Chapter 15

The booth in the corner of the tavern is probably the most likely place you could find a shinobi. It's a good vantage point, and she can see everyone else in the establishment, so Tsunade hasn't really been all that concerned about keeping her wits about her.

She's beginning to regret that now.

The shinobi that steals the seat across from her is well-known in most circles and has had a bingo book entry since he was a pre-teen. That and Tsunade had been friends with his father.

He doesn't track her down every year when he goes on this ridiculous mission, but when he does, it's because he's having a hard time. And Tsunade is not so great at helping out when others are down. She either deflects, or gets mean, or wants to fight their battles for them-but this is a battle that Tsunade can't win. She doubts anyone could win. Even Kakashi, whose tracking skills are on par with the Inuzuka, if not better, hasn't been able to track down his Hokage's daughter in almost twelve years.

Besides, if Jiraiya, who's been all over the continent, hasn't been able to find his student's daughter, and Tsunade, who never stops moving, hasn't, then it's unlikely there's somebody to be found.

She won't say it to the young man's face, but it's almost indisputable that Namikaze Narumi is dead.

"Shizune-san isn't with you today?" His fingers ghost over the drink in his hand, but he doesn't put it to his lips. Sometimes she wonders if he ever actually drinks.

"I gave her the day off. No doubt she's using it wisely, it's not every day I promise not to gamble."

The Jonin hums, noncommittal.

What can she do but play along, like she always does? She may think his search is fruitless, but it's no doubt that he's committed. And there are very few people that Hatake Kakashi confides in. "I take it your search hasn't gone well?"

This time, he snorts. "Like you expect any different. You're not the only person who thinks there's nothing to find, Tsunade-Sama, but people don't just disappear." His fist tightens around the cup, cracking the glass. "She's very good at hiding, but she left me something."

So much passion for a girl who's been gone for twelve years. Just who do you think you're looking for, Kakashi?

"The very first time she went missing, she wasn't even two years old, yet. She followed a butterfly into a meadow behind Hokage Tower, and I was the one who found her. She's the only person aside from my father who has seen my face."

Sakumo. He hasn't mentioned his father since before Sakumo's death.

"Five years ago, she left a gift inside my apartment. There isn't a single person in the world who would know the moment well enough to leave the gift she left. She's alive, Tsunade-Sama, but she doesn't want to be found. Somebody trained her." The utter surety doesn't just fill his words, but his eye looks at her with more conviction than Tsunade thinks she's ever seen. If anybody can find the kid, she might actually believe Kakashi can do it.

"Smack her for me when you find her, will you?"Said Tsunade

Obito pov

If somebody had looked Obito in the eye when he was graduating from the academy and told him that he would one day end up throwing his life away for a teammate, he might have believed them. If that same person told him he'd be rescued by a seven-year-old Jinchuuriki, he probably would have laughed and turned away. Better yet, if they had said that he'd end up pledging his loyalties to said seven-year-old, he really would have flipped his lid.

And yet, here he is, twenty-three years old and still happy to follow the commands of a person seven years his junior. Happy to put all of his faith in Narumi's hands and follow her lead. The girl is creative and clever, always working out new strategies when things don't work out.

If somebody had told Obito that he'd keep a secret from his teammates for years, for the sake of one girl, he wouldn't have believed them. But he did, he has, he still is. Obito wishes Narumi would come forward, but despite all evidence suggesting otherwise, he understands why she hasn't.

Sometimes, he thinks, despite Narumi being seven years younger than him, the kid's a lot wiser.

"Are you ready for this?"

He shakes himself out of his thoughts, shooting his partner an incredulous look. "I'm not the one about to unmask myself, idiot. Are you ready?"

Narumi hums, placing her hands on her hips. "No, but it needs to be done."

Jiraiya had agreed to meet them in a safe house at the edge of Fire Country, sent word that he'd beat them there, and set up privacy seals, so it's no surprise when the door opens the minute they set foot on the property. Jiraiya's no Kushina, but he's fairly decent with seals, and Obito would be lying if he said it isn't something he wishes he could do.

Jiraiya pauses halfway out the door. "Uchiha Obito?"

He suppresses a sigh. The Sannin sounds unimpressed.

It's better than 'who's this guy?' though, right?

Narumi shoots Obito a look like she knows what he's thinking. "I never told him your identity. Dad said Dolphin was coming, not Obito. I think it was out of habit, more than anything else." Obito's willing to bet that under her mask, Narumi's grinning.

It turns out Jiraiya's no different than he's ever been: a pervert, easily distracted and posturing as if they don't see through him. It's clear, at least to Obito, that the man does his best to bury all the things he wants to avoid deep within himself, but when faced with the things that they're going to be doing, the facade falls away.

