Chapter 7 – More Training and Several Surprises
He frowned hard, almost glaring as he willed the shadow to move faster. The stupid leaf was going to hit the ground before he could-
"This is rare. You're up early,"
Shikamaru jerked up, his concentration breaking instantly and he could only watch in glum dismay as the shadow he had been extending shrank back to normal size. A few feet away, the leaf fluttered to the ground to join several more, all sitting innocently on the damp spring grass. Shikamaru wanted to stomp on them.
With a sigh, he flopped backwards, the cold grass under him coming as a relief to his skin while the morning dew soaked through his shirt. Tilting his head back to look at his father, he grumbled, "Tou-san, you couldn't have come a few seconds later? I almost had it."
Shikaku stared from his son to the small pile of leaves. He had woken up about an hour ago, getting ready for another day at work. It had been mere chance that he had glanced out a window and had seen his son perched on one of the Compound's hills under the six o'clock sunrise. He had done a double-take, wondering if his mind had been playing tricks on him as he had squinted against the morning light. Curious, because his son never rose before eight-thirty, he had gone out to investigate.
"You were... practicing?" He asked, mildly dumbfounded.
Shikamaru scowled before switching his gaze to the sky above. The sunrise splashed streaks of soft orange across the gradually brightening blue, and lit up the clouds themselves. "Yeah, but it's troublesome. I've decreased the time for my jutsu by a couple seconds, but that's it." His scowl grew fiercer. "I'm getting beaten by leaves."
Shikaku stayed silent for a moment longer, wondering if he was still in bed and actually dreaming. "How long have you been out here?" He asked carefully.
"Hm? Oh, about half an hour."
Shikaku breathed an inward sigh of relief. At least he had woken up before his son.
"Would've been longer, but making eggs is harder than it looks. Shoulda paid more attention when Kaa-san was teaching me."
Shikaku's jaw almost dropped open. What?"What?" He moved forward to look down at his son. "Then when did you wake up?"
Shikamaru frowned up at him. What was wrong with his dad? Was the man always like this in the morning? "Four-thirty. Stayed in bed for a while. Why?"
Shikaku looked around for a genjutsu, and then, finding none, pinched himself for good measure. God, this was real. This was surreal.
"Shikamaru," He finally asked faintly. "Why aren't you still in bed?"
Shikamaru sat up, propping one knee up to rest his right arm on. "I told you; I'm practicing. Haruki-san said my Kageshibari no Jutsu needed to get faster. You were there yesterday; you heard him."
Shikaku pinched the bridge of his nose before dropping down beside his son. "I didn't hear you cooking," He glanced sidelong at Shikamaru.
The Nara heir shrugged, dropping his arm to cross his legs. "I used one of the kitchens in the guest houses. Didn't wanna wake Kaa-san up."
They both sat in silence for several seconds as Shikaku digested this. His son, who usually didn't want to get up before noon, had gotten up before five, cooked himself a breakfast, and was now training because...
"Because Haruki said so?" Shikaku prodded.
Shikamaru frowned quizzically at him. "What? You mean breakfast? He told me I should eat more."
"Your mother and I tell you to eat more!" Shikaku pointed out indignantly.
Shikamaru scowled again. "Yeah, but you two didn't put me through a workout hard enough to almost kill me. I was exhausted yesterday, and I didn't even really feel it until after the mission was over." He raised a hand and absently studied the wrist Haruki had held yesterday, missing the silent amazement on his father's face. "I mean, you had to carry me halfway home. I couldn't even walk the entire way. But he said that eating would help so..."
He trailed off, shrugging, and Shikaku made a mental note to hunt down the red-haired Jounin and thank him. Shikamaru usually preferred sleeping to eating, and his appetite had adjusted accordingly, dwindling down to something bordering on unhealthy. He and Yoshino had often worried when Shikamaru only ate small portions during meals, and that was only when the boy could be bothered to drag himself to the dinner table, usually after his wife had yelled at him. If he had known that putting his son through strenuous exercise would get him to change, he would've done it ages ago.
"And what are you doing now?" Shikaku prompted, turning to look at the pile of leaves.
Shikamaru scratched his cheek, smudging a bit of dirt there. "Leaves are lighter, so I'm trying to catch their shadows before they hit the ground. But it's hard, and I'm already tired."
He scratched his head and then sighed before heaving himself back on his feet. "Well, whatever. I almost had it the last time." He shot his father a dark glower as he made his way over to the leaves again. "Would have too if you had walked slower or something."
Shikaku shrugged apologetically before remarking, "I would've thought you'd sleep in today. Ino managed to squeeze an extra hour out of Asuma after all."
Shikamaru frowned, scuffing at the grass around the leaves. "That was the plan, but I woke up at four-thirty and couldn't get back to sleep. Kept thinking about this stupid jutsu so I figured I'd just get up and do something about it."
Stooping down, he picked up a handful of leaves and tossed them into the air. Scrambling back to his position a few feet away, he activated his jutsu and concentrated on the dancing shadows, extending his own as fast as he could without losing control.
There! Two leaves froze in midair as his shadow snagged theirs. Quickly, he redirected his shadow to several others, grinning in spite of himself as he caught three more. The others fluttered to the ground, but he congratulated himself on paralyzing five. He had only been able to catch four ten minutes ago.
Letting his hands drop back into his lap, he watched the leaves fall back onto the ground before turning to his father. "See that? My time improved again. If I can just..."
Shikamaru trailed off as he noticed the odd expression on his father's face. "Tou-san?"
Shikaku blinked and then reached out to pluck a stray leaf out of his son's hair. "If you keep this up, I might have to invite Haruki to come live with us."
Unfortunately, he was only half-joking. The red-haired Jounin was turning out to be a very good influence on his son, plus he was a great shogi player. And he had a feeling that his wife would instantly like the redhead as well when she found out about Shikamaru's new eating habits.
"Eh," Shikamaru flopped backwards again, blowing away a strand of hair that had escaped his ponytail. "That would be troublesome. He'd probably have me out at the crack of dawn to train."
That wasn't a 'no', Shikaku snapped his gaze down, speculating on whether or not his son had realized what he had inadvertently said. Judging by the half-lidded eyes, probably not.
"Well," Shikaku rose to his feet, glancing up at the sky. He still had time to spare. "I'll help." He moved to the pile of leaves and picked up a handful, noting the way Shikamaru hurried to an upright position again without complaint.
He didn't think anything could motivate his son until after his first mission gone wrong. That was what had happened with him after all. His first botched mission had sent him home in frustrated tears and gut-clenching fear when he had been too weak to protect both Inoichi and Chouza. Both of his teammates had ended up in the hospital for three weeks, their sensei had ended up dead, and Shikaku had ended up with two knife wounds gouged into his face, a lifetime's reminder of his failure. After that, he had never skipped out on training again.
But he hadn't counted on Kazama Haruki appearing, and as Shikamaru sent out his shadow again, Shikaku thought that maybe, because of this unexpected development, he could step up his son's training earlier than he had planned.
x.X.x
Huffing as she stepped through the side door of her family's flower shop, she wiped her brow and downed the rest of the water in her bottle. She almost choked when a familiar voice sounded behind her.
"Ino, what are you doing? Where have you been?"
Coughing, Ino spun around, frowning at her father. "Otou-san, don't scare me like that!"
Inoichi held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Sorry, sorry. But where have you been? It's seven-thirty in the morning!"
Ino stretched before reaching up to tug her hair tie holding her hair in a bun. "Practicing. I can go up and down buildings with no problem now, and I'm getting faster at regulating my chakra so I won't have to stop whenever I turn a corner."
Inoichi stared, barely registering the words as he stared at his daughter's hair. "Ino, is your hair..."
"Oh, you noticed!" Ino beamed brightly at him. "I cut it a little, earlier this morning. It actually looks pretty good like this, doesn't it? And it's still long, so Sasuke-kun will still like it."
Inoichi ignored the reference to the last Uchiha and asked, somewhat bewildered, "But why did you cut it? You love your hair!" He had been doing that for a few years now, ever since his wife had reassured him - multiple times - that it was one of those crushes that would go away sooner or later; that it wasn't serious so he wouldn't have to go and have a little chat with the boy.
Ino scoffed, tossing her empty bottle in their recycling bin before rummaging through a cabinet for a clean towel. "Don't be silly, Tou-san. It's not like I shaved it all off. I just shortened and thinned it a bit. When I swung down yesterday to get past the Hokage's door, my hair almost threw me to the ground. If it hadn't been for Shikamaru and Chouji, I would've failed the mission!"
