Well, here is one extremely important chapter :) I'm also being nice and leaving you off with a cliffhanger-ish type thing, then going to Oklahoma until Saturday. No updates until then. ...Sorry. Well- enjoy!
Warning: Disturbing scenes of violence against children.
Three Months Later
Hound and Cat stood together in silence.
The two ANBU operatives were crouched in the high branches of a tree, peering out into the dark sky. They had seen many things, in their day- but what appeared to an enormous water dome, that was something new.
The water reflected the moon and the stars, half luminous under the night sky, large and looming and threatening- in the missing nin encampment. Whatever it was, it was where Turtle and Sparrow were.
Hound raised a hand, gestured forward, and then he and Cat were leaping silently through the trees towards the rest of their team.
They had been in the area on an entirely unrelated mission, and all they knew of the situation was that it had been normal when Turtle had last reported. Normal, normal, normal as always. So something had clearly gone very, very wrong in just this past week. Hound sliced the tip of his thumb with the edge of his katana and summoned Pakkun without once halting in his silent journey at breakneck ANBU pace. The dog materialized in a puff of smoke and joined along without hesitation. "What's up, Boss?"
"Trouble up ahead with the rest of my team. Potential conflict. Backup will likely be needed. Follow me and if I'm right, go back to Konoha as fast as you can. Emergency mission, urgent backup requested. Enemy: roughly forty strong. Most ANBU."
Pakkun swore under his breath. "Forty ANBU, Boss? You had better hope you're wrong. Else you and this other guy are dead meat."
Hound didn't reply, and Cat just continued after him.
Pakkun followed along for a bit more than five minutes, then cleared his throat. "You do realize you're being followed, right?"
Hound sighed heavily. "I can smell them, too," he snapped. "Just wanted to ignore them- it's only two, after all, and we've got bigger things to deal with. But now we might as well talk with them." He cleared his throat, then raised his voice and called out a sour greeting without even slowing. "We know you two are there! Come out and show yourselves!"
No response, for several moments, but then two more masked ANBU joined them with a rustle of leaves. Their masks identified them as being from the Mist, but despite their villages' ongoing practically declared hostility, neither group stopped to fight. "We're not interested in a battle," one of the ANBU snapped at him. "We're following you because apparently, we have the same destination."
"What's your interest in the water dome?" he asked coolly, nodding slightly at Cat. If they're with the missing-nin, kill them.
"Same as yours, probably," the other captain answered. "We've got two men in that camp we'd rather not see slaughtered. One of them is responsible for that water dome, actually."
Hound nodded slowly. If their side was responsible for that massive attack, it could only be a good thing. They could use some firepower like that on their side. "…Yes," he grudgingly admitted. "We're on the same side. Temporary truce out there? We fight the missing-nin and not each other?"
"Yes, yes. I'm Spider. My teammate here is Coral. Yes, it's an animal. Our teammates in the camp are Whale and Shark. Shark happens to actually be half-shark, and that's your background on us."
Hound frowned at that. A man that is half-shark from Mist… I've heard of him. Hoshigaki Kisame, S-ranked mutant. Very dangerous to run into. …Nice. Very nice. "I'm Hound. This here is Cat. Our teammates in the camp are Sparrow and Turtle. We've got two kekkei genkai between us, and there is your unnecessary tidbit in return for your unnecessary tidbit."
Pakkun cleared his throat. "Not to interrupt, but does this mean we definitely need backup?"
Spider paused, his unease clear. "…Shark was Whale's backup. He would only use that technique if there was a fight going on. Yeah- backup, probably needed. Coral, send back your summon requesting immediate help."
"Pakkun, go!"
The dog disappeared in the same moment that a tiny white bird soared up into the night sky, and Hound frowned underneath his masks. "ETA on our backup: half a day, if Pakkun goes at top speed and they teleport in jumps. Yours?"
"Nine hours. Coral's summons are fast, and Mist is closer than Konoha."
Hound nodded grimly at that, then gestured for silence. Spider grunted out loud at that. "Oi, Hound- we aren't under your command. Mist isn't subordinate to Konoha and we're not to you. If we're going to work together-"
"I don't care about your pride. Mist and Konoha can go back to being bitter enemies after this, but, if we want to be at all successful, then we need a commander. I'm all for working together but someone has to be giving orders."
"…How about we just get there, then work with our own teams? I'd rather do that than work with you- don't have to watch my back."
Hound rolled his eyes, then just ran on faster. "Whatever you want." His goal here was to find Sparrow and Turtle and keep them alive- that was it. Working with Mist would be helpful, but possibly counterproductive, and was certainly unnecessary. In ANBU, you fought with whoever hated the enemy more than they hated you, and this was a prime example of that. They practiced the enemy of my enemy is my friend, but the moment the battle was done, so was their comradeship. Why waste time taking command? It would end up causing more troubles than it would prevent.
Hound curled his hands into fists and jumped off the next branch with such force it almost cracked. Hang on, Sparrow, Turtle. We're coming.
The four mismatched ANBU arrived on the scene to desolation and destruction.
What had once been a pristine camp was in ruins. Smoke and fire dominated, roiling across the battle reminiscent to all present from the Third War. Signs of so many jutsu that had missed their target littered the camp- multiple trees were torn straight through with what looked like a wind jutsu, the ground was cracked and split from earth techniques- and there was Kisame's water release, a massive aquatic dome that, if Hound looked closely, had trapped at least ten of the enemy… and was that a shark in there?
