DISCLAIMER- I own nothing, peeps. (*hushed whisper* Did I just fucking say "peeps"?)
….
Some things you can't anticipate. Like bumping into someone, spilling your drink (tragic) or...ooh, I don't know...leaving 'fictional' characters to their own devices.
That stuff always goes to shit, doesn't it?
….
"Hokage-sama." Inoichi and Seiichi bowed low, the door thudding closed behind them.
The office was dark, the sun barely visible as it finished setting, and, under the electric lights, the Sandaime looked ten years older. Piles of paperwork littered his desk and the ash-tray was almost full, an empty tea-cup resting precariously close to the edge.
"Inoichi-san, Seiichi-san, what can I do for you?"
The God of Shinobi started refilling his pipe, settling in for the long talk that awaited him. He easily recognised the signs of agitation in his shinobi and wondered what they had to report. Inoichi's fingers flickered through code and the Sarutobi nodded. The Clan Head had disclosed Seiichi on a confidential file.
Absently, the older man wondered how much worse his day was about to become.
"Sandaime-sama, Seiichi and I have narrowed down a list of possible contacts inside the village, that is, if Kiharu's hunch was correct. Looking at the evidence ourselves, we agree with her reasoning." Inoichi flicked open one of the files, holding up the reports by the Hyuuga ANBU who analysed both scenes. "Assessing the original crime scene at the Naka Shrine, the most plausible explanation for what took place is that of a prescheduled meeting, one that was interrupted and could not be risked by leaving a witness. And as for the lack of chakra signature…in a fight so vicious, there should have been some remnants. But, there was nothing." Holding up the next sheet, the report on the chakra in the hospital, the Yamanaka continued. "However, in the hospital, there were two different signatures so, seeing as Hitoshi's attacker failed to leave one, we believe there may be more than one party involved."
Hiruzen sighed deeply, rubbing his wrinkled brow with one hand, whilst the other reached out for the folder Inoichi offered. When he made to open it, Seiichi took another step forward.
"Forgive me, Hokage-sama, but perhaps a privacy seal would prove beneficial for the following conversation." The Chuunin gestured around the room and his Kage nodded in concession.
"Indeed, Seiichi-san, you are correct."
The walls flashed yellow and Seiichi's eyes widened.
A small, muted chakra signature glimmered on the edge of his perception, only noticeable because his senses had been blown wide ever since he'd heard of Kiharu's paranoia. Tucked up into the ceiling, where no guard was ever posted…That was no ANBU…
Fingers raced through signs – ceiling, chakra, listening – and the Sandaime shot up from his chair. In the exact same moment, two ANBU appeared from the corners of the room and leapt, the two 'brothers' dropping into ready positions, kunai drawn.
In a flash, a figure was pulled from the ceiling, inked seals dancing all over his body as he viciously fought the guards who'd grabbed him.
"Hold him!" Sarutobi ordered, his voice rumbling ominously like a thunderstorm and KI pressing over the room like a heavy fog.
One of the ANBU managed to grab an arm, flinging the intruder against the back wall, hard. A buzzing noise vibrated the air before, in retaliation, a swam of dark insects poured out of the man's sleeves.
"Fuck, an Aburame?!"
The ANBU still grabbing him suddenly let go, jerking back with a hiss and his shoulders dotted with irritated red and purple splotches. When he staggered back and fell to one knee, the Sandaime slammed a hand down on the intercom on his desk. "Get me a medic nin. NOW."
"Poison," Seiichi glanced at his best friend who nodded slightly in understanding. Digging a hand into his weapons pouch, the chuunin pulled out a few more kunai, nicking the unknown Bug-user when he tried to make a break for the window closest to him. The remaining ANBU guard took advantage of his minute hesitation, lunging forwards with her katana drawn and exchanging a handful of blows.
The standoff kept the assailant in one place for a few moments and it was all the time Inoichi needed. Fingers locked in hand signs, he stretched out his mind.
The Aburame dropped, catatonic, just as a medic lept through the window from the blackness of the night, an emergency field-kit thrown over one shoulder.
The intruder finally subdued, the female ANBU held his arms secure and forced him to his knees before the Village leader. In the background, the poisoned guard was being frantically stabilised, a syringe (a special chakra-enhanced anti-venom substitute which would see him to the hospital) quickly injected into his arm. With the intruder, Inoichi lowered his kunai and stepped forward, Seiichi already half-a-step in front of him and with his own weapon levelled at the man's jugular.
"Who are you?" The Yamanaka ordered, pulling back from the 'spy''s mind slightly. It was…bizarre, like his very self, emotions and memories, had been sealed away. Erased.
The man – no, not a man…a boy, Seiichi realised in horror – said nothing.
"How did you bypass Hokage-sama's seals?"
When the boy made no move to reply, Inoichi reached forward and ripped the white mask from his face, preparing to re-enter his mind and rip the truth out, if need be, emptiness or no.
Several things happened at once.
The intruder, a dark mask concealing his features under the white, immediately started choking, frothing at the mouth with his head thrown back, neck corded grotesquely. His interrogators cried in shock, the Sandaime rushing forwards.
"No!" Seiichi snarled, "That bastard-!" What if he had information on his family?!
The boy was jerking now, spasming as the medic lunged over to slap a green-lit hand on his throat. It was too much though and, a few seconds later, the corpse slumped bonelessly.
The room was silent for a moment, all staring down at the body.
Inoichi slowly picked up the mask, pale white and eerily similar to ANBU. And there, inside of the shell, was a burnt-out suicide seal, triggered to activate if removed by someone else.
"Well…shit." Seiichi stared down at the intruder.
Shit, indeed, Inoichi mentally agreed.
Suddenly, the older man leaned down, ripping off the black mask that covered most of the boy's features and sucked in a sharp breath at the young face revealed. Brown hair and that strange blue mark beside his mouth…He couldn't have been older than Kiharu…
"I-I-" The tracker stuttered, glancing over his shoulder as Sarutobi's sorrowful expression. "I know him…he-" No wonder I was the only one who noticed him, not only am I so stressed that I'm hyper-aware but…I already know the 'taste' of his chakra… "I run missions with Shibi-san, we're both tracking Specialists…it's his nephew-"
"Aburame Tatsuma…" Sarutobi sighed deeply, eyes closed like the world had just fallen on his shoulders. "And, apparently, he was a member of ROOT."
….
We'd probably walked just over five miles by the time evening swept in.
Hitoshi was weak and, in all honesty, a bit lost in the forest. I mean, he'd not been here for years but he insisted that there was a river close by. And I prayed he was right.
I was starving, had been for two days now, and the berries around here were incredibly unsatisfying. I'd find a new bush as we walked, be given the green-light of 'You-Won't-Die' by 'Toshi, and then strip the thing of every last fruit. And then, an hour or so later, I'd be dying again.
What, were the berries that shit or had I just stretched my stomach in my gluttony?
It was even worse for the panther. He'd not eaten anything; berries, even if I somehow convinced him not to stick his nose up – actually impossible –, weren't going to do him any favours. He needed protein and fast or else, not only would his health keep declining, he'd never recover his chakra in a week.
And I was too terrified about the situation back home to even want to think about having to stay any longer than absolutely necessary.
Who knows what damage I've done when I'm not there to keep an eye on things…I mean, I wouldn't be involved in the missions or anything but I'd be there and I could always nudge my dad, Oji-san and Genma-nee in certain directions. But here? I'm totally blind.
"Kiharu, listen to me for once, you lazy cub," Hitsohi growled, swatting my face with his tail as he went past. I had been a climbing above him, so he could make sure I didn't fall and break something, as we scrambled over the treetrunk-sized roots that coiled like massive snakes over the ground. The Harry Potter 'Chamber of Secrets' imagery wasn't great, thanks. There was a reason that film (and book, in all honesty) had been my least favourite instalment in the series-
"Er, what?" I mumbled, tongue out and fingers swiping cat hair from my mouth. That's it, that's the last time I zone out with my mouth ajar.
