Three weeks passed with Kakashi gone, gods knew where. He came and went like a stray cat, leaving the house with a bundle of food every few days. Itachi came by every so often, also procuring supplies from Kakashi's room, then leaving before Mina could so much as throw a pen at his head. At least Itachi had the common courtesy to take his shoes off before entering. Genma lacked the same grace, shuffling through Kakashi's exterior bedroom door at all hours of the night like he owned the place.
It was becoming more apparent she was under guard. Had been, for months, really, although the last few weeks, the guard had ramped up. As soon as one jounin left, another replaced them. Obito slept most nights in Kakashi's bed, his menacing aura separated by a few pieces of plaster and drywall. She was under no illusion that if she left in the middle of the night, he would follow.
At the end of the preliminary chuunin exams, she requested leave for two weeks to conduct research. Obito seemed all too eager to grant it. She didn't want a repeat of what happened to Hinata Hyuuga. Instead, she spent every waking hour reviewing textbook after textbook for things she had forgotten over time. Hours were spent combing the hospital's research library. If she was going to remain a jounin, even after her amnesia, she would have to re-earn it and prove it to herself.
The picture of the Kumo-nin still lay underneath the false bottom of her nightstand drawer. Her dreams of him had increased, each one flickering with images of Shisui superimposed over top of him. He was handsome, that was one thing she could say about him.
The only true conclusion she could come to was that this man was the one who had attacked her on the bridge in the Land of Waves. For whatever reason, whether to sow discord among the ranks with her brother's closest friends, or to seed doubt about her abilities with the future Hokage, she didn't know. Surely, he had slipped this paper into her pants as he tried to stab her to death, then he had probably used a seal and changed her memories around, only the seal didn't take. Either that, or Shisui, or Obito saw it for what it was and negated the effects the best they could.
Shisui sent a message by crow the other day, letting her know that he would be arriving with the Daimyo and a few select guardsmen eager to take a turn seeing their families. He had yet to say whether or not he would be staying with her or with Itachi, though she hoped he would stay with her. Even though theirs was a long-distance relationship for the moment, she was going to ask if he wanted to take the next step to exclusivity.
After sweeping another engawa step, Mina rested the broom against a support post. Sheets were hung to dry on the line in the yard behind the garden. Kakashi's freshly cleaned uniforms were next to them, swaying in the wind behind billowing white and lilac sheets with small dogs interspersed along in a merry pattern. She supposed she was feeling charitable, as Kakashi was most likely sleeping in the dirt, with only Grumpy and Grumpier for company.
The gate squeaked open. "You keep smirking like that, someone's going to think you're up to something."
She waved as Shisui walked up the river stone path to the house. "I'm always up to something, don't you know that by now?"
He grabbed her hips and pulled her in for a kiss. His lips were sweet against hers, and he pushed her against the back of a wall, grinding her body against his. The edge of her skirt hiked up on her legs as he left her right thigh against his hip.
Her breath caught in her lungs as he dropped his mouth against the edge of her camisole strap beneath her button down blouse.
"You looked so prim and proper in that skirt. It made me want to corrupt you," he growled against the side of her neck.
"Don't you have a Daimyo to guard?" she teased, tugging his uniform shirt from his pants.
"I have subordinates for a reason."
"You're not tired from traveling?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Me, tired? Sweetheart, I could've run that entire thing ten times over and still have energy to fuck your brains out."
"So sure I'm going to do the devil's tango with you." Mina tsked. "Come on, let's go inside. Anyone can see over that fence."
He smirked at her, slipping his hand beneath her skirt once more and grasping her ass. "You don't like a little exhibitionism, Ms. Hatake?"
She laughed lightly and toyed with the button of his pants. "Do you, Uchiha-taichou?"
"Fuck, I like that. Say it again."
"Uchiha-taichou?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. "Someone has a power kink."
"Yeah."
She tugged on the back of his hair again, exposing his neck. She drew her lips and tongue against the side of his throat to his ear. "You wanna tie me up, Taichou? Do wicked and depraved things to me?" she purred.
