"I have a new mission for you." The Hokage was sitting behind his large desk. His tone was constantly shifting these days. He wondered if it had to do with that fight with Sakura.
He hadn't seen Sakura in weeks; but he saw her in his dreams. Her voice echoing in his head as he woke.
I'm so sorry, Kakashi.
"A little different…" The Fourth Hokage's lips pressed together tightly before shaking his head. "You'll be the sixth on a squad.
"Normally we don't send out squads that large, but…Something is going on North of the village." The Fourth frowned. "If this was a perfect world, I would go myself. But, I can't leave the village because of rogue Shinobi anymore." He winked at Kakashi. Despite the smile, his shoulders sagged and there was a dullness to his blue eyes. "It's the downside of being Hokage." He sat up straight. "There are strange whispers. Whispers of a small militia in the woods between here and Kumo. Charred trees…and bodies. Kumo is reporting the same thing. Tensions are running high-" He paused, his stare causing Kakashi to straighten his shoulders. "It might-" He paused, speaking almost reluctantly. "The charred bodies recovered have the same burn consistency of the Fireball."
Uchiha.
The Fourth shook his head. "They say all their men are accounted for, and I have no reason to mistrust him." He clicked his tongue. "Nevertheless…proceed with caution. If there is an Uchiha among their ranks…We'll deal with that if it comes up."
Kakashi nodded. "Sir!"
Minato paused. "The squad has been traveling north for two days, you should be able to catch up. We need a strong tracker and someone with a good head on their shoulders."
When the Hokage stopped speaking, Kakashi bowed. "Yes, Hokage-sama."
"Be careful out there, Dog-san."
III
Kakashi caught up with the squadron quickly. Their leader, who went by the codename 'Squirrel' explained that Kakashi and his dogs would follow the trail left by the assailant. "If you leave my site, you better have a medic at your side." Squirrel said sharply. "Hawk."
Hawk, his medic, was an almost comically large, muscular man. Sakura, who was easily half his size, was no doubt four times as strong.
Kakashi released his dogs and he, Hawk, and another Operative were off.
"I did hear Squirrel-taichou say that our target could also-" Kakashi and Hawk never got that intel because a kunai lodged itself in the ANBU's skull.
Kakashi jumped in front of Hawk, his tanto gripped tightly in his hands. He barked at his dogs to retreat and get reinforcements as Kakashi dodged shurikens. A kunai with an explosive tag almost took his head and Hawk's upper body but Kakashi got them out of danger with some quick hand signs.
He felt Hawk move behind him. "I've got your back." His gruff voice was far more confident than it was before. Kakashi nodded as he took off to the left.
He scouted the perimeter. Nothing. No traps, no chakra...nothing.
Kakashi wished he had left Pakkun with him. Or maybe not, not wanting to endanger the small dog. Kakashi made his way back to Hawk and shook his head. They stood high in the trees, back to back until Squirrel arrived.
That was when heat overtook them.
The last thing that Kakashi remembered before jumping on Hawk was the smell of his hair burning.
III
Kakashi woke to the warm, familiar, hum of Chakra over his skin.
Sakura.
Kakashi lifted his head blearily, pain erupting over his body. The smell of burnt hair, skin and bark filled his nostrils. He inhaled sharply as his looked down; His ANBU chest plate had melted, His clothes, crispy, tattered, but somehow still intact. He was missing a shoe.
He was also covered in slugs.
"Mistress will be most pleased!" six little voices rang out, echoing one another. "Please stay still, little one." The one on his neck spoke into his ear. "It is best to remain laying down until help arrives. She will protect you all."
"All!" small voices from all around chorused.
"Where?" Kakashi felt a bang. Kakashi knew that sound. It was the sound of the thunder god. Kakashi sighed. "Sensei…" He laid his head back down, blinking slowly as Sakura's red hair came into view as she slid past his field of vision. His eyes widened. "Sa-" He sat up, watching her movement.
"Please stay down!" the slugs cried. "Stay safe!"
Another loud bang as Sakura disappeared in a flash of red and black. Kakashi's body trembled as he got to his feet. Ignoring the blinding pain, his eyes landed on his tanto next to Hawk's head. He too was covered in slugs, his breathing ragged. Kakashi staggered to the sword, collapsing on top of the hilt. He jammed the edge into the ground as he wiped slugs off him and onto Hawk.
"I have to help her." He said through gritted teeth as he felt the final slug turned into a leech, grasping his neck tightly.
There was another bang in the distance. His mind was shifting to Sakura. Was she hurt? How bad? Would she survive until he got there?
His body trembled. What help was he really going to be? "I will stay with you." The one on his neck spoke, latching onto his artery. "We will ride into battle together once more, Kakashi Hatake. Like the days long since past!"
Kakashi ignored the slug and trudged forward. Ash swirled as he watched flaming leaves rain from the sky. Kakashi felt Sakura's chakra pulsing through him, making every step stronger.
