Just Walk Beside Me

Izzyaro

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Inoichi stood staring at the door to the private hospital room. The files he had read burned in his memory, and he took a moment to school his expression before reaching for the door handle.

The intelligence specialist and former ANBU looked at the patient and saw a physically and mentally broken shinobi, a potential security leak, and severe threat to the village.

Inoichi saw a nineteen year old boy who had spent three weeks in enemy hands without losing his sanity, and was now staring up at him with terrified brown eyes that were far too big for his thin face. The half-healed cuts on his face stood out in sharp relief against his pale skin, and he flinched back as Inoichi stepped closer.

Inoichi sent a prayer of thanks to the mother who had made sure he had perfect control of his facial muscles by the time he was two, and stopped a safe distance away.

"Good afternoon, Ibiki-kun," he said gently. "May I speak with you?"

He was gratified to see curiosity replacing some of the fear in Ibiki's eyes as the boy nodded. Inoichi sat down in the chair next to the bed, being careful to keep his body language open and honest. Ibiki was one of the rising stars of the T&I department after all. His injuries looked even worse up close, but Inoichi clamped down on any pity or anger before it had a chance to appear. Judging by the way Ibiki's shoulders relaxed ever so slightly, the lack of reaction was appreciated.

"Not going to ask how I'm feeling?"

There was understandable frustration in his voice, so Inoichi just gave a small smile. "Figured you'd be bored of answering that one." Besides, any Yamanaka worth the name could tell exactly how he was doing, and Ibiki knew it.

Ibiki grunted. "I also know that I'm making good progress, that this doesn't define me, and that I'm still a valued shinobi." His blazing dark eyes locked on Inoichi's. "And I didn't tell them anything."

Inoichi's smile faded, and he met the boy's gaze steadily. "I know, and that's not why I'm here."

There was a derisive snort at that. "So you're going to tell me that you can fix me? That I'll be back to normal in no time?"

"No," said Inoichi quietly. "I'm not."

Ibiki blinked, but Inoichi continued before he could say anything. "I'm here to tell you that you won't be back on active duty for another six months. You'll hate your doctors, your therapists, and you'll definitely hate me. It's a long road, and it'll be the hardest thing you ever do." He leaned forward, and Ibiki was unable to look away. "But you can do it. You will return to your duties. You will be able to serve the village. And even if you loathe me with every fibre of your being, I will never stop until you're where you want to be."

Ibiki held his gaze for a long time, but the small smile that touched his face was enough.

"I thought you weren't allowed to do your thing with your teammates."

Inoichi dropped the pile of sweets and books on the shogi board on the bedside table, and glanced at his friend. "Normally, no," he agreed. "But seeing as I'm the only one who can tell when you're lying and/or talking in circles, they decided to make an exception."

The corner of Shikaku's mouth twitched up as his dark eyes scanned the room. "Fair enough. How did you convince Yoshino to give us some peace?"

Inoichi pulled a face. "I didn't. Chōza did."

Shikaku rolled his eyes, and Inoichi took the opportunity to study him. With the fresh surgical scars hidden underneath the hospital gown, Shikaku didn't actually look too bad, but Inoichi had been the one to find him in that thrice-damned hellhole, and he knew better than to believe the act. There was also the fact that Shikaku was looking anywhere but at him, but Inoichi could work with that. He took the seat closest to his friend and waited.

His concerns were justified when Shikaku started talking after only a few minutes of silence.

"I'm fine."

"You'll be fine," Inoichi corrected. "No-one's fine after only two days, and you know it," he added, when Shikaku's expression turned mulish. "Stop expecting more from yourself than you do from anyone else."

Shikaku muttered something about pots and kettles under his breath, but otherwise didn't reply. Inoichi frowned at him.

"You also know that it wasn't your fault."

Shikaku's head snapped up. "I led the mission. I got us caught."

Even after so many years, the intensity in his dark eyes was enough to make Inoichi pause before he replied. "I rather think it was a joint effort. Besides, you took responsibility when you talked them into questioning you rather than either of us. Continuing to take the blame is pointless." He leaned forward to grip his friend's shoulder. "Neither of us blame you. We never would."

