Hello, peeps.

Apologies again for this taking so long. You know how it goes, life rears its ugly head and you can't get anything constructive done *groan* well this has been a WIP for MONTHS now and I figured I should make some time, sit down and finish this chapter off. Hope you like it!

Saph xx

Oh, and Naruto ain't mine. Sure wish it was though...

Sensou no Inu

Chapter 2: Speaking in Dead Tongues

The sight was like a train wreck, hell, the whole situation was like a bad dream. No matter how Sakura tried to justify it, no matter how hard she tried to turn away her eyes wouldn't allow it. Kakashi just stood there, like he had been frozen in time, staring at the boy in front of him. The youth didn't move a muscle either as he glared through the copy nin spitefully.

Akuma was Kakashi's double, there was no doubt about that in spite of the subtle differences between the two. The boy's hair, although just as wild and unruly as Kakashi's was a little longer in cut and a little darker in colour. It fell mostly to one side and he had the back portion pulled into a tight braid that jutted over the nape of his neck. Sakura noticed his skin was darker than Kakashi's; it looked like the kid came from a hot climate due to the deep olive tone to his face.

Although his face was younger and his eyes a little wider than that of the copy nin's it was still painfully clear to see that they were at least related in some way.

The descriptions they had been given had been quite accurate too. The kid had to be no younger than eighteen and having added the sums up in her head she realised then that Kakashi would have only been seventeen years old himself when the boy was born. The kid was only a few years younger than her!

She was more than aware of Kakashi's reputation with women; he had had more than his fair share over the years, simply because he could. But she was certain that he was affiliated with the Anbu by that time in his life, protocol wouldn't have allowed him to engage in sexual activities when out in the field. Despite Kakashi's laid back attitude Sakura doubted very much that he would have broken the rules just for a quick fuck. There had to be some other explanation, but even now, she was struggling to fabricate any other reasons in her mind.

The young girl continued to struggle feebly in her arms as she desperately tried to reach for her brother on the other side of the damp cavern. A soft whimper that left her throat dragged Sakura back to reality and caused her to analyse the current situation more rationally. It didn't matter who the boy was, or his parental background, whatever that may be. He was still their target and a source of income for both her and Kakashi. They had to get him back to Konoha if they were to collect their bounty. The mission was complete; the only thing left to do now was go home.

Sakura saw Akuma shift his eyes sporadically between Kakashi and the young brunette in her arms who was still trying to get out of her grip and get to her older brother. Sakura decided to let her go, not seeing the point to cause her any more distress by restraining her. The girl paused as soon as Sakura slid her hands from around her waist and looked round at the pink haired medic with wide eyes.

"Saichi!" Akuma called. His voice startled the young girl causing her to gasp and spin her head round towards him. She trotted towards him after a few moments of thought gathering. Kakashi turned to face her at this point and the girl froze in her tracks as she made eye contact with him. Sakura heard her breath hitch in her throat while she cautiously backed away from him and pressed her shoulders against the cold wall of the cave. The expression Sakura was able to see on her dirty face was one of utter terror. Her eyes glistened frightfully in the candle light and her lower lip quivered as she began to shimmy herself around the border of the stone room towards the young boy. She didn't once lift her gaze from Kakashi's face, nor did her expression soften at all.

She finally reached the other side of the cavern before she bolted towards the silver haired boy opposite the tall Jonin he resembled. Akuma's face fell from his scowl into an expression of remorse as he held out his hands to the young girl who all but fell into them. She began to weep into the boy's shoulder, twisting her fingers into the tattered robes he wore before she turned towards Kakashi and whimpered, "Please, don't hurt him."

Sakura got to her feet, brushing down her knees as she went and walked slowly over to her team leader who had resumed his inspection of the boy. The pink haired medic assumed he was still in shock after seeing the boy's likeness to himself. It was a shock to her own system too, but they still had a mission to complete.

"Kakashi, we need to go," she said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. She saw his gaze quickly flit from the two children to the glossy rock wall before he nodded once. He looked back down at the boy before offering his hand to him. Akuma stared blankly at Kakashi's gesture before scowling up at him and straightening himself pulling his younger sister closer to his side.

"I need no guidance from you, ninja! I am more than capable of walking on my own!" Akuma spat venomously, his dark eyes aflame with an emotion that was so raw yet unidentifiable to her. At first glance is looked like hatred, but something else stirred behind his glassy glare which didn't quite match what she thought he was feeling. He was hiding something...

