Stained Scarecrow

By knuckz

Summary: By the will and command of the Sandaime Hokage, you, Hatake Kakashi, are hereby ordered to assassinate one Uzumaki Kushina. One shot. Manga spoilers.

"Oh, is that you, Kakashi-kun?"

Kakashi watched on in silent pride as Naruto was cheered on by the many leagues of Konoha civilians and shinobi. Having defeated Pein by himself, the leader of the Akatsuki, where nobody else could have stood against him, Naruto really had become the strongest shinobi in Konoha.

"I suppose you've come to see Naruto? After all, he's our legacy. Minato's and mine, that is."

'He's really done it.' Kakashi thought to himself, 'Naruto has gained the acknowledgment of everyone.'

'I'm here to kill you.'

"I'll help you watch over him."

Everybody knew it now. Naruto would be the Hokage, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. He had the support of all of Konoha behind him; he was their hero. Hell, Naruto already was Hokage in all but name.

"Oh, will you really? Thank you so much, Kakashi-kun. That means a lot to me."

All that was really left was the official notice of retirement by Tsunade, and the official crowning ceremony for the blond jinchuuriki. Everybody would look to the boy-Hokage in pride, all willing followers.

"It's no problem, Kushina-san."

'Don't thank me! Just run away from here!'

"After all, I owe it to Minato-sensei to watch out for his son."

Kakashi wasn't so sure about himself. He really wanted Naruto to accomplish his dreams and had resolved to help him on his way. But secretly, Kakashi hated the idea that Naruto wanted to be the Hokage.

A sad smile.

"I'm sorry, Kakashi-kun; it must be so hard on you, losing your sensei and your teammate like that."

"No, you must be suffering as well. To lose your husband... and Naruto's fate..."

This truth was a truth that was one of his greatest secrets and one only he knew.

She gave him a fierce look.

"I'll fight against that fate!" she hissed to him, "I won't let my son- Minato's son- suffer that fate! Minato would never forgive me if I let that happen!"

'Obito, Rin, and... Sensei... I don't deserve your forgiveness...'

Kushina suddenly broke down in sobs, finally realizing her situation. Dead husband, jinchuuriki son. What had so quickly become of her happy family?

Kakashi only watched her sadly, knowing what he had to do, hating himself for it; hating Konoha for it. But Sandaime had ordered it, and it had to be done. If he didn't, then someone else would.

The truth was that Kakashi hated the Hidden Leaf. His only loyalty lied with the golden-haired jinchuuriki, and as long as the Hokage-to-be's loyalties lied with the village, so would Kakashi's.

Kushina's cries incited those of Naruto's; loud wailing in order to ask for his mother, perhaps even sensing her lament. The red-haired beauty went to her howling baby boy, her precious son, her only remaining love. She picked up the blond infant, a remnant of Minato, holding him close to her bosom.

"Hush, Naruto, mommy's here. Mommy's here."

Kakashi watched the scene silently; would this be the last time she ever held her son? Kakashi continued to watch as she gently rocked her jinchuuriki son back to sleep, whispering sweet nothings into his ear amidst her own tears. When he stopped crying and was embraced by sweet sleep, Kushina gently placed him back in his crib.

She looked like she could use a hug.

Sakura approached the blond jinchuuriki, smiling at him. Naruto smiled back, but was suddenly bashed in the head.

"You're always so rash, dummy!"

He wheezed from the pain, but was quickly hugged by a tearful Sakura.

"Thank you." she said to him.

Kakashi didn't hug her. He had no right, and besides, only Namikaze Minato really had that privilege. Though she really terribly looked like she desperately needed a hug. But Kakashi didn't hug her.

Everybody smiled at the sight of the two embracing teammates; Kakashi could tell that Naruto was surprised by Sakura's actions. Pleasantly surprised, no doubt.

'But then, he did love her.' Kakashi thought, happy for the blond and the pink-haired girl as well. Perhaps she'd now realize that she had in front of her what she was looking for all along.

Perhaps they could find something in each other that he didn't deserve.

"Perhaps you should sleep, Kushina-san. It's been a long week; you'll need the rest." Kakashi suggested, "I can stay on guard."

He didn't want to kill her, to murder her, while she was awake.

"Nonsense, Kakashi-kun! You've fought the Kyuubi; you need to rest just as much as I do! Even more so." Kushina replied, stubborn as always. Kakashi had anticipated this of course; Uzumaki Kushina was known for stubbornness.

