Wild-filly: Well we're heading down the home stretch now… Second last chapter is here! And what a trip it's been… this has been a wonderful learning curve for my writing style. The stuff that's to come is still pretty grim, but I ask you all to keep faith in my delight for happy endings.
My undying gratitude to everyone who has reviewed – you all make the process worthwhile. If it weren't for all of your comments, encouragement and suggestions, this fanfic would have died a long time ago. Thank you for everything!
Disclaimer: wild-filly still doesn't own Naruto. Nor does she own Kakashi. She owns Kurotaka, but she thinks that Kakashi might have stolen her when she was watching the keyboard (wild-filly still can't touch-type properly… what's with that!)
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Okumen Gokurakuchou: Chapter 27
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The funeral had been and gone, but life was refusing to progress in what could now only be described as a normal fashion. Kakashi kept expecting the door of his apartment to rattle on its hinges, as a chirpy Masurao assaulted the frame with a barrage of fists and insults towards its owner. The village seemed oddly silent, and a lot more brooding. He guessed that life in general was going to be pretty quiet. It would take a lot of getting used to, and even then, it would still seem strange should he ever stop to think about it. You can't spend most of your life with a person and then just expect to have everything without them seem normal. It was peculiar. Kurotaka didn't try to jolt Kakashi out of his stupour. She accepted his need for time to himself, or so he guessed.
The Hokage had been refusing to let Kakashi go on any serious missions for the week after his release from hospital. It was only sensible, if frustrating, he supposed. He needed time to grieve. Although Kakashi was suspicious that it was just to make sure that he didn't have any suicidal tendencies, keeping him in the village where the Hokage and his assistants could keep an eye on him. Honestly. Masurao and Obito had died saving Kakashi's life: he wasn't about to ruin their sacrifices himself. Besides, Kurotaka'd kill him for even trying it. Not that this would help matters out very much, but still, the thought was there. Nah. He had far too much to live for to do something as selfish as take his own life.
Another solid week of monotonous missions had followed. He had become the Hokage's errand boy, collecting messages and escorting supplies. It was dull, belittling and infuriating. Kakashi fretted, annoyed a having to run around after these pathetic little tasks – he wanted a bigger mission. He wanted to go to the front lines, and take out some of his pent up frustration on his hapless opponents. Maybe one day he'd find that Mist ninja who had accosted them on that hateful morning. But then what?
Kakashi sighed, massaging his temples. It was too much. The Mist ninja hadn't done anything to Masurao. Hell, he hadn't done anything at all. Whoever had been the mastermind behind the scam operation still hadn't come forwards to take credit. It'd only been a draw of sorts after all.
Pathetic. How many lives were spent for a mere draw; a flimsy, meaningless result in a war of equal contempt? It sickened Kakashi to the pit of his stomach.
"Kakashi-kun? What are you doing out here?" Kurotaka's voice carried faintly on the breeze as she leant out of the apartment window, head twisted upwards to see him. Her hair was wrapped in a towel, warm water dripping down the back of her shirt as she tugged on her fingerless gloves, sticking awkwardly to her damp skin. She was obviously just back from the local baths.
"Not much," he responded glibly. "Just thinking, that's all."
"What brought that on?" she teased gently. Hoisting herself out the window, she vaulted onto the flat roof and settled herself, cross-legged beside him. A slender arm, hardened from years of martial arts exercises, slipped around his waist, drawing him closer to her side. He leaned in amiably, enjoying her company. "Nothing I suppose. Just wondering when the war'll end, that's all." It was the truth, more or less.
"Not soon enough." She wrinkled her nose in distaste, lifting one hand up to her hair and tousling it with the towel in a futile attempt to wring the moisture from the tresses. "Apparently the Hokage's managed to get through to a couple of people though. They're going to order a ceasefire at the earliest opportunity. There's just the matter of squashing some rebel groups now." Black and white fringe stuck to her forehead, longer strands of hair now hopelessly tangled and sticking up in odd places. It was bizarre, yet strangely endearing.