"Then, please lead the way." Kakashi drawled, stepping to one side and offering his hand towards the entrance. There was no way on this planet that the two ninja were leaving the cave first, the target was always the one to lead if unrestrained. Any attempt of escape was impossible this way. It was clear that the two children we not much of a threat but there was still that minute chance he could very well prove them both wrong... again.

The boy stood his ground for a moment until he took Kakashi's invitation literally and began to step past him, narrowing his already heavy eyes at him as he went. The young girl followed quickly after.

Sakura brushed her way past her team mate who followed closely behind as they ventured back through the mouth of the cave. There were so many questions that needed answering, but the main question was whether they would be answered at all.

The next few hours left her in a blur. It was hard to tell when each hour ended and the next began as Sakura felt herself being steered by her auto functions. She was exhausted to say the very least, it had been a long and emotionally draining day.

Kakashi was quieter than usual. He made no effort to drag out his precious book which suggested to her that the young man they followed bothered him greatly. The great copy ninja didn't let things get to him, ever. So his behaviour was more than a little worrying. Sakura had thought about asking him if he was feeling okay, but had thought better of it. He would either fob her off with an untrue nod of his head or he wouldn't reply at all. Sakura didn't much care for being ignored, or lied to, but she could understand his silence so she let him be for now.

The journey continued in silence as the small group trudged through the woodland, southwards towards Konoha. The trip shouldn't take any more than four or five days, six at the most but the candy haired medic had a sickly feeling that they wouldn't be seeing home again for quite a while. She wasn't entirely sure of how she knew this, but her gut told her that this young boy and his sister were going to be more trouble than they were worth. They had no idea who they actually were, where they came from or why. It wasn't their business to ask such things but there was no doubt in her mind that they would end up asking these questions themselves before long.

The boy was several steps ahead of them, the young girl now seated on his back after numerous complaints that her feet were hurting her. Sakura hadn't been surprised, she still looked exhausted. The medic would have offered to help had it not been for Akuma simply scooping her onto his shoulders without an ounce of hesitation or even a glance in her or Kakashi's direction. So like males with their need for dominance and visual strength. It seemed that Akuma liked people to see how strong he was.

Eventually she turned her attention back to Kakashi who was still staring squarely ahead of himself. She opened her mouth to speak but hesitated momentarily before finding her voice again.

"Kakashi..."

"I'm fine, Sakura."

She sighed heavily, turning her attention back to the path she was treading. Why did she even bother to begin to ask in the first place? She knew he would lie. She decided to play him at his own game as she flitted her eyes towards him again.

"Actually, I was going to suggest that we take a quick break." Sakura spoke almost like it was a question more than a demand, the latter of which it was most definitely meant to be. They had at least another six hours before they reached the border of Fire Country (although at the slow pace they were travelling it was going to take far longer than that), which was the target for the night, but she could tell by the way Akuma was beginning to drag his feet that he was beginning to feel the strain of the youngster on his back.

Kakashi didn't respond for a few minutes which seemed more like hours to her. Eventually he closed his eyes and nodded much to Sakura's relief. She didn't know exactly how long they had been travelling, but it seemed like days, she was ready for a sit down, be it only for a few minutes.

Having found a clearing between a group of large fir trees Kakashi had disappeared into the night muttering something about food. Sakura could only assume he was going to return with a rope full of dead rats for them to eat. Well, it wouldn't be the first time she had eaten road kill for lunch. Either that or he just wanted some time on his own, to collect his thoughts and gain a better control over the bearings that he seemed to have misplaced throughout the duration of their journey here.

Sakura couldn't help but feel for him, she had no idea how he must be feeling at all and she could only imagine that the sight of Akuma had come as something a little more than a bit shocking. Kakashi wasn't the sort to let anything faze him, but she guessed that he had never faced something quite as huge as being a potential parent to a child he had never known about for the past eighteen or nineteen years. The pink topped medic had her doubts now however.

Usually, in her experience as a medic, not only did the child possess a great deal of likeness to that of one or both parents, their mannerisms could also be linked. But Akuma was totally different in one aspect. She hadn't had much to do with the kid so far but his build (by what she could see) was almost the opposite of Kakashi's. The tall jonin was broad yet slender, like that of an athletic swimmer. He was built for speed and swiftness, making him a master of agility and stealth. The kid however was built like a warrior. Sakura had noticed while he carried the young girl on his back how big his arms were and his shoulders were far broader than Kakashi's. He was thick set all over and bound with the muscles of the military soldiers that served the lords of the lands rather than a ninja. Either this kid had undergone some intensive physical training in his young life, or he had inherited his build from somewhere and Sakura doubted very much he had inherited it from a woman...

