CHAPTER SEVEN
Mission to the Land of Stones
...
One year later
To most people in the village, they were under the impression that Konoha was in a state of peace. The sun was shining, children were laughing and working hard, and ninjas weren't tense up with the anticipation of war. But most disregarded the behind-the-scenes shinobi. It was the ANBU that never seemed to experience the peace, always on alert - especially a certain girl who was currently being assigned an S-Rank mission.
"Do you really think that I need a partner?" Akane Mikuzen frowned, crossing her arms.
After being an ANBU for three years at such a young age and still alive, she had grown used to a certain way of doing this. The Sandaime sighed, shaking his head at the copper-haired girl. He had watched her grew up before his eyes: from a daughter of a dress maker, to an ANBU. Although it was usually the Yondaime that looked after her, Sarutobi took up this role after his death. He watched the young ANBU carefully.
Sure, she had very depressive tendencies, and a temper but Akane was relatively composed as any other member of his special unit. She crossed her arms, the metal plated guards clicking. She wore the typical ANBU ensemble, the black and grey a contrast to her paler skin and bright orange hair tied up hastily and intensely blue eyes that were usually large and falsely imitated innocent, but right now was glowering at the Hokage. "I think I can handle this by myself, my Lord."
"I am well aware of your abilities, Akane, but this is an S-rank mission." He paused. "And considering the numbers of politicians and their guards, it would be ideal for you to have a squad, but a partner should suffice."
"I've been on S-rank missions alone before," she reminded him.
"But you haven't taken down an entire system," he said, growing impatient at her childish behaviour. She had been a squad leader on several occasions but solo missions were clearly more of her specialty. She had branched off from being the ones to confirm the deaths, into the one doing the killings at a rapid pace and he feared that with her ease, she would one day wish to do everything alone – and that would only lead her to becoming a missing-nin, and leaving the village. That fear and wariness prompted him to take actions, to put her on a squad and constantly change her role from leader to subordinate more randomly than anything. He did not want her to get used to working alone. She sighed, muttering an agreement as she placed a hand on her chest and bowed her head at her superior. "Understood."
"Wait, Akane," the Hokage said as she turned to leave, inhaling a long drag through his pipe before tapping it on the table. "Your partner?"
"Right." She sighed, fingering her hair wearily. "I forgot about that."
He tapped the pipe against the table, considering the options. He was indecisive between his own son…and his son's friend. But given the nature of the mission, he chose the latter. "Kakashi Hatake." You're kidding. "Be back by the end of the week. You may leave."
xxxxx
She had not spoken a word to Kakashi Hatake since the day she saw him at the cemetery at Rin's grave and if she had to be completely honest, she didn't want to see him. It felt too personal. He was the only one that knew the old Akane Mikuzen and she didn't want him to...judge her. Not that she should care. It shouldn't matter what he thought. And although she knew that he could recognize her by her chakra signature relatively quick if not immediately, she decided to follow the pretence of not knowing him anyway. Slipping on her mask, she waited on the roof top for him.
And hours passed by.
By the time Kakashi Hatake arrived, Akane was fuming. Her eyes pierced his as he came into distance and before he could make an excuse as to why he was three hours late, Akane had twined her fingers together behind his neck, pulled him down and kneed him in the stomach. Hard. He groaned, collapsing onto the ground.
"Don't be late again," she hissed, her eyes narrowed. This wasn't Akane's rage – it was the ANBU in charge of the mission that had to wait for hours for this man. She leaned in towards the ground and dragged her finger dangerously down the mask on his face. Leaning down and whispered, "I'm not going to wait for you again. Ever. Understood?"
