Kakashi stares at the shinobi in front of him. Ever since he became Hokage, he hadn’t gotten used to seeing his people and fellow ninja from this viewpoint. The silver-haired Kage was livid internally, but externally, he seemed as cool as a cucumber.
“Any sign of her yet? Naruto? Azarashi?”
Naruto glances to his squad member and then his blue eyes gaze back to his old sensei. It has been weeks since Enoki’s disappearance and Naruto feels responsible since she was under his command.
“None whatsoever, Kakashi-sensei. I’m… I’m sorry. It’s my fault. If I–”
The Hokage raises his gloved hand and shakes his head. Placing his hands together in front of his face, he leans against the desk, glaring at, well, nothing. He was mad at himself for sending them on what was supposed to be a simple mission.
Even in times of peace, there are those who want to cause trouble. Stupid rogues… They obviously didn’t know who she was and who she’s related to. If he weren’t tied to the village he’d go out and search for her. He knows that Anko had been out searching as well but… even her keen tracking skills were proving fruitless.
Then there’s her younger brothers. Kakashi sees how they act when he gets home from the Hokage building. It makes Kakashi uneasy. He feels like he can’t do anything to ease his family’s pain. He can’t even ease the pain in himself.
And that’s what gets him the most. A shinobi shouldn’t show emotion since it’s a weakness. It is one of the rules of shinobi conduct, after all.
But this… To hell with those rules.
“It’s not anyones’ fault, Naruto. You should know that. I’ll contact our allies around the continent and have them keep a look out. Gaara already knows of our situation. Our main priority is to bring Enoki back safely.” His gaze to a scroll on his desk and he bites his masked lip. “But for now, I have a mission for you–”
Naruto stomps his foot, which causes Kakashi to gaze upward, his eyes just as lazy as they ever did.
“Hell no! I’m not doing anything else til Enoki is back with us!” The blond shinobi then looks to Azarashi. “Right?”
Azarashi Umino gulps, his black eyes going to his sensei then to the Hokage. How can he speak to their leader like that? He’s not like Naruto-sensei…
“Ah… I mean, a mission would help us look around–” he replies then looks to his team leader.
“Well, Naruto?” Kakashi says, shifting in his seat for a brief moment.
The blond sighs, grumbling while crossing his arms. “Fine… What’s the mission?”
Naruto would never change, Kakashi thinks to himself. Thinking of his friends, comrades… It was a keypoint in Kakashi’s teachings afterall. Handing them the scroll, Azarashi opens it and reads the contents, once he’s done he hands it to Naruto.
“There’s some raids going on in a nearby village. Seems some rogue ninja are the culprits. It’s up to you both, and Ame, to see what’s going on and help them,” Kakashi finally says then leans back in his chair.
The squad nods then goes out of the room, but before that, Naruto stops and turns to face his old sensei.
“Kakashi-sensei… I’m so sorry. But, I will save Enoki. I swear to you.”
Kakashi blinks slowly, both eyes staring him down. He knows Naruto means it, and that means so much to the older shinobi. With a nod, the Hokage motions him to go. “I know… Thank you, Naruto.”
When the blond leaves, Kakashi can’t help but slam his fists into the desk, causing it to splinter slightly. He knows he has to keep positive that Enoki is alive and well, despite being caught…
But deep down, he can’t help but think that she’s no longer around at all. Another person close to him gone thanks to the ninja way… Kakashi swears and can’t help bit shed a few tears. His daughter might be dead and he can’t do anything about it.
“To hell with this system…”
-×-
After some time of sending Team Naruto out to their mission, a knock came to Kakashi’s office door. A brow raises curiously. He wasn’t expecting anyone at this time, his next appointment wasn’t meant for a few more hours. Sifting through some more papers, he sighs. If this isn’t important news about the village or Enoki…
“Enter,” he says, reading through a proposal for a new park near one of the edges of the village. No wait, no time to actually read up on this proposal. Glancing up, his eyes widened a fraction at who was there. “Amefuri Kumo. It’s been a while.”
The Kumo Clan leader raises his head, eyes narrowing slightly. “Lord Sixth,” he says with a certain distaste that Kakashi caught on with. “Any luck with finding Enoki?” Amefuri adds on, much to the Hokage’s surprise.
