I don't own any of the characters within this work of fiction, they all belong to Masashi Kishimoto. :)

The trio are in their early twenties, hovering somewhere around 22 years old. This, of course, makes Kakashi's age somewhere around 36.

**Please read the below note**

I have obviously taken some creative liberties within this story, so it's not going to be 100% accurate to the anime or the manga.

Leave a review if you'd like. Enjoy!

Everything was chaotic, and he didn't understand what was happening.

Someone was yelling. Although he couldn't make out the exact words over the ringing in his ears, Kakashi could tell that someone was thoroughly threatening someone else's life.

Kakashi scanned his surroundings and noticed Naruto and Sasuke not far from him, maybe a few feet away. And then he noticed that it was Naruto who was yelling while Sasuke held on to him with everything he had. Although he wasn't screaming like his partner, the look on the Uchiha's face was deadly. Kakashi still had no idea what the hell was going on.

He searched for a sign of his medic, hoping to see a flash of pink hair nearby. She wasn't there. He was just about to question the boys on Sakura's whereabouts when Kakashi realized he was sitting on something. Something that was crying. No, something that was sobbing.

He looked down, finding the missing kunoichi.

Sakura was pinned underneath him, her beautiful green eyes swimming in fear. His left hand was tangled in her pink hair, exposing the delicate skin of her neck to the kunai he held in his right hand. A trail of blood ran from where the point of the kunai had pierced the woman's skin, leaving a small puddle on the ground after flowing over his fingers.

Kakashi stopped breathing.

It was at about that point that someone placed him in a headlock, dragging him off his victim.

"You fucking idiot." Hissed a male voice.

He recognized that voice. It was Sasuke's voice. That must mean Naruto… Yes, Naruto was with Sakura. The blonde whipped his head around toward Kakashi, who realized that the man's normally blue eyes were red, and his barred teeth were fangs. The Jonin could feel the extreme killing intent radiating from the shinobi.

Fuck.

He had all but forced Naruto into the role of checking on Sakura. It had been years since the last time he'd seen the blonde so angry and worked up that he lost control of the Biju that was sealed within him. Sasuke knew that if he let the other anywhere near Kakashi in his current state, Naruto would kill him.

So, Sasuke had taken the job of restraining the man. He swiftly slipped Kakashi into a headlock, ready for a fight, but none came. Instead, his captive went limp and the sound of a kunai hitting the ground reverberated around the cave. The Jonin had even allowed himself to be dragged off Sakura, out the cave entrance, and into the woods.

Sasuke had drug Kakashi a good half kilometer from the entrance of their shelter, and then unceremoniously flung the nin into the mud. Kakashi didn't struggle once on the trek; hell, the man didn't even bother to catch himself before his back slammed into the ground.

"Naruto's going to kill you." He spoke nonchalantly, gauging the silent man. "Hell, I may kill you."

The white-haired shinobi said nothing, just sat where he landed staring at the mud.

"I mean it, you idiot! That ramen-loving fool is really going to fucking gut you."

Sasuke glared at his former sensei, debating on how to approach the subject of what happened.

"During the Third War, my team was on a mission that went exceptionally wrong."

The response was void of any emotion.

"My sensei was called to the frontlines, and he left me in charge of my teammates and our mission. But the whole thing was a trap. We were ambushed."

Kakashi stopped for a moment, and Sasuke saw the man take a few deep breaths before continuing.

"We fought hard but were outnumbered. I took a sword to the stomach and went down. Because of that, my teammates were taken hostage by Iwa shinobi."

The older shinobi had finally looked up from the ground and was looking at Sasuke, but he knew the other wasn't there with him. He was on a battlefield from long ago.

"I had enough remaining chakra to summon one ninken and send him to the Leaf forces. They were supposed to put a scouting team together to find Rin and Obito. But, instead, they sent a squad out for me. I wasn't found until two days after I sent the ninken."

"My sensei found me strapped to a cot in the med tent three days later. He removed my restraints and questioned me about the mission. When I told him that Rin and Obito were missing, he lost it. He told me that he'd get a squad together and leave first thing in the morning."

Kakashi sighed heavily, his emotionless mask wavering.

"But he didn't have to. When morning came, there was a large amount of commotion coming from the front of our makeshift base. I could sense the panic of the crowd, so I decided to check out the cause. I overheard a Jonin mention missing shinobi, so I pushed through the crowd. Rin and Obito had been returned to us."

"Their bodies were littered with signs of torture and their throats were slit. Their throats had been slit right where their bodies were found, you could tell by the blood that soaked into their clothes and the ground. I ran to their bodies, hoping that since they were mutilated mere moments ago that they were still alive. I knelled in their mingling blood, desperate for any sign of life."

