Time's Spinning Gears

Chapter 5- The Shadows of War

Warnings: AU, Mild violence, Possible swearing.

Disclaimer: Naruto © Kishimoto

-o0oOOOo0o—

Kakashi leapt from the Hokage tower.

For a moment, he felt fear; an instinctual reaction from the human body, but his training and confidence in his own abilities brushed it away.

He landed on a roof three stories lower.

The Panther mask glinted in the soft moonlight, which was occasionally blocked by clouds. Silver hair was kept hidden by a black hood.

His head swiveled, searching out Namiko's chakra. Kakashi had met the woman a few times before, and on the surface, they were cordial acquaintances.

Underneath the underneath, however, they were teammates and comrades.

Namiko was an undercover ANBU, codenamed Sparrow, and she been working in the hospital since Naruto had been born. The Sandaime had put her into place as a contingency, a 'Plan B' just in case. As it turned out, she had been sorely needed.

He thanked Kami that she was there, for if she hadn't… Kakashi didn't dare to think of what might have happened. Naruto, his sensei's son, would have died.

He hadn't been able to face the boy then. Kakashi still wasn't sure he could face him now.

Sighing, he swung easily through the window into Namiko's apartment, landing silently on the soft carpet. Behind him, the security seals flashed once before confirming him as a Konoha ANBU.

Namiko, who was already dressed in her ANBU uniform and had put on her mask, turned to meet him.

"Buntaichō," she greeted.

Kakashi inclined his head. "Sparrow."

"What brings you here today?"

He glanced around before flashing through a set of handseals. "Souon no Kakuheki." [Barrier of noise]

Namiko frowned, recognizing the significance of the technique. Both Jounin and ANBU had to turn in a written report for all the data above B-rank in class, and that usually would have the more classified information. To require a barrier technique for even the information given through mouth was rare.

Kakashi cut straight to the point. "Hokage-sama wants you to keep an eye on Naruto."

"Why?" There was no hesitation. To Kakashi, it meant that if there wasn't a good reason for the Sandaime's request, she was fully prepared to argue Naruto's case.

He was quick to placate her. "He has been acting odd the past few days. It could be a side effect of the coma. But he is more jaded… I don't know. It reminds me of the veterans of the war."

"Buntaichō, you are a veteran of the war yourself."

"Yes, and look how I turned out."

Namiko bit her lip. "Perhaps. I'm not doubting your skill, but this is something only Inoichi could make sure of." She picked up a mission scroll from the nearby counter. "I'll keep an eye on him."

"Thank you." Kakashi said sincerely. "Hokage-sama will give you the written report when you get back from your mission."

"Yes, Buntaichō."

Kakashi exited through the window, disappearing into the night.

Namiko stared after him, hoping with all her heart that the ANBU captain was mistaken.

But, in the deepest parts of her mind, she knew that something was wrong with Naruto, and that Panther's instincts were correct.

-o0oOOOo0o—

Even at this unholy hour, the esteemed Sandaime Hokage could still be found awake and working at his desk. The only ninja still up an awake in the Hokage tower at this time were the chunin on night duty and the requisite ANBU guards.

Most didn't notice how worried, how tense the old man seemed. Though the aged, wrinkled hands scrawled unceasingly across the pale scroll, their knuckles grew whiter and whiter until Sarutobi finally noticed that his tightening grip was beginning to crush the small brush he held in his hand. Sighing, he relaxed and put down the abused writing implement.

He was worried. The gap in Naruto's guard during the day he was almost killed had been a result of council members sticking their meddling hands into things they had no right to. They'd been brought to trial in court, and executed.

Any gap in the security of Konoha would not be tolerated, even if temporarily and especially not for selfish purposes.

But they shouldn't have had the ability to even see the security detail, much less change it with no one noticing until after the fact. Unfortunately, any move to have them interrogated would undermine his position. As far as the evidence showed, those minor council members were the only ones involved in the plot.

However, logic dictated that they could not have pulled off something like this themselves. The only one with the resources to do something like this, besides the Hokage, was Danzo.

Danzo. Once, Sarutobi had considered the man a friend. Soon, however, differing political views forced them to be mere acquaintances. Then, the Sandaime realized that Danzo had been using children in his ROOT force.

Their relationship had degenerated from there.

Sarutobi could hardly believe it when he first found out. The first ROOT he found had been a mere ten year old boy, as emotionless as the most trained ANBU. He didn't allow himself to think about the conditioning required for children, used to speaking their mind, to become this way. ROOT, officially, had been liquidated three years after the Kyuubi attack.

Unofficially, the Sandaime knew that they were still up and running. He just couldn't prove it. Danzo had become far more paranoid and cautious, now that he knew that his one-time friend could not be trusted with the details of his plans. There was little evidence that ROOT even existed, and what was there, well, releasing the information that proved it was not an option.

The very fact that Danzo had attempted such a revealing move, uncovering ROOT's existence to much of the higher ninja ranks showed how desperate he was to get rid of the Kyuubi jinchuriki.

