Chapter Text
Shin wakes to an unfamiliar burning in the back of his throat. For a brief moment, he thinks he has been poisoned in his sleep, but no, Danzo has greater plans for Shin’s death than that. His death will be the one to push Sai over the edge completely. Besides, the feeling fades almost as soon as he raises his hand to touch his throat.
Shin glances over the rest of the room. Eight ROOT soldiers share this sleeping space. The rest of them are awake and wearing identical vaguely alarmed expressions. He suspects his face looks the same and wonders how Sai is reacting. For all his artistry, Shin’s little brother scores consistently low when mimicking human expression. Still, if they have not been attacked with an ineffective poison, Shin can think of only one cause for this affliction.
“Sai,” he calls quietly.
Sai’s head pops out from the top bunk. He looks puzzled but not alarmed, typical Sai. Shin opens his mouth wide and sticks out his tongue.
“Gone,” says Sai before opening his own mouth in response. There is no seal. No indication that there had ever been a seal at all.
Everyone in the room stills. The loss of the seal means only one thing. Danzo is dead.
“What do we do now?” asks ROOT 73-4, who uses the civilian name Kumi.
As far as Shin knows, Danzo has left no instructions in the event of his death. Before now, there has never been a problem. ROOT operatives are expendable. Danzo is not. He would have outlived them all in ordinary circumstances. Now it seems like an unforgivable oversight. Will they die down here, waiting for orders that never come?
Shin will not let that happen. He won’t let Sai die hidden away from the sun, choked out by rotten ROOTs and an old fool’s meddling. Even the Kyuubi jinchuuriki has found a home among the leaves. Surely there would have been one for the rest of them if Danzo had not stolen them away.
“We will go to the Hokage,” says Shin.
Shin reads surprise in the slight widening of Sai’s gaze, and the rest of their bunkmates are equally dubious. Danzo did not approve of Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, and he had raged loudly when the council had seen fit to replace Sandaime with Godaime Hokage Senju Tsunade rather than consider Danzo’s bid for the position.
“We are the tools of the village,” insists Shin. “Dying here would be a waste of resources. Reporting to the Hokage or the Jonin Commander is the best course of action.”
At least Sai cannot deny Shin’s logic. He slides off the bed and changes into a clean uniform. Sai’s actions prompts the rest of their bunkmates to move. None of them disagree with Shin’s assessment. Now that Danzo is dead, there is no reason to wait. The Hokage will need to know they exist in order to give them new assignments.
Shin keeps Sai next to him as they leave their assigned bunk. The door across the hall opens. A female shinobi, ROOT 99-2 called Mina, watches them as they file out their room.
“Where are you going?” she asks. There are very few female shinobi in ROOT. Danzo had little use for the skills of kunoichi, but 99-2 is trained well enough to look curious.
“We are going to report to the Hokage since Danzo-sama has died,” explains Shin.
99-2 considers his words for heartbeat then she nods in agreement. “We will follow.”
This process repeats itself several times as they exit the sleeping quarters. Shin would be amused that so many of their comrades are agreeing with his suggestion so readily if the reality of the situation were not so sad. ANBU indoctrinated in ROOT do not have the creativity or impulse to determine their own fates.
In the end, sixty ROOT and fifteen trainees, all of their number who are in Konoha and not on active missions, gather in the courtyard outside the Hokage’s residence. After sending for reinforcements, the ANBU on guard, including one undercover ROOT operative, do nothing but watch silently.
The arrival of the Hokage ends the quiet stand-off. As one, the ROOT shinobi drop to a knee. It was what Danzo-sama expected of them when he arrived to oversee their group training. The mass movement startles the ANBU into drawing weapons, but they are well-trained and do not attack preemptively. (The undercover ROOT operative is a beat behind, more surprised by ANBUs’ surprise than by his fellow ROOTs’ act of obeisance.)
“What is going on?” demands the Hokage as she sweeps into the courtyard.
No one answers from among the ROOT. Just as there is no protocol for Danzo’s death, there is no team leader assigned to report the situation to the Hokage.
Shin raises his head and ignores the spike of alarm he senses from Sai. This is Shin’s plan, his self-assigned mission. It is his only chance to save his little brother. He needs to be the one to explain. He cannot trust any of the other ROOT, not with how Danzo has broken them all.