Kakashi yawned, tucking his own arm about her shoulders. "Damn. Those always take the longest to silence."
"I suppose." She squinted up at him, shielding her eyes from the glare of the afternoon sunlight, scraping the renegade tresses out of her view. "Do you want to go and get some ramen? My treat."
Kakashi started, staring at her curiously. That was unusually generous of her. But then again, he reconsidered it. After finding out the details of the botched mission, Kurotaka had not tried to speak to him about it. Not since the time at the memorial stone, and even then she hadn't attempted to give him a pep talk. She'd just made herself present. While other ninja around the village had showered Kakashi with sympathy messages and pitying looks, Kurotaka had simply stayed quiet and by his side.
It only occurred to him now just how much more use that actually was.
"Your treat?" he quirked his exposed eye at her. "That's awfully considerate of you. Does this include extra helpings and noodles?"
She glowered at him. "Don't go taking advantage of it, Kakashi-kun. 'Some' ramen does not imply all of the ramen in the shop."
"Ah, but I don't have to order all of the ramen available. After all, you'd be having a bowl as well, so that'd be one serving that I couldn't order-" He was cut off by a sodden towel suddenly relocating itself at high speed into his immediate person and cutting off all breathing orifices. Not a welcome state of affairs.
"Nice try, but no points." Kurotaka chuckled, fingers lazily trailing through the damp tangle of black and white locks. "I am not forking out a fortune just so that you can consume your body weight in pork, miso and noodles."
"Maybe you should specify that in future" he grumbled, unwrapping the towel from his face and haughtily folding it. Kakashi offered her the tightly creased bundle with an expression of unruffled dignity. "I believe that this is yours."
"Why so it is. I wonder how it got there." Kurotaka accepted the bundled towel and tossed it carelessly into the apartment below. A couple of crashes and the shatter of something expensive suggested that if she'd been planning on having the towel land on the dresser, then she'd been right on target. The fact that her navy blue eyes widened and what little colour was in her face drained however, suggested the opposite.
"Problem?" Kakashi grinned, one eye creased with humour.
"Not personally. That was, after all, your pot plant sitting on the windowsill."
"You hit Mr Ukki?" Horror ran rampant across Kakashi's features, voice strident and aghast at Kurotaka's nonchalant words. "Of all the heinous crimes that you could have committed against my person, you had to stoop so low as to attack a defenseless shrub…"
"Oh get over it Kakashi. It needed a new pot anyway. The old one was far too small." She quirked an eyebrow, eyes lightening as she teased him.
"But he was still using it. You're supposed to do these things gently to plants. What will I do if he suffers post-traumatic stress syndrome because of that fall?"
"Then I'll pay for the psychiatric bills as well as the ramen tonight. Deal? I'm being more than generous."
"So you are." Kakashi chuckled under his breath, squeezing Kurotaka's shoulder lightly with one hand. She shook her head in mock disdain, nuzzling her face into the crook of his shoulder and chest. Her warm form was getting better at fitting against his body shape. Neither of them seemed to get tangled up anymore, nor falling victim to assorted cramps or muscle spasms from holding each other in ways that were comfortable for a minute at most, and then agonising. Mr Ukki could wait a few more minutes. For now, Kakashi just wanted to sit there, eyes closed slightly in the breeze, with Kuro's heartbeat beside his own, reassuring murmurs flowing from her lips. Nonsensical and barely audible on the swirling wind, Kakashi just enjoyed the fact that she was there. It was so much easier to accept things this way.
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Soon enough, everything went back to its usual, barbed state of affairs. Truces didn't last long, and even kindly gestures contained hidden agendas, or so Kakashi noted. Not that this wasn't a good thing. It kept him on his toes, and stopped things from getting boring. Or easy.
"So what kind of ramen do you want?"
"I don't know yet, but it'd better be good. That plant pot was expensive."
"Hey, I suggested that you just use an old milk container. It'd be much cheaper, plus it would come with free plant nutrients."