"Oh," Inoichi said rather stupidly. Just last week, he had been yelled at for suggesting that Ino trim her hair. Teenage girls; he'd never understand them. He racked his mind for something other than what the hell is going on here. "...You woke up early to train?"
His daughter shot him an annoyed look. "That's what I said, Otou-san. Mou, what's wrong with you this morning? Are you usually like this at this time?" She checked the clock on the wall. "It is kinda early. Do you need coffee?"
I need to see a doctor, Inoichi thought absently. Out loud, he voiced carefully, "Ino, you're not usually up this early. What brought this on?"
Ino shrugged, wiping her face with the towel. "I couldn't sleep. I mean I did sleep, but then I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep again." A slightly embarrassed smile. "I thought that maybe if I left it too long, I might forget what I learned yesterday, so I headed out to practice."
She turned and moved deeper into the shop, making for the stairs that would lead up to the interior of their house. Inoichi followed, still feeling somewhat lost.
"Wait, you just asked Asuma yesterday for an extra hour to sleep in. Now, instead of doing that, you get up early and go out training? When did you get up anyway?"
"Umm, around six? I didn't leave 'til six-thirty though since I had to eat breakfast first. And I told you; I couldn't sleep. I just kept thinking about that stupid door."
Inoichi dragged a hand over his eyes. It was too early for this. He had woken up at seven. Since when did his daughter find the ability to wake up earlier than he did?
"But why?" He asked, flabbergasted. "What about all that stuff you said about beauty sleep and dieting and other... stuff?" He twitched when Ino turned an arched eyebrow at him. Sometimes, he hated the fact that his daughter was so much like him.
"Well," Ino's voice was generously patient as she entered the kitchen. "Haruki-san said I needed to work on my stamina and chakra regulation. And if I really train like I did yesterday, I'll just burn away anything I don't need. And my hair's not going to look the same afterwards anyway, so I figured that I might as well be practical. A bun is much easier to work with. I can look good after training once I take a shower."
"...So all this is because Haruki gave you some advice?"
Ino shrugged again as she broke out a bowl of cereal and took a seat at the dinner table. "Well, it would be kinda embarrassing if I haven't improved at all when he comes to train us again."
Inoichi stayed silent as he sat down across from Ino. This was... very strange. Usually, his headstrong daughter didn't care about training. Granted, she had gone through the mother of all D-ranks yesterday, but Inoichi had been more afraid that Ino would be put off of training after going through the difficulty of Haruki's training exercise. Obviously, his worries were completely unfounded.
"So you've improved then?" He asked lightly.
Ino grinned at him, bouncing to her feet again. "Watch!"
A moment later, she had scurried up the side of the kitchen wall, pausing only for a few seconds before settling herself firmly on the ceiling. "Ta-da! I'm pretty fast now, aren't I? It took me at least ten seconds to switch surfaces yesterday."
Inoichi stared in shocked silence. It was true; Ino had taken quite a while every time she had wanted to step onto another surface during the D-rank. "...Haruki said he'll be coming again next week, right?"
Ino walked back down to flat ground and took a seat again. "Yup! And I can show him our flowers then."
She stopped talking, looking suddenly contemplative, and Inoichi frowned. "Something wrong?"
Ino poked at her cereal. "Not really. Just..." She paused again before glancing up at him, eyes unusually sombre. "Do you think we could ask him over for dinner next time we see him?"
Inoichi blinked, feeling rather taken aback. He hadn't been expecting that. "I don't mind, I suppose, and your mother should be alright with it, but why?"
His daughter flushed a little, quickly finishing off her cereal before moving away to put it in the sink.
"I'm not sure," She said at last, turning back to him with a thoughtful frown marring her features, so like his own when his own thoughts fell on something important. "But you know how you always tell me to try to look into a person and not just at whatever front they put up?"
Inoichi nodded. That was one of the top rules of a shinobi, and the top rule of an interrogator.
"Well, I don't always do that," Ino looked a little sheepish. "But I tried to with Haruki-san yesterday. Because whenever he smiled at me, or at Shikamaru or Chouji," She shifted a little when Inoichi abruptly leaned forward, interest piqued. He had learned, years ago, that sometimes, children saw things down to their very core far easier than adults. "His smiles always seemed a little sad. I thought that maybe he had lost friends or children of his own or something, so I tried to look a little closer; you know, like I'd glance at him when he wasn't talking to anyone; when he was just listening to us."
"And what did you see, Ino?" Inoichi asked quietly. He had done the same, and he wondered if Ino had arrived at the same conclusion. He had seen grief and sorrow, and thought, perhaps, that the red-haired Jonin had lost quite a few people close to him.
But his daughter tilted her head, blue-green eyes sad in a way that made Inoichi want to punch something to make it go away.
"Loneliness," Ino answered softly, rocking back on her heels. "He looked really lonely, Tou-chan."
Inoichi stilled, a little stunned as he thought back to Haruki's brilliant cerulean eyes. He remembered the way his daughter had gotten more affectionate near the end of the tree-walking exercise, and she had chattered on about everything and nothing throughout lunch, telling the red-haired Jonin about her everyday life. Maybe that hadn't all been just gratitude and friendliness after all.
"Sure," He nodded briskly. "I'll talk to your mother about it. When he comes by next week, invite him over for dinner."
Ino brightened immediately, leaning forward to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, Tou-san!" She danced out of the kitchen. "I'm going to take a shower now. Start on some breakfast; I'm still starved!"
Inoichi chuckled as he rose, absently putting on the kettle.
A war veteran, that was what Haruki reminded him of. And even though he had retired, he still kept tabs on the T&I Division, but he hadn't heard anything about a shinobi getting therapy from anyone there. Haruki had just returned from an eight-year-long mission as a spy. Surely at least a mental check-up was necessary. All shinobi returning from extended infiltration missions had to go through it.
He would go see the Sandaime later, Inoichi decided. Maybe Sarutobi just hadn't noticed yet. If even the Yamanaka Clan Head brought it up, the Hokage would agree, and maybe Haruki could get some help. In the meantime, he'd make sure to... insist when the redhead inevitably turned Ino's dinner invitation down.
x.X.x
One more lap. That should be enough for today. Trying to keep his breathing steady, he jogged past the main gates again, ignoring the dubious looks the guards kept throwing at him.
"This is unexpected, Chouji. Did something happen?"
Chouji started, almost tripping before catching himself and slowing to a stop to watch his father approach. "Oh, good morning, Tou-chan. I'm just running a few laps."
"I... see," Chouza squinted at his son, noting the flush of exertion in his cheeks and just managing to stop himself when he made to check for a fever. "Ah, why?"
Chouji shrugged a little, still breathing hard. "I need to work on my stamina."
"Oh," Chouza glanced at the guards standing by the main gates. Good; it wasn't just him. They looked as lost as he felt. "Is this because of what Haruki said yesterday?"
His son nodded. "Yeah, I promised I'd work on it."
"I... see," He repeated, wincing inwardly when Chouji gave him a strange look. But it was hardly Chouza's fault that he had somehow woken up in the twilight zone this morning. "Shouldn't you eat breakfast first? Exercising without food is bad for you."
Chouji brightened a little. "Oh I already ate. I made my own breakfast this morning since Kaa-chan was still asleep."
"You already..." Chouza was starting to feel slightly alarmed. "It's barely eight! When did you wake up?"
Chouji frowned in thought, glancing up at the sky for a moment. "Umm, well I woke up at around six-thirty, but it took me a while to get breakfast ready, so I didn't start doing laps until around seven-ten."
"And how many laps have you done?" Chouza asked weakly.
"Well this would be my tenth," His son shifted, looking embarrassed. "I'm kinda slow at the moment, but the compound's pretty big and I don't think I'd make it if I went any faster."
Chouza mentally traced the border of his compound, wondering if it had shrunk sometime in the night. Nine laps around the compound in less than an hour. He had no idea Chouji had it in him at this age. It seemed that his son was pretty good when he actually put the effort in.
"All this because Haruki gave you some advice?" Chouza asked incredulously.
Chouji nodded, oblivious. "I promised I'd work on my stamina. He's coming back to train us next week, remember? I have to be better by then."
Chouza had a hard time keeping his jaw off the ground. "But why? Asuma's been training you for the last two weeks and you weren't out here training so early then!"
