Title: razor sharp blade
Summary: In the aftermath of the Kyuubi attack, Iwa finds it the perfect chance to strike out at Konoha, sparking another war between the two nations. Desperate after only barely defending itself, Konoha forces Naruto, the container of the Kyuubi, under the tutelage of ANBU Wolf to become the perfect weapon for Konoha. [au]
Warnings: Heterosexual and homosexual relationships, AU, unbetaed, slow pacing (for me, at least), swearing, violence, possible OOC, major and minor OCs, spoilers for Kakashi Gaiden, eventual strong-Naruto, future canon character deaths, etc.
Pairings: future SasuNaru and ObiKaka; other minor pairings as well. Mild Minato/Kushina
Notes: Hey look another project. Yay.
I don't own Naruto. Don't even understand why I need this here.
.
Prologue
"Only the dead have seen the end of war." – Plato
Konoha… is not doing well.
How can they, when thousands have lost their lives, and many, many more have lost their loved ones?
The Kyuubi is sealed now, into the body of a baby boy merely two days of age. His father and mother will be hailed as heroes, but that will do nothing to ease the baby's pain of growing up alone without a mother's nurturing and father's guidance.
People will direct their hate filled looks at Naruto, a baby, for something he has no control over, for doing nothing but become a prison (a sacrifice) for the monster that destroyed homes and lives.
Sarutobi Hiruzen leans forward, burying his face in his hands and tries very, very hard not to weep for the child's fate.
.
Bile rises in Kakashi's throat, making it hard to breathe, and his eye stings, Obito's already weeping and soaking the navy cloth of his hitai-ate.
It's only been three days—and we're being attacked. Kakashi can really only think of the unfairness of it all, but he closes his eye briefly, reminding himself that the world isn't fair. He of all people should know that.
He swallows, opening his eye once more, and adjusts his Wolf mask, adopting his ANBU persona immediately, deigning to ignore the roiling of turbulent emotions in the pit of his stomach. "Evacuate the area immediately," he shouts loudly, voice clear.
A kunai slips into his hand, its cold weight familiar to his gloved hands as he launches himself at an enemy shinobi going after a fleeing civilian boy, knocking him to the ground and slitting his throat before he can so much as flail. Kakashi only spares his hitai-ate a cursory glance before jumping away from him to go for the next shinobi.
Iwa. Why am I unsurprised? Kakashi muses internally, perhaps a little bitterly, as he rolls under a fire jutsu sent his way, kicking the attacker's feet from under him and stabbing down, only for his blood soaked kunai to meet steel instead of flesh.
The ANBU jumps back, raising his kunai defensively, studying his enemy closely while still alert for other attackers. His enemy has a mask covering his entire face save the slanted green eyes, and his choppy and short hair is tied up high.
Kakashi quickly deflects a kunai sent his way, the weapon hitting his with a klang and hitting the (once again) bloodstained ground.
A bright whitish blue glow is the only indication Kakashi gets before the exploding tag goes off, pervading the air with an acrid burning smell that fills Kakashi's hypersensitive nose along with a thick white cloud soon after. He almost coughs, but holds his breath, for the noise will alert the enemy to one of his weaknesses and his location.
Grimacing, Kakashi pulls out one of his own exploding tags and ties it to his kunai surreptitiously, always listening. Despite the noises of shinobi fighting and weapons clashing, it's still eerily silent, though that may have to do with the pure white surrounding him.
He hears the whisper of cloth, and a very sharp breath that is almost inaudible, but Kakashi whirls around, throwing the kunai in the slightly fading cloud of white. When he hears an involuntary grunt of pain, he assumes the kunai hit its target and when he hears a thud soon after, he jumps in the opposite direction as his exploding tag goes off.
The force from the explosion clears most of the white cloud away, but its heat also singes Kakashi's clothing from the back of his knee and down. He lands on his feet neatly, and when he hears a curse from the other shinobi, he takes a set of shruiken and throws them all in the general direction of the curse.
When Kakashi gives the shinobi (now with half their face mask burnt off) a closer look as the nin leaps out of the trajectory of his shruiken, he corrects himself. Kunoichi. Not that it matters what gender his opponent is.
After all, whether the kunoichi is male or female, she is still an enemy of Konoha, and therefore must be treated accordingly. Kakashi quickly slides up his hitai-ate beneath his Wolf mask, and the Sharingan whirls to life, its color a bloody red.
