Our Tomorrows Start Tonight 13

Yes, the heat was gone.

And this morning a cool wind blew, even though the sun was shining ever so brightly. In the ANBU’s headquarters, it was time for shift change. Izumo and Kotetsu, together as always, were having their morning coffee before their routine inspection of the cells. Inoichi Yamanaka was slouching over the table. He had been up all night and was now trying to enjoy what little rest he could possibly get before getting back home.

“Okay, time for your patrol, bitch!” Kotetsu said

“Hey, why me?” Izumo said, almost choking on his sip

“Because I said so.”

“Kiss my ass! I did the last two ones, your turn now!”

“Let’s arm for it!” Kotetsu dared, taking an arm wrestling position on the table.

“Your arm nothing!” a raucous female voice interrupted “You go do the patrol Kotetsu, now!”

“Tsume-san? But…”

“There’s no but! You go immediately or your ass will know what getting whipped means, got that?”

Kotetsu glared at a stupidly grinning Izumo and submitted. Anything is better than dealing with an angered Tsume Inuzuka! He stomped in the corridor and looked inside each cell. Each one of them was adapted to their prisoner. Fire users were surrounded by fireproof material, wind users had no window in their cells etc… When he passed by Konan’s cell, which was closed only by a grid, his heart skipped a beat. She was no longer in her cell!!! The wild haired ninja ran like crazy towards the guardians’ room.

“Kotetsu, what the…?” Tsume began

“Shut up! Call the Hokage and the ANBU hunter-nins , we got a prisoner on the loose! Konan escaped!”

“WHAT! How the fuck?”

“You think I know? Just call them!”

This time, Inoichi woke up from his peaceful slumber, red-eyed.

“What’s happening?”

The Hokage’s Tower, later that morning…</i>

Naruto was calm. Much too. It was just a way to conceal the inner rage burning him from inside. His eyes were gradually turning to red but he somehow managed to rein in his outburst. For how long was uncertain though. Hinata’s calming presence would help in the matter still. But even she looked nervous. Her face displayed a mild frown instead of her usual gentle smile.

“Okay, you four. You have 5 minutes to explain the situation and justify yourselves” the Rokudaime inquired with a hollow voice

“Konan escaped, Uzumaki-san” Tsume said unapologetically “I can’t say much more, except that there is no way she could have succeeded this without any help.”

“I went on my beat this morning and found her cell empty” Kotetsu added

“Inoichi-san, weren’t you supposed to mind-scan each and every visitor to her cell?” Naruto questioned the Yamanaka clan’s head

“There has been no visitor, Uzumaki-sama” Inoichi answered uneasily “At least not as I know…” None of his seniors actually referred to Naruto by his title, rather using his last name since they all felt a little ill-at-ease calling him Hokage. But all of them accepted his authority nonetheless.

“What do you mean not as you know?”

“Well, I…I didn’t see anyone coming in.”

“Nor we.” Izumo answered “Me and Kotetsu have been up all night and guarded her cell. I inspected all the cells twice like every other night and she was there all this time.”

“Oh yeah? Well looks like you’ve got shit in your eyes then! All of you!” the Rokudaime fumed as he stood up

“Naruto, stop it! You don’t need to be rude to your subordinates! They were just doing their job!” Hinata said

“Yeah, well, maybe I should’ve…”

A knock at his parlor’s door interrupted the head biting.

“Just come in!” Naruto ordered

In came Gaara, Kankuro, Matsuri, Hanabi and Kiba, a bit surprised to be welcomed so harshly.

“Morning again, Ma!” Kiba greeted his mother

“Hello, Kiba.” Tsume replied with a smile

“Something wrong Naruto?” Gaara asked

“Sorry for my attitude. I just got informed that Konan has escaped from her jail!”

All five newcomers froze and looked at each other.

“Um… She didn’t escape, Hokage-sama” Hanabi put in “She has been abducted.”

“Huh?”

“Yes” Kiba said “We were hanging out at the Teal Moth yesterday evening and we felt the hostile chakra of Uchiha Madara. He was running away from Konohagakure very fast.”

Everyone present tensed up. The mere mention of his name made a cold shiver run down the spine of any Konohan shinobi.

“He was carrying along another person, a female as I could smell, and Hanabi-san clearly identified him thanks to her Byakugan. Therefore, we can safely assert the woman he was carrying along was Konan…” Kiba finished

Naruto let go in his armchair and went limp. If Madara Uchiha was back, chaos was menacing to break loose again. But wait… didn’t Sasuke kill him back then? Another knock at the parlor’s door was heard.

