Happy 2015! It's only less than two months until I move to a completely new country and start school, but until then, it's full steam ahead with Lion in the Desert!
I just want to thank everyone who took the time to favourite/follow this story, and to leave a review! Your support is greatly appreciated. c:
To address an anonymous review inquiring about the white object Naruto saw in the earlier chapters - that was Kohaku's ANBU mask!
Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me. I wish it did. loljk I do not have the capacity or the talent to appease the millions of Naruto fans around the world.
This story will not have any relation to Naruto's dream of achieving Sasuke Uchiha's return or defeating Orochimaru. This happens a little bit after the Rescue Gaara arc. In other words, kind of AU (Alternate Universe). Thought you should know.
From the moment Yamanaka Fuu had been introduced to him by Temari, Kakashi knew that there was definitely something that wasn't right about how Kohaku had simply disappeared, leaving no trace except her forehead protector. Whether or not that had been a strategic play made to divert their attention away from assuming that the kidnapping had been orchestrated by the Root, Kakashi could not be sure, but he had a feeling that this was merely the beginning of something that he could not prevent.
Still, the surprise — which she quickly masked over, of course — in Kohaku's face when she had seen the senior Root ANBU made Kakashi wonder if Danzo was losing his faith in Kohaku. It was clear that she had been caught completely off-guard with Fuu's arrival.
Fuu's eyes never left her as Kohaku primly made her way to the sofa opposite the one that the two men were seated on, and took a seat for herself. Her expression was calm; her body language gave no indication of the fleeting dread that Kakashi had almost missed when she had entered the room.
"Is it wise to have Hatake-senpai here while we discuss matters that do not involve him?" Kohaku inquired coolly. Kakashi wasn't the least bit surprised by the girl referring to him formally — it only confirmed his growing suspicion that she was definitely losing Danzo's trust, and she knew it.
"I just needed Kakashi to corroborate your account of how his platoon found you," Fuu replied in a steely tone, "To that end — how exactly did they find you, again?"
"I was blindfolded," Kohaku answered, her brain quickly rearranging and rewriting facts and forming coherent sentences to say, "And Uchiha Itachi had me walk with him for approximately half a day. He left me in the forest. I cannot say for sure if the path we took was a straight one, and it would be impossible for me to retrace my steps, because he made sure for every turn we made, I walked in a circle instead, so I would not be able to tell whether it was a left or a right turn."
A frown appeared on the Yamanaka's brow. "And why did Uchiha Itachi leave you?"
"Perhaps I outlived my usefulness, and he left me in hostile territory for the enemy to finish me off instead of doing so himself," Kohaku replied curtly.
"And you found her exactly as she just described, Kakashi?"
The Copy-Nin nodded slowly. So far, nothing out of the ordinary. "We worked our way out from the inside of the Land of Water, and we were nearing the border villages when we heard a local legend from an old farmer in one of those villages," Kakashi explained, "It was something about a monster leaving victims in the forest for the elements to claim, so we thought it wouldn't hurt to investigate."
Fuu's gaze shifted from Kakashi and back to the stoic Kohaku. "You had no means to escape on your own?"
"A member of the Akatsuki crafted chakra-blocking chains designed to prevent us from escaping by using ninjutsu."
"And which member of the Akatsuki was this?" Fuu narrowed his eyes.
"Aren't you more curious to find out why Kohaku just used 'us' instead of me?" Kakashi interrupted as he raised an eyebrow expectantly.
"It is not Root's duty to deal with matters that involve non-Root members," was Fuu's cold response. The Yamanaka looked at him askance briefly, before returning his attention to Kohaku. "And I am not going to repeat myself another time: which member of the Akatsuki designed those chains?"
