Interrogation

The unending wall of trees broke with a small clearing.

Takuma-sensei landed on the edge after a final leap down from a branch. Attention shifted to them.

Her class had both gathered and splintered. Everyone crowded into a huddle, friends stood together, nerves in hunched shoulders, wavering expressions, and trembling hands. Daiki met eyes with her. Face first screwing into a bizarre expression between surprise, relief, concern, and disgust, he settled on smiling broadly while giving a thumbs up. Like a congratulations for living. Mariko avoided her gaze, face red as she rubbed a hand harshly under her eyes. Her friends gathered close, one hugging her arm bawling, another trying to comfort that girl, and a third's conversation interrupted midsentence, her mouth hanging open as she stared at Renri.

Renri found no words of her own.

A mystery resolved with a group of four she didn't recognize. A teenager stood at the center of her class, leaf headband catching light as he surveyed the area. Two more teens sat to the side. A girl wrapped a bandage around her leg, dried blood flaking from her hands, headband askew and scratched, half her face bruised, swollen, and bloody. Another boy lay on the ground unmoving. A woman in a flak jacket kneeled next to him, green glow bathing them both as she worked.

A genin team. Sensei must have gotten them to help with the lesson. It's how he watched their progress despite sitting in base camp with the rest of the class.

The jonin woman glanced at Takuma as he walked, unsaid signal given. The genin girl grit her teeth as she got to her feet. The uninjured boy serving as lookout hopped over her classmates before jogging over to the jonin to help her lift the unconscious boy from the ground.

He… Shirt shredded and stained, long wounds ran down his chest. Claws. He… Renri bit her lip. This boy and the girl had been following her group. The initial bird scatter had been them under attack and they'd…

They fought instead of running.

"Daiki," Takuma called, motioning to the genin girl dragging her leg as she walked. Jaw tense, lips quivering, her leg shook under her weight, yet she refused to sit down. Daiki glanced at her before giving an exaggerated salute. He tripped over classmates as he barreled towards the girl. "Everyone else, follow Sachiko-san back to the academy."

The jonin woman left the unconscious boy in the care of his teammate. Her class obediently fell into line with the woman as she walked. Her back to her genin and the class, her guard dropped, expression defeated even if her voice remained strong. "Be careful, Takuma. We'll meet back up once your kids are safe."

Takuma-sensei nodded once. Before she could walk away, he set a hand onto her shoulder. Still clinging to his back, Renri couldn't see his expression. She felt like she was intruding regardless, a softness in his voice that seemed to relax the jonin woman- even if just a bit.

"I'll get yours to the hospital. I'm sorry, Sachiko. I never-" A heavy sigh, he cut himself off. "We'll have to make sure they know how well they did today."

Eavesdropping on a conversation she had no business hearing, Renri shouldn't feel… shocked. She didn't know anyone in the village. Not well. Sachiko could be Takuma-sensei's wife, sister, or friend. The thought never crossed her mind that he was more than an academy teacher. That connections were meant to be a web.

The scrap of fabric in her hand, her fist tightened.

Sachiko nodded with a broken smile. Takuma's hand slipped from her shoulder as they walked two different directions.

"Renri."

Her name startled her attention back to him. Takuma shifted after her mumbled response, taking a step towards the two genin boys. As he leaned forward, she held herself up as best she could. He slipped an arm underneath the unconscious boy's to help his teammate walk him along.

It sunk in, then, why the jonin had left her team to Takuma. To protect them. Her class. The injured genin would slow down the retreat, so they opted for the academy students to leave first. Takuma may be an instructor, but he wasn't a jonin. He couldn't protect an entire class alone. As it stood, they divided their strength as best they could. With hopes that they would meet help before entering the village. If not help sent by the ANBU now on scene, then Sachiko-san would deliver the academy students and the message.

She had an easier time trying to dissect tactics over bonds. Anything for a distraction.

"As we walk," Takuma-sense said, tilt of his head directing it to her alone, "I need you to tell me again what happened. Every detail you can remember, all right?"

Long corridors lined with bright lights, astringent chemical smells blending into something overbearingly clean, soft voices loud in silence, life and death under one roof, hospitals were a place of contradictions. He couldn't say he enjoyed them. Not that many did.