Kiba appeared before them, riding on the giant Akamaru.

"There you are!" Kiba said in relief. Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi looked at him, startled.

"Kiba! What is it?" Sakura asked, sensing his urgency.

"Listen... just calm down and listen!" Kiba told them, his urgent voice quieting Naruto for once, "Tsunade's been dismissed as Hokage!"

Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi all looked at Kiba's declaration in shock.

"You've just come out of a pregnancy and besides, you should be sleeping while Naruto is sleeping." Kakashi told her. Kushina chuckled at his comment, looking over the silver-haired jounin.

"I'm guessing that Rin-chan was grilling you about babies?" Kushina asked him, despite knowing the answer. Only Rin would've ever thought of teaching Hatake Kakashi about how to take care of babies.

Kakashi chuckled as well.

"Yes; she wanted children of her own one day."

Silence descended upon the pair after that comment. Rin would never get that wish.

"The Sixth Hokage is some guy named Danzo!" Kiba informed them, "I don't know him, but apparently he's pretty shady!"

Kakashi didn't know how he did it, but he kept himself from yelling aloud in anger.

"I have a bad feeling about this..." was all he said.

'Just what is Danzo up to?' Kakashi thought. Danzo was the one who first suggested the assassination of Uzumaki Kushina, and he was the one who eventually convinced the Third Hokage, as well as his two advisors, Homura and Koharu, that it needed to be done.

Wife of the Fourth Hokage or not, Kushina did not hail from Konoha; for her to have any influence on Naruto, both the son of the Fourth Hokage and Konoha's very own demon container could prove damaging to the village. If she ever decided to take Naruto out of the village walls, then Konoha would lose its sway over the boy.

Thus, she had to be eliminated.

Eventually, Kushina broke the silence. Even in sombre settings, Kushina would remain flamboyant and somewhat boisterous; Minato had confided in Kakashi that he loved that about her. Although, Minato really loved everything about her.

"Kakashi-kun..." Kushina hesitated, unsure of how to say it, "Do you... resent Naruto for containing the Kyuubi?"

Kakashi was sure about one thing: Danzo would not go after Naruto. Naruto was the hero of the village; if Danzo did anything disagreeable to him, it would reflect upon his standing with the village. But because Naruto was the container of the Kyuubi, Danzo would want him in protected in Konoha. And he would take any reason to do it.

Kakashi looked at her, surprised and a little saddened that she would have such doubts about him. But then, she certainly had the right to doubt and mistrust him, though she didn't know it.

"Of course not. Things like this, they're nobody's fault. After all, the Kyuubi is said to be a natural disaster; it's as useless to hate it as it is to hate an earthquake." Kakashi replied, thinking to what he knew, "All the Kyuubi knows is destruction. For the Kyuubi to go against that would be for it to go against its nature."

Kushina smiled at his extended explanation.

"I'm glad, Kakashi-kun."

"That's not the only thing! The new Hokage has given the Raikage permission to dispose of Sasuke as a missing-nin!" Kiba told them, much to everybody's surprise. Kakashi looked to Naruto.

'So that's his plan.' Kakashi thought, 'Well, I won't let that happen, Danzo!'

"Forgive my rudeness, but go to sleep, Kushina-san." Kakashi told her. Kushina smiled at his insistence.

"You're right. Thank you so much, Kakashi-kun." Kushina told him, picking Naruto up to take into her and Minato's- now just her- bedroom, "Minato... Minato would be so proud of you."

Kushina exited the room. Kakashi was crying inside.

'He would hate me.'

To Kakashi's surprise, Sakura was the first to react, which in turn incited Naruto, but he had been quick to try and calm the two of them down, despite his own uneasiness.

"Calm down, both of you. You have to stay cool-headed or it'll just make things worse." Kakashi told them, but, predictably, the hot-headed Naruto reacted to even that.

'He gets it from his mother.' Kakashi remarked. Kushina was often hot-headed herself; Kakashi wondered how much they would've clashed had she lived.

"How can I stay calm!?" Naruto yelled, turning away from Kakashi in anger, "I won't let him lay a finger on Sasuke!"

Naruto tried to leave, but Kakashi grabbed his arm before he could.

"I said, wait!"

Kakashi waited for hours, listening at the door with enhanced hearing, waiting for Kushina to fall asleep. He knew that sleep wouldn't come easily for her, and after this night, he doubted that he'd ever sleep soundly again.