Chouji scratched his head before swinging his arms a little. "... Yesterday's mission was really hard, Tou-chan," He admitted unexpectedly. "I was exhausted after it was over. That's never happened when Asuma-sensei trained us. I'm not saying he's bad," Chouji tacked on hastily. "I wouldn't trade Asuma-sensei for anyone, but he's never pushed us like Haruki-san did."
Chouza stared down at his son, recalling the lack of motivation in all three of the newest generation of Ino-Shika-Chou. He had expected it. It had been the same with himself and Shikaku and Inoichi. Occasionally, he still felt a twinge of guilt whenever he caught sight of the scars on Shikaku's face, reminding him of a time when he had been too weak to protect his team and had had to fully depend on his teammate to get him home alive. When he had woken up in the hospital afterwards, he had been horrified when he had seen the price Shikaku had had to pay, and even more so at seeing the deep bags under the Nara's eyes and the guilt aging his friend's teenage face. After that, he had thrown himself into his training, determined to never place such a huge burden on someone else again. He had sworn to pull his own weight from then on, and he had never broken his word since.
"You could have given up anytime yesterday," Chouza's expression turned thoughtful as he considered his son. "Why didn't you? Like you said; the mission sounded pretty hard. It's not a requirement to do the mission Haruki's way."
Chouji surprised him by frowning fiercely up at him. "I couldn't give up! Even Shikamaru didn't give up!"
"But why not?" Chouza persisted.
"Because Haruki-san never looked at me like he thought I couldn't!"
Chouza pulled back a little, blinking down at his son and feeling somewhat stunned. Chouji's fists had balled instinctively as he barrelled on.
"He showed us how to do the tree-walking exercise, and I reached the top before Ino did, and he knew I could work it out myself! And he wouldn't have given us that mission if he didn't think we could do it!" The colour in Chouji's face deepened as he paused, before continuing, "I know what other people think about me. They all think I won't be able to become a shinobi. Shikamaru and Naruto and Kiba were the only ones who didn't care. Haruki-san doesn't care either, and he gave us the mission as a challenge to see if we could meet his expectations," His head tilted up defiantly. "And we did!"
Chouza stood frozen for a long while, studying the way his son seemed to stand more firmly now, a little straighter even though he was undoubtedly tired.
He had never thought his son couldn't; had always known that one day, Chouji would become a great shinobi. But he had been content to let his son build his own confidence, guiding him with gentle reassurances that he would one day find real friends to stand beside; and Chouji had, had found a great friend in Shikaku's own son, but was that really enough? What good were friends if his son didn't have the strength to protect them when it mattered?
"Is this your last lap?" Chouza finally asked, watching his son blink in confusion at the sudden change in topic.
"Yeah. I want to get some more food and a shower before I meet Shikamaru."
"Okay," Chouza nodded, gesturing to the path in front of them. "Mind if I join you?"
His son brightened visibly, beaming up at him. "Sure, Tou-chan!"
Chouza smiled back and slowed his pace to match Chouji's as they moved forward. Maybe he could see how his son was doing with their clan techniques during his spare time. If he was good enough, Chouza could start him on something more advanced.
His mind turned to the red-haired Jonin he had finally met personally yesterday. Inoichi had been with Haruki all day, hadn't he? Chouza would locate his former teammate later and find out more about this man that had made such a huge impact on his son.
x.X.x
"Hokage-sama, with all due respect, what do you mean he's 'fine'? I know a ninja's psyche better than anyone, and I am telling you that Haruki is anything but 'fine'!"
Inoichi glared furiously at his Hokage, part of him wondering how he had gotten into a full-out, if rather one-sided argument with the Sandaime.
He had skipped out on another day of work at the flower shop and made his way to the Hokage Tower instead, planning to drop a word to the Sandaime about Haruki so Sarutobi could do something about it, and that would be that. Said plan had been thrown out the proverbial window when the Sandaime had listened patiently to his concern and then promptly shut him down with an Inoichi, Haruki-kun is fine. He does not need help.
Inoichi had blinked and thought maybe Sarutobi hadn't understood, so he had proceeded to list out the things he had seen in the red-haired Jonin, throwing in the fact that Haruki had just returned from a long infiltration mission for good measure.
But again, he had been assured, as if he didn't have eyes, that Haruki was fine, and that there was no need to worry. The entire conversation had quickly gone downhill from there, with Inoichi growing increasingly frustrated at the Hokage's adamant refusal to see sense.
Inoichi respected and admired the Sandaime, he really did, but he did not appreciate someone else thinking that they could do a better job than he could when it came to the mind; when it was obvious, even to his daughter, that there was something wrong with the redhead.
So what had started out as a pleasant request had quickly dwindled to a forced-calm, through-gritted-teeth sort of dispute, with Inoichi doing most of the teeth-gritting.
Now he stared darkly at the man in front of him, unsympathetic even when Sarutobi heaved a tired sigh.
"Inoichi," Sarutobi started again. And if he said 'fine' one more time, Inoichi would start shouting, the guards within hearing distance be damned. "There is nothing we can do-"
"I trained the T&I Division myself," Inoichi snapped in a low voice. "I can pick someone out to at least guide Haruki through the first stage of therapy; someone who knows how to be discreet if need be. Give him at least that much-"
"Inoichi," And this time, Sarutobi's voice was a mixture of warning and resignation, but not the resignation Inoichi was looking for. "We cannot help him!"
Inoichi's mouth closed with a near-silent click, staring in utter disbelief at his Hokage. Even the shinobi that had come out of the Third War so worse for wear that Inoichi had only needed to take one glimpse at the outer layer of their mind to know that they were beyond help had gone through every stage of therapy. Sarutobi had ordered it back then, even when Inoichi had insisted that it would be futile, so why wouldn't the man at least let him try now? What made Haruki different?
"Why not?" He finally grounded out tightly. "What makes him different? Why can't we help him?"
Sarutobi released another heavy sigh, eyes sombre under his hat. "Because we could never understand what he is going through. Because all the people who could ever help him right now no longer exist. I am sorry, Inoichi, but in this matter, I ask you to trust me. Cease and desist from pursuing this issue any further. You do not understand the pain and damage you could unleash should Haruki-kun be pushed in the wrong way. That is an order."
Inoichi stared hard at the aging man. That was it? Some vague response about not understanding? Since when had that ever stopped the Sandaime?
He wanted to ask, to demand a real answer, but the hard expression on Sarutobi's face told him that he would get nothing more out of the man. He had been ordered to stand down and was expected to do so.
But this wasn't right. Since when did Konoha just give up on its shinobi? Since when did the Hokage just admit defeat and leave a man on his own to deal with his own problems?
Inoichi closed his eyes. He knew, more than most, just how delicate the mind could be. But at the same time, it was a precious thing, with thoughts and memories and feelings all entangled together, and it was this very reason that had made him retire from active duty. Because no matter how many times he did it, he simply couldn't get used to tearing another human's mind apart for answers, intruding, raping, until he found what was needed. To see someone's mind suffering, especially when that someone had helped his daughter and had become something of a friend, was a kind of torture all on its own.
"Inoichi."
Inoichi's lips thinned as he opened his eyes again, effortlessly pulling on the impenetrable mask that he had perfected over his long years as an interrogator, and met his Hokage's gaze again.
"As you wish, Hokage-sama," He nodded stiffly, trying to ignore the disgust curling in his gut, at Sarutobi, at himself, at the situation in general.
Without a word, Inoichi spun on his heel and stalked out of the office, closing the door behind him with a quiet but sharp bang. He pulled up short when he turned and found a familiar figure leaning against the wall beside the office door, arms crossed and staring ahead without moving.
"Shikaku," Inoichi frowned a little when his former teammate tilted his head to give him a sidelong look, eyes grave and mouth a grim slash across his face. The Jonin Commander looked every bit his rank at the moment. Inoichi glanced around, spotting the two guards that Shikaku had most likely sent away when he had heard him talking to the Sandaime rounding a corner. Wordlessly, they moved away from the Hokage's office, heading back downstairs in heavy silence.
Neither said a word until they reached Shikaku's office, and Inoichi closed the door behind them as they walked inside.
Glaring moodily out the window as Shikaku stationed himself at the edge of his desk, arms folding together once more, Inoichi snapped, "That's bullshit. Haruki's still walking and talking. As far as I'm concerned, that's all the requirement a shinobi needs to start healing."
