A/N: Just so you all know, I have updated Chapter 8 as well! Enjoy, readers!
Chapter 9: Stasis
The fighting ended several hours later.
Kakashi was left sitting in the hallway floor of the intensive care unit, half his body smothered in bandages and anti-inflammatory cream. He wasn't severely injured per say, which was why he wasn't being pestered by the hospital staff to stay in a bed, as nurses and even civilian doctors were called to tend to the more grievous of injuries. Not like he could anyway, since there was no room left available in the hospital.
Many were injured and many more still, were being brought in. Chunin and the occasional Genin were assigned to clean the battle zones alongside the Anbu, who were to scour the fields for remaining survivors to send to the hospital or capture any escaping enemies for interrogation both within the village towns and the forest.
And he had failed, once again, to protect those he considered his important people. Failed to save them. Failed to keep them alive and unharmed.
Failed. Because he didn't have the strength to do so.
Why is it that everyone he loved and cared for, always ended up with their lives cut short?
"Hatake-senpai."
Kakashi turned his aching neck muscles to examine the young masked Anbu standing before him.
"Hokage-sama has summoned you to his office."
"Hm."
The Anbu paused as if wanting to say something. But realizing that saying anything at that moment was pointless, nodded in acknowledgement and left with a quiet pop of a teleportation jutsu.
The Sandaime wasn't faring any better, Kakashi noted as he stood at attention not three minutes later, observing the haggard and bone-deep weariness that was etched onto the village leader's face. Deep gray bags were forming like lead weights under his eyes from the fight, the work and the reports coming in for him to sign, in the aftermath, like the battle and casualties were just regular logistics, numbers on paper, and-
And yet, knowing what it cost them in human lives stopping this incident demanded, as payment to the shinigami. People he spoke with, guided, laughed and cried with- gone. Knowing exactly who were behind it didn't really help either and relief for the Hokage will not be coming for him any time soon.
"Kakashi."
Again, the absence of his usual attached suffix of endearment.
"Hokage-sama." He quickly knelt on one knee as was dictated by his Anbu status.
Even he knew when to be on-time and be serious.
"Report."
And so, he told of what happened during the initial skirmish, the death of Haruno Kizashi as he protected Mebuki, and the fights he was forced to deal with while carrying the severely burned woman towards the hospital, further draining his low chakra with the use of the Sharingan. The scene he was forced to watch with his Sharingan still out upon his return to the battle, looking on helplessly when Shisui was severely injured by four Root members who trapped him in a corner, isolating him from any possible backup. Looked on helplessly because his Sharingan had then decided to cause a white hot pain to shoot through his skull from his lack of chakra, even as he struggled to defend against his own enemies.
Surviving because he was lucky enough to avoid being stabbed through the liver and instead, earned a long laceration from mid-torso to his hip, consequently blacking out from mild blood loss, poisoning and chakra exhaustion. Waking up in a hospital bed partially healed because the medics couldn't afford to waste any more chakra healing wounds he could survive from; being kicked out of his room, actually, because there were other patients who needed it more. End up sitting on the floor in the intensive care wing, wanting to check on Sakura's mother, but not having the guts to face Sakura herself, as she would no doubt be trying to find out about her mother's condition.
"I see…" Old Sarutobi heaved a deep sigh and steepled his fingers on the desk in front of him, obscuring the bottom half of his face when he leaned forward.
"I'm not surprised that the hospital is in dire straits from the massive influx of injured needing treatment….. If only Tsunade-chan was here…"
By the time he mentioned Senju Tsunade, a world-class med-nin and the Sandaime's very own wayward student, the Hokage looked pained enough to border on agony. But he schooled his features, taking in deep, silent breaths to calm his tumultuous emotions. And Kakashi waited patiently till his leader opened his eyes again, distant and detached.
"I will honestly tell you this now, Kakashi. Itachi and Shisui are missing."
There it was. The affirmation of the knowledge that he had indeed failed the people he cared for. His body trembled.
"I've had Anbu search for the two of them with both Inuzuka trackers and Aburame's most promising sensors. Even now, they are doing so on my command while looking for other survivors. Yet, they have come up with nothing." The Hokage let another sigh escape his lungs.
"All they found were two areas of blood matching their scent and chakra residue, which speaks of the heavy injuries they sustained. From there, their trail ran cold, with only the trace of a jutsu left behind that the Aburame determined as a mass teleportation jutsu."
