A/N: Hey, I've been in active on this sight for almost a year now. Well, Not inactive, just...I havent written anything in a while. I've pretty much focused on just being a betareader for a lot of people. Anyways, this story is based off of one of my favorite book series, The Night Angel Trilogy. It is an amazing read and you should check it out. The first three chapters will be based off of the chaps in the book, but after that it's all my story. It wont follow the basic plot of the story, much, just some key things I feel could be cool to add into this new alternate world of Naruto. So anyways I hope you all enjoy it and have a great time reading it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I have a plan on how to get it though. All I need is a legion of green spandex wearing freaks, a thousand mega phones, and one Madonna song. Let the siege begin!
Nogitsune squatted through the alley, cold mud squishing through his bare toes. He stared at the narrow space between the wall, trying to get his nerve up. The sun wouldn't come up for hours and the tavern was empty. Most taverns in the village had dirt floors, but this part of the Barrens was built over a small marshland, barely two houses long, and not even drunks wanted to drink knee deep in mud, so the tavern had been raised a few inches on stilts and floored with bamboo poles.
Coins sometimes dropped through the gaps in the bamboo, and the crawlspace was too small for most people to go after them. The guild's Big's were to large, and the Little's were too scared to squeeze into the suffocating darkness shared with spiders and rats and the half-wild tomcat the tavern keeper kept. Worst was the pressure of the bamboo on your back when someone walked overhead. It had been Nogitsune's favorite spot for a year, but he wasn't as small as he used to be. Last time he got stuck and had spent hours panicking until it rained and the ground was soft enough that he could dig his way out.
It was muddy now, and there would be no drunks and he had seen the tomcat leave. It should be fine. Besides, Mizuki was collecting guild dues tomorrow and Nogitsune didn't have four copper ryo. He didn't even have one, so there wasn't much choice. Mizuki wasn't understanding and he didn't know his own strength. Littles had died from his beatings.
Pushing aside mounds of mud, Nogitsune lay on his stomach. The dank earth soaked into his thin, filthy, orange clothes instantly. He'd have to work fast. He was skinny and if he caught a chill the odds of getting better weren't good.
Scooting past the darkness he began searching for the telltale metallic gleam. A couple of lamps were still burning in the tavern, so light filtered through the cracks, illuminating the mud and water in strange rectangles. He moved slowly and spider webs draped around his face and broke, and he felt a tingle on the back of his neck.
He froze. No, it was his imagination. Something glimmered and he grabbed his first copper ryo. He moved forward at a slow crawl until his pant leg caught on a branch. He tried get it loose but it wouldn't un-snag. Annoyed he pulled his leg forward swiftly and snapped the branch off, but the motion caused his knee to collide with a large rock hidden in the mud. He almost cried out and was instantly glad he hadn't. Through a wide space between the bamboo poles Nogitsune saw a man seated at he bar, still drinking. In the Barrens, you judge people quickly. Even if you had fast hands like Nogitsune did, when you stole every day, you were bound to get caught eventually. All merchants hit the guild bugs who stole from them, if they wanted any goods left to sell they had to. Some…some would take it even more personal than others, and the bugs unlucky enough to steal from them never stole again.
His focus solely on the seated man Nogitsune tried to pick any emotion or sign that the man wasn't aware of him, and if he was, whether or not he would die by his hands. Nogitsune thought he saw something kind and sad and lonely in this lanky figure. He was perhaps thirty, with spiky hair and a slim sword on his hip.
"How could you abandon me?" the man whispered so quietly Nogitsune could barely distinguish the words. He held a flagon in his left hand and cradled something Nogitsune couldn't see in his right. "After all these years I've served you, how could you abandon me now? Is it because of Rin?"
"Why Kakashi Hatake, you never fail to surprise." a new man said as he walked up the seated man. He had a kunai drawn and was in no way trying to hide it. Hw hadn't heard the sound of the door opening so the man must have dropped down from the rafters. "Hey, I'm all for calling a bluff, but you should have seen Rin when she figured out that you weren't going to save her. Made me damn near bawl my eye's out."
The lanky man turned to face the newcomer. His voice was slow, broken. "I killed six men tonight. Are you sure you want to make it seven?"
Nogitsune slowly caught up with what they'd been saying. The lanky man was the Shinobi Kakashi Hatake. A Shinobi was like an assassin-in the way a tiger is like a kitten. Among Shinobi's, Kakashi Hatake was undisputedly the best. Or, as the head of his guild said, at least the disputes didn't last long. And I thought Kakashi Hatake looked kind?
"Hatake, you'll be lucky of you don't cut your head off after all you've been drinking. Just in the time I've been watching, you've had-"
"Eight flagons. And I had four more before that."
Nogitsune wanted to run so badly, but he didn't dare move. He might accidentally splash the water around him and alert the men to his presence. Even if Kakashi Hatake looked kind, that was an awfully sharp sword, and Nogitsune knew better than to trust grown-ups.
"Your bluffing." The man facing Kakashi said, but there was fear in his voice.
"I don't bluff," Kakashi said. "Why don't you invite your friends in?"
Nogitsune watched as above him the assassin reached two fingers up to his lips and whistled. He didn't see Kakashi move, but the whistle ended as a gurgle and a moment later, the assassins body tumbled to the floor. There were yells as the front and back doors burst open. The boards flexed and jumped and in the noise Nogitsune was able to move from his spot and try to crawl towards an exit. As he was half way there he saw a vision of pink hair and large green eyes that stopped him cold.
Doll Girl. Nogitsune had to get those ryo, if not for himself, than for Doll girl. He gritted his teeth and searched frantically in the mud for the shimmering coins. The sounds of battle were dying down when he saw it. He edged forward and grabbed onto a small round coin that he thought he'd never see, let alone touch. A silver ryo. It was worth ten coppers! He could pay for his dues and still have enough left over to buy him, doll girl, and Haku some bread to eat tomorrow.
Grinning like mad, Nogitsune crawled his way to the exit then stopped. The sound of battle had stopped entirely now. A few feet away he could see something dripping from the floor boards into a puddle in the mud. It was too dark to see what it was, but it didn't take much imagination to guess.
The silence was eerie and Nogitsune could tell it was dangerous. If any of the men had survived he'd at least hear their panting, no human could fight hard and not get winded, let alone against the legend that was Kakashi Hatake. If Kakashi had survived then he would still be on guard waiting for the slightest sound incase of any hidden attackers. That meant if Nogitsune moved and was heard, Kakashi might think him an enemy and he'd end up dead. The entire fight must have last around fifty seconds, and Nogitsune was sure that they hadn't killed each other off if it ended that quickly.
He was chilled, and not just from the water. Death was no stranger in the Barrens, but Nogitsune had never seen so many people die so fast and so easily. Nogitsune waited for five minutes, and finally he slowly and soundlessly moved to leave the crawl space. If he were braver he would have looted the bodies in the tavern, but he just couldn't believe that Kakashi was dead. Maybe he was a demon like the other guild bugs said. Maybe he was standing outside, just waiting there to kill him for spying.
Chest tight with fear, Nogitsune dug his hands into the mud and shifted the last of the mud in front of him, giving him a clear path outside. He was a foot from the opening when something bright flashed in front of his nose, effectively slicing through some of his blond hair. It was so close, it took a moment to come into focus. It was Kakashi Hatake's sword, and it was stuck through the floor all the into the mud, barring Nogitsune's escape.
Just above him on the other side of the floor, Kakashi Hatake whispered, "Never speak of this. Understand? I've done worse than kill children."
The sword disappeared, and Nogitsune scrambled out into the night. He didn't stop running for miles.