He could only say that he preferred this hospital to the wartime field hospital. Medical tents dimly lit in pitch black night, smell of mud and rain unable to mask blood, suffering screams overlapped by orders prioritizing those that could be saved, he remembered his father walking him through a field hospital at the end of the war. If the battlefield was to explain what he was, the hospital was to explain what he was meant to prevent and protect.

He shouldn't be here. He should be training.

That thought ran through his head for the eleventh time since stepping foot inside. To never repeat the scenes he saw that day, he needed to be stronger. He debated grabbing the scroll he had been reading earlier. It would clearly be the compromise.

Uchiha Naoki grumbled about waiting, folding his arms over his chest as he stared down the door, willing it to open. Or see through it, though that wouldn't do much for his investigation.

Itachi resisted the scroll. He had asked to come with, Naoki reluctantly obliging when convinced his investigation wouldn't be at risk because of Itachi's presence.

Shisui had returned from his mission yesterday after his team hit a dead-end. Their investigations into the disappearances in villages in southeast Fire had yielded more rumor than evidence. Shisui had sighed, complaining that all the witness accounts were dubious at best. Farmers and merchants conflating wild animals in the night with superstitions, actual sightings twisted through a hundred retellings, bandits and criminals taking advantage of the situation, it all gave rise to a thousand descriptions with a grain of truth in each. The most common tale became people spirited away returning as demons themselves.

Yet, there now seemed to be an actual monster loose in Konoha.

The hall empty except for passing staff, he asked, "What information were you able to gather?" Naoki could determine how much to answer.

Naoki ran a hand through his hair, eyes darting from corridor end to start. A flickering glance at Itachi, a hint of exasperation slipped through in a twitch on his lips. "The two injured genin had come across this supposed monster while helping with some academy drill. They saw it heading towards the academy students and tried to head it off. They failed to report in on time." Naoki leaned his head back into the wall, tapping a finger against his arm impatiently. "The Sato boy is in surgery. The Utatane girl is recovering."

The weight of a clan name offered her a moment of rest before interrogation. For others in the same position…

"By the time their jonin found them, this supposed thing had found the two academy students." The interview conducted at the school, presumably following or coinciding with a formal report by the jonin team leader, Itachi had found Naoki shortly after. Naoki let a sigh slip past. "The other academy student had been too shaken up to give a coherent description before a relative showed up to intervene."

Another clan with some pull?

Regardless, gravity of the situation with an attack far too near the village to be coincidence, a shinobi-in-training would be expected to give a statement. Soon. With one option remaining, Naoki followed the lead here. Village security shouldn't be left solely to the ANBU, he'd argue that with every other in the police force. They'd fight to keep the case.

"The academy instructor suggested that," a gesture at the closed door across from them, "the Inada girl would be helpful."

Characteristic suspicion, Itachi wasn't so convinced.

Shisui had pointed him in a better direction than researching solely Inada. The Cult of Inari consisted of several clans once spread from Fire to Water, including the smaller nations between. Inada had ties to what now was the Land of Rice and the Land of Steam. The Shimada were from Water. That mismatch was… just a fraction of the distrust cast on her, really.

Shisui was right. Her background, if a fabrication, would make her a terrible spy.

The Inari were once regarded as dangerous infiltrators because they were good at it. Several clan names to choose from, Inada made the least sense. The Uchiha, apparently, had a longstanding issue with them- and it drove Itachi only mildly insane that he couldn't find details. Combined with her arrival in the village at the worst time, that issue somehow related to the kyuubi, it was too much suspicion. She wouldn't be able to gather useable intelligence while under intense scrutiny, not to mention her sole connection in the village was one of the Sannin-

"So," Naoki mumbled, "while everyone else is investigating the scene, I'm here." Heavily implied, waiting with Itachi the tag-along, adding babysitting to grunt work. Itachi tilted his head slightly, wondering if Naoki realized the slip. A half second dragging by, Naoki's eyes widened a bit, realizing he had the audacity to complain about his important, if less thrilling, assignment directly to the chief's son. A cough, eyes darting to the closed door, he covered by changing the subject. "This class is the same year as yours, right?"

