"Senpai!" Yamato said, letting his round eyes glide over Kakashi's body with great puzzlement, "where is your uniform?"
"A good junior would have known to bring me one," Kakashi shot back, squinting at the strange blue lights visible along the city wall in the distance. Fires with a strange color? With no smoke? While the sirens continued to blare their warning, more and more Anbu Black Ops members appeared on the torch-lit roof of the Hokage Tower all around them.
"Hatake!" the Hokage bellowed somewhere behind him, "what kind of role model are you? PUT ON A SHIRT!"
"Give me yours, Tenzo," Kakashi said to Yamato and pointed at his junior's flak jacket demandingly.
"B… but Senpai!" Yamato stuttered, protectively putting his arms around his uniform, "this is mine!"
Kakashi sighed, watching Yamato scurry away from him. "Aren't I supposed to be some kind of commander around here? Don't tell me nobody has an extra shirt and jacket for me! Hey! You!" Kakashi signalled a young Anbu operative that happened to look in his direction. "Get me a uniform. And weapons. Quickly!"
"Yes, sir!" the man saluted and almost tripped over his legs in his haste to obey.
"There is no report from the wall guards and none from the sector patrol units either," Tsunade informed him grimly as she appeared at his elbow, her blonde tails whipping in the wind, "I sent a reconnaissance unit to check out the situation, they should get back to me shortly. I want you to stand by and await my orders, I will send you in next. I am expecting the worst if it's the same thing that attacked the Anbu last night…"
"So you're changing my status to active?" Kakashi asked amicably.
"Hell yes, Hatake," Tsunade snapped, "and don't you dare say 'I told you so'. Yamato is on your team, freely pick to others."
"Whom else have we got? Naruto?"
"No," Tsunade nervously bit her lip, "he left for an escorting mission only yesterday. With Shikamaru. Damn, I had a bad feeling about it all along!"
"Sasuke?"
Her face darkened. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"Dammit, Tsunade. I promise to keep an eye on him. He's one of our best. And if the situation is as serious as you say..."
"You know they were after him, right?"
"What do you prefer, him a sitting duck in the middle of Konoha or him an active soldier fighting back? Come on, Tsunade!"
"Okay, fine," the Hokage said, "but he is your responsibility." Rather unexpectedly, Tsunade sniffed the wind next, narrowing her eyes. "Did you take a shower in Sasuke's apartment?"
Well damn for good noses that recognized the soap from the Tower apartments. But this did not change anything. Kakashi was of the opinion that in a village the size of Konoha, keeping secrets for extended periods of time was an impossibility anyway. Sakura had clearly been very happy to take a shower with him and that was all that mattered. Her decision, none of the Hokage's business. He wasn't stupid enough to build any expectations on it, but he would also not deny that he would do it again immediately given the chance. Sakura was…
…stepping out on the roof behind Tsunade at this very moment in her medical-nin uniform, busy with tying back her hair. The Hokage whipped around, following Kakashi's stare.
"Sakura!" Tsunade said in surprise. "Should you not be resting in bed?"
"I told her so too," Kakashi frowned, but he was too distracted by the determination and fierceness on Sakura's face to be angry, the expression he had always liked the best, feeling a fluttering in his stomach and an impulse to step over to shield her from the wind that was picking up force.
"While you were in bed with her?" Tsunade hissed at him. Kakashi blinked. That was surprisingly close to the truth - but well, Sakura carried a whole telltale cloud of soap scent before her. No wonder, he had used a lot of it on that exquisite body of hers.
"Hokage-sama," Sakura said. Her eyes flitted to him. "K…Kakashi S… sensei," she stammered and blushed deeply. His eyebrows shot up in amusement, ignoring the Hokage's death stare. He hadn't realized the honorific would take on an entirely different meaning after being naked together. He liked it a lot.
"I cannot sit still when my services are needed," Sakura said, deciding it was safer to look just at the Hokage.
Tsunade narrowed her eyes at her. "Okay, fine. Go to the hospital and ready the intensive care units in case we need them. I will send for Ino to help you get organized. Shizune is already there. But take it easy!"
"Hokage-sama! Over here!" somebody called urgently. Was the reconnaissance unit back? Tsunade hurried away.