Of course. As talented as Itachi and Shisui were, they were still just young preteens isolated by Danzo's personally trained puppets with no emotions preventing them from rendering the two this close from dying. Except for Danzo's command.
"So they'll be considered MIA if they're not found in the next week, aren't they?" Kakashi concluded.
"Yes."
"And their names will be carved onto the KIA monument by next month, to be written off as dead like the rest of the people I considered dear to me."
"Hatake Kakashi, you may be a genius in your own right, but even geniuses are humans and humans are limited." The older man's voice was heavy and stern. "For all that shinobis train to fight beyond the capabilities of civilians even in their wildest dreams, we can never be gods, so you can't hope to save every single person.
"I may sound harsh now, but this is the reality we live in. Don't fault yourself for something you had no control over."
Kakashi's face was pained but he opted to remain silent.
The Hokage could only sigh and trudge on to the next issue on his agenda. One can only do so much if the recipient wasn't willing to see reason.
"There is another thing you need to know."
The Anbu captain looked up with a blank face.
"You will be taken off the Anbu roster and re-established as a Jounin. You are going to be assigned a Genin team and you will be their sensei, to train and to guide them. To help them grow into the shinobi needed as the future of this village." He held up a hand to halt any angry protests. "The next batch of academy students will graduate in October. Iruka-kun will notify you of your assigned team a week before the graduation ceremony so you will have time to observe them. But Naruto-kun is definitely going to be placed on your team, regardless of whether he passes the academy exam on time or not; his spot on your team is assured."
The young man shook his head furiously, taking an unsteady step backwards.
"Take it back. Please…. Don't- don't make me do this." He took in a shuddering breath. "I can't do this, Hokage-sama. Just let me stay in Anbu. I'll- I'll work harder, get stronger so this doesn't happen again. I promise. Just…. No more. Not sensei's son…. I'll do anythi-"
"I'm not doing this to punish you for what happened to Shisui and Itachi-kun, Kakashi-kun. I'm doing this for your own good. You may not understand why I'm pushing you out of Anbu right this moment, but I hope you will someday."
Sarutobi looked gently into his eye, a well of empathetic sadness and endearment reaching out to the suddenly lost looking youth.
"Don't push others away because you fear losing them. Instead, cherish the relationships you forge on your life journey because every moment with them is precious. Life is but a fleeting gust of wind blowing upon the leaves of the great trees, so hold onto them while they last." He smiled sadly. "You may not know it, but you need little Naruto-kun just as much as he'll be needing you. You two share a connection even before he was born.
"It's time you come out of the shadows and meet him face to face in the light, child. For now, take this time to rest."
Kakashi only clenched his fists before he made the single seal for his Shunshin and disappear in a swirl of leaves, blatantly ignoring the fact that his leader hadn't even dismissed him yet. But Sarutobi let it slide, knowing the internal battle he was waging inside himself at the moment. Kakashi's personal fight was not over yet and the wizened man could only have faith that the White Fang's son would make it out on the other side alive.
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Naruto paced back and forth frantically in front of the academy gates, pausing every so often to peer past the entrance before continuing.
He was just a hair's breadth short of getting into trouble for being late again, as was wont to happen the past two weeks since the academy reopened again, after the scary explosion that happened so close to where he lived. He knew there were many people who weren't as lucky as he was, since he watched the top of a residential complex a couple of blocks away from his apartment disappear with a loud, belly-shaking groan, followed by a tremble so strong that bits of dust and paint chips fell from his bedroom ceiling.
Now, he was temporarily living with Iruka-sensei while his own apartment building was being check for safety hazards.
He'd gone back to school, wanting to immediately find Sakura and the teme to exchange information on what was going on. They were smart and liked to keep track of the happenings in the village.
But to his surprise, they didn't show up. Nor did they the next day. And the next and the day after that, till a whole two weeks passed by. He was going to write it off as their parents making them stay at home longer or that they were simply skipping class, but he soon realized that was stupid. Their parents weren't at home because of the trials, right? Without his two best friends there, he had no way of tracking what was happening to Sasuke and Sakura's parents because the stupid adults were so hush hush about it. Shikamaru, one of a few number of guys who treated him nicely, wasn't much help either, even when threatened with his mother being told that he was sleeping in class. Besides, the two were too serious about school to even consider playing hooky. And without him too!
