Disclaimer: I do not own Tsunade-sama. I do, however, wish I owned a pair of equally... imposing mammaries.
A/N: IMPORTANT!: As I've mentioned before, I will be IGNORING RECENT CANON. I planned the plot of this fic a while back, and I am not willing to tweak it in order to keep up with all the new information. So bear with me, and forgive me.
To the reviewers: Thank you so much for your kindness and support, I will try my best to start uploading regularly again both here and in my Harry Potter piece. You have been a source of inspiration for me.
Chapter 6
Despite his growing anxiety and discomfort at the thought of the upcoming mission, Kakashi Hatake's body is still seated in a rather lax and slouchy position, leaning as he is against a fallen tree. He is trying his best to concentrate on strategy and tactics, silently reviewing all the information he holds about the surviving members of the Akatsuki, but the deepest parts of his mind are oddly absent from this endeavor, dreadfully shaken by the power of Naruto's words, instead.
The way you just fight so recklessly during missions, as if you don't value your own life, it's pretty scary to me.
And if I die, I'll also get to tell that Obito kid how much you loved him, alright?
It's important for me to know how the people I love feel.
So that I can know when you are falling, too, and catch you in return.
No, the masked jounin had certainly not expected such maturity, such piercing insight from Naruto's part, such sharp, meaningful remarks, and such a forceful embrace; and now he feels oddly disjointed, as if a surgeon has just cut open his soul, a soul no one had managed to peak into for the longest time. Almost an hour has passed since their intense, rather one-sided conversation, but the silver-haired man still feels the pressure of the jinchuuriki's body against his, like a phantom lingering over his numb skin. A man's body, as tall as his own, and probably as strong, trying, in the best, most sincere way Naruto knows, to convey a message.
I care about you.
The so-called scarecrow gets up abruptly, and walks off towards the rest of the team, an obligatory tome of Icha-Icha Paradise in hand, impulsively deciding that matters of combat formations, synergy and co-operation should be discussed with all of them. He is not willing to take all the weight of decision-making upon his shoulders again, for, as the young Uzumaki had just remarked, they were all grown shinobi now; comrades, equals. He was not ready to blame himself for new deaths.
The others watch his drooping figure approach with somber, drab expressions, Sakura's green eyes especially resentful, accusing him openly for not having told them of this mission as soon as he'd been, himself, informed.
He inwardly braces himself for a temper tantrum, and at least a few blaming fingers pointed in his general direction, but the blow never comes; instead, he is greeted with coolness and gravity, and he notes to himself once again that he should stop underestimating his former students, and their certainly admirable self-control.
In Konoha, everyone learns how to wear a mask, sooner or later.
"Yo. We must discuss strategy and combat. I need your input on this." the older man claims matter-of-factly, his dark, visible eye ever emotionless, and he seats himself along with the rest of the Kakashi Team, waiting impassively for them to offer some kind of response, as he runs his calloused hand through the fresh, humid blades of grass. Sai looks at least mildly puzzled at the statement, and Yamato appears to be slightly worried, presumably convinced that since the input of the rest of the team is needed, the copy-nin has obviously not managed to find an adequate strategy by himself, which is evidently a bad sign.
This is not, however, the reason Hatake wishes, this time, to call in a small assembly in order to discuss these matters, instead of simply deciding by himself and giving out the appropriate advice and orders, as he has so often done. This mission is different; it is crucial for the war, a matter of life and death, but also deeply significant for all of them on a personal level, and thus, they must have a say in this. He cannot, he will not, be the one to decide for their fates.
A few blurry, grey clouds run off to the distance above their heads, and a slightly chilly breeze blows through hair, pink, dark, silver, brown and blond alike.
"But... you have so much more experience! What can we hope to add to what you have already thought of by yourself! And you've had an additional day, too!" Sakura exclaims, her voice pregnant with a slight tone of frustration, as she breaks the somewhat awkward silence that had previously been hovering above them.
"Kakashi-sempai, with all due respect, but I'll have to second Haruno's thoughts. You know the abilities and properties of the Sharingan better than any of us do. I'm not sure I have much to offer." the Mokuton specialist tentatively agrees, his features apologetic in a measured, controlled manner, and a few seconds later, Sai, too, offers the slightest nod to convey his approval of Yamato's statement.
