Tale of the Setting Sun

Chapter 41: "The Rain Stops"

When Kakashi stumbled forward and Naruto instinctively jumped out to grab him, his first thought was that it had to be a clone. Kakashi had to have switched himself with a body replacement jutsu. Any second now, the clone would dissipate, and the jōnin would jump down from a tree, with a hand holding Jiraiya's latest book.

But Kakashi didn't disappear, and Naruto instead found himself staring down at a greying face. The bloody tip of a blade poked out from the jōnin's chest; it was a blow strong enough to have dissipated even a shadow clone.

Which could only mean one thing...

"Sensei," Naruto said, dumbly. When Kakashi didn't respond, he turned to the bound Sand-nin. "Can any of you heal?" Suddenly, he thought of all the times he'd passed over a medical ninjutsu scroll in favor of a ninjutsu one, and he felt his stomach twist.

"It's unfortunate," said the Sand jōnin. "A blade straight through the heart like that…"

His throat turned dry; Naruto swallowed hard. "What are you trying to say?"

It was a stupid question—the Sand jōnin looked plainly down at Kakashi in response. Naruto followed his gaze and saw that his teacher's face had turned ashen. That had to be wrong, so Naruto pressed his fingers to the crease of his neck and —

He couldn't find a pulse.

Everything in Naruto's head was starting to spin. How could this be happening? Not ten minutes ago, they'd been talking by the stadium. They were going to have a rematch soon.

"Sensei," he repeated.

Again, there was no response. Naruto's grip slackened, and Kakashi's hand dropped limply to the ground. Seeing that, Naruto felt something deep inside him tremble.

"Watch out!" a voice cried.

Dazed, Naruto looked up: An ANBU wielding a blade had just broken out of the trees and was now heading straight for him. Was it an enemy disguised as one of their own? As drained as he was, it would've been a simple matter for him to parry the attack with his tantō.

But he didn't move. Instead, he was suddenly filled with a deluge of thoughts and faces.

His childhood caretaker—Mayu's mother.

The other jinchūriki taken by the Akatsuki before him.

Rai. Mayu. Shirakumo.

The undercover agent in Earth country.

Temari.

And now, Kakashi.

There were so many that had died before him. Because of him. If not for him, would they still be alive?

The ANBU was almost on top of him, the blade flashing in the sunlight, and Naruto thought fleetingly —

...Did it matter?

Her eyes bulging, Karin couldn't believe what she was seeing —

Why isn't he moving?!

The ANBU attacker, seizing the opportunity, had gone straight for Naruto. It left him wide open, and knowing Naruto, he had ample opportunity to evade the attack. And yet, for some reason, he didn't move.

Eyes fixed upon the descending blade, she jerked forward. The chains had disappeared once Gaara had fallen unconscious, and they didn't come out of her a second time. She was going to be too late —

"Naruto!" she screamed.

Clang!

All of a sudden, a blade met the ANBU's blade—it took Karin another second to process that it was Naruto's. Somehow, suddenly, Naruto had responded. The blow had sent the ANBU jerking back; his mask dislodged and fell off his face, to reveal a young man with glasses.

At that, a faint look of surprised recognition flickered across Naruto's face. "You...work for Akatsuki?"

The man's lips curled back. "I thought I'd try my luck," he said, without responding to Naruto's question. "But…" His gaze shot to the side, where Gaara lay unconscious; while Karin's chains had since disappeared, the Sand jōnin hovered protectively in front of him. "Guess I'll take my chances another time." Almost mockingly, he adjusted his glasses—and then taking a step back, he disappeared.

A beat passed—Naruto staggered.

Snapping back to attention, Karin hurried forward. "Naruto!" Without thinking, she grabbed him by the arm. Why hadn't he been moving before? "Are you hurt?"

"Stop," said Naruto.

Karin blinked. "Stop what?"

"Stop talking to me as if you know me."

"Naruto — "

"Let go of me." When Karin didn't move, Naruto raised his voice. "Let go of me!"

Frightened, Karin released his arm. She'd never seen him like this before. Instinctively, she searched blindly for his chakra signature—and what she found caused her heart to plummet.

When they had fought in the chūnin exams in Wind country all those years ago, he had been ruthless and intent, focused solely on his own team. When she had caught sight of Naruto in Grass country, his chakra had seemed meandering, but still purposeful. When they had crossed paths in the Forest of Death and on the training fields, he had been reserved and controlled.

Now, looking at Naruto, the only word that came to Karin's mind was lost.

