Chapter 75: Intercepted intentions
Azure eyes scanned the small cave Juugo found for them. This wasn't the kind of place that would be most suited for any sort of medical procedures, but it was big enough, and Kagome figured this was as good as it was going to get, so the girl nodded her agreement. Being followed and attacked by overconfident bounty hunters who refused to pay attention to their estimated category in the Bingo book wasn't anything new, but it didn't mean it became any less annoying. Hopefully, this wouldn't delay them for long, but this was a chance the Higurashi didn't want to waste, even if she could already feel Sasuke's patience beginning to wane as he let go of the unfortunate hunter that almost died at his hands. These people didn't appear to be anything but former chuunins whose conceit caused their luck to run out. Sure, they didn't know any information worth their time, but that didn't mean she couldn't get valuable data out of them.
There was no need for their group to hold on to all four counters after all.
"How long will this take?" Sasuke asked, dark eyes glaring at their captives.
"It shouldn't take more than a day at the most." It was a bit of an overestimation, but her stretched timeline would help keep him calm until all her tests were over. "They probably won't last long anyway."
"Now, can we know why we couldn't just kill them and get this over with?" Suigetsu complained as he dropped his cargo on the ground.
"We need to collect the kind of data I can't get while being monitored by the Taishos." Carelessly, the girl took out the syringe that contained her part of the counter, only for the older teen's eyes to widen in realization. "I had to give half of the pure samples, true, but there were more places I could get the poison from."
"Ah! The blood from your clothes," Juugo exclaimed.
"Exactly." Looking down at their would-be-hunters, the girl couldn't say she felt any sympathy. "I have no doubt that they have their own selection of unwanted enemies to use for medical tests if needed within their estate, asking for them wouldn't be a good idea, though. Those people are anything but peaceful, but that's not a move I can afford to make for now."
Their progress on the ancient Higurashi code was slow moving, granted for the last couple of days they spent most of their time running, only peaking at the copied scrolls before going to sleep. If there was one thing she was absolutely confident of, it was that they were looking for something in her personality. It would make sense, the members of her clan that once dealt with the Taishos would've been proper Higurashi, raised with all of their principles and traditions and who held the ideas of pacifism. They had to know that her morals were far more skewed when compared to her ancestors, and yet it would be too risky for her to completely disregard her family's idealism by acting as she used to while living under Orochimaru's insane watch. Getting rid of the madman's stink was such a hassle.
Once upon a time, Kagome would've been worried about how little she cared for the lives she'd taken... But even that was gone now. No one ever truly cared for any of the people she loved. Those in power only ever tried to use them as pawns, so why shouldn't she return the favor? There was no point in looking out for someone who didn't look out for them; besides, it wasn't like anyone living in their world could ever be called innocent. So the young kunoichi simply explained how she needed their four captives to be tied up, not caring about how far removed her actions were from what her family would've accepted. Her instructions were perhaps a little too detailed, but it was bad enough that she'd had to conform with a lackluster setup; the last thing she needed was for her new subjects to kill themselves by accident after the toxin began acting out. Kouga-san had been unconscious by the time she got to him, but there was no guarantee that it was a side-effect of the unknown poison. After all, the overly-persistent shinobi had also been heavily injured, and he'd lost a considerable amount of blood, while it was true that some of the symptoms she'd found were caused by the toxin, assumptions could become fatal when dealing with regular poisons, let alone one that was a product of a kekkei genkai. One of these would have to serve as a control, this wouldn't offer all the information she needed, but it could give her a baseline of what to expect. As for the other three, one of them would get the proper dose so she could record how effective the counter was, it would've been better if she had another injection to see how adding her active reiki to the antidote would change things, but as it was she'd have to skip that part, and instead, try to apply a less careful, but faster sort of first aid. The technique she used with Kouga was more reliable, but it took too long. It wasn't something she could do in the middle of a fight, unlikely as it was, finding an alternative would be better. As for the last one… Maybe trying to see the difference in efficacy depending on the amount of poison that entered the body? She hadn't been able to extract that much pure poison, but it would be enough for her to notice the change, and if it was too slow, she could always just take new samples from her first subjects.
"The seals I placed on the entrance of the cave will only stop noise from getting out," she said, making sure to put a bit of emphasis on the last word. "At the very least, this will take around an hour. Since this can get noisy, you can wait outside the barrier."