"So, we really are going after them," he finally murmurs, when Narumi has finished explaining the plan she and Minato-sensei had formed. She hadn't dragged his feet with the details, had been straightforward and concise, and Obito tries not to show how impressed he is.

"Ero-Sennin, don't look so discouraged!" Narumi, the Queen of putting on a brave face, stands. She's confident in the plan, but that doesn't mean she isn't nervous. And as much as she likes Jiraiya, as much time as she's spent with him, she's pretending she's not still shy as hell. Obito fights the urge to hug her. "At least now we aren't just sitting ducks waiting to be ambushed. Obi-nii's use of the Sharingan is damned good, and I have a few tricks up my sleeve that neither of you knows about..." She moves away from the table, pacing the length of the room, and Obito's reminded, painfully, of the years he missed out on.

Despite Narumi's forgiveness, Obito knows he has to make up for his failures. He just hopes, knowing the risk they're taking with this mission, that he gets the chance to prove to his former sensei's daughter that he'll never screw up again.

I'll never forgive myself for letting you down, Narumi. But maybe, one day, I'll actually be worthy of your forgiveness.

Narumi Pov

"Your seal work has gotten much better since I've seen you," Jiraiya comments when Narumi opens one of her storage scrolls, and she can't help but grin under her mask, turning to face him.

"Ero-Sennin, there's something I want you to know."

The subtle humor falls away from Jiraiya's face, the easy, confident front and metaphorical mask he wears vanishing just like that. Narumi reaches for her mask, pausing when the man opens his mouth.

"You don't have to reveal yourself to me. I already trust you."

Obito crosses his arms, leaning against the wall. Narumi clicks her tongue. "I want to, Sensei. After all, I don't know how well this is going to go for us." And with that, she pulls off her mask and drops it onto the old, worn table.

The mask has become a part of her since it was given to her eight years ago, but Narumi can't hide behind it forever. Soon, she'll have to reveal herself to Kakashi, to her father, to the village. But for now, she just wants to look at her teammates and know they can see her, too.

The Sannin gapes at her, mouth opening and closing for a handful of seconds before he manages to say anything.

"Narumi?"

Ah. It's so rare to hear my name.

WELL, IF YOU'D JUST FACE YOUR FEARS AND GET OVER YOURSELF, YOU'D HEAR IT ALL THE TIME.

She suppresses a growl, fighting the urge to roll her eyes at the Fox in her belly. Shut up! I'll feel better once the Akatsuki are dealt with, okay? When we take care of them, then I'm going to tell Kakashi and my dad.

THEN DON'T COMPLAIN ITS YOUR OWN CHOICE, KID.

"I'm sorry it had to be this way. You can't imagine how much I've wanted to come forward." She expects the man to be angry, to yell at her, even if it's just a little.

She doesn't expect Jiraiya to pull her into a hug, but she sinks into it anyway. Jiraiya's grip is just on the verge of pain, but Narumi won't complain. A hug is a hug, and she knows her immediate family isn't the only people who cared when she disappeared. She knows she's believed dead by most of the people in Konoha.

"I want to know everything, kid. Start at the beginning."

Damn, this is going to be a long night.

Jiraiya Pov

By the end of the night, all three of them have shed quite a few tears, but Jiraiya feels immensely better knowing the truth. It sucks, and if he wasn't so relieved, he'd probably be a little bit pissed, but all in all, Minato's precious daughter has been with them all along. And if Kushina knows, and is keeping her(Narumi) secret, Jiraiya will try to do the same.

The girl can't hide the sorrow in her eyes, of course. Jiraiya can't imagine how much of an effect the Kakashi from the future must have had for her to keep her promise for this long, but if she still doesn't think she's ready to come forward, Jiraiya supposes he has to stand by that decision.

After all, if the Akatsuki doesn't know her identity, they can't hunt her down. They have spies everywhere, so it makes sense that Narumi doesn't want to lead them back to Konoha. They're already after Rin and the Sanbi.

"Okay then. Where do we start? Who do we target first?"

Narumi grins at him.

Unfortunately, the days of preparation go by too fast, and Jiraiya finds himself in the middle of a battle within a month. And for all of Narumi and Obito's confidence in the matter, Jiraiya's just a little bit impressed with them. He hadn't actually expected things to actually follow their plan all that well. Obviously, the kid's taken enough reconnaissance missions to know some of their movements, and some of their abilities.

At the edge of his senses, he picks up a familiar chakra signature, but it takes a moment to place it.

What is he doing here?

