FicWad

Chapter Two: The Stranger

'Tis he! 'Tis he! I know him now;
I know him by his pallid brow;
I know him by the evil eye
That aids his envious treachery...

(from The Giaour by Lord Byron)

---------------------

"Okay, let me do the other one."

Naruto bent down and lifted Hinata's foot onto his lap and started rubbing the sole with his thumbs. Hinata sat back and closed her eyes, resting her hands on her greatly enlarged belly.

"That feels wonderful," she sighed. "Thank you!"

Naruto looked up from his work with his boyish grin. "Any time." He had trouble imagining any woman carrying one baby around inside her for that long, let alone two. Hinata never complained about anything, but he could tell how easily tired she got these days, and he was always ready to rub her feet or her back or whatever else that ached. The whole twin thing amazed him. He knew that it came from Hinata's side, but he still couldn't help feeling a little smug. Of course, having been able to actually marry her had been a major feat all by itself.

Although Hyuuga Hiashi had adjusted his views regarding his family ever so slightly, he had not fully prepared himself for one of his children marrying outside the strictures of the Hyuuga tradition. If it had been anyone else but Hinata, he would have flat out refused. He had more or less recognized Neji as the natural heir to the family name by virtue of his superior abilities, and it would be he who carried on the family name. Hinabi was being held in reserve, just in case. Hiashi had to keep telling himself that who Hinata married didn't really matter all that much, but it still set his teeth on edge whenever he thought of who she ended up with. That loudmouthed, annoying little nobody who skyrocketed in the village's estimation by sheer cussedness and luck.

Fine. He would allow it to happen. He didn't have to like it. He preferred to attribute his giving in to the match to Hinata's growing assertiveness. He would never, never admit to having succumbed to the boy's ingenuous charm. Naruto may have won over the legendary Sannin, but Hiashi would never lower his defenses. He would observe the boy's treatment of his daughter, and any lapses would meet with Hiashi's serious displeasure.

Naruto tried not to care. Hiashi was one of the few people, perhaps the only person who actually intimidated him. He didn't know why. Maybe it was those pearl-like eyes that were so lovely and melting in Hinata were just cold and forbidding in Hiashi. The man never fucking smiled.

Naruto gave a mental shrug. It didn't matter. He and Hinata had such a great thing going, and that made up for having to go over and have dinner with her father without fail every two weeks and try to keep up with his boring conversations.

There was a knock at the door, and Naruto looked quickly over his shoulder. "I'll be there in a minute!" he called out. He turned back to Hinata. "You're sure you'll be okay? Can I get you anything before I go?"

Hinata lay back against her pillows and looked at the pile of books and magazines Naruto had placed by her elbow and the pitcher of iced tea on her other side next to the bowl of toasted almonds. She smiled back at Naruto. "No, I think I'm fine. You go ahead."

"Okay. I'll probably be gone a couple of hours."

"Come on, Naruto!" Shikamaru called from outside. "Let's get moving!"

"Coming!" Naruto called back. He leaned over and kissed Hinata. "Bye, sweet stuff."

"Bye. Have fun."

Naruto waved at her from the door as he left. Outside, Shikamaru tossed him an ear bud with a hook on it. He caught it and examined it. "Hey, cool!"

"Yeah, I thought so," Shikamaru replied laconically, although he was pleased with Naruto's reaction. "Hell of a lot better than having that damn strap around your neck."

Naruto hooked the transmitter onto his ear. "So where's Choji?"

Ino snorted. "Laid up with a bad case of barbeque.'

"I thought he was on a diet or something."

"He's always on a diet, then he blows it," Shikamaru said, then added with a smirk. "Sounds like a girl I know."

Ino slugged him in the arm. "So do we need a fourth, or what?"

"How about Kakashi-senpai?" Naruto suggested.

"Yeah, I was kind of thinking of him. Let's go see if he's free."

-----------

"Well, maybe," was Kakashi's reply. He was examining the little radio transmitter that Shikamaru showed him with interest. "Sakura's at the hospital. Would you mind if I brought Aiko?"

Aiko, who had been standing behind her father's leg, jumped up and down. "Oh, can I? Can I?" She looked hopefully at the group at the door. "Can I come, Shikamaru-san?"