The oldest jounin feels his lips pursing into a thin, pained line, and he draws a long, resigned breath before glancing sideways towards the only member not to have given tongue to his opinions yet; Naruto, the quiet, pensive jinchuuriki. The blond's aspect surprises him. The boy looks strangely angered, brows furrowed and fists clenched rather tightly, and seems to be inwardly picking his words one by one, trying hard to find a way to convey his bubbling emotions.
Finally, he, too, speaks up.
"You guys... You can't do this! I think, you're just afraid of making any decisions! But seriously, you can't do this anymore. We can't just have Kakashi-sensei decide for everything again and take it all up on his shoulders; it's really not fair to him! He can't just always be responsible for everyone, you know, we're all adults now. We must take responsibility for ourselves, so he can stop feeling like it's his fault every time anything goes wrong. We'll all form a plan together!" the young man voiced out then, with rather astounding force, assuming his typical I'm-making-an-important-declaration position, the one with the fiery eyes, the tight fists, the bent elbows, as he stares strictly at his teammates.
The former genin teacher's eyes widen at the sheer audacity and confidence found in Naruto's voice, as he pretty much commands the others to break away from their passivity.
We can't just have Kakashi decide for everything again and take it all up on his shoulders; it's really not fair to him! the words echo in the copy-nin's mind, and he experiences an intense flood of gratitude towards Minato's son.
Thank you, Naruto-kun, he utters to himself, feeling oddly touched by the kid's, or rather young man's, attempt to so passionately defend him.
When Kakashi manages to remove his glare from the young, movingly idealistic shinobi's face, he scans the rest of the team for reactions, and finds them sporting an almost amusing, were it not for the gravity of the situation, variety of facial expressions. Sai's porcelain visage seems troubled, Yamato appears to be shocked and deeply embarrassed both, while, lastly, Haruno wears a veil of shame and meditativeness, Kakashi observes, but he says nothing.
Naruto still looks moderately ticked off, and he huffs and puffs before his lips part once again.
"Alright, I'll start. So, when I was learning how to control the Kyuubi's chakra, I got to interact with some of my mum's chakra, too, which had been stored inside my seal. Amongst others things, she told me about the night I was born, and the fight between the Yondaime and Madara. Apparently, he only becomes material the very precise moment he is striking, so we have to be really, really, really fast to get him. Like, really fast. The only thing I can think of that is fast enough is my teleport jutsu, when I am in Nine Tails Chakra form..." he mumbles, his blue eyes lowered in thoughtfulness, and his lips twitching in displeasure as the last word trails off.
Sakura seems to be listening very carefully, and swiftly takes over from where Naruto has just left, a bit of colour and emotion finally returning to her initially grim face. The boy's previous remark about them dumping all responsibility on Kakashi's shoulders appears to have had a powerful effect on the young medic-nin, and she now seems strongly determined to part-take in the planning proccess.
"Right, but that means you must be able to access that form undisturbedly and without interruptions, and since you will not have too many chances to strike that crucial blow, the rest of us must make sure we create the right opportunity both for you to enter the Beast form, and for you to clash with Madara at the right moment. So that means that we have to be able to participate in the combat with Madara, too, and not be busy in a conflict with, for example, Zetsu or..."
Sasuke-kun is left unsaid, but not unheard.
"There will be a lot for us to deal with. Uchiha Sasuke's new team minus Karin, and probably a lot of hired thugs, for example. Managing to all concentrate on Madara in order to create such an opening for Naruto will prove very tricky." Tenzou Yamato adds quietly, only marginally conviced by this plan, his fingers rubbing against his chin and his shoulders betraying a great deal of stress and tension.
"That means we'll just have to dispose of them first. And try avoiding direct confrontation with Madara until that point." Sai points out rather unhelpfully and with this same unnerving lightness his voice usually holds, causing the rest of the team to stare at him with unhidden weariness. However, even an obvious point can be a fair point, Kakashi notes, as his mind frantically begins to construct various battle scenarios. And damn him, as much as he is tempestuously unwilling to admit it, their odds do not look too good.
