Blood
Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Asuma, Neji, Kiba and Shikamaru were all on a mission together. The mission was an A rank mission and Tsunade thought it would give the Genin a chance to experience a real A rank mission. She let team seven go and she picked three other Genin that she felt would be ready for this type of mission. She had told Asuma to go along just in case something happened that another Jounin would be needed. It wasn't tradition to do things this way, but Tsunade felt like this would be good for Genin to slowly be introduced into harsher and more violent missions. This particular mission was to find a killer and eliminate him. This killer had apparently killed three men in the last two months and the village has asked for Konoha's assistance in eliminating the killer. They had witnesses to the crimes and they knew who the man was, the problem was they couldn't track him or were strong enough to kill him. That was why they wanted ninja to take on the job. Tsunade was more than happy to accept the job offer and she sent in her team to handle it. She knew that Kakashi and Asuma would keep the Genin safe and they would get the job done. They were just twelve and thirteen years old and she didn't want them traumatized by anything they saw; however, they needed to see the experiences they would face one day on their own.
Kakashi, Asuma and the six Genin made their way to the Village of clouds. It was only a day travel away from Konoha and it was a bright sunny day out. Kakashi was in front followed by the Genin and then Asuma last, just in case something happened. They had both spoken to the six Genin before they left Konoha about what they might see on this mission. They wanted them to understand and know that they might see a dead body, that they might be put in a position where they will have to kill. Kakashi was worried about Sasuke the most. Sasuke had already seen enough dead bodies in his life he didn't need to see anymore. Kakashi couldn't help, but he was worried and concerned for how Sasuke would react to seeing a dead body since his family's death. Kakashi and Asuma wanted the Genin to feel comfortable enough to speak to them if something happens that bothers them. They didn't want to push them; this was a touchy subject and a difficult road to cross. Once a ninja crosses that line they can never go back.
They stopped when they were a couple hours away for the night. Kakashi and Asuma didn't want them going into the village in the dark, plus everyone would be asleep so there really wasn't a point in going into the village. So they camped out just a couple hours away from the village for the night. Kakashi took the first watch and noticed that everyone was asleep, but Sasuke seemed to be tossing and turning in his sleep. Kakashi had seen Sasuke have a few nightmares over the few months that he had been assigned to team seven. Usually Sasuke would wake up and Kakashi would ask if he was alright and Sasuke would never talk about it. Kakashi figured that the seriousness of the mission they were on was causing the nightmare. Kakashi knew that Sasuke would be affected by the mission more than anyone else on the squad. Sasuke had already been around blood and death. Being around more blood and death would bring up some unpleasant memories for him. Kakashi waited for Sasuke to wake up or settle down. After a few minutes Sasuke startled awake. Kakashi could hear his rapid breathing and he thought about going over to talk to him. After a moment Kakashi decided to wait and see if Sasuke would go back to sleep or not. Sasuke didn't come over he just laid back down and closed his eyes; though Kakashi could tell that Sasuke didn't go back to sleep for the rest of the night.
The next morning they all got up just after eight in the morning. They packed up their things and headed out. Kakashi kept a close eye on Sasuke as they travelled. He could tell that he didn't go back to sleep the night before and that could lead to problems for the mission. They traveled the remaining two hours in silence all feeling ready for whatever was going to be coming. What they weren't prepared for, not even Kakashi and Asuma were prepared, for what they saw. They all stopped in their tracks as they saw the town. There were dead bodies all throughout the street. There was blood on the walls of the buildings and all over the street. You could tell that the kill was only a few hours old for the smell was strong. It took Kakashi a moment for his brain to register what was going on and the depth of this situation. Kakashi went over to Sasuke and put his right hand over Sasuke's eyes and pulled him against his chest. Kakashi could feel Sasuke trembling in his arms and his breathing was picking up speed. It was bad enough that everyone else saw it, but Sasuke should have never seen this. The flashbacks and memories that this will bring were endless. Sasuke had already seen his own family being slaughtered he didn't need this to. Kakashi started to back up, but kept his hand over Sasuke's eyes and another one around his waist to guide him back.