A slight hum positive was all he gave.

His intention had been academic. He had seen Naoki, and, as a younger officer lacking some of the guarded tact of other clansmen, Itachi had decided to take the opportunity. He wanted to see some of the investigative process without his father's expectations getting in the way.

He hadn't known of Renri's involvement until stood in front of the school, tail-end of Takuma-sensei and Naoki's initial conversation caught as Naoki motioned him over. Twist in his stomach, even before entering the hospital images of past violence, of blood-soaked battlefields littered with corpses, of a village burning as demon towered over the ruins, were layered onto Renri, her classmates, even some of his classmates before he shut down the thought. He must have let it slip onto his face. Takuma-sensei had been quick to assure him that her injuries were minor, no hospital stay necessary, tacking on for Naoki's sake she wouldn't be kept from giving a statement.

"She'll be able to give an accurate account," Itachi added, sparing a glance at Naoki.

Renri could be… awkward. Naoki wasn't as intimidating as some of the other Uchiha, at least.

Naoki gave an almost inaudible grunt to state his doubt. He continued to stare down the closed door. "This is what happens when you let all these civilians pretend to be shinobi. Half your grade should have been denied at application."

Itachi agreed, but not for the same reason. Konoha needed to replace what was lost in the war, so they allowed more applicants in while keeping the graduation requirements the same. Peace was fragile. They were preparing for another war in the wake of the last like every other hidden village. The cycle would repeat.

He'd change it. He swore.

Severe glare narrowing further, Naoki's shoulders stiffened with tension as his finger tapped an uneven rhythm. His voice lowered to a whisper, investigation details not as conspiratorial as, "I hope her keeper doesn't show up." Silence in the hall punctuated the absence. Takuma had already claimed responsibility for returning her home. "All due respect for his accomplishments and skill," Naoki tacked on, unwilling to speak beyond voicing that discomfort.

Shisui had been the same while admitting one fact more.

The sum of her circumstances made Inada Renri glaringly suspicious, yet suspicion was also cast to the well-respected Sannin that sneaked her into the village without disclosing it to a soul.

The slight rattle of the door echoed down the hall. A nurse exited first, followed by Takuma. Naoki stepped away from the wall, arms dropping to his side as he gave a nod to Takuma. A look shot over his shoulder reminded Itachi he had to wait in the hall. Away from the door. If he wanted to make himself useful, he should direct others away while he stood.

Naoki stepped into the room, door sliding closed behind him. Itachi caught a glimpse of Renri twisting bandaged fingers into the checkered fabric of her shirt.

"Itachi-kun," Takuma acknowledged before continuing down the hall, exhaustion in the drag of his feet. He disappeared around the corner to leave Itachi in a corridor devoid.

Eventually, Itachi retrieved the scroll to continue reading.

Few passed through. None were interested in the room. Swift footsteps carried staff from task to task, patient to patient, in an increasingly familiar pattern. No need to glance up. Inevitably, he would catch a glimpse of hospital uniforms as they walked by him.

The cadence of leisurely steps pulled his attention to the end of the hall.

Hands twisting her shirt, fabric scrap tucked away, "Then a member of the ANBU intervened." The end. Her eyes dared lift from her lap, account finished. Her breath caught. The officer's expression had been stone professionalism upon entry and introduction.

Now doubt creased his brows.

"How did you get away?" he pressed.

She swallowed thickly. She didn't have a better answer. "An ANBU agent," she repeated, voice shrinking.

That was the truth. The police should already know that the ANBU had stepped in, so why? Why didn't he believe her?

He looked down his nose at her. "None of the ANBU on duty in that area reported anything out of the ordinary before the explosion."

More doubt leveled at explosion, he didn't believe that either. Sensei hadn't believed her. He reassured her that if she told him where she had gotten them, she wouldn't be in any trouble. But the truth. She told the truth. There were only five paper bombs that she had made herself.

Mind racing, she couldn't figure out what was wrong with them. They exploded on command. There wasn't much more to paper bombs than that! They were common and cheap for a reason! The school even had some for the upperclassmen to practice with. Orochimaru had praised her for the practice batch. She had made the initial batch under his supervision, and with these copies she hadn't deviated from his instructions at all. She hadn't changed-

But she had. She had taken his advice. An improvement, he said.

