The Longterm Mission
Life as a jonin was beginning to wear on Kakashi. It had been a few weeks since the Third Hokage had informed him of his release from the ANBU black ops. It was labeled an "honorable discharge" but for Kakashi it meant the end of a near decade-long career among Konoha's most pivotal shinobi. He went from covert assassinations and deep state espionage to babysitting three snot-nosed academy graduates Lord Third had assigned to him as a potential genin squad.
The trio of hopeful genin were dispersed at different points of the training grounds. The tubby one with the blood red face markings was slumped against a tree trunk, gasping for air. The girl with the ruddy cheeks was stood on the sandy lakeshore, squeezing excess water from her clothing. And the loudmouth Inuzuka with the wild hair remained where he sat beneath Kakashi, struggling in vain against the restraints tying him to a boulder. Kakashi didn't take the time to learn their names. And at the end of this training exercise, there wasn't a need to.
Unsurprisingly, the preteens failed to understand the very point of the bell test. They attacked him individually, each vying for one of the two bells that hung along Kakashi's waist without showing the least concern for their own teammates. The sheer lunacy of it appalled him. How was it that three academy graduates thought themselves skilled enough to best a fully-fledged jonin in a one-on-one battle? Kakashi let the air around him fester with his killing intent. For dramatic effect, he had no real intention of killing any twelve year olds—for today at least.
Bringing his thumb and index finger to his mouth he whistled to announce the end of their training session. The two preteens rushed to join their third teammate at the base of the boulder. Kakashi answered their pensive faces with silence; let the fear build up in their eyes as they each felt the killing intent in the air around them.
"From the looks on your faces, you are all aware of your failure and therefore, your ultimate fate. You will be sent back to the academy and from there, you will either spend another year at the training academy or, and this is what I recommend the three of you opt to do, you can drop out of the academy and enter the life of a regular civilian." Kakashi jumped down, cut the rope that bound the second boy in place, and made for the village. "You're dismissed."
The girl and husky one stood still, their eyes to the ground as their lips quivered. The newly released Inuzuka clan member rubbed his arms where the ropes had chaffed against his skin, his eyes piercing directly into Kakashi's own.
"That's bullshit," the boy exploded with a typical Inuzuka scowl, "how was this exercise fair, sensei? There's no way any academy graduate was gonna stand a chance against a jonin. I had no chance of getting one of those bells."
Kakashi froze mid step, turned, and approached the boy. "You're absolutely right," Kakashi said, much to the surprise of the Inuzuka. "This was not even remotely fair. It was designed that way on purpose. And do any of you know why? Did any of you understand the point of this exercise?"
He paused, there was no response as the trio of graduates tried to mutely formulate answers. "The whole point of this bell test was to see if you could put your own individual interests aside for the betterment of the group. Maybe then, working in tandem with one another, you might have gotten one of the bells. Teamwork. That was what I wanted to see from the three of you today, and it was your total inability to work with one another for which I've failed the three of you."
That was enough to silence the Inuzuka boy. Kakashi turned and teleported out of the training area before he had to hear any more of their lamentations or pleas for another chance. It was callous, to be sure, but Kakashi knew it was the only way to get the point across to these young children—their heads filled with all kinds of dreams and aspirations that had no place in the world of ninja. He knew too many young ninja who met untimely ends because of an inability to work together with their teammates. To set aside personal ambition and pride for the sake of their teammates. He was one such ninja himself.
Kakashi shook his head as the memories of his youth and Obito crept into the edge of his mindscape. Too late for regrets now. All he could do was make sure that future shinobi wouldn't make the same mistakes that he did.
The copy nin continued his route towards the Hokage's office to report on the results of his failed genin team. With any luck, this would convince the Third that Kakashi wasn't fit to be a genin sensei.
Smoke filled the interior of the Hokage's private office as Kakashi concluded his report on the potential genin. Throughout the report, Hiruzen had looked at Kakashi with a stoic visage. It was hard for Kakashi to get a feel for the elder man's reaction. But upon concluding his report, the corner of the older man's piped mouth turned up in a slight smirk.
