Chapter Twelve:

Kakashi was the first to snap out of his shock. The battle was still ongoing around them. He shook Midori and Obito by one of their shoulders quickly.

"Obito! Midori!" he said urgently, "If you're going to stare at them, then do that from a safe place." Obito turned to face Kakashi and nodded, and Midori reluctantly looked away from the girl as well. They leapt away in different directions as the ground beneath them started to break away. Kakashi landed on the branch of a nearby tree and scanned the battle for Misa. He found her on the outer areas of the field and headed that way. He arrived at the same time as Midori did. She headed straight for Misa, but Kakashi stopped once beside a few Sand ninjas.

"We'll take care of them," he said, "Your skills are needed for the more dangerous shinobi." They didn't hesitate and leapt away immediately. The three from Misa's group started after them, but Kakashi and Midori got in their way. Obito was no where to be seen at the moment, but they didn't have the time to go look for him.

"Misa-chan," Midori said, "You're Gamashi Misa, aren't you?"

The girl hesitated. Her dark blond hair was longer than what they had seen in the photo, but they were still braided. Her eyes had lost the delightfulness that had been evident in the picture, and she stared back at Midori with a wary suspicion. Slowly, she nodded.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Midori, but that doesn't matter. Misa-chan, have you seen your parents since you left your town?"

Misa immediately seemed to bristle. "I sacrificed that life long ago to become a shinobi. I have no intentions of returning to them."

"They're worried about you though!" Midori insisted.

"How do you, a Leaf ninja, know about my parents?" Misa demanded.

"We had a mission that involved your father, four years ago," she replied.

"Whatever. It doesn't matter to me. We're at war now, and you're going to be defeated by us if you don't run."

"Run?" Kakashi repeated. "Not when we're defending our country."

"Kakyou, Nagi, I'll take the girl," Misa said. The two other boys nodded and within the next few moments, the five of them were engaged in their separate battle.

Kakashi wondered what Obito was doing, but supposed he had his reasons for not being there. With that conclusion, he concentrated on the fight. Having it two against one, it was more difficult for him, especially when the two knew of each other's techniques and capabilities. He settled down to observing what they would do, and what they were able to do before getting to the offence. They used mostly Taijutsu and barely relied on the other fighting methods. They were quick and their attacks were quite powerful.

Kakashi leaned back to avoid a swinging kick, then pivoted of his right foot to dodge a thrust. Without looking behind, he ducked under another kick and as he rose, lifted his left arm to his face and blocked a high kick.

"Do you think you're going to defeat us by just dodging?" Kakyou asked as Kakashi leapt back and over a double attack. He landed on his hands, then quickly flipped back onto his feet.

"No," he replied.

"Good," Nagi said, "Then start attacking already."

"I might," Kakashi responded, "if you start getting serious."

He had pressed the right button. The two, apparently offended by his remark, started to approach faster and in tighter formation. Kakashi continued to defend, but started making more contact with blocking instead of simply dodging. Once he got used to their new speed and styles, he found a few openings and unguarded times and decided to end his observation. His heel caught Nagi's foot and he tripped backwards. The two took the chance and came down with two strong strikes. Kakashi saw that coming and quickly reaching down to stop his fall, he swung his whole body to the right, his legs hitting Kakyou's knees. His unbalanced moment made it easier for him to be tripped over, and Nagi stumbled over his comrade to avoid hitting him. Kakashi hadn't wasted any time and as soon as he got to his feet, he sent his knee into Nagi's chest as he fell forward, sending him back with a racking cough.

Kakashi formed certain seals. Katon Goukakyuu no jutsu. The fire scorched the ground and headed straight for the two. He hadn't thought they would be defeated so easily, and so was prepared when they lunged at him from behind. Except that they found themselves hitting a log. They ducked at Kakashi swung his foot at them, and Nagi caught his ankle. Kakashi twisted around and swung his fist at Nagi's face, which was caught as well, but at the same moment, his other foot came up to connect with his chin. Nagi stumbled backwards, letting go of Kakashi, but before he did, Kakyou struck his heel into his stomach. Kakashi fell back with a cough, landing on his feet, but spun around and grabbed Kakyou's fist very close to his face. He quickly crossed his arms and caught the second punch. While he did that, he swung his foot and hit Kakyou's side.

