Kotori glanced around at the three other ANBU captains as they waited outside the Hokage's office.
Captain Badger - Tachibana Ken - crossed his arms as he looked around. "Curious. No ANBU guards."
"They're using Hinoki-san's barriers," Captain Lion, a grizzled old shinobi by the name of Hayashi Mamoru, responded. While Kotori was the newest ANBU captain, Mamoru was the oldest. He had been a captain since the second war.
Kotori nodded. This meeting was top secret then. Even for ANBU. She felt a little apprehensive as she shared a glance with the final member of their group, Tenzo. He remained impassive as he shrugged. None of them knew what this was regarding.
"I want his fucking head on a platter!" Tsuande's voice boomed. It was so loud it managed to escape Hinoki's privacy barrier. It echoed in the empty hallway and Kotori winced as she caught Ken's eye.
He let out a low whistle. "This is going to be a fun assignment."
After thirty long minutes, the door finally opened and they were permitted to enter.
Hinoki was staring out the window, her arms crossed and her posture indicating that she was enraged. Masato looked pensive as he sat across from the remains of Tsunade's desk. There was a giant hole through the centre, as if someone had punched through it. Meanwhile Lady Tsunade was pacing the length of the room like a wild animal. She was so angry she hadn't even acknowledged the four ANBU captains nor could form a coherent sentence.
"Your father - a complete mockery - my grandfather would have never - can't believe - I ought to grind his miserable bones into dust!"
She fumbled with the bottom drawer of her desk and took out a bottle of sake. She popped the top off and took a long swig straight out of the bottle. And then she kept going.
"Tsunade-sama, it's nine am," Masato protested, proving his worth as the ANBU Commander for that comment alone. No one else would dare interrupt the Hokage while she was in such a murderous mood.
"I'm the Hokage. And if I want to drink, then I will drink. Where's Shizune?" She shouted as she made for the exit, her brown eyes blazing. She pointed a finger at Masato. "Fill them in while I'm gone. I want this entire operation shut down and I want it to happen yesterday! I want it ripped up by the entire fucking leaf, root and stem. I can't believe Sensei ever sanctioned this shit."
The walls rattled as she slammed the door behind her on the way out. Hinoki and Masato both looked relieved that she was gone.
"As you may have noticed, we're surrounded by three powerful enemies," Masato began. "The Akatsuki threaten us from the outside. Orochimaru is still out there. And Danzo seeks to destabilize this village so that he can become Hokage."
"Not to mention all of the other villages, looking for signs of weakness," Hinoki added. It was a sober reminder of all of their challenges since Lord Third died.
"Shikaku has the regular forces working on the Akatsuki threat," Masato summarized. "Meanwhile I have my team looking for Orochimaru."
"Which leaves you," Hinoki began. "No one else knows of this project. No one else can ever know of this project. Not even the Hokage's advisors. The other ANBU captains will be told you're tightening village security. You'll be under my command. This will be a longterm assignment that you'll be seeing to alongside your regular duties. You will be to dismantle Danzo's secret branch of ANBU, the organization known as Root."
Hinoki's steel blue gaze swept over each of them, holding their eye before continuing. "See who you can convince to join the regular forces. Take out those who won't or are too dangerous to leave. I want Danzo on his knees before I take off his head. This needs to be subtle. I don't want him knowing we're coming for him until it's too late."
That was easier said than done.
Lord Third had let Danzo operate unchecked for decades. He still had the respect and support of many elders in their village, among them Lady Tsunade's advisors, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura. It wouldn't be easy to remove him from his position. Kotori's mind had been spinning for hours after her meeting. She had always known there was a hidden side of ANBU, one that everyone refused to acknowledge. She had thought that it was at least sanctioned by the village. A Black Ops so black that even the regular Black Ops couldn't know about it. To learn that Lord Third had tried - and failed - to shut it down after it was revealed that Danzo had been sponsoring Orochimaru's human experiments among other crimes.
Kotori felt sick.
They were supposed to regroup and debrief with Hinoki the next morning. Kotori had spent all evening going over everything she knew or had heard of Root over the years. Most of it existed as whispers and rumours. There were hidden doors that were always watched. Strange disappearances that no one could even stranger ANBU who seemed little more than animated dolls than real people.