"Absolutely not. Mr Ukki deserves a quality dwelling. I'm not going to shove him in any old bucket, just because some homicidal kunoichi decided to throw things at him."
"Technically I was aiming around him, so it's not really my fault."
"Technical or not, you're still the one that smote him!"
"Fine, have it your way. I still don't see why you had to get the plant pot monogrammed for the stupid fern though."
"It's in case he has an identity crisis, alright?"
"Whatever. Maybe I should stop hitting you on the head. It seems to be having drastic effects."
Well, that was an unforeseen, but very useful remark to have been made. Kakashi decided to file this information away for later usage: personifying inanimate objects wins sympathy, free dinner and promises of no further violence. How much better could it get? "For your information" he said primly, "I was like this before any head injury was ever occurred against my person. I'm a terminal case."
Kurotaka shook her head in mock despair, then halted, fingers still entwined around Kakashi's own. "Is it just me, or does the stand look shut?"
Damn it all. Kakashi nodded. The bright lights and banners had been stored away, the stand silent and shadowed, out of the afternoon sunlight. "I guess they weren't expecting any business" he commented dryly. "Fried rice instead?" Gesturing towards an open stand further up the street, Kurotaka shrugged and continued on, tugging him after her. He let her lead, placidly observing the market stalls about them. Everything seemed quieter than usual. It brought a sharp pang to his chest, but he choked it down, determined not to dwell on his depression any longer than was necessary. Masurao wouldn't have wanted that. Masurao would have wanted Kakashi to enjoy himself; especially if enjoying himself meant eating a steaming platter of fried rice with an adoring, if argumentative kunoichi.
Kakashi drew a deep breath, and released it with a steady hiss. Serenity. He stood by demurely as Kurotaka took the initiative to order their helpings of rice, watching the proceedings impassively. When she turned to him though, a pair of disposal chopsticks sticking comically out of the corner of her mouth, juggling two containers of rice and more chopsticks between her hands, as she tried to avoid burning herself, he couldn't hold back a chuckle. She glared at him reflexively, then smiled herself, shoving one of the boxes and a set of chopsticks into his arms. "Come on. Let's go find somewhere quiet to eat this."
Kakashi tapped the side of his container absentmindedly. "Somewhere outside the village maybe? I'd like to get some real fresh air."
Kurotaka nodded amiably. "Yes, I don't see anything wrong with that. The woods just outside?" At Kakashi's nod, the two turned and ambled towards the gates, worming their way through the unusually calm streets. Kakashi pondered over the silence. Perhaps there had been another general call during the night. He was getting slack with just this minor work. It was about time he got back into doing proper missions. Nothing at the moment was doing him justice. Not that he minded spending the extra time with Kuro in the slightest.
The gate to Konoha was heavily barred, so they opted to climb over the fence, rather than incur the gatekeeper's very slow wrath. Well, Kakashi supposed that climbing over the fence would do that anyway, but as the Chakra returned to his skin after merging the soles of his shoes to the wooden frame, he decided that this had been a far simpler method. The enraged shrieks of the guards were fairly easy to ignore anyway.
Dusty pathway melted into pristine forest, shaded from the heat of the afternoon sun. Kakashi followed Kurotaka's lead as she traveled deeper and deeper into the wilderness, stepping nimbly over fallen branches and thick clumps of bushes. He glanced down at his container of fried rice. "Kuro-chan, the food's getting cold. Have you found a spot yet?"
She chuckled deversively. "Tell your stomach not to panic, Kakashi-kun. We're not far off now."
"You have a certain place in mind?" Kakashi ducked to avoid a low hanging branch, face contorting with disgust as he walked into a spider web that Kuro had somehow contrived to avoid. Sticky, silk-fine threads plastered to his face, and he scraped them away hurriedly. Horrible. The scrub was getting thicker and thicker. He could barely sense the smells and sounds of the village behind them. Why had she chosen such a remote place?