"Do you often make promises you never mean to keep?" Kakashi asked Sakura before she could flee his presence. It sounded more reproachful than he felt, but he did prefer honest conversations.
"No," she said defiantly, her mouth moving into an offended pout, "but you would not have left otherwise."
"And you know that how?"
"Because I know you very well," she simply said, frowning at him unhappily.
Of course. She was right, he wouldn't have left. He was just about to admit it to her when the young Anbu member with the bird mask came back with a uniform.
"Thank you," Kakashi said, racking his brain for a name but coming up empty. He took the bundle from the man's outstretched hands with a dip of his head.
"I'll help him get ready," Sakura told the Anbu, who was lingering shily and seemed glad to be dismissed.
"I can dress myself," Kakashi smiled at her, but she had already grabbed everything from his hands, checking the equipment quite thoroughly, he wasn't quite sure for what.
"I am your doctor," Sakura said, pointedly not looking at him as she assisted him into the black, sleeveless shirt, "and I am here to tell you to go easy on your body. You almost died only a few hours ago. I do not know why that tattoo was in place, but I removed it. So please be extra careful."
"I'm not your doctor," Kakashi said quietly, "but now you're here I want to tell you to take good care of your body. I wasn't quite done yet."
She blushed crimson red again and he instantly regretted the innuendo, all the more so because he had managed to convince himself on the way up to the roof that he would be content with what he had gotten and wouldn't regret it if there was nothing else of the sort in the future. Had he not lived his life with little aspiration or dreams and had always been happy enough that way?
"I am sorry," he added quickly, "I didn't want to make you feel bad."
"That's quite the opposite of what you made me feel," she whispered and turned her face away even further, the redness spreading to her neck and beyond.
He couldn't help but grin like a fool at that confession. "Then I can go defend the village as a happy man and die in peace," he said.
"Don't say that!" she whipped around, green eyes flashing.
"Sorry," he pressed out. "It's just something you say, I don't m…."
"It's bad luck!" she yelled. "You idiot!"
"O... okay," he said, taking a step forward to put his hand on her shoulder, "sorry. Don't worry."
I am lying to myself, he thought as he stared at the tears that were gathering in her expressive eyes, his heart clenching painfully, I don't want this to be all. Dammit, I'm in trouble.
"I'll be fine, I promise," he said lightly, gripping her shoulder for emphasis, though he felt a type of uncertainty he was unfamiliar with, a tightness of his throat that wouldn't go away however much he swallowed. He wanted to kiss her again, just in case...
"Sensei," a cold, sharp voice said to his right. It was Kaeru, radiating even more displeasure than usually. "I brought your mask and your sword."
Kakashi took his hand away from Sakura's shoulder reluctantly and looked at his junior in the frog-mask who held out the Anbu utensils. "Very thoughtful," he told him. "I need you to get Sasuke Uchiha up here, he resides in the guest apartment on the… first floor. I want you and him on my team. We're moving out shortly."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?"
Kakashi had always valued Kaeru for his brutal honesty and his considerable skills with the sword, but not for his massive, obstinate dislike of the Uchihas. As far as Kakashi knew, Kaeru's family had not suffered any injustice at the hands of the Uchihas and had not been affected by Itachi's actions in the least.
"Less resistance when I tell you to do something would be better," he told him sharply. Never happy to displease him, Kaeru bowed low and hurried away, but not without a pronounced side glance at Sakura.
Wordlessly, and apparently choosing to ignore Kaeru's antics, Sakura handed Kakashi his Anbu flak jacket, his gloves and arm guards. While he shrugged into the jacket and readied the rest of the uniform, she pulled out white bandages from one of her pockets, and bent down to tie it around his right leg, to secure the kunai pouch. Then, she put the belt with the back pouches around his hip.
"Done," she said, straightening, her hands lingering on his belt buckle a moment longer than necessary.
On impulse, Kakashi bent forward and pressed his lips against her forehead. "Take care," he whispered, inhaling deeply one last time before turning around and walking away.
"Please come back," she whispered.
It took an effort not to look back at her. It was the first time he went into battle feeling regret and he suddenly felt he could related to those of his generation that no longer wanted to fight.
