Chapter 7:
In which explanations are given.
Spider-Man is owned by Marvel, and Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto.
"Talking"
"Thoughts"
"Demon/deity speech"
Line Break
Kakashi had been having a rough time in dreamland, but you wouldn't be able to tell just by looking at him. All those years of training had conditioned him to stay still while unconscious, so as to minimize the chance of getting discovered by enemy forces. It was probably for the best in this situation too; for his students, especially Naruto, would have done there "best" to "alleviate" his discomfort if they found out he was having nightmares.
Kakashi's Mind
Kakashi was watching a particularly brutal cycle of scenes from his past, which is to say, almost every pivotal moment of his life. It started with him coming home as a child to find his dead father, to seeing his best friend (though he did not care to acknowledge it at the time) get crushed under a boulder, accidentally stabbing and killing Rin, one of the few people he had left to care for in life, and rounding out the trauma, the news that his sensei had died subduing the Kyuubi. Unknown to him however, he had another watching in his mind.
Madame Web, ever the opportunist, decided to take a precursory look into Kakashi's mind in order to better help Peter formulate an effective tale to avoid suspicion of his true origins. He would not approve, she knew how Peter felt about such blazon abuse of one's powers, but she was tasked to ensure that he completed his mission, and this would help that endeavor.
She only meant to look for information on the land's current geopolitical state in order to determine what would be a plausible place for Peter to have once lived, honestly, but the pain that Kakashi was going through was too intense for her to not feel it. Upon seeing what was causing him such distress, she felt nothing but pity in her heart. "My word. This young man has gone through much hardship. More than most could hope stomach". In an act of goodwill (and an excuse to give Peter for delving into another's mind unaware) she subtly changed his dreams. Focusing on the happy memories as opposed to the sad ones. She then left, so as to not make the man aware of her presence.
Real World
Kakashi slowly opened his eyes, letting the morning rays of the sun warm up his body. "Hmm…I haven't slept that good in…year's," for as long as he could remember, Kakashi's nights were spent in either dreamless sleep or sweat-inducing nightmares. He could count on his fingers the number of really good dreams he had in the last decade, "Wait, this isn't my…" Kakashi had noted that the room he was lying in was not his own, "…Oh! I must have passed out after fighting Zabuza…That shouldn't have happened…I'm out of practice. Since leading Team 7 I have been neglecting my own training, I'll have to remedy that soon". He then moved to get up, but felt a sharp pain in his leg. He patted it down, and to his relief, felt nothing broken, "Just a sprain then…shouldn't take more that a few days to heal up. Good, that'll give me enough time to-" he was interrupted by the door to his room opening.
He turned to see a young woman with blue hair in a red dress carrying a towel and a bowl of water. She saw he was up, "Oh! You're awake. Good. Those students of yours are worried sick".
Kakashi just gave an eye smile, "I can imagine. If you don't mind…" he trailed off, realizing he didn't know her name.
The woman realized as well, "Oh, we haven't really met have we? My name is Tsunami, and I already know who you are Kakashi-san," she gave a slight bow.
Kakashi gave his own slightly awkward bow in return, "Well Tsunami-san, you wouldn't happen to have something to help me walk would you? My leg isn't fully healed it seems".
Tsunami nodded, "Of course," and then went to a nearby closet, and pulled out a pair of crudely made, but sturdy-looking crutches.
He thanked her for them and used them to pick himself up. After he was balanced he inspected them, "These are well-made. Not professional looking, but they do the job. Who made them?"
Tsunami smiled as she answered, "You can thank Peter-kun for that. Ever since father found him he had been such a big help. He even made the stretcher those two boys of yours brought you in with".
Kakashi just nodded silently, adding another point on his list of mysteries surrounding the boy known as Peter Parker.
