Questionable Loyalty

A/N: For several reasons it took me quite a while to write this chapter - mostly because of RL interference and also because there were some things about the plot that I needed to work out in my head. Sorry about the delay.


Polaris: Perhaps "like" is not the exact term I'd use regarding the way I feel about Pein. He's a villain after all. However, I find him absolutely fascinating as a villain. He's not the run of the mill "I want to rule the world because I am fricking greedy" sort of the villain. I think it was his motivation behind his insanity that drew me - the wish to save the world he lived in and destroying it in the process. Also, I am fascinated by the difference between Nagato and Pein - Nagato was a sweet, gentle soul, perhaps the gentlest we've seen in the whole manga. What happened to that boy so that he became Pein as an adult? Whatever it was, it had profound effect on his character. It broke him, in a terrible way, and whoever picked up the pieces did a terrible job at it.


Satterb: LOL, sorry about freaking you out with the crossdressing - I am afraid it's a kink of mine and I couldn't help but write Kakashi like that. I'm glad that you were still able to enjoy it though.





CHAPTER 5





Kakashi ran his index finger over the delicate rim of the porcelain tea cup and sighed. Wallowing in these memories was no good. As much as he wanted to go back to Amegakure and into Pein’s embrace, he had work to do. He had duties, both to his new lover and to his own village and he had never been one to shirk his duties. As it was, he still felt uncertain about what to do with the nosy chuunin. He would have to speak with Pein and soon.



It had only been a few hours since the man had left, he couldn’t possibly be back in Ame yet, even with the speed he was capable of travelling. Should he bother him now? Or wait for a few days until he was sure Pein was back home? Either way, it wouldn’t hurt to find a little more about what Iruka had seen, and what he intended to do. He had to get a little closer to him so he could keep an eye on him. Kakashi decided he’d pay him another visit and soon.



A few days later the weather changed. The infernal heatwave that had hit Konoha had brewed a summer storm of massive proportions. It was raining, more like pouring, and despite it being almost noon it was nearly dark, due to the heavy clouds blanketing the village, the grayish dusk illuminated often by the bright burst of a lightning.



In this weather Kakashi walked down the road to the Hokage tower, having received a message that they had a new mission for him. Perhaps it was for the best though, as it gave him a good excuse to meet the chuunin without making anyone suspicious. After all, he wasn’t a particularly social person and going out of his way to talk to Iruka would be uncharacteristic for him. Another lightning ripped through the sky and Kakashi paused, looking up, the rain splashing directly over his face and soaking his mask even further.



When he had been a boy, and later become a man, he had hated the rain. He hated having to lie in wait in some gutter or a branch or a roof and shiver his way through a mission. During his stay in Amegakure he had grown to like rainy weather – it made him feel cleansed. He wondered if Pein felt the same way. The storm only served to remind him of his lover again and he felt a sharp pang of melancholy.



With a sigh, he continued.



Once he arrived in the mission room he saw that, indeed, Iruka was sitting behind one of the desks and handing over the assignments. The chuunin noticed him and frowned disapprovingly, pointedly looking at the small puddle that was forming around Kakashi as he stood waiting for his turn. Kakashi smiled disarmingly under his mask, his eye closing.



“Sorry for the mess, Sensei.” He said cheerfully.



“You’re not sorry at all, Kakashi-san.” The chuunin remarked, but his lips twitched into a smile. Then he handed him a folder and said:



“A simple B mission. We need you to follow this man – a wealthy merchant from Tea country - once he passes the border with River. The details are inside.”



Kakashi looked at the picture on the first page of the folder – a middle-aged pudgy man with graying hair and receding hairline.



“Just follow him?” he asked.



Iruka nodded.



“We suspect he’s involved in illegal drug trade that spans several countries. As far as we know, he’s fairly insignificant in the foodchain, but through him we can find out his associates and eventually reach the bosses. Once he meets his associates take pictures of them and return.”



Kakashi looked at the picture again and his mouth twisted with distaste. He hated drug traders. Iruka seemed to share his sentiment, because he was frowning as well, and not at the puddle on the floor this time.



“This mission came directly from the Feudal Lord. We don’t want that kind of scum in Fire Country.” He said.



Kakashi nodded, took his folder and left.



