A/N
Sorry for the wait, but this chapter was a little hard. I've never written any Kakashi POV
stuff, so this should be interesting. Read, enjoy, complain, and let me know what you thought.
Alright, have fun!
Chapter 25 Conglomeration
Kakashi
The Hokage Tsunade nodded.
"How soon will we need to depart?" I asked, looking at her intently with my good eye.
"As soon as Naruto's group gets back," She answered, sitting down.
"Good, that should give Neji and Shikamaru time to fully recover,"
"Yes, I heard about those two," She said, steepling her fingers.
"Alright, I'll go inform those involved," I affirmed, and Tsunade nodded.
"Alright, remember, when Naruto gets back," She reminded, and I nodded.
A brief hand sign, and I disappeared in a poof of smoke. I appeared outside, in Konoha's main street. I put my hands in my jacket pockets, and casually made my way to the Hyuuga compound. The evening sky was a dark purple, the first stars peeping out from behind orange and red clouds. It reminded me of the times that I had spent with Rin, so very long ago.
It was a cool, windy night, and the last light of the sun disappeared, one by one, behind the distant horizon. The Hyuuga compound sprawled out, the buildings gray in the fading light. I wondered how Hiashi was doing, if the stress of running Konoha's most powerful clan was getting to him. I knocked on the door, folding my arms.
"Coming!" I heard from the interior of the estate.
A small girl, who looked suspiciously like a ten year old Hinata, opened the door. She smiled, and stepped out onto the porch.
"Hiya, Kakashi-san," The girl said, beaming up at me.
"Hello Hinabi-chan," I answered, grinning behind my mask.
"Are you here to see Neji or Hiashi? They're training out back. Neji broke his arms a little while ago, but he's okay now," The little Hyuuga giggled.
"As a matter of fact, I am. Am I allowed to come in?" I asked, and she nodded.
"This way please, come on" She said, grabbing my hand and gently dragging me inside.
I followed her, glancing around the house. Everything was clean, fresh and organized. I was pulled out into a courtyard, where flashes of blue flew into the air. I trained my eye on Neji and Hiashi, who struck at each other, almost as if they were dancing. Neji's arms were bound in white cloth, but his movements were still graceful. He scored a hit, sending Hiashi back.
The older Hyuuga flipped backwards, landing in an ominous looking stance.
"Eight trigrams, empty palm!" He said, jabbing forward with his fist.
A flash of blue smacked into Neji's arm, spinning him around. He regained his balance in time to block the four strikes that followed instantly after. A few more blue bursts of chakra lit the darkening courtyard, before Neji looked up.
"Hello Kakashi-sensei," He panted, walking over.
"Hello Neji, how have you been?" I asked as he leaned against the wall of the house.
"Pretty good, broke both my arms on a mission a while ago, but they're better now," He said, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"That's good to hear, because the Hokage needs you on a recon mission," I said, and he looked up.
"Well, that's a present surprise," He grinned, looking over at his father.
"Oh yes, you, Shikamaru and Temari are coming, as is Gai, and Asuma. This is a pretty big recon mission," I added, and his pale eyes widened.
"Wow, it must be," He exclaimed, looking up at the ceiling.
Hiashi approached, and tapped me on the shoulder.
"Kakashi, may I talk to you for a minute?" He asked, looking into my eye.
"Of course, but if I may ask, what about?"
He sighed, and Neji, taking a hint, backed off. He slipped back into the house, leaving us alone.
"About my daughter, and about Naruto," He said, sitting down.
I followed suit, looking at him quizzically.
"Sure, what about them?" I asked, wondering what the two of them had to do with each other.
"Well, Naruto found Hinata wounded in the forest, and brought her to his house. She was healed there, and spent the night. The day after, he brought her back, and had showed up several times to talk to her, or to visit. Now they're on a mission, a two week long mission, together," He explained, and I nodded, catching on.
"Oho, Naruto has a thing for Hinata, well, that is interesting," I grinned behind my mask.
"Yes, I do think so," He said, lacing his fingers and looking up into the now black sky.
"What's so wrong with that? You were young once," I replied, and he smirked.
"Once upon a time, Kakashi, once upon a time," He muttered, and I stopped smiling.
"You really are upset, what's the matter?" I asked, and he frowned.
"I just told you. Think about it. He's the Kyuubi's vessel, I don't want to put my daughter in his hands," He answered, and I frowned also.
"If you're wondering if you can trust Naruto, let me tell you something," I leaned close.
"I know that boy more than most, and I would wholeheartedly trust him with my life. You disgrace his father with accusations like that," I divulged, and he went red.
"But his father wasn't the host to the Nine Tailed Fox, he died fighting it!" He growled, and I smirked.
"Hiashi, I trust him, he's stood his ground against Orochimaru, battled on par with the Hokage and the Toad Sage. In combat abilities alone, I would favor his chances above almost anyone else. With my daughter, if I had one, I would trust him," I explained, and he calmed slightly.