Shikaku was much calmer as he watched the blond pace and rant in his office. He had been on his way to the Hokage's office to pick up the day's paperwork when he had caught Haruki's name and Inoichi's voice, the subtle undertone of anger clear only to himself and Chouza. Instinctively, he had sent away the two guards posted at the door, telling them to return in five minutes. Then he had settled himself beside the doorway and listened in on the conversation.
"Shikamaru was up at the crack of dawn this morning," Shikaku interrupted abruptly, stopping Inoichi in mid-tirade. The best way to head Inoichi off before his anger became a full-blown paroxysm was to change the topic to something lighter but still somewhat related. "He was training."
Inoichi blinked at him before sighing, "You too, huh? Ino was up early as well. Went out to polish up her chakra control."
He stopped, shooting Shikaku a half-hearted look of accusation. "Stop trying to distract me. The Sandaime's wrong."
"You're not really supposed to say that," Shikaku remarked.
"Unless he's wrong," Inoichi pointed out. "And in this case, he is."
Shikaku sighed. "You are so troublesome. Ever thought that maybe the Sandaime might have a good reason to think that Haruki can't be helped?"
"So you agree with him?" Inoichi scowled angrily. "You think we should just leave Haruki-"
"Hey, I didn't say that," Shikaku's voice came out uncharacteristically sharp and it silenced Inoichi immediately. "Haruki got my son to start eating properly again. Yoshino and I have been trying to do that for years, and he succeeded in a day. If anything, I owe him. But I think you and I both know that there's something bigger going on here, and whatever it is, Haruki's right in the middle of it. Before we do anything else, we should find out more about this whole situation first."
They stared at each other for a moment, only stirring when a knock at the door sounded.
"Come in," Shikaku called out, wondering if he should at least look like he was working. He would have to make another trip up to the Hokage's office for his paperwork later.
"Inoichi, Shikaku, good morning," Chouza walked in, raising an eyebrow when he sensed the tension in the air. "Or not so good?"
"Oh close the door," Inoichi grumbled, taking a seat at the couch on one side of the office. "It's been one hell of a morning."
"I have to agree," Chouza shut the door behind him, eyes focusing on Inoichi. "Chouji was up at six-thirty this morning, and he ran ten laps around our entire compound in about an hour. Stamina training apparently. I thought I was dreaming."
"Join the club," Shikaku snorted. "Shikamaru was the same, and he got up even earlier than that. And Inoichi's girl was practicing chakra control."
"So what's wrong with you two then?" Chouza eyed them quizzically. "I was surprised, but not in a bad way."
Shikaku and Inoichi exchanged a look before the Nara Head recounted the conversation with the Hokage. By the time he finished, Chouza was frowning, glancing at Inoichi from time to time.
"I don't know much about Haruki; definitely not as much as you two," Chouza finally spoke. "But even if it was just some random shinobi, shouldn't the Sandaime at least book them a check-up appointment at the hospital? That's usually a requirement for all of us."
"Exactly," Inoichi leapt to his feet again, ignoring Shikaku's warning look. "But I already checked, before I went to see Sandaime-sama, just to make sure Haruki didn't already have an upcoming appointment. He doesn't. And I know the Hokage told us that he's destroyed all of Haruki's records, but how exactly does that account for the fact that no one knows him? I asked some of the older medics at the hospital to see if Haruki had dropped by and didn't bother signing in, but none of them even knew who I was talking about. They've never heard of him before."
"That's a good point, actually," Chouza gestured behind him at the door. "I've heard the other Jounin and Chuunin talking about Haruki. Some of them have seen him walking around and want to know who he is. They've been waiting for him to come to the station for days now, but he hasn't stopped by even once." He frowned again. "Not very social, that one, except with our kids."
Shikaku stayed silent as he watched his two friends debate back and forth. His mind called up the seal that had been briefly activated when Haruki had entered the Nara Compound but said nothing of this. He had, indirectly, given his word that he wouldn't say anything about it, and he wasn't about to break it. Sighing quietly, he recalled his son's words the day before, after he had come back from Ichiraku's. Haruki had apologized, and hadn't seemed to have any problems interacting with Shikamaru yesterday.
"Oi, Shikaku," Inoichi's voice pulled him from his thoughts. "What do we do about all this?"
Shikaku shrugged, straightening as he let his arms drop back to his sides. "We keep doing what we're already doing. Talk to him when we see him, ask our kids about him. But leave him alone, Inoichi." He raised a hand when Inoichi opened his mouth to protest. "I meant about therapy. Feel free to spend time with him, but I don't think Haruki would want anyone even bringing up the suggestion of someone poking around in his head. In fact I get the feeling we would have a rather volatile violent reaction on your hands."
He paused, smiling grimly as his two former teammates exchanged glances. "I think we can all agree that he's hiding something, and it looks like the Hokage is in on it. If Sandaime-sama is going out of his way to override even your request, Inoichi, just to help him, then whatever this secret is, it's big and it's important. We don't want to mess with something like that until we know what it's about."
"Makes sense," Chouza approved first. "We keep this to ourselves. ...And from the rest of the Council." He added. "There are certain members who don't need to know."
Shikaku inclined his head. They all knew the very real threat hiding in the darkness of Konoha.
"Fine, Shikaku," Inoichi relented grudgingly. "But are we really going to just cool our heels and wait for, what? For the Hokage to bring us into the loop, if he ever does that?"
Shikaku smirked. "Of course not. Give me a little time. One more shogi game with our mystery Jounin should provide me with enough information to figure all this out."
Inoichi snorted and rolled his eyes while Chouza chuckled.
Shikaku glanced out the window as both accepted the plan. He would figure it out. An idea was already starting to form in his mind, especially after considering the Demonic Chakra Sensory Seal in his house. Exactly what he was going to do about it afterwards was the real question.
x.X.x
Three days after his training session with Team 10, Haruki had spent a majority of that time with either the Hokage planing and working on fuinjutsu or team 7 training. He even started them on group spars with him promising each a special lesson if they improved enough. Currently he was sitting in his favorite ramen stand, reclining against the counter and staring idly up at the sky outside Ichiraku's as Kakashi sped through a meal beside him. The Copy-nin had become something of a constant in Haruki's life, appearing without warning whenever the mood suited him. For the most part, Haruki didn't mind; Kakashi knew how to stay quiet, and usually just read his Icha Icha as he accompanied Haruki around town.
"Oi, aren't you going to finish that?"
Haruki glanced at his companion and then at his half-finished ramen. God, had his appetite really diminished so much? He hadn't really noticed when he was living on the battlefield, subsisting on ration packs and adrenaline.
"No," He answered curtly, throwing some change on the counter as he rose to his feet. "I'm finished."
He didn't expect the firm hand on his shoulder pushing him back onto his seat.
"Finish it," Kakashi's visible eye narrowed at him. "You can't tell Sakura to eat more and not do the same yourself."
Haruki frowned at the Copy-nin before grudgingly picking up his chopsticks again. It didn't matter what time he was in; he knew better than to argue with Hatake Kakashi unless it was a matter of life and death.
Forcing down the noodles, Haruki thought back to the last three days. Kakashi hadn't asked questions when he had taken to walking circles around the village when he joined Haruki in his free time, even though Haruki was sure that the Copy-nin had drawn his own conclusions. He had been avoiding several people for a while now, and said people might find him if he stayed in one place for too long.
Shikaku had almost cornered him several times already. Haruki knew a Jounin Commander didn't have that many reports to pass to different Jounin while they were off duty, but the Nara Clan Head had started to scour the village with a stack of folders tucked under one arm. Haruki had witnessed the man personally demanding a late mission report from a mildly alarmed Genma only a few hours ago.
If Shikaku was looking for him, then Haruki had no doubt that Inoichi was also, at the very least, keeping an eye out for him as well, so he had avoided the Yamanaka Flower Shop like the plague. The former interrogator would probably detain him until he managed to contact Shikaku.
And then, of course, there was Anko, whom Haruki had been ducking and dodging from since the irritating woman had recovered from chakra depletion. He had no idea how she did it; there was no way she could sense his chakra signature, and yet she always managed to pop up when he least expected it. He supposed he should count himself lucky that Sarutobi hadn't given out his address yet.
"Anko's coming this way," Kakashi suddenly remarked, and Haruki stiffened, tuning back into reality and quickly pinpointing the kunoichi's chakra signature. Speak of the devil. With an inaudible curse, Haruki leapt up, gave his nearly-finished ramen a cursory glance, paid for the meal, before ducking out of the ramen stand, Kakashi a step behind him.
"What exactly did you do to piss Anko off?" Kakashi asked idly as they hurried away from Ichiraku's.
