Hello everyone! I know a lot of you were probably looking forward to a new chapter in "A Forest Among Trees" but inspiration is lacking at the moment. So I did what I always do whenever apathy strikes and that is read amazing works done by others much more talented than myself. If you love MHA and Kakashi, "Victory Series" on AO3 by ewfte is a must-read. After finishing that, I hammered out this piece in just a day so there are probably tons of grammar/ spelling/ plot holes in this. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this and let me know if you like it or not. If this doesn't do well, I'll scrap the idea and turn it into a one-shot.
I don't own Naruto or RWBY, if I did, I wouldn't be failing college at the moment. Also, if I am told that this violates any copyright laws or plagiarism, I'll take it down.
Kakashi gasps as he feels conscious thought after what feels like years of sleep. His chest tightens as he tries to push chakra through his system in order to drive off the lethargic sensation that's been permeating his muscles. He frowns when the familiar warmth fails to react and fear begins to pound in his chest and flashes of memory fly past his eyes.
He remembers his team, his failure, how the prodigy he sought desperately to shape into his own image deserted everything he sought to teach him, and the legacy of his second father and mother acquired the strength to protect his nation without hate or revenge in his eyes. He feels the shame of never focusing on Sakura, forcing a child who had never known war to rush into one and drive herself to near chakra exhaustion every day as she pulled soldiers from the brink of death and at the same time stood strong against the nightmare of Madara Uchiha.
He remembers his ninken, and his first team, he remembers Rin scolding him and laughing as her chakra pooled through his arm after experimentation with Chidori left lightning bolt scars rippling through his arm. He remembers bantering with Obito and being yelled at for being constantly late to meetings and the irritation of watching Obito refuse help after failing to walk up trees. He remembers his Sharingan blazing into the Mangekyou as warm blood drips down his arm as he looks at a face that's smiling too easily and calmly saying thank you. He remembers freezing as shock and surprise, and deep regret washes through his system as Obito's scarred face stands in front of him, a single Sharingan spinning with anger as he looks at Kakashi.
He is suddenly jolted from his memories as a white light washes over him and everything goes dark.
He wakes up again and realizes something is deeply wrong. He looks up at the face of a mother in a hospital gown (how he knows it's a mother he cannot say), with hair that's too white and a smile too innocent for a kunoichi. He hears her say something but doesn't understand as a man leans over with a smiling face as they both look down at him. He tries to move but can't as delicate arms and soft blankets hug his body and restrain him. He starts to hyperventilate, not realizing until too late that his body is too small and his strength is non-existent and he can't feel chakra running alongside his veins. He continues to breathe short and choking breaths as his mother looks down on him with worry and love, and too much emotion in her eyes before strong hands take him away and all he can do is try to hold it in before loud sobs and crying that he has no control overspill out of his eyes and from the depths of his being. He cries until his small throat is raw before mental and physical exhaustion overwhelms him and he falls asleep.
He wakes up again and is in the arms of his mother and can feel the movement of traveling in a carriage underneath him, except the carriage is much too smooth but his young mind doesn't process this as he slowly lulls back to sleep but not before hearing his mother speaking again, not catching a word before she looks down and touches her nose to his and says "Weiss."
Years pass and Kakashi finally begins to piece together what has happened to him. He or rather she is named Weiss and is currently the second youngest member of the Schnee family. Somehow she's reincarnated into a second life though he doesn't deserve a second chance. Her father is rich and her mother is absent for reasons that she does not know but will find out. She meets her sister Winter and is amazed at the similarity she shares with her mother even at such a young age. She does not see her brother until a year after his birth and marvels at his pale complexion. She uses her skills honed through countless infiltration missions to easily slip into a fake personality. She follows the plethora of rules expected of someone in her household, constantly sitting with a straight back, memorizing which knife to use or which fork to place, and the correct way to wait for someone to pull out her chair. Her father is eager to show her off and takes her to social gatherings where she puts on a practiced smile and greets men much older than her. Her mother and father don't notice the way her eyes roam a room when entering or the way she positions herself to give her an easy way to escape. They don't see the side of her that pickpockets lien off the fabulously rich members that they invite to their estate, the fascination with books and history that keeps her in the family library for hours at a time, or the way her posture slouches sometimes and her eyes gains a faraway look before snapping back to attention.
At night she has her own room and she is thankful for that as she dreams of a village surrounded by the trees of the First Hokage and her father and team seven. She dreams of failures and regrets and wakes up with an apology caught in her through that she does not have the courage and strength to say. She wakes up in cold sweats and gasping breaths and a pain in her (his) heart and her (his) too small hands covered with blood. She has survived 2 ninja wars and prevented almost a hundred, bled for her village, and mourned for her lost ones. She is both 5 and 45, a child new to this world and a veteran that had led his village as dictator for years.