Fool, he chided himself. Just do your job. Concentrate.
Throwing his sheathed sword from hand to hand to get a feel for its weight and balance, Kakashi walked forward to where the Hokage stood with a small group of Anbu, his mask up on his head, ready to be pulled down at any moment.
"What's the situation," he asked, acknowledging the salutes of the others with nods in all directions.
"The wall is breached," one operative reported, "but nobody came through as far as we can tell. We saw no wall guards, they're either dead or... we don't know, they might have gone after the thing that attacked."
"What about the sector patrol?"
The Anbu operative shook his head. "Missing too, the town is deserted."
Strange. Kakashi secured his sword at his back and looked at Tsunade. "Awaiting your orders, Godaime Hokage."
"Find out what it is and eliminate the threat. If you have to go outside the walls, I want you to take a medic with you," she told him. "But not her."
Kakashi nodded grimly. Of course not.
"I'll send someone your way," Tsunade said, "but hey! Be careful. The survivors at the hospital have not yet regained consciousness, so we do not know what we're up against."
"Understood," Kakashi answered.
Tsunade twisted her head a little to look at something behind him. Kakashi turned as well and saw Kaeru and Sasuke approaching. Given the speed at which Sasuke had gotten up here, he had probably been hoping for a summons, dressed and ready. He was the only one not wearing an Anbu uniform, since he was not officially part of their ranks, but Sasuke had never worn any of the official Konoha uniforms anyway. Tonight, he had put on black trousers and a black shirt with the Uchiha crest at the back. But he also wore Konoha's headband, challenging all the doubters to call him a traitor to his face.
Sasuke didn't stop to talk to Sakura, but he slowed down and threw her a questioning look, vulnerable enough to make Kakashi's gut contract with guilt. She said something before she waved and walked away. The boy had never been able to express his feelings and that had obviously not changed one bit. Now was not the right time, but Kakashi knew he had some thinking to do about what to say to Sasuke about Sakura.
"Sasuke," he greeted him for now, "good to have you on my team."
Sasuke nodded and scowled, not looking at anybody. Yamato came running across the roof at high speed.
"Senpai, at your order!" he panted, nodding to the other two.
"Alright," Kakashi nodded, "this will be our formation…"
He did not need many words to brief his team, all had sufficient battle experience and understood their roles quickly. At Tsunade's nod, Kakashi pulled down his kitsune mask and gave the signal for departure.
The four of them rushed forward, approaching the wall breach at top speed by using the shadows as cover. About halfway to their destination, Kakashi noticed that his body was far more sluggish than usual, that he needed an extra effort to keep up with the speed of the others, but he decided not to pay it too much attention, it wasn't entirely unexpected.
The town below them was quiet. At the first sound of the sirens, people living close to the wall would seek shelter in designated underground facilities where they stayed put unless given different orders. What was strange though was the huge, gaping hole in the wall: It looked like something very large had ripped out a part of the stone structure, but then had lost interest in what it was doing. The lights that Kakashi had seen earlier were gone, only the almost full moon shone down on the destruction with its cold, white light.
Kakashi signalled to the others to progress with caution as they set down on the intact part of the wall. Listening into the night for enemy movements, they sat still for a while. Kakashi concentrated on getting a read on the wall, for a moment forgetting he had no Sharingan anymore to see more than the normal eye could.
"Sasuke," Kakashi addressed the Uchiha, "are there any traces of chakra you can see?"
Sasuke focused his two Sharingans on the wall, then shook his head. "Nothing," he said.
"Would the wall guards have left without orders?" Kaeru asked, "that's highly unlikely."
"No dead bodies around," Yamato shrugged. "So they must have left."
"Unless they were… eaten?" Kaeru shuddered involuntarily.
Kakashi frowned. Whatever had come here must have appeared so quickly the wall guards had not been able to send a report to the Hokage. There was some damage to the trees near the destroyed part of the wall, but apart from that, there were no other trails visible to the eyes. This was a clear case for his ninken.
Ee, Inu, Tori, Saru, Hitsuji, bam! he slammed his hand to the ground and … winced in pain because it felt like his arm was about to be ripped out of its socket. Luckily, nobody noticed - except for Pakkun, who looked at him with narrowed eyes after making his appearance.
