The Wanderers
Chapter 40 – Kakashi – Harsh Realities
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, the Rinnegan wouldn't be related to the Sharingan.
***Previously-On***
After escaping the Hidden Village of Sound, the group was accosted by a warrior covered in white armour, bearing a frightening resemblance to the warrior from Kakashi's memories. After a short monologue, in which he confessed to compliance in the destruction of Konoha, the warrior dispersed the Konoha shinobi under orders from a mysterious leader, causing all of them to be sent to different parts of the world. Now, separated from their friends and comrades, each of the surviving Konoha shinobi are struggling to find each other again before they are found again by the group that had caused them so much grief.
When they surrendered themselves to the Snow shinobi, Kiba and Nagisa expected to be taken to the village for interrogation. They were correct, but the Snow shinobi decided to torture Kiba without asking any questions after he fought back. Resolving to escape, the two of them with their animal companions killed the guards and fled into the village. They fought against the shinobi in the village but were forced to flee back towards the mountain when the entire village came after them. Nagisa captured a Genin and forced him to explain why the Snow shinobi hated them so much, and he generously told them of a way to escape the area. The group split up and infiltrated the village in disguise; however Kiba was forced into battle with the leader of their ANBU, who nearly killed him. Just as he was about to be cut down he was saved by Nagisa, who killed the ANBU and led the wounded Kiba down a ladder that led into an underground destroyed city beneath the mountain range. Having secured their freedom for the time being, Kiba and Nagisa collapsed in exhaustion, thankful that they had their companions to keep them safe.
***End Summary***
***One Month after Separation***
The room had a strange mixture of hope and defeat as Kakashi walked into it to save himself from the rain. The occupants didn't even notice his entrance, though the man behind the counter gave him a quick glare before going back to washing the glass in his hands.
Seeing nothing else to do with his time until the storm passed, Kakashi sat down at the bar and ordered a drink.
"You got money?" asked the bartender with a grunt.
Reaching into his pocket, Kakashi placed a small collection of notes on the counter. He'd been wasting his money for the past month, though for someone of his skills it wouldn't be hard to find work as a mercenary or such.
The bartender looked at him with suspicion, but took the money nonetheless and filled a glass before pushing it over. Kakashi went to pull down his mask, but stopped himself when he realised he had taken it off a while ago.
Since he was passing himself off as a civilian, he felt it wasn't right to be wearing a mask, or his Konoha flak jacket. It had been many years since he had started wearing the mask, but Kakashi felt like enough time had passed.
I forgave you long ago, father. Besides, enough years have passed that no-one would recognise you in my features. And it's not like the others are around to be surprised anymore.
He scratched at his chin, feeling subconscious without his mask on. The whiskey in front of him was of a strangely high quality for this part of the world. Since his time around the world as an ANBU he'd come to an understanding of alcohol, and was normally quite strict with it because of his shinobi duties.
Staring into the glass, Kakashi let out a slow sigh and let the alcohol do its work.
I'm the only one left, so who cares?
It was difficult to tell when the day became night due to the constant rain outside, but Kakashi assumed the townsfolk were used it by the type of people that came in and out of the bar. Unlike normally, Kakashi felt no compulsion to track who was around him and be careful, since there was little risk of him being recognised.
No mask, both eyes, no forehead protector…even I wouldn't notice me.
He finished his third whiskey and asked for a bottle of sake. The bartender had been giving him shifty looks the whole time, but as long as Kakashi kept giving him money he kept giving him alcohol in response.
As the night went on the number of occupants in the bar increased, but Kakashi noticed that they weren't getting any louder like a normal bar would. Each group of people that came into the bar seemed to only be occupied with their own small social group, and didn't socialise with anyone else.
I know bars are meant to be depressing, but this is just sad.
The bartender looked up to the doorway, watching as a figure out of Kakashi's view walked in and sat down beside the silver haired Jounin.
"What are you having?" asked the bartender.
"Sake. Juyondai."
The person sitting beside Kakashi had a calm and serious voice, yet he could hear a slight feminine charm to it, in addition to something he recognised in his own voice that he couldn't quite place.
He turned to look, trying to be subtle about it since he'd had a few drinks. Sitting beside him was a woman in a plain dark blue outfit, looking like there was nothing in the world but her problems. From where he could see, she had short dark blue hair similar to Hinata's before she started to grow it out, and there was a calm disposition about her when she accepted her drink.
She sipped at the small cup and let out a long drawn sigh, placing her arms on the bar. She had lithe looking arms with amber fingernails on long fingers.
Kakashi smiled to himself and stared down at his own ordinary sake.
I guess it's influencing me more than usual. I haven't leered at someone like that in years.
The woman didn't say anything as she drank her sake. Several drunken men came up to her and tried to talk to her, but the blue haired woman ignored them, seemingly bound up in her own problems.
After she finished her whole bottle of sake in a short amount of time, she reached into her pocket to get more money, but let out a sigh when she realised she didn't have more.
"Done for the night?" asked the bartender.
She put her hands to her sides and stood up from the stool, "I suppose so…"
Beside her, Kakashi pushed a small pair of bills across the bar, "Another bottle of sake, for the lady."
The bartender rolled his eyes excessively and swiped the bills off the table before putting another bottle of Juyondai sake in front of her stool.
Sitting back down the woman turned to him with a confused smile, "Thank you."
He smiled back at her, feeling self-conscious without his mask in front of her. She had a beautiful face, but it was marred by the sadness in her amber eyes. However it wasn't her face that truly drew his attention, but it was the four lines on the forehead protector on her head.
She's from Amegakure? So that's where I am…
Taking the sake bottle and pouring the alcohol into her glass before pouring some into Kakashi's. "I don't recognise you. Are you new in town?"
"You could say that" said Kakashi, bowing his head in respect before tasting the sake. It had a rich fragrant taste that he hadn't experienced before, though that could have been because he rarely drank sake.
