Chapter CX

Obscure Threat

"Come in," Lady Tsunade says.

I open the door and enter in her office with Naruto. Seeing us, she gasps in surprise; she didn't expect to see us, especially so late. After all, the night covers the Hidden Leaf Village with its veil of darkness. Since the full moon incident, I prefer to cooperate and stay in her good graces. A guillotine hangs above my neck and that of my student. In order to protect us both, I must take control of the situation and prevent it from getting any worse. I've caused a lot of damage; happy that I didn't have to clean up my mess. I'm exempt from consequences only because they don't want to see me wandering around the streets right now… Maa, that's what I think.

"Forgive us for the late hour," I apologize flatly. "Given the recent events, I prefer to go out at night to avoid running into people."

"I see that Shikamaru warned you…"

I nod.

"I assume you're not here for treatment?" she asks, examining us with her eyes.

Her indirect remark about our injuries prompts the sapphire-eyed boy to hide behind me; at that, he brandishes his hands in front of his neck, his gaze pinned to the ground. These scratches that he has unfortunately inflicted on himself make him blush with shame.

"Of course," I sigh. "Naruto had a nightmare, and I took too long to intervene. Maa, we'll heal quickly."

A ball of stress forms in my windpipe, imposing itself like a ban on speaking. Because of this full-moon night, the Konoha Council is making a decision about the two of us. I haven't been told anything, but I'm not fooled; it was to be expected, alas… The possibility of ending up imprisoned is becoming a reality in leaps and bounds—as a result, my heart races every time I think about it.

A cold sweat beads on my forehead. "Has a decision been made...?" I ask cautiously.

Any incident on Naruto's part will result in him being caged. I fear that this incident on my part—however unintentional—will give the council reason to render a final verdict. The secret of the mark on my neck is no more. It has been glowing all night; everyone knows of its existence. I'm a pseudo-chakra devourer now. I will suffer the same fate as Naruto. I will be locked up tight, under the surveillance of the Root. I know their unorthodox methods. Needless to say, I won't come out of this unscathed… If I ever get out at all, that is.

"Not yet," Lady Tsunade answers. "Kakashi, you two are in a very delicate situation. The council is at an impasse. I'm doing my best to get you out of this mess. They know about your mark and your new … 'nature' of chakra devourer. Besides, many shinobi harass me to lock you up."

My heart twists in agony, is crushed in a deadly vice. Pessimism takes over me. I feel like my time is running out, and there's nothing I can do to stop it all. My fate and that of Naruto are in the hands of the Hokage. I feel so helpless… "I see…" I mumble, clenching my fists.

Very gently, Naruto grabs my hand with his. He worries about me, although he doesn't know what fate is reserved for us if the decision to put us in a cell is made. His innocence and ignorance protect him. In order not to make him more anxious than he already is, I offer him a smile while ruffling his golden mane.

"The fact that we can examine this darkness in you works in our favour. If you make yourself forgotten, the situation will calm down with time. The ideal would be to send you on a mission, far from the village … but this group will take advantage of it to attack you. Without chakra, you're defenceless and Naruto can easily be neutralized. The village is infiltrated. We still don't know how they have access to our confidential information… Therefore, it's not a possibility for the moment."

"I understand. Maa, if everyone is convinced that I'm like Naruto, a nocturnal creature, so be it. I'll embrace the night with open arms. Hopefully, I'll fade into oblivion. I'll be back training tonight as well."

I pause before sighing. "That said… I didn't just come for that. This darkness inside me is capable of communicating," I reveal. A strange feeling assails me. I don't know why, but it's like an invisible force was making me weigh my words carefully … choose what I want to say … no, what I can say; as if my words were being carefully inspected to be approved.

"It can talk?!" she says.

"I managed to get in touch with it," I continue, nodding. "It's receptive, maybe cooperative with me. By establishing contact again, I'll be able to learn more and discover what it is."

"Did you learn anything?"

"I didn't have time to talk to it…" I glance at Naruto, still hiding behind me. "His nightmare didn't give me the chance. However… I learned that it knows about our little project. Maybe we should forget about it…"

Lady Tsunade's face darkens. "What makes you think this is a bad idea?" she asks cautiously, her brow furrowed.