The kunoichi, clearly recognizing the Kekkai Genkai, takes an unconscious step back, and Kakashi allows himself a grim smile as he forms the hand seals for Chidori, electricity crackling along the length of his hand.
The next moment, his hand is protruding through her chest, and the kunoichi sags, limp and very clearly dead as Kakashi withdraws his blood soaked hand, already feeling the telltale buzz of dizziness in the back of his head from mild chakra exhaustion.
He slides the hitai-ate over Obito's eye, feeling the drain of chakra disappear immediately, and looks around for anybody who might need help. Upon seeing nobody in the nearby vicinity, Kakashi quickly collects his weapons and heads after the civilians with a kunai in hand.
As he rounds the corner, he spots a team of Konoha ANBU heading the same direction as him, and nods slightly before making the private hand signal for Konoha to signal that he's one of them. They do the same, and Kakashi falls into step with Tiger.
The five ANBU are on alert, and at the first sign of possible trouble, one of them heads off to fix it. After hearing a high pitched scream, Tiger leaves Kakashi's side immediately, while Bee heads in the direction of a puff of smoke.
"Boo," purrs a voice in Kakashi's ear, and immediately he whirls around, kunai in hand, but it's too late when something sharp digs its way into the flesh of Kakashi's side, missing his heart (which is what Kakashi assumes the shinobi had been aiming for) only because of Kakashi jumping and turning.
Black creeps in around his vision, and he feels something coppery and wet at the back of his throat. His fingers nearly slip around the blade of the kunai, and he pulls back, just as the enemy pulls his weapon out of Kakashi's side as the ANBU gives a gasp of pain.
Cat grabs his arm to prevent him from collapsing, sliding an arm under Kakashi's knees as well and through his hazy vision, sees him nod briefly at the remaining two ANBU members, Fox and Bear, for them to deal with the enemy.
Then he passes out.
.
He wakes with a gasp, only to wince when it strains the injury in his side. "Easy there, Hatake-san," murmurs the medic sitting in the tent, and Kakashi can see dark bags under the medic's eyes. Since I'm in a tent and not captured or being tortured, I suppose we drove the Iwa off…
"Cat?" Kakashi tries to ask, but his voice cracks, most likely from lack of water. Nevertheless, the medic understands, standing up from his seat and wordlessly handing him a glass of the fluid before turning away politely so Kakashi can drink, a gesture that Kakashi appreciates immensely.
"The ANBU who carried you in? Has a short scratch on his stomach. Awake already. He'll be fine."
Kakashi breathes out a sigh of relief—at least Tenzo's fine.
"Do you want to see him?"
"If it is possible."
The medic ducks out of the tent, and after a few moments, returns with Tenzo in tow. His kohai brightens imperceptibly, and the medic gives them their space by heading outside once more.
"Kakashi-senpai," Tenzo greets him, with a faint and relieved smile. "How are you feeling?"
"Alright. I don't think I'll be able to move for a while though." Kakashi grimaces. "Fox and Bear?"
Tenzo's small smile drops off his face, and that's everything that Kakashi needs to know. He bows his head slightly. "Oh."
"Bee has a dislocated shoulder, and Tiger has a few pretty bad burns from explosive tags," Tenzo adds, and it's a clearly an attempt to keep Kakashi's mind away from Fox and Bear. "They're resting up in another tent."
Kakashi draws in a shaky breath, running one hand through his messy silver hair, pulling sharply and relishing the small amount of pain it brings—anything to distract himself from another two teammates lost—the other clutching the green blanket his legs are tangled in. "The shinobi who got me?"
"Dead. Fox took him out with him."
He closes his eye, squeezing it shut to prevent himself from crying. Shinobi don't show their emotions. ANBU have no emotions. A shinobi must not show his tears. ANBU have no tears to cry.
"I'm sorry," says Tenzo quietly. For being the bringer of the news.
"Why?" Kakashi asks, voice hoarse for a reason other than a lack of water, and he's not asking Tenzo why he's sorry. Why is war so unfair?
"I don't know," Tenzo replies, tone soft, and understanding his meaning.
He turns away, pretending not to hear the sob escape from Kakashi's throat.
.
a/n: I wondered what the Naruto series would look like if Naruto grew up in an era of war instead of peace. This was born.
Leave a review, telling me what you think? I really appreciate feedback and constructive criticism.
And by the way, this fic isn't just getting a plot bunny out of the way like "burning flames of will". I actually intend to continue it.