Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Regret Not A Thing ❯ Ch. 20: Calling Out the Wolves ( Chapter 20 )

Regret Not A Thing

By Mizerable

 

 

 

Ch.20: Calling Out the Wolves

 

Kakashi was in dire need of a distraction.

 

He could well enough admit he was a flawed man. That fact didn't make it any easier to face it with so little to take his mind away from the thought. There was a “freeze” on missions, for want of a better word, that would take him far from the Village and force him to concentrate just on surviving. With the ever dominating threat of the Akatsuki, all Leaf shinobi were being kept close to home until they had a better grasp on exactly where said enemy was and what it was planning at present.

 

This left him far too much time to think.

 

There were the names of those he failed waiting on a cold slab of stone for him to visit. A widow unconsciously wondered if he could have saved her husband, had he been there. Two of his students were lost to him in all but body. The third was just lost.

 

Or dead.

 

Don't think it, he reminded himself.

 

There was only one person he could think of seeing right now that he could not be held accountable for. He couldn't be blamed for her condition, and she'd loathe any pity for it. If she could withstand her troubles, then he supposed he could do the same in her presence.

 

And thus he found himself at Anko's door this morning. He gave a firm knock and waited patiently for her answer. He knew it would take her some time. Minutes drifted by before he knocked again, louder, and wondered perhaps if she was resting. He leaned against the door, palm pressed against the wood and debated if he should leave, when the soft click of the door distracted him.

 

It was open?

 

Dread wormed its way through his blood as he cautiously made his way inside. All the while, his mind tried to rationalize what appeared to be an irrational oversight on Anko's part. Some part of him hoped that, perhaps, she left it unlocked on the rather improbable chance that Sasuke would return. It was better than assuming illness was chipping away at her reason. A shinobi who couldn't take the smallest of precautions, especially in times such as these, surely wouldn't—

 

He found her collapsed form lying in the hallway.

 

Kakashi rushed to her side, instantly feeling for a pulse. Fluttering softly, unsteadily, but still there. It was only then that he spotted the splotch of red staining her house coat. The fingers pressed against the side of her throat pulled the fabric aside with care to find a gash on her shoulder, reaching towards her collarbone. Nearby was the ever-present seal.

 

The curse was advancing.

 

It was a blur of time between crouching over her prone form to carrying her through the hospital entrance. All the while he tired to ignore a memory from four years ago when it had been a student he'd done this for. Just as it happened then, the nurses scurried around him in attempts to help their latest patient while he growled for someone to fetch the Hokage. She was the only chance Anko had. Even though it remained a dubious one.

 

Now he paced about Anko's hospital room, trying to ignore how her fair skin seemed to bleed into the white sheets and her dark hair looked like ink spilled across the pillow. His feet taped in rhythm with the beeps of the heart monitor.

 

“I've sent Shizune to fetch Hinata,” Tsunade announced as she strode in, looking decidedly disheveled, “Jiraiya should be here shortly, as well.”

 

The Hokage didn't look well. Her overdrawn appearance made Kakashi feel even more uneasy about the whole situation.

 

“Will it make a difference?” a rare blunt and bitter tone.

 

“Better than doing nothing,” she muttered, bitter answer, “If only…”

 

She trailed off, realizing she didn't have the heart to speak the words. Not to him.

 

“If only,” he echoed, evidently understanding her line of thought.

 

If only Sasuke told them more.

 

Jiraiya chose this moment to make his appearance, walking in with a scroll in hand and expression grim.

 

“I can't make any guarantees,” he spoke gruffly, as if he hadn't slept in days, “I studied the information intensely but even I might be unable to replicate that seal in a form that works.”

 

“That complex?” Tsunade sneered, in too foul of a mood to avoid the chance to goad him.

 

“That forbidden.”

 

“…Ah.”

 

“Tsunade-sama!” Shizune burst into the room, breathless, “Hinata—She's missing!”

 

“Missing?” Tsunade all but shouted.

 

“And not just her. Neji-kun is gone, too. The Hyuuga are in a panic!”

