Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Underneath The Leaves	By : ChaCha92 Category: Naruto AU/AR > Het - Male/Female Views: 4798 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Don't own anything in the Naruto universe. Some dude in Japan does. Make no money on my stories either.

Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
The howling winds and biting cold of the raging blizzard fiercely batters the world outside the isolated cave. Despite the external chaos, the roar and brutal temperatures are barely registered by the sharp senses of the occupants sleeping inside the cozy chamber nestled beneath the cave floor.
Two hours after Kakashi returned to the cave bearing an unconscious Naruto, she began shivering violently, rousing both Kakashi and Sasuke from their sleep. At Kakashi’s suggestion they shifted her onto her side and nestled closer to her. Once Sasuke nestled into her back he promptly drifted back to sleep despite his randomly perverted thoughts. Kakashi had shifted to face away and shuffled his back into her front as close as possible. Before drifting back to sleep, he twisted to check on her in the dim light, noting the puffiness was gone and her coloring improving.
An hour later Naruto long stopped shivering. She awakens and struggles to open her eyes. Not giving up easily, it takes several exhausting attempts until she finally opens them, searching the darkened chamber in confusion. Her vision is significantly clouded and unfocused, disorienting her further and blinking repeatedly fails to clear them.
Her muddled senses recognize she’s cocooned between two warm, soft, lumpy objects. What they are, she has no clue. Her brain refuses to function enough to identify them. All she knows is the urgent need to hide further.
Feeling Naruto squirming against his back, Kakashi stirs awake. He becomes fully alert when he feels a sharp elbow bump against his ass. He certainly doesn’t miss Sasuke’s grunt of pain.
“What the hell?” Sasuke mutters in a strained voice.
Before he can even turn around, Kakashi feels Naruto burrow deep under the blankets to curl up by their feet. Sasuke reaches over to raise the light level. Shuffling around onto his other side to face inward, he lifts the edge of the covers and peers into the darkness.
“What are you doing, Naruto?” he asks the shadows.
Slim fingers snatch the edge of the blankets from his grasp to yank the opening closed.
“Hiding,” her voice slurs out.
Arching a brow, Kakashi lifts the blankets again.
“Why are you hiding and from whom?”
“From the bad guys who want to snatch me away again,” her slurred voice answers.
Kakashi throws a quick glance at Sasuke. The irritable, younger man mirrors his confused expression. Before either can ask her, her voice drifts out again.
“Don’t tell them where I am.”
Kakashi frowns at the fearful tone in her voice and decides on a different tactic.
“Naruto, why are you hiding? We can help you if we know who is chasing you and why.”
“Quit being a dobe and get your ass out of there!” Sasuke snaps in frustration when the silence stretches out too long for his patience.
That works.
“Fuck off teme! Just ‘cause you’re a stuck up prick who thinks he’s better than everyone doesn’t mean you can boss me around! I’m not the teacher’s pet like you and no one gives a shit if I disappear again.” Naruto pauses before quietly adding, “’Cept for Iruka-sensei. So just shut up!” she snarls.
Sasuke and Kakashi blink at each other in shock. Silently they ask each other why is talking about the academy. Kakashi already notices she’s calling Iruka ‘sensei’ again when she hasn’t called him that in years.
“Favorite or not,” Kakashi tries again. “If someone is threatening you, I need to know more to keep you safe.”
Again the silence stretches out.
“Who are you?”
The two men stare at each other in alarm. Sasuke takes a deep breath.
“You know Kakashi, Naruto,” he scolds.
“No I don’t, teme,” is her immediate reply. “Is he a new sensei? ‘Cause I know all the academy sensei. I don’t recognize him.”
Sasuke’s black eyes flick up to Kakashi’s face.
“Why is she talking about the academy?” Sasuke asks in a hushed tone, seeing realization dawning on the older man’s face.
“Hypothermia victims sometimes hallucinate,” he quietly explains. “Naruto is relieving her time at the academy.” Turning his attention back to Naruto, he raises his voice. “I’m a sensei, Naruto. I need to know why you feel threatened.”
“A couple months ago a couple of ANBU stopped by my place, saying they had a summons,” her muffled voice floats out reluctantly. “I thought it was ‘cause I locked Suzume-sensei and Hiro-sensei in a maintenance closet and wrote on the door ‘make out paradise,’ ‘do not disturb,’ ‘porno palace,’ and ‘love closet.’”
Kakashi can’t resist chuckling at the image, which causes the hesitation to leave her voice when she continues.
“It was late when they showed up, but that’s nothing new. The Old Man doesn’t always call me in right away. But I knew something was up ‘cause we weren’t heading to the Tower. I asked where we were going, but they didn’t answer. Something was definitely up. So I ran. Last thing I remember was getting yanked back by my hair.”
Kakashi glances over at Sasuke in time to see the realization in his eyes. Noticing Kakashi, Sasuke whispers out an explanation.
“During my first year at the academy I remember everyone discussing Naruto’s disappearance. She usually only ditched for a day or two, but she was missing for a month. We all knew about it because we were asked when we last saw her. I never knew what happened, but remember Iruka was worried out of his mind.”
Kakashi nods as Naruto speaks again.
“I woke up in a big, concrete room. There was a metal table and chair with a light bulb over it. It was really dark and shadowy. I got up and tried finding the door when someone told me to sit in the chair. I told him to stick it in his ear ‘cause I wasn’t doing anything until I knew what the hell was going on. He said sit down. When I flipped him the bird where I thought he was, something hit me hard in the face and I was on the floor. I looked up at one of the fake ANBU standing over me.”
“Why do you call him ‘fake?’” Sasuke interrupts.
