Neji entered the building as quickly as he could, reflecting the attacks coming at him from all sides. He easily kicked away and blocked the pressure points of the doctors or aids who tried to attack him, shoving them to the side in preference of Sasuke. He didn't need to be distracted right now.
Even without his byakugan, he would have probably been able to find Sasuke easily. There was a strange gurgling sound coming from downstairs, almost like he was trying to scream but couldn't. Did they have him gagged?
As he burst in through the door, he nearly froze at what he saw. Sasuke was tied to a chair, blood pouring in huge amounts out of his mouth. The man in front of him, large and bulky, was shoving a rag in his mouth as if to slow the bleeding. Sasuke's eyes were covered, but the tears flowing messily down his cheeks as he seemingly choked on the rag showed his panic more than enough. His fingers were flexing out, the younger boy's head immediately focusing on the doorway as he saw him burst in.
It was like Sasuke went into an entirely new mode of panic when he heard the door unlock. He looked like he was trying to scream, but no noise came out besides small gurgles of blood. He turned towards Neji with a pure look of pleading.
Neji wasn't sure he liked seeing his rival beg to him so pitifully. It didn't sit right.
The man with the rag straightened up as he saw Neji, leaving the rag stuffed into Sasuke's mouth. He tossed something onto a table beside him, and Neji felt his heart skip a beat as he realized what it was. It was about a third of Sasuke's tongue. The teen covered his mouth momentarily in disgust, only stopping when he saw the others move in for an attack.
Neji dodged to the side as he realized all three of them were on him. He growled a bit-- tongue wounds were very serious. He couldn't spend time fighting these three, not to mention the fact they were three full-grown ninja and he was only a teen. "Sasuke! It's Neji. We'll get you out of here soon. Just hold on a bit longer!" he commanded.
He moved to the side, hoping to lure the three out of the room. When he only got amused looks, he glared. It was as if they couldn't be bothered. 'Damn it', he mentally cursed, running back upstairs and yelling into the village, "Akatsuki! Over here! Quick! He's seriously injured!" knowing very well he was no match for the three, even with his advanced skills.
Back up came quickly, but with one extra person. While he did see the Akatsuki come running forward, he noticed Kisame carrying a silver-haired ninja. It was clear he was being held as a hostage, as the rest of the village seemed hesitant to attack while he was in Kisame's hold. The strange thing was, the man didn't seem to be fighting to escape at all.
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Kisame rushed in along with Nagato and Konan. They easily got past the opening rooms, commanding Neji, "Go gather everyone else up! If he's truly as hurt as you say, we have to leave with him now."
The boy ran off to do as he was told, Kisame entering the room with Nagato and Konan right behind him. "Give us Sasuke, or the old man gets it!" he barked.
Kakashi gave an unimpressed look as he was held down by the shark-ninja, blade against his throat. Who did he think he was calling an old man?
Ibiki and Inoichi seemed to back down, but Danzo gave no such obedience. It seemed he didn't care if he had to risk the silver-haired man as he came whirling towards them. Luckily, Kisame didn't have to lift a finger. He was dead via Pain's attack before he had the chance to slice Kakashi.
Pain growled as he saw the man move to attack them, ending him with a single attack. After all, it was only one elderly ninja. His eyes were seemingly glowing with rage, "You dare to lay a finger on my son? I'll show you, interrogators, what real pain is!" hand becoming widespread as he attacked.
Konan moved over to Sasuke as Nagato dealt with the other three, quickly moving to untie him. The moment she touched his wrist to begin undoing his bindings, however, he began squirming and pulling away from her in terror. His head whipped the other way around, seemingly trying his best to distance himself from her. Her heart ached as she saw the pure terror responses coming from him, the purple-haired woman gently raising her hands up to remove his blindfold.
Sasuke whipped his head back and forth, seemingly trying his best to shove the woman's hands off him. It was only when it was removed and he realized who it was that he seemed to stop struggling. Instead, a fresh set of tears poured from his eyes. Konan had never seen him so broken down, not in the entirety of knowing him.