Then he started fearing that something may have happened to them. What if they were near the explosion, or inside the crippled building?! What if they got injured and he didn't even know?!
Suffice to say, that was how he ended up with this routine of pacing around the school gates like a madman, not caring if he got in trouble or not.
To hell with that! He always got into trouble for one thing if not another anyway. Who's going to notice if he added one more to that list? And it was for good reason too.
"Naruto-kun, what are you doing out here? You're going to be late for the first class and get into trouble."
Scratch that. Someone did notice after all. Wait, that voice belonged to-
"Sakura-chan! You're back!" Naruto whirled around at neck-breaking speeds to grab the pinkette in a fierce hug. "Where were you?! I was scared shi- uh, pantless when you didn't show up for school for two whole weeks! And don't tell me I didn't count the days correctly! I did, so I know you weren't here for two weeks and I was worried sick about you two and- where's Sasuke-teme?"
Naruto looked around his friend trying to spot the Uchiha boy, but failed to see him. "Where's Itachi-nii too? He usually accomp'nies you two here."
Sakura's face turned grim, and for the first time since seeing her again, Naruto picked up the tell-tale signs of fatigue and crying, from the bloodshot, swollen eyes she sported and the extra pallor of her skin.
"Whoa! What's the matter with you, 'ttebayou! Were you crying?! What happened?! Where's the teme, seriously?! How could he leave you alone like this?!"
"Naruto-kun… I don't think now is the right time to talk of it…" She swallowed thickly and tried to smile for him. "Perhaps after school? I- I just want to- I don't want to think about it right now. I'm sorry…"
The blond boy scrutinized her for a moment, and with a surprising moment of maturity, he gave her serious nod and hugged her again comfortingly before leading her into the academy with a protective arm around her shoulders.
If tensions were rising between their classmates and Sakura the first time around, then the frigid air directed at his dear friend was good enough to form icicles on the ceilings this time. He didn't even need to debate with himself before deciding to sit in the back with the ever lazy Shikamaru, who was surprisingly very awake, not wanting Sakura to deal with the death glares she would feel at her back if she sat at the front like usual.
Shikamaru sat up slowly and nodded at Sakura and Naruto in greeting, though his back was still slouched like it was too hard to straighten up his spine and with his hands in his pockets. Neither of them said anything to the girl sitting between them but Naruto could tell Sakura was looking better, feeling comforted by their presence.
Sasuke never showed up that day.
"Attention, kids! Class may be ending soon but that doesn't mean you can go do whatever you want here!" Iruka-sensei shouted as he rapped his knuckles on the desk loudly, and the students finally quieted down to listen. "There's going to be a graduation exam soon."
"What does that have to do with us, Iruka-sensei?" A boy sitting near the classroom door interrupted while picking disgustingly at his ears. "We're only second years, right?"
Iruka threw an extra blackboard eraser at the kid, his aim true as it hit his head with a loud thud. The class laughed hysterically, earning a glare from the boy but he shut his mouth when he got one of his own directed at him by the sensei.
"If you'd let me finish, Sasaki-kun. Yes, usually graduation exams are reserved for the sixth year students; the fifth years too, if they're lucky. But Hokage-sama has decided to make an exception this semester because he wants to see what level you guys are at and how effective our school's curriculum is. He is giving all academy students from the second year onward, a chance to test out of the academy and form Genin teams for more on-field experience.
"Be happy you get this chance! The only other people to have graduated early from the academy, if not earlier, were Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi. Are we clear?"
The class murmured their acknowledgement and Iruka-sensei smiled.
"Now, the test will consist of performing the Henge no Jutsu, Kawarimi no Jutsu and the Bunshin no Jutsu in terms of chakra manipulation and jutsu application part of the exam. You guys learned those a month ago, so let this be a test to see how hard you've been practicing besides at school. There will also be a written portion and Taijutsu demonstration. Any questions?... No? Then the test will be held three days from now. Dismissed!"
"Hey, Ugly Traitor, are your parents in jail yet? Hey, Ugly, I'm talking to you!"
Sakura studiously ignored the taunts directed towards her as soon as the children stepped past the academy gates. Naruto wasn't about to let the comments slide though.
"What did you say, you bastard?! How dare you call Sakura-chan that, dattebayou! You want to have my fists redec'rating your face, 'ttebayou?!"