“Ah… No. No luck. I’ve notified our allies, asked them to keep an eye out for her. But… I should be out there too. I should be looking for Enoki.” He looks to the mass of papers on his desk. “I can’t leave the village though.”
Amefuri smirks. “Of course you can’t. You have to follow the rules after all. Not even your daughter is above that. Too bad your own father didn’t follow the rules.”
Kakashi’s brows furrowed and he glared at the offending clan leader. “Watch your tongue, Kumo. Unless you forget who you’re talking to. I am still the Hokage, regardless of how you feel about my father, me, or my children.”
“Your daughter’s disappearance has struck a cord with my son. I have told him that comrades… teammates, they come and go. He would not listen to me. All because of his stupid crush on a weakling. She couldn’t even save herself from rogues.”
The silver-haired shinobi stood up then slams his hands onto the desktop below him. “Heed my words, Amefuri. Do not speak of what you don’t understand. You’ve been on my case since I picked them to be on the same team a few years ago. I get your dislike for my father. I even disliked him for most my own life. You can dislike me all you want. But, don’t you dare treat my daughter the same way! She is innocent of what happened in the past.”
Amefuri didn’t even flinch. He stood there unwavering, his brown eyes gazed at his supposed leader. “Apologies, my Lord.” His arms crosses over his chest. “I’ll take my leave then. Good luck finding your child, Lord Hokage.” He takes his leave after his lackluster apology.
“We’re not done here, Amefuri! Do not leave!” Kakashi’s eyes never leave the man as he defies him and leaves the room. “Tch…” Sitting back into his chair, Kakashi runs a hand down his face. This situation with Amefuri is getting out of hand. The last time they met like this was when Kakashi chose the members of Team Naruto. Kakashi glances to the team photo on his desk then shakes his head, the memory still quite fresh.
“Things must be fixed between our two families. But first, we have to find Enoki.”
-×-
As soon as Kakashi heard of what has transpired between Team Naruto and the rogue ninjas, he left his office as fast as he could. He actually ran to the gates to see if what was said in the message was really true.
If it was… Kakashi has no idea what he’d do with himself.
Taking in deep breathes he gazes over at the tree lined walkway, looking for any sign of the team’s return. They were coming right? What’s taking them so damn long?
Just as he finished the thought, he saw figures come into view. Trying to make out who they were, he squints his eyes slightly. The image is clearer now. Naruto and his team returned. His breathing quickened in pace as he saw a familiar head of silver hair. Dashing over, he skidded to a stop a few feet away from Naruto, Azarashi, Ame, and…
“Enoki…” he whispers.
She was bounded tightly. A wrap around her eyes and a seal tag placed on her person as well. It broke Kakashi’s heart seeing his little girl like this. Then, his blood started to boil. Whoever those rogues were, they would pay for this with their lives.
“Easy, Kakashi-sensei… We took care of all of them. Don’t worry, ya know? They’re all dead,” came Naruto’s voice which actually seemed to bring Kakashi back from the darkness of his mind. The darkness he is all too familiar with.
“All dead? What about interrogation? You should have left one alive, Naruto. Who are we going to question?” Kakashi asks, brow raised as he picks up Enoki bridal style to carry her the rest of the way. They need to get her checked out. But what’s first? Mental and residual jutsu check that was most likely left behind? Or medical check to see if anything needs tending to?
“Lord Sixth,” says Azarashi, “we need to get her injuries checked out first. We… had to bring her down. I’m-I’m so sorry. I… I never realized how much she holds back. We need to get checked out too… But, Enoki first. I… we need to make sure she’s okay first,” the young Umino adds on then looks to Ame who nods.
“Mm. I’m… I’m just glad she’s back in the village,” Ame says then looks away.
Kakashi looks between the three shinobi. “We’ll do both at the same time. Mental check for jutsu left behind and physical as well. You three… your mission is complete and I thank you. You brought back not only a comrade and citizen of this village, but also my daughter. I cannot thank you enough.” He would have cried. He would have broke down. He should since Enoki is back home, despite being banged up. But not now. Not in front of his subordinates.
The team nods as they head to the hospital with their Hokage. Kakashi leads them onward, glancing down at his little girl every so often. God, when did she get so big? When did she start growing up right before his eyes?