“C-Come in” Hinata said, her voice had gone faint like it used to be when she was younger

“Yo” Shikamaru said as he entered the room. As soon as he saw his fellow’s faces, he knew bad news were about to blow up in his face “What’s happening?”

“Madara Uchiha is back. He has kidnapped Konan.”

Shikamaru froze and felt as if he was drowning helplessly in a whirlpool. Did anything he touched have to turn to shit? What Shino had told him yesterday was true then. He was alive and on the move… But then again, maybe it wasn’t totally shit after all….

“I suppose this was part of your plans Shikamaru!” Naruto barked “If it’s the case, explanation NOW!“

“Actually, yes. I was kind of expecting that someone would come and try to do something to Konan after what we showed her yesterday. The only thing unexpected is that it turned out to be Madara Uchiha. By the way Naruto, I thought the guy was dead…”

“Er…Well…”

“This is what you told us right?”

“Naruto, you were not sure?” Hinata asked her husband

“I saw the body of the last Akatsuki member lying down on the ground with a huge hole in it. I did see that and so did everyone present.”

“Why didn’t you bring back his head as usual?”

“We lost track of his body after the battle with the team mates of Sasuke. But there was no way he could have survived, at least I assumed so…”

No one dared to speak up their minds right now. Naruto was still the Hokage, no matter how reckless he had been in the past and no matter what said recklessness could have incurred. Kakashi was with him way back then and thus was just as responsible as him, Sakura or Sai in the matter.

“Anyways, it’s not time to dwell on past mistakes.” Shikamaru said “I think we can track Madara Uchiha quite easily.”

“And what makes you so sure we can catch his track, Shikamaru?” Kiba asked

“Because there is only one place where he could possibly hide without causing a major fuss .”

Somewhere else, in the mean time…</i>

It was dark, very dark. She didn’t recall having ever seen the light of the corridor switched off. The atmosphere was also very different. It wasn’t as damp as usual. In fact, she was completely dry. She felt the walls around her and was surprised to find them just as dry. Her head ached like hell. She inspected her head to see if she had been knocked over the head but found nothing. It was just a terrible migraine.

She sat up on the mattress and eventually got the certitude that she was no longer in the ANBU’s headquarters. It was way too calm, way too silent. She would normally hear the guards talking and fellow prisoners ranting. Puzzled, Konan stood up and began to make out the surroundings. She was in a regular bedroom with sparse furniture. However there was no window. She headed towards the door and opened it.

“So you’re awake.” A voice stated neutrally from nowhere

“Who’s there?” she asked already preparing a paper blade

“No need to get defensive, Konan. My purpose is not to hurt you.” The voice answered

And this is when she saw him. She had never truly eyed him without his mask but she recognized him nonetheless.

“Tobi-sama… I thought you were dead!” She said, gaping in surprise

“Many people thought so. I don’t blame you. By the way, please refer to me as Uchiha Madara as you already should.”

“Isn’t your true name…”

“I just took the appearance of Obito Uchiha and assumed his identity. I thought I already told you this before. It was just another way to ensure that no one would know about me until I deemed it useful.”

He went out of the darkness even more, incredibly different from his former appearance. Instead of his usual short, wild hairdo, Madara Uchiha was sporting much longer hair and an eye-patch on the right eye. His outfit was no longer that of an Akatsuki member. It was still a red and black shinobi suit with a fishnet undershirt. He looked relaxed but his stern attitude and emotionless stare were still on.

“Where are we?” Konan was compelled to ask

“We are in the Land of the Rice Fields, better known as the land of the Sound. This is one of late Orochimaru’s lairs.”

Konan nodded and then went quiet. She still didn’t understand what was happening to her…

“I must say I am somewhat impressed Konan. I don’t know where you’ve been all this time but I had to wait for your incarceration to spot you. Moreover, of our organization, you were the only female and thus the weakest. Yet, you’re the only one who survived. I suppose your bound to the Hokage didn’t hurt in that matter. Still, you even escaped my clutches back then thanks to my stupid great grandson. Luck has been on your side I guess.”