"Loud and clear," he muttered, wincing as he got up. Even wearing his ANBU chest guard, he still felt the soreness at his abs from her knee. He didn't even have to guess to know who this was – he recognized the hair immediately as she jumped away from him, shooting a look behind her shoulder before she left the gates with him following closely behind. When he was told he was given a partner to go on an S-Rank mission, he had never thought that it would be her. The last time he had seen her, he had been standing by her bed and she was unconscious, with a cast around her left hand. Her mask was removed, and he had seen her peaceful, sleeping face and he remembered thinking that this was what a twelve, thirteen year old kunoichi look like.
"Have you been told the details of the mission?" she asked, formally as if she had not just attacked him.
"Not quite," he said in his usual tone, the pain numbing and being forgotten. It felt odd for him to be the older - oldest - member of the group. Usually, he was the youngest ANBU, the prodigy. She sighed, running her fingers through her hair. She looked tired and bothered, as if he was a pain to have around. It wasn't a usual reaction: having the renowned copy-nin was an assurance, not a hindrance. But then again, she also seemed adamant on ignoring him unless necessary.
"We have a deadline of three days to infiltrate the Land of Stone, where a corrupted system is enslaving the townspeople. The request was by a priest, but we may lower the payment due to the nature of the mission," she told him neutrally. He looked up, surprise.
"And what exactly are we doing in the Land of Stone?" he asked cautiously, looking at her attentively. For the first time in a while, the corners of her mouth turned up in a smile and she was glad that she had the mask to hide it.
"Well, we're going to assassinate the leaders, of course." She glanced up at him almost playfully, but it was a mischievous smile now. "And all those that conspired with them."
xxxxx
Kakashi moved behind the copper haired girl who he was certain was Akane Mikuzen. He would never ask to confirm this, but he was absolutely certain. And yet the way she had briefed him on the mission could not be the -
Wait. She could. Because a year had passed and people change and grow up. But then he also realized he was making this mission too personal. So he reminded himself that this was the mission. Kakashi Hatake, a boy thrown into war and lived a life of violence and death, had to continue and kill several dozen people in one night.
He was a part of Konoha's Black Ops now, and had been for months. He was the best of the best…and this was just another mission that he would not, cannot fail. They were silent as they journeyed to the land of Stone. It was a day's worth of travel, and Akane had ignored him the entire time. She used to look forward to the silence she got to herself on her way to assassinations, and Kakashi was interrupting it.
Once they set up a camp, she briefed him on the plan. "Tomorrow night, there will be a council meeting. The main guards will be protecting the Higher-Ups so expect chunin if not genin level shinobi military enforcers in the village. There may be militia so it shouldn't take you too long; it's simply quantity over quality." She paused and drew a rough diagram on the dirt with her fingers. "I expect you to have them under control in an hour, whether you kill them or tie them up is up to you. Meanwhile I'll take over the palace and eliminate the guards. By the time you finish up, round up the following family members," she handed him scrolls, "and bring them back to the palace to complete the mission. This should take no more than...seventy-five minutes. Understood?"
It was seventy five minutes. He was exhausted. He both did not want to do it for the next year, yet get it over with in a blink of an eye.
She stared at him, waiting. "What?" Her eyebrows knit together.
"Nothing," he said, looking down, "understood." She stopped and stared at him for a moment, although all he could see was her masking still directly facing him. He didn't mind her. He reached out to the scrolls and he saw names and pictures of children and looked fleetingly back at Akane. Did she really expect him to round up children to possibly kill? Her eyes turned to him once again. "Is there a problem?" she asked slowly.
And looking at those cold, blue eyes, prominent even behind the mask, he realized that she knew what she was asking from him, and was not disturbed by it at all.
xxxxx
Once they arrived at the village, Akane cloaked them both with her genjutsu, rendering them invisible – nothing more than a shadow. It felt strange to walk through the town…feeling completely exposed. But Kakashi trusted her.