"Everyone pull back." Kakashi said
The Genin didn't have to be told twice they all turned and walked out of the village. Asuma had a concerned look on his face and he knew that this mission was not going to end well. Kakashi slowly went to turn Sasuke around when they reached the others over by a tree. They could still see the bodies if they faced that way, but the smell was gone. Everyone was confused as to why Kakashi had placed his hand over Sasuke's eyes. This site was horrible, but Kakashi immediately went to Sasuke and Asuma even moved to be by him. Even when they were away from the village Kakashi still kept his hand over Sasuke's eyes.
"Kakashi sensei what's going on with Sasuke?" Naruto asked
"Sasuke what the hell you totally freaked out." Kiba said
"Kakashi- sensei what's wrong with Sasuke?" Sakura asked
"Everyone shut up." Kakashi said with his hand still over Sasuke's eyes.
They were all taken back by Kakashi's harsh words. He had never spoken to any of them like that and that wasn't helping their curiosity either. Kakashi moved so he was in front of Sasuke, but still kept his hand over his eyes.
"Sasuke I'm going to move my hand. Do not turn around. You need to stay facing this way."
Sasuke just gave a nod and Kakashi moved his hand away from his student's eyes. You could see the fear clearly in his eyes. Kakashi knew his mind was overloaded with memories.
"Sasuke talk to me. What do you see?" Kakashi kept his voice soft and gentle.
"Their screams. The blood, it was everywhere and it never came out. No matter how hard I tried it wouldn't come out."
Sasuke started to hyperventilate and the Genin couldn't believe what they were seeing. They had never seen Sasuke react like this. Sure what they saw was horrific, but they were able to handle it a lot better than Sasuke. What was even more confusing was that Kakashi and Asuma seemed to know more than they did.
"Sasuke slow your breathing down. You need to try and focus your mind elsewhere." Asuma said calmly.
He was worried about what affect this will have on Sasuke's already traumatized mind. He hadn't gotten over the death of his family and Asuma couldn't blame him. He heard about what happened from Kakashi. Kakashi was the one that found Sasuke that night, though Sasuke didn't know that. Kakashi had told Asuma how he found Sasuke in his family's meditation room. He was in the corner covered in blood with his dead parents in the room. From what they could put together, Sasuke had shown up near the end of the massacre, just in time to see his parents being killed. Sasuke had some bruising from an obvious fight and at some point he ended up covered in his parents' blood. Sasuke had already seen a massacre and this was just going to fill his mind up with those memories. Sasuke did his best to slow his breathing back down to normal, but the images wouldn't go away.
"They won't go away."
"Sasuke listen to my voice. Look around, you are standing in a field. The grass is green, the sky is blue, the sun is out and birds are chirping away in the trees. It is not that night five years ago. Focus on what you see right now and not what happened back then. Just look around and focus your mind to the here and now." Kakashi said
Sasuke tried to do as Kakashi instructed. He took a few moments to look around at his surroundings. He knew he had to get his mind to focus on what he saw and not what he was remembering. The problem was it was harder than he thought it would be. After a few minutes he was able to see the green grass and not blood covered cement. Feeling a bit more in control he spoke.
"I'm okay."
"Just take some breaths and focus on what your eyes see and not what your brain is showing you." Kakashi turned his attention to Asuma. "We need to figure out a plan. The whole town looks to be dead."
"We have to check and make sure that is the case. We can't risk leaving when some might be alive." Asuma said back
"We also have a mission we need to catch this man." Naruto said
"Sensei we can't just leave and not complete our mission." Kiba said
"There might be people in there that need help. We can't just leave them here and not look." Neji said
"It's not that simple." Kakashi said
"Why because Sasuke freaked out. He just needs to grow a pair." Kiba said
"Shut up Kiba. You clearly don't remember what happened five years ago." Shikamaru said in Sasuke's defense. Kiba was shocked at his friend's words. Shikamaru was always laid back and never said much and he certainly never defended Sasuke before.