Haruki shot the Copy-nin a deadpan look. The man had had a good laugh when he had realized who Haruki was trying to avoid most of all, but he had helped once or twice by delaying her when she got too close so he couldn't complain.
"Nothing," He muttered. "Trust me; she's not angry with me. Or if she is, it'll be because she found out that I've been avoiding her."
Kakashi looked contemplative as he glanced behind them to make sure they weren't being followed. "Did you sleep with her?"
Haruki almost tripped over his feet as spluttered a little at the Copy-nin's question. "What? No! What the hell gave you that idea?"
Kakashi shrugged, eye-smiling at him in a way that made Haruki want to punch him. "Maa, she's been stalking you for the past three days. Only three things can keep Anko that interested in someone; you've pissed her off so much that she can't get over it without doing some serious injury to your person; good sex, and she wants another round; or new sweets, in which case she'd go to Kurenai."
Haruki looked horrified. "I swear you just called her a whore. She's not that bad! And she likes to train!"
Kakashi nodded in agreement. "But she doesn't have to take an interest in someone when she's training. And liking good sex doesn't necessarily make someone a whore. Just shows good taste."
Haruki felt his face warm. Damn Kakashi. He had no problem reading the crap his godfather doled out, and even editing it was fine, but he usually drew the line when other people's sexual habits were brought up, especially for someone whom he had come to see as an older sister in his own time.
"So if you didn't piss her off and it's not sex," Kakashi continued languidly. "Why is she chasing you?"
Haruki scowled. "Because I did her a small favour and she's decided that talking about it is the best course of action right now."
Kakashi eyed the redhead thoughtfully. "Must be quite a favor. Why don't you just let her buy you some dango or something and get it over with?"
Haruki huffed irritably. "Because she'll ask questions, and I'll most likely not wanna answer them."
"Hmm," Kakashi nodded without comment as they sped down another street.
This was one of the reasons why Haruki didn't mind having the Copy-nin as a tagalong. The man simply took everything in stride without batting an eye.
Of course, that didn't mean he wasn't nosy about other issues.
"Mind if I ask you a question then?"
Haruki glanced warily at Jounin now eye-smiling disarmingly at him. "What?"
"When did you become ANBU?"
It took everything Haruki had not to let his sudden apprehension surface on his face as he racked his memories of the last few days. What did Kakashi mean? He hadn't said anything about being ANBU.
"Maa," Kakashi's right hand reached out to brush briefly over his left shoulder. "If you don't want people to find out, you should keep that hidden at all times."
Haruki stopped walking, and Kakashi slowed to a halt a few feet in front of him, body half-turning to face him. "When-"
The Copy-nin's dark eye, no longer half-lidded and lazy, studied him even as he answered, "Day before yesterday, when you joined us for training again. You weren't wearing your coat and you got your shirt wet after you went to get Naruto and Sasuke out of the river. You took it off to dry it, and you only had a sleeveless underneath." He shrugged carelessly. "It was only for a few minutes; the kids didn't see. But..."
He trailed off and Haruki cursed violently inside his head. Goddamnit, what kind of amateur mistake was that? He had completely forgotten about his ANBU tattoo, and of course, Kakashi would see it because the man was always looking underneath the underneath, quite literally in this case, even when he looked like he was doing the complete opposite most of the time.
"I won't say anything," Kakashi looked stern all of a sudden, as if Haruki's silence was questioning the Copy-nin's integrity as a friend. "I'm just curious. I know next to nothing about you."
Haruki started walking again, slower this time as Kakashi fell into step beside him once more. He knew the Copy-nin wouldn't leave all the holes in his life alone for long. It was in the man's character to puzzle out anything that piqued his interest.
But could he afford to let Kakashi know some of his real past right now? Then again, he already knew about Haruki being in ANBU; the Copy-nin would have figured out that the edited version of his life so far was absolute crap.
Absently, Haruki reached up to rub his shoulder. ANBU tattoos were normally placed on the right shoulder, and almost all shinobi had it drawn near the elbow so that arm guards or bandages up the arms or even just elbow warmers could cover it more easily if they ever needed to go undercover and henge wasn't an option. But he, being the stupid idiot that he was, had decided to copy a certain ex-ANBU and had asked Tsunade to place it high on his left shoulder for the whole damn world to see. He had thought it a good idea at the time though; Kakashi had been the first ANBU, albeit former, that he had ever met personally.
And of course, now he was paying for it. He would have remember to add a small glamor seal around it to hide it. He sighed and resigned himself to answering a few questions. At least he could hold the Copy-nin off for a while.
"Sixteen," He finally replied, glancing to his left to meet Kakashi's interested gaze. "But the Hokage had me work solo. And after a few years there was an incident, and I had to leave. Hence the long mission."
That was true enough; Tsunade had put him on a few solo missions. Of course, they had mostly been on the battlefield, but his squad had technically been recalled to the village while he had stayed and flitted between the other teams, helping out as best he could. So; solo.
Next to him, Kakashi nodded in acceptance and asked nothing more. The Copy-nin seemed content with the one truth, however simple, that the redhead had given him. It made Haruki feel just the slightest bit guilty but he quickly shoved that sentiment away. It wasn't like he was lying; merely settling for half-truths.
"The Jonin Station's up ahead," Kakashi pointed out after a few minutes. "Want to stop by?"
Haruki waved a hand, already turning to a different direction. "You go. I don't really know anyone there."
Yet again, he found a hand on his shoulder that pushed him firmly towards the station.
"Sorry," Kakashi said cheerfully, not sounding sorry at all. "I didn't mean you actually had a choice. There are several people who've all seen you around and, even worse, have seen me walking around with you. They're curiosity got the better of them and they wouldn't stop bothering me yesterday until I agreed I'd bring you in today."
Haruki spluttered indignantly, trying to tug himself away from the Copy-nin's grip. "You don't have to walk around with me! Go hang out with Asuma or Kurenai or something! I'm sure Gai-san will be happy to see you."
The mask Kakashi wore didn't do anything to hide the grimace that surfaced on his face. "Don't even joke about that," He ordered with a shudder. "That's just disturbing. I spend enough time with Gai on missions. Anymore and he'll drive me over the edge."
Haruki rolled his eyes, trying to dig in his heels. "Then you should've found Asuma or Kurenai. You don't mind their company, do you?"
"I don't mind your company," Kakashi pointed out bluntly. "And I definitely don't mind spending my free time walking around town reading Icha Icha. But a quick introduction will get the others off my back, so that's what I'm doing."
Before Haruki could protest any further, the Copy-nin had shoved him into the Headquarters, almost ploughing him straight into a startled Kotetsu. Catching himself just in time and dodging around the Chuunin instead, Haruki straightened and shot a glare at Kakashi. He twitched when the man simply eye-smiled at him and pulled out his book.
With an irritated sigh, Haruki turned back to Kotetsu. "Sorry 'bout that. He's an asshole."
Kotetsu released a startled laugh, glancing at the Jounin behind the redhead. "No worries," He blinked curiously at the man in front of him before recalling the latest gossip around the station. "Hey, you're that Jonin nobody knows- ow!"
Izumo came up behind his partner, ignoring the scowl being directed at him as Kotetsu rubbed his head and focusing on the newcomer instead. "Ignore him; he's a bit slow when it comes to manners. I'm Izumo. The idiot's Kotetsu."
Haruki smiled a little, hiding his discomfort at seeing the younger versions of two old friends. He had gotten to know many of the older generation of shinobi during the war. Kotetsu and Izumo, along with Genma, Raidou, and Yugao, had made up Squad 14, and their tent had been stationed next to Haruki's.
"I'm Haruki," He offered. "Nice to meet you." He glanced back sharply, suppressing his annoyance when he found Kakashi deeply immersed in his book.
"Hey," He swatted at the orange book. "If you're gonna drag me here, at least have the decency to introduce me to whomever it is you wanted to introduce me to."
Kakashi heaved a long-suffering sigh (as if Haruki was the one who had insisted on coming, the bastard) and lowered his book to look around. "Maa, these were two of them, actually." He nodded at them. "Kotetsu, Izumo."
The two Chuunin stared dubiously at the lazy hand Kakashi waved in their direction. Last time they checked, the Copy-nin had gotten away before any of them had managed to force him to bring the red-haired Jounin around. What was the man trying to pull?
