Mission with complication
Sasuke sighed as he walked right next to his sensei through the forest. He was really annoyed for a simple reason. He and Kakashi were sent to a C rank mission outside of Konoha. Naruto and Sakura were both sick. So this time it was only him and Kakashi. At first he was excited to go out on a C rank mission. He had hoped this would be a lot more fun than the boring D rank missions which he and his teammates always had to do. But now he thought differently. Their client was a rich man from Konoha, who wanted to travel to the next big city. He and Kakashi would protect this man on his way. Their client was such an annoying guy - he only talked about nonsense and Sasuke had the urge to roll his eyes every couple of minutes. He had never seen such a stupid guy before, he was probably worse than Naruto was.
And the journey was so boring, Sasuke wished Naruto and Sakura were here. Maybe the two of them were annoying but at least it wouldn't be so boring like now. Kakashi and their client were talking to each other but Sasuke was left out and the boy ignored the two adults.
"I feel very safe with a Jonin on my side, Hatake-san." The client said to Kakashi and Sasuke rolled his eyes. "If someone wants to attack me, I´m sure you can protect me but what's with the kid? I don´t really understand why he is here."
This was it! Sasuke glared at the man. "Hn, I´m more than capable to handle this mission alone! But your´re such..."
"Sasuke." Kakashi interrupted him with his well known lazy voice. "You will not talk to our client in suchway."
"But, he..."
"Understood?" Kakashi asked his student and he showed him a warm smile under his mask. After the boy nodded, he returned his attention back to the client. "Don't worry, Sasuke may be a child but he possesses great skills and in a couple of years, he'll become one of the best, that's for sure."
The man snorted. "I hope I can trust your word."
"Of course you can." Kakashi replied and went back to talk to the client about some matters.
Sasuke could barely contain his anger. How dare this stupid guy talk about him in such a way? Sure, he was only twelve but he was an Uchiha and everyone in Konoha knew about his abilities. The words of the client hurt his pride and he hated the man for that. Honestly this was the worst mission he had ever done! Sasuke continued to follow his sensei and their client. He stayed a little bit back on purpose. He was so boring! Nothing happened and he almost wished that someone would attack them and that finally something would happen. The young Uchiha doubted that something would happen in this mission anyway. Their client was only a stupid rich civilian who didn´t know where to spend his money and so he hired some shinobi to be his bodyguard. This guy pissed Sasuke off. He could train in this moment rather than wasting his time here. He already had the urge to yawn!
Then suddenly a loud explosion was heard some kilometers away. Sasuke shrugged, he hadn´t expected anything like this. He was on guard at once with kunai ready in both hands. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see how their client was trembling, which gave him a small measure of satisfaction.
"What's this?" The client asked.
Kakashi kept quiet and gave Sasuke a look which told him to stay on guard. Minutes passed until Kakashi relaxed.
"Are we being attacked?" The man was still trembling and his voice was filled with panic.
"It didn´t look like that." Kakashi said. "In any case, we should check out what it was, because the explosion came from the direction on our route."
"Can I going?" Sasuke saw his chance to escape this boring mission. Who knows, maybe some adventure would be waiting for him.
"No, it's too dangerous. We don´t know who or what this was." The Jonin merely answered. "I´ll go myself."
"What?" Sasuke thought he heard him wrong. "But that´s not fair!"
"Then who should protect me?" Their client was totally frightened. Sasuke rolled his eyes. This man was really a chicken!
"Don´t worry, Sasuke and you shall wait for me in a safe place. My student is capable of protecting you." The silver haired Jonin said and completely ignored his student's protest. Finally he gave his attention to Sasuke. "Sasuke, you´ll bring our client back to the village, which we passed half an hour ago. You'll wait there until I come back."
"But that means we will hide there?" Sasuke snorted. It was obvious that the boy couldn´t understand his sensei´s order.
"No, it means you should wait there until I´ve made sure that there are no dangers coming our way." Kakashi corrected. "Then, we can continue our mission."
"I'm coming with you! He is more than capable to go to the village alone!" The Uchiha boy protested.
Kakashi gave his student a hard look. He was a really patient sensei but in a mission, he expected that his Genin obeyed him without question. A mission, no matter how simple it seemed, could always get out of hand. This was why he wanted to check everything before they could continue. He hadn´t expected Sasuke's protest; he had thought the boy was smart enough to know better on a mission. He wouldn't argue with the boy as this would be only a complete waste of time, time they didn´t have.