The boy's mannerisms were similar to Kakashi's, such as the way he chose to look emotionless most of the time, but Sakura had noticed this with the girl too. The two kids were so alike it was becoming easier to believe that Kakashi had fathered both of them, but she knew for a fact that this couldn't be the case. What were the chances of running into the same woman twice, not remembering her at all and her not mentioning that she had a child by him already? This situation was becoming stranger by the second.

The two kids had been sitting against a tree since they had decided to rest while Sakura pilfered the ground for anything she thought suitable for a fire. The temperature had dropped considerably since leaving the wasteland of the market and it seemed to be dropping further. Sakura's breath left her in plumes and her skin stung from the chill that settled on her from the evening air.

With her arms full of dead twigs, Sakura strolled back to the centre of the clearing eyeing over the two captives as she went.

"Are you two gonna help me with this, or what?" she said with an unintentional hue of annoyance in her voice.

Akuma was the first to raise his head, his face as mean as the moment they had met in that dank cave, Saichi followed suite moments later with the same expression as she shifted her weight against the bark of the tree. "Help?" she questioned darkly.

Sakura was certain that the young girl mocked her plea with a slight roll of the eyes. Who the hell did she think she was talking to?

"Uhm... yeah? I'm making a fire more for your benefit than ours! Me and Kakashi are used to the cold," Sakura snapped back throwing the sticks onto the floor and thrusting her hands onto her hips. The part about being used to cold was a lie, she hated the cold, but that didn't mean she couldn't deal with it. But she had a point to make, these kids were capable of living rough in a cave and stealing from people for goodness knows how long, so they were more than able to help her build a fire, surely?

She watched Saichi's expression darken dramatically as she slowly got to her feet. She noticed then, the once pretty dress she wore under her own battered robe. Although smeared with dirt and grime from her days trapped in the wilderness, Sakura could only imagine how much a dress of that detail would cost back in Konoha. Trails of intricate lace bordered the hems of the dress that hung in layers from the waistline down. Although mostly torn in parts and caked in filth making the once cream dress a dirty yellow colour it wasn't difficult to see the dress must have been incredibly expensive to even make, never mind buy. Who were these kids...?

"I will not lower myself to that of a grunt, ninja! Do you even know who you are dealing with?" The little girl spat, jutting her finger towards her brother who stared at her in horror obviously not expecting his younger sisters outburst.

Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing, the hostility in the girls tone was something she hadn't been expecting from the little girl who seemed so sweet not so long ago.

"Excuse me? Did you just call me a grunt?" she tittered as a surprised smile began to pull at the corner of her mouth. Had she just insulted her, after helping her get to back on her feet? If these two hadn't have been targets in the first place Sakura doubted either one of them would have survived for longer than a couple of weeks. If anything they were lucky herself and Kakashi had found them when they had.

Akuma sprung to his feet hurriedly as Saichi began to speak again. "Yes I did! How dare you mock the authority of Civi... Hey!" Saichi stumbled on her words as her older brother grasped her shoulder and spun her round like a ragdoll. He held her fiercely by the skin of her upper arm, forcing her to tiptoe as she struggled in his grip.

"Saichi! Feci haud sonitus!" Akuma hissed harshly as he pulled her towards him violently.

"Ista velle lema ut mentitus sum?" Saichi bit back as she viciously wrenched her arm out of Akuma's grip and stalked back to her spot beneath their chosen tree. She slumped herself down on the ground and crossed her arms harshly over her chest in annoyance.

Akuma didn't answer, nor did he follow her. He just stood there for a moment as he seemed to gather his thoughts before glancing up at Sakura with that same mean expression on his face. Whatever it was the young girl had said to him, it bothered him.

"Forgive my sister. She knows no different," he muttered as he glanced back down at the floor.

Sakura was too awestruck to contemplate what Akuma was saying as she just stood and stared at him in disbelief. Had they just spoken to each other in a different language? Sakura was widely travelled across the world but never before had she even heard a language that was even remotely similar to the one they had just spoken. It sounded so old to her ears, old and disturbingly alien. Who were they...?

"What ... what language was that?" she asked innocently lifting a hand slowly and motioning her finger towards him. She watched him raise his head and give her a sideways glance. He looked at her like she should have known the answer, like she was stupid.

"The Dead Tongue..." he answered quietly, voicing it like a question.