 

Jiraiya was muttering a string of curses as he unraveled the scroll next to Anko. As if they didn't have enough problems to deal with…

 

“Get Shikamaru down here,” Tsunade growled, “I want the Anbu to sweep this entire Village. Nobody rests `til we find out what's going on.”

 

Shizune made to leave, until a voice held her in place.

 

“I'll go,” Kakashi announced, “Your skills would be better served here.”

 

“Kakashi-sempai,” she murmured, looking to Tsunade for further orders. She received a vague nod as an answer.

 

Kakashi went through the motions of summoning and called upon his dog pack.

 

“Pakkun, find Shikamaru. The rest of you, Hinata and Neji of the Hyuuga are missing. Locate them.”

 

The dogs scattered.

 

“I'm surprised you resorted to them now,” Jiraiya commented, his words heavy.

 

“There wasn't a need until now. I think it's safe to say that we wouldn't find Sasuke unless he allowed it.”

 

“Ah—true enough.”

 

* * *

 

Pakkun arrived at the Nara home, where Shikato sat at his usual place on the porch.

 

“Sorry, ol' friend. Shikamaru was gone when I got up at dawn. I assumed he had a mission…Not the case, huh?”

 

“Doesn't seem like it,” Pakkun admitted, wishing Kakashi had explained a little more about what was going on. Aside from the fact that two Hyuuga kids were missing.

 

“Hmm, well that Temari girl from the Sand was here yesterday. She might know a thing or two.”

 

Pakkun nodded and caught onto her scent before departing.

 

He followed it to the hotel, finding that Shikamaru's scent was there still. He had been here as recently as yesterday. He pawed at the door and called out to no avail. Nobody answered. He circled outside for any clues and found an open window to their room. He hopped up to the ledge and peered around inside.

 

“Hello? Shikamaru? Miss Temari?”

 

The place was empty, spotless. There was nothing to signify anyone was even staying here.

 

They left.

 

Worry was starting to gnaw at him. Did Kakashi know they were gone, too? He tried to think of other places to check when Shikamaru's teammate Ino came to mind. The dash to the Yamanaka shop was a blur with no clues as to where everyone disappeared.

 

Inoshi scooped up Pakkun when he entered the flower shop and listened intently to the dog's story.

 

“Shikamaru hasn't been by lately, as far as I know. Ino left last night to make a special delivery and said she had training early this morning, so I haven't even seen her yet today.”

 

Pakkun tried to ignore the mounting worry. He would just check the training grounds. Surely he would find Ino there.

 

He raced out the door and found Kakashi instead.

 

“Anything?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Shikamaru, the Sand siblings, Ino...”

 

“Kakashi! Is it true?” Gai called out, “Neji is missing, too?”

 

“Too'?”

 

“Lee!” Gai panted, “Vanished!”

 

“Miss Tenten's gone, too,” a white dog appeared.

 

“I checked with Miss Hana of the Inuzuka Clan,” a tan dog announced, “Miss Hinata left Akamaru in her care yesterday, saying she had some research project and couldn't look after him. None of the Inuzuka pups can find Shino, either.”

 

“You've got to be kidding me,” Kakashi muttered.

 

“What do you think happened to them?” Gai was strangely serious.

 

“They happened to leave.”

 

Kakashi stalked off, trying to fathom where they all were heading. In order to get that many people out of the Village without anyone noticing until now would have required genjutsu. And he knew damn well of one such young lady who was skilled enough to do just that.

 

Sakura, you fool.

 

He just prayed that Naruto somehow wasn't involved in this mess, though that was likely wishful thinking on his part. But for Naruto to be out there somewhere with the Akatsuki on the move…

 

* * *

 

“Kakashi-san?” Iruka was seated at a table in the Academy teachers' lounge, “Tea?”

 

“I'm afraid I don't have time to be social,” he replied curtly.

 

“The rumors are true, then,” Iruka grew solemn.

 

“So it would seem. I'm left trying to piece together what those kids are up to…I don't suppose you've seen Naruto lately?”

 

“Last night, actually. For ramen.”

 

“Still treating him to dinner?” there might have been a weak smile behind his mask.

 

“Surprisingly, he treated me.”

 

* * *

 

The Previous Night

 

“Thanks for meeting me on such short notice, Iruka-sensei.”

