Extra thanks to Telosphilos and Alana, for beta reading and naming awkward charactersXD

There were downsides, though, to being the head of such a capable village; and Tsunade found that her time was not spent aiding the village's shinobi and citizens as she would have liked. Instead, she found herself buried by paperwork on a daily basis; responsible not only for the wellbeing of every life within the village but also for every client that walked through her door. The need to maintain a viable income - especially during difficult political times was demanding, and the Godaime was almost certain that if she had to listen to one more arrogant, helpless, cowardly little toss-poss demand the dedication of her shinobi, she was going to teach them exactly how her legendary status had come about.

When Saratobi-sensei had first become Hokage, and began to whine about the masses of paperwork and boring meetings to his three genius students, Tsunade had always scoffed, certain that he was simply trying to get out of doing any real work. Truth was, she found herself relating to the old pervert more now than she ever had.

She longed for students gullible enough to rope into holding some of the more tedious meetings; but unfortunately Shizune's moral high-ground was untarnishable, and somewhere along the way Sakura had inherited Kakashi's stubborn streak. To make matters worse, Jiraiya had taken it upon himself to 'help out' and Tsunade watched jealously as he moved easily amongst the ranks of her shinobi, ensuring their wellbeing between subtly helping to train the more stubborn ones.

The melodious chatter of birds filled her office as they passed the window of the Hokage's Tower, breaking through the streams of golden sunlight falling teasingly upon the elegant blue garments of Konoha's latest would-be client. It truly was a gorgeous day outside... and Tsunade was stuck in a meeting!

"Tsunade-sama." The client, Kimura Kojiro, was a Lower Daimyo of one of the northern towns of fire Country, lean and pale - his sickly colouring making his thinning hair look ill placed on his head. His long, dark beard was streaked with grey, old fashioned and badly kept. Tsunade imagined him as the type to mimic the great leaders of the past, in some odd attempt to equate himself with the regal nature of others. She plastered a polite smile across her face and rose to respond to his overly-formal bow.

"Kimura-dono. That you would visit Konoha yourself is a rare honour," He smiled slickly at the Hokage's formal greeting, and she wondered if he realise how false he seemed. Many people outside of the Hidden Villages regarded shinobi in a poor light - a paid assassin to someone with no knowledge of shinobi culture seemed like a cold and horrifying prospect. Despite this, most clients tended to make an effort to control their mistrust when actually speaking to the most powerful shinobi in the village.

"Tsunade-sama," The man straightened, tugging at his elaborate garments in a recognisable attempt to look confident and unruffled. "I have a request of great importance. However, I have heard your village has been refusing clientele of late so thought it best to come along myself..."

Kojiro continued to lecture her about business methods, how to gain full profit from a venture and how to avoid letting well known standards slip. The Hokage tuned him out, watching the play of light on his balding head as he obviously tried to appear knowledgeable about the goings on of Fire Country, bringing up names and dates as if these famous people were his personal friends; as if this would impress the most powerful woman in the allied villages.

"Kimura-dono!" Tsunade held up a hand for quiet. "I'm afraid my shinobi are terribly overworked as it is. May I suggest you talk to the relevant authorities within the capital and take their advice? I assure you that many of the cases we are asked to solve are often seemingly simple matters that could quite easily be solved through other, more civil means."

She watched as his pale face turned a blotchy, ruddy colour, clashing with the deep, elegant blue of his clothing. The Lower Daimyo spluttered slightly, his company (low grade bodyguards, Tsunade decided) shuffling protectively around him.

"And I assure you that this is a case worthy of less civil means." Spat Kojiro, his fist rising emphatically as he spoke. Tsunade sniffed disbelievingly, unable to hold in her disbelief. "My daughter has been kidnapped by foreign shinobi, and I want her returned to me immediately!"

"My apologies, Kimura-dono. I understand your concern, but if a shinobi kidnapped your daughter without cause it was likely for the benefit of a client of their own. If you received no ransom note, or have no information regarding the kidnapper, then I'm am sorry to say she is more than likely... that it is likely she has not survived." Tsunade could see the simple swirling of the Daimyo's fury; she watched its pattern flash beneath the streams of sunlight still dancing on his skin. "Forgive me for being so blunt with you, sir; but without more information we can do nothing."

"He was a foreign ninja. His headband had an insignia that resembled a blotch, or so I am told. He carried a large wooden staff, symbols carved into it - Hokage-sama, money is no object. It has been more than six weeks since I last heard from my daughter. I have to know what happened to her, either way."

"Six weeks?" Tsunade muttered, considering carefully. Just over six weeks ago Team Gai had been attacked by a foreign ninja with a decorated staff. Kakashi had been moving to stone, and although his almost obsessively meticulous reports had not mentioned any kidnapped children, it may still bring Konoha closer to understand the Stone's plans...

"We will accept the case, Kimura-dono, but can promise you nothing." Tsunade stated, bowing her head in a parting gesture as she moved to leave the room. It was high time she got out in the sunlight - she should probably find out what Jiraiya had managed to destroy in the last few hours anyway.

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama." He bowed several times in gratitude, snapping his fingers to produce a coin pouch from one of his bodyguard's pockets. "Thank you."