"Kakashi, what's up? Are you ill?"
"Pakkun," Kakashi ground out between clenched teeth, "no time for a chit chat. I need you to track the unknown entity who damaged our wall and report back to me as fast as you can."
"Okay," Pakkun said, "you'll hear from me."
The small dog began running around, sniffed the wall, jumped down the cleft using protruding stones as a foothold and then disappeared from view. The pain in Kakashi's arm faded quickly, but he prodded it with the fingers of his left hand to see whether he could locate the source of the pain. He couldn't.
"Hey," a familiar voice said behind him, "I'm the medical-nin assigned to you."
Kakashi turned his head, glad his face was covered by more than just his face mask or else it would have betrayed his stunned disbelief. Of all people!
"Am I supposed to pretend I don't know it's you, Kakashi?" Kabuto asked in a conspiratorial voice. "I never quite understood the Anbu secrecy rules. One look at your hair and the whole world knows it's you. Why even bother with a mask?"
"Kabuto," Kakashi sighed.
"Yup, it's me," the medical-nin grinned peskily. "I'm pretty sure I know who red-green mask over there is. Froggie on the other hand… not sure…," he titled his head to study the young Anbu operative.
"Just be quiet," Sasuke told him gruffly, "you talk too much."
"Ah, I forget Uchihas are in an eternally bad mood," Kabuto sighed, "are we heading out?"
"Sensei, are we going as a five-member team?" Kaeru complained. "That's awkward."
Kakashi quickly went over everybody's profile in his head. He certainly wouldn't part with wood release or the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and a medical-nin on the team was a life-or-death asset. Since he was to be the leader, that left…
"No, I won't stay behind!" Kaeru exclaimed appalled, apparently coming to the same conclusion about who was the most expendable.
"Then we're going in a five-member team," Kakashi said. "Star formation, the medic in the middle."
"How nice of you to guard me well," Kabuto smiled, "you know how to make people feel special!"
"Just keep quiet, okay? I'll take the lead, Sasuke is at the back, at least until we need the Sharingan. Yamato right, Kaeru left. Stand ready!"
Almost on cue, Pakkun's deep bark could be heard echoing through the woods. Kakashi signalled for departure, heading straight for his dog's signal.
But dammit, there was something wrong with him. It was like his lungs were clogged and it was difficult to breathe, as if weights had been added to his arms and legs, trying to drag him down. Good thing he had trained with weights before, Maito Guy's foolproof method to become stronger, it meant he knew almost instinctively how to push himself harder in order to keep up his usual speed.
They reached Pakkun's location relatively quickly, a small clearing that would soon be overgrown by the thicket that was pressing in from all sides. "There's a scent here," Pakkun reported, "it smells like molten metal, but it's only here."
Strange. "Should I summon the others?" Kakashi mused, secretly glad to be able to catch his breath.
"I already did that," Pakkun said. "They're on it."
"Good doggy," Kakashi said and scratched Pakkun behind the ears. The dog claimed he hated to be treated like an animal, but Kakashi knew this to be a lie. Indeed, the little pug leaned into his hand, turning his head this and that way for better access.
"That's enough now," Pakkun grumbled after a bit. "The others are back."
Kakashi's dogs materialized around them, excitedly running forward to greet him and report. Bull even jumped him, almost toppling him over, using his tongue to lick his mask up and down.
"Okay," Kakashi groaned, trying to push the huge dog away and at the same time pat him, "thank you. I'm happy to see you too!"
"Must be nice to be loved this much, even if it's only by a dog," Kabuto remarked, a comment Kakashi decided to ignore.
"Nothing unusual in my direction," Urushi said, with all the others except for Guroko agreeing.
"Picked up a weird smell to the north-north-east," the dog with the pronounced whiskers reported proudly, "same stench as here."
"Okay, let's move," Kakashi ordered the team.
Another rush through the forest, this time with his dogs flocking around him, occasionally rubbing against him, as if they knew he was struggling a little and wanted to give him support. The second place where the enemy entity had left a scent mark, again a small clearing, formed a straight line with the first place to the wall.
"It is possible the thing has wings? Or jumped?" Kakashi mused, looking at Yamato for additional ideas, but his junior just looked spooked and shook his head.