And the cause of it all...Karin's gaze drew down to the still body in his arms. Was he Naruto's teacher? The man's chakra signature was rapidly fading away, but she could still catch a glimmer of something. "Naruto, I might be able to help."

Naruto didn't respond. Perhaps he hadn't heard, or perhaps he was ignoring her. Whichever the case, time was running out.

Karin felt her jaw set. While she had never healed anyone who was unconscious before, she had to try.

Wrenching open the man's mouth with one free hand—Naruto jerked—she pushed her arm against his teeth. She felt canines pierce her skin, and blood, glowing with her lifeforce, dripped down into his mouth. Karin could feel herself rapidly losing strength, but she clenched her arm, squeezing every drop she could into the other man.

Nothing happened.

"What are you doing?"

Ignoring Naruto, Karin screamed, "Bite!"

A moment passed.

And another.

…

...Where am I...?

…

The sun was just rising on an early morning, and the villagers were out at market. Walking along a path winding through the village, he bounced excitedly on the balls of his feet.

...Excited? Him?

"Kakashi," said a voice he hadn't heard in a long time.

He looked up—up?—to see his father smiling down at him. "Dad."

"Are you that happy about finally starting to attend the Academy tomorrow?"

He returned the smile. "Yeah!"

"Hmm. We should get something to celebrate. What would you like?"

"I…"

"Oi, Kakashi!" A new voice interrupted his thoughts. "There you are, you bastard!"

He veered around to see Obito and Rin speeding up to catch up to him. When he looked back, his father was gone.

"Is something wrong, Kakashi?" asked Rin curiously.

"It's nothing," he answered.

The sun was high in the sky, beating its heat down on the back of his neck. Suddenly, something hard cracked down on his head, and he winced.

"Kakashi! I heard from Minato that you almost got killed on that last mission?!"

"N-now, now, Kushina, let's not exaggerate…" came his teacher's voice.

"You're telling me ten cracked ribs and a leg in a cast is an exaggeration?!"

Slowly, with a limp to his step, he backed away from the enraged woman, when he felt something bump into his back. He turned to see two genin regarding him suspiciously.

"Kakashi-sensei…" said Rai. "Don't you think it's about time you showed us what's under that mask?"

"Hm? Well, how about some ramen?" he said. "If you're quick enough, you might be able to catch something."

Rai's face brightened, but Mayu shook her head in disappointment. "So you can eat your fill and then leave us with the check again, sensei?"

He smiled. "Can't get anything past you, can I?" He looked up at the sky; the sun was starting to set and the air was cooling. He thought he could catch the faint outline of the moon in the distance.

"C'mon, sensei, hurry up, I'm starving," said Rai.

"Sensei? Aren't you coming?" Mayu asked curiously.

Oddly enough, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. But he couldn't quite put his finger on what it is.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," he said jovially, trying to brush it off.

Just as he was about to follow his students' backs, he felt a hand grab his arm.

"Sensei," said a voice.

Kakashi opened his eyes.

It took a moment to reorient himself. His body was aching; he could feel a strange chakra rushing through him, stitching him back together. The missing eye no longer seared, and the injury in his chest had been reduced to a mere throb.

And through it all, Naruto's blurry face looked down at him, shocked and uncertain. "...Sensei?"

"That's me," Kakashi croaked. Red locks of hair spilled around him; looking to his side, Kakashi saw the girl who had reminded him of Kushina. She was unconscious, her face pale and drawn. There was a metallic taste in his mouth...blood?

But before he could think on it much further, he felt his head spinning—and then once again, he lost consciousness.

Hinata was beginning to lose track of how many she'd been able to save, and how many she'd eased of their suffering. Thankfully, she wasn't alone; she'd run into several other medic-nin, and they'd divided the village into sectors for each to cover.

In the face of such disaster, the fact that Hinata was able to contribute in this way brought a sense of burgeoning pride in her chosen line of work. She wondered what her father would think if he were to see her now.

Lowering her hands from her latest patient, Hinata turned to the worried chūnin. "I've stabilized her condition for now, but get her to the hospital. I heard that the ANBU have erected a barrier, so you should be safe there."

"Thank you," said the chūnin, scooping up her patient; while her face was still pale, her breathing had somewhat eased. "If there's anything I can do - "

"Go!"

With a nod, the chūnin disappeared. Hinata let out an exhale, and stood up. As expected, she was starting to feel the strain of using her Byakugan so many times. Fortunately, the battle seemed to be winding down. While the number of wounded was still disproportionate to the number of available helping hands, the injuries were becoming less critical in nature.