The woman watched him drink, feeling the strong alcohol taking its effect on her. "Have you…come here before?"
"First time," replied Kakashi. He wasn't sure whether it was the alcohol, or the fact that he wasn't sure whether he was the last shinobi from his village or not, but Kakashi no longer cared about being careful.
She took a sip from her sake and looked out at the rain through the open door, "Bit of a strange place to be visiting."
Kakashi let out a sad laugh and leaned back on his stool, "I guess I needed to get away. It's not like anyone's waiting for me."
"I can understand that," she replied. "It's been…bah, you don't want to hear me complain."
Looking into her sunken eyes, Kakashi agreed with her, he didn't, but was smart enough not to say that. He lifted up the bottle of sake that they had nearly finished together, "That's what the alcohol is for, right?"
She smiled at him in an attempt to seem happy, pushing at the piercing on her bottom lip with her tongue inside her mouth. "I guess we all have our things to drink for."
The night dragged on, and as the patrons of the bar slowly stumbled out into the rainy weather the odd pair kept drinking without saying anything to each other. For Kakashi it was less about fearing that he would act like a fool when he was drunk, but more about the fact that he didn't know what to say.
He'd been struggling with the fact that people seemed to continuously die around him, and the destruction of Konoha had nearly broken him. In fact, he was sure that if it wasn't for the fact that he had students to look after, he wouldn't have been to go on as he had.
Looking to his drinking companion, he noticed a deep blush across her features. He was sure he had a similar look on his face, but he didn't feel too impaired so he kept drinking.
"My friend is dying…"
The woman staring down at the clear liquid, almost like she hadn't realised she'd said it.
The Konoha Jounin stared at her with surprise, feeling his heart break at the slight quiver in her voice.
"I'm sorry to hear that," was all Kakashi could think of in response.
She swirled her cup of sake with a swagger. "Yeah…"
For a few minutes neither of them said anything. Upon hearing her say that, Kakashi felt all his bad memories come flooding back to him. The war, the wandering, and the month he spent trying to find his companions.
"I…don't have anyone left."
It didn't help much to admit it, but Kakashi didn't care. It was about time he said it to himself.
She looked at him with surprise, particularly when she recognised the same look in his dark eyes that she saw in the mirror. "I…don't know what to say."
With a grin he wouldn't have been able to pull off if he had his mask on; Kakashi offered her the remainder of the sake. "Another drink?"
She let him pour the alcohol into her glass with a drunken grin.
"Definitely."
The first thing Kakashi felt was a throbbing pain in his head, but a short burst of chakra healed that up quickly. He opened his eyes and groaned as he sat up on the bed, feeling a set of silk blankets over his legs.
Looking over to the other side of the bed, he grinned to himself as he saw the woman sitting on the edge of the bed. Her naked back was a thing of beauty, and Kakashi mentally high-fived himself before remembering that he wasn't a teenager anymore.
Besides, he wasn't a bragger.
He went to say something, but nothing came to mind. All he could think of was to swing his feet over the edge and sit on the other side, scratching at his chin. He still felt self-conscious without the mask, but tasks like the night before, and the early morning would have been very difficult with it on.
"I don't do that often."
Kakashi smiled and turned around, looking into the woman's eyes. "I was about to say the same thing."
His eyes had no choice but to wander, but the blue haired woman pulled up the blanket to cover her front subconsciously. She ran a hand through her hair with a tired expression on her face.
"I was looking forward to a good night's sleep…"
Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck embarrassed, "Sorry about that…"
She waved a hand in front of her face, "No, no. It was my fault. I…well I have no reason."
"Best reason I ever heard." He reached out and offered her his hand, "Kakashi."
She smiled back, taking his hand with a slight nod. "It feels odd to do this now. I'm Konan."
They stared at each other for a few seconds, with Kakashi feeling her eyes running over the scar on his left eye. It had taken him several days to get used to always having proper vision again, as opposed to only occasionally, but he still felt strange without Obito's Sharingan.
Konan looked over at a clock on the wall, trying to conceal a panic as she stood up from the bed and ran over to her wardrobe.
She poked her head from behind the wardrobe door, "Sorry, I have to get to my duties."
He nodded his understanding and reached down to grab his pants. He'd never admit it, but it had been so long he'd wondered if he would have been able to perform, but since he'd heard no complaints, he felt he must have done alright.
Having finished putting his clothes on, Kakashi pulled his plated gloves over his hands and let out a long breath, looking around the room for the first time in proper light. It was still pouring rain outside, he figured the reason the shinobi village was called the Hidden Rain was more than figurative.
He stood up and stretched his arms, "Do you…want me to leave?"
She walked out of the wardrobe, buttoning up a robe that turned Kakashi's blood cold. "If you want, I don't mind. You might…what is it?"
Don't panic, Kakashi. Keep calm. Centred.
"Konan…are you part of the Akatsuki?"
The blue haired girl froze as she made a paper flower to sit in her hair. She put a hand behind her back, "Where did you hear that name?"
"I once knew a member of your organisation. He was…a good man."
Behind her back a small collection of paper began to appear, wavering in the air. "Kakashi…that name…you wouldn't be Hatake Kakashi of Konoha?"
Sensing her hostility, Kakashi took a cautious step backwards, "Perhaps. What's that to you?"
The paper began to whirlwind around Konan as her amber eyes darkened. "This man…are you acquainted with Uchiha Itachi?"
I could lie, but she would see through it. How did I go from one extreme to the other?
"We don't have to do this," he warned, hoping that she would listen to him.
He could tell that she was normally the calm and collected type, but the look she was giving him was one of pure hatred. She placed out a hand and swirled a large collection of paper around it.
"You are the reason he's going to die! I'll kill you!"
Her chakra spiked massively as a group of paper bombs went flying at Kakashi's face.
Oh shi…
"Suiton: Mizuhashi!" (Water Element: Water Bridge)
Kakashi flipped in the air and landed on the stream of water, sliding down towards the edge of the city as explosions rang his ears from behind him.
