Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anything related. Kishimoto does.
I intend for this particular story to be darker than my others. And, while the plotline isn't set in stone just yet, it's probably going to have an unhappy ending. The main pairing is Pein and Kakashi, but it's going to be awhile before that happens. Forewarning.
It is rated M for: sexual content, yaoi, violence, slavery, rape, abuse, disturbing themes, allusion to pedophilia, language, whatever else is bad that I have forgotten and might throw into the story later.
As I sit here chained, humbled, and at your mercy, I realize you probably look down upon me as a traitor and a criminal. Murderer. Monster. And maybe I am. Maybe I deserve to be looked down upon. I know nothing I say will absolve me of my crimes. For they are many. And they are truly bloody. But, please, before you judge me, I want to tell you how I came to be the one who caused so much misery. Who ended so many innocent lives … and my own village, Konoha.
...
Part 1: Victim Ensnared
It was Springtime. I remember it well. I can still smell the sweet, morning dew on the freshly cut grass on the outskirts of Konoha and how the moon cast a soft glow across the village. I was returning from a mission in the Village Hidden in the Mist, the details of which I must keep to myself. Old habits die hard, I'm afraid. Upon seeing the village, I felt comforted. I always did after a long mission. There was a sense of satisfaction from completing my work - whether it be to gloat to my friends or to be praised by my superiors - and relief that I had survived it. But this time was different.
I was rushing through the cool night air, wanting to get to my apartment before dawn broke. I had made the mistake of taking the long road home right after completing the mission, and my exhausted body was paying the price. Plus, I had to feed my goldfish. Gai, my old friend, bought it for me as a gift while I was bed-ridden and injured. He said something about helping me relax and keeping my youthfulness. It was foolish, and it never made me feel youthful or anything like that. But, I must admit, it did give me something to keep my mind on. Whenever I was on the brink of death, thinking I couldn't possibly lift my arm, let alone throw another punch, I'd remind myself that there was something that depended on me, depended on my survival. I had to feed my fish.
I turned another corner in yet another dark alleyway. Then, as I rushed, I barely heard the light tapping of foot steps and hushed whispers just around the corner. In a heartbeat, I realized they were coming my way. And in the blink of an eye, I was out of sight. Had I been on vacation prior to the incident, I would've walked on by, and all of this probably wouldn't have happened. But I still had that post-mission paranoia, and instinct was taking over. So there I hid, spying on my own comrades.
There were six shinobi. They walked slowly and spoke in whispers. I could tell from the way they moved that they were on alert, and from their clothes I knew them to be ANBU. But I didn't recognize any of them. And then, out of the shadows, appeared Danzo, one of the village elders. He was a clandestine individual, or so I had heard. Lady Tsunade didn't trust him, anyway. And, considering his current location and company … well, that was enough reason for me to wait in the dark and see what was to made of this meeting.
The group stopped for a moment. They were closer to my hiding place, a second floor balcony, but I still couldn't make out the conversation. Danzo had his back turned to me, and the others were merely nodding in agreement. They laughed, and Danzo turned again, walking further toward Konoha's main gate. He must've been leaving. As he passed under me, I heard him say to one of the ANBU, "She'll be gone by the end of the-"
I quickly and quietly leaned over the railing to hear the last word. I was taking a huge risk, but I needed to know. Who was "she"? End of what? But he said no more. I considered following him. I couldn't go to Tsunade-sama with this little information. But I couldn't sit on it either.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the white porcelain mask glancing in my direction, and my heart sank. I slid back into the cover of the balcony, but I knew it was too late. I listened for footsteps on the roof above me, for clanking of weapons, for anything. But all I heard was the soft, rhythmic tapping of their walking below me. I waited for a few seconds. Waited for them to pass me by. And then I peaked over the railing again, trying to stay in the shadows. They were still walking, calmly. But there were only four of them. And then there was a soft breath whispering in my ear. "Hello, beautiful."
I kicked behind me, but he already had his arms crossed in front of him to block my attack. He raised his hand and wagged his finger at me, "no". He was toying with me. And he was so quick. I was an ANBU captain for three years. I still had many friends in ANBU. This man, whoever he was, was not ANBU. I even thought for a moment that he was from another village entirely. That they all were.
It was no use trying to fight in the balcony. There was barely room to stand. I jumped to the street below, knowing full well how dangerous that would be. The rest had surrounded me before I even hit the ground. All but Danzo, who was nowhere to be seen. It was myself, exhausted, surrounded by five ANBU who were not ANBU. I threw three kunai from my left hand, only to distract them from the smoke bomb I dropped with my right.
I then escaped up the side of the building and over the rooftops. But there was someone already up there. She must have anticipated this and was waiting for me. She threw a roundhouse kick and, as I ducked, swung a garrote around my neck. I sent a chakra-infused fist flying into her stomach, throwing the chain to the ground. She slid away from me, but didn't seem too upset about it. When I looked up, I realized why. Two others had caught up to me, both throwing shuriken in my direction. I barely managed to block them with my last remaining kunai, only to see another not ANBU appear on the roof.