"I can't say that your reaction comes as a surprise, Kakashi. Although I am a little disappointed." Hiruzen began, leaning back against his chair as he took in another draw of his pipe. "But I trust your judgement, and hopefully next year's batch of graduates will produce a team more to your liking."
"Of course, Lord Third." Kakashi answered, hoping to hide his disappointment upon hearing of future genin appointments.
Hiruzen, however, saw right through the younger shinobi. "I understand your reluctance Kakashi, I truly do. But you have to trust me, the experience of leading and teaching a group of genin is one that will ultimately help the Leaf Village become even stronger. And hopefully, you will find the experience helpful to your own personal growth."
Kakashi nodded. "I understand. If there is nothing else, I'll return home and await any further orders."
Hiruzen raised his hand. "You won't have to wait much longer, I actually have a mission I'd like to assign to you. But we have to wait for someone else to arrive before I can give you the full details."
The door swung open and in walked another older man, a portion of his face and right arm wrapped in bandages. He used a rudimentary wooden cane to aid his steps, although Kakashi saw through the pageantry of such a device. The man, Danzo Shimura, was one of the Hokage's senior advisors, famous for his contrarian attitudes towards Hiruzen's approach to leadership and one of the most veteran shinobi in the entirety of the Hidden Leaf Village.
"I take it you're ready for me to join the conversation, Hiruzen?" The bandaged man said.
Hiruzen nodded. "It's almost as if you were listening into our conversation, Danzo."
"Speaking of which, be sure to put up the proper security seals. I would hate for any of what is about to be discussed to leave this office."
Hiruzen placed his right palm atop his wooden desk, which covered the office in a quick, green light before returning the surroundings to normal. "The seals are in place. No one will be able to hear a word that is spoken within these walls."
Danzo continued walking until he stood at the right hand of the Hokage. "Kakashi Hatake, the information you are about to receive is of the utmost secrecy. Aside from Hiruzen, myself, and a few of my subordinates, not a soul in the elemental nations knows of the nature of what I am about to tell you. So much so, that you will not find record of what is about to be discussed in even the most classified of documents. Are you beginning to understand the nature of what I am about to discuss with you?"
Kakashi nodded, "understood."
Hiruzen chuckled, "I assure you Danzo, Kakashi's decade of service with the Anbu make him more than worthy of our trust."
"Perhaps, Hiruzen. Although I still find myself questioning the rather lax methods with which you train your subordinates." Danzo said, his words dripping with his usual contempt for the Hokage.
"As I recall, you once wanted nothing more than to have Kakashi join your own ranks Danzo." Hiruzen retorted, smoke still billowing out of his pipe.
All the while, Kakashi stood at attention while the older men threw their little jabs at one another. It was not the first time Kakashi had seen their rivalry flare between the grizzled veterans. He couldn't help but question the wisdom of the Hokage in this instance. Certainly, there was something to be said to surrounding yourself with opposing viewpoints. But to call someone so antagonistic a close and respected advisor baffled him.
"I don't think Kakashi is much interested in hearing the squabbles of two old men stuck living in the past." Hiruzen smiled at the younger ninja. "On to the matter at hand. It concerns a surveillance mission of sorts, set to last approximately one-year, updated mission parameters notwithstanding. It involves you traveling outside of the elemental nations and living in the main continent within one of its many, bustling metropolises. You are to give weekly reports of your findings."
Kakashi nodded, his thoughts drifting to the fabled main continent to the west of the elemental nations. The one he knew only through some an old academy textbook. "What exactly am I expected to report on? From what I understand, we've always sought to stay outside of the main continent's affairs."
Hiruzen shared a look with Danzo, a brief hint at a smile crossing his face. "It would only be right for Danzo to be the one to give you the details, seeing as how he sought it fit to keep this information from me."