 

“No trouble, at all!” Iruka spoke warmly, “Though I do wonder what the occasion is that you're offering to pay.”

 

Naruto gave a tight-lipped smile in reply, worry lines creeping around his eyes.

 

“To say `thank you'. Something I should've done a long time ago.”

 

“For what?” Iruka inquired, still good-natured.

 

“All the support you've given me. Don't think I'd have made it very far in life, if it wasn't for you.”

 

Iruka smiled, deeply touched that Naruto still thought so highly of him.

 

“You've always been capable of great things. I can't take much credit, save for maybe giving you a push in the right direction.”

 

“I owe you a lot for that,” Naruto remembered Gaara transformed into the monster within, remembered Sasuke overcome by the curse seal with wings and fangs and claws, “I promise I won't disappoint you.”

 

“Naruto, I'm already proud of you. What more do you need to prove?”

 

“I'm gonna save the world.”

 

No humor or smiles. Just cold determination.

 

“Of course!” Iruka tried to keep things light, though he had the odd sense something was weighing terribly on his student's mind, “Now is that before or after you become Hokage?”

 

Naruto gave his best fox grin, but said nothing further on the matter.

 

* * *

 

Kakashi made his way to Naruto's apartment with the conversation with Iruka replaying in his mind. Both teachers had been left wondering what Naruto had really been trying to say last night. The door was unlocked, as per usual, and Kakashi knew it would be empty when he entered. His prediction was correct, no Naruto to be found. There was only one thing out of place in his tiny home.

 

On the kitchen table was a picture frame. A frame with The Photo in it, of Team 7 all those years ago. Pinned beneath the frame was a note.

 

“Gone to rescue Sasuke. I'll be back later.”

 

Kakashi crumpled it in his fist.

 

He lost them all.

 

* * *

 

News always spread fast in a shinobi village.

 

“Those reckless, stupid brats,” Tsunade snarled, back to the others, arms wrapped around herself, “I should have known—I should have—Damn it!”

 

The side of her fist put a crater in the wall.

 

“I can send the dogs out,” Kakashi offered in humbled, subdued tones, “Try and head them off before they do anything more foolish.”

 

“They've probably got a good twelve hours on us by now,” Jiraiya pointed out. He had Anko's shoulder exposed, a bandage over her wound, as he prepared to mark her with a seal that may or may not save her. “And I'm not sure you would be enough against twelve.”

 

“Then I'll take a squad—”

 

“We don't have a squad to send,” Tsunade snapped, turning her angry eyes on him, “Our forces are sorely depleted, as is. Now with those kids traipsing off to god-knows-where, Konoha is extremely vulnerable.”

 

“What should we do?” Shizune managed to speak up, cautiously, hesitantly, “If they should cross paths with the Akatsuki…”

 

“No doubt that's exactly what they intend to do,” Tsunade spat.

 

And that, the others realized, was a likely truth.

 

“Well,” Jiraiya cut through the lengthy silence, “I'm ready to proceed here…”

 

She gave a distracted nod to signal him on. She willed herself to maintain a clinical mind.

 

You can only help those before you. Think of nothing else…Nothing else…

 

Jiraiya bit his thumb and let the blood well up. The first touch of it against Anko's skin brought about a reaction he hadn't expected. Her hand shot up and caught his wrist, holding his hand away from her seal.

 

“What might you be doing, Jiraiya-sama?”

 

She had one eye cracked open and her mouth set in a deep scowl.

 

“Saving you, my dear. Or at least that was the plan.”

 

“Don't you dare put that seal on me,” she growled.

 

“Anko-san, please calm down,” Shizune tried to mollify her, “You've grown very sick. The curse seal—”

 

“—Is killin' me. You think I don't know that?”

 

“I know you're upset,” Tsunade sat on the edge of the bed, her medic spirit rising to the surface, “But we won't let you die.”

 

“No. You'll drag it out for me like Sasuke, the poor bastard.”

 

Kakashi seemed to flinch at the sound of his student's name, but he kept himself removed from the situation. He stood away from the hospital bed, leaning against the wall. They really were similar, Sasuke and Anko, with all that stubborn anger.