"I can hear the river, it's just a little further up."
When he made to continue in the direction he'd gestured, taking a running jump to land on the next monstrous root, I felt my eyes widen in worry. "Err, 'Toshi? Isn't it getting a bit late? As in, too dark to see, let along catch something? And, aren't you supposed to avoid water at nighttime because of predators?"
The look he sent me over his shoulder was overflowing with disgust.
"I'm the biggest predator around, you idiot, and-" he raised his voice slightly over my squawk of indignation, "-what animals, anyway? The Monkeys are further up the mountain and we're too far downstream for most of the others. We'll be hunting spirit animals-"
"Wait! We'll be eating a something that's been reborn?" I gaped, thinking about how people (Ahem!) could be reincarnated, sometimes supposedly as animals- "No thanks, I'd rather starve, you monste-"
Angrily snapping his teeth at me, Hitoshi leapt back down to my side, easily jumping between the huge, twisted roots that had replaced the floor as we moved south. Whilst he'd been sore and stiff for the first day or so, he'd gradually loosened up the more we kept moving. "You're so stupid sometimes," emerald eyes glared derisively and I felt my hackles rise. "They're spirit fish. Meaning that they're just constructs, akin to normal animals in your Realm. This place isn't on a different mortal plane, cub, there are still other living creatures here. It is only the lack of humans and the existence of the Summoning Clans that make us so superficially different."
"Oh."
"Yeah, 'Oh'. Now, are you coming or not?"
"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled, scrabbling on all fours up the root and trying not to think about how, when I reached the next one up, I probably looked like a cat that just missed landing on the counter, hanging on like Mufasa.
Sigh.
But, it was just like 'Toshi had called it and, a mile or so later, I could clearly hear the rushing of water.
The river was wild and untamed, carving into the land and forming a deep trough of water that flowed relentlessly through the countryside, like a coiled stormy-blue snake.
It looked just as deadly as any viper.
"Toshi!" I called over the loud churning of the water, squinting a bit against the wind that whipped at my face now that we were free of the trees. "It's too fast here, we'll have to look for another bit! Neither of us could swim in this current and I doubt the fish are here too!"
The panther, leaning over the craggy edge next to me and peering into fathomless waters (as I hastily scooped up some water to splash at the angry cut on my neck), pulled back to nod in agreement. "You're right, I'm in no state to survive a swim in this and you're a pathetic swimmer at the best of times-"
Why did he plague me so?
"-so we'd be better off going further south, even if that brings us closer to Bear territory. Come on," he padded past me, paws scratching wetly on the exposed stone and tail curling around my hip. Climbing to my feet, I wrung out my 'washed' handkerchief and retied it around my neck. "Let's try and eat something before we sleep."
…
Early in the morning – two days after her little chat with her husband –, Mikoto told Itachi to look after his little brother, posted an apology at the entrance to a closed Nekki's, and swept into the Police Station.
Her Jonin uniform was a little stiff from disuse but the heavy weight of the flak jacket and the tight band of her hitai-ate were more than welcome. The long katana, lovingly preserved even after all those years off the roster, was razor sharp and wrapped in red around the handle. Under her flak jacket, Mikoto was dressed in a charcoal kimono-style top with long sleeves billowing out to the tips of her fingers to conceal movement and a pair of cropped navy trousers falling to skim her calves. Heeled black sandals sheathed her feet and padded soundlessly as Mikoto strolled inside, casually pushing open the door like it was her own home.
The receptionist (why were they always women, hmm? Kiharu-chan's voice seemed to whisper in her mind, a comment from months ago that had stuck like a burr) jerked in her seat and Mikoto spared her a brief smile as she swept straight through to the back, expertly ignoring the choked "M-Mikoto-sama-!" behind her.
Little desk cubicles, like a beehive or honeycomb, stretched out before her as the Matriarch paused to take in her bearings. When the door 'thump'-ed closed, an intern – Uchiha, as always – glanced up curiously.
When it registered just who he was staring at, the teenager jumped from his chair and bowed respectfully. The motion, abrupt in the midst of the typically stoic Clan, drew the curious eyes of almost everyone in the room. Who all then proceeded to react in various ways – from the slight widening of eyes to more hurried bows – and Mikoto felt her lips twitch in amusement.
"Welcome, Mikoto-sama…Fugaku-sama is in his office, if you would please follow me?"
Nodding along to the detective that had stepped forward – Osamu –, Mikoto walked alongside the younger man as he led her towards the back, greeting the members of her Clan as they went.
When they were almost there, Mikoto turned to her escort and asked, easily overheard by the rest of the listening-in Police Force, "Where can I find the investigative team in charge of the disappearance of Dazai Kiharu?"
Uchiha considered themselves above gossip, Mikoto was fully aware. The murmurs that broke out after that announcement were, obviously, 'just coincidental'.
Honestly, Mikoto had the patience of a Saint.
Then again, as an Uchiha herself, by both birth and marriage, she was just as prone to drama.
"Please take me there immediately, Osamu-san. I'll be supervising the investigation from this point onwards."
The detective paled slightly, glancing nervously towards the Police Chief's office – as if he thought her husband would emerge like a demon summoned, and berate him for insubordination –, before swallowing and giving the Matriarch a slow nod. "Hai, Mikoto-sama, please follow me."
The ebony-haired woman smiled in thanks, sweeping along after the officer as he scurried further down the corridor. When an explosion of whispers erupted behind them, she had to press her lips together to hold in her chuckle. This was quite fun, she admitted, and she could see why Kushina had liked to do this, Kiharu-chan as well…
Osamu-san stopped in front of a non-descript door, half the corridor wall either side composed of blind-shuttered windows, which was about half a dozen meters from the main Station floor they'd just come from. The detective politely tapped a knuckle on the door a few times before stepping aside, one hand coming up to nervously smooth the neat little ponytail at the nape of his neck.
"Come in!" An impatient voice called and Mikoto pushed down on the handle immediately, the door swinging open and revealing a well-lit grey room with several desks and a large whiteboard on the far wall. Three officers, a detective and two sergeants, were lounging around the room; a young man with shoulder-length hair was taping photographs to the board, a shorter man was scribbling over a desk and the detective paced along the windows, flipping through an extremely thin folder.
"The team in charge of the Dazai case, I take it?" Mikoto smiled, her recognisable voice drawing surprised gazes.
"Mikoto-sama, what a pleasant surprise," The detective quirked a brow, snapping the folder shut.
"Kagen-san, it's been a while," Mikoto smiled, moving into the room and nodded politely to the two sergeants. "Inabi-san, Tekka-san, I've come to help with the Dazai case." The Uchiha lady closed the door behind her, quietly thanking Osamu as he left, and pretended she didn't see the two younger men twitch. Some officers really didn't appreciate having someone come onto their case, she could completely understand. That wasn't going to stop her though.
"So," the only woman present turned to the board, immediately noting Kiharu's photograph from her last birthday stuck in the middle. Hitoshi, lounging in the sunshine on the Yamanaka porch, was placed next to her. "I hope we can work well together. Now, what leads do you have so far?"
She valiantly ignored the almost-inaudible grumbling behind her. For now.
…..
The night was pitch black for a while until the moon came up.
Hitoshi was relentless, unfaltering as he scrambled up slopes and loped through the banks. At the darkest point, the terrifying blankness – like the womb again – where I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face, I was forced to clamber onto his back and hold on for dear life. His night vision was so much better than mine, even if he had to slow down under the extra weight. And when moonlight filtered through the branches above us, I breathed a sigh of relief. After so long staring into the empty night, the feeble silver beams were like torchlights and we were able to find a shallower bank within the hour.
Here the water was much more relaxed, low enough at the sides that it lapped at our feet and Hitoshi could just about sense the bigger fish swimming down below.
Whilst the panther settled down to hunt, crouching on haunches on the small outcrop with emerald eyes pinned to the rippling water, I gathered sticks from the treeline. The best ones were far enough from the water that they were dry but not so much that I'd risk getting lost, and I ambled between tree trunks in silence, pensive with thoughts of home and the heavy ache of my stomach. Straying no further than a meter in, I slowly gathered some branches.