"We're here" she stated simply. He blinked. They had arrived at a little clearing. A shallow, brown stream filtered its way in between the spindly trees, a deepening pile of fallen pine needles at their base. A thin patch of grass betrayed a gap in the tree line, allowing the sun to pour down on the patch of turf unrestrained. It wasn't the most beautiful place in history, but Kakashi had a feeling that that hadn't been the intention.
"Odd choice of location" he commented wryly, settling himself down by the stream. Kuro lowered herself next to him. Was it just him, or did she seem a little tense? She shrugged. "It seemed okay to me. Quiet. No one else nearby."
Kakashi nodded, snapping his chopsticks and flipping open his rice container. To the trained eye though, it was obvious that he was watching Kurotaka carefully. She too had started to eat, but appeared restless. The rice was picked at, small pieces selected and the rest pushed to one side. She seemed to be thinking about something entirely different from food. The pallid colour of her face almost made him think that she were ill.
"Are you going to eat that, or just torture it?" Kurotaka looked at him in surprise, a grin flashing to her face. Kakashi smiled benignly at her. "What's wrong?" She was definitely awkward about something.
"Kakashi… there was something else that I wanted to tell you. That's why I thought that here would be a good place."
"Ne?" Kakashi put his chopsticks down, swiveling to face her, kneeling on the coarse needles of the ground. Mud stuck to the knees of his soft black gi trousers, cold dampness soaking through the fabric, but he was inclined to overlook it at the moment. There was time to complain about the laundry after Kurotaka had said whatever was bothering her so much.
"This… this is difficult to say…" She was still fretting at her rice. Kakashi sighed, reaching out and taking her fidgeting hands in his own, warm palms closing tightly over her, encompassing the small kunoichi's hands entirely. "In that case," he murmured, "just say it in the way that is easiest to you."
She opened her mouth, and froze, eyes fixed on a point above and to the left of Kakashi's shoulder. Pupils widened. "Move!"
Kakashi didn't think twice. He threw himself to the ground and rolled to the right, narrowly avoiding the stream as he spun around, eyes searching for the source of Kurotaka's distress. She had leapt to the side of a nearby pine tree, eyes fixed on a tall ninja, clad in a shifting camouflaged gi. Its muted colours seemed to fade into the dull greens and greys of the forest, but Kakashi refused to let these escape him. Throwing back his forehead protector, the Sharingan spun in a bloody wheel.
Colours, Chakra, the smallest of muscle movements. They all leapt at his vision as though pouring from an upended bottle. It was almost overpowering, the sheer overload of the senses that came from opening the vivid eye. He fought it, focusing on his opponent. Kurotaka had engaged the ninja in combat, a kunai in each hand as she fended off the sudden onslaught. He moved to go to her aid, but a new flicker caught his eye just as it surged towards him. More of them?
Hands hastily thrown up in defense, Kakashi was thrown backwards with the force of the impact, crashing into a nearby tree. The sheer momentum of the impact was enough to send stars spinning about his head, but he couldn't pay any mind to them. He pushed off the tree, shuriken in both hands and sending a volley towards his attacker. The other ninja blurred and tried to vanish back into the trees, but the Sharingan refused to let him disappear. Kakashi caught up to his attacker and in a sequence of strikes too fast for the eye to follow, struck every vital point that came within range. With a grunt, the ninja collapsed to the forest floor, just as a replacement rushed in.
Kakashi grappled with this new attacker, Sharingan racing to keep up with its movements. Blood flew from his kunai in scarlet ribbons, splattering against the forest floor in crazy patterns. Trees, branches, scrub. All of it whirled around Kakashi's vision, his mind completely blank save for the reactions of his opponent. There was no call for thought; it was simply act and react, attack and counter, lunge and retreat. His mind slipped into the strange comfort that this lull wove over him. The spell of the fight was hypnotic. Another ninja joined the flailing battle, and Kakashi simply accepted this as another opponent. It didn't matter who it was, or what they wanted. It was an enemy, and that was all he needed to know. More and more of these camouflaged, anonymous foes kept pouring into the clearing, or racing past them. They were heading for the village, Kakashi was certain of it.