"Shut your face, you damn fox!" The boy shouted behind them and Sakura jolted; he sounded a lot closer than she would have liked. And that reference to a fox again….
In a matter of seconds, a hand clamped down with unforgiving hardness on her shoulder to forcefully turn her around and face him. The action elicited an angry snarl from her companion and next thing the three children and any onlookers knew, the boy was flat on his back sporting a red welt on his cheek and a bloody nose.
The other children screamed as they backed up in fear of the stories they always heard from their parents; that Naruto was a demon fox boy and to get on his bad side may have violent repercussions. They hadn't really believed it before since he never retaliated from their bullying him. But now, it seemed that violence was manifesting for Sakura's sake. Not good.
"Don't you dare touch Sakura-chan! Nobody picks on her while I'm here without going through me!" The blond growled threateningly.
The fallen charcoal-haired boy trembled but his growing anger gave him the boost to shout back. "I don't care! If it weren't for her stupid parents, my uncle and dad would still be alive, instead of crushed under a building! The mess that happened two weeks ago was all her family's fault; the explosions, the fight that happened- everything!" His voice crescendoed until he all but screamed, "I wish you and your family were dead already!"
There was a moment of deafening silence. Not a person dared to move, too shocked by the statements that were practically flung at Sakura's face. Said child looked like she'd been slapped in the face rather hard while Naruto could only look flabbergasted; still enraged, yes, but the rant was lost on him. Just what was the stupid bastard even talking about?!
"Alright, enough of that. You brats have no idea how to control your emotions and the stupid words that flow out of your mouths, huh?"
Everyone flinched at the presence of a tall, muscular man suddenly standing behind the Haruno girl and the whiskered boy. Both nearly jumped a foot high as they turned around to better look at the man who dwarfed them with just his shadow.
The man was intimidating to look at, with scars on his face and a black, full-length trench coat making him look like a serial killer from horror movies. He also wore a forehead protector like a bandanna, covering the top of his head.
"Scat, you runts."
The command immediately compelled the children to scramble down the streets screaming, like they had been freed from a paralysis jutsu. All but the boy, whose face was beginning to blacken from the bruise forming on his cheek with a trail of dried blood still present. He looked like he wanted to flee as well but couldn't, whimpering when the scar-faced man's eyes all but pierced him through with a single glare.
"Except you, punk. You're going to bring me to your parent's place to have a real, nice…. talk."
The boy's legs involuntarily moved to make him stand up and walk over to the man. It was then that the children finally noticed another man behind the muscular one, someone who almost looked like a carbon copy of a certain lazy classmate of theirs. Well… more like Shikamaru was a carbon copy of the man.
The scarred one grabbed the beaten boy roughly by the arm and the boy's shadow shifted before something separated itself from it and returned to the Shikamaru copy.
"I'll take it from here, Shikaku-san. Would you please escort these children home?"
The Shikamaru look alike- Shikaku- nodded and herded the two children closer to him with a hand, ready to do as suggested.
"Dad."
Shikaku turned to find his son staring intently at him and sighed, muttering something that Naruto thought sounded like 'troublesome'.
"Come along then, Shikamaru."
The boy genius nodded and quickly lost the intense demeanor, falling back to his ever present sleepy attitude. He shuffled over with his hands shoved into his pockets.
"Is something going on that would require the esteemed Nara clan head to escort my charge home?"
Said clan head heaved another sigh, though he made sure it was as quiet as possible before he looked up and bowed slightly at a figure walking down the street towards them, a small entourage of people trailing behind the man.
"Kagomori-san, good afternoon. Sakura-chan is not in trouble…. Rather, it is for her own safety since some of the villagers hold less than...favorable views towards her and her family… As you know."
"I see. It just so happens that I came from a meeting with Hokage-sama moments ago and am on the way home. Please, come with us and join me for some tea." Kagomori turned around and walked back onto another main street his group had been perusing before they spotted them. He didn't even wait for Shikaku's reply.
"Why is this getting more and more troublesome…" The clan head muttered, but made to follow with the children trailing beside him.
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Walking through those heavy oak-wood doors everyday, leaving and coming back, was still so surreal to Sakura, even two weeks after the fact. To call the place she now lived in home- she couldn't make sense of it as reality. It was as if something in her lost connection, was detached from her body and she just couldn't find the glue or tape or whatever, to put it back together. Every night as she went to bed, she would be reminded that the futon she slept under was not hers, the room she was using was not hers, and the house she stayed was not the one she lived in with her parents.
