I do not own any part of the Naruto universe no matter how much I want to.
Naruto vaguely noticed the dull pain throbbing at his back, along with the muffled voices from afar, as if a veil covered and blurred his senses. Thoughts of the day's event slowly came to him, and pulling him towards reality.
Naruto blinked. The previously blurred silhouette cleared and the first thing Naruto recognized was the familiarly large back of Jiraiya, and Sakura's beautiful form. A groan escaped his mouth, as he felt the muscles around his injury stretch in his attempt to get up. Sakura turned back sharply with teary eyes, and let out a breath of relief. "Naruto!" Sakura smiled, "stay down. Rest for a while." She then turned her back towards him again, her posture tensed as ever.
Something was not right. "S-Sakura-chan." Naruto pushed himself up, what are they looking at? Where's sensei? As if someone heard Naruto's unspoken question, a dark chuckle answered him from in front of Jiraiya and Sakura.
Naruto's eyes widened as he understanding crept in slowly. There he was. The teacher that he respected and loved, was now reduced to an unmoving body under the foot of someone Naruto had quickly grown to hate and despise. Said person turned his gaze to Naruto, and grinned. "So you're awake. You're good," he turned to Sakura, "I wonder who's better. You? Or Rin?"
"SENSEI!" Naruto shouted, hoping to get a response from Kakashi, but there was none. "You bastard," Naruto charged in, but was stopped by Jiraiya's outstretched hand.
"Calm down," Jiraiya said in a low voice.
"What do you want with Kakashi?" Jiraiya turned to Matsuda, voice dipped deep in malice.
"Hmm.." Matsuda said with feigned ignorance, and then stared sharply into Jiraiya's eyes, with a voice so cold and twisted, " I want to break him."
Matsuda have to admit, this day was going great. Except for the part when Kakashi had his arm through his chest. The expression on the blonde boy and the pink girl were priceless. The sannin skillfully kept his face expressionless, though his eyes did widened for a split second. How long would he be able to keep his emotions in check? What if…
Wha- Naruto could not believe his ears. And judging from Sakura's expression, she couldn't either. A sick smile tug on Matsuda's face as if something clicked in his mind. Naruto did not know what, but he would definitely dislike it.
"Rin." Matsuda gave Rin a look, and that was all it took. Rin nodded at the unspoken orders.
Now! Jiraiya screamed in his head, and charged towards Matsuda, while Matsuda was seemingly occupied, even for a second. 3 needles narrowly shot pass Jiraiya's head, and the next thing he knew, Rin was standing in front of Matsuda and Kakashi. She ran towards Jiraiya, clashing her needle at Jiraiya's kunai. This woman, she's strong! Jiraiya could feel Rin's arm buckling from his own force, But not strong enough! He stole a glance at Matsuda over the shoulder of Rin, and dread crept over him. Matsuda was smiling. It's a trap! Jiraiya looked down, just in time to see Rin throwing 2 smoke bombs with her free hand.
Grey smoke exploded from the 2 bombs, blocking Jiraiya's vision completely. The force going against his was swiftly removed, and Jiraiya reached out, hoping to be fast enough to grab Rin before she escapes. Unfortunately, he only grabbed air. Desperate, he waved his hand in front of his face, hoping against hope that it the smoke could be dispersed quickly enough.
Damn it! How can I be this careless! Kakash-
There was nothing.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto and Sakura screamed, defeat mocking at them in the form of their missing teacher.
Their scents are gone…
Naruto clenched his fist, there must be a way to get him back! Definitely! They are probably not far.. Naruto yelled in frustration, and ran out of the room, images of Kakashi's past teachings flashing in his mind, his body leading him towards the exit. Please, please! Naruto begged in his mind, as the exit of the cave came closer and closer to him. Let me make it in time!
Nothing. Then it finally dawned upon him. Kakashi is taken away. And not only that, he was taken away by Matsuda in front of the three of them. Naruto gritted his teeth, as guilt slowly crept in. Another one..
A hand gripped his shoulder firmly, " We will get him back," Jiraiya said. Naruto forced a smile, and looked back to see Jiraiya's wide grin, as if to reassure his unsaid worries. Naruto nodded, and turned to Sakura who was standing behind Jiraiya.
"Sakura-chan, we'll definitely get him back. I promise!" Naruto flashed her one of his signature grin, and with wet eyes, Sakura smiled.
"Their scents are gone, and we have no idea where they might have gone. We'll have to investigate."
"We must be quick," Sakura added. Matsuda's cold words echoed in her mind, 'I want to break him'.
Naruto and Jiraiya nodded grimly, both understanding the underlying meaning in that line. Jiraiya walked back into the caves, " There may be clues back in the there. Hopefully there'll be something that tells us where Matsuda may have went."