"I have a bad feeling. It implied that this could have serious repercussions on me. Of course, I still have to find out why…"

"I see," she breathes before getting up and looking out the window. "Kakashi. In any case, as long as we don't know what we're dealing with, it's not an option. The urgent thing is to uncover the secrets of this darkness and make you forget the days to come. A decision should be made by the end of the week."

I swallow.

A little less than a week…

It's far too little time to think about a last resort solution if the verdict I dread the most is chosen. I feel trapped. Deserting isn't an option; fleeing the village isn't either. I am a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village, and I intend to remain so until my last breath. Even if I were to leave the village with Naruto, where would I go? The ANBU will be after me, in addition to this infamous organization. As a bonus, I will also have the Akatsuki on my back. Without chakra, I'm useless, a joke, a poor excuse for a ninja. And if Naruto ever regains his memory? He will never forgive me for making him a rogue ninja. He will have to give up his dream of becoming Hokage. I can't do this to him… His amnesia is temporary; he will remember who he is one day or another.

My hands are tied…

I can't do anything…

I am helpless…

"Sakura will see you tomorrow to take samples of your blood," she finishes. "Be up at dawn."

"Understood."

All I can do for now is have faith in Lady Tsunade and keep my fingers crossed.

- XxX -

Opening the door, Kakashi came face to face with Shikamaru. While following him, Naruto bumped into Kakashi, who didn't move an inch like an unshakeable oak. The two shinobi looked at each other for long seconds.

It was … awkward.

"Ka-Kakashi-sensei, I didn't expect to see you here so late."

"Hmm, I could say the same," Kakashi retorted, lingering on the briefcase the teenager was holding with suspicion.

Kakashi stared at the file for an interminable time, forcing the youngster to hold his breath. Shikamaru didn't know why, but he couldn't meet Kakashi's sharp pupil, ready to stab him cruelly. He suppressed a start when Kakashi fixed his gaze on him. He had to return the eye contact out of politeness—something he immediately regretted.

Shikamaru felt like he was face to face with this darkness, which didn't trust him at all and suspected something. Darkness emanated from Kakashi; he was rotting the air with his poison. Unconsciously, Shikamaru held his breath so as not to inhale the corrupted and stinking oxygen filled with a deadly disease; just one small breath, and he would succumb to it on the spot…

"Maa, don't pay attention to us. We're done," Kakashi exclaimed with a smile.

The heavy and toxic atmosphere evaporated with a snap of the fingers, forcing the young shinobi into silence. What he had just experienced left him speechless; he wondered if he had hallucinated.

"I've decided to follow your advice and lay low," he continued in a jovial tone. "I'm gonna get into Naruto's nighttime lifestyle and resume training. If anyone is looking for me, I'll be at training ground number3 for the next few days."

Faced with Shikamaru's strange silence, Kakashi arched an eyebrow. "Shikamaru, are you okay?"

"Yea, yea. Sorry. I was lost in thought," he lied, laughing nervously. "I'll pass the memo on to the others…"

"Hmm… You should take some time off," Kakashi suggested worriedly. "You look like you're about to crack under the pressure."

Shikamaru shrugged, sighing. Maybe he needed some time off. When was the last time he could rest? He had no idea. Since the beginning of this whole story, he had not slackened once. For his comrade, his close friend prisoner of amnesia and a condition perhaps impossible to cure, he was ready to do anything to help him and get him out of his demons.

Speaking of the devil, Naruto got himself between him and Kakashi. Sketching a sincere smile, the blond held out his fist. This gesture was that of goodbye. Despite the recent events during which the feral boy seemed to have closed himself off from contact with others, Naruto showed interest in him, as if none of this had happened.

Shikamaru's heart filled with hope and light. He could trust him again. "See you soon, Naruto," he smiled, returning the fist bump.

Naruto let out silent laughter as Kakashi waved goodbye to the teenager before leaving, his hands in his pockets, with the blond on his heels.

Shikamaru was assailed by a thousand and one questions. What just happened? He was one hundred percent convinced that he had been in front of this entity that had taken Kakashi's place once again… However, as soon as Kakashi started speaking with his usual air, he was no longer sure of anything. If he held Kakashi's gaze, he felt observed by this darkness, this thing that he had confronted on that full-moon night. The Copy Ninja didn't seem possessed; he was himself.