Sakura felt herself frown at his answer, not that it answered anything at all. What kind of name for a language was that?

"Dead Tongue? From what region?" She asked, more forcefully than last time.

Akuma straightened himself a little, pushing his shoulders back slightly and turned his head to one side again. "It would be safer not to discuss this matter. I will aid you with the fire if you wish," he replied dully. It was clear that he desperately wanted to change the subject, seeming to Sakura that he had said something he felt he probably shouldn't have. She chose to leave the conversation there for now, but she had every intention of bringing it up again. Perhaps the retired ninja back at the market was right after all. Maybe these kids were from somewhere common feet had never trodden. Everything about them was becoming more foreign and puzzling as time went on, the way they put their words together, the way they held themselves, the way they suddenly switched to a tongue she had never heard before, and Sakura didn't like it one bit.

The quick break that Sakura had demanded they take turned into a longer stay. The young girl looked exhausted and the boy wasn't faring much better. Sakura had given the two children the last of the rations she kept in her pack seeing as Kakashi hadn't had much luck hunting down anything edible. Chances were that they would stumble across a small village in the morning, having passed at least one on the way to the market so they could stock up on essential supplies... and possibly some cigarettes.

Kakashi had kicked his habit years ago, but the pangs still haunted him from time to time. He didn't think Sakura would take too kindly to him starting again, but what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

The chill in the night air was piercing on his lower back as his face bathed in the light of the fire. Kakashi breathed in deeply, watching the wisps of his breath dance towards the trees. The canvass of the sky was barely visible through the thick branches above him making it impossible to see the state of the atmosphere. By the way the frost was biting at him, Kakashi figured the ground would be white over by morning.

The shift in temperature wasn't at all surprising. This side of Fire Country was notorious for its unpredictable weather patterns and the cold was a welcome change to the stifling heat of the market earlier that day. Kakashi would much rather be cold than boiling hot.

The clearing the small group had chosen for their campsite was secluded enough to hide them from passersby, that was all they needed for now but in order for Sakura to examine both of their captives properly, they needed proper shelter. Hopefully their travels would lead them to a nice hotel or inn where they could spend at least one night. If there was one thing Kakashi actually missed when out in the field, it was a comfy bed, not that he did much sleeping anyway. A life of disturbed and constantly changing sleeping patterns had caused the insomnia to sink in over the years. He had lost count of the endless nights simply lying in his bed staring at the water stains that plagued his bedroom ceiling.

He allowed his gaze to scan the site; Sakura and Saichi were sleeping in the same futon. Sakura had opted to snooze with the young girl considering her weakened state suggesting that the extra body warmth would probably do the eight year old some good. The young brunette didn't complain but had given Kakashi a stern glare before settling her head into the bed roll. Watching the two girls sleeping now was a sight to behold. Sakura had an arm slung around the smaller body as they both breathed deeply. Saichi whimpered slightly, her brows furrowing as a cold wind rushed through the clearing before she suddenly span herself around. Sakura opened her eyes partly, possibly not even waking as she drew her arm around the girls shoulder a little tighter and pulled her further under the covers.

Kakashi hummed amusedly at them before his gaze turned slowly towards the mysterious boy to his right. Propped up against one of the many large trees surrounding them, Akuma stared into the fire. His eyes were emotionless and heavy but his mouth moved as though he was speaking softly. The thoughts in Kakashi's head trying to make him believe that this teenager was his own were beginning to die now. Kakashi had heard of situations like these throughout his entire career as a shinobi of the Leaf. The unspoken bond that was already there between parent and child coming to the boil almost instantly upon their meeting was one thing that Kakashi felt he was yet to experience.

Even now he felt nothing more than pity for him. The copy nin wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to be feeling for this boy, if anything at all. He had no actual proof that he had fathered this kid, but his appearance made the notion impossible to shake off completely.

Eventually Akuma lifted his head and flitted his eyes towards his watcher. Kakashi didn't look away, there were questions that he needed answering, and the only person he could attain any answers at all was from this boy.

"Do you find me interesting, ninja?" the silver haired boy snarled as he switched his focus back to the fire.

"Strangely enough, yeah. Were you talking to yourself just then?" Kakashi replied dully. He found the kid a little more than interesting, he was quite perplexing to say the very least. He saw the kid hum a chuckle, his shoulders jutting forward a bit as he shook his head.

"If you must know, I was praying. But someone as uncultured as yourself couldn't possibly understand. And you needn't say a word. I already know what it is you are thinking," the boy grunted. He shifted against the tree, lowering his head and rested his arm across a bent knee.