"It's okay with me." Shikamaru shrugged. "It's not like it's official or anything. We're just trying them out."

Kakashi looked down at Aiko. "Go get your shoes on, then."

"Yay!" Aiko clapped her hands and ran to pull her shoes on, and they left for the woods outside the village.

----
(AN: I don't pretend to know much about radio transmitters/receivers. Just kind of go with it.)


"How's this?"

"Clear as a bell."

"These things are great. There's no static at all."

"How about you guys at the base?"

"Sounds good," a voice came in on the receiver.

"Ten-four," Naruto agreed with a grin.

Kakashi took his transmitter off his ear and held it near Aiko's mouth. "Say 'roger'," he told her.

"Who's Roger?" she asked.

There were some laughter heard over the radios. "We heard that," the base camp replied.

Kakashi ruffled Aiko's hair as he replaced the transmitter in his ear. Aiko was starting to get a little bored. This wasn't as fun as she had expected it to be. All they were doing was walking around. Her father was talking to everybody else, but only he could hear the conversations.

Kakashi moved a few steps away from her, his attention focused on the voices in his earphone. She watched his back for a few moments as he leaned against a tree. He laughed softly at something, and Aiko gave a little sigh. She turned away, her eyes searching around the edge of the clearing for something of interest. Her face lit up when she saw a squirrel scamper down a nearby tree and bound away down the path. She promptly started following after it, getting tantalizingly close to it, only to have it scamper away again. It suddenly darted to one side and ran halfway up a tree, turning around to inspect Aiko with a bright, dark eye. Aiko smiled and stared back at the squirrel as it crouched motionless on the tree trunk.

A faint rustling noise behind her caused the squirrel to turn and scramble up the tree and disappear into the foliage. With a frown, Aiko turned around to see what had frightened the squirrel away. People were always doing that to her. Her eyes widened as she stared at the figure that stood across the path from her.

Staring back at her with feverish dark eyes was a man in torn, dirty clothing. He had dark, unkempt hair that fell past his shoulders, and a thin beard streaked his gaunt face.

"Um..." Aiko was a little unsure how to start a conversation with this figure. Somehow he didn't seem like he would be terribly concerned about scaring the squirrel away. He seemed to be more intent on her. Extremely intent. She had been told not to talk to strangers, specifically anyone whom she had never seen in the village. But she had also been taught to be polite and respectful to grown-ups. Well, what was the harm? "Hi," she said, her voice quieter than she had meant it to be.

The man seemed to give a little shudder. His brows came together slightly, as though he was trying to put her in sharper focus.

"Who are you?" he asked in a raspy voice.

"Do you have a sore throat? My mommy's good at fixing those."

----

Kakashi's head whipped around and he quickly scanned the immediate area. For the past two weeks, Aiko had been really good about not wandering off. Looked like that streak was over. "Shit!"

----

"Your-" The stranger's eyes flicked up to Aiko's mop of pink hair. "Your mother..."

"Uh-huh. She's nice. Her name's Sakura."

The stranger flinched and his eyes bored into hers for several moments. Aiko took a small step back. "Who is your father?" the stranger asked her. He spoke as though he were trembling.

"Um...um...his name's Kakashi. My name's-"

"Katon-Goukakyuu no jutsu!" The stranger had abruptly brought his hands together to form a seal. He drew in a deep, wheezing breath, and a ball of fire spewed from his mouth.

Aiko was too frozen to even scream, let alone run. She stared with a kind of detached incredulity at the ball of yellow flame that raced across the path at her. Then the wind was suddenly knocked out of her lungs and she collided painfully with her father's body as he dove at her, crushing her against his vest and rolling several feet to the side. Coming to a stop with her beneath him, he quickly pushed his forehead protector up from his blazing red left eye. "Stay down!" he hissed at her, then leapt to his feet, launching himself at the stranger and roaring with fury.

Aiko flattened herself against the ground, trying to hide herself amid the blades of grass that grew by the side of the path. With fascinated horror, she watched her father trade lightening fast blows with the strange man. She had seen him spar with friends and train other young ninja in taijutsu, but she had never seen anything like the ferocious, deliberate, murderous intent of his movements now. He almost seemed more frightening than the man who had attacked her.