They both wore black cloaks, their mask and ANBU attire. They scouted the village, analyzing their shinobi and the town. It was everything the priest said it would be – dark, and with not even a glint of hope. Children lay by the roads, their clothing like scraps over their frail frames. It didn't even look real. It took her only one second to realize that the men were in the mines, gathering the resources while the mothers and wives worked at the factories to turn them to goods. Yet despite what would have been a prosperous field to work in, the markets and shops hung scarce, limp vegetables. Akane had never seen a grocery so...empty before.
This was poverty.
But north of the village on a hill was a palace, surrounded by a circle of mansions. All of the money made from the ores, minerals and jewels were directly feeding the self-proclaimed aristocrats of the village. With each minute, Akane's revulsion for the government grew and any guilt that she may have had disappeared. "The shinobi here doesn't even look properly trained," she said with a hint of disgust in her tone. Kakashi nodded but he still took a protective step closer to his captain.
It was true what she said though. They wore no armour but leather and cotton ones. They wielded the shuriken and kunai, and a sword – but that seemed to be it. Kakashi analyzed them with his Sharingan but not one shinobi stood out. This would be easy.
It took them less than a single hour to travel around the village, and they gathered all the necessary intel quickly. "I don't think we should run into any problems," Akane said as she tipped the bottom of her mask just the slightest to expose her mouth to take a swig out of her flask. "Everything will go as planned." They were sitting up on the trees and her eyes scanned the area one more time.
"Wiping out an entire military." Kakashi shrugged, playing with the high collar of his cloak. "No problem."
Her eyes flickered up to him, amused. "It shouldn't be, you are Kakashi Hatake after all, "Akane murmured but she stopped looking at him. It was the first time she had mentioned his named so far. "Kakashi Hatake," she said again, quietly, thinking. She knew that his life had been tough as well. He was born into an elite shinobi class already – being the son of Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang. He was the student of the Yondaime, the only non-Uchiha with the Sharingan. Everything prepared him for the shinobi that he was today.
She had always thought Kakashi was simply great. An unreachable person tiers over her, worlds away. The most skilled, the most intelligent, the most handsome. But now…here he was, working under her order. Or rather, according to the Sandaime, along with her.
"Hm?" He looked at her, responding to hearing his name being called. She shook her head, lost in thought.
"Nothing," she said. He tilted his head, looking at her curiously. Her face was concealed but that orange hair was a dead giveaway. Even then, something about her posture – the way she curved into herself while sitting on the branch – indicated someone that seemed to shy away from the world.
Akane, shy?
It didn't fit.
But something about the idea of a quiet, thoughtful Akane – the one sitting in front of him now – seemed…like someone he wanted to know. She had been so many people over the past several years that he could not keep up with. She turned to look at the sky, realizing it was falling dark quickly. She stood up and he only moved his head to look up at her.
"Come on," she said, "it's time."
xxxxx
Kakashi turned to his captain. Her head shifted just slightly in confirmation – and then it began.
The Land, as it was rightfully titled, was created mostly upon stone. The military force was light with guards oppressing the village. It was easy for Kakashi to use the short range teleportation jutsu to move himself behind each guard and knock them unconscious. He didn't want to kill any more than necessary. Tying them all underground, he continued to cut down their numbers without being seen. He was, after all, the White Fang's son and he didn't run into any trouble or much resistance.
That was until he met the shinobi guarding one of the largest factories. "I knew it!" The shinobi exclaimed and reached to send to a radio. Shit. By this point, Kakashi's stamina hadn't lower quite yet but he wasn't at his top speed after using so much of his chakra moving from guard to guard for the past half hour. He couldn't kill this shinobi if they were already making the call, perhaps if he could manipulate -
The man already made the call. "A shinobi is in the village! He's in front of me –"
He had compromised the mission. Already.
Akane will kill me. And the mission will... But then -
"Oh, well I recommend getting off the radio then," the voice on the other line said. It was an all too familiar tone and he could practically hear the dryly amused smile behind it. Akane. Knowing that there was no way this mishap would reach any other leading ninjas, he flicked himself behind the shinobi faster than the man's eye could track and using an Earth release technique, grabbed the shinobi and forced him underground, rendering him useless. He picked up the receiver but she was already talking.