"Are you trying to be in charge?" he challenged. He loosened her hold on his hair and pinned her wrists above her head with one hand. Her back arched lewdly against the wall, thrust against his clothed cock. "The only one in charge here is me. If you keep insisting you're in charge, I'll tie your bare ass up right here on the engawa."
"You wouldn't."
"Wouldn't I? It's my ass and pussy to share with who I want. Maybe I like letting other people watch." He reached beneath her panties, smearing her arousal along her folds with his fingers. "You like that idea, don't you, princess?"
"You have such a filthy mouth, you know." She couldn't stop the small moan that escaped her lips as she desperately tried to rock onto his fingers. He thrust his thigh between her legs, dropping her down onto it. She was helpless but to ride him as he circled her clit with his thumb.
"We're outside…and I'm gonna…" she panted.
"Do it. Come for me. Let them all hear who you belong to."
Her heart felt like a balloon, expanding with each cycle of his thumb against her clit. Another humid breeze blew on the porch. She moaned again and bit her lip to hold it in.
"Better be quiet, don't want your Hyuuga neighbors to hear you acting like a dirty little cum slut. Who knows what they'll see."
"Fuck. Shisui—I can't—I'm gonna—" she panted. His words only spurred her on until she was a gasping mess under his touch. The balloon popped, flooding her body with endorphins. His mouth descended on hers, swallowing the scream of pleasure that threatened below the surface. When the orgasm passed, he kissed her gently, savoring her shudders as he dragged his fingers against her overly sensitive clit.
"Mm, I like that," he whispered while kissing her jaw. He touched her again, and she trembled against him.
"Shisui, stop," she whined from her defenseless position.
He kissed her again, freeing her wrists from his hold. Footsteps stopped from behind them on the engawa. A man cleared his voice, and Mina squeaked in surprise. Shisui quickly released her thigh and straightened her skirt back down her legs.
"Hoheto, nice to see you," she mumbled. Her face and chest were hot, the blush spread its way to the tops of her shoulders. She was sure it was visible beneath her eyelet blouse.
"Ms. Hatake," the Hyuuga greeted. His own blush spread across his cheeks. "Obito-sama ordered me to report here, but I see my guard assignment was unnecessary."
"Guard assignment?" Shisui asked, subtly moving in front of Mina.
"Ah, yes. Until the foreigners leave the village, Godaime-sama has ordered that all jounin medics are to have a guard of equal rank."
Shisui kept a hand on Mina's hip. "That's odd. Why'd he order that?"
Hoheto shrugged. "I don't know. I assume it's the sheer amount of foreign jounin and Kage that turned out for this exam. You know your cousin's mind better than anyone else. If you'll excuse me, I need to go rinse my eyes with disinfectant."
"You didn't see anything…did you?" Mina asked hopefully.
"Considering I don't want to die with a chidori in my chest or be thrown in a horrid kamui dimension, no, I didn't see anything. And you'll tell your brother and his lover the same thing."
"Understood," Mina whispered, the blush deepening on her cheeks.
"Agreed." The smirk on Shisui's face widened.
The late afternoon sun sunk in through Mina's window, casting its light through the pale lilac lace curtains. Her skin shone like opals beneath its gentle rays. Small crystal ornaments on the window cast a rainbow against her while she slept. She had said her headaches had been getting worse, Shisui could only imagine how stressed she was adjusting to life in Konoha.
Her room was a shrine to femininity. Perfect for the life she was born to, he thought. A winding flower wallpaper was on the wall with the windows, an ode to the Senju roots on her mother's side.
Framed pictures of the Hatake pack ninken hung neatly on the walls in a wash of gold and silver frames. White bookshelves lined the wall, overstuffed with books and scrolls. There was a small reading nook in the corner, between the windows and the books. Silk pillows in sensuous colors lay on top of each other.