"Shizune here will be able to give you an idea of the cost of such a mission in such busy times. Please answer any question she may have in as much detail as possible." Tsunade spoke over her shoulder as she headed for the door, pausing briefly to grin encouragingly at the overly formal Daimyo. "My shinobi will do their best for you, Kimura-dono!"

Kojiro grinned a little shakily, and Tsunade began to plot.

What with training himself and the brats for the demands of shinobi secret warfare, helping out on the strategic side of things following the success of his preliminary analysis of the Stone's jutsu, and coupled with his ANBU and Jounin responsibilities; Kakashi was feeling overworked before he'd even started.

As a child, war had been all Kakashi had known, and he hadn't needed to be retrained or re-taught the way his brats' generation had to now be. Kakashi had been raised as a soldier, not as some kid who might maybe one day possibly have to go to war, and his childhood lessons had been about survival, and attack. How to smother debilitating emotional responses; how to survive, no matter what eventually might arise; how to keep warm and safe without any tell-tale signs of presence, like a fire, or a camp.

His teachers had always called the classic survival methods 'tell-tale,' because all shinobi were taught how to do them, so they al knew how to look out for them. The thought probably hadn't crossed the kids' minds.

The strategic preparation wasn't something Kakashi took to well. He preferred to assess a situation and go with it, rather than over-plan and work himself into a pre-war frenzy before the first knife had been thrown. He was certain that once the village got back into the motions of war it'd all straighten out, be normal again, but the Copy Ninja felt uncomfortable in his own skin. As if he were waiting for something to go wrong so they could start to fix it, rather than float in this odd suspension he was currently bobbing around in. Then again, Kakashi had felt uncomfortable in his own skin for longer than he cared to remember.

So it was that - after a gruelling hour of assessing the Stone's jutsu for the umpteenth time - Kakashi found himself strolling to Team 7's meeting spot, feeling far too lazy to surprise them in any flashy manner. The sweet sound of their bickering reached his ears before they came into view, and he finally found them huddled around what looked like a single sheet of paper, or photograph.

The three were so intent on their unintelligible argument that neither one of them noticed as Kakashi crept up behind Sasuke, peering sneakily over his shoulder to whisper confidentially. "What are you looking at?"

Naruto let out a garbled war-cry in shock, Sasuke flushing a bright pink as he stuffed the photograph into a pocket. Such a shame it was in my blind spot, thought Kakashi, as he watched the surprised reactions of his team. That looks like some good gossip.

"YOU'RE LATE!"

"I was this close to enlightenment." Kakashi dropped his voice to a bitter muttering. "Stupid Gai."

When Sakura and Naruto's habitual screech didn't reach Kakashi's ears he looked up warily. All three were wearing a speculative, pinched expression. Sasuke in particular looked like he'd swallowed a very confused lemon. There was a facial expression he'd have to work on.

"Kakashi-sensei..." Sakura asked quietly, bringing up what Kakashi couldn't possibly know was the Rookie Nine's latest fascination. "Kakashi-sensei, do you believe in true love?"

Sakura's gentle, seemingly innocent question put Kakashi's teeth on edge. The calculating, specific look Sasuke shot him as his faced relaxed slightly made it so much worse. Naruto's jaw clenched as he struggled to look indifferent and, for once, Kakashi knew exactly how he felt.

"You know, Sakura-chan," He struggled to see why she would ask this now - it wasn't the first time she'd asked silly, girly things, but it had been a long while since she'd come to him with them. "I haven't really given it much thought."

"But Kakashi-sensei!" Yelled Naruto, giving up his pretence and joining in quite cheerfully. "You must've been human once. You know, before you were a pervert!"

Sasuke's head dropped in slight defeat as Naruto finished his sentence, missing the way the Copy Nin backed away involuntarily from Sakura's nervous giggle. Her face reddened as she grinned mock-comfortingly, and Kakashi recognised the look as the one she used when she was caught red handed doing something she shouldn't. Like the time they'd stalked him for days on end, just to try to get a glimpse of beneath the underneath.

"No, wait - I mean," Naruto began, obviously misinterpreting Sakura's abashed face for her violent face - Sakura's expressions were all quite off-putting, Kakashi reasoned; it came of studying under Tsunade, he was certain of it. "If you were a teenager; what would you do if you loved someone, but they loved someone else?"

Kakashi pretended to mull it over, admittedly only mildly interested in what the kids really wanted to know. He automatically attributed it as some odd backlash from their past little love triangle; although they'd come so far from those days, after everything they'd been through for (and because of) each other, in their little world anything was possible - Kakashi had learned that early on.

"When I was a kid I didn't have time for..." Kakashi searched for a phrase that wasn't 'stupid crush'. "...personal relationships."

Three sets of eyes narrowed shrewdly, leaving Kakashi with the distinct feeling that they knew something he didn't.

"Then who was the girl in the photograph?" Naruto's blunt confusion was answered with the Copy Nin's own. Sasuke very casually kicked Naruto in the shin, but couldn't stop himself inching forwards slightly.

"Shaa..." Three pairs of eyes watched Kakashi's hand as it gestured vaguely; searching for whatever witty comment Kakashi would no doubt try to distract them with. "What photograph?" The Copy Nin asked as if he knew exactly what photograph, watching as their faces dropped adorably.

