"That's the man who went on that rampage yesterday!"
"He's some kind of monster!"
"With him on our side, victory against the Devil King is assured!"
"Did you see how he chewed out that healer yesterday? That was awkward."
"He got a new nickname too, it's-"
These were voices Kakashi heard as he walked around the capital and by proxy, the royal castle. News traveled fast it seems. A part of Kakashi regretted his outburst, he was a known variable now. A target, in essence. He didn't like it, but he didn't regret why he did it.
What Aqua said and how she acted, it spat in the face of everything Obito taught him. Fury unlike any other took over him for a moment, and it was a foreign feeling. Of course, he had been challenged on his ideology, as he himself had done so with Obito when he was a child. To the Leaf Village, and really any other strong village, Kakashi was the perfect ninja as a kid. He had valued the mission above all else, and everything else could be dealt with after its completion. It was efficient and sensible. Just like the Hokage above him had wanted. Yet, for a village that preached teamwork and caring for one's teammates, the ninja code acted in direct opposition. It was no surprise Obito never cared for the ninja code. He probably never even read any of them.
Now that urge to want to protect his teammates is biting him, but Kakashi can't say he wouldn't do it again given the opportunity. If he had to suffer through public admiration or condemnation, he would face it head on.
Kakashi had washed up, and it was now the next day, the final day they would be in the capital before leaving back to Axel. Right now, he was meeting to meet up with his team and to discuss the events of yesterday.
"Oi, you're Kakashi, right?"
"Hm?"
A man clad in armor and some scars on his face had approached Kakashi. He had some badges on the sash he wore, more than any other knight he had seen.
"Where are my manners? Excuse me, my name is Walter, a commander in the royal army. I just wanted to thank you personally for that amazing performance you put on last night." The man's voice was gruff.
"Think nothing of it." Kakashi made to keep moving, but Walter stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Listen, I heard what that blue-haired kid said, and I agree with you said. Kids these days don't understand how rough it is. I get that healers don't get down and dirty like us infantry, but they should still maintain that respect."
In all honesty, Kakashi didn't really care if the man agreed with him or not. He did what he did, and that was that.
"Thanks.. but I really need to get going."
"Of course, of course, I won't hold you. But if you ever tire of being a guard for Lady Dustiness, then I just want you to know that there's a place for you with us knights. You'd be one of the best!"
"I'll keep it in mind. Have a nice day."
Walter nodded and walked off, presumably to continue whatever patrol he was tasked with.
Meanwhile, Kakashi made his way to Kazuma's room within the castle, where he found him talking with some silver-haired boy.
"Oh, it seems like your party is coming here, so I'll take my leave. Remember what I asked of you alright?"
"I'll consider it." Kazuma answered, looking a bit pale.
Once the boy had left, Kakashi began to speak.
"Friend of yours?"
"You could say that."
"Well, you know why I'm here."
"Sigh, I do. Although, I don't think it's necessary."
"It is. We need to have an understanding here. But I won't begin until everyone has arrived." Kakashi sat in a nearby chair that faced a desk, whipping out his coveted book.
"Before any of that though, I heard about what you did after I died."
"Oh?" Kakashi did not look at him.
"You went on the this killing spree... over me." Kazuma looked almost confused. "Why would you do that? I mean you're the main guy who is always calm and collected, if a little more energized during a spar or fight with Darkness or something. So, why?"
"...Like I said, I won't say anything until everyone is here." It was an unsatisfactory answer for Kazuma, but he could wait until the girls got there.
It didn't take much longer for the rest of them to arrive.
Aqua had her eyes slightly downcast, but seemed alright for the most part. Darkness gave Kakashi a bit of a mean look, but he had been expecting that. Megumin sat next to Kazuma on his bed, while Kakashi offered the seat for one of the girls. Darkness outright refused him, but Aqua quickly took him out of the offer. So, it was just him and Darkness on their feet.
No one spoke for a bit, the awkward tension lingering in the air for a few minutes.
"I wanted to gather you all here today to explain something." Kakashi started, figuring since he orchestrated this whole thing, he had a duty to start it off.
"What's that, Kakashi?" Megumin asked, looking as young as she was. A part of Kakashi was sickened that Megumin had been out there with them. Another part of him was proud that she was so brave in the face of all those monsters.
"I'm forbidding any of you from ever fighting on the front lines again."
The reaction was immediate.
"What?!"
"How dare you! A crimson demon can't be left out of the scene! Who made you the boss?!"
"Actually, this makes my life much simpler."
"I agree, but my fans will need me out there if they get hurt."
"What fans? Are you stupid or something?"
Kakashi shushed them all.