Kakashi had no idea who this man was, and he didn't care. He didn't even take a particularly good look at him. This guy was as good as dead. After the initial moments of the battle, however, Kakashi realized that this guy was good. He managed to block nearly all of his attacks. Kakashi forced down some of his blinding rage in order to focus. This guy was fast, and he was strong. This fight was starting to go on a little longer than Kakashi would have liked. It was time to switch to something beyond taijutsu.

The stranger made a feint with his right arm. If Kakashi hadn't been so enraged, he might not have fallen for it. But he moved right into it, and the stranger caught him on his right temple, stunning him and sending him flying to the ground. With almost invisible speed, the stranger was on top of him, his hands gripping his throat and squeezing. Kakashi struggled under him, dark spots beginning to form before his eyes. But even with his swimming vision, Kakashi could see a pair of Sharingan eyes staring down at him.

"You fucking bastard, Kakashi!" the stranger snarled hoarsely, his thumbs digging into Kakashi's windpipe. "You took her! She's mine and you took her! I came back to restore my clan and you put your filth in her!"

Panicking, Kakashi struggled weakly as blackness started to fill his eyes. He tried to pull at the stranger's hands, but he was quickly losing consciousness.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto and three clones slammed into the stranger, hauling him to one side and piling on top of him. With an animal-like scream, the stranger writhed under the bodies on top of him, and two of the clones disappeared. He slipped away from his remaining assailants and spun around to counter attack. He went straight for the clone, vaporizing him into a puff of smoke, then he turned to face Naruto, who glared fiercely at him, his teeth bared and his eyes turning red. The stranger hesitated, his body poised to attack.

Naruto stared into his assailant's eyes, and his own eyes abruptly switched back to blue and widened with shock. "Sasuke?"

The stranger stared fixedly on Naruto's face for a moment, then he gave a shudder. For an instant, the rage in him died. In that instant, he stared back with a look of profound and desperate sorrow, then it was gone. He shook himself, and with a cry, he hurled himself at Naruto. Or he would have, if he didn't suddenly freeze. Several feet away, Shikamaru stood, his hands forming a seal and his shadow stretching across the distance to attach itself to the stranger.

Ino came running, and taking in the situation at a glance, she stood across from the stranger and formed her Mind Body Transfer jutsu seal. The stranger flinched and glared wildly at her.

Ino smiled with satisfaction. "Mind Body Transfer comp-" She suddenly gave a shriek and flew backwards, landing flat on the ground.

"What the hell is going on out there?" they all heard over their transmitters.

A stunned Naruto gathered his wits together and yelled, "We need backup! We're being attacked! We need backup now! ANBU, medics, anybody!"

"Where are you?" came the crisp reply.

Naruto glanced around frantically. "About a-half kilometer east-"

"West!" Shikamaru cried between clenched teeth, sweat dripping down his face as the stranger struggled against him.

"A half kilometer west of the training ground! Hurry!"

Ino sat up and stared at the stranger. "I couldn't stay in there!" she gasped. "It was like I was...outnumbered!" She gave a dry sob. "It's Sasuke!"

Shikamaru, who had only seen the stranger from behind, shook his head, his shadow still gripping his target. "No way! It can't be! Why would he-" He lurched forward as Sasuke struggled against him, growling like an animal. "Shit! They'd better get here quick! I can't hold him much longer!"

In a cloud of smoke, two ANBU operatives appeared on either side of Sasuke. They quickly immobilized him by wrapping him with wire. Shikamaru released his shadow and fell exhausted to his knees. "Take him to the Hokage!"

"We've got it," one of the ANBU replied, his tone indicating that he didn't need instructions from a mere jonin.

Kakashi had rolled over onto his stomach, gasping for air and coughing. He raised his head, and the last thing he saw before the ANBU transported away with their captive was Sasuke's fixed stare on him and a crooked smile forming on his face.

There was a few moments of silence after the smoke cleared, then Ino started to cry softly. Naruto turned and gazed at her for a moment, then turned to Kakashi. "You okay?" he called to the silver-haired jonin.

Kakashi nodded and struggled to his feet. "Yeah, I think so," he replied, his voice rasping painfully. He looked across the path at Aiko, who was curled up into a ball in the grass. He ran across the path to her and gathered her up in his arms. Her hands were pressed against her face and she whimpered quietly.