At an early age, Winter begins to train and she learns of this world's equivalent to shinobi. Hunters and huntresses protect the world from the Grimm, soulless monsters that seek to wipe out humanity and raze the world to ash and salt. She watches as winter unlocks her aura and sees for the first time since she arrived in this world, the power of humanity hidden in their souls. She watches fascinated and intrigued as her sister ignores kicks and punches that hit her before succumbing to her trainer. She watches as she is taught the basics of a swordsmanship style that is far too rigid and finds its flaws even before the lesson is over.
That night she sneaks into her sister's bedroom and asks her to unlock her aura. After taking full advantage of her childlike looks and her decades of practice manipulating others, her sister agrees and after fumbling for the words, presses her hand to her forehead and unlocks her aura. For the first time in a long time, she feels strength and comfortable power rest on her bones and underdeveloped muscles again. She thanks her sister and races back to her room as memories of unlocking chakra threaten to send her into a full blown panic attack that she doesn't need her sister to ask questions about.
The next day she begins to train, her shinobi skills are put to the test after 5 years of stagnation. However, she slips back into the role and moves like a true ninja past the guards surrounding the estate. Surrounding the estate is a large forest, perfectly suitable for her needs. She knows just how much power and wealth her family holds and is confident in her own skills and the money being paid to keep the forest cleared of grimm. Confidence leads to arrogance as she forgets days spent hiding in mud and rain just to gain the slightest advantage on an enemy supply camp. An underdeveloped brain leads to impulsive thinking and she practices in the open, she does pushups and runs until her arms can no longer support her weight and a stinging ache fills her lungs with each breath. She is content and exhausted and knows that there is still much more to do if she wants to reach her old levels of power.
It is when she has finished that they finally make their appearance. A snap of a twig breaks through her meditation and it is only instinct honed through years of paranoia that warns her to roll out of the way of the razor sharp claws that pass through empty air where her neck used to be. A low growl disrupts the silent forest and she whirls around to see the hungry red eyes of a soulless beowolf. An unnatural black body with bony pieces of armor greet her and long curved teeth open to reveal a gaping maw that leaks with drool at the thought of ending her life. She quickly whirls around and finds 2 others silently stepping out of the dark undergrowth like assassins aiming for her life. Adrenaline fills her as she relaxes into a stance common to her old world, she slips into the mind of Kakashi, the prodigy who's gone through countless battles and the copier of a thousand jutsu. She jumps forwards and kicks at the wolf behind her, aiming to stun it at the same time it leaps for her back. A heel clips the beowolf on its chin and it's sent sprawling onto its back from the force. She reaches under her and pulls out the largest kitchen knife that she's strapped to her leg and in the practiced movement throws it through the air and into the exposed neck of the beowolf. With one down, the other two leap at her, claws flashing and teeth bared for her neck. This is when she falters. With the thrill of battle clouding her mind and a memory of when he was the most feared name in the bingo books, he speeds through hand signs and tries to well up the feeling of ignition in her lungs as she blows only air at the two of them. She is sent flying backwards as claws smash into her aura and black spots appear in her vision when she realizes the mistake she has made. She is no longer Kakashi, 6th hokage and sensei to the most powerful team, here she is completely at the mercy of a new world. Panic and fear pound as a panicked heartbeat wash through her, desperately she tries to pull out chakra, and instead finds a different source of power. A cold feeling starts from just below the diaphragm and flows into her hand. And it's as she stands back up that she realizes an icy blue kunai now rests on her palm. Weiss takes one look at the kunai and squashes her fear before sprinting towards the two beowolves who unsteadily back away.
Breathing heavy as two evaporating husks fall onto the ground beside her, she commits one final mistake. Her aura has been depleted and there are scratches and bruising from her short but deadly fight. She relaxes as a fourth beowolf jumps towards her from the forest and she is not fast enough to react. She grins at the irony as the last thing her left eye sees is a long claw coming straight for it.
She returns back to the house to face sobbing and crying from her mother and her father refuses to acknowledge her for the next few days, though she hears the two of them argue when they think she is asleep. She is told the eye is irreplaceable though she's fine with that. A lifetime had already prepared her for this.
Depending on how well this does, I'll post more chapters. So feed me pls! I really don't like the end of this, but I've been awake all night and I just want to feel a sense of accomplishment. I'll change it tomorrow. Night!
Update 8/29/2021: Went back and fixed the ending as well as touched it up a little more to make sure there were no grammar/ spelling errors. If anyone would like to beta read for me, that would be much appreciated. Expect chapter two sometime this week!