Sakura and Naruto followed, but said nothing, both too occupied worrying about their teacher. They quicken their pace, as they knew every second wasted would definitely not bode well for Kakashi.
"Over here!" Jiraiya's voice echoed along the walls of the caves. Naruto instinctively ran towards the voice, with Sakura following behind, hope rising slightly within them.
Files. Despite the desperation and fear in them, Naruto and Sakura could not help but be in awe when the first entered the room. "Wow," Naruto murmured.
Unlike the rest of the caves, and the rooms they did entered, this room was neat, and clean. It was a large room, with high ceilings, packed with shelves and cupboards, with a table at the side, no doubt for Matsuda to use for whatever research and studies he is doing. The massive amount of files and books were carefully placed in shelves orderly that immediately reminded Sakura of a library.
"W-Wait! We have to search through all this?" Naruto exclaimed.
"We have no choice. Other than this, we have no idea where could they be going." Sakura explained.
"But, with this large amount of stuffs we have to search through, Kakashi-sensei could be, be" Naruto paused, "be dead by then!"
Sakura stiffened as Naruto mentioned the d-word. She hated it. The idea of her ever-reliable sensei not being there anymore.. It hurts.
"And, there may not be anything here!"
A sigh escaped Jiraiya's lips from behind the shelves. "Naruto, this is the only choice we have. Stop wasting time and search."
"But-"
" Matsuda won't kill Kakashi. At least, not yet. You heard what he said earlier just now right? He wants to break him. Now, we just to rely on Kakashi to stay strong for a while." Jiraiya's fingers dug into the files as he tried to contain the anger boiling in him. They may have distanced in these past years, but Jiraiya would always remember the times they shared when Kakashi was truly happy, when life have not yet turned it's back against him. Not the first time, Jiraiya wondered why does life seems to hate Kakashi, hurling waves and waves of pain and hurt at him since he was a kid.
It was good that Naruto finally stopped complaining and started searching instead. He would have no way else to convince him.
Hours passed silently, the only noise being Naruto occasional grunts and he shuffling of papers. It was an extensive collection of books and files regarding jutsus, and medical knowledge, and Naruto's patience is running thin. There is no way what they want to find out will be here! He was about to voice his unhappiness when he noticed a couple of bright red file standing out amongst the others sitting at the corner of a shelf. Curious, he took the first one and started flipping through it.
It was details about a shinobi, whose name is crossed out with bright red ink. A picture of said shinobi was attached as well, and Naruto could not help but feel slightly disgusted as the files contains every, yes, every detail of that shinobi. Covering from his address, to his background, and his fears. It was as if Matsuda made a thorough breakdown in the person mental space and put it down to words. It was unnerving.
The next few red files were the same. Each, holding information about one shinobi, all with names crossed out with ink that it was illegible. The next one, Naruto noticed, was much thicker than the rest. He flipped the cover open, and his felt his heart stopped a little when he saw its contents.
A pair of hazel eyes stared back at Naruto, with silver hair reaching his eyebrows. It felt strange for Naruto, to see his sensei so young, no scars, and no sharingan. He's probably just 5 years old here…
"Over here!"
Jiraiya and Sakura hastily rushed over to Naruto, and Naruto handed them the files, hands trembling. Their eyes widened when they first saw Kakashi's kid photograph on it, but quickly recovered and scanned through the entire file. At the back page, Sakura contemplated not reading. It was as though all the carefully built up walls Kakashi erected around himself to keep his past away from others were torn down, and she is given an entire tutorial of it. It felt.. wrong. Nonetheless, she continued, sensei's life is at stake!
Weakness:
1) Chakra depletion Makes sense.
2) Self thrown guilt True.
3) Size Sensei would be so angry with this.
4) Childhood
Then it clicked. "I know!" Jiraiya exclaimed, a little too loud. Not like the other 2 bothered. How could I not notice? "Come on! I'll explain later!" He rushed out of the room, leaving the two younger shinobis looking at each other, confused about whatever Jiraiya could have learnt from the information. But one thing they knew, they smiled as they followed the sannin with hopes slightly higher than when they first stepped in.
Wait for us! Sensei!
Tada~
It's been too long! This time, I apologize for not only posting late, I got some of your hopes high huh. Sorry! To be frank, this chapter went nowhere I thought it would go. Next chapter would be more on our poor little Kakashi. It's a scene I always wanted to write.
OH! Good news for all! My holidays started, so I'll definitely be more active in writing and posting. :D
Thanks for the reviews, faves ,follows and PMs! They keep me writing! Until next time!
-Lendrycia