The Hokage wanted time to stop so he could enjoy his kids still being young. Still having fun at their age. He knew he couldn’t though. For now, he’ll enjoy everything he has with his family.
Just as they reached the hospital, Anko, Sakumo, and Obito were there. They all gasped at the sight of Enoki. Kakashi looks to them sadly. “There may be residual jutsu left behind. This is just… just a precaution. To keep the village safe. But, as soon as she’s–”
Kakashi’s then interrupted by his wife. “I don’t give a rat’s ass, Kakashi. Just get in there and have them take a look at her,” Anko says then glares hard at the ground. Her gaze reaches Kakashi again and the glare is still there, but it still shows sadness for the state of their daughter.
With a nod, Kakashi heads in to have Enoki admitted.
Sakumo and his twin brother, Obito, look up to their mother, worry clearly apparent on their young faces. “Mama? Is sister going to be okay? She didn’t look good,” Obito asks to which Sakumo just nods in agreement.
With a sigh, Anko kneels down to look at her boys. She smiles faintly, weakly almost. “Your sister… is super strong. She can beat anything! Just trust in her and the medical unit we have here. Okay, boys?”
The twins smiled faintly as well. “Yeah!”
Anko was about to leave with them when she throws one last look at the hospital. “Keep her safe, Kakashi…” she whispers then takes the boys home since they wouldn’t be able to see Enoki so early on in her healing process.
Once admitted, Sakura had her team check for any breaks, all the while Enoki was still bound and sealed. The young girl is still breathing, though it is shallow.
Kakashi’s just glad she’s back, despite the state she’s in. His charcoal eyes studies his unconscious child, taking in every single detail of her. The messy silver hair in a ponytail. The points of her two scars that show from the edge of the blindfold. He then closes his eyes and imagines the Enoki that was before the mission that went wrong.
Then again… she’ll never be the same after this either, Kakashi muses. With a sigh, he runs a hand through his own messy locks then down his face. This is troublesome indeed.
However, there is multiple questions that remains. Why did they take her? What were the reasons? Was it to rile Kakashi up? The family? Was it to test the strength of Konoha’s Hokage? Then, his questions went down a different path… Was it personal? Could it have been that they thought she too has the Sharingan? Even that one is farfetched… but, Kakashi has to think of every possible outcome.
He needs more information.
Taking his leave, he goes to find Naruto and the others. Finding them in the waiting area, the Hokage raises a hand for them to not say anything. “So far, she just has scrapes and bruises. Nothing life threatening thus far. Now… tell me, what exactly happened out there in the ourskirt villages?”
Naruto glances to the other two shinobi with him and he sighs. “Well… where to start, ya know…”
~x~
“Naruto-sensei! How much longer til we get to some rogue ninja? I’m itching to pulverize them and get info about Enoki!” Ame exclaims as they jump from tree to tree.
Azarashi rolls his eyes. “You know… you shouldn’t be so loud, Ame. We’re trying to find them, not the other way around. Besides, we don’t even know if they have anything on Enoki. They could just be some helpless thugs.”
The resident jonin, Naruto, stays silent for the time being. As he listens to his students squabble, he can’t help but think back to Sasuke and himself. A faint smile appears as he lands on a branch and skids to a stop. Azarashi and Ame stop as well and look to their sensei. “Look you two, arguing isn’t going to solve anything. You both need to work together if you want to save Enoki. What was the first lesson I taught you when you graduated from the academy?”
They looked to each other. Their first lesson from Naruto? “Teamwork is an ultimate shinobi tool?” The two boys said in unison.
With a laugh, he gives them a thumbs up. “Exactly! Only with teamwork will you both be strong enough to save your comrade, ya know? Work together and stop fighting, got it?”
“Yes, Naruto-sensei!”
They return to dashing along the branches. It was about an hour later until they reached the village that had the supposed rogue ninja attacks. All three ninja knew they had to keep their guard up, especially when they heard a scream.
Naruto tenses up and looks to his team. “Stick together and try to find the source of the scream. Set off a flare if you find something. Now, go!” He shouts as he goes into one direction.
