A/N: Thank you all for the reviews, the follows, and favorites.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or influence Kishimoto at all. If I did, the genin from Hidden Rain in the Chuunin Exams would have been more of a threat.
It was easier to think of him as The Boy.
Wolf would always be the one to collect the groceries to bring back to The Boy's apartment, since he didn't know how to read. He wouldn't be able to tell if he was being cheated or not. This was one thing Wolf had to fix, if he wanted The Boy to be self-sufficient and get this assignment done. Therefore, he had been bringing home children's stories along with groceries. Those who saw him asked if he had settled down, and Gai had proclaimed with his usual fervor that he was good to be contributing to the youth of the village. Of course, he denied any such accusations. It was just an assignment, watching The Boy and teaching him to be self-sufficient. Sure, it involved reading to him, showing him how to clean things, cooking of very basic things, and other such tasks. But this was not parenting; this was a mission.
One thing Naruto was missing was interpreting facial expressions. Though Wolf had on more than one mask, Naruto could not see even his eyes under Wolf's ANBU mask. Naruto did many expressions himself naturally, but other than occasional visits from the Hokage, Naruto's only company was Wolf.
So he missed out. But when Wolf was out, or otherwise didn't need to be doing something for the child, Naruto had nothing to do. He so wanted to please Wolf, who seemed to never say anything nice to him - but to Naruto, this was so much better than the orphanage. So to be more accurate... Naruto wanted to do well so that Wolf wouldn't leave him. This meant that when Wolf wasn't there, Naruto was trying to cook on his own, clean on his own, even repeat the letters and words Wolf showed him, and recently try writing down letters - though usually more like messy scribbles. Key word, trying.
And so a year passed. Naruto was young enough that he eventually stopped thinking about his lost friend, Lee. What helped is that Naruto almost never went outside the apartment, for fear of the looks he would get; so interacting with people other than Wolf and the Hokage was foreign to him. Yet in the children's stories, the child always had friends, whether animal or human.
I want to have a friend, Naruto thought to himself as he stared hard at the page in front of him. Friend, the page read, above it two boys playing with some ball. Friend. It was one word he made sure to know how to read. A part of him ached to learn all those things he saw in the pages, like those games with balls or sticks, or something Wolf called imagination. Somehow, with imagination, some of the people in these books would become pirates, exploring to find a treasure. Even when they didn't find it, it'd be alright, because the people had fun - with their friends.
His stomach grumbled. Wolf was out, preparing for something, he had said. Naruto clambered from the bed too large for him and ambled to the kitchen. I can do it myself, Naruto thought to himself as he pulled a chair up to the counter to be able to reach the kettle. Wolf had only started trying to show him how to cook a couple weeks ago, starting with this thing called Instant Ramen. It was the simplest thing, apparently, but all they had talked about was what not to do. I can do it, he thought determinedly, so he don't leave.
Wolf stared down at the stone marked with all their names, his eyes concentrating on one name in particular: Namikaze Minato's. He had been there for an hour already, remembering how Wolf hadn't been good enough to save his sensei the pain of losing not just one, but two of his students. Wolf was remembering the second time right now, and clenched his fists as he ran through the painful moment again and again.
I can't, a younger Kakashi thought to himself, his Wolf mask laying broken a few kilometers behind him. He had broken his emotionless pledge during his ANBU service; he had begged to go on this mission, and it had been granted. But now... I can't give up, he pleaded with himself, trying not to think about the team that was also left behind him. They were also broken; their bones shattered, their blood spilled, and their masks uncovered, leaving only mangled faces behind. Kakashi winced; this is what he didn't want to think about. Instead he needed to focus; he could track the ambushers to their hideout, which Jiraiya had found (through his spy network) to be one of Orochimaru's old labs. She is there, Kakashi insisted to himself, remembering the mission objective: Find Rin.
It was more complicated than that, of course. Plans were discovered implicating Kirigakure as a potential hostile entity, and Kakashi had only had it confirmed just a few minutes ago. When one of the Seven Swordsman of the Hidden Mist ambushed you, you didn't survive. Kakashi was lucky he did, but he didn't feel lucky. He felt the small cuts on his arms as he would barely parry the man's attacks, he felt the blood that wasn't all his sticky against his forehead, and he even still felt the fear he did when presented with this man who could survive any attack without a scratch. It was unlike anything he had seen. Mangetsu Hozuki, he had declared, the last name you will ever know. His ability to liquify his body at will, use Suiton exceedingly well, and the ability of his sword to gain different shapes using his chakra... This man was a Kage-level opponent, and Kakashi had barely gotten off a Raiton jutsu as he was finishing off the last of his team.