Danzo huffed in annoyance before turning his attention to Kakashi. "Just because we prefer to stay out of the affairs of the main continent doesn't mean we should be wholly ignorant of what goes on there. It was prudence that led me to assign a few operatives to keep it under observation five years ago." Danzo scowled. "And, from their most recent report, my operatives had discovered ninja activity. Ninja not from the elemental nations, but from what they believed to be a now defunct ninja village. That a ninja village was established in the main continent posed a grave threat to our own secrecy and safety outside of the main continent's affairs. Naturally, I ordered them to pursue this investigation, and when they failed to report back to me, I sent a squad to discover the reason for their delay. When that squad failed to respond, I sent another. And another, and another."
"Eventually," Hiruzen interrupted, "Danzo found it necessary to inform me of his findings. To put it simply, you are to ascertain the level of threat these ninjas pose to the Hidden Leaf Village, what knowledge they may have of our own existence here in the elemental nations, and the type of ninjutsu they utilize. I'm curious as to the kinds of similarities they may have with our own training methods. Perhaps, there is a connection between these mysterious ninja and our own ninja village system."
"I understand. Are there any leads we have to go off of?" Kakashi asked.
Danzo tossed a file on Hiruzen's desk, the mark of his Foundation Anbu stamped on the center of the manila folder. "This is all the information I have on the matter, along with some basic information on the city in which you'll be operating in."
Kakashi opened the folder and saw a page riddled redacted lines. He had to fight off the eyeroll at Danzo's unwillingness to share his information. "I'll be sure to review everything carefully."
"Transportation has been arranged; you are to set sail off the Land of Waves in four days' time. Make sure that you prepare yourself accordingly." Hiruzen ordered.
"Understood."
"And Kakashi," Hiruzen's features softened. "Though you are not to reveal any of the mission details we've just discussed, I would recommend notifying your comrades of your extended absence. I'm sure Gai will be quite devasted."
Kakashi nodded, his ears burning at the thought of Gai's ear-piercing lamentations.
"Dismissed."
On Kakashi's final evening in the village, Gai had arranged for a few of his comrades to meet with him at Konoha's famed Dango shop. The farewell gathering was Gai's idea. Anko chose the venue. Kakashi was unaware of the whole event, having planned on an evening of studying the dossier Danzo had provided. It was enough, he thought, having mentioned his extended absence to Gai and a few other shinobi, trusting word of mouth to get his departure circulating throughout the village. No need for anything more than that. The sound of Gai's boisterous voice outside of Kakashi's window was his first clue that his evening would be less peaceful than he intended.
"To my elusive rival, who's cool and hip attitude will be sorely missed in the coming year." Gai yelled, lifting his glass of sake in the air.
"To our brooding Hatake, whose generosity with sweets is much appreciated." Anko echoed Gai's proclamation, lifting one of Kakashi's dango sticks next to Gai's glass.
Kurenai, Genma, and Raido joined the rest of the table with cheers of their own. Kakashi was surprised to see the excitement amongst his fellow jonin, he initially reasoned that it was due to Gai's promise of free food and drink, courtesy of Konoha's Sublime Green Beast of Prey. Although now, he couldn't help but think that there was something more genuine in their comradery. And ultimately, he couldn't help but feel undeserving of such displays of friendship.
"So Kakashi, you actually gonna miss any of us while you're away?" Genma asked, twirling his ever-present senbon between his lips.
"Aw come on Genma, we all know I'll be the only one Hatake misses" Anko said between mouthfuls of the sweet dumplings. She made sure to push her torso onto Kakashi's left arm, the smooth metal of her chainmail mesh shirt sending chills down his spine.
Gai was quick to counter the bawdy jonin. "Surely it will be our red-hot battles that Kakashi will miss the most. Our clashes are truly the pinnacle of youthful release."
Gai was always loud but hearing him from only a few inches from his ear really emphasized that fact for Kakashi. He looked to the other jonin for help. Genma and Raido had matching smirks on their faces, both of the men well aware of Kakashi's more reclusive tendencies. Kurenai looked on, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as her red eyes stared right into his lone grey one.