Kurotaka spun and leapt to his side, the two colliding so that they stood briefly back-to-back. Her elevated heartbeat shook her body, breath heaving in roaring gasps. He could feel it all through that brief contact before they broke apart and attacked again, her warmth torn away from him.
He would remember that moment for years to come.
Mindless adrenalin flooded his body. The concussed and bleeding forms of their combined opponents were scattered about the clearing. It was like something from a war zone. A foolish reckoning: this was a war zone. Were these the rebels that Kurotaka had been complaining about?
The only sounds in the clearing were the swish and sickening slicing of sharpened blades cutting into flesh, thuds of bone on bone, the clink of metal braced against metal. The ambience of the peaceful wilderness had been stripped away. Grunting, muffled curses and the squeaking of Chakra. Kakashi blinked. There were so many of them. Where had they come from? Why were they all here? He hadn't even noticed the arrival of most. If he hadn't known better, he'd have thought that they were all Kage Bunshin. But they all bled, not one of them turning into a cloud of harmless smoke.
"Don't let them get around you!" Kurotaka's shriek shattered the daze of his consciousness, ripping Kakashi from his placid mental recluse and back to reality.
"What're we doing here?" Kakashi panted the question, thrusting a kunai deeply into yet another opponent's chest cavity. He felt tendons and sinew give way beneath the blade, a warm gush of blood spurting over his hands and up to his elbows. Disgusting. He dragged the knife back and swiftly wiped it off on the ninja's earthy robe.
She shook her head wildly, sweat sticking her bangs awkwardly against her face. "Don't know! Rebel group…" She was almost out of breath by the sounds of it. Kakashi whirled to back her up, kicking her aggressor soundly in the gut and sending him flying into a pine tree. Kurotaka flashed a grin at him and shrank back, concern writ over her face. He didn't need to be told twice.
Ducking once again, Kakashi crashed to the forest floor, a massive Chinese star sailing over his head and Kurotaka's slightly shorter form, embedding itself deeply in the truck of a nearby tree. With a wretched groan, the bark split, a deep crevice gouging its way to the tree's core. A gravelly whine and the tree slowly bent, leaning until its own weight dragged it to the floor with a thunderous crash. Kakashi was already on his feet before it had hit the ground, staring down this new adversary.
"Not bad," the voice was nonchalant. "If you'd ducked a little later, I'd only have got your head." The figure rolled an eye at Kurotaka, breathing heavily and standing beside Kakashi, eyes wary. "Mind, I still wouldn't have been able to hit that little one. Funny. I didn't know that Konoha allowed such short ninja."
Kakashi decided against looking down at Kurotaka. The look on her face would make him burst out laughing and now was neither the time nor place for laughter or Kurotaka's attempted mutiny. "What is the point of your assault?" Kakashi attacked the matter plainly.
"Why now? Why throw so many men at only us?" Kurotaka joined the questioning, voice perplexed. "The village is so close."
The other ninja shrugged, robes flapping dramatically. Kakashi noted the rips and tears in the hem of the garb. They'd been traveling for some time, and that obviously wasn't a garment suited to rough travel. "A fight's a fight isn't it? Besides, if we're going to massacre the village, then surely we have to start somewhere."
"How many make your number?" Kakashi didn't hold much hope of having that one answered, but you never knew. Some of the cockier bastards would give away key details.
"Enough," he gave another nonchalant shrug. "It doesn't concern me all that much. The others are already attacking the village from the back and flanks. You two just happened to get in the way of the front." He grinned, hands vanishing into the diaphanous folds of his expensive robes and drawing a twin set of katana. A perfectly matched silver steel and black pair. It complimented the ensemble wonderfully, Kakashi's brain informed him ironically.
Why oh why had he not brought his own sword? Kakashi could kick himself, if it wouldn't have directly aided the enemy's purpose. These things aren't supposed to happen when you're on a lunch break. He'd dropped most of his shuriken and kunai already. This would be troublesome to say the least.
