Chapter 47

The Daimyo assigned an escort to lead them through the swamp. It was a team of relatively young ninjas the Daimyo's base camp could spare, led by a teacherly figure named Captain Uki. He was middle-aged, average to look at, and had calm chakra.

Along the way to the hidden village the youths talked with each other about their excitement to be 'home' again.

"Home? You talk like you've been raised there," Bensaku said.

"Numagakure has existed in the shadow of Tanigakure for centuries," Captain Uki said. "We have long been a northern outpost tasked with repelling the forces of Amegakure."

"What made you rebel and declare yourselves your own country?" Kakashi asked. "Abused loyalty?"

Captain Uki glanced over his shoulder at Kakashi. "Something I'm certain you know a great deal about, or else you would not have deserted your hidden village."

"I know your village is probably experiencing some difficulties, but I hope you at least have running water," Bensaku said.

"You'd better get used to boiling it before you drink it or cook with it," Captain Uki said.

They arrived after half an hour of taking a convoluted path through the swamp. No doubt it was to avoid dangers the Leaf nin couldn't begin to imagine. Kakashi also thought they probably had to take a certain route because they weren't trusted members of the Floods nin. Walls built of logs and disguised with thatch and wattle and probably a little bit of magic protected the village, and there were conical lookout posts with thatched roofs.

"It's like Konoha on stilts," Tenzo exclaimed.

The houses at the outskirts of the village were either on tall stilts or literally built in the trees. They were small huts with conical thatched roofs, and Kakashi suspected they didn't have running water or electricity. However, inside the village proper there were modern looking buildings interspersed with jaunty houses on stilts that did have power lines running to them. The village was about one third the size of Konoha. It was stiller bigger than Kakashi had thought it would be.

Kakashi couldn't help looking around and imagining all the buildings on fire and people face down in the mud. Abruptly, he hated the people in charge of the ANBU command center. For all he knew, Konoha would smash this place, utterly destroy it, and he would be asked to forget it ever existed. But these people are building a new life here. Who's to say it's wrong?

Bensaku gave him a look. Kakashi knew he had kept his chakra tightly in check, he knew he hadn't wavered. But somehow, Bensaku seemed to know. "You can find a magazine stand later, Hatake."

Kakashi inwardly flinched as if Bensaku had thrown cold water on him. "But," he protested lamely, and trailed off. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and shuffled after the Floods ninjas in the lead. "That's important information. How am I supposed to call this my home if they don't have Icha Icha Paradise?"

All the Floods ninjas looked at him disbelievingly.

"Icha Icha…what?" one of the youths asked.

"That's not for you until you're older," Captain Uki replied.

They were taken inside the only building made out of stone. The foundation of the building looked like a bridge. A three story turret was built on top of the bridge, with lots of windows to let the air in and a conical roof to get rid of the rain. It was bristling with high level shinobi. On the top floor was a series of three offices, one small, one medium, and one large, wrapped around each other in semi-circles so that the big office was in the back. The first office was a reception area. The second was some kind of public official's office. The third was the office of the Sattoukage.

As soon as they came face to face, Kakashi realized the man was a real shinobi. He was around forty judging by the lines on his face. He wore a conical headdress the same as any kage. He wasn't very tall, and his expression was bland, but the power in his chakra and how comfortably he had it under control revealed it all.

Everyone bowed, and after a split second, so did Kakashi and his team.

"Welcome to the Village Hidden in the Swamp," the Sattoukage said.

Everyone rose, having waited a suitable time, so Kakashi and his team straightened.

"What are people like you doing collaborating with slime like the self-appointed Daimyo?" Kakashi asked.

"What are you implying?" Captain Uki demanded.

The Sattoukage held up a hand and silenced him. "The Daimyo of Floods may very well be corrupt. I don't know the man personally. However, as long as I am in a position to help the people I care about, for a cause I believe in, it doesn't matter."

"So the ends justify the means?" Kakashi asked.

"You are all former ANBU members," the Sattoukage said. "Isn't that what you believe as well? Fundamentally? That the breaking of international law, the assassinations, the spying, it all serves some greater purpose?"

Kakashi smiled cheerfully as a front to hide his real reaction. Never mind, you're also corrupt. It's just in a different way. "What if I defected because I don't believe that? We're ex-ANBU for a reason."

"How like the ANBU, to answer a question with a question," the Sattoukage said, shaking his head. "Keep your secrets if you like. You have sworn your loyalty to this nation and therefore are under my command. What reasons you have for your decisions is your business. Your actions are my business. I am not interested in owning your souls as long as I own your blades."

"So put us to work," Bensaku said. "We're ready, and you wouldn't like us if we're bored."

The Sattoukage smiled, making more wrinkles appear on his face. "Excellent." He nodded. "Yes, I have a mission that is perfect for you to show your new loyalty."