“’Cause he wasn’t wearing the usual animal mask all ANBU wear,” Naruto snaps derisively, as if it should’ve been obvious. “It was different. I was stupid for not noticing when they showed up. Been around them enough to know. Anyways, the fake ANBU warned me to listen to him. I kept my ass on the floor and turned my back to him. Next thing I know he yanks me by my hair and shoves into the chair. The bastard held me down,” she spits out sullenly. “That’s when I saw another man come closer to the light. I still couldn’t really see him. He said things would go easier if I follow directions. They didn’t want to hurt me ‘cause I’m too important for the protection of Konoha.”
“I’m like, yeah, whatever,” Naruto scoffs. “I’m nothing, everyone says so. He said it wasn’t true ‘cause I held something very special and that if it got out it’d hurt a lot of people. I don’t know what the fuck he was talking about. I just knew I’d been captured by some nut who escaped the looney bin.”
Sasuke can’t help snorting until he noticed Kakashi’s grim expression. Before he can ask what’s wrong Naruto continues.
“The shadow man then told me all about what I am and why I didn’t know about it before,” she adds quietly.
“Was he talking about the Kyuubi?” Sasuke asks without thinking.
Naruto finally pokes her head out of the blankets to gape at him in shocked horror.
“How the hell d’you know? No one’s suppose to know or say anything ‘bout it!”
Kakashi notes a glazed quality to her eyes and that they’re dilated. He mentally reasons she must be having trouble seeing them clearly.
“Sasuke just found out to help protect you, Naruto,” he reasons. “He’s sworn an oath not to say anything.”
Blue eyes narrow suspiciously at Sasuke.
“Are you sure?” she asks without averting her eyes.
“Yes, Naruto, I am. Please continue,” he urges.
Relaxing a little with a dramatic sigh, Naruto props the side of her head against her fist instead of burrowing back under the covers.
“Shadow man told me all about the Kyuubi, which is a really horrible way to find out why everyone hated me for so long. But, I’m kinda glad he did. I wondered about it since forever. Anyways, he said the best way to stop the hatred is to become a useful asset to the village. That I have a lot of potential and could become the most powerful shinobi this village has ever seen. Had no clue what he meant ‘cause I’m gonna be the greatest shinobi ever. When I become Hokage, no one will hate me anymore, they’ll have to respect me! Or I’ll turn them over to Ibiki-san,” Naruto declares blithely.
She pointedly ignores Sasuke’s eye roll and continues.
“Shadow man said it wasn’t enough. Said some crap about putting everyone in danger by fooling around and ‘bout wars and do I want to responsible for all the innocent people dying ‘cause I wasn’t strong enough. Said I don’t have to become Hokage to stop the hatred ‘cause I’d become so strong everyone would be too afraid to do anything to me. He then bragged about training me and that I’d be greater than any Hokage ever.”
“Won’t lie, I thought about Shadow man’s offer,” she quietly admits. “I asked if he trained the guys who grabbed me. He said yeah. I looked at the jerk holding me then told Shadow man to fuck off. I don’t want to be some stupid thug bully like the losers who kidnapped me. Fear won’t stop people from hating me and I want their respect as their defender by becoming Hokage. Thought I shut Shadow man up ‘cause he didn’t say nothing until he just started chuckling. It was really creepy,” she whispers with a shudder. “Then he said he didn’t ask if I wanted to train with him and Sarutobi has been far too lenient, whatever that means. Shadow man then said the Old Man allowed me to pretend to be human when I’m a beast that has to be tamed and trained.”
“That’s when things got worse,” Naruto continues softly, her gaze lowering. “A couple of new fakes joined the first fake ANBU and stuffed me into a wooden crate. I couldn’t even sit up or lay down. It was really small. Shadow man said until I behave I’ll stay in the cage until I die. Then he and the fakes left me alone.”
With a distant look in her eyes, Naruto falls silent while Kakashi and Sasuke absorb her story. Kakashi’s face is inscrutable as usual, but Sasuke is appalled. Scrutinizing the redhead, he wonders how in the hell she stayed so happily goofy after that. He remembers when she finally returned to school. She blew it off as an extended illness from eating some bad ramen. However, even he noticed she seemed more subdued.
“That’s why I’m hiding from the bad guys,” Naruto concludes.
“Aren’t you going to finish your story, Naruto?” Kakashi asks.
Naruto glances at him with an unfathomable look in her eye, but suddenly wary.
“There’s not much else.”
“Obviously there’s more to it than that, Naruto. If you’re going to tell a story, you should tell all of it,” he reasons.
“You’re just as bad as Iruka-sensei,” she complains with a put upon sigh and a dramatic eye roll. “They kept me in the cage all the time. I did try escaping, but couldn’t. ‘Sides, they’d hit hard when I tried. Shadow man finally came back, asking if I was going to behave. Uh-huh, sure. Like that was happening. I flipped him off again. That got me another punch and a trip back to the cage.”
“Things got even worse,” Naruto adds solemnly. “Sometimes they’d let me out to go to the bathroom, but now I had to go in a bucket in front of one of the fakes. Damn pervert,” she spits. “And it got really hard to hold ‘cause they’d take their sweet-ass time coming to let me out. They also gave me less food and water. Shadow man showed up again, asking if I was going to behave. I mooned him before getting beaten up by the fakes.”
“Then they ignored when I yelled to go to the bathroom and ended up making a mess in my pants. I was still wearing the same clothes from when they grabbed me, so they were really dirty. I got a bad rash and had to take them off and they took them away. Didn’t help the room was cold. They also started skipping meals and giving me spoiled food. They barely gave me any water to drink, so I couldn’t even clean myself. I really was starting to feel like crap. I wanted to throw up all the time and always had a headache.”
Naruto pauses to take a deep, shuddering breath.
