57

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN:

Kakashi entered the Hokage's office through the window. Sarutobi didn't even look up from his paperwork, but Kakashi could feel the spike of increased attention from the three ANBU guards stationed in the office, all hidden from his sight but not from his senses.

The Hokage had been present at the earlier debrief of his disastrous mission in Iwa, along with the ANBU Commander, the T&I Head, the Jōnin Commander, and the Council of Elders. Kakashi had made a point of not addressing or answering the Elders– he would have done the same to the Hokage, if it didn't risk him being executed for insubordination or treason. Because of that minor obstacle, the two Elders got to experience the brunt of his rage at both Fuyuko ending up in Danzo's "care" and her being sent to Kiri. Interestingly, Inoichi had reacted much the same as Kakashi had with the Homura and Koharu. It spoke of a lack of unity– and trust– between the most important military figures in Konoha and the Hokage. Where once this would have concerned Kakashi, made him wary and prepared for bloodshed, now he just felt a righteous rage simmering in his blood and marrow.

As Sarutobi continued to ignore him, instead focusing on his paperwork as if he hadn't even noticed Kakashi enter his office, Kakashi considered taking out a kunai to clean his nails but decided the ANBU were twitchy enough as it was. He could take them, and they knew he could take them, and it was making them nervous.

Good.

Kakashi wished he had a book or something to flip through as he waited for Sarutobi to look up, making a note to himself for the future, and despite having the self-control and discipline to stand without moving for over twenty-four hours– he'd always hated those sorts of missions– he made a point of being purposefully obnoxious, wandering about Sarutobi's office, poking at his belongings, rifling through the stack of completed paperwork waiting to be collected by the secretary, even pointedly straightening Minato's portrait on the wall, overlooking the Sandaime.

"Can I help you, Kakashi?" Sarutobi finally asked, his voice tight with displeasure. Kakashi blinked innocently over at him as if he'd just noticed the Hokage was there, letting none of the rage he felt peek through his single visible eye. Sarutobi's irritation was evident in the furrow of his brow and tightness of his mouth.

It was the little things that brought Kakashi joy. Truly.

Oh, the feral wolf in his soul was rabid with the urge to tear Sarutobi apart for his crimes against Kakashi's Pack, to crack open the Hokage's shattered ribs and devour his still-beating heart– the Hatake were hunters, predators, at the very core of their being, and not always of animals– but Kakashi had learned how to bury his wild, to hide his rage; once behind the rules and regulations of the shinobi handbook, and now under a mask that wasn't just literal.

It was from behind that mask that Kakashi eye-smiled at the Hokage, a smile as empty as his loyalty to Konoha. "I'm here to announce my retirement from ANBU."

He had Sarutobi's full attention now. The Hokage's eyes were hard and cold; there was no veneer of geniality, no wisened old grandfatherly figure here to guide the next generation. No, this was the man who earned the title 'God of Shinobi' not just due to his mastery of the five elements, but through the destruction he wrought during the Second Shinobi War, leading a squad to destroy five villages across Iwa and Ame in just three nights. The bases Konoha's enemies had established in the villages made them legitimate targets of attack by the unspoken rules of war– but that excuse was paper-thin, and all the major Hidden Villages knew it. It was a brutal show of strength that helped end the war but at the cost of thousands of civilian casualties.

Sarutobi had done much to erase that part of his history, to instead be known as the 'Professor', but Kakashi knew better then to be fooled. He knew better then to forget the monster that slept with one eye open under the Professor's skin.

"Why do you want to quit ANBU?" Sarutobi asked, as if they both didn't know the answer.

Kakashi let his eye curve into an obnoxious eye-smile. 

"Well," he said, "as I'm sure you remember, the law was that I couldn't have contact with Fuyuko or Naruto until they graduated. Admittedly, Naruto hasn't graduated, but Fuyuko is a chūnin, which practically means she's graduated twice, so I think that makes up for it."

There was a razor-sharpness to his voice as he gave a voice to the topic that had been danced over in the earlier debrief– everyone present then had known Fuyuko was sent to Kiri to die. Sarutobi could claim his confidence in her ability to win, to give the other villages an undeniable show of Konoha's absolute strength, and the wider shinobi populace would likely believe him, but all those in the meeting had known better. Had known exactly why Kakashi had blown the mission parameters in order to return to Konoha.

