Chapter 42
Shizune smoothed down the servant's uniform and followed Pakkun out into the hallways. He crept along the floor, keeping to the shadows, still sniffing out Kakashi's scent. The woman's clothes she wore smelled lightly of Kakashi, as if only have brief interactions, so they had kidnapped her and stole her uniform for Shizune to wear.
While Lady Tsunade, Master Jiraiya and Naruto caused a scene, she and Pakkun would sneak into the castle and secure Kakashi. They'd sneak him out and once one of Kakashi's hounds gave the signal Lady Tsunade and the others could retreat, leaving without an incident. But they first had to find Kakashi, and hope he was safe.
"My favourite food is dango," a soft, gentle voice spoke up as they turned another corner. Shizune paused, baffled at the elderly man standing before two guardsmen who stood before a door. "With tomato sauce, and strawberry ice cream."
The old man was hunched over, shaking as he clutched his walking stick. Shizune could see the wrinkles sagging his face, and how his legs quivered, and winced. He was probably in his nineties, maybe even close to a hundred. His clothes were baggy, hanging off him, and it made Shizune feel sympathetic. Poor man looked so frail.
"How did you even get in here, Sir?" One of the guardsmen asked gently.
"I was walking and saw the beautiful garden outside," the elderly man said slowly, carefully even, clutching his walking stick tighter. "But I grew tired and hungry. I would love some dango right now, oh, and a fresh cup of tea!"
"You're not in a cafe, gramps." The other guard held out his arm. "C'mon, I'll help you out of here. I thought the patrols outside would have gotten better since the prisoners last escape attempt yet this guy got passed them."
Shizune tensed. Prisoners last escape attempt? Kakashi had tried to escape and failed?
The younger guard shrugged. "He's probably a relative of one of the staff here. He does seem a bit confused though. Maybe look for someone panicked?"
"Ah, yes, you can take me to my seat, young man." The elderly man patted the guard's arm. "Thank you."
"No, I'm trying to find your family," the guard insisted. "What's your name?"
"Ah, yes, my favourite food is dango with tomato sauce, and strawberry ice cream. I am ninety-seven years old, and have travelled many places."
"Yes, but your name is?"
"Yes."
The guard paused. "Your name is 'yes'?"
"Yes, my favourite food is dango with tomato sauce, and strawberry ice cream. I am ninety-seven years old, and have travelled many places. I would also love a freshly brewed cup of tea."
"Oi, girl!" The younger guard gestured to her, making her jump. "You know this guy?"
"Um, not really?" Shizune admitted.
"We can't leave this door unguarded. The advisors' prisoner is in here, so take this guy and go find his family."
That was where Kakashi was locked up? The information almost made her smile. Almost. Because right now they had to deal with this distraction.
"R-Right!" Shizune hurried over, offering out her arm. "Hi, let me take you to a table!"
"I have two servers?" the elderly man gasped. "This is amazing service!"
He took her arm, the other still clutched tight around his walking stick. His hands looked soft from the wrinkles, almost delicate, and the grasp was weak around her arm.
"Yes, and we'll get you whatever you wish. Now, let me escort you to your table," Shizune said, throwing him a tight smile. This was a distraction from rescuing Kakashi! Once they got a few corridors away she frowned. "This is annoying, but at least we know where Kakashi is."
"What is a Kakashi?" the elderly man asked. "Am I being served a Kakashi?"
"No," she sighed.
"Oh, I thought a Kakashi would be nice, but I suppose you're after a Kakashi then, Shizune?"
She froze. The elderly man kept smiling sweetly at her, still soft and frail against her, and Pakkun laughed.
Why was Pakkun laughing? What the hell was going on?
"You've left her in shock, pup," Pakkun said fondly, slipping out the shadows and nuzzling the elderly man's leg.
"K-Kakashi?" Shizune choked out.
"Surprise." The elderly man's voice changed. It was more of a lazy drawl, nice and relaxed, instead of shaky, soft and careful. "I was trying out another escape attempt, but it's nice to see you here. You've grown up a lot, Shizune."
Shizune felt her jaw drop.
Kakashi chuckled. "It's not a henge." He held up his wrist. "My chakra's sealed right now."
WHAT?! HOW DOES HE LOOK SO OLD?!
"I would have escaped by now otherwise," Kakashi grumbled. "My chakra's sealed by this bracelet. It also has a tracker on it, and sedatives, so when I get out of the castle grounds it knocks me out."
"That explains a lot. Biscuit caught a whiff of your scent, but it stopped right where he found it," Pakkun said. "I guess you must have gotten dragged back into the castle while you slept?"
"Yeah." Kakashi nodded. "It's so annoying."
