Chapter 22
Keigo would return to active duty after four months of recovery.
Too many for a normal shinobi.
But Keigo wasn't a normal shinobi, he was the son of the hokage and because of that his father could pull the strings and give him enough time to recover from the psychological scars.
A privilege that no other shinobi had and it made him angry.
Keigo was furious.
Because for the Elders and the previous hokages the shinobi were just soldiers, weapons to use as they pleased, easily replaceable and therefore it was not worth spending time and resources on their rehabilitation.
He could see the effects this had, the haunted eyes, the dark shadows under the eyes and the paranoia that haunted those who had been left to fend for themselves.
Keigo knew that everyone would return in storage scrolls from missions instead of on their feet.
And if it had not been the mission that killed them but left them with wounds that would have made them retreat, they would still be left alone as they were no longer capable of fighting.
Abandoned as society's rejects.
Keigo was tired of things going on like this.
His father was a good man and a good hokage but he had been raised with that life and no matter how hard he tried he was blind to certain issues.
"Sometimes I wish I was nobody's soldier" Keigo admitted.
He was on the mountain hokage at his usual place. He knew his father had arrived some time earlier but he had waited in case he wanted to say something.
"I'd be my own soldier" he continued "No one to command me around and make me act like a headless chicken"
"It would not be possible except in a lonely life then" Minato replied, he didn't know where that conversation came from.
"Not if I became hokage"
He could see the moment his admission was understood by his father, the surprise written clear on his face.
"I'm tired of those in charge forgetting that we are people and not weapons and I hoped that things would change on their own but I'm tired of waiting" Keigo confessed.
He didn't give his father time to speak before continuing, "When I was little it was you who brought me here and said I would understand why the village was worth fighting for. Maybe it took me a little longer than expected but now I understand"
Minato had been left speechless by Keigo's speech. He had always known that his son had clear ideas and was also very loud about it but never in his life had he seen him so determined.
"Those people from first to last are the reason I will continue to fight, they are my home and I will protect them"
Keigo stared below him at the village that stretched out as far as the eye could see, too many feelings were swirling inside him to describe them, the future was well mapped out in his head.
"So when I think of tomorrow, there we are, I'll lead the way or have my people to guide me, we'll build our future together"
And as Keigo said it, Minato could see it, he could see it so clearly, that his son would become a great hokage and an even better man.
His first day back as a Duck was a simple day of team practice, as simple as six hours of training could be with Kakashi as captain.
With the shift ending in the late afternoon, Keigo still in his ANBU uniform and mask attached to his belt, headed towards the memorial stone.
It was the first time he had returned since the day of the massacre.
He needed to clear his head and there was no better place to talk about his problems.
Boy problems.
And not just any boy but Kakashi.
They certainly weren't things he could talk about to his father or worse Shikaku-sensei.
So the stone was a good replacement for what was supposed to be its mother.
And Keigo talked for hours, how his guts turned at the thought of Kakashi understanding his feelings but how he couldn't help but gravitate towards him and the sweetness that seemed to be reserved only for him.
He groaned letting his head fall into his hands.
He imagined his mother sitting in front of him, she would definitely be laughing at him at that moment.
She always seemed to be laughing with her whole body.
By now if it weren't for the photos that immortalized her, Keigo would have forgotten her face. Well he had, he no longer remembered her normal expressions, how her lips moved or how she wrinkled her nose. He doesn't even remember what her laugh sounded like.
But he remembered how hearing that laugh made him feel, that even if she was laughing at him he would start laughing too because when his mother laughed no one could help themselves from joining in.
When his tattoo's seal activated he was brought back to the present. That and Tenzou arriving behind him.
"We are needed in the hokage's office"
Good thing he hadn't changed out of his uniform yet, Keigo thought as he put his mask back on and followed Cat.
Keigo, Tenzou and Kakashi were kneeling shoulder to shoulder in the hokage's office.
"Team Ro as former teammates of Uchiha Itachi you have been chosen for his recovery mission"
Minato was leaning against the desk, fingers drumming on the edge as he spoke.
"We have been informed that in four days he will pass through the capital of fire, you will have to manage to track him down there or his traces will be lost for we don't know how much longer"
Kakashi, as captain, was given the mission scroll and then they disappeared without any noise.
That evening Keigo could have been on the roof of the tower, the summer heat was so much that he was only wearing shorts.
He had just put Naruto to bed who, that evening, had required two stories before being convinced to be tucked in.
However, sleep wouldn't come as soon for him as it did for his little brother, so he retired to look at the stars.
His head, however, instead of being filled with thoughts about the stars, was invaded by Itachi and the mission.
He wanted to find him with all his heart but at the same time he didn't know if he had the strength to look him in the face.
A pair of feet landing at his side made him jump in surprise.
"Mah, Keigo, you'll get cold if you stay here a little longer"