So long as he got to Rin before Mangetsu recovered, he could do this. Kakashi applied more chakra, blasting the branches off of the trees he was traveling on. After the fight, he had a limited amount of chakra left; but that wouldn't matter if Rin was...
He clenched his fists and tried brushing away the thoughts. But one lingered, despite his ANBU training, despite his situation, despite the pain he was in. The one thing that kept him going.
I promised Obito I'd keep her safe.
Suddenly he applied just enough chakra to the branch he was on to stick himself to it, stopping his momentum and painfully stretching his legs. He'd heard something - there it was again, a rustling, and footsteps. His nose twitched as he took a sniff - he had been spending some time working on his tracking skills in order to find Rin, and it was paying off. He could smell sweat, obvious for any ninja who had been traveling for awhile, but there was a scent amongst this crowd that didn't seem to belong. In fact, it was a feminine smell. His heart started racing. Rin! His mind shouted at him to go full throttle and barge in, just as Kakashi imagined Obito would. "Damn it," Kakashi whispered, thumping his fist against his thigh. He wasn't Obito. He wasn't rash, and sometimes he hated himself for not being able to just run in and save the day. It was more complicated than that.
It started off easily enough. Tracking them wasn't particularly hard, and he imagined that Kirigakure ninja were too used to simply hiding in the mist. When he saw what looked like Rin surrounded by a few of the ninja, he almost missed a step and gave himself away, but his ANBU training was good for something, at least. There was a group of about fourteen ninja, all of whom looked to be at or near jounin-level based on the way they held themselves. They didn't dilly-dally, each ninja performing his or her task with strict professionalism. Rin herself wasn't being carried, however; she was walking herself. Why isn't she fighting? Kakashi asked himself. There had to be a reason; maybe they had threatened her... His blood boiled at the thought.
They weren't perfect, no matter how much they tried to be. Two ninja were in the back of the group, who occasionally set some basic traps on the ground to deter anyone from following them. Kakashi avoided them rather easily. As they moved, he thought of a plan. I don't know when they'll stop, Kakashi thought, and I'm running low on stamina.He had to do this soon.
He formed some seals, thanking Obito yet again as he used a Doton jutsu he had copied during the war. "Doton," he whispered, "Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu)." He slowly dropped into the ground, using his chakra to space the earth around him so he could 'swim' through the ground. It took a minute to reach the two ninja at the back of the group. His hands shot up, aiming to grab their ankles and drag them down into the ground. His hands closed around their ankles, and he -
- flew out of the ground as the two ninja jumped up, bringing him out under them. He held onto their ankles; thinking fast, he pulled them down and twisted his body, shooting his left leg out at the one to his left and his fist at the one on his right. The one to his left grunted and slammed into a tree a few feet away, while the one on his right experienced a fist to the cheek driving him into the ground. Kakashi entered a brief freefall.
Which made it harder when a volley of shuriken came flying at him from where the group ahead was. He pulled his makeshift headband up to uncover his sharingan, quickly drew out a kunai, and expertly deflected the shuriken. Landing on the ground, he glanced at the two ninja he had attacked before - and cursed as he saw only puddles where bodies were supposed to be. A Kiri ninja walked up, confident, as the rest of the group assumed ready stances - about half hovering around Rin. She was looking at the ground, and not at him. He couldn't reveal his connection to her just yet - for now, all they knew was that Kakashi was just another ninja sent out to rescue a comrade. At least, he hoped that's all they knew. Otherwise, they may mess with his mind..
"You look a little confused," the Kiri squad leader chuckled out. He had a Kirigakure headband that covered his entire head, and a scar ran down from his ear to his chin. This was Urudu Kotsukei, Kakashi recalled from the Bingo Book (having a Sharingan did have its benefits), an A-ranked ninja who was primarily known for his - god damn it - sensor abilities. He leveled a glare at Urudu.
"Not anymore, Urudu Kotsukei, A-ranked sensor from Kirigakure," Kakashi stated, showing what he knew about the man's abilities. Urudu raised his eyebrow.