"Well, let's see if I can get it off you." Shizune took his arm that rested on her arm, and examined the bracelet. She weaved a few signs, and unlocked it with her own chakra. The bracelet snapped open, and Kakashi sighed in relief. She could barely feel his chakra, now that she was fishing for it, and the thought made her grimace.
Kakashi winced. "The little demon is kicking my bladder again."
"Maybe we should find you a bathroom before we leave?"
"Yes please."
"You aren't injured right?" Shizune asked quietly. "Are you and the baby okay?"
Kakashi nodded. "We're fine. Baby's heathy, just tormenting me mainly by kicking me constantly. It was so sweet when it happened the first time. Breathtaking even." Kakashi scowled. "Now it's constantly taking my breath away, and making me need to pee."
Shizune sweat dropped.
.::.
"You must think I'm pathetic."
Sasuke frowned at her back. He had managed to drag Izumi to her bed an hour ago once they had both stopped crying on each other. No, now he was pissed. Itachi had come back, not even for a day, barely hours, and reduced them to this. Sasuke wasn't strong enough. He was weak. So weak yet Izumi thought Sasuke-
"No!" Sasuke spat. "Why the hell would you think that?"
Izumi rolled over to stare at him. They were both tucked under her blankets, like when he was a child, alone with no clan (all because of him). Itachi ruined everything, he was a monster that Sasuke needed to put down for the sake of their family. Their clan.
"I landed a hit on Orochimaru," Izumi hissed. "And yet I couldn't hit Itachi. My stupid Omega was happy to see him." She reached up, clutching her scent mark. He watched, careful to make sure she wasn't trying to hurt herself against by clawing at it, but so far she merely held it. "Why? Why did I have to be happy to see him?"
Sasuke shivered. "I don't know. I don't get it."
"He killed our family. He killed my mother right in front of me and reduced me to this. I let myself get so stupidly drunk that I break down and you have to look after me. You, my little brother, my kid." Izumi sniffled. "Don't leave me."
Sasuke choked at the thought.
"If I hadn't had you," Izumi whispered hoarsely. "I would have ended this. So promise me you won't follow Orochimaru. Promise me you won't ruin yourself trying to kill Itachi, and when the day comes that we do get our hands on him? We do it together." She grabbed his hand and squeezed. "Please, Sasuke. Don't leave me alone. Don't leave me too, because I don't think I can live with it. I don't want to be alone."
"You already said Orochimaru couldn't beat him," Sasuke said quietly. "That means there's no point training with him. We've got to do this another way. We have to get stronger another way."
Izumi nodded. "Yeah, and we will."
.::.
Sasuke left Izumi asleep in her room a few hours later and headed downstairs. He felt tired, his eyes ached, and his scent mark was pounding, but he'd be fine. He had gotten by with little sleep before. Training was more important right now. Sasuke paused at the note in the front door. He examined it, making sure there was no traps, before opening it.
Hi, Sasuke!
Breakfast is on me. Mum helped me make it. I hope you and Izumi like porridge.
Sakura
He opened the door and spotted the container sealed in front of it. Okay, it should be safe if her mum helped her. Otherwise that breakfast would be a deadly, poisonous weapon. He did smile though, but quickly wiped it off his face. Sakura had made them breakfast. Sasuke felt like crap right now, had exhausted himself crying all night with Izumi and retelling stories about their family. All moments without Itachi.
He shook his head. No point thinking about that now. They had cried. They'd be fine. So he took in a deep breath, knelt down and grabbed the containers and headed back inside.
.::.
Sakura squealed. She couldn't help it. She had perched up on a rooftop with binoculars hours ago and waited, and Sasuke had accepted the meal! Her Alpha pup purred in delight. They were being good. So good. And their favourite Omega pup would have a meal they made (with mum's help!) But they were doing so well.
She giggled to herself as she retreated. Now she would go get her own breakfast and start the day, maybe see if Sasuke wanted to take a walk together. Yes, a romantic walk through the park! That would keep him busy and then maybe they could train together. They could get stronger together.
.::.
Izumi felt like death. Her head pounded. Her eyes stung. Her nose ached. Her room was thankfully dark, the curtains holding back the sunlight. She couldn't handle the sun right now, no. Her head pounded too much. But there was a glass of water and painkillers on the bedside table, so she gulped that down. It took her awhile, but once the painkillers kicked in Izumi managed to crawl out of bed. She still felt like hell, but much better than before. She dressed then dragged herself into the bathroom to sort herself out. Once she managed those small tasks, she clung to the stair rails and slowly made her way down to the kitchen where a bowl of porridge and a cup of tea sat out for her. Sasuke was nowhere in sight. The only sign of him was the clean bowl and cup drying at the sink.
"I feel like hell," she complained.