The four ANBU approached without hesitation, the Mist headed to the base of the water dome while Hound led Cat towards the flashes of light, smoke, and fire across the camp. He beckoned the mouton user forward and wood shot fluidly out of Cat's hands, twisting through the air, as flexible as water. Multiple beams broke through the fight and Cat and Hound dashed across them, ducking under kunai, shuriken and jutsu while the wooden defenses continued to grow. Both ANBU operatives landed on the ground just as their paths were destroyed, and Cat pushed his hands firmly together, crying, "Mokuton: Mokujouheki!"
The newly reunited ANBU team relaxed as a wooden dome spread out above their heads, creating an ironclad shield that immediately shook with the brunt of an attack. "One minute," Cat gasped, glancing worriedly about their new shelter, "can't guarantee more than that!"
Hound nodded and moved forward, looking over Sparrow and Turtle in the darkness. "Got it. Now, what the hell happened?!"
"Bringing in reinforcements," Sparrow panted, wiping his sleeve across his bloodied forehead. "They're bringing in reinforcements. Fifty others, but split up into small factions so they didn't attract attention. They're coming back- going to march against other villages, Taichou. This Mist guy attacked them first, apparently he was undercover too, and his shark comrade jumped in to help… we're fucked, Hound! There's at least forty left and their backup's a day out- we- we- we-"
"Yeah, we probably are fucked," he conceded. He had to get his team to focus on something other than their likely imminent deaths, or they would absolutely be fucked. "Doesn't matter. We brought backup in the form of ourselves and half of a Mist ANBU team. Also sent request back to the villages but it'll be at least nine hours before any comes. Quick, what's the story on-"
Hound was cut off by a massive crack, a splintering sound- and then the wood was ripped back by a massive iron claw dripping with poison. The four sprinted free, jumping above their defense to see a puppet kneeling above it, luminous Chakra threads leading back to a slim, pale redhead who stood at the head of the enemy's forces.
"Akasuna no Sasori," Sparrow panted, hands on his knees, senbon dangling from his mouth. "Puppet and poison master. Taiyo's righthand man."
Hound didn't waste a second. He backpedaled, grabbing Turtle by the wrist, and called, "You and Cat take him! Turtle and I are going after Taiyo!"
Sparrow and Cat were left to hold their own against at least ten enemies, Sasori's army of puppets not included, while the other half of their team jumped into the night, in search of the commander of the missing nin himself, Yuki Taiyo. Kisame's water dome was still going strong, and by the sights and sounds going on around it, Spider and Coral were putting up one hell of a fight. Hound pointed towards them and Turtle followed without hesitation.
"Ice Release," he panted as he sprinted across the destruction of the camp. "That's Taiyo's thing. Water and… probably wind. Ninjutsu will likely be worthless."
"Good thing I've got taijutsu and you've genjutsu, my rival, eh?"
"Be careful," Hound warned darkly. "Don't make assumptions. He's not commander of these bastards for nothing; I'm sure he's got more up his sleeves than ice."
Turtle didn't have time to reply, because one second they were running, and the next second, they were fighting. A group of at least five ambushed them and they were forced to stop and hide just to not get killed. Without giving them even a moment to rest, a wind jutsu was hurtling their way, and the pair were forced to throw themselves in opposite directions to stop themselves from being torn in half. The next moment, Hound was diving out of the way of a fire technique and Turtle was clinging to a tree to not be swept away by a furious wave of water.
Hound's eyes widened, and he threw himself back in Turtle's direction, now fighting back. He deflected an onslaught of earth with lightening and shouted, "Turtle! They're trying to separate us! Turtle!"
His teammate heard him and jumped back to join him, and the two rivals began to fight together. Their teamwork was clearly unmatched, but they were outnumbered- badly so. The two were only able to avoid injury for so long before they began slipping, attacks breaking past their defenses, first with difficulty, but then with ease. Still, they clung to each other, refusing to allow themselves to be separated again. For whatever reason, that was what their enemy wanted, and all Hound knew was that he had to prevent that from happening.
He killed five men in the space of five minutes, and was going for the sixth when it became clear that their enemy was getting impatient- very impatient. "I have had enough of your shit!" one of them screamed, hands coming together in an earth seal as she descended upon them from above. "Doton: Doryouheki!"
Hound and Turtle didn't have time to react- the wall sprang up in between them and forced them apart, moving so fast that they weren't able to stay with each other. The ninja standing on the wall between them jumped down in Turtle's direction, and Hound was already preparing to follow when he heard another shinobi begin a technique- the name of which made his blood run cold and stomach flutter in anticipation.
"Makyou Houshou."
Hound remained still as a cold gust of wind blew. His hair stood on end and goosebumps rose up on the back of his neck, and the wind below again, icy and freezing. His bare arms shivered and the night sky was abruptly obscured by… by…
What?
It looked like twenty or so eerily white rectangles, perfectly similar in size and dimension, each hovering in mid air to create a perfect half sphere above and around him. If the jutsu's name was any indication, they were made of ice.
Just his luck. He was searching for Yuki Taiyo, and the man just happened to attack him.
