The rumbling growls of his dogs, and the feeling of flaring chakra nearby, woke him. Groaning he sat up, taking in the sun's position through the trees. It was late. Far later than he intended to sleep.

Kusa was dangerous territory, and he was close enough to the Kannabi Bridge for patrols to pass through the area frequently.

The only reason he'd stopped was due to chakra exhaustion, the result of a clash with a Kumo patrol. He had run for hours to lose them, burdened with the weight of his youngest puppy. When he had finally lost them, he collapsed in the first defendable place he found, trusting his pack to warn him about any danger.

Like they were doing now.

From the flaring of the chakra he guessed two shinobi groups were clashing, probably an Iwa patrol and a Konoha team. After all, if the bridge was destroyed Iwa would lose their main supply route. A heavy blow to the frontlines.

He knew he should use the distraction to his advantage and sneak away. But his curiosity got the better of him.

"'Kashi," Tsurara growled warningly, as he rose.

"Stay here, I'll be back shortly," he responded, climbing out of the hollow of roots.

"Boss–" a pug started to protest, but was cut off by his summoner.

"Stay."

He quickly took to the trees, moving steadily towards the sound of battle. His breath caught as the sound ceased suddenly, and three chakra signatures approached his position. Masking his chakra, he made himself as small as possible. Waiting in tense anticipation.

They passed a few yards to the right, beyond his view, not seeming to notice him.

He breathed a sigh of relief, he doubted he could take on three nin at the moment, his chakra levels were still too low.

Looking back in the direction they'd come he was surprised to feel three chakra signatures still there. Moving slowly, he drew closer, ensuring they wouldn't detect him. As he did, the sounds of an argument reached his ears.

"–it's hard, I know, but sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do!" a man snapped, "The mission must come first, it's one life compared to countless, there's no competition, Uchiha-san!"

Kakashi was finally close enough that he could see the Leaf-nin, there was an Inuzuka and his hound, and… Obito? He blinked in surprise at the familiar Uchiha, not having expected to ever see him again.

"But, they'll kill her!" the boy protested loudly, obviously frustrated with the older man.

"I'm sorry, Uchiha-san, but Nohara-san will have to hold on until after we complete our mission."

"I don't care!" Obito snarled, "You complete the mission, I'm going after Rin."

"You do that, Uchiha, and you'll be facing a court martial!" the Inuzuka growled, his ninken baring its fangs alongside him, "The more time you waste arguing, the longer Nohara-san will have to wait. She's a medic, they won't kill her."

Obito looked like he was about to protest further but the older man seemed to have enough and shoved the boy forward. The man took off in the direction of the bridge, Obito grumbled and gave one longing glance in the direction the other nin had taken before following the Jounin.

Kakashi frowned deeply, he shouldn't get involved. Really. He was still suffering from chakra exhaustion and those Kumo-nin might still be in the area. He didn't owe them anything –well he didn't owe Obito or Rin anything… their teacher…

But he did hold the girl at kunai point, and by saving her would be paying off that debt to the Flash. But he didn't know the skill set of the other nin, or their numbers, he'd definitely be walking into a trap. That was the only reason the Iwa-nin would leave a Konoha team so close to Kannabi.

Besides, the Inuzuka was right, being a medic they wouldn't kill Rin –torture her for information? Yes. –But they wouldn't kill her… unless they find out who her teacher is. Then they would kill her without an ounce of mercy and drag her mutilated body to display on the frontlines.

Iwa always made things so messy.

Still, the girl was a chuunin, and a student of the Yellow Flash, she should be able to resist torture long enough for her team to rescue her. Plus, her being a medic limited the torture techniques the shinobi would be willing to use. You don't want to damage the medic to the point they can't heal the wounded.

Gritting his teeth, Kakashi shook his head, and snuck out of the bamboo grove and back into the trees. No, he couldn't afford to get into a fight right now, especially not for a girl he barely knew.

However, as he crossed the area the Iwa-nin had went, his nose twitched at their scents. Rin's was easily identified, though, judging by the way it overlapped with another, she was being carried. He thankfully couldn't smell any blood, so she was in relative good health.

The scent of the one carrying Rin was unfamiliar, though he could tell it belonged to a man. But the other Iwa-nin's scent caught his attention, it was one he knew. He couldn't remember the man's name, but, he remembered the man well enough.