Kotori slipped into her bubble bath, already exhausted of the seemingly impossible task ahead of them. However, she also felt wired with a renewed purpose. With Lady Tsunade in charge, it seemed like she was determined to get rid of the rot that had been festering in Konoha's highest offices.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at her main door.
"I'm not home," she muttered, slipping further into her bubble bath. She closed her eyes, hoping whoever it was would be gone soon. Minutes later, she got her wish.
Only for there to be a tap at her bedroom window. She sighed, using her jutsu to check the chakra bird that acted as a sentry outside of her window. Kakashi was kneeling on her windowsill. That was odd. He had yet to seek her out at her apartment. Their interactions continued to be limited to training together in the village.
"I need to talk to you," Kakashi told the bird. "It's... urgent. I know you're there." She let out an irritated warble as she puffed out her feathers.
Kakashi's eye closed into one of his little smiles. "I think you're annoyed with me, but that's the cutest little sound."
Seconds later, Kotori appeared in her bathrobe as she opened the window. "This better be good."
"I - ah - " he stammered, the top of his cheek flushing as he took in her appearance. "Can I come in?"
She silently stepped away so that he could climb inside her bedroom. He was entirely too close and Kotori remembered she was only wearing a bathrobe. Now she felt flushed, avoiding his eye. He sheepishly suggested making tea and Kotori quickly agreed. It wasn't long before she was dressed in sweat pants and a baggy grey t-shirt with her clan mon on the back of it. She wrapped her hands around her tea mug and breathed in the calming earthy scent.
Kakashi sat across from her on the couch, staring pensively into his own cup. Kotori calmly waited for whatever urgent business had prompted him to come over. Growing impatient, Kotori gently nudged his foot with her own. Kakashi looked up at her with a strangely vulnerable look in his eye.
"I was in Root."
"What - ?!" It didn't make sense. Kakashi couldn't be a Root agent. She knew him. She knew him! He wasn't one of the emotionless, brainwashed shinobi that she heard from rumours. He didn't blindly listen to the Hokage, never mind Danzo. Kakashi cared about this village and all of the people in it. He would never agree with Danzo's actions. He couldn't fake that. And even if he had managed to fool her, he wouldn't be here confessing it.
"It was shortly after Sensei's death. I was so angry at the village. At Lord Third. That was when Danzo approached me."
"And he used that to recruit you."
"Yes." She could hear the deep regret and pain in that one word.
She closed her eyes, infuriated. They assumed Danzo targeted kids. Orphans. Those that the village wouldn't notice missing. But now she was starting to see the full picture. He targeted the angry, the hurt, the vulnerable. Those who had been let down by the village. He preyed on them and manipulated them into joining his organization.
"Did Tenzo tell you?" Kotori asked.
Kakashi remained silent, but she knew the truth. The timing of Kakashi's confession was too suspicious.
"Of course he did. He'd do anything for you, even if it's against orders." Kotori paused, realizing something.
Kakashi looked pensive at her words. "It's not that - he has challenged me in the past. It's just that - you know Tenzo isn't good with people?"
"I haven't noticed," Kotori dryly responded. However, she now realized Tenzo's poor social skills had darker implications. Her heart already felt weary as she quietly asked, "Tenzo was in Root, wasn't he? That's why you two are so close."
"Yugao and I got him out," Kakashi admitted. "He was just a kid. We all were, really. Hinoki is aware of his history. I think that's why she picked him for your team. More than anyone, Tenzo wants to see Root disbanded. He just didn't know how to tell you about his past."
"I see." Now it was her turn to stare pensively into her cup. How many others did she know who were hiding such secrets?
"You'll get him," Kakashi said. His eye once again curling into that stupid smile that warmed the chill that had set in. "I have complete faith in you."
He drained the rest of his cup before putting it back down on the tray and standing up.
"I'm leaving in a week for the chunin exams," he explained. "If all goes well - I'll be gone for two months."
Her heart quickened in that moment. Two months was a long time, even by shinobi standards. She had gotten used to seeing him more frequently over the last few months.
"I imagine you'll be busy with Sakura?"
"Not too busy," Kakashi quickly said. His hand drifted to his hair, a sign that he was feeling unsure. "If you wanted to do something before I left."
Kakashi had allowed her to set the pace of their renewed friendship, but she knew his intentions from the start. He wanted more. She also wanted more. She could feel the desire growing more and more each time. Her heart yearned for the good parts of their past relationship. How they had once slid into each other's lives so effortlessly. And now he was standing here in her living room, the temptation to bridge the gap and just reach out and touch him. To ask him to stay.