“Shadow man came back. He said nothing for the longest time and I could feel him staring,” she shivers. “I was really scared. Finally he said I was looking like an animal then asked if I was going to listen. I got pissed and flipped him off with both hands. One of the fakes broke my fingers before beating me again.”
Naruto pauses again. She closes her eyes briefly and sighs deeply. Like a stone carving, Kakashi is completely still and unreadable. Sasuke is already working out a plan to hunt down these motherfuckers and kill them very slowly, feeling they’re on par with Orochimaru in regards to their evilness.
“I had to get out,” she states quietly. “I’d be damned if they got what they wanted, but I wasn’t stupid. If they didn’t get what they wanted, they’d kill me. I was feeling shittier every day and they were probably going to stop feeding me and giving me water.”
“After Shadow man’s last visit, I was staring at the bars and noticed a couple looked kinda dry and cracked. Thought I could crash to the floor and get out. So I rocked and bounced around forever ‘til I finally ended up on the floor. It didn’t completely break apart like, but I could kick out a couple of the bars and slip out.”
“I must’ve been in the cage for a long time ‘cause I had a hard time standing and walking. Didn’t help I felt like puking and was dizzy. No one came in ‘cause of the noise, so I looked around for a weapon or clothes, but there was nothing. I checked the door and it was unlocked. Getting out of the building was really hard ‘cause the lights were so bright. Had to squint and feel my way around the walls.”
“Somehow I got outside. Sounds crazy, but it was like something was telling me which way to go, which hallway to turn down and stuff. I dunno,” Naruto muses, shaking her head in confusion. “It wasn’t really a voice, but I know it wasn’t a lucky guess either. Anyways, wherever that place was, it was in the middle of nowhere. It was night, but the same feeling took me to village. I ran as fast as I could and hid whenever I heard a noise in case it was one of the fakes. I kept hiding when I got back into town, but it was getting harder to keep moving. I was really feeling sick.”
“Don’t even remember how I got there, but I found Iruka-sensei’s house. Weird thing was I didn’t know where he lived,” she shrugs. “It’s weirder to show up on your sensei’s doorstep naked, but I needed help. Thought he was going to drop from a heart attack ‘cause he looked so pale when he saw me. Was sure he’d yell at me for not having any clothes on, but he hugged me and took me to the hospital.”
“Got stuck in there for a damn week,” Naruto pouts sullenly, causing both men to smirk. “This time I was guarded by real ANBU until I felt better. I tried telling Jiji everything, but couldn’t remember a lots, so one of the ANBU did something called a Time Reversal jutsu. I still couldn’t tell him what Shadow man looked like. Afterwards I went back to the academy and told everyone I just got really sick, ‘cause Jiji said not to tell anyone.”
When Naruto finishes the distant roar of the storm and their own breathing fills the ensuing silence.
“No one will hurt you or kidnap you while we’re around, Naruto,” Kakashi finally speaks to assure her.
She looks scornfully at Sasuke.
“Baloney. He’s a teme that only cares about his own ass. It’s beneath him to do anything for me.”
Sasuke narrows his eyes at her angrily. Then he remembers she thinks they’re back at the academy. He takes a calming breath.
“What that’s supposed to mean?” he grits out. “I’m not a coward who’d let a fellow classmate be taken if I’m around to stop it.”
“As if,” she snorts. “You said I should go back to whatever hole I crawled out of because no one missed me and it was much quieter without me.”
Sasuke was about to argue when he remembered he did say that. Feeling abashed, he clears his throat.
“I’m sorry for being such a jerk, especially now that I know what really happened.”
Naruto’s shocked before narrowing her eyes.
“Liar,” she hisses.
“I never say anything unless I mean it and you know it, baka,” he snaps, bristling with indignation.
Cocking her head slightly, Naruto considers it before a gloating smile spreads on her face.
“I got the teme to apologize!” she proclaims gleefully.
“I’m going to knock you out if you don’t shut up and go back to sleep,” Sasuke growls irritably.
“Sakura won’t be very happy with you if you hit Naruto, Sasuke,” Kakashi advises, amusement coloring his voice.
“That’s a laugh,” Naruto declares with a derisive snort. “Sakura would be up first with her fist cocked. She’s an angry, manipulative bitch who doesn’t give a shit about anyone but herself.”
Sasuke and Kakashi gape at Naruto in shock. Judging by the look on her face, she’s dead serious. She believes Sakura is that cold.
“I thought you two are friends?” Sasuke asks, nonplussed.
“Not that you know what those are,” she snipes. Ignoring his glare she sneers, “Sakura’s no one’s friend. “She’s really good at pretending. Runs around whining she’s being made fun of ‘cause of her forehead. Funny, I’ve never heard anyone make fun of her forehead, can you, teme?” she challenges.
Sasuke opens his mouth to reply, but promptly shuts it. He can’t think of one time he’s ever heard anyone tease Sakura. He can remember her crying about it, but he should remember one time at least.
“Yeah, not once,” Naruto nods in confirmation. “Tried being her friend, but she just hit me and shouted go away ‘cause I was useless. I watched her. She was friends with kids only as long as they were useful. I felt really bad for Ino. The only reason Sakura became her friend was to try to get closer to you, teme. When she became competition, Sakura dumped her ass in a quick second. It was so obvious, but no one believed it ‘cause Sakura is all sweet and innocent. Bullshit,” she spits. “Watch her long enough and you’ll see it. Hell, Sakura pulled that shit on Hinata. Hinata taught her how to behave like a lady, but once done she just stopped talking to her. No explanation. Poor Hinata was crushed.”
Both men are stunned by Naruto’s words as neither has ever heard her talk about anyone like this. However, since it’s late and she needs her rest Kakashi decides to ask more about it later.
“It’s late and we should all go back to sleep,” Kakashi suggests.
Naruto eyes him suspiciously.
“Still don’t know you. And I don’t trust Sasuke. So why should I trust you?”
