Chapter 2
A/N: On a roll! We'll see how long it lasts haha. Kakashi's thrown into the deep end. Hope you guys enjoy and be sure to comment, review, and favorite! They fuel my hunger..
His mind plagues him with nightmares of his village. That his Kamui wasn't enough to save Chōji and that news of Pein's abilities never arrived to Tsunade. Pein stands over his friends and family, a blonde corpse lying at his feet. Hands clamber all over Kakashi's body, pulling him down into the dirt, with whispers of despair creating a cacophony around him. It surprises Kakashi that he doesn't wake up screaming.
Kakashi tenses when he senses he's no longer alone. He pretends that he's still asleep while he gathers his bearings without sight. He hasn't been moved from the spot he fell asleep and no sun bearing down on him makes Kakashi wonder how much time has passed. A shadow is blocking the eerie green torchlight to his right. Whatever it is, it's tall, reaching far above Kakashi's sitting position. He continues to breath evenly.
"I know you're awake," a male voice next to him sounds. It echoes slightly, but not because of the area around them.
Kakashi is momentarily surprised that he can finally understand someone. At the same time, he becomes more cautious since there's a possibility that this is another shinobi. But when Kakashi opens his eye, he doesn't expect the voice to come from a giant black barn owl.
"Uh…" Kakashi's exhausted mind tries to think of any owl summon that could've followed him but comes up with nothing. Even then, Kumo's bird summons look nothing like the menacing owl in front of him.
The owl tilts its head at Kakashi's stunned respond. It's beady eyes narrow as if it's looking at a rodent. "I've allowed you refuge for long enough. Humans are no longer welcomed in my library. Now leave."
Kakashi gets to his feet slowly. "My bad, I'll just be on my way then…" He glances up and wonders if the owl would mind him walking on the arches of owls to reach the ceiling.
The owl's head suddenly moves backwards then forwards, closer to Kakashi's face than he felt comfortable. "What language is that?"
Kakashi is baffled. "Excuse me?"
The owl flares his wings a bit, feathers becoming ruffled, as if Kakashi's ignorance offends him. "I am Wan Shi Tong, he who knows ten thousand things, yet I have never heard your language before."
Kakashi decides that it's relative safe to relax in front of Wan Shi Tong, still trying to parse whether or not this thing is a very real hallucination or not. "Name's Kakashi. If you don't know what language I'm speaking, how are you speaking it?"
The owl actually scoffs at him. "The language of spirits transcends the language of man. You are merely hearing it in the language you understand best. Now answer my question, human."
If this owl spirit thing really does know ten thousand things, maybe it would know a way to get Kakashi back to his village. "Are you not familiar with the language of the Elemental Nations?"
"Of course I am, but you are not speaking it. There are no known variations that sound like yours between the four nations."
Four nations. This is bad. Last time Kakashi checked, there are supposed to be a lot more countries than four.
Wan Shi Tong takes Kakashi's silence as a telling answer. "You don't know where you are, do you?"
"How can you tell?" He responds weakly, the reality that he's not even close to his own world hitting him hard.
The owl hums at him. "I assume you require knowledge of this place. However, due humans abusing my study for their wars and petty squabbles, I've banned all humans from using my tomes."
Kakashi needs those books. There has to be something in the hundreds of stacks that would tell him how to get home. "No war efforts here. I really just need to get back to my own place. And maybe some basic knowledge about where I am."
Wan Shi Tong once again considers him, thinking for a moment, judging. The intimidating bird finally leans back. "Very well. However, knowledge must be exchanged for knowledge. I require something to add to my collection."
Kakashi considers everything on his person. There aren't many things that are well suited for a library. He would like to keep his kunai and shuriken in case he can't find someone to reproduce them. There are only two books on his person that he could— he couldn't… could he? Tears almost well up in his eyes as he considers what he must give up. With a shaking hand, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out the green-covered book. While he would never give up his favorite novel, it pains his heart to give up—
"Here." Kakashi thrusts out Icha Icha Tactics to the owl, unable to witness the sacrifice of his precious romance novel. Now that the code that Jiraiya hid in the book had been decrypted, the book held no greater value other than being the last book the Sannin had written. And while it was one of the more captivating books in the series, Kakashi would never give up his copy of Icha Icha Paradise.