The man viewed Naruto as a threat, Sarutobi knew that much.

The old man sighed. He was getting too old for this job.

-o0oOOOo0o—

As Kakashi swiftly made his way back to his apartment, prepared for another night with only four hours of sleep, he could not help but wonder; what had he been doing the past ten years?

Nothing. He answered his own question. He hadn't done a damn thing.

He'd barely kept his promise to Minato-sensei. Sure, he had protected Naruto to the best of his ability, but he hadn't noticed the gap in the guard roster until it had been too late.

'Underneath the underneath', his ass.

He'd been too wrapped up in guilt and self-pity to realize that Naruto had been suffering far more than he had thought.

How would sensei react, if he could see him now?

To Kakashi, the coma Naruto had been put in was a nasty wake-up call. He hadn't been able to protect the boy, he hadn't noticed the Iwa spy, and like any idiot, he hadn't realized there was a gap in the guard for fifteen crucial minutes.

He had been weakening, his skills degrading from when he had been younger. With nothing to motivate him, and no emotional support, he'd unconsciously held himself back.

No more.

If he was to protect sensei's son, he'd give it all he had. It was the least he could do.

After all, his old team would have wanted him to live. And he'd been stagnating, wallowing in a pit of depression and remorse.

It was time he lived for the pressent, no matter what pain and memories it dredged up. Kakashi needed to stop running away from his past, lest the few people left he actually cared about got hurt.

Perhaps he would bring out the Hatake family tanto again. It had been years since she had tasted blood.

-o0oOOOo0o—

Minato sat in his apartment, a small seal-powered lamp allowing him to see. A long scroll of cheap paper sat in front of him, and he idly twirled a brush in his left hand. Though there were notes and small drawings on the scroll, he only stared at them, not really looking at his writing.

Frowing, he reached towards a small inscription on the base of the metal lamp and turned up the power, increasing the light that fell on the manuscript. After a few seconds, he carefully adjusted the steel joint that angled the light on the scroll, focusing it on a small prototyped seal. He didn't have enough chakra control to safely enhance his sight, and Minato definitely wanted to keep seeing color and shapes, thank you very much.

His day had gone mostly as expected, except for 'the Sasuke incident', as he'd labeled it in his mind.

But still, things had been very strange. He'd improved immensely in his chakra control, managing to make it about three-quarters of the way up the tree before falling off, and on top of that, had been able to make a wobbly bunshin. Given, that bunshin was the only stable one out of the other ninety-seven he'd made at the same time, but still! According to what he knew about demonic chakra and the way it worked, that shouldn't have even been possible until Naruto's fortieth birthday!

The seal would finally drain all of the Kyuubi's chakra when Naruto was twenty, and Naruto's body should fully adjust to the mass of chakra over the next twenty years. While the boy would never have perfect chakra control, it would be good enough to make a relatively stable bunshin, which really only required the control of a below-average Academy student.

It was giving Minato a headache.

And then, there was Sasuke.

What had he done to make the boy notice him so much? As far as he knew, he'd mostly kept to Naruto's patterns and behavior, except for not acting as challenging to Sasuke's 'superior' position and going out to ramen less often.

But still, he'd attracted the attention of the last Uchiha, and more attention was exactly what he didn't need.

On top of that, if Sasuke, an Academy student had seen that 'Naruto' had been behaving oddly, then the ANBU guards would have noticed, which meant that the Hokage now knew….

Damn.

He was getting too old for this shit.

-o0oOOOo0o-

Sasuke paced angrily at a small apartment in the Uchiha clan complex, unable to sleep.

He'd lost.

He knew why, and how, but the fight still prodded at the back of his mind.

Naruto.

At first, he was just a simpleton. Something to ignore, a useless academy student that would never climb past genin.

But then, Naruto had beaten him, the last Uchiha, the Rookie of the Year. Naruto, the deadlast, and the dobe had actually made it look easy!

It didn't make sense. It didn't fit with what he knew.

But then, little about the fight matched up with the information he had. A scornful voice rang through his head.

"Yes, Uchiha, and you are the expert on all things Naruto. Do tell, how did I change…?"

"Shut up." Sasuke whispered.

Blissful silence.

Why? Why?

Why was he so curious about a boy he hadn't so much as cared about before?

And why did Naruto offer to spar, with that look in his eyes?

"Sasuke, I promise to practice with you later. But I have a mission right now." And Itachi smiled, and poked him in the forehead. "Be good, otouto."

"Damnit. Damn you, Naruto, for pitying me. Damn it!" The last Uchiha's voice rose to a scream.

One last, mocking word echoed in his mind as he slumped into his futon, exhausted.

"Why?"

-o0oOOOo0o—

The next day dawned.

It was one of those days; when the sun shone brightly, but the fog and mist hanging in the air chilled you to your bones, and grey clouds choked off the sky.