Shisui frowned at the sight of the holey octopus blanket on the top. As a reminder of Kumo, Obito had ordered Kakashi to burn it. Clearly, he didn't. Opposite the reading nook was a small sitting desk barely off the floor. A lamp in the shape of a Cocker Spaniel oversaw the mess of papers lazily spread across its surface. Charcoal sketches and watercolor renderings were pinned above the desk on a corkboard. Anatomical structures, mostly, from what he could gather. A few were of Kakashi, one of himself, several of her dogs. However, there was one that depicted the cragged mountains leading to the entrance of Kumogakure, another of a panther. He ran his hand over his face and shook his head.
He swung his legs over the end of the low bed. Leaning back over, he kissed her bare shoulder, overshadowing the sun's light. "I have to get back to work, princess," he whispered, gently stroking her spine.
"Mmph," she mumbled and arched into his touch. "That's nice. You never do that anymore. I miss it."
"Yeah?" He forced his fists to stay relaxed while the image of the Kumo-nin caressing Mina's bare back after sex came unbidden in his mind.
"Yeah, it's my favorite aftercare, you know."
He brushed his thumb across her cheek. "Sleep, sweetheart. You look exhausted. Tomorrow's going to be all hands on deck for you, I imagine."
"Yeah, emergency department all day." She held the covers against her naked breasts and sat up. "You coming back tonight?"
"I'll try. Daimyo isn't staying too far away from here."
"Can we talk when you get back?"
Against his will, his muscles stiffened.
She waved a free hand in front of her. "Nothing bad. I was just wondering…"
He returned to the bed. "Go on," he said gently.
"I was wondering if you wanted to be exclusive?"
He belted out a laugh, and she hit him with the edge of a pillow. "Oh sweetheart, I'm not laughing at you. I thought we already were."
"Oh. Well then."
The blush that crept its way down her cheeks to the tops of her breasts was adorable. Her lips tasted sweet when he kissed her. "You were worried about it, weren't you?"
"A bit, yeah."
"I love you, Kaminari. I have to go right now, but I'll show you how much later."
"Alright. I love you too."
He leaned over and tugged the sheet off her breasts. Dragging his lips down the valley of her breasts, he kissed her again. "I'm serious, take a nap. You'll need a lot of energy for what I have planned tonight."
"Yeah?"
"Stay out of the toy drawer." He threw his uniform shirt on and straightened it.
She smirked at him. "Oh, you should know better than to tell me not to do things."
"If you get off while I'm out, I'm going to tie you up and make you come until you pass out."
"Don't threaten me with a good time," she teased. Tugging him in by his collar, she kissed him. A naked thigh rubbed against the side of his pants. "Go to work before I have my wicked way with you."
He groaned and kissed her one more time before he jumped out the window.
Streets and shops passed as he continued to walk over the cobblestone streets of his home. He thought about the entrance to Konoha. He could draw the Hashirama trees from memory on each side of the rust red village gates. It filled him with relief whenever he saw it. The entrance to Kumo was filled with craggy mountains surrounding a rocky path that led to the village. He had only seen it once when he was on a courier mission. And Mina was sketching it…from memory.
'What hold does this place have over her?' he thought. 'Konoha is her home. Konoha.'
Before his brain could comprehend what his feet were doing, he was in front of the building that housed foreign dignitaries.
"Fuck," he muttered under his breath. "Idiot, he's not going to be here. A proper organization would have the next in line in the village if the Kage is out of it."
A boisterous laugh rang out from an open window inside the building. There was a blond man with medium length hair throwing his arm around the one Shisui had learned was Darui. The blond continued to laugh while a light blush grew on Darui's cheeks. Another blond man, a teenager this time, came into view of the window. The older man pushed on the teenager's forehead in a rebuff. Darui shook his head and left the window.
The front door opened, and Darui stepped out onto the porch and stretched. Any trace of emotion he had displayed with his comrades vanished. He looked lazy, bored with life, even, as Shisui watched him from the shadows of the alleyway. A blonde woman with a sharply cut bob traipsed out of the door and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Ay-sama told me to make sure you stay cool," she said quietly, though her voice carried on the wind.
