~1~
Pat pat pat pat . . . . the steady rhythm of Kakashi's running mixed with the rushing sound of blood in his ears. The edges of his vision were blurred with red, and the path ahead was stretched with shadows, and all Kakashi wanted to do was return home with a grinning, young knuckle-headed boy. Strangely enough Kakashi was hoping Orochimaru had taken Sasuke with him, that he had left Naruto. If he hadn't, Kakashi was only good enough for one trip, and the Hokage had specifically instructed him to take back Sasuke if he was still alive.
That meant leaving Naruto to die.
Snap out of it Kakashi! Orochimaru wouldn't just leave Sasuke, he wants the boy badly. Badly enough to infiltrate the Leaf Village. It'll be only Naruto there. With that in mind Kakashi hurried his pace. He could feel his body begin to shut down, the blood that he had lost was significant enough to warrant a visit to the hospital. The red on the edges of his vision were thickening, he really needed a rest.
'You should rest. At least for a minute.' Pakkun spoke from ahead, slowing down and casting a worried glance Kakashi's way.
'I can't. Naruto could be dying out there.' Kakashi managed to grunt out, regretting the lost breath almost instantly.
Pakkun didn't hesitate to follow the indirect order. He continued to follow the scent trail left by Naruto, he too was praying that there would be only the knuckle-headed ninja.
The moon hung heavy in the sky, as full and large as a dinner platter. The night was beautiful, crickets faintly chirping in the distance. Those around him had fallen silent.
Suddenly Kakashi's legs tangled together and he fell to the floor in a tumbling heap. He skidded to a stop many meters from where he had first tripped and there he lay, groaning and in obvious pain, for several seconds as he regained his strength and courage. He had to keep moving, for Naruto.
Pakkun came running back, worry sparkling in his eyes as bright as fire. 'Kakashi! Kakashi are you alright?' He asked, circling around Kakashi and nudging him gently.
Kakashi groaned and sat up, head bowed and chest heaving, taking in deep lungfuls of air. 'I'm fine. We should . . . keep going.' As Kakashi spoke he heaved himself to his feet. He swayed uncertainly when he had reached his full height, and he had to lean against a tree for what felt like minutes.
'Man. Those ninja back there really took it out of you.' Pakkun muttered almost to himself. Kakashi nodded and immediately wished he hadn't. His head felt alive with bees.
'Unfortunately there were more than expected.' Kakashi muttered, remembering the fighting that had occurred back in the forest. The original team that had been sent to retrieve Sasuke had left, and Kakashi had feared that they wouldn't be enough. He had followed their path and had found many of them still in battle, and losing. But each time he was going to go in and help, they had been joined by one of the Sand Siblings, or their enemy was already defeated. Kakashi had moved on each time, and each time he had been more hopeful that everything was going to turn out okay, it was all going to be alright.
But then he had been ambushed, not by one or two or three ninja, but five. He had fought for his life there. Clearly Orochimaru had thought like Kakashi, that the team he had sent wasn't enough. Though Kakashi had been strong enough to fight them off, it had cost him nearly all of his chakra. He doubted whether he could even summon a shadow clone, or summon one of his hounds. The only strength he had now was to run.
Kakashi groaned once more, before slowly taking off in a run again. Pakkun hesitantly followed, still wishing that Kakashi would take a little more time to rest. When he saw that Kakashi wasn't going to stop, Pakkun took up his position in the lead again.
This time Kakashi was extra careful to not trip again.
The trees up ahead were seemingly opening up a path for the two, right up to the Valley of the End.
There!
A still body lying in the water, the current swirling around it with the purpose of carrying it off. The two statues stood still and proud, glaring at each other for eternity. Kakashi's heart soared at the sight. A single body, a single boy, that was what he had been hoping for. There was still hope.
Running up to it Kakashi hardly noticed the cold water soaking through his pants, nor the spray of the waterfall so close to the still boy. The moon still shone on the water, giving it a sharp glimmer and reflection so strong it could have been mirroring a parallel universe.
The joy of seeing the boy clouded Kakashi's vision even further, his short breath and deteriorating condition adding to that factor. Only when he nearly tripped over the boy did he notice that the mop of hair wasn't bright blonde, it was black.