"Looks like we have a smart one here. A sharingan, huh? Where can I get me one of those?" He smirked, and Kakashi's anger began bubbling. He pushed it down, though - this was for Rin. He needed to keep a calm head. Urudu narrowed his eyes, gaining a little bit of wariness; though this silver-haired ninja looked young, he seemed to have a good head on his shoulders.
Kakashi swiped his hand up, releasing two shuriken towards Urudu. He wasn't going to entertain this guy any longer. He then dashed forward and left, jumping to a tree. As he rebounded off of it toward Urudu, he released the last shuriken he had caught from the previous encounter. Urudu considered simply deflecting them, but instead zigzagged around them, before bending his knees and jumping up to where Kakashi was in the air. Kakashi sped through some seals, ending in the tiger seal. "Katon," he breathed, "HÅsenka no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Technique)". He spat out a dozen small fireballs that bulleted toward Urudu, spread out enough that he couldn't lean to the side to dodge, but still tight enough that he'd get some bad burns if he got hi-
Kakashi widened his eyes as Urudu somehow twisted and turned around the fireballs in midair, showing off what seemed like master acrobat skills He didn't have much time to be surprised, as Urudu met him midair with a kunai. The clashed and fell to the earth together. Trading blows, Kakashi could see that his sharingan made up the experience and strength gap between them. Urudu stopped trading blows as he lifted up a leg and kicked Kakashi away. "Oof," he grunted, rolling head over heels back onto his feet.
His chakra was running low, and Obito's sharingan ate it so greedily; he couldn't afford a full scale fight right now. Kakashi sped through the seals for his Headhunter Jutsu, and Urudu cursed as Kakashi quickly melted into the ground. "Form around the objective," Urudu spat out to his team, and dashed back towards Rin. He could sense Kakashi just fine, at least... He narrowed his eyes. There were five chakra signatures under the ground, not just one. Some sort of clone technique? he wondered. "Prepare for clones of the enemy," he warned them, and awaited the speedy approach of the enemy.
Four signatures closed in on Rin, while one lagged behind. Found you, Urudu chuckled, and began forming some seals as he felt the one lagging behind come up to the surface a couple meters northeast of him. He then dashed toward the signature, shouting "Water Release: Water Prison Technique!" This would be an easy capture so long as his team dealt with the clones. Holding one hand out where the signature was about to burst, he then formed a half seal and tapped a storage seal on his arm. Water came gushing out and and began to form a sphere. The dirt underneath began to break. "Gotcha!" Urudu shouted.
A blur sped up from the ground, much quicker than he had seen Kakashi move, going so fast that it broke through the water shell before it had a chance to rightfully form a sphere. "You owe me for this one, Kakashi!" a voice other than Kakashi's shouted. Urudu craned his neck up to see- and something acidic splashed into his eyes.
"Gah!" he grunted, trying to rub it out. The smell reminded him of - pee? His nose crinkled in disgust.
"Boss, you okay?" One of his team members quickly asked, as two others began forming seals against this new enemy. The enemy dashed towards the group, stopping in frront of the one that had spoken. It grinned, showing off its canines. His tail wagged once, though, before saying, "Pakkun: Out." He disappeared in smoke, using some of his chakra to make more smoke than necessary. A smoky covering engulfed the group, as their shock at a dog attacking them finally ran its course. It was too late, though. Three more dogs erupted from the ground, clawing and biting the blinded Kiri ninja as the last chakra signature, Kakashi, erupted from right in front of Rin. One arm wrapped around her waist, and he leaped away into the trees, trying to get away before his strength failed him.
"Rin, are you okay?" He asked, trying to not let the quivering of his voice out. Rin didn't respond verbally, but she pushed away from Kakashi and began jumping from branch to branch on her own. Glancing at her, Kakashi could see tears coming down her face. It tore at his heart to know she'd been through so much; deciding not to push her, he let her be.
However, his short sense of triumph escaped him as he heard something approach behind them. Glancing back, he shouted, "Get down!" They both dropped to the ground as a water dragon passed overhead, a watery roar escaping it. Kakashi gritted his teeth and sped through seals he would come to know well. Focusing his sharingan on the man that approached, he dropped his right hand down below him. "Chidori," he spat, pouring most of what remained of his chakra into this. Meanwhile, Rin ran forward, and Kakashi assumed she was preparing to attack. Once he concentrated his lightning chakra into his technique, Kakashi pumped chakra into his legs to copy the speed Gai could go at, and sped forward. Urudu, the one who'd managed to follow them with his sensor abilities, widened his eyes - acrobat or not, he couldn't dodge this at the speed Kakashi was coming at him with.