"He thought I was going to summon Hina."
"I did too."
Darui sighed then placed his hand over the kunoichi's. She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. Relief rushed through Shisui that Darui of Kumo would not be chasing after Mina. Clearly, he had another woman occupying his mind.
As the wind kicked up, it refreshed the scent of Mina's lavender perfume on Shisui's skin and clothes. It reminded him of the lipstick stain he was sure was on the side of his neck. A trophy he was able to keep with him through the night that this Kumo rat could only dream of.
The blonde put her arms around Darui's waist. "Come back inside, Darui," she said quietly.
Darui looked up and narrowed his eyes at the alleyway shadows as the wind blew across the street. Shisui stepped into the light, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the building.
"Darui," the kunoichi warned when Darui lurched. "C! C!" She moved in front of him and pushed against his chest as Darui tried to move forward.
Shisui didn't know why he smirked then, or why he met the Kumo-nin's eyes with his sharingan. He knew he still smelled like sex and Mina. He wondered if the Kumo-nin could smell it from across the street. Part of him hoped he could. The blond man ran out, and the door slammed behind him.
"Come on big guy, we're in their village," C coaxed. "This isn't going to help anyone."
"Darui, please," the kunoichi pleaded. "Let's cool down and go inside."
"He knows something. I know he does."
"That's not going to help anyone," C said. "You can't beat the man in his own village. Look at him, he's the police around here. Do you want to go to prison in Konoha?"
Shisui raised a challenging brow at that, but continued to smirk.
"Shisui!" Obito boomed behind him. He stepped out into the street. "Curfew is in effect. Return to your accommodations, or I'll have you lot thrown out of my village."
There was rustling behind Shisui, and the door slammed closed.
"Is there a reason you're goading the godaime-presumptive Raikage? You have what you wanted."
"I wanted to see what kind of person he was."
Obito yanked Shisui by the collar and teleported him to the Uchiha compound.
"Let go, nii-san," Shisui demanded, slapping Obito's hand away.
Obito threw him to the ground. "Now listen up. You are going to escort your men and the Daimyo out of Konoha immediately and return to the capital. Intelligence stated we are likely going to be under attack. Hayate was tracking a genin named Kabuto, who met with a Sand jounin named Baki. We found Hayate's remains last night."
Shisui jumped up and straightened his clothes. "Hayate?"
"Yes." Obito threw a scroll at Shisui's head. "Your orders to evacuate."
"I would like to request jounin medic Hatake to accompany us."
"Denied. I need her here. We expect mass casualties."
"What if Kumo tries to take her?"
"Shisui. I'm worried about a bit more than one kunoichi at the moment. You can't have her, I need medics more than you do."
"Understood."
Obito sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "I'll keep a guard with her. Does that sound fair?"
"Can Kakashi be that guard?"
"No. Two of his genin will be competing tomorrow, it would be suspicious if he wasn't present. I'll assign your sensei, Tsume."
"Thank you."
Obito hugged Shisui briefly before vanishing.
Darui paced in the hotel room, wearing a line down in the plush cream carpet while C sat on the bed. "He knows something. I could smell her on him. There's something going on here, and I don't like it."
C sighed and leaned back against a small mountain of feather-down pillows. Konoha had spared no expense in the foreign shinobi accommodations. "You can't storm the castle to rescue their princess. They have more claim to her than we do. This isn't a storybook."
Darui rubbed his hand on his face then bit his thumb. C lunged out of the bed and grabbed Darui's wrist in mid-air. "You're not summoning that menace. She'd be more likely to eat an entire barbecue shop's supply of meat than find Mina. Or tear up all of the trees in the park."
"Why is no one listening to me? She is here. I can feel it. All these months with no information. She's here. She was going to come home to me."
"Darui—"
"No. They did something to her."
"You can't search their village after curfew. Your best bet is to sneak in after the chuunin exams. They're on high alert right now. If they have her in custody, you'll never be able to reach her, and that's a big if. They prefer to use that blood prison in the Land of Grass. If they have her, she's probably there." Out of caution, C double-checked the room for recording devices for the tenth time that day. He tapped against the walls, then pressed his finger against a mirror.