Once she ate she felt better and begrudgingly left their house, locking up behind her. Izumi wandered the streets idly, but paused when she came across Team 10, was it? Izumi stared at Asuma's team who were groaning, all bunched up together in a miserable ball of pain.
"What happened to you lot?" she asked.
"Sasuke's on a training rampage," Shikamaru groaned. "He's already got Kiba and Hinata, hasn't found Shino yet, and is now after Neji and Tenten since Lee's still recovering from the poison."
Ah, that explains a lot then.
Izumi gently rubbed her aching head, blinked at the sunlight, and sighed. It was going to be a long day, for both her and Sasuke it seemed.
.::.
"Sasuke!" Sakura called, running up to his side.
"Yeah?" he grunted, searching the training grounds.
Where were they? He had to find Neji and Tenten. Mostly Neji, but Tenten might be a decent enough challenge with her weapons.
"Did you enjoy your breakfast?" she asked. "I made it with mum, so it took a while since she fusses a lot with the ingredients, but I hope you liked it. I tried to deliver dinner last night but none of you were home, but maybe I could try tonight if you're in."
"You don't need to bother with that," Sasuke said. "We're fine-"
He paused when a hand landed on his head. Izumi's hand. She ruffled his hair. "Nah, I think it's a wonderful idea, Sakura. If you and your mum didn't mind we'd really appreciate it."
Sasuke frowned. What was she up to? Why was Izumi being so insistent. They didn't need Sakura's help. Izumi leaned down, her voice a mere whisper. "This is how we beat him. He's alone. He made himself that way, but we have your team, and our friends. So rely on them and their strength, because one day, you'll all be strong."
Sasuke grimaced. It was that, or Itachi could kill them all too. He could kill Sakura, Kakashi and Naruto. He could kill everyone Sasuke had ever interacted with until Sasuke was completely and utterly alone. But if they were lucky they wouldn't run into Itachi again for years, just like what happened this time. They would have enough time to train and become stronger, as a team, like Kakashi and Izumi wanted. If Kakashi had been here and not pregnant, he, Guy and Izumi might have been able to take on Itachi together.
Sasuke stiffened. He needed to be as strong as them. If he, Naruto and Sakura were as strong as Kakashi, Izumi and Guy they might just be able to defeat Itachi.
Kill. Not defeat. Kill. His scent mark pounded harder at the thought. So hard it made his head ache.
Sasuke breathed in deep and nodded. "Do you want to train together, Sakura?"
He flinched when she squealed. Oh no. He shouldn't have asked. His eardrums will suffer for it now. But the smile Izumi threw him was so warm and touching that maybe his eardrums would survive for a little bit.
A little bit.
Sakura was very noisy after all.
"Izumi!"
Sasuke paused when a dog came running over. Izumi paused, smiled warmly and fished out a biscuit from her pack. "Hi, Urushi!" Izumi greeted fondly, handing him the treat. "You've got news for me?"
Urushi gulped down the treat, his tail wagging violently as he sat down, holding out a paw. Izumi grinned and handed him another, earning a delighted bark.
"Isn't that one of Kakashi sensei's dogs?" Sakura asked, blinking.
"I am, Alpha pup!" Urushi gulped down the next biscuit. "And I've got news about Kakashi. He's safe, being extracted right now by the Sannin, Naruto and Shizune."
Sakura gasped. "He's alright? And the Sannin are rescuing him?"
"Yeah. He'll be outta there in no time."
"Where is 'there'?" Izumi frowned.
"The Daimyo's castle in the Land of Water."
Izumi choked. "What the hell is he doing all the way over there?"
"Not sure yet, but we can ask Kakashi once we get him out." Urushi stretched lazily. "I came here just to keep you updated."
"So Kakashi sensei will be back soon then?" Sasuke crossed his arms. "Hopefully he's still doing well."
"Him and the baby," Izumi reminded, as if Sasuke had forgotten. "Anything we can do to help?"
"You're too far away to do much now. We've just got to wait, and hope Pakkun and Shizune work their magic," Urushi said. "Don't worry, Pakkun will make sure Kakashi's safe."
Izumi smiled. "You guys always do."
Urushi laughed. "Of course. Our pup after all. He's always been ours."
"And it makes you lot so protective!" Izumi chuckled.
"Your cats must be the same with you lot."
Sasuke couldn't help but smile. Mother's panthers. Izumi had gotten the scroll due to being the eldest remaining Uchiha among them, and Sasuke was glad she did. If they had lost that connection...
The panther scroll had been in his mother's side of the family for generations. He would have hated to lose it. It was one of the few things of his mother's that Sasuke and Izumi had left. The contract with the panthers, and her swords.
The sword he would claim one day still sat in their house, sealed in its sheath.
But if he got stronger one day he would be able to use it.
One day.