"Aiko, sweetheart, it's okay. I've got you, baby," he whispered into her hair. He held her tightly against his chest, pressing her head against the hollow of his shoulder. She slowly wound her arms around his neck, keeping her face buried against him. Kakashi turned to Naruto. "Do me a favor," he said hoarsely. "I'm taking her home. Go to the hospital and tell Sakura to meet me there as soon as she can." Naruto nodded to him and he disappeared.

Naruto watched the smoke dissipate, then turned to meet Shikamaru's eyes. The young jonin gave him a wry, cheerless smile. "Well, this is a pisser," he commented.

---------------------------

"So, what's the verdict?" Genma asked as he pulled up his pants.

"Everything checks out fine," Sakura replied, making several notes in her file folder.

"Oh, come on, you know what I want to hear!" Genma said as he reached for his shirt.

Sakura shook her head, trying not to grin. "Fine. Once again, you are officially a solid example of manly perfection. How's that?"

"Ha! I look forward to hearing that every year, babe!"

"Babe?" Sakura turned around and glared at Genma with a raised eyebrow. "Whatever happened to 'Sakura-chan'?"

"She grew up, got a fabulous ass, and married Kakashi, thereby rendering her fascinatingly inaccessible." Genma started pulling on his shirt. "Or is that inaccessibly fascinating?"

"Hold on with the shirt," Sakura said, turning away for a moment. "I'm not quite finished with you yet."

Genma grinned delightedly. "Oh, yeah?" He whipped the shirt off, spread his arms and threw his head back. "All right! My prayers have been answered! My left nipple is singing your name, sweet-what's that?" He looked down suddenly as Sakura began to swab his shoulder with an alcohol-soaked cotton ball.

She smiled sweetly at him before she jabbed him with the hypodermic needle. "Tetanus booster."

"Ow! Shit! Ow!" Genma glared at her. "You're mean."

"Tie-dye or smiley face?" Sakura asked, holding up two band-aids.

Genma snatched the smiley face one from her fingers. "I'm just playin' with you, you know," he moped, peeling the band-aid from the wrapper.

"Likewise," Sakura replied, taking the band-aid from him and sticking it to his shoulder.

Genma pulled his shirt back on and picked his senbon up from the nearby tray, giving it a flip in the air before settling it between his lips. "Yeah, well, if I didn't-" They stared at each other as they suddenly heard the sound of unintelligible yelling coming from down the corridor. They both ran out the door of the examining room and glanced around to find the source of the commotion.

Coming around a corner were two ANBU operatives holding a wire-bound captive between them who struggled wildly, growling and cursing. Sakura stared at this disheveled figure uneasily. It looked more like a case for the Psych Ward than this end of the hospital.

"What's going on?" she demanded. "Who is this guy?"

"Where's the Hokage?" one of the ANBU asked, grunting with exertion. "We were told she was here."

"She's-"

"Sakura!" the man screamed at her. "You bitch! You fucking beg me to stay and as soon as I'm gone you spread your legs for Kakashi!" He struggled against his bonds as he tried to lunge at her. "Fucking whore! You're mine!"

Sakura stumbled back away from him, staring at him with astonished horror. "S-Sasuke?" she barely whispered.

At that moment, a couple of medics ran up and jabbed the wildly thrashing man with a sedative and in moments he slumped between his captors.

Genma stared at him for a moment, then turned to Sakura. "You okay?"

Trembling, Sakura gave a slight nod, still staring at Sasuke's unconscious form.

One of the medics gave the ANBU a miffed look. "The Psych Ward's on the other side, dumbass."

"Whatever. Where do you want him?"

The medic pointed back down the corridor with an irritated scowl. "Hello? The other side of the hospital!"

They dragged him away and Sakura continued to stare after him. Genma looked at her and steered her towards a bench that stood against the wall. "Sit down," he told her. "You're white as a sheet."

Sakura numbly let herself get seated. "That was Sasuke!" she said, her voice shaking.

"Well, if it hadn't been for that tirade of his, I wouldn't have believed you, but..." Genma shrugged uneasily. That Uchiha kid always was a piece of work, but geez!

