Letting out a calming breath, Darui stood outside of the Hokage's office in Konoha. It had taken him one precious hour to realize that Mina was missing when she didn't return from her mission. She was far too competent of a kunoichi to have missed a deadline so easily. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned against the wall, fixing passersby with a cool stare as they walked in and out of the office.
Thanking the gods that she had a recognizable hair color, he had tracked her into the Land of Fire. It was easy enough from there to surmise what had happened. The damn leaf ninja probably thought the Raikage wouldn't fight for her. Unfortunately for the lot of them, she was still a top medic in their village and the Raikage's personal medic.
Two minutes had passed waiting for the return telegram in the Konoha post office under the supervision of a hostile chaperone before the Raikage had given him permission to negotiate and threaten the Hokage of Konohagakure. Darui was all too happy to oblige. Gods knew what they were doing to her in their ANBU dungeons. Though a far cry from Kiri, Konoha TI was not a picnic.
"Hokage-sama will see you now," a shinobi said, a senbon clicking on his teeth with every word.
Darui gave a slight tilt of his head and walked into the Hokage's office, carefully keeping his hands out of his pockets and in plain view.
"Hokage-dono," he greeted with a nod.
The Hokage nodded back, the large brim of his hat covering his face. "My shinobi have told me you believe we hold your partner captive?"
"I know that she is in your captivity. My summons tracked her to this location within hours after she was kidnapped from our mission outside of the Land of Fire. That is not your territory nor within your jurisdiction. To avoid an international incident, I must insist she be returned to Kumo at once."
Pipe smoke floated up from the hat reaching the ceiling. Thick incense made Darui's nose itch. The Raikage would never stoop to using something so superfluous.
"I see. Genma," the Hokage said, nodding towards the door. "Confirm that we have a Kumo kunoichi in TI."
"By your word, Hokage-sama," the man said, putting a fist over his heart and bowing at the waist.
"What is your partner's name?" the Hokage asked kindly.
Darui stared back at him, unimpressed by the attempt to throw him off guard.
"Mina. She is the Raikage's personal medic," he added, impressing upon the Hokage how severe the infraction of the Konoha nin was.
The old man rubbed his chin with his fingers and leaned back against the cushions. "Ay's personal medic huh?" he asked himself.
Genma returned, dropping to one knee in front of the Hokage.
"We do not have a Kumo kunoichi in holding, sir. Commander Ibiki is insisting that the only kunoichi in holding is a Konoha missing-nin."
Darui's breath caught in his chest. Little was known about Mina before Killer Bee found her on the river bank just outside of the Land of Lightning. Her file had indicated that she was in shinobi garb, but that meant little to a Kumo shinobi. For years now, the minimum age of service in Kumo had been sixteen. It was a ubiquitous and unyielding law, extending even to prodigies like himself—and Mina. The truth of her circumstances had been locked into a vault so deep in the Kumo ANBU storage rooms and covered in seals that the previous Raikage had placed himself.
"Her name?" the Hokage asked, beckoning Genma to come closer. Keeping the same expression as when Darui entered the room, he nodded after Genma whispered the answer in his ear. "Bring her here immediately."
The guard nodded again before vanishing from the room. Moments later, he reappeared with Mina shivering underneath his arm. After a glance at the Hokage, he gently let her down the floor, stepping back to his post in front of the Hokage's desk.
"Kaminari Hatake?" the Hokage addressed Mina. She didn't respond from her spot on the floor, keeping her eyes on Darui's sandals.
"Mina of Kumogakure?" the Hokage tried again, glancing at the paper Genma had passed to him. She glared up at him. "Ah, I see. Mina of Kumogakure, shinobi registration CL5599?"
"Answer Hokage-sama," the guard warned behind her.
"Yes."
Darui could barely feel her chakra. Though he'd yet to fully look at Mina, already he could tell she was in bad shape. Her voice was too quiet with an undertone of barely restrained anger. His Mina was always loud, sweet, and mischievous.
"My shinobi claim that you are Kaminari Hatake of Konohagakure, shinobi registration 009721. I must say, I do concur with their conclusion, as does the DNA test my ANBU took upon your arrival. However, as a gesture of goodwill with Kumogakure, we will allow you to leave Konoha peacefully, today. We do expect to stay in touch with the Raikage to discuss further terms and concessions."
"Understood," Mina rasped.