The only logical explanation Shikamaru could believe was that this thing was hiding behind the pupil of a black blacker than the eternal abyss. At that, his theory that it mixed with Kakashi pulled at his mind, tormented him. He slowly believed in his own madness. If this was really the case, how much time was left before Kakashi succumbed to this entity without even realizing it? A shiver of fear slid down his spine while he turned his attention back to his file that he was about to give to the Hokage.

How had this thing guessed that it was about Kakashi?

Shikamaru broke out into a cold sweat. A very bad feeling took hold of him. This entity was not to be taken lightly; it was showing itself to be much more intelligent than expected. It wasn't just a stupid beast blindly following its instincts. The darkness in Kakashi worried him far more than Naruto's. Sure, it was aggressive and visibly enraged, but it was predictable and fiercely locked away by the force of his will.

The young shinobi took a breath to give himself courage. He was going to face Tsunade's wrath, because he had kept many things from her. With Sakura's help, he had worked on this report; a long sleepless night spent making sure he didn't forget anything. The time had come; it was the best thing to do for Naruto's sake and Kakashi's.

Shikamaru entered the office. Tsunade was staring at the dark sky, arms crossed. She was clearly deep in thought.

"Lord Hokage," Shikamaru said.

Tsunade turned her head. She saw the briefcase he was holding and easily guessed that it was about Kakashi. "Shikamaru," she whispered.

- XxX -

Shikamaru anxiously waited for Tsunade to finish reading his report. His hands were in his pockets, in one of which was the lighter of the late Asuma, his sensei who had succumbed in combat. He opened and closed it constantly, betraying his stress and his inability to relax with a much-awaited cigarette. He could hardly stay still.

Godaime's face darkened further as she went back. She lingered on one detail. "His photosensitivity began well before he had this mark," she noted aloud.

"We don't know when he developed a vulnerability to light," Shikamaru specified. "It began around this week of convalescence, after the incident of the first full moon."

"I thought this sudden sensitivity to light was a consequence of this mark," Tsunade grumbled between her teeth. "That, his prolonged fasting to the point of being skin and bones, and these feral behaviours… Kakashi must have been contaminated in some way from being stuck to Naruto. Everything suggests that he developed symptoms of a chakra devourer, and those symptoms worsened when he was marked."

"I think those symptoms are mental," Shikamaru said cautiously. "Kakashi-sensei still needs to eat solid food, he's not blinded by light, and he can't see in the dark since he relies on a lamp to read."

"Indeed. We observed him carefully during his hospitalization. He's dazzled if he's suddenly exposed to light. He prefers to stay in the dark and uses a light source only when necessary. As soon as he started eating again, he was much better. However, the blood tests showed nothing abnormal, before and after this mark on his neck…"

While everything made sense by blaming the black mark for these strange changes, she found herself faced with other unanswered questions. She trusted Shikamaru, her disciple Sakura. There was no reason to believe that they were simply lying to her in order to cause harm.

The source of the contamination couldn't be in the blood. The abnormality in Kakashi's blood had only manifested after being marked while he had been displaying these symptoms before that. She supposed that—maybe—this darkness had started to occupy his body when the symptoms appeared … but that was far-fetched. It didn't make sense. This ominous thing would have manifested itself long before. Furthermore, why would Naruto have given life to this darkness in Kakashi when he himself was in constant mental combat against his own? It went against the blond's will to protect him. It was inconceivable to believe that it was voluntary. Although the mark made him a pseudo-chakra devourer, she couldn't explain the strange appearance of these symptoms before he was marked. Consequently, she discarded this far-fetched theory in a corner of her mind.

"Everything suggests that he was slowly turning into a chakra devourer… I assume you hid this information to protect Naruto, right?"

Shamefully, Shikamaru avoided the Hokage's stern gaze. "Sakura wanted to tell you. I was the one who insisted that she keep quiet. I'm the only one responsible in this matter. I will take the consequences as I should. She isn't to be blamed for it…"

"Anyway," she sighed. "The past is the past. The immediate is to demystify this darkness in Kakashi and put it out of harm's way. With what you saw during this full moon… It's only a matter of time before it becomes a threat and takes Kakashi's place…"

Even if this darkness seemed docile, Tsunade was convinced that it was hiding nefarious intentions, waiting for the best moment to put its plan into action. Their time to neutralize this thing was running out.