Fuyuko had been sent to die– but against the odds she had survived, and she had been promoted, and now Kakashi was leveraging that against the Hokage without even a hint of shame or hesitation.

It was an unspoken offer– Sarutobi allowed him to keep in contact with the twins, no more warnings about breaking the laws put in place to supposedly 'protect' them, and he allowed Kakashi to quit ANBU, and in return Kakashi let the matter of Fuyuko's Chūnin Exams rest. Oh, it wouldn't be forgotten, Kakashi would never forget the betrayal, but he could act the loyal soldier still– just not in its Black Ops under the direct purview of the Hokage, rather instead through the filter of Shikaku, the Jōnin Commander.

"Fine," Sarutobi's eyes were hard, cold. "Hand in your mask, Inu."

Kakashi didn't even hesitate. He pulled out the scroll tucked away in his thigh holster, activated the storage seal there to retrieve the porcelain mask that had defined his identity for over a decade now, and handed it across to the Hokage without hesitation.

He had thrown himself into ANBU after Obito's death out of guilt. He had continued in ANBU, after Minato and Kushina's death out of grief and guilt, as without access to the twins he'd had nothing to live for.

Now, everything had changed.

Now, he had Fuyuko and he had Naruto, and it was his duty to protect them– not Konoha.

~

Sansa spent the remainder of her day bent over her sewing, ignoring Sasuke's occasional bewildered look once he and Naruto returned from the Academy as she pinned and cut and stitched the fabric. She planned to make Naruto something to wear to the Academy that wasn't that ghastly orange jumpsuit, though she admitted that it did serve its purpose. She also realised that she couldn't make something for Naruto without making something for Sasuke– not with his inadequacy issues, though she couldn't blame the boy for it. 

The work was soothing, keeping her hands moving in familiar patterns. It lulled her thoughts, almost like a form of meditation, as her confident fingers shaped and cut the fabric, putting in basting stitches to hold the layers together as she styled the cloth to her brother's measurements. It wasn't until the sun started to sink that she sent Naruto and Sasuke off to fetch take-out from Naruto's favourite ramen shop. She wasn't surprised when Kakashi followed after the pair and trusted that he would keep her brother and Sasuke safe. She didn't have to ask if he was staying for dinner– she wasn't sure Kakashi was leaving her and Naruto's apartment any time soon.

Kabuto and Chiyoko arrived together, before the boys returned. "We don't have guest slippers," Sansa admitted as she opened the door wider to let them in. "We usually go barefoot or wear socks."

Chiyoko looked surprised to hear this, the only one of them to have what Sansa assumed was a fairly standard family for a village run by mercenary killers who recruited child soldiers from their own populace. Kabuto didn't even blink, easily stepping forwards into the apartment Sansa shared with her brother and Sasuke after toeing off his shoes.

"I like it," Chiyoko decided, as she looked around the apartment. "Did you make the curtains?"

"I certainly can't think of anyone in Konoha who would sell them," Kabuto said, amused.

Sansa glanced over at the curtains stitched with orange gambolling foxes and Uzushio spirals and smiled wryly. No, there was certainly nobody in Konoha who would dare even try. Chiyoko, who had been drifting around the small, open space of the apartment, examining it with curious eyes, paused in front of the shrine, her gaze fixed on the embroidered Kyuubi no Kitsune. Sansa was particularly proud of that piece; of how she had captured the fiery, writhing tails, the snarl of the mouth, the inherent grace of the majestic Bijuu…

"I remember that night," Chiyoko murmured.

I do too, Sansa thought. She remembered her newfound helplessness, how her frail, new limbs refused to cooperate. She remembered the courage of her mother, who had cut Sansa from her own womb with her own two hands. She remembered the ruthless dedication of her father, who had decided it was worth sacrificing his life for the sake of Konoha and carved open Sansa's soul to seal Kurama within her. She remembered the man in the orange mask, with his spinning red eye she now knew was a Mangekyou Sharingan, who had stolen Naruto and used Kurama as his puppet. She remembered the Shinigami, the moment the Death God's eyes met hers; a brief second, an everlasting eternity, where she witnessed recognition there.