Shikaku's jaw clenched, but he didn't look away. "It could have been you."

"And I still wouldn't blame you," said Inoichi flatly. "Not even a genius can control everything." He smiled. "Besides, even if it had been me, the two of you would have gotten me out."

Shikaku didn't bother to confirm it. Inoichi's smile widened, and he leaned back in the chair. "So, feel like destroying me at shogi while I psychoanalyse you?"

Shikaku mumbled something, but waved a hand in acknowledgement. Inoichi grinned, and dropped the snacks he'd brought on the bed before starting to set up the shogi board. Shikaku would be just fine.

It was easily worth losing a few dozen games of shogi for.

"I already told you that!"

Inoichi paused outside the interrogation room. He'd only come to drop off a psych assessment before heading to Chōza's party, but this sounded too interesting to ignore. He heard a low murmur of voices, and then another furious exclamation.

"That's not what happened!"

This time Inoichi recognised the voice, and he frowned. A quick mental review of latest referrals was all that was needed for the situation to become clear. Before he could decide on a course of action though, a frazzled looking chūnin stepped out of the room.

"Crazy bitch…" He caught sight of Inoichi and froze. "Yamanaka-san."

Inoichi raised an eyebrow. "Having trouble?"

"She's impossible! She's uncooperative, belligerent-"

"Was your first question related to Orochimaru?" Inoichi interrupted. The young man paused, and Inoichi sighed. "She is a shinobi of Konoha. She is not an enemy."

The chūnin didn't meet his gaze. His colleague, who had stepped out after him, also looked slightly ashamed.

"She's not going to talk to us, is she?"

Inoichi just looked at them. Honestly, what had they expected? The two looked at each other, then the second turned to him. "We would value your assistance, Yamanaka-san."

He was already running late, and Chōza had warned him about missing this gathering, but Inoichi was constitutionally incapable of ignoring such a mess.

A venomous glare was his only greeting as he entered the room, but Inoichi didn't take it personally. Being taken in for interrogation right after a failed mission wasn't easy for anyone. At least they'd waited until she was medically stable before dragging her in. He set his bag under the table and settled himself opposite her.

"Good evening, Mitarashi-san," he said gently. "My name is Yamanaka Inoichi."

"I know," Anko grunted. "You made sure the bastard was out of my head."

Considering she had been half out of her mind with pain and betrayal at the time Inoichi was surprised she remembered anything about that. He hadn't had any contact with her since, but maybe it would make things easier.

"I did." He cast an appraising eye over her. "How is your recovery progressing?"

Anko shrugged. "Should be back on active duty next week. If they let me." She sent another poisonous look at the mirrored window, and folded her arms. She was the perfect picture of uncooperative.

Under the circumstances, Inoichi could hardly blame her.

Inoichi sat back and considered his options. He knew exactly what the initial team had focused on, and while part of him could understand their caution, the rest was simply exasperated. No one cooperated when they were being accused of being a traitor. He'd have to speak to Ibiki about remedial psychology lessons for half the department.

For now though, they needed another something else. Inoichi thought for a moment, then the answer came and he reached for his bag. Under the circumstances he doubted Chōza would mind. Now what was it she liked...Aha.

Anko stared at the box, then at him, then back again. "You always carry boxes of dango around with you?"

Inoichi grinned. "Well, you never know when you might get called in to ask a very dangerous young woman with a sweet tooth a lot of awkward questions."

That earned him a twitch of the lips before she regained her usual scowl. "I'm not gonna talk just because you brought sweets."

"Who said anything about talking?" Inoichi asked mildly. He opened the lid, and held the box out to her. "I'm just hungry."

Anko eyed him warily, but to Inoichi's relief she took one of the sticks. Inoichi could feel the gazes of the interrogation squad burning into the back of his neck, but he ignored them in favour of selecting a sweet for himself. They had asked him for help, so he was going to do things his way.

Inoichi was halfway through his third stick before Anko finally slumped back in her chair.

