Knock On Wood Konoha

***

Chapter 11: :Kokoro no Kaze 

a cold of the soul

***

There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.

Friedrich Nietzsche

***

Present Day

: :Konohagakure: :

This is a stupid idea, but he can't stop thinking about it, so he's doing it.

That's the only reason Iruka is slowly making his way through the village, stubbornly stuck on carrying out his plan to talk to Kakashi.

Toshiro had made it to the Inuzuka Compound, and Iruka felt guilty about not being able to get him before Root did, but thank the gods, he was mostly unharmed. Just a bit scared, which tends to translate in Toshiro into anger instead of helplessness.

He's going to take after Sasuke, Iruka thinks. Ignoring the tiny voice in the back of his head that sounds suspiciously like Fugaku as it whispers, and you.

Sasuke would be waking up soon. He'd always been strong of mind, and Iruka had been incredibly selective of the memories he'd given him. 

There were some things Sasuke just didn't need to carry.

But Root had taken Toshiro, and when Sasuke did wake, there would be more questions. He'd felt the spike in Kakashi's chakra last night, and Naruto wanted Iruka to talk to him, see if Kakashi would come around to their side, so here he was.

There was a calculated lack of communication between Tsunade and anyone at the Inuzuka Compound over the last two days. A silent truce as they all tried to find the way forward that would do the least amount of damage.

That, and they're all simmering in their own rage over everything and not yet willing to speak like adults.

Iruka doesn't particularly like Tsunade for a variety of reasons, many of which, he's self-aware enough to admit, are not her fault. Iruka is still terribly wary of anyone who was close to Sandaime, though the logical part of him acknowledges that Tsunade likely doesn't know about what really happened with the Uchiha.

She is a Senju, but she was gone for so long, and that's something that maybe they do have in common. Both of them lost faith in the village and the Shinobi Way at a point. 

Tsunade's faith has returned through Naruto, but Iruka's is still buried with his family in the dirt surrounding the village. 

Subete wa mura no tame ni, he thinks to himself, over and over to try and cool the anger.

Uchiha are meant to be burned when they die. To free their souls for the Pure Land.

That some of his family were not allowed that final mercy…well, Iruka has never been a forgiving man.

He doesn't have many friends left. In the Hokage's Tower, at least. He had a few while Sandaime was still around, but age and illness removed them as Tsunade came in with her own people.

He can always rely on Kotetsu and Izumo, serving as junior aides and desk officers, but their access is limited, and like Iruka, they don't have any particularly close or trusting relationship with Tsunade. Yajirobi still works at the hospital when he isn't on missions, and Anko still works in T&I, but they all lack the personal relationships they had before, and it has left them effectively out in the cold as the situation has progressed.

With the Council hunting the Hanta, there's little Iruka can do without outing them all, either.

Kakashi may be their best bet to speak on Naruto and Sasuke's behalf. And he will speak for Naruto, Iruka is sure….but Sasuke….

Iruka was honest when he told Naruto he thought Kakashi loved them all, but Kakashi is driven by orders and duty, and what Iruka doesn't know is where the line between the dutiful shinobi and the friend who visits the Memorial Stone every day is.

All that, and Iruka just wants to see him. 

For his own selfish reasons. He wasn't expecting the fire that one night lit, and now he can't put it out. Has doomed himself to a life alone at this point because the chances of Kakashi ever loving him back are so slim even Naruto's hope can't see them.

Still, he keeps going.

He has to protect Naruto and Sasuke, and all the others.

He wants to see Kakashi. Just once more. Another glimpse before Iruka has to lock away his heart because of his own carelessness. 

He's not completely gone yet, but every little moment from now on will push him further down that road, and eventually, Iruka will be lost.

Like all the others that came before him and fell to broken hearts.

He remembers his parents speaking poetically about love and losing oneself in the existence of another. They didn't live long enough to see Iruka come around to their way of thinking, but he thinks they'd be pleased that he got there eventually.

And then they'd be heartbroken again when they realized their child was going to be alone for the rest of his life.

Never a simple answer, Iruka thinks as he climbs the steps to Kakashi's apartment. 

Maybe it won't be as bad as he's expecting. Kakashi has always expounded on the importance of teamwork. Even when he's clearly frustrated that someone can't keep up, he's never left anyone behind.

He's a good man. 

Behind the porn and the superior attitude.

But nobody's perfect, Iruka muses, least of all Iruka himself.

And kami, is he gorgeous. The way he'd shuddered and shaken under Iruka…

Guh.

The way his eye crinkled and gave away that he was smiling despite the mask.

His mind, because Iruka can't stand stupid people. Well, he can't stand stupid adults. Kids get a pass because they're kids.

But Kakashi's mind is a beautiful, tangled puzzle that Iruka wants to spend hours picking at to uncover all the nooks and crannies.

…Alright, now he's even weirding himself out.

He shakes himself out of it as he stops in front of Kakashi's door. Oddly quaint, given who lives behind it.