"Have you considered it could be a trap?" Kabuto asked, but Kakashi chose to ignore this comment too. Of course he had considered that option. What he didn't like about this idea was how obvious a trap it was. Obvious traps indicated an arrogant enemy who considered himself so superior, they did not need surprise on their side.
There was a third place along the straight line that the dogs confirmed had the scent mark. When they all got there, a very strange feeling came over Kakashi. It was the stinking air that was brimming with sinister energy that triggered something like a memory in him, a kind of déja-vue that froze his body in fear for a few seconds and made his gut contract painfully.
"Watch out!" was all he was able to press out before the air parted and three towering, shimmering figures appeared out of nowhere, their large hands making a grab for them. Kakashi saw with relief how his dogs disappeared in clouds of smoke - at least they were going to be safe.
"Did they just walk through portals?" Yamato yelled as he shot thick, pointy wood stakes at the orange figure closest to him.
"Take care of Kabuto and Kaeru!" Kakashi ordered him and started running towards Sasuke. Portals? It had looked like a Kamui portal to him. But that was impossible!
"Hey, are those Susanoos?" Sasuke shouted, dodging the hand of the thing going after him.
It couldn't be, could it.
Kakashi pulled his sword and poured chakra into it until it shone brightly, hacking at the dark blue hand that was trying to grab Sasuke. Three fully developed Susanoos? There were no three people with Mangekyō Sharingan in both eyes alive, were there? And yet, these attackers had a shimmering chakra armor in different colors just like Susanoos, only that they were smaller.
He raced up the thing's arm, feeling how the chakra armor heated up the sole of his boots painfully. He got to the shoulder before the tall humanoid attempted to flick him off with the other hand. Who was steering the avatars? Not seeing evidence of a human pilot between the eyebrows, Kakashi tried to get even closer to the top by climbing up where the ear was, but the giant shook his head so violently, Kakashi was halfway thrown off. Somersaulting through the air, he pushed off a tree and managed to land next to Sasuke.
"They seem to be remotely controlled," he informed him, shifting his weight away from the blisters on his feet. His entire body hurt like hell.
"That one looks very much like yours," Sasuke remarked gruffly, pointing at the light blue one just now launching in their direction. "What the heck happened to Obito's Sharingan after he died?"
Obito's Sharingan… the memory hit Kakashi like a ton of bricks. He had possessed two Mangekyō Sharingan, though only briefly and he had unlocked a Susanoo with it. It was Obito's parting gift. "You be the Sixth Hokage, Kakashi, okay?" his friend had said, managing to laugh despite everything. The Sharingan had faded when Obito's spirit left for the other world, to be with his beloved Rin. Silly, clumsy Obito… who had sacrificed his life for him twice.
How… how could he have forgotten this? Kakashi stared up at the light blue monster with the long nose. A Mangekyō Sharingan monstrocity come to haunt him? How fitting. Maybe it was finally time to pay for his mistakes and empty promises.
"Move, idiot!" Sasuke shouted and pushed him aside by ramming his full body weight into Kakashi. Stumbling backwards, Kakashi had to watch helplessly how the Susanoo managed to grab the Uchiha in his stead.
"Activate your Susanoo!" he yelled at Sasuke, pushing against the ground, shooting upwards at high speed.
He reached the top of the Susanoo's head, using the vantage point to check how the others were doing: fine, all things considering. Yamato was building palisades for their protection and the orange and the dark blue Susanoo were tearing them apart, while Kaeru and Kabuto attacked the monstrosities when there was an opening. Kakashi expected Sasuke to transform any moment, but when he looked down towards where he was, it seemed he was struggling profoundly.
Not losing a moment, Kakashi let himself fall, using the Susanoo's arm like a slide. Swinging his sword, Kakashi hit the blue fingers using the force from the impact. Chakra exploded outward, almost throwing him off. Gritting his teeth, he poured chakra into his feet for balance and swung again.
"I… I can't move!" Sasuke shouted meekly, "it is… sucking away… my chakra, dammit!"