Kakashi thinks about it for a moment.
“Crimson sky.”
Nartuo’s eyes widen in surprise and a relieved smile spreads on her face. Before anyone can react, she lunges forward, engulfing Kakashi in a hug.
“Why didn’t you say the safe code before, sensei?” she asks, her voice muffled against his chest.
Still caught in the hug, Kakashi shrugs.
“Because I’m not in my ANBU uniform.”
“I’m sorry I made you reveal yourself,” Naruto blushes in embarrassment.
“Don’t worry about it, Naruto,” Kakashi smiles down at her. “Just go back to sleep.
Refusing to relinquish her hold, Naruto settles down as he tucks the blankets around her and she promptly falls into an exhausted sleep. Baffled by the entire display, Sasuke arches an eyebrow at Kakashi, eliciting another shrug.
“After they found Naruto and she told the Third what happened, he created a safe code so she’d know she was with a genuine, trustworthy ANBU,” he explains in a hushed voice. “Very few knew it because after her kidnapping the Third couldn’t verify the trustworthiness of every ANBU. We never did find out who had taken her.”
With a nod Sasuke twists around and reaches out to dim the lamp again. Settling onto his side facing away from the duo.
“Why did she hallucinate about that of all things?” he wonders aloud.
“I don’t know,” Kakashi mutters while stroking her hair.
Inwardly he has a pretty good idea, but needs to discuss it with the Hokage first.
It takes some time before Sasuke can fall back to sleep again. It was hard not to show it, but it bothered the hell out of him to see Naruto hugging Kakashi. He has to keep reminding himself that she thinks they’re back at the academy, so there’d be no way in hell she’d turn to him for any comfort. It also bugs him that it’d bother him more to see her clinging to Kakashi like a baby koala than hearing her story. Although, the reason for that is probably because there’s nothing he can do to change the past. These thoughts swirled in his head until they lull him back to sleep.
A couple of hours later Sakura crawls into the chamber and wakes Sasuke up for his shift. As she starts to climb into the warm spot next to Naruto she can’t help arching a brow at the scene before her. The redhead is practically glued to Kakashi. In the dim light she can tell the Sharingan user is awake. She’s sure he woke up the moment she entered the chamber to relieve Sasuke.
Noticing her pause he smiles.
“Naruto woke up hallucinating and this seemed to calm her,” he whispers.
She switches to concerned medic mode instantly.
“Was it bad enough to cause her to injure herself?”
“No.”
Sakura pauses to think about it.
“It might be a good idea if I check on her progress now.”
Inwardly, she thinks she can trigger a fatal heart attack that could kill Naruto before she has a chance to ‘save’ her. She tries gently coaxing the redhead to lie on her back, but Naruto tightens her hold on Kakashi, causing him to grunt in pain.
“Doesn’t look like she’s going to be a cooperative patient, Sakura,” he manages in a strangled voice.
Sighing in frustration, Sakura abandons the attempt.
“How are your hands and arms are doing, taichou?” she asks, keeping up appearances.
Before answering, Kakashi continues stroking Naruto’s hair and whispers something in her ear. Sakura couldn’t hear what he said, but notices Naruto relaxing her hold.
Kakashi breathes deeply in relief before answering.
“The aching and burning has gotten worse, but it’s nothing I can’t handle,” he whispers.
Sakura nods before settling in beside Naruto, silently cursing the pesky bitch.
Tightening his hold on Naruto, Kakashi closes his eyes and goes back to sleep.
By first light, the fierce storm left enough snow to completely block the entrance of the cave. Kakashi decides to wait on doing anything about it until after breakfast.
Sakura immediately ambushes Naruto and examines her.
“Well, the good news is your core body temp is almost back to normal, Naruto,” Sakura states while she works. “How are you feeling?”
“Tired,” Naruto reluctantly admits, knowing better than to lie to Sakura.
Sakura hums in acceptance.
“Your pupil’s are slightly dilated. How’s your vision?”
“Still a bit foggy. I can see details, but everything’s looking smudged.”
“Yeah, just as I thought,” Sakura agrees, dropping her hands away to her sides. “Are you feeling hungry or nauseous?”
“Nauseous. Food sounds too bleah, right now,” Naruto grimaces.
Reaching down next to her, Sakura picks up a mug.
“Well, you’ve gotta have something, so I made you some tea,” she explains handing it to Naruto.
The redhead takes a sip before grimacing in disgust.
“Ugh, what the hell, Sakura? Is there any water in this sugar?”
“You’ll drink it, or else,” Sakura growls, raising a fist in emphasis.
While Naruto sulkily complies, Sakura looks over at where Kakashi sits across the fire from them.
“Your turn,” she cheerily declares.
Sakura moves around over to his side and starts unwinding the wrappings, Kakashi rolls his eye at Sasuke’s smirk from his place nearby. The Uchiha finds the entire scene of seeing both of them bullied into submission amusing.
“You’re skin is still red and slightly swollen, but your frostbite looks a lot better, taichou,” Sakura muses while examining his arms. “How’s the pain?”
“Still aches, but not as bad as the last time you asked.”
“Good,” she nods. “I’m going to redress your hands and arms in fresh bandages or the trip back home could aggravate it in a very bad way.”
It doesn’t take long before his arms are wrapped from his fingers to his shoulders again.
“Covering the injured areas reduces the risk of the frostbite worsening since you’re not fully healed,” she explains while helping him carefully pull his gloves over the bandages. “Since the skin around your eyes are completely warmed up I’ll just heal it since we can’t cover that area.”
With glowing hands she spends a few minutes healing around his eyes before finally allowing him to tie his hitai-ate back in place.
“Are we all done?” he asks.
“Yes,” Sakura nods. “I’ve finished treating you and Naruto, so we can leave whenever you say.”