There were a few moments of silence, and then Sasuke heard a dark chuckle.

"Rin was already dead. They had cut her throat so deep that her trachea was exposed. Obito on the other hand had a faint heartbeat. I yelled for medics. No one came forward. They were too scared that the young ninja's bodies were a trap. They weren't wrong. I smelled the explosive tags on Obito when I grabbed his limp frame. I tore open his jacket, ripping them from his body."

"I had just managed to sling him over my shoulder when Rin's corpse began to smoke. And then promptly exploded. I was unconscious for two weeks. When I woke up, I had this."

Kakashi pulled the fabric from his left eye, revealing his Sharingan. He continued.

"My teammates were tortured and brutally murdered, and as the captain of the cell it was my fault."

Sasuke honestly felt bad for the guy, but that story explained nothing of what just transpired. He pushed for more information.

"That doesn't explain what just happened, Kakashi."

"Obito used to call me Bakashi. When I heard that, I found myself once again fighting Iwa shinobi. But this time, I decided I wasn't going to let them murder my friends."

"And so, you instinctively lashed out at the first person you perceived as a threat."

Sasuke knew firsthand what his former sensei had just experienced. When he used to have frequent nightmares about his bloody past, Naruto usually ended up like Sakura. The difference, though, was that Naruto wasn't against physically restraining Sasuke when these episodes occurred.

He let out a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. How does he always end up stuck in the middle of his teammates' issues?

"Sensei, you're going to need to explain yourself to Sakura. I'll handle Naruto. But don't be surprised when he doesn't forgive you right away."

The only sign of acknowledgment from the man was a stiff nod of his head accompanied by a grunt.

"And" continued Sasuke, "she'll be fearful of you now. She won't tell you or show you, but she will be."

The shinobi didn't answer. Sasuke continued with his explanation regardless.

"I tried to kill her, remember? It ended up taking her half a year to let her guard down around me when I came back to the village. Even with Naruto's assurances, she still couldn't trust me. And I don't blame her."

He cut Kakashi a look before continuing.

"If you feel the way that I think you feel about her, you'll need to fix this sooner rather than later. Now come on, we still have a mission to prepare for. "

Sasuke stepped near the Jonin, extending his hand. Kakashi slipped the fabric back over his left eye before taking Sasuke's offer of help. He pulled the older ninja to his feet and then promptly smacked him across the back of his head.

"Get it the fuck together Hatake."

With that, Sasuke turned on his heel and started back toward the rest of his team. He smiled to himself when he heard the other man sigh and begin to follow behind him. Now, all he had to do was keep a furious jinchuriki from murdering the man.

Life was easier when I didn't care. Sasuke thought dejectedly.

She watched Sasuke drag Kakashi across their makeshift shelter and out the entrance without a fight. Sakura's attacker had gone limp the moment right before his former student yanked him off her. A blank, though slightly desolate, stare was the last thing she saw of the man's dark grey eye before wild yellow hair obscured her vision.

Naruto was fussing over her, sitting her up, dusting off her back, wiping tears off her face, smoothing her hair, and cleaning her neck wound. Sakura could tell that the nin was firing off question after question; wanting to know if "she was okay", "what was wrong with that asshole" and "why she wasn't answering him".

Naruto genuinely cared and that was what Sakura loved about him. But he was also way too overprotective of his "family". She knew if she didn't answer Naruto's growing hysterics, things would only get worse.

But she couldn't.

Sakura couldn't form a single coherent thought.

The only thing on her mind was the look of Kakashi's eye and his wilted, subdued form being dragged out of the cave entrance. She had never seen such a look of defeat before, let alone on Konoha's legendary Copy Ninja.

A thought sprung into Sakura's mind: this was entirely her fault.

Her heart broke into a million, tiny glass shards in her chest, skewering her from the inside out.

And it hurt.

The pressure in Sakura's chest was back in full force, and so were her traitorous tears. Naruto wrapped her in his arms, rubbing soothing circles on her back as she bawled into his shoulder. She could barely hear him over her own sobbing, but she did catch a word or two, and, of course, he blamed Kakashi.

The thought made her cry even harder.

The shinobi holding her tightened his arms around her, but it only made it worse.

She pulled away from Naruto, gasping for an ounce of air. She couldn't catch her breath, and the eruption of agony in her chest only continued to grow.

Naruto was talking again, his blue eyes wide in concern. Sakura still couldn't really hear him.

Her vision turned hazy, and shadows crept in from her periphery.

She was hyperventilating.

She watched the blonde panic. As a med nin, Sakura knew what she needed to do, but knowing and doing are two very different things.