With the rain and the massive rivers of water near the roads, he had a large amount of water to use his ninjutsu, though for the past few minutes he'd just been fleeing.
Jumping off the water bridge he attached his feet to the side of a building with chakra, watching as Konan flew towards him with wings made of the same paper she'd been trying to kill him with. Despite the heavy rain, there was a small ray of sunlight shooting through behind her, as if following her flight path.
She looks like a real angel. Well, if there ever was a time to go out, against someone like her…
He could almost feel the slap on his back that Gai would have given him in such a situation. He hadn't voiced it to the others where they were together, but he missed the bizarre Jounin, and felt like he could really use someone like that in his current situation.
"FIGHT ME!" screamed the blue haired woman attacking him.
Looking up Kakashi realised that he'd been caught up in his memories, an action he'd been doing more and more since Konoha's destruction. Konan flew straight at him, a circle of concentrated papers appearing around one of her hands before she hurled it towards his head.
Kakashi pushed off the building and landed on a nearby ledge, watching as the chakram sliced through the stone of the large building and through to the other side.
He jumped away from the path of dozens of paper bombs towards the large lake surrounding the city and used chakra to keep himself afloat.
Looking up at the woman he had been acquainted with, Kakashi couldn't stop himself from admiring her passion. It was like she was a completely different person from the previous night and earlier morning, and her abilities were like nothing he had seen in a kunoichi.
He just wished those abilities weren't so hell bent on killing him.
Up in the air, Konan turned to see him fleeing away from the city. She'd only ever been this angry once before, but unlike then there was nobody to stop her. Using her wings to shoot through the air, she surrounded herself with sheets of paper, slowly turning them into deadly projectiles as she exited the city limits.
Kakashi stood on a half sunken pipe, watching as she sent her projectiles straight at him. He didn't want to fight her; he rather liked her though he couldn't quite work out why. However as he dodged the paper sheets and felt one of them slice across his cheek, he realised that if he was to survive he would need to take her down.
Well, if she's got paper, then…
He placed his hands together, feeling the knowledge of the technique come to his mind. Without his Sharingan he'd been afraid that he would lose a large portion of the skills he had copied.
"Katon: Karyuudan!" (Fire Element: Fire Dragon Bullet)
A large stream of fire shot out of his mouth at the flying shinobi, who immediately banked and put up her hands, shooting thousands of paper sheets at his attack.
Coated by the rain, the papers were slow to burn by Kakashi's attack. His fire stream was slowly pushed back by her attack, forcing the Konoha Jounin to leap back onto the water to avoid being shredded to pieces.
How can her paper attacks be so powerful when soaked with water? I've never seen a ninjutsu like hers…let along to that extent.
Kakashi put a hand towards the water, summoning his chakra to his hand before realising that with the rain pouring down over him he would suffer the effects of the technique as much as she might.
Besides, without the Sharingan it's back to an incomplete technique.
The projectiles stopped flying towards him and began to collect absurd amounts of paper around her wings. Her hair and robe were completely drenched, but Konan didn't care. Every fibre of her being was concentrating on catching the illusive Jounin and tearing him to pieces, even if it meant she had to go out with him.
She folded the papers into large spikes, sending them flying at Kakashi while still keeping herself afloat with her wings. The Jounin was slippery and able to dodge her attacks easily, but she noted that he hadn't attacked her in response after his fire defence had failed.
"Why won't you fight back?" she said through her teeth.
From behind her position, Kakashi had his hands together in a handseal. "I didn't come here to fight you. I didn't even know you were part of the Akatsuki."
She spun around and went to attack him again, but large tendrils of water came up from the lake and clutched at her wings. The Akatsuki female struggled under his water technique, but Kakashi held onto her tight as he brought her down to his level.
"Can we talk?" he asked, unsure of how to approach her.
Konan stared at him with a deadpan expression, her paper wings limp under the water tendrils. "No."
The Konoha Jounin felt a sting in his side, looking down to see a long paper-like spear poking through.
Behind him the original Konan placed a hand on his back. "There will be no talking."
"That's a shame. Because I really have no idea what's going on."
She turned around and frowned when she saw Kakashi rising out of the water a short distance away. The Kakashi she attacked disappeared into the water, which in turn released her paper clone from its grip.
"Why are you attacking me? We didn't set out to destroy Akatsuki, surely you must know that."
She glared at him, calculating her next move. He was a tough opponent, but Konan had faced worse.
Kakashi put up his arms in a non-aggressive motion. "Is this to do with your friend?"
"You were responsible for attacking our group, and condemning my friend to death," was her reply.
Remembering back to the battle they had conducted after the Kyuubi had been extracted, Kakashi tried to think of who she could be talking about.
Itachi only told us about the members he knew about, she wasn't even mentioned.
"I fought to defend my student, who had nearly been killed by your group. The only person I fought was Deidara, and he didn't seem like the type to associate with someone like you."
Her amber eyes seemed to penetrate straight through him, but years of experience told Kakashi that her anger was lessening.
Though, when she jumped back and sent dozens of paper shurikens at him he began to question his analysis.
I can't use fire, lightning, or earth since there is no ground here. The genjutsu techniques I know that would affect someone of her calibre were all Sharingan techniques, and my water techniques clearly aren't up to par.
Letting himself sink into the water, Kakashi created a small bubble of air around his face while swimming underneath the lake. He watched Konan leap back into the sky, using her impressive skills to ensure that he would be able to get close to him.
What a scary user of techniques. I don't think I can win here, without my Sharingan.
High above the lake, Konan looked around for him, frustrated that she was fighting such a slippery opponent. His words hung in her mind, eating away at her anger towards him.
Seeing that he wasn't going to come out and attack her, Konan decided towards a different approach.
Under the water, Kakashi's eyes widened when he saw her pulling a piece of paper from the flower on her hair and folding it manually with her hands.
