Author's Note: Okay guys, I know it seems like it's been a year since I last updated (haha), but I've really been wrestling with this one. This is Kidnapped! Part One of Three.
"I'm just saying that he's got to be enrolled somewhere," Mei said throwing a shirt into her bag.
The Hatake family was at home preparing for a trip to the Mist Village. The children waited downstairs for their parents to finish packing, and arguing. Roka glared at the ground. Kasumi pretended not to hear. Fujita and Hisano just looked at each other uncertainly.
Kakashi said nothing as he sealed the clothes that Mei haphazardly threw at her bag into a scroll.
"Roka is eight years old already and we've done nothing to enroll him in either academy," Mei pressed.
"He's going to test out early no matter where we send him," Kakashi replied sighing. "He's already beyond the capabilities of the average genin. Sending him to the academy at all is a waste of time. Fujita and Hisano could probably graduate from either academy at this point. Don't you see that sending them to school will make them feel-"
Mei's voice began to rise in volume. "You just don't want to commit. Whichever academy teaches him will be the village he is bound to!"
Kakashi physically rose. "And you want to make that decision now?!"
"We have to make it at some point Kakashi! We can't keep waiting around for the solution to come to us!" Mei paused here, realizing that she'd been shouting. In a calmer tone she said, "if a ninja has no village then they're labeled as dangerous, one way or another."
Kakashi sighed again and looked out the window. "I know."
"Then what are we going to do?" Mei demanded.
Kakashi turned to look at her, eyes hard, "I don't know! Have you come up with any solutions?"
The words stung and Mei recoiled slightly at them.
Kakashi flinched and his eyes went to the floor. "I'm sorry." He grasped their pack and straightened, "let's just go, we have a lot of ground to cover today. We'll talk about this tonight."
Mei nodded mutely.
The family departed with a dark cloud hanging over the group. They got into their typical formation: Kakashi in front, his daughters immediately behind him, the boys behind their sisters, with Mei bringing up the rear.
Mei considered their situation as they traveled. They could send two children to each village but that would split up the family. Besides if, however slim of a chance it may seem, their two villages went to war she didn't want to think about the possibility of her children fighting each other. Not to mention the decision she and Kakashi would have to make. Then again, they'd made that choice for themselves years ago.
Mei looked at her husband, calm and self-assured. His spiky hair moved with the breeze as they jumped from tree to tree. After smiling for a moment at his back, Mei considered the rest of her family in turn.
Her beautiful daughters were four already. They were shy but capable of keeping up with their brothers. They both had Mei's striking auburn hair. Fujita had hers cut short into a bob whereas Hisano grew hers out in layers like her mother. Either of them could change their minds about hair length at any time but meanwhile it made it easier for family friends to tell them apart. Although they hadn't shown any outward affinity for any two, or one, elements Mei suspected that Fujita had inherited her lava style and Hisano her boil style. That was just her feeling however.
She next turned to her sons who, like Kakashi before them, bore an uncanny resemblance to their father. Between the spiky silver hair and the bone structure of their faces, it was easy to see the resemblance even when Kakashi wore his mask. This led to much cooing and cheek pinching from Naruto and Sakura every time the family visited the Leaf. The boys grudgingly tolerated this for years much to their own embarrassment and Kakashi's exasperation.
Roka, despite sharing his father's looks, had incredible chakra reserves but none of her bloodline limits that they had observed. However, he boasted like his father's successor and worked to back it up. This was good, Mei mused, because he could have easily been bogged down by the truth that he may be the only one of their children without her bloodline limit. Such disadvantages have led many ninja to jealous behavior which siphons energy away from self-improvement.
Kasumi, on the other hand, did not share his father's looks as exactly as his brother. He had inherited his father's silver hair but his eyes were a forest green, as if the green of Mei's eyes had had a single drop of black from Kakashi's dropped into them, making them a more earthy green. Kasumi had inherited both of Mei's bloodline limits, much to her joy. However, he also appeared to have chakra reserves akin to his father's. This made Mei both proud and over-protective of him in particular.