Oh. It's that month, isn't it? He must be heading back to the village.

The fight continues, and the chakra signature doesn't move. At the very least, he'd expected Kakashi to eventually either move on or lend a hand, but since they don't really need the help, perhaps the kid simply decided to observe.

Well, not that he can really be considered a kid, but-

Narumi turns when their second opponent is down, lifting her mask to grin at Obito like everything is good in the world, and Jiraiya thinks she's probably the dumbest clever person he's ever met. He can't even pretend he doesn't know Kakashi's there, but clearly, the other two haven't sensed him at all.

Nothing to be done for it now, Narumi. Your secret is out. Kakashi sees you, idiot.

Well, he's not going to get in the middle of it. He supposes he better start cleaning up, then.

Kakashi Pov

Kakashi really didn't mean to cross paths with them on his way home. No, really, he didn't, how could he have known where they'd be?

Okay, so maybe he took a route that he knew would pass a small village that the Akatsuki were known to frequent, but he seriously didn't expect to witness the Sannin Jiraiya, Obito, and Kitsune facing off with two members of the organization. The surrounding area is all but destroyed, so it's lucky enough that Kakashi found a place to observe where he won't be located.

And honestly? He hadn't realized exactly how powerful Kitsune is. He's never seen a Jutsu quite like that, before, after all.

So that's what they're doing. Going after the teams instead of the full organization at once. Eventually, the rest of them will catch on, but if they're still hunting down Jinchuriki, they have no choice but to separate. And so, Kitsune will strike. Clever. I hope it's enough.

He plays with the idea of going down to join them, but Kakashi's due back in Konoha within the next two days, and he still has one last stop to make. But just as he's about to turn away, Kitsune turns to Obito and reaches up, pulling her mask off like they're the only people in the area. Like she has nothing to worry about.

Their opponents are dead. If it wasn't for Kakashi, standing just out of their range, they would be alone. The distance doesn't stop him from seeing the teenager under the mask. Doesn't stop the tidal wave of betrayal that fills him, betrayal and heartache and relief.

Because there's no doubt about it. Even if it wasn't for the blond hair, or the scars on his cheeks, or the blue eyes he's seen under that mask at least a hundred times, everything else has already been screaming at him to stop denying the truth. He hadn't wanted to see it before, because if sensei's daughter-if Narumi has really been there all this time, under his nose, then Kakashi has failed her for years.

And in retrospect, the denial has cost him so much time.

Instead, when Obito sacrificed himself to save Kakashi's life, he sealed their fates as they are now. All this time, Obito's been privy to the knowledge that Narumi has been right there. He's known for years, for nine years. So who else knows? Surely not just Obito.

Kushina. Kushina figured it out.

Another wave of betrayal makes him shiver. It's not just a notion, it's true. She's been so affectionate with her, so protective and motherly.

And here Kakashi just figured she(Kushina) was taking her in because Narumi was on her own for so long.

Not only Kushina, but she and Obito had to get the ANBU masks from somewhere and that somewhere was the Hokage at the time. This means that the Third Hokage must know exactly who he gave the Kitsune mask to. The Third Hokage, and the ANBU guard on duty at the time, and now Jiraiya, too.

All this time, she's been here. She talks to me.

Hell, she confided in me! It's all so obvious!

Despite being sure, being adamant, that Narumi was alive and out there somewhere, Kakashi hadn't expected to find her on this trip. He hasn't seen her in twelve years, so he definitely hadn't expected to find her until she wanted to be found, but-

And Kakashi can think of a hundred reasons to be pissed-a part of him wants to drop in unannounced and demand to know why. Why did she leave? Where did she go? Why couldn't she just tell them?

Why didn't she trust me? I would've dropped everything! I would've…, I would have left with her, if only I'd known!

Contrary to popular belief, Kakashi isn't reckless. He doesn't pop in and screams like he wants to. He doesn't leave behind a note. He turns and he runs, because otherwise he really will do something he might regret, and right now…

Dread fills him. Obito had told them, during the rescue mission when he was eleven, that Kitsune was the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune(Nine-Tails). Somebody took her when the fox escaped its previous container and decided to put the beast inside a four-year-old girl. Somebody turned her into a Jinchuriki and dropped her in a forest to raise herself. Somebody took her from her parents, from the Fourth Hokage, because of a danger her family was already familiar with. Kakashi hasn't forgotten about the fox, but… That means Narumi, his precious fiance, his favorite person in the entire world, is the person the Akatsuki wants most. To drain her of her Bijuu. In other words, they want to kill her. Kill her, when Kakashi's only just found her.

Right now, he needs a drink.