Feeling a surge of self-preservation, Kakashi sank as quickly as his chakra allowed him to, in an attempt to put as much water between him and the woman trying to kill him as possible.
Once her piece of origami was complete, Konan dropped the paper bird towards the lake. She flew up as high as she could, wary of how powerful the technique was.
After a few seconds delay, the bird hit the water. Despite being made out of paper it swam easily through the water, to a depth appropriate before Konan detonated it.
Even slightly dampened by the water pressure, the explosion was on a massive scale. It rang out for several miles in every direction, blasting the lake apart. A large wave crashed over the city of Amegakure, causing little structural damage to the buildings, while the rest of the waves fell away from the city.
For a few seconds she could see all the way to the empty bottom of the lake, though she could barely make out a small shell of earth that she was sure contained the Jounin she had been trying to kill.
The water collapsed in on itself, with the rain attempting to fill what was destroyed by her explosion.
Konan floated down back to the water and ran a frustrated hand through her hair. "Why won't this bastard die?"
Appearing slowly in front of her, Kakashi shook his silver hair in a vain attempt to dry it, looking at her with a sad smile.
"I won't die, not yet. Someone clearly thinks I haven't suffered enough."
For a split second Konan recognised herself in his voice, and she couldn't help but unclench her hands slightly. "What are you talking about?"
Sensing an opportunity, Kakashi let his eyes drop slightly since he sympathised with her frustration.
The frustration of not being able to save one's friends.
"I have watched everyone I cared about die in front of me, and there was nothing I could do about it. I recognise that you are in pain, but believe me when I say I know what you are going through."
"What do you suggest I do? Just let you leave?"
He could hear the wavering in her voice, though he didn't think he was home free just yet.
"How about we just talk? I can see that, like me, you have been fighting for too long. Why don't we try to act civilly?"
Konan dissipated her wings and felt her arms go limp at her sides. For some reason the rain felt heavier than it did a moment ago and Konan wanted nothing more than to sit down in a nice warm bath.
"Are we okay?" asked Kakashi cautiously.
Looking back at the city, Konan turned to him with a question. "You led me out of the city…why?"
Putting his hands into his pockets, Kakashi shrugged and began walking towards her. "I figured you were going to attack me with everything you had. I didn't want there to be any casualties."
Konan's expression softened as she was reminded of someone she had lost a long time ago.
He's so different from him, and yet they have similar mindsets.
Kakashi stopped a few metres away from Konan with a smile on his face. He was glad his judgement of her hadn't been completely inaccurate, though his previous experiences with kunoichi were sporadic at best.
"So, what now?"
"I want to make something clear. You helped Uchiha Itachi take down the Akatsuki over a year ago?"
Kakashi nodded, though he wanted to explain himself to the blue haired woman. "I only wanted to keep my student safe. I'll admit to knowing nothing about your organisation besides what Itachi told us."
"You aren't going to apologise?"
Kakashi smirked, remembering something his father had said to him before the incident that had caused his death. "A man takes responsibility for his actions, regardless of the outcome. If I had the chance to do it again, I wouldn't change my actions."
She stared at him with her amber eyes. It sounded like something her old teacher would say, and being a woman she knew the idea applied to her as well. Since that day, she'd been adrift without any idea of what to do with herself.
But looking at Kakashi, she felt like she could actually do something, though she didn't know what.
She let out a breath and began walking back to Amegakure.
"Follow me. There's someone you should meet."
With nothing else to do, and slightly intrigued, Kakashi walked at her side. "Who are we meeting?"
Konan couldn't help herself; a small smile grew across her face.
"God."
The two of them walked through the rivers inside Amegakure, Kakashi noting that there were very few paths inside the actual city itself on the ground level.
"Where are we going?"
Konan pointed to a building in the centre of the city, one that had no apparent entrances besides a ledge near the top. "He's in there."
"God lives in there? Kind of drab, don't you think?"
She looked at him with a calm expression, "Would you like to say he works in mysterious ways?"
Kakashi grinned as he cracked his neck, still aching after that last attack. He had been protected, but the impact was still enough for him to feel it down to his bones. "Somehow, I think I'll survive."
When they reached the building she turned around and faced him directly. "This is not a peaceful village, Kakashi. Unlike Konoha, we have never known what you would call peace."
"I wouldn't call what happened to us peaceful, Konan. Why are you telling me this?"
She pointed to her cloak, specifically at the red cloak near her stomach. "We created the Akatsuki a long time ago, to defend this country from our oppressors. When…our leader died, our order became more…desperate."
Kakashi listened silently, wondering how much of what she said was true or not.
That goes in contrast to what Itachi told me, though he admitted to a lack of information when it came to the origins of Akatsuki.
"But at its core, we were a proud group. You need to remember that," finished Konan.
"Considering your previous companions, I'd say that you must have been quite desperate. But I can understand your position."
"Good. Follow me." She placed a hand on the building side, pushing through a small amount of chakra to peel away the large pieces of paper that made up the building's surface.
Looking up, Kakashi hid his surprise as he saw that most of the building was made out of the same material.
She must have been holding back, particularly if she can do something like this.
He glanced over at the lake around the city, where the waters were still raging around from their battle.
Or she wasn't holding back, and I'm damn lucky. Either works.
Konan turned to him while holding back a large piece of camouflaged paper, indicating for him to enter the building.
He couldn't see anything inside, but considering the entrance he wouldn't have expected anything less. Kakashi nodded to her and walked through.
Konan followed behind him and sealed the door behind her. The two shinobi stood in the darkness, with Kakashi attempting to use chakra to filter his eyesight.
"Is there a light switch or something?" he asked.
He heard two claps behind him, causing dozens of torches to light up in a long corridor in front of them. Kakashi swore silently as he felt a burn in his eyes at the sudden light.
Blinking rapidly he watched as Konan stood in front of him and indicated to the path ahead.
"A bit dramatic, isn't it?"
It was slight, but Kakashi could see a slight annoyance in her expression, though it was only for a second.