There's a small knot of hope in Iruka's chest that refuses to fade, no matter how much logic and common sense he throws at it.

Kakashi had met Iruka's passion with his own that night.

Kakashi was probably just pent-up.

Kakashi had clutched at him hard enough to leave bruises that still hadn't faded.

Kakashi was an impressively strong man who regularly engaged in competitions of strength with Gai.

Kakashi had sought Iruka out that night.

To test him, not to sleep with him.

Kakashi had taken everything Iruka had given him, and Iruka, well, he'd had partners in the past who called him too much.

Sex could never be as painful or as intense as torture, right?

This isn't helping.

Iruka forces it out of his mind with thoughts of Naruto and Sasuke and Sakura and knocks before he can change his mind.

Maybe Kakashi will want one more night. That could be enough to tide Iruka over for the rest of his life.

Maybe they could just have something casual? Iruka could live with that.

Footsteps make him freeze, not that he was doing anything more than standing there.

And fidgeting. 

The door swings open faster than he's expecting, and the sight of Kakashi is enough to make Iruka's heart hammer in his chest.

There's a heartbeat, just one, where Kakashi just stares at him, and Iruka stares back and thinks maybe.

And then…

And then…

Horror. Disgust. Rage. 

A slammed door.

Ah, well, that answers that, doesn't it?

And its…kind of crushing, really. 

He honestly hadn't thought the truth would disgust Kakashi that much.

But that's that, isn't it?

Kakashi's not the type to change his mind or hesitate. 

So, it's over.

Not that it ever really started.

Just that stupid knot of hope in Iruka's chest that's well and truly gone now.

***

Pakkun has never wanted to smack someone so hard in his life. 

The Uchiha Umino, Umino-Uchiha?, looks so goddamn heartbroken that Pakkun, who's never felt the desire for a mate in his life, wants to go down there and hold him.

An even more substantial part of Pakkun wants to go down there and scream at Kakashi. Demand to know what the fuck he's doing, turning away someone who loves him that much.

And then, he can fucking save you, moron, what are you doing?!

He teleports back inside with every intention of yelling himself hoarse.

***

He finds Kakashi collapsed against the door. 

A dejected heap of too-thin limbs, his head in his hands, tears cascading down his cheeks.

And Pakkun doesn't know what to do now.

Kakashi hasn't ever broken down this far before. Never into uncontrollable sobs. 

Pakkun would rather hear him scream from torture than this.

"Kakashi."

Nothing.

"Kakashi!"

The others appear in puffs of smoke as Kakashi staggers to his feet. He can't stay on them, though, crumbles and crawls across broken wood and glass to the bedroom.

"Kakashi!"

"Boss, be careful!"

"What the hell is happening, Pakkun?"

"Someone go get the old lady!"

They follow Kakashi into the bedroom, trying their best to wrangle him onto the bed before there's any more blood.

"Look, pup, seriously, you need help."

The Sharingan is spinning madly, and they all flinch when it turns on them.

"Go away." Kakashi's voice is almost gone. Rough and breaking every other word.

"Why'd you send him away, boss?" Pakkun has to push.

He has, too.

Kakashi has to get up. 

Has to go after the Umino Uchiha. 

Has to get help.

And he's not doing it. 

The Sharingan is spinning. Kakashi's chakra is fading faster than Pakkun's ever seen before.

Aki, stupid, brave Aki nips at Kakashi's foot. It used to be a game they played with him when he was small and obsessed with imitating his idol, the Yellow Flash.

This time, he lashes out. Kicks with enough force that it would have broken something if Aki didn't hop out of the way.

And trip and slam into the windowsill.

Mr. Ukki's pot shatters as it hits the floor. 

Kakashi's beloved photo teeters. 

Aki's ears are flat back as he shakes. The others frozen as the killing intent rolls off Kakashi in waves.

It's never been aimed at any of them before.

And Kakashi would say, has said, that it's just a plant to anyone who asks.

But it's not. It was the last, the only gift he'd ever received from Obito, who'd ended up being so much more important than any of them ever realized.

The only one who fought so hard to be Kakashi's friend. Mostly against Kakashi himself. Who paved the way for those who followed. Gai, Asuma, Kurenai, Genma, and all the rest who care enough to ask Kakashi how he's doing even when they're not on missions together.

That stupid plant that never seemed fully dead or fully alive was the first proof that someone thought kindly about Kakashi when he'd been nothing but an angry, resentful child determined to show the world the worst side of him.

Pakkun knows there were people that cared for Kakashi then, that there are now, but to Kakashi, Mr. Ukki had always been the physical proof of what he'd refused to believe.

Given to him by a teammate whose loyalty and love had not diminished in the wake of Kakashi's dismissal.

"Get out."

"Boss."

"Get. Out."

The killing intent is only growing. 

"Go," Pakkun barks and doesn't say, not far, because they know.

He focused on Kakashi, who's palmed a kunai, practically vibrating with rage. 

"Pup-"

"I told you to get out!" It ends as a yell strong enough to make Pakkun step back.