"A Genin never questions his Superior's orders." Kakashi had nothing more to say.
"But that´s dumb!" Sasuke cried. "You know I can handle this!"
"Get rid of your attitude or I´ll do it for you!" Kakashi snapped at his student. Normally he wouldn't get angry so fast but they were on a mission and Sasuke had to learn to follow orders without question. In the worst case, this could decide life or death, especially on higher rank missions.
Sasuke flinched. He knew Kakashi meant it and so he didn´t dare to protest any further. Without another word, he nodded. His sensei told him to bring the client to the nearest village and stay there until he came back.
He hated it but he had no choice. And so he went on his way with the annoying client. At least the client was quiet because he was scared. Sasuke rolled his eyes again. This guy was really pathetic - there was no apparent reason for him to be so scared. Sasuke didn't really care about the man. He just didn't want to miss out some actions or an awesome fight.
Kakashi stormed towards the direction where the explosion came. It could be harmless but honestly the Jonin had his suspicion. Something like this should not have happened on this route. It was a safe route which often used by civilian in the town. It was unusual that something bad happened on this route, especially in this harmless C rank mission. That was why Kakashi was a little bit confused. He had a bad feeling and as an experienced shinobi, he had learned to trust his instinct as it had often saved his life. This was the reason why he wanted to make sure that Sasuke and the client were safe.
As he continued his way, he saw a second explosion. The Jonin stopped in his tracks. He continued his way slowly and when he was near enough, he hid himself behind some trees. The only thing he saw was fire but Kakashi was sure that he felt the presence of someone else. And he was right! A second later, he was attacked by some shurikens flying towards him, which Kakashi dodged without much effort.
A second wave of attack soon followed and the Jonin dodged or deflected the kunais with his own kunai. Before long, a mysterious man appeared in front of him. The man was wearing a mask but Kakashi could see that he was a shinobi from Kumogakure by looking at his forehead protector.
"Who are you?" Kakashi asked. "And why are you attacking me?"
The Kumo nin chuckled. "I´m well aware of the fact who you are, Copy Ninja Kakashi Hatake."
"So?" The silver haired Jonin was surprised but he didn´t show it. He knew that he was a famous shinobi after the Third Shinobi War but he hadn´t expected that this guy confessed that he knew about him so openly. He had a bad feeling about this. Somehow he felt that the Kumo nin wanted something personally from him. "What do you want?"
"Seems like you´ve already forgotten some incidents from the past. I´ll try to help you to remember." The Kumo nin snorted. "Five years ago, the border between the Land of Frost and Land of Hot Water, you were there with your Anbu team and I was there with my team as well. We got into a fight. You killed her without a second thought and destroyed my life." Kakashi raised his eyebrows. He tried to remember. He had killed countless people during his Anbu years and because it was such a dark chapter in his life, he did his best to forget most victims on these missions. Sure, he did his job for the safety of his village but this didn´t made it easier and so it was simpler to forget. But when his enemy removed his mask, Kakashi immediately recognized that face and suddenly he remembered.
Five years ago, he was sent out with his Anbu team to exchange some important scrolls with Kumo ninjas at the country's border. These were important documents and the Hokage gave Kakashi this job as a secret mission. But Konoha and Kumo were not on good terms during that time and so the possibility of a betrayal could exist. The Hokage had ordered him to kill the Kumo ninjas if Kumo tried to betray them. It turned out that the Kumo ninjas wanted their documents but they didn´t want to hand over their own scrolls. To make a long story short, Kumo ninjas attacked, and Kakashi and his team were forced to fight back. He and his team killed almost everyone but he could remember that one of the Kumo nin escaped. He must be the one who got away.
"I remember." The Copy Ninja answered calmly. "But what do you want from me now? We were both on a mission during that time and I did nothing but to complete my mission."
"You killed my wife that day!" The man cried and his face turned red in anger. "She was in my team five years ago and I saw how you killed her with your famous Chidori! I can never forget that moment no matter how hard I tried! She was everything to me and you killed her!"
"We are shinobi and we expect to die in every mission." Kakashi tried to sound calm because he already knew what was the man's intention. "You can´t blame me for something your own village caused. Don´t tell me that you've never killed someone before. You and your team were a threat to my village at that moment and as a shinobi, I´m supposed to get rid of every threat for my village. Now tell me what do you want from me? Revenge?"