All in all she was very proud of their family. But this train of thought had taken her to what she'd actually meant to be thinking of: what were they going to do about their children's formal ninja training? The argument went in circles in her mind until Kakashi called a stop for lunch.
The Hatakes dropped out of the trees onto the ground. Kasumi stumbled a little on his landing but Roka was quick to help him straighten up. Kakashi pulled off his pack and began handing out the children's lunches. Fujita collected both hers and her sister's and the two of them went to sit down together in the foliage.
Kakashi approached Mei, box extended. She took it, thanking him quietly, and went to turn away. Kakashi grasped her arm, "Mei, I-"
"It's alright Kakashi, I know that-" Mei stopped talking and they both stiffened. There was someone approaching. "Get the girls."
"Right," Kakashi immediately replied. They put all of their energy into the task at hand. Fortify. Observe. Act.
Mei grasped Kasumi and practically threw him over her shoulder on her way to her eldest son. Kasumi began to protest that he was too old to be carried but stopped when he'd registered the look on his mother's face. He mentally prepared himself for a fight.
"Hisano, Fujita, here, now." Kakashi barked. The girls abandoned their lunches and met their father halfway, turning as they reached him to form a triangle, guarding their father's back. At their height it was more like guarding Kakashi's legs but it was the thought that counted.
Mei and the boys maneuvered to Kakashi's side and the formation changed again, Mei and Kakashi on the outside with the children forming an inner ring inside their guard. It was in this formation in which a single man met them, walking out of the trees. He wore a silver tunic with a mist pattern on it made up of red lines. He wore no headband but his black hair was tied back in a high ponytail. As he approached them, a javelin made of ice materialized in his right hand.
"Ice style," Mei quietly gasped.
Kakashi's eyes narrowed as he and Mei oriented their defense against him. "I thought your clan had died out?"
"No thanks to you," the man sneered back.
Kakashi growled low in his throat.
"No thanks to either of you actually," the man glared at Mei pointedly. "I was saved by a man who appreciates blood." His dark eyes rested on the family hungrily.
"I'll handle this," Mei whispered to her husband.
Kakashi agreed and changed his stance again as Mei walked away from them toward the mysterious man. As she did so the ninja threw his javelin straight at her. Mei smiled, built chakra up in her chest, and spewed boiling mist at the spear. The weapon sublimated immediately in the intense heat.
"You might be a little out-classed," Mei said resting her hands on her hips. "And there's no way you're laying a hand on our children."
"We'll see," the man retorted. His hands wove through a series of signs and shards of ice split out of the ground making a trail straight to Mei. Kakashi shifted the group to the left while Mei dove and rolled to the right.
"Dad," Roka said once they'd repositioned. The boy began to step forward but Kakashi held him back with a hand. He immediately turned and looked at his son. "Dad I can help, Mom doesn't have to fight alone," Roka pleaded, pushing against Kakashi's hand.
Kakashi, keeping his senses on any possible attacks headed their way, fully turned toward Roka and knelt down, blocking the fight from his son's view. He also captured the attention of his other children. "Your Mother isn't fighting alone. We're here with her. But she can handle this herself." Kakashi felt the searing heat of a pool of lava being created on the forest floor behind him. He could hear the crackling of the nearby trees as they caught fire.
"But Dad," Roka earnestly looked at his father.
"Roka, I said no," Kakashi said a little too harshly. Kakashi's voice softened, "she'll be too worried about protecting you. Just stay here and-" Kakashi cut himself off. It was eerily quiet behind him. He could hear the trees crackling in the flames but there was no other sound of movement.
Confused, the head of the Hatake family slowly turned around and stood up, ice gripping his heart. A lingering voice taunted from the silence, "what made you think that we wanted your children?"
A chill dripped down Kakashi's spine as he stretched out his senses. His eyes took in the falling tree trunks engulfed in flames, the puddle of lava nearby, but there was no one.
The man was gone and he'd been able to take Mei with him by force. The javelin had been a ploy to lure Mei out and make them think that he wasn't much of a threat. The dark-haired ninja had specifically prepared himself to fight Mei and Mei alone. Kakashi's brain rushed through his conclusions, horror washing over him.