"Hm, a book in an unknown language. Your written language shares a similarity with this land's. It will be interesting to translate it." Wan Shi Tong waves one of his giant wings over the book, vanishing it from Kakashi's hand. He makes sure the tear doesn't fall. "Very well, I will allow you to peruse my library. However, know that I will not be so forgiving if you betray my trust." The owl flares his wings to an impressive wingspan and dives off the walkway into the darkness below.
Kakashi watches the owl fly out of sight while scratching the back of his head. "Thanks for the help." He faces the many, many bookshelves and wonders where exactly to start. Kakashi hears a yip behind him and turns around. "Well, isn't this ironic."
There's a brown fox standing behind him with a scroll in its mouth. The two have a stare down for a brief moment. Kakashi hesitates before he asks, "You wouldn't happen to know where I can find books on world traveling, would you?"
The fox doesn't start speaking like Wan Shi Tong but runs down the aisles of books. Its head swings back to check if Kakashi is following. He follows it into the far shelves of the library, moving deeper and deeper into the tall stacks. The fox finally sits in front of one of the shelves that looks no different from the others. Kakashi grabs one of the books and realizes he has no idea what it says. He looks back to the fox, still sitting there with its fluffy tail swaying behind it. "Could you help me find some books on learning the language please?"
It tilts its head at him, like its wondering why a man who can't read is here in this library, but it starts to move towards the other side of the collection. Kakashi obediently follows. When it arrives at his destination, it drops the scroll in its mouth. When the fox starts running straight up the bookshelf, Kakashi has to wonder if it's using chakra. Before he thinks to reveal his Sharingan, it grabs a thin book in its mouth and leaps back down to Kakashi.
He carefully takes the book from its mouth and flips it to the first page. It's a children's book. The fox would definitely be laughing at him if it could. "Alright, alright." Kakashi reaches into one of the many pockets on his pants and takes out one of the treats he usually saves for his ninken. He tosses it to the fox and it effortlessly catches it in its mouth. "Is there any food in here that I can eat?" But instead promptly leading him to food, the fox whines as if disappointed that it couldn't help. "Thought not, thanks anyways." The fox finishes its treat and grabs its scroll before wandering off into the library. Kakashi makes himself comfortable on the floor against the shelf and starts his lessons in this land's language.
In the underground library, time passes without interruption. The daylight streaming in through the tower's window fades away and the green glow from the crystal torches become Kakashi's only reading light. The pile of books steadily grows beside him. Reading keeps him from sleeping, which is good news since the few hours he does doze off are plagued with nightmares of familiar corpses. Each time he wakes up, there's a plate of fruits and nuts and a bowl of water next to him with a white-tipped tail waving out of sight. Kakashi considers calling the fox Naruto.
His chakra slowly recovers as well as his injuries. Kakashi isn't the best with healing jutsu but it gets the job done.
Wan Shi Tong sometimes comes to check up on Kakashi, walking passed the aisle that Kakashi is stationed at. He doesn't speak to the owl and the owl doesn't speak to him. Kakashi only gives the giant bird a nod, to which the bird turns away and continues to patrol his library. Kakashi thinks the only reason why Wan Shi Tong checks in is to make sure there wasn't a decomposing body rotting on the valuable books.
When he's passed the child's level, Kakashi pushes up his headband to reveal his Sharingan. With the dōjutsu, copying the higher-level books' grammar and words to memory becomes much easier. Being a genius also comes in handy. When Kakashi finally reaches higher-education level, he returns to the original stack that the fox had led him to. Another pile of books grows. The only reference to world travel in the books is from the physical world to the Spirit World and vice versa.
Kakashi assumes the worse and goes to find the section for history books. Even within those tomes he finds nothing about his world of shinobi. Instead, he learns about the four nations and their history. He learns about the benders and how they manipulate the elements of the world through chi, not chakra and ninjutsu. He learns about the Hundred Year War, which sounds absolutely horrible to a person who's lived through the Third Shinobi World War. When he looks up any mention of shinobi and chakra, all he sees are fantastical tales of ninjas and chakra being described as points of energy in the body.