Like fucking hell was I gonna get myself lost here, nevermind how pathetic that would make me.
When I figured I had enough, being a total amateur at this shit in both lives, I picked a bit of bank that looked the least grim. As in, no squishy mud or moss, and then I settled down to learn on the job. Building a small 'tee-pee' structure, I ripped up some handfuls of sun-dried grass for kindling and internally marvelled that binge-watching Bear Grills would prove to be so useful for a numpty like me. Who said TV wasn't educational?
Furious splashing erupted behind me and I jerked my head around in time to see 'Toshi, sopping wet, drag a fish – about a ruler long, so like, 30cm? – onto the banks and then throw it at me.
It flapped uselessly in the grass, gills gasping and mouth open and scales gleaming as it twisted desperately, and I wondered if starvation was worth it.
There was absolutely no fucking way I was killing that fish.
Now, call me a whimp all you want, but I was the girl who gently caught spiders in glasses, stepped over worms, ran like I was being shot at when dive-bombed by a wasp and turned the channel over when the cheetah started stalking the baby giraffe.
I was not capable of killing something.
Ninja world or not, I was still a girl who'd originally grown up in a place where I'd never had to kill, human or any other creature, for survival of any kind. And I'd held onto those ideas furiously because they were just as ingrained as my sense of humour, sense of self – probably even more so! – and I couldn't just pick up a fish and gut it or something!
More scrabbling behind me and the next fish brushed my shoulder, making me jerk away with a squeak.
Dessert, I internally chanted, ignoring the growing pile of 'drowning' fishies and picking up two rocks, praying for a miracle in the form of fire. Give me dessert any day.
So, crouched like the hobo I was, I devoted myself to striking rocks (no dice) and then, when I grew so fed up I was willing to go berry-hunting for the nth time, I stripped some small branches for…kebab sticks?
Would 'Toshi even be able to descale and gut his victims with no thumbs?
"What the…why are you so useless?" The panther in question growled, sauntering over with the final catch in his mouth and eying the still flapping fish with bewilderment. "Where's the fire? And you've not even killed them?"
Ignoring that last bit, I wordlessly pointed to the flame-less fire tee-pee.
"Kami-sama," the panther flopped down, legs and face soaked, and I nervously restarted my attempts at fire making. It might not be cold, but Hitoshi couldn't spend the night with soaking wet fur. With our luck, he'd catch pneumonia. " And, what do you think you are doing with those silly rocks, cub?"
"Er, making fire?"
A slow blink later and I could almost see the neurons connecting in the cat's brain.
"You…of course, you don't know any jutsu or have had to make a civilian fire before…damn." Damn, indeed. "But surely you've gutted a fish before?" Without waiting for a response, the cat continued, rolling his eyes and sitting forwards. "Regardless, I'll show you how, come here."
Holding up my empty hands and gesturing to my lack of pockets, I wondered if we'd ever actually think anything through in our lives. "With what knife, Toshi? I've nothing on me and your equipment is back at our house." I glanced considering at his claws before the thought was pushed aside. Whether 'Toshi tried with a single claw or I somehow tried using his paw, the fish would end up a mangled mess, simple as that.
It was silent for a long, awkward moment.
Hitoshi ate his fish raw, I stripped three entire bushes in the dark and, when we settled down for the night, I sacrificed my yukata (leaving me in a little camisole) to towel down the panther as much as we could.
….
Shisui was on a mission.
He'd been up early, training hard and fast in a flurry of taijutsu and target practice before wolfing down a large breakfast at the nearest food stand. If the fourteen-year-old had his way, he'd be too busy for lunch.
The past two days had been something of a nightmare. After meeting the Hokage that first morning and then the thing with the Hospital and, afterwards, telling the family…He'd spent an entire afternoon with his younger cousins, which had been unusually tiring, and then spent the night on Ensui's sofa, after brainstorming until late.
When he'd gone to the Hokage the next morning, Sandaime-sama told him that all that was needed from him right now was his official report of the previous two days.
It was like he was doing nothing!
After filing in his statements, he'd ended up spending two days either training or asking to see the Hokage ("He's in an important meeting, Uchiha-san" or "The investigation is progressing fine, Shisui-kun. However, current developments are of an extremely sensitive nature and, as such, I cannot disclose them to you at the present time. I will send for you immediately, if necessary, but please continue on with the rest of your duties.")
Even asking around for Seiichi-san or Inoichi-sama got him nowhere! No one had seen them in days! Sora-sama had explained that her husband was at the office, even when he (quite rudely, actually) called at the house in the evening.
And what were they going to do now? The idea for summoning Hitoshi had been quickly shot down; what if he wasn't able to come? If he was dead? The contract was always sealed on Kiharu's person (she was technically the next in line, as the most recent to sign the contract, and she liked to keep it safe on her person when she could. Ensui had engraved a storage seal onto a locket just for that purpose) so there was no way of knowing if the contract had faded with his death. And if this was a kidnapping? They couldn't leave Kiharu there alone, possibly making matters worse for her, making them kill her or ensuring that they'd never find her!
How was he supposed to help if he wasn't with them?
"Excuse me, Kunoichi-san, but is Inoichi-sama in?" the jonin asked politely, stood as casually as possible, leaning against the receptionist's desk with his arms and ankles crossed.
Shisui had spent the last two days combing over all his conversations with Kiharu, in his own head and, to some extent, in his statements to the Hokage (Kiharu's paranoia had made him a bit more hesitant than he'd normally be), and he'd come to a dead end. What did he know? One, Kiharu had been told by the panther about the Sharingan and then worked it's meaning out by herself. Two, she didn't think the village was secure from that man's influence. Three, someone had come to silence her.
After they'd been to see Hokage-sama.
"I'm sorry, Uchiha-san, but Inoichi-sama is in an important meeting and will not be available for the rest of the day."
Two hands, small but scarred, slammed down on her desk and made her head, already leaning down to her work, jerk back up again in shock. Leaning over, Shisui glared at her unimpressed expression. He had to be involved! He had to. Ki-chan had trusted him with what she knew and now she was gone!
"I don't think you understand – this is a matter of life or death!"
"That's enough, Shisui."
Curly head snapping around, Shisui turned bright eyes on the older Chuunin, who was stood in the corridor doorway and wearing a grimly resigned expression.
"Seiichi-san, please let me help in any way I can." The young Jonin strode over, stopping a meter away from his best friend's father and bowing low. "I need to help. Please."
Dark eyes flicked over to the kunoichi, who quickly looked back to her work, before closing tiredly. "Jonin or not, Kiharu would murder us both if I got you involved." The older man pointed out, hinting at the S-Rank status of the real investigation. Whilst, because of his skillset and rank, Shisui's age wasn't considered to be of much thought, Seiichi knew that his daughter would go mental if she was part of the reason her fourteen-year-old friend was involved in such a dangerous venture. She'd kill them. Both of them.
"I-I know that, Seiichi-san, but – I'd happily take her anger if it meant she was back in the village!" the Uchiha rose, smacking one fist into the opposite palm with determination shining in his eyes. Well, the Dazai relented, at least the kid has spunk.
"…Fine, follow me."
Hiding his triumphant grin behind his collar, Shisui happily followed the brunette through the twisting corridors. Thank Kami-sama, he could actually be of use.
"I'd say the ones most likely to be running the operation will be Kiharu's uncle and father-"
"Mikoto-sama looked like she meant business earlier, so I wouldn't be surprised if she tries to get the Police involved as well, Ensui."
Long fingers reached up and pinched the Nara's frown, rubbing the skin as if that could soothe his growing headache. The bedroom was dark, night having long-since set, and Ensui had only turned on his desk lamp, which was where the two were hunched over their notes.
This, Shisui absently noted, was his second late-night brainstorming session in as many days. It was kinda cute how, when they needed to solve something, both Kiharu and Ensui liked low-lighting and someone to bounce their ideas off – at least, until their giant brains reengaged and came up with something.