"Let's start training." Kakashi allowed himself an evil grin as he all but skipped off towards the forest. "We've got a lot to get through today."

x

Kakashi took the kids through simple tracking manoeuvres, making sure they understood the basics before he taught them other ways to track a person. Throughout the afternoon, he had them chasing each other and himself around the village; much to the villagers' chagrin. When they had finally had enough - and their teacher had finally taken all he could of Naruto's hungry whinging - they headed to Ichiraku's.

Finally, Sakura couldn't take anymore, and turned to her boys with an expression at once resolute and flushed with guilt. "Kakashi-sensei," she started, jaw set as Naruto nodded encouragingly. "I've decided on my first question; and remember you have to tell the truth!"

Kakashi looked delighted as he hauled himself comfortably into a stool at the ramen stand's counter. "And it's only taken you a couple of months! Go ahead, Sakura!"

"Why are you and Gai-sensei rivals?" She asked, eyes flashing dangerously at the promise of finally confirming some part of the gossip that not even Ino-pig could! "I mean; how did the rivalry come about?"

"That's it?" laughed Kakashi, splitting his chopsticks with a concentration he rarely displayed for any serious purpose. "Well it started with Yondaime-sensei..."

Kakashi's story lasted through all twelve bowls of Naruto's ramen, and while incredibly revealing (Sakura couldn't wait to tell TenTen the almost frightening parallels between her sensei and Lee-san - she'd grown quite close to the kunoichi over the years of Lee's stalking her) didn't once mention a girlfriend, or even a female member of either one of their teams. Kakashi had mentioned another boy, a team-mate from his Chuunin days, even if not by name, but not a word he said solved the mystery of the Girl in the Photograph.

Sakura sighed, wondering what question she could ask that would explain the medic from the pictures Lee had taken from Gai. On Sasuke's coercion, Team 7 had decided not to ask Kakashi anything directly about his original team-mates - and they'd recognised the girl from the earlier picture Naruto had found of Team Yondaime - but now the not knowing was driving Sakura mad.

Looks like I'm back to square one, thought Sakura, as she listened to her sensei's rare, genuine amusement. On the bright side, she figured, Sasuke's pleased little grin confirming her suspicions as she remembered the many questions the Copy Nin had found some quiet way to avoid answering; they'd finally found a part of Kakashi's life that he was happy to share.

He had been partnered with Matarashi Anko to learn the new ropes, and Izumo was certain that no other nin could have been more difficult to deal with, or different to all that he'd previously known. Anko had been taught by the most skilled of the Sannin - by Orochimaru himself - and the knowledge of that made Izumo nervous in a way he was certain he should not have been.

On a mission, Anko was swift and silent and terrifyingly accurate - like so many of the Jounin - and confronted with such a radically different version of the kunoichi he knew, Izumo found himself struggling to keep up with Anko's current, furious chase. She was snarling silently; lips pulled back in a hateful grimace as she turned mid-lope to check on Izumo's progress. He was keeping pace alright - but her effortless multitasking fazed him. He'd known the upper ranks were miles ahead of the game in terms of skill - but he'd never really seen a Jounin level battle, let alone expected to ever take part in one

Izumo snapped back to the present chase, cursing himself for allowing his mind to wander, and sped up slightly to try and better observe the almost idle way that Anko covered her tracks while maintaining speed. It seemed to Izumo that she was using only the basics - he assumed that the more common dust scattering jutsus or even a chakra-aided back sweep were wasteful to Jounin who couldn't be sure what they were about to face. Still, Izumo thought, it was almost disappointing to see no awesome high-level jutsu being used for the task.

She dropped back a little, gesturing for him to run close. Their feet chipped branches in unison as she whispered instructions into his ear. "There're more than I thought. Too many more. There's no point trying to avoid the ambush now, you're gonna have to fight with me."

Filled with a sudden, surprising trepidation Izumo began to protest, still maintaining her speedy pace. "You'll need better back-up than me if -"

"Don't be a fucking idiot, Izumo!" Anko spat, turning fierce violet eyes briefly his way before they flickered in a circular motion, protecting her flanks. "You weren't promoted for shits and giggles. Just stick to the basics, and don't be a hero, and we'll get on just fine. On my mark."

His heart was pounding in his ears as he followed her lead - dropping silently to the forest floor where they could better defend themselves from aerial attacks. Izumo couldn't understand why he was responding so badly, like some rookie Gennin - it wasn't like he'd never fought before! It sounded cliché, it sounded pathetic, but Izumo's pulse was racing, his body was starting to itch from the fabric of his uniform, skin hypersensitive and uncomfortable from perspiration.

It was almost inevitable now that any ANBU teams seen leaving Konoha would be ambushed, and Izumo and Anko's mission had been to remove as much attention as possible from the ANBU operatives by drawing it towards themselves. The plan had worked only too well, and now it seemed that they were faced with far worse odds than they'd expected.

They stood back to back in silence, tense and unprepared. "C'mon...C'mon!" He heard Anko whisper, could practically feel her eyes darting around the clearing. "Waiting's the worst..."

Anko didn't have to wait long, as several shadows barrelled towards them, appearing from nowhere and immediately firing off ninjutsu aided weapons that the Leaf Jounin - finding themselves surrounded - couldn't dodge. Izumo fought against the barrage as best he good, but the furious attacks of the enemy shinobi left little room for the Konoha nin to formulate a decent defensive plan.