Sasuke.
Oh no.
Kakashi felt his knees buckle, his legs give way. He fell down, hitting the water and soaking everything up to his nose. His shoulders shook, his sobs muffled in the fabric covering his lower face. He felt defeated. Utterly defeated.
'Kakashi! Naruto is over here! He's in a . . . . oh no.' Pakkun whispered as he saw Sasuke. But he had said enough already. 'Kakashi . . . can't you do something? What about first-aid? Would that help?' Pakkun asked desperately, running back over to Naruto. Kakashi shook his head slowly, mind running at a thousand miles an hour.
'No . . . they're dying and quickly. First aid would only give them minutes at best and there's no one close enough to get to them that quickly.' Kakashi explained.
'Isn't there some jutsu?' Pakkun asked again. He meant well, Kakashi knew that, but Pakkun should be able to see the situation as it was.
'I don't have the chakra.' Kakashi whispered in a voice so low Pakkun had to strain to hear it. He then realised the situation that they were in, and he decided to fall silent. This was something that Kakashi had to decide on his own.
Kakashi gulped loudly as he stared at Sasuke. It was all he could do.
This was a one way trip. Choose between saving a boy you'd trained and found yourself caring for and worrying over, or a boy who tried to kill the previous and who you'd only save because ordered to do so.
Could I . . . no. Shadow clones halve my energy. I barely have enough to keep myself going. Carrying even one is going to be challenging. I'm stuck. Kakashi thought, a rising sense of doom and dread welling up in his throat. Tears pricked at his eyes like sharp little needles, and Kakashi bowed his head before Sasuke's prone body. He needed to make a decision. Now.
I'm just a solider, just a pawn. I have to do as ordered. The enemy seems to need Sasuke, to survive we need to take that away from them. Kakashi thought miserably.
Orochimaru wants Sasuke, badly. That's reason enough to choose Sasuke. But . . . Naruto is a jinchuurki. He's powerful, more so than Sasuke. But if I leave Sasuke here and Orochimaru finds him . . . Orochimaru wouldn't take Naruto if he found him. Naruto is good, too good for Orochimaru to bend to his will. But he would take Sasuke, because he's already been marked and is easier to bend. And if Naruto dies, so does the nine-tailed beast. If Sasuke dies, there goes the last of the Uchiha.
It was becoming clearer to Kakashi what was the right, the better path to follow. It was heartbreaking, and it was turning Kakashi's insides inside-out. He felt pitiful then, truly pitiful. Even though they were both his teammates, and even though Kakashi had seen himself in Sasuke, Kakashi didn't want this. He didn't want this decision because he knew what he was going to do, and he didn't want to do it. Naruto deserved life, Naruto deserved to live and know what life felt like, he deserved to know that he had changed another person's life, a person who is also a jinchuurki. But he would never get that chance, because of Sasuke and the decision that Kakashi now had to make. More accurately, the decision that Kakashi now had to act out.
'Kakashi . . . . what are we going to do?' Pakkun asked, knowing that if they didn't move now the boys would most likely die no matter what, as Kakashi carelessly wiped his eyes with his sleeve. He hardened his heart, hardened his mind. What had he expected? That being a ninja was going to be as easy as counting? He should know better already, it's never like the stories say.
Shaking from the single hole in his heart that hadn't yet been covered with stone, Kakashi heaved himself to his feet. He stumbled at the first step, quickly regained his composure and stooped to pick up Sasuke.
He was bleeding from multiple wounds, several very deep and in urgent need of treatment. Kakashi stared at the boy, then turned on his heel and walked off towards the forest.
'But Kakashi, Naruto is right over there if we just . . .'
'No. I can't even look at him. Let's just leave.' Kakashi whispered, his grip on the boy tightening. He shook with every step he took, the edges of his vision had ceased being red. It was a relief, his breath was coming back easier now.
'But Kakashi . . .' Pakkun ventured uneasily.
'NO!' Kakashi roared, swinging back around to face Pakkun . . . and instead his eyes went instantly to Naruto. Eyes closed, blood staining his whiskers, clothes torn and ripped, his life's blood being washed away by the current.