“Do you intend to kill me again?” Konan inquired

“No. I have no longer the need to do it. You’ll be way more useful alive than dead as it is. I have brought you here for several reasons, one of which being getting information from you. Another one is to serve me as a hostage would Konoha have the idea of attacking me. Which is highly probable since you nephew didn’t order your execution and thus might want you back. There are other reasons that you will learn about in due time. But for now follow me. There are things we need to discuss.”

Konan was vexed with Madara calling her weak just because she’s a woman but answering back at someone much stronger and powerful than herself would not be a very smart move. Thus she kept quiet and obeyed her former boss without any question. This moment had a strange feeling of déjà vu to her...

Konoha, The Hokage’s Parlor…</i>

“And what makes you so sure the Land of the Sound would take it upon them to hide an S-class criminal who is welcome nowhere in the world?” Naruto asked his general

“Otogakure is the only village whose entrance is concealed by a powerful genjutsu that only a superior level type of eye technique can see through. Moreover, judging by the accounts of the Kazekage, Madara Uchiha was running in that direction. We haven’t really inspected the Sound Village until recently and this is why our senior Jounin comrades were sent over there. They are supposed to come back later today so I suggest we wait for them and see what information they could gather as for the entrance and the Village itself.”

Naruto sat back and pondered for a while, something he had a hard time doing so no one interrupted him.

“Alright, we will wait for their comeback. But whatever it is you have in mind, I demand you to expose your strategy once everyone who should engage furthermore in this matter is present. Understand?”

“Alright. Now if you’ll excuse me but there is somebody I’d like to inform.”

“You may go.” Naruto turned to Inoichi Yamanaka and his fellow operatives “You may go too. I won’t blame you for what happened. I suppose our dear foe has used his powers on you to get away with Konan unnoticed.”

“Alright.” All four shinobis answered before disbanding along with everyone present save for the Kazekage himself.

The Land of the Rice Fields, early afternoon, Orochimaru’s lair</i>

“Do you actually intend to keep me here for a long time, Madara-sama?”

The tall, dark man turned to her, staring as if he could hardly make her out.

“Are you okay?”

“It’s fine, Konan. Sometimes my remaining eye gets blurry but don’t worry. To answer your question, your time here will depend on your acceptance of the mission I have for you, which can also be called a service.”

Konan gazed at him but didn’t answer. It was better to revert to her usual, cold demeanour in the presence of that man.

“You see, I wiped out my entire clan because these traitors had allied to these Konohans low-lives who banished me. All I wanted was to make the village strive and that was how I’ve been repaid. My peers didn’t even stand up for me. Thus I got this sweet vengeance over my clan and I thought I had found a worthy heir in the person of my older great grandson, Itachi. However he couldn’t even take his brother’s eyes and couldn’t even get rid of Konoha’s forces when they went after him. Sasuke was worthier of my time but Orochimaru has foiled my plans by “offering” this cursed hickey to Sasuke. I am now the only Uchiha remaining. And I refuse my last name to sink into oblivion. Although I am immortal, my bloodline means nothing if I’m the only one having it. Thus I need to restore the clan myself”

Konan felt an insidious cold wind washing over her. She was afraid of where the conversation was heading…

“No need to wince, Konan. I guess you already know what mission I intend to give you. I could have impregnated a thousand women but, unfortunately, only an experienced kunoichi can mother my children. Common women don’t have the required chakra flows that could sustain my bloodline’s level and die before delivery or have a miscarriage. I had to find a kunoichi who I can trust entirely and whose bloodline limit is compatible with my own. Do you see where I’m going?”

“You want me to bear your children.” She said flatly, taking again this icy expression that suited her so well

“Precisely. But, as you might already guess, this is no request. I have chosen you. If you comply, I will make sure everything goes peacefully enough for you to raise my children in the best conditions possible. Else, you will join our brave fellows in death. All in all, consider it a distinguished honor. I am offering you to become the mother of the new Uchiha dynasty.”

“Do I have to answer right now?”

“Of course not. But the sooner the better. Let’s be clear. I don’t ask you to love me. I don’t love you. But I may treat you with the consideration you deserve if you agree to have my children.”

“I may consider that. Can I go now?”

“Sure. Oh, and one last thing.”

“Yes”

“Don’t try to escape. It would be way too easy for me to track you down in my own genjutsu.”

“Alright”

With that, Konan left Madara and walked slowly back to her “room”, feeling as if she was strolling in a minefield. There were too many things happening in too short a time. Pein was alive and so was Madara. The former was relatively safe in his ANBU chamber, lying in wait for his liberation. Her former boss had taken her away and was now asking her to bear his children in order for him to restore his clan. In short, she’d only be a matrix.