"I didn't tell them anything."

Inoichi studied her. Frustration burned in every line of her body, but exhaustion had replaced the anger in her voice. Knowing what he did of her past, it was completely understandable. Inoichi held her gaze for a long moment, then nodded. "I believe you."

The astonishment in her brown eyes was heartbreaking. Inoichi pushed the box of dango back over to her, and settled down to listen. Chōza and Shikaku would understand. Right now, there was nowhere else he could be.

"I know what you're doing."

Inoichi shot an innocent look over his shoulder. "Setting up the barbecue?"

He wasn't particularly surprised when Chōza glared at him. "Inoichi, I was under the genjutsu for less than ten minutes," he growled. "I don't need a babysitter."

Inoichi had been planning to wait until after they'd eaten before getting down to the messy business, but if nothing else, shinobi learned to be flexible. He turned away from the barbecue and met his friend's gaze steadily. "You were screaming."

Chōza's face drained of colour. Inoichi crossed the distance between them in two long strides, and tilted his head to look his friend straight in the eye.

"I don't know what you saw," he said quietly, "and I won't ask you to tell me, but I'm not leaving you alone until I know you're going to be okay."

Chōza's hands had clenched into fists. "You're not supposed to-"

"Then they shouldn't have set a precedent when they let me work with Shikaku," said Inoichi flatly. "Besides, you're my teammate, and my friend. I couldn't do anything else."

He saw Chōza's jaw clench, but both of them knew that Inoichi wasn't going to let this go, and after a minute Chōza's shoulders slumped.

"I was screaming."

The disgust in his voice was enough. Inoichi reached up to grip his shoulders. "You were being tortured," he growled. "As long as you came out with your sanity intact, who cares how you coped with it?"

Chōza couldn't meet his eyes. "I wanted to talk."

"But you didn't," said Inoichi softly. Chōza grunted, and Inoichi didn't need his clan jutsu to know what was going through his mind. He moved round until Chōza was forced to look at him. "Of course you wanted the pain to stop. You're only human. But you didn't." He managed a small smile. "You're a lot of things, Chōza, but weak has never been one of them."

Chōza said nothing, but his shoulders started to shake. Inoichi didn't hesitate before pulling him into a tight hug. "You're safe," he whispered. "That's all we care about."

Chōza froze, but after a moment his arms came up and then he was clinging to Inoichi hard enough to make breathing difficult.

Inoichi didn't care. He hadn't been there for his friend before. It would never happen again.

Inoichi hadn't been planning to interfere. He had heard about what had happened, and Minato had told him enough to justify some concern, but Inoichi made it a policy to stay out of other people's business if he could help it. Minato had seemed to be handling the matter, and Inoichi had turned his concentration on his own work.

At least, he had until he came across a jōnin and a chūnin, neither older than thirteen, looking like they had spent the afternoon trying to kill each other. One he recognised as one of Chōza's students, and even civilians knew the silver hair and mask of the last member of the Hatake clan, and both had clearly overdone it. Inoichi took one look at the two of them, at the open concern on Gai's face and barely-contained fury on Kakashi's, and knew he had to step in.

"Gai-kun."

Gai spun round, instinctively dropping into a fighting stance before recognising him. "Inoichi-san? What-?"

"I believe Chōza-sensei was looking for you," said Inoichi firmly.

Gai hesitated, throwing a clearly worried glance at Kakashi, but gave Inoichi a reluctant bow. "Thank you."

He glanced at Kakashi once more, but the younger boy steadily ignored him. Inoichi caught Gai's eye, and shook his head. He knew the young man meant well, but it was clearly time for a different tactic. Gai frowned, but headed back to the village without trying to argue. Inoichi waited until he was gone before crossing to join Kakashi.

"Thank you," Kakashi muttered, as he got close enough.

Inoichi gave him a small smile. "We can't all be youthful all the time."

That got him a snort before Kakashi bent to pick up some kunai. He made no sound, but Inoichi recognised the tension in his body and frowned.

"You shouldn't be training with broken ribs."