When he got outside, he realized that the storm had passed and the heavy cloud cover was breaking up slowly, stray rays of light illuminating the darkened village. Soon, all the water would begin to evaporate and it’d become unbearably humid, but for now the air felt fresh and almost crisp, the storm having washed away all the dust.



Once he was home and changed back in dry clothes, Kakashi read the folder in detail – the man, Nobuhiro Kazuo, was at an onsen near Fire Country’s border with River, apparently having some fun with the local sex workers, one of which had supplied them with information of his departure date, which would be tomorrow at noon. If he hurried, he could be there before the man actually left the hot spring. Not that he couldn’t use Pakkun to follow his scent, once he got a wiff of the sheets in the room, but still, better to be on time for a change.



Indeed, the next day Nobuhiro left the onsen in an elaborate car pulled by a pair of magnificent horses and headed for River country. He didn’t seem to be in a hurry and Kakashi soon grew bored with the leisurely pace the man established – too slow for him to put any real effort to follow him and too fast for the jounin to pause and contact Pein – when he was the one initiating it, the communication jutsu required effort and concentration not easy to achieve unless one was standing still.



They were well into River country when the sun set and the merchant stopped for the night at an roadside inn. Kakashi sent one of his dogs to watch the inn and made his own camp a little further into the forest, then sat down and crossed his legs, his hands going through the seals effortlessly.



A few moments later Pein answered and Kakashi felt his familiar presence in his mind like a gentle caress.



“I was just about to attempt to contact you.” The Akatsuki leader said, his voice strangely distorted by the jutsu.



“Oh?”



“But tell me first, what’s wrong? I know you never attempt this while in Konoha.”



“Too many alarms to trip there, should I try something like this.” Kakashi agreed. “I am on a mission, quite trivial at that.”



Pein gave a mental nod and Kakashi continued:



“I spoke with our chuunin.”



“And?”



“He promised to keep quiet and I have reasons to believe his word. He didn’t say how much he saw though. And circumstances change. Who knows when he might decide to talk.”



Pein nodded.



“You do have a point, Kakashi, even if a little paranoid one.” The red-head remarked.



“Pein” Kakashi began solemnly “I do not want to kill him.”



“I know. Watch him, for now. As it is, killing him might do more harm than good at the moment.”



“Very well.” Kakashi said. After a small pause, Pein spoke again.



“I wanted to contact you, because we… I need your assistance.”



Kakashi nodded slowly.



“As you know, we need all the rest of the Bijuu before moving onto the Kyuubi.”



Kakashi sucked in his breath and forced himself to relax. The thought of Naruto’s smile was one of the few things that made him feel guilty about his decision to help Pein, but even so, he did not regret it.



“However” Pein continued, voice softening as he felt Kakashi’s distress “the way the Kyuubi was sealed within the boy was a little different than the usual practice.”



Kakashi nodded.



“I know.”



“All sealing techniques of that sort require the energy of a human life to power them.” Pein elaborated. “So the caster usually murders someone in order to make it work. The Forth Hokage, however, sacrificed his own life and did so willingly. That would mean that the seal itself could either be considerably stronger or it would be of different sort altogether.”



“What do you want me to do?” Kakashi asked softly.



“We know that your Hokage is conducting research on the seal and gathering medical information on the boy. I need that data, Kakashi. That way we can be prepared when we conduct the ritual, should something be different or go wrong. I cannot have the Kitsune running around loose in a base of ours, or even worse, in Ame.”



Kakashi ran his hands over his face then nodded.



“It might take a while. Not even I have access to those files. I need to find someone who does and work through them.”



“Tsunade’s assistants?”



“Shizune and Sakura?” Kakashi said, then shook his head “They’re both too close to her. They might tell her something that would make her suspicious, even if they themselves aren’t aware of my influence.



“I see. Who, then?”



Kakashi thought about it for a while until realization struck.



“The chuunin.”



Pein said nothing, but Kakashi felt his puzzlement.



“Iruka. The chuunin we decided that I should watch. He’s practically Naruto’s surrogate father and because he works directly under Tsunade in the Mission Department he actually has higher security clearance than me. If there is anyone other than Sakura and Shizune privy to that sort of information it’d be him.”



“And in the mean time, you can keep a close eye on him.” Pein finished thoughtfully. Kakashi nodded.



“Good. It is decided then.”



Pein’s presence slowly began to fade from the jounin’s mind.



“And Kakashi… be careful…”