She remembered that night. But, as she looked up from the shrine, to meet her teammates' eyes- Chiyoko's uncertain, Kabuto's sharp, Pakkun perched on the couch and watching with his own, inscrutable dark eyes- Sansa didn't admit to it. Of course she couldn't. Only Naruto knew the true depth of her secrets, knew the soul that lived within this child's skin.

"During the second stage of the Exam… that's what it was, wasn't it?" Chiyoko's voice dropped to a low, hushed whisper. "After Kita-san was hurt… I knew it felt familiar."

Sansa resisted the urge to wince at the memory of losing control, of Kurama's chakra flooding her.

"It's why the villagers treat you the way they do," Chiyoko continued, still hushed. "You're… you're a Jinchūriki."

A human sacrifice. Holder of a Bijuu. Container for the Greatest of the Nine.

"Does it bother you?" Sansa asked, curious. She couldn't sense any fear in Chiyoko, or Kabuto for that matter. From his place on the couch, Pakkun remained silent.

"You said, during our team introductions, that you dislike foolish cowards who can't tell a kunai from a sealing scroll," Chiyoko said, her mouth pressed in a firm line. "I'm not a foolish coward."

Sansa smiled softly, warmly, at her teammate, at a child forced to grow too hard, too fast, and stepped forwards to gently grasp one of Chiyoko's hands in her own, squeezing gently.

"Thank you," she said simply.

Kabuto brushed against her as he stepped further into the apartment and Sansa's smile widened at his own, unspoken acceptance– though she was aware he had already known of the being she carried within her, she still found herself grateful for the implicit understanding now between them.

Her brother, Kakashi and Sasuke returned then with the take-out ramen, putting a halt to any further conversation– which was, perhaps, for the best considering the Sandaime's ridiculous laws and Pakkun's continued presence.

Kakashi, Sasuke and Naruto had all already met Kabuto, of course, but it hadn't exactly been an optimal situation for introductions considering Sasuke had been about two breaths away from a panic attack at the sight of Kakashi wearing an ANBU mask and covered in blood, Naruto had been distracted by Sasuke's terror and Kakashi's injuries, Kakashi had been half-delirious with fatigue and injury, running almost purely on instinct by that point, and Kabuto had found himself suddenly amidst all their collective trauma.

Sansa thought it quite reasonable that she had subsequently put that less than ideal first meeting out of mind, pretending that this instead was Kabuto's first impression of her family, her Pack.

Naruto, of course, charmed Chiyoko with his usual ease. Her brother had a natural charisma, and even with the ugly rumours surrounding the twins, people couldn't help but be drawn to him. Kabuto, like Kakashi, seemed more comfortable observing then interacting, but Sansa appreciated that he made the effort to be present and polite. He even gave Kakashi a follow-up, checking that his earlier injuries were healing as they should be. Tenzo had shown up halfway through dinner, clearly awkward about the crowd that only barely fit inside Sansa and Naruto's small apartment, but Kakashi had snagged him by his collar, like a dog scruffing a pup, to stop him from trying to leave.

Kabuto offered to walk Chiyoko home once dinner had finished, and Sansa walked with her teammates to the front of the apartment building, stepping outside into the cool evening air. Red lanterns lit up the windows around them, the Yūkaku bustling with activity now that inky black had replaced the earlier light blue of the sky, the sun long since having sunk below the horizon.

"You do surround yourself with interesting people," Kabuto observed. "The Uchiha heir, the last Hatake, the only living mokuton user, and there are rumours of your association with Councilwoman Haruno Ayaka and the Root members currently being de-conditioned."

"A good seamstress knows how important it is to build a diverse client base," Sansa said with a sweet, demure smile. Kabuto nodded slowly.

"Yes," he said. "I imagine they would." He bowed slightly. "Thank you for hosting us this evening, Fuyuko-chan."

"I can honestly say that meeting your family has answered at least as many questions I had about you as it's raised," Chiyoko added dryly, with her own bow and a warm, fond smile. Sansa laughed as she watched them leave.

"What a weird kid," Pakkun observed.

"Are you talking about Kabuto, Chiyoko or myself?" Sansa asked, even as she turned around, making her way back to the apartment where her Pack waited.

"All of you," Pakkun said decisively. "I'm definitely talking about all of you."

And Sansa really couldn't argue with that.

~

In the days that followed dinner with her team and her family, with Pakkun as her company, Sansa focused on her sewing projects.