"Just start the damn experiment," the ex-Kiri nin scoffed, crossing his arms as he sat down.
"Careful, Suigetsu."
"Sasuke, did I give you one of my supply scrolls?" Her hand reached out to the Uchiha, a bit of his tension melting as her fingers gripped his hand. Taking a deep breath, the boy took a scroll out of his pouch, going along with what was clearly an action meant to help him calm down. "Thank you."
Taking one last glance around the room, the Higurashi resisted the urge to shake her head. Juugo's view of the world was different. Even those who willingly followed Orochimaru were well aware the man was an immoral bastard who was sadistic by nature; though the orange-haired boy didn't seem to understand that. Watching her use others people's lives for research never seemed to bother him. As for Sasuke, well, he'd always had difficulties feeling empathy toward others, and it only got worse with time. He couldn't care less about what she did, and if he was in a particular mood, the Uchiha would happily take out his stress and frustration on anyone deemed unusable. Suigetsu, however, while not really someone who cared about others, had never been fond of how the Snake Sannin handled things. For better or worse, with the patchy information that remained from her clan, the easiest way to learn her limits was to follow the madman's example. This wasn't the first time she'd noticed him get uncomfortable with the way she used her myriad poisons. Quite honestly, it was an understandable reaction, regardless of Sasuke's dislike for those reactions.
Sending the Uchiha a silent request, the girl could only smile at the almost imperceptible nod she got as a reply before the boy took a seat right at the edge of the space designated as her impromptu medical bay. Always so worried about her safety. Glancing around, the Higurashi confirmed the other two had chosen to settle near the entrance in what was clearly a self-preservation move. It was easy to explain away their distance by claiming they wanted to keep an eye out without admitting that Sasuke's mood got bad enough for a bit of his killing intent to slip through. And in Suigetsu's case, probably also trying to avoid what promised to be an unpleasant sight.
"I'm sorry about this." Her words were nothing but a habit she'd gained while working under Kabuto. Nothing stirred within her as she watched the tied-up bounty hunters try to scream through the gag as she took out the dark crimson vial that contained the toxins. There was nothing she wouldn't do to keep them safe. "But this is necessary for me to create a proper antidote…sacrifices must be made."
Pain lingered in her body, but the results of her hidden training sessions were undeniable, and in Hinata's mind, that made it worth it. With every session she and her cousin held, the gap between their ability grew a little closer. And though she was sure there was a good chance it would never vanish that wasn't something that bothered her. Neji-niisan was a legitimate genius when it came to mastering the juuken, it was a fact she could acknowledge. And, at the end of the day, her cousin hadn't been entirely wrong about what he said during their prelims fight years ago.
Hinata's character was not suited for the life of a shinobi.
The violence and fighting that came with it weren't something she liked. Not at all. But she hadn't lied about wanting to change both, herself and her family, and for that to happen, the shy heiress needed to take over as the next head. So the girl steeled her resolve, made sure to be more involved during missions and stopped idling in the back during fights. Because even if she could potentially find a loophole that would allow her to escape the mess that was her clan's politics, there was no way she'd leave Hanabi to deal with the elders on her own. It was about time she started to act like the older sister. It would still take some time and a lot of effort to ensure her position was safe, and even that would only be the start of an uphill battle against the elders. But she wouldn't be alone, and Neji felt confident that a decent number of branch families would back them up. If she could prove her determination wasn't just for show, they'd have a good shot at finally making the changes their clan needed to make sure everyone was treated with a little bit more fairness. And that was all Hinata needed to rekindle her determination. No matter how many times she got thrown to the floor, the girl would stand back up again. That was the strength she'd finally acquired.
"I think this is enough for today, Hinata-sama." Her cousin's voice was winded, a stark contrast to the way things had gone in the beginning.
"O-oh?" That said, she still ended up being more tired. "I can still go on."
"You can go on, but you are scheduled for another mission tomorrow, are you not?"
"Y-yes, but it's just protection detail." The girl took a deep breath, closing her eyes and enjoying the slight breeze that flowed through the training grounds Kurenai-sensei reserved for them. "It shouldn't go over a B-rank, at most."