"Follow me."
Saying nothing more, Kakashi followed the robed woman, having no idea what to expect.
oOoOoOo
After ten minutes Kakashi had to admit he was becoming suspicious that Konan was just leading him around in circles. The building she had taken him into wasn't that big, but the torches seemed to be almost endless.
"Hey…"
"We are almost there," said Konan. She pointed to the area in front of them, "He's just through there."
"Just what am I…"
Kakashi swore as he slammed into an invisible wall, holding his face painfully. He looked over at Konan with a tired look, "You enjoyed that, didn't you?"
Walking past him, Konan placed her hand on the invisible wall, "I don't know what you are talking about."
The air shivered before transforming into a large steel door. Konan tilted her head and ran through a quick set of handseals before placing her hand in the middle of the steel.
"Place your hand on the door. If I don't register you, it'll kill you."
Kakashi followed her instructions, and after a few seconds he felt a small amount of chakra flow into the door before it opened slowly. "Your security is impressive. There are no other ways to get in here?"
"There are. But this is the simplest route."
Konan walked through the doorway, as Kakashi nearly took a double-take at what he saw inside.
The room was brightly lit, though he couldn't see where they could possibly be coming from. But it was the single figure in the room that drew his attention.
A skinny red haired man was hanging against the back wall, with a dozen poles attaching him through his back. His skin seemed to be barely hanging off his bones, and by his heavy breathing Kakashi could see that he was in terrible pain.
But the biggest surprise was the pair of circular eyes that were staring at him.
"You have the Rinnegan…" he said with surprise.
Konan indicated to the man, "This is our leader."
"He's…not what I expected."
The man chuckled, though it looked painful when his shoulders bobbed up and down. "You speak your mind, Hatake Kakashi. It would seem the rumours about you are mostly true."
"Mostly?" asked the Jounin with a raised eyebrow.
A near-skeletal hand arose beside the man's side, pointing to Kakashi's face. "Your nickname, Sharingan Kakashi, seems an inaccurate description."
Kakashi felt at his slashed eye, understanding that his two eyes were of a slightly different colour of black, as well as Obito's eye being back to its regular state. "A lot has happened, since the destruction of my village."
"Konan had informed me of your presence in my village. She believes that you were part of the group that caused the destruction of Akatsuki."
"Did she? Well I guess that's true. Though I only fought Deidara, in the defence of Naruto."
The red haired man shook his head and pulled himself up slightly, "You don't have to explain yourself…Kakashi…"
He coughed several times, with blood coming down his front. Konan immediately produced a cloth and wiped his mouth, "Do you need anything?"
"I'm fine, Konan. Thank you."
"This is the friend you were talking about. The one that was dying?"
She nodded, stepping back slightly so that the two men could talk face to face. "This is Nagato. The leader of Akatsuki and the leader of Amegakure."
Kakashi's eyes narrowed as he looked over the leader's body. With the Rinnegan he was sure he could do a few things, but it looked like he could break apart with a soft wind.
He turned to Konan, "You seem to be taking a risk, bringing me here. Weren't you just trying to kill me?"
"The circumstances have changed," she said with a straight expression. There was no evidence of her previous anger at all, though the sadness was still hanging in her amber eyes.
"I trust Konan's judgement," said Nagato. "Besides, at this distance I could kill you with little effort."
He'd only heard rumours of the Rinnegan's abilities, but the serious look in his eyes told Kakashi that he wasn't joking. "Why did you bring me here then, Konan?"
"I wanted you to see what your actions have wrought," said the blue haired woman.
"Konan, that's enough. I have made peace with my lot, and I do not blame Kakashi for Itachi's actions." It was difficult to see, but Kakashi sensed a deep bond between the two Amegakure shinobi, one that was clearly being strained.
"Itachi told me that the leader of Akatsuki was only known as Pain, and that he had the Rinnegan same as you. But I'm not sure how us destroying your ability to extract the tailed beasts has put you in such a position."
Nagato turned his head slightly to face Konan, "The fifth group has returned, Konan. I need you to debrief them."
The Akatsuki member shook her head, "I'm not leaving your side, Nagato. My paper clone can handle the debriefings."
"Konan, if you are going to lead, you need to show your real face to the people. They need to trust you, as they did Yahiko."
She gave him a steely glare, but nodded her understanding and disappeared into a whirlwind of paper sheets, flying back down the corridor to the entrance.
Kakashi watched her leave before turning back to Nagato, "You shouldn't exclude her like that."
"I think I know Konan better than you do, Kakashi."
"With respect, I don't think you understand what she is going through. You are clearly important to her, and she cannot do anything about your condition."
Nagato stared at him with his circular eyes for a few seconds before staring back down at the ground. He was clearly uncomfortable in his state, but Kakashi couldn't see a way of taking him down without killing him.
"Perhaps you are right. I just…don't want her to see me like this for much longer."
Kakashi crossed his arms and looked around the room, dragging a nearby chair so that he didn't have to stand the whole time. "How did you get like that?"
"It's a long story. Years ago, I was forced to attach myself to a chakra statue called the Gedou Mazou…"
"…which was destroyed when you extracted the Kyuubi," finished Kakashi.
"Yes. Since that time, over a year ago, I've been slowly dying from chakra leaking out of me. I don't have much time left."
"Why are you telling me this?" asked Kakashi. "Am I not your enemy?"
The red haired leader stared at him, with the cuts on his mouth shining in the light. "If you were truly our enemy, Konan would have killed you at the lake. The fact that you were able to talk her down has me intrigued."
"I only said what I felt," replied Kakashi. It was true, he felt he understood Konan better than most purely because of their mutual circumstances, but he also knew that if they were pitted against each other again then he would struggle to survive.
Nagato's head titled slightly as his eyes unfocused. He began muttering under his breath, which caused Kakashi a great deal of confusion.
"Something wrong?" he asked.