"That thing is still out there," the officer said, startling her eyes from her hands. Worse. This was way worse than the monster. She told the truth! His eyes narrowed, patience for her gone. "It's your duty to the village to-"

The door opening cut his words. Her death grip loosened while the officer's expression twisted from surprise to forced neutrality. She buried the officer's greeting under her squeak of "Orochimaru-sama!"

Gold eyes flicked from her to the officer. She felt like a cornered mouse. The officer's shoulders tensed with his jaw, not quite a lowly mouse. That brief moment, Orochimaru dissected the scene. A growing vicious smile showed much too much amusement.

The door shut behind him as he sauntered into the room.

Well into the room and a pause, merciless and infuriating in his fun, he asked, "Am I interrupting?"

"No," the officer said, bitter pull at his lips as he shifted, arms then crossed over his chest. "No, of course not, Orochimaru-sama. Uchiha Naoki, sir."

The expectant silence dragged on unbearably.

Renri managed to swallow down her panic only for it to rise, attention recasting her centerstage. Slit-pupil eyes pinned her place. Lip trembling, lungs paralyzed, she couldn't force out a single sound. The slightest raise of a brow, twitch of a barely contained fanged smile, she realized Orochimaru's appearance may not have saved her so much as complicated matters. A troublesome pet with a cruel owner, she forgot her place, she was causing-

His eyes leaving her let her take a shaky breath. Her eyes sought the safety of the floor. She wouldn't make that mistake again.

"Whatever sort of trouble has my dear Renri-chan been causing to have the police scurrying around?"

Open question, she suddenly felt grateful to have the officer in the room. Orochimaru couldn't help but antagonize them both. And, while she withered to complacency, a vein in the officer's neck looked ready to pop from the force for his clenched jaw.

"A monster," she forced out, starting at the beginning once more. The only thing she trusted Orochimaru to do was explain what that thing had been. Because it wasn't a monster. A jutsu or something. Had to be. What else could it be? And he wouldn't show up just to collect her. He was curious about something. Play to that and… "It-"

"What you said about the ANBU," Officer Naoki cut her description short, trying to regain control of the room, "and how you got away, repeat it."

She opened her mouth only to realize no one actually wanted to hear from her.

"Poor, terrified, injured Renri-chan," Orochimaru mocked, her glare nothing, "are they relying solely on you?"

Asked to her, but Naoki's brow twitched at the insinuation. She'd give he had a high tolerance for mockery. "Her statement conflicts." He then held his tongue, not wanting to indulge. Smart move.

Fingers curled into her shirt, Renri indulged. She hated how Orochimaru perked up at the mere mention of ANBU. He knew. He knew. And he met her anger with a smile daring her to demand.

"My dear, repeat what you said, but do better this time." Lie. "You do wish to be helpful, don't you?" Lie because the ANBU chose not to report this to the police. Lie because it was Renki. Lie because Orochimaru said so.

"They were wearing a mask and hooded cloak. They took me a short distance away before turning back to deal with the monster." Lie. "I…" Lie. She swallowed. "I thought they were ANBU, from how they were dressed, but- Weren't they?"

Question turned to Orochimaru, he didn't see fit to answer. Not for a truth missing some details. He wanted a lie. Regardless, bitter taste and pit in her stomach, it was enough. Viper eyes narrowed, thin smile stretching his lips, she had his approval.

The poisonous glide of his words, "Now, that wasn't difficult at all, was it?" served to mock the officer and her alike.

Officer Naoki set aside some of his pride to force the conversation to a close. "There's also the matter of the explosion."

Sheer delight wasn't the expected reaction. While Naoki's face pinched to cause pause, she pouted. Flickering glance, gold too bright, too interested, now wasn't the time to be impressed with her handiwork. She wouldn't even get to enjoy it.

Naoki recovered. "Ten to fifteen paper bombs-"

"Five." Eyes averted she… No, she meant to interrupt. Sour, she was telling the truth about the whole ordeal. "Only five," she repeated, irritation slipping into her tone. "I made a few more af-"

A heavy hand landing on her head made her choke. Skin crawling at the mockery of affection, he smoothed out her hair, even careful to avoid the fresh stitches in the back of her head. She hated it. Her death grip on her shirt loosened. Because she fell for it, mockery or not.