And, oh-

He's-

This isn't-

Kakashi is breaking.

He curses his short, stubby legs as he runs.

***

Thankfully, Iruka hasn't made it very far. Shoulders stooped, feet dragging, utterly miserable over something he didn't even know he wanted until a few days ago.

Pakkun's foaming at the mouth, the pads of his feet bleeding by the time he reaches him.

He's so rushed he can't slowdown in time and slams into the back of Iruka's knees, sending them both to the ground.

"Pakkun? What the hell?" The sensei is angry. That tends to be his default emotion, Pakkun thinks, and another day, with less to worry about, he'd laugh himself silly at Kakashi's struggles to live with someone like that.

"Please."

He sees confusion, then realization, then a gratifying amount of worry. "Kakashi?"

"Please." He's so out of breath he has to gasp for air, "Hurry."

At least Iruka is kind enough to pick him up before he takes off.

***

My wish is that you may be loved to the point of madness.

André Breton

***

Present Day

: :Healers House, Inuzuka Compound: :

There's a short list of things Sasuke always checks for immediately upon waking now.

His sword.

And Naruto.

Naruto is leaning over him, beaming. Clearly barely restraining himself from something.

"Where's my sword?"

Naruto starts twitching as he sits up. "Your sword?"

Sasuke looks around as his thoughts settle. 

Iruka shared… a lot.

And probably held back a lot, too, but what he did show Sasuke has bought him a reprieve. 

For now.

Sasuke has a whole new list of people to kill for crimes against his family.

He doesn't have sandals either. He notices as he looks around and ignores the growing flame of rage next to his futon.

"And my sandals."

"Sandals." Naruto's voice is dangerously calm and even.

So, naturally, Sasuke has to fix that.

"Sandals, dobe. Find me some. I have things to do."

"THINGS TO DO?!" 

Ah, there it is.

An odd sort of serenity settles over Sasuke as Naruto's voice climbs through the decibels.

Outside, he feels Sakura and several others approach and then turn abruptly around. 

Fuckers are abandoning him, he thinks viciously, but for the first time in years, it's not tinged with bitterness. 

It's tinged with amusement.

Because they're all watching over him.

Loved him enough to stick around and see this mess through.

"WHAT THE FUCK, SASUKE? THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY? WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING ATTACKING IRUKA-SENSEI! IT'S NOT HIS FAULT! NOTHING IS HIS FAULT! I'LL BEAT YOU INTO THE GROUND IF YOU HURT HIM!"

Silence. 

Sasuke pulls on his shirt.

"ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?"

Sasuke stretches, runs a mental check on his limbs and organs, and everything seems to be functioning. 

His chakra still hasn't recovered completely, but it's getting there-

He blinks.

Ah, he shouldn't have ignored Naruto.

Above him, Naruto's blue, blue eyes glitter like the ocean at midday. A perfect blue that sparkles in the sun that Sasuke remembers from a brief trip through the Coral Islands while he was chasing after Itachi.

Who's back now.

Who's alive.

Who's going to laugh his ass off that Naruto managed to pin Sasuke.

The water had been so painfully beautiful that Sasuke had actually stopped and stared, wasting time he didn't have because he couldn't do anything else.

Naruto's eyes are going to make Sasuke waste a lot of time in the future, he realizes.

They're making him waste time right now.

And suddenly, he's furious. "Get off me, dobe!"

"Stop ignoring me!" Naruto screams right back.

They end up wrestling across Sasuke's futon, trading the upper hand between cheap shots and snarls.

"I wait for you, and you just ignore me?"

"I have shit to do, you're in the way!"

"I'm trying to help!"

"You suck at helping!"

"Well, you suck at everything!"

"The fuck I do! I'm better than you at everything, dobe!" And he succeeds in pinning Naruto with a vicious smirk and a grip tight enough to leave bruises.

It doesn't stop Naruto from yelling right back, "The hell you are, teme! Just watch!"

Those words….

Those words are going to be Sasuke undoing.

Since when is Naruto even that flexible?

Since when is anybody?!

But somehow, he's got a hand in Sasuke's pants, which are just an extra pair of Iruka's pajamas and already too big, and he seems way too comfortable going straight for Sasuke's dick.

Holy-

Can't let him win.

"Tha-that's not how you do-o it, dobe. Watch-ngh."

"Fuck, Sas-wait, let-"

"No, like-hah!"

"Oh god, go-good."

"See-e, told you I was better, d-dobe."

Which apparently just means Naruto needs to swallow his cock, and Sasuke seizes up in some weird place where his entire body is taunt as a chakra wire, but his mind is warm and hazy and relaxed like it's never been before.

What the hell, if the dobe wants to do all the work, who's Sasuke to tell him no?

***

Surrender on Sasuke…should not be as hot as it is, Naruto thinks as the Uchiha slowly slumps back and sprawls out, Naruto tucked between his legs.

A pink flush rises across his cheeks, and Naruto shoves his shirt up, desperate to see it spread across his chest.