The Hokage fell to his knees. His whole body felt cold.
Kakashi felt a small hand on his shoulder and looked up to meet Roka's scared eyes. "Dad, are you okay?" When Kakashi didn't answer Roka continued, "he- he took Mom." The boy was panting and blinking profusely.
Kakashi heard one of his girls trying very hard to stifle a sob behind him. He slowly got to his feet, his movements jerky and uncoordinated.
"Dad?" Roka asked, grasping his father's hand.
Kakashi started and looked at his son. The boy was almost in tears. The veteran ninja closed his eyes and fisted his hands, pushing Roka's away in the process. Willing away his emotions, the former ANBU took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again Roka took a step back, uneasy.
Roka had seen his father look disappointed, furious, and sad. This look reminded him of those but was none of them. This was something else. It was a blank coldness that made Roka question for a moment if this was his father. The man didn't seem like his father at all. His dark eyes held no warmth, no love, they were flat and expressionless, like the unforgiving night sky when you're lost.
Kakashi mutely bit his own thumb and his hands weaved familiar signs. In a moment Pakkun, Bull, Urushi, Bisuke, Akino, Uhei, Guruko, and Shiba all appeared in a puff of smoke. Pakkun's usual greeting died in his throat upon seeing his boss. Kakashi stood up and his hounds straightened.
"Guruko, Shiba, head to the Mist immediately. A ninja of unknown affiliation who uses ice style has kidnapped Lady Mei. I believe she was the intended target of a larger group. I want to know who they think may have done this in case we can't locate them otherwise. I want names, not speculation. Go. Now." The two dogs flew like birds.
"Uhei, Akino, Bisuke, Urushi, Pakkun, you will stay here to get a scent and then spread out. I want you to find that man. If nothing else find Lady Mei." Uhei, Akino, Bisuke, and Urushi did as they were told, using the lava pool as a starting point. Pakkun remained next to Bull.
"Bull, you will come with me and the children to the Leaf. You will stay with them along with other suitable protection. Then I will be gathering a team, if any Leaf ninja are available, and I'll rejoin the pack."
Kakashi's cold eyes fell on Pakkun. The pug took this as permission to speak. "I'll stay with you boss." It wasn't a request.
Kakashi continued to stare at him. Pakkun looked back, careful to keep his face firm but respectful. The tension in their countenances disturbed Roka. He took another step back, almost bumping into Kasumi.
"Fine," Kakashi finally said. He turned to his children, "Hisano, Fujita, if you can't keep up then Bull will carry you, understand?"
The girls' eyes widened in surprise. Bull hadn't carried them for any reason in years; he hadn't had to. Still, they nodded mutely in response.
Then Kakashi was gone, Pakkun keeping right on his heels. It took the children a second to realize that their father was already on his way. Bull looked at them expectantly and they took off into the trees after the man who resembled their father.
Izumo and Kotetsu were placidly sitting at the main gate to the Leaf Village. That was until Izumo looked up and saw an odd sight. Lord Sixth was sprinting down the road toward the gate with his two sons thrown over his shoulders. Trailing behind him were two of his summons. One was much larger than the other and that one appeared to be carrying the Sixth's two daughters.
"What the-" Izumo began but Kakashi was already past him, without a look or even slowing down.
Kotetsu picked his jaw up off of the ground and turned to his partner, "where is Lady Mei?" The whole scene made him uneasy, the feeling creeping into his stomach.
After a beat Izumo, still staring after the retreating Hokage, said, "you'd better send a message to the Uchihas. Tell them to appear in the Seventh's office at once."
Less than a minute later Kakashi was in Naruto's office with his dogs and exhausted children. Sakura and Sasuke appeared moments after their arrival.
"What?! What happened?" Sakura took in Roka sitting on the floor, Kasumi splayed out flat on his back panting, and the twins leaning against Bull for support.
"Lady Mei has been kidnapped," Naruto answered, his eyes not leaving Kakashi's stony face. "By an ice style user. His master may be a bloodline collector."
Sasuke stiffened but said nothing.