“Then let’s move out,” he orders.
Within minutes they pack up their gear and restore the cave to its previous state. Moving towards the blocked entrance, Kakashi gestures at Sasuke.
Acknowledging with a nod, Sasuke flashes through a few hand signs before blasting a huge fireball from his mouth, melting the snow within seconds to reveal a blinding world of white. There is also a haze hanging in the frosty air, which will provide good coverage as they leave the area.
“Anyone wanna build a snowman?” Naruto quips, earning a couple of eye rolls.
“No, you get to play piggyback,” Kakashi smiles.
“What?” Naruto blinks in surprise. “No way!” she protests. “I can manage the run.”
Kakashi eyes her for a moment.
“We’ll see,” he states before taking off.
He sets a much slower pace for Naruto’s benefit, but halts the team in a clearing after her third near fall.
“Sasuke, carry Naruto,” he firmly orders.
“C’mon! The branches are covered in snow!” Naruto protests.
“We can hogtie you first,” Kakashi adds.
“I’ve got enough nin wire,” Sasuke offers.
Looking between them she gauges their level of seriousness. After glancing at an amused Sakura, she determines she’s not in the mood for a spar.
“Fine,” she grudgingly concedes.
Once she’s settled on Sasuke’s back, they continue on. Out of vindictive boredom she spends the time trying to break his concentration by saying shocking and lurid things.
“Yeah, I couldn’t figure out why Kotetsu and Izumo were in that closet,” she shrugs. “But it was weird. Their clothes were all rumpled and disheveled. Even their pants looked like they weren’t put on right,” she muses thoughtfully. “It was kinda like they were trying to pull their pants up too fast, like they tried putting both legs through one pant leg, y’know?” she asks rhetorically. “And I have no clue why there were wet spots on their pants. It’s not like they were stuck in a janitor’s closet.”
Despite Sasuke pointedly ignoring her, she grins wickedly at seeing his ears turn red. She mentally gives him a lot of credit for not losing his pace once, though. She tries doing the same thing to Kakashi when it’s his turn to carry her, but isn’t surprised it doesn’t work. He does avidly read Ero-sennin’s books after all.
The weather remains clear and they make good time, arriving before nightfall at a small village. Heading to the only inn, they manage to secure lodgings for the night. Unfortunately, the largest room to accommodate them is already booked and Kakashi has to split up the team between two rooms instead of one. Stepping away from the front desk he walks over to the sitting area where his team relaxes.
“We’re in two rooms on the second floor at opposite ends of the hallway,” he explains. Tossing a key to Sasuke, he adds, “You and Sakura will bunk together while Naruto bunks with me.”
“But as the team medic it’s better for me to stay with Naruto, taichou.”
“That’s okay, Sakura,” Kakashi smiles. “You already assured me that she’s mostly recovered. Besides, I have some medical training in case something happens. If not, you’re just down the hallway.”
“True,” Sakura concedes, unable to come up with a good counter without raising suspicion. “I want to examine you both one more time,” she insists.
“Sure,” Kakashi agrees before leading them up the stairs.
Sakura follows Naruto and Kakashi into their room, spending several minutes examining them carefully before finally leaving them alone. When Kakashi shuts the door after Sakura, Naruto can’t resist teasing him.
“You just want to go over the mission details without Sakura and Sasuke around,” she smirks.
“We aren’t discussing anything until we get back home,” he states, shocking her. When she continues looking confused, he adds, “I have my reasons, Naruto.”
Deciding to leave it at that, Naruto shrugs it off and finishes preparing for bed. Soon they both settle in for the night.
The weather continues being clear for the remainder of the trip back to Konoha and Team Kakashi returns within three days. Once inside the gates they immediately head for the tower and don’t even have to wait to see Tsunade.
Lined up in front of the blonde’s desk, Kakashi nods at Sasuke to give his report first. When he gets to the part where he found the scroll, he steps forward to hand Tsunade the receipt.
“I found that in the safe with the scroll,” he explains, stepping back in line. “It doesn’t reveal much, but may help determine if Mayuko was working alone or had help stealing the list.”
“I didn’t know you grabbed a document other than the list from the safe,” Sakura comments while Tsunade scrutinizes the receipt.
“I forgot.” Sasuke merely shrugs.
He finishes his report by detailing their departure from the mansion for the rendezvous point. Kakashi nods for Sakura to give her report. It doesn’t take her long to summarize the injuries incurred and describe the treatment she gave. Tsunade nods in approval when she’s done.
“Congratulations you two. Job well done. Go home and get some rest,” she dismisses.
Sakura and Sasuke bow before leaving. At the blonde’s arched brow, Kakashi launches into his report while Naruto quietly stands next to him.
“We were certain Mayuko used ANBU sensor seals on the windows of the master bedroom,” he clarifies his instructions to Sasuke. “We wanted Sasuke and Sakura to deliberately trip the seals and alert Mayuko in order to effectively draw her out of hiding. Naruto used her henged shadow clones to maneuver her towards the pond so they could fight in an open area without interference and have easy access to a large water source from the pond. Although Mayuko was predictable it was still tricky killing her.”
“How did Naruto end up in the water?” Tsunade asks with a frown.
Looking over at Naruto, he nods for her to explain. Nodding back, she takes a deep breath.
“After the explosion knocked me back onto the ice, I got up to race back into the fight and tossed several kunai at Mayuko’s back to distract her for Kakashi. It worked and she tried roasting me with a fireball. I ducked and continued running when I heard the sound of the pond breaking behind me. I didn’t even get the chance to look back and check when something grabbed my ankle and dragged me down.”
Tsunade straightens up in her seat.
“Are you sure you were dragged? You could’ve broken through the ice.”