Not bad, considering Naruto's got no fucking idea what he's doing, but it seems pretty similar to a popsicle, and Naruto loves those, and that approach seems to be working based on the way Sasuke's eyes glaze over.

Heh, he's got this.

"Do better, dobe." 

And it's all breathy and challenging and infuriating-

Well, if he wants better, Naruto will give it to him. Pressing down more than he's ready for and choking when Sasuke's hips inadvertently snap up, and his thighs clamp around Naruto's head with enough force to remind Naruto that he's doing his best to bed a very dangerous man.

Despite the hands fisting in his hair and the involuntary movement of his hips, Sasuke isn't making a sound as Naruto figures out the best way to suck without killing himself.

Sasuke's even quiet when he backs off with a pop and glares at him with Sasuke's thighs still wrapped around his head. "Why aren't you making any noise?"

People are supposed to make noise, according to Prevert Sanin's stupid books.

Sasuke, flushed and chest heaving and the same red as his cock and isn't that pretty, just looks down at him without loosening his grip on Naruto's hair. "Why aren't you making me?"

….

Challenge accepted.

He sinks his teeth into Sasuke's thigh and catches Sasuke biting his lip to stay quiet.

***

Outside, three kunoichi desperately wishing they weren't such good friends and that they'd fled with the others.

"This should not be so hot, given how stupid they are," Ino mutters, face flushed.

"All love is h-hot," Hinata stutters, terribly red.

Sakura just puts her face in her hands and groans.

***

Getting closer as he works his way around, finds all the places that make him shiver when he's by himself, but Sasuke stays stubbornly silent. 

He really is a worthy rival. 

Until Naruto gets low and puts his tongue there, and Sasuke shrieks so loudly it startles them both.

"Wha- Sasuke?"

He's hiding his face behind his arms when Naruto looks up, the flush on his cheeks even darker than before. 

He liked that, Naruto thinks, giddy. Couldn't help but make that noise that made Naruto's toes curl.

But-

Oh…

He's embarrassed. Peering out from behind his arms and Sasuke's always been terribly proud and careful with his image because that was all he had for so long.

Maybe someday he'll be comfortable, but today's not that day.

Naruto looks around and ah- shoves a pillow into his hands. "Here."

He stays still, uneasy, as Sasuke grabs it, buries his face in it and- 

"Do it again, Naruto."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

So, he does. 

And Sasuke does make noise, muffled by the pillow, but still loud enough that it drives Naruto a little bit crazy.

Breathy, shocky whimpers, and he starts squirming like he's trying to get away, so Naruto grabs his hips and holds him in place while he licks and licks, and Naruto is definitely winning this one.

Deeper in the village, Iruka's chakra flares.

Kakashi's roars.

***

Present Day

: :Hokage's Office, Hokage's Tower, Konohagakure: :

Tsunade was reading every damn line in Yumi's scroll for a third time, Jiraiya's warmth at her shoulder as he followed along.

Copies had already been made and hidden and lost because apparently Root was deeper than any of them had realized, but the original had not left her sleeve.

Outside her office, the village continued on with its day, unaware of the brewing storm.

The steady hum of chakra from the wall surrounding the village continued in the background, unnoticed by most but comforting. 

No matter what happened, it stayed the same.

It had been a beacon while Tsunade was away. No matter where she found herself, she could turn in the direction of Konohagakure and reach and find it.

A bright burst of Iruka's chakra startles her.

An answering explosion of Kakashi's brings her to her feet.

Before she could do anything, Itachi appeared and sent her ANBU guards scrambling.

"Follow." He says, eyes dark, sword in hand.

And she does.

***

Present Day

: :Konohagakure: :

He was too slow. 

Too damn slow.

And Kakashi is so damn fast.

Iruka has to drop him to block the blows and duck the blistering Chidori. 

"Hatake, what the fuck?" Iruka rolls across the street unharmed, but the corner of Kakashi's apartment building splinters to pieces under the force of his attack.

A few startled shinobi and the rest of Kakashi's nin-kin escape as the building begins to collapse, but Kakashi pays it no mind. 

Oddly, obsessively focused on Iruka and already preparing a second Chidori.

"Boss, what the hell are you doing?" Aki.

"Kakashi, stop!" Pakkun has never once given the pup an order. Some strongly worded suggestions may be, but never an order. 

Before today, he would have been absolutely confident in Kakashi's obedience if he had.

Before today.

Kakashi ignores them all, absolutely silent, as he launches himself at Iruka again and again. 

Through Iruka and Pakkun's desperate attempts to talk him down. 

Through the pack begging. 

Through the arrival of multiple shinobi who try to intercede and are simply thrown aside until it becomes clear that Kakashi is not holding back.

And there were so few that could equal him when he was.

Now….

Any other day, Pakkun would be proud.

Today, he's just terrified.

The arrival of Itachi, Tsunade and- 

For kami's sake, he does not need this today.