Anko hissed some garbled curse as she formed hand seals, kicking dust up to try and disguise the exact moves she was making. Izumo went through the motions of a quick wind jutsu, trying to help without wasting too much chakra on a disguising manoeuvre.

Izumo missed out on whatever Anko did - his guarded position at her back only exposing him to a brief flash of light and several pained noises from behind. The newly promoted shinobi quickly looped wire around the handles of his kunai, swinging the weapons mindlessly to create a little more room to manoeuvre in. He form a simple hand seal as pulled out a Weapons Scroll, ignoring an enraged roar as the swung kunai caught one of the enemy shinobi on the face. Izumo sent a multitude of needles and knives from the scroll, taking out several of the nin and - apparently - clones from around him.

"They're using bunshin." He shouted above the roar of whatever Anko was defending them against. He turned to see her stumbling through hand seals, braced her against his back as she stumbled slightly, knees giving out. Izumo could see a tear in her coat, hints of crimson seeping from some wound, and he rushed to maintain his weapons jutsu as enemy shinobi ran to fill the opening in their attack.

Anko screamed some jutsu and thrust her hands forward; two enormous snakes hurtling from her sleeves with a vicious hiss - one that Izumo would dream about - and tearing the throats of the enemies bearing down on her. Izumo turned back top his own fight, slicing the throat of a Stone Nin with a large shuriken before he'd even thrown it. He used the momentum of the twist to send it tearing off into the trees - barely missing its second target.

Izumo wasn't sure how many enemies they'd started with, but only three remained, charging at the two Leaf nin in concert. Izumo rushed at two of them, hoping to draw attention away from his injured comrade - and out of the corner of his eye saw how she crouched low to the ground as soon as he had no more support.

The Stone Nin fought dirty - pulling at Izumo's hair and getting stabbed deep into the eye for his trouble. As he flopped lifelessly to the ground, his comrade sent a formidable kick towards Izumo - or, more specifically, towards Izumo's groin. The chakra aided kick felt like nothing so much as a couple of tons of bricks, and Izumo slumped immediately as the pain registered.

"Nice dodge!" the enemy huffed sarcastically, unable to mask his sympathetic flinch as he realised exactly where his kick had landed. He must've paused for a moment too long, as Izumo heard a scream of pain as Anko's knife tore into the soft underside of the Stone Nin's knees. Anko reached up from her own crumpled position on the forest floor to slash at the enemy's neck before he could react, successfully defeating the last of the ambush.

"You OK?" Anko's voice was hoarse as she hauled herself to her back, lying next to Izumo and observing his foetal position on the ground. "You did great, Newbie. You know that, right?"

Izumo just whimpered in gratitude before blissfully passing out.

The office door swung open forcefully, and Kotetsu straightened attentively as Jiraiya stormed through the door, immediately perching on a clear section of the desk. "Jiraiya-sama," Kotetsu bowed respectfully, unsure. "I was expecting the Godaime-sama?"

"The Hokage is otherwise occupied, Kotetsu-san." Jiraiya's grin was tight and frightening. "She asked me to have a little chat with you on her behalf."

Kotetsu swallowed to move the sudden lump in his throat, shifting nervously as Jiraiya's beady eyes fixed on Kotetsu's. "How can I help, Jiraiya-sama?"

"It should be obvious to you by now that Kamizuki Izumo has been promoted to the Jounin ranks." He waited for Kotetsu's brief nod. "Yet you haven't once enquired about why he was chosen instead of you? You don't seem bitter about it all, despite your matching ability in most fields, and the length of time you have been working together. Your success rate is excellent, as you know. It would be natural to wonder why we have now chosen to separate such an effective and competent team as yourselves?"

"It would, Jiraiya-sama." Kotetsu agreed, wary of the Sannin's answering smirk. "I can only assume the Hokage has her reasons."

"How loyal of you, Kotetsu-kun, and correct." Jiraiya chuckled, shifting forward, and for the first time Kotetsu thought he could see a glimpse of why the Sannin were so feared outside of Konoha. Jiraiya's wild appearance and expressive features could be truly menacing. "Tell me, then, why you chose to play such double edged tactics in your assessment of the spy, Senshi Reiko?"

Kotetsu was silent, unsure just what this legendary ninja was getting at. Jiraiya continued carefully. "You see, it strikes me as very strange that you should fool your friends into believing in your extremes of - let's call it vanity - in such a carefully structured manner. Why allow Umino Iruka to make such independent judgements when you may have saved time by working together? Shiranui-san mentioned that your 'infatuation' seemed over the top, even by your standards, and has caused some distance within your personal relationships?"

Kotetsu cleared his throat, horribly conscious of Jiraiya's expectant look. "I felt that - I thought it would be more... concise to have separate accounts of the spy's infiltration."

"How interesting." Jiraiya leant back, all menace suddenly gone from his form and Kotetsu found himself breathing again. "So it would have nothing to do with Kamizuki Izumo's feelings for you?"

"Wha - I..." Kotetsu stammered, utterly shocked by Jiraiya's knowing leer. "I don't know what you mean, Jiraiya-sama."