Suddenly, Kakashi found an arm wrap around his throat and his right arm was twisted behind him. The hold of his throat tightened uncomfortably and jolts of pain travelled through his arm as it was brought higher along his back. He bit down on the pain and attempted to get out of the hold before it would be too late.

"Kakyou!" Nagi called. Kakashi turned his attention to the other boy and noticed him do something. He brought his hands together in front of him and closed his eyes. "Have you heard of the Hachimontonkou?" Nagi asked. Kakashi's eyes widened.

"Hachimontonkou…The Eight Celestial Gates," he muttered, "He can open them?"

"Only the first Gate, but you can experience it yourself." Kakashi stiffened as the choke hold tightened further, pressing into his wind pipe. Then he saw Kakyou leap at him much quicker than before, that he could barely follow the movement. He could do nothing to avoid the blow that connected painfully to his chest. More surprising than the speed, was the power. Immediately, Kakashi tasted the blood that came with the winded cough through his mouth. The hits didn't stop there, as Kakyou continued to strike his torso. The lack of air wasn't making things any better. Kakashi slowly lifted his left arm.

"Don't try anything stupid," Nagi said, pulling his right arm higher. Kakashi bit back a pained cry that turned into another racking cough, and he sagged in Nagi's hold. Still, he fumbled with his sleeve, and finally found what he had been looking for. A trickle of blood ran down his left arm soaking through the cloth that covered his lower face as Kakyou's blows continued. But not for long. Kakashi yanked loose the kunai he had kept under his left sleeve with his teeth through the mask and dug it into Nagi's arm that held him. Nagi cried out and released Kakashi, who fell to his knees and coughed loudly. Kakyou soon joined Nagi on the ground and Kakashi looked up to find Obito standing there.

"You're late," Kakashi mumbled as he got to his feet, wiped the blood from his chin and moved his sore right arm a little.

"And you got yourself in a choke hold?" Obito mocked, and there was laughter in his voice.

"Shut it, snore boy," Kakashi retorted quickly.

"Then fight seriously. You don't have all day to spend with them."

"Then let's get this over with," Nagi said through clenched teeth, pulling the kunai out of his arm.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Midori was finding it difficult to fight Misa. Memories from four years ago kept disturbing her concentration, and that had already cost her a few cuts and bruises. She stepped aside and pushed Misa's fist away from her, then ducked under a round kick.

"Misa-chan, please," Midori said, "I don't want to fight. I just want you to realise how much your parents must be missing you."

"They don't mean anything to me anymore," Misa replied, going through seals and striking her hand into the ground, and the area in line with Midori cracked and exploded. Midori leapt out of the harm and raised her arms to block Misa's kick.

"But you still mean a lot of them," Midori said.

"That's none of my concerns, and they aren't either."

"Misa-chan!"

"Stop calling me that!" Misa shouted angrily, pivoting on her left foot, gathering momentum as she spun and kicked Midori's midriff as she landed behind her. Midori winced, dropping to her knees. "If you aren't going to fight seriously then your life is going to end here," Misa said, raising a kunai and bringing it down on Midori.

"Why?" Midori asked, her head bowed. Misa flinched at the question and stopped the kunai halfway down. "Why?!" Midori asked again, raising her voice and looking up at Misa. "Why do you hate them so much?!" Misa took an insecure step backwards and cast her eyes to the side to avoid eye contact. Midori didn't move from her position on the ground.

"When I started at the Ninja Academy," Midori said, "I remember clearly that I also dejected my parents. I didn't care what they were saying, I was always very cold and unfriendly to them. I was so bent on becoming a great ninja that all I thought about was ninja, ninja, ninja. I didn't have any friends, and I dejected my family, so I became totally alone. I felt so lonely, the students at school hated me, and I thought my family hated me as well. But they didn't. It was like the first time I met them as I sat down at dinner one evening. And they encouraged me, and supported me. Parents are strange people. No matter how much you detest them, they still love you. Nanami-san and Kengou-san are the same. They're waiting for you every day, with a picture of you and them hanging on the kitchen wall, wishing that one day, you would knock on their door."