"Kakashi!" Tsunade's voice silences everyone else, but it doesn't get so much as a twitch from the man himself. "Stand down, shinobi!"

One of Iruka's dodges sends Kakashi's wave of shuriken straight towards a small shop, kami knew who was inside, but before anyone watching could intervene, they froze in midair.

No, not frozen, just stopped so quickly that it took everyone's eyes a moment to catch up to the sudden appearance of Uchiha Shisui, Sasuke, and Naruto.

"Kakashi-sensei! What are you- JIRAIYA-SENSEI?!"

"Question of the hour, kid." Pakkun grunts as he lands next to them.

"Kakashi, answer me!" Even Tsunade inserting herself between Kakashi and Iruka doesn't seem to faze him, and she loses a lock of hair to his third chidori.

"Not good," Pakkun mutters.

"How many-" Sasuke doesn't bother to finish his own question, Mangekyo swirling. He can already see Kakashi's chakra falling into dangerous levels.

"What the hell are you doing, kid?" Jiraiya actually manages to grab Kakashi and hold him still, just for a second, before he has to leap back to avoid a kunai to the jugular.

"Something's wrong." Tenzo, behind his mask and among a squad of ANBU no doubt sent to subdue the threat without consideration for who it was.

He has to save Kakashi, Pakkun thinks, mind going in desperate circles. Tenzo's right, something is wrong, Kakashi's not stopping, and there are only three possible outcomes.

One, he succeeds in killing Iruka because that's clearly what he's trying to do. And then Kami knows what happens after that because Naruto, and now Sasuke, won't let that go.

Two, someone steps in and kills him because he won't stop.

Three, he pushes himself into such a state of chakra exhaustion that there is no recovery, and he kills himself. Which he is already very, very close to doing.

For all that he's focused on Iruka, and not responding to any of them, he manages to dodge Genma's paralyzing senbon and any other attempt to pin him down.

"Why isn't he saying anything?" Trust Naruto to get to the heart of the matter as loudly as possible.

Kakashi is quiet, but he's never this quiet.

And ironically, it's the blind shinobi that catches it first.

"It's on his tongue," Shisui murmurs, which is enough to tell Pakkun exactly what is happening.

"Everyone get back!" His bark is enough to get most of them moving, but he has to run to Tsunade and Jiraiya to make them listen. "Get back, get back! Don't get in the way."

"What's happening, Pakkun?"

"It's the damn Root seal. Someone activated it."

Even ANBU falls back at that.

"Naruto, Sasuke, stay back." Itachi's words are, surprisingly, enough to keep both boys back.

Leaving Kakashi surrounded by Iruka, Itachi, and Shisui.

Kakashi fights like a demon.

The Uchiha had been yokai hunters way back when. When demons still roamed the earth freely and Pakkun and his ilk had been a young gift from Kuromaru to a clan in its infancy determined to survive.

Friend-Killer Kakashi, future Rokudaime, and Konoha's greatest living shinobi, fights like the yokai of old.

The ones that killed thousands in a single battle.

But between Iruka's chakra nullification, Shisui's flicker, and Itachi's mind…

He won't win, Pakkun is relieved and terrified to realize.

The three corral him amidst the ruined street while Tsunade and the others argue about what's happening.

"The Root seal was removed," Jiraiya argues.

"Someone go get the damn Council," Tsunade snaps.

"Surprised they're not here already," Genma snarls.

"Danzo swore the seal was removed, the Sandaime verified it was gone," Gai insists. "There was no seal."

It's Shisui who stops fighting long enough to explain. "Don't be fooled. The Root seal can only be removed through death or fire."

"It can, however, be made to appear completely dormant," Taka finishes, grim.

"Are you saying they've had the ability to control him this entire time?" Raido, just as horrified in his disbelief as the rest of them.

"Hatake and everyone else that's ever had it," Shisui mutters, but before he can leap back into the fight, Tsunade catches his arm.

"Death or fire?"

"Death or fire, Lord Hokage."

"Explain fire."

"Every drop of ink must be burned out. It's not…death is a preferable alternative for most."

"Understandable," Tsunade murmurs, pale, the sheer pain of burning out ink deep within the skin could kill most, and Pakkun steps on her foot.

"He will be dead for sure if this continues," he's pleading, he realizes, and it doesn't bother him, "They'll slip up on accident, or he'll kill himself. Whoever is controlling him has already decided he's no longer useful, or they wouldn't have sent him on a suicidal mission to kill someone so recognizable."

Tsunade, well, Pakkun's always liked her. 

She doesn't hesitate. "Everyone stay back. Iruka, Itachi, Shisui, capture Kakashi."

It doesn't take long now that they know what's happening and Kakashi's on his last legs no matter what the puppet master does. It only takes a few harrowing minutes for Shisui to trip him and Iruka and Itachi to bear him to the ground and slip a senbon into his vagus nerve at the top of his spine.

He goes limp instantly.

But his eyes are still terribly blank.

And he's still utterly silent. 

They almost look like they're being gentle as they pry open his mouth and pull out his tongue.