"Remember what five years ago? I was seven and since when do you defend Mr. Perfect?"
"Five years ago was when the Uchiha Clan was massacred. Based on Sasuke's reaction to the massacre behind us, I would say he was there for it." Neji said
"Wait you were there? You saw it happen?" Naruto asked shocked that he didn't know that.
Sasuke just gave a small nod to the questions. The six Genin couldn't believe that Sasuke had seen his own family get murdered. Kiba felt horrible for what he had said. It only made sense that what they had just seen would trigger memories in Sasuke. It was like reliving a nightmare all over again.
"Sasuke I'm sorry I didn't know." Kiba said
"It's fine. What are we going to do?" Sasuke asked Kakashi.
Kakashi let out a breath he honestly didn't know what to do. He knew they had to go back in, but there was no way Sasuke was going to be able to go through the village and see it all. They had a mission to do and there was a good chance that the killer was still in the village. From what they were told this man was disturbed and not all there. After killing everyone he wouldn't see a point in leaving right away. He didn't want to leave Sasuke outside of the village though. If something happened they wouldn't get to him in time or even know about it. If he was nearby and they left Akamaru with him then they could get to him if something happened. Sasuke could stay in one of the houses that were cleared for bodies and just stay away from the windows he would be okay. The trick was getting Sasuke to that point.
"Sasuke do you trust me?" Kakashi's tone was serious and he looked directly into Sasuke's eyes.
"Yes"
"We have to go in there. We need to see if anyone is alive and needs help. Our killer is most likely still in the village. We can't turn back right now. However, I can't just leave you here. If something happens you're too far away for us to get here in time. So here's what we are going to do. I am going to cover your eyes while we walk through the village. When we find a safe house, one that has no bodies in it. You and Akamaru will stay there while we continue looking. If something happens then Akamaru can come get us and we will be close enough to get to you in time."
"Okay."
Kakashi went and took Sasuke's forehead protector off from his head. He then put it over Sasuke's eyes and tied it around the back of his head so he couldn't see anything.
"Alright I'm going to put my hands on your shoulders and guide you through." Kakashi said
"You all need to be extremely careful. There is a good chance that our killer is still within the village. We need to check for any survivors, this means each body we need to check for a pulse. If there isn't one move on; if there is one then we need to try and save their life. Each building also needs to be searched for the killer. We are now sitting on an S-class mission. Keep your eyes open and use your brains." Asuma said
They all nodded their heads and got themselves prepared for what they were about to do. Kakashi placed his hands on Sasuke's shoulders and turned him around. Kakashi stood behind Sasuke now with one hand on each shoulder. Kakashi knew that this wasn't going to be easy for Sasuke, he knew the smell would trigger some memories and all Kakashi could do was hope that this would be over soon. Asuma took the lead and started to head back into the village. The Genin and Kakashi followed him and the smell was like hitting a brick wall.
"If you throw up then you throw up. Believe me Kakashi and I have been sick many times." Asuma said trying his best to sound reassuring.
"We need to check the bodies for a pulse if there is none then just move on to the next." Kakashi said.
The Genin gave a nod and they slowly made their way over to the bodies. Neji and Shikamaru tried to look at this from a ninja's point of view. It was a dead body they couldn't do anything, but be professional and get it over with as quickly as possible. Naruto, Sakura and Kiba were a little more apprehensive about touching a dead person. There were so many and the blood was everywhere they didn't think they could do this. What was worse was knowing that Sasuke had to go through this after having to see a massacre first hand. They really had no idea that he had seen his own family being murdered. For Sasuke to have to go through this all over again was horrific, but they could only do what was in their power. So they tried to move quickly by checking the bodies for a pulse and searching the buildings. After an hour of being out on the street they finally found a clear house that Sasuke could stay there and wait. Once inside the house Kakashi removed the headband from Sasuke's eyes.
"Alright we are going to continue to search the village. This house is cleared there's no blood and no bodies. You and Akamaru will stay here if something happens Akamaru will come and get us. If the killer shows up here you need to try and hide or get out. Do not fight this man. He is clearly strong and has no issues in murdering people. Myself and Asuma will handle him. Do you understand?"