"Loyalty comes with time," Kakashi pointed out. "The only thing a successful mission will show is that we're honest workers. You keep your end of the deal, and we keep ours. Because you hold a higher position than we do, we have to do our part before you do yours. We're used to that. Loyalty will come if we come back from this mission and you do what you promised. We've been burned already by our Hokage's phony Will of Fire. We're not going to take any abuse here, understand?"

"My, my," the Sattoukage murmured. "You sound like a Floods ninja already. How promising."

The Sattoukage called one of his assistants from the clerk room and had a map brought to Bensaku. With the map on hand as an explanation of where they were to go, the Sattoukage gave them their mission: kill the warden of a small POW camp in a contested area near the border of the Land of Rain and free the Floods ninjas who had been taken prisoner there. Those that were injured would be healed enough by Bensaku and Kakashi, who had absorbed enough healing spells from Bensaku to qualify as a field medic. The group would be escorted back to the Village Hidden in the Swamp. To that end, Bensaku was given a whistle to signal the village guards with that they were friendly and were returning. New recruits to Floods had to give the signal or they would not be allowed back in the village.

"Excuse me, but may we rest before embarking on this mission?" Bensaku asked at the end of the briefing. "We have used up about half our chakra in order to defect and to come this far."

"Of course," the Sattoukage said. "By all means. You will be assigned an apartment together for the time being."

Bensaku bowed. "Thank you. We are grateful that you would so quickly take us in."

"And have another nation snatch up valuable stray ANBU?" the Sattoukage murmured, looking amused. "Certainly not. The Daimyo is wise to accept you into our ranks. Otherwise we would be forced to fight against you at some time and we would not want that. We are a young and vulnerable nation. We need more elite shinobi such as yourselves." He glanced at Kakashi. "That is all the more reason we would not betray you."

Kakashi nodded and put on his best cheerful smile. "That's logical, but people aren't always logical, Sattoukage-sama."

"True," the Sattoukage said gravely. "Very true."

xXx

Their apartment had an open floor plan and four beds, leading Kakashi to believe the other apartments in the same building were also built for shinobi teams to cohabitate. Well, it saves space and improves bonding. He, Gai, and Tenzo bathed in the small but serviceable bathroom and then Bensaku went in after them privately, their usual routine when on missions. Because of the squirrelly way Bensaku acted around Tenzo and the way Tenzo was suddenly extra protective of Bensaku, Kakashi thought he had it figured out.

While Bensaku was still in the bathroom and the shower water still thundered, Kakashi, Tenzo, and Gai dried off in the main room with the beds and unpacked some of their belongings so that they could dress in clean clothes and possibly catch a nap.

"It's not hard to figure out why you're suddenly Bensaku-taichou's guard dog," Kakashi remarked.

"Don't put everything in dog terms, I'm a cat person," Tenzo retorted.

"Nice evasion, but it won't work on me," Kakashi said cheerfully. "Try it on a chuunin."

Tenzo groaned, "What do you want?"

"We're all on the same side," Kakashi said, lying down on the futon he'd picked out as his own and crossing his arms behind his head.

"Bensaku wants his privacy," Tenzo snapped, repacking his belongings with obsessive neatness.

"Bensaku doesn't know what's best for himself all the time," Kakashi said, also dropping the honorific. "None of us do. Wasn't it also true that I wanted my privacy and resented your intrusions and Bensaku-taichou's? Wasn't it also true that if I'd rebuffed you indefinitely, we would never have bonded as a team? We're going to fall apart if we don't all stand together. We're in enemy territory and we're on the most dangerous mission of our lives. The war was nothing compared to this. We always knew we might receive backup. Here we're cut off. Flames cut off from the bonfire snuff out without fuel. Our fuel is our trust in each other. You have to trust me."

"Yes, we must unite and make a single beautiful flame," Gai agreed excitedly. "We must burn together!"

Bensaku came out of the bathroom fully dressed. "What's all the shouting for, Maito?"

"Tell them," Tenzo said.

"Tell them what?" Bensaku asked.

Tenzo looked away. "Please tell them. I can't make you. But we're a team. So tell them. Tell them who we're hunting."

Bensaku took in all of their expressions and sighed. He turned away, passing a hand over his face. "I knew rationally I couldn't keep it from you forever. But sometimes people aren't rational." He looked older suddenly. Lines creased his face and his eyes looked duller. "We're going after a serial rapist."

Gai gasped.

Kakashi felt a sickening dropping sensation in his stomach and a wave of nausea. His most painful fear was that he would watch everyone he loved die and be forced to live out his life all alone, but his second-greatest fear was lowering his guard and then having someone torture and betray him. Rape fit right into that second fear.