For Naruto, she made a pair of practical deep blue trousers with a light fabric off white tunic stitched finely with a pattern of an ocean storm in blues and greys, the Uzushio spiral worked into the waves and winds. With its sturdy fabric and clean lines it would give him the movement he needed in the Academy.

For Sasuke, she made the same tunic and trousers, only to his measurements and using a dark navy colour, stitching over the chest the Uchiha fan in bold white and red, with more subtle Uzushio spirals and wolves worked into the hems with a navy thread only one shade lighter then the base fabric, visible only to the keenest of eyes– such as an Uchiha's eyes.

She presented the boys with their clothes at the same time; Naruto was loud with his excitement, while Sasuke was very quiet but thanked her sincerely. She spotted him later running his fingertips over the Uzushio spirals on the hems and turned away to hide her small, satisfied smile.

With the boys now owning at least one pair of decent clothes, Sansa turned her attention to the sewing project needed to impress Inaba Shiori. She ended up deciding to create two dresses to display her talents in dressmaking; one in the traditional style of the Elemental Nations and one in a Westerosi style.

The Tully-blue kimono alternated between flowing and form fitting; the vibrant dye contrasted with the milky-pale skin of her throat, cinching tight around her waist with a red obi that fastened in a beautiful bow. The kimono itself she decorated with colourful embroidery of leaping trout and swirling eddies.

The Westerosi dress was a Stark-grey gown with long, full bell sleeves that hung along her slender arms. The waist was pulled tight in a corset embroidered with roses of white and blue before opening up in a flowing skirt that would allow Sansa to move easily.

It took her a little over a month to create them, as she did most of the work while Naruto and Sasuke were at the Academy. When they were home, she wanted to spend her time with her brother and his friend, and at their pleading she often took them to one of the many training fields where Naruto and Sasuke ran through katas together or Sansa walked them through chakra control exercises in preparation for learning ninjutsu. Sometimes Kakashi joined them, offering brief pieces of advice to the boys that they clung to, greedy for his wisdom and approval. Kakashi seemed to be around more, and Sansa wasn't sure why he wasn't being sent on so many missions but she was grateful for it.

She made sure to keep in contact with Chiyoko and Kabuto. Chiyoko's physical therapy was progressing without complications, though it was hard to imagine any different under Kabuto's capable care. Chiyoko planned on entering the Chūnin Corp after receiving medical clearance, while Kabuto had entered the ranks of the hospital staff rather than the sparse ranks of combat-medics.

"It's an endless source of frustration to Head of the Medic Corp," Kabuto said, with a small, satisfied smile, one afternoon in their old training field, the three of them lazing together under a Hashirama tree, Sansa's ever-present shadow of Pakkun giving her space and privacy while she was with her teammates. Chiyoko had just finished her physical therapy and was laying with her head in Sansa's lap, while Sansa was leaning against Kabuto's shoulder. He was idly twisting a strand of her hair between his fingers, almost like it was a garrote. "I told her I was traumatised by my experience in Kiri," he said. "Now I'm expected to attend weekly therapy sessions."

"Which are held in the T&I building," Sansa noted, amused. "Where most of Konoha's sensitive information can be found."

Kabuto blinked 'innocently' at her from behind his glasses. "Is it?" he hummed. "I'm sure that would be convenient, if ever someone was looking for sensitive or confidential information and needed an excuse to be seen in the T&I quarters without raising suspicion."

"Very convenient indeed," Sansa agreed.

"With Fuyuko stirring up shit with the Council, and you doing whatever it is you're doing with your sneaky spy skills, I feel like I need to aspire to something higher then Chūnin Corp," Chiyoko mused.

Sansa's first council meeting since her return from Kiri had certainly been interesting. Where before, even with the waves she'd created by proposing more civilians be added to the council, she'd still been treated as a child, albeit a particularly precocious one, now when she swept into the council room, the kanzashi of Uzushio's Empress fixed in her high-piled hair, Uzushio's spiral inked across her forehead, the hall went silent as they all stared at her.

Let them stare. Let them remember– and let them feel shame.

"The Academy is always looking for new teachers," Kabuto suggested, a wicked slant to his mouth. "I believe any shinobi with the rank of Chūnin is accepted as a teaching assistant, where they will have access to all the bright minds of the next generation."

Sansa didn't hide how impressed she was as she tilted her head slightly to look up at Kabuto, next to her.