He used two blades, but wasn't skilled enough to be placed on the frontlines, which had irked him at the time. Especially after he'd met Kakashi. He was aghast that a little kid was fighting on the frontlines while he was running supplies and guarding outposts. He'd taking to disparaging Kakashi's every move, claiming he'd only gotten to where he was because of his father pulling strings. Not by his own merit. He liked to talk about how he wouldn't last long without his father protecting him.

Kakashi's unit had moved out within a few days, and he hadn't thought about the man since. Now though, with his father dead and himself left with nothing, the man's words stung. Before he realized what he was doing, he'd picked up speed, moving quickly toward the pack.

He'd been waiting for an opportunity to train the pups.

"Come on pups, time for some real-life experience!" Kakashi called out as he arrived at his hiding spot.

He was immediately met with enthusiastic barks and wagging tails, as the two puppies tumbled over each other to get out of the hollow. The two older dogs followed, each sporting a displeased look.

"What do you mean by real-life experience, pup?" Tsurara growled.

"The pups need experience, and I have the perfect mission," Kakashi responded, as he picked up the smallest pup, who wiggled happily in his hands.

"What type of mission, Boss?" the pug asked, his face twisting into the dog equivalent of a scowl.

"A rescue mission, Pakkun," he distractedly responded, as he calmed the greyhound puppy.

Both Tsurara and Pakkun, opened their mouths to protest, but Kakashi continued before they could.

"Now, I know there are at least two nin and our captive, and, judging by past encounters with Iwa-nin, they'll be holed up in a cave. One which could easily be brought down on the heads of any infiltrators."

"Of course," Tsurara drawled, "And you want to walk right into an obvious trap, with no intel or planning, on a what? Just who exactly are we risking our necks for?"

"I'm paying off a debt, besides I have a bone to pick with one of the Iwa-nin."

"Bone!" the larger puppy yipped, his long floppy ears perking at the name of a treat.

"Maybe later, Guruko," Kakashi chuckled, "After we rescue Rin."

"Rin!" his father's summon barked, "That…! The Yellow Flash's student!"

"Yes," Kakashi sighed, leveling the summon with an annoyed look, "Like I said, I'm paying off a debt."

Tsurara was clearly displeased, but wisely kept silent and grabbed Guruko by the scruff. She leapt to the closest branch and waited for the others to follow. Pakkun followed the older dog's lead and jumped after her without a word.

Kakashi groaned inwardly, with both older dogs upset with him life just got more difficult. He knew Pakkun would do as he said besides what he thought of it, though he might protest thoroughly beforehand. But Tsurara, she wasn't obligated to do anything. She just stuck around to ensure he didn't manage to get himself killed. She could leave on a whim and never come back.

He'd have to apologize later, but after they rescued Rin.

It was relatively easy to track the Iwa-nin to their hide-out –at least for a decent tracker and an experience ninken. Kakashi was immensely pleased to find that the two shinobi were alone. He suspected that they were a patrol, and that their other member had been taken out previously or sent to relay information to an outpost.

Either way it made their job easier.

"Tsurara, Pakkun," he called softly, from his position on a tree branch far enough from the tree line to be hidden from view.

The two dogs appeared at his side within seconds, leaving the two pups to wait on the ground.

"It's just the two of them, and the one is running a constant patrol around the area. Up past there," here Kakashi pointed to an area in the immediate direction of the battle site, "Is the farthest he gets from the cave, but we can't count on him not changing that routine so we have to move quickly."

"What's the plan, Boss?" Pakkun asked.

"I want you and Tsurara to take the pups and deal with the one patrolling. I'll deal with the one in the cave and rescue Rin."

"By yourself." Tsurara stated.

"Yes, by myself."

"But, Boss, you're still low on chakra from escaping that Kumo patrol," the smaller dog protested.

"Leave it, Pakkun, if the pup wants to plan his own funeral let him," the wolf-like dog grunted, "We'll take care of the pups."

She jumped to the ground and coached the pups into a crouched position, from there they crawled toward where they'll ambush the Iwa shinobi. Pakkun hesitated and gave Kakashi a long look before following the others.

Kakashi sighed, he didn't have time to deal with this, and moved into position as well. They had to move at the same time. He had to anticipate the dogs' movements just as much as they did his own. It was more than just a learning experience for the pups, but for him also.