“This can’t end well,” Ame mumbles then goes into another direction with Azarashi on his tail. “I wonder what caused that–” the genin trails off and stares at a massacre in front of them. His blue eyes go wide. “Wh-What…?”
Blood. Blood everywhere, as well as dismembered body parts.
Azarashi swallows a lump in his throat and reaches into his hip pouch to grab a flare bomb. They have to get a hold of Naruto. He throws it into the air and sets it off. Which is both a good and a bad thing.
The murderer is still on the scene. Looking through a mask, the killer jumps down from the roof and places the blade that was used over to rest on the shoulders. The killer’s head tilts and they point at the two ninja. In a quick motion, they dash forward, sword in a ready position to strike or defend.
“Shit!” Azarashi said as he jumps away from the attack. Ame did the same, but he wasn’t so lucky, as he was grabbed by the ankle and thrown into the wall.
“Areugh!” He cries out. Okay, that landing was bad. Ame thinks one, or a few, of his ribs are cracked. Perfect way to start the battle! The Kumo clan member takes in a deep breath, trying to take fill his lungs with air once again.
He looks up and sees his teammate going toe to toe with the mystery assailant. Ame’s certainly in awe and he tries to get up and help!
With a few handsigns, he takes in a deep breath, “Water Style: Scorching Water Stream,” and releases a hot stream of water from his mouth. He makes sure to keep the move aimed at the rogue than his teammate. But, sometimes things don’t go as planned.
Azarashi jumps out of the way and glares at Ame. “Be careful with that! You nearly hit me instead! Aim at the bad guy, not comrades!”
“S-Sorry! The jutsu is hard to control when a stream of hot water is coming out of you!”
Naruto jumps between them, glaring at the rogue, and putting his usual hand sign for shadow clones. “Shadow Clone Jutsu!” he shouts as hundreds of clones appear to fight the masked villain.
The Rogue’s head tilts once again and they run forward taking care of multiple clones at once. After a moment, they raise a hand towards the dark sky. Crackling can be heard.
“Is he… trying to summon lightning?” Ame asks.
Azarashi’s eyes go big as he looks to his other two teammates. “I… I recognize this move. We gotta get out of this area, now!” He cries out the dashes away. There’s no way, right? This move… Azarashi shakes his head. They obviously took it from her. That has to be it.
The Rogue’s hand goes down slowly until it’s at their side once again. A smirk appears under the mask as they start to go forward and follow after the retreating team.
~x~
“What the hell was that about, Azarashi? That… guy was just raising his hand! Why did you have us run?”
Naruto shushes Ame. With a sigh, the blond looks forward. ‘This kid,’ he thinks, ’…reminds me of myself when I was younger… Was I this bad?’ However, Ame does prove a good point. “Why did you have us retreat? We could have taken him down. We had an opening.”
Azarashi shakes his head. “No… We couldn’t have. That move… That’s Enoki’s move. She was developing it with the help of Lord Sixth, and well… it isn’t perfect. She would charge up a bunch of chakra and release it one go. The lightning would go everywhere… shocking everything in proximity to her.”
“So, what you’re saying is, we would have been cooked back there?” Ame asks.
The brunet nods. “Basically, yeah. I watched her use it a few times before. And every time, I would get shocked as well. I mean, it was a soft shock since I was in a tree… but yeah. Either they took her jutsu, or something is quite amiss here, fellas.”
Naruto stops running and turns to face the direction they came from. “We have to see who’s behind that mask without getting shocked. Think we can do it, Ame? Azarashi?”
The boys nod in unison. It’s obvious they have newfound energy to stop this killer, and hopefully find Enoki. Something still doesn’t feel right, though. This uneasiness makes them all uncomfortable.
Azarashi stands straighter than before and tightens his headband to his forehead. “I’ll be a distraction, maybe slow him down. You two need to try and subdo him, and place a seal so he can’t use that lightning based attack.”
Naruto scrunches up his face. “Usually, I’d be decoy… This is dangerous, boys. Stay on your toes and good luck, Azarashi.”
He nods to his sensei and teammate, watching as they both go off in preparation. This could get troublesome, he thinks to himself.
Pulling out a kunai, he looks around and tries to sense the chakra from the assailant. “Damn it… nothing. He means business.”
