Chapter 24
"The Kumo nins are approaching." Instantly as Muta's words sunk in, the ecstatic atmosphere vanished.
"How far away?" Obito asked.
"Less than a mile," Muta answered. "I've been using my insect jamming technique to block anyone trying to sense our chakra but it appears that they've found a way around it. At an estimate, they'll be here in less than a few minutes."
"I'll talk to them," Kakashi shrugged and everyone turned to stare at him incredulously. Their concern caused Kakashi to smile because instinctively he knew that Darui and C were not a threat.
"You want to do what?" Obito said in disbelief.
Kakashi didn't answer for a moment as he stared at his old teammate. It was bizarre to think that only less than an hour ago he had fought Obito with the intention to kill. Everything about him was so achingly nostalgic, as if Kakashi had just discovered a long forgotten photograph. Sure he'd physically matured and his skills had almost improved to the extent that they were unrecognisable but he was still essentially the same irritating boy who had unintentionally forced himself into becoming Kakashi's first and best friend.
"Trust me," Kakashi answered him. "I know what to do."
"Kakashi, in case you need reminding, the Kumo nins kidnapped you," Obito pointed out, appearing slightly miffed by Kakashi's familiarity with the Kumo ninjas. "Somehow I doubt that they're just going to let you walk free."
Home... Kakashi savoured the word. He suppressed the urge to look back on all his newfound memories. When the seal had broken, in that one perfect moment, the entire world had focused and crystallised before Kakashi eyes. It was impossible not to be overwhelmed by the emotions that were surging through his mind. Yet… Kakashi knew one thing. He was complete.
Bending down, he winced as his exhausted muscles protested and scooped up his kodachi and Kumo forehead protector. Kakashi slung the kodachi over his shoulder and slipped the forehead protector into a pocket. Then, he tore off a strip from the bottom of his shirt and tied it around the lower half of his face. The rough texture of the fabric was so comforting that Kakashi could feel a tiny portion of his fatigue melt away.
"Feel free to contact Konoha," Kakashi told Obito. "But… Trust me. This is something I have to do." Without another word, he left the cave.
The soft glow of dawn caressed the sky as Kakashi walked out into the forest. Trees that had earlier shrouded the place in menacing darkness now gently waved at him. Fresh birdsong cut through the crisp air and everything about the terror of last night was washed away.
Orochimaru. Kakashi's jaw tightened and his fists clenched. Everything made sense now. Orochimaru must have used one of his notorious snakeskin clones to attack him earlier, so that when the real Obito appeared Kakashi would fight him. The Sannin deserved retribution, especially now it appeared that he was preying on children instead of stealing bodies of the fallen.
Kakashi sighed. He knew that Darui and C would be here very soon, so he stood and patiently waited a few metres away from the cave entrance. Either side, he sensed Obito's team position themselves up on the cliff face and in the undergrowth below. He didn't particularly mind, as long as they didn't interfere. The next few minutes were so vital that any wrong move or word could result in a disaster or even an international crisis.
It had never been in Darui's nature to become anxious. Back in his chunin exam Darui had been the only genin present who hadn't been nervous or even particularly excited. His laid-back demeanour was what saved him on the field, when cool nerves defeated fear. Being a dull person was what made him the antithesis to A's rages and his slightly gormless expression would always mislead people into thinking he was stupid.
In all honesty, Darui avoided responsibility like the plague. He hated the thought of career climbing and had been horribly dismayed when he had managed to get promoted to the rank of jonin when the Third War had broken out.
Yet as C and he stood in a smoking crater, Darui realised that when it came to his student he had been making an uncharacteristically large amount of effort. It wasn't just because the Third Raikage and A had entrusted him with Kakashi either. Darui could have kicked Kakashi out of his flat as soon as the boy became a Kumo ninja. When Kakashi finally started earning, Darui could have stopped paying for his meals.
Behind the scenes, when they had worked alongside other teams in clearing up the north, the Kumo ninjas were still highly suspicious of Kakashi. It couldn't be helped since hatred towards Konoha was ingrained into some people's families; C was a perfect example of that. However Darui had been the one in persuading them to work alongside Kakashi and convinced them not to hold any grudges. After all, C who had hated Konoha for killing his parents was now friends with Kakashi.
Perhaps the reason Darui had made so much effort was because Kakashi reminded Darui of himself. His lazy personality had backfired on him in academy when he had never bothered to make any friends. Like Kakashi his talents had isolated him and his father had died in combat too.