Kakashi spoke for the first time and his voice gave Sakura shivers. "I'll need Captain Yamato to watch my children. Bull will remain here with them. I also need to know who's available to track that man down." He was not asking permission.
Sasuke didn't know if he should be concerned or impressed. He'd never seen Kakashi look so severe. Sakura frowned in worry.
Naruto nodded, giving his consent.
"I'll go with you," Sasuke said immediately.
"Me too," Sakura seconded.
Just then there was a knock on the door. Recognizing the chakra behind it Naruto called for them to enter. Sai and Yamato stepped into the room like shadows.
Kakashi continued as if they hadn't been interrupted. "No Sasuke, if this man's master is truly collecting bloodlines it would be impractical for you to assist while risking your own capture. It's the same reason I'd rather have Yamato here in the Leaf." Kakashi looked at his old friend pointedly, acknowledging him for the first time.
Yamato frowned in response, taking in Kakashi's demeanor with a feeling of foreboding. The ANBU, as usual, anticipated his role. "I would, of course, be happy to watch the children for you senpai." He gave said children an encouraging smile that they didn't see. Their various looks of distress were aimed at their father's stiff back.
Kakashi nodded briefly at Yamato and turned to look at his female student. "Are you up for this Sakura?" She straightened under his harsh gaze.
She had never seen him like this, not during Wave, not during the War, never. It was terrifying. But, she mused, judging Captain Yamato's reaction…was this what Kakashi was like during his ANBU days? Sakura nodded at her sensei and said, "yes sir."
"I would also like to offer my abilities," Sai said suddenly. He and Kakashi exchanged a look and Kakashi nodded.
"You have five minutes to prepare," Kakashi said and then he was gone. Pakkun remained, saving his energy for the run ahead.
Sai also teleported out of the office almost immediately. Sakura started, surprised by their sudden departure, and then teleported away with Sasuke on her heels. "I'll help you pack," he said when they got to their home.
Left in the office was Naruto, Yamato, Pakkun, Bull, and the Hatake children. Naruto looked at the pug. He wanted to question Pakkun or even Yamato but not with his sensei's children present. Pakkun returned his look with a despairing one. Naruto's heart sank and he remained silent behind laced fingers.
Five minutes later Kakashi, Pakkun, Sakura, and Sai were at the main gate. Naruto, Sasuke, Yamato, Bull, Roka, Kasumi, Fujita, and Hisano were also there to say farewell. Izumo and Kotetsu still didn't know what was happening but they knew better than to ask a former kage about his business.
Kakashi had a fresh pack on his back and a larger weapons pouch strapped to his belt than the one he usually wore. Sai, to his teammate, didn't look like he'd prepared at all but Sakura knew better. She had her traveling pack as well. The kunoichi normally would have gone with just a simple pouch but she wanted to be prepared for any medical emergency. A conversation she and Kakashi had had when the twins were born flitted through her mind. She shivered again, afraid for her sensei.
Just before they left Yamato took the kunoichi aside. "Sakura, take care of Kakashi alright?"
Sakura nodded, as if the suggestion went without saying.
"No, I mean it," Yamato said, face set. "This is- this is bad." Yamato spared Kakashi a glance and frowned at what he saw. "If he has a mental break at a critical moment it could get you all killed." Sakura knew what he meant. "He's never broken before, not completely, but this- I haven't seen him like this in years. Just keep an eye on him, please."
They both looked over at Kakashi who was mutely hugging each of his children in turn. The boys were hiding their feelings well but the younger two were consistently sniffing.
As Kakashi turned to go Roka spoke up, "Da- Father?"
Kakashi stopped and tilted his head, a sign to Roka that he was listening. He did not turn around.
"Bring Mom back?" Roka's voice cracked. He attempted to cover it with a hasty cough.
Kakashi was impossibly still for a long moment. He was staring down the road ahead and for a horrible moment Sakura didn't think he was going to respond. Then he finally said, "I will."
Sakura's face darkened. She turned to Yamato who had also been watching the exchange with a deepening frown. When he turned back to her she looked her former Captain in the eye and echoed her sensei with her own promise, "I will."