"The fugitive is guilty of twelve counts of rape, more waiting to be confirmed, and one rape-and-murder," Bensaku continued. His voice was a monotone. "ANBU is investigating his conduct as a student, a genin, and a chuunin. Monsters like that usually start early. They may have obsessive fantasies and may commit lesser crimes like arson or cruelty to animals. The reason why some people are human monsters is unknown, but one thing we do know is there's no way to cure them. Anyone who says they're cured is lying and they will rape again. Once they've killed, they typically don't look back. Koujaku has transformed into a sexual serial killer. His decision to defect means he's looking for a new hunting ground. We can't let him find it. Even Orochimaru himself couldn't deserve being raped and sexually tortured to death."

Gai looked sweaty and ill. "People like this…they really exist? I'd heard of soldiers raping the enemy, but why would anyone rape their allies?"

"Because they're monsters, that's why," Bensaku snapped. "Monsters, pure and simple. Monsters. Monsters wearing human faces."

Tenzo dashed to Bensaku's side and touched Bensaku's arm. Bensaku didn't rebuff him.

As soon as Kakashi saw them standing close beside each other like that he understood everything. The revelation was so complete he couldn't help speaking it out loud. "You're one of Koujaku's victims. That's how you understand each other. You're both the victims of monsters wearing human faces."

Tenzo and Bensaku glanced at each other, eyes widening, and then turned to face Kakashi. Tenzo's hand was still on Bensaku's arm. "We never thought about it before," Bensaku said wryly. "Subconsciously we must have." He placed his hand on Tenzo's shoulder and squeezed it. "But that's not the only reason. We're not attracted to each other solely out of trauma."

"I didn't mean you were," Kakashi said, seeing Bensaku was raw about the possibility. "I meant you have a unique window into each other's feelings. You empathize. You know each other's wounds and don't have to try to imagine the unimaginable." Suddenly he wondered why he and Gai were together and what that meant about Gai's past. Selfishly, wrapped up in his own pain, he'd never asked too many questions, and Gai was quick to put on a smile. Why is Gai determined to stick by me? Why was he attracted to me? Why did he insist on trying to get me to smile and act like a normal child? How did he sense my pain?

"You're a romantic," Bensaku said tersely.

Kakashi shrugged. "Maa, maybe."

"Taichou, we'll find Koujaku," Gai said. His brow was furrowed. "We'll find him and we'll kill him. We won't let him get away."

"Thank you," Bensaku said. "Now everybody get some rest." He picked a futon and laid down on it. "And don't expect me to talk about this ever again."

Kakashi fell asleep wondering when he could ask Gai more about Gai's past. Obviously, they'd have to be alone or have reasonable privacy. Now that they were immersed up to their necks in hostile territory he couldn't risk draining any chakra to create opportunities to talk privately with his sharingan eye. He'd have to come up with something else. Maybe patrol duty…

The next thing he knew it was two hours later and Bensaku was ordering them up to get dressed and head out.

xXx

They left the village, guards watching them from lookout huts on tall stilts. The village was quickly hidden, and Kakashi wondered how they'd find it again. Then he saw Bensaku consulting the map given to them by the Sattoukage.

For the first twenty minutes they made good time. The trees grew thickly enough to use all the same movement techniques they would have done at home. Then the trees thinned out more and more, and they were forced down on the ground. As they used their modified water-walking technique to walk on top of the mud, they darted from patch of cover to patch of cover, their clothes protecting them for the most part against the scratchiness of the brush and shrubs that grew in the swamp.

"How far is the POW camp?" Kakashi asked.

"If we had some decent tree cover, three hours," Bensaku said. "If it all looks like this…five."

"We're slogging through the mud towards a pocket of insurgents in a country that is nothing but insurgents insurgent-ing from another country, because ANBU can't stay out of other people's business, even though this will all blow over like everyone else's civil wars," Tenzo complained.

"At least we're not wasting time," Kakashi said. "The sooner we win their trust, the sooner we can find out valuable information and go home."

"Or, they think we're so valuable and clever at finding out information Sandaime and Danzo-sama need to know that we spend the rest of our lives here because somehow this conflict never ends," Tenzo retorted.

"You just said this would blow over quickly," Gai said, sounding confused.

"But what if it doesn't?" Tenzo asked. "Are we stuck here forever?"

"We might be," Bensaku said.

Kakashi shrugged. "Then we defect for real and leave."

"We can't do that!" Gai exclaimed.

"So you want to live the rest of your life in a swamp?" Kakashi asked. "I'm not that loyal."

"Don't worry, Hatake, Danzo-sama will make sure you get your precious new issues of Icha Icha Paradise somehow," Bensaku said wryly. "Spies with permanent posts get a lot of leeway and a lot of day-to-day freedom. There are reasons why people take those posts and don't defect for real. Calm down, kids. That wouldn't be the worst thing to happen to us. The worst thing that could happen to us would be living out the same amount of time in a POW camp being forced to clear the swamps so that new cities could be built, with no medical care and maggot-infested rice to eat."

I'd kill myself first, Kakashi thought. "Thank you for putting things in perspective, Taichou."

Everyone lapsed into a sour, gloomy silence.