And then something happened. Something that Kakashi never forgot. Naruto opened his eyes.
He opened his eyes and stared right at Kakashi. There was pain, and agony in those clear blue eyes, then there was hope. So much hope because he had seen Kakashi. He slowly, agonisingly, raised one hand towards Kakashi, whispered words that were unheard, words that were filled with happiness and joy. He tried crawling to Kakashi, lost his strength, and then tried again. Like Kakashi knew he would. Naruto never gave up. Never.
And now Kakashi had to betray him.
With a heart as heavy as lead Kakashi turned away, missing the anguish and total confusion in Naruto's now darkening eyes.
'I'm sorry . . . . Naruto.' Kakashi whispered, before leaping off into the darkness. Pakkun followed, but not after turning around to glance at Naruto. Those eyes, those confused and yet still hopeful eyes, turned on Pakkun. Pakkun swallowed the lump in his throat. What else was he to do? He was just a small dog, far away from home with no one around but Kakashi, and he was too busy carrying Sasuke.
No. Naruto had to be left behind. He'd be remembered as a hero by everyone, but he'd be left behind.
Then Pakkun too leapt away into the enfolding darkness, leaving a gasping Naruto behind. A Naruto who suddenly realised with astonishing clarity that he had been left to die by one of the people he had trusted most.
!
'The fight should have been around here hn.' Deidara spoke more to himself than his partner, Sasori.
'Indeed.' Sasori replied. His gaze shifted to the two tall statues standing facing each other. The Uchiha and the first Hogake. How ironic that now Naruto and Sasuke fought beneath their shadows.
'Hmm . . . . they are finely carved but art they aren't.' Deidara chuckled to himself on his purposeful play on words. Sasori ignored him. For him, such a ridiculous attempt at being humorous was beyond his attention.
They reached the edge of the waterfall and peered down into the darkness. The water was a bright glimmer, and the forest a dark foreboding fortress. It was a long way down, the water shooting mist up so the two could feel the cool on their faces.
Deidara sighed at the sight. 'Well, only one body down there. Don't know if it's that Uchiha brat or the other one hn.'
'One way to find out. Don't keep me waiting.' Sasori grunted.
'What you staying up here? Well whatever.' Deidara laughed to himself, released the clay in his hands and made a flying bird. Jumping on, he quickly descended down to the body. The closer he came, the more of the blonde glimmered on the head of the boy.
'Nope. Definitely not Sasuke.' Deidara muttered as he jumped off and strode over to the still conscious boy. 'Now what are we going to do with a runt like you.'
Naruto tried to move, not even he knew why he did it, and all Deidara did was frown at the boy. 'Close to death and still trying to move hn. Well, lucky for you I'm not in a killing mood. Who knows, maybe we could even use you hn.' Deidara swung the boy onto his shoulder and leapt back onto his bird, not minding the grunt and scream that were torn from Naruto's throat at the rough handling.
Together they flew back up to Sasori. 'What you bring the kid for?' Was his first question to his blonde partner.
'Because, we might find use for him. His friends clearly left him, I saw tracks coming from the forest and then going back hn. He probably hates them right now, and that could come in handy. Besides hn, Pain thinks we're bringing someone back, so we'll bring someone back hn. And if we let him die, we lose our plan.' Deidara explained, quickly thinking on the spot.
Sasori seemed to take it after a moment of looking at the silently protesting boy. 'What will we tell him? He'll die when we take the beast from him. We can't keep that hidden if we use him and make him one of us.' Sasori questioned.
Deidara shrugged, carelessly hurting Naruto further. 'Why keep it from him hn? We have our ways to bring him back.'
Sasori stared at his partner with clear, intelligent eyes. He was clearly thinking things through. Then, without a sound, Sasori turned back the way they had come. 'At least you didn't keep me waiting.' He muttered just loud enough for Deidara to hear.
'I never would my man, never would.' Deidara waved off Sasori, letting his bird snap out of existence and carrying Naruto on his shoulder.
The last thing Naruto saw before he blacked out was the receding statues, and the path for the Leaf slowly fading away. For Naruto, the was the most symbolic thing in his life.