"Kakashi," Kurotaka's mutter was so quiet that he almost thought that he'd imagined it. He inclined his head slightly to her, to indicate that he was listening, provided it hadn't been a figment of his imagination.
"Charge up the Chidori. I'll hold him off until you do." He nodded slightly and flickered, reappearing on the other side of the clearing. She was going to buy them some time, but that might not be enough. There were a good number of lower ninja flanking their master, snarling like curs on the end of a short leash.
"Never fear, rival Kakashi!"
The voice rang into the clearing like a bell. A bell that never washed its hair, if indeed the bell had any of said hair to begin with. The poised figure of Maito Gai burst into the clearing, eyes burning with anticipation. For once however, Kakashi didn't groan at the sight.
"Gai!" he fought the relief that clawed its way treacherously into his voice as the other ninja rushed to his side. "What're you doing out here? The village needs protecting."
"Konoha's mighty forces are holding off the invaders! They are many, but weak! I, Konoha's beautiful green beast, am here to protect the noble gates! It is an interesting coincidence that I need to help you out, rival-Kakashi, and the fair Yumenimo-san!"
Despite the fact that she was currently staring down a homicidal lunatic with multiple troops at his disposal, Kurotaka contrived to shudder. Kakashi was impressed. Gai had managed to use four separate exclamation marks in one brief message.
"Help her hold them off Gai!" barked Kakashi. "I need a minute with this." It was time to take out this cocky intruder. If this was one of the rebel leaders, then bringing him down would hopefully scare the rest off. Drawing a deep breath, Kakashi leant forwards, gi shifting quietly as he seized his right wrist. The warm rush of Chakra that flowed in his body seemed to swirl out of reach. The Sharingan. He cursed inwardly. How could he have forgotten? He'd never tried to charge up the Chidori whilst using the Sharingan at the same time. Sweat broke out in chains of glimmering beads along his forehead. This was not a good time to break in a new combination, but it was the best one that he had available.
A frown broke over Kakashi's face, muscles tightening and brain feeling as though it were scratching at the inside of his skull. His mind ached with the effort of concentration. Kurotaka's gibes about his distaste for thinking were surfacing in his fatigued mind. He gritted his teeth. Even in his mind she was mocking him.
Slowly, slowly, the Chakra started to pool in his hands. Another precious couple of minutes and faint blue sparks began to flicker. The exhilaration of his own power, drunk with strength, moved to counter the draining effects of the Chakra usage. Adrenalin pumped into his bloodstream. Ah, how he'd missed the fight. He glanced up, eyes burning with excitement. He could make out the figures of his two comrades before him.
Gai was doing what he did best: wreaking havoc in an unsuspecting community purely by being there. Flailing limbs and flamboyant gestures concealed the deadly nature of the ninja's taijutsu. Kakashi watched as opponent after opponent moved towards the lethal green Shinobi and were battered senseless. He just wondered how long Gai could keep up his formidable trail of destruction, as even more adversaries poured in to replace the fallen. Some stopped to lash out at the whirling Gai, others barreled on to mount the assault on Konoha's gates. They had to get this menace out of the way and defend the village! The urgency of the situation fused with Kakashi's elevated fighting spirit. Only a few more moments...
Gai's leaping, diving path brought him behind Kurotaka, nimbly leaping out of her way. Kakashi devoted his wandering attention to her. A look of intense concentration was writ across her reddened face, sweat streaming down her forehead and neck, trickling down the bridge of her nose and the arch of her jaw, splattering onto the ground and mixing with the puddles of blood already dappled there. A small kunai in each hand seemed a pitiful defense against the slashing katana twins, but it was not the only one. Her adversary moved in at will, katana slicing in lethal, twirling arcs. Chakra sparked all along the blades, flooding from the ninja's palms and tracing its way across each of the shafts. A triumphant grin split his face in two, robes flaring with every move. What a damned poser.