Darui nodded slightly in understanding. Slowly bending down while keeping both the Hokage and his guard in his line of sight was irritating. Years of self-control threatened to break when he saw the large electrocution burns on Mina's wrists. They hadn't only tortured her, but threatened to destroy her chakra system.
"Mina?" he asked quietly, scooping her off the floor. She weakly clutched his shirt, burying her face in his shoulder. "Raikage-sama will be in touch, Hokage-dono," he promised before walking out of Hokage tower.
"Sorry, this is my fault," he whispered, moving like lightning through the trees. He hoped to make it away from Konoha as quickly as possible.
Only when he reached the border with the Land of Hot Springs did he stop. Gently placing Mina on a branch against a tree trunk, he started to inspect the damage. Her eyes had a glassy look, hidden by tangled silver curls.
"Mina?" he whispered. Her eyes refused to focus as he continued his perusal. Electrocution burns ran up both arms. The root structures of her chakra system was stark and prominent underneath her alabaster skin. Angry red blisters formed along the normally hidden chakra network. She gasped when his thumb brushed her ankle. Lifting the black cargo pants, his eyes darkened. His fist clenched unbidden at the open wounds on her feet and blisters surrounding her ankles.
"Mina?" he tried again.
She closed her eyes, gasping in pain. Her knuckles turned white on his shirt. He brushed his thumb against her unbruised cheek and dropped his forehead to hers.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, scooping her off the branch and onto his lap before sitting back down. "Mina, baby, can you hear me?" He closed his eyes as the woman in his arms continued to tremble.
"Darui?" came the small voice underneath his chin. He pulled her in closer. Her voice was raspy and strained. His heart clenched when he realized it must've been from prolonged screaming.
"I'm here."
"You came back for me."
Huffing in amusement, he stroked her back gently.
Mina closed her eyes again, inhaling the familiar ozone and bergamot. The same smell had surrounded her since the day she turned ten and was paired with him, and every day since.
"I told you I would never leave you behind." He kissed the top of her head and leaned against the tree.
"Somebody did. They told me I was a Konoha shinobi first. When I was eight and that I was left for dead. Like that would convince me to join them. Or rejoin. Whatever the truth is. How could they abandon a kid to die?"
"It's their way, I suppose. They're dull and ignorant."
"What if they're right? All these years with no history. If Killer Bee found me, why hasn't he said anything in all this time?"
"I don't know. All I know for now is you need a medic as soon as possible. Even I know that your chakra pathways should not be prominent."
Mina sighed heavily and tucked her nose against his skin. "All this because Raikage-sama fancied an exercise scroll that a Konoha genin team was carrying."
"An antique scroll," Darui added with a slight huff. "It's priceless, apparently."
"Right. Still. To send two jounin after it feels like overkill. I think he just wanted a reason for reconnaissance on Konoha's genin's capabilities."
"Probably so. And we did find out valuable information. Their borders are heavily guarded by ANBU squads. Their top jounin are the only ones leading genin teams. I'd be willing to bet that after the Kyuubi attack, their forces are severely crippled, even thirteen years later."
"I suppose. I just—" Mina broke off what she was about to say with a puff of air.
"What, baby?"
A new chakra signature entered his sensing range, and Darui straightened, pushing Mina behind him. He could feel her tremble, clutching onto his vest. His once fearless woman had been tortured into submission and fear. A torrent of anger poured through him as he stood up to face the newcomer.
The shock of silver hair stopped one hundred meters away. His mask was pulled up over his nose. Mina muffled a whimper, and scooted closer to the tree trunk.
"You're not in the Land of Fire anymore, Konoha-nin," Darui warned with his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"I don't want to cause any trouble," Kakashi said, holding his hands up. "I just—"
"Do you honestly expect me to believe anything you say? I found my partner tortured in your dungeon. Leave now, or I won't be responsible for what happens next."
"Imouto, do you want me to leave?"
Darui responded by fully unsheathing the cleaver sword and unfolding the blade.
"Yes," Mina whispered painfully.
Kakashi hesitated a moment, his gaze locked on Darui's gentle hand against Mina's shoulder. He nodded and placed a book on the ground before vanishing altogether.
"What is it?" Mina asked, looking down from the branch.
He poked the book with the tip of his sword and gingerly opened the cover.
"Photo album," Darui said. "Do you want it?"
"We can have Samui-senpai look at it when we get back. See if they're doctored. If anything, TI might be able to get some information out of it."
"Dull," he mumbled under his breath, but placing the book in his pack all the same.