Kakashi couldn't say he was surprised by the lack of concern the Root ANBU had for the other missing Konoha shinobi. He couldn't blame him, really. Everything Root did was in the name of Konohagakure, and losing one lone shinobi was hardly cause for alarm in their organization. 'Cutting losses', is what Danzo would've called it. He would've probably gone on to add that she should have been careful in the first place. A caught ninja was a ninja that deserved to be caught, and they shouldn't rely on their comrades to rescue them, but rather commit suicide right away to avoid giving away the secrets of their village.
"I was not told," Kohaku answered smoothly — it wasn't a lie, she told herself. It was a thinly-veiled truth. No one had told her that Akasuna no Sasori had designed them — Hoshigaki Kisame had merely mentioned it to his own prisoner, and she had happened to hear him. There was a lull in the conversation as Fuu scrutinised his junior, deciding whether or not to believe her.
"Fine," was his final decision. He turned towards Kakashi and said, "Excuse me, but Kohaku and I need to discuss Root matters now. May we have the room?"
Despite not actually wanting to, Kakashi knew that it was time for him to leave. "Certainly," he stood up, and walked towards the front door. He paused as he pulled the door open, and only stopped to say, "I'll be in the hospital with my team, if you need me," before closing the door behind him.
Tension was thick in the air as silence reigned in the small room. Fuu stared broodingly at the girl seated in front of him, while Kohaku boldly met his glower with a quiet confidence.
"How did they know where to look?"
"I believe that is an inquiry that Sai-senpai should have the honour to dignify with an answer."
"Are you sure that's the way you want to speak to your seniors?"
"I am not being insubordinate — only merely clarifying that Sai-senpai has a clearer understanding of how Team Kakashi had the fortune and great coincidence to discover my whereabouts."
"Fine. I will talk to him later. Why wasn't he in the search with Team Kakashi?"
"Again, I am afraid that is only a question that Sai-senpai can provide an answer to. I was led to believe that a smaller platoon was picked in favour of discretion, and Sai-senpai was substituted with a tracker-nin for practical purposes."
"Tch," Fuu scoffed, his attention momentarily off Kohaku as he retreated into his mind. A few minutes passed before he spoke again. "Danzo-sama wants to know the entirety of what you have learned from your… stay, with the Akatsuki."
"I was not aware that you were one to ask for permission." Kohaku narrowed her eyes slightly.
Fuu frowned at her sardonic tone. "Only warning you," he responded coldly as he stood up and walked over to her. He stood in front of her, weaving seals with his hands, and placed a hand on her head.
"Let's see what you've learned…"
xxxxx
Fuu found himself floating in a dark, enclosed space. As he looked around, he found a mammoth structure looming over him — a brain. Shishimiya Kohaku's brain.
As he floated towards the ridged structure, Fuu held out an outstretched palm, and a series of moving, vivid images popped up, surrounding him entirely. Several scrolls emerged from within the folds of the brain, and started to unfurl themselves, and Fuu inhaled deeply as information began to enter his own mind.
"Someone wants you gone. Not dead, but gone. And we're here to make sure of that."
"You have a very bad look on your face, bitch. But I like it. Makes me want to slice it up into tiny pieces. I think Lord Jashin would like that, don't you?"
"Hidan, what did I tell you?"
"You know, I have the same tattoo… You should get some rest. You're going to be here for quite a while."
As he raced through the images, Fuu found that he was mostly met with the same scenery — dark walls and long bouts of silence. There was a man with a striking resemblance to a plant, but Kohaku's interaction with him had been limited to a cursory glance from him before he moved on. There was also a masked man, but he avoided interaction with Kohaku, so she didn't have much knowledge on him, either. There were many instances were Kohaku was seated at a table, and whenever she looked up, there were only empty tables around her. In the corner, there was usually the Jashinist, Hidan, with the other prisoner, seemingly engaged in a verbal argument.
He frowned as he sifted through Itachi's interrogations with Kohaku.
"You are clearly a weak link in Root. After all, you're from a border clan. One of the Shrines. Your very family name is a curse to eternal servitude and exile. Danzo only took you in because he thought you would be useful."
"Now tell me, just how much of Root's secrets do you know?"