So for the first time, as he held Kakashi's slightly melted radio in his hand, Darui began to feel the cold prickling of apprehension.
"Someone's using a technique to block us sensing them," C frowned, jerking Darui away from his thoughts.
"They didn't cover their tracks," Darui observed as he saw faint traces of footprints leading away from the clearing. "They must be in a hurry. If I were them I'd be searching for cover."
Pocketing the radio, they followed the tracks for several minutes until C suddenly stopped.
"It's faint… But I think Kakashi's only about twenty or so metres away," C murmured.
The soft, springy moss beneath their feet masked their footsteps as they slipped through the trees towards a small cave up ahead. Suddenly, a figure came into focus. Kakashi stood in front of the cave and he appeared to be waiting for something.
"There's a person hiding up on the cliff face above, another in the tree to the left and one in the undergrowth on the right," C muttered. "Reckon it's a trap?"
Darui's eyes fixated on the cloth tied around the lower half of Kakashi's face. A heavy sadness filled his chest and he shook his head. "No," Darui said. "If it were a trap then they would have made their move by now."
Holding up his hands, Darui moved out from behind the tree they were hiding behind and called, "Kakashi."
Slowly Darui and C walked towards him. They stopped a few metres away and the change in their teammate was obvious. The Kumo forehead protector was gone. Now stood a ninja who legitimately held a double allegiance to two villages. It was now completely up to Kakashi to decide his future.
A faint, cool breeze rustled past as Kakashi studied them with a blank expression.
Finally Darui asked, "How much?"
"Everything," Kakashi answered instantly. Silence, so tense that Darui wanted to laugh, was held taut between them. The seal was broken. Knowing that insurmountable resolve was required to break free from the seal, Darui couldn't help but feel a surge of pride. Kakashi was no longer the lost, almost broken boy they had saved from Konoha two years ago. As clichéd as it was, Kakashi had grown up into someone Darui was proud to call his student as well as friend.
"I just wanted to say…" Kakashi paused for a moment as he struggled to find the right words. Darui waited patiently, knowing all too well Kakashi's difficulty in expressing his emotions.
"Are you returning back to Konoha?" C asked slowly, as he attempted to hide the incredulity from his voice. Darui could understand his disbelief. Someone from Konoha clearly wanted Kakashi dead. However… Darui's eyes glazed over as he recalled the expression on the Yellow Flash's face when he had been forced to abandon his student. There were still people who clearly cared about the boy.
"Konoha will always be my home," Kakashi finally answered. "And I'll always be loyal to the village. There are people who mean a lot to me who live there, I could never abandon them."
"But they tried to kill you," C cut in.
Kakashi laughed softly. "You know…" He said, glancing at C thoughtfully. "This mission would have been a lot easier if villages shared information."
Darui frowned and waited for Kakashi to continue. "The man who attempted to kill me was… A war criminal to say the least," Kakashi told them. "And I'm positive that he's behind the children's disappearances."
"He was working outside of the Hokage's orders?" Darui narrowed his eyes. Konoha had the reputation for upholding rigid morals on the surface. Blatant war crimes and kidnappings certainly was not something that would be on their agenda.
"Definitely," Kakashi nodded. "He's here too… That malicious chakra; it belongs to him."
Darui began to mentally rifle through Kumo's bingo book in his head. If the Konoha ninja was here then that meant they were likely to have gone rogue. Slowly, Darui recalled some recent rumours a spy had picked up in Hot Water Country about one of the legendary Sannin abandoning Konoha. It was a well-known fact that the group had fallen apart after the Second War when Tsunade had left the village… Jiraiya was still a menace, since a spy had sighted him in Frost Country recently. That could only mean Orochimaru. Darui had never had the misfortune to encounter any of the Sannin but if the rumours were true then the man was a sadistic bastard.
Recalling the tales about the massacre of an Iwa outpost in Waterfall Country, Darui wondered if Kakashi had been there. Just the thought caused his jaw to tighten and his slouch to vanish. Seeing the change in Darui's demeanour, Kakashi nodded in confirmation.
C, however, appeared terribly confused as what to do. Protocol dictated that they subdue Kakashi; drag him back to Kumo so the seal could be placed on him once more. Darui, however, knew that doing so would be useless. Not only were they currently outnumbered but also the sealing process would be almost impossible in the current mind-set Kakashi had. In any case… Darui had felt slightly guilty about replacing Minato and partially lying to the boy the first time round. If he had to do it again, Darui would find it unbearable to even look at Kakashi.