Crackling noises can be heard again. Azarashi looks around frantically and before the lightning strike could hit the ground and come towards him, he builds up chakra in his feet and he jumps up as high as he could.
“Your lightning can’t touch me if I’m not on the ground!”
Just then the rogue was right in front of him. The Chunin gasps as he tries to hit the rogue with a kunai. But, it’s blocked by the short sword. “Damn it! I don’t want any trouble! Just, stop killing and tell me where Enoki is!”
There was no answer, just a short breathing noise.
This just makes Azarashi angrier. With a yell, he uses a chakra punch and sends the rogue flying back to the ground. He then puts a few handsigns together and uses a wind jutsu to create a barrier for them both to stick around in.
The brunet walks closer to the seemingly unconscious shinobi and tries to take off the mask. Instead, he knocked down onto his back and the ninja is straddling him with a kunai in hand.
Quickly grabbing his own kunai, he blocks the offending object and shifts his body around and kicks the masked person into the wind barrier.
There’s a loud scream as he– no, she– hits the rotating shield, the wind cuts into her back. Falling to her knees, she gasls through the pain.
“That scream… Enoki?”
She looks up and head tilts at the name. “Tch…” Standing up, she tries to rush over and kill the Konoha ninja, but in her weakened state, he deflects her hit and pins her down in a quick move.
Azarashi looks down at the struggling ninja. “Enoki? Come on… please…” he whispers his plea and quickly removes the procelain mask. The Chunin gasps. He wants to cry, to be thankful, to be something… But, given that Enoki has killed countless people, maybe he shouldn’t– No! She’s not in the right mindset! She’s innocent!
“You'e innocent, you hear me? Innocent, Enoki. Please, just, come home with us. Please,” he pleads once again. He tries to send chakra into her to release the genjutsu. “Release!”
But it fell on deaf ears. Whatever is controlling her is quite strong and cannot be broken easily. “D-Damn it!” He punches her in the face a few times and just tries to knock some sense into her. “Enoki, come back!”
It wasn’t until a he was a few more punches in did he hear Naruto’s voice through the spinning shield. Releasing the jutsu, Azarashi stands from Enoki and cradles his hurt hand. He’s exhausted, hurt… and just wants his friend back.
Naruto kneels down and frowns at his student. “Enoki…” he whispers then binds and places a seal on her. While the seal is a bit much, they need to be cautious, especially with the child of the two legendaries, Kakashi Hatake and Anko Mitarashi.
Once the seal was set, he stands up. “Let’s hurry and get home.”
~x~
“So… that’s what happened. Once she was sealed, we took a quick survey of the area and took out any straggler rogues.” Naruto says then glances away, only to end up looking at Azarashi who’s still craddling his bruised hand.
Ame, who just suffered from chakra exhaustion, frowns. “What will happen to Enoki? Is she going to be labeled a rogue ninja? I mean… it’s not fair if she is! She had no control over her actions! Enoki didn’t even… recognize us,” he adds on solemnly.
Kakashi looks to the room where Enoki’s wounds are being treated. “She’s not going to be labeled a rogue.” He looks over to the boys and see them perk up at that. “But, she will not be the same. Nightmares of killing will forever haunt her.” Kakashi glances to his right hand and vivid images of Rin come back to him. Placing his hand back onto his lap, Kakashi smiles faintly to Team Naruto. “She’ll need all of us more than ever. We can’t treat her any different. Understood?”
The team nods.
“Good. Now… go home and get some rest. I’ll update you if anything happens.”
Naruto, Azarashi, and Ame look to each other silently. After a brief moment all three stand up and the two younger boys leave. Naruto however stays put, and Kakashi takes note of this.
“Naruto?”
He starts shaking, it’s obvious he’s breaking down. “I… I was so worried, Kakashi-sensei. I thought… she was gone. But, she’s here, ya know? I-I kept my promise to you!”
Kakashi’s heart breaks at the sight of his former student. Standing up, he walks over and actually gives Naruto a hug. Rubbing his hand along his back, Kakashi soon pulls away and he gives his former pupil his signature eye smile. “I owe you big time, Naruto. You saved Enoki. I actually probably won’t be able to repay you, but… I’ll try my best. Thank you.”