The Akatsuki leader put up a hand for quiet while he continued muttering. After a minute he looked back up at Kakashi with an exhausted gaze. "My apologies. In my state, I am forced to use proxies to defend our village."
"Proxies?"
"My Rinnegan allows me to reanimate bodies to use for my own purposes. Each use is shortening the time I have left, but I must defend my people and my village."
He placed his hands at his side, allowing Kakashi to see that the black poles were also attached to his arms. "I would like to propose an alliance, Hatake Kakashi."
Kakashi frowned; he hadn't expected something like that. "Everyone I know is dead. People tend to die around me, Nagato. I don't think you want someone like me in your village."
"My eyes see many things, Kakashi. I understand your pain better than you give me credit for. This is a harsh world, one that I will not be around to see. This village is to be left to Konan, who I trust completely with its survival."
"So why do you want me?"
Nagato stared into his dark eyes directly, showing Kakashi the same determination he used to see in Gai's eyes before he made one his personal rules.
"To ensure her survival."
Sitting on the ledge at the top of the building, Kakashi watched the rain pouring onto the city. He'd never thought he'd stumbled on Amegakure when he'd first arrived in the drenched city, but after a few days he figured it was an appropriate name for the village.
He felt a presence behind him, but he didn't turn around as Konan stood beside him in her Akatsuki robe.
"Enjoying the view?"
Kakashi smiled, placing a hand over his knee. "Does it ever stop raining here?"
Konan considered it for a few minutes before sitting down beside him, swinging her legs over the edge. "Only when Nagato stops it. He's able to use the rain to detect any intruders in our village."
"You didn't stop me from entering," observed Kakashi.
"I asked him about that. He said that he didn't perceive you as a threat, so he let you pass."
"He has a surprising amount of control over the village."
She nodded in agreement, watching as a group of Rain shinobi practised techniques near the edge of the village. "He watches over us. To us, he is a God."
"And you are his Angel," commented Kakashi with a sly grin.
Konan didn't change her expression, but the slight look away told Kakashi a library of information. "You heard about that?" she asked quietly.
"In a village without intruders, your people are fairly loose-lipped. When you appear to people with large wings, it isn't hard to see why they call you God's Angel."
Konan pulled up her legs towards her chest, collecting her robe so that it didn't crease. "A necessary illusion."
"What I don't understand is how people in that bar didn't recognise you as God's Angel. You have quite a striking appearance, to say the least."
She turned to him, staring at the side of his face with interest. "Nice timing with the compliment."
"Thank you. I thought it was quite subtle myself," said Kakashi with a slight grin. He rarely flirted and he wasn't sure how he felt about the blue haired woman, but it wasn't something he'd felt for over a decade.
It was attachment, and that scared the hell out of him.
"To answer your question, if I'm in casual clothes, without my robe, my wings or the flower in my hair, they don't recognise me as the Angel. It lets me relax…from time to time."
"Makes sense. I guess even someone like you needs a break occasionally."
She nodded and turned back to watch the rain. "This is my favourite spot in the village. When I'm sitting here…I guess it's easier to deal with."
They sat quietly for several minutes, both simply watching the rain. Kakashi had been lamenting the loss of his only Icha Icha book that he had destroyed in a moment of frustration, and now more than ever he felt like he could use the distraction.
"What did Nagato ask you to do?" asked Konan, breaking the silence.
He looked at her, wondering if his mouth was giving away his emotions, since he never had to hide them behind his mask. "A few things."
"He mentioned you might be joining us," said Konan, giving away nothing to Kakashi.
"I don't know. I don't have anything else to do, I suppose." He looked away towards the sky, spying a tiny gap in the clouds, though he knew the sunlight wouldn't actually pierce through to the city unless the leader required it so.
"What happened to your companions?"
"I'd say it's a long story, but it's really not. Over a month ago I was separated from my companions through a strange enemy's ability."
"And you believe they didn't survive?"
He sighed and produced a small pair of bells, fingering them through his plated gloves. "The only reason I survived was because I was very lucky. Normally I wouldn't give up hope…but it's been a month…"
"And no luck finding them? We have trackers here, if you prove useful to us."
Kakashi could hear a slight bitterness in her voice, but he didn't comment on it. "I may not look it, but I am a tracking specialist. My canine summons can track almost anyone…but I they only knew two smells beside my own without that person's possessions on hand."
He smiled to himself when he thought about the last time he had summoned Pakkun in an attempt to find the others. The dog was stubborn, but sometimes things were not meant to work out the way he wanted them to.
He clutched the bells in his hands. "My friend Gai was killed in our battle with your organisation. The only other scent my canines knew was my student Naruto's. A strange mixture of ramen and body odour apparently."
"Sounds like an interesting boy," said Konan with a slight amusement in her voice.
"You could say that. Anyway, apparently his scent wasn't able to be detected anywhere in the continent. That could only happen if he was buried in the ground, or destroyed completely. I tried to find the others…but I've given up. They are gone, and there is nothing that can bring them back."
Konan didn't know what to say in response, so she just sat quietly beside him.
Kakashi placed his bells back into his pocket, standing up with a groan. He stretched his arms and looked down at her. "Sorry to get like that. It's been a long time since I've been open with someone, and since there is no-one left, well…"
"I understand," said Konan, standing up beside him.
He noted that despite being shorter and younger than him, Konan had a presence of confidence that reminded him of Gai for some unexplainable reason.
A sound behind them caused them both to turn around, though while Kakashi was on edge, Konan had been expecting it. Walking out of the shadows was a tall man in an Akatsuki robe, a long orange ponytail down to his side.
"There is a problem," said the man.
Kakashi frowned as he recognised the Rinnegan in the man's eyes, until it clicked and he understood what was going on. "You are one of Nagato's proxies."
The orange haired man stared at Kakashi with a dead expression, making the Jounin wonder if there was any life at all behind those eyes.
"When you are in the village, you are required to call these forms Pain, or God. Is that understood?"