It couldn't be helped, Minato noted, tightening a dark blue scarf around the lower half of his face. It was fall, the point between summer and winter, and of course it would be cold.

Tugging the edges of the warm woolen scarf up around his ears, Minato began to walk, ambling along the path. It was extremely early in the morning, and most sane Konoha citizens were still asleep.

Well, except for the ninja, but their collective sanity was debatable.

His breath came out in small puffs of smoky mist, hanging in the air and blowing past his face. Only the Aburame seemed to be up and about, as a few of their bug colonies woke and lived solely in the mists of dawn.

It was odd, Minato thought, how the Aburame could be there and yet not there, as if they were detached from the living world, communing with a voice nobody else heard. Of course, that would be their kikaichu [Parasitic Destruction Insects], he thought amusedly.

He had to pass the entrance to the clan home on the way to Training Ground Seven. While the training ground had been originally meant for genin, since the memorial stone was there, it was open to all comers. That is, as long as no one was hurt. So far, no one had been.

Spotting who he thought was Shino from Naruto's class, Minato waved hesitantly, not sure if the figure was who he expected. Relief swept through him when the figure paused, and waved back.

Nodding in greeting, Minato turned and continued on his way. It was good that the Namikaze were the premier shinobi for reading body language, otherwise he would have probably approached the Aburame when the boy clearly needed to continue on his chore.

Shino stared after Naruto, adjusting his round sunglasses. How odd. From his observations, he knew Naruto as a boisterous, loud boy, clearly in want for attention. From this, he had deduced that Naruto would have approached him with a loud greeting and proclamation after he, Shino, had been spotted. This course of action, nodding and continuing on his way, was, however, illogical. But then again, his father had explained to him that people, including those of his own clan, were unpredictable. Thus, such unusual behavior should be typical. But even as he turned away, carrying a small box that nested rare beetle larvae, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Especially as Naruto slept in frequently and was late for class more often than not.

Not noticing this, Minato quickly reached training ground seven, speeding up to a brisk jog. Crossing the red wooden bridge, he quickly found the memorial stone; a rectangular block of polished granite that unobtrusively sat in a small clearing.

This was far more than just a chunk of rock with names.

It recognized a resting place for those whose bodies may not have been able to be retrieved, yet still died for Konoha. It honored dead comrades, friends, or even acquaintances. But it was a link, a connection to those long gone.

And in the twelfth row of names, in the third column, sat his own. Minato knelt by the stone, in a state of shock. He'd known all along that he was dead, but to see it confirmed, on the memorial… It made it real.

Namikaze Minato, Yondaime Hokage.

The carved name had been gilded, and it stood out against the two names next to it; Mitsuki Mai, a chunin, and some jounin called Takaharu Jin. Dozens of names were etched out on the polished stone, but only a few stood out to him.

Uchiha Obito, genin. Yagami Rin, jounin.

His fingers reached out to lightly trace the names, pausing when he reached his wife's.

Uzumaki Kushina, jounin.

His- Naruto's-mother. Hand trembling slightly, he quickly withdrew it and tucked the rebellious limb into his pocket. It had to be the cold, he told himself.

It had to be.

Firmly stuffing his hands deep into the depths of his jacket, Minato turned away from the memorial.

Perhaps he'd go to the library. It would give him an excuse to know some skills, after all…

-o0oOOOo0o—

Kakashi froze in shock.

What…? What was Naruto doing here, of all places? How did he know about the memorial stone?

And then, the boy reached out to touch the names.

Kakashi knew that Uzumaki Kushina had her name on the stone.

Oh fuck.

He waited for the inevitable explosion, for anything, but nothing happened.

The boy just put his hands in his pockets, and…walked away. A slight hesitation in his step, and shivering, but that was all.

Nothing.

Waiting until Naruto was gone, Kakashi shakily leapt down from the tree he'd been perched in, stumbling towards the memorial and collapsing on his knees.

"Shit, Minato-sensei, Obito, Rin…" He leaned forwards, resting his head on the cold stone. "What do we do now?"

The reaction had been so atypical, so not-Naruto, he didn't know what to say. The only thing he could do was do what he'd always done; report to the Hokage.

And hope that the old man would hear his warning before Naruto got to him.

-o0oOOOo0o-

Author's Notes:

*looks at previous chapter's reviews*

*looks at other chapter's reviews*

*faints*

So…many…reviews…. Thank you so much, readers!

That said, while I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, I feel guilty about my previous chapter, which I turned in too short and very, very late. So, here is a new section of story, up to my standard of eight pages.

Hopefully, writing more than this will get easier as time goes on.

I'm considering killing off Namiko soon… Mostly as a plot device, partially because I don't like OCs, and also because I don't want the Hokage finding out too soon; with her professional medical opinion backing up Kakashi's he's more likely to investigate.

I'll probably introduce Iruka next chapter… maybe as a run-in at the Ichiraiku ramen stand, I dunno.

What do you guys think?

Till' next time,

Port in the Storm.

Posted May 24, 2010