Chapter Eight: Walk Away

Kakashi visited Rin and Obito's grave for the first time in days.

He'd been making the preparations, doing the research he needed to see if his plan was doable. Between this, he'd been spending time with Anko and Guy and found himself oddly lightened. As long as Rin and Obito's deaths were his fault, he could hardly function.

But now, now they were Minato's fault.

That meant that Kakashi had something to work for. The rage he felt was controlled, and he could direct it. Direct it into eating dumplings with Guy and Anko, with saying hello to some of his, well, former friends. Everyone said he'd seemed much better.

And not one member of the ANBU had been following him.

"Minato isn't keeping me controlled," mused Kakashi. "He must really think I'm nothing but his puppet. Well, good. It'll be a nasty shock for him."

Kakashi walked and, as he did, contemplated that this plan might not work. Also, he contemplated the risks involved to himself and innocent civilians. Kakashi quickly dismissed the civilians; they weren't on his team, after all. He'd been willing to forsake their interests to save Rin, so this was much the same.

Everyone had taught him that much. That anyone who disobeyed orders or sacrificed the village for themselves was scum. Kakashi's Father had been a hero to the village, one of the strongest. And he'd been driven to suicide because he abandoned a mission to save his comrades. Kakashi had experienced the same treatment as 'Friendkiller,' but he'd been too dead to care.

His entire childhood had been spent being turned into the perfect weapon. He'd sought to become the perfect weapon to please Minato-sensei. And he'd done it.

But once Kakashi had done it, he was finished.

A blacksmith did not concern himself with a sword once it was complete, save to sell it. Kakashi had been forged and sold to the ANBU. And he was still a weapon; he'd just become aware of the fact.

That was why Kakashi was here. Walking down black stairs in an underground base. The dripping of water could be heard, and he thought to himself, "Once I do this, there is no going back for me."

Kakashi halted for a moment. He could still walk away here, walk back and have a career. Already the glares of the village were dying down, now that he was a bit more human. He'd been enjoying himself on leave. Perhaps, even without Minato, Kakashi could save his reputation and become a hero of the Leaf.

And perhaps Minato and Kushina would care about him again.

No, pretend to care about him, for Minato, Minato did not care about anyone. And for Kushina, it would be establishing a bond. One that had not existed before at all.

But then Kakashi asked, "Why do I care about the village?"

Kakashi thought about how Sakumo Hatake had been found, having committed suicide. This after facing months of humiliation and ridicule by friends and villages alike. And for what? Trying to save his friends? Even if the mission had been important, shouldn't someone have understood?

But he was a weapon.

Kakashi remembered the sight of his Father's lifeless corpse. He'd been lying in his room with a blade through him. It had broken him, broken something inside him, and broken him worse to hear the apathy of those around him. Kakashi had vowed to remove the dishonor, to become the perfect shinobi. And Minato had played to that desire.

Except Obito and Rin had stopped it.

After that incident, Rin got put on a different squad and taken by Mist Shinobi.

Kakashi had read some theories of how to train a Shinobi. One such theory was to get a Shinobi to project their own humanity onto a person or a friend. And, when that person was taken from them, the shinobi would lose his weaknesses. He would become the ultimate pragmatist, cold but not cruel. Reasonable, but never weak. Deadly, but only when necessary.

It was the ideal of Tobirama, the Second Hokage.

Had Minato-sensei read his writings? It seemed possible, even likely, but Kakashi did not know. And he wondered if Rin and Obito had not been put in such danger solely to kill Kakashi's humanity. To drive him to the point where he would become the ultimate weapon.

It had worked.

Kakashi did not care about anything but the mission. He enjoyed the company of his friends, but their lives did not matter to him. It was why he had spoken to no one save Guy for so long. He realized he did not have any reluctance in seeing the Leaf burn.

Not if his mission did not have the Leaf as a priority.

His home meant nothing to him; his friends meant nothing to him. Only the mission mattered.

So why was Kakashi here?

Because he was a weapon.

But he wasn't Minato's weapon.

Kakashi was the weapon of Rin and Obito. As long as he thought they'd want him to serve Minato-sensei, he had done so. Now, however, he did not know what they would have wanted. Rin had leaped in front of his Chidori to save the Leaf. But would she have done it if she'd known what Kakashi had known?

They were dead.

Rin and Obito were both dead and forgotten. The Uchiha Clan had hardly even cared that Obito died. What they cared about what Obito giving his eye to Kakashi. Minato's influence had stopped Kakashi from losing it. But if Minato died, they want it back?