Kakashi frowned at its tone, but understood why. "A morality thing, of course. I haven't made a decision yet…Pain."
The proxy body cocked its head to the side, its ponytail falling to its front. "Regardless, that is not why I am here."
It turned to Konan, "The Asura Path has detected a small group moving towards the village at a fast pace. My…abilities are lessened every day. Konan, I cannot conduct this defence."
She nodded her understanding, placing a hand on the proxy's shoulder. "Drop the bodies, Nagato. You need to save your strength."
"I will do…" the body's voice trailed off when its Rinnegan was stared down by her amber eyes. "Find those attackers, Konan. When you return, we will begin…"
"I understand," finished Konan.
A pair of paper wings sprouted from her shoulders over her robe, as the Pain stepped back into the shadows. She turned to Kakashi with a raised eyebrow.
"Would you like to come along? You said you had nothing better to do."
Kakashi thought about it, weighing up his options. With his companions gone, the silver haired Jounin figured he had nothing better to do.
Better to die with some excitement than drunk in some seedy bar.
"I'm not committing to anything, but it couldn't hurt to have a look."
A serious person by nature, Konan wasn't one to show emotion, but Kakashi could clearly see that she was glad for his company.
A tough woman to crack, evidently.
He looked over at her wings, impressed by the level of detail in such a technique. "Unfortunately, I can't fly, Konan."
She walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Despite himself, Kakashi felt a shiver go up his spine, and suddenly he felt like he was back in her apartment. He smirked to himself, but hid it quickly before she could see it as two large paper wings grew on his back.
He looked back with suspicion, he'd flown once before. It hadn't ended well.
"Am I supposed to flap my arms?"
Konan gave him a tired look and ran off the ledge, her wings holding her high in the sky as she flew towards the edges of the city.
Kakashi crossed his arms with a long drawn breath. "Well, I can't really do that, can I?"
He was quickly proven wrong as the paper wings on his back flapped several times, lifting him up from the ledge before throwing him towards the ground.
Feeling sick from the rapid spinning, Kakashi resisted the urge to curse his circumstances as the wings directed him to follow Konan's path.
I could have run there…oh god…
By the time the wings dumped him on the floor, Kakashi wasn't regretting his choice to not wear his mask anymore. After picking himself up from the ground and wiping his mouth, he looked up to see Konan standing on the top of a hill with her wings falling apart into a small whirlwind of paper sheets.
"Never…again…"
"Did you say something?" she asked, turning her head slightly.
He groaned and shook his head, "No…nothing."
Making his way to stand beside her he looked over the area, smiling as he felt the sun on his face. "It's nice to be out of that rain for a change," he commented absentmindedly.
Konan ignored him and indicated to the area below them. Sitting in a small circle were four shinobi wearing the same colours that the Amegakure shinobi wore, all pointing to a small map between them.
"They look like yours," said Kakashi.
"They aren't. I know everyone in our village, and they are not ours."
Kakashi focused his eyes, spreading his chakra out in an attempt to alleviate one of his concerns. Without his Sharingan his sensing abilities were limited, but it wasn't hard to figure out what the intruders were.
"They don't have any chakra…"
Konan began collecting large amounts of paper sheets around her arms, "We should capture and interrogate them. Are you coming?"
He nodded and placed his hands together into a handseal. From his battle with her the previous day, he had learnt that his stamina had increased immensely without his Sharingan constantly draining him, meaning he could use many of the techniques he had copied.
Beside him Konan didn't waste a moment disappearing into her whirlwind of paper, floating down to the intruders. Kakashi could see the intruders already reacting to her presence, which in turn caused him to activate a technique from his library.
He placed his hands towards the sun, activating a technique he'd once copied from a shinobi during his ANBU days.
"Taiyou Furea!" (Solar Flare)
A bright light shone down on top of the intruders, forcing them to cover their eyes to prevent being blinded. In turn Kakashi had to cover his eyes, though he was used to fighting without much vision.
Using his other senses, Kakashi leapt down and blinked his eyes rapidly to clear his vision while ensuring his defences were intact.
"That was unnecessary, Kakashi."
His vision cleared and he saw Konan standing over the fallen intruders. They were covered completely in cocoons made of paper, and didn't seem to be struggling at all.
"That would seem like a dangerous technique to use," she said with an amused gaze.
Kakashi rubbed at his eyes and stared back at her, "It has its uses. Besides, I thought you could use the cover."
She looked down at the bodies, noting that in their distracted state it had been easier to take them down. Konan was a specialist when it came to capture and interrogation, but that didn't mean she didn't appreciate his intervention.
She leaned down beside one of the intruders and went to begin the interrogation, but hesitated when she felt a strange presence a short distance away.
"Can you feel that?" she asked Kakashi at a whisper.
The Konoha Jounin nodded and pulled out a kunai, "Stay here and do what you have to do. I'll take care of it."
"Are you sure?"
He grinned at her and stood up slowly, "We each have our roles, Konan. Besides, I need the exercise."
She nodded to let him go and began to peel away the paper on the first body's mouth.
Kakashi leapt towards the strange discrepancy, unsure what to make the feeling going through his body at the time.
He skidded to a halt along the grassy ground when he saw a single figure waiting for him. It was clearly female, though she resembled a certain warrior that he hadn't been able to get out of his head. She wore shining white armour covered in gold and jewels, which seemed inhibitive to actual combat, though by the way she moved in it Kakashi could tell she was a warrior of some description.
"Who are you?"
The girl stared at him with a stare of pure ice blue, "The last Konoha shinobi? How…unexpected."
Kakashi gripped his kunai tightly, "Where did you send my friends?"
"Ah, you seem to have misunderstood what my master accomplished. Your companions were of no further use to us, so we disposed of them." Her voice had an uncanny sharpness to it, but Kakashi no longer cared who or what she was.
In a swift motion he jumped forward and tried to drive his kunai into her neck, using chakra to increase the strength of the blow.