"Listen." He let his eye roam across the room. "None of you are remotely ready to be on the front lines again. Whether it be due to maturity, ability, or reliability."
Kakashi began by pointing at Aqua.
"Aqua, you are too immature. While your healing abilities are exceptional, do not forget the pain all you heal go through. You may be basking in the praise, but understand that these people were going to die or did die. Be cognizant of that fact, the battlefield is no place for jokes. To belittle Kazuma as you did was disgraceful. He was there just as much as you all were, and deserves the proper respect. There is a time and a place to joke around, but out there is not one of them."
"But I'm not the only one who says those things!" In typical fashion, Aqua tried defending herself. "Besides, Kazuma was the one who ran into a group of monsters like a dummy."
"Do you wanna fight or something? I'll-" Kazuma went to continue, but Kakashi stopped him.
"Enough. You're right Aqua, you aren't the only person who might have insulted Kazuma out there, but I don't care about what everyone else says. The way I see it, is we are all a team as adventurers, but we're also... friends. I have a saying from an old friend of mine. Those who would abandon a mission are scum, yes, but those who would abandon their friends are worse than scum."
"I didn't abandon him-!"
"Those who don't defend, or even support their friends in a time of need is no different from the people making fun of that friend. I get that you guys like to crack your jokes with one another, and that's fine. But when someone is belittling your friend, I expect you to be supportive, not destructive. Naturally, I'm not asking you to pick a fight with everyone who has a mean word to say. There will always be people looking to tear all of you down, but I'm asking that all of you be there to support one another."
"Fine..." Aqua relented, but looked ready to open her mouth at any moment. Kakashi hoped she understood.
"Kazuma, I want to say I'm disappointed in you most of all. I expected better from you. I specifically told you not to get separated and you still went and got trapped and killed. What caused you to do that?"
"I- Uh, I got a bit carried away when I was killing all those monsters."
"A bit?"
"Okay! Very carried away, but I learned my lesson."
"Did you, now?"
"Yup, I'm never fighting again. I'm gonna live the easy life from now on."
Kakashi palmed his face. "That is not the solution."
"Well, what am I supposed to do? I'm the weakest class and I don't have cool abilities like you! I'll just get killed facing someone like the Devil King!"
"You don't have abilities like me, huh?" Kakashi thought aloud. Well, he could work with that.
"What are you thinking? Nothing good ever comes from people who say their thoughts out loud."
"When we return home, meet me in the training room."
"Eh? Excuse me? I already told you I don't want to exert myself."
"I know what you said, and I know what I said. I'll be seeing you there the day we get back."
"This is tyranny!"
"This is necessary. If you can't level up and become stronger like everyone else, then you'll have to do it the old fashioned way. We'll start you off with some simple calisthenics."
"I just want to laze around, is that too much ask?!"
"Until the Devil King is dead, yes, it is. Speaking of training, Megumin."
The Crimson Demon looked him in the eye. "Surely you aren't expecting me to join Kazuma in your training? Explosion training is all I need!"
"While I won't deny your Explosion magic is second to none, the way you flop like a fish on the ground afterwards is a big problem, and a liability on the field."
"It's simply due to my mana capacity."
"And will you increase it?"
The little girl shook her head, "Of course not! Putting the points into the power of my magic is a way better investment!"
"Then if you won't help yourself, let me help you. We'll work on your endurance, if nothing else, hopefully you'll be able to either defend yourself or run away after casting your magic."
"Hmm, if I don't like it after the first time, I'm going to do my own thing."
"That's fine, I can't force you forever." Well, technically he could, but forcing his teammates into doing something they don't want to constantly will only make them grow to resent the training.
"Nothing can contain a mage as strong as I."
"...right. Anyway, Darkness, I'm going to suppose you probably don't like me very much right now." Not that Kakashi cared about how well liked he was, because saying the truth rarely won you any friends. "But in all honesty, I think you performed the best out of everyone. You kept a cool head out there, killed some monsters, and defended others."
"Then why would you forbid me from going to the front lines again?"
"It's simple. Because you have a problem when it comes to your friends."
"Excuse me?"
"When you are only concerned with yourself, you do well enough. However, when something concerns your friends, you lose your cool. That is dangerous on the field, especially if you are performing the role as a shield of the team. Until I see you control that temper, I don't want to hear anything about going out there. Not to mention your... normal proclivities. Don't think I didn't see you trying to move into a group of monsters at one point. You've gotten better at putting that habit off when you need to, but you still need more work."
"But you got all mad at Aqua!"
"That was after the fighting was over, and I still was aware of my surroundings. But that does raise another issue to the table, you need to stop babying these three."