The Root seal as black and as solid as it was the day Danzo gave it to him.

And Pakkun knows it wasn't visible before today. He would have noticed, one of the dozens of hospital staff who have treated Kakashi over the years would have noticed.

Hell, Iruka would have noticed while he was sticking his tongue down Kakashi's throat.

"I would have seen that," Tsunade snarls.

"It has a concealment ward built in," Shisui mutters.

"Someone needs to help us hold him just in case." Iruka orders, and Pakkun would be worried about Kakashi in his hands if Iruka didn't look so terribly concerned.

"Gai, Asuma, Genma, Raido." And Genma and Raido looked ready to protest Itachi's orders until he named them. Then they were right there holding Kakashi's legs.

With Kakashi half-propped up against Itachi's chest, his mouth held open, and Iruka sitting on his stomach, the whole scene would have been hilarious any other time.

He watches Iruka make the hand signs for katon, and the thin, needle-like flame that emerges is somehow just as terrifying as the giant fireballs Pakkun has seen Uchiha fling in battle. The ones that burn acres and buildings in a single blast.

Several of the observers turn away.

Even to a shinobi of Fire Country, fire itself is terrifying. Part of the reason the Uchiha were always so feared. Their love of the flame almost as fear-inducing as their eyes.

Fire is, after all, the most painful way to die.

Tsunade and Jiraiya crowd around with Naruto and Sasuke.

Which is the only reason the wood release that erupts from the ground, as Iruka's flame reaches Kakashi's tongue and begins to sink in and chase the ink, doesn't interrupt him.

There's only one shinobi present with a wood release.

And it's not well known to the entire village maybe, but it is to several of the shinobi present that Tenzo was once Root too.

Taka and Shisui reach him first, as his ANBU cohort is being flung away and provide the distraction Sasuke needs to snap into place in front of him and Tsunade behind him, and she catches Tenzo's as he stiffens and topples over.

"Teme, hurry!"

Ah.

Of course.

Why, Pakkun thinks sadly, did anyone just assume Sasuke would be willing to help any of them?

The boy hesitates. Eyes spinning as he looks down at Tenzo as Tsunade rips off his mask.

Sasuke was never part of the Team 7 that Tenzo was. That was the Team 7 that hunted the traitor, not the one who tried to save a hurt teammate.

Naruto seems to be the only one willing to call on Sasuke.

Even Tsunade, Pakkun is surprised to realize, won't look up at the boy.

"Is he even skilled enough?" One of the injured ANBU mutters, and he must have a death wish, Pakkun thinks as black flames erupt around him and send him scrambling backward into the writhing roots with a fearful squawk.

"Please."

Sasuke isn't the only one who turns to Tsunade in surprise as the smell of Kakashi's burning flesh begins to rise.

"Please. I-"

"Pardon him," Naruto interrupts. 

And oh, that boy has grown leaps and bounds, Pakkun realizes.

But he's still as stupidly brave as he always was.

"Kid-"

"Pardon Sasuke, and he'll help Tenzo." Naruto, ignoring Jiraiya trying to pull him back and the look of fury crossing Tsunade's face.

She has no choice, Pakkun realizes, and then, Naruto is going to be a great Hokage one day.

Iruka, Itachi, and Shisui might have helped before Naruto said anything, but they sure as hell won't now. Not if it means Sasuke will be legally pardoned.

Which means refusing will leave one of Tsunade's most valuable shinobi in the hands of Root, or dead.

The sheer size and reach of the wood release that's still fighting despite Tenzo's paralysis is testament to that.

And it will leave Kakashi even more emotionally compromised than he already is.

"Uchiha Sasuke, as Godaime Hokage, I hereby pardon you of all crimes committed against Konohagakure and her citizens."

There's a heartbeat where it looks like Sasuke still won't do it, where he just stares down at her, eyes as cold as her's are furious.

But all it takes is a shove from Naruto, and he kneels over Tenzo as Naruto and a reluctant Jiraiya move to help hold him.

The rest of the shinobi around them are too distracted battling Tenzo's wood release to notice the smoke billowing from the Hokage's Tower.

***

Compassion is to share the pain without sharing the suffering.

Shinzen Young

***

Present Day

: :Hokage's Office, Hokage's Tower, Konohagakure: :

Shizune didn't like being ordered to stay behind, especially not when it meant she was leaving Tsunade's side.

The Senju Sanin was brilliant and strong but easily distracted, and Shizune had learned the hard way that if you gave her an inch, she'd take a mile when it came to getting out of paperwork.

Shizune worries, mostly because it seems like Tsunade never does. Sometimes, rarely, but sometimes, Shizune thinks her teacher is too strong for her own good. Tsunade has never met an enemy she couldn't defeat, even though some of them took more work than others. 

Until Obito and Madara.

Until Kaguya.

It took others to defeat them, though Tsunade herself was no doubt vital to that effort, but she's been looking more and more towards retirement and personally, Shizune doesn't think Kakashi is ready.