The girl immediately had a long sword up to block it, a grin growing across her face. "You shinobi are so predictable."
A clone of Kakashi slowly rose from the ground behind her, pulling back a kunai to strike at the back of her neck. "Not as predictable as you might think."
In a movement that would have made Gai blush, the warrior pushed back the original's attack and kicked him in the chin to drive him back. In the same movement she produced a second sword and spun around, slicing straight through the middle of the clone, forcing it to disperse into its original mud state.
Letting out a painful groan, Kakashi clutched at his chin painfully. He couldn't sense any chakra from her, but her movements were the equivalent of some of the best taijutsu he'd seen.
"So you were the original? Damn shinobi and your clones." She began twirling her swords threateningly and walked towards him.
Sensing the danger in a close combat fight, Kakashi jumped back while running through a quick set of handseals. He aimed his final handseal towards her and fuelled his chakra through the technique.
"Raiton: Rairyuudan no Jutsu!" (Lightning Element: Lightning Dragon Bullet Technique)
A massive dragon made entirely of lightning chakra flew out of his hands and slammed straight into the girl's chest. She didn't even flinch as the thundering sound threatened to fry her within her armour.
Being a cautious person, Kakashi didn't drop his guard as the smoke from the technique began to clear, which was evidently a smart move as he ducked to the ground and rolled to the side to avoid being decapitated by her two swords.
Jumping back to his feet, Kakashi frowned when he saw that there wasn't a mark on her.
She didn't dodge it, I was watching. Either her armour can absorb chakra attacks like those Snow shinobi from years ago, or something else is going on here.
Pulling out a second kunai, Kakashi breathed out slowly to steady himself. The warrior gave him a wild grin and charged towards him, spinning her swords with masterful skill.
They met with a loud clash, with both her swords being blocked by his kunai. If he'd had his Sharingan, Kakashi would have easily been able to overwhelm her moves by copying them, but since he didn't have it the Konoha Jounin had to fight in a different manner.
The girl tried to kick at his side, but Kakashi blocked it with his knee and bit at his lip, letting blood fall down his face. The two of them broke apart from their clash and the girl readied her weapons for another attack.
However before she could jump towards him, Kakashi ran through a set of handseals and slammed his hand on the ground after wiping at the blood on his face. Initially nothing happened, so Kakashi stood back up and recovered his kunai, holding them in his hands.
Forcing himself to go on the offensive, Kakashi slashed at the warrior's face with one his kunai, which was easily parried away by her sword. She tried to strike at his chest, but Kakashi blocked the strike and used the momentum to flick a kunai into her face.
She was able to move her head out of the way for the most part, though the metal still slide across her cheek and left a long cut along her skin. The warrior snarled and gently touched her face with one of her hands, feeling the moist liquid running down her armoured hand.
"You bastard! I'll kill you!"
Kakashi didn't respond, clapping his hands together and watching as the ground beneath her began to rumble. She looked down with a surprised look on her face, but before she could react several creatures jumped out of the ground and bit at her legs, clamping their teeth onto her armour.
The dogs that bit into her armour immediately disappeared into puffs of smoke, but three of the dogs bit into the gaps near her ankles and held on tight, keeping her stuck in the ground as she let out a cry of pain.
She raised her swords up to try and cut the dogs down, but Kakashi was already in front of her with his plan having come to fruition. He drove a pair of kunai into the front of her elbows before reaching up and slapping a paper tag onto her forehead.
Jumping back, he put up his hand and activated the technique, setting off the explosion and destroying everything within a few metres of the blast.
Kakashi watched as the smoke cleared, feeling a little disappointed that it hadn't lasted longer. "I guess that armour was the thing that made her so dangerous. Too bad."
I'll apologise to the dogs another time. I'm sure she didn't taste good.
Jogging back to where they had immobilised the intruders, he saw Konan placing explosion notes on the bodies. She finished with the last one and turned to him with a raised eyebrow.
He smiled to her and wiped away the blood from his chin, "All clear. Did you find anything out?"
Walking towards him she shook her head, not flinching as the bodies behind her exploded, destroying all evidence that they were there. "Nothing useful. They weren't given any instructions, or directions apparently."
Kakashi sighed and put a hand on his hip, "That makes no sense. But I guess it doesn't matter. Do we go back?"
"Yes." She waved her hands and began to create a pair of wings on her back.
Kakashi took a step back with his hands up, "If it's alright with you, I think I'll walk."
She looked at him curiously for a few seconds before dissipating her wings and rubbing at her shoulder, "That's not a bad idea. Let's go."
"Ah, before we go. Are we going to talk about the other night?"
Turning back to him, Konan gave him her usual amber-filled stare. "What is there to talk about?"
"Well about…"
She cut him off by letting out a slow breath and putting up one of her hands. "I have a lot on my mind, Kakashi. Perhaps when this is all over…we can talk."
With that she began walking back to the village, her hands by her sides as her hair was slowly drying in the sun.
Kakashi watched her walk away, once again wondering what kind of woman he had become acquainted with. He wasn't sure what else to do, but the voice in the back of his mind told him that following her was the best thing he could do at the time.
Besides, he didn't mind the rain that much.
Author's Note:
I love Konan as a character. Not because she's a badass or anything, though she is. It's because I understand what she went through, and her motivations. I believe she's about as close as Kishimoto has come to making a properly realised female character in Naruto.
I reckon my reasoning for Kakashi wearing his mask is pretty on the money, though I can almost guarantee that it will never truly be explained in the manga. People like mystery. And as Obito proved, hype something up too much, and nobody will like the result.
I may have totally copped out when it came to the Solar Flare…but…I have no excuse, I just wanted to do it at least once.
Next will be a Bonus Chapter. And it is totally pandering. And that makes it awesome.
Please review and tell me what you think. I try to reply to each review, and believe me I read them all. Tell me what can be improved, what you liked, what you didn't, everything. I'm a writer so I'm always open to criticism.