"I do not baby them!"
"Oh, yes, you certainly do. It would be acceptable if they were normal kids, but adventuring is an adult job at the end of the day. Either they grow up, or they never get to." The hidden meaning was obvious.
"We're right here you know." Kazuma interjected.
"I haven't forgotten."
Darkness spoke up, "I just ask that you not be so callous. We aren't part of the official military, so you don't have to act like we are."
"So long as you fight where the military fights, that's a moot point."
"Argh! This is just going in circles! Can't we just move on?!" Aqua yelled, sick of the conversation.
"Very well, we must prepare for the final night of the celebration regardless. Kakashi-"
"Hm?"
"You do have another outfit, correct?"
"Indeed." Oh yes, he certainly did.
"It better not be another damn color-!"
And so Kakashi showed up with a silver suit rather than a gray one. Darkness almost had an aneurysm, but the girls calmed her down even as she tried to stab him with her sword.
Unlike the first night, Kakashi was approached by many people. It was actually quite varied. There were the female nobles who asked him to marry into their families to produce "powerful" offspring, to which he politely declined. On the other end, there were some figures in the military present who offered their praise and offers to join the Order of Knights or some other group. Even that sword hero approached him and made some small talk.
When he had a moment to himself, Kakashi tried to blend in with a wall, hoping to not draw attention to himself. However, Kazuma spotted him and made his way over with a glass of some kind of wine.
"Here, I don't think I've ever seen you drink or eat anything since I met you." The boy said, holding out the drink for Kakashi to take.
Wearily, Kakashi took it with extreme skepticism. While he couldn't say he had Kazuma completely figured out as a person, there was one thing for certain. He never was this polite unless he had a reason. That wasn't to say he was a super rude person normally, but this was certainly out of character. But he would play along.
"Thanks." He responded, taking the drink in his right hand but not taking a sip. Kazuma then took his place next to the man as they both stared at the party in progress.
"I've been meaning to ask, but do you think that we'll ever be ready to face the Demon King?"
"What brought this on?" Kakashi could swear Kazuma said he didn't even want to face the Demon King.
"Iris keeps talking about it. How with heroes like you, that defeating the Demon King will come that much sooner. But if you go, that means the rest of us will too."
Kakashi could almost hardly believe what he was hearing. "You? Really?"
Kazuma sucked his teeth in annoyance. "Oi, I can be brave when I have to."
"Sure you are." Kakashi knew he could be, but he liked to have his fun here and there.
The adventurer almost opened his mouth for another retort, but thought better of it. "Listen, there's a real chance that we might be called on to face the Demon King. I sat in with Iris once while she was doing her studies, against Claire's 'better' judgement and during her break, she wanted to read a book about the adventurer's system and she made some connections between that and her political training. From what I could understand, if certain adventurers, or their parties, were to keep gaining accolade after accolade, when bigger threats show up we'll be the ones getting that letter from the capital."
"I see."
"Even with all that, I thought that while we had defeated some generals in the enemy army, we still weren't all that important at the end of the day. Sure, we helped save the Crimson Demon Village and defeated Vanir at the dungeon he was holed up in, but people saw that as fluke things."
"Were they?" Kakashi was a bit curious, after all, he wasn't around when these events occured.
"Depends on how you see it. With the Crimson Demons, like Megumin, they are all incredible with magic abilities and are pretty much born with advanced stores of mana. Plus, it's well known that the Demon King generally tries to avoid messing with them, and people think that's because all together it's believed they might be able to take on the Demon King's army, and maybe, the man himself."
"Why wouldn't they just join the military if they're so powerful?" Could Megumin one day boast such a status of ability?
Kazuma was torn between wanting to laugh or cry. "Well, if there's one thing you should know about them, it's that they like to have all the attention. They always like to be in the limelight. I imagine they wouldn't want to be in an army with strict rules and policies that would go against their customs. So, if something comes to them, they'll generally take care of it and make it some stupid tourist attraction, but it's pretty rare of them to leave their village. Megumin and Yunyun are the first two in a long time to actually move away from the village. Even then, Yunyun only really did it because Megumin did."
"So, people think that beating a general alongside the Crimson Demons is not all that noteworthy?"
Kazuma nodded. "More or less, Iris thought differently, obviously. Which is funny when you consider her reception to us when we first met. It's almost expected to beat a general in a place full of overpowered mages."
The conversation stalled after that, but Kazuma did not leave.
"You gonna drink that or what?"
"What's it to you?"
"I'm just saying because it's a waste of a perfectly good drink!"
"Then why didn't you get one for yourself?"