"I don't hate you for kidnapping me," Kakashi suddenly voiced causing C to stare at him in surprise. Slowly he pulled out his Kumo forehead protector from a pocket. "You saved my life, treated me as one of your own, repaired and re-forged the White Fang and gave me the best possible training anyone could wish for… If anything, I'm indebted to Kumo."
Kakashi's eyes crinkled into a smile and he offered the forehead protector to Darui. "Thank you," he said.
Darui stared at the shiny, metal surface. The engraved Kumo symbol winked back at him. He recalled Kakashi showing him the forehead protector when A had presented it to him. A sense of belonging had been written all over Kakashi's face. Kakashi had worn the forehead protector with the same amount of pride that any other Kumo nin had. The few handful that had gone through the same sealing process had attempted to leave or had tried to refuse becoming a Kumo ninja. Sure, the seal had wiped away his memories, however the fact was Kakashi had chosen to stay in Kumo. The choice had been made from his volition and Darui had always admired the boy's bravery for taking that risk.
A slow smile spread across Darui's face, "Keep it."
Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise.
"A dull person like me has always lacked talent with profound words," Darui admitted with his unknowing modesty. "But… Keep it as a token of your friendship with Kumo and a reminder that your bonds extend beyond Konoha."
Darui then glanced around and suddenly called, "Whoever is the captain of the team from Konoha, I'd like a word."
In one tense moment, a dark haired Konoha ninja suddenly appeared from a tree to the left. Instantly, C slid into a fighting stance but Darui shook his head. The thoroughly dishevelled Konoha nin joined Kakashi's side and he propped a pair of orange goggles upon his forehead.
"What do you want?" The Konoha ninja asked, hostility written all over his face. Darui maintained a languid expression as if he was meeting an old friend rather than an enemy ninja.
"If you're here for more than just trade agreement then I thought you'd like to know that I've asked for a Kumo ANBU force to investigate the area," Darui told him.
The hostility vanished and a baffled expression crossed the Konoha ninja's face. "Why are you telling me this?" He asked.
"No one wants a war," Darui shrugged. "So I wouldn't want a clash between our two villages."
Darui yawned and then said to C, "We better go and send a report to Boss."
"… Right," C nodded, appearing as confused as the Konoha captain.
"Hey kid," Darui glanced at the Konoha ninja. "What's your name?"
"Uchiha Obito," the Konoha captain told him. "What's yours?"
"Darui," he said. A hard expression crossed his face and Darui added, "Uchiha, make sure that there aren't any more attempts on Kakashi's life."
Obito appeared stunned. Then, slowly a large grin fanned its way across his face. "That's a promise," he assured him. "Try and restrain yourselves from kidnapping him again."
"We'll try," Darui laughed.
"I am here you know," Kakashi muttered. Obito shot Kakashi a grin and suddenly Darui guessed that the Konoha captain had been Kakashi's friend before the war.
Kakashi offered a hand to C who shook it with a smile. "Good luck," C said.
Darui then ruffled Kakashi's hair. There were so many things that he wanted to say. Like remind Kakashi to work on his stamina and keep practicing the technique they'd been working on. However all he managed to say was "Look after yourself."
C and he turned away, leaving Obito and Kakashi. They walked through the forest in contemplative silence and it was only when the made it down into the town did C voice, "So is there really an ANBU team coming?"
"No," Darui shrugged. "I only said that to see the Konoha ninja's reaction. By the looks of things they must have come here to investigate Orochimaru's whereabouts."
"So what do we tell the Shimo nins?" C asked.
"We'll send for an ANBU force and leave it to them to take over," Darui sighed. "It's best if we tell Boss what's happened in person."
For a moment C and Darui stopped as they imagined A breaking another desk and destroying yet another wall. Simultaneously, they winced.
Darui groaned as C laughed, "Good luck breaking the news, captain."
It only took Obito's team three days to arrive back in Konoha, leaving the ANBU team to investigate Koori. However neither ANBU teams from Konoha or Kumo would be successful. After carefully avoiding each other, both would find an empty labyrinth of passages beneath the shrine. Several bodies were found, three survivors were saved and the rest of the children were missing. Orochimaru had, once again, slipped away.