Sasuke just gave a nod.
"Once we have cleared the village we'll come back here. Be careful."
Kiba put Akamaru down on the ground and told him to stay with Sasuke and keep an eye out. Akamaru barked at Kiba and went over to Sasuke's feet. They took one last look at the two before heading back out into the village to continue checking. Sasuke looked down at Akamaru.
"I guess it's just us."
*Bark*
"Now what do we do?"
Akamaru put his two front paws on Sasuke's leg so he was standing up. Sasuke bent down and picked Akamaru up and held him in his arms as Akamaru tried to cuddle into Sasuke's arms. Sasuke couldn't help, but let a small sad smile show on his face. Even though Akamaru was just a puppy he was trying his best to comfort Sasuke. It almost made Sasuke think about getting a dog so he wouldn't be so lonely at home. Uchiha's were cat people, but a cat didn't welcome you home when you walked through the door. A cat couldn't go for walks or come train with you. A dog lived with you compared to a cat that lived around you. This was definitely making Sasuke think about the possibility of getting a puppy. He could always have the neighbors watch it when he had a mission he was sure they wouldn't mind. It was an elderly couple that looked after his place when he was on a mission and they had a dog of their own. Sasuke took a walk around the house trying to keep his mind from looking out any windows. He held Akamaru in his arms the whole time.
It had been a couple hours and they still weren't back yet. Sasuke and Akamaru had been sitting down on the couch the whole time. Sasuke was getting restless just sitting around waiting so he decided to go upstairs and look around. Akamaru followed behind him the whole time. Upstairs there was a bathroom and two bedrooms. The house was small and clearly only three people at most lived in the house. The room was a child's room, boy to be specific. If Sasuke had to guess the boy couldn't be any more than fifteen based on the items in the room. Sasuke saw the master bedroom and noticed both male and female items. Sasuke didn't want to think about how this family was most likely dead. He was about to turn around and leave when he heard the front door open and close. Sasuke turned around to look at the bedroom door. He waited to hear someone call his name, but it never came. All he heard were footsteps walking around downstairs. Akamaru looked up at him and Sasuke looked down at him back. If this was someone he knew they would have called his name out. Which meant that this was either a victim trying to hide or the killer was downstairs. Based on everything he saw outside Sasuke highly doubted it was a survivor. Which left only one option.
Sasuke looked around trying to figure out a plan. He had to get Akamaru to leave so he could find the team, but he couldn't go out the front door. That just left going out a window, a window that Sasuke was bound to see blood and bodies on the ground. Not only that, he didn't know if he could actually open the window without the killer hearing him. The man was obviously a trained killer and would be able to hear pretty damn well. Sasuke knew he wouldn't be strong enough to kill him himself, so he had to get help. Sasuke looked over to where the window was. The curtain was down so he couldn't see outside. He slowly and as quietly as possible walked over to the window and unlocked it. Once it was unlocked he gently tried to lift it up without too much noise. He could hear the killer's footsteps stop moving around downstairs. He obviously heard something and Sasuke knew he wouldn't have much time. He lifted Akamaru up into his arms and put him by the window so he could jump out, but he never moved the curtain so he couldn't see outside. Akamaru didn't waste any time he went out the window and started to run off in the direction that he smelt Kiba was in.
Sasuke heard the footsteps once again as the killer climbed the stairs. Sasuke started to look around the room for anything that he could use as a weapon. The problem was he was only in a bedroom, of whom he could assume were nice quiet people. There wasn't anything remotely close to a weapon in here. As much as he hated it the only thing he could do was hide and the only place there was to hide was under the bed. The closest held double glass doors the man would be able to see him in there. In a split second decision Sasuke went to the bed and slid underneath it. Sasuke couldn't see anything from underneath the bed; all he could do was listen to the footsteps as they made it to the top of the stairs.