She was going to blackout, and soon. Her vision bled into darkness as she gripped the fabric of Naruto's shirt.

She vaguely hoped he'd catch her before she smacked her head on a rock.

…

Sakura's senses returned to her slowly as she woke. First, she could tell that she was crammed into a tight space - something firm pressed against her front and back. Whatever it was she was squished in between, it was warm and oddly comforting. At least, it was until the something(s) moved.

Her eyes flew open, assessing her surroundings, only to find… fur?

Sakura blinked a few times, certain that her oxygen-deprived brain was hallucinating. Nothing changed. The light brown fur of the ninken curled into her stomach was definitely real. As was the other ninken's form curled around her back, his giant black head resting on her hip.

"Bull? Pakkun?"

Her query was answered by a low boof from the larger ninken who didn't move an inch from his resting spot. Pakkun on the other hand turned his smaller frame around to face her.

"Ah, pup, you're awake."

Pakkun shooed Bull's giant head from Sakura's hip, allowing the kunoichi to tenderly sit up. The large dog repositioned himself so that he was settled behind her again. Sakura tried to dismiss the uneasy feeling churning in her stomach. She voiced the question that had been running through her head the moment she realized it was just her and the two ninken.

"Wh-where's everyone?"

Pakkun patted her knee with his paw reassuringly. "They're fine. They're just right outside, talking strategy for the mission."

Sakura answered the ninken with a hum, the knots in her stomach beginning to unravel.

If they're talking strategy, she mused, then everything's fine.

Everything was awful.

Naruto's (second) favorite sensei completely lost his damn mind and attacked Sakura. He and Sasuke had dealt with the situation, or at least he thought they did. But Sakura was now limp in his arms and Sasuke wasn't back yet with Kakashi.

Maybe Shikamaru was right, the old team 7 back together on a mission was a bad idea.

Naruto groaned, using his free hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. He was having an exceptionally difficult time controlling his emotions. One moment he was filled with blind rage and the next dread. And, if he was being honest with himself, what he wanted more than anything in that moment was to beat Kakashi-sensei into a pulp. But Naruto knew better than to act on that childish instinct. It wouldn't solve anything. Plus, they had a mission to finish.

He picked up the unconscious med nin, carrying her to one of the sleeping bags he and Sasuke had previously extracted from a scroll. He gently set Sakura down, went back to the med kit, and then returned to her side. Lightly, he inspected the wound on her neck where the kunai had pierced her skin. Pleased that the wound was shallow and superficial, Naruto cleansed the area and applied the chakra-infused ointment he'd found in the med kit.

Right as Naruto was applying a bandage to the area, he felt familiar chakra at the cave's entrance.

He and his former sensei accomplished the modest walk back to their teammates in silence. Being that both parties weren't particularly social, chatty individuals, it was to be expected.

Once he had reached the entrance of their makeshift shelter, Sasuke looked over his shoulder. Kakashi was just a mere few feet behind him, trudging up the muddy path as only he could – nonchalantly, yet with the air of something deadly. Sasuke caught the man's lone eye as the shinobi was within arm's length and crooked up a dark eyebrow in an unspoken question. The Jonin answered with a reserved half nod.

Turning back around to the cave entrance, Sasuke made a mental note of the other's new, thoroughly reinforced emotionless appearance. Where his visible eye used to hold the occasional mischievous glint, it only housed a dull, grey nothingness now.

Sasuke walked through the entrance, wondering how Kakashi managed to breathe when he wore so many masks.

Sasuke entered their base camp before him, Kakashi had, once in the general vicinity of nowhere near Naruto, merely stood there while two men talked in hushed tones. Kakashi watched the two interact. Naruto's normally exuberant attitude had been replaced with one of concern and anger, the former surprisingly taking over as his main emotion. Kakashi caught a glimpse of pink hair and promptly avoided the sight, instead focusing his attention back on the two shinobi. He couldn't see the dark-haired man's face, but it wasn't difficult for Kakashi to catch his subtle actions of consoling the other. Sasuke stood as close as possible, his left hand rubbing up and down Naruto's arm while the right was entangled in his fingers.

It had been months since the two came back to Konoha, and Kakashi noticed the change in their relationship immediately. To anyone who didn't have a keen eye, or was just oblivious to their surroundings, the two simply looked like close friends. Or could even potentially be mistaken as "brothers". But as was his habit while interacting with others, Kakashi noticed everything. And that knowledge told him that the two former teammates were together.

