Naruto: The Unwoven Threads of Fate

He passes an old man hobbling on a cane covered in bandages on his way out.

"Tsunade-sama, how are you today?" Danzo Shimura politely asks as he takes the recently vacated seat. He's ignoring the broken desk, honestly it's become commonplace. She's made some woodworkers very happy with all the business.

"Cut to it." Tsunade barks out. "I don't have time to do the niceties, the Kazekage keeps taking up my time."

"I was hoping to get an update on our newest prisoner." Danzo delicately says. He knows that despite his meddling Tsunade still attempts to shield Alvarcus from him. The gall of this woman, if he had his way Konoha would know everything Alvarcus had to offer already. Although, he should thank the boy. He inadvertently got Danzo a very nice present. Perhaps it can be leveraged against the boy?

"We're getting nowhere." Tsunade bluntly admits. "Ibiki tried, but that went about as well as you imagine. Once you're worked over by Orochimaru, what else can Ibiki do? We've recently sent Inoichi after him but… it didn't end well."

Danzo doesn't reply to her. He calmly keeps staring at her with his one exposed eye. He's employing an old psychological trick, when confronted with silence people tend to fill it. Usually by elaborating on the subject they were just talking about. It works on everyone, from peasants to Kages.

"Alvarcus twisted things around and just made Inoichi mad." Tsunade takes another swig. "Something about his daughter, unfortunately she's the man's only weak spot. Alvarcus exploited it viciously. Inoichi only learned that Alvarcus has a very imaginative mind. I could have told the idiot before he went in there!"

"Such a shame that nothing has come of his interrogation in weeks." Danzo comments. Now for the delicate part. "Perhaps… I could attempt? My methods are unlike anyone else's. If no one else has had any luck I can dust off my old, rusty skills."

"Old and rusty?" Tsunade narrows her eyes at the old man in front of her. "I'm not stupid, you'd do well to remember that. You're lucky I allow your 'club' to exist."

"And I am forever grateful." Danzo dips his head in false subservience. "But the problem remains. Alvarcus has not broken. I may be able to do it. Will you allow me?"

"You can try tomorrow." Tsunade relents. Regrettably, Danzo is right. They're getting nothing out of Alvarcus and that has to change. "Depending on how the next session goes, you'll have your shot."

"You're sending in someone else first?" Danzo asks. Who could the Hokage send down next? If both Ibiki and Inoichi have failed, who could succeed? "Who are they?"

The Cell

"The road of life is full of pitfalls and traps." A lazy drawl calls out to me. "Never did I say prison cells."

"But isn't it the greatest trap of them all? The one you're not supposed to escape." I can't help but smile at the familiar voice. "Hey Kakashi."

"Yo." Kakashi replies and the blindfold falls off my face. My sensei is casually sprawled out on the singular chair in the room with his ever present book in front of his face. I never even heard him enter, let alone feel him undo the knot on my blindfold. We take a moment to study one another. He looks like his usual self. In other words a mess. It's so Kakashi that it would be a shock to see him any other way.

"Sorry about the cloak and dagger before." I apologize while looking at his book. I've already read it. Hell, he probably has too.

"No need to apologize." He waves me off with a flick of the wrist. "Everyone would have freaked out if they knew it was you. Naruto may have even punched you."

"Haha, I thought he might do that anyways!" I chuckle and inadvertently rattle the chains. "Did you see his face when I said I'd take on Itachi solo? It was gold."

"Did you see my face when you said that?" Kakashi fixes me in a one eyed stare. "He's not someone to take lightly."

"I've never seen your face." I bluntly reply. "I don't think anyone has. Besides, you let me fight Itachi anyways. You trusted me."

"Don't get all sappy on me now." Kakashi lazily looks up from his book. "That's what I have these for."

"They aren't even that sappy and you know it. What is that, the third copy of that book you've gone through?" I eye the orange book, trying to spot any signs of use. It looks suspiciously new.

"... The fourth actually." Kakashi sheepishly admits. "I take great care of them, but I can't exactly be gentle to them as I'm doing shinobi things. It's close, but my life is more important than these books. If only because I'm the only one who truly appreciates them. Besides, if I went and died who knows how many I'd miss out on reading because they're not released yet?"

"Kakashi, never change." I can't help the warm smile that takes over my face. But it falls after only a few moments. "She sent you to interrogate me, didn't she?"

"Yep." Kakashi turns back to his loveable book and flips to the next page. "Something about abusing our previous relationship to weasle information out of you. She figured you'd let your guard down around me and maybe something would slip. Or that I'd know what to say to get you to open up. To quote her exactly 'Do whatever you have to to get that squirt to talk! I don't care how, just get me some results!'"