Kakashi swept his hand forward, his sharingan tracking Urudu's movements and adjusting his aim accordingly; he wanted this to be a one-hit-kill.
But when the blood splattered onto his face, his sharingan made sure the image of his bloody arm running through Rin's chest was forever imprinted in his mind. It had gone through and run through Urudu as well, so when Kakashi hurriedly removed his arm (with a splat that made him flinch), the Kiri nin fell to the ground. Kakashi encircled his left, unbloodied arm around Rin and lowered her to the ground. "Rin, tell me what to do," Kakashi pleaded, because he didn't know how to treat anything this bad. There wasn't a why in his words; there was only how do I fix this? Rin gave him a smile, even as blood began seeping out of her mouth.
"Kakashi-kun..." Her lung was punctured, filling with blood. "It's... okay... I did this... because I needed to die. They put the Sanbi in me to bring.. me to Konoha and release it... and made a terrible Genjutsu... making me only want to do what was best... for Kiri... " She chuckled, some blood mist coming out. "But that also meant... I could defend a Kiri ninja... and die while doing so... and make sure the Sanbi couldn't... destroy Konoha." Kakashi grabbed her hand, his whole body quivering.
"We... We could've found a way, Rin..." He sobbed.
"No, K-Kaka..shi.. We couldn't.." Rin squeezed his hand. "But... you know what... I always wanted to see?" She let go of Kakashi's hand and slowly slid her hand onto his masked cheek, her thumb caressing his face. She slowly curled her fingers under the mask, before pulling it down. She then closed her eyes, satisfied. "Just like I thought..."
Her hand dropped down onto the ground. "Rin, don't go, please!" Kakashi begged her, unable to keep his rationality in check. "Stay, for Obito... for me."
She coughed once more. "You know, Kakashi... I'll always be there... just... make Minato-sensei proud... for the both of us." She coughed once more, and then coughed no more.
Kakashi's three tomoe in his sharingan swirled together as his grief and sorrow reached its peak, forming the Mangekyou Sharingan for a moment before he collapsed from shock and fatigue.
His wasn't the only Sharingan to change, as Obito watched from the trees, his hands clenching. Tears ran down his face, and Obito turned away, unable to watch any longer. The one he had loved, even without seeing her for all this time, had died by the hand of his best friend. This world was unfair; his grief and anger began to consume him, and he realized that Madara was right. This world was too chaotic, too out of control. The only way to change it was to control it yourself, and make it whatever you wanted it to be.
And he would.
Yellow eyes with slitted pupils watched both of the Sharingan users, and a grin stretched across his face. So that is how one activates it, the man thought to himself; he had, rightfully, thought that the Uchiha records were inaccurate.
And evil spread in the world.
Wolf wiped a tear away at the marker, wallowing in the memories. He felt a presence step next to him. "What do you want, Gai?" Wolf bit out.
Gai, unusually solemn, glanced at Wolf. "Am I wrong to pay my respects to an honourable comrade that died protecting Konoha?" Gai responded, and Wolf sighed.
"Sorry, Gai," he said, and Gai knelt on his knees to the stone with all the names of the deceased heroes of Konoha, laying a bouquet of hydrangea flowers onto it. Wolf gulped at the sight, and a little smile escaped him. Gai flashed him a small smile uncharacteristic of the man, and Wolf was about to open his mouth when -
"Don't mention it," the Green Beast of Konoha said, making his way back to the village. Wolf looked back at the stone, feeling a little better.
Those were Rin's favorite flowers.
Gai glanced back at Wolf. He hoped the man was getting better; he had been with Asuma as they had argued to the Sandaime that the ANBU wasn't suited for Wolf, and had only been making him cope worse over the years. This whole 'mission' with Naruto wasn't just a mission; it was an attempt to bring Wolf back to life. And if it failed, it gave the Hokage an excuse to pull Wolf from the ANBU. But that was the worst case scenario, because that would break little Naruto's heart if Wolf left. Just quit, Gai thought to himself. Quit and raise little Naruto like you have been.
After a moment, Wolf departed, quickly making his way back to the apartment. I can do this, he told himself. My psyche assessment will go fine, and I will complete this mission to protect The Boy and make him self-sufficient. He was feeling better than he had been about this whole thing in a while.