"You're lucky I had spare time to infiltrate their communications. Hurry up." And she clicked off. He felt a smile pull up despite himself, and he closed his eyes as he shook his head. He had never felt relieved on a mission quite like this one before – but her voice confirming that things will be all right was…exactly that. It made him feel all right.
With all the military scattered in the village tied up somewhere, he continued with the second part of his mission. Hidden among the shadow, he leaped to the mansions and kidnapped the entire councilman's family as instructed.
Twelve.
He captured twelve mildly innocent people back into the palace where the politicians were frozen, unable to even tremble under Akane's genjutsu. He didn't know what he was expecting, but the entire scene was vaguely like…a stop picture of a meeting. He had never seen her in action before and knew vaguely of her ability but...he didn't expect this. They were sitting in their tall chairs, unmoving, as Akane sat on the table, waiting. And she was frightening. She didn't have a Sharingan, but those blue eyes were even more deadly.
With his Sharingan, he could see the immense amount of chakra filling the room, disrupting the civilian's mind flow, making them unable to even move a single finger. The room was entirely silent, and for the first time in a while, he felt fear. Fear for them. It intensified even more when ever so slightly, Akane turned her head as if to say go.
This was the life he had trained for. After so many years, being a killing machine was simply another shinobi art, if not the most important. He pushed his conscience back and killed them all – each and every one. These were the men that enslaved a village so that their wallets could deepen. They didn't deserve to live, and had already tarnished generations enough, already ruined enough families, killed enough people themselves through exhaustion, starvation, disease and downright murder to prove their power.
Blood spilled as his sword plunged through the bodies of these frozen politicians. It was almost too straight forward with Akane controlling them. There were no cries, no begging. In less than three minutes Kakashi Hatake had assassinated twelve government personnel, leaving limped bodies fallen against the chairs, blood stained everywhere.
He understood now. This was why she accompanied so many assassination missions – she made it easy. There was no doubt, no loop hole to her ability. Even if all she had was genjutsu, that was all she needed.
At last, Akane blinked, dispelling the genjutsu. She walked towards Kakashi, each step clear and echoing against the marble. Her face was covered, but it made no difference, he suspected that her face showed no emotion, no remorse anyway. He felt a lingering unsettled feeling from the blood that covered his sleeve, but he had obeyed orders…as he always had. She nodded at him slightly, before approaching the now shaking bystanders.
They didn't try to run away as the two ANBU stared down at them. Akane frowned behind her mask. Look at them – they are all evil. They were in love with the power…they want only one thing. They would never be happy otherwise. She unflinchingly made her decision. "Them as well," she commanded Kakashi. His chest tightened but he had to follow her word. She was the captain, she was the leader. Her decision was one that she thoroughly considered and this was the option she decided on.
So he killed them as well. The women first.
But as he raised a sword to a boy, he froze. Kakashi turned – three boys, and two girls. And they were all crying, screaming hysterically as their mother and fathers lay dead before them, their blood in his hands. Their wails snapped him out of his murderous spree. "Why are you hesitating?" She questioned him, her voice oddly soft against the shrieks of the children. She didn't even bother sparing their pain and locking them into a genjutsu that would make them alienate from their physical sense. And he knew that she could - she could save them the pain. But she had decided not to.
"I can't," Kakashi said quietly. He could kill men, and even push himself to kill women – but these were children for God's sake. Children could be molded differently, they could be taught to do good. There was a moment – a splitting, fleeting moment – of silence as the children began to hope, and Akane was speechless at his refusal.
But then she turned and faced her children. "Look at them," she said quietly, her voice distant as always, "look at their eyes. They will avenge their parents, they will enslave their village, and they will come after us."