Noting the suspicious looks he was receiving from his two colleagues, Kakashi quickly ushered Haruki further inside the lounge. He hadn't exactly been planning to bring the redhead here; it had been more of a spur-of-the-moment thing. But after spending some time every day with Haruki, Kakashi had quickly realized that the other Jounin didn't interact with anyone.
Oh, he talked to Kakashi of course. He didn't have much of a choice there what with the Copy-nin accompanying him around town and all, and it wasn't as if Haruki was rude. If someone talked to him, Haruki always replied. And the redhead obviously talked to his students, helping him train them by giving advice and tips and holding conversations with them during their breaks.
But that really was it. Kakashi had watched Haruki walk around the village, blue gaze darting here and there, soaking everything in with a hungry sort of desperation as if it was the last time he would ever see any of it, but never actually stopping to chat with anyone. Didn't the redhead have any friends he wanted to talk to after eight years apart? He was sure Haruki was from Konoha though; the moving-here-from-another-country idea had been dismissed after noting how Haruki never got lost no matter where he went.
But so far, Kakashi hadn't seen anyone who recognized the former ANBU. After finding out about Haruki's previous rank, he had immediately gone to the ANBU Headquarters and wheedled the roster out of the Second-in-Command. The man still owed him a favor and Kakashi didn't need to see his face to identify his confusion when the Copy-nin used it to get his hands on the register for a few minutes. To his great dissatisfaction, even after scanning all the names twice, including the MIAs and KIAs, he had still been unable to find Haruki amongst them.
Beyond frustrated, Kakashi had reluctantly considered that the Hokage had had them destroyed in case Haruki had been caught, though something about that just didn't sit right with him.
So he had gone back to spending his afternoons with the red-haired Jonin, surprised at how content he was with simply walking around with one of his books and occasionally running away from the people Haruki was avoiding like the plague. Which was another mystery Kakashi had to solve; Haruki really was something else to give Nara Shikaku enough cause to comb the village for three days straight in an attempt to find him. Kakashi found it even more amazing that their Commander was currently failing.
Now, Kakashi was by no means a sociable person. He went out for drinks with Genma, Asuma, Kurenai, and at times Gai, if Kakashi was unfortunate enough on occasion, but he usually sat to the side with his book, half-listening to his friends' easy chatter and perfectly content to fade into the background. He'd join in sometimes, and his friends always seemed glad to include him in their conversations, but sooner or later, he'd return to his Icha Icha and they'd leave him to it.
It was different with Haruki. With him, Kakashi usually found himself starting the conversations. And when they weren't talking, Haruki had never voiced a complaint as they walked through the streets of Konoha with Kakashi's nose in his adult literature. Most of his friends, even Genma, had, at one point or another, complained about his reading habit, either embarrassed or annoyed or both, but the redhead barely seemed to notice, as if he was used to hanging around someone who publicly flaunted a hobby that would make most people blush.
And while Kakashi was half-pleased, half-sulky that he had finally found someone who was immune to his quirks, he didn't think it was all that healthy for Haruki to simply cut himself off from the rest of the population. So, when he had seen the Jonin Headquarters, he had decided to use his colleagues as an excuse to at least introduce Haruki to the other shinobi their age. If the redhead didn't have friends, then Kakashi would simply have to make sure he got new ones.
Once upon a time though, he never thought he would see the day when he would be voluntarily pushing someone else to make friends.
"Yo, Genma," Kakashi called out, and the senbon-wielder turned, the bored look on his face fading as his eyes flickered between them. "You wanted to find out who this is. Haruki, Genma. Genma, Haruki."
The redhead nodded politely. "Nice to meet you."
Genma eyed the Jonin curiously for a moment, chewing on his senbon. "You sure you're just a Jonin?" He finally asked, face blank. "Word has it that our Commander's been running all over town looking for you. Didn't believe it myself 'til he showed up at my front door demanding my report and asking if I had seen you."
Haruki blinked, feeling a little taken aback at the question. Genma was usually more laidback than this. Was he annoyed that...? Haruki stiffened and then relaxed when he caught a hint of a smile tilting up one corner of the man's mouth.
"Loosen up," Genma waved a hand at the far end of the lounge where two other shinobi were seated. "Come join us. Everyone's asking about you. We've never seen Shikaku-sama so active when there's nothing going on."
A minute later, Haruki was settled between Genma and Kakashi, Kotetsu and Izumo on the right across from him and Yugao and Gekkou Hayate on the left. He sat stiffly in place, not quite comfortable being surrounded on all sides. There was no immediate way out if he had to run.
You're not in a war anymore, he chastised himself firmly. You're among friends. Or at least colleagues.
So, instead, Haruki tried to relax and concentrated on the other two shinobi as they introduced themselves. Unflinching, loyal Yugao, whom Haruki had worked beside on more than one occasion, was smiling contentedly in a way that he had never seen before. His gaze drifted to the man sitting next to her and knew him to be the reason.
Haruki had never known Gekkou Hayate; only that he was the proctor during the final rounds of the Chunin Exams and that he had been killed trying to take down Baki. He had also found out, later on, that the man had been skilled at kenjutsu but a chronic illness had held him back from his full potential.
He frowned a little as Hayate coughed, rasping and harsh. In his time, Sakura would eventually develop a cure for the lung infection, something even Tsunade had been unable to do, but that had been years from now, and judging by Hayate's pallid features, he didn't have years. Sakura had once explained the process to Haruki along with a couple of other miracle cures for previously incurable conditions, Sakura really was brilliant, but he had never been very good at listening to scientific lectures and had inevitably fallen asleep. Still, Kurama had heard the same thing. The fox could tell him later and Haruki would send it on to the medics at the hospital. He would be able to save this man, in more ways than one, and Yugao would never lose that smile again.
"So why is the Commander looking for you?" Yugao asked, leaning forward. The red-haired Jounin seemed nice enough, if a bit tense-looking. Perhaps some casual conversation would put him more at ease.
"Ah," Haruki glanced at Kakashi, who was absolutely no help as he slouched against the couch, his porn out in the open again. "He probably wants to play shogi with me again."
They all looked surprised. "Just a shogi game?" Kotetsu asked, puzzled. "You must be pretty good."
Haruki tried not to scowl at that, and then dropped the attempt and scowled anyway when Kakashi spoke up from behind his book, "He's excellent. Shikaku-sama wants a rematch after he lost last time."
Feeling a tick develop over one eye, Haruki reached out and swiped the Copy-nin's book in retaliation.
"Oi, give that back!" Kakashi narrowed his eye in warning as he jolted upright.
Haruki scoffed and tucked the book away inside his coat. "No. You can have it back later. If you're going to talk, then you're not allowed to read."
The other shinobi watched the exchange with wide eyes and dropped jaws. No one. NO ONE! got their hands on Kakashi's precious books. The Copy-nin was usually too quick, and most people were smart enough not to try it anyway in case they incurred the man's wrath.
They stared as Kakashi glowered for a moment longer before slumping back against the seat, posture suspiciously sulky. But there was no sudden spike of killer intent and the Copy-nin made no attempt to take his book back from the red-haired Jonin. Who was this man?
Genma hastily closed his mouth before his senbon slipped out. "Kakashi, if I had known that taking that book away from you was all it took for you to pay attention, I would've done it ages ago."
The Copy-nin shot him a sour look. "Why would I want to pay attention to you and your latest sexual escapades?"
Genma looked mildly offended but didn't have the chance to defend himself when Yuugao kicked him. "Oh be quiet, you two. Haruki doesn't need to hear your crap." She turned a warm smile on the redhead. "Well now I know who to go to when Kakashi's being more of a pervert than usual."
Haruki released a soft laugh at that. "Glad to be of service. Don't think I can do much about him being late all the time though."
They shared grins as they glanced at the Copy-nin. Kakashi had recovered his usual lazy-eyed look that still somehow managed to convey his disdain.
Hayate stifled another cough before enquiring, "But it's true? You beat Shikaku-sama in a game of shogi?"
Haruki sighed but nodded. At the rate this news was being revealed, he was honestly surprised that it wasn't all over the village by now.
Izumo whistled. "Impressive. I think Genma played him once. The Commander completely destroyed him in fifteen minutes."
Genma shot him a good-natured scowl. "I didn't see you lining up to try. Besides, he said he'd give us an extra day off if one of us beat him." He turned to Haruki to explain, "It was the day after New Year's and the party we had the night before was crazy. Someone spiked the alcohol so that painkillers wouldn't work the next day. Everyone came in with a hangover and no one wanted to work. You should've seen this place. Most people just stumbled in and went right back to sleep on the couches. Or the floor; wherever there was space. Then Shikaku-sama came in looking ridiculously not hungover. Guess all that alcohol he usually drinks on a daily basis is good for something."