 

“If I gotta die, just leave me be. No prolongin' it. No seals to buy me some time,” her voice grew softer, “I watched it eat him alive. I'll be damned if I gotta go through that.”

 

Shizune opened her mouth to protest. So many people lost in such a short period of time…How much more could this village take? How much more could Tsunade handle?

 

“Well, if that's your wish,” Tsunade rose stiffly.

 

“Thanks,” Anko gave a weak, satisfied sort of grin, before settling deeper into the mattress, “Now…don't y'all have something better to do with your time?”

 

* * *

 

The bluff was not particularly note-worthy. Simply woods above an outcropping of rock overlooking a river. Beyond that was something a touch more interesting. A gateway of some scared significance to someone, surely, and a boulder marked by paper talisman. Shikamaru didn't bother checking the map again before rolling it up and sticking it in his back pocket.

 

“Well, we know what we have to do,” he spoke blandly, eleven other bodies appeared from the underbrush. He slid his Anbu mask over his face, replaced now by the features of a wolf on the hunt. “Let's get to work.”

 

* * *

 

Yugito still held Sasuke's hand tightly, the only thing keeping her grounded. The only thing reminding her she wasn't alone. That the cavalry was on the way. Dripping water splashed somewhere in the darkness. It was so damn cold in here…

 

“Are you still with me?” her soft voice seemed to roar through the silence. It didn't earn a response from Sasuke, though.

 

“Say something,” she paused, felt her pride slide down her throat, “…please.”

 

She was the strongest shinobi of the Cloud, second only to the Raikage, yet now she knew of true weakness. True fear. She let go of his bony hand and it dropped limply to his side.

 

“Hey, c'mon,” she forced herself to her knees, grimacing all the while, and shook his shoulder, “Wake up.”

 

The movement rolled him onto his back, head lolling like a doll.

 

“You have to wake up,” she ordered (pleaded), touched under his nose to check for breath. She drew back sharply, fingers wet and warm. It smelled of primal things.

 

Blood.

 

“You have to wake up. Your friends are coming for you, aren't they? You can't just quit now. Wake up!”

 

She was shaking him harshly now, but to no avail. He would not rouse.

 

Her eyes burned.

 

“Don't leave me alone in here…”

 

Her mind repeated the shinobi code like a mantra. Shinobi do not cry. They show no emotion. Not even when she knew she was not strong enough to escape. Not even when she faced her own death.

 

* * *

 

“We have company,” Zetsu's dark half spoke.

 

“Nine from Konoha, three from the Sand,” light.

 

“The Kyuubi and the Ichibi,” dark.

 

“Then all is going according to plan,” Shisui stated, “Let us proceed.”

 

* * *

 

Shikamaru stood on the water, staring up at the clouds. It was a fine sight to see, and made him a touch nostalgic. When this was over, he very much wanted the chance to lie in the grass and watch the sky once more. Such a simple, trivial thing…but to take joy in the small things was what life was for. Enjoying the basics.

 

Chouji had taught him that.

 

No. That wasn't true. Chouji made him appreciate things more than Shikamaru even anticipated. He's always liked the sky and the clouds and hours spent with the warm sun on his face. But sharing those little things with someone else was what made living worth a damn.

 

“No doubt they already know we're here,” Temari drawled.

 

It drew Shikamaru's head from the clouds.

 

“There's only so much stealth one can manage when infiltrating the stronghold of the world's worst criminals,” he mused, suddenly recalling the splintered doors of the Sound.

 

“I never was much for stealth,” she replied plainly.

 

Shikamaru restrained the urge to roll his eyes at her. That had to be the understatement of the year. Instead he focused on fishing an object from his pocket: a ring. Deidara's ring. He tuned it in his hand, studying the way the sunlight gleamed off its polished finish, before aiming it towards the boulder. Red light passed from the ring to the seal and the entrance to the cave opened itself.

 

Knew this thing would come in handy.

 

“Well this is quite a treat,” Kisame greeted from the threshold.

 

“Such flattery,” Temari smirked, reaching around for her fan.

