for a few days or weeks, and he was well on his way to Sakura.
If he had been silent and worried earlier in the day, as they continued on it grew worse. Mentally he went over the miles again and again in his mind—they could perhaps change horses once more before too late in the afternoon, and make another ten miles before it got too dark. Forty miles at the most. The other twenty five would have to be covered tomorrow, and already Kakashi's bones ached at the thought.
Sakura's hands had been warm and soft in his when he'd left, he had held them tightly as he'd kissed them. Looking down briefly at his own hands, raw from holding the reins in a death-grip all morning, Kakashi hoped to hold those hands once again. But he couldn't know for certain, and so he chose to begin working out the other details of his life—the life he'd have should Sakura be gone when he came home. Masaki and Ume would of course be welcome to stay with him, the least he could do for Sakura would be to help care for her parents as they got older.
He didn't think about—refused to actually—the reason he had to do so at all. Just weeks ago they had all been so happy. Kakashi prayed that it would last, that all of his pessimism would prove to be unnecessary. Sakura would smile at him and call Tenzou silly for worrying him. His guest would smile in that confused way of his, not knowing the finer points of tact and choosing to remain silent. His in-laws would smile indulgently as he doted on Sakura as her increasing belly made her increasingly useless around the farm.
He just had to get through midday tomorrow, and then he would know—even though the thought of knowing brought bile up Kakashi's throat.
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