"That… was surprisingly forthcoming of you." I narrow my eyes. "Surely you know better than thinking it'll actually work. Right? I mean, you did have a hand in training me."

"Oh, I completely agree." Kakashi flips another page. "You're too good to let me sneak something out of you in this kind of situation. You know it's coming so there's no way you'll let something slip. So I'm not even going to try, instead I figured I'd use this time to catch up and then let them try something else tomorrow. I know a lost cause when I see one."

"Really?" I tilt my head in confusion.

"Really." Kakashi snaps his book shut and leans even further back into the chair. "So how's things? Ibiki wouldn't shut up about how mad he was that he couldn't break you. You are okay, right?"

I pointedly look at the chains, the seals, even the blindfold that fell to the ground before turning back to Kakashi.

"I've been better?" I weakly attempt humor. I don't think it worked. "To be frank, Ibiki has nothing on Orochimaru. Inoichi, well, that was just fun until the end. It left a sour taste in my mouth. The most annoying thing is I've got a bitch of an itch on my back that I can't get at. Actually, I'm not half bad all things considered. Just working on an exit strategy."

"Working on an exit strategy?" Kakashi actually leans forward at that, his interest in piqued. "Do you think you can?"

"Do you think I can?" I ask him his own question. Let's see how he likes that!

"You have a good chance at it. A lot of our elite have a soft spot for you, at the very least they won't go for the kill right off the start." Kakashi easily reveals to me. It's a bit shocking that he thinks so highly of me. "And I know you're crazy enough to try, that's for sure. I'm more concerned with how you'll go about doing it than if you'll even try. Though, the restraints on you are nothing to scoff at. Tsunade got Jiraiya to design all the seal work. Getting out of the cell is going to be the hard part."

"Even after all these years, you know me so well." I let out a small laugh. "I've missed you, you know that right?"

"Of course." Kakashi sends me a bright eye smile. I still have no idea how he does that. "I've missed you too. Though I have to insist we stop meeting under such… unique circumstances."

"Yeah, I'm totally on board for that." I don't even bother to attempt to suppress the shudder that courses through my body. "Any ideas? You know, besides meeting on the job. Half the time it's on opposing sides too!"

"Perhaps a dinner sometime?" Kakashi suggests. "Has to be better than suddenly popping up out of nowhere and then dealing with mission drama."

"Are… are you asking me out on a date?" I nervously ask my sensei. "I'm flattered, but think of the horrible rumors that would spread. A well respected jonin shinobi stooping so low that he goes after one of his students? Not only that, the student is a well respected jonin in his own right but is of an enemy village. How scandalous!"

"Hilarious." Kakashi flatly replies to my joke.

"O Kakashi, Kakashi. Wherefore art thou Kakashi?" I softly and mournfully recite a famous author with a little tweaking. "Deny thy Kage and refuse thy Village."

"Are you quoting poetry at me?"

"Not exactly, but close enough." I gladly stop quoting, plus that's all that I can remember off the top of my head. "What's new in Konoha? Anything juicy?"

"Hmm…" Kakashi drawls out as he considers what to share. "Neji made Jonin."

"Good for him, he's earned it." Glad to see that some things go as they should.

"Tora is still giving genin teams hell." Kakashi supplies once more.

"Glad to hear it." I can't help but fondly smile on memories of that cat. "Always liked that cat."

"It only ever liked you." Kakashi bluntly points out. Eh, whatever. It's not my problem no one else connected with her. "Oh, I blame you for this one. We've got a recent spider infestation."

"Really?" My brow furrows in confusion. I didn't tell them to do that. Is this Shirokumo and the Spiders trying to look out for me? Aw, that's really sweet of them! "Weird."

"It has the Aburame Clan up in arms. Their hives are constantly freaking out, it has them on edge all the time."

"So no real change then?" I cheekily sass Kakashi.

"No real change." He begrudgingly admits. Kakashi heaves out a large sigh before standing up. "Well, that's all the time I was given."

"Aw, I just got comfortable too." I rattle my chains as I stretch my back. Man, thank god for Sureddo. Otherwise my joints would feel like hell! Probably all of me would feel like hell. "Do you think you'll be sent back? You're my favorite interrogator so far."

"Probably not." Kakashi lazily shrugs his shoulders. "I really doubt that Tsunade is going to like that I'm only reporting that I think you are planning an escape. Any idiot who knows you could tell her that, she doesn't need me to. It's one of those unspoken things."