"So…I'm thinking you should go for Seiichi-san and Inoichi-sama, Shisui, or else…"
"- it might look like the Uchiha vs. the village, yeah. Ki-chan has done a lot, I know I already told you, and I think she'd poison us with a happy smile if we undid any of that. So, I tag along with those two, right?"
"That's the idea."
The Headquarters for T&I was just as intimidating as expected. The outside was deceptively nondescript, like a normal office-block, whilst the inside was bleak grey, filled with narrow corridors and plain doors. The two shinobi purposely strode through the winding halls, Shisui half a step behind, and climbed down two flights of equally-pokey stairs before stopping in front of a door, which looked identical to all the others.
That was the key thing about this place, you had to already know where things were to function around here. Escapees would get lost within moments.
("A labyrinth," Kiharu had whispered, describing it to him once. She'd needed to deliver her uncle's forgotten bento box one time and had been forced to memorize left turns and right turns and to count the doors as she went.
"A what? That's not a real word, Ki-chan!" Shisui had laughed. 'Lah-ba-in?'
"It could be, though!" She insisted, wiggling closer in their blanket fort, camped out as they were in her living room. At 8 years-old, Kiharu had demanded they have a 'proper' play-date. Shisui, on one of his rare days off from training, certainly hadn't argued. " A maze with no end, that changes itself and can take you anywhere in the world!"
"You daydream too much, Kiharu!" Shisui grinned, ducking his head when she scrubbed a hand through his curls-)
The doors opened almost-silently and Shisui immediately noted that they were in-
"A morgue?" he questioned out loud, voice echoing slightly in the empty room. Large glass windows covered one wall, opening up the entrance-way into the actual lab, which was filled with gleaming metal and empty gurneys.
"This is part of the blanket S-Rank, Shisui," Seiichi warned, not breaking stride as he swept through the glass door and into the lab. At the sounds of their arrival, a medic-nin came around the corner, wearing a lab coat and disposable gloves.
"Dazai-san…and Uchiha-san, the Head and I were just looking the body over if you would follow me."
The body? Shisui's eyes narrowed. Who died?
The lab was long and curved around the corner, hiding half from the view of the doorway. Following the lab technician, Shisui marvelled that the department had managed to wrangle an entire Morgue in here, despite their being one at the Police station. This one must be for prisoners, Black Ops or special cases, the Uchiha deduced.
Inoichi-sama was stood in the far corner between two sheet-covered bodies and Shisui felt pale, just a bit. Were those enemies or comrades under there?
"This body is male, twelve years old-"
All three shinobi went white, Shisui almost green at the thought. War survivor or not, this kind of thing was always appalling and…it had been years. Kami, he was the same age as Ki-chan.
"-and died from an activated seal sequence, branded onto his tongue as, what seems to be, a security measure. From what we can see from the remains-" With little ceremony, the medic whipped back the sheet and Shisui had to force himself not to recoil. It…wasn't pretty.
Using a rod, the medic opened the mouth and pointed at the badly burned tongue, the mouth staining black with poison. "-and with our limited shinobi who can understand Fuinjutsu, we can see that it stopped the person from speaking about certain topics. When paired with the mask – and if the other seal was removed with a foreign chakra signature –, this one would release a deadly toxin into the gums and brain when activated." He gestured to the black veins that led from tongue to gum and were faintly visible along the outside jawline. "A silencing and suicide seal, to sum it up."
Shisui felt sick again.
"This, Shisui, was an intruder found inside Hokage-sama's privacy seals. When he was noticed, he used his Clan techniques to inject an ANBU with poison in an attempt to escape capture."
The chuunin gestured to the other body.
"When he was secured, he refused to speak but, once his mask was removed, he went into shock and died from poisoning within a few moments. A medic-nin was summoned to stabilised ANBU Tiger but, despite doing all they could, he succumbed to the poison, which has now seemingly disappeared from his body." A glance at the medic-nin and a nod of confirmation.
"The boy here was an Aburame Clan member, a recent graduate of the Academy who had been spending very little time with his Genin teammates. But, most importantly, he was a member of ROOT." Inoichi finally spoke up. "Shisui-kun, you say you want to help us bring Kiharu back in any way you can."
Swallowing hard and trying not to look down at the two corpses, both faces discoloured post-mortem from the poison, Shisui nodded firmly at the two older shinobi.
"Yes, Inoichi-sama, Seiichi-san. What can I do?"
A long glance was shared between the two men, filled with grimaces and sad frowns, before they eventually turned back to the young Jonin. Kiharu was going to kill them for this but-
"We might need to use you as bait, Shisui."
…..
Stepping out into the morning air, Mikoto breathed in the crisp breeze with a sense of deep satisfaction.
Yesterday had been difficult, the team had only the basics of the case hammered out and were slightly jolted by her presence, but she felt like she'd made good progress. And, she swore to herself, they'd make even more today.
The village was quite as she walked, too early for most people, even the shop-keepers. Speaking of, Nekki's was officially closed for the next few days, alongside a pause on Teuchi-san's fridge in Ichiraku Ramen, as Mikoto put all her focus on the current investigation. Kiharu, as she was right now and with her savings, wasn't in desperate need of the income and neither was Mikoto, so she'd decided this was the best course of action. It would have been almost impossible to go on as normal and it didn't feel right, anyway. Call her sentimental and foolish, but Mikoto didn't want the stall to herself.
The sun, just brushing rooftops as it ascended, painted the sky pale blue, the expanse untouched by cloud from horizon to horizon. It was going to be a scorching day.
"Good morning, Mikoto-sama." A slow voice sounded behind the Uchiha Matriarch as she approached the Station and the older woman glanced over her shoulder to see her nephew's friend push off the wall he'd been slumped against. Hair pulled into the standard Nara ponytail, dressed in a typical Chuunin uniform and with eyes expertly painted green, Ensui looked fully awake for once.
"Good morning, Ensui-kun." She smiled, slightly confused as to why the boy was calling her out, as the Chuunin walked to stand in front of her.
"Shisui and I spoke the night after Kiharu and Hitoshi disappeared and we've decided to help out as much as we can." Hands in pockets, dark eyes half-lidded with something dangerous, the young man looked more like Shikaku had another son than a nephew.
Shifting her bag higher onto her shoulder, Mikoto smiled proudly. "I'm sure you'll both prove extremely helpful, Ensui-kun." A thought struck her and the Jonin tilted her head slightly, surveying the street like her nephew would jump out from nowhere. Then again, considering his nickname 'Shunshin no Shisui' was all but in the Bingo Book, she wasn't wrong to do so. "Where is Shisui-kun this morning, anyway?"
"With Inoichi-sama and Seiichi-san." Was the prompt response. "And I was hoping, if it's not too much trouble and even if it is, that I might work alongside your team, Mikoto-hime."
The woman in question eyed him for a long moment before she decided to speak plainly. "You'll be the only non-Uchiha in there, you know, Ensui-kun. Your dark hair will not conceal that."
A grin, razor sharp and identical to that of a bloodthirsty Yoshino (well, the boy must've picked up some things after so many years), cut across the Nara's face. "That would be the point, Mikoto-shishou."
Inside the Uchiha Police station, the officers and detectives were trying to anticipate if their Matriarch would return for the second day in a row. The Chief of Police had said nothing, merely going into his office as per usual, not even batting an eye when two interns had been talking about why the Clan's Lady had overturned an investigation. It seemed that Fugaku-sama was turning a blind eye to his wife (there was no way she'd acted without permission…right?). But, when she'd made her surprise appearance the day before, they'd all been blind-sided. Mikoto-sama had never really visited before that moment, aside from occasionally looking for her husband, nevermind expressing interest in a case…
When the doors opened, everyone tried to inconspicuously look to see if it was the woman in question. They'd been doing this all morning, eyes flicking up when anyone arrived. The intern closest to the door leaned back in his chair as the receptionist sat forward and greeted whoever had entered.