"Making sure you are in top condition so that your performance remains flawless should be a priority; that is also essential for this to work, Hinata-sama." His tone left no room for discussion.
"R-right," she sighed. "You can drop the honorifics, really."
"It's better if I don't. We don't want to alert anyone that our relationship has…changed."
"I suppose so…" There was little she could do to argue against his logic. "Are we progressing at the right pace?"
"We should be…as far as I can tell, you should be able to win against Hanabi-sama, or at the very least, remain on par with her. In any case, they won't have any excuse to force you to step down in the coming evaluation; if everything goes as it should, then we can up the level." Her cousin's assumption lifted the ever-present weight on her shoulders…a little...
Nodding, the girl offered the young man a small grin before moving to get the assortment of ointments and bandages they'd left on the edge of the field. They were always careful not to end up with an injury that required anything the shy heiress' limited medical skills could deal with. Asking someone else to help them heal up very obvious juuken-induced wounds easn't something they could afford, after all, the elders were unlikely to be happy to learn they were planning to upright generations of traditions. Still, the number of bruises Hinata had to cover kept diminishing the more they kept at it. And knowing that there was no way her cousin would ever go easy on her made her progress feel all the more real. Even with the new stage of their relationship, Neji was never one to sugarcoat anything, even back when he was supposed to respect her as the main family heiress.
Then again, in its own way, Hinata was quite glad for his brutal honesty; since there was no way to wonder if he genuinely believed on her ability to pull off something this big. Not to mention, it gave her hope to finally connect with Hanabi, since their bond was even worse than the one she'd shared with her cousin. Even when the older boy had been willing to push her to the brink of death. After all, there was no way to fix a bridge that didn't even exist in the first place. No…while their bond was almost non-existent, they could still work on building a bridge between them, Hinata had the chance to earn her sister's trust, and she wasn't about to waste the opportunity that came with this ambitious plan of theirs. This time, she wouldn't hide behind a tree and be content with silently wishing for the best. Passively accepting a door being closed in front of her head again wasn't something she'd allow to happen, not when she still regretted not speaking up and offering her hand to someone she wished to call a friend. Which reminded her…
"You don't have any missions for tomorrow?"
"Hinata-sama…" Neji-niisan closed his eyes in a gesture the girl was coming to associate with him trying to be patient. "You do realize that if Hiashi-sama were to find out about these visits of yours, there would be no way to justify it."
"Kagome-chan was very careful about what she used for her poisons, s-said that way she didn't need to depend on flower shops." Part of that, the Hyuuga heiress remembered, was because both missing members of team 7 consistently cut off shops whenever the owners were too cruel towards Naruto-Kuhn. "B-besides, it's something I really want to do."
"I suppose…as long as it doesn't become evident that you always take longer with your team training sessions whenever that idiot is in the village, hiding your visits should still be possible." He sounded both resigned and amused.
Heat rushed to her face, and she had to be glowing a bright shade of red that the girl just knew wouldn't go away for a good while. All progress made in her tittering self-confidence was thrown to the wayside because there just was no denying that the handful of times she'd managed to see the blond prankster their talks did end up taking more time. And yes, for the most part, she'd just been helping Naruto-kun catch up with what was going on in and around the village, or helping him in his attempt to figure out what was going on with Kagome and Sasuke's real motivation, but it did nothing to calm the butterflies in her stomach. The fact that he was relying on her to figure things out never failed to make her feel all warm and fuzzy, plus, the blond always took the time to ask about her day and offer praises for the simple snacks she'd taken to bring with her.
She'd thought that maybe the distance would've made her feelings lose even a bit of their intensity, but getting to reconnect with him made it evident that just wasn't the case. Because the things she'd come to admire about him were still there, and that admiration only seemed to grow stronger. Of course, Hinata wasn't about to forget her priorities. It would take a lot of work to secure her position and change the clan before she could even begin to consider what they could become or not, not when her father would rather go blind than allow her or her sister to marry outside the clan. The last thing she imagined, however, was for Neji, of all people, to get involved in her pitiful love life.
"N-naruto-kun already left for a-another mission," she managed to stutter out.
"Already…" he trailed off. "He's still in charge of tracking down those two, is he not?"
"Y-yes, apparently the plan was to look f-for the old Higurashi compounds…"Hinata faltered. She wasn't sure if this was meant to be common knowledge.