The Kumo nin laughed. "I´ve dreamed for years to take revenge upon you! But I knew that I didn't stand any chance against you at that time. So I've trained in every waking moment in the past few years to kill you and avenge my wife! And now the time has come! I´ve observed Konoha for the past few weeks and waited patiently for you to leave the village alone. Finally, today... This will be your end, Hatake!"
Kakashi narrowed his eye. He could understand the feelings of this man. He had lost a lot of people too but in the end, such was the world of shinobi. They were weapons of their village although Kakashi didn't always agree with that. But he didn't have any other choice in that mission where he killed the man's wife. That was his mission. Although becoming a sensei of three genin had changed him in many ways, he would always kill to protect his village and his precious people.
"You are not thinking straight. Kumo would never approve of what you are trying to do now..." Kakashi tried to talk him out of it. It was true that Konoha and Kumo were finally on better terms for the past few years but this could ruin everything and undid whatever progress they had made. "Think for your village. You´ll ruin everything that our villages have worked so hard to rebuild in the last few years! If you attack me, I´ll kill you. And even if you get what you want and kill me, Konoha will take action. There will be another war!"
"I don´t care! Your death is all I want and nothing else doesn´t matter for me!" The Kumo nin yelled.
"You´ll ruin your live..."
"You´re the one who ruined my life! And now you´ll bleed for that!" With that, the man formed hand seals rapidly.
Kakashi´s eye widened and he quickly lifted his forehead protector because he knew he had to use his Sharingan. The Jonin knew that this wouldn´t be an easy fight when he saw the lightning Release technique formed in the Kumo nin's hand.
Meanwhile Sasuke and the client had reached the nearest village. They didn´t spoke a word to each other during the entire journey. They decided to take a break in a little teahouse. Sasuke sighed in annoyance. He wished Kakashi would come soon as it was even more boring than before. But as time passed, the boy grew impatient. This was definitely the worst mission he ever had. He was so happy when Kakashi told him that they would go on a mission together, just the two of them. How stupid! "What takes your sensei so long?" The client asked and snapped Sasuke out of his thoughts. "I need to be in the town before sundown!"
"How should I know?" Sasuke snapped. "If you can't arrive before sundown, that's your problem, not mine."
"How dare you say that, brat?" The client looked at the boy angrily. "Do you know how much money I paid, only to be protected by a Jonin and a spoiled brat?"
Sasuke seemed to completely forgotten about the shinobi rule that says never fight with your client. Usually he was a very obedient and patient Genin if he was on a mission. And if he misbehaved sometimes, his sensei was there to correct him. But now he was alone with that man and the man had provoked him for the whole day. It didn't help that he was still sulking about the fact that Kakashi had left him behind with that man. His patience was already wearing thin and this was the last straw.
"I don´t care how much you paid! The fact is there was no reason for you to hire some bodyguard in the first place, because this is so boring that even a D rank mission involves more action! And let me tell you something, you´re not even important and I doubt that someone has interest on you! You could come this way by yourself and it wouldn´t made any difference!" Sasuke snapped and glared at the client.
"You..." His client huffed. "Someone should teach you some manners!"
Sasuke looked away. He knew that he should be quiet now even if he was angry. This man was still their client and he knew he would get in trouble if the man complains to Kakashi about his behaviour. And so he tried to ignore the man even if he was still really annoyed.
But as time passed, Sasuke grew frustrated with his sensei. Kakashi was away for over an hour and this was definitely a sign that something more must've happened. Maybe Kakashi was fighting some enemies, while he sat here and did nothing. This thought made Sasuke feel jealous. Why should Kakashi have all the fun out there? The young Uchiha had trained so hard in the past few months and he was more than ready to finally prove himself in a mission. Maybe there were some enemies out there to fight and this would be the perfect opportunity for him to show what he had learned.
Maybe he should go and find out what was going on. He had nothing to lose. Even if it´s nothing, he would probably run into Kakashi and they could go back together. Maybe Kakashi would be angry but maybe he could somehow help his sensei in a fight. That would be awesome. He made up his mind. It wouldn´t hurt if he would go and find out by himself what´s going on.
Sasuke stood up from his chair and his client gave him a skeptical look.
"What are you doing?" The man asked.
"It´s not really your business but I´ll go and look what takes Kakashi so long to come back." Sasuke answered.