But why her? Konan had already figured out the answer which summed up in two points. First, missing kunoichis were rare. Only such a woman would be willing to help a fellow missing nin. Second, and most importantly, even a missing kunoichi would rather die or surrender to her homeland’s ANBU rather than getting involved with somebody as dangerous as Madara Uchiha. Most of said female outlaws could be redeemed by simply doing this and explaining why. Hence, Konan was the only viable option for the immortal criminal.

Moreover, he said he wanted to obtain info from her… What kind of information could Madara want that he didn’t already have? She might know soon enough. And as the Grand Master Uchiha said, there is a high probability for Naruto and his fellows to come and try to free her. All in all, things won’t be pretty. She went on her bed, sat on it and rested her head on her folded knees, trying to relax and think about all this sanely…

Later this afternoon, Konohagakure’s outskirts…</i>

At last they were home. Their time hadn’t been wasted to say the least. This A-rank mission to the dreaded Land of the Sound had been a success and all five were fine. Jumping from branch to branch, Yamato, Gai, Shizune, Anko and Kakashi were hurrying back towards Konoha.

Over the years, none of them had really changed, outfit and attitude wise. Shizune wore her long-sleeved Jounin suit that she always put on when on mission. The oldest of the group, she remained the level-headed, sensible one. After the departure of Tsunade, she was appointed as the head of Konoha’s Hospital and her advanced medical skills were very useful in high ranking missions. Gai still had his bobbed hairdo and his green jumpsuit under his Jounin vest. His theatrical, bombastic self was still on as well as his specialization in taijutsu which was only rivaled by Lee.

Yamato was still the friendly, laid-back one with his usual suit similar to that of Kakashi and his signature headdress. The only difference was his additional scar on the right cheek he earned from his fight with Kisame Hoshigaki. Anko wasn’t wearing her typical trench coat over her scanty fishnet bodysuit. She had rather opted for a more traditional ninja shirt with skintight ninja shorts and a Jounin vest. Only her leg protectors remained from her usual attire. Although she still showed a cheerful, enthusiastic attitude, she was less hotheaded than before.

And Kakashi hadn’t changed a bit. He still wore his Jounin suit with his wild shock of gray hair and his mask. His position as the leader of the mission was never discussed despite his occasional bickering with Gai and Anko.

“We made it! We’re home safe!” Anko chirped

“About time! I can’t wait to get some dango!” Yamato said

“Hey that’s my line!”

“What? Ain’t I entitled to like Konoha’s dangos as much as you do?”

“Enough you two! We’re not teenagers anymore. We’ve got more serious things to focus on for the moment” Shizune interjected

“Right! We must convey all the information we gathered and prove Hokage-sama the Fire of Youth is still burning within us!” Gai proclaimed

Kakashi took the scene with his usual smile and looked ahead to see the gates of Konoha getting closer and closer. As he absent-mindedly listened to his comrades’ petty squabble, Kakashi remembered each and every moment that lead him where he was now. He had a privileged position as Leader of the Fire Daimyo’s Twelve Guards, as his sash indicated. He has been dating Anko since she had broken up amicably with Ibiki Morino. However, both kept a remarkably low profile about their relationship and enjoyed it that way although it was no secret. In fact, both preferred to see each other and not to marry or at least not yet. Their mutual agreement fitted them better.

All five arrived at the gates of Konoha, greeted their fellows guarding the entry, and went over to the Hokage’s tower.

Konoha’s Hospital, in the meantime</i>

Temari was ready to leave and was heading outside when she recognized Kankuro and Matsuri at the Hospital’s entry. Seeing their faces, she knew it was trouble time.

“Hey, what are you doing here? Isn’t Gaara with you?”

“Your brother is speaking with the Rokudaime. They have some important business I guess. But we have news for you.” Matsuri answered

“Bad ones, ain’t it?”

“Right. Konan has been abducted… by Madara Uchiha. We have all sensed his chakra last night, he was running towards the Land of the Sound and there is a high probability that the person he was carrying with him was Konan indeed. Which means our only way to take Danzo down is now gone and that we have another foe on the list.”

Temari sat down on a nearby bench. She hardly could absorb the news. Everything had to be made over. Shikamaru… Was it part of his plans? She stayed quiet for a while, as her brother and her soon-to-be sister-in-law sat next to her.