He slowed his heart and his breath, focusing on the chakra of the enemy nin as he made his patrol route. The man was move exactly as predicted, heading for the exact spot his dogs were waiting in ambush.

Five.

Breath, he told himself, he could do this, there's nothing different about now from all the other times he's done infiltration.

Four.

Except now he doesn't have a village to return to. Or a team to support him.

Three.

Not true, he has his pack. Pakkun, Guruko, Uhei. And Tsurara was still standing by him.

Two.

He just had to have faith in them, and in himself.

Now!

Pushing chakra to his legs he shot through the mouth of the cave –tanto drawn –just as he heard snarls from behind him. The man crouched before Rin, stood in surprise at the sudden unfamiliar chakra signature. Blades coming up to defend himself.

The screeching clang of metal on metal, echoed around the cavern, as Kakashi's tanto grated against the Iwa-nin's blades. The man's eyes widened momentarily before his face twisted into a sneer.

"Well if it isn't the White Fang's brat," he laughed, pressing his blades harder against Kakashi's tanto, using his superior weight to his advantage.

"I see nothing's changed since the last time I saw you, Iwa-scum!" Kakashi grunted, channeling chakra to his arms to compensate.

"I can't say the same for you," the man grunted, "I heard a rumor that you had gone rogue along with that piece of trash you called a father, couldn't believe it. But guess it's true, heh, maybe they'll give me a promotion when I bring them your head."

"You'll have to kill me first," Kakashi growled, breaking away from their power struggle and rolling to avoid the slashing blades.

He came up on the man's other side, moving to slash him across the shins as he did. The man moved. And while Kakashi did get a hit in, it wasn't as deep as he would have liked.

"You little, brat!"

The man charged at him, blades poised to stab down on the boy when within range. Kakashi leapt into the air to avoid the blow, slashing his tanto down on the shinobi's shoulder as he came down. But the man seemed to be expecting that, and as Kakashi landed one of the man's blades sliced his back open from shoulder to hip.

Kakashi couldn't help his scream of pain, as he stumbled out of range, turning to face his opponent. He grit his teeth and glared at the Iwa-nin.

"Did that hurt, child?" the man asked mockingly, "You going to go cry to daddy? Though I guess, because you have his blade, he really did fall. Too bad you didn't go with him."

"Shut up, you bastard," the silver-haired boy growled, "Shut the hell up!"

He shot forward, twisting to the side as the man moved to meet him. Kakashi used his smaller stature to his advantage, ducking away from the taller man's attacks. When they locked blades once more, Kakashi was surprised when the man cried out.

Looking at his tanto he was surprised to see it covered in electric chakra, the electricity traveled down the man's blade. Not wasting the distraction, Kakashi drove the sparking blade through the Iwa-nin's chest.

When the man was dead, he stepped back a few paces before falling to his knees, panting. He was dangerously close to passing out again, his chakra didn't appreciate more abuse so soon. He suddenly found himself very glade he hadn't eaten in the past twenty-four hours, as his vision blurred and the world spun around him.

A small noise, caused him to snap in the direction of the cave entrance, causing the world to tilt dangerously. There he could barely make out the shape of a large white dog, Tsurara, his mind supplied. She stood there watching him for a long moment before turning away.

Once she was gone, Kakashi turned his attention to clearing his vision and calming his stomach. It took a few minutes before he could stand and see properly. As he did, he was painfully reminded of the wound on his back.

Swallowing a cry, he purposefully moved toward the back of the cave, where Rin was propped up. Settling in front of her, he saw that her eyes were glassed over in an obvious sign of genjutsu.

Wincing, he moved back a bit, before releasing her. Her eyes cleared immediately, darting back and forth, as she gasped. Eventually, they focused on him, she gaped at him, as his eye curved into a smile.

"Ka… Kakashi?" she sputtered.

"Yes?"

"What… what are you doing here?"

"Rescuing you, obviously," he grunted, "You're welcome, by the way."

"Thanks… but–"

"Not now," Kakashi interrupted, standing abruptly, "We can't stay here, reinforcements will be on their way."

"Right," the Konoha medic nodded, standing somewhat shakily, and gave him a sharp nod.