Stay.
Echoes of the last time she asked him to stay rang through her mind.
"But I thought you loved me."
"I do, but - "
"Then stay!"
"I can't."
Would it be different? She really wanted to believe so. Kotori felt like she was standing on the ledge of a cliff, both wanting to take the leap, but fearful of falling.
"We could do something," she offered. "I don't expect to be called away this week. What about dinner, let's say Thursday?"
"Dinner. Thursday. At seven," Kakashi slowly agreed, as if surprised. "Why don't we try Ichiban Teppanyaki?"
She shyly nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'll meet you there."
"It's a date then." His eye closed in a delighted smile.
Kotori's mind was racing for a different reason the rest of the night. Which was why she arrived slightly late and very sleep deprived to Hinoki's office the next morning for the team debriefing. She exchanged a small smile with Tenzo. She could see the tension in his shoulders vanish. Kotori patiently waited as Hinoki went over what was known about Root and Tenzo shared his backstory with the rest of the team. Ken had a list of village elders and high ranking officials he
suspected secretly supported Danzo. Next it was Kotori's turn to share what she knew. Kotori tapped her fingers on the desk, choosing to go in a different direction.
"What do we know about Danzo?" Kotori asked. "He started as an ANBU, right? So what was his codename?"
"Captain Tapir," Hinoki said. "Lord Third retired it in his honour."
"Why?"
"He was injured doing a 'great service to the village'," Hinoki said with a flare of her hand, "That's when Lord Third made him an advisor."
"What about his original team?" Kotori asked. "Danzo didn't build this organization on his own. He had help. And who do you trust more than your own teammates? Tenzo, if Kakashi thought there was something seriously wrong with the village and went rogue to fix it, wouldn't you support him?"
Tenzo froze, but Kotori could see the truth written on his face.
"I would. And so would Yugao," Kotori said. "And I know others would too because we believe in him."
Ken let out an amused huff. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."
"No, we have enough fires to put out," Hinoki muttered.
"She's right. Danzo-sama was a war hero," Mamoru agreed. "Not many knew this, but he was the ANBU Commander throughout the second war. He was forced to step down after the injury to his leg. But the entire force believed in him. If you told me then the things that he would do - I would have laughed. Not Danzo-sama. Never. He loved this village and shared the same vision as Lord Third. If he had approached others about a secret organization... one that was sanctioned by the Hokage...then yes.. they would have joined him."
"The type of shit we deal with in ANBU," Ken said. "It can be enough to change a man. Corrupt him."
Mamoru closed his eyes and shook his head, smiling ruefully to himself. "Danzo-sama's team was Team Ne. I can't believe I didn't think of it before now."
"Shit. We've expunged all the ANBU records from the second war it was - " Hinoki shook her head. "It was Commander Leopard's idea after we signed the treaty with Suna."
"Wait, do you know who Commander Leopard was?" Tenzo asked.
"Uchiha Kazen," Hinoki said. "He died a few years before the massacre. Why?"
"Because he was Danzo's second in command back when I was in it."
"Who else was involved in Root?" Kotori asked.
Tenzo's brow knitted together as he thought. "There was a doctor, Iguana. Lemur oversaw assassinations, Viper oversaw sabotage and Mole oversaw espionage. Viper was the only kunoichi. Fox was the fuinjutsu expert. Boar did something called 'conditioning'. Looking back - I think he was brainwashing those agents. They weren't the same after seeing him."
"Eight," Ken counted. "There's your ANBU team. The captain, the second, the medic. It all fits."
"I know for a fact that Iguana was Sanada Eiji," Mamoru added. "He was from the first wave of medics. Arrogant piece of shit, most of us would avoid him if we had the choice. Viper... not many kunoichi in ANBU back in those days. She shouldn't be hard to find. Boar - "
"Must be a Yamanaka," Kotori grimly concluded.
They divided the work between them. Mamoru and Tenzo would be tasked with uncovering the identities of the other Root senior leadership team. Mamoru had enough connections in the community to try and work it out while Tenzo provided what he remembered of their skillsets and mannerisms. Kotori and Ken were tasked with spying on Iguana and Boar to learn more about their operations.
Kotori stared at the red lines connecting Danzo to a senior member of the Yamanaka family. They had placed several photos on the board, including the current clan leader, Yamanaka Inoki.