“Danzo-sama is dead, Hokage-sama. We are reporting for new orders.” As he speaks, Shin keeps his voice calm and even but not monotone. He needs her to see them as humans not as tools.
The Hokage looks to one of her guard. “Inform the Jonin Commander. Danzo must be located at once.”
The ANBU disappears in a swirl of leaves. The Hokage returns her attention to the kneeling shinobi. She studies them for a long moment and Shin studies her in turn. He does not hide his gaze as the others do. Her face is as solemn and still as Danzo’s ever was. She is hard but not to the point of being brittle, not anymore. The light in her eyes comes from carefully banked coals, not a feverish storm. Shin allows himself to feel the warmth of hope.
“You are ROOT,” states the Hokage. For all her confidence, there is still an undertone of query in her voice.
“Yes, Hokage-sama,” says Shin.
“Sandaime ordered ROOT disbanded,” says the Jonin Commander strolling lazily onto the scene as only a Nara can. He is accompanied by more ANBU. ROOT still outnumbers the regular Konoha forces almost six to one. But the Hokage and Nara Shikaku more than make up for the difference.
Shin says nothing in response to this. Whether or not Sandaime commanded such a thing, it had not been done. ROOT has served Danzo and, through Danzo, the village without interruption since Konoha's founding. He cannot deny the words, and he does not wish to implicate ROOTs active participation in a wrong-doing.
“Why do you believe Danzo is dead?” asks Hokage-sama.
“Danzo-sama used a seal that forbade us from speaking about ROOT while he was alive. The seal disappeared less than an hour ago,” explains Shin.
Shin can be more exact about the time if wants. He does not want. If there is an assassin, then Shin wants to give them a chance to escape. It is the most he can do in exchange for Sai’s freedom.
“So you reported to the Hokage?” asks the Jounin Commander.
Shin tilts his head ever so slightly to get a better look at the man. That was some thinly veiled disbelief. Surely, he knows better than to insult Danzo in front of his personally loyal forces.
“Danzo-sama left no instructions for ROOT upon the event of his death,” says Shin. He tries to imply with his tone the foolishness of such an action.
The Jounin Commander snorts. “Of course he didn’t. Danzo probably thought he would live forever.”
The Hokage narrows her eyes. She’s looking right at Shin. He feels every muscle in his body tense, even if he keeps his chakra smooth and flat. Acting aggressive toward the Hokage can only hurt his cause.
“You have more personality than I would expect from one of Danzo’s trainees. Why is that?” asks the Hokage.
A smile ghosts across Shin’s face. “I am sick, Hokage-sama. It is a waste of resources to indoctrinate someone who will not live long and isn’t inclined to rebel.”
He sees Sai flinch in the corner of his eye. He’s hated talking about Shin’s illness and eventual death as long as they have known each other. Shin treasures the pain as the last lingering proof of his little brother’s heart.
The Hokage and Jounin Commander both look unexpectedly startled by Shin’s blunt analysis but only for a moment. The Jounin Commander’s face smooths into his usual mask of polite interest, but the Hokage looks angry.
“Not on my watch,” she growls. “All of you report to the hospital for a physical health examination!”
The Jounin Commander squawks in protest. “Surely T&I—” But ROOTs don’t hesitate to obey orders. The group is already on their feet and moving before he can finish his sentence.
Despite the mess of bodies, Shin is still startled to feel Sai jostle into him. He leans into the touch, which is the most reassurance they can give each other, and they don’t separate until medic-nin force them apart for their physicals.
The next few days are a blur of confusion for everyone. Shin is separated from Sai and placed in a room in the upper floors of the hospital with ROOT operative 56-1, who prefers the name Tsu. She is a kunoichi just a few years older than Shin who has the same illness. Tsu is sicker than Shin and tires easily, but she shares what she hears with Shin when he is asleep or away for treatment and he does the same in return.
As it turns out, raising children in a literal underground army creates health problems that Danzo, with his never ending supply of disposable soldiers, was ignoring. Nearly half of ROOT are suffering some kind of debilitating illness or other serious medical issue. The number is closer to three-quarters when including ROOTs whose injuries, poorly treated or ignored, means they should be on the disabled list.