Rin and Obito would not have wanted Kakashi to destroy the Leaf.

However, they would have wanted Kakashi to avenge them. Kakashi had been forced to go AWOL to save Rin; Minato had done nothing. So, Kakashi's mission was to avenge them.

But Kakashi was not strong enough to kill Minato on his own. And Rin and Obito would not have wanted Kakashi to die a traitor. So, Kakashi must ensure that Minato died through more creative methods. One that would leave his own hands clean.

Everyone else was just a casualty. Necessary collateral to ensure the mission was complete.

Kakashi walked the rest of the way down.

He found Orochimaru dissecting a deer with an obvious look of joy on his face. His knife was slicing through the creature. Kakashi wondered why he was doing it?

"Oh this," said Orochimaru. "I'm testing how animals react to certain chemicals. A side project, if you will. I'm afraid your sensei has cut my funding a great deal.

"So, what brings you to my humble about?"

"My apologies for the interruption, Orochimaru," said Kakashi. "Would you like to be involved in a plot to destroy the Leaf Village, kill Minato and his wife? And possibly ruin the life of their unborn child if we don't kill him?"

Orochimaru looked up. "Hmm, yes, sure. Why not?

"When were you thinking?"

"That's something of a variable," said Kakashi. "Minato's wife is the Nine-tails Jinchuuriki. And she is due to give birth soon."

Orochimaru did a double-take. "...You're serious?"

"I'm not very good at making jokes, Orochimaru," said Kakashi. "It's an art I have no skill in." If Orochimaru did report him, he'd just deny it.

"You plan to extract the Nine-tailed Fox and unleash it on the village?" asked Orochimaru. "I must admit Kakashi, I thought I had you figured. But from the looks of things, you're far more entertaining than I expected."

"Are you interested or not?" asked Kakashi.

Orochimaru considered it. "...We're alike in one regard.

"Both our senseis betrayed us, after a fashion. Sarutobi declared Minato his successor so he could have a nice little puppet. He knew my dream and shattered it simply because he didn't like the details of my plans.

"The Leaf could have been made so strong.

"But tell me, Kakashi, what precisely do you plan?"

Kakashi paused. No going back after this. "When Kushina gives birth, I will take care of the ANBU guarding her. Once done, we take Naruto Uzumaki hostage. We use him as leverage to get access to Kushina and get the nine-tails out."

"You know his name?" asked Orochimaru.

"They plan to name their first son after a character from Jiraiya the Toad Sages novels," said Kakashi. "I learned that from his maid." Not that the maid remembered. "She knew and not me."

One more thing Kakashi had never heard.

"Well, Minato is a sociopath, so that's only natural," said Orochimaru. "I'm surprised you didn't figure it out before now. So, we take Naruto hostage. What then?"

"We have a chat with the nine-tails," said Kakashi. "It was recorded as intelligent. I doubt it will take much persuading to wreck the Hidden Leaf Village. While it is rampaging around, we will kill Minato. Lord Third will almost certainly reseal it."

"Meaning that Sarutobi dies, Minato dies, Kushina dies, the Leaf gets wrecked. And I am the only possible choice for Hokage," said Orochimaru. "Are you sure you want to do this, Kakashi?"

"I'm an empty shell, Orochimaru," said Kakashi, feeling nothing. "The only thing that has been keeping me sane is Obito's will. And I just found out that Minato deliberately got my team killed to advance his political career.

"The only thing I'm feeling right now is absolute, unyielding rage. And it's a very cold kind."

"And what happens if I decide to report this?" asked Orochimaru.

"You know what happens," said Kakashi.

Orochimaru smiled. "Well, as entertaining as such a showdown might be, I think I like your plan better. Let's do it.

"Then, we'll make our plans."

And then Anko walked down the stairs carrying a boxed lunch. "Alright, Orochimaru-sensei, I've got the ramen you requested. I don't see why-" She paused. "What are you doing here, Kakashi?"

"Oh, I was looking for you," said Kakashi. "I guess I got here ahead of time." It was a flat-out lie, but Kakashi was surprised how easy it was to tell. Anko looked flattered by it and ended up stammering a bit while handing her burden over to Orochimaru.

"Well, so um, why were you-" Anko shifted.

"Actually, Anko, not to interrupt," said Orochimaru. "I actually was hoping to get your cooperation. There are certain ingredients I need for my experiments.