Line Break
The dining room was tense; it had been for the past day. Part of it was the fact that Kakashi had been lying in bed the whole time. The other part though, was the revelation that Peter had special abilities. Team 7 (mainly Naruto) had pestered Peter, trying to coax information out of him, Peter refused, stating that he would rather wait until Kakashi was conscious to avoid having to repeat himself. Inari on the other hand, was glaring at Peter. If Peter had to guess, it was due to the fact that Inari-still very much a child despite recent events-believed that Peter could have solved all of the village's problems with a flick of the wrist, and chose not to for selfish reasons (Peter would address that point in the inevitable "gut-spilling" following Kakashi's return to consciousness). The adults in the room, Tazuna and Tsunami, had been silent on the topic, Tsunami, due to trusting that Peter had a good reason for keeping silent of what he could do, while Tazuna already knew about Peter's powers and had kept out of it since he decided it wasn't his business to pry.
The doors leading to where Kakashi was resting opened, and everyone turned to see Kakashi, followed by Tsunami, exit and head towards the table. Naruto gained a huge smile at seeing his sensei alive and well, and would have run up to him, but Sasuke and Sakura held him down in his seat.
Kakashi had managed to sit down, and was drinking some tea Tsunami set on his table, after taking a sip, he spoke, "Team 7, status report. What happened while I was unconscious?"
Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were a little nonplussed at the question, but Sakura responded, "Well…After you fell unconscious, Peter-san made a stretcher for you with his…um…" She titled her head, trying to remember the word Peter used.
"It's called webbing".
Sakura nodded in thanks to Peter, "Right, that. And when that was done he told Naruto and Sasuke-kun to start moving you here while the rest of us moved on ahead and cleared some space for you".
Kakashi, who had finished his tea, then asked, "How did you get ahead of Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun?"
Sakura blushed a bit and looked at the table, "He, uh, picked me and Tazuna-san up in his arms and…jumped through the trees," Kakashi merely raised an eyebrow. Sakura shook her head in an attempt to clear to red off of her face, "Anyway, after we arrived, Tsunami-san helped us clear out a spare room for you sensei, and Peter-san went out to make sure that Naruto and Sasuke-kun weren't lost-"
"And we weren't teme!"
"Shut it dobe".
"Boys!" Kakashi's stern tone, and stare, stopped the argument in its tracks, "Unless you have something substantial to add, stay quiet," silence reigned, "…All right," he motioned for Sakura to continue.
"Well, after you got here and were placed in a bed, we," she motioned to her and her team, "each took rotating three hour shifts keeping watch. I was just about to go out when you woke up".
Kakashi nodded his head, "Good, you did exactly what you should have. Excellent work you three," the children in question beamed at the praise (Sasuke gave a low grunt, but there were traces of a smile). Kakashi then turned his attention to the other adolescent in the room, "Now…what about you?"
Everyone turned to look at Peter, who winced and rubbed his head, "Damn. I was kinda hoping you would forget about little old me".
Kakashi smiled, "A foolish hope," Peter just nodded his head.
"Okay Parker," Peter began to psych himself up "You can do this, you went over everything with MW last night, you got this". He took a deep breath, "What do you want to know?"
Kakashi answered, "You're abilities and clan would be nice".
Peter laughed, "Well, I can do a lot of things. I can jump high, obviously. I have to ability to make organic webbing, like a spider can, from my wrists. It's really strong too. I have increased strength," Peter lifted the table for emphasis, much to everyone's shock, "and…Oh yeah!" Peter then walked towards, then on, the wall behind him. Everyone followed him until he stopped above his seat, then flipped to the ground, sitting down once more, "that".
Kakashi had to take a moment to collect himself. This…kid had a myriad of abilities. Most ninja would kill for just one, much less all of them. "As well as any others he is unwilling to share". "And where did you get these…abilities of yours? Your parents?"
Peter shook his head, "No. I got them from a mystical spider god that watches over this and all worlds it can get its legs on".
Everyone leveled Peter an incredulous stare. Kakashi chose to accept the answer and move on, "And what of your clan? Where are you from?"