He's skilled. Definitely the strongest of them now, but he doesn't want it.

And in Shizune's experience, people thrust into positions they don't want, don't tend to do very well.

Kakashi might come around, given enough time, but the more people push him, the less willing he becomes.

Leaders resentful of their own lack of choice aren't likely to allow those they lead theirs. 

Shizune does not want to see Kakashi or Konohagakure fall to that. Especially not now when it seems like they're finding out she came terribly close not long ago.

Everything Konohagakure has stood for for the last twenty years is being ripped up by the roots and laid out for dissection. 

The faith of Konohagakure's shinobi is being shaken.

But she stays put because Tsunade ordered her to because she knows how important this scroll is, so she stays and keeps making copies, sticks the original down her shirt, and keeps a kunai close so she's halfway ready when the Root ANBU squad breaks through the unguarded wards and teleports in.

Six on one are not great odds. Shizune knows her strengths, administration and ninjutsu leave her limited against ANBU level shinobi.

If they get the original scroll, no amount of copies will matter because legally, they'll never be able to prove the original ever existed, and the entire case they're building against Root and the Council, and the rot that has infected Konohagakure and killed her children will go on unchallenged.

Because it won't be long before they come for Tsunade herself. Then Kakashi. Jiraiya. Anyone else will be easy pickings after they're gone.

As she grips the kunai, steals herself and calculates the few possible escape routes she has, the door to Tsunade's office, the most heavily warded door in the village, shatters into splinters and even Root turns in surprise.

"Whoops." Hagane grins in the doorway, Kamizuki at his shoulder. "Put too much into that one, sorry 'bout that."

And Shizune can't even. Assistants to the Hokage's Assistants and mission desk workers, how the hell did they break that door?

Most days, she has to prod them into working or go find them when they've wandered off to "file" or yell at them when they replace the sake Shizune had thrown out.

"Hagane, Kamizuki," The Root Captain with a flycatcher mask growls, no surprise in his voice.

"Sorry, are we interrupting something?" Kamizuki grins.

"I think we are, Izu," Hagane steps into the office proper, hands stuffed in his pockets, casually slumped like he isn't walking into a fight that was going to result in Shizune's death. "Something big by the feel of it."

"Pretty sure that's not allowed," Kamizuki agrees, following him in as Root turns their backs to Shizune to face them.

Lazy, irritable, disrespectful Chūnin, Shizune thinks.

And then, allies.

"Leave, or we'll kill you as well," Flycatcher hisses.

Hagane and Kamizuki share a thoughtful look, and it sends a flash of fear and resignation through Shizune. 

They weren't going to let her live even if they got the scroll.

It makes her decision to die fighting easier.

And much as she's sympathetic to the desire to live, the two Chūnin are shinobi, and they have a duty to their Hokage and their village.

"I don't know," Kamizuki hedges.

"What will you give us if we do?" Hagane wonders.

It takes a second and Flycatcher's enraged snarl for Shizune to realize that they're playing. 

With Root.

Like hunters with their prey.

"Defend me," Shizune orders, one hand clutching a kunai, the other the scroll under her shirt.

And they do.

And she should have been clearer, she thinks, as she dives to the side, because apparently, to Hagane, a small office plus multiple attackers equals a giant fucking sword, and even Kamizuki sighs in exasperation as he throws himself at the half of Root that isn't fleeing Kotetsu's blade.

"Damn it, Ko."

But Hagane just laughs as he swings.

***

Present Day

: :Office of Shinobi Conduct, Konohagakure Council of Elder's Headquarters, Konohagakure: :

Koharu quietly sipped her tea, ignoring Homura's fluttering impatience next to her, as they watched the smoke rise through the window facing the Tower.

For most of Konohagakure's existence, their offices had been in the Tower itself, right next door to the Hokage's own. Where their beloved teacher Senju Tobirama had once worked alongside the village's bane, Uchiha Madara. It had been that very office where Danzo had birthed Root and finally defeated the Uchiha.

And it had been there that Hiruzen had broken Danzo's heart and then their trust when he'd banished them from the Tower and sent them to this tiny, cramped, forgotten building at the edge of the village. Next to the T&I headquarters and not far from ANBU, the two hardest organizations in the village to hide from.

To add further insult, he'd turned their old office into storage, struck their names from the plaque in the hall. 

Danzo had never forgiven him, and Koharu and Homura had no plans to do so either. That their old teammate had fallen so far was a sad, pathetic thing, but he had made his choices and refused their help.

She had not cried at his funeral.

And then his student had refused to allow them to return, muttering something about culling the herd and too many heads and not enough soldiers and immediately placed herself in the category of enemy instead of ally. 

It was disappointing, considering Koharu could still remember babysitting her when she'd been a toddler.

Danzo had even been the one to teach her her first medical jutsu, and she'd turned her back on him as quickly as she'd turned on Hiruzen.

Ungrateful brat.

"Hatake failed," Homura murmured.