The thick, forests of Fire Country greeted Kakashi as they walked along an all too familiar road the led back to Konoha. Instantly when they had descended the Frost Country Mountains, a humid air welcomed Kakashi. With the warm sun shining down, he suddenly realised it was years since he had seen weather like this. No more snow. No more gale force winds or bitterly cold nights. Though Kakashi would miss Lightning Country's majestic peaks, he was glad to walk through lush forest once more.
Slowly, the main gates of the village appeared on the horizon. "Huh," Kakashi said as he squinted. "When were the gates re-painted?"
"Last year," Rin told him. "The Fourth wanted to give the village a fresh look after the war."
Personally, Kakashi preferred the old red gates however the new green was certainly cheery. It was strange. The last time Kakashi had walked through those gates he had been part of the reinforcements for the Waterfall outpost. Obito had already told Kakashi that Gai, Tamotsu and Anko had survived the war. Idly, Kakashi wondered how they were. Was Gai still wearing that ridiculous jumpsuit of his? Probably.
He had worried whether Anko was ok; after all she had been Orochimaru's apprentice. However, Rin had assured him that she was indeed fine. Knowing Anko, as soon as she would see Kakashi she would probably scream at him for being an idiot.
"You've already told Sensei that I'm coming home right?" Kakashi asked Obito.
"Nope," Obito grinned. "Thought it would be a good surprise."
"Idiot," Aoba muttered and Obito gave him a scowl.
Luckily the Kumo attire Kakashi was still wearing was conservative. He hadn't earned the famed white flak jacket, so instead he just wore black regulation pants and a long sleeved shirt. The shirt had always been slightly too big so Kakashi had to roll up the sleeves so they wouldn't get in the way if he had to form any seals. Darui had given him plated fingerless gloves and arm guards in the vague hope that they would help to keep Kakashi safe. The white, Kumo shin guards did give him away somewhat. Kakashi sincerely hoped that some jumped up chunin hoping for a promotion wouldn't attack him.
"Don't worry I think people will be more surprised at the fact that you're still alive," Rin smiled.
Kakashi gave her a bemused look and Rin explained, "Even after Orochimaru abandoned Konoha, the Hokage and Sarutobi-sama thought it would be best for it to be kept secret that you were kidnapped."
"Only Team 7, Kushina and the higher ups knew," Obito told him. "Sensei had you declared M.I.A. Otherwise, when you returned people would be… Well you know how they can be."
Kakashi turned to Aoba and Muta and said, "So you two thought I was missing in action?"
"To put it mildly it was surprising to find you in Kumo uniform," Aoba said as Muta nodded. "Though it took me a while to recognise you without the mask."
They fell silent as they walked through the gates and Kakashi's senses went into overload as he drank in the village he hadn't set foot in for five years. The buildings were so unlike the lofty shops and apartments that were built into the mountains in Kumo. Konoha's haphazard buildings were like the village: cheerful, chaotic yet full of vibrant life.
"Hey Obito!" A voice called. They turned to see two ten-year-old boys sitting at the main gate station. One was obviously an Uchiha with his dark hair and even darker eyes. The other was rather plain looking with a weird stare.
The dark haired boy whacked his friend around the back of the head and laughed, "Tenzo, you're spacing out again."
Tenzo rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and muttered, "Thanks for that, Shisui."
"Shisui," Obito grinned as he signed in his team. "You guys on station duty again, eh?"
"Yeah," Shisui sighed, appearing thoroughly bored. "Our turn on the rota." Suddenly Shisui narrowed his eyes and he stared at Kakashi.
"Hang, you're Hatake Kakashi!" He exclaimed with obvious excitement. "Obi-nii said you were M.I.A."
"Hatake Kakashi?" The other boy muttered thoughtfully. "The White Fang's son?"
"Yeah, we just happened to find him wandering around," Obito said casually, as if Kakashi was a lost pet or a senile pensioner. Kakashi shot Obito an unappreciative scowl.
Tenzo was staring very hard at Kakashi's shin guards causing the teenager to shift on the spot awkwardly, which was saying something. Not many things could make Hatake Kakashi uncomfortable but the kid's stare was freaky.
"We need to report to the Hokage," Obito said. "See you later."
"See you later," Shisui grinned. He then suddenly called to Kakashi as they began to walk away, "It's good to have you back! Obi-nii was getting pretty depressed."