Sasuke tried not to breath, for he felt like it he did then the killer would hear him. It was crazy, but he couldn't help it. He could hear the footsteps coming closer to him and he closed his eyes to try and calm his nerves down. He didn't know what the man was doing, but he heard him walking towards the window. Sasuke figured he was looking out of it to see if anyone was out there. He heard the footsteps walking away from the window and after a moment everything went silent. Sasuke didn't move and he didn't breathe. He just laid there on the floor and waited to see what was going to happen. Either the man had left the room and gave up looking or he was standing right there by the bed just waiting. Sasuke didn't know what to do, but he knew there was nothing he could do. Akamaru left to get the team so they would be here eventually all he had to do was just wait it out. Except the man had a whole other idea. By the time Sasuke's mind registered what was happening it was too late; he was being dragged out from underneath the bed by his hair. Sasuke's fight or flight instincts immediately kicked in and Sasuke started to kick and pull at the man's hands in his hair. He needed to get the man off from him so he could get away. He knew that he wouldn't be strong enough against someone this cold and heartless. The man had killed an entire village without a second thought and he wouldn't stop to think twice about killing Sasuke. Sasuke was able to get the man's hands out of his hair and he tried to get up only to be kicked back down. It took the man less than a second to be on Sasuke. He was punching Sasuke anywhere he could land them and all Sasuke could do was put his hands up to try and block the punches. That's when Sasuke remembered he had his kunai pouch on him. He used his right hand and reached for a kunai and once he had one he slashed out at the man. A groan from the man told Sasuke that he had hurt him with it, though based on what happened next the man was clearly not happy about it. The man grabbed Sasuke by the throat with his left hand and used the other hand to grab Sasuke's wrist with the kunai in it. Without much force the man twisted Sasuke's wrist back causing it to snap. Sasuke's scream of pain got caught in his throat due to the man's strength that was chocking him. With the kunai no longer in his hand the man stood up bringing Sasuke with him. He was still chocking him and Sasuke could feel his lungs burning from the lack of oxygen.
The man threw Sasuke at the closet door and as his body hit the glass it shattered cutting into Sasuke's skin. He landed on the floor with glass all around him and in his skin. The man was far from done though. He grabbed Sasuke by the ankle and dragged him back out and over the glass. Sasuke struggled and kicked as best as he could, but his body was getting filled with pain. He knew he needed to do something to end this soon or he would be dead. So Sasuke kicked out and landed a kick right to the man's crotch. The pain caused him to drop Sasuke's ankle and Sasuke took advantage of the pain. He kicked out again and landed a blow to the man's stomach, he did it again until the man was on his knees. Though, the man was only down for a few seconds as his anger hit a whole new level. The man was on him again, punching him anywhere he could. Sasuke heard a few snaps and knew that his ribs had been broken. With his left hand he felt the floor for anything that could be used as a weapon. His hand touched a larger shard of glass and Sasuke picked it up and slashed out with it. The room went silent and it wasn't until Sasuke felt the warm blood going all over him did Sasuke realise just where he had cut the man. Sasuke had slashed his throat and the man was now hovering over him bleeding out. The blood was going all over Sasuke and his hand that was holding the glass. The man fell on top of Sasuke and that snapped him out of his trance. Sasuke shoved the man off of him, causing more blood to get on him. Sasuke sat up and moved away from the now dead man on the floor. His back hit the wall right next to the closet and he didn't move. All he could do was look at the man and the blood that was still pouring out of his neck. The bloody shard of glass was lying on the floor next to him. Sasuke looked down at all the blood that covered his hands and arms and his mind was filled with images all over again. Sasuke didn't even hear the voices calling his name or the footsteps that ran throughout the house.
