Chapter 1
Anyone can start again
Not through love but through revenge
Through the fire, we're born again
Peace by vengeance brings the end
Something was chirping.
It was just loud enough to pull Kakashi out of an alcohol-induced sleep and he sighed into the pillow. If it was those damn birds outside, he was going to unload an entire clip into them. Halfway between sleep and awake, he was lucid just enough to curse himself for leaving the window open the night before.
He lifted his head and peeked out from behind his tired eyelids, groaning at the sight of the bright afternoon sun streaming in through his open window. Sure enough, the wire hung between the two buildings with his upstairs neighbor's laundry hanging on it, and sitting right on a pair of threadbare tighty whities was three birds.
Prying his head off the pillow, Kakashi swiped his hand in the air. It did no good. The birds stayed where they were, bobbing their heads as they hopped down the line of clothes and the chirping was still too loud.
It wasn't coming from outside, though.
It was right beneath his head and he shoved his hand beneath the pillow, gripping the flat, rectangular torture device. Kakashi sniffed and pulled his phone out just as the call ended and the chirping stopped.
"Good," he grumbled, dropping his head back onto his pillow, not even bothering to check to see who had been calling. Whoever it was, he didn't need to know.
Settling back into a comfortable position, one that didn't add to the pounding in his head but didn't exactly ease it either, he closed his eyes and let out a breath that reeked of too much whisky. And just as the ache behind his eyes subsided enough to drift out of consciousness, the chirping returned.
In an instant, his eyes snapped open and he snatched the phone from beside him, turning the screen upright to stare at the single word written in white text. Private.
Fuck.
For several beats of his racing heart, he hovered his thumb over the red button on the screen, wanting nothing more than to send the call straight to his non-existent voicemail. But he knew it would do no good. They would just keep calling. They always did.
Pushing himself onto his side, he swiped his thumb over the answer option and pressed the phone to his ear. The sudden movement caused the room to tilt on its side and he shut his eyes to combat the pulse of pain that throbbed across his forehead.
"Yeah?"
"Ah, so you are alive." The voice was familiar but the hangover he was currently suffering from clouded his mind and muddled his recollection.
Kakashi sighed and brought a hand to his forehead, squeezing either side of it. "Unfortunately."
"I had almost lost hope."
"Right," he mumbled, wishing he had just ignored the call like his gut had told him to. "Can you just cut the bullshit and tell me who this is? I've got more important things to do than whatever this conversation is."
On the other end of the call, he heard a chuckle that almost sparked a clue in his memory. As quickly as it appeared, it vanished once again. "Like drinking yourself into a stupor and sleeping till four in the afternoon?"
It was a mistake, but Kakashi sat up and struggled to stop his shitty, one-bedroom apartment from spinning. Even through the dizziness, his instincts kicked in and he reached for the 9mm pistol sitting on the corner of his bedside table. The cool metal grip was instantly familiar in his hand and he turned it, checking to make sure the clip was loaded.
In the back of his mind, he made a quick list of where his other various weapons were stashed and hidden around his apartment. Just in case.
"Who is this?"
The caller laughed again, this time a bit louder and Kakashi could have sworn he knew the sound of it. Who the fuck was this?
"Relax, Hatake. I'm someone you used to know. Someone who learned a lot from you, old man."
Kakashi blinked, the wheels in his head turning fast and he looked out the open window where Mr. Saito's perpetually stained underwear was flapping in the breeze. As half his mind ran through the exit points in his apartment, the other half was already calming down. Now that he had a moment to properly wake up and the pounding in his head was settling, he recognized the air of self-importance and arrogance in the voice in his ear.
He sighed. "Sasuke."
It wasn't a question because he didn't need the answer. Old man. Only two people had ever called him that and one was dead. It frustrated him that it took so long to figure out who he was speaking to and he shut his eyes to keep them from rolling. Maybe he was getting old.
"About time." The smug tone was irritating already. "You're getting slow in your old age."
"Another crack about my age and I'll hang up. What the hell are you calling me for? It's been, what, seven years?" Seven years and not long enough. Sasuke was a troublemaker from day one, no matter how talented and gifted he was when it came to the jobs.
They had their issues, some that they managed to resolve before Kakashi went into retirement, but that didn't mean he wanted to associate with him anymore. As far as Kakashi was concerned, Sasuke Uchiha was just a stranger. An extremely wealthy stranger, but a stranger no less.