"I was not," Obito muttered as Rin giggled.
Kakashi stared up at the new, fourth face carved into the Hokage Mountain with a smile and he thought, It's good to be back.
"Give up," the enemy ninja said as he pointed his kunai towards Naruto's throat.
Panting Naruto began to drag himself to his feet with dogged determination and he growled, "Can I just say one thing?"
"I don't feel like listening!" The enemy ninja yelled. With one furious roar he grabbed Naruto and hurled him into a tree, slamming the deadly blade into his chest.
"Just die already," the ninja snarled giving the blade a vicious twist.
"You should give up…" Naruto breathed and he suddenly grinned. The enemy ninja's eyes dilated as Naruto vanished and he felt the ominous presence of the ninja behind him. "On me giving up!"
An abrupt knocking suddenly broke Minato's attention. He sighed, staring at the page of the book he'd been focusing on. Jiraiya's novel was well and truly phenomenal. The plot was ingenious, full of twists and turns, leaving the reader breathless after every chapter. However it was the main protagonist, Naruto, who Minato loved. Naruto seemed to embody everything his sensei was and from the very first page Minato had grown to love the character. Despite each seemingly hopeless situation Naruto went through, the man fought back with his gutsy determination and pure morals.
Truth be told, for the past few days since Jiraiya had given Minato the novel, he had found it impossible to put down. Though Kushina had never been a great lover of books even she had been intrigued after Minato had described the main character to her. Since his wife had started reading the book Minato had regularly had to steal it back from her.
The person knocked on Minato's office door again and the Hokage snapped the book shut, shoving it into his desk drawer. With a cough, he pretended to shuffle some papers.
"Come in," Minato said as he picked up the reports he had been supposed to sign off.
The door opened and Obito's team walked in. The team were tired and travel stained however the team captain had a huge grin upon his face.
"Ah good to see you back," Minato nodded. He dug a report out from the pile on his desk.
Obito took it from him as Rin, Muta and Aoba crowded in the doorway.
"The ANBU team just reported back," Minato explained. "Some survivors were found however they were unsuccessful in locating Orochimaru's whereabouts. The trail has gone cold."
Ever since the report had come in this morning, Minato had been beyond frustrated. It was hard not to let personal feelings get in the way however Minato had been so tempted to find Orochimaru himself. It was impossible not to despise the Sannin for what he did to Kakashi as well as all the innocent people he kidnapped and experimented on. However, Minato was the Hokage. Revenge was not an option when you had to safeguard an entire village.
"Good work on the tip off about the Kumo ANBU investigating the area too," Minato continued. "Where did you get that information from anyway?"
Obito cleared his throat and Rin said, "Sensei… There's someone you should see."
Minato had sensed a fifth presence earlier but hadn't mentioned it. The presence felt so strangely familiar that he'd assumed it was another ninja who wanted to speak to him.
Rin, Muta and Aoba moved to the side to allow the fifth person inside the office. As the person walked towards him, Minato's heart stopped.
With a slow smile they said, "It's been a while… Hey Sensei?"
"Kakashi?" Minato breathed. Aoba and Muta subtly left the office leaving Team 7 together.
"The seal's been broken," Kakashi said. "I remember everything."
Attempting to quell his emotions Minato cleared his throat in effort to act professional. He forced himself to remain in his seat and he said, "Prove it."
Kakashi paused for a moment as he tried to find a memory. Finally he said, "After the Hokage gave you clearance to be my sensei, you visited my dad in the compound. You didn't know at the time but Kushina and I were watching from the inside of the house."
Minato's eyes widened. This wasn't the time that Minato thought it was… Was it?
"Dad was showing you the flowerbeds and you bent down to smell one… And he performed that stupid technique that was a craze when Jiraiya and he were kids," Kakashi continued. "One thousand years of-"
"Pain," Minato finished as he winced at the all too humiliating memory. Rin giggled as Obito, who no doubt recalled that during the bell test Minato performed that very same technique on him, burst out laughing.
Kakashi's eyes crinkled up in to a smile and Minato found himself beaming. So many sleepless nights had passed as Minato had constantly re-analysed Kakashi's retrieval over and over again. He couldn't help it. Was there something he missed? If it had been someone else, could they have saved Kakashi? Neither Kushina nor he forgave themselves.