"Oh come now. Konoha is far from blind. We knew about the possibility of a spy for some time before Reiko finally arrived, how do you think we were able to flush her out so quickly?" Jiraiya smirked at Kotetsu's curious expression. "Genma was chosen to lead the operation due to his intimate friendship with yourself, Iruka-sensei and Izumo-san - it was a wonderful exercise in manipulation, watching the three of you nudge each other into your own individual strategies. Reminds me of way back when!"

Kotetsu tried not to let his jaw drop, tried not to consider how perfectly the three of them had been played, how perfectly they'd played each other. Genma did know them all too well - Hayate had introduced them after his promotion to the Jounin ranks, and even after their friend's death they had managed to continue their friendships with many of the Jounin crowd. "Yours was a most inspired mind game, Kotetsu-kun. I wonder though, why you think pushing your friends away is a safe thing to do in such turbulent times?"

"With respect, Jiraiya-sama, the situation is private. I was not using my mission to better my personal relationships with my comrades."

Jiraiya sniffed disbelievingly. "You'll find, Kotetsu-kun, that you can't dictate how another person feels. Take it from an old man like me; emotions are stubborn things, and will take whatever opportunity they find to let themselves be known. Don't let them fool you, kid. It's difficult to lie to yourself."

"I fucked up my mission with Reiko." Kotetsu stated, trying not to think of just how bad he'd fucked up with Izumo, trying to keep the bitterness from his voice. "I understand that you don't think my tactics are suitable for a higher level, but please -"

"Oh, on the contrary, Kotetsu-kun," Jiraiya grinned conspiratorially. "You set up a level of trust that allowed Umino-san to manipulate her underestimation. You risked a valued relationship to further the mission - regardless of any ulterior motives on your part. You proved yourself capable of subtle and convincing responses to interrogatory tactics. The Hokage is impressed with your work, Kotetsu-san, as she is with Izumo's endurance and field work."

"What? Jiraiya-sama, why are you telling me this?" Kotetsu was beyond confused, and the Sannin's shifting moods were making him dizzy.

"The Hokage has a mission she would like to offer you, but has asked me to advise you against taking it." Jiraiya's face was instantly stern, business-like, carefully controlled and controlling. Kotetsu felt the nervous coil of his gut. "We have seen an opportunity to feed false information to Hidden Stone - Reiko didn't pick up on the bait we provided as much as we'd hoped and we're concerned as to how much information the Stone has managed to gather against us. The better we can control what goes into their strategies, the better we can work to combat them successfully with minimal casualties."

That nervous feeling just got worse. How exactly were they planning on feeding the information? The Chuunin hadn't realised he'd asked the question aloud until Jiraiya's rumbling answer reached his ears. "They would naturally interrogate a Prisoner of War - though with luck, they would adhere to theThird War Peace Treaty and not kill any operative in their custody. We think this would be a risky, but effective method of infiltrating their defences."

"With luck." Kotetsu repeated, seeing a thousand ways the plan could fail, considering it. "Obviously you couldn't send a Jounin, Intelligence or ANBU Operative in because of the risk of the enemy extracting usable information. Any operative lower than a Chuunin would simply have no use to the enemy. I suppose if Reiko managed to get word back to the Stone I would already be known to them, they'd probably underestimate me and if I'm lucky be less than creative in their interrogatory techniques. Along with the anti-interrogation training I had for working in the Hokage's office, that makes me the perfect choice, right?"

"Exactly." Jiraiya grunted, frowning slightly. "We've also sent them a missive declaring war, stating that it was a Chuunin operative that killed Senshi Reiko. A Chuunin prisoner would be a valuable prize to the Stone at the moment. If you should choose to accept the mission we would provide you with intensive interrogatory and torture training to help you cope with anything they may put you through; not to mention a full ANBU escort to ensure your safe arrival to Hidden Stone. Essentially though, you would be entirely alone." Jiraiya gave Kotetsu an odd look, fond and confident. "You don't have to take this mission, shinobi."

No he really didn't have to, Kotetsu thought as he tried to hold Jiraiya's gaze, but if he chose not to someone else might be forced; the Chuunin understood all too well that he really did have the best chance of coming out alive. And that was the real question, wasn't it? Could anyone else do a better job? No. It was Kotetsu's duty to live or die for his precious village. It was his right.

"I'd like to accept the mission, Jiraiya-sama." The Chuunin's voice was blessedly strong when it came. "I understand the consequences and expect a damn fat pay cheque when I get home."

"Thank you, Kotetsu-kun. Please report immediately to Morino Ibiki, he'll be training you personally for the next few days." Jiraiya didn't move to dismiss Kotetsu, seemed to consider him carefully before asking; "Is there anything else I can do to make this easier?"

Kotetsu hesitated only briefly, he didn't have many loose ends, but there was one aspect of becoming a POW that Kotetsu could barely stomach. "Could you... If it's possible...don't let Izumo think I'm a coward? I'm not bothered about the others, but..."

Jiraiya nodded curtly, waving a hand to dismiss the Chuunin. "I'll do what I can."

He'd never really understood as a boy, just happily scoffed down the candy she presented, basking in her proud, radiant grin; or just relished that rare treat of a trip to Ichiraku, because while Iruka's father had thought it was unhealthy, Iruka's mother had thought he could do with a bit more meat on his bones - she'd said it was to fight the cold; but it had been summer at the time, and he had never really understood.