"Danzo knows you're going to react like this." Kakashi told him, "What are you going to do when you see him?"

Naruto gave him his patented 'determined' look, which was a mix of those his mother and father had often given. Kakashi knew then it was best to divert Naruto's determination elsewhere.

"I won't attack him! I'm just going to ask him to change his mind about Sasuke."

When her breathing finally evened out, Kakashi took a deep breath and crept into her room. Normally, she'd have been able to detect his presence while asleep despite his being a superior nin, but the pregnancy had deteriorated her skills; that and she was probably really tired.

Kakashi pulled up his forehead protector, the one that proudly displayed the symbol of the Hidden Leaf Village, the proud Konohagakure, the virtuous, the lively, the humane. It was the village that Kakashi took pride in, the village he would die serving.

Kakashi hated it.

"Naruto, you have the nine-tailed beast inside you. That's why Danzo wants to keep you in the village; you'll be playing right into his hands if you go barging in. Then you won't be able to look for Sasuke. Calm down." Kakashi chastised the impatient blond. His impatience was another trait that the boy had inherited from Kushina.

Of course, this meant that Naruto would most likely go after the Raikage instead.

Revealing his Sharingan- Obito's Sharingan- in all its glory, Kakashi steeled himself for the deed. Grasping a kunai from his pouch, he intended to perhaps gently slit her throat, allowing the sleeping woman to die peacefully and with little pain.

'Just get it over with.' Kakashi told himself, hating himself.

Kakashi watched as Naruto pleaded with the Raikage, getting on all fours; he wanted to save not just the lives of his fellow teammates, but the lives of the ninja from Kumogakure as well. He wanted to end the cycle of hatred.

Kakashi's figure looming over Kushina's and as he brought the kunai down, Naruto let out a loud wail, giving Kakashi pause. Kushina's eyes snapped open at the noise and they looked straight into Kakashi's eyes. They suddenly flickered to the kunai in his hand, and back at Kakashi, disbelief and fear etched into them.

A kunai would no longer have sufficed; her death had to be quick. Kakashi had to act. And he did.

Kakashi glared at Danzo, the man that had been the root of everything. So much of the unnecessary hatred that existed in this world could be attributed to this man, if what had been revealed was the truth; all the despicable things that he had provoked. The annihilation of the Uchiha clan, the dealings with Orochimaru, not to mention the death of the Third Hokage or the birth of Pein.

As well as the assassination of Uzumaki Kushina.

Lightning immediately coated his hand, no hand seals required, and he plunged it into Kushina's chest, obliterating her innards with a sickening squelch. Kushina let out a strangled cry.

"Naru-" was all she could get out, reaching out for her bawling son before the light slowly faded from her eyes. The last thing she ever saw, the last thing she ever heard, was her beloved son, Naruto. Thanks to his Sharingan, thanks to Obito's Sharingan, Kakashi would never forget the image.

The look in her eyes at his betrayal; the disbelief, the fear... it would stay in his memory forever. Her last words, calling out desperately for her son. The warm feel of her vibrant blood on his hands, coloured crimson like her hair. Naruto's cries for his mother, who would never answer them again.

Kakashi would forever remember it all.

He had thought that Danzo's death would bring him comfort, but the anguish never left his heart. Kakashi could only watch, impassive and uncaring, as the old man died with Kakashi's hand sticking out of his chest.

Tears rolled down Kakashi's cheeks.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." he whispered over and over again, hoping that someone, anyone, would hear him, believe him, and forgive him.

Sasuke was furious that Kakashi had taken away his revenge, but Kakashi was entitled to it before Sasuke was, as he explained the sins Danzo had forced upon him to the collective audience, much to Naruto's shock. But as Kakashi died at the hands of his student, he realized something important.

Kakashi hated the Third Hokage for allowing this, he hated Danzo for suggesting this, he hated Homura and Koharu for accepting this... but most of all, Kakashi hated himself for actually doing it.

Naruto was right; revenge did nothing. The hatred never left his heart.

END

Just an idea that popped into my head that I had to get out. I was trying a different writing style, so it might come off as a bit uneven or weird. Especially the end; I wasn't sure how to end it, so it might not coincide with the rest of the story.

There is one thing that I wanted to clarify. I didn't specify which of Kakashi's students killed him, Naruto or Sasuke, and I won't. It's up to the reader, as each scenario has a different meaning that you can take away from it. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it.

And of course, leave a review to let me know what you thought!

Please and thank you!

knuckz