"I can't believe-" Sakura shook her head. She looked up, startled, as she heard the sound of feet pounding towards them. Naruto came running up to her, skidding to a halt.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried, jumping to her feet. "What happened? It's-"

"Sasuke! I know! He's-"

"He's back! What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know!" Naruto rested his hands on his knees for a moment, trying to catch his breath. "I don't know! But, Sakura, you need to go home!"

"Why?" Sakura demanded, suddenly feeling frightened. "Naruto, what happened?"

"He tried-" Naruto straightened up and stared into Sakura's face. "He tried to kill Kakashi. And I didn't see it, but I think he tried to do something to Aiko."

Sakura's knees started to buckle under her, but she steadied herself. One of the senior medics walked by at that moment and she grabbed him by the arm. "Jiro-san, please take over my last patients. I really have to go home!"

Before the medic could reply, Sakura was already running down the hall, down the stairs two at a time, and out onto the street. She didn't stop running until she got to her house and burst through the door.

She found Kakashi pacing back and forth with Aiko in his arms. The little girl was shaking uncontrollably and Sakura could hear her teeth chatter. Kakashi held her tightly, whispering soothingly to her. When he saw Sakura come through the door, he drooped with relief.

"Kakashi, what happened?" Sakura demanded breathlessly. She put one arm around Kakashi and stroked Aiko's back with her other hand. "Aiko, baby, are you okay?"

Aiko was shivering so hard she could barely talk, but she stammered out, "M-m-mommy! Th-that b-bad S-s-sasuke man hurt D-d-daddy!" She started to sob. "H-he b-blew f-f-f-ire at m-me!"

Sakura stared horrified at Kakashi, who returned her look grimly. "Sakura, I don't know what happened to him or what's wrong with him," he said quietly, his voice still hoarse but shaking with rage. "But I hope he's going to be damn well restrained, because if he gets loose, I'm going to fucking kill him."

"Kakashi, please!" Sakura hissed at him, giving him the not in front of Aiko look.

"I'm sorry, but it's gone way past that!" Kakashi replied harshly. He forced himself to calm down. He gave a slight cough and cleared his raw throat. "Sorry."

Sakura nodded. "They brought him to the hospital and I saw him there." She gave a little shudder. "It was...disturbing."

"Hmm!"

"Why don't you sit down and let me take a look at you both," Sakura said, trying to change the subject a little.

With Aiko still clinging to him, Kakashi sat down on the couch and Sakura sat next to him. Sakura placed her fingers gently against Aiko's temples and let a warming trickle of chakra flow through her fingertips. Aiko's trembling slowed, her breath became more regular, and her teeth stopped chattering. Her eyelids began to droop and her body relaxed.

"Sweetie, can you let go of Daddy for a minute so I can look at him a little better?"

Aiko nodded and Kakashi laid her down beside him on the couch. "Mommy," she said in a quiet, plaintive voice. "That bad Sasuke man was going like this to Daddy." She put her hands to her throat. Despite being more relaxed, tears still ran down her face.

"It's okay." Kakashi smoothed her hair away from her face. "I'm okay now."

"Let me see." Sakura pulled Kakashi's mask down away from his throat. She was chilled by the sight of the livid, red bruises around his neck, and she had to bite her lips to keep from crying out and upsetting Aiko further. She placed her hands against Kakashi's throat, sending healing chakra into his abraded skin and further into the painful membranes inside.

Kakashi swallowed. "Thanks! That's a lot better."

Having done all she could do, Sakura let her shoulders slump with weariness. "This is so not how I expected it would be like if he ever came back," she said sadly.

"He sure wasn't going to get a parade down the main street, even if he didn't come back a raving nutcase," Kakashi replied. He glanced at Aiko, whose eyes were closed. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Sakura, if I had been a second later, she'd be dead."

The shock and the initial adrenaline rush had faded, and Sakura's lower lip began to tremble. "Why is this happening?" she whimpered. She didn't expect Kakashi to know. She couldn't understand why fate had been so cruelly indifferent. She leaned against Kakashi and cried softly as he wrapped his arms around her.

They didn't do much for the rest of the day. Nobody was particularly hungry when dinnertime rolled around. Aiko was being very clingy, not wanting to let Kakashi out of her sight. By eight o'clock, her parents were getting exhausted, and they got Aiko ready for bed.