Father, it seems the time has come for me to lay my life down for my comrades. I shall try to make you proud of me, just as you made me proud to be your son, when I was finally able to understand the meaning of your choice and sacrifice.
His thoughts of resignation and self-renunciation are, however, chased off by Naruto's ghostly words, still ringing stubbornly inside his head.
The way you fight so recklessly during missions, as if you don't value your own life, it's scary to me.
No, we won't be defeated. I must protect them. I will protect them. There must be a way. The jounin snarls, drawing power from his devotion to both Konoha, and to his team.
For a few moments the shinobi do not look at one another, nor attempt to communicate verbally, each one wholly absorbed by their own thoughts and worries and existential torments, all wearing equally concentrated expressions across their weathered faces, until the pink-haired kunoichi is the one to tear the heavy fabric of the thick, broody silence.
"Madara will not just wait because we need him to. We'll have to distract him, and I think the only one who can distract him is the most experienced and versatile of us all." she mutters, her eyes sad, and she glances meaningfully towards Kakashi, with an expression so deeply guilty, and pained, and apologetic for suggesting he be the one to face the legendary Uchiha fist, that the jounin can tangibly grasp just how much she wished she could have said otherwise.
He accepts her admittedly sound argument smoothly, nevertheless, and with a small, sad smile forming behind his dark mask, he silently encourages her to carry on.
"As for... Sasuke-kun and his team, I think that it should be Naruto and Sai who go up against them. Naruto-kun is ready and able to face Sasuke, while Sai is a good match for the rest of Sasuke's team, especially since they have almost no way to deal with a flying opponent attacking from a distance. Sai can also support Naruto by striking the occasional long-range attack, so that Naruto does not become too exhausted, and thus unable to strike that last blow on Madara when the time comes. That leaves me, and Yamato-taichou." she continues, keeping her voice eerily monotonous and she carves out a, fairly well-thought out in Kakashi's opinion, plan.
"I can take care of any hired thugs or additional shinobi, so that they don't disturb the rest of you, and if I am done with that, provide medical support, or even add myself to Sai's and Naruto's formation, to further ensure Naruto-kun does not get chakra-drained. That leaves Zetsu for Yamato-taichou, which makes sense, since Yamato-taichou has faced him before, and has probably a better understanding of how plant-related attacks might work." she finishes nervously, her eyes cast down in lack of confidence, only to discover, upon raising them again, that her teammates seem very impressed with her ideas, throwing at her smiles of encouragement and approval, and causing her to blush, flattered.
Even the silver-haired man seems to be very pleasantly surprised by his former student's solid assessment of the situation, and her draft plan, that is actually almost identical to his own initial thoughts. His usually lazy visible eye holds affection, and no small amount of admiration, too.
She was always quite bright, this girl. And now she has finally learned how to apply her intellect to combat conditions. I really have very little left to teach this bunch!
"Woooah, Sakura-chan, you're so smart!" Naruto cries out merrily, placing both his hands behind his head in a typically Naruto fashion, his face bright, and his grin wider by the moment, exuding unabashed fondness and esteem towards the kunoichi. Sai, too, nods, but his face is little more expressive than a piece of rock.
"You almost make it sounds like we stand a chance, which is an admirable feat." the brown-haired jounin grumbles with his dry, pessimistic humour, emitting a long, exaggerated sigh, but not without a degree of sincere approval towards Sakura's intelligent observations. In fact, his eyes linger on her gentle, shy, cherry-coloured smile for a rather lengthy moment, watching it quickly grow as her own eyes catch his lingering gaze.
Really now, Yamato? Well, I can't say I blame you. Kakashi muses teasingly, entertained, before he waves off all such frivolous thoughts, concentrating once more on the ridiculously serious matter at hand.