"Fuck. What if they're hurting her? For months now. It's been five months. What kind of man does that make me if I abandon her like this? What kind of shinobi or partner?" He curled his hands into fists and rested them against the desk opposite the beds.
C's face went pale. "Darui, we don't have much of a claim to her. In this country, her clan and brother do. Even at home, her clan would have claim to her over the village. You know the law. Your grandfather helped write most of them."
"I do. I claim her. I don't care if I have to fight the old man Hokage or that cyclops myself to save her. She belongs home in Kumo. She loves me. I know she does. She has for years and didn't say anything. We both never said anything. The moment we do…I don't accept that."
Darui resumed his pacing while hiding his shaking hands in his pockets. "Fuck. I need her back in my arms, C. I need to know she's okay."
"My heart tells me she's okay," C weakly offered. "From what Samui-senpai gathered, her brother loved her more like a father-figure than anything. I don't believe he would allow her to be physically harmed."
"Mentally? Emotionally? You know how these Konoha dogs are. And that one? I could smell her and sex on him. What if he's raping her right now? What if she's crying out for me, begging me to stop him? What if she's been doing that for months? What if they have this…this sick idea to breed her? She's one of the last two of her clan. Her mother was a descendant of the Senju. That's two noble clans."
"You couldn't have possibly smelled him from across the street. Don't let your emotions cloud your judgment. I doubt he's hurting her. Genin teammate, right? Genin teammates are like family around here. That's what they say, anyhow. Besides, Konoha has the best medical program in the world, if they were going to 'breed' anyone, they would run tests. They'd know about her infertility."
"They're all animals with no morals here. How someone as genuinely kind-hearted like Mina came from them, I'll never know. Fuck, I miss her. I miss her sarcasm."
"You can't do anything about it right now. Let the exams finish, then I'll help you sneak back in here in a couple weeks and we can conduct a proper search."
Darui exhaled harshly and held the heels of his hands to his eyes. "I know they're hurting her. My chest hurts, and I feel sick thinking about it. We've spent our entire careers rescuing Kumo shinobi. The one kunoichi I want to rescue more than I want my next breath, I can't reach."
"Sleep it off, man. We'll come back in a couple weeks, I promise. There's too much security right now."
"I need her, C. I need her home. I love you, man. But you're not her. I need my partner."
"Obviously. But you're no good to her if you die of sleep deprivation. You should'nt've come in the first place. You should've let R come along. I don't know how you convinced Ay-sama you were good to go."
"Samui-senpai told him my psyche needed this."
"Who knows why she does the things she does." C shrugged out of his vest and laid it on a chair. "If you get an itch in the middle of the night to flounce around Konoha, I'll know, and I'll put you under a medical ninjutsu. Wouldn't that be embarrassing? Your big tush hanging over my shoulder all the way back to Kumo."
Darui sighed and laid down on the bed. "I'm not going to be able to sleep. Not after seeing that man."
A bag unzipped from the corner of the room, and pills rattled in a container. "Here. These are the ones Mina formulated." C held out two pills and a bottle of water. "I know you hate taking them, but you really need to get a good night's rest for tomorrow in case anything goes wrong. We need our second in command."
Darui nodded, shoving the pills in his mouth. He closed his eyes as C turned off the lights. "What if he's hurting her right now?"
"He's not. Stop thinking about it. Like I said, she's probably in the blood prison. It's not fun, but they don't usually torture there."
"She needs me, C. I don't know how to explain it. It's like…her soul…is calling…to mine…" Darui's words became heavy in the dark of the room as he finally succumbed to sleep.
AN: Thank you for reading! This mass update started with chapter 25: weeds, if you haven't read that yet. Thank you for bearing with this big ol' update. If you have a moment, please leave a comment.
What do you guys think Darui's gonna do?
Beta'ed by: CherryBerry12