She worked to untie his arms and ankles, quickly noticing the terrible burns and welts covering his body. It looked as though he had been burned and beat pretty harshly in the few hours it had taken them to arrive. She pulled him up gently, noticing the way he hissed and pulled away at every touch. She carefully traded off with Kisame, taking the hostage so that the much bulkier man could carry Sasuke.
She quickly picked up the lost extremity she had noticed on the table using her paper, trying not to think about it as she placed it in her pocket. The ones who had been torturing Sasuke were dead, all three of them. The one with the bandages had been searched by one of Nagato's six paths, a disturbing amount of Sharingan found up his arm. One was also in his covered eye. They didn't have anywhere to put them but doubted leaving them was a good idea. As such, they were forced to settle with destroying them all as quickly as they could.
Kisame frowned as they quickly finished, feeling Sasuke clinging onto his shoulder as though he were once more a mere six-year-old. He could see the blood dribbling out of the rag in his mouth as they left, the man taking it from his mouth now that the rag had soaked up as much as it was going to. He leaned the crying teen's head forward, instructing as they ran for the front gates, "Don't swallow. Spit it out." knowing it would be easy for him to drown on his own blood if he swallowed it.
As they arrived, they spotted the rest of the Akatsuki at the front gates. They were still fighting off multiple attacks from raging leaf and sand ninja alike without much trouble. Taking a second glance, however, they noticed specifically four people were missing. Where were Neji, Hinata, Naruto, and Gaara?
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Neji had gathered up most of the others without much of a problem. It had only become difficult when he spotted where Hinata was. He supposed Kisame had broken off from his group with her when he had been called. This probably wasn't the best idea, considering Hinata was one of the few people in their family with remaining blood relatives.
He found her standing in a park. The same one the Akatsuki had previously found Naruto, Sasuke, and Gaara playing in. She was standing with her hands up to her chest, pupil's dilated and body shaking. He ran for her, of course. "Hinata! We've got to move. Sasuke's been injured terribly. What are you doing?"
Neji watched as she shakily pointed to across the park. Neji's heart skipped a beat for the second time today.
"Hanabi?"
The little girl, currently eight years old, sat crouched under a table. She looked like she was hiding from the sights of the attackers, much to both the elder Hyuuga's pain. Upon hearing her name, however, she quickly turned around in a fighting pose. The little girl gave a snarl, byakugan activated and glaring in a warning.
Hinata took a step forward, towards her little sister. Nagato had always assured her that Hanabi was fine, but to see it with her own eyes was completely different. This was the baby girl she had left behind? She looked so...angry. Aggressive. Threatening.
Neji rested a hand on Hinata's shoulders, shaking his head back and forth at his cousin. They couldn't do this right now. They had to focus on Sasuke.
Hanabi seemed to be sizing the two up, looking them up and down. These were definitely not her clansmen. It was a pretty good chance they weren't in the main family if they were missing-nin. As such, she decided to try defending herself against unknown Hyuuga the way she had always been taught. She began forming hand seals, and in a mere moment, the boy grabbed his head in pain, low groans escaping him as he cried out. She frowned. So it seemed the girl wasn't part of the branch family then-- she didn't have the caged bird seal. "Back off, or I'll leave it on and kill him!" she threatened.
The young Hyuuga wasn't prepared as the elder spoke with shock, holding onto the crumbling boy. "Stop it, Hanabi! That's enough!" forming seals to undo the activation. It took a moment, but eventually, Hinata overpowered Hanabi's activation. The little girl looked at the elder Hyuuga, dumbfounded. But, how did she know the hand signs to undo it? Only adults and high ranking Hyuuga children were supposed to know how to activate and deactivate it!