"A little help here, Kurenai?"
"The Copy Ninja, Kakashi Hatake. You'd be hard pressed to hear him asking for help during a mission, but place him in any kind of social situation and all his bravado disappears." Kurenai chuckled before taking a sip of her sake.
Kakashi stood from the table, having released himself from Anko and Gai's encroachment on his personal space. "In my defense, I can always fall back on my jutsu during a mission."
Kurenai narrowed her eyes at him but remained silent.
"Anyways," Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck. "I have to get ready for my mission, but it was fun catching up. See you around." Smoke covered were he last stood; the telltale sign of the body flicker technique he used to leave the dango shop.
Kakashi ended up on a rooftop half a block from the dango shop. He pulled out his weathered copy of Icha Icha Paradise and began reading under the moonlight, the familiar characters and dialogue acted as a counter to the eccentricities of his fellow jonin. He remained like this for some time, long enough for the rest of his fellow jonin to begin making their way outside of the dango shop, each headed to their homes. All this Kakashi noted while pretending to read his favorite book for the umpteenth time. And he continued to do so, turning a page even as the smell of a flowery perfume alerted him to the presence of another individual on the rooftop.
Because of his familiarity with the scent Kakashi merely glanced to confirm his suspicion as to the identity of his new arrival. As he anticipated, Kurenai was seated a few feet away from him, holding her knees to her chest as she looked out into the night sky. Kakashi continued his charade, tracking the letters on the page, basking in the silence that normally anticipated many of their prior interactions. They remained like this for some time, with only the sound of the cool evening breeze and Kakashi's occasional page flip breaking the lull.
"The moment you mentioned jutsu I knew you were going to flicker out of the shop." Kurenai began, mirth evident in her tone. "You just can't help yourself, can you?"
Kakashi snapped his book shut and stood to face Kurenai with his patented eye-smile. "Have I become so predictable?"
Kurenai smiled. "That's usually what happens when you let people get to know you better. It's a very natural part of human interaction."
Kakashi, having taken a seat right beside the kunoichi, gave what he felt was his most thoughtful hum while running his left hand through his silver hair.
"Did you really plan on leaving without saying anything?" Kurenai whispered, her head now resting on his shoulder.
"I told Gai about it. Figured word would spread around eventually. Didn't think he'd made a whole thing about it though." Kakashi muttered.
"Lady Tsunade, Asuma, and now you. It feels like everyone is leaving the village. Leaving me. And I can't stand it."
"Unfortunately, I don't have much of a choice in the matter." Kakashi paused, taking in the smell of Kurenai's rose scented shampoo. "And besides, Asuma will come back. I'm sure of it."
"I'm not so sure about that." Kurenai answered, a little faster than she had intended.
"Well I am." Kakashi drawled out. His lone, grey eye now gazing intently onto Kurenai. "He has something worth coming back to." Sans mask, he pressed his lips to Kurenai's forehead in a chaste kiss.
Kurenai swallowed deeply, her words struggling to push them past her lips. "K-kakashi, I've already told you dozens of times—"
"Please Kurenai, I don't need a sharingan to know how much he means to you." Kakashi interrupted, a wistful smile on his face. "If I helped ease your loneliness during his absence, that's good enough for me. But I don't plan on getting in the way once he makes his return."
"I'm sorry Kakashi, truly I am." Kurenai tightened her grip on his arm, her head returning to its original place against his shoulder. "You're a good man, Kakashi. I hope you know that. You deserve to be happy."
Kakashi shifted his eyes skyward and hummed. Stars flashed along the night sky while his thoughts crept to the upcoming mission, all the preparation and studying he had yet to do before the morning came. "Let's just stay like this awhile, that's all I ask." He buried his nose in Kurenai's dark locks, focusing on the familiarity of her scent one last time.
AN: Hmm, not sure what to make of this yet. Just a random little idea I decided to jot down.