Her parents. The unspeakable pain she felt lodged in her chest when she woke up every morning for the past two weeks, thinking that it was all a dream, only to realize that no, she was really in it, this reality; her parents were no longer there. And the treachery. Their treachery.
She could no longer call herself a Haruno; the civilian council had deemed the name to be a disgrace to their village and was to be erased. As she was now under the guardianship of Kagomori-sama, she would be taking his name until she became the Kasamura clan head, merging the former Haruno clan into the other. The Haruno clan would cease to exist from that point on.
For now, she was Kagomori Sakura, a child under the watch of both the Civilian Bank Association and the civilian council not for protection. No, it would never be for protection because they didn't trust her- never will. It was because they knew she was old enough to understand, and feel hatred and rage, to potentially want revenge for the horrid state her parents ended up in and for the stripping of her own name.
Even when she entered the house today, a place she was supposed to feel welcomed in, with Kagomori-sama ahead of her, and her classmates and Nara Shikaku-san at her back, she knew she would never be able to make such an emotional attachment to this place.
A maid had led their guests into a tea room while she automatically went straight to her room to change into a white and royal blue-patterned kimono; simple enough to be worn at 'home' but proper enough to greet guests in. This was a habit Kagomori-sama made sure was drilled thoroughly inside the pinkette's skull. The shocked looks on both Shikamaru and Naruto's faces when they saw her brought a small, amused smile to her face though and with her guardian's permission, had led them to a sitting room down the hall while the adults had their own discussion.
Now, the three sat silently in each other's company, Sakura staring into her cup of lukewarm green tea and not knowing how to even begin the conversation she'd promised Naruto. And Shikamaru being here…
"So why did you decide to follow us, Shikamaru-san?" If someone could just start the damn conversation already and just get it over with. The two shifting around uncomfortably in front of her was making her irritated.
Did they think she was some kind of fragile glass doll? She looked down at her attire and sighed. Okay, maybe I do kind of look like one right now…
Shikamaru shrugged with a small frown. "I would just like to confirm a few of my suspicions about what had happened…" He turned to Naruto with a slight scowl. "And to make sure this dork finally got to know what's been going on with you so he doesn't cause a riot during class because you and the Uchiha weren't there to leash him to his seat."
The lazy genius sagged with a sigh, scratching the back of his head. "Well, he was really worried about you two. Ah… so troublesome."
Naruto looked nervously between the two before looking at Sakura with worried eyes. "Sakura-chan, you don't have to talk about it if you don't wan-"
"My father is dead and I have been stripped of my family name because the civilian council said it brings shame to society with it's existence."
Naruto gulped at Sakura's sudden, detached interruption. Shikamaru frowned deeply at the information and cringed when he saw the pain Sakura was trying to hide under a facade of indifference.
"What-," Naruto licked his suddenly dry lips, "what about your mum?"
"She's… she's in the hospital, in the intensive care unit." She glanced at the two sitting across from her with a blank face before looking back down into her cup of tea, trying to immerse herself in the green color and not think too deeply at the information she was sharing. She'd cried enough about it already.
It was times like these that she appreciated that somehow, wearing a kimono really relaxed her- gave her this foreign calmness. She just hoped Naruto wouldn't break the composure she was holding onto so tightly.
"My house is going to be on lock-down while I live under Kagomori-sama's roof. I am to be trained as the next head of the Kasamura clan and when I come of age, I will be taking on their name and leadership. My- the Haruno clan will be merged with the Kasamura and cease to exist."
"But that's unfair! Why do they have to punish you for stuff your dad did?! That's your name! They don't have the right to take away someone's name!"
"Naruto, this is how a civilian's society works. I may have decided to train to be a kunoichi, but I also have the other foot in the world of civilians. I can never be fully one or the other."
"I'm curious." Shikamaru stepped in. "What happened with you and the Uchiha during the chaos? I understand that the both of you may have needed to go through questioning for your connection to the executions," Naruto nearly wrenched his neck to look at Shikamaru in shock and bewilderment as he hadn't heard that there were execution going that day,
"and that you had people to visit at the hospital for the last two weeks. But obviously something else happened during that time frame. Sasuke isn't the type of person to go missing class for such a long time without proper reason. The fact that he didn't come back with you today says much as well."