“Nope,” Naruto shakes her head. “I didn’t feel the ice give beneath my feet. And there’s no mistaking the feeling of something wrapped tight around my ankle, like a whip. It definitely yanked me hard enough to lay me flat on my face as it dragged me through the hole. When I was up to my waist in the water I remember gasping because it was so fucking cold before going completely under.” She pauses briefly to shiver at the memory. “I tried getting my bearings to find the hole, but I kept getting dragged further away. It was hard, but I pulled out a kunai and slashed at whatever had my ankle. Everything hurt like hell, but suddenly it was gone. I was free, but couldn’t find the break in the ice. I guess that’s when I blacked out.”
“I think that’s when I was eliminating Mayuko,” Kakashi states, picking up the narrative again. “When I realized Naruto never reached the shore, I went to her last known position and found the break in the ice. I scanned the area and picked up her chakra signal. Since the ice was unbroken, I used a minimized chidori to break through and pull her out.”
Stepping forward he hands Tsunade a storage scroll.
“I dug underground to change Naruto into dry clothes and wrap her in a blanket before transferring the corpse into that scroll,” he explains. “I knew enough that Naruto needed immediate medical attention and skipped the usual disposal protocol to get her to Sakura.”
Tsunade lets the silence stretch out as she plays with the scroll in her hands. Finally, she looks up to glare at Kakashi.
“You’re an idiot for traveling in the storm and getting frostbite.” She pauses, letting her expression soften. “It was a good call. According to Sakura’s description, Naruto’s condition was like a Metabolic Icebox. She was so frozen she was technically dead.”
“Most of the night was uneventful except for a couple interesting details,” Kakashi states, eliciting another arched brow from Tsunade and a confused look from Naruto.
He proceeds to describe Naruto’s hallucination when she woke up in the middle of the night. Not remembering any of it, gapes in shock before finding her voice.
“I’ve got a big mouth when I’m sick,” she grumbles irritably, crossing her arms in a huff.
“You didn’t reveal any ‘S’ class secrets when you had a fever,” Kakashi points out helpfully. “But in this case, I think your subconscious was trying to tell us something.”
Ignoring Naruto’s baffled expression, Tsunade leans forward to rest her chin on her hand looking at him with interest.
“What do you mean, Kakashi?”
“At the time Naruto disappeared we had no idea what happened to her,” Kakashi begins. “The Third kept the jounin and ANBU discreetly searching for her the entire time. If she’d been killed the perpetrator wouldn’t have bothered hiding the body. However, we couldn’t think of anyone in the village who would’ve wanted to kidnap her. Orochimaru was long gone. When Iruka found her and brought her into the hospital, Naruto told the Third what happened. When she described the ANBU wearing different masks, the Third immediately suspected Danzo and his Root organization.”
Naruto gapes at Kakashi in shock.
“I never realized that was my first encounter with Root,” she finally manages.
“You probably coped with the incident how you usually do, pushing it aside and not thinking on it further,” Kakashi suggests.
“I do not!” Naruto begins to protest.
Tsunade cuts her off.
“That’d be something that old bastard Danzo would pull,” she muses thoughtfully. “Sensei left numerous written accounts of Danzo strongly suggesting he was being too gentle with Naruto.”
“Exactly,” Kakashi nods. “That’s why the Sandaime suspected him. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any proof. Naruto never saw his face and Danzo covered his tracks well.” He sighs heavily. “Danzo is patient and has a long memory. I’m not certain if our investigation of the Uchiha massacre is tied to him in anyway, but he may be behind all these recent attempts on her life. We know all the attempts were made by a highly trained Konoha shinobi.”
“Okay, it sounds like old mummy man has it out for me,” Naruto reluctantly agrees. “But how the hell would any of his cronies know we’d be out there this time? It was an ‘S’ rank mission.”
“Danzo has his filthy little fingers everywhere and a knack for knowing things he shouldn’t,” Tsunade interjects before musing, “I wonder if Mayuko was a Root member?”
“Why would a Root flunky do that, Baa-chan? They’re a bunch of mindless drones. What she did requires too much individuality. A huge no-no in Root.”
“Unless she was under orders,” Kakashi mutters, causing both women to stare at him in disbelief. “Our investigation into the Uchiha massacre has hit nothing but dead ends because many vital documents turned up missing every time we looked. The only time we made any progress is when Naruto discovered the accounting errors. As far as we can tell, someone has been using the names of dead Uchiha to siphon money and redirect it somewhere else. What if this money laundering is another means of making a profit? Danzo has access to all council related accounts.”
Nodding in understanding, Tsunade picks up his line of thought.
“Danzo has always been clear in his desire to control Konoha. Sensei beat him out of becoming Hokage and he wasn’t even considered for it when Minato was picked over Orochimaru,” she reasons. “Plus, money laundering and selling Konoha secrets would be a quick easy way to make a lot of money quietly since running Root secretly wouldn’t be cheap. This theft could’ve also been another manipulation. A means to undermine my authority and possibly give him the chance to usurp control. He counted on you two to follow procedure and kill Mayuko as a missing nin, destroying any connection he had to the theft.”
The trio falls silent as they process this new information. After a few minutes, Naruto finally breaks it.
“I get why Danzo may be behind all this, but it doesn’t really explain why he’d want to kill me. Why now after leaving me alone all this time?”
“Danzo may not like the fact Tsunade-sama has named you as her successor and is training you,” Kakashi points out. “He also may resent the lost opportunity to make you a part of Root. Then you discovered the embezzling. He might be afraid of what else you might notice. If those aren’t enough reasons, you’re a threat simply because he knows you’d kill to defend Tsunade-sama.”
“Danzo might think he’s killing two birds with one stone,” Tsunade adds, drawing Naruto’s attention back to her. “By killing you, he takes care of a potential obstacle to finally becoming Hokage. Plus, it stalls any further progress into learning the truth about the Uchiha massacre because you’re the driving force behind the investigation.”