Neji had tumbled over in pain after it was activated, the boy grabbing onto his head as he felt a heavy headache take over him. This was Hanabi? This was the sweet little bundle of joy they had left behind? Suddenly, their roles were reversed, and Hinata was the one tugging Neji alone. "Nii-San. You're right. We need to leave and focus on Sasuke. I'm sorry! Just- we have to go." she tugged his groaning form along. This wasn't a very good day, far from it. She headed back to the front gates as she heard Sasori calling in the distance, doing her best to pry herself away from the bewildered Hyuuga heiress.
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Nagato was forced to leave Sasuke in the care of the others as he went to go look for Naruto and Gaara. He left the two Hyuuga teens to Sasori.
Nagato figured it would be best for him to go after Naruto and Gaara, after all, if their tailed beasts were released then he was the only one able to subdue them since Itachi wasn't there. It was pretty easy to find Gaara, the boy standing leaned over in an alleyway, head buried in his hands, but sand surrounding him on high alert. "Gaara! Come here, we need to go!" he called.
The younger boy slowly lifted his head from his hands, taking a deep breath as he leaned on the wall. At first, he didn't reply, worrying Nagato. "Gaara, are you alright?" slowly moving through the sand.
He was surprised as he felt the sand whip towards him, grabbing his six path's boy in a crushing hold. It would hurt if he wasn't a puppet. Gaara didn't seem to make the connection, however, the boy burying his head deeper in his hands as he saw his sand grab Nagato. "Stay away!" he commanded in a scratchy voice.
His father gave a confused look but stopped in his tracks. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"
Gaara shook his head, clenching his own hair in his hands. "It's going on its own again. It's hurting people. I'm hurting people. His blood lust is back!" his voice sounding strained as he dropped to his knees. He trembled a bit, "Kurama was seeping through Naruto. He was possessed. Shukaku got excited seeing Naruto's killing and wanted to come out. He's back to trying to make me kill people. I don't want to give in to the bloodlust again."
Nagato took a few careful steps forward, beginning to understand the situation. "No, Gaara. You aren't going to give back in. You can do it. You've done it for years." he tried to soothe his fears. "You said Kurama is possessing Naruto? Do you know where he is?"
Unfortunately, that only seemed to fuel Gaara's pain more. "I tried! I tried to make him stop! I didn't mean to hurt Naruto! Kurama and Shukaku always fight when they're near. I didn't mean to!"
It was only then that Nagato spotted a pretty roughed up Naruto laying a few feet away. He didn't look like he was injured terribly, though. Luckily, it looked like it was only a few scratches and bruises. Naruto's self-healing must have kicked in. "Gaara, it's alright. He's not hurt too much. He's just unconscious. He's still alive." finally getting close enough to lay a hand on his back. "Calm down. Just calm down." he activated his rinnegan, putting the tailed beast's chakra down in hopes of relaxing Gaara easier.
It seemed to work fairly well, the boy's breathing slowly evening out. "He's...not dead? I didn't kill him?" the younger red-head asked. He was pulled up, a comforting hand rested on his shoulder.
"No. He's still alive. He'll be alright. We all will be. We just need to hurry back to the village, or at least a stopping point to heal up." he nodded a bit, one of his other six paths picking up Naruto and resting him on their back.
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Kisame frowned as they all rounded up by the gates. The already wounded villages weren't too much trouble to fight off, but it would be trouble if they followed them back to their hideout. He glanced at Nagato, who was now holding on to the silver-haired Jonin.
Nagato nodded in understanding. It would be too much effort to kill them all off-- and waste too much time. They had not only Sasuke to worry about, but a lightly injured Naruto and Neji now too. Not to mention Hinata and Gaara were both off their game now.
He knew it wouldn't stop all the followers, but it would help cut a few of them down to a more manageable size. "We're leaving now, but if anyone tries to follow us, we'll kill him first and then come back for the rest of you," Nagato warned, the attacks not slowing until they left the village. It didn't seem like anyone had followed, but the Akatsuki knew very well this wasn't the case.
