Chapter 2: Dying Wish
The village was in chaos. Some younger shinobi were gathered on the streets, trying to usher civilian to safety and keeping them away from the battle zone. Iruka slipped past one of them and headed towards the direction where shinobi and masked ANBU seems to be heading to.
As he neared the scene, he froze. The monster fox seemed to tower over him, even though it was still a great distance away. The sharp fangs and narrowed eyes were haunting and Iruka felt himself tremble in fear. The nine tails swished around ferociously, hitting anything in the way and swiping nearby shinobi off their feet.
The fox snarled and the thunderous voice shook him. He fell to the ground, trembling and frightened tears flowed from the corner of his eyes.
"What are you doing here, kid?" A voice came from behind him. Iruka turned around shakily and stared right into the masked faces of three ANBUs. The one in front wasn't as tall as the other two standing behind him and the silver hair hung down, covering part of the mask. If Iruka guessed right, judging from the frame, the ANBU wasn't much older than a mere teenager.
One of the ANBU at the back spoke. "Captain, let's just leave him for one of the shinobi to pick up. We need to hurry over to hold back the Kyuubi."
"You two go ahead. I will bring him to someone at the shelter and join you after that. We can't bet on the chance that a shinobi might find him before the Kyuubi near this area. Now go!"
The two ANBU gave a brief nod and took off at top speed.
"Kid, you got to get to the shelters now. It's dangerous here." A gloved hand reached out and hauled him to his feet.
Iruka finally gathered back his wits and struggled, though knowing he doesn't stand much chance against a full-fledge shinobi.
"I don't want to go back! My parents are still there! I want to go and help them."
"That's ridiculous." The ANBU said in a cold voice. "You can't even protect yourself. How do you expect to help them? Now leave this place, or you will become a hindrance."
"I don't want to!" Despite the protests, the ANBU easily lifted the struggling boy onto his shoulder and leapt off in the direction towards the part of the village where it was still safe.
They reached the area where shinobi were ushering civilian to safety and the ANBU put him down, before leading him towards a jounin who was giving out instructions in the area. The shinobi was a little surprised to see him.
"Hound, a surprise to see you here. I would have thought you would be at the battle zone."
"This boy is found near the arena. Please take care of him, Raidou." Hound stated calmly. Raidou gave a grim nod and took the boy from the ANBU, watching as the masked teen took off again towards the chaos.
He pulled Iruka down the streets hurriedly, but Iruka struggled and refused to move.
"I don't want to go anywhere! My parents are still over there! I want to look for them."
"Come on, boy, you can't go back there." Raidou stated firmly. When the child refused to budge, Raidou lifted him onto his shoulder and ran off towards one of the shelters.
"No! Put me down! I want my parents!" Iruka wailed as he was brought further away from the battlefield.
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Fourteen-year-old Kakashi arrived at the battlefield and glared at the fox. One of the ANBU landed beside him.
"Captain."
"What's the situation?" The silver-haired ANBU glanced around as shinobi tried to hold off the concurrent attacks from the Kyuubi.
"The Kyuubi is going on a rampage. A lot of shinobi and ANBU have already been sent to the hospital. Many of them are dead." The ANBU gritted out.
"Damn!" Kakashi cursed. "Yondaime-sama said to hold it off until he is ready with the jutsu to deal with the Kyuubi. Be careful in proceeding."
The ANBU nodded and disappeared. The silver-haired teen reached into his pouch and pulled out a kunai, before charging towards the scene. As he moved forward, something came flying towards him and he leapt aside in time. When the object neared him, he realized that it was a fellow shinobi and he moved quickly to catch hold of the casualty.
He lowered the kunoichi onto the ground and checked her vital stats. All her vital points had been hit and her breathing was growing harsher. Her heartbeat was fading and she was muttering incoherently, but he could make out that she was calling out a name. The kunoichi turned to look at him and with some effort, lifted her hand and pressed something into his gloved ones.
"Hand this… to…. my son….. Please……. ANBU-sama. Tell him…. I'm sorry……"
Tears rolled from the corner of her eyes as she closed them and breathed her last. Kakashi cursed again and slipped the item into his pouch without even looking at it. He moved swiftly towards the monster, rage coursing through him. He flung a kunai towards the general direction of the fox and his hands moved quickly through seals.
Jutsu after jutsu were used as the shinobi in the field attacked the legendary animal. Kakashi cursed a few times as he leapt out of the way of attacks sent his way by the Kyuubi. Once or twice, he saved a fellow ninja, but other times, he could only watch as they were killed by the raging fox.
He landed on the dirty ground after yet another dodging of the Kyuubi's tail. As he prepared to move forward again, the ground rumbled. He glanced around as all other shinobi paused in their actions, trying to see if another enemy had appeared.
'Minato-sensei!' Kakashi finally caught sight of the cause of the rumbling. A giant toad appeared opposite the Kyuubi and a man in flowing robes was standing on the head of the toad.
"It's Yondaime-sama!" Someone shouted out. The group of shinobi in the frontline immediately retreated, acting as back-up for their Hokage as the blond haired man got ready to battle the Kyuubi.
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Iruka banged on the door. "Let me out!"
Children sat around the small room, shivering in fear. A few of them were crying for their parents while others were sniffling in shock.
The door flung open and a genin scowled at him. "Be quiet, brat. You are disturbing everyone!"
"Be nice, Kagari." A feminine voice came beside him. Iruka looked at the two shinobi in mild fear. The girl who spoke leaned down to face him with a kind smile and ruffled his hair. "What is wrong?"
"I want my parents." Iruka swiped at the tears with the back of his hand. The kunoichi's ruby eyes softened.
"They are out there fighting, aren't they?"
Iruka nodded. The girl smiled. "Then you need to wait here for them to come back."
"I want to see them." Iruka bit his lips.
"Soon. The fight will end soon and you will be able to see them."
"Kurenai, you don't have to be so nice to that kid. He's just trying to ask for attention." The genin named Kagari snorted. Kurenai glared at him.
"Why don't you just go elsewhere and patrol and leave this to me, Kagari?"
The other genin glared back and then he stomped down the dark corridor. Kurenai watched as he left and then turned back to the child before her. "Be patient and wait here, alright? They will come and pick you up soon."
Iruka sniffled and then nodded. Kurenai ushered him back into the room and pulled the door shut.
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The battle was over. The place was in ruins. Lives were destroyed. People will never be the same again.
Kakashi stared at the new-born in his arms. Before the technique was performed to seal the Kyuubi into the tiny body, his sensei had given instructions for him to take the infant right after the sealing.
And then, Minato had carried out the forbidden technique and died together with it, leaving Kakashi alone again and to clear up the rest of the mess. The teen sighed and looked at the bawling baby. Then he turned and headed back to the village.
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