And then promptly gaped – as much as possible for an Uchiha – when not only Mikoto-sama walked through, but she was followed by a Nara. And not just any Nara, the Clan Head's nephew, who was notorious for being chased through the streets by his Aunt–
A Nara who had the Lady's bags slung over one shoulder and two takeaway coffees in his hands and–
"So, where do you want to head out to first, Shishou?"
The intern snapped back to his work, eyes wide and world-view crashing around his ears.
….
Shisui was in the field again.
He'd been training since dawn and, before then, he'd barely slept. What with how horrible the past few days had been, he'd scarcely had time to breathe! He'd spent most of the week casually sounding out his fellow Jonin – as Seiichi did the same with the Chuunin shinobi – and trying to see if anyone was connected back to ROOT, Danzo or the other intruders.
Needless to say, it was almost impossible to tell. And the 'almost' bit? That was generally because ninja were so twitchy.
Hatake-san had been his first port of call, only to discover the masked ninja had been assigned a long-term ANBU mission a week ago and so wasn't available for questioning. When he'd informed the two older men, they'd argued that the timing was too perfect not to have been orchestrated to have the Copy-nin out of their reach.
Shisui wondered if there was even a line in the sand anymore, a point when coincidences were just that.
Then again, as shinobi, things were never as they seemed. And after these past few weeks? Shisui felt twitchy just thinking about it.
So, after two days of running around and trying to act casual, dropping leads like a spider weaving a web, the two older men had taken one look at the exhausted picture Shisui made and told him to "go get some rest, kid". When he'd complained, they'd threatened to sideline him in the investigation and the Uchiha had backed down quickly after that.
He'd been sent home last night to find his Aunt waiting, lips pursed and a note to attend dinner from Mikoto-sama clenched in her fist. Taking it from her, she'd swept away without a word.
When he'd gone straight over, he'd felt the tiredness in his very bones. And, unfortunately, his 'Aunt' had noticed. While Shisui knew that Mikoto-sama could be terrifying…seeing her so sweet to Itachi, Sasuke, Kiharu and the customers…he'd been lulled into a false sense of security!
The scolding he'd received when he'd shown up in the same clothes as the day before and bags under his eyes, had had his ears burning for hours and the look she'd given him-!
So, er, after Mikoto barred him from training more than once a day (training for longer was forbidden, too), he'd found himself in their field. Well, it wasn't theirs but Kiharu always came up here to chill, it was where Ensui and Shisui tended to find her when she went off, so it was really more hers.
Normally looking on the bright side of life, the past few weeks had been awful. Shisui was used to laughing and grinning, side-by-side with his best friends and relishing in the good things (bad things, missions and murder, were tucked away, dealt with quickly so he could focus on living in the now). But, recently, Ki-chan had been smiling less, ignoring opportunities to make people blush or for a cheeky comment.
Ensui hadn't been in good spirits either, stressing out over Yoshino-sama's constant nagging and running around with Mikoto, like some strange dream-team (well, that's the kind of thing Kiharu would've called them). Normally, this would be a prime teasing opportunity for Ki-chan and Shisui could sit back and enjoy the fall out (which was always awesome) but…even when she'd been here still, she'd been dealing with all the theories and secrets by herself-
When Kiharu was feeling grey, the world was just a little less bright.
And now, she wasn't here at all.
With a sigh, Shisui lay down in the long grass, remembering the last day they'd been here.
"Hmmm, mmmm~"*
The simple tune, hummed under his breath, was quiet in the empty field. It was a simple enough song, easy to pick up but hard to forget, and Kiharu had had him humming it for days afterwards. When she'd caught him singing it, her eyes had done that thing where they got all warm and fuzzy, like she was really happy Shisui remembered her simple little tune.
That evening, he'd written out the notes as best as he could, thankful that Mikoto-sama had drilled basic music into his head (they could be used for secret messages), and memorised them with his dojutsu. Just in case.
The meadow was lovely, the midday sun scorching the yellowed hillside, long strands that looked more like sheaths of wheat than blades of grass. The field ripped like water in the warm breeze, which tugged on branches and ruffled Shisui's messy curls.
Droplets of red – poppy flowers – were scattered randomly down the hillside, swaying precariously on too-thin stalks in the wind.
The village, huge and bustling with life far below, glinted in the bright light, metal shining and pigmented colours bleaching under the sun. From here, Shisui could see people, small as ants, scurrying through the streets, the racket just out of earshot. It was…reaffirming, to sit and just take it all in. Everything wonderful about his home, about Konoha, and to remember why it was they all went to such lengths to protect her.
It was the people who made her truly precious though.
"Hey," Shisui smiled, sitting up to lean back on his hands with his legs stretched out. A long blade of grass tickled his cheek when he turned his head a bit, grinning over his shoulder. "I won't bite, ya' know."
A small head popped up from the long grass, huge childish eyes eying the older boy carefully.
His little watcher had been there a while, weaving through the long grass like a field mouse, and Shisui decided it was high time to say hello.
Biting the inside of his cheek, Shisui tried a different tactic, playfully calling out "Unless you're too scared?"
Thankfully, the trick worked a treat – like it always did on Sasuke – and the little boy, dressed in a worn tee and shorts with standard sandals, immediately scrambled closer.
"I'm not scared, 'dattebayo!"
Grinning a bit at the cute little catchphrase, Shisui winked. "So, why were you hiding from me then?"
"I was training!" the little blonde announced, growing bolder the more Shisui talked to him. Looking at his thin cheeks and wary eyes, Shisui guess the poor kid was an orphan. And those whisker marks…
"Training?" he heard himself parrot, still focused on where he'd seen the kid before.
"Yeah!" one fist punched the air, a huge grin flashing white teeth and crinkling blue eyes. "Like a ninja 'cuz I'm gonna be Hokage, 'dattebayo!"
Jeez, the kid was like a little ray of sunshine, Shisui marvelled. "Oh, well then, I'm Shisui! And the name of my future Kage?" He smiled, winking playfully. The blonde – wow, he must've been around Sasuke's age and he's already picked out a job? – stared at the older boy for a long, frozen moment. His messy hair, only a few shades brighter than the grass around him, brushed his eyes when the wind picked up again.
"Y-Yeah!" he seemed to recover, grin back full-force and eyes shining slightly. "Uzumaki Naruto, and don't you forget it!"
Laughing genuinely, for what felt like the first time in days, Shisui carefully pushed himself up and reached out to ruffle Naruto's hair, pretending he'd not noticed how he flinched when his hand came down. "Well, I'm starved so how about we go get some lunch?"
Now I remember where I've heard of this kid…
"O-Okay!"
Shisui carefully reached out and plucked the startled boy off the ground, smoothly swinging him around and onto his back ("The village is way cooler when you're taller! Trust me!").
This little, jumpy kid is the so-called 'Demon' of Konoha…and the boy Kiharu was so worried about-
("There was a little boy, Shi-kun. Naruto and he was just out there in the woods and found us by accident. I-I thought he was gonna die too. And now…I haven't seen him anywhere, not even at the Orphanage with Iruka-kun-")
"So, who's your favourite Hokage, ay?"
"The Fourth was awesome, 'dattebayo!"
"The Yondaime? My best friend knew him and even has a dessert named after him! Maybe, I'll take you for some sometime…"
…
Ensui would be the first to admit that he wasn't the best Nara for planning ahead. Sure, he was great with theories and mechanisms, but he wasn't like his Uncle. He couldn't make a move, already thinking ten moves in advance and secure in a strategy.
So, he'd definitely not anticipated the sheer scale of the reaction his 'apprenticeship' garnered.
His folks had been fine with it, besides the usual scolding about 'never telling us what you're up to' (Kaa-san) and 'missing family dinners' (Kaa-san, again), but Shikaku had been on his front step when he'd come back to his flat that evening and helped himself to the teenagers measly stash of sake.
"You're troublesome, you know that…But, luckily for you, I think you know full well what you're doing. Just watch out for Yoshino, you may be in the unenviable position of her favourite nephew…I'd avoid the Compound for a bit if I were you."