They stopped about half an hour away from the village to let Karin try her best to heal up his tongue and to fight against the few who had followed. Nagato stood in front of the children along with a few of the other members, hands raising, "You ignored our gracious warnings, so now you must know true pain." he narrowed his eyes, killing the rather insistent shinobi off.
Kisame turned to the silver-haired man that had been dropped off on the floor when they stopped. He grinned, lifting his shark skin blade in the air, "Too bad for you, they didn't listen." knowing full well shark skin was as hungry as ever for some strong chakra.
He lifted it over his shoulder, ready to strike Kakashi down with a nice messy slice when he felt a hand tug on his Akatsuki coat. He frowned, looking down at Sasuke who still had Karin's hands half shoved in his mouth, the girl laying medical herbs around his stubbed tongue. The boy shook his head back and forth at Kisame, looking tired but pleading.
Kisame frowned, "You don't want me to kill him? Why not? He's with that bastard village." he scowled in confusion. Sasuke only glared lightly, having calmed down but still being completely tired out. The teen shook his head again, tugging on the elder's coat as if restating his opinion.
Karin gave her brother a scolding, turning his head back towards her, "Stop moving, unless you want the pain to continue. It's almost done." she glared lightly, though it was hard with how beaten up he looked.
A deep sigh left Kisame's lips, the man putting his sword away and glaring at the leaf jonin, "Fine. I won't kill him now if you want us to wait off a bit. Just stay still for Karin. She's trying to help you." he spoke gruffly, though the affection in his words were clear. He gave the man a warning look, "You better stay still and quiet, though. Start making a racket and I'll kill you anyway."
The man nodded, leaning back on his elbows in waiting. A few of the Akatsuki members frowned. This man...didn't seem too stressed about the situation? Surely, he couldn't be underestimating them after the raid on the village. Nor was he in line with any of them so why-
Sasori followed the jonin's line of sight and noticed him watching Sasuke. Ah, that must be it. He must have either allied himself with Sasuke. It would make sense as to why the teen would stop Kisame from killing him off right then and there. But then, who was this man and what reason would he have to ally himself with Sasuke. Hinata had a nervous feeling about it, so she decided to activate her byakugan. When she did, she nearly dropped the herbs she had been wrapping Sasuke's burned ankles in.
Kakuzu squatted down beside her, asking, "What do you see, hun?" eyes narrowed and cold as always towards the leaf ninja.
Hinata lightly bit her lip, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. "He has a Sharingan, but it isn't completely connected to his chakra network," she explained, a few others glancing over at the man with weary eyes.
Deidara glared at him in particular, hands on his hips as he interrogated, "Why do you have a Sharingan hidden under your headband? Did you steal it?" he asked defensively.
Kakashi seemed to ice over as the felt all eyes on him, including Sasuke's who seemed to bore into him. He opened his mouth, giving the simple response he gave anyone who asked when they noticed. "I didn't steal it. It was given to me by a comrade a long time ago."
Hidan didn't look like he believed it, "Then why's it fuckin' hidden?" after all if it was given to him, why was there a need to hide it.
"So I don't waste chakra, and to avoid situations like this," Kakashi spoke, eyes narrowing. He could tell the people who believed him were very limited.
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They carried on for another half an hour, Sasuke being carried on Kisame's back the entire time. Konan glanced at Karin while they ran, "Were you able to see if there was any way to reattach it?" she asked.
Karin shook her head back and forth, looking guilty. "There is, but it won't be able to heal quickly. I can reattach it, but it'll take a lot of time for him to recover. Even then, his voice will be different since it was completely cut off. It would be different if it was just a little cut, but they completely yanked half his tongue out."
Nagato asked, "How much pain is he in?" a tight frown lining his lips as he spoke.
"He should be more numb than anything. I wrapped his burns up with a herb that should soothe the burning. I haven't had the chance to heal them yet. It looked like he was hit with some sort of chakra-infused strap. I healed it, but the unknown chakra was difficult to work with so it probably still aches a bit. I couldn't risk giving him my blood or it would close up the wound in his mouth. If that happens, he won't be able to get it reattached. But with as much numbing cream as I put in his mouth, he's probably too out of it to notice."