“It sounds like you think Danzo is definitely tied to the Uchiha massacre, Kakashi shrewdly eyes the blonde.
“Yes,” she nods definitively. “The more we learn, the more I’m certain of it. It’s not a stretch to think Danzo may have attempted to recruit the Uchihas into mounting a coup. If they refused to join him, he could’ve used the massacre to send a subtle message to all the clans warning them about opposing him. Or he may have wanted to use the massacre as a means of embarrassing sensei and seizing control from him.”
Frowning, Tsunade pauses to lean back in her chair.
“All of those scenarios fit in with Danzo’s twisted way of thinking. I wouldn’t put it past him to sacrifice an entire clan to further his goals. However, without proof, he gets away with genocide. The bastard even has the balls to repeatedly approach Sasuke lately, offering his assistance and guidance. And it makes sense. If the village is still made to appear responsible for the massacre, Danzo could manipulate him into resuming his original intention of scorching it from the earth. Plus, the fact Sasuke is a powerful Sharingan user probably has Danzo pissing his pants in anticipation of doing the dirty work for him.”
“That’s not gonna happen since Sasuke keeps brushing him off,” Naruto shakes her head. “It’s no secret that he doesn’t trust anyone on the council.”
“True,” Tsunade agrees. “As a precaution we shouldn’t say anything to Sasuke yet. This is all speculation right now and we don’t need him declaring a one-man war against Root.”
Kakashi nods.
“Now that we have a prime suspect, we know what to look for and may turn up some real leads.”
“But telling Sasuke about Danzo may not be such a bad idea,” Naruto muses thoughtfully, causing the other two to gape incredulously at her. She grins at them. “Danzo must be certain we won’t uncover the truth since he keeps approaching Sasuke. He could easily convince Danzo he believes there’s a huge cover-up and he’s frustrated with our lack of progress in the investigation. If Sasuke can get close, Danzo might tip his hand and show his cards.”
Tsunade mulls it over.
“It sounds too risky. Danzo is very good at covering his tracks and is quite adept at manipulating things. He may convince Sasuke to turn on the village again.”
Naruto shakes her head.
“He won’t do that, Baa-chan. The desire for the truth is driving him to change. If nothing else, the investigation proves things are far more complicated than he originally thought.”
“That may not be the case if we can’t prove to Sasuke the village isn’t responsible,” Kakashi points out reasonably. “If there is any doubt, Danzo will use it to his advantage.”
“Nuh-uh,” Naruto adamantly protests. “By now Sasuke proved his trustworthiness. Yeah, he became obsessed with power and vengeance, but he’s too strong-willed to be easily manipulated. If he weren’t such a stubborn teme, he would’ve become Orochimaru’s new body instead of killing the creep when he tried taking over. Sasuke would be willing to get closer to Danzo if it means the chance of learning the truth. Danzo probably won’t reveal much, but maybe just enough to give us that one clue to crack this thing wide open.”
Mulling over the redhead’s words, Tsunade looks over to Kakashi. He shrugs at the silent question.
“Naruto makes a very strong argument. Sasuke’s attitude is changing or he would’ve already accepted Danzo’s offer and under the guise of reforming, he could’ve easily turned around and destroyed the village. Instead, he stuck with the investigation and complied with his punishment. Plus, we can’t ignore the fact nothing else has worked so far to catch Danzo in the act. We’ve always known what he was responsible for, but could never prove it. He’s even kept Root fully operational even when it was officially disbanded.” He pauses to sigh heavily. “It’s too risky to wait when the attempts on Naruto’s life keep coming closer to succeeding. Sending Sasuke undercover may be the best way to go on the offensive for a change. It’s a risky gamble, but it could pay off big. Besides, Naruto has been right about Sasuke so far for us to question it.”
“Agreed,” Tsunade sighs. “Sasuke has a shrewd, sharp mind and if anyone can outmaneuver Danzo it’d be him. Besides, the risk to him is far greater than the risk to the village. However,” she pauses to lean forward, placing both elbows on her desk and lacing her fingers together. “I don’t like placing him in such a dangerous position regardless of his trustworthiness or that he’s the last Uchiha. This may be our only shot, assuming he’s willing to do it.”
“He will,” Naruto declares confidently.
“Don’t say anything to Sasuke about this,” Tsunade orders. “I’ll have Shizune discreetly compile all available information about Danzo and Root for him to review. The dossier will be ready the day after tomorrow when you turn in your written reports.”
Leaning back in her chair again, Tsunade scrutinizes Naruto in silence for a moment.
“It might not be a bad idea for you to go into protective custody for the time being.”
Naruto glares hard at the older blonde.
“You’ve been drinking some bad sake, Baa-chan,” she grits out. “‘Cause you’re starting to sound like the old buzzards on the council.”
Slamming her fist on the desk Tsunade jumps to her feet.
“Your attackers have been getting closer to succeeding in killing you!” she yells. “Two of the attempts occurring when you’re supposed to be safe inside the village!”
Kakashi quickly cuts off Naruto as she opens her mouth to reply.
“Protective custody may not be enough and may make Naruto a sitting target for Danzo. Now that we know of the threat, we’ll be more careful and it may help to draw Danzo out in the open.”
At Naruto’s determined glare, Tsunade closes her eyes and sighs in frustration.
“You’re such a pain in the ass, gaki. Fine. Stay alert and don’t go anywhere alone. Do either of you have anything else to report before you go?”
“There is,” Kakashi states, surprising Naruto.
He repeats Naruto’s comments about Sakura during her hallucination. When finished, he turns to Naruto.
“Why did you think that about Sakura?”
Naruto couldn’t help blushing in embarrassment for saying those things about Sakura.