Hound turned slowly, examining his new icy prison. It looked exactly the same from all angles- and surprisingly weak. There was just enough room between the mirrors on ground level for him to slip out from between them. Something told him it wouldn't be that simple.
Hound slowly removed his ANBU mask- he had a feeling he would need full visibility for this next battle- and tossed it towards the mirrors. It slipped out from the frigid cage without resistance, clattering to the earth outside unharmed. So, there was no jutsu preventing anything from passing in between the ice mirrors- good to know.
He slipped into an easy crouch and turned again. "Yuki Taiyo," he called, voice bland and relaxed as he calmly took in every aspect of the technique he could. "It's a pleasure."
"Likewise, Hatake Kakashi."
Hound twisted after the voice, but there was no sign of anything or anyone behind him. Just those ice mirrors that his Sharingan eye told him were laced with Chakra, probably so he couldn't break them with just a simple kick. How unfortunate. "What," he deadpanned, turning slowly again, "you can see my face but I can't see yours? Come now. At least be polite."
"I can't exactly see your face. Take your mask off, and then, maybe I'll show myself."
Hound turned the other direction this time, but it didn't matter. Taiyo was nowhere to be seen. "Don't tell me this is all someone's hair brained scheme to see my face."
"There's no need for you to feel so special."
Third time was not the charm, because Hound still could not find Taiyo. He shut his normal eye tight, watching the ice surrounding him in search for any sign of his enemy, but in vain. "Well, I do feel a little special," he murmured absentmindedly. "After all, you separated me out from all the others like this. You must have something you want to say to me. Or do to me, either one. Well, Taiyo? Which is it?"
"Well, Father always told me to watch out for Sharingan warriors. If ninjutsu is like rock-paper-scissors, than Sharingan is paper and Ice Release is rock, and your Konoha Byakugan would do even better than that. I suppose I wanted to test that theory. And, lo and behold, I got the Copy Ninja himself. Lucky for me, hmm?"
Hound didn't bother turning in search of his voice this time. If it didn't work the first three times, it wasn't going to work the fourth. He just hmmed thoughtfully and continued moving in his slow circle. He couldn't help but be uneasy, though, that Taiyo was going ahead and telling him that the Sharingan should be able to best the Ice Release. The only reason he would do such a thing was if he was truly confident that he would win.
Not very good news for his opponent. But, then again, it wouldn't have been the first time he'd been underestimated.
Hound took in a slow breath, keeping himself calm. Taiyo didn't seem very interested in attacking right now, which meant he had plenty of time to think. Knowing the Sharingan could best the Ice Release meant he had key knowledge about how exactly Taiyo's ability worked. He just had to think about it very carefully.
It couldn't be the Sharingan's recording ability, at least not just solely that. Even if he had seen Taiyo form the seals for this technique, it could not be copied- and anyway, all the seals would tell him was what elements it was based on. And he was already ninety percent sure that was water and wind. So, not that.
Genjutsu seemed unlikely, either. To cast a doujutsu, he had to be looking his opponent in the eye. Considering he couldn't even see his opponent, that was going to be rather difficult. So, not that- by itself, at any rate.
Perhaps he was thinking about this the wrong way- instead, he should try to list what he knew about Taiyo's technique? Besides the fact that it was Ice Release…
Despite all appearances, this was not genjutsu. He would be able to see through it. That meant Tiayo was somewhere in this circle- perhaps his abilities were like Cat's, and allowed him to hide in the ice? Hound sniffed tentatively, then frowned. If that were the case, he would be able to sniff out Taiyo's location quite easily. However, an unfamiliar scent that could only be his enemy's was all around him, wrapped around his body, emanating from no particular location but instead seeming as if he were everywhere at once. What was going on?
Suddenly, several things happened at once.
His eye caught a black blur. It was so fast the Sharingan saw nothing but a flicker of movement and then, nothing. There was a light breeze, ruffling his hair just barely. And there was a faint, stinging pain in his hand.
Hound raised it up cautiously, and was stunned to see a senbon sticking out the metal of his armored glove.
What the…
He pulled it out in disbelief. When on earth had that been thrown? And it must have been going pretty damn fast, for just that slim needle to have penetrated the cloth and the steel as smoothly as it had. Genma even had trouble throwing senbon with such accuracy, speed, and strength to penetrate metal.
To make matters worse, the tip of the weapon was tinged with a faint, pale green liquid. Poison.
Hound flexed his hand, relieved that there was no pain or, worse, numbness, and turned again-
There! There! There!
A piercing pain in three different spots on his torso, and Hound jumped in disbelief, staring down at the three minuscule holes in his armor from three ridiculously different angles, one in his abdomen, one poking straight out of his side, and one twisted into his back. Their speed- it must have been enormous to pierce through his thick armor, and the angles- they had all hit him in the same instant; but had clearly been thrown from three very different locations. How was that possible-
No. Just clones. Clones explained their angle. Such a frighteningly simple technique that could be used to disorient the enemy; it was so easy that it was almost never done. Always forgotten about by higher level ninja.
Well, clearly not this one. Clones were the only explanation, and he was not going to fall for the trick like some kind of genin.
There was still the problem of how they were able to be thrown so fast to pierce his armor, though. Not even Sparrow was able to throw senbon through ANBU armor- under ideal conditions. How was Taiyo doing it?