"Well, we should be able to make a stop in one of the smaller villages tonight," Kakuzu noted. "I've done this village a lot of work, so they should be open to letting us all stay in one of the hotels."
Hidan nodded, "Plus, they're weak as hell. So I doubt they'll put up a fight." for once in agreement with his partner as they ran.
They finally stopped at the village in question about ten minutes later. Just as Hidan had said, the villages looked more scared to refuse them than welcoming. Either way, they would serve their purpose, the Akatsuki supposed. As they entered the hotel, it was fairly obvious why Kakuzu was fine with the place.
The owners only gave bows, offering them a room key, and allowing them in. It was fairly easy since they seemed against the idea of harming them. As they entered the room, they found it to be nice and roomy despite the village's poor state. They supposed it was the best room in the hotel since the other rooms with open doors seemed less than passing in comparison.
Sasuke was laid down on one of the two beds. Luckily, both were king-sized. The teen looked tired, but overall like he wasn't in too much pain. It seemed Karin had done her job well when she numbed him. Neji sat himself down on the couch, running his fingers through his hair in hopes of relieving his headache. Then, finally, Naruto was sat down on the bed opposite of Sasuke.
Nagato looked over to his red-haired daughter, "Now that we're stable, can you work on reattaching his tongue?" knowing very well she had needles in her healing pouch she almost always brought with her anywhere.
Karin glanced at Sasuke, then back at Nagato. "I can try, but I don't work well with flesh. The few times I've had to sew it up haven't ended well," she warned him.
The girl felt a hand on her back and glanced back to see Kakuzu nodding a bit. "I'll do it since I'm more experienced with sewing up body parts, but you should watch so you have a better idea of how to do it for future reference," he explained, the girl nodding, grateful she wouldn't need to sew him up. It was a bit nasty, honestly.
Kakuzu lead her over to the bed, where Sasuke was eyeing them nervously. He sat on the right while she sat on the left. "Alright, open up, brat," he spoke with hidden affection. Sasuke looked doubtful but opened his mouth lightly to let him get a look inside.
Karin frowned as she saw the torn up inside of his mouth, as well as when she saw Konan pass Kakuzu the torn off tongue. It was obvious that Sasuke was uncertain. This point was only proved when he brought his hand up to cover his mouth, looking around at the Akatsuki members with a questioning look.
"What is it?" Kakuzu spoke in his normal sharp fashion, not helping Sasuke's confusion. So he looked at Kisame for help. He pointed at Kisame, tilting his head. Since the only response he got was a quirked brow, he gave a frustrated look before pointing to Hidan and then Kakuzu. Still, no one understood. "What? You want someone with a blade to do it?"
Sasuke looked even more annoyed now, not seeing any paper he could write on. So he pointed to Konan and Nagato now. Sasori thought for a moment. "Something Hidan and Kakuzu have in common with Konan and Nagato?" have on his face before giving a look of realization. "Partners?" Sasuke nodded, then pointed to Kisame with a desperate look. "Oh, you want to know where Kisame's partner is. You want to know where Itachi's at?"
The young Uchiha nodded, confused by the looks of betrayal on Konan and Nagato's face, while everyone else seemed relaxed enough at the question. Deidara chuckled, "Don't worry about it. The bastard had to stay behind to watch Tobi, under orders of Konan and Nagato. He's fine."
Hidan nodded, frowning a bit, "Kinda surprised he didn't fight it more, though. He was pretty pissed when Tobi came back without you." before letting out a laugh, "Come to think of it, he's probably having his way with Tobi as we speak. He was such a fucking bitch the entire time you were gone. It was nothing but search, search, search until he found you."
Sasuke nodded a bit to Deidara, relaxing a bit to let Kakuzu begin working on his tongue. He wished Itachi was here, but he knew he was in good hands even with the others. He only hoped Itachi wasn't mad at him, even if he had every reason to be after he followed Tobi despite his warnings.
