Yang Dimension - Blood Hound

Burning, hot rage seared through him. Kakashi was pissed, so pissed that Minato had the audacity to ask something like that from him. What bitter irony that the same man who used him as a scapegoat for his convenience, promptly driving him out of the village, and then spent an entire year hunting him down to collect the bounty on his head now wanted to use him for his own gains.

Again.

There was no fucking way Kakashi was gullible enough to fall for his schemes a second time. His trust in his former sensei was long broken, severed, and shredded into a million pieces. During their confrontation on top of the cliffs, there wasn't even a hint of remorse to be seen from Minato. Kakashi would be damned if he ever did anything for that wretched man again.

It took a couple hours after his visitors left the hospital room for the irrational fury that boiled within him to simmer down. As the coolness set in, rationality seeped back in through the cracks. Kakashi took advantage of the reprieve to assess his current predicament.

Kakashi tried to channel chakra to his right hand to form the Chidori again. Nothing happened. There wasn't even a sputter of the familiar feeling of electricity zapping in the palm of his hands. In fact, Kakashi couldn't seem to feel his chakra beyond the mid-way point of his forearm. Kakashi repeated the same movement with his other arm. The action yielded the same results.

Minato hadn't been lying about his blocked chakra points. Kakashi didn't think he was, the excruciating pain had told him just as much, but he felt the innate urge to test it for himself. With his inability to utilize his hands for any jutsus, Kakashi's options for breaking out of this jail were extremely limited, especially with the numerous seals painted all over the walls.

Earlier, when Kakashi shamed Minato for his flawed seal creation, that had just been out of spite. No matter how much he hated the man, even Kakashi couldn't deny that he was one of the best fuinjutsu masters that Konoha had to offer. Minato did learn from the Uzumaki clan after all.

If escaping wasn't an option, then what was? Sit in this room to rot? Die? Do as Minato requested of him? Kakashi instinctively ridded the last option from his mind, almost as quickly as it popped up in his head.

Something made him pause.

Minato wanted him to become his informant? Aside from the glaring fact that Kakashi didn't have any ties with anyone that Minato would want him to spy on, being an informant meant...freedom. In order for him to accomplish his task, Minato would have to let him go. The seal was only designed to prevent him from attacking Minato and his comrades, wasn't it? There was nothing that would force him to do his bidding.

Another blatant miscalculation on Minato's part. Kakashi wondered if Minato was losing his touch; he usually wasn't this careless.

And he had become Hokage in this kind of state? At this rate, Konoha would soon be in shambles under his leadership. Kakashi snorted. Served him right.

If Minato could put on an act to earn the village's trust and convince them to believe Kakashi was the villain, then there was no way that Kakashi couldn't do the same for the sake of his freedom.

Put on a facade? Acting?

Kakashi had been acting like he was okay after his father's death for so many years. This act would be nothing in comparison.

The corner of his lips tilted upwards as a semblance of a concrete plan began to form in his mind. Sitting in a cross-legged position on the hospital bed, Kakashi began to meditate. It was his form of killing time, since his plan couldn't commence until Minato came back to the room again. Not to mention, Kakashi could make use of this time to hash out the minute details because when faced with an opponent like Minato, it was a war of intelligence, not strength.

Minato may have won the last battle, but the real fight was just getting started.

Kakashi would see through the end of that.

They were back at it again. This time, Minato had the tact to leave Obito out of the discussion. As much as he loved his student, he knew that Obito would do nothing more than incite Kakashi's anger again. Aside from the fact that Kakashi couldn't actually harm them with the preventative measures that were put in place, instigating his wrath wasn't helping Minato's plan in any way.

It didn't help that the rest of the village was practically breathing down his neck to see some results for taking such a huge risk. If Minato didn't deliver on his promises, quickly, then the little bit of faith he managed to instill in their last meeting would quickly wane.

Time was ticking. His internal clock knew that three days was all Minato really had and it was already the second day. By the end of day three, then he really would have no choice. Death would be Kakashi's only option, perhaps the easier option for both of them.

Minato refused to concede. Not until time was up.

Kakashi seemed a bit calmer today. The lack of tenseness in his muscles made it seem like he was less inclined to attack him today, but Minato could never be too sure. Maybe...a calmer Kakashi could be more willing to listen.

"Kakashi?"

When Minato entered the room, Kakashi didn't even look up. Even after he called his name, Kakashi still didn't bother to look up. Instead, his gaze remained fixated on the white hospital issued blanket, fingers playing with the worn tag attached to the edge of the blanket. He rolled up the tag then unrolled it, repeating the movement over and over again like the mechanical act was more entertaining than speaking to someone.

"Did you have time to think over what I said yesterday?"

Dead silence. Kakashi didn't even stir in the slightest at Minato's question, acting in a manner that suggested he didn't hear him. Minato knew that Kakashi heard him. He was just ignoring him.

This was fine. Totally fine. Unfortunately for Kakashi, besides his speed, Minato was also known for his damning persistence.