Peter took a deep, shuddering breath, "I come from the…East? Yeah the east. And…a while back, my…clan…got roped into a war," everyone leaned forward at that little tidbit, "I…can't really say I know the entire reason why it happened, but our enemies, they hated us, wanted us wiped from existence," Everyone started to frown, and Sasuke felt that this was going to hit a little close to home, "We, we fought, long and hard. We eventually 'won', but…a lot of us died. So many…I…I'm pretty sure I'm the only one left, in this world at least," Peter was shaking, not looking anyone in the eyes. Tazuna and Kakashi both had heavy frowns after hearing the tale, Naruto as well. Sakura, Tsunami, and (despite himself) Inari all had tears in their eyes, and Sasuke was deep in thought, thinking of their similar, if slightly different, situations.
Kakashi was the first to break the pregnant silence, "What…was your clan's name? Parker?"
Peter gave a small chuckle, "Oh, no. We were more of a rag-tag bunch of misfits than a single family. All 'blessed' by that crazy Weaver in the sky. Brought together by the sheer absurdity of our lives. We, well, make that me and some of the more fun members, called ourselves, 'the Spider Clan'. We were even trying to come up with our own theme song," Peter started to hum a tune, but it was sad, and a little hollow.
Tsunami and Sakura were full on crying at that point, Sakura putting her head on Sauske's shoulder for support, while the boy in question just patted her shoulder awkwardly (Naruto either didn't notice, or realized the mood was too somber to act jealous at the gesture since he too had a gloomy expression on his face). Tazuna was patting little Inari on the head, who was trying to stem his own tears. Kakashi could only gaze at the teacup in front of him, "Damn it Kiri," he thought.
Peter kept his head down, but still heard three distinct sobs; "…I might have laid that on a little thick".
"Perhaps," Madame Web responded, "But it seems to have gotten the job done regardless".
"Yeah, yeah," Peter mentally waved her off, "…I'm still mad at you, you know".
Madame Web rolled her eyes, "Oh for the- I have already apologized for my transgression".
"Doesn't change the fact that you looked into the man's mind without his consent".
Madame Web huffed in annoyance, "And yet, if I hadn't, I would not have been able to discern that Kirigakure has had a recent history of eradicating those with 'bloodlines', and then where would we be?" She cut Peter off before he could say anything, "Oh! I know, floundering for some half-assed excuse before you were killed on the spot to stem the madness flowing from your mouth," Never let it be said that Madame Web did not have an acerbic tongue when needed.
Peter was about to retort, but stopped when he realized she had a point. He just glowered (in his mind of course) while Madame Web gained a smug smile. Peter decided to return his attention to the situation at hand. He cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention, "Can, uh, we move on to how we're going to keep Gato from ruining our plan to help this town?"
Kakashi cleared his own throat, and nodded in response, "Agreed. Though I must ask, why have you not tried to do something about it yourself? I mean you are…" Kakashi tried to think of a correct descriptor, "versatile, powerful if you're ability to take on a half-a-dozen water clones is any indication, and-"
"Not stupid," Peter finished for him. Kakashi rose an eyebrow at the interruption, but stayed silent, "I know my limits," Peter began, "I know that I could probably take on most if not all of Gato's thugs without so much as a scratch". Though the others all grew incredulous and disbelieving of the statement, Kakashi sensed no arrogance or overconfidence from Peter's voice, only determination and certainty, "What I do not know, however, is whether or not Gato had hired any psychotic ninja that were hiding until needed. It's the reason I suggested to Tazuna-san that we lie to you guys in the first place".
Naruto tilted his head at that, "Wait, what does that mean?"
Sasuke answered him, a hint of anger in his voice, "It means, that he meant to use us as bait and fodder just in case things went wrong". Naruto's (and Sakura's) eyes widened before they leveled small glares at Peter, who held up his hands in front of him.
"In my defense," he tried to placate them, "I wasn't expecting a bunch of kids to answer the call," that earned an indignant "HEY!" from Naruto, who took offense to the kid comment.