Recently it had been a constant battle with the council as what to do with Kakashi. Minato had the sneaking suspicion that Danzo would send out an assassin, if he hadn't already. As time slowly ran out, Minato's guilt had increased. When Jiraiya had brought news of Kakashi a few days ago, Minato had tired to suppress any growing hope. Even if they did manage to locate Kakashi, he still had amnesia. However, after so many long years, Minato's student stood before him; perhaps even more complete than he had been when he had left the village.
Shock and relief shook Minato. He could feel years of tension easing away from his body as he stared at his student. Minato stood up so fast that his chair fell over and he moved forwards, pulling Kakashi into an embrace. "I'm sorry we missed you the first time round," he breathed.
Kakashi pulled away with a smile and he said, "It wasn't your fault, Sensei."
Minato glanced at Obito and Rin, and then his gaze fell upon Kakashi. Finally, after five years, Team 7 was reunited.
The job as sensei was always a deeply underestimated job. Jonins always moaned and groaned about being given the dull job as a genin instructor however, Minato could see when it took just as much responsibility as being in ANBU. They never warned you how deeply you could be attached to your students, how excruciating it would be to lose one and how as Sensei you were the one holding the team together.
Now all of his precious students were here, safe and even stronger than before. Minato could feel himself glowing with happiness and pride.
His face split into a huge grin and he beamed, "Welcome back, Kakashi."
For the rest of the day Kakashi was stuck going through the necessary formalities of his arrival. Councillors were to be informed, meetings were to be called and Kakashi had to go through a medical examination. It had been frustrating beyond belief because all Kakashi wanted to do was see Kushina, catch up on lost time and go home to see what kind of state the Hatake compound was in.
Finally at around seven in the evening, after Rin and Inoichi had announced Kakashi was both physically and mentally stable, Minato allowed Kakashi to go home.
"It's pretty cool that you get time off," Obito said as they walked to Kakashi's home.
"That's only because they want me to see a psychiatrist," Kakashi pointed out. "That means at least two months off…"
Kakashi frowned. He wasn't entirely sure what to do with those two months, as Kakashi hadn't had a day off since he was five years old. Sure he would train but training always had its limits. Back in Kumo Darui and C always kept him amused in their spare time, Kakashi couldn't help but wonder whether it would be the same here.
Not to mention that Kakashi had even darker concerns. Though he knew Minato would never pressure him, the councillors would likely be demanding for him to divulge information on Kumo. Kakashi was loath to give anything away. Kumo hadn't interrogated him for information and he severely doubted that the councillors wanted the information for a diplomatic cause. The village elders had even wanted Kakashi's kodachi to be confiscated so the new blade could be examined. However Minato had vetoed the decision saying that as the blade contained shards of the White Fang, it was Kakashi's to keep. Anyway, those who tried to take the blade away without Kakashi's permission always received a small, nasty electric shock.
Unlike the councillors, Minato had promised Kakashi that he would now do his best to reach out and forge new relations with Kumo. Since after seeing how well his student had been treated, the Hokage had realised that the villages were not so different after all.
"Hey Kakashi have you thought about trying out this new fangled thing everyone's talking about?" Obito asked, shooting him a sneaky look. "You know, relaxing?"
Kakashi decided not to deem Obito's joke as reply worthy and continued to walk. He found himself slipping into a strange daze as Obito continued to jabber on about all of things he missed.
A soft evening glow coated the buildings around him. People bustled past as they hurried home or lazily strolled out for the evening. Kakashi didn't even notice the strange looks some people gave him or the ninjas who were whispering. He was too caught up in the surreal nostalgia of returning back to Konoha. While stuck in a miserably cold tent in Waterfall Country, Kakashi had tried his best not to think about the sunlit village. In Kumo he couldn't even recall the wonderfully vibrant buildings or the famous lush forest. But as he walked through town, Kakashi realised how much he missed Konoha. Everything from the people he cared about to the eternally warm weather.
The village elders had requested ANBU to follow Kakashi for security purposes however Minato had yet again overridden their decision. Instead Obito, Rin or Kushina were to be with him at all times. As annoying as Obito could be, he was much better company than some ANBU who were trying to stay hidden.
A faint smile crossed Kakashi's face and he found himself looking forward to the next two months. Sure, the psychotherapy was going to be a pain and he had to suffer the humiliation of being a rank lower than Obito, but Kakashi had a lot of time to catch up on. He planned to fill his days with training sessions with his teammates, levelling his rivalry score with Gai, spending time with Kushina and even possibly attempting an awkward conversation with Anko.