Yuugao laughed as the others grinned in reminiscence. "That was a hellish day. Even us ANBU just stood by the walls feeling sick. Anyway, he took one look at us and broke out a shogi board. That sadist enjoyed every minute of it. I mean, there we were, elite shinobi cueing up one after another across from Shikaku-sama trying to stave off the jackhammers in our heads while attempting to beat the greatest shogi player in existence at his own game. I don't know what we were thinking."
"Guess that day off didn't happen," Haruki remarked with a grin.
Kotetsu grumbled. "Hell no. Izumo and I were back on gate duty within the hour. It was torture."
Izumo rolled his eyes, annoyance flashing across his face. "What are you talking about? You fell asleep the moment we sat down. I was the only one working!"at this Kotetsu waved a dismissive hand in the air. "We're partners, Zumo. We share the pain."
Izumo snorted but didn't have time to shoot back a retort as the door to the Headquarters slammed open.
"WHERE. IS. HE! There is no way I can miss someone for three days straight, Kurenai! I'm no Kakashi, but I'm not that bad at tracking! I swear he's-"
Anko abruptly stopped talking as she found seven pairs of eyes focused on her. And one of those belonged to the very person she had been searching for for the last three days.
"You!" She barked, striding forward and only dimly aware of Kurenai following close behind. "The one time I'm not looking for you and I find you right away! Where have you been?"
Haruki heaved an inward sigh as he offered a weak smile in the kunoichi's direction, suddenly finding himself the center of attention again. "Hello, Anko. I've been around. How are you?"
"How am-!" Anko stalked forward, ignoring Kotetsu and Izumo even as they shrank away from her and stationing herself directly in front of the redhead. "How do you think I am? Thanks to you I'm now free and a full fledged Jonin! I could believe you actually did it. The fact that you have summons and learned to use senjutsu chakra from them is impressive enough," Haruki immediately cursed in his head as he saw everyone's eyes widen and posture stiffen in interest and tried to cut her off before she said anything else. "Anko."
"But to use that and your fuinjutsu to wrench the damn thing off," "Anko!" Haruki more forcefully said as dots were being connected in others minds.
"It's just unbelievable. Aren't you supposed to checkup on your patients afterwards? And after removing my-"
"ANKO!" Haruki shouted trying to interrupt, stiffening completely in alarm.
"-Cursed Seal, at least have the decency to stick around so I can repay you!"
Dead silence met her words and Haruki closed his eyes and and pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to shrink away willing the whole situation away. Needless to say, it didn't work.
"You call removing Orochimaru's Cursed Seal a 'small favour'?" Kakashi couldn't quite hide the mix of incredulity and amazement that seeped into his voice as he watched the redhead's shoulders slump in defeat. Why did finding things out about Haruki always have to be a battle? Most people would be boasting from the rooftops if they managed something of this magnitude.
'Well' Haruki thought. 'At least they seemed to have ignore my senjutsu summoning bomb.' Or so he thought. Everyone else was reeling from that peice of information and simply filed it away to ask about later as it was obvious Haruki wasn't ready to discuss his techniques and skills. But damn, how strong was this guy? Who was he?
"Anko, I told you to be careful about who you say that around," Kurenai cut in sharply, stepping up beside the irate kunoichi who hadn't seemed to notice the tense atmosphere.
"Why do I have to do that?" Anko snapped back irritably. "Let Orochimaru find out. I'll gut him when he comes to investigate."
"That's not the point," Kurenai chided, glancing with some concern at the fatigue aging the redhead's face all of a sudden. "You should talk about it with Haruki first."
For his part, Haruki was suddenly fighting an onslaught of pain and nausea. It felt like a headache, but even Anko wouldn't have caused something like this. 'Kurama, what the hell's going on?'
'It's started. I was afraid of this.'
'What's started? What's going on?'
'You're fighting a paradox, Kit, against the laws of the reality itself. There are bound to be repercussions.'
'Repercussions? I was fine a second ago! There's no way any consequences could just hit me like this!"
Kurama growled crossly, pacing in Haruki's mindscape. 'What do you think I've been doing all this time? My power has been holding back the backlash to a degree but like a dam it builds up and has to spill over. Consider it a warning to change or be changed or face the consequences. Think of it as a sickness. You humans are full of those, aren't you?'
'Well if it's a sickness, then what are the symptoms? God, I feel like I'm going to throw up!'
'Headaches apparently, for one, like right now. And based on how I can feel it effecting you body. You'll probably start coughing up blood later as the paradox continues. Time is trying to expel you and lurch you into the void. The side effect is that the strain of resisting effects your physical state as well.'
'The hell? And how exactly am I going to fight Madara if I belong in a damn hospital?'
'I'm not finished, brat. These episodes won't happen often. Only once in a while. Probably at least. Outwardly, even if a medic does a scan of your vitals, nothing will look wrong other than the obvious. Your power level will be the same as usual too. I said to think of this as a sickness, but you're not really sick. These symptoms are just warnings.'
'Warnings? Of me dying?'
'You're still thinking of this as an illness. It's not. You, we, are not going to die. We will disappear. There's a difference. Our existence in this timeline will be erased because we do not belong here. Because there's another version of you running around who could still be like you, so, time paradox. Understand? Time must and will close the loop the moment it reaches the point we jumped from so long as it thinks there are two of you. From what I can tell the seal will only good the loop open and stable as long as it thinks you are using it. In other words, if it thinks you and this Uzumaki Naruto are the same it stays functional and supported by hour power until it collapses at our jumping point. The only way of abound the back lash is for it to think you are someone else. Make sense.'
'I... guess. But I'll still be alright otherwise? There'll just be pain from time to time?'
'Yes, I suppose you could say that. Though the episodes will get progressively worse as your time here shortens.'
'That's fine. As long as I have enough strength to finish what I have to do. ...I think my headache's passing. Shit, I've been quiet too long. We'll talk more later. You really should have told me all this earlier.'
"-ko, you've finally done it. Yelled someone to death. That's a first, even for you."
"Shut up! He's not dead! And it's not like you didn't say anything, Hatake!"
"I didn't yell at him; I was only commenting on something he said earlier."
"Would both of you shut up? Neither of you are helping!"
"Shouldn't we lay him down or something? Move over, Izumo."
"Not like that, Kotetsu! Jeez, you suck at taking care of sick people."
"Well it's a good thing I'm not a medic-nin then, isn't it? Damn, he's light. Doesn't he eat anything?"
"Put him down. He doesn't like being touched too much."
"Calm down, Kakashi. He's just moving him to a more comfortable position."
"So now what? Do we dump water on him?"
"No Anko. And you men aren't helping matters by crowding him. Kurenai, help me out here."
A hand brushed against his forehead and Haruki instinctively flinched away, trying to fight his way back to the outside world. He hadn't even felt himself lose consciousness. With a near-inaudible groan, he forced his eyes open, blinking as his sight cleared and he found himself staring up at a worried-looking Yugao. Haruki smiled wistfully. The kunoichi had always been a bit of a mother hen. She had definitely taken care of her squad and friends as fiercely as a mother would her children.
"Haruki?" Kurenai appeared in his line of sight, a bottle of water in hand. "Can you sit up?"
Haruki nodded tightly, mind racing as he tried to think up a good excuse for passing out. He accepted the water silently, remembering not to check for poison and thanking her with a nod as he avoided their gazes.
"Sorry," He finally offered, capping the bottle. "I didn't mean to do that."
Anko made a skeptical sound at the back of her throat. "I doubt anyone would want to faint on purpose," She was still scowling fiercely but her voice was carefully lowered, and she had backed up a few paces from where Haruki was currently sitting. "I thought you said there were no side effects."
"There aren't what just happened has nothing to do with removing the seal." Haruki said while sighing. Why did no one believe him when it came to fuinjutsu?
"Are you alright?" Kakashi finally shuffled forward, pushing past Kurenai to crouch down in front of Haruki. "Do you need to lie down some more?"
Haruki shook his head, mentally noting that his headache was gone and the nausea had receded. "I'm fine. Just felt a bit light-headed." He smiled reassuringly. "Guess I should've eaten more ramen earlier."
Kakashi's visible eye narrowed, obviously not buying it, but said no more, rising to his full height as Haruki stood up.
"I'm alright now," Haruki turned to Anko. "And if you want to repay me, don't spread the fact that your Cursed Seal's gone any further. Please."
