Guardian


Kakashi knows that a seasoned shinobi should be no stranger to scars.

He has a scar that seems to go through one of his eyes, and a scar across his stomach from where he was stabbed on that mission in Amegakure, and scars all across his fingers (namely, his thumb) from doing summoning jutsu.

He knows that Naruto has a scar buried in his hair somewhere, from where Sakura punched him in the forehead once and one of her nails caught. She tried to heal it but it scarred anyway, and years later the scar receded into his hairline as he grew.

He knows that Sasuke had a scar under one of his eyes from where one of Haku's senbon grazed his skin…and he knows that Sasuke didn't even know the scar was there. He knows that not even Sakura, fangirl extraordinaire, knew about the scar.

He knows that Iruka has a scar that goes across the bridge of his nose, though he never cared to ask how it had gotten there.

He knows that Hayate had a scar on one of his biceps, and he knows that the scar had been there since Hayate's first day with a sword. He'd swung it wrong.

He knows that Shikamaru has a scar on his neck from a time when the shadow possession jutsu had gone terribly wrong and his enemy had a kunai, and he knows that Shikamaru's dad has two scars on the left side of his face, but he doesn't know how they got there.

A seasoned shinobi is no stranger to scars.

But as he watches Sakura getting changed in the temporary ANBU tent, he sees that she has no scars.

So he grabs his kunai holster from the futon's side and clears his throat, and Sakura jumps and turns red, and when she is finished tying her hair up, they leave together.

He'll make sure she doesn't get any, because this is what he always does, and who he is, and what his duty has become.

He's her guardian, and he will take the battle scars in her stead. (Like he did on that mission on Amegakure.)

And he knows by now–more than he knows about who has a scar–how to prevent them.

...Because this is what he always does, and who he is, and what his duty has become.


Author's Notes: A very subtle attempt at KakaSaku because I hadn't written any in over a year.