Kakashi and the team had run back to the house that they had left Sasuke in. Kakashi couldn't believe it when Akamaru came to them. Kakashi didn't actually think the man would show up at that house. Kakashi had thought the man would be hiding in a different building and wouldn't have moved from it. When they got back to the house they immediately called out Sasuke's name only to get no response. Kakashi ran up the stairs and started searching the rooms. When he came to the master bedroom he couldn't believe what he saw. There was a man dead on the floor with blood and glass all over the place and there was Sasuke with his back to the wall and shaking. The dead man was clearly their killer and from the looks of it Sasuke had killed him. Kakashi bent down in front of Sasuke to get a good look at him. His right wrist was broken, he had bruising all over his face, a bloody lip was causing blood to run down his chin. There was bruising around his neck like he had been chocked and he was covered in blood; blood that Kakashi knew was the killer's. The worst part was the look on Sasuke's face. His eyes were locked onto the dead man's body, he was shaking horribly and Kakashi knew that in Sasuke's mind right now were horrific images of his dead family. Kakashi had to get him out of this room and get the blood off from his hands, before he could even get Sasuke out of his mind. The others in the room couldn't believe what they were seeing. Asuma went over to Kakashi and Sasuke to try and see if he could help at all. Sasuke wasn't the type of person that should be killing, with his past it wasn't going to be doing any good for him. It was an argument that Kakashi had with Tsunade before this mission started. He didn't think that putting Sasuke in a mission where someone would be killed was the best idea. The boy was thirteen years old and traumatized he didn't need to be seeing dead bodies.
"We need to get him out of this room." Kakashi said to Asuma.
"There's a bathroom down the hall. If we can get the blood off it might help him." Asuma said
Kakashi reached out and gently placed his hand on the side of Sasuke's face, "Sasuke"
That got Sasuke's attention slightly. Sasuke looked over at Kakashi, but didn't say anything. Kakashi could see that his eyes were full of pain. Kakashi placed his hands on Sasuke's upper arms and gently got him to get up off the floor and onto his feet. Kakashi guided Sasuke out of the room and down the hall to where the washroom was. Kakashi turned on the water to a warm temperature and got Sasuke to put his hands in it. He stood beside Sasuke as Sasuke gently began to move his hands under the warm water. Kakashi grabbed a cloth and wet it and started to get the blood off from Sasuke's arms and face. After a good twenty minutes the blood was all gone and Kakashi could see Sasuke's injuries more clearly. Sasuke's brain was still not really home and the longer he was like this the more worried Kakashi got. Kakashi was furious at himself for leaving Sasuke here alone. He should have left him here with Asuma or himself to keep him safe. Instead he left him with Akamaru, a dog that couldn't fight. Kakashi guided Sasuke out of the washroom and saw all the looks of concerns from the others.
"Our mission is complete. Let's head home and inform Tsunade of what has happened." Kakashi said as he guided Sasuke down the stairs.
The others followed behind him and before they left Kakashi made sure to put the headband back over Sasuke's eyes once again. He didn't need Sasuke any worse than he already was. Once outside of the village Kakashi put Sasuke's headband back to its original place. They traveled fast and all through the night. Kakashi and Asuma knew that even though the Genin would be tired; they knew none of them would be able to sleep after what they saw. There was no point in stopping; so they pushed through to Konoha where they could go home and be with their families. Naruto could go speak with Iruka about what they saw and how they felt about it. Kakashi would bring Sasuke back home with him to keep an eye on him and help him through this. Not only did Sasuke have to recover from what he saw, but now he had to recover from what he did. Kakashi knew it wasn't easy after your first kill and Sasuke would be even more sensitive to it than the average ninja.
When they reached Konoha it was barely light out. Kakashi sent the Genin home and said goodbye to Asuma. He took Sasuke to see Tsunade so he could report back and Sasuke could get healed. Sasuke had yet to say anything the whole way back and the longer Sasuke was in silence the more worried Kakashi got. When they reached the Hokage Tower Kakashi didn't bother knocking on Tsunade's door, he just entered and had Sasuke beside him. Tsunade looked up annoyance clear on her face at being interrupted. However, it faded when she saw it was Kakashi and Sasuke. Tsunade got up and headed over towards them. She could see Sasuke's broken wrist and the bruising on his face.
"What happened?" Tsunade asked as she began to heal Sasuke's wrist.