Then, four more times- four more senbon. How the hell…
Hound yanked the poisoned weapons out to let them drop to the ground and turned in search of his enemy. "I'm sure," his enemy called, shit! Five more senbon, "that Genma told you about our motives here?"
Hound fought to focus. That voice had been different from the others. It was the same person talking, no doubt, but the volume had changed as he spoke.
No, not the volume… his location changed!
Hound took a deep breath and focused again, this time not making any attempt to dodge the attack he knew was coming and just listening for the reply. "Yes. He did."
"Then tell me, because I'm truly interested to know- why are you fighting me?"
His voice changed again! Got louder and softer, just barely. He got closer and then farther away. Not only that, but there was that faint, faint breeze again. The faint breeze of movement, but it was so soft he could only feel it on the back of his neck when it rustled his hair. Taiyo- or something, at any rate- was flying past him at such high speeds, not even his Sharingan could see.
He released a breath, yanked out the results of the newest attack, and answered. "Because I came here and saw your people fighting my people. That's all I need to know."
Hound ducked on instinct the moment the last word left his mouth and was rewarded with a quick gust of air as a senbon whistled over his head. Four more hit him but one missed, and that was good. And his voice changed volume again. Hound was understanding the pattern now- but the senbon were poisoned and he was on a very strict clock because of it. He didn't have time to wait until he had the pattern down. He had to go with it now.
Taiyo didn't comment on him dodging the senbon. He just continued, voice faintly curious and relaxed. "But we didn't confront Genma. He fought us first. He and Nako, the Mist undercover one. Because they were under orders to, apparently."
Five more senbon joined the pile on the ground that Hound ripped out of his torso after they punctured it, but one stayed in his hand. He wasn't fast enough, he was almost but just barely too slow. "I don't speak for Mist nin, but Sparrow was under no orders. I trust my men to do what's best for us and Konoha."
There. He dodged three out of six senbon and just almost caught sight of the blur- he was getting better. But not fast enough. "Sparrow?" Taiyo asked, his voice as cold as the ice around them. "He's out there fighting for you and your village. He could be dead for all you know- and you won't even call him by his name? How-"
Taiyo's words were cut off by surprise, and Hound smirked beneath his mask.
Success.
"Impressive, Kakashi. But I am immune to my own poisons, you know."
Hound refused to let himself by gotten down. The fact of the matter was, he had managed to hit the bastard with a senbon. He hadn't actually seen Taiyo, but he'd heard the weapon make contact and that was success.
"Impressive, Taiyo," he mocked. "But you can't outrun the Sharingan forever, you know."
Hound smirked again when the assault was another senbon one. He still had no idea who the enemy was pulling it off, but it seemed this was all he had up his sleeve. And now that he had the pattern down, there was no way for the ice user to get a lethal hit in. Some Ice Release this is.
Taiyo continued on speaking as if he had never been hit by the senbon. "Now, Kakashi, back to what we were actually talking about. Remember? I'm honestly interested- what do you think me and my friends are really doing here? Anything to warrant this level of violence?"
"You're the one treating me like a pincushion," he snapped. "And from what I understand, you're against shinobi being seen as nothing but tools. You want to take apart the system of the hidden villages."
"And can't you sympathize? I'm sure your village sees you more as a weapon than a human being. I've been where you are, Kakashi; one of the elite, kekkei genkai, ANBU captain. It's not easy, is it?"
Hound hit his enemy with another two senbon, one of them his own- laced with Konoha poison. There was no guarantee, but it was at least a try. He stayed silent this time, and Taiyo continued talking.
"And elite ninja don't just happen. Every single one I've met has had a journey fraught with loss and suffering. I'm sure you're no different. And yet… you're fighting us. Surely our wishes can't be that different."
"Wishes are different than reality," he replied sharply. He took three more poisoned senbon to the chest and his enemy took two. "We all wish for a reality where all of this wasn't necessary. But such a thing is not possible."
Taiyo laughed, an odd, pulsating sound as the volume rose and fell and the air whistled with even more senbon. "So what do you think would happen, then? What if we succeeded and dismantled all the hidden villages there were? Then what would happen?"
Hound ducked and spun, catching another glimpse of his enemy and, with a flash of bronze, impaling him with three more senbon. "You're too idealistic. Ninja would band together as they always have, and conquer and command those with less power, and the cycle would begin all over again."
"Perhaps you are just too pessimistic."
Hound licked his lips beneath his mask and took things up to the next level, steadfastly ignoring his enemy's speech. His hands were already forming the seals before the next senbon had been thrown,and then-
"Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu!"
It was the absence of fire that told him his jutsu had made contact. He felt the flames ride out along his mighty exhale, he saw them reflect on the ice mirrors and swirl in front of him in brilliant yellow for just a split second before it was suddenly gone. It wasn't too cold for the flames to exist (although it was damn freezing), no, the fire had made contact with something moving so fast that they had caught on fire and extinguished it in the same moment.
Hound smiled coldly beneath his mask, and an icy wind gusted throughout his prison. "Good for you, Kakashi," Taiyo said after a moment. "But you're still not using the Sharingan to its full potential here. Try again."
Oh, I'll show YOU full potential…!
"And anyway, Kakashi. Face it: you are killing me because you were ordered too. If you hadn't been told to come fight us you never would have. Is that really what you want to be? Just a weapon used to destroy lives? What about all those people you've lost- would they be happy with what you've become?"