The blond wished the hug would last longer. But, he’s glad he got one anyways. With a weak smile, and a thumbs up, Naruto steps away from Kakashi and waves. “I… ought to go now, ya know. I’ll be back later!” He says then vanishes in a puff of smoke.
The Hokage looks on and he sighs. Finally, he can rest easy knowing Enoki’s back.
A day has gone by since Enoki’s return to the village. However, despite this, she has been placed under a medically induced coma til the medic ninjas and the Interrogation unit can figure out how to get rid of the unusually powerful genjutsu that she was placed under.
This irked Kakashi to no end.
“Bring in Ino Yamanaka. She is the clan head and she could enter Enoki’s mind, not mess anything up, and get rid of the genjutsu. Why didn’t any of you think to bring her in yesterday?” Kakashi knew that Enoki was only cleared that morning by Sakura. But, his impatience of his daughter getting better knawed at him. He has to make sure she’s better. Or at least, as better as she can be given what she went through.
The two shinobi from the Interrogation unit, who were obviously new, glanced to each other then back to their leader. “Sorry, Lord Sixth. We’ll bring in Ino right now to help with the jutsu release and memory retrieval.”
Kakashi nods to them both then motions them to leave. He watches with grey eyes then sighs, a hand running down his face. The shinobi leader waits with baited breath until there’s news about some kind of breakthrough.
Just then, the door to his office is thrown open and Kakashi looks up mildly confused and sees his two sons and loving wife. Well, aren’t they a sight for sore eyes, he thinks to himself.
“Anko. Sakumo, Obito. To what do I owe this welcomed visit?” he asks genuinely curious as to what the three are doing there.
“Boys wanted to see you,” she states. “And they wouldn’t let me finish getting ready.” Anko was busy trying to tie her hair up in its normal pony tail.
Kakashi looks at her lovingly, a smile pulls at his lips. Even after all these years, she manages to steal his breath away. And he loves every second of it.
Anko notices him staring at her, and she glares back, but there’s a smirk. “Take a picture, it’ll last longer, you know.”
The silver-haired shinobi chuckles then motions to a picture on his desk. “Don’t worry, I have one right here.”
The twin boys broke the two love birds’ moment with a groan in unison. “You’re both so gross,” Obito grumbled as he scratched at his cheek then looked away from the gooey love of his parents.
“What Obito is trying to say is… We were wondering about Enoki. Can we see her yet? Is she cleared for visitors, dad?” Came Sakumo’s voice.
Looking to his sons, Kakashi sighs then shakes his head. “Not yet, boys. She… still has to go through more tests to make sure she’s okay. But, as soon as I hear something, you three will be the first to know.”
Sakumo crosses his arms, a frown forms under the mask he wears just like Kakashi’s. “Shouldn’t the Hokage, like, give orders to make them go faster or something?”
Anko lightly pulls on her son’s ear. “Saku, just because your father is Hokage doesn’t mean that he can force people to go faster. Although, why he’s here and not with your sister–” she pauses to stare at her husband, “–is beyond me.”
Kakashi flinches at the stare then looks to the paperwork and then to the lot of unanswered emails he has. Well, Anko does have a point… he ponders to himself.
After not much thinking, he stands up, adjusts his black flak jacket, and walks towards his family. “You three go get some food. I’ll check up on Enoki and how things are going. Oh, and… put it on Naruto’s tab.”
Anko rolls her eyes then leans up to kiss Kakashi’s cheek. “You better let us know how she’s doing, regardless of what happens next.” The purple-haired snake kunoichi grips Kakashi’s shoulder with such strength, the Hokage thought his shoulder and clavicle would surely have broken, or at least cracked.
Feeling the eyes from his sons on him, Kakashi glances down and noticed how they too have pretty much mastered Anko’s death stare. Great… he thinks to himself, although his expression is unwavering.
“Don’t worry. I’ll personally find the three of you and catch you up.” Kakashi’s eyes close, the sides crinkling indicating he’s smiling.
“Or better yet, why don’t the three of us go with you!” Obito chimed in, arms going up and over his head. “I’ve always wanted to see the interrogation unit and see where mom works! I wanna be the head of them just like her and Uncle Ibiki!” He smiles broadly, which showcases a few missing baby teeth.