As he lies down to stare at the ceiling, Kakashi wonders if he'll ever return to Konoha (if it still exists). The thought alone makes his heart drop through his chest. A soft whine sounds and a wet nose touches his hair.
"Yo, Naruto." He brings his hand up to put it on top of the fox's head. After spending enough days here, Kakashi finally gave in and named the fox. "Seems that I'm stuck here. I've abandoned my village in its time of need. What am I going to do?" The words of the foreign language fall off his tongue unfamiliar and messy.
The fox licks his hand and moves back making Kakashi sit up to look at his companion. It grabs his sleeve and tugs at him. "Okay, I'm coming. Hang on."
They walk through the library in silence, soft footfalls echoing around them. Kakashi spots other foxes maneuvering through the aisles. Naruto the fox leads him to a separate room, full of boxes of scrolls. Along the wall are various murals depicting different scenes and people. Kakashi looks to the fox, but it sits and licks its paw, its work already done. He moves into the room to observe the aged pictures. The characters on the yellowed paper identify the various people as Avatars. A spot of dull gray on the canvas catches his eye.
Kakashi's surprised to find his own face staring back at him. Most of the color is gone from the painting as well as the minor details, but the silver hair and Konoha headband is undeniably him. He almost looks peaceful with both of his eyes closed and one arm crossing over his chest, except for the fact that he's holding a Chidori in his right hand. There's no signature from the artist, but there are words next to his figure. He translates them as: "Silvered-haired stranger: The lighting cutter saves our world."
The fact they reference his Chidori and gray hair specifically makes Kakashi feel like his arrival in this world isn't quite an accident. His face doesn't budge, but a cold rage envelops his heart. Who's right was it to tear him away from his own home's problem to solve someone else's? He grabs the picture of himself off the wall and holds it between his hands.
A ruffle of feathers alerts him to the library owner's presence. "I had thought you looked familiar."
"Do you mind clearing this up for me?" Kakashi says as he turns to face the owl, waving the painting.
Wong Shi Tong pauses to consider Kakashi's horrible pronunciation of the common language. "Hmph. I don't bother to memorize where my pieces come from, only the knowledge contained within them." The owl peers closer at the words. "I'm afraid I don't understand the meaning behind the message other than the literal. It seems that you are destined to assist saving the physical world."
"Except I have my own world that needs saving," Well, his village, which is his whole world. "so, I'm afraid that I don't have time to spare."
"Perhaps once you complete your work here, you may return to your world." Wan Shi Tong puffs his feathers. "I am embarrassed to admit that your situation is one that I have not encountered before. I should have you stuffed so that I can study you."
When the giant owl spirit doesn't look like it's joking, Kakashi realizes he's probably over stayed his welcome.
He starts to roll up the scroll of himself. "Ah, sorry, but I don't plan on being stuffed anytime soon. Hope you don't mind, but I'll be keeping this." It would be best if there was no trace of his presence here. "and if you wouldn't mind sparing me a map, that would be appreciated."
When the owl doesn't move from the doorway, Kakashi grows weary. "After all I have to go save the world, right? No more world means no more knowledge."
At that, Wan Shi Tong allows Kakashi to move back into the main hall of the library. "Very well. One of my knowledge-seekers should give you one of the duplicates that I have. I expect it to be returned in pristine condition."
Kakashi doesn't explain that he has no intention of ever returning to this desert. They make their way back walkway under the tower where he entered, Naruto the fox already waiting there with a map in its mouth. Kakashi takes the scroll and hands off the last of his dog treats. The fox happily takes it and moves back towards the shelves, but not disappearing. Kakashi doesn't forget to give thanks to the owl spirit and bows. "Thank you for taking care of me, Wan Shi Tong. I hope my book entertains you."
The owl actually raises its wing to cough behind. He must've been able to translate it. "Yes, well… I wish you luck, Kakashi. You were one of my better visitors. Do not ruin my items."
He looks up to the high ceiling. With no harsh sunlight, it must've been evening in the desert. Kakashi glances at Wong Shi Tong. "Is it too much to ask for a lift?"
The owl stares back with its black holes for eyes.
"Right…" So Kakashi moves towards one of the pillars and starts his jog against gravity back up to the exit.
He doesn't look back to see the two animal spirits look at each other in confusion as they watch the human run up the wall of the library and out of sight.