"Combat abilities aren't everything, neither is trust. Hinata, she's... I couldn't let anything happen to her, especially not at the hands of that," He said, and I nodded.
"I realize that, but give Naruto a chance. Your wife would have liked that, she wasn't a violent person. She didn't deserve to die. Does Hinata even know?" I asked him, putting my hand on his shoulder.
"No, no she doesn't know, at least I don't think. About either of them, my wife or the demon," He replied, and looked down.
"Do you plan to tell her? She will find out eventually, about both. Naruto will end up either showing or telling her, so what about you?" I asked, and he remained silent.
"I don't know, I guess I have to, but how would she think of me, and of Naruto?" He said, and I shook my head.
"I'll leave you to think about that, I still have to visit the Nara family before I return home," I told him, and he nodded.
"And if I were you, I would trust him, if not, at least give him a chance," I stood up, and nodded to the head of the Hyuuga clan.
I left the Hyuuga compound in a flash of light and a smattering of smoke. I pulled a kunai out of my pocket, absent absentmindedly twirling it on my finger as I walked along the road. No light illuminated my way, as I made my steady way to the sleepy Nara compound. It had been a while since I had been here, and the yard was no longer void of trees, or for that matter, animals.
Several deer were grazing around the multiple trees that dotted the front lawn. I petted one on the head as I passed, walking down the small path towards the house. I stopped, several yards from the house. I looked up to the roof, and grinned. Shikamaru was laying on his back, staring up at the stars, and with him was Temari.
"Hey, Shikamaru, down here," I called up, and Temari jumped.
The pineapple haired boy turned his head and looking at me, yelled back.
"Hey Kakashi, what do you want?" He asked, and I vanished, reappearing on the roof next to them.
"I see you're feeling better, that's good," I noticed, and he nodded.
"How so?"
"The Hokage has a mission, and you're on board. You've got around a week to recover completely," I told him, and he rolled his eyes.
"What a drag,"
"Oh yes, and Temari's invited as well," I added, and he seemed to perk up.
"Would be a pleasure, Kakashi-san," The vivacious blond girl smiled, and ran her hand through Shikamaru's hair.
"What are we doing, I mean, what's the mission?" The boy asked, my smile receding.
"We heard word from Sunagakure last night. Apparently, there seems to be a new ninja village. Gaara's men were attacked, and were found dead. Now, Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura were attacked. Thanks to a... certain series of events, Naruto was able to fend off and kill all fourteen ninja," I told him, and he sat up.
"These ninja were on your level, they were jonin, and Naruto took out fourteen of them? By himself?" The Nara boy was stunned with shock.
"Yeah, but I hear he was forced to draw on the Kyuubi's energies," I finished, and he whistled.
"It must have been important, I wonder what caused it," He mused, and Temari looked at me knowingly.
I shook my head at her, and her eyes widened.
"This is top secret information, but I'll tell you why. Hinata was kidnapped,"
Two consecutive gasps, widened eyes, and a "Are you serious?" were the responses I received.
"Yes. You know about the Demon Fox's Cloak, am I correct?" I asked.
Two nods, and I continued.
"Naruto almost killed two Sennin only using four tails. At four tails, he loses control, and goes rampant. The first time, he was infuriated and tired. The second, when he met Orochimaru, who insulted and ridiculed Sasuke, he almost killed the snake bastard," I told them, and Shikamaru looked at me quizzically.
"So? These weren't Sennin," He said, and I nodded.
"You knows how he gets when you talk about Sasuke the wrong way, or insult him. He went four tails on the man who took Sasuke from Konoha. He went five tails on these ninja," I explained, and Temari's jaw dropped.
"F-Five tails?" She asked in stupefied amazement.
I nodded grimly, and Shikamaru whistled in awe.
"All because of, because of Hinata?" He asked, and again, I nodded.
"Well, that's what the information we received seemed to indicate," I said, and Shikamaru looked again at the sky.
"And our mission," I went on, "Is to investigate these ninja, and find out what they're up to,"
"Alright, we'll be ready, when do we leave?" He asked, and I nodded.
"When Naruto and company return," I told them, and they nodded.
"Now, I have some others to tell before I return home, so, good evening to you, and please give my regards to your parents, Shikamaru, and I will be going,"
And with that, for the third time in as many hours, I poofed to the road. I sighed, and looked at the moon, almost full. Rin had always loved to look at the moon...
A/N
Alrighty, a little deviation from the NaruHina part, but it was necessary for the general
continuation of the story. Any questions, comments, ideas, --- I like it when you have
those, critique, even flames, I want to hear em. So, be a good (Insert gender here) and click
the review button, yeah, that one right... there. Yeah, see that, click it, and lemme know how
you liked my first attempt at a Kakashi POV chapter! Until next time,
Matthew-sama