Now, Iruka could look on these memories with the understanding of a man who'd learned to treasure them, who had been lucky enough in a village of survivors, to recall enough good memories to deal with the bad. There were worse things, in the end; and perspective changed over time and thought; and these, at least, were things Iruka understood very well.

It was hard to think about the good times when you knew your entire life was about to change - that your entire village was at war, even if the fighting hadn't really begun on all fronts just yet. And it was hard to teach a child how to deal with a thing they couldn't comprehend, when their parents were panicking and picking at old fears.

"Shit travels south," Iruka father had once said, and the Chuunin understood that one perfectly, as he recalled the way the children in his class copied their parents' tragic, overwhelming fear, and tried to show they understood the gravity of war with their whispered 'Oh god no' and 'What do we do?' and 'we didn't do anything wrong!'

Naruto wasn't really a child anymore, Iruka thought, but it was so much easier to cope with the world when listening to the blonde disaster slurp down ramen and gossip about his 'Pervert-Sensei.' Apparently, the current news was the scandal of the Great Love Rivalry, and Iruka made a mental note to put that one to the Gossip Vine and see what came up.

As he watched Naruto's cheerful exuberance shift to explaining in great detail how he planned to smash the Stone single handed - without even breaking a sweat - Iruka came to the conclusion that his mother had known exactly what she was talking about all along.

However, gathered in the Yakanama Flower shop as Ino grudgingly worked her shift, Team 10 immediately homed in on the latest gossip amongst the younger crowd.

"Hmm," hummed Shikamaru in his typically excitable fashion. "Lee-san was just speculating. Why would Hatake-san kill his team-mate?"

"Gai-sensei might have!" hissed Ino, waving a large flower in Shikamaru's face. He sneezed once, sniffing disdainfully at the sensation.

Chouji looked momentarily confused, lowering his voice dramatically as the door swung open with a jingle. "Wait, how do you know she's his team-mate?"

"Sakura and her giant forehead have seen pictures of their sensei's team." Ino muttered, distracted by the sudden entrance of a Medical Ninja, dragged forcefully into the shop by a growling Matarashi Anko. Ino rushed over, squealing happily in her mother's favourite sales tactic. For Ino, it was the perfect voice to encourage gossip. "Ahhh, welcome - can I help you with anything at all?"

"No! no, we're just... browsing." Anko's voice was equally cheerful; her face scrunching into a grin so suddenly that it left Ino slightly in awe. "We'll shout if we need anything, ok? Thank you."

Ino grinned and moved back to the till, eyes trained on Anko's transformation back into the Growling Kunoichi of Death. It was inspiring to see the way the medic shook in his boots - despite it being well known how Anko had been injured on her most recent mission.

Ino gestured for her team-mates to 'take position' around the store; a gossip-gathering formation they had perfected over the years. Chouji grabbed a storage box and started to arrange the new blooms near enough to overhear their conversation, while Shikamaru watched the surveillance monitors to see if he could pick anything up from their body language, or facial expressions. Ino simply pottered around the counter, spying on them in a way that might allow them to play right into their hands - the further they strayed from the till, after all, the closer they were to the surveillance camera's watchful lens...

"Look," hissed Anko, looking around warily as the chatter of Asuma's students gradually ceased. The medic, Mitate, began to relax a little as Anko's fierce grip relaxed a little. "You know I'm not one to silence a rumour, but you've been holding onto this for too long - it's getting irritating, you understand?"

Ino shouted back to Shikamaru, some pointless question to simply maintain their cover. She could see Chouji's delicate steps closer to the two conversing shinobi as Shikamaru studied the monitors. He noticed the way Anko kept touching her side, gingerly. He wondered vaguely how she'd been injured, and for a second didn't understand how the Jounin did it - how they maintained such close to normal attitudes when away from the battlefield. Even Asuma sensei got up when he fell; sometimes, Shikamaru didn't really understand why he bothered.

"So this, Mitate-kun, is the last time I am going to explain it to you; Gai's students were wrong, ok? It was pure speculation."

In the back of the store, Shikamaru took careful note of the way the medic's face fell. He looked around conspicuously as he leant closer to Anko, saying something Shikamaru couldn't make out through carefully gritted teeth. Chouji hummed to himself as he inched closer.

"Anko-chan," hissed the medic. "I understand that you want to protect your comrades, but Gai-san's team seemed pretty damn certain."

"Then you understand very little. You said this girl was a medic? Dark hair, to about here?" Anko gestured to her neck, smirking grimly as Mitate nodded. "I'll bet she had stripes as well. One each side of her cheek?"

Chouji leaned closer still, fascinated now with the conversation - how often, after all, did two random shinobi wander in and start talking about the very subject your own team had been obsessed with since first hearing Lee's theory?

"Believe me Mitate;" ordered Anko, her voice and tone indicating just how swiftly she was losing patience at her comrade's obliviousness. "I don't know anything about any 'Love Rivalry,' but Rin is the last person Gai or Kakashi would ever have harmed - let alone kill - are you nuts?"