"Danzo-sama isn't so bold as to go after clan leaders," Ken said. "He'd be looking for second sons."
He removed Inoki's photo from the wall and instead connected red lines from Danzo to Inoki's two younger brothers. They both held prominent positions within Intelligence and were considered Yamanaka clan elders.
Ken tapped on Yamanaka Muga's photo. "That's our guy."
"You sure?"
He nodded. "I've heard rumours he's ex-ANBU. Retired from active duty at the end of the second war to take a desk job in Intelligence. The timing is about right. Kazen took over ANBU while Muga went and provided intel from Intelligence. Eiji started at the hospital around the same time. I wouldn't be surprised if the others left for other departments too. Danzo extended his sticky little web all over Konoha."
They decided to break into Intelligence after hours to investigate Muga's office and find if he kept anything there. Kotori wanted a list of everyone who reported to Muga to investigate how far his corruption seeped into the Intelligence department. Kotori knew more would be implicated long before this was over. Ken flirted with one of the Yamanaka acting as security, acting as if he wanted her to interrogate Team Fu's prisoner ahead of schedule. Which he did, but it served the duel purpose of allowing Kotori to slip into the secure area unnoticed. Kotori couldn't help but notice the gaps in their security, but decided that was a conversation for after she was done breaking and entering. Perhaps she could use that as a way to officially investigate Intelligence. If she could present to Hinoki a strong enough concern that their privacy was being breached, she could get away with it.
The lights were off in Muga's office. She stood on her tippy toes, peaking into the small window in his door. Empty. He was probably at home with his wife.
Kotori used the unmarked master swipe card that Hinoki had conveniently left on her desk. The sensor turned green and Kotori could hear the soft click as the door unlocked. She snooped around Muga's office. Kotori didn't think she would find a manila envelope neatly labelled Root with enough evidence to incriminate the guy, but she could only hope.
Kotori-chan.
She froze at the sound of her name. It was a male's voice coming from within her mind.
Did you really think it would be that easy?
"Where are you?" She scanned around the office, dread bubbling up from within her. Muga had penetrated her mind without her even noticing. She had worked with enough Yamanaka over the years that she thought she would notice her mind being evaded.
Suddenly, the floor fell out from underneath her. She let out a scream as she free fell down several stories. She landed on a table and metal cuffs immediately snapped over her wrists and ankles, holding her in place. She tugged against the restrains, desperately trying to free herself. It felt too much like - it reminded her too much of -
Here I am.
Gyoku appeared above her, his face twisted into a cruel smirk. However, as the words echoing through her mind didn't sync with the words that Gyoku was mouthing.
Sorano Kotori, Muga sneered, The Little Bird of Konoha. Last of the Sorano. ANBU Captain. Protégé of Sarutobi Hinoki herself while enjoying the favour of Nara Shikaku. You come most recommended. And yet, I find a pathetic little girl with a rather boring mind. I expected more of a fight.
She struggled against the bonds on the table, wondering if it was any use. She needed to find a way to regain control of her mind.
This table is a metaphor. You're a prisoner inside your mind with no way out.
She had to assume Muga knew every thought and would hear her planning. She would need to rely on instinct or try to hide her thoughts.
Correct.
"This is just a memory," Kotori sneered. "You can't hurt me."
Oh, but I can.
Lightning ripped through her chakra network, electrocuting her from the inside. She screamed as she spasmed against the bonds. A horrible, shrieking noise that left her throat jagged and raw. Finally, the pain stopped. Kotori tried to curl in on herself, panting from exertion, but the bonds kept her in place.
The past hurts, doesn't it? Your mind remembers all the pain and the trauma. It's all here for me to reawaken.
He deliberately pulled up more of her most painful moments at the hands of Gyoku. Kotori could feel her mind slowly breaking from the pain. She couldn't do this again. She couldn't survive this torture a second time. Kotori's mind began to panic. It had taken everything the first time to pull herself together and she couldn't -
These were just memories. She had survived them once and would do it again. Just memories, Muga echoed her thought. And yet they still haunt you.
The table disappeared from underneath her and she was free falling once again, deeper and deeper into her mind.
"She's no one of any importance. Your business is with me."
Each memory as real as the day it occurred.