"What? Your sensei ordered you to stay here and who will protect me if you´re gone?" The client protested.
"Hn. You already told me that a brat like me is not capable of protecting you, so it won't make a difference for you." And with that, Sasuke left.
He ran back towards the direction from where the explosion came. The raven haired boy was really eager to know what Kakashi was doing for so long. The boy was smart and he was absolutely sure that something must be happening. And he hoped that this would be a chance for him to prove his new skills.
Of course Kakashi had no idea that his student was on his way there. He had his hands full with the fight. The man was definitely a skilled Jonin and Kakashi did his best to fight against this man. The first problem was that he realized that the Kumo nin, like him, possessed lighting chakra nature. The enemy could block his chidori perfectly and so Kakashi tried with other jutsu. But the Kumo nin was really strong and so the fight lasted longer than he had first expected.
Honestly, Kakashi didn´t want to kill that man if he could. Even if the circumstances were reasonable, he felt a little bit guilty for him. He was the perfect example for a disgraced shinobi. This was exact what revenge did with someone. But now in this situation, he didn't have any other choice. This man attacked him with the intention to kill him and Kakashi knew if he didn't kill him first, he would be the victim. The Copy Ninja didn´t doubt that he could win this fight but it already lasted too long. He fought for over an hour and the end was still not in sight.
The Kumo nin attacked with that lightning jutsu again and Kakashi summoned his own Chidori in his hand. He knew it would provoke the Kumo nin, because with this was the same jutsu that he used to kill that woman years ago. At the sight of chidori, the Kumo nin's hatred and anger was apparent in his bloodthirsty eyes. This was a good thing for Kakashi, if his enemy was distracted, it would be a lot easier for him to land a strike and end this fight.
The Copy Ninja charged forward and so did the Kumo-nin. The two powerful jutsu collided and created an explosion with resulted both shinobi being flung in opposite directions.
Kakashi panted as he lied down on the ground. His muscles hurt due to the large amount of lightning chakra he had to use and his chakra was low due to the usage of his Sharingan. He had gotten some injuries himself but he knew that the Kumo-nin was in a worse condition. Kakashi propped himself up into a standing position. He saw how the enemy was struggling to stand too. He has a big gaping wound above his chest near his left shoulder and Kakashi knew he had hit him there with the chidori. He was lucky that Kakashi barely missed his heart. But even so, his lung was punctured and Kakashi was confident that he would still be able to put an end to this fight or him soon.
Then he felt suddenly the presence of someone else and a moment later Sasuke jumped out from the trees and landed directly before him. Kakashi couldn't hide his surprise. He hadn´t noticed Sasuke´s presence until now.
"That was awesome, Kakashi-sensei!" Sasuke exclaimed and it was obvious that the boy had witnessed the fight for a while. "This guy had no chance against..."
"What are you doing here?" Kakashi asked angrily but his voice only sounded tired and worried. He had no idea why Sasuke appeared so suddenly but he knew the boy need to go. This fight was still not over yet and this was too dangerous for a young Genin to stay around. "Go back at once!"
Sasuke was confused. He hadn't expected this reaction. Of course it was clear that his sensei would be angry at him for disobeying his direct order but the fight was already over and he couldn´t understand his Sensei´s reaction. He was still too young and inexperienced to understand that a fight with other nation's shinobi is only over if you kill your enemy before he could kill you. Sasuke was twelve and he was only a Genin and even with his tragic past, the boy had never killed someone himself. Because of that, the young Uchiha was still somehow an innocent boy with no idea of the harshness of the shinobi world.
"But Kakashi..."
"Do as I say and go!" Kakashi had only spoken this command as he saw that the stubborn Kumo nin who refused to die was now ready to attack again. A couple of kunais flew in their direction and he had to pull Sasuke to the side or the boy would get hit.
Another attack came and this time Kakashi was able to block it with his own kunai while Sasuke managed to jump out of the way, this time without his sensei´s help.
"Leave, Sasuke, now!" Kakashi yelled at his student, while he moved forward and blocked a kick from the man. The Jonin used his fist and punched the Kumo-nin across the face. Then the Kumo nin leapt back and coughed out some blood.
Sasuke knew he should leave but the fight seemed so exciting that he wished he could participate in it. He knew he could help his sensei and the Kumo nin was almost done anyway.
"Please let me help you!" Sasuke cried at his sensei. "He is almost finished and there is no need for me to leave."