His uncle had been right though.
Yoshino had raged all evening, dragging Ensui back to the Main House and plonking a disgruntled Shikamaru in his lap. Dinner had been painfully sweet. As in, a nice idea and they'd had his favourites, but Yoshino berated him for dropping his 'apprenticeship' on them with a spitefulness that hadn't let up.
Holding a Shikamaru-shaped raincloud (Kiharu's descriptions always stuck) and shovelling mackerel in his mouth, the Chuunin hadn't had the heart to tell them that the apprenticeship wasn't an actual thing.
Had everyone forgotten than Mikoto owned half of Nekki's or did they figure that Mikoto had been a detective or something on the side? Honestly, this village. When it came to the Uchiha, either they wanted to know everything or didn't care to pay attention.
And speaking of Uchiha, there had been some serious waves at the Station when Mikoto had all but announced that Nara Ensui was her student. Well, technically, Ensui had. And very clearly.
Moving around the place had been tense, filled with stilted silences and eyes boring into the back of his head. The team in charge of Kiharu's case had been on a new level of reluctant to work with him. It was aggravating because, as much as they respected their Matriarch, Ensui could see that they didn't appreciate Mikoto's involvement either. Tch, so damn troublesome.
So, after spending most of the afternoon on the second day trying to figure out what the original team had learned (blood from a stone), Mikoto had suggested that the two of them should revisit the crime scenes.
As soon as they'd landed on a roof a few streets over, Mikoto had changed course and, when he'd realised where they were headed, Ensui had felt a smirk pull at his lips.
When they'd strolled on past the receptionist, who recognised the Nara and waved them through without blinking, Ensui had taken the lead, striding without hesitation through the winding halls and knocking confidently on his 'Uncle's door (Kiharu was an enabler, there was nothing else to say).
Asking for those folders had been equal parts aggravating and satisfying.
On one hand, those folders were extremely helpful in closing the information gap between the two operations (not that this was a race, but it was important that the Uchiha's effort didn't look undervalued and, with Shisui acting as the Uchiha representative on the T&I case, they had both bases covered). Inoichi, Seiichi and Shisui had access to information that the Police wasn't privy to. Whilst that gave them a distinct advantage, officers had more feet on the ground and were much more likely to get the civilians to talk.
On the other hand, it had been…difficult to see the reluctance to share in Seiichi's eyes, not to mention…there were pages missing. Whilst it wouldn't be obvious to most people, Ensui prided himself on his ability to theorise, to notice. That's what had proved so helpful with Kiharu's strange little invention ideas, what had seen him through his Chuunin Exams. And so, when they'd ended up transforming his little apartment into their base of operations (it made sense, the Nara lived alone), he'd reread the damned thing cover to cover more than five times.
"There are pages missing." He called from the sofa, the sheets spread out on his coffee table.
"Missing?" Mikoto parroted, coming in with two cups of coffee and a tea-towel over her shoulder. Feeling vaguely guilty that she'd made him a drink (and probably tidied up whilst she was at it, Mikoto was naturally very maternal), the nineteen-year-old accepted the mug with a quiet thanks, risking a scolded tongue for a quick slurp as he gestured to the pages. "There is some new information here, Shishou, but there is definitely something missing."
Sitting down opposite him, Mikoto lifted up the pages for her own inspection. "How can you be sure? There are no gaps and the folder is brand new, so the pages cannot have left marks of discolouration to suggest any are missing."
"It was Shisui," Ensui replied promptly, taking another sip of coffee and hissing when it seared his throat. "A day or so ago, I saw him on his way to meet Itachi-san and the guy looked like he was going to be sick. It was only for a moment or so, but Shisui is my friend and I can read him like a book."
"So, my nephew needs to work on concealing his emotions more?" Mikoto quirked a brow over the rim of her own cup.
Smirking in triumph, Ensui gestured to the paper spread out between them. "And what in those files could shake a Jonin like Shisui so badly his mask slipped?"
Realisation sparked in Mikoto's dark eyes as the Matriarch quickly rescanned the neat writing. "There's nothing. Their investigation has not reaped much more than ours has, aside from ANBU reports on the crime scenes. So, something must have happened."
"Exactly, and something big enough that, for whatever reason, Inoichi-sama didn't want to put it on file."
…...
The Dazai household was empty, of course, when the two men arrived.
Kiharu and Hitoshi had been gone for almost a week and they'd hit a roadblock. The Chuunins were acting the same as normal, the Jonins were as normal as they could manage – maybe 'regular' was a better description – and Genma was still inching his way through the ANBU Corps. Shisui had let loose some thoughts around certain figures, leads that would trace back to Danzo (they hoped) and they were just waiting for someone to spring the trap. But, for now, the young Uchiha had been sent home, looking like death warmed over, and the last gossip Seiichi had picked up on was that the boy had been seen eating with the Demon kid, of all people.
More importantly, Aburame Tatsuma had died six days ago and…nothing.
Danzo hadn't so much as twitched out of place in the past week, calmly going about his days as if Inoichi and Seiichi didn't suspect him of being some puppeteer from the shadows. Hokage-sama had failed to respond appropriately, in Seiichi's private opinion, when he'd allowed the investigation to run at its current pace, acting like nothing had happened and allowing the Police to run an official investigation at the same time! Why, when Mikoto and Ensui, of all people (and wouldn't Seiichi have liked to have been a fly-on-the-wall for the conversation between the Nara and Uchiha to allow that apprenticeship), had shown up the previous day and demanded the ANBU reports on the crimes scenes, the Tracker had almost swallowed his tongue.
He was more than fine with Mikoto and Kiharu's close friendship; the lady was a good grounding force for his daughter and a good business partner too. And Ensui! Ensui was a good Chuunin and an even better influence on his daughter! Not to mention, all the help he'd provided with his 'tinkering' over the years-
That hadn't meant he was fine with them butting in on their investigation.
Kiharu…Kiharu was a simple girl and a slightly strange one at that. She had very little in the way of friends her own age, only a handful or so, and a strange collection of adults who had been sucked into her orbit.
She'd made friends with others as well, toddlers and school children, the Gate guards at various Compounds and a handful of Police officers but-
Seiichi didn't know how Danzo, how Fugaku, how anyone would react to the serious lengths so many important people were willing to go to for a single child. Sure, Kiharu was a special girl, business and all, and the official (secret) S-Rank investigation was centred on the ROOT intruder, but what did it look like on the outside? To see Clan Heads and their wives running around in desperation, to see Uchiha Mikoto running a case despite not being an official part of the force?
But it was his family on the line, so how could he do anything other than hand the evidence over?
But they'd not reacted or, at least, Danzo hadn't. Some of the higher ranking Police were complaining about Mikoto going to such lengths, stepping out of her 'official duties', for some 'civie kid'. Genma had overheard some of the Council members grumbling amongst themselves, getting suspicious, but there had been very little else.
What are we waiting for? What are they waiting for? Do these people really feel so secure that they are not even concerned that we might unearth something incriminating?
So, here they were, back at square one. Great.
"Tea?" Seiichi asked tiredly, scrubbing one hand through his hair as he toed off his sandals and led the way through to the kitchen, the Yamanaka following behind him.
"Please," Inoichi nodded, all but collapsing into a chair at the table. "What do you think our next step should be, hm?"
Clicking the kettle on and pulling two cups from the cupboard, Seiichi pulled the Hitai-ate from his forehead. Damn thing was giving him a headache. "Honestly? I don't have a clue. Tatsuma was just some academy kid, only graduated a few months ago. How the hell did he get a seal like that on his tongue?"
The kitchen was silent for a long time, both men lost in thought and the Chuunin found himself stroking one finger against the indentations on his teacup. It was one of Kiharu's, loss of habit meaning he'd grabbed her's down, but he'd drink from it anyway. Buttercup yellow and with a ring of ducklings standing out from the rim, she'd declared it 'cute' and insisted she bought it with her own money. The kettle clicked and Seiichi pulled it off the stand, filling the two cups and taking them over to the table. Sliding the plain blue one over to the blonde, Seiichi stared down at the liquid blindly.