With a nod of his own, Kakashi turned ready to exit the cave, only to be stopped by Rin's hand on his shoulder. It took all his self-control not to attack her. Still he turned on his heel to snap at her, only to be shoved back.

"Your back, Kakashi!" she snapped, "You can't leave this untreated!"

"We don't have time–"

"Then we make time," she growled right back, "Do you know the dangers of moving through an area with an open wound, like this? I do. They're not pretty, an infection in a wound like that can, and will kill you! Now sit down!"

The nukenin blinked owlishly at the medic before slowly complying, he'd forgotten how scary medics could be when faced with a stubborn patient. He knew better than to push his luck, or he might be hurting worse later.

"Good," Rin said, "now where's your medpack, mine seems to have been misplaced?"

He pulled out his pathetically understocked med-kit and handed it over, wincing as she looked through it with a look of disbelief. Slowly her eyes locked on his, her brow raising incredulously.

"This is your med-kit."

It wasn't a question. But Kakashi felt obligated to answer anyway.

"Yes."

"Kakashi," she ground out, "This is the worst stocked med-kit I've ever seen. You have a single roll of bandages –which look like they've been used –and three disinfectant wipes…"

"I apologize, but life as a missing-nin doesn't exactly pay well with a war going on. It's not like I have a village to restock my supplies," Kakashi bit out, sending the girl a dark glare.

The medic flinched, realizing her misstep, and pulled out a wipe in silence. She had Kakashi pull up his shirt to reveal the full extent of the wound. She wiped it clean, using up all the disinfectant he had, before using her chakra to heal the wound. She couldn't close it all together and wrapped what she couldn't with the bandages.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, she nodded to herself and stood.

"Alright, that'll have to do."

"Good, now let's go," Kakashi grumbled, pushing himself to his feet and lead the way out of the cave.

He was greeted by the sight of two puppies rolling around on the ground. Guruko, bigger, easily pinned Uhei, but let the young greyhound up. Allowing her to pounce on him and chew his ears. Pakkun sat nearby watching for enemies.

"Boss!" Guruko yapped, as he spotted his summoner, he bowled over Uhei and jumped against Kakashi's legs, "We got him, Boss! Can we get a bone now?"

"Boss, bone!" Uhei yipped, copying the older pup.

"Later, Guruko," Kakashi said, gently rubbing the pup's ears, "We haven't finished our mission yet. We have to get Rin to her team."

The pups' eyes turned to the girl who was watching in amusement. They stared at her for a long moment, before Uhei slunk back behind Kakashi, unsure of the new person. Guruko, on the other hand, bounded forward tail wagging as he sniffed her feet.

"Hi, hi!" he barked, "I'm Guruko."

"It's nice to meet you, Guruko, I'm Rin," the girl smiled, petting the dog's head.

"That's Uhei, and over there's Pakkun, he's a grump."

"I heard that, pup," Pakkun growled, he stood and moved toward the group, "We've got to get going, 'Kashi, you've got a large number of shinobi moving in this direction."

"Reinforcements," the boy growled, "Ok, let's go. Tsurara…"

Kakashi blinked, he glanced around the clearing, not spotting the familiar white form. He frowned, having seen the wolfdog after the battle he knew she was alive.

"Pakkun, where's Tsurara?"

"Later, pup, let's go," Pakkun's voice left no room for arguments.

Reluctantly, he dropped the subject and turned his eyes on the two pups, wondering how he was going to carry both of them. Noticing his look, Guruko bonce up and down.

"I can run, Boss, I promise I can keep up," the hound barked, tail wagging happily.

The silver-haired boy gave the pup a calculating look, before slowly nodding. He bent to pick up Uhei, ignoring the twinge of pain as he pulled his wound. The red-furred pup licked his masked face, before settling in his arms.

"Alright let's go."

They took to the trees, heading for Kannabi at a steady pace.

They were half-way through setting the explosive tags when the Jounin's ninken growled warningly.

"What is it?" Obito asked, looking up from his side of the bridge.

"Someone's coming," the Inuzuka growled, drawing a kunai, "Hurry up with those tags, Uchiha."

Obito grumbled under his breath, something about big-headed jounin. But he picked up the pace as he laid the tags at the key structural points on the bridge. He couldn't wait to see it blow up. The sooner it was gone the sooner they could rescue Rin.