“That’s what I used to think of her when we were in the academy,” she admits reluctantly. “My opinion changed when we became teammates. I figured I misjudged her unfairly. What seemed like a phony façade hiding a manipulative, bitchy nature was just her way of protecting herself from all the teasing. She probably just didn’t realize how she was hurting other people.”
“You expressed some very reasonable doubts about her when she reappeared after you convinced Sasuke to surrender,” he reminds her with an arched brow. “And what you said about her behavior back in the academy can’t simply be brushed off as petty, childish misunderstanding.”
As Naruto falls silent in thought, Tsunade asks, “Why this is important, Kakashi?”
“Since Sakura was first placed on my team I always had doubts about her sincerity,” Kakashi explains. “It’s not that she didn’t work well with the team, but there was always this feeling she hid some ulterior motive.”
Naruto’s gaze snaps onto him in shock, but he ignores her and continues.
“It never affected our missions, so I never addressed it. Although, sometimes I’d catch a sinister glint in her eyes. It was always too brief for me to properly interpret it, but it’d surface every once in awhile. Naruto reminded me of it when I asked about her hesitation towards Sakura after Sasuke’s return.”
“Yamato-taichou has similar misgivings,” Naruto interrupts. “He said he never could put his finger on what it was about Sakura that bothered him, but he warned me to be careful of her.” She pauses to shift uncomfortably under Kakashi and Tsunade’s intense gazes. “When the original lineup of Team 7 was together everything was okay. That’s why I thought I misjudged Sakura in the academy. But once Sasuke left, Sakura changed. It was like she no longer had to keep up the pretense anymore. I also caught something sinister in Sakura’s eyes, but thought it had to do with Sasuke’s defection. It wasn’t just that, though. Sakura would lie about stupid things and fly off the handle if she thought you were blaming her for anything. Sakura distanced herself so much that whenever I’d see her and say ‘hi’ she ignored me. I thought I was reading too much into it, but I can’t help holding back when it comes to Sakura.”
Kakashi nods in agreement.
“It’s not that I suspect Sakura of anything, but in light of recent events we don’t need the added uncertainty. I thought it best to address it now in case anyone else had any misgivings about Sakura or had anything to share. I can’t deny this sense of unease I have towards her, that we shouldn’t turn their backs to her. I think Sasuke has his doubts about her too.”
“That’s a result of the trauma of being monomaniacally stalked by fan girls, namely Sakura, for years,” Naruto scoffs derisively.
“Normally I’d think that too,” Kakashi drolly retorts. “But, now that Sakura is dating Ritsu, how come Sasuke still keeps her at arms length? He also didn’t tell her about the receipt he found in Kakeru’s safe. He claimed he forgot, but when have you ever known him to ‘just forget?’”
Naruto opens her mouth to answer but promptly closes it when she can’t think of a response. Damn if he isn’t right. Tsunade silently mulls their exchange for a few minutes.
“Shizune and I have our doubts about Sakura too.”
Naruto and Kakashi simultaneously turn to look at her. She sighs heavily before elaborating.
“One of the things we’ve noticed recently is how easily Sakura becomes defensive. That wouldn’t normally capture our attention, but it’s over very minor things. For example, Shizune recently called her in to question her regarding a recently deceased patient she had contact with. The cause of death was difficult to determine, but there was nothing suspicious about it. When something like that occurs, it’s normal procedure to conduct a thorough investigation, including interviewing all the staff who had contact with the patient. This is to make certain the death wasn’t caused by human error. We always knew Sakura was temperamental, but her reaction shocked Shizune. She became irrational, yelling we were wrongfully holding her responsible when she did everything perfectly. It was several minutes before she calmed down and apologized. Still, her reaction was wholly unwarranted.”
“When Shizune told me about it, I thought Sakura’s reaction might be from stress,” Tsunade continues. “There’s a lot of pressure in being a medic, especially when you start specializing. However, the more I thought about it, I recalled other unusual behaviors. Whenever there was an instance of something having gone wrong, Sakura is always quick to deflect blame and goes out of her way to show all her actions were correct and according to procedure. Whenever she had to work with others, inevitably there’d be a complaint or two about her manipulating them into doing her share of the work. When approached about the complaints, she became defensive.”
“I dismissed it as jealously by the other medics since Sakura is certainly one of the best and my apprentice,” Tsunade sighs again. “Out of all the ranks of shinobi, the medics tend to be the most competitive and catty. However, now that you’re bringing it up, it raises some troubling questions. I don’t question Sakura’s overall loyalty and trustworthiness, but I wonder if it’s wise to allow her continued involvement in the investigation. The situation is too delicate to have uncertain factors in the mix. Even if it’s a case of Sakura’s inability to handle stress and criticism well, if she becomes defensive or angry about something, she might reveal too much to the wrong people.”
Tsunade pauses for a minute before coming to a decision.
“For Sasuke’s safety, should he accept the mission to infiltrate Danzo’s organization, you are not to discuss this with anyone else, especially Sakura. Danzo has too many eyes and ears lurking about. I’ll have Shizune adjust Sakura’s schedule to ensure she won’t have any time to continue being involved in the investigation. Even if her behavior turns out to simply be stress related then it might be better to not have her involved anymore.”
Tsunade’s gaze hardens.
“Be careful about what you two reveal to Sakura from now on. I suggest you advise Sasuke to be more cautious as well. You both did a good job on the mission. Go rest, especially you, Naruto,” she glares pointedly at the redhead. “Give your body a chance to fully recover from the hypothermia. Dismissed.”
A/N: I've also posted an accompanying one shot specifically tied to Naruto's hallucination based on the memories of her kidnapping that tells what happened in greater detail called Scattered Leave Piles: Mystery & Shadows.
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Underneath The Leaves