Wolf walked in to see The Boy on the floor. He was in the kitchen, and looked teary-eyed as he tried to pick up all the wet ramen noodles on the floor. His right hand was red from spilling hot water onto it, and he was sniffling. Wolf closed the door, and The Boy looked up at him with wide eyes. "M'sorry! S'not my fault! It was hot'n it - it - it fell!" He claimed, not wanting Wolf to see how he had messed up.
Wolf patiently walked over to The Boy. "Let's get you cleaned up," he said, lifting The Boy onto the counter. He started running some cold water and wet paper towels with it, wiping way ramen juice and whatnot from The Boy. It also felt a lot better to his burnt (but quickly healing) hand than warm water would have felt.
Once things had been cleaned up and The Boy was munching on some macaroni and cheese, Wolf started heading back to the kitchen to prepare himself some food as well. "Wolf?" The Boy piped up.
"Yes?" he responded, turning around.
"Are..." The Boy hesitated, not sure. "Are you my daddy?"
For the first time in months, Wolf saw him as Naruto, the son of his sensei, his sensei, not him, and his sensei wasn't here anymore, his son was all alone with a failure of a man raising him, and the barriers began breaking. He was not Naruto's daddy. His hand shook as he breathed in quick, images burned into his mind from the Sharingan flashing past, and before he began hyperventilating, he Shunshin'd out of there.
He was Kakashi, and that was Naruto, his sensei's son. The sensei he had failed, and the son he had also failed. He could not live like that.
The next day, Hiruzen looked up at Kakashi with sad, tired eyes. "I am not going to be the one to tell him goodbye for you," he said firmly.
"But-"
"NO!" The old Hokage shouted, letting the anger he was storing show. "You must tell him goodbye, whether as Wolf or Kakashi. But you need to tell him why he suddenly will be all alone again." Hiruzen's voice was commanding and firm, the voice of a Hokage who had done and seen too much.
Kakashi bowed his head, knowing not to fight this one. "As you wish, Sandaime-sama," he said. He made his way out the door. As it closed behind him, Hiruzen swiveled to face the picture of Minato on the wall. "I'm..." Minato's son would be all alone again. "I'm sorry, Minato. I've failed." The old man looked down at the desk, not sure what to do now. Kakashi watching over Naruto was only a viable mission for an ANBU member to do because he had played it off as an evaluation of Kakashi's mental state. He couldn't do that with another ANBU member. And he couldn't let anyone actually known to the public do it, because he didn't want to make anyone else a pariah of the Leaf by association with Naruto.
Naruto cried for two days and two nights. But after that, when Hiruzen came to visit Naruto, the boy handed the Hokage a piece of paper.
"What's this?" Hiruzen asked, giving the boy a grandfatherly smile.
"S'my first word I ever wrote, just today," Naruto proclaimed, grinning. Hiruzen looked at it, and his smile widened. It was legible: The word friend. "Can ya do somethin' for me?" Naruto then asked.
"What is it?" The Sandaime questioned, curious.
"Can you.. Can you give that to Wolf?" Naruto looked up at the Sandaime with cheery eyes, no sign of malice or anger or even sadness at the thought of Wolf. "I get why he had'ta go, he said I made'm think too much of his dead sensei, and that made'm sad. But I wanted him to know... he was, and is, my friend."
Hiruzen's hand holding the paper trembled as he nodded. "I can do that, Naruto. I'll make sure it gets to him."
"Promise?"
Hiruzen nodded. "Promise. A Hokage doesn't go back on his word."
After a few more minutes of Hiruzen explaining to Naruto how he'd have to get his groceries himself and whatnot now (and Hiruzen assured him he'd accompany him on his first few trips), he got up to leave. Five year old Naruto hugged the Sarutobi's leg, wanting him to stay in his apartment forever. "I've got to go, little Naruto."
"But you're the nicest person in the world," Naruto said, gazing at his lone source of kindness.
"Well," he said, smiling, "I'm the Hokage. It's my job."
Naruto stepped back and proclaimed, bright-eyed: "Then I'll be a kind, amazin' Hokage one day, too. Believe it!"
"I believe it," Hiruzen said.
Any comments on writing style, any errors, etc. are appreciated! Also, I think I'll switch completely to English for the jutsu and whatnot (except for things like Amaterasu, etc. where I know the Japanese version a lot better).
'Til next time,
Adamrpg