“Ya shouldn’t be desperate, sister. I’m sure your favourite banger will come with a really wise and clever solution as always!” Kankuro put in with a sarcastic grin on his face, earning a double glare from the girls.

“Kankuro, shut up!” Temari ordered “This is no time for irony!”

“Oh yeah? Maybe do you prefer me to state that he’s just not as smart as you made him… OUCH!!” A punch in the face interrupted the paint-smudged Jounin.

“Let’s get one thing straight, dimwit: I allow no one to badmouth my partner in my presence! And your sorry ass makes no exception! One more statement like that and you’ll be sorrier, clear?”

“Do you want me to tell him you originally fancied the Uchiha brat before him, sis? Or the way you eyed the traitor back when we fought him in the forest?” Kankuro said back with a twisted look “No man likes to be a silver medal choice, sister dear! I could even go further and say that you dated the stag only because the other one didn’t want you…”

“Sure. Do it if you want every girl in Suna to know what you did with Kiba back when you were 19. You know, that night where there was no skank to bang and both of you got really drunk!”

The Puppet Master blushed madly as his eyes widened. “How do you know that?”

“Told ya! You got really drunk. So drunk indeed that none of you noticed me when I came home. Or maybe you were just too much into what you were doing…” she answered with a cruel smile “Don’t fuck with me, brother-dear! I took pictures of the whole scene. Do as I say and they will stay right where they are.”

Kankuro nodded dumbly “Matsuri! Not a word of this to anyone, got that?” he said with a menacing stare

“No need to worry, Kankuro. I already knew about that, Gaara and I were present too that night…” the hazel haired girl answered with an impassive stare

Kankuro felt as if he was having a heart attack. But fainting like a sissy in front of his sister would only mean greater trouble so he straightened up and stood up.

“Okay, Okay. I got it. I won’t say a thing. Let’s get moving. We may meet your loverboy on the way.”

Temari smirked and shared an amused look with Matsuri before following her sulking younger brother. Outside, they met a smoking Shikamaru.

“Yo. “ He said, waving them hello “Guess you know about the wonderful news already, aint’t it?”

“Part of your plan, stag?” Kankuro asked wryly

“Actually, yes. The only thing I couldn’t foresee was Madara Uchiha’s meddling. But anyways, it’s not that bad in the end if you ask me.”

All three Sunans sent him an interrogative look.

“Well, Madara Uchiha is extremely strong and supposedly immortal. However, now that we know he’s alive and where he lurks, we might foil his plans before he could even set all things up. He needs Konan alive for something. So we must take advantage of this. Not to mention that Kakashi’s team is coming back today so we might learn even more about this fucker since he’s hiding over there. I suggest we get back to the Hokage’s tower and wait for them.”

“You plan to take on Madara Uchiha?” Temari answered with a slightly worried look

“This has to be done on day or another. We can’t let him get around like that forever. It’s already a miracle that he didn’t attack for the past 5 years when he was in full power to do so, more or less. It’s time to put an end to this.”

“He’s immortal, stag.”

“I know that, lipstick. We can’t kill him but we can contain him.”

“What did you call me?” Kankuro asked, glaring

“Well you’re the only man I know who wear make-up and lipstick on a daily basis…” Shikamaru said with an innocent stare

“This is no make-up, you fucking idiot! It’s war paint!”

“Alright, you two, the next one who tries to snipe at the other gets my fan upside the head, got it?” an annoyed Temari interrupted “Now let’s get moving, we haven’t got all day.”

“One last thing, Temari” Matsuri said, producing a long, fine blowpipe before arming it with a sharp dart. She swiftly turned around, took aim and shot at the dark and slender figure she had spotted as soon as they went out of the hospital. The spy couldn’t avoid it in time and fell off the tree she was hiding in. All rushed at the side of the black-haired unconscious kunoichi.

“A ROOT agent. She must have been listening to us.” Matsuri said shoving her weapon back in her pocket.

“Danzo will know about this sooner or later anyway” Shikamaru said before lighting another cigarette. “Let’s leave her for now. She will be dealt with” he added, glancing at the grey and black silhouettes watching them from the hospital’s roof. “Good job by the way, Matsuri-san. You have seemingly improved. Gaara would be proud of you!”

“Thanks!” The Kazekage’s girlfriend answered with a coy smile. She just wished Gaara was here indeed…