"You must have followed my instructions perfectly." Tone shifted, rasping quality not as harsh, she nodded slightly, movement doing nothing to shake his hand from the top of her head.

She had done well. Met whatever expectation he had set when he told her to add a step not mentioned in any texts she'd studied: use her blood. A few drops would suffice, mixed with her usual inks, she just needed to concentrate on how she applied charka afterwards. Explosive tags, sealing formulas, it didn't matter. A preliminary step to something else, he had told her.

"So young, yet she has such a promising talent for these things."

Naoki grumbled, arms crossed over his chest rigid. The half-pause, he stepped away from the wall, posture remarkably stiff. "I have no further questions," he said, hand already resting on the door. "I apologize for taking up your time."

Renri stared at his back, at the fan crest in a four-point star, as he opened the door. A gap between him and the hall, she caught sight of an unfurled scroll. Face hidden, nose buried in a scroll, but dark hair, familiar scrapes on his arms and blisters on his fingers-

The door closed. The sound echoed in her ears before her heartbeat took over.

"Yet," threatening, tone contrasting harshly with the gentleness of the fingers tucking her hair behind her ear, he continued, "how quickly you are becoming more trouble than you're worth. Do try to work on that."

She swallowed every question wanting to burst out of her. A final pat on her head, and his fingers twisted into the back of her shirt. Lifting, fabric cut into her neck, under her arms. She would be picked up and dropped to her feet to stand, expected to follow, pain flaring in her ankle at the thought of each step after the first sharp jolt-

How absolutely weak her hands felt when grasping at his wrist. "Please, don't," she whispered, hands shaking. A debating second lasted an eternity. Then, fabric slack, released, he turned on his heel to take a step for the door.

"Suit yourself." Said like he had any intention of carrying her, frustration bubbled, fear ebbing with his back to her. "I want to see what this supposed monster of yours looked like. Hurry home."

Her stomach dropped, mouth going dry. She would rather face the monster all over again than experience this particular jutsu again. But she inevitably would. He wanted to know. He had lamented before about not having the Yamanaka's jutsu, but all the ill effects were the target's, hers, his complaints only rubbing salt.

No sooner than the door opening and his exit, a flustered nurse entered the room with crutches and a paper. Renri only half listened to the explanation of how to take care of her sprained ankle and how to use the crutches; the paper had everything written out anyway.

Instead, she focused on the fact that he would have dropped her onto that sprained ankle had she not said anything. Had she not lied, would he have helped her at all?

Itachi waited, his scroll put away after Naoki had stormed off to make his report. Orochimaru left shortly after him. Now, the nurse held open the door as Renri awkwardly maneuvered crutches. Her focus entirely on the floor, brows pinched, she didn't notice him. Bandages up her arms disappeared under clothes bloodstained and torn, her shirt collar flaking dried blood onto pale skin. Pant leg rolled up, shoeless, her ankle was a swollen black and blue. Minor. They said minor and this… Probably was, things considered, but it didn't feel minor.

The moment she glanced up, crutches under control, a smile made its way onto her face. "You're still here?" Confused, excited, she kept smiling despite standing in a hospital, bruised and bandaged. "I thought maybe you came with Officer Naoki-san."

"I did."

She made a face as that sunk in.

He had stayed behind. He wasn't exactly sure why, now. Naoki made it clear he wasn't to try to investigate this on his own, clan heir prodigy or not. And he wouldn't. He didn't want to interfere. He wanted it solved. If he wanted to see the next step in the process, he would have gone with Naoki.

The meaning between two words wasn't lost on her. A soft smile, she quickly hid it behind her hand, swaying on the crutches. A glance down the empty hall melted the expression from her face. Panic replaced.

"I need to go," she whispered, eyes darting back down the hallway. "I can tell you another time," she tacked on as her attention whipped back to him. Then shot to her injured ankle, twist in her lips as she winced at the tiniest testing motion. "Probably at the library, since they said I have to stay off it a week or more…"

Did she think that was the only reason he would come see her? For curiosity? Over something that left her in this condition? While she looked frantic to follow after a man he had seen hurt her?