"They're young." She couldn't possibly kill children, right? It wasn't clarified in the mission plan. They only had to get these people out of control permanently. Nowhere had it said to kill the children. "They can be taught differently." He believed that she could see reason, especially when the five children were gasping for air, sobbing and crying.
"No." She sounded almost apologetic but - "They can't." And this time Akane didn't wait for Kakashi. With a swing of her arm, her sword cut through the children as they gave their final breath and last scream. She felt the resistance of flesh, muscle and bone against the sword. It was embarrassing…that she couldn't simply kill them as fast as Kakashi. She wasn't strong, she never was. Still, she did not stop until all five bodies collapse and blood was splattered against her mask.
And there was so much blood that although he had slaughtered dozens already, seeing Akane's sword rip through those children made them no longer just children, but bags full of blood. Bags covered in flesh.
And as Akane walked away, she slid the blood stained sword back into the sheath, leaving Kakashi staring after her, eyes wide. At the entrance of the beautiful, grand palace, she stopped and looked over her shoulder. She pulled down her blood stained mask, revealing her face – the sapphire eyes, the copper hair, the lovely face. But her eyes were dead, and they were frightening. He thought she may explain herself, or maybe apologize – but he was wrong. Very, very wrong.
"The next time you second my order," she said slowly, "you will regret it."
Then she was gone.
How could this girl be the same one that was thoughtful and almost timid only hours ago? She was cruel, and horrible, and heartless. Had he believed that she was rational, maybe even merciful? He did not want to ever forget this moment, never let himself think that Akane Mikuzen was anything other than Viper, the ANBU.
Kakashi fell to his knees, and looked down at his hands. And despite his shinobi upbringing, he hunched over the floor and smashed his fist through the floor, shouting.
xxxxx
Akane felt yet another piece of her humanity slip away as she left the site of the dead bodies. Kakashi had gotten the easy kills – to the men that deserved it. The women, she believed, perhaps deserved it too. But who was she to play God? She could have let the children leave, but the Land of Stone would not be able to get over their era of slavery if there were any reminders of the past. It had to be done.
She had to put the village over a few people. That was her assignment. She was the one that had to do all the bad but necessary jobs that the heroes tended to conveniently disregard. But now, they were free. As she left the palace, a priest was there, waiting, kneeling in the mist. The village was under constant clouds, and tonight, it was raining heavily. She slipped back on her mask, feeling her wet hair already getting in the way.
She stopped when a man appeared, falling to his knees. "My lady," he praised, gratitude heavily clear in his voice as he kissed the ground at her feet, "thank you, thank you for freeing -"
"Get up," she ordered sternly, louder than usual to be heard over the roaring sound of rain against a marble building and so he did. He had a kind and aged face, a face she could trust. "Nobody wants to see their future leader on his knees," Akane said bitterly and brushed past him. But seeing someone grateful of her cruel ways shattered the wall of strict discipline.
I will not cry, I will not cry. I am a shinobi. I am an ANBU. This is what I do. This is what I am known for.I will not cry. She repeated this again and again in her head but the thought of all the lives she had taken –all the times that she decided whether or not someone would live or not, the times she had murdered children and adults alike…it was overwhelming her. Flashes of all the mangled up bodies, the headless ones, the ones with her sword protruding from their chests, their spines, their stomachs...all dead. She grew more and more frustrated to the point where she felt the threat of tears sting. Why was this mission different? Why did her mind not get over these deaths, as they always did? Why did these kills mean more than the others?
The more aggravated she became, the more the tears were insistent and she felt them slide down her cheek under the porcelain. Hastily, she threw off her mask and wiped off the wetness from her face – and froze. The rain may have covered her tears, but as Kakashi stood in front of this child – he saw it. He saw the grief she had been hiding all these years.
And although he had hated her seconds ago, looking at her now – crying and vulnerable, her eyes ringed almost bruise-like with insomnia and exhaustion and tears - he didn't know what he felt anymore.