"I see." The shinobi moved to help her pack. "Do you believe his version of the story?"
"He knew them better than anyone else," the heiress nodded.
"Don't lower your guard around them if you happen to cross paths." His words probably shouldn't be as surprising as they were. "Especially Higurashi."
"Kagome-chan?"
No one sitting in the audience was able to hear what was spoken during their chuunin exams three years ago, but it was very obvious that whatever it was, it had stricken a chord within Neji. It was after that fight that her cousin changed his attitude, finally willing to hear her out. But something else had happened too. Something that turned out to be serious enough for him to warn her about Kagome.
"That woman is far more shrewd than the image she sells to the world would have you believe." Pale lavender eyes narrowed as he spoke. "She's the kind of person that isn't likely to allow others to get in her way."
"P-perhaps…but I don't think she'd want to hurt others just because." Maybe saying she was a pacifist was a bit of a stretch, but Hinata felt certain the other heiress had never been fond of fighting either.
"You and that naive idiot…" Again, her cousin closed his eyes. "Fine, just make sure you're not seen before you leave tomorrow, I can provide some cover, but I'm not about to go all the way over there just to water some flowers."
Biting her tongue, the shy girl made sure not to laugh at the annoyed huff Neji-niisan let out. The hatred he felt against their clan's elders and traditions hadn't disappeared, but at least he'd softened up considerably with those that didn't fit into that category. Maybe hoping for him to let go of all his resentment, the young shinobi had every right to despise them all, but it had been so easy to tell how unhappy he'd been back when he was determined to act on his own. So really, Hinata couldn't help but feel glad to see the older teen express his emotions and open up a little. Even his short farewells had become more familiar over the past few months; it gave her hope for this whole mess. With a wave, she turned to pack the medical supplies she finished using, her mind wandered back to their last topic, and while she could understand his wariness, the girl really didn't want to become paranoid. Pale lavender eyes gazed across the training grounds for a second before landing on a couple of azure butterflies dancing in an odd pattern above a single bush.
Looking around the place, Yamato could understand why this Izakaya was a popular spot for both locals and travelers. The city was in the middle of a trading route, and the bar's location placed it right in the middle of the path most visitors would pass by, the perfect spot for even an amateur to retrieve a decent amount of information. He could definitely see why Jiraiya-sama decided to scout out the place. What the Sannin hadn't expected was for the young owner to try and hide her reaction and her interest when the names of his mission's targets came up. No information broker was supposed to be stationed here, and while both clan names were noteworthy to any shinobi, civilians should have no reason to react to them. Of course, this didn't really tie the young woman to the two runaways. While Konoha had yet to officially label them as rogue nins, there were still bounties on their heads. Information on them would be well paid, so it wouldn't be odd for anyone trying to enter into the information business to be interested in hearing. Jiraiya-sama was nothing if not thorough, though, so the man looked into the owner's past; and while the background the Sannin found seemed normal enough, it was the timing of things that suggested the possibility of a link between her and the other two.
Even if the young woman inherited the bar before Orochimaru was killed, Kakashi-senpai assured them that the Higurashi was way too careful to move without making proper preparations, which made the not-quite-tragic events feel more noteworthy. The ANBU had been a bit skeptical; still, he'd sent his team to scout the place so he could attempt to pass on a message if Jiraiya-sama's gut instincts were correct, he needed to be on his own. Judging how easy it was to convince the woman to open up shop before hours, Yamato would concur that the young owner was involved in the information business, if nothing else.
"I'll be right back with your order." The young woman nodded with a professional smile on her face.
"Ah, excuse me," he called out, stopping the hostess in her tracks. "There was something else I wanted to ask. You see, I've been looking for someone."
"We have a lot of one-time customers, but if you have a description, there's a chance I may be of help."
"A young couple, maybe accompanied by one or two other people." Trained eyes tracked the tension in the woman's body language. "The couple in question share a very similar shade of black hair. The man's eyes are black as well, while the woman's are blue. They would more likely be wearing long coats."
"Hmm…it's a bit too vague, but it doesn't really ring a bell." Her voice was too upbeat to be genuine, and now she was s attempting to turn away.