Two days passed before they ran into the first staffed Kumo outpost on the border they shared with the Land of Frost. Mina was worse now than she was when they ran from Konoha. She tried to hide her pain from him, every jarring jump Darui took made her gasp out. The corners of her mouth were tight when she smiled at him. Her jokes were flat, her glare was weak. At night when she changed the bandages on her ankle, she refused his help. Now, even he could smell the infection that set in yesterday. Though she shivered profusely, her body was hot and rigid against his chest. Darui kicked open the outpost door and gently laid Mina down on a small cot in the back of the room.
"Get me a medic," he commanded the stunned chuunin. Sweat appeared on her brow and her breath was shallow as she leaned forward against his shoulder. "Now!"
"Darui, I'm fine," she whispered, placing her hand on the back of his neck. Her eyes drifted close, her hand slackened against him.
There was a rush of fabric behind him. "Out of my way," he heard C say behind him, and he blew out a breath of relief. Kumo medics were always hit or miss.
"What happened out there?"
"Run in with Konoha TI," Darui answered, unwrapping Mina's ankle. "They tortured her. They had her for twelve hours before she was released."
"Fuck. This is Ibiki's work. I've seen it before. I can't fix her chakra coils out here, she's going to need the hospital."
"The infection?"
"Yeah, I need to see those wrists."
"Her feet, look at those first."
C nodded. As he carefully removed her shoes, she whimpered but remained unconscious. Her toes were dark red and splotchy. Electrical burns ran in open sores along the sole of her arch.
"He's nothing if not thorough." C grimaced, assessing the damage. "Look at the chakra roots. You shouldn't be able to see it through her skin like this."
His hands glowed a soft blue against her feet until they returned to a soft pink. C wiped the back of his hand against his forehead.
"She needs antibiotics. The infection already reached her bloodstream, and the destroyed chakra coils are fighting me. I'm using five times as much chakra as I normally would."
Darui released a steadying breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Dull."
Mina's eyes fluttered open. "Darui?" she whispered, reaching for his hand.
"I'm here, baby."
She nodded and weakly rubbed pulled his hand against her forehead. The action always reminded him of canine affection.
"I'm here too, you know," C said loudly as he worked on her right ankle.
"Thanks, senpai, I'd rather it be you," Mina said sincerely.
"I'm worried about your lack of sarcasm."
"Infection," Mina replied, attempting to shrug her shoulders but lacking the energy to complete it. "I can't feel my chakra at all. And I'm so cold. I think I'd be cold if you dropped me in Suna right now."
C grunted. "Fortunately for you, you're heading home. We're getting snow this week."
Mina shivered in response, and Darui released her. Opening the closet on the opposite side of the small outpost, he pulled two blankets out and draped them over her.
"Body heat would be even better," C commented as he switched ankles.
Without saying anything, Darui climbed on the bed and pulled her into his arms. She was shivering hard enough to rattle his teeth. He tightened his grip on the blankets, trying to make her feel warm.
"Mina?" Darui asked when her face dropped against the side of his neck.
C shook his head. "She's unconscious again. I'm surprised she was able to stay awake while you were running back here. Can't say too many shinobi would've been able to withstand the pain. Some of that shivering is due to the busted chakra system, not just the infection." He wiped the back of his hand against his forehead again before shakily standing up.
"A chair, taichou?" a chuunin asked, pulling a chair to C. He placed a glass of water on the table next to him.
"Thanks," C replied, taking a long drink and sitting down. "I need fifteen minutes before I can keep going."
Darui stroked his thumb back and forth on Mina's cheekbone before kissing her nose. Then he briefly touched her lips with his, tucking her face under his chin. "Make it ten."
"You really love her, don't you?" C commented, taking another long drink of water.
"Would that be such a bad thing?"
"Does she know?"
Darui shook his head. "I'm not sure."
"She's a Kumogakure kunoichi, through and through. She might not want to ever settle down. I hope you know that. I don't want to see you hurt."
"I don't want anyone else. Haven't for years. The very idea of touching another woman is dull."
C chuckled. "Well, have you tried?"
"No."
Running a rough hand over his face, C leaned back in his chair. "Kumo-nin aren't exactly known for monogamy."
"I can accept that."
He shrugged in response. "If you say so."
C rummaged in the first aid drawer before pulling out a vial of medication and a hypodermic needle. "I'm gonna give her enough sedation to make it to the hospital. She didn't say, but she has to be in a significant amount of pain."
"Make her comfortable," Darui agreed.