"Not giving up, are we? I may be done with you…"
Fuu pulled his hand back when the final scene played out. It was the first and only time Uchiha Itachi had brought her out — he had kept her sequestered inside for the entire duration of her captivity. Kohaku pulled the blindfold off, and found her belongings by her feet. As she bent down to grab them, a rustle in the tree alerted her to the presence of potential enemies, and a few minutes later, Kakashi popped out from amongst the leaves.
"Kohaku? Is that you?"
Fuu waved the image away, and it dissolved in a wisp of smoke. There were no more images flashing around him, and the unfurled scrolls lay haphazardly beneath his feet. He folded his arms across his chest, mentally making a list of what Kohaku had experienced during her time with the Akatsuki.
One - Uchiha Itachi still clearly had an agenda against Konohagakure. What he was planning, Kohaku had not been able to discover, but at least they were able to take measures in case he decided to attack.
Two - There were only six active members of the Akatsuki, and only two of them weren't in their bingo book — the plant man and a masked one. There were fleeting mentions of a 'Leader-sama', and a Konan, so that probably made a grand total of eight.
Three - Akasuna no Sasori and his partner, Deidara were definitely dead.
xxxx
Fuu pulled his hand off Kohaku's head, and took a few steps back. Kohaku opened her eyes, and directed a chilling look at her senior.
"I believe you are satisfied with what I have learnt?"
"You learnt very little."
"If you are questioning the authenticity of what you saw inside my head, that would mean you are dubious of your own abilities as an interrogator."
Fuu narrowed his eyes, irritation subtly displaying itself on his face. "Of course not," he had to refrain himself from snapping at his junior. He had made it a point to play nice, or at least, civil, with the shinobi from his master's failed pet project, but Kohaku had always had a subtly barbed tongue that made a somewhat dangerous combination with her natural affinity for rational decision-making and logic. Her shrewdness was probably why she was the last surviving Shrine child from HERD, but that did not stop Fuu from being irritated by her indistinct sarcasm whenever he spoke to her.
"If you remember, Uchiha Itachi is aware of my affiliation with Root. It was to be expected that he would not betray any information that would put his own agendas at risk."
"Fair enough," Fuu had to begrudgingly accept the girl's explanation. It was clear that she had not learnt anything more, and to press any further would be wasting breath.
"How should I proceed?"
"Your orders are the same — remain here with Team Kakashi until you are needed again. There is no reason for you to risk the cover you have built here. It is clear that the important figures of Sunagakure trust you greatly, and we may yet have need for that advantage."
"Is Sunagakure not an ally to Konohagakure?"
"A friend becomes an enemy when it comes down to the last grain of rice," Fuu narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "Or are you questioning your orders?"
"I am merely ensuring that I have received my orders correctly."
The older Root ANBU pursed his lips doubtfully, studying Kohaku's expression. Blank, as always. The perfect Root ANBU soldier. Danzo's favourite next-generation protege, after Sai himself. Yet, Fuu found it difficult to trust her. Still, Danzo's own intuition was better than anyone else's in their organization, so it was best to follow his master instead of falling prey to his own paranoia.
"Those are your only orders," Fuu said with finality in his tone, "I shall leave to talk to Sai now. Send a message if anything out of the ordinary occurs."
Kohaku stood up and bowed deeply, and only straightened back up again when the door closed behind Fuu's back. She then closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, the tension disappearing as her shoulders sloped downwards gently.
She did it.
She had managed to convince Fuu that her false memories were real.
The fleeting sense of elation abated, though, when a realization darkened her thoughts.
She had just essentially betrayed the very reason for her existence. Once Danzo found out — and no doubt, he would eventually — he was going to kill her.
What was she going to do?
Dum dum! Kohaku makes her choice!
Thank you for reading this far, and feel free to ask any questions if you have any! Or dropping a review to tell me how you liked it is good too. Heh.
Luv,
Pichuzilla