"Wait, please." His hand shot up to stop the hostess. He didn't have enough time to try again the next day. "I simply wish to pass on a message for the girl, Higurashi Kagome. It's information she might find useful."
"As I said, I get a lot of one-time customers, and we're not in the habit of asking people for personal information, so please, let go of my hand." The woman's free hand closed around something he couldn't see behind her back.
"I have no intention of harming them," He tried to de-escalate the situation, the girl likely wouldn't be able to hurt him in any way, but he didn't want to appear hostile. "I'm here on behalf of a friend of theirs. He's been trying to find them for a long time now. I just want…!"
"Please." A somewhat deep voice was accompanied by a hand closing around his wrist; the force of the orange-haired man's grip would leave a bruise. "Let go of her hand."
"Juugo-kun, it's alright. You can let go of him." The softly spoken words were enough to bring the room to a stop as Higurashi Kagome walked towards them. "I'm sure he wasn't planning to harm a regular civilian; after all, Konoha doesn't believe in leaving behind collateral damage. Am I wrong, shinobi-san?"
At his nod, the orange-haired man Kakashi described from Suna immediately let go of his wrist, allowing him to turn around to finally see one of the three people that held the potential to upend the village's political landscape. Truth be told, he could understand why she'd gained her current reputation. The waves of her unbound black hair helped soften her features, hiding the sharpness of her gaze, making her smile look kind and her hands, clasped in front of her, gave her posture an innocent look, never mind that according to his former superior, the girl had a tendency to hide all manners of weapons and poisons within those long, dark blue sleeves of hers, and more than enough training to pull those out with a single flick of her wrist. When the looming presence of the large orange-haired shinobi at her side was added, the visual effect was sticking.
"Are you sure?" Juugo asked, looking for instructions.
"Hmm, since healing broken bones can be a bit of a hassle." Turning around to look at him, she continued. "So, should we chat for a bit?"
"Kagome-san…I…" the hostess floundered in the background.
"It's alright, Koyuki-chan," the kunoichi said, one of her hands coming to caress the other woman's cheek, earning a blush in response. "The man you mentioned in your last letter was more than likely Jiraiya-sama. He's made information gathering into an art, and his observation skills are unparalleled; that's why I'm here. Besides, we knew this could happen. That's why we made backup plans." Careful motions brought the hostess' hand up, scanning for bruises. "Oh, but is it fine if we can get something to eat first? Do you have any tea ready?"
With a wave of her hand, the girl had her companion slide into the opposite side of the booth Yamato had claimed for himself. All previous tension evaporated with a single gesture from the girl. And the ANBU could already see why senpai warned him not to let his guard down. Because the way Higurashi simply sat down while engaging the other woman in conversation and even got her mystery companion to order some food, acting like he was just an old acquaintance she hadn't seen in a while, instead of an unknown, potential threat to their plans was more than enough of a hint of how good she was at controlling the situations she was placed in. Unassuming actions threatened to pull him into her flow. Then again, people like him didn't tend to be sent to political missions, but there was no helping it, so Yamato took his seat once more while trying to dissect the snippets of information offered. Not that there was much of anything to analyze. The reports about her cautious nature were not exaggerated.
"Oh, before I forget, Koyuki-chan, can you lean closer?" The Higurashi girl smiled, waiting until the woman complied to sneak her hand into the hostess's skirt pocket to pull out a small, sharp-looking knife. "There we go, as I said, there's no need to do such dangerous things. You're a dear friend to me, I'd be devastated if something were to happen to you, Koyuki-chan."
"Ah! I-I just…"
"It's fine, really. No need to worry at all; I'm not upset or anything." The kunoichi sent her a reassuring smile before the hostess hurried to cook their orders. Turning to him, she added. "She's such a sweet girl but can be quite impulsive at times."
"So that wasn't within the backup plans?" Yamato asked.
"My, no way." Shaking her head, Higurashi sounded amused. "A civilian has no chance against a shinobi, not even a genin. I've told her a million times to just answer anything she's asked if anyone comes specifically to ask about us, but as you could see, she's quite the stubborn one."
"Enough to try and attack an unknown ninja?"
"Oh, dear, no, no. That wasn't what Koyuki was attempting to do," Kagome laughed. "It's a bit obvious once you think about it. I mean, we share the same saying…dead men tell no tales."