"On a completely unrelated topic, what's your favorite time of the week?" I plaster my best innocent smile on my face and try to look as trusting as possible. While chained to a wall. "You know, for stalking around without being disturbed or found by anyone?"

"Nice try, but no."

"Damn."

The Next Day

"Fuu. Torune." An old raspy voice speaks from outside my cell. "Wait outside."

I hear a soft repeating pattern.

Scrape, scrape, click.

It repeats over, and over, and over again before whoever is walking stops outside my door. I stare at the closed piece of metal with a feeling of foreboding washing over me. I know who that is, I can feel it, but I can't place it in the moment.

After a few seconds, the door swings open to reveal an old man with dark hair. He's hunched horribly, leaning heavily on a cane. One of his arms is heavily wrapped in bandages and they cover half of his face. I was right, I do know who this is.

"Danzo Shimura." I neutrally greet the old, dangerous man. "We're finally meeting face to face. Or half of it anyways."

"You may make all the jokes you want, but I know it is a facade you hide behind." The old man hobbles into the room before almost falling into the lone chair. He's really up playing the frail old man routine. "My presence here unnerves you."

"Well no shit." I snort out. "I'm a young boy strapped to a wall. You're an old haggard man whose hobby is collecting impressionable children. I couldn't find a better set up for a pedophile joke if you gave me five years."

"Amusing." He flatly replies to me through his heavily squinted eye. His words are dripping sarcasm.

"I try." I dip my head towards him in acknowledgement of a compliment that he didn't give. "So what brings your wrinkled old ass down here? Want another picture? Or perhaps the name of the guy who made that glitter bomb?"

"You will act with proper decorum in my presence." Danzo glares at me with only half of his face. Kakashi does it way better with even less. "Show proper respect and I will be lenient."

"Respect?" I snap at him, both with words and with my teeth. "You think being old automatically grants you my respect? You think that because you run ROOT that you have my respect? You think that because I'm chained to a wall you have my respect? You have done nothing to earn my respect. Your actions have cause grievous damages across the world, wounds so deep and infected that only a miracle will heal them. You shall never have my respect."

"I am going to greatly enjoy breaking you." Danzo slightly straightens in the chair. "Tsunade has given me permission to extract all information from you in any way I see fit."

Danzo rises from the chair and shuffles closer to me. He's standing well within arms reach of me, well within personal space.

"I think I'm going to break you so utterly and completely that you'll be begging to complete my every whim." Danzo lifts his cane and taps the hilt of it into my chest. "I'm going to ground down everything that you are, rip away your emotions, scatter your memories, I'm going to destroy the person Alvarcus Mar. Then, I will build you back up. I will turn you into the perfect puppet, one so loyal and dedicated that Sasori would have been impressed. I'll use techniques so depraved that Orochimaru would be frothing at the mouth to study. I'll place seals on you so complex and detailed that even Jiraiya wouldn't be able to understand them. You will be my perfect slave."

"Anyone can talk a big game if their opponent is chained to a wall." I wish he was just a little bit closer. Then I could bite his fucking nose off. "Do you really think that just because I'm restrained means I'm not willing to play your game? You can threaten me all you want, you'll never break me."

"I believe I will break you. Quite thoroughly at that." Danzo steps back, making his way towards the door. "And it is cute that you think we are still playing the game. The game concluded long before you realized we were playing."

"Oh really?" I snarkily snap at him. "It's good to see the elderly still have such confidence. I hear you start to have problems in old age."

Danzo ignores my jab at him as he opens the door. He stops halfway through for a final jab of his own. He starts fishing around in the deep recesses of his bandages before slowly pulling out an item.

"Poor, little, ignorant Alvarcus." Danzo slowly holds up the item he pulled out and I can't tear my eyes away from it. "To many you seem infallible, but you have one easily exploitable weakness. Infact, it's not even your weakness that must be exploited. Did you know that your Father, Orochimaru, loves you more than anything?"

He holds his prize even higher in the air. My eyes track it like they're the most important thing in the world. And to me, they very well could be.

"He loves you so much that he gave me these. Orochimaru approached me with them, practically begging on his knees to free you from Konoha. He pleaded like a whipped puppy all for you. But, I don't think I will free you. However, I won't kill you. You've been too kind to me for death, you deserve more. But I said I will break you, and so broken you will become."

He slowly rotates the jar fill with a viscous liquid. Two crimson adorned spheres stare back at me.

"Thank you, very much, for these lovely Sharingan." Danzo Shimura broadly smiles as he holds Sasuke's eyes in a jar. "I'll be sure to put them to good use."