"If you say so, Anko-san." Mitate's voice was grudging and unconvinced, but Anko seemed satisfied by his acquiescence.

"Get back to your duties, shinobi-san." She shoved him out of the door, picking up a couple of flowers at random and taking them to the till. Ino served her cheerfully, voice false and accommodating. If anything, Anko returned the gesture.

When the Special Jounin had left, Team 10 shared their information quite happily, trying - unsuccessfully - to fill in the missing pieces between Lee's theory, and Anko's certainty.

Ino couldn't wait to compare notes with Sakura. She was certain the girl would've gotten nowhere with her insane idea to just ask Hatake Kakashi. Thanks to the brilliant initiative of her team Ino now had more information than any of the others. She had found the mystery medic a name!

"Kurenai's going cabin crazy." Kakashi tried to explain - yet again - to the green-clad wonder. He'd been lying through his teeth for almost an hour - through several stupid challenges and the relaxing stroll down to the mission room itself - to little avail, and was now aiming for Gai's protective streak. "We'd all feel safer if you didn't travel unaccompanied - it's the same for all of us. It's obvious we're great targets to the Stone...especially now my mission's all but public knowledge here. There's no telling how that might get back..."

"Iruka-sensei said the Devious Spy was working alone!" Gai's voice was obnoxiously loud, but his eyes narrowed knowingly as Kakashi tried not to look away from that piercing glare. "Iruka-sensei said it himself, with Genma-san's confirmation!"

"Yes I know," Kakashi drawled, only slightly petulantly. He couldn't help but notice the curious glances thrown their way - and worry a little despite himself at what Gai saw between Kakashi and Iruka; he hadn't realised Gai held so much respect for the Chuunin, and no one saw through the Copy Nin like Gai did.

"But...?" Gai asked, knowing his rival's tone far too well. Kakashi cursed his lack of foresight - of all the places to persuade Gai, he had to go and choose the very epicentre of the Gossip Vine. Some genius!

"But Ebisu-san thought he was invincible, and I'm not sure we should condone such misconceptions in the Jounin ranks." Kakashi knew it was a harsh blow - Gai had been closer to Ebisu than he had, admired the man's sense of propriety and stricture - but it was also an effective blow, one that worked a thousand ways in his favour. He ignored his comrade's slight flinch, recognising Gai's lack of drama for true grief. "There are no certainties in war, Gai. Consider it a personal favour; I'd rather you didn't take that risk."

"Very well, my friend." Gai's low voice was poised oddly between sobriety and mania. "I will ask the Hokage for Kurenai-chan's accompaniment!"

Kakashi nodded brusquely, closing down the conversation before his reasoning could become his noose - there was a fine line between how much Gai could and couldn't see, and Kakashi had to be careful not to be too subtle or make his intentions too clear. The Green Beast was underestimated far too easily, in Kakashi's opinion. It was probably why he had survived so long.

Gai lowered his voice conspiratorially, his hushed proclamations only inviting more interest than his shouted ones. Kakashi let his eye wander idly across the intrigued faces of his comrades and wished he could just disappear without it drawing even more attention to the conversation. "What does Asuma-san think about his Lady travelling for so long in Such Times!"

"Oh you know what he's like." Kakashi waved a dismissive hand, making his next words seem totally unimportant in the hopes that Gai would take notice of them. "Try to be a little discreet about it all, Hmm? We don't want people to get the wrong idea."

Kakashi wasn't sure what Gai thought the wrong idea could be, but the way he blanched and visibly paled made his comment seem almost perverted. Oh wait, Kakashi knew exactly what Gai would think. He allowed himself a triumphant smirk as Gai tried to quell his embarrassment.

"I will be Ultimately Discreet!" Gai screeched, one hand on a hip and his arm outstretched. Kakashi cringed internally, blinking one lazy eye in response to Gai's outburst. "I shall be as Discreet as the Humble -"

"Great! Perfect!" Kakashi drawled, waving one hand automatically in the scout signal for 'proceed silently' as he mentally calculated how much could be added together correctly and how quickly he could do something sufficiently stupid enough to stem the tide of gossip from Kurenai's life. "Can you do it quietly too?"

"Yo, Kakashi!" Shiranui Genma greeted, chewing maliciously on his senbon. He gestured towards Gai with a smirk. "What's he being so discreet about?"

Oh this was such a bad idea! Kakashi thought as he laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head as he resisted the urge to duck and cover. Beside him, Gai was posing again.

"No! I shall not Fall for your Youthful Persuasion!" Gai's shout was suitably dramatic, and Kakashi just sighed as Genma raised a disbelieving eyebrow. Somewhere in the crowd of bored, curious shinobi, someone snickered. "I am like the Solid Oak! Unmoveable! Unchanging!"

"Yeah, until something bigger, badder and generally cooler comes along. Like a bulldozer. Or several well placed explosive tags." Genma remarked as Kakashi fought the urge to whimper, moving forward slightly in a shuffling slouch that gave nothing away. "Now, if you really wanted to remain unmoved and unchanged you be a weed."

"A Weed?" screeched Gai, affronted and loud. Kakashi grinned tightly, giving a casual little wave to some Chuunin sensei as he moved passed them in the crowd, bowing to hide the way he stared curiously at the scene.