"Actually, Sakura, that's quite a solid draft, you offered. I think we should use it as a base plan for now, and work on it, instead of trying to compose a different plan of action altogether. The only big issue I see with this distribution of roles, is that Naruto seems to be the one who must ultimately defeat not one, but two S-class nin, which might be too much to ask of him, despite his recent leaps in skill and power, and..." The pink-haired girl seems to be beaming now, pleased at the smooth acceptance of her impulsively muttered conclusions and thoughts, especially when coming from her former teacher, whose approval she'd always craved, overshadowed as she'd been by her male teammates. Is it Naruto's furious glare that causes the copy-nin to pause mid-phrase.
Don't you dare. I can do it. Don't you dare imply I can't, it says, his wildly vivid eyes, now exhibiting a tempestuous, breathtaking, blue hue, throwing daggers at the masked shinobi.
No, you're right, Naruto-kun. Every time I have underestimated you, you have proved me wrong.
You're right. Kakashi thinks, and opens his mouth again.
"However, I am confident that Naruto will be able, if we support him correctly, to deal these finishing blows, and he is undoubtedly our best chance." the famous copy-nin concludes, voice surreally soft all of a sudden, his gaze never leaving Naruto's, the eye-contact soon becoming almost too much to bear.
The blond's lips part in what seems to be the effect of a secret, overwhelming emotion, and his entire face changes, mellows, his lips curving ever so slightly upwards in the most gentle, delicate way.
It is his turn to feel flooded by gratitude.
Thank for believing in me.
The shinobi of Team Kakashi talk for a couple of hours more, the discussion gaining speed and fluidity as it goes, and the initial sense of hopelessness and discomfort fading rapidly into a state of increasing enthusiasm and euphoria. The masked jounin is simultaneously relieved and somewhat excited to discover that everything seems to ...be falling into place, so to speak, as the construction of the plan progresses. Perhaps they are ready for this showdown after all, it occurs to him, and he experiences a substantial degree of amazement upon making this observation.
After reaching a satisfactory amount of clarity concerning their general plan of action, they leave words to the side, and go back to sparring, mostly focusing on attack combinations between Naruto and Sai, since the two of them will be, in the first stage of said plan, working together.
Ink missiles serving as long-range distraction attacks, while Naruto replaces himself with a shadow clone.
A daring Taijutsu offense on Naruto's part, while Sai plants and spreads his Ink Snakes.
Ink over a basic Rasengan, to disguise as an Ink Beast.
Sai's Taijutsu maneuvers covering Naruto, as he prepares a Rasen Shurinken.
And then it gets even more interesting, as Naruto goes into Sage Mode, and later, starts sprouting tails.
Two giant Ink Lions pushing an opponent back to create an opening for Naruto's Frog Kata.
Naruto's Sage Form keeping the enemies busy while Sai paints his Fuuinjutsu Seals, trapping the foes within his paintings.
Sai's hundreds of explosive tags carried by hundreds of enraged, blond, shadow clones.
The former ROOT member's body flicker technique luring enemies into chasing him, while Naruto, in Nine Tails Chakra form, teleports down upo them, a giant Tailed Beast Rasengan in hand.
Finally, an ink clone serving as bait while, from behind, an army of Naruto tear the entire landscape down with an Oodama Rasen Tairengan, a barrage of giant, exploding rasengans carried by a wall of shadow clones.
Astounding.
Kakashi really can't get over how well this seems to be going, as his eyes, Mangekyou uncovered, follow the boys' swift and imaginative movements.
Lookie here, we might yet have a meager chance of making it out alive.
Yamato's quivering smile seems to agree, as he and Sakura assault the boys with all they've got.
"Maaaa, you're still going way too easy on them. It's not training if it's not straining." the Sharingan-wielding jounin complains some minutes later, and he tucks the little bible of porn away, walking lazily towards a sheepish, ill-at-ease Yamato, and a rather frustrated, panting kunoichi. "I guess I'll have to join in." the copy-nin adds, and, first pulling up his sleeves in an admirably intimidating manner, then cracking loudly the joints of his fingers, and finally stretching his spine like a freshly-awoken, large feline predator, he jumps into the match. The rosy beams of the setting sun reflect upon his Mangekyou in astonishingly alarming ways.
Sai, who has had problems with identifying and comprehending some of the finer human emotions, suddenly realises the meaning of "apprehension"'.