The hospital isn’t equipped or staffed for that many people at once, but Tsunade-sama is not deterred. The building is flooded with shinobi, both members of the medical corps and from the Torture and Interrogation Unit, who have to interview shinobi in their hospital rooms. No one is allowed to leave for any reason without a clean bill of health.
Shin and Tsu are interrogated at the same time by Morino Ibiki, which Shin knows is his fault for showing personality in front of the Hokage and Jounin Commander. Yet Ibiki doesn’t ask about their missions.
(There are records which need straightening out before those sorts of questions can take place. Danzo took full advantage of the anonymity of ANBU masks to insert multiple ROOT shinobi under one authentic village ID. The ANBU Commander and the Chief Hospital Administrator both had full-fledged screaming fits in the halls at this revelation. The situation isn’t aided by active ROOT who, having completed their missions, keep arriving to report the Hokage for new orders. Tsunade-sama sends them all to the hospital regardless.)
Ibiki asks about their experiences as ROOT, what kind of training they have undergone and the quality of their living circumstances. He wants to know about the relationships between ROOT shinobi and how they interact with ordinary shinobi and with Danzo. He wants to understand the expectations placed on ROOT and whether or not they understand the Will of Fire.
Shin does most of the talking. He is much more willing to rat out Danzo than his roommate, whose illness didn’t present until later and therefore underwent more mental conditioning than he. Neither of them notice her falling asleep, but the look on Ibiki’s face when Tsu starts snoring softly is priceless.
With all the extra shinobi around gossiping as only shinobi can, Shin learns that Danzo committed ritual suicide. It’s so utterly unlike Danzo that no one believes he actually killed himself, even with a note in his own handwriting saying, “ For the good of the Village.” Yet there’s absolutely nothing to suggest Danzo didn’t kill himself. Nothing in his office or home was disturbed. There was no sign of chakra use or physical or mental coercion. And no one stole any of the sharingan eyes surgically grafted into Danzo’s body despite their value.
Rumors circulate that Hatake Kakashi killed Danzo out of revenge. Those same rumors are unclear if the revenge is for his father or one of his students (or possibly for Uchiha Itachi). But while Kakashi is one of the few shinobi in the village capable of such a thing, he has been under near constant surveillance along with the rest of the Uzumaki household for the better part of a month. First, Uchiha Sasuke’s kidnapping and subsequent rescue from the traitor Orochimaru and later, the return of Momochi Zabuza and his apprentice as official envoys of Godaime Mizukage, Terumi Mei, have made Team Kakashi’s movements all but public knowledge.
Shin spends the better part of three days listening to rumors and worrying about Sai’s future until the moment the door opens and his little brother sneaks into his room and climbs into Shin’s bed without a word. Shin is just grateful that whatever he and Tsu have isn’t contagious. (He heard something about mold-cultures and decided to stop listening.) The on-duty nurse makes no comment but comes back with an extra blanket and pillow and a third meal at lunchtime.
Sai’s last few days have been as dull as Shin’s but with even more bureaucratic mix ups. Sai is perfectly healthy—(it is the one and only time that Shin will ever be grateful for Danzo’s training. Sai’s art required light, good light. He spent more time training in the sun than any other member of ROOT)—which means he’s been shuffled from chunin barrack to ANBU HQ to T&I and back to the hospital again for a DNA test. At this news, Shin realizes that Sai is probably missing from somewhere, but Shin’s not inclined to send Sai out into the wilds of Konoha without even an assigned bunk.
Sai confirms that anyone who has gone on at least one regular ANBU mission and is healthy enough to serve is being quartered at ANBU HQ. To solve the issue of multiple ROOT using one registration, the regular ANBU corps have started making identical masks in multiple colors. There are five new elephants alone and fierce competition over who is green mouse and who is yellow mouse and which one is assigned to which squad.
Sai’s visit to T&I was unremarkable. He was asked similar questions as Shin and Tsu by a chunin-level kunoichi, which would have been an insult if T&I had known that Sai was a chunin himself but was more a testament to Sai’s skill at suppressing his chakra. The one highlight of the experience was when the woman asked Sai to smile and then immediately recanted loudly and desperately. The report makes Shin and Tsu both chuckle, even though Sai clearly can’t understand why.