"Becoming my informant is the only way that you'll make it out alive." Again, no response, but Minato wasn't deterred. "I don't know why you think Obito is dead or in what way I betrayed you or why you seem to think I am Hokage, but that's not important. The important thing is that you have access to places that I don't. In exchange for your information, I will grant you your freedom."

Kakashi snorted. "Exchange?" His hand vaguely gestured to the general area of where his two chakra points had been blocked. "Sure as hell doesn't seem like it to me. Seems like you want to control me, but it's too bad that there's no genjutsu user on your side to brainwash me into working for you, isn't it?"

"Precautionary measures," Minato corrected.

"Whatever, same difference. Either way, the answer is no. You can do your dirty deeds yourself."

Kakashi was nowhere near convinced, but the fact Minato had gotten Kakashi talking was good. The more Kakashi spoke, the more of a glimpse Minato could get into his mind and exactly what he was thinking.

"What makes you think it's a dirty deed?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, shooting him a look that clearly stated, Are you for real right now? "Just like all of the Anbu teams that you sent after me because you didn't want to dirty your hands by killing me yourself. Must have been awful for you to have to personally show up, didn't it?"

"...I don't know what you're talking about."

"Just because you don't want to admit it doesn't mean it's not true. Tell me you aren't the one who declared my missing nin status. Tell me you aren't the one who issued a kill on sight order and sent Anbu teams after me. Tell me you aren't the one who forced me off of the cliffs."

"I'm not," Minato stated in a firm voice. "I have no idea what you're talking about. You're part of the Anbu. I am not Hokage. If I am not the Hokage, how can I send Anbu after you and why would they hunt down someone who is part of the Anbu?"

Judging from Kakashi's deadpan expression, he was hardly convinced, so Minato added one more fact. "This isn't Konoha. I severed my ties and left Konoha ten years ago."

Kakashi's burrow furrowed, creases appearing on his forehead as he fell into deep thought. "You're not Hokage. I'm Anbu. This...a genjutsu?"

"I can assure you that this is not a genjutsu."

"Then how?" Kakashi demanded. "Explain to me why I'm in a world that is completely different from what I know? Obito is dead. You're an asshole. Rin is a bitch. And I'm the supposed traitor."

Minato shook his head. "I don't know why you think that. Obito is alive. As far as I know, you and Rin never had a reason to meet. You and I have only met in passing, through your father. We may be enemies, but there is no reason for you to harbor such hatred towards me. And I have never done anything to you."

"You have!" Kakashi insisted. "You-" He abruptly cut himself off, taking a moment to compose his thoughts. "Then that must mean you're not that Minato?"

Minato wasn't quite sure what that was supposed to mean, but he agreed to his statement anyways. The quicker Kakashi separated him and whatever impression of the "other" Minato he had in his mind, the better for him.

"If you're not that Minato, then I'm not the Kakashi you know either."

"Well, I never really got the chance to know you-" Kakashi wasn't even listening to what he had to say.

"A different world from the one that I know," Kakashi echoed. His gaze fell to the side, his only visible eye staring intently at a particular spot on the tiled floor. "A different world. Obito is alive, so does that mean-" Kakashi's hand reached up to press two fingers against his left eyelid, where his Sharingan was located. "But I have the Sharingan?"

Kakashi continued his train of rambling thoughts. Minato tried to follow along, but after the mention of the Sharingan, Minato was utterly lost until Kakashi brought it back to something that Minato could relate to.

"If you're not Hokage, then who is?"

"Danzo Shimura. You are part of his Anbu Root group, known to be his right-hand man."

"Danzo," Kakashi repeated. From his tone of voice, Minato couldn't really tell how Kakashi felt about that. Here he was, hoping that Danzo did something to him that would make Kakashi hate him too. Then that would make his plan to use Kakashi as an informant go swimmingly, yet the combination of his navy mask obscuring the majority of his facial features and his poker face, Minato remained clueless as to what he was thinking.

"And when you said you wanted me to be your informant, you meant you wanted me to spy on Danzo?" Minato nodded. "And since I am his right hand man, Danzo already trusts me so you think that he will never suspect me to be the leak."

In all likelihood, Kakashi was just talking to himself out loud to sort his thoughts, but Minato nodded to that anyways. Not that Kakashi noticed because his gaze had flickered over to the window as he fell in deep thought again.

"Danzo is the leader of Konoha. You defected and you formed your own village. You want information on Danzo because Danzo is planning to attack you." Kakashi's visible eye swung to clash with Minato, the intensity of his dark gaze seemingly piercing into his soul. "Or are you planning to attack Konoha?"

Anyone would tell him that revealing their plans to the enemy wasn't the brightest idea. In fact, most would even go as far as to call him stupid. Yet now that Minato established that this Kakashi wasn't the same person as Danzo's right hand man, winning his trust was critical. If Kakashi held no loyalty to either side, converting him to an ally was their chance to gain an upper hand.

"Both. There are rumors that Danzo may attack us." In his initial response, Minato had left out the part about Hanzo and the Hidden Village of the Rain, but then he began to wonder if that was the right move. After all, Kakashi was too smart to not figure it out eventually.