Sasuke took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh before answering. "Seven years, give or take." After a brief pause, he continued. "I have a job for you."
"I'm retired." Even if he wasn't, there was no way he'd take a job from an Uchiha. Not after everything that had happened.
"I'll make it worth coming out of retirement for. It's nothing too big."
"Then you should have no trouble finding someone else to do it." He almost hung up then. He even took the phone away from his ear and hovered his thumb over the end call button. And just like before, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Something stopped him, reminded him that there was no harm in just hearing the job before turning it down officially.
Fuck. Kakashi put the phone back to his ear and waited.
"No," Sasuke said, the single word clipped with a seriousness that twisted the nerves in Kakashi's gut. It was telling him to hang up, that he was a fool for letting the conversation get this far. "I don't trust anyone but you for this."
This was a mistake. Every second he remained on the line was another mistake and though Kakashi should know how to prevent stupid fucking mistakes by now, he didn't. Instead, he pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. "You've got about thirty seconds to explain before I hang up."
"I need a bodyguard. For my wife." It was almost the last thing Kakashi expected to hear and he dropped his hand back to the bed. For one, he had no idea he had even gotten married, and two, he knew better than most people how capable Sasuke was at protecting someone. Why the hell would he need to hire a bodyguard? "I need someone I can trust and count on to keep her safe, someone experienced ...if shit hits the fan."
"Are you expecting shit to hit the fan?"
Something, a voice in the back of his head, told him this wasn't as cut and dry as Sasuke was making it out to be. If shit did hit the fan, Kakashi seriously didn't need the Uchiha clan coming after him for retaliation. Not that he wasn't confident in his abilities. But it was important to think of all the outcomes and possibilities. It's what kept him alive to retirement.
"No one ever expects shit to hit the fan, Hatake. You should know that. I'd like to hire you as a precaution, someone to keep watch and make sure she's not a target while I'm away on business." After a pause, during which Kakashi could hear the man take a sip of something-an expensive whisky worth more than his entire apartment no doubt-Sasuke smacked his lips. "She mostly keeps to herself and is used to guards around the place. It wouldn't be a difficult job for someone like you and like I said, I'll make it worth your while."
"And how do you suppose you'll do that?"
"Double your usual amount."
Kakashi's eyes betrayed him, going wide at the offer before he pursed his lips and glanced around his apartment. His pathetic, one-bedroom apartment always reeked of days old fish heads and rice thanks to his downstairs neighbor. It's not like he can't afford to move on his own. The gods only knew how much money he had in his savings but Kakashi made it a point not to live above his means.
That attracted too much attention.
Still, living this far below his means had been a nightmare and this job could provide him with just the right amount to get a better place without touching his current savings. A place with decent water pressure at least.
Not to mention, he really wouldn't miss waking up to seeing Mr. Saito's shit-stained underwear out his bedroom window or being forced to leave his books in various stacks around his apartment because there was absolutely no room for shelves.
But was working for Sasuke and his spoiled wife worth it? Would any amount of money be worth that?
Yes.
"Triple it and you've got a deal."
A familiar twist inside his belly, a gut reaction to the monumentally stupid decision he made, did nothing to ease the pains of his hangover and Kakashi leaned over to drop his head into his hands. In the back of his mind, he wondered how Sasuke could afford such a steep rate, or how he had acquired most of the wealth to his name. The kid had been a prodigy but even the top assassins never made the kind of money Sasuke seemed to have.
Then again, Kakashi learned a long time ago that it wasn't his job to ask those kinds of questions and it was usually best for his conscience that he didn't.
"If that's what it takes to bring Kakashi Hatake out of retirement, then so be it. I'll send the address to your phone. I trust it's a secure line."
He was almost offended by the question. "Of course."
"Good."
And with that, the call ended and Kakashi dropped his hand to stare down at the black screen where the word private was displayed on the call log. He let out a breath and reached over to set the 9mm back on the bedside table where it usually sat. Before he could even lay back down and attempt to nurse the headache pounding behind his eyes, the phone in his hand chimed with a text message.
Across the screen, the message box appears from the same private number with an address and a time.
Tomorrow morning at nine.
"Fuck. What have you gotten yourself into, Hatake?"