Kunai and katana collided, metal grinding and sparking. Kurotaka's muscles were shaking. Only Kakashi seemed to notice the Chakra building at her feet. Her opponent leaned in, leering with malicious glee. "A little outmatched, aren't we?" With each word he added more weight to the katana, forcing Kurotaka's knees into an even steeper bend, sinking into the filth of the churned up earth, torn from the path of their duel. She grunted in response, eyes flickering to those of her opponent. Then she grinned.
A Chakra-flamed foot lashed out, fleet as a viper's strike and just as painful. The top of her scorching foot caught her adversary directly in the joint where his legs foolishly met and joined the rest of his body. Kakashi suppressed a wince. The ninja's eyes crossed and he staggered backwards, hissing with pain. Kurotaka dove in, springing up from the mud, Sharingan spinning. Limbs a blur, she lashed out, foot and hand, kunai and muscle. A whirlwind of attacks rained down upon the hapless robed ninja, still weakened by the unanticipated and exceedingly personal attack.
Kakashi glanced back down at his hand. The pale blue sparks were pulsating more strongly, squeaking, chirping in his ears. The song of the Chidori flowed in his veins, in his head. It was almost time. He could feel the heat of the Chakra building up in his palm, almost too hot to bear. Only a little longer.
Kurotaka turned, aborting her assault and diving out of the way, breath heaving and hands on her knees to steady herself, trying not to sink to the ground. Her opponent however, was not so lucky. Knees buckling, bruises purpling, his eyes turned eyes blank. Kakashi's eyes hardened. It was time to move in for the kill. Kurotaka turned to him, navy blue eyes lightening with relief. She smiled, a slow smile that seemed to take an eternity to stretch across her sweat-stained, effort stretched features.
Kakashi's feet dug into the pine needles, sinking into the filth and then releasing, propelling him forwards, Chidori singing in his hands. The clearing thudded past him, head full of the spell of the Chakra squealing and cracking, the snapping of bracken and underbrush. He loped closer, ever closer to the stunned ninja. Heartbeat thudded in his own ears. Breath swirled and rasped in his lungs. It was time to end this.
And the blank eyes became dark again.
With one sinuous movement, the supposedly stunned ninja flipped back onto his feet and lunged out of Kakashi's path, Chidori narrowly singeing the edge of his robes. Kakashi pivoted on one foot, eyes following the ninja's desperate vault to safety. He stared upwards, watching the ninja's arc take him over Kakashi's lowered head, landing off to the side and charging, katana swinging. Kurotaka's eyes widened. Her opponent was heading right for her.
Kakashi lost it. A complete and utter sense of blinding rage gripped him. The Chidori howled in his grasp and he bolted, legs pounding as though made of iron. NO human thought filtered into his brain. He was but a machine, fueled only by the trace essence of human fear and desperation. He sprinted with pure hatred boiling in his brain and bitterness seething in his mouth.
Kurotaka stood there, mouth open slightly in surprise. Her former adversary was now standing in front of her, a faint smile etched across his bloodied and broken features. His eyes were narrow with satisfaction, exhaustion and pain clinging to the edges of his pupils. She looked slowly down, eyes dark and pupils flared with wonderment. Black hair fluttered in front of her face, swept from her back by the wind. One hand caught the fluttering strands, mouth moving slightly in voiceless confusion. She stared at the white tips, saturated with bright blood, then stared down at the hilt buried in her upper abdomen.
That tore it. That completely and utterly, interminably tore it. Kakashi released a rattling shriek, more animal than man. He bore down on the motionless ninja, still standing in front of the stunned Kunoichi. Kurotaka didn't even seem to notice Kakashi's murderous charge, nor her assailant smiling before her. Her expressionless eyes remained locked on the hilt embedded in her chest and the second katana, lower, speared through both of her knee caps, skewering them together with one skillful strike.