It didn't help at all that Taiyo was absolutely right.
And, no. His long dead team would not like what he had become. Would his father have?
He didn't know what his father would've thought of him now, but his team- certainly not.
But it's not as if he joined ANBU because he wanted to do what they would have wanted him to. He joined after Rin died because he hadn't wanted to face Minato, hadn't been able to face anyone else and hadn't wanted to see anyone else die. Joining ANBU, it seemed, had been perfect. No bonds should be formed and he would be nothing but a masked warrior. He was in no danger of losing anyone else, and Minato, disappointed or ashamed of him or not, wouldn't have to see him ever again.
Then Minato had died, and his last bond was irrevocably shattered. ANBU was all he had, after Kyuubi.
He may have joined it because of his dead team, but he didn't doubt that Obito, Rin, and Minato would not have been happy with him now.
With a breath, Hound used the jutsu that his sensei had taught him and that Obito had made possible, twisting and slamming a hand forward into where he knew Taiyo would be. He was rewarded with a warped cry of pain, and he let the glow of the lightening fade off his gloved hand, a grim smile tugging on his lips.
He sniffed. Blood. Not his own, finally; Taiyo's.
And then, he understood.
The pieces of the puzzle clicked together and it all made sense, it all suddenly made perfect sense. There were no clones. There was just one Taiyo here. He was moving so fast because he was somehow moving between the ice mirrors. Hound didn't understand exactly how that was possible but that didn't matter; it explained how he was able to travel so quickly and throw senbon so fast, as well the presence of the ice mirrors at all- after all, until now, they had seemed to have no purpose.
And now that he understood that, he also understood what the Sharingan would be used for- and why the Byakugan would be so much more helpful.
With their 360 degree vision and ability to see Chakra even better than his eye could, they would be able to just watch Taiyo travel back and forth across the circle. Not only that, but they could divert the senbon so they wouldn't hit their target.
The Byakugan provided the perfect defense against this attack. The Sharingan, however, created the perfect offense. All he had to do was use his eye to predict where Taiyo would be, and then strike there. He was moving so fast it wouldn't be easy, but he still had the key to defeating him and it was only a matter of time before he won.
He directed an extra bit of Chakra to his eye, took a deep breath, and-
There! Yes!
Hound literally bent over backward to dodge the next senbon he knew were coming, and one still came so close it tore through his vest but missed skin. Damn. Even with him knowing exactly when and where Taiyo would strike, the man was still moving so fast it was almost impossible to dodge.
The transparent images that were his eye's prediction of where Taiyo would be blurred into two, and he was confused for a moment before he swore and ducked again. Wonderful; the poison was now taking affect.
He had to end this now.
"You are fighting against someone trying to bring peace, Kakashi. How can you justify it to yourself?"
Another chidori failed, skirting across Taiyo's leg instead of his heart. But his hand was dripping with blood when the lightening faded, blood that was not his own, before he was pierced with another round of senbon as his enemy picked up the pace.
"Your work here will not save your village. I'm not intending to kill anyone except those who try to kill me. You are trying to kill me, and for what? If you surrendered now, I wouldn't take you hostage and torture you for information. I wouldn't kill you. But you still try and kill me. Why?
His third chidori grazed Taiyo's chest but it wasn't deep enough to kill, and his vision swirled nauseatingly, a dozen senbon now sticking out of his arm. Shit. I'm not moving fast enough! Hound steadfastly blocked out every single word the enemy said and forced himself to take another breath, but his vision was a blur of bronze from the continuous rain of senbon and his body kept being jerked this way and that from being hit over and over again, and then the mirrors flashed a sickening yellow as he felt the poison pool in his bloodstream and- and-
Focus, god damn it!
"Why are you fighting me? If you truly serve your village as nothing but a weapon, then you are not even human. Is that what you want, Kakashi? Is that what you want?"
FOCUS!
And… there-
"Chidori!"
Hound's hand was buried deep in another's chest, hand immersed in surging blood up to his wrist. But something was wrong- very wrong. His hand was touching something cold. Blood and organs were hot, but his hand felt like it was touching something hard and cold and-
Ice.
Hound didn't give himself a moment's pause. His right hand still crackled with lightening as his left was set aglow, and he twisted to bury his fifth chidori of the night into Taiyo's body. The man was moving, but not fast enough, and his hand dived beneath flesh to meet bone.
Taiyo's body was twisted and bent by the hands shoved into his torso. Blood dripped out of numerous senbon wounds and his mouth and the several holes created by Chidori, and Hound gave a feral grin. "I am a weapon," he said slowly, voice colder than the ice that surrounded them. "I don't want to be one, but I am. And as long as that is true, I will fight you. I was ordered to do so, but not only that. I will fight you because… because you tried to kill my friends!"
Taiyo stood there and stared at him. His brown eyes were wide, and Hound's hands clenched, one around the icy shield the enemy had created to stop him from getting to his heart, the other around a rib, and he prepared to throw the ice user to the ground.
And then, Taiyo formed a seal, a one-handed seal, and sighed. "It can't be helped, I suppose. Hyouton: Riborubingu Houshou!"