"This entity is endowed with great intelligence and should not be taken lightly," Shikamaru warned. "It's capable of speaking."

"I know. Kakashi just told me."

The teenager gasped in surprise. "He came for that?" he wondered, incredulous.

"Sort of. He managed to talk to it… However, even if Kakashi decided to cooperate, he can no longer be trusted…" Tsunade continued to skim over the report with her hawk-like eyes. The details of the full moon event sadly confirmed her speculations.

"That thing has power over him since he hasn't told me everything," she continued. "He chose his words carefully and took his time answering. That darkness prevents him from telling information it doesn't want us to know."

"Did you meet its gaze?" he asked.

"I met that thing's gaze," she confirmed. "Kakashi's gaze was suddenly so icy that I had frostbite."

"That darkness sometimes manifests itself in his gaze and connects with his vision to spy on us."

"I noticed it… It started to manifest itself during his hospitalization. Little did we know that it was the eyes of this thing that was looking at us with coldness and distrust."

"That works in our favour. When it connects to his eyes, it betrays its presence, even if Kakashi-sensei doesn't seem to realize it."

They agreed on that point. What worried them most was Kakashi's ignorance and naivety. While Naruto struggled to push his own away, he did nothing, letting it haunt his eyes. They feared that he would start to trust that darkness and let his guard down. Maybe that was that thing's intentions? To gain his trust and then stab him in the back?

"Since we examined his mark in depth, it manifests itself much more often now that we are aware of its existence," Tsunade added, finishing reading the copious report. "Clearly, it didn't want to be discovered. I think its existence would still be unknown if Kakashi hadn't been bewitched by the full moon."

Shikamaru nodded. Since that full moon, this entity manifested itself every time he saw the Copy Ninja.

"What's more," she continued. "This darkness imposes its will, its thoughts on him… During the session, it convinced him that he couldn't trust us. It also managed to convince him that the harm done to him will have serious repercussions on him too."

"Re-Really?"

"Yes. And I fear that Kakashi won't cooperate if we put our plan into action. The longer we wait, the more this thing will put ideas in his head, and this idiot will convince himself that these are his own thoughts."

A brief silence, cold sweats and shared worries.

"We haven't figured out how to seal it yet, since we don't know what it is or its energy signature… Kakashi could tell us, but this thing will force him into silence…"

"I might have an idea," Shikamaru suggested, thus arousing Tsunade's interest. "This darkness is open to bargaining if I offer it something that interests it. I can't ask it for a way to neutralize it … but it might agree to reveal to us what it is."

"You think this entity would be interested in something?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I have an idea," he affirmed with a confident smile. "But I'd need some financial resources to acquire what I need."

"It could simply falsify its answer."

"I don't think so. It's sure of itself, a little too much for my taste. That kind of personality doesn't advocate lying."

Tsunade was not convinced that it would work. This entity was intelligent; it could fool Shikamaru in some way. Nevertheless, discovering the nature of its existence was an emergency.

Was it an entity of pure chakra like a tailed beast?

Was it an entity that could be extracted or exorcised?

Was it an entity that acted as a second personality?

Without this vital information, the sealing method could put Kakashi's life in danger or lead to catastrophic consequences on his psyche and body. It was also necessary to know if the mark itself had to be sealed or not to reach this thing. With Naruto unstable and unpredictable, they didn't have the luxury of playing randomly and betting everything on a roll of the dice that could fail. Kakashi was essential to keep the blond under control until he regained his memory and therefore, his true personality.

She had to assess Kakashi's psychological evolution to ensure that this thing didn't steal his place. It could very well use Naruto as a weapon given the hold the Copy Ninja had on him. The possibility of this darkness awakening Naruto's made her blood run cold. This entity was acting; it was pretending to be harmless to lower their guard, including Kakashi's. It wasn't just a wild beast devoid of reasoning; it could think; it was as intelligent as a human being.

"Fine. I trust you Shikamaru. We'll keep our fingers crossed that you can get some information out of this thing before it's too late. Be careful. We don't know what it's capable of."

Hellow! A few short words from the author!

I hope this story continues to pique your interest! This chapter closes the sixth book

The seventh book, called "Repercussion," will start in two or three weeks!

Thank you for your valuable comments that give me a boost of motivation