He laughed, a joyless chuckle, and I recognized him to be the man who addressed me on the balcony. He had my kunai wedged in his arm. Without hesitation, he pulled it out, the cold medal easily sliding across blood and skin, and twirled it around his middle finger. It made me cringe. "You have nowhere to go."
I already knew that. I was surrounded, again, by four. And I figured the other two were already waiting at possible exits in case I tried to run again. I could either surrender or take down as many of them as I could. Being a proud sort, I chose the latter and raised my kunai in a defensive position.
It all happened in a flash. I never completely took my eyes off that man, even while his comrades ambushed me. As I blocked a side kick from the one on my left and ducked a kunai being swung at my throat, I saw him aim the kunai. The man to my left caught me off guard and planted his foot in my stomach. I braced myself for the hit, which distracted me just long enough for the leader to find an opening in my temple. I didn't see him throw the kunai, but I felt it embed itself in my forehead seconds before my lightening clone exploded, killing whoever was on that roof.
I breathed heavily, my real self still hidden behind a counter in a small café. I had to escape. That lightening clone was pushing my limits. I knew, even though there were only two, maybe three left, that I wouldn't be able to hold them off for long. There was still smoke in the streets from that bomb. I would have some cover there.
I hopped over the counter and moved toward the door, only to have it kicked in toward me. I barely dodged it, then prepared for the onslaught of shuriken or kunai or whatever else he wanted to throw at me.
"There you are," he said, sounding entertained by my attempts to survive.
I lifted my hitai-ate and pulled out a kunai. "You were a shadow clone."
He nodded, leaning casually against the counter as if talking to an old pal. "Pretty eye," he said.
"All the better to see you with, my dear," I retorted.
He laughed a bit. "That's funny. You're funny. Strange, I'd heard you lacked sense of humor."
"You know who I am?" I asked.
"Of course, Kakashi-san."
"But I don't know you."
"For the best." He paused for a moment, twirling a kunai around his finger again. "Lightening clone. Impressive. I wouldn't expect anything less from the infamous Copy Nin," he mused.
"You knew it was a lightening clone."
He nodded. "I had suspected. You were fast, too, with the substitution. It took me awhile to find where you were really hiding."
My calm, calculated demeanor was betrayed for a brief moment by a look of disgust. "You killed your own teammates."
"Only the unimportant ones." He nodded toward the back room. I didn't look, but I could hear the footsteps of someone running and then landing as the intruder slipped in through the window. From the sound of the footsteps and the smell, I knew that it was the woman. She must have escaped the rooftop while my lightening clone was being killed.
She came up behind me with a katana and swung downward into my shoulder just as he threw three shuriken to my sides and above me so I couldn't dodge. I used a substitution jutsu, appearing behind him, but he already had a kunai at my throat. I grabbed his wrist and kicked him in the chest. He crashed, ungracefully, into the wall. I let white-blue lightening chakra build in my hand and charged toward him. I was only inches from his face. I was so close. But my arm veered into the wall next to him as I felt the woman's foot being driven into my side.
He quickly grabbed for his mask which was knocked off by the chidori, but not before I could see his hazel eye and an X-shaped scar just above it. He grabbed a pen off the counter and threw it at my chest. I tried to dodge it, but the damn thing buried itself in my shoulder while I was ducking swings from the woman. If not for my sharingan, it would've hit my heart.
"Enough!"
We all looked for the source of the interruption. Danzo. He and the two other not ANBU members were now standing in the café with us. The two covered the exits, and my would be murderers took a few steps back from me.
"I said I wanted him alive," he said, addressing the hazel eyed man. "Do you ever follow orders?"
He laughed. "That costs extra."
Danzo scowled, but didn't press the matter. He instead turned to me. "Kakashi, in the past few minutes, you have become a great inconvenience to me."
"How's that?" I asked.
Danzo grinned. "The appropriate question here would be 'how are we going to remedy this?'"
"I don't suppose you'll let me walk out of here."
"You suppose correctly."
Suddenly I felt that woman behind me. She had something in her hand, and it was about to go into my neck. The needle had only kissed my flesh before I grabbed her wrist and threw her and it into Mr. Hazel Eyes. The two not ANBU members flanked me. I threw one into a wall with a fist to his chest. The other grabbed for my neck, but I drilled a chidori into his rib cage. He didn't survive. I turned my attention to Danzo and let chidori build in my hand again.
I braced for attack. Danzo took a step back, eyes going wide. I finally had the upper hand. I was almost hopeful. It was in vain. Out of nowhere, a needle flew through the air and landed in my chest. I grabbed the syringe and tried to pull it out. But I was too slow. The hazel eyed man kicked a metal napkin dispenser at me and it hit the plunger of the syringe, pushing the drugs into me. Everything slowed down. It grew darker. And it became so quiet. I fell to my knees. I looked up toward the hazel eyed man, and, although I was barely conscious, I knew he was laughing.
The "hazel eyed man" is an original character, but his personality and extra-special skill is based on a Marvel comic book character.
Review, please.