The teen felt a handhold onto his free one from his left. He couldn't look over to see who it was, but it was comforting none the less. He focused on listening in on the other conversations, trying not to think about the needle in his mouth. No, he'd definitely rather listen in on Deidara flirting with Sasori.
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The night in the hotel had been pretty rough. Sasuke had shared a bed with Neji, while Naruto had shared with Gaara. The girls had wound up sleeping together on the couch. The Akatsuki members mostly settled for resting in either chairs that were placed around the room or not at all. Some of the members, the ones who didn't need sleep, decided to stay up and keep watch just in case.
Kakashi was tied to a table leg, Sasori and Zetsu both watching over him throughout the night with a weary look. They didn't trust this ninja, even if Sasuke seemed fond of him. It was three hours past when the ones that needed to sleep fell asleep when they began speaking to the other ninja in whispers.
"Who are you and how do you know Sasuke?" Sasori gave a squat beside the silver-haired ninja, eyeing him wearily. Had this man manipulated Sasuke into trusting him somehow? Why had Sasuke so quickly pleaded for him not to be killed off? Zetsu watched from behind Sasori, arms crossed quietly in suspicion as well. Though initially only using the Akatsuki as a way of gathering power to bring his mother back to life, he had grown quite attached to the children over time. He didn't want to see them hurt any more than Sasori did.
Kakashi shrugged. "I'm Kakashi Hatake. I was in charge of keeping an eye on him when the village had him. He was living with me for the last week or so." he answered simply, figuring Sasuke would tell them when he was able to anyway.
Zetsu frowned from behind Sasori. "What else?" Kakashi glanced at him as he heard his question. "You aren't telling us everything."
A small frown lined Kakashi's masked face as he heard the split man speak. He was sharp, wasn't he? "I was also Itachi's captain before he betrayed the village, so I got to see him quite a bit when he was younger. I doubt he would remember, though." he shrugged. It wouldn't make sense for Sasuke to unless it was a subconscious thing.
Sasori looked mildly skeptical, but he supposed it would make sense. Perhaps that was why Sasuke seemed so skeptical about stopping Kisame when he had. Perhaps, the teen didn't know why he had himself. "Even so, if you're planning on using that against him, we will kill you the moment we see it."
Zetsu nodded, agreeing with Sasori, but not seeing much threat in the other ninja. He didn't seem hostile nor manipulative.
Kakashi shrugged from his position. "If you want to kill me, go right ahead. It isn't like emotional manipulation from me would do any damage anyway. He made it quite clear that he's a true ninja back in the leaf."
By now, Konan and Nagato had woken up from the hushed voices and had come over to hear what they were hushing back and forth about. Nagato gave a blank look to Kakashi, "He is not a full-blown ninja yet. He's barely a teenager. In case you missed the part where he was weeping the entire time back because of your village."
Kakashi quirked a brow. "I by no means think he's a full-blown ninja. I'm saying he has the heart of one. A good core to start working around."
Konan nodded in agreement, though hesitant. "He does show promise. I'm certain he'll be a great ninja one day." arms crossed over her chest in doubt they thought so for the same reasons. "What makes you think he will?" Personally, she thought he would make a great ninja because of his stealth and bravery. If he was able to hold out an entire week and a half in enemy hands, she was sure he would do the Rain Village proud when he got older. As if she wasn't proud enough already, she mused.
The man grinned under his mask, "His ability to connect with his comrades and captors alike, of course." seemingly thrilled at the boy's attitude. "His endurance too, of course. But the way he's so charismatic without meaning to be is amazing. He escaped Suna by sweet-talking the people set to watch over him. Begging for just a sip of water." he smirked. "Then headbutting them hard enough to knock them out. The skill it must have taken to get the keys off the guy after he was knocked out. Then to slip by, injured! Stunning. That's not even getting into the condition I found him in."