"- hope you understand. I tried to stop it. If I wasn't so weak and useless, Itachi - "
She whimpered as she was forced to relive each heartbreak.
"You're a good person. You could do a lot better than a piece of trash like me."
And then suddenly, Kotori was twelve again, rushing through the treetop obstacle course in the forest behind her clan compound. Her feet were light as she used chakra to leap from branch to branch, rushing over the swing bridges and then somersaulting as she dodged three arrows that were released from a trap wire. She hesitated as she reached the swinging logs, trying to time it so that she didn't get hit.
"You're overthinking it."
Uncle Karasu was leaning against a tree, his arms crossed as he watched her from underneath the foliage. One of his magpies warbled at her from the branch above. Kotori couldn't look away as her heart climbed into her throat. It had been nearly fourteen years since the last time she had seen her uncle.
"It's best to do it at a run, if you hesitate or second guess yourself you'll slow down and that's when it will get you."
"But I don't want to fall," her voice was so childish and young as it echoed her past words.
"Since when does a Sorano fear falling?" Karasu laughed at her. "Well, go on then."
Kotori took a steading breath, calming her nerves as she raced through the last obstacle, darting between the swinging logs... only for one to hit her, knocking her breath away as she fell from the tree and hit the ground. Kotori pushed herself up. The only thing more bruised than her side was her pride.
"Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Uncle Karasu brightly said, clapping a hand on her back. "You get knocked down and you get back up again. A little tougher each time. We'll make a fighter out of you yet! But you know, you really shouldn't be practicing in the dark on your own. If you hurt yourself, no one would find you until morning."
"I know, I know." She ducked as Uncle Karasu tried to ruffle her hair.
"Come, let's get back to - " the words died in his throat as he stilled.
Birds suddenly took flight from the trees and a squirrel leapt out of the tree, scurrying away. Seconds later, Kotori felt like she was being smothered by the thick, burning, malicious chakra. She felt hopelessly afraid, like a little bird caught by much larger predator. She knew what memory she had landed in before her eyes caught sight of the ten foot tall chakra demon that appeared in the Sorano compound.
The kyubi.
Kotori let out a whimper as she was forced to watch one of its many tails swipe through the row of houses, causing them to collapse. Her own house being one of them.
"Mom - "
"Look away," Karasu instructed. He quickly wrapped her in a fierce hug so she couldn't see. Her vision obscured by tears and his broad chest. "You're to go to the evacuation point. Do not look back. Do not try to help."
"I can help," she tearfully echoed the words her younger self once uttered, but now with the conviction of a twenty-six year old seasoned ANBU captain.
"Absolutely not!"
"I'm a shinobi too, a chunin!"
"You are my brother's daughter," Karasu said, holding her at arm's length as his sage green eyes starred intently into hers. "You're the future of this clan. One day, this village will be yours to protect. But until then, I'm going to protect you. Do you understand?"
"But I can fight!" She stubbornly insisted.
"No. Absolutely not. That thing will kill you. You are to get to the evacuation point. Do you understand?"
It didn't matter. Kotori followed in her younger self's footsteps, circling back on Raiden to help her clansmen. She ran her hands through her seals, pulling back her shooting arrow jutsu and aiming it at the chest of the beast. The nine tails swatted at them like they were a pesky insect. Its giant paw connected, sending both of them flying into a nearby building. Raiden angled himself to hit the wall of a building, shielding her from the impact. He vanished in a cloud of smoke just before the wall came collapsing over her.
Kotori snuck to her knees, unable to take anymore of the memories as the days and weeks and months after the Nine Tails Attack echoed in her mind.
All of this grief, Kotori-chan, Muga sympathetically said. Such pain you carry, deep within your heart. Don't you see, I can offer you a way out. I could make you forget.
Something sparked within her, a tiny light in the fog of grief and despair. No. She did not want to simply forget. Mixed in with the painful memories were those of her friends and family. Her mom. Her uncle. Her brothers. Sayuri. Kakashi.
"Get. Out. Of. My. Head." Kotori snarled.
And with all the mental strength she had, she threw her mind into one of her chakra birds with Muga's mind still attached, tunnelling through her chakra bird network at speeds so recklessly fast that Muga couldn't keep up as she darted from one bird to the next. Finally, she felt him lose his grip on her conscious and slip away. After stranding him in one of her birds, she safely retreating back to her own head. She weakly clutched the table in front of her, her vision swimming before her eyes.