Naruto, on the other hand, seems unbefittingly delighted to be facing his teacher's full might.
Bring it on, 'Kashi!
The night has already taken over the uneventful sky of Konoha when the training session finally comes to a close, and despite the occasional flock of dull clouds, there seems to be no particular shortage of stars, which Naruto takes to be an excellent omen.
Of course, easily as he gets excited, especially after having had such an interesting and fruitful day of training, he would probably feel likewise about any kind of sky or weather; his optimism and belief have been irreversibly restored.
"Well, that did not go too badly, ne, sensei?" he asks Hatake, a playful, proud smirk playing on his whiskered face, and even though the older man knows this to be a blatant attempt to fish for compliments, he is in too good a mood to not oblige.
"Yes, yes, Naruto, you have grown tremendously strong. One day I will be cool by association only for having been your genin instructor. And your handsome face will be carved twice on the Hokage monument, just to make the point clear, in case anyone has any doubts left." Kakashi mumbles, his own mouth twisting into a smile of mild amusement behind the cover of his beloved mask, and he scratches the back of his spiky hair, in a comical exaggeration of discomfort. Sai, who is walking not far behind them, does, as usual, need a few minutes in order to digest and deduce the existence of sarcasm, and eventually wear his cunning, "knowing" expression.
"Do you really think I'm handsome?" the young blond suddenly asks, pausing mid-step, with his eyes narrowed upwards in moderate embarrassment. Even though the copy-nin is well-aware that Naruto is joking, his available eye subconsciously, disobediently traces over the boy's rather beautiful features, and he has to catch himself in order to avoid spilling a helplessly sincere yes. Thus, for the tiniest moment, he finds himself at a loss for words.
"You are the fourth most attractive man in the team." he states after this minuscule, invisible loss of composure, causing immediate outrage in his conversational partner, whose face flushes up in less than an instant.
"How dare you, you old, perverted sensei! I'll have you know that I am very handsome! My mother said so when I was inside my seal! She did!"
Sakura, walking somewhere behind, lightly giggles, watching over the two men lovingly.
And once again, the team finally reaches that familiar crossroad where, when everyone is walking home, it is only Kakashi and Naruto who take a left turn, walking on together underneath the partially starry cover of the night. The silver-haired man is walking perhaps two inches ahead, mutely, his sarcastic, roguish demeanour suddenly evaporated, and replaced by this familiar unreadable face, this concrete wall meant to hide him from the rest of the world.
Naruto doesn't quite understand why there seems to be such... tension, when the two of them are left alone, and why his former teacher's conduct changes so, a substantial shift, becoming so much more cautious and reserved. It wasn't like that when the Uzumaki was younger, he observes inwardly, remembering the light, humourous, slightly gibelike manner in which the older man used to treat him, and he starts wondering.
Maybe it's because I look so much like my father now. My father was his teacher, and I guess it must feel strange for him to turn around and find his teacher's face there.
Or maybe it's because he feels guilty about all the stuff I have to do, and all the responsibility everyone is loading on me, and all the expectations, and does not know what to say.
Maybe he's just changed.
And then, like a divine revelation, it occurs to the younger man that he is seeing this the wrong way.
That elfish, laid-back behaviour, that is the true distance, the true mask. Kakashi wasn't being more comfortable with him back then, he was merely being more disguised, more, rather than less, guarded. It is now, in his vulnerable, human, tangible, distant, silent form, that he is being real, and showing himself for who he is; a man cautious, damaged, of few words.
The revelation is rather groundbreaking to Naruto, so he simply halts, frozen in the middle of the street, his eyes still following the jounin's lean physique as he carries on, hands in pockets, head leaning forth.
He's not acting strange because he is no longer comfortable with me.
He's acting like this exactly because he is comfortable.
And so Naruto is swept over by an intense, savage feeling of protectiveness towards the older man, and he feels humbled by the fact that, out of all the people in Kakashi's team, in their team, it's with him that he takes his, honed by years of loss and loneliness, armour off, and that he stops performing his clown act. Of course, it's ridiculous, absolute hogwash, to feel protective over someone like the copy-nin, someone so incredibly powerful and hardened, someone at least ten years older than him, stronger than him, but still, the jinchuuriki is an idiot, and an angsty, emotional idiot at that, and sometimes, he just cannot help himself.