Only, he found out quicker than Minato anticipated.

"Both?" Kakashi repeated, in a mocking tone. "If you've already defected for ten years, why now? What are you not telling me?"

Kakashi surely inherited his father's intelligence, Minato would give him that. "Part of our village is made up of the Akatsuki, defectors from the Hidden Village in the Rain. Their current leader is Hanzo the Salamander."

Kakashi didn't even need Minato to say anything else. "So Danzo and Hanzo are working together and you think they will attack you. Hmph. History repeats itself, I guess."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"In my world, the same thing happened. Only...I don't think it ended the way that either party expected. So you want me to spy on Danzo so you can keep track of both of their movements. Great idea and all, but what's it in for me?

"You get what you want and I'm still a dead man walking in the end, anyways."

"You'll get your freedom-" Kakashi held a hand up to stop him.

"Don't try that bullshit with me," Kakashi ordered in a low voice. "Promises of freedom or to not kill me are full of shit. I'd be a fucking idiot to buy into that belief. Either Danzo kills me if he finds out what I am doing or one of your minions does it for you. And even if I'm not killed, there's not a single place in this world that will welcome me. I'll just be subjected to endless wandering as an escapee, having to constantly look over my shoulders because there's a bright, red target painted on my back.

"Do you know how painful that is?" Kakashi let out a bitter laugh. "Of course you don't. You've always been loved by the village and hailed as a hero. You would never understand what it's like to have everything you've known suddenly uprooted and to constantly have to sleep with one eye open. It was fun, the wild goose chases I sent the Anbu on, for a while. And then once the glory wore off, it stopped being fun."

"Then what is it that you want?"

Kakashi tapped on the left side of his chest, near the approximate location of his heart. "I already died once but the bitterness in my heart kept me roaming on the plane as a ghost. What do you think I want?"

Chills seeped through Minato's entire body as the word revenge flickered through his mind.

"Who?" Minato managed to utter, despite the fact he wasn't quite sure he wanted to know the answer.

"You."

You. The word rang incessantly in his head, even long after Minato had left the hospital room. Although Kakashi followed up by saying that he just wanted to get a reaction out of Minato, the intensity in his eye confused Minato. What was the truth and what was not? Would Kakashi really kill him because of whatever his counterpart did to him in the other world?

What made Minato even more puzzled was the fact that Kakashi actually agreed to be his informant. The sudden acceptance that followed the slew of split second and firm denials had caught Minato off guard, sending him reeling as he walked out of the room.

What was he after? Why did he suddenly agree?

Maybe Minato's insistence to keep him alive wasn't his brightest idea. At least with Wolf, that version of Kakashi was predictable to a fault. Immensely loyal and would probably choose death before betraying Konoha, that was something Minato could work with. But this enigmatic Kakashi?

Minato couldn't figure him out. To any strategist, unpredictability of this caliber was their worst enemy.

All that stood between Kakashi and his freedom right now was Minato's go ahead, which he had yet to give. It wasn't too late for him to back out now, but what kind of person did that make him if Minato argued vehemently to get his way only to falter at the last moment? If the risk only affected him, Minato had no qualms about commencing the plan. Yet with the weight of the entire village's well-being on his shoulders, Minato felt queasy bearing that amount of risk.

Who knew who Kakashi's intended target was?

Minato needed someone to talk to. Except, the person that he needed to talk to wasn't here.

Kushina Uzumaki.

Anyone who knew them personally knew that their personalities were drastically different, almost to the point where they were polar opposites. As a child, Minato was the good kid, the rule-abiding shinobi, play-it-safe kind of person. On the other hand, Kushina was the rebellious kid, the reckless shinobi, the risk-it-all kind of person. Her influence was partly what led him to break out of his "good kid" shell.

Without her, Minato would have never been so bold to defect from the village, much less be the spearhead of a coup against Konoha. Taking back Konoha from Danzo's clutches was her final wish, one that she uttered to him on her deathbed.

If she was still alive, Minato could imagine Kushina shouting at him for being so foolish, such a pansy.

So what, Kushina would say in response to his worries. This is our chance!

This was their chance, and possibly their last one.

By his side, his hand curled up into a tight fist. The sharp edge of his fingernails dug into the palm of his hand, hard enough to break the first layer of his skin. The pain was good. The pain reminded him of all of the suffering and devastation Minato had gone through to get to this point.

If he turned back now, all of their efforts would have been utterly useless. All of the lives lost would have been in vain.

Do or die. Those were his only choices.

When his fist finally unfurled, all of the doubts that clouded his mind had been washed away by a tidal wave of clarity.

Do. That was his answer.

A/N: Hi again!

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter - sorry it's been a while. :) Now that Blood Hound will finally be let out of "jail," he's going to go off and start doing things, which will hopefully make it more exciting now that both Kakashis are out and about. Hope everyone had a great holiday!

Thanks for reading! Until next time!

-MM