Kakashi hacked again and again, but he could not get through the chakra armor like this. Throwing away the sword, he gathered chakra into his hand. The Susanoo's defense reacted immediately, shooting its own electricity through his body. It hurt so much Kakashi almost blacked out. Spots dancing before his eyes, he concentrated even harder. There was a pressure point on the biceps of the human body that would immobilize an arm completely if hit the right way. Here was to hope that Susanoos were built like humans.
"Raiton: Shiden!" he yelled, shooting forward, purple lightning crackling around him.
His jutsu was capable of cutting through almost everything, but apparently not a Susanoo's armor. But Kakashi was not one to give up easily, besides, he was getting angry. Pressing forward with all he had, he was finally rewarded by the monster slackening its fingers briefly, emitting an eardrum shattering roar. Sasuke was still mobile enough to grasp the opportunity and slip out of the avatar's hand, but not strong enough to build up chakra, falling down like a sack of stones. Shooting after him, Kakashi managed to throw himself underneath him to break his fall at the last minute, a very rough landing that drove all the wind out of him.
But there was no time for nurturing hurt ribs. Grabbing Sasuke's body, Kakashi jumped into the forest to hide behind a large tree. Here, he had to drop the Uchiha unceremoniously because he had reached his own limit. Collapsing to his knees, he coughed extensively. When he wiped his mouth, his hand came away sticky and red.
"Sensei," Sasuke groaned, struggling to sit up, "get out of here. It's after me, no need to put your life on the line."
Sensei? This had to be the first time Sasuke had ever called him that. But rather than giving him warm and fuzzy feelings, Kakashi felt anger lace through him. Straightening, he glared down at the pale Uchiha.
"You brat!" he coughed angrily, "do you think I have protected you all this time to just run away at the first difficulty?"
"I wish people would stop trying to save me," Sasuke growled.
Kakashi had never given a shit about the boy's contempt towards him for using a Sharingan without being an Uchiha. But he seriously hated Sasuke's silent disdain for life of any kind, his toxic attitude towards anything good in the world. It was a relief he was never around, Kakashi thought viciously, or he might have managed to dampen Sakura's bright spirit.
"And I wish you'd finally drop the attitude," Kakashi shot back, "you're an adult now, stop acting like a teenager."
"Only if Konoha stops treating me like a child!"
Kakashi rolled his eyes in frustration. But no time for a conversation that had to happen, the Susanoo was approaching with heavy steps. Good for them they were so slow and clumsy. Kakashi had to lead it away from Sasuke so that the latter had time to gather his chakra.
"You don't move!" he told the Uchiha and raced up the tree in front of them until he was at the height of the Susanoo's eyes.
"Here! Hello!" he yelled at it and made sure to jump through the air in the most visible way. The thing turned its head indeed and briefly hesitated before stumbling after him. Kakashi doubled his speed - so much effort! - and managed to jump next to Yamato without getting himself impaled by one of his wooden stakes.
"Sensei!" Kaeru exclaimed, "you're bleeding!"
"Never mind," Kakashi coughed, "Yamato, how long can you keep this up?"
"Until I drop," Yamato pressed out, "but that might be soon."
"They can suck up chakra," Kakashi informed him, watching Yamato's shaking arms with a sinking feeling, the poor guy was pretty much done, "they probably touch the wood connected to your body to do so. Kaeru? We need to destroy them."
"Y… yes," the young Anbu said, gripping his sword a little more firmly.
"I can help," Kabuto said, seeming serious for once, his hands brimming with chakra. "You know I can do more than heal."
Kakashi looked him over, suddenly finding his mask constricting. He ripped it off his head and threw it to the side.
"Alright," he said slowly. "I have no clue how to defeat a Susanoo, but these three are smaller than the real deal and have no wings, so I'm guessing there is a way."
"You're guessing? That's nice," Kabuto sneered. But then, his eyes fell on Kakashi's left arm and his face darkened.
"What are these things?" Kaeru asked. The orange one had grabbed Yamato's latest palisade and was ripping it apart.
"Something they cannot be," Kakashi answered, his head reeling. One orange like Itachi's. One dark blue like Madara's. One light blue like his own. Another cough began building up in his lungs and he turned to the side to spit out more blood.
"Oi," Kabuto yelled, "are you crazy? Damn idiot with a savior complex. Let me heal you before you do anything else."