Shin is more relaxed, more willing to relax at any rate, with Sai close by. It remains that way until Tsu goes out for treatment and comes back wearing an unusually grim expression. Shin worries there’s been a problem with her diagnosis.
“The Clan Council is meeting with Godaime-sama right now. They’re going to decide what to do with all of us,” she says the instant the medic leaves.
Shin can’t help the feeling of unease that overcomes him. There is a good chance that the village’s clans will take responsibility for their own members. But he doesn’t know what will happen to the rest of them. They’re all trained for ANBU, but the age restrictions on joining the elite force have tightened considerably since the Uchiha massacre.
“I will scout the situation,” says Sai.
Before Shin can say anything, Sai is out the window and gone. He turns wide eyes on Tsu, who looks just as startled as Shin feels. Sai isn’t trained to take initiative. No one in ROOT volunteers for any mission. Ever.
The wait for Sai to return is terrible especially when dinner comes and goes and the nurse carries away the third untouched meal tray. Shin is imagining Sai caught by regular ANBU and locked in the bowels of T&I slowly dying of mold-related illnesses when his little brother finally returns, slipping into the room as silently as he had left.
Sai climbs back into Shin’s bed. And Shin spies a tiny wrinkle in Sai’s forehead that would be a full-blown frown on anyone not trained by Danzo. He doesn’t launch into a report right away. Instead he remains quiet and tense next to Shin.
“What happened?” asks Shin when Tsu’s pointed stare and his own curiosity get to be too much.
“The Clans will assume responsibility for their blood relations,” says Sai, confirming what they had already guessed. But then he adds, “and will accept additional underage shinobi as assigned by the Hokage’s office.”
“There is no such thing as an underage shinobi,” says Tsu expressing as much disbelief as Shin has ever heard from a ROOT. “Genin are adults in the eyes of the village. Even our trainees are genin level.”
“The vessel gave what was evidently an emotional and stirring speech about the importance of caring for orphans and young shinobi. The Uchiha backed him, citing personal experience. Then Hatake reminded everyone that he had been a chunin when he was orphaned but the Yondaime still took him into his home. The vessel was particularly passionate in his argument,” explains Sai.
The jinchuuriki’s actions aren’t much of a surprise when Shin thinks about it. The vessel has no ties to any members of ROOT as far as Shin knows, but he has already proven willing to house dangerous, foreign shinobi. At least ROOT belong to Konoha. The real surprise is Sai choosing a word like “passionate” over a less emotionally-charged word like “loud.” And he still has that tiny furrow between his brows.
“Is there something else?” asks Shin.
“Shin, do you have a clan that will take you back? Will they let me visit you?” asks Sai. His facial expression hasn’t changed but unfamiliar urgency makes him speak faster.
“I don’t have parents. They were killed in the Kyuubi attack,” says Shin. He was almost three then and barely has ghosts of memory of either one.
“Oh good,” says Sai blandly. “Maybe we’ll be assigned to the same clan then. We were in the same bunk before, so it could be possible.”
Shin, who had been about to remind Sai that being orphaned was not “good” outside of ROOT, abruptly realizes that Sai wants the two of them to stay together but doesn’t know how to express that want. It makes Shin feel happy and sad at the same time. Happy that Sai cares so much about him and sad that Danzo’s training took so much away from Sai.
“If we are fully integrated into the village, you can still visit even if you aren’t assigned together,” says Tsu unexpectedly. “Being among the leaves isn’t like being among the roots. We will have downtime and be able to choose how to spend it.”
Sai’s eyes widen just a fraction in surprise. His face instantly falls back into its blank mask but Shin can tell he’s less tense than he was before. The wrinkle of concern is gone.
Shin looks over at Tsu and mouths “thank you” at her. She lowers her gaze and turns her head away but the tips of her ears are bright red from embarrassment. Not something Danzo would have allowed among his most of his forces but an acceptable tell for a kunoichi, especially if she can do it on purpose.
Shin happily reminds himself than Danzo is dead and it’s okay if they can’t control their bodies perfectly. Then he presses the call button for a nurse and talks her into bringing another dinner tray for Sai, since he wasn’t there to eat the first one.
They all settle in to wait.