Kakashi furrowed his brow at him. He had a good idea of what the kid was talking about, but not once since the moment he had laid eyes on him had he shown any interest or even horror at the sight of his potential parent. Perhaps he was really good at hiding his emotions, or perhaps he simply didn't care. Either way, Kakashi chose to press him further in his own quest for knowledge.

"And you know that, how?" Kakashi pressed leaning back a little as he waited for his answer. Akuma turned his head slowly to face him, his face a glow by the fire. His heavy eyes were dull and exhausted and his expression was malicious and uncaring. He reminded Kakashi of himself when he was young and it irked him a little.

"Because of the way you looked at me back in the cave and the way you constantly examine me when you think I'm not aware. The similarities of our appearance worries you. You believe me to be stupid, ninja. I can assure you I am anything but that," Akuma spat viciously, narrowing his eyes at the jounin.

"You know, I have a name..."

"I will refer to you as I so please! Believe it or not, your existence means little to nothing to me and your identity means far less."

The boys hostility took Kakashi by surprise, knocking his senses off balance if only for a split second. Chances were that the boy didn't mean what he was saying, the way in which he strung his words together was anything if not a little weird. But still, his supposed anger towards him didn't hone the answers he wanted but Akuma beat him to the point before he had the chance to speak again.

"When I first saw you in that filthy rat farm you called a market, I thought initially that you were someone else. But I did the math and you are much too young to be ... him," Akuma's tone changed dramatically as he spoke and softened a little. He turned back to the fire and bowed his head before turning his face up towards the blanket of leaves above.

"Him?" Kakashi asked flatly.

The young boy turned back to him with the same blank expression as before.

"The fact that you honed the audacity to question my intelligence earlier astounds me. Surely a man of your calibre isn't so dim-witted. It is plain to see by anyone who has eyes that we both descend from the same man, although I imagine my decadency is more distant than yours," Akuma replied with a quiet titter.

Kakashi frowned at him again. This kid seemed to know more than Kakashi had given him credit for, but he was suggesting that they were related by different means? That was impossible, Kakashi was an only child and his father had been the same. The only other way he could rationalise this was if Akuma came from the White Fangs father, someone who Kakashi knew little or nothing about. He had never met the man; he was long dead before he was even born but he knew of no other relatives that had branched out from the clan, such things very rarely happened especially in the early days of the village. Unless this was some crazy, out of this world coincidence then Kakashi couldn't think of any other reason why this kid looked so much like him. Kakashi looked similar to his own father after all, so it was only the right thing to assume that his own offspring would inherit the same features.

"What do you mean, Akuma?" he asked, feeling himself growing annoyed with the silver haired boy. If there was one thing that Kakashi couldn't stand, it was people who skirted around the main issue.

The boy sighed irritably and shook his head before glaring at the copy nin once more.

"I know that you think you are my father and I can gladly state with the upmost certainty that you are not. The mere idea of such a thing is laughable." Akuma punctuated his statement with a harsh, dismissive sniff as he turned back to the fire.

Kakashi turned away also, closing his eyes and lowering his head as he found himself chuckling softly at the words of the young man. He found it quite a relief that the kid wasn't as blind as he had first thought. He had wondered to begin with if he was in a state of denial, yet even now he was questioning this fact.

"How can you be so sure of that, Akuma? We look almost identical," he chortled. Kakashi didn't want to believe that the boy was his but again, he was finding it a little hard to believe anything the kid was saying. Perhaps he was in denial, unless he had solid proof of his own decadency, then the subject would remain open for debate.

He saw Akuma smile a little as he continued to gaze into the fire which set Kakashi's nerves on edge. The boy turned his head slowly towards him, his expression a lot softer and kinder than it had been since the moment he had set eyes on him. There was something about him that Kakashi really didn't like. He couldn't put his finger on what it was exactly, but something about it stirred uncomfortable knots in his stomach that he had never felt before.

The two of them regarded each other for a while until Akuma dropped his gaze to the floor. He closed his eyes eventually as he bagan to speak in a soft, caring tone that Kakashi didn't much like.

"Because I do not inherit my appearance from a man. I had a mother once. Or has that thought never occurred to you?"

A.N. The language I have chosen the two kids to speak is Latin. I apologise if the translations are not exact but I wanted to use something other than Japanese in my fic to give it a bit of originality. Thankies!

Feci haud Sonitus = Do not speak

Ista velle lema ut mentitus sum? = Do you want me to lie?