Kazuma flinched at that, but tried to hide it. "I-uh, well, I promised Iris I wouldn't because she wanted to play a game after the party."
"...I see. I suppose I might as well take a sip if it's so good." He did so, and Kazuma looked at him in shock and confusion.
"Did you just-?" The boy blinked a few times, "Did you just drink it through your mask?"
Kakashi nodded, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
"Why didn't you just lower it?"
The man then shrugged nonchalantly.
"You know what, I'm just gonna go. I need to find Iris anyway, she's probably looking for me."
Kakashi nodded his head once more and waved him off. Once Kazuma was out of eyesight, he turned to his right, lowered his mask, and spat the drink out into a plant. Truth be told, the drink wasn't actually that bad, but the fact Kazuma took off so quickly afterwards made him think something was up. He would have swallowed it if he had stuck around. Kakashi drinking through his mask was definitely not enough to make someone want to get away from him.
And so, he left his unfinished drink on a chair off to the corner, away from everyone else.
Regardless, as the festivities festered into the night, everyone either left or turned to their rooms for bed. Curiously, he couldn't detect Kazuma's chakra in his room, but he didn't think much of it. The boy could go where he pleased with the Princess' favor.
As Kakashi laid in bed, he thought back to everything that had happened while they had been there, and found himself wondering just what enemies would take notice of them now, or perhaps more specifically, himself. However, his musings were interrupted by loud yelling and crashing. The loud alarm that sounded also helped.
Putting on his normal shinobi gear, he grabbed his kunai and other equipment before going into action. As he rounded the corner to where all the commotion was, Kakashi expected some spy or intruder of some sort, but instead found a masked boy with brown hair and a silver-haired boy with a mouth covering. The latter boy actually had a very feminine face now that he got a good look at him.
Regardless, the sword hero everyone talked about was on the ground choking for air as ice engulfed his nose and mouth. The knights were on the ground, clearly unconscious. Even Claire found herself defeated by the duo. Whoever they were, they meant serious business. The princess was just beyond a few corridors from where they currently were, and considering where they were looking, that must be their end goal.
Was it to kill the princess? Kidnap her for ransom? Steal from her quarters? Something even worse? Well, Kakashi wouldn't allow it regardless. As the pair made to leave, he called out to them to get their attention.
"That's far enough."
The boy froze hard, immediately sweating and shaking.
The silver-haired kid shook the other, whispering harshly at him, and the masked one moved his arms around wildly as he responded in hushed tones. While that was happening, Kakashi made a shadow clone and it used a small fire jutsu to try and melt the ice, but it was ineffective. So, the clone ran off with the hero, hopefully in an attempt to find Aqua or someone who could help. Eventually, they turned to him.
"Seems like we'll have to fight him."
"I have huge problems with this plan."
"Sorry, assistant, but it's either we beat him, or we get captured. Failure isn't an option here, and we probably won't get another shot at this."
"I hate that you're right."
Kakashi analyzed the situation.
Two unknown combatants. Evidently, one was adept with magic to some degree, at least enough to injure royal knights and the Princess' personal guard. The silver-haired kid was unknown currently, so he could pull out anything, so caution was warranted. Justus were out of the question, destructive natures like fire would burn the whole place down, water was nowhere to be found either. To make matters worse, they were on an elevated floor, so using earth would be a hard reach, and wind was not his own chakra nature, so it would expend a lot to use it. A lightning blade could do the job, he certainly didn't want to kill the duo, interrogations would have to be done, and for that they would have to be alive. At the very least, the masked boy seemed antsy and afraid of fighting him, but that could either be because he was afraid of Kakashi's power in a fight, or he was just scared of being caught and tried for their crimes, which would undoubtedly be the death penalty.
He needed to knock them out and tie them up. Mission start.
Kakashi started out by throwing some shuriken, which both criminals deftly dodged. They weren't ameteurs in a fight, clearly.
The masked boy moved back and grabbed a bow from his back, firing arrows at Kakashi who dodged them as the silver-haired boy attempted to stab him with his dagger. It had an odd purple glow on the blade, and Kakashi had no idea what that meant, but it was likely a good idea to avoid getting hit by it.
They continued that way for a bit, and Kakashi could tell they weren't really aiming to kill him. The arrows would certainly kill if they hit him, but it was almost like they expected him to avoid them, so he couldn't just ignore it. Likewise, the boy in front of him only tried to stab him in nonvital areas.
"Alright boys, enough of this charade."
The silver-haired boy stopped abruptly, shocked and almost sounded hurt, saying, "B-boys?"
The masked kid laughed his butt off, but Kakashi really didn't get what was so funny. Still, Kakashi took advantage of the lapse in action.