Right…Jiraiya-sama managed to find some of the people freed from Orochimaru's grasp, and according to his observation what those saved felt towards the girl was nothing less than worship. The files they'd managed to compile between their small group ended up classing her as being overly paranoid. It would make sense for her to use amateurs devoted to her instead of gambling their privacy with an experienced information broker that could sell them out.
"So, that's why you killed her father." Yamato kept his eyes on her; he needed to get as much as he could.
"Now that's a strong accusation. Today doesn't seem to be your lucky day, shinobi-san. Once more, you're incorrect." The girl rested her head on her hand; she really made it look like this was just an unimportant chat. "Alcohol can be one hell of a poison if you're not careful with the dosage, but that's not really something I've ever dabbled with. These sorts of tragedies happen all on their own, I fear."
"Right…tragedies that no one seems to grieve." Even though he was pushing back, it didn't look like she'd back down.
"Well, poisons can have quite unwanted secondary effects, a tragedy in its own right, if you ask me." The kunoichi's smile refused to waver, not minding that the hostess had returned with their drinks. "Don't you agree, ANBU-san?"
"…ANBU?"
Letting out a laugh, the girl shook her head in amusement, as if she hadn't just subtly tried to send a psychological blow, attempting to unsettle him by showing off a piece of information she should definitely not know. ANBU's identities were meant to be extremely classified information, only a handful of exceptions were made for those who belonged to clans that kept a close watch on every single member of their families.
"Sorry if this sounds rude, but you're no Hyuuga. Your hair is the wrong color for a Yamanaka, and no Aburame would wear those clothes. No…you don't belong to any prominent clan." Azure eyes glinted with laughter in her eyes as she kept going. "You were not a noteworthy jounin by the time we left the village, and I don't believe Tsunade-hime would send just anyone to send a message, so really there's only one option left…as long as you were sent by Godaime-sama. Hitaiates are not that hard to come by or forge, after all."
"I'm an active ANBU, under Tsunade-sama's orders," he relented; at this point in attempting to deny it would only put her more on guard.
"Here I thought she'd let everything related to us to Naruto-kun," she interrupted herself to thank the hostess as the woman returned with the admittedly, delightful-looking food. "Oh, this smells amazing. Thank you, darling. Do you think you'll get everything ready soon?"
"I shouldn't take long…" The other woman glanced at him before trailing off.
"That's great. Let me know when you're done, alright?" The other woman nodded at the instructions, blushing at the charming smile sent her way.
"I'm surprised you're using that sort of methods." He was reaching a little, trying to upset the pacing the Higurashi girl was setting for the conversation.
"You mean because of Sasuke?" The kunoichi asked, an innocent look on her face. "Well, he's quite jealous, but he is an Uchiha; they're intense by nature, really passionate people in the right circumstances. That said, I was well aware of what I was getting into, and he knows me, as well as he knows the tactics I prefer to use. We've learned to compromise. That said, I'm not using that kind of methods; Koyuki-chan knows what my relationship with Sasuke is, it's not like I'm leading her on or anything. But shall we move on? I believe I overheard something about some information we could use, ANBU-san?"
"Yamato, that's the name assigned to me for this mission." He really didn't want to have her repeating his rank over and over again. "Before that, however, I'd like to ask you something?"
"Go on."
"What is your goal?"
He could see the surprise on her face, not that she could be blamed. Traditionally something like this would've been assigned to someone able to play the political game, but not only was this not his area of expertise, but Kakashi-senpai actively advised him against it. The girl had been trained for it from the moment she got taken in by the Uchiha, and according to Naruto-kun's rambling, the girl had a special dislike for liars. With his skills, he would have a harder time keeping up with all her word games.
"And now I have to wonder if you truly belong to Konoha. I mean, neither of us was exactly quiet about what we wanted to do." Her amusement was palpable, mirth coloring the edges of her voice. "Sure, some may consider revenge to be petty, but it is what it is."
"A simple genjutsu won't be enough for you to get the first bell again; that's what Kakashi-san asked me to tell you." Finally, some of the perfect political mask the Higurashi had on faded a little. Senpai gave him no context, simply telling him to repeat those words when it looked like he'd get nowhere. Now he had to keep going. "But that's not what your goals are."