"It could take you out of the area for a while. Would you be interested?"

"Yes! Yes, I would!" said Anko.

Hook, line, sinker.

The plans were made.

Kakashi got back to the Leaf and did not find ANBU waiting for him. It was... hurtful. Kakashi would have preferred it if he had to outwit Minato's ANBU. It would have meant that Kakashi had been a human being to him. Capable of independent thought, but Kakashi was just a puppet.

It had never even entered into Minato's mind that Kakashi could betray him, let alone if he would. If it had, Minato would have done something. Someone as smart as Minato would have known that his actions were a bad idea. Kakashi had been in the middle of a mental breakdown, only to be betrayed by the only bonds he had left.

But you didn't apologize to your broken tools when you threw them away.

Still, Kakashi had some... nostalgia for this place with all the buildings. He decided that if Minato acknowledged him in any way, he'd call the whole thing off. Kakashi could pass his visit to Orochimaru off as a secret test of character. He could tell Minato Orochimaru was one to watch.

But, no one checked him at the gate.

Kakashi saw no sign of any guards or people tailing him. He got the same uneasy glances, though fewer of them. Eventually, he went to a park and sat down at a bench, looking around. Privately, he hoped someone would prove him wrong. "...Such a nice day.

"This place is going to be in ashes in a few weeks. Shouldn't I feel something about this?"

After a moment, however, Kakashi caught sight of Minato. He and Kushina were walking together in the park. Kakashi pretended not to see them as he read a book.

Minato spoke with Kushina privately and subtly maneuvered to avoid him.

Well, that was the last bridge burned.

If Minato thought he could kill Kakashi's friends and then abandon him, he was wrong. Kakashi was going to do it now, or at least try. Because the alternative was to admit that Minato was right. That he was nothing more than a weapon whose loyalty could be bought with an empty smile.

Still, this book was not all that interesting. The motivations for the protagonists having sex was paper-thin. Kakashi was also fairly certain tearing off a woman's clothes was not that easy. He didn't really buy it was as simple as raping someone. Kakashi's mind wasn't completely broken despite years of trauma.

This book didn't seem very realistic.

Decent art, though.

Kakashi decided to do something else.

"...Well, this whole village is about to get wrecked," said Kakashi. "So I may as well enjoy it while I can." Seeing Kurenai and Asuma speaking together, he moved forward. Asuma had begun growing hints of a beard while Kurenai was wearing her hair long. "Excuse me, mind if I sit here."

"Oh, Kakashi, you're here," said Asuma. "You uh... don't usually sit with us."

"Well, I figure I ought to have done this a while ago," said Kakashi. ""Minato-sensei recommended I try to get to know people a bit better, and you have been offering. So, why not accept.

"The offer is still open, isn't it?"

"Well, yes," said Kurenai. "You seem... chipper."

"Oh come on, Kurenai, what makes you think I'm chipper?" asked Kakashi, smiling.

Silence.

"...Alright, fine, a recent experience made me realize I'd wasted a lot of time chasing stuff. Unattainable stuff," said Kakashi. "So, I figure the world could end any time, so I might as well enjoy it while it's here."

"That makes sense to me," said Asuma. "And since you're so filled with youthful exuberance, how about you buy us all the next round?"

It was a great deal of fun.

Kakashi, of course, drank his with a straw to keep his mask on. It was a great deal of entertainment value, and Kakashi did not regret it. But, neither did he stop as he walked out of it. "...Well, my wallets a lot emptier. Still, that was... fun.

"I think I've missed out on a lot."

"Did you hear, they say Kushina Uzumaki is going into labor soon? The Hokage will have a son this very night!" said someone.

Kakashi smiled a different kind of smile. "Well, I guess that's my cue.

"Time to kidnap sensei's son, slaughter his wife, and destroy the Leaf.

"Hmm, having no morals is a surprisingly uplifting experience. I feel great.

"Still, I've probably got a bit of time." He saw Guy walking up. "Hey, Guy. I'll race you on my hands to my apartment."

Guy smiled. "You bet, Kakashi! I shall demonstrate to you the youthful exuberance I have amassed!" Then he hesitated. "Um... what's going on?"

"Oh, just trying to take advantage of my leave," said Kakashi.

Tonight, Minato died, and his Leaf Village died with him. Though he'd probably better do something to make sure Guy and the others survived. If Kakashi didn't know them, though, he didn't care.