"Ino-chan's getting fed up that Kiharu isn't coming around and that the stall is closed every time she goes past…Yoshino told Sora that Shikamaru hasn't stopped frowning since he worked it out, the kid's too smart for his own good…"
A deep breath and a low 'thump' as Inoichi set his cup down again. "My brother has taken his third long-term mission in six months."
Now, that caught the brunettes attention, chin jerking up to blink into pupil-less turquoise. "What? That's crazy, that means he's spent less than two weeks in the village in the past half-year…how did he get away with that?"
Quirking an unimpressed brow, the older Yamanaka quipped, "By going when you're not there? Your colleagues either do not have the backbone to stand up to my brother when he's determined or they're not above being persuaded."
"How," Seiichi swallowed, feeling hesitant. "How did Natsuko take it?"
Inoichi took another long drink from his cup like it was alcohol and not tea. "She didn't." His lips twisted bitterly, as they always did when his brother and sister-in-law came up. "She didn't respond. He's been sleeping in his office for months now – like I wouldn't find out. But, he's too stubborn and he knows me too well. Every time I try and do something, he evades perfectly. He doesn't want my help, neither of them does."
When the tea had cooled and a small film started forming over the top, Seiichi was roused from thought when Inoichi stood up.
"Which reminds me; Shibi-san was due to return from his mission today, Seiichi…we should go and break the news to him."
Blinking rapidly, the brunette bit out an agreement and knocked back the stone-cold tea, grimacing at the bitter taste. Urgh, why the hell did Inoichi even let him make the drinks when he knew poison that went down better?
They headed straight for the Aburame Compound, leaping across rooftops in a direct cut across the village and dropped just outside the gate. They'd wanted to speak to the intruder's Uncle immediately but, as always seemed to be the case recently, the man had been out of the village, tracking a missing-nin from Sand that had crossed into Fire.
"Aburame-san, has Shibi-sama returned? It is important that we speak to him as soon as possible."
The gatekeeper merely nodded and, because he was paying such close attention, Seiichi was able to just about make out the tiny insect that flew out of his collar.
Waiting for a few minutes, Seiichi let his eyes wander. He'd been around here countless times, on patrol and to meet up with various Aburame fro missions etc., but he'd never had – or taken – the time to just look.
Like all Clans, a simple gate cordoned off the private Clan property from the rest of the surrounding houses and, also like every Clan, the place itself was organized in its own style. The Aburame, both because of their intensely private nature and how intimidating others found them, lived on the outskirts of the village. The houses were, in actual fact, simple grey buildings, some several stories high like a small apartment block and others simple terrace houses. The woods, wilder and more untamed than those belonging to the Nara, were dark and brushed the edges of the property. Konoha was famous, as in the title and from the legendary skills of the Shodaime, for its forests but the trees around here were still different. Unlike Hashirama-sama's monstrously tall constructs, those in this area were shorter and walking between them was almost akin to being underground, the sunlight blocked out so securely.
"Yamanaka-sama, Dazai-san, you wished to speak to me. How do I know this? My Clansmen's Kikaichui was sent for me."
"Yes, Aburame-sama, we need to speak to you…privately."
Two hours later, Seiichi was preparing for what was possibly the most dangerous mission of his life.
Seiichi had never been invited into the compound before – he didn't actually know anyone, off the top of his head, who had – and couldn't help himself from casting sneaky looks around.
His face remained half hidden and the rest, what little was visible, was just as stoic as ever but the Chuunin thought Shibi seemed amused at his curiosity. Inoichi, being the smooth professional in his element he was, was completely unphased. In all honesty, the house they'd been shown to was strangely normal, considering the bizarre reputation the Bug-users had, but Seiichi supposed he should've known better.
After all, people didn't expect a huge panther when they walked up to their porch.
The office was completely nondescript, as functional as expected. Plain cream walls lined with wooden bookshelves and a single desk in the centre. But, more importantly, it would serve their purpose.
The Aburame Head was silent throughout their tale.
Inochi did all the talking, he was an expert on the human mind and Seiichi didn't even know what he could have said in his place. "I'm sorry but your nephew died a few days ago from a suicide seal when he was caught eavesdropping on the Hokage," didn't really cut it. So the Yamanaka laid everything out. Or rather, as much as they were able to disclose which, under the wrap of an S-Rank, wasn't a lot.
But Shibi was in incredibly instinctive man, for all his logic and reason. Something inherent from working with his 'allies', Seiichi had often mused.
Once Inoichi had finished explaining the fate of the Bug-user's relative, the office had been plunged into silence for a suspended moment.
A single finger rose and pushed Shibi's glasses further up before the Aburame spoke.
"That makes little sense. My reason for claiming this? Tatsuma has only been a Genin for several weeks but has been missing from his duties for considerably longer."
"I beg your pardon?" Inoichi leaned forwards, eyes intense. There had been nothing out-of-the-ordinary recorded for the Aburame, let alone a missing persons file or neglect of shinobi duties.
"Do you mean to say, Shibi-sama." Seiichi licked his lips nervously, "That your nephew was missing from the Clan or had been disregarding his posts?"
The smallest twitch of a frown, easily missed unless you were looking for it. Shibi was genuinely confused by the turn of events. "The latter, Dazai-san." Our expectant expressions forced the usually tight-lipped man to elaborate, understanding that this was important. "After his graduation, Tatsuma had rarely been seen in the Compound and had not attempted to contact either myself or his mother. When he neglected to make an appearance for his first C-Rank last week, an official enquiry about his whereabouts was issued."
Making a quick decision and sparing his friend only the barest glance, Seiichi decided to see where this was taking them. Enquiry? Missing out on missions? This had not been anywhere in the archives. "And where could we find Tatsuma's mother, Shibi-sama?"
"In the Compound here. She…is unwell."
Gritting his teeth, Seiichi continued on relentlessly. " Tatsuma was only a Genin, Shibi-sama? Tatsuma was assigned to ROOT almost two years ago." Well, that was all they could devise from the 'age' of his ROOT seal and so that was the timeframe they were forced to run with. And the skill with which an apparent-Genin had fended off two ANBU…there was no way this wasn't extremely serious, extremely suspicious.
The Aburame Head was clearly frowning now, eyebrows crumpled severely over glasses, and the atmosphere in the office darkened further.
"That is not possible. Tatsuma was only a Genin and for such a promotion, even one in secret, I would be informed."
So, Aburame Tatsuma was taken in without anyone knowing? Did that mean they'd spent an entire week on a file that had been fabricated?
"Inoichi, I think it's time we asked Hokage-sama for permission to dig a little deeper." Hopefully, right through Danzo's brain. Whether by Yamanaka jutsu or the Dazai's kunai, Seiichi wasn't too picky.
When they made to depart with their respects, Shibi rose with them, reaching to sling his gourd over his back.
"This involves my Clan, I would wish to accompany you."
"Alright there, Jackal?" Seiichi elbowed the masked ninja beside him, sliding extra kunai into his weapons pouch and retying his hitai-ate, lest it comes loose in a fight. Had happened before. Genma, in full ANBU uniform and forced to act accordingly, took the higher ground and silently let it slide (not that he had much choice).
Seiichi had a thing about breaking tension before a fight anyway, and almost everyone knew it.
"Ready, Seiichi?" Inoichi retied his hair and nodded towards the door.
"Rea-"
"Ready!" a cheerful voice perked up from the door and Seiichi felt like throwing something. Dammit, his daughter was going to murder him. He'd told himself that he'd respect her wishes and not get anyone she deemed 'underage' involved and now-
He'd realised he'd been blessed with an activist for a daughter when Kiharu's eyes would flash every time she looked at the academy or a Genin. Just from watching her reactions, her father had gradually realised just how much she hated how children weren't allowed to just be that. Children. Even though she'd never been much of a child herself, that had been by her own choice. She'd never waivered from her friends but she was unhappy with the way things were. He could tell, looking into those blue eyes which were so like Aki's. So, he'd sworn that he'd keep Shisui out of it. For her. But then, the Uchiha boy had begged and his eyes looked scarily like Seiichi's own, so he'd told him what was happening…and then, they'd realised they needed to get to Danzo somehow and now, here they were.
