Naruto blood prison suborned
“I know what you’re made of,” Minato said firmly, and then went for his familiar hair-scruff, raking calloused fingers through Kakashi’s bedhead. He flicked one hand in a quick jounin hand-sign: Eyes on. “But I happen to have been observing you a lot longer than they have.”
Sagara and her captains are the ones who make the real decisions, anyway I just sign off on ‘em,” he said, as if the Hokage had no direct input selecting the Hokage’s soldiers. Minato sighed, but let the topic of Tousaki-gratitude go. “I thought the Hokage was supposed to be impartial?” “You’re very convinced I’m going to make it into ANBU,” Kakashi said at last. Kakashi gave him a sharp look, but Minato radiated bland, politely supportive innocence. And that Tousaki will be appropriately grateful.” “Well, I’m sure the scar will look very dashing in ANBU blacks. “I almost went for his shoulder, but I couldn’t risk not hitting him if he dodged.” Kakashi flexed his own shoulder, feeling the stretch of lacerated muscle. “Would have brought the cave down on all three of you,” Minato finished. “Akiyama had the scalpel here, and anything else fast enough to take him down-” “If I had, we’d have been picking up Tousaki’s brains with a sponge,” Kakashi said. “I can’t fault your actions in saving a comrade, Kakashi-kun, but the interrogators do like it when you leave them something to work with.” And when, and where, and why…” He blew out a breath and looked sideways at Kakashi. And whether Akiyama was the only one the snake suborned. Maybe…” He sighed and, always restless, canted back, resting the heels of his hands on the rumpled bed. Who knows what game he’s playing these days? Jiraiya caught wind of him with a rogue group in Earth Country, but that was three months ago. “He never failed to follow-through when he was a Konoha nin. He leaned forward, bracing elbows on his knees. Minato gave him a sidelong look of distrust, but didn’t press the point. So what’s next? Orochimaru’s never failed to follow-through before-why dodge out this time, if it was him?” He shrugged and straightened up, finding a half-smile. Minato would make it better, but Minato was Konohagakure’s overburdened leader and his focus was deserved elsewhere. But Kakashi couldn’t spend the rest of his life running to his jounin-sensei for band-aids and fix-its. It was easy to talk to him, especially when all that clear blue focus was narrowed down to fixing your problem. He was too good at listening, that was Minato’s problem. “Well, now I’m having concerns about ANBU’s hiring standards,” Kakashi drawled. “You’re looking a little gloomy, for ANBU’s top candidate,” Minato said. Minato pushed away from the wall and came over to sit down next to him, just close enough that a warm shoulder brushed against the sleeve of Kakashi’s ridiculous hospital shirt. His left shoulder was stiff at the joint, where the scalpel had sliced muscle and nicked a nerve, but the medics had promised it would be back to normal by the week’s end. They’d run antitoxin through him until he’d seen double and peed orange, but his head was clear again, and he could talk without slurring. Kakashi flicked the chrome pole, making it chime. “Granted, you did it better.”Īn empty IV stand stood next to the bed like a leafless tree. He lounged against the wall, hands shoved deep in his flame-coat pockets. “What, you’re the only one who can risk your life to rescue someone you barely know?” Minato said dryly. “Akiyama used my name to take him down,” Kakashi said.
NARUTO BLOOD PRISON SUBORNED FULL
“And full finger function, if I’m correctly reading between the lines of Asuka-sensai’s very conservative report. “No, I meant-” Kakashi paused, then continued. “No obvious traitors, but Akiyama wasn’t obvious until you put a hole through him, so. Talking about an event was always worse than living it, somehow. “Lengthy,” Kakashi said, after disregarding exhausting. “If Orochimaru planned an attack, he hasn’t followed through yet. “No news,” he said, preempting Kakashi’s question. Minato-sensei was waiting for him back in the hospital room, backlit by milky dawn light. It fell forward one spike at a time until it looked exactly the same. He washed his hands, careful not to wet the edges of the new white bandage wrapped around his wrist, and shoved his hair back from his forehead. Or difficulty looking at himself in the private bathroom’s tiny, depressing mirror. Not that Kakashi had that kind of problem. Of course, with a little practice, anywhere could serve as a place to yank your flaws out, sharpen up the edges, and stab yourself with them-repeatedly, for preference, until you’d finished bleeding incompetence over the floor and could actually stand your own company again. A hospital was a good place to reflect on your shortcomings.