"We ran into some trouble. When we reached the village they were all slaughtered. They all saw it. Sasuke had a hard time with it; we had to get him out of there. The problem was we couldn't just abandon the mission the killer was still in the village. So we blindfolded Sasuke and when we cleared a house and made sure there were no bodies in it. We left Sasuke and Akamaru in the house while we continued our search. A couple hours later Akamaru came to us, the killer had entered the house Sasuke was in. We hurried back, but Sasuke had managed to kill him. We found Sasuke covered in the man's blood and obviously injured. He hasn't spoken a word since."
"I'll heal him and then you can take him home. I think some sleep and some time will help him greatly."
"He'll be with me tonight."
Tsunade just gave a nod. "How are the others?"
"We travelled through the night. They are clearly exhausted, but they wouldn't have been able to sleep. After seeing a massacre I can't say I blame them. Naruto said he was going to see Iruka and the others are going home to their family. I'm sure in a couple of days they will be fine. It's Sasuke I'm most concerned about."
"He shouldn't be alone for a few days until he is in better shape. Take him home or to your place it's up to you, but stay with him for a few days. Make sure you write up a report."
"I think him being back home would be better."
"He's healed, he'll be sore for a week or so though so no training. Take him home Kakashi."
Kakashi didn't need to be told twice. He gently placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and guided him outside once again. The walk to Sasuke's apartment was done in silence just like the last day had been. Kakashi was really getting worried about this. It was like Sasuke was catatonic from everything that has happened in the last two days. They got to Sasuke's apartment and Kakashi took his shoes off and Sasuke did the same. Kakashi took Sasuke into his bedroom and sat Sasuke down on the bed. Kakashi went over to his dresser and pulled out a clean shirt and a pair of shorts for Sasuke to change into. His clothes were dirty and covered in blood. He placed the clothes down on the bed beside Sasuke, but Sasuke didn't make any move to grab the clothes. Kakashi bent down so he was in front of Sasuke and gently placed a hand to his cheek.
"Sasuke come on let's get out of those clothes. You'll feel better once you are out of the blood."
Sasuke still didn't move it was like Kakashi was talking to a wall. Kakashi moved his hands to the hem of Sasuke's shirt and started to lift it up. That snapped Sasuke out of his daze slightly and he began to take his shirt off. Kakashi helped him being careful of any injuries. Once the shirt was off Kakashi saw the extent of the damages. Sasuke had multiple cuts on his torso as well as bruising. In some of the cuts there were small pieces of glass. That's when Kakashi remembered the glass shattered on the floor. Sasuke must have gone through it.
"I'll be right back."
Kakashi went into the bathroom to get the first aid kit. He needed to get the glass out of the cuts or else it could get infected. He went back into the bedroom and bent down in front of Sasuke once again. He opened the first aid kit and took out a pair of tweezers.
"Sasuke you have some glass in your cuts. I need to take it out. I'm sorry if this hurts at all.
Again Kakashi received no answer so he went ahead. After he removed the glass from Sasuke's front he checked his back for any as well. After a good twenty minutes Kakashi was satisfied that there was no glass left. He put the tweezers away and then helped Sasuke get the new clean shirt on. He made sure to turn his attention to the wall by the window when Sasuke changed his shorts. Once he was dressed again Kakashi grabbed the bloody clothes and put them in the bathroom to wash later. When he returned he pulled back the covers of the bed and got Sasuke to sit down on the bed, but he wouldn't lie down. Kakashi went over to the other side of the bed and crawled under the covers with Sasuke. Sasuke didn't do anything, but just sit there and Kakashi was trying to figure out how he could get Sasuke to relax.
"Sasuke I know this is hard, but you need to try and get some sleep."
Sasuke just shook his head no.
"I know this isn't easy. It's not easy to take someone's life for the first time. I was ten when I first did it and I was destroyed for a long time. I didn't tell anyone and finally my father asked me what was so wrong with me and I told him. The second I told him though, I felt like this weight was taken off my shoulders. I felt like I could finally breathe again and after I told him things got better. I know it's hard and talking about it seems like climbing a mountain, but you just start then the words will just come out."