"Yeah, you know." Genma chewed thoughtfully. "Like a stinging nettle. Hurts anything that comes near it and you can't get rid of the overgrown little bastards."

Kakashi shuffled forward as the queue move on, leaving Genma and Gai to their botanical debate. Maybe Gai could do discreet after all, Kakashi thought as he saw the oddly victorious little grin on the Green Beast's face. It was merely a much louder discreet than he was used to.

Maybe Kakashi should modernise some of his methods after all. Subtlety was so over-rated.

This was easier said than done, like many things, and eventually Izumo had found the need to drink something or risk dehydration, which eventually had led to needing to use the toilet. Standing in the mission room's usually deserted public toilets with his trousers round his ankles and experiencing Hell Pain where a man should never have to experience Hell Pain - thanks to painkillers that never seemed to work for the full four hours - Izumo felt about as far from normal as he ever had.

Once, as a kid, Izumo's cousin had 'caught himself' in his flies. If his cousin were still alive Izumo was certain he'd be pointing out in great detail how this injury was so much worse.

Izumo gripped the porcelain edge of the urinal hard enough to turn his knuckles white. Tears of agony squeezed from his eyes as he forced urine from his poor, abused genitalia. Izumo tried not to look, tried to focus on the ceiling, but the acids in his piss burned uncomfortably against his damaged member, and it was hard to ignore the reason for one's agonising limp.

At least it couldn't get much worse, right?

"You'll show me your dick but not your face?" Izumo was mortified to hear Tsuzumi's usually friendly drawl as the lavatory door swung open, two Chuunin level shinobi walking in just as Izumo was finally getting somewhere! Classes must've let out for the afternoon; a lot of the Chuunin Teachers doubled up shifts in the mission rooms. Iruka had always used to joke that the teachers must be trustworthy if they could go entire days without slaughtering the ninja brats they were forced to baby-sit; until Mizuki had tried just that, and it hadn't seemed quite so funny anymore.

At least it's not Kotetsu; Izumo found himself thinking, somewhat hysterically, as he tried to calm his mortified blush. That bastard would never stop laughing. Izumo caught sight of the bandaged face of Tobitake Tonbo as the nin replied "I'm not Hatake-san, you know, I'm not hiding anything. You didn't have to follow me to the toilet!"

"Oh come on, you showed Teuchi, and he's got less tact than me. And alright, I admit it, I have zero tact." whined Tsuzumi ineffectually. "Everyone's seen beneath the bandages but me, and it's not like they'll team us up anytime soon!"

"Don't look at my dick and maybe my face won't bother you so much," the Chuunin grinned, obviously loving getting under Tsuzumi's skin.

"It was follow you in here or listen to the rest of Maito-san's ranting - and even a patient teacher like myself can only take so much about plants." The newly appointed academy teacher grumbled pitifully. "I don't care how skilled he is; that guy is just weird."

"I wouldn't let the elite hear you say that." Tonbo's grin widened his bandages scrunching up around his eyes in the strangest way. "I wouldn't let him hear you either, come to that!"

Tsuzumi smiled as he finally noticed the toilet's other occupant, and Izumo suddenly wondered why he had ever thought he'd manage to use a public toilet and keep his dignity intact. "Hey, Izumo-kun! How've the Jounin been working you?"

"Tonbo-san." Izumo grunted, the pained voice causing his old comrades to look over in a devious concern. "Tsuzumi-sensei."

The teasing tone didn't come out as light-hearted as Izumo had hoped, but his comrade's eyes sparkled in amusement. On duty Tsuzumi was the perfectly behaved shinobi - but off-duty he was a right bastard. Kotetsu had always got on well with the Chuunin, had always found a way to distract or tease the other nin - but Kotetsu wasn't here to do that, and Izumo had to stop relying on his friend to bail him out.

Right at that moment, though, the idea seemed a lot more difficult than it had a few days ago.

Tonbo positioned himself next to Izumo, casually unzipping his trousers in a way that - had Izumo been any less traumatized at that moment - entirely ruined any sense of aloof mystery the bandaged nin might have otherwise possessed. Izumo tried to bite back a whimper, and Tonbo - totally unruffled - craned his neck to look over at Izumo's penis.

"Fuck me that looks painful." He exclaimed in genuine horror - a sound rarely heard in a shinobi compound. If Izumo had been any less mortified he would have considered how the Chuunin could see through the cloth covering his eyes, but he was far too busy trying to hold back a desperate whimper.

Tonbo's mouth pinched slightly into a frown. He lowered his voice to a wary, formal tone. "Congratulations on your promotion, by the way."

"Yeah thanks, man." Izumo's voice was oddly strained as he glared sarcastically at the lower level shinobi, blowing hair from his face. "M'having a fucking blast!"

"Damn. Better you than me, s'all I can say." Tonbo finished, tucking himself back into his trousers and moving to leave, while Tsuzumi's pitying gaze lingered, for once completely sympathetic, without a trace of mockery.

"If that's the price you pay to be Jounin, you can count me out straight away." Tsuzumi's voice was horribly serious, and Izumo just sighed, trying to shut out the embarrassment of the situation.

"Better this than get my knees capped. That'd keep me off the field for too long." The incredulous look the two gave Izumo as they left the toilet said it all: He'd lost his mind - definitely Jounin material.

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