Chapter Twenty
Before Kohaku knew it, four months had flown by and he had not heard from or seen Kakashi or Hisayo since they had left for the caves. Every day, his anxiety grew stronger and stronger, knowing that he could do nothing to support or help Kakashi and Hisayo.
He had kept busy over the months, finding that he temporarily forgot his worry when he kept himself distracted. It always came back, of course, in the moments between tasks and when he laid down to sleep.
That afternoon, Kohaku found himself without a distraction. He sat in the training grounds with Nozomu, wishing that there was someone to spar with today. Nozomu laid sprawled out in front of him, tired out from the training that she had been going through that morning.
Kohaku couldn't get over his restlessness, and so he stood up, leaving Nozomu to rest, and began to go over his naginata forms slowly. It was the only thing he could think of to keep himself busy, and while it didn't stop his worried thoughts, it kept him moving.
After an hour or so of that, Hisahito came looking for him, a strained, nervous expression on his face. The way he glanced behind him, as if checking if he were being followed, tipped Kohaku off that something was wrong.
"Kohaku, do you have a minute? I...want to ask your help with something." Hisahito asked, glancing around again nervously.
"What's wrong, Hisahito-sensei?" Kohaku asked, narrowing his eyes. "Did something happen?"
"I...overheard Yondaime-sama talking with someone about the team that was sent into the caves." Hisahito began hesitantly. "Long story short...there's been no contact from the team in over a month, and no one knows what happened."
"What?" Kohaku felt as if his heart had stopped for a moment, a sudden ringing in his ears deafening him. He snapped himself out of it and took a step closer to Hisahito.
"I wanted to ask you if you'd come with me to find them. I'm going either way, because I have to find Hisayo." Hisahito continued, looking unusually serious.
The very thought of going into those caves again was almost enough to send Kohaku into a panic attack. How could he possibly go down there again? He had barely made it out with his life, not to mention his sanity.
But Kakashi and Hisayo were down there, probably going through the same thing that he had all those years ago, assuming that they were still alive. How could he possibly sit by and do nothing? How could he let his teacher and his closest friend suffer the way he had and do nothing about it?
Kohaku looked at Nozomu for a moment, watching her snore peacefully. Then he looked up at Hisahito and steeled his resolve. "I'll come with you." He paused for a moment. "I assume that we're doing this without official permission?"
"Seeing as how you're still off active duty and can't technically leave the village, yes, we're doing this without official permission." Hisahito replied, frowning.
"When do we leave?" Kohaku asked after a moment, not wanting to waste another second.
"We can leave now." Hisahito offered him a small bag he had been carrying. "I was hoping you'd agree to come with me, so I brought your things."
Kohaku took the bag, opening it to find that the rest of his armor was inside, along with extra explosive tags and kunai to supplement the small supply he kept on hand at all times.
Without wasting another moment, he strapped on his wrist guards and shin guards. Then he adjusted his chestplate, making sure that it was secured properly before turning to Nozomu.
He crouched down next to the puppy, frowning a little as he shook her awake. "Nozomu, I'm going away for a bit. While I'm gone, I need you to watch over Naruto and Kushina. But don't tell anyone that I've gone, alright?"
Nozomu blinked up at him with wide eyes, and then licked his face. A whimper escaped her, but the tan and white puppy nodded her assent.
Kohaku smiled and pet behind her pointed ears gently. He pulled his hand away after a moment, and then watched the puppy dart off back towards the village, casting several glances back until she disappeared from sight.
Once she was gone, he stood up and turned back to face Hisahito again, his expression growing grim once more. "I'm ready to go."
Without wasting another moment, the pair sped off for the place that Kohaku had fallen deep into the earth so many years ago, unaware of the older man watching them from the shadows, a yellow fanged smile growing upon his face.
In an attempt to avoid detection, Kohaku and Hisahito took the long route to the place that led into the caves. It took more time than either of them really wanted it to take, but it gave Kohaku more time to mentally prepare himself for what he was about to do.
He didn't think he would ever be ready for this, but as they raced along tree branches, Kohaku came to an internal resolution and realization.
When Hisahito had them stop for the night, Kohaku made up his mind and decided to ask his teacher once more for his advice. "Hisahito-sensei? How do you know when you're in love with someone?"
Hisahito paused, glancing up from the fire he had been building. "Kohaku? What's this all of a sudden?" Slowly, he resumed his work on the fire, managing to spark a flame.
"I just…" Kohaku plopped down, pulling his knees against his chest as he thought about it. "Whenever I'm with Kakashi, I feel at peace. I feel safe. And right now...I'm so scared that we might already be too late." He paused for a moment, shutting his eyes and hiding his face against his knees. "I'm scared of going back down into those caves, but...I'm more afraid of losing Kakashi. I...would gladly die for him. I would spend the rest of my life in those caves, if it meant that Kakashi could be happy and safe."
"Oh my god." Hisahito stared at him for a moment, startled by this sudden admission. He quickly got up and went over to his student, pulling him into a hug. "You're completely in love with him. I promise we'll find him, and we'll get him out of there safely." He patted his head gently and smiled a little. "I promise you that everything will work out."
Kohaku nodded just slightly, returning the hug after a moment. "Thanks, Hisahito-sensei." He said quietly.
"Promise one thing, Kohaku. Promise me that as soon as we get them both out of there, you'll tell Kakashi how you feel. Shinobi don't live long, and I don't want you to end up with regrets." Hisahito urged gently, making Kohaku look up at him.
"I promise." Kohaku whispered, meeting his eyes for a moment before he looked back down at his knees. "We should get some rest. We'll reach the right place tomorrow morning. We'll need all the rest we can get, because we won't have a chance for it once we're down in those caves."
Hisahito nodded slightly, but paused for a moment. "First, you need to tell me what we'll be up against down there. We need to be prepared. What's in those caves?"
"Death." Kohaku replied, shifting his gaze to the fire that had begun to burn brighter. "Death is down there. All I ever saw of whatever creature haunts those caves were its fangs and claws. Glinting in what little light there was down there…" His voice grew softer as he spoke, clutching his knees tightly with both arms.
"Hey, Kohaku, it's going to be alright. We're going down there together, and we'll come back out together." Hisahito frowned, trying to soothe him.
"I know. I just never thought that I would end up going back down there. It was a year of hell that I spent down there, and now...now I'm throwing myself back into that hell willingly." Kohaku sighed, still focusing on the flames.
"It's one of the things we do for love." Hisahito reached out and patted his head gently. "You said it yourself just a few minutes ago. You said you would spend the rest of your life in those caves if it meant Kakashi was safe and happy. I would do the same for my sister, or for you, or for any of the other shinobi that are down there right now." He paused. "You might be walking back into your hell, but this time you're prepared for it. This time you're not alone, and you're not going to be spending another year down there. We'll be in and out as quickly as we can."
Kohaku nodded, letting out a soft sigh. As much as he hoped it would be, he was certain that it would not be quite that simple. The sense of foreboding that rested in the pit of his stomach told him that something was going to go horribly wrong.