Kaeru grabbed him by the arm to steady him. It wasn't the time, but another wave of distrust made Kakashi struggle against Kaeru's grip, just as the medic's left hand touched his chest, freezing him on the spot.
"I know of a little secret that will make you feel better," Kabuto hissed. "Hold still."
There was something shiny in his right hand coming at him with speed, delivering a sharp pain to his shoulder. Kakashi flinched. A syringe! Kabuto had injected him with something! Whatever it was, within seconds, strength returned to his limbs and his head cleared. Kabuto kept applying chakra to his chest, but it was probably only for show. Convinced Kakashi was alright now, Kaeru jumped forward to hack at one of the Susanoos when Yamato took a few wheezing breaths to gather strength for more wood release.
"Better," the medic smiled, "am I right?"
"We'll talk when this is over," Kakashi said menacingly, feeling an urge to grab the guy's pony tail and shake him until he lost his attitude.
"Oh, with pleasure," Kabuto retorted. "I have been waiting for you to come see me for days. That tattoo? Pretty life critical for you. Using two Mangekyō Sharingans changes the cell structure of the body, have you forgotten?"
Kakashi didn't get any of this. Kabuto was probably just playing a practical joke on him for his own amusement.
"So it's true," Kabuto laughed at his dumbfounded reaction, "you have amnesia? I heard the rumors. Must be pretty scary. Can't say I feel sorry for you, you're giving me such a hard time."
So slowly he first thought it was a trick of the eyes, Kakashi's vision turned redder and redder. "What…" he gasped. This used to happen with the Sharingan.
"The tattoo seals blood," Kabuto said, now seeming to get angry, "Uchiha blood. Did that meddlesome pink head remove it during one of your rendez-vous? You're both such idiots! I told you to come get the pills, they regulate it."
A blood seal with Uchiha blood that got out of control if he did not take some pills Kabuto made? It was like a bad dream. But the strength that flooded him, that was no dream and definitely no bad one.
"Yes, Kakashi. Konoha… no, let's not be too modest here… it was me, me alone," Kabuto continued." I have managed to find a way to trigger the Sharingan in a non-Uchiha: you. Isn't that great? And to believe you were so eager for this before forgetting. Jeez, what an idiot."
The why, the how, it did not matter right now. It did not matter that he realized Tsunade had been right not to trust him. Never would she agree to something like this. All that mattered was what blossomed in front of his changing eyes. The power… it was intoxicating. To be once again what had made him one of the most feared Shinobi alive… He saw the flow of chakra in all living things and he saw the flow of chakra in the machines.
"Kaeru!" he shouted, rushing forward.
Soulless avatars fuelled by round chakra cells embedded in their bodies. Remote controlled by someone whose presence he now felt. Someone nearby. Someone… familiar.
Gaining more and more speed, Kakashi destroyed the chakra centers one by one. The first of the avatars to fall apart and disintegrate was the light blue one. The second was the orange one. The dark blue one was the toughest of the three, giving them a very hard time, effectively keeping him from getting near the person behind all this.
Kakashi was burning so much chakra he felt his body heat rise to dangerous heights. He didn't care. They were almost victorious. Just a little more.
"Let me do it!" Sasuke shouted next to him, apparently recovered enough to join the fight.
Kakashi nodded and somersaulted to the side. Behind the trees? But there was nobody there when he touched down.
Wrong.
"Hi sweetie," a female voice said by his ear, "This time, I will make sure you cannot run away before I'm done with you."
Strong shimmering hands from out of nowhere made a grab for him and started sucking his chakra away. A fourth one? Kakashi managed to think. It does use portals.
But this was it, wasn't it. He had fought these things before. It was what he had halfway remembered when they had reached the clearing.
"Who… are you?" he asked into the darkness of the forest.
There was no answer, only a gentle laughter.
"You won't get him, witch!" Pakkun yelled.
His ninken materialized all around him, sinking their teeth into what they could reach of him. Pointless. The Susanoo was much stronger. Ah, but he had regrets. If only… if only he could have kissed Sakura one more time. If only he could have told her… that… he wanted to spend time with her, a lot of time. Every free minute he got. That he… liked her. A lot.