Kisame rolled over from his spot on one of the chairs, "Condition?" he grunted in question.
Kakashi nodded, "He had bruises and cuts all over the place. Holes in his body from kunai being entered and twisted. He shouldn't have been able to walk, let alone run away with those injuries. His endurance is amazing for a ninja his age. It looked like he had used something to disinfect his injuries since they weren't infected. He smelt a bit like honey, actually. Not sure where he got honey, though." he chuckled.
The others only frowned at this, easily able to guess why he would use honey. Kakuzu smirked from across the room, now listening in as well with Hidan. That was his little brat, he knew the boy'd remember at least that. "I waited until he was finished eating to sneak up behind him and grab for him, but you should have seen the way he stitched himself up. I half didn't want to interrupt purely out of surprise."
"He took a thread from a shirt and used it to sew himself up while gagging himself with the cloth. He carried on even when screaming into the cloth. It was damn impressive. Konoha removed a lot of the huge stab wounds so he was easier to manage when he first arrived, but they left some of them once they realized who he was. Even though, he was walking around my house like he owned the place." he mused.
"He was even able to communicate to you all where he was without panicking, and just in time." he mused, seeming unconcerned with the fact he was talking to enemies as he praised the boy. "His communication skills are A-Grade. I've tested and failed hundreds of students to try and find a worthy pack of students. No one's done something half as brilliant before."
Deidara rolled over from his spot on the floor, "Why did you allow yourself to be captured?" laying on his stomach and lightly swinging his legs in boredom. "You've been way too relaxed this entire time. It's like you don't even care that you're captured. You do know that even if Sasuke won't let us kill you, we'll be tossing you in the prison cells when we get home."
Kakashi shrugged. "At least it'll be interesting."
Well, the Akatsuki hadn't expected that. Deidara looked exhausted, "What do you mean, interesting? It's a cell. It has four walls, a toilet, and a bed. You were a lead jonin. Why the hell would you risk something like that over Sasuke? You haven't even seen the kid in years."
Kakashi hummed, leaning on the item he was tied to. "Let's just say I made a promise to someone, a long time ago. Long before you all were in the picture." he mused tiredly.
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Truth be told, Kakashi was tired. He'd been through too much shit in his short life.
His mother had died the night he was born, so that wasn't a great start to his path in life. Still, he was happy to spent time with the man he idolized most in his life-- his father. The man had taught him everything there was to know about being a ninja, from moral codes to how to throw his first shuriken.
Of course, idolizing his father only made him that much more disconnected from his peers. So it wasn't easy when the man went and died, leaving him all alone. After all, he had pushed his peers away long ago. There was no going back after that, he figured.
As such, he settled for focusing on his studies. He didn't care about anyone else until he was put on his genin squad. Not until he met Obito and Rin. It seemed like no matter how much he pushed away from them, they only came back ten times as strong with their support. Even if Obito was a loud idiot, he was his loud idiot.
So when Rin was kidnapped and Obito said they had to rescue her? What other choice did he have? He knew he might have been more intelligent academically, but even then he knew Obito knew best when it came to emotional matters.
So he'd gone after Rin. Killed her in the process of trying to save her. Watched his only friend in a long time be crushed to death on the same mission. It was insufferable. The two rays of sunlight in his life, gone. The only thing left for him to comfort himself with was that he still had his sensei.
Even that didn't last for long, though. The man was dead, dying a hero just as he had begun to connect with his classmates. Just as he thought he could carry on, his last shred of light had been taken from him. In its place, though, a new light had appeared. Naruto Uzumaki.
The boy was so sweet, even as a newborn. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to keep the promise he had made Minato. The promise to always look after the then-unborn baby. It just... it hurt too much. Everyone he had ever loved had died. It drove him insane to look at the small bundle and worry about getting attached to him. If he got too attached, he was sure Naruto would die too.
So he never got to know him. He never stepped in as he heard the others whispering around the boy, isolating him. It hurt so bad to not step in, but he was far too heartbroken to take care of him.