I'm coming, Sakura.
He ripped his ANBU mask off, thankful for his regular mask to block out the smoke as he charged chakra into his sharingan.
The sounds of the thunder god technique echoed through the forest as Kakashi felt a large gust of wind as the ground splintered.
Sakura stood in the middle of the clearing, trees blazing around her. Her arms were bare but were covered in dark marks that went up her neck to her face. Her mouth was set in a deep scowl, but he couldn't see her green eyes.
She had them covered by her headband. She was looking to his left, where a large purple mass was taking up half of the clearing. Kakashi stumbled back, almost tripping and falling to the ground.
"Mistress needs you to escape!" his slug spoke into his ear. "Mistress! I am sorry for allowing-"
"Shut up." He gritted his teeth. Standing straight as adrenaline rushed through him. He widened his feet and held his sword in a tight grip.
The purple thing had it's own sword. It was surprisingly fast as it swung. She jumped back before she disappeared in another bang.
The ground shook as the mass turned, swinging sharply.
That's when Kakashi saw a man at the purple mass' core. Kakashi gripped his sword in both hands and took a step back. Sakura needed help, but he wasn't sure what he could do.
Kakashi heard another bang and another explosion. Sakura slid down the purple mass as part of it shattered. Kakashi covered his face as splinters and dirt flew around him. His Sharigan spun widely and it was then that he realized it wasn't a purple mass, but a purple man.
Kakashi watched Sakura slide to a stop almost in front of him. "Please, listen to me!" Sakura yelled, looking at the man. Her stance widened. "This isn't the answer!"
"If I wanted to hear self righteous bullshit-" The purple mass shattered, a gush of wind blowing dirt up as the man stalked towards Sakura. His long dark hair blew behind him. He wore slim fitting dark clothes, his eyes a glossy black and purple. He had a sword on his belt. Kakashi watched as in the blink of an eye, the man was on her, his hands around her neck. "Iwouldhave brought Naruto." He was almost a head taller than her, his head towering over her.
Sakura sneered, "Like you had a choice."
The slug on his neck hissed as her sneer disappeared. "This, all of this'' the man said darkly, "started with you." The slug hissed again as Sakura's feet left the ground. "Their blood is on your hands!" Sakura went limp.
Sakura! "Stay safe, litt-"
Sakura needed him. He wasn't sure how; Kakashi was skilled, one of the best, but he'd never seen anything like this man before. He would need to be careful. Sakura came back to life, gripping his wrist with both hands.
The man laughed. "History will not repeat itself." The man shifted as Sakura was slammed into the ground, a crater forming around her.
"Shit." Kakashi sheathed his tanto and his fingers flew. "I can't have you being a distraction." The sound of birds erupted around him as he ran, his left hand gripping his right as anger filled him. "Distractions end up getting killed. I can't have you getting killed." Kakashi closed his eye, allowing Obito to guide him. To help. To save.
"I will protect my team, my friends, with my life…"
"Sakura!" He threw his body forward as the man turned, a his purple eye finding Kakashi. Sakura hands flew to her throat as Kakashi felt himself stop, his Chidori inches from the man. The man smirked as Kakashi felt numb. The sound of birds echoed in his ears as the familiar feel of lighting died at his fingertips. His heart pounded in his ears as his brain screamed. Something was wrong, but he wasn't sure what. The taste of metal filled his mouth as cold filled him. He could still hear the echoes of birds as he slowly looked down.
"Rin." He coughed, blood soaking into his mask as the blue lighting engulfed him, tearing at his nervous system. Rin's brown eyes filled his vision, her bloody smile.
"Rin." Unlike the last time Kakashi's chidori had landed, this man struck Kakashi in the gut. His own heart hammered in his chest as he strangely felt the man inside him.
This isn't what Rin felt. She endured so much more.
Kakashi's fingers found a kunai at his side as his left hand griped the man's arm. Rin's bloody smile filled his mind as he pulled himself forward. Purple and red eyes widened as Kakashi moved. He felt blood seep from his own smile as something oozed from Obito's eye. He let out a silent scream as he drove his kunai deep into the man's neck. Kakashi blinked and the man was only a blur, looking down at his own stomach.
Kakashi knew his tanto sword like the back of his hand. He coughed blood as he saw it jutting out of the man's stomach. He followed the man's eyes, the line of the sword to Sakura, crouched, gripping the sword tightly in her hands.
Then the pain.
Kakashi felt his insides move against the man's hand as he crumpled. He was moving forward, falling into the man and then he wasn't.
He was flying.
The slug on his shoulder screamed. "Stay with me, little one! We must ride into battle again!" Kakashi's eyes widened as watched Sakura throw a kunai at him. It was fast, the three points getting close.
As the kunai brushed his nose there was one last bang and he was enveloped by a yellow flash.
With a deep inhale of warmth that made something ooze out of his right eye, he gave in.