Kakashi narrowed his eyes. He knew that Sasuke didn´t know that he was at his limit too. The boy wasn´t experienced enough to analyse the battle properly, but Kakashi knew better. And it was too dangerous for Sasuke to interfere in a fight between two Jonin. He was always concerned about his student´s wellbeing and it was obvious that he was worried about Sasuke and wanted the boy to be as far away as possible.
Maybe it was too obvious because the enemy suddenly charged forward, but not in Kakashi´s direction. He ran towards Sasuke. "Sasuke!" Kakashi shouted his student´s name and he followed the Kumo-nin. Sasuke blocked the attack with a kunai but the older nin was far stronger. The boy flew and his back hit against a tree after the man kicked him hard at his stomach.
Kakashi wanted to intercept the man as he noticed how the enemy threw a lot of shurikens at Sasuke. The boy was still holding his stomach in pain and he knew that it was impossible for Sasuke to dodge all of them. He shouted a warning at his student. The only thing he could think in that moment was to protect Sasuke. He wouldn´t let him die. He ran forward as fast as he could and prayed that he could make it in time. He couldn´t do anything to block the attack - it was too late. In the next second, Kakashi threw himself over Sasuke and pushed the boy to the ground. Pain exploded everywhere on his body which he had used to shield Sasuke.
Everything happened so fast. Sasuke was struggling to stand up after the man had kicked him into his stomach. And then suddenly he heard Kakashi screamed, he looked up and saw the shurikens flying directly at him. His breathe hitched as he knew this was it. He couldn´t dodge this anymore. Sasuke closed his eyes and braced himself for the attack but then he suddenly felt someone pushed him down and he heard a painful gasp. Slowly, he opened his eyes as he noticed was now lying on the ground under the protective body of his sensei.
"Sensei!" Sasuke called out frantically. As soon as he wriggled out from Kakashi's body, he could see how the shurikens were sticking out in Kakashi´s back. He also noticed how the usual green Jonin west of his sensei began to soak in crimson blood.
"Sensei!" He shouted again, this time louder with desperation in his voice.
But his sensei didn't answer him and Sasuke wasn´t even sure whether Kakashi still was alive.
"Please, Kakashi..." Sasuke tried again but Kakashi gave no reaction. This was his fault! If only he had done what Kakashi told him and stayed with the client like he was supposed to, his sensei would not... Tears welled up in his eyes as he realized that all this only happened because of him.
Suddenly a loud laughter reached Sasuke's ears. Startled, Sasuke looked up and saw the Kumo nin was now coming straight in his direction.
"So this is the end of the great Kakashi Hatake? He sacrificed himself for a stupid boy... Lucky me. I was already pushed to the edge but then you showed up. So thank you." The Shinobi grinned."And now, I´ll put you out of your misery."
When Sasuke looked into the eyes of the man who had done this to his sensei, he felt hatred rising in his chest. It was the same feeling he felt whenever he thought of his hated older brother. He wanted to hurt this man and make him pay for what he had done! He felt a burning sensation in his eyes as chakra flowed into his eye balls. He could feel it now – the awakening of his Sharingan. The Kumo nin would pay, dearly. He would make sure of it.
Sasuke pulled his legs free from Kakashi´s body and stood up. The Kumo nin was already in a bad shape but it didn't matter for the Uchiha. He couldn't think straight, the burning hatred in his chest consumed him. The feeling to see someone die before your eyes, someone precious to you... Sasuke never wanted to feel this way again. But now this had happened and it was his own fault.
The last thing Sasuke remembered was the widening eyes of the Kumo nin as he ran forward with a kunai in his right hand. Then he lost his mind. The next thing he saw when he was himself again, was blood. Blood was everywhere, on his hands, on his clothes. His breathe hitched as the realization of what he had done finally hit him. His knees buckled and gave way before the dead body of the Kumo nin. A kunai, his kunai, embedded directly in the man's heart.
Sasuke's hand began trembling. He had killed a man. He was a murderer! Sasuke stared at his bloody hands. He couldn't gasped for air desperately but he couldn´t breathe... Panic and fear washed over him like waves. He had killed someone... This was his last thought before everything went black.
First I want to thank een nihc for her great work. She helped me so much with this Chapter :)
And I want to thank for the Reviews, it´s really a great support :-)
This Chapter will have a continuation in the next Chapter in which Sasuke dealt with his first kill.
Please let me know what you think and review!