His guess was proven correct when Kakashi's visible eye narrowed. "I'm fine."

Inoichi had long since gotten tired of hearing that particular statement from people. Shinobi were surprisingly terrible liars. He folded his arms, fixed Kakashi with his most sceptical look, and waited.

Kakashi's jaw set, and he glared back.

Inoichi was happy to wait. Prodigies had a tendency to be more stubborn than regular shinobi, and Hatake Kakashi certainly qualified. Minato's stories about the boy left no doubt whatsoever. That didn't change the fact Kakashi was also a child.

"I'm fine," he repeated, but exhaustion had replaced the anger in his voice.

Inoichi sighed and took a step toward him. "It's not supposed to be easy, you know," he said gently. "It never is. Your sensei, the Sannin, even the Hokage, they've all been through it, and I can assure you that they felt exactly the way you do."

Kakashi shot him a clearly sceptical look, but didn't try to argue. He also didn't try to escape, and Inoichi decided not to waste the opportunity.

"I know Minato-sensei has spoken to you," he said. "And Rin too," he noted the resulting twitch with interest, but carried on smoothly, "but if you wanted another perspective there are plenty of people who would be more than willing to help."

He didn't elaborate. Kakashi was more than smart enough to get the idea, and the glint in his eye had turned thoughtful. Inoichi smiled at him and clapped him gently on the shoulder. "Think about it."

He turned to leave, then paused. "And I believe Chōza and the rest of Team 11 will be leaving tomorrow for a three week mission."

"Might get some peace and quiet then," Kakashi muttered. He was silent for a moment, then bowed. "Thank you."

He disappeared in a flurry of leaves, and Inoichi sighed. No-one that age should have to have to deal with something like this. The least he could do was try to make it a little easier.

All Inoichi knew was pain. Every inch of his body ached like it had been run over by a full-size Akimichi, and his head was pounding so violently that it took him several seconds to even remember his own name. Then the memories of the past week came crashing down, and Inoichi was jerking upright before he even knew what was happening. That turned out to be a mistake when his entire body exploded into agony. Inoichi was dimly aware of the screech of alarms, and people shouting his name, but the noise sent lightning bolts slamming through his already aching mind and the pain only added to the disorientation and terror.

Then another voice rang out, and strong hands were gripping his shoulders. Inoichi lashed out with what little strength he had, but the next thing he knew he was being held tight against a solid chest. A large hand supported his aching head, and the familiar scent of barbecue and armour filled his nostrils, and Inoichi froze.

"It's all right, Inoichi," Chōza was repeating. "It's over. You're safe."

Inoichi slumped against his friend, and didn't even try to suppress a sob. Chōza's grip tightened, but his voice remained soothing. "That's it. You rest now. We're here, and you're safe."

Chōza never lied. Inoichi was asleep in seconds.

It was two more days before Inoichi was able to sit up without wanting to vomit. He still had no idea what he'd been dosed with during his week in captivity, but between that and the injuries he'd sustained through some very enthusiastic shock therapy he was too exhausted to care. Besides, the last thing he wanted to do was spend any more time thinking about what had happened. Thankfully, Chōza and Shikaku were constant presences by his side, and between them and his colleagues he was rarely left to dwell on the memories.

When Ibiki turned up, though, Inoichi knew it wasn't a social visit. Chōza was out on a food run, but Shikaku took one look and slumped deeper into his chair.

"Troublesome," he muttered.

Ibiki rolled his eyes and looked at Inochi. "You look like hell."

Inochi managed a pale imitation of his usual grin. "Feel like it too." Ibiki frowned, but Inoichi continued before he could interrupt. "But I'm ready for this. Should have been done sooner, really."

"You say that like you haven't spent the past two days throwing up," Shikaku muttered. He still hadn't moved, and shrugged when Inoichi gave him a curious look. "I'm not going anywhere unless you want me to."

Inoichi's smile turned a little more genuine. He had no secrets from Shikaku, especially considering that he and Chōza had been the ones to get him out. Shikaku caught his eye and smirked.