"It is of little consequence now." It had been a hail mary to begin with, setting him on Iruka while they were both still inside the village walls. Too many others nearby to intervene to truly hope for success. 

But Shisui and Itachi's return, and the Uzumaki boy and the youngest Uchiha…

And the loss of Asuma and Jiraiya…

They were running out of soldiers, and Iruka's allies were growing, and they needed something to distract them all while they put the painter in place.

Neko had outlived his usefulness after bringing them that scroll.

And they still had their best weapon safely tucked away in the Land of Iron, well out of the reach of anyone in the village.

And how amusing was it? That the thing the Uchiha claimed to value most, love, was what would lead to their fall. 

Again.

Iruka's love and desire to protect the jinchuriki and the traitor had finally allowed them to box him in. Hunting the Hanta on one side, his brothers on the other, his chosen son on another, and now the man he loved on the last.

There was nowhere left for Iruka to run.

She'd warned Hiruzen. She'd even warned Fugaku all those years ago, that Iruka's emotions would be his undoing if they didn't correct him while he was young. They had ignored her and that was when she'd realized the Uchiha were beyond redemption, beyond saving. They needed to be eliminated before they endangered the village.

Such foolhardiness could not be tolerated among the ranks of Konohagakure-nin if the village was expected to continue to survive and lead the shinobi world.

Iruka and his kin were a blemish upon their existence that Koharu and Homaru could not allow to continue.

That Iruka had survived them thus far was impressive. Enough that some of their organization whispered of Fugaku's reach from beyond the grave, but Koharu did not believe in such fairytales.

Iruka had been blessed with the Sandaime's affection, and now that that was no longer the case, it was the perfect time to dispose of him. And following him, the jinchuriki and his brothers and then the Godaime herself. 

Most likely, they'd have to get rid of Hatake too, she mused, so today's distraction served a two-fold purpose, as Kakashi was unlikely to survive the removal of the seal.

After waiting patiently for so long, things were finally falling into place.

"The Inuzuka and Aburame will need to be handled quickly," Homura murmured, a little too gleeful for proper company. 

"That is what the artist is for. There are too few of them left to survive his attack."

The idea of finally shutting up that loud-mouth Inuzuka bitch was almost as compelling as finally silencing Iruka, and she smiled as she sipped her tea.

The Uchiha are born half-dead, it seems, and spend the rest of their lives trying to be fully dead, Tobirama-sensei had said.

I will grant your wish then, she thought, pleased.

Yes, things were finally falling together.

***

Present Day

: :Forest of Death, Land of Fire: :

"Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!" Shinmoro sang and danced through the dark forest and the tall trees, unable to contain his glee. "Freedom! Fresh air! Vengeance!" 

He laughed and then stopped.

There, sitting at the foot of a great tree was a box of blank scrolls and ink.

Everything he needed and he laughed again and couldn't stop.

"Here I come!"

***

Present Day

: :Land of Snow: :

The lodge built deep inside the mountains, more fortress than anything else, Minato mused, was truly incredible.

Including the huge Uchiha uchiwa carved into the highest peak that would have been visible for miles if it wasn't concealed by such powerful wards.

There were very few clans who loved their symbols as much as the Uchiha. 

Though it had clearly had few visitors and even fewer long-term residents, it hummed with power left over from those who had been there. The smell of Mokuton and Godfire permeated everything. Always warm, always strong, a shelter from all enemies. 

It would be easy to pass the decades here. Safe from the perils of the world.

Kikyo wouldn't admit who had been here before, aside from herself, but Minato can guess. 

There is great knowledge hidden here, in the sprawling library and Kikyo's endless mind and he spends his days absorbing as much as he can. About Kaguya and the Otsutsuki and the war he didn't even know they were fighting. 

About the miasma and Zetsu and poor, poor Madara. 

And Obito. 

About all the things that had been discovered and then lost again and the unsettling realization that even Kaguya had wanted something good in beginning, had wanted to protect and defend and make her children happy and safe.

In the beginning.

And the small betrayals that poisoned her against the world she'd created until a mother hated her own children.

Minato can be sympathetic and unforgiving at the same time.

Kikyo doesn't seem like the type to be sympathetic about anything, but he supposes that fighting the same war over and over for so long would burn that out of even the best of them.

That she was there to see it the first time, to stand by her father against her great-grandmother and then to follow him when he walked away from what was left of his family after, it takes longer to absorb and consider that than it does the most complicated jutsus he finds hidden away up here.

It had taken him days to recover after she'd shown him the memories of what had happened while he'd been gone and a few from the years before he'd even been born.

The depths of the Rinnegan as haunting as the origins of the Otsutsuki.

"We have to go."

He blinked, thankfully he'd gotten past the point that she could startle him. "What?"

"Now."

Even confused, he followed. "What's happened?"

"They woke up the demon summoner."

She hadn't gotten to that point in her stories of the past yet, but Minato could already tell it was exceptionally bad news.

***

The two most important days in your life are the day you are born, and the day you find out why. 

Mark Twain

***

~tbc~