Everything went dark.
III
Kakashi smelled antiseptic.
Hospital.
He tried to take a deep breath but there was too much pain. He slowly evaluated himself. Toes and fingers were there. Arms and legs, heavy, but there. His organs...questionable. Breathing was hard.
Kakashi wondered what he remembered was real and what was a dream.
The purple thing? The dark haired man? Something about his eyes.
What happened with his chidori?
"This is why I didn't want you to get involved." Sakura's voice seemed far away, but very close. He checked his body for her chakra, but he didn't find it.
He tried not to be disappointed.
"He got away." Sensei's voice was stern.
"I'm aware." Sakura sighed deeply. "I'll need to find him fast. Before he can recover."
"I should have-"
"You saved Kakashi." Sakura's voice quivered. "That was far more important." Kakashi realized that her chakra wasn't there, but her touch was.
She was stroking his hair.
"I'll get him next time."
There was a pause. Kakashi wiggled his toes.
"Is he going to be ok?"
"Of course he is." Sakura huffed. "I healed him. He won't even have a scar. Besides, of course, the emotional trauma of essentially being chidori'd."
"It was a chidori?"
"That's not what he calls it…" She muttered.
"He's...formidable…" The Hokage confessed. They were arguing but it didn't have the same malice behind it.
"You think I was lying?" She said incredulously.
"I didn't say that. I just-
"I told you, the fucking Yellow Flash, one of the strongest Nin to ever live, that he was someone not to mess around with." Sakura was moving around the room. "I knew what I was saying."
"You say that my-"
"I told you and your men stay away."
"You said he wouldn't touch my people-"
"And then you sent in a small battalion of your best people, including Kakashi, to…what? Kill him? What else do you think he would have done?"
"You're defending-" Sensei's voice rose.
"I'm telling you why this happened." Sakura's voice was soft. "I told you not to-"
"I had to do something. I have to do something. I'm Hokage. He was going to start a war."
Sakura snorted. Her fingers were soft his in hair. "This is why I agreed to be in ANBU. If you hear anything strange, you send me in." He felt her fingers travel from his forehead to his cheek. She patted his skin lightly. "Quit pretending, please." Her voice was very soft. Her thumb rubbed his cheek.
"Is he going to remember-"
"I doubt it." Sakura's voice was unreadable. "Hopefully not."
Kakashi slowly opened his eyes. The Hokage's smiling face was the first thing he saw. Sensei's hair was singed, his arm in a sling, but otherwise in good spirits. "Welcome back, Kakashi-kun."
Kakashi felt himself smile. "Sensei…" Minato-sensei's eyes widened. His smile morphed into something that could rival Kushina's smiles. Kakashi's eyes drifted to his other side, following the wrist to the arm up to green eyes.
Pain sliced through his stomach. He smiled. "Yo."
Her eyes glistened. Her face was pale, dirt and blood coated her skin. "Yo, yourself." Her thumb rubbed his cheek.
"Thanks...for the slug…" he groaned, trying to sit up.
"Slug?" Sakura's eyes didn't move from Kakashi at Minato-sensei's question.
She pushed him gently back in the bed. She blinked tears away as she shook her head. "You're an idiot, you know that? You were lucky." Sakura said. She swallowed thickly. "If he wanted to, he would have killed you." She leaned down and kissed his hair. "Don't do that again, please."
"You needed help." He said, his hand finding her wrist on his face. "I made a promise."
Her thumb rubbed in circles, causing pain in his stomach. "You distracted him enough so I could grab your tanto and stab him."
"I stabbed him." Kakashi added.
Sakura's fingers pressed into his face. "He won't forget that." her voice drifted off. She then shook her head. She looked at Minato-sensei. "It'll be fine." She promised.
Sensei didn't look as confident. He looked back to Kakashi.
"He got away?" Kakashi ignored Sensei's look.
"Unfortunately." Sensei said. "Will he come back?"
Sakura shook her head. "He won't allow his 'revenge' to get in the way. This revenge anyway." The tone of her voice caused Kakashi and The Hokage to eye each other. Kakashi tried to sit up but Sakura wouldn't let him. "He will recede, recoup and heal. It will take him a while." She patted Kakashi's face fondly. She frowned, looking over to The Hokage. "I was hoping that when I met him I would be stronger. I've lost a bit of my element of surprise." Her hands shifted from his cheek to his hair. He sighed. "I'll have to find him soon."
The Hokage smiled at her, reaching over and putting a hand on her shoulder. "We'll train harder. We have time."
Something flashed across Sakura's face but it was gone before Kakashi could figure out what it was.
"Sakura-san." Minato's eyes were wide, "Thank you for saving my men. For saving Kakashi-kun. Konoha is forever in your debt."
Sakura said nothing, she was looking down at him, a soft smile on her lips as her fingers sifted through his hair. His eyes drifted closed as sleep took him.