It was here that Sakura hesitated, unknowingly dropping the mask of indifference for a face of confusion. "I'm not exactly sure, actually. We were… we were being taken by the Chunins to a safe house… and… but we didn't make it. I couldn't tell who was on our side and who was the enemy, but we were attacked… there was so much chaos and the Chunin were trying to fend them off and look for backup. Sasuke-kun and I ended up trying to keep the civilians together and continue on the general direction our guards were taking us.
"And yet, we didn't make it. I- I… there was an explosion…" Sakura shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself, a pounding headache beginning to make its presence known. "I don't really remember what happened after that. I think… Sasuke-kun and I may have been separated afterwards? Everything is really blurry for me and for some reason, even Ino-cha-, Ino's father, Inoichi-san, couldn't access my memories. That's why I was kept under watch at the hospital and by Morino-san and and your father, Shikamaru-san. They needed to make sure I didn't have what they called a sleeper-agent jutsu inside my head or long term memory suppression due to trauma. I may have information on who else was involved that they need to complete their investigations.
"As for Sasuke-kun… I haven't seen him at all for the past two weeks."
There was another bout of heavy silence where the only thing they heard was the slight wind coming from the air-conditioner in the room.
A knock interrupted the silence and the three looked up to find a maid sliding the door open and bow where she knelt.
"Kagomori-sama would you to come back to the tea room for some light snacks. I apologize for not being able to provide them for you here, Sakura-sama."
Naruto looked at Sakura in bewilderment while Shikamaru kept a sleepy expression on his face as Sakura held up a hand in reassurance. Her back was ramrod straight and she was suddenly sitting extremely formally, her expression blank as a white paper.
"No need, Fuyuko-san. We will be on our way. You may leave."
Fuyuko bowed slightly again, stood up and left without another word.
"That- that was weird, Sakura-chan. Does everyone here speak like that to you? I already feel like biting off my nails from nerves. Can't they be less stiff?" Naruto squirmed and stood to leave the room.
Shikamaru snorted while Sakura giggled quietly behind a kimono sleeve, another action that had Naruto looking at her weirdly. "And this is what I will have to live with until I come of age. Be glad that you won't have to, Naruto-kun. Even then… I will have to live surrounded by the Kasamura family. Luckily, I know them a bit more then the people here. I am on friendly terms with some of Kasamura oji-san's relatives…" Sakura winced a little. "Though I don't know how they'll be acting towards me now."
Naruto threw an arm around her shoulders comfortingly. "Hey! You still have me, dattebayou! If they pick on you, they'll get it from me!"
"You mean I can sic you on them, Naruto-kun?"
"Hey!" Naruto mock pouted indignantly while she smirked, laughing quietly for the first time in a long while. Naruto relaxed at the expression and grinned.
"Okay! Time for some grub! I'm huuungry! Do you think they'll have ramen?"
Shikamaru could only sigh in exasperation, but smirked all the same as they headed back down the hall towards the adults. "Is that all you think about in your brain, dork? So troublesome…"
A/N: I'm actually surprised at how fast I got all this down from my head to paper…. I hope you guys liked that this chapter ended on a lighter note! There are still a lot of things to be laid out though!
And finally! We are pretty much at the beginning of the canon series finally! As you may have also noticed, the ages of each character are actually different from the canon timeline. Though of course, we know that canon!Naruto had tried to graduate several times (three times, to be exact) despite his young age (he entered the academy early), he never did quite pass till Sakura and Sasuke's year was allowed to try for it. WFSM!Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke are going to be graduating early. As for their actual age, it will be revealed later- Kakashi-kun, Itachi and Shisui-kun included. And don't worry! Look out for the two missing preteen's return! For now, I'm going to focus on developing and introducing characters into the story.
Soooo, thanks again for reading and I hope you review as well!
Special thanks, once again to AngelicRiver, catchthecat, and imaginesakura.
Also, just in case some of you get confused by my tired typing and typos from last chapter (which I went back and fixed) about Kakashi-kun's status, he was still an Anbu captain as of chapter 8.
Thank you all again and see you next time!
Adieu et avec d'adoration,
Hitori15
P.S.: I'm not French by the way, so I may get some spelling wrong in my greetings. Hahahahahaha….. Yeah