 

Kisame charged forward, moving far faster than one would expect for a man of his size. The pair held steady, unflinching, against the imminent onslaught. He raised Samehada for the kill, bloodlust running heady and strong through his very being, when the sword collided with a wall of sand. The impact was jarring, sent him reeling back with what might have been surprise.

 

“So the One-Tail is here,” he grinned viciously as he changed his grip on the sword. He prepared to lunge in with his next attack—

 

“Konoha Senpuu!”

 

—He met solidly with Lee's kick. He skidded across the water, sending ripples across its surface, never noticing not all the ripples were his own. Though one might say Kisame was not particularly a genjutsu type, anyway. He'd been far too preoccupied by how similar the guy who just kicked him looked suspiciously like that Konoha jounin who had managed the same a few years back.

 

This proved to be enough of a distraction for a ball, made of iron and spikes, to bounce towards his feet. He registered the explosion tag just before it detonated in a burst of kunai and fire. Naturally he countered with a shield of water to avoid any injuries.

 

When the smoke and the steam cleared away, Shikamaru and Temari were gone. And Kisame found himself surrounded. Lee directly in front of him, Tenten and Ino on either side, and Gaara behind him.

 

“Such clever children,” his grin widened.

 

* * *

 

Shikamaru and Temari stood atop the bluff once more, watching the fight unfold below.

 

“Well?” he cast a glance over his shoulder.

 

“How long do you plan on hiding?” Neji spoke in loud, clear tones.

 

“As expected from someone of the Hyuuga Clan,” Zetsu appeared from within a tree. He seemed to take no notice of the insects climbing along the trunk.

 

* * *

 

The hologram of Zetsu appeared before Shisui.

 

“There are four mice scurrying about the cave.”

 

“Then perhaps we should take care of our kitty before she finds them.”

 

* * *

 

He is four years old.

 

He is young, but still notices more than one might expect of someone his age. But in his home, that brilliance is already an expectation.

 

“We are honored by your visit,” his father speaks to a guest at the door. He peeks around the corner to get a better look at this visitor.

 

“There's no need to be so formal,” the other man spoke in warm tones, “I'm here to offer my congratulations, as your wife is with child again.”

 

His mother stands behind him, her stomach just starting to round, and tries to usher him further inside.

 

“Ah, and here is your son,” the man smiled.

 

“Yes. He starts at the Academy tomorrow,” his father speaks these words proudly.

 

“And so young,” perhaps it was meant as a compliment, but the man's voice seems more subdued than before.

 

He stares up at this man, light shining off his golden hair and brilliantly white coat. He thinks this person glows like the sun, somehow. He likes the idea.

 

“This man carries the title of strongest in our village,” his father explains, “Maybe someday you, too, will carry such a title.”

 

The man seems to ignore this statement entirely, and focuses on the young boy standing before him instead.

 

“Well, son, what would you like to do when you grow up?”

 

No one has ever asked him this question before. Phrases about leading his Clan or becoming a police officer trickle through his mind, but never make their way to his tongue. Instead he glances past the man, outside, where there are two others standing. A teenage boy keeps a rigid stance; his left eye is covered. He knows of this person. He has the powers of the Clan, but was not part of the Clan…

 

With him is a girl with hair the color of fine wine and plum eyes. In her arms was a bundle he know realizes is a toddler.

 

Her brother, if he wasn't mistaken?

 

His eyes drift to his mother's swollen belly.

 

“I want to protect my brother.”

 

His parents grow tense at his answer.

 

“That,” the man crouches down so they can see one another eye to eye, and places a hand on his little shoulder, “is an excellent dream. Follow that path, and you'll become a great man.”

 

He woke with a start, returning to the world defined by endless darkness.

 

“Bad dream?” a voice spoke to him, roughened by fever.

 

“I was remembering the sun,” he murmured, casting his forearm over eyes that didn't see a thing. As if to block out the pain of a light that shone too bright for its own good. A phantom pain, now.

 

The other sat back, the words weighing far too heavily on his memory. He, too, remembered the sun. Different person, same legacy.

 

“The sun,” he muttered, a weary smile twitching at the corners of his mouth, “That was a good dream, then.”

 

“Yes,” he replied, “It was all a dream.”

 

 

 

To be continues…