Misa had completely lost her secure wall that she had built around her heart. The kunai fell from her grasp, forgotten. The battle that still raged to their side was also forgotten. Misa stepped forward and dropped to her knees in front of Midori.

"Do you think…that they'll forgive me as well?" Misa asked timidly.

Midori smiled and nodded. "I'm sure they will."

A new light entered Misa's eyes and she smiled widely, and Midori could now fully believe that this was the girl she had seen in the photo. Then her eyes widened and she immediately leapt over Misa, throwing herself over her and pushing her down. She grimaced as she felt a couple sharp bolts of pain in her back from the shurikens that she had seen coming at Misa from a Cloud ninja.

Midori was furious as she got to her feet and faced her opponent. "She's your ally!" she spat.

"Who's become friendly with the enemy," he replied. "That's why kids are useless in wars. Their soft hearts pity their foes."

Ninpo Kaze Kamaitachi. Midori's slices of wind tore across the ground, but was countered with another wind attack. "Misa-chan, run!" she shouted over her shoulder, and once the other girl got out of harms way, Midori let go of her oppressed attack and leapt away. She landed behind her foe and silently went through hand seals.

Katon Goukakyuu no – Midori was cut off when weapons flew from her opponent and struck her torso. She cried out and fell to her knees, watching him lung at her with another handful of kunais, but she wasn't going to give up. She finished the last seal, biting down on the pain. Goukakyuu no jutsu!

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Obito and Kakashi sprinted as fast as they could through the fighting shinobi to where Kakashi had left Midori. They suddenly stopped as a large stream of fire erupted from the area they were heading to.

"Midori!" they shouted and hurried, a fearful feeling tightening their insides. What they saw there shocked them. Midori had preformed a very tight Koukakyuu, which had scorched an adult ninja, now lying still on the ground, half his clothes burned off, and the skin horribly seared. To their horror, Midori collapsed, the blood pooling beneath her.

"Midori!" Obito screamed, as he and Kakashi rushed over to her side and lifted her head. "Midori wake up!" Obito shouted desperately.

Midori opened her eyes weakly and smiled at her team mates. The air stopped in Kakashi's throat as he saw two kunais sticking deeply into her neck, but he denied the possible thought.

"Kakashi…Obito…I've mastered the…Goukakyuu…"

"Midori!" Obito shouted as she fell limp in his arms, her eyes still open and she was still smiling. "Midori, wake up! Don't sleep now, wake up! Answer me! MIDORI!"

Kakashi shook his head slowly in denial and reached out to her neck with trembling fingers. He couldn't stop the trembling, but it hardly mattered. He lay two fingers the side of her neck and didn't feel the pulse. Panicking, he checked her wrist for a pulse, then brought his cheek close to her mouth for a breath. He didn't feel anything. His eyes widened and he quickly looked up at Obito, but his head was hanging so low and the sunlight was lost in the dusk, that he couldn't see his face.

"Midori…" Obito muttered, "Why didn't you just run? Why did you have to die?!"

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Leilani Oh right. Hehe, I'm on school holiday now, so I guess that helps. And I'm not making the average chapters too long, so…. School starts tomorrow though…(grumbles) Thank for your review!

Takeru lol. Sneaky person. Thanks for reading and reviewing. And yesh, yesh, I do intend to go that far (both Sharingan and Obito), though I don't know if it'll really fit in well with the real history of Konoha…o.o…oh well, I'm still working on it, but yes, it will come.

Patty: Hmm yeah…I've noticed as I've written the fic that I might be giving the three more power and potential than they really should have, and that's a big flaw…I tried to suppress it, but I couldn't really get in between average and genius…Midori and Obito are the same age as Kakashi, and I see what you mean…I suppose they're just highly talented…Thanks for asking me that, though it is difficult to answer. I guess I'll conclude that it was my mistake of making them a bit too strong for their ages, but otherwise I couldn't have come up with such a plot…Sorry about my mistake, please look over it with a blind eye. . And, not to mentioned the most important thing, thanks so much for reviewing!

Rurikat hehe, thanks a lot! I'll definitely keep writing with you guys as great reviewers!

sUmbOdi Thanks! I really appreciate your reviews! As you wish, the next chapter is up!

I do realise it was a big shorter than average…Sozzy (sorry)!!

Thanks for reading!
-Fanyar-