"Now that's news for me. I'm sure Sasuke will be overjoyed to hear that." She was still being cautious while she continued to eat, fiddling with her chopsticks. "If you're so sure about it, why don't you share what you know, Yamato-san?"
"Uchiha Itachi was not the main person responsible for the Uchiha massacre," he stated.
"That's…a bold statement…" she cocked her head. "Especially considering both of us personally witnessed him going through the plan that ended up with him killing everyone within the district at different times."
"He did…but there was more to it, and that is something you already know. Kakashi-san was the one who figured it out, and he was the one who convinced Tsunade-sama to launch an investigation. Senpai is still deeply involved with it."
His words finally brought the girl to a stop, chopsticks abandoned on her plate as she lowered her head. This was where things could go wrong in an instant, and he could see the orange-haired man tense by her side. So, even if the man basically disappeared during the conversation, the man was still very much paying attention to the young kunoichi's emotional state. Kakashi-senpai mentioned how the unknown shinobi followed her orders with just the slightest of pushes. Another devoted follower to act as her personal bodyguard. If the girl's reaction worsened, Yamato had no doubts this wouldn't be a one-on-one fight. Still, the ANBU did his best to keep his posture calm.
A single word fell from her lips.
"…how?"
From the very moment they decided to go against Konoha, Kagome had been painfully aware of how dangerous the task could be. The two of them were basically fighting on their own against one of the strongest Hidden Villages, there was no way for her to completely control every part of their plan, but she could adapt. She was good at it. That's how the girl had been able to keep them alive. What mattered now was to gain as much time for them to prepare themselves. And for that, she needed to keep any potential threat in the dark for as long as possible. Sure, the kunoichi used parts of the truth to handle the Taisho, and Juugo and Suigetsu had scattered details of their real plan, but those were all things she could deal with. But this…for Konoha to figure out the real motivation for their actions wasn't something that had ever been part of any of her calculations.
Not this soon.
Not before they could even contact Itachi.
"How did he ever come to this…conclusion?"
"After spending months looking through the Uchiha library, he went to the archives." The man was looking straight at her; he was probably trying to figure her out... "He noticed the layer of dust was inconsistent, so he went through the files and found evidence of it being cleaned, so he contacted Godaime-sama."
"…dust…that's what we missed? Dust?" Her laughter wasn't controlled. The mirth mixed up with the hollow sound was grating to her ears, but she couldn't stop it right now. "No, I suppose our mistake was to think he'd discard us so easily."
Ever since she could remember, Kagome had been warned not to trust others, because they'd always try to use her. It would seem like being an accomplished shinobi didn't mean people were free from the risks of projecting themselves onto others. That said, her guardians had been right, she could count the number of people who truly cared about her on a single hand. Yes, she couldn't deny that Kakashi-sensei cared for them on some level, but chances of him abandoning the village for them were basically nonexistent. But apparently, he'd cared more than she'd given him credit for, and now it was coming back to bite them. Maybe if they'd relied on their teacher back when they first found out about the truth, they could've tried to find a different way to go about it, a way to get retribution more cleanly. But it was far too late for it to be able to change anything, not when her own feelings more than matched Sasuke's violent urges, their goals would not change, not for anything. Even if that meant having to use someone who might've genuinely cared for them. She could adapt. She was good at it.
"Then again, I suppose it should've been expected. We might've been a little too arrogant." Fine, if this guy wanted her to be more truthful, then so be it. It was just as easy to lie with the truth as it was to make up something else. "But you're right. It looks like the Uchiha clan was hiding something." Not letting the ANBU interrupt her, she continued. "But that doesn't really tell us the whole story now, does it? Was it actually an order that drove him to that point? Or was it an independent action taken after he found out the truth? Was the information you mentioned related to this?"
"The information isn't exactly…"
"That's a no, then." Her smile wasn't as friendly as before, but it still hid much of her edges. "So you see, our goal hasn't changed all that much. What we want more than anything is to find out what happened, and the only one who knows for sure is Itachi. At the end of the day, we still have to hunt him down…no, even if this whole thing was because of an order, can any sane person truly massacre their own family? Mad dogs should be put down, even if their madness isn't their fault, shouldn't they?"
"You still plan to kill Uchiha Itachi?" Shock painted the ANBU's response. Good. She needed to take back control.
