Getting Lost on the Roads of Life - a KakaSaku Story [CONCLUDED]

The Tattoo

"Dammit," Tsunade said and followed up by a string of swear words that made Kakashi's ears burn.

"You idiot," she spat out at the end, "I told you not to overdo it."

She had?

"Well, I meant to tell you," she said, but more to herself, "why are men always so irresponsible ."

She emphasized the last word, making it sound like an insult.

"Lady Tsunade," Kakashi began, "what..."

"You stay here until we know exactly what's wrong with you!" she told him, jabbing her index finger against his aching chest, making him wince. "I can give you three days max , then I need you in the field again."

Kakashi nodded. "Yes," he said with some feeling of relief.

In the field... that's where he belonged.

A series of jabs and prods from Lady Tsunade followed, probably meant to tell her what was wrong with him. Some of what she did helped against the pain, some of it made it worse.

"Whose idea was it anyway to send an old man on this kind of mission," she murmured angrily. "Oh... it was mine! Based on a certain man boasting he had 197 D-rank, 190 C-rank, 414 B-rank, 298 A-rank, 75 S-rank missions under his belt. Why did everybody else have to get married or injured or die... dammit."

More swearing followed. Old? Kakashi pressed his lips together. His lips that were not covered by his mask . This was worse than finding himself in front of her naked.

"Could you please pull up my mask," he addressed the Lady Tsunade as politely as he could, considering the pain in his head and in his body and the considerable annoyance that was beginning to rise in him.

She stopped her muttering and stared at him. "Huh? Why deprive Konoha of a face as handsome as yours?"

He glared at her. He would most certainly not explain himself.

"Alright," she sighed, bent forward a little and pulled up his mask that had rested beneath his chin. "There." And with a sigh. "As soon as you're able to stand, I will call for Yamato to start the interrogation."

Of... whom?

Half an hour later, his confusion only got several degrees bigger when he realized it was his .

When he saw the bars outside his room, when he walked down the narrow, twisting passageway, designed to confuse those without a map, full of boobytraps to stop those foolish enough to try and escape, he knew. He was in the high-security facilities of Konoha's hospital. Deeply underground. It was where Anbu brought injured elite prisoners that had failed to kill themselves before being captured - for torture and interrogation.

None of them had ever seen the light of day again.

***

The voices were annoying even though the two people in the room were speaking in hushed tones. What they were saying was even more annoying and that they thought he could not hear them when they whispered loudly like this topped it all.

"It is protocol," Tsunade said, "we cannot make an exception."

"I refuse to torture him," Yamato said with emphasis, "they already did plenty of that. Find somebody else."

"There is nobody else I can let near him!" Tsunade hissed, "you know exactly how very few battle skilled ninjas we have left after this war, it's the worst it has ever been...people need to make more children!" she huffed angrily.