Imagine fire and ice and thunder. Add the sun and moon and cram them all together. What would happen? Why, an explosion of course. That was my life following the Uchiha massacre. An explosion of change.

But let us start at the beginning.

I woke to a bandaged arm.

Unusable bandaged arm.

A broken tool.

Danzo would have disposed of me out if it weren't for a certain silver-haired ninja's intervention.

It wasn't Kakashi.

'He can still be useful,' he'd said. 'I have reconstructed the chakra network in his arm so it still functions, however movement is impossible.'

And beside me was what appeared to be a Mummy. A small body so wrapped up in bandages the only thing I could see was a slight gap for a mouth.

Naruto.

And everything went black.

The real beginning started the moment I woke up to an old man puffing a pipe at my bedside. I wasn't in the same setting as my first awakening; this one was much friendlier, well, as friendly as a hospital can be.

"Sasayaki-kun," he said, the moment I awakened. "We have much to talk about."

I blinked, opened my mouth, and then closed it again.

What could I say?

Why is he here? What's going on?

"Do you know about the Will of Fire?" he asked gently, after a short silence had passed.

I nodded my head slowly.

He slowly breathed out a foul-smelling puff of smoke.

"The Will of Fire resides within all of us who protect our village and our dear comrades. I know it resides within you, and that is why I want to entrust you with an opportunity."

I continued to stare at him blankly, still unsure as to where this was heading.

"Your powers would be well put to use learning to contain the nine-tailed beast should it ever escape again. Danzo and I have come to the… agreement that it would benefit our village greatly if you could be put through an intensive training program until your cohort graduates, to speed up your learning and ensure the safety and security of your village."

My brain whirred, attempting to process what this meant.

But he moved on before I could give an answer.

"Also, you are to tell no one that it was not Kakashi who released the fox. If you do, I will have your memory erased, understood?"

I stared in confusion.

What did Kakashi have to do with this?

But before I could ask he left in a 'poof' of smoke, and I was left in a bland room smelling of old cigarettes.

And suddenly, his words sank in.

Kakashi who released the fox… Tell no one…

My arms clenched around the pillow. I pressed my face into it.

I screamed.

I screamed until my throat was raw.

Kakashi's eyes were as cold as stone.

"Are you ready?" the orange-haired one he had come to learn was Pein, asked lowly.

Kakashi nodded slowly.

He stared up at the entrance to one of the many bases of the Akatsuki. It was unassuming, appearing to be a plain dojo.

"Those who break the rules…" he murmured to himself, breathing in slowly.

"Come," Pein beckoned, disappearing into the shadows of the building.

Kakashi followed.

"Our new member…" Pein introduced.

He was faced with three other criminals, traitors. He remained blank faced, perhaps even appearing lazy. With deft fingers, he removed an orange book from his pocket.

"Yo," he drawled, voice dripping with boredom.

Kisame Hoshigaki

Sasori.

Orochimaru.

He knew of them all, had read their bingo entries countless times.

"Kakashi Hatake," a voice he loathed above all called, tone sweet as honey. "How surprising. It has been a while."

Kakashi looked up and tilted his head slightly.

"Sorry, do I know you?" he asked politely, yet this only made Orochimaru's smile widen.

"You two will be partners," Pein announced, and to the untrained eye, the clenching of Kakashi's thumb on his page would have gone unnoticed.

No one in that room was untrained.

"Get to know each other. You will start missions tomorrow. Orochimaru, show him how everything works."

Orochimaru bowed mockingly, and held out his hand with a flourish.

"Allow me to guide you," Orochimaru purred.

Sasori, Kisame and Pein disappeared without a sound.

Kakashi's one visible eye narrowed now that the others were gone, and he ignored the pale man without a word, focussing on the words of his book.

"So cold…" Orochimaru cooed, lowering his hand. "You know, I can't imagine what drove you to abandon your village. You used to be such a perfect self-made machine, following every rule, even if it meant sacrifice."

He sounded genuinely curious as he turned and began to walk to one of the various sliding doors in the dojo. Kakashi followed, remaining silent.

"Could it be the trauma got to your head? Did you decide releasing the beast in your late Sensei's son was some kind of twisted retribution?"

No response.

Orochimaru slid open a paper-thin door, revealing a room inside. It had two beds and not much else, save a couple of scrolls that likely held Orochimaru's belongings.

"Welcome to our humble abode. Of course, this is only a temporary room since we will be moving depending on our missions. However, since renting a room for each member is clearly too expensive for this organisation, we will often be sharing a room," Orochimaru declared, with a touch of humour.

Kakashi didn't even bother to smother the grimace on his face.

One of the single beds had an Akatsuki robe atop it, and Orochimaru swept into the room and lifted it.

"For you Kakashi-kun," he said with a smirk that caused a shiver to go down his spine.

"Do not call me that," he said coolly as he tucked his book away and accepted the robe.

Orochimaru chuckled. "Why ever not? Would you prefer Kashi-chan, like your dear father used to call you?"

Within a second, he had Orochimaru pinned against the wall.

"I am not playing games," Kakashi said neutrally, despite the fact he held a knife at Orochimaru's throat.

"Hm, so scary. You've certainly grown… however, tell me Kakashi-kun, are you suicidal?"

Kakashi locked eyes with the snake-like man before him, the feel of the soft skin against his blade such a tempting illusion.

There was a long silence. Orochimaru folded his arms and seemed completely content despite the knife at his throat.

Finally, Kakashi stepped back slowly and drew a hand across his face.

"I wouldn't want to cause trouble," Kakashi said smoothly, and he donned the Akatsuki robe.

"I think we will get along fine," Orochimaru smirked coyly. "Now, why don't we get to know each other hm? It's been such a long time since we last… spoke. Tell me about your latest exploit… the massacre of the Uchiha clan."

A/N:

I'm sorry this is such a short chapter, I was originally going to explain all the training and stuff Sasa and Naru would be having, but I changed my mind. I'm going to skip straight to graduation next chapter since I want to get this story moving onto the good stuff.

Question:

What has been your favourite scene/moment in this fic so far?