"And you're sure, Shisui?" Inoichi hedged, face harshly lined.
Knowing that now was not the time for laughter, the fourteen-year-old nodded solemnly, reaching to check his katana was secure. "Yes, Danzo-sama has always been interested in the Sharingan so I let it slip that mine might be special."
That was news to Seiichi but then, with all the stuff Shisui had unloaded under the S-Rank, the older man had too much to be surprised over to really care.
"So, if things get as violent as we think, he'll probably go for me as a last bid."
"Right," Seiichi swallowed his guilt. This was for Ki-chan, his daughter, and Shisui was a Jonin in his own right. "Right, let's go, then."
Flashing out of the ANBU HQ, Seiichi tried to keep his eyes off of Shisui's back in front of him. To keep from noticing how small he was compared to everyone else-
Damn, I really am going to hell.
…..
When Hitoshi estimated that he had enough chakra to transport the two of us back, I'd almost cried with relief.
Okay, I did. But just a little bit.
We'd been here just under a week, 6 and a half of the most god-awful days (not the worst, never the worst, that was just asking for trouble) I'd had in a long time and I was more than ready to go home.
After finding that reasonable fishing patch on the third night, we'd not really moved much. Not only was there no real reason to (we'd be travelling to a different Realm, so no need to go anywhere on foot) but the panther needed to conserve as much energy as possible. Sure, we'd ended up walking around a bit to gather those berries for my meals (fruits…were going off the menu for a while, when we got back), but that was largely so we wouldn't get separated.
So here we were, rumpled and sticky and gross. Hitoshi was in the worst mood because he hated eating straight-up fish and I was a hot mess, scabbed neck cracking when I moved and my ruined yukata open around my shoulders.
Part of me almost wished we'd bumped into some of the other Summoning Clans (how fucking cool would that be, right? Shisui would be jealous for the rest of our lives!) until my own summon had pointed out, oh so nicely, that they would not necessarily be allies. Hitoshi was only one panther after all, and an injured one at that, and some of the contracts had a hundred animals.
Thinking on the Snakes, I quickly agreed that it had been for the best.
"Ready?" Hitoshi drawled, his voice reverberating directly into my ear. I was hunched over on his back, arms looped tightly around his neck and ankles crossed under his hips, to try and make myself as small of a burden as possible.
"Ready." I squeaked, holding on even tighter.
A pulse of energy seared across my skin and the world fell away.
When I came to, I simply lay there for a few moments, mind spinning and vision filled with white, as my brain tried to compute that we were no longer in the Summoning Realm. Sucking in a deep breath and immediately choking on the plumes of smoke that swirled around us, I slowly pushed myself upright and glanced around.
A ragged cliff, sun-dried grass and the sounds of rushing water.
"The Naka?" I looked around, noting Hitoshi's slowly stirring figure just behind me. "Really? Now that's just taking the piss, talk about a full circle…"
Still grumbling under my breath, I turned around to shake the cat's shoulder, watching as his eyes twitched before slowly prying open with a growl.
"You okay there, 'Toshi?" I asked, standing up on stiff limbs and watching as the predator did the same, swaying a little on unsteady paws.
"Fine…come on, we don't have any time to waste, cub."
For the first time, I realised how late it must have been. The sun was dipping below the horizon and painting the yellowed grass amber. The wind was strong, making the trees sway violently above our heads and sending flashes of golden sunlight through the shifting canopy. Inhaling deeply as we started making our way through the trees, I hummed at the summery-smokey-leafy scent on the breeze. It was like bonfires on holiday and barbeques in the long evenings.
It was like home and, at the thought of a barbeque – and our own miserable attempts in the past week –, I was reminded of how starving I was. The trees rustled as we walked, the forest seemingly empty, like some bizarre parody of Hitoshi's attack. The comparison had the relief slowly draining from my stomach. I didn't know what we were coming back to. And that was the scariest thing.
But nothing jumped out at us as we walked on in silence, no animals, no weapons, no attackers.
The gates had just come into view when two loud cries broke the quiet of the evening.
"KIHARU-!"
A grin split my face, tugging painfully at the angry scab at my throat, as I stepped forward with my arms wide in anticipation. And I wasn't disappointed.
Long arms wrapped around me, hoisting me up into the air, as a second pair grabbed a snarling Hitoshi around the neck and yanked him into the group hug.
"Izu-kun, Tetsu-" I gulped in air, relieved beyond belief at the familiar faces and that they seemed to be acting like normal. Surely, if the world had gone to hell, those two wouldn't still be punished with gate duty, right?
My words seemed to have broken the haze of relief though and I was promptly dropped back to earth. The two sixteen-year-olds were pale, taking in the thick scar on my neck and the exhaustion on our faces.
"Kiharu, where the hell have you been? How did you both get back? What hap-"
A sense of urgency rushed through my veins, an overwhelming flash of adrenaline that had my heart racing with dread, and I was suddenly absolutely desperate to see my dad. Shit. "Boys, please, please," I shook off their hands, twisting a fist into the fur between 'Toshi's shoulders. "I promise I'll explain everything but where's my To-?"
As if to answer me, a massive plume of thick, black smoke unexpectedly rose through the air. It was so potent, like soot or charcoal, it almost looked like a wave of pitch-black sand ascending to the sky. The toxic gas was heavy and spread quickly, stinging my eyes and cloying in the back of my throat when the wind blew through us.
"Shit!" Kotetsu gaped, rushing forwards and taking a chakra-powered leap into the nearest tree.
"What the hell was that?!" Izumo yelled up to him, shoving me closer to Hitoshi to encourage me to climb on. The panther in question, despite being drained to the extreme, was on high alert, bumping his shoulder into my side so I'd take the hint. Which I did.
"Forest fire!" his teammate shouted back, jumping down a moment or two later. "In this wind, we should definitely get into the village!"
What forest fire looked like that?
"You two!" the Chuunin still at the gate gestured furiously for us to come back. "Get those two to Hokage-sama immediately!"
The two teenagers needed no further prompting, taking off at a run with Hitoshi fast on their heels. We wasted no time slowing down when we hit the streets, expertly skirting around stalls and pedestrians alike. The Hokage Tower loomed overhead but I barely paid it any mind. Twisting my fists into ink-black fur, I stared over my shoulder, unable to tear my eyes away, as the column of smoke rose up like a beacon behind us.
…
*- Arrietty's song, the song Kiharu hummed and Shisui picked up on. From Chapter 19 and, in case you missed the tag back then, if you want to hear it: look up the Celtic harp version on YouTube (It's just awesome for the vibes)~
A/N- This update took so long, my god. At one point I was at 16k like 'what are you doing? this isn't right, Torship!' (not that I speak to myself in third person) but you get the point. It was tricky AF so I hope you all enjoy it. I wrote most of this after binge-watching Brooklyn 99, the Mentalist and then Disney's Brave so I'm pretty sure there are some points of comparison here...I think...unintentional, btw. Also, I decided to make the police quite 'police-y' so that they didn't just sound like another part of the shinobi corps. Gotta get a bit of variation, I guess.
Also, fun fact, this chapter was almost called 'Seven Days of Hell' but then I didn't think it was anywhere near a good a fit as what I went with...and I'm pretty sure Kiharu was gone for 6, not including the day of the attack...I think...I've just lost myself in my own fic...it's a bit weird actually, looking back. (I need coffee)
ANYWAY, thanks for being incredible as always in the comments section and with all the love and support! I legit cherish every message, even if I don't get to reply to all of you, so here is a blanket hug for anyone I missed out! \(*^*)/ 3 I hope you like the chapter, you precious beans! X