Hinata had turned to move onto the next district, when she heard a sound.

Coughing…?

Reactivating her Byakugan, Hinata held up her hands in a defensive position and cautiously advanced. There was a man there, hidden behind what used to be a pharmacy but was now a smoking ruin.

Hinata turned the corner and saw the man: Deathly pale with black hair, she'd never seen him before, but somehow, he looked oddly familiar. Just as he came into view, he hunched over and heaved. Blood splattered the ground.

She didn't know whether he was an ally or an enemy. But she had made an oath to protect the injured, and so she asked, "Are you alright?"

At the sound of her voice, the man jerked, his eyes weary and unfocused. For a moment, he looked up at her, but Hinata had the odd sense he wasn't really looking at her at all. An instant later, he broke out into another bloody coughing fit.

It had been a stupid question. She could tell from a single glance that he was dying. Without any further hesitation, Hinata rushed forward. The moment she touched him, the man stiffened—but as soon as the glow of medical ninjutsu emanated from her hands, the lines in his face relaxed a margin.

As Hinata further examined his body, she felt her brow crease. This man...wasn't a casualty of the battle. No, the illness in his body was one that had advanced over many years. Judging from the level of damage to his internal organs, it looked as though it had started in his lungs, before spreading to the rest of his body. His liver and kidneys were also beyond repair—likely, a result of abusing pain medication. Hinata had seen the like in some older shinobi, though it was her first time seeing this level of destruction in such a relatively young man. It was a miracle he was even conscious.

For a moment, Hinata considered doing what she had done for so many others so far: Stop the weak beating of his heart, and allow the man to go peacefully. It was likely the kindest option, given how much pain he must have been in.

But just as she'd laid her hands over his heart, she heard him whisper hoarsely—

"Sasuke…"

Hinata stopped.

As in...Uchiha Sasuke?

After a moment's pause, she drew back. Placing her hands instead over his head, she pressed several key points in the man's brain. Slowly, Hinata felt him relax as pain-relieving endorphins spread throughout his body.

There wasn't much else she could do for him. Even with the help of her Byakugan, it was far beyond Hinata's capabilities. The disease wracking his body was like a million little dust particles scattered throughout his system, destroying him from the inside out.

But something in his eyes told her that he wasn't ready to go quite yet.

Hinata decided she would take him to the hospital, and once the battle was over, she would look for Sasuke. Though she didn't know him very well—she'd barely talked to him even though they'd been in the same Academy year—she figured there must be a good reason for the dying man to have called his name.

Lightning flashed. The sound of a thousand chirping birds echoed through the clearing. Before the team of enemy ninja could even retaliate, Sasuke had ripped through their abdomens in a line. Three bodies fell in an identical slump to the ground.

The ear-splitting sound faded as he straightened, his eyes glowing dully with the Sharingan.

"Sasuke!" warned Sakura.

She needn't have wasted her breath; Sasuke was already turning, his kunai moving in a blur as it slashed across what appeared to be a humanoid puppet creeping up on him. His eyes followed the faint glow of chakra string connecting the puppet to its master, and he followed with a quick flurry of shuriken. His aim was true; in a rustling sound, a fourth body toppled out of a tree, landing hard on the ground.

Sakura ran up to Sasuke, her eyes shining with admiration. "That was amazing! But I expected nothing less from you..."

Without responding, Sasuke regarded the bodies on the ground. One, two, three, four, five…

Was this enough? Had he managed to close the distance even just a little? With the way he was now—would he be able to defeat Kakashi? Naruto?

His brother?

"I hope everyone's okay," said Sakura, looking back at the rooftops peeking over in the distance. "Do you think we should head back?"

"They'll be fine," Sasuke replied. "I'm going to check the perimeter once again." Without waiting for a response, he took off. Sakura's footsteps soon followed his.

"What you found out there…was it worth it, leaving behind everything?"

When he had asked the question on that night, Naruto's response hadn't been what Sasuke had expected.

"If you have to ask, you already know the answer."

Eyes narrowing, Sasuke felt his pace pick up in speed. The surrounding scenery became a blur. Sakura's footsteps faded behind him.

"Jiraiya-sama!" An ANBU appeared before him, his head bowed in deference. "The Sound-nin have been taken to be interrogated, as you ordered. The Ame-nin have retreated, and the remaining Sand-nin have all surrendered."

"Very good," he answered, faintly.