There was another gust of frigid wind, and suddenly, Hound found himself caught up in a gale. The mirrors around him began to spin, keeping to their solid formation- slowly at first, but faster and faster until he could see nothing but a whirl of white. The wind blew harder and he ducked his head, anchoring his position with Chakra so as not to be sent flying. Taiyo slipped out his grasp in a split second and Hound tried to bring his hands together in an earth seal, but the wind was so strong is was all he could do to stay standing.
The temperature dropped dramatically, dipping down to dangerous levels and he shivered at the sudden freeze. It had already been freezing his whole time within the ice dome but now he might as well accept hypothermia- and then something was grabbing at his wrist, something even colder than the wind. He couldn't fight it off and then the feeling of ice was spreading, encasing his hand and moving up his forearm.
The cold permeated so deep he couldn't even feel it anymore. The frigid feel of winter combined with the shock of his Chakra depleting itself so quickly- it created an exhaustion that was even stronger than the adrenaline of a battle. He swayed, unsteady on suddenly numb feet- wait, he couldn't move his feet?
Hound struggled to right himself as the wind slowly began to weaken. His feet refused to move- he was pretty sure they weren't moving; couldn't be certain, considering he couldn't feel them- and his right hand was held prone in the air, refusing to move even as he tugged with his arm. The wind carried snow now, and it was too thick for him to even see. The temperature continued to drop and now hypothermia was a certainty. Probably frostbite, too.
"It's a pity," Taiyo suddenly whispered in his ear. Hound tried to turn but his hand and feet wouldn't move. "I would've loved to fight with you. But if you're content being a weapon for your village, then you are an obstacle. I will have to kill you, because my goal is to take down this system where villages rule and we shinobi are nothing more than their tools. It's sad because I rather like you, Kakashi. Hyouton: Ippai-bodi Sanketsu."
Hound squirmed and struggled, and the cold rose again, beginning to spread. It crawled up his legs and down his arm, and his eyes widened when he realized the ice was going to cover him entirely. Unless he did something, and fast, he was dead.
Something was only one option, and with the idea that his teammates were still out there, outnumbered and outmatched, he somehow summoned up the Chakra from the deepest depths of his reserves and cried, "Raiton: Ippai-bodi Tate!"
He gathered the lightening Chakra on his hands first. Like a Chidori in both fists, white hot light grew and glistened beneath the ice. His hands were numb and he couldn't feel a thing, but he knew for certain that the lightening was burning his hands even as it melted the ice.
Then he had a problem.
He was no Hyuuga; expelling Chakra from his body through anywhere other than his hands was a near impossibility. He had to, instead, coax the Chakra already on his hands to move upwards, crawl along his arms and melt through the ice.
Then there was the fact that Taiyo was standing right in front of him and probably wouldn't take too kindly to him defeating his killer technique.
Hound looked up and grinned with a lot more confidence than he felt to see Taiyo glowering at him, mouth pulled down into a grimace, beads of sweat forming on his temple from the exertion.
Oh. He was looking him right in the eye.
How convenient for him.
"I suppose," he grunted, "your father neglected to tell you to never look a Sharingan user in the eye?"
Taiyo blanched, but it was already too late. He was already caught in genjutsu.
Hound didn't have anywhere near enough Chakra to kill him, but if he just held the enemy in genjutsu while he freed himself, then-
"Taiyo-sama!"
Hound would've slumped in relief if he could move. That voice… an ally!
Sparrow bounded forward through the piles of snow. He was bleeding badly, skin a greenish pallor and clothes torn and rent by jutsu and kunai. He looked like he should be dead, by all rights, but still had enough energy to skid to a stop right in front of the missing-nin commander and raise a hand to rest it on his shoulder. Hound saw the senbon-user amassing Chakra in his hand to use, to-
Jolt Taiyo out of the genjutsu?
"Sparrow!" he gasped, writhing in vain within the ice. "Sparrow, stop! What are you doing?!"
Sparrow froze. He looked between Taiyo and Hound and blinked, seeming a little out of it, then shook his head. "I…"
"Sparrow! Focus here! He's the enemy. I know that you came to care for these people but remember Konoha! Raidou, remember him? You've been fighting them all night! Don't stop now!"
The lightening Chakra spread subtly up his arms, melting the cold bonds that were going to be the death of him soon if he didn't hurry. His teammate blinked again, and Hound breathed a silent sigh of relief when he dropped his hand.
But Sparrow ended up not being his savior, because the next moment, an iron claw hurtled to the ground and would've speared the senbon-user through if he hadn't dodged just in time. Sasori leaped over the edge of the hill, chasing after Sparrow with several others on his tail. The group flashed past and ignored both Hound and Taiyo completely, and he stared in confusion before shaking his head. He had other things to worry about- like freeing himself before the hypothermia killed him. He shook his exhaustion off and continued trying to melt the ice, and finally had freed his arms up to the elbow.
He still couldn't feel them, but the flesh was burned black, and the fact that they were still numb pointed to frostbite. Just fucking lovely. Without Taiyo controlling the jutsu anymore, though, the ice should be easy to break-
And, yes, it was. He was able to fling numb hands at his torso and crack the ice, and a few clumsily attempts later had him twisting his way out of the ice that restrained his upper body. Next, he attacked the ice holding his legs and feet in place- and then was finally, finally free.
Hound took a moment to just stare at Taiyo, who still stood limply in front of him, trapped thoroughly within genjutsu. Then he raised a shaking hand to slice his throat, and whispered, "I like you. I wish I didn't have to kill you- but that's all I know how to do. …Forgive me."