She haphazardly tried to rush along as he stared, once at her, now at empty space. Had she even said goodbye?

He watched for a moment before stubbornly falling into step with her. "Do you want help?" She stumbled, that too direct. "I can walk with you." And inevitably pick her off the ground. Every muscle in her shook with the effort of walking slowly.

"Partway," she whispered, slow pace halting. "Um…" Attention on the floor, hair falling loose to hide her face, her voice betrayed her anyway. "I know, well, that we're the same height and it'd be very awkward but, um, you're probably strong enough so… It'd be quicker, and I was told not to dawdle, so-"

"I could carry Shisui if I wanted." Said cousin would sigh at his bluntness while joking he certainly had a way with people, anticipating their words and responding before they had a chance to say them. Renri didn't seem to mind.

She barely managed to ask. Now, she slapped a hand over her mouth to smother a giggle. "You would," hand dropped, voice soft, "carry me just because I asked?"

"No," he said, his blank look catching her off guard, "you also look like you're going to fall over." She laughed, but it was true. She clearly skipped out on taijutsu training whenever possible. It was coming back to bite her. "We're friends," he countered and reminded. "You'd try to carry me." She had been ready to die protecting a classmate. He could carry her before she hurt herself more rushing.

"Partway," she insisted. She would have taken a step forward, but she remembered the crutches with a frown. She looked to him. "Do you have a kunai? I lost all of mine."

His silence asked the question.

She shifted, rummaging around in her layers of shirts until she retrieved a plain scroll. "It's bad enough I'm making you carry me, so I want to put the crutches away in a storage scroll." A pout slipped through when he continued to stare, that not the conventional answer to why she asked for a kunai. "I struggle to attach things to scrolls with chakra alone, I need something tangible. I'm tired and don't have ink, so I thought…"

"That you could try substituting blood," he finished, brow raising slightly. If he were in this rough of shape, Shisui would be saying absolutely no more chakra usage for the day. Storage scrolls were a trick form of sealing. Precise chakra control was a prerequisite. "I can-"

"I want to try."

Said stubbornly, a rare moment of her speaking over him, he complied. If only to keep her from biting down on her thumb to draw blood. He handed her a kunai. No hesitation, no flinch, she had the tip of the blade in her skin. A drop of blood pooled. She struggled to shift everything around. She dropped the scroll, managing to have the crutches clatter on tile while still over the open scroll. Crouching to work on the floor looked painful.

"Storage scrolls use basic sealing techniques," he said, leaning over to watch her smudge blood onto the scroll and crutches. A small chakra signature shared between the two marks, he wondered. "Attaching marks like this seems more like juinjutsu than fuinjutsu."

She paused with a small, "Oh." Bleeding finger in her mouth as she contemplated, she eventually concluded, "I suppose it probably is." A hand sign, a puff of smoke, and the crutches disappeared into the scroll.

Curse techniques were well-guarded secrets committed only to memory. And dangerous. Most bordered on forbidden because of the severe effects that could be placed onto the target and the fact they were exceedingly difficult to break. The academy, in all years, barely brushed the topic. The library denied him access to that section- though he doubted there was anything useful. What he knew came entirely from the Uchiha's personal collections- and only what he had access to, most barred behind the minimum achievement of genin.

This wasn't something casually stumbled upon, let alone learned, and she was quite proficient with the basics.

She handed the kunai back to him. A lingering stare at the scroll, she rolled it up and returned it to her shirt. Fingers picking at the mismatched outer layer, a dot of blood seeping into fabric, "He lied," she mumbled.

A/N: Thank you for following/favoriting and reading!

I posted a sketch of young Renri on the Ao3 version on chapter 3 for anyone curious!

Been a minute since I've let myself ramble so… I apologize that I'm all over the place when it comes to the translations/adaptations/localizations of names because I tend to pick the first to pop into my head and I've watched the anime dubbed and subbed after reading the manga. Steam, Hot Water, Yu no Kuni, I don't know which to choose. I am probably just going to call the Land of Rice Paddies 'Rice' though. Anyway, I really liked writing this, the last, and next chapters. Have to have something built up to start tearing down.