Anko grins proudly. “My baby boy wants to be an interrogator. I’m so proud,” she adds on with a fake sniffle. After the facade, she looks to Kakashi, arms crossing over her chest. “If it were up to me, since I’m his wife and mother of his child, I’d let you both see her. But, seeing as I’m not Hokage, it truly is up to him,” her eyes narrow slightly, as if to tell him to make the wise decision.
Another sigh escapes Kakashi. He can’t just give them special treatment. Technically, Anko is allowed to see her as well, but the boys are too young. They may get in the way. Then again, it’s not like it’s an actual interrogation with war criminals or missing-nin. He scratches at his masked cheek.
“Fine. But, do not get in Ino’s way, all right, boys?”
This earned a cheer from the boys. After several weeks they get to see their sister!
Kakashi knew they must be excited. A soft laugh escapes him, but it dies down as soon as that happens. It’s a serious moment now. His gaze shifts to the door as it opens and reveals Ino on the other side.
She bows her head politely to her leader then gives him a nod. “Preparations are complete, Lord Hokage.” Her gaze then went to Anko and the boys. She smiles nervously. “Lady Anko! I didn’t see you there! I’m sorry.” She quickly ducks her head in a bow to show respect.
Anko grins cheerily then waves the young kunoichi’s worries away. “Oh please, I’m usually in the shadows anyways. Who do you think actually keeps the village running smoothly?” She jabs a thumb over in Kakashi’s direction. “Him?” A laugh erupts from her. “As if. Now, come on. We got a date. No time for messing around now.”
Ino’s blue eyes open widely and she nods. “Ah, yes! Let’s go take care of Enoki!”
-×-
The moment finally arrived, Kakashi thinks as he stands a few feet away from the cot that Enoki was sleeping on. Her face seemed so peaceful. Sadly, this jutsu for genjutsu repeal and memory retrieval won’t be that graceful.
Despite knowing this, his hand tightens around his forearm to steel himself for upcoming screams. He then looks to Anko, to tell her that if screams do happen, to take the twins away to Ibiki.
And with the wordless command, she nods then turns her attention to the procedure about to take place.
Sakura looks to the young teens vitals then to Ino. Taking a deep breath, she nods. The pinkette gears herself and prepares for just about anything that may happen.
Ino places her hand on Enoki’s forehead and closes her eyes. She hums gently. “Ninja Art, Mind Displacement Jutsu!” Her hands emit a blue chakra as her consciousness enters the realm of Enoki’s mind.
Glancing around the pitch blackness, Ino has a sense of uneasiness as she tries to figure out what’s behind the so called powerful genjutsu. So far, there’s nothing here but darkness.
Odd, seeing a teenaged girl’s mind is usually full of light. What did those creeps do to her?
Just as she was travelling deeper into the darkness, she hears a quiet sob coming from her left. Turning towards that direction, Ino finds Enoki’s consciousness chained up.
“Enoki!”
The teen looks up. “I-Ino-sensei? What… What are you doing here? You shouldn’t be here! Leave before it gets you!”
Ino looks to her. Worry and confusion fills her face. “What’s going to get me? Come on, Enoki, I’m here to help you.” Then, her blood runs cold as she sense a sinister chakra.
Immediately, she turns around and sees a dragon-tiger-like creature. It roars then tries to swipe at the unwelcomed guest. Ino dodges with ease, and she’s suddenly so glad that she faced a similar creature of this power before during the war.
She takes in a deep breath and throws multiple hand signs together.
The creature roars once again and dashes towards Ino. It lifts a giant paw and smacks it on top of the blond.
“Ino-Sensei!” Enoki cries out and tries to break free of her chains to help out. But the chakra chains were too strong and she was too weak.
The dragon-tiger laughs then looks to Enoki. “As long as I’m here, you won’t ever be in control of your body. I’ll slaughter everyone you ever cared about, and bring about the end of Konoha.”
The Chuunin closes her eyes and cries out for anyone to help. Just then, she looks up as she hears lightning crackling and a familiar purple light. Her gaze goes wide as she sees Ino with…
“Dad!” She cries out.
Kakashi glares at the creature that took hold of his child. “Sorry, Enoki. I can’t free you just yet. Let Ino and myself take care of this thing. Well, aren’t you an ugly son of a bitch,” he says, trying to get the creatures attention. And so far, it seems to have worked.