Yuki Taiyo fell into the snow with his throat hewn open and his blood spreading across the white like a scarlet flower. Hound silently saluted his respect, and then dragged himself away on shaking legs to inspect the carnage.
Kisame's water dome was gone. The camp was mostly silent. He stumbled over countless dead bodies and blinked as his vision spiraled. The poison from earlier must still be in affect-
Oh? Something hit his head… ow. The ground should really stay where it is, he thought mildly, shaking hands struggling to find purchase amongst the- the-
The dead bodies. The nothing but dead bodies.
He inhaled and there was nothing but the scent of death and blood. His fingers scrabbled for ground and he found nothing but clothes and blood and skin, he gasped and struggled but there was nothing for him to touch but death. Gods, he was lying on top of someone, and all around him were more someones.
There were so many dead… how many had he killed before Taiyo trapped him? How many here were dead by his hand?
Hound struggled to stand and felt Kakashi thrash and fight, trying to break through and take control. But this was too much; this was why he was created, scenes of devastation like this that Kakashi couldn't handle.
But he couldn't handle this, either. He couldn't- it was too much death, all around him, too much. He couldn't do this, he just-
"Look! There's a live one!"
Live? Where? Everyone everywhere was dead.
"Check it! Is he missing-nin or one of the ANBU squads?"
Hands roughly grabbed him by the collar and turned him over onto his back, and he gasped. He breathed in something other than death, nothing but death, but his vision was all a blur and he couldn't tell what was going on. It had to be another ninja come to kill him, kill him because all he did was kill kill kill everything he touched, and-
"Hey! What's your name? Look at me!"
"He's out of it- stop it, Yato, I recognize him! He's not a missing-nin, he's on our side!"
"Fuck, he's hurt bad- give him a soldier pill, get him up and running so he can help us-"
"Wait, in his condition, won't that-"
"Probably, but we don't have a dammed choice!"
Hound- Kakashi- which one was he again? He felt something yank his mask down and shove something into his mouth, and he chewed and swallowed automatically.
The pill's effect was automatic. The delirium lifted, though the panic stayed, his vision cleared, and he suddenly felt like he had enough Chakra for another round with Taiyo. He blinked and sat upright, turning to look around himself.
Standing on top of all the dead bodies god there were so many was a Mist ANBU team. He sighed in relief, letting his shoulders slump and his head droop. Backup. Thank god.
"Hey, don't relax yet, Copycat. Those missing-nin that were coming? The reason all these battles started? Well, most of them are already here. You've got some killing to do."
How? Everyone was already dead…
"Get your ass up, will you? You're ANBU; you know how soldier pills work."
Oh… he… what was he saying?
Kakashi blinked up at them, confused, and felt himself being hauled to his feet. "He's hypothermic, Taichou," he heard one of them say, but the voice sounded faded and distant. "Probably won't be able to get anything coherent out of him…"
"Well, we have to. Hatake! Get your ass into gear!" Kakashi didn't see the hand move, but he did feel as if he got slapped across the face, and then the soldier pill did more of its work and suppressed the poison. "Oi! Come on!"
He was… uh?
"Hey!"
Suddenly, everyone around him was ducking, and he blinked to see a something that was deformed, wooden, and mixed with iron diving into the earth right in front of him. The ground rocked and he anchored his position with Chakra by nothing but instinct, and that cleared his head a little.
Oh, yeah, he was supposed to be fighting.
Kakashi ducked easily, and he realized then that he still really couldn't see but he didn't have any trouble fighting. He could've closed his eyes and been fine. Actually, he probably should. His vision was confusing him a bit, what with things not changing at the rate that they should and being the wrong colors- yes, he should close his eyes.
Kakashi ducked and hit and kicked, more fluid than water. He fought and felt his hands bring death, blood coating his limbs and squeezing organs in his fists, killing without even seeing whose life he was ending. These weren't ANBU; these wet nothing but weak jounins, their instincts dulled by months without fights like this. It was too easy. And they kept dying. People kept being killed.
He didn't know how long his eyes stayed shut and he was drenched in blood. It must have been an hour or more. But finally, finally came a time when he could no longer hear anymore fast-paced movements, no more screams or shouts, no more jutsu or techniques. Kakashi came to a stuttering halt. The soldier pill was wearing off and he opened hazy eyes to see even more devastation. Even more destruction. Nothing but the gruesome gore of blood and death.
He blinked again and suddenly there was a Konoha ANBU standing in front of him. That mask… he recognized it. A bird. A… raven. Raven.
"Hound."
Itachi's voice.
"I've been placed in charge of all the Konoha ninja present. Missing-nin reinforcements are on their way, a lot of them- I'm going to weave a genjutsu to scare them off. But orders from Lion; everyone here has got to die. Civilians are hiding in an underground bunker; get down there and kill them."
How were they still alive? That didn't make… what was he thinking about, again?
"Hound, are you listening to me?"
"I… was… uh…"
Another slap across the face. He didn't see this one either. "Hey, Hound. I know you're out of it but you're a ninja of Konoha. Do your duty."
Oh… that's right… just what Taiyo had said. He was a weapon, nothing more. He was a tool. He was a… what?
