Right now, I'm in the process of revising chapters, so if you get to the later chapters and don't like it, I ask that you give me some time, because it's not going quite the way I envisioned it. Thanks again for reading!
All characters, techniques, and terms belong to Masashi Kishimoto, creator of the Naruto Universe. The only rights I claim to this story are for the plot. Do not distribute this fic without my permission and proper credit.
Chapter 2- Teacher and Student
Kakashi vanished. To anyone else, he was moving too fast to track with their eyes. But against the Sharingan, nothing goes unseen. Nothing escaped Sasuke's gaze. His left leg lashed out like a whip, catching Kakashi right in the stomach as he came in for his attack. He gasped as the air left his lungs and he was hurled back into a lamp post and fell to the ground.
The ANBU rushed forward. Sasuke disappeared. He emerged behind one of the masked ninja with his sword drawn. The man was down before he even knew Sasuke was there. The remaining ANBU reacted with a fire jutsu from every angle. Sasuke spun his blade between his fingers and snapped it back into the sheath. Then he was gone. He appeared behind another ANBU, grabbing the shinobi's hood and throwing him into the inferno. The ANBU captain drew his sword, and the others followed suit. A blade of pure chakra pierced him in the shoulder and pinned him against the wall. All eyes followed the blade from the tip to the closed fist holding it. The captain grit his teeth and bent his knees, ripping his shoulder, but freeing him from the wall, and he charged at Sasuke with his katana.
Kakashi raised his head groggily just in time to witness Sasuke move 25 feet in an instant, landing softly behind the captain with his sword drawn. The man stood shocked for a moment before the blood shot out from his wound. He stared, unbelieving, at the end of the sword that had gone through his lower back out his stomach. He crumpled to the ground as his last two comrades moved in on Sasuke.
Kakashi lifted himself off the ground and sprinted towards Sasuke, who was calmly exchanging blows with his blade against two skilled swordsmen. He expertly parried their attacks in a manner that told Kakashi he was too late. Sasuke whipped his arm in two quick slashes. The first ANBU fell to the ground with a cut from one side of his stomach to the other and then another from shoulder to hip. Another twitch of Sasuke's wrist and the last ANBU guard was down.
Kakashi moved in from the right. He kicked out with all the speed he could muster. Sasuke snatched the kick out of the air with his left hand, grabbed Kakashi's collar with his right, and threw him to the ground. The earth cracked as Sasuke's foot came down hard where Kakashi should have been. The Shunshin no Jutsu had saved him by a hair.
Amazing... Kakashi thought. He's gotten so much stronger. His chakra control is almost as good as Sakura's. But his power is far greater. He can nearly cause the same amount of damage as she does.
Sasuke blurred from his sight, flying through the air faster than Kakashi could follow.
This speed is inhuman! Kakashi marveled.
Sasuke was suddenly right above him, with a roundhouse kick coming across his face. As soon as that foot hit the ground, Sasuke whirled around with a spin kick to Kakashi's chest. Kakashi was thrown across the clearing towards the trees, rolling across the ground so violently that the dust obscured their vision.
If he can't see, the Sharingan is useless! Kakashi thought.
He pushed himself off the ground and gathered chakra in his hand. Raikiri screamed to life with bright sparks. Kakashi charged in towards Sasuke, hoping the dust would hide his movements enough so that Sasuke's Sharingan couldn't predict his movements until it was too late.
But Sasuke saw the light and took a fighting stance. Just before Kakashi got too close, he used the Shunshin no Jutsu to speed past Sasuke towards the trees right behind him. Kakashi pushed off a tree trunk to attack Sasuke's exposed back. The movement took less than a second; Sasuke didn't have time to even turn around.
Kakashi's hand ripped through his back out his chest. Blood splashed against the trees. Sasuke coughed, choking on his own blood. It trickled out his mouth and down his chin.
I did it… Kakashi though, relieved. Then a cruel chuckle escaped Sasuke's throat. A dark hue colored his hair, face and clothing, and he seemed to melt.
Tsuchi Bunshin no Jutsu! Kakashi realized. He took his hand out from the mud clone and jumped behind a boulder, closely examining his surroundings to locate Sasuke.
A kunai flew overhead, moving at an angle that wasn't anywhere near Kakashi. A faster, second kunai shot out of the trees, hitting the first so that it shot down by Kakashi's foot. It was the signature kunai move that Itachi had developed, one that enabled him to hit any target no matter what cover they had. An explosive tag was attached to the kunai, and it was already three-fourths lit. Chakra rushed down to Kakashi's feet, launching him up and away from the explosion. Sasuke was waiting in the air with an ax kick. Kakashi put his hands up to block, but the force still threw him against the top of a tree. He tumbled down to the ground, and hit hard, facedown in the dirt. Sasuke landed into a crouch a few paces away.
"Stop this," Sasuke said. "There's no point in throwing away your life for the sake of your pride."
My pride? Kakashi thought hazely. He didn't fight for something as foolish as that. Sasuke was a threat to Konoha, and it was Kakashi's duty to protect his village.
Sasuke took each step toward Kakashi slowly, daring him to make a move.
"You thought years ago that you could change me. That if you took me under your care you could save me from my path as an avenger. You thought you would do the noble thing by keeping me from that fate." He stopped next to Kakashi, and knelt down to grab his sensei's collar, hauling him up and throwing his back up against the tree to look him in the eye. "But who are you to decide my fate?"
"You would rather be alone with your hatred than to be loved by your team?" Kakashi mumbled?
"I decided long ago that I would be alone. Friendship is meaningless to a man bent on revenge. Compassion is a burden. You, Sakura, Naruto, all of you thought you could change me, to make me into your perfect little teammate." He narrowed his eyes into a dark scowl. "Who the hell do you think you are, to decide who I should be?! I became strong because the bonds that I had were broken for me! I'm stronger now because the bonds I made, I destroyed with my own hands! Now do you see Kakashi-sensei? You failed in your chance to "save" me from my fate. Now you fight to protect your own damn righteousness!!"
"I fight to protect the people I care about!" Kakashi's Sharingan morphed into the pinwheel shape of the Mangekyou Sharingan.
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it so far! I encourage and beg you to keep reading, and if you have some time, to write a review. It really makes an author's day! If you liked the style, check out my other works too!