Rin…

Those Iwa bastards would pay for laying a hand on her, he would make sure of it. If they hurt her… he couldn't even consider the possibility. Rin would be fine. This wouldn't be a repeat of… of that incident. He wouldn't lose a teammate like that again.

His head shot up at the sound of leaves rustling, immediately preparing for attack. There was no way those Iwa bastards weren't going to be back. The bridge was too crucial to the war effort.

So, he was surprised when a familiar face shot out of the trees landing neatly at the end of the bridge. Brown hair waved in the wind, obscuring familiar purple marks on her cheeks, and the happy grin stretching across her face.

Obito's heart caught in his throat, and his own face split in an answering grin. Because she was safe. He couldn't find a single injury from where he stood.

"Rin!" he cried, joy clear in his voice, "You're ok!"

"I'm fine, Obito," she laughed.

"How did you escape?" the Inuzuka asked, his voice laced with suspicion, "You were outnumbered, with no help or weapons."

"Hey!" Obito squawked, "You should be happy that Rin got away, Bastard!"

"The circumstances are suspicious, Uchiha."

"If you're implying that I gave up information for my release you're wrong, Inuzuka-san," Rin said, before Obito could respond, "And I never said I didn't have help."

As if summoned by her words another body materialized beside her.

"The area's clear for now, but it won't be for long," the person grunted, turning his lone eye on the Jounin, "I would hurry up your sabotage mission if I were you Jounin-san."

"Ba- Bakashi!" Obito cried incredulity.

The silver-haired nukenin turned his grey eye onto the Uchiha, with a tired expression on his face.

"Call me that again, Uchiha, and I'll gut you."

"Bakashi! It is you! And you're still a bastard!"

The former Kumo-nin blinked at him, before turning to Rin with a sigh.

"I do believe your teammate has something wrong with him."

"I'm aware, we're working on it."

"Hey!"

"Well, you can tell your sensei I've paid my debt to him," the boy said, glancing back at the trees, "Try not to get yourselves killed, I won't always be around to save your hides."

"Wait, Kakashi!" Rin stalled him before he could disappear into the trees. She turned to Obito who was still sputtering after the other boy's comment. "Obito, do you still have my spare med-kit?"

"Yeah," he said, as he dug through his pack for the med-kit his teammate gave him after lost his in a river. Pulling it out he tossed it to Rin.

"Here," Rin said, catching the pack and handing it to Hatake, "As a thank-you for saving my life, maybe it'll save yours in the future."

The boy seemed to frown, as he looked at the med-kit before pocketing it. Nodding his thanks, then he was gone in a swirl of smoke.

"What the hell was that!" the Inuzuka barked, giving them shocked looks.

"That was Bakashi, he tried to kill Rin a few months back," Obito said dismissively, turning back to placing his explosive tags.

"And he's suddenly risking his own neck to rescue her?"

"Yeah, Minato-sensei spared his life, even though he was a bastard."

The Inuzuka looked ready to reply before thinking better of it.

"Ok, talk."

"What do you want me to say?"

"You can start by telling me what happened."

"We did our job, the pups served as a distraction, while Tsurara and I took him out."

"And then?"

"Tsurara went to check on you, while I went over everything with the pups."

"That doesn't tell me where Tsurara is," Kakashi snapped in frustration, Pakkun blinked at him slowly.

"This has been a long time coming, pup, you can't tell me you didn't see it."

"See what!"

"You know how the summoning contract works, we bind our souls to our summoner's. as such our lives our extended, we stay in our prime until we are killed or our summoner is killed. Then, if our summoner is killed, all those extra years hit us, aging us decades within months. Tsurara was in her forties, the only reason she held on for so long was to make sure you could care for yourself, and that we could protect you."

Pakkun leveled him a look as he stood.

"That was her apology to Sakumo, for not protecting him."

With that Pakkun left him alone with his thoughts.

That was why she had been getting so angry with him lately, for the unnecessary risks he was taking. He hadn't even noticed her slowing down, though in retrospect it was obvious. Was he so oblivious? Or had his mind refused to see the strong constant figure of his father's first summon as anything different.

When she had seen him after the battle, injured but pushing himself forward, what did she think? That he was ready to face this world on his own? Or that she'd failed? That she didn't have any more time to help him or his pack. That he'd have to figure out everything else on his own.