"Besides, we know you know all the right answers, and I know when you're doing it."

Inoichi pouted, but Ibiki snorted and took the seat on his other side. "Ready?"

Despite the businesslike tone his dark eyes showed clear concern, and it settled Inoichi's nerves almost as much as Shikaku's steady scrutiny. He let out a long sigh and rested his head back against the pillows. "Yeah. Let's get this over with."

Despite Ibiki's best efforts, the questioning was as hellish as Inoichi had expected, and he was physically and emotionally exhausted by the time they were done. Thankfully, Shikaku and Ibiki were kind enough to ignore the way his hands were shaking. Chōza, who had returned halfway through and spent the remainder glaring at Ibiki, slipped out the door and returned a moment later with the nurse. Ibiki busied himself with his notes while the nurse adjusted the medication, and only looked up when she left.

"I'm sorry, Inoichi-san."

He meant it too, and Inoichi was able to smile. "Had to be done."

Ibiki gave a curt nod. "You need anything, you let me know."

Shikaku and Chōza exchanged a look, but Inoichi's smile widened. "I will remember. Thank you."

"Least I could do," Ibiki muttered.

The barely suppressed guilt in his eyes was easy to read, but before Inoichi could say anything there was a clack of boots in the corridor and the door was thrown open.

"Wow, you really do look like shit."

Chōza rose to his feet, his face like a thundercloud, but Inoichi waved him down. "It's good to see you too, Anko-san."

Anko ducked past Chōza and weaved her way round to stand next to Ibiki. Her eyes narrowed as she stared down at Inoichi. "Anyone you want me to kill?"

"Too late," Chōza muttered.

Anko frowned. "Interrogate then?"

"Ibiki already called dibs," Shikaku drawled. He completely ignored both Ibiki's scowl and Anko's resulting pout. "Should have moved quicker."

"Give me a break, I've been out on a two month mission," Anko whined. She glanced back at Inoichi and snorted. "And you told me to stay out of trouble."

"Did you?" asked Inoichi dryly.

"Oh, look what I got," said Anko loudly. She dumped her bag on the bed and shoved a stack of boxes at Inoichi. "Not that you deserve it," she added under her breath. "Idiot."

Inoichi grinned, then looked at the top box, and raised an eyebrow. "The good stuff? You must have been worried."

"Oh, shut up," Anko muttered, but there was the faintest trace of a grin on her face as she threw herself into a chair. "Well? You know, it's only polite to offer your guests some refreshment."

Shikaku rolled his eyes, and Chōza's jaw dropped, but for the first time in a week, Inoichi laughed. "Help yourself."

"Don't mind if I do."

They didn't stay long. Ibiki and Anko left first, the former again silently apologising, and the latter loudly promising to visit again with fresh supplies. Inoichi heard them arguing all the way down the corridor, and had to smile. Chōza promised to return in the morning, but Shikaku lingered by the bed. Inoichi took one look at him and shook his head.

"Still not your fault. Don't even bother."

Shikaku hesitated, but Inoichi apparently looked pathetic enough that he didn't try to argue. Instead he rested a hand on Inoichi's shoulder for a moment before slouching from the room. Inoichi smiled and settled back. Even the most stubborn of men could learn.

Two hours later, Inoichi tore himself from a nightmare that left him soaked in sweat and shaking from head to foot. Automatically he flung his chakra out, searching desperately for the steady familiarity of his teammates, but before he could reach the Akimichi or Nara compounds he was distracted by a flare of chakra much closer by.

Right outside his window in fact.

Only the fact that Inoichi recognised the chakra signature kept him from making his watcher throw himself out of the tree. As it was, he took a moment to force his breathing under control before speaking.

"Thank you, Kakashi-kun."

For a long moment there was no reply, then a slight figure landed silently on the window. A porcelain mask gleamed in the moonlight as it nodded once, then was gone.

Inoichi settled back and let out a long steadying breath. He wasn't fine. He wasn't anywhere close to it, and wouldn't be for some time.

But he didn't have to do it alone.

Any feedback would be very much appreciated.