He jumped forward and he threw a roundhouse kick towards the knife-wielding boy, which he barely dodged. Kakashi increased his speed more often, and the boy struggled to respond in kind, eventually being kicked right in the solar plexus, knocking all the air out of him and sending him skidding back, stunned a few feet away.
The masked boy tried to run over to him, but Kakashi put a stop to that with a chop to the back of the boy's neck, rendering him unconscious. He tied him up, and then moved on to the silver-haired boy. As he knelt down, he noticed a glow beginning to shimmer around his body, it was dim but overpowering. When the boy opened his eyes, they were a deep purple.
Kakashi attempted to use his Sharingan eye to see the chakra, or really anything, but the feedback he received overloaded his optic nerve in that eye, making him shut it immediately.
"I'm going to get in so much trouble for using this..." The boy said.
Before Kakashi could so much as blink, the being seemingly appeared in front of him, holding out two hands.
"Sleep, and forget."
The effect was immediate, and Kakashi felt beyond tired. No amount of willpower allowed him to combat the drowsy effects on him. His body refused to obey him, and he fell on his back and his eyes began to close. Before he completely lost consciousness, he could hear one last thing.
"By the way, I'm a girl."
"Kakashi! Wake up!" Aqua's grating voice woke him, and he held his head in agony, feeling as though he had one of the worst hangovers known to man.
"Where am I? Why am I in the hall like this?" Kakashi asked her.
"What are you talking about? The Princess had her necklace stolen by thieves last night!" Darkness told him. He also noticed Megumin looking over him as well.
"Thieves? I don't remember seeing anyone like that last night."
"Did you hit your head or something?"
Kakashi cringed in pain. "Urgh, I'm not sure. When I try to remember, my head hurts all over again."
"It seems like those thieves were very powerful if they were able to beat you and the others like that." Megumin noted.
"The others?"
"Yes, Claire and a sizeable portion of the royal guard were defeated, and even that Mitsuragi guy." Darkness looked stressed and worried about the situation.
"Good thing that clone of yours found Aqua when it did, that guy almost died."
"And just where were you three when they attacked?"
Darkness quickly blushed in embarrassment and looked away, while Megumin proudly proclaimed, "I told Darkness I was going to use my Explosion last night. She tried to stop me, but when I wouldn't, she agreed to let me do it so long as I was far enough away. So, she gave me a piggyback ride until we were more along the plains past the outer walls. It wasn't that comfortable, Darkness has these really strong back muscles."
"I do not!"
Ignoring Darknesss, Kakashi prodded on. "And you, Aqua?"
"I have no idea! I was super asleep, and I only woke up because your clone practically kicked my door down! I just remember drinking lots of alcohol. After helping that Mutsuigi guy, I ran over here but the thieves were already gone!"
Kakashi sat up and the girls gave him some space. He looked around the room and noticed servants cleaning the place up, and he noticed one of them picking up a glass on a random chair, completely empty. Odd.
"Where's Kazuma, then?"
Aqua's face turned sour. "That NEET is still asleep! To think he just slept through everything, he doesn't have an excuse unlike me!"
Kakashi forced himself to his feet, "Let him sleep, in fact, I think I could use more rest myself."
Megumin seemingly pitied him, bless her heart. "Go ahead, we'll update you two when you guys wake up."
"Thanks." Kakashi took off and went to his room, ripping his flak jacket off and sandals with his pouch included, and fell asleep on the plush bed in his jonin blues.
I just want to say that I had written an entire scene with Kakashi and the criminals and the conversation with Kazuma, then the page glitched, and gave me an error, and I lost about 3000 words or more worth of content. Not gonna lie, I almost dropped writing this chapter right then and there, but I took a few days off from the story and forced myself to get back to it. Sucks too, I was really proud of what I had written, so I tried to remember and capture it back. I usually write out one scene or two at a time, and then save it on the website and continue. After this, I'll probably just use google docs or something. So, sorry if this chapter isn't up to expectation, I promise everything will be normal next time. Edits were also lost, so please let me know if anything is incorrect.
I was on vacation in June, so that's why I didn't post anything for so long. But chapters should be more on the regular somewhat again, and I hope you enjoy the chapter despite the setbacks. The next chapter will be more dialogue heavy, so expect that to be a longer chapter. Also, as you could maybe tell, I am changing characters' abilities a bit to fit a story with someone as strong as Kakashi in it. Events are probably gonna diverge from here on out, since I don't want to follow the canon timeline so closely. Don't worry though, certain things will still happen, just differently. Other times, completely new things will happen.