His mask felt damp, as the reality hit that his last living connection to his father, to his past was gone. Pakkun and the pups didn't have the same wisdom that she did, they all looked to him for guidance, thought Pakkun had his moments. The one he looked to was gone, forever, and he had to live with that, and keep the others alive.

Just like when his father had taken his own life, he wasn't prepared for this loss, and it hurt.

The sun shined brightly when the Yellow Flash stepped back into Konoha, the sun reflecting off his hair almost blindingly. Many people called out greetings but they were all ignored, he had a mission that he'd be damned if he didn't accomplish. He'd been kept on the frontlines for longer than anticipated and he worried greatly for his team.

Logically, he knew that the Kannabi Bridge had been destroyed, therefore their mission had been a success. And that if they'd lost members he would have been informed. But still he had to see them with his own eyes.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the two he was looking for sitting at Ichiraku's, chatting about something adamantly. At least, Obito was, Rin was nodding along, seemingly have given up at getting a word in edgewise.

Grinning brightly, he stepped up behind them and pulled them into a bone-crushing hug. Ignoring their squawks of protest, and just being content that they had survived being out of his sight for so long. Never again, he vowed, never would they be sent on another mission without him again. Too many things could go wrong, even if they didn't this time.

After being reassured that all was still right within the universe, he released his students, who both gasped for air. As they did so he settled beside them.

"Congratulations on a mission well done," he said, grin never faltering, "A good mission with no complication, and no injuries."

He paused when he saw the uneasy glances his students gave each other.

"What?"

"Well, Sensei, I wouldn't say no complications…" Rin trailed off, unsure, as Minato felt his body grow cold.

"What happened?" he growled, a dark look on his face.

"I may have been captured."

Minato saw red briefly before calming himself, Rin was right here, she's fine.

"I see, but Obito and Ha rescued you."

"Well…"

"No!" Obito cut in, anger clear on his face, "That bastard was all like the mission comes first, we'll rescue Rin after destroying the bridge. He even threatened me to comply!"

The red was back. But he restrained himself, he needed to know what happened first.

"Then you got yourself away, right?"

The hesitation was back.

"Well no, I had help."

"It was Bakashi, he saved Rin," Obito cut in again.

Minato blinked once, then twice as he tried to process what he'd just heard.

A missing-nin had to rescue his student because the Jounin on her team refused to. A missing-nin who had no obligation to do so, who by chance was in the area. A missing-nin who was younger than her.

The red was nearly blinding now, as he stood stiffly, moving in the direction of the Inuzuka compound.

"Wha… Hey! Sensei, where are you going?" Obito called after him, but the blond ignored him, he had a Jounin to talk to.

With his fists.

"Repeat that."

"Team Minato, encountered the target on their mission to destroy Kannabi Bridge, according to reports."

"And why, were you not there to apprehend him?"

"Our mission was to follow Namikaze himself, not his students."

"And yet, you missed your target because of this oversight! Anyone whose had contact with Hatake should be followed! He's liable to approach any one of them."

"Understood, sir, it won't happen again."

"It better not, for your sake, Hatake is a tool we cannot allow to fall into the wrong hands!"

The masked man remained silent.

"Get out there and find him!" Danzo snarled, waiting until the other man had disappeared to fall back into his chair.

Every team he'd sent to find the Hatake brat had returned empty handed, and now when one team came so close to the prize they blew it! The longer it took to acquire Hatake the harder it would be to shape him into a loyal tool. The easier it would be for enemies to get ahold of him, which could spell disaster for Konoha, if his father's reputation was anything to go by.

This was one task his Root could not fail.

Hello again, hope everyone's well.

This has turned into a series of one-shots, I have a few planned out but obviously with my track record I can't promise you guys anything so... I'll see you when I see you.

Thanks for reading!

To those currently participating in GISHWHES good luck on your hunt!

To those in the northern hemisphere and planning to watch the meteor shower this weekend enjoy! Unfortunately for me, they finally fixed the street light on my block, after eight years of it not working, today. so now i'd have to walk down to the river to find a dark spot and doing that after midnight with a bear that isn't afraid of people wandering around town... I most likely won't be able to see it.

And lastly, to those starting school good luck on your year, have fun!