"I don't want to go to bed!" Aiko cried. "I want to stay with you!"

"It'll be okay, sweetheart," Kakashi told her, carrying her into her room. "You know we won't be far." He laid her down onto her bed and tucked her blankets around her. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Don't be scared," he said. He straightened up and turned to Sakura. She sat on the bed next to Aiko and gave her a hug and a kiss. Then she placed her fingers against the girl's temples and let a slightly stronger flow of chakra stream from them.

"Good night, sweetie. I love you," Sakura told her softly as Aiko drifted to sleep. She stood up and watched her for a moment. "I hate having to do that."

"Yeah, I know. But she'd never get to sleep otherwise," Kakashi replied. They both left the room, leaving the door open a few inches. They both felt completely drained and decided to go to bed themselves. Sakura fell asleep in minutes, but Kakashi found himself unable to relax, despite how tired he felt. After a few hours of lying awake, staring at the dark ceiling, he quietly slid out of bed and went out into the kitchen.

He got himself a glass of water and sat down, propping his elbows against the table and pressing his hands against his head. He couldn't stop replaying the incidents of the day through his mind, particularly that one horrifically sickening moment when he saw the stream of fire racing towards Aiko. He had never been so terrified in his entire life.

As a younger man he had not thought much of the phrase he often heard at the funerals of fellow ninja-a parent should never have to bury a child-or words to that effect. He would watch the crumpled, grief stricken faces of the parents standing by the grave of their son or daughter, and he would be sympathetic but detached. Death was ever present in their calling. It was something every family had to expect. He had lost enough friends to know that.

Now he had caught a brief glimpse of the dark abyss that every parent has nightmares about and hopes never to have to see. No matter how hard he tried to observe the shinobi code, he could never completely apply it to his own family, especially his child. He adored Sakura with every fiber of his being. He loved the way she made him feel. But there was something magical about Aiko that he couldn't even describe. Losing her would be the worse possible thing that could ever happen to him.

"MOMMY! DADDY! MOMMYDADDYMOMMYDADDY!"

Aiko's screams tore through the night's silence. Kakashi flung himself away from the table and ran down the hall, nearly colliding with Sakura as they both raced towards Aiko's room. The little girl was sitting bolt upright in her bed, her hands clutching her blankets, screaming at the top of her lungs. Sakura got through the door first and scooped Aiko into her arms. Kakashi followed quickly and wrapped his arms around them both. Aiko sobbed wildly, but the security of her parents' embrace calmed her after a few moments.

"It's okay, sweetheart," Sakura told her soothingly. "You just had a bad dream."

"It was s-so scary! That bad Sasuke man wanted to hit me!" Aiko whimpered, her face buried against Sakura.

"Do you want to come and sleep with us?" Kakashi asked her. He kept his voice calm, but he felt fiercely angry. That bastard isn't even here and look what he's doing!

"Uh-huh," Aiko replied in a tiny voice.

Sakura nodded and they stood up. She carried Aiko into their bedroom and laid her down in the middle of the bed, arranging the pillows for her. This was something they did only on very rare occasions, like really bad nightmares. Under the present circumstances, it seemed pretty necessary. Sakura lay down on one side of her, and Kakashi got in on the other side. Aiko grasped both their hands tensely and tried to make herself feel safe. It helped a little, but there was still an atmosphere of dread that seemed to hover like a cloud somewhere close by.

"Daddy?" she whispered.

"What, honey?"

"Will you sing that song?"

Despite the shredded rawness of his nerves, Kakashi smiled. "Sure." Aiko scooted a little closer to him and laid her ear against his chest. He rested his hand gently on her head while Sakura placed her hand against the child's back. Kakashi drew in a breath and sang softly as Aiko listened to the buzzing resonance in his chest.

Hush you bye, don't you cry
Go to sleepy little baby
When you wake you shall have
All the pretty little horses.

Blacks and bays, dapples and greys
Coach and six-a little horses

Hush you bye, don't you cry
Go to sleepy little baby
When you wake, you'll have sweet cake
And all the pretty little horses

Go to sleepy little baby...

Aiko finally drifted back to sleep, and even Sakura's eyes had closed. Kakashi didn't manage to get to sleep for some time.

--------------------------------------------