"Kushina has a hospital appointment," Obito told him.
"Hospital appointment?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow. He couldn't remember Kushina ever being ill.
"Yeah, don't worry she's fine," Obito assured him. "She'll be here soon enough."
Just when Kakashi was about to ask why Kushina had a hospital appointment if she was fine, the words died away in his throat.
When Kakashi had been walking to his old home he had been expecting the compound to be in disrepair. He had imagined the garden to be overrun with weeds and strangled by nettles. Instead, cheerful flowers greeted him. The sweet scent of pollen filled Kakashi's senses and he stared at the well-kept flowerbeds in amazement. Slowly, he walked down the path and into the training yard.
The Hatake training scarecrow had been given a new makeover, complete with a mask and a new straw hat that was set at a jaunty angle. The yard had been swept clean and as Kakashi glanced over to the house with windows that shone in the evening sun.
"It was Kushina's idea," Obito explained. "She moved out to live with Sensei but she wanted to keep the place clean for when you returned home."
Kakashi couldn't find the right words to express how he felt. Instead in a dreamlike state he approached the house. It was as if he had never left Konoha. No, after Sakumo had died the house began to decay from neglect and Kakashi had found the place suffocating. The house now appeared the way it looked when his father had been alive, full of warmth and airy brightness.
He walked up the porch steps and gently placed a hand on the door. Obito had handed him the keys before they had left the Hokage Tower and Kakashi slid the key into the lock. Any genin could pick the lock of the door but then neither Sakumo nor Kakashi had bothered to replace the door. After all who would be insane enough to rob the White Fang? Any self-respecting ninja would place traps around their home anyway.
Slowly, Kakashi turned the key and the lock opened with a satisfying click. But just as he was about to open the door he suddenly heard a voice call, "Sensei?"
Kakashi froze.
He found that his hand shook as he released the key and Obito decided that that was the time to conveniently body flicker away.
Slowly, Kakashi turned to see a woman standing at the entrance of the yard. The bag she had been carrying crashed to the floor and several cleaning products rolled onto the ground. The woman ignored them; she simply stood and stared at Kakashi with wide eyes.
"Kakashi?" She breathed as he walked down the porch steps. Kakashi found himself moving faster and faster until he pulled into her a tight embrace.
The woman was shaking as he hugged her and finally, Kakashi whispered, "I'm home… Kushina."
He released her and was alarmed to see trails of tears tracing their way down Kushina's cheek. Uzumaki Kushina never cried or was lost for words. Just as Kakashi was about to ask her if she was ok, Kushina suddenly let out a furious yell and she gave him a swift whack around the head.
"You stupid, stupid boy," she exclaimed. "Getting yourself kidnapped. It's been five years. Five years and you waltz in just like that."
Kakashi rubbed his stinging head with a sheepish smile. "Sorry," he said.
"Sorry doesn't cut it," Kushina huffed but her face softened. "Honestly you really are an idiot, just like Sensei was."
Kushina pulled him into a hug and she squeezed Kakashi so hard that he could barely breathe. "Don't ever do that to me again," Kushina whispered.
Kakashi felt his body relax. As clichéd as it was, it was this kind of motherly comfort he had been craving while posted out during the war.
After Kakashi thought he felt one of his ribs crack, Kushina moved away with her eyes shining. She grinned, "Welcome home, Kakashi."
Kakashi smiled but he suddenly felt something that caused him to look down. Kushina's hair, which was now so long that it reached to her ankles, was not the only thing that had grown. Her abdomen was slightly swollen and Kakashi could detect the faintest life force coming from her belly.
Kakashi's eyes widened with realisation and he said, "Kushina you're-"
"That's right," Kushina beamed as she glowed with the same pride and happiness that Minato had been wearing earlier. "I'm pregnant."
A/N: This is the end of the arc and you'll probably be able to guess what the next will be about. Arc V will be the last of Part I of the story but I'll explain more about Part II when we get to that point ^^
Also the dialogue and scene from the extract of Tales of an Utterly Gutsy Shinobi are taken from episode 128.
Thanks for reading and I hope you liked the chapter. Also quick thank you to those who've reviewed/faved/followed this. I do appreciate it and I do actually take the time to read your profiles because I'm always intrigued as to who is reading this story, so again thank you!