If you haven't read As One, I'd recommend going there before reading this. As One:Divergence is where I'm going to post what ifs or ideas I cut from the actual story.
Kakashi|
Kakashi bit back a curse as he ran towards the pier. His blood thrumming in his ears, begging for him to release his weapon from its sheath. He clenched his hands as he ignored the call. Not now. Not while there were others present. "The tides are too rough," He called out to a couple in front of him. "I'm not sure the pier will be safe enough to stand on." He held his breath for a moment only to sigh in relief when the young pair nodded in agreement and left. A quick glance around to confirm he was alone before he listened to the call, his sword, appearing in hand. Something whip out of the water, curling around his left arm and embedding a barb. Kakashi let out a cry of pain as he was dragged towards the waters. The swordsman quickly freed himself with a swing of a sword before jumping back, his eyes on the water as he pulled out the barb.
Slowly it rose to the surface, its appearance similar to a stingray. The eerie glow set it apart from the waves it swam in and its severed tail caused a cloud of inky blood to surround it. "One down, two more to go." Kakashi muttered to himself as he caught sight of two more tails lurking beneath the surface. Readying his sword he took a breath before rushing towards it, slashing across its body. The other two tails whipped up and tried to latch onto him once more. He continued to dodge the tails, striking when he could until there was only one tail left.
His head swam and his movements soon became sluggish as the fight went on. "Damn." He cursed as he backed away from the spirit. His eyes landed on his arm, the wound angry and swollen. "Poison." He almost laughed at himself. Kakashi eyes had a hard to focusing on the beast in the water. He should have waited for Sasuke or Naruto.
"Hey! Are you alright?" A voice cried out from behind him. A hand steadied him as he turned to look at the owner. "Of course you're not alright, staggering around like that." She murmured to herself. He focused on the feeling of her cool hands on his fevered skin. Pink hair and green eyes were all that filled his vision as he became aware of his heart hammer on. "Your arm!" She cried.
"I entrust my soul to you." He managed to rasp out as he gazed in her eyes. Ignoring her confusion, he grabbed one of her hands and lead it towards his heart before pulling.
He felt his very being hum as he was once more reunited with another's soul. Kakashi drowned in all her worry and confusion as she, they, glanced around looking for where he went. Fear drowned out all her previous feelings when she saw what lurked in the water. " What the hell is that?" She shrieked, using the sword to point at it. Eyes huge, she looked to the sword in hand. "What the hell is this?" Kakashi attempted to calm her by sending her warm thoughts. His attempted was rebuffed by the woman. Anger caught him off guard as he expected her to follow his will. "What the fuck is going on?" She spat out.
I was critically injured and bonded with you. He answered quickly. You should just listen to me so we don't die. He could feel her shake as memories flowed through the bond, showing her what happened before she happened upon him. Sorry. I haven't done this in a while. Kakashi tightened his control over his end of the bond. "Move!" They yelled together and again he felt the woman's surprise as he made them jump, narrowly missing the barbed tail.
"How the hell did you do that?" She yelled. Less question, more killing. "Great." She muttered to herself. "The guy in my head won't explain what the fuck is happening to me." Another swipe of the tail and her body jumped over it before swing down. The guy in your head doesn't want us to die. Let me help guide you so we don't end up as fish food. The woman nodded. "I expect some answers after this."
Kakashi noticed some tension leave her body as he began his attack. He felt her on the edge of his mind, marveling at how fluidly he-how fluidly they fought. Their heart raced as they took advantage of an opening, slicing the last tail off. The spirit wailed in pain as it began to sink back into the depths "You're not getting away." Hair stood up on the back of her neck as they rushed forward, impaling the spirit with their sword.
The bond buzzed with triumph and the relief as they watched the spirit turn to dust. The woman jumped when he sagged against her, not noticing them separate. "It's rude to go in someone's head before introducing yourself." She remarked as she half dragged half carried him towards a bench.
"Right, must of slipped my mind." His eye crinkled. "Hatake Kakashi."
"Haruno Sakura." She held out her hand.
He clasped her hand. "Nice to meet you, Sakura."
A/N:It took me a while but I finally was happy with what I wrote. Chapter three of As One should be posted if you haven't checked it out. I decided to leave this as a collection of ideas since that's what the first two chapters were before I fully committed to writing As One as a story. I thought it would be interesting exploring what could have happened if Sakura met a different sword instead of Sai.
Please feel free to leave comments about who else you'd like to see in As One or in these what if scenarios.