"If we're being completely honest here, I've no idea what Sasuke will want to do. The truth we find will have an effect, of course, but he can be stubborn to the point of stupidity." If possible, Yamato-san's shock grew, and she could only laugh at the look on his face. "Just because I love him doesn't mean I'm blind to his flaws. I'm sure he could make you a list of all my imperfections as well."
"Alright…what is it you want to do." The man was going back to what had to be a semi-scripted line of questioning. She could work with this.
"Hmm? I never lied about that, not even once. My goal is the exact same one I told Kakashi-sensei when we first met." Her smile was as much a challenge as anything else. She would not give out straight answers to an unknown factor like him. "But enough about me, you mentioned there was something you wanted to say to me, and I have people waiting for me, so…"
The man stopped for a second, and Kagome could only commend the kind of quality that ANBU required. Because while it was evident the man wasn't well-versed in manipulation or political maneuvering, he was trying to force her to be blunt without letting anything slip. Still, there was a fair bit she could deduce from the words he'd been instructed to say. This was an annoying turn of events, but there was still some wiggle room for them to move around. As long as those within Konoha continued to be unsure about the truth behind the Uchiha massacre, Kagome could play up their paranoia and ambiguity about Itachi's motives. She'd been lucky Yamato-san wasn't confident with underhanded political machinations. She'd been lucky Kakashi-sensei was likely just now beginning to recover from the overuse of his borrowed sharingan.
"Neither of your names has been officially pushed for elimination, and none of your actions have hurt Konoha…reinstating you shouldn't be that complicated." The words were slow, purposeful, and very obviously rehearsed.
"So we can go back…sweep it all under the rug and pretend nothing ever happened." The girl had to swallow down the bitter laugh that wanted to rise through her throat. "Did I get it right?"
"Not exactly. There's a good chance that more people are involved with the possible decision of…"
It was right there at the edge of her consciousness. Warning bells that spoke of an unmistakable threat.
One that almost killed her a little over three years ago.
And that feeling was coming from one of her shikigamis. More specifically, from the one she'd assigned to stay at Sasuke's side…and while it hadn't exploded just yet, there was no way Kagome could ever confuse the violent, demonic energy of the Kyuubi, steadily rising.
Wide azure eyes refocused on the ANBU, who'd fallen silent at her sudden movement. Both men stared at her, confused at the slight trembling that remained in her tense arms as she leaned on the table after jumping out of her seat. No need to get sucked into the all-consuming vortex of the fox's chakra. Not at all. Panic would only make it hard to think.
"You…" she struggled to get the words out. "You brought Naruto here?!"
"I…I sent them to scout the town while I came here directly. What…?" For the first time, he looked genuinely lost, attempting to figure out what was going on.
And then it exploded.
Reaching out with her senses, the heat wave of a raging fire almost attempted to consume her. The sudden release was intense enough to make the not chakra-sensitive shinobis around her stand up. Shit…this was worse than bad. She had to get to them before the whole city was turned into a battlefield. Before either of those two did something that couldn't be undone.
"Koyuki-chan!" Kagome's mind felt like it was working overtime as she charged one of her paper seals with reiki. There was no time to lose. The hostess came running back down, a panicked look on her face. "Listen to me, no matter what you hear, no matter who knocks and begs you to open the door, you have to keep everything closed. I'll send a doll for you when it's safe to move out."
"What happened?!" At last, the ANBU seemed to have regained his bearings and was demanding answers.
Anger filled her voice.
"What do you think happened?! Sasuke and Naruto have been at each other's throats from the moment they met!" Who the hell thought it was a good idea to risk having Naruto run into them inside a populated area?! "Juugo, I'm going to need you to do exactly what I tell you to do…no way I'm letting those two idiots kill each other!"
A/N: And here it is! I'd planned on uploading this before or straight after the 25th, but the celebrations ran a bit over. Sorry about that, but I hope you guys are enjoying the holidays.
As for this chapter, I feel like the pacing is a bit off, but this is honestly partly because I was sorely missing some of those scenes that were meant to be placed in the chapters I wrote while dealing with the start of burnout, but I think I've course-corrected most of what I was missing...hopefully.
As always guys, thank you guys so much for reading and any and all reviews/comments/criticisms are greatly, greatly appreciated.