Both men appeared to be happy, and he was happy for them. It also wasn't a far-off guess that their third teammate knew as well since the three had been inseparable since the two returned. Yet, no one else knew. Kakashi wondered if this was due to the Uchiha's reserved nature, or if the couple was worried about the repercussions from the village. If it was the latter, they needn't worry. After all, Genma and Raido had been together for years now.

"Oi! Kakashi!"

Naruto's voice smashed through his internal monologue.

Calm, collected, and ready to take a punch in the face, he replied.

"Naruto."

The blonde had marched across the minimal distance between them and was now standing eye-to-eye with his former sensei. Kakashi watched impassively as Naruto struggled with what exactly he wanted to say. The Jonin braced himself for a well-deserved punch.

"We need to talk strategy for the mission. We should go outside; I don't want to wake Sakura."

He jerked a thumb over his shoulder before continuing.

"Summon those two ninken, the one who talks and the giant one, to watch over her."

Kakashi blinked, once, then twice.

That wasn't exactly what he was expecting, but he gave a half shrug of his shoulders and went with it. He bit down into the skin on his thumb and slammed his hand on the cave floor. Once the smoke began to dissipate, the two ninken were perfectly visible.

Pakkun and Bull waited expectantly for their orders, and when Kakashi didn't give them immediately the smaller ninken quirked his head to the side.

"What's up boss?"

When Kakashi had bent down to press his palm to the ground, his eye had landed on their unconscious medic, and he lost himself in his guilt-ridden thoughts. He answered the ninken's question with his attention still focused on her limp form.

"Pakkun, you and Bull guard Sakura – she's unconscious. The rest of us will be right outside discussing the mission."

"But boss, if you'll be just outside you don't need us." The little dog huffed, his response carrying an air of annoyance.

That caught Kakashi's attention, causing him to fully focus on the two forms in front of him. He frowned, staring into the ninken's eyes.

"You stay with her and protect her."

"Boss- "

Kakashi cut him off, speaking over Pakkun's protests.

"Your job is to protect her, from me."

Both ninken's eyes went wide, exchanging an interesting look, one that Kakashi hadn't seen before. Not wanting to deal with their (well, Pakkun's) coming interrogation, he got to his feet and walked away from the pair. If he had looked back, he would have seen the extreme concern etched on their faces. But Kakashi didn't turn around, he knew that Bull and Pakkun would do as he requested.

Naruto listened to their Captain explain the role of each individual of the team, as well as the strategy for coaxing out the kidnappers. From the conversation, it was clear that Kakashi assumed the kidnappers were rouge ninja, and Naruto didn't disagree.

What he did disagree with was the whole "using Kakashi as bait" bit.

Okay, yes, the man had an enormous bounty on his head. And, yes, most rouge nin would rather take their chances with the Jonin than the last Uchiha and his partner. Naruto was willing to admit that he and Sasuke (though, mostly Sasuke) had earned an… interesting reputation among the rogue nin while on their travels.

Kakashi tended to ask questions first, Sasuke didn't - he just went straight to maiming. It had been a common quarrel between the two traveling shinobi.

Still, that didn't mean that Naruto agreed with the plan.

There had to be another way! It's a suicide mission if you go alone! Naruto had shouted at the stoic man, dragging him up from a squatting position to really get his point across.

It did nothing.

The man whose shirt he had gripped in his fingers wasn't his old sensei. Instead, Naruto stared into the emotionless void that was the ANBU Squad Captain. It was then that Kakashi disentangled himself from Naruto's grip, easily slipping away from the hold on his shirt.

"I'm the Captain of this cell. I've made my decision and given you your orders, it'd be best for you to follow them."

Kakashi's words were laced with a warning. Do as I say, or else.

Naruto didn't want to find out about the "or else" bit, but he also had no intention of letting the man saunter to his death so easily.

He had to let Sakura know.

Sasuke was just as furious about their cell captain's orders as Naruto was, but he knew nothing would change the man's mind. Sasuke knew the moment Kakashi had mentioned using someone as bait, that the Jonin would assign himself the job.

Again, Sasuke wondered how someone deemed a "genius" could be so damn stupid.

"We're not Genin Kakashi. We don't need to be, nor will we comply with, being left out of the fight."

He spoke matter-of-factly, making sure to come off as disinterested rather than pissed. A ploy that had served Sasuke well before when dealing with self-sacrificing idiots.

Kakashi just stared at him, the man's lone grey eye never leaving his face. And Sasuke stared right back, his dark eyebrows pulled slightly together, an indication of his determination. The two shinobi continued to glare at each other, neither one blinking or averting their gaze.

At least, that was the case, right up until their medic emerged from the cave entrance.

Naruto's voice carried itself in through the entrance, bouncing around the empty cavern frantic and irritated. Sakura couldn't tell what his words were exactly, but she did know that the tone wasn't particularly friendly. She bolted to her feet, determined to get to her teammate.