Anko stared back for a long moment, studying the redhead carefully. "Fine," She consented at last, before glaring around the room. "Pretend you didn't hear me," She ordered.
Everyone sweatdropped but nodded without reluctance. Anko turned back to Haruki, frowning at him. "Why though? Orochimaru will find out eventually."
"Yes," Haruki agreed, allowing his expression to darken. "And it'll be one hell of a surprise for him then. The only thing that works better for a seal master than time to prepare is surprise. Orochimaru is one of the Sannin. I'm confident in my skills but having him take a personal interest in me because he's threatened and or feels challenged, or worse interested in me is something I'd rather put off."
He glanced around before deciding to expand a little. They all looked far too curious for anyone's good. "You all know about Hyuga Hizashi's return?"
There was a round of general nods. The news had spread like wildfire amongst the shinobi and most had already seen the Hyuga Clan Head's brother walking around at one point or another.
"Then you should know that there will probably be a meeting between the Hokage and the Raikage sometime soon," Haruki paused, considering his words. "And after what happened the last time Kumo was invited into Konoha, the Sandaime won't allow them entry again, but neither will he want to meet on their home turf. The meeting will probably take place on neutral ground, in either Yu no Kuni or Shimo no Kuni. During that time, the Hokage will be out of the village, along with a few of Konoha's top shinobi. If Orochimaru were to find out something like this, he could take that opportunity to strike, since he may feel threatened that his Cursed Seals won't work long-term anymore. They were after all one of the ways he's tried to gain immortality."
Haruki stopped, glancing between his colleagues as they all stared back at him with something bordering on thoughtful surprise. This was of course nonsense. Orochimaru is bold not stupid. He wasn't goinbg to risk fighting both Ei and the old man together, and knowing him he would be far more curious than angry at just anko's removal. He honestly didn't mind the snake's interest peaking as much as the fact that it would also mean he would work on his now proven less than perfect curse seal design for when he marks Sasuke. That is what worried Haruki, but they didn't need to know that.
"I can see why you beat Shikaku-sama," Genma finally acknowledged, twirling his senbon in one hand. "I haven't even thought about the meeting yet, but you're right. If this gets out, that snake will become a problem."
"We'll keep it to ourselves," Hayate agreed before peering at Haruki with open concern. "But are you sure you're alright? Kotetsu said you were really light," He was cut off with a few rough coughs. "And people don't just pass out if they skip a meal."
"Aa, I'm fine. There's really no need to worry. And I've always been light, ever since I was a kid." Haruki smiled in a hopefully convincing manner. Why were they so worried anyway? They had just met him not an hour ago.
"If you're sure," Kotetsu was scrutinizing him closely as if staring hard enough might give him the real reason why the redhead was so light. Haruki wasn't about to indulge him and he quickly turned back Anko.
"You feel alright though?" His gaze flickered to her neck. "No sluggishness, no difficulty accessing or using your chakra, no sudden bouts of dizziness...?"
Anko shook her head ruefully. "I feel perfectly fine. Lighter, actually," She brought a hand to her face, clenching and unclenching it thoughtfully. "My chakra feels like my own for the first time since that bastard bit me."
Haruki nodded. "Good, you should be fine then. You can now step up your training to slaughter the son of a bitch"
At this Anko just grinned a sadistic smile and nodded. In the silence that followed, Anko suddenly looked awkward, glancing almost nervously at Kurenai. When the woman gave her a pointed look, the violet-haired kunoichi flushed a little but turned back and stared squarely into Haruki's eyes.
"Thanks," Anko said gruffly. "I didn't think anyone could get it off me. I appreciate it. If ya ever need anything, just ask."
It was with some effort that Haruki held back a fond smile. In his time, Anko had become something of an older sister to him. They had been similar in many ways; stubborn and short-tempered and hyperactive in public, somewhat quieter alone.
"You're welcome," Haruki smiled warmly at her, not noticing the startled looks around him or the fact that this action made him look much younger, putting a brighter light in his eyes as his features lit up. "Thanks for trusting me."
The red that rose in Anko's cheeks was quickly covered up with a fierce scowl. "Whatever, pretty boy. I always pay my debts."
Before Haruki could say anything else, Anko quickly motioned towards Kurenai. "I hear you've met. Kurenai wants to ask you something."
Haruki blinked, surprised, but obligingly turned to face the black-haired kunoichi.
Kurenai shifted, looking suddenly embarrassed. "Well, actually, I have a request of sorts. I talked to Asuma a few days ago and he told me about your training session with his team-"
"Wait," Kotetsu interrupted, taking a step forward. "You're the one who made those Genin walk sideways all the way to the Hokage's office?" He grinned at Haruki's nod. "Man, I wish I had been there. Must've been fun to watch. And those Genin must be something else."
Haruki nodded. "They're the next generation of Ino-Shika-Chou. They'll surpass their fathers one day."
"Confident, aren't you?" Izumo eyed him curiously. "One of them's our Commander and the other two are nothing to laugh about. Their kids will have to work hard."
Haruki just grinned back, relaxed and sure. "They're going to be great. I guarantee it."
Izumo exchanged a glance with Kotetsu, mouth quirking up involuntarily. Well, when put like that, it was hard doubt the redhead's words. Then again, there was something about Haruki that made what he said believable, even if there was no proof.
Haruki glanced back at Kurenai, already guessing what her request was. "Would you like me to join your team for a day?"
Kurenai nodded with a smile. "If you're not too busy. How about tomorrow?"
Haruki hmm'd thoughtfully. He didn't have much to do tomorrow just meet Sarutobi and finalize the plans for proposing to the council the following day, and he had already trained with Team 7 for the last three days. He glanced over at Kakashi who shrugged and eye-smiled his agreement. "Sure, I'm free. When should I meet you?"
The Genjutsu Mistress brightened. "We usually start practice at seven so just come to Training Grounds 16 around that time."
Haruki nodded. "I'll be there."
A chirp from a nearby window distracted them and they turned to see one of the village's messenger birds perched on the sill. The bird spread its wings when it saw that it had been noticed and flew across the room to land on Haruki's shoulder. Its beak opened and a distinctive trill sounded in the lounge; the tune that summoned a Jonin to the Hokage's office.
"Ah," Haruki straightened, nodding slightly at the bird on his shoulder. Message delivered, the bird took off again, disappearing as quickly as it had come. "It seems that the Sandaime wants to see me. I should get going."
Before he could take one step for the door, Yugao quickly moved forward, frowning sternly at him. "After your meeting with the Sandaime, remember to go eat something. It's not healthy to skip meals."
Haruki rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. The ramen wasn't exactly a meal; it was more of a late afternoon snack. But he doubted that Yugao wanted to hear that. "Yes, ma'am. I'll get dinner afterwards."
"I'll make sure of it," Kakashi spoke up from beside him, lazy-eyed as ever as he turned to Haruki. "I'll bring my team over again."
Haruki immediately scowled and opened his mouth to protest but Kakashi beat him to it and compromised, "We'll even bring the groceries, and I'll cook."
Haruki's eyes immediately narrowed. "You can't cook."
Kakashi looked indignant. "You've never tried my cooking. How would you know?"
A lifetime ago, you almost burned down my kitchen. "You just don't seem the type," Haruki retorted. "You can bring the groceries, but Naruto and I will cook."
Kakashi looked almost sullen for a moment. "You trust a kid's cooking skills more than mine?"
Haruki waved a hand in the air. "Naruto lives alone. He has to be able to cook."
Turning back to the others who all looked somewhat dumbfounded at their exchange, Haruki nodded at them. "I'll be going now. It was nice meeting you all. Sorry for the trouble earlier."
Several reassurances and see-you-arounds later, Haruki had disappeared from the station, coat flapping behind him.
Seconds after he was gone, Kakashi was patting himself down, looking mildly panicked. "He didn't give me back my book!"
Kotetsu and Izumo guffawed while Genma and Hayate grinned. A laughing Yugao quickly explained to the two newcomers, and Anko and Kurenai quickly joined in at the horrified expression in Kakashi's visible eye.
"Serves you right, Hatake!" Anko cackled. "I hope Red doesn't give it back. It'll teach you a lesson about whipping that thing out in public."
Kakashi huffed and poofed away without waiting to say goodbye. He would get the book back tonight, and maybe bring over a few copies of his other Icha Icha as well and wave them around a bit in front of the kids. That would teach Haruki not to steal his precious literature.