He moved robotically across the ground, feeling out with his Chakra for the frightened civilians below ground. He stumbled and slipped over dead bodies, stepping on nothing but other people, some staring up at him with blank eyes and blood trailing across their pale, lifeless skin. His vision flashed and a few heads floated up and around him, and he stumbled again.
Voices echoed in his head. Kakashiiii. Kakashiiii, it's us.
"Hello," he mumbled numbly.
Who killed all of these people? They seem innocent. Kakashi, you have to go after who killed them! Only a monster could be responsible for all of this destruction, Kakashi!
A monster is responsible, Obito, he wanted to say, but couldn't quite figure out how.
Come on, Kakashi-kun, shake it off. The bastard who did this has to pay!
I know, Minato-sensei, he tried to say, but his tongue wouldn't form the words.
Kakashi, kill him! Hurt him so badly even I couldn't save him- even Tsunade couldn't save him!
I can't, Rin, he almost said, but… how did one talk, again?
Kakashi
Kakashi
Kakashi
Monster- dead- murderer- killer- slaughter-
KAKASHI-
The voices echoed loudly, and his hands formed the earth seal without any conscious thought. The ground caved in beneath of him, and he dropped silently to land within a hoard of people. Civilian or not, he didn't know, he still couldn't see very well.
He blinked three times. Then an absolutely furious face flashed in front of his vision, and he heard an enraged, "Die, you son of a-"
The voice abruptly cut off, and his arm throbbed a little with exertion, and he heard something hit the ground with a thump. He blinked a fourth time in confusion. What had just happened? Had he just killed someone?
They told him to kill everyone in here. Hound- was he Hound, again? Hound obediently began to systematically slaughter every single person that stood in his path. He took a step, cut someone's throat, took a step, cut someone's throat, took a step, cut someone's throat.
Bodies slumped on him over and over again. Screams, terrified, bloodcurdling screams echoed in his ears, and his blurred, stilted vision revealed shots of horrified faces frozen in terror. He killed and killed and killed, then turned and killed some more.
It took just under a minute for the whole room to be decimated.
Except for one…
He distinctly heard the stilted, high-pitched sounds of someone sobbing. Kakashi- Hound- Kakashi turned and knelt easily, straightening his hand out for a lethal strike.
The sobs continued.
He blinked again, and the sight of a little girl wavered into focus.
She whimpered. "P-p-p-please… d-don't… kill me. P-please… I don't want to d-die!"
Kakashi stared.
He was supposed to kill her. But she hadn't done anything, had she? She…
He blinked and found her pressing herself against the corner, curling up into a little ball to try and get away from him. Her sobs rose in pitch and she buried her head against her knees. "Please don't kill me like you killed my parents!"
"I…"
He didn't want to kill her, but he was supposed to. But why? Why was he supposed to?
But it wasn't his place to question why, was it? He was a weapon. Weapons did not question their users. They just did as they were supposed to.
If she would just stop crying-!
"D-Death's not so bad," he stammered desperately, voice shaking as he tried to just get her to stop tearing his heart out his chest. "Sure, I know it sounds s-scary, but th-think about it. Everyone you love is dead and waiting for you. And it won't hurt at all and it'll be really quick, I pr-promise."
Her tears just increased, and Kakashi didn't know what to do. He bit his lip and hung his head, trembling so much it would've thrown his vision off if he could still see.
Suddenly, the sounds got softer. When the girl spoke again, her voice was just the tiniest bit steadier. "…Y-you mean… I'll see my p…p…parents again?"
Kakashi found himself nodding, bobbing his head over and over again. Yes. You'll see Obito and Rin and Minato-sensei and Father again. They're all waiting for you… they…
A pain of longing hit him, a pang so real and painful it knocked the breath out of him. The girl's teary face wavered in and out of his vision as she curled up tighter, shaking even more than he was. "…It won't hurt? You promise?"
He nodded fervently. "Yes. It won't hurt. You won't even realize it's happening. One second you'll be here and then… you'll be there. With them. And it'll all be all right. I promise."
She was sobbing so hard she couldn't speak, and when he blinked, he saw a little girl that looked just like Rin.
Just kill her like you killed me, Kakashi.
A voice that was gentle, not accusatory in the slightest, that made it seem like he had done Rin a favor.
It's what's best for her. Don't make her grow up all alone like you did.
Minato, reminding him of how much it had hurt to look around and seen one but enemies, no one waiting for him when he came home but watching his teammates run and be hugged by their parents… how that had felt like his heart was being ripped out of his chest.
Her parents are waiting for her just like we're waiting for you, Kakashi.
Obito… telling him that he didn't have to be alone forever.
He was a tool, and he did what he his user needed him for without question. That was what tools did.
He jabbed the girl in the throat. She died mid-sob, Kakashi moving so fast she hadn't seen it coming. He killed her without knowing her name. He killed her simply because he was ordered to.
A tool. That was what he was. A tool did what the user needed it for.
Until it broke, that is.
Jutsu:
Mokuton: Mokujouheki- Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall
Doton: Doryouheki- Earth Release: Earth-style wall
Makyou Houshou- Demonic Ice Mirrors
Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu- Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique
Hyouton: Riborubingu Houshou- Ice Release: Revolving Ice Mirrors
Hyouton: Ippai-bodi Sanketsu- Ice Release: Full-body Suffocation
Raiton: Ippai-bodi Tate- Lightening Release: Full-body Shield