As soon as the barrier had gone down, with Jiraiya distracted, the missing-nin Sasori had disappeared from battle. Presumably, he had fled the village; with how desperately the Hidden Sand had been searching for the Third Kazekage, they would no doubt be very interested in the information Jiraiya now had for them. It begged the question of just how involved the Sand had been in the invasion—as well as how deeply the Akatsuki had managed to infiltrate each village.

"Jiraiya-sama, what is your next command?"

It seemed some of the ANBU had taken the Third's dying words quite literally.

"I leave it to you."

Maybe they had been meant to be taken that way.

His heart sinking, Jiraiya thought of what inevitably lay ahead. A thorough search would have to be conducted of the Hidden Leaf as well. Given Sasori's level of mastery in puppetry, Jiraiya would have been surprised if they hadn't slipped a sleeper agent or two within their ranks. It would go a long way towards explaining how such a disaster had managed to sneak up right under their noses.

Standing on the rooftop, Jiraiya surveyed the smoking remains of the village around him. A cold breeze swept through the area; a lone leaf swirled through the air.

When Kakashi opened his eyes again, he was no longer on the battlefield. He was in a makeshift hospital room, with an IV attached to his arm. It seemed like a supremely unnecessary gesture—Kakashi hadn't felt this great in years. Whatever it was that had fixed him had completely healed even his cracked ribs from his bout with Naruto the previous week.

It was dimly lit; it may have been night, or it could have been a new day. Kakashi couldn't tell due to the curtains that surrounded his bed, separating him from his neighbors. The groans and murmurs of a dozen others sounded in his vicinity.

A single figure sat besides the bed, red head resting in his hands.

"Naruto...?" said Kakashi.

At the sound of his voice, Naruto immediately looked up. Seeing Kakashi's face, his expression melted into relief. "You're awake."

"What happened…?"

"That hunter-nin who was with Zabuza sneaked up on you."

"I see. I was being too careless." Kakashi swallowed hard, silently rebuking himself.

But Naruto shook his head. "No, it's my fault. I didn't kill that hunter-nin when I had the chance, and he tried to get his revenge."

Kakashi winced; the acute memory of being stabbed through his chest was coming back to him in fragments. "He came at me in my blindspot." Raising himself up on his elbows, he touched a hand to his bandaged chest. "I thought I was a goner for sure. Thank you...Naruto."

"It wasn't me."

"Oh?"

"Karin is the one who healed you."

"Karin?" Kakashi repeated thoughtfully. One after another, the girl was full of surprises. "Well...I'll have to thank her personally then, when I can." Privately, he thought he would have to inquire after her lineage, as well.

Naruto nodded. "Yes."

"How's the rest of the village? Any more deaths?" said Kakashi as lightly as he could.

"Menma tried to go after Haku, but...well, he's in stable condition now. And last I heard from Sasuke and Sakura, they were still in the search party for wounded."

"Anyone else?"

"The Hokage is dead."

Kakashi breathed in sharply. Raising a hand to the bridge of his nose, he pinched it. "Ah."

For a moment, the two were silent. Several beds over, the occupant began to cough up what sounded like half of their lung.

Suddenly, Kakashi thought of the last time they'd been in the hospital together—back during the chūnin exams, in the Hidden Sand, when Naruto had passed out from the effects of the taboo seal. That time around, Naruto had been the one in the hospital bed.

"You know… None of this is your fault, if that's what you're thinking," said Kakashi.

Naruto shrugged. "Even if it's not my fault, I am one of the reasons this happened. Both today...and before."

He wasn't wrong about that. Wherever tragedy struck around Naruto, his jinchūriki status had always played a role.

"Is everything alright, Naruto?"

"You're the one in the hospital."

"You know what I mean."

Silence ensued. The curtains surrounding the bed jostled as a pair of cursing medics ran by. Kakashi felt his foot fall asleep.

Finally, Naruto said quietly, "It's hard, sensei."

"I know."

"Does it ever get easier?"

Kakashi considered it, thinking of all the times he had prayed at his former teammates' graves himself. "A bit, over time."

There was no response from Naruto, who instead looked down at his lap. Kakashi felt his gaze soften: His student had led a difficult life, exceptionally so, even for a ninja. And when Naruto kept so much to himself, it was increasingly easier to forget how young he still was.

The curtains shook again. This time, someone entered the adjacent room. As voices started to murmur, Naruto got up to leave.

Kakashi cleared his throat. "Our team… Let's visit their grave together soon." It was something he had meant to bring up for some time now, and he felt ashamed it had taken him so long to finally do so.

Naruto stopped, his back turned to Kakashi. A beat passed, a still moment in which unfamiliar voices sounded in the dim light and Kakashi held his breath.