“You watch your mouth, brat! I am Ryukashin! Devourer of souls! And this little girl is mine to control!”
“You know, I hate it when big things like you take things out on little kids. What’s the deal with that?” Kakashi asks then focuses even more chakra into his hand, the purple lightning intensifying. “Ino, I’ll distract you him. You get the seal and genjutsu release ready!” He calls out then dashes after the dragon.
Nodding then getting her hand signs ready, Ino tries to do it quickly while also making sure the dragon isn’t coming after her since the jutsu will stop him.
Seems Kakshi is doing a good job keeping him at bay. That is, until the dragon seems to swallow him.
“Lord Hokage!” Ino cries out, just as she finished the jutsu hand signs together.
“Dad, no!” Enoki cries out and tries to break free from her chains.
-×-
In the outside world, Sakura uses her strength to keep Enoki from thrashing about. “Come on, Ino… You can do it…” The medic-nin glances up and sees Ino touching both Enoki and Kakshi’s forehead. The twins have been long gone once the thrashing started and Anko was helping Sakura keep Enoki still. “Strong kid you got here…”
Anko smirks, but knows now isn’t the time to joke around. “Well, yeah… She’s my daughter after all.”
-×-
With her fingers still holding the last sign, Ino swears then aims her hands at the creature. The jutsu will repeal the genjutsu creature and free Enoki once and for all.
Just as she was about to release the technicque, the creature roars, the side of its body protruding outward as something, no… someone was trying to escape.
“Kakashi..?” Ino asks, mostly to herself than anyone else.
A sickening crack is heard then Kakashi pushes through landing onto the floor then jumps towards Ino. “Now!” He shous.
“R-Right! Ninja Art: Mind Genjutsu Expulsion!”
The jutsu hit its mark. The dragon roars, its body seemingly smoking away. The chakra disintegrates, and it gives one last pitiful roar and is gone from the Enoki’s self conscious.
The room, as it were, lightened up considerably since the dark creature was finally gone.
Ino breathed a sigh of relief then flinches. “Ah… I’m almost hitting my limit. Let’s free Enoki. You both will have a pleasant reunion once she’s awake.”
Kakashi nods then goes over to his daughter, smiling lovingly at her. “You did great, kiddo. Now… hold still…” he whispers and uses his chakra to rid Enoki of the binds on her.
She looks to her free hands, then to Ino, and finally Kakashi. She sniffles softly then goes to hug her dad, something she hasn’t done in quite a while.
Right when Kakashi was about to hug her, the jutsu is released.
Now back in the real world, Kakashi’s eyes open to see Ino, smiling then goes to give the family some privacy. Sakura’s still there and she checks Enoki’s vitals once more before smiling as well and takes her leave.
Anko goes to his side and wraps an arm around his torso. “What the hell was that thing? Enoki literally glowed purple then it just… vanished. Should we be worried? Or is it gone for good?”
Kakashi thinks back on the name the creature gave. This wasn’t an ordinary jutsu and whatever it was, there’s a chance it may come back. He’ll have to do research on this… Ryukashin later. But for now…
“Let’s worry about that later.” He looks to Enoki then releases the seal that’s kept her held for the past day and a half. “Look, she’s waking up…”
Slowly but surely, Enoki wakes up. Despite beint asleep, she looks worse for wear. Red eyes darting around as she tries to remember what happened and where she was. Then she stops, a massive headache happens, a side-effect of the jutsu.
“Mom… Dad…” she mumbles out, eyes closing. A few tears trekle down the sides of her face. “I’m so sorry…”
Anko goes to and wipes her tears away. “Shhh… you have nothing to be sorry about. You did nothing wrong…”
The memory recovery will have to occur later once she’s fully recovered, Anko thinks knowing full well what’s going to happen, having gone through it herself.
“I’m so tired…” she mumbles again.
“Sleep, Enoki… we’ll tell everyone you’re back and okay,” Kakashi urges her to rest, a weak smile hidden under his mask.
“Yeah… okay… I’ll just sleep…” she whispers as she falls into a slumber.
Kakashi and Anko look to one another. Their daughter’s back. That’s all that matters, but the road ahead will be challenging, and they’ll be there for her.