"And what would you have done," Kakashi chose to ignore Naruto's outburst, "If it were an adult team that answered?"
"Well, assuming that you weren't attacked on the road, thereby subverting the plan, I would have come in and suggested that they stay in Tazuna's place for the night, or two if I were lucky enough to convince them. Of course, I would have taken the 'scenic route', showing them exactly what the village looks like since Gato had taken over".
"And what if they were unsympathetic?" Kakshi queried, unperturbed by Peter's apparent willingness to trained ninja.
Peter responded, "Money of course. I would mention that Gato had stockpiled a large sum of cash and valuables over the course of his career, which would certainly go to those that helped free the town".
Kakashi had one final question, "And what if they were not greedy?"
"Glory then," Peter countered. Kakashi asked for an explanation, "Well, its not secret that those three," he gestured to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, "are relatively new at their job; therefore, its safe to say that guard duty is something reserved for the lower ranks in ninja society". Kakashi nodded and motioned for him to continue, "Since whoever picked up the job would be of lower rank, taking down a major crime boss would be a great way to improve your record in the eyes of your superiors," Peter then shrugged and looked at his fingernails, "Or so I've heard anyway".
Though his three students and Tazuna's family (even Tazuna himself, who actually knew of the plan) were left reeling at the subterfuge needed for the plan to succeed, Kakashi was able to appreciate the level of thought and manipulation Peter had/was willing to put in his gambit. He then clapped his hands, "Right!" Everyone turned to him, "Since I seem to be infirmed for at least the next three days, I see our only course of action is to ensure Tazuna's continued protection". He team members all gained determined looks on their faces, "That being said, I feel the need to tell you that Zabuza is most likely still alive," the blunt statement quickly turned those determined looks into ones of fear, shock, and worry.
Naruto then said, "Bu-but wait a minute! That hunter guy! He killed Tazuna, we saw that!"
Kakashi gave a sigh, "I wish that were the case Naruto-kun, but sadly, no. I had hoped so too, but now that I have had time to think on it I can say with almost 100% certainty that Zabuza and the hunter-nin are partners".
"What makes you say that sensei?" Sakura asked.
"The needles that were used to subdue Zabuza for one. I can think of multiple different weapons that would have done the job just as well with a lot less precision. Needles are also commonly used in acupuncture, and can even stop a person's heart for a short amount of time if placed correctly". Sakura gulped. "Then there is the fact that Zabuza's body was taken away. I can understand wanting the sword, it is a valuable artifact for Kirigakure, but Zabuza's head alone would have been ample evidence of death. So yes, odds are Zabuza is still alive, preparing for our next confrontation".
Naruto then stood up, "Well what are we waiting for! We gotta go stop him!" Naruto headed for the door, but felt something snag his clothes. It was Peter, who had shot out a strand of webbing to Naruto's back, and yanked him back.
"Calm down there buddy," Peter said, "Zabuza isn't waiting right out the front door. The man was sent crashing into a tree and had various metal objects shoved into his body. I doubt he is going anywhere for a while".
Kakashi nodded in affirmation to Peter's statement, "Yes, I suspect it will take at least five days for Zabuza to be up to fighting strength. In the meantime, on top of protecting Tazuna, you guys will be training to fight of any accomplices Zabuza may bring".
Naruto, who grumbled at the rude yanking, had stars in his eyes at the thought of training for such a big fight, "All right!" he shouted, "What are we going to learn Kakashi-sensei?"
Kakashi gave a light, (and sinister?) chuckle, "Well, my eager pupil, you are going to be learning…how to climb a tree," Kakashi smiled as he finished his sentence.
Naruto's jaw dropped, and Sakura and Sasuke were staring at their mentor as if he had grown a second head. Peter just facepalmed "We're screwed".
A/N: And done. Can anyone take a guess as to how Peter "made-up" his backstory? Hehe. Be sure to leave a review. Later.