Only, she couldn't move. The giant black ninken blocked her way. She glowered at the dog and attempted to skirt around him, only to be stopped again. Now thoroughly irritated, Sakura cut the ninken a nasty look. She sent a small amount of chakra to her arms and core, then physically picked Bull up and placed him behind her.

"Now stay." She grumbled at the large dog before marching toward the cave entrance.

Pakkun wasn't wrong when he said the rest of her team was right outside, she nearly trampled over Naruto two steps out of their shelter. She grabbed the nin by his shoulders, preventing him from toppling over into the mud, and then faced the rest of their small group.

"What's going on?" Sakura glanced at each shinobi; eyebrows raised in concern. "What's with the yelling?"

No one answered her, only averted their eyes when her green ones landed on them. The two ninken emerged from the cave entrance and Bull, once again, placed himself next to her, blocking her movements.

"One of you," she growled, glaring at her teammates, "is going to tell me what's going on and why these ninken are hell-bent on being glued to my side."

Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura noticed Naruto flinch at her threat. She knew he'd be the one to tell her, he was never good at keeping things from her. But one thing still bugged her: what was with the damn ninken?

"Kashi," Sakura pointed to the large bulldog on her left then the smaller one to her right, "if I'm not mistaken, these are yours. Care to explain? Or at least have them leave me alone?"

The Jonin fixed her with his lone grey eye, his face and voice expressionless.

"No."

She stared at Kakashi incredulously, mouth gapped open and hands on her hips. Sakura's shock quickly faded into anger, and she found herself moving toward the man as she spoke.

"Excuse me?!"

She was two steps forward before the larger ninken swiftly appeared in front of her. He was facing Kakashi and walking backward to push Sakura back. The smaller ninken was perched on Bull's head, speaking solemnly.

"Come now pup, calm down."

Sakura paid no attention to the ninken. Instead, she fixed her glare on the ninkens' summoner.

Like the rest of his team, Kakashi was still clad in the form-fitting tank top and shorts combo. Awash in the moonlight, his signature white hair glinted silver and threw harsh shadows across his face. The man's visible eye was cold and hard, and his chakra signature even more so.

However, his agitation was apparent (to her) through his mannerisms. Since he wasn't wearing his Kohona-issued pants he couldn't hide his hands in his pockets. Which meant that Kakashi's arms were crossed in front of his chest with his fingers digging into his biceps, shoulders pulled back, and taught.

Before she could get another word in, Kakashi's gruff voice pierced the silence.

"As Captain of this cell, I will make decisions for the whole team and you will do as I say."

He met all of their gazes before continuing.

"Otherwise, I'll send for another team who can follow orders. Doing so would push the mission out about another week, but…"

Sakura watched Kakashi half shrug, not bothering to finish his sentence. She fumed, furious with the impassive man in front of her. She knew that he knew damn well that no one on this team would agree to another cell being sent out.

Next to her, Sasuke spoke, venom clearly dripping from every word.

"There's no need for another team, we'll do as ordered Taichou."

The Uchiha all but spat the last word before grabbing both her and Naruto by the arm.

"We're heading in. You take first watch. I'll take second."

And with that, Sasuke yanked both Sakura and Naruto back through the cave entrance, leaving their former sensei alone amongst the moonlight.

Kakashi watched the three shinobi and Bull disappear into the cavern, sighing heavily when he realized Pakkun didn't follow. He ignored the ninken in favor of arranging himself against the base of a tree. Though, that didn't stop the smaller bulldog from padding along after him.

The moonlight filtered through the canopy, casting long, irregular shadows along the forest floor. Creatures of the night called out to each other in the darkness and a peaceful calm settled over the forest.

The calm atmosphere did nothing for Kakashi's racing thoughts.

Pakkun had silently settled next to him and was staring as if wanting to say something. The ninken's eyes held a sad gleam.

"Do you have something you'd like to say?

Pakkun only shook his head in response. He tucked his little body in between the crook of the tree roots and continued to say nothing while watching Kakashi. Three silent minutes passed this way, Pakkun staring at Kakashi and Kakashi staring into the forest before the ninken spoke.

"Boss," the ninken's voice was soft as if he was speaking to a child, "there's no need for this."

The white-haired Jonin said nothing, just continued to stare out to the forest.

"Your life matters, even if you think it doesn't."

With those words, Pakkun walked away, heading back to the cave that housed the others. Kakashi didn't bother to turn or even raise his voice, but he knew the ninken would catch his whispered words.

"The life of a man who only causes death isn't worth a thing."