A second later and Kakashi was upon the peacefully grinning ninja. He did not pause. There was nothing to reason with inside his brain. Chidori pierced flesh and bone, shattering on impact. Shards of bone splattered the clearing, chunks of hot muscle spurting and vital organs spilling onto the forest floor. A dull scream of pain burst from the impaled ninja. Kakashi's hand burst through the Shinobi's chest, other hand rising in a fist and crashing into the side of his head. The scream was cut short. Kurotaka's eyes followed her adversary's descent to the ground without emotion, without words, head then only rising to look back at Kakashi, confusion writ clearly across her face.
"What… what happened?" The words whistled in her breath, blood staining her teeth. Bubbles of blood trickled at the edges of her mouth. Kakashi stood in horror, breath rattling his hollow ribs. The corpse of her assailant slid heavily off his arm and fell silently to the ground. He didn't even notice. He could only stare at her, shock and utter despair pouring into his face. Not again. Please, oh please not again.
"I…I don't…" She trailed off, eyes falling back onto the katana thrust completely into her stomach. All at once, her knees began to buckle, hindered by the katana shoved viciously through them. Pain didn't seem to filter into her mind, just shock. Gravity took over, and she was oblivious to any of its consequences.
The sound of the katana slicing through her trembling joints however, did not go unnoticed by Kakashi. Without a second thought, he wrenched the hateful blade from the falling Kunoichi's legs and helped her sink to the ground, arms cradling her as gently as he could. He murmured in horror as he awkwardly held her head up, trying to avoid the katana the erupted from her ribcage at her back, spearing through clothing and spilling blood down the back and front of her dark blue gi. Her blood soaked into his own clothes, stained his own hands, copper scent thick in his nostrils.
Her eyes found his again. They seemed to ask a question. Without hesitation, Kakashi pulled his bloody mask down and stooped his head in close to her. The smell of her blood was overpowering, overwhelming the soft fragrance of her hair and skin.
"I wanted to tell you…" her breath allowed little more than a whisper. He could hear the bubble of blood in her throat, knew that she couldn't say much more. Tears spilled down his face without restraint. She frowned at him quietly, seeming to voice her disapproval. "…love you… and…"
The pain that her body had been ignoring seemed to sweep over her, engulfing her senses and stripping consciousness from her motionless form. She rolled back limply, helpless and motionless as a rag doll in his arms. Kakashi stared in horror as her eyes rolled back in her skull, head drooping. Breath that had rustled painfully into her lungs no longer tickled his cheek.
"No, Kurotaka," he mumbled softly, reaching to touch her face. Cool skin at his fingertips. She couldn't be…? He stroked her cheeks anxiously, probing for any sign of movement. The faintest sign of recognition. Nothing. Still nothing. Dumb disbelief was all that reigned in Kakashi's skull.
Gai padded wordlessly up to Kakashi, face expressionless. He stood beside his rival for a couple of moments, watching Kakashi as he lowered his face over Kurotaka's and wept without shame and without restraint, tears falling onto the Kunoichi's motionless features, cutting clean trails through the criss-crossing bloodstains and mud splatters.
"Kakashi," Gai spoke at last. "There is nothing else that can be done. We must defend the village. It was our last living mission together. Don't let her death be in vain."
Kakashi stared up at him, eyes moist with emotion. "I can't leave her here."
"There's no time Kakashi, we have to help now. How many more have to die before you understand?" Gai grabbed Kakashi by the shoulders, shaking him hard. His eyes burned with a new variety of flame. "What would the valiant Kunoichi here be telling you? Self-pity will not suffice! You must do what you can to help the living and honour the dead later!"
Detestable words. Kakashi wanted nothing more at that point than to run Gai through with the Chidori as well. But they were the truth. He couldn't do it. He couldn't hurt Gai, no more than he could allow Konoha to be ransacked and massacred. With his heart in his mouth and tears beading in his eyes, he gently lowered Kurotaka to the ground, sliding the katana out from her stomach so that she may lay flat on the ground. A look of peacefulness was sketched across her dirty, bloodied features. Swallowing hard, Kakashi rose shakily to his knees and followed Gai from the clearing.
There was no corpse to recover when he came back that night.
……………