"That's so sneaky," Chiyoko breathed, actually pushing herself up to a sitting position. Her tulip-pink eyes were gleaming. "I love it."

"I'll coach you for the interview process, which is really a thinly veiled interrogation. It's not difficult to beat," Kabuto promised.

Kabuto was right– as he usually was, Sansa had realised by this point– and Chiyoko was assigned as a teaching assistant at the Academy. Chiyoko filed a request to have Umino Iruka as her supervisor and Sansa was thrilled when it was accepted– it meant that Mizuki's influence over Naruto's education was sharply cut down. Kabuto was also quite satisfied with her position as Umino's assistant teacher because it meant that Chiyoko had access to a number of clan heirs. Sansa wasn't sure if Kabuto had completely converted Chiyoko as a spy for whoever he worked for, or if their teammate was just in it to fuck over Konoha after being fucked over, but she was personally happy to just reap the benefits.

Surprisingly, the Hokage had kept his word when he said that Sansa would only be expected to accept in-village C- and D-ranked missions after achieving her Chūnin rank and to study for Tokubetsu jōnin status on the basis of her sealing expertise – otherwise, she was considered a non-combative shinobi and permitted to take up an apprenticeship. The most violence she was faced with on a mission was that of the Daimyō's wife's cat when Madam Shijimi was visiting the village.

It wasn't until two months after her return to the village that Sansa's dresses were ready, and even then she had to wait until the next Council meeting to approach Ayaka to take up the woman's offer to accompany her as she met with Inaba.

Inaba Shiori's shop 'Silken Threads' was located in the merchant's district, right where Sansa remembered it. She took note of the Haruno symbol above the doorway before she entered the store, Ayaka following a half-step behind her. Sansa didn't fool herself into thinking that it was unintentional. Ayaka had plans brewing behind her lovely smile and glittering eyes– Sansa wasn't the young, naïve fool she had once been, when Margaery had swept into her life with her soft touches and gentle smiles. She knew better then to expect altruism– but she also knew that not everyone who was scheming around her was an enemy, or acting against Sansa's own interests.

Whatever Haruno Ayaka was planning, Sansa felt confident that Ayaka wasn't looking to tear her down. If anything, Sansa suspected that the opposite was true.

It would be interesting to see where Ayaka's machinations lead.

'Silken Threads' was just as Sansa remembered. The store was crowded, filled with colourful fabrics draped over wooden stands and pinned to wickerwork dress-forms. There were two women inside; one was Inaba Shiori, with her steel-grey hair and sharp, pale blue eyes, her face lined with age, the other her daughter Mariko, with the same eyes as her mother and hair a gentle shade of lilac.

"Haruno-sama," Shiori and Mariko both bowed to Ayaka, before Shiori turned her assessing eye towards Sansa. "And Uzumaki-sama," she said. "I hear you're a clan head now."

"Only acting clan head until my elder brother is legally an adult," Sansa said with a polite, demure smile and dip of her chin, feigning embarrassment. Shiori nodded.

"I heard what happened to you," she said. "I always wondered why you never showed up. I knew it wasn't anything good though."

"It wasn't," Sansa said honestly. "I refused to be a shinobi, so they took the choice out of my hands. Once I was freed from Root, I asked again to be a seamstress. I was told that if I became a chūnin and then studied to be a tokubetsu jōnin based on my knowledge of sealing, I would be able to pursue an apprenticeship as a seamstress. That is why I am here today," Sansa pressed on the seal on her forearm; it lit up gold and she withdrew from it the two dresses, carefully packaged in brown paper.

Ayaka helped her unfold them and Shiori examined them with an assessing eye, paying particular attention to the Westerosi-style dress.

"Beautiful work," she murmured, "interesting, too– I haven't seen anything like this before."

"You designed this yourself?" Ayaka asked, just as interested now that the dresses were displayed before her.

"I did," Sansa confirmed and Shiori nodded.

"I stand by what I said, three years ago," the seamstress said, "you do fine work, girl, and it would be a sin to turn you away."

Sansa smiled. "And I am honoured by the opportunity," she echoed her old words, an old wrong finally righted.

The Hokage had won their original battle; Sansa was a shinobi now, that was undeniable, as much as she hated the fact. But one victory did not win a war, and with every triumph Sansa was gaining back lost ground.