Torture Comes in Many Forms

Chapter 13: Code 482

When Ibiki appeared at the foot of Tsunade’s bed, he really wasn’t expecting to find her naked with her assistant Kotetsu’s head between her legs, and Izumo’s head at her breast like a nursing baby. Of course he didn’t usually barge into his superior’s bedroom in nothing but an overcoat, his feet red with blood and staining the floor, and holding the dripping head of someone he was supposed to be keeping alive. Having just experienced the discomfort of being the nude one among the clothed, Ibiki admired Tsunade’s calm as she pulled on a kimono and shifted into medical expert mode.

Kotetsu and Izumo got dressed in record time and set about getting two dozen medical nins to the autopsy room where Tsunade intended to discover as much as she could about Kabuto’s cellular regrowth. Ibiki was sent off to supervise the transporting of the rest of the body to the autopsy room ASAP. It was due to Sai that when Ibiki and four ANBU arrived with the corpse at the autopsy room that Ibiki had on his hitai-ate, shoes, pants, his shuriken holder, and weapons pouch under that black overcoat. Despite Sai’s wanting to attend the dissection—simply to keep an eye on Ibiki—there was another order Tsunade had snapped out at the head of I.A.T. that Ibiki had delegated to Sai: the full reports on Kabuto, from capture to death; every relevant security tape, particular those showing the rapid healing, the escape, and the death; and videotaped and written reports from all those who had been involved or witnessed the escape, beheading, or its immediate aftermath were to be waiting for Tsunade on her desk when she left the autopsy.

The tiger-masked ANBU, whom Sai with his typical lack of social tact called Pussy, was put in charge of a “Code 482.” The beheader who wore the bear mask and went by the codename of “Yuki”—or at least he used to before Sai had nicknamed him “Teddy”—was to be relieved of duty after his report was written and filmed. Teddy, however, wasn’t free to go—Tsunade was expecting him to be waiting in her office as well, humiliatingly without weapons and under guard. Sai, responsible for assembling the material for the Hokage’s desk, would have to be with the tapes and reports until Tsunade dismissed him.

ANBU ninjas were able to focus and perform at their best in any crisis—in fact, they tended to do better in times of crisis since most of them were thrill junkies. The whole beheading was the sort of thing that tended to happen to when ANBU operatives were starved for action. No one was upset at Kabuto’s death—the names of the black op team that Kabuto had slaughtered had been in most of the minds behind those animal masks. Having to clean out and move the whole I.A.T. division to a new location—the “Code 482”—was something ANBU nins traditionally loved. The interviews for the Hokage were nothing—Ibiki wasn’t even doing them. In fact, aside from Teddy, the other ANBU involved were having trouble restraining their amusement and sense of humor. There was a little competition going on for who could describe Ibiki and Sai in the most outrageous way without breaking the rules of any ANBU interview. The fact that Sai was doing the interviews made it all the more fun—there was a running bet on who could get him to blush.

Everybody’s secrets were vulnerable in a move, which usually meant a lot of open bets would be resolved. Also much could be discovered that would provide hours of pleasure during boring downtime on missions and around Konoha. For example, Pussy was going to be mocked about that slip in the blood until he turned in his mask and resumed his “real” life. Select friends of course would discretely and obliquely tease him even them. The move also meant a scramble for new lockers, and it was the time in which equipment or copies of particularly “interesting” security tapes might disappear. The turning over of security tapes to the Hokage almost always meant a move. Inevitably, images and sections of the tapes began to circulate—albeit in select circles of ninjas—but circulation was circulation.

In a month, it was unlikely any ANBU or jounin wouldn’t have had a chance to look as long as they liked at nude pictures of Sai and Ibiki. Moreover, the only reason it might take a month was because of the number of elite ninjas out on missions. Likely within that month, the better chuunins and a few talented genins would have their chance to gawk as well.

When Sai finished his last interview and moved back into the office to add the last tape and report to the box for the Hokage, he wasn’t surprised to find that the sheet he and Ibiki has made love on was draped over the desk underneath the box. After moving the box to his desk chair, Sai looked down at the sheet and smiled. He pulled the cloth up to his nose and sniffed—yes, the smell of sex, of sex with Ibiki. Sai carefully folded up the sheet, shrugged off his back pack, and slid it in with his precious notebook, brushes, and other necessities that he cared with him on every mission and anytime he felt vulnerable. This way he was ready, prepared for anything. Of course, he didn’t need a sheet, but—well—he didn’t know when he’d get the chance to sleep with Ibiki again. It would be nice to have something at night to remind him, to inspire a painting or two in the future. Thinking about how he might paint Ibiki, Sai picked up the box and moved out to the Hokage’s office.

His ANBU escort fell in beside him, silent as always. But behind those white masks were two very surprised and alert ninjas—Sai was smiling, really smiling. Ibiki, who covered himself from ankle to head—almost never taking off his gloves—had run around naked. ANBU headquarters was moving after almost two years in the same place. Kabuto, the hated enemy of ANBU for his slaughter of an entire team, was dead. On a day like today, anything could happen.