Kakashi saw a single tear roll down Sasuke's bruised cheek. He took a shaky breath before he started to talk.
"I hid and I hate that I hid, but I did. Once I got Akamaru out the window I hid under the bed and listened to his footsteps. I'm a ninja and I hid under the bed from a man. I hate myself for that. I hate myself for letting what happened five years ago get into my head. All I could think about was how this man killed these people like they were nothing just like he did to the Clan. I put him on the same level as Itachi and just the memories and that feeling alone I doubted myself."
"Sasuke this man killed an entire village. Men twice your age and three times the size of you; this man killed them like they were made of paper. After everything you have been through growing up you had every reason to be afraid. If it was anyone else in your position, not even including what happened in your past, they would have been under that bed to. You can't hate yourself for doing the right thing. I told you to hide, that you were not to fight this man. You followed my orders and you did the right thing by hiding. Don't even hate yourself for surviving. What happened after he caught you?"
"I thought he left, because I couldn't hear his footsteps. I was wrong. He reached under the bed and dragged me out. It all happened so fast after that. I remember him on top of me and hitting me and chocking me. I grabbed a kunai and I slashed out at him. I must have hit him because he made a groan. He broke my wrist after that and the next thing I knew he picked me up by my throat and threw me through the glass closet doors. He grabbed my ankle and I kicked out at him. I landed a few kicks before he was on top of me again. I found a shard of glass and I just wanted to cut him so I could get away. I didn't plan on killing him. I didn't even realise what happened until the blood was everywhere. That's when I saw that I had slashed his throat. He fell on top of me and I pushed him away. After that it goes fuzzy until we're in the bathroom."
"I'm so sorry that I left you there alone. I know Akamaru was with you, but he wasn't going to be any help in a fight. I should have stayed with you. For that matter I should have just canceled the mission. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you from this."
"It's not your fault. You had to make a decision and you made yours. It was the right one to make. I just…"
Sasuke stopped and took a moment to fight back the tears that were threatening to take over. He closed his eyes and fought them back. He couldn't cry over this and he wouldn't let himself do it in front of Kakashi. That was all thrown out the window though the second Kakashi pulled Sasuke into a hug. Kakashi wasn't going to just sit there and watch Sasuke struggle not to fall apart. He was the boy's sensei; he was the one responsible for him. Seeing how he didn't have any parents to comfort him Kakashi wasn't going to just up and leave the boy to deal with this on his own. Sasuke had tears pouring down his face and he struggled to get the words out.
"I just… I don't want to be him… I can't be like him."
Kakashi knew who the "Him" was that Sasuke was talking about. Sasuke was nothing like Itachi and he meant that in every positive way there was.
"Sasuke listen to me. You are nothing like Itachi. I know a lot of people have told you that your whole life, bit I mean that in a good way. Itachi was cold, heartless and could kill on demand. He was eight years old when he was forced to kill and watch people die. That wasn't his fault, but that was the path that was given to him. You are not him. You care about people, you want to help people, and you are far from cold hearted. You will never be Itachi and more importantly Itachi will never be you. You can train and grow as a ninja and you can be just as strong as he is, but he can never be you. He'll never have your heart or your mind. Today was hard and what you did will bother you. That right there shows you that you are not him and if you need me to I will tell you that every single day until you believe it."
Kakashi felt Sasuke cuddle up closer to him so he wrapped his arms around Sasuke tighter. They stayed like that until the tears stopped and Sasuke was exhausted. Kakashi got him to lie down and promised him that he wouldn't be going anywhere. Kakashi laid down beside Sasuke and held him close. He was going to be there for when the nightmares started. Sasuke was his to look after, he was his to protect. Even though he couldn't stop the nightmares from happening he could stop the loneliness. With Sasuke asleep against Kakashi's chest they stayed that way until Sasuke woke up from his first nightmare of many. With each nightmare Kakashi was there just like he promised Sasuke he would be. Each time Kakashi held him and told him it would get better. Each time Kakashi held him until he fell back asleep and each time Kakashi felt himself growing more and more closer to Sasuke and not just the Uchiha.