Thus, when Kakashi turns around, curious as to why the familiar footsteps have stopped following him, he finds, some ten feet behind him, the young man wearing a truly peculiar expression, with blue eyes wide and perhaps slightly humid (or it is just the moon, reflected into them?), with a lower lip lightly bitten and maybe a bit shaky, and with legs stuck to the ground.
Behind the droopy and old forehead protector, a pair of eyebrows shoot upwards some, completely dumbfounded by Naruto's unexpected and inscrutable reaction to... to what really? Did something happen? Kakashi isn't even sure of that.
"Eh? Naruto. You alright?" he inquires, rubbing the back of his neck with his left hand, feeling suddenly strangely, dangerously nervous and uneasy under the scrutiny of these serious, soulful eyes. He looks into them, and they seem to be brimming with something, some new knowledge, some awe-inspiring deduction, some whelming feeling, or maybe something else entirely, for Naruto, even as he is an open book, is not always easy to read and decipher.
"That persona thing you do, why do you turn it off for me?" the young man formulates a question instead of a reply, and despite the slightly sloppy phrasing and vocabulary choices, the jounin immediately knows what Naruto is talking about, and is taken aback. Indeed, Kakashi is really not certain what he should say to this; he'd never thought to be asked so bluntly.
"I..." he starts, but then the thread is cut short, even as the thin, dry lips remain stubbornly parted, waiting for the right words to come along.
What kind of question is that, anyway...?
The two men stare at one another, and the jounin gets this inexplicable, eerie feeling that he is a child all over again, awkwardly as he stands, hands in pockets, slouching a bit, with unidentified words stuck in his throat. The breeze is back again, messing up his gray hair and blowing against his shinobi jacket, while the ribbons of Naruto's forehead protector seems to be floating in the wind, adding an inappropriately dramatic effect.
Well, this is awkward.
Kakashi cringes.
"I guess, if I die, and then there's no one left who even knew who I was in the first place, that would be kind of sad, ne?" he mutters, putting on his inappropriately light-hearted, cheery closed-eye face and dropping a bead of sweat, knowing it is a fairly weak reply (but as furiously as he seeks to offer something better, something more convincing, he simply doesn't know what to say). Nonetheless, the younger man does not seem to mind the evident gracelessness of Kakashi's excuse, and, in fact, he appears to be seriously considering the older man's words, as if searching for some deeper meaning between the lines.
"Well, I don't really, really, really know you yet, 'Kashi-sensei; you're always so mysterious and all. And now we only have one day point something... You should probably hurry." Naruto ultimately states, a slight tone of concern, or perhaps desperation, seeping into his voice, and he sounds truly disturbed by what he's just uttered, if not downright panicked. Yes; the silly kid seems to have taken Kakashi's words to heart.
Kakashi blinks.
And then he blinks again.
And, despite the evident ridiculousness of the conversation, and the childishness of this whole interaction, somehow, in some mystical, absolutely Naruto way, the young man's worry resonates with him.
What if it's true?
No one will grieve you like you grieve Obito. Like Sakura already grieves for Sasuke.
They will grieve the copy-nin, the sensei, the eternal rival, the former ANBU, but will anyone grieve Kakashi, the... the... just the guy?
Naruto has a very special way of accidentally awakening Kakashi's existential insecurities, and the jounin curses strongly under his breath for being suddenly flooded by such disgusting, irksome, insecure thoughts. For hell's sake, in some 35 hours they will be running off to fight against Uchiha Madara, master of time and space, and this is really not the right time for him to be having some kind of philosophically inclined break-down.
So the silver-haired shinobi opens his mouth to verbalise something, if only to put an end to these disturbing thoughts parading incessantly inside his increasingly deranged mind, and, to his mildly detached awe, something downright strange comes out.
"You could come over. I have instant noodles."
"Ok" says Naruto, and they keep walking.