He tried to numb his emotions. He remained in the ANBU, following through on his heartless duties for years. He lost and gained a lot of comrades, but the one that had always stuck with him was a certain Uchiha.
The boy was barely eleven-- most kids were barely graduating at that age, some entering in their senior year. Yet, here he was, in the ANBU. Their first mission together had been rough. The boy had killed without remorse. Kakashi had been shocked since the boy seemed so sweet and gentle outside of battle. It was only later that he realized the rumors of him being a 'cruel captain who would kill anyone who wasn't willing to strike down opponents' or something along those lines. They had sprouted up after his teammates continued to die, yet he survived despite his efforts to save them.
It was strange. Itachi didn't seem to fear dying by his hands for refusing to kill immediately. No, it was like he saw it as his responsibility to live. It was like the small Uchiha was chained down to earth despite his lack of interest in the world.
They went on many missions. Itachi didn't die. In fact, he saved Kakashi quite a few times. Slowly, a bond of trust was formed. Trust that Itachi would be different. That he wouldn't die. Soon enough, he had taken the boy under his wing. Always going out for dango after a mission, training off-the-clock, and visiting each other occasionally.
It was on one of these visits he learned what was keeping Itachi chained down to earth. A little boy. Only three years old the first time he saw him. The way Itachi had lead him into his house, but quickly became ambushed by hugs and babbles from the little boy was shocking. The way the seemingly miserable and empty pre-teen coddled the little boy, telling him that he had to wait a bit before they could play. There wasn't a doubt in Kakashi's mind that Sasuke meant everything to Itachi.
Which was why it was so shocking when the pre-teen entrusted his safety to him one night. Kakashi hadn't known at the time why Itachi was so pleading. Why he was so desperate to get his agreement to watch over little Sasuke. Why he was so relieved when Kakashi finally gave in and agreed.
It made sense a little too late. When the clan was destroyed, Kakashi was one of the first ones on the case. He'd seen Sasuke wailing in the streets at anyone who dared to come near him. He's watched the boy run back inside his house and throw a fit when anyone came too close to the dead bodies of his parents. He'd watched it all.
He had also felt it when the boy's eyes had landed on him, back then. When they'd widened in recognition, a newly hurt look spreading over his face. He'd felt it as Sasuke ran away from his attempts at coming closer, crying at him not to kill him. It was only then that Kakashi realized that, in the six-year-old's mind, Kakashi was allied with everything Itachi did since they had been friends.
He had tried to fix his wrongs. He tried keeping his promise to Itachi, to protect Sasuke. The boy wouldn't allow it, though. It seemed like he was trying to completely block him from his memory. So Kakashi tried going back to Minato's promise. Only to have Naruto reject him on Sasuke's suggestions. He supposed Sasuke had told him about how he was allied with Itachi, so the blonde wouldn't go near him.
Kakashi was still trying to get along with them when the now-famous kidnapping had occurred. He had been at home when he heard the radio flicker on about the 'sudden kidnapping of five children'. Of the 'missing Hyuuga, Uchiha, Uzumaki, and Sand Village' children. He'd searched everywhere, but they were gone. He'd never be able to keep his promise to his dear friends.
He had regretted it for years now. It still haunted him at every corner. Every time he walked past the Uchiha compound. Every time he entered the Hokage Tower. Every time he looked up at the judging monument of the Fourth Hokage. It ate at his soul. The guilt was overbearing. He couldn't focus on reconnecting with the others anymore.
In his eyes, he didn't deserve to be their friend. Not Guy, not Asuma, no one. No matter how much they tried, he rejected it until they had given up. The children disappearing was the last straw for him to snap into dispair,
So to see they were alive and well? To see that they were loved? It calmed him. Besides, if he went with them, maybe he'd get a chance to apologize to Itachi for not helping him sooner. If only he had paid more attention to the slowly hollowing eyes every time they met.
Then maybe Itachi wouldn't have gone mad and killed his family.