And then, he nodded. "Right," he said in a tight voice.

As was standard procedure on the battlefield, Hinata was stopped by the ANBU manning the barrier surrounding the hospital.

"My name is Hyūga Hinata. I'm a chūnin-level medic-nin, here to transfer a patient for intensive care."

"Did you identify the patient?"

"No, I could not."

The ANBU nodded, and stepped back to signal the others to temporarily grant them entry—when his head veered down towards the man's face.

In any other situation, if would have been almost comical how far back the ANBU jumped. "Uchiha Itachi!"

Hinata's pulse quickened and she connected the dots in an instant. That explained the strange sense of familiarity; not only did the man resemble Sasuke, he was an infamous S-rank missing-nin. At Hinata's medical orientation, he had been listed as a category 5: Someone who all medic-nin should flee at the sight of, regardless of whether any wounded remained onsite.

Three other ANBU had already appeared as backup, and Hinata knew if she let it go on much longer, she could very well be facing an entire platoon—agents who'd be better spent out fighting on the field, instead of trying to arrest an already half-dead man.

"Please, I give my word as a medic, that this man is in no condition to be a threat to anyone," said Hinata.

"Uchiha Itachi is a master of deception," the ANBU snapped. "Stand down, medic."

Hinata hesitated. Regardless of the man's identity or past, he was dying and needed immediate medical attention. However, be as it may, in the face of hierarchy, the opinion of a mere chūnin carried very little weight.

She lowered the man's body to the ground, and in an instant the ANBU swarmed him.

When Naruto had last left his apartment, he had walked through a crowded, bustling marketplace filled with the sounds of villagers going about their daily routine. Here and there, he'd attracted whispers and sometimes glares, and he'd caught bits and pieces of mundane conversations about everyday lives.

Now, as he returned to his apartment, the way was silent, punctuated only by the occasional shouts of passing scouts and medics. The last of the fires had only just been put out; not a single part of the village was untouched.

From what he'd overheard at the hospital, there were at least several hundred dead, mostly chūnin. While they had managed to capture some enemy ninja, it would take the intelligence division some time before they could extract any useful information—and by then, some worried, it would be too late.

The outlook for the Hidden Leaf was grim. And at this time, when they needed strong leadership the most, the Hokage was dead. The situation couldn't have been any worse.

Ironically enough, beyond the dark smoke still clouding the Hidden Leaf, the skies were clear and blue. It was a beautiful day.

The way home had long been ingrained into Naruto's muscles. Step by step, he passed through the smoking ruin of the village. Even without the familiar landmarks to guide his way, it didn't take long for Naruto to find his apartment.

Or, rather, what remained of it. A chunk from an adjacent building had crashed straight through it. The only thing left now was a pile of bricks. All of his possessions, few as they were—his books, his spare tantō—were gone.

He hadn't considered that his apartment would have been reduced to a pile of rubble. But, he supposed, there was no reason why it would have been spared.

Sitting down on a lone slab of rock, Naruto rested his head on his knuckles. A breeze swept through the area, and he closed his eyes.

His head, once full of an unending cycle of questions, felt clear at last.

Naruto had never really understood why he, of all people, had been the Fourth Hokage's son. Why he'd been made into a jinchūriki, and why his teammates had died. Why, even now, he continued to live and breathe.

But as it turned out, the answer he'd been searching for was something very simple: There was nothing Naruto could do about what had happened to him. He killed, sometimes because his mission required it, and at times unnecessarily. His teammates had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and paid for it with their lives.

Kakashi, too, should have died, but he had been fortunate enough that someone who could heal him had been there, in the right place, at the right time. Or maybe, it was because Naruto had once decided on a whim to help a starving girl.

The bottom line was, there was no rhyme or reason to as to why things happened. There were only consequences—and whoever was left afterwards had no choice but to pick up after the rubble. It was a cruel and unfair world.

...Did it have to be that way?

Opening his eyes, Naruto raised his gaze to the sky. The vast blue was starting to take on an orange sheen as the sun began to set.

Tomorrow as well, the sun would rise and set. While the Leaf may have been in mourning, the world would continue to move.

Slowly, Naruto raised a hand to his chest. The void was still there, and perhaps it was true, that nothing would ever be able to fill it up.

But despite everything, Kakashi was alive. And at that moment, Naruto was glad to be, too.

A/N: Side note - I've been making an effort to have everything be in English, but I just couldn't bring myself to say "Rain-nin"...

Honestly, I don't like this chapter, but it's been done for a month and I haven't changed anything, so my beta forced me to publish it.